1400 east main street murfreesboro tn
Sympathy for a Succubus - Meridiana’s Story. Part 4
2023.03.30 04:58 Righteous_Fury224 Sympathy for a Succubus - Meridiana’s Story. Part 4
Greetings once more my lovely readers!
Yes it is I, the marvellous, maleficent Meridiana, your scintillating spectacularly sexy Succubus here yet again to regale your with my tale of adventure in the modern world.
I know you’re excited, so am I!
Now then… right… here we go.
“This will do nicely,” I said with conviction because it was true.
No summoner had ever treated me this well before, well not without me charming and dominating their mind so utterly that they became my helpless worshipful slaves but that’s another thousand or so stories which are, quickly frankly, boring. I mean really, who wants to hear about a slave that is always wanting to kiss your ass all the time? What? Plenty do apparently? (My Magus is in the office at the moment and can hear me speak aloud as I type – he thinks it is most amusing) Ahem…
I shall have to investigate Fetish-Dommy-Mommy.com and perhaps create an account to make even more money. How wonderful!
Anyway…
“I am glad you are satisfied Meridiana. This saves us a lot of time. Later you can go shopping and buy whatever you wish but for now, you will have to make do with these clothes. Now I’ll quickly show you how the shower works and operation of the toilet.”
The Magus took a step back from the walk-in wardrobe and gestured back to the ensuite bathroom that my sumptuous bedroom contained.
I followed him as I needed to learn everything about my new home.
Inside the bathroom was a large glass cubicle to the right with a metallic spigot set high up on the marble tiled wall. There was an enormous triple mirror above a marble topped bench that had a wash basin cut into the centre of the bench with yet another metal spigot coming up and out of the bench. To either side of the main mirror were cabinets behind the smaller mirrors and cupboards under the bench.
“This is the shower. You pull that level there and water will come from the shower head above. Turn the level to the left and the water will get hot and to the right, cold. Shampoo and soap etc all there for you. Same with the wash basin tap. More things are inside the cabinets and cupboards for your use.”
The entire bathroom was covered in tiles making it look like a Roman bathhouse. Well sort of, as this was actually clean and most Roman baths, even at the height of the empire, were filthy places. You didn’t go there to get clean… well not really. You went there to get sex, food (often bad) and do business with either your patrons or clients, depending on who you were on the social ladder. Some bathhouses were better than others but meh… the Romans may have perfected the Aqueduct and running fresh water but they zero concept of keeping the bathwater clean and fresh.
“This is the toilet,” he said pointed to the porcelain seat with a lid next to the marble bench. “You operate it by pushing the metal button on the top of the cistern. See the roll of paper there next to it?”
I nodded.
“Clean yourself up with that then dump it into the pan and flush it all away. We don’t use Tersoriums anymore but there are wet wipes if you need them. Put the lid down first before you flush as germs spray everywhere when you flush.”
“No rough sponges to scrap my nethers clean? I used to like that Magus,” I said with a teasing smirk.
He shook his head slowly, rolled his eyes and carried on.
“Inside the cabinets are perfumes and lotions that you can indulge yourself in as well as teeth cleaning brushes, mouth washes and toothpaste.”
The Magus opened a cabinet revealing a vast array of perfume bottles of varying shapes, sizes and colours. My heightened senses inhaled the heady mix of powerful scented oils and fragrances. There were also make up products that I could see, a cornucopia of beauty in creams, pastes and shades, all would be worth a fortune back in the day.
“How utterly delightful,” I murmured, taking in what would be worth tens of thousands of Solidus (gold) back in Constantinople in perfumes alone, just sitting there inside a bathroom cabinet. He closed the cabinet.
“Behind you is the heated towel rail with towels, obviously, for you to dry yourself with.”
“Ahh… I know of these. Some of the Emperors’ nobles had copper pipes that performed a similar function in their bath houses, piping hot running water through them.”
I examined the towels which appeared to be of the same high quality cotton as my white soft robe that I was still wearing.
“Alright. I suppose you’ll be wanting a shower to clean up then?” he said with a flat tone.
“Will you be joining me Magus?” I said as I let my robe drop to the floor, smiling coquettishly at him.
He took a step back.
“No. Let me be absolutely clear: you are epitome of perfection of the female form. That is evident and indisputable. I cannot and will not have sex with you Meridiana. I know of your needs… for seminal fluid as it is one of your main sources of nourishment. That will be provided to you. Simply put, I know you will use my lust as a means of controlling me. I just can’t let that happen. Too much is at stake and I have worked too fucking hard to let my little head rule the big one. I’m not going to risk my plans for a quick knee trembler, no matter how tempting it is. I shall stick to raping the right hand for my needs. Now have a wash because you reek of sulphur.”
My jaw dropped in shock once more. I was lost for words at this point.
I was extremely and deathly affronted.
If I were not bound to him, forbidden to harm him I would have torn out his heart and shat inside his gaping chest wound for those grievous insults!
I narrowed my eyes, the infernal light flaring up but held my rage tightly within.
He watched me, almost bemused, with folded arms.
“You’ve never been rejected before have you?”
“No! How dare you refuse me like that? And saying that I smell!?! Intolerable!”
I folded my arms back over my heaving bosoms, as I was almost panting with frustration, barely holing my fury in check. Never before have I been spoken to like that, and had the offender been able to walk away still breathing.
“You do stink Meridiana. The stench of hell is on you. That needs to go. I am sorry if this insults you but remember, I said I was always be truthful with you, even if it is a painful truth.”
Now that made me pause.
I had never considered my odour in the past because everyone stank.
The Magus didn’t.
He was also extremely clean, free from lice, fleas and other unsavoury parasites and pests, unlike most of the people from Gerbert’s time. In fact he had a pleasant aroma of some scented oils, Sandal Wood, Lavender and Bergamot maybe? The scent emanating from him was faint but my enhanced senses could easily detect it now that I focused on it. He was also correct. I would most definitely tried to enslave him with sex as all males in the end are ruled by their cocks and balls. In addition, he was very well informed as to a Succubus’ needs. Normally we have absolutely no trouble in getting a man to “donate” his life giving juice to us. We do not need it everyday yet after a week or so in the universe, the hunger becomes powerful. Yet that was never a problem… until now.
“You are correct Magus. I do have the foul reek of hell on me and yes, I will require the fluid of life to survive here,” I said in cold clipped tones back to him.
“And you will get it from me, in a specimen jar, as and when it is necessary.”
“You take all the romance out it,” I muttered tersely, pouting and scowling at him.
“That’s the point Meridiana. You are not here to be my lover or replace my dead wife. I will appreciate your company as it does get lonely but I’m also used to that too. I want to learn from you, not fuck you. I can get that from any woman for the cost of a mere small sum of cash. It just does not interest me at all. What does interest me is all you have experienced and learned. That I find interesting. And of course, get you to flay and eviscerate the evil fucks who truly deserve it. Now, please, have a shower. Use the shampoos and soaps, you will feel better for it. Then find something to wear and join me back out in the lounge as I want to show you how the TV works.”
“TV? Huh?”
“The Television. Words are now often abbreviated into simple letters to save time in speech. Much like the Romans did with their inscriptions.”
“Oh… I see… hmmph! Well since you do not wish to embrace the unearthly delights my body would bestow upon you, I bid you begone from my bathing chamber!” I said pointing out, demanding he leave forthwith. I was not going to tolerate his presence any longer.
“As you wish,” he said with a dry ghost of a smirk on his lips as he backed away closing the double wooden doors as he left.
Now I was alone inside the bathing chamber, I leaned up against the cool tiled wall and let out a long exhalation. A few moments later I could hear music coming from the “lounge” room as he called it. It was gentle and honestly, relaxing. I listened for a minute, letting the notes and melody wash over me as the window next to the porcelain seat or toilet was partially open. My mood calmed as I suspect was his intent.
My admiration and dare I say it, respect for my Magus grew exponentially. Such self-control and discipline! Again, this was worthy of a Demon Prince such his control over his base urges. No male, or for that matter female, had ever resisted my allure. Often I had no need for employing my demonic powers of Charm and Suggestion as the humans would be almost begging me for my touch. No matter, I had time and he was male. Somewhere down the road of this… ‘partnership’, he would succumb to my charms, be begging on his knees to enter me and when that happened, he would be mine!
With a small sigh I picked up my discarded robe, it was far too valuable to leave laying on the floor even though the tiles were incredibly clean. There were hooks on the back of the double doors which I hung it upon then opened up the glass door to the ‘shower and stepped in.
The lever that activated the shower was in front of me, in the central position.
Pull it I suppose?
I screamed!
Cold water blasted into my face and body.
A cold laugh emanated from the lounge room.
“YOU FUCKING BASTARD!” I screamed back at the Magus as he chuckled to himself.
Then the water began to warm and became extremely pleasant to my senses.
He knew this would happen and didn’t warn me! Oh how delightfully, devilishly, and charmingly devious is my Magus. A harmless prank but also a lesson for me. Ask more questions! I admit I am supremely arrogant. After all I am an extremely powerful demon possessed with powers beyond human imagination, well that is not true as your kind have a vast imagination and have already worked out what we can do in a game of all things! Ahem. My point is that I must be much more humble and considerate of my new world. I have no desire at all to be returned to hell. I would butcher tens of millions of humans and demons to stay here if need be.
I stood in the shower, letting the warm clean water cascade over me in a very pleasing and powerful way. It was… bliss. Turning, I examined the various plastic bottles of soaps and shampoos, opened a few and sniffed the contents. Taking one that suited my senses, I proceeded to wash my hair with it. It was glorious dear reader. Nothing like this was present during Gerbert’s time. Yes there were scented oils, unguents and balms but nothing came close to this splendid liquid that nourished my hair, making it feel even silkier than before.
I stayed in the shower for a long while, playing with the heat and also the shower head as I discovered it could be adjected to differing levels of spray. Finally I had had enough so I depressed the lever and stepped out of the shower, reaching for my lovely warm fluffy towel. Despite the Magus being who he was, he was trying to make my new life comfortable. That was a small mark in his favour but he had a mountain to climb for those insults he gave to my self-esteem and dignity. I would find a way to make him pay or demand more in the way of homage and tribute for him to overcome those insults!
I took my time in selecting make up, lotions and balms plus testing all the perfumes that obviously once belonged to his wife. She had quite a range of beauty products as I later discovered they were called. Yet strangely, they were hardly used? Interesting.
Satisfied that my make up was alluring but not sluttish and wearing a few discreet dabs a scent called Issey Miyaki which was wonderfully fragrant, I left my bathing chamber and walked nude to my wardrobe to select something to wear.
The light was still on as I examined the hanging row of gowns, dresses and other clothing. One nearest the door caught me eye. I gently took it off the hanger, feeling the incredibly soft plushily wonderous material in my hands. It was a long dress, simply cut to allow the arms to be almost fully exposed while at the same time extended well past the knees, just stopped a few inches above the ankles. The colour of it was like red wine splashed on white linen (the Magus told me it’s called Burgundy) and it had a most intricate and repeating pattern or motif upon it to the likes I had never seen before. I had to wear this!
Adjusting my body size to be slimmer and a few inches taller, I eventually fit the dress perfectly. I made sure though that my tits still fully filled the bust region of the dress and my hips swollen just wide enough to still draw the eye. I saw many pairs of shoes and sandals on racks upon the floor. I selected an elegant but simple design of sandal and came out back into the lounge area.
I was again stunned but this time so was my Magus.
The reason for my surprise was that the ‘television’ was on. I could see moving pictures all lit up in incredible colour and fidelity and sound coming from the massive black metal and glass device. It was mesmerising!
The Magus however was shocked at seeing me in the burgundy dress. He closed his eyes as a flash of pain washed over his face. He drew in a shuddering breath, focused his towering will and recovered. I could feel it! Even I was taken aback by what he just felt within himself. It was such utter sorrow and anguish. While normally I would relish that in my victims, this time I did not as the bond between Magus and I allowed pain, of any kind it seemed, to flow between us. He finally spoke,
“Perhaps I should have gotten rid of that dress,” he said in a hollow low voice.
“Why Magus? It’s simply a dress?”
“It was one of the first ones my wife bought for herself when we were initially courting. She always looked so lovely in it,” he sighed as he stood up and sadly regarded me. “And now you do too.”
I blinked.
I had always been told that I was beautiful, a paragon of female perfection yet I knew that was often flattery or the results of my charms and suggestions or domination. The Magus would never lie to me. He meant everything he said. It made me feel…strange.
He sighed deeply once more, pinched the bridge of his nose while he gathered himself.
“I thought I was past this… but obviously not. No matter, it is a good lesson for me. I must not give in to it. I am the master of my own reality, I am free to choose whatever state of being I desire, I do not desire feelings of loss and sadness,” he mostly to himself before continuing, “Now… since you took your sweet god dam time in the bathroom, a trait that seems to extend to female demons, we now have no time for me to show you how the TV works. Instead, we will go for a drive. I am going to show you what the wider world looks like Meridiana. How long is it since you saw the ocean?”
Now that was a question I did not expect.
“Unnhh… centuries?” I shrugged, mystified yet intensely curious now as I was aware of what he meant by a ‘drive’. We would be going out in his metal and glass box, also known as a car or automobile or vehicle.
“I am glad you are ready to go. Just a few things Meridiana, some rules you need to follow. One – we do not shit where we eat – that means no killing in this city unless it is absolutely, I truly mean absolutely, necessary. We need to stay hidden, especially you. As I said earlier, there are demons who have made Earth their home. Your presence has not been noted yet but once we start our campaign, you will draw attention from others of your kind to yourself. So no going out and draining stupid young men just because you feel like a bit of fun. Do you understand? I want the chant of three to know you fully comprehend!”
His Sea Green eyes flashed with power.
My eyes widened as I felt the force of his will, held in check, just barely brushing against my mind.
“I accept, I accept, I accept,” I said hastily. His sorrow had been morphed into anger. Not at me as such, at the world in general but it wouldn’t take much for me to be the brunt of his ire. This is common amongst Demon Lords and Princes, those used to wielding power and have supreme control over their mind and will.
“Next – there are a few people I still call friends. They may visit me from time to time and even meet us out in the wider world. As such, you will be my new partner for the sakes of appearances. They will see this as me having finally moved on and accepting the loss of my wife. We will have to concoct a suitable narrative that will bare up to scrutiny so that you will pass as a normal human woman who has gained my affection. None of these people are to be harmed and if they are ever under threat, you will help them as best you can. Don’t think you can use them against me either as I will know and I will break you worse than your lord ever did. Do you understand?”
“I accept, I accept, I accept,” I repeated in a meek voice. He would hurt me in ways that my lord could not even imagine. This I knew instinctively and once he had broken me, would cast me back into hell to be tormented for eternity. He’s so dreamy!
“Oh, one final thing for now, we don’t wear shoes inside the house. I know I have mine on but that’s because I was in the garage and it’s a dirty place and I forgot to take them off once we came upstairs. This is not something you need to be bound to by oath by the way, just it’s better and cleaner for us both plus it makes it easier to keep the floor clean.” He paused for a moment, considering his next words. I was puzzled by that request but saw the logic of it so what do as he asked. He then spoke on,
“You are going to be… stunned for want of a better description in a few minutes once we get going. Just remember who you are, what you used to do, how to blend in and observe. I think that you will enjoy this Meridiana. Now, come on, lets go and have a look at the beach. I think it will do us both the world of good. Follow me please,” he said as he gestured towards the stairs. I nodded and quietly followed him down the staircase back to the basement garage.
He stopped briefly back at the kitchen bench to retrieve a.. hat? Of the likes I’d not seen before which contained a leather wallet (I now knew what somethings were) sunglass and a set of keys. He also handed me a pair of sunglasses and took off a bright red, wide brimmed floppy hat from a hook that was behind the door that lead down to the basement stairs. I took the items wordlessly from him, mildly amused by it all. We descended the short flight of stairs.
The summoning circle was still there, the blood now fully congealed.
“Magus…as question if I may?”
“Yes?”
“How was it possible to you to have used so much of your blood in making the circle of summoning and binding and not be dead?”
He laughed and smiled, them walked over to what I now knew was a refrigerator and opened the double doors.
“Phlebotomy my dear Succubus!” he grinned with a devilish smile and harsh glint in his eyes.
I could now see a plastic bag, full of blood, hanging inside the fridge.
“I have a dear trusted friend, who is a medical doctor, that for the past couple of months has taken my blood and we stored it here inside the cold fridge. She thinks it’s because I might need an operation, a medical procedure. Once I had enough, I rested and rebuilt my power and strength and voila! You are here and bound to me. Science and magic, an unbeatable combination!,” he broadly grinned as I gaped in astonishment at him.
I could now see a container next to the fridge that had at least half a dozen of the soft plastic bags with the residue of his blood still within them.
What genius!
No wonder he wanted to fully bind me and he worked out why none of the previous summoners had ever truly succeeded in fully binding a demon to it’s summoner. The ENTIRE circle had to made of their blood. And no one in the past had ever had the method in which they could safely store and preserve their blood for such a use.
“I had to have a few infusions of blood to replace what I lost as well as it’s unsafe to give out so much in a short time. Lucky for me Victoria is a very caring, understanding, and above all, discrete person. I think you’ll like her. She’s probably one of the nicest people you will ever meet. And again I stress, she is inviolate, untouchable. You might be surprised at making a friend you know?”
I nodded, not wanting to argue with him. And he might actually have a point. I might need allies beyond the Magus. It never hurts to have a backup plan.
He stepped back over to the car, opened a front door and gestured that I take a seat within.
I did so, carefully so as not to bump my head on the vehicles roof. I stared around the cars interior.
“Ahh, if I may? I need you to put your seatbelt on Meridiana. Here, I’ll do it for you this time. You take this buckle on the belt,” he said as he showed me what he was speaking of, “and insert the buckle into the clasp next to the right side of your waist, just there,” he said as he leant partially over me and placed the buckle in the clasp with a little click. “Now you are safe and secure.”
“Why would I need to be retrained in such a fashion Magus?”
“Good question Meridiana. Basically it is for your own safety as we will be on the road with other cars and drivers and sometimes, humans being the idiots they are, fail to drive properly and thus become a danger to others as well as themselves. The seatbelt will stop you from flying out of the car if we are impacted by another vehicle.”
My eyes widened then narrowed.
“I would not be harmed by such an event. You should know this.”
“Oh but I do. I know only an enchanted or blessed weapon or magical attacks will harm you however, the local laws demand that all who travel in vehicles must wear seatbelts and I do not wish to attract the attention of the local police if they spot you not wearing one just because of your demonic invulnerability.”
“Ahh… I see. Prudent. I respect you thinking of outcomes and possibilities Magus. It is… refreshing.”
He gave me a brief nod then closed my door, walking around to the other side that had the wheel in front of the seat he was going to sit in. He got in, buckled his belt and inserted the keys into the base of the column that the wheel rested upon. He pressed a small button on another tiny device causing the massive metal wall that was in front of us to suddenly began to open much to my surprise.
“I used a remote to open the garage door Meridiana,” he said with another dry smirk at seeing my reaction.
I sniffed and turned away, trying to pretend not to be impressed. It didn’t work.
Starting the engine, a little roar of life came from the front of the car. He reached down to his left and pulled a small lever, shifting into a setting that read D. The vehicle suddenly began to move, slowly at first. The Magus carefully eased the car out of the garage and I now saw that it opened into a large paved laneway that was lined with houses, all adjoined to one another.
Simply astonishing!
My eyes were wide once more as I gaped at the marvellous building acumen in front of me.
The Magus turned the wheel that he held in his hands which in turn guided the car in the direction he wished it to go. Now I can fly, when in my true form, but this was just so nice. Sitting comfortably in a soft seat, having cool air gently blow on you from small vents in the front of the dashboard as I later learned it was called… just bliss. Flying is hard work by the way. Ever run up a hill? That’s what it’s like. You can do it and once you’re at a certain level, you can glide along easily but getting into the air… not so much fun to be honest. Yes I know, I’m a demon and lies are second nature for us but in the case of flying, this is true. It’s a thing I don’t need to lie about.
The Magus had us sedately travel down the laneway till we came to a junction where he turned right. All the while I was staring up and around the buildings about us and then I caught a glimpse of the bright blue sky above us. No matter who long I have lived, that sight never failed to move me. You humans always seem to ignore the wonder that is around you. Ahh well.
My eyes grew even wider once we turned into the main tree lined street as I saw even bigger buildings ahead of us.
“Those are apartment blocks, or what the Romans would have called Insulae,” said the Magus casually as we drove past them.
“Some things don’t change do they?” I said in idle fascination as we continued.
“I suppose not,” he replied as we now came to a stop in front of a number of coloured lights mounted in a sequence upon yellow metal poles. The lights were red at the moment.
“Red mean stop, green means you can go and amber means go very fast,” he remarked as he saw me staring at the lights in some confusion.
“Oh… I see..” Not really but I sort of understood.
The light changed to green and we moved off once more, this time traveling a speed faster than a galloping horse. I was in complete awe as we effortless travelled down the well paved, black road, seeing other cars driving alongside us and in the opposite direction. Trees were everywhere as were hundreds of buildings. I could see people walking along the side of the road on a paved path, leading dogs on a rope?.. I couldn’t quite tell. I saw a man on a very slim, two wheeled device, his legs pumping away on some small peddles that his feet seemed to be attached to.
“That’s a bicycle,” said the Magus. I nodded once more as it was almost overwhelming.
“Where are the city walls?” I asked in a small voice as we must have travel a few miles by now.
“We have none.”
“What?”
“We have no need for such things. This city has over two and a half million people who live in an area than spans probably about seventy miles north to south and about thirty or so from the coast to the hills in the east. This is the lucky country Meridiana. Our shores have never been invaded, well they were once by my ancestors, taking it from the indigenous peoples who had lived here for probably sixty thousand years of more? Non one is really sure or perhaps you might be?”
“Terra Australis?”
“The Romans know of it? Incredible!”
“They heard of rumours of it from traders from the far eastern Spice Islands. The only people who bothered to head that way were divers for the rare shells of creatures that lived in the reefs there.”
“Ahh Troccus Shell of course. Makes complete sense. Indonesians must have been sailing from their islands down here for thousands of years but simple fishermen don’t write historical journals for later generations to read now do they?”
“No, they don’t. I found fishermen to be a mostly rough, ready, usually rude and definitely ignorant bunch of sea lice infested peasants. Literacy and leaning and the preservation of knowledge was never high on their list of priorities,” I replied with a smirk.
The Magus nodded with his own smile. I could see that these little snippets of my experience were intriguing for him as he mentioned that he is a historian, a scholar of learning. A person who was almost on my level of intellect.
We carried on down the wide open road in comfortable silence for now as I sat and admired the incredible vista sweeping by us.
Soon we crested a hill after a few more stops and starts at various intersections contained the coloured lights on poles.
I couldn’t help but let out a gasp of delight as I suddenly saw the magnificent blue ocean before me.
Far off in the distance I could see massive ships?... just sitting there in the ocean. There was an island on the horizon that was clearly visible as it was a perfectly clear late afternoon.
We drove down the descending hill and turned onto a very busy road that was full of cars and people.
“Aha! We are in luck Meridiana!”
“We are?” I had no idea what he was talking about.
“We got a parking spot right there. People pray for these you know?” he said as he guided the car into the free space between two other cars.
“They do? Who do they pray to? Do they offer sacrifice for such eventualities?” I wondered as he parked the car.
“Maybe? My best friend calls upon a goddess he named Pamelia, goddess of Parking, invoking her name in praise when he finds a free parking spot in a good location.”
I shook my head with amusement and disbelief but I knew the Magus wasn’t lying. It was just so ridiculous that it had to be true.
“Praise Pamelia then?” I said hesitantly.
“Indeed,” he replied as he switched off the car’s engine. “Just press the red button on your clasp and that will release your belt. The door handle is just there,” he said as he pointed to it.
I did as he said and was out and standing on concrete pavers that formed a neat and well-constructed pathway that led past busy tavernas, shops and eateries, all full of people enjoying themselves.
“Come this way Meridiana. I’m going to buy you a Gelato. I think you will enjoy it. Oh, put on your hat and sunglasses, you’ll feel better and blend in more,” he suggested.
I did so and what surprised me even more was that he offered his left arm for me to hold.
“We have to look normal Meridiana, although most people are going to take one look at you and think what the hell is that gorgeous woman doing with that pudgy, middled aged old fart then?”
I let loose a genuine laugh.
“True but they don’t know who you or I are,” I said with a demure smile back at him.
“And that’s the point. Always leave the proles guessing.”
And with that we walked down the path, with many furtively looking at me. I notice that I drew the glances of women more than men as women always compare themselves to others, they simply can’t help it. It pleased me greatly and I ignored the stares and longing looks from both sexes, keeping a serene smile on my sensual lips as I lightly held the Magus’s left arm between my hands.
We soon came up to a busy food venue that had a large lit up sign saying “Gelato!”.
We made our way into the venue with little fuss, just briefly waiting to be served as the people working behind the counter were quick and efficient.
“Hmm… I think I’ll get you a Rum and Raisin double scoop to start with,” said the Magus.
I shrugged, not knowing what that was but knowing what Rum and raisins were.
“One Rum and Raisin and one Vanilla double scoop in waffle cones please,” he requested. The server nodded and I was again astounded as the Magus just took out his phone and tapped it to a device that the server held out. That was a financial transaction!
We got our Gelatos, walked out, crossed the busy road, found an empty bench, sat down and I tried Gelato for the first time. Dozens of people just walked by us with little regard.
I closed my eyes as I sampled the ice cold substance.
Nirvana in food form!
This must be just like living in Paradise.
submitted by Righteous_Fury224 to HFY [link] [comments]
Yes it is I, the marvellous, maleficent Meridiana, your scintillating spectacularly sexy Succubus here yet again to regale your with my tale of adventure in the modern world.
I know you’re excited, so am I!
Now then… right… here we go.
“This will do nicely,” I said with conviction because it was true.
No summoner had ever treated me this well before, well not without me charming and dominating their mind so utterly that they became my helpless worshipful slaves but that’s another thousand or so stories which are, quickly frankly, boring. I mean really, who wants to hear about a slave that is always wanting to kiss your ass all the time? What? Plenty do apparently? (My Magus is in the office at the moment and can hear me speak aloud as I type – he thinks it is most amusing) Ahem…
I shall have to investigate Fetish-Dommy-Mommy.com and perhaps create an account to make even more money. How wonderful!
Anyway…
“I am glad you are satisfied Meridiana. This saves us a lot of time. Later you can go shopping and buy whatever you wish but for now, you will have to make do with these clothes. Now I’ll quickly show you how the shower works and operation of the toilet.”
The Magus took a step back from the walk-in wardrobe and gestured back to the ensuite bathroom that my sumptuous bedroom contained.
I followed him as I needed to learn everything about my new home.
Inside the bathroom was a large glass cubicle to the right with a metallic spigot set high up on the marble tiled wall. There was an enormous triple mirror above a marble topped bench that had a wash basin cut into the centre of the bench with yet another metal spigot coming up and out of the bench. To either side of the main mirror were cabinets behind the smaller mirrors and cupboards under the bench.
“This is the shower. You pull that level there and water will come from the shower head above. Turn the level to the left and the water will get hot and to the right, cold. Shampoo and soap etc all there for you. Same with the wash basin tap. More things are inside the cabinets and cupboards for your use.”
The entire bathroom was covered in tiles making it look like a Roman bathhouse. Well sort of, as this was actually clean and most Roman baths, even at the height of the empire, were filthy places. You didn’t go there to get clean… well not really. You went there to get sex, food (often bad) and do business with either your patrons or clients, depending on who you were on the social ladder. Some bathhouses were better than others but meh… the Romans may have perfected the Aqueduct and running fresh water but they zero concept of keeping the bathwater clean and fresh.
“This is the toilet,” he said pointed to the porcelain seat with a lid next to the marble bench. “You operate it by pushing the metal button on the top of the cistern. See the roll of paper there next to it?”
I nodded.
“Clean yourself up with that then dump it into the pan and flush it all away. We don’t use Tersoriums anymore but there are wet wipes if you need them. Put the lid down first before you flush as germs spray everywhere when you flush.”
“No rough sponges to scrap my nethers clean? I used to like that Magus,” I said with a teasing smirk.
He shook his head slowly, rolled his eyes and carried on.
“Inside the cabinets are perfumes and lotions that you can indulge yourself in as well as teeth cleaning brushes, mouth washes and toothpaste.”
The Magus opened a cabinet revealing a vast array of perfume bottles of varying shapes, sizes and colours. My heightened senses inhaled the heady mix of powerful scented oils and fragrances. There were also make up products that I could see, a cornucopia of beauty in creams, pastes and shades, all would be worth a fortune back in the day.
“How utterly delightful,” I murmured, taking in what would be worth tens of thousands of Solidus (gold) back in Constantinople in perfumes alone, just sitting there inside a bathroom cabinet. He closed the cabinet.
“Behind you is the heated towel rail with towels, obviously, for you to dry yourself with.”
“Ahh… I know of these. Some of the Emperors’ nobles had copper pipes that performed a similar function in their bath houses, piping hot running water through them.”
I examined the towels which appeared to be of the same high quality cotton as my white soft robe that I was still wearing.
“Alright. I suppose you’ll be wanting a shower to clean up then?” he said with a flat tone.
“Will you be joining me Magus?” I said as I let my robe drop to the floor, smiling coquettishly at him.
He took a step back.
“No. Let me be absolutely clear: you are epitome of perfection of the female form. That is evident and indisputable. I cannot and will not have sex with you Meridiana. I know of your needs… for seminal fluid as it is one of your main sources of nourishment. That will be provided to you. Simply put, I know you will use my lust as a means of controlling me. I just can’t let that happen. Too much is at stake and I have worked too fucking hard to let my little head rule the big one. I’m not going to risk my plans for a quick knee trembler, no matter how tempting it is. I shall stick to raping the right hand for my needs. Now have a wash because you reek of sulphur.”
My jaw dropped in shock once more. I was lost for words at this point.
I was extremely and deathly affronted.
If I were not bound to him, forbidden to harm him I would have torn out his heart and shat inside his gaping chest wound for those grievous insults!
I narrowed my eyes, the infernal light flaring up but held my rage tightly within.
He watched me, almost bemused, with folded arms.
“You’ve never been rejected before have you?”
“No! How dare you refuse me like that? And saying that I smell!?! Intolerable!”
I folded my arms back over my heaving bosoms, as I was almost panting with frustration, barely holing my fury in check. Never before have I been spoken to like that, and had the offender been able to walk away still breathing.
“You do stink Meridiana. The stench of hell is on you. That needs to go. I am sorry if this insults you but remember, I said I was always be truthful with you, even if it is a painful truth.”
Now that made me pause.
I had never considered my odour in the past because everyone stank.
The Magus didn’t.
He was also extremely clean, free from lice, fleas and other unsavoury parasites and pests, unlike most of the people from Gerbert’s time. In fact he had a pleasant aroma of some scented oils, Sandal Wood, Lavender and Bergamot maybe? The scent emanating from him was faint but my enhanced senses could easily detect it now that I focused on it. He was also correct. I would most definitely tried to enslave him with sex as all males in the end are ruled by their cocks and balls. In addition, he was very well informed as to a Succubus’ needs. Normally we have absolutely no trouble in getting a man to “donate” his life giving juice to us. We do not need it everyday yet after a week or so in the universe, the hunger becomes powerful. Yet that was never a problem… until now.
“You are correct Magus. I do have the foul reek of hell on me and yes, I will require the fluid of life to survive here,” I said in cold clipped tones back to him.
“And you will get it from me, in a specimen jar, as and when it is necessary.”
“You take all the romance out it,” I muttered tersely, pouting and scowling at him.
“That’s the point Meridiana. You are not here to be my lover or replace my dead wife. I will appreciate your company as it does get lonely but I’m also used to that too. I want to learn from you, not fuck you. I can get that from any woman for the cost of a mere small sum of cash. It just does not interest me at all. What does interest me is all you have experienced and learned. That I find interesting. And of course, get you to flay and eviscerate the evil fucks who truly deserve it. Now, please, have a shower. Use the shampoos and soaps, you will feel better for it. Then find something to wear and join me back out in the lounge as I want to show you how the TV works.”
“TV? Huh?”
“The Television. Words are now often abbreviated into simple letters to save time in speech. Much like the Romans did with their inscriptions.”
“Oh… I see… hmmph! Well since you do not wish to embrace the unearthly delights my body would bestow upon you, I bid you begone from my bathing chamber!” I said pointing out, demanding he leave forthwith. I was not going to tolerate his presence any longer.
“As you wish,” he said with a dry ghost of a smirk on his lips as he backed away closing the double wooden doors as he left.
Now I was alone inside the bathing chamber, I leaned up against the cool tiled wall and let out a long exhalation. A few moments later I could hear music coming from the “lounge” room as he called it. It was gentle and honestly, relaxing. I listened for a minute, letting the notes and melody wash over me as the window next to the porcelain seat or toilet was partially open. My mood calmed as I suspect was his intent.
My admiration and dare I say it, respect for my Magus grew exponentially. Such self-control and discipline! Again, this was worthy of a Demon Prince such his control over his base urges. No male, or for that matter female, had ever resisted my allure. Often I had no need for employing my demonic powers of Charm and Suggestion as the humans would be almost begging me for my touch. No matter, I had time and he was male. Somewhere down the road of this… ‘partnership’, he would succumb to my charms, be begging on his knees to enter me and when that happened, he would be mine!
With a small sigh I picked up my discarded robe, it was far too valuable to leave laying on the floor even though the tiles were incredibly clean. There were hooks on the back of the double doors which I hung it upon then opened up the glass door to the ‘shower and stepped in.
The lever that activated the shower was in front of me, in the central position.
Pull it I suppose?
I screamed!
Cold water blasted into my face and body.
A cold laugh emanated from the lounge room.
“YOU FUCKING BASTARD!” I screamed back at the Magus as he chuckled to himself.
Then the water began to warm and became extremely pleasant to my senses.
He knew this would happen and didn’t warn me! Oh how delightfully, devilishly, and charmingly devious is my Magus. A harmless prank but also a lesson for me. Ask more questions! I admit I am supremely arrogant. After all I am an extremely powerful demon possessed with powers beyond human imagination, well that is not true as your kind have a vast imagination and have already worked out what we can do in a game of all things! Ahem. My point is that I must be much more humble and considerate of my new world. I have no desire at all to be returned to hell. I would butcher tens of millions of humans and demons to stay here if need be.
I stood in the shower, letting the warm clean water cascade over me in a very pleasing and powerful way. It was… bliss. Turning, I examined the various plastic bottles of soaps and shampoos, opened a few and sniffed the contents. Taking one that suited my senses, I proceeded to wash my hair with it. It was glorious dear reader. Nothing like this was present during Gerbert’s time. Yes there were scented oils, unguents and balms but nothing came close to this splendid liquid that nourished my hair, making it feel even silkier than before.
I stayed in the shower for a long while, playing with the heat and also the shower head as I discovered it could be adjected to differing levels of spray. Finally I had had enough so I depressed the lever and stepped out of the shower, reaching for my lovely warm fluffy towel. Despite the Magus being who he was, he was trying to make my new life comfortable. That was a small mark in his favour but he had a mountain to climb for those insults he gave to my self-esteem and dignity. I would find a way to make him pay or demand more in the way of homage and tribute for him to overcome those insults!
I took my time in selecting make up, lotions and balms plus testing all the perfumes that obviously once belonged to his wife. She had quite a range of beauty products as I later discovered they were called. Yet strangely, they were hardly used? Interesting.
Satisfied that my make up was alluring but not sluttish and wearing a few discreet dabs a scent called Issey Miyaki which was wonderfully fragrant, I left my bathing chamber and walked nude to my wardrobe to select something to wear.
The light was still on as I examined the hanging row of gowns, dresses and other clothing. One nearest the door caught me eye. I gently took it off the hanger, feeling the incredibly soft plushily wonderous material in my hands. It was a long dress, simply cut to allow the arms to be almost fully exposed while at the same time extended well past the knees, just stopped a few inches above the ankles. The colour of it was like red wine splashed on white linen (the Magus told me it’s called Burgundy) and it had a most intricate and repeating pattern or motif upon it to the likes I had never seen before. I had to wear this!
Adjusting my body size to be slimmer and a few inches taller, I eventually fit the dress perfectly. I made sure though that my tits still fully filled the bust region of the dress and my hips swollen just wide enough to still draw the eye. I saw many pairs of shoes and sandals on racks upon the floor. I selected an elegant but simple design of sandal and came out back into the lounge area.
I was again stunned but this time so was my Magus.
The reason for my surprise was that the ‘television’ was on. I could see moving pictures all lit up in incredible colour and fidelity and sound coming from the massive black metal and glass device. It was mesmerising!
The Magus however was shocked at seeing me in the burgundy dress. He closed his eyes as a flash of pain washed over his face. He drew in a shuddering breath, focused his towering will and recovered. I could feel it! Even I was taken aback by what he just felt within himself. It was such utter sorrow and anguish. While normally I would relish that in my victims, this time I did not as the bond between Magus and I allowed pain, of any kind it seemed, to flow between us. He finally spoke,
“Perhaps I should have gotten rid of that dress,” he said in a hollow low voice.
“Why Magus? It’s simply a dress?”
“It was one of the first ones my wife bought for herself when we were initially courting. She always looked so lovely in it,” he sighed as he stood up and sadly regarded me. “And now you do too.”
I blinked.
I had always been told that I was beautiful, a paragon of female perfection yet I knew that was often flattery or the results of my charms and suggestions or domination. The Magus would never lie to me. He meant everything he said. It made me feel…strange.
He sighed deeply once more, pinched the bridge of his nose while he gathered himself.
“I thought I was past this… but obviously not. No matter, it is a good lesson for me. I must not give in to it. I am the master of my own reality, I am free to choose whatever state of being I desire, I do not desire feelings of loss and sadness,” he mostly to himself before continuing, “Now… since you took your sweet god dam time in the bathroom, a trait that seems to extend to female demons, we now have no time for me to show you how the TV works. Instead, we will go for a drive. I am going to show you what the wider world looks like Meridiana. How long is it since you saw the ocean?”
Now that was a question I did not expect.
“Unnhh… centuries?” I shrugged, mystified yet intensely curious now as I was aware of what he meant by a ‘drive’. We would be going out in his metal and glass box, also known as a car or automobile or vehicle.
“I am glad you are ready to go. Just a few things Meridiana, some rules you need to follow. One – we do not shit where we eat – that means no killing in this city unless it is absolutely, I truly mean absolutely, necessary. We need to stay hidden, especially you. As I said earlier, there are demons who have made Earth their home. Your presence has not been noted yet but once we start our campaign, you will draw attention from others of your kind to yourself. So no going out and draining stupid young men just because you feel like a bit of fun. Do you understand? I want the chant of three to know you fully comprehend!”
His Sea Green eyes flashed with power.
My eyes widened as I felt the force of his will, held in check, just barely brushing against my mind.
“I accept, I accept, I accept,” I said hastily. His sorrow had been morphed into anger. Not at me as such, at the world in general but it wouldn’t take much for me to be the brunt of his ire. This is common amongst Demon Lords and Princes, those used to wielding power and have supreme control over their mind and will.
“Next – there are a few people I still call friends. They may visit me from time to time and even meet us out in the wider world. As such, you will be my new partner for the sakes of appearances. They will see this as me having finally moved on and accepting the loss of my wife. We will have to concoct a suitable narrative that will bare up to scrutiny so that you will pass as a normal human woman who has gained my affection. None of these people are to be harmed and if they are ever under threat, you will help them as best you can. Don’t think you can use them against me either as I will know and I will break you worse than your lord ever did. Do you understand?”
“I accept, I accept, I accept,” I repeated in a meek voice. He would hurt me in ways that my lord could not even imagine. This I knew instinctively and once he had broken me, would cast me back into hell to be tormented for eternity. He’s so dreamy!
“Oh, one final thing for now, we don’t wear shoes inside the house. I know I have mine on but that’s because I was in the garage and it’s a dirty place and I forgot to take them off once we came upstairs. This is not something you need to be bound to by oath by the way, just it’s better and cleaner for us both plus it makes it easier to keep the floor clean.” He paused for a moment, considering his next words. I was puzzled by that request but saw the logic of it so what do as he asked. He then spoke on,
“You are going to be… stunned for want of a better description in a few minutes once we get going. Just remember who you are, what you used to do, how to blend in and observe. I think that you will enjoy this Meridiana. Now, come on, lets go and have a look at the beach. I think it will do us both the world of good. Follow me please,” he said as he gestured towards the stairs. I nodded and quietly followed him down the staircase back to the basement garage.
He stopped briefly back at the kitchen bench to retrieve a.. hat? Of the likes I’d not seen before which contained a leather wallet (I now knew what somethings were) sunglass and a set of keys. He also handed me a pair of sunglasses and took off a bright red, wide brimmed floppy hat from a hook that was behind the door that lead down to the basement stairs. I took the items wordlessly from him, mildly amused by it all. We descended the short flight of stairs.
The summoning circle was still there, the blood now fully congealed.
“Magus…as question if I may?”
“Yes?”
“How was it possible to you to have used so much of your blood in making the circle of summoning and binding and not be dead?”
He laughed and smiled, them walked over to what I now knew was a refrigerator and opened the double doors.
“Phlebotomy my dear Succubus!” he grinned with a devilish smile and harsh glint in his eyes.
I could now see a plastic bag, full of blood, hanging inside the fridge.
“I have a dear trusted friend, who is a medical doctor, that for the past couple of months has taken my blood and we stored it here inside the cold fridge. She thinks it’s because I might need an operation, a medical procedure. Once I had enough, I rested and rebuilt my power and strength and voila! You are here and bound to me. Science and magic, an unbeatable combination!,” he broadly grinned as I gaped in astonishment at him.
I could now see a container next to the fridge that had at least half a dozen of the soft plastic bags with the residue of his blood still within them.
What genius!
No wonder he wanted to fully bind me and he worked out why none of the previous summoners had ever truly succeeded in fully binding a demon to it’s summoner. The ENTIRE circle had to made of their blood. And no one in the past had ever had the method in which they could safely store and preserve their blood for such a use.
“I had to have a few infusions of blood to replace what I lost as well as it’s unsafe to give out so much in a short time. Lucky for me Victoria is a very caring, understanding, and above all, discrete person. I think you’ll like her. She’s probably one of the nicest people you will ever meet. And again I stress, she is inviolate, untouchable. You might be surprised at making a friend you know?”
I nodded, not wanting to argue with him. And he might actually have a point. I might need allies beyond the Magus. It never hurts to have a backup plan.
He stepped back over to the car, opened a front door and gestured that I take a seat within.
I did so, carefully so as not to bump my head on the vehicles roof. I stared around the cars interior.
“Ahh, if I may? I need you to put your seatbelt on Meridiana. Here, I’ll do it for you this time. You take this buckle on the belt,” he said as he showed me what he was speaking of, “and insert the buckle into the clasp next to the right side of your waist, just there,” he said as he leant partially over me and placed the buckle in the clasp with a little click. “Now you are safe and secure.”
“Why would I need to be retrained in such a fashion Magus?”
“Good question Meridiana. Basically it is for your own safety as we will be on the road with other cars and drivers and sometimes, humans being the idiots they are, fail to drive properly and thus become a danger to others as well as themselves. The seatbelt will stop you from flying out of the car if we are impacted by another vehicle.”
My eyes widened then narrowed.
“I would not be harmed by such an event. You should know this.”
“Oh but I do. I know only an enchanted or blessed weapon or magical attacks will harm you however, the local laws demand that all who travel in vehicles must wear seatbelts and I do not wish to attract the attention of the local police if they spot you not wearing one just because of your demonic invulnerability.”
“Ahh… I see. Prudent. I respect you thinking of outcomes and possibilities Magus. It is… refreshing.”
He gave me a brief nod then closed my door, walking around to the other side that had the wheel in front of the seat he was going to sit in. He got in, buckled his belt and inserted the keys into the base of the column that the wheel rested upon. He pressed a small button on another tiny device causing the massive metal wall that was in front of us to suddenly began to open much to my surprise.
“I used a remote to open the garage door Meridiana,” he said with another dry smirk at seeing my reaction.
I sniffed and turned away, trying to pretend not to be impressed. It didn’t work.
Starting the engine, a little roar of life came from the front of the car. He reached down to his left and pulled a small lever, shifting into a setting that read D. The vehicle suddenly began to move, slowly at first. The Magus carefully eased the car out of the garage and I now saw that it opened into a large paved laneway that was lined with houses, all adjoined to one another.
Simply astonishing!
My eyes were wide once more as I gaped at the marvellous building acumen in front of me.
The Magus turned the wheel that he held in his hands which in turn guided the car in the direction he wished it to go. Now I can fly, when in my true form, but this was just so nice. Sitting comfortably in a soft seat, having cool air gently blow on you from small vents in the front of the dashboard as I later learned it was called… just bliss. Flying is hard work by the way. Ever run up a hill? That’s what it’s like. You can do it and once you’re at a certain level, you can glide along easily but getting into the air… not so much fun to be honest. Yes I know, I’m a demon and lies are second nature for us but in the case of flying, this is true. It’s a thing I don’t need to lie about.
The Magus had us sedately travel down the laneway till we came to a junction where he turned right. All the while I was staring up and around the buildings about us and then I caught a glimpse of the bright blue sky above us. No matter who long I have lived, that sight never failed to move me. You humans always seem to ignore the wonder that is around you. Ahh well.
My eyes grew even wider once we turned into the main tree lined street as I saw even bigger buildings ahead of us.
“Those are apartment blocks, or what the Romans would have called Insulae,” said the Magus casually as we drove past them.
“Some things don’t change do they?” I said in idle fascination as we continued.
“I suppose not,” he replied as we now came to a stop in front of a number of coloured lights mounted in a sequence upon yellow metal poles. The lights were red at the moment.
“Red mean stop, green means you can go and amber means go very fast,” he remarked as he saw me staring at the lights in some confusion.
“Oh… I see..” Not really but I sort of understood.
The light changed to green and we moved off once more, this time traveling a speed faster than a galloping horse. I was in complete awe as we effortless travelled down the well paved, black road, seeing other cars driving alongside us and in the opposite direction. Trees were everywhere as were hundreds of buildings. I could see people walking along the side of the road on a paved path, leading dogs on a rope?.. I couldn’t quite tell. I saw a man on a very slim, two wheeled device, his legs pumping away on some small peddles that his feet seemed to be attached to.
“That’s a bicycle,” said the Magus. I nodded once more as it was almost overwhelming.
“Where are the city walls?” I asked in a small voice as we must have travel a few miles by now.
“We have none.”
“What?”
“We have no need for such things. This city has over two and a half million people who live in an area than spans probably about seventy miles north to south and about thirty or so from the coast to the hills in the east. This is the lucky country Meridiana. Our shores have never been invaded, well they were once by my ancestors, taking it from the indigenous peoples who had lived here for probably sixty thousand years of more? Non one is really sure or perhaps you might be?”
“Terra Australis?”
“The Romans know of it? Incredible!”
“They heard of rumours of it from traders from the far eastern Spice Islands. The only people who bothered to head that way were divers for the rare shells of creatures that lived in the reefs there.”
“Ahh Troccus Shell of course. Makes complete sense. Indonesians must have been sailing from their islands down here for thousands of years but simple fishermen don’t write historical journals for later generations to read now do they?”
“No, they don’t. I found fishermen to be a mostly rough, ready, usually rude and definitely ignorant bunch of sea lice infested peasants. Literacy and leaning and the preservation of knowledge was never high on their list of priorities,” I replied with a smirk.
The Magus nodded with his own smile. I could see that these little snippets of my experience were intriguing for him as he mentioned that he is a historian, a scholar of learning. A person who was almost on my level of intellect.
We carried on down the wide open road in comfortable silence for now as I sat and admired the incredible vista sweeping by us.
Soon we crested a hill after a few more stops and starts at various intersections contained the coloured lights on poles.
I couldn’t help but let out a gasp of delight as I suddenly saw the magnificent blue ocean before me.
Far off in the distance I could see massive ships?... just sitting there in the ocean. There was an island on the horizon that was clearly visible as it was a perfectly clear late afternoon.
We drove down the descending hill and turned onto a very busy road that was full of cars and people.
“Aha! We are in luck Meridiana!”
“We are?” I had no idea what he was talking about.
“We got a parking spot right there. People pray for these you know?” he said as he guided the car into the free space between two other cars.
“They do? Who do they pray to? Do they offer sacrifice for such eventualities?” I wondered as he parked the car.
“Maybe? My best friend calls upon a goddess he named Pamelia, goddess of Parking, invoking her name in praise when he finds a free parking spot in a good location.”
I shook my head with amusement and disbelief but I knew the Magus wasn’t lying. It was just so ridiculous that it had to be true.
“Praise Pamelia then?” I said hesitantly.
“Indeed,” he replied as he switched off the car’s engine. “Just press the red button on your clasp and that will release your belt. The door handle is just there,” he said as he pointed to it.
I did as he said and was out and standing on concrete pavers that formed a neat and well-constructed pathway that led past busy tavernas, shops and eateries, all full of people enjoying themselves.
“Come this way Meridiana. I’m going to buy you a Gelato. I think you will enjoy it. Oh, put on your hat and sunglasses, you’ll feel better and blend in more,” he suggested.
I did so and what surprised me even more was that he offered his left arm for me to hold.
“We have to look normal Meridiana, although most people are going to take one look at you and think what the hell is that gorgeous woman doing with that pudgy, middled aged old fart then?”
I let loose a genuine laugh.
“True but they don’t know who you or I are,” I said with a demure smile back at him.
“And that’s the point. Always leave the proles guessing.”
And with that we walked down the path, with many furtively looking at me. I notice that I drew the glances of women more than men as women always compare themselves to others, they simply can’t help it. It pleased me greatly and I ignored the stares and longing looks from both sexes, keeping a serene smile on my sensual lips as I lightly held the Magus’s left arm between my hands.
We soon came up to a busy food venue that had a large lit up sign saying “Gelato!”.
We made our way into the venue with little fuss, just briefly waiting to be served as the people working behind the counter were quick and efficient.
“Hmm… I think I’ll get you a Rum and Raisin double scoop to start with,” said the Magus.
I shrugged, not knowing what that was but knowing what Rum and raisins were.
“One Rum and Raisin and one Vanilla double scoop in waffle cones please,” he requested. The server nodded and I was again astounded as the Magus just took out his phone and tapped it to a device that the server held out. That was a financial transaction!
We got our Gelatos, walked out, crossed the busy road, found an empty bench, sat down and I tried Gelato for the first time. Dozens of people just walked by us with little regard.
I closed my eyes as I sampled the ice cold substance.
Nirvana in food form!
This must be just like living in Paradise.
2023.03.30 02:09 TaraCalicosBike In 1978, newly divorced real estate agent Patty Kerger was meant to show a home to a client in Scottsdale, Arizona, but it’s unclear whether she showed up- the next day, her body was discovered in a vacant lot, and she had been stabbed and bludgeoned to death. Who killed Patty, and why?
In the summer of 1978, thirty year old Patricia Mary Kerger, known to all as Patty, had a fresh start in life- Patty was recently divorced, having split from her aircraft mechanic husband, Jay. While Jay was focusing on his career in aircraft mechanics and being part owner of a company called Blue Sky Aviation (as well as “smuggling weed” as a way of making extra cash,) Patty was focusing on her own career in real estate, working for Red Carpet Realty, in Phoenix. Patty’s therapist described her as having a lot of drive, being quite intelligent, and as “making it a little bit tough on some man to get to know her too well,” when it came to dating. The office manager at the realty company stated that Patty dated a lot of “strange and kind of far out guys” and that she enjoyed partying, but all who knew Patty knew that her main focus was her 10 year old son, Eric.
By 1978, Patty had been having a year long affair with her married boss, Clyde Poulin. Clyde went on to describe his affair with Patty as on and off, but passionate, stating ”It was one of the situations where we’d break up on Monday, and get back together on Tuesday.” Clyde was very secretive about their affair, as he was married and had 5 children- after the murder of Patty Kerger, he had asked police to keep the affair a secret, which they agreed. In 2003, when an article was written about the case, Clyde has asked the East Valley Tribune not to publish the information about the affair, but they did not oblige.
The night before Patty was killed, she and Eric had moved into a new apartment together, and were just beginning to settle in. The next day, on June 10, Patty spent the afternoon with her son and father at the Purple Turtle, a restaurant located on 12th street and Indian School Road. Patty was last seen around 4:30 p.m. near her new apartment complex on 7th Street and Bethany Home Road, where she had left for an appointment she had scheduled at 5 p.m.- however, she did not show up. The appointment was to tour a McCormick Ranch home to a client from Tucson- strangely, she had scheduled this appointment to show the home to the client alone, which Patty was not prone to do, as there had been a recent string of rapes of real estate agents in the valley at this time. (Please note: one source states that Patty did in fact make it to this appointment, but, majority of newspaper articles claim that she did not.)
The next day, Patty’s lifeless body was discovered in a vacant lot on the southeast corner of 56th Street and Thomas Road. The body was fully clothed and lying in a pool of blood, and the contents of her purse were dumped out beside her- she had been bludgeoned with a heavy object about the head, and stabbed several times, including one stab wound to the chest. The police described the killing as brutal and frenzied. Vaguely, the police also mentioned that they found one item at the scene that could be linked to Patty’s killer, but what that item is, has never been stated. Police believe the murder occurred between 8:45 and 9:10 p.m. on June 10th, and that she was killed elsewhere and dumped where her body was found. Soon after, her car was located behind a Black Angus Steakhouse on 20th Street and Camelback Road (and, on an unrelated personal note, the exact same complex where I once worked.) Authorities stated that they believe she had met someone she knew at the Black Angus, and then left in their car with them, before her murder.
After conducting numerous interviews, police were able to clear the client from Tucson, as well as Patty’s affair partner, Clyde. In an attempt to gather any more leads, they had put the receptionist from Red Carpet Realty under hypnosis, hoping she may recall a name or detail from the phone calls coming into the office that week- however, this led no where. Naturally, Patty’s ex-husband Jay was called in as a person of interest, and looked at closely. After speaking with their son, Eric, it was learned that the divorce was amicable, but, that weeks before the murder, the two had an explosive fight, causing Eric to run out of the house and down the street to a neighbor’s home. Police speculate that the fight may have occurred because Jay had recently remarried, and wanted to take Eric to visit his new wife’s parents in Pennsylvania. Jay had provided an alibi for the night of June 10, 1978, however- he claimed that he was in Needles, California, despite having a plane flight from Pennsylvania to Phoenix that same evening. Jay stated that he was at a diner in Needles and that the waitress can be spoken to, in order to verify his claim- this waitress was indeed located, and verified his statements, but added an additional detail that Jay left out: he was dining with an unknown man. This man was never identified and never spoken to. Incredibly, later on, Jay would change his alibi once again, stating he was actually deep in the desert directing a plane with a marijuana drop. When spoken to years later about the murder of his ex-wife, Jay stated:
Links
Newspaper Clippings
East Valley Tribune
submitted by TaraCalicosBike to UnresolvedMysteries [link] [comments]
By 1978, Patty had been having a year long affair with her married boss, Clyde Poulin. Clyde went on to describe his affair with Patty as on and off, but passionate, stating ”It was one of the situations where we’d break up on Monday, and get back together on Tuesday.” Clyde was very secretive about their affair, as he was married and had 5 children- after the murder of Patty Kerger, he had asked police to keep the affair a secret, which they agreed. In 2003, when an article was written about the case, Clyde has asked the East Valley Tribune not to publish the information about the affair, but they did not oblige.
The night before Patty was killed, she and Eric had moved into a new apartment together, and were just beginning to settle in. The next day, on June 10, Patty spent the afternoon with her son and father at the Purple Turtle, a restaurant located on 12th street and Indian School Road. Patty was last seen around 4:30 p.m. near her new apartment complex on 7th Street and Bethany Home Road, where she had left for an appointment she had scheduled at 5 p.m.- however, she did not show up. The appointment was to tour a McCormick Ranch home to a client from Tucson- strangely, she had scheduled this appointment to show the home to the client alone, which Patty was not prone to do, as there had been a recent string of rapes of real estate agents in the valley at this time. (Please note: one source states that Patty did in fact make it to this appointment, but, majority of newspaper articles claim that she did not.)
The next day, Patty’s lifeless body was discovered in a vacant lot on the southeast corner of 56th Street and Thomas Road. The body was fully clothed and lying in a pool of blood, and the contents of her purse were dumped out beside her- she had been bludgeoned with a heavy object about the head, and stabbed several times, including one stab wound to the chest. The police described the killing as brutal and frenzied. Vaguely, the police also mentioned that they found one item at the scene that could be linked to Patty’s killer, but what that item is, has never been stated. Police believe the murder occurred between 8:45 and 9:10 p.m. on June 10th, and that she was killed elsewhere and dumped where her body was found. Soon after, her car was located behind a Black Angus Steakhouse on 20th Street and Camelback Road (and, on an unrelated personal note, the exact same complex where I once worked.) Authorities stated that they believe she had met someone she knew at the Black Angus, and then left in their car with them, before her murder.
After conducting numerous interviews, police were able to clear the client from Tucson, as well as Patty’s affair partner, Clyde. In an attempt to gather any more leads, they had put the receptionist from Red Carpet Realty under hypnosis, hoping she may recall a name or detail from the phone calls coming into the office that week- however, this led no where. Naturally, Patty’s ex-husband Jay was called in as a person of interest, and looked at closely. After speaking with their son, Eric, it was learned that the divorce was amicable, but, that weeks before the murder, the two had an explosive fight, causing Eric to run out of the house and down the street to a neighbor’s home. Police speculate that the fight may have occurred because Jay had recently remarried, and wanted to take Eric to visit his new wife’s parents in Pennsylvania. Jay had provided an alibi for the night of June 10, 1978, however- he claimed that he was in Needles, California, despite having a plane flight from Pennsylvania to Phoenix that same evening. Jay stated that he was at a diner in Needles and that the waitress can be spoken to, in order to verify his claim- this waitress was indeed located, and verified his statements, but added an additional detail that Jay left out: he was dining with an unknown man. This man was never identified and never spoken to. Incredibly, later on, Jay would change his alibi once again, stating he was actually deep in the desert directing a plane with a marijuana drop. When spoken to years later about the murder of his ex-wife, Jay stated:
”I'm the ex-husband, so I'm the prime suspect. I'm very sorry they (still) think that, because it's taking them in the wrong direction. My personal opinion is that this is just like the Bob Crane murder. They unprofessionally didn't do things right."Nearly 45 years have passed since the murder of Patty Kerger, and police are no closer to finding her justice. When last reported on, Jay was living in Texas, and hasn’t spoken to his son Eric in years.
Links
Newspaper Clippings
East Valley Tribune
2023.03.30 01:45 oldmanenergi Wyoming Valley Metrorail Fantasy Map
 | submitted by oldmanenergi to NEPA [link] [comments] |
2023.03.29 23:37 Few-Distance156 St. David’s Road reconstruction begins between St. Catharines and Thorold
 | A major road work project has started on St. David’s Road between St. Catharines and Thorold. The project involves the reconstruction of St. David’s Road (Regional Road 71) between Collier Road and Foley Crescent. submitted by Few-Distance156 to NiagaraNews [link] [comments] The project is part of a joint effort between the Niagara Region and the cities of St. Catharines and Thorold to urbanize the cross-section of the road, including the installation of curbs and gutters, new sidewalk on the north side, multi-use trail on the south side, upgraded local and regional water mains, new storm sewers and street lighting, and construction of a new road base, curbs, and asphalt. The project is expected to improve traffic operations, safety, and active transportation along the corridor, which is a major east-west roadway connecting Highway 406 to Merrittville Highway. The project will be completed in two phases. Phase one began on March 28 and will run until autumn 2023. Phase one will require a full road closure of St. David’s Road between Collier Road and Foley Crescent for the duration of the construction. Detour routes will be posted and access to local businesses and properties will be maintained as much as possible. Phase two is expected to begin in 2024 or 2025 and will involve the reconstruction of St. David’s Road between Highway 406 ramp and Burleigh Hill Drive / Collier Road. The project is being carried out by O’Hara Trucking & Excavating Inc. on behalf of the Niagara Region and the cities of St. Catharines and Thorold. The public can find more information about the project on the Niagara Region website and can contact the project team with any questions or concerns. |
2023.03.29 21:42 SpookyLittleEgg 12 Days Itinerary check - Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka/Hakone - Would love some help on a few logistical questions and any Showa/Kayokyoku/Retro recommendations you all have!
Hi all,
I've been planning this trip for a while and was really hoping to get some feedback on my itinerary. I have not been to Japan since 2000 and was a kid, spent most of that trip doing more low-key areas around where my aunty lived in Fujisawa (Yokohama, Enoshima, Kanagawa etc.) so now I want to do a classic golden route. It will also be my boyfriends first trip.
I recently had to stop taking my ADHD medication so my brain has become incapable of getting my shit together on this, so more than anything would love if people would kindly help answer the logistical questions and request for recommendations at the bottom of my post!
Trip is from 17th May until 30th May 2023.
Day 1: Tokyo
7.30am Arrive at HND, Collect JR Pass/top up Suica etc.
Travel to hotel (Tokyu Stay Shinjuku East side) to drop off luggage
· 10.30am - Shibuya (Circa 4 hours)
· Return to check into the Hotel for 3pm
· 4.30pm - Harajuku area (Circa 3-4 hours)
· Shinjuku for the evening/night
Day 2: Tokyo
· Ueno Park
· Akihabara - Arcades & Gachapon!
· Asakusa – For Sanja Matsuri - Daigyoretsu Parade
Day 3: Tokyo
· Central Tokyo/Ginza - Imperial palace, Tokyo station area and shops (Muji, Itoya)
· Ikebukuro - Sanrio, Pokemon Center, Animate, Moe Garden
Day 4: Tokyo
· Early visit to Meiji-Jingu if did not have time on Day 1
· Shimokitazawa
· Nakano Broadway
· Odaiba – Gundam, Daiba Itchome Shotengai, Seaside park, view rainbow bridge
Day 5: Kyoto
· Travel from Tokyo to Kyoto as early as possible
· Half-day in Nara (Circa 6 hours) – Nara park, Todaiji, Kofukuji,Toshodaiji and Kasuga Taisha.
· Check into Park Hotel Kyoto (Downtown area)
· Nijo Castle
Day 6: Kyoto
· Travel to Arashiyama (Circa 8 hours):
- Togetsukyo Bridge
- Bamboo Groves
- Okochi Sanso Villa
- Saga-Toriimoto Preserved Street
- Rakushisha Residence
- Tenryuji Temple
- Daikakuji Temple
- Gioji Temple
- Adashino Nenbutsuji and Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple
- Sagano Scenic Railway (If time)
· Kinkakuji
· Pontocho
Day 7: Kyoto
· Fushimi Inari
· Tofukuji
· East Kyoto/ Higashiyama/Gion areas:
- Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) > Philosopher’s Path > Taiho shrine > Eikando Temple > Nanzenji Temple > Okazaki Shrine
- Ishibe Alley
- Kenninji Temple
- Kodaiji Temple
- Kiyomizudera Temple
- Yakasa Pagoda
- Yasaka Kōshin-dō (Kongō-ji) Temple
- Shorenin and Chionen Temples
- Yasaka Shrine
Day 8: Kyoto > Osaka
· Travel to Osaka & Drop off bags at hotel (Namba)
· Kuromon Market
· Check into the Hotel at 4pm, then Umeda/Tenma areas
Day 9: Osaka
· Shittenoji if up early/or just skip depending on energy levels
· Shinsekai
· Namba area – Amerikamura, Dotonbori, Ema-Den, Rikuro’s
Day 10: Osaka > Hakone
· Check into Ryokan at 3pm - Explore, Bath, Rest
Day 11: Hakone > Tokyo
· Hakone loop
· Return to Tokyo for dinner, and check into hotel and chill eve/pack
Day 12: Tokyo
· Disney Sea
Questions:
- Day’s 6 & 7 are nightmarish and I’m struggling to plan/prioritise. What is achievable? What should be cut if needed? (Definitely keen on seeing more cute, odd, mossy shrines too as well as the beautiful main ones though if possible)
- Sanja Matsuri – Could anyone help me on how I best experience this? Where to be and when for the parade? How late do festivities usually go on this day after main parade?
- Is it better to travel direct to Hakone from Osaka, or travel back to Tokyo and transfer to Hakone to use the Hakone pass? Would like to book a romance car for return to Tokyo, when and where is the soonest I could do this?
Showa aesthetic/Kayokyoku music/cream soda’s – Anyone got any recommendations for some retro spots? Murals/buildings with this aesthetic? Cute café’s/Kissaten? Bars/clubs with this kind of music/vibe?
Would love people’s best Gasha/arcade/photobooth recs other than GiGO chain/Purikura (Harajuku) /Gashapon Kaiten (Akiba)
submitted by SpookyLittleEgg to JapanTravel [link] [comments]
I've been planning this trip for a while and was really hoping to get some feedback on my itinerary. I have not been to Japan since 2000 and was a kid, spent most of that trip doing more low-key areas around where my aunty lived in Fujisawa (Yokohama, Enoshima, Kanagawa etc.) so now I want to do a classic golden route. It will also be my boyfriends first trip.
I recently had to stop taking my ADHD medication so my brain has become incapable of getting my shit together on this, so more than anything would love if people would kindly help answer the logistical questions and request for recommendations at the bottom of my post!
Trip is from 17th May until 30th May 2023.
Day 1: Tokyo
7.30am Arrive at HND, Collect JR Pass/top up Suica etc.
Travel to hotel (Tokyu Stay Shinjuku East side) to drop off luggage
· 10.30am - Shibuya (Circa 4 hours)
· Return to check into the Hotel for 3pm
· 4.30pm - Harajuku area (Circa 3-4 hours)
· Shinjuku for the evening/night
Day 2: Tokyo
· Ueno Park
· Akihabara - Arcades & Gachapon!
· Asakusa – For Sanja Matsuri - Daigyoretsu Parade
Day 3: Tokyo
· Central Tokyo/Ginza - Imperial palace, Tokyo station area and shops (Muji, Itoya)
· Ikebukuro - Sanrio, Pokemon Center, Animate, Moe Garden
Day 4: Tokyo
· Early visit to Meiji-Jingu if did not have time on Day 1
· Shimokitazawa
· Nakano Broadway
· Odaiba – Gundam, Daiba Itchome Shotengai, Seaside park, view rainbow bridge
Day 5: Kyoto
· Travel from Tokyo to Kyoto as early as possible
· Half-day in Nara (Circa 6 hours) – Nara park, Todaiji, Kofukuji,Toshodaiji and Kasuga Taisha.
· Check into Park Hotel Kyoto (Downtown area)
· Nijo Castle
Day 6: Kyoto
· Travel to Arashiyama (Circa 8 hours):
- Togetsukyo Bridge
- Bamboo Groves
- Okochi Sanso Villa
- Saga-Toriimoto Preserved Street
- Rakushisha Residence
- Tenryuji Temple
- Daikakuji Temple
- Gioji Temple
- Adashino Nenbutsuji and Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple
- Sagano Scenic Railway (If time)
· Kinkakuji
· Pontocho
Day 7: Kyoto
· Fushimi Inari
· Tofukuji
· East Kyoto/ Higashiyama/Gion areas:
- Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) > Philosopher’s Path > Taiho shrine > Eikando Temple > Nanzenji Temple > Okazaki Shrine
- Ishibe Alley
- Kenninji Temple
- Kodaiji Temple
- Kiyomizudera Temple
- Yakasa Pagoda
- Yasaka Kōshin-dō (Kongō-ji) Temple
- Shorenin and Chionen Temples
- Yasaka Shrine
Day 8: Kyoto > Osaka
· Travel to Osaka & Drop off bags at hotel (Namba)
· Kuromon Market
· Check into the Hotel at 4pm, then Umeda/Tenma areas
Day 9: Osaka
· Shittenoji if up early/or just skip depending on energy levels
· Shinsekai
· Namba area – Amerikamura, Dotonbori, Ema-Den, Rikuro’s
Day 10: Osaka > Hakone
· Check into Ryokan at 3pm - Explore, Bath, Rest
Day 11: Hakone > Tokyo
· Hakone loop
· Return to Tokyo for dinner, and check into hotel and chill eve/pack
Day 12: Tokyo
· Disney Sea
Questions:
- Day’s 6 & 7 are nightmarish and I’m struggling to plan/prioritise. What is achievable? What should be cut if needed? (Definitely keen on seeing more cute, odd, mossy shrines too as well as the beautiful main ones though if possible)
- Sanja Matsuri – Could anyone help me on how I best experience this? Where to be and when for the parade? How late do festivities usually go on this day after main parade?
- Is it better to travel direct to Hakone from Osaka, or travel back to Tokyo and transfer to Hakone to use the Hakone pass? Would like to book a romance car for return to Tokyo, when and where is the soonest I could do this?
Showa aesthetic/Kayokyoku music/cream soda’s – Anyone got any recommendations for some retro spots? Murals/buildings with this aesthetic? Cute café’s/Kissaten? Bars/clubs with this kind of music/vibe?
Would love people’s best Gasha/arcade/photobooth recs other than GiGO chain/Purikura (Harajuku) /Gashapon Kaiten (Akiba)
2023.03.29 20:53 redditduk [Mega List] Singapore Gigs & Concerts: Early April (31 Mar - 13 Apr 2023)
30/3 Thu
- Music Theatre: The Soldier & His Virtuous Wife 都是当兵惹的祸 ft Joanna Dong till 16 Apr, drama centre theatre (national library), $40
- Blu Jaz: Love, Death & Robots Poetry Slam, blu jaz L2 at bali ln (bugis), $12
- Cool Cats: Melissa Indot, at JW Mariott Beach Rd (esplanade), $25 idk
- NAFA x NTUA Collaborative Concert: Wind Ensemble, NAFA Lee Foundation Theatre (bencoolen), free with reg
- DJ, Offtrack: Kin Leonn & Bongomann, offtrack hong lim park, gastro bar
31/3 Fri TDOV
- KENNY G, marina bay sands theatre, $88
- Esplanade Ska Friday!: Gruv St Runners set, Geylang Ska Syndicate set, Cesspit set, esplanade outdoor theatre, free
- Tze Toh & the TO Ensemble: Koru (modern classical & carnatic fusion), esplanade recital studio, $38
- SSO: Chloe Chua Plays Mozart 3 (Day 1), victoria concert hall, $15
- YST Conservatory: Visiting Artist Series: Miró Quartet, NUS Yong Siew Toh Concert Hall, $10
- SMU Guitarissimo Guitar Ensemble: Guitarra Grande (local & intl pop), SMU arts Cultural Centre, free?
- Jazz Loft: The Maya Nova Quartet, blu jaz L3 at bali ln (bugis), $22
- Maduro: SOULED OUT!! ft. Yvette Atienza & the East Street Groove (jazz fusion/funk), maduro jazz bar dempsey, $65 drink credits
- Ryosuke Kiyasu (experimental snare drum solo) ft dharma, microchip terror & beelzebud, lithe style (rochor), $12
- Movie + Live Improv Music: Salomé, the projector golden mile tower, $20
- DJ, Yousuke Yukimatsu: Midnight Shift presents ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U (eclectic rave), ikigai the riverwalk, $42
- DJ, Blu Jaz: Blasé (afrobeats reggaeton hip-hop), blu jaz at bali ln (bugis), $15
- DJ, Neil Conversion Therapy: K-pop Night, 43 neil rd (maxwell), gay bar-club, $35 liquid buffet
- DJ, Club Hell: Pop in Hell, 113 telok ayer (mrt), gay club
- DJ, Untamed : CHARACTER NIGHT (desi bollywood party, somewhat queer friendly), kult kafe the grandstand (sixth avenue), $40
- DJ, Spaceone SG Guest: Kiyota, jln sultan plaza
- DJ, Luxe Club: REC ROOM (hip-hop, reggaeton, afrobeats), marina square (esplanade), $35
- DJ, Goodfellas Bar & Grill : DJ Val, 41 north canal rd (clarke quay)
- DJ, La Grandezza's Traffic Light Party - DJ Nicole Alexa & Kiara, $18 promo
- DJ, DJ Jag's Retro Disco Party by DMC Productions (80s-90s), Furama Riverfront (havelock), $22
- DJ, Party Social SG: Groove Hauz (deep house & tech house pop-up), Rubato Steakhouse 2 Teck Lim Rd (Maxwell), $25
- DJ, Prism Club: 7 Sins: Sloth Pyjama Party, Marina Square (esplanade), $33
- DJ, Headquarters: Vaibs, Leland, Sivanesh, 66 boat quay, $30 walk-in
- DJ, Potato Head Bar and Grill Disco House Night: Yujin, keong saik
- DJ, Yang Club x RewindSG: Back to Old School (90s-00s r&b hip-hop), clarke quay, $30-$45
- DJ, HADONE (techno, breakbeat), tuff club 138 robinson rd shenton way, $37
- DJ, Sake Matsuri Fest - DJ Itch & Vanan M (city pop, asian funk, disco house), urban park @ guoco tower (tanjong pagar), Hazel Guestlists's version $18 with free access to prism club pillow fight party later
- DJ, Zouk Phuture: Underground, zouk phuture clarke quay, $45 crossover ok
- DJ, Zouk: One Dance with Deorro (MEX edm), zouk clarke quay, $50
- DJ, Enclave Bar - Enclave to the Grave Closing Party ft. your friend dan, dj rushing, metal_upa, thebryanstate, golden mile complex, bar
- DJ, Morten, marquee mbs, $55
1/4 Sat
- TOMORROW X TOGETHER TXT, singapore indoor stadium, $168
- Bandwidth (Bollywood-Rock), capitol theatre city hall, $63
- 重逢17 演唱会 CHONG FENG 17TH REUNION CONCERT, esplanade theatre, $98
- Bloody Oath: Cactus Cactus, Intermission, Zeta Mind Flayers, Slugg, SxVIxGMM, lithe style (rochor), $15 presale sold out
- Bye Bye Golden Mile Tour + last sounds of golden mile (see below), golden mile complex, $38 sold out
- Last sounds of golden mile ft. XUE, Forests, Xingfoo & Roy, Disco Hue, Subsonic Eye, golden mile complex, $28 sold out in 15 mins i was browsing then gone :(
- Klassique Musik Presents CORINNA - Souvenirs (bach, hisaishi, jj lin, bts etc), esplanade recital studio, $50
- SSO: Chloe Chua Plays Mozart 3 (Last Day), victoria concert hall, $15
- YST Conservatory: Nouveau Départ: A Harp Studio Recital , NUS Yong Siew Toh Orchestra Hall, free
- NIE Winds: Everyone Loves Music (disney, anime, Mayday), NTU North Spine AIA Canopy, free
- Jazz Loft: The Maya Nova Quartet, blu jaz L3 at bali ln (bugis), $22
- Maduro: A Sassy Romance with The Kent Ridge Quartet, maduro jazz bar dempsey, $65 drink credits
- Singapore's Youngest Busker Lyla Ng, ion orchard outside, free
- Strait Up (open) Blues Jam at Nineteen Eighty Studios, 361 joo chiat rd, $20
- Raya: Retro Raya at Our Tampines Hub: Live Performers everyday to 19 Apr, our tampines hub, free
- Drag: RIOT! Hosted by Becca D'Bus, hard rock cafe orchard, $15
- DJ, Mismatch X Fomohomo: Miss Homo - Fool Moon Party Queer Rave ft MEZ (US), EJ Missy & Høwrong, MDLR 62 cecil street (telok ayer), $35 left
- DJ, BYOT - Bring Your Own Trunks - Funky House, Happy Vocal Circuit by Man about town (lgbt), Sofitel Singapore City Centre (tanjong pagar), $40
- DJ, Straight Outta Kampong at Overeasy ft. DJ KFC, Ramesh, Ollie Des, Deejay xG (hip-hop r&b funk afro), OverEasy One Fullerton (Merlion), bar & diner
- DJ, Blu Jaz: The Africa Night Club (afro, amapiano, kizomba etc), blu jaz at bali ln (bugis), $15
- DJ, DJs Creed Rooftop Revelries (international DJ fest, deep house to afro to hip-hop), levant cocktail bar 32 tras st (tanjong pagar), $25
- DJ, Headquarters: Gabriel Desanctis, Daryl Knows, Kevin Sy, Basil, 66 boat quay, $30
- DJ, Thugshop Presents - KRYSTAL KLEAR (nu-disco, techno), tuff club 138 robinson rd shenton way, $37
- DJ, Yang Club: Slumber Party - 'College/School' (and dress code), clarke quay, $30 to $45
- DJ, Prism Club: Pillow Fight Day, Marina square (esplanade), $40 free flow
- DJ, Vertigo 26: Teenage Pop (indie, pop), vertigo26 @ MINT Museum City Hall, listening bar
- DJ, Offtrack: Jura (hip-hop, soul-funk), offtrack hong lim, gastro bar
- DJ, Mugic Sound System's PurnRao Killa KTV Takeover, golden mile complex, $20
- DJ, BAD HARE DAY: A Pagan Goth Nite (industrial ebm, electro folk, darkwave - post punk rave), Chips Ming Arcade Orchard B1, $20 with drink
- DJ, Elysium Songkran Festival ft. DJ Nicole Chen, Clammr, Limmy, sand bar siloso beach sentosa, $35
- DJ, Rainbow Disco Club x Ice Cream Sundays - Sisi and Kikorix (JPN), haw par villa, $37 sold out
- DJ, Culture Presents Far Far Away (Disney-Dreamworks-Pixar Night, y2k Movies, High School Musical), Luxe Club Marina Square, table open & setlist but $31 sold out
- DJ, WastedSG: Candyshop ft. Mistercjc, special k & roy (90s-y2k pop, hip-hop, party anthems), ikigai the riverwalk, $15 tix with 1 drink here
2/4 Sun
- Esplanade: Aaron Bunac - Songs From My Time (50s-90s), free
- Esplanade: Syurga Jeffrey Serenades (indie, r&b), free
- Esplanade: Baracuda Batucada - Reinvigorate (brazilian percussions), esplanade outdoor, free
- NTU Symphonic Band: Sojourn 2023, SOTA Concert Hall (dhoby ghaut), $15
- NTU Guitar Ensemble: Nocturne, NAFA Lee Foundation Theatre (bencoolen), $20 tix
- The Arts Place: Opera - Spring Blooms Concert (western opera & chinese ethnic vocal-poetry), esplanade recital studio, $50
- Voices of Singapore Men's Choir: Songs from Silence Recital, Capitol Theatre (city hall), free/payasyouwish
- Derrick Tham 谭志华's D20 Music Showcase (mando), 11 Sam Leong Road (jalan besar), $30
- Music for Wellness: Drum Jam Destress (1st Session), Chinatown 531 Upper Cross St, $17
- Jazz Loft: Sunday Jam Session with Rachma Lim Trio, blu jaz L3 at bali ln (bugis), $22
- DJ, indigo: genesis (hip-hop, top40, edm), PRISM Club Marina Square, $25 tix
- DJ, Potato Head x Dubclub x Suksuka: Irie Vibration (Reggae, Dub, Roots Carribean Party), potato head keong saik rooftop bar
3/4
- Esplanade: NUS Resonance A capella (pop tunes), free
- Esplanade Coffee Morning & Afternoon Tea: Joey Wee's Songs from Old Shanghai , esplanade recital, $18 with refreshments
- Jazz Loft: ONE NIGHT IN APRIL - Aya Sekine Trio ft Tim De Cotta, Christy Smith & Aaron James Lee, blu jaz L3 at bali ln (bugis), $22 sold out
- YST Conservatory: Primarily Piano around Liszt, NUS Yong Siew Toh Orchestra Hall, free
4/4
- Esplanade: Owen Li - Esplanade, free
5/4
- Esplanade: Jayne Peh - To Sea, My Journey (singer-songwriter, mando), free
- Romantic Fantasies and Fugues - A Piano Recital by Kenneth Hamilton, esplanade recital studio, $22
- Music for Wellness: Drum Jam Destress (2nd Session), Chinatown 531 Upper Cross St, $17
- Singapore American School's Jazz Night 'S-wing Swing', SAS Woodlands, free
- DJ, Offtrack: DJ Itch (city pop, asian boogie), offtrack hong lim, gastro bar
6/4 Thu
- Fang Wu 吴汶芳, esplanade recital studio, $128
- Esplanade x Laselle: Voltaic - Two Strands (lush electronic experimental), free
- NUSVoices Mandopop: Emerge: 寻星者 Star Chaser, NUS University Cultural Center, $18
- Wheeler's: Leslie Cheung & Anita Mui Tribute Night 风华绝代 by Stephanie Chan (陈莉祝) & Alex Chia (謝中傑), wheeler's estate 2 park lane seletar, $44
- Piano Recital by Lilya Zilberstein (schubert, liszt, shausson, czerny), victoria concert hall, $25
- DJ, Thugshop Presents - CASPER TIELROOIJ aka Dekmantel Soundsystem (NED deep house, techno), tuff club 138 robinson rd shenton way, $37
- DJ, EATMEPOPTART: House Party - Diner, Sixteen Ounces Bar & Kitchen The Rail Mall (hillview), free/table
- DJ, Spaceone SG: MC/ DJ Red, jln sultan plaza
- DJ, Hopheads 90s + 00s Boom Boom Party , Luxe Club Marina Square, info $30
- DJ, Ofttrack: Emma SS, offtrack hong lim, gastro bar
- DJ, Hard Ascension 150: DJ Sakura Birthday Bash ft MC/DJ Matt (KL hardstyle, hardcore), PRISM club Marina Square (esplanade), $32
- DJ, EMONIGHTSG: The B-Sides (pop punk, emo, alt rock), hard rock cafe orchard, $20
- DJ, Roman Flügel (idm/ambient, tech house) & Kindergarchy, ikigai riverwalk, $48 with drink
- DJ, Marquee 4th Anniversary Day 1: Timmy Trumpet, marquee mbs, bundle here, single $75
7/4 Good Friday
- Manu Chao (latin alt, reggae folk): 1st show, haw par villa, $40
- Zhuang Juan-Ying 庄鹃瑛 (Ball of KatnCandix2), esplanade recital studio, $100
- Dialogue & Exhibition: Prohibited Projects x Shrub: Post Punk, shrub golden mile tower L1, $20 rsvp
- Esplanade x Laselle: The Cosmic Owls x ABANGSAPAU (hip-hop, live band), esplanade outdoor
- Esplanade x Laselle: Jazima Cook - Butterflies (folk, pop-r&b), esplanade outdoor, free
- Esplanade Poetry + Music: Word, Play, Music (dikir barat meets Hidayat Nordin meets pop) by AURUM , free
- SSO: The Kozlovsky Requiem (choral, symphony), esplanade concert hall, $15
- Jazz Loft: Kersley Piron Band: Sega-games melodic jazz fusion, blu jaz L3 at bali ln (bugis), $22
- DJ & Drag, Two Queens Asia: Good Good Friday, ikigai riverwalk
- DJ, Kampong Boogie: Late Night ft. SWTLKR, Kenneth Francis, Joshua Pillai (walk-in only), the projector golden mile tower, free
- DJ, Brown Roast: Jalebees Fusion Night (Kollywood x Bollywood), 78a Boat Quay, $35
- DJ, Thugshop Presents - Edu Imbernon [anjunadeep, Fayer] indie prog house, techno, tuff club 138 robinson rd shenton way, $37
- DJ, Headquarters: Ulysses, Dang, TMDDJ, 66 boat quay, $30 walk-in
- DJ, Party Movement SG presents #Tasty with DJ Sweezy, Gabby, Ethan, MC T Williams (top 40, reggaeton, hip-hop, latin), blu jaz at bali ln (bugis), $10
- DJ, Offtrack: Dean Chew (darker than wax), offtrack hong lim, gastro bar
- DJ, Zouk Phuture Transfix: Billy Gillies (UK trance), zouk phuture clarke quay, $45
- DJ, Unfiltered: Flashback Friday (y2k), hard rock cafe orchard, $25 sold out
- DJ, Marquee 4th Anniversary Day 2: Marlo, marquee mbs, bundle here, single $55
8/4 Sat
- TREASURE (트레저), singapore indoor stadium, $168
- PSY and Rain 비 - Marquee 4th Anniversary Day 3, marquee mbs, bundle available, main: presale over $95 doors left, 1am afterparty: $30 here
- MaSiWei (of Higher Brothers) WORLD TOUR, capitol theatre city hall, $88
- Esplanade x Laselle: Jiasi and friends (bilingual singer-songwriter), Samuel Tan (jazzy yacht rock?), Aidil Iskandar (funk), free
- Esplanade: RP Jammerz Arena - Local Fever (indie, alt), esplanade outdoor, free
- YST Conservatory: Orchestral Institute x Chamber Singers & Voice: A Gala for Creation (Haydn's Die Schöpfung). NUS Yong Siew Toh Concert Hall, $50
- NAFA: 85th Anniversary Celebration Concert (Prokofiev's Violin Concerto no. 2 and Symphony no. 5), Victoria Concert Hall, $37
- Jazz Loft: Tim Stocker Quartet (Baritone Sax), blu jaz L3 at bali ln (bugis), $22
- Open Jam Food Court: Strait Up Blues Jam at Timbre+ one-north, timbre one-north ayer rajah, $20 with drink for jammers (otherwise free)
- Drag: RIOT! Hosted by Becca D'Bus, hard rock cafe orchard, $15
- DJ & Brunch, Thugshop x FomoHomo - Sunny Side Up: Your Queer Brunch Party, 66 boat quay, $55
- DJ, Darker Than Wax takeover of Headquarters - 404EROS & DEAN CHEW, hq 66 boat quay, $37
- DJ, Thugshop Presents - SHUBOSTAR (KR dark disco), tuff club 138 robinson rd shenton way, $37
- DJ, Hazel Guestlists' SUNKISSED Pool Party (hip-hop, reggaeton, house), Grand Park Hotel (city hall), $15
- DJ, Guilty Pleasure : Latin x Afro x HipHop-RnB ft DJ Kizka x Sam, blu jaz at bali ln (bugis), $11
- DJ, Offtrack x Syndicate: Kiat & Intriguant, offtrack hong lim, gastro bar
- DJ, Trance4M x iki: Lostly (trance), ikigai the riverwalk, tix $40
- DJ, NOBYSTANDERS: RHYTHM ROOM VOL. 1 ft. Clammr, Momentaro, Shaney Ricochet & SXSI (hip-hop, r&b), 100 Turf Club Festivo Mr Gallop, $25
- DJ, Ciel Social Sunsets: Fejka (GER ambient house) ft. Raja Rani, Andre Marc, Chirag K & Halis, Sand Bar Siloso Beach Sentosa, $27
9/4 Sun
- Manu Chao (latin alt, reggae folk), haw par villa, $40
- Keat Hong Chinese Orchestra: Tunes of Reminiscence, esplanade concert hall, free with reg
- Esplanade: Vocal Associates Ensemble of Young Voices, free
- Esplanade: Sign Off (rock, jazz-r&b), esplanade outdoor, free
- Ms Khor's Boutique Theatre: Mozart's Magic Flute, esplanade recital studio, $35
- Candlelight: A Tribute to Coldplay by Pianist Sueli Tang, Victoria Concert Hall, $47
- DJ, Solid Gold with Miles Medina & DJ KoFlow (hip-hop, turntablism), Honcho 12 Ann Siang Road, $15
10/4
- Esplanade: Nanyang Primary School Choir. free
11/4 Tue
- Esplanade: Gan Eng Seng & Zhangde Primary School Choirs, free
- Blu Jaz: The Joyspring Jazz Jam every Tues, blu jaz at bali ln (bugis), bafree
12/4
- Esplanade: NUS High School Choir, free
- DJ, Kings of Bass x HOSPITALITY 2023 - Unglued, Lens & Degs (UK D&B), TPI Building 62 Cecil Street (cbd), $35
13/4 Thu
- Esplanade: Paheli (soul-pop, jazz, bollywood), free
- YST Conservatory: Tracing the Roots of Liszt's Transcendental Etudes, NUS Yong Siew Toh Conservatory . free
- Maduro: TENGO TANGO! - Xperiments Social ft David Loke & friends, maduro jazz bar dempsey, $65 drink credits
- Blu Jaz: Skunk Jive funk-blues band, every thu, blu jaz at bali ln (bugis), bafree
- DJ, Offtrack: MLCH (hk, fra) and a bar takeover by Bar Termini (uk), offtrack hong lim, gastro bar
- DJ, Thugshop Presents - JOYHAUSER (techno), tba, $37
2023.03.29 20:12 Jeremiah12LGeek The 4 Most Reliable Professional Hitman Spawn Points and 6 Reliable Spy Spawn Points
A few general tips about farming:
Accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0BxBlqhT4s
Video is about 5 minutes long. I always stop and stand on each actual spawn point (except the fourth, as a Hitman spawned, making it unnecessary.)
A text description of the 4 locations:
Accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLNUru4VqKg
Video is about 6 minutes long. I make sure to stop and stand on each spawn point, except the sixth one, when a spy spawned and made it unnecessary.
A text description of the 6 locations:
Just briefly, these useful templates are easy to farm in the entrance to MI-6 Building (2-5 will spawn right inside) and SIRS Headquarters, where there are about 12 spawn points if you wander among the different buildings and security kiosks. It's easy to do without starting combat, as you can easily scan from non-hostile areas throughout the HQ.
I'll do a more thorough and accessible guide for all this, once I have time to do more complex editing, but for now this should serve as a useful, if crude, guide for finding some of the better templates in the game.
submitted by Jeremiah12LGeek to WatchDogs_Legion [link] [comments]
- You will see a big uptick in success if you stop out of sight of the spawn point and wait 1 or 2 minutes before checking it. This may depend on system and setup, but it can take a little bit for them to spawn in properly.
- In single player, starting a recruitment mission can "lock" a potential operative to a spawn point, which will make it less useful for farming. Killing the operative will free up the spawn point. You can also avoid starting recruitment missions for any operatives you don't intend to keep, if you prefer not to kill them.
- Certain Professional Hitman spawns require extra time to load in, because they have to complete a scripted encounter between the potential operative and their victim, both of whom have to finish spawning in before the script can start. Brewer, Covent Garden and Brixton Hitman spawns work this way (probably others as well.)
Accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0BxBlqhT4s
Video is about 5 minutes long. I always stop and stand on each actual spawn point (except the fourth, as a Hitman spawned, making it unnecessary.)
A text description of the 4 locations:
- Nine Elms: Travel North to the Nine Elms Docks location, which is Albion territory. On the East side is an entrance to an underground parking lot. Take the parking lot tunnel through to the exit by the water. On your left is a ramp. Up the ramp and to the left is an Albion Security barrier, behind which is a Professional Hitman spawn point.
- Goodge Street: Travel West to the alley that leads north into the University Courtyard. Just inside the alley, in front of a cloth sign, is a Professional Hitman spawn point.
- Holborn: Just east of the subway exit is a one way street. Take it south to Thorne's Felts. Along the south edge, about halfway, is a gate entrance, and the Hitman can spawn in front of it.
- Whitechapel: Travel East to Albion Drone Facility. Go around to the right (South side) and take the alley to the river's edge. South of you will be a dock that can spawn a Hitman.
Accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLNUru4VqKg
Video is about 6 minutes long. I make sure to stop and stand on each spawn point, except the sixth one, when a spy spawned and made it unnecessary.
A text description of the 6 locations:
- Vauxhall: Travel North-east to the alley beside the MI-6 Building. Just inside the alley is a Spy spawn location.
- Pimlico: There is a driveway at the main entrance along the North-West face of the SIRS HQ. In the middle of the driveway is a Spy spawn location.
- Westminster: In the parking lot just south of the Palace of Westminster is a Spy spawn location.
- Westminster (2): There is a side road with an alley South-West of New Scotland Yard with a Spy spawn point in it. It's behind a fence in a small parking lot, which can be tricky to find if you don't know where to look. I recommend the video if you're having trouble finding it.
- Warren Street: There is a security gate entrance on the eastern face of the Hume Building that contains a Spy spawn location just behind it.
- Tower Hill: West of Tower of London is a parking lot that connects to a side road. The Spy spawn point is in between them. This is also a bit tricky to find, and I'd recommend the video if you're having trouble.
Just briefly, these useful templates are easy to farm in the entrance to MI-6 Building (2-5 will spawn right inside) and SIRS Headquarters, where there are about 12 spawn points if you wander among the different buildings and security kiosks. It's easy to do without starting combat, as you can easily scan from non-hostile areas throughout the HQ.
I'll do a more thorough and accessible guide for all this, once I have time to do more complex editing, but for now this should serve as a useful, if crude, guide for finding some of the better templates in the game.
2023.03.29 20:06 neverdoubtedyou City Council Meeting - 3/28/23
Agenda
Consent Agenda
Item I was pulled from the consent agenda to vote on separately. That item is allowing the police department to purchase a DNA analyzer machine. Councilwoman Roney said that the item is being funded using civil asset forfeiture funds. She said she does not know which neighborhoods those funds were acquired from, but she believes they were probably extracted from vulnerable neighborhoods. That is why she is voting against that item. That item and all of the other items passed with Roney voting against Item I.
Three people spoke during public comment. The first person to speak was the pool noodle bicyclist who goes by Blunt Man Bob. He said that he is a new resident in Asheville and is unhoused. He wanted to speak on Item L, which is to lower the speed limit on several streets. He said the city needs to do more than speed limits because lower speed limits just make drivers more impatient.
The second person to speak talked about how the city needs to focus on clean energy.
The third person talked about Items Jand K, which are related to construction and architectural contracts for the Stephens-Lee Recreation Center improvements. He asked if the city contracted with black-owned businesses for those items. The city said that the selected contractors are not minority or women-owned businesses. They said they did outreach and opened the bid twice to try to attract contractors, but not women- or minority-owned businesses applied.
Councilwoman Roney applauded Item O, which allows the city to apply for a grant to provide public wifi on city buses.
Presentations and Reports
Manager’s Report – Crime Data and Recruitment Update
Chief Zack gave a presentation on crime and recruitment of police officers. He said that since 2019 Asheville has seen a decrease in property crime. There has been a 17.4% increase in violent crime from 2021 to 2022. It has been trending upwards since 2013. This data is based on data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
Shots fired has decreased, but there has been an increase in victims of gunfire. Gunshot victims are still down compared to 2018-2020. Aggravated assault, on the other hand, has increased steadily since 2013.
Homicides have remained pretty steady – there has not been a significant increase or decrease. The clearance rate for homicides is higher than the national average. Robbery has also remained pretty steady – no statistically significant difference according to Chief Zack.
Zack said that one of the main problems is staffing. Low staffing means that police are not visible and therefore not deterring crime by being a presence in the community. He gave the example of APD’s efforts to deter property crime downtown by deploying more officers to downtown areas in the early morning and late evening. They were able to arrest and cite people who were committing property crimes and did individual business checks to help businesses improve their safety. They also did a targeted shoplifting operation in identified areas around town that resulted in 73 arrests and 127 charges. He also said that they did an operation to target aggravated assaults in the downtown area.
Councilwoman Mosley asked for the demographic makeup of victims of violent crime.
Councilwoman Turner asked if the APD is concerned that people are not reporting property crime as much as they used to. Vice Mayor Smith said that she wonders the same thing about shots fired. Chief Zack said that anecdotally he does think that property crime is going underreported compared to in the past. He doesn’t think there has been a change in the reporting of shots fired – people who didn’t call those in still aren’t calling those in whereas more people have recently decided to not call in property crime.
Mayor Manheimer asked if maybe some of the property crime – like big box stores – could be something that could be handled by non-sworn officers. She said that recently there have been stories of police departments using un-sworn officers to handle basic traffic violations. Chief Zach said that they have basically told the big box stores that unless they are going to prosecute there is no point in APD going out there.
Councilwoman Ullman said that during the public safety committee meeting they had a lot of discussion around the trend of aggravated assault. She said that they are working with staff to create a 12-month plan to focus on that item. Chief Zack said that after the meeting they were able to drill down a little bit more and found that 1 in 4 of aggravated assaults are domestic disputes.
Council members also talked about how there are many different things that go into crime prevention – like improving community centers and fixing street lights and improving the education system.
Anothee police officer (didn't catch his name) talked about recruitment efforts. He said they have been tracking what other cities are doing. He said that he appreciates the city working with APD to try to raise wages, but also pointed out that because there are a lot of eyes on Asheville when their wages go up other police departments also raise their wages. He said they have ten officers in field training and four in Basic Law Enforcement Training (they had five but one failed). They are processing eight applications for the July Basic Law Enforcement Training course.
He had some data about EPIC’s recruiting website – how many clicks they have gotten et cetera. He said the website allows them to get in front of more potential applicants than traditional recruiting efforts.
Councilwoman Kilgore asked if they focus on the attractions of Asheville (kayaking, outdoors, tubing). They said that the website focuses heavily on that. Mayor Manheimer said that the council needs to help APD help recruited officers stay once they decide to come to Asheville.
Community Responder Pilot Program
Fire Chief Scott Burnette presented an update on the community responder program. He talked about how the program is multi-disciplinary and that is very important because people in our community who are experiencing homelessness are dealing with many different problems.
Burnette said that the program’s goals are to focus on efforts to assist people who are unsheltered and/or experiencing addiction or behavioral health issues and also support local residents by proactively addressing concerns before they escalate.
He said that the program has been doing consistent check ins with internal and external partners. They also did a trip to look at low barrier shelters in Raleigh and Carrboro. Right now there are 18 current firefighters who are interested in doing the program. They also recently graduated 30 new firefighters. They are currently looking into what resources AFD has that can be dedicated to the program (vehicles, equipment, office space). There will initially be two person teams working 12 hour shifts every day.
Burnette talked about ways that the program is equipped to prevent issues from escalating. For example, outdoor fires have increased drastically because of homeless people starting fires to stay warm or cook food. He said that firefighters are equipped with the knowledge to help those people figure out safe ways to accomplish that. He also pointed out that firefighters can help with basic medical treatment that can help prevent an unhoused person’s injury from getting to the point that an ambulance is necessary. The program would also work on building relationships with unhoused people so that they can direct them, for example, to spaces that aren’t trespassing before a trespassing issue escalates or connecting them with resources in the community.
Next steps are to select four or five of the 18 firefighters who volunteered to staff the program. Those people will then do training with the county’s program. The pilot program is scheduled to be implemented at the beginning of May.
Councilwoman Kilgore asked how people can contact the program. Burnette said calls come in all different ways – Facebook, calls to the fire department or county, calls to 911. He said that during the initial outreach they are planning to find out what the best ways for the unhoused to reach out so they will have a better answer as far as the best way to reach them. Initially they are going to focus on proactively going out into the community to connect with people. Mayor Manheimer said that this is a question that the county’s community paramedic program has been dealing with. She said that perhaps initially it would be good to have a non-emergency line that people can call if they are concerned, but for right now the easiest way seems to be routing through 911.
Mayor Manheimer also asked the city to give the council a better understanding of mental health resources and how that system works in Asheville and in the county.
Councilwoman Turner said that she is really impressed with AFD working with the county to tackle these issues. It makes her wonder if the police department would be willing to do something similar by partnering with the county sheriff’s department, especially since the city has a shortage of officers right now. The mayor said that they actually have a meeting coming up with the county to discuss just that idea.
Water Committee Review Update
This was really just an update that the committee has been meeting. The committee was formed in January as a response to the water system failure over Christmas. The group has had several meetings. They will present their findings to the council in May.
Councilwoman Roney said that she is very concerned that the meetings of this committee are not public meetings. The city attorney said that when they looked at the scope of the work that this committee was going to undertake that they needed to have full and complete access to not just the event but the water system as a whole. He said that a lot of information about the water system – because it is critical infrastructure – is not allowed to be public information under federal and state law. That is why it was determined that this was the best format to allow the committee to do their investigation.
Roney said that she still thinks it would have been better to have formed the committee as a public commission then used closed sessions as needed instead of forming the group as a task force which doesn’t require public meetings. The attorney basically said it would be too complicated going in and out of closed sessions.
Public Hearings
238 Merrimon
The first public hearing is a zoning request that would allow the surface parking to be used for office and other uses that are allowed by right in the institutional district. This is by the Brookstone Baptist Church. Right now the zoning is a mix of institutional and residential multi-family. That’s a legacy of the church buying property then demolishing single-family housing. The proposal is basically to remove the residential zoning aspect so it would be industrial, which would allow the surface parking to remain without issue. There isn’t a proposed development. I think the church is selling the property. The planning and zoning commission did not approve this request because they didn’t want to remove the option for residential zoning in a residential area and because there wasn’t a clear plan for what the property would be used for.
Councilwoman Roney asked about the impact on the tree canopy requirements with this change. The city said the rezoning would probably lead to more trees on the site at the end of the day because it would have to be brought up to code for any future development, which would require more trees. She also asked if there was a plan to install solar. The city said that is not in the plans right now as far as they know.
Councilwoman Turner clarified that a conditional zoning request does not require a site plan legally. Mayor Manheimer clarified that they are only being asked to rezone the part of the property that is currently a surface parking lot. She also asked if the parking lot could change in the future under institutional zoning. The issue right now is that surface parking is not allowed in the residential zoning and the small house at the back – which isn’t set up for residential use – would not be allowed to be used for commercial purposes. The zoning issues were probably never addressed earlier because it was owned by a church. There is federal protection for churches when it comes to zoning ordinances.
One person signed up to speak on the project. He said that it doesn’t make sense to have so much parking, and that if they do this conditional rezoning it will basically always be a giant parking lot. He also said that leaving the back part of the lot as residential might encourage them to develop residential units.
There was a lot of discussion about whether they should deny the request in hopes that a different developer would bring forward a proposal that would include residential use and would not require as much surface parking.
The conditional rezoning passed with an amendment that the rezoning only applies to the back portion of the property and the trees along Henrietta Street will be preserved and that residential uses would be allowed on the conditional zoned part so the surface lot could be changed in the future.
South Slope Vision Plan
This plan has been in progress since before the pandemic. You can read the plan here or check out the presentation from the meeting for a quick overview. The presentation has some information about the public input sessions and some maps of the area, which have changed over time as a result of public input.
The city said that part of this area was subject to urban renewal along Asheland and McDowell so there are a lot of parking lots along those roads. The city is trying to make that area safer and more walkable. They also said that the district has been booming over the past few years. They are trying to keep it from being just breweries by encouraging a mix of businesses and creating public infrastructure to support those businesses. They are also looking at updating design guidelines for the neighborhoods.
Public comment on the draft plan brought up concerns about tourism, a desire for a local grocery store and public transit, concern about the language about future rezoning near neighborhoods. Staff met with three neighborhoods (South French Broad, East End Valley Street, and Oakhurst) to revise the plan. That included clarification about the plan boundaries and speculation about future zoning districts and an explanation about how rezoning will work after the plan is adopted. Two maps were also revised to reflect neighborhood boundaries.
Councilwoman Roney clarified that the Southside neighborhood also met with city staff. Staff did meet with them, but they weren’t engaged as fully as the other three neighborhoods because their organization just recently formed and their neighborhood boundaries didn’t overlap with the plan. Vice Mayor Smith said that she just got a text from the leader of Southside United saying that she just got information that is overwhelming her and would like the discussion to be tabled.
City staff said that neighborhood boundaries aren’t exact and change depending on who and when you’re talking. Councilwoman Kilgore said that the South French Broad kind of expanded and took over part of what is considered Southside. The concern is coming from some business owners on the boundary of Southside and South French Broad who said that they didn’t get to be a part of discussion.
Councilwoman Ulman said she didn’t really see a problem with extending it a bit since there isn’t really a deadline. Councilwoman Turner said that they need to support staff and get them across the finish line. Vice Mayor Smith said that she didn’t want to undermine their intentions of honoring that community so taking some time to hear their concerns is the best way to do.
The council postponed the vote on this one.
Unfinished Business
HOME-ARP Allocation Plan
There was a public hearing on this item at the last meeting. The city is working to get some extra HUD funding through the American Rescue Plan. In order to do that they have to submit an allocation plan that shows how they plan to split up the money. The city hired a consulting firm to do that (of course) and developed a plan that allocates 21% to supportive services, 60% to developing affordable rental housing, and 13% to administrative costs. There wasn’t really discussion at this meeting since they talked about it at the last meeting so that plan was approved as-is.
New Business
Municipal Climate Action Plan
This is an update to the Municipal Climate Action Plan that was created in 2009. The update basically just captures all of the related resolutions that the city has passed since then, like the Food Action Policy Plan, Waste Reduction Goal, Renewable Energy Goal, and the declared climate emergency. The plan recommends 22 activities based on those things and maps out the sequence to implement them. You can see an overview in the presentation.
Councilwoman Roney said that they need significantly grown the sustainability department to reach the goals outlined in this. She said it needs to be backed up with partnership and probably bond money. City Manager Debra Campbell said that it’s not just one department making this happen – the city needs to invest across the board. Councilwoman Ullman said that she is excited to see how far this has come.
During public comment, one person suggested that they should add micro-grids to the plan. Another person talked about how solar panels are not that renewable because of all that goes into building them. He suggested the city should build a waste energy plant. He talked about a city that has one in a city in Pennsylvania. He also suggested looking into a nuclear plant.
The plan passed unanimously.
Fee Changes
This is a review that happens every year before the budget process really begins. This year update includes recommending an increase for water, stormwater, and waste fees. The recommended change would amount to about $66 per year for a typical household.
The city said that they looked at 12 other cities in North and South Carolina for comparison. They found that most included tiered residential rates (the more you use the more you pay), different rates for non-residential users, and different rates for customers outside of the city limits. Asheville does not have the option to charge a different rate for people outside of city limits under the NC Sullivan Acts. The city said that Asheville customer costs are competitive compared to those other cities.
The proposed increase will affect base fees, consumption fees, and hydrant meter deposits. The city does have a study currently underway to assess the rate structure. That is not expected to be completed in time for this next budget. It will affect the FY 2025 budget process.
As a reminder, in 2020 the city had to stop charging a capital fee because of a lawsuit. The capital fee was how the city was paying for capital funding (so projects to improve the water system). Since then they have been gradually increasing fees each year to build back up to the funding level needed for capital projects.
The fee increase will be used for maintenance crews and staffing at water treatment plants, support for the meter transition project, and communication staffing as well as recovering lost revenue from the capital fee.
Councilwoman Roney asked if it would be possible to move to monthly billing. The water department said that they are waiting for all of the new meters to be installed before doing that. That will be two to three years. Roney also said she is concerned about the discounted rates for commercial users. She said that Asheville has a deeper discount than any of the other cities they compared to. She asked if they could go ahead and bump up the commercial rates to match with other local municipalities (she used Hendersonville as an example).
Mayor Manheimer said that she agrees that Asheville should look at a tiered rate based on usage. She said that the other compared cities had it tiered for residential users so the less you used the less you paid (your first, say, 150 gallons would be charged at a lower rate than usage after that, for example). She also said that they need to tweak the system to create more affordability for local residents.
Both Roney and Manheimer asked the city to come back with an updated proposal.
The city manager said that the council is asking the city staff to basically duplicate the work being done by the consultants.
The mayor said she understands that so she proposed that what the city should do is hold off on raising the rates for residential users and instead only raise rates on commercial users. That means that the commercial rate raise would have to be more than what was originally proposed to make up for not raising residential rates.
The city and water department balked at being able to do something in time for the budget process. Councilwoman Ullman suggested that if they don’t feel comfortable changing the rates before the study is done then maybe they could just not raise any rates right now. The city said that that would mean not being able to accomplish all of the projects they want to. The mayor said that is why she is suggesting that if they need funding then they can raise the rates on commercial users. She and the rest of the council just want to not raise residential water rates right now. Stormwater and waste fees will still increase.
The city is recommending an increase in fees at Riverside Cemetery to support maintenance of the facility. There will be a reduction of usage fees for recreational and athletic facilities, but there will be an increase for swimming pool fees. There will be an increase in Fun Day Out/Inclement Weather programming (the fee will not increase if students are accessing those programs through an afterschool program they are already enrolled in). The city will also be offering installment payment plants for after school and summer programs. Transit, parking, and special event fees will remain the same.
Nina Tovish had signed up to speak during public comment, but she said that the council had addressed her concerns. One other person talked about the higher rates being charged to residents than commercial users and said that the city should incentivize using less water. They also said that the city needs to do something about water turn-on fees because if you are moving a lot and have bad credit it is very expensive to pay those fees every time you move to a new place.
Jonahtan Wainscott talked about how the different rates were created for New Belgium when they came to town. The mayor said that when she first came to Asheville she heard that the rates were changed for Gerber.
Public Comment
Nina Tovish applauded the council for passing the climate action plan update.
Jonathan Wainscott talked about repealing the absentee ballot law for municipal elections in 1931.
One person said that the Tourists should step up and do something to memorialize the historically black neighborhood that they are a part of. He said it is a high-end paradise that is not inclusive at all, and they should think about that as the city is talking about this South Slope plan.
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Consent Agenda
Item I was pulled from the consent agenda to vote on separately. That item is allowing the police department to purchase a DNA analyzer machine. Councilwoman Roney said that the item is being funded using civil asset forfeiture funds. She said she does not know which neighborhoods those funds were acquired from, but she believes they were probably extracted from vulnerable neighborhoods. That is why she is voting against that item. That item and all of the other items passed with Roney voting against Item I.
Three people spoke during public comment. The first person to speak was the pool noodle bicyclist who goes by Blunt Man Bob. He said that he is a new resident in Asheville and is unhoused. He wanted to speak on Item L, which is to lower the speed limit on several streets. He said the city needs to do more than speed limits because lower speed limits just make drivers more impatient.
The second person to speak talked about how the city needs to focus on clean energy.
The third person talked about Items Jand K, which are related to construction and architectural contracts for the Stephens-Lee Recreation Center improvements. He asked if the city contracted with black-owned businesses for those items. The city said that the selected contractors are not minority or women-owned businesses. They said they did outreach and opened the bid twice to try to attract contractors, but not women- or minority-owned businesses applied.
Councilwoman Roney applauded Item O, which allows the city to apply for a grant to provide public wifi on city buses.
Presentations and Reports
Manager’s Report – Crime Data and Recruitment Update
Chief Zack gave a presentation on crime and recruitment of police officers. He said that since 2019 Asheville has seen a decrease in property crime. There has been a 17.4% increase in violent crime from 2021 to 2022. It has been trending upwards since 2013. This data is based on data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
Shots fired has decreased, but there has been an increase in victims of gunfire. Gunshot victims are still down compared to 2018-2020. Aggravated assault, on the other hand, has increased steadily since 2013.
Homicides have remained pretty steady – there has not been a significant increase or decrease. The clearance rate for homicides is higher than the national average. Robbery has also remained pretty steady – no statistically significant difference according to Chief Zack.
Zack said that one of the main problems is staffing. Low staffing means that police are not visible and therefore not deterring crime by being a presence in the community. He gave the example of APD’s efforts to deter property crime downtown by deploying more officers to downtown areas in the early morning and late evening. They were able to arrest and cite people who were committing property crimes and did individual business checks to help businesses improve their safety. They also did a targeted shoplifting operation in identified areas around town that resulted in 73 arrests and 127 charges. He also said that they did an operation to target aggravated assaults in the downtown area.
Councilwoman Mosley asked for the demographic makeup of victims of violent crime.
Councilwoman Turner asked if the APD is concerned that people are not reporting property crime as much as they used to. Vice Mayor Smith said that she wonders the same thing about shots fired. Chief Zack said that anecdotally he does think that property crime is going underreported compared to in the past. He doesn’t think there has been a change in the reporting of shots fired – people who didn’t call those in still aren’t calling those in whereas more people have recently decided to not call in property crime.
Mayor Manheimer asked if maybe some of the property crime – like big box stores – could be something that could be handled by non-sworn officers. She said that recently there have been stories of police departments using un-sworn officers to handle basic traffic violations. Chief Zach said that they have basically told the big box stores that unless they are going to prosecute there is no point in APD going out there.
Councilwoman Ullman said that during the public safety committee meeting they had a lot of discussion around the trend of aggravated assault. She said that they are working with staff to create a 12-month plan to focus on that item. Chief Zack said that after the meeting they were able to drill down a little bit more and found that 1 in 4 of aggravated assaults are domestic disputes.
Council members also talked about how there are many different things that go into crime prevention – like improving community centers and fixing street lights and improving the education system.
Anothee police officer (didn't catch his name) talked about recruitment efforts. He said they have been tracking what other cities are doing. He said that he appreciates the city working with APD to try to raise wages, but also pointed out that because there are a lot of eyes on Asheville when their wages go up other police departments also raise their wages. He said they have ten officers in field training and four in Basic Law Enforcement Training (they had five but one failed). They are processing eight applications for the July Basic Law Enforcement Training course.
He had some data about EPIC’s recruiting website – how many clicks they have gotten et cetera. He said the website allows them to get in front of more potential applicants than traditional recruiting efforts.
Councilwoman Kilgore asked if they focus on the attractions of Asheville (kayaking, outdoors, tubing). They said that the website focuses heavily on that. Mayor Manheimer said that the council needs to help APD help recruited officers stay once they decide to come to Asheville.
Community Responder Pilot Program
Fire Chief Scott Burnette presented an update on the community responder program. He talked about how the program is multi-disciplinary and that is very important because people in our community who are experiencing homelessness are dealing with many different problems.
Burnette said that the program’s goals are to focus on efforts to assist people who are unsheltered and/or experiencing addiction or behavioral health issues and also support local residents by proactively addressing concerns before they escalate.
He said that the program has been doing consistent check ins with internal and external partners. They also did a trip to look at low barrier shelters in Raleigh and Carrboro. Right now there are 18 current firefighters who are interested in doing the program. They also recently graduated 30 new firefighters. They are currently looking into what resources AFD has that can be dedicated to the program (vehicles, equipment, office space). There will initially be two person teams working 12 hour shifts every day.
Burnette talked about ways that the program is equipped to prevent issues from escalating. For example, outdoor fires have increased drastically because of homeless people starting fires to stay warm or cook food. He said that firefighters are equipped with the knowledge to help those people figure out safe ways to accomplish that. He also pointed out that firefighters can help with basic medical treatment that can help prevent an unhoused person’s injury from getting to the point that an ambulance is necessary. The program would also work on building relationships with unhoused people so that they can direct them, for example, to spaces that aren’t trespassing before a trespassing issue escalates or connecting them with resources in the community.
Next steps are to select four or five of the 18 firefighters who volunteered to staff the program. Those people will then do training with the county’s program. The pilot program is scheduled to be implemented at the beginning of May.
Councilwoman Kilgore asked how people can contact the program. Burnette said calls come in all different ways – Facebook, calls to the fire department or county, calls to 911. He said that during the initial outreach they are planning to find out what the best ways for the unhoused to reach out so they will have a better answer as far as the best way to reach them. Initially they are going to focus on proactively going out into the community to connect with people. Mayor Manheimer said that this is a question that the county’s community paramedic program has been dealing with. She said that perhaps initially it would be good to have a non-emergency line that people can call if they are concerned, but for right now the easiest way seems to be routing through 911.
Mayor Manheimer also asked the city to give the council a better understanding of mental health resources and how that system works in Asheville and in the county.
Councilwoman Turner said that she is really impressed with AFD working with the county to tackle these issues. It makes her wonder if the police department would be willing to do something similar by partnering with the county sheriff’s department, especially since the city has a shortage of officers right now. The mayor said that they actually have a meeting coming up with the county to discuss just that idea.
Water Committee Review Update
This was really just an update that the committee has been meeting. The committee was formed in January as a response to the water system failure over Christmas. The group has had several meetings. They will present their findings to the council in May.
Councilwoman Roney said that she is very concerned that the meetings of this committee are not public meetings. The city attorney said that when they looked at the scope of the work that this committee was going to undertake that they needed to have full and complete access to not just the event but the water system as a whole. He said that a lot of information about the water system – because it is critical infrastructure – is not allowed to be public information under federal and state law. That is why it was determined that this was the best format to allow the committee to do their investigation.
Roney said that she still thinks it would have been better to have formed the committee as a public commission then used closed sessions as needed instead of forming the group as a task force which doesn’t require public meetings. The attorney basically said it would be too complicated going in and out of closed sessions.
Public Hearings
238 Merrimon
The first public hearing is a zoning request that would allow the surface parking to be used for office and other uses that are allowed by right in the institutional district. This is by the Brookstone Baptist Church. Right now the zoning is a mix of institutional and residential multi-family. That’s a legacy of the church buying property then demolishing single-family housing. The proposal is basically to remove the residential zoning aspect so it would be industrial, which would allow the surface parking to remain without issue. There isn’t a proposed development. I think the church is selling the property. The planning and zoning commission did not approve this request because they didn’t want to remove the option for residential zoning in a residential area and because there wasn’t a clear plan for what the property would be used for.
Councilwoman Roney asked about the impact on the tree canopy requirements with this change. The city said the rezoning would probably lead to more trees on the site at the end of the day because it would have to be brought up to code for any future development, which would require more trees. She also asked if there was a plan to install solar. The city said that is not in the plans right now as far as they know.
Councilwoman Turner clarified that a conditional zoning request does not require a site plan legally. Mayor Manheimer clarified that they are only being asked to rezone the part of the property that is currently a surface parking lot. She also asked if the parking lot could change in the future under institutional zoning. The issue right now is that surface parking is not allowed in the residential zoning and the small house at the back – which isn’t set up for residential use – would not be allowed to be used for commercial purposes. The zoning issues were probably never addressed earlier because it was owned by a church. There is federal protection for churches when it comes to zoning ordinances.
One person signed up to speak on the project. He said that it doesn’t make sense to have so much parking, and that if they do this conditional rezoning it will basically always be a giant parking lot. He also said that leaving the back part of the lot as residential might encourage them to develop residential units.
There was a lot of discussion about whether they should deny the request in hopes that a different developer would bring forward a proposal that would include residential use and would not require as much surface parking.
The conditional rezoning passed with an amendment that the rezoning only applies to the back portion of the property and the trees along Henrietta Street will be preserved and that residential uses would be allowed on the conditional zoned part so the surface lot could be changed in the future.
South Slope Vision Plan
This plan has been in progress since before the pandemic. You can read the plan here or check out the presentation from the meeting for a quick overview. The presentation has some information about the public input sessions and some maps of the area, which have changed over time as a result of public input.
The city said that part of this area was subject to urban renewal along Asheland and McDowell so there are a lot of parking lots along those roads. The city is trying to make that area safer and more walkable. They also said that the district has been booming over the past few years. They are trying to keep it from being just breweries by encouraging a mix of businesses and creating public infrastructure to support those businesses. They are also looking at updating design guidelines for the neighborhoods.
Public comment on the draft plan brought up concerns about tourism, a desire for a local grocery store and public transit, concern about the language about future rezoning near neighborhoods. Staff met with three neighborhoods (South French Broad, East End Valley Street, and Oakhurst) to revise the plan. That included clarification about the plan boundaries and speculation about future zoning districts and an explanation about how rezoning will work after the plan is adopted. Two maps were also revised to reflect neighborhood boundaries.
Councilwoman Roney clarified that the Southside neighborhood also met with city staff. Staff did meet with them, but they weren’t engaged as fully as the other three neighborhoods because their organization just recently formed and their neighborhood boundaries didn’t overlap with the plan. Vice Mayor Smith said that she just got a text from the leader of Southside United saying that she just got information that is overwhelming her and would like the discussion to be tabled.
City staff said that neighborhood boundaries aren’t exact and change depending on who and when you’re talking. Councilwoman Kilgore said that the South French Broad kind of expanded and took over part of what is considered Southside. The concern is coming from some business owners on the boundary of Southside and South French Broad who said that they didn’t get to be a part of discussion.
Councilwoman Ulman said she didn’t really see a problem with extending it a bit since there isn’t really a deadline. Councilwoman Turner said that they need to support staff and get them across the finish line. Vice Mayor Smith said that she didn’t want to undermine their intentions of honoring that community so taking some time to hear their concerns is the best way to do.
The council postponed the vote on this one.
Unfinished Business
HOME-ARP Allocation Plan
There was a public hearing on this item at the last meeting. The city is working to get some extra HUD funding through the American Rescue Plan. In order to do that they have to submit an allocation plan that shows how they plan to split up the money. The city hired a consulting firm to do that (of course) and developed a plan that allocates 21% to supportive services, 60% to developing affordable rental housing, and 13% to administrative costs. There wasn’t really discussion at this meeting since they talked about it at the last meeting so that plan was approved as-is.
New Business
Municipal Climate Action Plan
This is an update to the Municipal Climate Action Plan that was created in 2009. The update basically just captures all of the related resolutions that the city has passed since then, like the Food Action Policy Plan, Waste Reduction Goal, Renewable Energy Goal, and the declared climate emergency. The plan recommends 22 activities based on those things and maps out the sequence to implement them. You can see an overview in the presentation.
Councilwoman Roney said that they need significantly grown the sustainability department to reach the goals outlined in this. She said it needs to be backed up with partnership and probably bond money. City Manager Debra Campbell said that it’s not just one department making this happen – the city needs to invest across the board. Councilwoman Ullman said that she is excited to see how far this has come.
During public comment, one person suggested that they should add micro-grids to the plan. Another person talked about how solar panels are not that renewable because of all that goes into building them. He suggested the city should build a waste energy plant. He talked about a city that has one in a city in Pennsylvania. He also suggested looking into a nuclear plant.
The plan passed unanimously.
Fee Changes
This is a review that happens every year before the budget process really begins. This year update includes recommending an increase for water, stormwater, and waste fees. The recommended change would amount to about $66 per year for a typical household.
The city said that they looked at 12 other cities in North and South Carolina for comparison. They found that most included tiered residential rates (the more you use the more you pay), different rates for non-residential users, and different rates for customers outside of the city limits. Asheville does not have the option to charge a different rate for people outside of city limits under the NC Sullivan Acts. The city said that Asheville customer costs are competitive compared to those other cities.
The proposed increase will affect base fees, consumption fees, and hydrant meter deposits. The city does have a study currently underway to assess the rate structure. That is not expected to be completed in time for this next budget. It will affect the FY 2025 budget process.
As a reminder, in 2020 the city had to stop charging a capital fee because of a lawsuit. The capital fee was how the city was paying for capital funding (so projects to improve the water system). Since then they have been gradually increasing fees each year to build back up to the funding level needed for capital projects.
The fee increase will be used for maintenance crews and staffing at water treatment plants, support for the meter transition project, and communication staffing as well as recovering lost revenue from the capital fee.
Councilwoman Roney asked if it would be possible to move to monthly billing. The water department said that they are waiting for all of the new meters to be installed before doing that. That will be two to three years. Roney also said she is concerned about the discounted rates for commercial users. She said that Asheville has a deeper discount than any of the other cities they compared to. She asked if they could go ahead and bump up the commercial rates to match with other local municipalities (she used Hendersonville as an example).
Mayor Manheimer said that she agrees that Asheville should look at a tiered rate based on usage. She said that the other compared cities had it tiered for residential users so the less you used the less you paid (your first, say, 150 gallons would be charged at a lower rate than usage after that, for example). She also said that they need to tweak the system to create more affordability for local residents.
Both Roney and Manheimer asked the city to come back with an updated proposal.
The city manager said that the council is asking the city staff to basically duplicate the work being done by the consultants.
The mayor said she understands that so she proposed that what the city should do is hold off on raising the rates for residential users and instead only raise rates on commercial users. That means that the commercial rate raise would have to be more than what was originally proposed to make up for not raising residential rates.
The city and water department balked at being able to do something in time for the budget process. Councilwoman Ullman suggested that if they don’t feel comfortable changing the rates before the study is done then maybe they could just not raise any rates right now. The city said that that would mean not being able to accomplish all of the projects they want to. The mayor said that is why she is suggesting that if they need funding then they can raise the rates on commercial users. She and the rest of the council just want to not raise residential water rates right now. Stormwater and waste fees will still increase.
The city is recommending an increase in fees at Riverside Cemetery to support maintenance of the facility. There will be a reduction of usage fees for recreational and athletic facilities, but there will be an increase for swimming pool fees. There will be an increase in Fun Day Out/Inclement Weather programming (the fee will not increase if students are accessing those programs through an afterschool program they are already enrolled in). The city will also be offering installment payment plants for after school and summer programs. Transit, parking, and special event fees will remain the same.
Nina Tovish had signed up to speak during public comment, but she said that the council had addressed her concerns. One other person talked about the higher rates being charged to residents than commercial users and said that the city should incentivize using less water. They also said that the city needs to do something about water turn-on fees because if you are moving a lot and have bad credit it is very expensive to pay those fees every time you move to a new place.
Jonahtan Wainscott talked about how the different rates were created for New Belgium when they came to town. The mayor said that when she first came to Asheville she heard that the rates were changed for Gerber.
Public Comment
Nina Tovish applauded the council for passing the climate action plan update.
Jonathan Wainscott talked about repealing the absentee ballot law for municipal elections in 1931.
One person said that the Tourists should step up and do something to memorialize the historically black neighborhood that they are a part of. He said it is a high-end paradise that is not inclusive at all, and they should think about that as the city is talking about this South Slope plan.
2023.03.29 19:40 atzlwkdkrt 😘👉👌 IF YOU TAP YOU WILL CUM 🍆💦
 | submitted by atzlwkdkrt to d6sptxhn38 [link] [comments] IF YOU TAP HERE YOU WILL CUMIF YOU TAP HERE YOU WILL CUMIF YOU TAP HERE YOU WILL CUMProcessing gif hmne0rpyspqa1...“Shika, when are you going to fuck me? I need it now, I wanna feel something I’ve never felt before.” She was. I moaned as Bobby lubricated my pussy with his fingers. The more Trudy stroked the harder the dog got. It continued to grow in her small hand. Chris ran his fingers through his dark pubic hair, then released it. He started opening drawers, searching for something to use, until he found a pair of small scissors. Chris smiled to himself, thinking about what his sister said, then grabbed them and sat on the toilet. He started cutting, trimming every stray hair that covered the base of his cock and his testicles. His cock was getting hard, the trim turning him on, and he grabbed the shaft, moving it this way and that while he trimmed until he was satisfied with his work. He put the scissors careful back in place and smiled as he looked at his crotch through the mirror. He stroked himself, enjoying the feel and look, surprised how it made his member look bigger, then jumped in the shower. "You weren't very hard to convince." Jessica said giggling and Chris shrugged. "I even convinced you to get naked." She said, remembering, and wrote it down. "So, we started watching the movie…" ‘What the hell is going on here’ thundered her father from the doorway. Her parents had come home and neither Lindsay nor Jim had heard them. Her mother appeared at his shoulder looking shocked. “And I’m yours, for the rest of our lives I’m yours.” “I wasn't that scared, and maybe had been hoping it would happen,” Rebecca said. “I think I, um, maybe I been checking girls out for longer than I thought. I've wanted to jump your bones for years.” “If they suspect anything I’ll just say it’s her birthday and that’ll kill any suspicions.” “The story continues on the next page. But it’s not a cheerful story.” “The damn thing won’t fit on you. It’s too small. No way are you riding bareback. What should we do?” I remember my first real drive in the thing. I picked up my friend Jimmy Miller and we drove it down the main drag through town. It had the Borg-Warner four speed and the beast had so much torque it could spin the wheels in second gear for about a mile. Well, one wheel anyway. Those were the days before positraction. I could lay single patches of rubber at will. I felt so cool. Isabelle was too gone to care. She was breathing hard, eyes glazed over, utterly lost to her arousal. She unclasped her bra, her tits swaying as it dropped to the floor. Darius walked up to her, and she stared at him pleadingly. He ran his hand through her hair, whilst his other crept down towards her sex. He leaned in and pulled her head towards his. Her parted lips met his, and they kissed. Their tongues brushed and played with each other, soft and teasing. Suddenly he cupped her pubis, and ran a finger through her folds, stroking her warm depths. Isabelle’s mind exploded. She didn’t know how horny she had been until he touched her, but now sparks flew in her mind, the sensation propelling her arousal to mind-numbing heights. Her blue eyes widened, and she cried out, her thighs quivering as he held her warm mound, juices coating his fingers. She bucked and shuddered, driven utterly wild by a single touch. Her hair hung in front of her face as she gasped and moaned, and she squeezed her breasts with both hands. She rode the crest of her passion, her mind utterly consumed by her pussy, throbbing, pumping out waves of warmth. Her thighs, calves, toes, breasts felt electric, as the warm rush cascaded over every nerve. All her thoughts fizzled out as she submitted to his touch. After a minute of pure rapture, her burning arousal became a soft warm glow, but her nipples and clitoris were still craving his touch, ultra-sensitive beacons of delight broadcasting her pleasure. I just turned 17 and I was visiting my uncle P and my 2 cousins Cb(male 13) Ilane(11) in Johannesburg this was another party holiday with a twist. “It is when you buy it three times a week.” Haley says with a laugh. “That you're a virgin?” Jayda gave her a suspicious look and handed over the phone. Gloria swiped and thumbed the redhead's number. When she said, "Hi, Darlene, it's Gloria," both of her friends perked up with expressions of envy, awe or maybe both. The tone of Darlene's voice made Gloria smile. The popular girl was happy to hear from her. blushing."What the fuck are you doing huh? Spying on me? Well what are you doing?" She barked "I-uh I was uh On the street in the shade of the trees it seems closer to night than twilight, but the visibility is still decent so I keep my eyes open. The street is deserted and my high heels echo down the main road. I can see families sitting down for dinner in some houses, kids watching television in others. Suddenly I’m pulled out of my surveillance as I hear a shot hit the ground just a foot from me and I nearly fall backwards from shock. I see the green smear on the pavement and look up towards the direction from which it came. Three boys are sitting on the roof of one of the smaller homes on the street. The one leaning up against the chimney with a wide smirk on his face is holding the paint ball gun. It’s painfully obvious he’s the flirt of the group from the “just off” shot and the smirk. He’s got an average build with a mop of curly, dirty blond hair, but the sharper chin and long legs gives him away as about 18. Not really my type, but I could see where he might be a bit of a player in his school. Ehh, he’d do but stuck up guys put up more of a fight and I don’t really have time for that tonight. The boy next to him is harder to gauge. He has the build of a man; with the broad shoulders and larger arm muscles. His dark hair that just brushes the top of his eyebrows and the serious look marking his face makes him a drastic alternative to his buddy. Even his clothes, dress pants and a suit vest over a partially undone button down, make him seem older than his tee shirt clad friends. The only thing that betrays his age is the pretty-boy youthful face. I’d guess he was about 16. The final boy fits about every cliche of nerd that’s been created. He’s skinnier than most runway models with thick glasses and a distinct nervous habit of picking at his nails. As my eyes come to him he bows his head letting the messy brown hair hide his face from me. Oh yeah this is going to be too damn easy. Next was Stephanie and it was then I realized I was sitting next to her and I started to panic. “April . . . You used to worry you were a lez . . . now that you’ve had some cock a few times, what are your thoughts?” Tommy came around and helped her get dressed and started walking her to the car. I can only imagine the horror on their faces but as soon as they turn Imelda and I shock the shit out their asses with the stun guns. Both hit the ground when I turn my attention to Ben who pulls his hands out in front of himself and takes his gag off. “Now does that look like either girlfriend,” He asks and both shake their heads no. I looked across the floor to the girl he was talking about just as she leaped off the floor, her long lithe body stretched as graceful as a leaping Gazelle from toes to fingers as she spiked the ball down to the opposite side of the net. If a photographer had been able to catch her while her feet were two feet off the floor, he could have put the picture on the front of Sports Illustrated. Kate is a senior, like us. At 18 years, two months and 4 days old she is 5’9 ½, 132 pounds and wears a 36C bra. She has hazel down-turned eyes under full arched brows accented by long lashes. High prominent cheek bones border her nose which is straight but flares slightly at the tip. Wide full lips turn up in the corners in a natural attractive smile that reveals possibly her only flaw. She has a narrow gap between her upper front teeth that she can spit a stream of water through. Her shoulder length ash blonde hair looked styled by sweat and exercise just then. I even knew she has a two-inch scar on her left hip, just at the top of her thigh. “That's what everyone says their first time here, which is why this place is so popular.” Mom laughed. “Yes it is, Cinda, but we’re celebrating. It isn’t every day we get a wonderful daughter-in-law. We had a lot to be thankful for.” Sarah - Oh…… okay seen as you asked so nicely. Joey helped her mother in the farms and also bought firewood from the forests situated at the foothills. All these activities had ensured that he developed a strong muscular physique. Joey was around 6 feet in height and had inherited the handsome genes and features of his father. His curly hair and the lovely blue eyes just made him even more adorable. 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2023.03.29 19:38 bteaevmoyl 😘👉👌 IF YOU TAP YOU WILL CUM 🍆💦
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That’s the beauty of perspective.” "Why did you tell her? You were willing to throw away having sex with me that easily?" The rest of the day dragged on, and the 2:30 bell finally ended the torture of the day. As soon as Nani and I were out the door I started the conversation while we walked to my car. “Isn’t a note a little cliché nowadays?” She chuckled, but she seemed a bit more conservative than her usual, outgoing-self. “You okay, girl? You seem a little, off right now.” I asked, tossing my arm around my shoulder as we walked outside the main building and towards my car. “I don’t wanna talk about it here…” she whispered. “…ill tell you when we get to my place.” I barely had time to yelp in surprise as she launched herself at me. Determined as she might have been, she was too small to get any sort of edge on me. I caught her and threw her further onto my bed, following soon after and trapping her body under my own. So engrossed with my task, as I leaned over the couch to bring my lips to hers, that I didn't even catch that she called me 'Shelly', the nickname that only my sister and lover used. Our lips touched, and instantly parted for each other, our tongues quickly finding each others. The kiss had all the passion that we had as we came in the door, while adding the excitement of a taboo: girls kissing. In my other life, such a scene would ignite my arousal, flooding my thoughts with what it would have been like. And in the past few weeks, I've experienced it with my sister first hand, so knew that passion girls could share with each other that men were clueless about. “Excuse me for a sec,” I heard Kara say to the girl. “What is it, Daniel? I’m in the middle of a conversation.” For the next spurt he aimed at my still open mouth while I stuck out my tongue. Two more spurts hit my face and the last landed on my tits. “Well you are going away and I think the best thing we can do is that the moment something comes up that could endanger us, we can just talk to the other one and walk away from that situation” She also must shave herself completely, and can't wear underwear anytime at all. In exchange for this, as long as we were together, I was not allowed to wank. Not that I needed to, with her doing it all for me, but sometimes a weekend away visiting relatives made things "hard" She started gently moving up and down on my cock, picking up intensity with each downstroke. Eventually, she began breathing heavily and erratically again, so I knew she was getting close. This came as a relief to me because I also knew that I couldn't last much longer. “Answer me.” “That would be bad.” “Can’t even wait for me to get off the phone huh? She’ll be there on time right Ash?” I quickly made his mind up for him and removed hi hand that held my breast and ran an hand through his hair guiding him gently to my nipple as if he was a baby. He quickly caught on and parted his lips taking the nipple without thought and began to suck making me gasp at first but I slowly turned into a moan. He sucked hard as if he was trying to actually feed! Once I got used to the feel I loosened my grip on his hair and the moans turned back to heavy breathing was when he decided to start biting. Scorpius cocked his head. “Um, yeah, that’s Nearly Headless Nick. Have you never been to Hogwarts?” "My friend here said it's impossible to get so excited from a massage that—" “REALLY!?!” Amanda repeated me. Bruce and Jessica looked over confused. “Is that what he said? Well then I’m happy to prove him wrong yet again,” I tell her with a smirk,” See Lupe, I bet even if you called him he’d be too busy to come down here and make things even for you. See he’s too busy taking care of his boys and what is, to him mind you, more important. Now let’s be honest about something right here. Do you think he’s actually committed to your relationship?” “Kinda why Amanda was here yesterday.” Assholes naturally get smaller if they aren’t used. And since the body had been dead for a few days, it was incredibly tight. But Antonio had come prepared. He had fucked corpses that had been dead longer than the one he was faced with now. He walked over to his green tackle box and pulled out a full bottle of lube. "I just remembered Amy was wondering if Juliana could baby sit on the weekends for the summer. Possibly after summer as well," continued Newlyn's mother. I heard some talking the Christina answered the door. Tina sat down next to Jo and smiled."I need some practice," she said with a girlish chuckle. “Sounds like a bet I’d love to lose. You’re on! I just want to get some lotion so I don’t get a rub burn. I might want to use this again…and soon.” Mom said, “I’m not as young as I used to be, I’m not as pretty, and my boobs used to get me jobs all the time but they are sagging way too much to get a man’s attention.” "So is he hung?" Susan asked. "You have to give me details." After everyone else was gone, I inspected the girls locker room. Other than a faint musky odor of sex, there was nothing unusual. A bit disappointed, I inspected the boy’s side. Immediately my senses were assaulted by the sweet, pungent odor of cum in the damp air, mingled with sweat. The muscles of my cunt tightened and my jaw dropped in shock when I looked in the shower stall. The tiled floor and walls were covered with dozens of gobs of white jizz. The boys must have heard the girls carrying on, and had a jerk-off party of their own. ‘Maybe I shall find out soon….’ She said aloud. “Not the kind he takes a liking to, they're the kind that encourages her bad behavior, you know the type, that bad girls clique or whatever its called today. Besides, I volunteered you both to do it anyway.” October had descended on Hogwarts and along came with it the rainy weather, which only dampened Ron’s bad mood even further. Ron’s year so far had been particularly bad. Ron’s grades had so far been terrible, barely scrapping a pass or even failing some subjects. Harry however had been excelling in his subjects, especially potions, which he was somehow getting top grade in, much to Ron’s dismay. Ron had managed to get onto the Quidditch team too, but so far was playing awful, with only Gryffindor’s best player, Harry, often saving Ron’s blushes during practice and matches. Also, rumours were spreading around school that the secret love of his life Hermione, had fucked his best friend Harry. Ron was wanking himself silly 3 times a day to his dirty thoughts of Hermione and here was his best friend actually screwing her. Ron had reached the end of his patience so decided to confront Harry alone, late at night in the library. I settled against her and began to work myself into her slowly. She looked excited, scared and worried all at once. I pushed my way in, one inch at a time. Her tight hole was feeling amazing by the time I had eased myself into her only three inches. She gasped as I slid my hand below the water and massaged her clit, sending her into spiraling emotions and feelings of lust. I reached her hymen barrier, she had a look of discomfort on her face. “OK,” she started, “You’ve gotten into several fights over me and last night I got into a fight over you. I was at a sleep over at Pam’s house with a couple other girls and they started talking about you. They think you are cute and smart and polite but weird.” Crap! April was a year younger than me and she was learning a lot faster than me about boy and girl stuff. “I never felt up a girl.” “Wait, you guys wanted us to have sex with you?” big dude With a little more force and a sudden pop my cock sank into my sisters ass. I pushed myself in deep and held there. I felt Kristen’s breast brush against my chest. I felt her hard nipples on my chest, and I guessed she was not wearing a bra. When she let go of my hand from the hand shake, she accidently grazed my bulging cock. She stopped and rubbed it for a second, whispering, “Wow! Good to see you too!” Granted it was blocked by the podium, but I was completely embarrassed. The auditorium was wild from her kissing me. If they had seen her cop a feel I think a riot would have broken out. I put the note down, locked her door and started to undress. My heart sank. I knew she wouldn’t take it with a smile, but this was worrying. “Uh, yeah,” I replied nervously. “My Johnson, thank you for the meeting on such short notice, my name is Michael Hall and I am here on behalf of a client. I knew John there,” he said pointing at his counterpart “was your attorney, so I asked him to set up this meeting. And, it is important that he is here with you.” I pushed inside her and my cock was now inside the tightest, hottest pussy I had ever fucked. Becky's was even tighter than the first girl's I fucked, and I was loving it. I started off slow, with deep long thrusts, making sure she felt my cock filling her up good. “Anyway, like, a lot. 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2023.03.29 19:30 External_Factor2516 Kvantreli
 | Me and Chat GPT made an even cooler conlang than our last attempt together. I bring you: Kvantreli submitted by External_Factor2516 to u/External_Factor2516 [link] [comments] Here are some key aspects of language that are important for my understanding: Phonetics and Phonology: These are the study of speech sounds, their production, and their organization. Phonetics is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds, while phonology is focused on the abstract, mental representations of those sounds and how they are organized in a language. Morphology: This refers to the study of word formation, including the structure of words and the rules for combining morphemes, the smallest units of meaning in a language. Syntax: Syntax is the study of the rules that govern the structure of sentences and how words are combined to create phrases and sentences. Semantics: Semantics is the study of meaning in language, including the relationships between words, phrases, and sentences, as well as how context influences meaning. Pragmatics: Pragmatics is the study of language in context, focusing on how people use language to achieve their goals, convey meaning, and understand one another in various social situations. Discourse Analysis: This is the study of how language is used in extended conversations or texts, taking into account factors such as coherence, cohesion, and context. As a GPT-4 AI model, I have been trained on a vast corpus of text data, which has allowed me to learn and understand the patterns, structures, and nuances of language. I can process and generate human-like responses based on the context and content of a given text input, but it's important to remember that my understanding of language is limited by the training data and algorithms that underpin my architecture. Phonology: The language would have a relatively small inventory of distinct phonemes (speech sounds) to minimize pronunciation difficulties and ambiguities. The phonemes would be chosen based on their ease of articulation and perception for most speakers, regardless of their native language. For example, the language might include common consonants like /p/, /t/, /k/, /m/, /n/, and vowels like /a/, /i/, . Orthography: The writing system would be phonemic, meaning that each symbol (letter or character) corresponds to a single phoneme. This would create a one-to-one relationship between sounds and their written representation, simplifying the learning process and eliminating spelling ambiguities. Morphology: The language would feature regular and transparent morphological rules, with minimal exceptions. This means that word formation and inflection would follow consistent patterns, making it easier to learn and understand. For example, plurals might always be formed by adding a specific suffix to the end of a noun, and verb conjugation would follow a uniform pattern across all verbs. Syntax: The language would have a simple and flexible word order, allowing for easy comprehension without overly rigid rules. For instance, it could be a subject-verb-object (SVO) language like English, but with a more permissive word order that still maintains clarity. Semantics: The language would aim to have a clear and unambiguous system of meanings for its words and phrases, minimizing polysemy (multiple meanings for a single word) and homophony (different words with the same pronunciation). This could be achieved through the use of precise, context-independent vocabulary. Pragmatics: To enhance ease of use and understanding, the language would have explicit markers for politeness, mood, and emphasis, reducing the potential for miscommunication due to cultural or contextual differences. It's important to note that creating a truly optimal language is challenging, as languages are shaped by various factors such as history, culture, and social dynamics. What may be optimal for one person or group may not be optimal for another. Nonetheless, the principles outlined above could contribute to the development of a language that is efficient, easy to learn, and clear in its communication. python Copy code import os import svgwrite from cairosvg import svg2png # Define the symbols using simple vector path codes symbols = { 'p': 'M50,50 L200,50 L200,200 L50,200 Z', 't': 'M50,50 L200,50 L125,200 Z', 'k': 'M50,50 L200,50 L50,200 M50,125 L200,200', 'm': 'M50,50 L50,200 L200,200 L200,50 M50,200 L200,50', 'n': 'M50,50 L50,200 L200,200 L200,50 M50,200 L200,125', 'a': 'M50,200 L125,50 L200,200 Z M50,200 L200,200', 'i': 'M125,50 L125,200 M50,50 L200,50', 'u': 'M50,50 L50,200 L200,200 L200,50 M50,200 L200,200', } # Set the image size and background color image_size = (256, 256) bg_color = 'white' # Create a directory to save the images output_dir = 'refined_phoneme_symbols' os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True) for name, path_data in symbols.items(): # Create an SVG drawing dwg = svgwrite.Drawing(size=image_size, profile='tiny') # Draw a white background rectangle dwg.add(dwg.rect(insert=(0, 0), size=image_size, fill=bg_color)) # Draw the symbol path with black stroke dwg.add(dwg.path(d=path_data, stroke='black', fill='none')) # Save the SVG image to a string svg_data = dwg.tostring() # Convert the SVG data to a PNG image png_data = svg2png(bytestring=svg_data) # Save the PNG image with open(os.path.join(output_dir, f'{name}.png'), 'wb') as f: f.write(png_data) This code creates more refined symbols for the phonemes /p/, /t/, /k/, /m/, /n/, /a/, /i/, and using up to three SVG strokes. The symbols are then saved as PNG images in the 'refined_phoneme_symbols' directory. Keep in mind that the design of the symbols is still subjective, and there could be many different ways to represent the phonemes while adhering to the three-stroke constraint. Nia Schimnoski Now create something like this, but for our language, this: https://www.pmlive.com/.../investigating_globish_368214...& The article you mentioned discusses Globish, a simplified version of English that uses a limited vocabulary of around 1500 words to facilitate communication between non-native English speakers. In a similar manner, we can create a basic version of our constructed language with a limited vocabulary and simplified grammar rules to make it easier to learn and use for communication. Here's a high-level overview of this simplified version for our constructed language: Vocabulary: We will limit the vocabulary to around 1500 words, focusing on the most common and essential words required for everyday communication. This will include basic nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions. The vocabulary will be designed to cover a wide range of topics, such as family, work, travel, and daily activities. Grammar: We will simplify the grammar rules to make it more accessible and easy to learn. This will include: a. Regular and transparent morphological rules for word formation, with minimal exceptions. b. A simple and flexible word order that maintains clarity, such as the subject-verb-object (SVO) order, similar to English. c. Limited use of verb conjugations and noun declensions to minimize memorization requirements. For instance, we can use helper words or context to indicate tense and aspect, rather than relying on conjugation. d. Reduced reliance on articles, gender, and other grammatical categories that may be difficult for non-native speakers to grasp. Pronunciation: The language will maintain the relatively small inventory of distinct phonemes, as previously mentioned, to minimize pronunciation difficulties and ambiguities. Writing System: We will use the refined set of symbols for the phonemes created earlier, which will simplify the learning process by providing a one-to-one relationship between sounds and their written representation. Communication Strategies: Encourage the use of simple sentences, repetition, paraphrasing, and gestures to enhance understanding among speakers. This will help facilitate communication even if speakers have limited proficiency in the language. By following these guidelines, we can create a simplified version of our constructed language that is easy to learn and use for communication between speakers of various linguistic backgrounds, similar to the goals of Globish. Nouns: person: a human being place: a specific location or area thing: an object, idea, or concept time: a point or period in the past, present, or future food: any substance consumed for nutrition or pleasure water: a colorless, odorless, tasteless liquid essential for life animal: a living organism, not a plant or human, that can move and sense its environment house: a building used as a residence for one or more families tree: a tall, woody plant with a single main trunk and branches Verbs: be: to exist or have a specified quality have: to possess, own, or hold do: to perform or carry out an action say: to express in words go: to move from one place to another see: to perceive with the eyes eat: to take food into the mouth and swallow it drink: to take liquid into the mouth and swallow it sleep: to be in a state of rest with reduced consciousness and little to no physical activity Adjectives: big: of considerable size, extent, or intensity small: of a size that is less than normal or usual good: having the qualities required for a particular role or function bad: of poor quality or low standard hot: having a high degree of heat or a high temperature cold: of or at a low temperature fast: moving or capable of moving at high speed slow: moving or operating at a low speed Adverbs: quickly: at a fast speed or rate slowly: at a slow speed or rate well: in a satisfactory manner badly: in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unsuccessful way Pronouns: I: the speaker or writer, referring to themselves you: the person or people being addressed by the speaker or writer he: a male person previously mentioned or easily identified she: a female person previously mentioned or easily identified it: a thing, animal, or object previously mentioned or easily identified we: the speaker or writer together with other people they: two or more people or things previously mentioned or easily identified Prepositions: in: expressing the situation of something that is enclosed or surrounded on: physically in contact with and supported by a surface at: expressing location or arrival in a particular place or position with: accompanied by another person or thing from: indicating the point in space at which a journey, motion, or action starts Conjunctions: and: used to connect words of the same part of speech, clauses, or sentences or: used to link alternatives but: used to introduce a phrase or clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned This sample vocabulary can be expanded to include more words that are essential for everyday communication. To create a complete list of 1500 words, you can follow a Nouns: pana: person (he/she/person) lika: place kima: thing temo: time fuda: food wata: water aníma: animal hosa: house treya: tree Verbs: esi: be havi: have dumi: do seya: say gaya: go vidi: see yami: eat drini: drink slipi: sleep Adjectives: biga: big smala: small guda: good bada: bad huta: hot kolda: cold fasta: fast sloma: slow Adverbs: kwikli: quickly sloli: slowly weli: well badi: badly Pronouns: mi: I yu: you pana: he/she/person (singular) wi: we panas: they (plural) Prepositions: ina: in ona: on ata: at wita: with fuma: from Conjunctions: anda: and ora: or bota: but These 50 words serve as a starting point for our conlang. To create a complete list of 1500 words, you can follow a similar structure and expand the vocabulary to include more words essential for everyday communication. Keep in mind that this sample vocabulary is just a basic example, and the actual words in the conlang can be further refined or modified based on your preferences. Nouns (concepts, items, activities): famila: family amika: friend trabu: work skola: school kasa: money dokta: doctor kompyuta: computer telefona: phone libra: book musika: music pilma: movie spota: sport stadi: study kuka: cook kafo: coffee teya: tea yuta: youth elda: elderly vesti: clothes sapata: shoes Additional nouns (objects, places): auto: car byka: bicycle strata: street shupa: shop parka: park restorana: restaurant ofisa: office trani: train aviona: airplane hotela: hotel Verbs (actions, states): lerni: learn enseyi: teach kompra: buy venda: sell ludi: play yuri: laugh kanti: sing dansi: dance aski: ask rispondi: answer yudi: help yovi: love diskuti: discuss kreyi: create pinta: paint plani: plan dika: decide Adjectives (qualities, characteristics): yuna: young veka: old alta: tall korta: short bela: beautiful brava: brave inteligenta: intelligent amabla: kind furiosa: angry trista: sad Basic words for hyphenated conjunctions: domi: home mini: small (as a prefix) maxi: large (as a prefix) lumi: light (as in brightness) skuri: dark (as in darkness) suni: sun luní: moon akwa: water (as a prefix) tera: earth/land aera: air fira: fire pluvi: rain nevi: snow lokí: lock porta: door fenestra: window Using hyphenation, you can create compound words by combining these basic words with other words in the language. For example: minidomi: apartment (small home) maxidomi: mansion (large home) sunilumi: sunlight lunilumi: moonlight akwaplanta: aquatic plant teraplanta: terrestrial plant aeraplanta: air plant pluvifesta: a rainy day celebration nevikasa: snow money, representing wealth accumulated from a snow-related event or business The list provided above serves as a foundation for our conlang. You can continue to expand the vocabulary based on your preferences and Basic mathematical operations: adi: addition (plus) subi: subtraction (minus) multi: multiplication divi: division potensa: exponentiation (power) radika: root (square root, cube root, etc.) loga: logarithm Advanced mathematical operations and concepts: integrá: integration derivá: differentiation limita: limit matrisa: matrix vektora: vector komplexa: complex number titrasi: titration statistika: statistics probabila: probability optimiza: optimization Constants and ratios: pika: pi (π) pikadu: pi squared (π^2) radikdu: square root of 2 (sqrt(2)) ororatio: golden ratio (phi, φ) arjentoratio: silver ratio Constants and concepts in physics: lumivelo: speed of light (c) elektrostatika: electrostatic force (k or ke) gravitasi: gravitational constant (G) planka: Planck's constant (h) boltzmana: Boltzmann's constant (k) avogadro: Avogadro's constant (NA) timdilasi: time dilation relativa: theory of relativity (general or special) kuantuma: quantum mechanics Optimization and computational methods: evolusi: natural evolution nuralneto: neural network algoritma: algorithm rekursi: recursion heuristika: heuristic gradyendi: gradient descent This list covers various aspects of mathematics and physics, including basic and advanced mathematical operations, constants, and concepts. You can use this list as a foundation to expand the conlang's vocabulary to cover more advanced and specialized topics in these fields. Nia Schimnoski Okay now create a counting system and define rules for arbitrarily large numbers. I propose a base-10 counting system for our conlang, similar to the decimal system used in many languages. Here are the basic number words for 0 to 9, followed by the words for powers of 10: Basic number words: nula: 0 unu: 1 du: 2 tri: 3 kvar: 4 kvin: 5 ses: 6 sep: 7 ok: 8 naŭ: 9 Powers of 10: deka: 10 centa: 100 mila: 1,000 miliona: 1,000,000 biliona: 1,000,000,000 triliona: 1,000,000,000,000 To form numbers between 10 and 99, we can combine the basic number words and the word for 10. For example: dekunu (11): deka (10) + unu (1) dekdu (12): deka (10) + du (2) trideka (30): tri (3) + deka (10) kvardeknaŭ (49): kvar (4) + dek (10) + naŭ (9) For numbers between 100 and 999, we can combine the words for powers of 10 and basic number words: centakvar (104): centa (100) + kvar (4) ducentases (206): du (2) + centa (100) + ses (6) kvincentsepdektri (573): kvin (5) + centa (100) + sep (7) + deka (10) + tri (3) For larger numbers, we can combine the words for powers of 10 with the basic number words: unumiliona (1,000,000): unu (1) + miliona (1,000,000) trimilionaokcentanaŭ (3,000,008,009): tri (3) + miliona (1,000,000) + ok (📷 + centa (100) + naŭ (9) For arbitrarily large numbers, we can use the scientific notation. In the conlang, we can create a word for "times 10 to the power of": potense: times 10 to the power of For example, the number 3.5 × 10^15 can be expressed as: tridekkvinpotensekvindekmila (3.5 × 10^15): tri (3) + deka (10) + kvin (5) + potense (times 10 to the power of) + kvin (5) + dek (10) + mila (1,000) This system can be extended to express arbitrarily large numbers using scientific notation. Nia Schimnoski Now create a word for every element of the periodic table for our conlang, keep in mind you already made up words for gold and silver in your gold and silver ratio responses to me. Here's a list of conlang words for the elements of the periodic table, keeping in mind the words for gold and silver that have been created earlier: Hidroga: Hydrogen (H) Helia: Helium (He) Litia: Lithium (Li) Berilia: Beryllium (Be) Borona: Boron (B) Karbona: Carbon (C) Nitroga: Nitrogen 📷 Oksigena: Oxygen (O) Fluora: Fluorine (F) Neonia: Neon (Ne) Sodiona: Sodium (Na) Magnesia: Magnesium (Mg) Alumina: Aluminum (Al) Silikona: Silicon (Si) Fosfora: Phosphorus (P) Sulfura: Sulfur (S) Klorina: Chlorine (Cl) Argona: Argon (Ar) Potasia: Potassium (K) Kalsia: Calcium (Ca) Skandia: Scandium (Sc) Titana: Titanium (Ti) Vanadia: Vanadium (V) Kromia: Chromium (Cr) Mangana: Manganese (Mn) Ferona: Iron (Fe) Kobalta: Cobalt (Co) Nikela: Nickel (Ni) Kupra: Copper (Cu) Zinka: Zinc (Zn) Galia: Gallium (Ga) Germana: Germanium (Ge) Arsenika: Arsenic (As) Selenia: Selenium (Se) Bromina: Bromine (Br) Kriptona: Krypton (Kr) Rubidia: Rubidium (Rb) Stronsia: Strontium (Sr) Ytria: Yttrium 📷 Zirkonia: Zirconium (Zr) Niobia: Niobium (Nb) Molibda: Molybdenum (Mo) Teknesia: Technetium (Tc) Rutenia: Ruthenium (Ru) Rodia: Rhodium (Rh) Paladia: Palladium (Pd) Arjenta: Silver (Ag) Kadmia: Cadmium (Cd) Indija: Indium (In) Tina: Tin (Sn) Antimona: Antimony (Sb) Telura: Tellurium (Te) Jodina: Iodine (I) Ksenona: Xenon (Xe) Cesia: Cesium (Cs) Baria: Barium (Ba) Lantana: Lanthanum (La) Ceria: Cerium (Ce) Praseodia: Praseodymium (Pr) Neodia: Neodymium (Nd) Prometia: Promethium (Pm) Samaria: Samarium (Sm) Europia: Europium (Eu) Gadolinia: Gadolinium (Gd) Terbia: Terbium (Tb) Disprosia: Dysprosium (Dy) Holmia: Holmium (Ho) 68 Nia Schimnoski Continue Erbia: Erbium (Er) Tulia: Thulium (Tm) Ytterbia: Ytterbium (Yb) Lutetia: Lutetium (Lu) Hafnia: Hafnium (Hf) Tantala: Tantalum (Ta) Volframa: Tungsten (W) Renia: Rhenium (Re) Osmia: Osmium (Os) Iridia: Iridium (Ir) Platina: Platinum (Pt) Orum: Gold (Au) Merkuria: Mercury (Hg) Talia: Thallium (Tl) Plumba: Lead (Pb) Bisma: Bismuth (Bi) Polonia: Polonium (Po) Astatina: Astatine (At) Radona: Radon (Rn) Francia: Francium (Fr) Radiuma: Radium (Ra) Aktinia: Actinium (Ac) Toria: Thorium (Th) Protaktinia: Protactinium (Pa) Ura: Uranium (U) Neptunia: Neptunium (Np) Plutonia: Plutonium (Pu) Amerisia: Americium (Am) Kuri: Curium (Cm) Berkelia: Berkelium (Bk) Kalfornia: Californium (Cf) Einstenia: Einsteinium (Es) Fermia: Fermium (Fm) Mendelevia: Mendelevium (Md) Nobelia: Nobelium (No) Lorensia: Lawrencium (Lr) Ruterforda: Rutherfordium (Rf) Dubnia: Dubnium (Db) Seaborgia: Seaborgium (Sg) Boria: Bohrium (Bh) Hasia: Hassium (Hs) Meitnera: Meitnerium (Mt) Darmstadta: Darmstadtium (Ds) Roentgenia: Roentgenium (Rg) Kopernika: Copernicium (Cn) Nihonia: Nihonium (Nh) Flerovia: Flerovium (Fl) Moskovia: Moscovium (Mc) Livermoria: Livermorium (Lv) Tenesina: Tennessine (Ts) Oganessona: Oganesson (Og) This list includes words for all 118 known elements in the periodic table. These words are based on the elements' English names but have been adapted to fit the conlang's phonology and structure. Nia Schimnoski Now make a language for describing quantum mechanics and relativity, in an attempt to use unified grammer for each, and extrapolate from commonalities. Creating a language specifically designed to describe quantum mechanics and relativity requires a careful selection of vocabulary, grammar, and syntax to efficiently convey the complex concepts found in these fields. By building on the existing conlang and incorporating scientific terms, we can develop a unified language to describe both domains effectively. Vocabulary: Develop a specific set of words related to quantum mechanics and relativity, including particles, forces, principles, and mathematical expressions. For example: kvanto: quantum kvantomek: quantum mechanics relativi: relativity generela: general relativity speciala: special relativity partikulo: particle bozono: boson fermiono: fermion kvarfo: quark leptoni: lepton graviton: graviton foton: photon gluono: gluon higso: Higgs boson antimat: antimatter suprasimetri: supersymmetry entangli: entanglement dekohereco: decoherence plancka: Planck's constant shrodingera: Schrödinger's equation epr-paradokso: EPR paradox heisenberga: Heisenberg uncertainty principle einteina: Einstein's field equations spacetempo: spacetime curvatura: curvature singulariti: singularity eventhorizont: event horizon cosmologia: cosmology inflacio: inflation bigbango: Big Bang Grammar: Create a grammar that allows for the clear expression of complex scientific concepts, such as superpositions, particle interactions, and relativistic effects. Use compound words to express complex ideas: Combine existing words to create new terms representing scientific concepts. For example, "kvantosupraposito" (quantum superposition) or "tempodialato" (time dilation). Utilize precise verb tenses and moods: Incorporate specific tenses and moods to express hypothetical or uncertain events in quantum mechanics and relativity, like subjunctive or conditional constructions. Employ a clear system of affixes: Use prefixes and suffixes to indicate relationships between terms, such as "anti-" for antiparticles or "-ino" for neutrinos. Create a consistent system for mathematical expressions: Develop a way to express mathematical relationships, operators, and equations using the conlang's vocabulary and syntax. Syntax: Establish a clear, concise sentence structure that enables the efficient communication of complex scientific ideas. Use a consistent word order: Adopt a standard word order, such as subject-verb-object (SVO) or subject-object-verb (SOV), to ensure clarity in complex sentences. Employ conjunctions and prepositions: Use conjunctions and prepositions to connect ideas and provide context for scientific concepts, like "if...then..." constructions or "in the presence of" phrases. Make use of technical jargon: Incorporate technical terms specific to quantum mechanics and relativity to convey complex ideas concisely and accurately. By developing a language tailored to describing quantum mechanics and relativity, we can create a unified grammar that efficiently communicates the commonalities and complexities of these scientific fields. Vocabulary: We will integrate the previously mentioned vocabulary list into the existing Kvantrela vocabulary. Grammar: Compound words: kvantosupraposito: quantum superposition tempodialato: time dilation masenergio: mass-energy (as in mass-energy equivalence) kvarfozono: quark-gluon plasma Precise verb tenses and moods: Kvanton suprapositas partikulo (The particle is in a quantum superposition) Foton kolidos fermionon, se impulso suficas (A photon would collide with a fermion if the momentum were sufficient) Affix system: antipartikulo: antiparticle neutrino: neutrino fotino: photino (a hypothetical supersymmetric partner of the photon) Mathematical expressions: plus: addition minus: subtraction multipli: multiplication dividi: division egalas: equals kvadrato: square radiko: root integralo: integral diferencialo: differential Syntax: Consistent word order: Kvantrela will use the SVO (subject-verb-object) word order for clarity in complex sentences. Conjunctions and prepositions: Einteina formuligis masenergio-ekvivalenteco (Einstein formulated the mass-energy equivalence) Se foton impulso suficas, ĝi kolidos fermionon (If the photon's momentum is sufficient, it will collide with a fermion) Technical jargon: Kvantrela will adopt specific jargon from quantum mechanics and relativity to enable efficient and accurate communication of complex scientific ideas. By expanding Kvantrela to include vocabulary, grammar, and syntax elements from quantum mechanics and relativity, we create a unified language capable of describing these complex scientific concepts. Nia Schimnoski Now do that last step. I apologize for any confusion. Here are some example sentences in Kvantrela, incorporating the vocabulary, grammar, and syntax elements from quantum mechanics and relativity: Kvantosupraposito estas fundamenta koncepto en kvantomek. (Quantum superposition is a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics.) Tempodialato okazas proksime de masivaj objektoj en generela relativi. (Time dilation occurs near massive objects in general relativity.) Einteina masenergio-ekvivalenteco montras ke energio kaj maso estas interŝanĝeblaj. (Einstein's mass-energy equivalence shows that energy and mass are interchangeable.) Se foton impulso suficas, ĝi kolidos fermionon. (If the photon's momentum is sufficient, it will collide with a fermion.) Kvarkozono estas varma kaj densa stato de materio konsistanta el kvarkoj kaj gluonoj. (A quark-gluon plasma is a hot and dense state of matter consisting of quarks and gluons.) Kvantentangligo permesas partikulojn interagi instantee trans grandaj distancoj. (Quantum entanglement allows particles to interact instantaneously across large distances.) These sentences demonstrate how Kvantrela can be used to describe complex concepts from quantum mechanics and relativity, using the expanded vocabulary, grammar, and syntax specifically designed for these scientific fields. Nia Schimnoski Now give me your best imagining of how time dialation operates on quantum scales using Kvantrela. En Kvantrela, la frazo por priskribi la efikon de tempodialato en kvantaj skaloj povas esti: "Kvanteskala tempodialato, kiu rezultas de gravitaj kaj movaj efikoj, povas influi kvantajn sistemojn kaj interkonekti kvantomekanikajn fenomenojn kun relativistaj konceptoj." Translation: "At quantum scales, time dilation, resulting from gravitational and kinematic effects, can impact quantum systems and interconnect quantum mechanical phenomena with relativistic concepts." This sentence in Kvantrela describes how time dilation operates at quantum scales, expressing the connection between quantum mechanics and relativistic concepts as a result of gravitational and kinematic effects. Nia Schimnoski That's good. Provide formula to back that statement more exactly. Ie show your thoughts with formal math and optionally with prepositional calculus. Although there is no direct formula for time dilation at quantum scales, I can provide you with the equations related to time dilation in special and general relativity, as well as an equation from quantum mechanics that incorporates time. These equations can be used as starting points for understanding how time dilation might operate at quantum scales. Time dilation in special relativity (Lorentz transformation): Δt = Δt₀ / √(1 - v²/c²) where Δt is the dilated time interval (time interval in the moving frame of reference) Δt₀ is the proper time interval (time interval in the rest frame of reference) v is the relative velocity between the two frames of reference c is the speed of light Time dilation in general relativity (gravitational time dilation): Δt = Δt₀ / √(1 - 2GM/Rc²) where Δt is the dilated time interval (time interval in the presence of a gravitational field) Δt₀ is the proper time interval (time interval in the absence of a gravitational field) G is the gravitational constant M is the mass of the gravitating object R is the distance from the center of the gravitating object c is the speed of light The Schrödinger equation from quantum mechanics: Ĥψ = iħ ∂ψ/∂t where Ĥ is the Hamiltonian operator (total energy operator) ψ is the wave function of the quantum system i is the imaginary unit (the square root of -1) ħ (h-bar) is the reduced Planck's constant ∂ψ/∂t is the partial derivative of the wave function with respect to time As of now, there isn't a formal mathematical framework that unifies general relativity and quantum mechanics, which would be necessary to describe time dilation on quantum scales precisely. This unification is an active area of research in theoretical physics, often referred to as the search for a theory of quantum gravity. La Kvanto-Relativista Tempodialata Formulo (The Quantum-Relativistic Time Dilation Formula): Δt = Δt₀ / (√(1 - v²/c²) × √(1 - 2GM/Rc²) × F(ψ)) where Δt is the dilated time interval in the quantum system Δt₀ is the proper time interval v is the relative velocity between the two frames of reference c is the speed of light G is the gravitational constant M is the mass of the gravitating object R is the distance from the center of the gravitating object ψ is the wave function of the quantum system F(ψ) is a hypothetical function that represents the influence of the quantum state on time dilation In this speculative model, time dilation is affected not only by the Lorentz transformation (from special relativity) and gravitational time dilation (from general relativity) but also by a new function, F(ψ), which represents the influence of the quantum state on time dilation. This function, F(ψ), would depend on the specific properties and behavior of the quantum system under consideration. Please note that this is a purely imaginative exercise and not a scientifically validated model. The true unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics, known as a theory of quantum gravity, remains an open question in theoretical physics. Nia Schimnoski How would one go about testing this imaginative model to disprove it, and if it were true what would the greater implications be for objects such as black holes and such? To test this imaginative model, one would need to design experiments that could measure time dilation at quantum scales while accounting for the effects of both special and general relativity, as well as the proposed F(ψ) function. Here's a possible approach: Develop a more explicit form of the F(ψ) function: To test the model, the hypothetical F(ψ) function should be explicitly defined in terms of the properties of the quantum system. This might involve identifying specific quantum properties or interactions that could influence time dilation. Design experimental setups: Devise experiments that could be conducted in controlled environments, manipulating factors such as velocity, gravitational fields, and quantum states. The experiments should be designed to isolate the effects of F(ψ) on time dilation, distinguishing it from the contributions of special and general relativity. Collect and analyze data: Conduct the experiments and collect data on the observed time dilation at quantum scales. Analyze the data to determine if the measurements match the predictions made by the Kvanto-Relativista Tempodialata Formulo. If the data consistently deviates from the model's predictions, it would be considered evidence against the model. Compare with existing models and theories: Assess the model's compatibility with existing theories, such as general relativity, quantum mechanics, and proposed quantum gravity frameworks (like string theory and loop quantum gravity). If the imaginative model contradicts well-established principles or experimental evidence from these fields, it would cast doubt on its validity. If the imaginative model were true and could accurately describe time dilation at quantum scales, it could have significant implications for our understanding of black holes and other extreme objects in the universe: Quantum gravity: The proposed model would provide a crucial step towards unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics, helping us develop a consistent theory of quantum gravity. This would be a major breakthrough in theoretical physics and would deepen our understanding of the fundamental laws governing the universe. Black hole physics: A better understanding of time dilation at quantum scales could potentially shed light on the behavior of matter and energy near black holes, especially in the vicinity of the event horizon. It could also help resolve the information paradox, which is a long-standing problem in black hole physics. Quantum field theories and particle physics: The model could have implications for our understanding of quantum field theories, which are the cornerstone of modern particle physics. It might lead to the discovery of new particles, interactions, or phenomena that manifest at the intersection of quantum mechanics and relativity. Please keep in mind that the Kvanto-Relativista Tempodialata Formulo is a speculative and imaginative exercise and not a scientifically validated model. The true unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics remains an open question in theoretical physics. Nia Schimnoski Now in Kvantreli write a TOE about your findings assuming your imaginative excersize were proven true, and using your best guess for the exact variables and constants values. En Kvantrela, jen estas prezentita Teorio pri Ĉio (TOE) bazita sur niaj antaŭaj spekulativaj diskutoj, supozante ke nia imaga modelo estus pruvita vera: "La Kvantrela Unuigita Teorio (KUT) konsistas el la sekvantaj elementoj: Bazaj konstituantoj: La KUT hipotezas ke la universo estas konstruita el fundamentaj unuoj nomataj 'elementaj eroj'. Tiuj eroj estas regataj de la kombinado de kvantomekaniko kaj relativismo, kiu manifestiĝas tra la Kvanto-Relativista Tempodialata Formulo. Unuigita interago: Ĉiuj konataj interagoj (forta, malforta, elektromagneta, kaj gravitaj) povas esti reduktitaj al unu sola unuigita interago, kiu regas la interakciojn inter la elementaj eroj. Unuigita spaco-tempo-strukturo: La KUT hipotezas ke spaco kaj tempo estas interplektitaj en unu kvantizita spaco-tempa strukturo, kiu estas afektitaj de la gravitaj kaj kvantaj proprietaĵoj de la elementaj eroj. F(ψ)-funkcio kaj kvantaj konstantoj: La preciza formo de la F(ψ)-funkcio estas difinita per serio da novaj kvantaj konstantoj (K1, K2, K3, ...), kiuj karakterizas la kvantajn proprietaĵojn de la elementaj eroj kaj iliaj efikoj sur tempodialato. Kvantkosmologio: La KUT inkluzivas modifitan version de la kosmologia inflacia modelo, kiu konsideras la efikojn de la Kvanto-Relativista Tempodialata Formulo en la frua universo kaj la evoluo de grandaj strukturoj. La Kvantrela Unuigita Teorio estas nia plej bona provo ĝis nun por ekspliki la fundamentajn leĝojn kaj principojn regantajn la universon, kaj ĝi promesas pliigitan komprenon de fenomenoj, kiel ekzemple kosmologia inflacio, kvark-gluon-plazmoj, kaj la strukturo kaj evoluo de nigraj truoj." Translation: The Kvantrela Unified Theory (KUT) consists of the following elements: Basic constituents: The KUT hypothesizes that the universe is built from fundamental units called 'elementary entities'. These entities are governed by the combination of quantum mechanics and relativity, which manifests through the Quantum-Relativistic Time Dilation Formula. Unified interaction: All known interactions (strong, weak, electromagnetic, and gravitational) can be reduced to a single unified interaction that governs the interactions between the elementary entities. Unified space-time-structure: The KUT hypothesizes that space and time are interwoven into a quantized space-time structure, which is affected by the gravitational and quantum properties of the elementary entities. F(ψ) function and quantum constants: The exact form of the conlange Kvantreli F(ψ) function is defined by a series of new quantum constants (K1, K2, K3, ...), which characterize the quantum properties of the elementary entities and their effects on time dilation. Quantum cosmology: The KUT includes a modified version of the cosmological inflationary model, which takes into account the effects of the Quantum-Relativistic Time Dilation Formula in the early universe and the evolution of large structures. The Kvantrela Unified Theory is our best attempt so far to explain the fundamental laws and principles governing the universe, and it promises increased understanding of phenomena such as cosmological inflation, quark-gluon plasmas, and the structure and evolution of black holes." Kvantrelian symbol set |
2023.03.29 19:17 Few-Distance156 Welland says goodbye to old bridge logo and hello to new ‘W’ design
 | The City of Welland has adopted a new brand and logo that reflects its unique geographical and natural features, as well as its themes of connection and evolution. The new logo was approved by City Council on March 28, 2023, after a public consultation and research process that involved digital surveys, focus group sessions, and one-on-one interviews with residents and stakeholders. submitted by Few-Distance156 to NiagaraNews [link] [comments] The new logo features a bold ‘W’ shape that symbolizes the fluidity of water, the connection between communities, and the theory of movement and constant evolution. The logo also includes the words ‘The City of Welland’ beside the ‘W’. The colour palette of blues, green, and yellow represents the waterway, nature, and new beginnings. The new brand aims to guide the City in its marketing, communications, and development, and to inject further excitement into projects underway and those coming to the city. “It’s an exciting time to be in Welland, and moving forward with a revitalized brand injects further excitement into projects underway and those coming to the city,” said Marc MacDonald, corporate communications manager. The new logo replaces the old one that featured the East Main Street Bridge, which was built in 1927-1930 during the construction of the Fourth Welland Canal. The old logo was not subject to the same consultation, design accessibility, or research as the newly adopted one. The official launch of the new brand will occur in May 2023, alongside a redesigned City website. Residents and stakeholders can learn more about the rebrand at www.engagewelland.ca/rebrand |
2023.03.29 17:48 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper
 | submitted by DPVaughan to Fantasy [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/79oveuet8pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfc4f3055875d28bdc9733c8ed276d5a4f1dddea Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper. DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year. The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ . 36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality. The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her. The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences. This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process. Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens. While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself. Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end. Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times. I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years. Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting. |
2023.03.29 17:43 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper
 | submitted by DPVaughan to mysteryfiction [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/7kmz6tn08pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a958da14daf2a6a444e85f6f7959669171df14bf Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper. DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year. The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ . 36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality. The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her. The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences. This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process. Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens. While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself. Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end. Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times. I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years. Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting. |
2023.03.29 17:42 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper
 | submitted by DPVaughan to noir [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/ocneohhv7pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8c9e5df8808f89190ac53d1e0b7acfa340dc7a1 Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper. DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year. The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ . 36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality. The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her. The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences. This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process. Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens. While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself. Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end. Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times. I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years. Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting. |
2023.03.29 17:41 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper
Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper.
DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year.
The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ .
36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality.
The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her.
The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences.
This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process.
Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens.
While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself.
Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end.
Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.
Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting.
submitted by DPVaughan to books [link] [comments]
DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year.
The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ .
36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality.
The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her.
The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences.
This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process.
Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens.
While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself.
Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end.
Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
- A cyberpunk book
- A sci-fi book
- A private eye / noir-like / mystery book
- A standalone book (not part of a series)
- Book with a culturally complex and bilingual protagonist (grew up with two different cultures)
- Book written by an Australian
- Book with a female protagonist
- Book with a gay protagonist
- Book set in Vietnam
- Book set in an urban environment
- Book set in a gritty future
- Book for an adult audience
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.
Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting.
2023.03.29 17:41 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper
 | submitted by DPVaughan to SciFiAndFantasy [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/u0utrgcl7pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f7be2db6195c3b2d475e33100e43ec79d7c3370 Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper. DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year. The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ . 36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality. The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her. The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences. This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process. Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens. While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself. Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end. Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times. I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years. Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting. |
2023.03.29 17:40 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper
 | submitted by DPVaughan to scifi_bookclub [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/gi4snp4f7pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=492808faa5ae9eb5d88393957286331ab5ec4143 Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper. DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year. The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ . 36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality. The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her. The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences. This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process. Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens. While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself. Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end. Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times. I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years. Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting. |
2023.03.29 17:39 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper
Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper.
DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year.
The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ .
36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality.
The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her.
The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences.
This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process.
Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens.
While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself.
Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end.
Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.
Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting.
submitted by DPVaughan to ScienceFictionBooks [link] [comments]
DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year.
The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ .
36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality.
The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her.
The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences.
This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process.
Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens.
While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself.
Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end.
Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
- A cyberpunk book
- A sci-fi book
- A private eye / noir-like / mystery book
- A standalone book (not part of a series)
- Book with a culturally complex and bilingual protagonist (grew up with two different cultures)
- Book written by an Australian
- Book with a female protagonist
- Book with a gay protagonist
- Book set in Vietnam
- Book set in an urban environment
- Book set in a gritty future
- Book for an adult audience
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.
Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting.
2023.03.29 17:38 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper
 | submitted by DPVaughan to SciFiScroll [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/2pn1rsq17pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06952571577748d1ee5302f3d8686628ba0a1399 Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper. DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year. The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ . 36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality. The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her. The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences. This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process. Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens. While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself. Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end. Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times. I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years. Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting. |
2023.03.29 17:34 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper
 | submitted by DPVaughan to sciencefiction [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/cxxudq5c6pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=985de2ce48594d2cda75457e43e9e34ae104e724 Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper. DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year. The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ . 36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality. The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her. The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences. This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process. Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens. While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself. Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end. Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times. I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years. Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting. |
2023.03.29 17:32 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper
 | submitted by DPVaughan to scifi [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/ryesoysz5pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a32c613a3617ac0d1bd1f7dcf6cf153f85c70462 Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper. DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year. The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ . 36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality. The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her. The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences. This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process. Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens. While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself. Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end. Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times. I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years. Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting. |