Mr Zoat
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Oh, he doesn't say 'Americans'. He says 'a nation that prides itself on its virility'.
Edit: Can't find a clip, but here's a better quote.
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
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- Tags
- self insert young justice
Edit: Can't find a clip, but here's a better quote.
rkyeun
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I would imagine the paint falls to the ground.
Coda
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Usually one word
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
AR760
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Technically things like boxing gloves and football gear make it so the sport is more dangerous, not less. The athletes in question are able to exert more force against one another without being damaged commensurately.
Things like bare knuckle boxing or Rugby, believe it or not, are less dangerous than actual boxing or football. So it's always funny to hear takes like that.
Cuchulin
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Yeah, I remember hearing that as the NFL has redesigned and improved Helmets over the decades? It has resulted in more head trauma do to it encouraging football players to charge into each other head first.
Tower Offence (part 7)
Mr Zoat
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8th November 2012
11:33 GMT -5
Alan regards the vine-and-crystal covered doorway sceptically.
"Are you sure he came through here recently?"
The Demon is holding his hands just off the growths, moving them along the vines with his eyes slightly unfocused.
"Yeah. Yeah, but this is… New. It's not fitting in to the Tower's background Order magic."
"Thet is…" Dr. Balewa frowns. "Curious. Even if John Quinn was using magic thet was not derived from elemental Order, it would still make sense to integrate it into the Tower's magic."
"If it were me, I'd want to keep a few things available that the Lords of Order didn't know about. And I'd want to keep it close at hand."
Alan glances at me, then awkwardly looks away-.
"Just say it."
"I'm not saying that wouldn't be a sensible precaution, under some circumstances. But from what I remember about Kent Nelson and Graham Marrack, most magicians prefer to deal with magical creatures openly and honestly-"
The Demon Constantine starts giggling.
"-and having a weapon on hand wouldn't fit in with that."
"And if he wanted to keep it a secret, he would not put a direct passage to it from the Tower that could serve as their place of power."
Sanderson walks closer to the door, looking over The Demon's shoulder. "Does it matter? We need to take a look either way."
"Ah." The Demon smiles as the vines pull away slightly, crystals being carried back into their recesses. "There we go. I take it I'm going in first?"
"No." Dr. Balewa steps forward and gently nudges him out of the way. "If it is not tied in to the Tower's magic systems, I may as well go first."
"Knock yourself out, mate."
Dr. Balewa pulls on the door handle, and the vines extend around the walls and across the ceiling, depositing crystals as they go. Dr. Balewa gives the door a small tug, but it remains in place.
"Ah. The door changes the nature of the room. This is not a method I hev seen before, but the principle-"
The room darkens as the vines completely envelop it, the crystals appearing to glow brighter.
"-is not so different."
As I watch, the vines seem to fade… Those aren't crystals any more. That's the night sky. Ring?
Locations unknown. Constellations unknown. Unable to connect to Orange Central Power Battery.
Okay. Mildly troubling, but hardly unexpected. I look down… More stars? No, mapping shows solid ground. More crystals and vines. Only rather than trailing over brick, they're trailing over trellises in near rows. It.. looks like they're being farmed.
Alan generates a torch construct and plays it over the ground in front of us. We're on a short hillock a little way above a field. There's a rough path down worn into the earth, and the vines are indeed trained over wooden frames. There are lines of bare earth between the rows where the grass has been damaged by someone walking those paths frequently enough to leave a mark, though I can't see anyone at the moment.
"We should take a closer look. This is not something thet I was expecting."
He leads the way down the hill, and since this is starting to look like something that might result in a fight I take to the air. Alan follows a moment later, torch Alan sweeping the fields for anything… Else.
"Doctor Mist?"
He's accelerated to a jog, his speed causing parts of the path to give way and send him sliding downwards for a short distance. He keeps his footing though, and hurries over to the closest vine to grab hold of one of the larger crystals.
"What..? Is this..?"
"Looks like crystallised order to me, mate."
The Demon isn't running, and also doesn't look particularly interested. Which is a little suspicious. Something odd and magical and a Constantine isn't all over it?
I frown. "I thought you said this was cut off from the Tower."
The Demon nods. "It is. Doesn't need to run through the Tower to use Order magic." He looks around, not all that interested. "Maybe he's planning on taking students?"
"I don't follow."
"An infinitely fractal crystal makes a pretty good order focus. If he wants a lot of students, he could hand them out to everyone."
"What about machinery?"
"I don't see any."
I don't think he's right. A small bush would be fine for a class of students. As far as I know there isn't an extant Order cult that he could tap for extra teaching staff, so it would just be him for teaching staff. Given the general lack of education relating to magic in the surface world, his students would be starting from a state of near total ignorance. Which would make sense; if this was a master class they wouldn't need training wheels focuses.
The Demon might well not know about the League's worldwide magic detection network, but John Quinn almost certainly does. That's the thing that comes immediately to mind when I consider this sort of industrial production.
"Who does the farm work?"
We turn to look at Sanderson, who looks a little surprised at the attention.
"I mean, somebody's working here. You can see the trails."
Alan nods. "Lots of people. One guy walking around wouldn't wear a hole in the grass."
"Constantine, has John Quinn spent much time here?"
"Not right here. He's been through a few times." He turns, peering into the dark. "He spent some more time over there."
Ring?
"Farm buildings. Possibly storage sheds or dormitories. Warded against direct scans."
Alan nods. "Quinn isn't there himself, is he?"
The Demon rolls his eyes. "I'd have mentioned it. If we go somewhere and the first thing I say isn't 'oh shit, he's here', you can assume that he isn't."
"Doctor Mist, do you want to keep studying the crystals?"
He pulls what looks like a ripe one off a vine and pockets it before shaking his head. "No, thet can wait. Talking to the farm workers is more likely to be illuminating."
"Then that's our next step."
11:33 GMT -5
Alan regards the vine-and-crystal covered doorway sceptically.
"Are you sure he came through here recently?"
The Demon is holding his hands just off the growths, moving them along the vines with his eyes slightly unfocused.
"Yeah. Yeah, but this is… New. It's not fitting in to the Tower's background Order magic."
"Thet is…" Dr. Balewa frowns. "Curious. Even if John Quinn was using magic thet was not derived from elemental Order, it would still make sense to integrate it into the Tower's magic."
"If it were me, I'd want to keep a few things available that the Lords of Order didn't know about. And I'd want to keep it close at hand."
Alan glances at me, then awkwardly looks away-.
"Just say it."
"I'm not saying that wouldn't be a sensible precaution, under some circumstances. But from what I remember about Kent Nelson and Graham Marrack, most magicians prefer to deal with magical creatures openly and honestly-"
The Demon Constantine starts giggling.
"-and having a weapon on hand wouldn't fit in with that."
"And if he wanted to keep it a secret, he would not put a direct passage to it from the Tower that could serve as their place of power."
Sanderson walks closer to the door, looking over The Demon's shoulder. "Does it matter? We need to take a look either way."
"Ah." The Demon smiles as the vines pull away slightly, crystals being carried back into their recesses. "There we go. I take it I'm going in first?"
"No." Dr. Balewa steps forward and gently nudges him out of the way. "If it is not tied in to the Tower's magic systems, I may as well go first."
"Knock yourself out, mate."
Dr. Balewa pulls on the door handle, and the vines extend around the walls and across the ceiling, depositing crystals as they go. Dr. Balewa gives the door a small tug, but it remains in place.
"Ah. The door changes the nature of the room. This is not a method I hev seen before, but the principle-"
The room darkens as the vines completely envelop it, the crystals appearing to glow brighter.
"-is not so different."
As I watch, the vines seem to fade… Those aren't crystals any more. That's the night sky. Ring?
Locations unknown. Constellations unknown. Unable to connect to Orange Central Power Battery.
Okay. Mildly troubling, but hardly unexpected. I look down… More stars? No, mapping shows solid ground. More crystals and vines. Only rather than trailing over brick, they're trailing over trellises in near rows. It.. looks like they're being farmed.
Alan generates a torch construct and plays it over the ground in front of us. We're on a short hillock a little way above a field. There's a rough path down worn into the earth, and the vines are indeed trained over wooden frames. There are lines of bare earth between the rows where the grass has been damaged by someone walking those paths frequently enough to leave a mark, though I can't see anyone at the moment.
"We should take a closer look. This is not something thet I was expecting."
He leads the way down the hill, and since this is starting to look like something that might result in a fight I take to the air. Alan follows a moment later, torch Alan sweeping the fields for anything… Else.
"Doctor Mist?"
He's accelerated to a jog, his speed causing parts of the path to give way and send him sliding downwards for a short distance. He keeps his footing though, and hurries over to the closest vine to grab hold of one of the larger crystals.
"What..? Is this..?"
"Looks like crystallised order to me, mate."
The Demon isn't running, and also doesn't look particularly interested. Which is a little suspicious. Something odd and magical and a Constantine isn't all over it?
I frown. "I thought you said this was cut off from the Tower."
The Demon nods. "It is. Doesn't need to run through the Tower to use Order magic." He looks around, not all that interested. "Maybe he's planning on taking students?"
"I don't follow."
"An infinitely fractal crystal makes a pretty good order focus. If he wants a lot of students, he could hand them out to everyone."
"What about machinery?"
"I don't see any."
I don't think he's right. A small bush would be fine for a class of students. As far as I know there isn't an extant Order cult that he could tap for extra teaching staff, so it would just be him for teaching staff. Given the general lack of education relating to magic in the surface world, his students would be starting from a state of near total ignorance. Which would make sense; if this was a master class they wouldn't need training wheels focuses.
The Demon might well not know about the League's worldwide magic detection network, but John Quinn almost certainly does. That's the thing that comes immediately to mind when I consider this sort of industrial production.
"Who does the farm work?"
We turn to look at Sanderson, who looks a little surprised at the attention.
"I mean, somebody's working here. You can see the trails."
Alan nods. "Lots of people. One guy walking around wouldn't wear a hole in the grass."
"Constantine, has John Quinn spent much time here?"
"Not right here. He's been through a few times." He turns, peering into the dark. "He spent some more time over there."
Ring?
"Farm buildings. Possibly storage sheds or dormitories. Warded against direct scans."
Alan nods. "Quinn isn't there himself, is he?"
The Demon rolls his eyes. "I'd have mentioned it. If we go somewhere and the first thing I say isn't 'oh shit, he's here', you can assume that he isn't."
"Doctor Mist, do you want to keep studying the crystals?"
He pulls what looks like a ripe one off a vine and pockets it before shaking his head. "No, thet can wait. Talking to the farm workers is more likely to be illuminating."
"Then that's our next step."
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Sockmonkey
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Really, the only safe football helmet would be a Spaceballs-esque kind of thing that was just a big ball of spongy foam.
Darko
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Maybe, but Quinn may not want to be so honest since he's connected to a guy that helped kill a Lord of Order and he is now wearing what's essentially Nabu's body to use his power, so not the best look.
Oh shut up.
"damaged"
Ackbar: It's a trap!
Handlewithcare
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Uh oh. You don't need that many order focuses without planning something big.
Seems Quinns been a busy beaver.
What do we think? Global enforced peace field? Direct attack on the Lords of Chaos? Trying to wipe out Hell?
Seems Quinns been a busy beaver.
What do we think? Global enforced peace field? Direct attack on the Lords of Chaos? Trying to wipe out Hell?
Chojin Patriarch
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Oh, this should be interesting. I hope they don't plan to open it without making a very careful examination of it and whatever spell-work might be involved in it...
Aw, who am I kidding? OL might be the only one who understands proper dungeon-crawling etiquette.Huh. That means it's new, then. Anything older would be soaked in the background emissions...
The good old 'hold-out they hopefully don't know about', huh? An ace up the sleeve, right alongside a Derringer pistol, any gambler's best tools.
Well, you know Alan doesn't like to talk ill of old friends...
Usually because they're powerful enough to make things difficult, Demon. You're just a nuisance.
So this is just, what, a waystation to his secret weapons locker? The magical equivalent of the 'two clicks away from porn' rule some sites use?
Oh, are you volunteering? Good-o, they don't have to throw you bodily, then.
Doc, I know you enjoy new experiences, but how about ones with less potential for grievous bodily harm or worse?
So, a synchronous metaphysical elevator powered by the Rule of Sympathy? Clever.
Makes me wonder if the other end is in a heavily guarded room in the Golden Boy's dimension...
Oh, that's not great. I bet the Ophidian just perked her head up as her Agent blinked out without dying.
Growing crystals on vines? Oh, dear, I think I have a suspicion where they might be...
Let's hope there's nothing lurking, then.
And it seems the good Doctor has some degree of recognition of their location too. Or he's just really curious about the crop.
...And how do you even know what that looks like, hmm?
The Tower isn't the be-all and end-all of universal order, OL.
So he's either setting up to make an army, or a legion of guardians. Assuming this has anything to do with Quinn.
You mean you don't see any machinery you recognise. Nothing says farm tools here have to be big metal tractors...
And Quinn's probably to busy to do something like teach...
Ah, now that's a very good question.
Which means they don't fly or levitate. So not spirits of air or the like.
Or is this more of an awkward 'steps through, then flies off elsewhere' thing? Good question.
Suggesting a detailed knowledge of magic.
And if he is there, then he's probably already on his way to them... So lucky for them.
Assuming they don't panic and flee at the sight of strangers, especially armed and armoured ones.
So, an otherworldly place where they grow crystals of order on vines... Oh, boy. Are they on the Gemworld? It even has a strong connection to the Lords of Order and Chaos. Including the original version of Child. Of course, that's a logical leap worthy of a +20 to jumping to conclusions, there. Could just as easily be Skartaris, or any number of other-dimensional spaces, even the Golden Boy's world. I mean, that possibility is still in play...
"Farm buildings. Possibly storage sheds or dormitories. Warded against direct scans."
Darko
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Or he may have made it as an extra source of power.
He doesn't seem to be able to use the full power of the Helmet, so this may be to compensate.
Darko
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Oh, this should be interesting. I hope they don't plan to open it without making a very careful examination of it and whatever spell-work might be involved in it...
Though that wouldn't stop him from also screwing up.
He's a Constantine, so he's probably seen all sorts of interesting things.
Though it's easy to believe how it could be.
He may still be learning himself.
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
Prince Charon
Just zis guy, you know?
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Um...
Yeah, the Demon's got a point, here, even if he isn't directly saying it.
Tzeentch
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If we use Kryptonian tech as an example, perhaps the crystals themselves also serve as "machinery" besides being sources of Power?
Xelloss
Know what you're doing yet?
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That explains why I couldn't find it, I didn't have the correct keywords. Thanks !
Mr Zoat
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Pinklestia
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How many Crisis DC has got so far?
How many "Earth almost got fucked up" events?
The guy defeated Demons and Angels while being a third rate magic user, now he is near the top, of course he is going to do more.
Bud-E
Stand up so I can push you down!
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Does he just show up to League meetings in a T-shirt and jeans?Something like the original one:
Though he seldom wears it.
Stsword
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If he's like his comics counterpart he's more a sharp dressed man kind of guy
Mr Zoat
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It's not that he can't wear a suit. It's just that it's a costume, much like his superhero costume. Left to his own devices he'd go around in jeans the whole time.If he's like his comics counterpart he's more a sharp dressed man kind of guy
What part of the comics was that from?
The Unaligned Player
Agony that desires to meet Extinction
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Instantly smashed it with a construct vice.
Mr Zoat
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Something like that. Because he hated it.
Black Arrow (part 2)
Mr Zoat
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Universe 191
22nd January 1949
11:02 GMT
"Madam Secretary of State."
I'm already standing, as modern manners dictate, but I make sure to offer her my hand to shake. The 'other' party in the two party system the United States being literally called the 'Socialist Party of the United States' is… Well, it was a surprise. With no other major industrial nation embracing socialism in quite the same way it's the US that more or less defines what international socialism looks like. In an intellectual way it's quite interesting; Russia was brutal under the Tsars and remained brutal under Communism. American socialism is… Different, informed by a country that isn't anything like as brutalised.
When the party started, anyway.
"Mister Talwyn." She smiles -unconvincingly- and shakes my hand. The years since she was First Lady have not been kind: between her work in support of interwar disarmament which resulted in the Confederacy nearly winning the Second Great War and her support of the United States' current wave of brutal repression, she looks like someone with a great many regrets wearing her down. "Thank you for seeing me."
"I was curious." I shrug. "I'm really not sure why a person in your position would want to talk to me. Black Arrow has no economic interests in the United States, or… What are we calling it?"
Her face shifts uncomfortably. "Occupied Canada."
"And the southern part? I mean, the United States can hardly be occupying the United States."
She hesitates, then shrugs. "In private, I mostly call it the Occupied Confederacy."
I nod, and make a lip-zipping gesture. That gets a small smile.
"Is everything on course for the launch?"
I smile broadly. "Yes. We'll do final checks immediately before launch, of course, but at this point it's fuelled and ready to go."
"It-." She shakes her head. "It doesn't seem real. I was a girl when the Wright Brothers built the first aeroplane, and now your machine will take men to the Moon."
"The basic mechanics aren't that complicated. Mathematicians a hundred years ago could have calculated the flight path. Enough thrust and a sealed environment, and off you go."
"I think you're underselling the magnitude of your achievement."
"Oh, not my achievement." I shake my head. "I'm not much of an engineer. But we had a lot of ex-military engineers at the end of the war without much to do, And I do take credit for pointing them at the sky."
And I know for a fact that we're well ahead of every other country on the planet. Germany has a few simple rockets, but they're at least a decade behind what we're publically claiming that we can do. America is more or less not bothering, and having seen their budget it's not hard to guess why.
"How have you been able to make such rapid progress?"
"It's amazing what you can achieve when you're not trying to occupy a quarter of the planet. Or wasting energy trying to take it back."
Bullshit, of course. It's from our people reverse engineering reptiloid technology, something that is much easier now that we've got a fully translated version of their database to work off. Though I admit getting highest priority to the finest minds in the country is making that aspect easier.
Mrs Blackford nods. "I am personally pleased that this is a scientific project. Some of my Democratic colleagues have suggested that this might be a cover for a military missile program, but I have been tremendously reassured by what your press department has shown me."
I shake my head. "Obviously we could mount a fission warhead on a modified Skylark rocket, but… Look, we've got fission bombs and Germany has fission bombs. And between us, we've both got enough high altitude heavy bombers to overfly one another's territory and destroy all of one another's cities. Reliably. Mutually Assured Destruction, or, appropriately, 'MAD' for short. Using rockets instead of bombers would mean that we'd hit them fast enough to see Germany go up before we did." I shake my head. "I don't really think it's worth the investment. No, space for us, civilian rocketry and scientific missions."
"I'm very relieved to hear it. I take it that you mean to launch more missions after this?"
"Well of course. Honestly, the trip to the Moon is just to demonstrate to British tax payers what they've been paying for. Most of the useful work we'll be doing in the short term won't involve going that far."
"Such as?"
"I'm most excited about the idea of establishing a network of communication satellites. No more worrying about undersea cables for sending messages, or needing relay towers for radio transmissions."
She frowns. "Can your rocket stay up that long?"
"No, no." I shake my head. "To.. put it simply, the satellites stay up in the same way the moon does; they would be moving fast enough that they… Fall past the world. It's much easier out of the atmosphere because the air resistance is much less."
Naturally, we already have such systems on our bases on Mars and the far side of the Moon, as well as a series of relays across the system to maintain contact with Mars when they're on the opposite side of the Sun. But those are modified reptiloid satellites, whereas the ones we'll be using around Earth are human built.
"And will you be sharing that technology with other nations?"
"No, not really."
She watches my face, waiting for me to continue.
I don't, maintaining a polite smile.
"That is.. rather disappointing. I had thought that the invitation your government extended to the United States and the German Empire was an indication that you were prepared to engage with the international order."
Which would require that we formally agree to abandon fission weapons. Not likely, Madam Secretary. Not until our weapon satellites are in position.
"Madam Secretary of State, Britain is isolationist. Naturally, we're not really that keen to engage economically with anyone, least of all the nations who beat us in two Great Wars. I invited you here because we want someone who can report back about the civilian applications of what we're doing. And when we publish our findings, your universities are welcome to read them. But we're not going to do any sort of.. partnership, and we're certainly not going to share the products of our labours."
"Isolationist."
"As much as an island can be. Depending on resources sourced from outside of our territory proved to be a tremendous vulnerability, so we're arranging things so that we won't need them any longer. Self-sufficiency, that's the name of the game."
The good humour she showed at the start of our exchange has more or less evaporated. She looks even more tired like this. "Then can I inform my Democratic colleagues that Britain will no longer be supporting Canadian radicals?"
"We haven't since the end of the War. I realise that it's convenient to have a foreign power to blame, but the fact is that after thirty years of occupation and oppression they just.. really hate America. Yes, if you want my assurance, we're not sending them weapons or overtly encouraging them, but we don't really need to. If you want my advice?"
She cautiously nods.
"Just leave them to it. They don't have the industry to invade you and they don't have international allies to help them. Stop occupying them and at least you'll stop haemorrhaging manpower in the north of your country."
"Will you make a similar commitment regarding the Confederacy?"
I'm sure that she sees my instinctive revulsion at the place in my face, but the only way around that would be to use the ring and I'd rather avoid that.
"Yes. What the Confederacy did was an affront to all God-fearing people, and also to all rationality. But, again, it isn't us. They just hate you that much, and unlike Canada you can't afford not to occupy them. I will admit that some of my more bullish colleagues are deriving more than a little pleasure at what it's costing you to hold them down."
"And do you feel the same way?"
"It's convenient that you're distracted, but that's about it."
I glance down, checking my watch.
"Ah, we should probably leave now to get the best view of the launch. Today will be a splendid day for it."
22nd January 1949
11:02 GMT
"Madam Secretary of State."
I'm already standing, as modern manners dictate, but I make sure to offer her my hand to shake. The 'other' party in the two party system the United States being literally called the 'Socialist Party of the United States' is… Well, it was a surprise. With no other major industrial nation embracing socialism in quite the same way it's the US that more or less defines what international socialism looks like. In an intellectual way it's quite interesting; Russia was brutal under the Tsars and remained brutal under Communism. American socialism is… Different, informed by a country that isn't anything like as brutalised.
When the party started, anyway.
"Mister Talwyn." She smiles -unconvincingly- and shakes my hand. The years since she was First Lady have not been kind: between her work in support of interwar disarmament which resulted in the Confederacy nearly winning the Second Great War and her support of the United States' current wave of brutal repression, she looks like someone with a great many regrets wearing her down. "Thank you for seeing me."
"I was curious." I shrug. "I'm really not sure why a person in your position would want to talk to me. Black Arrow has no economic interests in the United States, or… What are we calling it?"
Her face shifts uncomfortably. "Occupied Canada."
"And the southern part? I mean, the United States can hardly be occupying the United States."
She hesitates, then shrugs. "In private, I mostly call it the Occupied Confederacy."
I nod, and make a lip-zipping gesture. That gets a small smile.
"Is everything on course for the launch?"
I smile broadly. "Yes. We'll do final checks immediately before launch, of course, but at this point it's fuelled and ready to go."
"It-." She shakes her head. "It doesn't seem real. I was a girl when the Wright Brothers built the first aeroplane, and now your machine will take men to the Moon."
"The basic mechanics aren't that complicated. Mathematicians a hundred years ago could have calculated the flight path. Enough thrust and a sealed environment, and off you go."
"I think you're underselling the magnitude of your achievement."
"Oh, not my achievement." I shake my head. "I'm not much of an engineer. But we had a lot of ex-military engineers at the end of the war without much to do, And I do take credit for pointing them at the sky."
And I know for a fact that we're well ahead of every other country on the planet. Germany has a few simple rockets, but they're at least a decade behind what we're publically claiming that we can do. America is more or less not bothering, and having seen their budget it's not hard to guess why.
"How have you been able to make such rapid progress?"
"It's amazing what you can achieve when you're not trying to occupy a quarter of the planet. Or wasting energy trying to take it back."
Bullshit, of course. It's from our people reverse engineering reptiloid technology, something that is much easier now that we've got a fully translated version of their database to work off. Though I admit getting highest priority to the finest minds in the country is making that aspect easier.
Mrs Blackford nods. "I am personally pleased that this is a scientific project. Some of my Democratic colleagues have suggested that this might be a cover for a military missile program, but I have been tremendously reassured by what your press department has shown me."
I shake my head. "Obviously we could mount a fission warhead on a modified Skylark rocket, but… Look, we've got fission bombs and Germany has fission bombs. And between us, we've both got enough high altitude heavy bombers to overfly one another's territory and destroy all of one another's cities. Reliably. Mutually Assured Destruction, or, appropriately, 'MAD' for short. Using rockets instead of bombers would mean that we'd hit them fast enough to see Germany go up before we did." I shake my head. "I don't really think it's worth the investment. No, space for us, civilian rocketry and scientific missions."
"I'm very relieved to hear it. I take it that you mean to launch more missions after this?"
"Well of course. Honestly, the trip to the Moon is just to demonstrate to British tax payers what they've been paying for. Most of the useful work we'll be doing in the short term won't involve going that far."
"Such as?"
"I'm most excited about the idea of establishing a network of communication satellites. No more worrying about undersea cables for sending messages, or needing relay towers for radio transmissions."
She frowns. "Can your rocket stay up that long?"
"No, no." I shake my head. "To.. put it simply, the satellites stay up in the same way the moon does; they would be moving fast enough that they… Fall past the world. It's much easier out of the atmosphere because the air resistance is much less."
Naturally, we already have such systems on our bases on Mars and the far side of the Moon, as well as a series of relays across the system to maintain contact with Mars when they're on the opposite side of the Sun. But those are modified reptiloid satellites, whereas the ones we'll be using around Earth are human built.
"And will you be sharing that technology with other nations?"
"No, not really."
She watches my face, waiting for me to continue.
I don't, maintaining a polite smile.
"That is.. rather disappointing. I had thought that the invitation your government extended to the United States and the German Empire was an indication that you were prepared to engage with the international order."
Which would require that we formally agree to abandon fission weapons. Not likely, Madam Secretary. Not until our weapon satellites are in position.
"Madam Secretary of State, Britain is isolationist. Naturally, we're not really that keen to engage economically with anyone, least of all the nations who beat us in two Great Wars. I invited you here because we want someone who can report back about the civilian applications of what we're doing. And when we publish our findings, your universities are welcome to read them. But we're not going to do any sort of.. partnership, and we're certainly not going to share the products of our labours."
"Isolationist."
"As much as an island can be. Depending on resources sourced from outside of our territory proved to be a tremendous vulnerability, so we're arranging things so that we won't need them any longer. Self-sufficiency, that's the name of the game."
The good humour she showed at the start of our exchange has more or less evaporated. She looks even more tired like this. "Then can I inform my Democratic colleagues that Britain will no longer be supporting Canadian radicals?"
"We haven't since the end of the War. I realise that it's convenient to have a foreign power to blame, but the fact is that after thirty years of occupation and oppression they just.. really hate America. Yes, if you want my assurance, we're not sending them weapons or overtly encouraging them, but we don't really need to. If you want my advice?"
She cautiously nods.
"Just leave them to it. They don't have the industry to invade you and they don't have international allies to help them. Stop occupying them and at least you'll stop haemorrhaging manpower in the north of your country."
"Will you make a similar commitment regarding the Confederacy?"
I'm sure that she sees my instinctive revulsion at the place in my face, but the only way around that would be to use the ring and I'd rather avoid that.
"Yes. What the Confederacy did was an affront to all God-fearing people, and also to all rationality. But, again, it isn't us. They just hate you that much, and unlike Canada you can't afford not to occupy them. I will admit that some of my more bullish colleagues are deriving more than a little pleasure at what it's costing you to hold them down."
"And do you feel the same way?"
"It's convenient that you're distracted, but that's about it."
I glance down, checking my watch.
"Ah, we should probably leave now to get the best view of the launch. Today will be a splendid day for it."
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Ngamer11
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For those of us who already know, that is very close to your real last name. What is this version of the SI using for his first name?