Well, it's that time of year again.  That time of year when I wake
up, look at myself in the mirror, and say, "Another year into the abyss."

	Yep.  23 years and counting ... down.

	You may have noticed that I have an interesting history of doing
things to celebrate my birthday.

	Two years ago, I came out of the closet about thinking that my
favorite anime character of all time was bisexual.

	One year ago, I released the first chapter of my longest work to
date.

	This year I was considering (a) dropping a space colony on
Australia, or (b) writing a story about Kiki and Ursula getting to know each
other a little better, but (a) I made a friend down there and decided not to
kill the rest of the population off and (b) Hayao Miyazaki threatened legal
action.  Whee.

	And since I haven't even started "Together Again:  Silver Millenium"
chapter (look for the first part by Christmas), I'm left with few
alternatives.

	So ... I moved my webpage.  And refurbished it, replaced some
graphics, revised the page of links, did something about the colour of the
text colour.  I also added some supplementary information -- timelines and
family trees, mainly -- to the Together Again page.

	So -- if you have a few spare moments today, take a look at the new
page at http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/banks/277/index.html -- they've
only put the advertising banners up on a few pages, and it's much less
irritating than the Geocities pop-ups.

	In lieu of presents, I'd suggest donations to your favorite
charities.  (If asked, I'd recommend anything dealing with HIV, for personal
reasons.)

	That's all.  You can go back to doing whatever you were doing.

Chris Davies, Advocate for Darkness, Part-Time Champion of Light.
"WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?" 
-- Death, in "Reaper Man", by Terry Pratchett.
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/banks/277/index.html





















	You didn't *seriously* think I was gonna let the day go by without a
PREVIEW of a story, at least?

September 13, 2000
Katsuragi Expedition Base Camp, Antarctica

	Katsuragi Kenji-hakase stumbled as he carried his semi-conscious
child through the ruins of the camp, but was caught before he dropped to
his knees by the young man who walked with him.  Kenji didn't bother
wasting time thanking him.

	"I wish ..." he heard the young man mutter in English as they both
headed towards the safest place in Antarctica.

	"What?" Kenji asked in Japanese, his voice barely a rasp.

	"I wish that I'd kept my camera with me," the Canadian answered in
the same language, flashing a strange, sad smile as he did.  "I've got a
feeling whatever just happened would get me a Pulitzer ..."

	For only a moment, Kenji paused as the wind whipped past him.  The
young man was making a joke, while he shuddered in the cold -- there had
been no time to get him into a parka -- and waited for death.

	Kenji started walking again.  Shaking fingers tapped out a code on
the side of the cyllinder.  With a hiss of escaping gas, the lid slid open.
He set his daughter down in the cushioned pod.

	He did not meet her eyes as she regained consciousness, and
murmured "Poppa?"

	Nor did he meet the young man's eyes as the Canadian began to
speak again.  "Actually, that was a lie.  I wish ... I really wish you'd
tell me what this was all about.  I mean, I'm gonna die, so --"

	"I'm very sorry, Mr. Davies," Kenji answered quietly.  He heard
a sigh escape from the other's lips.  "I'm afraid you're going to have to
live."

	And with a devil's strength he turned, slamming his fist into the
Canadian's jaw.  Kenji caught him before he collapsed completely, then
slung him into the capsule, pressing the codebar on its side once more,
cutting himself off from the sight of his daughter's eyes.

	Katsuragi Kenji-hakase was very tired.  He slumped beside the 
capsule containing the hope of humanity, and waited, gazing at the ruin he
had made of his life.

	A second later, it began in earnest.

	His final thought was <Will it make a difference?>


	Katsuragi Misato couldn't reach the buttons on the side of the
capsule her father had put her into.  The big gaijin who had made her
laugh despite herself last night, the one she'd just seen her father hit,
was blocking her way.

	There was a low boom.

	And then a scream.

	She cried.

	But Misato was unable to open the capsule so that she could gaze
fuzzily at the sight of two firey wings stretching up from the barren sea
where Antarctica had been.  She would see photographs from sattelites,
later, but they would never affect her in the same way that the naked eye
image of the thing that had destroyed her world might have.

	It would make a difference, in years to come.


	Christopher Davies, amateur film maker on a Greenpeace gig, was
unconscious.  He dreamt of many things as he slept through the second 
greatest disaster in human history.  He saw his family, his friends, and
those he'd claimed as enemies.

	But his mind kept returning, for some reason, to the image of the
man he'd seen leaving the Base Camp when he'd arrived, yesterday.

	The man with the thick glasses.

	The man who had been smiling as he got into the motorboat.

	It would make quite a difference, in years to come.



                          Shin Seiki Evangelion:
                            Scenario no Kawari

                      An Evangelion Author-Insertion
                              by Chris Davies

"I don't see what the big deal is about Evangelion; to me, it just seems
like an old giant robot show with a cast of lunatics."
				-- Jeanne Hedge, paraphrased.

"I guess I'm just an old-fashioned sentimentalist at heart.  I refuse
to accept a no-win scenario.  I hate the thought of a universe without
justice.  If the maneuverings of dark powers can't be exposed and
defeated by the pure of heart, then there's no point in anything.  I
can't believe that."
				-- Benjamin Hutchins, directly quoted.

   what have we become
   just look what we have done
   all that we destroyed
   you must build again
   no more presidents
   and all the wars will end
   one united world
   under god
   when the children cry
   let them know we tried
   when the children fight
   let them know it ain't right
   when the children pray
   let them know the way
   cause when the children sing
   then the new world begins
				-- White Lion "When the Children Cry"

   You may be right
   I may be crazy
   But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for
   Turn out the light
   Don't try to save me
   You may be wrong for all I know
   But you may be right
   You may be wrong but you may be right
   You may be wrong but you may be right
				-- Billy Joel, "You May Be Right."




		                Coming Soon



















	"Your scenario, their scenario; this is the scenario where I blow
your head off if you move a muscle," Davies said as he leveled the gun at
Ikari's head.














	Davies stared up at the swirling nimbus of primeval energy that
the ritual had called into being, realized who It probably was ... and
only one possible response came to his mind.

	"YO!" he shouted.  "ASSHOLE!  I wanna word with you, *Mister*
Capital-G!"














	Sorry, no more previews.  You'll have to wait and see it as I
write it.