Subject: Re: Information which may be useful in the current situation
To: "Noah Scott" (bigcheese@stellvia.lib)
From: Bob Schroeck (rms@ourtown.fen)
Date: November 22, 2016
> Please find attached information related to interuniversal travel and prerequisite skills
> needed to make use of that information, which was removed from the Whole Fenspace
> Catalog prior to that database's release.
Um... thanks? I know I like to write about this stuff, but to have "Worldjumping for Dummies" shoved into my hands, that's a bit on the scary side. I'd rather hold onto something safer, like 40-year-old nukes with decaying trigger mechanisms.
Fear and panic aside, though, I understand the reasoning here, and I'm grateful that you brought us in on this.
> I'm sure somebody here has staff that can use it to help resolve the current situation -
> from what Skuld told me before she left, it's likely that members of the crews of
> Yggdrasil and Grover's Corners are in that category.
She told you, did she? Woulda been nice if she'd told *me*. That said, we've had our first town meeting on this, have cracked the books and begun testing with the "diagnostics" in the first chapter of the obvious "start here" grimoire. Skuld was right, we have a few folks among us who can handle the magical side. However, I should also note that two-thirds of the magic-capable are among the kids. While we're going to see to their education in that regard (a couple more-general instruction manuals from your stash would be appreciated, Noah, when the current crisis is over or in a couple months, whichever comes first), the kids are *not* going to be shoved anywhere close to the front lines on this. The magegifted adults, on the other hand, are looking forward to creating their own little chapter of Warriors Alpha here.
However, let me warn you that from what we can tell so far, magic is *not* going to be the quick fix. At best these techniques/rituals/spells open tunnels or doorways, just as in the stuff I've written. Quite frankly, something on the scale we're facing downbelow is either a "Grantville"-type accident caused by Sufficiently Advanced Aliens who got careless, or it's deity-level action. You may need to break out the research theology materials after all, at the very least because we're going to want to find a friendly face or two among the celestials to help us either way.
In the mean time, we've read up on the new tenants of North America, and on general principles we're sending Salvage I out to collect some big rocks. No dinosaur killers, but a few 10- to 20-tonners will be handy if we need to vaporize fascists in a hurry.
Which reminds me -- what's the reaction from the Australian government (outside of the news bites, I mean)?
-- Bob
(who is most expressly *not* a happy camper right now)
And yes, what is the international response to the sudden replacement of North America? The US has more than a few enemies who might just take advantage of a moment like this, that's obvious, but what about allies and neutrals? Surely Fenspace isn't that much quicker on the uptake than the international community.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
To: "Noah Scott" (bigcheese@stellvia.lib)
From: Bob Schroeck (rms@ourtown.fen)
Date: November 22, 2016
> Please find attached information related to interuniversal travel and prerequisite skills
> needed to make use of that information, which was removed from the Whole Fenspace
> Catalog prior to that database's release.
Um... thanks? I know I like to write about this stuff, but to have "Worldjumping for Dummies" shoved into my hands, that's a bit on the scary side. I'd rather hold onto something safer, like 40-year-old nukes with decaying trigger mechanisms.
Fear and panic aside, though, I understand the reasoning here, and I'm grateful that you brought us in on this.
> I'm sure somebody here has staff that can use it to help resolve the current situation -
> from what Skuld told me before she left, it's likely that members of the crews of
> Yggdrasil and Grover's Corners are in that category.
She told you, did she? Woulda been nice if she'd told *me*. That said, we've had our first town meeting on this, have cracked the books and begun testing with the "diagnostics" in the first chapter of the obvious "start here" grimoire. Skuld was right, we have a few folks among us who can handle the magical side. However, I should also note that two-thirds of the magic-capable are among the kids. While we're going to see to their education in that regard (a couple more-general instruction manuals from your stash would be appreciated, Noah, when the current crisis is over or in a couple months, whichever comes first), the kids are *not* going to be shoved anywhere close to the front lines on this. The magegifted adults, on the other hand, are looking forward to creating their own little chapter of Warriors Alpha here.
However, let me warn you that from what we can tell so far, magic is *not* going to be the quick fix. At best these techniques/rituals/spells open tunnels or doorways, just as in the stuff I've written. Quite frankly, something on the scale we're facing downbelow is either a "Grantville"-type accident caused by Sufficiently Advanced Aliens who got careless, or it's deity-level action. You may need to break out the research theology materials after all, at the very least because we're going to want to find a friendly face or two among the celestials to help us either way.
In the mean time, we've read up on the new tenants of North America, and on general principles we're sending Salvage I out to collect some big rocks. No dinosaur killers, but a few 10- to 20-tonners will be handy if we need to vaporize fascists in a hurry.
Which reminds me -- what's the reaction from the Australian government (outside of the news bites, I mean)?
-- Bob
(who is most expressly *not* a happy camper right now)
And yes, what is the international response to the sudden replacement of North America? The US has more than a few enemies who might just take advantage of a moment like this, that's obvious, but what about allies and neutrals? Surely Fenspace isn't that much quicker on the uptake than the international community.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.