#i was so hopeful about prodigy. they started out SO FAR AWAY from the federation and this whole tendency

[sirellas]

one of my biggest issues with new trek is that it keeps trying to make every season of every new show have such a monumental scale that it circles right back around to being irrelevant. there's always a huge evil plot to destroy everything in the universe slash starfleet (and the assumption that starfleet and the federation IS everything ((and that everyone should want to join)) is a whole other debate) and our rag-tag crew of misfits has to save the poor defenseless federation against all odds etc etc..... like i get it, big stakes = big action = big emotion. but it's too big. it's lazy. when "everything" is on the line, characters don't have to justify why they're risking their lives because, duh, it's obvious, they're doing it because they have to etc etc. there's literally no believable alternative in the narrative.

whereas a smaller scale issue (i.e. voyager stuck in the DQ, dealing with the cardassian occupation of bajor, and so on; still big problems to solve! but they don't affect the entire fabric of society) has moral gray areas and also specific goals the main characters should achieve other than just "save everyone in the universe". the characters could and did question their own motives and actions because there wasn't one right answer! the shows were about thinking about what the right answer was!!! how am i supposed to believe that the real treasure was the friends we made along the way if i don't care about the ""way"" in the first place????

[youcouldbewonderful]

hello sorry if this question is annoying but I rlly wanna get into star trek but have NO IDEA where to start what should I watch fjdjjrnr

Not annoying at all!! I'll take any opportunity to talk about star trek and I'm glad to help

If you want to start at the very beginning there's of course the Original Series from 1966. This isn't where I started but I like it a lot, although you kind of have to have a love for silly plotlines and really bad effects. It sets up a lot but it's not necessary to watch to understand most later shows.

If TOS is too silly for you I'd recommend starting with the Next Generation! This is what I originally watched, and I think it's a great place to get into the franchise. Like TOS it's very monster-of-the-week, and has it's fair share of silly episodes, but they've figured out what they're doing with scifi a little bit better. In the same era as TNG is Voyager, and Deep Space Nine. These three shows all came out at around the same time and were running together for a few years. I like them all and any of these three is a pretty good place to start honestly, but DS9 has a little bit more of an overarching plotline in the later seasons, which you might not want to get into right away (although, it is a lot of people's favorite series), and Voyager has the characters set very far away from Earth/where most of the known Trek civilizations are, so it's a little more character-based and you learn less about the Federation.

I wouldn't recommend starting with any of the more recent shows, since most of them rely on a previous knowledge of Star Trek. Picard is basically a sequel to Next Generation (though. imo not a very good one), and Strange New Worlds, while the best of the new shows, is set as a prequel to the Original Series. Don't start with Discovery. Not everyone hates it, but it's a very different kind of vibe compared to older Treks. Also don't start with Enterprise. (As for the animated series'- Prodigy and Lower Decks are both widely liked but Prodigy is geared more towards kids, and Lower Decks kind of requires a previous love of Star Trek.

tldr start with the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, or the Original Series! Whatever you decide to do, welcome, and I hope you enjoy it! Star Trek is my favorite series ever so I hope this helped a bit.

(also, if you watch TOS, watch the movies set after it! There's 6 of them but the first 4 are the best. if you watch TNG there's 4 movies after that as well but First Contact is my favorite of those.)

(There's also the Alternate Original Series movies, from 2009-2016 starring Chris Pine, but these *mostly* don't connect to the main timeline. They're fun to watch anyway.)

[the-fiction-witch]

IVY P4 Yes I uhh I know

TV SHOW THE QUEENS GAMBIT  COUPLE BENNY X BETH + BENNY X READER RATING CUTE

"Good morning. I thank you all for coming it's a better turn out then I had hoped for" it was a female voice and from behind the screen stepped out a girl, she must have been a senior at the University of not doing a higher level degree because she didn't seem that much younger then beth if I had to guess, she was fairly tall, in little red heels black tights, a black dress with a red belt and some sort of peticoats below it, her hair in very nice curls with a red lipstick matching her dress and shoes she did look very pretty and very lovely but she stuck out it was obvious, I didn't want to be rude but she was... a bigger girl. And that interested me a little sort of in the way beth always stuck out not only in the chess world but everywhere because of her red hair this girl stuck out because of her body the fact before she even opened her mouth you knew that fact about her but it suited her in a way making her so different from anyone else in the room she smiled as she looked around the room hands together, she caught my eye and I saw a little blush in her cheeks before she coughed "now each and everyone of you in this room knows moreso then I hold old your game is. Chess has been plaid for centuries by kings, queens, presents and poropers. And I'm sure all of us can agree it's an amazing game, and it's a game that takes skills to play it takes skills. A mindset. That some call genuis and some call madness" she explained passing around the stage as she spoke her heels clacking as she did "every one of you in this room has that mindset. Your minds work differently from everyone else, your different, your special, your minds work fast, detailed, complicated, structurally, and intelligently. You have to think ahead and think in complex ways" she explained "the reason that i have invited you here, is that the game of chess is old and has a reputation for the game of those who sit in anique library's and smoke a pipe. I wish to bring it into the next century" she said going to the curtian and pulling it back it was.... Well a block I guess. "This is Ivy. I hope the world's first chess playing computer, I have been working for the last year to build a program that can beat a grandmaster" she smiled there was silence shock I admit I like this girl she has a drive some tenacity and her Ideas was fascinating "it's not ready yet admittedly, I'm still working on it which is why I need your help, I need to train the program the way you'd train a prodigy, and who better than some of the best chess players in the world to train ivy. To take games and plays and input them into the program I need people who know those games, those moves inside out. I can't offer much but the opportunity to have a place in history, to be one of Ivy's teachers, and a share of anything that it makes. And if the federation will fund the research further I can promise there will be results" she explained "I don't doubt most of you have made your minds already, but I will be here until the hall closes at six today for questions or anything else" she smiled "thank you though all of you for coming all this way" she smiled the lights came on and we all got up talking with each other about it all, beth was oddly quiet. I watched this girl as the federation man had questions for her all of which she answered

"You where right. Something big" harry said "you really think a computer program could ever play chess? Let alone beat a grandmaster?" He asked

"I don't know. But if we all trained it. Who knows I mean it's a brain isn't it? With all the distractions of a human being taken away."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a machine harry. It doesn't shit. Eat. Fuck. We all think in the most detailed way some more then others, that thing... could be even better then us"

"Your thinking about it aren't you?"

"About what?"

"Benny. You know they'll never fund her. You think any of these guy are going to sign up for it. It's an interesting idea but... chess is a human game. For human people. I don't wanna be playing against some fucking robot" he said going off somewhere else he had a point but still, I saw the federation man leave her alone and she didn't seem happy, I went over and she blushed a little

"Benny watts" I smiled

"Ahh yes I uhh I know" she blushed

"I bet you do yeah. So who's been helping you with this?"

"Just me"

"Sorry your name is?"

"Ohh right yes. Sorry y/n"

"Pleasure to meet you" I smiled giving her hand a little kiss which almost made her go bright red "you did all this yourself?"

"Umm I'm use to it I suppose. What did you think?"

"I think it's an interesting idea, it's impressive how many supporters so far?"

"None"

"None?"

"Not as of yet."

"Well I'm sure people will come around, what can it do so far?"

"Would you like to see?"

"I'd be delighted too"

"Benny" Matt said as he came over to us "uhh beth needs a word. Like now" he said

"Alright. Excuse me y/n" I told her she nodded so I followed Mike out to the reception we all first arrived in beth didn't look happy I know that look. somebodies about to die. And for once I don't think it's me.

"So were in agreement" she said and most nodded

"What are we agreeing to?" I asked

"There is no way any of us are signing up to train her machine, why should some... program be able to play as good as us. It wouldn't have to do the things we did the training the time the sacrifices it's a machine. It's nothing but wires and buttons and i don't want it anywhere near chess"

"But... beth. It's the future. Think what it would mean for technology, for humanity as a whole if you had a computer smart enough to beat you hell what wouldn't it be smart enough to do?"

"Benny no. This is a bad idea. I don't think any of us should go anywhere near this idea"

"And who decided you were the queen of chess?"

"You ever decided you were the king!"

"Beth. It's not your decision to make if people want to help her then they can"

"Fine. But don't expect anything from me"

"Or me" harry added, many agreed with her and all began to leave heading out into the snow until it was just me. I went back to the hall and saw the federation man was still here with her but he gave her some paper and left too leaving the room in silence

"They all left? Didn't they?"

"They did." I nodded "what did he say?"

"They won't fund it. He said no computer could ever play chess"

"I'm sorry y/n"

"It's alright. I should have known better. It's okay" she says "I kinda was afraid everyone would go" she said sitting in the stage

"Not everyone" I told her sitting beside her "I'm still here" I shrug

"You are. Please don't stay just because you feel bad"

"Well I do feel bad. But I want to stay. I think it's a cool idea, brilliant even. And if I can help then I'd be happy to"

"You mean it?" She asked and I nodded "ohh thank you benny!" She smiled giving me a tight hug I hugged her a little too but she blushed and moved away "sorry."

"No it's alright." I smiled putting my arm on her so she could have her head on my shoulder "so? What exactly do I have to do?"

"Ahh well mostly just play games and moves so I can input them into the program"

"You want me to sit and play chess and your gonna write it down?"

"Yep"

"Good. This is good"

"So did you Wanna start tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Great well we can go to my dorm you can play and I'll make notes and start inputting into Ivy"

"Uhh what time tomorrow?"

"About half eight ish?"

"Ahh. You can't do any later?"

"No my dorm has rules about when people can and can't be there"

"Well if you don't mind putting your... I don't know whatever you need to input things in my apartment you can come over whenever you want and watch me play?" I suggest

"You wouldn't mind?"

"No not at all. So long as you don't mind coming down to do your work"

"I wouldn't mind at all" she smiled

[allthingsfantasy]

Blog Tour ~ Day Moon ~ Excerpt

Blog Tour ~ Day Moon

Author: Brett Armstrong

Genre: Science Fiction/ Fantasy

Dates:29th of May ~ 9th of June

Hosted by: Ultimate Fantasy Book Tours

Blurb:

In A.D. 2039, a prodigious seventeen year old, Elliott, is assigned to work on a global soft-ware initiative his deceased grandfather helped found. Project Alexandria is intended to provide the entire world secure and equal access to all accumulated human knowledge. All forms of print are destroyed in good faith, to ensure everyone has equal footing, and Elliott knows he must soon part with his final treasure: a book of Shakespeare’s complete works gifted him by his grandfather. Before it is destroyed, Elliott notices something is amiss with the book, or rather Project Alexandria. The two do not match, including an extra sonnet titled “Day Moon”. When Elliott investigates, he uncovers far more than he bargained for. There are sinister forces backing Project Alexandria who have no intention of using it for its public purpose. Elliott soon finds himself on the run from federal authorities and facing betrayals and deceit from those closest to him. Following clues left by his grandfather, with agents close at hand, Elliott desperately hopes to find a way to stop Project Alexandria. All of history past and yet to be depend on it.

 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34722838-day-moon

Buy Links:

 Amazon.com ~ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XWDM49Z

   Author Bio:

 From an early age, Brett Armstrong had a love for literature and history. At age nine, he combined the two for his first time in a short story set in the last days of the Aztec Empire. After that, writing’s role in his life waxed and waned periodically, always a dream on the horizon, till he reached college. At West Virginia University, he entered the Computer Engineering program and spent two years pursuing that degree before an opportunity to take a creative writing class, for fun, came along. It was so enjoyable, he took another and in that course he discovered two things. The first was the plot for a short story called Destitutio Quod Remissio, which the others students really seemed to love. The second, he realized he absolutely loved writing. For him, it was like the proverbial light bulb coming on. In the years since, describing that epiphany has been difficult for him, but he found the words of 1924 Olympian Eric Liddell are the most eloquent expression for it: “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” God gave Brett a passion for writing, and so feels His pleasure when writing. After a few years passed, Brett got his Computer Engineering degree, but also completed a minor in each of his real passions: history and creative writing. In 2013, he began graduate school to earn an MA in Creative Writing. During that time he completed the novelization of Destitutio Quod Remissio and entered the 2013-2014 CrossBooks Writing Contest, which won the contest's grand prize. As of March 2015, Brett completed his MA and is presently employed in the West Virginia Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology as a programmer analyst. Brett lives in Saint Albans, West Virginia, with his beautiful wife, Shelly. In the summer the pair gardens together, and each day Brett continues writing his next novel.

Visit him at:

 Website: http://www.brettarmstrong.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brettarmstrongwv

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BArmstrongWV

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00TGQ8ULK

Excerpt:

 Chapter Seven – The Storm

 “Alas, the storm is come again!”

The Tempest, Act II, scene 2, line 38

  The door to the creative arts hall swung shut behind Elliott, ushering him into the building with a rush of wind that startled him. He glanced back at the huge glass entry doors and swallowed back the wave of anxiety that rose up. Professor Alsworth’s e-mail was so vague it was hard to fathom what this meeting was to be about. It definitely wasn’t the start to a Monday he would choose.

Only a few other students were out and about on the campus. Columbus Day kept most of the other students in bed till well after noon. Elliott had been up for several hours now.

Each footstep echoed off the tiles of the hall. Through the low lit corridor were arranged a variety of art pieces. The hall wasn’t like those on the downtown campus. It was completely new and its interior reflected the subject matter taught within its enclosure. The walls were a gradient of dark and light tones that drew their inspiration from the school colors. Along the wall were crisscrossing metal beams that intersected at various angles and arched around light fixtures and show pieces. Many of the latter were produced by students or faculty. A long entry hall gave way to an open atrium where the metal wall accentuations soared up and twisted into the next several floors.lit corridor were arranged a variety of art pieces. The hall wasn’t like those on the downtown campus. It was completely new and its interior reflected the subject matter taught within its enclosure. The walls were a gradient of dark and light tones that drew their inspiration from the school colors. Along the wall were crisscrossing metal beams that intersected at various angles and arched around light fixtures and show pieces. Many of the latter were produced by students or faculty. A long entry hall gave way to an open atrium where the metal wall accentuations soared up and twisted into the next several floors.

At the back of this huge open area was a coffee bar, surrounded by stools and automated dispensing machines. The room’s centerpiece was a square pond where the water was almost precisely at the lip of its container. Long plush benches were arrayed around it and the lights played off the barely stirred surface. The entire effect of this place with its wide acoustic halls and edgy architecture was to evoke the spirit of creativity in sight and sound. Elliott liked coming here, most days.

Instructor offices were on different floors, based on the department, but Professor Alsworth’s happened to be on ground level. Nearing the office, Elliott felt his pulse quickening. A variety of scenarios, good and bad, ran through his mind, most too extreme in one direction or the other to be likely.

A few steps shy of the door to the office, Elliott could hear voices. Both spoke in hushed tones, and he did his best to not focus on the conversation. That another student was meeting with Professor Alsworth meant that this should not be a visit of any concern.

Dropping down onto a hard plastic chair in the hall, Elliott folded his hands together and rested his chin on them. In the hall were a number of paintings. The two closest were abstract, with a wide array of colors, strokes, and seemingly erratic design. One was probably on display for the subtle use of hues and even texture in the painting. It didn’t interest Elliott much. He preferred some level of realism in his work. Even so, one of them caught his eye. It was darker than the other and reminded Elliott of a stormy night.

Inside the office the conversation was cut short, and footsteps could be heard approaching the door at a quick clip. The door swung open with surprising speed and Elliott jumped to his feet to avoid its path. Entering the hall was a girl, whose sniffling Elliott perceived before his eyes reached the dark hair and pallid skin. “Lara?” he asked after the retreating form of the downcast student.

She turned and looked at him. Lara’s eyes glistened with tears and her primrose lips were twisted with a sorrow he had never seen. Without answering him, she turned around and hurried down the hall away from him.

Elliott took a few steps toward her, but hesitated. Lara hadn’t told him that she had an appointment today as well…

Another figure emerged into the hall: Professor Alsworth. His eyes were trained on Lara, his face impassive, but his posture slightly hunched as though he carried a weight that bore down hard on him. His blue eyes flicked to Elliott after a few seconds and he said, “Hello, Elliott. You can come on inside and sit down. I’m going to go get some coffee.”

Nodding to his teacher, Elliott shuffled inside as Professor Alsworth stalked down the corridor toward the atrium. Inside Alsworth’s office it was much brighter than out in the hall. He kept it pristine, without a single paper of his inbox out of sorts in its stack or bit of clutter to be found. Walking slowly toward the large, L-shaped desk roughly a third of the way from the back wall, Elliott could see the display of his professor’s Mac still alight, left on the last thing his teacher had viewed before stepping out into the hall.

Unable to resist his curious nature, he leaned across the desk to get a good view of it. On the screen was an image from an art gallery’s website. The piece he was looking at was titled Dia de la Luna. It was a painting and it looked eerily similar to the drawing he had submitted just last week.

[macadampatricia]

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[ultrasfcb-blog]

World Cup 2018: Why France travel to Russia with many unanswered questions

World Cup 2018: Why France travel to Russia with many unanswered questions

World Cup 2018: Why France travel to Russia with many unanswered questions

France qualified for the World Cup by topping their group, but needed a win in their last game against Belarus to be sure of going to Russia

As the World Cup beckons, the usual predictions game is in full flow all around the world. Who will win it? Who is your money on?

France have one of the strongest squads in the competition but I’m not sure that many expect them to go all the way.

Head coach Didier Deschamps left big players like Alexandre Lacazette, Kingsley Coman, Adrien Rabiot and Anthony Martial at home, which shows how many options he has at his disposal.

He also lost Dimitri Payet and Laurent Koscielny through injury but their replacements – Nabil Fekir and Adil Rami – are not too bad either.

Yet there seems to be an expectation that France will be beaten at some point in Russia, by Spain, Brazil or Germany.

Despite all the talent they have, despite some clear progress between their 2014 World Cup quarter-final defeat and the Euro 2016 final, they will travel to Moscow on 10 June with more questions than answers.

Is Deschamps the wrong coach?

Does Deschamps know his best team? Does he play a formation to get the best out of them?

There is a perception in France that Deschamps, as a player and manager, has always had luck on his side.

However, since taking over the France team in summer 2012, his good fortune seems to have deserted him.

Euro 2016 had his name written all over it. After leading France to a World Cup triumph as captain in 1998, he could have added another chapter to his legend by guiding his country to another big title on home soil.

Yet, in the final against Portugal, Deschamps got it wrong, mainly being too cautious despite his team being on top.

Has he lost his touch? It is a bit early to say. The players still trust him but there have been a few other incidents where his decisions have been questionable and where his approach has been poor.

He made the wrong choices in a World Cup qualifier in Sweden in June 2017. He decided to start Blaise Matuidi, Moussa Sissoko and Payet instead of N’Golo Kante, Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe, who were all in better form and shape.

Les Bleus lost the game and the manager lost a lot of credibility.

Last September in Toulouse, France could not beat Luxembourg in another World Cup qualifier after Deschamps again got his selection wrong.

His inability to respond when Les Bleus threw away a 2-0 lead at home against Colombia to lose 3-2 in a friendly in March was also concerning.

“I make choices based on my analysis and my observations,” he said in response to the criticism. “I take responsibilities for the players I choose.”

Deschamps is under contract until 2020 but he knows how important this World Cup is. France have their best squad of players since 1998, when he won it. It is time for him to deliver.

Can Pogba be this generation’s leader?

Pogba and his French team were beaten by Portugal in the Euro 2016 final in Paris

Through the history of French football, the successful France teams have always had one outstanding on-field leader.

Raymond Kopa led them to third place at the 1958 World Cup. Then we had the Michel Platini generation, with two World Cup semi-finals in 1982 and 1986, and a win at Euro 1984.

Finally, between 1998 and 2006, it was Zinedine Zidane’s turn to reign and bring more success.

The Kopa-Platini-Zidane sequence needs an heir now, someone capable of taking the current France team forward. And there is only really one candidate.

“It is Paul Pogba’s turn to be in charge,” says former Arsenal winger Robert Pires, a team-mate of Deschamps in 1998.

“He says he is ready to take the role and the responsibility. This is his time. He wants to be the boss. He is mature enough now, strong enough to do it.

“For France to win this World Cup, they need Pogba at his best. He will have to guide this team, the likes of Mbappe and Dembele, to the next level.

“He is not the only leader. Hugo Lloris, Raphael Varane, Matuidi and Antoine Griezmann are all senior figures in this squad as well. But Pogba has to be the main man. He was named best young player at the last World Cup. He has to be aiming to be named best player of this tournament, full stop.”

And what about Mbappe, who moved from Monaco to Paris St-Germain on loan last year, with a £166m permanent deal set to follow?

Pires thinks it is too early for the teenager, although there is little doubt the prodigy will one day take on the role.

“He is only 19 years old – he has plenty of time,” added Pires. “It is important not to put too much pressure on him. This is his first big competition. I believe he will shine on the pitch but it will also be part of his learning curve.”

Leadership has been a problem for France since Zidane retired after the 2006 World Cup. You can have clever players and strong characters but to have a real leader, on and off the pitch, is a different matter.

Why has there not been progress since 2016?

Deschamps, capped 102 times by France, has been in charge of Les Bleus since 2012, succeeding former team-mate Laurent Blanc

Euro 2016 was a huge heartbreak for Deschamps and his men. It was supposed to be the competition that brought France back to the top.

The hopes were so high. It was theirs to grab. So the defeat in the final against Portugal was a big blow and the hangover lasted far too long.

Since 2016, this France team has not improved, even despite the emergence of wonderful talents like Dembele, Corentin Tolisso and Mbappe.

When the head coach and the players should have made sure they overcame the disappointment of 2016 and built on the positive things they did at the Euros (beating Germany, Griezmann shining), they actually crumbled.

Either they took for granted that they would continue their progression or they just underestimated the task ahead.

Is it a lack of ambition?

For this tournament, the objective set by the president of the French Federation, Noel Le Graet, is to reach the semi-finals. What is wrong with targeting the title? Why only think about the semis?

The absence of consistency from some of the players, the key players especially, has been a problem.

Tactically, Deschamps is also still searching for his best formation. Should he stick with the 4-4-2 that worked in 2016? Or is 4-3-3 more suited to this squad and better equipped to win the World Cup?

The head coach will have to decide.

There is some proof he has moved on from 2016 – he has called up only nine players for the World Cup squad who were there in 2016 (Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda, Samuel Umtiti, Adil Rami, Pogba, Kante, Matuidi, Griezmann and Olivier Giroud).

Whether those changes are enough, we will soon find out.

Can France be inspired by the class of 1998?

Many of the current crop of France players were raised on the glory of the victory in 1998

Twenty years ago, on 12 July, France won the World Cup, on home soil, for the first time. It has been a long and sinuous road ever since with some highs (2000, 2006 and 2016) and a lot of lows (2002, 2004, 2008, 2010).

There is a sense of destiny, however, which will travel to Russia with this French squad.

Most of the players called up by Deschamps grew up with the memory of 1998 and the incredible France-Brazil final. Mbappe was not even born when Deschamps lifted the trophy at the Stade de France that summer but he has watched the tapes a million times while growing up.

The 1998 generation need successors and it might be written in the stars that the class of 2018 can be exactly that. Expectations are high. The pressure will be too.

“It can’t be a burden for this generation,” said World Cup-winning left-back Bixente Lizarazu.

“It should not be some added pressure that they have to win because we did it 20 years ago. However, if they can use it as an incentive, it could work.

“Didier has been there before, he has done it and he will have a lot of advice for the players, especially the younger ones to guide them through this process and take them as far as possible.”

Winning the World Cup 20 years after Zidane would be very special for Pogba and this France squad.

They have issues to sort out, questions to answer and they might not be at the top of the predictions lists right now.

But as we say in French, nothing is impossible…

BBC Sport – Football ultras_FC_Barcelona

ultras FC Barcelona - https://ultrasfcb.com/football/5103/

#Barcelona

[365footballorg-blog]

World Cup 2018: Why France travel to Russia with many unanswered questions

As the World Cup beckons, the usual predictions game is in full flow all around the world. Who will win it? Who is your money on?

France have one of the strongest squads in the competition but I’m not sure that many expect them to go all the way.

Head coach Didier Deschamps left big players like Alexandre Lacazette, Kingsley Coman, Adrien Rabiot and Anthony Martial at home, which shows how many options he has at his disposal.

He also lost Dimitri Payet and Laurent Koscielny through injury but their replacements – Nabil Fekir and Adil Rami – are not too bad either.

Yet there seems to be an expectation that France will be beaten at some point in Russia, by Spain, Brazil or Germany.

Despite all the talent they have, despite some clear progress between their 2014 World Cup quarter-final defeat and the Euro 2016 final, they will travel to Moscow on 10 June with more questions than answers.

Is Deschamps the wrong coach?

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There is a perception in France that Deschamps, as a player and manager, has always had luck on his side.

However, since taking over the France team in summer 2012, his good fortune seems to have deserted him.

Euro 2016 had his name written all over it. After leading France to a World Cup triumph as captain in 1998, he could have added another chapter to his legend by guiding his country to another big title on home soil.

Yet, in the final against Portugal, Deschamps got it wrong, mainly being too cautious despite his team being on top.

Has he lost his touch? It is a bit early to say. The players still trust him but there have been a few other incidents where his decisions have been questionable and where his approach has been poor.

He made the wrong choices in a World Cup qualifier in Sweden in June 2017. He decided to start Blaise Matuidi, Moussa Sissoko and Payet instead of N’Golo Kante, Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe, who were all in better form and shape.

Les Bleus lost the game and the manager lost a lot of credibility.

Last September in Toulouse, France could not beat Luxembourg in another World Cup qualifier after Deschamps again got his selection wrong.

His inability to respond when Les Bleus threw away a 2-0 lead at home against Colombia to lose 3-2 in a friendly in March was also concerning.

“I make choices based on my analysis and my observations,” he said in response to the criticism. “I take responsibilities for the players I choose.”

Deschamps is under contract until 2020 but he knows how important this World Cup is. France have their best squad of players since 1998, when he won it. It is time for him to deliver.

Can Pogba be this generation’s leader?

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Through the history of French football, the successful France teams have always had one outstanding on-field leader.

Raymond Kopa led them to third place at the 1958 World Cup. Then we had the Michel Platini generation, with two World Cup semi-finals in 1982 and 1986, and a win at Euro 1984.

Finally, between 1998 and 2006, it was Zinedine Zidane’s turn to reign and bring more success.

The Kopa-Platini-Zidane sequence needs an heir now, someone capable of taking the current France team forward. And there is only really one candidate.

“It is Paul Pogba’s turn to be in charge,” says former Arsenal winger Robert Pires, a team-mate of Deschamps in 1998.

“He says he is ready to take the role and the responsibility. This is his time. He wants to be the boss. He is mature enough now, strong enough to do it.

“For France to win this World Cup, they need Pogba at his best. He will have to guide this team, the likes of Mbappe and Dembele, to the next level.

“He is not the only leader. Hugo Lloris, Raphael Varane, Matuidi and Antoine Griezmann are all senior figures in this squad as well. But Pogba has to be the main man. He was named best young player at the last World Cup. He has to be aiming to be named best player of this tournament, full stop.”

And what about Mbappe, who moved from Monaco to Paris St-Germain on loan last year, with a £166m permanent deal set to follow?

Pires thinks it is too early for the teenager, although there is little doubt the prodigy will one day take on the role.

“He is only 19 years old – he has plenty of time,” added Pires. “It is important not to put too much pressure on him. This is his first big competition. I believe he will shine on the pitch but it will also be part of his learning curve.”

Leadership has been a problem for France since Zidane retired after the 2006 World Cup. You can have clever players and strong characters but to have a real leader, on and off the pitch, is a different matter.

Why has there not been progress since 2016?

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Euro 2016 was a huge heartbreak for Deschamps and his men. It was supposed to be the competition that brought France back to the top.

The hopes were so high. It was theirs to grab. So the defeat in the final against Portugal was a big blow and the hangover lasted far too long.

Since 2016, this France team has not improved, even despite the emergence of wonderful talents like Dembele, Corentin Tolisso and Mbappe.

When the head coach and the players should have made sure they overcame the disappointment of 2016 and built on the positive things they did at the Euros (beating Germany, Griezmann shining), they actually crumbled.

Either they took for granted that they would continue their progression or they just underestimated the task ahead.

Is it a lack of ambition?

For this tournament, the objective set by the president of the French Federation, Noel Le Graet, is to reach the semi-finals. What is wrong with targeting the title? Why only think about the semis?

The absence of consistency from some of the players, the key players especially, has been a problem.

Tactically, Deschamps is also still searching for his best formation. Should he stick with the 4-4-2 that worked in 2016? Or is 4-3-3 more suited to this squad and better equipped to win the World Cup?

The head coach will have to decide.

There is some proof he has moved on from 2016 – he has called up only nine players for the World Cup squad who were there in 2016 (Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda, Samuel Umtiti, Adil Rami, Pogba, Kante, Matuidi, Griezmann and Olivier Giroud).

Whether those changes are enough, we will soon find out.

Can France be inspired by the class of 1998?

<!–

Twenty years ago, on 12 July, France won the World Cup, on home soil, for the first time. It has been a long and sinuous road ever since with some highs (2000, 2006 and 2016) and a lot of lows (2002, 2004, 2008, 2010).

There is a sense of destiny, however, which will travel to Russia with this French squad.

Most of the players called up by Deschamps grew up with the memory of 1998 and the incredible France-Brazil final. Mbappe was not even born when Deschamps lifted the trophy at the Stade de France that summer but he has watched the tapes a million times while growing up.

The 1998 generation need successors and it might be written in the stars that the class of 2018 can be exactly that. Expectations are high. The pressure will be too.

“It can’t be a burden for this generation,” said World Cup-winning left-back Bixente Lizarazu.

“It should not be some added pressure that they have to win because we did it 20 years ago. However, if they can use it as an incentive, it could work.

“Didier has been there before, he has done it and he will have a lot of advice for the players, especially the younger ones to guide them through this process and take them as far as possible.”

Winning the World Cup 20 years after Zidane would be very special for Pogba and this France squad.

They have issues to sort out, questions to answer and they might not be at the top of the predictions lists right now.

But as we say in French, nothing is impossible…

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BBC Sport – Football

World Cup 2018: Why France travel to Russia with many unanswered questions was originally published on 365 Football

[mikeyd1986]

MIKEY’S PERSONAL BLOG 76, November 2017

“With persistence, courage and the willingness to learn and grow, we are often capable of achieving far more than anyone - including ourselves - might ever have expected.”               The Confidence Gap by Dr. Russ Harris (p. 244)

On Monday morning, I had a full body aromatherapy message by my friend and workmate Shannon Currant who is currently completing her Diploma of Beauty Therapy at Chisholm Institute of TAFE in Berwick. I was honestly really grateful that she asked me to participate in her assessment because a) Hello! Who doesn’t love a free message? and b) I really wanted to help Shannon out. After filling out a questionnaire and consent form, I was ready to go.

Unfortunately, we had to deal with loud construction vehicles working outside which was literally shaking the whole building. But once I was on the massage table, it didn’t bother me as much. Plus the soft chimes and swamp noises playing through the speakers was a welcome distraction. I thought that Shannon did a really good job, making sure I felt comfortable and relaxed the whole time and asking me if the pressure was okay. She was very professional about it and I’d be happy to participate again if she needs me.

On Monday night, I went to an RPM class at YMCA Casey ARC in Narre Warren. My emotions were still running pretty high after receiving an unexpected message on social media. It seems that I truly can’t handle criticism or anyone having a go at me because reading that message hurt me so much. And I had to admit that I’m partly to blame for this. I fuck things up without intending to but it was a sign that I need to cut the cord and let go. So I decided to do the mature thing and own my shit. It’s time to take responsibility.

Tonight’s class was vital for me in releasing these intense negative emotions festering within me...anger, guilt, hurt, shame, depression, disappointment. No matter what anyone thinks about me, I have to keep focusing on doing what’s best for me and looking after myself instead of wallowing in self-pity and playing the “Poor Michael” violin. I can’t let other people stop me from living my life nor can I please everyone. All I can do is learn from my mistakes, apologize, hope they accept it and move on.

Despite this emotional storm going on inside my head, I was pleasantly surprised with how well I did tonight. There were seven tracks from several older releases. The fitness instructor Janine who was filling in for Claire recognised me when I walked into the cycle studio and immediately I felt a little better about myself. I pushed myself over 130 RPM which I haven’t done in a very long time during the racing sections and up to 90 RPM during the internal training sections. It was pretty much giving a big FUCK YOU to all the negativity that’s been holding me back in my life. https://www.lesmills.com/workouts/f...

On Tuesday morning, I visited Bunjil Place for the first time since it opened last weekend. It was designed by Francis-Jones Morehan Thorp and cost $125 million dollars to build. The architecture both inside and outside the building is very impressive. There are major influences made to Aboriginal art, culture and past history. Bunjil itself literally means creator deity and is represented by a wedge tailed eagle, which the building is shaped like from an aerial view. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunji...

There are also some throwbacks to the styles of Art Deco and Art Nouveau with the use of spiral staircases, large expansive curves, block rectangular forms in the windows and simple, clean lines. The combination of natural materials such as the abstract timber sculptural forms in the foyer, dark grey woolen carpets and plush leather/suede seating works really well as does the use of large glass panels around the entrance. This maximises the amount of natural light coming into the building and provides spectacular views of Fountain Gate.  https://www.bunjilplace.com.au/abou...

The facilities inside of Bunjil Place are all ultra-modern and state of the art. These include an 800 seat performance theater, a 200 seat studio space, a 350 seat function centre, art galleries, meeting rooms, a multi-level library, a cafe, an outdoor plaza, an open foyer and customer service centre. It is a major improvement and necessary upgrade compared to the now outdated council buildings over the road. https://www.bunjilplace.com.au/venu...

On Tuesday afternoon, I had a formal one on one consultation with my potential new personal trainer Abhishek Ashokkumar from Silverback Training Co.. We spent most of the session talking about past experiences, who I am as a person, my short term and long term goals, what I want out of my training and how I’m going to get there. It felt good being able to express myself, be honest with Abhi and unravel what I truly wanted from the complex depths of my mind. My fitness journey so far has been a turbulent roller-coaster ride but I have no regrets and I wouldn’t change any of it.

Honestly, I’m still in a state of transition right now and buried beneath a massive “What If?” cloud when it comes to where I want to head next. Most of that is being able to let go of the past and confront the fear of change and uncertainty of the future. But otherwise I walked away feeling assured that Abhi could be a good fit for me. He is highly knowledgeable, no bullshit, funny, passionate, caring and training clients for the right reasons. There’s also no pressure to make a decision either way nor do I have to worry about any dreaded lock-in contracts. Certainly a lot of pros and green lights there. Now, I just have to be ready to start. https://www.theyardfitness.com.au/

On Tuesday night, I attended a nutrition seminar at YMCA Casey ARC in Narre Warren. It was just a small intimate gathering of five people inside one of the training rooms on the pool level. Nutritionist and Dietitian Marnie Nitschke facilitated the seminar, talking about whether things like coconut oil, probiotics, A2 milk and activating nuts are good or bad for your health. She also discussed the top 10 trendy diets, explaining what evidence each of them had and why they don’t work. These included Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar diet, the Paleo diet, the Detox Diet, the Blood Group diet, Raw Food diet, High Carb Low Fat diet and the 5:2 diet. http://www.everydaynutrition.com.au/...

The biggest problems with these diets are the lack of scientific evidence, not being sustainable in the long term, are missing key nutrients that are needed for the body to function correctly and are usually far too restrictive and unrealistic. It all comes down to having a balanced diet high in plant based foods plus eggs, fish, nuts, yogurt, cheese, milk and meats. And everything else in moderation. Nobody should feel guilty about eating a slice of cake or a chocolate biscuit, just don’t eat the whole packet in one go. https://www.caseyarc.ymca.org.au/wh...

Because the seminar was running slightly overtime, I was a few minutes late getting to my Body Combat class but thankfully I didn’t miss too much. Took me a while to get into the rhythm and not feel uncoordinated but eventually I got there. Cinamon mixed the tracks up again, putting in a Braveheart battle theme with a bow and arrow movement and The Prodigy’s Spitfire which included lots of dynamic lunges and side kicks. I always seem to walk away from a combat class feeling like I worked hard and that I really enjoyed myself. https://www.lesmills.com/workouts/f...

On Thursday night, I caught up with my friend Amy Amy in Thornbury. Getting off at Croxton station, I walked down Darebin street and met Amy at a pizza restaurant called Il Pizzaiolo. Thornbury is not an area I’m very familiar with but I was well prepared with directions in my head and in my pocket. I love admiring the older styled houses that are still preserved including Californian Bungalows, Queen Anne and Federation. I noticed that there were quite a few political posters up for the upcoming local election as well as support my marriage equality.

The Il Pizzaiolo is a traditional Italian pizza restaurant and for the most part, I had a very pleasant experience there. I decided to play it safe and order a Margarita pizza as the other options weren’t very appealing and were difficult to understand let alone pronounce. We then walked around the block to the SPAN Community House Thornbury in Clyde Street for the Om Chanting Circle class. There’s nothing that says getting out of your comfort zone by being in a new suburb, a new venue and meeting a new group of people.

As expected, my social anxiety was pretty high initially as meeting new people is a huge trigger for me. But eventually it did simmer down. Once I’m able to feel comfortable in the space and recognise that these people have good intentions, then the anxiety doesn’t have as strong effect on me. And the truth is that the people in this group were all friendly, kind, loving, compassionate, non-judgemental and open minded. Pretty much the types of people I need to be around more often.

The Om Chanting meditation class was facilitated by Paul “Paulie” Daniele. Red plastic chairs were positioned in a circular formation with two chairs in the center forming an inner circle. Essentially we had to chant om continuously for 40 minutes. That prospect for me was pretty concerning as I wasn’t sure I could last that long. But the good news was that you can take a few seconds to recover before breathing in again and knowing that everyone can go at their own pace. I did find that my throat was straining at times but that’s probably because I’m not used to doing it.

It was a really beautiful experience. During the reflective discussion at the end of the class, I described it as being inside a towering cathedral with a large choir of people all chanting together. You can literally feel the vibrations and the energy generated from the sounds we were all producing. There was a large range of harmonic frequencies that could be heard during the meditation from deep brassy tones to high pitched angelic-like tones. Very much brought my back to my days of studying Physics back in VCE.

Overall, I’m really glad that I made the effort to travel all the way out to Thornbury to see my friend Amy and to experience a different form of meditation than what I’m used to. Getting home was unfortunately a major hassle as I had to deal with replacement buses from Caulfield to Dandenong. Things went smoothly until I was forced to depart at Clayton station and was essentially left stranded there waiting for another bus. Getting close to Midnight, I didn’t want to take my chances waiting around for a bus that may never arrive. My gut instinct told me to call my parents to pick me up and that’s what I did. Thankfully I got myself home safe and that’s all that matters really. https://www.facebook.com/mindfulbod...

On Friday morning, I went to a Body Pump class with Gina at YMCA Casey ARC in Narre Warren. It’s probably been about six months or so since I last did a Pump class as I was already doing on-going strength training with my PT. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done any sort of weight lifting so I knew going in that I was going to be pretty rusty and needed to go easy on how much weight I should be putting on the bar. It really didn’t take long before I started to feel the burn and the muscle soreness in my arms, shoulders and lower back.

It was really lovely of Gina to give me a greeting as I really didn’t expect her to remember me let alone my name. She also pointed out that I was the only guy in the room but this didn’t bother me. I’m used to being in female dominated fitness classes. We did a combination of deadlifts, rows, back squats, overhead power presses and shoulder lifts with the barbell and some bicep and tricep curls with the hand weights.

There were a few times I struggled to keep up especially during the bench press sections and I even had to skip a few reps to recover but I did what I could. We also did some squats and lunges, core crunches and yoga stretches to finish the class off. https://www.lesmills.com/workouts/f...

“We were talking about the love we all could share. When we find it, to try our best to hold it there with our love. With our love, we could save the world, if they only knew. Try to realise it's all within yourself. No one else can make you change.”  The Beatles - Within You, Without You (1967)

“Child-like. No one understands. Jack knife. In your sweaty hands. Some kind of innocence is measured out in years. You don't know what it's like to listen to your fears. You can talk to me, if you're lonely you can talk to me.” The Beatles - Hey Bulldog (1969)

[pyxel-spree]

08 | liaisons and leadership

For Ramon, the next couple of days settled into a comforting routine. Wake up, attempt to eat whatever slop the older Greanleefe child had put together, then dig through everything they had on Annifrid Larsson, sometimes with the help of Danica, Zafir, Damien, and Aza, sometimes not. Evenings, drink with Kalyani, as the Greanleefes kept a prodigious liquor stash. Repeat. Lately, his assistants had their eyes on another prize, the famed Rakhsasi, as they called Kalyani.

The name was an utter embarrassment to her, and she refused to tell him what it meant. A Google search had told him it was the Sanskrit name for "demoness," which didn't sound like a good thing, but turned out to be a compliment of the highest degree. Apparently, she had become something of an Olympia academy legend.

That didn't surprise Ramon. No one else, to his knowledge, had ever pulled a perfect score on the Standard Field Exam. His own exam marks were barely above average, a poor combat score balanced by a good tactical strategy one. It was natural that the trainees saw her as a goddess.

After a few days, however, she had intimidated them all out of enthusiasm, and they had begun to stop begging for lessons, even Damien, who as a trainee needed them. Well, all except one. Danica, after a rough start, had really taken to Kalyani in a way the others hadn't. It was possible she had found someone as neurotically obsessed with perfection as herself. Ramon and the others were treated to hours of crashing and pained grunts. Occasionally, Danica would emerge, sporting a black eye or a twisted limb, but cheerful.

"I hit her," she told Ramon excitedly, over morning coffee. "In the last few seconds of match. It wasn't for very long or very hard, but I hit her. You could tell she felt it. I think I'm getting better."

Ramon smiled. "That's very good." Kalyani had told him she was going easy on her, but her version of "easy" was probably a far cry away from most people's definition of the word.

"So, did you find anything yet? About the you-know-what?" Her voice dropped an octave as she saw Oceania Greanleefe enter.

"Not yet." She really had to work on this whole being-subtle thing.

"I'm fucking starving," announced Oceania. "Where's the food? It better not be any of that oatmeal shit or I'm going on a hunger strike, I swear to God."

Ramon bit his tongue to prevent himself from responding. Llenwi Greanleefe was pleasant enough, but Oceania was a constant source of profanity, griping, and arguments. Her fights with Isolde were carried out at a decibel that was probably unsafe for human eardrums and ranged from subjects as diverse as who would take out the trash to going to school, which apparently, she was dead set against. "I have PROBLEMS!" she had screamed one memorable time. "I'm clinically depressed!" Apparently, she had been kicked out of her fancy boarding school for trying to kill someone, but he doubted it. She seemed like just another spoiled rich kid.

"There's stuff in the fridge." said Danica, keeping her face studiously blank. If Oceania could deduce how you really felt about her from your expression, she would tell you off, even if you were a good ten years older than her. It was kind of amusing unless you were the target.

After some crashing, Oceania emerged, clutching a jar of peanut butter. "Later, fuckers!" she screeched, then barreled up the stairs.

As soon as she was far enough away, Ramon allowed himself to smile. "She's definitely a character."

"In need of a kick in the teeth, more like. She told Zafir to suck her dick because he passed her on the stairs." said Aza darkly, emerging from the kitchen with a cup of black coffee. She snickered. "Not really sure how that would work, but-"

Ramon whistled. "She did? I should talk to Isolde about keeping her away from our agents.  We have work to do, and I don't care how important she is, she needs to control her kid."

"Can we do that?" Danica asked. "They are royalty, even though they don't act like it."

"I could care less. We're providing them a service, so they should treat us with respect." he told them. "Now, come on. I think it's time we reviewed the facts."

"I thought you'd never ask." Danica whipped out her laptop.

"Wait for Zafir and Damien." Aza admonished, shooting her a dirty look. "We realize you're the fastest person to ever use a computer-you don't need to show off."

Danica blushed angrily. "Excuse me for trying to do my job. I didn't realize that was a federal offense."

Aza began to respond, but Ramon cut her off. "Enough! We are here to work, not to pick fights. If this a personal issue, you two can always resolve it with an incident report filed with the Board-"

Neither of them took him up on this. "Good."

The men arrived, with Kalyani in tow. "Well, should we get started?" she asked.

"Uh, sure." Ramon said, making an effort to avert his eyes from her taut frame, still glistening with sweat from this morning's workout. Focus. She can never be yours, you idiot, don't you see? "So, what do we know about Annifrid Larsson?"

"She was a twelve-year old student at Valorian Hill Academy." Aza reported. "Height a bit above average, weight a bit under average. Blonde hair, blue eyes, freckles. Her social media indicates she was fairly popular."

"Which social media?" Damien interrupted.

"Uh, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. She was a pretty active Snapchatter, too. See-" Danica turned her laptop so they all could look. A spread of photographs greeted them. Annifrid Larsson throwing her arms around a girl. Annifrid Larsson in a formal dress. Always with the same brilliant smile.

"She's pretty," remarked Aza.

"Yeah. What else do we know about her?"

"She had transferred to Valorian Hill that year. She was a classical dancer. Decent grades, activities, a social life-she doesn't quite fit the suicidal teenager model." Zafir observed.

"Did she have drug problems?" Kalyani asked.

Ramon could feel the mood shifting. She always has to ask the uncomfortable questions. Which is fine with me-I don't want to do it. "Sort of. The friends of hers the police interviewed said they'd seen her intoxicated on multiple occasions."

"So young?" Damien asked skeptically.

"She was dating an older boy. Zaren Daves. According to the friends, he was able to get her into some of the older kids' parties."

"So party girl." Kalyani said.

"Sure. What we do know is this. Her parents planned to remove her from Valorian Hill and transfer her to Arcadia Village School."

Damien whistled. Arcadia Village was notoriously difficult to get into. You had to be smart or rich-preferably both-to even be considered for entry. And even then, there were few accepted.

"They sent her to the Rayquan Woods summer camp that year, hoping she would meet some Arcadia students there-it was a very exclusive spot. But then one night she went missing. Two weeks later, her head was found in the river. A police search found the rest of her body scattered throughout the Valorian capital."

"Ugh. What did her parents do?" Danica asked. "Clearly, they had a lot of money."

"They were security experts working with the Rublex military defense command. Very wealthy, well-respected."

"Wait-the Rublex? Wasn't that the galaxy that got taken?"

"Yeah. We'd ask them about it, but they committed suicide-for real-when they heard of their daughter's death. Overdosed on pills."

"Clever." mused Zafir. "So her death may have been just a dramatic method of frightening her parents."

"It almost certainly was. There's no other motive for it. Kid like that wouldn't make enemies."

The click of stiletto heels signaled the arrival of Eliza. Instantly, they scrambled to attention, trying to look innocent. She had that effect.

"Good morning." Eliza said smoothly, a cup of coffee in her hand. "We have a visitor."

"Oh?" Ramon asked, instantly on the defensive.

"He's our new director of operations-Olympia wide."

"Since when were we getting a new director of operations?" he wondered. Directors rarely retired, the money being what it was.

"Since today. His name is Oliver Branch-" Eric, who Ramon had not noticed until then, slipped a manila folder onto the table. "and he was a big deal at the academy."

Kalyani picked it up, leafed through it. Then she looked up. "Wait-he's fourteen? How is that possible?"

"I've no idea." Eliza says acridly. "but he's coming today and he's very big on the no-commitments policy, so I expect you two to keep this little liaison under wraps."

"Who, me?" said Kalyani, nonplussed. "I'm not having any liaison."

"Don't try to deny it. You and Agent Solis-I'm not stupid, you know."

"It's hard to tell." Ramon snapped. He was tired of this game, this stupid little game that every supervisor still thought they could play. Rubbing salt in a wound. Every time. He had been professional, he thought. And yes, they spoke to each other often enough, but they were friends, old friends, for Christ's sakes! What were they supposed to do? Lane had done this; even though he and Kalyani actually were having a liaison, he had taken pains to separate them, playing jealous lover without cause. And to hear this from Eliza, whose liaisons were numerous, was ridiculous. A sham. "I'm not having a liaison with her. We're partners. We've worked together for years. It's normal that we talk to each other. And coming from you-isn't that a little-"

Eliza reddened. "I'm not the one carrying out a liaison around a supervisor! You know the rules!"

"But I'm not, and you know it." Ramon protested. "This is another ploy to make me look untrustworthy in front of the new director,  and it's not very subtle. Try harder."

"I am your supervisor. Don't you see? I'm only trying to help. You might have been able to get away with this when Lane was running the show, but we aren't dealing with Lane anymore, Ramon. Best get used to it." So finished, she sashayed away.

Kalyani flinched at the mention of Lane, turning away. He wished he could say something, but came up mute. It was better this way. She didn't want to hear it from him, and it would be insincere anyway. He hated Lane.

••

The Director is a diffident young man, really more of a boy. He is not particularly attractive, with his greasy dirty blonde hair and sallow skin, but his eyes, two chips of blue-grey ice, are sharp and judging. He looks as if he was born to wear a black suit and his coterie of other, young agents are similarly dressed. "Agent Servai. A pleasure. And you as well, Agent Solis. I've heard so much about you."

"Only good things, I hope." Ramon quipped, smiling.

The Director did not smile. Ramon could tell he thought himself too important for such petty emotions. "What work have you done? On the Larsson case, I mean."

"The case? Em...we just got here. We haven't really done much work on it. I mean, yet. Training-"

The Director cut him off. "Then we have no time to waste. The Centauriians are in a terrible crisis and require our intervention immediately. While training is all well and good, our agents need to learn how to handle such concerns, and the best method for that is to begin now."

He weighed his options. On the one hand, he had never liked being lectured at, but on the other, it was better to remain calm. "Yes, sir."

"Good," said the Director, and Ramon realized, with an odd shock, that the boy had Lane's eyes. "We have much work to be done...especially in light of what happened to the Duchess Seonid..."

[viralhottopics]

Andy Murray crashes out of Australian Open to inspired Mischa Zverev

The World No1 and top seed Andy Murray was knocked out of the Australian Open by an inspired showing from the German Mischa Zverev, the world No50

Andy Murray, out of sorts and scrapping like a junkyard dog for three-and-a-half hours over four sets, could not hold off the magnificent challenge of Mischa Zverev, the world No50, and went out of the Australian Open on day seven, when he surely harboured hopes of cashing in on the earlier departure of Novak Djokovic.

The last time the top two seeds failed to reach the quarter-finals of a slam was at Roland Garros in 2004. Denis Istomin, the world No 117, played the game of his life to put six-time champion Djokovic out in the second round; Zverev, best known as the older brother of 19-year-old prodigy Alex who lost a close match to Rafael Nadal on Saturday – finds himself in the quarter-final of a slam for the first time at 29, after beating a player he described beforehand as the best in the world.

Honestly I dont know how I did it, Zverev said courtside after winning 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in front of a packed and raucous Rod Laver Arena crowd on Sunday afternoon with attacking tennis of the highest order.

I just serve and volleyed the whole way to pull it off. Somehow I made it. I got excited [at the end], but the crowd is here, how can you not stay focused? It was kind of easy to stay aggressive but definitely tough to stay calm. It means the world to me, and to have my whole family here, its just amazing. Everything is new to me, everything is a little bit unreal, like a dream to me.

My brother inspires me all the time. He challenges me to do better all the time. Hes still ranked higher than me, so he gets to walk in the door first at home.

Murray was outright favourite after Djokovics departure but, try as he might, he could not break his opponent down. The only time they had played each other he beat him for the loss of four games on his winning the boys title at Flushing Meadows in 2004.

They are the same age but separated by galaxies in achievement and stature.

Zverev was honest enough to say before the match, [The result] will depend on Andy. If he plays his best tennis, I dont think I have a lot of chances. Lets see if I can annoy him a little bit. If Im serving well and Im not missing any volleys, maybe I can do some damage. Honestly, hes the best player in the world.

Not on Sunday, he wasnt.

It was a match that did not digress much from the script once the tone had been set in the early stages. Murrays normally impeccable defence let him down under pressure and his serving was not near the heights he had hit earlier in the week. Zverev took points on 27 of 40 of Murrays second serves, and that was the building block of his success. The German also was ferocious and controlled at the net winning the point 55 times in 99 visits.

Murray might be vaguely comforted by the widely held view that, despite the smaller gap in ranking points, his losing performance was marginally better than Novak Djokovics in going out to world No 117 Denis Istomin on day two.

Those extraordinary results have set the tournament alight the first time the top two seeds in a slam have failed to make the quarter-finals since 2004 at Roland Garros – opening and closing doors all over the draw.

It took Zverev three-and-a-half hours on a warm but not debilitating afternoon to beat the world No1, and he did it with the sort of attacking tennis that suggested desperation but was born out of necessity and inclination.

Whoever dressed Zverev day-glo tangerine shorts, sleeves and shoes clearly thought he was doing a shift on a school crossing. Nevertheless, he kept it bright and tight with some excellent tennis until Murray broke in the fourth game, then the world No50 one place ahead of Dan Evans, who had problems of his own against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Hisense Arena broke back at the second attempt, coming well inside the court to drive Murray deep on both flanks. As luck would have it (all Zverevs), the net intervened on the Germans behalf twice in the seventh game, as did a passing helicopter during Murrays ball-toss, and the Scot had to save two break points to stay in front. This was a harder assignment than anyone had predicted even Zverev, who beforehand said he would struggle to stay with Murray at his best. This was not Murray at his best; nor was he at his worst. He was just constantly flummoxed by a determined and talented opponent.

He had not lost here to a player as lowly placed as the German since 2006, when Juan Ignacio Chela beat him, but Zverev pushed him all the way in every game. Trusting his attacking instincts, Zverev came in behind nearly ever serve much as Sergiy Stakhovsky did when beating Roger Federer in the second round at Wimbledon in 2013 – but it was inevitable he would pay the price for it at some point. In the ninth game, Murray drew him on to the punch beautifully to force one netted volley too many, for a second break. Murray needed only to hold to take the set but Zverev kept swinging and was rewarded with a break back when Murray botched a backhand volley. The pattern continued when Zverev played a near perfect point to break for 6-5 on the hour, dinking a drop volley to seal his third break. Murray was in genuine trouble at 40-love down on his opponents serve, and there was nothing he could do about Zverevs ace to take the set.

It was written, perhaps, that Zverev would crack under the strain of his own adventure. He won 30 points at the net in the first set but, at the start of the second, faltered at his favoured place on the court to drop serve. Murray handed him three break points with his second and third double faults of the match, and had to fight hard to hold through two deuce points for 3-0. Still, Murray struggled to assert his dominance. He saved two of three lazily surrendered break points in the fifth game but the big left-hander refused to go quietly, and the breakback duly arrived when Murray slapped a forehand long. He repaired the damage with a sizzling winner down the line for 4-2, but Zverev refused to buckle and got another look on the Murray serve; he was rewarded with an easy break as he watched a forehand fly by him over the baseline. Zverev, looking vulnerable for the first time, saved four set points and held with an ace for 5-all. However, in the space of three games, Murray had held to love twice and squandered four break points, then broke to love to level at a set apiece. This was tennis at its most profligate.

The third continued in the same vein. Zverev broke early and held for 4-2 on a dubious line call upheld by Hawkeye. For all that the outsider was making the running with his aggression, Murrays game was creaking under the persistent onslaught, and he could only grin foolishly when a backhand volley bounced out off his head as he spun in the shot to drop serve again. When Murray dumped a backhand to hand the third set to Zverev, a minor crisis had grown into a serious dilemma after two hours and 40 minutes of enthralling tennis.

Murray dropped serve after a nine-minute struggle at the start of the fourth, and he was fast running out of time and games. Relief spread through his box when he held, shakily, for 2-3, deep disappointment when he failed to break.

After a decent service game, at 3-4 down, he had just two chances left to break and stay in the tournament against an opponent who refused to play to his ranking. Zverev served big for game point, Murray stuck a return wide, and Zverev was a game away from the biggest win of his life.

A magnificent stop volley won Zverev the first point on Murrays serve for 0-15. Murray scrambled to 15-all. Zverev drove a forehand wide: 30-15. A Zverev return trickled over off the net: 30-all. Murray saved with a booming serve for 40-30, then netted from deep for deuce. Zverev hit long for game point, Murray. The chair over-ruled to call fault on Murrays first serve, but he refused to challenge and replays showed it was in: deuce. Murray attacked mid-court: game point. A desperate backhand from behind the line kissed the line and he stayed in the tournament.

Zverev, serving for the match, got to within two points of victory with a stretched backhand drop volley, one of the shots of the tournament. Murray dumped a backhand to hand him match point and the place went crazy. Murrays wild forehand slid achingly into the tramlines and the job was done.

Murray, more philosophical than devastated, said later, he came up with some great pick-ups, especially reflex volleys at the end of the match. It was tough because I was playing some good shots, but it wasnt meant to be. He deserved to win, he played great when he was down ad also in the important moments. I couldnt convert my opportunities.

In the last game I also came up with some great returns. I definitely could have served better a couple of sets. I dont think I was flat. I was getting myself pumped up, trying to get myself a bit more energy, positive body language at the end of the match.

I had some opportunities in the last two service games, maybe missed a couple of balls. He came back from all of the mistakes he made, kept coming up with great shots. Not too much you can do about that. It was a tough one to lose. Obviously I wanted to go far in this event. Im disappointed right now but credit to him. He played a really good match.

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