April 2011 Writing Ideas
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There is no way I can write 365+ publishable stories in a year, let alone one publishable story. Last year, I started on 6 stories last year and wrote "the end" on four of them. I submitted one to a magazine and another is being edited to finished quality.
Back on Prodigy Classic, in December 1997, I posted some story ideas I could not use. I soon found the story ideas flowed fast. I posted nearly all the ideas I could come up with, including those I hoped to eventually use.
I follow the belief that if 20 people wrote from the same story idea, we would have 20 different stories. This is why I don't worry about using these stories later, myself. Since then, I've learned that many people enjoy reading these posts, even if they do not write.
The way I work is, I come up with a basic concept which is seldom more than a paragraph long. I then spin a story around the concept, or explain what is behind the concept, so someone can see how to develop the basic concept.
I don't want these ideas to go to waste and hope that others might convert them into published pieces. I hold these ideas to be Public Domain (free to use in any way). They can be used in any form you choose. I hope you can use them profitably, but if not, at least enjoy reading these posts. Let me know if you make use of any of them. That is like a pat on the back and gives me an added incentive to keep this up (Like I really need it....).
I usually post about Four books worth pure drivel each year in these idea posts. This is my Fourteenth year of posting these story ideas. What they say is true. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Developed ideas are like gold. These are not fully developed...
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01 )
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He was a car thief. While sizing up a car lot on a factory parking lot, he saw a car that was so beautiful. it was obviously a foreign car. The angles were not like anything he had seen and it looked powerful. He knew some people who would pay well for such a machine. What really caught his eye was that it was not shiny. It had a softness to the black paint.
With no one around, he picked the lock and bypassed the alarm, and got the car running all within fifteen seconds. He backed the car out and drove away.
On the road, he tested how it handled. He stole a police car once and this thing had the same tight suspension and the engine was wanted to go. He accelerated He passed one of those stationary traffic speed devices police place to get people to slow down, without a police officer there. It shows them the speed they are going. He was going sixty in a thirty mile per hour zone and the speed reading showed five miles per hour.
A little while later, He passes through a speed trap going way too fast. The surprise on the officers as they followed him with the radar gun. he was so far away from them when they ran to their car. He shot by a police car sitting on the side of the road waiting to grab the speeders.
In the distance behind him, he saw the lights. He had broken his own rule of not breaking the law in a stolen car, especially speeding. He sizes up where he is, then sees a police car rocket out after him as he passes an intersection. It intended on blocking him.
He sees a problem, His car's look stands out. It would be hard to hide.
With the police car on his tail, he sees what the car can really do. he turns hard, sliding around and spins his tires to go the other way around a median strip. The police car cannot make the U turn. They do have radios as an advantage.
He pulls out onto the highway as a police car swings behind him and he floors it. He notices a dash light comes on, and he realizes it detects radar traps. He goes through three of them in a few minutes. Other than how fast he was going, they did not get a reading. He finally slips out of sight and gets the car to a customer. He explains what the car can do. they realize it was an experimental car for the space industry. Even the shape deflects radar away from the source. He is paid well for the car.
On the way home, he lifts a car that a customer near his home can use. he does not have to take public transportation this way. he sells that car and is home by dinner time with a full wallet.
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My note said fast car with anti-radar coatings and strong motor, running through radar traps.

02 )
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I remember hearing about an area in the Soviet Union where for six months of the year, the wind blows north. For another six months of the wind blows south. Between them is one day where there is no wind. That is their spring, and it is a day they regret ever missing.
The colony planet was divided into the farms and the factories. Because of the climate, the farms were in the north in an area where prevailing winds headed in one direction during a season, then reversed the other half the year. The instant the wind headed north, was when they went out and tilled the ground to plant as the warm air would very quickly thaw the ground. Harvest essentially ended when the wind changed direction as frost was coming within a week.
One problem with the farm lands was that the northern winds also brought horrible allergies to the people and animals. It was something they simply accepted.
No one ever seemed to be allergy free. Some were hit worse than others and it was noted that effects of the allergies was the main cause of death among babies and the elderly.
The allergies were actually getting worse the past few years. One year it got so bad that several fairly healthy people got a slight illness and the allergies took them down, killing them. The council of farmers called to the federation government, bypassing the local governments, to investigate and figure out what plants were the cause and what could be done to develop immunity.
The federation sent a few people down in the summer and immediately got sick. The locals actually had some immunity to the allergy.
There were tests of the air and there were no plant particulates in enough abundance to cause it, especially ones not known. The team left due to their health with inconclusive results.
During the winter, a new, larger team came down and they interviewed people, locating statistics and taking blood samples and samples of plant remains. They found that the allergy seemed to be in a path of the summer wind that just happened to pass over the factory area, which was expanding. The allergy tended to spread to the sides of the area when the wind there changed directions.
The investigators were forbidden from getting near the factory area. Even special operations people were blocked from getting there.
The factory area was in sort of a hollow and was always thick with a haze. Sensory data indicated that there were no people within the factories. It was off limit to people, period. Ships of any kind, air and ocean ships were forbidden from a very wide area off the coast of the factories. All materials were shipped underground to a space port on the other side of some high mountains.
Several teams of investigators were as close as security would allow and were spread out. They did not now about each other. A large number of the team members were in environmental suits as that was the typical security practice.
The wind changed. They saw the fog rise above the hollow of the factories. The next morning, the wind changed and they watched the fog blow at them. dozens of investigators got instantly sick when the haze passed over them. In their distraction at assisting their teams, they did get air samples and sensory data. They were retrieved and taken off planet for treatment. There were researchers at various distances from the factory and they all got concentration readings of the chemicals.
It took about a year for the results to work their way through the system. The colony masters did not like the results. Special teams dropped into the factory system, blasting the defenses and security systems out of action, and they shut down the factories. That next year, there was no allergies at all among the farms.
The factories were pumping toxic pollution into the air and that was getting everybody sick. The pollution build up on the ground was bad. The ocean water almost out to the security line was dead.
The factories were dismantled and the areas cleaned, scraped down well past the bed rock. It would take decades for the sea to recover, but now it could. It was later found that the factories were owned by an enemy of the federation and the polluted materials shipped out was part of a way to do damage from the federation. The farming was decided to be well worth continuing and after careful testing, the farming was expanded almost to the factory area. the allergy was gone for good.

03 )
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I saw one of these nature shows where the animals were getting used to the tourists coming out to view and photograph them. At first the animals are shy and nervous, but after a while, they learn to ignore the observers and go about their business in all they do.
They looked and acted like ghosts, but were wary of attacks by the people. they were not ghosts, they were "nature tourists." they started appearing in the colony city several years ago and created a stir. Slowly as more and more of the tourists appeared, the novelty of them reduced.
Then the tourists started walking through buildings. People at first would throw things or hide. The tourists could not really be harmed, but they were wary, using walls and furniture for protection just in case.
The tourists were soon parading through every room of the building, no matter what the colonists were doing. There was no privacy at all, anywhere. Sometimes the tourist's faces were all that showed on the walls as they looked in, getting into the best position to see what was going on.
After several years of the high volume of determined tourists, the colonists learned to ignore them completely and live their lives normally.
The tourists glowed slightly when it was dark and were quite transparent when it was bright. The tourists also learned that there was little to harm them, even having fast moving cars drive through them. They were not of this realm.
Scientists did explore ways of blocking them, but had not come up with the right technology to drive them away. They did get the tourists to itch or show slight discomfort, but that really made them more curious and look inside the machinery and devices the researchers were working with.
With the tourists, there were absolutely no secrets, but luckily, they only rarely interfered.
One possible thing is where a tourists sees something that needs to be dealt with. She goes to someone and gets their attention and leads them to a room where the problem is. The person goes in and solves the problem. This could be a murder, someone who is sick or hurt, or someone doing something immoral or illegal.

04 )
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Bradley was part of a seance. A young woman had died mysteriously and they wanted to know if it was a crime or accident. The spirit arrived and something went wrong. She ended up inside Bradley. He nearly passed out and he was ill for about a week.
He finally returned to work. As a designer, he was designing a woman's room. He looked at the design he already had and it felt terribly wrong. He changed the design and it felt more feminine. A bit later, he was congratulated on his design, the best he had ever done.
That night, while he slept, he had a conversation with the woman who died. he got the impression that she was going to stay around. She had died too young and wanted to live life more.
That morning, he was combing his hair and for some reason, combed it differently. He decided it looked better. Little things were showing up in his mind as he went about his business.
He finds himself in the gym. He finds his eyes start wandering. He has to force his eyes to his work. The shower is really a problem. The young woman loves men and she is trying to have a look. He has to close his eyes and turn his head to make sure no one gets any ideas about him.
He stopped going to places she really liked, which bothered her, but he had to keep his reputation and she was working to take full control over him.

05 )
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He was involved in a space accident and releases of radiation and chemicals effected him badly. After a long period in an institution, he was given his own home to live.
The lingering effects of his accident was that he imaged vague people being around. They were harmless and not at all frightening to him. He also had lost his memory.
His apartment was completely automated. His food was cooked, supplies ordered and placed, entertainment changed to what he liked, lights went on and off without his input. There were waking alarms and a reminder voice to tell him when he needs to check something.
A big calender was on the wall which updated daily, told about holidays and items of interest for the day. He found that was his favorite thing. He would check it many times a day to see what is supposed to be going on. His memory did cause a problem, and also a lot of fun.
He sees that it is April First, all fools day, a day to play pranks on others. He has those vague people around, so he decides to play a prank on them. He sets up several very complex pranks. they are ingenious.
He then goes to do some work in the main room. His memory fades quickly. Several hours later, he walks into one prank and chides one of the imaginary people about setting the trap. he then walks into the other, surprised, and chides another imaginary people about setting that prank. he then cleans up the messes and then forgets about ever having set the traps.
He birthday is coming up. he wraps some things from around the house as they are new to him. Hours later, he runs across the presents and is excited that it is his birthday and he is really excited at the presents he receives.
On and on, he is living alone, but not lonely, and he lives an exciting life as everything he does presents an exciting discovery.

06 )
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The religious group set up a colony as the only legal inhabitants of the planet. They are ultra strict, believing that only work is what counts. Children are taught that telling lies is almost as bad as killing someone. No one lies, though they will hold their tongue.
A little girl is playing near the fence. A person, who seems quite kindly appears and talks to her. He keeps his distance. Her mother calls her and she tells her mother about him. Her mother glances out the window and slaps the girl for telling lies.
A little boy is wandering around and finds he is not sure which way to go. A kindly seaming person appears and points to the proper route. There are bushes between them and that is the reason the person says he cannot guide him. The boy follows directions and finds civilization and then his home.
One, the children see this person. He talks to them, is helpful without coming in contact with them. When the children tell about this person, they are punished for telling lies.
Several years go by. the person is now spending time with the children, telling tall tails about another place and time, teaching them games, teaching them that fun is more important than work. None of the children will tell about him as they don't like being punished.
Within the society itself, the children are becoming belligerent, acting independent, talking back to adults, creating problems.
The bishop is brought in and he interviews each person with a child. The interviews are long and he interviews each one several times. He finds a pattern where the mothers say the children started acting up after they lied about a kindly stranger in the woods. After that, they started changing, drifting from the way of the church.
The bishop starts wandering the settlement, looking watching. He has not talked to any of the children. He did not want to let them know he knew what was going on, and he did not want them to lie to him.
He sees a child heading to the forest. He sees two others walking in the same direction but still in the village. He goes into the forest and finds an area to watch from. As more kids start showing up, he parallels their route, being as quite as he can. As there are a number of children, he follows one until it is out of his view, then spots another one and follows.
He finally sees them sitting in a circle. He sees a soft glow appear. He works his way fairly close and he can hear a voice. It is not in a language he can understand, but the children are repeating words in their own language. He can figure out from their questions about what the person is saying. They are enthralled.
He sits there past the time the soft glow disappears and the children, very slightly disoriented, head home.
The bishop then brings the mothers together. He asks them about the stranger the children say they had seen. Every parent said the colonists are the only people here and anything to the contrary is a lie. He asks them if at that age, did they lie. He had to press the question several times before they admitted they never lied about such things. Their lies were to protect themselves. He asked what were the children protecting themselves when they lied about the person.
He then suggested that enjoyable, but time consuming work would be best for the children. Get them involved in projects that will keep them around the home, their free time would be to work on other projects that are enjoyable.
The kindly person was met by a younger boy. He is watching all around. He tells the kindly person that he is afraid he might get caught. The parents are keeping them busy with their education and chores and also on projects so no one has the chance to come by any more. He wanted to come just to let the kindly person know. The boy leaves immediately, not waiting for any stories.
the kindly person was an entity from a previous colony civilization on the planet. He was trying to change the path of the children's upbringing to lead future generations to become his servants. It was only when the bishop had left that he learned that he was beaten by a man of power.
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My note says "frosty" Children say he exists. parents don't believe them. He is diverting them. Religious person outsider investigates. "Did you lie as children? Are there other entities? How to deal with them?'

07 )
There was an advertizement campaign where a person takes out his cell phone and there is a large number of people following him. they are in uniforms for the type of jobs they do for the cell phone company. The impression they were giving was that when one used the cell phone network, you had all those people backing you up. There was even one commercial that had another company bidding for giving service and a bunch of their people were cardboard cutouts.
People worked hard to become the boss. It was thought of as being a great thing. There was a little problem that no one thought about.
When you became the boss, you were given control over the world. The control was a cell phone like device that also was like a remote control. The big thing that controlled was the thousand or so people that did the actual work. When one stepped outside with the cell phone, a thousand or so people appeared behind you, following you wherever you went. when you wanted something done, one of them would actually do the work.
The people did not actually exist. They were created by the planetary computer and were holographic entities given enough energy to be able to manipulate real world objects.
The big problem that no one talked about was that there was no privacy. At least one of the entities was next to you, no matter what you did. One got somewhat used to it, but family members and co-workers never got used to it.
An advantage of having them was you could walk anywhere and no one was going to mess with you. Bad guys faded into the background while you passed as they did not want to mess with the computer, which dealing with the entities would amount to. It was a show of force that had everybody's attention.
Another little problem was that one could not take any transportation, one had to walk everywhere because they could only walk. One had to walk down the middle of the road which really messed up traffic. The nature of the capital required the boss to walk several blocks between different government offices to do the work required.
If it rains, umbrellas the followers somehow always have, pops up to protect the boss and any moving with him.

08 )
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I left for work and it was totally dark. I shut off the last light just before reaching for the door. As I opened the door, this concept brightened my brain.
The aliens tried to devastate the colony planet. They dropped a chemical into the atmosphere that reacted to the nitrogen, creating a thick black heavy cloud. The whole planet to just below the highest mountains was enveloped in a cloud that did not let visible light through.
The planet was devastated, plants died without the light, and animals could not see to find food. The colony was at a point where they were still using manufactured food and not yet dependant on crops for their survival.
A large number of people died, but most of them died due to getting lost and not getting to safety. The colony buildings still pumped out bland sustenance from the food processors, created from crude oil pumped from beneath the surface. There were still tunnels from one building to the other so most of the people never had to go outside.
Garritz worked outside. He and others figured out that the aliens watched for activity on certain wavelengths. The people going out figured out that with special goggles, they could see outside almost like it was daylight. Artificial lights gave off energies on that level, so they shut off all the lights in the room they were leaving from so their leaving the building was not detected. they left from a small room that could have the smoke blown out quickly as the smoke inside the building was not desirable.
Garritz slipped outside and looked around. Aliens had been seen around the colony. He headed out, slipping around a thicker patch of cloud, he headed off to the zoo to feed the animals and check on the green houses.

09 )
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I heard an advertizement for WILDERNESS ADVENTURES. It was a ride through the everglades and swamp and told about all that you can see, some I happen to know would not be seen unless in a cage.
The colony was set up as an art school where people learned arts, crafts, acting, creating things from the raw planet to the finished product. The students studied technology backwards, youngsters learned the highest technological techniques first, and then one learned how to do it with more and more manual methods all the way down to making things with stone tools as older adults.
When they were done, they could make just about anything with even the simplest tools. they, of course, used the high tech stuff when needed.
Their art pushed the limit of what could be done, simply because they had far more tools to make things than most artists. they looked at their art differently than others would. Their art work was worth so much that none of the artists ever left.
The acting explored different styles, genera, and they wrote, directed acted in, and produced their own shows which were sold to the federation networks for big bucks. The art colony very popular and was a wealthy place to live.
The high lords captured the colony just by blasting away the space station in orbit. No one on the planet cared to fight. The high lords saw the artists learning and practicing their crafts and were excited about it. Instead of telling the people what to do, the high lords figured out how to communicate and negotiated to use the colony as a tourist trap. The artists even worked out how to advertize it.
A route was created for tour busses and scenes were set up. Actors and craftsmen set up the scenes. the high lords had to follow a schedule. The high lords flocked to the planet and took the tours. They were told that they would be on an adventure tour and see wildlife in natural habitats.
The tour bus road out into the woods and then passed a caveman camp. The people used stone and wood tools to do all sorts of work. A man was cutting wood with a stone ax. A woman was sewing a fake deer, but to the high lords, it looked like she was skinning it. Young children played games with rocks, while older children gathered around an instructor lecturing to them. The tour bus passed on.
Behind the fake cave entrance was a roman style town. Zambon, the man who worked the wood with a stone, walked into a changing room between them and put on the toga and then settled down with the same piece of wood and started carving with bronze tools.
near where the bus turned around to the back road, a village of a people weaving cloth, working with simple metal implements, carving stone, and again children playing or listening to instructions. The bus went around three sides of that village then headed back into the woods.
The bus reached the next village and it was the Roman style village. Zambon carved the wood while telling stories about how the children were supposed to act when the high lords came by. The high lords saw fake stone pillars, a fake temple, fountains powered by nuclear batteries, men and women in costume.
the bus then entered the forest, went to the end turned onto a next road and headed back the way it came.
Zambon went behind the fake temple, changed into Norse style clothing, sat down and fit his piece of wood in a primitive lathe and started rounding it. The bus went by and saw the Vikings, some men swinging swords at each other with no energy at all, just practicing swinging a sword to feel it make contact. There was a pretty lady there, egging them on. The high lords were excited, commenting at how the primitive creatures were trying to kill each other to win the chance of mating with the female.
Going to the end of the road, the high lords passed an early Renaissance village mostly with farmers scratching the ground with push plows.
Zambon trotted to a dressing room and got dressed as a high Renaissance craftsman, his wood in a more modern lathe to do more shaping on it. Knights in armor marched in formation, some swatting swords at practice poles. there was a duel between two men, moving around but not hitting each other. The high lords were all a twitter.
Zambon waited until the bus was gone and then took his piece of wood across the street and through the back drop.
Several more towns, Zambon now has his machine mounted in a computer controlled lathe and is machining designs into the wood. It was done when the bus passed. He then took his bowl through the backdrop. He dressed as a robot before he passed the woods to the gift shop and set the wood bowl in place on the shelf with a good price on it.
The high lords were allowed off the bus and they went through the gift shop. Moving with the stiff, single joint movements of the robot, he showed objects to the high lords and they made purchases. His bowl was wanted by three people. doing robotic pantomime, he got them to start bidding on the bowl. The high bid was four times the price he had on it. The new owner carried it of with pride. Other one-of art pieces were bid on and went for more money.
The high lords re-entered the bus and left on a side road back to civilization.
Zambon did preparation of the wood at each stage so the computer could finish it up. Every day the artists did this acting job, pretending to be "different creatures" to the high lords, and making good money while they were at it. They learned that the high lords paid far better than the federation did. Their crafts, because of constant practice, became better as they went along.
Because of a deal with the high lords, they still sent their programs to the federation as long as they did not try to slip in hints of what was going on. Since they had a better situation than before, they worked hard to keep it good.

10 )
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Monitors used to get bigger and bigger all the time, though they tend to have stabilized on their size for now. There are advantages to very large monitors, especially for design work. One can have small areas viewed larger, or more on the screen still at a easy to see size.
Of course, touch screens are also popular, along with systems that allow you to move your arms and face and make things move on screen.
I deal with Architectural drawings and have seen problems in the design, by the architects. Most of my problems is in the way they do dimensions. I have heard that Engineers also have design problems in their work.
The idea I had was for a billboard sized monitor. I then realized that was not going to really help a lot. Ah! Lay the monitor down, and have the designers walk on it to view what they need. I then added physical movements and then holographic projection and a lot of problems would be solved.
The monitor is about a hundred feet by two hundred feet in area. That is big enough to design a building in real size. It is in installed in a warehouse that is six stories high.
the designers wear suits that reads all their movements. One designer makes the materials the building is made from, they design two by fours, sheet materials, moldings, even the fasteners. The rest of the designers then take those materials and place them in place, touching a nail to a spot drives it in. Instead of having to climb up on scaffolding or other methods, they move the house down so they can reach what they need to reach. They construct the house in the computer on the screen, board by board, run the plumbing where it needs to go. They have the advantage of being able to pass items through the surfaces to place them, plumbing, wiring, doors, windows.
When they have the house all built and furnished, they can do wind load tests, earth quake tests, live load tests (furniture, people), insect and water damage calculations, and so on. They can see if they need more nails, or clips or need to strengthen something or weaken something. When the building passes all their design tests, and is proved to be right, the dimensions are automatically "pealed off" and construction plans are sent.
On the job, they also get a chip for their holographic headsets so they can go through the job site and see if what they are building matches the design done in the room, and they can also peal off other dimensions if needed. When each stage of the building matches the holographic image, they know it is built right.
Sky scrapers would be done in sections. More care to make sure the views fit needs to be done, but they still make sure it meets the design exactly.
Air planes, cars, yard equipment is built the same way, testing to see how it would be put together and how everything runs. The computers would run them to see where problems might come up.
By walking through their designs, they increase accuracy and speed of design beyond anything made with previous methods.

11 )
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The federation military base was in the country by treaty. Ages ago, they rescued the country and the protective base was given in exchange for saving them.
The nation decided to become an empire, to gain control over the entire region. They expanded out with military speed, overwhelming the intervening nations in just a few days. the empire enveloped the country, the military base defended the base becoming an island in the middle of a hostile enemy.
The empire had the advantage that with most governments it took over, the armies changed their loyalty to the empire and became part of the empire. The country's government and military had somehow made it into the military base and were protected while the nation was taken over.
The federation commanders looked at what would have to be done. All they wanted to do was to extract their military. Discussions with the country's leaders said they would surrender to the empire if it allowed the federation to withdrawal. They would join and fight for the empire if allowed.
The federation told the empire they just wanted to withdrawal their military base, taking all that is federation with them. The empire said they did not like infidel and were going to exterminate them. Much as the federation tried, the empire refused to give on that.
The commanders looked at the situation on the maps. they were going to have to send a force in and extract the base. One route, was direct, across country territory. They would pulverize the route with air power and walk in.
The commanders then realized they did not want to destroy the country. They decided they would come in on the beaches of the empire's original nation and only cross a short bit of the country's territory to get to the base.
With the route selected, they put their forces in motion. the landing was swift and they made it to the point where they turned to the border in almost no time.
The empire suddenly took a stand at the country's border and the attack became backed up. The empire refused to give an inch toward the base. They brought more and more of their forces to keep the invasion force from the base.
After some time, the federation invasion force commander sent a signal to the emperor. "Let us to our base, or we will take your capital and take you captive." The emperor's communication was obscene.
With that, the federation turned into the imperial homelands. Instead of aiming right at the capital, they went wide around it until they met on the other side, then closed the gap quickly.
The invasion force did not stop to set up for a siege. Forces drove into the defenses and some broke through. The federation used the breaches to pump forces in.
Within a few hours of breaching the defenses, the emperor and his entire command was captured. The capitol now belonged to the federation.
The federation showed the captured emperor and demanded the imperial forces surrender. They did not want to follow the federation spokesman, so they made the emperor give the command. Most of the forces finally surrendered and returned home. Some, already in combat mode, refused to give in. A few choice air strikes broke their will.
The federation took over the entire region and reconfigured their governments. Each captured nation was forced to accept a military base on their lands. Their different political, racial, and national natures were examined and new borders were created so each group was within their own borders. Each one had a military base. One nation ended up with four military bases within the old borders.
Beyond maintaining and supplying the military base, the federation withdrew to let the countries settle into whatever they needed to become. They all understood that they could have had their empire to themselves if the emperor had let the federation withdraw the base, and they now also understood what the federation could do if their bases were messed with.

12 )
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The planet was really a giant asteroid operating as an interstellar colony space ship. The asteroid was created artificially and encased the population forming an impervious barrier against space. The asteroid spun which gave the main gravity for the people. the inhabitable area was off center and a glass dome that simulated a sky formed over the area. There was a large "sea" of salt water that held sea life. The only fresh water was pumped out of the rocks.
the rules of the colony was well known and every child was required to learn them early on.
At one side of the bubble was a volcano. It rumbled fairly often. The volcano was actually the cooling chimney for the power plant that kept the planet operating. The cooling steam is blown up into the air onto the ceiling dome, becoming rain which falls on the porous rock of the mountain and is absorbed. Some of the steam falls on the population as rain to water crops. The water works the way down through the porous rock to the reservoir rock near the ocean. The now cooled and filtered water is then pumped back into the system. The water that lands on the surface near the habitat flows into the sea. The sea water does enter the rock opposite the habitation and eventually reach the power plant but it is a slower process as it has to pass through more rock to become properly filtered.
The population below starts growing and happens to be more manufacturing based and now has a desperate need of water for their various activities. As their water needs increase, the approved wells were becoming tapped out. To supply the water, the people started dropping deeper and deeper wells. This water ends up in the ocean, not back in the rocks.
They all knew this was not allowed, because they were required to recite the regulations as part of the rules of the colony. They decided the expansion was more important than the rules.
Over time this causes the water to be taken from the reservoir rocks and then dumped into the ocean. In the high rocks, Salt water starts intruding. This starts getting into the reservoir without all the necessary filtration. Because of the nature of sea water, the minerals of the sea water starts coating the plumbing system of the power plant. the minerals eventually started being blown into the air, coating the sky near the volcano. The minerals seeped into the porous rocks and started clogging them, slowing the seepage of the water into the rocks below.
With the pumping of water, mineral build up and reduction of water entering the system again, The power plant was unable to get the water it needs. The power plant started overheating.
The power plant overheated. the steam pressure went off the scales. The system explodes. The land shakes in a serious earthquake. buildings fall, people are killed by the quake. Since the whole asteroid is jarred by the blast, the ocean sloshes against one side of the basin, then sloshes back. A tsunami hits the village and kills more people.
The explosion below finally forces itself out the volcano, blasting half the top off. The molten metal and rock, mostly from the heat at the mouth, flows down the sides of the volcano. The actual rock was low temperature man made materials. The people still trying to get their wits around them from the quake and the tidal wave, now are showered with hot rocks and then a river of lava flowing in on them.
The power plant shuts down completely what few survivors are left, are suddenly in total darkness, with only the fires from the lava lighting them.
It would be nearly a week before the emergency power finally comes up. It is in a similar system, but on the other side of the asteroid and there are no people there. the people eventually have to depend on distilling sea water for drinking water as the wells are now ruined.

13 )
.
The colony was established by a group of people exploring telepathic skills. they wanted a place where they had absolute control. Their technological society collapsed quickly as they did not have the people with the training to keep it going. They were all selected only for some telepathic potential. several dozen generations later, the people knew they had a latent telepathic ability as a few people actually developed a bit of the skill. Beyond that, the people were quite technological, with internet, radio, television, cell phones, and such. Where they got back to was impressive.
One day Aliens arrived with a major military force. The colony had no military at all and a limited police force. they gave no resistance at all, the leadership handed over the keys, passwords, and combinations and stepped down from power to live among the people. they were not professional politicians anyway.
The aliens induced martial law as they wanted unquestioned obedience. The nature of the people was that they were independent and did not follow the leadership strongly. The aliens did not like that. the aliens shut down the radio, newspapers, and television first thing so no one would have that kind of information.
After a bit, they found out that people were communicating with telephones. The aliens figured out how to shut the system down. The people were still using cell phones so the aliens shut that down. Finally, they eliminated the internet so that no information at all was reached by the people. Since curfews were in place, people were basically isolated from each other. they had no information at all.
The aliens were delivering boxes of a Tofu type material as the food for the people. It tasted horrible but had all the necessary nutrition. The aliens dropped them at the front door of each house and only while taking the food into the houses were they allowed to be outside.
The aliens were building slave factories for the people to work, but needed them isolated until the structures were built.
The people by their nature started thinking along the same thought process. Suddenly they started hearing each other's thoughts since they were working in parallel.
Soon they were talking with each other. People would peek out their windows, concentrate at what they saw, and others saw the same thing. Fairly soon, everybody had a good image of what was going on with the aliens. Experts sent their knowledge to others. The people started preparing, making simple but effective weapons with what they had in the house.
Strategy and tactics were developed. People would read military books they had and passed on what they saw, others understood it better than others and explained it.
When the time was right, they all left their homes. The aliens were caught off guard, both because the people were peaceful, and that it was the entire population working in unison. The battle was short and the aliens put up minimal defenses.
The people took the alien technology and rebuilt their own systems the aliens damaged. Now understanding that they had great telepathic abilities only as long as the majority of the population was on the same thought line, they became of one mind set. They also became telepathically powerful.

14 )
.
I saw heard a commercial for an auto dealership. They said they can get anybody credit. I then remembered a funny country music song where a guy got a job at a auto manufacturer and with the help of friends, stole parts to build his own car. When he had enough parts, his car ended up of all models and years of car parts and looked really strange.
Fester had no skills, no job, no money. He saw an advertizement for a company that guaranteed that they would have financing for a car. all you needed was to walk in.
Fester talked to a number of people and all of them said it was a come-on. They could not do it, no way. he then was talking to a lawyer neighbor and the lawyer was a bit bored at first, then he perked up. He told Fester to give it a try. If they don't give him the car, he will make sure they give him six.
Fester went to the place. It took a while before someone asked if they could help. Fester told about the commercial and wanted financing for his car. they walked around the lot and discussed what kind of car he wanted to get and the features. They then went into the office and went over the paperwork. There was a lot of paperwork involved. He had no idea what he was signing or looking at. He just signed where he was told to.
When the paperwork was done, he was given a stack of papers and then they went out back. The salesman said "We guaranteed that you would get financing for a car. He took a wheel and rolled it over to Fester.
"This is the first part of your car. You make payments as required and you will receive more parts of your car.

15 )
.
The tread on my truck is getting kind of thin. It would be nice to have the tread replenish itself. I had an idea on how this could be done, but have to work out the details while I write about it.
The basic tire is billions of tubes going from the inside to the outside. The tire itself is filled with a liquid, spun at high speeds under pressure which creates the treads and fills the tubes so they can hold air.
The tires are put onto the vehicle. As it drives, the surface is worn off as it goes around corners and friction from changing speeds. The centrifugal forces push the liquid out to the surface where it solidifies instantly and replaces the worn treads. The faster the tire spins, the more tread develops as it will push out on the already solidified surface and that gets pressed flat as it rolls over the surface.
This would be best for racing tires that tends to use "slicks" no tread tires. They use a sticky formula for the rubber so they stick to the surface for maximum adhesion. The sticky rubber is pulled off by the road surface at a high rate so they wear down fast, giving them horrible milage.
This new tire would replace the sticky rubber. they would wear down, but not as fast as they could. The rubber would be worn off badly on the turns, but straights or gentle turns would allow the compound to build up.
Now for this to work, I would presume there was some form of reactant at the end of the tube. It would also need contact with the air to finish the solidification. It would have to be fast as at speed, there would be only fractions of a second from the time it was exposed to the air and have to harden.
I can picture in long races they might refill the liquid, though most likely the tires would be replaced after a given distance as they do now.
I also picture that because of all the fluid in the tire, they would slow the car down early in the race as that fluid has to be spun, and as the fluid gets used up, the tires will become effectively lighter and can spin faster. When I was studying bicycle racing, they said that placing the money in lighter tires is more effective than on a lighter frame as a few ounces off the tire was like a pound on the frame. the tires would get faster as they are driven.
I can also see that the fluid might flow easier when the tires are hot than when they are cold so once the tires are hot, the fluid might build up the treads faster. Of course, the fluid might harden faster if it is hot so for race cars that might be better because they need speed.

16 )
.
The planet had a population that was near the maximum the planet could support. A despot came into power by a coup and found that such a high population that his hold was tenuous indeed. If even one percent of the people within two day's walking distance of the capital decided to take him out, he did not have the weaponry and people to stop them.
The despot started the process of weeding out those who disagreed with his rule. His system was simple. The people were allowed to vote on someone he appointed. The voters had to place their finger print on the one they voted for, then show their finger before the camera to show they voted. the inks were slightly different, not visibly. The ink for the opponent was permanent, so it did not wash off well, and it reflected at a certain wavelength that took weeks to remove. That plus the pictures let the despot's thugs to locate those who voted against him and arrest them.
To handle all the people that needed to be killed, he set up some death centers. People were strapped onto some carts, cranked to the top of a hill and then it rolled down through a series of blades. His scientists worked out the best location of the blades to most effectively dismember the victims so the body parts separate out without being damaged. the parts are processed so perfectly that the population did not know that the foods they were eating in their rations were once some of the population.
As the "ride" gets to the top, The people see the blades and scream as the car drops down the fast slope to their deaths.
Barrington found himself living next to the wall of one of the death camps. Every day and night he heard the screams of people as they fell to their deaths. it really bothered him. He heard it in his dreams and even heard it when he was nowhere near the place.
He gets into the death camp and after studying it a couple days, he disables the system so it won't work after a few more rounds of deaths. he slips out and leaves the area.
He somehow becomes a stowaway on a ship and leaves the planet. he works hard to earn his transport, trudging heavy equipment and boxes on and off the ship.
He is finally dropped off on a peaceful planet where the people are quite wealthy. After a lot of government paperwork and permissions, he is allowed to stay. He gets a good job and is given a place to live.
Very quickly he comes to hate the place. he found himself next to the wall of a death center. He did not think this place had one. There was too much open territory for them to need death centers. their politics don't show they would have them.
There were some periods of the night where the creams of people going to their deaths was not heard. He had to thank goodness for that.
One day Barrington decided he had enough of the place. he was going to find a way to shut it down. he walked the place several times and figured out where he can get in, bypassing the gates and hopefully the security.
During the night, he slips to the secret entry and gets over the wall. He sneaks around until he finds a good hiding place and then naps until it is time for the deaths to start. He figured he would watch the system to figure out the best way to take it out.
it is late morning when he is waken to screams of people falling to their deaths. He slips out and works his way until he can see the death machine. He just stands there. People are riding on a rail in some cars. The cars go up a steep incline, pauses, then drops down a steep drop and the people scream, the cars go and down other hills, making sharp curves, then coming to a stop at the end. the people get out, and more people climb in for the next ride. Also near by is a ride that lifts people really high, then drops them down a slope to come to a slop at the end of a long ramp, only to be pushed back up there for another ride. they do this three times and then the people get out and more get on.
Barrington walks around the place. He blends in perfectly with the people taking the rides. He sees all sorts of things people get onto and scream as they ride it. there is food, games, souvenirs, entertainments. At the end of the day, he finally leaves and goes home. He no longer thinks of the place as a death center. He does petition to move, to relocate away from the screams of the amusement park.
years later, he would pay to go to the amusement park but by then he would not have the panic effect of the screams of death.

17 )
.
Watching a home-remodeling show, the house they were working on was boxy and had no windows for view of the river right behind the house. they said that homes back then were just a destination. They were not intended for being one with nature or enjoying views.
It was an old neighborhood. There was a period where the homes were all abandoned. People started moving in and remodeling them to modern designs. For most homes, it was easy as they had a lot of the features people loved, view of the forest behind them, bright light from the windows, multiple entries on all levels. All they had to do was to improve the power systems and add entertainment systems.
One house was occupied almost continuously. It was a small box with tiny windows, a limited number of doors. Generally, the people who lived there would die and someone else would move in. It was empty only rarely.
The new people moved in and wanted to open the place up. A friend, who is a designer, explained to them that they had a choice of four houses. why would they choose this one which needed rebuilding to look the way they wanted, rather than choosing a house with those features already. He told them to live with the house several years and decide what they really wanted.
Other than changing the power and adding the entertainment system, they left the house as it was, a boxy house with tiny windows and limited doors. There was almost no view of the forest.
The creatures woke. The thoughts of all the people at the edge of the forest talked in their minds in a language they did not understand. It was irritating to no end. At first they snuck to the edge of the forest to see if they could find the cause. Slowly, they picked out the people in the houses. Bright lights, loud noises, and incessant mind jabber. Now that they knew what the cause was, it got worse.
The creatures finally had enough. they tested doors and locks, windows that could open, constantly testing. One family made a mistake and the creatures got in. it took several days for people to notice no one showed up from the house. The entire family laid with faces in agony and horror.
The feeling of ecstasy shot through the creatures now that one group fed. They held back a little bit, then they attacked. One by one, houses were breached and the people died. One house was ignored for the most part because the creatures could not see into it easily. There were few entrances for the creatures to get into. they could not break in because it was well built and of a simple design, few places to really get to anywhere.
It took a couple months, but the neighborhood was empty except for the family in the boxy house with few windows and few entries. Slowly the creatures disappeared. The family stayed put, did their work. they were actually happy that they chose this house and waited to remodel it. The children took over the house when the parents became too feeble, and then when they got old, one of their in-laws moved in. It would be several generations before the neighborhood would be discovered and taken over again, and the creatures woke.

18 )
.
He was a time officer. Among his powers was that he could change his appearance slightly. He always looked like a relative of himself. It is usually enough to put doubt in criminal's minds that he is a time officer they have seen in action.
He searches the bad areas for signs of a crime, purse snatching, pick pockets, muggings, murders. when he sees them, he takes aim and shoots to kill. Once the bullet leaves the gun, he then speeds up, moving through time faster than the world around him.
He walks past his bullet over to his target. He checks to see if there is evidence of the crime, a purse, a wallet, weapon or blood. He will determine who he is dealing with.
If the person has evidence of the crime on them, the time officer will return to where the expanding gasses of his gun is coming from, raises his gun and shuts off his time powers. the bullet hits the target killing them. The time officer can tell his normal partner,. who is waiting within a few blocks away, where the evidence can be found.
If the person is innocent, the time officer will pick the bullet out of the air, waving his hand to break up the shockwave it was creating. He will go back to where he fired the shot, and herd-gather the smoke into a smaller size and slip a bag over it. He then waves his hands to break up the shockwave of the gun's report.
When he shuts down his time acceleration, everybody hears a fluffing pop, the victim will feel like a strong breeze flew all over them. they usually look around and see a man turning away. There is the smell of the bullet's propellant, but it is not strong.
Only certain people get the power of being a time officer. These powers would be a boon for criminals. A mistake can let criminals escape or kill the innocent. They are acting like judges and juries. A criminal with the power could insert evidence on someone who they killed improperly.
They have to be careful when and where they are when they fire. It is not good to be above the target firing down as it is very difficult to pick the bullet out of the air when it is coming from above the victim rather than level at them. they also must make sure they can easily get to their victim, criminal or innocent. time continues to move so they have a limited time to get to the person before the bullet does. They cannot depend on elevators, cars, and doors are a problem.
This power is hard on the body and a time officer can log up a lot of time in accelerated time Their lives and careers are shorted by double that much time.

19 )
.
A biological plant had an accident on the other side of the desert. No one knew what the effect of the escaping biology would be but they knew they would not want to be out when it arrived. All animals and people went to the underground city. the underground city was the original colony habitat. They later got the plants going on the surface and eventually made this part of the desert a lush garden community. The city was not really big enough for all the people, they all went below and out of the planetary atmosphere.
The politicians decided they just had to pass some laws involving this release. The information and materials were in the government building. Against everybody's recommendation, the entire government went back into the atmosphere and into the government building to pass their laws and do the work involved in the laws.
The biology arrived. communications with the government was horrid as they were in pain, hacking coughing, no one could tell anybody what was happening. No one could speak, but they all made sounds.
A week had passed when the first real words was heard from the government center. "It looks like the effects are over. We have changed, though."
Launched Science probes sampled the air and they found that the ocean destroyed any signs of the biological contaminants. Signs of the biological contaminants on the surface was also gone. Slowly, a few people went out and searched, checking for effects. The whole population was on the surface before anybody went near the government center.
They were shocked to find that the people of the government had changed. they looked like a different race. A few tests showed that they were infectious.
To keep the infection inside the government building, "taxes" in the form of food, supplies, equipment, would be given and they would stay inside.
After a time, a few young people really wanted to be in government. There could be no government outside the government center. Making a decision, several entered the government center. those inside made sure they were fully infected. they went through the painful conversion, and then let people know they were alive.
Over time, just a few people wanted to be in government. Going through permanent changes was something they did not want to do After a time, those inside the government threatened the community that they would start leaving the building if they did not send people in to replenish their losses. people were forced to "sacrifice" their children to the government.
This slowly became a religious act, sacrificing children to the god to protect the people. The original reason was eventually forgotten. All they knew was the center was run by monsters and the monsters gave commands and laws, and one had to give supplies, equipment and the children to keep them happy.

20 )
.
The cars are sort of a boat. They follow the flow of jets set in the pavement. the drivers do have some controls, speed up, slow down, change lanes, but it is not as efficient as tires on the road. Their speeds are not great.
There is times where something happens and the flow of the traffic is disrupted. The cars will bang into each other and the bumpers on the side of the road. The cars are well built since they just need to float some, so there is seldom serious damage.
Karl could not seem to get or keep a job, his bills and drug habits was more than he could possibly afford. He took to a life of crime, breaking into homes, pick pocketing, snatch thefts.
He rebuilt his car. It had tires on the bottom so it could roll where the traffic flow would not allow, and he added powerful propellers when the water was deeper than his tires. He had a little engine to move him along with normal traffic, and a powerful fuel eating engine to really move. He made interior changes to give him places to stow his loot so it would not be easily noticed or quickly found.
He stopped at a store and saw the manager counting up some money. He put a gun to the man's head and took all the money. He could tell at a glance it was more than he ever stole before in his life.
He dashed out of the store and got into his car. He saw a police car entering the parking lot at one exit. He started his powerful engine and drove over the curbs and across the parking lot as fast as he could go. Because of his speed, the water built up in front of him carried him over the worst of the things that would stop him if he were going slower.
He got onto the highway and saw a police car. He powered by him, propellers whirling for his main thrust and the spinning wheels to give him a little speed when he touched bottom.
He zigzagged between other cars. His wash shoving them sideways. the police car tried to follow. He blasts out of the knot of cars and about a mile up the road, turns off to a side street, not to be followed.
the cars bounce side to side, twisting around, the police car gets bottled up with the knot of cars. they eventually have to come to a complete stop before they can get going again.
Karl stop his life of crime for quite a while with the money he stole. By the time he runs out of his money, he changed his life and no longer had to commit crimes to live.

21 )
.
The First Lady's plane had a close call while landing. there was discussion of what it would mean to the upcoming elections. I got a different take on what would really happen. It is commonly said that the first lady is really in charge, telling the president what to actually do. If the first lady were to die, the president would have lost his brain.
The presidential elections look the same as anywhere else, but there is a difference in the process. While it is not written in the constitution, The leadership is much different. the First lady is the head of government, while the president is the head of state. His job is to be the ceremonial head of the government, to meet dignitaries, people, appear at occasions, any place a leader is expected to put on a public face.
The first lady actually makes the decisions of the executive branch of the government. She chooses who is appointed, signs or vetoes all the laws that come from the congress. The first lady signs the actual bills and then the president does the public show of signing it.
An election council will search the country for married couples where the wife is competent enough to be president without consideration for their political affinity. Political parties will then search the lists for their political affinity. The party bosses will then run a series of primaries to weed out the husbands with the weakest personalities until they have their presidential candidate.
The parties would then compete with each other for the strongest husband who will be the president, and the first lady to be the head of state. the public never knows about the actual design of the government except for under certain situations.
The first lady is leaving from heavy negotiations with the governess of the state (States have the same rules where the governor is the ceremonial leader while his wife actually runs the state). The first lady's plane was coming in for a landing, Another plane took off from the wrong runway and the planes hit head on. No survivors.
The president is in shock. Government is in disarray. Since the first lady is the one who actually runs the government, the leadership is cut off.
There are two things that might happen, depending on who the president is. Most would say that they are unable to concentrate on their job and resign as president, letting the vice president take over. A few, though, refuse to give up the office. The vice president's wife then becomes the first lady.
To the public who don't understand the true nature of their government, it is strange that the vice president's wife "marries" the president without divorcing the vice president. None of them are bothered by the arrangement, It is a scandal that follows all three of them. The public does not realize that the first lady's duty is not actually being the wife.

22 )
.
The time cops traveled time collecting serious criminals. Their enforcement was only within a certain couple centuries.
One of their weapons was the time stop grenade. It stopped time in a small area. Actually, it did not effect time at all. The time cops had implants within them that accelerated them when the time stop grenade was used. they could move around while the world around them was stopped.
The grenades sent out a detectable effect that pinpointed when it was used so the time cop forces could arrive at that location in case some criminal was using the time stop grenade to commit crimes.
The time cops, when in uniform had the ability to pass through walls and appear in any room in any building and leave again, all with the same effect of being under a time stop grenade. This all made them very effective.
Vandanbelt was once a time cop but had to leave the force. He gave up everything except for a time stop grenade that he carried with him everywhere he went. He figured he deserved one last chance escape in case he got into serious trouble.
He traveled time, wandering various world at different times. He looked and acted like a drifter and that was all he was. It bothered few people. The time cops traced his travels and his travels did not bother them either.
He was in what was called a peaceful society. Such societies forbid deadly force by anybody including the police. It did not matter how violent the suspect was, the police had to apprehend them peacefully. In such societies, their methods worked fine.
Vandanbelt stopped at a bar in a peaceful society and had shown his money before he ordered his drink. He sat drinking, relaxing when local constables showed up and started hassling him. The bartender told them to leave Vandanbelt alone. They got rougher, and grabbed Vandanbelt and dragged him out of his seat, spilling his drink. He demanded they pay for his drink and they dragged him into the back room.
Once in the back room, he pushed back, sending the constables flying against the wall. his training as a time cop made him a good fighter.
A constable reached for his weapon. Vandanbelt grabbed a constable and pulled the man in front of him as he dove for the back wall. The rest of the constables drew their weapons. As one, they fired.
Vandanbelt felt the energy hit him in the chest through his hapless shield. The man slumped. the constables aimed again. they were not going to miss.
Vandanbelt drew out the time grenade and released the trigger. He tossed it lightly into the air between him and the constables. One of them fired, the grenade went off, the beam froze in space.
Vandanbelt knew the time cops would be there in moments, so he started reporting at the top of his lungs, "this is a crime scene, wait for the detectives to gather evidence. On his third repeat, a time cop appeared at a doorway. He continued to repeat it. Soon there had to be a dozen time cops around him, waiting to enter the room. An officer pushed his way to the door. Vandanbelt repeated his phrase one last time.
"What crime would warrant a time grenade?"
Vandanbelt pointed to the man he was still holding, the beam from the gun, he said that if they checked the weapons, they were all modified illegally. He also described what caused the incident to happen.
Detectives arrived and checked everything over, checking the energy level of the round from the blaster. Vandanbelt told them that someone in the constable command knew that the changes were happening and authorized it. The person directly above that one person should have known it was going on and is just as guilty of the murder of the man he was still holding. The energy beam moved a foot.
The beam moved another foot closer when word came out that they found evidence that the high leader of the land knew about the modification to the weapons and that most of the weapons were already modified.
A time cop detective took hold of Vandanbelt and pulled him away from the man he was holding. Vandanbelt had stayed there both as evidence he was not trying to get away from anything and in case they deduced the shot would not kill. With him out of the way, they shoved the already dead man's body into the energy of the shot to absorb all of it, then carried the body away. The time cops arrested the constables. they would not know what had happened, they would simply find themselves suddenly in prison and in chains.
The time cops then disappeared. The detective was the last one to leave. He reached into a pocket and handed Vandanbelt another time grenade. "keep your eyes open," indicating that Vandanbelt was still really a time cop and should keep his eyes open for other kinds of crimes.
Vandanbelt picked up a piece of wood and let go of it. He stood there for a long moment, then it sped up until it hit the floor at a normal speed. He was no longer effected by the time grenade.
He walked back out alone. He was asked where the constables were. He said he convinced them that they dealt with the wrong person and they are now gone. they had heard the fighting and the shots. A cook glanced in the room and while the room had no outlet, there were no constables.
Vandanbelt handed his money to the bartender for his drink and another, and the bartender waved him off, giving him a drink. "Both are on the house."
Vandanbelt got word that nearly half the government had suddenly disappeared just before he skipped to another time and place.

23 )
.
The commanders of the two armies met between the lines. The commander of the lords sneered. "I have a swords of death, created with the most potent magic possible."
The forest leader waved that off as if it was nothing. "I have five thousand handled metal, sharpened for stabbing and slashing."
"I have five thousand warriors who have spent decades each to learn their crafts."
"I have a thousand men who have spent the year learning how to slash, stab and block, and move as a group, and fight without killing each other."
"My warriors have magically protected armor to make them near invincible."
"My men have clothing with hardened protection where we figure we will most likely be hit.
"We have magically guided arrows launched by master bowmen."
"We have sharpened sticks with hard points launched by sprung wood with a cord between the ends. My men have gotten good enough to hit what they aim at most times they fire them.
"We have spears with points that will pierce the soul of their victims."
"We have sharpened poles that we can throw and they will stick into wood."
The general of the lords was a bit bothered. He was trying to impress this youngster that they should surrender to superior forces and the forest leader was not acting impressed.
The commander of the lord finally turned away. "It is time, then, for your scum to die."
"As long as it is after the death of yours, I don't mind at all." The general skipped a step and then lead his captains back to his line. The forest commander returned to his.
"Remember what we practiced. Our survival depends on you doing your part. Protect those around you." the forest commander said as he gave last minute orders to his underlings.
The lords marched on the waiting forest people. The forest people held their position, just waiting. The general ordered his archers forward. they took position. They then took aim. The general lifted his hands. As his hand started to move down, The forest people lifted wooden shields and crouched behind them. The arrows flew straight and true. they hit the shields and stuck. Several dozen forest people dropped in death. The forest people then launched their arrows between the shields.
A quarter of the arrows missed, but of those that hit, There were a hundred kills. The lords fired, then the forest people, three more times. The lords lost more men. The general ordered charge. As the lords closed in, More arrows flew. As the lords nearly reached the lines, The forest men lifted some long lances for the lords to run into. Some of the lords made it past the lances only have to get past a shield with several men behind them. The weapons of the forest men found their way into weak spots on the armor of the lords.
The lords withdrew, they had lost nearly two thousand men in that attack. The general was really surprised at the effectiveness of the forest people.
the forest people dropped the big wooden shields and marched forward. Their shields were metal.
The general then realized that all deaths were instant, not a wounded lord anywhere. he pulled out a spent arrow from a dead lord. The lords around him gasped. The forest people were using iron. The lord's magic was not effective against iron.
he looked at the forest people as they marched forward. They were in line, marching in step, shields gleaming. They moved as one. The general gave warning that the magical armor might not be effective. He then ordered a charge. The lines of forest men changed, becoming a series of points. The lords ran with their all, screaming and shouting to be frightening. They ran into a wall of heavy spears thrown at them. When the two lines met, there were a lot of lords laying dead. The lords met the wall of soldiers and found how effective the broken lines were against their charge. Those who got into the valley was attacked on all sides.
The forest men fought with reasonable skill, and because they fought as a team, they appeared to be extremely good.
the lords withdrew and attacked four times. When they withdrew the last time, they had less soldiers than the forest men had. The general ordered a retreat. The forest men, using imitation armor and weapons, turned out to be more effective than real weapons and armor.

24 )
.
Carradine was cursed. He was given eternal life. It was wonderful for a few generations, but it became old. He did not have full healing from injuries and his body was wearing down. He was tired of living, though there was that which kept him alive.
He was walking alone on a trail and a bandit leaped out. "Your money or your life."
Cardamine looked at the man and shook his head. "You may take my life." With those words, he suddenly knew what he needed to do. He stepped forward, grabbed the blade of the man and shoved it into his heart. He then forced the blade up into his head. He was suddenly free.
The Bergious was shocked when the man took the blade out of his hand, and he staggered back when the man put himself to death in such a ghastly way.
Reached down and touched the dead man to see if he was really dead. He was hit by lighting that crossed the distance between the two men. When he stood back up, he knew he had been cursed. He did not know how, though. He gathered the man's belongings, and tossed the body deep into the forest.
He continued to be a bandit, but something inside him prevented him from saying "Your money or your life." He was afraid he would be cursed again.
He would not know the full extent of the curse until he saw his brother's children look older than him.

25 )
.
It was a research station on a planet. The atmosphere outside was not breathable, so they were all inside, and under ground. Only the landing pad and entry were on the surface.
Generally, people starting their careers, those who were ending their careers and those who were sent someplace so they would not be seen, were members of these teams. These were people with little or no rankings, basically given this job as last chance kind of project.
Vincent was not quite right. He had survived some very difficult missions that effected his mind. He talked about magic and powers, he would pose like a muscle man, even though he was thin. Most people would humor him and then go about their business. He wore two long knives on him which he said were magic blades of battle. "good for you, keep them in the sheaths."
Beyond that, the group settled into a comfortable routine where there were few if any clashes, and everybody did their job to the best of their skills.
There were there about a year when energy people opened a portal in the wall and entered the research center. One by one, people were found dead, horror on their faces, big red spots on their chest.
The energy beings got to a number in the research station to where they went into an all out attack. The researchers defended themselves, but nothing they did, did even harmed the energy beings though it did delayed them.
Vincent was sort of kept back for some reason, no one letting him forward. The remaining survivors were trapped in the corner of an open room.
Vincent pushes to the front. He pumps like a muscle man. "I feel the power, I am the power" he shouted. He drew his knives and brandished them. "These are blades of power!"
He marched forward like a robotic warrior. No one said anything. The entities attacked him. He swung his knives with what resembled expert skills. One of the women behind him screamed as blood splattered and body parts fell off as he hacked into them. He was actually killing them.
He fought his way through the entities, leaving a bloody trail. A young girl followed him, warning him when she saw something he might have missed.
He followed their retreating forces to the entry. He saw one poke a head out and slip back in. He cleared the area of any of the entities, then held his knife back for a stab. he was shaking as he held his blade tight, then he stabbed the wall with a scream. The blade went into the wall to the hilt. He held it there a long moment, then jerked it out with another yell. He pumped, then searched the building for any entities that might have gone another direction. He found a couple. He seemed to know where they were.
He finally returned to the survivors. The girl was covered in splatter. she said it seemed as if there were none of the entities left.
He pumps, and holds his blade up high, saying he had the power, then sits down on the floor, exhausted. The girl helps him get cleaned up while the others gather the remains and clean the mess he left. '
A few months later, the team is retrieved. the entity bodies and the bodies of the dead are taken up with them. While there is a lot of charges of killing the team members, the evidence is overwhelming.
Vincent is given psychoanalysis and then sent to another station with a new team. They do not know if it is him causing it or he just happens to be in the right place, but he seams to always end up where a super hero is needed.