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Another Teaser for a future project - Bob Schroeck - 04-17-2008
I've been feeling guilty about how slowly chapter 6 has been going recently, so my conscience (or something...) has been nudging me to post bits and pieces of other projects as a kind of apology.
I guess I'm feeling apologetic again, because here's another enigmatic but suggestive sequence for people.
Doug was wearing his helmet by the time she caught up with him.
Makoto was already at his side, posed almost like a bodyguard
with a grim look on her face. "<System,>" Rei heard him say as
she slipped into place on his other side, "<load song
'Starlight Express'. Play song.>"
Rei's eyes widened and she turned her head with a snap to stare
at him. *He's not seriously going to try...?" She couldn't even
complete the thought. She *knew* that song -- one of the last
times she and her father had spent a civil evening together, he
had taken her to see a production of the musical of the same
name. She'd thought it a little silly and cheesy, with people on
rollerskates singing and pretending to be trains, but the title
song had sent, *still* sent, chills up and down her spine -- even
in English the plaintive cry for certainty and assurance in the
dark of night resonated with the core of her own calling as a
miko.
She wasn't sure if she wanted to see what happened, or run away
from it.
"<When your goodnights have been said
And you are lying in bed
With the covers pulled up tight,
And though you count every sheep
You get the feeling that sleep
Is going to stay away tonight,
That's when you hear it coming
That's when you hear the humming
Of the midnight train.
Here again, can't explain
That midnight train, that midnight train...>"
Almost against her will, Rei found herself turning her eyes to
the night sky above; it was darker and more star-strewn this
night than it had been in years thanks to the blackouts caused by
the Dark Kingdom's attacks.
"<Starlight Express, you must confess
Are you real, yes or no?
Starlight Express, answer me yes
I don't want you to go...>"
Although she had been waiting for it, when it happened it still
took her by surprise.
One moment she'd been studying the stars, looking for something,
anything to move. The next she jumped as a steam whistle that
belonged on a cruise ship sounded so close that it seemed to be
in her ear, so strong that she was almost bowled over by the
force of its cry. Her eyes snapped shut involuntarily at the
overwhelming intensity of it even as she clapped her hands over
her ears. A gust of wind followed, and she was caught in a blast
of hot, moist air as something huge and metallic roared to a stop
somewhere in front of her.
Lowering her hands, Rei opened her eyes to find herself staring
at the front of a steam locomotive larger than any she had ever
seen in her life, too big to run on any track she knew of. Its
cowcatcher, the foremost tip of which was less than ten
centimeters from the toes of her red pumps, had to be at least
four meters wide and was made of two interlocking sets of bars
that reminded her of nothing so much as bared teeth. From there,
her eyes tracked up at least five meters before resting upon the
circular end of an immense boiler. Two huge headlamps, each
easily a meter across, hung on either side of its three-meter
diameter and emitted blazing yellow beams that shot out over all
their heads. Dust motes and insects drifted through them,
briefly illuminated and in turn making the beams themselves
almost visible objects in their own right.
And the beams were not the only light emitted by the huge
machine. As Rei's eyes traced its antique-seeming lines she
realized that faint shimmers raced along its edges and angles,
glistening traces of silvery starlight that were constantly in
motion, limning the locomotive and giving it an unearthly glow.
She was about to reach out and touch one of the racing glimmers
of light when the headlamps swivelled to shine their beams down
upon herself, Makoto and Doug. The cowcatcher flexed like a
mouth as the locomotive looked at them and said in a voice almost
too loud to bear, "Who has flagged me down, and why?"
Rei's head snapped up and she stared. Somehow, without any
detail of its construction having changed, she no longer was
looking at the front end of a machine. She was staring into a
face -- a proud, aristocratic face.
The voice, as loud and overpowering as it was, was a blend of
familiar sounds: the basso rumble of distant wheels on rails,
the hiss of released steam, even the ringing of bells and the
shriek of whistles. Still, it spoke in Japanese, or so she
thought, and still it was comprehensible for all the wild noise
that made it up.
"I have, Elder," Doug said softly but firmly, "to see if you
would pick up passengers." On his other side, Makoto still
stood, unmoving, solid as rock.
*Elder.* Rei's eyes widened with realization. She had expected
Doug would somehow *create* a train with the song. She now
realized that Doug had done something else entirely. No matter
what it looked like, this was no mere machine, no mere construct
of magical power, in front of them.
It was a kami. Just as in the play, the Starlight Express was a
kami.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- DHBirr - 04-17-2008
Oooooo-K, either the situation is mind-bogglingly desperate or Doug's experiences in DWV really mellowed him out regarding
summoning Celestials.
Aside from that, I'm unable to comment meaningfully, as almost all of what I know of Sailor Moon I learned from this site.
-----
Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.
- Bob Schroeck - 04-17-2008
Quote:Oooooo-K, either the situation is mind-bogglingly desperate or Doug's experiences in DWV really mellowed him out regarding summoning Celestials.There's a hint about the answer to that in one line within the passage.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- Evil Midnight Lurker - 04-17-2008
"...blackouts caused by the Dark Kingdom's attacks..." Yeah, I'd call it desperation. ^.^
--Sam
"That's sick! You guys are all sickos!""
- robkelk - 04-17-2008
So... is this set during what canonically would be the Galaxia Arc of the final season? (The one with the Sailor Starlights...)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
- Bob Schroeck - 04-17-2008
Nope. It's set during the first season. Doug meets Sailor Moon on her first night on the job -- and the changes cascade from there.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- ordnance11 - 04-18-2008
That suggests that the DK has gotten smarter in their tactics...probably in reponse to smarter enemies.
It kinda reminds me of a quote by Belgarath:
"Give me a stupid enemy. They're the best kind."
__________________
Into terror!, Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell
- Norgarth - 04-18-2008
Yeah, I've seen it suggested several times that Beryl never sent out 'soldier youma' like the Doom And Gloom Girls (as opposed to energy collector
youma) until the final showdown because she couldn't take the Senshi seriously, seeing as how they seemed to rely on luck more than skill.
With real training they would seem more dangerous, causing Beryl to up the ante.
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin
- Proginoskes - 05-14-2010
Another thought: In a number of settings, humans are special because they're cast in the image of O-Kami-sama, but other things (living and inanimate) have their own gods in whose image they are made: everything in the mortal world is an imperfect copy of something divine. These "divine templates" are certainly very powerful and worthy of the greatest respect, but aren't truly Powers in the same sense as O-Kami-sama and gods of abstractions. Doug would probably be much more comfortable in calling upon The Starlight Express than Hermes, God of (among many other things) Transportation. So Doug would need to only be fairly desperate, not mind-bogglingly so.
- Bob Schroeck - 08-07-2012
"Doug-sensei?"
I looked up from my thoughts to see Rei standing in the aisle
next to my seat. She braced herself against the shaking of the
train car with one hand grasping the rail below the luggage rack
and another the back of the seat before me.
"Yes, Rei?"
She studied me for a long moment with as expressionless a face as
I'd ever seen her wear. On someone as fiery and passionate as
she it was an alien thing, and made her look almost like another
person entirely. Then her brow creased fractionally, shattering
the effect, and she was the girl I had known all these months.
"The *Starlight Express*, sensei?" she asked.
I studied her for a moment, understanding the question that was
not actually spoken, then shrugged. "Just because Sir Andrew
wrote a musical in which it appears does not make it
*imaginary*."
Rei gave me a dubious look. "What else is real, then? The
Everlasting Cat?"
I snorted. "Now you're being silly, tei-"
Somewhere outside the Express a feline yowl sounded, loud enough
to momentarily overwhelm the noise of the engine and the
clackety-clack of the wheels on their astral tracks. Both of our
heads swivelled to stare into the star-speckled black beyond the
windows.
"-shi," I finished lamely.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- Bob Schroeck - 08-07-2012
(The Everlasting Cat is, of course, mentioned in Cats, perhaps the definitive Andrew Lloyd Webber musical outside of Jesus Christ Superstar.)
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- robkelk - 08-07-2012
Bob Schroeck Wrote:(The Everlasting Cat is, of course, mentioned in Cats, perhaps the definitive Andrew Lloyd Webber musical outside of Jesus Christ Superstar.)Oh, great - now I'm thinking of that NanoStep where I sent Doug to Aria... a show with a character who may as well be The Everlasting Cat.
Don't give me ideas for writing yet another Stagger, Bob - I have too many on the spike as it is...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
- DHBirr - 08-07-2012
Quote:Rei gave me a dubious look. "What else is real, then? TheI'm naturally reminded of the Girl Genius moment when Ardsley Wooster asks if they're going to run into some sort of "ancient undead Heterodyne vampire or something." In direct contrast to Doug's skepticism:
Everlasting Cat?"
I snorted. "Now you're being silly, tei-"
Quote:Carson von Mekkhan: Oh, and wouldn't that be the perfect capper to my day.-----
Wooster: Um, actually, that wasn't a "Ho ho, don't be silly, old chap."
von Mekkhan: I ain't being paid to lie to you, Brit.
Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.
- classicdrogn - 08-10-2012
And here I thought Doug was going to whistle up Denliner... Does Starlight Express travel in time also?
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
- Bob Schroeck - 08-10-2012
It's never explicitly said, CD. But since it's the God of Steam Trains, maybe, if only to stay in touch with the era of its Sphere of Influence. Your guess is as good as mine.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- Black Aeronaut - 08-13-2012
....... Dammit, Bob. Now that's something else for Dear Sweet Kami-sama...
- Bob Schroeck - 08-13-2012
What is? I am confused.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- robkelk - 08-14-2012
How many gods are there in Dear Sweet Kami-sama, again?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
- Bob Schroeck - 08-14-2012
...but how do you fit a train in there?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- Black Aeronaut - 08-14-2012
... Zeke is a budding techno-mage in a world where the Industrial Revolution included 'Sparks' Bwa-Ha-Haing their way into people's hearts and minds. And then you have wonderful Shintoism. Animism taken to it's finest levels. A religion where even (especially!) nuclear reactors receive praises so their Kami will oblige them with untroubled operation throughout their life times. You think the land of the Shinkansen isn't gonna have a train-kami?
- Bob Schroeck - 08-14-2012
...Ah. Best check the play first, though. The Starlight Express is going to be at best politely cool to a Shinkansen kami. It's very much a "steam first and only" god; the play ends with the Express telling the diesel and electric locomotives how they can be retrofitted to steam, and everyone cheering on how good an idea that is.
ETA: At least the version I'm familiar with, which is the original London/Broadway script from the late 80s/early 90s. If the title song is any indication, the entire production seems to have undergone some dramatic mutations over the decades; the ending may well have changed.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- itsune9tl - 08-17-2012
Bob Schroeck Wrote:...but how do you fit a train in there?Same way you fit a pool in a "Police Phone" booth, perhaps?
RE: Another Teaser for a future project - Bob Schroeck - 11-20-2016
"I know you, child..." the Express said wonderingly.
Usagi was shocked into an uncharacteristic stillness. "You do?"
"Indeed," it rumbled. "You are young Serenity, daughter of
Serenity. You once rode in my coach as a babe, swaddled in white
samite and held in your mother's arms."
There was a flare of light and a crack like thunder, and the
living train vanished, replaced by what looked like a cross
between a man and a robot. He was large and muscular, and plates
of gleaming steel made up his body, flexing like flesh as he
stepped toward the frozen Usagi. Reaching out one massive,
shining hand, he cupped her chin and studied her, a look of
fondness growing upon his metallic face.
"Your mother was a dear friend of mine, child, and though you
died these ten millennia past and have since been reborn, you
still favor her greatly." The Express looked around, and as its
eyes fell upon her, Rei felt the Mind behind them briefly plumb
her soul. "And the other princesses as well. Of course." It
nodded to itself and then turned its gaze back to Usagi.
"Beryl and her army of demons rise again, then?"
Usagi took a breath, and Rei could see her visibly don her
princess aspect like a cloak. "Yes, Locomotive-dono, they have."
She gestured to the darkness surrounding them. "This very night
Beryl has struck at Tokyo. I -- we -- have assembled an army to
strike back."
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- Black Aeronaut - 11-21-2016
Cri-ma-NEE! Bob, this just keeps getting better and better all the time.
- DHBirr - 11-21-2016
I'm sure this wasn't what you intended, but I saw "ten millennia" and "large and muscular ... plates of gleaming steel..." and thought, "The Astartes have arrived! For the Emperor!"
-----
"The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that this was some killer weed."
-----
Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.