1248

[MJD]

"What will they say of us? What will be recorded on that final page of our
history?

Will they say that our courage failed us, that at the last we were ground
down by the sheer weight of events?

Will they say that we turned our backs on the last flickering lights of
civilisation, watched them die out there in the night for the sake of a few
more years' pitiful existence?

Will they say that we abandoned our brothers and sisters? That we huddled
safe in our corner while the Vargr died, andthe Aslan, the Hivers and finally our brethren humans? Will they say that we traded pride
and hope for the illusion of safety?

They will not.

They will say that we were overmatched, yes. And it will be true. They will
say that even at the height of the Third Imperium our strength was too
little, our weapons too primitive. We could not have fought this battle and
won, not even then.

They will say that we were too few, too weak and too divided to stand the
remotest chance of success. They will say that we are less now than then.

And they will say that we are greater now than ever we were.

They will say that we took what we had and went out into the night. That we
found there allies where once were foes. That we forged a grand alliance,
and that we threw our pitiful strength, our inadequate technology and our
unconquerable spirit against the dark tide.

They will say that we put aside our illusions and that there, as we wrote
the final page, there was no division. No creed, no species, no ideology.
There, at the end, we stood together as children of the stars, as beacons
against the darkness.

They will say that we were engulfed by the dark tide, and we were swept
away.

But they will say that for a time, it was as bright as day."

- Emperor-Elect of the Fourth Imperium, in a private speech to the
Imperial Moot, 1245.

 

[EvilDrGanymede]

Wow.

 

[vegascat]

I'm ready for more.

Excellent prose.
How long did that take you to write?

 

[DED]

Cool.

I hope that this is a sign that enough people have said "yes" to the whole pre-order pdf idea that the wheels are a turning.

 

[alanb]

Originally posted by MJD:
...
They will say that we were engulfed by the dark tide, and we were swept
away.

But they will say that for a time, it was as bright as day."

- Emperor-Elect of the Fourth Imperium, in a private speech to the
Imperial Moot, 1245.

Well, this bit is hopeful.

The rest of it adequately reflects the style of speechmaking that appeared in the "original" TNE. This is good - clearly you have a solid grasp of the material.

Of course, the style itself is terminally overblown and pompous, but that's not your fault.

Alan B

 

[EvilDrGanymede]

You know, I'm sorely tempted to print that out and stick it on my wall. It's a great speech... I can almost see the visuals to go with it: the Vargr dying, the huge battlefleets duking it out, the pacts made, the Dominate massacres (I presume that's what the 'dark tide' is )...! Wow.

It's that last bit that alanb quoted that really blows me away though - the humans survived, but were 'swept away'?!

 

[MJD]

this (and the rest, which you don't get to see just yet, because it gives away things) was done off the cuff in a few minutes, ages ago. I made one slight edit.

 

[Gallowglass]

Originally posted by MJD:
this (and the rest, which you don't get to see just yet, because it gives away things) was done off the cuff in a few minutes, ages ago. I made one slight edit.

Every time you drop bits like this the 1248 project sounds better and better! The only other thing that gives me goose bumps like that is the quote from Tennyson's Ulysses in the B5 episode entitled (in one of those spooky moments of syncronicity) "The Long Night":

'Though we are not now that strength which in old days moved Earth and Heaven, that which we are, we are. One equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will; to strive, to seek, to find. And not to yield.'

Darn, I think I'm going to have to compromise my principles about not using pay-pal so I can order the pdf...

Cheers,

Nick Middleton

 

[Erik Boielle]

Yes its a very nice speech

<fizzle>

But what

<Bang> creek shudder

Ah hell

<Bang> creek shudder <Bang> <FOOOMPPPH>

But what we really need is for you to move the reserve out to a high right goalkeeper position cause I think the Divine Right just stepped on a missile cluster so some of this wave are gonna get past us

-Patrick 'Whome' Ritter, 1248

 

[cgriffen]

Alright, Martin. Stop teasin' and put this darn book out!

Very much looking forward to the 1248 book. Hope to see it soon.

 

[MJD]

The 1248 book has been brought forward in the schedule. Writing should commence 1st October 2003, with a working draft by Christmas

 

[EvilDrGanymede]

Holy crap man, that bloody rocks

So if the first draft is done by Christmas, when would we be likely to see it? Would that be released as an 'inital PDF' like Gateway is at the moment?

 

[MJD]

Yes. There will be an iniital PDF as soon as there is a manuscript.

How fast the book gets done depends upon several factors, mainly whether I have to take time out from the project to do other things (I have one obligation that I can't duck in that period, that I know about). But as things stand, there will be a working draft just after Christmas.

 

[EvilDrGanymede]

Originally posted by MJD:
Yes. There will be an iniital PDF as soon as there is a manuscript.

How fast the book gets done depends upon several factors, mainly whether I have to take time out from the project to do other things (I have one obligation that I can't duck in that period, that I know about). But as things stand, there will be a working draft just after Christmas.

Sweet. How big is this likely to be? A T20 sized monster? Or a 96 pager?

 

[kafka47]

My vote would be for 96 page PDF, so as to allow us the fans to build it into a T20 monster.

I am really looking forward to see how MJD will come up with a darker future. I envison biological and technological darkness decending upon Chartered Space, as the sentients have to cope with the remainder of the Virus (evolving into a true lifeform) and the mysterious Dominate. Not to mention, all sorts of biological nasties that are breeding behind the curtain.

Hopefully, we will be able to explore many of the issues of the transhuman movement and pose the dangers that they may unleash.

 

[EvilDrGanymede]

Originally posted by kafka47:
My vote would be for 96 page PDF, so as to allow us the fans to build it into a T20 monster.

Personally I'd like to see something about as big as TNE was, but all setting and no rules... but I think that's just a pipe dream . I'll be happy with any size, as long as it ties up the plot threads and mysteries from TNE (and makes new ones ). Even a 'Survival Margin' equivalent for TNE would be great.

 

[TheDS]

Okay, when you say "dark", do you mean a hopeless morass of pointlessness to existance (kind of like being forced to play D&D), or do you mean something else? Because hopelessness and pointlessness are not big sellers to me, and if you're talking about a never-ending cycle of viciousness, like a permanent apocalyptic, holocastic universe, then I retract my vote.

 

[daryen]

MJD's TNE is the story of going into darkness and the coming back out.

While there are some very dark pieces to the story (pity those poor billions in the Black Imperium), and there are dangers even at the end (the Dominate is still stamping and kicking), it is fundamentally a hopeful story.

Actually, thinking about it, it could also be described as a classic story of redemption. Humaniti squanders the glory they had, but manage to pick themselves up, and against great odds, redeem themselves.

 

[savage]

nice speach...more independence day than st crispen...


They are sooooo dead.

 

[kaladorn]

This reminds me of the speaches that the character Mike O'Neal gives in Ringo's Posleen books before the ACS (battle dress dudes) enter the fight. The first few times, it is St. Crispin's Day. The last (that I've read so far) one is part St. Crispin's Day and brutal resignation that basically ends, instead of on how men will regret not being part of it, but with 'Thank god I wasn't one of them poor dumb ACS arseholes'.

Historical note: Most people who make big speeches about heroic defenses aren't the ones doing the dying.