Crimson Flag Comic Forums
Other Realms => Writer's Guild => Topic started by: Fen on November 16, 2009, 09:18:12 PM
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FenTech Science is here to make your day better.
That's what it seems, anyway. Who knows what that crazy company is up to? I'm not sure myself. perhaps you'll be able to figure it out eventually, or maybe even guess what happens before it does. This topic is the current home of the FenTech Science Universe, the stories of which are told in parts. Life is a grand stage, and all these people have their own scene. Time works differently here. Just because one story came here first doesn't mean it is the earliest story, and the next one may suddenly make many things make sense- but how many questions will it bring up itself? This is a place not of adventure, but of strangity, of stories linked by a name, and of thoughts and choices. It takes place in an unspecified city, on an unspecified year-or maybe years, but a time with many similarities to our own. Welcome, friends, the universe of FenTech Science.
As I said, this is a story universe. What, though, does that mean? It means not all the stories need to be mine. You may write some of your own, as many as you wish, so long as they follow the rules. For every universe must have rules. Unfortunately, the timeline I rather... limited. Especially now. The best way to get a story into the universe canon is to talk to me about it. I'll help you out with details, see if what happens in your story matches up with events of the universe, make sure we don't get any paradoxes, and, of course, be someone to bounce ideas back and forth with, without letting readers know what might happen ahead of time. Plus it keeps things from getting confusing and contradictory when they aren't supposed to be.
Why not just have the rules here? That may be a question. You see, the universe is going to be rather complex, especially with all the blank spots of questions I will be attempting to create. I couldn't list the rules because they are rather conditional. The best way to handle it, for now anyway, is simply to present the idea, where I'll be able to show you what places it would fit. The rules of the universe aren't binding chains, but it would be best to remember that Virmir's rules do apply over my own- this is his site, after all.
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For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
Ernest Hemingway
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It begins with a Journal entry.
But where will it end?
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Friday 9:59
OH SNAP! FenTech is coming to devour my soul!
Yeah, nothing too much new around here. First it was Microsoft with the computer, then it was Apple with the ipod, now it's FenTech with their fancy little orb thing. JEEZ! Why can't companies just make me something less soul-devouring and more self-actualizing, like the ability to remember my name! All I can remember is my ISP number, Cell-phone number, and FenOrb Account number.
/end review
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haha *if they are any bit as ruthless as people say companies can be, I;d bet they'd only want you to Remember the FenTech Account number ];) *
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-12/22/2012
I despise this FenOrb product! Just yesterday it destroyed the Earth! Why in the world did you give it giant space lasers and orbital strikes!? And what could have possessed you to give it the ability to create earthquakes at will!? Thanks to FenOrb, I'm one of the last surviving lifeforms from Earth, I'll never see my family ever again, and I don't have enough supplies to last me a week! I demand a full refund!
3/5
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interesting!
I hope you guys have as much fun speculating about these stories as I had writing them, if not more...
I've gotta say, Geary's comment kept me laughing the whole way, so much silliness spawned from a chat idea ascended to Story status.
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I was thinking Fenrs.. Maybe it would be better if you Put the new story in a new reply to this forums thread? Or at least announce it in a reply?
*needs to get on to reading the 2nd story* ]:P
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(#2)Wooooooow talk about symbolism. You use nearly as much as I do. Let's get cracking.
The story could symbolize this whole transformation writing genre as a whole. For all the negativity it gets, you defend its right to provide its readers with happiness. Theeeeen the Fentech building could symbolize this forum...and that would be wicked sweet.
Hoooold on, here.
I had better start with the idea that you say everyone has a right to happiness. You address many of the old arguments laid against the transformation genre (I would highly recommend your story to any new reader of the genre) but you fail to discuss one argument.
The Drug Argument. Sure, drugs make people happy, but it's not what's best for them, so we must act against them. Once you fill up this whole in your debate, it will be complete.
Another warning: While I absolutely adore your story, others might think of it as a bit...dull. It reads much more like a manifesto for transformation writers than a story. Some people like reading manifestos. Some people do not. I have no clue how you could arrange this story's ideas in a way that is NOT a pure debate as "Fen vs. Others." Good luck on that.
In short...dang I look forward to reading more of this world. Keep writing. ]:)
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A lot of it is indeed the goings on of Fen vs. Other, but it is more than that... I would explain that sentence, but I don't want to say anything about the future stories just yet.
Hmm. That is a good point you make about the debate as well, Lopez. While it does not apply to Formula 280, it should probably be addressed anyway.
As for symbolism, that wasn't my intention- in reality I wanted a story in which logic is used to provide a way for the Formula to go public, which I found worked fairly well.
For some finding it a bit dull.... nothing much really is happening, save for an exchange of questions, answers, and finding out if FenTech can manage to legally sell the product. It wasn't supposed to be actiony or amazing, but rather a story told at the beginning, from inside the company. With all these stories, though, I try to get people to think and speculate about the differences between them, the details.
I'm very glad you liked it and thank you once again for the review!
Question, though: Something is missing from these stories. Not in that they are incomplete, though. Can you figure out what it is?
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Along with today's change of the first post to something a little better in my opinion, There is also a story, another inside look at FenTech. It is attached to this post, and each time a new story comes up, I'll say something about it and attach it to the post.
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OH.
MAH.
GOURD.
what haz I done?
(please keep in mind this is a rough draft of the story. I'm too lazy to edit it, so for now it sees the light of day without going through the Fenrs editation process.)
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OH SNAP! HAX! >.<
Again, really liked this story. You delve pretty far down, but always make sure the water is clear enough to follow....I don't know where that analogy came from.
The story basically tells the story of a hacker named Ezekiel who hacks into a device and the device strikes back at him and he feels sorry about it and asks for forgiveness but must work SEVEN MORE YEARS until he can he can finally get the GOOD daughter Rache....I think I'm mixing up stories here.
It brings up an interesting point. Is hacking wrong? Obviously, we can see from Ezekiel that hacking makes dangerous consequences that we don't always expect, even when we try to limit ourselves. So, after he learns his lesson, he goes to fess up, and finds Doctor Ordeliu.
I have to recommend, write a bit more of this story. Doctor Ordeliu could make for a very interesting character.
I might be reading too much into this, but I can imagine Doctor Ordeliu being a hacker as well, and this was like the reason he came to this company. I mean, flip his name around, and you get, "Doctor (in) Liu (of) orde(rs)."
Hacking is evil, and wrong, and yet the world is built on people who do it, it seems...
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I might be reading too much into this, but I can imagine Doctor Ordeliu being a hacker as well, and this was like the reason he came to this company. I mean, flip his name around, and you get, "Doctor (in) Liu (of) orde(rs)."
Teehee, how long did it take you to mess around with his name enough to get that?
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hahaha!
very interesting...
I'm not going to say anything much of Dr. O, but the name came to me out of nowhere (as did Ezekiel's) maybe the cosmic forces of writer-type-stuff saw this coming and want to play games with me. I will say this though, Dr. O is coming back.
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I will say this though, Dr. O is coming back.
...Dr. Octopus?
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I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but it obviously was somesort of deconstruction or what not.. taking away the 'Happy and Fluffy' bits to expose what might be the Deep dark implications of this story. Feel Free To ignore and what not
Hmm an interesting story! you Obviously take the "Idealistic " approach to your FenTech Universe.. But somehow it unsettles me especially "Hacker Hacker." Especially if one were to srtip away the idealism one would left with a pretty scaryish world in my opinion.
The company as a whole reminds me of cyberpunk stories, with Fentech playing the Huge multinational company that might not exactly care for their customers welfare, beyond the façade they make to draw them into getting products. The idea of intentionally making the device malfunction if any attempt is made to alter it sounds quite sinister if you think about it. Sure Ezekel is 'hacking' the device.. but especially the 'last level' of encryption programmed to cause massive Changes/mutations/what not, sounds especially malicious to me...
Also at the end, the while "Oh we LOVE to help you.. But its gonna be expensive" Line Just strengthened the idea that the Fentech may not the all that about "Making Dreams come true" but more making a profit or what not, or at the very least protecting their trade secrets. Then Ezekiel has to basically sign himself away to the company for a while to pay off the debit sounds like indentured servitude to me ]:O
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well! I'll be sure to address these things in the new story... as for peeling back the layers and going deeper in... heh. I'll let speculation try to figure out what goes on in the mind of the company compared to the face.
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Yeah...that was the other thing. As soon as I saw that the title of the story was "Hacker, Hacker" that made me think "Why TWO Hackers? Wouldn't one be enough to tell the title of the story?" Then I was like OH SNAP DR. ORDELIU IS A HACKER TOO.
Annnnnd I have to disagree with Kai. Unlike most people, I have an intense trust of most large organizations. Again, I have an intense TRUST of MOST large organizations. Because freedom is evil. If only everyone didn't hack the device and followed all the rules the world would work PERFECTLY. But because people don't, we have to make all sorts of backup plans like devices malfunctioning and prison time.
Annnnnd also back to my original point, without these people breaking the rules society can't progress. Wow, society is really messed up.
@Geary: A ha ha ha yeah I must be back to my old habits. ]:) I've been doing waaaaaay too much creative writing recently.
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But because people don't, we have to make all sorts of backup plans like devices malfunctioning and prison time.
Er, I'm pretty sure, In the real word, devices that malfunction should fail 'Safely' rather than in a dangerous/malicious manner. And I wouldt say Freedom is evil... more that people not knowing what to do with their freedoms.
Also.. thats somewhat Black and White morality there dontcha think.. there reason rules are ther is people know that other people wont follow them, the world is made up of shades of gray.
Annnnnd also back to my original point, without these people breaking the rules society can't progress. Wow, society is really messed up.
Yea.. thats kinda how its.. Eat or be eaten or such ]:O Also whats wrong with breaking the rules? The way society is today came about by Overturning what the 'Rules' were from previous generations. The Trick is knowing when to break the rules in a way that make things better for everyone.
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Interesting set of stories you have here, Fenrs!
Really the only major problem I have with these tales is how easily the "government" folded and allowed the legal use of this transformation formula. However, with what the first journal story hints at, and a slightly darker side of the company that the Hacker story presents, I'd suspect that there's a lot more than meets the eye. If you think about it, they certainly have the technology to make perfect clones of key congress members and replace them during the night-- now THIS would make for an interesting twist. FenTech secretly taking steps to control the country? Now granted, this doesn't instantly make Dr. Wolf "evil" if he's using underhanded tactics to rise to the top. Perhaps he's a chaotic neutral fellow with a genuine interest to help others follow their dreams-- but at ANY cost.
How's that for wild speculation? [;)
Either way, I'm enjoying these and look forward to reading the next one. [:)
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Perhaps he's a chaotic neutral fellow with a genuine interest to help others follow their dreams-- but at ANY cost.
haha.. ah so you do see it too, I was worried no one had really noticed the darker undertones that are present in the way I interpreted the story Universe.
I was thinking too... Maybe Dr.Wolf could also be a pawn of his Business associates, Dr Wolf could be one of those scientists/idealists that have their head stuck in the clouds helping humanity, while the downtrodden and stressed associates are tasked with actually running the company, (Though there hasn't been any mention of any associated or what not in the current stories).
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A Sequel approaches!
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Interesting, but doesn't elaborate much other than a small bit of Fen's personality. Speaking of the good doctor... why is he a wolf anthro in this one and not the others?
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busy man. Didn't quite have to to get himself set up... And, of course, the world needed to settle into the idea first. It'd be bad to jump the gun and be the singular odd one out, and get shut down.
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It seems that Fen is a positive character. Ezekial is not being punished in any way for hacking with the device. Fen is apologizing for all the trouble that he caused Ezekial, and Ezekial is learning how the company is run by all sorts of nice people. Hooray! ]:)
Again, @both Virmir and Kai, there is no darker side to this company. It's all happy flowers and helping people achieve their true dreams and being nice to others, (as much as I would like to read darker images into it at this time like the both of you, this is all we have to work with for right now.)
Soooo...we'll be waiting for you to throw a major twist in this tale any day now. Not that you HAVE to, of course, but the FenOrb cannot keep operating perfectly forever...
OR CAN IT???
I'm interested to see where you develop this... ];)
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Hehehe.. well, I'll drop a tidbit of information. At this point in the story, there is no FenOrb.
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@Lopez
Yea.. though the Stories itself don't hint at all at a 'darker' side and such, I (and probably Virmir) were reading into the world and comparing Fentech to how companies behave realistically.
it seems that Fentech *can do no wrong* you could see it in the 2nd story, where Dr.Wolf Rejects the inventor what wants to make weapons and such, declaring Fentech works only to better human kind and such.. but compare that to the part where he admits that the 'last layer of encryption' was actually designed to be malicious
In truth, it was meant to be a lesson, to not tamper with the hard work of others unless given permission
It's all happy flowers and helping people achieve their true dreams and being nice to others
But thats the thing Lopez.. its not all happy flowers anfd gumdrops.. Fen allowed a product to to reach the market, that in some way, be actively made to harm, to teach someone a lesson.
Soooo...we'll be waiting for you to throw a major twist in this tale any day now. Not that you HAVE to, of course, but the FenOrb cannot keep operating perfectly forever...
There HAS to be a plot twist or something in here somewhere, the world is too perfect.. too plasticity otherwise, Fen is right.. and Ezekel is bad and got his just desserts, etc etc, it seems too idealistic, to work.
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Wow. that was fast!
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But thats the thing Lopez.. its not all happy flowers anfd gumdrops.. Fen allowed a product to to reach the market, that in some way, be actively made to harm, to teach someone a lesson.
Well, yeah. But now that he's apologized, it's all happy flowers and gumdrops. No evil in this world runs amok for long.
This story agrees with Dr Wolf could be one of those scientists/idealists that have their head stuck in the clouds helping humanity,
, but not so much withwhile the downtrodden and stressed associates are tasked with actually running the company,
hall they passed through by bike
DANG YO, that is one looooong hallway...
And...cliffhanger! What is the one of three? Is Dr. Wolf actually evil? Is Fenrs taking after Virmir?
Paperwork.
“Bleh.”
Fen never liked the blasted stuff.
Maybe...maybe...We'll have to see. ]:)
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Ah, so something BIG is about to happen. I'll agree that things have been going a little *too* well, and as all stories/story universe do, this one needs a bit of conflict. Perhaps we're about to get it. [;)
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big story attack, go!
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Oh, no... it's too simple and straightforward for me to believe...
...
...
...unless...
...Okay that could work...
Hmm.
Actually, I don't know.
Two different "something's" aren't feeling right.
The leave (escape?) of yours... burning bridges behind?
And... no... I don't know.
/me is confused... and in this case it could be a good thing...
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Oh, wow. There's a lot going on in this story, and, like Tvorsk, I'm not sure if I can exactly put my finger on it. Let's start with an overview.
The final project! This is Dr. Wolf's true dream. Escape. Escape from paperwork, escape from people, escape from reality. That is because reality is all an illusion, and he has become one with the Tao.
Waiiiit...this is NOT my Chinese philosophy class.
My dreams can’t let me stay here, either, though I wish they would.
Is his dream really escape from the world. To put himself inside an illusion that he creates in order to escape the illusion that is the real world?
We probably need to go alllll the way back to the original discussion on Dr. Wolf's motives. He wants to make everyone's dreams come true. He feels that the world is a mess due to unfulfilled wishes. Wishes to be reversed in age, gender, and species are only the beginning.
But why escape? Why escape from everything in the real world?
I hate to bring this back into it, but I'll have to say it; Dr. Wolf is a Taoist. Big time. Taoism is defined by being anti-Confucian. That means, the Taoists believe that the muddle of the modern-day world confounds our logic, and only by removing the names of things can we reach the Tao. The Tao binds all things in the world. (Tao is...like, imagine the Nature of the Universe.)
Dr. Wolf sees this. But he sees that the only solution to this problem would be removing the modern-day world altogether. Because reaching the Tao in this universe is impossible, the only way to truly reach it would be by entering a universe of his design. This is his dream. He knows that this is the true dream of everyone, (Hence, he's a Taoist in a world of eeeeevil Confucians,) so he knows that this will hold true for everyone else.
Okay, Fen, I know that you didn't INTEND Dr. Wolf to be a Taoist, but I hope this perspective is on the right track to your true message of this piece. What do you guys think?
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hmmm. I can and will withhold information that would either prove or disprove this theory in favor of letting you figure out for yourself and seeing what else you might come up with. [;)
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Isn't "an island in the sky" what you see the CF chatroom as?
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Indeed it is, Jonas. I draw the inspiration from elsewhere, though. there are a lot of sky-islands. I wonder why no real estate agents have tried to sell land on them.
hmm.
probably the bad commute.
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Oh weird... Dr Wolf.. just cuts and runs? hehe seems somewhat escapist to me! also irresponsible all the paperwork... and the police investigation and whatnot that stems from a person disappearing.
I bet though while Fens gone.. a lot of things may change, as I assume really someone just upping and leaving a lot of financial assets behind is surely gonna attarct those who might want to make and easy buck.
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Oh Just to clarify, I assume those super secret projects resulted in.. a Portal device.. some sort of improved tf potion machine.. And some Pocket Universe maker thing?
Haha well I guess that isn't too much harder than making a Faster than Light Drive or something. Though you could probably send slower than light ships with those portal devices to other planets, so in a way maybe Fens 'dream' could also be fulfilled that way, expanding out into the stars as well as into those pocket universes.
hehe anyway *waits for new installments* ]:)
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Interesting... can't say I saw this coming.
Dr. Wolf seemed a little too good to be true to me, honestly. Almost divine in his intentions and accomplishments. But now that he's up and left to let the "normal" people run things, things could get interesting. [;)
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mini-stealth update, go!
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Behold: a Real (albeit still rather smallish) update!
(and more foreshadowing. mmm, delicious.)
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The universe has been hinting and inching towards a darker horizon.
This is the first step.
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comments! opinions! reviews! all these things and more are welcome because otherwise it looks like I'm the only one posting in this thread.
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comments! opinions! reviews! all these things and more are welcome because otherwise it looks like I'm the only one posting in this thread.
Heh. I know how that feels. {;)
Anyway, it seems that in Fen's absence Dr.O has made a power grab. Interesting, rather elaborate, and his extensive reliance on robots suggests that without their "encouragement" most FenTech employees would have been less than cooperative. Somehow I get the feeling that Dr. Wolf will return on the side of the rebels, but I'm expecting at least a heroic BSOD along the way. Muttering/screaming "What have I done?" is optional. I was always a bit suspicious of the whole FenTech product line, as almost all of it had that "too good to be true" sound to it, and seemed to just come out of nowhere. Something still seems off though, so I'm still looking for the man behind the curtain, as it were. {;)
"The corporation shall be reorganized into the FIRST! GLOBAL! EMPIRE! For a SAFE! And SECURE! SOCIETY!"
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Finally caught up again. And it looks like things are getting interesting! Nice work, Fenrs. The universe needed a bit of conflict, and looks like we're getting it. [;)
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If I connect the dots properly... this is where Dr. Wolf is caught in some random floating plane when he gets picked up by the 'god' character for that contest right? I seem to remember it being mentioned that he was tired of being there and vaguely knew that things had gone to hell back home and that it was his fault. I think he was also on the verge of returning back to his home to try to set things right.
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Actually, so far, Dr. Wolf knows nothing about what is going on outside his own little world.
Of course, this has to be changed.
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Dun dun DUN...
Yeah, saw it coming, but should get interesting from here on out. [:) Glad to see you continuing this series, and looking forward to what's ahead. [:)