Grrl Power #432 – Claim your crater
I should mention the icons on the map aren’t to scale, otherwise it would look like Sydney blew up an area the size of a small mall. There’s just a minimum size they appear as when you zoom the map out.
Arc-LIGHT is probably pretty busy with stuff like this. Investigating super powered crimes could potentially be enormously difficult. Some of them wouldn’t, obviously – vault doors torn off their hinges with deep fingerprints gouged into them for example. A vault door melted into a puddle would be harder to track back to the culprit, but still pretty easy to identify as being super powered in the first place. But a smart super criminal who could phase or teleport could be a thief or assassin who was tremendously difficult to identify or stop. Especially if they took the time to leave fake evidence behind. If they did it right, they could make it look like no super powers were involved at all. Phase through a door, unlock it from the other side, and make everyone think they had a key or it was an inside job. Or kick in a door or break a window on your way out. Arc-LIGHT keeps tabs on unsolved cases around the country, looking for patterns. Locked room mysteries, things stolen despite extraordinary layers of security, etc.
The Atypical Resource Commission has existed for a long time in one form or another as previously established in the comic. Individuals or small teams, then unofficially, then officially as a collection of different departments. Before the announcement of Archon as a unified and public agency, they were pretty much still doing what they’re doing now.
With the announcement of Archon, two things will happen. One, all the stupid super criminals will get caught and quickly rounded up. Obviously, some of them were taken down along the way before the announcement, but some of the ones that weren’t considered imminent threats to life were put on a waiting list of sorts, so the team could create a positive PR boon that will have Arianna dancing around in her office. Another thing her and Maxima were at odds about. Two, all the smart ones will expend that much more effort on not getting caught. Of course, the team knew this before the announcement, but they also knew the smart ones knew or at least suspected there was already an agency on the lookout for them, so nothing really changed there.
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I’ll have you know at no time was I going to ask if he was part of the crew in the Time Bandits movie….
But I do wonder which Munchkin he was.
What about Willow? Does he know Willow?
Everyone knows Warwick Davis.
If only I knew Alyson Hannigan.
*sigh*
Wipe up that drool.
Always had a soft spot for gingers myself.
I second that “sigh.”
Apparently not…
One quick IMDb check and I found a HOST of movies I did not realize he had been in and that I have seen on the big screen.
On the other hand, glad he’s always got work. He was amazing in Willow.
You mean Warwick Davis.
Sydney wants to marry Wolverine, not Hugh Jackman. The characters can be more desirable than the actors at times.
She mentioned Peter Dinklage’s name, not any of his characters.
Though true, if you wanted Willow, you’d also have a younger Warwick Davis.18 if I’m guessing right. Such a long time ago.
Sydney was thinking “Tyrion Lannister” but it was Lucas who said “Peter Dinklage”.
I would be perfectly happy with a young Willow Rosenburg. Pre gaining her urges to destroy the world! That was when she identified as straight, which helps. Although black veiny Willow is very hot too.
Or Alt Verse vampire willow….
Yea, with the George Lucas angle, asking about Warwick Davis would have made more sense.
What are those purple symbols on the map?
Spacial distortions. Like portals.
Though aliens seem a little more likely. (Complete Guess)
I’m curious what the pink ones are, since they are basically invisible. Would someone with the Paterson full-size version tell me what those are?
They look like mushrooms in the 2x version.
Strongly implying radioactive, in which case.
Errr… or burning magic mushrooms….
Oh, so THAT’S why the cops burn the stuff. For THEM, it’s legal to get high! One rule for me & another rule for thee, eh?
;)
I used to know some cops who were part of the burn disposal unit. They had very interesting binge drug habits, since they were exempt from failing (or even taking) drug tests for some time after a burn. So they would smoke as much pot as they wanted for a while after burning a few hundred pounds of it, and then lay off until the next burn. It was an interesting experience sitting around with a few cops passing a joint or a bong. The worst part was they would laugh about the fact that they were exempt while anyone else in the room who was tested would/could be up on charges…
And for every single story like yours, I can relate a hundred that are the opposite: the Law Enforcement folks who LOATHED being on burn, or even transport detail, because they knew they were getting exposed to the poison and garbage they were trying their best to stop.
Always remember, there are the other sides of whatever story you relate on chat boards. ;)
–the retired guy, who did 22+years of the previously mentioned Law Enforecement.
I have every respect for folks, like you, who have to deal with the worst that our societies have to offer. Superficially most jobs have their funny side, like Math having to watch porn, or similarly a real-life customs and excise officer being paid to do the same.
All well and good if it is soft core material that the officer enjoys. But not so much fun for endless hours, or when tired of it. Let alone that they also have to face the most depraved material out there.
Tough jobs that I would not fancy doing. The various long-term health impact and the psychological harm possible is not to be trifled with.
Respect the job. Respect the people on a case by case basis.
Another anecdote:
I and a bunch of friends go skiing. One friend of mine has a GF who has a friend who is a cop. He is several hours behind us for reasons I don’t recall. When he gets to the slopes he relates the story of his trip. Since he was behind, he was going fast. As in 100+ mph. This is well into reckless driving, and the common citizen would not just be issued a ticket, they would be arrested. There is some discretion on the arrest (this may very from state to state), the ticket is not discretionary. He got pulled over in MD (he was/is a DC cop), showed his ID and his badge. The MD officer said “Be careful pulling into traffic, sir” and walked back to his car.
It’s a funny story, but that guy was endangering every motorist he passed while traveling at that kind of speed, was caught dead to rights, and was let go without penalty. Because of the ‘good ‘ol boys club.’ The same club that sees evidence hidden/buried, facts left undisclosed, and outright perjury in the protection of fellow officers who beat their wives, drive drunk, and shoot unarmed people.
I had a cop tell me a long time ago that there are three kinds of people in the world, and that one of those kinds usually has a bad experience dealing with the other two kinds. They are: Normal citizens, criminal, and cops. And the one that has the bad time with the other two? The normal citizen. He said that the criminals usually understood where they stood with a cop, but the citizen very often has no idea and that can lead to some very bad interactions.
I believe that that cop was a philosopher, and was quite correct.
Poor bugger, I think he miiiight have been just a little too close… XD
Might be markers for known events. Like the big battle two days ago.
I’m voting Ray Palmer sightings…
Do two of the unknown points actually look like arrows? Cos’ that’s not suspicious at all, and is in no way a trap. :-)
Now that you mention it, you’re right. I wonder how those are related to the time passing…?
Figured they were simply arrows placed on the map overlay by hand
Is he a Super?
I doubt they have supers working data analysis. Also he has a growth defect. Supers don’t have defects
Never heard of Puck from Alpha Flight, have you? Although to be fair, his achondroplasty is due to magic.
I think RobK is talking about within this universe. There was a bit early on when Sydney first came to archon and i think Peggy was explaining that all supers are perfect specimens, muscular, huge breasts, almost completely hairless apart from their heads etc
Found the strips
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/876
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/880
Which isn’t to say that exceptions to the general rule are impossible.
Those who are born with powers, yes. (Maxima could very well be genetically powered, as we don’t know if her encounter with the geode might have triggered it, gifted her or both).
So it’s possible for any type of person to get powers through external means: tech, magic, artifacts, etc.
… And in fact they have alluded to supers existing who draw their abilities from external foci.
Well the TK villain didn’t look to fit the physical perfection for what’s standard for supers.
Different reality. In this universe, Supers are physically ideal and beautiful. Mr Lucas could very well be a mage. (Maybe even an alien!) But, he’s not a super in the terms of this world.
It’s Mr Jorsten. Lucas is his first name.
He is an actual “Mr. J”. Sydney is going to need to talk to him in a squeaky New York (sorry, ‘Gotham’) accent from now on.
Lucas, I like you already. :-)
—
This update reminds me of the Marvel comic book Squadron Supreme (miniseries by the late great Mark Gruenwald), particularly two of their characters: Tom Thumb, a genius with dwarfism, and Nuke the nature of whose powers are obvious.
Sadly, the more I think about it, the sadder I get. :-( I recommend it as a precursor to Watchmen by Alan Moore. :-)
Was rather disappointed that the most recent “Squadron Supreme” title has no relationship to that earlier mini-series. Really liked that run.
What, you want originality with stories and characters?
Oh, right – that’s why you came HERE!
That is a very clever way of exposition.
Instead of ‘we are tracking everything that could be super’, just have Sydney interact with the map in a real way
See, what I want to know is this: how do they scan for things like radiation on a large scale?
It seems likely that they would have teams to check out the locations of the events in person. They’d almost certainly carry radiation detectors as standard procedure. So they might not be able to detect pure radiation events, but radiation concomitant with an explosion/fire/etc. would be noticed.
Having been downwind of Chernobyl, when it happened (far far downwind), I know that you can track radioactive fires from half a continent away, as the radiological isotopes get blown past suitable detectors. And that is just with regular ground stations, let alone whatever fancy rad detection satellites may have up their virtual sleeves.
Recently saw a documentary on the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Color me terrified. Those poor animals…
Sucks to be the humans affected, as well, of course.
I’m wondering if there is detectable differences in plant by-products (CO2, higher than normal methane production for decaying plants, and so on).
On the plus side, there are now a lot of radioactive animals available to bite people and give them superpowers.
I’d like to see what the map of their fight against Vehemence looks like.
It probably would have its own symbol for Archon-Involved Super Conflict… Though since that has only (officially) happened once, they might not have one yet.
For that fight it all depends on how it was recorded.
One thing I can say is, that it WASN’T recorded as SUSPECTED superhuman activity, which is what this configuration of the map tracked. From the sound of it, there are other layers which probably include eliminated non-powered events and fully identified events.
I think the fully identified events would be on another map completely. However, how dynamic is that map (i.e. does it record where moving things are in time or does it just signify the whole area and the types of events)?
Oh, you’d have it on their map, as it’s own layer. Possibly even a layer for each “player” in the event to track power events, like if Opal (the teleporter) left some type of trace they could use to track her.
They may not be able to match them up NOW, but if they eventually find out who made the “burn arrows” they may be able to figure out places they frequent.
No babies to save, either? Or Kansas farm girls to give directions to? :)
Well, Martha, it looked like that big meteor landed over there near the edge of my field. It scooped up about a hundred yards of my corn as it landed. Now I don’t have a truck big enough to get it out of there, but if you could get your husband’s big truck over there and haul it out of there, I would be real grateful.
translocated Kansas farm girls (to show the direction to the wizard), not girls IN Kansas.
Damn, he’s a better sniper than Peggy!
He shot Syd down BEFORE she even made her move………..
Well… how to put it.
1. Lucas has probably heard all of the questions-from-people-who-talk-before-thinking before.
2. Lucas is in data analytics. He would have recognized Sydney as being in that category long before meeting. If an analysis of her purchasing patterns didn’t do it, the bank robbery interview and ARCHON introduction certainly would have.
Hell, you could probably see the gears going in his mind from the analysis. “Hmmm…clearly talks before thinking… the ADHD doesn’t help… also has gone to dozens of sci-fi conventions… she’s either going to ask about Warwick Davis or Peter Dinklage. Hmmm, let’s see… Ah! She has an HBOGo account! Definitely Dinklage.”
Don’t know he may have powers and his height is a side effect of his Powers (Density Manipulation) like the GURPS Supers character “Dwarf Star” as some theorized on an old mailing list I was on
Said super was a dwarf be role he gained his powers.
like The Atom who’s power kept him human strength while making him smaller/ harder to hurt, or like Mighty Mite from P.S.238 who could become up to 1/4th hight, 4x stronger, 4x harder to hurt.
Nope! Arm hair.
And it’s weird to be able to disqualify people based on body hair…
*warning klaxon sounds*
[mechanical voice] logic leap unsubstantiated. unable to overcome increased density. crashing and burning imminent. recommend immediate ejection. success estimated at 87%. alternate action exfoliation success only 0.3%.
I was hoping you’d imply some sort of satellite surveillance. Now, why hasn’t Dabbler tricked it out so they can read fingerprints, DNA, etc. with that thing? Super science for the win! ;)
Dabbler does not share her technology.
But she DOES share the RESULTS of her tech. SHE could have a data gathering unit (not necessarily in space) that then feeds to that map.
And think about where her Auto-Lab might be. If she doesn’t share her tech, it’s not on Archon property.
It can be if it has a great big force field around it, or something similarly defending the tech. But in a spaceship seems more likely. Or in a pocket dimension* which she accesses by magic.
* Probably guarded by lint golems.
And a mob of Dust Bunnies for backup.
And that tickle laser she mentioned earlier.
Dabbler has selective-mind-wipe magic. She might be able to cast a Someone Else’s Problem spell on her ship.
Copied from this page, way back when the big battle was taking place, as I am unable to link to a comment deep in a thread:
SCENE: The dark street, behind the Archon building. In the distance, fireballs and lightning bolts are lighting up the horizon, from the battle at the steakhouse car park. An empty parking bay, in the street, has a “Reserved” sign, on a chain, permanently blocking access to it.
A super-star destroyer intergalactic space ship hovers invisibly above the rooftops of the nearby shops. The likewise invisible tether anchored in the empty parking bay.
POINT OF VIEW: Binoculars looking at the space ship, somehow making it out, despite the invisibility. Following down the tether line. And zooming in on the parking meter. The dial is teetering on the brink of clicking over to “Expired.”
TRAFFIC WARDEN (voice): Mu hu hu. They said I was mad buying these binoculars, but they really can see the invisible. And, at last, that blonde cop is somewhere else, and I will get to impound that vehicle. It will be mine, all mine!
SCENE DETAIL: A sparkling light can be seen twinkling, next to the parking meter. It rapidly expands into a glowing circle. Sounds of gunshots, lightning bolts and fireballs can be made out, faintly, even from across the street. A purple hand reaches out of the glowing circle, and inserts a coin into the meter. The hand withdraws, back into the circle, which starts to close up again.
TRAFFIC WARDEN (voice): Darn it, foiled again! (VOICE RISING TO A SHOUT) And that is cheating!
Hammerspace!
Hammerspace!
“Hammerspace!
Duuhh duh duh duh, da duh, da duh!
Hammerspace!”
::crab-dances offstage into the wings::
It’s probably in space. Easy access to materials, just grab an asteroid
And she IS a space traveler. So she has a ship. Ships designed for interstellar travel generally aren’t going to land. Ever
She also is a magic user, so quite possibly she has no need for a ship. Our early folklore is rife with wizards and witches summoning stuff from other dimensions (mostly hell, but still), and she is part demon (a succubus is a kind of demon in folklore). That’s not to say that she was summoned, but that she might be able to travel across space and/or dimensions via magic rather than technology.
Except, “WereWorld” has her travelling via tech
Shh, some of us have avoided reading WereWorld.
Why? It is full of cute and adorable were’s who are cute and adorable (plus, Dabbles with four-bewbies)
Because it doesn’t have Sydney. Finding out about Dabbler from her perspective, as it unfolds, is a lot more fun, rather than having it all handed on a plate.
Especially one that Sydney does not know about yet. If we know too many things that she does not, it becomes harder to empathize with her and understand her motivations and reasoning.
I want that emotional bond with Sydney to remain very strong. And let Dabbler introduce herself, to both Sydney and us, at her own pace.
Dabbles only showed up towards the end, and you still didn’t learn much about her
Yea, but she said there are other civilizations out there in the cosmos. And she is a space demon
What does ‘space demon’ mean?
I could see her tooling around within a star system in some kind of spacecraft, moving asteroids with her asteroid moving tape for whatever reason. And then using magic to hop to the next star system. In a universe with both you still use the most efficient means to get around, if there is any kind of economy or resource limitations. A few hours spent drawing a pentagram and chanting a spell might be a lot cheaper than some kind of warp/space folding drive. Or faster. Or require less room on the spacecraft for fuel. Or any number of other good reasons. I mean, once you’re mixing tech and magic it’s all just a matter of author opinion on what works best. And that assumes that there are even any rules for the tech, or the magic, which most good works do include.
Works which don’t bother with rules, even if they bend them or even ignore them from time to time, and fairly well open to the Deus ex Machina of ‘new use for the tech’ or ‘new use for the magic.’ Star Trek, all series, was particularly guilty of that. You’re getting out of the predicament by doing what with the deflector grid?!? You’re bolting a tricorder to a phaser and that does something new that no one ever though of before? Fuck!
+1
And that is why Voltaire (Aurelio Voltaire, the darkwave songwriter, NOT the French author, or the coffee maker of the same name) wrote “U.S.S. Make Sh*t Up”.
Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bBD5yyT-s0
Why’d you edit me when you quoted me? That’s not right.
I said “Star Trek, all series, was particularly guilty of that” because I was referring to the fact that they did it in TOS, TNG, Voyager, DS9, and Enterprise. It probably happened on the animated show also, but I don’t remember them very well.
So not “Star Trek, of all series,” which changes the meaning of my words entirely, indicating that Star Trek was the only one out of all SF shows that did this. They were not. They were probably no more or less guilty than any other SF show.
Oh, sorry. My mistake. You know what they say about assuming… and quite an ass I have been made, it seems. I guess I’m just too used to the way I would’ve written it. I assumed that you had left off an “of”, and stuck it back in there.
You’re right, though. Star Trek (in all its incarnations) was particularly bad about just making up some new way to use the tech that had never been used before (and in some cases was never used again) to get them out of a bind. Consistency, at least in regards to technology, was not their strong point.
That may be due to having multiple script writers, each working on their own stories, and not cross-checking each other’s work to make sure they’re not “re-inventing” something that someone else has already done. When all the episodes are written by the same author (e.g. Babylon 5, which was written entirely by J. Michael Straczynski), things tend to be more consistent.
Yea, a good murder mystery should have all of the elements present, so that the reader has some possibility to come to a conclusion. Or at least a hint that the hero has discovered something significant. Knowing the where and when then allows educated guesses as to the what.
Thus, even if you guess wrong, the element does not appear out of nowhere, and you can at least feel satisfied that you had spotted the critical clue, and know that had the author revealed it in full you may have come to the same conclusion.
Likewise a sci-fi (or fantasy) should play well without the need for some unknown rubbish made up on the spot. Especially if the reader can see several regular solutions to s tight spot, which is often the case!
If Sydney is napping,then maybe during her ‘dream sequence” there’s a cameo by the characters from The Dreamland Chronicles?!?!(To the author of this comic,make sure you get permission from the creator of the latter first!)
Wm Mark Simmons, I believe?
Read the whole series of books when they first came out, they’re stored away someplace. First two were loads of fun – didn’t like where he took book three so much.
Or Scott Christian Sava’s wonderful webcomic that crashed and burned as technology outpaced his file storage systems?
Or maybe the cancelled video game from Mythos Games?
Such a compelling name, “Dreamland Chronicles” is… :D
I’m referring to…. Scott Christian Sava’s wonderful webcomic that crashed and burned as technology outpaced his file storage systems!!! :D
Agreed about Simmons’ Dreamlands series. I have a similar opinion about his Vampire series, too.
Funny thing about this long running web comics, I had to go back in the archives to 2012 to re-read her interview in order remember what this page is talking about. Grrl Power #88 – “Restraint” generally not a word used to describe her
For the “Why doesn’t Dabbler make super-science satellites?” I’ve got 3 comments.
1. There may be some super-science involved to catch things like portals and invisibility. At the same time, too much of ANY science may make the satellite too obviously super or large and bulky.
2. Meta-universe: These characters remind me a TON of the paper & pencil RPG HERO system / Champions. In that system, you could make a person with super tech… but the tech would stay with them at all times. The only way a super-satellite would work is if you permanently spent points from your character to put it there, which lessens your character’s other capabilities. If this is the type of meta-universe we are dealing with, Dabbler won’t help much with satellite tech, except perhaps through plot / non-point methods.
3. Dabbler has shown little interest in handing her tech to ARC-anything. It is quite possible she keeps super-tech to herself.
Even if she doesn’t help Archon out that way, I’m betting Dabbler has her own surveillance satellite/weapons platform in orbit. Think about the tech she’s revealed in-universe. The “magnetic slingshot” that can “shoot derelict satellites out of orbit”, a cybernetic hand and eye, and a “teleporter built into my cybernetic hand.” With just these three super-miniaturized devices, she could have a satellite in orbit that could do nearly anything.
As to the meta-universe thing, I haven’t played those systems, so I don’t know how they work.
Besides, I think it’d just destroy the plot…
Dabbler: Why didn’t you just ask me where Criminal X went? Let me check the archives… Ah, he’s at [Latitude/Longitude].
Maxima: … How do you know that?
Dabbler: I have twelve satellites that track every human on the planet. And there we go. I just teleported him into holding cell B at ARC Aegis.
Entire Team: …
Dabbler: Oh, I also have them equipped with teleporters.
Sydney: Big Sister!
Meta- just means the underlying structure or info. Metadata is data about the data in a file. For a photo, it includes size, resolution, location taken, time taken, who took it, who’s in it, etc. For music, it would be author, artist, song title, album name, style of music (rock, country), beat rate, etc.
Marvel, DC, and Watchmen are different Metaverses, each with different rules as to HOW THINGS WORK. Different gaming systems have different rules as to how to make something work,or what is possible, in order to prevent anyone from becoming too powerful. Some systems allow ‘geniuses’ to make ‘super-science’, but because their mind powers directly cause the device to function, it won’t function except when THEY activate it. Take it away from them and it becomes an interesting paperweight, unless the character reduced their other abilities (spend stat points) to make it work elsewhere. Since this comic is directly based on gaming systems (which is why Max can move power into different abilities, and Sydney can only use 2 powers at a time; both of which cost fewer points than always on abilities) the rules for the game become important.
Dabbler flat out told Sydney that she doesn’t share her toys
“The only way a super-satellite would work is if you permanently spent points from your character to put it there, which lessens your character’s other capabilities.”
a) Unless, of course, you’re the kind of role-playing purist who is willing to cough up a few points to achieve something narrative.
b) Technically, using those points doesn’t “lessen” your other abilities, it just means you have fewer points to spend on augmenting those other abilities.
c) If you’re creative, you can shoehorn a “spy satellite” into a Multi-Power in a fixed slot, with the Multi-power representing various deployed machines you can access from a special dev ice but only one at a time. Granted, the GM may have issues with Senses in a multi-power – technically, Senses are Special Powers, which cannot go into a Power Framework. Clairsentience only works with Senses you’ve purchased, so purchasing Clairsentience without the Sense you’re trying to use is a bit pointless. But any GM I’ve met has allowed Senses in a Power Framework [b]provided[/b] the Special Power is eminently reasonable and is written up and paid for before it’s ever used [b]and[b/] the character has spent in-game resources to make it happen.
In addition, if you buy tech and you purchase it as a Focus, it doesn’t have to “stay with you” – you can hand it off to someone else and they can carry it all day long. Granted, if you defined it as a Personal Focus (as opposed to a Universal Focus), only you can make the Focus work, but a spy satellite should probably be defined as a Universal Focus (meaning anyone can use it). I can also see adding the “Requires a Skill Roll” Limitation, so that someone has to make a Systems Operations roll in order to actually get any [b]useful[/b] information out of it.
::coughs::
Sorry, sorry, Old GM’ing injury acting up a bit…
::sighs::
Really need an edit function – clear that other reply, please? Thanks!
“The only way a super-satellite would work is if you permanently spent points from your character to put it there, which lessens your character’s other capabilities.”
a) Unless, of course, you’re the kind of role-playing purist who is willing to cough up a few points to achieve something narrative.
b) Technically, using those points doesn’t “lessen” your other abilities, it just means you have fewer points to spend on augmenting those other abilities.
c) If you’re creative, you can shoehorn a “spy satellite” into a Multi-Power in a fixed slot, with the Multi-power representing various deployed machines you can access from a special dev ice but only one at a time. Granted, the GM may have issues with Senses in a multi-power – technically, Senses are Special Powers, which cannot go into a Power Framework. Clairsentience only works with Senses you’ve purchased, so purchasing Clairsentience without the Sense you’re trying to use is a bit pointless. But any GM I’ve met has allowed Senses in a Power Framework provided the Special Power is eminently reasonable and is written up and paid for before it’s ever used and the character has spent in-game resources to make it happen.
In addition, if you buy tech and you purchase it as a Focus, it doesn’t have to “stay with you” – you can hand it off to someone else and they can carry it all day long. Granted, if you defined it as a Personal Focus (as opposed to a Universal Focus), only you can make the Focus work, but a spy satellite should probably be defined as a Universal Focus (meaning anyone can use it). I can also see adding the “Requires a Skill Roll” Limitation, so that someone has to make a Systems Operations roll in order to actually get any useful information out of it.
::coughs::
Sorry, sorry, Old GM’ing injury acting up a bit…
Worst case of Hero System / Championsitis I’ve see in a long while…
We used the base rules for constructing such things as satellites. In fact, except for vehicles, we used the rules for bases for anything you couldn’t actually carry with you that had powers. This was in ancient times (1st, 2nd and 3rd edition), of course.
A GM wanted to try out some rules for a “hard” science fiction game – but allowing most of the tropes of far-future science fiction (aliens, AI, psi powers, genetic constructs, and so on). We decided, as a group, to avoid tripping over each other ‘s tropes and each player choose a trope. As background information, AIs had gone on a rampage about 200 years earlier and people didn’t really trust them. So, naturally, someone wanted to play an AI.
A sub-group of us had already decided to have a history together as “salvage specialists” and we had found an abandoned star base. We bought a Base, bought the Size up to the size of a very large asteroid, added Life Support and Change Environment (Light & Temperature) to represent Environmental controls, purchased a very big energy weapon that we’d figured out how to fire once and then had to wait a day for it to recharge, and a whopping 3″ of movement (1 meter / second acceleration). No computers, no FTL flight, nothing else. We told the GM that we’d found the base, we were working on puzzling out the control systems, and we’d spend points as we figured out stuff in game and he got to decide what we would find.
This became interesting when the AI that was following us around tried to board the vessel via upload. We hadn’t actually told the AI’s player how we had built the base in game terms, so she assumed we had bought the computer and all the information systems and databases and so on.
But we hadn’t. And the computer’s anti-virus software kicked in… and destroyed that copy of the AI. And that “death” activated a backup copy on the drone which the AI was using to follow us. So that copy of the AI saw the vessel and it had no idea what had actually killed the previous incarnation (awful Deduction / INT roll). So *that* copy of the AI boarded the vessel, and the computer’s anti-virus software kicked in…
Five amazingly bad Deduction rolls later…
The player got really frustrated at us, saying what jerks we were for building a death trap just to target her character. We couldn’t stop laughing, because *we* had nothing to do with what was happening and the GM was just having way too much fun.
Best part: the GM happened to be dating the player who was playing the AI. When we finally explained to the player what was happening vis-a-vis the rules (we’re a little cruel, but not complete jerks) and that until someone bought the computers using points that she wouldn’t be able to actually use the computers, the mock-punching the GM got was epic.
:)
Sounds like a system to add to my ‘games to play before I die list’.
Hero System is a *very* GM-centric game, in that there is usually more than one way to build something within the game and the GM has final say on how its done.
The other issue is that *effect* is more important than *special effect* – you define what it does and what it looks like is important only in terms of Disadvantages.
If you’re surfing the web for rulebooks, be aware that 4th edition is a very different game than 5th edition or 6th edition. 4th ed is more math intensive and has a few less options. On the other hand, 5th and 6th ed have several options that are… Well, let’s just say that I disagree with the cost multipliers on certain Power Advantages and how those Advantages play out in the game.
I prefer 4th ed but that’s mostly because it’s essentially the evolutionary end of the original system. 5th and 6th eds are fine games and they do a better job of detailing out how to build characters, IMHO.
Hero System is a *very* GM-centric game, in that there is usually more than one way to build something within the game and the GM has final say on how its done.
The other issue is that *effect* is more important than *special effect* – you define what it does and what it looks like is important only in terms of Disadvantages.
If you’re surfing the web for rulebooks, be aware that 4th edition is a very different game than 5th edition or 6th edition. 4th ed is more math intensive and has a few less options. On the other hand, 5th and 6th ed have several options that are… Well, let’s just say that I disagree with the cost multipliers on certain Power Advantages and how those Advantages play out in the game.
I prefer 4th ed but that’s mostly because it’s essentially the evolutionary end of the original system. 5th and 6th eds are fine games and they do a better job of detailing out how to build characters, IMHO.
Dammit. DaveB, delete one of these? Thanks
Yeah! Nice explosion Sydney! That’s our girl…
…Aww man.
Heh. So don’t be too worried if you see a T-rex symbol?
Couple of notes: The false evidence reference – its standard Police procedure to check for this and its usually pretty obvious if debris results from a break-in or a break-out, so if our start-up villain hasn’t done a law enforcement course or studied crime scene forensics, even Joe Plod will pick up that the evidence has been planted or is otherwise faked.
As for the ‘arrows’ they look like directed blast markers to me, a bit like a SF flamethrower pattern.
Also the possibility that a clever ‘normal’ crook uses methods that more or less duplicate a super’s powers, in order to cover his / her own tracks better.
Too clever for their own good, if they fake it well enough to get on ARC’s to-do list. At what point does an ordinary burglar cross the Dr. Impossible line?
You never know ….
Okay, that does it. Now to leave, reset the alarm and sneak out of here. Hee hee, that false trail will get everybody, even those dogs, going down into the ravine while I am up here, removing the valuables from this house. [ Closes door, picks the lock to close it and turns around the walk down the drive way. ] What the?!
Harem: *Vorp* He’s over here guys!
Harem: [ coming down from above, force field raised ] Now, where do you think you’re going? [ Touchdown. The blue ball leaves her right hand and another ball floats into the empty hand. A 3-foot long glowing rod appears. ] Do want to find out why I wanted to call this the Molestorb? Hey no running away!
[ Crook reaches the bottom of the driveway and turns sharply into large wall-like object ]
Anvil: End of the line for you. [ Bear hug ] You are under arrest for theft and break&enter. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do say may be recorded and presented as evidence against you in a court of law. You have the right to hire an attorney and have that lawyer present during any questioning or court appearances. If you can not afford an attorney, the court will appoint a lawyer for you at no cost to you. Do you understand these rights as I have recited them?
Crook: Can’t breathe!
Anvil: Sorry. [ Loosens her grip a little. ] So did you understand the rights I just told you?
heh Just deserts. As if he could fool a trained nose anyhow!
Oops. The second Harem (with flight, force field and Lighthook) is actually Halo.
That’s like Die Hard. Let’s pretend we are something that is way more dangerous, and will get supercop’s attention way faster
Yeah, need ARC-SWAT’s attention real quick? Welcome to the party pal…
Come with me or there will be ... trouble.If you break-in AFTER looking for, finding, and stealing an object you have MUCH more time to make your getaway, and it looks like a normal thief did it. If you use crowbars instead of you hand to bend the vault door, it looks like somebody used ‘the jaws of life’ instead of super-strength. There ARE ways to hide how something was done that CAN’T be detected unless specifically looked for, which most won’t without a reason.
Miss Marple and Detective Columbo have their ways to show that a crime was committed at a particular time, despite attempts at misdirection. The burglar was…
Ie Yamof Ool, in the library with a candlestick! Who may have had an alibi for midnight but the crime was committed at 10pm. This is when the power log shows that the motion detectors were disabled!
**slips Yorp a doggie snack as reward for a nice clever old school reference in his ‘hidden’ dialogue** “Good Doggie!”
*wags tail happily*
A post break-in rummage would be different to a pre-break in, even if you remember the right way to break the glass. The burglar would walk through it and tread some in to the different rooms they ransacked and possibly leave a different foot print on some surface (polished floor) due to the glass in their shoe sole.
Excellent, GIS data sets. Very important for spatial analysis. I hope they have an occult symbology matcher running, to watch for forming large scale patterns of magical symbols. I mean it would be unfortunate to miss someone pulling a Full Metal Alchemist, turning whole regions into philosopher stones.
Hey! I’m studying that in school right now!
Literally, right now. I should probably get back to that.
Regarding the “break doors or windows on the way out” thing: Make certain you break them into the right direction. If you break into stuff, the door/window should be broken towards the inside, not the outside. Quite a few criminal careers on television were cut short by that oversight.
Yeah, I was going to say. But it still might not be a great idea. For one thing, it could be just as much work as breaking in the old-fashioned way. And if anyone hears the breaking and rushes to the scene only to find the intruder and valuables already gone, they’ll have a good idea that a super was involved.
But they might get the wrong idea about what kind of powers were used. Not the ideal result, but better than exposing the exact means and method…
Does he know Warwick Davis? Elijah Woods? Rudy? Mer ry? Or Pippin?
Note Lucas says “Once we identify the source I suspect” meaning they have a pretty good idea who it was who did that, just that they cannot as of yet prove it. Which shows to me a LOT of legal restraint on ARC’s part.
Imagine a certain crime gets committed and you KNOW that only one person with certain powers can do it, but you cannot PROVE it.
Do you bring that person in anyway? Or do you wait until you CAN prove it?
ARC is evidently waiting until they have the evidence.
I like that.
No, that isn’t what he meant, he means that he suspects that Sydney (either alone or more likely with the rest of Arc-SWAT) will deal with once he (personally or Arc-Light generally) determine the source
Don’t get trapped into taking what you read literally, and certainly don’t just read part of a sentence
Try it again, but this time, take out the “Once we identify the source” part
I didn’t read it that way. I read it as an alternate phrasing of “I suspect (it’s) something you’ll be dealing with once we identify the source.” Which still strikes me as a little strange. CSI and arson investigators have to go to the location to gather evidence which leads to the source. ARC should be checking it out while it’s still unknown.
ARC *is* checking it out. That’s why it’s on this particular map. It isn’t yet known for certain whether the involvement of supers to resolve the situation is appropriate, so the CSI-equivalent team – ArcLight – is still in front.
The incident of Sydney figuring out her orbs (and specifically the results of the pew-pew orb) also is on this map, but will be removed (probably moved to another layer) shortly because it is now resolved.
Since they were able to zoom in on it, obviously the map is being displayed on a computer screen; so, it can be updated in real time (assuming the software is at least as sophisticated as Google Maps). However one must consider the source of the data. With very limited exceptions, I think, it would be manually entered (or selected and accepted) by someone in Arc. The current locations of ArcSwat members might be among those exceptions.
There are missing commas. Something you’ll be dealing with, once we identify the source, I suspect.
Commas commonly cause me to lose my calm.
Comatose crocodiles cannot chomp civilians.
Say… I mean, bark that three times fast.Whoops, only the “Say” was supposed to be struck out.
Say… I mean, bark that three times fast.Woof woof woof!
[translation: that, that, that]
;)
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
[from Wikipedia: the buffalo from Buffalo who are buffaloed by buffalo from Buffalo, buffalo (verb) other buffalo from Buffalo.]
More information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWbzjGIec20
I’ve actually been to a party at the house of the guy who coined this phrase. He was my wife’s advisor when she was working on her PhD at the University of Buffalo. Here’s his homepage. https://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/
Always avoid alliterations.
Unless utterly unavoidable
For want of a comma, the fandom was lost.
English Major to the Rescue!
“Something you’ll be dealing with once we identify the source I suspect.”
This can parse two ways under standard American English.
1) Once we confirm the source, about which I have a suspicion, you’ll be dealing with this.
2) Once we confirm the source, you’ll be dealing with this, or so I believe.
If number two is intended, it would have been better written as follows.
“Something you’ll be dealing with once we identify the source, I suspect.”” or better yet..
“I suspect you’ll be dealing with this once we identify the source.”
::springs back into the all-concealing shadows with a flick of his tail::
Seems anti-climactic. If I called for help, from an English Major, I would hope for a battalion of S.A.S. to come to my rescue!
+1
Just as long as his first name isn’t “John” :P
Just remember, real people don’t always speak proper :P
If she hadn’t been able to control herself, he wouldn’t allow the question
… something you will be dealing with once we identify the source, I suspect, and you finish your training. That last part is going to be so important.
I suspect Suzi Fusion. When she gets mad, people around her get treated for radiation exposure and seem to have trouble remembering what happened in the last hour or so.
Or just ‘you supers’
Yeah, notGeorge meant ‘you’ plural
DARNIT! NOW I’M ADDICTED TO PS238 AGAIN!
You say that like it’s a bad thing…
::munches thoughtfully on a carrot while enjoying the results of Zodon’s Barry Ween chip.::
Can’t you just imagine Arianna finding out about that chip, and wondering whether they could get one for Sydney?
^_^
You just wait until I am ready to take over the *CUCUMBER* world and try that *HAMSTER* again! I will *BROIL* make you eat your *TOASTER* for *TRANSFORMER* trying to get in my *LAMPSHADE* way again. You will rue the *LIGHTNING* day every crossed paths with Zodon, future conquer of the *BLOOMING* world.
What the?! Who *MARSHMALLOW* just hit me? You?! No, you can’t *GRACKLE* ruin my plans again! I am Don Quixote, the Man of La Mancha. …
:-D
I see you are testing out the filter, to see if it will also work for Sydney.
Regarding surveillance, I can see ARC using “Pattern Analysis” as one way of tracking possible supers. This method that has proven very effective in Iraq and Afghanistan for tracking attacks and IEDs.
Basically, taking lots of video footage of given areas over a period of hours or days, then making use of fast forward and reverse to pick up on anything ‘odd’ (“OK, these guys shot up that Checkpoint. So, let’s see where they came from, and where they all went afterwards…”). Seems to me that a similar approach could be quite handy for ARC in investigating certain ‘events’.
That’s VIDEO analysis, not pattern analysis. Pattern analysis would be, They took out checkpoint 132, 158, and 186, moving easterly, at this rate that should hit checkpoint 212 sometime tomorrow or the next day.
Which comes under the general heading of pattern analysis, at least where I read about it.
So I guess that the data analysis room, despite the map that tracks lightning strikes, is not known as “The Thunder Dome”. Because that would only be cool if he used the nick name “Master Blaster”.
Well he is a small guy who rides around on somethind, just like Master. Now all he needs is a big stupid guy to act as his Blaster. Master Blaster runs Archon.
Harem wouldn’t be fazed by a criminal who could phase.
I don’t know if it’s possible to forcibly phase Mr Nyeah-nyeah-you-can’t-hit-me, but it would probably require fazing him in order to do so.
4’2… So more around the height of Deep Roy than Robert Reich, but taller than Verne Troyer or Warwick Davis. Okay, just wanted to make sure my mental image was right. I’m glad he’s being treated with respect, though not an unsuprising ammount of curiosity by Sydney and the rest of the cast. It really galls me when LP’s are made walking punchlines, and that is all too often the case. There’s a show out right now which is essentially Jersey Shore with an all-dwarf cast, and while I can’t say I’ve watched the show itself, the advertisements make my blood boil.
Everyone is made a ‘walking punchline’ if they have something that differs them from the ‘norm’, remember how JLo is basically a walking giant butt (although her giant butt seems to have been eclipsed by the Kardashian arseholes in the last couple years)
Like really long ears…
::flickers his long silky ears for emphasis::
I just watched a bunch of Scrubs bloopers and alternate unaired lines. One of which was from Turk: “The only difference, when dating a black girl, is that if she asks ‘Does my ass look fat?’ You say ‘Hell yes!'”
I have discovered from experience that when a woman asks “Does this make my ass look fat?” that the correct response is NOT:
“No, I think your fat ass makes your ass look fat.”
For some reason, Lucas strikes me as the type who will have a very dry sense of humor and take some quiet delight in occasionally handing Sydney straight lines just to watch her try to take no notice of them. It’ll look like Roger Rabbit trying to resist the old Shave And A Haircut routine.
If that was the case, the Maxi would be reprimanding notGeorge
He’s an *ArcLIGHT data analyst*. He knows *exactly* how often he’d be able to get away with it without it looking like a pattern, and how best to seed Sydney’s reflexive impropriety when nobody else was listening in order to maximize the likelihood of an Arianna-migraine-inducing event during a briefing.
That said: Maxima would still have her suspicions, even if Lucas *could* roll up to the whiteboard and demonstrate that what he said was — out to three standard deviations — unintentional.
Maxima probably knows all about it. But turns a blind-eye, as it is useful for morale purposes.
We saw a perfect example of that when Sydney scored with “Cloaka”, and exchanged a discrete finger-tickle, low five, with Peggy. It is helping to form, and cement, friendly relationships, which are not centered around the need for that, in life-or-death scenarios, that the team might otherwise fixate on.
Sorry, that first line should have read:
“Maxima probably knows all about things like that, such as we see with the ‘Make Maxima Say’ Bingo”.
I would enjoy someone who deliberately pulls Sydney’s chain as often as possible by saying things she cannot respond to without careful thought.
“blasters to master” :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxbQvIgBw70&list=PLD76225352946479F
Good times!
Damn it Matti, now I want to see Anvil giving Lucas a shoulder ride, very badly! ;)
What’s his professional wrestling name?
What level Guildsman is he?
Please tell me they have already located all of the abandoned theme parks and themed buildings, especially anything dealing with clowns, jokes, and toys. Also, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on any caves with bats…
Just sayin’…
Nah those are just guys in masks
I suspect they are ninjas.
There’s a separate team that manages those sites – they’re easily identified by the green-and-teal color scheme on their mobile headquarters
Reference?
When caught, the bad guys always say they would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those stoner kids and their doped up dog from Denmark
Doh! How did I fail to work out that reference!
I no longer deserve Scooby Snax.
*hangs head in shame*
That’s okay, took me a little to figure it out at first as well (and you don’t want to eat Scooby Snax anyway, too many ‘herbs’ in them, that’s why you have specially formulated “Yorpie Snacks” :D)
Heh.
Panel 1. Why is Sydney not interested in what the robotic claw is doing with that map/display on the wall? Ok there are other cool things in the room, but that would sure grab my attention!
Or did it only come out of the wall when she was looking the other way?
I think that’s Lucas’s claw. He probably uses it as a longer arm
That’s Lucas’ assistant, Jarvis
For reaching down things on the shelves we see on the wall.
That “map” looks like the schematics of some device. Knowing Dave I bet it’s an easter egg from a scifi show or something. Could some Patreon see what the title on it says?
Looks like maybe the breakdown on the Portal blaster
search “portal gun schematics” on Google Images
You are right: https://i.imgur.com/tk7pW.png
Nice detail :)
Bravo Guesticus! And great job Duende sociopata, on tracking down the schematics.
Now all we have to do is figure out th e claw. Given that this is Lucas’s operational room, it is reasonable to refer to it as his claw. However it does not look like it is coming from him, in person. We can see a robotic elbow joint, before it reaches him, and the upper part of the arm comes down from somewhere above, concealed by the speech bubble.
The only additional clue I have been able to make out is that it seems to be a pair of claws, in fact. The second one being mostly concealed behind Lucas. But the tips of the orange claws are poking out beyond his shoulder.
Dang, it was totally a guess, never played the games, but just yesterday saw a serie of images of Chell & Chel ‘playing’ with a portal gun (gives new meaning to the phrase “go screw yourself!”) and just figured the pointy hook-claw thingie on the bottom and the long bit on the right side resembled the Portal Gun
Plus the “Quantum Tunneling Device” title? ;P
Clever guess :) I never played the games either, just know the folkore.
Chel form El Dorado? I didn’t see the movie but the character is lovely. Rule 34 about them both (type into Google…) sounds inter… OMG…
Guesticus… have a cookie.
Couldn’t make out any of the writing in the comic, and half the schematic is blocked by Sydney
If you saw the 6-part series of them, the last one with Chel sneaking off with the gun while Chell is snuggling her self between two portals is cute :D
I’m not sure if I am following your description. I think it’s just an articulated arm fixed to the wall. It could be robotic, electric or even mechanic. In the last two panels there’s another (blurry) view of it.
To me it is compound by a two-fingers claw (the orange “clipper” in the first panel) likely with 360 turn capability, three “elbows” (all of them with the same orange material that the claw), and a vertical rail to slide up and down (the two shades of gray vertical thing that goes up and out in all the three panels).
I will say that what we see in first panel is a work table with a bench, to which the latter Lucas ascend using the two step metal ladder below it (notice it’s at the same height that the segway’s “floor”), and from there he uses the arm to reach the upper shelves, likely controled by the computer.
Its a little blurry in the other panels, but it appears to be motionless. She may have overlooked it, since she’s sleepy and has other things vying for her attention.
Although Peter Dinklage is a more current ref I would have expected them to stay within the franchise and reference Kenny Baker.
I have had the pleasure of drinking with him, Anthony Daniels (of C3 PO fame) and one of the Boba Fett actors. Sadly my memory eludes me as to his name, at the moment.
Mind you both franchises are equally far from the Super Hero genre, Game of Thrones being fantasy and Star Wars science fiction.
Original Boba Fett?
Dunno, it was out of hours, at a convention. I figured that they would have been tired of talking shop all day. So did not geek out. Just let the conversation wander where it went. They all seemed nice folks.
Mind you they did a good job in being able to hold up an entertaining conversation, for as long as they did. Given that hardcore gamers never stop playing at a convention. So they were in direct competition with ongoing roleplaying.
Now had I been able to join the three of them in a game, then I would have geeked out, big-time! Regardless of what characters they played, or the game system. Sadly it was a working day for them, and they were pooped, plus had more the next day. So that did not happen.
It’s just you mentioned ‘one of the Boba Fett actors’, and can only think of the original (from ESB and RoTJ) and the boy from the prequels
I cant remember names, most of the time, so I had to look them all up. And was surprised to see that there are three for that character. I only recall him as “the Boba Fett actor”, and it was many years ago, so he probably was the original flava.
On the other paw however, I know that James Earl Jones (one of my favorite actors, so I have some chance to recall his name) was the original voice of Darth Vader. Whereas “the guy who did the highway crossing adverts” was the man inside the suit, in the original movie. Either of whom can reasonably claim to be Darth Vader.
Hence why, as I was not fussed about the details of his credentials, I opted for the vague phraseology in question.
Okay, just checking (and possibly helping you figure out which actor you chatted with :D)
“the guy who did the highway crossing adverts” = Dave Prowse
Wait a minute, Lucas here is 4 feet 2, right? SCRAPLETS, that makes him 2 inches taller than the real me in ‘bot form. Least I got my Armour to upgrade to normal sizes tho… :P
Does he have any rings of power that need to be dropped into a volcano to destroy?
It’s a shame he doesn’t know Peter Dinklage. Sydney is probably a big Destiny fan.
“That wizard came from the moon.”
Sudden realization. We got a slight preview of today’s page on Monday.
I wondered where Lucas’ “who’s who” icon was taken from.
7th panel.
No, they meant they had wondered where it had come from before seeing this page
ah didn’t notice it on monday. My bad
to be fair that’s not a dumb question even if he was average sized in general. i’ve heard Peter super friendly in person though Syd as a comic shop owner is more likly to have met him
I think this may be my favorite strip yet. We all get to see all the glorious action, and the fights, and so forth and so on, that goes into super-hero stories. Very rarely do we get to see the actual grunt-work involved–making the tools, doing the practice, analyzing the events, and so forth and so on. We all know this happens, and we all know that solving crimes isn’t really a thing of drama and adventure so much as sheer, mind-numbing tedious analysis, but we never see it. It’s part of what makes something like X-Men unrealistic–they always know who to fight, where to go, and why, and if they don’t that becomes a major plot point in establishing the bad guy as dangerous. Real criminal masterminds aren’t going to be so easy to defeat, at least partially because the really big ones ALWAYS hide, lest something unfortunate happen to them. Sure ARCHON will get its share of extra-planetary menaces that are looking for a piece of them for whatever reason, but most of their foes will hide as best they can, and will do everything they can to avoid having the light of day shone upon them. Which may not be a problem for a group like the X-Men, but will certainly be an issue for a group like ARCHON, who will quickly lose public support if they move on bad guys without clear proof of either overwhelming danger, or of massive and pervasive wrong-doing.
+1
A trope I decided to exploit in my supers game is the “Villains generally aren’t interested in being in a fight” trope. I also decided that any power would be treated as a Deadly Weapon. So pretty much any crime involving supervillains got jumped to a felony immediately.
Players often had problems with the villains carefully planning crimes so as to avoid involving bystanders. They were very used to the idiocy of comic book villains and were locked in that mode.
This is not to say those fights didn’t happen from time to time, but most fights followed a certain amount of investigation and documentation of imminent threat using traditional police methods.
This page is genius. I never thought about this. An alert map of emergent “strikes”, like in so many comics, of course. An strategic map of current events, like in any decent war movie, maybe. But this is way better and so so logical. Very good job Dave.
I would really like to see what information they are processing. They should have dedicated satellites looking for special data and a kinda “Deep blue” for analyse it. Things like the wave length and the like would be usefull to connect or differentiate events, and the data mining and pattern search algoritms must be pretty interesting. Great, now I’m going to have logical flows for this dancing in my mind for the rest of the month.
BTW, does Machina Ind build supercomputers as well or is IBM in this universe too?
In the supers game I run (or ran in the past – been ages since I’ve run it), this idea is essentially in place on two levels:
1) The government agency Fenimore, which operates as a liaison and data clearinghouse between NSA, CIA and (later on) Homeland Security to identify anomalous data that may be the result of supers, and
2) the team researcher and archivist (Stacy, I think her name is), who reviews tabloids and newspapers for articles that may hint at paranormal or supers activities
Surprisingly, the team was about 5x more likely to follow up on leads from the archivist/researcher than the governmental agency – never have figured out why…
A matter of numbers and secrecy. It’s easier to trust a single person than a large organization you don’t know every little thing about and that you know is hiding stuff from you. It’s harder to believe that the individual person is playing you.
Their main IT provider is Machina Business Industries, or BMI. The hipsters swear by their Mandarin computers produced by the Orange computer company. They also make oPhones and oPads.
I bet you used the internet to machina the facts?
It would have helped the joke if the stupid auto-correct didn’t change MBI to BMI. So you sack of silicon circuits, ‘body mass index’ huh? Are you saying I’m fat?