Agent (may contain spoilers)

[maksimsmelchak]

If you haven't received it, you might want to email Marc directly.

Cheers,

Baron Ovka

Would you IM me the E-mail I should use, please.

Thank you! Happy Holidays!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

 

[Quint]

You spotted but didn't trust your recognition of the joke. (Cryton mentioned this joke to me when we were talking earlier...)

the joke is T5 is both canon (as in official), and a weapon (cannon) against other editions.

*chuckle* Ok, that works for me. Sad, but true.

D.

 

[aramis]

If you noticed the line "There were the standard five sets, three of each: Negotiator, Advisor, Warlord, Admiral, and Decider", then you might get the idea that there are four possible sequels or books in the "Agent" series.

On the other hand it took Marc forty odd years to write this one :devil:

Actually, from the point Marc got the bug, it was about a year.

If he is motivated, Marc outputs a lot.

 

[savage]

I enjoyed it. Could not put it down.

Might need to reread it.

 

[aramis]

Finally got some uninterrupted time.

Finished it.

WOW!

IMTU, there has long been a cadre of Relics - special operatives trained in secret, and stored for decades or centuries, to do the Empire's Bidding.

There is an offhand reference to such mid book.

IMTU, there have been truthsayers in the early Imperium (since the 1980's). The book confirms their existence. Some psionic, some simply reading tells. Both are confirmed in canon now.

The 300+ year span... handled in a Edward Rutherford type manner. I'm quite impressed.

 

[mike wightman]

It could easily be a much longer novel.

Just about every chapter could be fleshed out into a full on short story (a bit more incidental action, a bit more description of the environment that sort of thing). What I really like about the structure of the novel is the minimalist approach - it is about getting a job done and jumping ahead in history.

There are loads of plot hooks left dangling for a sequel or two.

And once again - makers are a real thing in setting

I'm reading it again, more slowly this time, and making notes...

it really is a good book.

Mr Miller, congratulations sir

 

[Quint]

Finally got some uninterrupted time.

Finished it.

WOW!

IMTU, there has long been a cadre of Relics - special operatives trained in secret, and stored for decades or centuries, to do the Empire's Bidding.

There is an offhand reference to such mid book.

IMTU, there have been truthsayers in the early Imperium (since the 1980's). The book confirms their existence. Some psionic, some simply reading tells. Both are confirmed in canon now.

The 300+ year span... handled in a Edward Rutherford type manner. I'm quite impressed.

IMTU it's "the Emperor's Eyes" - brilliant, often anagathically-preserved analysts assisted by some seriously impressive AI who are basically running a real-time psychohistory /pseudoreality simulation in order to look for problem spots. in the Imperium. That's when they send in either "normal operatives or agents" who essentially try to work within the system to solve the problem, or they activate the "Emperor's Hand" (well, one of them) which are the cyrofrozen between missions and decanted when needed. They are the ones that tend to order the scrubbings...

D.

 

[whulorigan]

Talking of TLs in the book, the Imperium appears to have military tech a lot sooner than canonical history - jump 6 ships nearly two hundred years prior to achieving TL15.

Keep in mind that in the 700's (when the J-6 ship is mentioned during Margaret's reign), the Imperium is nominally TL14, which is max J-5 standard. So a J-6 ship as an "Early" or "Prototype" vessel might not be too far-fetched.

 

[savage]

Keep in mind that in the 700's (when the J-6 ship is mentioned during Margaret's reign), the Imperium is nominally TL14, which is max J-5 standard. So a J-6 ship as an "Early" or "Prototype" vessel might not be too far-fetched.

That is why I'd preferred a ship guide and planet guide with the book to the rule specs. I think there are entire sub stories buried in those details.

 

[agorski]

The finish was very open ended.

This is probably a good thing, but as I was reading I kind of expected that eventually Jonathan would get to a point where advanced technology would let him permanently decant into a cyborg body or something and avoid the (implied) expiration date of 1000.

 

[Hyphen]

Upon finishing it yesterday, my first question was, "When's the next one?"

 

[Hyphen]

This also looks like a variant of an idea that Marc has had for many, many years: the "fast-forward" adventure, where the PCs are woken up ever few years is search of a cure for whatever is slowly poisoning them. As they do so, they witness major events in the Traveller timeline.

...and about 2/3 of the way through, it hit me that each person the Agent takes over is, effectively, a PC... it's just one that Marc, the player, plays the same character every time, regardless of race, stats, or whatever... ;-)

And also a brief thought about existentialism - when we play our PCs, are we taking over control of these people's lives, and doing what we want with them ("Deadman"-style)? Then I came to my senses, of course.

(Except it was about 4 weeks later.) <g, d & r!>

 

[mike wightman]

This is probably a good thing, but as I was reading I kind of expected that eventually Jonathan would get to a point where advanced technology would let him permanently decant into a cyborg body or something and avoid the (implied) expiration date of 1000.

Yup, something I was thinking too - and still a possibility as technology advances.

Remember also that in Expedition to Zhodane there is the personality overlay machine...

 

[mike wightman]

This also looks like a variant of an idea that Marc has had for many, many years: the "fast-forward" adventure, where the PCs are woken up ever few years is search of a cure for whatever is slowly poisoning them. As they do so, they witness major events in the Traveller timeline.

...and about 2/3 of the way through, it hit me that each person the Agent takes over is, effectively, a PC... it's just one that Marc, the player, plays the same character every time, regardless of race, stats, or whatever... ;-)

And also a brief thought about existentialism - when we play our PCs, are we taking over control of these people's lives, and doing what we want with them ("Deadman"-style)? Then I came to my senses, of course.

(Except it was about 4 weeks later.) <g, d & r!>

Is this the one you are thinking of?

FLASHBACK
Historical adventuring in the Imperium's past.
Somewhere, ages ago, a squad caught the edges of a devastating radiation
blast.
Rather than die lonely deaths, its members swore a pact to seek out a
cure, then they retired to cold sleep.
Every time they awake, they come out in a nexus of history.
They are there when the Long Night falls, when the Imperium
is founded, when Nicholle is assassinated, when the Civil War ends, and
more.
They are travellers in time the only way possible forward, ever forward.
And their greatest challenge awaits them when they reach the present.

Shame it never made it to product stage

Note also that the squad in this adventure pre-dates the Long Night.

 

[maksimsmelchak]

Remember also that in Expedition to Zhodane there is the personality overlay machine...

I think I need to reread that one. I don't recall that. Very cool.

Thanks for the tip off, Mike.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

 

[Cryton]

Yup, something I was thinking too - and still a possibility as technology advances.

Remember also that in Expedition to Zhodane there is the personality overlay machine...

And one of the penalties for using Psionics was mindwipe...which with the knowledge of personality overlay machines suggests that they are made over into a whole new person...

 

[Hyphen]

Is this the one you are thinking of?

That's the one. The ultimate "Grand Tour" through the Imperium - finally, all those historical timeline entries can be put to real, practical use! ;-)

Shame it never made it to product stage

Note also that the squad in this adventure pre-dates the Long Night.

Yes, from memory it was originally set just after the Terran contact, or during the Interstellar Wars, or sometime around then. With the implication that perhaps you could have some actual pre-Solomani Terrans as members of the group. People like us, in other words (without the nutty fanaticism of "The Party"), able to go on the "trip of a lifetime" - or several lifetimes...

The change in start date was probably to allow for canonical advances in TL to be high enough to allow for the biochip technology.

 

[ovka]

You could probably do the same thing with wafer chips. Did you ever see Total Recall?

Cheers,

Baron Ovka

 

[Lycanorukke]

Finannly got to reading it.
Some interesting thought bubbles from it...
*and another spoiler warning*
.

Spoiler:

if said agent speaks with the 'Emperors Voice', it may mean that old Norris didn't technically forge his Archduke title. If the Agent granted it with using the 'Emperors voice' (like he did Baron Stikky) then it is legal.

Arbellatra seems like a bit of an idiot. Deciding to stage her coup and only finding out at the last minute her guns are region locked. Now that would have been embarrassing.

No wonder Virus manage to so thoughly take over the Imperium. When every ship has a secret master code which can be used anywhere. The only real surprise is that nobody (inside the Imperium and without) has discovered it after 400 years. The first thing with cyberwarfare is to take systems apart to find backdoors and exploits.

I'm a bit curious why a wafer made in the 300's is even remotely compatabile with a wafer jack in the 700's. It would be like me trying to stick an old magnetic tape into a Flash Memory socket. The Imperium must be moribund with advancements in computer tech.

It's interesting comparing the services - the marines are "yes sir, no sir, how high sir" and to a lesser extent the Navy as well. But come time to meet the scouts it's a laid back "Hi there".

 

[ovka]

I'm a bit curious why a wafer made in the 300's is even remotely compatabile with a wafer jack in the 700's. It would be like me trying to stick an old magnetic tape into a Flash Memory socket. The Imperium must be moribund with advancements in computer tech.

Nothing says that the 300s era chips weren't replaced with newer technology that still had the same imprints. I'm not trying to argue with you, merely to present a rationale.

Cheers,

Baron Ovka