The Republic of Texas

by on September 24, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The Republic of Texas sent Navy and Marine elements to join the American relief fleet the new Federal government sent to aid Australia. They helped stop the Chinese in Indonesia, and prepared for the full-scale war that would soon break out there. Then the Rogue AI nest in Singapore came to everybody’s attention. The Singapore Collective had plans for humanity, and those plans would not have left enough of us alive to complain. So those brave boys and girls worked with the Chinese, the Russians, and everybody else to end that threat once and for all. The world had come closer to destruction at Singapore than it had since Cuba, nearly a century earlier. So the world took a collective breath, and the assembled militaries of every great power returned home. The Texans came home to a heroes’ welcome, and the Republic began looking to space once more. Not that they had ever truly stopped, you understand, but the effective truce on Earth between the Western Alliance, China, and Russia had changed everything. Space was the future again, and it would be where the great powers would once again fight for dominance. Texas was never going to miss a fight like that.

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The Republic of Texas

by on September 23, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The Republic of Texas’ greatest threats in the early years included those who did not recognize its legitimacy. Large cities like Dallas or Austin claimed every level of its government was fraudulent, and continued to send their own “legitimate” representatives to the old Federal government. Rather than fight them, the Republic declared them to be “In Anarchy,” pulled its resources out of the cities, and simply waited for them to wise up and join the future. But many agency headquarters were in those cities. Many of the agency heads followed the cities’ leads and ordered their own people not to recognize the Republic. This created a large number of moles in the Republic bureaucracy, people willing and able to use their positions to sabotage Republic operations at any time or place. They were an active threat for decades, and numerous “public servants” went to prison after their leaks or other operations endangered or cost Texan lives. Many believe some of these moles still exist today, working for whatever is left of the old government as it continues to hide and scheme.

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The Republic of Texas

by on September 22, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The Republic of Texas did not exist until after the Convention of States dealt with the old Federal government. Texas was one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the new Federal government, if Texas can be considered truly enthusiastic about any government that is not theirs. They had a great many reasons to want to make certain it did not stray from the mission the Convention gave it, and so made certain to give it their full support. I did not say “undivided support” because they did in fact divide their support. The original resolution admitting Texas into the Union had specifically allowed Texas to form up to five States, a contingency they activated after the Convention of States completed its reconstruction of the Federal government. Then the Five States of Texas signed an official compact with West Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arizona to bring the Republic of Texas into official existence.

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg

by on September 21, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

We have all known that Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been in failing health for years. I was personally surprised she did not retire when Obama was president and could appoint her successor. But that did not happen. And now we have this.

For the second time in four years, a Supreme Court Justice has died in the middle of a campaign for President. In the very year the election takes place. Yes, that does happen to be one in four years, so in some ways it should not be a surprise. But there are only nine justices, and there have been only nine justices since the 1880s or something like that. At three dead in the last four years, it seems like they are dropping at a rather high rate at the moment.

So right now we have people on the far right saying that “Trump gets to choose, and isn’t that just gloroius.” Then there are people on the far left saying that “Trump can’t be allowed to choose, and if he does we will pack the court to override his tyranny forever!” And everybody else is saying “Oh God, not this again.”

Honestly, it would just be really nice if we can sit down for a day or two, maybe a whole week, and just reflect on the person who died. On what they thought, on what they said, and what they did. I think that would be a better way to memorialize their death than fighting over who is going to sit in their seat before it is properly cold.

Just saying.

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The Martian Affair

by on September 20, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

“I’ve got your back, John,” Cassie said.

His displays flashed with recommendations and target locks.

“Never doubted it for a second,” Christensen said and sprang back to his feet. He lined the rifle in his right hand up on one enemy quad, waited a moment for the display to flash a target lock, and pulled the trigger. The secondary barrel glowed with electromagnetic energy for an instant before spitting out a single high explosive round that shot across the Martian landscape faster than the speed of sound. The kinetic energy alone was enough to breach the armor of anything but the heaviest enemy tanks. He would have needed a proper armor-piercing warhead to take one of them out, but the unarmored quad and its rider were an entirely different matter. It was akin to beating a piñata with a sledgehammer.

The other quads opened fire and rounds bounced off his armor or sent showers of red Martian dirt into the air all around him.

Christensen rode the recoil and turned away from the exploding quad. He stepped up onto the rim of the small crater, bringing the heavy rifle in his left hand to aim at another target. He pulled that trigger, kinetic energy flashed, and his second target exploded. He rode the recoil once more and brought the first rifle down on a third target. A stream of enemy rounds smashed into it and sparks filled his view. Powerful electromagnetic coils crackled their energy all over the Martian landscape. His display flashed red warning signs as the rifle fried itself to death in his hand.

***

The Martian Affair is available at the following retailers

Amazon

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