359vas - Reviewing The Future

Reviewing the Future Jim Vassilakos ([email protected]) In my article for A&E #356 I talked about two books: The Third Millennium and Reality Check. I've also found some other books which I haven't managed to read cover-to-cover just yet, however, several of them look rather interesting have proven fun to browse and read sections of. Since I haven't read these books completely, I'm in no position to do truly comprehensive reviews. Nonetheless, I thought it might be useful to talk about each of them briefly, as perhaps other folks here are interested in this topic of futurism, and if nothing else, this list may provide some fodder for next month's IgTheme. 60 Trends in 60 Minutes by Sam Hill (2002) This little gem is billed as a book for business entrepreneurs who want to cash in on the next big idea. Hill describes what he sees going on in the world, and he thoughtfully provides ideas for ways somebody will perhaps end up making a buck as a result. It's not exactly a book of the future, but I think it's chock-full of good ideas that any writer of near-future science-fiction could utilize and perhaps explore further. The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil (1999) This isn't the book that convinced me that Artificial Intelligence in the mail, but it makes a great case. Kurzweil, who also wrote The Age of Intelligent Machines is a big believer in AI. One might say that he's drunk deep of the electronic cool-aid, and he says it tastes fine. One of my favorite parts of the book are a series of make-believe interviews he conducts with a so-called person from the future. In these transcripts we learn about sensoriums and cybernetic personalities as well as the increasing difficulty in defining personhood in a world where virtual intellects can split apart and merge together on a whim. It's a bizarre book to be sure, but worth an assimilated knowledge structure download for folks who want a glimpse of the world from the other side.

Arthur C. Clarke's July 20, 2019: Life in the 21st Century by Arthur C. Clarke and friends (1986) Although some might argue that this book is a little old to be used as a primer on the future, Clarke's writing is at once lucid and breathtaking, and the scope of his ideas immense. In the first part of the book he laments the slow pace of space exploration during the 70s and 80s as well as the inherent difficulty of making future predictions. Then he launches into a variety of topics, discussing medicine, artificial intelligence & robotics, education, transportation, living in space, work and entertainment, and even sex, psychology and war. Interspersed among his essays are fictional vignettes, sometimes farreaching, other times almost quaint. Here's an example from the chapter on psychiatry: "Still in your bathrobe and fuzzy pink bedroom slippers, with the residue of sleep encrusting your eyes, you instruct your modem to dial 3423922-86663-2376. Once on-line, you reach the Dream Interpreter, who knows the geography of your dreamscape like you know the streets of your hometown." Clarke is basically opening up his imagination, running a little bit wild, but always with the thought of what might one day be possible. You just have to be aware that, as with almost all science-fiction which is more than twenty years old, you will run into somewhat dated terms and ideas. It's unavoidable. Likewise, Clarke doesn't seem to be just giving us his very best thoughts. I get the sense that he's giving us all his thoughts. Nonetheless, there seems to be a great deal of material worth digesting. You'll just to have to decide what's worthy and what's gunk. Bold New World by William Knoke (1996) This is a sneak-peak into Knoke's comprehensive vision of the world of tomorrow. He postulates that electronic interconnectedness will lead to a world of placelessness where you can attend a board meeting from your bedroom while dressed in your pajamas and

talking pig-latin. No problem. Everyone else will see you dressed in stylish clothing talking their language, and it will all be seamless. Added to this, he discusses numerous other trends and ideas, everything from the break-up of long-standing nations into regional governing entities that don't need to cling together for mutual security, to the reorganization of businesses into leaner, more highlynetworked entities that can be more easily navigate in a hyper-accelerated marketplace. Every chapter begins with a few sample vignettes to put the reader into the mindspace of what Knoke is intent upon conveying. All in all, I'd say this one is a mustread for anybody interested in thinking seriously about the near-future. Dictionary of the Future by Faith Popcorn (2001) This one is sort of a coffee-table book. It's not terribly serious, although it's so chock-full of ideas that it can be taken seriously. I really think of this book mainly as a brainstorming device for prospective science-fiction writers. You can open it up, randomly flip to a page, and generally find something of interest. Hence, I can't recommend it highly unless this sort of book is your cup of tea. Fortunately, it is mine. Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 by William Strauss & Neil Howe (1991) This is really a history book with a generational view of history. Strauss & Howe, who also wrote The Fourth Turning (1997), have done enormous research and have taken great pains to advocate their theory that history is essentially a great wheel, ever-turning, and that it is driven in large part by an ever-repeating set of four generational personality types (Idealist, Reactive, Civic, and Adaptive). In short, they liken human society to a great machine, and this book is essentially their blueprint of that machine: how it operates, and why it does what it does. If nothing else, it's certainly an interesting way to try to understand history.

As for the future, the authors predict a crisis era sometime in the near future. They said it should be from 2013 to 2024 or thereabouts. Unfortunately, they also say that if the crisis comes early (during the 2000-2009 decade, in which we are, of course, currently enmeshed) then "the risk of cataclysm would be very high," and in such a circumstance, they recommend national self-restraint. "Boomers can best serve civilization by restraining themselves until their twilight years, when their spiritual energy would find expression not in midlife leadership, but in elder stewardship." I'm not sure what all that means, but if I were to guess, I'd say it means that nations have to be properly configured psychologically to deal with a crisis. Nations need the right combination of morality, patriotism, and hard-nosed pragmatism, and if they get hit at the wrong moment, just like a boxer, they're going to fall. All in all, this book is one where history meets group psychology meets new age philosophy coupled with a dash of prognostication. It's not light reading by any stretch, and because of this, I can't recommend it except for serious students of history, those who will be most prepared to digest the theory as well note where the authors seem to be cherry-picking their facts. Unfortunately, I don't personally fall into such a category, so I've found myself somewhat unprepared for this noteworthy tome. Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind by Hans Moravec (1999) This is not necessarily a book I would recommend, however, I found the fifth chapter "The Age of Robots" rather intriguing. It posits a basically happy future (for humans) where robots do all the labor and humans play the role of perpetual vacationers, waited on hand and foot by their robotic slaves. Moravec, who also wrote Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence (1988), imagines a world something like "the richest Arabian petro-kingdoms where oilbought foreign labor plays the role of total automation.... Free health care and education, and undemanding government jobs, or outright welfare, secure life's needs." But how will

people make money? The welfare state, of course! "Underemployed populations will be increasingly likely to vote themselves income from taxes on laborfree but superbly productive industries." And that's just during the medium term. After that, things start to get weird. The Unabomber Manifesto (formally titled "Industrial Society and its Future") by Ted Kaczynski (1995) Now stop looking so surprised. You all knew I was out-to-lunch when I started talking politics. This entry should only confirm your opinions.  Kaczynski, more popularly known as the Unabomber, is said to have written this little treatise out longhand in his cabin out in the woods. A devout antitechnologist, he makes the pessimistic counter-argument to Moravec's unbridled optimism. Who you choose to believe is up to you. Perhaps the truth lay somewhere in between. As for myself, I think the world that Moravec paints could come to pass if only humanity would absolve itself of its worst tendencies. Kaczynski doesn't believe we will, and while his argument seems to be with technology, what he's really saying is that we don't have the wisdom as a species to handle high technology without allowing ourselves to become enslaved by it. Personally, I think Kaczynski is a certifiable genius. Oh, he's certifiable alright. He's a bigger nut than my left testicle. But he's smart, and while all his ideas aren't necessarily new, the way he puts them together to make his argument is quite interesting and, at least to my mind, intensely thoughtprovoking. Now, what exactly does he say? Read paragraphs 151-160, 163, and 171-177.1 You can read the whole thing if you like, but these are the paragraphs that I find directly applicable to futurism. They essentially make the case that advancing technology and the quest for human freedom are incompatible, and that of these two forces, technology is by far the more powerful. While I tend 1

He had the foresight to number the paragraphs of his manifesto for ease of reference. As for finding a copy, it's not very difficult. Somewhat ironically, this antitechnology/anti-society screed is available at various Internet websites, so any reasonable search engine should be able to locate a copy.

to disagree with Kaczynski's final conclusion, I find his analysis to be well-worth considering. And who knows? Maybe the son-of-a-bitch is right. There are also two RPGs which I'll talk about briefly: High Colonies: Science Fiction Role Playing by Edwin King & Eric Hotz (1988) This little-known RPG is set in the year 2188, some seventy years after the EarthHome War which saw the sterilization of the planet. Hence, the "high colonies" have been left to their own devices. Although manned interstellar travel has not yet occurred (at least not for humanity), the solar system is inhabited by all manner of miniature societies, and these are often at each others throats. Think of it as Traveller minus jump drives and condensed down to the scale of a single star system. Players typically take the role of mercenary soldiers working on contract for one of the various factions (mainly governments, religious sects, corporations and unions). Now, while I've never played this game, I've always admired it if for nothing else than the vast number of colonies described in the gazette.2 However, in other areas I feel they didn't do a very good job. The chapter on travel covers less than half a page and doesn't make any attempt to take orbital mechanics into account when figuring travel times. Likewise, we are apparently to believe that artificial intelligence hasn't made any discernable progress in two centuries. In short, at least in terms of its deficiencies, the game seems too much like Traveller, and I get the sense that while a great deal of effort went into producing it, there wasn't enough thoughtful speculation before commencement of the actual writing. Having said that, however, there's enough here of value that I can recommend this product either for gamers interested in exploring a gritty, spacefaring, post-holocaust near-future, or for those doing SF-RPG design who 2

The gazette is the game's second chapter. There are well over 150 colonies briefly described in around twenty pages.

want to see what a little known company has managed to put together some years ago. Transhuman Space by David Pulver and friends (2002) Published by Steve Jackson Games as a science-fiction setting for GURPS, Transhuman Space is a beautiful product, beautiful in terms of production quality and beautiful in terms of design. The premise is quite simple and at the same time amazingly complex. The simplicity of it is that there is no apocalypse, at least not up until the year 2100, which is the starting year of the campaign setting. While not being entirely utopian, this setting that Pulver presents is certainly far from a dystopia. Yet, at least to me, the real genius is that he doesn't seem to go out on a technical limb with faster-than-light starships and reactionless maneuver drives. There isn't even antigravity, a staple of most science fiction. Instead, he takes the all-too-neglected approach of just assuming what seems scientifically reasonable. He assumes that the technologies which presently appear to be fruitful will be, and so he posits them bearing fruit in abundance. So, of course, the setting features artificial intelligence, so much so that I couldn't help but be reminded of the Kurzweil and Moravec books, which Pulver is probably familiar with given that he mentioned them in Transhuman's bibliography. Likewise, the biological sciences have a field day. This is science-fiction is as it ought to be: reasonable assumptions taken to their logical, if extreme, conclusions. But therein lay the complexity, for the logical conclusions are complex and are sometimes even mystifying. Trying to imagine a world where artificial intelligence is quite commonplace is mystifying to me. Add to that improvements in medicine, such that the rich can live forever. Now add a variety of nanobotic critters doing everything from surveillance to surgery. Toss in the ability to upload a human brain into a computer (even the nanopreserved brain of a dead person). Then add all sorts of genetic engineering applications, including the ability to create designer lifeforms. I admit, some of this stuff is pretty farfetched, but at least there's some

rationale for it. It's not pure technobabble-gonzotech, the proverbial black box without any scientific rationale. Despite the way that technology gets stretched and pulled, I don't think the conclusions are entirely out of hand. This stuff may someday be possible, at least to my way of thinking. Hence, of all the science-fiction settings that I've seen, this one seems to me to be the hardest-science of them all, and I find that very interesting. It results in a highly complex setting, one which is as hard to wrap the mind around as our modern world might have been for a citizen of the roman empire. Nonetheless, immersing oneself in this setting, while difficult, is not impossible. One thing I didn't like, however, was that I didn't really get a sense that the social ramifications of all these technologies were adequately explored. Granted, at 200-and-some pages, this book is packed as it is, but, just as an example, the section on economics and occupations takes all of a page and a half. One thing that is mentioned is that due to the influx of robotics and artificial intelligence, the traditional 40hour work-week is cut to around 20hours. While that is certainly understandable, there's no real discussion about the economic turmoil that will be caused by such a massive use of these technologies. What happens to those populations which can't afford to genetically enhance their children? How do they compete in an increasingly knowledgeoriented marketplace? And how do knowledge workers compete once AIs start taking their jobs? It seems to me that capital will ultimately triumph over labor, that humans as a factor of economic production may become almost entirely superfluous…I believe obsolete is the term. If this happens, what will that mean for society? I'm not sure, but I think somebody ought to at least attempt to address this question convincingly, and so far, I just haven't seen it done. However, perhaps future books in the Transhuman Space line will address this and other questions posed by the technological framework of the setting. Some new books in the line have already come out, and I'm to understand that several new ones are in the works, so I'm hopeful that this setting will be explored in depth.

Even standing by itself, however, Transhuman Space contains enormous food for thought. It's a veritable smorgasbord of what the near future may become. So to anybody reading this who is interested in science fiction, what I'd recommend is that even if you're only going to buy one sciencefiction RPG book during this entire year, this is the one you should get. Re: The Ragamuffin Timeline Regarding the Ragamuffin project, I've continued work on my timeline for the near future, taking into account many of your suggestions, but I find myself rather dissatisfied with it in various ways. For one thing, it still seems overly-optimistic, which I suppose might make some of you laugh. But my reason for saying this is that I really didn't follow-through on some of my earlier statements in A&E, my gloom & doom analysis of world affairs. Likewise, even though I bemoaned the state of our future economy, I'm not sure I should have allowed America to get off so easily on its current entanglement in the Middle-East. Furthermore, believing that the public wouldn't stand for it, I didn't posit any expansion of the war on terror, but that also may have been an error.3 Like I said, I tend to view the geopolitical arena as something of a train wreck in progress, but I so wanted to avoid World War III that I didn't really confront this mounting problem of the zero-sum game being played out in a nuclear sandbox. Perhaps I was suffering from a malignant bout of optimism. In any case, I feel much better now, so I'll try to remedy the situation, but the problem I'm facing is that if I follow the road my innate pessimism leads me toward, it becomes very hard to reach that "society of plenty" which I also want to explore. As George Will said not very long ago, "The pleasures of pessimism are that you're right 90% of the time, and when you're wrong, you're 3

Ken Timmerman just came out with a book called Coutdown to Crisis: The Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran. I've only heard about this book, but what little I've heard, makes my thoughts return to the essays I wrote for A&E #351 & #352. I won't talk any more about this, but suffice it to say, I don't feel that I've followed through.

delighted." Well, I don't think I'm going to score 90%. Histories of the future nearly all fail, and when they're right, it's purely accidental. Nonetheless, I'll continue pursuing the timeline, and I'll put an updated version online once it reaches the point that I consider it worthy of receiving comments. In the meantime, if anyone has any thoughts or ideas with respect to future events or trends, please feel free to email me. I'm always interested in getting as much input as possible, and to that end, I may have a special birthday request in issue #360. That is assuming I can sucker a few of you into a small favor.

Ragamuffin Article: The Tragasi Way The Tragasi of Jahreiss 12234, also known as the mercats, are a race of swimmers similar to the terran sea otter. Being that their world, Tragha, is tidally locked with the star system's red dwarf, the Tragasi have traditionally little concept of time. For example, their language includes no word for day or night, and the English phrase "What time is it?" auto-translates as "What name does the coordinator give to the now?" or more simply "What's now's name?" That this laid-back species developed clocks at all comes as a bit of a surprise to many visitors, but it certainly wasn't to keep track of the location of the unmoving sun. The reason, obviously, was because operating an increasingly complex society without some way to coordinate the activities of its members proved to be impossible. Hence, aside from the world's lunar cycle, time as a concept came to be understood very slowly and in a very abstract and purely cultural way, unlike with many other species who could look outside and see what time it was based on where their sun or stars were located. In any case, all through their development, the Tragasi's innate love for the sea never abated, and so when coastal property fell into short supply, they took great pains to create more of it. For decades after their development of fusion energy, they labored to level 4

As the starsystem was originally known on Solian starmaps. Some of you may recall that I wrote-up a brief scene with this race in my article for A&E #315.

coastal mountains, grinding the rock down for its minerals and then using the gravel to create long finger-like peninsulas. Likewise, they often dug large inland waterways deep into their coastal valleys, so many that boating remained their most common method of personal transportation even after the discovery of gravity manipulation. Finally, as their population continued to swell, they began constructing floating cities which drift upon the oceans, always avoiding Whorgkara, the everlasting typhoon that their ancient ancestors once worshipped as a god. Within the last several centuries, the Tragasi have taken to the mass production of personal dwellings. These come in various designs, but they are built on a largely modular basis, capable of being mounted on any of the various habitat towers that litter the coast. In this way, entire dwellings can be transported by barge from one city to another. When Tragasi move, they typically take their homes with them! Other designs are individually buoyant, and these usually remain connected to various seagoing communities for several years at a time. Virtually all Tragasi dwellings include photosensitive windows to block out radiation from their sun's frequent flares, while those to be situated near the frozen half of the planet are typically fitted with thermal generators and enhanced insulation blown into these structures' prefabricated ceramic walls. Many Tragasi, however, still pride themselves on not actually requiring artificial shelter. These members of the race wrap themselves in the floating vegetation that swirls around the oceans. By focussing attention of their world's oceans, the Tragasi have increased the natural food supply such that many of their kind still live off the sea in much the same manner as their distant ancestors. They are one of the few sentient races with a strong luddite sect, and this mindset is not only fairly widespread, but it also enjoys the political and moral support of a diverse cross-section of the general Tragasi population. All in all, the Tragasi homeworld as well as their culture is one which many humans might actually enjoy.

D&D3e - Warcraft Campaign Report A few months ago I talked about how I'm playing a Troll in a D&D3e campaign set in the world of Warcraft5, and I also mentioned last issue that I was thinking of bailing, as it's really not my sort of game.6 Well, I apparently spoke too soon, as the very next session was quite good, and aside from simply being a bit faster-paced, the gamemaster did something which really notched up my level of interest.7 He first started by asking each of us the name of one of the NPCs or one of the other PCs in the party, and none of us could answer even one of his questions. This, sadly, is indicative of the lack of actual roleplaying that has been occurring so far.8 So, without showing any sort of 5

See my comments to Joshua Kronengold in A&E #355. 6 See my comment to Spike Jones in A&E #358. 7 This is, actually, the reason I make the effort to play in other people's campaigns. Because I never know what new GMing tricks I'll learn. And on this thought, please see the second paragraph of my comments to Myles Corcoran in A&E #357. 8 Generally speaking, I would think a GM would have some right to show a certain level of disgust with such a sorry situation, except, I think, that he realized it was largely his own fault. While talking on the phone with him prior to the session, he brought up that he realized that the campaign wasn't exactly getting off to a roaring start. I mentioned that the injection of a few "interesting NPCs" should help fix the problem. Now, my friend is not good at doing NPCs. He delivers their dialogue in what appears to be a deliberately emotionless monotone. He's a lawyer by trade, so perhaps this has something to do with it. In any case, his response to my "interesting NPCs" suggestion was to hem and haw and more or less indicate that he didn't really know how, and so I told him, "You know a few interesting people, don't you? Just take one of their personalities and superimpose it on the NPC." Of course, unless you have some experience doing this, it's a lot easier said than actually performed. Nonetheless, perhaps my suggestion in conjunction with a few others from some of the others players gave him a heads-up, a sort of warning that he needed to think of ways to pump up the volume and draw people into the game world.

disappointment, he asked us all to begin composing write-ups in the form of journals or personal letters, describing the events of each session. I'd heard of this being done before, but I'd never really fostered it in my own games. Nonetheless, this was exactly the sort of task I needed. For the rest of the session, I began composing a letter to "Ma", and in so doing, I was forced to ask lots of background questions about the world which helped flesh out, not only for me but also for everyone else, the larger picture of what was occurring in the game world outside of the narrow focus of our party's missions. And keeping busy in this way, taking notes and asking questions, I didn't have time to get bored. So, if you have players who seem to need a little bit more to keep their attention, this is a strategy I would heartily recommend for all of us GMs to consider implementing in all of our face-to-face campaigns. You can even offer them an "experience bonus" for doing such write-ups, and if they take you up on the offer, I'd be eager to see their work included in your zines. Now for Ugh's9 letter to his ma. Dear Ma, Today we stormed an orc lair. That I am writing this to you should content you as to the eventual outcome, but let me begin with how it all started. My compatriots and I were in Razorhill, and the town Sergeant, Gnarl Hammerfist, told us about a lair of traitorous orcs in the wilds of Durotar southeast of Ogrimmar. These orcs, we were told, went back to serving the Burning Legion and were planning to summon them back to Azeroth.10 When we arrived at the area, we found tracks and set an ambush, taking down a small group of orcs that very evening. We left one of them alive for questioning, and from him we learned that they were a hunting party sent forth from the lair. He also told us the general 9

Yes, I named my character "Ugh" thinking at first that he'd be as dumb as a rock. Turns out that Trolls in Warcraft aren't dumb at all. His intelligence, just for the record, is 13. 10 The Burning Legion is a group of demon-worshipers who were defeated in a great war, but they are attempting to regroup and summon demons back to Azeroth, the world of Warcraft.

nature of their defenses as well as the exact location of their lair's entrance. Because he'd been so cooperative, we decided to tie him up and leave him at camp. Then, being that we still had several hours of night, we decided to make for this entrance which turned out to be a fortunate decision, as when we arrived, the remaining orcs were already in the middle of a summoning ceremony. We could hear the chanting even from outside, chanting that was fortunately loud enough to mask the noise we made dispatching their guards. We sent Kol to sneak up and fire his long rifle at the head mage, but, as you know from my other letters, he has yet to prove himself adept with this strange weapon. I think that maybe he's shortsighted, but he doesn't like to talk about it. In any case, there turned out to be six mages, and we were to late to stop their summoning ceremony. Fortunately, however, the demon didn't know who it's friends were judging by the way it started tearing one of those six limb from limb. Seized by some form of temporary insanity, I decided to wade into battle with my great sword, a black bolt of some arcane magic passing right by my head and disintegrating a section of the wall directly behind me. By then, all chaos was busting loose. Don't ask me to recount all the details. I was too busy simply painting what remained of the walls in mageblood. It was a bit of a splatterfest. Turns out mages can't take a hit. Go figure. The demon, meanwhile, kept munching on magemeat like it was the best thing he'd ever tasted. He was basically an eating machine, a big round thing with a big mouth and lots of claws. The only problem was that as he consumed, he kept growing! I figured I'd better send him back to the Twisting Nether right quick, so I attacked, which seemed to succeed in merely getting his attention. Oh, I drew blood, but for some reason he didn't seem quite as impressed as I'd hoped. Demons, it seem, can be so coy. Meanwhile, I noticed a thick blanket of white fog, which by now had enshrouded what remained of the orc mages and my compatriots who were giving them good reason to hide. Scar was the only one backing me up, but he lasted all of two heartbeats against the beast's cavernous jaws. That really

pissed me off, and whatever came over me was enough to lend me the strength to cleave the demon in twain. The thing's innards fell gushing upon the floor, but just as quickly they began turning to dust, a very fine ash that stank of sulphur and rot. I looked down at Scar11, wondering what happens to undead when they suffer their second death. In his case, given our location, not very much. His corpse seemed to heal, and Agog12 explained how it was due to our proximity to the Nether. "There is negative energy about this place," he said. "Unhealthy for us, but very healthy for Scar." And so we won the battle without taking a single loss. However, I can't help but wonder what might have happened if the demon had decided to take a liking to troll meat rather than undead.13 We found a red star ruby in the summoning pit. Agog figured the orc mages must have been planning to trap the demon within this thing or somehow use the gem to control him.14 However, since we disrupted their ceremony at a crucial moment, they didn't have the chance to control the demon as they had originally planned.15 Since Scar was killed before the demon, and since it was his was the first "negative energy spirit" in the area, it was his soul that ended up being bound to the ruby rather than that of the demon. Scar, it seems, must forevermore wear this gem upon his body. We decided to explore the rest of the complex after looting all the corpses, and we soon discovered a secret door concealing a treasure chest they had 11

Scar, incidentally, is an undead Tauran who is being played by the GM's wife. Undead, in turns out, die once they hit zero hitpoints, so we all expected that would be it for her character. Our GM, however, provided her with an a convenient escape route which fit in perfectly with the scenario. 12 Agog is an orc shaman who is accompanying our group. He's the party healer and wise man, essentially. 13 It was basically a coin flip over who the demon would attack, and he did enough damage that he would have taken me down. 14 Sort of like a Lich's Phylactery. 15

This is, of course, one of those cases of exquisite timing which tends to strain one's disbelief, but this is fantasy, after all, so I can more easily let it slide.

courteously left us. Among other items, we found a letter16 to Gazz'uz17 from one Neeru Fireblade of Ogrimmar, asking for a confirmation of the delivery of supplies as well as a progress report. As for our prisoner, when we got back to camp the following evening, we discovered that he was no longer there. Or actually, his scattered bones were still there. It was just his flesh and organs that were missing. It seems some creature found him an easy meal. I can only imagine the scene: a lone orc straining against his bindings, the ravenous spectator licking its lips before plunging in for its happy repast. Such is the gentle mercy of fate. We took the letter back to Razorhill, and Gnarl seemed especially pleased with us, surprised that we had not only scouted the location of the lair but successfully eliminated its occupants. As a reward for our service, he has prepared a letter of introduction for us to meet Thrall!18 I can hardly believe it! As for this "Neeru Fireblade", Gnarl told us that he's a well-known spellcaster working under Thrall in the defense of Ogrimmar. No doubt the letter we found will put a slight crimp in his career prospects. It should be interesting to see the aftermath. Hopefully, I'll be able to watch from the sidelines rather than getting personally involved. You know how I hate politics. Give my love to the family, and let them know that as long as I still have breath in my chest, my thoughts remain with you all. Yours truly, Ugh  When the GM brought up this idea of each player doing a personalized writeup of each session, it made me think of some of the folks in A&E who have talked about doing newsletters for their campaigns, and I discussed this idea with the GM. I'm not sure if he'll actually follow through on the idea, but if occurred to me that if each of us players were to do write-ups like this, it would provide a great deal of material for such a newsletter. He could take all these write-ups, clean them up where 16

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the letter was written in the infernal tongue of demons. 17 Apparently the head orc mage. 18

Thrall is the Warchief of the Horde, basically the supreme ruler of this party's nation.

necessary, and then include a section talking about what's going on in the campaign world and so forth. All of it would be a lot of effort, granted, but I think it would be worth it. Not only would it provide us all with a permanent record of what took place in the campaign, but I think it could enhance everyone's enjoyment of the game itself. Just some ideas that some of you may want to try in your own campaigns, if, that is, you can actually get your players to uphold their ends of the bargain.

Comments on A&E #358: Michael Cule: I've decided to cease discussing politics in A&E, but just as a friendly nod, I have to admit that your comments on judicial review (as well as Spike's & Robert's) have succeeded in making me really question my views, and I'm rather at the point of flipflopping, wobbly that I am. As for my quotes from Jane Fonda in #357, I actually jotted those down during a CSPAN telecast (such are the wonders of owning a TiVo). As for history being pre-ordained, at least in its broadest outlines, versus being entirely random, this is probably something that will be forever argued, and so we aren't likely to settle it here. Nonetheless, all your points are well-taken. If you have the time, see paragraphs 99-108 of the Unabomber Manifesto. Robert Dushay: I like how you separated your political commentary from your gaming commentary. As for myself, however, I think I'm just going to try to quit cold turkey. Nonetheless, I wanted to tell you that I enjoyed our discussions. Although we have disagreed over some of Bush's policies, from the way you argue your points, I can't help but think that we're actually pretty close in terms of philosophical bent. Likewise, I have to admit that among all the people I've discussed these matters with in A&E, you have probably had a greater impact upon my point of view than anyone else, at least with respect to individual issues. In short, I do worry that you may be right and that my own arguments may have been in error. In any case, only time will tell, but thank you for the discussion. It has been very interesting. I'm not sure if you'd like to continue to discuss politics outside of A&E, but

if so, please see my comment to Spike Jones. I'd be willing to continue our discussions outside of A&E, but given everyone's time constraints, I'm also hesitant over whether or not the benefits would be worth the work. You decide. Spike Jones: I've decided to try the "cold turkey" approach with respect to political commentary, but you make so many excellent points in your comments that I find my willpower sorely tested. Both you and Robert Dushay have been having a real effect on my point of view with respect to various issues. Just as one example, both of your comments (as well as Michael Cule's & Patrick Riley's) on judicial activism (or, rather, the courts doing their job under separation of powers) have me questioning my views. I also especially liked your comments pertaining to the Ragamuffin timeline. Perhaps we could move this discussion to email or the web? If you'd like to get a more thorough response from me, feel free to email me your zine for issue #358 (as well as #359 if you include political comments in this issue as well). Same offer to everyone else. Joshua Kronengold: Regarding the inclusion of art: Lisa seems to agree with you that it's more of a distraction than it's worth. This is actually somewhat surprising to me. I'd been using it because I thought it enhanced my content, but it's an extra step in the whole formatting process, so if people don't want to see it, I'll be happy not to include it, as it's just extra work for me. Regarding the partial future history: You say it's not very believable, but then say you don't want to comment on it in A&E, as to do so would necessarily get into politics. Would you mind writing your critique to me in an email? I'm going to have to work on it further, and I'd like all the constructive commentary I can get. Regarding the Rice-comment: Yes, I got carried away in my wickedness, yet another reason I should abstain from discussing politics. Thanks for noticing it, though.19 19

I actually have the highest respect for both Bill Clinton and Condi Rice. I think they're two of the smartest people we've ever had in government. So why do I lob such incendiaries, particularly at two people of such outstanding intellect? Perhaps because even smart people make mistakes, and

One final remark I'd like to make, however, is that I'm glad that you also noticed that I do try to see things from other people's points of view, and while I'm not always successful, I think there's something to be said for at least making the effort. During political conversations such as those we've had over the past several issues, discussion is often known to turn nasty. Somebody takes a particular comment in the worst way possible, thinking that it is insulting or presumptuous. Perhaps others view a particularly vocal participant as being closed-minded, convinced that said person considers his or her views to be the only correct ones possible (and this may be the case, or it might not be). In all of these conversations, I've tried to set an example of being one who bends toward civility rather than away from it, at least insofar as my comments were directed toward other A&Eers, and for those who have done likewise, I think they all deserve a measure of congratulations. In short, for the most part, I am mostly pleased with A&E, although, I think it's also fair to say that all of us could stand some degree of self-improvement. Louis La Mancusa: Regarding your political comments to me and others: I think you are perhaps the most evenhanded among us, and I've enjoyed reading your thoughts on various issues. In accordance with the new policy, I'm going to try to abstain from further political commentary, but I just wanted you to know that I feel that I benefitted from our discussions. Paul Mason: Regarding politics, I'm also grateful for the new restriction, although I have to commend you on the way you opened my eyes to some of my own biases. In any case, I'm glad we had the opportunity to discuss world events. Regarding your combat system, I'd be curious to see what you come up with as you work on it further. I do think it has a lot of potential, and it's certainly innovative. because we, the public, have an obligation to question authority and to verbally smack it around a bit whenever it screws up, regardless of what side of the political fence we currently inhabit. Aha... but I said I wanted to stop talking about politics. Excuse me while I smack myself. *SMACK* Ouch!

Brian Misiaszek: Regarding "Are RPGs Racist?": Once again, you've knocked my socks off. In fact, I find myself sitting here not really knowing how to respond, because you've said so much in so few words, only roughly a page, but so full of moral content. I'm floored. Of course, I've heard similar arguments before. Back in one of the Guildsman issues, there's a brief quote of an orc complaining to his psychotherapist about how it often feels like the whole world is against him. Likewise, numerous people have suggested scenarios to punish racism. I recall one contributor describing how he ran a game where after the party pretty much destroyed an orc village. Then a human priest comes running out, crying that his life's work was to convert these specific orcs to goodness in the hope that they might convert the rest of their kind. Unfortunately, the PCs have just murdered them all, just at the precise moment that he was nearing success! Also, there have been various attempts at turning the tables in official supplements and settings. Reverse Dungeon comes to mind, as does Warcraft.20 These seem to me to almost be parodies to some extent. However, despite all this evidence, I've never before heard it convincingly argued that RPGs may actually instill racism. I mean, to say they have racist aspects is one thing. To suggest that they perhaps teach racism is quite another. You write, "And fantasy RPGs in 2005 are simply a harmless outlet to exercise that impulse to fear and hate and attack what is different, right?" It seems that this is exactly the industry's argument, and we all go along with it, because, like you say, it is all part of the literary background, a background which was itself racist to some extent. However, I'm not sure there's any solution to this. Actually, RPGs have tried, mainly by getting into the details of how various racial societies operate. There have been countless articles and numerous books written about the monster races of D&D. Ample material has already been provided to evolve 20

In Warcraft, even the undead have a selfconsistent world view rather than merely being mindless haters of all that lives.

past these "lazy game stereotypes". Granted, not all GMs choose to use such material, often relying on descriptions in the monster manuals to the exclusion of all other sources, but can one really blame the RPG industry for GM laziness? I think the overriding argument you're making here is that RPGs are, by their very nature, instructive. The players make decisions. The GM replies with consequences. That's the very nature of instructive interaction. And so, being instructive, they should teach ethics, or, at least, they should try not to perpetuate the worst of our social ills. In making that argument, I think your essay succeeds wildly, but it will likely be up to individual GMs to take up this call. Jonathan Nicholas: Regarding PCuncoolness in relation to a lack of power causing them to "become spectators": I'm of a somewhat mixed mind. Granted, PCs should be able to determine or at least influence the outcome of the immediate plot, but I think there should also be larger-scale plots which are beyond their immediate influence. For example, a party of D&D-style adventurers may engage in some tomblooting, but when they return to civilization, they soon learn about a higher-level party which just slew a dragon as well as another band that successfully broke into the royal treasury and are now considered outlaws. I think that making the players aware that they aren't the most powerful set of adventurers on the block and that things are constantly going on outside of their specific adventure can do wonders for embellishing a campaign's backdrop. Just something to consider. Lisa Padol: RYCT me on the inclusion of artwork in A&E zines: So far there appear to be two people opposed (you and Joshua) and two in favor (Louis and myself). I wonder where other A&Eers fall on this question? Probably with you and Josh, judging by how few include art. RYCT me on swashbuckling and what it can teach: I guess my point was that combat should be about more than just the action. It should also include some measure of characterization, perhaps to the point that the combat becomes character-defining.

When I think back to "Pulp Fiction", the critical combat in that movie came right at the end (or at the beginning, depending on how you look at it), and its aftermath ended up defining the characters who survived it. But this couldn't be told in a straight-forward manner and still have the same effect on the audience. The genius of the movie was that it knew what it was about, and didn't let the audience in on that secret until the very end. In short, combat doesn't merely have to be about conflict resolution, but how one translates this into an RPG is beyond me. Patrick Riley: The plain text look is pretty cool. It reminds me of that idea someone had for a retrozine. On a lark, I decided to visit your website and was gratified to see Ingrid Atherton at the top of the characters list. I still remember that as being one of the great A&E submissions, at least in my opinion. RYCT Myles Corcoran regarding the Star Trek Tactical Combat Simulator being like Battlestations: I never heard of Battlestations. Who did it? How does it play? Would you recommend incorporating it (or something like it) into an SF-RPG campaign? RYCT Lee Gold regarding my writing of inflammitories: I admit that I've said a few things here that I perhaps shouldn't have. That Rice-comment of issue #357 was but one example. (See my reply to Joshua in this issue) And every so often I catch myself after the fact and give myself a reprimand. (I did so in issues #355 as well as #358.) However, in my own defense, at least I wasn't attacking any particular A&Eer. Granted, such incendiaries do have the propensity to anger some people. They are designed, after all, to provoke an immediate, gut-level reaction. But they are not flames. They're just provocative statements, thought-provoking statements for some people, angerprovoking for others. How one responds to them is a decision that one makes as an individual, and I think that decision says a lot about one's individual character.21 In any case, I'm sorry that you found 21

Which is not to say that there's necessarily a right or wrong way, except insofar as individual groups decide what is or isn't permissible.

my use of the phrase "to get people to think" to be insulting. It wasn't meant that way. I simply wanted to discuss my confused thoughts with a well-informed group. RYCT Jonathan Nicholas (Not Nichols): I don't want to get into political banter, but I just want to say that I really like what you wrote here. My point of view on the courts is sliding a bit in response to some A&Eer comments as well as the recent decision about medical marijuana.22 I say this just to point out that perhaps our views are closer than they might have at first appeared. It might be enjoyable to meet you someday and have a more thorough discussion, provided, of course, that you promise not to get too angry with me.  Brian Rogers: You say you don't write fiction anymore. Well, that's a shame, because you really should. I found "The Man Who Collected Ducks" to be simply wonderful. Marcos Subias: As you know by now, if you read my other comments, I'm withdrawing from the political discussions. In short, I think Lee and Joshua are right in that the APA is better served by sticking to its focus. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the discussion we had, not surprising since we share so many of the same views, however, having said that, I'd encourage you to return to the gaming-focus as well, as I don't think there's really any practical point served by continuing with politics. In fact, I think it's more practical to withdraw, as if these discussions continue, I think all they're likely to succeed in doing is to eventually generate animosities between the participants, and I'd rather not see that happen. It would only end up damaging future discussions as well as future possible friendships, and life is much to short to allow that to happen.23

Regarding teaching, I hope you have a good experience at the new school. I always thought that history would be a fun subject to teach. Of course, most students, as I recall from my high school days, tend to view history as the most dispensable subject, sort of the "who cares?" of the curricula. However, I had a pretty good history teacher in high school. She put things in perspective with all sorts of interesting anecdotes. Likewise, I had a history professor in college who was practically a stand-up comedian. He told history like it was a big joke, sometimes a sick joke, but a joke nonetheless, and as a result, there were rarely empty seats in his class. It must have been around that time that I came to the view that what high schools need in terms of history teachers are ones who have also cultivated great skill in the art of storytelling. I don't know how well you'll manage or what approach you'll take, but good luck. Regarding gaming, I didn't realize you live in Southern California. If you're looking for a game, although I can't recommend it quite as heartily as I'd like, the D&D3e/Warcraft campaign I'm playing in normally meets in Hacienda Heights once every six weeks or so. If you'd be interested, let me know, and I'll pass along your email address to the GM. The campaign report in this issue should give you a rough idea of what the game is like.

22

This case, rather to my surprise, had Clarence Thomas appearing to me to be the most well-reasoned justice on the bench. I would love to discuss this with A&Eers, but alas, it isn't meant to be. 23 In reference to this, after reading your comment to Paul Mason, I looked again at what he wrote to you in issue #357, and aside from his use of the words "deliberate trolling", I didn't see anything offensive in his remarks. In any case, I'd urge you not to get upset about such perceived slights. We all have different ways of making points,

and although Paul's arguments can be somewhat pointed at times, I think it's worth the effort to look past this and try to consider the real substance of his world view. Although, of course, I make this point parathetically, as I think we've reached the point of diminishing returns, so further discussions of this nature, if they are to exist at all, should probably be taken-up outside the APA.