Moe Lane's Blog, page 512
August 8, 2022
08/08/22 Snippet, TOUR OF DUTY.
Anticipatory disappointment!
Patreon!I snapped my fingers. “That’s right! It looks like those buildings they had, before the Consolidation Wars. Skyscrapers.” I gave the readings another look. “They could stuff a lot of people in one of those.”
“Yes,” replied Janusz. “And who knows how many aliens?”
“Depends on which species it was. Some of the Amalgamation races could get pretty big.” I scowled at my own telemetry. Quietly, I asked, “So what’s your field speciality?”
“Interfacing Amalgamation computer systems. You are a xeno-archeologist, yes?” Janusz looked more human just then than he’d managed the entire trip, to date. “And you are just as aware as I am that neither of us will be going to get onboard that ship.”
All I could say was, “Yeah. Well, at least we’ll be able to play backup for the field researchers.”
Which is fine. Well, I mean, it sucks. But me and Dan and Janusz and the other first-timers are just that: first-timers. The O’Bannion has an entire crew’s complement of fully trained computer integrators, xeno-archeologists, and Amalgamation design architecture researchers (Dan’s speciality). And finding a no-fooling Amalgamation ship would be a real big deal even if it was a slowly expanding ball of debris. If this vessel was really intact, or mostly, even a little hand’s-on research could uplift Earth’s technology overnight.
You just have to expect that this big a plum will get gnawed at from the top down. I can’t even blame them for that. If I could shamelessly pull rank on this, I would. And who knows? Maybe we’ll all get to do at least one quick tour before UNSO sends specialists in ship research.
@HPLHS announces new #DART: PURGATORY CHASM.
That’s pretty much it, except that PURGATORY CHASM is apparently an original Dark Adventure Radio Theater production, and not an adaptation of Lovecraft (or contemporary horror author). Which is not too surprising: all the best HPL works have been adapted by now. Although I wouldn’t say no to seeing an adaptation of Robert Howard’s PIGEONS FROM HELL…
I’ve just finished Episode 6 of THE SANDMAN…
…and I think I can safely say: this is a solid [expletive deleted]ing show. It is hitting the mood, tone, and style of the original SANDMAN comic in the dang bullseye. It could maybe still suck – I’m doing my level best to avoid finding out about future episodes – but so far it’s everything I would have wanted from an adaptation. If you read the comics and liked them, you’ll like this.
#commissionearned
August 7, 2022
‘A Silver Dagger.’
Huh. I didn’t have this album.
The CARS ON THE ROAD Disney+ series trailer.
Look, I’m not going to lie. CARS ON THE ROAD looks funny. And they also kind of leaned into that post-apocalyptic thing – no, really. Watch the trailer!
Well, okay, they leaned into a post-apocalyptic thing. But it still sort of counts! Because I have a lot of questions about this world…
08/07/22 Snippet, THE FIGHT IN THE GROVE.
This one is almost finished being revised, too. Two more days. Maybe one.
Patreon!“But they can run, can they not?” the dryad said, after a moment. “The bittersap bezoar might somehow grasp that its minions had not returned, it would not know why unless one of the beasts it had perverted returned to it. Even a mouse might give news of our coming, and…” She fell silent.
I finished her thought for her. “…and give the grove itself a chance to prepare for our presence.”
That earned me a scowl, even if it was not aimed at me. Mostly. “I do not like the thought of my grove being my enemy, Jack.”
“It is not your grove any more,” I told her, sadly. “It is dead, and its roots and branches now serve the woodlands’ great enemy. Do not hope for even a cutting from it.”
Her scowl deepened. “I am no fool, Jack! I know all the old songs, all the warnings! I left more than my hand behind in that grove! Aye, and the things that the Keeper and I collected together, and the work we had done! All of it, now twisted and corrupted, and unsafe to carry away.
“But, alive or dead, it is still my grove. The bittersap may not take that from me. I will not let it.”
Now it was my turn to scowl — at myself. “My apologies,” I eventually said. “We are to be priests, not scolds. And you are not a child, for me to shake my finger at.”
“Why, how nice of you to finally notice,” replied the dryad, her face already losing the deeper green of anger. Thus it is with Those Who Speak; their rages flash like lightning, bright one moment, and gone the next. “But if you wish to shake things at me… I suppose a finger might do.” Her smile was impish. “For a start.”
08/07/22 Snippet, TOUR OF DUTY.
Emergence!
Patreon!I was interested enough to have a ship’s status screen handy when the O’Bannion dropped out of hyperspace, and so was everybody else. The mood in Propulsion was half-relaxed. People weren’t really nervous, or worried about each other. The chances were ridiculously low that somebody would go space-happy at the sight of one of their Power’s old ships being obviously shot up or half-exploded, or whatever. But it happens. There’s no sense in pretending that it doesn’t.
And there’s no sense in pretending that first-timers aren’t particular risks, either. Everybody was keeping half an eye on me and Janusz. Hell, I was keeping an eye on me. And Janusz. Mostly Janusz.
He didn’t care for it, either. “They check us every three days, Butler,” he muttered to me as we worked. “If they don’t trust the tests, why did they do them in the first place?”
“I dunno: people are just like that, Janusz?” I gave him my best American smile. You know: cheerful, pleasant, exquisitely arrogant. Because ‘Butler,’ my ass. “You can’t blame them for knowing the odds…” But he wasn’t listening to me; he was staring at the closest screen, instead. I looked around, and everybody else was doing the same thing. Then I did, and I realized why.
August 6, 2022
‘Let It Be.’
#commissionearned
So, THE SANDMAN has been good so far.
The plot’s a bit different, and obviously they’ve changed some of the minor characters around. But I finished Episode 2 today, and I have to say: they’ve gotten the mood, style, and tone right. It absolutely feels like the original comic. If you liked the original THE SANDMAN, this is a pretty good adaptation.
That being said, I don’t think that the show will be reproducing the convention, which is an absolute shame. It would also probably freak a lot of viewers the [expletive deleted] out, so I guess that they had to make that call. Or maybe I’m guessing wrong, and they will do it! I look forward to finding out.
#commissionearned
