To unravel my Fabian/Mandate/Blackie confusion I just purchased the Kindle editions of TAS and TDB so I could use the search function to find the passages I had overlooked or forgotten. And, yes, I see now that it was mentioned twice in TAS that Fabian Everyman was the name of character who, posing as a superhero, took the alias of The Mandate. When Fabian was reintroduced in TDB, that went right over my head that he was the Mandate "superhero" from TAS, though. Of course with search function hindsight, I'm seeing it now (using keyword Mandate) that he is also labeled as The Mandate in TDB. I tend to polish off your novels in single 3- or 4-hour sitting. Sorry if I'm not connecting the dots like I should. ;-)
But was it ever revealed in TAS that Fabian/Mandate was the Black Pharaoh? When did the auditors become aware of his true identity? I'm not finding it, but I'll continue to punch in keywords.
]]>Anyway, I've reread the relevant passages several times, so I believe he is. It all seems rather deus ex machina to suddenly introduce N'yar Lat-Hotep into the game without giving us any foreshadowing that he's cooling his heals in the Tower of London, playing Go and watching cable TV. Be that is it may, I'm not sure if there were hints that you may have dropped in earlier books of him residing in the Tower. But questions remain (at least for this reader), what's the backstory of him being imprisoned, and why wasn't he banished from our universe (after all if you have the power to imprison him, it seems perfectly reasonable that you can banish him if you can't destroy him)? My apologies if I'm being overly fussy as a reader, but I'm hoping that this will be cleared up in your upcoming TLI.
]]>I do a lot of my work from coffee shops. Many people have trouble believing that I can possibly be working if I'm not at the office! — and no it's not a convenient time to talk right now. But I may have been one of those people poking at the iPhones you've seen.
My problem with mobile applications is that they're starting to develop a theory of mind, but they won't be able to recognize my asocialness, and they'll be bad as needy talkier that I try to avoid in public spaces.
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]]>From a Kirkus review on back of a very old paperback of Heinlein's Space Cadet: "A writer well-known in the 'astounding story' field, and author of last year's Space Ship, projects us into the year 2075 with all the lift and zip of which he is capable ... "
I wonder if she misremembered the title of Rocket Ship Galileo as Space Ship?
]]>Frankly, I don't trust the scanners. The California Board of Radiologists complained that they hadn't been adequately tested, and that they should be regarded as a health risk until proven otherwise. Two radiologists I know won't use them, either.
]]>http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/heres-how-green-card-chaos-unfolded
]]>James Joyce: "Ulysses." This was the book I was supposed to read way back in college, but I was never able to read it. Coming up to the last looooonnggg chapter. Overall, it's been worth the effort. There's some brilliant passages in it, but there's lots of tediousness, too.
And I recently polished off the "The Nightmare Stacks." Great fun to read!
]]>The evolution of energy sources and consumption starting before the Industrial Revolution; evolving into the 20th Century energy boom; the great crash that followed the exhaustion of energy resources; the 150 years of turmoil and economic depression that followed.
The accumulation of capital in a small group of elites, and their attempt to wrest control of national-level political systems; the creation of supra-national keptocracy; and the subsequent revolution that overthrew the kleptocracy after the Great Crash.
The steady increase of religious fundamentalism after 2200. World literacy drops to 20 percent by end of the 22nd Century. Scientific and engineering progress largely stalled for the next 150 years.
The rise and fall of the Green Revolution; the mass starvation after the petrochemical inputs for the Green Revolution fail; the rise of GMOs and the contamination of the food plant cultivars with what in retrospect were unfortunate experiments in genetic manipulation.
The rise and fall of science as an engine of economic and cultural improvement; the scientific revolution, it's peak in the 60's, and it's failure to develop any of the technologies that would have been able to stave off the Great Crash (partially aggravated by item 2, the Kleptocracy diverting resources from pure scientific research).
Politics in a parliamentarian democracy is mostly about compromise. The trouble with compromise is that it can allow the actors to kick the can down the road (so to speak) on critical issues that should be addressed quickly. I wish Scotland the best no matter what happens, but an attitude of "well, we'll sort it out and muddle through" doesn't bode well for a future nation.
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