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Globall War of Terror: FAQ
Jan. 22nd, 2018 09:41 amThis is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the Globall War of Terror (GWOT) series of pieces. This is horror science fiction, all the more horrific because no fantasy or futuristic technology elements are used.
Summary: At this point, I have seven books scripted. Base page is drewkitty.dreamwidth.org but the index is only good for 1 and half of 2. I am presently (January 2020) skipping around the end of 4, the beginning of 5 and a little of 6.
Short form, is that the rawly independent California has now sent an expeditionary force to Iowa under UN auspices to try to stop a pending genocide there, in the context of a larger global war that started with the destruction of San Francisco and nuclear war with China (1), a fascist consolidation campaign in both countries (2), the main character's arrest and torture (3), war crimes trials by the Resistance (4), the new California Republic trying to control her southern border (5) ... and after the Iowa events (6), the final extinction-level confrontation between China and America (7), in which California plays a significant and unexpected role.
1) Why is "Global" incorrectly spelled?
"Globall" may be short for "glowing ball" ... as in what the planet looks like after so many nukes have gone off ... and is also a corruption of what the military in all seriousness calls the "Global War On Terror." I don't want people thinking these stories are anywhere near real.
2) Does Echo 18 have PTSD?
Yes. EVERYONE IN THIS SERIES HAS PTSD. This is an unavoidable side effect of being nuked, plus everything that has happened since.
3) Law and order seem to have broken down. Why?
Law and order in the Bay Area is being slowly, painfully restored. Everything deployable has been deployed to fight the Firecracker War in China. This even includes some law enforcement. What is left over isn't up to much, but things are getting better -- the cordon around the ruins of San Francisco, recruitment convoys, etc. are signs of this.
Law and order cycles again in III and IV. One man's revolution is another man's rebellion.
4) What is this [COMPANY], [CLIENT] stuff?
I don't want to bias the reader by either making up names of fictional companies, which would also require a Secretary of State search so I don't accidentally use a real one. While I like how Michael Williamson snuck some real security company names into his Ripple Creek series ... I don't want to emulate it. [COMPANY] could be any large security company in the world. It has been widely but incorrectly rumored that HAL is Arthur C. Clarke's anagram for IBM. And I don't choose to, in fiction, piss off companies powerful enough to enable holocausts. (I do that enough in my day job.) [CLIENT] could be any Fortune 500 company.
5) Mormons?
The Church of Latter Day Saints is an extremely powerful organization. On the last day of human existence, when all is lost and only a handful of survivors remain, there will be a Red Cross person giving aid, a United States Marine shooting back, and a member of the LDS taking genealogical notes. Echo 18 does not get along with them, but he speaks their lingo and he will use anything - literally anything - to do his job.
6) This isn't much of an Apocalypse. Why does Echo 18 keep saying that?
See #2 above.
7) I thought that nukes going off meant we were all dead.
You only wish. Even in the most pessimistic studies, a hundred weapon exchange is unlikely to do long term damage to the planet. The true horror of nuclear arms is that even a major exchange is quite survivable -- but consider this quote carefully.
"The living will envy the dead."
And they will. It may just take a while to realize it.
8) Who nuked San Francisco? And ... Burlingame?
That would be telling. And [Oliver Stone] is quite correct, the public narrative does not at all fit the facts. But does it ever?
It becomes obvious by Book 5.
9) What is the Statue of Responsibility?
In Victor Frankl's _Man's Search For Meaning_, he proposes a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast to go with the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast.
The Statue of Responsibility is erected after the Firecracker War and the Tyranny, partly to acknowledge America's guilt.
Just because Echo 18 has dreamed of it does not mean he will survive to see it built.
10) The Firecracker War?
This is homage to Robert A. Heinlein's use of the term in _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_. It is also a reference to China. If you accept the public narrative, China nuked America twice and the same day, tried to nuke America twice more. Over the next six weeks, until her fangs were pulled, China attempted to nuke America over one hundred additional times - at first strategic targets, then in desperation cities. Only a handful got through.
However, the US military at last count has used over 1,000 _strategic_ nuclear weapons in China. This does not include tactical weapons. The environmental damage is horrific although much of it has yet to be seen on stage.
Summary: At this point, I have seven books scripted. Base page is drewkitty.dreamwidth.org but the index is only good for 1 and half of 2. I am presently (January 2020) skipping around the end of 4, the beginning of 5 and a little of 6.
Short form, is that the rawly independent California has now sent an expeditionary force to Iowa under UN auspices to try to stop a pending genocide there, in the context of a larger global war that started with the destruction of San Francisco and nuclear war with China (1), a fascist consolidation campaign in both countries (2), the main character's arrest and torture (3), war crimes trials by the Resistance (4), the new California Republic trying to control her southern border (5) ... and after the Iowa events (6), the final extinction-level confrontation between China and America (7), in which California plays a significant and unexpected role.
1) Why is "Global" incorrectly spelled?
"Globall" may be short for "glowing ball" ... as in what the planet looks like after so many nukes have gone off ... and is also a corruption of what the military in all seriousness calls the "Global War On Terror." I don't want people thinking these stories are anywhere near real.
2) Does Echo 18 have PTSD?
Yes. EVERYONE IN THIS SERIES HAS PTSD. This is an unavoidable side effect of being nuked, plus everything that has happened since.
3) Law and order seem to have broken down. Why?
Law and order in the Bay Area is being slowly, painfully restored. Everything deployable has been deployed to fight the Firecracker War in China. This even includes some law enforcement. What is left over isn't up to much, but things are getting better -- the cordon around the ruins of San Francisco, recruitment convoys, etc. are signs of this.
Law and order cycles again in III and IV. One man's revolution is another man's rebellion.
4) What is this [COMPANY], [CLIENT] stuff?
I don't want to bias the reader by either making up names of fictional companies, which would also require a Secretary of State search so I don't accidentally use a real one. While I like how Michael Williamson snuck some real security company names into his Ripple Creek series ... I don't want to emulate it. [COMPANY] could be any large security company in the world. It has been widely but incorrectly rumored that HAL is Arthur C. Clarke's anagram for IBM. And I don't choose to, in fiction, piss off companies powerful enough to enable holocausts. (I do that enough in my day job.) [CLIENT] could be any Fortune 500 company.
5) Mormons?
The Church of Latter Day Saints is an extremely powerful organization. On the last day of human existence, when all is lost and only a handful of survivors remain, there will be a Red Cross person giving aid, a United States Marine shooting back, and a member of the LDS taking genealogical notes. Echo 18 does not get along with them, but he speaks their lingo and he will use anything - literally anything - to do his job.
6) This isn't much of an Apocalypse. Why does Echo 18 keep saying that?
See #2 above.
7) I thought that nukes going off meant we were all dead.
You only wish. Even in the most pessimistic studies, a hundred weapon exchange is unlikely to do long term damage to the planet. The true horror of nuclear arms is that even a major exchange is quite survivable -- but consider this quote carefully.
"The living will envy the dead."
And they will. It may just take a while to realize it.
8) Who nuked San Francisco? And ... Burlingame?
That would be telling. And [Oliver Stone] is quite correct, the public narrative does not at all fit the facts. But does it ever?
It becomes obvious by Book 5.
9) What is the Statue of Responsibility?
In Victor Frankl's _Man's Search For Meaning_, he proposes a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast to go with the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast.
The Statue of Responsibility is erected after the Firecracker War and the Tyranny, partly to acknowledge America's guilt.
Just because Echo 18 has dreamed of it does not mean he will survive to see it built.
10) The Firecracker War?
This is homage to Robert A. Heinlein's use of the term in _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_. It is also a reference to China. If you accept the public narrative, China nuked America twice and the same day, tried to nuke America twice more. Over the next six weeks, until her fangs were pulled, China attempted to nuke America over one hundred additional times - at first strategic targets, then in desperation cities. Only a handful got through.
However, the US military at last count has used over 1,000 _strategic_ nuclear weapons in China. This does not include tactical weapons. The environmental damage is horrific although much of it has yet to be seen on stage.
