“Okay, you’re done for the week. It’s time to go home.” “But –” “No exceptions, Lissel. The policy’s there for a reason.” “I just need to finish –” “And you’ve been here for thirty hours already this week. You’re one of the Initiative’s top designers, and
Clarke’s Third Law: Happens about as much as Cargo Cult when dealing with less advanced civilizations, and about as embarrassing. And, look, people “god” (see Deus Est Machina) does not necessarily imply “supernatural”.
All income earned, by individuals other than the Imperial Service or duly contracted security providers where the activities in question are within the scope of their contract, in the course of: * Defeating or preventing existential, species-level, or Imperial security threats, whether global or local; * Repelling raids or invasions; * Preventing acts
City of Spies: Many spies, of course, hang around Nepscia (Galith Waste) and its red market, both because many secrets find their way there, and because a city with no rules (see: Wretched Hive) makes an excellent place to play intelligence agencies’ rougher away games. Likewise, the Conclave Drift contains
Wretched Hive: The planet Nepscia (Galith Waste) is the canonical example. Its primary inhabited portion is one large red market – which is to say, it’s one giant bastardized offspring of Jackson’s Whole and Tortuga. It’s a… fun place to visit in the right frame of mind – but
Quöé and her clique called us staid, today, among a few other less polite assertions. Can you imagine that? Me! Staid! I didn’t understand what they meant until I remembered how they used to look at me and my cousins when we first got here, before we’d learned
Church Militant: The eikones revered by the Church of the Flame include two war gods, arguably so described: DĂşrĂ©nĂän, eikone of righteous war, battle, conquest, strategy and tactics, and patron of the sentinels; and KalasanĂ©, eikone of battle, courage, valor, victory through strength, and personal combat. Their combined religious order,
And here I answer a comment in the long form, because I think it deserves a longer and more general answer than would fit in just the comment post: To fill in some background first for those who aren’t regular or long-term readers, the thing that is particularly important
Stiff Upper Lip: Displays of talcorĂĂ«f (see: Blue and Orange Morality) are made of this. Aplomb, always aplomb. (Although, in fairness, well-executed talcorĂĂ«f does permit a little more enthusiasm than this – but is much the same where imperturbability is called for.)
…a deck of playing cards, in the typical Imperial style used for Ăłmith and for some sub-games of kĂrasseth, contains 96 cards. 72 of these make up the six suits of twelve cards each, each with its particular elemental association: the suit of clouds, representing air and steam; the suit
Chess Motifs: Not strictly, since there isn’t chess, but the locals can and will treat you to a generous selection of larileth, iandaĂ«r, and kĂrasseth motifs – as seen, in the third case, in the title of “Princess of Clouds to Archetypes, Gilek-Four – Your Move“.
First there was the Adaptech Adventurer’s Pistol, and that was bad for those us who believe in trying to exert some sort of control over the proliferation of arms in our countries. Usually you can try and regulate the ammunition, or the fuel, or the high-density energy cells too,