And now, the second part of the Concordance.
Fred
**** **** ****
PART
TWO
Haoryu
The
spiritual dragons that inhabit the souls of people such as Koro Sonami, Tsukasa
Torusuke and Mago Tsueko – not to mention Morokuzu Ryoko, Koeru Kumomi and
Sebone Mimoko – have been called both "haoryu" (literally
"conquering dragon") or "shoryu" ("dragon lord")
throughout Ikkitosen. Such beings
– when they seize control of their hosts – unleash unspeakable destruction on
all those around them. In the PFTA
universe, when the toshi became Avalonians, people such as Sonami, Torusuke and
Tsueko managed to make peace with their dragons, thus allowing them to live
more peaceful lives under their full control.
Of course, with the presence of a potential phoenix in Moroboshi Hiromi
in their midst, the yin-and-yang balance between the dragon and the phoenix is
created, thus further ensuring the "fate of the sacred beads" was
denied.
"Is
he a good fighter? I wanna fight
him!"
A
perfect example of what the star of Ikkitosen is like: Laid back and mellow . . . but willing to
fight anyone that crosses her path at the drop of a hat!
Mesonium
("Meson")
An
element I created originally for The Senior Year as a powerful energy
source, this is – to borrow a quote from my Harry Potter fanfic The
Icemaidens and the Philosopher's Stone – "the atom of the mind and
soul (and thus, of magic)." It was
said to be created by the Seekers (the race of omnipotents I first mentioned in
Wanderers), has an atomic number of 181 and is given the chemical symbol
"Ms" by Terran scientists.
To differentiate it from the subatomic particle composed of one quark
and one anti-quark, "-ium" was added to mark the atomic meson an actual
element. It comes in three basic forms
(listed according to increasing density):
Diamond meson, ruby meson and ebony meson. Exposure to ebony meson directly – unless someone
has a strong psionic shield or is very well-disciplined – can drive any
sentient insane.
H.M.C.S.
Bonaventure
A
Majestic-class light carrier originally ordered as H.M.S. Powerful near
the end of World War Two, Bonaventure (pendant CVL-22) was
Canada's last aircraft carrier both in real-life and the PFTA universe;
she served from 1957-70. She is named
after Île Bonaventure, an island serving as a bird sanctuary which is located
off the southern coast of Québec's Gaspé Peninsula near the town of Percé in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The official
name of the park is Île Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé National Park.
H.M.S./H.M.C.S.
Eagle
H.M.S.
Eagle was an Audacious-class fleet carrier ordered for World War Two
service, but later suspended after the end of hostilities, then completed in
1951. She served in the Royal Navy until
her decommissioning in 1972; she was scrapped six years later. In Doug's universe, H.M.S. Eagle was
purchased by Canada to replace the Bonaventure. This was inspired by the storyline
"Canadian Power: The Canadian
Forces as a Major Power" by the alternate history writer TheMann at
the Alternate History website.
Seaborne
amphibious assault carriers Bonaventure and Magnificent
These
would be Wasp-class landing helicopter docks (hull classification code LHD)
built by the Avalonians to give the Canadians area air control and a battalion
battle group landing capability when needed.
N.C.S.M. Bonaventure (pendant LHD-23) would be based in
Halifax. In respect to her namesake
island, the new "Bonnie" would be crewed by French-speakers (thus
making this ship a French Language Unit or FLU). H.M.C.S. Magnificent (LHD-24)
would be based in Esquimalt. The second
ship of this particular type is named after Canada's second post-World War Two
aircraft carrier, H.M.C.S. Magnificent (CVL-21), which
served from 1946-56 before being replaced by the Bonaventure, then
returned to Great Britain and scrapped in 1965.
It
would be really weird to see a full colonel in Air Force blue actually
commanding a Navy ship!
Given
that the Canadian Forces had one uniform (known as "CF greens") from
1968-88, when it came time to introduce the Distinctive Environmental
Uniforms (DEUs), deciding who would get what type of uniform caused
some people a bit of a headache. It was
eventually decided that "hard core" Air Force (like a pilot), Army
(like an infantry soldier) and Navy (like a boatswain) trades would get to wear
the corresponding DEU. Thus, if the
Royal Canadian Navy followed United States Navy practice and placed a qualified
pilot as commander of the new Bonaventure or Magnificent – much less
Haida – he would be a colonel in rank and wear the Royal Canadian Air
Force blue uniform in lieu of being called a navy captain and wear Royal
Canadian Navy black.
The
Royal Canadian Corps of Air Cavalry
Short-formed
as RCCAC, this is my creation; this formation never existed in real
life. This is the corps that Major
Raeburn (see below) belonged to. And
while air cavalry pilots train in the same type of syllabus as normal Air Force
pilots do, they wear Army green as they are assigned to regiments and brigades,
not squadrons and wings.
An
Agent Kay (who looked a LOT like Tommy Lee Jones) and an Agent Jay (who could
be Will Smith's twin brother)
A
nod to the Men In Black movies, of course.
Coxswain
Short-formed
as Cox'n, this was the traditional title of a man in charge of a boat
when it came to navigation and steering.
In the Royal Navy, the coxswain was normally the rating in charge of a
captain's or admiral's barge. This
evolved into the position of the senior non-commissioned officer aboard a
corvette or submarine when those type of ships began to appear in the Royal
Navy (in larger vessels, a coxswain's duties were normally split between the
chief boatswain's mate and the master-at-arms).
This was transmitted over to the Royal Canadian Navy, but the position
of coxswain was set as the senior non-commissioned member of any Navy ship or
shore establishment. In the United
States Navy, this position is called the Command Master Chief Petty Officer.
I
call him "Chief" in return
Never,
EVER call a chief petty officer "Sir!" They work for a living!
Ipraedies
This
was the original "bad guys" from The Senior Year. Mike Smith created them.
An
estimated FIVE HUNDRED people from all over Earth were taken to Ipraedos
A
nod to the TSY story "The Return of Kosei Ryoki." Ryoki Kosei was Sakura's old high
school classmate who later became the homeroom teacher for Lum's class at
Tomobiki High. He slings hyperspace
mallets like Makimura Kaori from Cityhunter (his largest one is a
monster device called the "Saturn Five") did, was hopelessly in love
with Oyuki (he always fell apart whenever she did anything with him) and was
VERY sensitive to loud noises thanks to a particular torture the Ipraedies used
on him.
She
had finished her trades training at the Canadian Forces School of
Administration and Logistics in Borden north of Toronto (plus naval
environmental training at the Canadian Forces Fleet School in Halifax) at the
end of April.
Basic
steward training at CFSAL Borden is twelve weeks (60 training days) in
length. The Naval Environmental Training
Course held at CFFS Halifax runs for five weeks (20 training days). With a start date of Monday 3 January 2011,
Seina returned to Haida on 29 April 2011, a little over a week before
the start of this story.
And
while her girlfriend, Matsu'ura Ai, would be herself heading back to the Fleet
School in Esquimalt to continue her basic training as a hull technician first
thing in the morning, repeating same every Monday morning (being gone each week
until Friday evening) until near the end of June this year . . .
Canada
has three Fleet Schools for naval trades training: CFFS Halifax (Nova Scotia) and CFFS Esquimalt
(British Columbia) for regular Navy servicemen . . . and ENFC Québec (Québec)
for the naval reservists. For a hull
technician, basic trades training runs twenty weeks (100 training days)
according to the Canadian Forces recruiting website. Tack on naval environmental training, Ai will
return to Haida on 24 June 2011.
Resource
management support clerk
Known
in short-hand as RMS Clk. This is
a recent new trade in the Canadian Armed Forces. It came together in the 1990s with the
amalgamation of the trades of administration clerk (Adm Clk) and finance
clerk (Fin Clk). I was an
administration clerk during my years of service in the military from 1985-91. These people are responsible for all
personnel administration and financial services in the Canadian military.
H.M.C.S.
Onondaga
Like
the new Bonaventure and Magnificent indicated above, this is a
new ship built by the Avalonians, based on the DDH-280 TRUMP updated design for
an area air warfare destroyer, but with very advanced sensory and full
environmental safeguards. Given the
pendant number DDH-288, Onondaga is the second ship in the Navy
to bear the name; the original was an Oberon-class diesel attack submarine that
served in the RCN and MARCOM from 1967-2000.
She is currently a museum in Rimouski in Québec.
32
Maritime Utility Squadron
Given
the Navy short-hand code VU-32, this was originally a Royal Canadian
Navy shore-based utility support squadron formed in 1952 at Shearwater, serving
in the RCN and later Air Command until disbanded in 1992, its role taken over
by 434 Squadron (the Bluenosers). Thanks
to the Avalonians, VU-32 was reformed as a maritime utility squadron tasked
with everything from naval gunnery target towing, search and rescue, carrier
on-board delivery and training assistance missions. VU-32 was never given a nickname in active
service, but the Avalonians now helping crew the squadron came up with the
nickname "Precious Links" from the squadron's badge (two chain links,
one silver and one gold, interlinked and hanging in the air over the water).
Shades
of the Force! I thought when I heard that
I
actually based the concept of the Te'a on the concept of a'Tha
(literally, "The Other") that Diane Duane introduced in her Star
Trek novel Spock's World.
Over time, the Te'a concept was expanded to include some elements
of the Force from Star Wars.
"Right
. . .!" I drawled in my best Nipsey Russell imitation.
The
late Mr. Russell played the role of Principal Ben Edwards in the Goldie Hawn
1986 film Wildcats, which was also the film where Wesley Snipes and
Woody Harrelson made their debuts.
Whenever he said "Right," he always drawled it. I always loved that.
"She
IS Wile E. Coyote!"
Doug
is referring to the times when Wile E. Coyote squared off against Bugs Bunny in
films like Rabbit's Feat (1960), directed by Chuck Jones.
Infinity
Whenever
I made use of the Yizibajohei in my writings, this particular character often
shows up. A reality-warper with
unlimited powers, I based this one on Captain Everything from Jim Valentio's
1980s comic parody series normalman.
While not as totally idiotic as the Captain, Infinity is a very
laid-back and relatively harmless person until you piss him/her off (like most
Yizibajohei, Infinity switches genders per incarnation). In many parts of The Doctor Is In when
I crossed in other series, I used Kasuga Ayumu, a.k.a. Osaka, of Azumanga
Daio to play the role of Infinity.
She
Who Speaks to Dragons
This
is a character I based on the Koihime Muso
version of Ryofu Hosen (real name:
Ren). Her actual name in Noukiite
is Seu-P'ye Yesu-Re Hechnich'-K'ekhech, which – once you make use of the
Korean-Noukiite character encoding system I demonstrated in the notes for Part
One – becomes the Korean reading of the Chinese characters ????, read in Korean as
"Ryop'o Pongson." Her
childhood name is Kyech (derived from the same encoding system for the
character ?, read "Yon"
in Korean). In PFTA, it was noted
that Kyech and Moroboshi Ataru were intimate lovers for a period of six weeks.
Vladímir
Rusalovic Tayceško (Lord Rjazán')
A
Praetorian Guardian – in effect, a normal human being that was allowed to take
a special "test" which gave him the power to perceive Reality in all
its aspects without going insane, plus given the power to deal with potential
threats to Earth from beyond the dimensional veils – whom I first introduced in
Wanderers (though I never used the proper Scientific Romanisation of his
name at that time since I didn't know better).
Major
Deannette Antonia (Dean) Raeburn
I've
often mentioned Dean in my works over the years, but never began using her directly
until quite recently. She is Earth's
Seeker Jewel Warrior, a Victorian-era débutante who was orphaned thanks to a
greedy relative and forced to live in the Canadian West during the hectic years
after the second Northwest Rebellion of 1885 to make a life for herself. Jewel Warriors were also introduced in Wanderers. The way Doug sees her as he researches her in
Haida's computer room is pretty much the same way I envision her: Not a real "superhero" in the North
American sense, but a soldier who was given an extra powerful gift that helped
her do her duty for King and Country.
Physical
Education and Recreation Officers and Instructors
The
Canadian Forces' in-house physical training staff, descent from the pre-1968
physical training instructors of the separate services. Officers in the Branch were known in
short-hand as PEROs and instructors were called PERIs. One had to be a corporal/leading seaman,
having graduated from Level 5 training in one's old trade, before being allowed
to "remuster" (switch occupations) to become a PERI. These trades were part of the Administration
Branch until they were made into their own branch in 1980 (even though their
home school, the Canadian Forces School of Physical Education and Recreation [CFSPER
in Borden, was established in 1968). The
branch was disbanded in 1997 due to budget constraints . . . though why the
heck the Canadian Forces then out-sourced physical education training to a
civilian agency, I'll never understand.
"She'll
be preparing for another day of classes at Plymouth right now, no doubt."
Plymouth
School in Welland was one of the schools my late
mother, Eleanor Kushnir, taught at during the 1980s. It was one of her favourite places of
work. It is located off Lincoln Street
on the "island" formed by the old and present Welland Canals in the
centre of the city itself, about one kilometre from downtown.
"Unless
they're Canadian and wear Army green as their normal head dress type."
I
once heard a rumour that when the American Green Berets were first formed in
the 1960s by President John F. Kennedy, they actually went up to Canada to
purchase green berets from the Canadian Army so they could have a unique head
dress of their own. Whether or not such
a rumour is true, I simply can't say.
"Leave
it to the Rangers, you mean."
While
the Rangers and the Special Forces fall under the control of the United States
Special Operations Command (USSOCCOM), their duties are quite
different. Members of the 75th Ranger
Regiment (Airborne) are employed as rapid response light infantry forces
that could be deployed worldwide anywhere within 18 hours of a callout. They're trained in airborne and air assault
attack operations, direct action operations, raids, infiltration and extraction
by air, land or sea in addition to airfield seizure, recovery of personnel and
special equipment and support of general purpose forces. Any of the Special Forces Groups such
as 1 SFG and 5 SFG(A) are trained in things such as unconventional warfare (the
original and most important mission of Special Forces), foreign internal
defense, special reconnaissance behind the lines, direct action and counter-terrorism. In essence, the Rangers are quick in-and-out
strike troops while the Green Berets involve themselves in behind-the-scenes
actions against the enemy.
"Not
to mention the shit with the world's oil being stolen by that space-taxi
company right after the Director's brother made the tag."
A
reference to the third Yatsura manga story, "Raindrops Keep Falling
on My Head."
A
Merdiana alumni named Nekane Springfield
This
is Negi Springfield's beloved "one-chan" (in truth, Nekane is Negi's
cousin) from Maho Sensei Negima.
As noted in PFTA, the Negima timeline is set around 2002
(given the birth years of all of Negi's students being set around 1988 and
1989).
His
wives were Mandy Brocklehurst from Ravenclaw (now the Lady Potter) and Pansy
Parkinson of Slytherin (now the Lady Black)
Read
the PFTA side story "Wizards and Avalonians" to see how this
happened. I did this as a wink to all
the "harem" stories a lot of Harry Potter fanfic writers
indulge in.
Jodo-shu
I've
always perceived Cherry as a normal wandering, itinerant Buddhist monk; making
him part of the Jodo-shu school of Japanese Buddhism made sense. However, recent amendments to the Urusei
Yatsura entry at Wikipedia reveal that Cherry is actually part of the Shugen-do
(literally meaning "Way of Study and Testing") sect, which is a path
that sees enlightenment being obtained by becoming one with the gods.
Miss
Shichinohe
In
my writings, I give all the Steel Angels from Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi
family names, mostly based on whoever created them. This is the name of the artist who created
the character of the Angel of Destruction, Kaga, who appeared in manga
episode #7.
Ayanokoji
Hakushi
Kurumi's
and Saki's creator did not receive a given name in Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi. For Dr. Ayanokoji's given name, I used a
different reading of the kanji ??,
which is normally read hakase, the suffix honorific for university
professors.
Ripping
flags off girls' panties . . .?
As
depicted in manga episode #13 of Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi, the French
warrior Fleur (whom I give the full name Fleur Champraide) faced
off against the Imperial Japanese Navy's own resident Steel Angel, Aoi
(whom I gave the full name Togo Aoi) in one of the first rounds of the
"Steel Angel Wars." Based on
the "capture the flag" contest, the winner of the bout had to seize
the loser's national flag. Whether or
not Fleur actually had her flag stitched on her panties, though . . .!
"This
Tsukuyomi girl . . . "
A
nod to the "Dark Lady of the Orient," who was mentioned in The
Icemaidens and the Philosopher's Stone.
In effect the Far East counterpart of Gellert Grindelwald, the Lady
Tsukuyomi was striving to free Japan and its neighbouring nations from the
overall control and influence of "Western" magical influences
(especially the use of wands). She would
eventually be killed in the Nagasaki atomic bombing of 9 August 1945.
Dutch
Masters Honey Sports cigars
One
of the early inspirations for Dean Raeburn was the character of Captain
"Wild" Bill Kelso (played by the late John Belushi) in the war
comedy 1941, released in 1979. He
was always smoking Dutch Masters cigars as noted in the novelisation of the
film. Dean herself personally believes
that one must "have one good vice" to be truly human.
Übermenschen
Gruppe
My
play-off of the concept of Axis Amerika (a team of Axis metahumans meant
to attack America directly) which appeared in Young All-Stars when the
comic series began to be published in 1987.
The name of this force translates literally "Group of
Supermen;" all of them were metahumans gifted by the injection of ebony
meson, which made them all go insane over time.
Due to not being able to de-crystallise the meson in their bodies, Dean
Raeburn was ultimately forced to mercy-kill them all by the end of World War
Two.
10th
Saskatchewan Cavalry Regiment (Air)
The
senior regiment of the Royal Canadian Corps of Air Cavalry. Given the short-form title 10 SASK CAV R. Descent from volunteer mounted riflemen that
fought in the 1885 Northwest Rebellion.
The traditional home station for the Regiment is Saskatoon, though the
recently reformed Regular Force Regiment is currently based an an army airfield
located in Dundurn (located 40 kilometres south of Saskatoon).
****
**** ****
Fred
**** **** ****
PART
TWO
Haoryu
The
spiritual dragons that inhabit the souls of people such as Koro Sonami, Tsukasa
Torusuke and Mago Tsueko – not to mention Morokuzu Ryoko, Koeru Kumomi and
Sebone Mimoko – have been called both "haoryu" (literally
"conquering dragon") or "shoryu" ("dragon lord")
throughout Ikkitosen. Such beings
– when they seize control of their hosts – unleash unspeakable destruction on
all those around them. In the PFTA
universe, when the toshi became Avalonians, people such as Sonami, Torusuke and
Tsueko managed to make peace with their dragons, thus allowing them to live
more peaceful lives under their full control.
Of course, with the presence of a potential phoenix in Moroboshi Hiromi
in their midst, the yin-and-yang balance between the dragon and the phoenix is
created, thus further ensuring the "fate of the sacred beads" was
denied.
"Is
he a good fighter? I wanna fight
him!"
A
perfect example of what the star of Ikkitosen is like: Laid back and mellow . . . but willing to
fight anyone that crosses her path at the drop of a hat!
Mesonium
("Meson")
An
element I created originally for The Senior Year as a powerful energy
source, this is – to borrow a quote from my Harry Potter fanfic The
Icemaidens and the Philosopher's Stone – "the atom of the mind and
soul (and thus, of magic)." It was
said to be created by the Seekers (the race of omnipotents I first mentioned in
Wanderers), has an atomic number of 181 and is given the chemical symbol
"Ms" by Terran scientists.
To differentiate it from the subatomic particle composed of one quark
and one anti-quark, "-ium" was added to mark the atomic meson an actual
element. It comes in three basic forms
(listed according to increasing density):
Diamond meson, ruby meson and ebony meson. Exposure to ebony meson directly – unless someone
has a strong psionic shield or is very well-disciplined – can drive any
sentient insane.
H.M.C.S.
Bonaventure
A
Majestic-class light carrier originally ordered as H.M.S. Powerful near
the end of World War Two, Bonaventure (pendant CVL-22) was
Canada's last aircraft carrier both in real-life and the PFTA universe;
she served from 1957-70. She is named
after Île Bonaventure, an island serving as a bird sanctuary which is located
off the southern coast of Québec's Gaspé Peninsula near the town of Percé in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The official
name of the park is Île Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé National Park.
H.M.S./H.M.C.S.
Eagle
H.M.S.
Eagle was an Audacious-class fleet carrier ordered for World War Two
service, but later suspended after the end of hostilities, then completed in
1951. She served in the Royal Navy until
her decommissioning in 1972; she was scrapped six years later. In Doug's universe, H.M.S. Eagle was
purchased by Canada to replace the Bonaventure. This was inspired by the storyline
"Canadian Power: The Canadian
Forces as a Major Power" by the alternate history writer TheMann at
the Alternate History website.
Seaborne
amphibious assault carriers Bonaventure and Magnificent
These
would be Wasp-class landing helicopter docks (hull classification code LHD)
built by the Avalonians to give the Canadians area air control and a battalion
battle group landing capability when needed.
N.C.S.M. Bonaventure (pendant LHD-23) would be based in
Halifax. In respect to her namesake
island, the new "Bonnie" would be crewed by French-speakers (thus
making this ship a French Language Unit or FLU). H.M.C.S. Magnificent (LHD-24)
would be based in Esquimalt. The second
ship of this particular type is named after Canada's second post-World War Two
aircraft carrier, H.M.C.S. Magnificent (CVL-21), which
served from 1946-56 before being replaced by the Bonaventure, then
returned to Great Britain and scrapped in 1965.
It
would be really weird to see a full colonel in Air Force blue actually
commanding a Navy ship!
Given
that the Canadian Forces had one uniform (known as "CF greens") from
1968-88, when it came time to introduce the Distinctive Environmental
Uniforms (DEUs), deciding who would get what type of uniform caused
some people a bit of a headache. It was
eventually decided that "hard core" Air Force (like a pilot), Army
(like an infantry soldier) and Navy (like a boatswain) trades would get to wear
the corresponding DEU. Thus, if the
Royal Canadian Navy followed United States Navy practice and placed a qualified
pilot as commander of the new Bonaventure or Magnificent – much less
Haida – he would be a colonel in rank and wear the Royal Canadian Air
Force blue uniform in lieu of being called a navy captain and wear Royal
Canadian Navy black.
The
Royal Canadian Corps of Air Cavalry
Short-formed
as RCCAC, this is my creation; this formation never existed in real
life. This is the corps that Major
Raeburn (see below) belonged to. And
while air cavalry pilots train in the same type of syllabus as normal Air Force
pilots do, they wear Army green as they are assigned to regiments and brigades,
not squadrons and wings.
An
Agent Kay (who looked a LOT like Tommy Lee Jones) and an Agent Jay (who could
be Will Smith's twin brother)
A
nod to the Men In Black movies, of course.
Coxswain
Short-formed
as Cox'n, this was the traditional title of a man in charge of a boat
when it came to navigation and steering.
In the Royal Navy, the coxswain was normally the rating in charge of a
captain's or admiral's barge. This
evolved into the position of the senior non-commissioned officer aboard a
corvette or submarine when those type of ships began to appear in the Royal
Navy (in larger vessels, a coxswain's duties were normally split between the
chief boatswain's mate and the master-at-arms).
This was transmitted over to the Royal Canadian Navy, but the position
of coxswain was set as the senior non-commissioned member of any Navy ship or
shore establishment. In the United
States Navy, this position is called the Command Master Chief Petty Officer.
I
call him "Chief" in return
Never,
EVER call a chief petty officer "Sir!" They work for a living!
Ipraedies
This
was the original "bad guys" from The Senior Year. Mike Smith created them.
An
estimated FIVE HUNDRED people from all over Earth were taken to Ipraedos
A
nod to the TSY story "The Return of Kosei Ryoki." Ryoki Kosei was Sakura's old high
school classmate who later became the homeroom teacher for Lum's class at
Tomobiki High. He slings hyperspace
mallets like Makimura Kaori from Cityhunter (his largest one is a
monster device called the "Saturn Five") did, was hopelessly in love
with Oyuki (he always fell apart whenever she did anything with him) and was
VERY sensitive to loud noises thanks to a particular torture the Ipraedies used
on him.
She
had finished her trades training at the Canadian Forces School of
Administration and Logistics in Borden north of Toronto (plus naval
environmental training at the Canadian Forces Fleet School in Halifax) at the
end of April.
Basic
steward training at CFSAL Borden is twelve weeks (60 training days) in
length. The Naval Environmental Training
Course held at CFFS Halifax runs for five weeks (20 training days). With a start date of Monday 3 January 2011,
Seina returned to Haida on 29 April 2011, a little over a week before
the start of this story.
And
while her girlfriend, Matsu'ura Ai, would be herself heading back to the Fleet
School in Esquimalt to continue her basic training as a hull technician first
thing in the morning, repeating same every Monday morning (being gone each week
until Friday evening) until near the end of June this year . . .
Canada
has three Fleet Schools for naval trades training: CFFS Halifax (Nova Scotia) and CFFS Esquimalt
(British Columbia) for regular Navy servicemen . . . and ENFC Québec (Québec)
for the naval reservists. For a hull
technician, basic trades training runs twenty weeks (100 training days)
according to the Canadian Forces recruiting website. Tack on naval environmental training, Ai will
return to Haida on 24 June 2011.
Resource
management support clerk
Known
in short-hand as RMS Clk. This is
a recent new trade in the Canadian Armed Forces. It came together in the 1990s with the
amalgamation of the trades of administration clerk (Adm Clk) and finance
clerk (Fin Clk). I was an
administration clerk during my years of service in the military from 1985-91. These people are responsible for all
personnel administration and financial services in the Canadian military.
H.M.C.S.
Onondaga
Like
the new Bonaventure and Magnificent indicated above, this is a
new ship built by the Avalonians, based on the DDH-280 TRUMP updated design for
an area air warfare destroyer, but with very advanced sensory and full
environmental safeguards. Given the
pendant number DDH-288, Onondaga is the second ship in the Navy
to bear the name; the original was an Oberon-class diesel attack submarine that
served in the RCN and MARCOM from 1967-2000.
She is currently a museum in Rimouski in Québec.
32
Maritime Utility Squadron
Given
the Navy short-hand code VU-32, this was originally a Royal Canadian
Navy shore-based utility support squadron formed in 1952 at Shearwater, serving
in the RCN and later Air Command until disbanded in 1992, its role taken over
by 434 Squadron (the Bluenosers). Thanks
to the Avalonians, VU-32 was reformed as a maritime utility squadron tasked
with everything from naval gunnery target towing, search and rescue, carrier
on-board delivery and training assistance missions. VU-32 was never given a nickname in active
service, but the Avalonians now helping crew the squadron came up with the
nickname "Precious Links" from the squadron's badge (two chain links,
one silver and one gold, interlinked and hanging in the air over the water).
Shades
of the Force! I thought when I heard that
I
actually based the concept of the Te'a on the concept of a'Tha
(literally, "The Other") that Diane Duane introduced in her Star
Trek novel Spock's World.
Over time, the Te'a concept was expanded to include some elements
of the Force from Star Wars.
"Right
. . .!" I drawled in my best Nipsey Russell imitation.
The
late Mr. Russell played the role of Principal Ben Edwards in the Goldie Hawn
1986 film Wildcats, which was also the film where Wesley Snipes and
Woody Harrelson made their debuts.
Whenever he said "Right," he always drawled it. I always loved that.
"She
IS Wile E. Coyote!"
Doug
is referring to the times when Wile E. Coyote squared off against Bugs Bunny in
films like Rabbit's Feat (1960), directed by Chuck Jones.
Infinity
Whenever
I made use of the Yizibajohei in my writings, this particular character often
shows up. A reality-warper with
unlimited powers, I based this one on Captain Everything from Jim Valentio's
1980s comic parody series normalman.
While not as totally idiotic as the Captain, Infinity is a very
laid-back and relatively harmless person until you piss him/her off (like most
Yizibajohei, Infinity switches genders per incarnation). In many parts of The Doctor Is In when
I crossed in other series, I used Kasuga Ayumu, a.k.a. Osaka, of Azumanga
Daio to play the role of Infinity.
She
Who Speaks to Dragons
This
is a character I based on the Koihime Muso
version of Ryofu Hosen (real name:
Ren). Her actual name in Noukiite
is Seu-P'ye Yesu-Re Hechnich'-K'ekhech, which – once you make use of the
Korean-Noukiite character encoding system I demonstrated in the notes for Part
One – becomes the Korean reading of the Chinese characters ????, read in Korean as
"Ryop'o Pongson." Her
childhood name is Kyech (derived from the same encoding system for the
character ?, read "Yon"
in Korean). In PFTA, it was noted
that Kyech and Moroboshi Ataru were intimate lovers for a period of six weeks.
Vladímir
Rusalovic Tayceško (Lord Rjazán')
A
Praetorian Guardian – in effect, a normal human being that was allowed to take
a special "test" which gave him the power to perceive Reality in all
its aspects without going insane, plus given the power to deal with potential
threats to Earth from beyond the dimensional veils – whom I first introduced in
Wanderers (though I never used the proper Scientific Romanisation of his
name at that time since I didn't know better).
Major
Deannette Antonia (Dean) Raeburn
I've
often mentioned Dean in my works over the years, but never began using her directly
until quite recently. She is Earth's
Seeker Jewel Warrior, a Victorian-era débutante who was orphaned thanks to a
greedy relative and forced to live in the Canadian West during the hectic years
after the second Northwest Rebellion of 1885 to make a life for herself. Jewel Warriors were also introduced in Wanderers. The way Doug sees her as he researches her in
Haida's computer room is pretty much the same way I envision her: Not a real "superhero" in the North
American sense, but a soldier who was given an extra powerful gift that helped
her do her duty for King and Country.
Physical
Education and Recreation Officers and Instructors
The
Canadian Forces' in-house physical training staff, descent from the pre-1968
physical training instructors of the separate services. Officers in the Branch were known in
short-hand as PEROs and instructors were called PERIs. One had to be a corporal/leading seaman,
having graduated from Level 5 training in one's old trade, before being allowed
to "remuster" (switch occupations) to become a PERI. These trades were part of the Administration
Branch until they were made into their own branch in 1980 (even though their
home school, the Canadian Forces School of Physical Education and Recreation [CFSPER
in Borden, was established in 1968). The
branch was disbanded in 1997 due to budget constraints . . . though why the
heck the Canadian Forces then out-sourced physical education training to a
civilian agency, I'll never understand.
"She'll
be preparing for another day of classes at Plymouth right now, no doubt."
Plymouth
School in Welland was one of the schools my late
mother, Eleanor Kushnir, taught at during the 1980s. It was one of her favourite places of
work. It is located off Lincoln Street
on the "island" formed by the old and present Welland Canals in the
centre of the city itself, about one kilometre from downtown.
"Unless
they're Canadian and wear Army green as their normal head dress type."
I
once heard a rumour that when the American Green Berets were first formed in
the 1960s by President John F. Kennedy, they actually went up to Canada to
purchase green berets from the Canadian Army so they could have a unique head
dress of their own. Whether or not such
a rumour is true, I simply can't say.
"Leave
it to the Rangers, you mean."
While
the Rangers and the Special Forces fall under the control of the United States
Special Operations Command (USSOCCOM), their duties are quite
different. Members of the 75th Ranger
Regiment (Airborne) are employed as rapid response light infantry forces
that could be deployed worldwide anywhere within 18 hours of a callout. They're trained in airborne and air assault
attack operations, direct action operations, raids, infiltration and extraction
by air, land or sea in addition to airfield seizure, recovery of personnel and
special equipment and support of general purpose forces. Any of the Special Forces Groups such
as 1 SFG and 5 SFG(A) are trained in things such as unconventional warfare (the
original and most important mission of Special Forces), foreign internal
defense, special reconnaissance behind the lines, direct action and counter-terrorism. In essence, the Rangers are quick in-and-out
strike troops while the Green Berets involve themselves in behind-the-scenes
actions against the enemy.
"Not
to mention the shit with the world's oil being stolen by that space-taxi
company right after the Director's brother made the tag."
A
reference to the third Yatsura manga story, "Raindrops Keep Falling
on My Head."
A
Merdiana alumni named Nekane Springfield
This
is Negi Springfield's beloved "one-chan" (in truth, Nekane is Negi's
cousin) from Maho Sensei Negima.
As noted in PFTA, the Negima timeline is set around 2002
(given the birth years of all of Negi's students being set around 1988 and
1989).
His
wives were Mandy Brocklehurst from Ravenclaw (now the Lady Potter) and Pansy
Parkinson of Slytherin (now the Lady Black)
Read
the PFTA side story "Wizards and Avalonians" to see how this
happened. I did this as a wink to all
the "harem" stories a lot of Harry Potter fanfic writers
indulge in.
Jodo-shu
I've
always perceived Cherry as a normal wandering, itinerant Buddhist monk; making
him part of the Jodo-shu school of Japanese Buddhism made sense. However, recent amendments to the Urusei
Yatsura entry at Wikipedia reveal that Cherry is actually part of the Shugen-do
(literally meaning "Way of Study and Testing") sect, which is a path
that sees enlightenment being obtained by becoming one with the gods.
Miss
Shichinohe
In
my writings, I give all the Steel Angels from Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi
family names, mostly based on whoever created them. This is the name of the artist who created
the character of the Angel of Destruction, Kaga, who appeared in manga
episode #7.
Ayanokoji
Hakushi
Kurumi's
and Saki's creator did not receive a given name in Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi. For Dr. Ayanokoji's given name, I used a
different reading of the kanji ??,
which is normally read hakase, the suffix honorific for university
professors.
Ripping
flags off girls' panties . . .?
As
depicted in manga episode #13 of Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi, the French
warrior Fleur (whom I give the full name Fleur Champraide) faced
off against the Imperial Japanese Navy's own resident Steel Angel, Aoi
(whom I gave the full name Togo Aoi) in one of the first rounds of the
"Steel Angel Wars." Based on
the "capture the flag" contest, the winner of the bout had to seize
the loser's national flag. Whether or
not Fleur actually had her flag stitched on her panties, though . . .!
"This
Tsukuyomi girl . . . "
A
nod to the "Dark Lady of the Orient," who was mentioned in The
Icemaidens and the Philosopher's Stone.
In effect the Far East counterpart of Gellert Grindelwald, the Lady
Tsukuyomi was striving to free Japan and its neighbouring nations from the
overall control and influence of "Western" magical influences
(especially the use of wands). She would
eventually be killed in the Nagasaki atomic bombing of 9 August 1945.
Dutch
Masters Honey Sports cigars
One
of the early inspirations for Dean Raeburn was the character of Captain
"Wild" Bill Kelso (played by the late John Belushi) in the war
comedy 1941, released in 1979. He
was always smoking Dutch Masters cigars as noted in the novelisation of the
film. Dean herself personally believes
that one must "have one good vice" to be truly human.
Übermenschen
Gruppe
My
play-off of the concept of Axis Amerika (a team of Axis metahumans meant
to attack America directly) which appeared in Young All-Stars when the
comic series began to be published in 1987.
The name of this force translates literally "Group of
Supermen;" all of them were metahumans gifted by the injection of ebony
meson, which made them all go insane over time.
Due to not being able to de-crystallise the meson in their bodies, Dean
Raeburn was ultimately forced to mercy-kill them all by the end of World War
Two.
10th
Saskatchewan Cavalry Regiment (Air)
The
senior regiment of the Royal Canadian Corps of Air Cavalry. Given the short-form title 10 SASK CAV R. Descent from volunteer mounted riflemen that
fought in the 1885 Northwest Rebellion.
The traditional home station for the Regiment is Saskatoon, though the
recently reformed Regular Force Regiment is currently based an an army airfield
located in Dundurn (located 40 kilometres south of Saskatoon).
****
**** ****
Canadian lighthouse to U.S. Warship approaching it: "This is a lighthouse. Your call!"