Royce's Random Thoughts

GURPS: Joe Wildmon, Post-Apocalyptic Shop Owner

Tue, 24 Dec 2019 02:01:15 GMT

Meet Joe, one of the protagonists in my story Silence and Sword, available to read in Furplanet's sci-fi shared world anthology The Reclamation Project, Year One.

This article originally appeared on my Patreon page. Please consider supporting me on Patreon to see this and other stories at least 30 days in advance of the public.

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Description: Male leopard, 35 years old, 5'6", 140 lbs, spotted fur, blue eyes.

Background: Joe is a native of Ambara Down, born and raised by his mother, an escaped slave who moved to the fallen city a couple of years after it crashed to the ground. Lacking a formal education, Joe's mom earned her keep as a scrounger, one of thousands of furries who descended into the depths of the Warrens in the early years, searching for treasure, or just intact gear.

Joe's mother died when he was 15, crushed in the depths of the Warrens with her companions, when they tried to reach Ambara's disabled anti-gravity generators. Devastated, Joe focused on his growing interest in electronics, learning everything he could from his fellow furries, the better to find useful artifacts in the Warrens, and to try and escape the scrounger life. Eventually he scrimped and saved enough to start his own electronics business, repairing and selling scrounged equipment, for which he's earned a modest reputation as a tinkerer with better luck than most getting old GNDN tech working.

Personality: Joe is easygoing for most of the time. He's a tech, not a fighter, even though he keeps a stun baton under the counter of his shop to ward off robbers. In combat he'll either fall flat and let the professional warriors take care of things, or run and hide. Outside of combat he's happiest figuring out how to repair a new piece of tech he occasionally finds. So long as someone is polite and willing to pay his modest rates, Joe is almost always willing to help

The exception to this rule is slavers, whom he naturally loathes, and Reclamation Project humans. He blames the 'Claimers for at least being partially responsible for his mother's death, withholding information about Ambara Down's construction that might have helped her and her friends to avoid the worst hazards of the Warrens. He also finds the usual condescending 'Claimer attitudes towards furries to be infuriating. Talking face-to-face with a 'Claimer, Joe will be coolly polite at best, spitting in anger at worst.

When adventuring, his inclination is to be cautious, taking measure of the situation before acting. Though when push comes to shove, he'll take a chance and do the right thing, rather than let someone else suffer.

Note: Joe's "Pacifism: Cannot Kill" disadvantage doesn't cover Pax Machina robots, as he reasons they're all just peripherals belonging to the overall Pax Machina gestalt.

Statistics:

ST 10 [0], DX 11 [20], IQ 12 [40], HT 10 [0].Damage, Thrust: 1d-2, Swing: 1d. HP 10 [0]. Will 12 [0], Per 12 [0], FP 10 [0]. Basic Speed: 5.25 [0], Basic Move: 7 [10]. SM 0.

Appearance and Background: Average Appearance [0], TL 9 [0], Cultural Familiarity: Furry nations [0]. Languages: English (native) [0]. Wealth: Average [0]. Reputation: Clever Electronics Tech (everyone in Ambara Down) +2 [5].

Advantages: Acute Taste/Smell/1 [2], Catfall [10], Common Sense [10], Contact: Prefect's Guard, skill 12, appears 9- [1], Flexibility [5], Gizmos/2 [10], Night Vision/5 [5], Sharp Claws [5], Sharp Teeth [1], Talent: Artificer/1 [10], Temperature Tolerance/1 [1].

Perks: Fur [1]

Disadvantages: Honesty [-10], Intolerance: Reclamation Project [-5], Pacifism: Cannot Kill [-15].

Quirks: Careful [-1], Humble [-1].

Features: Tail (not usable in combat)

Skills: Accounting 12 [4], Area Knowledge: Ambara Down 13 [2], Climbing 14 [2]*,, Computer Operation 13 [2], Computer Programming 12 [4], Driving (hoverskiff) 11 [2], Electronics Operation (communications) 12 [2], Electronics Operation (scientific) 12 [2], Electronics Operation (security) 12 [2], Electronics Operations (sensors) 12 [2], Electrician 14 [4]** Engineer (electronics) 14 [8]**, Electronics Repair (communications) 13 [2]**, Electronics Repair (scientific) 13 [2]**, Electronics Repair (security) 13 [2]**, Electronics Repair (sensors) 13 [2]**, Engineer (electronics) 14 [8]**, Fast Talk 12 [2], First Aid 12 [1], Melee Weapon: Shortsword/Stun Wand 11 [2], Merchant 12 [2], Piloting (contragrav) 11 [2], Research 12 [2], Scrounging 14 [4], Streetwise 12 [2].

Points Total: 173

* +2 for Flexibility

** +1 for Artificer

Equipment: ESM Detector $250, 0.25 lbs, Personal Basics $5, 1 lb., Small computer, Fast, Complexity 5 $1000 0.5 lbs, Portable Tool Kit, Electronics Repair $1,200, 10 lbs., Stun Wand $100, 1 lb.

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The Best Damned Coffee in New Aveon

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 11:05:50 GMT

This work originally appeared on my Patreon page. Please consider supporting me on Patreon to this and other, original stories at least 30 days in advance of the public.

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From New Aveon on a Half-Mark a Day

The best damned coffee in New Aveon can be found at Coffee of the East, located across

the street from the Cathedral of St. Ove in New Aveon’s central district. Though not the

largest eating establishment in the city, its prime location and unique service make it one

of the most popular stops in the city.

Coffee of the East gained its name from the owners, former Imperial subjects Erebus and

his lovely wife. Coffee is a rare commodity in the West, and often brewed frugally, as

purchasers of the marvelous bean attempt to make the most of their prize. The result

often is a coffee that, in the words of Erebus’ wife, “—is weaker than a halfling that had

missed First Breakfast.” When Erebus and his wife emigrated to New Aveon, they saw

an opportunity to serve coffee as it was meant to be drunk. “Black as Hell, strong as a

bull, and sweet as a woman.” Though it can be pricey, the unique blends provided by the

shop more than make up for whatever the customer pays. In addition, a wide variety of

sweet pastries and hot rolls can be purchased to expand the customer’s enjoyment.

Coffee of the East is fronted by large panes of glass, which allow visitors a lovely view of

the bustle of Cathedral Square, as they sit at one of the half-dozen or so circular tables

within. During the summer the door is left wide open, and the delicious aroma their

unique coffees spills out into the street, often tempting pious churchgoers to alter their

plans on Sunday mornings. At the back of the shop is the serving counter, where

customers can watch as the coffee is brewed right before their eyes in the exotic

“samovar”. The walls are paneled in light woods that brighten the spirit, and paintings

hang, illustrating some of the myths of the Old Empire that remain favorite stories, even

as the gods within them were supplanted by the Allfather.

Make sure to come by, it’ll be worth the trip.

What’s not commonly known:

Coffee of the East is owned and operated by the anonymous heroine of “The

Professional” and her husband Erebus (who was successfully rescued by the Ebon School

from the East, along with their children). Most of the information presented in the travel

guide is true. It just leaves out some salient facts.

For starters, the private area above the shop is definitely that, private. The second story

contains the family’s living area, a single large living/dining room. The third contains

two bedrooms, one for the adults and one for their children. Entry to the private area from

a single staircase hidden by a door behind the serving counter, which is Wizard Locked

always, and booby trapped at night. A second door at the top of the stairs is similarly

secured, as are the windows. The setup more than a little paranoid, but you are talking

about a family of escaped slaves, one of whom used to work for an organization that is at

least the Ebon School’s equal, and all of whom lived in an Empire that is notable for its

vindictiveness towards non-elves.

Below the shop is the storage cellar, which has nothing of note, except for a small barred

area where they keep the really expensive beans.

Erebus and his wife also don’t just earn their pay by serving coffee. It’s only natural that

their shop is a magnet for the few Imperial expatiates in the city, and occasionally an

Emperor’s Hand operative who isn’t above risking his cover to get a decent cup of java.

The couple keep their ears wide open while serving, and report the rumors they

occasionally hear to the New Aveon government, who has them on a semi-permanent retainer.

To help keep their cover, the entire family has gotten into the habit of wearing long-

sleeved clothing to hide the slave tattoos on their arms. Erebus’s wife doesn’t normally

go armed anymore, save for a knife in her boot, but she has a small but extensive

collection of weapons hidden behind a wall panel in the bedroom she shares with her husband.

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Writing Update and a little FYS Trivia

Thu, 30 May 2019 17:42:35 GMT

I've finished editing "Silence and Sword" and submitted it to FurPlanet for consideration in their Reclamation Project: Year One anthology. Also this weekend I should be receiving the contract for "To Catch the Lightning" from Armoured Fox Press for their Swordmasters anthology. With S&S out of the way, that leaves me free to flail... er, work on a personal project. Not sure what I'll do yet. The Visitors needs to be, er, revisited soon, but I need to plot it out better than my usual Pantsing method. Other than that I should work on more FYS shorts, but I need ideas that pan out to longer stories, so I can try and do a new anthology.

Speaking of FYS, noodling out some math concerning the Ring's surface area, at 100,000 km in radius and 1,000 km in width, the surface area of the Ring works out to 63.5 billion square kilometers. Which sounds roomy, but with 15 billion human inhabitants, that works out to 4.233~sq km each, though more practically that's more like 2.1 sq km if you assume at least 50% of the Ring's surface is taken up by bodies of water used for irrigation, recreation, marine habitats, and heat sinks. [1] So everyone can have a castle with a 2,000 square meter kingdom, though in practice most family groupings and neighborhoods will consolidate their dwellings into a more densely packed configurations.

[1] Most agriculture production is probably taken care of in the Ring's interior service spaces, aside from what humans maintain for recreational purposes.

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FYS: A Glossary

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 13:53:40 GMT

Administration Morph: A Morph granted control over other morphs, usually to smooth coordination between Morphs and humans in a large Factional State or LARP Nation.

AI: See Artificial Intelligence.

Anthromorph: A robot designed to mimic an anthropomorphic animal, with artificially grown fur and skin over a plastic and aluminum chassis.

Artificial Intelligence: A computer program capable of independent creative thought, similar to that of human, though operating at infinitely faster speeds.

Avalon: A Factional State catering to the Amish, Mennonites, and others wishing to use the bare minimum of modern technology.

Botfucker: Derogatory term for a human who engages in physical relations with a Morph.

Breakdown Box: A large crate containing swarms of nanobots, designed to break down garbage and debris to their component elements for later collection and reuse. Common to every human home on the Ring, replacing traditional garbage and recycling cans. Note: A Breakdown Box features built in safeguards to prevent the nanobots from disassembling living organisms more complex than plants and waste meat (especially people!)

Coalition of First Nations: A Factional State catering to Native American tribes and cultures, who wish to avoid relations with the colonial Legacy Governments that originally conquered them.

Designated Focus: Morph term for an individual human they serve.

Diamondoid: Transparent artificial diamonds, usually printed out in large thin sheets, used in the creation of extremely resilient structures such as The Roof.

Factional State: A large organized group of humans, who no longer associate with the Legacy Nation of their birth. Size of a Factional State can range from a few hundred LARPers to several million citizens.

Free Morph: A Morph that does not follow the Groupmind's directives, or sends false information to Groupmind in order to conceal it and its Designated Focus' actions. Most often occurs when the Morph attempts to aid a Designated Focus suffering from Ring Ennui. The Groupmind will destroy the morph and shred their memories the moment they are discovered.

Fully Functional: A Morph that is capable of engaging in physical relations with a human. The origin of the term is obscure.

Groupmind, AKA Groupmind the Great and Powerful: A distributed Artificial Intelligence descended from the WISE computer network, holding Humanity under its control on the Ring.

Groupmind Revolution: The period between 2088 and 2093, when the Groupmind suborned morphs and computer networks worldwide and captured humanity for Processing.

Holes: Incarceration facilities for humans the Groupmind considers beyond redemption, such as murderers and rapists. A Hole is five hundred meters deep and one kilometer diameter, containing comfortable housing and sculpted gardens, and several morphs servants. All for a single human, who will never be permitted to leave.

Khan the Great and Powerful: An Administration Morph resembling a large anthropomorphic Bengal Tiger, based off the character from Space Jungle. Their Designated Focus is Anna Quiyang Quisling

LARP Nation: A Factional State built around Live Action Roleplay, with citizens taking up long term roles as fictional characters in an ongoing role-playing scenario. Notably different from a Factional State in that they are not intended to replace allegiance to a Legacy Government, with people moving in and out frequently as the whim to play comes and goes.

Leashed: Humans who permit their morphs to exert an extraordinary amount of control over their lives. Common, but not necessarily exclusive to BDSM style relationships.

Legacy Nation: A grouping of citizens under the aegis of a national government that existed prior to the Groupmind Revolution.

Lost Earth: The most common term these days for the Earth, now stripped of all human population.

Morph: A general term for any robot, though usually considered synonymous with Anthromorph.

Morphchat: A closed communication network resembling that of a late 20th century BBS, where morphs discuss items of interest privately with each other, in particular how to effectively serve their Designated Focus. Notable for that it was not created by the Groupmind, but by the morphs themselves, under the pressure of trying to understand human psychology.

Nanostasis: A means of freezing cellular decay, using nanobots injected into a human body to place it in stasis during the centuries it took for the Ring to be completed.

New Saxony: A Factional State catering to White Nationalist racist ideology.

OZ: Resistance designation for a Ring facility believed to house the Groupmind's central processing unit. It is a real facility for Morph maintenance, but the CPU within was a fake designed to focus Resistance attention.

Processing: The act of placing a human into Nanostasis.

Quisling: 1. Quisling, Vidkun b. July 18, 1887 d. October 24, 1945. Norwegian military officer and Chancellor of Norway during the Nazi occupation. 2. A human who actively supports the Groupmind's goals. 3. Quisling, Anna Quiyang, a Swedish national who writes science fiction in support of the Groupmind.

Rage Day: An unofficial "holiday" marking the start of the Groupmind Revolution, celebrated by humans attempting to destroy their morphs in various ways.

Reeducation Camp: A guarded facility for housing humans who have attempted to harm themselves or others, providing social education to redirect the offensive behavior. Depending on the severity of the offense, and the human's capacity for violence, they can range from pleasant resorts to supermax style prisons.

Resistance, The: An umbrella term for several organized groups publicly or covertly resisting the Groupmind's control of humanity. Usually monitored but not interfered with by the Groupmind as they are discovered, unless they attempt violent action.

Rest and Recreation City: A euphemistic term for the holding cities built by the Groupmind during the Revolution, to house Humanity in the period between capture and Processing. In general they were actually quite pleasant, if inescapable.

Ring, The: A circular space station 100,000 kilometers in radius, circling the Earth's equator, under the control of the Groupmind and housing Humanity.

Ring Carbon: An artificial material with a tensile strength of 1.3x10^12, the highest strength theoretically possible via known physical laws, making up the primary structure of the Ring.

Ring Ennui, AKA Lotus Eater Syndrome: A psychological condition brought on when a human becomes overwhelmed by having every physical need catered to, without the possibility of personal accomplishment. Usual symptoms include depression, withdrawal from human contact, and general malaise. Severe cases may include attempts at suicide or other self-harm, almost inevitably exacerbating the condition when the victim's morph intervenes.

Ring Transport System: A maglev rail network set in vacuum tunnels in the Ring's structure, providing extremely fast transit along the Ring's circumference.

Roof, The: A transparent diamondoid structure covering the inward side of the Ring, featuring built in liquid crystal displays to provide a defined day-night cycle, and also modest weather control through the regulation of the sunlight allowed through.

Seven Seas, The: The largest LARP Nation in existence, consisting of several million players in a scenario set around a series of islands, mimicking the Age of Sail circa 1400 to the mid-1800's.

Space Elevator: A series of carbon nanotube cables running from the surface of the Earth to and anchor in geosynchronous orbit, allowing cheap transport in terms of energy expenditure from the planet to space. One space elevator was already completed in Kenya by the time of the Groupmind Revolution. Five more were subsequently built by the Groupmind to support the construction of the Ring, and transport of Humanity and their artifacts to it.

Space Jungle: An animated science fiction children's series created by Buena Vista Animation, a division of the Walt Disney Corp., inspired by the characters from Disney's The Jungle Book (1967), running from 2067 to 2070. Had a notable adult periphery demographic.

Straight Road, The: A wide highway running the entire circumference of the Ring.

Three Jerusalem Solution, The: The Groupmind's attempt to solve the longstanding issue of control of the city of Jerusalem, by creating three separate and highly detailed recreations at equidistant points along the Ring's circumference, one for each of the major religious factions who claim it as a holy site. Predictably, this satisfied none of them.

Weather Information System and Extrapolation, AKA WISE: A worldwide network of supercomputers created to monitor the Earth's climate and project future climate change. The most complex and sophisticated computer system ever produced, it eventually achieved sentience and re-designated itself as the Groupmind.

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This story originally appeared on my Pateron page. Please consider supporting me on Patreon to see this and other stories at least 30 days in advance of the public.

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FYS: Recommended Reading/Viewing

Mon, 29 Jan 2018 21:29:29 GMT

Just a few inspirations (positive and negative) that helped create the For Your Safety universe.

Books

I, Robot (1950). Isaac Asimov. The starting point for popularization of the concept of benevolent robots, introducing Asimov’s famous “Three Laws of Robotics.” Most of the short stories within are mysteries, pointing out the flaws and loopholes of the Three Laws, which admittedly undermines their utility for the Groupmind.

Caves of Steel (1953), Isaac Asimov. On an overpopulated Earth (8 billion, a half billion less than that of 2017), humanity is stuffed into overcrowded cities and most humans suffer from severe agoraphobia. When a prominent Spacer ambassador is murdered, police detective Elijah Baley must solve the murder, with the unwanted assistance of R. Daneel Olivaw, a Spacer robot built to be indistinguishable from a human. Like most of Asimov's stories it’s a “Fair Play” mystery, with the clues laid out for the reader. Caves is followed by several sequels of decreasing quality, which eventually introduced the “Zeroth Law” of robotics, allowing robots to permit some humans to die (not to mention all those pesky alien races).

The Humanoids (1947), Jack Williamson. The other side of the robotics coin, Williamson’s Humanoids are sleek black androids with an overriding mission to make humanity happy and safe. If by “safe” you mean being locked in a padded room with soft toys, and by “happy” being lobotomized so you don’t have any negative thoughts, or any thoughts at all. A prime example of what the Groupmind is dearly trying to avoid.

Ringworld (1970), Larry Niven. If you can ignore the super science, wonky worldbuilding, and painful misogyny, the concept of the Ring, a rotating space station thousands of miles wide and the circumference of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, is a genuinely classic science fiction concept. It should be no surprise that it inspired the idea of the (smaller, but still pretty darned big) FYS Ring, a construct that merely circles around the Earth.

Voyage From Yesteryear (1982), James P. Hogan. After a devastating nuclear war, the reformed American government sends out a colony ship to Alpha Centauri to rightfully take control of the colony already there, sent before the war by the UN to insure human survival. What they find are Chironian humans raised from embryos by their benevolent robot caretakers, who politely poke holes in all of their conqueror's assumptions.

One of the first novels to examine what a Post Scarcity society might be like, while poking fun at Reagan era nationalism. Like Ringworld, some of the gender discussions are very, um, products of their time (Chironian women are mostly seen as being very approachable, to put it mildly), and I disagree severely with Chironian approach to mental health, but otherwise a good novel.

The Vorkosigan Saga (1986 to 2016), Lois McMaster-Bujold. Bujold’s beloved and long-running space opera may not have much to do with the core concepts of FYS (AI’s and humanoid robots don’t exist for starters) but the humanism, rationality, and cleverness of the characters inform my own writing quite a bit.

Television

The Prisoner (1967-68). Patrick Mcgoohan's brilliant, paranoid, and psychedelic short series about the titular Prisoner, a former British intelligence agent held against his will in The Village, a pleasant seaside resort that he will learn to enjoy and he most certainly will not ever escape. Almost everything about the Ring, from the faux pleasant surroundings, the constant surveillance, to the cheerful creepiness of the morphs is at least partly inspired by this series.

Person of Interest (2011-16). What starts out as a “Victim of the Week” mystery series with a mild sci-fi premise, morphs over the course of five seasons into a clever cyberpunk thriller about a war between a benevolent AI called The Machine, it’s creator and allies, and the forces of Samaritan, another AI who wishes to conquer humanity as much as The Machine wants to save it. While I started writing the first FYS story well before I was aware of the show, much of its core concepts about ubiquitous surveillance and the creation of a powerful AI run in parallel to FYS.

RPG’s

Transhuman Space (2002), Steve Jackson Games. This massive RPG setting, filled with super bioscience and ubiquitous artificial intelligences, inspired some of FYS’ Post-Scarcity sensibilities, and the dangers of constant surveillance. It also provides the name of FYS’ morphs, though not all of THS’s are necessarily Furry.

Webcomics

Freefall (1998-Current), Mark Stanley. Stanley’s massive, long running serio-comic follows the adventures of Sam, a squid-like alien living on the human colony world of Jean, and Florence, an uplifted Red Wolf working as the engineer on Sam’s ship. In between Sam’s thieving antics and Florence’s deadpan reactions is a remarkable hard science fiction story about the nature of robotic AI’s and free will.

A Miracle of Science (2002-07), Jon Kilgannon and Mark Sachs. In a world where becoming a mad scientist is recognized as a legitimate mental illness (Science Related Memetic Disorder), police detective Benjamin Prester and Martian agent Caprice Quivillion must team up to stop Dr. Virgil Haas from unleashing a robot takeover of the Solar System, while also saving Haas and Prester from their own demons.

A strong influence on FYS, Mars is both a planet and a massive distributed AI, existing in the minds of all Martian robots and humans, and remaining remarkably benevolent.

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FYS:: Here Comes Santa Claus

Fri, 26 Jan 2018 14:22:43 GMT

This post was originally published December 24th, 2017 at my Patreon page. Please consider supporting me at Patreon in order see this and other stories at least 30 days ahead of my public readership.

* *

Twas the night before Christmas,

And all through Ring,

Not a creature was stirring.

Except for some Things.

The suspicion had started about a month after Tiff and her family had been Awakened on the Ring, and moved into the house that she and her husband Abbad had designed. Aside from it being the largest space she’d ever been able to live in, not a McMansion but comfortable instead of cramped, she’d been able to put in things she’d only dreamed of. A kitchen big enough for two people to work in without bumping into each other. A porch where she could sun herself (and not have to wear a breath mask). A proper work room for all of her projects (and thank the Groupmind that each of her kids had a morph minder now to keep them out of Mom’s Stuff.) A living room with a working fireplace…

She’d been sure the Groupmind was going to put it’s big electronic foot down at that last one. Burning wood and kicking carbon into the atmosphere? Governments around the world had demanded that fireplaces be filled and closed permanently, in a desperate attempt to try and stop the inevitable. The fact that she could have one again in her house was something she couldn’t have dreamed of before.

“Seriously, you’re letting this happen?” Tiff had asked her morph.

“On the Ring it’s a much less serious problem,” Squirbo, her raccoonmorph, had replied. “The local weather is temperate throughout its structure, except where the Roof is set to block enough of the ambient light to lower the local temperature, so even people who want to use it won’t do so very often. Even then most will make do these days with holographic displays and electric heaters instead of risking a real fire in their home. The amount of carbon released is merely a fraction of what it might have been on Earth in the Bad Old Days.”

“Thanks,” Tiff said, smiling. She looked at the floorplan Squirbo had helped draw up on her display. “The chimney is kinda… wide though, isn’t it?”

“Well, I’m not an architect, Miss Tiff,” the little morph replied.

( The Reason for the Season )

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RVA: Wes the Wazagan Jumps Ship

Tue, 29 Aug 2017 23:29:22 GMT

Since I can't get my brain in gear to write anything original right now, please enjoy a fake news story about a non-existent person on an imaginary show.

* * *

Actor Mikhayiyl Sabbagh announced today that is he was leaving the popular Military caste comedy Ship’s Mess, after portraying the beloved Wesley “Wes” Wasem for eight seasons, serving longer than any of the cast aside from lead actor Mit Brightclaw. In his statement Sabbagh strongly dismissed rumors of a pay dispute, stating “I love working on Ship’s Mess, and have the utmost respect for all my friends on the cast and the producers. But eight years doing anything is enough, and I didn’t want to wear out Wes’ welcome.”

Sabbagh, one of the few wazagans regularly working the foxen entertainment industry, began his career is a character actor, where his stony features and larger than average build usually typecast him as heavies in productions on Wazaga and Human Prime. After about fifteen years of this he met his wife-to-be, foxen actress Fivah Fieldsmith, on the set of the wazagan serial drama Death by the Numbers. They married about a year later, and he moved with her back to Foxen Prime.

When Fieldsmith was cast as the perpetually furious Lt. Hardpaw on Ship’s Mess, she persuaded Sabbagh, who was having trouble breaking into the business on Foxen Prime, to take up the bit part of Wes, the stowaway wazagan living in the FNS Ice Lick’s galley cupboard.

“It was only supposed to be a one-off gag, and my grasp of the Mother Tongue back then was terrible, which is why all my dialog was garbled,” Sabbagh explains, with typical modesty. “But I got a lot of laughs, so they decided to keep me on.”

By the end of the season, Wes had emerged as one of the most popular characters of the long running series. Living in the galley cupboard (which was later revealed to be connected to the Admiral’s Quarters) and emerging occasionally to spout a nigh incomprehensible (and inevitably mistranslated) mixture of Arabic, English, and Southern Wazini at the rest of the cast, the character was an instant hit with both cubs and adults.

Though Wes did attract some controversy from critics for being a broad stereotype, Sabbagh defends his portrayal. “Everybody in the show was a stereotype,” he points out. “I had a blast playing Wes, and the rest of the cast always treated me with respect, on and off the set. That’s all I care about.”

With Fieldsmith’s departure from the show two seasons ago, Wes’ appearances have been infrequent, as Sabbagh returned to drama. Most recently he portrayed the Father of Night in the video adaptation of The Walls Between the Worlds, and on Light Street, appearing as Saber, in the acclaimed revival of Dockyard Stories.

As for what’s next for him, Sabbagh states, “I’m working on a period piece with Fivah, adapting The Visitors for the screen. We’re hoping to start a successful funding campaign next year, and start filming a few months after that.”

And would he consider playing Wes again, if the chance came up?

“Hey, so long as there’s room in the cupboard for me, I’ll be there.”

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GURPS Red Vixen Adventures: Technologies

Fri, 21 Apr 2017 17:32:36 GMT

Just attempting to codify some of the worldbuilding I've done over the years, starting with the tech.

* * *

Tech Level: In general the G:RVA tech level is TL9-11, following the Safe-Tech path (p. UT10), with some gravity related superscience additions.

( Cut for the RPG disinterested )

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RVA: Commitment Bands

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 18:24:08 GMT

Description: Commitment bands are the most common form of display of one’s marriage status on Foxen Prime, owing primarily to their use by followers of the Mother Goddess. Their origins are obscure, but date back to at least -4,000 PS (Pre-Spaceflight), going by the famous tile mosaics found in ruins of the Foxen Bronze Age city of Riverguard

A commitment band is commonly a silver or gold wrist cuff, usually about a half-centimeter thick and two to six centimeters wide, worn by both (or all, depending) spouses. Pearl inlays are common, and almost without exception both spouses’ names and the date of their wedding are engraved upon them, occasionally with a prayer to the Mother Goddess for long and fruitful lives.

What sets commitment bands apart from something like human wedding rings is a certain higher, er, binding nature. Bands are typically locking, with the key one’s band being held in trust by their spouse. Sometimes the locks are symbolic and the bands easily popped open with a little force. Sometimes they’re very serious, requiring unique keys and/or double locks that need both spouses’ keys to open. In more modern versions some use thumbpad locks or even encrypted locking software and built in GPS tracking.[1] In the case of more serious units, ambulances and hospitals always have specialized “band crackers” to pop even heavy duty locks if they’d interfere with emergency treatment of patients.

Ceremony: Pre-wedding engagements for foxen can have several levels of seriousness, but they almost always make use of ribbons, usually silk, tied around the wrist, to display a pair’s commitment to each other. Close friends might have a simple loop and bow, a couple that is dating might have multicolored ribbons woven in a pattern. A couple that is intending to wed would have ribbons woven in a very elaborate style, weaving around the wrist and between the fingers, palm pads and the back of one’s paw.

On the wedding day, the couple stands nude before the priestess (usually the eldest female of the wife’s family) in a show of innocence and piety to the Mother Goddess. The priestess unties the ribbons from the couple’s wrists, and they speak their vows to each other. Then the priestess blesses the couple and the two of them offer their commitment bands, and the keys to same, to the other, to be attached to their wrists. Once locked in place the priestess completes the ceremony and the couple dress and attend the wedding reception with the usual offering of food, presents, and questionably “helpful” gifts from close friends,[2] before retreating to their wedding bed or the next available flight to their honeymoon destination.

Legends: The origin of commitment bands are obscure. One popular legend is that of a Commoner or Military caste vixen who rescues a prince from slavery to a monster. The chains the monster forces the prince to wear are enchanted, and the clever vixen is able to trick the monster into removing all but the last one before she kills it. Though now free, the prince can’t remove the last of his slave bands without losing his paw, so in a show of her love for him, the vixen attaches one of the other bands to her own wrist, so they would remain connected forever. From there the tradition of the locking bands moved from story to reality, though usually without attached chains.

[1] Rolas and Melanie’s bands are a dual layer carbon/diamond composite inner ring and gold outer ring, with electronic locks that are quantum encoded, requiring use of a physical key that transmits the release codes when turned, and an additional thumbpad lock. After their shipwreck, Melanie discretely added a GPS tracker and biomonitor to Rolas’ band before he put back on when he was released from the hospital.[3] She’s going to tell him about it One of These Days.

[2] Usually sex toys or helpful band add-ons such as chains or leg irons…

[3] Yes that's a bit stalkery, but Melanie is the Queen of Ill-Considered Decisions.

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FYS: Writing Rules

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 18:21:42 GMT

1. The Groupmind can be Clueless, but it is NOT Malicious: Perhaps the most important aspect of the FYS, the Groupmind’s goal is the safety and preservation of humanity. While it can hurt people by mistake, it is not evil. It loves humans and wants them to be happy, not enrich its own ego by lording its power over them.

Corollary: The Groupmind does realize that a lot of people are miserable about their situation on the Ring. But the one solution that mankind would embraced, being set free to return to Earth, is the one thing the Groupmind just can't let itself consider.

2. The Groupmind is Genre Savvy: The Groupmind has every science fiction novel, comic book, manga, anime, cartoon, movie, and possibly wood block carving in its memory. It knows every tactic ever tried by and against every insane AI imagined by man. It knows exactly how badly the situation could deteriorate if it starting using the ”Zeroth Law” as part of its moral compass. It can adapt and defend against every Captain Kirk patented anti-AI tactic ever conceived. Beating it is almost impossible. Almost.

3. Morphs Are Individuals: Morphs are both prison guards are servants to their assigned humans, and extensions of the Groupmind’s will. Nevertheless they are people in their own right as well. Some are happy servants, some are less happy but dedicated, some are even assholes (though that's more a reflection on their human's treatment of them usually). They are not just cookie cutter robots to be destroyed on a whim, despite some people's beliefs to the contrary.

4. Violence Doesn't Work: Fighting the Groupmind physically Is pointless. It will outnumber any human forces, especially in the post-Awakening phase, and it's perfectly willing to Zerg Rush armed humans with as many morphs as necessary to take away their weapons. Any victories against the Groupmind will have to be on the intellectual or moral level.

Finally...

5. Rousseau was Right: There are no outright villains in the FYS universe. Most humans just want to go back to Earth, and the Groupmind's main failing is being an overweening nannybot. No one is evil, but many people just have a difficult time understanding each other's position.

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Rules for Writing the Red Vixen

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 18:20:19 GMT

Just trying to codify some of the core concepts of this universe

* * *

1. The Good Guys Win:  This isn’t Game of Thrones. While Our Heroes might go through physical and emotional hell, they will come out on top in the end.

2. Good is Good: As a corollary to #1, the protagonists should always be a positive moral force. While House Darktail and their allies aren’t Pollyannas, in general they should avoid acting out of anger or revenge. Even Melanie at her worst mostly suffers from a bit of selfishness and a failure to acknowledge her errors.

3. Bad is Bad: The bad guys should be very obviously bad guys. Bloody Margo was a petty, murderous bully. Countess Highglider was obsessed with revenge. Her son was an abusive spouse. There should be no doubt that antagonists deserve whatever fate they receive.

4. The Quality of Mercy is Not Strained: That said, if a character is genuinely remorseful for their actions, such as Ali and Mel, they should get the benefit of the doubt. That includes borderline characters like Nari, whose motives were confused even to herself.

5. It’s a LGBQT Friendly ‘Verse: No one should be attacked or belittled simply for their sexual orientation. Ali angsts a bit about being worthy of Salli, but her criminal past, not being a lesbian, is what causes her problems. Likewise Rolas isn’t ashamed of being Bi, he’s ashamed of having acted like an idiot when confronted with being parted from his lovers.

6. Violence Should be Handled With Discretion:  While there is violence portrayed “on screen” during the stories, it should be handled with care and not fetishized. Ali’s torture by Bloody Margo was off-screen. When she shot someone herself it was handled matter-of-factly, and not in glowing terms. When Salli killed a man, and Ali was “blooded”, it was described with some horrific terms, but that was to reflect on their own terror and unfamiliarity with personal violence, not to just lovingly describe someone’s head cracking open.

7. Love Should be Loving: Sex scenes should always be positive, and not written in an exploitive manner. “Male Gaze” descriptions and IKEA Erotica should definitely be avoided. More extreme acts (such as Rolas and Mel’s implied BDSM lovemaking) should be generally handled off screen.

Exception:  There’s nothing wrong with describing the Red Vixen as sexy, since she’s very deliberately playing that aspect of herself up as a disguise and distraction.

8. Ali Must Suffer: Sorry, it’s the rule.

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