LEGEND OF THE DUNARIS OF ORVITUS

A short story written by me. 

-RETROTECH

(TOLD LIKE FROM THE FUTURE OF THIS FUTURE, AS IF THIS WAS AN ANCIENT STORY, ON A HUMAN INHABITED PLANET)

By 2038 the Earth had evolved into a providence of riches,
having solved environmental problems that they panicked over so much
during the turn of century 2000,
and finally had taken to the sky.
Airships, hover pods, and sky boards were the way of getting around.
Hadn’t even inhabited any planets yet, just part of the Orvitus, their moon.
It was into this world the most important person was born.
Novan Emberson was a child genius.
He was born in 2021.
By 10 he had invented the sky board for children his age,
his first worldwide sensation.
By 16, he invented the hyrostic engine,
making planetary travel possible.
To congratulate his success and their gratitude,
the government gave him free passage to Orvitus,
where he stayed in a moon city named Davnus
with his family, and was happy.

Three months after he turned 17, he noticed a strange things were happening
people were disappearing off the streets, in the blink of an eye.
So he was naturally suspicious when he saw a strange moving shape
and he followed. And fell into a giant crack stretching across a crater
When he woke up he was in a cold river underneath the earth.
He looked for a way out and found a door. He slipped through it,
and saw he was in a hallway full of machinery.
Though he was very smart, he could not understand its design.
He walked a few paces, and the corridor widened out
into a room with red lighting, large enough to be a hangar,
and he turned and stifled a shout as he came to a
rounded cylinder taller than he was, filled with a misty green substance.
And there was the remains of a human body floating in it.
He cautiously walked forward and saw
its raw, red flesh was stretched into barnacle shapes, some more mutated than others.
Its face had been swallowed up a long time ago.

As he continued walking, he was horrified to see more bodies.
Some of them were recognizable. People he had seen before.
In the news, those who had gone missing.
They were floating in front of him now.
He walked to the end of the room and turned around to see
a girl, around his age, floating in front of him.
Unlike the others, the green substance swirled around her,
and she did not need a tank. She was held above ground by a blue light above her,
and she was not mutated. Just sleeping.
He looked at her control panel, and fumbling with the controls,
was able to free her, and caught her as she fell.
Her black skinsuit was hot from the light, as if it had kept her warm.
For a moment, he thought she was dead,
but her eyes snapped open and they focused on him.
In a blur, he suddenly felt the back of his head slam
against metal, and looked up to see her standing over him,
a hand at his throat.

“What are you doing?” he asked.
She looked at him and her fierce eyes changed to confusion.
“I don’t know.”
Then the wall next to them exploded into sparks and smoke.
The girl jerked him to his feet and they ran, weaving
through the maze of body tanks. This time, he heard the hum
of the red beam that knifed through the air, hitting the floor
and throwing him forward. The smoking crater must have hid him from view,
because the girl managed to drag him through the smoke towards them,
thought it couldn’t be called running.
It made a hissing and clicking sound as it came, with a steady rhythm of clanging on the metal. It drew close and Novan was sickened by the smell of rotten meat. It walked pass,
and the girl clubbed it with a pipe.
He stared at her.
“Who are you?”
His voice echoed through the halls for a minute before she answered.
“I don’t know.”
For the first time, he noticed a dog tag around her neck.
She looked dangerously at him when he reached for it, then
seemed to understand. He read it out loud.
“LUCIA, soldier of the Sykoralx.”
Then it hit him. She had not been experimented with like the others,
she didn’t know who she was, and the way she was looking around, she had never seen this place.
The Sykoralx had made the perfect human. The perfect soldier.

He turned to the limp figure on the floor, flipped it over.
He had to look away.
It had bulging white eyes, without eyelids, barely visible pupils.
Its head was misshapen, made of jutting bone and exoskeleton and red flesh in between.
It looked like a torso mounted on a spider’s abdomen. Skinny arms, and many insect-like legs.
Its underbelly was splattered with black, and its top was armored and red.
It had no face, just a mangled mess of mandibles.
In its grip, it held a weapon he had never seen before.
LUCIA shuddered.
What are these things doing on Orvitus? Novan thought to himself.

LUCIA took the gun. She knew how to use it,
a memory the Sykoralx must have planted in her head.
Novan found a complicated looking band on the creature’s wrist,
and slipped it on his own. The moment he activated it, it disappeared.
He realized he couldn’t see himself, a cloudy nothingness.
He realized the Sykoralx must have used it to snatch test subjects
off the streets.
He switched it back off.
He turned to LUCIA
“Let’s go.”

He knew that these creatures were not here for a friendly purpose,
but if he found what it was, he might be able to give it to them.
He disliked the fact that he needed to negotiate with these monsters,
but their technology was obviously more advanced than Earth.
And their weapons.
He was able to access the maps of this base
by wirelessly downloading them onto his handheld computer.
Novan walked in front, guiding them with his finger on the cloaking device,
and LUCIA covered their back, finger on the trigger.

They only encountered one guard on the way to the command bridge.
LUCIA blasted it in the back, throwing it down.
The shot did not penetrate the hard armor, but the creature was unconscious.
Novan was glad. Things would go better if they did not inflict casualties.
Taking the gun, they slipped onto the command bridge.
LUCIA spun into the nearest hiding spot.
Cloaked in invisibility, Novan walked up a ramp
to where several robed creatures were standing around a small table full of plans.
“But we must move now! We know what we want, and Earth is in no position to refuse us!”
They were speaking English!
The skin on his wrist itched, and he looked down.
The glowing light on the device had changed to green color. Apparently cloaking the user was not all the band could do.
And he realized he could see the device.
He was visible.

The nearest guards caught Novan by the arms and twisted them,
shoving his face into the table.
The largest robed Sykoralx, that wore a skull of some kind as a mask, addressed the others. “We have a spy.”
Then a black robed Sykoralx that spoke earlier moved eagerly forward.
“Then we must strike!”
Its mandibles were moving wildly, though Novan heard only English. It was bizzare.
The leader turned to the black Sykoralx.
“Do you decide what the Sykoralx does?”
The black shrank back, though its tone was unsupressed.
“No, Ranja.”
“What is it that you want from us?” Novan shouted.
The guards jerked him, but the Ranja waved a hand, and they stepped back. Novan noticed that a band on its wrist was glowing green.
It looked at him with beady eyes, distinctly amused.
“You? The people of Earth do not need be involved with us. We have what we need.”
“What?” he asked, confused.
“The Dunaris. The pulsing orb that forms the core of this moon. in the olden years, there were many. Plenty of power for a universe to thrive. Or fall. They were an excellent tool in war. But now they are rare.”
“And so you came to Earth, to claim the power we didn’t know we had,” Norvus said. Things began making sense. “But why did you experiment with humans, and how can you harvest such a power if it’s inside Orvitus?”
“Quite easily,” the Ranja hissed. “We only need the Dunaris. This moon, this planet- they are expendable. The moon can crash to Earth the moment it is excavated. As for the humans, they were subjects of Cratchlus.”
The Ranja gestured to the black Sykoralx.
“This one insists that we should also capture Earth. Its inhabitants could be used as workforce, as soldiers, or to even grow some rare goods.”
He thought about the fungus/barnacle bodies and was filled with disgust.

Cratchlus glowered at the Ranja.
“Your amusement has compromised the plan, Ranja.”
“Our plan is not compromised. Execute him.”
Novan felt his captors shift and reach for their weapons.
Then he felt them thrown away from him.
He turned to see LUCIA holding the smoking gun.
He backed up until he stood next to her.
“Thanks.”
She cast a sideways glance.
“They reached the Dunaris 3 hours ago. They’ve set up an explosive on the dark side of this moon, so that the moon will plummet to Earth. They would harvest the rich minerals from the rubble of the planet, rare minerals they could sell as extra profit. Can you disable the charge?”
He stared at her.
“How do you know all that?”
“I wired your computer into the ships console during your talk and looked at their plans. I learn fast, but you understand more than I do. Can you disable the charge?”
“I can try.”
LUCIA fired a pulse that threw the Sykoralx back a few yards.
“Then do it now!”

Novan ran to the computer and started infiltrating the system,
and inputting codes.
The device was somehow helping him understand the foreign equipment,
something he would have to look into if survived this.
The stunned Sykoralx were slowly recovering, and LUCIA kept a close eye on them.
Suddenly, the floor split open and a glowing orb was raised out of it.
It was a few feet across, and gave off a pure white light.
LUCIA stumbled back, and a Sykoralx
ripped the gun out of her hands,
and held her wrists as it dangled her over the chasm in the floor.
Novan dove for the weapon, and blasted its head off.
If fell backwards, pulling LUCIA back to safety in its death grip.
He looked around for the other Sykoralx,
but they had escaped. He looked out the skylight to see
a fleet of warships tear out of the ground.
They had decided to harvest the humans.

Novan sat down. He had managed to stop the charge from going off,
but now the human race was facing fates worse than death.
Wait- he was sitting next to the Dunaris,
the incredible power source the Sykoralx
He touched it.
Every cell in his body felt alive.
He stepped into it.
Every cell in his body was exploding with energy.
He could feel another living mind in the Dulnaris, that washed over his own.
His mind stretched out to the Ranja.
Ranja. You have committed unforgivable crimes, but I give you this one last chance. Leave now, or you and your fleet will burn.
By what power? the Ranja said mockingly.
BY MINE. Novan was not speaking anymore. ALWAYS SOMEONE WILL USE DULNARI FOR DESTRUCTION. NO MORE.
And in a single moment, every Sykoralx ship exploded in on itself, every Sykoralx ship stopped existing.

Novan and Lucia were the saviors of the human race that day.
Sightings of the fleet had terrified countries,
and governments were grateful for their feats.
They were hailed as heroes, and their legend continues even today.
Not only that, but they were credited for discovered the Dulnaris,
a power only they were trusted with.
Since the incident, Novan taught Lucia everything he knew and was
delighted to find a mind equal to his own. To this day, they are close friends.
Eternally friends.
The Dulnaris preserves them, keeps them young. Somewhere in the solar system, they are bringing life to dead planets, keeping the peace. In the beginning, they harnessed its power to heal a planet, planet Earth.
And to make the future.
The one we’re living, right now.

What's that map?

In recent years, Halo CE knockoffs have been popping up everywhere. There is even a website for it: halomaps.org where young editors can post their maps with all their preferences, or personal edits. While investigating this Halo edit manifestation, i came across many of these wonderful maps that have their own vehicles, weapons, and even NPC's to flavor their multi-player servers. A few of these include:

Hornet's Nest

On both sides, you can see the modified vehicles that would not normally exist in the provided Halo CE maps; a Mongoose, and a Hornet, both of which are some of my personal vehicle favorites.

The map layout is quite standardized, and works well for capture the flag and other team play styles.

Desert Flood war

This map is a gigantic mega CPU user. It contains Flood, Covenant, Spartan, and Marine NPC's.

 The site provides an apt description:

"Many modifications have been made to the original map for scenery, weapons and vehicles. Spartans leave their base in three Leopard Scorpions and on foot to repel Flood attacking a Marine outpost. AI operate a turret gun at each base for defense. Elite pilot three Banshees from a cliffside for airborne attacks against the Flood, but will turn on you if they happen upon you on their way to the fight. Two Fr_Ghosts are driven to battle by Elite. Marines will hop in on your DPV or Scorpion for a ride, and a Spartan guarding the Pelican base will hop in and fire the rear gatling gun, however, you can operate the gun remotely if there is no gunner. There are several secret portals that will transport you to normally inaccessable areas of the map where a powerful UNSC Portable Nuke can be found. Hint: they are at ground level. "

I see nothing to be added except that this map is great for single play!

No Way Out

This map is just gigantic!

It includes many NPC's and small personal missions for new items, and/or vehicles.

Many of these maps are custom made using the HEK, or Halo Editing Kit, which allows even inexperienced editors to make their own maps. After my next bout of "research" I will report on how to utilize this software, and others like it.

Technology in Temperance

Technology can greatly negatively impact humanity. To demonstrate this, I have followed the story of “Second Chance”. Ralph Reeder is a simple bull owner that used to own a bull named “Chance” that he and his wife would treat as a beloved pet. Then, the bull died, and to deal with his grief, Ralph had it cloned, resulting in “Second chance” 

The new bull was similar in almost every way, but after one birthday party thrown for “Second Chance”, on the way back, the bull tried to kill Ralph. Ralph theorizes after being injured and attacked a second time that there’s only 95% of “Chance” in “Second Chance”, but he hopes that since they got “Chance” after he was 7 that by that time, “Second Chance” will have mellowed out. Because “Second Chance is around, Ralph still believes that he can have “chance” back, but things don’t always work out the way they should, and reality someday will come crashing in on him even harder than when “Chance” first died. The technology of cloning is what made this possible, hence the my title "technology in temperance".


This is a true story. See here.

Lego Masters

“The model used nearly 14,000 pieces and was ten feet long. It took me a month and half to build”. This is how TJ Avery describes one of the many Lego models he has built. He is a prominent member in the Texas Lego users group, or “Tex LUG”. TexLug is one of many LUGs that have popped up around the world in the last ten to fifteen years. These adult fans of Lego, or AFOLs, are dedicated masters of their craft and dedicated hobbyists. As with any hobby, there is a small, close-knit community that connects builders from around the world. Thanks to the Internet, these groups can connect with one another, and participate in the global discussion on sites like LUGnet, MOCpages, Brickshelf and more recently, Flickr. The world of Lego is an interesting one, filled with brilliant people connected by their love for the brick.

    You would be amazed to hear what some of these men could make. Tim Rueger, a prominent member of TexLUG Austin talked about a floating arm trebuchet that he built, saying that it was “ not just the standard trebuchet you see in The Lord of the Rings”. He spent weeks engineering it to perfection. Weighing “twenty or so pounds”, test launches got one brick going over thirty feet. As mentioned before, TJ Avery and Kurt Baty built a ten-foot long model of the Penny Packer Bridge. Kurt has also built complete models of all ships in the historic Republic Of Texas Navy. His award-winning model of the Zavala features “working Lego pneumatic side-paddle-wheel, walking-beam steam engines (with adjustable valve gear timing)”. These men have truly mastered the art of the brick.

    It’s no accident that many of these builders are so good. They have been building for years, some for decades. Kurt stated in the early nineties, while Tim And TJ both have been building since they were four or five years old. For them it started as a childhood passion. In the words of TJ Avery, “LEGO is the only toy I’ve ever had that I’ve used nearly continuously throughout my life.” this is true for most builders. Although some of them may have gone through a teenage “dark age” that was dominated by something other than Lego, the brick eventually pulls them back. These years of building have paid off in other ways as well. Tim Rueger is highly organized, and at his last count, he has “around 27,000” bricks.Surprisingly, such a large collection is not uncommon. It doesn’t come cheap either. As Tm says, ‘I’m of the mind that nothing good is ever cheap. Generally, you get what you pay for”. Because many of these builders are engineers or other high paying professionals, they are able to fund an expensive Lego hobby.

    The Lego community is a deeply fascinating one. It is filled with deeply devoted people who share a common love of a simple building block. They have elevated playing with toys to an art form. While their interests may not be as mainstream as others, they truly love doing what they do, and it shows. If there is anything that can be learned from them, it’s that you are never too old to have fun.

Robotic Dog!

BIGDOG MAKING IT'S WAY UP A SNOWY HILL

Introducing BigDog, a robot with extremely advanced programming in rough terrain. It was developed by Boston Dynamics for military use, it is amazing at finding footing in snow, water, sand, ice, mud, jumbled brick, and your average grassy slope. Advanced sensors even enable it to recover when it slips, in classic quadruped stances.

To watch a clip of BigDogs abilities, click here. If this doesn't work, try the Youtube link here.

Environmental Science

Today popular science posted an interesting article about a laser-powered "quadrocopter." This helicopter successfully hovered for twelve hours with lasers as its only power source. This copter was able to hover at about 30 feet in the air and has broken the previous record of six hours airborne. This will most certainly become the feature of flight. A greener flight will now be a reality; once again science triumphs. A video of this 12 hour flight and more information about it is available at Popular Science's Website.

Every day a solution to global warming is being researched. Every day scientist are trying to find ways to reduce wastes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This time, scientist have found a way to reuse used grease and used solid fat (butter). This summer researchers how found a way to reuse that old grease and butter and use it as a biofuel. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and alternative-energy firm BlackGold Biofuels tell us how the made 800-pound butter sculpture into an eco-friendly biofuel. Read more about it at Popular Science's Website.

2012 is coming and according to Maya calendar the world will end. If you saw the movie 2012 a massive solar flare is supposed to hit earth and that will leave us without electrical power. Well, for those who are worrying on what is going to happen in 2012 don't worry about world wide black outs because NASA has a plan to protect us. NASA has created two satellites that will observe the sun and will make 3-D models of incoming solar flares which will allow researchers to calculate its strength and determine when and where will it hit the earth. 30 minutes before impact they will notify utilities to shutdown power grids. Read more about it at Popular Science's Website.

By Forerunner

Lego

Of all the toys that many of us have played with, there is one that stands out above all as clearly superior: the Lego brick. Lego bricks are strong and durable, and the possibilities for what can be built are almost limitless. But Legos aren't just for for kids anymore. over the past fifteen or so years a small community of dedicated adult builders around the world have gone above and beyond the "rainbow warrior" and created an art form. Over at the Brothers Brick, they display fantastically detailed models and creations so lifelike you will think that the thumbnail is the real thing. These MOCs (my own creation) can take days to months to build, and can be a few inchs long, or a few feet. It all depends on the builder.
Unfortunately, there have been some recent deaths in the community, that of renowned builder Nathan "Nnenn" Neilson, and Daniel Jezek, the founder of Bricklink (the primary website for bulk Lego purchases). They were both extremely influential in shaping the hobby into what it is today, and will be missed. Nathan in particular, was responsible for the Vic Viper, a special format of spacecraft that he made widely popular around the world. A space builder's portfolio is not considered complete until he has built a Vic Viper.
Recently, The british ship builder Ed Dimmet, Under the screenname "Lego monster" built a fully acurate, 23 foot long model of the USS Intrepid, a WWII aircraft carrier. The build required five people to complete, and could not be assembled in his house, as it would not fit. His wife built all  of the ship's full complement of aircraft, some of which reside inside the fullly detailed interior of the ship. In the Lego world this is known as a SHIP, or Seriously Huge Investment in Parts. Interestingly enough, it is not the world's largest lego boat. That title currently belongs to the Yamato, a Japanese battleship that took six years to build.
-Jts

*Sorry about the lack of photos, but most builders do not use CC licences for fear of image theft during build contests.

TORCHWOOD: Doctor Who, frighteningly close to home

DOCTOR WHO

Doctor who is amazing. If you haven't watched it already, you can catch up here, and watch every episode from 40 years past. What I'm talking about is the newer series, where doctor who animation and plots are the best. You're not by any means going to be starting at the beginning- the doctor was never a farm boy, and doesn't have a rise to glory. I've watched all of them, and it is everything I could want in a TV show.

DAVID TENNANT!

matt smith.

Meaning I've finished Series 5! Matt Smith breaks in after a heartbreaking ode of goodbye to previous doctor David Tennant. David Tennant had an amazing way of sauntering, leaving his enemies in completely stunned silence, and lived up to the ancient persona when the time came for it. However, I don't think Matt Smith will never have that. Granted, he's younger and more fun, with a small tie and a thing for overalls and bow ties("Bow ties are cool.") but I don't think he's living up to the legacy. Amy Pond is his companion, a overall good companion that seems to have a little bit of the Doctor's past companions within her. Dramatic and amazing as it's ever been, but with a brand new sonic screwdriver and TARDIS interior, I'm not sure I will enjoy it as much as David Tennant's reign, which it seems to have completely left behind. I'll just have to see. 

Large: Jack Harkness, Left to Right: Ianto, Jack, Gwen, Tosh, Owen

TORCHWOOD

    Spinoff of Doctor Who, this show is closer to home and less squeamish about blood. This is the third Torchwood group with 5 members, and positioned under a rift in time and space that runs directly through the city of Cardiff. Captain Jack Harkness, a futuristic Time agent and con man from Doctor Who, with a dashing smile and a long coat like the Doctor's. When the Doctor's companion Rose looked into the heart of the TARDIS, she brought Jack back to life. And since then, he can't die. He can be killed, but he can't die. After lying dead for a moment, he gives a gasp and returns from beyond the grave. His Time Vortex Manipulator broke after sending him back a century or two, and the Time Agent he has been forced to live a few hundred years until he reaches Earth's present day and sets up Torchwood. On the team who knows nothing about him, he has Ianto Jones, the butler who is knowledgeable about everything in Cardiff and is practically a member with all the action he gets, Toshiko(Tosh) Soto, Torchwood's tech savy mastermind, Owen Harper, doctor and clown, and Gwen Cooper, a former policewoman and main character. Upon seeing Torchwood bring a man temporarily back to life and another killed by an alien, she eventually finds them out and is drugged with an amnesia pill. She wakes up forgetting everything, but when she finds them again, they let her stay.  

    All kinds of alien life and technology are falling through the Rift at all times, and Torchwood tracks down the threats to either imprison them and uses them to humanity's advantage. Weevils are sewer resident humanoids with large heads and fangs, a constant job for Torchwood. The ressurection glove, made of a special metal, brings people back to life for a short period after death. The special knife that enhances the glove's power if the person is killed with that blade, made of the same metal. Stun guns are Torchwood made, as are the ear communications and traditional handguns. 

More violent than Doctor who, but give it a try, same link at the top. Just look under Torchwood.

The Spark: The final Step

If you haven't read the beginning(or the middle) of this story, go back and read it first please. The next post will encompase the whole story. This is kind of short, but there may be a sequel, so stay tuned!

            ...It was pretty obvious when they had reached the land of never ending cold, because it was, well, cold. The wind blew and whistled around next to Taki’s ears, and ice began to form on the red rocks around her as she trudged on. She could hear Bren’s shallow labored breathing on her back, and knew that he had fallen asleep. Soon she reached a great expanse of white, and the red rock had all but disappeared. She slept with Bren curled up next to her that night, and stared up at the Shining One in the Heavens. She fell asleep to the sound of Bren’s breathing. In the following morning, she woke to the sound of... silence. Startled, she jumped up; Bren was covered in a thin layer of frost. She put her head to his chest, and heard a faint heart beat. She yelled at him. “Bren, Bren, wake up!”

For a long moment, nothing happened, and then her bro
ther blinked his eyes. “Huh? Sis? Where are we?”

She smiled, and hugged him. “I thought you were dead, you! Get up when I call you. You almost gave me a sithen!” They traveled far that day onto the white cold. Taki sometimes thought she could see shapes moving in the white haze, white lumbering masses, but they disappeared as quickly as they came.

As night began to fall, Taki saw a small mound ahead of them, illuminated by the Shining One in the Heavens. As she approached, she could see that it was a small building. She blinked once in surprise, and then she exclaimed, “We found it Bren, we really did!”                                                                                 Robots of the Future

“zzzzz… Wha? Oh good… zzzzz…..”

As they entered the building, a blast of frigid air met them and the doors closed behind them. Taki looked back, but after what they had been through, the doors seemed insignificant. She staggered, zombie-like with Bren piggy-backing on her. The altar swelled up in front of her, blue light shining onto the top. She walked up to it and reached out with a shacking hand towards the small orb on the altar. As her hand broke the light, movement appeared all around them. Things emerged from the shadows, they looked like men, but instead of flesh, they were covered in metal, and had blue lights coming form their eyes. Where their hands should have been, instead huge blades protruded, gleaming in the faint glow from the orb. As the blue sweeping lights closed in from all around them, she hugged the cure close to her and screamed her defiance at them. After all that she had been through, after all that she had done! It was not going to end like this. The orb flared a brilliant red as if in response to her emotions.  For an instant, the world was colorless and serene, held in eternal statist. Then the red consumed all, flame exploding out from her, illuminating all in an exhilarating flare of pain. When she could see again, the familiar green shades of trees were all around her. Taki closed her eyes once more, curling herself tighter around the cure and succumbed to the sweet oblivion that welcomed her from beyond...

If you would like to look more into the concept of an apocalyptic world see here

Lego

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A war thats NOT fought with sticks

STICK WAR

 If you haven't played this game, you haven't lived.
And if you haven't, play it now at Stickpage, which you are undoubtedly unable to access at school, am I right?
 Ok, the intro says it all, but here's a sum up.

    You're in a land called Inamorta, where the war is held in a religious fashion with each nation worshiping a different style. You are called Order, and you shall bring order by killing or subduing the entire land. Yay.

    The way you play this game is just, destroy the other nation's monument(just a statue representing that nation), while preventing him from destroying yours. If you are encountering an attack that does not result in conquering the other nation, just survive the attack, they will not have a statue.  The most amazing part of this game is that you can control a single character, which immediately boosts its stats, and go on single missions or suicide attack with great effect. Select or deselect your character with the left-click and you can select a different character the same way. 

    Commands that you can issue that all but your possessed character will follow

Defend (default, fighting units rank up in front of monument, and archers and miners remain up behind lines

Garrison (basically retreat, all of your soldiers run to complete safety, leaving the monument undefended and turning into archers to defend monument)

Attack (all units but miners advance towards enemy lines)

    The upgrade zone: After every level, you will you have a moment to improve the efficiency or speed of your castle functions, and all units you have unlocked. Each level will give you 2 upgrade points, to use on whichever units you have unlocked or improve your castle. Units all have slightly different abilities, resulting in a variation of talents that you can upgrade.

    Here are the nations will you will encounter and inevitably conquer:

Miners

   ...Actually aren't a nation, just a fundamental unit. Near your monument are several rocks jutting up which miners will hack apart, carry a short distance back to the garrison, deposit, and resume work. Your castle already has a steady income of gold per second, but miners add an important 100+ gold bonus for every deposit. You can increase your castle's gold income, the rate your miners mine, and the amount of gold their bag can carry per trip. As your miners wear away the minerals by your monument, more gradually appear further out into the battlefield. When it is totally depleted, miners will proceed to the newer source, and so on. Since they are moving more into danger and your defenders (in defense mode) move further out into the battlefield and further away from their charge, in is in your best interests do end the battle quickly. Miners have no attack and little health, but if you possess one(increasing all miner stats for that one) and mine at the very beginning of a battle, you will get more gold at the beginning to make more soldiers, and you will be safer mining before the enemy attacks. More miners mean more gold but also the large group will diminish supplies and move out into danger faster. Consider your gains and losses of miner amounts.

Controls: WASD to shuffle around, Spacebar to mine

Swordwrath

   This is a basic swordsman unit you also start out with, though you will need to defeat the Swordwrath nation later anyway. At the beginning, you have only primitive clubs, but you can use the upgrade zone to increase the power of your blade, or your running speed. This is a cheap and close range unit, and is very often expendable. Its greatest weakness is its lack of defense. It can only offer halfhearted blocks, and is especially subject to archer's one-kill headshots. However, if you have many of these inexpensive soldiers, the garrison command will transform them all into more valuable archers. The secret to staying alive individually(no matter what you do your companions will rarely survive a charge against archers) is swerving. Archers have to change lanes in order to keep you available to shoot at, so trying to keep track of you will offer them little opportunity to fire at you. Don't evade too fast, it may result in you getting shot with the arrow you just avoided. Try spending three steps in the far lane, switch, and spend three steps in the closest lane, and so on. Do this even if you can't see an archer, but know there are archers present in the round. In any case, this is a somewhat unsatisfying unit to possess, especially in harder levels.

Controls: Run with WASD, defend(not really) with Q, and attack with Spacebar.

Archidonis

Archidons are archer units that are quick, long ranged, and amazingly satisfying to possess. They are extremely effective against swordsmen because a shot to the head is an instant kill. you can upgrade arrow damage in the upgrade zone, and the efficiency of the garrison archers under the castle upgrades. One-man missions with an archer can be extremely successful. In the level where Swordwrath is waiting until sundown to attack, use that time to take a single archer and snipe them while they're waiting. They will not retaliate!
Controls: Run with WASD, aim with mouse, hold left-click to power up shot and release to fire.

Spearton

Speartons are the ultimate warriors in this game. They are equipped with a helmet that makes them resistant to archer headshots, a long ranged spear that can be thrown, a secondary short sword that can be used once the spear has been thrown, and a shield for arrow attacks and counter attack. Not only that, but Speartons can only stab between blocks, enormously reducing chance of injury. A single Spearton(whose stats are further increased by possession) can defeat packs of Swordwrath, a giant, and innumerable archers if using the archer tip. In the upgrades, Spearton health can be further increased by improving the helmet. Upgrading the shield also increases health, but also the chances of a successful shield block. Spear damage is also upgradeable. Since fellow Speartons will immediately launch their spears at the first opponent, leaving them considerably less powerful, it is best that you obtain a Speartan before it throws away its long distance attack and fight that way. One-man missions are incredibly strong, and a Spearton is the way to do it.

Controls: Run with WASD, shield with Q, stab with Spacebar, and throw spear with F. 

Magikill

This mage unit is very weak and very strong at the same time. The unit itself can barely defend itself, with the ability to stun(paralyze for a few seconds) at close range and can actually whack you with his staff, seemingly by accident, both inflicting little damage. However, it can summon up to four minions(which you will have to upgrade to even obtain this ability to begin with) that have low health and attack, but cost you no gold once you have created a Magikill, and the unit replenishes these as they are killed. Magikills can barely walk and are extremely boring to possess. Upgrades to stun time and number of minions can be found in the upgrade zone.

Giant

Giants are much larger than the average miner, and the monument is enormous!

Giants are really...big. And slow. And weak, sort of. They're not powerful in the sense of harming your possessed character, as you have triple the fighting power of any normal Spearton, which is the favored unit to battle these behemoths. However, a whole bunch of weaker units will easily be slaughtered, and a deep reserve of health will make their deaths almost worthless. Magikill are also a useful component, as they summon infinite amounts of minions, which will slow them down. Giants will destroy your monument in a heartbeat if they reach it, so don't let them. They're really slow, will stop to fight anything in their way, and you can kill a few with your single Spartan, so yes, it is a matter of letting them reach their goal. They practically never do. Giant attack are huge, as in range, and will stun everything in that range with every swipe. The only upgrade they have is further increasing their health, making it easier to reach their goals. Giants can be very valuable in your hands because the enemy doesn't have a champion like you. :) But make sure you get your money's worth, they're expensive and not that fun to possess. Default giants stop to fight with every little enemy. If you possessed the giant, and did not stop for the little annoyances...you may actually reach your enemy's precious monument...

Controls: WASD to walk really slowly, Spacebar to hit people with your humongo club or unfortunate victim.

After you defeat a nation, you will obtain their unit and they will be available for upgrades. Be aware that the unit you receive will not be fully loaded like the ones you just annihilated. Oh, and stay on your toes on the last level. Enjoy!

STICK WAR 2 IS COMING OUT SOON. FOLLOW THIS BLOG SO YOU CAN BE ON. THE. EDGE.(yes, i know, that was incredibly cheezy.)

-Retrotech

If you're going to get Google Chrome...

 You should try at least 4 extensions.

 

NUMBER 1:
If you have a Pandora Account, try out the Better Pandora to help block out ads and other annoyances
NUMBER 2:
YouTube Downloader, downloads any youtube vids as flv's or MP4's
NUMBER 3:

Google news, you'll find it somewhere. great way to keep up to date- especially if you need a current event for World Geography.
NUMBER 4:
Sometimes google news is not enough for cool people who are on the edge. Technology News works the same as Google News, just gives you some headlines and lets you pick what to read more of

As for themes, if you want to keep it together, just stay with the default, Classic Blue Chrome Theme. Anything else will get kind of distracting.
If you want some thing cooler, try Halo Reach themes, or Tiger or Midnight Tiger, or the series by www.electrodexs.net

-Retrotech

How to get ads out of your Gmail

Are you tired of ads that appear on top of your Gmail inbox? Well don't worry, I have a simple and quick solution you can use.

If you click on your Gmail settings there will be a tab named Web Clips. Then uncheck the box named Show My Web Clips Above the Inbox and done, as easy as that!

Hope this helps.

      -Forerunner

Today's Daily Photo Gallery

Here are this week's tech gallery. Enjoy!

 

Science has done it again; the picture above is the first EVER Carbon-Neutral Convention Center.  The Dublin Convention Center has a very sophisticated central brain that monitors environmental conditions and adjusts energy usage accordingly in real time. Maybe technology will solve the current environmental problems we have around the world, lets just see if we can do what needs to be done quickly and efficiently.

If you click on the following link to Popular Science, you will see a picture of the first ever experimental lung-on-a-chip; the ersatz lung, created by Dongeun Huh of Harvard University, is chip is no bigger that a multivitamin and is made of a polymer sheet and artificial alveolus. Its not going to be long before the first heart-on-a-chip, and now seems 

Every day Japan has something interesting and new to show use. If you click on the link you will see Japan's Fembot who, with the help of breath analysis software and mouth movement observations, learned how to sing. Japan is cool like that, making copy cat robots that learn how to sing on their own.
           - By Forerunner

A belated letter to the editor

Dear New York Times,

I was reading through your Sunday June 7, 2009 television section, and I noticed an error in your article, "Commercials you can't Zap". On page 10, you said, “…there aren’t many other names associated with a blimp except perhaps Hindenburg.” The Hindenburg was a zeppelin and not a blimp. A zeppelin is different from a blimp in that it has a rigid inside frame and inside gasbags holding the lifting gas, generally hydrogen. This allows for interior walkways and rooms inside the main body of the airship. A blimp, on the other hand has no rigid internal structure, and is generally lifted with helium. The only place crew can be is in the gondola, also the location of the engines. After the Hindenburg, zeppelins suffered for a huge PR disaster, even though most US zeppelins were helium inflated (unlike the Hindenburg), blimps became the airship of choice. Also, there are plenty of famous blimps and zeppelins, like Graf Zeppelin, USS Malcolm, USS Los Angeles, or LZ-126. I know that I’m being nitpicky, but I didn’t have anything else to do today.

Sincerely,
JTS

More importantly, who is the idiot that thought this was a zeppelin?

The Spark: The Journey

The stage of this story is in a post-apocalyptic world in which bio-wars have eliminated large  amounts of the human race and caused flora and fauna to mutate into gigantic equivalents of what they once were. The current denizens of this world live without technology or remembrance of what was before the change. This is the continuation of the first post "The Spark". Please read that before beginning on this. Enjoy. Also, for an alternate method of housing in the event of a post-apocaliptic setting see here.

                                   -Crisp

In the ensuing morning, the gan’lehir publicly announced that the shirl was indeed once again on the loose, but that the cure had been found. This very incident had been inscribed upon the Ruin where the gan’lehirs of ages past had written their wisdom. They would have to send just one person to go find the cure because they could spare no more. The hunting party was called up onto the stage, they had discovered this threat, so one of them would have the honor of being the seeker of the cure. Horl was too old, and the Maray brothers would have to stay and help provide food for the village. That left just Taki and Ranyu. But Ranyu wasn’t there. He had been taken by a fever the previous night.

Taki realized with a shock that she was the one the gan’lehir was pointing at.

The matter decided, the gan’lehir retuned began to go back into his ganji “But wait!” Taki called out as the gan’lehir, “I have a little brother to take care of! I can’t go and just leave him here!” The gan’lehir smiled “Well, then you may take him with you if that is your will, for we will have no use for him here.”

“But how will I find the cure? I don’t even know what it looks like!”

“The cure will be found in a structure from the time before, in a in a high place of no life. You will walk for many ten day in the direction of the Shining One in the Heavens until you reach the realm of never ending cold.” With that, the gan’lehir returned back into the dark recesses of his ganji.

The next morning, they set of, following the fading light of the Shining One in the Heavens. They walked for hours, stopping only very few times. At mid day, when the sun was beating down in sweltering waves of heat, the jungle abruptly withered away and was replaced by the sand of the desert, with its dunes twisting outwards like the coils of a thousand snakes. It was common knowledge among the clan that anyone foolish to head out into the desert unprepared would die of thirst or be lost forever to become one of the many corpses it harvested.

Taki had brought a map that would bring them across the desert and had brought plenty of water till the proposed water hole. Time had no meaning in the desert, where there were no animals to pay attention to the coming and going of the sun, all that changed was the temperature. As the sun set, they set up camp and prepared to sleep. Taki closed her eyes and tried to rest. What would a place of never ending cold be like? She wondered. It certainly was getting colder here. She shivered. How could it be so hot during the day, but now it was freezing? She slept fitfully, feeling unprotected and exposed with the great expanse of light above her as the stars came out and empty nothingness all around with only the faintest hint of the jungle in the distance. They crossed in a slow zigzag pattern leading from water hole to water hole. They lingered at the water holes for only a few days before moving on to the next, knowing the importance of speed in their voyage. Indeed, if they did not return in time, then there would be nothing to return to. The treks from one watering hole to another were hell, leaving them hollow and sunken like wraiths at the end, while the moments of watery bliss barely seemed enough before it was gone. After a time, Taki began to wonder, if they were ever going to leave the desert, or if they were just going to walk forever like ghosts.

As they walked, the sands started to develop a reddish tinge and they could see faint red smudges in the distance Taki fell asleep hoping that the end of the desert was near. In the afternoon, they reached the cliffs the mountains. The soil was red but it had game trails in it, and Taki hoped that they would find some thing to hunt other than just the small mice that they had found in the sparse grass in the desert waterholes. As they traveled through the rocky game trails that covered the sheer slopes, Bren slipped. He tumbled over towards edge of the cliff above the jagged rocks below and hung by his fingers for what seemed like a life time before Taki hauled him back up.

His pack fell and burst on the rocks, strewing its contents.

“Ow, ow, ow!” He said through clenched teeth.

Taki cut back his legging to reveal a large red gash on his shin.

Taki winced, not just at the cut, but also because the pack dropped had contained their fire starter and fuel along with many days of rations. They decided that any delay would be impossible and that they would have to get out of the mountains before they could take care of it the cut. That night, they ate nothing, and went to sleep on the jagged red rocks. The next morning, Taki brought down a long legged creature with large horns, and short ears.

“How do we eat it?” Bren asked

We have no fire, Taki thought, “We will have to eat it raw.” She bit into it, and almost immediately spit it out again, but her stomach wanted more. She ate, and ate and ate, until she thought she could eat no more. She felt sickened, and retched, but most of the meat stayed down. By the 3rd day through the mountains, the wound was infected and Taki was carrying Bren on her back.

There will be more...

Also, here are some pictures to accompany the previous story:

Pictures are by Retrotech, who gives permission to have them published.

Where Eagles Dare

   While probably not the best film ever made, my favorite piece of cinema is 1969's Where Eagles Dare. While it has a mediocre plot, I remember that the movie had several more attributes that made it fantastic to watch. The soundtrack, opening credit sequence, and sets stand out in my mind as some of the parts that made it good.

pure greatness

   The first thing that I think of when the movie is mentioned is the soundtrack. From some research I found that it was written by Ron Godwin, a relative unknown who went on to later fame as a composer.

He's the one with the hair.

The music really builds suspense and contributes immensely to the mood of the story. the music is the same basic song throughout the movie, though it is cleverly adapted to fit whichever scene it is played during. The music was recorded by a military band, greatly enhancing the fell of it as a war film. This remains one of my favorite movie soundtracks, and is a major reason why I love this film.
    Another well-done aspect of Where Eagles Dare is the opening credit sequence. I don’t know the name of the font used, but it is perfect for the setting in the Bavarian Alps, as the type is older looking, and clearly German, saying something about the movie without any explanation or dialogue. In addition to the lettering, the opening shots of the Alps, most filmed from the perspective of a low flying cargo plane really drew me in. These shots thrill you before the action even starts, and make the audience feel like part of the story before it even begins.

Pictured: Richard Burton. Not pictured: the right movie.

   Thirdly, the acting in the movie is phenomenal. It stars Richard Burton and a young Clint Eastwood, both of whom fit their roles perfectly. They bring life to the characters, and act in a way that is believable, consistent with the rest of the film. I really identified with their characters at a young age, which in turn caused myself to enjoy the film immensely.

Mountains! Also, the setting.

Finally, the best part of Where Eagles Dare is the setting. It was on location in the breathtaking Alps of Bavarian Austria, a wise move on the studio’s part. This makes the story altogether more realistic and believable, and was one of the principle reasons that I enjoyed the film. On the interior, the sets are no less exquisitely crafted, with extreme attention to detail and realism. This distinguishes from many other 1960’s war films, which were all about the action rather than accuracy. The set designs really do transport you to the Alps in 1944, and while the plot may not be very realistic, the rest of the movie certainly is.

"Realistic plots are for lesser men"

   Where Eagles Dare is my favorite movie because of the acting, soundtrack, opening credits, and setting. I admire the film for its realism and attention to small details, really transporting the viewer into the movie. I first saw the film at a young age, when plot was more important to me, but I continue to love Where Eagles Dare to this day.
For a poorly maintained fan website, read here.
JTS

The Spark

The stage of this story is in a post-apocalyptic world in which bio-wars have eliminated large amounts of the human race and caused flora and fauna to mutate into gigantic equivalents of what they once were. The current denizens of this world live without technology or remembrance of what was before the change. Enjoy.

-Crisp

THE SPARK

        Taki tightened her grip on her ru-hook and shifted her feet anxiously on the mossy branch. Around her, the others were carefully concealed, but she could sense their frustration. This was the third time today that they had been forced to relocate after two failed hunting attempts. What was taking the behemoths so long? It had only been a few 100 helnu but the scent of the offering should have spread by now. Taki briefly considered dropping down to add to the offering, but decided against it. She sighed. It would be just her luck for a behemoth to show up while she was still down there. The brush rustled and suddenly all the warriors tensed. The jungle was silent save for the breeze wafting through the leaves and the tree’s gentle sway. Then as the world seemed to have stopped, the behemoth came roaring out of the brush, breaking the silence. The team snapped into action. Taki swept her ru-hook forward in a long circle slashing out a gash on the behemoth’s hide. “Taki to your left!” Taki twisted and swung the ru-hook up to wrap around a branch and swung up high into the trees. The behemoth’s tail came within inches of her head as she swung upwards. Arrows came from all directions as the Maray brothers shot arrows at the bulk all the while nimbly avoiding the behemoths swats. Ranyu fell out of the trees above the behemoth’s head and swung his axe down hard sending blood flying out in an arc. The behemoth staggered to the left almost crushing Horl then fell with a bone-shattering thud to the leafy floor. Taki swung down the tree to the ground. She approached the behemoth tentatively. As she got closer, she could see that its eyes were yellow, and as she reached up to touch the hide, the skin sloughed away at her touch. She jumped back; the inside revealed a yellow and brown puss weeping from flesh. “It is already rotting!” she called to the others. They slid down from their positions and ran over. The 6 hunters studied the carcass for a second. Finally Ranyu said “it has been possessed by a demon!” Horl, the oldest of the group shook his head “I have seen this before. It is the Shirl.” The rest of the team shivered at the word. Shirl was the disease that had come near to wiping out the tribe from back when they had been children. It was also the disease that had killed Taki’s mother. “How can it be the Shirl”, Taki asked, “the gan’leir banished it with the heavens root.” Horl’s expression darkened, “Nonetheless, it cannot be mistaken. We need to tell the gan’lehir at once.”

It was dark when the team got back to the camp, and as the other went to tell the gan’lehir, Taki slipped back to her ganji to check on her younger brother, Bren. As she walked in, she saw Bren hard at work with his metallurgy. “How’s my favorite little inventor doing?” she asked with a smile. “Sis!” Bren put down his small fire breather and ran over to hug her. “Did you find the yurulu?” Taki smiled at the mention of the fairytale creature that had been the topic of discussion for more than a few nights. Then her expression darkened “Bren?”

“Mfff?”

“The Shirl is in the jungle again.” Taki went to sit on the fiber mat which was their daily communal spot.”I don’t want you and the other children to run around the woods any more. I couldn’t….” her voice trailed of as she looked off into the trees. They sat there in silence, listening to the bird song. Bren turned to look at Taki, “How long will we have to stay inside?”

…….

“I don’t know.”

Later that night, as Taki was lying in her hammock, staring up out through the window at the night sky and stars listening to the birdsong as it dwindled and was replaced by the soft ambience of the forest and it’s daytime inhabitants at rest, she reflected on all that had happened since the last time the Shirl had befallen the tribe. There were many strains of the Shirl, and each had a different cure, if they had any known one at all. Many had died before the heaven root of the euliferia tree had been discovered to cure the last strain. Among them had been her mother, the seeker of the cure having returned too late for her to be saved. Driven mad by grief, their father left on long hunting expeditions, only coming back after weeks, most of the time empty handed. One time he did not come back. Many people had talked about her and the possibility of abandoning her if she was going to be like her father, a burden on the rest of the clan. They did so in hushed whispers, but she heard and that was why she had become a hunter, to show them that she was not like her father. She and Bren had lived for years on the charity of others, like unwanted guests of their own clan. Surely this threat would soon be over before the same calamity that had befallen them could occur to other children, the cure discovered and a searcher or hunter sent to retrieve it.

There will be more...

THE Doctor

                    
From Left to Right: Sarah Jane Smith, Mickey Smith, Jackie Tyler, Rose Tyler, Tenth DOCTOR, Captain Jack Harkness, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, and behind, the TARDIS

         In lack of anything to blog about, Doctor Who. The show originated and is still being developed in the United Kingdoms, but it has made its way into American programming, which I think is amazing. The show started in 1963, with a mysterious man, a Time Lord that traveled through time and space, and death and disasters seem to follow him, as he encounters time after time enemies as supernatural occurrences that are pure sci-fi. The show faded out for a while, before it picked back up by popular demand as the newer and currently broadcasted series. This new series has 5 series featuring the the ninth(Christopher Eccleston), tenth(David Tennant), and eleventh(Matt Smith) lives of the Doctor.

         As with all time lords, the Doctor has two hearts, twelve lives and the power to regenerate through them(which changes his appearance!), and apparently has no name. In this new series, he is the last time lord in existence, the rest of his kind having died out in The Great Time War against the Daleks, a unemotional and deadly race. He possesses the last TARDIS, a machine that travels through time and space, a living machine that looks remarkably like a blue police box. It was meant to disguise itself based on its surroundings and time period, but when the chameleon device broke down, the doctor decided he enjoyed the current form too much to fix it. Also in his skills is a brilliant mind with eons of experience, and it is seriously refreshing to have the hero know what the heck he's doing. A sonic probe he calls a sonic screwdriver that accesses just about all devices and can scan and identify different things, plus a lot of other uses. Psychic paper allows the subject to see what they want to see or whatever the user wants them to see.

         Because travelling through time alone is pretty lonely and he's the last of his kind, he usually finds a human companion who accompanies him. The heartbreaking fact is he can never really have a love, because he is cursed to endure forever while the wither and die of age. In this series he has a bored with life girl named Rose, who decides to accompany him for two series and becomes his first love. Captain Jack Harkness, a jaunty, time traveling con man turned slightly more decent, and is later gifted with an extraordinary ability. Martha Jones, a would be medical doctor taken for a quick trip with the doctor in gratitude for saving his life. However, the one thank-you trip extends further and further, until Martha accompanies him for an entire series. Donna Noble, another person with a lesser role in life becomes the doctors companion for an episode,  and is generally known for her no-nonsense attitude with the doctor.

     Until I actually catch up with this new series, I can't tell you anything about Series 5, and the Eleventh Doctor and his new companion. So stay tuned unless I find something a little more current and on the edge-ish.

  

    - "He's like fire, and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm at the heart of a sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe." Doctor Who Series 3, The Family of Blood

-RETROTECH