Stickmaker

Uncertain Future

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My Mother took a turn for the worse Tuesday. We're not sure, but she may have had a stroke. We were just lucky the nurse from Care Navigators was there for her weekly visit and got Mother transferred to the closest Hospice facility immediately. Mother is currently in the Hospice/Care Navigators section of Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Angel of Earth: Part 20

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The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Twenty

Melody screamed in mindless fear and rage against the all-consuming dark. There was no texture to it, no substance; it wasn't even black. Just nothing.

Then, a glow appeared. Pure, white light flowed outwards from a lone figure, leaving the reporter sobbing in relief at being real again.

Angel of Earth: Part 19

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The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Nineteen

"This is definitely worrying," said CornFed, in the computer room, the next day. She glanced up at the holographic model overhead, then at the latest analysis printout in her hands. "Not only is Blackpool missing, but Insight is growing increasingly unstable. It's worse than useless in trying to find him."

"Almost as if it's helping to conceal him," said Multi, thoughtfully.

Angel of Earth: Part 18

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The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Eighteen

They needed three attempts, each with a different method of providing the bogus information, before Malak himself arrived at the location the conspirators had chosen. This was a clearing in woods privately owned by a politician who had repeatedly opposed efforts to reign in the empowered. This way, whatever happened with the capture of Malak, the big man could have petty revenge against the woman.

* * *

Angel of Earth: Part 17

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The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Seventeen

"What's that?" said Blackpool, as Aaron entered his office at the Repository, letter in hand.

"It's from Harold Petersen, one of my contacts in the US Justice Department. He says several agencies - including yours - are pooling resources to build a dedicated empowered detention facility."

"I knew there was word about that going around," said Blackpool, nodding slowly, "but not that they had put aside interagency rivalries and actually started building the place."

Angel of Earth: Part 14

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The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Fourteen

"You finally caught him?!" said CornFed, impressed.

"Her, actually," said Mike. "Which was only a bit of a surprise. Yeah, we finally caught her and just now got permission to tell folks who helped. Though what was a surprise is that she's a raving looney, and violent on top of that."

"Psychologists and mental health advocates all over the world are wincing at your diagnosis," said CornFed, dryly. "However, we can discuss that later. Please continue."

Angel of Earth: Part 13

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The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Thirteen

The interceptor was a marvel of modern technology, capable of flying higher and faster than any other craft on Earth which was limited to airbreathing engines. Yet the only reason it was able to close with the target it had been radar-directed towards was due to that target slowing and descending. As if it were preparing to land. Or attack.

Angel of Earth: Part 11

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The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Eleven

That tactic seemed to work. The thing stopped, then the part sticking above the tall grass scanned back and forth a bit, as if looking for her. Through the weeds Melody saw that the automaton was segmented, and could fold like a carpenter's rule. The thing unfolded the part with its, well, head further, sending the main sensor array higher. Melody knew that some of these devices responded to motion, and held still.

Angel of Earth: Part 10

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The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Ten

Melody was determined to get more from Aaron about the event, and she wasn't the only one. However, she had resources even the New York Police Department lacked. Getting Blackpool to take her once more to the Repository was easy. Catching Aaron there was harder. However, she made an appointment, and another and another, until she finally caught him. Except that she didn't encounter him in his office.

Angel of Earth: Part 8

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The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Eight

Getting there was easy, since Blackpool was still in charge of the facility. He and Melody both took precautions to maintain the fiction that the two of them were not closely connected.

The staff at the chemical Repository - whether empowered or "just folks" - welcomed Melody back. Of course, part of this attitude was due simply to the change in routine she brought to the isolated facility.

Angel of Earth: Part 7

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The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Seven

The UN officer hurried from his vehicle towards the ruin of the building, from which smoke still rose lazily in the setting sun. He was sweating from more than the tropical heat and humidity.

"Report," he said, after quickly exchanging salutes with the senior officer on scene.

Angel of Earth: Part 2

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The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Two

The phone rang, actually causing Melody to jump a bit. Coral hurried into the den from the kitchen to get it, since Aaron was busy with his guest. After giving a perfunctory greeting and then listening for a moment, she gestured Aaron over. He sighed, just a bit, rose and moved to take the antique receiver.

Angel of Earth: Part 1

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This is the third and final planned in the "Angel of..." series. The first was Angel of Chicago, the second was Angel of Haven. There may be other stories set in this world but for now this is all I have planned.

Sorry for the sizable absence in posting. This came out longer than I originally thought it would and many parts were difficult to get right.

As usual I plan to post parts every other day.

The Angel of Earth

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part One

Still Under the Weather

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Sorry folks; I'm still sick. Going to the doctor this afternoon.

I did a lot of writing on _Angel of Earth_ the past couple of days, but it was mostly rough stuff, just getting basic ideas down.

Update: I hope none of you ever have to change a flat tire before going to the doctor. :-(

I failed (Passed?) the flu test, so it's not that. (Unlikely, since I've had this year's shot, but possible.) They also tested me for Covid-19, just in case. That result won't be in for a couple of days.

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Masks Timeline Update

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The Masks timeline has been updated. The revised version can be found at:

https://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog-entry/77382/masks-timeline

Please report any formatting problems, etc. here. (I hope that is the right place for the update. This is being done in a bit of a hurry due to personal obligations. I'll check back on this later.)

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Convention Photos

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Just a reminder, I am placing my convention photos - including scans of old negatives as I get to them - in albums at:

Flickr

Or:Tiny

I have lots of photos of costumes, both hall (aka cosplay) and Masquerade. Costuming is the closest thing to physical transformation most people will ever experience.

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Writing Progress

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I am (slowly) approaching 29k words on _The Angel of Earth_, out of an estimated 50k to 55k. I have made (tiny) progress on the next Masks and Freddy on the Loose stories.

Part of the problem is having to do Summer yard work. Part of it is cats (there's one being chased by a bluejay this morning). Part of it is distractions from other sources.

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Slowly, Slowly...

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_Angel of Earth_ is about a quarter of the way written. I have the beginning and the end and a little of the material in between. Oog...

I have written some on the next Masks story and the next Freddy on the Loose.

Part of the problem is simply that there's a lot to do away from the computer. We've had so much alternating rain and Sun I have to cut the grass about every five days.

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Repeat Customer

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Coming up in the next Angel of... story:

Aaron was standing at a window, the lower portion of which was open. As was the screen beyond. Melody needed a moment to see who - or, rather, what - he was talking to: A small, nondescript grey bird standing on the window sill.

"You need to stop teasing that cat," said Aaron, sternly.

The bird gave an irate chirp.

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Masks 25: Part 12

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Part Twelve

"This... is completely outside our mandate," said Rear-admiral LaSalle, from where he stood on the dock beside Steel Lace, staring in shock at the smaller island. "We were sent here to clean up an illegal fight racket involving supers. Not deal with a full-blown mad science event!"

"Well, it's a good thing we're here, then," said Steel Lace, straight-faced.

"What are we gonna do about the crater?" said Energia, over the coms. "It's like another Chernobyl!"

Masks 25: Part 8

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Part Eight

As it turned out, they were too late. Even as they were trying to arrange for a watch on Cong, an alert came in from the base hangar that the strongman had taken a hopper with no explanation. He launched at full throttle, too, bringing noise complaints from several fronts.

"We better get after him," said Mesa, with a tired sigh, when Steel Lace used their personal coms to tell him about this.

"He didn't file a flight plan, but I don't think there's any doubt where he's going."

"Well, we have other hoppers."

Kravaal Island Background

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Kravaal Island and the background tales of what happened there were inspired in part by the Boris Karloff movie The Man With Nine Lives and the music video for the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star," as well as the Dark Star ominous, minor key version of the song.

In an interview a few years ago, Trevor Horn of the Buggles said he still had those glasses. ;-)

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Masks 25: Part 6

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Part Six

Bless modern technology, thought Vic, as her brilliant phone found a useable cell tower and connected, in spite of being on an island in a lake in a large park. The only place she had found to get a signal was standing on the front porch of the old house. Something the FBI agents had told her about. As she waited for someone to answer, she watched the sun moving slowly towards the mountain to the west. She hadn't thought to call her office until late in the working day for the office in Detroit. Partly because there was still plenty of daylight here.

Masks 25: Part 5

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Part Five

Back in San Francisco, the trio made their report. Steel Lace was both fascinated and irritated.

"I need to contact the Park Service about this, soonest," she said, after the exploration team finished. "This will probably be a multi-agency project. At the very least, the FBI needs to send a forensics team there to figure out just what the Hell happened."

"The Park Service probably won't like that," said Tiger, with a smirk.

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