#silverberg mine

[iv4mpirs0]

long bus rides, tents, uno no mercy, late night giggles, cup song, barefoot in mud, decent showers, ping pong, friendship bracelets, silverberg mine, making new friends monster energy (lime), watching heroes of envell half asleep, espresso in a can, s'mores on wet sticks

[driftward]

Title: The Disappearance of Apple Silverberg Characters: Zoissette Vauban, Ryssthota Sundstyrwyn, Apple Silverberg Rating: Teen Summary: Apple's gone missing and there's a killer loose in the Twelveswood. Can Gage Acquisition's very own agent of inquiry crack this case before something horrible happens? Notes: Part of an ongoing series being written by my friend Darlain, base master post here

Ryss frowned. She'd greeted Zoissette when arriving at the workshop before settling down to focus on her latest set of equations, leaving the other woman to her own devices. But then Zoissette had made a beeline for Apple's area in the workshop, which while not against any formal rule, was, at least, kind of rude. She watched her for a few moments as Zoissette ducked down over Apple's desk, beginning to rifle through drawers and picking through various tools.

"What are you doing, Zo?" she asked at last.

"Have you seen Apple?" asked Zoissette.

"No."

"Weird, right?"

Ryss paused, and thought about it for a moment.

"Not really?" she said, finally. "We're adventurers, Zoissette, and Apple likes to go on those long sojourns into secured Allagan territory looking for materials for her work."

"Of course, of course," said Zoissette. She had found some kind of notebook, and was flipping through it quickly.

"...that's Apple's stuff," said Ryss, keeping her tone even. Working in the Assessor's Guild had taught her patience with the queerest of arcanists, and her friend was queerer than most.

"Ignore the last couple of sennights. Where has she been spending most of her time before then?"

"...well, she was helping out taking care of you," said Ryss. Zoissette had been in a bad way after a misadventure in the rift between realms and had needed to be nursed back to health. "And when she was not in the infirmary, she was in here, working on something that'd help you."

"Right. Right! She has been reliably in the same place, for several sennights, up until very suddenly she was not. Did not sign out, did not check with anyone, did not say goodbye to anyone near as I have found out. Wait. Did she say goodbye to you?"

"No..."

"No," echoed Zoissette.

"Zoissette," said Ryss.

"Right. Not to you, not to me, not to anyone else on the science team. Maybe to Y'zel, but he has vanished as well. Though Y'shtola has assured me to not worry about him. Still though. Just suddenly gone. Unusual break in pattern."

Zoissette frowned as she traced her fingers along a few lines in the notebook she had found.

"Have you tried linking to her?" asked Ryss.

"Naturally. You try. Maybe mine got fried during the time in - well. Maybe it got scrambled on some links without me knowing."

Ryss held a hand up to her linkpearl and tried to contact Apple through it, watching as Zoissette began to examine some device Apple had been working on.

The door to the workshop opened, and Yesuntei walked in, followed closely by a Wood Wailer. The linkpearl was making the noise that indicated it could not establish a connection, so Ryss gave up on it and turned to greet the newcomer.

"Visitor for Zoissette," said Yesuntei politely.

Zoissette looked the Wood Wailer over. So did Ryss. Elezen gentleman of some sort, wearing the typical green leather armor of one of their lancers. The very image of a typical member of the forest force.

"Foreseer Vauban?" he asked.

Ryss glanced over and saw Zoissette's forehead crinkle and her eyes flutter as she tried to affect some kind of specific facial expression, what, Ryss did not know. Zoissette gave up and wiped her face with a hand after a moment as she stood up and walked over.

"Not in some time, no."

"But... you are, or were, her, yes?"

Zoissette nodded, and he continued. "Ah, blessings of the elementals upon us all today. We've heard about your prowess for investigation, and you come highly recommended. Now, I know Gridania is a different sort of place, but I rather suspect we're dealing with a different sort of problem that's beyond my people just now. We think we may have a killer on the loose. I was hoping that we'd be able to hire your services as an adventurer to come take a look."

Zoissette looked over at Ryss, who shrugged in response, then back to the Wood Wailer.

"Begging your pardon, but I have no idea how I would have gathered such a reputation. Having said that, Gage Acquisitions does offer several adventurer hiring packages, and... uhm..."

She looked over at Ryss.

"...and, uhm, you will need to work through Ryss for them."

Ryss grinned at the man.

"Ah, but I was rather hoping for your attention, Foreseer Vauban."

"And you will have it," said Zoissette. Ryss watched as she tucked several things of Apple's away, from notebooks to tools to a device that she did not recognize. "However, contracts will need to go through her, as I am currently, uhm-"

"She's currently working on a project under me!" said Ryss, covering for her awkward friend.

The Wood Wailer did not look very certain at that, but he nodded.

"Yesuntei, kindly make the arrangements, if you would, I'm sure we can both spare the Wailers some of our time." Ryssthota continued.

"Certainly," the Au Ra said, gesturing at the Wood Wailer. He held his arms parallel to each other in front of him in the salute that was particular to Gridania, and then followed Yesuntei out.

"The game's afoot?" said Ryss.

"What game?" asked Zoissette, blinking at her. Ryss just laughed as she closed up her book, and went to grab her hat.

It was many bells and a couple of corpses later. The Wood Wailers had signed them on to the job officially, and had escorted them, first to look at the body of a man found in town, then to the body of a ziz whose injuries bore a striking resemblance to those of the man. Both sites were grisly, telling similar tales. Both bodies had been maimed, each looking as though they had been attacked with some kind of large bladed weapon or weapons.

As they had travelled, the Wood Wailers had shared the stories of similar incidents throughout the Twelveswood. Other bodies had been found over the intervening moons before hand. Many but not all of them were Spoken, and the Wood Wailers had found the bodies of both man and beastkin that had shown similar signs of mutilation, and brought these stories to the attention of the investigation as well.

Zoissette had not spoken much, and so Ryss had been left to ask questions. Where the bodies had been found, who had last seen them, anyone who might have talked to the victims before they died, things of that nature. Zoissette had mostly walked around and looked and taken notes, every once in a while reaching up to try to tap the rim of her glasses, which she of course did not have, and often winding up just thwapping herself in the nose instead.

It might have been funny if not for the circumstances.

Ryss wandered up to her as she was crouched, sprinkling some arcane powder over the site, and watching as its color shifted. Ryss crossed her arms and frowned, looking out into the forest. Nearby, Meya was looking up into the forest canopy, her eyes half-lidded. Zoissette had asked for her to help. As a Hearer, her ability to commune with the elementals might provide information they otherwise would not be privy to. As Zoissette examined the drifts of the arcane powder, Meya lowered her staff, apparently having finished communing with the spirits.

"The elementals are cautiously calm, and are not very upset on the matter," she declared. "Whatever it is, it is not unduly balancing the wood. They are unable to tell us who or what is behind these attacks, but they do know it is the same entity for both. Given some time to visit the other sites, they may be able to tell me more about the other similar scenes that the Wood Wailers report have occurred elsewhere in the Twelveswood. They say we are dealing with a creature of significant depth - I think maybe they are talking about its aether? - but not one they see as a threat to the woods as a whole."

Ryss nodded thoughtfully while Zoissette scribbled some notes.

"Almost want to say we have some kind of vengeful vigilante sort out here. None of the victims were well liked. Hells, other than the one drunkard actually found in town, none of them are even part of what I would call civilization," said Ryss.

"If so, it is an outsider of some sort pursuing what they see as justice," said Zoissette thoughtfully. "Gridanians are insular. In many ways worse than my own people. Think about it. They have a poaching and bandit problem, sure, but everyone knows everyone else here, usually with pretty small degrees of separation. This is not Limsa Lominsa, where a lone killer might have it out for a rival pirate crew, or Ul'dah where they're spread out and family lines are weaker. No, if you kill a bandit in Gridania, you are very likely killing someone's brother or sister."

"Oh. And that could mean bad blood between neighbors."

Zoissette looked thoughtful. "Right! But I do not think this is that. If vigilantism or some gesture at misguided justice, why bother with the beastkin, then?"

"I was wonderin' that. Killer got hungry, perhaps?"

"Too much meat left behind for that, and the Wailers pointed out that no body found yet has been even so little as field stripped. Consider the patterns we do have. The fact that the bodies are completely undressed leaves out poachers or hunters. They would want to harvest at least some of the material from the beastkin, leather, meat, useful bones and organs. I think we can also rule out a vigilante. A vigilante would not bother with killing beastkin. And further I think they would leave the bodies somewhere more conspicuous if they wanted to send a message."

"More conspicuous? The bodies are plenty obvious."

"Obvious, to be certain! No effort was made to display them, but also, no effort was made to hide them, either. The killer did not care if they were found. A vigilante, I would think, would either want to hide their tracks, so that they could get away with their grisly task for as long as they possibly could, or so as not to tip their hand as to what they are up to. Or, or! Or they would display the bodies prominently, so as to send a message."

Ryss looked thoughtful for a moment. "...but our killer has done neither. I noticed that myself. The bodies weren't moved at all. No drag marks. Just left to drop where they were killed."

Zoissette nodded.

Ryss returned the gesture. "That rules out the easy options, and explains why the Wailers are hiring outside help."

"It does. We have a few more left, however. Our killer left behind meat, but that does not mean they did not feed."

Zoissette gestured at the thin coloring of the arcanist powder she had spread as it drifted through the air. Ryss looked at it thoughtfully.

"Aetherical signatures?"

Zoissette nodded. "I used this powder in some investigations in Mor Dhona, and have made some adjustments to its capabilities. Like you say, normally it is useful for seeing someone's aetheric signature. I wanted to see if perhaps we could get a read on any spell work that had been used - if nothing else, we might be able to match it to a known spell caster, should we ever get any potential suspects. But, look - I will want to go back to the workshop and get a set of goggles from Sharlayan to confirm it, but there is more to aether than just its signature. There is also its density."

Ryss crossed her arms, and frowned.

Zoissette reached up for her glasses rim again, and again wound up just thwapping her nose. She did not seem to notice, however, and Ryss thought she caught a glint of purple in Zoissette's otherwise brown eyes.

"And each of our victims has an unusually low aetheric density."

"Uhm. Are... you sure about that, Zo?"

"Like I said. I would like to confirm that with equipment from the workshop. Or perhaps Meya's invisible friends can weigh in?"

"I can ask," said Meya, who had patiently been listening the entire time.

"Please do so. And check in with the other sites. Say, do the elementals have a concept of time?"

"Sort of," said Meya. "Or at least, enough for us to get impressions. They do experience time, just a little different from us, but similar enough. Why do you ask?"

"Hmn," said Zoissette. "See if you can get a sense of when each of the attacks occurred. Little interested in time of day. Very interested in calendar dates. Approximations will be fine, I do not expect them to know what a calendar is, but surely they can approximate the number of times the sun has gone past since an event happened?"

Meya nodded slowly. "I... think I can manage that. I will need some time. This is neither fast nor simple."

Ryss just looked at Zoissette oddly as the other woman stood up and stretched her back.

"I believe you have it. Thank you, Meya. Meet us back at the workshop?"

Meya nodded, and moved off. Ryss walked over to look over Zoissette's shoulder, to see that she was tracing a finger over dates she'd written down, of when each of the bodies had been found. Ryss frowned lightly.

"I don't see a pattern," she said.

"Of course not," murmured Zoissette. She tapped the dates each. They were the days on which the Wood Wailers had found one of the grisly scenes, including the most recent one. "How long do you think a body lasts out in the Twelveswood before scavengers get to it? Three days at most, you think?"

"Sure?"

Zoissette nodded, and flipped over to a calendar, in which she made marks on each of the dates, along with little red marks three days behind each of them.

"So that means it is entirely possible that a body would be gone before a Wailer patrol could find it and identify it. Consider also - they have told us of the bodies they found matching the pattern we see here with these two, the ziz and the man. But they will not always be able to identify a body as matching that pattern if the scavengers do get to it first. Lot of death in nature."

Zoissette thoughtfully made some more marks.

"I suspect Meya may be able to confirm this... but look. There is no pattern, but if you put a few additional data points in - one emerges. I think Meya is like to confirm this."

Zoissette handed the notes to Ryss, and Ryss looked. With Zoissette's additional marks, a pattern did emerge.

A semi-regular schedule. About once a month, an attack occurred, rarely more than a few days off in either direction.

Ryss quirked an eyebrow, and looked at Zoissette, but Zoissette just shook her head.

"Probably nothing for now. Just keep it in mind as we gather more evidence."

Ryss looked at the body. "So what are you thinking, then? A voidsent?"

Zoissette frowned lightly. "I am not sure. It would fit, except that voidsent, while common in the Great Wood, are generally not so messy. This speaks to a powerful voidsent, if it is."

"Right," said Ryss, thinking back to what they had already found. "Yeah, most of the places where it looked to be a fight, wasn't much of a one. Doesn't look like anybody even had much of a chance to run."

"Which is unusual. Consider. How could a voidsent get that powerful and go unnoticed? And most voidsent that are that powerful will want to continue to go unnoticed, lest people like us get called in to deal with them. Or if it is not that smart, why is the last site from over a sennight ago, then? Did it suddenly get shy?"

"A period of terror, then a sudden stop," said Ryss, thoughtfully. "Maybe somebody dealt with it already. Or maybe the conditions were good for it to be here, then suddenly they weren't."

"Maybe," said Zoissette, sounding doubtful. "Well, there is little more for us to learn out here, I think. Can I ask you to verify that aetheric density theory of mine?"

"Sure thing," said Ryss. "What are you going to do in the meantime?"

Zoissette tucked her equipment away. "I am going to go visit Apple. Last I was aware, her houseboat had an aetheryte on it."

Ryss fixed Zoi with a long look. "This isn't the first time she's dashed off to chase some Allagan ruin rumor without notice. But you're fixating. Why?"

Zoissette looked away, worry clearly written on her face. Ryss rested a hand on her shoulder.

"...I want to give her my thanks for looking over me," said Zoissette, quietly. "And I am worried about her. Is this not just like what happened to me? Everyone just assumed I was fine until suddenly I was gone and it was obvious I was not. And maybe this is better than sitting on my own thoughts too long and too much. Again."

Ryss took in a deep breath, and nodded. "...yeah. Okay. You're right. Wait up and let me take those readings first and I'll go with you. Maybe it's all these bodies making me nervous, but I'm starting to get worried too."

Zoissette looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks, Ryss."

"Don't mention it. Or do. Preferably when someone asks about it for my next performance review."

Zoissette gave as short laugh, and Ryss grinned at her.

It did not take Ryss long to confirm Zoissette's theory. She was not sure how Zoissette knew, but examining each of the bodies with the Sharlayan aetheric goggles had confirmed what she had said. The aether of each of the bodies was far thinner than it should have been, even beyond the usual veil of death. They had been drained, and for what, she did not know. And despite what Zoissette had said, she still rather suspected a voidsent.

Something large, with claws like blades.

She met Meya back at Headquarters. The woman was all smiles, despite the grimness of her task.

"The elementals were cooperative. I was only able to get vague impressions from them, but the same thing has been in the Twelveswood before, and is responsible for the bodies found. And a few others aside. They cannot describe it to me, but it is distinct to them. They're a little worried about it, but not very, not yet - not enough to take action. I hope we're catching it before it becomes a problem."

Ryss nodded as Meya handed her a sheet of paper. "And here's the dates of the other attacks, as near as I could manage. The way they describe time is different than how we experience it, but it's like we like to say amongst the Hearers - the land has a long memory."

Ryss nodded, and checked over the dates.

"Huh," she said. "She was right. There was a pattern."

Meya nodded thoughtfully. And then tilted her head up at Ryss. "How is she holding up? After the breakup?"

Ryss blinked.

"She hasn't said anything about that."

"Oh. Oh! Uhm. She kind of just blurted it out when we were speaking earlier, but if she hasn't brought it up with you, then maybe nevermind then."

Ryss just groaned, and Meya patted her on the shoulder.

"Well, look after her, will you?" said Meya.

"Of course," said Ryss, rubbing at her head.

Well, at least Zoissette had found an arguably healthy outlet for her anxieties this time, she supposed.

She and Zoissette arrived at the houseboat in the same teleportation spell, Ryss taking the lead so as not to tax Zoissette's anima. The teleportation energies dissipated around them both and the world faded in rapidly as they arrived on Apple's houseboat.

Odd. This was not where Apple usually docked it.

Zoissette was off, quickly. Ryss kept a careful eye on her as she and Ryss took several moments to wordlessly walk around the top deck. The houseboat was moored, but had been abandoned for some time. The hatches were all battened down, and the windows and front door had all been warded and secured quite firmly.

"Guess she's not here," said Ryss.

"And did not expect to return," said Zoissette. "Examine the wards again."

Ryss looked at them carefully, this time paying more attention to the arcanima techniques that had been used to make them.

"...huh," she said. "No, I see what you mean. Static, shouldn't need maintenance for a while, and with a secondary arcanima array makin' sure they keep aether stable without needing more crystals than were used to bring them up in the first place."

"And the rest of the ship - you worked in the Maelstrom, same as me. Look at how the mooring lines have been done, the hatches, and the bilge overflow lineup."

Ryss checked again. Everything had been set to stay, rather than a more convenient setup that would make more sense for docking if the owner had, in fact, intended to come back.

"...this is more than just a gone-for-holiday setup," said Ryss.

"Indeed. I suspect you have rarely seen this setup; I know I have only seen it once or twice. This boat has been abandoned in place. Getting it properly seaworthy again would take bells, but with this setup, it will float for moons, possibly even summers, assuming a storm does not smash it."

Ryss put her hands on her hips and scanned the water, frowning as she thought. "Why the hells would she do such a thing?"

Zoissette just made a noncommittal noise, and Ryss turned to see the woman crouched down, fiddling with the front door.

"We can't break in just because we're worried," Ryss protested.

"No?" said Zoissette.

"Zoissette."

Zoissette sighed, and stopped what she was doing.

"Come on. Even if we're worried, there are other things we can do before we break into her house. Ask one of the spies to look into it. Ioh, Iyna, Nyx, they're all good at tracking people down."

Zoissette was quiet for a moment. Ryss decided now was as good a time as ever to bring it up.

"Dumped Mathye, eh?"

"This is not about that," Zoissette protested. Then she sighed. "...but yes," she admitted, letting her shoulders sag a bit as she leaned against the door.

"Better than stringing him along when you know it ain't happening. Chase your bliss, girl!" said Ryss.

Zoissette let out a breath. "Okay. Yes. I know it was the right thing to do. But it hurts. And he is hurting. And everything hurts. And I did not want to hurt him but I did and right now I would rather stay focused on Apple and hope she is okay."

Ryss nodded, and patted Zoissette on the shoulder. "It was a clean break. Nothing wrong with that. Clean wounds heal properly."

Zoissette blinked a few times at that, and a quizzical kind of frown crossed her face, as her eyes darted back and forth as she thought before she looked up at Ryssthota.

"...that is not a perspective I had considered," she said. "You are right."

Zoissette turned her attention back to the door, took a deep breath in, and let it out slow, her stance strengthening once more.

She was going to be alright.

"Atta girl. Now let's see-"

Ryss stopped suddenly. Zoissette was no longer fiddling with the door, but had been leaning against it, apparently resting her hand rather heavily on its latch. Apparently, because it was hard to say what she had thought she saw happened.

She was fair certain Zoissette's arm had faded and gone through the door for a moment.

She was not sure though, because in the next instant, the door had suddenly opened, and Zoissette had fallen into the houseboat.

"Zo!"

"I'm alright! I am alright! Sorry, just - startled."

Ryss rushed over and looked in to see Zoissette sprawled out on the floor, looking around the place and blinking owlishly.

"What the hells just happened? Zo, what'd you do?"

"I did not do anything! The door must have opened from the inside."

Ryss leaned over and looked around inside carefully, her mind starting to reach for Glitterdust to summon the fairy. If there was anyone inside, and they were not Apple, she intended to meet them with axe and magic.

But as she looked, there was no movement, no noise, no nothing. Just Zoissette starting to pick herself up off the floor, and Ryss herself.

"Well, since we are in here anyroad," said Zoissette.

"...right," said Ryss.

They took a bell to search the houseboat. It did not particularly need to take that long, as the houseboat was not all that large, as houseboats often were not, but they were thorough, checking under things, in the overhead, behind every stick of furniture and in every drawer. Zoissette found some notes of Apple's quickly and had split her attention between reading them and helping search.

Zoissette's focus was different, now. Less frenetic, now. Ryss was pleased at the change, as she went to confirm what they had already learned from the outside.

Namely, that the houseboat had been set to be abandoned in place. None of its equipment was set up for sailing, ceruleum had been drained, pipe systems had valve lineups set up for abandonment, wards set, everything locked, tied down, or otherwise secured.

"Nobody's here," said Ryss at last.

"And has not been in some time," agreed Zoissette. She was fiddling with one of Apple's drawers, using the arcane powder again. Whatever she saw caused her to frown.

"Find something?"

"...nothing that I want to say is conclusive," said Zoissette. "The bottom of this drawer has an arcane seal though. Fiendishly complicated.

"...wish I had Lavender," she murmured softly.

"I have Glitterdust," offered Ryss.

"Glitterdust is more frontline combat oriented. Lavender and I had advanced cryptographic arithmetics, since we delved deep into Nym research data. Wait. Hang on."

Zoissette pulled out the familiar arcanist's quill and inks, reaching into the drawer, beginning to draw geometries. Her eyes had that odd purple glow to them again, this time Ryss was certain of it.

"I might remember enough to do this without her," Zoissette was murmering quietly. Ryss wanted to ask her about the glow, but also did not want to break her concentration.

"There!" said Zoissette, doing something Ryss could not see, but a moment later she came up with journals. She flipped one open to read it.

"Zoi?" asked Ryss.

"Diaries," said Zoissette. "Here. I do not want to pry into her personal life overmuch, but..."

Zoissette gestured for Ryss to get closer, and then waved a hand at the little arcane powder that was left in the drawer.

"...no," said Ryss.

Zoissette nodded. "It is not identical, but there are too many similarities to discount, between the patterns and colors. Here. Let me try again. Go test some on her wards."

Zoissette handed a small pouch of the arcane powder to Ryss. Ryss nodded, and quickly began testing it on various wards around Apple's home. Questions about Zoissette's oddness could wait.

The results were quick and obvious. Ryss returned to Zoissette, who had begun reading through the diaries.

"Signature is close to the one we found in the Twelveswood," said Ryss.

"Aspects are slightly different, but the baseline is the same," agreed Zoissette. "Did you know she was working on a method of restoring my aetheric density?"

"I knew she was working on something to help you. I wasn't able to keep up with what. I was trying to tend to and repair the laboratory."

"And her diary entries talk about a condition she has," said Zoissette, softly. "The need to hunt animals. About once a month. She shifted to Azys Lla at some point to handle it."

Zoissette handed the journals to Ryss, who took them and looked through them cautiously. Zoissette had a haunted expression on her face.

"She has a research lab in Azys Lla," said Ryss. "We helped her set it up. Maybe she's just working on something else to help?"

Zoissette frowned, then shook her head, slowly.

"I think something has gone very wrong."

"Do we go after her, then?"

"Absolutely," said Zoissette. Then a moment later, more forcefully, "Yes. Yes, absolutely. Contact Erick or Dark. Whoever answers, let them know we might need a full team. Mix of heavy assault, assault picket, and support, two squads worth. While he works on that, we need to find her. I am going to contact Nyx and Klynt. We will go in as a light search and rescue party to begin with, see if we can find her."

"What do you think has happened?" asked Ryss, as her hand went to her linkpearl.

"I dare not speculate without more evidence," said Zoissette. She opened her mouth as if to say more, then shook her head, and she began placing her own linkpearl calls.

~*~

It was scarcely a bell later, and they were walking across the unusual landscape of Azys Lla, heading towards Apple's laboratory. Ryss was careful as she walked along, keeping an eye out, axe in her hands. She had not summoned Glitterdust - not yet - but the stone that held the little fairy was tucked into a pocket. Klynt was with her, with her long and deadly naginata on her back. Zoissette had her gunblade and was leading the way with Nyx, who had elected to serve as their spellcaster.

She saw Zoissette headtilt just a little at the same time one of Nyx's ears twitched and rotated, and both of them snapped to turn their gaze to the same place at the same time. Ryss and Klynt stopped and settled into a fighting stance, Klynt watching the other direction while Ryss tried to see whatever it was the other two had seen.

"Unknown contact, rank four aetheric signature, indeterminate nature, one hundred and fifty yalms at two hundred and eighty five by minus fourteen," said Nyx in their characteristic monotone. "Line of sight broken. Contact lost."

Ryss murmured to Zoissette, "Did you see it?"

Zoissette shook her head. "I - I am not sure what I saw. Nothing, possibly. Quickly, let us get to the lab - I want to use the arcane powder there, and see if Nyx can determine anything from the signature."

"Right," said Ryss. The party was quick to hurry on to Apple's lab. Periodically Zoissette would look around, as though she had caught sight of something, Nyx's ear twitching often at the same time, but Zoissette would only shake her head and ignore whatever it was as they continued on.

At Apple's lab, Klynt and Zoissette took to watching the perimeter while Ryss sprinkled the arcane powder on some of Apple's experiments. She watched as the colours and patterns fell out of the swirling dust.

"Same as we saw on the houseboat and in the Twelveswood," she called over to Zoissette.

"Nyx, compare and cross reference to the contact, and report," called back Zoissette.

Nyx stared for a few moments before responding.

"Signature patterns recognized. Match with limited data from unknown contact at thirty-two percent confidence," said Nyx.

"Is that high or low?" asked Ryss.

"Hard to say," said Zoissette, coming closer. "Nyx has senses neither you nor I possess, but Azys Lla interferes with them."

"I will be able to use this data to assist in locating the entity using the Azys Lla facility sensors once I am able to interface with a command and control station," said Nyx.

"I don't like this," mumbled Klynt. "Bad feeling on the wind."

Ryss frowned and looked out over the landscape.

"Alright. Let us move quickly, then. Nyx, lead us to the nearest station. I want to try to avoid contact with the entity until we have secured that station. And avoid the local life forms for now - they are additional trouble we can do without," said Zoissette.

The group all nodded, and moved efficiently as one. Azys Lla was a dim place, some aspect of the facility always generating a thick cloud that obscured it from the outside and gave it a dark foreboding haze. Strange plants grew from the ground and stranger creatures wandered its spaces, and yet, despite that, the place somehow felt lifeless. Or worse, faintly malevolent, as though it would snuff any life that fell short of its unreasonably lethal expectations.

The command and control station was a simple dome like structure, one of many that could be found scattered sparsely across Azys Lla. Inside was the usual array of floating spherical or egg-shaped drones and computing systems with their odd array of perfectly straight lines and sharp angles, walls made of unknown alloys, and an atmosphere that was dry and slightly uncomfortably warm.

Klynt stood near the entrance, watching the outside with a baleful eye. Ryss crossed her arms and leaned against a wall to wait while Zoissette slowly paced and looked around the space. Nyx walked to one of the consoles with its half sphere control interface and placed her hands upon it. It came to life with glowing lights and a gentle hum, and Nyx picked at several of the holographic displays.

"Acquiring access privileges. Taking local control. Subsuming protocols. Entering direct mode," said Nyx, who then suddenly locked up and went stiff while standing at the console.

"Uhm," said Ryss.

"Control established," said Nyx, only their voice did not come from their body, but rather, from the facility itself. "Scanning."

"That is passing weird," said Ryss, and Klynt barked a laugh.

"You get used to them," said Zoissette.

"Vauban. I am activating a map on one of the monitors. I believe I have located the entity, as well as secondary evidence to suggest what areas they have been frequenting."

Zoissette walked over to the monitor to look, tapping a finger to her lips. Ryss hovered behind them.

"Nyx. That building. It has multiple entrances. Can you secure them?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I have a plan," said Zoissette, turning to Ryss. "Klynt, you will stay here, protect the control room and protect Nyx. Her control of the security systems in this sector is paramount. Nyx, secure the two entrances I am about to highlight, leave these other two open. We go in, and confirm that the entity is there. Once confirmed, we close the entrance we came in, and make for the other one - have Dark bring the airship to a landing nearby and meet us there, but have her stay onboard, ready to bug out should this go poorly. I suspect that whatever it is may be intelligent - let it think it has trapped us. We stall it until the team arrives to give us backup, then mount a counter offensive."

Ryss looked at Zoissette. "...risky." She did not bother to point out that Zoissette was, arguably, still in recovery.

Zoissette shook her head. "We got lucky to catch up to her here. We cannot risk letting her get loose and run elsewhere. We may not be able to predict her future movements."

Ryss frowned, but after a moment, nodded.

"Good luck," said Klynt.

Dark was raised on the comms, and Ryss and Zoissette made their way carefully to one of the large abandoned specimen rooms where Nyx had thought the entity to be. Now, Ryss had Glitterdust summoned, and the little fairy flitted along with them. All of them kept an eye out as they approached the entrance to the underground Allagan facility. Ryss noted that Zoissette was no longer glancing off at things she could not see.

If the entity had been keeping an eye on them, it may have retreated and was no longer watching them closely, she surmised.

The inside of the specimen facility was dark and quiet. Large tubes made of transparent green glass, none of them intact, were scattered throughout the place. Many of them still had some kind of bioluminescent liquid in the bottom that glowed faintly in a way that somehow made it harder to see, the light casting confusing shadows and being too dim to provide guidance but also too bright for the eye to adapt to a natural night vision. Ryss and Zoissette swept their gazes about, as they slowly made their way in between gutted consoles and the detritus of a fallen civilization.

"How certain are we about Nyx's analysis?" asked Ryss quietly.

"Reasonably," responded Zoissette. "Even if you ignore their expanded repertoire of senses, did you see the highlights on the map? The system has been tracking unusual activity. Something has been acting as a predator. A newer one than the - hmn?"

Zoissette suddenly spun in place, and Ryss glanced over at her.

"...I think I see it too," said Zoissette.

Ryss felt a sudden pulse of alarm from Glitterdust. Before she could say anything, though, Zoissette had shoved her to one side, and a blade whipped through the darkness, neatly through the area they had once been. It retracted just as fast, with a whip-snap motion that was hard to track.

She felt resolve from Glitterdust. That would not be allowed to happen again. But they were still in the dark, still just the two of them, and this was the part of the plan where they ran. She quickly looked around to try to find Zoissette, and was surprised to see her friend already a good distance away, gunblade up, facing where the blade had come from, and waiting for Ryss.

"Come on! Time to go!" said Zoissette.

Ryss was not at all sure how Zoissette had crossed the distance so fast, but the time for questions could come later. She quickly ran to catch up to her, a hand going to her linkpearl as she moved.

"Nyx, lock the place down," said Ryss. "Where's the other team?"

Nyx's voice came back, flat and calm as doldrums on the sea. "They have landed and are making their entrance now. Locking area down."

Zoissette waited for Ryss, waiting for another attack. Another blade whipped out, and she was quick to deflect it with her gunblade, away from them, grunting with the exertion of doing so. Ryss ran past her, and she turned and followed quickly.

There was an unsettling sound behind them, like a dozen dozen blades all being run across a dozen dozen whetstones, sharpening, honing their edges to fine lethality.

Ryss decided she would prefer to not find out exactly how sharp without catching up to the group first and making sure they would be safe. She felt a heat in her chest, as Glitterdust began to pour aether into her, quicking her heart and strengthening her arm.

She was a Nymian Marine, and when they met the group, she would be ready to make her stand.

The team Erick and Dark had assembled was waiting. Ryss knew them well. Meya, a relief, an experienced healer she trusted. Riven, master of elements, who would be able to bring significant power to bear. Minti in a dancer's outfit, sure to be fast and nimble, welcome supporting fire and flamboyant distractions to hopefully dazzle the entity with. Violet, well, Violet was a bit of a wild card, but reliable in her own way.

Ryss turned, axe out. Glitterdust hovered nearby.

"Okay, stick to the plan, but be careful, do not go in full hard" said Zoissette. "I have a hunch-"

There was that sound again. Ryss found it to be uncomfortably close.

"Maybe we can save full explanations for later," said Ryss.

"Right," said Zoissette. "Heavies, to the front, keep the entity pinned down, but be prepared to fade back quickly to protect support. Picket, go for targets of opportunity and soft spots, but most importantly, keep yourselves safe, hit and fade. Support, stand back and keep us alive."

Zoissette snapped two cartridges into her gunblade and readied it as Violet came to stand on one side of Ryss and Zoissette stood on the other.

"Prepare for contact."

[herohimbowhore]

Max Verstappen: The Legend Begins

The Legend Begins by Mawr and Silverberg is a song I once briefly heard in a show years ago. For some reason, I was like “Okay I’m gonna add this song to my music library.” I don’t think I ever listened to it after that day.

So, for years it just sat there, another song I once thought I would like, but never listened to. I’m not going to say I stumbled upon the song and thought it was perfect for Max. No, I was going through my library for inspiration when I listened to this song again.

While I could have gone for something a little more mainstream, there’s a handful of Taylor Swift songs that could easily be used for Max, this song felt perfect.

When I say perfect, I mean for 2020s Max, not the Mad Max era or baby Max, but the current Max.

The Legend Begins perfectly encapsulates Max at this moment as he continues to cement his legacy and dominance in Formula 1.

Never get to a point where

Where I'm ever gonna quit, no

I'm always pushin' harder

To be a champion, you need to have a champion mentality. With three on the grid this year, they all have this same mentality of never quitting. We could spend hours dissecting that and how it differs in each of them and which non-champions have that mentality, but this is about Max.

Max in 2023 is an undeniable force. He is winning everything. If you were to bet on Max winning, you would win that bet.

But despite winning everything and having both championships in the bag, Max is not quitting. He keeps pushing harder and harder. Taking that extra step in every race.

Max could be 20+ seconds in the lead and have the win in the bag, but he is still going to push for that fastest lap. If you're clear by that margin, the safe choice would be to just keep on pace and take the victory. But Max Verstappen is going to push, he's going to take that extra pit stop for fresh tyres, and he is going to take the fastest lap point.

Nothin' here is gonna stop me

Nothing's gonna bring me down, no

You gotta step on some heads when you reach for the crown

This verse could be analyzed in many different ways for Max and over his different eras.

Purely basing it on the 2023 season, it's Max getting booed by fans. (sidenote: booing is a very nuanced subject. the argument could be made that it's present in most sports but there's a difference between booing an individual and a team. then there's the matter of sports culture, expected codes of conduct, etc. however, I am strongly against booing during national anthems.)

Booing or criticism in general can be disheartening and bring people down. For criticism bringing someone down, think of Lando in Qatar when Oscar was doing better than him and won. Then he was asked by Nico Rosberg when he would win. And you could see that Lando was critical of himself and "down" that weekend.

But with Max, it's not bringing him down. When asked about it, Max said, "In the end, I'm the one bringing the silverware home."

He is beating everyone, and it is inevitable that he'll take the silverware home.

No you can't believe your eyes

But time is hard to take, yeah

Watch me show the world that I'm one of the kings

No rival, no pressure

No force on this earth

Never keep me from what has been mine since this birth

When the 2022 season came to an end, we thought that Max couldn't possibly dominate more. There was an expectation that Ferrari and Mercedes would get their cars right and close the gap. And when the 2023 season started, Ferrari and Mercedes weren't there, but Aston Martin was there and so was Sergio Perez.

But one by one, the rivals fell away. His teammate has spent more time in the midfield than fighting Max for wins. Aston Martin fell apart halfway through the season. Mercedes and Ferrari seemingly alternate on which weekends they'll be good and most of the time strategy or pit stops prevent them from being challengers. McLaren is on the up, but even they are unmatched for Max in the end.

No you can't believe your eyes:

A repeated phrase this entire season has been: "Well, he can't win everything." No one has wanted to believe that we would go this entire 2023 season with just Max leagues ahead of everyone else.

Never keep me from what has been mine since this birth:

The story around Max has always been when he'll win a championship, not if he'll win a championship. He has always been inevitable.

From the moment he skipped F2 to sign with Toro Rosso to winning his first race with Red Bull in 2016 to fighting for the championship, it has always been a matter of when.

This is where the legend begins

At the end of the day, this is just the beginning of Max Verstappen and the stories that will be written about him in the annals of F1.

Max was dominant in 2022, and he’s gotten even more dominant in 2023. Unless Red Bull have a major fuck up, they’ll still be at the head of the pack. Red Bull as the one team to get the car right, doesn’t have the same disadvantage as other teams trying to close the gap. So, at the very least, until the regulations change, we’re looking at a Red Bull/Max Verstappen era.

[thenotebookwizard]

Starflight

A lot of people know me. I play one game: Star Wars the Old Republic. That's it. Recently, I added a whole second game. My friend Wee got me to try out Destiny 2. (Thanks, @calypsid!)

I tell people how few video games I have played, and they just normally cannot comprehend it. They just assume I have played more games than I have. That I know more than I say I do.

They're wrong.

They are right, however, when they say there is a game I must have played as a kid.

Starflight was an obsessions. I loved this game. The lore. The story. I was - as I am with most games - terrible at it. I couldn't beat it. I couldn't figure it out. I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do. I couldn't put the clues together. I died all the time, My character was broke as fuck.

I was bad at it, but I loved it. And since it wasn't a console or a game anyone cared about, and it wasn't Nintendo or in an arcade, no one made fun of me for being bad at it. No one took the controller or keyboard away from me, because mining on odd planets bored people. Conversations with aliens? Why did I care? I could shoot ducks or jump on mushroom people!

No one care, so no one could ruin it for me. No one could take it away from me.

So yeah, I loved this stupid space exploration game. I played the Sega version of it on my brothers' console, and in the instruction book there was a short story by Robert Silverberg and a little fictional captain's log with clues to the game. I poured over that manual and wrote down clues and made myself a little guide to how to win.

I did, eventually. Damn, that felt good. The only game I have ever finished or won. The only one.

However, although I owned the game, I never owned the manual. I had to rent it from Hollywood Video (the game wasn't cool enough for Blockbuster.)

Recently, I managed to get my hands on the instruction book for the Sega Genesis version of the game.

No lie. I have probably started and never finished about a dozen small fics for this game. I will probably, at some point, quietly try to write one.

There is currently only one fic on AO3 for it. That's how few people remember the original DOS game or cared about the Sega game.

But I remember, and I still love it.

[redkitsune1]

MURPHY BROWN

The FYI news team of Murphy Brown (CBS, 1988-98), as drawn in my artstyle!

This show's been a recent obsession of mine, I make sure to never miss an episode on the channel that airs reruns of it XD

The original cast and characters for comparison

MURPHY BROWN — Investigative Journalist (Candice Bergen)

CORKY SHERWOOD — Features Reporter (Faith Ford)

JIM DIAL — Senior Anchorman (Charles Kimbrough)

FRANK FONTANA — Investigative Journalist (Joe Regalbuto)

MILES SILVERBERG — Executive Producer (Grant Shaud)

[k3rnelpan1c]

Ego (2013)

[nrth-wind-a]

who are you?

name: north star sign: cancer height: 5′1″ middle name: i won’t be sharing that at this time

first 6 songs on spotify shuffle? pretty sure this is my most often listened to playlist, so i shuffled from here

train - brick + mortar

get mine - DAVIS

death of me - SAINT PHNX

raise a little hell - the reverend peyton’s big damn band

reaper - silverberg

glory days - the federal empire

ever had a song/poem written about you? not that i know of

when was the last time you played air guitar? probably like, last week or something lol

who is your celebrity crush? alfred molina

what’s a sound you hate and a sound you love? not a fan of mouth sounds in general. i enjoy the sound of rain

do you believe in ghosts? no

how about aliens? i believe it’s possible that they are out there somewhere

do you drive? yes

if so, have you ever crashed? knock on wood, no

what was the last book you read? the letters of vincent van gogh, edited by mark roskill

do you like the smell of gasoline? it’s not my favorite but i don’t hate it

what was the last movie you saw? in theaters: the batman, and at home: scream 4

what’s the worst injury you’ve ever had? i broke my arm in the 8th grade

do you have any obsessions right now? dc comics (if that wasn’t obvious lol), and you could probably call the scream franchise an obsession for me right now

do you tend to hold grudges? no

in a relationship? nah, i’m actually aroace

tagged by: @batcowmaster​​ tagging: anyone who’d like to do this can say they tagged me! i like seeing y’all’s answers to these things!

[fecklesheckleshacklesschmeckles]

Ooh! I don't log in here very often these days, but when I do, turns out I've been tagged in a Fic Opening Lines meme! Thanks, @veronica-rich, this looks like fun :D

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag some of your favourite authors/fandom friends. You can find all these on my AO3 page under the username horselizard. (Although some of them are under lock, so if you don't have an AO3 account, enjoy this glimpse...!)

(Uh, my last several fics have all been about James Acaster, which isn't really a fandom I've engaged with on here, so, apologies to followers who didn't sign up for this :P)

1. Fool Me Once (British Comedy RPF): “Can’t believe you made me say I’d killed a pig with a brick,” James muttered grumpily.

2. Brand Relations (British Comedy RPF): ‘Who am I kidding, we all know I am gonna bang the chocolate,’ James typed as an afterthought, then hit the tweet button and put down his phone.

3. Double Whammy (British Comedy RPF): With a noise like a bad sound effect, James materialised out of the lamp.

4. Pour Some Sugar On Me (British Comedy RPF): James knocked at Ed’s door, and heard him call “It’s open!”

5. The Alternative Hypothesis (British Comedy RPF): "Did you have fun?" James asks Ed over a post-recording pint.

6. Something New (British Comedy RPF): ‘That was one hell of a party,’ Josh slurred, as he slumped against the door of his flat, digging in his pocket for keys.

7. Floored (British Comedy RPF): ‘“Do you even lift, bro”?’

8. Strapped (British Comedy RPF): Alex was slumped over the kitchen table, head in his hands, when James wandered in in search of a snack.

9. Spent (British Comedy RPF): Alex slipped quietly into the front room.

10. Feeding Frenzy (Red Dwarf): One minor advantage of being a hologram, Rimmer had learnt early on, was that he could happily sleep on his front without worrying about breathing.

11. Cheating the Future (Red Dwarf): Rimmer stumbled down the corridors of the Silverberg in a numb daze.

12. Officer's Mess (Red Dwarf): They heard the sound from the corridor outside.

13. Words (Red Dwarf): Words had weight to Rimmer.

14. Inconceivable (Red Dwarf): “I hope you get pregnant.”

15. Maturity (Red Dwarf): Rimmer knew he shouldn't go walking through the lower deck like this.

16. All In The Mind (Red Dwarf): They would see him – he knew they would – they would all see him like that when they rushed in to save him.

17. Strip Tease (Red Dwarf): Lister shuffled sullenly into the bunkroom, the gangling limbs of his ill-fitting hologrammatic body swinging awkwardly with every step.

18. Tangled Up In You (Red Dwarf): The evening was, Lister had to admit, really not going to plan.

19. Blame & Guilt (Red Dwarf): “Os salva-vidas não bastam para os oitenta homens,” chimed the vidscreen.

20. Water Torture (Red Dwarf): Rimmer was bored.

Patterns? Uh, theft, for a start! #1, #2, #7 and #14 are all either quoted or paraphrased from "canon" (RIP James' Twitter account :'( ), and #16 was taken verbatim from the excellent drabble which inspired the fic. (For the record, while #1 was a collab, the first line was actually mine XD) #19 sort of also counts as theft, as it's an Easter egg translation of something in canon, as is the other line of Portuguese which shortly follows it... however, seven years later and overdue a rewatch, I can't for the life of me actually dredge up the exact quote it's referencing DX

I think my favourite has got to be #1, and credit for that has to go to Ed Gamble, not me XD although I'm quite fond of #3 too.

Tagging! Uh, who do I even follow on here? Are they still active? Do they still fic? Have they already been tagged in this meme seventeen times? Dunno! Gonna spray a bunch out there, play along if you like, or don't :P Hi @likecharity, @andimeantittosting, @laurenthemself, @wreathedwith, @rosecathy, @zetablarian, @pitcherplant, how y'all doing? Long time no blog! How's the pando treating you? etc :)

[ladybender]

Futurama Book recs

I decided to make a list of books suggested in the Futurama calendars (I can't say it's complete because i only have calendars from 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020 but still)

under the cut because it’s loooong

Surface Detail - Ian Banks

Something Wicked this way comes - Ray Bradbury

The Soldier in the Mist - Gene Wolfe

The Stand - Stephen King

The Princess Bride - William Goldman

No Enemy but Time - Michael Bishop

We will drink a fish together - Bill Johnson  (novelette)

Fire Watch - Connie Willis (short stories)

Blackout (All Clear #1) - Connie Willis

Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks

Unicorn Tapestry - Suzy McKee Charnas

Buffalo Gals, won't you come out tonight - Ursula K. Leguin (novelette)

Isle of the dead - Roger Zelazny 

Mccade's Bounty - William C. Dietz The Baroque Cycle (series) - Neal Stephenson Rougue Moon - Algis Budrys 

Motherless Brooklyn -  Jonathan Lethem  Old man's war - John Scalzi 

The Citadel of the Autarch - Gene Wolfe 

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance - Lois McMaster Bujold 

Falcon - Emma Bull

Jem - Frederik Pohl You will never be the same - Corwainer Smith (short stories)

The Book of the Skulls - Robert Silverberg 

 The man who sold the moon - Robert A. Heinlein

Antartica - Kim Stanley Robinson Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyle (eccentric tale of familiar loss, travel and fresh starts) A Night in lonesome October - Roger Zelazny

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell (waves six stories related through space and time)

The Book of the Long Sun (series of four novels) - Gene Wolfe

The Palace Thief - Ethan Canin

Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti - Genevieve Valentine

Seeker - Jack McDevitt

The Shipping News - Annie Proulx

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

Enemy Mine - Barry B. Longyear (series)

The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula K. Le Guin (never doubt the power of dreams)

The Female Man - Joanna Russ

A Door into Ocean - Joan Slonczewski

The Persistence of Vision - John Varley (short story)

Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

The Buried Giant - Kazuo Ishiguro 

[mariposalass]

Potter Twins Name Meanings and Reasons Why

(Sorry for the out of context gif, folks. I want to give you an idea of how long the list of potential baby names might have look like. Also, I will probably make a masterlist about Chris and Serena someday in the future for easier access. Here is the announcement in case you miss. Also tagging @husband-of-lucoa​ and @jenny-snoopers-world​ since it’s the Twins Club we’re walking about.)

Believe it or not, Harry and Issa decided to compromise to give a name onto each child after the twins’ genders have been confirmed. When that happened, to everyone’s surprise, they made the decision relatively easy. And much to our shock and surprise, we noticed a theme within the kids’ names: Chris has a Christian/Biblical theme on going for him while Serena gets an Italian theme in her names. That is interesting...

Chris

Meaning: Christopher comes from the Greek name Christophoros meaning ‘Christ Bearer’: it was first used by Early Christians as a metaphor of carrying Jesus Christ in their hearts and there are legends of Saint Christopher carrying a young Jesus over the river and he is considered as the patron saint of travelers, derived from the Greek words Christos (Christ) and phero (to bear, to carry); Isaac comes from the Hebrew name Yitzchaq meaning ‘he who laughs or rejoices’, first came from the Old Testament when Abraham laughed upon hearing from God that his aged wife Sarah will have a son of her own (Isaac) and Sarah herself had the same reaction when Abraham told her of the news. Plus, Isaac himself would go on to have twins in Jacob and Esau.

Reasons: Harry found Isaac among the name suggestions from Mari/me as the most striking for him, and oddly enough, all of us were watching The Bicentennial Man (which was based on Isaac Asimov’s novelette of the same name and novel The Positronic Man (he co-wrote the latter with Robert Silverberg)) when the figurative light bulb of his lit up in excitement. Not to mention, the biblical Isaac has Jacob and Esau for twins too, how fitting. Meanwhile, Issa picked up Christopher for the boy’s name, and she ‘blames’ four actors, the late Christopher Lee, Christopher Lloyd, Chris(topher) Pratt, and Filipino actor Christopher de Leon (who is a COVID-19 survivor), for giving her that idea.

Serena

Meaning: Serena is Italian in origin, although it came from the Late Latin word serenus meaning ‘clear, tranquil, serene’; Edmund Spencer once used it in his poem The Faerie Queen. Ginevra is the Italian form of the Norman French name Guinevere which in turn comes from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar, meaning ‘white phantom’; also the Italian version of Geneva, Switzerland, sometimes associated with the Italian word ginepro meaning ‘juniper’.

Reasons: Issa really wanted to name a girl after her deceased beloved cousin Serena Santiago (an OC of mine) whom she lost to a long battle against leukemia when she was 10. Whereas Harry absentmindedly tossed in Ginevra (since he was stuck on which names he should suggest on) and he was initially horrified that he was going to name Serena after his ex Ginny Weasley. Luckily we got her blessing with her brother and his friend Ron’s help on Zoom, so he was cleared to give her Ginny’s name.

[deeptimesjournal]

Land Acknowledgments

Acknowledging Indigenous Land and Peoples

Why Land Acknowledgments?

In this web of community, we collectively name, honor and attempt to hear the voices of those who have been silenced – both human and more than human. The travesties of ecological destruction and climate chaos share roots with the travesties of genocide, refugee crises, food insecurity, lack of access to education, clean water and health care…and so much more.

Underlying all of this lies the cancer of conquest, white supremacy, and colonization. The ideas that one life is worth more than another, that land can be parceled, sold, and bulldozed, that Indigenous people’s lifeways are less “civilized” or less “productive” than “Western” society all contribute to the ecological loss that so many of us mourn. It is therefore vital that we acknowledge the Indigenous ancestral lands and peoples in the places where we practice the Work That Reconnects. 

A Land Acknowledgment For This Moment in Time

Note: I started and stopped multiple times trying to compose a land acknowledgment from a future generation. I couldn’t do it.  I eventually realized my writer’s block came from my feeling that, as a settler, Indigenous futurities are not mine to imagine. It is my job to listen and learn, and to use my role as an educator to amplify Indigenous voices. This land acknowledgment is therefore my own voice, in the here and the now. May the futures that Indigenous people imagine come true as brilliantly as a rainbow after a rainstorm.

I write this land acknowledgment from the hills east of the Kwinitekw, within the traditional territories of the Nipmuc and Sokoki Abenaki. I acknowledge the Massachusett and Wampanoag to the east, the Mohican and Pocumtuck to the West, the Mohegan and Pocumtuck to the south, and the Pennacook (Abenaki) to the north. I am grateful for the female leader Weetamoo’s strength and strategic acumen in staving off colonial settlers within Wampanoag lands prior to King Philip’s War. I recognize the lasting impact of the massacre at Peskeomskut in 1676, during which thousands of Indigenous women and children were slaughtered. I am grateful for David, Diane, Pam, Brent and others at the Nolumbeka Project for how they invite people to more accurately understand pre- and post-contact Indigenous life in this place, and for how they directly engage the community in repairing relationships, healing land, and celebrating the future.

How To Craft A Land Acknowledgment

Within whose ancestral homelands do you live, work, and play? Perhaps your own! If not and you are uncertain, www.native-land.ca is a helpful resource for finding out.

Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambé Pueblo) offers this guide for thoughtfully preparing a land acknowledgment: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2019/03/are-you-planning-to-do-land.html

Before diving further into this issue of Deep Times, and perhaps every morning when you wake up, I invite you to say aloud the names of the Indigenous peoples whose homelands you dwell within. I invite you to learn about the historical and contemporary leaders of those nations, and to learn to say their names correctly. I invite you to learn Indigenous place and river names, and to use them in colloquial conversation. I invite you to learn about what projects the Indigenous communities where you live are working on, and to ask if and how you can be helpful. (Settlers especially, please remember the if here.) I invite you to feel in your body what it means to be a guest in someone else’s home, and how you might be the best guest you can be. I invite you to give gratitude for the people who have stewarded land for thousands of years. They are still here.

In Gratitude,

Cara Michelle Silverberg

@

Cara Michelle Silverberg

Age: 35

Cara Michelle Silverberg is a somatic educator, camp director, writer, mover, and herbalist living in Nipmuc and Abenaki homelands (also called Western Massachusetts). She is enthusiastic about fostering community experiences that help people to explore and express themselves, their relationships with place, and their relationships with each other. Dedicated to trauma-informed experiential learning and wholistic leadership, Cara aims to co-create a more just, caring, courageous, and playful world. She designs and facilitates curricula for environmental/agricultural educational initiatives, land healing projects, and leadership development programs. Cara works in both Jewish and secular communities, with both youth and adults. Her favorite times of year are autumn, maple sugaring season, and the Jewish period of time called the Omer in early Spring. She was a member of the first Earth Leadership Cohort in 2014. You can check out some of her writing at www.onthefringesofplace.com. 

[philippmichelreichold]

#review #scifi Space Dreadnoughts by Dave Drake, et al

#review #scifi Space Dreadnoughts by Dave Drake, et al

Space Dreadnoughts is a Military Science Fiction anthology by David Drake, Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh. The contents in order of appearance are: •"Introduction: A quick Look at Battle Fleets" by David Drake •"The Only Thing We Learn" by Cyril M. Kornbluth •"C-Chute" by Isaac Asimov •"Allamagoosa" by Eric Frank Russell (won the Hugo Award for best short story in 1955) •"A Question of Courage" by J. F. Bone •"Superiority" by Arthur C. Clarke •"Hindsight" by Jack Williamson •"The Last Battalion" by David Drake •"Shadow on the Stars" by Algis Budrys •"Time Lag" by Poul Anderson

The first Military Sci Fi story I remember is the Star Trek TOS episode "Balance of Terror," in which Enterprise duels with a Romulan interloper. The military conflict was setting to other conflicts between the crew, the story was full of suspense, and actual battle was a small part of the story. And so it is here.

The book's title is a misnomer. The back cover blurb is misleading-- "Massive and arrogant, they patrol the final war zone-- deep space. All great battleships before them-- . . . are mere toys in comparison." It goes on about "bristling artillery" and "battalions of soldiers." I expected fleet actions involving capital ships. Tactics. Maneuvers. Gunplay. While there are fleet actions and even battleships in some of these stories, they are mere backdrops on a stage where people play out the stories. Truly good Science Fiction involves people, and in all these stories, the people overshadow the military settings that serve only to bring out the characters and whatever lessons there are to be learned from them. All of these stories are well worth reading.

"Introduction: A quick Look at Battle Fleets" Mr Drake's introduction is a wonderful retrospective about the history of the Dreadnought battleships with a mention of two 1950's Astounding essays on the armaments of spaceships-- one by Willy Ley, the other by Malcolm Jameson. If one is going to write stories about ship-to-ship combat, the introduction is a good starting point. But only a starting point. One should definitely read Mahan, and consider the lessons of Taranto and Pearl Harbor. And the US Navy's Harpoon's and Tomahawk's are wonderful arguments in favor of missles over guns. One should also consider the time honored techniques of ramming and boarding actions.

Perhaps the question of guns vs missles is mooted today. Todays real world warships employ both-- including the Iowa class heavy battleships brought out of retirement and refurbished for President Reagan's naval buildup of the 1980's. The arms race has continued in Sci-Fi beyond what could be imagined with a knowledge of 1950's physics. The Ley and Jameson essays were written before fighters raked Formoria, before rail guns, and CTD imploders, before GRASER's, X-ray LASER's and phaser banks, before the Moties bombarded Mote Prime with asteroids, and before Captain Sheridan laid a gigaton on Z'ha'dum.

"The Only Thing We Learn" Kornbluth tells a cautionary tale of faded Imperial glory. The barbarians at the gates will one day have descendants that are as decadent and prissy as the effete and ineffectual empire they deposed and replaced. History blurs and magnifies the epic tales of glory. The details are lost. The character is lost. One day a fresh wave of barbarians sweeps aside succcessors that their ancestors would be ashamed to acknowledge. The reader may decide what relationship if any there is between this story and the quote from Friedrich Hegel. A fun story despite the dire consequences for the past and future losers. In  his column, "Rereading Kornbluth", Robert Silverberg calls The Only Thing We Learn, "a subtle, oblique, elliptical, sardonic piece of work."

"C-Chute" Dr. Asimov wrote this story in 1951. It is a psychodrama set aboard a passenger ship taken as a prize by a race of chlorine breathers in Earth's first intersteller war. Each of the passengers is sketched by Asimov to reveal their several flaws of personality, physicality or character. Each has reasons why he should not exit the cabin via the C-chute, EVA, and enter and retake the control room from outside the ship. The reason for the dubious hero to take the heroic action required to retake the ship is one unlikey to appear in the work of any author but Dr. Asimov.

"Allamagoosa" This story won the 1955 Hugo for best short story. It's a farcical look at officious bureaucracy of the greatest gravity. It's sort of a shaggy dog story, wink, wink. This story in and of itself is worth buying the book for. The build up and so obvious in hindsight ending is fresh enough to be as enjoyable today as it was then.

"A Question of Courage" Sometimes flair and heedless risk taking can be mistaken for true personal courage. When the genuine article appears, there's no mistaking it. Bone craftliy deveops his characters and sets the reader up for the old maidish Captain "Cautious Charley" Chase of Lachesis to reveal his true nature. It is available from Project Gutenberg.

"Superiority" Sir Arthur requires no introduction for this story, a reductio ad absurdum about the principle of Illusory Superiority. Technology and bedazzlment with the latest, most theoretically wonderful advances are no substitutes for common sense and sound military doctrine. Perhaps this should serve as a cautionary tale at a time when Iraqi insurgents hack into our drones. According to Wikipedia, this gem was required reading at West Point. The reader easily empathizes with the narrator and his plight, revealed at the end.

"Hindsight" Jack Williamson has won both the Nebula and the Hugo Awards, and had a career that spanned about seventy years. This story involves temporal mechanics and love, oppression and liberation, and meeting engagements. Incidentally, the guns employed by the Astrach's fleet are of 20-inch caliber and fire four salvos per second. It's a tightly written story, though I think the ending is a little drippy.

"The Last Battalion" Imagine that Hitler did not die in a bunker in Berlin, but escaped via U-Boat to a secret Waffen-SS base in New Swabia. There German scientists built flying saucers from which they reached the moon to to mine aluminum and build more flying saucers. Now imagine them getting into a war with aliens. With things not looking so good, they kidnap a US Senator to let him know what is going on, intending to drag the US into the conflict. Before they can get where they're going with the Senator, the aliens lay a nuke on their Antartic base. They drop the Senator off to find his own way home. He asks them what they will do. Their colonel replies, we are SS-- we will fight.

"Shadow on the Stars" Budrys's Farlans are felinoid aliens who at first blush look like humans in cat suits. But they are, on a closer look, "raving paranoid quote." The paranoia is pathological and eventually fatal for Farla-- any military leader with sufficient ability to be effective cannot be trusted by Farla's rulers, and will be killed at the earliest sign of that fatal disease, military competence. The story is a retrospective, the central character telling how he and Farla came to be in their present straits. It is too late for him to convey the warning against trusting Earth, and to late to avoid the inevitable dissolution of Farla.

I have a problem accepting the plot device Budrys uses to set up the narrative, but otherwise the story is interesting and fun to read. The prose is a bit over decourous and affected, but that brings out the effeteness and pretentiousness of the Farlan culture. At the start, the Farlans are hard-pressed by a barabarian culture, the Vilk, and need a strong, capable leader to drive them back. OF course the strong, capable leaders keep their heads down so has not to find themselves assassinated by the Ministry of Preparedness-- and then comes L'Miranid. A previously unknown reservist, he quickly dominates the Fleet and whips them into shape. Victory follows victory until the Vilk host is driven back, their subject planets pounded to rubble, and a Farlan imposed king seated upon their throne.

The real story action is not fleet engatgements and daring raids, though. The story is related by Henlo, one of those capable leaders who has balanced command of a capital ship wtih avoiding notice by the governmental hunters down of competence. He starts the story as having a clear understanding of Farla's problems and the steps necessary to remedy them, but can't afford to be noticed. He becomes L'Mararind's aid, admirer, vice-admiral, intended assasin and successor, and finally, his unwilling co-conspirator and successor. Unwilling to be assasinated himself, he seizes control of the Farlan government. By this time, the sad (for Farla) truth is known to him, but (I love Latin quotes.) "alea jacta est." This is a fine little story with a lovely twist toward the end.

"Time Lag" Poul Anderson has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Time Lag is a study in contrasts-- evil, greedy invaders against noble, selfless defenders. Chertkoi is a heavily overpopulated industrial planet, drowning in pollution and resource starved. Vaynamo is pristine, with a population sustainable through resource management. Vayanmo is never the less technologically advanced, with the technology's goal as preservation rather than exploitation. Expolitation is the name of Chertkoi's game. It's people conquer other worlds to fuel the industrial fires that smother their world under a cloud of pollution.

The archetype of the Chertoi is the Admiral commanding the invasion fleet. He is matched against the story's view point character, Elva. Elva is the widow of a Vayanmoan noble and prisoner of the Admiral. He is gross, vulgar and uncouth. She is pretty, cultured and well-mannered. He is a love struck boor, hopelessly smitten by her. She subtly endures his presence to manipulate him so that she an return herself and the other captives to Vayanmo in a portrayal that is believable and sympathetic. The invasion is a leveraged takeover in three stages-- a scouting raid, a strategic strike to destroy what little industry the Vayanmo posses, and a full-scale invasion. The title relativistic time lag (fifteen years) gives the Chertkoi time to build their invasion fleet and the Vaynamo time to prepare their reception.

Image cover art under fair use for the review. Contact publisher for reuse.

My text creative commons 4.0

190417

[oldmanyellsatspaceship]

Old Man Yells At Spaceship Podcast episode index

Episode 1 - The Doorway - Evelyn E Smith

Episode 2 - A Bad Day For Vermin - Keith Laumer

Episode 3 - Dream World - R A Lafferty

Episode 4 - Time Enough At Last - Lynn Venable

Episode 5 - The Carnivore - Katherine MacLean (as G A Morris)

Episode 6 - Homesick - Lynn Venable

Episode 7 - I'll Kill You Tomorrow - Helen Huber

Episode 8 - Flowering Evil - Margaret St. Clair

Episode 9 - There is a Reaper - Charles V. De Vet

Episode 10 - All Cats Are Gray - Andre Norton (as Andrew North)

Episode 11 - Seven Day Terror - R A Lafferty

Episode 12 - Second Landing - F L Wallace

Episode 13 - The Vilbar Party - Evelyn E. Smith

Episode 14 - Double-Cross - Frederik Pohl (as James Mac Creigh)

Episode 15 - The Polite People of Pudibundia - R A Lafferty

Episode 16 - Piety - Margaret St. Clair

Episode 17 - They Wouldn't Dare - Samuel Mines

Episode 18 - Native Son - TD Hamm

Episode 19 - The Dragon Slayers - Frank Banta

Episode 20 - The Dancers - Margaret St. Clair (as Wilton Hazzard)

Episode 21 - End as a World - F L Wallace

Episode 22 - Gramp - Charles V De Vet

Episode 23 - A Hitch in Time - Frederik Pohl (as James Mac Creigh)

Episode 24 - Donkeys to Bald Pate - Samuel Mines

Episode 25 - Handyman, The Connoisseur, The Happy Homicide - Frank Banta

Episode 26 - Rabbits Have Long Ears - Lawrence F Willard

Episode 27 - A Matter of Magnitude - Al Sevcik

Episode 28 - Circus - Alan E Nourse

Episode 29 - The Ambassador's Pet - Randall Garrett and Robert Silverberg (as Alexander Blade)

Episode 30 - When Whirlybirds Call - Frank Banta

Episode 31 - In The Garden - R A Lafferty

Episode 32 - The Stroller - Margaret St Clair

Episode 33 - The Vanderlark - Margaret St Clair

Episode 34 - Not Fit For Children - Evelyn E Smith

Episode 35 - A Matter of Size - Samuel Mines

Episode 36 - The Non-Electric Bug - E Mittleman

Episode 37 - Droozle - Frank Banta

Episode 38 - Final Glory - Henry Hasse

Episode 39 - Doorstep - Keith Laumer

Episode 40 - The Luminous Blonde - Hayden Howard

Episode 41 - Lost Art - G K Hawk

Episode 42 - We Didn't Do Anything Wrong, Hardly - Roger Kuykendall

Episode 43 - Inconstancy - Roger D. Aycock (as Roger Dee)

Episode 44 - Beyond the Door - Philip K Dick

Episode 45 - $1,000 a Plate - Jack McKenty

Episode 46 - The Autumn After Next - Margaret St. Clair

Episode 47 - The Sloth of Kruvny - Vern Fearing

Episode 48 - A Little Journey - Ray Bradbury

Enjoying the podcast? Want to show your support? Here's my ko-fi.

[singingwordwright]

The Pragmatic Pollyanna Thread

Okay, this is a very long thread I posted today over on Twitter, which attempts to take a (qualified) optimistic look at all the dozens of hints and clues we’ve had that things may be on the move with the show.

PLEASE NOTE THAT IN THE ABSENCE OF AN ACTUAL ANNOUNCEMENT, NONE OF THIS MEANS ANYTHING. It’s just...hope. In a time when people are starting to burn out or feel hopeless.

I’m going to put this behind a cut because it’s long and also that will make it easier to edit the post as needed without old, un-updated versions being disseminated.

Someday I’ll try to get around to posting a text version instead of screencaps, but I don’t have time tonight. If someone else wants to caption it, feel free to c/p most of the text from my thread here: https://twitter.com/MalecCrazedAthr/status/1016705549361008640

ALSO PLEASE BEWARE THAT THERE IS ONE POINT IN THIS THREAD THAT DISCUSSES SOME HINTS/TEASES FOR SEASON 3B FROM THE WRITERS. Read at your own risk.

(here’s the link to that thread about the Hulu takedowns: https://twitter.com/fatalewrites/status/1008392178463313920)

(link to the SpoilerTV post: https://www.spoilertv.com/2018/05/shadowhunters-season-3b-premiere-date.html)

(link to the TVLine article: https://tvline.com/2018/06/25/black-lightning-season-2-spoilers-casting-additions/)

(Link to the ETOnline article: https://www.etonline.com/shadowhunters-fans-are-raising-thousands-for-the-trevor-project-following-freeform-cancellation)

(link to the thread about TVTime: https://twitter.com/debimalec/status/1012108691066294273)

(link to the SECOND TVTime thread: https://twitter.com/auroraelena29/status/1012154855820005376)

(First thread about Jonathan Clay Harris: https://twitter.com/hergoldeneyes90/status/1012227296223268865)

(Second thread about Alyson Silverberg: https://twitter.com/dorianandaspen1/status/1012326478644727808)

(Link to the June 25 Tu_Subtitulo thread: https://twitter.com/tu_subtitulo/status/1011347615550668800)

(link to the second Tu_Subtitulo tweet: https://twitter.com/tu_subtitulo/status/1012050875198603265)

(link to nadia’s tweet about the Tu_Subtitulo tweets: https://twitter.com/harrysdaddario/status/1014701255283953665)

Tu_Subtitulo’s June 7 tweet:

(that is the incorrect link on that last tweet, I think I meant to find the Larry Tanz tweet but mistakenly copied another link instead, but no big deal.)

(that post of mine with the deets: https://maleccrazedauthor.tumblr.com/post/173553794580/my-new-pet-theory-what-we-know-so-far-going-into)

(the link to that 3x20 tweet that is trying to kill us: https://twitter.com/maddi_0205/status/983455473293758464)

(link to MagnusShampoo’s brilliant bit of detective work: https://twitter.com/MagnusShampoo/status/1015622248491831301)

Update, July 11:

(link to tweet: https://twitter.com/JedmanyBB/status/1017017062034722817)

(link to thread with both those posts: https://twitter.com/skamlightwood/status/1016927233816944640)

[captain-mayabishop]

thanks for tagging @jj-heart :) <3 

1st rule: tag 9 people you want to get to know better: 

@orphanblackismylife @lanafannabanana @v-vvolfie @phantomcophineshipper @cosima-scully @sarah-silver-linings-silverberg @scullytheannihilator @cosimassexynosetubes @alisonsgotthewineglass if you want to do this :) 

2nd rule: bold the statements that are true

appearance - i am 5'7 or taller - i wear glasses - i have at least one tattoo - i have at least one piercing - i have blonde hair- i have brown eyes - i have short hair - my abs are at least somewhat defined - i have or had braces

personality - i love meeting new people - people tell me i am funny - helping others with their problems is a big priority of mine - i enjoy physical challenges - i enjoy mental challenges - i am playfully rude to people i know- i started saying something ironically and now i can’t stop saying it - there is something i would change about my personality

ability - i can sing well - i can play an instrument - i can do over 30 pushups without stopping - i am a fast runner - i can draw well - i have a good memory- i am good at doing math in my head - i can hold my breath underwater for over a minute - i have beaten at least 2 people arm wrestling - i can make at least 3 recipes from scratch - i know how to throw a proper punch

hobbies - i enjoy sports - i’m on a sports team at my school or somewhere else - i’m in an orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else - i have learned a new song in the past week - i exercise at least once a week - i have gone for runs at least once a week in warmer months - i have drawn something in the past month - i enjoy writing - i do some form of martial arts

experiences - i have had my first kiss - i have had alcohol - i have scored a winning point in a sport - i have watched an entire tv series in one sitting - i have been at an overnight event- i have been in a taxi - i have been in the hospital or er in the past year - i have beaten a video game in one day - i have visited another country - i have been to one of my favorite bands concerts

my life - i have one person that i consider to be my Best Friend™ - i live close to my school/work - my parents are still together - i have at least one sibling - i live in the united states – i have hung out with a friend in the past month - i have a smart phone - i own at least 15 cds - i share my room with someone

relationships - i am in a relationship - i have a crush on a celebrity - i have a crush on someone i know - i’ve been in at least 3 relationships - i have never been in a relationship - i have admitted my feelings to a crush - i get crushes easily - i have had a crush for over a year - i have been in a relationship for over a year - i have had feelings for a friend

random - i have break-danced - i know a person named jamie - i have had a teacher that has a name that is hard to pronounce - i have dyed my hair -i’m listening to a song on repeat right now - i have punched someone in the past week - i know someone who has gone to jail - i have broken a bone - i have eaten a waffle today - i know what i want to do in life - i speak at least two languages - i have made a new friend in the past year

[jkottke]

The Periodic Table of Endangered Elements

Until recently, humanity has treated the Earth as an infinite resource. As the Earth's population has exploded over the past century however, we've learned in many different ways that that's untrue. We've overfished the ocean, pumped too much carbon into the atmosphere and oceans, driven thousands of species into extinction, and terraformed much of the planet's land. This periodic table produced by the American Chemical Society shows that there are also 44 chemical elements that will face supply limitations in the coming decades. Among those under a "serious threat in the next 100 years" are silver, helium, zinc, and gallium. Robert Silverberg wrote about The Death of Gallium back in 2008:

Gallium's atomic number is 31. It's a blue-white metal first discovered in 1831, and has certain unusual properties, like a very low melting point and an unwillingness to oxidize, that make it useful as a coating for optical mirrors, a liquid seal in strongly heated apparatus, and a substitute for mercury in ultraviolet lamps. It's also quite important in making the liquid-crystal displays used in flat-screen television sets and computer monitors.

As it happens, we are building a lot of flat-screen TV sets and computer monitors these days. Gallium is thought to make up 0.0015 percent of the Earth's crust and there are no concentrated supplies of it. We get it by extracting it from zinc or aluminum ore or by smelting the dust of furnace flues. Dr. Reller says that by 2017 or so there'll be none left to use. Indium, another endangered element-number 49 in the periodic table-is similar to gallium in many ways, has many of the same uses (plus some others-it's a gasoline additive, for example, and a component of the control rods used in nuclear reactors) and is being consumed much faster than we are finding it. Dr. Reller gives it about another decade. Hafnium, element 72, is in only slightly better shape. There aren't any hafnium mines around; it lurks hidden in minute quantities in minerals that contain zirconium, from which it is extracted by a complicated process that would take me three or four pages to explain. We use a lot of it in computer chips and, like indium, in the control rods of nuclear reactors, but the problem is that we don't have a lot of it. Dr. Reller thinks it'll be gone somewhere around 2017. Even zinc, commonplace old zinc that is alloyed with copper to make brass, and which the United States used for ordinary one-cent coins when copper was in short supply in World War II, has a Reller extinction date of 2037. (How does a novel called The Death of Brass grab you?)

Zinc was never rare. We mine millions of tons a year of it. But the supply is finite and the demand is infinite, and that's bad news. Even copper, as I noted above, is deemed to be at risk. We humans move to and fro upon the earth, gobbling up everything in sight, and some things aren't replaceable.

As with many such predictions, the 2017 dates didn't pan out, but the point that these resources are finite still holds. Eventually, we will run out.