Julie

by on February 3, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Character Profiles

Julie never wore sleeveless shirts when I was young. Or shorts. Even after we started playing together, I never saw her in anything less than neck to ankle coverage with my own eyes. My imagination was another matter, and it ran rampant. So I thought it was my lucky day when she gave me that real serious look and started lifting her shirt. Then I saw something my abundant imagination never prepared me for. Bruises. Burns. More I just won’t write, even here. It was enough to make me cry. She cried with me for a time, the kind of heart-rending sobs that portend the end of worlds. Then we skipped school and I helped her pack before her father got home from work. We were at her aunt’s before he found out she was gone, and her aunt may have had a few things to say when he tried to pick her up. I wanted to have words with him, too. Words and more than words. I would have killed him if she’d asked me to. I almost did anyways. But the police wanted some words with him, and so did some nice ladies from child services, and a very firm judge had some choice words of his own. Some people say we gave Julie a new life that day. They’re wrong. Julie started her own new life that day. So did I.

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Lucas Cats

by on February 2, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The Gangani Empire of San Lucas has seen great change in the last few decades. Humanity’s example has shown them other ways to govern, and they have begun the slow transition from an outright monarchy to a partial representative system. A student of British history would recognize the many steps they have taken, and the many more painful ones they have to make in the future. The industrial revolution that was driving through their culture continues, but the Gangani leadership is fundamentally concerned about change and is slow to adapt. That has handicapped their growth in the new space-based industries, but the Gangani Empire is still the single most powerful native polity in absolute population, economic might, and educational infrastructure. The panther-derived Gangani may not be leading San Lucas into a new space age, but they are quicker at adopting proven technologies and techniques than most onlookers would think at first glance. That will make them a powerful leader in San Lucas politics and industry for decades, and perhaps centuries to follow.

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The Alliance Worlds

by on February 1, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

Pacifica. Paradisia. Serenity. Haven. These were the first four names we picked when it came time to colonize new Alliance worlds. Every member nation took part in their creation, and every nation voted on what name we would give the new world. Some people protested that all of the names were English, saying that the world names should reflect every language of the Alliance. But the names were chosen by popular referendums, and while there are many who speak German, French, Spanish, and many of the African languages, the simple fact is that the English, or its rather disreputable cousin American, language is the most commonly spoken tongue in the Alliance. And so every Alliance world had names like Utopia, Harmony, Unity, and Destiny until we changed the selection process in the 2200s.

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Julie

by on January 31, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Character Profiles

Julie and me grew up together. We lived in a small town on the edge of civilization where big city folk came to vacation. But most never stayed through winter, which could start as earlier as September and end as late as May. So we knew each other. Kinda. She was okay, for a girl, when I was real young. She got a lot more interesting once I discovered that girls weren’t icky, but we didn’t hang out much. I enjoyed the parties, and she didn’t stay out late. Then one day in our first year of high school, I was plucking at my guitar, trying to nail down a new song, and I just couldn’t get it right. She walked up, grabbed the guitar out of my hands, and played the song the way it was meant to be played. With feeling. Let me be clear here. It was a new song. Absolutely new. Never played before by anyone. And she could tell what I was trying to play good enough to do it the way I meant it to be. That’s the kind of talent she is. The kind that is born once into a generation and cannot be silenced by anyone, no matter how hard they try. I didn’t know why she trusted me enough to let me see it, but I never had a chance after that. I was in love.

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Lucas Cats

by on January 30, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The panther-like Gangani ruled an entire continent of San Lucas when humanity first became aware of them. Their empire was fractured by rebellions and secessionist movements, and some asked for help in breaking the empire, while others sought help in holding its power together. We helped none, but gave humanitarian aid and protection to all who wished it. The Gangani rulers protested humanity’s stopping their reprisal raids, but we helped them capture many terrorist cells. That allowed them to save face at home and act as if they were acting with newfound restraint. The Gangani still lost most of the Uaithni’s northern reaches, and many of their outer provinces in the south attained independence. But the general end to the greater amount of violence on either side allowed the Gangani to maintain a significantly larger empire than they would have maintained had the rebellions and secessions continued without our interference.

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