Question
From the Bar Zachary says: John is an excellent land writer and David is the perfect naval writer...
AnswerJohn
says: I've found the commentary on "who wrote what" in We Few
interesting. (Both here and on Amazon.) Most of the commentators assume
that David wrote the space stuff and I wrote the land stuff.
In fact, I wrote the vast majority of both (to an outline that David
had worked out with some requests from me). David mostly added
some...detailing
:-)
I mean, come on, do you really think that David would have come up with a character like Gloria Demesnes?
:-)
There are three more books contracted in the series. David has to come
up with the outlines. On past record, about six months to a year after
I get the outline, I'll start writing. So it's gonna be at least as long as the gap between March to the Stars and We Few.
Question
From
the Bar Johnathon asks: When Subianto and Tebic are first discussing
the Marduk house, Tebic mentally recalls a historical situation when
intelligence operatives discovered a foreign conspiracy so deeply
embedded, that notifying anyone would have been tantamount to suicide.
IIRC, it's stated that this incident took place before even computers
were used to crack codes. Could someone let me know what the historical
(or fictional, if that's the case) incident is being referred to?
Answer
John says: It referred to Verona , a codebreaking group during the '40s
and '50s. They finally broke a high level Soviet code and discovered,
to their dismay, that the senior aide to the then Secretary of State,
was a Soviet agent. Furthermore, they determined that the SecState, who
was a very close friend of Truman, and even Truman, were so sympathetic
to the Soviets that there was no way to expose the plant and ensure
that anything would get done. So they just kept reading the mail in
horror until Ike was elected and then turned everything over to him.
Question
For all of you who want a recipe for Clay roasted suckling damn-beast...
Answer
Roast Damnbeast
Clay Roasted Suckling Damn-beast:
The
following is a recipe for Clay-Roasted Suckling Damn-beast, a delicacy
of the planet Marduk. We would like to thank Sergeant Adib Julian for
his helpful suggestions and tips on preparing this appetizing dish. And
this is just one of the hundreds of useful recipes in Interplanetary
Fanny's New Book: "Intergalactic Cooking for the Mom on the Go!"
(Elease March 3428 AD, JB5Clone Publishing Enterprises).
Follow these steps for a delightful meal!
Step One: Catch suckling damn-beast:
Since
these are fiercely guarded by one or the other of the mated pair of
damn-beasts, this is, naturally, the hardest part. The second hardest
part is finding a damn-beast den. The dens are commonly found in rocky
upland areas, but are occasionally found in holes beneath mature
faux-teak trees. Whether they are beneath faux-teak or in rocky
outcroppings, mature dens will only be found on or near hilltops that
are out of reach of Marduk's notorious floods. The openings are
relatively small for such a large carnivore, but the damn-beast can
flatten itself oblately and so must the damn-beast hunter.
Placing
a group of guards outside the den, a single person, after removing
their battle armor, can normally worm their way into the entrance. It
requires a person who is not overlarge or heavy set and fundamentally
unafraid of confined spaces.
Remember that the
damn-beast is heavily armored in the frontal quarters. Since this is
the only part our intrepid hunter is going to see, it is imperative
that a high quality weapon be toted into the burrow. Although one might
prefer a plasma rifle, there are countervailing arguments (you can't
fit it in the burrow, it will kill and torch the kits you're planning
on eating, the blast will probably bring down the roof and even if it
doesn't the back-blast in that confined space will surely kill you). It
is recommended to use a bead pistol with armor piercing rounds. If such
a weapon or ammunition is unavailable, the traditional Mardukan weapon
of choice is an assegai, a short spear. However, uhmmm, Mardukans
generally don't fit in the burrows so it's not so much traditional as
what they would use. If they were stupid enough to try it and could fit in the burrow.
Burrow
tunnels are normally 20-30 meters in length, about a meter and a half
wide and a half meter high. They will have two to three twists in them
and at least one "gooseneck" to catch runoff from Marduk's notorious
rains. Note that the gooseneck will often contain standing water, but
the intrepid hunter should be able to duck through it and get to air on
the other side.
These burrows exist because the
damn-beast is a natural prey of the HOLY-SHIT! beast. All items
relating to preparation of Roast Suckling Damn-Beast can be used for
Roast Suckling HOLY-SHIT! beast. However, the hunter is reminded that
the HOLY-SHIT! beast is seven times the size of the damn-beast. Dress
appropriately.
Passing through these obstacles our
hunter should shortly thereafter encounter the defending parent
damn-beast. Remember, the damn-beast has no vulnerabilities on the
front end. If using an automatic weapon, long, wildly uncontrolled
bursts are the way to go. You won't have much time, so putting as many
armor piercing rounds as possible on target is the only way to be
around to write your own article. Care and decorum are not keynote
words for the few seconds between "what's that smell" and "Oh, THANK
GOD that's over!"
If you're using an assegai...drop me a
note afterwards, will you? Not before, though. I'm required by Imperial
Law to report suicide attempts.
Having dispatched the
defending parent you will have to make your way by the carcass. Since
it will more or less block the opening to the den, I leave the method
up to the discretion of the hunter. (In my case, let me say two words:
Big...Knife).
After this you will have reached the
horrible little bastards you are after. By this time they will be
feeding on their deceased parent, snapping at you and generally making
a real pain-in-the-ass of themselves. You can't kill the little
bastards, though (if you ever try this, and succeed, you will
understand my lack of kindness towards these horrible little
snapping-turtle m*&^%$#@$%^&g bastards) because the cook wants
them "as fresh as possible". (The stupid m*&^%$#@%^&r. See him
trying this?)
Proceed to pick them up and put them in
the sack you brought... Look, if you just brought these instructions
with you and didn't read it in advance it's not my fault you didn't
bring a sack! Proceed to...oh, I already said that. And I suppose you
forgot really thick, leather or synth-armor gloves, right? Well, if you
did, you're in trouble. These little c*&^%$#@%rs can BITE.
Once
you have them in the sack, you are more or less done. Well, except for
turning around (I did mention this requires a smalllllll person, right?
Right?) and crawling back through the, you know, the debris. Dragging a
sack. Full of screaming, clawing little m*&^%$#@cking demons. But
you're more or less done. With step one.
Step Two: Kill the little c*&^%$#@%rs.
The
cook will probably want to do this him (or her) self until he (or she)
tries it with one. And he (or she) will go on and on about not
disturbing them and proper bleeding and etc.
Grab your gloves. Take a big cleaver....
Step Three:
Let
the cook skin them. The scum gets all over your hands and stinks to
high heaven. You already took a couple of showers and a bath to get
momma off of you and you don't need to take a couple of more.
Step Four:
Stuff
with barleyrice and Mardukan taters. If the barleyrice is seasoned with
jcsauce, it adds piquancy. (Piquancy here refers to the fact that
jcsauce is slightly hotter than pure capsicum.)
Step Five:
Wrap
in leaves (fire-tree leaves if available) and cover with a thick
coating of wet clay. Cook in hot fire and maintain fire while cooking.
Serve whole on a bed of barleyrice surrounded by sliced kangoes.
Tastes like frog-legs.
Sgt. Adib Julian
Bronze Battalion (Prince Roger's Elite)
Empress Own
Empire of Man