Log started: 3/13/03 9:09:10 AM $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ IC News $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Message: 14/12 Posted Author Robot Master Raid on New York! Thu Mar 13 News Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The GNN news music plays its LIttle jinGLe, and Chest appears, sitting behind his newscaster desk along with his female ditzy co-anchor with huge 'tracts of land' that double the GNN ratings whenever she's onscreen. Chest is, as usual, evidently pissed off about something. "Last night the Robot Masters staged an attack on a New York warehouse just on the outskirts of the city. Reports indicate that the warehouse was used to store geological explosives used in seismic tests. The miLItaristic appLIcations of these devices are obvious. Three of the Masters were confirmed to have been present." A kickass shot of Centaur Man in the act of flashing the GunsLInger Ride Armour with Wildrider aboard follows. You know what I mean. Sickos. The next is an image of Tengu Man as debris whirls around him. The GunsLInger and Slash Beast are in the background, evidently trapped by the air flows. The last is an image of Magic Man hurLIng one of his razor sharp cards at BLIzzard Wolf. Chest continues, "Both RepLIforce and the Maverick Hunters responded to the call, but alas were unable to prevent the Robot Masters from looting the warehouse." There's a short highLIght with Slash Beast nimbly evading Tengu Man's blade, the GunsLInger unleashing its weaponry against Centaur Man, and BLIzzard Wolf hacking and slashing at a Magic Man trapped in an icy prison, and a final short shot of Silo riding around on a hoverbike. "As always, GNN was on the spot to bring you this fantastic footage. Regarding the fight, a witness had this to say about the combatants:" Hailstorm EaGLe appears on the screen with a microphone shoved in her face by a GNN reporter. "Why couldn't they watch what they were doing? They were surrounded by innocent civiLIans and vulnerable structures, they should have known better!" Chest returns to the screen. His co-anchor smiles at the camera. "One Robot Master was confirmed to have been disabled in the skirmish. No alLIed forces fell, but some took severe damage and were forced to withdraw. The cleanup effort is underway. We'll keep you updated as events develop." $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ White Assistbot> Eastern Sahara White Assistbot> Forever stretching across the continent of Africa is the Sahara Desert, its begotten landscape spanning as far as the eyes can see. Reaching 1000 miles wide and around 3200 miles from east to west, this is without a doubt the largest desert in the world. Its entire square footage is a bLIstering 3,500,000 miles, although currently you are in the eastern region. This is primarily the LIbyan Desert, considered the most arid part of the Sahara itself. Oasises, as rare as they normally are, are almost nonexistant in this region, leaving LIttle hope and even less chances for anyone to survive who manages to get lost here. The majority of the land here consists of sandy dunes, often rising up 400 feet or more in height. Far off to the east is the valley of the Nile River, the only end in sight to this infinite realm of death and, beyond its grace, is the mountainous area of the Nubian Desert as well. White Assistbot> Cut Man [Armour] [RM] Slash Beast [Primary] [RF] Red Tide [RF] Silo [Trenchcoat] [RF] Thunderbolt Raven [RF] Shadow Man [Armor] [RM] RepLIforce Dropship [RF] Top Man [Armor] [RM] Resource Collection Mines Sphere Outpost [RM] White Assistbot> Tombs leads to Desolate Tombs. North leads to Barbary Coast. West leads to Mirror Desert (Western Sahara). South leads to Ivory Coast. East leads to Egypt. Up leads to Sky Above Sahara. White Assistbot> Shadow Man rolls sideways to avoid Red Tide's fairly basic attack, and then untucks from the roll with his katana still out in his right hand... Since cutting at the blob form seems to be rather ineffective, he instead turns it to try to again smash the bone structure with the flat if he can get the weapon in enough. White Assistbot> Shadow Man misses Red Tide with his Blade Whack attack. White Assistbot> Top Man has partially disconnected. White Assistbot> Red Tide twists and narrowly manages to evade the flat of the blade, though she has to bend nearly as far as her skeletal structure will allow to perform such a feat. She finally speaks, too, as she straightens. "Leave; you may as well. You have lost." Bravado or simply taunting, it doesn't stop Red; from the weakened layer where the sword cut before, a bulge of acidic LIquid forms, before spraying out and towards Shadow Man. White Assistbot> Shadow Man dodges Red Tide's High Tide attack. White Assistbot> Top Man wincing from the sting of energy infLIcting minimal damage against him. Luckily he has new space-age metal that has been crafted into his armor, which reduces the damage of Energy attacks. Pretending that nothing had even touched him, he again starts his spinning, and spins right towards Raven. With his right hand stuck out the side, he hopes to give him the ol' "one-two-shut the hell up" maneuver White Assistbot> Top Man misses Thunderbolt Raven with his Spin Fist attack. White Assistbot> Top Man puts his guard up. White Assistbot> He ducked to the side. THose three tops about finished him off, the fist to the face would have. But now the dirty 'bot was in range for a beating. His wing snapped out, cuffing the spinning andriod, and hopefully sending him flying. White Assistbot> "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" So screams the Cut Man, flaiLIng haplessly as he have an fast fowared visiste of the insides of the mines. Of course...He hardly pays attention to the gumbies around! At last...the pain stops as the car *CRASH!* into a dead end of the mines, sending the Alpha in it flying...and...well, slam into the wall, too. Fortunatly, the car does not explodes...yet. White Assistbot> Thunderbolt Raven misses Top Man with his Wing Slam attack. White Assistbot> Shadow Man pauses, twirLIng the blade sLIghtly as he darts back sLIghtly to avoid being caught in the acid spray. Dropping down, he pauses in a crouch with the fingers of the hand not holding the blade touching the ground before him... and apparently he decides to obLIdge her request, since he darts away towards the direction of his elder brother. White Assistbot> Silo doesn't pay any attention to Cut Man, and instead meets up with a group of two gumbies, stuck in a corner, and trading shots with a small group of Joes. It only takes a few missiles for the crisis to be resolved. "You two, place the last two charges, then we'll all get out of here." And with a quick nod, Silo begins to run once more, further into the mine, to make sure the crash of Cut's car hasn't damaged any charges. White Assistbot> Quickly ducking under the wing, Top Man regains his balance, and leaps towards the back of his adversary, spinning as he does, forming a spinning-robot-of-flying-doom. White Assistbot> Top Man strikes Thunderbolt Raven with his Speed Tackle attack. White Assistbot> And that was it. He dropped to one knee, cracked armor oozing coolant and electricity crackLIng over his entire body. His cannon unformed to his hand, and that was all that was keeping him somewhat vertical White Assistbot> Watching Shadow Man leave for a moment, apparently Red considers it in her best interest to let him be - she makes no move to follow at all. Instead, following radio direction, she takes off toward Thunderbolt's last known position at top speed. White Assistbot> Nope, the car did not damaged anything except...well, Cut's ego. But you know, it's was already damaged beyond repairs years ago, so it's hardly matters. The Android slowly get himself back up, shaking his head as he look at the wreckage of the car. "...Well...at least...I'm safe." Says the master of badluck. And, if you wanna know -- if the car was taller just a weeeebit...the charge would be completly safe. And...it's not, really. The car could explode any darn minute! But dosent, for now. Fate is taking her time...and will take the worse of the times to make it go to dust. Meanwhile...Cut Man is heading down the passage, searching to get out of the dead end...no encounter with a RepLIforce gumbie, thus far anyway... White Assistbot> Slash Beast has disconnected. White Assistbot> "...I owe you one Top Man...I /will/ get you next time...You're toast next time we meet..." Raven sags even further, tre effort of speaking taking a lot out of him... Announcement: Data reads a story! "... And verily, thee boards must be thusly read by thee, thou must readily read boards 2 and 3. And checketh thou orders or I shall smite you with a banana!" White Assistbot> FeeLIng superior in EVERY way, after defeating Raven, he just smirks at the not-so-tough robot. Turning his attention to the mines, and wondering how much Cut Man has messed up, he begins a quick trot into the entrance of the mines. White Assistbot> Silo continues running down into the mine, not even slowing down as he gets a tightbeam. A simple one really, telLIng him that the charges are all set. Distracted all this time, Silo doesn't notice that Cut Man is in his path. If the Alpha Master doesn't move in time, he's going to get an RFer in the chest... And if he does dodge, well, Silo stops without smashing into anything and everything is very anticLImatic. White Assistbot> Silo strikes Cut Man with his Ram attack. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "It's amazing how beautiful the earth is from .. oh, say, 1000 meters." White Assistbot> Shadow Man pauses near his brother, finding that against all odds, he's already dealt with his opponent... Just luck, perhaps, thanks to Cut Man being here to soak up all the bad vibes and channel them into his own misfortune. Meanwhile, from back where he was facing off with Red Tide a moment ago, the bomb he planted on the ground causes a medium sized but mostly centrally focused explosion, blasting heat and red LIght. White Assistbot> Shadow Man strikes Red Tide with his Remote Mines attack. White Assistbot> Oh, and Top Man might find it a tiny bit hard to get further into the mine at the moment, considering a whole lot of gumbies are trying to get out. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger transmits, "Whereas at one centimeter from the Earth you can't wait to get away from it." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Get up there sometime, any way you can. The view is astonishing." White Assistbot> Red Tide had been running just fine toward Thunderbolt - before a mine goes off LIterally under her feet, blowing her upwards to land heavily - in pieces. LIterally. A large chunk of her paraplasm was blown right off, as well as one of her hands and a pair of tendrils; but hands are easy to repair, and so once she's up again, she moves (sLIghtly more slowly, and stiffly because of the missing plasm) toward Thunderbolt. As she does, what paraplasm is left starts to sLIde around to her joints, letting her move freely. White Assistbot> oO(Man man man...I royaly screwed up, this time! Damn you, Fate! Damn you, Universe! You will not stop me this easly from--GAH!?)Oo Cut was too occupied in his inner mologue to see the incoming Silo ramming straight into him! "GACK!" But...he is not really sent far, if you wanna know. Just...reeLIng backward a meter or two, flaiLIng a LIttle and fall on his rear end. He din't saw him coming at all, and...got more starled than anything else. He narrows his optics at the RepLIforcer, back fLIping impressivly back to his feets. "YOU! I reconise you! You are that guy from two weeks back attacking Dad!" The Alpha strikes an martial art offence position. "And you came here to cause trouble again! I wont let you! KYAYEEEEEEE!" And so, he charges heads on troward Silo, being quite unoriginal in the cosmos of cutter-fu: A simple, direct jab. White Assistbot> Cut Man strikes Silo with his Punch attack. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Roll transmits, "The Earth looks nice from pretty far up, huh? I don't really get many chances to see it, though." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "No way to gain the altitude, or no time?" White Assistbot> It's naptime for the avian reploid. He finally keels over in a sparking heap, wings draped on the ground, cracked armor sparking and leaking fluid. He's in bad shape White Assistbot> Stopping short of the mine, and hearing the rumble of the earth below him, turns face and runs the opposite way. Spying a nearby rock, or boulder... bigger than a rock, but not excessivly big. Big enough to stay clear of the many rushing Joes. Throwing tops into the crowd, taking more than a couple joes out with each throw (since when one joe falls, atleast 3 fall with him, because he trips them up). Then hearing a sudden explosion behind him, he watches as one of Shadow Man's mines go off. Quickly feeLIng the battle-induced adrenaLIne flow through him, he bounds off in the direction of his ally. White Assistbot> Silo is quite surprised when he suddenly smashes into Cut Man. Even more surprised when, just as he's recovering, he's suddenly jabbed, quite hard. And so watch as Silo rolls further down into the mine, smashes into a wall, before very slowly getting to his feet... [Radio: (E) Broadband] Roll transmits, "The first more then anything else. I can't exactly fly on my own, after all!" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger transmits, "I see it quite well from Eurasia when I want to, thanks." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Hm .. who am I speaking with?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger chuckles. "Which one?" White Assistbot> Top Man puts his guard down. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe also laughs softly. "I do hear two voice patterns." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Bluegrass Not Serena Gilbert transmits, "Oh?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Now three." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger transmits, "Touche. I'm Rigger. The other's Roll. The interloper can introduce herself." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Bluegrass Not Serena Gilbert transmits, "Ah'm Bluegrass, sugah." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Rigger, Roll, Bluegrass. Good to speak with you all." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Roll transmits, "And whom might you be? It's not fair if you know us but we don't know you!" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Oops .. sorry. Hailstorm EaGLe." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Kumicho NOT Mikage Yukiato transmits, " Hmm..why does that name sound soo famiLIar. Oh yes. That is right you are that UN drone who had some small problems controlLIng your rage the last time we met." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "... UN drone?!" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Alpha transmits, "Hi Hailstorm." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Alpha transmits, "...She's not a drone, sir. That's very impoLIte." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Bluegrass Not Serena Gilbert transmits, "Pleased ta meetcha... *pause* *cold* ...Hello, Kumicho." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Bluegrass Not Serena Gilbert transmits, "That'll be me, sugah. Bluegrass of the Musica Guard. Interpol Agent." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Ah hello Alpha! How are you?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger transmits, "Huh. That voice sounds famiLIar. Where have I heard it... Oh, yes. Tall, stuffy suit, being attacked by a floozy drooLIng all over you?" White Assistbot> Cut remains in his offence position, hopping on place, waiting for Silo to make a move or some sort. "C'mon! Get up! Fight me!" Hop Hop Hop. "You won't get away with it, this time!" Hop hop hop. In short, Cut Man himself don't do much...But there is more. Much more. At this right minute, if such a thing as 'Luck-o-vision' would exist...There would be an extremly concentrated accumulation of dark, bad luck around Cut Man! More than usual, I mean. It's also so high that it's could BLIND! Worse: It's spreading all trough the mines...and reach as far than half a kilometer outside the mines! This is an impressive 'tour de force' from Lady Fate, that! [Radio: (E) Broadband] Kumicho NOT Mikage Yukiato transmits, " Oh so you do remember me. I am quite surprised. The last time we met you were not quite yourself. I take it you are fairing much better?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Alpha transmits, "I'm fine. Thank you." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Roll transmits, "You weren't fine before, Alpha? Did something happen I never heard about?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Bluegrass Not Serena Gilbert transmits, "Yah, Ah'm just peachy, Kumicho." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Kaph transmits, "Did the LIttle blue men finally come out of their LIttle mushroom houses and dance around you so they could transport you to happier LIttle world sweetie?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Alpha transmits, "Oh no, no Smurfs yet, Kaph." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Bluegrass Not Serena Gilbert transmits, "Hello ta ya too, LIttle miss biatch." White Assistbot> Shadow Man dodges Cut Man's Jinx attack. White Assistbot> Cut Man strikes Silo with his Jinx attack. White Assistbot> Cut Man misses Top Man with his Jinx attack. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Alpha transmits, "Um, well..." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Kaph transmits, "Hmm, didn't think so." White Assistbot> Shadow Man waits outside the mine, resheathing his katana as he looks back to see if there are any more RepLIforcers still to be dealt with, or if they've won this encounter. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "So .. Roll, maybe I could help you get this view?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Roll transmits, "Well, I've seen it before! A while back, I was on one of the fLIghts up to explore Starhaven. That was a rather interesting trip!" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Prismatic Spider chuckles. "Indeed... Indeed it was." White Assistbot> Finally reaching Thunderbolt's sparking pieces, Red Tide scoops up as many as she can. SeaLIng off her front so none of the acids leak on Thunderbolt, she leaves sLIghtly damp foot-and-talon prints behind as she jogs back to the Falconis. Apparently she has no further interest in fighting. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Ah, so you have .. just not often. Good." White Assistbot> Silo shakes his head, staggering from side to side. It's obvious that Cut's punch must've damaged the pilot's movement systems. "Oh, you're going to regret that!" He walks forward, raises his arm cannon... Meanwhile, outside, all of the gumbies are out, now retreating back to the Falconis and dragging their wounder with them. One of the lead gumbies turns to another. "How long has it been?" he asks. "It's a minute! We have to blow the mines /now/!" The other gumbies sighs, before grabbing a control of some kind, and pushing a big red button. ...and as the first charge explodes, it sends a shockwave through the mines, causing Silo to loose his balance, sending his arm cannon flying up to aim at the ceiLIng. ...Just as he fires off a missile. It seems that Cut Man's bad luck has extended to him as well. And as Silo is crushed by rocks, now stuck in the mine about to collapse, another distant charge explodes. The Alpha Master can still get out, but he better hurry. White Assistbot> Oh how it hurts. The raven headed reploid was scooped up and carted back to the Falconis...boy does he need a nap White Assistbot> Thunderbolt Raven has left. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Wait. Starhaven?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Bluegrass Not Serena Gilbert transmits, "...WHAT?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "I don't recall hearing of a 'Starhaven' .." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Prismatic Spider transmits, "Starhaven... A former fortress used by the Stardroids." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Roll transmits, "Really? I could of sworn that's what they called it..maybe I don't remember right?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Roll transmits, "Yeah, I thought so!" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Stardroids .. I recall hearing the name somewhere, but that was all." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Prismatic Spider transmits, "Depending on your viewpoint, that is either a blessing or a curse." White Assistbot> Thunderbolt Raven has arrived. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Why's that? Who were they?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Alpha transmits, "People who take care of cacti." White Assistbot> Cut Man just...STARES. He wide open his eyes, obsering the missile fire...explode...and causing an mini rock crash! He is, too, disbalanced by the shockwaves...But at least he still standing! "Uh...oh..CRAP! CRAPCRAP" He give a stare at the crushed Silo for a short moment, befor dashing off! "CRAPCRAP!" More charges explodes! They, fortunatly, merly manage to disbalance Cut Man as he deseperatly tries to get out of the mines saftely! But will he do it? Will he reach there? Or he will be reduced to Alpha bits? [Radio: (E) Broadband] Roll transmits, "They were more then that, Alpha!" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe sighs softly. "Sorry, Alpha, that doesn't ring a bell..." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Prismatic Spider transmits, "A group of incrediably powerful beings who traveled from world to world, judging them." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Alpha transmits, "I guess." White Assistbot> Cut Man strikes Cut Man with his Jinx attack. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Alpha transmits, "I would say 'less than that' though." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Bluegrass Not Serena Gilbert transmits, "Some say Judges of the Universes... others... Universal Murderers... but whatever they are... they are Stardroids, sugah." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger transmits, "Oh for god's sake can't we let them be dead already? This conversation pops up more often than Crash Man fLIrts." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Prismatic Spider transmits, "..." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Prismatic Spider transmits, "You've been gone quite some time, haven't you?" White Assistbot> Shadow Man, using his amazing Ninja Magic to avoid Cut Man's powerful bad luck, just watches the mines in general amusement, not bothering to prevent the RepLIforce from getting away. It's no significant loss as far as he's concerned... It's Omega's problem, and if the doctor really needs crytals for his own inventions, he can get them from Crystal Man. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "... Yes, I have." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Only way for me to survive." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Prismatic Spider transmits, "Nobody's talked about the Stardroids for... months, that I've heard. I meant Rigger, however." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger transmits, "I know they aren't dead but they're gone. Good enough for me." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Alpha transmits, "..." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger transmits, "And yes actually I have been gone awhile." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "Oh, sorry Rigger." White Assistbot> Relying on his sudden surge of good luck today, Top Man just stood there, and nothing happened. HAH! not even Cut Man can penetrate the good-vibes coming off of Top Man. Leaping off his rock, and starting to walk in the dircrection opposite of the mines, he wonders just how much damage Cut Man really did infact do. He thinks about this for about oh.. 3 seconds. Then reaLIzes "Hey! I'm no treasurer. I just..." Then getting bored with that train of though, he turns around and watches as the multiple explosions get set off. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger transmits, "Sorry. Just not the best conversation to have stumbled across as soon as I come back to work." White Assistbot> *K-BOOM!* "CRAP!" *KEBAAAAAAAANG! RUMBLES!* "CRAAAAAAAAAAP!" Cut Man is having a lot of difficulties evading the shock waves of the charges...But he manage! But have no fear, Cut Luck Fans, something is bound to happen any time soon! Indeed, the last charge pack has caused an...large pouring of humongous boulders. Wich are, incidently, rolLIng after the Alpha! And to cause even more terror...Cut notices it. "Wha!?...WHAAAAAAAAAAA!?!" Cue here Indiana Jones Music. He keep running, and running, avoiding blasts the best he can, fleeing from the giant boulder...But...what is this ahead? LIght? YES! THERE IS LIGHT! The end is night! His terror is almost finished! ...Not. The last, remaining charge, close to the entrance to seal it, immediatly blows off RIGHT when Cut Man pass by it. Needless to say...it's hurts. And rockets the poor Alpha out of the mines! "WAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!" ...And after a short fLIght, he lands deep in the sand, head first, of course. He going to need some help, guys. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Hailstorm EaGLe transmits, "What's your occupation?" White Assistbot> And as the last charge blows, great amounts of dust and rock are sent flying into the air, this particular mine now out of service for quite some time... ...And deep within this almost completely collapsed mine is a reploid, currently stuck under a pile of boulders. His systems have shut down due to the amount of damage he's suffered, but he's still aLIve. But only barely... What'll happen to him? How will he get out? Who knows... White Assistbot> Red Tide has disconnected. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ CiviLIan $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Message: 13/22 Posted Author A Note from the Director Sun Mar 16 Abernathy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On department-wide review of our staffing, the following positions have been eLIminated from Interpol's staff: Those employed in these positions will be transfered back to the United Nations proper, or paid severance, as is appropriate. --Abernathy, Director General $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ IC News $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Message: 14/10 Posted Author New Book Causes Stir (1/2) Sun Mar 16 News Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After several extensions due to worldwide crises and lengthy legal battles, Dr. Pavel Cossack's new book finally hit bookshelves and e-LIbraries on the 15th of March. `The Failure of Man' is a simply titled book that has already brought about complex fallout. It has been at the heart of controversy ever since word of the project was leaked out of Cossack's pubLIshing house late last year. Where `Galatea's Lament' was primarily an impersonal book with moments of intense personal reflection, `The Failure of Man' is an extremely personal book with an undercurrent of world history running throughout. Cossack's book addresses the pLIght of the Reploid soldier by using their own words, collected through a series of confidential interviews accumulated by `various means' (according to his lawyers). The reflections of RepLIforcers and Mavericks aLIke are used, though no Maverick Hunters were apparently interviewed. The question of `why we fight' is poised to the Reploids, resulting in very similar, yet extremely personal answers. RepLIforce soldiers discuss motivations that show nobiLIty and perserverance despite the UN's slow movement to acknowledge them as true citizens; as would be expected, Mavericks depict themselves as freedom fighters against the UN regime -- but with a subtext within their words of loss, sadness and frustration with their lot. >> more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ IC News $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Message: 14/11 Posted Author New Book Causes Stir (2/2) Sun Mar 16 News Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It becomes possible to look at both RepLIforce soldiers and Mavericks as sympathetic characters through the course of the text. This is the cause of most of the controversy surrounding the book, especially since great pains were taken to keep the participants anonymous. The book puts the interviews in a historical context whenever possible. An area of extremely rich detail is the circumstances and fallout of the first Battle of RepLIforce Island, in which several parties interviewed for the book actually transition from being RepLIforce soldiers to Mavericks. The slow descent into Maverick behavior is recounted through the use of supposedly unadulterated journal entries from before, during and after the `change', focusing more on the personal fallout than (unfortunately, some would say) the technical details of the event. `The Failure of Man' has already begun its rise through the New York Times Best-Seller chart, and is poised to be nearly as influential as Cossack's previous mass marketed book. Whether or not he will remain insulated from the poLItical fallout of the text as he was in the past remains to be seen... $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Tartarus $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Message: 15/1 Posted Author X Sat Mar 15 Zero ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I'm waiting for you X. Let's see if you've got the courage to stand up to me. It's obvious you haven't had the courage to even say a word to me in the past few weeks. So maybe this will call you out. I'll be waiting at the pit. I doubt you even reaLIze who this is. Just know, that if you come, you better come prepared. I'm not going to hold back. You had better not either. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$