Bob Schroeck wrote on 3/26/2004, 8:49 PM:
>
> David McMillan wrote:
> > Once more into the fic, dear friends! Once more...
>
> And finally I get a chance to reply to this part. I got sick on
> Sunday, and I'm only now feeling good enough to get to my email
> backlog...
And then I had a sudden rush of work, which ate up all my free time
until today. We're even. (:)
> > > The moment she caught sight of us, Lisa broke away from White and
> > > and ran up to me. She stopped short less than a meter away,
> > > clearly unsure of what to do next. I spread my arms and with a
> > > wordless cry she threw herself into an enthusiastic embrace.
> > And so the Righteous and Just Journalist rescued her Hero
> in Cycle
> > Leathers...
>
> Well, yeah. Not exactly the way things go for your typical SI, huh?
> <grin>
I've always said that there's room for *well-done* SIs.
> > > "His loss diminishes all of us. Without his unique vision and
> > > drive behind it, GENOM will be a very different beast indeed."
> > Butter could not *melt* in her mouth...
>
> I loved coming up with that line. Literally true and so misleading.
It comes through, trust me.
> <nod> Note that Doug feels guilty about the oddest collection of
> things, too. This bothers him. Beating the crap out of Nene didn't
> really, even after his dressing-down. This is intentional and gives
> a little more insight into his character.
Yeah. Nene *chose* to put herself in the line of fire, even if
she was
in way over her head. The starlet never had a chance to save herself
from whatever happened -- she probably never realized anything *was*
happening until too late (assuming anything *did*).
Nene, OTOH, knew the score (at least partially) and entered her
role
with her eyes wide open (behind rose-tinted glasses, maybe, but Doug
don't know that). Doug *oughta* feel a bit more remorse for beating up
on her like that, but this *is* consistent with his brand of ethics.
> > > So Madigan was first in line to replace the old man.
> > > Well, she deserved a reward for her bravery.
> > But corporate culture has a life of its own. She's going to
> > have her work cut out for her.
>
> Oh yeah. Not exactly a "live happily ever after" ending for her.
> But it's far better than the alternative...
OTOH, if she can ride the tiger successfully, she has a chance at
making a real difference. Not quite the Magical Girl heroism she might
have wished for, but her corporate power will be more far-reaching.
> > > With all those vectors, I didn't think it would take long to
> > > reach a critical mass of infection. And I was right.
> > Which, ironically, means that the ADP and Sabers are going
> to have
> > *more* work to do, short term, until things start balancing out.
>
> Right. Doug doesn't leave the BGC world a paradise because of the
> changes he's inflicted -- he's left it destabilized. Whether it ends
> up a paradise is up to the people living there -- all of them, bios
> and cybers both.
One could draw a broad parallel to the breakup of the fUSSR, here.
Yeah, Doug is definitely Chaotic Neutral-to-Good -- comes in,
*blows*
the BGC world out of its rut, and takes off leaving the ladies to clean
up the mess. Just like a guy. (:)
> But of course. And, just as a big giveaway, there are secret
> presents from the Three in that song. They *engineered* things
> so that he had to use it.
Darn it, Bob, now I gotta re-read this monster AGAIN! Do you ENJOY
making me work like this? (:)
> > > Well, let me tell you something!" I was bellowing now. "There's
> > > a *reason* there's no god of stand-up comedy!"
> > "That's MY job!"
> > Oh, yeah. Doug gets Apotheosized. If he's not careful, they
might
> > just do it to him, too, just to driver him crazy(er).
>
> <snort>
Heck, I wouldn' put it past the OMB Kami-Sama to make Doug a (temp)
deity of some kind, just to see what happens. And make him learn
something....
> > > A gate. Finally. I could move on now.
> > > "That will be all," Kate Madigan said to the brace of disguised
> > > boomer bodyguards who had escorted her to the door of her
> > > apartment.
> > Heh. Now, I wonder if they're freewills. Or, if not, if Aquarius
> > might be thinking about sneaking in some ringers. Partly to keep her
> > safe, partly to keep an eye on her.
> > <later> Okay, seems not. But if I were A, I'd think about it.
> In the
> > event that Kate really *is* on the up-and-up, she's in more danger
from
> > *within* GENOM than without. And the intel reasons still apply.
>
> Actually, they *are*. They're Quincy's old bodyguard boomers, still
> on assignment... and Doug's already made a deal with them, through
> Aquarius and his people -- which is why they didn't insist on entering
> the apartment or notice the cooking smells or the other objections you
> raised. In fact, they already knew he was in there, and why.
Ah. This explains a great deal. And of course no one but the Z
Team
and Sabers know that her bodyguards were, um, co-opted.
Should make for some interesting elements in "Dead Bang." A set of
freewills in a position to observe Madigan with complete access...
> And while I didn't give the possibility of internal threats to Madigan
> any thought when I wrote this, I'm sure Doug did, and has made
> arrangements on that front, too... <grin>
It's *so* nice to work with a professional...
> > Which leads to another bit of speculation: as soon as people
> figure
> > out what's going on, quite a few somebodies are going to start looking
> > really hard for a means to test boomers for the results of Leo-A. One
> > more wrinkle for post-Doug Megatokyo...
>
> Yeah, probably. I should tell that to the fellow who's writing the
> sequel to DW2, called "Dead Bang"...
It does seem rather inevitable. I wonder which national
military will
be the first to throw in the towel and start turning their "property"
into enlisted men?
And, more darkly, who'll be first to try and reverse the efects of
Leo-A, or create an immunity?
Speaking of, I recall that Ch 13 was a bit ambiguous about whether
Leo-A does anything to the OMS, given that Doug never figured out what
the OMS *is.* One could hope that cutting the other behavorial controls
also amputated the OMS's "levers" on the brain, leaving it impotent.
But if the OMS is still partially effective....
> Nope. Warriors' Mansion has a huge kitchen, and the Warriors have
> lots of down time between official assignments. A man develops
> hobbies. Besides, as he says to Asuka Sohryu Langley in DW6, "It's
> like chemistry you can eat!"
<blink> I'm... not sure I'd put it *that* way to someone who has
suffered Misato's cooking...
> > Microtome?
> > Okay, I learned my lesson this time. Google says... well, it's
> some
> > kind of medical tissue-sampling gadget. Good enough.
>
> It's a gadget for making very, very thin slices of a subject
> so you can examine it under a microscope. Think a scientific-
> grade deli slicer.
"Soylent Salami is... PEOPLE!"
> > > "Because, in the end, it
> > > was the right thing to do," she said, and smiled wider. Then she
> > > added in a whisper, "I did it in the name of love and justice."
> > Somewhere, Naoko Takeuchi is sneezing. Somewhere else, quite a
few
> > fuku-clad magical girls are giggling like maniacs...
>
> So was my wife, when she read this response of yours. <grin>
> (Giggling, not sneezing.)
<bow> I live to serve.
> > "The wedding went off without a hitch. Although I *did* have a
bad
> > moment when the minister got to "speak now blah blah blah" and EVERY
> > WARRIOR in the chapel started to speak up in perfect chorus... and
> never
> > made a sound. It was revenge -- the SOBs *planned* it."
> > "The reception was almost boring. Just a minor Pfhor incursion,
> but
> > the rest of the team didn't even leave any for us."
>
> Peggy and I were rolling when we read this. We never actually
> played the wedding, so we might lift your description and impose it
> on Warriors' World by fiat. <grin>
Take it, it's yours! Just let me know how the rest of the
Gaming Gang
react. (:)
> > Uh, yeah. The ring is definitely still at some risk. OTOH,
> where else
> > could he keep it safer and still be wearing it?
>
> I couldn't think of anyplace that wasn't potentially, um...
> well, no, let's not go there.
Your thoughts parallel mine. In ALL respects.
> > Which begs the question of how many *other* analogues there are
out
> > there. Bankers, janitors, politicians, lawyers, even fanfic writers.
> > Doug: "FANFIC WRITERS?!? NOOOOOOO! ANYTHING but THAT!"
>
> Another bit that had Peggy rolling with laughter. (I liked it,
> too... <grin>)
I had great material to start from. (;)
> > > "'Soon' is relative, Leese. I'm almost four years out from home,
> > > and I hope to god that I get back there before I'm an old man."
> > Easy to forget. From her end, he just *got* here.
>
> Well, not really. It's almost a year now...
Time *flies* when you're having fun.
> > "Plus, we need to settle who'd *really* win-- I mean, we have some
> > issues to discuss."
>
> You keep making my wife laugh. You've got a better track
> record tonight than I do...
Oh, dear. I should stop, maybe? (:)
> > I now have this *image* stuck in my head, where Priss goes to
> pick up
> > Jen from an afternoon at Aunt Lisa's place... and finds them both
> curled
> > up on the couch, fast asleep, buried under a pile of WB plushies.
>
> I like it. I wonder if Dave Menard would like to do that one up
> as a pic...
I wonder if he'd take a commision (in his COPIUS free time).
> > They will keep her warm at night, though.
> > What? Why are you all looking at me like that?
>
> Your shirt's on inside out, that's why.
What? How did you know that? You can SEE me, can't you?
You're one
of THEM! THEY're ALL out to GET ME!
> > > Pink
> > > didn't move, but all her antennae were deployed and I suspected
> > > she was scanning for anyone scanning *us*.
> > Or she's monitoring *him.* The readings from an interplanar
> jump might
> > just come in handy for her next hacking project...
> > Ooooh. Nene jumps into "The Matrix." 'nuff said.
>
> Hm. Nice idea...
"Morpheus... why does the Oracle have Anime Hair?"
> > > Then I said, "I suppose you're all
> > > wondering why I called you here together."
> > "*That* was when they all shot me. I admit, I deserved it."
>
> <snort>
Well, he *did.*
> > > "I got a chance to study
> > > the plans for the boomer brains over the winter. They're a
> > > remarkable piece of work. Katsuhito Stingray was a genius."
> > Wait, what's that sound? I think KS just stopped spinning...
>
> "Stopped"?
Well, if one assumes that his life's work is finally back (more or
less) on the track he originally intended...
> > We'll never know what KS's real motives were, but I like to
> think that
> > he intended something much more positive than what eventually
happened.
>
> Maybe. It's very hard to tell from the source material, and the
> more I glean of what he was like, the more confused the picture
> gets.
Oh, my, yes.
> > Could Sylia have come up with Leo-A if she tried? Hmm....
>
> Good question. It's hard to definitively say that something is
> beyond her, given that she keeps a technological edge over an entire
> megacorporation just by her lonesome. It seems likely that if she
> had known and had thought of it, she could have reproduced the work
> of Mirmecoleon Labs... The question is, would she have thought of
> it?
And if she *had,* what would she have *done?* Now that's a thorny
question. Just how big a kick in the head did Sylia need in order to
stop seeing Boomers as "things" and start seeing them as potential people?
> > > I had my forehead right down in the stinking muck that carpeted
> > > the alley. "I was wrong to call you murderers; I acknowledge that
> > > and ask your forgiveness."
> > A *tad* overdone, perhaps... but it's not like he's going to
have a
> > second chance at this.
>
> This is Doug we're talking about here -- fight big, live big, fuck
> up big, apologize big.
>
> <grin>
"Go big or go home!"
> > "By the way, anybody got some handi-wipes?"
>
> I knew I forgot a detail. Now he's going on to the next world
> with dirt on his forehead.
"What, I'm DEAD? Oh, sorry, wrong "next," never mind."
> > > "I suppose I must save every boomer now?" she asked coldly.
> > A few chapters back, when he was stuck in full-on self-righteous
> prick
> > mode, he might have said yes. But now...
>
> <nod> Everyone changes, grows and adapts.
>
> > "So, now our mission is to protect boomers from people?"
> > "No, your mission is to protect people from each other."
>
> Oh, I do wish I'd thought of that. That's *good*.
Take it, if you like. That's one little moment of inspiration
I'm glad
I had. Now if I can just find a way to use it, somewhere....
> > > "I VISITED MEGATOKYO AND FREED THE BOOMERS AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS
> > > LOUSY T-SHIRT."
> > Same shop as Doug's apron?
>
> Might be. I don't know where Lisa shops.
>
> > > "Thanks. I'll wear it with
> > > pride when I get home. I'll really be able to tell them 'been
> > > there, done that, got the T-shirt,'" I added, and she laughed.
> > I sense a trend. He's gonna have a LOT of those shirts by the
> time he
> > gets home.
>
> I hadn't thought of that... nah, probably not. The readers
> will get tired of it.
*I* wouldn't. But I've been told that I'm easily amused.
> > > "Maybe I'll come visit *you* next
> > > time," she said with a little laugh. "You never know, right?"
> > Foreshadowing? One can only hope...
>
> <Bob looks off in another direction, whistling.>
Oh, you dirty little tease, you....
> > > She shivered; the sensation was... odd. Not unpleasant, but
> > > very, very strange.
> > Uh. Oh. I thought that "Ultraa" comment was a hint. But I
> honestly
> > thought that, if Lisa had been "activated," she would have shown signs
> > earlier on.
>
> What, so she could fly to his rescue, slinging levinbolts at
> every boomer in the Tower?
>
> Nah. That'd be too easy.
Not *that* so much, just some of the more subtle little early
warning
signs.
But I wasn't thinking on the right scale -- I was thinking of
the IT
song as having the biggest effect, followed by the portal. The
simulacra weren't even on my radar. But after having it pointed out,
and being reminded of just how freaking *much* power the portal takes,
the sequence now makes sense.
> > Convenient this only started happening NOW.
> > Or... did it? Bob, you sneaky so-and-so, did you drop any other
> hints
> > that I failed to pick up on earlier? Now I'm going to have to go back
> > and re-read the entire series. Again. See what you made me do?
>
> No, this is the first point where the gift starts manifesting.
> It was the gate that pushed her over the edge. She'd been
> teetering since the fight in chapter 12, with all the magic
> in the simulacra all around her. This was the final shove.
>
> No, Hexe's kiss actually did nothing except lay a "this one is
> under my protection" mark on her. And that uses power in a
> different "spectrum" from "ordinary" magic.
Ah. *Lisa* seemed to think that Hexe had something to do with
it, and
I just followed her.
> > > Lisa shook her head. "No way," she muttered. "No way in hell."
> > > *I can't be. There aren't any in this world. Doug said so.*
> > And I *still* want to know why. Just pure luck? Or was someone
> doing
> > something?
>
> Just pure luck.
>
> You've got to understand that the entire Sailor Loon plotline
> (*and* Madigan's redemption!) started as a gag piece I wrote for
> my prereaders -- the original "Sailor Loon" scene wasn't seriously
> intended for the story. But once my prereaders convinced me to
> include it, two things popped up in my imagination -- this
> epilogue, and a little note that got put in my plot file: "What
> if Madigan's a 'Sailor Moon' fan, too?" I kept the epilogue,
> because at the time it epitomised the "accidental changes" theme
> I'd been working on, things that happened to the BGC world because
> of Doug, but not because he made them happen intentionally. Lisa
> having a latent mage gift, well, it was supposed to be a kind of
> punchline. Instead, it turned into the beginning of the whole
> string of epilogues (there was already a Sylia epilogue, but it
> hadn't really been broken out as a separate entity) that gave
> hints at where the BGC world would be going after his influence.
In the end, that gag almost took over the B plot. Heh. And it
worked
out well, too.
> > > There was a terribly panicked shriek.
> > > "NENE!"
> > This is where reading fanfic at work caused my reputation for
being
> > strange to go up another notch. You'd think my coworkers had never
> seen
> > someone writhing on the floor in hysterics before.
>
> <chuckle> I do try to restrain myself in similar situations.
> It'd get me in more trouble than it's worth. <grin>
Oh, I *had* been restraining myself, all through the earlier
parts of
the fic. This was just the lead brick that broke the camel's back...
I mean, I could just *hear* her *shriek*...
> > "Say, Kate can you hand me that -- oh, here it is in my hand.
> Silly
> > me. Hah. Hahah."
>
> I like. I should forward that little bit to Dragonflight for
> "Dead Bang", too...
Definite opportunity for comedy, there. Of course, Kate's gonna
want a
henshin stick... (:)
> > > "Yeah! And I got a bullseye!" Jennifer squirmed in her grasp
> > > and dug a crumpled piece of paper out of a pocket. "See!"
> > You know, *most* kids just give their mothers crayon drawings.
> > If Priss sticks that on the fridge with a magnet, I'm going to
> rupture
> > myself, I'll be laughing so hard.
>
> <chuckle> I hadn't thought of that, but it's a distinct
> possibility.
I wonder of DF will give us a view of the Asagiri/McNichol
kitchen? It
really wouldn't surprise me to see this...
I got my baby sis a .22 target pistol for Christmas, and we hit the
range before I hit the road and she went back to college. Her first
50-ft target is now hung in her bedroom at school to intimidate any
would-be mashers....
> > > She laughed quietly to herself as she remembered
> > > that it had obviously been love at first sight for both men, but
> > > neither had had the courage to approach the other -- until Linna
> > > and Nene tricked them into dancing together. After that...
> > <splort> BWAHAHAHAHAAAA!
>
> Well, I wasn't about to leave Daley high and dry after all that
> depressing introspection about having no love life, now, was I?
> <grin>
I suppose not. It's just the image of Nene and Linna as
matchmakers....
> > The Priss fanboys will hate this. Me, I like seeing a Priss who's
> > grown up, and broadened her horizons.
> > As long as she's still got her hardsuit in the closet...
>
> <chuckle> According to Dragonflight, Sylia's building a new one
> just in case Priss needs it.
Good thing. As I mention elsewhere, while boomer violence
organized
from a high (Quincy-high) level seems likely to be gone for good, the
number of smaller random incidents is going to go up for a while. Being
so far from the Sabers, it would seem wise for Priss and Leon to have
means at hand to defend their home.
Hey... LEON should get a hardsuit, finally! After getting kicked
around in K-suits for so long, he deserves a break.
> > > "Great!" Nene giggled. "Now, my turn!" A moment later, she had
> > > a leather aviator's helmet pulled over her head, reducing her red
> > > hair to a short fan spread across her shoulders. She peered
> > > owlishly at Linna through her own goggles. The smudge of grease
> > > still marked her cheek. "What do you think?"
> > Fanart! Fanart! Somebody? Pleeeeez?
>
> Ask Dave Menard. <grin>
Mmmm... the plushies one first. Then this one.
> > > Linna just laughed. "Oh, my god. It's the Red-Headed Baron."
> > Somewhere over MegaTokyo, there's a Sopwith Beagle lying in
wait...
>
> Okay, Peggy's on the floor now. Stop that. <grin>
Oh, dear. I didn't hurt make her hurt herself, did I? (:)
> > > A pair of tiny helicopter-style rotors unfolded from its
> > > wingtips, and two tons of antique automobile lifted gently off
> > > the road.
> > I'll admit, I wouldn't have recognized CCBB if other C&Cers hadn't
> > pointed it out -- it's been a looooong time. But given Linna's thing
> > for old and odd cars...
>
> Plus, I put it front and center in the scene where she shows off
> her garage to her date, in chapter 10. Even noted it in the
> Concordance.
Vaguely recall that, but missed the signifigance. One MORE
reason to
re-read The Whole Darn Thing...
> > Doug was wrong.
>
> Let suggest that this was something of a theme in this story?
Tee hee heee....
> > > And some "went bad" as soon as Leo-A finished
> > > with them, regardless of their owners' tendencies.
> > Hence an increase in work for the Sabers and ADP. Although the
> > situation is probably less dangerous, overall, because Quincy's not
> > orchestrating things anymore.
>
> Well, Dragonflight is postulating gangs of "bad" boomers roaming
> the streets, but yeah, since they're not being dispatched using
> military strategy or intelligence they're less dangerous.
"Zo, we zee zat zere eez a definite trend, in which while zee
rate of
boomer incidents increases zubstantially, zee lethality of each
individual incident eez on zee decreaze... "
I'm sorry, I don't know *where* that came from.
> > > Sylia found this intolerable.
> > Good ol' Silly. She'll probably never entirely lose that
> dislike for
> > things that don't fit...
>
> And yet, she turns out to be Lisa's instructor in magic...
"This 'magic' in fact consistently obeys certain rules, and is not
cost-free -- the Second Law of Thermodynamics is maintained, albeit in
an unusual way. Therefore, 'magic' is simply a new,
hitherto-undiscovered branch of science, albeit an unusual one."
"Um, Sylia? What about deities and spirits and, um, stuff?"
"....Lisa, please do not poke holes in my rationalizations."
> > > A listing of various weapons, ranging from the utterly
> > > ridiculous to ones so hideously lethal she feared to even think
> > > of what might happen should the world gain access to them.
> > Like the Infinite Improbability Chicken Cannon. Or the Vogon
> Poetry Bomb.
>
> Then there were the ridiculous ones...
Yeah, the VPB definitely goes in the "hideously lethal" column.
> > ITYM "twisted path," don't you? (:)
>
> Yes, that's what he meant. I called him on it when he wrote this
> epilogue back in May 2000. <grin>
Yet another fic I have to read...
> > > Perhaps... just tonight, perhaps... she'd imagine.
> > And maybe Sylia gets a little of her own stolen childhood back,
> too.
>
> <nod> Maybe.
I hope so.
> > Which means... oh, dear.
> > The Stingray/Vannette Institute of Magic and Technology? With
> at least
> > three active mages running around, exposure rates will go up,
> activating
> > more potential metatalents... gee, just likge Leo-A. Okay, Doug, any
> > *other* little virii you'd like to contaminate the world with before
> you
> > go? (:) And Sylia and Lisa are Hobson's choice for training these
> new
> > talents before they go bad.
>
> If they even discover the kids are mages... How much you wanna bet that
> Nene, Linna and Priss don't even remember the kids' names?
I bet their *faces* are engraved permanently, though. And there's
always the archival recordings.
Lisa: "I'm sure I've seen their faces before...."
> Doug already uses "Total Eclipse of the Heart" -- it's a devastating
> emotion control attack -- but I think that's the only Steinman song in
> his usual repertoire at the moment.
And then there's the "going nowhere fast" song from "Street Of
Fire,"
whose title escapes me at the moment. Bullet-time effects, maybe?
> > Whew. What a long, strange trip it's been. And a lot of fun,
too.
>
> Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
>
> > "Hey, what do mean, 'been'?" I'm still not home, darn it!"
> > Doug, get out of here. You're a figment of Bob's deranged
> imagination,
> > not mine.
> > "Everybody's a critic."
> > Don't quit your day job. Now, say goodnight, Doug.
> > "Goodnight, Doug."
>
> <snort> And Peggy continues to be amused...
I was on a roll that day. Yay me!
> > Wiseass. Anyway, now I'll have a chance to re-read the series
> in its
> > entirety before the next arc comes out. Doug meets the Three on
> more...
> > even terms. Whooo hoo hoooo....
> > "I meet WHO?!?"
> > You didn't hear that. Now GIT!
>
> <grin>
>
> -- Bob
>
>
===============================================================================
>
> Robert M. Schroeck rms@eclipse.net
> http://www.eclipse.net/~rms
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