Book 2 – Page 66

[WallySumGai]

hm so who can name the new Thinkamancers? one of them's Vance from HL2...

Given the uniform on ol' pointy ears there I'm going to guess Tomalak from The Next Generation.

I was hoping it was Senator Vreenak ala Deep Space Nine. In my tortured imagination, he would be able to verify if the Carnymancer's spell really does what Jefti says it does.

Protip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qKcJF4fOPs

[DoctorJest]

hm so who can name the new Thinkamancers? one of them's Vance from HL2...

Given the uniform on ol' pointy ears there I'm going to guess Tomalak from The Next Generation.

I was hoping it was Senator Vreenak ala Deep Space Nine. In my tortured imagination, he would be able to verify if the Carnymancer's spell really does what Jefti says it does.

Protip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qKcJF4fOPs

The problem with that is, that was a trap to lure him there so he could be made all explody later.

[Swodaems]

I would like to point out that the thinkamancers probably believe that Parson is going to Spacerock to assassinate Slately. The text of Maggie's message to them 'PGLH TO ENTER MK, PASS GK TO SR PORTAL, PROTECT' did not give many specifics. Without some great feat of intel, they have no way to know the situation on the ground in Spacerock.

Just think of it this way: You have just been told that the chief warlord of Gobwin Knob is going to enter the capital city of his side's greatest nominal enemy. (Jetstone leads the RCC2, so they hold that distinction despite the fact that there are more dangerous foes to GK out there.) You may be able to tell that he is doing this off turn. (Sizemore is right next to Parson remember. If an on-turn unit can be distingushed from an off-turn one, then the GMWTA can look a Sizemore and tell if GK is on turn or not.) What assumption would you make under those circumstances?

I would assume that Parson was going on an assassination mission. Of his own choice or of Stanley's doesn't matter. He is apparently mortal and about to head 1-stacked into an enemy capital. If I want to protect his life, I try and stop him from doing doing that. I would then hold him until he agrees to be escorted out of the magic kingdom.

Of course, the best way for Parson to correct the Great Minds' misconception would be to order Jack thru Spacerock's portal as proof that he's not rushing headlong to his death, but is instead joining a well placed force in the middle of Spacerock. It also has the benefit of allowing Jack a chance to get back to GK and out of harm's way.

Sadly, Parson does not know that tower containing King Slately is about to be destroyed, causing whatever effect that will have on the portal. The portal may very well close and cut Jack in half right in front of Parson.

[effataigus]

And right about now Stanley is walking into the portal room. Sucks to be Maggie.

[gotmer]

I suspect duty forces Parson when Parson is aware it is his duty. He did not know he had to walk through the buildings when he was in charge of city so Duty did not make him. He had to slap him self when Stanley told him to so he did. When Marie brings his Duty to mind in regards to going home it binds him.

[Kreistor]

And right about now Stanley is walking into the portal room. Sucks to be Maggie.

Not Stanley. He'd want a Thinkagram right away, or would demand Maggie come to him.

[atteSmythe]

Or, better than that, he's Chief Warlord. I suppose if he knows that they're waiting for him, he can order them through at any time. Nice.

Is Parson able to deliver orders by thought? I thought he needed a Thinkamancer (or would need a hat or something) to do that.

Hum, you may be right. I haven't paid enough attention to the natural thinkamancy descriptions to remember whether commands can be given across hexes.

[Tachyon]

It wouldn't really matter. GK has Maggie, who is currently managing a battle way far away at Jetstone and was monitoring Sizemore and Parson in the MK simultaneously. Given that she has the Juice to spend, conveying orders from Parson from her mind to their minds or opening a one-way Thinkagram from Parson to units that need to recieve it would do the trick - all Parson has to do is get Maggie's attention, which involves thinking really hard on a frequency she is listening to (not hard to do, given that he's Chief Warlord and she would therefore be tuned in since he's in the field), and relay the orders he wants to issue through her.

Sides that do not have Thinkamancers either rely on relay by word of mouth, hand-delivered (sometimes sealed) orders, or stuff like Hat magic, or possibly Shockamancy (signal flares), Foolamancy, etc.

[Kreistor]

There's also units like the Archon and Skanks you can pop for casting. Or you can hire an Archon for Thinkamancy from Charlescomm.

There are other tricks. A Transylvito warlord can leave a bat in city, and take one of the Ruler's, and transmit via bats viewing written word, if they can't hear through the bats' senses.

[WaterMonkey314]

During the original battle for the Knob, Ansom had notes about Parson's hit-and-run on the siege passed between hexes. That was off-turn, too. If the RCC can pass notes with combat reports on them between hexes, you can probably pass orders between hexes too. (Though Erf logic just might forbid that, of course. )

[Swodaems]

There's also units like the Archon and Skanks you can pop for casting. Or you can hire an Archon for Thinkamancy from Charlescomm.

There are other tricks. A Transylvito warlord can leave a bat in city, and take one of the Ruler's, and transmit via bats viewing written word, if they can't hear through the bats' senses.

That particular trick would have a finite range without a thinkamancer. Depending on the mechanics, you may actually need a thinkamancers on both ends.

[Oberon]

Pam Andersons character from Bay Watch (lol)

Fairly obvious really. She switches off most of the brain (especially in males) so counts as a thinkamancer.

I've never been terribly impressed with her physical qualities, and her mental qualities do not see any expression in any of the films of which she is a cast member. I sincerely hope that isn't her within the ranks of TGMWTA.

[Oberon]

If it was Bill, I'd figure him for a Naughtymancer . Either way, no one, right or left would argue that Clinton was a stupid man, but I think it's clear on the left and right that he wasn't always an honest man, or a particularly righteous man. Still, I'd be surprised if you could point to someone reputable who would claim that Clinton was "evil".

Wha? Whitewater, Travelgate, Troopergate, Monica, Paula Jones, Impeachment, Vince Foster? Not enough for a "reputable" person to arrive at the conclusion that Bill was not just a nice but misunderstood guy? Hell, I voted for him (2nd term, Perot got my vote in his 1st term) and for Gore to succeed him on the basis of the good economy and I still don't blind myself against either his peccadilloes nor his probable involvement in other, far more sinister activities. I wouldn't necessarily call him "evil" due to the lack of hard evidence outside of the "keep it in your pants, Bill" issues, but I also wouldn't say that anyone who did choose to make that call wasn't "reputable" on the basis of that conclusion.

Either way, I seriously doubt Bush was evil or stupid, although I do think he had a flawed sense of history, a poor understanding of economics, a poor judge of character, and a tendency to act unilaterally when he should be building a consensus.

I conclude that Bush is stupid. However, I was pleased when he removed Federal funding for stem cell research which used aborted fetus materials, and I was proud of the way he reacted to the shoe thrower. The look in his eye and his little grin said to me "You might have thrown your shoes at me, but in about 15 seconds there's going to be 600 lbs of Secret Service pain laying on top of you, jackass." It might seem like a little thing, but he didn't flinch, he didn't cringe (he ducked, but that's just common sense), and the situation was one in which he might have been facing an assassination attempt. The liberal media played that clip over and over as if it painted him in a bad light, and I just kept being impressed with his calm, collected manner throughout.

Likewise, I don't believe Obama is evil or stupid either, I feel he merely has a weak understanding of economics, a poor judge of character, and a tendency to try to build consensus when he should act unilaterally.

Obama can truly move me when he speaks. He is clearly an intellectual, and a vast juxtaposition against Bush. I'm probably intellectually biased, but after 8 years of someone I see as being an idiot in the Presidency, I wanted someone like Obama. McCain is admirable, and I thought him a decent second choice. His service to the nation goes without saying, he isn't a hard right politician, and he knows how to compromise across party lines. But Obama spoke to me. I read a few of his books, and he is definitely left of me on several key points, but he still got my vote.

As an independent I get to pick the best candidate, I'm not bound to a party line vote. That gets me called a right winger by the Democrats and a bleeding heart liberal by the Republicans, but that's a small price to pay for voting my conscience.

[Oberon]

A message to Don King to employ Jeftichew, if possible. HMMM.
And also, evidence that Queen Bea ordered all of her casters to work only for Royal sides. Charlie is not Royal.
Final. Nail. In coffin.

Parson is the only unit we know of who can directly defy an order from their Ruler without disbanding. Queen Bea is no longer alive, but... Jojo is still alive. And it was an order.

Parson isn't the only unit we know of who can directly defy an order from their Ruler without disbanding. Wanda did, and explained the circumstances under which it was permitted: "I'm allowed. I'm convinced it will lead to your destruction." Ben also did, with a similar justification. Bea is dead, so any order she gave prior to her death can be dodged with the "It'll lead to her destruction" clause. The clause is fulfilled by the fact the Bea is already dead. Bea's former casters are free to do whatever they want. This is proven by the fact that Vanna is being paid for by Charlie. As you point out, Charlie is not royal. There is some weasel room in that FAQ is the client, but Vanna has to know where her funds are really coming from. She was linked with Charlie,after all.

Jillian ordered Vanna to cast a spell Jillian was advised to cast. Vanna could not have refused the order to link up with Charlie, even if it went against her previous orders. She would have been disbanded, so it doesn't matter who the original suggestion came from.

Here you are assuming that one auto-disband had precedence against another auto-disband. Far simpler to conclude that Bea's "pledge" has no weight as an order.

However, Jojo has not been hired by Jillian [...]

Whether you are right or wrong, this is irrelevant. It is also an assumption drawn with nothing to support it either for or against.

[...] Jojo may have recieved special orders that were not mentioned directly to Don King in the letter. Like "come up with a plan and sell it to Don King." A boss who's looking out for your best interests looks out for ways to fund those interests, too. When that interest is your survival... stuff happens.

This is just a huge pile of unfounded and rather smelly tin foil hattery...

[Renion]

Story feels like it's completely lost momentum.

[zilfallon]

Story feels like it's completely lost momentum.

It certainly feels like last couple updates kinda ruined all that build-up before the battle.

[oslecamo2_temp]

A message to Don King to employ Jeftichew, if possible. HMMM.
And also, evidence that Queen Bea ordered all of her casters to work only for Royal sides. Charlie is not Royal.
Final. Nail. In coffin.

Parson is the only unit we know of who can directly defy an order from their Ruler without disbanding. Queen Bea is no longer alive, but... Jojo is still alive. And it was an order.

Parson isn't the only unit we know of who can directly defy an order from their Ruler without disbanding. Wanda did, and explained the circumstances under which it was permitted: "I'm allowed. I'm convinced it will lead to your destruction." Ben also did, with a similar justification. Bea is dead, so any order she gave prior to her death can be dodged with the "It'll lead to her destruction" clause. The clause is fulfilled by the fact the Bea is already dead. Bea's former casters are free to do whatever they want. This is proven by the fact that Vanna is being paid for by Charlie. As you point out, Charlie is not royal. There is some weasel room in that FAQ is the client, but Vanna has to know where her funds are really coming from. She was linked with Charlie,after all.

I don't understand why you're complicating that topic so much.

Vanna is being hired by Jillian, who is a royal. Jillian is allied with a non-royal providing her with the needed funds yes, but Bea never said anything about being forbidden from working for royals who're allied with non-royals. Otherwise Vanna would have a real hard time finding an employer because most royal sides are at least allied with tribes, which are non-royal.

It also explains why Charlie was so desesperate to put the key part of his plan on wild card Jillian. He needed a royal to act as a face to hire Vanna, the only turnmancer who would acept the job of facing GK's elite head on.

Plus considering how Vanna is answering to Jillian and not to "Get back here and finish your job!" Charlie, it's very clear who's actualy in charge of the turnmancer. She takes orders from Jillian, not Charlie. If he wants to suport Jillian, that much the better.

[Lamech]

I don't understand why you're complicating that topic so much.

Vanna is being hired by Jillian, who is a royal. Jillian is allied with a non-royal providing her with the needed funds yes, but Bea never said anything about being forbidden from working for royals who're allied with non-royals. Otherwise Vanna would have a real hard time finding an employer because most royal sides are at least allied with tribes, which are non-royal.

It also explains why Charlie was so desesperate to put the key part of his plan on wild card Jillian. He needed a royal to act as a face to hire Vanna, the only turnmancer who would acept the job of facing GK's elite head on.

Plus considering how Vanna is answering to Jillian and not to "Get back here and finish your job!" Charlie, it's very clear who's actualy in charge of the turnmancer. She takes orders from Jillian, not Charlie. If he wants to suport Jillian, that much the better.

True Vanna was technically working for Jillian, but who are we kidding. She did exactly what Charlie wanted when she cast Kingworld. Are you going to really argue that Kingworld wasn't Charlie's plan? Maybe Jojo is technically working for royal side 57, but I still think Charlie is the one behind it. (And there are a bunch of ways Charlie could be behind it, directly paying Jojo, Jojo paying him for hints, them just working toward a mutual goal, Jojo being hired by royal side 57 and royal side 57 doing whatever Charlie told them too ect.)

[Curxzed]

I could have sworn that there was an actress in the late 90's, early 00's that was also a physicist. Google is failing me though, since it only brings up Anne Hathaway and Sarah Jessica Parker as candidates, but neither are blonde.

Lisa Kudrow, B.S. in Biology.

[Oberon]

Further, remember that the Toolists are convinced that Charlie will eventually join them. They want the third attuned Arkentool on Side, not destroyed, whatever the GMTTA wants. So total annihilation of Charlescomm is simply not in GK's interest, no matter how much they hate his actions and no matter how much the GMTTA begs for him to be killed.

Agreed. Wanda has stated that CharlesComm is the last of the GK targets, because he is a 'tool owner.

I've said this before: I see a synergy between the fact that there are 4 "known" 'tools and the "fact" that a 4 caster link is impossible. I suspect that the eventual 4 person link will consist of Charlie, Stanley, Wanda, and X. X being the person to attune to the 4th arkentool. Perhaps Parson, perhaps just another person being directed by Parson. Dunno. Just my own tin foil hat theory based only upon the synchronicity of the numbers. Flimsy, indeed.

To the rest of your post on the supposed attack of GK against CharlesComm, you're forgetting one key factor: Parson is still magically bound to provide Charlie with several (is it 9 now?) magical calculations. This gives Charlie a lot of opportunities to learn what Parson plans and counter it. Or to just distract and delay by constantly discussing a possible calculation but never actually expending them. In any event, Charlie has a huge advantage when he can get the odds straight from the guy attacking him.