#for a fictional mass transit system

[honourablejester]

I’m realising as I browse around that I really love lore when it comes to ttrpgs, games and game worlds. And by that I don’t mean I like to obsessively learn lists of dates and wars, and the names of leaders of factions, I mean …

I like learning weird, juicy details about the worlds of games. I like finding little nuggets that say things about the set-up and culture and assumptions of the world. I like finding fragments of ideas to hang whole story and character concepts off.

I love that in D&D 5e’s Spelljammer, the Astral Sea is full of the corpses of dead gods that you can fully sail up to in your ship. Just. Floating out there. Waiting for you to rock up to them.

I love that in Sunless Sea, the king of the drowned is the way he is because he fell in love with an eldritch sea urchin from space, and successfully married it. His niece is an angry sentient floating mountain whose mother is a goddess-mountain and whose father is a face-stealing humanoid abomination. This is fine and normal.

I love that in Starfinder, there are mysterious bubble cities in the surface of the sun that the church of the sun goddess discovered and cheerfully occupied despite having no idea who the hell built them or for what purpose.

I love that in Dishonored, the entire industrial revolution that has built the empire we’re in the midst of saving or destroying was built on the properties of whale oil harvested from eldritch tentacled whales that live half in the oceans and half in an eldritch void personified in the form of a weird-ass black-eyed shit-stirrer of a deity who was formed from a murdered and sacrificed child. And this is largely a background detail.

I love in the Elder Scrolls that the dwarves up and fucking vanished, as a race, at some point in history and absolutely nobody has any clue what happened to them or where they went, but their technology is so insane that ideas like ‘they time-travelled’ or ‘they erased themselves from existence’ are absolutely on the table.

I love that in Numenera, so many incredibly advanced civilisations have risen and fallen on this world that it’s absolutely littered with bonkers science fiction artefacts that have caused the current medieval-esque society built over top of them to develop in bizarre ways, and also you can find a mysterious artefact that absolutely baffles and delights your character, but that you the player will fully recognise as a slightly-more-advanced thermos flask.

I love that in Fallout, an irradiated post-nuclear apolocalypic hellscape, there’s a cult that worships the god of radiation as they have come to understand it, and they are mysteriously immune to radiation with absolutely no explanation whatsoever. They’re not ghouls, the usual result of fatally irradiated humans with some resistance, they’re perfectly normal humans who can somehow just tank rads all damn day. It could be a mutation, but Lovecraftian gods apparently do also fully exist in this setting, so it’s also possible that maybe they were on to something with this Atom thing.

I love that in Heart The City Beneath, there’s a mass transit train system that they tried to hook up to the eldritch beating god-thing buried under the city so that they could metaphysically chain the stations together more easily, which went horrifically and metaphysically wrong in entirely predictable fashion, and now there’s a whole order of train-knights who have to keep people safe from the extradimensional weirdness magnet the network has become.

That, and all the fantastic little details you can stumble across. There’s a biotech augmentation in Starfinder called an angler’s light that gives you a little angler-fish bioluminescent antenna on your forehead, and it was developed by asteroid miners who needed light but also both hands free for work. In Dishonored there’s a festival that everyone pretends is outside of time so nothing you do during it can be held against you. There’s a god of snuffed candles mentioned in a single line from Heart The City Beneath who has pacifist cannibal priests, and that is literally all the information you get on him.

While things like the history and geography and timeline of a world do also fascinate me, I’m not really here to memorise stuff like that. I’m here to find weird little nuggets of information and worldbuilding and delight in them. Give me funerary customs and weird myths and oddly specific circumstances and baffling little objects and absolutely bonkers cosmological implications. Give me the corpses of dead gods, and aesthetic movements with highly specific backstories, and bureaucratic fuck-ups of titanic scale, and mysterious things that seem to break all other rules of your setting with absolutely no explanation because people in-universe have no fucking clue how they work either. Why are the Children of Atom immune to radiation without ghoulifying? Not a clue, but Confessor Cromwell has been cheerfully standing in that irradiated pond that kills the player character with about 10 minutes of exposure for the last year and he’s still absolutely fine.

I just. I really love lore. I like my settings to have some meat in them, some juicy details to dig into, some inexplicable elements to have fun trying to explain. Particularly that last bit. I feel like a lot of people when building worlds feel like the rules have to be absolute and everything has to have an explanation, but nah. Putting some weird shit in makes everything immediately feel bigger, more real, because we don’t have even half an idea of how our world truly works, there’s always something we just don’t fully understand yet, and you can put that in a fictional world too. Some mysteries, some contradictions, some randomness, some weirdness. There’s a line, obviously, this depends on execution, but a little bit of mystery really does help.

Lore is awesome. And weird lore is even more so. Heh.

[thefrogdalorian]

The Best of Both Worlds - Chapter One

Din Djarin x Female Reader Modern!AU

❁ Series Masterlist ❁ My Masterlist ❁ Read on AO3 ❁

Word Count: 4690 Rating: General Summary: After a dreadful day which saw you drenched by a rainstorm after leaving a hectic day at work, you reflect on your love for Mando and upcoming excitement for the sci-fi convention you will soon be attending with your internet best friend. Content Warnings: None! Author's Note: Hope you liked the start! My love of mass transit systems bleeds through, I think. But I hope I captured how wonderful being part of a fandom and forming online friendships can feel! Thanks to @suresnips for being my beta!

1. Why Does It Always Rain On Me? [Reader's POV]

Spending your mid-twenties obsessing over a fictional character with fellow fans online was not exactly how you envisioned your life unfolding, but it seemed that the universe had other plans in store for you. You couldn’t be too disappointed with this outcome though, as the comforting familiarity of your favourite show and the community surrounding it was like a tight, warm embrace that had seen you through your toughest days. Just like today, when you would lean on The Mandalorian as a crutch yet again, as settling in to watch an episode would be the comfort you needed at the end of yet another miserable day.

It had been a draining day that seemed like it would never end. You seemed to be having an awful lot of them recently, where any little thing that could possibly have gone wrong had gone wrong. Work was busier than usual, with plenty of colleagues pestering you with questions and asking for assistance on tasks, when you had quite enough of your own work to occupy yourself with. Perhaps worst of all, you had forgotten to charge your headphones. Your heart sank as you went to turn them on just before you left work, only to find that there was no charge left. It was a major inconvenience as it meant that the soundtrack of your favourite show was not there to transport you to a different galaxy as you began your journey home. Instead, all you could hear was the relentless noise of the city. The cars and the people that never seemed to shut up for even one single second.

Your feet thundered against the pavement, the rhythmic thuds helping to ground you despite the loss of comfort that your precious headphones provided. Things were finally starting to look up. Well, they were, until you felt a spot of water against your left cheek. You sighed and looked up towards the sky, noticing the grey clouds that had suddenly rolled in from nowhere, and the eerily cold breeze that was suddenly swirling all around you. Rain was imminent. 

To add insult to injury and make your already torrid day even worse, the heavens promptly opened. And you had not worn a coat, nor brought an umbrella in the trusty backpack you carried everywhere. Even though the sky was a little grey, it had been a perfectly pleasant, warm morning when you stepped out of your building that morning. 

You muttered curses under your breath as the rain began ferociously pelting you, furious at your unpreparedness. You quickened your place, hurrying to the closest station to the museum you worked at as you continued to curse the weather with a variety of colourful language, but it had predictably done nothing to halt the relentless downpour. Even though summer should be approaching, the weather was awful. For what felt like weeks now, the weather had nothing but cloudy, cold and grey. It was beginning to grind you down. You just wanted to finally see some sun so you could enjoy the warmer months. Winter felt like it had never really ended. 

Mercifully, you eventually made it into the station, after ducking and weaving through the dithering tourists that lingered outside the prestigious institution in which you worked. You shook your head, hoping some of the water that had drenched your face and hair would at least fly off and prevent you from sitting on a crowded tube while soaked to the bone. You brought your arms around you, suddenly aware of how unpleasantly cold you felt after getting so wet in the rain.

But fortunately, as you descended deep beneath the city to the platform, the temperature rose. The tunnels, far below the city, had been built long ago; with their poor ventilation, they retained all the heat generated by the crowds. Sometimes it could be stuffy and feel as though there was no air, but today you were weirdly appreciative of the quirks of the tube.

Your momentary appreciation for the mass transportation system soon disappeared though, when you finally emerged onto the platform. There was a seemingly endless sea of bodies, crowding into every available space. You took a deep breath and squeezed between them, taking advantage of several confused tourists to position yourself just behind the yellow line in a spot that you knew would be in a prime location for the doors when the tube finally pulled up.

You tapped your foot impatiently as you stood on a crowded platform waiting for the tube to finally arrive, surrounded by the terrible din of an unappealing combination of annoyingly loud tourists and stressed-out commuters. To top off your miserable day, the line you needed to take to get home was suffering from delays, a fact the irritating trill voice of the announcer kept reminding you. They were sorry if it caused you inconvenience – of course it did! The empty apologies did nothing to quell the pounding in your head.

You were sick of crowds and noise, you had endured more than enough of it for one day. Work had been so busy that at one point, you felt as though your head was going to explode from all the tedium. The gradual buzzing in your head that you felt when you were annoyed had quietly begun in the early morning and had just gotten louder and louder throughout the day. You were exhausted. 

The rumble of the train finally hurtling through the tunnel towards you was for a moment, you were convinced, the greatest noise you had ever heard. You took a few deep breaths in preparation before it finally pulled up, now was time to fight your way through the sea of limbs and bodies to cram yourself inside the sweatbox on tracks that would take you to the comfort of your own home. To Mando. The man who helped pick you up whenever you were feeling down, without ever being able to know the impact he was having on your life.

It was the thought of how your heart would leap when you started the next episode in your rewatch and first saw his shiny form sauntering across your screen that seemed to carry you through the crowds you usually detested without draining too much of your dwindling energy reserves. You still winced, though, as you clambered aboard the sweltering carriage that was already likely too full to accommodate any more passengers. You knew there was no getting around it. This was just the reality of living in a major city like London. It was you who had been so determined to move here, after all. Eventually, after a lot of shuffling, you found yourself face-to-face with the dark brown musty jacket that belonged to a man who seemingly had not been acquainted with the wonders of deodorant. 

You fixed your gaze on the ceiling above you and tried to imagine yourself anywhere but here. You pictured Mando scything through a group of bad guys and imagined you were as strong as him. You reminded yourself over and over that this would not last long; there were only a couple of stops to a major train station, meaning the crowd would thin and you would hopefully get some more peace far away from the man’s musty jacket. You just about held it together for the next few stops, wishing you were already at home. You visualised the euphoria of finally walking through the door to your apartment, ready to change into comfortable clothes and settle down to watch your favourite show. Unfortunately, your illusion was constantly shattered by the crowds in the carriage with you.

Finally, though, you arrived at the stop where most crowds would depart and with the worst of the crowds having departed the tube, you were able to find a seat facing the window. Although there wasn’t much to see in the tunnels, you knew with every rattle that you were closer to home. You briefly considered the possibility that if your fellow travellers knew that sometimes, the only thing that got you through the day was knowing that you could come home and watch an episode of The Mandalorian, they would dismiss you as a pathetic loser. But you supposed that people coped in other ways, with harmful and destructive habits that caused pain to other people. You were not harming anyone with your passion and love for The Mandalorian, even if you knew it was not the most socially acceptable hobby for a grown woman.

Despite how sad your routine would probably sound to most people, the bond between you and The Mandalorian was stronger than any disparaging remarks that could come your way. Indeed, there were very few people in your life who truly understood the love you had for that show. Oh sure, there were casuals you had encountered, like your friend and colleague Tom, who was also a viewer of The Mandalorian – at least you had someone to occasionally discuss the latest episodes with. 

But your chats with your workmate were nothing deeper than how many people Mando had taken out in the latest episode and whether one day he could be seen on the same level as Vader in terms of iconic Star Wars characters. It was all very surface level and you felt reasonably sure, despite your closeness, that Tom would be at best bemused by your online activity and contemplate involving some kind of local authority at worst. Better that some things were kept secret.

Fortunately, you had a community of people online who unquestionably got it. You had them to talk to about the show that had become such a big part of your life. The Mandalorian had come to you at a difficult time in your life, a time when you most needed it. Recent years had not been kind to you, as they hadn’t been for most people. With global pandemics and both man-made and natural catastrophes, there were plenty of horrors awaiting you at life’s every turn. But you were so grateful that you had the show you loved so much and the people you had found because of it to help see you through. 

It had seemed that you were destined to find it at the exact moment when you did. At one of your lowest points, Mando had been there, with his deep voice and confident swagger to soothe you on your darkest days. To lose yourself for a few precious moments at the end of each difficult day and just watch the character that you loved so much flying around space, fighting bad guys and leaving each place better than he found it was deeply engrossing and comforting to you.

It didn’t matter to you that you did not have the faintest idea about what the man behind the helmet looked like. To you, The Mandalorian was the perfect sci-fi character. You had grown up loving the galaxy far far away and all things Star Wars, always keeping up with the latest releases and discussing them with your family and friends, but you would never have considered yourself a superfan who knew everything about it. It was not until you had started watching the show about the lone bounty hunter that a switch in your brain was flipped and you became completely, hopelessly obsessed with it. The musical score captured the mood perfectly and complimented the stunning visuals, the wide shots of landscapes as your favourite character travelled across whatever planet he found himself on that week, flying through the galaxy in his beloved Razor Crest. Every time you listened to music from the show – you were rarely seen without headphones, they were seemingly glued to your head – it was as though you could imagine yourself pacing through the galaxy alongside Mando. It was a way to get inside his head, imagine his emotions and how he carried himself.

You had been a little late to the party, only watching the first season after it had already aired in its entirety. But you had more than made up for lost time, completely immersing yourself in the world. You were pretty sure you had read absolutely everything about him and memorised the scant details that you knew about his life. Part of the allure of the show was how mysterious the character was himself. No one had ever seen his face nor did anyone know his real name, he was simply known as Mando. His need for secrecy was necessitated by the ancient Creed he belonged to, that followed a strict way of rules. Mando would never bend or break them for anyone, no matter how much fans fantasised about being the one to finally pull the lone gunslinger out of his shell and break through the harsh emotional walls he had put up for himself. 

After you had finished watching the first season, you joined the online fandom and quickly met a group of like-minded fans who were just as obsessed with all things Mandalorian as you were. You had found your tribe; you found solace in your online friends. They all shared the same passion for the show in a way that none of your friends in real life understood. The first person you had ever really spoken to had grown to be your closest friend Ria. You still remembered how nervous you were about speaking to her. She was a popular author who wrote many of the most well-received fanfics about Mando that appeared online after the first season had aired. But after you had nervously left your username on social media in her comment section, you found that she was just as lovely and welcoming as you had hoped when you began talking to her. After all, you were both, by definition, nerds who most people would see as losers for being so obsessed with one character. There was no need for hierarchy or competition here. 

After meeting Ria, she introduced you to some of her friends and you had all joined a group chat where you seemed to message each other constantly. On the train on the way to work, at lunch, last thing at night… there was always someone there to chat with about Mando. It helped that you were spread out across so many different times, all the way from Australia to Argentina and many places in between. The anticipation you had all felt for season two had reached a fever pitch before it was aired and, thankfully, it had lived up to all expectations. Speculating about what was to come in each episode with your online friends had been incredibly exciting. Not knowing what was coming next, who Mando would have to find or where he had to travel had been thrilling. After you had seen the first season, there had not been long to wait for the second season, which was released within a year. But now, there had been no new episodes for a few months as they worked on the next season. The wait was agonising, but your friends were helping you through.

Every single one of you in this group chat had undergone, at various stages, an identical process where you became completely enamoured by this same character, finding yourselves thoroughly charmed by his swagger and mystery. Each one of you, despite the distance that separated you, had found yourselves falling down the rabbit hole and becoming completely obsessed with the lone bounty hunter from a secretive warrior society, bound to never reveal his name or face to a single soul. 

The casting had been perfect… because just like the character on the show: in real life, you had absolutely no idea who the actor behind The Mandalorian was. Not a single one of you had any idea who portrayed Mando. His identity had been kept a complete secret – with the most watertight NDAs in history, you suspected – which was a highly unusual move in Hollywood. You were sure whoever he was must have a good reason for it. After the popularity of the first season and the viral phenomenon it had become, you couldn’t help but suspect that the man who played Mando, whoever he was, was probably extremely thankful for his decision to stay out of the limelight. You were sure that he would have been subjected to insane levels of scrutiny from the media and fans of the show. Indeed, even without his name and face being public knowledge, there was still plenty of that. 

Sometimes you felt a little sad that you would never get to hear about Mando from the actor’s perspective. Other cast members gave interviews and attended cons, but there was no way to ever get that interaction with your favourite character, the one you cared about the most. Although you remained in the dark both about his identity and the reasoning behind all the secrecy, you respected whatever reason he had for hiding it. After all, you knew for certain that there was no one else on the planet who could have played Mando as well as the actor who was portraying him. With his confident walk and deep, gravelly voice, he was already an icon without even knowing it.

Despite your respect for the actor behind Mando – you never really joined in with the speculation unless it was a joke. The trend #beyonceismando had been your favourite example of that. But sadly, most fans of the show did not share your restraint. Some of your friends could even be guilty of taking it a little too far sometimes, but you let it go. Life was too short to go around policing what other people did on the internet. Besides, you knew your friends well enough to feel confident that they could never be truly malicious. 

Due to the actor’s anonymity, speculation reached dizzying levels that you sometimes worried could be too much for anyone to live up to – you had seen every possible theory online. To you, online speculation should be fun without turning into something creepy and invasive. It was a fine line. A line that you did your best to tread, remembering there was ultimately a human being at the centre of the speculation. Your friends could let themselves go a bit more, but you tried your best to reign it in. 

The secret identity of Mando’s actor led to all kinds of wild theories. Some swore that he was actually a she, there was a woman underneath the suit and that was why Disney had to keep it secret. Others insisted that Mando was really an alien, with super strength and abilities straight out of Star Wars. There was also a sizable majority who believed the reason for his secretive identity was because the actor was straight out of the army and had killed thousands in real life. Speculation ran particularly wild on social media: everyone hoped that their favourite actor was somehow the man behind the helmet, even if their schedules did not line up and their voices did not match, which led to more theories that his voice was being altered somehow to conceal his identity. That particular theory meant everyone could now imagine their particular favourite actor was behind the character that had become such an iconic figure in pop culture.

Indeed, most of The Mandalorian’s appeal to the general public was the mystery and the speculation as to his true identity. Some people only watched every episode, thinking that would finally be the week he removed his helmet and their theory would prove to have been the correct one all along. Some people scrutinised every single shot, wondering if the mask had slipped for even a second. People had even tried to hack into the CCTV cameras of the studios where the seasons were being filmed.

You couldn’t lie and say that you didn’t enjoy indulging with your online friends. You had spent countless hours talking to them, laughing at their attempts to piece together his identity from the scantest of information. They scrutinised the internet for images to compare his build and height compared with other known actors who were in the right age range. They were convinced that perhaps the way he held himself – the gait of his walk, the stance he took with his hands on his hips, the way he often shifted his weight on one leg – could give them clues as to his identity that they were so desperate to crack. You left them to it, laughing at how they could turn the smallest things into some kind of full-blown theory and proof. But to you, Mando was just as amazing without you ever knowing anything about who he was beneath the helmet. You loved the show and the character much more than you loved the online theories.

Ultimately, watching the speculation unfold was all good fun (at least for you) and proved to be a welcome distraction that helped you to get through the horrors of being in your mid-twenties. Like the situation you found yourself in now – having to exit the tube and make food after a long day of work. 

Daydreaming about Mando and the friends you had made had passed the time perfectly, your stop was next and you couldn’t wait to finally be off the tube with all of its furious rattling. Thankfully, by the time you made it to street level, the rain had ceased. The humidity had increased in its place, though and any remaining dampness on your clothes from your earlier drenching magically evaporated in the hot air.

Only the stairs up to your apartment separated you from Mando now, and you felt the final energy reserves draining as you ascended them. You sighed as you turned the key and pushed the door open, both in relief at finally being home after such a difficult day and pure exhaustion. 

There was nothing you wanted more than to sloth out in front of the TV and watch your favourite space cowboy do his thing on your screen. But unfortunately, you were an adult. No one would magically appear with a plate of food, much as you would have appreciated it. You headed into the kitchen to begin preparing your food. You wondered what Mando would be like in the kitchen (everything came back to him eventually) – did he even eat? You had never seen it on screen, at least. You wondered if he even could eat under the helmet. Perhaps you’d text Ria about that later, and see her thoughts. Maybe she’d even write a oneshot based on it and gift it to you. 

As you stood there in your small kitchen, stirring the ingredients in the pan that would constitute your dinner – you realised just how this show had invaded every crevice of your brain. The Mandalorian had undeniably entered your brain in a way that made you think of it almost constantly. Sometimes, when you were walking around on your lunch break, you would imagine whether anyone you passed in the street could be the man that you were so enamoured by. You felt certain that you’d recognise Mando’s broad shoulders anywhere, even if you were right next to him. But it was a fruitless task, one that you knew deep down you would never get answers to. It wasn’t like he was just going to magically appear next to you one day or anything.

With your dinner plated up, you made your way to the front room to eat in your preferred position – on the sofa, in front of the TV. Sure, being an adult was hard sometimes but it meant that you got to indulge in little luxuries like this. Your family would probably freak out if they saw how you ate – hunched over on the couch, squealing with a mouth full of food over scenes you had watched dozens of times before – but you didn’t care. 

As you flopped down on the couch, ready to watch another episode of The Mandalorian while eating your dinner, your phone buzzed with a message from one of your best online friends. You had met Ria shortly after you had felt compelled to make an account after finishing the first season of The Mandalorian, but you had yet to meet in person. That was all going to change very soon, though: she was flying in to attend a convention with you next week. The promise of not only finally meeting your best friend, but also getting to spend time surrounded by others who loved The Mandalorian just as much as both of you did at the convention, had honestly kept you going recently. It was the subject of the con that was the reason for Ria’s messages:

[thisistheslay] 17:57: OMG! OMG! There’s gonna be a Mando panel at the con next week. WE HAVE TO GO!!

You tapped out a reply:

[ilovemando] 17:57: what panel? and when?

[thisistheslay] 17:58: Literally the first day at 2pm. It’s called ‘The Man behind the Mandalorian: Exploring the Identity of the Galaxy’s Best Bounty Hunter.’ We NEED to be there, like you don’t understand!!

[thisistheslay] 17:59: HELLO bestie, what if HE’S THERE! What if they finally unveil who he is!!

You put your phone down on your lap and let out a small laugh as you rolled your eyes. Ria was constantly convinced that Mando was finally going to reveal his identity. It was based on pure speculation at worst and half-baked rumours at best. It had been an ongoing debate between the two of you throughout your friendship, you doubted that Mando would ever reveal himself. He had left it this long, why would he choose to reveal his identity now? But it was all in good fun, after all. You knew how much Ria truly loved the show and Mando. Just like you, for Ria, this speculation was all a bit of fun. She wasn’t one of the toxic people who said they would never watch another episode if the actor who played Mando turned out to be ugly. Yes, unbelievably, that was something that you had actually seen people write publicly online, for others to see. Maybe even the man who played Mando himself. It made you feel sick, they didn’t deserve him or the show. 

You texted back:

[ilovemando] 18:03: oh i do, but not like you. yeah we’ll go… don’t be disappointed when mando doesn’t show tho

[thisistheslay] 18:04: No he’s going to be there! I can just FEEL it!!

[ilovemando] 18:05: ok sure, whatever u say. gotta eat but i’ll message you later

You really did have to go. No distractions would come between you and an episode of The Mandalorian, especially not while eating your dinner. As you sat back and watched the episode you had seen dozens of times before – in this one, Mando was tasked with hunting down a group of rogue mercenaries on a prison ship – your mind wandered back to Ria’s messages. You knew she was just being her usual ridiculous self, losing it over crumbs in an exaggerated, ironic way… but you couldn’t help but wonder about what you would do if her words came true. What if you did, one day, come face to face with Mando? What would you say? Would you even realise when he was in the same room as you, would it be an obvious, earth-shattering feeling? Or something far more subtle?

It was a ridiculous topic. But despite yourself, it was one you spent the rest of the evening ruminating over. The prospect of attending the con was nerve-wracking already – it was going to be a large, crowded event with many people in an unfamiliar environment. That was already setting your nerves on edge, even without the prospect of Mando being there. But thinking that there was perhaps the smallest chance that you could be about to lay eyes upon the man who brought your favourite character to life…

Well, that was a whole other level of nerves. 

Next Chapter

[togglesbloggle]

Is it just me, or is there a pretty under-explored niche for a massive D&D fantasy franchise along the lines of Star Wars and Marvel? The sort of missing third genre leg beside science fiction and comics, so to speak.

They've clearly tried this with Tolkien, at least as far as extending the LotR movies to the Hobbit trilogy and the Amazon show which is kinda-sorta in the same lineage. And those things had more than none traction. But the Tolkien estate isn't making it easy with rights licensing, and there's an awkward founder effect they have to contend with- the Jackson LotR trilogy gave the entire franchise a very distinct 'vibe' in the popular imagination, and in practice it seems to be hard to recapture given current production constraints. It seems like it's really hard to make a Tolkien movie or show that 'feels like' the Jackson movies unless you sink a lot in to costuming and practical effects, but the current trends are in the opposite direction, with elaborate greenscreening and digital everything.

But in any case, Middle-Earth really isn't the brand you want for a mass-media culture juggernaut, is it? It's literary when it needs to be pulpy, mournful when it needs to be exciting, pensive when it needs to be strident. The world is vast, but delicate, and written by a single author exploring a narrow, coherent set of themes and styles.

Surely D&D- which is to say, the Forgotten Realms, realistically- is better for this all-around. It has a truly massive baked-in fanbase that's clearly (through 'actual play' podcasts etc.) already chomping at the bit for high production value experiences, a vast backlog of source material to draw on owned by corporate entities rather than a single brittle family estate, a wide variety of scenarios allowing for multiple sub-genres and directoral styles all under the same umbrella. It's just as popular but less sacred, meaning the audience will be more tolerant of failures. It has merchandising options for days, already has beautiful examples of video game and multimedia tie-ins, and has established and successful writing patterns for epic-scale crossover movies, long-running multi-season campaigns, one-shots, and everything in between.

There's one weakness, which is that compared to Star Wars and Marvel, individual characters are less central in the existing property. D&D has some, such as Drizzt, that rose to prominence in the novel spin-offs, so of course this isn't totally wrecked. However, the brand was originally built fundamentally as a game system and as a set of places, with the heroes to be assembled by the consumers themselves; it must be said that iconic characters are somewhat sparse, and awkwardly spread across multiple settings and continuities. But I think if you got the thing really roaring, this might give it longevity that Star Wars and Marvel ultimately lack- Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man, Mark Hammil is Luke, and notwithstanding AI representations, once those actors are gone, the franchises themselves flounder awkwardly. But if audiences come to identify their enthusiasm for D&D franchise movies with the world and brand itself, then the turnover in the cast is much less damaging to that brand, because the whole thing is already built from the ground up without overly relying on a specific group of 8-10 actors as a lynchpin of the whole operation. Even the leveling mechanic allows for franchise tentpole actors to grow in prominence as they emerge as audience favorites, then conveniently transition in to CG apotheosis or some other suitable end as the actors age out and new favorites are found.

I mean, far be it from me to give advice to the goliaths of culture, but I'm genuinely puzzled about why Disney hasn't bought D&D yet, or why Hasbro hasn't made some kind of big push to do this outside the single (pretty good!) movie. I think I'd even kind of enjoy it.

[gayleviticus]

might be repeating myself but I've been thinking for a while that fma 03 is kinda anti worldbuilding - not worldbuilding in the sense of fleshing out a setting, culture, society, magic systems etc, but specifically in the sense of treating a fictional world as if it were real. ed and al ending up in our world in shamballa symbolises exiting a fantastical world and entering the reality they rejected for so long trying to hold onto the past. the kind of worldbuilding that tries to make a living breathing world out of amestris would fit really awkwardly here; it would be strange to be asked to treat amestris w utmost literal seriousness and also as metaphorically something that ed and al end up moving beyond

and I think similarly, if this was a 'worldbuilding' story, we would see the reveal about the source of alchemys power handled differently. how do we amend this injustice? how can amestris ethically transition to a society not based around using human souls to fix radios and make things blow up? how do ed and al share this info w the masses and how do they respond?

but those kinds of questions, while possibly interesting, are not only skipped over, but imo just totally irrelevant to what 03 is doing here. dead souls power alchemy is the final blow that destroys the elrics world. equivalent exchange is a lie, and this entire world is built on death all the way to the bottom (but in a sense, is this not the lesson they should have learned all those years ago hunting to survive on York island?)

it's not about turning amestris as a worldbuilding setting upside down - it's about breaking this fantasy world for the elrics specifically, so there's nothing left but to fall out of it entirely

[dailyanarchistposts]

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, likes to claim that his company’s goal is to bring all the world’s people closer together through networking. That’s a truly astounding fiction, as Facebook – and effectively all of the firms dominating the internet today – are motivated to capture all of human experience as “behavior” from which they can extract value in order to sell more advertising.

But what if the internet wasn’t just a medium for extracting the raw materials of this new means of production? What if we treated the internet seriously as a place – a location where people spend their work and leisure time, not just in transit, but in community? There is more than one way to do politics and build a community on the internet, and in spite of the current dominance of surveillance capitalism as the model for governing the web, it is not the logical conclusion of the technology itself. Rather, it’s the consequence of social, political, economic, and legal processes, as Shoshana Zuboff argues in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism.1

The internet as we experience it is a designed system that is itself the result of systems of power that are much older, and perhaps less visible, than it is. Therefore, it is possible – and necessary – to contest for power online. However, our existing models for online organizing are heavily focused on mass mobilization, utilizing the web as a communications medium connecting interested individuals to organizations and one another.

At 18 Million Rising, we’ve been at the forefront of trying to figure out how to move away from the mass mobilization/communications model of online organizing and toward models that foreground humans and, hopefully, help foster a different kind of internet. Founded as an organization specializing in mass mobilization through email and petitions, we’ve evolved to include a variety of other tactics while keeping those tools in our toolbox for strategic moments. We primarily organize young Asian Americans, a group of people more heavily online than any other race/age demographic, and for whom belonging may be particularly elusive. Our generation, often stuck between the home cultures of our parents and their homelands and the popular and political culture of the United States, frequently struggles to find belonging offline.

To make matters more complex, the term “Asian American,” in the popular imagination, spans a universe of stereotypes that young Asian Americans often feel at war with. The origins of the term, of course, are in the Third World Liberation Front, when Asian American organizers were on the hunt for a descriptor that felt new, fresh, and relevant to the political work they were undertaking. Since the 70s, the term has been defanged and turned into an almost meaninglessly general census category. Also since the 70s, who might count as Asian Americans has been shaped by U.S. imperialism, immigration policy, and globalization, making potential members more diverse, and dividable, than ever before.

18MR’s work is particularly urgent because of the ways the social and economic pressures placed on our generation are separating them from other communities. We’re more likely to have moved to cities away from our families of origin for work. We’re often burdened with heavy debt, while at the same time serving as the young professional or creative vanguard of gentrification in cities across the continent. We’ve watched our civil liberties be eroded by the expanding national security apparatus after 9/11. While young Asian Americans trend leftward, it’s by no means a given that we will be full-throated participants in social movements. And there is an expanding counterweight: the rise of right-wing movements both in our nations of origin and in the United States point to the growing possibility many of our people will be recruited away.

We found, starting very early on, that the people we were most trying to reach were tech savvy and highly skeptical. They were critical and thoughtful, often seeing through the somewhat manipulative clickbait tactics popular at the time, and which still reign in certain digital programs. They were asking earnest questions about what it means to be Asian American – and demonstrated time and time again that they wanted a political home that could host difficult conversations about our role in movements for racial, economic, gender, and environmental justice. We upped our game because we saw those early indicators, and it means our work continues to be robust, relevant, and incisive nearly eight years on.

Five Questions to Use the Internet for Power

These five questions – which I return to on a weekly basis to inform our strategy and tactics – are necessary but not sufficient for the task of treating the internet as a true place. I hope you’ll find them useful in your organizing.

[gay-jesus-probably]

can you please share more info about the two books about cannibalism? they sound interesting

Hell yeah, I love talking about weird things I'm reading about! The first book is Hungry Ghosts: Mao's Secret Famine by Jasper Becker, and its main focus is the famine caused by the Great Leap Forwards in the late 1950's, but there's also a lot of build up about past famines in China. Just from the sheer size of the country and the spread of the population, in the past there was basically always a famine happening somewhere, with the problems exacerbated by poor farming practices - buying/renting farmland was expensive, and there were limited amounts of good farmland due to how mountainous China is, so farmers couldn't afford to do things like rotate crops or leave a field to rest for a year, which meant their soil was basically never doing great. And this was all before China really had a rail system, so transporting food to places that needed it was basically impossible, which mean that the places that had surplus crops due to good weather couldn't get the food to the areas that were starving.

And during the lengthy civil war, things were even worse - the government and the communist rebels both had to feed their armies, and they were the ones with all the weapons, so they were taking 'taxes' from regions they controlled by basically stealing entire harvests from the farmers, and since the soldiers were the only ones with reliable food, a lot of desperate villagers abandoned their farms to become soldiers, which meant even less food being produced... it was a vicious cycle. And so of course during all this, there were a hell of a lot of people dying, so starving people were driven to cannibalism just to survive since there was nothing else to eat, and nobody had the strength to bury the bodies. I'm still not too far into that book; I'm only up to the immediate aftermath of the civil war, right now it's discussing the issues with transitioning from relatively independent agriculture to collective, state-run farms.

Spoiler alert: trying to completely overhaul your entire agricultural industry at once is a bad idea, and has literally never worked out. Lenin learned that lesson the hard way, and it's a little morbidly funny just how many new communist leaders after him were warned not to try it, looked at all the earlier disasters and went "rip to all you guys but i'm different" then immediately did the exact same thing and were somehow surprised when it all went to shit.

Anyways, the second book is Scarlet Memorial - Tales of Cannibalism in Modern China by Zheng Yi, and it's about how people went absolutely fucking insane at the start of the Cultural Revolution. That's the recreational cannibalism. I haven't actually started it yet (still working on Hungry Ghosts), but it's about all the insane shit the Red Guard did, especially the ones in the province of Guangxi who went extra insane for some reason and were disturbingly enthusiastic about carrying out brutal mass-lynchings. And the Guangxi Massacre was also the kind of fucking insane where the killers would engage in mass cannibalism just out of sheer, mindless hatred and bloodlust. Absolutely wild stuff. The Cultural Revolution in general is just... so very, very fucked up, but something that every leftist really should study. The moral of that story is that student activists not inherently more moral, they're actually just a lot more prone to fanaticism and infighting.

Also, these aren't about cannibalism, but other non-fiction books I've read about super fucked up stuff that I strongly recommend, for people that are into that shit:

My Testimony by Anatoly Marchenko, a first-hand account of his years as a political prisoner in the gulags of the Soviet Union. Warnings for graphic descriptions of suicide and extensive self harm.

The Lost Executioner by Nic Dunlop, about the Cambodian Genocide and the extensive work Dunlop did to study it in the aftermath, and his search for Comrade Duch (aka Kang Kek Iew), who had ran the infamous Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh, where about 20 000 people were tortured into giving absurd confessions of being foreign spies (as in, one prisoner confessed to being a deep cover CIA agent on a mission to undermine the Khmer Rouge... by shitting on a hospital floor). Warnings for extensive descriptions of torture, and mentions of suicide.

Alone on the Ice by David Roberts, about the Mawson expedition to Antarctica, where the sledging party of Mawson, Mertz and Ninnis made it about 200 miles from their base before losing Ninnis down a crevasse with the sledge holding all their vital supplies, leaving Mawson and Mertz stranded with almost no food or equipment. Not as dark as the other books, since it's just about a few people stuck in an inhospitable setting instead of systemic brutality, but it's still pretty fucking intense. Warning for animal death; Mawson and Mertz had to methodically kill and eat their remaining sled dogs to survive.

[ask-de-writer]

BLUE SUN RISING, (Part 1 of 3)

Science Fiction

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BLUE SUN RISING, Part 1 of 3

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

4394 words

© 2024 by Glen Ten-Eyck

All rights reserved.  

This document may not be copied or distributed  on or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the  express written consent of the author.

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Captain T'garr was led away the Treaty Commission. She was smiling. Not only had she Submitted to Lezon Treh K'lass, the long missing M'cratt War Leader, in doing so, she had secured the chance for safety for both herself and her crew. If she had not, both she and her crew would have to answer to the Treaty Commission for the unsuccessful attack on the D'ancer that had been ordered by Political Officer S'nake.

Data plates quietly came back into view. The Feront said, “While all of this interesting business has been going on, I have been working in my shops. Your drive test torpedo will be ready in about ten more hours. I have disguised it as a standard message torpedo which will be sent to my City in the system of M'rel.

“Its transit times and recovery should tell us all that we need to know about the safety of this drive system.”

Lezon nodded her thanks absently. She was working on a set of specifications for new superconducting cables based specifically on tachyon pairing. Pointing her ears at the plate in concentration, she added a last few micro key strokes with expert claws. Smiling, she handed the plate to the Feront with a cheerful, “This is under T.C. Security, according to the agreement just made. It might alter your plans for building the torpedo a tiny bit.”

The Feront's tail went dead straight and it crouched still, as if ready to spring. It said quietly, “Shall I make up a new superconducting harness for the D'ancer in addition to the other items agreed to?”

T'lass asked thoughtfully, “Will it work regardless of the drive system used? If so, please do.”

M'kah looked at T'lass and commented, “You haven't even seen what Lezon has just proposed. Isn't it a bit quick to make a judgment call like that?”

T'lass replied, “I trust mommy Lezon and I saw the Feront's reaction. Those two things tell me that the idea is good engineering. I will see it soon. That is part of my job. I have a few ideas along other theoretical lines that I am contemplating just now.”

C'rinn raised her eyebrows at that tidbit of news. Shortly, the T.C. Representatives left on their other official business.

As soon as they were alone, Lezon smiled down at T'lass and asked, “What was the Feront's news that might interest us?”

T'lass scuffed the deck with her foot and looked down as she said, “The Empire has closed K'lass' School of All Conflict. K'lass was exiled to F'roff, which is only fifteen C years from here. She has been restricted to teaching kits the elements of the V'naris as a system of hand to hand combat only.

“The range is short, an ideal test run for the new drives. The test run to F'roff would also give us the time and the chance to upgrade our firepower. It is possible that your teacher may be willing to begin a new School of All Conflict on M'rel. If she consents to do so, it will become an important part of our new planetary educational system.”

Lezon raised the kit's face with a hand under the chin and smiled at her. “This is indeed well thought of, T'lass. As soon as we have the test results back, we can do everything that you have suggested.” Pausing to ruffle T'lass' juvenile mane, she added, “There is a true Warrior lurking in your head.”

T'lass looked up into Lezon's eyes and smiled. She said, “Thank you, Mommy. Now, may I see that idea that you had for a paired tachyon superconductor? I have an idea or two of my own along those lines but I lack the engineering knowledge to be sure of them.”

Lezon smiled and handed the data plate to T'lass. Lezon silently signaled the others to be quiet. T'lass frowned and activated a textbook on her own data plate. She followed what she found with a claw tip, tracing something. She stared off at nothing for a few minutes and reset her plate to sketch mode and began to trace something out. Several times, she redid parts of her sketch. She changed modes again and began to type quickly with her claw tips on the micro keys.

She handed the data plate to Lezon, saying, “Our text is pretty basic about weapon layouts. If the text is right, this should work. I'm sure that it will be needing a lot more engineering to make it work properly. What do you think, Mommy Lezon?”

Lezon glanced at the plate and simply handed it directly to K'ress saying, “You are the best engineer among us. Will this thing do what I think it will?”

K'ress took out her own data plate and began typing and sketching. She looked up and stated, “If you think that it will punch right through the strongest shields in known space, you are right. Kit's right too. It will need a good bit of work to make it fire safely but the basic idea is sound.

“Shields usually distribute the incoming weapon energy across the entire surface of the shield and radiate it outward. This little monstrosity confines the hit into a circular eddy current that more than doubles the shield strength at the outside edge of eddy but reduces it to nearly nothing in the middle. Might be off by a fair bit on these preliminary figures but it looks like about seventy five to eighty percent of the tachyon beam energy should go right through that hole.

“If we can fit this to our present guns without any other increase in output energy we should be able to knock out a medium cruiser. If we actually do the full upgrade that T'lass has indicated, we should be able to take on almost any vessel except, possibly, a Feront City ship.

“My only reservation in that regard is shields. Ours will only upgrade about ten percent.”

T'cill and K'sere were squabbling in a good natured way over their data plates. K'sere was saying, “It's a good idea, T'cill, but it won't work like that! Here, see the problem? We need to do it some other way.”

T'cass gently scooped up their plates, looked at their work and commented, “You know, our other daughters aren't exactly stupid. I think that this will take care of your shield problems, K'ress.” She handed over the plates of the other two kits to K'ress, who studied them thoughtfully.

T'cass suggested, “Data plates are all well and good, but we should go the main engineering station and let K'ress set things up while we all comment. Everybody here seems to have good ideas and we are setting off chains of thought in each other as we sort them out. Let's see what we can do together.”

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT ==>

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[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form:

How can there be roads or highways in mid air? I was reading a book the other day that inspired me for a setting, however one thing that confused me when is the setting had flying vehicles and lots of mention of roads and even highways in mid air, above the cities and between cities. It detailed nothing about how it worked. I mean okay, if there's a lot of traffic, you just mingle in and get in lane like people lining up without the use of line dividers. But emptier roads/highways, well just where are the lanes? How do people identify it? Floating markers? But that was never mentioned. Via map/GPS/altimeter? Also never mentioned. Anyway any ideas/thoughts?

Tex: Roads and highways can become vestigial terminology for new technology, in the sense that transitional technology often adopts terms from previous generations of technology to orient people more quickly (see: telephone).

Likely the technology required for aircraft, especially as personal vehicles or public transportation, has a lot of programming and pseudo-digital environment (i.e. a dashboard map that shows the “road” the vehicle is programmed to follow, rather than literal pavement visible to the driver). Alternatively, there could be a plethora of hovering buoys transmitting holograms mid-air to guide drivers, even if visually this could get very messy and would likely also rely on the previously-mentioned dashboard map and a fair amount of AI-assisted driving.

One thing to note, also, about sources of inspiration is that they’re a product of the author’s imagination, who may or may not (most likely not) be educated in the subjects they’re writing about. I’m not aware of science editors for fiction being a thing, as suspension of disbelief is a higher prioritization for publishing houses to make it palatable to the masses, so no work is without its technical flaws or safe from the passage of time in terms of outdated or degraded scientific assumptions.

Licorice: Have you considered self-driving radar controlled airships? The "road system" isn't physically marked, but there's a GPS in the ship that knows where you can and can't fly and won't let you stray outside the programmed routes. 

[detroitography]

Map: Fictional Detroit Transit Authority System

by: Mike Weiss The fictional Detroit Transit Authority rapid mass transit system consists of six (6) color-coded heavy rail rapid transit lines and 126 station stops that form a network of commuter routes connecting major points of interest in the city of Detroit with terminals in some nearby inner-ring suburbs and DTW airport. The majority of the system runs on two-track elevated concrete…

[sagesilentfire]

what are the physics behind samatfoe's magic system

hell yeah...

Thank you for asking! A warning that I am a physics major, and I know a lot of physics, but I am also neurodivergent, my specific flavor of which assumes that everyone knows everything I know. I've tried my best to not let this leak into samatfoe itself, but since this is a specific discussion of the physics of samatfoe, I might not be able to adequately explain everything. If you are confused, just know that is another opportunity for me to explain my special interest.

I also allude to this but don't explicitly say a lot of it in samatfoe, because it's really dense and nerdy. You have been warned.

So. Magic, in itself, is energy, specifically moldable low-entropy energy, flowing from a place where there is infinite energy to samatfoe's multiverse. So, what does that mean? Well, we're going to have to define energy.

Uh.

Dictionary.com defines energy as "the capacity or power to do work" which is absolutely worthless to people who don't know what physics-flavored work is. Which is just about everyone, including a lot of people who have a passing familiarity with physics. And physicists ourselves have a really difficult time explaining energy to laymen. Energy is... the ability to move things, to change things, to make things happen. Now, it is not weird luminescent semi-matter like a lot of sci-fi likes to claim, but matter itself is really, really condensed energy, so remember that, 'cause it'll be important later.

As for having low entropy, that's also hard to explain. Entropy is also a common buzzword in sci-fi, usually in a villainous way because, well, if anything's gonna murder the universe, it's gonna be entropy. But what entropy really is is probability. Every bit of energy in the universe has a probability to be somewhere, but it's far more likely to be in a disordered state than an ordered state, simply because there are so many more disordered states. Like, say we have four dots, moving quickly around a box. It's far more likely for the dots to be in a lose, patternless form akin to this:

than it is for them to be squished together in a perfect square:

But since the perfect square seems more orderly to us, the system is said to be low entropy.

Add in countless little dots and continually increase the size of the box, and we get an increasingly disordered system. Add in fun quantum effects, fundamental forces, and other physics, and you've got the universe! But the thing about entropy is that low entropy isn't necessarily a "better" universe – all the interesting things, like life, happen in the gradient as energy transitions from low to high entropy. So magic starts out with low entropy, and then transitions to high entropy when it's used by people to cast spells.

So we've discussed "energy" and "low-entropy," what is "moldable?" Well, that is a fantasy term I invented. It means the energy that is magic can be manipulated by creatures that have it. And how much they can manipulate is determined by how much energy is in a metaphorical and completely fictional storage space within their souls, and how connected they are to the ultimate magical energy storage space, the Realm of Magic.

The energy in the Realm of Magic is stored as the most energy dense thing in the universe: mass. Mass is derived from energy by the most famous equation in physics: E=mc^2, where E is energy, m is mass, and c is the speed of light, squared. (But notice that this equation solves for energy, not mass. If we rearrange to see how much mass we get from an amount of energy, it's m=E/(c^2)). The speed of light is 299,792,458 m/s, or, more simply, 3*10^8 m/s. That's a big number! And imagine it squared! In order to get just 1 kilogram of matter, we need 9*10^16 Joules of energy, or, in the scientific term, a whole heck of a lot of energy. This is why Toffee can't create mass very well: they do not have 10^16 Joules of energy lying around, much less 9 of those. Star, however, can create storms of miniature narwhals, tiaras, and warnicorns, even without the wand (which supplies magic for an entire dimension). All of those are well over a kilogram. Star is really, really magically powerful.

But Toffee is strategic. They don't create mass, they create light. What is light? Well, it's electromagnetic radiation. What's that? Basically just energy, a wavelike, particle-like oscillation of the electromagnetic field. What's the electromagnetic field? Not important, let's move on. Because light is energy, we can quantify how much energy is required to create it. The energy in a photon is E=hf, where E is energy again, f is the frequency of the light, which is the amount of times it oscillates per second, and h is the Planck's constant. The thing about the frequency of light is that it's usually a large number, visible light is 4*-8*10^14 Hz (1/s). But the thing about Planck's constant is that it is an absolutely minuscule size, at 6.626*10^(-34) Joules/second. Teeny-weeny. So that balances out to 2.65*10^(-19)-5.3*10^(-19) Joules, for a single photon, or unit, of light.

Of course a single photon isn't going to do much, but "only" about 10^14 per second are needed to completely account for the vision of one person. So, about 5.3*10^(-5) Joules per second. Much more sustainable than 10^16 Joules per narwhal (if the narwhals are only 1 kilogram, which is generous!).

But that's not the only thing Toffee can do. They don't create matter, but they can mold it into different shapes. This is basically applying force to objects to move them. For basic things like amplifying the force of a hit, you just increase the kinetic energy, which, given that magic is energy, is easy. 200 Joules of energy applied to a human body by blunt force anywhere is more than enough to kill a human and break your fist, and Toffee probably knows enough biology to be able to reduce that number significantly (and enough Septarian healing to heal their fist quickly). So, again less magically costly.

Septarian healing is a different beast. Sílthéy only has around 10^20 Joules of magic (might change that later, but so far this is what I'm going with!), enough for 10,000 1-kg narwhals over 1,000 years, so she doesn't have nearly enough to ensure septarians can heal themselves, even with the near-100% mass recycling they have going on (the matter from any part of them lost, including blood, is reduced to ashes and everything except the ashes is used to heal them. Very accomplished septarians like Toffee leave only a smudge of ashes behind). So instead she used her magic to set up a link between Septarians and the realm of magic that they could use to heal themselves. This "cheat code" is used often by both Glossaryck and Sílthéy, most notably with the wand, which is the hydrogen bomb to the septarian's coughing baby regeneration. (Yes, if the Butterflys were intelligent, they could make themselves heal as fast as the septarians. Thankfully for the monsters, the queens often forget how unfairly powerful they are, and Glossaryck lets them, because the more the queens feel like they're the underdogs somehow, the less likely they are to realize how unfair the system is.) However, even this setup is magically taxing, because you have to maintain it. It's part of why Glossaryck doesn't have as much magic as Sílthéy, even though they both are incredibly irresponsible with it, he is constantly having to expend literal energy keeping Earth's magic well tied to the wand. So, let this be a lesson to you all: it's incredibly taxing to give your side infinite magic. Don't do it!

(well, it isn't actually infinite magic. that would require an infinite universe, which is not the case. Even if Star and Marcie's dimensions were infinite, which I'm not sure they are, they'd repeat themselves eventually. in the place called The Infinite, however, you can keep going for infinity and never find a perfect repetition of a universe!)

(that being said, The Infinite is not the end. At the end of the Infinite, an understandably difficult place to get to, there is 0/0, which is completely undefined and where the concept of numbers break down. this is where Sílthéy is from)

As for the last thing Toffee is known for, reshaping their weapon, that cost is harder to estimate. The way humans shape rocks is either by hitting them with something and breaking them, or melting them down and trying (and most often failing) to shape the lava. But hypothetically one could move the molecules into a new shape if you had perfect control and knowledge of the structure of the rock, since some rocks are just aggregates jammed together by cementing materials. But this is the limit of how wishy-washy I allow magic to be. It's weird that I have a solid understanding of concepts such as making matter out of thin air and healing instantly from any injury, but I'm like "eh, it's *probably* a thing that works" with a concept as simple as shaping stone. I guess I'm just not a geologist. I should ask my friend about that.

But the last point I'd like to talk about is, of course, how is magic purely based in physics when you've explicitly said that magic is also the emotion and complexity in life ("La Campagne") and that it creates intelligences? Well, discerning reader, this is because magic is not only used by flesh-based monsters and humans, but also by spirits. ("Spirits" being the intermediate stage between a mortal, such as a monster, and a Dragon, such as Sílthéy. Spirits are Dragons in training. Glossaryck is a spirit who is willing to do anything to become a Dragon.) And the most prominent spirit to magic is the Realm of Magic, which obviously has a lot of say in what effect magical energy has on the world. They have a very complex mind that can influence a lot of the world around them. And they are such a sap. They're lonely, so they make more spirits. They're fascinated by complexity, so they make things complex – and interesting. They have a substantial positive effect, which makes their absence in s5 a very bad thing. Both intelligence and emotion are, on some level, based in energy, because energy is everything.

But yeah! Please let me know if there's something I glossed over or that you'd want more info on or that you don't understand at all because I gave a terrible explanation! See you soon for s5!

[sourdoughservitor]

Daily, Weekly, & Monthly Quests

One thing I struggle with in my journey as a witch focused on self-healing and recovery is staying on top of stuff I know I'm supposed to do--something I need to do--for my health. Even trying to nail down exactly what I should be focusing on is a challenge sometimes.

That's why, about a year ago, I figured out to translate these tasks from irritating and exhausting "chores" into quests. I am always motivated to complete quests in games, so what's the difference? Why not make one like the other?

So I did!

Quest Log

I wanted to start by talking about tracking these quests, because I find that's one of the biggest parts of the battle. You need to be able to record and motivate yourself in a way that's easy, convenient, and generally appealing to you. For me, that looks like a modified Bullet Journal-esque tracker that I designed to suit my needs. I don't in any way suggest you copy my style exactly, but the ability to adapt something to be what you want is really powerful. Here is an example spread of how I track my quests.

And here are some features I'd like to highlight:

Daily quests can change month-to-month

Monthly quests are always there, as a reminder (not in a separate place / on a separate page)

Easy visualization of your completion, streaks, and record

Easy integration into Bullet Journal or other productivity systems

Snapshots of the day (I use this space for very broad highlights such as Tarot Cards of the Day, holidays, etc.)

A month-long reflection, based on my tarot card for that month--drawn at the beginning of the year in my Year Ahead Spread. This month was the Devil oof

I reflect on this more as the month goes on, and fill out the space

A place to write down the 4 books I've finished this month (per my monthly goal)

Of course, I decorate the page differently based on my mood when I'm setting it up at the end of the previous month. Overall, the design and aesthetics are very cathartic to create, and a daily journalling reminder helps keep me on top of my quests, too.

Monthly Quests

Let's start at the top and work our way down. Monthly quests are larger tasks or goals that I'd like to see completed by the end of the month. For example, each month this year I aim to complete four books, including 2 non-fiction books (including one non-fiction about witchcraft). I'll record and reflect on them as I complete them.

I chose this goal because reading is something that makes me happy. It's calming and stimulating. It's easy to do on public transit and it's a habit I want to get into before bed to minimize phone time and help calm down my mind. It also helps me continue to grow and learn via non-fiction, because now that I've graduated university, I constantly yearn for more education that I feel I'm missing.

Monthly Quests should be attainable over a 4-week period. They should be larger, and have more of an impact on your life not just immediately but in the grander scheme of things. When choosing a Monthly Quest, figure out something that you can chip away at over time, something that isn't a monstrous task that you need to devote hours to at once. It should be something meaningful that you can reflect on.

Weekly Quests

Weekly Quests are things I like to do every week. These things keep me on top of health (mental and physical) needs as well as my personal interests. I have a long list of projects either in progress or just in the "ideas" phase, that I call the "Sometime List"--each week I like to snag one thing from this list and work on it. Ultimately this means I'm not overwhelmed by the sheer mass of things I "have" to do, but I also don't hide it away and never make any progress. All of these things are important to me but by prioritizing a different item each week I can cross things off it slowly but surely.

Daily Quests

Daily Quests are the bread and butter of this health/wellness/spiritual journey. They're the things I strive to complete every day, those daily tasks that help keep me afloat in the depths of depression or even just in a period of low motivation. By framing them as quests, I think of them as things to work towards ticking off--but if I don't manage to get them all, no biggie. There's always tomorrow.

That's a big problem with lofty new year's resolutions and the like, in my mind. You slip up once, and it's all over--you have to start from the beginning. So you might as well give up entirely. We're naturally programmed to think and feel that way. So instead of forcing ourselves to "make it work," we should be kinder to ourselves and give ourselves a little bit of a break. As long as it helps us mostly stay on top of our goals, then we're winning! The more you complete them, the easier it becomes over time--and the more you'll be able to complete.

And so on.

Here's a list of the Daily Quests I have set up for myself at the moment:

Exercise--I try to do at least 30 mins. of heart-rate increasing physical activity at least 5x/week

Time Outside--I try to get outside every day. Sometimes even that is hard, so this is flexible--some days I'll go on hour-long walks, others I'll just sit right outside my home and read in the fresh air

Plant Care--I care for my plants. Usually, this just means misting them, talking to them, because I don't want to overwater them

Writing--this is the hobby that's the most important to me, the one I really want to see success with, so I want to dedicate a little time to writing or editing every day

Witchcraft--I want to develop my craft and leverage it to help heal and improve myself, so I want to devote a little time to it every day, even if that's just caring for my servitors or drawing a single tarot card

Do a Kind Thing--exactly what it says on the tin. I believe the most powerful tool we have against the darkness of the world is kindness, and I want to remind myself of that by mindfully doing at least one small kind thing every single day

Notice how all of those quests are relatively small, achievable things? I only have one big hobby that takes up a big chunk of time (writing); the rest can be nestled into other tasks or fit in where I have a moment. And, again, if I miss a day here and there, no biggie.

But what if I start missing more than a day? What if I just can't stay on top of it?

Rewards

Motivation is hard for a lot of people to begin with. Mental illness, chronic pain, and other disabilities can sap people's energy and make it hard to stay on top of these things even when you know they're good for you. That's where tracking your work and rewards come in!

Everyone knows all good quests come with good rewards. Set yourself some milestones and assign a reward or bonus when you complete the requisite quest(s)!

Completed that big project that's been looming over you? Take yourself out for ramen!

Achieved 80% completion on your fitness goals? Celebrate with a ticket to the new movie you want to see?

Reached 30 XP (1 Daily Quest = 1 XP)? Go to that café across the street from work and get a doughnut or a latte!

Bonus points if your rewards are also self-care items. Remember, there are things that are healthy for the body, but also things that are healthy for the mind. This is a reward, after all, and it should be something that motivates you. Work towards it, and then take genuine joy and pride in the reward! You earned it, after all!

Honourable mention: I came across, and love, the blog @witchquests. Great little daily quests with excellent variety to work on both self-care and your practice simultaneously. Fun little exercises to dip into when you have the spoons.

Conclusion

Using regular "quests" instead of a never-ending to-do list has made me feel happier about my goals as well as made them more manageable. Like anything, it might not be for everyone. That's okay! Take what resonates and leave what doesn't. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

bb 💚

[vapeschill]

Can Vaping Help You Stay in Shape and Lose Weight?

The primary reasons for weight loss include health concerns like diabetes, heart conditions, and joint pain, desiring a better physique, and engagement in weight-restricted professions and activities. Vaping for Weight Loss: Fact or Fiction?

Why Do We Gain Weight?

Weight is influenced by genetics, behavior, metabolism, and hormones. However, weight gain occurs when the calories consumed exceed those burned through daily activities and exercise. These excess calories are stored as fat in your body.

 In the United States, many people consume an excessive amount of calories, often from fast food and high-calorie beverages. Eating more calories before feeling full, experiencing hunger sooner, or eating more due to stress or anxiety are common factors.

BMI

Body Mass Index (BMI) can estimate body fat content. Medical research also indicates a close relationship between BMI and fat content measured by methods like magnetic resonance imaging.

The formula to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) is as follows:

BMI = Weight (kg) / Height (m) / Height (m)

Reasons for changing weight

Hunger and Fullness Control Centers in the Brain

There are two centers in the hypothalamus of the human body that respectively regulate hunger and satiety.

Research has shown that excessive mental stimulation, nervous excitement, illnesses, and other factors can disrupt the functioning of these two centers, leading to weight gain

Alternative to high-calorie snacks

When trying to maintain weight, paying attention to diet is crucial, especially when it comes to cravings for high-calorie snacks such as cola, Chips, chocolate, desserts, and more.

Vape can serve as substitutes for snacks, aiding individuals in suppressing their appetite.

Vaping certain flavors like dessert or fruit-flavored e-cigarettes can satisfy cravings for sweets or high-calorie snacks. Limiting calorie intake makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight.

Tool for relieving stress and anxiety

Adhering to a workout routine often requires stress management and anxiety avoidance. Many vaper find that vaping helps them control stress and anxiety, allowing them to concentrate on their fitness goals.

E-cigarettes provide a relaxing experience, helping people unwind after a long day or intense workout. Some e-liquid flavors, like mint, are known for their calming effects. By incorporating these flavors into their vaping routines, individuals may find it easier to manage stress and anxiety, aiding their fitness journey.

Increase lung capacity

Exercise and physical health depend on healthy lung function. Smoking damages the lungs and reduces lung capacity, impeding performance. E-cigarettes, in contrast, heat e-liquid to produce vapor without involving smoke or combustion.

By transitioning from smoking to e-cigarettes, individuals may experience an improvement in lung capacity, making it easier to engage in physical activities and exercise. Increased lung capacity means more oxygen can reach the muscles, enhancing endurance and overall health levels.

Boost Your Fitness Adventure!

While vaping cannot substitute for a healthy diet and exercise routine, it may provide some benefits to support your fitness journey. If you choose to incorporate vaping, do so carefully, taking into account any risks and your individual goals.

View vaping as just one piece of the puzzle in your journey to better health and fitness. Remember, your well-being comes first. With a positive attitude, some research, and a good support system, you can empower yourself to make smart choices that align with your fitness aspirations.

Related link: Top 10 High-Calorie Junk Foods Ranking in the United States

[whatsissue]

Elon Musk Unveils Two-Door Robotaxi

October 10, 2023 (Reuters) – At a high-profile event on Thursday, Elon Musk unveiled a striking new robotaxi featuring two gull-wing doors and no steering wheel or pedals. This announcement marks a significant shift for Tesla (TSLA.O) as it transitions from being a low-cost mass-market automaker to a robotics manufacturer, also introducing a new robovan to its lineup. Musk arrived on stage in a prototype he dubbed the "Cybercab," which is set to enter production in 2026 with a target price of under $30,000. He noted that the operational cost for the vehicle would be approximately 20 cents per mile, and it will utilize inductive charging, eliminating the need for plugs. "The autonomous future is here," Musk proclaimed. "We have 50 fully autonomous cars here tonight. You'll see Model Ys and the Cybercab. All driverless." He emphasized that the vehicles rely on artificial intelligence and cameras rather than the additional hardware employed by competitors in the robotaxi space—an approach that has raised concerns among investors and analysts regarding its technical and regulatory viability. In addition to the Cybercab, Musk introduced a larger self-driving vehicle called the Robovan, which can accommodate up to 20 passengers. He also showcased Tesla's humanoid robot, Optimus. Musk's vision includes operating a fleet of self-driving Tesla taxis that passengers can summon via an app. Tesla owners will have the opportunity to generate income by listing their vehicles as robotaxis on the platform. The event, held at the Warner Bros studio near Los Angeles, was titled "We, Robot," a nod to the “I, Robot” science-fiction stories by Isaac Asimov, and aligns with Musk's assertion that Tesla should be viewed as an AI robotics company rather than merely an automaker. Attendees included investors, stock analysts, and Tesla enthusiasts. However, investors hoping for concrete timelines regarding the ramp-up of robotaxi production and regulatory approvals left the event feeling underwhelmed. Dennis Dick, an equity trader at Triple D Trading, expressed disappointment, stating, "Everything looks cool, but not much in terms of timelines. I'm a shareholder and pretty disappointed. I think the market wanted more definitive timelines." Musk acknowledged his tendency to be optimistic with time frames. He had previously claimed in 2019 that operational robotaxis would be available by the following year. After facing missed promises, Musk has shifted his focus to developing these vehicles, abandoning plans for a smaller, more affordable car that many believed was essential to counteract slowing demand for electric vehicles (EVs). Tesla is now at risk of posting its first-ever decline in deliveries this year, as purchasing incentives have failed to attract enough customers to its aging EV lineup. Significant price cuts aimed at offsetting high interest rates have further squeezed profit margins. The complicated technology and strict regulations have led to billions of dollars in losses for other companies attempting to penetrate the robotaxi market, forcing some to shut down operations. Nevertheless, other firms like General Motors' (GM.N) Cruise, Amazon's (AMZN.O) Zoox, and several Chinese companies, including WeRide, continue to pursue this ambitious market. Unlike competitors that rely on expensive hardware like lidar, Musk is focusing solely on cameras and AI to operate Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system to keep costs manageable. However, FSD has faced regulatory and legal scrutiny, particularly following two fatal accidents involving the technology. "We do expect to start fully autonomous unsupervised FSD in Texas and California next year," Musk confirmed, specifying that this will involve the Model 3 and Model Y. He did not clarify whether the new robotaxis would utilize any new technology or depend solely on FSD. Relevant Keywords: Elon Musk, robotaxi, Tesla, Cybercab, Robovan, autonomous vehicles, AI, electric vehicles, Full Self-Driving, robotics manufacturer, investor event. Read the full article

[themythinglink]

Goodbye Test Track 2.0; Welcome Test Track 3.0!

After 11+ years as one of Walt Disney World's most popular attractions, Test Track 2.0 at Epcot is yielding to Test Track 3.0, arriving in 2025. To mark the passing of the torch, here's the Test Track 2.0 case study from my book Every Guest is a Hero: Disney's Theme Parks and the Magic of Mythic Storytelling (available from Amazon.com). Happy roads!

Image Copyright 2024 - Walt Disney Company

Life in the Fast Lane Test Track Presented by Chevrolet

by Adam M. Berger

It’s natural to think of Future World as the Epcot equivalent of Tomorrowland. In their original incarnations, the Tomorrowlands of Disneyland and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom were direct expressions of Walt Disney’s optimistic vision of the future. The same can be said of Future World. Unfortunately, like its Tomorrowland cousins, Future World continuously transforms into “Today World” as scientific and technological advances catch up to, and sometimes even surpass, the once-visionary attractions. All too soon, what was originally considered revolutionary and cutting-edge starts to seem commonplace or even quaint.

The Disney Imagineers eventually made a creative end-run around the problem of keeping the “tomorrow” in Tomorrowland. At Disneyland and in the Magic Kingdom, they re-imagined the land as an intergalactic spaceport, with nostalgic, retro-futuristic theming inspired by early 20th century concepts of the things to come. Hong Kong Disneyland’s Tomorrowland opened with a similar “spaceport” theme already in place. And Disneyland Paris’ version of Tomorrowland, known as “Discoveryland,” has also relied on the retro-futuristic approach all along, though its thematic direction takes its cues from the imaginations of Victorian-era science fiction writers Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.[1] By adopting this “futures past” direction, the Imagineers assured that Tomorrowland would always possess the same timeless quality as the parks’ other lands.

No such re-theming option exists at fact-based Epcot, where Future World’s attractions must be “refreshed” every so often or risk becoming laughably outdated. That’s why every current attraction in Future World has undergone at least one significant overhaul over the years. In at least two cases, the attractions have gone away entirely: Horizons was completely demolished to make way for Mission: SPACE, while the golden dome that once housed Wonders of Life was divested of its attractions, becoming an all-purpose special events venue.

Though the cavernous, silver-skinned cylinder that now serves as the home of Test Track Presented by Chevrolet is the same iconic structure that has stood on the site since Epcot (then known as “EPCOT Center”) first opened its gates in October 1982, the experience inside has twice undergone some of the most dramatic changes of any attraction in Future World. Yet in every iteration, the mythic energy of the Hero’s Journey has always resonated strongly, contributing to the popularity of all three occupants of the venue. 

The first of those occupants was World of Motion Presented by General Motors. The theme—and theme song—was “It’s fun to be free,” which set the upbeat tone for a whimsical, slow-moving jaunt through the history of transportation, from primitive foot-power to futuristic mass transit systems. Most of the mythic Journey was concentrated on the Road of Trials stage (experienced in the ride as a literal road) with frequent embedded threshold crossings as Guests skipped from one historical era to the next, encountering new transportation developments with each transition. Eventually, their Journey led them to the Inmost Cave—a “speed tunnel” sequence in which projected point-of-view action footage was combined with wind effects and the motion of the Omnimover ride vehicle to impart a semi-effective sensation of tremendous acceleration.

In 1999, the time-travel storyline was replaced by an entirely new transportation-based theme as World of Motion became GM Test Track and the leisurely excursion through transportation history was supplanted by “the thrill of safety-testing a prototype vehicle on a variable speed, multi-surface, multi-environment testing course.” The all-new experience featured a Road of Trials that was composed of a series of harrowing safety tests, including an Inmost Cave encounter that involved a near-collision with a semi-trailer truck inside a cave-like tunnel, and a high-speed Return sequence along an outdoor raceway.

In late 2012, GM Test Track was “reimagined” as Test Track Presented by Chevrolet, with the focus on auto safety testing giving way to a storyline centered on the art and technology of automotive design. While the thrills and dynamism remain the same and the ride vehicles reflect only cosmetic changes, the new show narrative, along with every aspect of the thematic design, creates an all-new experience—one that taps directly into the modern myths of cyberspace and telecommunications (see Chapter 17: To Infinity…and Beyond!).

Your Test Track 2.0[2] Journey begins as you enter Test Track Plaza in Future World East, where you get a preliminary glimpse of the design-centered experience awaiting you inside the great wheel-shaped show building. Your first hint of this stylish Special World is the aerodynamic blue “speed form” sculpture mounted above the attraction marquee. The gleaming sculpture, as you will soon learn, represents an idealized automotive shape and is similar to speed forms created by professional automotive designers as they envision tomorrow’s vehicles. Though you may not realize it yet, speed forms like this one will play a foundational role during your Test Track adventure.

The speed form’s abstract-looking shape also offers another clue about what’s to come, with its subtly curved or “bowed” lines soon to be echoed in the architecture, scenic design, graphics, display media, and throughout the Guest-interactive portions of the pre-show experience. You can already discern it in the design of the graphic banners suspended around the plaza. In this sense, the marquee sculpture is very much a mythic herald, announcing that the first stage of your Hero’s Journey is fast approaching, if not already underway.

In Test Track Plaza, you are also exposed for the first time to the attraction’s inspirational background music score—an upbeat, minimalist composition that’s as clean and streamlined as the marquee speed form. The music is frequently punctuated by the roar of the “Sim Car” ride vehicles as they zoom overhead at white-knuckle speeds, one after another, along a portion of the exterior “Turbo Track.” It’s a pulse-quickening preview of the Return movement of your forthcoming Journey. But first, you have a major threshold to cross as you accept your Call to Adventure and enter the Special World of the attraction’s pre-show experience.[3]

Passing through the building entrance, you find yourself transported to the sleekly modernistic setting of a contemporary automotive design facility. Here, you can see the bowed line of the marquee sculpture expressed throughout the space’s interior design—in the rounded walls and ceiling treatment, in the graceful swoop of the wing wall, and in the softly angled portals and frames. The room’s evocative lighting draws your attention to the several full-size concept vehicles that populate the facility, along with a number of vehicle models, speed forms, and video displays. Meanwhile, the stylishly minimalistic background music continues, taking on a slightly different character from area to area to complement the displays in each zone.

This is your introduction to the Special World of automotive design—an actual profession that you and many of your fellow adventurers may never have given any thought to until now. You may feel like a stranger in a strange land, surrounded by esoteric imagery and ideas that have little connection to your daily life in the Ordinary World. But that’s the essential purpose of the mythic Special World: to take the hero out of her element, prodding her to learn “the lay of the land” in a new and unfamiliar setting.

Studying the pre-show models, videos, concept cars, and graphics, no one could blame you for feeling somewhat overwhelmed—and possibly even a bit intimidated—by the highly technical nature of the displays. Every new display you come upon only reinforces your suspicion that you are totally out of your league, and you may even begin to wonder if you should have refused the Call to Adventure that brought you here in the first place.

Despite your possible misgivings, like any true hero you press ahead with your Journey. Soon enough, your perseverance is rewarded as you begin to recognize a pattern emerging in your surroundings. Specifically, you notice an emphasis on the idea of “Performance Attributes,” along with the recurrence of the words “Capability,” “Efficiency,” “Responsiveness,” and “Power.” It becomes increasingly clear that these terms have significance in this Special World, and will no doubt play an important role later in your adventure.

Congratulations! By simply moving forward through the pre-show queue, observing and absorbing your surroundings along the way (rather than abandoning your Journey, thank you very much), you have proven yourself worthy of crossing the next threshold. That transition takes you into a rotunda-like chamber featuring a “blank” speed form on a pedestal. Behind the model, a wall-mounted media screen features a montage of individuals, young and old, who take turns describing the cars of their dreams. Interspersed among these brief monologues are equally brief vignettes of auto designers speaking candidly and enthusiastically about their professions. As they speak, the blank speed form becomes a projection surface onto which are mapped a succession of images illustrating the on-screen comments.

The presentation is not just engaging; it also casts the subject of automotive design in a whole new context, humanizing it and making this abstruse topic suddenly accessible. At this point, it may dawn on you that the automobile designers in this presentation are not so different from you and your fellow adventurers. Yes, they bring certain specialized skills to their profession. But more than anything else, it is their passion—their love of great design and their enthusiasm for all things automotive—that propels them in their individual creative Journeys. They are the heroes who have gone before you, blazing a trail in this Special World, and their personal stories now serve as a catalyst and inspiration for your own Journey.

Though it may be far from obvious at first, every part of your trek through the queue thus far has been in preparation for the Supreme Ordeal that awaits you a few moments from now within the Inmost Cave. Those preparations have largely dealt with acclimating you to the rarefied realm in which expert automotive designers dwell. Up to this point, the familiarization process has been a strictly hands-off experience. But now that’s about to change as you enter a section of the queue known as the “Line Interactive Room.” Here, your experience becomes hands-on in the most literal sense as you pause at one of the four large, wall-mounted touchscreen displays.

Following a set of simple on-screen prompts, you can practice drawing a gestural line and then watch as your line defines the profile of an automotive speed form. You can then manipulate various “grab points” along your profile line to change the shape of the virtual speed form. As you shape and re-shape the onscreen speed form, you can see how each change affects the four Performance Attributes. (Yes, as you had earlier suspected, those Attributes—“Capability,” “Efficiency,” “Responsiveness,” and “Power”—have come into play…and not for the last time, either.) Though your training here in the Line Interactive Room is brief, the new skills you develop in the process will prove vital as you begin your Supreme Ordeal. But first, a few words from your mentor. 

Often in the structure of the mythic Hero’s Journey, the Meeting with the Mentor occurs early in the adventure—sometimes even before the Crossing of the First Threshold. But in Test Track 2.0, your first encounter with your mentor takes place in the lobby outside the Chevrolet Design Studio—the Inmost Cave of your Journey. During his Approach to the Inmost Cave, the hero may be aided by one or more allies. Your mythic ally in this lobby space is a friendly Test Track Cast Member, who presents you with a magical talisman: a “Design Key” card that will unlock the power of the touchscreen Design Station kiosk for you as you are challenged to design your own virtual Chevrolet Custom Concept Vehicle.[4] Yes, as you may have already begun to suspect, your aptitude as an automotive designer is about to be put to the test. The specifics of the task ahead are explained by the soothing, disembodied voice of your mentor, accompanied by the helpful graphic animation that plays across a set of media displays mounted above the automatic doors leading into the two identical Design Studios.

The interior of the Chevrolet Design Studio is about as sleek and stylish as any Inmost Cave could hope to be. The chamber is bathed in cool, blue light, while the touchscreen panels on the banks of the Design Station kiosks radiate a beckoning glow. Drawing on the sage advice of your mentor moments earlier, you locate your assigned kiosk and touch your Design Key to the kiosk’s Touch Reader. The machine responds approvingly, having judged you worthy enough to face the Supreme Ordeal.

As Supreme Ordeals go, this one proves to be a lot more fun than arduous. Thanks to your earlier experience in the Line Interactive Room, you find you have already mastered one of the initial tasks: drawing the gestural line that will define the profile of your Custom Concept Vehicle. But then, as the base speed form materializes onscreen, you are faced with a cascade of creative decisions involving everything from the width of your vehicle to the number of wheels to the color of the body paint. And, once again, those four Performance Attributes come into play, with many of the design choices you make directly affecting your vehicle’s Capability, Efficiency, Responsiveness, and Power scores. Every choice involves a trade-off of some kind: increase the Power score and you may lower your Efficiency score. Increase the Responsiveness and you may adversely affect the vehicle’s Capability. Finding a happy medium is no easy task, and even then the result may be a design that is not very aesthetically pleasing. Pretty soon you are developing a healthy respect for those who design automobiles for a living.

With time running out, you finalize your Custom Concept Vehicle design as your compatriots around you do the same. In the brief interval before the exit doors open, you may want to pause and appreciate what has just occurred. For in the span of a few minutes, you and your fellow adventurers have successfully completed the Supreme Ordeal. Moreover, when you leave the Inmost Cave, you will no longer be an oblivious neophyte in the Special World of automotive design. The Custom Concept Vehicle that is now associated with your Design Key provides unequivocal proof that you are emerging from the Chevrolet Design Studio as a full-fledged and highly capable automotive designer.

There’s no question that your Custom Concept Vehicle looks terrific. But just how awesome is your design, really? That’s where the next portion of your Journey comes into play. For in a few moments, you will be boarding a Sim Car and putting your design to the test on the Sim Track. As it happens, the digital matrix of the Sim Track is actually a second Inmost Cave, and each Performance Proving Course within this Cave will challenge you (or at least your Custom Concept Car design) with a new Supreme Ordeal.

As Test Track 2.0 amply demonstrates, there’s no rule specifying how many Inmost Caves and Supreme Ordeals can be contained in a single Hero’s Journey. Ultimately, the number and sequence of the stages in any particular Journey are determined by the needs of the Hero. And so, as you arrive at the Sim Car load platform, you touch your Design Key to a designated Touch Reader and confirm that your Custom Concept Vehicle design will be accompanying you, virtually, over the next threshold and into the Inmost Cave of the Sim Track.

As your Sim Car conveys you away from the load platform, you encounter what may very well be one of the most distinctive and dramatic threshold crossings in any Disney theme park. The luminescent, high-tech archway signals a transition into a Special World within a Special World—a wondrous, neon-like electronic themescape of circuit boards and graphic patterns that appears to “rez-up” around you as you ascend the lift hill. But the threshold is only one of several within this digital Inmost Cave, for each Performance Proving Course along the Sim Track is accompanied by its own glowing, ring-shaped portal, along with a Performance Display monitor that compares your Custom Concept Vehicle’s performance to those of your fellow travelers (and to the performance of the Sim Car in which you are all riding).

The first of these four portals—this one belonging to the Capability Proving Course—awaits you at the top of the hill. Passing through the yellow gateway, you plunge into a punishing setting of digital snow, ice, rain, and lightning—elements calculated to reveal how well your Custom Concept Vehicle can handle challenging weather and off-road conditions. Next, a glowing green portal marks the threshold of yet another Inmost Cave as you enter the environmental testing chambers of the Efficiency Proving Course where your Sim Car is scanned to measure your Custom Concept Vehicle’s “enviro impact.”

Emerging from the Enviro Impact Chambers, you pass through a blue portal and are immediately injected onto the Responsiveness Proving Course for a harrowing test of your Custom Concept Vehicle’s steering abilities. Accelerating as it goes, your Sim Car weaves up a switchback mountain road lined with glowing digital trees, boulders, and warning signs before entering an electronic tunnel (yet another Inmost Cave), narrowly avoiding a collision with a laser-rimmed tractor-trailer lurking inside. But as you catch your breath, you realize that one final challenge remains: the Power Proving Course. Your Sim Car rolls to a momentary stop as it energizes in the Power-up Chamber. Directly ahead of you, the purple Power portal begins to glow and pulsate—and suddenly you are hurtling through a set of doors that snap open at the very last second to admit you to the outdoor Turbo Track. Rocketing along the course at white-knuckle speeds, you leave the digital Inmost Cave of the Sim Track behind to commence the Return movement of your Journey.

At last, your Sim Car pulls to a stop alongside the unload platform. You and your Custom Concept Vehicle have endured multiple Supreme Ordeals inside the Sim Track, proving that you have what it takes to be a Hero—at least within the framework of this particular Special World. Yet after you disembark from the ride vehicle, you find that the Return portion of your adventure has only just begun. Fortunately, the road back to the Ordinary World of Future World East is lined with several entertainingly high-tech opportunities to explore the capabilities of your Custom Concept Vehicle, which exists as a virtual talisman of your adventures in the Special World.

Now, in Test Track’s Design Showcase (the attraction’s post-show area), you can use your Design Key to review your Custom Concept Vehicle’s final Performance Attribute score and compare it to those of your fellow adventurers. Nearby, you’ll find Design in Motion, a large rotunda space equipped with interactive kiosks. Here, using your Design Key, you can summon your Custom Concept Vehicle from cyberspace and cast it as the star of a custom 15-second video commercial, complete with music and voiceover narration.

If you are feeling competitive, you can challenge your fellow adventurers to a virtual road race at any of Design Showcase’s three Give it a Spin! stations. Just sidle up to an available console, each of which is equipped with a steering wheel, a throttle arm, and a Touch Reader. Again, your Design Key is your ticket to ride, with your Custom Concept Vehicle zooming around the augmented reality racetrack alongside the virtual vehicles of your opponents. Elsewhere, you can pose for a souvenir photo with a computer-simulated rendering of your Custom Concept Vehicle or an actual Chevrolet car or truck. Finally, you can browse the Test Track logo merchandise and other souvenirs of your Journey in the After Market Shop in pursuit of a physical token of your adventures.

Altogether, the current incarnation of Test Track is not so much about transportation as it is about transformation—the hallmark of every mythic Hero’s Journey. The transformative theme is experienced on several levels. First, there’s the transformation that you witnessed as you evolved a gestural line into a speed form and ultimately into a complete Custom Concept Vehicle ready to be tested on the Sim Track. Then there’s the personal transformation you experienced as you morphed from an outsider and novice into an up-and-coming designer with the skill and insight required to create your own Custom Concept Vehicle.[5]

Test Track 2.0 reminds us that the role of the hero exists on different levels. It’s not always about mortal self-sacrifice. There are other kinds of service that a hero can provide for the benefit of the community. Indeed, like motor vehicles, heroes come in all makes and models. But the first requirement of every hero is a commitment to the quest—the willingness to accept the Call to Adventure and embrace one’s destiny.

Mythologist Joseph Campbell’s oft-quoted advice to “Follow your bliss” is beautifully embodied in the pre-show testimonies of the on-screen automotive designers, whose boundless enthusiasm for their profession is unmistakable. For these individuals, the joy of seeing their designs realized as actual, functional vehicles is nearly transcendent. It is closely related to the spontaneous expressions of delight frequently heard at the Design Station kiosks as Test Track guests finalize their Custom Concept Vehicles.

For the community at large, the auto designers’ creativity can result in better vehicles, better transportation systems, and ultimately better communities—an idea specifically conveyed in the pre-show’s EN-V/Technology & Innovation display. Here, the attraction’s storyline turns its focus to the problems confronting the world’s burgeoning megacities, and the role automotive designers are playing in addressing these urgent issues. The two full-size EN-V[6] models, accompanied by a video loop showing the vehicles in action, demonstrate how these unusual-looking vehicles may someday help to reduce traffic congestion and energy consumption while providing better parking and safety, and improving the quality of city life overall.

This is just one more way in which Test Track Presented by Chevrolet epitomizes “the boundless spirit of invention for the enrichment of life” that informs every Future World attraction. It is also an exemplary demonstration of Walt Disney’s original vision of the city of EPCOT—his “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”—that would serve as “…a living showcase for American free enterprise at its most creative and forward-looking.” It was a soaring vision—one that defined Walt’s own Hero’s Journey in the latter years of his remarkable life and career.

[1] Tokyo Disneyland’s version of Tomorrowland, on the other hand, still resembles its Orlando counterpart, circa 1975.

[2] The current attraction’s official title is “Test Track Presented by Chevrolet,” but it is often referred to casually as “Test Track 2.0” or just plain old “Test Track.” For simplicity’s sake, the remainder of this case study will use all three names interchangeably.

[3] Since the FASTPASS/Individual Rider pre-show experience on Test Track is highly abbreviated, this case study describes only the Standby guest experience.

[4] If you have a MagicBand wristband, that will do the trick, too.

[5] A third, more historical series of transformations may be appreciated by longtime Epcot fans: the evolution from the pavilion’s original incarnation as World of Motion into GM Test Track and then, ultimately, into Test Track Presented by Chevrolet.

[6] Electric Networked-Vehicles

Copyright 2013 - Berger Creative Associates, Inc.

[shadowtechteller]

Exploring the Dangers of an EMP in Today's Digital World

Imagine a bustling city like Paris, known as "The City of Light," suddenly plunged into total darkness, not due to a power outage but because of an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) device. It's a chilling scene from one of my novels, capturing the immense power and far-reaching consequences of EMP technology. But what exactly is an EMP, and what could it mean for our heavily interconnected world?

### What is an EMP?

In simple terms, an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) is a burst of electromagnetic radiation that can disrupt or destroy electronic devices and power grids. Think of it as an invisible wave that sweeps across an area, rendering anything with electronic circuits useless. The concept might sound like science fiction, but EMPs can be generated by both natural phenomena and human-made devices.

#### Causes of EMP:

1. **Nuclear Explosion:** When a nuclear device detonates, it emits a burst of gamma rays that interact with the Earth's atmosphere, creating a high-intensity EMP. This is known as a High-altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP).

2. **Non-Nuclear EMP Devices:** Also known as "E-bombs," these devices use non-nuclear means to generate electromagnetic pulses. They are less powerful than nuclear-induced EMPs but can still incapacitate electronic systems in a localized area.

3. **Solar Storms:** Our sun occasionally releases massive amounts of energy in the form of solar flares and coronal mass ejections. When these interact with the Earth's magnetic field, they can induce geomagnetic storms that mimic the effects of an EMP, albeit usually on a less concentrated scale.

### Implications of an EMP Attack:

We live in a digital age where almost everything—our smartphones, cars, homes, and even medical devices—depend on electronic components. An EMP disrupts this finely woven tapestry of technology in ways that can range from inconvenient to catastrophic.

1. **Communication Blackouts:**

- **Examples:** Your smartphone, laptop, or even the Wi-Fi router could become useless. Imagine trying to coordinate rescue operations or simply checking on loved ones with no working communication devices.

2. **Medical Device Failure:**

- **Examples:** Pacemakers, ventilators, and other critical medical devices could malfunction, posing severe risks to patients reliant on these technologies.

3. **Transportation Chaos:**

- **Examples:** Modern cars rely heavily on electronic systems for everything from engine control to navigation. An EMP could render these critical systems inoperative, causing widespread traffic jams and potentially dangerous situations on highways and streets. Imagine a city where every car suddenly comes to a halt—public transit systems, too, would fail, leaving millions stranded.

Power Grid Disruption:

Examples: An EMP could knock out the electrical grid, leading to blackouts that might last from days to weeks, depending on the severity of the damage. This means no lights, no refrigeration for food, and no heating or air conditioning—essentially, a revert to pre-electricity living conditions.

Home Automation Failure:

Examples: Your smart home devices, such as security systems, thermostats, and even smart locks, could stop working. This can pose security risks and make homes uncomfortable or less efficient to live in.

Financial System Collapse:

Examples: ATMs and banks could go offline, rendering electronic transactions impossible. This could disrupt not only personal finances but also larger economic functions, leading to panic and economic crises.

Critical Infrastructure Breakdown:

Examples: Water treatment plants, transportation control systems, and emergency services all depend on electronic systems. An EMP event could incapacitate these essential services, leading to dire public health and safety issues.

Real-World Example: Solar Storms

One historical example that illustrates the power of a natural EMP is the Carrington Event of 1859. A massive solar storm hit the Earth, producing powerful geomagnetic disturbances. Telegraph systems—the high-tech communication method of the time—failed worldwide, causing sparks and fires and rendering communication impossible. If a similar event were to happen today, the effect on our electronic-dependent society would be unprecedented.

Conclusion:

The scenario of Paris being thrust into darkness by an EMP device in my novel is both fascinating and terrifying. It serves as a stark reminder of our reliance on electronics and the potential vulnerabilities that come with it. Understanding EMPs helps us appreciate the delicate balance our modern infrastructure maintains and the necessity of robust safeguards and contingency planning.

As we continue to weave technology into every aspect of our lives, it's crucial to understand and prepare for the potential risks it brings. Whether caused by human activities or natural phenomena, an EMP event could fundamentally alter the world as we know it. Let's remain vigilant and innovative in protecting our digital age from such existential threats.

Feel free to share your thoughts and questions about EMPs below. Together, we can dive deeper into this intriguing and important subject!

[primetaylor77]

Driving Innovation: Inside the Evolution of Modern Mobility

In the realm of transportation, innovation is not just a buzzword but a driving force reshaping the landscape of modern mobility. From the advent of automobiles to the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous driving technologies, the journey of transportation has been marked by continuous evolution. In this article, we delve into the pivotal moments, technological advancements, and disruptive trends that have propelled the transformation of transportation as we know it.

The Dawn of Automobiles:

The seeds of modern mobility were sown with the invention of the automobile in the late 19th century. Pioneers like Karl Benz and Henry Ford revolutionized transportation by mass-producing vehicles, making them accessible to the masses. The introduction of assembly line manufacturing techniques by Ford further accelerated the production process, laying the foundation for the automotive industry's growth.

The Rise of Electric Vehicles:

In recent years, concerns about climate change and environmental sustainability have fueled a renewed interest in electric vehicles (EVs). Companies like Tesla have spearheaded this movement, leveraging advancements in battery technology and renewable energy to create high-performance electric cars with long ranges. The widespread adoption of EVs not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also decreases reliance on fossil fuels, driving the transition towards a greener future.

Autonomous Driving Technologies:

The concept of self-driving cars was once confined to the realm of science fiction. However, rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and sensor technology have turned this vision into reality. Companies like Waymo, Uber, and Tesla are at the forefront of developing autonomous driving technologies, aiming to enhance safety, efficiency, and convenience on the roads. While regulatory hurdles and public acceptance remain significant challenges, the potential benefits of autonomous vehicles are undeniable.

Urban Mobility Solutions:

As urbanization continues to rise, cities around the world are grappling with congestion, pollution, and accessibility issues. In response, innovative mobility solutions are emerging to address these urban challenges. Ride-sharing platforms like Uber and Lyft are reshaping traditional taxi services, while micro-mobility options such as electric scooters and bike-sharing programs offer sustainable alternatives for short-distance travel. Additionally, initiatives like smart infrastructure and integrated public transit systems are optimizing urban mobility and enhancing the overall transportation experience.

The Role of Connectivity and Data:

In the age of digitalization, connectivity and data are not just buzzwords but the driving forces reshaping the landscape of modern mobility. The integration of advanced telematics systems has heralded a new era where vehicles can communicate seamlessly with each other and with infrastructure. This connectivity holds the promise of safer and more efficient transportation networks, where vehicles can anticipate and respond to traffic conditions in real time.

Moreover, the proliferation of data analytics has empowered transportation companies to harness the vast amounts of data generated by vehicles, infrastructure, and passengers. By analyzing this data, companies can optimize routes, predict maintenance needs, and improve fleet management practices. This not only enhances operational efficiency but also leads to cost savings and a better overall customer experience.

Furthermore, data-driven insights are unlocking new possibilities for personalized services in transportation. From tailored recommendations for travel routes to customized in-vehicle entertainment options, data analytics enable transportation providers to cater to the individual preferences and needs of passengers. This not only enhances customer satisfaction but also fosters loyalty and repeat business.

Challenges and Opportunities Ahead:

However, amid the promise of innovation, the future of mobility also presents several challenges that must be addressed. One of the foremost concerns is data privacy and cybersecurity. As vehicles become increasingly connected and autonomous, they become vulnerable to cyberattacks and unauthorized access. Ensuring the security of data and protecting the privacy of passengers must be a top priority for transportation companies and regulatory authorities alike.

Moreover, issues of equity, accessibility, and affordability must be addressed to ensure that innovative transportation solutions benefit all segments of society. While advancements in mobility technology hold the potential to improve access to transportation for underserved communities, there is a risk that these benefits may not be equitably distributed. It is essential to consider the needs of marginalized populations and ensure that transportation solutions are inclusive and accessible to all.

Additionally, the transition to electric and autonomous vehicles requires significant investment in infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and public education. Building the charging infrastructure necessary to support the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, implementing policies to incentivize their use, and educating the public about the benefits of electric and autonomous transportation are critical steps in realizing the full potential of these technologies.

Conclusion:

The evolution of modern mobility is a testament to human ingenuity and innovation. From the humble beginnings of the automobile to the dawn of electric and autonomous vehicles, transportation has undergone a remarkable transformation. As we stand on the cusp of a new era in mobility, driven by connectivity, electrification, and autonomy, we must embrace the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. By fostering collaboration, investing in sustainable technologies, and prioritizing the needs of society, we can shape a future where transportation is safer, greener, and more inclusive for all. Amidst this transformation, it's worth noting that the porsche car price has remained a symbol of luxury and performance, reflecting both the advancements in automotive engineering and the aspirations of enthusiasts worldwide. Whether it's the sleek lines of the Porsche 911 or the exhilarating performance of the Porsche Taycan, the porsche car price serves as a reminder of the craftsmanship and innovation driving the automotive industry forward.