N is for Native

April 16, 2014 by Roland Clarke

N is for Native: In the world of Gossamer Steel, the Sámi who are native to The Country – formerly the Nordic countries – are instrumental in re-building the post-apocalyptic world, in alliance with the nomads from Eurasia. In the broader sense of native, there are others, including Dravidians in Bhārata (India sub-continent) that are committed to re-building their birth places.

Native or indigenous? In terms of people the words are interchangeable, although with plants and animals some argue that they are subtly different. Of greater concern is the plight of the native or indigenous people in the face of our industrialised world. As Cultural Survival says, “One of the unfortunate things common to almost all Indigenous Peoples is being under assault—culturally, economically, or physically. In almost every case they suffer all the consequences of extreme marginalization: poverty, lack of government services, shorter lifespans, and poorer health.”

“…Because they look, act, and dress differently from the dominant society, Indigenous Peoples are often discriminated against or seen as less than human… The world’s languages are disappearing at a rate even faster than that of biological diversity, with more than half of the world’s 7,000 predicted to disappear in the next 90 years… Indigenous lands and environments are under assault on every continent. A recent World Wildlife Fund study named the 200 places on earth that have the highest and most fragile biodiversity, and found that 95 percent of them are on Indigenous territories…”

Naga people of Northeast India ~ by rajkumar1220

Called Native, Tribal, First, or Indigenous Peoples, they constitute about 5% of the world’s population, yet account for about 15% of the world’s poor. At least 370 million people worldwide are considered to be indigenous. Most of them live in remote areas of the world. Indigenous peoples are divided into at least 5000 peoples ranging from the forest peoples of the Amazon to the tribal peoples of India – such as the Naga (pictured) – and from the Inuit of the Arctic to the Aborigines in Australia. Indigenous peoples do not necessarily claim to be the only people native to their countries, but in many cases indigenous peoples are indeed “aboriginal” or “native” to the lands they live in, being descendants of those peoples that inhabited a territory prior to colonization or formation of the present state.

N is also for the dryad Ngetal, Norwegian commodity trader Niels Gundersson, the serpent Nagas of Hindu & Buddhist religions, and the ‘Wyrm Bait’ protagonist Norman Silver

PREVIOUS A TO Z POSTS:

A is for Array ~ B is for the Blood-Marked ~ C is for Corylus Avellana ~ D is for Duskweald ~ E is for Energy ~ F is for Feeniks ~ G is for Garuda ~ H is for Herders ~ I is for Ithaka ~ J is for Junk ~ K is for Kitsune ~ L is for Lorelei ~ M is for Mojave

The brainchild of Arlee Bird, at Tossing it Out, the A to Z Challenge is posting every day in April except Sundays (we get those off for good behaviour.) And since there are 26 days, that matches the 26 letters of the alphabet. On April 1, blog about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 3 is “C,” and so on. Please visit other challenge writers.

My theme is ‘The World of Gossamer Steel, the SF-fantasy setting for a series of short stories and novellas that portray the tales behind the MMORPG that is central to my crime novel ‘Wyrm Bait’.

Fair deals for the long-term sick

April 14, 2014 by Roland Clarke

Having good friends that care raises our spirits at this difficult time when British Telecom are determined to do nothing.

The Bingergread Cottage

This ls long but I make no apologies, it covers a vital subject and we need you to read it, please. As you all know I am classified as an invalid for various reasons. You also know that I am extremely fortunate to be in France and under the care of our brilliant Health Service

I was very shocked therefore to find that my good friend Roland Clarke, who is in a similar position in the UK, is experiencing some appalling treatment at the hands of BT.

Tell us about the story, Roland.

Roland and Juanita.

At the beginning of January we knew that we were moving house at the end of February, so we contacted BT [British Telecom – who provided our phone & internet] – to arrange the new service. On January 9^th BT gave us an engineer appointment for February 17^th, and for the…

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L is for Lorelei

April 14, 2014 by Roland Clarke

L is for Lorelei: A Creole from Louisiana, Lorelei Trahan is a protagonist in “Wyrm Bait”, and an avid player of the MMORPG set in the the world of Gossamer Steel.

The Lorelei is a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, Germany, which rises some 120 metres above the river. Marking the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea, it is the most famous feature of the Rhine Gorge, a 65 km section of the river between Koblenz and Bingen that was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in June 2002.

Lorelei is also the name of a female water spirit associated with this rock in folklore and in music, art and literature. Similar to mermaids known as Nixe or Nixie, or to the water nymphs in the epic poem Nibelungenlied – called Rhine maidens in Richard Wagner’s opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen – Lorelei has been portrayed as both innocent and seductive.

Rhein maidens warn Siegfried. Originally the image stems from Richard Wagner’s Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods ~ by Arthur Rackham

The Lorelei is related to the Norwegian Nøkken, who are shapeshifting water spirits, who usually appear in human form, as handsome young men. These spirits have appeared in the myths and legends of all Germanic peoples in Europe, although perhaps most known in Norwegian and Scandinavian folklore – and therefore appearing in The Country, the Scandinavian enclave in Gossamer Steel.

L is also for Lyminster in Sussex, England where the English equivalent of the Nøkken lived. However, the English Knucker is depicted as a wyrm or dragon, which terrorized the countryside.

L is also for Doctor Lupero, alias Lupercus, the principal antagonist in Gossamer Steel. And L is for Lewis the law in “Wyrm Bait”.

PREVIOUS A TO Z POSTS:

A is for Array ~ B is for the Blood-Marked ~ C is for Corylus Avellana ~ D is for Duskweald ~ E is for Energy ~ F is for Feeniks ~ G is for Garuda ~ H is for Herders ~ I is for Ithaka ~ J is for Junk ~ K is for Kitsune

M is for Mojave

April 14, 2014 by Roland Clarke

M is for Mojave: To the world of Gossamer Steel, Mojave is both a bane and a windfall. The Mojave Air and Space Port is where the solar array is launched from before the apocalypse. However, Morena Sokol finds her future and that of her family in the Mojave Desert.

The Mojave Air and Space Port, also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, is located in Mojave, California, at an elevation of 2,791 feet (851 m). It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a spaceport by the Federal Aviation Administration on June 17, 2004. Occupying over 200 acres of a former Marine Corps training base, it is home to around 140 companies, many in the area of suborbital vehicle development. When it comes to global ‘firsts’ in flight, flight test, and aerospace, the Mojave Air and Space Port has been a consistent breaker of records and aerospace barriers, from The Scaled Composites Model 76 Voyager, the first aircraft in history to fly around the world without stopping or refueling (1986), to SpaceShipOne, the first non-governmental rocket ship to space (2004).

The Mojave Desert is situated between the Great Basin Desert to the north and the Sonoran to the south (mainly between 34 and 38°N latitudes). A rainshadow desert, the Mojave is defined by a combination of latitude, elevation, geology, and indicator plants. Elevations are generally between three and six thousand feet, although the famous Death Valley National Park includes both 11,049-foot Telescope Peak and the lowest point in the United States 282 feet below sea level at Badwater.

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility (California) with all three towers under load, Feb., 2014 ~ Sbharris

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility (California) with all three towers under load, Feb., 2014 ~ by Sbharris

There are several solar power plants in the Mojave Desert supplying power to the US electricity grid. Insolation (solar radiation) in the Mojave Desert is among the best available in the United States, and some significant population centres are located in the area. These plants can generally be built in a few years because solar plants are built almost entirely with modular, readily available materials. Some of the plants are on the eastern side near Boulder City, Nevada – SE of Las Vegas. The world’s largest solar plant, Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating project, is south-west of Las Vegas and opened on February 13, 2014. There are some others on the Californian side around Lancaster and Barstow, around an hour from the Space Port, proving a factual basis for the ‘accident’ that creates the world of Gossamer Steel.

M is also for the goddess Mielikki, Magerøya Isle in The Country, and for MMORPG Gossamer Steel avatar Manushri in @Wyrm Bait’.

PREVIOUS A TO Z POSTS:

K is for Kitsune

April 12, 2014 by Roland Clarke

K is for Kitsune: Japanese folklore in origin, Kitsune is the nickname of one of the protagonists in “Wyrm Bait”, the cyber-mystery set against the MMORPG set in the world of Gossamer Steel,.

Kitsune are Japanese foxes, which are common in their folklore. There are two types of Kitsune: the zenko, who are benevolent, celestial foxes associated with the god Inari; and there are the mischievous yako, who sometimes are malicious as well. In some stories Kitsune’s intelligence and magical abilities increase with age. Foremost among these abilities is that of assuming human form, sometimes to trick people but more often featuring as guardians, friends, lovers and wives.

Kitsune can have up to nine tails, as they become older, wiser and more powerful. In some legends one tail is dominant and only by removing this tail, can a Kitsune be subdued. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity.

Inari and its fox spirits help the blacksmith Munechika forge the blade kogitsune-maru (Little Fox) at the end of the 10th century. The legend is the subject of the noh drama Sanjō Kokaji. By Ogata Gekkō

Kitsune feature in art down the ages, including modern art forms like mangas and video games. They are the basis for the venomancer class in Perfect World, characters who are a woman with a few fox-like features including ears and a tail, but they can turn into a fox while fighting.

K is for two other creatures from folklore, the korrigan and the kornblock. In Breton folklore, a Korrigan is a fairy or dwarf-like spirit, while in Germany and Scandinavia the kornblockes are goat-bodied creatures that are said to help grow grain and corn, but will steal or spoil it if given a reason.

K is also for the Kainga, the corporation behind the solar array that triggers the apocalypse in Gossamer Steel.

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J is for Junk

April 11, 2014 by Roland Clarke

J is for Junk: In our tour of the world of Gossamer Steel Junk is the life-blood of the post-apocalyptic society, although over time most of the junk has been recycled or reused.

Junk in the West is discarded things that are deemed to have little value, whereas in many parts of the world these items are often reused or recycled. Rather than dump the junk in landfill sites, we can turn to recycling, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions from landfill, can reduce deforestation, saves energy and produces more energy-efficient products. Globally, landfill accounts for double the carbon dioxide emissions of the worldwide aviation sector. An alternative use would be generating electricity by burning waste instead. Alternatively, organic rubbish could be pulverised and stored in vats so that it releases methane, which could be captured and used to generate electricity.

Garbage ~ Image courtesy of xedos4 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

However, the real way forward is not recycling but reuse or upcycling. This gives a new, more valuable purpose to discarded objects or materials in such a way as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the discarded one. By reusing junk, you can conserve natural resources, including the energy for manufacturing and the fuel used to transport new goods. Read more: http://www.ehow.com/list_6148382_projects-reuse-junk.html#ixzz2yQQLdEEH

From the simple Junk we arrive at The Circular Economy. As the Ellen Macarthur Foundation says, “The circular economy is a generic term for an economy that is regenerative by design. Materials flows are of two types, biological materials, designed to re-enter the biosphere, and technical materials, designed to circulate with minimal loss of quality, in turn entraining the shift towards an economy ultimately powered by renewable energy.”

In the world of Gossamer Steel the two principal enclaves of The Country (Scandinavia) and Bhārata (India sub-continent) have adopted their own versions of The Circular Economy. Bhārata has the advantage of being built on the Republic of India’s self-reliance policy, although it is also hampered by the scale of the challenge.

J is also for Jarilo, the shaman founder of the Sokol family, who alongside their allies strive for Justice over hundreds of years. J is also for the Jötnar or giants that have to be defeated in the Gossamer Steel MMORPG.

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