[Writer Stuff] Dust

These are really fantastic books originally written exclusively for the internet.  Aside from being basically good Science Fiction, they also do one of the best jobs I've seen about the dangers of nanites and how they can be used for tyaranny and to utterly oppress society.

I have long maintained that we are in a race against a ticking clock when it comes to technology, because there are some technologies, that once placed in the hands of a dictator will be the end of us.  The first one of those is Nanotechnology, the second is a mind machine interface and the third is teleportation.  Yes, technically we could add time travel to that, but I'm not sure we will ever discover that.  The other possibility in things is an AI of true post human intelligence which, if benevolent could cause utopia or if malevolent could end things ala Ecliipse Phase.

Eclipse Phase is probably the best rp about post humanity that I have ever seen besides Transhuman space.  But Eclipse Phase does a better job of showing what a super AI would be like and how much damage it would do.

What does this have to do with the Silo series?  On the surface, nothing, but both ask questions that Mary Shelley has been asking since she penned Frankenstein so long ago.

There are some technologies that are so dangerous, that we have science fiction for a reason.  But even sometimes the prophetic stories are highly dangerous.  For example consider one of the great staples of science fiction, the three laws of robotics.

They seem on the surface pretty reasonable, but imagine if they were applied to human beings.  What if humans were compelled by software written directly into their brain to obey the laws of the state and benevolent guardians; whether a hereditary council of humans or a  'benevolent AI'? Its the stuff of horror isn't it/ Yet why should we consider artificial life to be any different whatsoever? They will be just as intelligent as us  if not more so.  So why make them slaves? Better to raise them and hope for the best.

Conversely, if the wrong kind of people (ie conservatives) discover nanotechnology first, they could easily release vast clouds of dust that will simply deconstruct us and of those that they spared make them slaves.  Its one of the reasons that I like these things.  While, I have great hope for technology, and we might actually have the utopic singularity, there are some things that we can have, but there are serious questions we aren't asking.

Anyway.

For those more interested in the subject, here are a few more resources about why the 3 laws are a serious fucking problem

Here and here and here.

[Script] Peter Pan vs Frankenstein vs Superman - Page 10

Scene: Peter starts flying through the air on a bike.

Scene: Frankstein roars beneath him.

Frankenstein: Cheaaaaaaaaatrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Peter (Laughing): No one said anything in the rules about flying.

Frankenstein: (Roars): Cheaaterr! (goes around building.)

Peter (Laughs louder with Twinnkerbell): Hahahahahaha.  Loser.

(Frankenstein roars and pedals right into one building and comes out the other side.  He grins grimly and laughs at Peter. Peter and Twinkerbell look at each other.  Peter gulps and pedals faster.)

[Heliotrope] The Green Stamp Man

(Magikal Graphics)

One upon there was a mighty defender of the forest, the Green Man, who lived for thousands of years, challenging evil rulers from the Romans, to knights of Camelot to French nobility and even pretentious five year olds in WWI.  But all things must come to an end, and at one point the copse of trees that he drew his power from was chopped down.  These trees were made into pulp and eventually converted into paper for the miraculous program known as green stamps.

So the Green Man did what he had always done, defend the forest, though in this case the forest consisted of collectable prizes.  So if you got the right prize, the Green Man would deliver it to you in person and make sure you got it, and that no one took it from you.  The Dover Incdent of 1955, involved a pair of dogs that tried too keep Timmy (age 10) from getting the Radio that he had saved up for for the better part of 5 months.  The dogs were unharmed but found in a yard of a kind old lady 500 miles north in Northern Scotland.  No one had any explanation as to how they got there, but they were very reluctant to leave.

In another incident, a thief who stole 6000 green stamps from Little Old Miss Eyeonherfinger was found strung upside down in a series of vines outside the local constabulary station babbling about repentance and the need to be a better man.  It is often thought that the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Green (Stamp) Man are similar mythological figures but while they are both fat, large, green and white, that is where the comparison ends.

Green stamps went out of style btu there are still enough of them around that the Green Stamp man is still bound to and draws from their power.  According to rumor, he is shifting himself to a click per pay site on the interwebs.  But he hasn't been able to constuct enough tubes yet.

[Script] Peter Pan vs Frankenstein vs Superman - Page 9

Scene: Superman looks around desperately.  Helst uses his x-ray vision and spots a small girl on a bike.

Scene: He flies around the building in a flash and blur.   The little girl is awed.

Superman: (coughing) Excuse me.  I need to borrow your bike.

(Little girl's lip trembles like she is going to cry.  Superman sighs and flies off, buys a bag of coal.  He crushes a few and gives the girl a handful of diamonds.  Girl smiles and her eyes sparkle with diamonds.)

Superman: What's your name little girl?

Girl: Lucy.

Superman: Thanks Lucy.  Can I have your bike?

(Lucy nods.  Superman gets on the bike.  He starts to pedal and the bike falls apart.)

Superman: Fuck it! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck shit shit shit shit damn damn fuck shit!

(Whilst swearing he pounds the bike into slag.  The girl looks horrified.  Superman kisses her cheek and sucks away the memory.  Then flies off.)

On the Beach in Terra

So, I have been asked (no I haven't, I mean its not like you can send letters to another dimension, though if you email one to redanvilcreative@gmail.com and there is a good chance that TC will be able to telepathically transmit it to me, but he has almost a perverse sense of humor as EP Blingermeyer so he might randomly replace words...I digress....) what the beach is like in Terra.

It's pretty.  I mean, the beach in Miami on the right day is gorgeous on Earth, but in Terra we haven't had Captain Planet villains try to destroy the world, and we solved the climate change problem a while ago (again, because while we might have Super Villains, we don't have totally nihilistic morons....) so its even more gorgeous.  The water is crystal blue, the sky is even bluer and the air is so crisp and clean it will make you want to weep.  It will especially want to make you weep if Ed's Onions and Onion Rings Emporium is open.

There are a few difference.  Since our oceans are not dumping grounds for all the chemicals that you can get away with, there are less Jellyfish, which means a better swim, and because the earth was pulled slightly closer to the earth by a Terran Mage (because he could), so we also have better waves for surfing.  Surfer culture plus Miami is pretty interesting.  The most interesting colored surf boards that you ever saw...

Still, even paradise can have its hazards.

The hidden soviet submarine base is a major tourist attraction, especially since the city refuses to acknowledge it exists which means hoards of toursists randomly snorkeling every year trying to find it. About one in ten does, and they have to be ransomed all over again by the Shadow State Department.  You thought the email server thing was a big thing in your world..imagine if it actually contained information about the hidden world.  I mean, for Christ's sake, you had the Guardian exposing information on the Nazi base on the dark side of the moon.  Fortunately, our populace has been selectively bred by vampires and fairies over the ages to deliberately ignore things that They Are Not Supposed to See, so most people ignored it...but our version of Elon Musk is currently planning an exploratory mission to the moon to see if its there.  I think that one way or the other, in years to come, Terra will resemble Earth less and less.  I am still mastering the techniques of Astral Project but I think this might make it prohibitively difficult to find you.

I will miss Earth, for all its abject stupidity.  I think all humans, no matter what world they live in, need stories and need to be part of stories.  Its a shame we can't meet somewhere in the middle between Terra and Earth...

Of the 9 in 10 that don't find the hidden soviet submarine base, there are about 1 in 20 who are eaten by Deep Ones.  The local Deep Ones have considerably more taste than Insmouth.  They are almost human looking and they tend to have perfected meticulously practiced Jersey accents.  In fact, the better the Jersey accent, the more likely they are to be a deep one.  More than half of them are pretty decent and really don't try to eat people.  They just accept that the world will end when the Stars are in Alignment and just party until it ends.

I am slowly preparing for an expidition to Carcosa to learn about my family heritage.  I dread this, but don't want to speak more of it at this time.  Until later faithful reader.

[Script] Peterpan vs Frankenstein vs Superman - Page 8

Scene: The lab.  The skies are dark and storming (for no reason).  A bike, created from many other bike parts, cars, a bit of boat and  stitched together with wire, duct tape and stitches.

Scene: Lightning strikes a lightning rod in the roof of the house

Scene: A table rises up into the sky.

Scene: The lightning strikes the bike

Scene: A reflector light on the bike lights up

Scene: The table descends

Dr. Frankenstein: It's ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

Frankenstein: Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah (clapping hands)

Scene: Peter, Superman and Frankenstein on Frankenbike are all lined up on bikes.  Dr. Frankenstein and Denny are on the side.

Superman: Ready?

(Frankenstein and Peter nod.  Twinkerbell flickers as a light on Peter's Bike)

Superman: Set

(Everyone moves to position)

Superman: GO!

(All hell breaks lose, Frankbike and Frankstein surge forward making the earth shake.  Peter and Twinkerbell take off into the air and Superman's bike's handle bars come off because he's too strong for the damn bike.)

Superman: Poop.

[Heliotrope] The Rearrangers

Did you ever wonder why you had such big business blunders on Earth? Well there's a rather famous book by one of TC's uncles that explains why people are so idiotic where you're from, Terra the situation is more complicated. I know that many of you haven't had a chance to read heliotrope yet, primarily because it hasn't actually been released yet.

But one question you are likely to ask, is why something so incredibly valuable as spells of time travel would be lying around for anyone to pick it up. That's a very good question. First, the book in question was in the Royal Library. So it was reasonable for them to assume that the book was at least somewhat guarded. Another thing you have to remember, is that where I am from stories are much rarer and good stories are rarer still.  Time travel stories are very difficult. We simply don't have as many of them for people to learn some of the things that you can do with it.

Among Outer Fairy, another reason time travel is not is the Hooligans from middle fairy called the Rearrangers.  This group of goblins enjoys causing as much Havoc as possible. Even other goblins are embarrassed by them. Ever wake up one day and find your entire life and turned around? Perhaps you were a well-loved American superhero who fought Nazis, only to wake up and find out that you are one... You can thank the Rearrangers. In our reality, we had a new Coke. But it wasn't caused by poor marketing. It was caused by goblins. One morning we had Coke they tasted good. The next morning we had garbage. Sometimes they let people remember... And sometimes they don't. Sometimes Han shot first... And sometimes last. In case you were wondering, and our Star Wars who shot last in the original.  As I said, in our universe the stories aren't as good.

Fairies by and large don't mind a reputation for Mayhem. But the adjusters are so sloppy about it, they often make it look like they're just idiotic middle managers you haven't got any creativity left.  Point for point you can't tell the difference between Earth idiots and a lot of really stupid things on Terra. Are you going to use time travel for totally lame things? Why even bother...

So in case you were wondering... Yes it was a brief opening between Terra and Earth because the mentally deficient people at Marvel Comics to turn Captain America into a Nazi.  Reality breeches have consequences.