All Comments on 'Life as a New Hire Ch. 47'

You outdo yourself my friend. Absolutly loved the chapter

O have a funny feeling it's either Shawnee . Or maybe the keeper, but you never know it could be the Queen's office. Poor Des hafting to work with Ronda

And really 2 sets of twins umm I need to go over the run down of kids again because I don't remember Zhen being meanched

do you really have anything to do other than whine like my ex wife did on anal night, boo hoo it hurts, shtap please no. Grow a pair. Post with your name. Your negative comments on every LAaNH chapter show you probably have an unhealthy obsession with FS and his work in general. Have you considered professional help? Maybe medication? Benzodiazapines work wonders for people who have ALL CAPS ANGER ISSUES. If you are a normal sized adult male I suggest 0.5mg of Xanex every time you see a new chapter. If you're a basement dwelling "big boned" beast try 0.75 or even 1mg. That should give you a nice restful 12-18 hours of sleep so you can wake up refreshed and not care so much. No one here agrees with you. Your rants do nothing but cause people to either feel sorry for you or make them want to make you go away.

Thank you!

Had me grinning all the way through!

Thank you again for your wonderful story! I would also like to take a moment to ask that the "Obnoxious Hater" stop reading this story so the rest of your fans can enjoy it without his/her disrespectful comments? Your efforts to provide your fans with an interesting and entertaining story are greatly appreciated. B.J.

I might get lost with a lot of the political talk and social references, but I love this story. It's fun to read, plain and simple. Even if I don't understand every facet of it

for giving us a good day with this story, Every new chapter brings smails and makes me forget the real life for a while.

And for you, Blah , Blah Anonymous I heard that water and electro theraphy can make wonders.

Thank you so very much! For sharing, for entertaining, for educating and for being one heck of a writer. Wishing you the very best. Sending you great thoughts of gratitude and appreciation!

Mark

Love it!!!!

An outdoor Cathedral in January with only 7 hours of daylight and 30 degrees of warmth ???

LOL...Cael better wear a sweater under his dress uniform...Superb FS...Brilliant story!...Please keep providing the unexpected as only you can.

What unbelievable pace. Your story is just right. Beautiful.

another great chapter, you must keep writing m8 as I am still absolutely loving this. As for anon he can feel free to kiss my ass, the dumb troll

Everytime you post I sit down and don't stop reading until I Finish. Pure perfection.

Glad to see you writing again/still, man.

I am absolutely loving this series and I hope you don't stop posting the rest. The twists and turns and depth of detail make this the most interesting read on Literotica. I appreciate this is costing you time from your personal life, but, please be assured you are bringing pleasure to so many with all your stories. Thank you so much for your talent and imagination. You really should go pro you would rate with Patterson, Asimov and definitely Harlan Cohen. You are a weaver of worlds :-). I cant wait for the next one. I started this series 2 weeks ago. It has really grabbed me by the balls and won't let go.

You make me very sad. Such a waste. What could motivate somebody to devote so much time to something he (or she, maybe. More likely He) can't stand. You really should talk to somebody, or maybe just the wall. You irritate without any chance of success. What is the point? We all despise you.

I have so much admiration of you, FS. Such art. Such skill. You have carried forward a storyline that has maintained its entertaining quality for a long time now. I've read the entire saga a number of times, and am awed at the continuing quality of this story. So many strands of the Weave, all wiggling and squirming, yet you have gathered them together and arranged them in a clear, orderly way.

The strands of your web are unambiguously clear, now.

I breathlessly await the next chapter, which, of course, will completely reshuffle my knowledge into a totally new picture.

Damnit! I loved this chapter, and I hated this chapter. I really, really want to read about the hunt, and this was NOT the hunt... But all the same, it was as crazy and awesome as ever, so I can't complain toooooo much. Just keep writing man. Keep writing.

'Nuff said.

I don't know if I can wait two months for the next installment...

Is Cael about to graduate to full employee (Amazon?) or do men in general (or Cael specifically) have more hurdles to overcome? Now that the new class of "new hires" is here, are you going to include their story lines or possibly start a cross over story line and explore things you can't do with Cael? If Cael is coming out of "probation", are you going to continue the story under the same title or start a new thread with Cael? How about, The Power of the Penis by Cael Ishara. Actually, I'd buy that book!

Now to the real question: What is the difference between the president of Haverstone and the queen of the Amazons? How does she fit into the hierarchy? What authority does she have? And how fucked is Cael now? Oh!, and does the affect the Hunt?

The ne'er do wells want to know.

This chapter is again so good, that I just had to go and read it twice.

Thanks for your work and thanks also to the editors!

FS,

This continues to be an amazing read. Given the chapter's title, I was a little worried this was the end and you'd leave a bunch of threads untied. Instead, you've set up a great transition moment for when the hunt is over - open but not messy. Almost the prefect inflection point for a spin-off (hopefully?!?).

Just don't leave us without a chapter on the hunt!

PS Nil carborundum illegitemis. Keep writing

FS Thanks for another amazing chapter. Way to set up the next arc after the hunt! I'm really looking forward to the hunt and more time with Buffy!!! Please keep it up

FS,

i just hope you will continue this story, I read it three times every time a new chapter was published since I found this amazing story.

It's been two weeks since I last checked on your page and I failed to catch to read this the day it posted.

My heart is remorseful, my contrition true.

I am but mortal, I will strive to do better and be available to read what you so graciously provide to us.

In your name I pray, (for more and more of your work to read as soon as possible)

Amen.

BTW, thanks for the nod

Be well my friend,

Nut

Thanks for your continuing the story, it's a great pleasure to find an update to it. Love where you juke we readers out of our metaphorical shorts with all the changes you throw at us, especially as they fit into established characters and world building. The persistent clarity of Caėl's voice is deeply impressive to me, even as you throw more varied crap at him than New York City's sewer system has ever seen. I enjoy your development of the Weave & hope to learn more over time, perhaps even having it take more of an active role in the story as a personality rather than its current deus ex machina role. Every philosophy student's dream & nightmare - being able to ask questions of Reality and get answers back...

Thanks again, FS, hope you're getting at least as much enjoyment out of this as I (we) are.

I can't wait to read whatever comes next

A boy born in hatred with a heart which heals if he ... When I read this I initially thought this refered to Cael's aunts child, but the next paragraph says a daughter. So who is this prophecy referring too?

Meanwhile I'm re-reading the entire series loving it and I've read this chapter 3 times.

Thank you FinalStand!

He is referring to the child of Zhen which in turn as her being referred to as a ghost thinking she will be killed because of the child being mixed ethnicities wouldn't fly with the 7 pilliars

... the past few days and forgot to respond to this question.

The child with Zhen being saved by the 'ghost' refers to her rescue by Trần Hưng Đạo and him seeking out "Hana". Trần, from a mystic standpoint, is a "living" ghost having experienced his full lifespan, died, gone to his reward and then been stolen back through the Weave into Reality once more. Considering the meddling of the Gong Tau practitioners, Tadêfi was lucky to figure out that much.

How will Trần Hưng Đạo and Zhen intersect? Zhen is one of two members of the Seven Pillars of Heaven to spend any time with Prince Cáel and survive so as he claims to be seeking insight into those who are closest to Temujin, he will ask to talk to her and Mu. By the time Zhen and Trần Hưng Đạo get to talking, she will know she's in trouble - pregnant with Cáel's child - and he will pick up on it. They both know the fate of that child if their 'superiors' find out will be worse than death so they will make natural allies. From Trần Hưng Đạo's perspective, saving the child of the Great Khan's 'Brother' is something none of the other factions - 9 Clans, Earth & Sky, Illuminati and Amazons will ignore either.

Complicating everything is the Duan family is one of the oldest and most noble in the Seven Pillars. Whatever misogyny the 7P's have for the Amazons, when it come out Zhen's child is also the GREAT-GRANDSON of the supposedly dead, but now alive Cáel O'Shea, things will be slightly different. The leadership of the 7P's have a clue how ancient the Old Man is ... and it worries them. Okay, it scares the crap out of them because Alal traveled the world and learned arcane secrets from numerous cultures - China included. Worse, it is really tough to claim genetic superiority over an individual who walked your lands before your people even had a name for it.

And that mystic-spiritual connection the Gong Tau could have used on Zhen's fetus to strike at Cáel and House Ishara cuts both ways. Now the 'House of Alal' has mixed with the 'House of Duan' which has pretty much intermarried with ALL the major families of the 7Ps ... and now you have your "OH FUCK" moment. Because while such knowledge means little to Cáel Wacko Nyilas Ishara, it certainly means something to Alal. After all, Cáel (Nyilas) didn't rape Zhen and that fact is VERY important to these Old World folks.

Sure, the House of Duan can declare Alal's great-grandson 'an illegitimate bastard' ... but you really need to think about who gets to deliver that message and exactly what Alal is going to do to them ~ the House of Duan ~ if they do so. Not the 7P's - just the House of Duan.

It isn't like he's renowned for his 'forgive and forget about it' attitude. By all means, insult his family. They may want to consult the legions of his dead enemies about the wisdom of that course of action. The globe is littered with them.

Mind you, the way around this conundrum is to simply kill Zhen before she delivers her baby into the world. Maybe if they hadn't brought Trần Hưng Đạo back from the dead their job would be a tad easier ... but then she wouldn't get to see Cáel again and add to his tally of woes.

The lessons are ... always use condoms, goddesses routinely give poor advice and NEVER, EVER mess with the Weave - you just might live to regret it; if not, it will fuck with your afterlife.

I apologize for the delay,

James aka FinalStand

I am feeling a little smug as I had realised that zhen's child was being referred to.

What I would like to know is where is Lady Yum Yum'so child? Cáel had unprotected sex with her and Ishara has history of making sure that any unprotected encounter with Cáel increase the number of Isharans. I am pretty sure he can afford the child support.

And if Cáel is having sex with Goddesses (goddesses?) then anything can happen.

Cáel and Ishara would be epic (as long as they don't look into each others eyes).

Caél and SzélAnya would make a storm child together ........whose existence might pursuade a resurrected Illuyankamunus to decide to end some other universe rather than Cáel's (or ours).

Sarrat Irkalli scares me so I hope Cáel stays away from her... I know he would "do" her, I am not sure I want to be around to hear about it.

The Brotherhood of the Wolf sound intriguing so I am waiting for Cáel to encounter them.

Anyway brilliant story, great fun well worth reading and rereading. I especially enjoyed the reaction of the Amazons to Chas and I am looking forward to the next chapter.

Thanks Finalstand

JayBee99

Hey FS, absolutely loving this series. The best read i've come across in my years of reading but you have got us addicted to your writing so, when can we expect the next chapter(dying to see the great hunt)?

I don't expect to have Chapter 48 done before October 1st. Not only am I considering wrapping everything up in this chapter (so it should be pretty huge) ... okay, wrapping things up with the Great Hunt, I am presently hammering away at One in Ten after a freaking long time and making serious progress. Sadly, last night I lost a whole day's work in a freak Word accident so I spent today (actually the 11th) recreating what I did plus a little more. Still, I'm happy with the progress so I hope to put out One in Ten Chapter 11 ... soon ... and perhaps A Tale of the Technician 8 {fingers-crossed} and WMD 4. Depending on your point of view, I've also started to make progress on Ebb Tide 4B as well.

Looking forward to October!

As well as any LaaNH sequels and spin offs I am looking forward to reading any new chapters you might chose to write in Ebb Tide and WMD.

If I can put in a request can we see more of Deadly Friends / Unexpected Ènemies? I seem to remember you commented some time ago that you had a chapter nearly ready although this may have been before one of your MS word disasters.

As I have said as an anon comment LAANH is an excellent story and in my not particularly humble opinion, is the best I have read on this site. When fully published on Amazon I (and I am sure many of your Literotica fans) will buy it.

Jaybee99

FS. Please don't forget Zane as you review your other works. That is another great read. Steve

I've submitted Deadly Friends and Unexpected Enemies Chapter 3 to the editors tonight (September 13th, 2016). She's decent sized at 17,475 words.

One in Ten Chapter 11 is now over 14,000 words and growing with three minor 'deviations' from Israel - so far - mainly because I feel events in the City and the Capitol are germane to appreciating the capabilities and handicaps of the forces pursuing Israel and his friends.

I will take another look at Christian College Sex Comedy ~ no promises right now. I've got plenty on my plate as is.

James aka FinalStand

Yay, I love me some Tessio, Marissa and Hexane!

You sir, are a rock star. And i really feel that your work has been getting better over time. So it will be interesting to see where and how you take old stories forward forward. I am curious about how you feel about christian college sex comedy. It was / is terrific, Zane was really cool (zaney) and it was pretty long. Is that why you feel done with it ? Would you rate it in your top 3 nostalgia wise ? meanwhile, congratulations on taking things to the close with this story as you intended, another step forward.

Finally, a humble suggestion - if you could consider making your future work a little more mainstream ( much less explicit sex) or even consider publishing edited versions of Christian college Sex Comedy and Life as a New Hire, they would probably be quite successful on kindle. although the stories I've read so far have been very male fantasy oriented ( sole guy, hot chicks), there's lot of other talent that a wider audience would get a chance to appreciate if it came in a different story setting.

I've read so much of you and and am such a big, fan just wanted to express that I'd love to be able to buy and read your work as part of my regular leisure reading on my kindle.

Zaf

Dont know how I never saw 1 & 2, but thank you so much! Fantastic. Look forward to it!

Super excited for the continuation of One In Ten!

Can't get enough of your stories FinalStand....thanks for allowing my brain not to turn into complete mush....because of your in depth descriptions and world scale effects....a conspiracy theorist like me can thrive XD

You are by far my favorite author and I look forward to more!

Your wish has already been granted. Finalstand has already published major chunks of Life as a New Hire on Amazon as well as a great series Nanites under his real name James Dosher. Others on this site have commented that the Amazon version is the same as this one. When LaaNH is completed we can all support Finalstand's talent

Which will hopefully pursuade him to continue writing LaaNH sequels and spin offs and publishing on literotica.

(As far as I am aware there is no connection between Havenstone Commercial investments and Amazon but I could be wrong.)

Hey FS, finally on yesterday after a month long time, I was able to read all your work and I'm damn impressed. There is a different charisma about your writing which keeps the reader hooked. LNH is your masterpiece no doubt but I really liked ebb tide as well, any idea when can you look into it?

.

UGH. I'm being a horrible human being. I have done a few unconnected scenes. I'm only 500 words into the start of the chapter and I've hit a wall. In the past week I have managed to finish another story I've been working on over the past few months (over 18,000 words) and start two totally new ones (2,200 & 165 words) because I'M AN IDIOT.

I probably shouldn't bring up the trilogy I've been toying with (Chapter One - 18,000, Two - 35,000, Three - 1,000 words and counting) about a White racist kid who has to move in with his (now) Jewish Mom and her new family in Chicago after he learns his survivalist Dad kidnapped him when he was eight. I'm not even sure how to qualify this one. It is not incest (I don't count his Jewish step-sister crawling into his bed as incest). It is more political satire than anything else ...

Or the 15,000 and 18,000 word incomplete fantasy 'short' stories which are just sitting in my cue. They keep getting in the way of the 27,000 word Loving Wives tale and 12,000 good ole Erotic story I need to finish ... or the 24,000 word OTHER fantasy tale ... because I'M A FUCKING IDIOT.

And let us not forget the OTHER already started stories I need to work on ...

Ugh and double-Ugh. What I would not give to be the pilot of my own frikken mind.

James aka FinalStand

James really? An idiot? I think not. Creative fiction cannot come from an idiot. So since we know youare quite creative, you can't possibly be an idiot. Actually, you're smart to invest in a multitude of stories. Im invested in writing one and can only keep my mind focused enough to have written 500 words. Keep up the great work, your readers will be waiting.

First - thank you for sharing your writing with us.

Your update was not what I expected..but you gave fair warning in your bio.

IMHO, write what pleases you and where ever your mind takes you. It's important for me to know that you are doing well. I know that things are good whenever you are churning out stories. So, if there are some half finished stories, then I will learn to live with it.

Keep well and thank you again for sharing.

A very wise man that I know tells readers of all kinds to keep several books going at one time, so you don't become stale of "tone deaf" to an authors voice. Perhaps your mind does the same with your writing. 47 Chapt.s is a lot of attention, specially since your take the time to make is even semi-believable in today's world. Work on pn Chat 48 when it comes round, I believe we'll wait for your best efforts.

Anybody who has read the author's prior stories will see the pattern happening on this one.

I simply didn't think I've made enough progress to truly matter. I spent four days writing virtually nothing and only editing One in Ten Chapter 11 for its submission to Literotica three days ago. Last night, after getting over a cold I've had all week (I have a daughter in high school and a son in middle school) I suddenly put down 2,388 words on Chapter 48. I was up until 4:30 am this morning.

**

“Oh … is Mr. Nyilas also pagan?” she [Sister Rafaela] inquired.

“I am unsure. From what I have been told, he has commended the spirit of his fallen father to your Jesus in a sacred ceremony then, in the presence of your God and the Goddess Ishara, brought in new members to his House. I suspect he may be both,” Wiesława reasoned. “Why don’t you ask him?”

“Because he’s fighting for his life?” Rafaela looked my way.

See, the entire time their discussion had been going on, I had been sparing in a spare room at JIKIT HQ with Estere Abed, the Hashashin assassin (rather redundant like saying the Sahara Desert). I had two tomahawks while she had a scimitar and curved dagger. While we sparred using the furniture as obstacles, Agent-86 was briefing me on various world events to get my input.

Addison Stuart (CIA) and Lady Fathom Worthington-Burke (MI-6) were having a chat with Bishop Nicoló de Santis, verifying for themselves he was worth adding to the team. Juanita was having a similar discussion with Rikki Martin (US State Department) concerning my earlier encounter with them. Nicoló’s buddy, Wachtmeister Mathias Bosshart of the Swiss Guard, was getting acquainted with the other security personnel.

In comparison, those two had it easy. Both men were in their elements. Nicoló was a spook who pretended to be a diplomat for the Pope and was well acquainted with terms like ‘deniable assets’, ‘plausible deniability’ and your direct superior saying <i>‘I never heard of him and if I did, I have no idea what he was doing when you caught him doing what I don’t know what he was doing’</i>, or something like that.

Mathias was in the company of military-security specialists – brother professionals who were introducing him to his ‘sister’ professionals. Our Homeland Security gang were almost entirely former military by now. They got along with our JSOC folks and both had gained a limited acceptance with the Amazon security contingent.

They bonded over the fact they were forced to work with really shady characters ~ the 9 Clans menagerie ~ who didn’t appreciate JIKIT operational security. Without going into particulars, he was given impression the abnormal was the norm and if you didn’t think there was a ‘down-side’ to being able to carry your PDW around in downtown Manhattan, you were probably didn’t belong on this team.

Back in the room,

“He’s not fighting for his life,” Estere laughed. “He is fighting for mine.”

“Right,” I responded sarcastically. We went through a flurry of exchanges, ending up with me kicking a chair at her. Estere stepped over it, colliding with me. I blocked her dagger, disarmed her scimitar and …

“You are dead,” she panted down at me, smiling. I was on my back. She had a belt-knife to my throat. I hadn’t see her draw it. The scimitar ‘disarm’ had been a distraction.

“Woot!” I exhaled.

“But your dead,” Sister Rafaela misunderstood my good humor.

“He survived four minutes and thirty-four seconds more today than his previous record,” Estere responded. She slithered off of me, doing my arousal NO GOOD then offered me a hand up.

“And that’s better?”

“He’s a rank amateur with a few months on the job. I’ve been training to kill people for nearly two decades,” Estere smiled. “Care to have a go?”

“With him, or you?”

“Either,” Estere offered.

“I don’t have a knife … or any hand weapons,” she stated.

“We’ll need to remedy that,” Wiesława stated. “You should at least carry a knife.”

“Really? Why?”

“It is a nearly universal tool,” I stepped up. “Even if you are disarmed, you should be able to find one relatively easily and people are less likely to miss a knife than a gun so stealing and concealing a blade could come in handy.”

“Do you train in knife-work?” Rafaela eye-balled me.

“Absolutely. It is part of my culture,” I grinned.

“Okay. Can we spar – hand to hand?”

“Sure,” I nodded. I put my tomahawks in their harnesses then put my harnesses aside. Estere gave me a wink before giving us the fighting space.

“So,” Rafaela began to circle, “are you Christian?”

“By your definition, or mine?”

“By the definition of the Catholic Church.”

Oh cool, she went for a Savate stance. This was going to get ugly.

**

Back to the grind I go.

James aka FinalStand

Is this what it is like to post here? People bitch and moan about whether an author updates quickly or not? That is ridiculous, and the bastard hid in anonymity. People like that should just f off. James has updated 2 stories that were previously on hiatus, Deadly Friends/Unexpected Enemies and One in Ten. I truly dislike how people can feel that entitled when they're not paying for the entertainment they are receiving. Keep up the good work James, at your pace.

is there any way to support you? financially or otherwise? i'm really enjoying Life as a New Hire and i impatiently await each new chapter.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&text=James+M.+Dosher&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=James+M.+Dosher&sort=relevancerank

Any progress?

I've been feeling ill ... so when I finally began feeling better, I got my flu shot and fell ill again! Woot!

Mostly I've been doing backstory work on Life as a New Hire and Ebb Tide. Tonight I cranked out 1508 words plus some backstory for One in Ten Chapter 12. In that tale I have been plotting out the group's escape route and have been thinking about what life is like between men and women in the rural areas of the Federation ... and what things are going to start being like. The journey from the Mississippi (near Oakville, Ia.) to Cody, Wyo. is ~ 1500 km / 930 miles ~ much of it along what we know today as US Route 20. If anyone has any lore about the road from Coalville (Ia.) to Casper, please let me know. I have already discovered there is a Casper, Nebraska along the way.

I would like to apologize to everyone who has sent me an e-mails in the past two weeks. I've been horrible at replying. I'll trying to catch up tomorrow.

James aka FinalStand

No need to apologize James. Health comes first, we will wait. Take care man!

Been starting to come down with a cold myself. Hope you're feeling better soon.

.

Just move on!!!! This Horse is just Dead Gone!!!!!!!

Hey asshole, piss off. it's free entertainment if you don't want to read it anymore just don't log on you jackass!

To FinalStand take your time, and try not to let some of these shitbirds get you down. . Looking forward to the next/final installment whenever you get it to us!

Not good news, I'm afraid. No progress on LNH 48 to report. In better news, I have made serious headway with Ebb Tide 4B ~ 13,000 and growing.

James aka FinalStand

I hope I can speak for everyone when I say that we are all happy that you are still working and, more importantly, feeling good enough to write.

Do your thing FS, we'll be here waiting

Hi FS,

Your works have hooked me since some time in 2013 when I first read CCSC.

So I want to send you a serious F-U note for what you have did to my country in Life as a New Hire. See, I'm just a normal Chinese citizen living a peaceful life; then you made me imagine all the neighboring countries turning into vultures circling around, not to mention the tragedy of war upon innocent people once again. I remember some time ago one anomynous commentor called you racist for that, which you definitely ain't. It's just from the storytelling perspective that could have happen and you let it go. From my personal opinion, no one who uses bio warfare opon civilians is able to survive at this world stage no matter how powerful they might be, not to mention finding allies. Today's social media will broadcast the horror of a mordern genocide and Chimerica will not just stand aside; and as traditional ally of China, Putin will not consider any power grab to China rather than Khanate since Khanate is more resource rich. Hell, why not do both since it's Russia anyway? Of course, my thinking has put all secret society stuff aside, which is why your story still works fine by me.

Nevertheless, LNH has been a great read and you have made it a guilty pleasure of mine. You know, it's hard to be Kim Jong Un and be sane if you know what they write about you all day long. I LOLed at yous description that some of the named Chinese officials as secret society members and that mental image put in my head. Your illustration of various secret societies are all colorfully in its own way expect for the ninjas which is painfully cliche, but hey ninja girls who could resist. Gong Tau has been pretty interesting although it is probably Southeast Asian rather than a part of Han Chinese culture, but whatever man it's fine. You need black magic and there it is.

It has also been pleasantly amusing to read your pinyin out loud and find it surprisingly accurate which a majority of western writers don't even bother to do it at the first place. You wrote it specifically for readers' amusement and it's awesome. There might be tiny disfluencies in places but your readers won't care, like I had never bothered with the other languages in this story.

Lastly I want to ask you if I can have your blessing to translate this story into my language, as translation practice and also entertainment. I have finished two chapters and the first one is really tough since the plot moved at an incredible pace. It only gets better from there though. I am not charging anyone to look at my translated version of this, and since it is politically so incorrect I cannot image sending to any site or publication in our mainland. I have found a site similar to Literotica for my language and your work is attributed to as FinalStand (James M. Dosher), hope it is fine with you.

Please kindly help end this one soon so our Chinese suffering will stop and I can go back to enjoy being a bystander once again, hopefully in CCSC. Just kidding. Do your thing and be healthy.

Best.

I would like it if you would contact me about your opinions on my work and Life as a New Hire in particular. You have my permission to translate my work into your language as long as you give me credit as author and yourself as designated translator as I'm sure not every word and phrase will translate over perfectly so some of the story will reflect extra effort on your part.

First off, in many of my tales, governments are either secretly bad, or willfully ignorant, of the problems in the plot. This forces the protagonist to take action themselves. If the governments were fully functioning they way they were theoretically designed, they would be dealing with the crisis instead. In these stories, it is necessary for the governments to fail in their mandate - all governments.

In my stories, when you see 'governments' in a good light, it is far more often individual employees going above and beyond their abilities to get things done ~ bucking the system to do what is right. Often this means their own governments turn against them.

As for my writings on China and the People's Republic of China in particular, China gets hammered hard three times. In One in Ten, they suffer the outbreak of the Second Gender Plague and lapse into Civil War. In Nanites, they are torn apart by the war with three separate 'E' Vampires. In LNH, they are bombarded by genocidal biological warfare and then invaded with the resulting huge disruption in lives and economic welfare.

I don't do this because I hate China. I do this because China's fate really is the fate of the World. It really is. As of now she has the largest economy and the biggest population. She has the second most powerful armed force and the largest manufacturing base. She lays claim to the 3rd largest amount of Planet Earth. The World CANNOT ignore the fate of China.

In Life as a New Hire there are forces going on behind the scenes I have hinted at, but not outright told most of my readership. Those who have helped me with ideas and proof-reading already know. The 'Unification War' is not really a fight between the Earth & Sky/Khanate and the Seven Pillars of Heaven. It is actually the Illuminati (Alal) vs. the 7Ps. Right before Alal was assassinated by Pamela and during his 30 year absence, the Illuminati was secretly funding the Khanate to the tune of ~ $3.2 TRILLION - I did the math. That is about $96 BILLION a year. That is 2/3rds the PRC's current Defense budget. Then include the fact the E&S are also siphoning off the military efforts of their own regional states, the fortune they saved by stealing of other people's technology, their own financial efforts and the reality they were going to field a smaller army anyway and you get the Tumens which lead the invasion.

The Secret Society 'reality' was the Illuminati cannot beat the Seven Pillars on their own and no other group would willing help them do it. The 7Ps were virtually immune to penetration due to their racial ideology (pro-Han). They had turned mainland China into an unassailable economic fortress. From that base they were challenging Illuminati dominance around the Globe.

As for Putin ~ did you note one of the persons killed in London was Russian? The Illuminati is very strong in Russia and is influencing Vladimir Putin on economic policy decisions. I also based 'his' decisions the placement and condition of the Russian army. Too much was in the wrong places to hurt the Khanate when Operation Funhouse came about while they were nearly perfectly placed to take Manchuria with little cost to him militarily. Basically, all he could do was invade Mongolia, perhaps even take it, and save the PLA from the Khanate's eastern thrust. Beyond China's good will, what was in it for him? Mongolia is a very poor country and the likelihood of a guerilla war was evident.

Manchuria on the other hand ... creating a Russian-friendly breakaway state would be difficult, but would be made easier by the Khanate and Taiwan gobbling up sections of the PRC as well in the theory if there is no 'One China' to be part of, the plutocrats in Manchuria can create excuses the public will buy to separate from the PRC on a permanent basis ~ "until the crisis is over" thus saving their citizens lives from the nasty 'civil war' just over their southern border. It is a long shot, but the risk is worth it due to the wealth of the region.

As for the Chinese in general, I hope I have shown them to be generally competent and brave. They would have overwhelmed the Amazon Summer Camp had it not been an unforeseeable quirk of fate ~ Cáel, the Impossibly-Born Grandchild of Alal being able to see a ghost. On the plane, Cáel needs the help of THREE goddesses to win. It took a HUGE infusion of Illuminati financing, a MASSIVE surprise attack by the Earth & Sky plus the Amazons, 9 Clans, UK and US Special Forces operating in unexpected concert to knock the Seven Pillars back on their haunches ~ and they are not out of the fight by any means. The Seven Pillars are that tough.

And again, China is the Fate of the World. China is that important.

In Alal's Plan, the E&S and 7P's would have destroyed one another with minimal involvement of Taiwan and Japan. Cáel's existence mutated that into the much stronger Alliance including India, Japan, Vietnam, the Republic of China and South Korea. In turn, this Alliance plus the cooperation of the E&S with the 9 Clans and Amazons has transformed the Khanate to a top rate threat.

To date in the story, ONLY ONE COUNTRY had officially acknowledged the existence of and established diplomatic contact with of the Khanate - Vietnam (not even Tibet who they had helped gain independence). All the other deals were behind the scenes and unofficial, but it wasn't like governments haven't made secret deals before either. The biological attack on the PRC is a major reason for this diplomatic reaction. The issue is further complicated by the natural resources the Khanate controls which the West needs and Turkey being a member of NATO. This would hardly be the first time governments put morality behind economic necessity, or ignored the suffering in China.

If you look at JIKIT, it was not created to be a diplomatic working group ~ it was meant to gather intelligence on the Khanate and the other Secret Societies they were interacting with. The team went way beyond their mandate obviously.

After all, in reality, World War II didn't start on September 1st, 1939 in Poland. It started on July 7th, 1937 in China. Most folks don't know the Chinese won that first engagement too. By the time peace came in 1945, China had lost more than twice as many people than Russia, but you rarely hear about that either ... and they had four more years of war coming. Add three to that if you count the Korean War / "War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea".

A few final notes: in the future story line, North Korea betrays the PRC and 'takes' Liaoning province from the Russians in an extended plot to create that Manchurian state. Control of Liaoning fixes some of Kim Jong-un's economic issues. It also invites more suffering. I don't imagine the Chinese responding well to North Korean security forces and procedures. As the crisis escalates over several months, the Alliance plus Russia finally have Casus belli to intervene and the resulting conflict unites the Koreas, returns Liaoning to Russian supervision and paves the way for 'separatist' elections based on the propaganda that the Communist Party cannot defend Manchuria so the Manchurians (who are mostly ~ 90% Han Chinese) must seek their own security arrangements.

That would create the 14th most populous nation on Earth at over 109 million souls, rich in natural resources, a strong industrial base, an educated labor force, ports and infrastructure plus relatively secure borders ~ a democratic Korea, a patron in Russia, a Khanate seeking to trade through Manchurian ports and a limited border with the People's Republic. The starting average income would be slightly below the current one in the PRC, but I think that would improve as their economy recovered faster than the rest of the region.

If there is a "bright side" to any of the horrid calamities to befall mainland China and its peoples it would be the PRC was stripped of many of her poorer provinces. Sure, she lost many natural resources in the raping, but it wasn't like the Khanate had the industrial base to utilize such things internally. They would have to sell them and China was the easiest market to access. Economically the Khanate couldn't afford to not trade with the PRC. Those critical resources are still going to Chinese factories.

That does not erase the pain, suffering and misery, but life goes on. It is relentless. If anything, China is a land which has endured disasters beyond imagining and survived countless times. China may be beaten, but she is never conquered. 4000 years of history show us that.

In the final analysis, this truism is shown by the fact the Khanate stops its drive into China and instead backs the Republic of China's (Taiwan) bid to return to the mainland and support the creation of Manchuria - making this a Civil War among the Chinese ~ because the only true victor in China must be Chinese.

In the end, the war stops again due to Global economic necessity with a People's Republic in the North with Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Hubei, Beijing, Shaanxi, Tianjin, Shanxi provinces and 1/2 of Anhui province and 2/3 Chongqing province. The Republician forces hold Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hunan, Fujian, Shanghai, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan provinces plus Hong Kong SAR and the southern half of Anhui and the lower third of Chongqing provinces.

After this second spasm of violence, the war shifts back to the shadows. China has had its fill of war and their people begin thinking of unity as a matter for the ballot box, not the barrel of a gun. It is not lost on the 'Man & Woman on the Street' in every Chinese city and town the biggest winners in this war were non-Chinese and that 'Three Chinas' is not a good thing for the ideal which is 'China'.

Sure, they want revenge for the atrocities the Khanate inflicted up innocent Han ... but China was caught isolated and alone and, as you said, the vultures all closed in. China needs an ally and as odd as it sounds ~ with the Khanate shipping so many raw materials to China, the Beast is useful.

Out of sight, the Earth & Sky does not want to become the slave of the Illuminati and is financially vulnerable.

Within the Seven Pillars, they are grappling with their own demons. So many of their critical failure can be traced back to their abuse of magic and some 7P leaders and beginning to believe that is no coincidence. And, guess what? The 7P's still have a massive financial empire, it is beginning to look like the Illuminati just might move into an unassailable position of Global Domination, and the option of luring the E&S away is suddenly available.

This would give you a convergence of 'trusted' outsiders working with courageous Seven Pillars leaders to expunge the Gong Tau sorcerers from their midst. Know any assassins? Know of anyone these assassins would trust enough to work with anyone in the Seven Pillars? If these 7P members could secure an honorable peace with Temujin (including him returning key assets taken during the war) while purging some of the worst black magic users there could be a real attempt to reform the Seven Pillars of Heaven to its original purpose and principles.

Yeah, they are still out to conquer the World under the yoke of the Benevolent Han, but no more sacrificing souls to demons, or that sort of horrible stuff. I mean, they are still not 'moral folk' by most common standards, but that is why they are a 'secret society'.

Which rolls back to the Great Khan putting pressure on his allies to let the Chinese sort out their internal affairs with minimal outside interference.

That is the theoretical back story anyway.

Also, I am doing something with a female Chinese former Special Forces trooper in Ebb Tide 4B ~ a Sea Dragon ~ if you are interested.

James aka FinalStand

PS If this comes across as a bit disjointed, I wrote it over a period of nearly 5 hours while looking up stuff and dealing with the family.

I'd like to thank you for your kind words which clarifies a lot of things, and also reminds me not to confuse fiction with reality. Things do happen for a reason and I will seek your help whenever I'm confused.

With that said I want to apologize to you because being a novice translator my lack of experience will (I'm confident of that) do your work a disservice. My progress might even be slower than you. Just kidding I probabl can catch you up in a year or two. Still this will probably be more of an educational experience for me than materializing. Hope this is acceptable.

Lastly I probably need to stay as anonymous as much as I can since 1. Erotica is still taboo in my country and I don't want warnings from net cops (they don't seem to imprison people for adult contents any more unless you made some fortune with it); and 2. Your vision for the story direction will probably anger my countrymen who are too serious or have no sense of humor. I don't think they read these stuff to begin with though.

best.

Perhaps in translation you could do this:

Make it more of an alternate reality where the Kuomintang ended up in power in 1949, not the Communist Party. This makes the Communist, now on Taiwan, and the Black Lotus (Communist mainland guerillas/freedom fighters), the forces fighting to free China from an oppressive Nationalistic Government.

Sure, bad things are still happening to the Chinese people, but it is in the name of liberating them in the name of the People's Party. You can add in Filipino, Indonesian and Indian Communists (working with the Amazons) as more of a Universal Communist Struggle. It increases that message if you add Communist Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia joining a Communist Chinese effort to regain and 'liberate' the mainland. Even the former Communist, Vladimir Putin, is helping by denying the Nationalists Manchuria until a Communist leadership can be installed (somewhat historical, no?).

Then foreshadow this new Communist leadership in China having to free, through ideology, the backward, autocratic Khanate from the Capitalistic Illuminati Yoke unless they enslave the whole World.

Ta da! With minor alterations, you have hopefully made the story more politically palatable for any censors who might run across it.

I hope this helps.

James aka FinalStand

Is the next chapter last of the series?

If yes, please tell me you will cover everything from great hunt, alal-cael confrontation, tadefi's life, and many other things. Don't leave us hanging by any present subplot.

Also, will there be any sequel to this story because it is too good to end(I know good things are bound to end eventually but still).

Your most desperate fan

Chapter 48 DOES wrap up this part of the Saga, but DOES NOT wrap up all the plot lines. It involve the Great Hunt, thus the true conclusion of the 'Life as a New Hire' for both Cael and Felix. The planned conclusion takes place somewhere else.

As for the story ... it carries on. As an author, I promised to carry on to the Great Hunt and I'm working really hard on doing just that.

The other story threads give me things to pick up later after taking a break from LNH without the baggage I'm letting my readership down. Then I can publish a plethora of other stories I've been working on plus revisiting other very old story lines which have suffered in in-completion far too long.

I can inform everyone I have started on the first chapter of the second story line of Cael's life and it is already over 12,000 words. This is how my chaotic mind works.

Meanwhile, Ebb Tide 4B broke 22,500 words last night, so I've been able to keep plugging along.

James aka FinalStand

Well, atleast you are writing regularly and completing the unfinished stories so that's a huge relief. Again thanks a lot FS for entertaining us with your super creative mind and writing skills. Looking forward to ebb tide 4B. Take care!

I will be sad to see the end of his LNH days. But to be truthful he isn't really a new hire any longer ... well not just a new hire anyway. I'm glad to hear you've worked on the second series a bit, that is fascinating. I do have 1 question ... how come several of the "OKH" words come out as asterisks? For example Pony Lady's name.

Please note, I have taken some liberties with the Hittite language:

Here is how her full name would appear in the Latin alphabet:

Aseskuissi Guškin Anšeallal Munus Lugal Tānpēdatuzzi Kururiyahh

It means:

"She who sits upon the Golden Mare, second to the Queen for the Host on campaign as we make war."

In day-to-day business, she is referred to as Guškin Anšeallal which translates over as "Golden Mare".

Note: It is an ancient title, predating the Great Betrayal and defined the 'Golden Mare's' role. She was the Queen's primary military adviser when at war and when on campaign she could command independent forces in the Queen's name, but with a very limited role in peace time.

Also note she was mounted on horseback in an era where nobles fought from chariots ~ primary for mobility's sake. This distinction meant the 'Golden Mare' lead 'lesser troops' ~ the foot-women: mostly the archers Amazons were famous for with some spear-wielding troops to protect them ... who were the 'Runners' of their day ~ while the Queen and the 'Main' Amazon striking force rode chariots, Hittite-style (driver, spear-person, archer).

With the extinction of the Royal Family, the Golden Mare became a virtually dictatorship in times of war (there was no Queen for her to be 'second' to). Because of that, the office of Golden Mare become somewhat political. Technically, she was now appointed by the High Priestess. In reality, the High Priestess sought guidance and acceptance from the Council. Just as the Council invested Queen-like authority in the High Priestess during times of Peace, they allowed the High Priestess to 'check' the Golden Mare's authority in times of War.

This is why 'we', the readers, ended up with the rather Conservative St. Marie. Fortunately for the Amazon Host, she took the 'lesson' of Hayden's Demise seriously and has proven to be adaptive to this new situation ~ fighting a war in tight cooperation with allies - something the Amazons haven't done in 1500 years and certainly not with this level of trust and dependence.

*And 'yes', this means St. Marie is now 'second' to Aya in command of the Host as Aya is Queen. It also means Aya could dismiss her if she wished. The Conservative St. Marie holds Aya in a deep spiritual reverence ~ an inescapable sign from the Goddesses and the Ancestors ~ and as sure as she ended Troika Šauška's existence for trying to kill Cáel as well as executing one-third of the Council, all in accordance with Hayden's Final Decree (the will of a dead woman), St. Marie would do the same and more for her tiny monarch. In a bizarre twist, the Council, thru their pressure on Hayden, selected the instrument for their own political diminution.*

James aka FinalStand

Folks, I apologize. I've had some problems and gone through a bit of a mental collapse which translates over to not getting much done and worrying that some of the unsubmitted work I've done previously has been subpar. I have lost faith in my abilities as an author. I'm using the tools in my toolbox, taking my medications, seeing my doctors (some of my issues are physical as well as mental) and working through the mess in my head. I'm not running away from my problems. This has happened before and I've struggled through it successfully. Please be patient.

James aka FinalStand

Take your time, give yourself a break, don't judge the writing so harshly, know that others stand with you and some maybe share your experience. You are a treasure and we will wait.

James, you are a terrific writer. I haven't read such masterpieceS by any author and I regularly check your stories for any updates. After reading all your stories, I have come to an conclusion that you are tough as rock. No matter what life throws at you, you face that shit like a motherfucker. I've complete faith in you man, you will pull through it like always. Take care man.

P.S.- And yeah don't care 'much' about the writing, I'm willing to wait as long as it takes to read your creation.

Hi James, being bipolar myself I wish you all the best. Your writing has helped bring light into my own latest period of darkness, for which I'm eternally grateful. May you find your way out of your current phase. Please don't worry about us maybe being kept waiting, take care of yourself first. And at least for myself I can say, that the wait is well worth it, so hang in there.

FinalStand/James,

First do not doubt you are an author. I have spent the last 4 days re-reading this epic. I personally don't think you can write subpar material. You seem (to me) to be a perfectionist, and frankly I cannot follow some of the world building you do, but I am in awe of your ability.

I personally like the more personal stuff you write , but man this is great. Do not doubt this. I cannot write anything but technical documents (heh), but your writing skills and ideas/humor are top notch.

Good luck with your life and realize people do care.

Frazod

James, I just completed another read through of this series. How many is that? 6? 8? I know your condition sends you into darkness from time to time, and meds don't always help. Having faced depression and self-doubt for a number of years, I can honestly say I can understand that side of it. There is a reason I can re-read your stories so often though. You are a terrific author. When I say that, it is with me comparing you to authors like Stephen King, RL Stein, RA Salvatore, James Luceno, etc. You have a great talent in creating memorable characters. Youhave a depth of research both with languages and locations that your characters live in that allows us to picture their environs. Keep up the good work, as you can and your fans will be there.

You matter more than any mere story-- even one as fantastic as LNH. We've grown to love your heart and admire your courage. Even if you never wrote another word, know you've brought hours of pleasure to thousands of readers and we thank you for that. Blessed be.

How are you doing James?

I saw my Primary Care physician Thursday ... for the skin infection which got into my right eye, making it really hard to see. She gave me a shot in the butt and ten days of Amoxicillin. The infection has cleared up except the damage to my nose ridge, but that should clear up soon too.

I saw my neurologist on Friday (she's new) and we talked for nearly fifteen minutes about the plot of LNH ... then about the nerve damage in my feet. I go back in for testing either next week, or the week after. Basically, they shock all my muscle groups to determine how bad things are.

Mentally, I'm still a freaking mess. I haven't written anything new in five days now. An old friend who helped me with Ebb Tide is giving what I've done a look to see if he can give me a kick in the pants.

Otherwise, I've been poking at 'Oh No!' and 'If this is a Harem Story' to no real affect.

Perhaps, when the anxiety and passions of this election pass, my mind will straighten out a bit. Here is to hoping.

Thank you for asking, WhitePaint.

James aka FinalStand

Hoping the nerve damage is not very serious. About the election anxiety, I really don't know what to say, it is way fucked up. It's like people's ability to reason went down the drain.

Thanks for all the great entertainment you've provided. I've bought all your books on Amazon. I'm looking to complete the set for LNH and look forward to more Nanites.

Take care of your health, FS. If you don't have that you don't have anything

Please, take care of yourself and don't pressure yourself to write if your mind isn't there. Health comes first. Best of luck, and take it easy if you can.

Said it before, and I'll probably say it again... and again... and again...

Do your thing brother. We'll be waiting because your more than worth it.

Your health is your most valuable possession so treasure it and nurture it wisely.

Many, if not most, and more than likely EVERY SINGLE PERSON that reads your creations is more than willing to let you get healthy for the very simple reason that you are worth the wait. While I truly do hope to read more of your work and add the odd bit of assistance, I could, ever so reluctantly, live without more.

OK, I have to call BS on myself. Get better because the 12 step program isn't working. PLEASE get healthy soon.

Be well my friend.

Nut

How are you buddy?

Still struggling. I've been able to make some progress in Ebb Tide 4B. I simply have to decide if it is progress worth keeping. On the positive side, if it is 'good enough', we are looking at roughly 30,000 words so far.

As for Life as a New Hire 48 ... I'm stuck.

I wish I had better news,

James aka FinalStand

Please, please prioritize your health over writing. Unless your writing helps you, don't stress about not being able to get material out. We have the patience to wait for you, for as long as is necessary. We love your work, but we want you to be happy and healthy. Get better, get your head in a good space, and then think about writing.

Whether you decide to keep it or not, 30k words is a lot and nothing to sneeze at. My PhD was less than that. And being stuck is just a normal state of being when writing something, especially if it's as complex as LNH. I do not know consider myself worthy of giving advice to an author of your caliber, but fwiw I think you are doing a great job and definitely agree that not obsessing with maintaining the pace of publication is the way to go. Anything you put out there, I will read, but there is plenty to do, while we anticipate it.

Does Rachel has any sisters?

In the summer camp chapter, there was her younger sister named Geneva but after Charlotte's death when cael was making peace with her, she said she had no siblings?

First answer: Like so many other things, the story is told mostly from Cáel's viewpoint and he has a habit of making 'assumptions'. Mind you, he is often correct, or 'mostly' correct. In the case of Genève, what Cáel took for 'blood sisterhood' was actually cousins raised in the same freehold. Amazons living in the freeholds are very tight knit so the daughters of two different, but related, mothers often behave as sisters do to outsiders. As Rachel says, "I never had any sisters of the flesh." So, while Genève is treated like Rachel's kid sister, they do not share the same Mother. Of course, any relationship attributed to their sperm donors would be meaningless to them.

Second answer: I, the author, screwed up. I apologize. I still fee the 'first answer' fits with the Amazon social dynamic where young women, growing up in a closed society, would behave in a manner of familiarity outsiders would confuse for intimate family bonds. In a way, they are right, as all Amazons of a House and even, to a degree every Amazon of the Host, consider the other members 'sisters'.

Part of that rolls back to the First Amazon of each House surrendering their name, thus their lineage, to 'the nothingness' so that every descendant can claim her 'daughter'. No Amazon is more special by dint of birth than another ~ and that lesson is part of this story ~ how the 'Pure-Blood' Amazons forgot to apply the lesson of their Ancestor's sacrifice when dealing with the Runners.

If you recall the second confrontation in Hayden's office (Chapter 24) when Krasimira said “House by house, we see nothing but the back of those who fought before us." The ancestors had turned their backs upon their living out of shame over how the living were behaving ~ repudiating the actions of the living. Considering Amazon spiritual doctrine, the ancestors are the ones who guide you to Paradise. If they refuse to do so, you are sentenced to walk in the Endless Black Sands until the weight of your sins grinds you down into the sand itself. Essentially Hell.

Probably more than enough rambling.

James aka FinalStand

Any updates?

Story progress ~ zip.

Not much good news. Went to my neuropathist on Wednesday for a series of tests. 'Yes', I have nerve damage and 'no', the doctor looking at the results couldn't understand why. Essentially, they ran an escalating electric current from various spots on my lower leg and foot to toes to see how I responded. I highly recommend this as a means of torture.

On the downside, I am becoming resistant to my pain medication, so life sucks coming and going. My psychiatrist upped my Gabapentin from 300 Mg to 400 Mg [3x a day] and it isn't helping. Woot? I'd kill for a decent night's sleep.

Thank you for asking. I really wish I had better news.

James aka FinalStand

Having diabetes, I can appreciate your issue with the foot pain. Have you considered trying acupuncture or other alternative approaches? A mind as creative as yours must not be silenced by physical adversity. I am in awe of your ability to pull together disparate ideas into a coherent whole. Please accept my best wishes to you and yours for the holidays and the New Year!

I was thinking about alal and his immortality curse and it got me thinking that why in the first place sarrat I..I(forgot her full name) cursed him?

It isn't like she got bored and invented the soul tearing game to amuse herself or she got pissed because baraqe wasn't wearing brown pants( I know, lame).

Anyway apart from it, I would like to know what inspired her to do such thing and what did she gain?(more souls perhaps, all alal's killing?)

But I don't think deities roam around tossing immortality to unfortunate corpses!

{Short Essay Warning!}

Baraqu's curse made him an instrument of the Weave. Sarrat Irkalli herself was merely responding to the portents she sensed around her ~ Baraqu: the random soul sacrificed for a Greater Purpose she did not know about yet divined needed fulfilling. Baraqu was 'chosen' because he had no Great Destiny. He was a nobody.

[A bit about Alal/Baraqu]

Him being a 'nobody' was indeed critical. People with a powerful fate make waves in the Weave and can be sensed, even before they are born. Powers can react to them - even attempt to eradicate them if they dare. Baraqu moved seamlessly through time undetected thus able to do incredible things other entities were unable to counter.

If you recall Baraqu's backstory, he was 'just a guy' ~ average in virtually every way. Everything Alal accomplished ... think about it. Think about all the wonderful and terrible things this 'Everyman' has done. His sole advantages were his immortality and his hunger to learn. He was never the fastest, strongest, brightest, or most handsome. He compensated for his 'average-ness' by being decisive, ruthless and driven.

He didn't have to be the strongest, or fastest - he hired and trained them.

He didn't need to be the best leader - he tested them and raised up the worthy.

He didn't need to be the brightest - he located and nurtured them.

He didn't need to be the center of attention - he controlled that person through multiple means.

Time and again, Alal could have simply given up and become a hermit, living in a mountain cave and gibbering away the centuries in madness. He didn't. Can any of you imagine the mental fortitude it took to keep picking yourself up after all those failures, disappointments and betrayals to give it 'one more try'? For FIVE THOUSAND YEARS?

The man was a failure ... as a potter ... yet he founded a mercenary band which could best any unit in the Assyrian Army at its height. He foresaw the destruction of much of the works of mankind's early thinkers and spent his fortunes to preserve them. He founded the Illuminati and the Condottieri and he STILL controls both, from behind the scenes, even 30 years AFTER HIS DEATH ... because he has never stopped learning from both his mistakes and successes. He plans and makes contingencies for everything ... and then contingencies for the contingencies. Not because he is brilliant, but because he is diligent and driven.

He didn't invent the means of cloning his 'offspring'. He found people working on the field early, early on and funded them (in secret) with the added 'bonus' of tossing morality out the window.

He didn't invent brain-taping, or the device which was inserted into Cáel's head. He located the people doing the early work on it and whisked them away into a world of private research and nearly unlimited funding.

We know he didn't invent the ritual magic to create a temporary body in case his primary body aka Cáel's wasn't ready for him.

Yet ... Pamela killed Alal. Sure, she struck from advantage, but she still had to close with him and finish him off to make sure his soul passed over. Pamela killed Alal because she is simply better than he is. That is Nature speaking. At 30, Pamela was more physically lethal than Alal was at 5,000. Certainly Alal knew a host more lethal fighting techniques yet none of that was enough to overcome the combination of training Pamela had endured plus her natural ability ~ as Katrina said 'the most lethal Amazon Assassin of the 20th century'. After 5000 years, Alal was still 'average' and the far superior warrior killed him.

If there is any doubt, Cáel's body is not 'average'. Neither are Alal's female clones ~ do you really think he was trying to re-create 'average' hims?

[Back to the question ~]

A 'nobody' could do things like create the largest secret society (and the 4th largest) without a mystical base. Think about it. The 2nd largest is rife with necromancy, demon sorcerers and soul-torture. The 3rd is led by a reincarnated World Conqueror. The 5th is based on ancient Egyptian magical traditions. The 6th is actively helped by Ancestor-worship and Matron Goddesses. The 7th is chock full of equally bizarre mystical wackiness.

Now imagine a world where there was no Alal.

The 2nd, the Seven Pillars of Heaven, would grinding down the rest in a cataclysmic shit-fest. The 3rd ~ the Earth & Sky, would be finished. That would leave the Egyptian Rite, the Amazons and the 9 Clans in a death struggle against the overwhelming might of the Seven Pillars ... and they would be losing. Those three would not be working together, the Amazons would still be a dying breed and the 9 Clans normally don't trust anybody. Doomed. A twisted parody of the Seven Pillars would claim dominion over the Earth. Who would be left to protect the souls of Humanity from being torn asunder and the Weave weakened until it could no longer separate the Sunlight Realm from the Realm of Horrors which dwells beyond?

5000 years ago, the Weave realized bad things were going to happen in the 21st century and set forth various events, including the rape of Baraqu's soul, to save itself from the machinations of the 7P's Gong Tau practitioners. Other things were done as well such as Temujin's Great Soul, but he could be countered (and almost was ~ except a soul shard of Baraqu saved him which was an action they could not detect ...).

This isn't the only threat Alal was created for either. Examine his ethos and his view on divinities. He hates them. Of all the people 'in the know', he is the greatest proponent for the end of everything which weakens the Weave aka 'magic'.

So, if you believe deities like Ishara are good stewards of the Weave, Alal is wrong because some level of magic is necessary to the maintenance of the Weave. If you think magic is too dangerous and the cost to Humanity too high, then he is the Champion of the Weave. The Weave isn't saying.

James aka FinalStand

Thanks FS for that Explanation. I love the story and the back story. Even if you are not ready to go forward with 48, these messages of yours give us some enjoyment.

If I don't have a chance to email you, I want to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas to you and your family.( also to Cael and all the rest of your characters who live in the many other stories you write.)

Ron

Fascinating.

Knowing Cael's ability to plan far far ahead in the future, combined with his handy ability to easily study the past, will be expecting him to soon come to that conclusion: the world is a "better" (in terms of "good" vs "evil") place because of Alal's shennanigans, compared to without him.

Cael is much too compassionate to devastate the world by weakening the weave (intentionally).

The irony, is that Alal is the magic "kill all amazons" button he has been waiting for...

Makes one wonder how the trio would fare (can't forget our trusty bilbo baggins) vs the world of evil.

Methinks this would make an excellent story plot... "The Illuminati Intern: Intercourse w/ Evil"

This is your loyal reader who has read all of your stories atteast 2 times (no I'm not unemployed, and yes i've a girlfriend, its a hobby). LNH 3 times actually, I've a lot questions in my mind to ask you. I'm gonna make a list of questions to mail you. I know, you have heard it many times but I'm gonna say it anyway, you are an exceptional writer James. I've never read such fineness in literature before (I've read around 1000 stories on lit).

Now coming to your health and nerve damage in your leg, my dad suffered through this(sciatica) after his slip disk accident( he rested a lot during it and became a bit lazy afterwards). Dad tried ayurveda and yoga(mum here) to ease the pain and repair the damage. Its not magic and it will take time but it will defintely remove the problem for good. My dad after 7 months of treatment jogs daily(mum again). You should give it a try.

Good luck.

Unfortunately, the nerve pain came about because of the medication I took ~ mainly Lithium Carbonate ~ which caused liver and kidney damage. A side effect was massive swelling of my liver - Fatty Liver Disease - and very serious water retention in my feet, ankles and calves. Yep, I looked like the pregnant Bearded Lady. I've since dropped 46 lbs. (I still need to lose 44 more in my opinion to get back to my college weight ~ 178). Various tests have confirmed the nerve damage apparently is neither circulatory, spinal, bone-joint nor muscle-group, related. It is also the same in both feet as well which has earned me yet another round of 'well, isn't that special' ... though I can now say I've been Tasered - in back of the knees, calves and feet, repeatedly, because the nurse really wanted to see a reaction (on the monitor) besides me screaming (only slightly a fable).

I will treasure her telling me "Let me know if this hurts too much" before she applied the Taser to the soul of my foot because, ya know, it hurt like Hell before she even cut it on ... then the real fun began. Of course the purpose was to see how well my nerves transferred the current (or so I was told). After the doctor read the results he came in to consult with me. His wisdom? "You have nerve damage alright, but I can't see why."

I'm thinking ~ 'I've been bouncing off this table for thirty fucking minutes. I could have told you that before we started!'

In reality he was telling me it was more than my pain nerves which have been damaged. I still have mobility though things like my senses of hot and cold are all wonky as well as pressure and penetration. In other words, it wasn't psychosomatic. Woot? I would still rather had him tell me what the problem was and outlined the 6 months of therapy which would have fixed it.

On the plus side, yoga couldn't hurt too much and I need to do more exercise since my primary means used to be walking. Thank you for the suggestion. Per previous advice I've already added vitamins D and E to my daily intake. I think those have helped a bit since the worst times back in February.

Right now, I'm going to open up Chapter 48 once more and see if I can make anymore progress. As I've told a few 'neer do wells', I plan to wrap up this series in this chapter with the Great Hunt and a final prologue. There is some promise of further adventures as I won't resolve several plot lines obviously. Wish me luck.

James aka FinalStand

PS: I look forward to your list.

Thank you and I actually had a thought about that ... a brand new intern with the top tier of the Illuminati having to work with Cáel and resenting the shit out of Cáel starting out at the top level simply because of his heritage versus the intern's vast and numerous qualifications (hee hee hee) and personal struggles and sacrifices to get where they are. A Life as a New Hire: Illuminati Edition.

Buffy: "Who are you?"

Intern: "I should be asking you that. Who are you?"

Buffy pulled her knife out and put it to the intern's throat.

B: "I repeat, who are you?"

I: "Hey now! Cáel!"

Cáel: "What? Hey. Buffy, stop that. She's on my staff now."

B: "Says who?" {to Cáel}

C: "My aunts."

B: "Oh." {with her knife still to the intern's throat} "Who are you?"

I: "Cáel?"

B: "Don't look to him for help. I own him. Last chance, Bitch."

I: "Wait! Hold on ..." {seeing that Cáel wouldn't help} "Saffron Fairfax."

Buffy pulled her knife away a tiny bit.

B: "Here are the ground rules. He belongs to me. Then he belongs to Hana. After that he belongs to, in order ~ House Ishara, Havenstone, JIKIT and lastly the O'Shea's. This is a matter of Divine Law; not something to be debated, or defied. Are we clear?"

Saffron: "Cáel, are you okay with this?"

C: "Of course not. But Buffy - this is Buffy DuBois / Ishara - my 'First', my 'Mountaintop' and my 'Right Hand' and she scares me. If you are smart, she scares you too. That means, when she's around, we attempt to do what she says. When she's not, you figure out what excuse to use when she finally catches up with us."

Buffy punched Cáel.

C: "Ow!"

B: "Shut up, you big baby. That last part ~ about the making up excuses ~ only works for him. Cross me and i will kill you."

S: "I am protected by the ..."

B: "No one close enough to save you."

C: "Ms. Fairfax, I suggest you do what she says. I do and I'm far more likely to be missed if she beats me up, stuffs me in an oil drum and ships me to Baja than you are."

B: "Baja? What makes you think you can take a vacation? We just got you back."

C: "That was a vacation? {referring to the Great Hunt} Oh Hell no!"

B: "What about your Pacific jaunt with Aya?"

C: "You mean when we were kidnapped?"

B: "From what I understand, you were lying around most of the time."

C: "Drugged into unconsciousness doesn't count as 'lying around. Besides, when I woke up they tried to sacrifice me to something horrible."

B: "What about her?"

C: "Saffron ..."

S: "Ms. Fairfax."

C: "Whatever."

S: "Okay ... fine ... I understand ... Miss DuBois ... Ishara."

{Buffy put her knife away then kissed Cáel hard and deep before sauntering off}

S: "I didnt know you were a masochist."

C: "Who? Me? I'm not. I simply attracted to beautiful, martial-inclined women who are more than willing to use violence and pain to get what they want ~ mainly my obedience. That doesn't mean I obey, only that I am an idoit where women, passion and scarification are concerned."

S: "I hate you."

C: "Atta girl."

S: "You want me to hate you?"

C: "No. I want you to admit you hate me. Now that you've got that out ouf the way, we can become fast friends. Wait and see."

S: "But I despise you."

C: "That rarely stops women from liking me."

S: "You are despicable."

C: "I get that a lot."

S: "I'm not surprised."

C: "It's your first day on the job. You will be ... you will be."

S: "Now you are just being creepy."

C: "You mean like I know a whole bunch of truly crazy crap is going on which will twist your life upside down and, I know because you are bright, courageous, curious and clever, you will soon start figuring it out too?"

S: " ... yeah ... how did you know?"

Déjà vu. Cáel smiled.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I really, really need to get to work.

James aka FinalStand