Pacifica

by on September 15, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

San Francisco and their affiliated cities are true meritocracies in their own rights. Yes, they have far more strict rules than other areas of America, and their politics can be a bit extreme, but anyone can make it there. All you have to do is have an idea that people like and the ability to market it to the masses. Or the appropriately exclusive clients who can make you a success with a simple nod towards whoever writes their checks. You also need to avoid the black listings that are surprisingly easy to earn if you say or do the “wrong” thing. Though innovators are often welcome in other areas of America where “banned in Pacifica” is seen as an award no money can buy.

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Pacifica

by on September 14, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

San Francisco is the self-selected capital of Pacifica. They created it, they control the greatest concentration of wealth, and the vast majority of Pacifica’s population lives inside their borders. So the other member States of Pacifica have never contested that leadership role. They build the best virtual worlds and personal assistant AIs, and their real, physical ivory towers are some of the most beautiful and exclusive places to live on Earth and beyond. San Francisco is truly a place of comfort and security for those who can afford to live there. It is also home to one of the largest wealth gaps between the haves and have nots in America. It is truly as impressive as the ivory towers that touch the very sky.

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Pacifica

by on September 13, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Detractors often describe Pacifica as a nation by elites, for elites, and utterly out of touch with America at large. The truth is far more nuanced. Yes, the ivory towers of San Francisco are home to the elite of the elite, but the beaches of Micronesia welcome tourists from everywhere on Earth and beyond. The Star Kingdom of Hawaii is one of the most friendly places to visit anywhere on Earth, and studies show it to be one of the least stressful places to live in America. You can travel from Juneau to American Samoa without ever seeing land, and some of the worlds greatest boat races take place in their waters. There is far more to see in Pacifica than the caricatures would suggest.

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The Gemini Affair

by on September 12, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Jack grew up in a world at peace. His only interests were partying and girls. Two decades of War changed the galaxy and left Jack with no home to return to. Seven decades after War’s End, Captain Jack Hart was a man at peace once again. His ship represented the freedom to live wherever he wanted. He could fly anywhere from Earth to the furthest frontiers of human expansion on a whim and a prayer. And his cargo holds could carry whatever luxuries people wanted wherever he was going.

All of that was endangered when he ran into a mysterious freighter while on a routine trip to the Pleiades Cluster. What secrets did it hold? What mysteries did it hide? Why was it skulking around the heart of the Pleiades Cluster? Why did it open fire the moment it saw his ship? And what would the answers to those questions do to the foundations of the world Captain Jack Hart had built his life on?

***

The Gemini Affair is available at the following retailers

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Apple Books

Kobo

Smashwords

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9-11

by on September 11, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I remember coming home from work to find out a plane had hit one of the World Trade towers. I remember watching live when the second plane hit the second tower. I remember a third plane hitting the Pentagon. I remember hearing about a fourth plane being highjacked and then going down after the passengers attacked the highjackers. I remember watching people jumping from the upper floors because they didn’t want to burn to death. I remember watching the first tower fall. I remember watching the second tower fall.

I remember the BattleTech fansite I was an admin for preemptively removing me as an admin because they didn’t want the only American admin posting anything about this on their website. I remember them locking down the forums because they didn’t want any of the fansite’s American members to talk about it on their website. I remember being unable to talk to my closest online friends about what was going on, on what is very possibly the worst day of my adult life.

9-11 changed our world. Every one of us alive now, has had our world changed by what happened that day. Some of us lost parents, partners, siblings, or children. Some of us lost friends. Some of us lost jobs. Some of us got new jobs. Some of us signed up to protect our country. We went to Afghanistan and Iraq, and we are still there today. The government got new rules and knew ways of investigating people.

Our world changed that day, and I will never forget.

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