A Short Guide to the Bubblegum Crisis:

    In the first quarter of the twenty-first century, Dr. Katsuhito 
Stingray perfected the single greatest development in the history of 
robotics, creating true artificially intelligent machines -- robots that 
verged on the edge of sentience.  They were referred to as Boomers.

    Unfortunately, a sequence of events, among them the death of Dr. 
Stingray in a "tragic accident" and a catastrophic earthquake that 
devastated Tokyo, left control of this new technology -- and indeed, much 
of the global economy -- in the hands of the huge, multinational Genom 
corporation.  Genom has been referred to as the "Genetic Organism 
(designed by a) Noisy Multinationalist", and compared to a human *genome* 
-- the basic element of life.  By the early 2030s, the corporation has 
become the basis of life in Tokyo and around the world, placing a 
stranglehold on the human spirit that seems unshakable.

    But in any age of darkness and tyranny, there are always those willing 
to stand against the night.  In the rebuilt, renamed MegaTokyo of the 
early 2030s, the foremost of these postmodern heroes are a group of 
mercenary vigilantes in super-powerful battlesuits -- the Knight Sabres.

    The Knight Sabres were formed by Sylia Stingray, daughter of the late 
Dr. Stingray and beneficiary of his scientific knowledge.  Her cold, often 
emotionless demeanor hides a passionate will to avenge the misdeeds that 
Genom has perpetrated using her father's technology -- although in her 
more rational moments she realizes that Genom's destruction would mean the 
end of the world in most respects, and that the function of the Knight 
Sabres is truly to strike a balance and counter the worst of the 
corporation's excesses.  She is beginning to realize that she views the 
Knight Sabres, and all of MegaTokyo's innocents, as her children.

    If Sylia is the brains of the Knight Sabres, then Priscilla "Priss" S. 
Asagiri -- retrothrash musician and motorcycle enthusiast -- is the 
burning heart of the group.  Priss lost her family in the great 
earthquake, and has suffered other, even more painful losses since then, 
as a direct result of Genom and rogue boomers.  She has a deathwish that 
is only somewhat balanced by her ferocious will to live, a will that has 
allowed her to walk and fight though pain that would cripple a normal 
man.  It has been said that she hates the world ... but not nearly as much 
as she hates herself, for living in that world.

    Somewhere in between these two poles of emotion and rationality lies 
the personality of Nene Romanova.  She is brave, resourceful and 
intelligent.  She is also silly, naive, and overly cute.  Her contribution 
to the forces of the Knight Sabres is her tremendous aptitude for computer 
and other information-age technology.  As an office worker for MegaTokyo's 
ADvanced Police, she views her work for the Knight Sabres in a much more 
romantic light than the others ... which leads to conflicts, especially 
between herself and Linna.  But beneath their bickering is a deep concern 
for one another.

    Linna Yamazaki rounds out the four Knight Sabres.  A former dancer 
turned aerobic instructor turned stock broker, she is the most concerned 
with the realities of the Knight Sabres' function as mercenaries *and* 
vigilantes.  Punishing the evil and defending the innocent are all well 
and good, as long as they put bread upon the table.  Linna, perhaps more 
than any of the others, could give up the fight if it became clear that it 
was hopeless.  To her, it is ultimately a job -- one she enjoys and that 
is necessary, but not a crusade against the forces of darkness, or a 
mission from God.

    The Knight Sabres battle in extremely advanced battlesuits, called 
"hardsuits", each equipped with powerful weaponry -- Priss' signature 
weapon is her railgun, Sylia favours a pair of so-called "laser swords", 
Linna is expert with her monomolecular ribbons, and Nene ... uses a laser  
(her suit is actually optimized for sensors and communications gear) -- 
which can be augmented by the use of a "motoslave" -- a motorcycle which 
can combine with a hardsuit to form a large robot-like vehicle that is 
more than capable of combat with the boomers that Genom and other parties 
use to prey on the innocent.

    Although the efforts of the Knight Sabres have only barely checked 
Genom's power, it has been suggested that a heroic fate awaits them ... 
and that it is their destiny to become the greatest legends of the Twenty 
First century.

    (The above descriptions detail the standard Bubblegum Crisis milieu; 
however, the Bubblegum Crisis elements in this milieu are part of a larger 
fictional universe that combines elements from a number of Japanese 
animation series.  For the purposes of this story, the only significant 
change is the fact that, unbeknownst to her colleagues, Nene Romanova has 
begun studies of occult and mystical forces, becoming the first of a new 
breed of magicians.  For details of how this came about, read Bubblegum 
Crisis:  Apotheosis, also by Chris Davies.)

A Short Guide to Xena:  Warrior Princess

    It is another age, one that bears superficial similarities to the 
Mycenaean period of Ancient Greece.  The War for Troy has just recently 
ended, and a period of comparative anarchy has begun ... with warlords 
leading armies against kings, kings squabbling amongst each other, and 
even the gods intervening at times.  The ordinary people cry out for a 
champion to protect them ...

    ... and get a repentant ex-warlord seeking to overcome the shame of 
her past, and her self-appointed bardic chronicler.

    In fact, Xena, called the Warrior Princess, is a worthy hero.  Her 
skill at personal combat, whether with sword, bare fists, or her chakram 
(a sort of hollow sharpened discus) is almost unmatched, and she is 
capable of incredible feats of strength and coordination.  To this is 
added a genius for strategy, a knowledge of esoteric fighting techniques 
(such as pressure point manipulation), and a stunning beauty -- which she 
is not unwilling to use as a tool in the pursuit of her goals.  Xena seeks 
to atone for her misdeeds, as she feels responsible for the savageries 
committed by the armies she led in days past.  Her own *personal* crimes 
are such that she has adopted a taciturn, almost cynical persona -- 
expressing herself in as few words as possible, but always with maximum 
effect.

    Words are more the department of her more-or-less constant companion, 
Gabrielle.  A bard -- storyteller/performance artist -- who has at one 
point declined an offer to study at the prestigious Athenian Academy for 
those of her trade, she has made it her mission in life to be Xena's 
friend -- whether the Warrior likes it or not.  Along the way, she has 
become an honorary princess of the Amazons, developed a not-to-be 
underestimated skill in staff fighting, married and lost her childhood 
love, and been held at knife-point far more times than she would probably 
enjoy recounting -- and when one considers the loquaciousness that is 
Gabrielle, that is saying a great deal.

    Truth be told, Xena and Gabrielle *are* friends.  In fact, their 
friendship is extremely strong, and Xena has stated that she views 
Gabrielle as both her "heir" and the closest thing that she has to 
family.  Over their adventures, each of them has come so dangerously close 
to death as to actually seem to die ... and in every instance, the bond 
between these two has been that which drew them back from the grave.

    Of the various enemies that these adventurers (adventuresses are 
something else again) have encountered, the two most dangerous and 
enduring are the God of War, Ares, and his occasional servant, the warlord 
Callisto.  Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of these adversaries are 
their strangely intimate bonds to Xena ... Xena was once Ares' favored 
mortal, and it has been suggested that their relationship was much more 
than professional in nature, while Callisto is obsessed with Xena's 
destruction due to the fact that the Warrior Princess destroyed Callisto's 
village during her days as a warlord.  While Ares desires for Xena "to 
return to the fold", and once more be his servant on Earth, Callisto has 
hatched many elaborate schemes to destroy Xena's reputation or life -- and 
it is worth noting that her obsession with Xena is of the same strength as 
Gabrielle's friendship, for they have both found the strength to come back 
from the Underworld for Xena ... although for dramatically different 
reasons, it would seem.

    It has been stated that Xena's courage will change the world.  Exactly 
how is yet unknown, for it *is* known that the legends of her deeds are 
lost until the Twentieth Century of her world, although they are passed 
down through various families ... but that isn't exactly relevant to the 
matter at hand.

    Perhaps.

    (Note about the Xenaverse:  After episodes dealing with the Trojan War 
(generally dated to 1200 BCE), the fight between David and Goliath 
(probably occuring c. 1015 BCE), the life and career of Julius Caesar (100 
to 44 BCE), and a cameo appearance by a certain family of travellers under 
a bright star around the Winter Solstice (anywhere from 5 to 3 BCE), it 
does not take a genius to realize that the Xena stories are not meant to 
reflect any specific era in history, but rather draw from myths and 
legends of many peoples for inspiration, often combining them to produce 
startling results.  One rather intriguing possibility is that the Xena 
universe is that from which the makers of historical epic films, such as 
"El Cid" or "Spartacus" draw their inspiration.  Again, this is not 
exactly relevant to the matter at hand, but it is important to note.  As 
the Crystal Tokyo Society suggests, it is perhaps best to "Expect the 
Unexpected" when it comes to the Xenaverse.)