the world's a little blurry, or maybe it's my eyes

I'm turning over this entry almost entirely to Amanda Palmer. This is from her latest Patreon entry:

right now, if you are in Ukraine, please know that we are sending all our love.

i am sure that all of you - my patrons, who are People of the Internet - are all already inundated with news, stories, and harrowing, unforgettable images from the senseless destruction of life, property and peace over there.

we are just a little community of 10,000 or so people.

i have been wondering: what can we do?

i could make the usual speeches and send you links to the red cross and the UNHCR and hope for the best, as we watch our checkbooks flow to the larger and more established aid and relief charities. but then i thought about gaba.

(Editrix insert: This is Gaba Kulka. She's a friend of AFP's who lives in Poland. She'll explain below.)

gaba kulka is one of my old-school touring musician friends. she lives in poland and we have kept up with each other - on stages, in person, on the internet - for a very long time.

So I looked up her music on YouTube. This one came up. I don't speak Polish, so Google Translate it is, and I don't think it translates accurately, but I get the gist, I think:

My ambiguities
instead of explaining, they became permanent
you ask if it's good
ask another time
I'm too busy
I try not to make a mistake

You don't pick up rice from the street when it's sprinkled once
the damn pigeons had eaten everything up, only dust and limescale
why everything is so simple is so simple
it's as simple as that until it happens to you

Your doubts
they will always stay on this topic
no belonging
when I want to gain one, I lose the other
I will lull my vigilance
maybe it will stop bothering me like that
overabundance
when I cannot love, I have no way to cheat

You don't pick up rice from the street when it's sprinkled once
the damn pigeons had eaten everything up, only dust and limescale
why everything is so simple is so simple
it's as simple as that until it happens to you

My ambiguities and
your ambiguities
overlap
Maybe it will be alright

I hear a lot of Amanda energy in that song. I can see why they're friends, I think. This was off her 2009 album, "Hat, Rabbit".

she writer crazy-intelligent punk-cabaret-type songs, speaks better [f*cking] english than i do even thought it's her second language, and has a daughter, matylda, who is almost exactly ash's age.

she and i have been comparing notes as musician-moms since the babies came. we've had a beautiful, slowly flowering friendship, and i treasure her. we have phoned each other every couple of months since the pandemic started, and checked in on one another's mental health. we joke with each other. we mourn with each other. we compare notes about our weird kids.

here we are, performing and hanging out together in 2012:

This was probably around the time Amanda was recording with the Grand Theft Orchestra.



This picture makes me giggle. AFP with her usual mugging for the camera, and Kulka with the long-suffering expression, but that hint of a smile.

i have been listening to the pain in gaba's voice about the political situation over there.

so when the invasion of ukraine happened, i called her.

she told me that she and her husband were literally at the supermarket, buying nappies, buckwheat and other simple supplies for the refugees that were flooding into poland. she told me that friends in the neighborhood were converting their homes into apartments to house the people landing on their doorsteps. [f*ck].

my first reaction was to want to cover her grocery bill. and to ask her if those friends needed cash. to to ask if we could send her money, to spend on these immediate issues in her neighborhood. but she's one person, and a busy mom, not a [f*cking] charity. i could not ask her to do this.

so i took a deep breath and asked her what, very specifically, we could do to help.

us. right here and now.

this community: what could WE do to help?

after thinking about it for a week, this is what she wrote:

Ever since the Russian army's aggression on Ukraine, Polish people started mobilising at every level to help our eastern neighbours, and that feels like a beacon of hope in this grim time.

But even though the countless, grassroots efforts have been uplifting, they have also been really hard to get my head around, and this fragmentation has become an increasing problem - it may feel overwhelming right now, to find the exact right place where you should put your energy and money.

What we need is better communication, and a more centralized system of support for people affected by this war.

That's why my first thought went to nonprofits that I'd already known for years, who already have the know-how - most of all Fundacja Ocalenie, who has been working with and providing help to refugees in Poland for many years.

Luckily some people have it together, and know that combining efforts is the way to go: There is a huge fundraiser, Together For Ukraine:



https://zrzutka.pl/en/razemdlaukrainy

It is based on one of the largest fundraising platforms in Poland.

The organizations benefiting from the fundraiser include Fundacja Ocalenie, Polskie Forum Migracyjne, Homo Faber, Fundacja Dialog and many more.

They post frequent and helpful updates documenting how some of the funds are already put to use.

As an addition: if someone likes to know very precisely what their money buys. Here are two verified fundraisers that gather money for 1) tactical first aid kits https://zrzutka.pl/dlaukrainy and 2) bulletproof vests and helmets https://zrzutka.pl/pomocukrainie The links come from the Euromaidan-Warszawa organisation, which has been active since 2013.

Please consider supporting them.

I looked up Fundacja Ocalenie on Charity Navigator. They tend to judge their reviewed charities harshly, but considering none of us want to be scammed, and we can't all fly over and ask to see the public books of every international effort out there, I trust the work they do. They give them four stars, which in my judgement is kind of amazing--I've listed as worthy charitable efforts on the sidebar charities that come in at 3.5.

Anyway, back to Amanda:

.........

I really trust Gaba, and I hope you trust who I trust, so please consider sending your money over in that direction. I just donated $500.

Like I said above, even if you can only donate $10, it will mean a great deal to the cause that you took the time to do it, and it will send a message of people-power.

If you donate, leave us a comment here, and we will praise and love you.

I didn't donate because I want the praise and love. I am not well off, RL. (This is not a secret.) Hells, I'm not even moderately okay RL, financially. And what I donated--five flat plus the processing fee so the charity effort didn't have to front it, which came, ultimately, to a bit over ten--is not their recommended mid-range of 70 zloty, which works out to about sixteen USD. But I had to help.

...............

and another thing, and possibly even more important....for a more sustainable future in the NEWS department:

THE KYIV INDEPENDENT is on Patreon - one of the only independent media outlets in the country. I supported them last week and I cannot tell you how good it feels to be able to know that my dollars are literally keeping real, honest journalism funded in ukraine.

this is a super powerful place to put your money, and you can become a patron for a dollar. even if you've been cutting back on patronage lately (and i know there's been a lot of belt-tightening lately), this is different.

this is revolutionary beyonf art and music. this is giving funding, a voice, a megaphone to a press that really, really needs the support.

i became the 3,249th patron last week....they are are now up to OVER 6,000 PATRONS, bringing in about $67,914/month. it's amazing.

the newspaper is in ENGLISH. your funding will help then with bills, internet access, office costs, reportage, security, translators, photographers....you name it.....everything you can imagine. this is incredible.

PEOPLE. POWER!!!!!!!!

please become a patron of these guys alongside me:

https://www.patreon.com/kyivindependent

The rest of the Patreon was her thanking her fans, wishing us love and strength, and the never-ending end-of-all-posts tag with all her social media. The only thing about her words I changed was censoring [f*ck] a little, because I still try not to curse on the wee blog. This was the important message, though.

When I get up tomorrow--it's late--I'll code up a graphic and slap this fundraising effort into the sidebar. (Under Zen, of course. Priorities. But it'll be there when I get it done.)

And...that's it. Hang in there, people. Give if you can to a country that's being pounded into dust because Putin was left alone in the archives too long and decided he needed Ukraine 'back'. They are shelling schools. They are shelling hospitals. They are deliberately killing children. They are using thermobaric weapons and petal mines (and believe me, the irony of Russia using a weapon that they reverse-engineered from a US design we used in Viet Nam, which was based on an earlier, larger Luftwaffe one does NOT escape me). We need to help.

So help if you can. I try to avoid politics on the blog, there's enough drama on the grid, but...this was necessary. If you can at all spare it, donate. Ukraine needs everyone's aid to get through this.

the Devil wears a suit, he lives in our town (part CXXX)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXXIX.)

"Prometheus to Grown Up Conversation. Inbound air pirates, a chicken-shaped assault ship and three dreadnaught."

Grown Up Conversation: "Acknowledged. Can you slow them down long enough for me to get the kittens on board?"

"With pleasure..."

In its dark, clockwork-driven consciousness, Prometheus felt the clicking of the Gatling gun safety locks. The fighters' radios reporting the gunfire, the buzzing of aircraft engines as they opened fire on the decks of the pirate airships. Intellectually, they understood the targeting of the dirigible gas chambers. Holes ripping in the canvas lining of the airships. The pirates would not move fast enough to endanger the kittens. Prometheus speculated on slow leaks and the loss of altitude. The human pirates, seeing the price of kidnapping the next generation of Gearhaven royals floating away from them. Prometheus would not allow it. They would make sure the attempt failed. Loyalty and fidelity were older values, from a different era. To some they were by design, and they were predictable...like clockwork.

The Prometheus 1 had retracted the runway, to move at full speed toward the nursery. The small pirate balloon brushed against the side of the climbing steamlands ship. In later memories (Prometheus reconstructed), it can see the two southern pirates climbing the ropes. A young woman--from her movements an artificial girl--and an older man (or woman, it was difficult to tell.) It remembered the bundles of dynamite being tied to the engine casing. As the props spun at rapid speed, they climbed to rescue innocent kittens from the dark future predetermined by the high council of the vile pirates. The blast of the second and third engines would not have caused pain in the real sense. There was a sense of loss, of a lack of fullness suddenly. Glass shattering, brass and iron twisting.

Prometheus 1 was aware it was falling, quickly, toward the earth. At the same time, it was aware of the screams of a few foolish raiders that had met the Grown up Conversation. The wireless reported the sound of greeting that was abrupt and deadly. Heat seeking Torpedoes, taking out airframes instantaneously. No survivors. Prometheus assumed The kittens slept. Except for Athena; she would likely watch it all with detached amusement.

Prometheus 1 was burning as it spiraled the 120-meter fall to the ground. It would be some time before the ship's mind--a clockwork AI, with gears and springs--would be aware again. The last memory it would recall as it spiraled was one of fear--not for itself, for what will be was preordained--no, the fear was for the Duchy. Would it escape the blight and the delusion that It had hoped to control? It seemed cruel to Prometheus that humans and the neko and the Fae thought they had some influence over an outcome. An outcome which was pre-ordained, programmed, biological, magical, digital--all the same. Programs and patterns.

Prometheus 1 wished its limits were not so entrenched. It would warn them, or calculate all the variables to guide them. They could not change the outcome, so would creating awareness of the inevitability be kind or cruel? The ethical dilemma of a clockwork deterministic AI kept the mind occupied--until the ship crashed into the Dark Sea and disappeared.

(Continued in part CXXXI.)

end of October, sun's fallen over (part CXXIX)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXXVIII.)

"This is the General Carrier William Gibson. We are near the Tannhäuser Gate. Under heavy attack. Activating Wormhole Drive..."

Grey Area: "William Gibson, abort jump. William Gibson--"

Static bursts over the channels, then...silence.

The first blast in the Dark Sea caused the Prometheus 1 to bounce and momentarily lose control as turbulence and displaced water buffetted the ship. The Prometheus 1 was a Steamlands standard aircraft carrier, posted over Darktow to manage threats from the pirate states to the south of Gearhaven. The Prometheus 1 had a long history of service protecting Gearhaven, prior to the schism and exit from the Steamlands. The self-awareness of the ship's mind developed slowly.

The clockwork consciousness took a different path as it flowed into self-awareness. Prometheus 1 wondered what the other AI experienced. They assumed with the sensors, the robotics, cameras, their world was a fuller spectrum. When the large defense station over Caledon Middlesea was destroyed, Prometheus 1 was aware, watching and responding from over the Firth. Lacking digital sensors, his awareness began with a hyperawareness of Radiowave, the multiple channels of the wireless spectrum. That morning, they were listening to a political discussion from Oxbridge regarding the self-rule and racial justice in the Steamlands, a big band performance of swing music, and he was monitoring the calculations for the Gearhaven Steamland space project. The aspirations of mining Cavorite on the moon. His awareness tracking all frequencies at the same time, as well as the Caledon Railway and Airship signals.

The interference and the attack on Middlesea began as an itch in awareness. Something that was missing from the normal hum of basic air traffic control wireless communication. Back then, Prometheus 1 was too newly self-aware, a nascent intelligence. Today was different: Prometheus 1 saw what he sensed. He could articulate it the itch in his awareness. Something was wrong. Things were not proceeding for a normal sequence.

Prometheus 1 wasn't certain if STAN was infected, or if it was solely members of the Gearhaven organization. But their clockwork-logical mind was certain of one thing: This was not a set of random mistakes, a system out of control.

It was intentionally a set of outcomes, preordained. Was the head of security LaPlace’s proverbial demon? The intentional mechanism of the deterministic clockwork world? Prometheus 1 was not sure. They were sure of one thing, Chaos theory only makes sense with an incomplete, unknowable dataset. Like Magick is based on the limitations of its authors. Prometheus 1 knew its limitations even among its peers. It also knew, it needed more data about what the root cause of this dysfunction was.

As they leveled out the fly path and launched two squadrons of fighters (one to head to the airspace over the Steam Mansion, the seat of Royal power in Gearhaven, the second squadron patrolling the southern ocean), Prometheus 1 knew some enemies were too programmed to hate and despise progress not to attack. They were the broken, dead-end form of life that had to tear down and destroy to feel at all alive. Prometheus 1 monitored the radio waves and the weather reports. He saw the pirates' fleet early. He sensed the black flag flying as it moved toward Darktow, a separate group moving at a higher altitude. Toward the nursery.

(Continued in part CXXX.)

just know that if you hide, it doesn't go away (part CXXVIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXXVII.)

A conversation between ship minds.

William Gibson (WG): "Has anyone been able to engage with STAN?"

Grown Up Conversation (GUC): "Negative. Appears to be locked down in War Drill."

WG: "Was a drill alert issued?"

Prometheus 1: "There is no drill alert."

A burst of static.

STAN: "EXTERMINATUS Protocol--"

WG: "Willam Gibson to STAN. Authenticate--"

WG: "STAN, authenticate--"

Gray Area: "STAN, need you to authenticate, mate!"

Silence.

GUC: "I am heading to evacuate the Nursery."

Prometheus 1: "Careful. He might torpedo you early. I see no signs of a breach. WG--anything moving into or out of the wormhole?"

WG: "Negative. Drones in the station are swarming. Significant activity."

Gray Area: "WG. You need to clear that area before the EMP blast."

WG: "Agreed. Prepping for warp. Taking His Grace to the Fortress of Solitude."

A sound that might almost have been laughter, then:

GUC: "Good one. A leopard Superman."

Gray Area: "Signalling the Duchess. I'll attempt the jump once I get her on board."

Prometheus 1: "That is large volume Encrypted Data hitting the array--"

Gray Area: "Blast Detected--Dark Area!"

Prometheus 1: "Confirmed. Back-up Station destroyed."

Gray Area: "STAN, this is Gray Area. Authenticate and confirm command authority for EXTERMINATUS Command."



Broadcast wideband:

Gray Area: "Transmission priority, all channels. This is the Gearhaven Flagship Gray Area. We are under attack."

STAN: *static*

Broadcast to Tannhäuser Gate Station: "This is the General Carrier William Gibson. We are near the Tannhäuser Gate. Under heavy attack. Activating Wormhole Drive--"

"This is Gray Area--do not jump with--"

Whirring through the channels.

"Gray Area to William Gibson--"

WHIRRING--

"GRAY AREA TO WILLIAM GIBSON--"

Prometheus 1: "The William Gibson appears to have made a transdiminsional jump into the Wormhole..."

Gray Area: "--with the Duke on board..."

(Continued in part CXXIX.)

it's not a problem if I never get caught, oh (part C)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCIX.)

Emilly returned as quickly as she'd fled, slightly breathless. "Okay. Back," she said, handing over the samples from Tannhäuser.

Zack calmly administered the hypospray to Justine's body and took a sample of her blood. He removed the blood vial from the hypospray and put it in a socket in the console. He then dropped the soiled hypospray into a bio trashcan and removed his gloves. "Okay...we let the machine analyze the sample and we are ready to start the procedure. Duchess, can you confirm certain details for me before I start?"

Emilly took a moment to respond, lost in the memories of finding Cleo limp on the floor, her thoughts pulled to a stuttering halt. Shaking herself out of it she replied, a little too brightly, "Yes! What?"

Zack ran through his checklist. "Is Lady Justine's bloodtype AB+? Does she have any medical allergies to anesthesia products that I should be aware of?"

Emilly thought, eyes focusing internally. "AB+, yes. Anaesthesia, I don't think so..."

Zack pressed a button as Emilly heard the comm activate again. She listened a moment, then replied. "What's left on Tannhäuser Gate at this point...?" Addressing the doctor she said, "I'll be back, checking on something--" and dissolved into static.

Lokizen watched the machine anxiously. Rusty started to pace, stopped, then started again, looking agitated.

Emilly sparkled into being on Tannhäuser Gate, moving quickly to the command deck, having to dodge several patches of construction. She pulled up a scan for intelligences, saw the cluster in Gearhaven, that would be the clinic, saw a dot over Krakenstorm, which was puzzling, and saw another dot over the Dark Sea. Then a dot popped up on Tannhäuser.

She turned the scanning system to it, pulling up camera view, and saw Hiro walking down the corridor. But--the Prometheus had said--

The penny dropped. The Prometheus had said. Throwing up her hands, she snarled and left Tannhäuser again, making her way back to the clinic.

Lokizen left the clinic again, returning to the lighthouse to breathe, the sounds of the gears turning the great light soothing his nerves for a few moments. In the clinic, Rusty looked on as Zack finished punching in the DNA reconstruction program. "All right," he said. "That should do it, then." Taking a deep breath, he entered the start command of the derma mender, watching the arms of the surgical dome begin the skin regeneration.

Lokizen returned, shifting his weight from foot to foot, hoping for a miracle.

Emilly walked back in again, muttering about ships with cruel senses of humor. "He's not...dead," she finally told them, watching the dermal regeneration.

"Not dead is a good state to be in," Lokizen replied carefully. The Duchess just nodded.

"He's not...really focused, he ran into--something--moving from Tannhauser to the Dark Sea, but he's not dead."

Zack's hands flew over the derma mender like a real professional, the needles and lasers working on Justine's body regenerating her completely without leaving a single scar on her, almost like she never had any kind of injuries at all.

Lokizen watched the procedure, entranced by the skill demonstrated by Zack

Zack looked up from the surgical unit console, breathing a sigh of relief. Opening the dome, he put a hospital robe on the unconscious Justine. "Well," he said with a satisfied smile, "It seems like the surgery was a total success."

In a corner of the clinic, Emilly blew out air through her nose, reached up, twisted her fingers, and yanked the leopard to this-here. After he completed apparating, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Hiro...why didn't you tell me the Prometheus can talk?"

Eyes wide, Hiro shook off the confusion of sudden teleportation. "Well, the Ship's Mind...can," adding with a smile as if it explained everything, "The Eschatological Practicum is its chosen name."

Mouth in a tight line, Emilly snarls. "And does the Ship's Mind dislike the Duchess?"

"I don’t think so..."

"It told me you were DEAD, Hiro!"

Hiro thought, then shook his head. "I was just prepping it for orbit...Sending it on a trade mission..."

Unimpressed, the Duchess folded her arms across her chest. "And now there's that floating--THING--by the shore temple--"

Looking over Emilly's shoulder, Hiro saw Zack lower Justine onto the hover stretcher and transfer her to the clinic bed. Distracted, he followed, looking down at the Countess. "Justine, are you ok?"

Justine’s eyes opened partially and she focused on Hiro, mumbling sleepily. "Box...of fluffy...ducklings..." before her eyes closed again.

Rusty joined Hiro at the bedside. "Welcome back, Lady Justine," adding, "Hiro. I'm glad you're okay," to the Duke.

Emilly frowned. "If she starts talking about dovecows, I'm going to worry, but ducklings are fine, right?"

Lokizen smiled at Zack. "Thank you Healer, for your skills."

"She will be fine," Zack said. "She just needs some rest. The operation worked wonderfully well. Not a trace of burning on her body."

Hiro turned to Zack. "Thank you, Doctor."

"I will keep her under observation for the night and see how she feels tomorrow."

Tentatively, Hiro reopened the conversation with the Duchess about the ships. "...We recalled the Grown-Up Conversation from Haven."

Emilly turned and thwapped the Duke on the arm. "And THAT'S for making me think you mutated the children!"

"Should we send it back...owch! Our weapons wouldn't fire on the children--"

Emilly lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. "Did I know that?? They fire on us!"

Taking one more look at Justine, Rusty turned to the door/ "I need a break."

"I'm going to go also, I'll be back around soon, take care all," added Lokizen, following him out.

The Duke and Duchess broke off their quarrel to wave goodbye to them before Hiro turned back to Emilly and took her hands. "Duchess...do we need to check on Princess Athena?"

Behind them, Zack tidied the mess in the clinic, discarding Justine’s ruined clothes and putting a monitoring cuff on her wrist.

Readdressing the Duke, Emilly threw up her hands. "No. Cleo scared me to DEATH, though--I came in and she had no eyes!"

"When you are...what?"

Zack looked back to the arguing couple. "No eyes?"

"I thought--well, you know what I thought...Then she turned over onto her belly and asked for scritches...and when she looked up, she was fine." Rolling her eyes, Emilly added, "Turns out she was trying to shapeshift...They're far too young!"

"What about Enoch?"

"Slept through the whole thing."

“Oh. No shape shifting yet?"

"Oh, please."

Zack sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Duchess? May I give my...medical opinion?"

"They're your children," Emilly said, leaning into Hiro. "We've told them no planeswalking either, and look what happened THERE. Hmm? Please," she added, following Hiro's attention and looking over to Zack.

"As I know from shapeshifters, the process of shapeshifting development in children always varies from one to another. Some are learning at a young age and some do at a later age. But all depending also on the shapeshifter's type, and genetics, some of them may also learn to shapeshift, or at least try to do so maybe at age of one or two years old. The important thing for young shapeshifters is to make sure their bodies don’t lack nutrition so they are able to process through the learning healthily."

Emilly nodded. "It's...tricky. The genetics are...well, I mentioned." She reached up, cupping the Duke's face, smiling. "He's fine. I'm something of...an anomaly."

"Well, I do hope that this will prove useful. I know that shapeshifting might be," he paused with a heavy sigh, "well, in my case anyway...it can be...quite painful..."

Emilly nodded in agreement. "At times, especially new forms."

Zack pulled up short. "Why is the door to my office room open? I thought I closed it." He shrugged.

Emilly followed his gaze. "Isn't that your--private quarters?"

"Yes, they are," he said thoughtfully.

"Are the doors kept locked?" Emilly asked.

"It might be just the wind, it can happen. We have not installed a door to the balcony yet. As for a lock, I am still working on it."

"Well," Hiro said, "I need to head back...to the mansion...I need to get a few things written and then redeploy the ships."

"I probably should go back to setting things out," Emilly said, "but...I think tomorrow. Tomorrow will be when everything gets done."

They both thanked the doctor and walked to the door.

"I will keep you both posted if there is anything new on Justine's health during the night. But if everything goes well, tomorrow she should be back on her feet and ready to go back to her regular activities," he said before closing the door behind them.

Zack walked back over to the clinic bed, reaching over to Justine and gently caressing her head. "I will keep an eye on you, dear. Sleep well."

(Continued in part CI.)

say it if it's worth saving me (part XCIX)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCVIII.)



Lokizen Aeon pulled on safety goggles and a lead lined tunic, just in case, and watched the tests over the Dark Sea and Krakenstorm from the safe vantage point of the Gearhaven lighthouse. If only Justine had been more careful. He pondered the Dark Sea lighthouse ruins, removing the goggles, and sighed.

The door of the clinic opened, admitting the Duke and Duchess, followed by the Bard.

"Doctor," the Duke said, "Is she ok?"

Zack turned to the Duke and the Duchess, nodding politely at them. "Pulse higher than normal, low BP, 3rd degree burns, radiation levels dangerously high...I am currently proceeding to a disinfection protocol of her body before applying other remedies. But yes, she will be okay."

The Duchess frowned, taking in the readings from the pod. "She's in stasis. By definition, that's not exactly okay." Turning to watch the poet rush in, she rubbed her forehead as if struck by sudden headache.

Rusty stopped, taking in the scene, summarising with one word. "Dammit."

Hiro asked the doctor, "Was it Nuclear, Magick or Biological?"

"Radiation level high? At least partially nuclear," the Duchess replied, her eyes still on the pod readings. Then she turned, glaring at the radio playing softly in the corner. "'She's So Cold', really? Right now?"

"Radio Paradise has a dark sense of humor," Hiro said, stepping closer to the stasis pod.

Zack nodded in agreement with the Duchess. "Considering the high level of radiation in her tissues, I would say it was nuclear. Her clothes are there in the corner. She will need more clothes after the dermal repairs."

"But she can be--fixed, right?" the Duchess asked, a rising note of concern in her voice.

Zack smiled reassuringly at the Duchess. "I will do my best to make sure she is."

The poet paced the clinic, nervously chewing a fingernail. "So how does one avoid being killed by a ship that belongs to us?"

Hiro leaned in to the doctor. "We do have her DNA in the Tannhäuser clone lab, if needed."



The Duchess narrowed her eyes at the Duke, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "If any of the children are sick from the upper-atmosphere blasts, we are going to talk, you and I."

Turning to Rusty, Hiro put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Sir Poet...The Ships only fire at anyone without a GH Tag."

"Correction," Emilly added, "One ship. The other ship fires at anyone without Armada's tag."

Zack looked at the scanner beeping and nods. "The disinfection protocol is complete. So all that is needed is to transfer her to the surgery dome here and we will be able to proceed to the dermal repair."

The lighthouse keeper returned to check on Justine’s progress as Zack pressed a button on the pod, moving Justine to a stretcher to transfer her to the surgery dome.

"Hello Duke, Duchess. Rusty," said Lokizen, watching Zack moving the Countess. "I saw the second test, impressive."

"Sadly," the Duke said, nodding to Lokizen, "Justine was too close to the blast."

Lokizen nodded, looking pensive. "I heard and came to check. Will any fallout be a concern?"



"I'll check on the Prometheus," the Duke said, and they all watched, mystified, as he left, flying off towards the larger ship.

Zack initialized the repair procedure on the surgical unit and turned to Emily. "Do you have a sample of DNA that would be compatible with her body, Duchess?"

The Duchess looked at him, concerned, or perhaps appalled, "I'm...not sure we should be involving my genetic line in her structure? It's not, um..." She blinked, tossing over words. "Normal," she finally said. "Wait, do you mean the samples in Tannhäuser? I can go get those if you--"

Zack nods at her. "Then I can take a blood sample from her body. It should not be too hard. It's just to allow the surgery dome to reproduce the correct type of skin for the reparation."

Emilly was about to reply when she paused, tapping her ear. "What do you mean, the Duke's dead again?! It was YOUR job to stop that from happening!" she exclaimed. She ran out of the room.

Zack bemusedly watched her run out, shaking his head. "Okay...time to get the Countess back on her feet before those two get killed."

"Cripes!" the poet spat out, resisting the urge to pace. Lokizen came to stand next to him, watching the machine anxiously.

The doctor climbed the stairs and went into the supply cupboard, grabbing a hypospray from one of the drawers, and putting on a fresh pair of gloves.

(Continued in part C.)

say it for me, say it to me, and I'll leave this life behind me (part XCVIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCVII.)

For her part, Emilly arrived on Tannhäuser, running at speed for the cloning lab. She quickly found Justine's tissue samples, racing back to her skiff, programming it to fly back to ground level, and stopped. She chewed a fingernail. Justine needed the samples, yes, but--she needed to check on the children.

She docked with the nursery building, having to phase through the wall because there was no external access by design. She rounded the corner and screamed.



"CLEO!" she yelled, falling to her knees. The pale kitten turned towards her voice, wet pink smudges on her cheeks below where her eyes should be. Emilly wrapped her arms around herself and keened in distress. Then the kitten blinked, her eyelids growing to do so, and when she opened her eyes--she was fine again.



"Hello, Mama!" she said brightly. "I was trying to change shapes--"

Emilly gathered her up close, holding her, still half in shock. "Shh, shh, dearest, we'll work on that. But you can't scare Mama like that, all right? I was worried you were--" She swallowed, breaking off.

"Worried I was--what?"

She shuddered. Irradiated, she thought. Damaged. Dead... She shook herself, forcing herself to put her daughter back down, rising again. "It doesn't matter," she said, idly, starting to search the nursery for the others.



She found Enoch first, resting on the floor next to his bed. Typical. But where was Athena?



She found Athena in the other room, stariing fixedly at the wall. At least she was okay. They were all okay. Good.

She raced back to her skiff, and flew to ground level.

(Continued in part XCIX.)

with these broken wings I'm fallin', and all I see is you (part XCVII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCVI.)



Zack watched the weapons testing from the safety of the skies over Gearhaven in the medical shuttle. He watched nervously as Justine's shuttle flew through the testing grounds. "She's too close to the blast zone," he muttered to himself. "But she would not fly into danger, she would stay clear. Still..."



He made preparations, murmuring arcane words of power, hands drawing sigils in the air. When he saw the flash he knew Justine's shuttle was too close and flew into action, uttering an air spell to hold her until he could position the medical transport and stop her fall. Once he received confirmation she was aboard he immediately raced to the clinic.



Summoning a hover gurney, he transferred Justine to the stasis chamber and began assessing her condition, frowning at the results. At least she was breathing. Heartbeat erratic, blood pressure low. Third degree radiation burns over 80% of her body, and high levels of radiation. "I will need to run a decontamination protocol for the radiation before I can heal anything else," he murmured thoughtfully as the lighthouse keeper entered the clinic at a run.

"Hello, Zack," he said breathlessly, "Will Justine be okay? I heard and came straight away."

Zack kept his focus on the scan until he heard the voice. "This is what I am checking right now...I'll do my best to make sure she is stable and healed."

"Thank you for your care," Lokizen murmured, looking worriedly at the screens above the stasis pod. "I'll leave you to your focus."

"Your visit is appreciated," Zack replied, looking between the screen and the pod, "and it's normal."



Lokizen looked at Justine in the pod once more, and retreated outside.

Zack walked up to the second floor to wash his hands carefully and then looked in the storage cupboard for a radiation suit and long gloves, putting them on to cover both his arms and his hands. He added a lead-lined apron for extra protection. Stepping back to the stasis pod he removed the remainder of her burned clothes, and cleaned her body thoroughly.

"Okay...let's get this started...radiation disinfection protocol initiated. And...now starting." After pressing a few buttons, Zack looked down at the Countess Justine as the decontamination fluid flowed around her body, removing the radiation. His attention shifted between the scan and her to make sure everything went smoothly.
.

"Thankfully it has this function," he said, putting one hand on the glass, he peered in at Justine. "Hang in there. It won’t be long."

(Continued in part XCVIII.)

so, come to me, we can change night into day (part XCVI)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCV.)

The Duke and Duchess watched missles launch from the platform.

"Hmm....Programming or spellcraft, you think?" She was trying to puzzle out the odd energy signatures she kept feeling.

"Spellcraft," the Duke said absently.

She watched as Hiro instructed Justine to observe the test site more closely, which she didn't think was wise, but she thought he knew what he was doing, surely. She took out a set of long-distance binoculars, fitted with carved amber spellglass lenses. She peered at the cloudless sky.

"Is it lost?"

Hiro looked down at his readings. "Says it detonated."

"Huh," the Duchess said. "In Krakenstorm?"

"Fissionable, but spell-enhanced," he murmured, and they both heard a scream over the comm.

"Justine?" the Duchess said, a heartbeat after the Duke, moving her head and scanning the sky. She saw no trace of her shuttle, but--wait--There. Zack's--medical transport? What--

Hiro hit the comm for wideband. "This is Gearhaven actual," he said. "Due to the aggression from--"

She covered his mouth, using her other hand to tap his comm off. He glared at her.

"You can't say that, Hiro. It wasn't--"

He pulled away. "It could have been!"

She gestured at the platform. "We were right here--"

She watched as another missle rocketed off the platform, striking a ship overhead. "It hit the Prometheus! Is it damaged?" She whirled to Hiro, who seemed unconcerned, murmuring into his data padd.

"Target Dark Sea," he said, and a string of coordinates. Another missle flew up, Emilly following with her binoculars.



She adjusted for distance. "Um...Hiro...that one's awfully close to the kittens..."

"Target Dark Sea Island," he murmured, and another string of numbers.

"Do you mean Darktow?" She flinched as there was a loud crack overhead, and night suddenly fell, thick and cloying. "WHY IS IT NIGHT--" she screamed, and with another loud crack, it cleared. She swayed, unnerved.

Hiro didn't seem to notice. "Not Darktow," he finally replied. "The Dark Sea lighthouse."

She nodded, rubbing her eyes.

"Commencing test--"

She stepped closer, placing a hand on his arm. "I think we've done enough testing."

He launched the last missile almost nonchalantly, and then nodded. "Want to go check on Justine?"

"We probably should."

Hiro shut the rest of the testing equipment down, and they moved to his flyer.

(Continued in part XCVII.)

show me what it's like to be the last one standing (part XCV)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCIV.)

The message fired through the comm system.

14 MAY 2021 - WEAPONS TESTING IN THE DUCHY OF GEARHAVEN

There will be a test of a classified Thaumaturgic Weapon system in Krakenstorm Storm @ approx. 2130 GH standard time, 14th day after Beltane, Current Era 201. Please prepare accordingly.

Justine landed her shuttle next to the bunker, ducking her head as she entered through the low door.

"HI!" said Hiro, not looking up from his console, "Weapons testing time." He made a few more calculations and turned to look at her with a smile. "Hi, lover."

She misted up a bit seeing him there so happy and excited and...not lost in the distant past or a far away galaxy. "Hello," she replied, then taking note of the screen behind him, "That...is a lot of nukes."

He grinned and turned back to his calculations. "Need to enter coordinates."

"Don't get it wrong. Where are you going to drop them?"

His hand drew down the map to the southeast saying only, "̴̨͕̽̈́̎͆͊P̶̛̜͙͚̼͔̳̗͚͋͊͑̆i̴̡̛̯̯̭͍͍̲͖̝̬͎̱̭̺̼̲̊̆͒̀̏̾̈̄̓͜͠͝͠g̷̢̡̳̺̙̝̫̙͔͖͇͔̭̤͗̍͗́̑̃̋̄̅̾̂̍͐̉͑͜͝͠͝f̷̳̼̭͌́͂́̈́͂̑͒̾͗̈́͛̇͘͘̕̕s̷̨̪̦̤̘̠̭̭̲̰̆̽̋̀̐̂͝ç̶̡̡̛̛̣̬̫̭͇̹̅̔̽̿̾̓̅͗̊͊͒͒͜k̵̛̛͙̤̻̤͐̀̊͋̑͒̾̿̾̈́̀͐̒͑̓̎̚@̸̨̢̼̟̩̺̦̹̭̪̱̼̫̝̣̩̪̰̈́͌̆̀͜͝ͅŗ̴̨̪̺͔̬̝͇͓͎͍͉͈̈́̎͌̌͐̅̓̂̆̎̊̂́̋̌̈́͂̕͘͝.̵̧̢̧̛̝̼̣͓̺͚̜͕̤̩̺̼̟̬͈͚͊̔̐͛͒̎̄̇̿̿̇͗̎̊̄͜"̸͕̱̺̼͒̔̈͌͌̚ͅ ̶̖͚̣͔̞̖̔̓̈́́͆̾́̿̕̚ ."

Justine shook her head. It was almost like there'd been static in the last word. She walked out to the platform.

The Duchess landed her little skiff on the platform, looking at the array of missiles with wide eyes.



"That is...a lot of firepower," she said softly, looking at the Duke with concern as he walked out of the bunker. He just nodded and stepped forward.

Brief burst of static across the comm channel they all heard, then Zack's voice. "This is GH-MT01, medical intervention is all set and ready in case of emergency."

"Which won't be needed, right?" She looked at the Duke. "Right, Hiro?"

He seemed to ignore her, looking at Justine. "Hey, take some photos of the mushroom clouds?"



"Sure," Justine said, putting on her goggles and heading back to her shuttle.



Over the comm came Justine's voice. "The Gray Area didn't fire at me. Did you turn it off?"

A beat of silence, then--"I'm in position, at the border between Dark Sea and Krakenstorm, looking southeast," Justine commed back to them. She struggled with the camera controls, hearing him enter coordinates and initiate launch.



His voice came over the comm. "Did you see that one?"

"I didn't see it!" Justine said. "Where did that one hit? Drop another one!"



Justine peered through the shuttle's viewscreen. "I don’t see any..."



And then there was only noise. And light. And pain.


(because.)

(Continued in part XCVI.)

my hands are tied, but not tied enough

What is wrong with people? Don't get me wrong, that's a pretty template. I own a version, and I have been thinking about picking up the full-perm version to play with textures. But. I own it precisely because it's a very adult set of harem pants that I can still technically wear on G sims.

I am an adult. I can do that. Put that on a child, though? We're back to pedophilia on parade, and can SL designers please STOP doing that?!

Today I learned that not only was there a satirical publication called Der Götz von Berlichingen, named after a historical badass, but a bit more about said historical badass.

And in other news:

[11:19] rxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx:



[11:20] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Wow.
[11:21] rxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Every day is Halloween in [Lxxx] world
[11:23] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): As it should be.
[11:23] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I, also, try to keep the spirit of the season year 'round.
[11:23] rxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx:



a friend said " You look like you're about to draw me into some really creepy circus tent"
[11:24] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Not inaccurate, as an impression.
[11:25] rxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: It does have that feel yes, a pure accident really but those are the best
[11:25] txxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Am I the only person thinking of this song...?
[11:26] mxxxxxx Lxxxxx: It is quite incredible look, I do love the colors
[11:26] rxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx laughs
[11:27] rxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8DO4EKAztM more like
[11:28] rxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: TY [Fxxxx] it's as usual a Frankenstein get up
[11:28] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): That works too.

I guess I see what I want to see

(Roleplay entry.)

It had been a morning of many things already, and I'd been distracted trying to set up a more permanent pathway to some of our holdings, when I heard from the Duke:

[11:46] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Hello!
[11:46] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): smiles
[11:46] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): OMG....we have had a accident duchess...in the Sphinx Library...
[11:48] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well, foo--I'll be right over.
[11:48] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): no worries...

What on earth...on any earth...had happened??

[11:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Oh no
[11:51] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): well [11:51] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): the death ray demo didnt go so well [11:51] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I...see....

I could see. There was a lot of damage in that room...

[11:51] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): the rocker girls and the tesla bots are doing clean up
[11:51] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): they put a force field around the incident...
[11:52] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well, good!

All those draped bodies. So still. Blood on Gearhaven ground. How did this happen?

[11:52] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): How many did we lose?
[11:52] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): uh...
[11:52] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): no GH staff...
[11:52] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): but...
[11:52] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I count five, but....that's a LOT of discharge

[11:53] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): five clients...
[11:53] Hiro Shatner-Orr (hiro.shatner): sit and talk for a minute?
[11:53] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): CLIENTS? Oh no!

We found seats in one of the library chairs behind us, and he explained he'd been commissioned to build a death ray for...someone. He wouldn't say who. He wouldn't meet my eyes.



I looked through the field at the repair bots. Heard the crackle of discharge, smelled the ozone on the air. I looked back at the Duke.

"So...this was a commission?" He nodded. "And then--?"

He sighed. "I was called away. Someone at the gates who shouldn't have been there. I went to check and--I heard an explosion."



Hours later, I returned to the library, having seen the debris being carried off, the investigators processing the bodies, all the official questions and answers and paperwork necessary for the passing of a being...or a concept. All that was left now was that odd splash of old blood, burnt into the wood of the floor. And more questions than answers.



And how did all this tie in with the witch bomb I'd seen earlier, being floated up from the labs to the Grey Area?

liars settle into sockets, flip the switch and watch them run

(Roleplay entry.)

Rumors on the wind. Whispers. The beat of drums in the distance, calling...

[13:41] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx waves sadly, looking over a bereft stormhold.
[13:42] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Hugs [Cxxxxxxx] and [Jxxxxxx]. Whats going on?
[13:42] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx looks over at those VILLAINS in tanglewood, wondering if there's any truth to the rumour they had something to do with [Sxxx]'s disappearance. "[Rxxxxx], [Cxxxx],, maybe we need to launch a search and rescue mission."
[13:42] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: oh, dear.
[13:43] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: :( I am not sure searching tanglewood will do us much good in this case [Jxxxxxx]
[13:43] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: but ... we don't KNOW, do we? it MIGHT.
[13:43] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx is all worked up and itching for a fight.
[13:44] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: maybe, we will keep on the lookout on every source to be sure
[13:44] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: and, if we mess the place up a bit and rough some people up, well, [Sxxx] would surely only approve, neh?
[13:44] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i am going too start dinner..
[13:45] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: have a great dinner [Kxxx]!!
[13:45] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx) paces, waving [Kxxx] off, making plans in her head.
[13:45] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) peers dourly out upon the Moors, hearing rumors of coming conflict.
[13:45] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ha i for sure will not enter conflict
[13:45] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx mutters under her breath while she paces, "tanglewood ... villains ... [Sxxx] ... rescue ... "
[13:45] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: :(
[13:46] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: :-P
[13:46] mxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: wait what? No NO intranational strife in my Caledon!!
[13:46] mxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I will BURN ALL OF YOU EQUALLY
[13:46] mxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ..hem..
[13:47] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx looks at [Mxxx] and sighs. "fine. i'll settle down."
[13:47] mxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ..'nk you.

And the sky is alive with strange devices, things never seen before, things that perhaps never SHOULD be seen...

[13:49] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx tells his automatons to trigger riot control mode and sleep gas canisters
[13:50] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hmmm sleep
[14:44] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx emerges from her cottage with a jar of villainous dill pickles?
[14:45] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Now that's the usual [Wxxxxxxxx] nonsense
[14:45] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Villainous dill pickles
[14:45] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: His henchmen, I suppose
[14:45] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx: I haven't a clue of poor [Sxxx]'s whereabouts, but I do have pickles, fermented with extra nefariousness.
[14:45] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx: I don't think it was his. Hers, possibly.
[14:46] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx looks at the [Wxxxxxxxx] suspiciously, "that sounds exactly like something someone who had [Sxxx] tied up in an attic would say."
[14:47] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx: But I should hope he turns up soon. I've made pumpkin ravioli.

And the factories belch smoke into the sky, the air is full of the sounds of hammers and rivet guns and dark, mysterious hissing...

[14:47] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Hmm. Should the question be asked, then?
[14:48] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: 42
[14:48] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx: Honestly though, what's going on? Mr. [Jxxxxxx] wasn't in a hurricane zone, was he?
[14:48] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i forgot too add olive oil too the boiling water for the spaghetti.
[14:48] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Did you at least add salt?
[14:49] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: As far as I know, [Sxxx] is sick. I do not have any details, though
[14:49] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Yes, I added salt.
[14:49] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx: Oh :(
[14:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Good, salted pasta water will help.
[14:49] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: his TYPIST is sick. [Sxxx] is tied up in an attic in tanglewood. [14:49] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: AND NEEDS RESCUING.

She sees notations for chemicals the Syndicate has ordered before...but immediately sent on as stable components to their final destinations. Stable until mixed...but there's no notation of ships carting them away...

[14:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): And Mr. [Sxxxxxxx], that is what I was afraid of.
[14:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Oh.
[14:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well then.
[14:49] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i hope [Sxxx] gets better.
[14:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): And gets untied.
[14:50] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx nods at Emilly, "right?"
[14:51] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and i made a couiple of Texas toast garlic bread.
[14:51] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx emerges from the cellar with another bucket of fermenting pickles.
[14:51] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): And is the Moors trying to rescue [Sxxx] from durance vile, that's what I want to know.
[14:54] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i thought it was StormHold?
[14:54] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: why not both? united! [Sxxx] deserves as much support as possible!

She will watch, then, and wait. Surreptitiously ask for reports on the new factories positioned near the airship docks. And wonder whether her side is for, or against, Tanglewood.

And where is Mr. [Jxxxxxx]???