CatastrophicFailure

Yup, there was quite the twitter on Twitter about it last nite. I checked the radar map myself out of curiosity and sure enough, long string of thunderstorms south of the Cape. This. More than anything, getting in too deep with NASA and it’s congressionally-wielded strings would sap the power from SpaceX and instead shift it to Congress, and that would mean delays and cost overruns. Which is not to say there won’t be such anyway, but they would be far, far worse. It’s the same reason we’ll never see SpaceX as a publicly-traded company, that would shift the power away from Musk and his like-minded team and into the hands of shareholders and a board of directors. Partnering with NASA will no-doubt be beneficial, but so will keeping them at arm’s length while doing so, rather like the current arrangements.

Right. In. The. Pickle. Barrel.

Yes, it’s Banga, they just mentioned it. Woohoo! Finally, a rocket launch when I’m home and mostly conscious! Big screen time!

It does work! Even on mobile! Tho it does seem one needs to click the + icon on the post they’re quoting into in order to get the pop up, then remove the unwanted quote.

You just know there’s some arcane rituals involved at some point. And incantations. Lots of incantations. And possibly a blood sacrifice...

Veeeeery interestink...

Soot cleaned off for inspection... or a coded message to aliens? Theres also this... ...wonder if I could trade for that bridge I’ve been holding on to...

Let’s hope they have that motor controller issue finally figured out.

Once again, too awesome! Finally, KSP subs done right. Love the breach at the end, “fly, Big B, fly!” Now you just need Sean Connery to do a voiceover.

And cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. Astronauts need cheese.

I doubt it exists yet, in anything approaching a finished state. I’m expecting The flight article for the unmanned test to be a pretty stripped down affair inside, and the crew test article probably isn’t nearly that complete yet.

Year 10, Day 302... Picking up where we left off, our stalwart crew of LeeLenna, Gilfrey, Ferdin, and Hadald aboard the good ship Bob have arrived at Iota! Oddly enough, seemingly without consuming any resources at all... Ho, boy. Um... someone get Triti in an airplane heading that direction. Might want to have her bring some bear spray. You know, for seasoning...

@DAL59 um... your post broke, bruh...

Aaaaaand this is exactly why I live in a place where we can call 80° a heat wave. I have no idea how I ever survived 18+ years in the desert... I never saw a 90+ temp accurately where I’m at, tho I wouldn’t be surprised if we hit it. My house is in one of those extra-mild “microclimates” and according to my weather station it only topped the high 80’s. You can post from Imgur on mobile, but you have to use the direct .png link, then use the “insert other media” button, direct pasting won’t work.

So, @Just Jim, serious question here, as long as it’s not verboten. Who do you actually work for? Is it SQUAD or TakeTwo? If it’s the former, are there any unusual tax situations since it’s not a US employer? It’s fascinating to me how Squad has all these employees who’ve never actually been in the same building together.

Greetings fellow “dying in this 80-degree heatwave” wetlander! Pix or it didn’t happen.

Twice and twice he is blinded, Twice and twice he plays the fool. Once the fool, for his ignorance, Twice the fool, for his arrogance. Chapter 24: Telling Stories Dibella Kermanov blinked. Then she did it again. And when that didn’t seem to help at all, she turned around and retrieved a bottle from the shelf, the sort all Ussaris had on a shelf somewhere, and poured a splash into her teacup, drinking it in a single long, slow draught. Then she thought a moment, refilled the cup from the bottle, and gulped it all down at once. She replaced the bottle, and went back to rubbing her temples. “I know how it sounds...” Edgas offered sheepishly. “Do you, now?” came a response as flat as a board. “No, it is true,” Valentina protested, “every word of it,” she then turned to Edgas, “how did you ever last three months on the Mün? I do not think I was there three hours, and was sure I had gone mad!” He shook his head, “looking back, I don’t even know. But... Burdous and I never saw a trace of anyone else when we went back, everything looked untouched except the old Isfjell stage.” “Er, yes, I may have had something to do with that...” “You broke the solar panel?” Edgas scowled at her. “Well I was in a bit of hurry!” she shot back, “trying not to go completely mad, remember?” Then more quietly, “you did not go back inside the base, yes?” “No, why would—“ he looked at her, “did you go rifling through our stuff??” “I was looking for, I do not know, clues, or something! And water. I had a bit more on my mind than...” About this time, the two noticed Dibella staring at them again. She sighed, and shook her head, “it’s like you’re both telling books from the same story...” Edgas and Valentina looked at her, looked at each other... then looked very intently at the wall, and shrugged. “What? What are you looking at?” she followed their gaze. The two just shook their heads... then when she wasn’t looking, put fingers to their lips and winked at the wall. Dibella went back to rubbing her temples, “let me see if I have this straight. Edgas— all those years ago, Layland-Wutani sent you, Edmund, and Billy-Bobrim to the Mün, not to search for minerals but to investigate some sort of artifact of unknown origin—“ “Shadowwell,” Valentina said soberly. Dibella just gave her a look, and continued, “and when the other two went to it, they came back... possessed?” she shook her head, “for poor Billy-Bobrim, it did not... take, only drove him mad, but Edmund, he became—“ “Shadowbearer.” Dibella shot her a look again, “...and when you returned, he began orchestrating some grand conspiracy with the corporation, the KSA, the Imperium, and who knows who else, all while spreading this... corruption to others—“ “Shadowstained.” “Gah!” Dibella shot at Valentina, “enough already with all the shadowy... shadows!” “Sorry,” Valentina said sheepishly, yet Edgas was sure he could see discomfort in the senior kerbelle’s eyes beyond mere annoyance. “And you, Tia,” Dibella’s tone softened, “you got mixed up in it after someone tried to kill you?” Valentina nodded, “I saw something in orbit I was not supposed to, they came for me when I kept looking...” “And the Political Officer... saved you...” Again, she nodded. “‘Papers, please!’” Dibella intoned, “‘Glory to Arstotzka,’ that guy?” Another nod. Dibella just shook her head, “and was mortally wounded in the scuffle, but before he passed, he sent you to Kleptogart to find Anastasia Kerman.” Now, Dibella and Edgas shared a look, yet she continued, “and she finally pointed you to Edmund Kerman, who tried to... do whatever it was, to you...” Feeling the flash of guilt far too close, Edgas reached over and squeezed Valentina’s hand. “He did not know who I am,” she said, looking down, “I did not know, either. I could have saved him, saved everyone, stopped the whole stupid mess right there...” Dibella reached over and took her other hand, empathy brushing away her confusion. Now it was Edgas who pressed on, hating himself a little for poking at a wound that, he could feel, was even deeper. “But before you could, you were conveniently rescued again,” he said cautiously, “by someone called... Igor...” She nodded, avoiding the other two’s eyes, “...who was working for them all along. He brought me back to the Kommissar, who was not. He sent me to the Mün, to the Shadowwell, which chased me away after showing me... terrible things...” “And when you returned, the Kommissar then sent you to the Grand Tour ship, already under construction years before anyone knew about it,” Dibella shook her head once more, “and you ended up stranded in deep space, locked in hibernation, for all this time, after you were betrayed by Jerdous Kerman.” “He was behind the whole thing, everything, from the very start,” Edgas added. “You eventually found your way to Edmund, too,” Dibella looked at him, “he tried to... corrupt you, and you killed him in self defense.” A nod, “Chadvey bailed me out of jail, said he could make everything go away if I wanted, make it like it was... I’m still not sure who he was working for, but knowing him probably none of the above. He brought me to the ship, the four of us, Jerdous and Burdous, too, made our way to Bop...” “And Jerdous betrayed you, too. He killed Chadvey, tried to kill,” Dibella shuddered, rolled her eyes, “Burdous Kerman, then tried to release... the Kraken?” “Yog-Sothoth” “Camazotz.” "Ba'alzacropth." Edgas and Valentina stared at each other. Dibella stared at them both. “It has so many names...” Valentina began. “And most of them have too many consonants in a row to really pronounce. ‘Kraken’s’ as good as any...” Edgas finished. Dibella pressed fingers to her temples again, “but Edgas, you... stopped it, killed it—“ “No,” he said, “not killed.” “It cannot die,” Valentina added, “it is not precisely alive, not in any way we can understand.” Edgas nodded, “but it’s gone, now. Sealed away again,” he smiled, “it can’t threaten the world ever again.” Dibella gave him a considering look, “and when it was all done, you returned with the cache of documents Jerdous Kerman gave you, and...” she leaned back, taking in a long breath. At length she began again, “a monster, waiting to be released by a madman, so it can gobble up the world... or... whatever it does... I am struggling to believe that, but everything else...” She returned a piercing eye to Edgas, “all this time, you were really the Chessmaster. You leaked the information that led to the downfall of the Layland-Wutani executives. You brought down politicians the world over. You legitimized that entire mess with the hidden Ceriman space port and the ship, and instead turned it into the greatest accomplishment Kermankind has ever known, opening up the solar system to exploration, science, industry...” Edgas shrank back a bit, feeling his cheeks flush. “...And with all that you could be, you hide away at the North Pole.” Dibella leaned forward, placing a hand on his, “Edgas, why? I have seen more than most, and what I have seen of the information you have is, no doubt, barely a trifle! Why continue to hide it? To manipulate the world’s perception, even if it is for good? Surely in all you have, you have the proof, the truth of what is out there beyond what we can understand, and how close we all came to the brink because of it. For Edmund’s memory, for Chadvey’s... If the Monster is real, then why not drag it out of its hole and into the light?” He studied the floor for a long time before responding, “people aren’t ready. I don’t know that they ever will be,” he looked up, some trick of the light half-hiding his face in shadow, “reality is a fragile shell over the truth. But people need that shell, they depend on it. I’ve seen only a glimpse of that truth, and it nearly broke me—“ Then he suddenly turned to Valentina, “and somehow, I think you’ve seen even more,” he shook his head, “people need that filter, those shadows on the wall. They aren’t ready to turn around and see the Truth, ‘cuz that would mean looking directly into the Light beyond it... and maybe going blind from it.” He sighed, “in the wrong hands, the truth is a dangerous thing.” “Edgas!” Dibella scoffed. “You saw what just a small portion did to the Union...” Valentina perked up, her eyes cascading across the walls and windows, “wait, what? What has happened to the Union?” “It’s gone,” Edgas said, “the Ussari Union no longer exis—mmrflgrph—“ She slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes still scanning the room, “you must not say such things!” “It’s true,” Dibella added, “the watchers, the listeners, the Imperium... they’re all gone. This is a free country, now,” then added under her breath, “mostly.” Valentina stared in disbelief for a long time, oblivious to Edgas’s muffled appeals for air, “that... that is impossible! Union is stonk, like bool, ever Glorious!” Dibella just raised an eye... bulge at her. Finally she whispered, “but... how..?” Edgas managed to dislodge her hand, “yeah, um... I... may have had something to do with that.” Valentina’s head snapped to him so fast her neck crackled like a certain rice-based breakfast cereal, “what?! You?!” She gave Dibella a pleading look. The other kerbelle cracked the faintest smile, “no, he is right about that too.” Valentina slumped back in her seat, looking completely bewildered. Dibella fixed her a fresh cup of tea, with an extra splash from the bottle, which she downed just as quickly. “Come, now, Tia,” Dibella handed her another cup, “surely you could see the fractures beginning even in your time.” A stern look froze the instinctive protest on before it could form on Valentina’s lips. Dibella added, “I suppose... it could be said you had a hand in it as well...” “Ididnosuchthing!” Valentina snapped, her eyes wide and rolling, “I am loyal servant of the Imperium!” Dibella cocked an eye... bulge at her again. “No, the fractures were always there, like stress risers in a fan blade just waiting for a little too much heat and tension,” Dibella said thoughtfully, studying her tea, “one... could say the failure... the release began... at your funeral.” Valentina looked up. Dibella kept eyeing her cup, “a lone stranger appeared atop one of the statues in the Square, playing a foreign hymn on bagpipes...” “...Bagpipes?” “Yes, bagpipes,” she continued, “there was... some confusion, but before he could be apprehended, one by one the band joined in. And then the choir joined in. And then the crowd joined in, and by then there was no stopping it. “There were, of course, consequences,” she shook her head, “and no one said anything. This, we do not speak of. But... something had changed. It was slow, and subtle, but it was there.” She dropped to a hushed tone, “And soon, people began to whisper. And then they began to speak. And then they began to shout in the streets! The Imperium cracked down on each wave, of course, but the more they tightened their grip... the more control seemed to slip through their fingers. And this time, thanks to these things,” she produced a transparent sheet of glass that was somehow also quite pink, “the world was watching.” Dibella raised an amused eye... bulge, “and about this time, Edgas came along with his little bombshell.” With a gasp, Valentina’s eyes popped wide. She spun around and seized Edgas’s collar with both hands, “you blew up the Imperium?!” “Well no, not exactly,” he struggled free from her grasp, taking her hands in his, “I’d found some things in that box, about Anastasia Kerman...” her eyes grew wider, “...including a pair of DNA tests. She was born Tatiana Alexandra Kira Kermanov, the Ussari Empress’s long-lost daughter.” Valentina slowly raised a hand to her mouth. “Of course,” Edgas mumbled to himself, “no one could ever explain just how she got lost...” “The Imperium had been learning, too,” Dibella said, “and now they took a page from the Foreigners’ book. Edgas was showered with attention and national gratitude, became an overnight celebrity here. For his tireless as selfless work to return the memory of little Tatiana to the Motherland,” she gave a little roll of her eyes, “he became the first foreigner ever named as Hero of the Ussari Union.” “But...” Valentina now raised an eye... bulge, “why?” “They thought if they dazzled me with boloney I’d go away happy and not look any closer at what I had,” Edgas added his own eye roll. “Yes, so unfortunate about the poor girl, murdered in such a dangerous place by a miscreant, and the crime never solved by the simple foreign police. Such things never happen in our glorious Union, after all. But for a time, he did go away,” Dibella gave Edgas a nod, “while this new wave of national pride swept the country, and people forgot all about their silly ideas of reform. And just as that wave started to ebb, a new opportunity presented itself to the Imperium, and once again they borrowed strategy from the Foreigners. “A rocket launch, a very important, televised, mandatory-viewing rocket launch, suffered a @CatastrophicFailure. The crew were saved by their abort rockets, but some very expensive hardware for a new Münar orbital station was lost, all due to a defective liquid hydrogen pipe that had been manufactured in Gytep. Upon further inspection, the entire lot was found to have critical flaws. The Imperium used the incident as a pretext to annex the entire country.” “What?” Valentina scoffed, “just... just like that?” “They thought they could keep riding that wave of patriotism and distraction, and spur it even further. This, of course, led to some... tense moments with the rest of the world, but the Gytepi themselves were oddly patient about the whole thing,” Dibella gave Edgas a look, “but not even a deluge like that could extinguish the spark. “Foreign media, smart phones, the global computer network... it was becoming ever more pervasive, ever more impossible for the Imperium to control. When the flames rose again, it was not merely protests in the streets but mass demonstrations. Technology allowed huge numbers of people to gather in an instant, then disappear into the cities just as quickly when the authorities showed up. “The Imperium was becoming desperate, so they doubled down on what had worked so well so far. They created some nonsense about Ussari peacekeepers taking fire from South Erakonia across the Demilitarized Zone, and used it as a pretext to launch a full-scale military invasion of the old,” Dibella rolled her eyes, “rebel province.” Valentina just stared, “why would they do a fool thing like that? Everyone knows what happened the last time...” Dibella nodded, “the South Erakonians had not forgotten, either. And they had been quite busy the last couple of decades. The Glorious Crimson Army, Ever Victorious!.. advanced quickly, up to a point. And then the attacks would come from the rear, the sides, the middle... everywhere at once, leaving the army nowhere to go but forward, then the attackers would just seem disappear into thin air. This went on for weeks, official media always reporting the vast gains of our glorious forces, while the true toll trickled in in bits and bytes. “It wasn’t until an entire division was engaged deep within the country that the South Erakonians began to fight for real. The Crimson Army continued to advance, but they paid a dear price for every meter they took, leaving nothing but ruins behind to occupy. They won every skirmish, yet still seemed to be losing the conflict. Then a new rash of attacks began: far behind the front, on the Army’s supply lines back in North Erakonia. “The North had finally tired of watching the Imperium’s treatment of their southern cousins. And with their open resistance, the world beyond finally tired of the situation as well. Aid began to pour in to the peninsula, first through third parties and then by flagged vessels: food, medicine, eventually even munitions. It all culminated in a bold maneuver by the same group of nations signed to the KSA treaty. They granted diplomatic recognition to the new Republic of Erakonia. A single, sovereign, unified nation... which the Ussari Union was now occupying in violation of established international law.” Valentina seemed to be processing several steps behind, but pressed on none the less, “that... could not have gone over well...” “It didn’t. It made the tension over the Gytep situation seem like a minor trade dispute. For two days, the entire world seemed on the brink of an unprecedented global war,” Dibella smiled, “but in the end, it was the Imperium who blinked first. They granted Erakonia its independence, and agreed to withdraw their troops. Many of whom flatly refused, deserting in the night and pleading asylum from the very same people they had been fighting with days before. The rumors had already started by then, you see, that the returning troops would be deployed across the Union to pacify the spreading unrest.” She smirked at Edgas, “and then this guy shows up again.” Edgas jerked as if surprised, “er, yeah... it took me longer, but I’d uncovered something... important, buried in all those files. What the Imperium had been tacitly trying to keep me quiet about in the first place. I knew what really happened to Anastasia all along, but so did they. Jerdous Kerman hadn’t acted alone, they’d given both him and Edmund material and financial support to try to get rid of her, and they’d pressed Edmund especially hard on the matter. They wanted her assassinated.” He felt the twinge of pain and anger from Valentina across the bond, but in her eyes, he could see the wheels begin to turn. “You remember your political history classes, yes?” Dibella asked, “what is the one thing that could invalidate the Agreement, the foundation of the Union and linchpin of the Imperium’s power?” Valentina stared off at nothing, repeating by rote, “the Royal Family is herewith granted protection from all harm, in perpetuity...” Leaning in, Dibella said, “the Imperium conspired— with Foreigners, no less- nooffense-nonetaken— to assassinate the heir apparent to the Imperial throne.” She leaned back, “and probably not for the first time, but this time, everyone knew about it.” “There was a mass march on the Fortress, it dwarfed any demonstration anyone had seen so far,” Edgas added, “and a certain young firebrand apparatchik started making a name for herself about then, too.” He picked up a tablet sitting on the shelf and began tapping. “Er... no... Edgas, please do not—“ Dibella protested. “C’mon, she’s got to see this,” he said with a mischievous grin, swiping something to a wall that became a screen. Dibella raised a hand to her face and blushed furiously. Fury continued from the unseen speakers, as a moving image resolved itself: the Imperium sat, godlike as ever, high in their suspended gallery in a vast and ornately trimmed room. All around angry voices cried out, and standing at a podium before the Might of the State, one particular voice was picked up by the microphone. Valentina listened... then she gasped. Then she gasped louder. Then she nearly shrieked, eyes wide above a hand pressed to her mouth. Then... she squinted, “is... is that a shoe?” “Yes,” Dibella mumbled into her own hand. She squinted harder, “but... you do not wear shoes like that, that is a Kerb’s shoe...” “Not quite sure where I got it,” still talking to the hand, “bit of a spur of the moment thing, lots of emotions running around...” “Yes,” Valentina agreed, “shoeless, it seems.” The video tirade continued, the diminutive figure airing a long list of grievances and concerns never responded to, replete with references to Union law and Imperious traditions, before calling the looming masters out one by one, “PЦTIЙ! PЦTIЙ! PЦTIЙ! PЦTIЙ! PЦTIЙ! PЦTIЙ! PЦTIЙ! PЦTIЙ!” Valentina, by this point, was reduced to little more than disjointed syllables once again. “What... but... how...” she finally managed, “where are the guards?!” “Coming,” Dibella mumbled, now into both hands. Edgas added, “just watch.” And so she did, as armed guards finally did appear... and as her eyes grew ever wider, they shackled the members of the Imperium, and led them away to thunderous applause. And they seemed just as bewildered as her. “Just... like that?” she asked. Edgas nodded, “not with a bang but a whimper.” “With the Imperium imprisoned in the very cells that once held her grandfather, and the Agreement invalidated in its entirety, what authority that remained reverted back to the Empress,” Dibella continued, regaining her composure, “in her first public appearance ever, she announced in a nationwide address the official dissolution of the Ussari Union, granting regional governors temporary authority, clemency, and immunity in exchange for their testimony during the trials that were sure to follow. She, herself, added that she would relinquish power as soon as a provisional government could be established and elections scheduled. “A few days later, the Empress held true to her word. She not only handed authority to an interim council, but in her last official act, abolished the Monarchy in its entirety, ending a dynasty that went back a thousand years to Ivan I, Ivan Grozny. She also ceded all royal property to the State, retiring to a simple manor in the countryside.” Valentina slumped back in her chair, looking quite drained. Edgas raised an eye... bulge, “you don’t believe her.” Not a question. Squeezing her eyes shut, Valentina let out a long sigh, “the Union is all I have ever known. Everything is different, here, and for me... is not even overnight.” She looked to Dibella, “and now, you are some sort of bureaucrat, yes?” The other kerbelle giggled, “well, I suppose that’s one way of putting it.” “She’s the Speaker of the State Duma,” Edgas added with a smile. “Former Speaker, Edgas dear, former. I’ve been retired myself for a month now,” she gave her own wistful little sigh, “Grigori Kerman and I do not agree on much, but he is a good kerb, he will serve the Office well. Perhaps he is what the people need in these difficult times, and now I have helped usher my country through the first truly peaceful transition of power in her history.” She looked down at her cup, frowning when she found it empty, then fixed her gaze on Valentina, “we, as a people, are still coming to terms with the more... troubling parts of our history, and we, as a people, can no longer hide behind the Imperium’s skirts.” The muffled gasp drew a wry smile. Valentina scowled back for a moment, then nodded out the window, “what happened to that stupid dome?” “It was torn down a couple of years ago. Torn,” she rolled her eyes, “the fool thing nearly fell down. The iron lattice supporting the apex was so rusted from the clouds that formed inside that the structure almost collapsed. The rubble was ground to down to pebbles, to be used as aggregate in the concrete of public housing being built on the grounds.” Valentina raised an eye... bulge, “so... the House of the People where the people were never allowed will literally become houses for the people?” “Oh, the irony was lost on no one,” Dibella smirked, “they also didn’t want any trace of the old ways being part of the foundation of the new. The new Capitol is being built on a campus on the other side of the city. Well, as soon as we can agree on the design,” she shook her head, “fortunately, the Parliament office buildings were less... contentious. My successor has already moved in there, soon this place will be part of a museum.” She added under her breath, “if it ever gets funding.” “Good,” Edgas said, thumbing at his collar, “maybe they can restore the windows so they open again.” “Oh, they never could open,” Dibella said, “and the glass is actually shatterproof.” Edgas looked at her. “This place was once filled with Imperium apparatchiks,” she explained, “wouldn’t do to have anyone... clock out early.” Edgas wasn’t sure whether to sigh or shudder. “No, it does not seem real,” Valentina said, as if somewhere far away, “subway graffiti I could get used to, but everything else... it still feels like a dream.” “I lived through it, Tia, and sometimes I’m not even sure I’m not dreaming,” Dibella said softly, “now that I am again on the outside looking in, it almost feels like waking up from a nightmare, what with everything else going on in the world...” Something sharp and icy brushed Edgas’s spine, “wait, what? What’s going on?” Then Dibella turned to him, and it bit down hard, “you mean you... don’t know?” “Know what?” “Have... have you been living under a rock?” she said, as if struggling for words. “Yes, I’ve been living under a rock!” Edgas cried out, now edging toward panic, “what don’t I know?!” She went very pale. “Dibella... what don’t I know?” Leaning back, Dibella again pressed hands to her temples, “you’ll want to sit down... you are sitting down...” she shook her head, “I scarcely know where to begin...” It took another moment to compose herself, “a few weeks ago, in the north of Kleptogart, there was an outbreak. A new disease, unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. Among other things, it attacks the central nervous system, causing confusion, agitation, even violence. There’s no cure, no treatment, and it spreads incredibly quickly, sometimes within moments. For a time it was contained at the local hospital, but that didn’t last. It started to spread again, and the military got involved, quarantining the entire city.” “That... doesn’t seem so bad,” Edgas said. He almost believed it. Dibella looked back at him in agony, “the quarantine didn’t hold. You need to understand, this is... it could...” another head shake, “if the infection escaped containment, it could be a regional catastrophe, unstoppable. The President—“ she paused, taking his hand, “the President needed to stop it. He authorized the use of a nuclear weapon to sterilize the entire area.” For a long while Edgas just stared at her. He was distantly aware of neurons firing, but any cohesive thought in his brain seemed to just... cease. *** It was Valentina who pressed on, if only to escape the awful moment, “that was not the end.” Dibella nodded, “no. The... action succeeded, there’s been no further evidence of the pathogen, but no one escaped the fallout—” she gave a hard wince, “...metaphorically. After days of protests and calls from their congress, the President finally resigned. The Vice President was supposed to assume the office, he was away at a trade summit, but his plane never arrived. It went down somewhere over the ocean, there are... rumors that someone on board was infected. The loss might even have been deliberate...” Valentina raised one hand to her own head, the implications far too clear, and reached over to clasp Edgas’s with the other, “I do not know their rules, but, someone else is in line, yes?” “My counterpart, the Speaker of the House. But he refused. Resigned his position entirely, fled with his family to a house in the mountains. I think he knew what was to come,” Dibella took another long breath, “under Kleptogarti law, the Secretary of State was next in line. He was officially sworn in as President in a hotel room in the south of the country, where he’d been speaking trying to quell the unrest. Only he never made it back to the Capitol, either. The kar he was in went off a bridge, racing back to the Beige House during a thunderstorm. They didn’t find the body...” Valentina raised her other hand to her head, “oh, for PЦTIЙS sake...” Dibella shrugged, “to the Secretary of the Treasury, then. He was actually present at the Capitol, and was quickly sworn in. Lots of speechifying and heady words, but for a few days, the whole mess seemed like it might be stabilizing... “And then the Secretary of State showed up again,” a long sigh, “in a hospital twenty kilometers downriver from the accident site. Some farmer had pulled him, barely alive, from the water. His clothes were torn away by the rocks, his face so badly swollen that he couldn’t even be identified until he woke up. He is badly injured, may never walk again, but cognizant and claiming that he is the rightful President. And that someone set him up and tried to assassinate him. “Now the country is in the midsts of a constitutional crisis, and neither kerb is backing down. Back and forth legal challenges in the courts have brought the federal government to a virtual standstill, everyone is afraid to act. Except local authorities. Kleptogart had an all-volunteer army, well trained but not much more than reservists, and nearly the entire lot was wiped out. With less and less central control, regional governors are beginning to flex their own power behind one claimant or the other, or for no one at all...” She looked at Valentina, “and lines are being drawn.” But before Valentina could answer, Edgas seemed to drag himself back from somewhere, or nearly so, not quite looking up, “North Kleptogart. Doc... Doc has family up there, I... I need to get in touch with him, no one...” Frowning, Valentina gave his hand a squeeze, but he didn’t really respond. She could feel the turmoil within him, a curious mirror of her own at the strange turn history seemed to have taken and be taking, and yet... there was something more there. Something real, as physical as the press of his hand against hers. He wasn’t just mourning calamity in his own country, he was... hurting. She winced, as more wheels in her head slipped into place, “it gets worse.” Dibella couldn’t quite meet her eyes either, “there was another outbreak of the illness. In Bangkong...” She could barely stifle a gasp. The most densely populated city in the world, head of the most densely populated country in the world. Just based on what Dibella had already said of the sickness, Valentina didn’t need the details. Whatever they were, it was, most definitely, worse. Dibella continued, as if needing to simply get it out herself, “the infection swept down the peninsula in... hours, a day at best. The King and his government never had a chance to mount any real response, by some reports they were among the first to contract it. And once the panic started, there was nothing anyone could...” “Someone else dropped the bombs this time.” “Yes. Gednalna. From their protectorate, Rim Island.” “What?” Somehow, this seemed the most shocking revelation yet, “but they do not... why?!” “The Gednalnans have always been protective of their outlying territories,” Dibella said with a sigh, “one of the infected washed up on a beach on Anampa, just off the Ponpín coast. It touched off a far more subtle panic in Edinkurgh.” She gave a vague wave at the map on the wall behind her, “we counted some twenty-six detonations, high yield, all up and down the peninsula.” Valentina spat a curse, “did... did no one try to stop them? Talk to them? Do something?” Beside her, Edgas seemed to collapse in on himself a little more. “I can tell you better than most,” Dibella looked at her, “no one saw this coming.” Valentina threw her hands up, “how do two dozen bombers fly hundreds of kilometers with no one noticing?” “There were no bombers. All our information says the devices were delivered with small sub-orbital rockets.” Edgas’s head snapped up, “nuclear... missiles??” “What sort of madman would put a nuclear weapon on top of a rocket?” Valentina scoffed. Dibella only shrugged, “King MacVey does not have his father’s patience, or his brother’s cunning. The project was likely going on in the shadows for years, passed along from father to son to brother. Gednalna was one of the founding members of the KSA, there was no limit to the rocket technology flowing through it. “But nevertheless, it didn’t work. Too many people, too much land... the infected who survived have gathered into a massive hoard moving down the peninsula and west into Autmalaga. But the summer has not been kind in the south, either, only instead of snow they’ve had torrential rains. That isthmus is a swamp even in the dry season, now it is an impassable quagmire. It’s greatly slowed the infected’s progress, they are nearly indestructible but can down, given enough time submerged. “West of the swampland, a coalition of southern nations is building an incredible wall out of dirt, rubble, kars, whatever can be found. Ahead of that wall, they are flooding the marshes with crude propelluim to be set alight at a moment’s notice, and behind it, every rifle for a thousand kilometers is pointed east. Waiting.” Valentina looked at her friend, “but you do not think it will hold.” Dibella didn’t quite meet her eyes, “drone footage shows the bodies of the infected piling up in the mud and shallow pools, forming a grotesque bridge for the others. They are slowed, not stopped,” her eyes flicked up, “the wall will not hold either. Maybe a few days, maybe a few weeks, but there are just too many, and all it takes is one getting behind the line to leapfrog it. No one will use nuclear weapons on another’s soil anymore. They are being held for... other purposes.” Valentina gave Edgas’s hand on last squeeze, then rose and walked to the window. How many people could she see from this one, small vantage, in the naked light of the slate-grey skies? Ten thousand? Maybe more? Every one of them with one of those things in their hand, walking around as if any other day. “Why do they do nothing? They go about their business as if nothing is wrong...” she turned to find Edgas turning a small, grey, sparkly rock over in his hands. Dibella frowned at him for a moment, sighing, “perhaps Edgas is right. People do not want to acknowledge the truth, to see it. We as Ussaris are... especially good at that.” “How many?” Edgas said suddenly. “What do you mean?” Dibella raised an eye... bulge. He looked up, one hand squeezing the little rock, “how many?” Dibella tried to force a smile, spoke with diplomatic calm, “no one’s really sure, it’s a very chaotic situation, and there’s no telling how many survivors may yet—“ “Dibella.” She let out a long breath, seeming to collapse with it like Edgas himself had, “Ponpín has been completely depopulated, the entire civilization just wiped off the map. Ripples of that are being felt all across the south, and that’s before the environmental and economic damage is considered: crops failing, fishing grounds ruined, people’s livelihoods destroyed. Conservative estimates say—“ she choked, cleared her throat, “say the death toll could eventually reach... two billion people.” Edgas crumpled a bit more. Valentina spat a curse, “that is a third of all the people in the world!” She spun back to the window, “how are they not...” “It... may not be so bad,” Dibella said with that same half-cheerful diplomat’s tone, “if the nations of the world can work together, present a unified front as the southerners are doing...” “But they aren’t, are they?” Valentina stared at her. Dibella dropped her eyes, “no. We... we are in a better position than most to weather whatever comes. The Ussari-speaking nations of the former Union. We have good cropland along the southern coasts, minerals and fuels in the west, the technology corridors radiating from Gytep in the east. Plans are being accelerated to form a trade federation to ease the transit of goods...” she shook her head, “but the borders beyond are already closed, and nothing is being exported. The other nations of the world are taking similar... and sometimes more... drastic measures.” Valentina stared off at the throngs of people, for a moment longing for the blissful ignorance she had so recently enjoyed. Then, she didn’t know what she didn’t know, but now, as memories fought one another for attention in her mind, she didn’t even know what she did know. And a single dark, shadowy vision beyond everything else waited like a predator, here and there showing flashes of its powerful, deadly maw. “He knew...” she muttered to the window. “What?” Dibella said. “Somehow... even then... he knew... he did everything to—“ she whipped around, “I must see Kommissar. Kermanskiovitch, who used to oversee the space program. Do you have any idea where he might be now?” “Well of course,” Dibella blinked, “he’s in a state prison not far from here. Let me just check...” she picked up a tablet and began tapping, “yes, he— oh...” “Is he not there?” “He is,” she said solemnly, “in the infirmary. The terminal ward.” Valentina felt her lips tighten. Then she felt a— “Burdous...” Edgas mumbled. Oh, PЦTIЙ... “Burdous!” she could feel panic rising within him, “he... he was in Bangkong..!” “Burdous? Burdous Kerman?” Dibella gave a little shudder, then looked nervously towards the door, “he is with you?” “No, he’s... he’s back at the polar station,” Edgas pulled fingers through his hair, “he... he was sick! He’d just come from there and he was sick, I... I’ve got to contact them... but I told Doc to keep the receivers off... I need to get back, I... but it’ll take days and... and...” Valentina watched as something dark and icy and entirely too familiar seemed to wash over her old friend’s face for a moment, “Burdous came to your station from Bangkong, and he was was sick, you say?” Edgas nodded at her, “he was coughing, getting worse, and then everyone else started getting sick...” Dibella sat back, her brow furrowed in thought. “I don’t think he has the infection,” she said at length. Edgas raised an eye at her, “are you sure? How do you know?” Frowning, Valentina, too, laid a careful eye on the other kerbelle, silently cursing herself even as she did. “Edgas,” Dibella reached and took his hand, “if he got out of the city at all, and didn’t even have stories of... anything unusual, he probably left before it hit. A lucky few did. When it happened, it went bad very... quickly.” “Um... but... everyone back home is getting sick...” “From what you’ve told me, it’s a very isolated place. Burdous has just brought alien germs into it, of course there will be some sickness, but it should be fine. Burdous himself probably just has a cold or some such, there are plenty of bugs to pick up in a place like Bangkong,” and added under her breath, “and he probably gave them some entirely new ones.” Edgas blinked at her, “what?" She just shook her head, “look, I’m sure everything is fine. You came all this way for a reason, and you should see it through. I still have a few connections, and I’ll see that you get a direct flight back to the Pole, how is that?” She gave an encouraging smile. Edgas looked down at the little sparkly rock in his hand, and seemed to draw himself up a bit, “yeah... yeah, you’re probably right... thanks...” “Your friends know what they are about,” Dibella grinned, “right now the North Pole is... probably the safest place in the world, yes? “Now, if we’re to reach the prison before noon, we should get going,” she began to gather her things, “it is a bit of a drive.” “What?” Valentina’s eyes popped wide, “you are... coming with us?” “Well of course,” Dibella said with a real smile, then took Valentina’s face in both hands and looked at her with eyes that seemed to slice right through the gathering darkness, “Tia, you have just come back to me from the dead, perhaps... anything is possible. But I am never letting you out of my sight again.” Then she added with a wink, “besides, it’s still a maximum security federal prison... whom do you think is going to get you in?”

Spelling was never my fourtay. But at long last, after nearly two months(!), something wickedly long this way comes. *pokes our newest staff member with a stick* @Just Jim

Let me guess... it’s the Water Buffalo pack?

how bout a matching engine?

Gemini VI, a US Navy crew, had this little zinger to flash their Army counterparts: @Kronus_Aerospace so what’s your part count on that beast? How many seconds per frame, or are we into minute slideshow territory, here?

Phase II: exterminate all butterflies.

Awesome! Now gif it and lets see it crash. Real nice and slow like. Yeaaaah....

Stone.