Author Archives: admin

Strong Baby’s Dream in Three Acts with Nine Sentences.

Act One

(1) Strong Baby finds herself in a nightmare, caused by Tianara’s ectopic pregnancy; Second Sister Ariana intervenes in organic virtual reality.

(2) The Council of First Sisters convenes, with Tianara’s sister Dianire taking her seat; Ariana presents the recorded intervention, and the Council decides on a cruel Darwinian solution.

(3) Deducing that this would be the Council’s choice, Dianire intiates First Sister Rintiala’s plan to save Tianara, and along with Novice Alope, they hide Tianara in the cactus mother Old Bess and rush off to Clan Demetra.

Act Two

(4) The Tialans and Redourines enter Clan Demetra precincts; Companion Berylia outlines her plan to save Tianara by performing a Caesarean section in the Galiuro, where dying cactus mothers are dumped.

(5) The Tialans and Redourines carry Tianara to Deer Creek in the Galiuro, finding suitable cactus mothers to create an organic virtual reality operating theater.

(6) The Western Bandits, hiding north in Ghost Canyon, come down to abduct the young women, only to be waylaid by clones of Companion Berylia, which was her plan all along.

Act Three

(7) The Battle of Deer Creek ensues, Western Bandits against Tialans and Redourines, with Alope turning the tide of battle.

(8) Finds-Water arrives to round up the defeated Westerns Bandits, to deport them to the Sky Wanderer’s precincts in Albuquerque, a ghetto too dangerous for any sane denizen of the Empty Earth to inhabit.

(9) With Tianara alive and her new baby healthy, Rintiala concludes that the enterprise was a success, and only the first in a new way of delivering babies otherwise at risk.

Strong Baby is born fully telepathic, and thanks Rintiala, Dianire and Alope for helping her to be born. Even Berylia hears her. They all agree to keep this knowledge to themselves.

Second Sister: The Council of Three Minus One

A storyboard of the first nine frames of “Second Sister: The Council of Three Minus One”

This storyboard introduces all the central Nueguan characters for ‘Strong Baby’s Dream’
Frame1First Healer Sister Alathea and Second Builder Sister await the arrival of Dona Demetra, First of Gardeners
Frame 2Alope rushes out of the Healing Temple, breathlessly bringing the bad news about First Builder Sister Tianara, blood sister to both Dianire and Alope
Frame 3Dianire scolds her blood sister Alope, disciplining her in the way of a Novice, while Alathea looks on, nodding in agreement. “Guild is greater than blood,” Dianire reminds Alope.
Frame 4Dona Demetra arrives, accompanied by Berylia, who is not a Sister, nor a Servant. Demetra introduces Berylia as First of Companions, a Guild unknown to either Alathea or Dianire.
Frame 5The Council of Three convenes; neither Alope nor Berylia is allowed to attend. Second Sister is temporarily raised to the rank of First, filling the empty seat of Tianara.
Frame 6Second Sister Ariana arrives, demonstrating Tianara’s condition using a new Healer technique, the Dream Castle. Alathea explains to Dona Demetra that Ariana is the primary Healer for Tianara. A decision is made.
Frame 7Dona Demetra and Berylia pack up, loading a Sick Healing Mother onto their cart, drawn by Spanish draft horses. They invite Ariana to go to Clan Demetra to see how Sick Mothers are treated, and she accepts.
Frame 8Rintiala’s plan to save Tianara is explained by the narrator, showing how Tianara was placed in the Sick Mother by Berylia and Alope, while they supposedly waited outside the Council chambers.
Frame 9Just as the cart and horses leave the Healing precincts, Alope rides up on one of her Graspers–Yassah–followed by Shassah. Alope was not part of Rintiala’s plan, but Ariana decides that she may come, as long as she stays out of harm’s way.
Story board for The Council of Three Minus One

Scene 8 of Strong Baby’s Dream

Scene 8 of Strong Baby’s Dream is the big battle scene, with an epilogue in which what is left of the Western Bandits are carted off to their exile in Old Albuquerque.
The battle itself comes to its culmination when Seamus Espinoza realizes that he has lost the men he sent to Mother Goose House. He orders his troops into Deer Creek Canyon, to kill any Nueguans they find, and then to burn out the Wild Mothers.
Dianire senses them first, and her first duty is to protect Rintiala, Ariana and her own sister Tianara. Alope is outside the Birthing Mother; as is Dianire. When the Western Bandit attack begins, both she and Alope get into Redourine Wild Mothers, and under Dianire’s guidance, use Mothersilk to weave impenetrable armour around Yassah and Shassah, who then march head on into the Western Bandits, knocking them over as the Graspers cannot be harmed by black powder weapons. Alope, impulsive as ever, leaps out of her Wild Redourine Mother, running to give commands to the Graspers. When Seamus Espinoza sees her and the ineffectiveness of gunfire, he prepares to throw a stick of dynamite at the young girl. All seems lost for the Nueguans, but it is Berylia who saves the day. She commands the Wild Demetran Soldier termites to chew the Western Bandits down to the bone. She allows only Seamus Espinoza to be spared.
So, it is the villain of the saga who saves the day. This is important because it is the primary reason that Ariana trusts Berylia, and is willing to become a Companion.

Nuegua Book Three: War In Heaven

The third and final book of the Nuegua series is also divided into three parts, and covers the origin story of Nuegua, the ‘lost years’ of Rintiala and Dianire, and finally ‘Lightning and Earth Mother’ a condensed form of what became of the Sky Wanderers, their split into warring factions, and their desperate attempt to reclaim both their lost humanity and their future by stealing Rintiala’s and Dianire’s DNA.

Part One: The Virgin of the Second Sight deals with the creation of the Nueguan race, first beginning in 2100 with the story of Pink Tamale, and her alliance with Sean Landesten and Althea Radford as they create the world of Nuegua. This section ends with the ‘One-Hour War’ of the Sky Wanderers, and their creation of the Empty Earth.

Part Two: The Lost Years 2528 to 2578 details Rintiala’s creation of a Nueguan colony in the ruins Orlando Florida, and her mission to determine what became of Dianire in Chihuahua. It ends with Dianire’s rejection of Rintiala, and ‘No Mercy in the Cathedral’.

Part Three: The Myth of Lightning and Earth Mother is sung (one of the first Nueguan ritual hymns) and then we experience the struggle between the genetically engineered Sky Wanderers and their trans-human descendants, culminating in the discovery that the trans-humans can no longer reproduce naturally, and what is worse their RIN (Recursive Instructional Nexus) is deteriorating to the point where their long life-span is coming to an end. They have never stopped monitoring Earth, but have kept a ‘hands-off’ attitude until this juncture. Rintiala’s awakening of the Sentinel at Camelback Mountain and the information about Nueguan DNA sent from the synthetics at the Grand Kierland motivates the leadership of the trans-humans to break protocol and seize Nueguan women, to harvest them both for their reproductive organs and their DNA. The original genetically-engineered Sky Wanderers try to stop them and fail. The War between the Sky Wanderers and the Nueguans, four hundred-plus years in the making begins with the landing of the scout ships in front of Carlsbad Abbey.

Second Sister Final Scene

Final Scene of Second Sister

Synopsis

Rintiala embraces her daughter Queen Ariana the Beautiful with “Hello Queen Ariana. I’m your mother.”

A moment after they separate, Hunts-The-Ruins feels a shudder under his mocassined feet. “Either an earthquake or Old Gringo technology, Rintiala,” he states. “And if it is the second, it can only mean one thing. “

Queen Ariana concludes his thought. “The Sky Wanderers have returned.” She turns to Lieutenant Alphonso and gives him an order. “Tell the monks to open up the Gringo armory. White powder projectile weapons only; we don’t know if the energy weapons still work.”

Lieutenant Alphonso bows and marches away, two guard monks in tow. All around the Queen’s Guard are making combat hand signals, quickly indicating the direction of the threat.

“Mother, what should we do?” Queen Ariana asks Rintiala.

“Go out to meet them,” Rintiala replies calmly.

“Then let us take the short path to the Grand Entrance.” Queen Ariana replies, signaling to her bodyguards to follow them through a side door of the stage.

Queen Ariana and her mother emerge at the Grand Entrance, on a walkway just above the floor of the cavern. A thousand metres away, three Sky Wanderer scout ships, looking scarred and worse for wear, land. The Queen’s Guard take up their positions around the Grand Entrance, 20th century white powder projectile weapons aimed at the three ships.

“Make sure no one fires on the occupants of those ships unless you give the signal, Ariana,” Rintiala states. “If they had wanted to destroy us, they would have done so already.”

“You must be my mother,” Ariana replies whimsically. “I’ve only known you for a few moments, and already you’re giving orders.”

“It’s an old habit I’ve never quite gotten rid of,” Rintiala admits.

The hatch door of the closest Sky Wanderer ship opens slowly, and a figure in a 21st century exo-suit climbs out slowly, clumsily descending the gangway ladder. As the figure connects to solid ground, it slowly removes its helmet. A blonde woman in her middle years looks up to see Queen Ariana and Rintiala, as if she recognized them.

“Please help us,” the blonde woman says.

The Locust: Begin the Conversation

[POV: Dianire]

Dianire’s teeth ached every time the 1948 Ford International hit a bump on the broken pavement of the side road leading up to the Kierland, that massive castle in what had once been Arizona, shining in the early morning light on a Monday in the last week of August, 2528.

“The synthetics must have not got around to fixing the outer ring roads yet,” she said in short staccato bursts to the burly young Apache male crouched down beside her in the back of the truck. She looked into the rear window of the truck, to see another Nueguan Second Sister–Alyria of the Guild of Healers–sitting comfortably between a tall young Apache driver and a much older Apache hunched over apparently in pain. Alyria’s strawberry blonde hair–the normal color for a Tialan girl–was tied in a ponytail. It swung back and forth nonchalantly from Dianire’s perspective.

“And why does Alyria get to ride inside? I out-rank her in terms of age and accomplishments.” Dianire said to the Apache in the open truck box beside her.

“I don’t know, maybe she’s nicer than you? Cuter too.” The burly Apache–Hunts-the-Ruins of the Phoenix Clan, and newly-appointed Provisional Trader–threw up his right forearm, ready to take Dianire’s distinctly possible blow, all the while winking his right eye at her.

Dianire instinctively raised her left arm for an elbow strike, and then smiling, thought better of it. “Don’t tell her that, or you’ll never be rid of her,” she warned mockingly.

The truck came to a skidding halt as if stopped by an invisible force, although Dianire leaned out over the cab to see what it might be. There was nothing there except a faded, non-functioning electric sign proclaiming “The Kierland Grand Hotel and Golf Course”.

The door on the passenger’s side of the International opened and the aged Apache stepped out gingerly, clearly favoring his left side. He looked up at Hunts-The-Ruins, who, while leaning over the passenger’s side of the truck box, was readying his rifle. “End of the line for us Apache. Everyone out.” the old man said.

Dianire grabbed her Nueguan bow and quiver of arrows while vaulting over the driver’s side of the truck box. She came up to the driver’s window, stuck her head in, taking the young Apache driver aback and ignoring him while she addressed the other Nueguan Sister.

“That means you too, Alyria.” Dianire said. “Time to prove your worth in the real world of the Empty Earth.” With that, she marched to the front of the International, sizing up the possible threats on the Kierland grounds. Behind her, the tall Apache driver got out, gallantly helping Alyria with her large pack of Nueguan medicines and instruments.

The old Apache straightened up as best he could, coming around to the front of the International, its ancient radiator still ticking with heat. “Second Sister Dianire,” he said, the stress on the word ‘second’, “you are here at the request of the synthetics of the Kierland. There have been several incursions of Western Bandits onto their grounds since First Sister Rintiala opened the Sanctuary at Camelback Mountain and activated the Sky Wanderer’s Sentinel. Incursions so many and serious that the Apache Traders–meaning me–were notified. They specifically asked for Hunts-The-Ruins and three Nueguan Sisters, one each from of the major Guilds. And we’re already getting off to a rough start, as we are one Guild short.”

“We’re short because the Guild of Gardeners refused to send a representative,” Alyria said, hoisting her pack on the shoulders, adjusting its straps. “They think any negotiation with synthetics is a waste of time. So I have to speak for two Guilds,” she said, straightening up and smiling proudly.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Dianire chided. “You’re just here as a milk cow.”

Hunts-The-Ruins came up with strapping on his Winchester 1893 to his back. “That’s enough out of you, Second Sister Dianire. As Provisional Trader, I outrank you on this mission, and I’m warning you to keep a civil tongue when speaking to Alyria.”

Dianire turned to Hunts-The-Ruins, crossing her arms in her ‘I could care less’ stance and regarded Hunts-The-Ruins with a raised right eyebrow. “Anything might happen here, and if it does, I’m better off without either of you. You won’t need to heroically rush to my aid, Apache.”

The old Apache–Finds-Water, First of the Seven Apache Traders–held his hands up for silence. “All of you need to look out for each other. The synthetics have asked for our help, and lot of the future of Tribe and Guild is riding on a successful outcome. That means diplomacy, and yes, I’m talking to you Dianire. “ With that, he motioned the tall Apache driver–Long Jumper, Candidate Trader for the Jicarilla Apache–back into the truck. With a grunt of gear shift and a stuttering roar, the 1948 Ford International backed up the way it had come, made a hard left, and drove off away from the Kierland.

Westin Kierland 2528 A.D.

Westin Kierland September 30 2528 A.D.

A map of the Westin Kierland on September 30, 2528 A.D., the day of Dianire’s denouement.

The entire sequence lasts from 11:30 am. to 4:30 am., so events move quite quickly.

  • The Apache party consisting of: Finds-Water (Head Trader); Hunts-The-Ruins (Provisional Trader for the Phoenix Apache); Second Sister Dianire Redourine, representing the Nueguan Guild of Builders; Second Sister Alyria, representing both the Guild of Healers and the Guild of Gardeners (because this Guild refused to send a representative); Long Jumper (Provisional Trader for the Jicarilla Apache).
  • Finds-Water and Long Jumper drive to within a quarter mile of the Grand Entrance, and drop off Dianire, Alyria and Hunts-The-Ruins, who are left to walk to the Grand Entrance, there to meet the synthetic stewards of the Kierland–Cyl and Tia–and negotiate over lunch.
  • A stray shot from Western Bandit snipers, camped out in the Fruit Groves to the south of the Grand Entrance nearly hits Dianire’s boot. Hunts-The-Ruins tells her it was a mistake, as the shooter is waving a white handkerchief of peace. Dianire grumbles, convinced otherwise.
  • The trio meet the stewards and they all move into the main restaurant just north of the Grand Entrance. The trio are feted with food and drink nearly unheard of in the Empty Earth of 2528 such as mangoes, chocolates and champagne.
  • After the meal, each of the trio is invited to an individual tour, which they agree to, because each of the three has a secret, hidden from the other two.
  • Hunts-The-Ruins tours the Greenhouse and Aquaculture areas, and is tested by Cy to see if the Phoenix Apache are the ‘backup race’ that Cy suspects Sean Landesten created, in case the Sky Wanderers exterminate or enslave the Nueguans.
  • Alyria is treated to a demonstration of the synthetics’ latest aphrodisiac foods, and is seduced into an orgy with synthetic versions of Hunts-The-Ruins and Rintiala, those organic beings thoroughly scanned when the Sentinel was awoken.
  • Dianire tours Sugar House, the nearly all-organic living quarters built with technology that Nuegua would highly desire, such as zebra mussel water filters. She is tested much more harshly than the other two, as her DNA contains the version of the Recursive Instructional Nexus or RIN, the organic supercomputer that the synthetics believe will allow them to leave their synthetic bodies behind, and become a new super-race of organic beings.
  • As a result of her failing to meet the goals of the synthetics, Alyria is expelled by them, as they do not desire her version of the RIN, She is thrust out of the Grand Entrance with the synthetic versions of Rintiala and Hunts-The-Ruins, to face the wrath of the Western Bandits, who only a month earlier were humiliated by the duo.
  • Dianire and Hunts-The-Ruins now consider the synthetics as untrustworthy allies, even though the synthetics allow them to plunder a small weapons cache, located at the north end of the Grand Hotel. Both of them wreak havoc on the Western Bandits, using 22nd century technology.
  • Alyria escapes the Western Bandits, with the help of the Super Dogs. Hunts-The-Ruins leaves with Finds-Water and Long Jumper, heading for the Jicarilla Reserve in New Spain. Dianire rejects everyone, and decides to hike back on her own to Clan Redourine, located at the Ray mines in Arizona. On the way home, she vows to create a new Warrior Guild, to deal with both the Western Bandits and the Apache.

The Locust: Deception and Ordeal

This document describes the deceptions and trials of each of the three combatants sent to meet with the synthetics at the Westin Kierland in the ruins of Phoenix, Arizona on September 30, 2528.

Alyria, Second Healing Sister of Clan Tiala

Alyria is seventeen years old, and this is her first big assignment away from the Healer’s Guild in Village Tiala. She has been chosen for her outstanding biology: she can create immunities and pass them through her breast milk fasten than any other Sister in her class. She is however, romantic and naive. Cyl and Tia, the Synthetics of the Westin Kierland draw this information from her easily, and offer her a chance to help them in their work.
Fascinated, she rationalizes to herself that this offer will fulfill the purpose of her mission, given to her by First Sister Alathea. She is to analyze the food production and medical facilities available at the Kierland.
Instead, she is lured into an orgy that lasts the entire afternoon. Cyl and Tia create synthetic versions of Rintiala and Hunts-The-Ruins, and under the influence of psychedelics, expand their knowledge of Nueguan biology and psychology. Their conclusion is that Alyria, though moderately valuable to them directly, is more useful as barter to the Western Bandits. Once Alyria is put into a trance, just before supper, they alert the Western Bandits to the possibilities of a negotiation. They do not, however, share this decision with the Apache Traders, who are also still on site.

Hunts-The-Ruins, Provisional Trader for the Phoenix Apache

Cyl invites Hunts-The-Ruins (HTR) to look over the water purification and food production facilities that Cyl has recently created. ‘Recently’ means for the last fifty years if you a synthetic. This leads HTR to wonder about the timeline, but politely holds back.
Cyl has done an impressive feat of engineering. What were once artificial lakes and pools on the gold course are now used for fish and crustacean production, solar heating and water purification. Cyl explains that the Westin was designed to handle one thousand full time Sky Wanderers.
HTR asks Cyl to show him more of the civil engineering, and Cyl obliges him. Down into the boilers they go! HTR is impressed by how much Cyl has simplified and adapted Sky Wanderer technology to the era of the Empty Earth. Everything is simple and electric, no advanced computer technology, which means the Phoenix Apache can adapt this to their needs and sell it to the rest of the Apache. HTR explains that what the Apache really want is a way to manufacture the durable glass that the time of 2100 took for granted.
Cyl offers to show him where glass is manufactured. It turns out that sheets are produced and rolled, and the heat generated is pumped back into the water system. To keep the water clean, Cyl and Tia–the biologist of the duo–have bioengineered various bottom feeding fish and crustaceans, which Cyl also proudly explains are also fine dining.
Cyl invited HTR to wade into the pool, which is waist deep. He invites HTR to crouch down to look at the catfish swimming around them. “Put your head underwater, and see how they change.”
As soon as he does, the catfish bloom with bioluminescence. HTR pulls his head out of the water, to see a razor-sharp sheet of glass sliding toward him, a few inches from his throat. Cyl is nowhere to be seen.
HTR does the only thing he can, take a deep breath and dive into the water. He assumes that there must be a large drain, with a screen he can remove, but swimming around, back-lit by bioluminescence. There is a drain, with a screen, but only half the size he expected.
HTR begins to feel the effect of low oxygen, the first stage of drowning. There must be a control down here for sliding the glass back when it has finished its process, but he does not know if he can wait, having used up so much oxygen. He rolls over on his back, and lets himself sink the bottom, the catfish swimming around him, and the crustaceans starting to nibble on him. Everything starts to go dark. “Oh no, not again,”
Then his Nueguan cure starts to work on the genetics hidden in Sean Landesten’s ‘backup’ race, the Phoenix Apache. HTR’s spleen begins to pump out fresh, highly-oxygenated blood. He wakes up with several minutes of fresh oxygen. HTR swims until he finds the ‘big red button’, that Cyl had carefully covered with dead crustacean shells. The glass sheet slides back, and out comes a wet, very angry HTR.

Dianire, Second Sister of the Guild of Builders, Clan Redourine.

Tia offers Dianire a tour of the new Sugar House condominiums located near the major Olympic-length swimming pool of the Kierland.

Sugar House is Tia’s crowning achievement, a building completely powered by solar energy, through growing a translucent cactus, with highly-enriched sucrose running up and down its tubules. The sucrose crystal stores the solar energy in the form of piezoelectricity. Carbon superconducting cables keep the entire building complex running; Tia explains that Cyl will finish the engineering task, making sure that carbon fibre technology is used instead of metal. Tia finally brags about adapting Sky Wanderer technology to grow, rather than manufacturing the cables. “We got this from your creator Sean Landesten. We thought this was his finest creation, then we met Rintiala.”
Dianire asks what kind of defenses do the synthetics have against the Western Bandits, and Tia goes quiet for a moment. “We are undefended, ever since Rintiala proved our engineered diseases are no longer effective. Worse yet, the Super Dogs are deserting us, after the death of Tili. We called you here as a last resort, before the Western Bandits overwhelm us. They still fear the Apache Police, however, and were willing to negotiate an agreement.”
Dianire states her case. “Give me complete information on what kind of Sky Wanderer’s weapons you have, and where other caches of their weapons are stored on Empty Earth. Then we have a deal. We will leave you alone and the Kierland undisturbed. That is the offer from First Sister Alathea, First Among Firsts, and Finds-Water, First among the Apache Traders.”
Tia agrees. “Let’s do a tour of this beautiful building now, and we’ll have supper by the pool to celebrate our agreement. Dianire nods her head, thinking nothing of it.” Tia bows, allowing to Dianire ascend the winding staircase at the ground floor. Tia invites Dianire to look all the way to the stained glass, which is showering Dianire’s face with endless beautiful colors.
Dianire, suspecting nothing, does look up. She turns around to share her admiration of the building’s beauty. But Tia is gone, bars sliding across the doors and windows. Dianire has been trapped.
Tia’s gentle Korean voice wafts down from above. “It is time for your revelation, Dianire. Meet me at the top of the stairs. Open the stain glass door, and meet the future of the Empty Earth.”

Dianires’s Three Trials: Body, Mind, and Emotion.

Body: The floor of the first landing falls out, and Dianire must catch a rope suddenly flung by Tia from the ceiling of the first floor. Dianire hauls herself up through a hole in the ceiling to a large empty room on the second floor, where she is surrounded by nine servitor robots, all armed with differing types of weapons. She uses Wushu Kung Fu to defeat them. Heavily choregraphed. She is victorious, but imprisoned. Unnecessary detail.

Mind: There is only one way out of the second floor room, and it leads up by a narrow, winding staircase to a dusty room filled with old books in English and Spanish. The doors and windows of this room become armored with the same sharp, curved metal that was used for the staircase, and again, there is enough electric current running through the metal to fry Dianire alive. There is only one book that can answer the riddle of leaving this room, and emerging on the roof of Sugar House, the voice of Tia speaks through an old-fashioned megaphone mounted on a wall. Tia gives Dianire only one clue: it is the one that laughs at the lies we cling to. To many literary references; also an unnecessary detail.

Dianire scans the titles of the books. Most are old nineteenth-century books on mathematics and physics, but there is a small second devoted to fiction. Those are mostly science-fiction novels from the early twentieth century, but one book is out-of-place: a 1615 first edition hard-bound copy of Cervante’s ‘Don Quixote’. As Dianire thumbs through it, one of the feathers from Tia’s earrings falls out of the beginning of Chapter Six: The Destruction of Don Quixote’s Library. Unnecessary.

The answer to the riddle is found by tracing the woodcuts of Edmond Cervante’s ‘Don Quixote’, specifically the woodcut of the burning of the fantasy books in the city square. Dianire’s superior vision can see just the hint of a medieval dragon traced across the fire the only half-devours half of the books. “Excellent!” Tia exclaims. “There is some truth in lies, after all.” Clever, but unnecessary.

Emotion: The final trial occurs when Dianire is faced with a synthetic Rintiala, who explains the needs and goals of the synthetics, and then offers Dianire a devil’s bargain, which Dianire rejects.

Update 20200527 The Rintiala that Dianire meets on the roof of Sugar House is fully organic, but is flawed and dying. She possesses some of Rintiala’s personality, but none of her memories. Tia has to help her stand to give her speech to Dianire.

Rintiala’s DNA contains securely-coded areas that are undecipherable to Cyl and Tia. They understand that this must be the section that accesses psychic powers, but they don’t believe such a thing is possible. It is just another example of Sean Landesten’s insanity.

This dying version of Rintiala begs Dianire to accept vivisection for the good of Nuegua. The synthetics need to take Dianire’s brain and body apart, cell by cell if need be, to finally become fully organic, as once they understand the connection between Dianire’s RIN and her brain, their vision will be fulfilled.

“For all you vague prophecies, you synthetics are no more useful to me than those idiot Spaniards and their crazy religion. I expected more from intelligent machines. So…I’m going to reject your offer, and take my chances with gravity.”

Dianire performs a ‘backward swan’ dive into the Olympic pool below, twisting so that she can land in the deep end. From six stories up, however, the effect is the same as hitting concrete.

Dianire shatters her left scapula and left clavicle; tearing into her left lung and filling it with blood. Instead of dying at the bottom of the pool, however, her transformation into the Dark Queen begins. Her bones begin to grow dense carbon fibres, beginning at her sternum and branching out all the way to fingers, toes and skulls. The pain is beyond excruciating, but in her agony she realizes that the synthetics were telling her the truth. Only by the most intense agony will the Dark Queen emerge.

Dianire swims to the shallow end of the pool, ready to destroy all the synthetics in her rage. Instead, the synthetics and their servitors are clapping and applauding her transformation. The pool was used to record and sample every tiny instance of the emergence of the Dark Queen, giving the synthetics the added knowledge that they needed.

“If you need to destroy us, do so,” Cyl and Tia speak in unison. “But look at what we have given you! If there was another way, we would have found it, but we did not. Hail to you, Dark Queen Dianire!” NECESSARY. This is the emergence of the Locust.

The Locust Opening Credits

The opening–first in graphic novel, then perhaps a pre-visualization video–will be a nod to a Sergio Leone western, such as ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’. It begins with a wide-angle shot of the east entrance to the Westin Kierland, then panning to the manicured hills on the north-west fairway, where the Western Bandits are assembling their forward men equipped with binoculars and buffalo rifles. Then a wide angle to the south east, where a heavily-armed 1948 Ford truck is driving in, carrying three passengers, all dressed in survival gear, bouncing around on the truck bed.

They dismount, and speak to an elderly Apache riding in the passenger’s seat. He leans his head out the window, but does not get out. He simple alerts the three to the situation: The synthetics of the Westin Kierland have decided to form a partnership with the Apache Traders. One part of the agreement is that the synthetics meet and greet at least two Nueguan Sisters, and the newest Apache Trader, Hunts-The-Ruins. The other part is that these three representatives–Dianire Redourine, Second Sister of the Guild of Builders, Alyria Tiala, Second Sister of the Guild of Healters, and Hunts-The-Ruins, Trader for the Phoenix Apache–make a final decision concerning the new and constant incursions of the Western Bandits onto previous Sky Wanderer property.

The Locust Opening Credits