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Laith
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« Reply #15 on: July 10, 2008, 09:00:31 AM » |
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I just realized that sounded bad.
It's not that they're not interesting... but there are other people doing the political and military sci fi much better than I could and I'm not sure I'd have anything to contribute to those sub-genres.
That is how I took it. But looking it over both of our comments could be read different than our intentions. |
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- Sitting down to attempt to listen to Ravenwood again.
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Victoria
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« Reply #16 on: July 10, 2008, 09:32:28 AM » |
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Mods !! Double meanings on the board !  |
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Never let Shadows rule your life
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deash
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« Reply #17 on: July 10, 2008, 11:53:55 AM » |
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Nate,
how about you do a tangent on a larger spin off of south coast shaman. Make the corperations try to cut out another company by dirty dealing. This could consist of.... sabatoging another ship by paying crew to cuase sabatoge the other ship messing with beacon updates by hacking so that the other company sells loads early and lose money or sell later and loss money.. muscling in on routes. hireing away best officers. beating up other crews. fueds between crews. fueds between captians. playing a practiacal joke on other crews that starts fued.
the pirate tale could work due to the ships set traps like emp that is above specs. then they are salvage boats, that are following the next ship on the loop they set trap on. they show up at last second to save crew but the ship is damaged and has to be hualed to port to make the nessecary repairs and the ship has to pay the hauling fee. boom you have secnario that allows them to steal with out stealing, or killing.
you also have obviously kind of hinted at a few ideas. you have mentioned the mafia in southcoast. you had a mugging on an orbital and even disscussed how the criminals can keep operating in the down low.
obviuosly these ideas are very rough but i think they give a solutionto keeping in the authenticity of the world you have created.
hope some of this at least sparks your interest or gives you a few ideas, or rephrases your thoughts a different way the may spark something else.
seee you around the docks Mr. Lowell
Dustin
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quandmeme
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« Reply #18 on: July 10, 2008, 03:06:10 PM » |
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I agree that the plot-role supplied by piracy or inter-planetary war would just be a distraction from what makes you stories yours. The Arwen series also on podiobooks is fine. Aliens, battle ships, explosions. They're fun and they're already out there.
Lois' backstory would be about social struggle. I can imagine an outlaw on a corporate planet striving for social justice. Just take Ish upon being 'orphaned' who misses the Lois and refuses to be deported. I'm not saying you couldn't do it, but it would cramp you, I think rather than give you buoyancy. A theme of your stories is about how capitalism makes people stronger and self-actualized. Keep running with it for a while. There are others to tell the dark-underbelly of corporate power. Take Beautiful Red on podiobooks; I loved it, but something like that would be on the far fringes of your universe. There are so many rich stories to tell where you are. Not that people don't need body-guards or traveling assistants just that there's a lot more happening than a war.
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Diane
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« Reply #19 on: July 12, 2008, 05:56:01 AM » |
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I had envisioned the Confederated Planets as a representative assembly with each system getting a seat. The purpose of the assembly is provide overall guidance to the expansion of the human sphere of influence. Their "executive" arm consists of various Joint Committees. So far, we've only dealt with the Joint Committee on Trade. I can envision a Joint Committee on Enforcement ... I'm at a loss as to what other Joint Committees might exist. Certainly not Health, Education and Welfare. Probably not Labor, Agriculture, Treasury, Education ... I suspect Labor, Agriculture, and Treasury functions are controlled by Trade in so much as they reflect the infrastructure necessary to facilitate the smooth movement of people and goods around the universe. There MIGHT be a Joint Committee on Research and Development. I don't know. What do you guys think?
I can see a joint committee on exploration and development... something that regulates how new systems are explored and "claimed"... "pricing" on the system purchase... What do you do with indiginous populations... details like that. I was thinking about some committee watching over the ships... but realized that would probably go under trade. Need some guidelines on the safety of the ships. Can't have them crashing into planets...  Diane |
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Richard
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« Reply #20 on: January 30, 2011, 12:43:36 AM » |
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I think the Somali Pirates model would still work in the future, at least in the short term. Hijack a ship & hold it for ransom.
And there's the corporate kidnappers that everyone had bodyguards for.
They probably don't rate thier own story, but could be a good bump in the road. Something to avoid, etc...
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nlowell
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« Reply #21 on: January 30, 2011, 04:01:40 AM » |
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Actually, there are no corporate kidnappers.
That was the excuse that Simpson managed to convince people of in order to place his bodyguards in sensitive places.
But you've got an interesting idea.
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junkfoodmonkey
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« Reply #22 on: January 30, 2011, 07:02:01 AM » |
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It would be strange to me if there were no kidnappers at all. Sure Simpson was exaggerating the danger in order to drum up business, but as long as there are rich (or even not all that rich) people there will be kidnappers who'll try to snatch them or their loved ones to hold for ransom. It's an old and widespread crime.
And someone who wants to sell the services of bodyguards wouldn't even want there to be no kidnappings at all, otherwise people might start noticing that it's "elephant repellent". Someone really unscrupulous might even arrange for a high-profile kidnapping to happen now and again (to someone who doesn't have a bodyguard) just to make sure people keep seeing their services as an essential.
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Richard
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« Reply #23 on: January 30, 2011, 11:07:36 AM » |
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Actually, there are no corporate kidnappers.
That was the excuse that Simpson managed to convince people of in order to place his bodyguards in sensitive places.
But you've got an interesting idea.
I know! I'm chock full of ideas (to be fair, not all of them are good). But I couldn't string two of them together if my life depended on it! it's so frustrating! |
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« Last Edit: January 30, 2011, 11:10:15 AM by Richard »
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nlowell
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« Reply #24 on: January 30, 2011, 11:16:09 AM » |
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It would be strange to me if there were no kidnappers at all. Sure Simpson was exaggerating the danger in order to drum up business, but as long as there are rich (or even not all that rich) people there will be kidnappers who'll try to snatch them or their loved ones to hold for ransom. It's an old and widespread crime.
And someone who wants to sell the services of bodyguards wouldn't even want there to be no kidnappings at all, otherwise people might start noticing that it's "elephant repellent". Someone really unscrupulous might even arrange for a high-profile kidnapping to happen now and again (to someone who doesn't have a bodyguard) just to make sure people keep seeing their services as an essential.
He didn't need to convince the CURRENT generation. He started when things were wild and wooly when the sector was just being settled. Having a bit of extra protection then probably made sense. And you're right an unscrupulous person might arrange all kinds of skullduggery to make a case. Do we know any unscrupulous people?  |
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surfsailor
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A writer is one for whom writing is difficult.
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« Reply #25 on: January 30, 2011, 02:36:47 PM » |
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I just posted in the 'tech of the solar clipper' thread about the idea of racing ships with solar sails. Imagine all the eccentric character types that would draw. Not to mention a way to really fill out the technology involved.
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Even after the most harrowing of experiences, always to the sea I return.
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junkfoodmonkey
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« Reply #26 on: February 01, 2011, 01:40:42 PM » |
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He didn't need to convince the CURRENT generation. He started when things were wild and wooly when the sector was just being settled. Having a bit of extra protection then probably made sense. And you're right an unscrupulous person might arrange all kinds of skullduggery to make a case. Do we know any unscrupulous people? Ah, makes sense, and then it just gets passed down as the way things are done. And kids grow up with a bodyguard and can't imagine not having one. It becomes entrenched. |
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memline
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« Reply #27 on: February 08, 2011, 08:05:35 PM » |
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You know guys, we have "pirates." Odin's whatchamacallit works just fine as a piraty place. What they did to the Sarcastic Voice was a crime. Those poor folks. Obviously, they have a history of skullduggery. They were delighted to get rid of the poor working vacation folks and did not care that it was very unsafe. Also, where did our redheaded assassin run to after his work was done? Uh huh! High Tortuga indeed. Mr Pall was not so far off after all. Percival is not dead. Too wily for that, I think. He could have put on the mantle of another tourist and gotten off quite quietly. He is good at what he does. I doubt that anyone keeps a record of who comes or leaves the place, just the dough in their pocket. That is a pirate island, wouldn't you say?
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