tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44757999662424365132024-03-19T12:59:54.003-05:00Starry Night WorksPaul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-19897096831109254902015-05-15T16:16:00.000-05:002015-05-15T16:16:34.849-05:00Friday Food for Thought #26<b>Role-playing Game Theory - What is Proficiency?</b><br />
<br />
While I haven't been posting much, that doesn't mean development on various projects of mine has stopped. Though I will admit to being very behind on many of my projects, especially the writing projects, I have not completely stopped. Sadly, with the end of the school term and with it my tutoring gig, I'll have a lot more time on my hands... when I'm not sending out more job applications anyway.<br />
<br />
One of those projects that I'll have more time to work with is Project Roll-Play, my attempt to make a universal D20 level based RPG game system. For inspiration, I've been going through and looking at the various D20 derived systems (Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, D20 Modern, Star Wars: Saga Edition, and a variety of others). Since one of my friends said something about a 5th Edition campaign for Dungeons and Dragons, I took a look at the system.<br />
<br />
For those that are unfamiliar, Dungeons and Dragons has gone through a plethora of changes over the years... each major change is a different 'edition' of the game. While some of these changes are little more then the equivalent of patching a computer game (look at changes from 3.0 to 3.5) others are massive overhauls and changes to base mechanic systems. The transition from 3.5 to 4th edition is jarring, unless you look at some of the experimentation Wizards of the Coast did with Star Wars and Star Wars: Saga Edition.<br />
<br />
The latest version of the Dungeons and Dragon game is interesting in that the designers started with a couple of rather jarring concepts compared to how mechanics had worked in previous editions. Among these concepts is the idea of 'bounded accuracy'. In 3.0, 3.5, Star Wars: Saga Edition, D20 Modern, and so forth the base attack bonus of a character increased between 1 to 1/2 point a level. A 20th level fighter had a base attack bonus of +20, while a 1st level fighter had a base attack bonus of +1.<br />
<br />
5th Edition dramatically reduces the maximum base bonus for an attack roll. Base attack bonus has been replaced by a 'Proficiency Bonus', ranging from +2 to +6. As a result a 20th level fighter has a bonus of +6 and a 1st level fighter has a bonus of +2. Since AC bonuses to armor haven't really been affected that much, this means that basic armor is more effective.<br />
<br />
I have very mixed feelings on this, it makes 20th level a bit more... ordinary. However, there is one thing about this change that I actually love...<br />
<br />
They made proficiency a bonus.<br />
<br />
D20 in general has usually ran with the idea of proficiency allowing you to use a weapon without penalty (usually a -5 penalty), the thing with this is that when you're rolling a D20 +0 vs. an AC10 target, someone that's proficient with a weapon only has around a 52.5% chance to hit. Now... I challenge you to go to your local pistol range, and watch.<br />
<br />
Most people that are using guns on those ranges aren't supermen... but, unless you've got a total beginner in a lane, most of them will hit the paper target just about every time. So assuming an average human silhouette is an AC 10 target, most people will have around +10 to attack? Even that idiot in the lane with a silhouette target at 5 feet blazing away with rapid fire is going to hit more than 50% of the time. The only people that have a real 50% accuracy for a weapon tend to be those that aren't proficient with the weapon.<br />
<br />
The same is perhaps even more true for melee weapons, as a thrown punch or club swing is pretty likely to contact the target, even if you have no idea what you're doing. If you are proficient with a weapon... well, there's a reason most kendo and fencing matches are so short. Really proficienct combatants rarely miss.<br />
<br />
So what does this mean for my Project Roll-Play, design. Well, I've decided to change up quite a bit of things recently due to thinking about proficiency and standardizing my level bonuses.<br />
<br />
Almost all rolls (with a few exceptions) will be granted a bonus equal to their level. So a level 10 character will have +10 to their various defenses, +10 to skill rolls, and +10 to hit from their level. A character's base attack bonus will be 5 + their level, which actually matches the way that training skills grants a +5 bonus to the roll.<br />
<br />
Being non-proficient still incures a -5 penalty to the attack roll, and grants the defender an attack of opportunity.<br />
<br />
Overall this results in higher defenses, skill DC numbers, and armor classes after I've calibrated the DCs to reflect this. Ironically when I plotted out the capabilities, I've found that the old 4E guide of 'Heroic levels', 'Paragon levels', and 'Epic levels' actually fit this quite well.<br />
<br />
Levels 1-10 are Heroic Levels - At 5th level, the character is roughly equal in skill as a fully trained professional, be that soldier or accountant. Normal (human) individuals will not usually exceed 10th level in their lifetime. Most teenagers, conscripts, and those that topped out as a high school graduate are around 4th level.<br />
<br />
Levels 11-20 are Paragon Levels - By 11th level the character has exceeded the capability of the vast majority of the population. Elite forces, commandos, and other well trained or skilled individuals may exist with levels this high. A Delta Force operator would be a Paragon Level opponent, so would a Top Gun instructor.<br />
<br />
Levels 21+ are Epic Levels - By 21st level the character has exceeded what is generally considered the peak of human performance. This is the realm of the best and most dangerous opponents. This is the realm of historical top aces, legends, and so forth. While a typical german ace might be a Paragon challenge, the Red Baron or Japanese top-ace Saburo Sakai would be an epic level foe. Beyond anomalously good humans, this is the realm of otherworldly foes and the paranormal - demons, devils, demi-gods.Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-39294031618704206432015-04-10T12:39:00.000-05:002015-04-10T12:39:23.546-05:00Banging My Head on a Brick Wall.As anyone that watches my activity on fanfiction.net, or even just here on the blog has probably guessed. I've been struggling with a really massive case of writers block. The small stack of projects I have waiting for me to complete only seems to grow larger, as I jot down random ideas for stories and so forth, but found my mind going completely blank once I sit down to turn those ideas into an actual story.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I really need to force myself to sit down in a chair and start writing again... except every time I try my mind leaps to something else and I'm left banging my head against the keyboard in frustration. I'm like those dogs in Up!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://31.media.tumblr.com/67857f5769909bb2ab129b2e618737d4/tumblr_mr14ypWJMd1rk0jnao1_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://31.media.tumblr.com/67857f5769909bb2ab129b2e618737d4/tumblr_mr14ypWJMd1rk0jnao1_500.gif" height="184" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Yeah... Except in my case, it's not 'Squirrel!' that sets me off...<br />
<br />
Here's a short list of instant distraction words/subjects that make up the bricks in my wall of writer's block.<br />
<br />
Ukraine...<br />
Star Wars: The Force Awakens...<br />
Rogue One...<br />
Demographics...<br />
Peter Zeihan...<br />
Police Shooting...<br />
<br />
Hmm, there are probably more, but you get the idea. Now... just have to figure out how to get away from them all.<br />
<br />
Maybe shutting down my internet connection would work.Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-40866469727221189062015-03-13T13:42:00.002-05:002015-03-13T13:42:50.758-05:00Still AliveSorry for the lack of updates the last few months. I've been busy...<br />
<br />
I actually had to rebuild my desktop computer. The only thing original in it at this point is the hard drive.<br />
<br />
In other news...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080228203813/starwars/images/d/da/Rogue_Squadron.svg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080228203813/starwars/images/d/da/Rogue_Squadron.svg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Disney announced the first of the spin-off films for STAR WARS. <i>Rogue One,</i> which means that we got a Rogue Squadron movie! Hurray!<br />
<br />
No word on what the film will be about besides the title and one actress will be in a 'Starring Role'.Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-50875237451102755292014-12-03T16:27:00.005-06:002014-12-03T16:31:40.938-06:00Pod and Planet Contest Entry<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Hope</b></span></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%;">"Warp Drive Active,"
Stated the robotic voice of aura through their neocoms as the two of them
stared at each other in opposite sides of the cramped compartment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Each was clad in Caldari assault
armor, their web gear and ready harnesses loaded down with gear and
weapons. To an ordinary human being they
would have appeared almost monstrous, a good head taller than the human norm
and much bulkier. If not for the slight
feminine shape of one of them, their sex would have been indeterminate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The bodies were little more than
clothing for them at this point. When
the mission was done they'd transfer their consciousness back to a set of
clones identical to the bodies they'd been born with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Through the helmet mounted
display that each of them wore, they could see the name of each other along
with a brief over view of their status.
The helmet mounted microphones and communications systems were a backup
to their personal neocom, and in truth neither of them really used them
anymore. At times they didn't bother
with the normally spoke word much at all, instead falling back on text messages
and synthesized voice comms instead of actually speaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The ship that carried them was
piloted by the third member of their little team, a capsuleer. Onboard her ship, they may as well have been
standing in her belly as each capsuleer interfaced directly with the ship
itself and piloted it almost as if they were an extension of their own body.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A blue holoprojector flickered to
life revealing a terrain grid that was rapidly filling with symbols and
markings. A voice crackled through the
neocom from their pilot, "Okay, it's about two minutes to the target
now... so lets get this briefing moving."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The female mercenary leaned over
the display, studying it as the capsuleer's voice filled their neocom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Khanid Works lost contact
with one of their open pit mining operations on Chamemi V, twelve hours
ago. Initial scans by satellite revealed
this..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The map zoomed toward a pit that
had been dug into the side of a mountain.
Surrounding the southern rim of the pit was a large structure of classic
Amarrian design. Further south was a loading
dock large enough to accomodate a freighter, but instead of a massive hauler or
industrial ship, a pair of small ships that looked a bit like a bloodied claw
sat on the loading dock surrounded by crates and tiny figures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He growled at the sight of the
two ships. "Blood Raiders."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Right, looks like two
Hematos frigates," The woman across from him said, her voice tightening as
she spoke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Total staff of the mine
comes to thirteen hundred souls."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He frowned. "Does that
include slaves and family living on site?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I... I don't know Ash, all
I've got is the corporate mission brief," Came the reply of the capsuleer
pilot, her voice quivering slightly. "If we had more time I could dig
through some records."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Aslan, it's fine..."
The other mercenary said. "They're probably all dead anyway by now."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash glanced down at the top of
the holographic map and clenched his fists. "Just once, I'd like to
actually save someone from these demons Tahli."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The female mercenary slumped a
bit at those words before taking a deep breath. "I know, I know..."
She straightened up. "By Adakul's light, if there's someone left alive
down there, we'll find them."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash nodded and glanced up at her.
"Thanks, Tahli."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I know how you feel... I
feel the same way. Lets, lets just get
this done." She peered down at the holographic map again. "Have you
got an LZ picked out for us Aslan?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Yes," The capsuleer
said as a point on the mountainside overlooking the mine flashed with a dull
red light. "Since we don't have a warbarge in orbit or an MCC down there,
you'll have to use drop uplinks to bring in any replacement clones."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash shivered, he hated the damn
things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"The plans that Khanid Works
sent me show five defensive guns at the facility. They're mostly cruiser scale laser batteries
and a couple missile launchers. Not sure
how the bleeders managed to get past them without losing ships, but they did
somehow," Aslan said. "No idea how many bleeders are on the ground
either, they'd need quite a few people to chorral the people down there. I'd say at least fifty of them, maybe
more."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"About normal then... We can
handle fifty blood raiders," Ash growled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Aslan's voice sounded relieved.
"Good, I'll stick close to your guys position for direct fire support, and
to nail those frigates if they try and run."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tahli nodded. "Let’s do
it."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The holographic map flickered and
disappeared and the compartment shuddered as the two of them reached for a set
of handles overhead to steady themselves besides two hatches that were built
into the sides of the compartment.
Aslan's voice came through the neocom once again, "Entering the
atmosphere now. We'll be at drop
altitude shortly."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The blue light of the Khanid
styled interior flickered and died to be replaced with a bloody red light that
hung over each of the egress hatches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Thirty seconds to
drop," Aslan’s voice echoed in the small compartment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash tightened his grip on the
handlebar over his head as he glanced to the only other soul in the
compartment. Clad in the grey armor of a
Caldari assault dropsuit, her gender was barely visible through the armor's
bulk. The flat grey of the helmet's face
watched him as the ship shuddered around them once more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Pilgrim two, ready for
drop." Ash muttered to himself as he turned back toward the hatch beside
him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Her voice whispered through the neocom
a moment later. "Pilgrim one, ready."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Ten seconds,
Pilgrims." The ship's pilot answered, and then the ship gave another
shudder. "Damn it! I'm getting fire from the ground. Looks like those cruiser sized guns."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Just give us the green—"
As she spoke the red light over the hatches flashed a brilliant green. Instantly Ash yanked on the handle overhead
and the hatch hissed open. Without a
second glance, he leapt out into the slipstream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash fell, glancing up just in
time to see the massive form of the Malediction-class interceptor that he'd
just left pull skyward. Lances of red
and purple energy shot up toward the gleaming ship as it rose through the
clouds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then he looked down as he fell
toward the rusty red earth beneath him.
Mentally he started counting out the altitude. Two thousand meters, fifteen hundred, one
thousand...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He could see the objective, the
massive silvery steel construct of the Khanid Works pit mine a good half a
kilometer south of where he was falling.
The turrets that surrounded it fired futilely up into the air after the
Malediction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Five hundred meters... Ash
thought as he looked down. With a mental
command he activated the inertial dampener as he passed one hundred meters,
then braced himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With a slam he landed in a
crouch, his leg muscles aching from the sudden impact as he pulled the
Kaalakiota Rail Rifle from his back and checked it. Then he stood, keying his neocom’s voice
system as he did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Pilgrim two is down."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Pilgrims are down, setting
up a drop uplink now," Tahli called out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash grimaced, the drop uplink
would allow them to return to the fight in a fresh clone if taken out, but it
was a painful means of travel involving spatial distortions and radiation
levels that would cook an unprotected soldier.
If it wasn't for the set of implants and cloning technology that he and
his fellows used, such means of transport would only guarantee death from
radiation. As the cloning technology
rendered his body a replaceable asset, it was viable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That didn't mean he liked
it. Traveling through an uplink felt
like how one of his teachers had described falling through a blackhole would be
like. It felt as if he was being
stretched out into a long noodle as he fell through the small wormhole, and if
it wasn't for the pain suppressors built into the suit, he was sure he'd have
collapsed on stepping out of the uplink.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He glanced at his hud and hurried
over to the marker that showed where Tahli had landed. As he approached her, the familiar shape of a
drop uplink activated at her feet and she straightened up cradling a rail rifle
in her arms. She tapped her helmet. "Drop
uplink established, Aslan."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Roger that, I’m starting a circuit
just below the horizon. Give me some
coordinates, and those blood suckers won't have a clue what hit them."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash glanced nervously around
before kneeling down beside a rock and pulled out his scanner. Aiming the device like a gun toward the
facility, he pulled the trigger and waited for it finish it's scanning cycle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dozens of red contacts popped up
on his hud as the scan finished, and Ash scowled. "Looks like you were
right Aslan, at least fifty hostiles."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tahli crouched down beside him
and steadied her rifle against the rock before them. She glanced around the area and Ash could
imagine her chewing her lip in thought beneath the helmet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"We're going to need direct
fire support to deal with those frigates on deck," She said before jerking
her head toward the bloodstained ships sitting on the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The two Hematos-class frigates
sat in the middle of the loading dock, their boarding ramps down. From their perch atop the hillside
overlooking the pit mine, Ash and Tahli watched as the tiny figures in blood
soaked clothes roll barrels toward the ramps, while soldiers clad in equal
bloody armor stood watch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A pair of MTACs stood watch over
the area, their giant humanoid forms slowly twisting left and right as they
hefted the oversized energy weapons that each had been equipped with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tahli spoke up as she activated
her wrist computer, "Aslan, we need a strike. The bleeders have two MTACs on site, coordinates
enroute."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Roger."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash scowled. "If that
doesn't work, we don't have the firepower to take them out."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"It'll work, and if it
doesn't we can just call in another strike," Tahli said as she lay back
down onto the rock beside him and lifted the rail rifle to her shoulder. "There's some sentries on the top of
that spire, around two hundred meters out."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash lifted his rail rifle to the
shoulder and sighted on the target's she'd pointed out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Against another mercenary like
themselves, such a shot would be a futile effort as the heavy armor, integrated
shielding, and even the genetic profile of their bodies made them far more
resistant to damage, and two hundred meters was over twice what was considered
the normal 'effective' range of their weapons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But they were not mercenaries
and, despite the energy those railgun bolts would lose in transiting those two
hundred meters, the rounds had more than enough power behind them still to be
fatal. Slowly he pulled the gun into his
shoulder and readied the rifle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Target locked,
inbound," Aslan's voice crackled through the neocom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The defensive turrets that topped
the spires deployed at that moment and started to track their way as a rumble
filled the air. All around them, Blood
Raiders stopped their work and looked toward the towers before glancing around
nervously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the lasers mounted on a
spire fired, sending a scalding beam of purple light slicing through the air
over their heads. The Blood Raiders that
had stopped to look bolted for cover wherever they could find it. Men rushed for protection behind crates or
threw themselves onto the rusty red soil as the thunderclap of a sonic boom
washed over the area.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Cycling now!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The distinct scream of a salvo of
rockets ripping through the speed of sound filled the air and Ash glanced
toward where the combat MTACS had stood just before they disappeared in a flash
of blue electricity and smoke. The air reverberated
with the concussion of the explosions just as a second shockwave rolled over
them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With a boom the Malediction
screamed overhead, bare meters above the rock.
As it passed the spires, bits of rock and loose equipment were blown
free in its wake. The guns swung to
track the ship as it passed, but by the time they were halfway there it had
already dipped below the horizon kilometers away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Deafening silence filled the air
in the wake of the strike and Ash felt his hears ring from the double blow of
the sonic booms and concussion of the rockets.
Then the charged crack of Tahli's rail rifle filled the air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the guards at the top of
nearest spire toppled from the roof, his head blown clear off by the bolt. The sentry next to him spun toward them and
Ash lifted his rifle up and squeezed the trigger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the third of a second it took
the accelerator to charge, the man had lifted his own rifle toward them and
fired, sending a beam of purple light hissing through the air. His scrambler shot flashed against Ash's
shields just as his rifle bucked in his hands and sent a round ripping through
the air in return.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The blood raider's chest exploded
as the round tore through the man's armor and sent him toppling out of
sight. Without a word of command, Ash
and Tahli rose from the cover of the rock and started down the hill. The lose moraine and gravel slid beneath them
as they skidded down the side of the hill. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The blood raiders were still
shaking their heads to clear them of the concussion of the airstrike as they
approached. A few of their more
competent members were aware enough to snap shots at the approaching mercs, but
almost instantly it was clear that they were outmatched.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Much like the vast disparity
between conventional crewed starships and their capsuleer brethren, the gulf in
capability between the two clone mercs and the blood raiders they faced was
enormous. Despite the training and
drills that each of those men had gone through, they couldn't match the
experience and advantages of the mercs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For Ash and Tahli death had
become little more then a painful learning experience. They'd long ago lost track of the number of
times they'd woken up in a new clone. It
simply wasn't a big deal for them anymore.
Their experience, their minds, and their identities had become divorced
from the bodies they inhabited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Contact!" One of the
raiders that had started shooting at them yelled just before a burst of rail
rifle fire permamently silenced him.
Another raider screamed as Tahli's rail rifle punched through his body
armor and he dropped to the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The years of experience and
training had turned combat into little more then reflexive actions for the two
of them. A target appeared before them
and they neutralized it automatically.
The screams of the bleeders were something they'd long ago learned to
ignore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They ran forward before slamming
into the side of the wall of one of the mine's defensive towers. Nodding to Tahli, Ash flanked around the side
of defensive tower and slid up beside the door to the interior. He pulled a flux grenade from his belt,
primed it, and threw it through the door.
A shout of alarm came from the group inside just before the screams.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After the crackle on his helmet
display marked the grenade's detonation, Ash swung around the side of the door
an rushed inside. Four raiders lay on
the ground in expanding pools of their own blood. A fifth was staggering to his feet, blood
running from a half a dozen points in his armor. Ash squeezed the trigger of his rifle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the time it took to charge the
raider had managed to snap his own pistol up on him and fire. The shields integrated into Ash's armor
flared just as the rifle finished charging.
The long burst of fully automatic fire he loosed in return tore the man
apart and his bloody corpse dropped onto the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Pilgrims, looks like those
Hematos frigates decided to leave." Aslan's voice crackled through the
neocom as Ash pulled the bloody remains of a raider off the control console in
the center of the room. "I'm moving to intercept."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Roger," Tahli muttered
and Ash glanced over his shoulder as Tahli backed into the room, her own rifle
spitting fire at the blood raiders closer to the loading dock. Beams of vicious energy shot around her as
she kept up the fire. "Hack that thing, Ash!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"On it!" Ash said as he
activated his own wrist computer and started to work. Within a half a second he'd brute forced
through the first layer of the lockout the raiders had put on the system.
"First layer security breached."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Hurry, Ash!" Tahli
shouted just before boom of an explosion filled the air. "God, they've
still got an MTAC up!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Second layer breached...
Come on..." Ash muttered as he kept working, his gaze flicking between
console and his wrist computer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Hematos engaged, the mine's
defenses are locking onto me..." Aslan's voice came through the neocom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Got it!" Ash said as
the lockout collapsed and he saw the system before him light up. Quickly he crouched over the controls.
"I've got control of the mine defense grid. Switching targets!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The entire tower shuddered as the
laser cannon mounted atop it fired. On
the sensor display, Ash watched as one of the red crosses that marked a blood
raider ship disappeared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"That's great, but I need
fire support!" Tahli yelled as the defensive tower rocked from another
hit. "MTAC, coordinates inbound."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I've got it, Tahli. Just hold on!" Aslan's voice came
through the neocom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash crouched down beside her as a
beam of golden light burned through the opposite side of the doorway, leaving a
hole as big enough for a man to force his head through. At the same time scrambler shots sparked off
the metal which surrounded them, leaving only a scorch on it's gleaming
surface.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"On the way!" Aslan's
voice called out and the two of them huddled together as the sonic boom of the
rockets ripping through the air rolled over them. Then the concussion of the impact followed as
their huds crackled from the em warheads that Aslan had used.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tahli straightened up as the
rumble of Aslan's ship passing faded into the distance and the two of them
slowly leaned out of cover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A broken MTAC sat in the midst of
a crater, dozens of men clad in the blood red uniform of the blood raiders lay
dead around the remains of the mech. A
barrel that had once been filled with the blood were split open and leaking
onto the loading bay's floor, staining it.
Further back the remains of another MTAC had been scattered all across
the bay from the explosion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Clear!" Tahli said
before stepping out into the light with her rifle at the ready. "Nice strike,
Aslan."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I'm chasing down that last
frigate... call me when you need pickup."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Roger," Tahli said
before lowering her rifle slightly. "Right, lets split up and sweep the
area. I want to finish this quick. Then some salvage droids can sort through
what they left."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash nodded as he lowered his
rifle for a moment as well. "I'll take the right side. Meet you back at the landing bay in... thirty
minutes?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Sounds good. There shouldn't be much resistance left, at
least not anymore."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"No, lets just finish
this," Ash said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They split up and Ash began to
make his way through the cooridors.
Blood stains littered the floor and he could easily make out where a
laser beam had cut across the surface of one wall. A level further down he found himself in a
bay laiden down with mining MTACs, surrounded with scaffolding for some sort of
repairs or maintenance. Another level
down he found himself before a door, beside which a bloodied barrel sat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A glance at the writing on it
made his skin crawl, and with a snarl he pointed his rail rifle to barrel and
squeezed the trigger. A burst of railgun
bolts perforated the barrel and the crimson liquid that had been contained
within sprayed across the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Bastards!" Ash snapped
before he hit the activation stud beside the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The door hissed open and Ash
stepped into the darkened interior of the compartment, his rifle pulled tight
against his shoulder as he swept around the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was dark inside. The low hiss of pumps and beep of life
support monitors filled the air as he slowly maneuvered through the cramped
room. Suddenly a pale figure stood from
behind what looked like a blood stained cot and lifted a pistol.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash squeezed the trigger as he
sighted in on the man, and grimaced as the purple beam of the scrambler pistol
smashed into his shields, ripping into them.
Then the rail rifle finished charging and spat its first bolt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The round ripped through the man,
spraying blood in all directions as he fell back. A second shot tore through his chest, before
a third blew apart his skull and sprayed brain matter across the floor. Then he fell with a sickening thud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash lowered his rifle and took a
deep breath to calm himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The low hiss of pumps drew his
attention to a rack which hung from the ceiling and Ash froze, his mind
flashing back to the same racks he'd seen from his time in the hands of the
Blood Raiders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the center of the rack hung a
girl, maybe no older than five or six.
Her face was ghostly pale and the monitoring equipment still beeped a
faint but steady rhythm from her heartbeat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tubes filled with her scarlet
life blood hung down from the rack and dropped into a barrel half filled with
crimson blood. Other racks hung about
the room, their occupants already dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"God," Ash muttered as
he stepped up to the rack and activated his wrist computer. "Tahli,
there's a survivor here!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"On my way..." The
neocom crackled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He hacked through the rack's
firewalls and disabled the pumps, not certain what else he could do. "I'll
need a medic!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"We don't have one!"
Tahli answered through the neocom. "What about a nanite injector?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I don't know if that'll
work for her, she's just a kid," Ash said.
Scowling he checked her heartbeat on the monitor again. "The
bastards took a lot out of here before we arrived, and they pooled the blood
from multiple victims together. I can't
just reverse the pumps. Mixing blood types could kill her."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"God's grace... just hold
on, I'm coming."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash swallowed nervously as he
stared at the heart monitor, uncertain what to do. Taking a deep breath he glanced around the
room, his gaze drifting across countless racks filled with pale corpses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anger flared through his veins.
"Aslan, how many people worked her?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Umm... The brief said,
about thirteen hundred, Ash."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash shut his eyes and balled his
fists. "God..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Ash?" Tahli's voice
echoed in the room as she stepped inside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Did you find any other
survivors?" He asked, knowing the answer already.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"No."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He swore. "Just once I'd
like to save a life from these monsters."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He stared at the girl, his heart
clenching in agony. Intellectually he knew it was all to common, he'd probably
killed thousands in his career, but staring at the pale form of the girl, Ash
couldn't really reconcile that reality with the form of the little innocent
girl.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Hell..." Ash muttered
to himself as he pulled a nanite injector from his pack and stepped up to the
girl. Cautiously he checked her pulse
one last time before stabbing the injector into her calf and activating it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A long shuddering breath came
from the girl and Ash watched as a faint hint of color filled her cheeks. He dropped the injector and glanced at the
lifesign monitor, its low chirp growing louder by the second. He activated his wrist computer again and
started to bypass the controls once more.
Finally the restraints went slack and the girl toppled from rack, falling
into his ready grasp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The clatter of booted feet drew
his attention and Ash glanced over his shoulder as Tahli slid into the
room. She froze as she saw him holding
the girl, still unconscious in his arms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Is she?" Tahli asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash felt a smile slip across his
lips. "Yeah, she is..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As the girl stirred in his hands
Ash couldn’t help the grin that slid across his face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Ash..." Tahli's voice
was a croak through the neocom. Glancing down, Ash saw her scanning the girl
once. "She's not a slave at least, no micro-controller implant, but she
has a subdermal id tag."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ash nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Ash, her name..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"What about it," Ash
asked as he settled her against his shoulder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"It's Hope."</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-87229508480339169522014-11-21T13:48:00.001-06:002014-11-21T13:48:19.482-06:00Still Working...Well, this is basically just a quick update to let you all know I'm not dead or anything. I'm still looking for beta reader, if any of you are up to it... But right now I'm focused on finishing the process of getting a couple books from the Kindle release over to smashwords.<br />
<br />
This has basically required that I due a lot of formating to get the document ready for the meatgrinder at smashwords. I'm almost done with the first of these books (I'm going to look through the formatting guide again to make sure I didn't forget something), then I'll start releasing them.<br />
<br />
Smashwords is in many ways a much smaller selection of titles then Kindle, so hopefully more people will catch sight of these books and they'll start moving at half-way decent rates again.Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-69382626836331880612014-10-24T14:41:00.002-05:002014-10-24T14:41:22.940-05:00Friday Food for Thought #25<b>Ambrose Chronicles: Midshipmen - Designing the UES Swift Fox - Part 2</b><br />
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Well I said I'd spend some time talking about hull design and power systems. So here we go.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Hull Design:</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
The UES Swift Fox uses a carbon-carbon composite hull. Essentially it's an advanced form of carbon-fiber composite, treated to be heat and radiation resistant. I'm not the best at engineering math, but I've given the hull material a couple estimated properties.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Density of 3.52g/cm3</div>
<div>
Melting Point of 3,500 degrees Celsius</div>
<div>
Stuctural Strength of 1,350 MPa (megapascals)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The main hull is protected by what is known as a 'Whipple Shield' composed of layers of spaced armor. This type of protection is already in us on modern spacecraft.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://wordpress.mrreid.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/whipple-shield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://wordpress.mrreid.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/whipple-shield.jpg" height="231" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Spaced armor is a relatively old concept, but it's a good one so I decided to incorporate it. I've also decided that since I intend to make the ship atmospherically capable, the ship would need a form of heat shielding.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Overall the shape is going to be kind of similar to that of the Dominion Dreadnaught from Star Trek Deep Space, but much smaller.<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080425010809/memoryalpha/en/images/3/36/Dominion_battleship_(fore).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080425010809/memoryalpha/en/images/3/36/Dominion_battleship_(fore).jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The underside of the ship will be rather rough and utilitarian. Radiator panels are arrayed along the underside of the ship's 'wings' so that they can be protected from fire by rolling the ship so it's top surfaces face the enemy. In addition the top surfaces are the only ones with heat shielding, necessitating that the ship reenter upside down.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Power Systems:</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ippog.web.cern.ch/sites/ippog.web.cern.ch/files/styles/slideshowbigimage_documents/public/import/containingantimatter.jpg?itok=_D_k3VFW" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ippog.web.cern.ch/sites/ippog.web.cern.ch/files/styles/slideshowbigimage_documents/public/import/containingantimatter.jpg?itok=_D_k3VFW" height="224" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Both the Swift Fox's power systems and propulsion are antimatter systems, specifically anti-hydrogen reaction systems. The engines use small amounts of anti-hydrogen atoms reacting with deuterium or water to produce a magnetically directed beam of superheated plasma for thrust. In atmosphere this beam is almost instantly diffused, but in space it's capable of being used as a weapon at extremely short ranges.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Power is independently generated from the engines, as power is considered a separate system then thrust. The ship's main power comes from a 2.75µg/s White-Rinmukan AM-M Reactor. This produces around 400 Megawatts of power for various uses, including but not limited to Life Support, Sensors, Weapons, Communications, Shields, and so forth.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Most of this power is used by weapon systems and the containment of plasma during engine operation.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In addition to the reactor the ship has a battery backup system, capable of keeping the ship's life support running for twenty-four hours.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Antimatter is a tricky thing to store, Even very small amounts of it escaping containment can be devastating. As a result most nations in this universe store antimatter in small, heavily built containers. This canisters are designed to be self-contained and powered storage vessels, each of which holds 10 grams of antimatter. Over twenty of these canisters are aboard the UES Swift Fox, enough to fuel the ship for a full cruise.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Next time I'll talk about the Bridge, Sensors, and Other Systems...</div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-30600721265988410872014-10-03T16:03:00.000-05:002014-10-03T16:03:13.568-05:00Friday Food for Thought #24<b>Ebola in the United States</b><br />
<br />
Well, I was going to talk about science-fiction ship design, but then this issue exploded this week and well... I already talked about Ebola a bit before, so I should probably say something. Let’s start with the facts:<br />
<br />
A Liberian man who was working toward gaining legal residency status in the United States arrived on September 20th, 2014. On September 24th he fell ill and went to the hospital on the 26th where he was diagnosed with a viral infection and released despite being from an Ebola outbreak zone. He was taken to the hospital a second time on September 28th by ambulance and is current undergoing care in a hospital in Dallas.<br />
<br />
He was staying with his apparent girlfriend in an apartment, along with several children. Currently the family is under quarantine and over 100 people have been identified as being at risk for exposure.<br />
<br />
This is scary, especially for those that don't understand. Considering I currently am getting my ass kicked by a cold and will almost certainly be the recipient of looks after this, I should point out that we're talking about 1 case in a country of over 300 million people at this point.<br />
<br />
It's not the time to panic. We should certainly be concerned, especially in light of the obvious failure of the Liberian government's attempt to screen passengers and the hospital failing to diagnose the case during his first visit.<br />
<br />
This is probably going to be only the first in several such incidents, as the West African countries that are currently being ravaged by the disease have pretty strong historical ties with the United States. In addition we should probably expect many other countries to have this occur as panic causes people to try and flee from the outbreak.<br />
<br />
The last WHO estimates and projections I saw were horrifying, with their upper estimates putting the number of expected cases to reach as high as 1.4 million by year's end, with the number of cases increasing by over 10,000 a week by the end of October. With this rate of infection the probability of the disease reaching United States shores soars, and already a couple other possible cases have begun to crop up.<br />
<br />
Knowing all this, and the CDC and WHO warnings about the dangers of a pandemic of other diseases, it's probably a good idea to learn about the disease and how to protect yourself from it.<br />
<br />
<b>Transmission:</b><br />
<br />
Ebola is widely considered to be a rather difficult virus to catch, in that it is normally only transmittable through fluid contact - such as through vomit, sweat, blood, urine, saliva, and other bodily fluids. Most experts say the disease is not transmittable by air. I say most because I did run across a couple research papers which indicate that some viral particulates of Ebola can become airborne, but this mode of transmission is extremely rare and only probable in environments with a large number of patients in a confined area.<br />
<br />
Ebola however is highly transmittable through the smallest amount of bodily fluids and aerosal. This is why health workers wear face masks and various forms of full body protection. As an individual you can reduce your risk for exposure by avoiding contact with bodily fluids, dirtied clothes, and people that generally look as if they've fallen ill. Additional protection through the use of face masks or rubber gloves will keep you safe in most circumstances, though it still will not be one hundred percent effective.<br />
<br />
<b>Incubation Period:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Ebola has an incubation period of 2-21 days, depending on the severity of the exposure and health of the exposed individual. Unlike some diseases, Ebola's infectiousness increases with the severity of the symptoms. The bodies of the victims of Ebola are an extremely infectious object and as a result must be burned to prevent the spread of the disease.<br />
<br />
<b>Symptoms:</b><br />
<br />
Initial symptoms of Ebola echo that of the common flu... muscle aches, tiredness, cold sweats, and fever. As the disease worsens additional symptoms occur including vomiting, diarrhea, internal hemorrhaging, bloody stool, blood in the urine, bleeding from the eyes and nose, and ultimately death due to complications from blood loss.<br />
<br />
<b>Immunity:</b><br />
<br />
Survivors of the disease tend to have antibodies that will last up to thirty years, though there's no documented information on if this immunity is localized to just a strain or the disease in it's entirety. Survivors remain infectious for as long as three months after they've begun their recovery, especially through sexual contact.<br />
<br />Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-15371664940910567152014-09-26T16:07:00.002-05:002014-10-24T13:48:49.079-05:00Friday Food for Thought #23<b>Ambrose Chronicles: Midshipmen - Designing the UES Swift Fox</b><br />
<br />
I mentioned in my general update the project I'm working on for conventional distribution... 'Midshipmen'. I'm considering it part of a future series called the Ambrose Chronicles which will detail the careers of Miles Ambrose and Astra Tanaka, but one thing I have to do for this first installment is... Design the ship. These next few Friday Food for Thought posts will cover designing the ship in detail.<br />
<br />
<b>United Empire Ship (UES) <i>Swift Fox</i>, GB-283</b><br />
<br />
A small ship, once scheduled for decommission, the Peregrine-class Gunboat <i>Swift Fox</i> is something you usually don't see in most science fiction storylines, especially those with a naval bend. It's small, really small.<br />
<br />
3,700 tons of carbon-composite, plastic, and steel with a total length of just a bit more then 82 meters and a total of just 2 1/2 decks. The crew is made up of just 20 people, crammed into a tiny living space in the ship.<br />
<br />
Sometimes inspiration for things comes from the oddest places. I've long been thinking about sitting down and plotting out the inside of the <i>UES Swift Fox</i>, much like how I designed the interior of a couple of other ships for various online campaigns...<br />
<br />
So, I've started work on the <i>UES Swift Fox</i>, and, as usual, started researching various facets of the ship's design. Anyway, lets get started with a brief tour.<br />
<br />
<b>Crew Quarters:</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/03/19/article-1258678-08962B8E000005DC-795_306x375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/03/19/article-1258678-08962B8E000005DC-795_306x375.jpg" height="320" width="261" /></a></div>
<br />
This picture, courtesy of the British Daily Mail shows roughly what bunks and crew space is like on a modern warship ship. In some ways, we've come a long way from the hammocks of the age of sail, but then in others we haven't...<br />
<br />
At a mere 82.1 meters long the <i>Swift Fox</i> isn't the biggest ship, and most of it is taken up with equipment, fuel, ammunition, or reactant mass. As a result the actual livable space aboard ship is at a premium. It's much like living on a submarine.<br />
<br />
The only person aboard that has a compartment to themselves is the ship's captain, Lieutenant Commander Joan Duke. Every other person aboard shares their living-space with at least one other person. Midshipman Miles Ambrose has to share his compartment with Midshipman Astra Tanaka, Lieutenant Nicholas Fallon has to share with Sub-Lieutenant Ida Byron, and the enlisted crew all share a larger compartment that's organized much like a troop barracks, or the compartment I showed above.<br />
<br />
There are 20 crew to the ship and only around 10 bunks. 5 of the bunks are assigned to officers, 5 are assigned to the enlisted crew. As a result, each officer or apprentice officer has a bed while the enlisted crew is all stuck 'hot-bunking'. Hot-bunking refers to the how the crewman on the previous sleeping shift kept the bed warm. All 15 enlisted crewman sleep in shifts, each around eight hours.<br />
<br />
Because Astra and Miles have opposite twelve hour shifts, the second bunk in their compartment is rather superfluous. As both are teens and highly competitive individuals, its not that far out of realm of possibility that they bicker and fight over a number of things, including who gets the bottom bunk. Their compartment also contains a desk, as apprentice officers have homework of sorts to prepare them for the officer corps.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdI8t0c2IlsZ_b3oSOIpirL1PyR_JPOx7NI5tlQ8_6fQXDxgAPeMcf2dWOlV67K1mVZxkRRez4wbb60VTBmg_UU1FCjj0iXYLNf8sZZV8mAHeLz0qwOFpK_wJksZGmaqEzXOCYnSokmqi/s1600/JapansCapsuleHotel-08.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdI8t0c2IlsZ_b3oSOIpirL1PyR_JPOx7NI5tlQ8_6fQXDxgAPeMcf2dWOlV67K1mVZxkRRez4wbb60VTBmg_UU1FCjj0iXYLNf8sZZV8mAHeLz0qwOFpK_wJksZGmaqEzXOCYnSokmqi/s320/JapansCapsuleHotel-08.jpg" height="219" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
This
image comes from a blog, Ten Million Reasons to Love Japan, where the
author talks about capsule hotels, one of the uniquely Japanese
solutions to the hotel space. Note the privacy curtains and the
inclusion of various amenities within the capsule. Each capsule
features its own air conditioning, fans, television, phones, and other
amenities.<br />
<br />
This is a great starting point for when
designing the bunks used by the crew of the <i>Swift Fox</i>, with remarkably
few changes. For example, the privacy curtain is replaced with a
space-tight door that shuts automatically in an emergency or compartment
decompression. The air conditioning is replaced with a complete life
support system to keep a crewman alive while the compartment is repaired
in the event of a hull breach.<br />
<br />
Of course there'd be
storage compartments for personal possessions, as every crewman needs a
place to shove their spacer's chest. Finally the various other amenities one gets in such a capsule would also be present...<br />
<br />
There's a holographic projector built into the ceiling of the bunk along with air vents similar to those above your seat in an air liner. Headsets can be plugged in for privacy or the crew can use the speaker system integrated into the bunk, and there is also a small compartment for food storage (which is always a point of contention for the crew).<br />
<br />
<b>Point Defenses</b>:<br />
<br />
The <i>Swift Fox </i>features two NADIS point defense lasers mounted in retractable mounts, each capable of pumping out a 4.5 megawatts of energy. Visually they appear very much like the airborne laser.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/PhotozOnline/laserturret12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/PhotozOnline/laserturret12.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
These systems allow the <i>Swift Fox</i> to engage missiles and other targets at ranges approaching 1 light second (approximately the distance between the Earth and the Moon). However their power-output is low enough that it's unable to penetrate the standard plasma-shields that all ships in this universe come equipped with as standard.<br />
<br />
"Plasma Shields?"<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://orbitalvector.com/Defenses/Plasma%20Shields/cold%20plasma%20trap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://orbitalvector.com/Defenses/Plasma%20Shields/cold%20plasma%20trap.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Yep! One of the greatest dangers to people in space is cosmic radiation, and since the most common conventional solution to the problem requires really dense and heavy shielding from stuff like lead, we need to go with an alternative. Enter plasma.<br />
<br />
The <i>Swift Fox</i> produces a cold plasma shield which is magnetically contained around it's hull. This shield is charged and tuned to deflect cosmic radiation, as well as scatter the beam of incoming laser shots. A laser that's beam is scattered by the shield is basically reduced to a really strong flashlight.<br />
<br />
So, how does the <i>Swift Fox</i> bring the pain to its enemies?<br />
<br />
<b>Offensive Systems:</b><br />
<br />
I wanted to give the <i>Swift Fox </i>a multipurpose/multi-mode weapon. Enter the Electromagnetic Particle Blaster or EPB. The EPB system uses magnetic containment and acceleration and uses three main modes of fire. <br />
<br />
The first mode, colloquially known as dry fire acts almost identically to a conventional electromagnetic coil-gun or railgun. The slug, usually made up of a magnetic metal is accelerated out the gun at high velocity and all the damage dealt by the kinetic energy of the impact. It's also possible to fire canister and flak slugs from the weapon in this mode.<br />
<br />
The second mode, known as gauss-fusion or 'wet fire' uses a very small injection of antimatter into the firing chamber. The heat generated from the annihilation of the antimatter is used to turn the slug mass into a viscous blob of molten metal. When fired this shot rapidly begins to expand and cool, resulting in a spray of metal akin to a shotgun blast. Damage is inflicted both by kinetic energy and thermal effects from the super-heated spray, which can be exceptional effective against ships whose armor is made of materials susceptible to thermal effects, however it's range is again limited.<br />
<br />
The third mode, known as 'blaster' mode is rarely used. Instead of a small injection of antimatter, the weapon's chamber is bombarded with positrons. The immense heat from the bombardment turns the slug mass into plasma and then excited subatomic particles as it removes all the electrons from the resulting beam of particles that's fired. When shot, the bolt rapidly begins to expand making the weapon useless at longer ranges. The wide beam of excited particles that impacts the target has little in the way of penetration, but even then can be devastating against less protected components like radiator arrays, optics, sensors, and even burning through welds and structural weak-points. However, this mode has a track record of causing the firing chamber's containment system to fail, resulting in a powerful explosion.<br />
<br />
The <i>Swift Fox </i>is equipped with two such weapons, one is a large boresight mounted device, while the second is a smaller dorsal turret system.<br />
<br />
Next week I'll talk a bit about power systems and hull design.Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-90894264017106565652014-09-12T14:49:00.000-05:002014-09-12T14:49:12.438-05:00General UpdatesWell, I haven't actually said much about what I've been doing lately, so it's time for a little update or two...<br />
<br />
<b>1.) A Fox's Tale: The Smith's Son</b> - The second book in the A Fox's Tale series is done... all that's left is a bit of editing and cover design. Unfortunately, my sister was the one that produced the cover for A Fox's Tale, and she's in the middle of a rather heavy semester in High School, so it may be some time before it's actually released.<br />
<br />
Sorry...<br />
<br />
Also, I've taken A Fox's Tale off the KDP select system and will soon be releasing it through Smashwords as well.<br />
<br />
<b>2.) VALKYRIE: Into the Heavens - </b>I've started initial work on VALKYRIE #3 - Outer Reaches. At the same time I've started learning both Blender and Sculptris... My plan is to port the models I've made in Sketchup to Blender, give them proper textures and use Blender to produce new covers and trailers for Youtube, but that's slow going.<br />
<br />
<b>3.) THE GREATEST GAME - </b>Sadly, this series is on the back burner right now, as interest has been relatively low. I do have plans for the series, but with so few people reading the books and my already full work load, it's probably better if I focus more on VALKYRIE: Into the Heavens and a couple projects I have going for more traditional publication.<br />
<br />
<b>4.) PROJECT ROLL-PLAY - </b>Development is still ongoing, and I've become fairly active on the Giants in the Playground's Homebrew forum discussing various elements of RPG design. Right now I'm focused on providing enough magical spells and rules to roughly equal that which you'd get in the 'core' rulebook for a game like Pathfinder or DnD.<br />
<br />
<b>5.) Traditional Publication Projects - </b>I've been actively working on a book meant to be published through traditional channels, as it's a bit more mainstream in SF content then VALKYRIE: Into the Heavens. This book is being developed under the provisional title 'Midshipmen', and, much like the Honor Harrington series, is largely being inspired by the old Horatio Hornblower stories.<br />
<br />
Unlike <i>Honor Harrington</i>, I'm not going out of my way to use such things as 'broadsides' and so forth in the stories, but real world physics and a sort of twisted reflection of the way officers were trained and worked in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars. In some ways it might be closer to the whole Master and Commander series in it's depiction of midshipmen and apprentice officers.<br />
<br />
The story will revolve around the careers of two midshipmen: Astra Tanaka and Miles Ambrose while on their first shipboard assignment to Peregrine-class Gunboat <i>Swift Fox </i>during the initial lead up to and outbreak of hostilities between the United Empires of Anglica and Nihon (UEAN) and the Imperial Republic of C'Hall (IRC), essentially playing along the same historical roles as the UK and Republican France.<br />
<br />
As the UEAN is settled by colonists from Britain and Japan, there are a number of direct references to the period. The main UEAN naval facility in their home system is known as Spithead, and so forth. The IRC is made up of former colonies of France and Russia, with French being the official language.<br />
<br />
A large number of other nations will also make their appearance, echoing the multiple powers involved in the period.Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-6125832073855322162014-08-29T14:38:00.000-05:002014-08-30T20:56:12.380-05:00Friday Food for Thought #22<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cyberpunk (Near Future)</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A Realistic Look at the Future</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A few days ago I was reading through a couple threads on the Giants in the Playground forums, and started to think about one of the problems that we writers, RPG makers, and gamers in general have found with some of the common 'genres' and settings we play around in. I am of course talking about Cyberpunk.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It occurred to me after reading a thread on a setting someone was working on called Earth 2096, and after commenting a bit on it I decided that the Cyberpunk Genre needs a bit of a refresher and scrub down. A lot of the settings are downright identical to each other with just different names for the megacorps running everything, and essentially they seem actually dated: like they came out of the same era that gave us Blade Runner.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our world doesn't seem to be heading that direction anymore, so we've got to change the 'future' setting to incorporate the changes that have occurred while at the same time trying incorporate the many of the classic tropes of the genre.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">To do this, we've got to ask ourselves a couple questions.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What is a Megacorp?</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The truth is that while megacorporations exist they are neither a new thing or a particularly evil entity. Some may be, others are very staunch in trying to keep themselves in the good light with the public. Google Inc. is probably one of the single most powerful corporations in modern times and yet the vast majority of their products are offered for free to customers. Google Drive, Google Sketchup, Google Search, Blogger, Youtube, and various other development projects. Their profits instead come through the sale of advertisements and acting as a go-between for advertisers and online sites. Their corporate motto is: Don't be evil.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ironic, isn't it?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This does not mean that violent, dark, and dirty megacorporations don't exist. They certainly do, and there are plenty that have conducted rather morally questionable acts, but the tendency for Cyberpunk writers to make every corporation pure unadulterated evil is wrong.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What a megacorporation is designed to do is make money for its owners... be it a select group of private owners or a massive number of shareholders, that is the entire purpose for its existence. Now, the tendencies and policies of these companies varies depending on the social mores, legal guidelines, and morality of the owners. Japanese megacorproations are rather infamous for having really substantial retirement benefits for example, which has become a major burden with Japan's aging population.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, there's a bit of a revolution going on right now when it comes to how our economy functions. Just-in-time manufacturing, real-time distribution tracking, on-demand publishing and manufacturing, and 3D printing are all eroding many of the factors that made megacorporations such a dominate force. Digital distribution has practically killed the recording industry from the 90s while the individual artists are actually making more money then ever.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Retailers are suffering from increasing competition with people buying direct from the distributor or even manufacturer. While this hasn't yet started to hit things like say car-dealerships, it has already decimated many electronic retailers. Best Buy's stock is not what it was ten years ago. Borders has closed leaving only one large book retailer in the American Economy, while Amazon and iBooks surge in market share. The bar for publication has been lowered substantial thanks to Amazon's KDP and Createspace, along with others.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not to mention PDF sales for RPGs...</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Decentralized distribution of digital materials through torrents and so forth is going to dramatically change the landscape for materials that can be bought and sold as digital materials. Copyright law will likely end up be massively overhauled as the effects of the internet hit full force. It will also massively change the nature of the game for those that sell digital media and in the gaming world, with Steam and other similar companies are effectively allowing small-time independent companies the ability to compete with major companies like EA without worrying about competing over shelf space.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The final major change is due to 3D printing and the effects of oil on trade. While current 3D printing is mostly restricted to plastics and paperweights, there are already efforts underway to allow for manufacturing of all sorts of goods through the system. If you can extrude and print silicon, you can print a motherboard. If you can print a motherboard you can print a computer. If you can print a computer, you can print a car (if you've got the materials and an industrial sized printer).</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finished goods are heavy, they cost a lot to move, and while in the current environment the distribution system of the act of shipping them to market is profitable, that will only remain true so long as oil and natural gas do not increase dramatically in price. This time frame is likely rapidly shrinking as current UN estimates predict a doubling of energy demands by 2030, while OPEC estimates indicate that around the same time production will decline as the currently accessed oil reserves are depleted.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The United States may be able to stave off immediate economic problems by shifting over by manufacturing synthetic gasoline from coal (a technology developed by Germany in World War II), but eventually it will become to expensive to move goods and people in the traditional fashion. In response, localized manufacturing through 3D printing will almost certainly rise to dominance, and since anyone with Google Sketchup can design and 'print' a device... well, manufacturers will soon find themselves either shifting into printing companies or out of a 'job' as hordes of independent people will be able to make and sell finished goods and customize them to customer needs and demands.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The future economy is likely to be dominated not by manufacturers and retailers but by ag-business, digital distributors, utilities, 'printing' companies, and material processing companies (mining, refining, and so forth). Generally trade and shipping will be in raw materials and foodstuffs, as finished goods can be more efficiently manufactured by locals.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What effects will the rising cost of oil have?</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It will hurt, and hurt badly. Generally people don't change behavior until they're pained... so expect people to continue on as they are now until around 2030 when the combination of rising demand and declining production make gas prices skyrocket. Gasoline prices tend to be more elastic then other prices, meaning that a slight change in supply or demand results in significant changes for the price at the pump. Demand doubling and production beginning to decline will result in an increase in pump prices by about four times the current level, before inflation.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since currently all international trade is by oil-fueled freighters, this will result in a shocking rise in shipping cost. International trade in finished goods will almost certainly come to a halt (no more Japanese or German cars in America), and the global cost of food will rapidly increase, as it too is expected to double by 2030. This won't effect America as badly since it is a food exporter, but it will dramatically hurt countries that are importers of foodstuffs: Japan, Russia, China, India, and most of Africa. Civil unrest in the regions will skyrocket.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Food prices will not come down unless a switch is made from oil to another energy source for shipping, and as a result expect a large scale decline in the population of countries dependent on food imports. Food prices everywhere will also rise, as the cost of shipping and distribution inside a country will also rise. Expect food to also become more seasonal.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With the increased demand for coal in the United States, I would not expect the '75 year supply' that the coal lobby talks about to last that long, instead it will probably last until around 2050, by which point America will likely be forced to switch to an alternate source of power. My best guess would be a rise in nuclear power (possibly fusion or fission-fusion hybrid reactors) with many people adding to their own self-sufficiency with roof mounted solar panels. Still, I would expect brownouts and power interruptions during the period.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Post 2050, I expect the power situation to begin to even out and oil to largely be replaced by alternate fuels. I'd expect this to come in the form of hydrogen fuel cells as a power source for ground vehicles, nuclear reactors for ships, and perhaps hydrogen-oxygen fuel for jet-aircraft and rocketry. Fusion power, if the containment system can be miniaturized enough, may be viable for direct power of larger vehicles like tanks, APCs, and construction equipment.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally food prices will begin to fall as the switch to alternate energy sources finishes. Foreign production of finished goods however will never recover.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What about robotics?</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently development of robotics has been agonizingly slow, but it's a highly iterative process and continual improvements in computing along with procedural AIs will ultimately bring robotics to the forefront. I expect development to be relatively slow for the next twenty years or so. They'll be a curiosity, and more common in say Japan then other countries. Despite this, probably around 2030 or 2040 I expect they'll reach the 'leg of the curve' which is a saying about technological development.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">At this point technological developments will rapidly increase in speed, and while there have been attempts before to introduce robots to the service sector, this will be where they first gain the intelligence and programming to actually be used in the service sector, and constant improvements and developments will push the price down far enough for them to be a viable replacement for unskilled labor.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In short, by 2050 your average fast food restaurant will have one human worker on staff during each shift and around 10 robots ranging from automated cashiers to roombas. Since the restaurant owner will only have to pay one staff member and food prices will be on their way down once again, prices for food and other needs will begin to decline, however as the number of people needed for the service sector declines, I'd expect to see a massive change in the very way the economy functions.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In short, to be certain of having a job that a robot can not do, you need to have a job that requires independent thinking, creativity, or initiative. Managers will be safe, it's just they'll be watching over robots. Anyone involved in designing, testing, or the arts will be safe, and so forth. A lot of repair and maintenance jobs will also be safe from robotic competition, as often times those robots will be the things getting fixed.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This will push people into what I call the 'creative' sector: artists, musicians, programmers, designers, and so forth. With improvements to mining and manufacturing efficiency and the removal of shipping costs, the cost of living will likely drop. This is probably good, because the rate of traditional employment will also decline... Though self-employment will likely rise.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What about Cybernetics?</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The thing is, they're already here. Neural interfaces and directly connecting nerves to robotics through implants and chips have already been tested. Google Glass may not be a cybernetic item, but it certainly is getting close to projecting a UI on your eye and connecting your brain to the internet.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm going to include virtual reality, gaming, digital economy, and so forth in this subject... because they're closely connected. Traditional wetware cybernetics and full-body prosthetics I think are something that will exist, but will never be as commonplace as we see in say Ghost in the Shell. This is because non-invasive neural interfaces are already being tested.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Instead of implanting a chip, you can wear a wrist band or something like the Google Glass visor. Since these interfaces will be able to feed directly into the nervous system, a fully immersive virtual reality will likely be possible, though it will probably be limited by processing capacity and require procedural coding to reach it's ultimate capabilities. Depending on the rate of computer development, I could see this arriving as soon as the 2030s.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">People already pay real world money for digital and virtual reality properties. This is what I like to call the digital economy. Take that immersive virtual reality and include an ability to design your own stuff for the world (ala spore)... Then someone buys it from you. If the virtual reality has a Real Money Trading system, then you made money off producing a virtual good.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some people have made six-seven digit incomes by doing this in Second Life. Moreover, the more immersive the VR is, the more likely it is that people will spend time and money within it.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A megacorporation is simply a large and powerful corporation. They are a very real thing and while most authors paint them as being evil or malicious, the truth is that many of these extremely powerful corporations are rather innocuous. General Electric is a good example of a megacorproation that you can't really describe as being pure evil. They make engines, turbines, power generators, and so forth... but they don't have a reputation for abuse or exploitation of others like say: Walmart.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What about the Military Industrial Complex?</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps a better question would be: What would war be like in the Future? Current trends indicate increasing levels of automation, and while I doubt we'll ever see a battle-droid army like the Trade Federation uses in Star Wars, drones are definitely here to stay. I suspect that most countries will keep these systems on a pretty tight leash even with artificial intelligence systems. It's likely that drones and even intelligence robots will be programmed to require permission to engage targets, be it an AWACs crew controlling an air battle or a squad sergeant.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of the worst conflicts in the immediate future will probably be in the 2030-2050 time period, as the crunch of major economic upheaval, the price of oil, and food prices will lead to desperate actions by a number of different countries. Even normally peaceful nations may feel a need to defend resource claims with force.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Iceland has historically waged a number of 'wars' with the UK over fishing rights in the last century, I would not be surprised if say Japan felt the need to protect their fishing industry from Chinese and Russian competition.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In America, military technology will likely continue to race forward. Already a number of Cyberpunk style weapons have already been tested and seen limited combat use like Microwave area denial weapons. While those weapons have been outlawed by the UN rather recently, I would not be surprised to see further development of the weapon by other countries both as a crowd control weapon and as a means of inflicting torture.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Laser technology and Railguns are slated for deployment by the United States Navy in the next decade. A company you should probably pay a bit more attention to is General Atomics, the developer of the Railgun system for the United States Navy.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A lot of modern defense contractors are relatively small labs with a specific specialty, so I'd be hesitant to introduce a single monolithic entity for Military Industrial Complex (no matter how fun casting Lockheed Martin as villains may be). However there are some large ones as well, like the aforementioned Lockheed Martin: As an aside, did anyone else see the obvious hints in iconography that Stark Industries is Lockheed Martin in the Iron Man Films?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While going from ship mounted to personal use would be a bit of a huge jump for Railgun and Laser technology, I'd say we can expect to see vehicular mounts for Railguns and Lasers rapidly appear by 2030 or so, with the first prototypes of hand-held devices appearing by 2050.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Railguns will be a popular choice for tanks once the technology has been miniaturized enough to mount them in such a chassis, though they likely won't have as effective HE rounds, though this is probably going to be something most troops don't worry about since canister shells came back into fashion.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another technology that is being developed is particle beam weapons, which have begun undergoing lab tests, and the Air Force has been talking about researching anti-matter.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then there's the mecha-anime dimension... Power Armor and Exoskeletons.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have both created exoskeleton prototypes, and the United States Navy is already making plans to invest in the Lockheed design. They're not alone... as a Japanese company known as Cyberdyne Inc. is working on a commercial exoskeleton for the elderly and infirm (hello full-body prosthetics next, hmm?) Plus Japan has launched some investigation into producing a real Gundam type system.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, those studies said it'd cost $275 million to just make the parts, so I think large scale Mecha will remain mostly in the realm of Science Fiction... The same isn't exactly true for smaller versions or robotic drones. A Full Metal Panic style mecha (the book version, not the anime) with a total height of 8-10 meters will probably end up being the top end of the possible size and weight for such a vehicle, with Ghost in the Shell style designs that blur the line between powered armor and mecha being more viable at 2-3 meters tall, often using large caliber anti-material rifle ammunition for their weapons and so forth.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, pulling all this stuff together we'll probably see the large scale use of powered armor by 2030 by those nations that can afford it, and small mecha around the same time. Before then aerial warfare will be heavily automated through drone fighter aircraft, as IFF systems and AWACS make that theater the easiest to program an AI for.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next will probably be automation of armored warfare, where a tank platoon might be reduced to two men commanding and coordinating three tanks besides their command vehicle. The last thing to be automated will likely be the infantry, but ultimately I could see combat robots being developed for infantry use, in which case a squad's human component might be reduced to a squad leader and an assistant leading perhaps as many as 8 robots into combat. This could greatly increase the effective size of a nation's standing army while decreasing the number of people it places at risk.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What about Global Warming's effects?</span></b><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh boy... Global Warming's effects and repercussions are a vast topic and one that Cyberpunk tends to fail horribly to understand or accurately describe. Ironically, one of the most common screw ups is a tendency to suggest a growth of desert environments.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Global Warming does not mean desertification! In fact current projections about Global Warming indicate that the global average amount of rainfall is increasing. The problem is where this rain is falling isn't helping much. Flooding and droughts are both on the rise, as the warming world has caused increases in extreme weather.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and other storms will become stronger and more prevalent, an effect we've already begun to feel as Tornadoes have begun to appear in parts of the world that have never experienced them before in living memory. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Over the next 100 years there are estimates of a sea level rise of around 30 to 80 centimeters. This will have a much more severe effect in low-land environments, where even a rise of around 30 centimeters would flood large sections of the local area.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, actual land usable for food production may in fact increase overall, as less temperate zones begin to experience longer growing seasons thanks to increasing temperatures. In the United States, the southern states will experience a more and more tropical environment, while the northern most states will experience more temperate conditions. Overall, I'd expect food production in the United States to shift toward the north and even see large expansions in Canadian food production as well.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There will be areas of decline as well, I expect the state I live in (Nebraska) to have to switch from corn production to wheat as the Ogalla Aquifer is exhausted, since corn is a rather irrigation intensive crop.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Actual ecological effects will probably follow a similar pattern, with temperate species expanding northward while cold-adapted species retreat into the arctic. In addition I would not be surprised to find more tropical species moving further north as well. Jaguars were all but exterminated from New Mexico and Arizona, they're likely to make a come back.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've heard anecdotal reports that other changes have been observed in wild animal behavior in recent years, especially in the Mountain Lions of Colorado. One person I know from the state said that he's heard talk of the normally solitary creatures forming prides like African Lions in some parts of the state. Behavioral shifts like this could well be indicative of pressures from global warming and suggest other behavior changes are in the works.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What effects will terrorism have in the future?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Terrorism is something that any future campaign setting will have to tackle. The thing is that terrorism tends to be a highly adaptive plague on our planet, if security is tightened making one form of attack more difficult to achieve (like hijacking aircraft) then other possible forms of attack tend to become more viable.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Generally terrorist organizations and attacks take one of three main forms. The first is Domestic Terrorism.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Domestic Terrorism can be just as deadly as even the deadliest of attacks by International Terrorism. Thus far, it has been domestic terrorists that are responsible for the only well documented examples of attacks using chemical weapons, when on March 20, 1995 terrorists released Sarin in a crowded Tokyo Subway, causing 13 deaths and sickening over six thousand.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The organization that launched the attack was also attempting to procure biological agents including Ebola and Smallpox.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In America, the deadliest domestic terrorist attack was the Oklahoma City Bombing when two men parked a van full of fertilizer and fuel-oil outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and detonated it. 168 people were killed and nearly seven hundred were injured.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The second major form of terrorism is state sponsored terrorism. In most cases this consists of a country directly funding a group to further its aims. The primary victim of most state sponsored terrorism is Israel, who has been attacked by Hamas (sponsored by Iran), Hezbollah (sponsored by Syria and Lebanon), and the PLO (sponsored by various nations) for decades.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Generally state sponsored terrorism is much more like a typical insurgency then a normal terrorist group. Their attacks generally are of smaller scale then other forms of terrorism, but much more common and almost everyday. Recently, Hamas has used barrages of artillery rockets on Israel, sometimes firing hundreds of them a day to little affect.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The third major for of terrorism is international terrorism. In modern times the idea of international terrorism is embodied by Al-Qaeda, the now all but defunct group behind the September 11th attacks. International terrorism generally is the only group with the resources capable of launching large scale coordinated attacks, however most international terrorist groups act more like an umbrella for other organizations, providing training and logistical support to these smaller terrorist groups.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Al-Qaeda spawned dozens of 'daughter' organizations, some of which have risen to prominence in Yemen and Syria. The most successful of these successor organizations is ISIS, who has taken control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria to form an Islamic state.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Generally international terrorist organizations are held together through ideology or religion.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the near term, I would expect terrorism overall to rise and fall inversely to the health of the global economy. When times are good, people are less likely to reach for a gun then when times are bad. Israel will no doubt continue to be an epicenter for terrorism of all sorts, but recently other nations have started to get in on the act.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Russia has demonstrated a willingness to sponsor terrorist and insurgent organizations when it suits their interests, so I would expect in the near term to see state-sponsored terrorism continue throughout Eurasia, as Russia tries to use it to leverage the situation in their favor. I would not be surprised to see border conflicts akin to what is currently going on within Ukraine throughout the region.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The situation is going to dramatically change as oil prices and dwindling supplies in the middle east affect the budgets for those organizations based there. Profits for middle east oil companies will likely increase up until 2030 when the costs finally become prohibitive, though it is possible certain countries may begin to run out of oil before then.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This glut of cash will enable terrorists to better arm and equip themselves, and may ultimately allow them to procure chemical and biological agents. An uncontrolled release of smallpox would have catastrophic consequences and possibly create a global pandemic. Considering the growing tendency for people to refuse to vaccinate their children, the vulnerability of the population to some diseases is increasing.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, increasing travel costs will ultimately cut down on international terrorism around 2030 except through cyberwarfare. The suffering and economic upheaval of the period will make terrorism far more common unfortunately, though it is more likely to be more local then nationally sponsored or international in nature.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Putting it all together... A Likely World War around 2030.</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By 2030 our planet will be on the verge of a revolution in technology as the age of oil begins to come to an end. Food demand will have doubled, energy demand will have doubled, and oil production will be on the decline. Nations dependent on food imports will be hard hit as rising cost of shipping and food itself combine to lead to price hikes by as much as 8 times current costs or more before inflation.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Russian expansionism and aggression will have continued. Buoyed up by high oil prices, their economy will likely slam to a virtual halt as the countries dependence on food imports strike home as the very oil prices that buoyed up the economy drive food prices upward. Faced with these problems while still in possession of sizable fuel reserves, Russia turns to its traditional 'breadbaskets' of Ukraine and Poland and either bullies them into better trade deals or more likely invades, possibly using Belarus as a proxy.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Attacking Poland pulls NATO into a war with Russia, which while no super-power is still a powerful military power. In addition, aggressive incidents between Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and American fishing trawlers in the Northern Pacific push Japan to deploy its Self Defense Forces to protect it's fishing industry and primary food supply. This combined with American use of Japanese bases to attack Russia pushes the Russian Federation into declaring war with Japan.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With Russia and America openly engaging each other, North Korea seizes its chance and invades South Korea. While Seoul is all but destroyed, the North Korean army's advance quickly is reversed by the South Korean military. Within months a combined NATO, Japan, and South Korean force rolls North Korea back to the Chinese border.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">China, facing it's own food crisis decides to join Russia and North Korea, and begins to put pressure on the rest of the BRICS nations to join in against NATO. (BRICS is Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">India's navy seizes a number of UN food shipments bound for Pakistan and redirects them home as India too is having food problems. Unable to fight another enemy at the same time, NATO and its allies ignore the raids.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Japan takes the Kuril Islands from Russia while America launches an attack north from Korea into Siberia, ultimately to take the Russian oil fields and strategic fuel reserves. Combined NATO and Ukrainian forces stop Russia along the Dnipr in Ukraine while forces in Poland push forward through Belarus. Soon the combined forces of NATO and Ukraine go onto the offensive and push into Russia, aiming to take Moscow.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">At this point Moscow will either go nuclear or decide to try and negotiate an end to hostilities. If America has succeeded in taking Siberia's oil fields out of Russian hands, the Russians will likely be in no position to negotiate and China will be looking for a way out as they begin to feel a major oil crunch in addition to a food crisis. With nuclear weapons a possible escalation, ultimately all sides will bow to a negotiated cease fire.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Even after the war ends, many of the causes will linger as the UN food aid system will almost certainly break down. I'd expect popular revolutions in countries that are having the worst time of it, especially if they have an autocratic leadership: Russia will likely have yet another revolution on its hands.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's a bad time globally in the time between 2030 to 2050 as most of the old institutions of trade and commerce break down.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After 2050, things would begin to stabilize under the new circumstances.</span></div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-55924557297968189922014-08-08T14:28:00.000-05:002014-08-08T14:28:42.136-05:00Friday Food For Thought #21<b>Why You Should be Worried about Ebola</b><br />
<br />
Today, August 8th, 2014 the World Health Organization declared that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is now a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern'. This represents only the third time that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a public health emergency, with previous declarations coming from the reemergence of polio and the H1N1 virus or 'Swine Flu' pandemic.<br />
<br />
None of these viral outbreaks comes close to the level of mortality of Ebola. From current reports, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is of a virus with around a 55% mortality rate, which while low for Ebola (It has occasionally had mortality rates as high a 90%) is still several times worse then any pandemic virus in recent memory. The Spanish Flu, which is often considered something of a measuring stick for modern pandemics had a mortality rate of around only 10-20% of cases. This is even higher then the Black Death which had a mortality rate of 30-40% of cases.<br />
<br />
While there are a number of limiting factors for the spread of Ebola, foremost among them being that it isn't an airborne virus, the continual infection of emergency workers (around 10% of reported cases and deaths) show that despite it being only transmittable through bodily fluids and blood, it is spreading even to those who take the greatest precautions relatively easily. This is because, Ebola is very infectious, requiring only a tiny amount of exposure to be transmitted. It also has a history of being transmittable through aerosol. Considering the speed of the outbreak's spread and the continual cases of aid workers, I'm pretty sure this strain is capable of spreading via aerosol. A cough, a sneeze, and spit therefore become transmission vectors.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/xqV.6bsEs.tHvhiAvohIPQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTUxMTtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz03Njg-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/d4a41cb25a73cc2ca5ff360763edcffb3e62d381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/xqV.6bsEs.tHvhiAvohIPQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTUxMTtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz03Njg-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/d4a41cb25a73cc2ca5ff360763edcffb3e62d381.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
With 140 to 150 cases of Health Care workers being infected even with full-body protection (like what's shown above), one has to wonder if it's even possible to really protect doctors and nurses from the disease.<br />
<br />
Currently the Ebola outbreak has spread to just four countries (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Nigeria) though the United States and Spain both have taken citizens with the virus back home for treatment. However, the situation is set to rapidly worsen as Liberia's Health Care system has officially collapsed and doctors are fleeing the country to escape the virus. As a result, Liberia's population of 4.1 million people are basically completely unprotected from the virus.<br />
<br />
Recent news also lists suspected cases now in Benin and Uganda, increasing the number of countries affected by the disease to six. The total population of these countries is over 240+ million people, with the largest population at risk being that of Niger with around 175 million. One of these suspected cases traveled through South Sudan, so that's another country that may be at risk as well.<br />
<br />
Scares have happened all across the globe as fears of the virus have led to incidents at airports and on borders.<br />
<br />
The decision to bring home American and Spanish citizens who had been infected, worries me. If the disease is as easily transmittable to health care workers as it seems to be, there is a risk that those who are working at the hospitals where these people are being treated will be infected.<br />
<br />
Ebola has a three-week incubation period before symptoms begin to appear. This means that say... someone in Liberia that has been infected decides to flee the country, it will be three weeks before their first symptoms appear. From the diseases onset to even after death (Ebola is actually at its most infectious from contact with dead bodies) he will be capable of spreading the disease. The lower then normal mortality rate of the current strain is actually making the disease spread faster, as people are living long enough to spread it to many others.<br />
<br />
How far can a man go in three-weeks from exposure to onset? Well... Practically anywhere. Some direct flights between infected countries have been closed, but this will not insure the containment of the disease as a person could jump the border, get onto a plane in an unaffected country and fly anywhere in the world. One of the most recent cases flew through South Sudan, and there have been scares involving flights from the Middle East. Moreover, the WHO is estimating that only 25-50% of cases are being reported, making the likely total number of cases between 4-8 thousand at this point.<br />
<br />
So far, we've actually been lucky it hasn't spread beyond West Africa, but our luck can't hold out forever and as the Liberia Health System implodes and people begin to flee the disease areas, I suspect it will get worse and fast. Thus far, Ebola has never spread beyond West Africa but if this is something that will hold true in this case?<br />
<br />
I'd really hate to gamble on it.Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-67188261827829262492014-05-23T13:03:00.000-05:002014-05-23T13:03:07.472-05:00Friday Food For Thought #20<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://schmoesknow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/uploads_ced88534-6547-4fa6-9d1f-ffe8242a99bc-IStVf8M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://schmoesknow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/uploads_ced88534-6547-4fa6-9d1f-ffe8242a99bc-IStVf8M.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Why Batman vs. Superman Must Fail<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">If we
are to have any hope of reversing the New 52<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Television
and film reach a far broader audience then comics. That is just a simple fact of the business,
and for any sensible franchise it’s a good idea to make the comic book,
television, and film versions similar enough for the broader franchise can draw
people to the comics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">They’re
calling it “Batman vs. Superman” but it isn’t… It really is the second title: “Dawn
of Justice”. If you look at the overall
makeup of the cast that’s been announced you rapidly realize this isn’t a
verses movie, at least not in the traditional sense. This is a movie aimed at launching the New 52
version of the JLA into the mainstream.
Just look at the announced cast…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ben
Affleck as Batman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Henry
Cavil as Superman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Gal
Gadot as Wonder Woman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Jesse
Eisenberg as Lex Luthor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Amy
Adams as Lois Lane<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Diane
Lane as Martha Kent <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Jeremy
Irons as Alfred Pennyworth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Laurence
Fishburn as Perry White<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ray
Fischer as Cyborg<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Okay, to
round out the New 52 JLA we only need Green Lantern, Flash, and Aquaman, think
about it… 4/7th of the New 52 JLA is cast for the movie, and it’s obviously New
52 otherwise they wouldn’t have had Cyborg, would they?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Why do I
want this to fail? Well because the New
52 SUCKS! Even DC Comics must realize
that any gains they managed to get off of their reboot/re-launch have crumbled
under Marvel’s response. In April of
this year, Marvel re-launched Ultimate and Superior Spiderman and blew the top
off the sales charts with reported sales reaching at least 500k units, with
some reports putting the figure over 700k, and DC called their 200k unit sales
on Justice League of America #1 record breaking in 2011... Don't make me laugh DC. They had over 40% of the market share in
April, and while Spiderman #1 was certainly part of the reason the market share
ballooned, DC Comic sales during the period are also artificially inflated due
to the Batman: Eternal weekly comic that’s going on right now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">There is
no doubt that the New 52 has serious problems.
It’s full of absolutely terrible editorial and marketing decisions: Cyborg on the Justice League for example,
Starfire on Red Hood and the Outlaws, and Raven and Beast Boy having to rewrite
their whole history as part of a different group of Teen Titans. The history of some characters has been wiped
clean, for others it’s been kept, and some characters have been assassinated by
the changes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I want
Warner Brothers and its parent company to start losing money on DC Comics so
that it can be cast loose and bought up by someone that actually gives a damn. I want to see the DC Comics editorial staff
on the chopping block, either under new management by a band made up of older
fans or by Warner Brothers, the house cleaned, the shit they’ve done should be
thrown under the bus, and some real good editors and writers lined up to fix
this mess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Right
now every single DC Comic story is now too dark, grim, and gritty to suit any
of the original superheroes besides fucking Batman. Like a lot of people in the ‘biz’ the people
at DC Comics seem to think that darker and edgier is the way to go, and have
forgotten that ‘Darker and Edgier’ is where series and franchises go to
die. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">DC
Comics needs to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask if they’re going to
grow as a brand by broadening the fan-base or become a niche only known for Batman
and Superman. It’s not that they don’t have
recognizable characters to sell besides Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman… but
that they have destroyed the most recognizable characters that had appeal
besides those three: The Teen Titans. As
Janelle Asselin put mentioned in an article at comic book resources…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">You know who loves Teen Titans?
People who enjoyed the early 2000s "Teen Titans" animated show, many
of whom are female and many of whom are teenagers or young 20-somethings today.
Market research could and does back this up. Graphic Policy's Brett Schenker
pulled together the Facebook stats for me for fans of the original "Teen
Titans" animated series. Currently in the United States, there are 500,000
self-professed fans of the show on Facebook. 260,000 of those are women. Yes,
that's right – more than half. The majority of male and female fans are ages
15-23 with the bulk being 17. This is just a quick review of the potential
market for these comics. Say a quarter of those fans actually tried a Teen
Titans comic aimed at their demographic -- you're going to have a significantly
higher number than the 26,000 copies "Teen Titans" is estimated to
have sold in March. One-tenth of those animated "Teen Titans" fans
buying a comic would result in a drastic increase in sales. Even if just the
17-year-old fans of the show bought the comic, you've got double the sales
numbers. I could keep going, but you get the point.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Janelle Asselin, Anatomy of a Bad Cover: DC's New "Teen Titans" #1</i></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?id=52103&page=article">http://www.comicbookresources.com/?id=52103&page=article</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">There
has been no group that’s been screwed over by the DC Comics editorial decisions
quite as badly as the flagship team from the Teen Titans series. Let’s just list what the New 52 has done with
these characters…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Dick Grayson a.k.a. ‘Robin or
Nightwing’ –</span></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A lone wolf throughout the New 52,
unmasked in a recent event and faked his death.
Is launching a new comic called Grayson where he’s taking the role of a super-spy.
Oddly I think this actually might work well as a limited run thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.comicbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/grayson-no-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.comicbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/grayson-no-1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Rachel Roth a.k.a. ‘Raven’ –</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Relaunched as a dutiful daughter
of Trigon (No kidding, I guess that means she’s technically evil this time) and
is currently part of the Teen Titans lineup.
She got the worst costume redesign known to man. I mean just look at it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.tumblr.com/4ff21489f37e5507425229b6d3329e9a/tumblr_inline_mkzpvryQMK1qz4rgp.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.tumblr.com/4ff21489f37e5507425229b6d3329e9a/tumblr_inline_mkzpvryQMK1qz4rgp.png" height="320" width="218" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Garfield Logan a.k.a. ‘Beast Boy’
– </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Relaunched as
a part of a team called the Ravagers but is now currently part of the Teen
Titans lineup alongside Raven. He
started out red for some reason.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/36/BeastboyRavagers04cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/36/BeastboyRavagers04cover.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Victor Stone a.k.a. ‘Cyborg’ – </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Relaunched as a founding member
of the Justice League of America, though I’m not sure if this is a promotion or
not considering he seems to be filling the role of the ‘token black dude’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCauAzkaBW4xdVCmN5nPqkNgMcy0OUOwH5IPNL48EjMdUb5gj09gWaSxRALMi2gFeMm9RuB9bNS_XkUK-ZB64a1Jih9zZ-YqlUR8R-5KnfPco5SjPP8-5w7ScyHMFSXZJbYcJjl4nzvPk4/s1600/jl18_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCauAzkaBW4xdVCmN5nPqkNgMcy0OUOwH5IPNL48EjMdUb5gj09gWaSxRALMi2gFeMm9RuB9bNS_XkUK-ZB64a1Jih9zZ-YqlUR8R-5KnfPco5SjPP8-5w7ScyHMFSXZJbYcJjl4nzvPk4/s1600/jl18_2.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Koriand’r of Tamaran a.k.a. ‘Starfire’
–</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> She suffered the worst handling
of any of the characters when she was relaunched as part of Red Hood and the
Outlaws where she was an emotionless bimbo.
Massive firestorms on the internet ensued, but she’s still on the team
three years later with only minor fixes. At least she’s not
quite as emotionless now, but DC screwed her over really badly. There are massive hints that not only did she have a relationship with Grayson, but that it ended badly and she's still hung up about it... but how the hell all that happened in a timeline without the Teen Titans as we now them? No idea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120306205733/batman/images/4/42/Starfire_-_New_52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120306205733/batman/images/4/42/Starfire_-_New_52.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ugh… and
now they want their DC Cinematic Universe to use the New 52 as a template? God help us, if Darkseid shows up and it
turns out this is Justice League: War or something… This is going to suck for
fans, though as I said I hope it fails just so that DC could realize they’d
fucked up again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Now, don’t
get me wrong… I don’t hate DC Comics. As
I told a DC fan, my views is this… Marvel has better writers and editors; DC
has better characters and history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The New
52 was a gargantuan misstep because it threw those two things away. If superheroes have only existed for five
years in the universe (New 52’s official policy on the timeline) then there is
no legacy, no history. What’s worse is
the decision to try and keep some history with the Batman titles (and only the
Batman titles) has essentially broken the universes backstory and caused the
need for more retcons then God. If you
must reboot, you have to fully reboot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">DC needs
to learn you cannot sell your comics based on the legacy of their heroes when
you wiped that history from existence.
That was the basic idea behind the new 52.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ironically,
as news begins to filter out it seems my hope of this being a complete failure
for Warner Brothers and DC Comics are beginning to come to fruition. Just take a second look at the cast they’ve
assembled. We’ve got people that are
obviously in the wrong damn role for them, I mean Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne
and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, what are they smoking?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
kicker… They rolled back the release date a year, and by chance put it opposite
Captain America 3 in 2016. If those two
remain on the same release date, Marvel will kill DC. Admittedly they’ll probably hurt each other,
but Marvel can afford to lose some money since they have three movies out each
year. DC is lucky to have a movie out
once every three years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-90710880892765615502014-04-22T14:39:00.000-05:002014-04-22T14:39:43.003-05:00Gearing up for Valkyrie: Into the Heavens book trailers.Well, I've been busy... and among the things I've been working on was 3d models of the ships from VALKYRIE: Into the Heavens. I posted a couple test renders of Daniel Logan's starship earlier, but I've just finished Michiko's...<br />
<br />
Here it is, the NIS-X Shinshin. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGxe_3GyxSdxfXHWfIGC3nsH2m4rqqEga4VdCPztXMvgTiZQHmHWEems7Ck3Lsmq0CChJPFSdbjVen8qtOONrMaU2W17ru79jGbrHJ_F35pnBQGeOlv94hfwo6BVAE7DLBopD5fEC0dmb/s1600/Sketchup+-+NIS-X+Shinshin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGxe_3GyxSdxfXHWfIGC3nsH2m4rqqEga4VdCPztXMvgTiZQHmHWEems7Ck3Lsmq0CChJPFSdbjVen8qtOONrMaU2W17ru79jGbrHJ_F35pnBQGeOlv94hfwo6BVAE7DLBopD5fEC0dmb/s1600/Sketchup+-+NIS-X+Shinshin.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-31663048844114527422014-03-14T15:07:00.000-05:002014-03-14T15:07:25.084-05:00Friday Food For Thought #19<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Cold War v2.0<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Episode
#19<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">For the
last couple weeks one of the things that have been taking up a great deal of my
attention has been the growing crisis in the Ukraine. One of the things that have struck me is that
most people simply don't get what's happening.
They don't understand it, so after going through masses of news articles
and posts from bloggers actually in the Ukraine and Russian Federation. So, think of this post as a compilation of
everything that's happened and an attempt to explain the actions of those
involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">So,
let’s get started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">How it Began – the Maidan
Protests<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
protests that ultimately toppled the government of the Ukraine began on
November 21<sup>st</sup> 2013. It began
as a response to then President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to reject a trade
deal with the European Union in favor of a 15 billion dollar loan from
Russia. The protests were fueled in
large part by economic stagnation, obvious government corruption, and
perceptions that Ukrainian integration into the European Union would make their
situation better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The size
of the protests rapidly increased to over a hundred thousand people in Maidan
Square in Kiev. Then on November 30th,
Yanukovych unleashed riot police on the crowd.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Early in
December, Kiev was rocked by a series of riots in response to the attack on the
protests of November 30th. A number of
the opposition parties throughout Ukraine began to build Headquarters of
National Resistance throughout the countryside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">On
January 16th, the Parliament of Ukraine passed a series of Anti-Protest Laws in
Ukraine designed to force the protesters to disperse and giving more authority
to President Yanukovych to suppress the protesters. Throughout this time, the official line of
the Party of Regions (which was led by Yanukovych) was that the protesters were
made up of foreign agents, fascists, and anti-semites. A line which has since been repeated by the
Russian media and Pro-Russian television stations in the Ukraine (especially the
Crimea).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">These
actions caused the protests to further radicalize as both the riot police and
protestors began to use more and more force in clashes. Thousands of Ukrainian protestors held Maidan
Square and began to fortify the location, constructing massive barricades
assembling home-made riot shields, and molotov cocktails. They tore cobblestones up from the streets
and hurled them at the riot police as they continued to fight to control the
square.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
police used water cannons, molotov cocktails of their own, tear gas, flash
bangs (often wrapped with nails and other improvised materials to turn them
into grenades), and there are reports that even at this stage there was
unauthorized use of shotguns. In
addition to the normal police forces, the Ukrainian government deployed the
Berkut (Golden Eagles) which in many ways were the evolution of the KGB inside
the Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As the
conflict drug on, the protestors demands increased as they were radicalized by
the oppression of the government, moving from demands that Yanukovych accept
the EU trade deal to demands for government reform, the removal of the
anti-protest laws, and President Yanukovych's removal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Throughout
this stage of the Crisis, Yanukovych was in communication with the Russian
President, Vladimir Putin. Yanukovych's
response to the protests continued to escalate.
Pro-Russian and Pro-Yanukovych forces began to take more and more
extreme actions. They raided Red Cross
aid centers and hid a bomb in a package labeled as medicine, destined for the
activists. Finally, on February 18th,
the protests exploded into violent revolution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Ukrainian Revolution of 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">On
February 18th, Yanukovych began a dramatic escalation and crackdown in an
attempt to end the protests. Public
transportation in Kiev was frozen and a de facto imposition of a state of
emergency put in place. Berkut troops
and riot police were deployed in mass, and an attempt to break through the
barricades using a couple BTR armored personnel carriers on Febuary 19th
failed. In addition around 30 protestors
and police died in the clashes as the first reports of widespread use of
firearms began to crop up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Then on
February 20th the Berkut Police opened fire on the protestors, over seventy
people died as a result. This use of
force caused what remained of Yanukovych's credibility to evaporate. It was clear to many that Yanukovych was
exercising power like a dictator. Across
the globe people were appalled by the events in the square. The next day, Yanukovych was forced to sign a
deal to bring about early elections and rolled back the anti-protest laws.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Yanukovych
fled to Moscow soon afterward, the Berkut police that had been fighting the
protestors fled as well, with many of them running to the Crimea. The Ukrainian Parliament declared the post of
president vacant (since he'd fled to Moscow) and selected Oleksandr Turchynov
to the post of acting president.
Yanukovych has claimed that he's still the president of the Ukraine and
the actions of the parliament were illegal (technically they were, but since
when has that stopped a popular revolution).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Seems
pretty straightforward, a popular protest turned into a revolution. Brace yourself, things are about to take a
turn toward the surreal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Russian Response<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AKA… how
to invade a country without invading a country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
Russian Federation gave safe haven to Viktor Yanukovych and refused to
recognize the new leadership of Ukraine as legitimate. Thanks in part due to Russia portraying the
Euromaidan protesters as fascists and Nazis (as an aside, Russians seems to use
the word fascist in politics in much the same way Americans use the word
communists) organized by Western subversives, many of the ethnic Russians
living in the Crimea and Eastern Ukraine feared that they would be targeted for
their ethnicity. While no such
discrimination or attacks have taken place, fear of such attacks remains alive
thanks to continued misinformation from Russia and the Ukrainian parliament
attempting to remove Russian as one of Ukraine's two official languages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Russian
diplomats refuse event to speak with their Ukrainian fellows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In
addition the Ukrainian authorities ordered the disbanding of the Berkut special
police, many of whom have fled to the Crimea where the new Pro-Russian mayor of
Sevastapol has reformed the Berkut. It's
likely many of those former members have also joined the various 'Russian
Self-Defense' groups that have propped up throughout the Crimea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Using
this as motivation, the Russian Federation began flying in troops to Sevastapol
in the Crimea. The port is home to the
Russian Black Sea Fleet and Russia has leased the port since the dissolution of
the Soviet Union. On February 27th,
armed men (equipped as Russian Special Forces) stormed the Crimean
Parliament. Since then a number of votes
have been supposedly passed by the parliament, including one making the leader
of the Crimea a man whose party received less than 4% of the votes in the last
Crimean Parliamentary election. Multiple
members of the Crimean Parliament have reported being threatened, or not voting
for the various measures that have been put in place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Armed
men wearing masks and uniforms without insignia have surrounded a number of
Ukrainian military bases around the Crimea.
Their professional uniforms, equipment, and bearing are consistent with
soldiers of the Russian Federation. In
addition to ground troop movements the Russian Black Sea Fleet has launched a
number of ships, and scuttled three decommissioned ships to blockade Ukrainian
ships in their harbors. One of the ships
scuttled was the Ochakov, a Kara-class Missile Crusier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Russian Provocations and Ukrainian
Restraint</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Since
February 27th, the Russian Forces on the Crimea have continually harassed
Ukrainian units in their bases. For
example: Belbek Airbase, a Ukrainian airfield near Sevastapol has been occupied
by Russian soldiers. In a show of extreme
restraint on the part of the Ukrainians, the base staff marched on Russian
positions unarmed while the Russians fired warning shots into the air and
managed to negotiate back access to the base.
At another base the Russians smashed through the gate with a truck and
hurled flash-bangs, but the Ukrainians refused to open fire. Elsewhere Russian or Pro-Russian forces have
opened fire on border patrol aircraft, fired warning shots at international
advisors, and beaten Pro-Ukrainian protesters in Eastern Ukraine and the
Crimea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It
wasn't until today, March 14th, that these provocations seemed to incite the
Ukrainians to some resistance, when a dueling set of protests in Donetsk
clashed, resulting in the death of one Pro-Russian protester. Overall it has been the Pro-Russian
protesters that have been more violent throughout Eastern Ukraine, as footage
of one Pro-Ukrainian rally in the Crimea revealed an angry crowd beating those
that showed their support to Kiev.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Crimean Referendum</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">On March
16th, the Crimea is supposed to have a referendum on requesting annexation by
the Russian Federation. While in normal
circumstances I would see this referendum going down in defeat, a look at the
ballot and how the voting is going to work makes it clear that no-matter what
the results of the vote will be a request for Russian Annexation. Why? There is no way to vote no on the
ballot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
ballot has two questions and two check boxes.
The first question asks if you wished to vote for Crimea being annexed
by the Russian Federation, if yes you check the box. The second question asks if you wish for the
Crimea parliament to revert to an earlier constitution which would give them
the authority to ask for annexation without a referendum, which they asked for
already... hence the referendum. A
ballot that leaves both boxes empty will not be counted, nor will a ballot that
has both boxes checked. In short, the
Crimean population is not going to be able to say no.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Considering
only 58% of the Crimean population is ethnically Russian, and there is no
guarantee the ethnically Russian would vote to be part of Russia, any legitimate
referendum could easily fail. The
Crimean populace, historically, would much rather be independent of both Kiev
and Moscow, unfortunately they've not been given that choice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">What Does Russia Want?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This is
the million dollar question of the Crisis.
What does Moscow want? If they're
hoping to re-install Yanukovych, I think their chances of success are about
zero. Even in the Pro-Russian provinces
he's despised. If they're trying to
force Ukraine to bend to their will, I think they'd too be disappointed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">No,
there is more going on here, I think.
For one thing, Putin is terrified of seeing a democratic revolution in
Moscow. Many of the very same problems
that plague Ukraine have plagued Russia.
A protest or popular uprising is something that Putin has moved to
swiftly crush before with mass arrests and force. I think Russia sees a European aligned
Ukraine as a threat, much as how China views a united western Korea as a
threat. They want a buffer and client state
between them and NATO.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">That is
one end result, I don't think we'll get.
However, the crisis and actions Russia is taking in the Crimean make me
think that Russia is trying to secure what they see as the most important part
of Ukraine for themselves... Sevastapol.
In addition, the actions that Russia is taking against the Ukrainian
troops and ships seem to me to be designed to try and convince them to defect
to the Pro-Russian government now installed in Crimea. There have been rumors of demands that
Ukrainian ships surrender, and I wonder if another goal for the Russians is to
take back the portion of the Black Sea Fleet seceded to Ukraine during the
1990s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-78171961009743313962014-02-14T16:08:00.000-06:002014-02-14T16:24:03.437-06:00Friday Food for Thought #18<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Timid Bigots<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It's official, I'm pissed.
In 2010, I decided that my hometown was one of the most backward and
idiot places on this Earth. Just a few
days ago, they confirmed it once again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You see, my hometown is Fremont, Nebraska. You may have heard mention of it in the news
this week. What I'm about to say is the
truth, at least so far as I see it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fremont, Nebraska is a cesspool. 59.7% of the voting public in the town are
either bigots or fools, and I'm becoming more and more certain that it is the
former rather than the latter. They’re
probably both.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Town<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I live within a stone's throw of the Metropolitan Building
(the building where the city council actually meets). The area is officially considered a 'blighted
area', a term used to get federal assistance for local improvements. What is telling is that while I wouldn't call
the neighborhood really 'good' it wasn't what I'd call 'blighted' or 'bad' at
least not until recent years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Economically, Fremont is in a rut and has been for a long
time. While unemployment here has been
stable at around 4%, a look at the town shows that this is a bit of a
misleading statement. The largest
employer in town is Hormel, a meat packing plant that sits south of town, but
besides the meatpacking field almost all the local jobs are various service
sector jobs - especially in fast food.
The downtown has become partially dependent on federal grants for
improvements (though the only improvement I've seen has been special handicap
useable sidewalk ramps). This isn't to
say the local government is without money.
They seem to have no problem having one of the largest police forces
I've ever heard of for a town of 26,000.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have a waterpark, a mall, a YMCA that's truly enormous, a
college, and so forth. Overall that
seems pretty good, at least from a quick cursory glance. The truth is that if you scratch beneath that
surface the town is pretty rotten. The
one part of that list I just gave that I can't really complain about is the
local YMCA.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fremont has long been controlled by a select group of older
and wealthier families, people that have over years and in some cases
generations accumulated wealth from all sorts of local businesses. I wouldn't call them fat cats or 'big
players' as they're basically nothing in the overall scheme of things outside
of the town itself. Among the many
objectives this group has had was real-estate development, especially to the
east of town. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not an unusual thing for smaller towns to have people
like this. My father liked to refer to
them as the ‘Real-Estate’ Mafia.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I was in middle school I've seen a number of different
ploys to get the city government to pay for basic infrastructure to make
real-estate development easier. Among
these ploys was the construction of a new Middle School over a mile outside of
town, followed by the construction of the water-park.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fremont Splash Station has a long history, if people here
cared to remember it. I can't remember
who had the original idea, but certain members of the community here decided
they wanted a water park in town. After
a couple years of campaigning for it, a bond issue was brought up for vote and
promptly shot down.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then things got a little crooked... You see, at the time
Fremont had two pools. One of them,
Memorial, was a massive pool equipped with slides and a capacity that dwarfed
the second pool... Ronin. Soon after the
bond issue for the water park failed, something odd happened... Memorial pool
was shut down and the land it was on sold to the YMCA, which began to build a
large indoor skating rink on the location.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then Ronin, the only remaining pool in town was suddenly
massively overcrowded during the summer.
If that wasn't enough a study showed that Ronin was beginning to show its
age, despite being significantly newer then Memorial. Suffice to say, ultimately... Fremont Splash
Station was built across the street from the new Middle School.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It's never really been that popular or even profitable as
far as I know. I think I’ve been there
less than ten times since it opened.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the new Middle School was opened one of my sisters
ended up among its first class. I
remember her telling a story about how when the first snow fell, hundreds of
field mice flooded the school, taking cover from the cold out in the corn
fields that surrounded the school inside the building. Among other problems there were massive
traffic snarls getting to and from school, often times taking over an hour to
get in and out at the start of the day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'll have more on the insanity of Fremont Nebraska Schools
later... They deserve their own section.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I mentioned a mall, what I didn’t mention was any stores in
it. This is because the Fremont Area
Mall is practically empty most of the time.
The most common reasons for anyone to visit the mall are to go to the
movie theater inside or to the Chinese restaurant inside, Imperial Palace.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s even a store front in the mall that lies empty, and
has for years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I should note this restaurant is owned and operated by
immigrants. I mention this because if
you list all the start up small businesses in Fremont, most of them are either
created by immigrants or created to serve immigrants. Almost all the other job growth in town seems
to be provided by corporations and franchises.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This does not look like a quiet community or a nice suburb
to Omaha. It looks like a town slowly
transitioning from a ‘bedroom’ community of retirees into a slum of sorts. Keeping immigrants out will only accelerate
this decline, as they are one of the driving factors for business creation in
the town.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The College</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a Bachelors degree in English from Midland Lutheran
University, the college in town. My
father worked for twenty-five years as a professor of business and economics
from the school before being forced to retire.
I know the faculty, or at least I did…
The school I went too and graduated from in 2008 no longer exists. Oh there may be a few faculty members left
and some staff, but the school I went to no longer exists. It’s now Midland University, a transition
that was made under the current Nebraska senate candidate Ben Sasse.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My father has the early stages of Parkinson’s, a condition
that was only detected last year. The
year before that, Ben Sasse pressured him to retire. There are few people in this state that have
gathered the enmity of my family quite as much as Ben Sasse.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I laugh at the idea that Sasse is anti-establishment. Have you seen his background? The man got his
Bachelors from Harvard, and went overseas to Oxford in England. He owns property in Washington and worked as
part of the Bush Administration. In
short, HE IS THE ESTABLISHMENT.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Midland has long suffered under incompetent administrations,
whose various schemes would backfire on the College, usually with severe fiscal
problems. I for one am just glad he will
soon be gone from the place and therefore can’t cause any more damage to my
school.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Schools</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had some great teachers growing up. People like Terry Boeck, Fred Robertson, Mrs.
Shanks, Justin Bigsby, Mrs. Dodd, and Mr. Campbell. Most of them are gone now, retired… moved on,
and one of them is even dead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Terry Boeck liked to say he was ‘older than dirt’ and he was
what a Middle School level Social Studies teacher should be. I will admit that my grades weren’t the best
in his class, but then I was a complete twerp in Middle School. He liked to challenge the students in class,
using his own knowledge to contradict most of what his students thought. In short, he would have been the absolute
best possible government teacher.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He’s dead now, but one story he told me still sticks with
me. It really shows just what is wrong
with Fremont. When we were talking about
the Civil Rights movement, he told the story of how the very first black family
in town was run out of town by a mob.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They’re all gone now or moved on to administrative
positions. Those few that still are in
the classroom are a rarity, working alongside people that’s skill at teaching
are apparently becoming more and more lackluster.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did you know we have a debate and English teacher that is
married to a registered sex offender? I’ve
heard reports that the superintendent’s wife, a high school teacher, manhandled
a kid? My younger sisters tell about how
most of their teachers leave school immediately at the end of the day,
unwilling to stick around to help students or supervise clubs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next year, all students will be let out an hour early on
Wednesdays so that the teachers can stay for consultations or something… No
wonder our test scores are so catastrophic.
It’s insane.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Bigots<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Then, an older
gentleman in a checkout line gruffly told her to speak English when she was
talking to her kids in Spanish. And a clerk at a thrift store told her they
didn't have bathrooms for brown people, she said.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<i>Omaha World Herald, February 13<sup>th</sup>, 2013<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nathalie Martinez, 24, of Fremont Nebraska works as a Dental
Assistant. Above is what she told the
Omaha World Herald happened after the 1<sup>st</sup> vote on the
anti-immigration ordinance. When I first
heard this, I was horrified, but not surprised.
The atmosphere here is toxic in its view on Mexicans. I remember my best friend for many years talk
about ‘thieving mexicans’ and so forth.
All that talk made me uncomfortable, and I didn’t speak out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now I have to.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All American Immigration laws have been motivated by
racism. The very first limit on
Immigration was the Immigration Act of 1917, which explicitly barred Asian
Immigration. The next major act was the
Immigration Act of 1924, which set a quota system where only a limited number
of immigrants could enter the United States.
The way the quota was calculated set it up so that it was derived by the
ethnicity of current US residents. As a
result, it dramatically slashed the number of Irish and Southern European
Immigrants, while largely leaving English immigration alone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These restrictions were largely unchanged until the
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which basically set up the current
system. A system which I think is one of
the most idiotic ones in the world.
There is a national quota of immigrants allowed into the United States,
something that I'm sure would shock our founders. After all, they're the ones that made it so
being born in the United States automatically granted citizenship, no matter
how much certain people want to pretend that they didn't.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The act was initially vetoed by President Truman, but I
think we call all do well to remember what he said then in his Veto Message:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>"Today, we are
'protecting' ourselves as we were in 1924, against being flooded by immigrants
from Eastern Europe. This is fantastic... We do not need to be protected
against immigrants from these countries–on the contrary we want to stretch out
a helping hand, to save those who have managed to flee into Western Europe, to
succor those who are brave enough to escape from barbarism, to welcome and
restore them against the day when their countries will, as we hope, be free
again....These are only a few examples of the absurdity, the cruelty of
carrying over into this year of 1952 the isolationist limitations of our 1924
law.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>In no other realm of
our national life are we so hampered and stultified by the dead hand of the
past, as we are in this field of immigration."<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who are we to deny the liberty we have to others who strive
for it by moving here? How can we deny the Mexican fleeing drug violence in
their homeland? How can we deny the Muslim woman fleeing the persecution of
Saudi Arabia? A quota or waiting list is a denial, no matter how much these native
bigots try to spin the truth. Yes the
Immigration Act of 1952 is a law, so were the Black Codes. I say the illegal immigrants who came here to
escape are heroes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By acting to enforce it, by saying... You must follow this
unjust law. YOU, THE VOTING CITIZENS OF THIS TOWN HAVE DECLARED IN A LOUD VOICE
THAT: WE ARE BIGOTS AND RACISTS. You are
the villains here, and may you burn in hell for your persecution of your fellow
man!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Amen.</div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-75167226654391123292014-01-15T15:58:00.001-06:002014-01-15T15:58:44.679-06:00LAUNCH ANNOUNCEMENT<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
Last night I finished uploading my latest work to Kindle and Createspace, bringing out my fourth book. That's right <em>VALKYRIE: Into the Heavens </em>volume #2 is out!</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<img alt="image" data-mce-src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/01dd64c463d3cf248ed3a85c51ef4e66/tumblr_inline_mzgq0k409w1rxnvqz.jpg" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/01dd64c463d3cf248ed3a85c51ef4e66/tumblr_inline_mzgq0k409w1rxnvqz.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
Get it now at: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HV5HSPM">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HV5HSPM</a></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
If you’re a fan of science-fiction anime, manga, and light novels you’ll probably like this story. It features a cast of characters from across the globe which can only grow in the future. It’s a light novel, so it’s short but that doesn’t mean it does not pack a punch. It's the sequel to <em>VALKYRIE: Candidates</em> so be sure to grab that one first.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<strong>Synopsis:</strong><em> 2163, the war between Earth and the Ixo drags onward. The pilots of Project Valkyrie are sent to 2 Pallas, an asteroid in the inner solar system to defend a science station working to trace the Ixo attacks back to their homeworld.</em></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<em>The four teenagers that pilot the next generation ships known as Interceptor Frigates are all but swallowed up by the Valkyrie program as engineers and technicians try to improve upon the designs after each engagement. Despite all of the stress of deployment, Daniel Logan and Michiko Hoshimoto try to find ways to relax amidst the chaos and keep themselves from becoming a danger to each other and the rest of the project.</em></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<em>The four teen pilots of the new 1st Interceptor Squadron are quickly thrown into battle against the Ixo as the alien fleets continue their relentless assault on Earth. As the Ixo introduce a series of far larger and more powerful vessels into the war, the teen pilots of the 1st Interceptor Squadron find themselves being thrown into the midst of a struggle between titans.</em></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">
<em>50,000 words, Rated T (Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.)</em></div>
<div>
<em><br /></em></div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-89193366737468242232013-11-15T15:24:00.000-06:002013-11-15T15:32:41.349-06:00Friday Food for Thought #17<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Climate Change<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Week 3,
Month 12, Episode #17<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I know I
haven't been posting much recently... The reason for this is that I've been
really busy. I've just finished the
second installment of <i>VALKYRIE: Into the Heavens</i>
and I'm working with an offer from Tate Publishing on the first book of the <i>A Fox's Tale</i> series in print (for free,
when normally they have people pay them to publish). Not to mention working on the cover for <i>VALKYRIE: Pallas</i> and a new cover for <i>A Fox's Tale: The Warden's Daughter</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">But none
of that is what I wanted to actually blog about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A couple
weeks ago, seven scientists released an open statement that was rather
alarming, or alarmist depending on your point of view. Basically what they said was, in order to
stop climate change that all fossil fuel power plants should be shut down and
replaced by nuclear power plants. Not
following through would result in catastrophic climate change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This is
an extreme response... it's understandable if they think that not doing it will
result in dramatic climate change, but one thing that will never stop so long
as human beings build camp fires is carbon dioxide releases into the
atmosphere. Human beings create CO2.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Stopping
climate change is impossible, managing it is possible. One thing that many people don't know is that
right now there is an international forum going on about the subject... After
the recent super typhoon, the Philippine delegation has been screaming at them
to do something.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Anyway,
for a writer... especially one working in Science Fiction, it's a good idea to
both understand climate change and its repercussions. As I think I may have said before, climate
change by itself is not necessarily a bad thing. I mean if you want a good example of positive
climate change, imagine terraforming Mars.
Earth itself could certainly be made more habitable for human kind. There are huge swaths of our planet that really
aren't ideal places for us humans to live.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Secondly,
it's important to consider what the climate would be like in a hundred, two
hundred, or three hundred years into the future if you're writing during the
time period. This means you have to know
what possible results of dramatic climate change are. Things like, climate zones, growing seasons,
and so forth would all be affected, but here are some things that I think would
be interesting to consider.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">1.) The
Great American Desert - Before it was settled, the Great Plains region was
often times called this. As climate
changes begin to affect us it's possible that the old name might return as the
tropical and arid zones advance further away from the equator. This may not actually reduce the amount of
food production as warming of the Dakotas and Canada's would probably result in
their crop yields increasing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">2.)
Drunken Forests - A result of the thawing of permafrost in the taiga reasons
(Alaska, Canada, and Russia), trees in a Drunken Forest lean as their roots rot
or are released from the permafrost.
Ultimately this process will cause them to die and rot. This is already going on in those areas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">3.)
Polar Forests Return - An extreme result from warming of the planet would be
the return of the polar forests. For
those of you that are not familiar, Antarctica has not always been a barren ice
desert. During the Mesozoic era it was a
heavily forested area despite being dark for large swaths of time during the
winter months. If you wanted to counter
increased carbon levels, planting a polar forest as the continent warms would
be one way of reversing the trend (though the penguins wouldn't be happy).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-68336875636369932712013-10-11T15:01:00.002-05:002013-10-11T15:01:58.281-05:0010/11/2013 UpdateOkay, so while it may appear that I haven't been busy, appearances are deceptive. THE GREATEST GAME: Hunters is currently being edited while I finish the cover art. It's a bit behind schedule, but I think it should be out within the week.<br />
<br />
In the meantime VALKYRIE: Candidates is currently free on Kindle, so go grab a copy or two. So far I don't have many sales this month (big sales last month though) so I'm a bit nervous.<br />
<br />
Due to delays on the paper version of A Fox's Tale #1. I will be doing VALKYRIE: Pallas first in the Winter Quarter (Yes I have my release schedule organized into quarters), meaning it will be available well before Christmas time (YES!)<br />
<br />
Then I'll be working on A Fox's Tale #2 for a mid December release (perhaps a week or two before Christmas) with THE GREATEST GAME'S second installation being released sometime in mid January.Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-11610421055846003062013-10-11T14:53:00.000-05:002013-10-11T14:53:05.943-05:00Friday Food for Thought #16<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;
mso-bidi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Finite World: Welcome to the 21st
Century</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Week 2,
Month 11, Episode #16</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Not too
long ago I stumbled across a rather disturbing graph, which like many rather
disturbing pieces of information sent me into a plethora of research, that
eventually led to a number of conclusions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Normally my short panic attacks are offset by information that makes the
graph's information rather... well, inapplicable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Not this
time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">What
graph did I see?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well it was a
projection of oil production which basically said that production would plateau
at current levels until beginning to drop around 2020.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By 2050 production is projected to fall to
roughly 2/3rds of current levels and drop to 1/3rd of current levels by 2070 or
so.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Okay, so
we're at the peak of oil production and we're probably pumping more out of the
ground now than we ever will in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What's that to panic about?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Well,
oil demand is not a plateau like production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The emerging economic juggernauts of the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia,
India, China, and South Africa) have growing demands for oil, and while some of
these nations have domestic supplies (Russia) or are heavily invested into
alternate fuel sources (Brazil), most of these powers need oil to continue to
grow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Increased
demand with current production levels results in higher prices, and
historically small fluctuations in demand or production tend to result in
significantly higher fluctuations for price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In short the tap is running dry and there's more people waiting in line.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
driving force behind the BRICS group is the People's Republic of China, who
sees further economic development as the key to future political
stability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last time we had an
emerging economic power dependent on oil facing reduced supplies, well... Japan
attacked Pearl Harbor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">All of
this isn't an immediate concern, but by 2030... well, it will be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A very rough calculation I made came up with
a price for a barrel of oil being around $600 by 2030.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If gas prices fell in line with that
increase, we're talking about $20.00 a gallon for gasoline in fifteen
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will no doubt spur efforts
to either increase production (ha! ha! ha!) or find means of stretching our
resources to fill the gap between supply and demand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Synthetic
oils and gasoline can be produced from coal (this is very similar to Oil Sands
in terms of how it's done), as the United States has a coal industry that likes
to brag about their 75 or 100 year supply of coal in this country, it doesn't
take a genius to figure out how we'll make up the gap between supply and demand
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately shifting demand from
one hydrocarbon fuel to another will just mean that 75 or 100 year supply of
coal isn't going to last that long.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Like the
United States, China has vast coal reserves and will likely use them to
compensate for the rising oil costs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Russia will ride the oil wave enriching itself on it's own production of
the more and more valuable fuel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brazil
will likely double down on their ethanol production and use it to compensate
for increased demand for oils.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>South
Africa is already investing in their own oil and coal supplies and will likely
ride it out much as Russia will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>India
will be faced with a crisis as their own demand rises, as they don't have the
local supplies of other nations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Outside
of BRICS, Japan will face problems as new hesistancy to utilize nuclear power
will likely have them falling back on oil and natural gas as power sources,
both of which will need to be imported and force Japan's already painful cost
of living to skyrocket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of Europe
is dependent on natural gas for heating and power, and as vast as those global
reserves are they're not inexhaustible.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ultimately
those measures will only extend so far, and by 2050 we'll likely be facing an
energy crisis across most of the globe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As the price of oil increases, so does the cost of shipping across the
globe by conventional power (nuclear powered aircraft carriers and submarines
can ignore this).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Increasing costs of
trade cut deeply into the economics of all the powers as globalization begins
to unravel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the largest countries it
becomes prohibitively expensive to ship goods between states and provinces,
throwing a wrench into the organization scheme of modern national and global
chains.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
rising price of shipping will have painful consequences as nation after nation
will be unable to afford to import food from the major producers of the world
(the United States, Ukraine, and so forth being the major producers), faced
with famine and starvation at home, nations will lash out against their
neighbors hoping to obtain food or energy sources.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Global Hunger will dramatically reduce the
population, as it becomes more and more impossible to supply the needs of far
flung nations from those countries that produce major surpluses.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The 21st
Century will be a century filled with conflict as demands for finite resources
grow stronger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The BRICS will challenge
American dominance as they struggle over those resources.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When they finally dry up completely, our society
will be looking at an extreme crisis looking for alternate means of supplying
energy, creating plastics, transporting food and other goods.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Non-hydrocarbon
fuel and energy sources will become the norm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Aircraft design will revert to propeller systems as the cost of jet fuel
overwhelms the air lines, and ultimately the use of small scale fission,
hydrogen fuel-cell, or other nuclear propulsion systems will become commonplace
on aircraft and ground vehicles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's
possible that high efficiency ion engines could also be used for aircraft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Solar power will see limited use as the
average home requires around 150 square feet of solar panels to fill it's
energy needs at 100% efficiency with no clouds and constant daylight.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It is
likely that the development of a Hybrid Nuclear Fusion-Fission reactor will be
pushed as a means of both eliminating Nuclear Waste from fission power (as it
uses spent fuel rods from fission reactions as fuel) and the development of
smaller fully contained and crash proof reactors will be heavily invested in,
especially by Japan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">By 2100
I expect Earth's Economy to be vastly different then it is now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The changes to society that the great squeeze
of the oil crisis will wrought over the globe will likely dismantle most trade
as we know it, and while they may be reestablished, it's likely that
decentralized production will be the rule rather then the use of a factory in
China to make toys for Toys 'R Us in New York.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the same time technologies like 3d printing, robotics, and networking
will replace a number of industries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Much of the old social structure will be upended, as the move away from
industry to decentralized manufacturing will leave the upper class holding the
bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time the unskilled
laborer will find themselves without a real purpose as such work can most
easily be accomplished by robots.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Trying
to figure out how such a society would work is interesting... maybe I should
write a book.</span></div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-69612555422634208002013-10-04T11:07:00.000-05:002013-10-04T11:07:30.167-05:00Friday Food for Thought #15<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Against Conventional Wisdom:
Said…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Week 1,
Month 11, Episode #15<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">About
two weeks ago, I spent some time with a friend of mine (who has been helping me
proof and copyedit my books) discussing one of the rules that is regularly
being hammered into new writers, and my disagreement with the conventional
wisdom behind it.<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">That
rule is quite simple. Instead of more descriptive and specific dialog tags you
should use ‘Said’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Now, to
understand this rule and the reasoning behind it you have to know what I mean
by the term dialog tag, and what said effectively means to a reader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A dialog
tag is the short phrase before a line of dialog that tells the reader who said
it. That’s it. That’s all.
In most cases it means phrases like: She yelled, he said, she muttered,
and so forth…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Now, I
understand why this is made as a rule in so many handbooks and so forth. It basically comes down to this simple
fact. Most people use ‘non-conventional’
dialog tags improperly or use phrases that aren’t dialog tags as dialog tags.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As one
of my professors said, “Just try and say something while grimacing, you can’t.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And he’s
right, you can’t. You can’t swallow and
say a line of dialog. The problem isn’t
that the phrases and their basic arrangement is wrong, it’s that people are
using a comma instead of a period. I
admit that even I fall into this trap often enough on my drafts, but instead of
doing as most of my advisers suggest (use said) I simply changed it thusly…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">She shrugged, “What
can I do?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">-Becomes-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">She shrugged. “What
can I do?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I don’t
like ‘said’ as a verb. It’s an extremely
neutral term with neither positive or negative weight nor meaning. Its meaning and purpose can be explained
quite simply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In a
novel we write:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">John said, “I hate
the word said.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">To
do the same thing in a script or play, we write: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">John:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> I hate the word said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Said is
essentially a footnote to tell the reader who is saying the dialog. That is all, and considering that most dialog
does not exist without some sort of action being done by the speaker (stuff
that actors add all the time to their performances to give it nuance) there is
often very little reason to use a dialog tag in the first place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">While a
play doesn’t usually have large amounts of direction for the actors for facial
movements (since those are usually added by suggestion of the director or the
actors themselves) a novel needs those directions. Consider the following dialog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">She said, “What the hell am I
supposed to do?”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">She sighed and shut her eyes. “What
the hell am I supposed to do?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">She slammed the milk down. “What
the hell am I supposed to do?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Without
the use of this direction, the tone of the line is extremely flat. Instead of a character you’re left with a
talking head. Now since structurally
changing speakers in a line of dialog is done by creating a new paragraph,
there is no need to use said on every line either. There’s a rather famous short story by
Hemmingway where the last page is nothing but a conversation between two
characters. If I remember right there’s
roughly a dozen lines of dialog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Said is
used once or twice, and there are no other dialog tags.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This is
an extreme example, but I think you got the idea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Now, why
is it then that we’re told to use ‘said’ so often by books and advisers? Well it’s to prevent us from making a
grammatical or syntax error.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Essentially,
and this is one of those more theoretical elements of writing that most people
don’t get, all the actions that appear in a sentence happen at the same
time. That’s why when you have a
sequence of events in a story ‘then’ becomes a word that appears with almost
alarming frequency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">When you
have a line of dialog like…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">She swallowed, “What
do you mean?”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">She’s
swallowing at the same time that she’s saying the line. It doesn’t work. Now, I know my old professor Tim Esaias really
dislikes swallowing and blinking as actions, but eh… Sometimes it fits the
situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">To
placate him, it’s usually swallowing a lump in someone’s throat but whatever. Anyway, the right way to write that is just
to put a period in place of the comma and walk away. Since moving from one sentence to another
implies the passage of some time (Immediately is also another word that creeps
into action a lot to imply the fast movement of time for this reason) this
makes it perfectly acceptable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Well, if
you can stand swallowed as a verb (sorry Tim). Which means this is the correct
way to say that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">She swallowed. “What
do you mean?”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I have
to say that there is one place I feel said is a good word to use. That place is when the lines are being
delivered in a cool, level, or perhaps even somewhat detached manner. As a result this means said works great for things
like briefings, news conferences, and prepared speeches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Now, I’ve
got to finish up my next book… excuse me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-84533688615926951632013-09-13T14:59:00.000-05:002013-09-13T14:59:17.961-05:00Friday Food for Thought #14<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Createspace, KDP, and the On Demand Revolution<o:p></o:p></b></div>
Week 2, Month 10, Episode #14<br />
<br />
Well, I've been talking about this issue indirectly a number of times already, but I'm going to come out here and directly discuss some things that you may, or may not have already figured out from what I'v'e posted earlier.<br />
<br />
I am a huge fan of the 'Indy' game development, independent artists, and decentralized manufacturing. In short, I am a huge fan of anything that allows more people express themselves and get a slice of the pie, be it my Gaming dollar through Steam distribution, or your dollars through independent publishing. What I'm going to talk about here is why I think that not only are these organizations and systems great, but why they're the wave of the future.<br />
<br />
In the case of electronic distribution through Steam and eBooks consider, there is effectively NO manufacturing cost, NO manufacturing time, and NO wastage. A large number of the hit Steam games and Amazon kindle books will never appear on a store shelf, either because they're digital or because they're not being distributed by a large company.<br />
<br />
The old distributors of Publishing Houses and Gaming Companies utilize a distribution model based around an initial publishing run (or printing in the case of books) that is sent out to distributors and sold there. In most cases, that initial printing or production run will never sell out, and ultimately will be returned to the producer.<br />
<br />
This is why so many newly published authors that go the way of the conventional Publishing House never earn out their advance. That first printing didn't sell out. It's a huge risk for publishers as they print out a thousand books and distribute them, hoping to sell them all. If they don't sell enough to make a profit on the investment of their printing, they lost money, perhaps lots of money.<br />
<br />
The same is true with every industry that uses a traditional production scheme. The thing is, this system is not the only game in town anymore.<br />
<br />
After releasing my first two books on Kindle, I've started work on converting them for publication via Createspace, another Amazon company that uses on demand printing to fulfill orders. Sure, I may never see the books on a bookstore shelf going this route, but then at the rate we're going I'm not sure how many bookstores will be around in the future with only Barnes and Noble remaining a chain bookstore in the marketplace.<br />
<br />
Createspace has publishing options that cost money, but it also has options that cost nothing (Guess which I'm using). On Demand Publishing has a number of other benefits, in that there is zero waste... much like for Kindle stories the book doesn't exist except as a digital file until someone pushes the buy order.<br />
<br />
In the case of a Kindle book, you download a copy. In the case of a Createspace work, it prints a copy.<br />
<br />
Amazon is the number one distributor of books right now, so if going through Createspace gets me distrubted through them without having to wait for publishers to review, allows me to create a cover of my own design, and gives me the freedom to do nearly everything a publishing house would do myself... Why not?<br />
<br />
Especially when it doesn't cost me a penny, and I can sit back and write another book. I'm planning on releasing a book once a month, good luck getting a publishing company to keep up with that right now.<br />
<br />
So... what's next on my plate?<br />
<br />
Well, the paperback version of A Fox's Tale: The Warden's Daughter, VALKYRIE: Candidates, and THE GREATEST GAME: Hunters will be ready by November 8th (possibly much earlier then that considering my current schedule). I will be releasing my first Alternate History, THE GREATEST GAME: Hunters on October 8th (hopefully), and the second book of A Fox's Tale will be ready on November 8th. The second book of the VALKYRIE series is due for release on December 8th. The second book of THE GREATEST GAME will be released on January 8th of next year.<br />
<br />
So I'm really busy, which is partly why I didn't have a blog post last week.Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-44742145340135266742013-09-08T09:10:00.000-05:002013-09-08T09:10:33.078-05:00LAUNCH ANNOUNCEMENTLast night at midnight, I pushed the button labeled "Save and
Publish" on the Kindle Direct Publishing website, launching the second
of three planned series.<br />
<img alt="image" data-mce-src="http://media.tumblr.com/0dea96bb511e6dd2cff1320bb1263c71/tumblr_inline_mst8904X0u1qz4rgp.jpg" src="http://media.tumblr.com/0dea96bb511e6dd2cff1320bb1263c71/tumblr_inline_mst8904X0u1qz4rgp.jpg" /><br />
VALKYRIE: Into the Heavens is here! Get it now at: <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/VALKYRIE-Candidates-Into-Heavens-ebook/dp/B00F1RFYTE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1378648763&sr=1-1" href="http://www.amazon.com/VALKYRIE-Candidates-Into-Heavens-ebook/dp/B00F1RFYTE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1378648763&sr=1-1" title="Amazon Link">http://www.amazon.com/VALKYRIE-Candidates-Into-Heavens-ebook/dp/B00F1RFYTE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1378648763&sr=1-1</a><br />
If
you're a fan of science-fiction anime, manga, and light novels you'll
probably like this story. It features a cast of characters from across
the globe which can only grow in the future. It's a light novel, so
it's short but that doesn't mean it does not pack a punch.<br />
<strong>Synopsis: </strong><em>Volume One of the VALKYRIE Light Novel Series.</em><br /><br /><em>2163,
it has been twelve years since the Ixo first attacked Earth, killing
millions and igniting the first interstellar war. In order to reverse a
series of defeats, the United Nations launches Project Valkyrie. They
select four teens from across the globe and bring them together to train
them to become the first of a new type of soldier: the pod pilot.</em><br /><br /><em>A
brilliant teen orphan, Daniel Logan is conscripted into the unit, along
with Michiko Hoshimoto a fellow teen with a competitive streak and
fiery temper. He shares dorm space with the other two candidates:
Svetlana Gurevich and Rosa Löwe. Danny’s skills earn him respect in the
simulators with all save Michiko, who accuses him of cheating. At the
same time he harbor’s a terrible secret.</em><br /><br /><em>Can those
candidates put aside their issues with one another to save Humanity from
extermination at the hands of the Ixo? Humanity is well on the way to
losing the war without them, and the Project is lagging behind with only
two ships available for testing. Will Danny and Michiko be ready before
the end, even if, the Ixo, do not interfere?</em><br /><br /><em>49,000
words, Rated T (Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some
violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.)</em><br />
<br />Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-67513324801576098962013-08-30T16:19:00.000-05:002013-08-30T16:19:26.970-05:00Friday Food for Thought #13<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Syrian Intervention<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Week 4, Month 9, Episode #13</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1949, the United Nations passed Security Council
Resolution 82 which authorized the use of military force against North
Korea. The only reason the resolution
passed was that the Soviet Union's representative was not present and China was
still represented by the Republic of China (now known as Taiwan). On August 28th, 2013 the representatives of
the People's Republic of China and Russian Federation walked out of a Security
Council Meeting on Syria. They're lucky
the United States, United Kingdom, and France didn't leap on the opportunity
and hammer a resolution through while they were gone, unless that was what the
PRC and RF were hoping would be done (so that they wouldn't be in the
politically untenable position of supporting a dictatorship that uses Chemical
Weapons).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know that I am almost certainly in the minority but I
think that a military intervention is almost certain and would be better done
sooner than later. There are a number of
reasons for this and I'll be breaking them down as I go, but first off I feel I
should start out by refuting a number of common misconceptions about the
conflict.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Syrian Civil War
is not and never has been an exclusively 'internal matter'.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, the Iran-Iraq War
of the 1980s, and countless other wars throughout history, the Syrian Civil War
isn't so much a war but a front in another conflict. In fact, it's a front for more than one. It is a proxy war between the Shiites and
Sunnis of the Middle East, a proxy war between Iran and Israel, and a front in
the larger geopolitical conflict between the ideals of Western Democracy and
Eastern Totalitarianism.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since the war began, Iran has been supplying arms,
mercenaries, and foreign volunteers to the Syrian government. The reasoning behind this is many fold but
fundamentally comes down to this... The Syrian regime is Iran's greatest ally
in a region filled with foes, it is the funnel through which Iran supports
Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Israel.
Until Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled, Iran's only friend was Syria
and even now Iraq may be friendly with Iran but it is not an ally.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Additionally Russia and China have vested interest in the
region. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For lack of a better description, Russia considers Syria
part of its sphere of influence and the naval base it leases from them is their
only real means of projecting power into the Mediterranean. The Russian Federation doesn't want either a
pro-American Democratic Government in Syria or an Islamist State. Instead they
wish to have what they already possess a friend regime that is dependent on
them for international protection and military arms.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
China is a major trading partner with Syria but also is
supportive of the regime for a more fundamental reason. China does not want to see any totalitarian
regime fall due to rebellion or revolt, especially due to a Muslim led
revolution. This is because China does
not want to see any of its more outlying provinces become a hotbed for
revolution and rebellion. Already
they've used military force to suppress a number of protests in their outlying
Western Provinces and want to be allowed a free hand in how to deal with any
future revolts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Attacks (Yes
Plural)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Ghouta Attack (as Wikipedia has come to call the attack
on August 21st) was the largest scale chemical attack that has taken place in
the Syrian Civil War, but it is likely that this wasn’t the first such
incident.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first reports of the use of Chemical Weapons occurred on
December 23<sup>rd</sup> 2012, when Al Jazeera reported an attack in the city
of Homs that killed seven people. In
March of 2013 reports began to come in of multiple attacks using Scuds loaded
with chemical weapons on rebel positions in Aleppo and Damascus. With the support of Russia, Syria managed to
redirect blame for these attacks onto the rebels.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have one question, how many rebels know how to properly
aim a Scud, and why would they bomb themselves?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Reports of these chemical weapon strikes have continued
since then, with the largest being the Ghouta Attack, which according to US
intelligence killed 1,429 people. The
Ghouta Attack happened in conjunction with Syrian Government forces attacking
rebel positions around Damascus and its suburbs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The attack began at 03:00 in the morning with a barrage of
rocket fire that rebel forces reported ‘didn’t explode’. Within minutes thousands of the local
residents and rebel forces were casualties of the attack. From the reports the most likely culprit
would be Sarin or VX, both of which are nerve agents which quickly disperse
after deployment and remain toxic for only around thirty minutes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The positions which were attacked have been under siege by
government forces for some time. The
idea that this attack was done by the rebels is downright preposterous.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since then, the attacks haven’t stopped. This morning, CNN aired footage from Syria
that was recorded Monday showing a number of teens that had been exposed to a
chemical agent in the school, which initial reports had thought were just an
incendiary attack instead of a chemical one.
Considering the footage, it looks as though they have been exposed to
some sort of blister agent like mustard gas.
Reports indicate the presence of Syrian aircraft at the time, suggesting
that the weapon was delivered by an aerial bomb.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So why should we get involved?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">1.) <span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Refusing to Intervene gives tacit approval
to Syria and other totalitarian governments for the use of Chemical Weapons on
their own people.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In short, not intervening is almost as good as authorizing
them to gas their own people. The only real
deterrent for the use of Chemical Weapons or Ethnic Cleansing is the threat of
international intervention or being struck by such weapons in turn. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For a regime desperate to hold onto power against a
rebellion or revolt, chemical weapons are one of their most effective
weapons. Rebel fighters are likely to
not be equipped for chemical warfare in that they lack the training and
equipment to protect themselves, as a result chemical weapons are at their most
lethal against rebels and other untrained foes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">2.) The Syrian Civil War is an Ethnic Conflict
and we should intervene before the Syrian Army starts digging mass graves.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who remembers the War in Bosnia and Kosovo Conflict beside
me and my old friend Krenare from Kosovo?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From March of 1992 to December of 1995 the country of Bosnia
was embroiled in a viscous war, a war which started with the breakup of the
country of Yugoslavia along ethnic lines.
During the war, the former Yugoslavian army and later Serbian forces
conducted an organized campaign of ethnic cleansing involving mass killings and
systematic rape. It wasn’t until NATO intervened
in 1995 that the conflict began to come to an end.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like Bosnia, the Syrian war is an Ethnic Conflict with
Sunnis lining up on one side and Shiites on the other. Shiites from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
are serving as military advisors for Syria while Hezbollah provides direct
military support. Sunni Islamic groups
are flooding the country with foreign volunteers as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Kurds are guarding their homes against attack from both
sides.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Already around three times as many civilians have died in
War in Syria as died in the Bosnian War.
With the ethnic angle combined with a regime demonstrating a willingness
to use chemical weapons, it’s only a matter of time before a campaign of ethnic
violence begins, if it hasn’t already.
In Bosnia, NATO was too late for nearly 40K civilians, already 100K have
died in Syria.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Already we’ve failed, let us not fail any more.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>3.) </b></span><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The worst case scenario…</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You know what other country had a long brutal civil war with
most of the same players in the 90s? I’ll
give you two guesses…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
AFGHANISTAN</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really shouldn’t have to say what happened because of
that.</div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-89299895564412101562013-08-23T15:00:00.000-05:002013-08-23T15:06:04.603-05:00Friday Food for Thought #12<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Science behind
VALKYRIE…<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Week 4, Month 9, Episode #12</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7CVh5BolY8HTTqEri1vJ8Oxk50mfjhFLqykgkS4VLVrht6u_SsOcX4xIHLyTSNVDuJ0ZYoj9PktSo8lnHEOEiAIuwCk4j-8EbNW3LRrmc97WlC0mUZ3c9Mp_rAZr75ndECEekGoC1r-1/s1600/eve-valkyrie-oculus-rift-announcement.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7CVh5BolY8HTTqEri1vJ8Oxk50mfjhFLqykgkS4VLVrht6u_SsOcX4xIHLyTSNVDuJ0ZYoj9PktSo8lnHEOEiAIuwCk4j-8EbNW3LRrmc97WlC0mUZ3c9Mp_rAZr75ndECEekGoC1r-1/s320/eve-valkyrie-oculus-rift-announcement.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
No, not that one! Damn it CCP Games, why did you have to
name EVE:VR that… Although, if I was going to bet money on a name for it… That
would have been it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m talking about this one…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjToHksj8HampzpXZnlJ8GhtorjmsN9iqrS6Pli5TDkNXj2mjfR_Tu3RyI5IeVRPboBctuLbEZDx_LTuSwjmd62evikQQJJyflGvlW3O5sHhY-ycWG57Si-bHEeVoyX4pkTsnqLU9J5BsE-/s1600/Valkyrie+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjToHksj8HampzpXZnlJ8GhtorjmsN9iqrS6Pli5TDkNXj2mjfR_Tu3RyI5IeVRPboBctuLbEZDx_LTuSwjmd62evikQQJJyflGvlW3O5sHhY-ycWG57Si-bHEeVoyX4pkTsnqLU9J5BsE-/s320/Valkyrie+Logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’ve been following me at all, you probably have
noticed VALKYRIE, at least at some level.
Here I’m going to be talking about the science behind the science
fiction in VALKYRIE. In a lot of ways,
VALKYRIE takes some ideas that have been shown in other series and games (including
EVE Online… Damn you CCP!). I’ve just
decided to take them and run.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>1.) The Pod Pilot<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBeXBiA9wna-kTsthu330UIyW7DjpC5PCUNhnyxUQXGF75ms_EYLmJwyjla-OrocZuxS5_dvIEYuqEzzHEMoKYJLnmtOxkSOmqTBj1GRVisafe9stpmIjJ7zQAN85bgo74gsnt1VeMvxih/s1600/Eve-Capsule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBeXBiA9wna-kTsthu330UIyW7DjpC5PCUNhnyxUQXGF75ms_EYLmJwyjla-OrocZuxS5_dvIEYuqEzzHEMoKYJLnmtOxkSOmqTBj1GRVisafe9stpmIjJ7zQAN85bgo74gsnt1VeMvxih/s320/Eve-Capsule.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of those things is the Pod Pilot. The idea behind the Pod Pilot is that if you
could directly connect a person to a starship (essential turning the ship into
an extension of their body) you could dramatically increase the combat
effectiveness of the ship. This is the
entire basis for the universe of EVE Online, with the addition of death in the
pod resulting in your consciousness transferring to a new clone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*Ehm*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
EVE Online takes place in a universe where technology has
progressed to the point that a ship’s armor can be rebuilt by nanites within
minutes and every ship flies a bit in defiance of Newtonian physics. Not to mention that they clearly have some
sort of inertial dampening system.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
VALKYRIE does not.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This leads to the real reason anyone would use a pod filled
with shock absorbent fluid as a combat station on a starship. Inertia is a very lethal thing. Over 25 Gs of acceleration is likely to cause
death or serious injury. Accelerations
of over 5 Gs often result in ‘black out’ or ‘red out’ as the acceleration
forces shift blood away or two the brain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1975 the Sprint anti-ballistic missile system went
operational. Each missile could accelerate at up to 100 Gs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a result, it’s quite clear that the technology exists for
starships and space combat vessels to accelerate at rates that exceed the human
body’s tolerance. In order to survive
such accelerations, let alone engage in combat the crews must be cushioned
against those accelerations. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most Science Fiction uses the Inertial Compensator, a fictitious
device that through a combination of witchcraft, sorcery, and techno-babble
somehow negates the effect of inertia on the ships and their crews. If you want to do ‘Hard’ science fiction,
then the Inertial Compensator must go.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hence the pod, holding a pilot or crew member in a
compressible fluid to absorb the shock of sudden accelerations and cushion them
during longer burns. In VALKYRIE the
absorbent capacity of the pod is roughly around 90% of the acceleration the pod
is being subjected to in a shock acceleration, though its effectiveness
decreases the longer the burn.
Considering that the ships are rated for around 40-50 Gs of
acceleration, this ends up subjecting the pilot to around 4-5 Gs during combat
maneuvers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, this leads to a second problem… a person stuck in a pod
filled with goo is supposed to pilot a spacecraft… How?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The answer is a technology that is still in its relative
infancy despite being used in such ludicrous ways as…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfUFwoF1X4Tr2HmJZMo8u30sQNeLI7Ct6Dj0Ut8GhQeT3FlPDS9GnZ7A1ayvFhjO0MLmKqhPpyIV_dCSjb4l2x3cIvwj53BUdmamV6_znMoS8VoRa3ofJzDNwKs8IlTZ9tuvrdKybiE4C/s1600/force_trainer.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfUFwoF1X4Tr2HmJZMo8u30sQNeLI7Ct6Dj0Ut8GhQeT3FlPDS9GnZ7A1ayvFhjO0MLmKqhPpyIV_dCSjb4l2x3cIvwj53BUdmamV6_znMoS8VoRa3ofJzDNwKs8IlTZ9tuvrdKybiE4C/s320/force_trainer.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Umm, yeah, I still can’t get that damn thing to work with my
brain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
EVE Online uses an ‘invasive’ form of Neural Interface for
the pilots in the form of a set of implants that the pilot is connected through. VALKYRIE uses a different system that isn’t
invasive or utilizes implants, instead the VALKYRIE utilizes a ‘full-body’
neural interface system made up of a suit which reads and transmits information
through the human neural system. Inputs
from the senses are overridden by the suit, allowing the pilot to see through
the ship’s eyes and so forth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It also can be painful when a system fails, transmitting a
shock through the neural link to the pilot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In VALKYRIE the transition from a human body to a starship
is too severe for an adult’s mind to cope, leading Earth to utilize teens. While this may not be an actual hurtle in
reality, it makes for a simple device to use teens as the pilots.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2.) The Enemy</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Ixo are the enemy for the VALKYRIE series, and while
hive minds and insects have been done before, each time I’ve read them I found
some pretty severe problems in their design.
Take for instance, Ender’s Game and the Buggers. As an aside, Orson Scott Card – Buggers?
Really?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Buggers communicated with each other real time through
some sort of psychic link type thing that ended up being similar to Ender’s
command system and… *HEAD DESK*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Honestly, Ender’s Game is a great book in a lot of ways, but
the whole hive mind and psychic link thing really wasn’t one of the strong
points of the story. In fact, if you
read Ender’s Game you can see where I got some of the ideas.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, the problem with a hive mind as an advanced race of
evil alien life is twofold. Firstly, how
does the hive mind communicate across interstellar distances, and secondly how
does anything new get invented in such a society?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most hives on Earth utilizes pheromones as a primary means
of communicating, and they really don’t have a ‘hive mind’ as we’ve come to
think of in science fiction. What they
have is a set of programmed responses to stimuli and pheromones from their
genes. Sapient life forms tend to be a
bit more thoughtful then that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, how is the insect race called the Ixo different? Well, I started out with a couple specific
aims for designing them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Aim #1: The Ixo must
be naturally capable of piloting ships to much higher accelerations then
humans. Think of this as the cockroach
effect.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Aim #2: The Ixo must
be incapable of communicating with humanity.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Aim #3: The Ixo must
be capable of denying humanity the ability to use remote operated drones in
combat (and thus promoting the use of piloted spacecraft).<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Aim #4: The Ixo must
be capable of FTL communications and travel.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most of these are fairly biological imperatives. However, Aim #2, #3, and #4 are actually
partly related to the technology the Ixo use.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Ixo evolved as one would expect as an insect hive which
ultimately became intelligent enough to be tool users and develop a
culture. They communicated with each
other through their pheromones, body language, and written languages until they
ultimately invented a communications system derived from the Quantum
Entanglement. This allowed instantaneous
communication between paired devices.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually, the devices became implantable, linking the
queens with their children in a hierarchy that involved the majority of the
species. Thus a hive mind of sorts was
born, but one with a clear and understandable natural hierarchy. This combined with the natural instincts of a
hive evolution turn the workers of the species into creatures that act almost
like remotes for their queens and often utilize weaponry that is as lethal to
themselves as their foes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a result of the Quantum Entanglement Communications
network, the Ixo have no use for radio communications. Quantum entanglement devices allow them to
operate drones without relying on radio waves or hamstrung by light speed lag
as communications through Quantum Entanglement is instantaneous.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Ixo have no qualms with totally flooding all radio
channels with powerful jamming, making it impossible for human radio dependent
drones to be utilized in combat. With
drones no longer an option, humanity has to put at least one human in every
ship.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>3.) The Interceptor
Frigates<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ships utilized by the pod pilots in the series are
called Interceptor Frigates, thanks to the extremely high accelerations their
capable of and their relatively small size.
Each is around the size of an airliner and usually twice to three times
the weight of such a ship. Armament
varies depending on the ship but basically utilizes everything that Humanity
can construct. Most ships are
conversions of earlier ‘drone starship’ designs that were rendered useless
thanks to the Ixo’s jamming.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some example ships…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Lockheed Martin YSI-1
Starfire Interceptor Frigate</b> – Constructed by Lockheed Martin as a
conversion of their first generation RS-1 Drone Frigate. The Starfire is the first operational
Interceptor Frigate. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>GENERAL
CHARACTERISTICS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Crew:</b> 1 Neural-Interfaced Pilot – Pilot Cadet Daniel
Logan<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Length:</b> 75.31 meters<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Beam: </b>67.89 meters<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Draft:</b> 19.84 meters<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Mass:</b> 345,000 kilograms<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Powerplant: </b>2x General Electric BC8-GE-77A Antimatter
Beam Cores<b> (</b>76,900 kN each)<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>PERFORMANCE<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Max
Acceleration: </b>45.5 G<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Max Burn
Duration: </b>53.8 hours<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>ARMAMENT<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>4x LaWS-M3A4 Laser
Turrets<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2x General Atomics M3A1
Blitzer Railguns<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2x General Atomics M1
Particle Beams<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries NIS-X Shinshin Interceptor</b> – Derived from the Lockheed Martin
YSI-1 Space Interceptor, the Experimental – Neural-Interfaced Ship or
‘Shinshin’ has a larger wingspan, more advanced scanning systems, and a
different armament then the American produced ship.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>GENERAL
CHARACTERISTICS:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Crew:</b> 1 Neural-Interfaced Pilot – Pilot Cadet
Michiko Hoshimoto<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Length:</b> 77.61 meters<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Beam: </b>75.86 meters<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Draft:</b> 19.07 meters<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Mass:</b> 383,000 kilograms<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Powerplant: </b>2x General Electric BC8-GE-82J Antimatter
Beam Cores (81,600 kN each)<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>PERFORMANCE<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Max
Acceleration: </b>43.5 G<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Max Burn
Duration: </b>81.2 hours<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>ARMAMENT<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>4x J/LaWS-3N Laser
Turrets<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2x General Ato<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4475799966242436513" name="_GoBack"></a>mics JM3A1 Blitzer Railguns<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2x Type 59 SSM-6
Missile Battery</b> (5 Missiles per Battery)<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>4x Type 56 Chū-MMS
Micro-Missile Banks </b>(36 Missiles per Bank)<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sounds like fun ships to fly, that’s for sure.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, I got to get back to polishing the actual book and
drawing up the cover art, so see you guys later.</div>
Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4475799966242436513.post-43125997889515684892013-08-17T20:19:00.000-05:002013-08-17T20:19:00.960-05:00VALKYRIE #1 - Progress Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijgUIsUaCwZUHr1Gf4wZQg4HEc1Hl7ffBwpyim64bP4zouPfKitbtjHDLxBJLUrGfVahUeo2fLUn-hDwfWdON6uf0yj97o9iI1V-_uds7PU1yCD5aboTPu-prHc_bxby8kS1dtPKaT_ynb/s1600/Michiko+Hoshimoto+-+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijgUIsUaCwZUHr1Gf4wZQg4HEc1Hl7ffBwpyim64bP4zouPfKitbtjHDLxBJLUrGfVahUeo2fLUn-hDwfWdON6uf0yj97o9iI1V-_uds7PU1yCD5aboTPu-prHc_bxby8kS1dtPKaT_ynb/s320/Michiko+Hoshimoto+-+01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />Huh, so I apparently am pretty good turning a
reference picture into an anime like character... Who knew? I think I
might actually be able to do this book's cover art myself...<br />
<br />
This
is Michiko Hoshimoto, one of the protagonists from the book I'm working
on. She's the 16 year old pilot of the NIS-X Shinshin, one of two
prototype 'interceptor frigates' which are piloted by a pilot by neural
interface and hold the pilot in a pod filled with shock absorbent gel to
allow them to withstand up to 80Gs of acceleration.<br />
<br />
As for
the book, well... It's sort of like what you'd expect a bastard child of
Pacific Rim, EVE Online, and Ender's Game to end up being like.<br />
<br />
I'm
going to be writing the last chapter tomorrow from the way things are
going right now, then I'll be polishing and editing it for another week at least. I may have it ready by the end of the month.<br />
<br />
Hmm, maybe I should give a bit more detail as to the story...<br />
<br />
The VALKYRIE series focuses on the character of Michiko Hoshimoto, Daniel Logan, Rosa Lowe, and Svetlana Gurevich, the first four pilot's assigned to Project VALKYRIE. The planet is under attack by an insect like race called the Ixo, who pilot ships that far outpace the abilities of conventional human vessels. We can't simply upgrade these ships as the reason we can't build ships that would match an Ixo vessel's acceleration is that such a ship would kill the crew when it lit it's engine.<br />
<br />
The answer comes in the form of pilots whose minds are hooked directly to the ships submerged in a pod filled with shock absorbent fluids. As the immense difference between a human mind piloting a human body and a human mind piloting a starship, only teens and children are capable of adapting to 'being the ship' as it were.<br />
<br />
Book #1 is called Candidates, and focuses primarily on the relationship between Michiko Hoshimoto and the protagonist, Daniel Logan. They have to adjust to living and working together at Wolf Point Academy, base of the VALKYRIE Project, in the Galapagos (cool location, and there's a sensible reason they're there!)<br />
<br />
So I better get back to writing and crank this thing out.Paul Naughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09516095689139308013noreply@blogger.com0