[MV] The Super Wizard From Space #10

[Wil Alambre]

Andrew Perron wrote:
> On Tue, 31 May 2011 23:06:10 +0000 (UTC), Wil Alambre wrote:
>
>> The two super wizards stood stock still as the two floors of the
>> building above them were eaten by the ghost of a cosmic megalodon.
>> Bigger than a rocket-ship, it nonetheless hung effortlessly in the air,
>> it's fifty-five rows of cleaver-like teeth surrounding their room as it
>> floated vertically above them. The daylight of the alien sky shone
>> through it's phantasmal body, the only full solid part of the terrible
>> apparition was the laurel wreath floating above its forehead, radiating
>> wildly with a sickly green light.
>
> Have I mentioned I love your pulpy descriptions?

Thanks! I've been trying to maintain a that fun almost-crazy pulp 
feeling to everything while dropping in a couple golden-age-esque 
ridiculousness.

There is a moment near the end of the story where the perspective 
sloppily switches from the hermit wizard's to the super wizard's. It 
really bugged me so I tried to clean it up as much as I could; no one's 
mentioned it, so maybe I succeeded?

>
>> "Terrible Rex! Harrowing Rex!" thought the other transparent fish. His
>> scales were several shades of wonderful blue, but his mind slashed out
>> words coldly and cruelly. "Up! There! Them! Them! Vengeance! Vengeance
>> on the bees!"
>
> I like how these guys talk!

Vengeful Seuss-fish! They are too much fun! :D

>> PERSONALITY: Penitent for past actions. Poor judge of character. Makes
>> rash decisions. Is cyclic in nature, making bad choices and sinking into
>> guilt about it, then jumping right into more bad choices to try to make
>> up for it.
>
> This is an excellent way to describe it.
>
> However, I must wonder how the transformation into a space-bee will affect
> these stats - and how such a bee will act, cut off from any queen or
> swarm...

I suppose I should write a quick stat block for the bees in general...

So I shall.

.........................................

RACE: Monster Bees of Queen Buzz

APPEARANCES: The Super Wizard From Space #2, #6-10

DESCRIPTION: Giant bees, the size of mini-vans, with oversized 
spear-like stingers. Every bee still retains some physical elements of 
whatever it used to be before it was transformed, and retains it's 
personality.

ABILITIES: Each bee is capable of unaided space flight. Their stingers 
are sharp enough to pierce almost any object, though the bee itself may 
not have the strength to penetrate. The toxin in their stingers can 
infect anything solid or near-solid, transforming it rapidly into 
another Monster Bee. All drones can communicate with all other drones 
over short distances through tele-pheromones, and to individual drones 
over massive interstellar distances with quantum-positional movement 
patterns.

WEAKNESSES: Usually based on whatever the bee used to be before it was 
transformed. In general, most bees are do not have much protection or 
armor, so can be injured with enough force. During and directly after a 
transformation, a bee is normally confused as the genetic instincts 
either overwhelm the personality or, in cases of inanimate objects being 
converted, a simple instinct-based personality is formed.

PERSONALITY: The bee retains the personality of whomever or whatever it 
was before it was transformed. However, it is overwhelmed by a powerful 
instinct to protect it's swarm, it's hive, and it's queen. It gains 
almost a reverse-survival instinct, with the whole of it's race being 
more important than it's own life. Best thought of as brainwashing 
rather than min control, as drones describe it as "a clarity of purpose".

.........................................

Scott Eiler wrote:
 > "Wil Alambre" <wilalambre at gmail.com> wrote in message
 > news:<4DF012E3.40303 at gmail.com>...
 >> Scott Eiler wrote:
 >> > On 05/31/2011 04:06 PM, Wil Alambre wrote:
 >> >
 >> > Yeah, and nicely done too. But I'm mostly impressed you've created a
 >> > character called Gavrilo the Hermit Wizard Bee, spent five episodes
 >> > setting up his origin, and now you're willing to share.
 >>
 >> Hopefully other authors here found him interesting enough to use
 >> somewhere in their own fiction. There's obviously quite a bit of ego
 >> on my part, to see someone use a character I made up, but it's also an
 >> attempt to contribute to this community. :)
 >
 > The more I think of it, the more I can find a place for a giant magical
 > bee with conflicts between his hermitic nature and his budding hive
 > instinct, plus a history of making bad choices. 8{D>

Looking forward to seeing it :)

.........................................
Wil Alambre, follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wilalambre