meta
So, what I’d like to do is for you to go and read the comment series starting here – and note, this is an invitation for y’all to criticize me, not the commenter, so however much we may disagree, let’s keep it civil, please – and give me your
trope-a-day
Blood Sport: This, obviously, gets much easier when you have noetic backup technology to ensure that you don’t run out of people quite as fast as you otherwise might. Even so, in the Empire and other civilized polities, this is usually limited to martial arts competitions where death is
worldbuilding
So what’s the eldraeic take on spite? (In both the game theoretic and emotional senses.) In the former, that it’s pointless and self-defeating, inasmuch as it’s a negative-sum interaction. You lose, they lose. The best you can do in a spiteful interaction is come out relatively better
trope-a-day
Blood on the Debate Floor: It’s not usual. That said, it has nonetheless happened and occasionally still does, especially in the early days when any hint of the sort of sentiments that led up to the Drowning of the People reoccurring would tend to lead rapidly to the defenestration
Imperial State Security
mercenary (n.): A source who is working for us in exchange for money (typically discreetly delivered cryp) and detailed explanations of where all their body parts are likely to be found in the event of a contract default. A pleasure to work with, relatively speaking, because all the cards are
non-canon
So, I was chasing links this morning and ended up at a State Department travel advisory, and then this just wrote itself, really… “The Ministry of State and Outlands alerts Imperial citizen-shareholders that the quadrennial elections are scheduled to take place in Blatantly Obvious Expy near the end of this
trope-a-day
Blade Below the Shoulder: Some types I and II exist; the former because a strap-on “weapon pod” is a standard accessory for quick-draw weapons, some of which might as well be blades, and the latter because – well, while they’re as impractical as concealed weapons as any other cybernetic implant,
Nucleodyne Thrust Applications
The headquarters of Nucleodyne Thrust Applications was not, it was widely held, the most elegant of the habs in close orbit about Melíeré. The double-torus housing both the living spaces and the corporate offices, adorned about the docking hub with the stylized silver atom over flaring golden sun of the
trope-a-day
Bizarre Seasons: Eliéra’s seasons aren’t actually all that bizarre, but they are more complicated than the standard model. It has something resembling our earthly seasons (based on the binary system it occupies, rather than non-applicable axial tilt: it is summer when the planet is between the stars, increasing
Hope Hegemony
“I don’t know why I’ve been connected to you, but could you kindly redirect me to Kejor Nreslin?” “He’s not available. He’s been – reallocated.” “Then let me talk to whoever has replaced him.” “Dammit. That’s me. But I can’t talk to you.” “What?” “I
trope-a-day
Bizarre Alien Sexes: While the eldrae started out with the standard two (male, female), biotechnology has since added two more to their repertoire (neuter, hermaphrodite). And the standard taxonomy of sexes in their language, which has to cope with other species, includes two more – the most common mappings of other-species
worldbuilding
While going over the old “How to Tell if You’re Imperial” post, this particular entry stood out to me:If you have an appointment, you’ll be sure to turn up a couple of minutes late. While you’ll apologize if you’re more than five minutes late, being