I already know half o' ya love me for my charmin' ways if not for my little dog Muffy. I also know that half o' ya would care not 'tall if I dropped dead tomorrow and a couple might even help the matter along. If they could do it wit out harming their precious reputations. Ya might have noticed I care not one way or ta' other which group ya fall inta. This ain't about me and none o' ya have even annoyed me yet. Anger at some anonymous typers is sheerly out of the question.

But why are ya all so friggin' self absorbed?

I kin understand there's differences o' opinions. God knows there's more'n enough of that even wit out the juice running in yer skulls. I kin even understand ya feelin' ya got some sort of elite little club going on here even though the reality o' it proves that ta be a fools paradise. Ya got more'n a few basies posting here.

The little talk of who kin survive an atomic bomb is a perfect example. Ya argue first one way then ta'other but it's like just snarking at each other. Who gives a rats arse who gonna survive it and who won't? If a money man somewheres drops one then he's going ta piss off everybody else wondering if he's willing ta do it on their land. Not ta mention eight thousand plus novas suddenly getting the queer idea that maybe they're next on the list. It's like ya got no perspective at all.

"Oh" ya say, "There's worse'n an A-bomb and some tan genius already has it worked out"

I hope it dinae take a node ta come up with that little pearl o' wisdom. Ya do realize there's worse that can be done and the folks that kin do it are all over the world, yeh? Little Endeavor might not be much more'n a flying gun but there's worse'n her running about. Did ya know about the five or six that could bring yer pretty computers ta the ground? Or the fifteen that need only throw a temper tantrum in Manhatten ta crash the economy o' the great mountainy Americas?

Morg talks about how she kin do this or that and she rights about it meaning nothing in the long run. She's just one little girl with a bundle of juice, no doubt Pax would drop her faster'n her prom date did. But what about the fella that puts a ton o' gold at the base of the Eiffel friggin' Tower? Or what puts a diamond tha size of an auto in down town Jebal in Saudi? Oh nah, that's beneath yer notice. Is that cause it don't give ya chance to stand up and trumpet yer beliefs for any that'll listen?

It's like it's all or nothing wit ya. Ya either think yer walking around all quiet like when half of ya would light up the sky wit yer juice or yer grandstanding and talking about how this don't matter cause it's not violent enought. Like ya don't respect anything but the power whether it's yers or theirs. Oh, some talk about being equals or being above it all but I notice yer still here talking. I've counted maybe two or three that actually seem to have their head attached but they're shouted down most of the time by those that don't want ta hear it.

God forbid ya actually talk instead of blather on about about how mysterious ya are, how powerful or how painful yer past was. Who gave ya yer name, who didn't ask ya out on a date or when yer wee kitty cat died and what it felt like to ya.

So why are ya so friggin' self absorbed? Just being curious is all.

Actually, Gaedel, I love you for both your charming wit and your so-ugly-I'm-cute mutt.

What do you want to talk about? I mean, besides the percieved level of self-absorbtion around here, that is.

For that matter, if you want to know something about me, just do an OpSearch or ask me. If it isn't too personal, I will. Tell us about yourself as well.

Thank you for taking the first step.

Always the sensitive lad. I'm sure there's a joyce term for it at university but the one gave will do.

Gaedel.

I must have missed the a-bomb converstaion.

And I'm not mysterious, I just value my privacy. No more mysterious than the crazy codger down the street who keeps all the sport balls that land in his yard.

.ronin

O'er on "It Feels Like...". Second page, arguing basies and novas going at it. Who would kick arse and missing the heart o' the matter in my mind.

I can see wanting privacy. Got little enough of it myself these days. What I meant was the folks trying ta wear "mysterious" like it was their favorite sweater. Out of the blue they blather on 'bout their ma and da, the pain of their past, how no one undestands 'em and what not.

Anonymous is fine and a cute trick if ya can pull it off. For them as can't cypher this on their own - mysterious means shuttin' up and keeping it shut. Posing is only that.

Am I guilty of these things? I'm not always so good socially and usually horrible verbally so I don't think I would know if I were.

Not so's I've seen. Ya've been nothing but kind and courteous ta me so I've no fault with yer manners. I'm sure there's mystery about ya, but it seems ta be limited ta yer womanly graces.

I meant like boastful and full of myself, I don't want to be like that. I know I can be rather rude, I don't care about that. I'm not sure about the mystery thing either, I try to be pretty up front with what I can be.

So are you going to spill the beans, give us some insight into you? I don't exactly keep up with the scene so if you're anyone I should have heard about, I probably haven't. I guess it's just that I enjoy your point of view enough that I'm curious to know who you are.

Not so's I've noticed. Met one or two boasting braggarts but did not see ya walking among them. 'Tis insight ya be wanting? It tickles me ta be described in a deep sounding manner. Ya'll be disappointed but I'll leave 'deep' ta them wanting ta be mysterious. I'll do short and ya kin ask what ya like.

Grew up in a teeny village on the west coast of Ireland. I know how ta fish and still do on occassion. When I was old enough and cagey enough I managed ta convince the owner of the gazette that I'd make a fine correspondent. Not that I was ever that o' course. A doer o' minor deeds and conveyor of 'chino more like. I think ya american's call it being someone's bitch but it was nae a bad life.

I woke a few months back. We were coverin' one o' those excavations the american's love ta see on Discovery. Cold as a post digger's arse and wet ta boot but it was field work and I loved it. Damn thing was a hundred meters under the hills and ya could just feel the rock weighing o'er yer head. I never did like tight little spaces 'less it was my lack providin' it.

When I'd had enough I left by the the shortest route. Right thru the rock. Liked ta scare them network amadáin ta death. Ya got ta picture a big ol' man o' stone rising up outta the ground. I'm near certain half of them shat themselves.

No secret club o' villains, terrible tragedies or depths o' character waiting ta be plumbed. The loss of painkillin' medicinal ta a barrel of Da Millikin's finest was tragic enough. Muffy howled the first time she seen me do it and that set off all the dogs in the neighborhood. Made my head hurt worse than it should 'ave. I can't say that I'd expect ya ta know me. My face is known here and the bloody tan's started paying attention but doing what I do means I can go anywhere's ya find spark.

I stay away from piped telly after ending up unannounced in Wales. Damn switchboards.

Gaedel.

Thanks for sharing your story. It's nice to see someone here who doesn't have some sort of extreme personal tragedy hanging over their head like the Sword of Damocles.

Just a reminder, though, about judgement.

Novas comprise a group of individuals who each and every one have the power to change the world. And just as great power comes with great responsibility, so too are all factors of life magnified, and this often means tragedy, as well. It's a rare baseline who will ever have to face the families of the five hundred people who were killed when an entire bridge was shattered during rush hour as a result of your direct actions. Sarah Meeks had to do it seven years ago.

I hope that gives you a little idea of perspective. I have caused more trouble and tragedy for myself and been subject to more tragedy by fate than most baselines will experience in six lifetimes, but that has a lot to do with the fact that I can't feel something unless it hits me at mach 2, for example.

Novas do everything bigger and better than baselines. Why not personal tragedy, too?

.ronin

That line just will not die....

Greating Gaedel,

To answer your question, some of us try to be mysterious because it raises our pay, some because we try to hide from baseline hordes, or the law, or other novas, or ourselves. Some of us really are open books. And some of us are pretending we are more than we are.

Let me reverse the question, what do you do now for employment? How do you deal with your fans? Or how will you?

.Ronin.
I'd not demean a persons pain. It's being hit o'er the head repeatedly with the bloody mystery that sticks in my craw. If they want ta talk then fine I'll listen. If they don't then that's as well too 'cept for me teasin' 'em once in a while. Expectin' a poor lad ta follow the bread crumbs o' their lives ta discover their depth is too much ta ask. Why would I want ta what wit them wanting mystery and all?

Little Sarah is a different story. Knocked the bridge down and took a fair bushel o' souls with it true. But she didn't run. She stood her ground and squared the debt. I wouldn't mind speakin' with such a person as her. There's someone that has character instead o' being one.

Oh. Why didn't ya say so. Here I was thinking more than a few o' ya were more than a little daft. I didn't know it was meant ta be a crack.

The fans ain't bad actually. A little too busy now and then but a hard word at the proper time makes the point. The lot of 'em are good folks fer the most part. It's the damn tourists that are a problem but generally I kin lead 'em where I want 'em ta be. And guide 'em ta where their money will do some good.

Being open ta the local newsies takes care of some problems. Fer them that think acting the fool will bring 'em audience I give the business ta their competition. The N lads are a special case but aren't they always. We have a friendly go now and again but they pay the locals fer the gossip or they pay me fer my time. After they were fined the farm plus the cows fer violatin' air laws they've played nice.

Fer employment... A little of everything. Haven't met a politician I was willin' ta hoor for and pay for speakin' seemed much the same. I like my home and we're cool ta the Project so that was bolluxs. Same with bloody elites. I've done some odd jobs government but lately I've been helping the bright lads at the university. Between their curiosity and my charms I've kept comfortable. Just last month I found 'em what they were looking for and now spanish gold is in the local.

It's nae steady work but it's interesting and I've seen things no one else has in a thousand years.

If it is what makes you happy, you have found your kingdom. Nothing wrong with that.

Have you ever gotten the opportunity to do any work in the Shetlands or the Orkneys? I have always been facinated by the grave- and village sites there. I just have never had the time to really take a look.

I'd be interested in hearing about what you have seen if you don't mind sharing.

And I have to agree, I'm so tired of hearing people whine about their tragedys. Me personally have had shit for an upbringing but I realize no one wants to hear about it, and frankly, I don't want to talk about it. So unless someone asks you about your problems, shut the hell up and stop your bitchin.

Gaedel.

You're right. Despite being almost universally hated now, Meeks is a really nice girl, and someone that I like as a person a whole lot. With her power, it would be easy to just leave Seattle and never come back. Sure, she might be found, but it's equally as likely that she wouldn't at all. One favor from me would ensure she disappears altogether.

But Sarah isn't like that. She chose to take ultimate responsibility for something that although caused by her actions, was an accident, plain and simple. A tragedy that nobody anticipated. And there she is, taking all the blame. I respect her tremendously for that.

Sarah, girl, if you're out there and happen to read this, your buddy Ronin would like to see you again. It's been too long.

.ronin

This is so cool. I've gotten so embarassed to talk about my eruption. I mean, every other nova I meet erupted fighting of a gang of bikers, or falling off some mountain they were climbing, or while trying to figure out the ultimate math theory. Me? I was late for work and couldn't find my keys. Thanks for making me feel not so alone buddy. Now if I could just figure out what the hell you were saying half the time.

I speak proper Gerald. 'Tis the rest o' ya foreigners that sound strange.

There must be thousands more real folk out there. Did ya not hear o' the lad having a dream o' walking inta class without his clothes and unprepared for his exams? It was aenough ta cause him ta awaken ta the light.

"Hyper accelerated neuron parallel sequencing with limited influence o'er virtual particle pairs" is what they say in the article. A right smart bastard that can create something from thin air is how I describe it. He can still make naught but clothing but he's working on it. A bright lad like that will get it some day.

Apep, would ya know that the oceans around Ireland are o'er a hundred meters deeper taday than of olde? As you might guess there's a bit out there long forgotten. Now what have I seen? Much and time is short but here's a couple that interest me.

Preserved in the cold of the mud a warrior with his hands tight ta the helm of his long boat and held in place with leather cord. His ship cracked clean in twain and the bodies of his mates are strewn along the bottom. All but the one have their swords missing or still clutched in their hands. Of what hit the ship I can find not a sign but there's coin and pretty stones not from my land along the bottom. This is a new one and I'm still drawing the diagrams fer the university lads but some of what I'm finding has them in a lather. They're tryin' ta get some expert on arabic things in ta look it o'er.

Under the bay near my home lies a structure they call "barrow-like". 'Tis odd but as near can be cyphered there are six entrances. Each is a tunnel barely large enough for a medium sized lad ta crawl through 'n at intervals there's a space large enough fer ten like me ta stand tall. All lead to a central area half the size of a football field. That's real football nae what ya american's play. Along the upper areas are balconys but the field itself is littered wit bones. I've found many a man's skull in the muck and the bones of many an animal as well. Some o' them are bloody large.

I've been asked ta look o'er graves as well but I ask ya - if ya could what I do would ya really want ta be doin' it in a bone yard?

Smith, I mentioned yer questions ta one o' lads at university. I dinnae see yer concern on fans 'til he showed me some o' the clippings on their antics overseas. Ya got ta understand Ireland is a little different. More'n one time we kicked our gods in the arse and put'em down. That sort o' history gives ya a different way o' lookin' at things.

Ronin, Seattle or the America's is nae the world. We've our own way of seeing things elsewhere. Little Sarah would be welcome in my land.

'Tis good ta meet ya all. Wit all those carryin' on about saving the world from boojums it seemed the masters of the friggin' universe were meeting. Not that they're all complete nutters but most do nae have the tightest of grip on things real. Self absorbed ya know.

Is that one hundered meters deeper or hundred meters of shoreline lost?

You know, If circumstances were different, I think I'd be doing exactly what you are. or I could only hope to be. I can't figure out exactly why but all of that sort of thing really fascinates me. If your work ever leads you to Egypt, let me know, I might be able to help you. Not that you need the help, but it is a favorite place of mine.

And congratulations on the knighting by the way. It must be weird to be honored in such a fashion.

Apep, each to their own kingdom. What Gaedel has found certainly seems to work for him. Is your life now not of your liking?

No Jager, I like it just fine. I'm grateful for much of it. In someways no one has it better than me. It's just that sometimes, I just get tired.

I said deeper. The land measures time differently.

Apep yer welcome ta come join if the whim takes ya. Come along, there's no time like the present. Ya need not worry about the lads, they huddle around their toys and let me work as I need. I've found some glacier caves that none know of yet. Within the tunnels are bits of bronze and ya know what that means.

If naught else I'll teach ya what it means ta be as water.

Really? I'm not to fond of the cold, but I guess I don't really feel it that much anymore. I would love to come, but I don't want to get in your way either.

The glacier's been gone for five millennia but the caverns left behind are still down there along the edge o' the shelf. Ya'd nae be in the way.

I'm wanting ta lay low fer a bit til the fuss passes. Damn Harry. Why'd he want ta go and do that ta an honest man. And me thinkin' he was a good lad. Cagey enough what wit the way things have been goin' in the north of late. It was worth it ta see the glower on the face of that narky tart London Fog though.

Made the spoonful go down much smoother.

What exactly is it that you do?

I understand the part about being some kind of archeologist savant but what is it that you're doing with quantum?

It sounds odd.

A couple o' things. The one that does me the most good is becoming like other things. Bog, water, iron, spark, stone, it matters not what it is. Only whether I can feel it.

The one that makes folk stand back is sucking the writin' out of a book and inta my brain just by touching it. Looks impressive from what I'm told.

Wow, similar to, but so much more useful and flexible than what I got. I'm impressed.

I only have one other form and only got a couple of new skills.

'Tis not so much a change o' form. I... take what these things have, what they are, 'n then I... become as them. Cold as iron. Strong as the rock o' the land. Hot as fire. Swift as the spark. There's nae bars that can hold me an' I be wanting ta leave is true but sure ya kin say the same, yah?

Are novas really that bad? I mean, do we become full of ourselves and stop caring about everything else? I think that would be tragic.

I believe that having powers of our caliber would distance ourselves from Baselines regardless of aberrations and other transformations.

I still enjoy the company of Baselines, my family in particular..but it's comforting to have people like you who can understand what you feel. I guess that's why the more powerful Novas no longer deal with Baselines on any personal level. They feel that there is nothing there that they can associate with.

I don't think so.

There's more than a handful 'tis true. The thorn what jabs most is the narky bastards that think they're a sign pointing ta the one true path as if they *were* the future. Let 'em. The present has a way of bitin' in the arse. 'Sides, there's crack in seein' 'em going on about the woods then walking inta a tree.

Amen.

Bite me, finn.

Irish or not, and discounting colloquilisms, spelling doesn't change all that much between America and Europe. When you get yourself some decent vocoder software to use in posting and can manage to handle more than one train of thought at a time then you can ask me that.

Self absorbed is also an easy way for a limited intellect to categorize a state of mind beyond it's comprehension.

Have a nice day.

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Gaedel:

I've shifted my point of view towards you. Let's just say I don't hate ya. You do raise some important points.

There are somethings on these boards that has been going on that worries me. But this should be raised on a different thread.