The War united us in many ways. In other ways it fractured us anew. The great alliances became further estranged from each other, while the nations within them became closer brothers. War’s End saw us arrayed as if for the final battle that Earth would ever see. Thank God the Lunar Treaties held. Thank God we loved our home more than we hated each other. I was there. I know how close matters became. It was balanced on the edge of a knife.
The Cowboys are a bunch of alpha guys and girls that know we are the best of the best of the best. That can lead to some really energetic debates over who truly is the best. And sometimes we can be a little hard headed on the subject. Yeah. Those bar brawl vids that have been circulating recently? The ones where the bar falls down? The whole building? Yeah. We paid the bar owner for that one but the debate’s still simmering.
Very few AIs ever gained what we consider true awareness. That being the ability to recognize how they think and modify themselves in the way that other humans do. What most people think of as life experiences. The best AIs learned to integrate them into their base coding and began to change with the times. There were very few of them in existence to see Contact, but they were quick to recognize Peloran cybernetic intelligences.
I go to Gencon this week where I will do many things. Play some mech on mech combat in a certain game I’ve played for years most likely. Check out games I’m interested in certainly. Bring my own game and writing? Oh yes. I will bring the first run of my game Forge of Wars:Tactics and a special Gencon print run of the introductory short story for the game, the first actual dead tree format printing of any of my stories. Am I excited? You betcha. 🙂
We no longer live in the sandbox of our own little worlds. There is a far more dangerous galaxy out there and we must be ready for it. But we dare not lose ourselves in the process. How does a society prepare to defend itself from an enemy without becoming that enemy? The history of our civilizations shows how hard that question is to answer. So many great societies have failed. So few have weathered the test of time. I intend to weather well.
Forge of War on Amazon
Angel Flight on Amazon
Angel Strike on Amazon
Angel War on Amazon
Wolfenheim Rising on Amazon
Wolfenheim Emergent on Amazon