Question Islands in The Sun.

Setting this up for Mage, on the off chance anyone wants to talk about it. He's a little busy right now.

I work nights, Nar, and yeah, was just a tad busy.

Now, let's see how many people _get_ all the stuff I stuffed into this.

I'm aware! I was speaking to the audience! I gotcher back!

You just want to pick my brains... for dinner!

Haven't read it yet, but the title reminds me of Sun and Fun...

... Oh yay! There's gonna be Japan Info! I'm a fanficer, but still... It'd be nice even if I wasn't!

Uh, lots of stuff to digest there. About the MCO, about China and the Iron Dragon, about the Yama Dojo...

Lots of half-given info. Like, for instance, Jiro's wife is an Exemplar, but otherwise we know nothing about her.

But a few things I just couldn't figure out. For instance, what's a "Myoujin" and what's the relevance of Hikaru being one?

And... well, I thought that the story broke off at an odd place. Was it intentional? Is this a multipart story?

Well

“The equivalent of power that it would take me at least a year to collect, for one thing?” Miyako nodded. “No human, part human, or near human, with a few exceptions like the Sidhe Queen, could hope to safely channel and use that power at once.” She paused, her mind flicking back to the briefing. “It didn’t hurt, mind you, that the ground and plants already had a small bit of essence attached to them, nor that the Shrine had been already collecting essence to use… or…”

I think that's another Gen 1 student we can mark as being present in Gen 2.

Other notes. seems Whateley has a friendly rivalry when it comes to teaching magic, will be interesting to see how that pans out.

Reemergent MCO, can't say I'm surprised that they've regained a large amount of power and support, they are a cancer, a weed, and if you don't rip out the root weeds grow back, based on what was described here and in other stories, I would hazard a guess that whatever provided the MCO's political spike in power, ALSO made room for E-R to become a noticeable entity, as opposed to the small group it was when seen in the Stacy stories, as groups gain and lose power the more controversy is over their interests, and more often than not, the political spikes tend to fuel both sides in some way, to aid bureaucracy in maintaining its speed limit of snail or slower, after all anything faster would be a sign of the Apocalypse and we cant have that. Regardless I think this is actually the MCO reaching its end, a last push to assert their relevance, using what has happened "because they weren't allowed to act" whether they would be equipped to do anything about it or not, as political leverage, which is desperate at best, it earns them temporary power, but if they can't follow through, or if someone ELSE stops something without their aid, over time the claim that their absence is at fault for certain tragedies becomes more and more suspect.

mhalpern wrote: Well

“The equivalent of power that it would take me at least a year to collect, for one thing?” Miyako nodded. “No human, part human, or near human, with a few exceptions like the Sidhe Queen, could hope to safely channel and use that power at once.” She paused, her mind flicking back to the briefing. “It didn’t hurt, mind you, that the ground and plants already had a small bit of essence attached to them, nor that the Shrine had been already collecting essence to use… or…”

I think that's another Gen 1 student we can mark as being present in Gen 2.

No, we actually cannot. What this says it that at some point the public at large (at least the ones who follow the paranormal news) became aware of the Sidhe Queen, but not that the Sidhe Queen is still alive. For all we know, Fey might have been killed the week previous to that statement, or several years before.

Sir Lee wrote: Uh, lots of stuff to digest there. About the MCO, about China and the Iron Dragon, about the Yama Dojo...

Lots of half-given info. Like, for instance, Jiro's wife is an Exemplar, but otherwise we know nothing about her.

She wasn't _important_ to the story, so why bother giving information.

But a few things I just couldn't figure out. For instance, what's a "Myoujin" and what's the relevance of Hikaru being one?

*dun dun dun!* To be revealed. Myoujin is a family name, though.

And... well, I thought that the story broke off at an odd place. Was it intentional? Is this a multipart story?

Yes, it's intentional, and it's more a bridging/setup piece than anything else.
No 2nd part.

It will tie in directly and be setup for OTHER stories, though, in Y1 of G2, so consider it a prologue.

mhalpern wrote: Other notes. seems Whateley has a friendly rivalry when it comes to teaching magic, will be interesting to see how that pans out.

Not quite. Whateley is considered BY the Yama Dojo (unofficially)'s teachers to be the premier SCHOOL for _western_ style magic. Even if they only admit this grudgingly.
The rivalry is a bit different.

Reemergent MCO, can't say I'm surprised that they've regained a large amount of power and support, they are a cancer, a weed, and if you don't rip out the root weeds grow back, based on what was described here and in other stories, I would hazard a guess that whatever provided the MCO's political spike in power, ALSO made room for E-R to become a noticeable entity, as opposed to the small group it was when seen in the Stacy stories, as groups gain and lose power the more controversy is over their interests, and more often than not, the political spikes tend to fuel both sides in some way, to aid bureaucracy in maintaining its speed limit of snail or slower, after all anything faster would be a sign of the Apocalypse and we cant have that. Regardless I think this is actually the MCO reaching its end, a last push to assert their relevance, using what has happened "because they weren't allowed to act" whether they would be equipped to do anything about it or not, as political leverage, which is desperate at best, it earns them temporary power, but if they can't follow through, or if someone ELSE stops something without their aid, over time the claim that their absence is at fault for certain tragedies becomes more and more suspect.

Mmmhmm. Time will tell.

Sir Lee wrote:

mhalpern wrote: Well

“The equivalent of power that it would take me at least a year to collect, for one thing?” Miyako nodded. “No human, part human, or near human, with a few exceptions like the Sidhe Queen, could hope to safely channel and use that power at once.” She paused, her mind flicking back to the briefing. “It didn’t hurt, mind you, that the ground and plants already had a small bit of essence attached to them, nor that the Shrine had been already collecting essence to use… or…”

I think that's another Gen 1 student we can mark as being present in Gen 2.

No, we actually cannot. What this says it that at some point the public at large (at least the ones who follow the paranormal news) became aware of the Sidhe Queen, but not that the Sidhe Queen is still alive. For all we know, Fey might have been killed the week previous to that statement, or several years before.

Ok true that is a reasonable technicality, still, it does mean Nikki survived Whateley, barring the possibilities that are a ways out there.

mhalpern wrote: Ok true that is a reasonable technicality, still, it does mean Nikki survived Whateley, barring the possibilities that are a ways out there.

Or went out with a really big bang.

“It doesn’t help that Megumi was right in another part of her full report, that we as a nation produce the least weapon-crazy gadgeteers and devisors out of the Alliance.”

Maxim 24: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a big gun.

(admittedly, with devises that's less likely to be true because they can be specialized in ways that don't make sense, but the principle still holds, I think. Anything can be used as a weapon if you need it to.)

Arcanist Lupus wrote:

mhalpern wrote: Ok true that is a reasonable technicality, still, it does mean Nikki survived Whateley, barring the possibilities that are a ways out there.

Or went out with a really big bang.

“It doesn’t help that Megumi was right in another part of her full report, that we as a nation produce the least weapon-crazy gadgeteers and devisors out of the Alliance.”

Maxim 24: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a big gun.

(admittedly, with devises that's less likely to be true because they can be specialized in ways that don't make sense, but the principle still holds, I think. Anything can be used as a weapon if you need it to.)

Yes anything can be used as a weapon, so long as you understand how to use it, with Gadgets and Devises that isn't always a given for anyone besides the creator.

One thing I don't get clearly in this story is how the Chinese managed to steal Megumi's tech -- weren't those supposed to be devises? Did they steal a complete functioning unit? The Japanese apparently had to build several units -- would a single unit be enough for the Chinese's needs? Or did they manage to copy it, despite it being a devise?

They clearly don't fully understand how it works, because it did... something bad... with the oil fields, apparently because they didn't slow it down. But I think it's a remarkable chutzpah to blame the people *you stole the tech from*. It's like those knockoff Taiwanese capacitor makers in the early oughts blaming Rubycon because the electrolyte formula they stole was incomplete.

Regarding the ending... MageOhki, I understand an abrupt ending, but was it REALLY supposed to end with THIS?

All eyes turned to their leader, but before he could continue, a soft moan caught their attention, and they went into a flurry of action, attending on their principal.

It really seems to be missing a couple scenes. You could at least added a "The End" line to make it clear it was intentional...

Unfortunately I have to say I didn't really like this one. To me there seems to be too much information, especially about japanese culture in general, missing for the story to be comprehensible. Amaterasu? Three Treasures? (to name two)

Yes, Boskalis really would like the island tech.

It's nice (well . .) to hear that the Iron Dragon is keeping busy. His exploits should be an interesting tale in and of themselves. The coup ought to have been hair raising, especially when you consider that the PLA's primary allegiance is to the chinese communist party, not to China itself.

Now there should be some seafood waiting to get dished up . . .

Echo wrote: Unfortunately I have to say I didn't really like this one. To me there seems to be too much information, especially about japanese culture in general, missing for the story to be comprehensible. Amaterasu? Three Treasures? (to name two)
:

I personally didn't have a problem with it, despite not knowing anything about Japanese religion/culture. Amaterasu - some sort of god or demigod who is considered the protector/founder of Japan. Three Treasures - 3 holy/mystical objects associated with Amaterasu. That's not particularly informative but it's enough for this story, and I assume that we'll get a more thorough explanation once we get to Hikaru's story and the details start to actually matter.

I didn't have that much problem, but I was lucky.

I had seen the name "Amaterasu" before as a major Shinto goddess, so I just went to the Wikipedia and refreshed my mind a bit. The important part is that the Imperial House of Japan is allegedly descended from her. Which probably means that her avatar is considered part of the Imperial Family and rendered the appropriate honors.

As for the Three Treasures... that was where I was lucky. Coincidentally, I was just the other day looking at the "legendary swords" category in the Wikipedia and stumbled upon the article about the Imperial Regalia of Japan:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Regalia_of_Japan

Briefly, those are three objects -- the sword Kusanagi, the mirror Yata no Kagami, and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama -- which so holy that they are kept hidden by the Imperial Family and never, EVER shown to an outsider, to a point that it's impossible to determine if they really exist. Thus, despite being officially listed as belonging to the Emperor of Japan, they are considered "legendary."

Sir Lee wrote: One thing I don't get clearly in this story is how the Chinese managed to steal Megumi's tech -- weren't those supposed to be devises? Did they steal a complete functioning unit? The Japanese apparently had to build several units -- would a single unit be enough for the Chinese's needs? Or did they manage to copy it, despite it being a devise?

They clearly don't fully understand how it works, because it did... something bad... with the oil fields, apparently because they didn't slow it down. But I think it's a remarkable chutzpah to blame the people *you stole the tech from*. It's like those knockoff Taiwanese capacitor makers in the early oughts blaming Rubycon because the electrolyte formula they stole was incomplete.

I haven't gone back to check on this, so I might well be wrong... but wasn't there a mention that these 'Devises' of Megumi's were patented? I thought that one of the DEFINITIONS of Devises were that they could NOT be patented as the technology couldn't be reproduced by others. If I'm correct then what changed and how?

John.

Abe nodded. “No one believed them, admittedly, and frankly it was hilarious having the MCO torn between protecting a Japanese mutant’s patents and bashing Iron Dragon and his mutants. The British representative called it the best show in years.” Grin fading, he nodded more serious. “Still, they are using it for sure in the South China Sea, and unless we want to be…”

Something was patented, but it doesn't say exactly what.

What's going on vis a vis Megumi's inventions.

A: Megumi is not a devisor (Ga/Ex only)
B: During the editing process we didn't catch that. Ooops.


The process behind the islands?
A: Drill, drill, drill deep. (specialized drilling heads: This is patentable)
B: During the drill, line the head with specialized equipment to keep the magma from 1: Cooling, 2: Coating and solidifying in the well. (Also patentable)
C: Build retaining walls to keep the Lava where you want.
D: Shut down the specialized equipment when island is size you want.

Profit!

China didn't steal the correct equipment for C. Nor get the procedure right. To be FAIR to the Chinese, Megumi basically conceived and desgined B in 3 months, and also didn't aquire the safe non B process (Megumi basically kept it not written down).

EVEN if they had B, the _speed of the magma matters_, too. That's what cooked the strata bearing the hydrocarbons. Between drilling too fast and letting the magma flow too fast. Ooops. (Side note, B really only speeds UP the speed of the islands, you still have to take precautions and make sure it doesn't 'cook' the strata. A is the critical bit, and if they did it carefully and slowly, they'd have avoided losing a lot of the hydrocarbons, or if they had extracted first.)

Add.: Yes, this also _helps_ Japan by lowering some of the various pressures on volcanos in the chain. (Not by a HUGE amount, mind you, but 1% less pressure this year, next year...) And yes, other nations and volcanists are looking at the process as a way to deal with big volcanos. Instead of uncontrolled, control the release

(Side note: I talked this over with my uncle, who's BS and MS are Geology, and he acutally wrote a PAPER on this. *snerk*)

Kristin Darken wrote: One of the things they're looking at to keep Yellowstone from killing us all, right?

Megumi _does_ have American friends, yes....

*snerk*

Uh... I think that it might not scale that well... I mean, relieving pressure of the Santorini caldera is one thing, relieving pressure of the Yellowstone is a whole different order of magnitude.

By size only. The real issues, when he did his paper, wasn't just the 'inability' of the ability to build drill bits good enough to drill to the chamber, but control the rate of flow, as well as having a working theory on how to 'deal' Not to mention, to be fair, what do you DO with the lava? It's a whole other order of difference doing so in an ocean or other 'large' water body, than in Montana or Wyoming.

The basic concept of releasing pressure of the chamber has been around for a while.

A.

MageOhki wrote: By size only. The real issues, when he did his paper, wasn't just the 'inability' of the ability to build drill bits good enough to drill to the chamber, but control the rate of flow, as well as having a working theory on how to 'deal' Not to mention, to be fair, what do you DO with the lava? It's a whole other order of difference doing so in an ocean or other 'large' water body, than in Montana or Wyoming.

The basic concept of releasing pressure of the chamber has been around for a while.

A.

Well if one were to develop the cermamics capable of handling those tempatures and pressures, more over on the massive construction scale needed, one could develop an apparatus to sort the base components in the lava as it comes out, and separate and move it as it cools, depending on the purity levels attained in that phase, sell for profit or utilize the waste heat to help with additional refinement, and by having the cooling systems double as power generation, you will have excess power. if such a feet were achieved, the trick would be not flooding the market with the byproduct, also the smaller land based test run, and figuring out what you could do about the wildlife, Yellowstone National Park is home to some of the most valuable wildlife preservations, and while preventing the volcano from gray eruption is more important, without addressing the wildlife issue, the political side of it will keep it at a stand still, not to mention the tourist attraction that is Old Faithful.

MageOhki wrote: (Side note: I talked this over with my uncle, who's BS and MS are Geology, and he acutally wrote a PAPER on this. *snerk*)

Wait... Cool! ... Is it published somewhere?

Something on the order of 40 years ago, yes. Be dammed if I remember WHERE, though.

mhalpern wrote:

Sir Lee wrote:

mhalpern wrote: Well

“The equivalent of power that it would take me at least a year to collect, for one thing?” Miyako nodded. “No human, part human, or near human, with a few exceptions like the Sidhe Queen, could hope to safely channel and use that power at once.” She paused, her mind flicking back to the briefing. “It didn’t hurt, mind you, that the ground and plants already had a small bit of essence attached to them, nor that the Shrine had been already collecting essence to use… or…”

I think that's another Gen 1 student we can mark as being present in Gen 2.

No, we actually cannot. What this says it that at some point the public at large (at least the ones who follow the paranormal news) became aware of the Sidhe Queen, but not that the Sidhe Queen is still alive. For all we know, Fey might have been killed the week previous to that statement, or several years before.

Ok true that is a reasonable technicality, still, it does mean Nikki survived Whateley, barring the possibilities that are a ways out there.

are we sure that the "queen" in the story is Nikki? another one might have shown up! or its a full other Aung!

lighttech wrote:

mhalpern wrote:

Sir Lee wrote:

mhalpern wrote: Well

“The equivalent of power that it would take me at least a year to collect, for one thing?” Miyako nodded. “No human, part human, or near human, with a few exceptions like the Sidhe Queen, could hope to safely channel and use that power at once.” She paused, her mind flicking back to the briefing. “It didn’t hurt, mind you, that the ground and plants already had a small bit of essence attached to them, nor that the Shrine had been already collecting essence to use… or…”

I think that's another Gen 1 student we can mark as being present in Gen 2.

No, we actually cannot. What this says it that at some point the public at large (at least the ones who follow the paranormal news) became aware of the Sidhe Queen, but not that the Sidhe Queen is still alive. For all we know, Fey might have been killed the week previous to that statement, or several years before.

Ok true that is a reasonable technicality, still, it does mean Nikki survived Whateley, barring the possibilities that are a ways out there.

are we sure that the "queen" in the story is Nikki? another one might have shown up! or its a full other Aung!

Or even more unlikely would be someone calling themselves "The Sidhe Queen" without actually being Sidhe... There are also other options like Whisper, and possibly Absinthe...

Nikki did some fairly impressive things already and was widely know amongst the student body at Whateley. She could die at Whateley and still be remembered and studied fairly extensively purely from her reputation amongst the students.

The "Dark Pheonix" sims from Team Kimba's team combat classes would have been watched by the rest of the students, and Team Kimba was fairly off the scales impressive doing them. You can imagine Wizarding geeks spending decades debating the power draws being used and how much she was channeling verse illusion verse other ways it could have been done.

Phoenix Spiritus wrote: Nikki did some fairly impressive things already and was widely know amongst the student body at Whateley. She could die at Whateley and still be remembered and studied fairly extensively purely from her reputation amongst the students.

The "Dark Pheonix" sims from Team Kimba's team combat classes would have been watched by the rest of the students, and Team Kimba was fairly off the scales impressive doing them. You can imagine Wizarding geeks spending decades debating the power draws being used and how much she was channeling verse illusion verse other ways it could have been done.

And I would bet that some computer savvy roleplaying nerds have an illicit sim game that allows them to "play" sim combat or RPGs based off of their favorite students, likely with scimpy tearaway costumes.

lighttech wrote:

mhalpern wrote:

Sir Lee wrote:

mhalpern wrote: Well

“The equivalent of power that it would take me at least a year to collect, for one thing?” Miyako nodded. “No human, part human, or near human, with a few exceptions like the Sidhe Queen, could hope to safely channel and use that power at once.” She paused, her mind flicking back to the briefing. “It didn’t hurt, mind you, that the ground and plants already had a small bit of essence attached to them, nor that the Shrine had been already collecting essence to use… or…”

I think that's another Gen 1 student we can mark as being present in Gen 2.

No, we actually cannot. What this says it that at some point the public at large (at least the ones who follow the paranormal news) became aware of the Sidhe Queen, but not that the Sidhe Queen is still alive. For all we know, Fey might have been killed the week previous to that statement, or several years before.

Ok true that is a reasonable technicality, still, it does mean Nikki survived Whateley, barring the possibilities that are a ways out there.

are we sure that the "queen" in the story is Nikki? another one might have shown up! or its a full other Aung!

Except Aung's spirit is no more there is only Nikki left

And the amount of students who knew Nikki was the "Sidhe Queen" because of Aunghadhial vs. the ones that thought she was because she was a) Sidhe and b) the Queen due to obviously being the prettiest, the most powerful and having this amazing aura and personality she projected when she came round to step on you.

Just saying, even if Nikki doesn't resurrect the Sidhe courts, her chances of not being known as "The Sidhe Queen" irrespective of what she wants are pretty slim.

One thing that did kind of surprise me is that apparently Jade never pranked the Yama Dojo. Or did she and they just didn't consider it to have been done by Whateley since it wasn't an officially sponsored prank.

Finding the Dojo is a bit of a problem....

Cripes, Amaterasu was channelling a lot of power through Hikaru - she's very lucky a competent healer in the form of Sakuya was handy so she only suffered relatively mild burnout (kudos for the Oops - which Google tells me would have actually been "Ottotto"... [heh, why use one syllable when three will do [or rather, five mora])

“What the Celestial Empress was doing was extending strong and ancient wards filled with anti-mythos effects and several other features, some of which I didn’t even know existed. Not satisfied with that, she was effectively adding about two hundred square kilometers to the ward’s area. Finally, she made every plant on the island mature instantaneously.”

It's just as well that kind of power can presumably only be wielded with the use of the three Treasures - possibly also only once a Shrine has been constructed beforehand. Still, apart from the responsibility of keeping an eye on Kenshin (whose back story will no doubt be revealed in future), Whateley should be a refreshing change - no-one treating her special because she's Myoujin or hosting Amaterasu and definitely no-one showering her with gifts.

Meanwhile, China may have accidentally burned an entire oil / gas field courtesy of being too hasty, but at least it wasn't onshore coal (the magma would probably have sublimated it and the resulting chambers collapsed, resulting in huge subsidence).

As for Megumi's tech, it does seem logical that it would be the Japanese that would successfully work out how to create islands using magma in a more stable manner than Karedonia (so they don't have to be constantly monitored or need a 'dead man's switch' to discourage anyone from invading) - and it's likely the islands created would be less resistant to erosion or liquifaction than conventional landfill expansions to islands (IIRC, a substantial amount of rock has to be used in Dubai's Palm Islands to minimise erosion, even in the relatively calm waters of the Gulf - while one of the barriers had to be modified to encourage some water flow to stop it becoming stagnant - they're having to do a delicate balancing act with water flow as if it's too high, the islands will erode away).

mittfh wrote: It's just as well that kind of power can presumably only be wielded with the use of the three Treasures - possibly also only once a Shrine has been constructed beforehand. Still, apart from the responsibility of keeping an eye on Kenshin (whose back story will no doubt be revealed in future), Whateley should be a refreshing change - no-one treating her special because she's Myoujin or hosting Amaterasu and definitely no-one showering her with gifts.

There are still Japanese people at Whateley, and an important / powerful spirit is still at least powerful, anywhere you go...

mittfh wrote: As for Megumi's tech, it does seem logical that it would be the Japanese that would successfully work out how to create islands using magma in a more stable manner than Karedonia (so they don't have to be constantly monitored or need a 'dead man's switch' to discourage anyone from invading)

A dead man's switch might have been useful to prevent invasion... But would China invade islands of seniors' resorts? No, but they would want to invade Japan's 'Ellis Island' for the mutants, and to stop them from aiding Japan?

Invading a island inside one of the many inlets or bays of Japan... China would be directly invading the Home Islands _anyways_.


Now, that doesn't mean China doesn't have some ... concern that they will seek to assuage, does it, now.

mittfh wrote: Cripes, Amaterasu was channelling a lot of power through Hikaru - she's very lucky a competent healer in the form of Sakuya was handy so she only suffered relatively mild burnout (kudos for the Oops - which Google tells me would have actually been "Ottotto"... [heh, why use one syllable when three will do [or rather, five mora])

There's a reason I translated... and quite so. Don't be surprised if you see more of that...

*snip*
It's just as well that kind of power can presumably only be wielded with the use of the three Treasures - possibly also only once a Shrine has been constructed beforehand. Still, apart from the responsibility of keeping an eye on Kenshin (whose back story will no doubt be revealed in future), Whateley should be a refreshing change - no-one treating her special because she's Myoujin or hosting Amaterasu and definitely no-one showering her with gifts.

Kudos for catching BOTH limits. And yes, that's part of the idea...

Meanwhile, China may have accidentally burned an entire oil / gas field courtesy of being too hasty, but at least it wasn't onshore coal (the magma would probably have sublimated it and the resulting chambers collapsed, resulting in huge subsidence).

"May?"

As for Megumi's tech, it does seem logical that it would be the Japanese that would successfully work out how to create islands using magma in a more stable manner than Karedonia (so they don't have to be constantly monitored or need a 'dead man's switch' to discourage anyone from invading) - and it's likely the islands created would be less resistant to erosion or liquifaction than conventional landfill expansions to islands (IIRC, a substantial amount of rock has to be used in Dubai's Palm Islands to minimise erosion, even in the relatively calm waters of the Gulf - while one of the barriers had to be modified to encourage some water flow to stop it becoming stagnant - they're having to do a delicate balancing act with water flow as if it's too high, the islands will erode away).

Yep. Megumi's process is more or less 'duplicating' what Nature does more or less naturally, ala most of the Pacific atolls and islands, and of course, Hawaii.

Thank you Magey for the insights into why the Yama Dojo does what it does. Makes me wonder if they respect DeVille Academy enough to prank them...

Islands in the Sun comments
Ooo, a gadgeteer who has already been at Whateley for a while, plus into volcanic research. Megumi definitely is one to look out for, with the kind of tech they are describing she has already created. Already plotting and trying to hire away non-Japanese mutants for their benefit, not sure how to feel about that. Creating islands for retirement or assisted living, why do I have the feel it isn't as altruistic as it sounds. Nice to see the beliefs of the Japanese displayed, wonder if the Celestial Empress is actually still around in some form or another still. Attitude of Megumi seems to be a mix of focused worker/inventor, dutiful daughter, with at least a touch of playful attitude in there with the comment about minions.

Wait, what!?! Megumi is 29 in 2011? In the first part, in 2009, it sounded like she was still a student at Whateley Academy the way they were talking and her bringing back her classmates. Unless I misunderstood something, how could she have been a student still in 2009 and 29 in 2011?

And politics slowing down a project, typical anytime a government is involved. The government people need to be hit with a big dose of reality, even the highest rated Gadgeteer with the right specialization can only do so much in a certain amount of time. Even with all the tech involved and skill of those involved, the speed at creating and outfitting an island to live on created from lava instead of an artificial structure is astounding.

What the politicians are plotting, the act of monsters just to prove that a project was worth it. Hopefully the public finds out and votes the idiots with the idea to condemn people's homes out. At least Jiro and Megumi's family company is getting bad by the government for all this hassle. Ouch, stuck working on one project when she would rather be working on several, Megumi is going to get grumpy soon without a break. Jiro marrying an Exemplar who is an idol, lucky guy.

They keep calling her creations devises, that would means Megumi was a devisor, when she has only been called a gadgeteer. A misstep on their part or misuse of the term devise to refer to anything created and designed by a mutant possibly. Iron Dragon took over China in 2012!?! That is so far off the scale of bad, I have no idea how bad it could be for the world. And the military backed him, oh boy.

*smacks forehead* Obama in the Whateley Academy universe is super dense if he thinks Iron Dragon taking over China is something to greet instead of condemn. A supervillain takes over another country, you never greet it, you always stand against it, otherwise you make your country look bad to the rest of the world. And to keep the Iron Dragon and his allies out, they are going to be need some pretty strong wards around the Japanese borders.

So the Western region mutants felt like outsiders in Japan, no help in learning the culture, thus left back to where they felt at home. A place for outsiders and immigrants to Japan to learn about the culture and its people, surprised no one suggested something similar sooner. ouch, Diedricks Syndrome still doesn't have a cure, wonder how close Ribbon is to finding on, if she is still around. Poor Megumi, teasing her about getting married and starting a family, when she feels she has too much work left to do yet.

Oh crud, resurgent MCO, meaning they were weakened since we last read about them in G1, but are gaining power again or at least finding ways to abuse it again as early as 2014. I can see why Megumi is in a hurry. Wait, am I understanding Jiro right? Is there a part of the process of Megumi's that wasn't written down, meaning whoever stole it 2 years earlier is in trouble.

Ah, Megumi is married and her husband is a bio-gadgeteer from the sounds of it. Dang, that type of fuel in place of oil would revolutionize the world, instead of relying on limited oil supplies. Organic plastics, Megumi's husband has some skill. Desire for more great-grandchildren, poor Megumi is going to be miserable when forced to slow down while pregnant. And Jiro and his wife had a daughter, poor man is going to gray early if his daughter becomes an Exemplar. Not sure even a katana would chase the boys off.

Figures, with the Iron Dragon running China they would want to expand their territory, what better way than to steal Megumi's designs. Lol, wish I could have seen the MCO having to chose between protecting Megumi's patents and bashing Iron Dragon and his mutants. Sounds like it would have been a ratings hit. And just like in the real world where China is creating artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, they do almost the same thing in the WU.

Wonder who the President is in 2014 and how badly the MCO poisoned relations with Japan. Defensive perimeter around Japan, with Iron Dragon in control of China it sounds like a good idea to me at least. I pity Abe and his political position, having to deal with those in Japan and in the world community who don't see the need and are blind to the threat of the Iron Dragon and his forces. Fusion, nice codename for Megumi's husband. And is Jiro a mutant or just really good at what he does from training, experience, and determination? I wonder what the truth is.

Wait a minute, is Hikaru from The Big Apple Comes with Calamari the avatar of Amaterasu? That is big, no wonder she is protected and has such an attitude. Bribing a god to get what they want, Japan is definately different.

And it was confirmed shortly after I asked, poor Hikaru being given such a burden at such a young age. Oh course the JDP is bashing the new project, if it fails so would the perimeter islands and thus their jobs are more secure. Yachi is basically right, from what we know the Iron Dragon wants all of Asia to be part of China and thus under his rule. Though politics give me a headache. Makata sounds like she would be happier living in China and under the Iron Dragon's rule to me. Any reasonable person would see Yachi's point, China is to blame for the results for their own actions, the thefts leading to an incomplete design and knowledge of Megumi's work. And all gods love it when mortals seek their favor.

Ouch, the Emperor is more of a figurehead in Japan than I thought. The legendary Treasures of Japan, which only a select few know if they truly exist or not. Ah, the frustration of being an archaeologist and not even being able to lay eyes upon such wonders. Ceremony and bargaining, so many things which could go wrong with the wrong word or gesture used. Poor Abe, to be before Amaterasu and upset her with his choice of words.

The Black Dragons and cult of the Evening Twilight, old foes who are gone or possibly still around. Amaterasu is perceptive and wise, what would prevent elements in the government from using the defensive islands and turning them into instruments of war and expansion. Shrines for Amaterasu's Children, guess everything worked out for the best.

Hikura and Kaho have two of the 3 Treasures with them!?! This must be a major ritual for a goddess like Amaterasu to need those. 6 Yama Dojo students there, why do I have a bad feeling about that. Artifacts to channel a god or goddess' power on Earth safely, among other things, makes a lot of sense. Hikura needs to listening to her cousin, there is a time for rules and such, but you have to lighten up and live or you will regret it later.

The sword and jeweled necklace, that much power and protection from the artifacts and it still harmed her. Plus who said Oops, I wonder. Was it Hikaru, Amaterasu, or someone else watching from a remote location but overheard by Kaho somehow.

Burnout and only saved by the skills of one of the Yama Dojo students, dang that is a lot worse than what could be seen. Especially the short-term memory loss. Nyan-chan is cute. Hikaru, channeling Amaterasu, did all that! No wonder even with the 3 Treasures she had trouble. Sidhe Queen, wonder if they are talking about Fey or if some other faerie queen was reborn into the world we haven't learned about.

Not a magic-user, yet a magic-user detected her generating and using essence. And that is the reason Yama Dojo has been pranking Whateley Academy this whole time, so we would prank them back and they could inform Whateley Academy they respect them and consider them a sister school. They have weird rules of diplomacy.

Dreamer wrote: Islands in the Sun comments
*snip*

Wait, what!?! Megumi is 29 in 2011? In the first part, in 2009, it sounded like she was still a student at Whateley Academy the way they were talking and her bringing back her classmates. Unless I misunderstood something, how could she have been a student still in 2009 and 29 in 2011?

She graduated before G1 time, Dreamer. Yes, she's a Whateley grad.

And politics slowing down a project, typical anytime a government is involved. The government people need to be hit with a big dose of reality, even the highest rated Gadgeteer with the right specialization can only do so much in a certain amount of time. Even with all the tech involved and skill of those involved, the speed at creating and outfitting an island to live on created from lava instead of an artificial structure is astounding.

Take a look at the replacement airbase project, and that's far smaller...

What the politicians are plotting, the act of monsters just to prove that a project was worth it. Hopefully the public finds out and votes the idiots with the idea to condemn people's homes out. At least Jiro and Megumi's family company is getting bad by the government for all this hassle. Ouch, stuck working on one project when she would rather be working on several, Megumi is going to get grumpy soon without a break. Jiro marrying an Exemplar who is an idol, lucky guy.

Eh, while Megumi is a bit shocked, it IS a viable stragety, given Japan's culture, and the way most leadership thinks to some extent. Yes, it'd backfire horribly, but there are some issues that if it didn't leak that it was intentional acitivty, that'd make it work
(Contrary to American desgins, Japanese houses by and large aren't DESGINED for long term habitation, at most 50-60 years. This is due to the nature of the enviorment, mind you)

As for Jiro... well, it's nice to be rich, isn't it? (Not implying his wife is a golddigger, mind you, just that Jiro due to his status/wealth has... options.)

They keep calling her creations devises, that would means Megumi was a devisor, when she has only been called a gadgeteer. A misstep on their part or misuse of the term devise to refer to anything created and designed by a mutant possibly. Iron Dragon took over China in 2012!?! That is so far off the scale of bad, I have no idea how bad it could be for the world. And the military backed him, oh boy.

No, it means that the editing passes didn't catch it.

Ayep, they did.

*snip*

So the Western region mutants felt like outsiders in Japan, no help in learning the culture, thus left back to where they felt at home. A place for outsiders and immigrants to Japan to learn about the culture and its people, surprised no one suggested something similar sooner. ouch, Diedricks Syndrome still doesn't have a cure, wonder how close Ribbon is to finding on, if she is still around. Poor Megumi, teasing her about getting married and starting a family, when she feels she has too much work left to do yet.

As for the 'acclimation' idea, it's a OOC problem for Japan, even now, as Wassie can tell you, Japan's still not the most... welcoming of expats.

*snip*

Wonder who the President is in 2014 and how badly the MCO poisoned relations with Japan. Defensive perimeter around Japan, with Iron Dragon in control of China it sounds like a good idea to me at least. I pity Abe and his political position, having to deal with those in Japan and in the world community who don't see the need and are blind to the threat of the Iron Dragon and his forces. Fusion, nice codename for Megumi's husband. And is Jiro a mutant or just really good at what he does from training, experience, and determination? I wonder what the truth is.

More of a matter that Japan and the MCO have never really HAD good relations, once the MCO started angling for more than just a research group. Nature of Japan, plus MCO's 'super spy' orginals looking for a threat for their budget, clashed horribly. It'd not surprise me if Korea and several other 'nations' have similar issues (including Native American tribes), with the MCO stemming back from then, ethier. But, again, I'm only covering Japan.

Wait a minute, is Hikaru from The Big Apple Comes with Calamari the avatar of Amaterasu? That is big, no wonder she is protected and has such an attitude. Bribing a god to get what they want, Japan is definately different.

Yes, yes, she is. Eh, her attitude is more than just that. As for bribing gods... well, what DO you think offerings are? Japan is Shinto, aka a shamanistic tradition. Different way of doing business.

And it was confirmed shortly after I asked, poor Hikaru being given such a burden at such a young age. Oh course the JDP is bashing the new project, if it fails so would the perimeter islands and thus their jobs are more secure. Yachi is basically right, from what we know the Iron Dragon wants all of Asia to be part of China and thus under his rule. Though politics give me a headache. Makata sounds like she would be happier living in China and under the Iron Dragon's rule to me. Any reasonable person would see Yachi's point, China is to blame for the results for their own actions, the thefts leading to an incomplete design and knowledge of Megumi's work. And all gods love it when mortals seek their favor.

I've noted this before, but I'll note it again. LDP/JDP issues only _really_ come out on forigen/military policy, the rest of their differences are more shades of grey and differences.

Ouch, the Emperor is more of a figurehead in Japan than I thought. The legendary Treasures of Japan, which only a select few know if they truly exist or not. Ah, the frustration of being an archaeologist and not even being able to lay eyes upon such wonders. Ceremony and bargaining, so many things which could go wrong with the wrong word or gesture used. Poor Abe, to be before Amaterasu and upset her with his choice of words.

He's _less in the Whateley Universe_, than in reality. That's the hilarious thing. There... are issues with the politics of Japan, and I've (and Wassie) haven't shaken them all out with the arrival of Ammy, but suffice it to say, a lot of people are still feeling their way, and have... plans.
(Doesn't everyone...)

The Black Dragons and cult of the Evening Twilight, old foes who are gone or possibly still around. Amaterasu is perceptive and wise, what would prevent elements in the government from using the defensive islands and turning them into instruments of war and expansion. Shrines for Amaterasu's Children, guess everything worked out for the best.

Black Dragons == Reference to the Black Dragon Society of pre WW2 and WW2. Collection of ultra nationalists of the time, strong in industry and middle rank military (army esp.) It's gone, more or less. BUT, Abe is aware of history.
(and why those ultra nationalists would want to prevent Ammy from coming back... )
Cult of the Evening Twilight: Ref. to a Japanese god figure.
(the Japanese god of sin/evil)

Hikura and Kaho have two of the 3 Treasures with them!?! This must be a major ritual for a goddess like Amaterasu to need those. 6 Yama Dojo students there, why do I have a bad feeling about that. Artifacts to channel a god or goddess' power on Earth safely, among other things, makes a lot of sense. Hikura needs to listening to her cousin, there is a time for rules and such, but you have to lighten up and live or you will regret it later.

All three of the treasures. Not 2.

The sword and jeweled necklace, that much power and protection from the artifacts and it still harmed her. Plus who said Oops, I wonder. Was it Hikaru, Amaterasu, or someone else watching from a remote location but overheard by Kaho somehow.

As for Ooops... does it matter WHICH of the pair said it?
(Why yes, it's a favorite word for both of them...)

Burnout and only saved by the skills of one of the Yama Dojo students, dang that is a lot worse than what could be seen. Especially the short-term memory loss. Nyan-chan is cute. Hikaru, channeling Amaterasu, did all that! No wonder even with the 3 Treasures she had trouble. Sidhe Queen, wonder if they are talking about Fey or if some other faerie queen was reborn into the world we haven't learned about.

*shrugs* Does it matter which queen they're talking about? And no. Hikaru _did not do that._ AMMY did, though Hikaru. And yes, as noted in a previous post, it took a shirne, the grass/flowers prepped AND the Three treasures.

Not a magic-user, yet a magic-user detected her generating and using essence. And that is the reason Yama Dojo has been pranking Whateley Academy this whole time, so we would prank them back and they could inform Whateley Academy they respect them and consider them a sister school. They have weird rules of diplomacy.

Eh, they're trying to play by what THEY think is American 'diplomacy' at the school level.

Ooops.

MageOhki wrote:

Not a magic-user, yet a magic-user detected her generating and using essence. And that is the reason Yama Dojo has been pranking Whateley Academy this whole time, so we would prank them back and they could inform Whateley Academy they respect them and consider them a sister school. They have weird rules of diplomacy.

Eh, they're trying to play by what THEY think is American 'diplomacy' at the school level.

Ooops.

Ah, that explains it. It's cultural telephone.

Of course, even if Whateley did understand what Yama Dojo was trying to do, I doubt that they'd be willing to let their students travel halfway around the world to prank another school. Security would spontaneously combust just from the idea.

Not even as a Senior Legacy Project?

A number of interesting exposition dumps (and teasing) in this story. Of course there are a number of characters that may or may not be ones familiar to us from Gen 1. Fusion, for example, is apparently a bio-gadgeteer. While I don't recall the name, it's feasible a Gen 1 student obtained a different codename upon graduating or sometime later. Too much hinted and not enough revealed to say much.

Of special interest is of course the Iron Dragon's China, and the political developments mentioned. I wonder if Iron Dragon was involved in, or opposing, the hinted at China plot from Gen 1. Time may or may not tell.

Intriguing to hear the MCO apparently being involved with the WTO regarding China and the patents. Or were they just kicking a fuss up about it in attempts to further their agenda?

And while likely not relevant at all, I can't help but wonder where my small-fry of a nation (New Zealand) fits into the unfolding political scene, whether it sticks with the Commonwealth, Pacific Rim Alliance, or maybe both to an extent.

At the mention of extending the wards which were specified as being anti-Mythos, I'm wondering whether knowledge of the existence of Mythos is more widespread, or merely if these individuals are "high-ranking" enough to be in the know? Perhaps merely a cultural difference?

'Twould appear that being host to such a notable and powerful being as Amaterasu can potentially mess one up, even if the being is considerate, as far as things go. Poor Hikaru.

Cool seeing some casual narrative from the perspective of Yama Dojo.

In regards to the narrative of the story as a whole, it feels a bit like patchwork to me, but it does well in providing a good deal of exposition centered around the focal point of the developing islands. Giving enough information, but leaving more than enough unsaid to keep us wanting more.

Ametros wrote: A number of interesting exposition dumps (and teasing) in this story. Of course there are a number of characters that may or may not be ones familiar to us from Gen 1. Fusion, for example, is apparently a bio-gadgeteer. While I don't recall the name, it's feasible a Gen 1 student obtained a different codename upon graduating or sometime later. Too much hinted and not enough revealed to say much.

Just a name I made up, if that matters, he's pre Gen 1 grad however, same years (roughly) as Megumi.

Of special interest is of course the Iron Dragon's China, and the political developments mentioned. I wonder if Iron Dragon was involved in, or opposing, the hinted at China plot from Gen 1. Time may or may not tell.

Intriguing to hear the MCO apparently being involved with the WTO regarding China and the patents. Or were they just kicking a fuss up about it in attempts to further their agenda?

Pretty much the latter, since their agenda is the mutant threat, and Iron Dragon ruling 1.3 billion people puts him on the top of the 'totem' pole of 'bad' mutants, so they 'lead' the fight against him.
(Side note: Iron Dragon isn't _evil or bad_ in my eyes, just... Mmm.)

And while likely not relevant at all, I can't help but wonder where my small-fry of a nation (New Zealand) fits into the unfolding political scene, whether it sticks with the Commonwealth, Pacific Rim Alliance, or maybe both to an extent.

As we have sketched out, (so subject to change) the Commonweath is FAR stronger in WA, Breexit happened, the COmmonwealth is a full econ, military and to some extent political union.
But, the Commonwealth and PRA (I like that...) are FIRMLY allies. Canada, Aussies, Signapore, Brunei, etc are all member of both

At the mention of extending the wards which were specified as being anti-Mythos, I'm wondering whether knowledge of the existence of Mythos is more widespread, or merely if these individuals are "high-ranking" enough to be in the know? Perhaps merely a cultural difference?

*checks something*
Right. Note that these are selected for the prank, so fairly high end in their own cases, as well as 'high ranking' in a sense. And I am _translating_. IS not Mythos in Japanese, but more... "Beings and effects of an unnatural nature, from not this relam" etc, etc. I used Mythos to give an in to the readers.

'Twould appear that being host to such a notable and powerful being as Amaterasu can potentially mess one up, even if the being is considerate, as far as things go. Poor Hikaru.

>>
<<
*SNERK*
YOU try running 200,000 volts into a 50kvolt transformer...

Cool seeing some casual narrative from the perspective of Yama Dojo.

In regards to the narrative of the story as a whole, it feels a bit like patchwork to me, but it does well in providing a good deal of exposition centered around the focal point of the developing islands. Giving enough information, but leaving more than enough unsaid to keep us wanting more.

Thanks you for your comments.

Ah... MageOhki has already given the official version... but let me suggest an alternative way of looking at the issue of the anti-Mythos wards:

The original wards were, or so my understanding of it goes, set up by Amaterasu herself. You may interpret it as meaning that Amaterasu was aware of the Mythos threat. It does _not_ follow that the general population of Japan was also aware of that in the intervening centuries.

There has been some resurgence of Mythos events over the last century or so (witness the Bastard in North America, the various schemes by Nimbus etc.) which made the knowledge more widespread. Indeed, there may have been times in the past where Mythos activities were so low that even among mages it was mostly considered a legend. Not so right now.

Sir Lee wrote: Ah... MageOhki has already given the official version... but let me suggest an alternative way of looking at the issue of the anti-Mythos wards:

The original wards were, or so my understanding of it goes, set up by Amaterasu herself. You may interpret it as meaning that Amaterasu was aware of the Mythos threat. It does _not_ follow that the general population of Japan was also aware of that in the intervening centuries.

With one note: It wasn't Ammy who set them up. She has the _keys to them_ and can play with them, or 'expand them' (and note, I gave a BIG hint, if you do the research), but she didn't set it up

She's VERY much aware of Mythos. What I said the mage said _IS_ the same thing as Mythos. While it wouldn't literal translate as the same, the _meaning_ is.

Agreed, though on the overall comments.

There has been some resurgence of Mythos events over the last century or so (witness the Bastard in North America, the various schemes by Nimbus etc.) which made the knowledge more widespread. Indeed, there may have been times in the past where Mythos activities were so low that even among mages it was mostly considered a legend. Not so right now.

The students/attendents are YAMA DOJO STUDENTS of serious capability. Take that for what you will, and what that just might imply. And yes, IOPS/IHA are _quite aware of who they are and where they attend school_.

MageOhki wrote: With one note: It wasn't Ammy who set them up. She has the _keys to them_ and can play with them, or 'expand them' (and note, I gave a BIG hint, if you do the research), but she didn't set it up

She's VERY much aware of Mythos. What I said the mage said _IS_ the same thing as Mythos. While it wouldn't literal translate as the same, the _meaning_ is.

Hmm... Was it Susanoo who set up the wards? As Susanoo's sword was ?

Susanoo gave her the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi sword

Of course, this is all Wikipedia, which might be wrong?

... Perhaps all the mad gods and corrupt gods and stuff, are due to Mythos corruption?

No, Susano'o didn't. Look... older.


Not saying how much (though yes, Wiki is actually 'fairly' accurate on the basic mythology of Shinto) of Shinto mythology is _actually_ accurate. Or was repurposed. Or ...

Let's just say Mythology has SOME truth to it.

MageOhki wrote: No, Susano'o didn't. Look... older.

Izanagi and/or Izanami , then, as they were the... progenitors/founders/whatever of Japan?

If it's not them, there's other stuff that might be right...

Izanagi's also got some purification thing , that might be connected to cleansing Mythos contamination... I think I'm stretching a bit, making every 'cleansing', 'purification', 'corruption' into Mythos-related stuff...

Should all Japan speculation go here? Or should we move?

Move, I think, since Japan will be playing a bigger role than it did in G1, Much bigger...


*snerk*

Well I'm as always late to the party with the way I read though the stories but glad to see I'm not the only one who was confused with the patent and stealing of the 'devise' bit and it does make a lot more sense with her as a gadgeteer.

I liked the story and started out not sure where it was going but I admit I can't wait to see more of what happens with Hikaru at Whateley and why she felt such a sense of obligation in "The Big Apple Comes With Calamari" and some of her attitude there.

Now onto one of my 'issues' and it's kinda minor but something that's been rattling on in my head for a bit now. I've had a similar problem with Kayda and her Avatar. It just seems.... disrespect full? Tacky? I'm not quite sure how to say it, but having Amaterasu who is a major figure in the Shinto faith as an Avatar. But... and here's the thing I don't have an issue with the Greek gods and keep hoping to see more based on the Egyptian pantheon so I know I'm not really consistent but it just kinda picks at me.

Regardless of all that I do find the story to be interesting and I enjoyed a lot of the exposition and little clues as to whats been going on, especially with the Yama Dojo and had to laugh about the WWII and Diplomacy comment. So please keep it coming and I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Hey, if you dig deep enough there's material to offend... pretty much everybody, religion-wise. Whateley is an Equal Opportunity Offender. There were some not-exactly-flattering things about the Catholic Church and possibly the Christian God in the Merry/Petra stories, for instance -- not to mention "Angel in Hell's Kitchen. There are bound to be people who take offense at the way Heather portrayed Taoism. Elrod is researching his heart out AND using a consultant, and I'm sure that there are people who will be offended by the portrayal of Ptesanwi. The Hubbardites have escaped so far (but then, they ARE prone to lawyer up at the least thing that displeases them...). I'm sure that a few of my countrypeople won't like the way I used Saci in the backstory of of Mezzo, so I'm guilty too.

Regarding Amaterasu... well, you might consider that the way she was portrayed pretty much established that "Yes, all that stuff about the Emperor of Japan being descended from gods is ABSOLUTELY TRUE, the Three Treasures not only exist (something about which there are doubts going around) but they WERE gifts from the gods" and so on. And she's no bush-league minor goddess, she was able to protect Japan from Mythos beings for several millenia, which is a better track record than... well, pretty much any other gods.

So, while religious people have a very low threshold for taking offense, I don't think the way Amaterasu was portrayed would be considered offensive by a neutral party. It's not like, say, taking a pure, virgin divine figure and portraying them as a libertine.

Please don't get me wrong I don't find the portrait bad but it's something in those 2 cases that pokes at me, and in ways that I know could be seen as hypocritical as other uses haven't. Like I said I know I haven't batted an eye over the Olympians or Bast, so it's not an all or nothing thing by any means and you're right about other portrails like with the Tao and the Catholic Church. Granted I'm Jewish so I'm used to being meh about the Church.

Regardless I did like the story and I don't want it to seem like I thought the author was crapping on anyone's faith or the like. It's one of the cases where it's totally me not you and not anything that would make me stop reading or shout out how offensive it is etc, etc.

Put it this way - if I wasn't writing about Wakan Tanka and the Lakota pantheon, how many people would have the first idea about it? If Mage wasn't writing about Amaterasu, how many people would have any idea about her? Since I'm being careful and using a consultant, what people are reading in the Kayda stories is as accurate description of the Lakota belief system as I can portray. I expect that Mage is doing the same.

Apparently, that's not good enough.

I'm fairly certain that every religion that has been mentioned will offend someone in some such way, even Sara and Gothmog will offend some Lovecraft fans. The only advice I have for someone that doesn't want to be offended by what they read, is for them to not read.

elrodw wrote: Apparently, that's not good enough.

<sighs> No that's not what I meant and I probably just should have let it go and not said anything . But it is something that like I said 'pokes' at me when I'm reading this and a few other stories. But like I said too I freely admit my reaction to it also hasn't been consistent which is why I'm not saying it's wrong or offensive or anything but something I feel off about. Trust me if I didn't enjoy your writing I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have kept coming back. So please don't take it as an attack or a critique. It's just a factor for me that pops up but isn't nearly as important as my enjoyment of your stories that push me past that.

Sorry for the big quote, but the movie Interstellar, could be a good example of what Kristin is going on about.

One of the characters gets information about black holes and gravity that jumps technology forward, via something that is, well, equivalent to devisor tech. (Actually future tech that is so far beyond us it's ridiculous)

Kristin Darken wrote: Devises cannot be patented. Nor can they often be reproduced reliably, even to some extent by the original devisor. Technology created by a devisor is generally called a devise. Something created by a gadgeteer would be a gadget... . while anything created that could be reproduced (either baseline, enhanced science, gadgeteer knowledge based) can also be called an 'invention'.

Now... here's the tricky part.

I'm a tech geek. I have the devisor trait and the mental Exemplar package... so I'm smarter than the average bear. I study science theory, engineering, and regularly chat with Stephen Hawking about the structure of spacetime. I make myself gloves and a HUD that can manipulate and monitor those theoretical values, they ARE devises... no one can duplicate them or figure out how I'm able to measure quantum values of things that are still theoretical. But the information on the nature of space-time that they give me is nonetheless accurate... and we use that to correct our formulae and understanding of quantum mechanics, and then leapfrog THAT understanding into designing a functional warp drive for a starship. The warp drive is 100% reproducible, patent capable. Devisor power was used in creating technology that was used to provide the information needed to fix the theory and make it practical... but that doesn't prevent the individual who is a devisor from developing actual scientific theory or engineering an invention. They simply need to resist letting their power short cut the science for them (or provide advanced upgrades in the base model).

So, someone who knows enough about Devisors to call their creations a devise... can probably justify using that word when someone they know has created some advanced technology, cutting edge stuff. They may even try to justify the conflict in understanding by questioning the idea of a patent. But its really just a matter of control. A Devisor doesn't HAVE to use their power. They can just be a good engineer with serious brainpower... also consider that we frequently point out that one of the limiting factors for gadgets and common hi tech inventions is the man portable power supply. A lot of them solve this by relying on devisor sourced power supplies... but that doesn't turn the whole invention into a devise... nor does it make it impossible to patent. You simply patent it as a viable invention when powered by a X MWatt power supply.

MageOhki wrote: Move, I think, since Japan will be playing a bigger role than it did in G1, Much bigger...


*snerk*

Well obviously it will be playing a bigger part if the land mass is increasing.

Ambara wrote:

elrodw wrote: Apparently, that's not good enough.

<sighs> No that's not what I meant and I probably just should have let it go and not said anything . But it is something that like I said 'pokes' at me when I'm reading this and a few other stories. But like I said too I freely admit my reaction to it also hasn't been consistent which is why I'm not saying it's wrong or offensive or anything but something I feel off about. Trust me if I didn't enjoy your writing I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have kept coming back. So please don't take it as an attack or a critique. It's just a factor for me that pops up but isn't nearly as important as my enjoyment of your stories that push me past that.

If you're anything like me, then your reaction is inconsistent because you perceive Wakan Tanka and Amaterasu to be deities of active religions with living worshipers, while the Greek Gods aren't worshiped anymore (I have no idea whether the Greek pantheon is still worshiped or not, but I perceive it as a dead religion.) Also (or alternatively), the Greek gods, even in their own myths, were rather petty individuals, so it's difficult to characterize them in a way that insults them (at least to modern sensibilities). It would be disrespectful to portray an infallible god as fallible or petty, and lacking knowledge of how these other gods are perceived, I default to the Judaeo-Christian model and assume that they are less fallible and less petty than humans are.