Reviewing the Future
Jim Vassilakos (jimv@uia.net)
In my article for A&E #356 I talked
about two books: The Third Millennium
and Reality Check. I've also found some
other books which I haven't managed to
read cover-to-cover just yet, however,
several of them look rather interesting
have proven fun to browse and read
sections of. Since I haven't read these
books completely, I'm in no position to
do truly comprehensive reviews.
Nonetheless, I thought it might be
useful to talk about each of them briefly,
as perhaps other folks here are
interested in this topic of futurism, and
if nothing else, this list may provide
some fodder for next month's IgTheme.
60 Trends in 60 Minutes by Sam Hill
(2002)
This little gem is billed as a book for
business entrepreneurs who want to
cash in on the next big idea. Hill
describes what he sees going on in the
world, and he thoughtfully provides
ideas for ways somebody will perhaps
end up making a buck as a result. It's
not exactly a book of the future, but I
think it's chock-full of good ideas that
any writer of near-future science-fiction
could utilize and perhaps explore
further.
The Age of Spiritual Machines by
Ray Kurzweil (1999)
This isn't the book that convinced me
that Artificial Intelligence in the mail,
but it makes a great case. Kurzweil,
who also wrote The Age of Intelligent
Machines is a big believer in AI. One
might say that he's drunk deep of the
electronic cool-aid, and he says it tastes
fine.
One of my favorite parts of the book
are a series of make-believe interviews
he conducts with a so-called person
from the future. In these transcripts we
learn about sensoriums and cybernetic
personalities as well as the increasing
difficulty in defining personhood in a
world where virtual intellects can split
apart and merge together on a whim. It's
a bizarre book to be sure, but worth an
assimilated knowledge structure
download for folks who want a glimpse
of the world from the other side.
Arthur C. Clarke's July 20, 2019:
Life in the 21st Century by Arthur C.
Clarke and friends (1986)
Although some might argue that this
book is a little old to be used as a primer
on the future, Clarke's writing is at once
lucid and breathtaking, and the scope of
his ideas immense. In the first part of
the book he laments the slow pace of
space exploration during the 70s and
80s as well as the inherent difficulty of
making future predictions. Then he
launches into a variety of topics,
discussing medicine, artificial
intelligence & robotics, education,
transportation, living in space, work and
entertainment, and even sex,
psychology and war.
Interspersed among his essays are
fictional vignettes, sometimes far-
reaching, other times almost quaint.
Here's an example from the chapter on
psychiatry: "Still in your bathrobe and
fuzzy pink bedroom slippers, with the
residue of sleep encrusting your eyes,
you instruct your modem to dial 3423-
922-86663-2376. Once on-line, you
reach the Dream Interpreter, who knows
the geography of your dreamscape like
you know the streets of your
hometown."
Clarke is basically opening up his
imagination, running a little bit wild,
but always with the thought of what
might one day be possible. You just
have to be aware that, as with almost all
science-fiction which is more than
twenty years old, you will run into
somewhat dated terms and ideas. It's
unavoidable. Likewise, Clarke doesn't
seem to be just giving us his very best
thoughts. I get the sense that he's giving
us all his thoughts. Nonetheless, there
seems to be a great deal of material
worth digesting. You'll just to have to
decide what's worthy and what's gunk.
Bold New World by William Knoke
(1996)
This is a sneak-peak into Knoke's
comprehensive vision of the world of
tomorrow. He postulates that electronic
interconnectedness will lead to a world
of placelessness where you can attend a
board meeting from your bedroom
while dressed in your pajamas and
talking pig-latin. No problem. Everyone
else will see you dressed in stylish
clothing talking their language, and it
will all be seamless.
Added to this, he discusses numerous
other trends and ideas, everything from
the break-up of long-standing nations
into regional governing entities that
don't need to cling together for mutual
security, to the reorganization of
businesses into leaner, more highly-
networked entities that can be more
easily navigate in a hyper-accelerated
marketplace. Every chapter begins with
a few sample vignettes to put the reader
into the mindspace of what Knoke is
intent upon conveying.
All in all, I'd say this one is a must-
read for anybody interested in thinking
seriously about the near-future.
Dictionary of the Future by Faith
Popcorn (2001)
This one is sort of a coffee-table book.
It's not terribly serious, although it's so
chock-full of ideas that it can be taken
seriously. I really think of this book
mainly as a brainstorming device for
prospective science-fiction writers. You
can open it up, randomly flip to a page,
and generally find something of
interest. Hence, I can't recommend it
highly unless this sort of book is your
cup of tea. Fortunately, it is mine.
Generations: The History of
America's Future, 1584 to 2069 by
William Strauss & Neil Howe (1991)
This is really a history book with a
generational view of history. Strauss &
Howe, who also wrote The Fourth
Turning (1997), have done enormous
research and have taken great pains to
advocate their theory that history is
essentially a great wheel, ever-turning,
and that it is driven in large part by an
ever-repeating set of four generational
personality types (Idealist, Reactive,
Civic, and Adaptive). In short, they
liken human society to a great machine,
and this book is essentially their
blueprint of that machine: how it
operates, and why it does what it does.
If nothing else, it's certainly an
interesting way to try to understand
history.
 As for the future, the authors predict a
crisis era sometime in the near future.
They said it should be from 2013 to
2024 or thereabouts. Unfortunately,
they also say that if the crisis comes
early (during the 2000-2009 decade, in
which we are, of course, currently
enmeshed) then "the risk of cataclysm
would be very high," and in such a
circumstance, they recommend national
self-restraint. "Boomers can best serve
civilization by restraining themselves
until their twilight years, when their
spiritual energy would find expression
not in midlife leadership, but in elder
stewardship."
I'm not sure what all that means, but if
I were to guess, I'd say it means that
nations have to be properly configured
psychologically to deal with a crisis.
Nations need the right combination of
morality, patriotism, and hard-nosed
pragmatism, and if they get hit at the
wrong moment, just like a boxer, they're
going to fall.
All in all, this book is one where
history meets group psychology meets
new age philosophy coupled with a
dash of prognostication. It's not light
reading by any stretch, and because of
this, I can't recommend it except for
serious students of history, those who
will be most prepared to digest the
theory as well note where the authors
seem to be cherry-picking their facts.
Unfortunately, I don't personally fall
into such a category, so I've found
myself somewhat unprepared for this
noteworthy tome.
Robot: Mere Machine to
Transcendent Mind by Hans
Moravec (1999)
This is not necessarily a book I would
recommend, however, I found the fifth
chapter "The Age of Robots" rather
intriguing. It posits a basically happy
future (for humans) where robots do all
the labor and humans play the role of
perpetual vacationers, waited on hand
and foot by their robotic slaves.
Moravec, who also wrote Mind
Children: The Future of Robot and
Human Intelligence (1988), imagines a
world something like "the richest
Arabian petro-kingdoms where oil-
bought foreign labor plays the role of
total automation.... Free health care and
education, and undemanding
government jobs, or outright welfare,
secure life's needs." But how will
people make money? The welfare state,
of course! "Underemployed populations
will be increasingly likely to vote
themselves income from taxes on labor-
free but superbly productive industries."
And that's just during the medium term.
After that, things start to get weird.
The Unabomber Manifesto (formally
titled "Industrial Society and its
Future") by Ted Kaczynski (1995)
Now stop looking so surprised. You all
knew I was out-to-lunch when I started
talking politics. This entry should only
confirm your opinions. 
Kaczynski, more popularly known as
the Unabomber, is said to have written
this little treatise out longhand in his
cabin out in the woods. A devout anti-
technologist, he makes the pessimistic
counter-argument to Moravec's
unbridled optimism. Who you choose to
believe is up to you. Perhaps the truth
lay somewhere in between.
As for myself, I think the world that
Moravec paints could come to pass if
only humanity would absolve itself of
its worst tendencies. Kaczynski doesn't
believe we will, and while his argument
seems to be with technology, what he's
really saying is that we don't have the
wisdom as a species to handle high
technology without allowing ourselves
to become enslaved by it.
Personally, I think Kaczynski is a
certifiable genius. Oh, he's certifiable
alright. He's a bigger nut than my left
testicle. But he's smart, and while all his
ideas aren't necessarily new, the way he
puts them together to make his
argument is quite interesting and, at
least to my mind, intensely thought-
provoking.
Now, what exactly does he say? Read
paragraphs 151-160, 163, and 171-177.1
You can read the whole thing if you
like, but these are the paragraphs that I
find directly applicable to futurism.
They essentially make the case that
advancing technology and the quest for
human freedom are incompatible, and
that of these two forces, technology is
by far the more powerful. While I tend
1
He had the foresight to number the
paragraphs of his manifesto for ease of
reference. As for finding a copy, it's not very
difficult. Somewhat ironically, this anti-
technology/anti-society screed is available at
various Internet websites, so any reasonable
search engine should be able to locate a
copy.
to disagree with Kaczynski's final
conclusion, I find his analysis to be
well-worth considering. And who
knows? Maybe the son-of-a-bitch is
right.
There are also two RPGs which I'll talk
about briefly:
High Colonies: Science Fiction Role
Playing by Edwin King & Eric Hotz
(1988)
This little-known RPG is set in the year
2188, some seventy years after the
EarthHome War which saw the
sterilization of the planet. Hence, the
"high colonies" have been left to their
own devices. Although manned
interstellar travel has not yet occurred
(at least not for humanity), the solar
system is inhabited by all manner of
miniature societies, and these are often
at each others throats.
Think of it as Traveller minus jump
drives and condensed down to the scale
of a single star system. Players typically
take the role of mercenary soldiers
working on contract for one of the
various factions (mainly governments,
religious sects, corporations and
unions).
Now, while I've never played this
game, I've always admired it if for
nothing else than the vast number of
colonies described in the gazette.2
However, in other areas I feel they
didn't do a very good job. The chapter
on travel covers less than half a page
and doesn't make any attempt to take
orbital mechanics into account when
figuring travel times. Likewise, we are
apparently to believe that artificial
intelligence hasn't made any discernable
progress in two centuries. In short, at
least in terms of its deficiencies, the
game seems too much like Traveller,
and I get the sense that while a great
deal of effort went into producing it,
there wasn't enough thoughtful
speculation before commencement of
the actual writing.
Having said that, however, there's
enough here of value that I can
recommend this product either for
gamers interested in exploring a gritty,
spacefaring, post-holocaust near-future,
or for those doing SF-RPG design who
2
The gazette is the game's second chapter.
There are well over 150 colonies briefly
described in around twenty pages.
want to see what a little known
company has managed to put together
some years ago.
Transhuman Space by David Pulver
and friends (2002)
Published by Steve Jackson Games as a
science-fiction setting for GURPS,
Transhuman Space is a beautiful
product, beautiful in terms of
production quality and beautiful in
terms of design. The premise is quite
simple and at the same time amazingly
complex.
The simplicity of it is that there is no
apocalypse, at least not up until the year
2100, which is the starting year of the
campaign setting. While not being
entirely utopian, this setting that Pulver
presents is certainly far from a dystopia.
Yet, at least to me, the real genius is that
he doesn't seem to go out on a technical
limb with faster-than-light starships and
reactionless maneuver drives. There
isn't even antigravity, a staple of most
science fiction.
Instead, he takes the all-too-neglected
approach of just assuming what seems
scientifically reasonable. He assumes
that the technologies which presently
appear to be fruitful will be, and so he
posits them bearing fruit in abundance.
So, of course, the setting features
artificial intelligence, so much so that I
couldn't help but be reminded of the
Kurzweil and Moravec books, which
Pulver is probably familiar with given
that he mentioned them in
Transhuman's bibliography. Likewise,
the biological sciences have a field day.
This is science-fiction is as it ought to
be: reasonable assumptions taken to
their logical, if extreme, conclusions.
But therein lay the complexity, for the
logical conclusions are complex and are
sometimes even mystifying.
Trying to imagine a world where
artificial intelligence is quite
commonplace is mystifying to me. Add
to that improvements in medicine, such
that the rich can live forever. Now add a
variety of nanobotic critters doing
everything from surveillance to surgery.
Toss in the ability to upload a human
brain into a computer (even the nano-
preserved brain of a dead person). Then
add all sorts of genetic engineering
applications, including the ability to
create designer lifeforms.
I admit, some of this stuff is pretty far-
fetched, but at least there's some
rationale for it. It's not pure
technobabble-gonzotech, the proverbial
black box without any scientific
rationale. Despite the way that
technology gets stretched and pulled, I
don't think the conclusions are entirely
out of hand. This stuff may someday be
possible, at least to my way of thinking.
Hence, of all the science-fiction
settings that I've seen, this one seems to
me to be the hardest-science of them all,
and I find that very interesting. It results
in a highly complex setting, one which
is as hard to wrap the mind around as
our modern world might have been for
a citizen of the roman empire.
Nonetheless, immersing oneself in this
setting, while difficult, is not
impossible.
One thing I didn't like, however, was
that I didn't really get a sense that the
social ramifications of all these
technologies were adequately explored.
Granted, at 200-and-some pages, this
book is packed as it is, but, just as an
example, the section on economics and
occupations takes all of a page and a
half. One thing that is mentioned is that
due to the influx of robotics and
artificial intelligence, the traditional 40-
hour work-week is cut to around 20-
hours. While that is certainly
understandable, there's no real
discussion about the economic turmoil
that will be caused by such a massive
use of these technologies.
What happens to those populations
which can't afford to genetically
enhance their children? How do they
compete in an increasingly knowledge-
oriented marketplace? And how do
knowledge workers compete once AIs
start taking their jobs? It seems to me
that capital will ultimately triumph over
labor, that humans as a factor of
economic production may become
almost entirely superfluous…I believe
obsolete is the term.
If this happens, what will that mean
for society? I'm not sure, but I think
somebody ought to at least attempt to
address this question convincingly, and
so far, I just haven't seen it done.
However, perhaps future books in the
Transhuman Space line will address this
and other questions posed by the
technological framework of the setting.
Some new books in the line have
already come out, and I'm to understand
that several new ones are in the works,
so I'm hopeful that this setting will be
explored in depth.
Even standing by itself, however,
Transhuman Space contains enormous
food for thought. It's a veritable
smorgasbord of what the near future
may become. So to anybody reading
this who is interested in science fiction,
what I'd recommend is that even if
you're only going to buy one science-
fiction RPG book during this entire
year, this is the one you should get.
Re: The Ragamuffin Timeline
Regarding the Ragamuffin project, I've
continued work on my timeline for the
near future, taking into account many of
your suggestions, but I find myself
rather dissatisfied with it in various
ways. For one thing, it still seems
overly-optimistic, which I suppose
might make some of you laugh. But my
reason for saying this is that I really
didn't follow-through on some of my
earlier statements in A&E, my gloom &
doom analysis of world affairs.
Likewise, even though I bemoaned
the state of our future economy, I'm not
sure I should have allowed America to
get off so easily on its current
entanglement in the Middle-East.
Furthermore, believing that the public
wouldn't stand for it, I didn't posit any
expansion of the war on terror, but that
also may have been an error.3
Like I said, I tend to view the
geopolitical arena as something of a
train wreck in progress, but I so wanted
to avoid World War III that I didn't
really confront this mounting problem
of the zero-sum game being played out
in a nuclear sandbox. Perhaps I was
suffering from a malignant bout of
optimism.
In any case, I feel much better now, so
I'll try to remedy the situation, but the
problem I'm facing is that if I follow the
road my innate pessimism leads me
toward, it becomes very hard to reach
that "society of plenty" which I also
want to explore. As George Will said
not very long ago, "The pleasures of
pessimism are that you're right 90% of
the time, and when you're wrong, you're
3
Ken Timmerman just came out with a
book called Coutdown to Crisis: The
Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran. I've
only heard about this book, but what little
I've heard, makes my thoughts return to
the essays I wrote for A&E #351 & #352. I
won't talk any more about this, but suffice
it to say, I don't feel that I've followed
through.
delighted."
Well, I don't think I'm going to score
90%. Histories of the future nearly all
fail, and when they're right, it's purely
accidental. Nonetheless, I'll continue
pursuing the timeline, and I'll put an
updated version online once it reaches
the point that I consider it worthy of
receiving comments. In the meantime,
if anyone has any thoughts or ideas with
respect to future events or trends, please
feel free to email me. I'm always
interested in getting as much input as
possible, and to that end, I may have a
special birthday request in issue #360.
That is assuming I can sucker a few of
you into a small favor.
Ragamuffin Article:
The Tragasi Way
The Tragasi of Jahreiss 12234, also
known as the mercats, are a race of
swimmers similar to the terran sea otter.
Being that their world, Tragha, is tidally
locked with the star system's red dwarf,
the Tragasi have traditionally little
concept of time. For example, their
language includes no word for day or
night, and the English phrase "What
time is it?" auto-translates as "What
name does the coordinator give to the
now?" or more simply "What's now's
name?"
That this laid-back species developed
clocks at all comes as a bit of a surprise
to many visitors, but it certainly wasn't
to keep track of the location of the
unmoving sun. The reason, obviously,
was because operating an increasingly
complex society without some way to
coordinate the activities of its members
proved to be impossible. Hence, aside
from the world's lunar cycle, time as a
concept came to be understood very
slowly and in a very abstract and purely
cultural way, unlike with many other
species who could look outside and see
what time it was based on where their
sun or stars were located.
In any case, all through their
development, the Tragasi's innate love
for the sea never abated, and so when
coastal property fell into short supply,
they took great pains to create more of
it. For decades after their development
of fusion energy, they labored to level
4
As the starsystem was originally known
on Solian starmaps. Some of you may recall
that I wrote-up a brief scene with this race in
my article for A&E #315.
coastal mountains, grinding the rock
down for its minerals and then using the
gravel to create long finger-like
peninsulas. Likewise, they often dug
large inland waterways deep into their
coastal valleys, so many that boating
remained their most common method of
personal transportation even after the
discovery of gravity manipulation.
Finally, as their population continued to
swell, they began constructing floating
cities which drift upon the oceans,
always avoiding Whorgkara, the
everlasting typhoon that their ancient
ancestors once worshipped as a god.
Within the last several centuries, the
Tragasi have taken to the mass
production of personal dwellings. These
come in various designs, but they are
built on a largely modular basis, capable
of being mounted on any of the various
habitat towers that litter the coast. In
this way, entire dwellings can be
transported by barge from one city to
another. When Tragasi move, they
typically take their homes with them!
Other designs are individually
buoyant, and these usually remain
connected to various seagoing
communities for several years at a time.
Virtually all Tragasi dwellings include
photosensitive windows to block out
radiation from their sun's frequent
flares, while those to be situated near
the frozen half of the planet are
typically fitted with thermal generators
and enhanced insulation blown into
these structures' prefabricated ceramic
walls.
Many Tragasi, however, still pride
themselves on not actually requiring
artificial shelter. These members of the
race wrap themselves in the floating
vegetation that swirls around the
oceans. By focussing attention of their
world's oceans, the Tragasi have
increased the natural food supply such
that many of their kind still live off the
sea in much the same manner as their
distant ancestors. They are one of the
few sentient races with a strong luddite
sect, and this mindset is not only fairly
widespread, but it also enjoys the
political and moral support of a diverse
cross-section of the general Tragasi
population.
All in all, the Tragasi homeworld as
well as their culture is one which many
humans might actually enjoy.
D&D3e - Warcraft
Campaign Report
A few months ago I talked about how
I'm playing a Troll in a D&D3e
campaign set in the world of Warcraft5,
and I also mentioned last issue that I
was thinking of bailing, as it's really not
my sort of game.6 Well, I apparently
spoke too soon, as the very next session
was quite good, and aside from simply
being a bit faster-paced, the gamemaster
did something which really notched up
my level of interest.7
He first started by asking each of us
the name of one of the NPCs or one of
the other PCs in the party, and none of
us could answer even one of his
questions. This, sadly, is indicative of
the lack of actual roleplaying that has
been occurring so far.8
So, without showing any sort of
5
See my comments to Joshua Kronengold
in A&E #355.
6
See my comment to Spike Jones in A&E
#358.
7
This is, actually, the reason I make the
effort to play in other people's campaigns.
Because I never know what new GMing
tricks I'll learn. And on this thought, please
see the second paragraph of my comments
to Myles Corcoran in A&E #357.
8
Generally speaking, I would think a GM
would have some right to show a certain
level of disgust with such a sorry situation,
except, I think, that he realized it was largely
his own fault. While talking on the phone
with him prior to the session, he brought up
that he realized that the campaign wasn't
exactly getting off to a roaring start. I
mentioned that the injection of a few
"interesting NPCs" should help fix the
problem.
Now, my friend is not good at doing
NPCs. He delivers their dialogue in what
appears to be a deliberately emotionless
monotone. He's a lawyer by trade, so
perhaps this has something to do with it.
In any case, his response to my "interesting
NPCs" suggestion was to hem and haw and
more or less indicate that he didn't really
know how, and so I told him, "You know a
few interesting people, don't you? Just take
one of their personalities and superimpose it
on the NPC."
Of course, unless you have some
experience doing this, it's a lot easier said
than actually performed. Nonetheless,
perhaps my suggestion in conjunction with a
few others from some of the others players
gave him a heads-up, a sort of warning that
he needed to think of ways to pump up the
volume and draw people into the game
world.
disappointment, he asked us all to begin
composing write-ups in the form of
journals or personal letters, describing
the events of each session. I'd heard of
this being done before, but I'd never
really fostered it in my own games.
Nonetheless, this was exactly the sort of
task I needed.
For the rest of the session, I began
composing a letter to "Ma", and in so
doing, I was forced to ask lots of
background questions about the world
which helped flesh out, not only for me
but also for everyone else, the larger
picture of what was occurring in the
game world outside of the narrow focus
of our party's missions. And keeping
busy in this way, taking notes and
asking questions, I didn't have time to
get bored.
So, if you have players who seem to
need a little bit more to keep their
attention, this is a strategy I would
heartily recommend for all of us GMs
to consider implementing in all of our
face-to-face campaigns. You can even
offer them an "experience bonus" for
doing such write-ups, and if they take
you up on the offer, I'd be eager to see
their work included in your zines.
Now for Ugh's9 letter to his ma.
Dear Ma,
Today we stormed an orc lair. That I
am writing this to you should content
you as to the eventual outcome, but let
me begin with how it all started. My
compatriots and I were in Razorhill, and
the town Sergeant, Gnarl Hammerfist,
told us about a lair of traitorous orcs in
the wilds of Durotar southeast of
Ogrimmar. These orcs, we were told,
went back to serving the Burning
Legion and were planning to summon
them back to Azeroth.10
When we arrived at the area, we
found tracks and set an ambush, taking
down a small group of orcs that very
evening. We left one of them alive for
questioning, and from him we learned
that they were a hunting party sent forth
from the lair. He also told us the general
9 accompanying our group. He's the party
Yes, I named my character "Ugh"
thinking at first that he'd be as dumb as a
rock. Turns out that Trolls in Warcraft aren't
dumb at all. His intelligence, just for the
record, is 13.
10
The Burning Legion is a group of
demon-worshipers who were defeated in a
great war, but they are attempting to regroup
and summon demons back to Azeroth, the
world of Warcraft.
nature of their defenses as well as the
exact location of their lair's entrance.
Because he'd been so cooperative, we
decided to tie him up and leave him at
camp. Then, being that we still had
several hours of night, we decided to
make for this entrance which turned out
to be a fortunate decision, as when we
arrived, the remaining orcs were already
in the middle of a summoning
ceremony. We could hear the chanting
even from outside, chanting that was
fortunately loud enough to mask the
noise we made dispatching their guards.
We sent Kol to sneak up and fire his
long rifle at the head mage, but, as you
know from my other letters, he has yet
to prove himself adept with this strange
weapon. I think that maybe he's short-
sighted, but he doesn't like to talk about
it.
In any case, there turned out to be six
mages, and we were to late to stop their
summoning ceremony. Fortunately,
however, the demon didn't know who
it's friends were judging by the way it
started tearing one of those six limb
from limb.
Seized by some form of temporary
insanity, I decided to wade into battle
with my great sword, a black bolt of
some arcane magic passing right by my
head and disintegrating a section of the
wall directly behind me. By then, all
chaos was busting loose. Don't ask me
to recount all the details. I was too busy
simply painting what remained of the
walls in mageblood. It was a bit of a
splatterfest. Turns out mages can't take a
hit. Go figure.
The demon, meanwhile, kept
munching on magemeat like it was the
best thing he'd ever tasted. He was
basically an eating machine, a big round
thing with a big mouth and lots of
claws. The only problem was that as he
consumed, he kept growing!
I figured I'd better send him back to
the Twisting Nether right quick, so I
attacked, which seemed to succeed in
merely getting his attention. Oh, I drew
blood, but for some reason he didn't
seem quite as impressed as I'd hoped.
Demons, it seem, can be so coy.
Meanwhile, I noticed a thick blanket
of white fog, which by now had
enshrouded what remained of the orc
mages and my compatriots who were
giving them good reason to hide. Scar
was the only one backing me up, but he
lasted all of two heartbeats against the
beast's cavernous jaws. That really
pissed me off, and whatever came over
me was enough to lend me the strength
to cleave the demon in twain. The
thing's innards fell gushing upon the
floor, but just as quickly they began
turning to dust, a very fine ash that
stank of sulphur and rot.
I looked down at Scar11, wondering
what happens to undead when they
suffer their second death. In his case,
given our location, not very much. His
corpse seemed to heal, and Agog12
explained how it was due to our
proximity to the Nether. "There is
negative energy about this place," he
said. "Unhealthy for us, but very
healthy for Scar."
And so we won the battle without
taking a single loss. However, I can't
help but wonder what might have
happened if the demon had decided to
take a liking to troll meat rather than
undead.13
We found a red star ruby in the
summoning pit. Agog figured the orc
mages must have been planning to trap
the demon within this thing or
somehow use the gem to control him.14
However, since we disrupted their
ceremony at a crucial moment, they
didn't have the chance to control the
demon as they had originally planned.15
Since Scar was killed before the demon,
and since it was his was the first
"negative energy spirit" in the area, it
was his soul that ended up being bound
to the ruby rather than that of the
demon. Scar, it seems, must
forevermore wear this gem upon his
body.
We decided to explore the rest of the
complex after looting all the corpses,
and we soon discovered a secret door
concealing a treasure chest they had
11
Scar, incidentally, is an undead Tauran
who is being played by the GM's wife.
Undead, in turns out, die once they hit zero
hitpoints, so we all expected that would be it
for her character. Our GM, however,
provided her with an a convenient escape
route which fit in perfectly with the scenario.
12
Agog is an orc shaman who is
healer and wise man, essentially.
13
It was basically a coin flip over who the
demon would attack, and he did enough
damage that he would have taken me down.
14
Sort of like a Lich's Phylactery.
15
This is, of course, one of those cases of
exquisite timing which tends to strain one's
disbelief, but this is fantasy, after all, so I can
more easily let it slide.
courteously left us. Among other items,
we found a letter16 to Gazz'uz17 from
one Neeru Fireblade of Ogrimmar,
asking for a confirmation of the
delivery of supplies as well as a
progress report.
As for our prisoner, when we got back
to camp the following evening, we
discovered that he was no longer there.
Or actually, his scattered bones were
still there. It was just his flesh and
organs that were missing. It seems some
creature found him an easy meal. I can
only imagine the scene: a lone orc
straining against his bindings, the
ravenous spectator licking its lips before
plunging in for its happy repast. Such is
the gentle mercy of fate.
We took the letter back to Razorhill,
and Gnarl seemed especially pleased
with us, surprised that we had not only
scouted the location of the lair but
successfully eliminated its occupants.
As a reward for our service, he has
prepared a letter of introduction for us
to meet Thrall!18 I can hardly believe it!
As for this "Neeru Fireblade", Gnarl
told us that he's a well-known
spellcaster working under Thrall in the
defense of Ogrimmar. No doubt the
letter we found will put a slight crimp in
his career prospects. It should be
interesting to see the aftermath.
Hopefully, I'll be able to watch from the
sidelines rather than getting personally
involved. You know how I hate politics.
Give my love to the family, and let
them know that as long as I still have
breath in my chest, my thoughts remain
with you all.
Yours truly, Ugh 
When the GM brought up this idea of
each player doing a personalized write-
up of each session, it made me think of
some of the folks in A&E who have
talked about doing newsletters for their
campaigns, and I discussed this idea
with the GM. I'm not sure if he'll
actually follow through on the idea, but
if occurred to me that if each of us
players were to do write-ups like this, it
would provide a great deal of material
for such a newsletter. He could take all
these write-ups, clean them up where
16
Somewhat unsurprisingly, the letter was
written in the infernal tongue of demons.
17
Apparently the head orc mage.
18
Thrall is the Warchief of the Horde,
basically the supreme ruler of this party's
nation.
necessary, and then include a section
talking about what's going on in the
campaign world and so forth.
All of it would be a lot of effort,
granted, but I think it would be worth it.
Not only would it provide us all with a
permanent record of what took place in
the campaign, but I think it could
enhance everyone's enjoyment of the
game itself. Just some ideas that some
of you may want to try in your own
campaigns, if, that is, you can actually
get your players to uphold their ends of
the bargain.
Comments on A&E #358:
Michael Cule: I've decided to cease
discussing politics in A&E, but just as a
friendly nod, I have to admit that your
comments on judicial review (as well as
Spike's & Robert's) have succeeded in
making me really question my views,
and I'm rather at the point of flip-
flopping, wobbly that I am. As for my
quotes from Jane Fonda in #357, I
actually jotted those down during a C-
SPAN telecast (such are the wonders of
owning a TiVo). As for history being
pre-ordained, at least in its broadest
outlines, versus being entirely random,
this is probably something that will be
forever argued, and so we aren't likely
to settle it here. Nonetheless, all your
points are well-taken. If you have the
time, see paragraphs 99-108 of the
Unabomber Manifesto.
Robert Dushay: I like how you
separated your political commentary
from your gaming commentary. As for
myself, however, I think I'm just going
to try to quit cold turkey. Nonetheless, I
wanted to tell you that I enjoyed our
discussions. Although we have
disagreed over some of Bush's policies,
from the way you argue your points, I
can't help but think that we're actually
pretty close in terms of philosophical
bent. Likewise, I have to admit that
among all the people I've discussed
these matters with in A&E, you have
probably had a greater impact upon my
point of view than anyone else, at least
with respect to individual issues. In
short, I do worry that you may be right
and that my own arguments may have
been in error. In any case, only time will
tell, but thank you for the discussion. It
has been very interesting.
I'm not sure if you'd like to continue
to discuss politics outside of A&E, but
if so, please see my comment to Spike
Jones. I'd be willing to continue our
discussions outside of A&E, but given
everyone's time constraints, I'm also
hesitant over whether or not the benefits
would be worth the work. You decide.
Spike Jones: I've decided to try the
"cold turkey" approach with respect to
political commentary, but you make so
many excellent points in your
comments that I find my willpower
sorely tested. Both you and Robert
Dushay have been having a real effect
on my point of view with respect to
various issues. Just as one example,
both of your comments (as well as
Michael Cule's & Patrick Riley's) on
judicial activism (or, rather, the courts
doing their job under separation of
powers) have me questioning my views.
I also especially liked your comments
pertaining to the Ragamuffin timeline.
Perhaps we could move this discussion
to email or the web? If you'd like to get
a more thorough response from me, feel
free to email me your zine for issue
#358 (as well as #359 if you include
political comments in this issue as
well). Same offer to everyone else.
Joshua Kronengold: Regarding the
inclusion of art: Lisa seems to agree
with you that it's more of a distraction
than it's worth. This is actually
somewhat surprising to me. I'd been
using it because I thought it enhanced
my content, but it's an extra step in the
whole formatting process, so if people
don't want to see it, I'll be happy not to
include it, as it's just extra work for me.
Regarding the partial future history:
You say it's not very believable, but
then say you don't want to comment on
it in A&E, as to do so would necessarily
get into politics. Would you mind
writing your critique to me in an email?
I'm going to have to work on it further,
and I'd like all the constructive
commentary I can get.
Regarding the Rice-comment: Yes, I
got carried away in my wickedness, yet
another reason I should abstain from
discussing politics. Thanks for noticing
it, though.19
19
I actually have the highest respect for
both Bill Clinton and Condi Rice. I think
they're two of the smartest people we've ever
had in government. So why do I lob such
incendiaries, particularly at two people of
such outstanding intellect? Perhaps because
even smart people make mistakes, and
 One final remark I'd like to make,
however, is that I'm glad that you also
noticed that I do try to see things from
other people's points of view, and while
I'm not always successful, I think there's
something to be said for at least making
the effort. During political
conversations such as those we've had
over the past several issues, discussion
is often known to turn nasty. Somebody
takes a particular comment in the worst
way possible, thinking that it is
insulting or presumptuous. Perhaps
others view a particularly vocal
participant as being closed-minded,
convinced that said person considers his
or her views to be the only correct ones
possible (and this may be the case, or it
might not be).
In all of these conversations, I've tried
to set an example of being one who
bends toward civility rather than away
from it, at least insofar as my comments
were directed toward other A&Eers,
and for those who have done likewise, I
think they all deserve a measure of
congratulations. In short, for the most
part, I am mostly pleased with A&E,
although, I think it's also fair to say that
all of us could stand some degree of
self-improvement.
Louis La Mancusa: Regarding your
political comments to me and others: I
think you are perhaps the most even-
handed among us, and I've enjoyed
reading your thoughts on various issues.
In accordance with the new policy, I'm
going to try to abstain from further
political commentary, but I just wanted
you to know that I feel that I benefitted
from our discussions.
Paul Mason: Regarding politics, I'm
also grateful for the new restriction,
although I have to commend you on the
way you opened my eyes to some of my
own biases. In any case, I'm glad we
had the opportunity to discuss world
events.
Regarding your combat system, I'd be
curious to see what you come up with
as you work on it further. I do think it
has a lot of potential, and it's certainly
innovative.
because we, the public, have an obligation to
question authority and to verbally smack it
around a bit whenever it screws up,
regardless of what side of the political fence
we currently inhabit. Aha... but I said I
wanted to stop talking about politics. Excuse
me while I smack myself. *SMACK* Ouch!
Brian Misiaszek: Regarding "Are
RPGs Racist?": Once again, you've
knocked my socks off. In fact, I find
myself sitting here not really knowing
how to respond, because you've said so
much in so few words, only roughly a
page, but so full of moral content. I'm
floored.
Of course, I've heard similar
arguments before. Back in one of the
Guildsman issues, there's a brief quote
of an orc complaining to his
psychotherapist about how it often feels
like the whole world is against him.
Likewise, numerous people have
suggested scenarios to punish racism. I
recall one contributor describing how
he ran a game where after the party
pretty much destroyed an orc village.
Then a human priest comes running out,
crying that his life's work was to
convert these specific orcs to goodness
in the hope that they might convert the
rest of their kind. Unfortunately, the
PCs have just murdered them all, just at
the precise moment that he was nearing
success!
Also, there have been various
attempts at turning the tables in official
supplements and settings. Reverse
Dungeon comes to mind, as does
Warcraft.20 These seem to me to almost
be parodies to some extent.
However, despite all this evidence,
I've never before heard it convincingly
argued that RPGs may actually instill
racism. I mean, to say they have racist
aspects is one thing. To suggest that
they perhaps teach racism is quite
another.
You write, "And fantasy RPGs in
2005 are simply a harmless outlet to
exercise that impulse to fear and hate
and attack what is different, right?" It
seems that this is exactly the industry's
argument, and we all go along with it,
because, like you say, it is all part of the
literary background, a background
which was itself racist to some extent.
However, I'm not sure there's any
solution to this. Actually, RPGs have
tried, mainly by getting into the details
of how various racial societies operate.
There have been countless articles and
numerous books written about the
monster races of D&D. Ample material
has already been provided to evolve
20
In Warcraft, even the undead have a self-
consistent world view rather than merely
being mindless haters of all that lives.
past these "lazy game stereotypes".
Granted, not all GMs choose to use
such material, often relying on
descriptions in the monster manuals to
the exclusion of all other sources, but
can one really blame the RPG industry
for GM laziness?
I think the overriding argument you're
making here is that RPGs are, by their
very nature, instructive. The players
make decisions. The GM replies with
consequences. That's the very nature of
instructive interaction. And so, being
instructive, they should teach ethics, or,
at least, they should try not to
perpetuate the worst of our social ills. In
making that argument, I think your
essay succeeds wildly, but it will likely
be up to individual GMs to take up this
call.
Jonathan Nicholas: Regarding PC-
uncoolness in relation to a lack of
power causing them to "become
spectators": I'm of a somewhat mixed
mind. Granted, PCs should be able to
determine or at least influence the
outcome of the immediate plot, but I
think there should also be larger-scale
plots which are beyond their immediate
influence.
For example, a party of D&D-style
adventurers may engage in some tomb-
looting, but when they return to
civilization, they soon learn about a
higher-level party which just slew a
dragon as well as another band that
successfully broke into the royal
treasury and are now considered
outlaws. I think that making the players
aware that they aren't the most powerful
set of adventurers on the block and that
things are constantly going on outside
of their specific adventure can do
wonders for embellishing a campaign's
backdrop. Just something to consider.
Lisa Padol: RYCT me on the inclusion
of artwork in A&E zines: So far there
appear to be two people opposed (you
and Joshua) and two in favor (Louis and
myself). I wonder where other A&Eers
fall on this question? Probably with you
and Josh, judging by how few include
art.
RYCT me on swashbuckling and
what it can teach: I guess my point was
that combat should be about more than
just the action. It should also include
some measure of characterization,
perhaps to the point that the combat
becomes character-defining.
 When I think back to "Pulp Fiction",
the critical combat in that movie came
right at the end (or at the beginning,
depending on how you look at it), and
its aftermath ended up defining the
characters who survived it. But this
couldn't be told in a straight-forward
manner and still have the same effect on
the audience.
The genius of the movie was that it
knew what it was about, and didn't let
the audience in on that secret until the
very end. In short, combat doesn't
merely have to be about conflict
resolution, but how one translates this
into an RPG is beyond me.
Patrick Riley: The plain text look is
pretty cool. It reminds me of that idea
someone had for a retrozine. On a lark,
I decided to visit your website and was
gratified to see Ingrid Atherton at the
top of the characters list. I still
remember that as being one of the great
A&E submissions, at least in my
opinion.
RYCT Myles Corcoran regarding the
Star Trek Tactical Combat Simulator
being like Battlestations: I never heard
of Battlestations. Who did it? How does
it play? Would you recommend
incorporating it (or something like it)
into an SF-RPG campaign?
RYCT Lee Gold regarding my writing
of inflammitories: I admit that I've said
a few things here that I perhaps
shouldn't have. That Rice-comment of
issue #357 was but one example. (See
my reply to Joshua in this issue) And
every so often I catch myself after the
fact and give myself a reprimand. (I did
so in issues #355 as well as #358.)
However, in my own defense, at least
I wasn't attacking any particular A&Eer.
Granted, such incendiaries do have the
propensity to anger some people. They
are designed, after all, to provoke an
immediate, gut-level reaction. But they
are not flames. They're just provocative
statements, thought-provoking
statements for some people, anger-
provoking for others. How one
responds to them is a decision that one
makes as an individual, and I think that
decision says a lot about one's
individual character.21
In any case, I'm sorry that you found
21
Which is not to say that there's
necessarily a right or wrong way, except
insofar as individual groups decide what is
or isn't permissible.
my use of the phrase "to get people to
think" to be insulting. It wasn't meant
that way. I simply wanted to discuss my
confused thoughts with a well-informed
group.
RYCT Jonathan Nicholas (Not
Nichols): I don't want to get into
political banter, but I just want to say
that I really like what you wrote here.
My point of view on the courts is
sliding a bit in response to some A&Eer
comments as well as the recent decision
about medical marijuana.22 I say this
just to point out that perhaps our views
are closer than they might have at first
appeared. It might be enjoyable to meet
you someday and have a more thorough
discussion, provided, of course, that you
promise not to get too angry with me. 
Brian Rogers: You say you don't write
fiction anymore. Well, that's a shame,
because you really should. I found "The
Man Who Collected Ducks" to be
simply wonderful.
Marcos Subias: As you know by now,
if you read my other comments, I'm
withdrawing from the political
discussions. In short, I think Lee and
Joshua are right in that the APA is better
served by sticking to its focus.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the discussion
we had, not surprising since we share so
many of the same views, however,
having said that, I'd encourage you to
return to the gaming-focus as well, as I
don't think there's really any practical
point served by continuing with politics.
In fact, I think it's more practical to
withdraw, as if these discussions
continue, I think all they're likely to
succeed in doing is to eventually
generate animosities between the
participants, and I'd rather not see that
happen. It would only end up damaging
future discussions as well as future
possible friendships, and life is much to
short to allow that to happen.23
22
This case, rather to my surprise, had
Clarence Thomas appearing to me to be the
most well-reasoned justice on the bench. I
would love to discuss this with A&Eers, but
alas, it isn't meant to be.
23
In reference to this, after reading your
comment to Paul Mason, I looked again at
what he wrote to you in issue #357, and
aside from his use of the words "deliberate
trolling", I didn't see anything offensive in
his remarks. In any case, I'd urge you not to
get upset about such perceived slights. We
all have different ways of making points,
Regarding teaching, I hope you have a
good experience at the new school. I
always thought that history would be a
fun subject to teach. Of course, most
students, as I recall from my high
school days, tend to view history as the
most dispensable subject, sort of the
"who cares?" of the curricula.
However, I had a pretty good history
teacher in high school. She put things in
perspective with all sorts of interesting
anecdotes. Likewise, I had a history
professor in college who was practically
a stand-up comedian. He told history
like it was a big joke, sometimes a sick
joke, but a joke nonetheless, and as a
result, there were rarely empty seats in
his class.
It must have been around that time
that I came to the view that what high
schools need in terms of history
teachers are ones who have also
cultivated great skill in the art of
storytelling. I don't know how well
you'll manage or what approach you'll
take, but good luck.
Regarding gaming, I didn't realize you
live in Southern California. If you're
looking for a game, although I can't
recommend it quite as heartily as I'd
like, the D&D3e/Warcraft campaign I'm
playing in normally meets in Hacienda
Heights once every six weeks or so. If
you'd be interested, let me know, and I'll
pass along your email address to the
GM. The campaign report in this issue
should give you a rough idea of what
the game is like.
and although Paul's arguments can be
somewhat pointed at times, I think it's worth
the effort to look past this and try to consider
the real substance of his world view.
Although, of course, I make this point
parathetically, as I think we've reached the
point of diminishing returns, so further
discussions of this nature, if they are to exist
at all, should probably be taken-up outside
the APA.