8FOLD/META: Your Guide to the Pulse War, v 1.2 - June 2023

[Drew Nilium]

On 6/5/23 9:29 AM, Amabel Holland wrote:
> YOUR GUIDE TO THE PULSE WAR
> v. 1.2 – June 2023

Oh, I should definitely respond to this one, tho. :>

> 0. A NOTE ON SPOILERS
> 
> This document contains spoilers throughout for Pulse War Era stories
> in the Eightfold Universe up until the date of posting.

I was avoiding it because of that, but considering I've read so much that comes 
after...

> My solution was to jump
> ahead, and to cluster stories together into eras. The stories that
> began in 2005 (both in-story and publication-wise) and ended in 2008
> (story-wise) make up the first era.

Ahhhhh, yes, I see

> The first stories of the second
> era - the Pulse War era - take place in 2013, and then stretch into
> 2014, 2015, and 2016. When the story of that conflict is concluded,
> I'll likely jump ahead again to somewhen closer to whenever it is in
> real time that I'm writing.

Ooooooh. I'll be interested to see what the new status quo is.

> And the label of "era" to the 2005-2008 stories
> is retroactive and haphazard, encompassing a number of unrelated
> plotlines and characters, with nothing like the relative cohesiveness
> of the ongoing Pulse War storyline.

That's pretty normal. n.n

> I say "relative" because many of these plot threads have yet to tie
> into the larger conflict, and some of them, quite deliberately, will
> remain tangential to the "main" storyline. In that way, while there's
> one big story, it's not just one big story, but several stories that
> can also stand more-or-less on their own, with different tones,
> themes, twists, and characters.

Hell yeah hell yeah!!!

> The purpose of this document is to lay out the chronology of the
> conflict and the era, so as to orient new and returning readers, and
> to place the various stories and their peoples into context. It will
> also assist me in keeping things organized, so as to avoid as much as
> possible the dropping of threads.

Very thoughtful, very useful~

> II. ANTEBELLUM

I do declare, etc.

> Earth's proximity to Venus puts it on a multiversal
> fault-line - it's the point in the Eightfold Universe where the
> barriers between alternate realities is its weakest, and the only
> place where passing through the boundaries between one universe and
> another can be done reliably.

Thus enabling those kinds of stories!

> II.2 The Dyzen'thari Invasion
> 
> The Dyzen'thari are extra-dimensional many-tentacled beings that
> vibrate empathically.

:D I'm so glad my one-off idea became such a big Thing.

> The invasion of the Dyzen'thari fatally weakened the walls of reality
> - this would have devastating effects in the pages of MANCERS and the
> RED HART, and would serve as the real impetus for the Pulse's
> declaration of war against the Earth.

Hm, yes, yes

> FEVER is a decentralized terrorist organization without any apparent
> political goals or ethos.

Very '00s type of deal.

> The leader of FEVER, Caracalla, is secretly Anders Cradle, the head of
> Cradle Industries (later Cradle Tech) and the son of the original
> Green Knight. This is especially problematic because Cradle Tech
> provides much of the funding and technological support for the
> Daylighters, a superhero "team" that was founded specifically to
> defeat FEVER.

Mmmmmhm. X>;;;

> The brainchild of Derek Mason (Blue Boxer), the Daylighters is a
> decentralized superhero team - a loose and international "social
> network" of adventurers meant to be more flexible and less expensive
> than a traditional fixed-roster team.

A very '10s type deal, but still a really interesting idea that has legs. n.n

> The god-flood - also called the god-sea - is a cosmic force of pure
> annihilation that not only destroys matter, but wipes it completely
> from the timestream. Since the dawn of time, it has been held at bay
> by a "cosmic dam". The Dyzen'thari invasion of 2008 sufficiently
> weakened the walls of space-time to open a crack in the dam five years
> later, allowing the god-flood to escape.

This is why you pay attention to your kids

> One ancient
> prophecy suggested that the god-flood could be defeated by awakening
> Awides, a ravenous and sentient death-moon, and another foretold the
> return of the Red Hart, an ancient and wild forest god, and his evil
> uncle, the Never-Lord. Each of these "saviors" could themselves result
> in the end of all existence. The gods of algebra - Octonion and his
> son Sedenion - each preferred a different prophecy, and so heaped
> "doom upon doom".

God I love The Red Hart's worldbuilding. |>

> Those are the twin goals of the Pulse: to save the
> universe, and to conquer the universes that are parallel to this one.

DUN DUN DUN....

> This
> idea, called "The Last Story", noted that existential threats to
> earth, such as alien invasions, were becoming more frequent, and the
> earth's escapes from destruction increasingly desperate and
> hard-fought. Eventually, several existential crises would occur
> simultaneously, overwhelming the earth, and that would be its last
> story.

It's so good. It's *such* a cool idea.

> On August 25, 2014, that theory seemed to be coming true. The body
> terrorist group FEVER unleashed a virus that made those it infected
> insanely violent; the Gorgon took down communications across the
> globe; the reality warper Gregory Dingham had returned to earth; alien
> paratroopers landed in Beijing; a group of mancers finally unraveled
> the Lullaby, awakening Venus; giant monsters emerged from the ocean,
> ravaging the coasts and moving inland.
> 
> In reality, these were not separate existential threats - not a
> perfect storm - but coordinated assaults engineered by the Pulse
> through an alien psionic network.

That is *also* such a good hecking idea.

> Only one such power would dare to oppose
> the Pulse - the despotic hellscape of Kyklokos, the system that
> circles the Vampire Sun.

SO COOL.

(Sliding past a bunch of stuff that I actually need to read... X>;;;)

> Perhaps the biggest logistical challenge facing our small blue planet
> is the persecution of a war in outer space against a vast and ancient
> empire that spans hundreds of planets and several star systems, and to
> defending against attacks from the same.

Indeed. o3o;

> Cradle Tech also provided much of the funding and tech support for the
> Daylighters, who were unaware of the corporation's ties to FEVER, and
> who dismissed the existence of The Company as a fringe conspiracy
> theory. Both areas of ignorance are maintained in part due to the
> efforts of Claire Belden (Rainshade), as part of complicated
> maneuvering to bring the Daylighters and the secret circle together so
> that they could end FEVER.

Goddang chessmasters

> Beasts the size of skyscrapers attack earth's cities seemingly at
> random. They are fought by smaller monsters whose allegiances and
> motives are unknown.

:>

> The Daylighters believe that Julie Ann Justice - who first encountered
> a Paradox Heart decades before - is the key to saving the future, but
> in actuality it is Cal Morgan, the Mighty Inch.

Of course it is! \o/

> The Daylighters' "roster" encompasses a large number of
> loosely-connected individuals - many more than just those listed here.
> Some of these connections are looser than others; for example, retired
> hero turned educator John Danisee probably wouldn't identify himself
> as a "member" of the Daylighters, but he helped facilitate
> communication and coordination during The Last Story, and so is placed
> in this group.

That's the nature of real social network graphs, after all. :>

> Carronade (Quincy Gorman)
> BORN: 2008 SPECIES: A.I.
> Heavily-armed and armored machine body housing a child's consciousness.

D'awwwww

> Darkhorse (Melody Mapp)
> BORN: 1994 SPECIES: Human
> Super-competent super-speedster and multiversal tourist. The third to
> use the name. Good friends with SHIMMER and KNOCKOUT MOUSE. Dating
> SIMON MORGAN.

Extremely cool person.

> Fahrenheit Man (Peter Sampson)
> BORN: 1982 SPECIES: Human
> Generates and controls flames, which also allows him to fly for
> reasons?

X3

> Featherweight (Kelly Chen)
> BORN: 1986 SPECIES: Human
> Makes objects weightless with a touch. Professor of quantum
> linguistics. Female civilian identity, male superhero.

Hell yeah hell yeah. <3

> Galadriel (Muriel Muunokhoi)
> BORN: 1961 SPECIES: Human
> Possesses psionic, telepathic, and psychokinetic abilities at powerful
> levels and interplanetary range, able to go toe-to-toe with the elder
> gods of Venus. Retired from active heroing. Teaches psionics at
> Burlington College. Dating LIGHT EAGLE.

Also extremely cool.

> Knockout Mouse (Bethany Clayton)
> BORN: 1983 SPECIES: Human
> Possesses the Singularity Gauntlet, which allows her to control the
> density of her fist. Popular heroine, uncomfortable with her level of
> celebrity. Good at leading teams in the field. Best friends with
> SHIMMER. Used to date BLUE BOXER. Host of the Paradox Heart.

Drama vortex, poor girl.

> Light Eagle (John Danisee)
> BORN: 1965 SPECIES: Human
> Mid-level psionic and retired hero. Counselor and fill-in psionics
> teacher at Burlington College. Dating GALADRIEL.

Aha, yes

> Lobsterman
> BORN: 1970 SPECIES: Monster
> Super-strong monster. Ex-villain serving time in prison, assisting the
> Daylighters on work release.

:D

> Loop (Pam Bierce)
> BORN: 1984 SPECIES: Human
> Chronomancer. Presumed dead in the 2008 Dyzen'thari attack, reemerged
> in late 2014.

Hell yeah hell yeah. It's always awesome to see an interesting character 
recontextualized, adding new dimensions.

> Medusa (network)
> BORN: 2014 SPECIES: A.I.
> Benevolent artificial intelligence network made up of separate
> self-evolving instances. Radical offshoot of the homicidal GORGON.

I love her :D

> Mighty Inch (Cal Morgan)
> BORN: 1997 SPECIES: Human
> Permanently miniaturized. Has a strained relationship with their
> siblings, SHIMMER and SIMON MORGAN. Romantically involved with RAIDNE.
> 
> Raidne
> BORN: 2014 SPECIES: A.I.
> An instance of Medusa assigned to THE MIGHTY INCH that is disconnected
> from the larger network. The INCH's lover.

I love both of them! \o/

> Strikeout (Dan Washburn)
> BORN: 1988 SPECIES: Human
> Throws objects with great speed, force, and accuracy. Baseball-themed
> hero who doesn't particularly like baseball.

X3 Love it

> Tina Wazowie
> BORN: 1983 SPECIES: Human
> Ice powers. The "Polish Princess of Punk Rock", for whom superheroics
> is a lark.

That's such a good sentence.

> Violinista (Rosa Rojas)
> BORN: 1995 SPECIES: Human
> Sonic manipulation. Musical prodigy and concert violinist.
> 
> Virginia Creeper (Mark Sandrine)
> BORN: 1992 SPECIES: Plant
> Prehensile vines. Photosynthetic herbaceous lifeform.
> 
> Zip (Ghedi Dirie)
> BORN: 1998 SPECIES: Human
> Teleporter and word-traveler. Often gathers together and transports
> teams assembled for specific missions.

Extremely good character concepts. :>

> Maledux
> BORN: ???? SPECIES: Space god

Big mood

> Dark overlord of the Kyklokos system who feeds the ravenous Vampire
> Sun by perpetual wars of conquest, genocide, and destruction.

There's so many tones in here. :D

> Allied with earth against the Pulse, so I'm sure that's going to turn
> out well.

X3

> Monad (Vanessa Morrison)
> BORN: 2013 SPECIES: Space robot
> A dead earth woman resurrected by the goddess NOX, now a being of
> indescribable power who roams the stars, free from all obligation.

I love her

> Octonion
> BORN: ???? SPECIES: Space god
> Deceased. God of eighth-dimensional algebra who unleashed the sentient
> death-moon Awides in an attempt to destroy the god-flood.

God, The Red Hart was good.

> Gorgon
> BORN: 2000 SPECIES: A.I.
> A self-evolving hypnotic computer virus network bent on the
> destruction of the human race. Transformed into, and presumably
> destroyed by, MEDUSA.

Presumably.

> Hotspur
> BORN: 2008 SPECIES: A.I.
> Robot driven insane by the works of William Shakespeare.

I love that.

> VI. READING ORDER

Very useful. :>

> Second: I would like to extend my thanks to Mary Holland, Dave Van
> Domelen, Drew Perron, and Saxon Brenton, who all have written parts of
> the Pulse War saga. Additional thanks go out to Saxon (for providing
> character write-ups for Galadriel and Light Eagle, which I have
> abridged here), and to Drew (for their generous feedback).

:D Very welcome!!

Drew "so much good shit, y'all" Nilium