John Jones

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

John Jones was born on Mars. Think about it. Let it sink in for a moment. Then move along. The real John Jones was a lawyer on Mars, using the hyper-intelligence that came with his particular reaction to the Peloran Treatments to study the law and weaponize it against the government. He specialized in government corruption cases, tracking down and prosecuting governmental abuse and waste throughout the Martian system. He was one of the very few lawyers with the knowledge and experience to work in every Martian colony, whether they were of American, Chinese, Russian, or other lineage. And many Martians give him credit for helping to unify the legal codes of every Martian colony, the first step in creating a united Mars. This all assumes that I have correctly deduced who John Jones was before he joined the Wolfenheim Project. I could be wrong. It’s happened once or twice, you know.

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A Primer on the Races of Humanity – Branan

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

The Branan were limited to normalspace by the stellar geography they lived in, so they spent centuries preparing colonization fleets that traveled a century or more across ten, fifteen, or even twenty lightyears to new star systems. They left their homeworld behind, knowing they would never see it again in their lives, in the search of new lives on new frontiers. They built powerful industrial economies in all six of the Betelgeuse stars, and then colonized six more systems with nineteen stars up to twenty lightyears away. The youngest of those colonies was centuries old when we made Contact, with a larger population, a higher industrial base, and more advanced technology than any of our colonies. There were more Branan living under their twenty-five stars than there were humans in our one hundred star systems. And then we gave them hyperspace.

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Jury Duty

by on August 14, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I start performing my citizenry duty today. I’ll be judging people guilty or not guilty should I be chosen out of the jury pool.

All those who know me may now begin quaking in fear for the future of our country. 😉

The rest of you…watch the news…if there’s a crazy jurist in Minnesota, it might be me…

🙂

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Megan

by on August 13, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Art, Character Profiles

New Earth politics was in a state of flux while we were assembling the Wolfenheim Project, and Megan took a rather prominent position in that flux. Old Man Callahan had been one of Landing City’s leading figures since the New Earth colony landed, in a non-leading role. The Hurst Family had decided it was time to retire him. He did not appreciate the retirement plan. So in exchange for the supplies we needed to make Wolfenheim work, Megan led a small group of cybers in support of Callahan. They were very professional. They were very effective. The police called her Ms. Megan. She called them by their first names. They declined to fully investigate any noise complaints she was involved with, and everybody lived happily ever after. Except the Hurst agents. They didn’t live at all, and the Hursts finally stopped sending them a few months before we left the system. I loved watching Megan in action. From a distance. A very long distance.

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Jackie White

by on August 12, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Art, Character Profiles

Jackie White enjoyed dancing. If you ask me about her, that’s really the first thought that comes to mind. She grew up catering to tourists wanting to hear Hawaiian music and see Hawaiian dancing. Cooking wild hogs beneath the beach sands was normal to her way of life. Juggling flaming brands and placing flower necklaces on visitors was just part of the scenery of her youth. That and the elevator rising far above Palmyra that brought them down from orbit. I asked her what it was like to grow up there. She told me it was magical. They were no more than a few thousand of her best friends and worst enemies on a postage stamp island in the middle of thousands of kilometers of empty ocean, serving guests who had traveled lightyears to live a few days of the “natural Hawaiian life.” She said it prepared her for life on a starship better than anything else she could think of.

High rez version available for free on Patreon

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