Doing it right...

[Sgt. Howard]

Mid January, 2015
Mapmi


Nodaki Bolethius slowly started taking stock of his situation- he did not recognize the landscape around him. How much time had passed? Looking back into the chamber controls, he saw it no longer held power enough to display any useful information. He was in a harsh, high desert situation... in Winter, by all accounts... with plants that he had no name for and no familiar landmarks to guide by. He looked up at the sun- yes, that was the same color he remembered- he had not changed planets somehow... and the stasis tube had done what was expected- he had not aged any further.
THAT was his greatest anger- that bitch Mayahuel had promised him immortality and invulnerability with this passage through death into clay... but he was clearly aging as any mortal might age. Nothing could kill him... except time. He needed to re-build his resources to overcome this deficiency, to learn what had gone wrong that it might be put back to rights.
Then... if he found her... he needed to learn how to incur a slow, painful death to a golem...

[TazManiac]

Stan doubled back to the Aerie he had atop the Crow's Nest and reviewed his cameras and sensor's incoming data.

He then ticked off the mental checkbox marked 'infrastructure', now onto 'automation'.

Glancing at his watch, he grimaced; he had 'real world' responsibilities to attend too, and as far as anyone knew, he wasn't on the Bounty List. At least not so far.

It made more sense then to maintain his routine, and besides he liked teaching...


(slight edit - taz)

[Sgt. Howard]

Mid- January, 2015
Mapmi

Continuing in what he concluded to be west, Nodaki found the impact of the other escape pod... a bit further, and he found the tracks of three people- that came out of nowhere and went to nowhere. Portation of some sort, no doubt- he continued in what appeared to be west.
By sunset, he found a small farming community. Those who inhabited it wore strange clothing and spoke an odd language. They looked at him with abject fear.. well, THAT much was normal at least. He was used to being feared. Pulling one from their midst by the powers of his magic, he plumbed the unfortunate's mind to understand his circumstances.
He was in a country called 'Mexico'. The people here spoke a language called 'Spanish'. A powerful country to the North was called 'America', and was seen as a paradise for those who wished to live better lives. They spoke a language called 'English'. The quickest way to turn profit involved the sale of chemicals that altered the brain and were illegal. There was a mighty organization of individuals that were involved in this trade, with power that rivaled the legitimate government. The man who he was 'interrogating' was named 'Juan Hernandez'. He was newly married. He had reason to believe his wife might be pregnant. He owned a small plot south of town...
Those last four details were unimportant- he siphoned the man' language skills and broke his neck. He then looked for a conveyance of the sort described, a four-wheeled chariot that did not rely on horses. He had pulled enough information to drive one. One of the locals produced an odd-shaped staff of some sort and warned him to stay put or he would be killed. He pointed the staff at him. Nodaki used the spell that the golden eyed bitch displayed to him while pretending to be male- the man's head separated like a sliced gourd.
Nobody else challenged him.

[Just Old Al]

Oh, and as the one who's compiling the entire story, I think I know what to get Al for Christmas: a spelchekr.

More like a new set of hands - between essential tremor and osteoarthritis be glad you're getting what you're getting!

More seriously, be aware that some of the spelling variants Al uses are regional English - colour, aluminium, checque and the like. They will befuddle your checker and if you wish to Americanize go ahead..I understand.

[jwhouk]

I post on a hockey message board regularly. I get posts about coulours and such routinely, and don't bat an eye.

---

"So, you're watching me, and she's watching you?" the girl said as she sat reading a book about mythology.

"Basically," I told her. The girl turned as we sat in the classroom, watching as Suze made herself comfortable behind the computer desk in the cottage classroom.

"I'm not sure I like her very much," she said, somewhat tentatively.

"She happens to be Irish, by the way," I mentioned to her. This got me a look from Suze.

"Oh! Is she familiar with any celtic mythology?"

"Not anything you'd be familiar with," Suze said with some irritation.

[Sgt. Howard]

"Phix, Dearie- I'm at my wit's end here- I'm not sure I can do this... meat... thing," Daisy confessed to the sphinx.
"Hmmm... not sure how to help... I always had a problem with vegetables, myself- Buck managed, has he told you anything about it?"
"He said 'hold your nose and get it over with', but even then I get a gag reflex... it's horrible... I'm not sure how to overcome this,"
"Well... how long was he at it before he introduced himself to Kathy?"
She stopped to think- "At least... three... no, four months prior. Thought he'd gone mad... said something about 'fitting into human society'. Made no sense at all to me... then I met that girl! OH! MY! LANDS! So beautiful... such colts they will throw... "
"WAIT A MINUTE!!! KATHY'S A HUMAN!- how can she foal a colt and survive?"
"Well... there's the question, isn't it? My Mother was human- she died giving birth to me. Inter species crossbreeding was totally at the abilities of the bodies involved until recently. That talisman you use to keep YOUR little monkeyshines human so she doesn't gnaw off your nipples? THAT's a recent development... as is the one I use to stay human. There's one that keeps the little whiskertail human while a Human Mother carries it- then it will be human or centaur depending on who's musk he or she is smelling. After a while, it will have willful control over it... about the time they start talking,"
Phix took this all in silently... then looking into Daisy's eyes, she said,
"My Dear, I think you simply need to give it more time. Buck took three months at least to accommodate meat-you've been, what? Two days? Give it time,"

[Sgt. Howard]

Mid January, 2015
Jimanez, Mexico

He had followed 49D up to a place called Jimanez, where he acquired fuel and continued North on 45... food was of no consequence, as he really didn't require it. The conveyance he was driving seemed adequate to the task and his understanding of the road he took from those who's lives he forfeited allowed him to travel without hindrance. There were two incidents with those who enforce the law- both times, a simple spell robbed the driver of life and left the passenger to fend for himself in the out-of-control vehicle.

After that, there were no interruptions.

At Ciudad Juarez, there was another matter- There seemed to be consternation among the locals about crossing into another country. Nodaki noticed that the very nature of the landscape continued, in spite of the terraforming used to create these cities. He wandered on foot to the West, and saw that the fences and barriers stopped after a remarkably short distance.

Soon enough, he found an unguarded area where he crossed without concern. Shortly after that, he crossed the river that presented itself as a barrier- and was accosted by people wearing uniforms. From them he acquired a working knowledge of English, firearms, the American justice system, political turmoil that was currently prevalent, the loosing war on drugs, the major centers of commerce and government, how law enforcement worked in this country.... he also acquired his choice of four vehicles and eight sidearms, plus four shotguns.

He left behind eight bodies. From El Paso, he went north to San Antonio, Albuquerque and on to Pueblo. He was following lines of power, magic indicators that he knew would lead him to other magical sorts.

Eventually, they lead to Minneapolis.

[GlytchMeister]

Glytch rode in silence back to the Manor, absorbed in thought.
Al is gathering intel and preparing for a war... But I'm no soldier... I am... A rogue. Heh... I sneak through the circuits and the connections, I know the shortcuts and the ways around obstacles... My weapon is skill and practice, guile and intelligence. What's to say I shouldn't be doing the same? Hmm... What mischief shall I cause, and what havoc can I wreak?
"Guys?" Glytch leaned forward, sticking his head between Al and Billens'.
"Yes?" Al turned to look at Glytch, an eyebrow raised.
"Can we stop at a hardware store and a computer store?"
"Ooh, did I inspire you?" Al flashed a lopsided grin at the young man.
Glytch smiled a wicked smile. "You've got your plans, I have my own... And I can be very, very clever."
"Will the Alexander Plant be sufficient? That will keep everything in-house."
Glytch thought about it... Industrial farming equipment? Those capacitors are bound to be far larger... And if he could convince them to let him cannibalize a few computers and some electronic testing equipment, he could definitely cobble together something with much more oomph.
"Yes, I think that'll do excellently, Billens. Punch it! Al... you're gonna love this..."

[GlytchMeister]

Glytch walked into the plant (after donning the requisite safety gear) and immediately began to behave exactly like a kid in a candy store... Or an evil genius in a place with far too many resources to be exploited.
Al couldn't decide which one.
Smiling madly, Glytch found an important-looking person and rattled off a rather confusing list of parts, from such things as computers, complex electronics, industrial equipment, and the massive machines being built in the plant. "Where can I get my hands on as many of your largest capacitors, parabolic satellite signal receivers, a mid-sized diesel-electric generator, some steel grilles, large metal cases, heat shields, a really effective muffler, two electric ampere and voltage modulators that are extremely accurate and can handle immense amounts of both, two pneumatic pistons, and lots and lots of copper wire? And I mean lots of it! Oh! And two big tires." He was speaking very fast and pacing back and forth as he went on. "I also need a rapid prototyper and a machine shop with a hydro-jet cutter thingy."
The poor man looked like a deer caught in headlights. "...what?"
Eventually, Glytch managed to climb his way up to someone who could give him everything he needed, though he seemed very irritated about it. Al kept trying to ask Glytch what he was up to, but the youth was in full swing - and he would not stop until he was done. As Glytch made his way through the manufacturing plant, he collected nearly a hundred curious workers who simply couldn't concentrate on their jobs while there was what appeared to be a mad scientist in their midst. Eventually, the parts began to accumulate within the crowd as Glytch, Billens, Al, and the Floor Boss led the way to the R&D Department's machine shop and testing lab.
Glytch made a beeline for a drawing table, flipped over a very large and detailed blueprint of a sleek-looking harvester design, and began to sketch his plan.
The copper wire would be contained within the tires in two massive coils, hooked up to two separate, identical capacitor banks. Electrical current would be controlled by the modulators and resistor banks - "Resistors!! I need resistance brakes! And radiators to control the heat! And fans! BIG, FAST FANS!" - beyond the capacitors lied the generator, fitted with the muffler. Around each tire was a steel cage, bent and formed into a parabolic shape matching that of a satellite receiver.
Al leaned over the drawing, tracing the focal points of both parabolas and comparing the distances to his knowledge of the A Mill. "Glytch... Are you..."
"YES! I knew you'd love it!" Glytch rolled up his sleeves and hoisted a nearby wrench. "Well, come on! Time's wasting!" He shouted at the crowd before wading into the fray, delegating tasks to teams and dodging questions.
"Mr. Ritcher?" Billens glanced at Al after looking over the drawing. "I think we've unleashed something far more dangerous than a molting sphinx."
Al passed a hand down over his face. "And that is?"
"A crazy nerd."

[GlytchMeister]

Buck's phone rang. The man on the other end of the line was clearly very disturbed. "Boss, some crazy kid in a hoodie just took over the R&D department! He's got a bunch of our guys working for him!"
Katherine looked up from her book to glance at her husband. Seeing the look of absolute confusion on his face, she closed the novel and stood to be nearer to him. "What is it, dear?"
"I... Have to go. Al, Billens, and Glytch are making... Something..."
"Glytch?"
Buck opened his mouth, stood silent for a moment, then shut his mouth, looking a little frustrated. He tried again, and found a few words. "He's apparently a mad scientist, and now he has access to my manufacturing plant."
Kath's eyes went wide. "Well. That is either very bad or very good."
"I'd better get going..."
"I agree."

When Buck arrived at his plant, the workers who hadn't left their posts were all feverishly trying to take up the slack. A supervisor sprinted to Buck's side and began to explain what was going on, giving his boss a list of the requested parts, before following Buck as the man strode off toward his Research and Development Department.
Or, rather, Glytch's.
A huge, misshapen, and very rough contraption was already taking shape. It had two tires, over three quarters of his inventory of copper wire, massive satellite dish-like grilles, and a very, very expensive diesel-electric generator was being dropped into it's place on a partially-assembled chassis.
Glytch, in his black hood and white hard hat on top, was fiddling and calibrating two of the most expensive pieces of electronic testing equipment he could have possibly gotten his hands on. It was like the boy was trying to bankrupt the company.
Not that this would, but still.
"BOY! You'd better get your ass over here and explain this to me!"
Glytch looked up, smiling wide, and waved Buck over toward him. Al, upon hearing Buck's voice, visibly paled. This might get ugly... The boy was basically using Buck's tools without permission; A capital offense among craftsmen.
Fuming, Buck stormed over and pulled Glytch away from the modulators. "WHAT the hell are you DOING?"
Glytch snapped out of his enthusiastic mood and dropped his smile. "I'm building a directed electromagnetic pulse generator with a destructive-interference safe zone that matches the dimensions of the A Mill," he said, his voice suddenly cold. "When activated, it will destroy any and all unshielded electronics outside the safe zone and inside the effective range."
Buck gave Glytch a blank stare.
"It will kill communications, unshielded vehicles with computers, and anything else that has a circuit board."
Buck's blank stare became one of dawning astonishment. "What's the effective range?"
"As far as across the street!" Glytch's smile returned.
"That's... It?" Buck and Al both seemed quite underwhelmed.
Billens, however, nodded with approval. "Not bad for a non-nuclear device cobbled together from a farming equipment factory."
"Will I get all these parts back in one piece?"
"If you don't, it's because something else blew it up. This... probably won't fry itself." Glytch scratched his head. "I'm pretty sure it won't..."
Buck could almost feel his hair turning grey. "... I suppose if someone else trashes it, I can get reimbursement from MIB..."
"See! Everybody's happy!" Glytch turned back to the modulators. "I'll test it at low power here first, it that makes you feel any better."
"Do so OUTSIDE, and point it away from everything!" Buck replied quickly, hoping to high heaven his factory wouldn't be reduced to slag by the test.
"Yeah, yeah..." Glytch waved a hand, dismissing the others. "Somebody get me a calculator, paper, and pencil!"

[GlytchMeister]

Once he had done everything he didn't trust anyone else to do, Glytch finally calmed down enough to notice he was getting quite hungry. He had the Floor Boss call Buck, who drove back out to pick up Glytch and take him back to the Manor.
"I hope you know what you're doing. That's a lot of my money you're putting at risk." Buck said as Glych climbed into the car.
Glytch stared Buck dead in the eye. "Family."
Buck blinked once, nodded curtly, and was silent for the rest of the drive.
He would gladly burn his company to the ground if it meant keeping his wife and children safe.

Upon entering the Manor, Glytch suddenly realized he was incredibly hungry. The heavy smell of a huge pot of hearty, slow-cooked stew might have had something to do with this. He decided to stop off at the kitchen to grab a quick cheese sandwich and some water. As he ate, Another plot came to mind.
I have the hard drive of a criminal, their email address, and the email address of every other person he's ever contacted by that method... If I send a virus that looks for similar content on the emails each of his contacts send before infecting it and before spreading...
He wolfed down the rest of his sandwich and gulped the last quarter of his water and almost jogged to the office to write some particularly malicious code.


The virus was three-fold: the first portion would spread the virus to every computer associated with Mr. Robinson's computer.
The second was a telomere: after six spreads, the virus would stop spreading and erase itself entirely.
Computers within those six degrees of separation would be infected. If the infected computer contained files with similar text as Mr. Robinson, the virus would begin to attempt to break into the computer's temperature regulation process - over clocking the processor and turning off the fan, creating enough heat to melt and burn things.

Dinner was finished by the time Glytch finally leaned back from his laptop and saved the virus.

[DinkyInky]

Changing into blues and greys similar to her sister and drawing her weapons, Emerauld began the same practiced moves as always, though this time, there was an undercurrent of sorrow, and it showed in every leaf and breeze.

"How, how can I show him?" was the driving thought to her frenzied dance. "Lord and Lady forgive me, but I have to show him. This human won't understand unless he sees it with his own eyes. If I can save him from the darkness, any punishment you give, I will gladly take."

As if to answer her silent prayer, a single peal of thunder marked the heavens as the grey skies let loose a gentle torrent of rain, that well served to mask her tears, and she continued her workout, determined.

[jwhouk]

I foresee two small problems.

1. St. Anthony Falls happens to be right next to A-Mill. Between the Falls and the city of Minneapolis is an island. That island happens to house the MAIN POWER TRANSFORMER for downtown Minneapolis.

(Don't believe me, check out Google Maps: St. Anthony Falls

2. One of Robinson's associates was, of course, Tempelhoffer. We have already established that he was getting info out via his case worker, which means that it is VERY HIGHLY LIKELY that there will be a link to Minnesota's state governmental e-mail servers.

I sincerely hope Billens recognizes these two facts before Glytch activates his enhanced coffee machine.....

[GlytchMeister]

1) just you wait

2) the virus won't overheat a computer unless it is similar enough to Mr. Robinson's hard drive - there's a comparison being made. Glytch wrote that as a safeguard so he didn't fry innocent bystander computers.

[Sgt. Howard]

MIB II- that goofy eyed pawnbroker attempts to re-instate the memory of the one agent. New York City goes black... and you hear him say,
"Hmmmm...."
Or the 'great panjandrum', also known as the Katherine Wheel... the duplex drives tanks that were released too far from shore in rough water... the 'Titanic'... there are some spectacular backfires and failures through history... and this has REMARKABLE promise...

[Dave]

MIB II- that goofy eyed pawnbroker attempts to re-instate the memory of the one agent. New York City goes black... and you hear him say,
"Hmmmm...."

Funniest moment in the whole movie!

I've had days like that. Not quite a citywide blackout, but definitely of the "That did not go exactly as I had planned" variety.

[Sgt. Howard]

Ten months after arriving in Minneapolis, the being once known as Nodaki Bolethius had inserted himself into the city's criminal underworld as a force to be reckoned with. 5' 8", a scant 130 pounds, smooth faced and dark eyed, he went by the name of Nicolas Boswell... something he read in an ad for a Dental Technician school... and with the removal of Templehoffer as the prime kingpin, he made his move.
Several 'would be' leaders greased the way of his success with their blood. His desire to control all of the gangs in the city would be realized in short order- word had gotten out that he was not one to cross... he had no family to threaten, he could not be killed, he had means of killing that the most jaded murderer feared.

He was unstoppable. Soon his tendrils encompassed all of the twin cities. He would erase the vindictive efforts of his predecessor and put business back on an even keel...

Then he saw the picture of Jin... and after a few inquiries, came to learn about some of the more ... interesting ... aspects of the paranormal society within Minneapolis. Convinced that Jin was in fact the same wench that tried to help the two other girls that were crippled and tortured to become golems, that killed one of his priests, he obsessed with the idea of finding her... and her Mother, the one who gave him this faulty body. For while externally, he had smooth, ageless surface, internally he could feel himself crumbling... as if the clay itself was sub-standard. He knew it was progressing- the stasis tube had prevented his demise over the millennia, but that was only temporary.
Jin had a husband now... and she was pregnant... if this in fact was the time-keeper's daughter, then only the time keeper herself could have made these changes... and reports of a Woman called 'May', a heavy drinker and predatory female, seemed rather close to the mark...especially as she was reported to be Jin's Mother.

Then they both fell off the map- along with everybody else that was involved in Templehoffer's vengeance list. Everybody save one...

The old Indian auto mechanic- his daughter was Jin's friend by all accounts.
HE might know something..

[Just Old Al]

Re: EMP generator:

Give it to Thymbris, with a big sign on it saying DO NOT TOUCH.

I would LOVE to see what happens - preferably from geosynchronous orbit.

"They may harpoon us, but they ain't gonna pick us up on no radar...."

Alan

[Dave]

Re: EMP generator:

Give it to Thymbris, with a big sign on it saying DO NOT TOUCH.

I would LOVE to see what happens - preferably from geosynchronous orbit.

Do you think that is enough distance to actually be safe???

You might as well give the silly thing to Ra himself. When it comes to big electromagnetic events, the big guy always did have a flare for the dramatic.

[Just Old Al]

Dave the pun jar is tapping its foot and looking in your direction...