Global Peak (Part 11.0 up 05/29/09).
Moderator: LadyTevar
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Master_Baerne
- Jedi Council Member
- Posts: 1984
- Joined: 2006-11-09 08:54am
- Location: Wouldn't you like to know?
Duchess, I am available for a character role if you're running short. I'd be an atheist on the Loyalist side, probably someone involved in Civil Service. Or, more accurately, Civil Disservice. Name me whatever you want.
Conversion Table:
2000 Mockingbirds = 2 Kilomockingbirds
Basic Unit of Laryngitis = 1 Hoarsepower
453.6 Graham Crackers = 1 Pound Cake
1 Kilogram of Falling Figs - 1 Fig Newton
Time Between Slipping on a Banana Peel and Smacking the Pavement = 1 Bananosecond
Half of a Large Intestine = 1 Semicolon
2000 Mockingbirds = 2 Kilomockingbirds
Basic Unit of Laryngitis = 1 Hoarsepower
453.6 Graham Crackers = 1 Pound Cake
1 Kilogram of Falling Figs - 1 Fig Newton
Time Between Slipping on a Banana Peel and Smacking the Pavement = 1 Bananosecond
Half of a Large Intestine = 1 Semicolon
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Sea Skimmer
- Yankee Capitalist Air Pirate
- Posts: 37390
- Joined: 2002-07-03 11:49pm
- Location: Passchendaele City, HAB
Newer computers will last longer once the software is debugged; because the computers on the M1A1 would be just impossible to find replacement parts for. Those old black boxes might have worked well, but that’s because they are also totally unique systems. The battery life issue sounds like a parasitic load problem; perhaps from a computer bug keeping stuff powered on that shouldn’t be.Captain Lennox wrote: Its true Sea Skimmer that we have a whole extra set of batteries in our newer models of the Abrams. However, some of the tanks have trouble for whatever reason with keeping a charge as long as they are supposed to. All the batteries are changed at every tank services which happens at least once in a six month period. And the engine pack will probably have to be replaced more than twice in the forty year period if we're using M1A2 SEPS; it would be better to downgrade the tanks to M1A1s. I say this because the computers in M1A2s have caused all sorts of trouble with the tank, and the tank would have an overall greater self life if converted to M1A1.
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
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Raptor 597
- Sith Devotee
- Posts: 3338
- Joined: 2002-08-01 03:54pm
- Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
Hmm, I didn't know that about the M1A1s, the only time I was on one was at a live fire at Fort Knox. As for bugs and glitches you are right Sea Skimmer there are countless ghosts in the system, while we were shooting gunnery we got software uploads nearly every other day to fix bugs. Our regiment was the first to field M1A2 SEPSv2. I also found out today that we be fielding the newest TUSK package. It includes belly armor and a harness for the seat to increase the chances of survival for the driver which is good for me. Also, the remote controlled .50 cal will be mounted like on the Merkava, posted right on top of the main gun, giving us 50 cal coaxial finally. The gunner will be in control of the weapon systems.Sea Skimmer wrote:Newer computers will last longer once the software is debugged; because the computers on the M1A1 would be just impossible to find replacement parts for. Those old black boxes might have worked well, but that’s because they are also totally unique systems. The battery life issue sounds like a parasitic load problem; perhaps from a computer bug keeping stuff powered on that shouldn’t be.Captain Lennox wrote: Its true Sea Skimmer that we have a whole extra set of batteries in our newer models of the Abrams. However, some of the tanks have trouble for whatever reason with keeping a charge as long as they are supposed to. All the batteries are changed at every tank services which happens at least once in a six month period. And the engine pack will probably have to be replaced more than twice in the forty year period if we're using M1A2 SEPS; it would be better to downgrade the tanks to M1A1s. I say this because the computers in M1A2s have caused all sorts of trouble with the tank, and the tank would have an overall greater self life if converted to M1A1.
Formerly the artist known as Captain Lennox
"To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me." - Sir Isaac Newton
"To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me." - Sir Isaac Newton
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The Duchess of Zeon
- Gözde
- Posts: 14566
- Joined: 2002-09-18 01:06am
- Location: Exiled in the Pale of Settlement.
November 4th, 2047.
Little Diomede Island,
Mandatory Occupation
Governorate of Alaska.
James Baerne had the worst job in the world, from his perspective. Oh, of course there were the poor bastards working 14 hours a day, six days a week, with a half-day on Sundays, to get extra cash beyond the Basic Living Stipend for their families (the BLS required, his civil service mind dispassionately noted, ten hours a day, six days a week), but he was an educated man. He should have had a better job than what he did, but at some level, as he brushed the ice that had accumulated on his eyelashes from the latest storm battering the island, he was still very lucky. He had a view to die for, after all. His customs office, in a grand skyscraper looking utterly out of place, showed in hints and breezes through the omnipresent fog, the immensity of the vast suspension bridge which crossed the gap between Little Diomede and Great Diomede islands.
Between the United States--North American FedGov, now--and Russia.
It had looked, once, like peak had taken place in 2005 or 2006. Then the Russians had found two vast fields, making them the largest oil producing nation in the world, deep in the Siberian wastes. The world had breathed a sigh of relief and moved on. For the next twenty years, these fields were exploited to the max as the world population swelled and grew immensely and the whole world rapidly industrialized. Demand skyrocketed even faster than it had in the 21st century. Oil was surely, now, infinite, and the peak oil theorists were derided as a laughing stock.
Gradually, one after the other, the other fields of the world had run out. Demand kept going up. No new fields were run. The Russians pumped hard, and charged more. They knew what nobody else knew; with the extremity of the climate and the expense of pumping, and the intensity with which they were veritably abusing the fields, they would fall sharply. So the Russians kept pushing ahead, so flush with energy cash that the Ruble replaced the Dollar as a world currency.
Except Russia, ruled by a calculating oligarchy, took all of the money and reinvested it. 80% of Russian electricity was provided by nuclear reactors by 2030. 15% by hydroelectric and geothermal, and the remaining 5% by sundry other renewal sources. The Russian railnet was expanded prodiguously, and draconian legislations against cars instituted, while the citizenry was placated by the total elimination of taxation against private citizens as a huge arms development and the costs of the infrastructure development were fueled by the exorbitant prices which Gazprom was able to charge the world as virtually the last major supplier of oil in it. Immense infrastructure projects had been undertaken, from the Caspian-Black Sea Canal to the diversion of much of the flow of the Volga to the Aral basin, and the development of huge dams on every river possible, and upgrading of turbines at older Soviet-era dams.
The old comparison of the Cold War had been reversed. Going from the bright lights of the west at night to the Soviet Bloc, where the only lights were in the remote prison camps, had once been a graphic depiction of the reality of the success of the two systems. Now, however, it was Russia whose cities were lit at night, and the war-torn United States where only the lights of the prison camps worked.
James Baerne was assigned to the ultimate example of American desperation for foreign oil. As part of a huge oil initiative, the Canadian and American governments had funded a vast railroad to connect Alaska to the rest of the United States and Canada, and to drive extensive rail-lines into the Yukon territory and the MacKenzie delta to exploit oil resources there, and service pipelines which squeezed and drained out every drop from the North Shore. When that wasn't enough, the railroad was extended from Fairbanks down to the Yukon river valley and then straight across the Bering Strait--causeways and then tunnels to the Diomedes and a huge suspension bridge between them--to support the development of an immense pipeline, and a vast trade with Russia in durable goods that was supposed to help make up the trade imbalance to result from this desperate American gamble to secure her infinite prosperity by virtually enslaving herself to the Russian Oligarchy in exchange for the continued supply of oil.
And now the oil was gone, Russia was prepared and surviving, and the United States was a pit of war-torn savagery, to which the Russians gleefully sold a mere trickle of oil for immense prices, oil the FedGov needed for tanks and trucks to keep the war effort going, and which to afford, required them to squeeze their population all the more out of sheer desperation. And when the factories could not meet demand, oftentimes munitions and weapons as well. Indeed, there was even a burly string of four Russian electrics, whining lost to the wind, heading a three hundred car string of ammunition up onto American territory below him.
Just cleared by customs, no doubt. Because James Baerne's job was always, always, to appease the Russians. And that's why it was the worst job in the world; if the Russians felt like smuggling in drugs, that was their prerogative. If bored Russian workers decided to take a Hi-Rail over and harass the women in the company town on Little Diomede while drunk, he had to make sure they didn't get in trouble. His only function was to help keep the oil and ammo arriving smoothly, part of a chain of boot-licking extending up to the State Department in the FedGov facilities in Albany. Boot-licking at thirty degrees below zero.
Which is why the report of several arriving ships made him happy. With the Northwest Passage now perpetually open for shipping traffic, and the FedGov claiming it as internal waters, arriving freighters from Pacific countries wishing to get to Europe found it the fastest route, and to clear it, they had to pay tariffs established by the FedGov. Most of the ships using the route were ships from the California Governorate traveling to Fort Nelson on Hudson's Bay to offload supplies now that a rail connection via Winnipeg to the east had been securely established, or go further down into the bay to offload directly into the Quebec system. Some traveled further. And on some days, he was lucky enough to see a foreign ship. I think it's time for a security quarantine. And I'll just flip a goddamned coin to see who gets to join me for a month on the ass hole of the world...
Little Diomede Island,
Mandatory Occupation
Governorate of Alaska.
James Baerne had the worst job in the world, from his perspective. Oh, of course there were the poor bastards working 14 hours a day, six days a week, with a half-day on Sundays, to get extra cash beyond the Basic Living Stipend for their families (the BLS required, his civil service mind dispassionately noted, ten hours a day, six days a week), but he was an educated man. He should have had a better job than what he did, but at some level, as he brushed the ice that had accumulated on his eyelashes from the latest storm battering the island, he was still very lucky. He had a view to die for, after all. His customs office, in a grand skyscraper looking utterly out of place, showed in hints and breezes through the omnipresent fog, the immensity of the vast suspension bridge which crossed the gap between Little Diomede and Great Diomede islands.
Between the United States--North American FedGov, now--and Russia.
It had looked, once, like peak had taken place in 2005 or 2006. Then the Russians had found two vast fields, making them the largest oil producing nation in the world, deep in the Siberian wastes. The world had breathed a sigh of relief and moved on. For the next twenty years, these fields were exploited to the max as the world population swelled and grew immensely and the whole world rapidly industrialized. Demand skyrocketed even faster than it had in the 21st century. Oil was surely, now, infinite, and the peak oil theorists were derided as a laughing stock.
Gradually, one after the other, the other fields of the world had run out. Demand kept going up. No new fields were run. The Russians pumped hard, and charged more. They knew what nobody else knew; with the extremity of the climate and the expense of pumping, and the intensity with which they were veritably abusing the fields, they would fall sharply. So the Russians kept pushing ahead, so flush with energy cash that the Ruble replaced the Dollar as a world currency.
Except Russia, ruled by a calculating oligarchy, took all of the money and reinvested it. 80% of Russian electricity was provided by nuclear reactors by 2030. 15% by hydroelectric and geothermal, and the remaining 5% by sundry other renewal sources. The Russian railnet was expanded prodiguously, and draconian legislations against cars instituted, while the citizenry was placated by the total elimination of taxation against private citizens as a huge arms development and the costs of the infrastructure development were fueled by the exorbitant prices which Gazprom was able to charge the world as virtually the last major supplier of oil in it. Immense infrastructure projects had been undertaken, from the Caspian-Black Sea Canal to the diversion of much of the flow of the Volga to the Aral basin, and the development of huge dams on every river possible, and upgrading of turbines at older Soviet-era dams.
The old comparison of the Cold War had been reversed. Going from the bright lights of the west at night to the Soviet Bloc, where the only lights were in the remote prison camps, had once been a graphic depiction of the reality of the success of the two systems. Now, however, it was Russia whose cities were lit at night, and the war-torn United States where only the lights of the prison camps worked.
James Baerne was assigned to the ultimate example of American desperation for foreign oil. As part of a huge oil initiative, the Canadian and American governments had funded a vast railroad to connect Alaska to the rest of the United States and Canada, and to drive extensive rail-lines into the Yukon territory and the MacKenzie delta to exploit oil resources there, and service pipelines which squeezed and drained out every drop from the North Shore. When that wasn't enough, the railroad was extended from Fairbanks down to the Yukon river valley and then straight across the Bering Strait--causeways and then tunnels to the Diomedes and a huge suspension bridge between them--to support the development of an immense pipeline, and a vast trade with Russia in durable goods that was supposed to help make up the trade imbalance to result from this desperate American gamble to secure her infinite prosperity by virtually enslaving herself to the Russian Oligarchy in exchange for the continued supply of oil.
And now the oil was gone, Russia was prepared and surviving, and the United States was a pit of war-torn savagery, to which the Russians gleefully sold a mere trickle of oil for immense prices, oil the FedGov needed for tanks and trucks to keep the war effort going, and which to afford, required them to squeeze their population all the more out of sheer desperation. And when the factories could not meet demand, oftentimes munitions and weapons as well. Indeed, there was even a burly string of four Russian electrics, whining lost to the wind, heading a three hundred car string of ammunition up onto American territory below him.
Just cleared by customs, no doubt. Because James Baerne's job was always, always, to appease the Russians. And that's why it was the worst job in the world; if the Russians felt like smuggling in drugs, that was their prerogative. If bored Russian workers decided to take a Hi-Rail over and harass the women in the company town on Little Diomede while drunk, he had to make sure they didn't get in trouble. His only function was to help keep the oil and ammo arriving smoothly, part of a chain of boot-licking extending up to the State Department in the FedGov facilities in Albany. Boot-licking at thirty degrees below zero.
Which is why the report of several arriving ships made him happy. With the Northwest Passage now perpetually open for shipping traffic, and the FedGov claiming it as internal waters, arriving freighters from Pacific countries wishing to get to Europe found it the fastest route, and to clear it, they had to pay tariffs established by the FedGov. Most of the ships using the route were ships from the California Governorate traveling to Fort Nelson on Hudson's Bay to offload supplies now that a rail connection via Winnipeg to the east had been securely established, or go further down into the bay to offload directly into the Quebec system. Some traveled further. And on some days, he was lucky enough to see a foreign ship. I think it's time for a security quarantine. And I'll just flip a goddamned coin to see who gets to join me for a month on the ass hole of the world...
The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth. -- Wikipedia's No Original Research policy page.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
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The Duchess of Zeon
- Gözde
- Posts: 14566
- Joined: 2002-09-18 01:06am
- Location: Exiled in the Pale of Settlement.
Thought to do a little piece to get things started again.
The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth. -- Wikipedia's No Original Research policy page.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
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Master_Baerne
- Jedi Council Member
- Posts: 1984
- Joined: 2006-11-09 08:54am
- Location: Wouldn't you like to know?
That's brilliant! I like the cynicism; was I alive when oil peaked?
Conversion Table:
2000 Mockingbirds = 2 Kilomockingbirds
Basic Unit of Laryngitis = 1 Hoarsepower
453.6 Graham Crackers = 1 Pound Cake
1 Kilogram of Falling Figs - 1 Fig Newton
Time Between Slipping on a Banana Peel and Smacking the Pavement = 1 Bananosecond
Half of a Large Intestine = 1 Semicolon
2000 Mockingbirds = 2 Kilomockingbirds
Basic Unit of Laryngitis = 1 Hoarsepower
453.6 Graham Crackers = 1 Pound Cake
1 Kilogram of Falling Figs - 1 Fig Newton
Time Between Slipping on a Banana Peel and Smacking the Pavement = 1 Bananosecond
Half of a Large Intestine = 1 Semicolon
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CaptainChewbacca
- Browncoat Wookiee
- Posts: 15746
- Joined: 2003-05-06 02:36am
- Location: Deep beneath Boatmurdered.
One wonders how the US could be so shortsighted. I'd love to be an American emigre in east Russia, thanking my lucky stars I moved for the oilfields and was allowed to stay.
Stuart: The only problem is, I'm losing track of which universe I'm in.
You kinda look like Jesus. With a lightsaber.- Peregrin Toker
You kinda look like Jesus. With a lightsaber.- Peregrin Toker
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Illuminatus Primus
- All Seeing Eye
- Posts: 15774
- Joined: 2002-10-12 02:52pm
- Location: Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Contact:
I wonder if this society and world is even yet delusional as climate change and soil depletion et al begin to bare down on it. How're the Russians and French handling the sustainability issues? Draconian population controls? Fierce enforcement of fallowing agrarian land? Net zero economic growth? What about new uranium? They have to be running low. They getting close to breaking fusion? If anyone ever does it, I have a suspicion it'll be Russia with their physicists.
"You know what the problem with Hollywood is. They make shit. Unbelievable. Unremarkable. Shit." - Gabriel Shear, Swordfish
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi in reply to an incredibly stupid post.
The Fifth Illuminatus Primus | Warsie | Skeptical Empiricist | Florida Gator | Sustainability Advocate | Libertarian Socialist |
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi in reply to an incredibly stupid post.
The Fifth Illuminatus Primus | Warsie | Skeptical Empiricist | Florida Gator | Sustainability Advocate | Libertarian Socialist |
There should be enough fissile energy reserves if they use extensive reprocessing and the thorium cycle. As for fusion, probably the Russians since they have so much money to throw at the problem.Illuminatus Primus wrote:I wonder if this society and world is even yet delusional as climate change and soil depletion et al begin to bare down on it. How're the Russians and French handling the sustainability issues? Draconian population controls? Fierce enforcement of fallowing agrarian land? Net zero economic growth? What about new uranium? They have to be running low. They getting close to breaking fusion? If anyone ever does it, I have a suspicion it'll be Russia with their physicists.
The US? Taking a long term view? Bwhahahahahahaha!CaptainChewbacca wrote:One wonders how the US could be so shortsighted.
The closest thing to long term planning in the US is when some city wins the Olympics and they have to build the facilities.
Lusankya: Deal!
Say, do you want it to be a threesome with your wife? Or a foursome with your wife and sister-in-law? I'm up for either.
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Illuminatus Primus
- All Seeing Eye
- Posts: 15774
- Joined: 2002-10-12 02:52pm
- Location: Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Contact:
Not with exponential growth; even there you hit the wall pretty soon. You'd HAVE to constrain demand growth. Even then it'll last a couple centuries at best.phongn wrote: There should be enough fissile energy reserves if they use extensive reprocessing and the thorium cycle. As for fusion, probably the Russians since they have so much money to throw at the problem.
"You know what the problem with Hollywood is. They make shit. Unbelievable. Unremarkable. Shit." - Gabriel Shear, Swordfish
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi in reply to an incredibly stupid post.
The Fifth Illuminatus Primus | Warsie | Skeptical Empiricist | Florida Gator | Sustainability Advocate | Libertarian Socialist |
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi in reply to an incredibly stupid post.
The Fifth Illuminatus Primus | Warsie | Skeptical Empiricist | Florida Gator | Sustainability Advocate | Libertarian Socialist |
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Sea Skimmer
- Yankee Capitalist Air Pirate
- Posts: 37390
- Joined: 2002-07-03 11:49pm
- Location: Passchendaele City, HAB
The Two Ocean Navy bill is a far better example of long term planning, even though war followed little more then a year later. That was a different America however.aerius wrote: The US? Taking a long term view? Bwhahahahahahaha!
The closest thing to long term planning in the US is when some city wins the Olympics and they have to build the facilities.
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
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The Duchess of Zeon
- Gözde
- Posts: 14566
- Joined: 2002-09-18 01:06am
- Location: Exiled in the Pale of Settlement.
Seawater extraction of Uranium is a viable and widely used technique in this period, in combination with extensive reprocessing and the thorium cycle. The Russians probably have an extensive operational space programme devoted to extraplanetary resource extraction, as they're the only ones able to afford to it, though it hasn't yielded any results yet. They have the advantage of going into peak oil with a plunging population, so they're actually using less resources while remaining basically stable in their affluence.Illuminatus Primus wrote:Not with exponential growth; even there you hit the wall pretty soon. You'd HAVE to constrain demand growth. Even then it'll last a couple centuries at best.phongn wrote: There should be enough fissile energy reserves if they use extensive reprocessing and the thorium cycle. As for fusion, probably the Russians since they have so much money to throw at the problem.
The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth. -- Wikipedia's No Original Research policy page.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
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Ford Prefect
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 8254
- Joined: 2005-05-16 04:08am
- Location: The real number domain
The FedGov's capital is in Albany? Am I to assume that DC is a ruin of a city being fought over by the Free States and the FedGov?
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."
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CmdrWilkens
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 9093
- Joined: 2002-07-06 01:24am
- Location: Land of the Crabcake
- Contact:
Should be, its crappy real estate and aside from being at just about the highest navigable point of the Potomac it has no real strategic value. Maybe the rail network but you can hold a better line of defense than the city to keep the major Wye's under your control since those are up in Maryland.Lonestar wrote:The FedGov's capital is in Albany? Am I to assume that DC is a ruin of a city being fought over by the Free States and the FedGov?
SDNet World Nation: Wilkonia
Armourer of the WARWOLVES
ASVS Vet's Association (Class of 2000)
Former C.S. Strowbridge Gold Ego Award Winner
MEMBER of the Anti-PETA Anti-Facist LEAGUE
ASVS Vet's Association (Class of 2000)
Former C.S. Strowbridge Gold Ego Award Winner
MEMBER of the Anti-PETA Anti-Facist LEAGUE
"I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will of god. I have seen too much religion in the eyes of too many murderers. Holiness is in right action, and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves, and goodness. "
-Kingdom of Heaven
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TithonusSyndrome
- Sith Devotee
- Posts: 2569
- Joined: 2006-10-10 08:15pm
- Location: The Money Store
Man do I ever regret not finding the time to read this sooner. I'm seriously going to print this story and keep it on hand as motivational material any time I feel like slacking in school.
Obviously, I also want to jockey for a cameo. Just squeeze in my last name, Wallace, and put me in the Alberta oilpatch OR on a reactor site in Canada. Let's see in which way life chooses to imitate art...
Obviously, I also want to jockey for a cameo. Just squeeze in my last name, Wallace, and put me in the Alberta oilpatch OR on a reactor site in Canada. Let's see in which way life chooses to imitate art...
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The Duchess of Zeon
- Gözde
- Posts: 14566
- Joined: 2002-09-18 01:06am
- Location: Exiled in the Pale of Settlement.
Part Seven
November 14th, 2047.
Provo, Utah, FedGov
Military District Six.
A Lion in Winter...
"I'm surprised you came, Tom."
"Well, we're old college friends, Catherine. I gathered that if any of us could speak to you, it would be me. So I volunteered. The government did not want to let me go in such a crucial time," the somewhat portly man with dark beard answered to the slight Asian woman across the table from him.
"Good point." She poured two glasses out of a bottle of madeira and nudged one over. The train was heated by steam, produced by waste heat from the diesel, and only after the hot exhaust had also been cycled through a turbine. And it was fitted with batteries and regenerative brakes on top of that; it was her private command train, of course, and therefore couldn't be tied to the electrified portions of the network, anyway. And the tracks to Provo had just been repaired; the city was scarcely out of enemy artillery range. It was also covered in a fairly large amount of snow. Global Warming had varied effects in numerous regions, after all, even if the trend was up.
"Why did you take up painting and music, anyway?"
"Couldn't get an engineering job," she answered. "Not after the Catholic Social Party repealed the anti-discrimination provisions in California, anyway. Hell, I figure most of my own people don't realize I have science training. But I suppose everyone in the Free States knows now, heh." She toyed with the glass idly.
"Well, I am the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Virginia," he answered with faux-modesty, and allowed himself a chuckle. "This is a rather odd meeting, fifteen years later..."
"It is. I suppose you won't tell me how you got here."
"Of course not."
They sipped their madeira. "So why are you here?"
"I admire you enormously, Cat. You know I've never held your background against you; you're one of the most subtle, quietly intelligent people I know. If you're a eunuch, then you're the equal of Narses."
"Thanks for the comparison. Perhaps I'll be lucky enough to imitate Taginae on your Army of Colorado," she replied with a sly grin, unbothered by the questioning of her sexuality that she was long used to.
"Heh. We rather hope not," Thomas answered simply. "Let's put it simply. We'd rather not that we were fighting you."
"You know the government's terms. Surrender Iowa, Missouri, your recent advances into Minnesota and Ohio, all of Illinois and Indiana that you control, the same with Maryland and West Virginia.. Abandon the siege of D.C. Cede to us Wyoming, Nebraska, the Dakotas and Montana, and all of Canada. We retain Idaho and Nevada, Arizona and Utah, by right of conquest. Plebiscite in Colorado about whether or not to rejoin the FedGov. Withdraw from Florida and recognize its independence."
"You know those terms aren't acceptable to us. We can't abandon member states to be devoured by the centralizing tendencies of the current FedGov, Cat, and you know it. Surely you haven't become so doctrinaire...?"
"Well, I am a syndicalist, as you've always known. My adherence to Proudhon, however, is rather overrated," she answered, taking another sip of the madeira and intentionally dodging the question.
"You know what I'm talking about. Your people, your fellow Asians, are abused by the black gangs running your cities in the west. You are likely on a target for a purge the moment the war is over in your favour..."
"Oh, come, I'm Beval's Zhukov," she laughed softly. "And if they retire me, well, I rather want to go back to my family on the farm. I have five lovers waiting for me..."
"And it's your general's salary which is keeping them from starving, like as not."
"Point conceded. So what are you proposing?"
"Your soldiers love you. General Taipal would follow you in suppressing the black mobs. You could count on the loyalty of every Army in the west. Accept a cease-fire with us. We'll abandon Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, western Montana beyond the continental divide, and Alberta to you. You can organize the west as you like, and we will quickly force the damned Quebecois pulling the strings in the east to seek terms. And we'll have the leisure to do it after we've smashed the God's Will states to pieces. Of that you have my word; you surely heard about our raid on Tennessee."
"I did," Catherine nodded. "Thank you, by the way. That means something to me, and I confess I had hoped at the time that you'd had a hand in it. We're both Tech students, and I rather like to think the best of my old alumni there."
"Blacksburg is still fairly prosperous, with such an important resource as our Alma Mater," Thomas answered, smiling genteelly. "It is not a bad place, even in the present chaos and poverty. As for those states given over to savage and theocratic governments, Virginia and those like us do plan to chastise them. Their bizarre theories and doctrinaire violence are hampering the formation of a proper Confederate government which would revive the old spirit of the United States. I'd like to hang Governor Horsley of Georgia from a tree with my own hands, personally...."
"Seven man firing squad," Catherine faked a yawn. "Get down to it. Because I have no interest in becoming known as the ambitious general whose drive for power destroyed the last remnants of the United States and established herself as personal military dictator of the west of America. No, not interested."
"How about Empress? We wouldn't stop you. Nobody would by this point. And I fully believe you're capable of it."
"Well, I'm certainly capable of murdering tens of thousands of civilians. Already did that in Salt Lake City, more or less, by pinning them up and bombarding the place with gas artillery. I suppose I have it in me to do the same thing to Oakland, West Sacramento, Watts, and Compton. Running an Empire, though, is more than firing mustard gas shells down the iron sights at gang-bangers."
"And you have the talent and determination required to do so. We'd recognize you immediately on the success of your seizure of power, Cat. The Russians would certainly do the same. You are not wedded to the communistic aspirations of the FedGov; why take their commands for longer? Why settle for anything less than proclaiming yourself Empress of California?"
"You appeal to my ego, which is large," she answered in a hushed whisper, and then, with a bit of fragility, almost like she were genuinely uncertain... "Tom, would I really make a good Sovereign?"
"Yes, absolutely."
She reached back, tapped a few buttons, and music filled the railcar.
Thomas Ryan listened very intently to it for several minutes, and then turned back, brow furrowed. "Shostakovich, Opus No.119, The Execution of Stepan Razin."
"Just listen for a while."
And so they did listen, for more than twenty-five minutes, for the piece was nearly thirty minutes long, and a very incredible epic. But toward the end, Catherine Tang closed her eyes, leaned back, and began to translate the words, singing delicately in her low contralto. Not a precise translation, but the meaning, clear enough: "I led you in this war, for you, for the people! I did it, because I thought that I would a better Tsar than he, a good Tsar." And here, the translation became exact: "But I have learned my lesson--There are NO good Tsars!"
The music reached its incredible, savage crescendo, and she narrated, gently: "And they took Stepan Razin off the cart and brought him to the chopping block--and struck off his head! But leering, leering, when the face of Stepan was held up for the Tsar, his eyes were leering, with such dread horror, that the Tsar was chilled and felt no happiness at the death of his enemy, this great Rebel, Stenka Razin."
Thomas exhaled very slowly in a heavy sigh. "And that, I suppose, is your answer. Eloquent as always, Cat."
"Thank you."
"But what about the humanitarian consequences? The harassment of Asians will continue in the west, the execution of Jews as 'rootless cosmopolitans'.."
"That they're doing so in New York has never been confirmed, and anyway, they're sending down Quebecois special investigators," Catherine answered. "Which is one secret I don't mind sharing with you. At any rate, Tom, we can't feed people as it stands. If you were to send me a million homosexual refugees just freed from God's Will Camps, half of them would be dead of starvation in a month."
"At least they'd die free, I think you'd say."
"Unfortunately for you, I think there is more freedom and happiness to be had, or at least that may be had, by my attempting to bring this war to a victorious conclusion for my government and my oath-sworn country that I serve, than by proclaiming myself ruler by a grandiose title I have not earned, and proceeding to launch endless bloody suppressions against every single, of many, groups that would challenge my rule. And all the while no-doubt living in some fortified compound with a pistol underneath my pillow out of fear of assassination by those who fondly remember the freedoms we all have lost...
"And anyway, I don't trust your government. I trust your word, but they'd sideline you if they gave it and then chose not to suppress the God's Will in favour of a quick victory. Not to suppress it, perhaps, because the only reason they raided that camp in Tennessee in the first place was the principle of States' Rights you have, the refusal to let one's citizens suffer like that as a mere point of law, with no morality and perhaps much approval behind the act."
"You.." Thomas' face hardened. "Do you really think I'd do that?"
"No, but some of your colleagues, perhaps." Catherine shrugged. "We are on opposite sides of a war. Opinions sharpen. People go mad. The stress makes whole societies go mad. Beware when you go back home. That is what I advise you. You may be seeking to recreate old America; how many others in the Free States, however, are seeking to recreate Israel of the Judges? Rather more than you might like to acknowledge, I dare to suspect."
Thomas was frowning as he answered. "You underestimate, I think, as many people have. But it's no matter. I can see that neither humanitarianism nor personal glory will budge you from your course. Fair enough. You were always loyal to a damned fault, and I warned them about that one. They wanted me to go anyway."
"Figured as much."
"You know, Cat. As long you have an army, you can change your mind. And," he grimaced, "I daresay it's also only as long as you have an army that you're safe."
"Probably true." She agreed with an expressionless face, keeping her thoughts to herself on that matter, and then bringing the conversation to a close: "So what shall I do with you?"
"Hopefully not a seven man firing squad."
Catherine, this time, laughed. "Of course not. Brutal, I am, but an uncivilized savage? Certainly not. However secretly you came here, you did come offering truce, and, well, you're a friend. I'll contact the my counterpart across the lines and arrange a fourty-eight hour cease-fire to recover the wounded. During that I'll have you repatriated across the lines. Until then, you can remain aboard my train as my guest. Under guard, but in your own quarters, and with my wine cellar and chef at your disposal. I know you're quite the gourmand, and you probably haven't eaten well since leaving Richmond."
"I am sure you manage to eat as well on campaign as I do in my nation's capitol," Thomas answered with a fervent smile. "Thank you. It is nice to think that in the midst of all of this we could hold a civilized meeting."
"Well, perhaps it is the little gestures which give us hope in savage times, of a more genteel future," she offered in riposte after a moment's thought.
"I'd drink to that."
"Then let's."
November 14th, 2047.
Provo, Utah, FedGov
Military District Six.
A Lion in Winter...
"I'm surprised you came, Tom."
"Well, we're old college friends, Catherine. I gathered that if any of us could speak to you, it would be me. So I volunteered. The government did not want to let me go in such a crucial time," the somewhat portly man with dark beard answered to the slight Asian woman across the table from him.
"Good point." She poured two glasses out of a bottle of madeira and nudged one over. The train was heated by steam, produced by waste heat from the diesel, and only after the hot exhaust had also been cycled through a turbine. And it was fitted with batteries and regenerative brakes on top of that; it was her private command train, of course, and therefore couldn't be tied to the electrified portions of the network, anyway. And the tracks to Provo had just been repaired; the city was scarcely out of enemy artillery range. It was also covered in a fairly large amount of snow. Global Warming had varied effects in numerous regions, after all, even if the trend was up.
"Why did you take up painting and music, anyway?"
"Couldn't get an engineering job," she answered. "Not after the Catholic Social Party repealed the anti-discrimination provisions in California, anyway. Hell, I figure most of my own people don't realize I have science training. But I suppose everyone in the Free States knows now, heh." She toyed with the glass idly.
"Well, I am the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Virginia," he answered with faux-modesty, and allowed himself a chuckle. "This is a rather odd meeting, fifteen years later..."
"It is. I suppose you won't tell me how you got here."
"Of course not."
They sipped their madeira. "So why are you here?"
"I admire you enormously, Cat. You know I've never held your background against you; you're one of the most subtle, quietly intelligent people I know. If you're a eunuch, then you're the equal of Narses."
"Thanks for the comparison. Perhaps I'll be lucky enough to imitate Taginae on your Army of Colorado," she replied with a sly grin, unbothered by the questioning of her sexuality that she was long used to.
"Heh. We rather hope not," Thomas answered simply. "Let's put it simply. We'd rather not that we were fighting you."
"You know the government's terms. Surrender Iowa, Missouri, your recent advances into Minnesota and Ohio, all of Illinois and Indiana that you control, the same with Maryland and West Virginia.. Abandon the siege of D.C. Cede to us Wyoming, Nebraska, the Dakotas and Montana, and all of Canada. We retain Idaho and Nevada, Arizona and Utah, by right of conquest. Plebiscite in Colorado about whether or not to rejoin the FedGov. Withdraw from Florida and recognize its independence."
"You know those terms aren't acceptable to us. We can't abandon member states to be devoured by the centralizing tendencies of the current FedGov, Cat, and you know it. Surely you haven't become so doctrinaire...?"
"Well, I am a syndicalist, as you've always known. My adherence to Proudhon, however, is rather overrated," she answered, taking another sip of the madeira and intentionally dodging the question.
"You know what I'm talking about. Your people, your fellow Asians, are abused by the black gangs running your cities in the west. You are likely on a target for a purge the moment the war is over in your favour..."
"Oh, come, I'm Beval's Zhukov," she laughed softly. "And if they retire me, well, I rather want to go back to my family on the farm. I have five lovers waiting for me..."
"And it's your general's salary which is keeping them from starving, like as not."
"Point conceded. So what are you proposing?"
"Your soldiers love you. General Taipal would follow you in suppressing the black mobs. You could count on the loyalty of every Army in the west. Accept a cease-fire with us. We'll abandon Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, western Montana beyond the continental divide, and Alberta to you. You can organize the west as you like, and we will quickly force the damned Quebecois pulling the strings in the east to seek terms. And we'll have the leisure to do it after we've smashed the God's Will states to pieces. Of that you have my word; you surely heard about our raid on Tennessee."
"I did," Catherine nodded. "Thank you, by the way. That means something to me, and I confess I had hoped at the time that you'd had a hand in it. We're both Tech students, and I rather like to think the best of my old alumni there."
"Blacksburg is still fairly prosperous, with such an important resource as our Alma Mater," Thomas answered, smiling genteelly. "It is not a bad place, even in the present chaos and poverty. As for those states given over to savage and theocratic governments, Virginia and those like us do plan to chastise them. Their bizarre theories and doctrinaire violence are hampering the formation of a proper Confederate government which would revive the old spirit of the United States. I'd like to hang Governor Horsley of Georgia from a tree with my own hands, personally...."
"Seven man firing squad," Catherine faked a yawn. "Get down to it. Because I have no interest in becoming known as the ambitious general whose drive for power destroyed the last remnants of the United States and established herself as personal military dictator of the west of America. No, not interested."
"How about Empress? We wouldn't stop you. Nobody would by this point. And I fully believe you're capable of it."
"Well, I'm certainly capable of murdering tens of thousands of civilians. Already did that in Salt Lake City, more or less, by pinning them up and bombarding the place with gas artillery. I suppose I have it in me to do the same thing to Oakland, West Sacramento, Watts, and Compton. Running an Empire, though, is more than firing mustard gas shells down the iron sights at gang-bangers."
"And you have the talent and determination required to do so. We'd recognize you immediately on the success of your seizure of power, Cat. The Russians would certainly do the same. You are not wedded to the communistic aspirations of the FedGov; why take their commands for longer? Why settle for anything less than proclaiming yourself Empress of California?"
"You appeal to my ego, which is large," she answered in a hushed whisper, and then, with a bit of fragility, almost like she were genuinely uncertain... "Tom, would I really make a good Sovereign?"
"Yes, absolutely."
She reached back, tapped a few buttons, and music filled the railcar.
Thomas Ryan listened very intently to it for several minutes, and then turned back, brow furrowed. "Shostakovich, Opus No.119, The Execution of Stepan Razin."
"Just listen for a while."
And so they did listen, for more than twenty-five minutes, for the piece was nearly thirty minutes long, and a very incredible epic. But toward the end, Catherine Tang closed her eyes, leaned back, and began to translate the words, singing delicately in her low contralto. Not a precise translation, but the meaning, clear enough: "I led you in this war, for you, for the people! I did it, because I thought that I would a better Tsar than he, a good Tsar." And here, the translation became exact: "But I have learned my lesson--There are NO good Tsars!"
The music reached its incredible, savage crescendo, and she narrated, gently: "And they took Stepan Razin off the cart and brought him to the chopping block--and struck off his head! But leering, leering, when the face of Stepan was held up for the Tsar, his eyes were leering, with such dread horror, that the Tsar was chilled and felt no happiness at the death of his enemy, this great Rebel, Stenka Razin."
Thomas exhaled very slowly in a heavy sigh. "And that, I suppose, is your answer. Eloquent as always, Cat."
"Thank you."
"But what about the humanitarian consequences? The harassment of Asians will continue in the west, the execution of Jews as 'rootless cosmopolitans'.."
"That they're doing so in New York has never been confirmed, and anyway, they're sending down Quebecois special investigators," Catherine answered. "Which is one secret I don't mind sharing with you. At any rate, Tom, we can't feed people as it stands. If you were to send me a million homosexual refugees just freed from God's Will Camps, half of them would be dead of starvation in a month."
"At least they'd die free, I think you'd say."
"Unfortunately for you, I think there is more freedom and happiness to be had, or at least that may be had, by my attempting to bring this war to a victorious conclusion for my government and my oath-sworn country that I serve, than by proclaiming myself ruler by a grandiose title I have not earned, and proceeding to launch endless bloody suppressions against every single, of many, groups that would challenge my rule. And all the while no-doubt living in some fortified compound with a pistol underneath my pillow out of fear of assassination by those who fondly remember the freedoms we all have lost...
"And anyway, I don't trust your government. I trust your word, but they'd sideline you if they gave it and then chose not to suppress the God's Will in favour of a quick victory. Not to suppress it, perhaps, because the only reason they raided that camp in Tennessee in the first place was the principle of States' Rights you have, the refusal to let one's citizens suffer like that as a mere point of law, with no morality and perhaps much approval behind the act."
"You.." Thomas' face hardened. "Do you really think I'd do that?"
"No, but some of your colleagues, perhaps." Catherine shrugged. "We are on opposite sides of a war. Opinions sharpen. People go mad. The stress makes whole societies go mad. Beware when you go back home. That is what I advise you. You may be seeking to recreate old America; how many others in the Free States, however, are seeking to recreate Israel of the Judges? Rather more than you might like to acknowledge, I dare to suspect."
Thomas was frowning as he answered. "You underestimate, I think, as many people have. But it's no matter. I can see that neither humanitarianism nor personal glory will budge you from your course. Fair enough. You were always loyal to a damned fault, and I warned them about that one. They wanted me to go anyway."
"Figured as much."
"You know, Cat. As long you have an army, you can change your mind. And," he grimaced, "I daresay it's also only as long as you have an army that you're safe."
"Probably true." She agreed with an expressionless face, keeping her thoughts to herself on that matter, and then bringing the conversation to a close: "So what shall I do with you?"
"Hopefully not a seven man firing squad."
Catherine, this time, laughed. "Of course not. Brutal, I am, but an uncivilized savage? Certainly not. However secretly you came here, you did come offering truce, and, well, you're a friend. I'll contact the my counterpart across the lines and arrange a fourty-eight hour cease-fire to recover the wounded. During that I'll have you repatriated across the lines. Until then, you can remain aboard my train as my guest. Under guard, but in your own quarters, and with my wine cellar and chef at your disposal. I know you're quite the gourmand, and you probably haven't eaten well since leaving Richmond."
"I am sure you manage to eat as well on campaign as I do in my nation's capitol," Thomas answered with a fervent smile. "Thank you. It is nice to think that in the midst of all of this we could hold a civilized meeting."
"Well, perhaps it is the little gestures which give us hope in savage times, of a more genteel future," she offered in riposte after a moment's thought.
"I'd drink to that."
"Then let's."
The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth. -- Wikipedia's No Original Research policy page.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
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CaptainChewbacca
- Browncoat Wookiee
- Posts: 15746
- Joined: 2003-05-06 02:36am
- Location: Deep beneath Boatmurdered.
Good story, but we really need some maps to get an idea of the scope of the conflict.
P.S. If you wanted to clear out West Sacramento, you wouldn't have to invade, just blow the levvies.
P.S. If you wanted to clear out West Sacramento, you wouldn't have to invade, just blow the levvies.
Stuart: The only problem is, I'm losing track of which universe I'm in.
You kinda look like Jesus. With a lightsaber.- Peregrin Toker
You kinda look like Jesus. With a lightsaber.- Peregrin Toker
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The Duchess of Zeon
- Gözde
- Posts: 14566
- Joined: 2002-09-18 01:06am
- Location: Exiled in the Pale of Settlement.
There was one posted early. I suppose I could do some other maps, but now that I have this vignette done I'm going to skip further ahead, and focus on many other places and tend to skip ahead further.CaptainChewbacca wrote:Good story, but we really need some maps to get an idea of the scope of the conflict.
P.S. If you wanted to clear out West Sacramento, you wouldn't have to invade, just blow the levvies.
The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth. -- Wikipedia's No Original Research policy page.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
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The Grim Squeaker
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 10315
- Joined: 2005-06-01 01:44am
- Location: A different time-space Continuum
- Contact:
A fine little chapter , nice to see this updated.
, nice to see this updated.Photography
Genius is always allowed some leeway, once the hammer has been pried from its hands and the blood has been cleaned up.
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.
Genius is always allowed some leeway, once the hammer has been pried from its hands and the blood has been cleaned up.
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.
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Illuminatus Primus
- All Seeing Eye
- Posts: 15774
- Joined: 2002-10-12 02:52pm
- Location: Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Contact:
Is "North American FedGov" the literal name of the new state or is that just what everyone calls it? Likewise, "Free States' Union" sounds more like internal reference or ideology then how they formally bill themselves in diplomatic relationships. And the FedGov's antisemetic? Spontaneous pogroms?
"You know what the problem with Hollywood is. They make shit. Unbelievable. Unremarkable. Shit." - Gabriel Shear, Swordfish
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi in reply to an incredibly stupid post.
The Fifth Illuminatus Primus | Warsie | Skeptical Empiricist | Florida Gator | Sustainability Advocate | Libertarian Socialist |
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi in reply to an incredibly stupid post.
The Fifth Illuminatus Primus | Warsie | Skeptical Empiricist | Florida Gator | Sustainability Advocate | Libertarian Socialist |
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The Duchess of Zeon
- Gözde
- Posts: 14566
- Joined: 2002-09-18 01:06am
- Location: Exiled in the Pale of Settlement.
Rather it's a reference to something I'm going to turn around and address, namely the fact that a bunch of Black Supremacists are dominating the security forces in New York City, and remember what Jesse Jackson called New York back in the 1980s: "Himeytown!". Black racism against Jews is extremely prevalent, and the tendency of the internal security forces in the east (and California, where they're racist against Asians) has had some negative results. These are not official government policy, which is 100% based around official tolerance of all peoples and differences, but rather the practical result of letting gangers with glocks enforce martial law.Illuminatus Primus wrote:Is "North American FedGov" the literal name of the new state or is that just what everyone calls it? Likewise, "Free States' Union" sounds more like internal reference or ideology then how they formally bill themselves in diplomatic relationships. And the FedGov's antisemetic? Spontaneous pogroms?
The North American FedGov's formal name is the North American Federated Union of Canada and the United States of America. This is unwieldy, so it's called the FedGov almost universally, including by its own people. The Free States' Union is the official name of that alliance, which is more like the European Union than anything else; all of the states are independent and still conduct their own foreign policy to some extent. It's even looser than the Confederacy was historically.
The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth. -- Wikipedia's No Original Research policy page.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
Ah...and here I was expecting Utah to be the independent republic of Deseret...
What about Texas? Squeezing any blood from the Permian Basin?
What about Texas? Squeezing any blood from the Permian Basin?
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."