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[Entity325]

Bear with me, I'm trying to start something here.

The comment about technology so advanced you can't see it reminded me of a 6-episode anime I watched recently called Mnemosyne. Very good, but(WARNING!) there is a reason the genres listed include "MATURE." Lots of blood and gore, bloody dismemberment, amputation, nudity, sexual content, and alcohol use, and the writers weren't above combining all of the above in interesting ways. Also, people pitched into jet engines are funny.

Anyway, episodes 4-6 have an interesting take on future technology, as they take place in(respectively) 2025 and 2055. Episode 4 plugs the upcoming Microsoft Surface technology, and presents networked virtual reality as an addictive drug.(Surprisingly, unlike the predictions of famed video game reviewer Yahtzee, sex simulators do not lead to the extinction of the human race. Probably because it wasn't plot-convenient.) Episodes 5 and 6 present a world where virtual reality has merged seamlessly with reality, and computers are invisible. PDAs are represented as holographic screens that pop up in your palm when you want them. It was an interesting representation of technology, and having seen what I've seen behind the scenes(say that five times fast), it looks like a pretty accurate prediction.

Society's response, maybe not so much.


The comment about air ducts larger than the ship reminded me of the final level of Halo, in which we drive a warthog down the 7 kilometer maintenance duct, splattering Flood and Covies.(If you don't already know about this, you probably hated Halo, and don't care that I've spoiled it, anyway.) When someone on HBO pulled the level models out of the game, he discovered that not only does much of the first level take place physically exterior to the Pillar of Autumn's hull, but most the access elevator the the 7km track actually takes you entirely out of the ship, and the track itself is roughly 2-3x as long as the ship itself.

On the topic of writing onesself into a corner... been there, done that. That's why my webcomic is a zombie right now.(though I was surprised to discover it actually takes the first two hits on Google if you search "rage factor"+comic)

[edit]
OK, guys? The idea was that anyone who had anything to say about episode 21 could do so in this thread, kinda like where webcomic forums often have dedicated threads for particular updates. Who else has comments on the podcast, or comments on comments on the podcast?(let's get recursive!)
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[Axonite]

I'll get recursive, comment on your comment, and ask: How can you have the Scourge of the Universe written into a corner in only 7 pages?
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[Entity325]

Well he wasn't Scourge of the Universe until Ben got ahold of him. He's just an ordinary hero in Rage Factor.

Step 1: write your own character up to be the most important character in the story.
Step 2: hit the ground running without a clear idea of where you're actually running to.
Step 3: on page 7, draw attention to an altar with incense burning on it.
Step 4: change your mind now that it's too late, and decide the altar wasn't that important after all, while also realizing the ego job you gave your character on page 2.
Step 5: scrap everything and rewrite, starting from a different character's perspective.

Writing yourself into a corner in 5 easy steps.

[Axonite]

And writing yourself out of the corner with bad sci-fi:

Step 6: The Martian/Grebulon hybrids land and take over!
Step 7: Profit


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[Entity325]

I always forget step 7. I need to plan for it more.

[Random Person]

You missed step 6.5: ????

[Axonite]

That's the nice thing about doing it with bad sci-fi: The Martian/Grebulon hybrids *are* the ????.
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