As you've told us this chapter ends the Traffic arc it's obvious this book is going to stay with the Squad and not branch out into the court side of law enforcement - which is fine - but there are aspects of that I'd be interested in seeing. Mostly dealing with the Palinor...ians...(?). I'd assume this batch was another group of desperate dupes hoping to shuttle to Max-Earth. While the police have just rescued them from sex slavery, they ARE "illegals," and it's not clear if they'll be deported, imprisoned, allowed to sue for asylum, etc.
Barrindon might be focus of a larger investigation now. Whether that's the next thing tackled by SDC, or if that gets shunted to a different department remains to be seen.
Maybe something for a bonus chapter since the main narrative seems SDC centered?
All hail Robin Cole, unsung hero of SDC. The person who makes tea and decorates the office should rarely be overlooked. Unless they have truly terrible taste.
Yeah, I was aware with Clarke's final line that it is of course absolutely NOT a neat and tidy wrap-up for all those people inside the container. There's no happy ending for those people, no matter how you look at it, although hopefully they'll end up in a better situation than they might have been if the SDC hadn't found them. And this will at least shut down the trafficking ring, in this form, for now.
Something I'm realising the more I write Triverse is just how broad it *could* be. I could write an entire spin-off series just focusing on the legal fallout of the people in that container. I don't think I'm qualified to do that story justice, mind you, but the setup is absolutely there.
There will definitely be opportunities to weave in and out of this stuff, though, even if it isn't main storyline stuff. This first season of the story is certainly the most 'procedural', in its case-by-case structure. Don't forget my predilection for a certain TV writer's work who tended to have first seasons that were not entirely representative of what would come later, though...
Oh, I shan't forget that. In a very real sense you're wrapping up an exposition phase - setting up the basic premises and rules of the world so future twists have context for import.
I suppose there's room for a quick aside on the fates of the Palinor...ians(?) at a later time. "Hey, didja hear? They filed for asylum/ended up in Public Works/got deported back to Palinor/something..." I'd assume police should take SOME passing interest in how cases turn out.
Ok, that your fictional cops would take interest. In the US we're having news that a policeman who abused a prisoner got a six-day suspension, while the officer who blew the whistle on the abuse has been kicked out of the police union and is looking at 20 years of potential jail time for DARING to speak out about an abusive system.
Then again, this same system just gave an insurrectionist 60 whole days in jail - largely because the white, blonde lady bragged she'd get NO jail time, so she got an "example sentence," while a black lady who had a miscarriage is doing 20 years in prison for manslaughter. The US is pretty broken.
"Doing her bit to make the world a slightly better place, one cup of tea at a time."
I liked that line: I'm not a tea person, but I appreciate the sentiment. Also, as someone born in the late 80s and grew up in the 90s, I was thinking Independence Day already, and I wouldn't have been able to resist either.
Let's talk Robin, Janine from Real Ghostbusters and J. Michael Straczynski...
If you aren't already aware JMS was story editor for the first network and syndication seasons of RGB - so the first 80 episodes or so. Those were the episodes where Venkman was played by Lorenzo Music, and Janine had the miniskirt, spiky hair, abrasive voice, and cock attitude... Well, by the time the show was picked up for a second production season the right wing people who ran the standards boards had time to get their knickers in a twist. This is when the creatures designs moved from scary to cute, Dave Coulter took over Venkman (Bill Murray complained about Lorenzo's performance), and Janine got redesigned and rewritten into a "nurturing mother figure." (Egon and Janine's glasses also went from rectangular to circular because of a censor note asking for the change because "children are frightened of sharp things.") Oh, and the network decided Slimer was now the protagonist.
Faced with the show being utterly dumbed down and defanged, JMS did something he's done other times he got into it with studio execs and walked off the show.
Cut to a later production season, and the studio is trying to get JMS back. He agreed with one specific demand.
He was gonna change Janine back to her sexy, sarcastic season 1 self.
Cue episode 118, "Janine, You've Changed," in which it's revealed that a supernatural entity has been posing as Janine's Fairy Godmother, but feeding off Janine's low self esteem. The entity even blocked the perception of others so they didn't really notice the changes! The entity is defeated, Janine reverts to her season 1 self, the guys tell her how amazing she is and vital to the company, and Egon finally asks her out on a date. To a science seminar.
Thus does JMS give a universe-logical reason for Janine's character model, voice and personality change, really delve into Janine's psyche, stick up a middle finger to the network, and write the best episode of the final production block. Not bad for 21 minutes!
Anyways, Robin seems a little more season 2+ Janine. Season 1 Janine/Robin would want to BE a cop and have esteem issues over it.
Well I hope this gives Clarke some closure.
As you've told us this chapter ends the Traffic arc it's obvious this book is going to stay with the Squad and not branch out into the court side of law enforcement - which is fine - but there are aspects of that I'd be interested in seeing. Mostly dealing with the Palinor...ians...(?). I'd assume this batch was another group of desperate dupes hoping to shuttle to Max-Earth. While the police have just rescued them from sex slavery, they ARE "illegals," and it's not clear if they'll be deported, imprisoned, allowed to sue for asylum, etc.
Barrindon might be focus of a larger investigation now. Whether that's the next thing tackled by SDC, or if that gets shunted to a different department remains to be seen.
Maybe something for a bonus chapter since the main narrative seems SDC centered?
All hail Robin Cole, unsung hero of SDC. The person who makes tea and decorates the office should rarely be overlooked. Unless they have truly terrible taste.
Yeah, I was aware with Clarke's final line that it is of course absolutely NOT a neat and tidy wrap-up for all those people inside the container. There's no happy ending for those people, no matter how you look at it, although hopefully they'll end up in a better situation than they might have been if the SDC hadn't found them. And this will at least shut down the trafficking ring, in this form, for now.
Something I'm realising the more I write Triverse is just how broad it *could* be. I could write an entire spin-off series just focusing on the legal fallout of the people in that container. I don't think I'm qualified to do that story justice, mind you, but the setup is absolutely there.
There will definitely be opportunities to weave in and out of this stuff, though, even if it isn't main storyline stuff. This first season of the story is certainly the most 'procedural', in its case-by-case structure. Don't forget my predilection for a certain TV writer's work who tended to have first seasons that were not entirely representative of what would come later, though...
Oh, I shan't forget that. In a very real sense you're wrapping up an exposition phase - setting up the basic premises and rules of the world so future twists have context for import.
I suppose there's room for a quick aside on the fates of the Palinor...ians(?) at a later time. "Hey, didja hear? They filed for asylum/ended up in Public Works/got deported back to Palinor/something..." I'd assume police should take SOME passing interest in how cases turn out.
Ok, that your fictional cops would take interest. In the US we're having news that a policeman who abused a prisoner got a six-day suspension, while the officer who blew the whistle on the abuse has been kicked out of the police union and is looking at 20 years of potential jail time for DARING to speak out about an abusive system.
Then again, this same system just gave an insurrectionist 60 whole days in jail - largely because the white, blonde lady bragged she'd get NO jail time, so she got an "example sentence," while a black lady who had a miscarriage is doing 20 years in prison for manslaughter. The US is pretty broken.
"Doing her bit to make the world a slightly better place, one cup of tea at a time."
I liked that line: I'm not a tea person, but I appreciate the sentiment. Also, as someone born in the late 80s and grew up in the 90s, I was thinking Independence Day already, and I wouldn't have been able to resist either.
Let's talk Robin, Janine from Real Ghostbusters and J. Michael Straczynski...
If you aren't already aware JMS was story editor for the first network and syndication seasons of RGB - so the first 80 episodes or so. Those were the episodes where Venkman was played by Lorenzo Music, and Janine had the miniskirt, spiky hair, abrasive voice, and cock attitude... Well, by the time the show was picked up for a second production season the right wing people who ran the standards boards had time to get their knickers in a twist. This is when the creatures designs moved from scary to cute, Dave Coulter took over Venkman (Bill Murray complained about Lorenzo's performance), and Janine got redesigned and rewritten into a "nurturing mother figure." (Egon and Janine's glasses also went from rectangular to circular because of a censor note asking for the change because "children are frightened of sharp things.") Oh, and the network decided Slimer was now the protagonist.
Faced with the show being utterly dumbed down and defanged, JMS did something he's done other times he got into it with studio execs and walked off the show.
Cut to a later production season, and the studio is trying to get JMS back. He agreed with one specific demand.
He was gonna change Janine back to her sexy, sarcastic season 1 self.
Cue episode 118, "Janine, You've Changed," in which it's revealed that a supernatural entity has been posing as Janine's Fairy Godmother, but feeding off Janine's low self esteem. The entity even blocked the perception of others so they didn't really notice the changes! The entity is defeated, Janine reverts to her season 1 self, the guys tell her how amazing she is and vital to the company, and Egon finally asks her out on a date. To a science seminar.
Thus does JMS give a universe-logical reason for Janine's character model, voice and personality change, really delve into Janine's psyche, stick up a middle finger to the network, and write the best episode of the final production block. Not bad for 21 minutes!
Anyways, Robin seems a little more season 2+ Janine. Season 1 Janine/Robin would want to BE a cop and have esteem issues over it.