14 k of g in a f p d

I stood at the tall windows and looked out upon the towers of glass and steel that made up the city. It was night and the city seemed deserted, the broad streets empty and the pavilions silent and only the occasional lighted window showed where the few inhabitants had gone for the evening.

I felt her hand on my shoulder and turned to find her waiting. We embraced without words, though we had been apart for so long, for words were not needed between us. We stood there in the room with the tall windows and the white walls and held each other.

Later we continued to hold each other as we lay there in bed. I felt her soft breath and knew that she was asleep but I resisted, lying there in the near darkness. I knew that when I slept I would wander again and it would be long before I returned. So many of us had learned to wander and each night fewer of us returned and so soon the city would fall dark and none would return to look upon its towers of glass and steel. And so I lay there in the darkness of the room with the white walls and the tall windows from which I had been gone for so long and wondered when I would ever return.

Tags: dream, fiction, fragment

Blueverse

Walter and Bell are standing in what looks like a primeval forest. Several of Jones’ creatures are seen. The scene fades and we see that it has been a holographic projection of some kind. Bell tells Walter that this is a vision of the new world he will create and that having Walter there at the final moment is an act of providence.

Back at the lab, Olivia and Peter arrive looking for Walter and are surprised to find no one there. They see the lemon cake and decide Walter and Astrid have gone out for breakfast. They decide to wait for them and Olivia makes coffee. Peter expresses concern about Olivia’s rapidly developing Cortexiphan abilities and she agrees to let Walter test her when he returns.

Olivia gets a call from Jessica who tells her that she thinks someone has been following her since she left the lab and that someone is watching her. Olivia tells her to lock her doors and windows and that she and Peter are on their way.

Jessica hangs up and we see that she is indeed being watched, by the Observer September. He takes a step towards her but suddenly freezes. A glowing symbol appears at his feet.

Some time later, Olivia and Peter arrive to find the house empty, though they find Jessica’s purse and cell phone. The section of floor where September had been standing has been ripped out. Olivia is worried about Jessica and Peter tries to reassure her.

The two get a call from Broyles who tells them that Astrid has been admitted to the hospital with a gunshot wound. They go there and meet Astrid and Broyles who tells them that someone apparently moved Astrid from where she was shot then called 911. Astrid is upset at being unable to protect Walter and tells them of their visit to the warehouse and the animal sounds they heard there. Olivia and Peter decide to check out the warehouse even though they are sure whoever was there is gone by now.

Olivia and Peter arrive at the warehouse and find September, still trapped on the section of floor by the glowing symbol. September identifies it as a stasis rune and says he did not know anyone knew how to create one.

Jessica appears holding a gun and orders Olivia to drop hers. She says that Bell knew that if they put Peter in danger then September would appear and that they were now in a future that he could not have predicted. She shoots at September but he seems to be able to block the bullets.

Jessica then says that though what the Observers do seems like magic it isn’t; it is just advanced technology. He stopped the bullets because he operates at a hyper rate of time. She then pulls out a different gun that she says Bell designed to shoot much faster than a normal gun. She shoots September again and this time the bullet hits him in the chest. She shoots several more times but Olivia somehow deflects the bullets back at her, killing her instead.

Peter erases the stasis rune and September is freed. Olivia tells him that he visited her after being shot and told her that she would have to die. September does not remember meeting her but realizes that he will. He says he does not know why he told her that, says that he will contact them later and vanishes.

Olivia and Peter return to the lab with Jessica’s body. Nina arrives with some equipment that Peter has apparently asked for and says someday she wants him to explain how he knew about it. Peter starts attaching the equipment to Jessica’s body while Nina talks to Olivia. Olivia says that Jessica risked being exposed to the nanites to get Olivia emotionally involved with her but Nina says that Olivia has always had compassion and that Bell must be up to something else.

Peter activates the machine and they try to interrogate Jessica but her mind is deteriorating and she is speaking in what sounds like childish babbling. Olivia manages to figure out that Jessica is talking about Bell and that he considers everyone to be expendable and that he is on a boat that left from the warehouse. She also says that Bell needs a power source. Olivia grabs her and there is an energy discharge. Jessica dies (again) and Olivia realizes that Bell has been causing her Cortexiphan abilities to become active so that she will be the energy source. Nina says that if Bell is using Olivia’s energy then there is a way to locate him.

Meanwhile, on the freighter, Walter asks Bell why he is trying to destroy both universes and Bell says that it was Walter’s idea in the first place. After Peter died twice Walter became angry with God for letting Peter die and wanted to create a new universe that worked under his rules; one in which Peter lived. He then became afraid of what he was trying to do and had Bell remove part of his brain to stop him.

Later, Bell contracted cancer and started dosing himself with Cortexipan to slow its progress. He then decided that Walter was right and that it was their destiny to play God.

Back at Fringe headquarters Broyles tells them that they have lost radar contact with Bell’s freighter. Nina says that they can determine the frequency at which Olivia is vibrating and use that to determine the safe location the freighter will be out. They do this as reports of earthquakes and storms start coming in.

Olivia goes off to be alone and Peter follows her. She tells him about the Cortexipan trials and how she was all alone while Bell experimented on her. Peter hugs her and tells her that this time she isn’t alone.

On the freighter Bell points out how storms are forming all around them as the two universes start to merge. Walter begs him to stop but Bell says they deserve to do this.

The team goes by helicopter to the location of the freighter but nothing is there. Then Peter reveals that he can see it. Nina realizes that the freighter has shifted to the other universe and that Peter can see it because he is vibrating at its frequency. Peter says that they have no way of getting to the other world but Olivia says that she can if she and Peter work together. Nina agrees and tells Olivia that she has had the power to do so all along but that Bell never wanted her to know that.

Olivia and Peter climb out onto the helicopter’s landing strut. Olivia concentrates and they jump, landing on the freighter in the other universe. They run below decks.

Redverse? Somewhere else?

Bell is quoting poetry. Walter finds and gun and loads it as Olivia and Peter burst in. Bell seems slightly surprised and says that he had hoped that he and Walter would die so that his new world would grow own its own but that Olivia and Peter can become this world’s Adam and Eve.

Peter tells Bell to stop whatever is causing the universes to merge but Bell says that it is Olivia. She is a living uncertainty machine and that she is causing what is happening. Walter asks Peter to forgive him… and shoots Olivia in the head, killing her. The storms end and the freighter returns to the normal universe.

Bell congratulates Walter and sadly says they could have been happy together. He rings the bell on his desk and vanishes. A distraught Peter runs to Olivia but Walter tells him there is a way to save her. He cuts open the back of her head then uses a pointer to push the bullet out of her brain. After a moment the wound heals and Olivia starts to move.

Blueverse

Some time later, back in Washington, Broyles meets with a senator who tells him that all of the creatures from the freighter have been cryogenically frozen. He also says that Fringe Division will be fully funded and that Broyles ahs been promoted to general. Outside, Broyles tells Nina the good news and asks her to be the head of their new science division.

At the hospital, Walter tells Peter that the stress should have burned out most of the Cortexiphan in Olivia’s system and that she should be normal from now on. Astrid arrives with a doctor who tells them that Olivia is fine and able to leave. Peter goes to see her and Astrid gives Walter some red licorice. He thanks her.

Peter tells Olivia that he has found an apartment for them and points out that the Observer was right; she did have to die. He also says that he will not lose her again. Olivia tells him that she is pregnant.

Later, Walter is back at the lab when he looks up to see September watching him. September tells him to warn the others that “they” are coming.

Tags: fringe, recap, review, television, tv

In this first part of a walkthrough for the game Aura: Fate of the Ages, we meet the unlikely named Umang as he is sent to the valley of Ademik (or possibly Ademika; no one seems quite sure) to continue his lessons from the slightly less unlikely named Grifit. Grifit turns out to be missing, so Umang must decipher the use of a bunch of strange machines in order to find the way out because someone forgot to tell him about the back door. Along the way he gets to complain about numerous OSHA safety violations, wonder why overly elaborate machines are better than simple combination locks and wish that he had a can of WD-40 along with him. And that’s before he finds out about the rebellion.

Tags: aura, fate of the ages, game, gaming, Let's Play, walkthrough, walkthru

Blueverse

In a crowded mall, a man buys a cup of coffee then rides an escalator up and out of the building. As he steps outside, he appears to start suffering from pain. He drops the cup and smoke comes out of his mouth as he falls over, dead.

Onlookers start to run towards him then they too fall over. One woman realizes that everyone who dies is moving and yells for everyone to stand still. We see a few individuals standing still and looking around in panic at the bodies around them.

Elsewhere, Olivia and Peter are in bed together and Peter is looking over real estate listings. Olivia finally tells him that she doesn’t care where they move as long as it has a nursery. Peter smiles and it looks as if the two are about to start work on the need for a nursery when both of their phones ring.

Olivia and Peter arrive at the mall to find Walter, Astrid and Broyles already there. A biohazard team is finishing examining the area and confirms that there are no airborne dangers. Walter goes and starts examining one of the bodies, talking to it.

A nearby woman named Jessica Holt hears him and asks if he is a doctor. He tells her he is a scientist and she asks if she is going to die. He admits that he doesn’t know. He takes a blood sample from her and notices that she has a black smudge on her hand. She says she got it from the escalator.

A technician finds a device attached to the escalator and Walter confirms that Jessica’s blood contains nanites. The nanites are triggered by movement and overload the biokinetic energy of the victims and the longer they are in the victim’s bloodstream the more sensitive they become. He says they need to get one of them back to the lab for study and Jessica volunteers. They carefully get her onto a solid stretcher and cover her with ice packs. Along the way she reveals that she is an ER nurse and asks to use a phone so she can call her husband to tell him he will have to pick up their daughter.

At the lab, Jessica wonders how long it will take to create an antidote and Walter tells her it will take time. Jessica starts to get warm and starts panicking and Walter tells Olivia to try to keep her calm. Oliva takes her hand but Jessica keeps getting warmer.

Suddenly, the lights in the lab flare and go out briefly. When they return, Jessica’s temperature has returned to normal. Jessica asks what she did and Olivia says she has no idea.

Walter and Peter complete the antidote and Peter gives her an injection. Olivia asks Walter what happened and he says that her Cortexiphan abilities must have let her slow down the motion of the molecules in the nanites but he does not know what activated the ability.

Olivia takes Jessica outside where a car is waiting to take her home. Olivia gives her her card and tells her to call them if she has any more symptoms. Jessica tells Olivia to call her if she has any questions about ER procedures.

Olivia returns to Fringe headquarters where Broyles tells her that they have determined who planted the nanite device. He shows them security footage of David Robert Jones dressed as a technician and placing the device. They speculate on what Jones is up to since his plan to collapse the two universes together failed and agree that he will not give up.

Back at the lab Astrid tells Walter about Jones, but Walter has been examining the nanites under a microscope and says that Jones could not have created them. In fact, he says there is only one person who could have created that structure.

Jones enters a room and tells the other person there that Olivia stopped them again. The other person says not to be so sure and turns around, revealing himself to be… William Bell.

Jones seems surprised at Bell’s lack of concern, then comments on the chess board in Bell’s room. Bell says that an important part of chess is patience and that it has been 20 years since he last made a move in that game. Then he says that the most important part of the game is to be able to recognize what the most important piece on the board is at any moment and to be willing to sacrifice that pieces, because its loss will provide an opening for new opportunities. He then adds that the most important piece on the board at the moment is a bishop. Jones says that he will see that the Bishop is sacrificed.

Walter meets with Olivia and Nina Sharp and tells them his theory that Bell is alive. Nina says that Bell died seven years ago in a car accident on Christmas day and that she saw the body herself. She also says that Bell was dying of cancer and may have caused the accident himself so he could die on his own terms. Walter says that Bell came to visit him at the mental hospital on New Years eve, a week after he supposedly died.

Olivia and Peter take Walter to the mental hospital where, after he stops in his old room and examines the equations he wrote on a table there, they take him to see the new administrator. The hospital’s video surveillance only goes back two years and the visitor logbook doesn’t show Bell or any other visitor. Olivia suggests that Walter may have been suffering from hallucinations caused by electroshock treatment but Walter insists that Bell visited him. He then starts sniffing and licking the logbook before asking if he could take it with him. The administrator seems uncertain but agrees.

That evening Olivia is preparing dinner and accidentally cuts herself. Peter comes to her aid and asks if she is thinking about Jones but she says no, she is thinking about Jessica. She says that Jessica nearly lost her child after only encountering a Fringe event once while they face them every day. She wonders if they will ever have a normal life. Peter kisses her and assures her he will never lose her again. Suddenly, they see a bright light outside.

At Fringe headquarters, Broyles is leaving when he and several other workers see the light as well. The light suddenly focuses into a tight beam and blasts through a nearby building, blowing out all of its windows.

Olivia and Peter head towards the scene and contact Walter who tells them that Jones has taken control of several satellites and is using them to focus sunlight. Astrid says there is an underground oil deposit in the area and if the beam ignites it then the entire city could be destroyed. They discuss possibly having to evacuate Boston while Astrid determines the radio frequencies being used to control the satellites. Walter says it is Bell’s work. He determines the source of the signals and directs Olivia and Peter to them.

Still at the lab, Walter uses an Easy Bake oven to bake a lemon cake laced with pig brains and Cortexiphan. He explains to Astrid that Cortexiphan can stimulate organic regeneration and that he baked a page from the logbook in it, hoping to restore any fingerprints on it. This works, but the fingerprints are too smudged to identify. Astrid then spots a strange mark on the paper and Walter identifies it as being Chilean almond oil, a delicacy enjoyed by Bell. He knows that Bell acquired the oil from a specific importer and insists that they go there.

Meanwhile, Olivia and Peter reach the location Walter gave them and see antennas on two buildings. They split up, with Olivia entering one building and Peter the other. Jones is watching and follows Peter.

Olivia and Peter move to shut the transmitters down at the same time but Jones attacks Peter from behind, hitting him with a crowbar and dislocating his shoulder. Olivia sees this and pulls her gun but two security guards arrive and order her to drop it. She does and the two guards mimic her movements and drop theirs as well.

Olivia gets an idea and concentrates then starts throwing punches into the air. Peter starts mimicking her movements and gets free of Jones, She causes him to pop his shoulder back into place then to throw a punch at Jones. Jones falls back into the wiring for the transmitter, electrocuting himself. He looks up at Peter long enough to realize that he was the sacrifice before dying, half his face dissolving into ash.

Walter and Astrid arrive at the import company that provided Bell’s almond oil but the man there tells them that that company went out of business three years ago. Astrid sees that the man is armed and manages to get Walter out but he hears animals and goes off to investigate with Astrid following.

Walter and Astrid are examining some crates when the men find and capture them. Astrid identifies herself as FBI but when the men won’t release them kicks one to the ground and shoots another. She and Walter attempt to flee but before they can escape she is shot from behind by another of the men. Walter attempts to assist her but she falls to the ground unconscious.

Someone approaches and Walter looks up to see William Bell.

“Hello, old friend.” says Bell.

Tags: fringe, recap, review, television, tv

I stood on the beach for a while, looking out over the sea. It was night and the sky was partially overcast, the undersides of the clouds illuminated by the light of the city behind me and blurring out all but the brightest of the stars. They were more visible near the horizon, beyond the long rolling of the waves. There seemed to be no one beyond me on the beach so I watched in silence for a while then turned and climbed up the wooden steps to the boardwalk.

I had only taken a few steps along it when a nearby door burst open and a laughing trio emerged, two men and a woman. One of them staggered almost into me and I put out a hand to steady him. I don’t think he noticed, but his companion mumbled an apology in my direction then the three of them set off along the boardwalk. I glanced into the noisy bar they had just vacated but let the door swing shut. I was looking for a quieter evening.

I continued on to the main street and stopped on the sidewalk. Crowds of people walked past me; groups of individuals, couples and families walked along the road past brightly lit shops, restaurants and entertainments. Children ran from a nearby arcade and a couple stopped to buy candied treats from a vendor’s window. I briefly looked at a brightly colored jacket displayed in a window before making my way down the street.

A trio of women came by, laughing among themselves. One of them smiled slightly in my direction. I briefly tilted my head then looked away. From the corner of my eye I saw brief disappointment in her face, then she and her companions were gone. I had a brief moment of hesitation then continued down the sidewalk. It was a night of contemplation, nothing else.

Another hundred steps brought me to the next corner and I crossed the street. There was a park here, a small haven of a few scraggly trees and yellowed grass attempting to grow in the sandy soil. A lone bench sat next to an overflowing trash can and I sat on it, watching the crowds continue to walk up and down the street.

They looked at the shops and restaurants and entertainments. They looked at each other. A few of them glanced at the small park with the trees and bench where I sat. None of them looked towards the beach in those places where it was visible through the buildings. None of them looked up. I did, and saw one faint star glowing among the clouds bright with the light of the city around me.

I wondered. Once these people had looked at the sea, fascinated and excited by what might lie beyond it. They had travelled across the sea, bringing the lights and the crowds, the shops and the restaurants and entertainments with them and spread across all the new lands until they were no different than the lands they left behind. And then they no longer looked at the sea because they knew what was beyond it was the same as where they were.

Then they looked to sky and wondered at what might lie beyond it. And so they set out to cross the sky but found out that it was more difficult than crossing the sea. And so they stopped. They decided that there was nothing beyond the sky and turned back to their familiar shops and restaurants and entertainments.

I watched the crowds flow past some more then glanced up again. The clouds were increasing. Soon it would rain and the flowing mist would reveal the lander despite its protective shroud. I would have to leave by then. But there was time. Time to watch the crowds in the hope that some few of them might still feel the urge to look up.

Tags: fiction, fragment, story, writing

It’s a nice, sunny day, I guess I’ll do my walk outside today.

I usually do this loop to the left. Maybe I’ll do it to the right today. Mix things up.

There’s always a lot of traffic on this road. A lot of dump truck out today though. Man, those things are loud. Hard to hear my headphones.

This gas station has been empty a long time. Wonder if they’ll ever put anything else here.

There sure is a lot of trash out here beside the road. People are always throwing crap out of their cars. Sigh.

And a ridiculous amount of it is cigarette butts.

Big open field here. Owner is probably unhappy that he didn’t have someone who wanted to build on it, but nice to have it here.

Lizard just ran across the sidewalk and disappeared into the grass.

Nice view of Kennesaw Mountain from this direction. Never noticed it when walking the other way.

Looks like I’m not the only one out walking today. Not going to walk as fast as those people though. Too hot.

At least there’s less car traffic on this road.

Turning again. Man, no one has cleared the sidewalk here lately.

Going up under the Interstate again. That’s really loud. You never notice how loud traffic is until you walk around it.

Or how much trash people dump out either. Bunch of crap under the bridge.

Literal crap, actually. Looks like a used diaper. Sigh.

Little creek over here.

Looks like they’re doing a lot of construction down this road. Something for the university, it says. “Sports Complex”. Ever notice that schools are always building sports complexes but seem to have to hold classes in portable buildings?

There’s a lesson right there, I suppose.

They’re spraying water around for something. Mud all over the road.

Building something across the street here. Student apartments. Man, those things look nicer than the apartment I lived in when I first graduated. Apparently I went to the wrong school.

I thought the other traffic was loud. Can’t hear a thing over this construction equipment.

Need to turn back towards the office here. At least this part of the road is shady.

Huge soccer field with no bleachers. I guess the spectators… stand beside the field? Seems odd.

Maybe it’s just a practice field.

Nope, they have ticket windows. I guess everyone just stands.

More apartments. Hey, they have a walking trail down there. Wonder if I could use it. It may run down to that creek.

There would be a lot less traffic noise, I bet. And no used diapers.

Oh well, here’s my office again. Guess I have to go back to work. Too bad. It’s a nice, sunny day.

---

Tags: day, lonely, misanthrope, random, sunny, thoughts, walk

Bridge Room

The Fringe teams from both universes meet in the Bridge Room. Walter tells them that Jones is planning to collapse the two universes together. The result will be a new universe, one in which Jones will be able to design the laws of physics. Walter says the information came to him in a dream. Almost everyone else is skeptical when they hear this but Walternate says that he has learned that anything is possible and that he supports Walter’s theory.

Peter points out to everyone that when Jones caused the collapse at Westfield the center of the town was spared. He thinks that Jones will be able to create a safe zone in which he and his followers can survive the collapse. He will then repopulate the new universe with the creatures he has been creating.

Elsewhere, at various points around the world, individuals check their watches then start to concentrate. The ground around them starts to shake and earthquakes strike around the globe. The teams in the Bridge Room get reports of the earthquakes and learn that they started at the same time and in the same place in both universes. Walter says that Jones is starting his plan.

Blueverse

Back at the lab Walter examines some clothing recovered from the earthquake in Manhattan. He discovers that the clothing is vibrating at the frequency of the Redverse and says that Jones is trying to get the vibrations of the two universes to match and that they will see more earthquakes as the frequencies get closer.

Meanwhile, Astrid is examining footage from the Sydney earthquake and sees one woman standing alone in the center while everyone is is running in panic. They try to identify the woman.

Redverse

A man named Nick Lane arrives at Fringe headquarters to talk to Lincoln, reminding him that they grew up together and that Lincoln dated his sister. He tells Lincoln that he had a dream about standing in the middle of the earthquake, before any of the earthquakes occurred.

Blueverse

Lincoln contacts Olivia and tells her about Nick. Olivia looks at the footage from Sydney again and recognizes the woman as Sally Clark. She explains that both Nick and Sally were part of the Cortexiphan trials and realizes that Jones is using the Cortexiphan subjects to start the earthquakes.

Walter says that the Cortexiphan subjects are linking to their counterparts in the other universe and matching their vibration rates. That is what is causing the earthquakes. Peter wonders if the connection between the universes created by The Machine is allowing the links to take place and says that turning it off may stop the links. Walter admits that it might work but says that The Machine is what is healing the damage to the Redverse and that if they turn it off they may not be able to start it again. Olivia says a better plan is to stop Jones.

Altlivia and Lincoln bring Nick to the Blueverse and to the lab. Olivia explains that she and Blueverse Nick had a connection with each other and by using Redverse Nick they may be able to locate him. Walter injects Nick with Cortexiphan and connects him to Olivia. Olivia is able to see what Nick sees and determines that Blueverse Nick is in Salem, Massachusetts. Peter leads a team to Salem and they are able to capture Blueverse Nick but Astrid reports that another wave of earthquakes have occurred around the world. They also get reports of an outbreak of solar flares and subsequent disruption of the Earth’s magnetic field.

As an aside during all of this, Altlivia mentions that she likes being able to visit the Blueverse because when it rains here there are rainbows. Rainbows no longer exist in the Redverse.

Walter and Peter examine a timing device that Nick was wearing. They determine it was made with components from the Redverse and locate a component that they may be able to trace. The device activates and starts counting down from six hours. They now know when the next set of earthquakes will occur.

Olivia goes to meet with Nick and he recognizes her. He assumes that Olivia is with them and says that this is the war they were training for and insists that Jones is protecting them by fighting the other universe. Olivia tries to convince him that they are allied with the other universe and that Jones is the enemy but he does not belive her.

Nick says that after the Cortexiphan trials ended he was depressed and nearly killed himself but that his parents called him and told him that his sister had killed herself. He is a reverse empath; he can inflict his emotions on others. Jones located him and helped him learn how to use his ability to defend their universe. The earthquakes are a side effect but are worse in the other universe and after one more round of earthquakes the other side will surrender.

Olivia again tries to convince him that the next round of earthquakes will destroy both universes and he seems to finally belive her. He says that Jones always contacted him but that one time he met Jones in a warehouse filled with machinery.

The team is assembled and goes to the warehouse. They bring Nick along and leave him in the custody of an agent while they go inside. The warehouse seems empty but they hear something and go to investigate.

Outside, Nick starts talking about how pathetic he is for believing Jones and how he should just kill himself. He then transfers those emotions to the agent guarding him.

The team discovers that the sound was nothing but a defective air conditioner. They return to the outside to find that the agent has stabbed himself and that Nick is gone.

The two teams meet again in the Bridge Room and both universes decide that they have no choice but to shut The Machine down. Peter initiates an overload and tells everyone what is happening.

Walter meets with Walternate one last time and explains what is going on, then goes to leave. Walternate follows him and they sit down together. They talk about Peter and say that he is the man both of them wish their son would have been. Walter admits that he is afraid that since The Machine was what brought Peter to them, when it shuts down he may go away again. Walternate notes that Walter is now willing to do what he could not before; give up his son. The two acknowledge their respect for each other and promise that they will both continue to work for the betterment of their people.

Olivia meets with Altlivia one last time. Both of them admit that they have come to respect and understand the other and both admit that they wish they were a bit more like their counterpart. As they leave, Olivia tells Altlivia to keep looking for rainbows.

Finally, Lincoln meets with Peter and tells him that he agrees with him that he should follow his heart and that he will be remaining in the Redverse with Altlivia.

The Machine reaches overload and Walter initiates the shutdown. The Redverse and its team fade away. Walter looks and sees that Peter has remained and announces “I shall miss thim. More than I imagined.”

Tags: fringe, recap, review, television

After being away for about six months I have returned to Fallen London.

Actually, I can’t say I’m in Fallen London. I’ve taken my Zee Clipper across the Underzee and have made my way to the city of Polythreme, the home of the Clay Men. I’ve been wandering the streets here while trying to make sense of the strange place in which I find myself. A place almost as strange as Fallen London has become.

As you may have noticed I played quite a bit of Echo Bazaar (as they called it at the time) last year. I managed to hit the level cap in most of my attributes and had managed to complete most of the storylines. There were a few outstanding, but breeding a beast in the Labyrinth of Tigers or getting further involved in the machinations of Mahogany Hall didn’t interest me that much and the storylines I was still interested in seemed to have stalled. So I left the game for a while, waiting for it to advance.

Then a couple of weeks ago I saw in passing that things had been updated and so logged back in to see what was up. And things had changed, but some of them in ways to make clear that you can’t always go home again.

The game is now called Fallen London instead of Echo Bazaar. The developer’s explanation is that everyone called it Fallen London anyway, but I find it a less interesting name. Hearing someone talk about the “Echo Bazaar” makes you wonder what it is. “Fallen London” seems awfully generic.

Then there are the changes in the gameplay. Most of the items I had been collecting now have some uses. For example, I could use glim to get sea stories then use the stories to get map fragments that I could use in the quest for the Screaming Map that led me to Polythreme. While this does make the items useful it also makes the game feel more “grindy”. Instead of experiencing a story I’m just grinding for items.

The game did have some aspects of this before, it just seems worse now.

Plus some of the game mechanics seem more awkward. Take my current activities in Polythreme, for example. One of the defining characteristics of Polythreme is that everything is alive there. Everything. Including your clothing and accessories. Before you can start any activity there you gain a certain amount of “Unnatural Exuberance”. You then go about raising your “Investigating” or “Fascinating” qualities, most of which you gain through actions with a random chances of success (and some that raise one will lower the other). Each action reduces your Unnatural Exuberance by one. When it gets to 1 you can perform one action based on your Investigating or Fascinating, provided they are high enough. Once you do (or if you didn’t have enough to do an action) everything is reset and you start over again.

This is slow and, since you only gain the qualities through random chance, relatively frustrating. The game does dangle the chance of buying Investigating and/or Fascinating for Fate, but that makes it almost more annoying. It seems like the game is just making the task frustrating to “encourage” players to buy Fate.

Now there have always been storylines that you could only access by paying Fate and I did several of those (The Soul Trade and Flute Street for example). One can argue that this is better in that you can get the entire story without paying, it just takes longer. To me it just adds to the “grindyness” feel I was mentioning above.

Of course, maybe it’s just that I’m still near the cap and so I’m not seeing that many options anymore. And I’m still back and still playing, so that must count for something.

Anyway, I need to go. My overcoat is getting restless and I need to see the clay man wearing the velvet coat at the docks before my shoes decide to make me run around the block again.

Tags: echo bazaar, fallen london, game, gaming, polythreme

Shalalm Baskur, my friends. Shalalm Baskur.

Tags: random, shalalm baskur

In the year 2015 the Observers stopped watching and seized control of the planet. The surviving humans, dubbed “Natives”, tried to rebel but were quickly crushed. Some of them became Loyalists and joined forces with the Observers. Fringe Division was allowed to continue, but only to police the Natives. The Observers believed that the all resistance was crushed.

Blueverse(?) – 2036

A blonde woman enters what seems to be a run-down building but turns out to be a dance club catering to both humans and Observers. One of the Observers grabs a woman and the club owner intervenes, saying he needs to keep some women on his staff. When the Observer tells him to just get a new girl, the owner hits him.

Several security guards grab the owner and another Observer, who we learn is called Captain Widmark, comes over. He starts to scan the owners’ mind but the owner spits in his face. Widmark concentrates and blood spurts from the owner’s ears.

The blonde woman comes up behind the owner and knocks him out. She introduces herself as “Etta” and reveals that she is part of Fringe Division. She tells Widmark that human crime is her responsibility and places the owner under arrest. Widmark scans her and comments that she is what she seems to be.

Etta and the girl get the owner outside. The owner tells Etta that he deliberately pissed off the Observer so he wouldn’t read his mind. He asks how she got away with it and she says she was lucky, though he doesn’t seem to believe her. He says that if the Observers knew about her or people like her then they would kill her.

He leads her to a van and shows her what seems to be a covered body. He says there were two more but that he couldn’t get them. Before he can continue, he is shot by a Loyalist sniper. Etta jumps into the van and drives away.

After some distance she stops and looks in the back of the van again. She removes the cover to reveal Walter Bishop, encased in amber.

The next day Etta goes to Fringe Division and meets with her partner, Desmond Simon. She tells him about the death of the club owner and, when he questions her, admits that she had an “open order” with him. Desmond Simon tells her that the old Fringe team is gone and won’t be coming back. She surprises him by saying that she has found Walter.

She takes him to see Walter and they realize that he is holding a Quarantine Amber device and that he encased himself. Etta says that the owner told her that there were others with him and that if they can free Walter then he can lead them to them.

Meanwhile, Widmark comes to Fringe Division and contacts Broyles, apparently still in charge. (Broyles has a Loyalist tattoo on his face.) He talks about the owners killing and tells Broyles that if he cannot keep the Natives under control then he will be forced to do so himself and that Broyles won’t like his methods. When Broyles asks what Widmark did to get assigned to this time Widmark says that he likes animals.

Desmond Simon examines the amber and determines that he can turn it into gas, but only briefly. Etta goes to a locker to check out a piece of “Level 2″ technology. The clerk there warns her that not everyone trusts Simon because they think he lets the Resistance operate too freely in the city and warns that his friends are keeping an eye on both of them. She promises to be careful.

The device she has requisitioned is a crowd-control weapon that emits a blast of air. Simon converts the amber and she blasts Walter free. They then give Walter an injection to revive him and inform him that he has been trapped in amber for 20 years.

Etta has blueprints for a device which she says Walter and his team designed that was intended to get rid of the Observers and asks Walter if he can build it. Walter seems confused, thinks that Desmond Simon is Peter and asks for licorice and ring-dings. Simon does a brain scan on Walter and announces that the proximity to the amber blast horizon has caused his neural pathways to degrade.

Etta goes to the Ministry of Science where she meets with an elderly, wheelchair bound Nina Sharp. She asks about an order but Nina says it isn’t a priority then asks Etta to help her to her car.

Outside, Nina tells Etta that she has to be careful because she can’t hide her thoughts from the Observers the way Etta can. Etta leads her to Walter but Walter does not seem to recognize Nina and wanders off. Nina says that Walter and his team once saved the world, but that there were consequences.

Nina tells them that there are pieces of Walter’s brain stored in the old Massive Dynamic building and by using them they may be able to restore his mind, but the facility is near where the Observers are headquartered and that they will need letters of transit to get there.

Penny and Desmond Etta and Simon get the letter and take Walter into the city, but he sees an Observer and starts yelling that he is a monster. The Observer ignores him but a Loyalist guard stops them and asks to see their papers. Etta and Simon manage to convince him that Walter is their grandfather, that they are taking him to see his wife’s grave and that he is mentally disturbed. The guard grudgingly lets them go but warns if he sees them again he won’t be so lenient.

The three arrive at the old Massive Dynamic building and enter through the parking garage. They have an entry code but an alarm still alerts security. The agent on duty notifies Broyles of the break in and Broyles informs Widmark.

Etta, Simon and Walter find where the brain tissue is stored. They prepare the tissue and inject it and Walter passes out. While they wait for him to recover Etta and Simon talk about their past. Simon says he was at Stanford in 2015 when the Observers invaded. He saw the invasion on TV and didn’t know until then that his parents were part of the Resistance and that they sent him away for his own safety. For her part, Etta says that she was 4 when she last saw her parents and can’t even remember what they looked like.

In the parking garage, an Observer and several Loyalists find the three’s footprints. The Observer tells them to shoot first and that he will scan their minds later.

Walter wakes up and it is immediately obvious that he is much more stable. Etta and Simon introduce themselves again and Walter seems to recognize Etta but instead asks if the Observers are still there.

Walter tells them that the Observers come from the year 2609 where they did something that poisoned both the air and the water and that they have come back in time to retake their planet. Etta shows him the blueprints and Walter confirms that he can build the device but that it will take time. Etta then asks if he knows where the rest of his team is and he says that he does.

They hear the approaching Loyalist team and Walter opens a panel, saying that he and Bell always had secret ways out. They escape, but the Observer sees the panel and blows it open. Walter stops and assembles an anti-matter device, leaving it in a storage room. The three then complete their escape. The Observer and his team arrive in the room and he sees the device, but too late. The device explodes and the building collapses.

Walter leads them into the sewers where at least two figures are encased in amber. Walter starts working on the amber and Simon asks Etta how he could have recognized her but she does not answer.

Back at Fringe headquarters, Broyles gets a report about Simon being seen at the transit station. He gives orders to activate Simon’s tracker and to assemble a team.

In the sewers, Simon is saying that Walter is who they have been waiting for; someone who can defy the Observers. Walter, becoming more irritable as his old brain patterns take back over, tells him to shut up. They activate the device and pull the first figure from the amber. It is Astrid. As Etta gives her an injection Simon realizes that he has broken the amber device.

Astrid recovers and looks into the amber where we see a second figure; William Bell. Astrid notices that Walter is holding something but he indicates that she should be quiet.

Etta and Simon are attempting to fix the amber device and discover that a signal is interfering with it. Simon realizes that his tracker has been activated and gives the device to Etta, telling her to activate it on his signal. She hesitates but he insists and she does.

Some time later, Broyles and his team arrive to find Simon embedded in the amber, seemingly in the act of pushing someone out. Broyles looks around and finds a piece of licorice.

Elsewhere, on a subway train, Astrid asks Walter why he left Bell in the amber. Walter says it was because of what Bell did to Olivia and says that he has the situation in hand. As he does, he opens the bag he is carrying to show William Bell’s hand, severed at the wrist and still encased in amber.

Etta is standing at the back of the train, looking behind them. She is fingering an amulet hanging around her neck (as she has done multiple times during the episode) and we now see that it is a spent bullet.

Someone comes up behind her and we see that it is Peter. He sees that she appears upset and assures her that they will do everything they can to rescue Simon but that does not seem to be what is bothering her. She asks him if he recognizes her and he says he doesn’t know how he could, given that he has been in amber for 20 years.

He suddenly stops and realizes that her full name is “Henrietta”.

“Hi Dad.” she tells him.

Father and daughter embrace as the train leaves the city.

Tags: fringe, recap, television, tv