Something Afoot

And it's my toe. My podiatrist says the toe gets to stay on the foot - for the moment - so I am less distracted than I was three weeks ago. I did a Plumfund page to cover 16 unexpected medical appointment and costs - and so far have raised almost exactly half of what was needed to do everything, but I am up to #8 on the scheduled appointments...

And things go on.

Back to SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL #9, THE RECO REPORT. I've been planning this for quite a while and have a good deal of information on CORKS, INCUPODS, and RECOS. This includes the basic information for anyone interested in that form of Bio-tec, including detail on cork cutting (programming), the real role of the Busk, and the programming outline to design your own Reco for fun or profit.

SSC #9 will also have THE OTHER ARTISTS OF JORUNE, including incomplete galleries of George Barr, Janet Aulissio Dannheiser, our own Steve Devaney, Alan Okimoto, and more (including my own artwork, with some embarrassment).

Number Nine will be a nice, fat issue to make up for the delay. I don't feel I've really fallen too far behind. I promised 16 pages a month and at least one issue a month. This will be eight issues in six months, and the page count to date has been:

   Issue 1 - Lamorri, plus - 17 pages
   Issue 2 - Day War, ORFA, Conversions and such - 16 pages
   Issue 3 - Heretics and for writers, Jorune or not -  22 pages
   Issue 4 - Jorune Cartography - 21 Pages
   Issue 5 - Angels of Drail, opening chapters - 17 pages
   Issue 6 - Warp Mechanics, The Mes Dig, Tables for Goodies - 16 pages
   Issue 7 - The Lattice, Kolo-Dissal*, a timeline of parallel worlds - 16 pages
   Issue 8 - Sharden, Other Artists of Jorune, Part One - 16 pages

Issue 9 - Reco report, Cork programming, Incupod Maintenance - 48 pages I type this, so I'll probably cut that down. But to this point - 141 pages, plus whatever the page count of #9 turns out to be. Call it 40 pages, so 181 pages going into the seventh-month averages to 25.8 pages per month. Above frequency, above page count - I don't feel bad taking care of my medical reality.

The issue after, number ten, will complete THE RED GATE, of which elements have appeared in several issues of SSC. That will be #10.


I'm not sure how I'm going to wind this up. There is material. I'm sitting on a bunch of stuff Heridoth based on a play by mail game at Oxford — the one in England —where the players ran city-states and came up with some really good ideas. I have original art from Miles Teves I don't think I ever published anywhere, so there's that. A bunch of people gave me nuggets for adventures, and I'd like to get those out in the world.

And the big one. I had a campaign I ran for a stable group (at least a regular - with those personalities... stable?) for about eight years, with a six-month break while I was out of state. I called it CHILDREN OF BOMOVERIS, and it linked a grand unified conspiracy that shared the powers of Boveris' blood, active earth-tec from the Desti Station, the powerful houses gathering against Dandrenn in Kirlan, and opposed by an equal force led by the Seraphim Guard, Shantha, the united Iscin Races, with human mutations (including Muadra), Cleash and Scarmis in the middle. And the middle is where the action is. A secret Earth-tec colony in the jungles of the Western Trinnu, five children of the revived Karl B from his Keeper Rod... It was a romp that had it great, satisfying closing firefight (with many kinds of fire) in one of the High Houses in Kirlan. No ray guns, but dyshas, automatic pistols, arrows... and the system we evolved together got the action going during the fight where it was just go, Go, GO!!! Almost combat in real time.

There were several people there at the finale who are still in touch with me. I think it is a proper exit blast. THE CHILDREN OF BOMOVERIS. SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL #14.

I had big dreams when the RETURN TO JORUNE started, and a few nightmares along the way, but I need to wrap this up. Paid subscriptions to SEGMENT; SHO-CAUDAL only go up to #12. I made a couple of errors along the way and as make-good, I'm committed to #14, so 14 is the swan song. And thanks for all the fish.

I'm not saying I'll never do another Jorune, but I will never again be this public or focused on that world.

The collection that may happen one fine day.

I have two in various stages or readiness - THE COMPLETE DANSTEAD TRAVELLER and THE COMPLETE BORKELBY'S FOLLY. SHOLARI JAMES pulled out in favor of having control to present his material, his way, and on his timetable. My own GOMO GUIDE: TAN IRICID are on the to-do list in 2018. they are in that order as to readiness. In fact, as soon as I get a cover and can convert all the English measurements to metric, I'm good to go on DANSTEAD. BORKELBY needs some work - permissions and organization. Someone suggested I gather my own work in one volume - not a 2018 priority, but it is possible. And TAN IRICID could be ready with just a little work. Some of it has been appearing in SSC, but so few people see if I could release the whole thing to a new audience with no qualms.

This next SSC issue will be worth the bother. Maybe the rest of it will be, too.