Star Wars

by on December 18, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I saw The Last Jedi on Friday.

It was a good movie. A good drama. And it was nothing like the Star Wars I grew up with.

Some of that we expected. Disney has certainly chosen to bury most of the Star Wars stories I grew up with. They wanted to go their own way, to be free to make new stories unfettered by those already written. They also, it appears, did not wish to make Star Wars stories.

The Star Wars stories I grew up with was witty heroes with quips and fancy flying and blowing that Popsicle stand before going home to celebrate their win with a stirring ceremony and a fun after party. It was Saturday morning serials full of adventure and daring do.

The Last Jedi is none of this. It is drama. It is good drama. But exciting (and adventurous) reading it is not.

I watch a lot of movies. I enjoy most of them. I left the Prequels happy and joyful. Even the last one that was the darkest of the lot. And even if JJ Abrams can’t figure out Star Trek to save his life, I love his Star Trek movies as a different take on the whole idea. Not a one of his movies has failed to leave me happy that I saw it. Happy to leave the theatre and talk about what I just saw. I’m generally pretty easy to please when it comes to movies. Especially action adventure or sci-fi movies.

But the Last Jedi left me feeling sad. Thoughtful. Depressed. I go to movies to be entertained. To have fun. To walk out happy to have spent some time and money on something I enjoyed seeing.

I am not happy to have spent my time and money watching The Last Jedi.

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San Lucas

by on December 17, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

Landscapers on San Lucas are a different breed than those seen on most other worlds humanity has settled. The indigenous, alpha predator, sabertooth cats love how we taste, and so every town near the coast must have a kilometer-wide kill zone around it. Inland towns have two kilometer kill zones. The landscapers must take sniper nests and sentry towers into account. Underground sensors and popup weapons turrets are deployed in concentric rings. Defensive bunkers and wide motes are integral parts of every design. And landscapers earn combat pay when deployed to maintain those defenses, even when accompanied by teams of trigger-happy security guards. Visitors think it is a beautiful paradise, but those who live there know that San Lucas is forever at war with humanity. And the landscapers are the first line of defense.

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Isabella

by on December 16, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Character Profiles

Isabella is one of the nicest, kindest, calmest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I’m serious. Her picture should be in the dictionary under the definition of those terms. Why she ever picked Juan Jose I will never understand. I’m not complaining, mind you, but I always figured she had to have been Saint Isabella because it took the patience of a saint to deal with all of Juan’s shenanigans. And yes, I know that’s me talking. But he said it, too, more than once. An interesting thing is that she had a physical body from the very beginning. We were still operating under American rules back then, so that took some quick talking to get approved. But they’d already grudgingly allowed Jasmine to keep her body, so what was one more little accommodation for “cultural reasons?” Especially when she meant bringing in another full Avenger squadron for the Hyades Campaign. She was one more step down the road we all took in the end.

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San Lucas Cats

by on December 15, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

One interesting aspect of the San Lucas sabertooth cats is that they do not mate with a sibling, cousin, or other close relation. Children leave the family and spend several years mixing with other wandering cats. The young cats can wander hundreds of kilometers during those years, sometimes alone and sometimes in groups. And they have an uncanny ability to recognize close relations in those travels, even cousins who have never met each other before. They will often band together for mutual protection, and coordinated hunting, but they simply don’t mate with each other. Most scientists theorize it is a genetic imperative the Albion built into them, likely meant to promote a healthy distribution of their genetic code.

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San Lucas

by on December 14, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

Most of the human population of San Lucas lives on the shorelines of New Brazil. They are made of beautiful, white sands that stretch out for kilometers under blue-green waters lit by a yellow sun slightly dimmer than Earth’s own. It is a paradise. And most of the indigenous life considers humans, especially humans that are still alive, to be fine delicacies. Every town is surrounded by a kilometer-wide kill zone where the jungle is first cut down and then the ground leveled so that even a snake would find it difficult to sneak up on the tasty treats nestled within them. Those kill zones are covered with thick carpets of grass kept only a few centimeters tall by the landscapers who maintain them, and entire squads of armed guards keep every gardener safe from rainforest denizens ready to come out for a quick bite to eat.

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