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[Fiction] An Unwelcome Visitor
 
#51
To: "SMOF Net" (Recipients redacted)
From: "Bob Schroeck" (rms@ourtown.fen)
Subj: The Professor
Date: 2015.07.18-1053UTC

I'm sure most of you have already seen the press release we on the Grover's Corners put out about six hours ago. For those of you who didn't, it runs like this: In response to yesterday's incident at Serenity Valley, the adult members of the crew of the Grover's Corners unanimously voted to ban the Professor, his minions and the Sol Bianca from all interactions with our little piece of Fenspace. They are no longer welcome here, even as paying customers for fresh produce. And we are seriously considering declaring anyone who decides to play middleman and buy GC products for the Professor equally persona non grata.

But reiterating the press release is not why I'm posting to the list today. I am here to move that we declare that the Professor and his minions are, in the eyes of the Fenspace Convention, Boskonians, and are to be treated as such by all members of the Convention and all its official bodies.

Face it, people, an armed lunatic who is of the opinion that he can invade people's ships and homes at will, regardless of their opinions on the matter, is a Boskonian, plain and simple. He needs to be treated as one, it's that easy.

You all already know we came into space with nearly a dozen kids of various ages, and that when we're done setting up PS 238, we're going to be hosting dozens more. After yesterdays' bloodbath, my number one nightmare is now the Professor deciding he wants to know how our water system or our drive works, and his Igorettes slaughtering everyone who even looks like they might be getting in his way, leaving behind a school massacre to make Columbine look small. The Professor needs to be put away, permanently. And Miyu Glear needs to be thrown into Azkaban. If not the sun.

If the Convention refuses to treat this man as the criminal he is, the crew of the Grover's Corners will immediately cancel the PS 238 project. We will not endanger fenkinder by collecting them all in one place that the Professor might want to "investigate".

And we will place a bounty on his head: Two tons of biomass and free produce for a family of four for life to anyone who renders the Professor and his creations incapable of harming anyone again, ever.

I open the floor to debate.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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#52
OK, while the in-universe knee jerk reactions are understandable, my personal feeling is that this entire thread is edging a bit darker than I'd like.
Yes, it's all in character for the Professor to check up on the Friez BUT, this is my opinion only, I doubt he'd go to this extreme without something ELSE egging him on.

All the banning is going to do is DRIVE the Professor to places we don't want him to go.

Bob, while in-character, the whole 'do this or we close the school' threat WILL backlash on the Corners.
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#53
from: jet.jaguar(a)Zalem.grunthal.fen
to: Undisclosed Recipient.
Subj: RE: the Professor.

I think I'm going to go against the grain here. I can tell the general jist of things already where this is going to go.

We've taken down Boskonian Mads before. From a practical standpoint, it wouldn't be a tough mission. This is what we do.

Three Kunstler were built by the Professor. 2 Willingly, and 1 under Scramble-09. We still have occasional dealings with him because of it. I was also part of the mission to retrieve the Professor from Boskone Prime.

The substantial difference between The Professor and the True Boskonian mads I've encountered, is that the Professor just doesn't seem to be in any way aware of the consequences of his actions - or even that they exist at all. Alita told me that she had to knock him out to drag him to the Nova, because he'd left one critical experiment running and refused to go. With a bombardment inbound. Which also means we're off his Christmas card list, but I'll take that in exchange for keeping him out of Boskone hands.

Because I won't disagree that he has the potential to be a danger -especially in the wrong hands. We were operating under explicit orders to kill him if we couldn't secure his retrieval, just to keep him from being used by the Boskone.

But that was war. And this isn't.

The Professor isn't intentionally dangerous. And that's an important difference. I'm no legal expert, but I think that's the difference between murder and manslaughter, for one. At least, I think the accused mindset has something to do with how their charged and punished, I'll defer to an expert on that.

But I've met Boskone Mads who knew beyond a Shadow of a Doubt that they were torturing people - they knew exactly what they were doing and they revelled in it. Some of these missions are a matter of public record - I won't go into details here. Jusenkyou, Nehallenia, Boskone Prime - that's the start of where I'm coming from. Take it from someone who's met them, The Professor just isn't anywhere near their league.

The long and the sort of it is this.

We won't move against him until we receive lawful orders to do so. If we're ordered to arrest the Professor in force, we will. If we're ordered to kill him - if the Convention and Great Justice can somehow decide that he is an active and immediate threat to Fenspace that cannot be stopped otherwise, or that other methods may be too risky in lives or materiel, I will.

But I would prefer to see him get his day before a tribunal because, honestly, I genuinely amn't sure he's properly sane in a legal way and I will want that question answered. Unless we're all OK with stuffing the mentally ill in prison because it'll make us feel better.

-Jet
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
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#54
So, I actually agree with Cobalt slightly. Which is amusing as I'm the one that started the story while thinking 'Jesus, they let this fucking loon wander the solar system?' That said, I think the in-universe reactions should be kept. They work well in an 'immediately after the fact' sort of way. But when I go back to edit the earlier installments, I plan on making it clearer that the Professor isn't in what passes for his right mind. He's very tired, very not thinking clearly, and being presented with a shiny thing that he never tracked down back in the day (A 'Julianne' Friez). And his assistants have, for various reasons, failed to stop this situation from happening.

The big thing for me is the aftermath. I mean, yes, we could just decide he's unfixable crazy and toss him out an airlock. Chris, who dealt with the consequences of Boskonian mads back in the day, and has seen what the Professors own experiments have caused, would have less trouble with that than he'd like to admit. But this is Fenspace. The tone of the setting leans more towards optimistic with occasional doses of 'oh damn'. We have our version of Science Related Memetic Disorder, how about we have the setting start to help people with it?

I'm not saying 'cure' or 'make them be normal'. But keeping them from dismantling an active fusion reactor without noticing what they're doing is good for everyone around.
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#55
(DYNAMIC ENTRY!)

I'm going to ask folk in Mod Voice to please dial back or hold off on further kneejerk reactions to the events of the story-in-progress. I ask you to do this out of respect for the OP--this is his story, not an RP thread--and because I think Cobalt's right about one thing: the reaction posts are getting a little out of hand. I don't think we need to see any more of people screaming their lizard-brain reactions at each other while the story's still in progress, yeah? We can assume that this is all happening in the background. Wink

(DYNAMIC EXIT!)
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"
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#56
It'll probably take a couple of days for people to start "cycling down" from the incident.

There'll probably be a modification to what sort of ban occurs at Serenity Valley, particularly depending on what sort of trial and tribunal occurs. Odds are still pretty good that the girls, themselves, will be fairly well unwelcome at Serenity Valley. It might not be an official ban for two out of the three, but they'll always get sideeyes on the street, shopkeepers will be mysteriously all going on break at the same time, etcetera. Basically a passive-aggressive hostility, at least until they show that they've learned from what happened.

I do expect that Miyu Glear, after all that, will still have them do their damndest to throw the book at her - as many charges as they think they can get to stick to her would likely be levied. Try to put her away as long as possible, hope to be able to include a mandatory weaponry removal even after she's released.

Similar would probably be done with The Professor himself... although part of that would be to try to ensure they could get him the help he needs to actually start managing the problems of being a Mad. Hells, the horrors of waking up, and realizing that "She did WHAT?!" might be enough to shake him into realizing he needs that help, that he might need someone there who can tell him he needs to back off, needs to get some sleep on a set schedule (8 hours every 24), needs to make sure he has enough experimental material he can get the needed distraction when he does go Blue Haired to keep from hurting others in the process.

Charges against the Ryoko and Catty would likely be just to help "detach" them from being his caretakers, possibly by trying to force a plea deal where they agree to let The Professor be helped in whatever ways he actually needs. Assuming, of course, they haven't quite realized that they're actually a part of the problem.

I do agree there will be some aftermath. It's possible that part of the aftermath will consist of "we all overreacted in the heat of the moment." This is probably part of the reason why, years later, Nene, Geo and Myk were so upset when Jeph set off a Blue Hair Day with that batch of Klatchian Coffee.
EDIT: OK, ninja'd by Mal. Smile
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor
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#57
Sorry guys..... got ninja'd by Cobalt. And halfway through writing that I remembered what the set date was and realised Mackie's little woopsie hasn't happened yet.

I thought somebody needed to find a way of saying that the Prof' really isn't on the same malicious level as Quattro, Agatha or the like.

I don't mind the darker hue to the thread. There's always been something a little dark and potentially dangerous about Mad's in full flow..... That's part of the balance and part of the 'price' of madness. I mean, Mackie's character bio has had a box-text with similar themes for a while now.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
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#58
I will NOT say dark does not have a place here. It's a big part of the storytelling toolkit for a reason. But the kind of dark matters, which is the trick.

I will say I much prefer the idea of the Professor having the realisation that he needs after some sleep (I almost put a capital 'R' on realisation there). He's an otherwise normal guy if he has regular sleep (see http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?titl ... n_Fenspace).
Other Mads have had the realisation that they need help/to change, some of them quite publicly. This will probably be no different.
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#59
(If it wasn't for Yuku giving me "403 Forbidden" errors when I first tried to post this, it would have been reply #51 in this thread. Please read this in that context.)


M Fnord Wrote:... People who like to hear themselves talk (*coughcough*Noah*cough*) ...

It isn't that he likes hearing himself talk; it's that other people (*coughcough*VVS*cough*) get upset when he does anything else. Hence the talking.

Bob Schroeck Wrote:To: "SMOF Net" (Recipients redacted)
From: "Bob Schroeck" (rms(a)ourtown.fen)
Subj: The Professor
Date: 2015.07.18-1053UTC

I'm sure most of you have already seen the press release we on the Grover's Corners put out about six hours ago. For those of you who didn't, it runs like this: In response to yesterday's incident at Serenity Valley, the adult members of the crew of the Grover's Corners unanimously voted to ban the Professor, his minions and the Sol Bianca from all interactions with our little piece of Fenspace. They are no longer welcome here, even as paying customers for fresh produce. And we are seriously considering declaring anyone who decides to play middleman and buy GC products for the Professor equally persona non grata.

But reiterating the press release is not why I'm posting to the list today. I am here to move that we declare that the Professor and his minions are, in the eyes of the Fenspace Convention, Boskonians, and are to be treated as such by all members of the Convention and all its official bodies.

Face it, people, an armed lunatic who is of the opinion that he can invade people's ships and homes at will, regardless of their opinions on the matter, is a Boskonian, plain and simple. He needs to be treated as one, it's that easy.

You all already know we came into space with nearly a dozen kids of various ages, and that when we're done setting up PS2 38, we're going to be hosting dozens more. After yesterdays' bloodbath, my number one nightmare is now the Professor deciding he wants to know how our water system or our drive works, and his Igorettes slaughtering everyone who even looks like they might be getting in his way, leaving behind a school massacre to make Columbine look small. The Professor needs to be put away, permanently. And Miyu Glear needs to be thrown into Azkaban. If not the sun.

If the Convention refuses to treat this man as the criminal he is, the crew of the Grover's Corners will immediately cancel the PS 238 project. We will not endanger fenkinder by collecting them all in one place that the Professor might want to "investigate".

And we will place a bounty on his head: Two tons of biomass and free produce for a family of four for life to anyone who renders the Professor and his creations incapable of harming anyone again, ever.

I open the floor to debate.

To: "SMOF Net" (Recipients redacted)
From: "Noah Scott" (bigcheese(a)stellvia.fen)
Subj: RE: The Professor
Date: 2015.07.18-1111UTC

Declaring someone Boskonian isn't a step to be taken lightly. I'm not saying it shouldn't happen, just that we need to consider it when we've calmed down and aren't outraged by his actions.

Stellvia Corporation has frozen The Professor's account and will no longer do business with him or his known associates. This means we're out Cr2,447 for refuelling the Sol Bianca and Cr 38 for sandwiches at Meg's threee weeks ago, but that's a small price to pay for never seeing him again.

I'll make more proposals at the inevitable panel discussion about The Professor at Bubblecon. We have a panel about him every year, but somehow I doubt this year's will be a fan-gush.

(As for security at PS238: My newest girl, Yomiko Readman, is looking for a teaching job. Yes, The Jason did share the tech he was showing off at the Port Phobos Invitational with her, and AC Peters has given her a briefcase filled with "buckyball" paper if I understood what she was saying.)

Noah Scott
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#60
i need to say this because i just realised how badly i screwed up, i really need to pay attention to the dates put on these things. 

My third point earlier is a non issue, reason being is the S7 is not that yet. its still an indipendant free station and black market Over the Rainbow station

because FSOG has not captured the station as of this timeline point he will not be banned from its space, especially since the impetus for its capture was the spotting of one of his doom bot impersonators

The flip to that is that there is a good chance that Wolfboy and Loviatar could be on station for the situation

now as to my other point for this post. even in the united states there is a responsibility for someone who has the ability to maintain their sanity with medication to do so. Say a Paranoid Schizophrenic, who while on their medication is perfectly fine, knowingly goes off their meds, the murder they commit while off their meds they are held responsible for once they are in a mental state to act in their own defense. Also any and all caretakers could be considered Accessories to the crime due to their not ensuring that the subject stayed on their meds. 

this hypothetical case could go either as second degree manslaughter but more and more are going as second/third degree murder. The death itself was unintentional, however the removal of the meds that maintain the perpetrator's mental state was intentional and thus argues forethought, at least of the possibility that it could happen. 

the parralel here is that the proffessor and his caretakers know that he needs sleep or else he becomes more and more manic, the fact that they are unwilling to render him unconcious be it either through injury or medication makes them culpable as enablers, similar to the bartender handing the drunk the keys to his car. Unfortunately no one seems to be willing to take the role of being the person to shut down "One of fendom's greatest minds" and if no one is willing to do it on a personal level it needs to be done on an institutional level.

third point in character: 

from:Wolfboy@Stelvia.fen
to: Undisclosed Recipient.
Subj: RE: the Professor. 

Alright folks, since I'm out in the black hunting down rogue elements I'll state this; While i don't think the Prof needs to be declared a bosky someone needs to put an actual leash on his hide. Quite frankly the man is to dangerous to run around loose like he has. Jet, you know me, I was right there with you taking down some of those Boskone mads you mentioned and while the prof is not malicious like they were the fact of the matter is that his negligence and the negligence of his caretakers might mean me having to shoot him one of these days simply because some bosky decided he wanted to entice the prof with some neat bit of tech or mystery and there was a group of innocents involved. 

Its quite clear that the prof when he hasn't had his sleep is non copus mentus, however, the fact of the matter is that it is the responsibility of him and his caretakers/crew to ensure that he maintains a clear circadian cycle to maintain his level of reason. It is apparent by this incident that they can not be trusted to do so. I am afraid that if something isn't done to change the situation that is the professor that one day I'm going to find myself hunting him for some reason other than the Frog bounty. 

Also, lets be frank here people, all of us have blue hair days to one extent or another, and some of them are more dangerous than others. If i was someone who gave into their need to build easily it could just as well be me people were banning simply because i built another space weapon. Have i built them, not always, but i have also destroyed them while saving the blueprints in a secure server with OGJ and the Convention. The problem with that is that while what i build could possibly destroy habitats, the Professor's work tends to destroy lives, especially that of Friezes. I mean lets be honest with each other here, the entire reason he built the JFM in the first place was so that he would have a ready supply of both assistants and test subjects. The problem with that is that we recognize the Friezes as Sapients and thus worthy of protection under convention rules, What Chris did was in my eyes not only the right thing to do but the appropriate thing to do no matter the Professor's reasons. 

In closing i think that the Professor needs to be committed to a facility that while it will assist him in building things for the convention it will mandate and ensure, by medicated force if necessary, that he get at least eight hours of sleep in any 48 hour period.

James Wolfboy Bostwick
 
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#61
***

“Ching-wah TSAO duh liou mahng,” Lisa snarled, the intensity of her fury making several people jump slightly. “Athena, how long?”

“Twenty seconds to the cargo hold,” Athena replied calmly. “They’re not leaving now.”

“Finally… okay, I don’t want Glear turning this into a hostage situation. Can we keep them away from the Friez?” the commander asked.

"They're already in the same room," Athena pointed out. "And the Professor is nearly ready to tackle them if they try to run for the ship... oh. That could work."

Lisa was about to ask what 'that' was, when the Void Eagles coilguns spun around, locking onto the Professor. Miyu Glears reaction was immediate, tackling the Professor and throwing him to the deck under her. "Huh."

***

"Would you get off me?!" the Professor demanded, squirming underneath his curvy bodyguard. She paid him little attention, arm transforming into mini-gun mode and searching for a target. "Miyu! I need to start my bioscans of Julianne!"

"I know that gun's non-lethal," a new voice growled. There was a flicker of light in front of the Friez, and a semi-transparent figure appeared, projected from an emitter on the side of the ship. A blue-haired young woman, late teens perhaps, in spacers coveralls and a slightly ratty leather jacket. "And given what you just did to my family, you're really not the best human shield," she added in a near snarl.

Paling slightly, Miyu still hunted for a target. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"Arturia Wood," she said with a mocking bow. "Daughter of the man you just stabbed, sister of the droid you just dismembered. And you are Miyu Glear, bodyguard to the Professor, his Lovely and Talented Assistant... and the woman that was supposed to stop this," she growled. She gestured at the man Miyu was pinning down, who was still trying to squeeze out, protesting about his need to run tests. It was likely he hadn't even noticed the guns or the hologram.

Returning her arm to normal, Miyu met Arturias eyes. "We didn't want to hurt anyone," she said softly. "But they shouldn't have tried to harm my Professor. He just wanted to run his experiments-"

"On people he's traumatised too much already, with no concern about their desires or the fact he's not welcome here!" Arturia yelled. "Oooh, clearly my Dad deserved to be run through, the monster!" she added mockingly, hands clenched into fists. "You didn't hesitate. Dad went with Slapstick gear, you went for the blades. You're worse then the Mad!"

Eyes narrowing, Miyu glared at the younger woman. "I protect him," she growled. "I've seen what happens when I fail, and that will not happening again." Glancing down, she grabbed the Professors arm as he tried to slip out from under her. "Professor, please, it's not safe!" she hissed.

"I don't care! I need to set up the immersion tank! The Juliane Friez machine has to work around her existing biomod, so if I go with a deep scan using the Dismantler-Organiser... do we still have that in storage?" he asked, calming down and looking thoughtful. "If I have to build a new one, it'll delay me by almost an hour," he complained.

Eyes wide, Jules backed up towards the ships entry ramp. "You're not doing anything to me again! Haven't you done enough already?" she demanded, tears running down her face. Clutching at her tail in both hands, she glared at him. "Just stay away from me!"

Smirking slightly, Arturia put her hands in her jacket pockets. "Oh, don't worry, he will be."

Before Miyu had time to wonder what she meant, two pairs of hands grabbed her and dragged her off the Professor. The woman shrieked in surprise, even as her hands were pulled behind her back and heavy cuffs were clamped over her wrists. A miltiaman in riot gear stepped into her field of view, looking unimpressed. "Miyu Glear, you are under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon, illegal entry and attempted manslaughter," he growled as three more men stepped into view, one keeping his rifle locked on the Professors head as the other two attempted to get the once again frantic man into cuffs.

Sighing in relief as the android was read her rights, Kitbashes shoulders slumped and the coilgun returned to its normal powered down position. "Sergeant, am I glad to see you," she managed.

Turning away from an indignant Miyu, Sergeant Collins gave the hologram an apologetic smile. "I'm just sorry we took so long ma'am," he admitted. "We have medics with your father now. I'm afraid we don't have anyone that can help your droid, but he seems able to respond to us, so..."

Smiling weakly, the girl nodded slightly. "I don't think he was hit anywhere vital. We can reattach the leg later."

Stepping forward cautiously, Julian gave the scene a wary look. "So, it's over?" he asked.

"As soon as he's properly cuffed," the Sergeant replied, glancing at where his men were still struggling with the Professor. "The aftermath of this is going to be a bitch and a half though. Word is, Antilles is beyond furious at this mess, and all those idiots with cameras back there will probably have this story going viral already." Scowling, he flipped his visor open. "Fucking spectator syndrome. Always hoped that wouldn't make it off Earth."

Giggling weakly, Jules sat down on the ramp and grinned at him. "Guess human nature is eternal after all," she observed, wiping at her face.

"For good and ill, I suppose," he muttered. "We're going to need to get statements from you all, but Athena assures me this mess is well documented, so I doubt that-" A sudden gasp from Kitbash grabbed their attention, and they all turned to where the hologram had frozen, image not updating properly.

Before anyone could speak, their questions were answered by an urgent, depserate voice drifting in from the cargo hold. "He's not breathing. Check his airway, I'll start compressions."

Straightening up, Julian spun towards the doors. Before he could move however, he was beaten by the Professor. Having frozen the moment he heard the medics declaration, the man exploded into motion, his size and mass throwing the militiamen off him before they had time to react. As everyone except Kitbash turned towards him, the man was already running, sprinting for the doors he'd blasted open earlier. "Stop him!" Sergeant Collins growled, raising his rifle.

The Professor was faster than any of them however, jumping through the hole in the door, body-checking an idiot with a camera out of the way, then skidded to a halt next to Chris, dropping to a crouch with a tricorder in his hand. "CPR's no good," he declared. "The blade punctured a lung and several arteries. He's bleeding out directly into his lung and drowning."

"Biofoam," one of the paramedics said, but the Professor shook his head, all his attention and focus on this new, time-critical problem.

"Will just block off the heart completely. Terrible place to be stabbed. Your response gear?"

"JMC standard," the other man answered. Frowning, the Professor looked back down.

"Quality, but not what we need in the time left." Reaching into his lab coat, he dug around in the pockets and came out with a large, unmarked syringe filled with faintly glowing handwavium. Before either of the paramedics could reply, he rammed the needle down into the dying mans chest and jammed his thumb down on the plunger.

For a moment, nothing happened, then the mans body spasmed, eyes opening shockingly wide. As the people around him watched, his eyes changed color, becoming a vibrant blue, then he slumped back to the deck. Slowly, his breathing settled, and they watched as his features began to shift.

"Well, that's resolved. I should work on something to help paramedics with that kind of problem," the Professor mused. Before he could continue, one of the paramedics reached over with a hypospray and pressed it against the mans neck. "Hey! What was..." his eyes unfocused, looking at nothing. "Oh dear." And with that, he fell backwards, out cold before he hit the deck.

Moving up next to the Professor, Sergeant Collins kept his rifle ready. "Cuffs, now," he ordered, one of his men darting forward to restrain the snoring figure. Once that was done, he glanced at the paramedics. "Captain Wood?"

"Biomod's taken hold," one of them confirmed, setting out a stretcher next to the figure, who looked smaller than he'd been a moment ago. "He'll live, but I want to get him to the hospital, just in case."

"Do it. Hutch, you and Joe goe with them. Protective detail. Last thing the Captain needs now is some Professor groupie going after him." The pair nodded.

Stepping into the room, Julian Friez took in the scene. "Put his phone somewhere he can see it," he told the pair, retrieving it from the ruined longcoat. "His daughter will need it there."

"As for the rest of you vultures," Collins declared, raising his voice to address the spectators, "show's over. I'm giving you to the count of five to disperse, or all of you are getting your phones confiscated!" Watching the crowd scatter in front of him, he sighed. "That should not have worked as well as it did."

Unrolling a second stretcher to drop the Professor on, the paramedic shrugged. "Human nature," he commented.

"Huh, the catgirl said that," he mused.

"Because I'm right," Jules said from the door. "Um, what about the droid?" she asked.

"If it's alright with you Sergeant, I'd really like him to stay here," Kitbash called out from the docking bay. Glancing over at T7, who gave a chirp that sounded positive, he shrugged and nodded. The two Friez went to collect him as the Professor and Captain (Who seemed to be vanishing into his clothes) were ferried out, a furious and distraught Miyu dragged along behind.

***
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#62
Well, that... happened.
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#63
Nicely done; rather illustrates the issues with the Professor.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-

NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children
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#64
Okay, minor question after digging around on the Wiki. There's no details I could find on the mayor/governor of Serenity Valley. Jferio, your characters are based there. Do you have any ideas, or should I go ahead and make the poor schmuck stuck with the job in 2015?
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#65
Quote:Matrix Dragon wrote:
Okay, minor question after digging around on the Wiki. There's no details I could find on the mayor/governor of Serenity Valley. Jferio, your characters are based there. Do you have any ideas, or should I go ahead and make the poor schmuck stuck with the job in 2015?
I haven't done a lot of "establishment", outside of a one-time considering of Gonna Say The Six Words in a private conversation between Jeph and Nene in what I think was one of the alternate reality stories, but that was specific to someone showing a spot of incompetence in a particular context.
You're free to go ahead and make up the Poor Schmuck who sometimes wonders what sort of actions cause Jeph Antilles to come to his office for more than an invitation to lunch... (And note: the lunch is typically just a social thing, not an excuse to talk Government.)
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor
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#66
Usually Malcolm Reilly found his job to be relatively stress-free. The man had originally had a career in politics in the state of Washington, before his daughter was biomodded in a ‘prank’ by one of her classmates. Moving to space to protect her, he’d found that helping to build a new society was, for the most part, almost a working retirement compared to the political arenas he was used to.

Then a day like today came along, and he felt like he was back in Olympia again.

“So. Minor damage to one docking bay, one droid and an android injured, and one man received an emergency biomod.” Leaning back in his chair, Malcolm considered the ceiling of his office. “In that sense at least, I suppose we got off lucky. If any of them broke out heavier weaponry, or they’d been somewhere deeper in the dome when it kicked off...“ Shrugging, the mayor leaned forward. “If it was just four J. Random Fen getting in a fight, people would comment on ‘kids these days’ and maybe question how long it took security to get there - which is a problem we’ll need to talk about later,” he noted.

On the other side of the table, Lisa Hayes nodded slightly, acknowledging the point. “But the Professor isn’t just J. Random Fen.”

Malcolm scowled. “And while they don’t play it up, it seems that Captain Wood and his Astromech aren’t either.” The woman across from him blinked in confusion, and he laughed bitterly. “Quite a few people look at their ship and think Warsie, right? Turns out they’re both Australian citizens. Void Shipping is based on Earth. And neither of them hold faction status elsewhere.”

“... oh crap,” Lisa muttered, and Malcolm’s smile grew even more amused.

“Ohhh yes. I’ve already gotten an email from Rob Donaldson in Port Luna. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has already called him to ask some rather angry questions. You can guess the type, I’m sure,” he added dryly, standing up. Stepping over to a side table, he poured himself a glass of water. “There’s nothing else from Earth yet, but I expect the involvement of the Professor will get the EUs attention. The French always find screaming about him to be good for their polls,” he muttered, before drinking.

Considering that, Lisa sighed. “And Fenspace?”

Putting the glass back down, Malcolm rolled his eyes. “Fenspace is being Fenspace. Running around, arms flailing like Kermit the Frog until they can calm down and think.” Lisa didn’t quite suppress a giggle at that, and the mayor gave her an amused smile, although it faded quickly. “Going by the various emails my secretary is digging through, it’s about what you’d expect. People siding with the Professor because Science and it’s all Captain Wood’s fault for getting in the way, people suddenly deciding all Mads are crazy murder machines that will cut up people for Science and someone needs to do something, and all the variations between the two.” Sighing, he dropped back into his chair. “No matter how we deal with it, there’s going to be headaches,” he grumbled.

The office door opened, revealing a slim, petite woman nearly buried in a brown duster, a gold Sheriff's star pinned to the front. Removing her stetson to reveal bright red hair and fox ears, she gave the room an irritated look. “I’ve got the Professor strapped down in a secure medical ward, and Glear is nowhere near him,” Sheriff Katherine Roberts announced. “Captain Wood and the Void Eagle have an extra protective detail just in case, and my vacation is utterly ruined, just so you know.”

Malcolm met her glare with an amused smirk. “You didn’t have to come back. That’s why you have deputies,” he pointed out.

“Like fun I’m leaving this mess in their laps,” Kate shot back, dropping into a chair. “Everyone’s going to be watching this. We’ve got to do it right, and you know Bradley’s nowhere near ready to talk to real reporters.” The foxgirl looked around the office again and frowned. “So, where’s Antilles? I’d have thought this would have knocked him out of his ‘I’m just a simple businessman’ routine,” she mused.

“Oh, it has,” Lisa replied. “At a guess, I’d say he’s not getting involved until he’s good and calmed down.” Kate snorted, but the militiawoman shook her head, expression very serious. “No Katie, he’s right to. He was so angry before he shifted back to male.”

Frowning, Katie started to reply, paused, considered that, then paled slightly. “Oh. I… I did not know he could do that,” she admitted.

“I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing it,” Lisa agreed. “He’ll weigh in on the debate later, but I think it best we gave him time to catch his breath.”

Nodding in agreement, Kate leaned back in her chair. “Can’t argue with that. Anyway, we’re not really going to make progress until the Professor wakes up, which, going by what I understand about his biology, could be tomorrow, could be Tuesday. I want a professional to take a look at both him and Glear. Once we know their actual mental state, then I’ll consider a list of charges to present you with,” she told Malcolm.

Rubbing at his beard thoughtfully, the mayor raised an eyebrow. “You’re looking at the angle of their being mentally impaired already?”

The Vixen shrugged. “I think it’s possible. I mean, hell, we all know the guys reputation, and Glear was a bit quicker to start stabbing then I’d have expected from someone with her experience. Hell, if she was as willing to pop the blades a few years back, Paris would have a lot less pretentious assholes,” she added dryly.

Wincing, Malcolm gave her a warning look. “Please don’t say that to the reporters.”

“Hey, I’m a bitch, I’m not stupid,” she replied, before turning serious again. “I’ve been looking at all the video on the way in. Captain Wood had every legal right to tell the Professor to go suck vacuum, and frankly, I figure he had the moral right too. He only broke out the lethal weapons after Glear had already cut him at least once, and his Slapstick weapons were taken out. Even then, he was only shooting to wound at best, and based off an idea Athena confirmed came from her and Romanova, he was still going for a non-lethal takedown.” Running a hand through her hair, she sighed and shrugged. “If we wanted to, we could throw the book at the Professor and his minions.”

“With all of the system watching,” Lisa sighed, closing her eyes and imagining the media frenzy.

“Fuck ‘em,” the Sheriff replied bluntly. “This is a local matter, even if it involves visitors getting into trouble on our turf. If they want to watch, then they get a demonstration that we’ve got our legal system put together better than some others out here.” Smirking, she crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. “But if I’m right, this might not make it to trial at all. Rather than punishment, we might just be able to make things a little better for everyone.”

***
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#67
Yeah, the NLR would quietly slap a persona non-grata tag on the professor and remove any protections if he somehow got to their territory, but would otherwise keep their mouths shut and their heads down since this would be after R.Celestia shows up and injects some competence and forethinking to the national command.
I
Yeah, I know. Summer wasn't too good for me. Haven't had much time lately.
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#68
This part is actually set before the scene with the mayor, and the final version will have it in the right place.

***

As Julian carried T7-01 into the ships dining area, the wall projector powered up and projected Kitbashes human-scale avatar into the room. “Put him down here,” she said, gesturing to the floor in front of her.

Grunting, Julian lowered the droid relatively gently. “Damn,” he commented, groaning and stretching. “I never really thought about how much a robot weighs.” T7’s head turned towards him, and he raised his hands. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s like carrying a grown human. There’s more meat than you expect, and not exactly many handholds.” Considering that for a moment, the droid nodded slightly.

By the door, Jules considered the severed robot leg with a raised eyebrow. “And I have to say, robot limbs are a lot more disturbing to carry around than I would have expected.” Placing it carefully on the table, she wiped her hand on her coveralls. “I mean, it’s metal, not flesh, but somehow…”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Kitbash said, kneeling down next to her brother. “It’s a person, and that’s all that matters.” Leaning in close, she studied the droids ruined leg joint. “I, um,” she said, looking slightly ill. “That’s going to be a bit more repair work than we can manage right now  Tee,” she admitted, looking away from the severed wires and jagged metal that had once been a servomotor. 

the droid replied, unconcerned.

Her expression slipped at that, and she bit her lip and looked away from the others. “Right. When he gets back. When,” she said again, trying to convince herself of that fact.

“The medics said the biomod had taken hold,” Julian said, looking over from where he was raiding the refrigerator. “As many problems as I have with handwavium, even I have to give that little magic trick credit. He’s going to be fine.”

“Fine?” Kitbash demanded, jumping to her feet. “That handwavium came from the pockets of the same crazy bugger that started this disaster in the first place!” she pointed out, running her hands through her hair and starting to pace across the room. “God only knows what it’s going to do to him. What if he turns into some kind of crazy robot, or another Mad that only sees people as experiments, or it screws up his memory or-”

A slender hand passed through her avatar's shoulder, and she paused, turning to see Jules giving her a sympathetic look. “He’ll still be your father, and he’ll still love you,” she said quietly. “That will never change. Anything else…” she smiled, ears twitching, “it’s Fenspace. We’ll work it out.”

T7-01 added. He tilted his head to the side and added

Kitbashes avatar relaxed slightly. Nodding, she reached up and patted Jule’s hand, as much as a hologram could anyway. “Thanks Miss Friez.”

The catgirl giggled. “Kiddo, after what you did today, I think you can call me Jules, hmm?” she teased. Wiping at her face, Kitbash smiled and nodded.

“So, if we can’t get your brother there up and running properly until your dad gets back,” Julian commented as he poured himself a glass of orange juice, “we should at least make sure he’s comfortable…” he paused, then snapped his fingers. “Creeper.” The girls and droid looked at him in obvious confusion, and he quickly continued. “A mechanics creeper, the sort we use for working under cars.”

Jules nodded, following his logic. “You know, that might work as a short term crutch,” she agreed. “It’ll at least let you move around the ship on your own,” she told T7, who chirped in eager agreement.

Quickly finishing his juice, Julian put the glass in the sink. “Benefits of living on Earth,” he commented to himself with mild envy. “I think I know where we had one that’ll fit the requirements,” he added, heading towards the door. “I’ll be back in a few.”

Watching him go, Kitbash laughed softly. “I guess that means Tee doesn’t just get to sit in front of the tv for a while,” she noted.

T7’s lights dimmed. he joked, getting a second laugh from his sister. Lacking a translator, Jules headed over to the refrigerator to fetch herself a drink.

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#69
JULY 18
ANSON MACDONALD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, SERENITY VALLEY

Chris woke up, sat up, and briefly wondered where the hell he was. That part of his confusion resolved itself rather quickly as he realised he had to be in a hospital ward. There was a theme to real hospitals, no matter where one went, and this was following all the rules. Given the last thing he remembered was lying on the deck with an incredibly painful hole in his chest, with his blood deciding to seek residence elsewhere, he had to admit this was better than anywhere else he could have ended up.

As he sat there, several other details began to filter in. His body didn’t hurt at all, but it didn’t feel like he’d been in this bed for very long. But while there was no pain, his body did feel… odd. Lighter than it should be, and unbalanced. And as that detail settled in, he realised his hair, usually cut short, was not only hanging in front of his face, but it was the wrong color. Instead of the normal brown, it was a shiny green-black.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he sighed in a mix of annoyance and amusement. He’d wondered, back when he first barricaded the door, if going up against the Professor had a price, and now he knew. Biomod. One of Handwaviums most legendary abilities. To take a living being, even one on the edge of death, and recreate it. Sometimes almost completely as it was before. Sometimes something almost completely new. But always different somehow, and yet still connected to what came before.

Change. Growth. Nostalgia. Almost the perfect summary of Fenspace.

Opening his eyes, he smiled at the odd mood his own change had left him in, then reached up brush the hair out of his face. Pausing, he studied his hand. Before, it was large, weathered, with old scars from a hundred minor cuts and scrapes, and fingernails that still ended up chewed on despite his best efforts to kill the habit. Now it was tiny and unscarred, with soft, flawless green skin, delicate fingers and well-maintained fingernails.

“Well, that explains a few things,” he commented to himself, his voice much higher and softer than it had been. Clearly female. “So, green skin. Mirialan or Orion?” Looking down, she sighed and rolled her eyes. “Orion,” she concluded, head dropping back down onto the pillow. “Great. Guess I still had Miyu on the mind when the mod took hold,” she muttered, shivering slightly at the memory. “I can already tell that’s gonna be annoying.”

Frowning thoughtfully, she sat back up and looked around the room. Spotting her phone on the bedside table, she climbed over and retrieved it, fumbling slightly with her new hands and scrambling to catch it before it fell. “Right, Friday,” she said after checking the time and date. Brushing her hair back out of her face, she sighed and slid off the bed, stumbling slightly as the drop to the floor was longer than expected. “Dammit, Kit must be freaking out,” she grumbled as she dialed.

The phone managed about a quarter of a ring before it cut off and the phones projector powered up, Kitbashs avatar appearing on top of it. Pausing, she took in the sight in front of her. Cautious, she leaned in for a closer look. “...Dad?” she said at last.

Chris gave her an amused smile back, trying not to think about how her face didn’t feel like it was moving quite right. “Hiya Artie.”

“Don’t call me that,” she grumbled instinctively, than blinked. “It really is you…” Regaining her bearings, she looked Chris over and smirked. “Should I start calling you mum?” she teased.

“Please don’t,” Chris replied with a wince. “I just woke up, I’m really not ready to try and process that just yet,” she said, putting the phone back down on the bedside table. “Last thing I remember was…” she winced, pressing her palm against her forehead, “getting run through by Glear. So, clearly it was bad enough I got a dose of Handwavium. What about Teeseven?”

“He’s okay,” Kitbash said quickly. “He’s here on the Void Eagle. We haven’t been able to fix his leg yet, so Julian’s worked out a crutch for him.” She shrugged slightly, rubbing at the back of her neck. “If you didn’t wake up today, I was going to ask Nene to take a look at him.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Chris nodded. “Right. Thank you. At least there’s some good news… even if Romanova’s gonna yell at me for being an idiot over this whole mess.” She snorted. “I earned it, I’ll savor it. The Friez are both alright then?” she asked, looking back over at her daughter.

Nodding, the AI pulled a chair out of nowhere and sat down. “Safe and sound. Security got here not long after you…” she paused, looking ill, then gestured at Chris. “Y’know. I managed to stall with the coilguns long enough for them to grab Miyu. Then, well then you apparently started, well, dying.” Her expression shifted rapidly, showing her many emotions on the matter, as Chris’ green skin paled noticeably at that piece of information. “Before the paramedics could do anything,” Kitbash continued, voice wavering, “the Professor just… reacted. Before anyone could stop him, he was right next to you, working out your injuries, and…” her voice trailed off and she looked away, shivering.

Stepping across the room, Chris held out her hand, fingers brushing through the tiny holograms hands. “It’s okay kid,” she said gently. Kitbash looked back at her, still clearly upset. “He’s the one that kicked off the biomod?” Her daughter nodded, and the Orion smiled, shrugging slightly. “Hmm. Even as unstable as he is, his heart’s more or less in the right place.” Grinning, she folded her arms under her breasts, then blinked and shifted, resorting to placing her hands on her hips instead, even if that felt almost as odd. “Still kinda hate his minion right now though,” she noted with a giggle, then blinked again at that particular reaction.

It had the desired effect though, as Kitbash broke down giggling as well, the AI nearly falling off her chair, thanks to the subconscious parts of her avatar code that insisted on obeying things like gravity. Chris gave her a moment, looking around the room and considering how large everything seemed. Either this hospital had been buying some oversized furniture (Which was possible, she remembered reading about a handwaved factory that had a few problems with scale) or she was a lot smaller than she had been.

Suppressing a sigh, she made herself smile again as Kitbash regained her composure. Worry later. For now, she had to tend to her daughter.
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#70
Quote:Nene looked up from where she was resting on the futon as she heard a plate set down on the beat up coffee table in front of it. Her head hurt, both from her earlier telecommunications session with Kitbash and Athena, as well as her dry heaving when she'd seen Chris Wood run through and taken out of the fight. As soon as things had settled down, she'd stumbled into Starbug's common room and fallen over onto the futon.
"Nene?" She groaned, once, and shifted enough to see what had been put on the table. Jeph had apparently turned down the cabin lighting, so it didn't feel like someone was jamming a white-hot rod into her eyes, just red hot needles, but she could see that it was indeed a plate, with a slice of recently reheated peach cobbler.
The universal painkiller of cute blonde or redheaded hackers the multiverse over.
She levered herself up, took the proffered fork, and began eating as Jeph slumped onto the futon next to her. There were a few moments of silence as she ate.
"Nene... was it wise of me to tell Lisa she was free to kill them?"
She paused in her eating, headache partially forgotten, and she looked over at him. He was looking subdued, more so than one would expect for what had happened.
"Jeph. We... we're both survivors of The Battle for Serenity Valley." She took another bite, chewed, swallowed, as her eyes got a little wet at the memories of all the loss they had suffered only a couple of years before. "Would you question that of someone else, under the same circumstances, the knowledge that Chris might have merely been the first of dozens of casualties otherwise? Hundreds?"
Jeph looked at her, then looked up at the ceiling. "No. You're right. I... I just... I'm sometimes never quite sure where the bounds are, especially when the circumstances... get past me like they did today, and all I can do is react to the results. I watched Glear almost kill someone I actually respect, for little more than doing something right rather than something smart."
Nene put the empty plate down. "So... what are you going to do? Or are you going to try to hide behind the 'simple businessman' routine again?" Jeph gave her a look. "What? That's what Lisa, Malcolm, Kate and Athena all say about you and your desire to not throw your political weight around." Jeph snorted.
"You know I have my reasons for that. Mostly because I think they all do their individual jobs better than I would trying to take over. I'd just get more in the way. Besides, I happen to *like* being the simple businessperson. It's nice. All I have to do is worry about the wellbeing of the people who work for me, and achieving satisfaction with the people who contract us." A deep sigh sounded from him. "I don't really like the idea of handling all the literal life and death decisions, anyway."
"So... when do you think you'll need to have a meeting with Malcolm?"
"Give me a day or two. I need to make sure my head's back on fucking straight before I go in there. Two things, though. First, I'd like you to message Kitbash, offer JMC services if they need them to get their contracts fulfilled... for the nominal sufferage fee."
"OK. They'll probably need the help."
"And secondly... how many emails are there already in the SMOF and BNF lists?"
"Ummm... you really don't want to know. They're coming in faster than we can download them, though."
"Crap."
On the "sufferage fee"... read that as being basically the "bare minimum microtransaction fee to keep exchange of services as legally not a gift".
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor
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#71
Sitting on the hospital bed, Chris swung her legs back and forth, watching the doctor take notes. “So, what’s the verdict Jack? Am I gonna make it? At least tell me if I’ll be able to play the piano,” she begged with wide eyes.

Looking up from his notepad, Doctor Jack Cooper gave her an amused look. “Sadly Captain, you’re still you,” he said dryly. “Not even Handwavium can cure that. Also, I know you’ve never learnt to play the piano, and I refuse to take part in that silly gag.”

“Aww,” she replied with a pout. “Party pooper.”

“Yes yes,” he said, unconcerned by her teasing. “I am a horribly boring individual. More seriously, you’ll be happy, or at least relatively satisfied, to learn that your biology is very near human. There’s a few minor differences that I’ll want to let a few medical AIs ponder, but I don’t expect you’ll need any special dietary supplements.”

“Small mercies,” Chris mused, crossing her legs. “What about the Orions trademark gimmick?” she asked, brushing her hair back over her ear.

Putting the notepad on a side table, Jack shrugged. “If you’ve got mind-control pheromones, we’re not seeing them anywhere,” he admitted, then frowned. “Mind-control pheromones,” he repeated, shaking his head. “I swear, once you start living it, some stuff from fiction becomes a lot more disturbing.”

Chris gave him a look. “You’re disturbed? I’m the one that might have the power to transform men into brain-dead slaves.”

“Oh, you’ve got that anyway,” the doctor said dryly, looking over the small womans body. Chris gave him a confused look, glanced down at the curves not at all hidden by the hospital gown, then blushed rather cutely as her brain made the connection. Jack smirked, then pressed on before the Orions instinct for snark could divert the conversation again. “Given who the handwavium came from, it might be reasonable to expect an oddity or two in your biomod, but right now nothing’s jumping out at me.” Scowling slightly, he picked up a tricorder again. “It’s an annoying truth about biomods. When they want to be quirky, there’s often no way to know until you get caught by surprise somewhere down the line.”

Hopping down off the bed, Chris stretched, marvelling again at the lack of aches and pains. “Well, that’s something to look forward to, I suppose,” she commented. “It’ll keep life interesting or some such.” Turning to look up at Jack, she frowned slightly. “Although this part, I could do without,” she commented, comparing her height to his.

Laughing, the man reached down and messed up her hair, getting an indignant protest for his troubles. “Well, look at it this way,” he offered. “My estimate on your apparent age would be late teens. Maybe there’s an extra growth spurt in your future… or you might just need to get used to heels,” he teased.

“And there’s yet another thing I am not looking forward to,” Chris grumbled, folding her arms under her breasts. “Stupid Professor… And you’re still not willing to tell me anything there?”

“I’m a simple doctor lass,” Jack replied. “I moved to Ganymede to get away from all that political nonsense.”

Frowning, Chris raised an eyebrow. “Wait, political?” she asked. “What’s that supposed to mean? Criminal charges one way or another, yeah I can see that, but politics?” Jack didn’t answer immediately, and her scowl deepened. “Jack…”

With an expression of severe disinterest, the man pressed on, handing her a sheet of paper. “Given how often you bounce around the system, I’ve got a few different recommendations there,” he commented. “You should really look into a specific GP now, just to be on the safe side. And the therapists I’ve listed all have experience in biomod acclimation and gender identity issues.” Seeing her mixed expression at that, he snorted. “Chris, if you didn’t have them before, you’ve got them now.”

“... That’s a fair point,” she admitted at last. “I’ll look into it,” she said, putting the cards on the bed. “Now, stop trying to change the subj-” a knock at the door interrupted her, and she glared at Jacks grin.

***
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#72
Hm. If this is after the Motorcon Griffin incident, Vulpine Fury would sponsor our neo-Orion at the Eden Blake Center's support group for transgender involuntary biomods in Kandor... sort of like a Wilde's Home for Wayward Catgirls. The coping mechanisms include mantras, the most common one being: "Change. Growth. Power."

... I'm gonna hafta work up a wiki entry aren't I?
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll
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#73
Eight years before Motorcon actually, so Chris would hopefully be well adjusted by the time VF gets the Mary Marvel look.
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#74
Foxboy Wrote:... I'm gonna hafta work up a wiki entry aren't I?
A-yup.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#75
Seriously though, Chris would likely been one of the people that helped back the program in the first place.

... And now I have to wonder how many Orion's there actually are in Fenspace by 2015.
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