SW10/WWW: Powernaut 2005 #24: Spanker 4 Is One Of Yours!

[Scott Eiler]

On 12/30/2014 6:55 PM, Scott Eiler wrote:
> On 12/30/2014 5:15 PM, Andrew Perron wrote:
>> On 12/29/2014 7:14 PM, Scott Eiler wrote:
>>> On 12/29/2014 1:11 PM, Andrew Perron wrote:
>>>> On 12/25/2014 7:10 PM, Scott Eiler wrote:
>>>>> Oh, look, the wise men are marching across Asia!  ... no, wait, those
>>>>> aren't magi, they're monsters!
>>>>>
>>>>> For Christmas, the Powernaut joins RACC in giving the gift of free
>>>>> online
>>>>> fiction.  Happy Holidays!
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.eilertech.com/stories/powernaut/2005d.htm#24
>>>>
>>> Anyway, the next one to read it gets to preview next week's comic!  8{D>
>>
>> And now that I've read it - wait, how the heck did THAT happen!?
>>
>> Andrew "NO .SIG MAN" "Juan" Perron, you don't want to give an automaton
>> ultimate cosmic power! Sheesh!
>
> Nobody *wants* to do that, but sometimes the automaton grabs the power
> anyway.  Looks like Spanker 4 went hunting, conveniently off panel.  8{D>
>
> I can see it's time to give some more background on Engines.  That'll
> accompany the next episode (which gets publicized this weekend).  Links
> when I do that.  But for now...
>
> Starting no later than the 1980s, the Engines got into the habit of
> appearing every eight years or so.  The last time they were actually
> seen before 2005 was in 1996, when Wyatt Ferguson and *Zenobia* teamed
> up but couldn't hold on to them.  The appearance of 2004 got screwed up
> when evil mages attacked in 2003; the Engines got scattered throughout
> Middle Eastern ancient history, and just made things strange.  The
> medieval Spanker 3 fizzled out in the Middle East, so Spanker 4 went
> hunting for power objects in the Middle East... guess what he found!

Here's the rewrite, with the links.  Andrew, thanks for reminding me 
that when the Powernaut's business manager hires an expert to comment on 
the Engines of Reality, that expert ought to give all the history he 
knows about them.

...


Bonus Section:  Commentary from Wyatt Ferguson!  The Engines of Reality

All the links here can be found under http://www.eilertech.com/stories/ .

...

I have often encountered seven *things* which could warp all reality. 
(ref:  duopol2.htm) They individually have control over Time, Space, 
Mind, Soul, Power, Reality, and Permanence. They look like gems, but 
they work like engines. So I refer to them as the Engines of Reality. 
They hop around universes, but nowhere but here have they all ever 
appeared at once. Here's what I know about their appearances.

• I'm told I got to hold all of them myself in 1969 (ref: Powernaut 1969 
Part 2). Apparently the experience was so psychedelic it rotted my brain 
'til 1971 (ref: 2011/1971.txt). But the Engines seemed to remember it 
fondly, based on how often they visited after that.

• I saw the Engines again for the first time in 1988 (ref: duopol1.htm). 
They induced a reality merge and superhero outbreak throughout my 
metropolitan area. At one point, somehow the heroes all ended up in my 
living room and the Engines in my basement.

• Then the whole thing happened again in 1996 (ref: duopol2.htm). It was 
almost exactly like before - except the heroes were different, and there 
was more time travel. I was there from both 1988 and 1996! Queen Zenobia 
(really!) and I teamed up but couldn't hold on to them.

• The appearance of 2004 got screwed up when evil mages attacked in 2003 
(ref: duopol3.htm). The Engines got summoned and then scattered 
throughout Middle Eastern ancient history. There they just made things 
strange. I got to time-travel and put things right... but the Engines 
stayed behind.

• Karl found out earlier this year, the medieval Spanker 3 fizzled out 
in the Middle East (ref: 2005/fergletter_jun.htm). Before Karl's team 
could investigate, the famous 2005 reality shifts hit (ref: Powernaut 
2005 Episode 1). It seems Spanker 4 appeared then, and went hunting for 
power objects in the Middle East... guess what he found!

I am so familiar with these things, I held them and *renounced* them 
once - permanently, because of the Engine of Permanence. 
(1988/me2.htm#sevenways) Unfortunately, at the time I neglected to ban 
*others* from chasing that same power. They merely have conditions 
before they can affect *me* with it.

So, you might consider me an expert on the Engines of Reality. As that 
expert, I now tell you... They're bad news. They're like the root 
passwords to everything, and the sysadmins of reality are just shrugging 
and saying "Whatever, you can just figure it out yourselves".


-- 
(signed) Scott Eiler  8{D> -------- http://www.eilertech.com/ ---------

When you *are* the leader... whatever goes wrong... whether you did it
or not... *you* are held responsible. - Barack Obama

I know. - Archie Andrews

- from Archie #617, March 2011, scripted by Alex Simmons.