Question Whisper (Introduction)

Once again, a nice job on the conversion, but I did notice one particular formatting error immediately after the system inventory.

&ldquoIt’s got a lot of acronyms. I could just make it into a text file and put it in the same folder that I put the video of my tennis ball test. Would that work?” I ask as I place the output in that folder.
&ldquoAhh, yes, that would be good.” Dr. Edmundson says with a grin.

I'm fairly sure that those "&ldquo" should just be quotes.

I hope you keep the part with Falks getting canned, although I would like to see him come back as a recurring problem for Whisper and Circuit Breaker, working for increasingly less reputable groups as he continues his quixotic quest to protect the USA from Cyberpaths.

Comments made while reading Chapters 31-35.

With the knowledge it is an ambush and them wearing body armor, either rogue MCO agents acting on their own, H1! creeps with better gear than most, or some jerks in the military who found out about her and are bigots towards mutants and their families. Fight or lose her mother, no choice there. Love reading the detailed fight and analysis from the computer.

Yeah, movies and television with action themes never show how much damage is really done from gunshot wounds. Nice to see more realism here, which is weird to say since this is the Whateley Universe. Hollow-point ammo, definitely not H1! creeps, that is black-market or military issue from what I understand. "Using someone's unconscious or dead body as a shield isn't heroic." is the normal cry, I say do what you have to to survive against people trying to kill you, heroism be dammed.

D'oh! She is in a combat haze and doesn't realize she hit the guy with her aura while thinking of her love for her mother. If mom hadn't been there.... Darn, they were H1! creeps, didn't think they could afford hollow point ammo off the black-market, live and learn. Oh shit, the Combat Stim suppresses emotions to make a more "effective" soldier. The military is going to get an earful and then some from her mother over this.

And thanks to Mr. Reilly, the situation is under control for now, at least as long as the police don't overreact or try to blame the attack on Bree and hand her over to the MCO. Glad to see police being reasonable and looking out for the victims. And Nikki's dad proves his experience in handling these matters, always good to have someone like him around in a crisis.

And Bree slips up, never tell them knowledge you, as a teenage girl, shouldn't know about what was injured or on anything else you shouldn't know. Unless you know absolutely sure it is someone you can trust and even then be cautious. And she is definitely becoming more of a girl, worrying about where her bras are. Nice to see her adapting so well. Although it seems that her being forced to regenerate such damage might have accelerated any mental changes/adaptations her mutation is causing, which would explain the shift in attitude from when they were shopping earlier and she didn't even wish to buy a bra.

Boy, with the amount of times she is apologizing, it feels like one of the original Fey stories. She just has to say "Oops..." and the circle will be complete. And Mr. Reilly and friends made good time. Wonder how the testing guys at Whateley are going to figure out her powers if a lot of them, due to the nanites, etc., are classified. And I bet she is just being paranoid about Mr. Reilly being pissed at her, he is probably frowning because he is upset at the situation.

Heh, Mr. Reilly has that right, now Whateley will have an additional trouble magnet in their ranks. Have to keep the staff on their toes, can't let them start slacking off. And the MCO creeps are shut down, I love it when corrupt agents get the law thrown in their face and can't do anything about it.

A ride in a Blackhawk helicopter, sounds like fun. Wonder how Bree will drop the bombshell on Amanda that she was a boy before, or will she keep it a secret.

And with Nikki as a daughter, Mr. Reilly has learned that you should always go to magic as a last resort, never the first. Especially when a mundane solution is just as good. The reason why something isn't working, always look at the simplest thing that could cause it. Even with high-tech stuff like a nanite-based computer and interface.

And only now is she realizing how much like a girl she is thinking, worrying about forgetting her purse. At least she isn't panicking about it. And I was right, with the way she laid into Mr. Reilly I think even a grizzly bear would have backed down from the anger being radiated. She must have steel-grade or higher willpower to restrain herself from acting physically through all this.

Okay, that is a ton of systems and programs in there, have we only seem the tip of the iceberg of what they can do for her or what? So the guy's love for Bree earlier was due to his mom projecting her love for Bree at him. That is a powerful ability. And the stupid system can't tell the difference between actual need for it to activate and a teenager panicking and not wishing to deal with something right then. The STIM system is going to be a pain in the butt, that is for sure.

Nikki worrying about a dear friend and fellow Sidhe, I hope this bond helps Nikki when Whisper finally arrives at Whateley, with Aunghadhail gone. Mr. Reilly is more patient than most, actually listening to what she has to say instead of getting upset at every little thing she didn't tell him. And a good thing they realize what would happen if bureaucrats got their hands on her. Try to turn her into the ultimate cyber-weapon to use against other nations, at the least. Her family and friends look at her and see a teenage girl, someone they love. Bureaucrats and others like them only see a tool to be exploited, sickening.

And the MCO goes trying to screw over another mutant, they are going to get it this time. Nice work with them collaborating on the cover up story, rarely see that much work go into such things nowadays. Dang, and those ratings don't take into account everything her nanites and the systems they provide her with give. And nice connection to someone else in Bree's life with Sensei Rogers. I can see Bree's point, why do people always call even teens young, it just annoys them.

And I was wrong earlier, she isn't adapting as well as I thought. The shock of her changes, how she is being treated, it is all getting to her and she finally shows it. And hyper-awareness of differences between something you are used to and what has changed, I've experienced that a few times in my life, although not to the degree Bree is. You nailed it. Confused feelings about her friend, hard to figure out how you will react if such a change happens to you but you write it so well.

Nice use of her computer-like processing and reading ability, wish I could read that fast and still retain it all. With how Mr. Smith moves and is Navy, I'm betting he was/still is part of a SEAL unit. Mr. Reilly isn't taking any chance with Bree, the MCO is obviously out to capture and disappear her for experimentation, they grab her and the full force of the U.S. government will come down on them.

Looking like the fact she used to be a boy is going to be kept a secret from Amanda, oh well. Can't all reveal their secrets to even their close friends. Forced to confront her true feelings about Amanda in a way she never expected, at least mom knows when to give her room instead of pushing the matter. Teenage hormones can be hell to deal with, most people forget that when they grow up, you have captured it perfectly. Stuck being forcefully taught how to be more girly, I can see how a former boy sees that as a fate worse than death.

I wish I could have a VR world or detailed and controllable mindscape like that, you could try out so many things without having to spend a dime. Shocking herself by realizing she thinks she is hot, just wait until she gets to Whateley and all the guys and some girls check her out. But replaying the fight in there, not such a good idea, at least she shocked herself enough to realize killing isn't a game. Seeing death up close and personal, especially seeing your own mother die, even if just simulated in VR feels real enough that the brain interprets it as real most of the time. Not surprised she is sick to her stomach.

"Curses, foiled again!" Bwahahaha, nice way to lighten up the situation. And actually reading the magazine, she is slipping more and more into being a girl despite her resistance. Another friend in Jessica, nice to see some people loosening up instead of being sticklers for the rules. And the CIA is making themselves a powerful enemy, not just in Mr. Reilly and everyone he can call in but with Nikki and Sara. Director Falks better hope he is still alive and/or sane when it is all over. And trying to frame the MCO for it, they are just making "friends" all around.

Mr. Miller should really listen to those internal alarms of his and lie to Director Falks about Whisper. Too bad pride comes before a fall. He is an idiot if he thinks he won't get caught after that, by the time he unplugged they already traced it to his computer I bet. Maybe he will roll over on Falks for a plea bargain, we can only hope. Someone needs to shut him and Dr. Z down.

Nooo! Never go anywhere with someone alone, even if they work for an organization you trust. Even without reading further down, Josie has to be the CIA mole and is try to whisk Bree away. But what they don't know about her will bite them in the butt. And it is a false identity, great. And if Bree had just listened to her intuition, she would have noted all the things which were off as being a bad sign.

At least she is awake and knows who has her now. And a government CIA mutant with perception warping powers, as if things aren't bad enough as is. How do you fight someone with that power, Bree never trained in even VR to fight with her eyes closed. And things are escalating quickly, at least she is keeping a cool head and not trying to fight them off and escape just yet.

If the receptionist noticed nothing, that means the woman's powers are ESP or PSI based. Hopefully she isn't a full telepath who just used a telepathic illusion, otherwise it is worse than I thought. And Falks just keeps digging that hole of his deeper and deeper. Paranoid about cyberpathic abilities and willing to do anything to "neutralize" anyone with them. Normally I don't wish harm on others but by the end of this I hope he is put into the deepest, darkest hole they can find or dead. He should have had her released unharmed *sees missiles locked onto Falks career and ready to fire*

Bree will never trust that Combat Stim again after what happened. She begins her escape only to be stopped by Michelle's power. I hate mental illusions, only affecting those they wish to and leaving their allies untouched. Okay, I hate them when the bad guys have them. Nice to have a way to bypass them, or this would have been a one-sided fight. And nice use of shocking the psychic into dropping her power.

Doug is an idiot, they know some of them are mirror images and yet he shot with a man in the line of fire. Runs when she gets a chance and turns invisible, smart girl. Many other students at Whateley would have arrogantly tried to stand and fight. And with the kill order, that just buried Falks career, if not his very life. He truly is an arrogant idiot if he believes he can get away with this.

At least her time as a thief on GEO has taught her about blending in, a good thing when being hunted. The idiots try to ram her in an alleyway! Like that won't draw the attention of everyone around and reveal what is going on. And Doug proves how much of an idiot he is again, trying to force the van through the alley when it is already stuck, he is going to get them killed inside it at this rate.

Hurting after a crash and still trying to kill her, they act like they have no sense of self preservation. And with that illusion she will draw attention but for an entirely different reason. Just don't tell mom about it or she will be teased once the tension has gone down.

Nice to see Falks sweat, couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Heck, if Sara knew what he did to Merry, he would be being tortured somehow already. And with the tactic of manipulating local law enforcement into doing their dirty work, he has signed his death warrant.

Dang, when you piss off the President that badly, you are toast. Falks will be lucky to survive to the end of the day. And Falks just wanted to confirm if she was a cyberpath or not, those experiments would have killed her as far as he knew, possibly even with everything she has. And you know the MCO will send in those troops no matter what and lie after the fact to excuse it, they need to be reigned in already.

Normally I don't condone killing when you can just run, but I agree with Bree, should have shot Michelle when she had the chance. And Bree catches herself thinking more like a girl and begins to freak out. And she realizes how much attention her illusionary look is drawing, that poor guard, that look is probably the hottest woman who has ever talked to him. And Bree is forgetting one thing, it isn't paranoia if they are really out to get you.

Nanites, they will devour everything they can unless instructed not to, that is going to come back to bite her in the butt in the future. Hehehe, VPL and wishing to delete Amanda's magazine from memory. Definitely thinking more like a girl if she is noticing other girls' breast sizes. And noting all the little things she wore to change her appearance or draw attention to herself. Sorry Bree, but you are becoming more and more a girl mentally by the hour at this rate. Although it's probably her regeneration once again and part of her mutation.

Nice work with the phone guy, can't believe she restrained herself so well. I would have stomped the creep's feet hard. Nice to see her thinking things through and realizing that her normal help might be bugged. Lord Vincint, nice to see him again and hopefully he can get her back to FBI HQ without being caught or either of them harmed.

Lol, loved how she dealt with the MCO goons, acting like a stuck up rich teenage girl. They would never suspect a thing, but that was too close with the police dog. And the police wishing to keep the niece of a lawyer safe, just so he might go easier on them in court. Priceless.

And another incident of realizing she is thinking like a girl and wishing she were dead, poor girl needs help, get back to her mom and friend already. And now a jealous wife before she even meets her, things just keep piling up. Not the mall again! After everything that has happened so far, it will be a long time before you get Bree into a mall again without somehow tricking her.

Fun read, with a lot of interesting details and things I never knew. And one of the longest additions, or at least it felt that way. Took me over 6 hours to read. If you ever compile Whisper's origin story, I wonder how many words it would have and pages long it would be.

Dang, Dreamer, I haven't even read your comments yet, but I'm kind of impressed with just how extensive they are at first glance...

One note - per the Geneva convention, hollow-point bullets are illegal in the military, and are not officially in use. As to non-military hollow-point ammo, i buy and shoot it all the time. It's not illegal for non-military use.

elrodw wrote: One note - per the Geneva convention, hollow-point bullets are illegal in the military, and are not officially in use. As to non-military hollow-point ammo, i buy and shoot it all the time. It's not illegal for non-military use.

Thank you, I did not know that.

Does that fight in the beginning of Chapter 31 seem too long for 15 seconds? I'm tallying up the speech, and I think it should be longer?

Malady wrote: Does that fight in the beginning of Chapter 31 seem too long for 15 seconds? I'm tallying up the speech, and I think it should be longer?

perceived time and elapsed real time difference.

real time the fight was 15 seconds, Whisper was experiencing the world at a faster rate, so she thought it was much longer. This is not actually an unusual occurrence in a life or death situation, a lot of people experience a slowing of the world so they seem to have longer to react.

Dawnfyre wrote:

Malady wrote: Does that fight in the beginning of Chapter 31 seem too long for 15 seconds? I'm tallying up the speech, and I think it should be longer?

perceived time and elapsed real time difference.

real time the fight was 15 seconds, Whisper was experiencing the world at a faster rate, so she thought it was much longer. This is not actually an unusual occurrence in a life or death situation, a lot of people experience a slowing of the world so they seem to have longer to react.

But, shouldn't her battle clock use real-time?

Wikipedia on Words Per Minute: "Slide presentations tend to be closer to 100-125 wpm for a comfortable pace."



63 words should be about 40 seconds, apparently?

***

Oh, yeah, Whisper doesn't have the EXP Mental Package to help her with the gender transition... Right...

***

Could the CIA paranoia of cyberpaths be Properly Paranoid ? What with all the information that is online, and the possibility of there being unknown cyberpaths out there, and also cyberpathy having the chance of replicatable with power stones, devises and other things?

One minor continuity issue that I noticed reading through the story was in the following:

Nikki’s cell phone began to buzz on her desk. Who would be trying to call me at this late an hour on finals week?

However, the date for this particular line is Feb 19, placing the events a week or two into the spring term, well before finals would occur.

Outside of this minor nit (and the markup issue noted elsewhere), I've been enjoying reading through the Whisper story. I intentionally did not read the fanfic version of Whisper until after reading the corresponding cannon version, so that I could be surprised by what happened.

Malady wrote: Could the CIA paranoia of cyberpaths be Properly Paranoid ? What with all the information that is online, and the possibility of there being unknown cyberpaths out there, and also cyberpathy having the chance of replicatable with power stones, devises and other things?

As Ayla says all the time, H1 and KoP and the Goodkinds are right, Mutants are dangerous. Doesn't mean the methods any of them use to deal with Mutants (or cyberpaths in Falk's case) is right.

cprime wrote: One minor continuity issue that I noticed reading through the story was in the following:

Nikki’s cell phone began to buzz on her desk. Who would be trying to call me at this late an hour on finals week?

However, the date for this particular line is Feb 19, placing the events a week or two into the spring term, well before finals would occur.

Outside of this minor nit (and the markup issue noted elsewhere), I've been enjoying reading through the Whisper story. I intentionally did not read the fanfic version of Whisper until after reading the corresponding cannon version, so that I could be surprised by what happened.

Remember Winter Term.
crystalhall.wikia.com/wiki/Winter_Term_2007

Seniors remodeled Crystal Hall, TK took Team Tactics, and other classes. Charge enjoyed fine Scandinavian Cuisine.

A few random thoughts that tugged at me while reading this updated segment:

Given not only the Combat STIMS but all the other milspec software Bree's got in her, it would be helpful to her if someone could find whatever documentation exists on the systems and made it available to her (perhaps dropping it in a location on a military network she has access to), so she's got some idea of what it all does. So far, she's just about managed to muddle through, discovering things via trial and error, but as the Combat STIMS incidents show, when she has very little knowledge of her systems she has very little control over them.

For obvious reasons, she's going to be very reluctant to engage the Combat STIMS again, but given her cyberpathic abililities, it should theoretically be possible at some point down the line to be able to adjust production and release, rather than the current all-or-nothing. However, she'd likely only experiment if strongly encouraged to do so and was in a safe environment (with someone on hand pre-authorised with both her and her nanites to be able to order her to stand down and provide support afterwards).

Talking of muddling through, that also applies to responding to the nanites. While they're increasingly able to respond to plain English, taking bash 101 wouldn't go amiss - especially considering what's happened due to her misinterpreting system prompts...

While she has cyberpath abilities, learning more advanced computer techniques the 'traditional' way could be very useful as a plausible method of interrogating a computer (either for real or as a cover through using the 'back door') - and with Nicholas liekly to inform Liz Carson that her cyberpath abilities are greater than those shown on her MID but should preferentially be kept under wraps, Whateley Administration are likely to know. Combining both, her true abilities are likely to be kept strictly under wraps on campus, known only to a select few (e.g. Liz and Amelia) and only likely to be called on if there's a huge cyber attack that's likely to stretch the combination of Amelia, Paige and (we think) Vincent.

On the combat front, one scenario she hasn't yet encountered, but would provide new challenges, would be a hostile magic user (or someone who can detect magic) - not so much because of what they could fling at her, but because her illusion (disguise / clones) / invisibility spells would be of no benefit.

mittfh wrote: On the combat front, one scenario she hasn't yet encountered, but would provide new challenges, would be a hostile magic user (or someone who can detect magic) - not so much because of what they could fling at her, but because her illusion (disguise / clones) / invisibility spells would be of no benefit.

That entirely depends on the quality of the mage. Someone like Molly has no such abilities. Someone like Jadis (a put on paper and fling at opponent style mage) might or might not depending on what they have prepared. Fey is in her own class and doesn't count.

While hollow points are banned by the 'Geneva Convention" (off hand I don'y recall which one) they may be used against terrorists, or for that matter any group that has not signed the convention.

I'm pretty sure that's not how signing up to an arms reduction treaty works. Signatories signup to say they won't use them, period. Not that they won't use then only against other members of the treaty.

And also major arms treaties tend to get enforced against non-signatories too, there is all sorts of unwelcome pressure that can be bought to bare to make them toe the line.

It's the Hague Convention.

Phoenix Spiritus wrote: I'm pretty sure that's not how signing up to an arms reduction treaty works. Signatories signup to say they won't use them, period. Not that they won't use then only against other members of the treaty.

And also major arms treaties tend to get enforced against non-signatories too, there is all sorts of unwelcome pressure that can be bought to bare to make them toe the line.

The following is extracted from Wiki concerning Hollow Points.

Legality

The Hague Convention of 1899, Declaration III, prohibited the use in international warfare of bullets that easily expand or flatten in the body.[3] This is often incorrectly believed to be prohibited in the Geneva Conventions, but it significantly predates those conventions, and is in fact a continuance of the St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868, which banned exploding projectiles of less than 400 grams, as well as weapons designed to aggravate injured soldiers or make their death inevitable. NATO members do not use small arms ammunition that are prohibited by the Hague Convention and the United Nations.[citation needed]

Despite the ban on military use, hollow-point bullets are one of the most common types of bullets used by civilians and police,[4] which is due largely to the reduced risk of bystanders being hit by over-penetrating or ricocheted bullets, and the increased speed of incapacitation.[citation needed]

In many jurisdictions, even ones such as the United Kingdom, where expanding ammunition is generally prohibited, it is illegal to hunt certain types of game with ammunition that does not expand.[5][6] Some target ranges forbid full metal jacket ammunition, due to its greater tendency to damage metal targets and backstops.

The full article can be found here. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow-point_bullet

and now, back to Whisper.....

As mentioned in my [long] comments for Ch. 31-35, it seems her mutation and regeneration may be feminizing her mentally faster than expected. Each time she was badly injured and healed, her thoughts seemed to become more feminine in outlook, from worrying about leaving her purse behind, losing her bras, and even finding Mister Vincint attractive. She always caught herself afterwards, but wasn't freaking out as bad as before, even as badly as she was while shopping for bras in the mall before the H1! attack. A rapid change for not even a full 2 days time.

So how far will her mental changes go, will she remain attracted to girls like she is now due to her thoughts and reaction to Amanda or will it make her fully hetero? And how would she react if she started to not be attracted to girls and actively flirting with boys without realizing it? Will her mutation make it seem normal or will she freak out.

Dreamer wrote: As mentioned in my [long] comments for Ch. 31-35, it seems her mutation and regeneration may be feminizing her mentally faster than expected. Each time she was badly injured and healed, her thoughts seemed to become more feminine in outlook, from worrying about leaving her purse behind, losing her bras, and even finding Mister Vincint attractive. She always caught herself afterwards, but wasn't freaking out as bad as before, even as badly as she was while shopping for bras in the mall before the H1! attack. A rapid change for not even a full 2 days time.

So how far will her mental changes go, will she remain attracted to girls like she is now due to her thoughts and reaction to Amanda or will it make her fully hetero? And how would she react if she started to not be attracted to girls and actively flirting with boys without realizing it? Will her mutation make it seem normal or will she freak out.

Well, in her narration, she's mentioned the fashion magazine inputting subconscious info, which might actually be true? She's only an EX/EXP 'Cause of the Nanites, right?

We've got no idea how much of her brain is nanite... It could be all nanite or just enough nanite to induce effects as subconscious information integration. The more she learns of her nanites, the further integrated she is?

Possibly STIMS aren't STIMS? They're actually shutting down the emotional parts of her brain and Whisper becomes near-fully a meat-suit computer?

Do we know which parts of her 'powerset' are nanite and which are mutation?

Malady wrote: Do we know which parts of her 'powerset' are nanite and which are mutation?

As far as I'm aware:

Appearance, magic use, cyberpathy: mutation (appearance accelerated by both the nanites and Nikki/Aung's spellwork following the GEO incident)
All other computer-related stuff: nanites
Physical combat: mixture (Whisper's character probably had better combat readiness than average, but it's likely most - including possibly time dilation - is courtesy of the nanites).

Nanites upped her reactions, gave her super vision, give her most of her healing, put a computer in her head and put multiple radio transmitters and receivers (plus the software to run them) in her body somewhere.

The computer in her head gives her the ability to record and playback video, a Virtual Reality system, the ability to connect to the Internet, and all the other things computers can do.

Her mutation gives her Cyberpathy, which lets her control the Nantes and get them to work, (as they where all 'failed' experiments originally), monitor electronic devices nearby, and touch-to-control electronic devices.

Downloading her GEO character and changing her DNA to match gave her her 'Whisper' looks and her Sidhe DNA.

Her Sidhe DNA gives her magic (which she controls through GEO spells currently) and her food, iron and man made fibres allergies.

Her existing martial arts skills give her her fighting abilities, and the training range in the VR space is teaching her how to shoot guns.

You forgot her gadgeteer rating.

Cyberpathy to interface with the nanites so well, but gadgeteer to get them working in the first place. Probably similar for building internal receivers/codecs/her VR room. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that she is sub conciesly programming, or reprogramming, her nanites.

Her exemplar is probably nanite based, similar to an internal energizer. (Or that girl in Poe who supercharged herself via tech and has little control)

Magic is from her new race, limited by her mindset. Wonder if she'll ever break that or, given Absinthe(?) the cabal has enacted focused mages like illusionists.

annachie wrote: Magic is from her new race, limited by her mindset. Wonder if she'll ever break that or, given Absinthe(?) the cabal has enacted focused mages like illusionists.

I'm kind of hoping for a scene where Whisper is in a gaming store buying the Prima Game Guide to GEO Illusionists to see if she can learn new spells as she "levels up".

Whisper? Mall?

Queue the MCO, H1! And the national guard!

Malady wrote: Wikipedia on Words Per Minute: "Slide presentations tend to be closer to 100-125 wpm for a comfortable pace."

Sure, but this was not a slide presentation done at a comfortable pace. It was a fight, and people do tend to speak rapidly during time-critical situations. I can read all of that dialog out loud in 15 seconds without difficulty, although it does feel slightly cramped. Some of those lines may have overlapped each other, so I don't think 15 seconds is unbelievable. I'd have guessed closer to 20-25, but 15 is certainly doable.

Phoenix Spiritus wrote: Whisper? Mall?

Queue the MCO, H1! And the national guard!

And FEMA, the Red Cross, and all the other disaster relief agencies.

Nah, not FEMA, the disaster would be over before they even found where the mall was.

But someone has to be there to mess everything up.

You know, I could also see a possibility that the nanites are influencing her thought processes according to some obscure (and probably largely outdated) military psych manual on how females are expected to behave that's still official.

I doubt it, an outdated military psych manual on women, would have her never forgetting her purse. She also would have disguised herself as either a businesswoman is a skirt suit or a housewife or waitress. She wouldn't have gone for spandex clad jogger, or Chloe.

Valentine wrote: I doubt it, an outdated military psych manual on women, would have her never forgetting her purse. She also would have disguised herself as either a businesswoman is a skirt suit or a housewife or waitress. She wouldn't have gone for spandex clad jogger, or Chloe.

Agreed. I would find it hard to believe the nanite researchers (Dr. Edmundson specifically) would be researching ways to ensure their female combat troops remain feminine. That is not usually as bit a problem as PTSD prevention and similar things we've seen Whisper do.

Could you imagine getting volunteers once word gets out the Nanites enforce behavioural norms on the subjects?

So, all three terms have academic finals (four including Summer term for those who attend), but the combat finals only occur in the fall and spring?

I'm well aware of the 3-semester scheduling that Whateley uses (the college I attended had a winter term that they called J-Term, short for January Term). For some reason, I thought that the winter term ended earlier in the year, placing Whisper in the first week(s) of the spring term.

Part of the reason for my confusion might be how in Kayda 1, part 5 or so it is mentioned that Kayda arrives several weeks late for the start of spring term. Kayda 1 and Whisper are listed as starting at about the same time, but parts 1 and 2 of Kayda 1 take place over a 2-week timespan.

Kristin Darken wrote: Ya, its entirely possible that Whisper and/or Kayda have inaccurate date information. They're both new canon authors and the cabal is not exactly know for its excellent organizational skills. New ideas and drunken muses? Check. Neatly organized sourcebook? uh... what?!

Diane had the OCD to keep us organized on that stuff for a while, but we don't really have anyone in that mind set keeping the new authors on track. We'll do our best, but there are bound to be errors somewhere.

I blame Elrod in his haste to get Kayda to the school in a safe if not hurried manner. Time travel does wonders for those that know how to use it properly. Now if we can only get those 2 back from the time tunnel research academy things would go much smoother when facing those aliens from the future.

Also I believe Kayla FanFic -> Kayla Canon took a time trip and its dates all moved, it possible that there are some "weird" dates that got missed when that happened.

Phoenix Spiritus wrote: Also I believe Kayla FanFic -> Kayla Canon took a time trip and its dates all moved, it possible that there are some "weird" dates that got missed when that happened.

Who's Kayla?

Ib12us wrote:

Phoenix Spiritus wrote: Also I believe Kayla FanFic -> Kayla Canon took a time trip and its dates all moved, it possible that there are some "weird" dates that got missed when that happened.

Who's Kayla?

Cutlass

According to my word processor...

310k words
724 pages

Question: Is the timeline accurate in the version posted here? I was under the impression that Aung was gone around this time in the Fey story arc.

Dawnfyre wrote: Question: Is the timeline accurate in the version posted here? I was under the impression that Aung was gone around this time in the Fey story arc.

Aung dies March 22, Whisper's story is in mid February.

Comments for Whisper Ch 36-39, typed up while reading story.

Okay, rich "uncle" who has a very nice place. Wonder what business he is in to earn the money to afford that. Let alone the car and other "toys" he probably has. At least he is quick, thinking of the disguise and his wife seeing the change herself is a good idea. Otherwise she might think he is making it all up. Poor girl, wishing she could just go back to how thing used to be even if it means giving up her powers. Almost Peter Parker in her angst about having powers and what they've cost her.

A gentleman through and through, I don't even if the MCO or police had figured out who she really was he would have given her up without a fight. And that system is going to get annoying when she gets to Whateley, feeding her stats on everyone she meets. Better not mention Mrs. Carson or any of the female staff weight. Dang, you can feel how awkward this is for Brianna. I think she would rather face down the H! goons again than an angry wife who think she is trying to steal her husband.

Crud, she thinks she is afraid because she ran into "Whisper", how will they break it to her that she is Whisper and this is all a misunderstanding now. Confusion and wishing to know what is going on, poor Bree. Mrs. Stiles is going to be a hard sell with what the news is saying. Oops, reading down and got that wrong, the FBI is backing her with the press and straightening things out, along with the DPA.

Thank you, Mr. Reilly. We see where Nikki gets some of her intelligence. If her husband doesn't explain what is going on soon, Mrs. Stiles is going to freak out. Bree, stop feeling guilty for things not within your control. Seriously, she needs to learn that because you are kidnapped or attacked doesn't mean are to blame for others actions.

Staying with Jim and Mrs. Stiles for a few days, this could go either way with how Bree feels about it. Plus he might be under the radar but that doesn't mean something won't happen, it always seems to. Good advice, malls are trouble magnets for Bree. Cute nickname for Mrs. Stiles.

Falk is an idiot if he thinks all the information they obtained on Whisper was accurate. If he truly believes that she is only a Wiz-1, he is a bigger fool than I believed. Everyone in the CIA is probably being questioned to ferret out the idiot who fielded the illegal operation, though I could be wrong. Already trying to figure how to spin things in his favor, what a tool. Either they narrowed it down to him or somehow they figured out he was to blame. Whichever it is, couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

But he left behind info that will make the CIA still a potential threat to Whisper. And the weasel is plotting to get back into the CIA already, great. If he isn't dealt with I could see him as a threat in Gen 2 still. And that is less likely with the burn notice in place, unless he somehow proves to the CIA that Whisper is a "threat". Knowing him he would force her into a situation where it is life and death if she doesn't use her cyberpathy.

A doctor, wonder what she would think of some of the GSD kids at Whateley. Unless you deliberately heat up a stethoscope it always feels freezing cold. Had them used on me enough to know that. And she is going to need a bigger wardrobe if in every fight she loses a top to damage. And more influence from either her transformation or Amanda's magazine are seen, which it is isn't obvious at this point. Sharing details of her life with Bree like that, guess Aunt Julie trust her completely.

Flashback to how she was as a guy and ogling girls, hehe. Wonder how in shock she will be at Whateley. Nice redirection, at least Aunt Julie went along with it. Thinking 34 is kind of old, she does realize she is a faerie now and will outlive nearly everyone she knows, doesn't she. Just wait until you are 100, little missy; then 34 will seem like a kid.

Nice distraction, Bree. Although it seems to have backfired on her, bags of clothes. Wonder how many bags of clothes it will be, poor girl. And even taking time away from her job as a doctor to watch over Bree, nice move, Aunt Julie. Guess she has another adult female figure in her life, probably won't want to lose touch with her or her family after this. And the military often has technology far more advanced than the public even in the real world, with gadgeteers in the Whateley Universe probably a lot more so.

At least Julie noticed all the clues which make Bree's claim of being a former boy obvious. And the MCO must be keeping all the cases with mutants who have switched genders classified, probably with the excuse of preventing a panic or some such nonsense. Otherwise how could a doctor in or near a major city not have heard of it before. Great job, Aunt Julie, with thinking ahead to have your sister-in-law and brother help with the cover story. Most people would gloss over that detail and it would come back to bite them in the butt later.

Uncle Jim better be wary, as his wife wishes to hear the sound of little feet pitter pattering around. And now Uncle Jim will be a little annoyed that their guest inspired it, unless he finally wishes to have children. And the DoD helped out once again, even if they didn't know it. Lainer is going to wish he just forgot about Whisper, with everyone allied with her he would have better survival odds at ground zero of a nuclear blast if he does anything to her.

Having Mr. Reilly on your side is a good and bad thing when the MCO is targeting you. Now Lainer has full support from the more corrupt agents, hopefully this case will help to show widespread corruption in the MCO to the authorities and result in a house cleaning it desperately needs. I'm pretty sure the MCO charter doesn't allow them to take surveillance footage without a warrant, at least I hope it doesn't. I just know this is going to lead to Uncle Jim and the MCO doing an illegal raid on his home. With Brianna's luck lately how could it not.

Figures GEO would gives a doctor with a kind soul like Julie the cleric role. And now the truth is out, GEO is using magic to link their players to the game, for what purpose we don't know. And way to make Uncle Jim freak out, Bree. Is the weak magical link simply to connect them to the game, get a better feel between the player and their character? Or something else, like feeding some of their essence into a storage enchantment connected to the game? Guess we will have to wait to find out, still it is an ongoing mystery and every little clue as to what it means will be picked apart.

If I remember correctly isn't Marala Sara's character in GEO? If that is so, wonder why she didn't go neutral like Aunghadhail in game. The more I read of GEO, even knowing about the magic and mystery of what it's for, I really wish an MMORPG like that was real. Heh, guess Sara lets her evil out in GEO rather than in the real world, as she feels there are no real consequences. D'oh! Brianna needs to learn some self control or she will blow more than a few secrets once she gets to Whateley.

The way some players get while playing MMOs, the look in their eyes, the ignoring other things or getting too into the game, GEO seems to actively bring that out in its players, either unintentionally or as part of the magic linked to the game. Another feature of video games of almost any sort, zoning out and not noticing how much time has passed. Check on that as well. Ouch, allergic reaction, could be worse. Could be a piece of furniture with an iron frame and come into contact with the iron.

And that room describes my brother's dream entertainment center, just add 2 more smaller TVs for playing video games and looking stuff up online while watching a show or movie and he would be in heaven or at least close to. Okay, I know his wife is a doctor but unless I forgot it already what job does Uncle Jim have that they can afford this place. Just add in a fair sized swimming pool and it would be my dream home.

And Brianna has the right idea, a guest should only answer the phone if given permission to by the home owners. Great, a possible threat or is it just idiots messing around. Can't even go a few hours without a threat showing up. No way to I.D. them due to call signs and now they have drawn the ire of Whisper, hope it isn't just the good guys keeping an eye on her. Dam it! Not the Combat Stims, that is a very bad idea.

Oh great, now she is thinking of her emotions as pesky, that is the first step towards a bad path if not pulled back from it. And I think that her Wiz rating confusion from the previous chapters is due to one simple fact, she is drawing in magic from GEO! The more direct link she has, the more magic she can get the easier it is use magic, the longer away from GEO the harder it will get to cast spells. Which sucks for her if this is true, as she is paranoid about GEO now and what it might do if she logs in again.

I'm really getting annoyed at that system telling her the odds so much, she might think more clearly even without the Combat Stims if you didn't keep telling her the odds of her survival are anything lower than 80%. This is going to be another brutal fight, or stealth kills. I just hope I'm wrong about it being good guys sent to keep an eye on her. At the rate she is going they won't see her until she is right on top of them.

Points for the Combat Stims, it does make her think clearly and of all the possibilities. Although I would love to see her use her rogue stealth abilities, wonder if they are some type of as well. Nice use of details, most people tend to ignore the fact that body heat does get absorbed into the ground with prolonged exposure. Yikes, that kind of thinking by Whisper isn't good.

Camo and watching the house but not moving in while the wife is out, crap. They are the good guys and just keeping an eye on her. This is going to end in tragedy. Hey, never think that again, Whisper! You can never watch too much [good] tv, as long as it gives you ideas or you learn something from it. Testing something like how much does her invisibility spell mask in these kind of situations is more than bit foolhardy, the Combat Stims are making her reckless.

At least she realizes how risky a move she is pulling now. And only now does the system provide her information which makes her stall and believe they might not be enemy agents. I swear, that system has the worst timing sometimes and is too slow with giving her truly vital info that could change the "mission parameters" if found out. And she still thinks this is an attack, why would the CIA, MCO, or anyone wait while a civilian is outside the threat zone to pull off an operation.

At least they went in thinking she was in danger, she still believes they are after her, not realizing the truth. Although with everything that has happened lately who can blame her. I would be paranoid of even potential allies who hadn't proven themselves yet after all she's been put through. At least she is asking the right questions, if Captain Howard hadn't told them to stand down this wouldn't have gone well.

Those Combat Stims turn her paranoid and reckless, with a dash of irrational in the mix to really mess things up. Wish there was some way to remove that particular aspect of her modifications. Elevator music, it burns! Dam it, Delta Two! When you are told to stand down, it means stand down. Idiot almost got himself killed. He is going to get chewed out big time for this.

And Delta Two realizes how close his not following orders came to getting him killed, without that body armor he would have been severely injured at the least. At least her mom is able to reason with her, now get those Combat Stims out of her already! Delta Two putting her into a fireman's carry, as if she isn't embarrassed enough as it is with how she is dressed and what she almost did while under the influence of the Combat Stims. No one better take any pictures of that or she will fry their cell phones just to delete them.

Have to say one thing for the SEALs, they are efficient. All that took 5 minutes, felt like at least 15 to me. No wonder Uncle Jim didn't notice her being gone, I can ask my brother to get me something when he is playing a game and he will zone out and forgot much longer than that if not reminded. Perfect cover, just tell her you were enjoying the warmth of the fireplace. Considering the time of the year this takes place, she would understand.

41 degrees in the kind of outfit Brianna is in, it's a wonder she is just shivering. She still has that stubborn "I can take it" attitude that some teen boys and even adult males have when it comes to the weather and extreme temperatures of any range. At least Aunt Julie is looking out for her, she may heal quickly but a cold still sucks while you have it.

I have to agree with Brianna, eggplant for the name of a color just because it matches the color of the vegetable, bad idea. Make people think of the vegetable and not everyone likes them. Poor Brianna, fate is conspiring to force her to adapt to being a girl and dress like one as well, what with her mom, Amanda and her mom, and all the other women in her life with a new one added to their ranks.

That's a guest bedroom! Wish I had a bedroom that size, so much space for bookshelves. Have to agree with Brianna, I would get a job to pay rent, help around the house, but move out, never! Okay, the odds of some female relative or friend not having told Brianna the difference between a dress and a skirt by now are high. Not something to freak out about though. And the description of the house are wonderful, just enough details without going overboard on the minutia.

Poor kid, still feeling that girly thoughts are alien, really needs help in adjusting since there is no turning back. And she better not wear that outfit at Whateley, otherwise there will be a stampede of boys trying to ask her out or just trying to get a pic of her in it. Don't you dare use the STIMS again, especially not because you are crying over being happy or something else. Someone needs to tell her that even guys cry sometimes.

And Aunt Julie just comes out and says what she has been thinking about Brianna. Someone needed to make her realize just how much of her insecurities were showing. Arrrggh! I was right, another one in the ranks of females trying to help her adapt. With Aunt Julie's statement, I'm starting to think she has an identified, uncontrolled Probability Warper ability that draws trouble to her and those close to her. Either that or just really bad regular luck. Figures it was some of their troops who were following Aunt Julie to make sure she was safe.

Fit hits the shan, was that intentional? Ouch, remedial training exercises as punishment for not fully following orders, that will drill the need to listen to higher ups when they say stand down into him. Never tell someone the reason you can't do something involving water is because you don't have a suit if the real reason is you just don't want to. Backfires more times than not. Now no way to back out, Brianna really needs to learn how to speak her mind.

Hehehe, knock the guy out and make him think they are going to kill him to scare him straight. Good cop, bad cop routine, except in this case it is calm guy, itchy trigger guy. That routine would have most gang members except the hardliners scared straight.

Nice to see Lainer losing sleep over this, creep like that deserves it. And Brianna, you may complain about wishing you could sleep more, most of us wish we could get by on the amount of sleep you do. Brianna, you keep thinking 34 is old. You need to adjust your thinking, or when you find out Headmistress Carson's real age you are going to freak.

Ah, I've said it before, I'll say it again, to have an inner mental world like the VR world that Brianna has access to. Sara really knows how to surprise you, now you have poor Brianna upset. Sara really knows how to distract others, that routine would have even some of the staff shuffling funny or blushing. Sara acting like a ditz just to mess with Brianna, definitely her idea of fun.

Uh oh, Sara has gone dark mode, those agents who messed with Brianna are toast. Oh good, change of subject got her calmed down, that was too close. I hate the CIA creeps but what Sara would do them...*shudders* And Brianna, what Sara can find out that normal channels can't is a lot. Those CIA creeps are toast, in one form or another.

She actually wants to read more of the teen girl magazine articles, just how bored is she. Dang, Sara can bring Paige into Brianna's head, unless it is possible due to Paige's own cyberpathy. With Paige and Sara on the case, the CIA creeps and those connected to them are in serious trouble. I would pity them, but with everything that happened to Paige and her twin and now Brianna these creeps deserve everything coming their way. Nice to see this side of Sara, focused and serious, once more.

Recap time for Sara, plus teasing about all the trouble she gets into. It wouldn't be Sara without the good natured teasing. Nice use of Sara to point out all the things Brianna did wrong involving the SEALs and details she ignored which would indicate they were friendly forces. I knew Paige was good, but the CIA agents are idiots to not realize a cyberpath of reasonable skill could follow their paper trail. Thank you, Paige, for calming down Sara's wrath.

Mention of Project Kitten, yeah. Doesn't matter that Falk is burned, Sara is going to do something about him. Brianna has a weird imagination to think up those ideas for what Project Kitten might be. Paige saying Brianna looks pretty, Sara is jealous. Chloe I.D. by Paige, bet despite the request she will go all out on it anyways. And another friend waiting at Whateley.

Sara still incorrigible as ever, at least she has Paige to help her with that. Seesh, poor kid has only been a girl a short while and you are already trying to corrupt her. Great...Lainer is one of those kind of idiots. Yes, power can corrupt, but it doesn't always. Repressing and dividing mutants like he wants them to do only leads to resentment, which always leads to those being repressed rising up and overthrowing their oppressors.

And he proves himself to be an idiot once more, not realizing that codenames might be chosen to be misleading about the individuals true abilities. Wonder what he would think Cheese's powers are. And believing that only his idea for the reason she appears to be so well trained and is being kept secret has merit, another mistake on his part. Darn it! His idea is leading them right to Whisper though, just what we don't need. SEALs and more vs. MCO squad sent to capture her, how bad will the damage be and who will be hurt.

At least Sara has a good reason for teasing Brianna, desensitizing her is a good idea. Otherwise once in the showers at Poe cottage she would have a huge problem. Heh, I'm a night owl myself and can't get awake before 10 am at the earliest most of the time. Know how Uncle Jim feels about morning people, thankfully none of my family are. Hopefully maintaining her Chloe disguise will be enough to fool the MCO goons.

Nice of Brianna to offer but bringing them coffee would have blown their cover and revealed they are hiding. *slaps forehead* I doubt anyone would be angry at her just for asking. Nice to see her have some contact with her friends, even through email. And it was obvious her sister wants to take her clothes shopping, probably plotting with their mom. Camping with Sensei Rogers, there is I story I would love to read.

Lindsay will find a way to drag her new older sister shopping, just you wait and see. She probably knows how to do big sad puppy dog eyes, if not she could take lessons from Jade. Surfing the web using her mind, dangerous as she seems to have lost track of time easily. Oh boy, more doctor worried about her patient from Aunt Julie. She really doesn't get what mutant powers or advanced nanites can do, let alone their combination.

Real-time biological data, medical science would be advanced by decades if not a century or more if they had this. And they need to give more than a 5 minute warning for when they are showing up, never know if people might need time to dress first. Bree has definitely learned about keeping her cover when others might be watching. MCO might have been waiting nearby with telescopic microphone to pick up what was being said.

I would think that Captain Howard would know to keep your cover unless absolutely sure it is safe. Aunt Julie is a swift one, can't distract her and make her forget you said something. Her and Jim's kids are never going to get away with anything with her. And Aunt Julie is as protective of Bree as her mom, along with being as upset about the troops being put in place without her and her husband being notified.

CIA team is in trouble, at least Sara didn't get to them first. Tense situation calmed down, thankfully. Felt like Aunt Julie was about to explode at Captain Howard. And Paige making it look like a system glitch so it was flagged, genius. Invisibility to the degree she does it at takes a lot of power to cast and maintain, I can see why they think with training with would be a Wiz-5. And Bree has a right to be frustrated, she has enough to deal with without having to have a debriefing every time she gets into a fight or almost into one. Military guys seem to forget she is just a 14 year old girl, who was a guy not that long ago.

And points for Captain Howard not wishing to freak out the civilian. And when the military builds secure, they mean secure. Seesh, that cell phone could probably take being hit by an EMP and still function. Aunt Julie isn't letting Bree get out of this easily. At least she sees it from Bree's point of view and realizes they were at fault for not telling Bree and her hosts why they were there. Aunt Julie doesn't realize what a big deal cyberpathic powers are, thank you for small favors there. Spoke too soon there, she knows all too well what a big deal they are.

And some geek creed for Aunt Julie with War Games reference. Figures Captain Howard would replace the window screen, leave no evidence of the encounter. Teen + powers + feeling responsible for others and wishing to do things on their own= 'impulse control' problems most of the time. Besides, I remember some of the early Whateley stories with Team Kimba. She has more impulse control than they did sometimes. So she is already ahead of the game and just needs to improve.

Bwahahaha! Whisper, you don't come close to the trouble magnet that Team Kimba is. The military really need to get a better magical consultant than that self important Dr. Remus. Only way MCO is getting past her disguise is if they get handsy, which the Stiles will have something to say about. Without others looking out for her, Bree would use up her core essence and lose her magic forever by pushing herself too much.

And what Mr. Reilly just said about the MCO trying something if he were to use his jet is further proof they need to be reined in. 5 hours for 2 gigs, dang. Not sure if that is fast or slow by 2007 standards. Great, now her mom and Mrs. Stiles are tag-teaming her, probably plotting more ways to help her adapt to being a girl. And Bree, you take the good with the bad, you are still attracted to girls, just because you will be one of the girls in a skimpy nightgown doesn't mean you can't ogle the other girls.

Help! Help! I'm being repressed! Got a chuckle out of that. Talking about what he was like as a baby, surefire way to embarrass your kid. Bad sign to be thinking of future inventions with infomercials attached. The magazine from Amanda is behind her liking Project Runaway, only explanation I can think of. Brianna, never say something like that, you'll jinx it! Now the grocery store will definitely be attack, baring a miracle.

Blowing up a cement truck, why did Mythbusters do that? A package delivered for a cover identity that was only recently set up, trap and obvious one, don't let your guard down Bree. Or Paige is just that good at getting things down fasts and discretely. And Bree, never say you are bored about not being attacked, you tempt the universe when doing so. And just shortly after she says that, the MCO shows up. Just had to go and tempt fate, didn't you, Bree.

Already lying through their teeth to get people to cooperate, make me sick to think they have this much power because the actual government agencies decided to license out a job which should have been government only all along. Nice way to bluff the idiots into leaving, if only the MCO could be dealt with this easily more often. Going to have to explain to Uncle Jim later she was keeping up her cover in case the phone was bugged, poor guy is confused and probably wondering what is going on in Bree's head.

Aunt Julie is a shopping maniac, a ton of bags worth of clothes in 1 to 2 hours. Yikes! Tons of news clothes and now fashion education, poor Bree just can't catch a break. The rules for female clothing make male clothing look like a 1 page not even completely filled out compared to a full textbook of do's and don'ts. And the VR space is the one ability from the nanites I wonder if it could be duplicated by a mutant power.

More info on her cover identity mom, now make-up lessons. Nice show of her illusion magic skills once again, still curious why she is so good with those, even if GEO is helping her some it should be a little more difficult. Dragged off to the grocery store, what adventure awaits them there?

I keep forgetting it has only been around a week since her adventure started, understandable she thinks others might still see her as a boy due to irrational fears. Shoot, I only got into one bad car accident in my life, yet I had a phobia of being in cars for the longest time that is only down to minor discomfort now. Too much, too soon, Aunt Julie. Poor kid was starting to get shell shocked before you were distracted. D'oh! The woman went to the school she is pretending to go to for her cover, this isn't going to end well.

Jim is a lawyer in the DA's office. Remember the K-9 unit officers helped Chloe leave the mall with her Uncle Jim in the previous update.

And the STIMS don't make her paranoid so much as they divide the world into hard Us vs Them while at the same time suppressing fear.

Dreamer wrote: 5 hours for 2 gigs, dang. Not sure if that is fast or slow by 2007 standards.

Dreamer wrote: D'oh! The woman went to the school she is pretending to go to for her cover, this isn't going to end well.

Well, I think it's more like she went to a school that is connected to others, like the Seven Sisters of Magic or something... As Quiteria is a Saint that is part of a nonuplet:

Quiteria and the nine nonuplet sisters

Whisper Ch. 39 wrote: ...The Saint Quiteria School for Young Ladies in New York....

Sister of the Nine!

Dreamer, with my current 50 Mb download speed, pulling down a 4.2 GB iso of a full linux distro from an ftp mirror is a 2 hour download.

Whisper getting a 5 hour upload for a 2 GB file in 2007 is pretty danged good.

Dreamer wrote: Comments for Whisper Ch 36-39, typed up while reading story.
~snip~
Blowing up a cement truck, why did Mythbusters do that? ~snip~

you never saw that episode? it was half full of set concrete and they got tired of chipping it out so tried to break it up with explosives.

blew the truck to itty bitty pieces.

Something interesting I noticed in the segment about Bree connecting to the 'net using Jim's Wifi:

I have never surfed the web directly before and I have to say that it is pretty cool. It is almost like that “Johnny Mnemonic” movie with cyberspace stuff. Everything looks like neon colored buildings connected with glowing white roads that lead to every building and I can soar above it all. I can also dive down and use the road to instantly go to any building that I know the address for. I lose all track of time as I explore and I discover that most of the sites that have passwords to access are super simple to bypass, but when, out of curiosity, I check out a bank’s website; I discover that it is very well guarded.

So it seems as though Bree's cyberpathic abilities extend to literally exploring cyberspace, as "Blue" and Paige already do so. While (as with Paige) she wants to keep her cyberpathic abilities under wraps, I wouldn't be surprised if Amelia takes an interest in her, and she may eventually be trained enough enough to be able to assist with future cyber-attacks on Whateley.

Meanwhile, with Sara popping into Bree's head during night time, it seems as though her VR space is one of several specialised environments that sit within the astral plane - Kayda's dreamspace being another. Which leads me onto thinking that it's going to be interesting when the two meet, particularly within the context of lessons in the magical arts department and bringing yet another perspective on spellcraft - Kayda thinks of spells in terms of engineering, while Bree thinks of them in terms of GEO icons (and theoretically, she should be able to devise spells she's never encountered in GEO.) Also, while she doesn't currently want to play GEO any more given what happened to her, it's possible she may come up with a new angle towards the same investigations Aung's been doing - namely, what is going on with the game and its connections with real-world magic.

In the next book, it appears as if Paige is giving her private lessons, but we'll know more when sleethr gets to reworking/finishing it. After all there were only 4 chapters published before the cannon rewrite of Whisper started.

Just wanted to Say I liked the Whisper stories when they were Fan Fic. and still like them as canon and laugh at the antics she get up to

Reading through Whisper now (around Ch 19).

I wish it wasn't written in present tense. It's driving me crazy!!! Doing my best to put it in past tense as I read it.

Am I alone? I'm surprised to not see comments re: tense in this thread.

I had to go look. I hadn't even noticed it was written in present tense. It felt natural to me.

When you consider that Whisper is told through her viewpoint, while it may be the past in the WU timeline, it is a current time story showing her origin, it was never intended to be read as if she is relating the events from her past to someone else.

Actually, the story flips back and forth between present and past tense depending on whether it's in first or third person, respectively. Presumably that's to help remind the reader which parts are actually from Whisper's perspective.

I mostly prefer to do my own writing in past tense, but it depends. Sometimes a story flows better in present tense, like my Fred fic. I guess it can feel weird if you aren't used to present-tense stories. They seem to be less common, but they are perfectly valid. Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson is in the present-tense, and in Quicksilver he switches back and forth to distinguish the "present" segments from the flashbacks that make up most of the story.

Whisper's HUD!

I hear ya. It seems pretty rare to have a story in present tense. This article illustrates my points pretty well:

www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-...vel-in-present-tense

I have a question about some setting details. In the Whisper story it's claimed that a mutant must be registered with the MCO and that being found unregistered is a minimum 5 years prison sentence. But looking at other stories, for example Jade 6, the only limitation seems to be that a mutant without an MID can't board planes or cross borders.

So I'm confused. These two aren't strictly a contradiction, but you'd think MCO registration being mandatory would come up in a context like that.

Dawnfyre wrote: Question: Is the timeline accurate in the version posted here? I was under the impression that Aung was gone around this time in the Fey story arc.

It's not, Whisper happens about a month before Aung dies. What had me wondering more was, back when Whisper was fanfiction there was this part where Aung tells Whisper about shadow magic. I wonder if that part will be changed or left in. Since there'd still be time for that conversation to happen. I definitely hope we are getting more of Whisper than the first novel, even though some of the stuff from Whisper in the Dark would definitely need to be changed.

Woop wrote: I have a question about some setting details. In the Whisper story it's claimed that a mutant must be registered with the MCO and that being found unregistered is a minimum 5 years prison sentence. But looking at other stories, for example Jade 6, the only limitation seems to be that a mutant without an MID can't board planes or cross borders.

That always bothered me in my read-through of the fan fiction and I'd assumed it would be cleared-up in the canon version but it wasn't... With the forums down around the time that I read that passage this time through it slipped my mind to bring it up.

It's wrong based on the laws as detailed and discussed in previous canon stories... The only thing that could defend it is that he's telling it as something that he'd been told by a teacher and not speaking as an expert on it himself. I'm not an expert but I think there's something about an unreliable narrator in this circumstance... The teacher could also have an anti-mutant view or been misled initially.

And it’s a felony in the US to board a plane or cross a border without showing your MID – you’d be looking at six months for a first offense, more once you reach your majority.

This is different than being an unregistered Mutant. This is bypassing security arrangements by not showing an MID that you would possess.

The difference between not carrying your Proof of Car Insurance and not having Car Insurance.

Valentine wrote:

And it’s a felony in the US to board a plane or cross a border without showing your MID – you’d be looking at six months for a first offense, more once you reach your majority.

This is different than being an unregistered Mutant. This is bypassing security arrangements by not showing an MID that you would possess.

The difference between not carrying your Proof of Car Insurance and not having Car Insurance.

Right. Which is why I said that it isn't a contradiction, it just seems like something that would certainly have come up during all the times when the MID was mentioned as being necessary for boarding a plane.

Remember this is one character's POV. A possible explanation - there could easily be persistent rumors (urban legend) that possessing an MID is an absolute requirement, when in fact it's only needed for air travel and international crossings and such. And of course, the MCO would really want to foster such myths...

elrodw wrote: Remember this is one character's POV. A possible explanation - there could easily be persistent rumors (urban legend) that possessing an MID is an absolute requirement, when in fact it's only needed for air travel and international crossings and such. And of course, the MCO would really want to foster such myths...

I like to think of it like this when there are no hard rules available. The thoughts of the one outrule the thoughts of the many. So if one person had the opinion that you received a 5 year sentence for not registering then he wins over the other 5 billion people till proven wrong and then only when that opinion is superseded by one that is much harsher. Because no one wants to believe anything else otherwise.

jmhyp wrote:

annachie wrote: Magic is from her new race, limited by her mindset. Wonder if she'll ever break that or, given Absinthe(?) the cabal has enacted focused mages like illusionists.

I'm kind of hoping for a scene where Whisper is in a gaming store buying the Prima Game Guide to GEO Illusionists to see if she can learn new spells as she "levels up".

The reverse of Jimmy T, where the Campus Wargamers have been told NEVER to give Jimmy copies of the Warhammer 40K manuals.

Now that it's official, Whisper does arrive on campus in late February. So she is around for Aung's death. But she is hiding her Sidhe nature. I wonder how long that lasts.

It's also odd that she doesn't have to take the Grunts crash given she was in JRotc for several months before finals. Maybe she only has her solo final and was excluded from the crash because she was only there a short time. (Or maybe the Navy/DPA don't want her doing those crashes because of the exposure in Vegas.)

jmhyp wrote: Now that it's official, Whisper does arrive on campus in late February. So she is around for Aung's death. But she is hiding her Sidhe nature. I wonder how long that lasts.

It's also odd that she doesn't have to take the Grunts crash given she was in JRotc for several months before finals. Maybe she only has her solo final and was excluded from the crash because she was only there a short time. (Or maybe the Navy/DPA don't want her doing those crashes because of the exposure in Vegas.)

More likely she didn't participate in the Grunts crash, because it was done in the Sims, and Whisper hasn't gone through Simsuit training.

For Aung's funeral, she probably let Fey's friends take the front, while she blended in with the crowd.

Given the quality of her illusions, likely only Aquerna noticed (and then after wondering about it, thought that it was Whisper's business so never mentioned it) and other mages that would bother to look for the magic.

Whisper-Chapters 40-42+Epilogue coments
Mrs. Grantson is the kind of pushy person that annoys me, not taking the hint and just keep pushing and trying to get what they want out of you. What kind of shows is Brianna watching with formal military balls? And she took think about it as automatic yes, that is just rude. How to get out of this mess, especially since her being out in public is a bad idea.

The odds of all that happening are slim, it is like there is a cosmic force of fate messing with Brianna. And with all the trouble she has attracted already, something would happen during the ball that made sure she never became the Belle of the ball. Being able to perfectly know what any color is called is going to be a pain for Bree. If she thinks magenta and fuchsia is bad, she hasn't seen anything yet with how convoluted color names can get.

And she is further subjected to the horror that all mtf changlings undergo: feminine hygiene products. At least one of them has another use she could think of. Lainer doesn't consider an MMID card to be real, meaning he would harsh and abuse any mutant he finds with one. That alone is going to get him buried so deep in an out of the way office he won't be heard from again, if not a worse fate.

Public opinion turning in favor of mutants and blacklash against MCO and H1!, at least for now. And Lainer is huge bigot all around, I would be hard-pressed to restrain myself from punching him. And he hasn't heard about the Boston office going down, otherwise Lainer wouldn't believe that the MCO is immune to anything a mutant can bring as proof against them. The MCO is using corrupt Congressmen and law enforcement, figures they couldn't do even half the crud they get away with without having inside help. I hope whoever sent that message either is setting Lainer up or slips up.

Bree, once fate had you in its crosshairs, you were going to be a female Sidhe one way or another. So no go on Mrs. Grantson's invite, and the event would be on the last night with Aunt Julie and Uncle Jim. Aunt Julie has a wicked sense of humor, messing with Bree like that.

Dang excessive lubrication problem.

First time I've heard crying called that, normally defended against by saying got a piece of grit in their eye or something else making them cry.

Video of everything which happened, I can see why he would be pissed at the CIA, bunch of scum planning to kill her if they found out she was a technopath. Though since it is for Bree's safety, I would think he wouldn't be as upset at the Navy. Ack! Aunt Julie, you don't do that to a 15 year old, I agree with Bree, TMI. Teasing her like she is the parent, bwahaha, glad Aunt Julie played along. Oh crud, she made Aunt Julie look more like Sara, this is going to be a problem.

Awkward all around between Bree, Aunt Julie, and Uncle Jim, a nice distraction from a movie with explosions is definately what is needed right now. Poor Bree, already confused by her transformation and everything that has happened, now this. At this rate she will need to see Dr. Bellows at least 3 times a week, if not more.

The more she goes into VR space, the more I wish I could have it as well. The ultimate in entertainment and training combined. Bwahahaha, I just love how Sara and Bree rift off each other with the comedy. Sara just has a way of getting you to open up, Bree is getting off easy if she only gets tickle tortured. Now I'm wondering if the person meeting with Lainer is secretly Sara, dealing with a threat to someone she cares about. If Bree only knew that Sara can see into her head, not just using the VR space.

Bree is going to be so worked up by Sara that when she arrives at Whateley, I wonder how much of a workout the freshmen Poe shower's special feature is going to get. And considering she got her dad's help to rescue Merry's sister, Sara can come get Bree easily. Ah, good. Mentoring by Paige will go a long way in learning how to use her technopathic powers and also in keeping them secret. I'm betting Sara made the comment about the tattoo just to get Bree to stop worrying about her.

Ouch, guessing the fight to protect herself and her mom still haunts her, not wishing to take another life if she can help it. Even using the VR space to act it out seems too real. And still freaking out when she refers to herself as a girl, going to be a long road to fully adapt. Wait, what? That illusion spell was stronger than Bree thought, otherwise it should have worn off a while ago. And she can keep calling them Aunt Julie and Uncle Jim, they are nice people who took her in and treated her like family, but her body doesn't know that. And another hour or 2, that is a long lasting illusion.

la la la la! Yup, just a lot of therapy in Bree's future for various reasons. And now dealing with Aunt Julie and seeing her like that, Bree has a lot of self control not to say or do anything until Aunt Julie is far out of the room. And if she thinks this about Aunt Julie, I wonder how she will deal with several of the female members of Whateleley Academy staff. Feminine hygiene is definately more complicated than male hygiene. She just better keep quiet about not needing to shave her legs or some girls will be very upset at her.

Only needing just under 2 hours of sleep at most, a dream come true, so many more hours in the day to do things. A nice breakfast only to be interupted by the human hurricane that is Mrs. Grantson. Never called her back to confirm they were coming, and yet she shows up to deliver their invites. And still expecting 'Chloe' to show up at the party, someone needs to tell her to ease off.

The poor Admiral, having to deal with a wife who seems to expect to get her way every time. And I sympathize with Mr. Reilly, can just imagine the headache that is building right now. And as I suspected, going to the party is a really bad idea, made worse with Whisper being a trouble magnet. Dang, didn't know my calling her a human hurricane would be spot on, nicknamed Hurricane Victoria and all.

Witness Protection Program, thank you Mrs. Townsend for the bailout. At least it works out, even if she might have deduced Whisper's true identity in the process. And Bree is learning non-verbal communication well to pick that up. Mrs. Grantson is adept at finding trouble as Bree is at getting into it, yikes! It is a wonder she isn't stumbling onto a murder mystery every week, kind of reminds me of a more social Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote. And Whipser definately confirmed her identity with that stunt with the phone.

If Aunt Julie hadn't already gotten clothes for her stay, I can see Mrs. Grantson dragging Bree/'Chloe' off on a shopping trip. No matter how much you fear doing something, never be rude when a mother-figure is in hearing range, especially if your mother is in range. First and middle name, Bree is in trouble. And the dam breaks, ouch, she was holding a lot in. As I said earlier, a lot of counciling her in her future.

Everything that has happened since she first came out of the cocoon, all the stress of the transformation, being targeted for death by various groups, and seperated from her family and in hiding now, not even able to go out in public as her new self. It feels like a long time to us readers, but has been a short time since all this started. The stress of it all was bound to hit her hard once she had a time to decompress. Aunt Julie has a point, everything so far has been like out of a spy movie.

Aunt Julie really knows how to cheer someone up and show them the good parts of their life. Mrs. Grantson at least is a nice person, even if she comes off as pushy when trying to get someone to do something. Actually with the way Mrs. Grantson charisma and force of personality works, I wouldn't put it past some idiot MCO rookies to believe she is a mutant and try to haul her in. Though the mental image of her defeating them with a single glare did get me to laugh as well. Thank you for good news, Bree's mom coming to stay until Bree can safely leave will greatly improve her mood.

Lainer sees it as baselines vs. mutants, not realizing that mutants are humans too. And when you go after what is considered the most vulnerable of us, children, you lose public support. And with his contact not showing, I'm still left wondering if it was Sara who drew him out so she could pick his mind without him knowing or confirm where he was. Oops, should have read down. Now I'm left to wonder if Sara killed Falk for his part in the Circuit Breaker incident and now going after Whisper. I definately wouldn't put it past her driving him to suicide, with the dark mood she was in.

Lainer thinks the US government had Falk killed, scared by it yet curious still. He needs to be reminded of the old saying, curiosity killed the cat. Knowing Lainer he would pull the same stupid stunt, an illegal, off the record interview at Whateley. But since it will involve Whisper, he will be putting his life on the life doing this, not just his carreer.

Bree probably enjoyed cleaning and preping the room for her mom because of who she was doing it with, along with who they are preparing the room for. Plus there is no girl cleaning instinct, I've known girls who are bigger slobs than many guys. Motherly bear hug, dangerous when unleashed without warning. Thank you, even without the MCO around there are still too many reasons for Bree not to go to the party. I like Captain Howards, talking about a fire fight in the middle of a formal ball, no one would forget that.

Bree in the Navy when she grows up, Whateley Academy training plus Navy training = scary badass. Hug and kiss ambush on Captain Howards, that backfired on Bree in a big way, as she notices her own attraction to him. And mom tease her about her own face turning red afterwards as well, she will never live this one down.

Bree, this is an arguement you aren't going to win, anything you can think of your mom or Aunt Julie will counter with something better. She is willing to risk the CIA coming after her again or MCO by not going to Whateley over skirts, she is more stubborn than any other mtf I can recall so far on this matter. And she thinks the school uniforms will be like out of an anime, it is rarely like that in the real world, as far as I know.

Get the outfit too dirty to wear Saturday, won't work Bree, your mom will have it cleaned and pressed by the time you are ready to leave. And not accepting the compliment definately shows how far she has to go in adjusting to being a girl. Uh oh, dinner and a movie sounds nice as a treat for Bree and her mom, but with Bree's trouble magnet it could spiral out of control quickly.

Aunt Julie acting differently around Bree now that mom is around, poor kid, she should speak her mind on the matter so they know why she is acting up. And horray for Aunt Julie ahd her medical knowledge. Okay, slow down the bus, Aunt Julie and mom are going too far too fast with the talk of babies and being a mom around Bree. And Bree is wrong, change it from Aunt Julie and her mom to their moms, aunts, etc. talking about sex ed. and girls would react the way Bree is.

At least Bree will get to see the movie she wants to, too often in these kind of scenarios the women drag off the new girl to the clic flick as part of a crash course in being a girl, glad to see that didn't happen. Bree is going to have to link up to GEO again sooner or later. Great, Aunt Julie and mom are both drunk and Uncle Jim is encouraging things which will require more therapy for Bree. At least she didn't make them look a lot like Sara, that would increase the mental trauma.

Though her mom as a Japanese schoolgirl might still leave some trauma. Mom may be drunk but she is definately upset, is it because of the nature of the change or because she is worried about Bree triggering a burnout. And with Aunt Julie acting that way, it is for the best Bree's mom drags her out of the room. Oh, good. She thinks the schoolgirl illusion is because Bree is upset about the uniform and skirt issue. From angry to crying and breaking down, Bree's mom is a strange drunk.

Poor mom, blaming herself for everything Bree has been through, even though she isn't at fault for any of it. We are hardest on ourselves when we feel we have failed the ones we love. Okay, this remote medical diagnostics service better not mess up her mom. Data to figure out how to treat her drunken state, with the ability to call back the nanites. A very useful ability to have. And even with Bree helping her, mom is going to have a hang-over in the morning. Zonked out before Bree can finish a sentence, talk about 4 sheets to the wind.

1.5 hours sleep, only to find Aunt Julie awake and crying now. Ulp, dispell the disguise and get an eyeful, it is not Bree's night. Trying to lure in Sara by going topless, she has to be busy or in trouble for this not to work. And with Uncle Jim mentioning the door was locked, it seems either a simple spell or her nanites can unlock doors for Bree. Well, she was a thief in GEO, reasons that she would have such an ability still.

Bree, you have no idea of what it is supposed to feel like yet, internet stories do tend to exagerate a lot though. With a few exceptions, including the Whateley Academy universe stories. Illusionary make-up, combined with her natural looks and Sidhe beauty, I can see why she wasn't ready for that. If it is even a 1/3rd as hot as Fey, she would have to drive off the boys with a giant mallet.

Wonder how much worse their hangovers would have been without Bree's help? And like Bree I will never understand why some people like alcohol of any sort, even wine. Aunt Julie not buying Bree more outfits, perish the thought. A backdoor into the testing machine, it figures the CIA would pull something like that. The note, with the something else very very bad, definately Sara who pushed the guy into offing himself.

It is just dinner and a movie, what could go wrong?

Bree, you shouldn't even tempt fate by thinking that.

Dang, Italian restaurant that isn't mainly pizza sounds great, hard to find down here. Dropship from Langley to Whateley, nice. Like those amusement park rides where you are in seats, carried up and dropped down fast only to stop slowly near the bottom, but more extreme. Spying on an Air Force dropship and around Whateley airspace, you might as well be signing your own death warrent, Lainer.

Jedi Mom-Ka-Nobi, bwahahaha. I have a feeling that when Bree's mom is stubborn about something, she could give lesson to mules on subbornness. Uh oh, hope no one who knows Karen and that she couldn't possibly be in Virginia spots them. Mom and Aunt Julie know how she feels, yet encourage the poor boy's flirting. They need to realilze they can help her adjust but not to try and push the matter.

Dang, she tempted fate and nothing happened on their night out, guess it was distracted by someone else that night. 90 minutes of sleep and fully rested, along with over 2 million results on why, dang. If the graphics on home consoles were equal to the VR space that Bree has, fewer and fewer people would play games where they kill fellow humans. And anyone who's played a game with foes in it knows you take out the sniper first, unless there is a range rocket launcher type in the area as well.

Mk-211 AP! Brutal and high powered, would hate to be fired upon by someone with one of those. Having fun and taking down giant robots, only to get startled by Sara showing up again. She could give cats lessons on moving silently. And with how Bree's life is going, Sara is right, it is only a matter of time before she will have to kill or be killed herself, or worse, see someone she loves killed.

I would have thought by now Bree would have learned to just tell Sara what she wants to know for face the tickle fiend. " I hoped that might happen..." And full confirmation that Sara drove Falk to suicide, after what he did to Circuit Breaker aka now Cyberkitty and her "twin" in Greece, going after Whisper now signed his death warrent. "Hmmmphh, where is the earth shattering ka-boom?" I love a good Marvin the Martian reference.

And Sara finally tells Bree about her family and origins. Baby GOO, goo-goo gah-gah, with Sara's response to that I have to wonder what she was visualizing there. If the good Reverand and his Goobers try to use Bree against Sara, it would be hand over to the MCO and authorities time for them. Oops, forgot she has more enemies out there, including her mortal uncle. Can see why she is trying to have Bree keep her distance, even if it hurts them both to do so. Bree is a lot more stubborn than I thought, wonder what the students and staff at Whateley will make of her.

Illusionary disguise at Whateley, at least a few students will see through it or sense it isn't her true appearance. Even a subtle job like here might stand out to senses that can see or detect magic.

People change, just some change more than others, but as long as you stay true to yourself, you will always change for the better.

This is something I've need to hear/read for a long time. Thank you.

"No, no, not that. Please don't throw me in the briar patch..."

Bwahahaha. I keep having to stop reading and typing for a while due to laughing so much. Sara kissing her on the lips and fading out Cheshire cat style, next thing you know she will do a routine like Tigger or pounce on Bree on Hobbes does to Calvin.

Laying low and being a part of the JROTC, at Whateley I don't think those two things go together too well. Bree is going to be shocked by the number of girls who don't wear the uniform skirt and go with pants, especially the girl member of the Grunts. Make herself look human=dull and not natural looking. Add make-up=hot and attractive even with Sidhe features, thus attract attention. She can't win either way. The dilemma of females of all ages: having a ton of clothes but nothing to wear.

THe horrors of packing, thinking you are finished when you have just started. Smart move, Bree. Hacking Whateley is worse than most government facilites in terms of complexity, along with vindictiveness of the system admin, Hartford. When Mrs. Carson finds out about Bree's mapping capability, she is going to want her help creating a 3-D map of the school and tunnel systems.

Being called beautiful by a man, especially someone who she thinks of as an uncle, at least she isn't freaking out like she would have in the past. Bree attracts trouble to herself, but she also seems to attract good people who know just what to say to her as well. Uncle Jim is right, be true to yourself and follow your heart. Illusionary make-up, if the girls at school here you complain about that you are going to get an earful, Bree.

Luggage that in total weighs almost more than her, even when I was younger I packed more than that. Tearful goodbye to her new aunt and uncle, while people show they are too impatient to let others say goodbye to loved ones. Nice to see Reynolds again, still chipper as always. Finally, she gets to see her sister and dad again, feels like forever since then. And Lindsay inherited their mom's crushing hug move. And she wants to borrow Bree's clothes and is getting along with her, way to confuse Bree some more.

And I was right earlier, poor Admiral Grantson having to put up with his wife interrogating him. I like Flashback, messing with the MCO is fun. I love this plan, how are they going to explain those expense reports after following them around the world. Nice bit of comedy with Bree worrying about teleporting and her recovery. I never got that being embarassed to be hugged by dad thing, guess it is different in other families.

Teasing between siblings, you know they love each other. All that happening over the length of a few days, hard to imagine so many things could happen. Just because some things you used to enjoy don't seem fun anymore, doesn't mean you are an adrenalin junky. It simply means you have changed, and everyone who knows Bree would say it is for the better.

Might be a little cooler than a public high school, but it is still school. Boy is she in for a shock. Bree is learning, don't throw rocks at the hornet's nest aka taunt the MCO. The details on the dropships, the size, shape and cost, now we know why there aren't more of them active and used in place of traditional military aircrafts. Beyond top secret in design, wonder how many years and how many Gadgeteers worked on the project which designed them.

The old official "you didn't see or hear anything about this matter/person". Guess she is too excited about flying, teleporting and getting to Whateley finally to be bother by some guys staring at her. Talk about secure, airtight hatch like on a Navy ship to prevent intruders from gaining access to the protected passengers section and probably have to go through another one from there to get to the cockpit.

And despite the risk of her capabilities come out, she does what she feels is right and warns them about the increased Taliban activity where they are heading. Flimsy cover to tell Colonel Braxton, hope this doesn't blow up in her face. With the way Flashback had been described, I thought she was in her mid-30s at most. Too young to retire from being a superhero. Wonder what happened. And this thing is 20 times the size of the ship her team used, yikes!

Oh, now I like Flashback even more, everyone likes to play around in zero-G when given the chance to. Yikes! 3 Gs of force, I can barely stand some of the faster roller coasters, I would have my eyes shut and try to block out sensory input as well. And Bree slips up about her abilities, at least Flashback can keep a secret. Floating around like you are flying, if only they could simulate that on Earth easily. And now it's time to say goodbye to all their company.

Nice seeing the same flight from Master Sergeant Frank Evens point of view. A shock to see them just disappear, though to react so quickly afterwards he must have seen some unusual things over his years in service.

Thinking Mrs. Carson is too young to run Whateley, Sara and Nikki should have given her more information. Or did they want hear about the look on her face when she finally meet the headmistress. So to those not teleporting with her, Flashback simply just ceases to be where she once was. A simple teleport with no flash, the ultimate stealth transportation.

And I was right, just how she mentally reacted to finding out the woman in front of her is Mrs. Carson was worth it. Sir Wallace as her mentor, at least that is sorted out. Cousins now to Nikki, adopted by Aunghadhail, now lying by obmission about knowing Sara simply because she didn't know her last name or codename before. Wait, that is the official story they gave for what Sara looks so much like Nikki now? Guess they didn't want to tell Mrs. Carson or anyone the truth about their ritual which made them blood sisters, all kinds of awkward of she or any of the magical staff found out.

And Bree reveals the truth and gives Mrs. Carson a new headache to deal with. Oh boy, Mrs. Carson wants to help her with her plans. Which means placing her in Whitman so she doesn't accidently run into Fey or Sara when she is over there. So there is less help for her being a changeling than she would get in Poe, but less attention due to no connection to Fey, Sara, or Team Kimba. Guess she has to take the good with the bad.

I love how Lainer is getting messed with, couldn't happen to a nicer guy. A black ops experiment turns his brother into a superhuman who later snaps and he blames the government for it instead of that one group which was probably rogue. He is mad! Even if what he is doing was justified, he is working directly against the US government and targeting a private school. Lainer needs to be stopped and soon, before the fallout of his little crusade sees innocents killed. And Colonel David 'Buster' Fairbanks sounds like bad news.

Whisper is so adorkable. And I'm glad to see the CS-5 sub-orbital heavy lift vehicles made it into cannon. I always liked those ridiculous things.

Nitpick: In the part where Whisper is talking to her nanites about the color #FF00FF, the text coloring is wrong. It was colored red (#FF0000) instead of magenta (#FF00FF). But then fixing that would leave the next bit where she calls it "freaking red" odd, so I'm guessing the hex code given was also incorrect. #FF00FF is called "magenta" by computer people, but given her description of it being red with some purple, Whisper was probably looking at something closer to the #CA1F7B of magenta dye .

Well I get the feeling that Whitman is for Whisper to get established, if she ends up being a Kimba- level trouble magnet, she might end up being put in Poe to reinforce the cover of Poe being where they send the crazies...

mhalpern wrote: Well I get the feeling that Whitman is for Whisper to get established, if she ends up being a Kimba- level trouble magnet, she might end up being put in Poe to reinforce the cover of Poe being where they send the crazies...

Liz put Bree in Whitman because she seemed to think Bree was use to being a girl and did not need help with her gender swap. Not sure Bree would agree with that had she been asked.

jmhyp wrote:

mhalpern wrote: Well I get the feeling that Whitman is for Whisper to get established, if she ends up being a Kimba- level trouble magnet, she might end up being put in Poe to reinforce the cover of Poe being where they send the crazies...

Liz put Bree in Whitman because she seemed to think Bree was use to being a girl and did not need help with her gender swap. Not sure Bree would agree with that had she been asked.

Also at the time, first floor of Poe has very few empty spaces. Either an empty room or an empty room and Punch's single, that Kayda takes. Kayda was in a much greater need than Whisper.

Odd how that worked out.

Valentine wrote:

jmhyp wrote:

mhalpern wrote: Well I get the feeling that Whitman is for Whisper to get established, if she ends up being a Kimba- level trouble magnet, she might end up being put in Poe to reinforce the cover of Poe being where they send the crazies...

Liz put Bree in Whitman because she seemed to think Bree was use to being a girl and did not need help with her gender swap. Not sure Bree would agree with that had she been asked.

Also at the time, first floor of Poe has very few empty spaces. Either an empty room or an empty room and Punch's single, that Kayda takes. Kayda was in a much greater need than Whisper.

Odd how that worked out.

Speaking of which, I wonder how long it will take people to find out who paid for the expansions to Hawthorn and Poe... well other than Fubar, he probably already knew before Ayla donated the money... And I really would like to see how miss child services will react, unfortunately that last one will have to wait for the return of Diane Castle if that happens, such is the nature of internet fiction, there will be hiatuses, and there's no telling if the author will return...

Also Bree was put in Whitman to avoid attracting attention and she already knew that she isn't alone in being a changeling, she knows people whom she could go to for advice, and has means to do so that wont garner much attention from other students, which is much of the purpose of Poe in the first place. Its only a matter of time before people notice what Bree's like when the STIMS are active, so explaining a reassignment to Poe would be easy, not to mention, she could probably pull off quite a bit of craziness in the sims, beyond effective use of duel wielding that is, and its only a matter of time before people notice similarities between her "makeover" illusions and Sara, but a partial semester isn't long to hide such things, and long enough to get established as being "reasonable" which is a luxury Team Kimba lacks

mhalpern wrote: Speaking of which, I wonder how long it will take people to find out who paid for the expansions to Hawthorn and Poe... well other than Fubar, he probably already knew before Ayla donated the money... And I really would like to see how miss child services will react, unfortunately that last one will have to wait for the return of Diane Castle if that happens, such is the nature of internet fiction, there will be hiatuses, and there's no telling if the author will return...

Actually, I expect Ayla to have some fun at her expense. I was going to explain, but it's worth a Micro Scene... so it's going to that part of the forums.

You mean, micro-scenes aren't supposed to be put anywhere you feel like it?

Hopefully Bree won't have to publicly distance herself from Nikki and Sara throughout the entirety of her 3½ years at Whateley - she's the third case of someone associated with TK distancing themselves from the group for the mutual safety of each other (and the school) - initially Sara post Halloween, then Chou (courtesy of her tapestry experience), now Bree.

At least she'll still be able to "virtually" meet up and chat with Nikki and Sara overnight, and of course since she's likely to have some lessons in the Magical Arts Department, she's likely to see Nikki in the context of the class' TA; while as Paige has apparently expressed an interest in mentoring her, she's likely to meet Sara in/around the computer labs. Of course, she won't be able to do much overt interaction in those scenarios, but at least she'll be seeing them for real. There's also a possibility of her being able to physically meet up with them during Academy vacations (especially if it helps Dr. B rediscover Sara - helping Sleethr out first, then at a later time going back and filling in the gaps).

It's also likely she'll make friends and acquaintances of her own, plus there's the fun of waiting to see if her interface with a certain member of Security is adapted into Canon...

Silly thought: courtesy of her VR headspace, she may recreate some of the Combat Final scenarios there for personal training purposes. As for the Academy sims, when she has her first session, she'd almost certainly remind the nanites to stay on board, while in physical arena training, instruct them to behave according to the ANTs disguise rather than as robots.

Whisper will no doubt run into Nikki a lot, and have plenty of excuses to visit her, as Nikki's mentor is also going to mentor Bree, not to mention that Bree will no doubt be taking intro to magic, which has Nikki as a TA.

She may even end up in the same class as Phase.

We already know from the second fanfic that she takes lessons from Paige, although that might change. Especially as there would appear to be a secretive element in those lessons that was facilitated by Sara which could be in doubt with her being 'behind the draw'.

technically Whisper isn't gping to need a suit to use the sims, the only thing is if they can actually restirct her to her real powerset, she can probably flip sims into god mode witjout really trying. Himm whisper accidently taking over a sim session could make a nice micro scene.

Not putting her in Poe is obviously aimed at keeping at least some space between her, Nikkie and Sara.

The other conflict waiting to happen is when Damper works out she killed his GEO character. my guess would be that this will be the first thing that ruons her plans to stay unnoticed.

i've actually being wondering how that game actually works on campus. Whateley is supposed to have the best magical wards on the planet, you'd think that scrying spells the game uses would trip over them, or at least cause an alarm.

Hmm. and the idea of the MCO planting an actual spy at Whatley, thats could make things interesting, especially if the spy ends up crossing paths with Absinth once she arrives. Or possibly the MCO agent finding out about absith and thinking that he can use her as his spy.

konzill wrote:
i've actually being wondering how that game actually works on campus. Whateley is supposed to have the best magical wards on the planet, you'd think that scrying spells the game uses would trip over them, or at least cause an alarm.

the law of intent covers this well I think?

the player gave the computer permission to pass the wards into Whateley and intended to use the game with all it's rules intact---the user agreement you sign before each game might have that spell right in its words and no one ever READ IT---lol

lighttech wrote:

konzill wrote:
i've actually being wondering how that game actually works on campus. Whateley is supposed to have the best magical wards on the planet, you'd think that scrying spells the game uses would trip over them, or at least cause an alarm.

the law of intent covers this well I think?

the player gave the computer permission to pass the wards into Whateley and intended to use the game with all it's rules intact---the user agreement you sign before each game might have that spell right in its words and no one ever READ IT---lol

IIRC some video game company actually put a claudse in their EULA that by agreeing to tit you are selling them your soul, (unless you tick the extra box revoking that clause). I guess in the Whateley verse such an EULA might actually cost you your soul.

edit: www.geek.com/games/gamestation-eula-coll...g-customers-1194091/

konzill wrote:

lighttech wrote:

konzill wrote:
i've actually being wondering how that game actually works on campus. Whateley is supposed to have the best magical wards on the planet, you'd think that scrying spells the game uses would trip over them, or at least cause an alarm.

the law of intent covers this well I think?

the player gave the computer permission to pass the wards into Whateley and intended to use the game with all it's rules intact---the user agreement you sign before each game might have that spell right in its words and no one ever READ IT---lol

IIRC some video game company actually put a claudse in their EULA that by agreeing to tit you are selling them your soul, (unless you tick the extra box revoking that clause). I guess in the Whateley verse such an EULA might actually cost you your soul.

edit: www.geek.com/games/gamestation-eula-coll...g-customers-1194091/

nawwww~! you need nice yummy blood for a good binding 'SOUL' contract---at least in the Drow world!

Kristin Darken wrote: Ya, we made him move it. Working out the dates was one of the biggest complications for El moving from fan fiction to canon. His understanding/interpretations of the universe were already very accurate considering he hadn't read from the secret files yet. Same with Morpheus... that's why we were so happy to have both of them join canon. They both had a really good feel for the universe even before we shared the inside scoop with them. And they don't steal my 'nilla Wafers from the staff snack cabinet. When you find people who won't steal your 'nilla Wafers... recruit them asap.

Sleethr had Whisper pretty solidly aligned to the canon universe too. But there was a LOT of it to convert.

Speaking of Whisper, and her author, Sleethr, has anyone heard anything from Sleethr? I thought I saw Sleethr lurking here the other day, but if so very quietly!