Simon_Jester wrote:I'd just use the bribe method first rather than spend many hours trying to do EEG scans on a demon in hopes of identifying the "entanglement signal node."
Trying to destroy the demon's ability to make decisions is overengineering the problem; any rational demon can be bribed into compliance, probably with relative ease.
I just thought that we might as well get some use out of the demon holdouts, like those people in Stas's fic. But the whole program would be like the Soviet gulags, in that the resources used could probably be used better.
So which demons could we trust? It'd have to be a pretty small one too. Trying to fit Abigor into the cart would be a problem.
Though if we put a demon or sensitive in the cart, what's to stop the angels from picking up on her/him?
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
Baughn wrote:"Something that makes a very big bang"?
Gee, I wonder what that could be.
I don't think Mike-Lan would be stupid enough to try another shipment from Burma, surely he's keyed into CNN(or rather, has people tracking it and reporting to him) and would see that Burma has been defeated. He'll have to find a new supplier. He could work with narco-guerrillas in South America or some random warlord in equatorial Africa. In fact he probably has other suppliers already, as a contingency. He seems smart enough for that.
CypherLH wrote:I don't think Mike-Lan would be stupid enough to try another shipment from Burma, surely he's keyed into CNN(or rather, has people tracking it and reporting to him) and would see that Burma has been defeated.
The leadership could appear to safely relocate to some nearby neutral region, at least as far as the journalists are told.
He'll have to find a new supplier. He could work with narco-guerrillas in South America or some random warlord in equatorial Africa. In fact he probably has other suppliers already, as a contingency. He seems smart enough for that.
Keep in mind that the Allies are also smart enough to zero in on any major drug dealers as possible links to him.
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
CypherLH wrote:I don't think Mike-Lan would be stupid enough to try another shipment from Burma, surely he's keyed into CNN(or rather, has people tracking it and reporting to him) and would see that Burma has been defeated.
The leadership could appear to safely relocate to some nearby neutral region, at least as far as the journalists are told.
He'll have to find a new supplier. He could work with narco-guerrillas in South America or some random warlord in equatorial Africa. In fact he probably has other suppliers already, as a contingency. He seems smart enough for that.
Keep in mind that the Allies are also smart enough to zero in on any major drug dealers as possible links to him.
Indeed. Michael is buying "party packs' of drugs - some of this some of that, something for everyone - but in almost industrial quantities. Such suppliers are rare so it would be beyond prudent to have multiple sources. And in any event, the mentions of NK and Burma do not indicate that they are the only suppliers.
But in what coin does Michael make payment? Precious gems and metals would go just so far with a warlord who wants cold hard cash and/or weapons. So that heavenly payment would need to be fenced.
Michael, as I've commented before, is too smart by half for his own good sometimes. Or maybe millenia of being the top general in heaven and a hero at that has atrophied what little humility he as an arch angel has.
It really is a bit of a shame that Uriel got away again though at this rate, if he comes again, it may be third time lucky. He'd either have to be "volunteered" or strongly accompanied though I would suspect!
So now, what's Michael to do with Uriel. Yahweh wants to see him, yesterday so to speak, but if he is taken straight to Yahweh, perhaps after a drink of water or so, what's Yahweh to think of him?
What's Yahweh to think of Michael's conduct of the war? Wuffles and now Uriel?
Can info about Uriel's condition be kept close hold? If not how does that effect heaven's mood and oes that really assist Michael?
The story is developing well Stuart. Every answer leads to more questions.
JBG wrote:
But in what coin does Michael make payment? Precious gems and metals would go just so far with a warlord who wants cold hard cash and/or weapons. So that heavenly payment would need to be fenced.
Michael, as I've commented before, is too smart by half for his own good sometimes. Or maybe millenia of being the top general in heaven and a hero at that has atrophied what little humility he as an arch angel has.
It really is a bit of a shame that Uriel got away again though at this rate, if he comes again, it may be third time lucky. He'd either have to be "volunteered" or strongly accompanied though I would suspect!
So now, what's Michael to do with Uriel. Yahweh wants to see him, yesterday so to speak, but if he is taken straight to Yahweh, perhaps after a drink of water or so, what's Yahweh to think of him?
What's Yahweh to think of Michael's conduct of the war? Wuffles and now Uriel?
Can info about Uriel's condition be kept close hold? If not how does that effect heaven's mood and oes that really assist Michael?
Michael could pay off the warlords in gold, which could be theoretically used as a form of currency. It might not be practical, but most warlords aren't very bright to begin with.
It probably won't occur to Yah yah to remove Michael from command, since Michael has been in command so long the he probably won't even realize that there is an alternative. Even if he does, who can he replace Mikey with?
Michael could probably suppress info about Uriel's condition, given that he's kept a lot of other secrets. Provided the other Archangels don't want to see him or whatever.
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
The comment about Sotomayor and the need for Empathy was taken out of context. All judges are influenced by emotions in their rulings. To be without empathy means that you are a sociophath. Is a sociopath the only person who can make an objective judicial decision.
JBG wrote:So now, what's Michael to do with Uriel. Yahweh wants to see him, yesterday so to speak, but if he is taken straight to Yahweh, perhaps after a drink of water or so, what's Yahweh to think of him?
What's Yahweh to think of Michael's conduct of the war? Wuffles and now Uriel?
Can info about Uriel's condition be kept close hold? If not how does that effect heaven's mood and oes that really assist Michael?
It seems to me that Michael would not foolishly attempt to keep Uriel's condition secret from Yahweh. He seems smart enough to devise plans (even improvised ones) that work with the situation at hand rather than sticking his head in the sand and trying to delay an inevitable reckoning.
My guess is that he would bring Uriel before Yahweh and simply allow him to do all his own talking. Off-hand, I can't think of anything Uriel could say which would incriminate Michael. Michael relayed factually accurate accounts of what happened to Yahweh and he relayed accurate orders from Yahweh to Uriel. The fact that he did a lot of spin-doctoring in the process won't affect the facts of Uriel's testimony before Yahweh, and the fact that he personally rescued Uriel from the humans will pretty much silence any suspicion that he deliberately hung Uriel out to dry. The only thing he did was fail to inform Yahweh of how dangerous the humans have become, and it remains to be seen if Uriel can successfully convince Yahweh that humans really are so powerful. Even if Uriel could convince Yahweh of this, it does not mean Michael will necessarily take the fall; Yahweh was very reluctant himself to accept such a thing, so Michael could, at worst, be accused of sharing Yahweh's error.
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
"Michael could pay off the warlords in gold, which could be theoretically used as a form of currency. It might not be practical, but most warlords aren't very bright to begin with."
But they get to where they are or stay there through rat cunning. A whole lot of gold suddenly appearing in a country without it's own gold sources may be detectable. Unless it can be exchanged for something more practicable it is just a soft pretty yellowish metal. Michael's means of exchange are not trivial, I'm not saying that, just that they are quite limited in their scope.
"It probably won't occur to Yah yah to remove Michael from command, since Michael has been in command so long the he probably won't even realize that there is an alternative. Even if he does, who can he replace Mikey with?"
Very true, Yahweh seems to repose much trust in Michael. And probably for good reason. For better or for worse, Michael is Yahweh's man for the job, given the way angelic tasks/abilities are distributed.
"Michael could probably suppress info about Uriel's condition, given that he's kept a lot of other secrets. Provided the other Archangels don't want to see him or whatever."
Granted he could try. But Uriel has to come before Yahweh where all sorts of eyes and ears not under Michael's control will see him and hear him.
We've seen Michael playing political games. There's no reason why others would not also play, either ordinarily or when what Michael is really on about becomes clear to them.
JBG wrote:So now, what's Michael to do with Uriel. Yahweh wants to see him, yesterday so to speak, but if he is taken straight to Yahweh, perhaps after a drink of water or so, what's Yahweh to think of him?
What's Yahweh to think of Michael's conduct of the war? Wuffles and now Uriel?
Can info about Uriel's condition be kept close hold? If not how does that effect heaven's mood and oes that really assist Michael?
It seems to me that Michael would not foolishly attempt to keep Uriel's condition secret from Yahweh. He seems smart enough to devise plans (even improvised ones) that work with the situation at hand rather than sticking his head in the sand and trying to delay an inevitable reckoning.
My guess is that he would bring Uriel before Yahweh and simply allow him to do all his own talking. Off-hand, I can't think of anything Uriel could say which would incriminate Michael. Michael relayed factually accurate accounts of what happened to Yahweh and he relayed accurate orders from Yahweh to Uriel. The fact that he did a lot of spin-doctoring in the process won't affect the facts of Uriel's testimony before Yahweh, and the fact that he personally rescued Uriel from the humans will pretty much silence any suspicion that he deliberately hung Uriel out to dry. The only thing he did was fail to inform Yahweh of how dangerous the humans have become, and it remains to be seen if Uriel can successfully convince Yahweh that humans really are so powerful. Even if Uriel could convince Yahweh of this, it does not mean Michael will necessarily take the fall; Yahweh was very reluctant himself to accept such a thing, so Michael could, at worst, be accused of sharing Yahweh's error.
All sorts of cross posts! The Board says that it is after 10pm on Tuesday. Here it is after 1pm on Wednesday!
Good points Darth Wong.
Michael wanted Uriel out of the way, ie here and dead, but now has to work out how to leverage the situation to his advantage. In particular the issue of the power of human weaponry and sensors.
His problem is in having provided some of the recent targetting that have led to the death of Wuffles and to Uriel being hurt on two occasions. Which was more or less what he intended. But, being intelligent, slippery and beyond reproach he should ride this one out. However, if that is the case, then knowing Stuart Michael should beware of unintended consequences!
Stuart wrote:I think something along those lines would have to be instituted. There are circumstances in which witnesses can testify via videocamera so I'd guess that would be expanded.
It's prudent, but since I'm thinking on it, I'm also a Better Living Through Chemistry guy. What shoots out of Luga's armpits may be Pheromones on Crack, they are still chemicals. I don't see any reason why you couldn't get a good healthy swab from volunteer succubi to characterize what exactly the hormone is that makes their pheromones effect the human brain so pointedly. Once you have that information, you are 7/10ths of the way to figuring out how to neutralize the functional groups on the hormone that let it bind to receptors in the brain. Studying human pheromones get you alot of the way there already, too.
I'm sure DIM(O)N could find some biochemistry and human physiology research groups at a university that would be more than glad to take a fat government grant in exchange for making demon grade deoderant (there must be a Succubus out there that could spokesdemon Secret for Demons).*
Well, we haven't finished with this arc yet, not buy a long shot. So Spoiler
one of the smaller outcomes is Luga decides to get a law degree
. The "other" solution to the jury problem is a jury consisting entirely of succubae. This may, of course, result in the verdict of 'Guilty' being replaced by 'dinner'. This does highlight something else, although a 6 foot succubus may not quite have the open menace of a 20 - 30 foot traditional demon, she is in fact far more dangerous to have around.
That's troubling. I thought lawyers and hell worked in a one way direction.
EDIT: *It occurs to me that this would involve multiple grad students in gas masks squeegeeing down succubi running on treadmills. I am very entertained by this.
"Show me an angel and I will paint you one." - Gustav Courbet
"Quetzalcoatl, plumed serpent of the Aztecs... you are a pussy." - Stephen Colbert
"Really, I'm jealous of how much smarter than me he is. I'm not an expert on anything and he's an expert on things he knows nothing about." - Me, concerning a bullshitter
Pelranius wrote:So which demons could we trust? It'd have to be a pretty small one too. Trying to fit Abigor into the cart would be a problem.
Though if we put a demon or sensitive in the cart, what's to stop the angels from picking up on her/him?
Who says we have to trust him? If we can find one, and if we can mask him from other sensitives, we offer him a huge reward for anchoring our little stairway to Heaven. He'd be an idiot to pass that up in exchange for the vague chance that the guys on the Heaven side would reward him just as lavishly for betraying us rather than just killing him out of hand.
Pelranius wrote:Michael could pay off the warlords in gold, which could be theoretically used as a form of currency. It might not be practical, but most warlords aren't very bright to begin with.
They may not be very educated, but they're good at keeping their priorities straight or they wouldn't be able to survive in the job. Don't count on someone being stupid if they're somehow managing to maintain the loyalty of large numbers of armed men and escape death at the hands of rivals and/or their own government.
Michael could probably suppress info about Uriel's condition, given that he's kept a lot of other secrets. Provided the other Archangels don't want to see him or whatever.
After this disaster, Yahweh will want to see him.
Sean Mulligan wrote:The comment about Sotomayor and the need for Empathy was taken out of context. All judges are influenced by emotions in their rulings. To be without empathy means that you are a sociophath. Is a sociopath the only person who can make an objective judicial decision.
JBG, Simon_Jester: (pardon me but I felt like lumping the replies together)
We can probably be sure the demons won't betray us to Heaven, but what about the other pantheons? I can't see them just sitting on their hands and watching.
Michael could speed up Uriel's healing (I don't know how, maybe feed him good food or whatnot or let him listen to a chorus) so that Uriel looks rather chumpish and half hearted.
Delaying for a few days might work since Yah yah doesn't seem to have a very good grasp of the passage of time (insane people usually don't).
The warlords could just hoard the gold and dole it out bit by bit to pay for their expenditures, but then that would raise issues about keeping all that gold safe. However, gold showing up in Africa shouldn't be too suspicious, given that some rebel groups fund themselves that (though in that case they might want to take Michael's gems).
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
Remember what Sam Vimes does in "Night Watch" when he finally catches up with Carcer at the end, in the graveyard? [further information excised because I can't get spoiler tags to work; read it yourself if you like...
That is my idea of a good ending that punishes the evil. I believe that civilization is bigger than its own villains and has the power to move beyond them. And the way it does so is by defeating them while following its own rules, rather than diving head first into an adolescent revenge fantasy.
I'm not immune to the vindictive glee of watching a true bastard get what they deserve; I liked Dirty Harry, for instance. But that doesn't mean I think it's the best kind of ending, especially in a story that is largely about the advantages of civilization over barbarism.
You raise a good point and I agree with you while the primal endings can be enjoyable on a "gut" level they can also tend to raise troubling questions if you think about applying the message they deliver on a wider scale.
Luckily given that apperently the prosecution has some other evidence up its sleeve we may yet get to see Micheal's agent get what's comming to her in an entirely legal manner thus making it so that there's no need for angry mobs/vigilantes to get involved.
Pelranius wrote:JBG, Simon_Jester: (pardon me but I felt like lumping the replies together)
We can probably be sure the demons won't betray us to Heaven, but what about the other pantheons? I can't see them just sitting on their hands and watching.
Wait, what? Why would that matter? I mean, we're talking about a very specific tactical operation here, putting one demon in a cart to act as a living locator beacon. This is not a long-term loyalty issue. Are we even talking about the same problem here?
The warlords could just hoard the gold and dole it out bit by bit to pay for their expenditures, but then that would raise issues about keeping all that gold safe. However, gold showing up in Africa shouldn't be too suspicious, given that some rebel groups fund themselves that (though in that case they might want to take Michael's gems).
True. A lot of them must already have infrastructure in place to fence gold and diamonds and the like.
Pelranius wrote:Michael could pay off the warlords in gold, which could be theoretically used as a form of currency.
Perhaps you didn't quite mean it that way, but I find it ironic to refer to gold as a "theoretical" currency, when historically gold has been THE standard for currency for thousands of years. It's only in recent decades we have switched to fiat money, essentially backed by nothing more than belief.
It's still a habit for many people around the world to hoard gold (typically as old coins and jewelry) as a hedge against a banking system collapse, inflation and sudden currency devaluations. I would think warlords would be very happy to accept payment in gold.
bcoogler wrote:Perhaps you didn't quite mean it that way, but I find it ironic to refer to gold as a "theoretical" currency, when historically gold has been THE standard for currency for thousands of years. It's only in recent decades we have switched to fiat money, essentially backed by nothing more than belief.
I must object to that. Silver was the standard for currency. I was under the impression that it was such until the Spanish started shipping Gold back from the New World, but a quick skim of wikipedia (sorry) indicates that Silver was an economic standard through the 19th century. Silver Standard, and a interesting read on the Gold Standard.
As for being backed up by belief, I must state that the purpose of paper money (Itself not a recent invention - iirc, it was used during the Crusades/Religious pilgramages as part of the banking system. Can someone back me up or shoot me down on this?) was to carry large sums of money without carrying around large amounts of precious metals. Paper currency, in theory, is backed by monies contained in the printing governments treasury. Ft. Knox, for example, contains (contained?) some of this physical currency.
Now, to tie this all into the Salvation War - what form of currency would Hell use, given that it appeared to be in a barter system before the arrival of Earth? I don't think they'll adopt the American Dollar, but seek their own - and how would they back it? Actually, thinking about that makes me believe that Stuart will handle that in The Lords of War.
Temple of Ceaseless Compliance, Eternal City, Heaven
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. Oh nameless one, Lord and God of all, we prostrate ourselves in your presence service. Please accent these trivial offerings of our strength and support that they may lessen the great burdens of your everlasting care for us."
Lemuel-Lan-Michael was sprawled on his face in front of the altar. This was a small temple, one that he had never heard of before and it seemed new somehow. He could smell the raw stone, the freshly-sawn wood of the altar table. It also seemed to be a poor temple, the semi-precious stones that layered the walls were of inferior quality and the workmanship seemed hurried somehow. That was all the information he could gain with the quick glances he had been able to make between choruses. Them the chant would start again and he would go along with it. Being a part of this congregation was vital if he was to maintain his cover and infiltrate the Second Conspiracy.
It didn't help matters that the case was hitting his home life. He was having to be away more and more often, for longer and longer periods. It wasn't that his mate was complaining, the duties of a female mate in Heaven were clearly defined. Serving her mate was one of them, nagging him was not. But there were ways a female could convey her displeasure and recently Lemuel-Lan had been on the receiving end of them all. The message had been quite clear, his absences from his home were not appreciated and she was even implying that there might be more behind them than his work. There were those masters of a household who might have chastised their mates for such insinuations but Lemuel-Lan was not one of them. Instead he just resented the implications and let them seethe in the back of his mind.
The latest repetition of the chorus finished, Perpetiel-Lan-Paschar rose to his feet and extinguished the bowls of burning incense that had filled the room with their odor. When he had arrived, Lemuel-Lan had found the scent of the incense pleasant but now, after six hours immersed in the aroma, the thick, clinging clouds were sickening. They hung around him, irritating his throat and stinging his eyes. His throat felt sore from the constant chanting, his stomach was turned by the smell and his head ached. In short, in a phrase that he would never dare admit in public, he felt like hell. It was almost enough to make him feel that his mate was right and that added to his distress greatly.
"Perpetiel-Lan-Paschar, we have done well tonight. Six hours of adoration will surely aid The One Above All in his care for us."
"We can but hope so, Most Lordly Ophanim, but we must beware falling victim to the sin of pride. Even our most valiant efforts are as nothing compared with those of The Nameless One. Please, Most Noble One, I crave your indulgence and beg you to excuse my impertinence but do you feel unwell?" And if you don't, we'll have to double up the dosage next time.
"My throat is sore and my head aches. But these are minor things, nothing to be concerned about."
"Perhaps I may offer a little help?" Perpetiel waved to one of the other angels who disappeared into the shadows. A few seconds later he emerged, bearing with him a cup. "We have an elixir here, one that is a sovereign remedy for a sore throat. And these." He held out a pair of tiny white tablets. "Are of wonderous efficiency in quelling the pains of a headache."
"Thank you Perpetiel-Lan." Lemuel took the tablets and swallowed them, washing them down with the contents of the cup. Although it was dark red, it wasn't the wine he had expected. Instead, it was a fruit-flavored drink, deliciously chilled. It soothed his parched throat and calmed his stomach. As he stood in the temple relishing the flavor, he felt the throbbing in his head slowly start to subside. "These are indeed of marvellous effect. What are they?"
"The tablets are called Tylenol, Most Noble One. And the drink is called Gatorade."
"I have not heard of these?" Lemuel was curious but within the curiosity was a thrill of pleasure. Was he finally on to something?
Perpetiel looked guilty. "They are human products, Most Noble One."
Lemuel looked at him, his bearing crying out in condemnation. "Human products? Here? This is forbidden?"
"An old rule Most High, from the days when humans were foolish and ignorant. But, if they help us provide support to The One Above All, is not their use justified? The ban on them dates when their use was for evil and inspired by The Eternal Enemy. Yet now that Enemy is dead, killed by humans. Surely it is the use to which a thing is put that is important, not where it comes from?"
Lemuel nodded slowly, his headache already faded to a memory and his stomach calmed. "There is much wisdom in what you say Bene-Elohim. If something aids Our Most Heavenly Father, then surely there cannot be sin in it."
"This is the teaching of our temple indeed. Here, Most Noble One, take this small bottle of Tylenol, as a gift in celebration of the honor you do our small temple."
"A kind gesture and one most appreciated. We will gather again tomorrow?" Perpetiel nodded, carefully hiding his smile. Lemuel-Lan took the bottle and placed it in his robes. For the last ten nights, every time he had turned to his mate, she had refused him, claiming she had a headache. Now, if nothing else, he finally had a solution to that particular problem.
Michael's Palace, Aukumea, Heaven
Michael-Lan twisted on the couch, his body writhing. "Get those wretched things out of me!"
"They have gone deep, Greatest of the Archangels. One may have broken a bone in your shoulder and the other has penetrated far into your chest. Already your wounds close around them. We will have to cut as deep to remove them."
"They're burning me alive!" Michael gasped with pain. "What did the humans do to me?"
"They shot you." The doctor spoke with unseemly relish. "Twice. With bullets the like of which I have never seen before. I don’t think they like you."
Michael-Lan opened one eye and looked carefully at the doctor. It occurred to him that the human was speaking to him much the same way as he, Michael-Lan, spoke to Yahweh. "Get the bullets out. Now."
"All right." The doctor didn’t seem at all sympathetic but he got a long pair of probes from his bag and stuck them into the bullet hole in Michael's shoulder. The probes slid in deep and he could feel their tips touching the chips of bone in the wound. As he had feared, or hoped he wasn't quite sure which, the bullet had hit the bone in Michael's shoulder and splintered it. The bullet had penetrated more than 20 centimeters and the wound path ended in a gaping cavity, one that showed every signs of burn as well as explosive damage. The doctor reflected that human bullets had improved a lot since one had killed him a few years earlier. He probed again and this time he found the end of a solid object. Once he had it, it was relatively easy to get a grip on it and pull it out. He dropped it into a dish where it landed with a dull-sounding clinking noise.
"It's not iron or steel, something much denser and harder. Tungsten carbide probably. I'm going to have to lavage the wound."
"What?" Michael's voice was shaky. The pain from the surgery had distressed him more than he had let on.
"Lavage it. Wash the wound cavity out. There's a dozen or more fragments of bullet jacket in there, and something that looks like the residue of an incendiary mixture. Hold still, this will hurt."
The doctor worked for a few minutes then sat back. "Right, we started with your shoulder because that was the easiest one to deal with and it showed me what we face. Otherwise I would have been poking around blind. Now, the one in your chest. I ought to put you out for this, it's going to be rough."
Michael nodded weakly, if the hit in his shoulder was the easy one to repair, he didn’t want to be awake when the main event started. He felt a mask being out over his face and his doctor's voice speaking quietly. "Lee-Ann, we're going to put Michael-Lan to sleep now. Keep a careful eye on his breathing and make sure he doesn't get too much of the anaesthetic.
"Very good Doctor Gunn."
"David, please, or I'll call you Nurse Nichols. Shannon, how is our patient doing?"
"He seems stable Doctor. . . . Sorry, David. It's hard to say, his reactions are different from ours. He's sliding under now though."
"Good, let's get started. This could be risky ladies, we don’t know what the guys down there are using but it's nothing like the bullets that finished us. We can't be sure the wretched thing won't go off when we pull it out."
Shannon Lowney shuddered, the last thing she remembered from her life on Earth was the crazed man standing at the door of her clinic, firing at her. Then the blackness and waking up surrounded by the white light of Heaven, Michael-Lan standing by her to welcome her in.
Doctor David Gunn was probing the wound in Michael-Lan's chest. It was similar to the one in his shoulder but deeper, the bullet had penetrated more than 30 centimeters and gone straight through his sternum. There were bone fragments all over the wound and he had to remove each one of them. "The sternum is broken right across, whatever this bullet was, it must have been designed to penetrate armor. Suction, Lee-Ann, normal blood is bad enough, this silver stuff is a real nuisance. Another major wound cavity, the bullet looks as if it combined explosive and incendiary fillings. Both lungs are damaged and leaking blood, we'll have to over-fold to correct that. Metal fragments, at least a dozen of them."
"I'm beginning to see why we screwed Satan over so badly." Lee-Ann Nichols glanced around to make sure nobody had heard her comment. With Hell safely in human hands, being sent there wasn't the threat it had been once. Now, it might almost be interpreted as a promise. But who knew if the Angels hadn't already found a new punishment for humans who defied them. Anyway, the medical team who lived in Michael's palace had a luxurious life compared with those in the slums surrounding The Eternal City. She had a thought, suddenly, of the films she had seen of the Second World War, and of human guns surrounding The Eternal City and pouring artillery fire into it.
"Focus, Lee-Ann. This guy is our meal-ticket remember. Without him, we'd be swabbing floors at best and screaming in Hell at worst."
"Like the man who killed us." Shannon spoke with quiet hate. John Salvi had died in prison and his Second Life body hadn't been found yet, as far as they knew anyway. He was still somewhere in the Hell-Pit.
"I said focus." Gunn snapped at them. "You're lucky, the bastard who killed me is still alive, he'll duck Hell completely. More of these metal fragments in the wound. We'll have to lavage again and the lungs are still leaking. Michael's a tough one, no doubt of that."
"All the angels are."
"True. Right, as far as I can see, the wound is clear and we've got leakage down to a minimum. No bubbles. Let's get him sealed up. Get the extra sharp needles, penetrating this skin of his is a job all on its own."
A few minutes cursing and swearing later, the bullet hole in Michael's chest was sewn up. Gunn flexed his fingers and dabbed some iodine on the spots where he had jabbed himself. In a way it was quite a relief to see red blood again. "All right, he's done. Now, lets take a look at the other one."
"Do we have to? You know who he is?"
"Yeah. But treating those who need it is part of the job description. Who and what they are doesn't enter the equation. It was people who disagreed with that who killed us, remember. Now, let's see. Fragmentation damage, one eye gone, multiple broken bones, radiation burns. . . . . radiation burns? What are our boys using down there? There's been no word of them tossing a nuke."
"Shush David. They might not know about them." It was clear who Lee-Ann meant by "they".
"Surely they must. We know Michael-Lan's been to Vegas and they let a lot of them off around there in the fifties and sixties. Anyway, you're right. Don’t tell them anything we don’t have to. Now back to Uriel-Lan. Other burns, white phosphorus poisoning, severe concussion, multiple penetrating bullet wounds. Oh my, we have our work cut out ladies. Clean up the theater and wheel him in."
The Oval Office, The White House, Washington D.C.
"We've had a message from Pyongyang, Mister President. Kim Jong-Il has offered to join the Human Alliance and contribute a fair proportion of the North Korean Army to the H.E.A."
"Has he now? What does he want?" President Obama was wary. His early optimism about international relations had become more clouded with experience.
"He wants a seat on the Council at Yamantau. . . . ."
"No way. The Council is the preserve of the nations that have been in this war since the beginning. The ones that put up a fight from the start. North Korea let our people do all the bleeding and dying, no way are they coming in and grabbing a seat now."
"Prime Minister Putin said the same thing Sir. Only he added a few spectacular Russian obscenities. Very impressive vocabulary the Prime Minister has." Hillary Clinton looked quite respectful. She'd memorized the more lurid language for use in the next row with her husband. "They want free oil, enough to run their military and civil economies and then some, free food for their entire population. They want military equipment to bring their armed forces up to the latest standards including F-22s and M1A4s. Not the B2 version, they want the 120mm gun tanks. The list of military equipment alone goes on for quite a few pages.
Obama sighed. Negotiating with the North Koreans was positively painful. "Who do we send?" His tone was almost despairing.
"I thought Joe Lieberman Sir."
"Nice one. Do it. Now, what else?"
"Myanmar Sir. There's a ceasefire in place and we've left the previous junta in charge of the northern third of the country. For a while anyway. They're trying to contact Michael-Lan-Yahweh, they're telling him they have a huge stockpile of drugs they have to get rid of before we capture it and burn the lot. So they're offering it to him for whatever he wants to pay. Better a low price than none. But, there's no reply as yet. We're still hoping of course. If it doesn’t work, we'll head north and finish taking over."
"Thank you, Hillary. Janet, internal security?"
"We're clearing up after the FBI's screw-up. Judge Candlass made the right choice in my opinion but its made rolling up the network that much more difficult. One thing does amuse our people, commenting on the whole mess, Lugasharmanaska said that succubae used to recruit the extremely religious by pretending to be angels."
"That's no surprise." Leon Panetta wasn't impressed. "False flag recruiting is as old as humanity. It all goes to show, if you're going to betray your country, do it for the money. You'll never have any idea who you're really working for."
The working group laughed. "Funny, that's what Luga said as well. Problem is though, the FBI can't use the list they wormed out of Branch. Since they got the list illegally, any arrest they make based on it will be illegal and any information they got from those arrests will also be illegal. So, they have to pretend it doesn’t exist. We've sent copies of it around the world though, if anybody on it turns up somewhere where the controls aren't so tight, well, you know the rest."
"That sounds like extraordinary rendition." Holder was visibly angered.
"No, we're saying if anybody on the list leaves the country voluntarily and goes somewhere by their own choice, that's good for us. We're not picking them off the streets and sending them. The law enforcement agencies are continuing their investigations from the admissible evidence and that's quite productive. Anyway, we'll see how well we can stop up the leaks to Heaven."
"Doctor Surlethe, anything to tell us?"
"No good news, no, Sir. We have a portal signal from the Uriel rescue and we're analyzing it now. Once we’ve done that, perhaps we can duplicate it."
"We still haven’t got through to Heaven?"
"No Sir. After trying for more than a year, we're still stuck. One thing Sir, not scientific. We're coming up to the first anniversary of the victory over Hell. We ought to have a celebration, a big one. People are getting dispirited, tired of the hardship and deadlock. Some really good street parties, a few parades, lifting the meat ration for a week or so will work wonders."
Obama nodded. "Good idea. We'll announce it next week. Make it a three-day vacation and tell everybody there'll be another when Heaven falls. Thank you people."
Nations do not survive by setting examples for others
Nations survive by making examples of others
I wonder how long it will take for Uriel to fully regenerate, if Yahweh gives him that chance. He seems to be in rather poor condition. Not poor enough, I'm afraid.
Ah, Lemuel, discovering the wonders of human beverages. I knew they would be human products the second you mentioned white tablets.
I do wonder what will happen with him in part 3...
"If scientists and inventors who develop disease cures and useful technologies don't get lifetime royalties, I'd like to know what fucking rationale you have for some guy getting lifetime royalties for writing an episode of Full House." - Mike Wong
"The present air situation in the Pacific is entirely the result of fighting a fifth rate air power." - U.S. Navy Memo - 24 July 1944
This might not be a popular thing to say, but the issues the conquest of hell has caused with abortion may be more due to general squick, than reason.
Consider this: Most of the fetuses that end up in hell will have brains that are too poorly developed to host a consciousness. Indeed, that's the main criteria for allowing abortions in the first place, and many of them essentially don't have a brain, period.
Apart from convincing me that the system is just singling out humans arbitrarily, this also implies that, since they don't seem to grow in hell, killing them isn't really more of a bad thing than eating animals, rationally speaking. Letting them live probably classes as animal cruelty, though.
EDIT:
What would be more troublesome is if some of them could, given time actually achieve some level of intelligence despite the lack of hardware. I.. wouldn't want to have to consider that scenario, but.. what happens if you freeze them? Would their regeneration allow them to survive cryogenic freezing without harm? In that case, we'd have all the time we need to figure it out.
JonB wrote:I must object to that. Silver was the standard for currency.
Yes, you're right, both metals have been used as a currency standard, with silver a favorite.
For example, a pound of silver used to define the value of the British Pound, which is why pence (old system, 240 pence = 1 pound) was the basis for everyday transactions.
US currency is no longer "silver certificate" (in theory you could cash in a silver certificate for its value in silver), it is a "Federal Reserve Note" and it is NOT backed by the gold in Fort Knox any more. We went off the gold standard about 30+ years ago.
Historically, paper currency has been distrusted, because it has no intrinsic value -- the paper it's printed isn't worth the denomination. Only the more recent arrivals in Hell are likely to have any trust in paper currency. Older people will definitely prefer copper/silver/gold coins, or a paper currency backed by gold.
Sean Mulligan wrote: To be without empathy means that you are a sociophath. Is a sociopath the only person who can make an objective judicial decision.
I'm gonna disagree with you here. Sociopaths may lack empathy, but the lack of empathy does not mean you are a sociopath. You could be autistic. Given the choice, I'd sooner trust the autistic. The autistic (most likely Aspie), would at least try to make an objective judicial decision. The sociopath would be looking for a way to get personal advantage while keeping to the letter of the law.
Why yes, I probably do have Asperger's, why do you ask?
TBH though, I don't see how Candlass reaches his conclusions from the premise that he had any kind of empathy for Branch.
