tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38525748990039917112024-03-12T16:51:22.102-07:00Henry Covert.comThis is the closest I'm likely to get to an official website - the place to announce & discuss all of my current & upcoming projects (comix, magazine articles & columns, fiction & metafiction, & music), & to share my thoughts on the arts, media, music, film, pop culture & politics. I'll publish for the first time online older writings from hard copy magazines & newspapers. I'll also post artwork, videos, or just blog away on whatever occupies my brain.Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.comBlogger125125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-65426027795988129442019-08-10T19:02:00.000-07:002019-08-10T19:33:50.361-07:00Forging Ahead (Or At Least Sideways)<br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What a year. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Since my last post here, I have gained so many wonderful things in my life, but also tragically lost the most important ones. The world itself has also seemed to become an ever sadder, darker place. My art and creations are my only real outlet for collating the rage and alienation born of these occurrences.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I considered abandoning this blog completely, but have decided to keep it up indefinitely as a place to discuss things that won't fit into what will now be my main blog: </span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: #ead1dc;">Henry Covert's Flicker Street </i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(<a href="https://www.henrycovertsflickerstreet.com/">https://www.henrycovertsflickerstreet.com/</a> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman";"> <b> </b></span><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "times new roman";"><b>"Blake & Shine" by Henry Zeo Covert, sharpie and computer, 2019.</b></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">still under construction; I've also purchased the domain names henrycovertsflickerstreet and therealflickerstreet). Everything I wish </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">to share, report, and advertise, regarding my "magnum opus" will be found on that official blog/ website, and I will share its posts on my social media outlets pertaining to Flicker Street. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This blog will still be here, to report on personal events (as i feel comfortable); projects outside the purview of Flicker Street; art of others that I wish to share; and occasional musings on the state of the world as seen through my eyes. My YouTube channel will also be a place for me to discuss such things, on-camera. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Please feel free to follow the new site. It's a bit threadbare at the moment, but that will change as the Summer waxes and wanes. It will be the one-stop nerve center of all things Flicker Street - the place where one can learn all about the stories and characters, take in the designs and illustrations, and hopefully get lost in the world-building. And, of course, keep up on what tangible forms the opus will assume, and where, how, and for how much, such items are. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It may be a week, it may be another year, before I post here again. Thanx everyone who's followed me here over the last decade.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Henry Covert </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">August 10, 2019</span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">* Thanx especially to Sean, Scott, Jon, Tim, Delphine, JoAnn, and, with all my being, thanx to Miss Kelli Lynn Overby.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-71420253926868853212018-07-21T00:27:00.005-07:002018-07-25T21:47:03.791-07:00FLICKER STREET Update, Recent Art, and Special Thanx<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: #741b47;">Jareth</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">Checking in with a new blog after 5 months away from it. My personal fortunes have had an upturn - improvements in my health, renewing ties with lifelong friends, achieving closure with my last lady love, and beginning a new regular job. Regarding my comix opus, <i>Flicker Street</i>: the first few months after my last post here were extremely productive. Daily writing, new scenarios and characters, reviving older aspects of my story and bringing them up to date and using them to expand previous ideas into new story points - all have transpired and been extremely exciting and fruitful. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2N36Gc2_NJgbCPR9LbKAKTl7nspwIXHh_e6YY4qx1GnkwPPiFZFdSHZ2tJhXhrnKfsR7Ggkmu6o4EupSzpqLgzioz-XbPTa3Xm9rVihGQv7gAMZZqZoSCh9TdnyK239FoMTndTtsp-OR-/s1600/Hannibal+Clancey+%2528Abolisher%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1286" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2N36Gc2_NJgbCPR9LbKAKTl7nspwIXHh_e6YY4qx1GnkwPPiFZFdSHZ2tJhXhrnKfsR7Ggkmu6o4EupSzpqLgzioz-XbPTa3Xm9rVihGQv7gAMZZqZoSCh9TdnyK239FoMTndTtsp-OR-/s320/Hannibal+Clancey+%2528Abolisher%2529.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #741b47;">Abolisher</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">I was especially productive in continuing a series of character portraits inspired by my latest story arc, "Ellinger". After an ill-fated trip to Florida in January, I nursed a broken heart by succumbing to a frenzy of illustrating the most prominent characters I was devising material for. In mid April, I began a new job, and my output of visual art slowed tremendously, but I am still at, it gradually finishing new pieces, rounding out my original projected "Phase 1" of "Ellinger" renderings. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHPxPUra2_WembZVKx_mWeiyhn19qPghRWi11m2FNw167JK25QnwCEU6hdXGUiamLWMebBWAjPFRMhdAYjNbVolqqCS5KpHfJ_nHKE_djaHtc_eh0M3vDEVGKPMvk0_ixD94EsohpLypG/s1600/Gersten+C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1129" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHPxPUra2_WembZVKx_mWeiyhn19qPghRWi11m2FNw167JK25QnwCEU6hdXGUiamLWMebBWAjPFRMhdAYjNbVolqqCS5KpHfJ_nHKE_djaHtc_eh0M3vDEVGKPMvk0_ixD94EsohpLypG/s320/Gersten+C.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #741b47;">Gersten C </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">Another area in which<i> Flicker Street</i> has continued to grow, and very gradually gain more exposure, is with my official <i>Flicker Street</i> Facebook page (found here: https://www.facebook.com/flickerstreet</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">). My following has slowly grown, and I've been steadily adding content - posting each new completed piece of art and posting my older FS treatments that I originally posted on this very blog, albeit updated and heavily edited, eliminating typos, correcting awkward syntax, and fleshing out passages with additional plot and character information. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: #741b47;"> Clive, Bryn, Black Cabal</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">To a lesser extent, I've been using two other sites to bring attention to Flicker Street: my Deviant Art page (at https://www.deviantart.com/henryzeocovert), and to a much lesser extent, my Instagram account ("coverthenry" at https://www.instagram.com/coverthenry/). I've been posting each new piece on both platforms. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLp_Zs1CqZHVrMWgAS5UkePj34kwoEoaceE_8giGvZSFWdeeO35-xbf8d8y1s_sNxB2QZDsxkPj7IZhS_m-UvF48iYmtGHK15o2DP-uh20OGTJlN6lMp39I7ZhuNsTpy5lcsj7nTRJJBzS/s1600/Liao+Jun-kim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1164" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLp_Zs1CqZHVrMWgAS5UkePj34kwoEoaceE_8giGvZSFWdeeO35-xbf8d8y1s_sNxB2QZDsxkPj7IZhS_m-UvF48iYmtGHK15o2DP-uh20OGTJlN6lMp39I7ZhuNsTpy5lcsj7nTRJJBzS/s320/Liao+Jun-kim.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>
<span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: #741b47;"> Jun-kim</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">I'd like to thank everyone who's followed me in all the various venues I've been using to generate interest for this long-gestating project. My biggest supporters and inspirations have been on Facebook, through the FS page and my own, personal FB page. The official Facebook page has nearly 300 followers now, and some folks have been especially encouraging and attentive to my posts there. Foremost is my dear friend, Sean Lee Levin, who has abetted and collaborated with me on various projects and pursuits since 2006. There are a few other close friends/ collaborators/ influences that I run new art and ideas by on Messenger before posting them more widely. These include: Jon D Allen, a friend, confidant, and kindred spirit I have known since 1992; Mark Baranowski, a close friend and occasional collaborator since 1998 who is quite a multi-media artist in his own right; S.A. Mosley, blood brother since 1998 who I've had many adventures with, and who is forging his own Magnum Opus; Delphine Levesque Demers, a brilliant and accomplished visual artist from Quebec that I met online in 2016 but who lives in my city, and inspired me to return to an older, more ambitious art style and who I anxiously send the roughest new sketches for feedback; and the wonderful Eastern Bloc artist, Iren Frost, a fellow traveler I met online in 2016 who I've given the unofficial title 'President of the Flicker Street Fan Club'. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fwYBOMq8r6nvY0LmN52Intr5TigBV1-39i5OqO8coPVYr3aEsZxC4tZ7fykAD6gt6dsPDzFW42Gp77gzwtDJOx7JNH5mkex82uXlCUsjudQXhAJjpLTZkuGgAH6_GPXZ2t7KlImw3len/s1600/Convy+Lee+Sutch+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fwYBOMq8r6nvY0LmN52Intr5TigBV1-39i5OqO8coPVYr3aEsZxC4tZ7fykAD6gt6dsPDzFW42Gp77gzwtDJOx7JNH5mkex82uXlCUsjudQXhAJjpLTZkuGgAH6_GPXZ2t7KlImw3len/s320/Convy+Lee+Sutch+%25282%2529.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
<span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: #741b47;">Convy Lee</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">Before departing (probably for more long months), I'd like to thank by name several other friends and artists I correspond with who inspire, encourage, and support me with their kind words and valued feedback on Flicker Street: Tim McLain, Doug Williams, Vincent Black, Bill White, Shawn Michael Vogt, Richard Reynolds, Micah Harris, Matt Mundorf, Adriana Palka, Michelle Westmoreland, Sara Kathleen Krueger, Dru Maguire, Jesse Cooper, Tim Tolbert, Katrinka Ann, Izzie Frost, Marlena Marie Kruger, Leslie Willard, Renee Graham, Robin Eva Fay Embry, Yasmine Cielo, Erin Antak, Jason Wallach, Chandra Nicole, Kylie Eve Marklin, Miette Merlot, Caroline Eikenberry, Nicole Leopoldine Staudigl, Ally Bray, Lone Fleming, Zeda Mueller, Rosemary Tantra Bensko, Jezzy Wolfe, Ken Storey, Russell Vangilder, Marci Tolley-Berkheimer, Ashley Doss, Robert L Robinson, Crystal Sutton, and a good number I'm probably sadly forgetting.... </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: #741b47;">Cal Thorne</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">And, once again, it wouldn't have happened without the spark being lit in 8 year old me by a precocious 9 year old lad named Thomas Shackleford Davis, a kid bursting at the seams with creativity akin to his idol Jack "King" Kirby. Thomas inspired me to start drawing my own comics and forged the original blueprint for how I should go about. RIP my brother. You got me through a rough childhood.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7w9lOKEHmQ4_INc84qRIytQbszxrUBrHia7TyH1FYAnsSEsg4iePKBpBhzmAwajYXls0WacqteLsl0jQ9eewqny4c39HEq4c6X0qvb83RZd9sSEpVQIuWoQ5U2WnNXUUO3NycyTT16pV/s1600/Stephen+Bartholemew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1233" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7w9lOKEHmQ4_INc84qRIytQbszxrUBrHia7TyH1FYAnsSEsg4iePKBpBhzmAwajYXls0WacqteLsl0jQ9eewqny4c39HEq4c6X0qvb83RZd9sSEpVQIuWoQ5U2WnNXUUO3NycyTT16pV/s320/Stephen+Bartholemew.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
<span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: #741b47;">Stephen Bartholemew</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;"> (the first character I created with Thomas Davis' blessing) </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">I hope you enjoy the newer pieces presented here, which some may have seen before elsewhere, that I've completed since my last blog. Take care all,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">Henry Zeo Covert </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">July 21, 2018</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><i>Flicker Street</i>, all art, characters, designs, and story material are Copyright 2018 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-3646585053828595292018-01-19T14:15:00.000-08:002018-01-19T15:52:44.968-08:00FLICKER STREET and Beyond?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFScqlTwtYIkrC1UMoJ-WKhyEAeoU6OTHBm_bJTCkBIUsHojSYfga3Sj2WSZBHdjMd1Oy4CSQ3fBnA91yuVuv-C-XycXnqo8igqCVSXhU4HM8epIDmig4xptfaHWjbK-PsfteKJfUwGw-Q/s1600/Ellinger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1164" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFScqlTwtYIkrC1UMoJ-WKhyEAeoU6OTHBm_bJTCkBIUsHojSYfga3Sj2WSZBHdjMd1Oy4CSQ3fBnA91yuVuv-C-XycXnqo8igqCVSXhU4HM8epIDmig4xptfaHWjbK-PsfteKJfUwGw-Q/s320/Ellinger.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>
<span style="color: purple;">Ellinger</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">These past months since I last blogged have been interesting, on both the personal and creative fronts. I don't have much to share on the former at the moment, save that once again, I'm going through some unexpected and tumultuous changes. <i>Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.... </i></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On the creative front, however, I've spent the last several months hard at work on my ongoing opus, FLICKER STREET. I've wrapped up the last long storyline I was working on, on and off, for the last three years (during the same period i was working on the 17 chapter Flicker Street backstory found on this blog), "Austerity". The follow up arc to "Austerity" is "Ellinger", which will take place, in the world of Flicker Street, during the years 2010-2014 ("Austerity" spanned 2004-2009). </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;">Anouk</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"Ellinger" has been much easier to write, thus far, than the long, erratic, and often torturous process that was "Austerity". I've been able to pick up the lives of various denizens of the Flicker Street Universe from the prior story arc, and have been heavily inspired to create new and distinctive characters to flesh out the ongoing mythos. There was ample room for new blood in the story, as "Austerity" had ended with many longtime, and even many newer, characters, permanently dispatched. It was a clearing of deadwood in many ways - a way to decisively move the narrative forward into new areas, but also to restore certain qualities that had made this tale so enjoyable for me to write over the many years since it was first conceived. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Not only did I come up with an interesting assortment of new characters, I was also able to develop some longtime peripheral characters, some of whom had been simply too young to participate meaningfully to the ongoing storyline, but who had now come of age and could carry on another generation of the saga. And "Ellinger" is also an opportunity to bring back a few characters long absent from the canvas - some once major, some never more than minor, creations. A handful of these characters were never intended to be brought back; some of them seemingly deceased for good. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;">Kyle</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">Unlike many other fictional universes, my characters, once dead, tend to stay well and truly dead. Still, this is a universe with magick and outre phenomena at play, so, on occasion, a character can be plausibly restored - if done in a (hopefully) dramatically compelling fashion. And one of the characters returning in a huge way in the Ellinger arc wasn't permanently deceased - I'd left his fate obscure simply from lack of interest in resolving the character's fate. But an opportunity presented itself, and this long-languishing creation suddenly had not only a long overdue</span><i style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; text-align: center;"> raison d'etre</i><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">, but revealed himself to be a perfect prime mover of events across the entire arc.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In penning so much new material, I was eventually convinced that I should pick back up the drawing pencil after far too long and capture the likenesses of many characters that will be prominent in the new story arc. Some I'd designed previously and decided to update visually. Some characters I'd always had in my mind but could never adequately visualize. And some were brand-new characters that I had a fresh vision of, and was eager to capture it. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;">Esme</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, I began a Facebook fan page, Henry Covert's Flicker Street (here: <a href="https://facebook.com/flickerstreet/" target="_blank">https://facebook.com/flickerstreet/</a></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">) </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and began adding brand new character portraits there and on my Deviant Art page (<a href="https://henryzeocovert.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">https://henryzeocovert.deviantart.com/</a></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">).</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">My latest Flicker Street art is generally much less stylized and cartoonish than that of the last several years. There's still a fair share of loose impressionism, but more of a concentration on realism and capturing distinctive features and moods of the individual characters. I've compiled a huge file of photo references, as well as drawn (literally) on some interesting real-life acquaintances, to incarnate the key figures in the "Ellinger" arc. Seen here are some of my recent pieces, and all of them can be found at the two links cited above. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That's it for now, but I'd like to thank a few folks who've aided and abetted me, personally and creatively, with their loyalty and support: Sean Lee Levin, Mark Baranowski, Scott Mosley, Tim McLain, Jan Takehara, Steven Levin, Rhett Thompson, Delphine Levesque Demers, Cynthia Renee, Iren Frost, Tom and Dahlia Peterson, </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and my ex-girlfriend Stevie Lenn (I miss you). </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;">Tana</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">January 19, 2018</span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-56912805567503292252017-05-16T19:01:00.000-07:002017-05-16T19:35:23.255-07:00Renovations and Rebirth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qf2W2fuyL6PXvq3N_fYwNp-J-D70kq6mx4DNuVSCdndbyNPjv0Ai2lFCW_sT3fsVrqBfppBY5lLBI_ETVbBIXzYnXx02R8GWzHXOiS2DPa-L9rT38jQF1Kaq74iYwn4fmpO7UDt4v03-/s1600/17361665_10155230340886155_4707844081079449360_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qf2W2fuyL6PXvq3N_fYwNp-J-D70kq6mx4DNuVSCdndbyNPjv0Ai2lFCW_sT3fsVrqBfppBY5lLBI_ETVbBIXzYnXx02R8GWzHXOiS2DPa-L9rT38jQF1Kaq74iYwn4fmpO7UDt4v03-/s320/17361665_10155230340886155_4707844081079449360_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My life has changed
considerably since my last post here. I'm in the process of
renovating this blog to reflect the changes. So many things that used
to mean so much in my life are now gone, so there was really no need
to keep any reminders here. I'm in the midst of a lengthy process of
recovery and healing and doing my best to appreciate what I have left
and to engage with life in some meaningful manner again. Those who
follow me on Facebook are no doubt aware of some of the past year and
a half's worth of drama and madness. There are quite a few wonderful
people that I'm in touch with online (some of whom I know
corporeally, as well) that have provided strong support and
encouragement through the array of challenges I've faced since 2015.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Going forward (simply
because the alternative is untenable), I'll be using this blog in
much the same manner as in the past – to share thoughts, reviews,
images, and to add to the foundations of FLICKER STREET, a project
which I suppose I should finally embrace as my proverbial life's
work. The major difference is that I'm now truly independent and not
dependent on the creative and emotional infrastructure I enjoyed with
my former spouse. The downside is the occasional fear and loneliness;
the upshot is an autonomy I've never really been able to obtain before. </span>
</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That's it for now. There is
more to come, including inevitable shout-outs to those cherished
folks who were crucial to my continued existence. </span>
</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Henry Covert </span>
</span><br />
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<br />Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-3940659061084987112015-11-23T20:03:00.000-08:002015-12-18T16:53:56.704-08:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 17: Presence<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A short but pivotal dispatch. Enjoy!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjia7XHwuKOSOflY6o8xrRyN56fKXSMKUqmdTbV09BEfHLEApYPGE8ysKJH0pVzHxK6KSJC4M8JOcUZX2sTv_J3lq1tY-lHbhSm2pvpv0uXLquAHJirvqJwoDQ4wNO9n-NSp8hFp1uXX-12/s1600/Absurd+Tentacle+%2526+Silent+Indigo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjia7XHwuKOSOflY6o8xrRyN56fKXSMKUqmdTbV09BEfHLEApYPGE8ysKJH0pVzHxK6KSJC4M8JOcUZX2sTv_J3lq1tY-lHbhSm2pvpv0uXLquAHJirvqJwoDQ4wNO9n-NSp8hFp1uXX-12/s400/Absurd+Tentacle+%2526+Silent+Indigo.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment #
17: Presence</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I. 1979 Revisited</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1979 was a busy year for the
various personalities that had fallen under the rubric of the
Aggregate. Ben Renova came out of retirement as Wurm to stop Carnifex
from looting the Renova Savings & Loan main branch. He was not
able to ward off Carnifex alone, especially after Urias came and
teleported the money and holdings away. Urias did not need the money;
he needed to humiliate a hero and hurl the gauntlet for the next big
move against the Aggregate. The Damnation Brigade were the ones to
make that bid, with Damnation
members new and old aligned against the Aggregate. Wurm rejoined the
Aggregate. He thought it was well overdue for Carnifex and Urias to
be taken down. For good.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Milo Majestyk's mob (now
calling themselves 'The Machine' after Skull's nascent foray into
organized crime) were buying more city officials and spreading
corruption throughout Hallmark. Under the aegis of Arch-Priest Urias,
the new Damnation Brigade met up with Majestyk and worked out a plan
for the Brigade to take down the mutual adversaries of the two
groups. The new Brigade was led by Urias, tired of being behind the
scenes and eager to crush the spiritis of his foes and glory in the
heady draught of victory. Beside him was his on and off partner
Carnifex; Urias' familiar, the undead Pallor; Solomon Vossius the
Tormenter; TSD subject Alphonse Marins, also known as the incredibly
strong Mexican wrestler El Perro de Guerra (the Dog of War); Cal
Thorne aka Exterminans the Death Walker, in one of his premiere
missions; and Scottish telepath/ telekinetic Roland Mallory, a TSD
Recombinant experimented on by Donal Rykards.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cary believed the time had
to rebuild the Aggregate HQ beneath Bradcroft Manor. This space was
to be the first HQ Compound. The Compounds were originally suggested
by Thomas Ledge as a way to capture the team's foes and keep them
imprisoned as needed. The Compounds would also be places for
Aggregate members to live so that they and their families could feel
safe. All of this meant that a self-governing system had to be put
into effect. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Compounds would function
as co-ops/ communes. Ledge didn't like the socialist overtones yet
most of his suggestions were fed into the layout though he was rather
ungrateful. Euphrates Straw laid out the entire map and schema for
the Compounds. Construction was hired clandestinely; it was carried
out by Serafinians, who were paid well by Bradcroft and Renova. This
also chafed Ledge, but by 1980, Ledge had well worn out his welcome
with Bradcroft & co, so they chafed each other daily. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cary sought many new members
for the group, the last time he would do so. Caulder Gaunt agreed to
join the Aggregate, as did Brother Zodiac at long last. Cary found a
pocket of ex-cons who'd been injected with TSD and were in REACT
custody: Empress Moth, Necrotica, Karibou, and Arc-Welder (More
specific biographical details on these four to follow in upcoming
segments). These were located for the group by the White Archer, who
felt it a wise idea to allow Bradcroft and company to train the “talent”
and the FSO's job was to exploit that talent for its own group
afterward.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">II. The Way They Were: The
Last Days of The Original Freedom Squad </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And so we return at long
last to the so-called Freedom Squad, busy on foreign missions for
months and retraining after the near-fatal Deomond/ Solus affair. In
reconstructing their bodies, REACT subtly manipulated their minds to
pledge obedience to REACT. Only the mind of John Gauvin, aka Wrath,
rejected the mental invasiveness. This was because Gauvin had been a
TSD trial volunteer; his only gift received by the treatment was
complete immunity from telepathic invasiveness (including surgical
and genetic engineering techniques). His brain was like a steel forge
and could not be penetrated. Phileas Caleb realized this and kept very close
tabs on Wrath. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Freedom Squad Ops (or FSO),
as it was most commonly referred to in those days, was the victim of
another set-up deal between Mob enterprise and Skull tech. The result
was known affectionately as the “OBIT Gang” and was unfortunately
led by the long-missing Princesa Verde of the Aggregate, Cedric
Lykos' former lover. Under her auspices were: Garnet and Cynosure,
both rejected by Bradcroft and co.; the “Solar Princess” and
hippie lightbender Sunchild; the Vietnamese shape-shifting Tran;
Anaximander Zayan's daughter Atheru, aka Soulfish; and the armored
Terrapin, who had gotten to be good pals with Convy Lee Sutch
(Cynosure).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Freedom Squad lineup
itself had morphed with the fallout of the Deomond/ Solus incident
and rejuvenation of the team. With Ursulin AWOL in space and Solus
and the second Duellist dead, the group amounted to Liberty Lord,
Troubleshooter, White Archer, Dr E, Flare, a recent acquisition Dart (the first female member), and brand-new recruit, a powerful
Bible-thumper calling himself Vigil. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So the rejuvenated Freedom
Squad took on the OBIT Gang once in early 1980. The very outre group
took FSO by surprise and scrambled their usual group dynamic. Still
Freedom Squad's raw power looked to be winning out when Sunchild
turned Dr E's power upon himself; fortunately there were no
casualties. Soulfish had the dubious honor of snapping Dart's neck
but succumbed to Dart's weaponry; she lived but in a comatose state.
Garnet and Cynosure almost took out the White Archer. But it was
Vigil, who stepped in with his array of Recombinant abilities (to be
discussed in future accounts) and brutally dispersed OBIT. The group
fled, much to Skull's chagrin.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">III. The Trinity</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Alec continued to feel tense
around Kicia now that Brother Zodiac was at last a member of the
Aggregate. Alec, his mind at peace regarding the Marchessa, felt
that Kicia was his true love, hence he was somewhat awkward with her,
despite what they had shared in the past. Finally Kicia made a move,
and Cowan, having no respect for Brother Zodiac or for K</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">icia's love
for BZ, succumbed once more to Ms. Blessing's considerable charms.
Trevor was hardly faithful to Kicia anyway, having bedded Sunchild
before her enlistment in the OBIT Gang when she was merely a fixture
of the Flicker Street scene, as well as Empress Moth, one of the
newbies to the Aggregate. Even Ghost Cat, who Caulder Gaunt had been
professing love to for years, seemed drawn into Novembre's spell.
Gaunt confronted Mei-Chan about the situation, and she graciously put
aside her infatuation with Zodiac to allow Gaunt to “woo her
properly” (his words).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Alec took a trip to New
Orleans with Lykos to find info on the “Grey Messiah”, but the
paper trail only reached back to 1955. Meanwhile, Cotton confronted
Zodiac about his lifestyle and warned the bohemian lothario that his
days in the Aggregate may be numbered, especially if he was quite
literally sleeping with the enemy. On a drunken night in
February 1980, Alec and Lykos confronted BZ about all of this, and
suggested Zodiac go join the OBIT Gang where he might be more
comfortable, and where no one in the Aggregate would have any
compunctions against wiping the floor with him, even though the
Brother's power levels lied somewhere Dr E's and that of the Absurd
Tentacle.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Zodiac rebuffed Alec and
Cedric, who had become close friends of late, and taunted Alec with
braggadocio regarding Kicia. Trevor obviously had not realized that
Kicia and Cowan had recently been intimate. Novembre apparently did
not yet know that Kicia had just discovered that she was pregnant and
wasn't sure of the paternity. Alec did know that Kicia was expecting
and implored her to get a blood test. Lykos, in the meantime, had
developed a rather involved theory regarding Brother Zodiac. He went
to Straw and Cary with his fears. He had come to believe that
Vaikuntha had avatars in Hallmark and that “Trevor Novembre” was
one of them. Unfortunately, only the sword and amulet of the Black
Cabal could detect a Presence in one of its avatar forms, and, even
then, a Presence could make itself undetectable by most forms of
magick.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It would explain much, Cary
and Euphrates agreed. The three men (Bradcroft, Straw, Lykos) opted to go
about their business with Zodiac, hoping he didn't suspect that they
suspected him. They didn't tell Alec right away for fear of a major
set-to with Zodiac. Lykos pointed out that with Caulder Gaunt's past, Gaunt's true identity also came into question. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One night in March 1980 a
restless Zodiac left his room and Kicia sleeping. He had just learned
that he may be a father and that Alec Duarte was his true rival for
Kicia and the baby. Zodiac encountered Caulder Gaunt in the
Bradcroft Manor courtyard. Zodiac drew upon a fearsome wellspring of
mystical energy and absorbed the protesting Gaunt into himself down
to the molecular level. He then mused to himself, “Only one more
and we shall be complete..” Brother Zodiac then reached out with
his far-ranging mind and located the “one more”. He was scarcely
surprised at the identity of the other piece of the unholy trinity.
As Caulder Gaunt had emerged 25 years earlier a total amnesiac, and
Zodiac had always been guarded about his past save for his claims to
be Trevor Novembre of 1960s New Orleans, the third of this trinity
emerged in 1954 with a whole set of false memories, memories about to
be dispelled once and for all, along with the entire being that
housed those memories – all subsumed by Brother Zodiac.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And so we return to Grey
Parminter's desperate summoning of Vaikuntha in 1954, which at long
last bore cosmic fruit. Vaikuntha had returned to this plane after a
millenium but could only do this by incarnating himself into avatars
– an ability he used for millenia in the past to walk among men.
Vaikuntha would erase his memories or program himself with elaborate
false memories in an elaborate spell that even altered the memories
of those around him, to “recall” the avatar's past human
interactions. Such was the power and intricacy of an avatar working
that Cary and Ashton Bradcroft studied it to master it just in case....
for the avatar, as we have seen, is untraceable by any magick perception on Earth. It is the ultimate way for a mage or Presence to
walk among the populace of Earth, human or Exodesian alike, and work
for good or ill undetected. Its aim could gleaned from its conscious mind if made aware, but a subconscious drive could be guiding it so that when the
cosmics were right, the seed of the being who broke apart into
avatars would “awaken”.. and seek out its other selves, encased
in flesh ignorant of its making. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Brother Zodiac kidnapped
Kicia's mother Acacia and taunted Cary, Straw, Duarte, and Lykos.
Ghost Cat was despondent that Gaunt had apparently abandoned her
after such a lengthy and ardent pursuit. Kicia went to Alec and stated that she chose him over BZ. They made love, with Alec knowing any moment
Acacia could be a dead woman. They were interrupted by Cotton Suede,
Thomas Ledge, and Konchuman, who rendezvoused with Zodiac and tried
to divine just what it was that they could do so that Zodiac would
free Kicia's mother. Zodiac insisted on seeing only Duarte, Straw,
Bradcroft, and Lykos. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But the working had yet to
conclude. Even as Zodiac was physically changing, he announced that
they shall all be one family, and gestured, drawing Kicia into the
maelstrom emanating from the being was once was a trinity and now is
one. Alec held onto her hand until her body wilted and dissolved.
Alec cried out as the woman he loved and her unborn child (which was
Zodiac's, not Alec's) were consumed by the reborn Presence. And so
Vaikuntha awoke, a dead ringer for the being that Gaunt and Zodiac
had been dreaming of. Euphrates Straw was at a loss; he had never
before encountered a Presence( few had). Vaikuntha let loose a burst
of energy from his third eye, frying Straw where he stood, even as
Vaikuntha himself was blasted from behind from the now cognizant
Shadow Baron, flanked by Lykos. Cary was too late, however, and
Euphrates Straw's remains crumpled to the ground. Vaikuntha announced
his retreat and that this time around, Earth would be his to pleasure
himself with however he saw fit. He disappeared, and a heartbroken
Alec and his allies searched for find something to house Straw's
remains.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">IV. Vaikuntha Rising</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Aggregate regrouped. A
ceremony was held in which the entire current team was there –
Bradcroft, Cowan, Lykos, Ledge, Cotton, Konchuman, Wurm, Ghost Cat,
Corona, Myrmidon, Empress Moth, Necrotica, Karibou, and Arc-Welder -
to pay respects to Straw and acknowledge the other two fallen
members, though this latter idea of Bradcroft's, in the interest of
ceremony and magnanimity, enraged several members. They grumbled that
Gaunt and Zodiac did little during their time with the team save plot
and ploy against them. As Thomas Ledge put it: “Ya don't honor a
man like Straw beside two pieces of shit who were planning our
destruction the whole freakin' time – whether they knew it or not.”
Cotton very vocally agreed, as did Alec (a rare instance where he and
Thomas were in sync) and so a separate acknowledgment for the two
avatars was held a week after Straw's elaborate funeral.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Straw's teammates and his
retinue from outside the team, solemnly honored this most amazing of
men. Straw's heirs attended: his lover Octavia Flay and her child by
Euphrates, Darius Flay (b. 1975); his estranged widow Artemis Clancey
(b. 1948) and her child by Euphrates, Zachariah “Zack” Straw (b.
1970); as well as the surviving members of the interconnected
Clancey, Reale, Torrance, and Flay families.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This left the Aggregate with
only one original member in its 16 year existence - the Shadow Baron,
and he shouldered the blame for all that had occurred. He knew that
the group, especially with so many young and lesser experienced
members, needed as much help as they could get. Knowing they will
refuse to help him, Cary dismissed approaching the Freedom Squad
offhand, and concentrated on two extremely powerful potential allies:
Orphee deLander, the Absurd Tentacle, and his lover Silent Indigo,
Cary's niece. Bradcroft also tried to contact his own brother to no
avail. Finally, he approached Javier's sect, who agreed to help. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Orphee immediately attempted
to take control of the situation though Cary and Javier were far more
well-versed in sorcery. After months planning by this uneasy alliance
without any incident, Vaikuntha struck the Aggregate's nascent first
Compound. Without warning, the mad god decided to merely destroy his
primary foes all at once, making a statement to the Freedom Squad or
any other gifted individuals looking to take him down. His main target, however, was Cary Bradcroft's knowledge of the Black Cabal talisman.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Gathered was the same
line-up present at Straw's memorial – perhaps the most formidable
Aggregate yet assembled. Also present were the Absurd Tentacle,
Silent Indigo, and Javier. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Vaikuntha announced,
“Millenia I have slept, and dreamt beyond the pale... for the day I
wake and unleash the destroyer force on all mankind.” In one mighty
wave Vaikuntha annhilated Silent Indigo, Karibou, and the Empress
Moth, critically injuring Corona and Wurm in the process. Ghost Cat,
Cary's replacement as field commander for Euphrates, attempted to use
advanced martial arts on Vaikuntha while Javier and Bradcroft hurled arcane forces at him, and Thomas and Lykos attempted to knock him down
with brute force. Alec and Stephen Bartholemew simply shot at him.
All proved ineffectual until Orphee managed to physically wrestle the
six-armed god to the ground, using all of his psychokinetic power to
augment his strength. Brimming with rage over Indigo's death, he
brought to bear all he had against the daemonic Presence.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But then Vaikuntha unleashed his eldritch energies and the Absurd Tentacle slowly dissipated into
a small puttlylike blob before evaporating altogether. “Enough!!”
screamed a muffled voice. From out of the dust strode a tall man, dressed
head to toe in black and grey and wearing a mask concealing his
entire face, even his eyes. A bejeweled amulet gleamed about his neck,
and he wielded an ornate blade. Was this the one-man embodiment of the
force that laid Vaikuntha low 1000 years ago?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The oblique gentlemen
swiftly moved in on Vaikuntha, fearless. He proclaimed: “Tis time
once more the Balance is struck, and the Black Cabal shall make it
so. I am he you have dreaded in the dreams of a millenium sleeping in
the outer planes. And now you shall sleep again. I banish the Presence
who would rule all Creation; I drive it back, back – into the
fetid pit from which it crawled - a slug who dared believe it was
God”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Vaikuntha raised several of
his arms as if to cast a spell, whispering only “Dharma..”, but
the Black Cabal struck him in the heart with his blade as his amulet
glistened. An all-consuming light envelopes the destined foes, and then was
abruptly snuffed out. It would be safe to say that the survivors of
this skirmish with Vaikuntha all stood in a state of complete shock. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">They quickly reconnoitered to
garner medical attention for those who needed it and to mourn their
lost comrades. The year 1980 closed on a somber note for the
Aggregate, and with many more questions raised than answered by the
year's events.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">November 23, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thanx to all of my Facebook friends, especially those who are reading.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">No thanx to Baal, no thanx to Rowan, no thanx to Wolfie.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Flicker Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright (c) 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-7033996849086503222015-11-17T17:01:00.002-08:002015-11-17T17:46:00.594-08:00Further Thoughts on FLICKER STREET (Slight Return)<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Further Thoughts on FLICKER STREET (Slight Return)</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I warned you I'd be back. So, here I sit, pondering the direction and shape Flicker Street is taking. Treatment #17 - "Presence" - is more than halfway done, even through fighting a nasty writer's block of sorts this past week. Extensive notes for #s 18 and 19 (Titles TBA) are starting to assume a manageable shape. Truthfully, these chapters have been the most crucial to surmount - being that they segue into a sharp tonal shift from past treatments. "Presence" is a joy to write, but also a bit of a bear. I have to keep all the arcs and tangents carefully juggled lest one fall, and rend asunder the gossamer loom on which I weave the world of Flicker Street.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm not sure if Flicker Street is quite ready for a debut proper. A doctor of mine asked me today, "What's this book you're writing all the time?" I answered that it was like a bible, or sourcebook, or whatever they call it nowadays, for a projected piece of serial fiction - comix, prose, or television. It lays out the characters and the world, the backstory, etc. - at least that's how I explained it to my doctor. Makes sense to me, though it may not have to her.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"Presence" will be the crucial chapter of the last few, wrapping up with some (hopefully) mind-bending surprises that will make clear the arcs from # 14 onward. Even I've been shocked at my characters' revelations - I love it when that happens. It just seems to be the way things shake out for me when I'm on a roll. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Well, back to work, as Uncle Bill my moon brother admonishes me to do when I'm lagging behind on this project. As usual, many thanx are due:</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To Sean Lee Levin, Jan Takehara, Bill White, "The Marksman", Michael T Jones, Kelley Widmeyer, Ryli Morgan, Lori Jones, S.a. Mosley, Shawn Michael Vogt, Morgan Overcash, Leslie K Maitri, and all those helping me keep moving, albeit sluggishly at times. I love you all!!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For ongoing eternal inspiration: Philip Jose Farmer, William S Burroughs, JG Ballard, Steve Gerber, Grant Morrison, Douglas Marland, James A Michener, L Frank Baum, V. Vale, Osamu Tezuka, Don McGregor, Roy Thomas, Peter Milligan, Jack Kirby, Win Scott Eckert, and many more....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PS Wait'll you meet one of the next new characters I have in store for you: Reverend Tim Bollin of the WOGG Ministries (Word Of God's Glory, of course). If you grew up in the Bible Belt as I did, he'll be a very familiar polygot of various unsavory "TV criminals"...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">November 17, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Flicker Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright (c) 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-88045551675042157182015-11-05T16:20:00.001-08:002015-11-06T11:58:09.552-08:00FLICKER STREET: A Brief Respite<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>FLICKER STREET: A Brief Respite </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I wanted to share a few thoughts and wax introspective on Flicker Street, my ongoing series of treatments for a potential comix series. To those few souls reading this, many thanks! I deeply appreciate your comments, feedback, views, and shares. At times it seems I'm building this world in a proverbial vacuum; perhaps I am. This has been labor of love: 30 + years of love, and now, days and nights of labor. The labor comes in condensing a mammoth, living breathing organism into manageable chunks for the reader to digest. This has been difficult. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Over the years there have been long, deep holes left in the overarching narrative, as I plowed ahead with what felt right - an ongoing catharsis that was being composed solely for me, not any prospective readers. I am attempting to plug those holes and streamline the narrative leading to the story I most want to tell ultimately. I've always felt that there was (dreaded word here) commercial potential for Flicker Street; that is, I've long believed that its target audience(s) would enjoy FS if they were merely exposed to it. But navigating through the dense underbrush of events that serve as the substratum for the FS saga 'proper' could be problematic to any new readers. The main story, beginning with '1987', was going to be convoluted enough; to grok the particulars and ground rules, so to speak, inherent in the demi-epic backstory, may be too much to ask of an audience.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">These are matters I still grapple with as I plunge ever onward, recounting in these treatments all (or most) of the pertinent info needed to arm the reader with the sound foundation needed to enrich and hopefully enhance their experience of FS proper. Consider these treatments prequels to a story yet to unfold; snapshots of my attempt to world build. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now that I'm closer to the beginning than the end of the FS "prequels", I would like to share with any potential readers that with '1987' onward, there will be strong tonal shift in narrative. Certain concerns from the treatments may not be as useful in the saga proper. Superheros, mystery men, and pulp style action gives way to a more complex, character-based occult soap opera of sorts. This is not to say there won't be plenty of action, sex, violence, and other "exploitable" elements, but these facets will be woven in and out of the larger loom of intrigue, romance, paranoia, and sci-fi horror ahead. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As further thoughts on the nature of my work strike me, I may report back here. If I don't (or if I do), I look forward to sharing Treatments #s 17 and 18, currently being constructed. I am still unsure of the final number of chapters, but it will be between 20 and 25 in all likelihood.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thanx again for reading,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">November 5, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Copyright (c) 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-4999635153873100032015-10-30T20:29:00.000-07:002015-11-05T15:37:32.799-08:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 16: Sojourn<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Shorter but no less eventful. Enjoy!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOVSaOTTf4QvCW9DTD4mHnNOk7rjzR_WSBUR1vsOfH-06S-AoZsJaN0fsFGli3RHN_M4Z56pXSjwAGFi5wkNULVqm_ZZeaDUS8zzdeG8KdQV_ZBbldao_F_E-XE1WxTDtp1Wa5d3z8YKhj/s1600/Black+Cabal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOVSaOTTf4QvCW9DTD4mHnNOk7rjzR_WSBUR1vsOfH-06S-AoZsJaN0fsFGli3RHN_M4Z56pXSjwAGFi5wkNULVqm_ZZeaDUS8zzdeG8KdQV_ZBbldao_F_E-XE1WxTDtp1Wa5d3z8YKhj/s400/Black+Cabal.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment #
16 – Sojourn</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I. The Case of Caulder Gaunt
and Ethan Byron</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The peculiar case of the man
called Caulder Gaunt was almost one case of spontaneous generation –
he was seemingly born fullblown: an adult without parents or a past.
But some force wished Gaunt to find his way; to retrace the steps of
memory that had been wiped clean. Caulder awoke in Hallmark, in
January 1955, wearing a costly suit and bearing a wallet with ID
(which gave his birthdate as January 1, 1925) and thousands of
dollars in cash. Instinctively, he sought out a bank and soon had
some sense of security. One night, he decided to drown his sorrow and
insecurity at the Lucifer Club. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There, he took a an
immediate shine to the Indian belly dancer Acacia Blessing. He was
mesmerized by her. When they were introduced by the club owner
Javier, there was an immediate bond. But there another man enamored
of Acacia, the businessman Ethan Byron. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ethan had a troubled
marriage but his wife was about to have their first child. Ethan (b.
1920) had only been married for two years to Virginia de Ruyter (b.
1925) and the couple had suffered a miscarriage. They had high hopes
for their next attempt at childbearing.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Acacia was married to Junius
G. Hand at this time, though to date no one had told Junius that his
son by Erszebet Singer survived and was adopted. Junius was overjoyed over Acacia's pregnancy, and did what he could to ward off the
wolves at the club. Soon, however, she was showing and stopped
dancing until after the child's birth. So all Ethan and Caulder could
do was drink and fantasize over the lovely Acacia.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Virginia de Ruyter was the
paternal granddaughter of the much-discussed Ananias de Ruyter, one
of the founding fathers of Hallmark. Virginia's father, Victor de
Ruyter, was something of a criminal, involved in all manner of vice
and heavily entwined with the local mob. This made his daughter into
something of a crusader for social causes, which was very compatible
with husband Ethan's aspirations to one day become District Attorney
and truly clean up Hallmark. But Ethan, unlike his bride's family,
was not an heir to millions and his dreams seemed all but
unattainable. That is, until he made the acquaintance of the
mysterious Caulder Gaunt.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Caulder needed a job; Ethan
needed a friend. And so, as fate would have it, Ethan brought Gaunt
in at an entry level position at OrDeR Enterprises. Ethan had an
uncanny knack for spotting sound investments and was soon rising at
OrDeR. Ethan's son by Virginia, Clayton Ethan “Clay” Byron was
born in early 1956, and his presence helped cool some of the friction
between his parents. But in 1958, Junius and Acacia divorced but
Acacia stayed at the club at Javier's urging. Ethan and Virginia had
been arguing over money; Ethan soon had a drunken affair with Acacia.
Caulder advised him to hide this from his wife, which he did, and
definitely from the public as he had won the post of Hallmark
District Attorney. Ethan and his wife were soon high on Tony Duarte's
hit list. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">II. The Chinese Connection</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 1963 Shun Ti the
undisputed female master of Feng Qi (and originally the Omegan called
Ish) was slain by Kith M'Nali, the “Black Tamerlane”. Kith was
found out and he and the Black Skull Society, tolerated in Feng Qi
for many years, were exiled permanently. Kith had been anticipating
this for decades, and so fled to a new headquarters in Japan that he
had set up in case of such an occurrence. He also had a secondary HQ
in America that he had begun putting together as early as the 1850s.
He had created an underground railroad for slaves in America. After
they were free, many slaves indebted to him did his bidding, as did
their descendants. Ironically, working for Kith M'Nali was akin to
slavery itself. The man born Abasse Mathabane learned little from the
struggles of his people; personal power was ultimately his sole
objective. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Feng Qi was intended by Shun
Ti to be ultimately inherited by Kar-Fai Liao, whose father Tsun-Lun
was Shuni-Ti's son and her greatest disciple. Kong had slain Tsun-Lun
as he had Tsun-Lun's father The Claimer and took his title for
himself. With Kong now apparently deceased Kith was running out of
allies and Shun Ti was running low on heirs. Ko Sui-Li (b. 1920),
mother of Kar-Fai, took the reigns of Feng-Qi, but was constantly
plotted against by her sons Li-Ang Liao and Zhey Liao. Zhey had
always been loyal to Kong, and advised Li-Ang to build on the power
vacuum left by Kong and Kith. Li-Ang envisioned himself an overlord
in the manner of Kong, with the world's vice in his lethal grasp. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sui-Li reorganized Feng Qi,
and made her son its overlord. Under Kar-Fai's aegis, Archimedes Ko,
son of Bram Vallard, was largely in charge of overseeing the temples
and Solacium. Ko was young, but had been a monk almost since
his birth (in 1943) and was a master of martial arts and Zen
principals. His twin sister Mei-Chan Ko, the “Ghost Cat”, had
also trained since birth. Kar-Fai needed the fresh blood, according
to Sui-Li, as Kar-Fai spent much of his time ruminating on thoughts
of vengeance against Kith for slaying his grandmother Shun Ti. Sui-Li refused to
let her son turn Feng-Qi into an engine of destruction; Kith had
tried and failed many times to do just that. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 1964, Ethan and Virginia
Byron were slain by Marco Allegretti. Under the advice of Bram
Vallard (who that year co-founded the Aggregate), Archimedes offered
to take in the eight year old Clay Byron. Kar-Fai felt he could mold
Clay (pun unintended) into the instrument of vengeance he'd been yearning for. Not
surprisingly, the Byrons left their fortune to Clay, but made Caulder
Gaunt the trustee of the estate. Gaunt had power of attorney for the
Byrons. Ethan had come to see Gaunt as a brother, and trusted him
completely. Gaunt naturally agreed, but he asked one thing of Ko:
that he be allowed to train alongside Clay at the monastery. Kar-Fai
trusted his sincerity and felt bringing in those of different races, as
Shun Ti had done, honored the original Pan-Asian creeds that Kith
corrupted.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Most surprising to all was
one other child who wished to train at Feng Qi: his name was Clive
and his mother Jerusha Dharma brought him to the monastery she had
heard so much about over the years. She was with Myrus T Fellbane,
now her fiance (much to Clive's chagrin). They brought with them
something Clive's father had entrusted Jerusha with – a sword and
amulet that were said to be 1000 years old and once drove the vile Presence Vaikuntha from this plane of existence. Jerusha felt that Feng Qi would be the
safest place on Earth to house the items, just as she felt that
Exodesia would be the most unsafe place imaginable. These items were
forged by a Hindu cult called the Black Cabal; legend had it that if
one man was ever worthy of bearing sword and amulet, he would inherit
the powers of the entire Black Cabal. Jerusha wished this for her
son. Her motives were not exactly pure however; she harbored a deep
resentment of Clive Dharma's father, Cary Bradcroft, for seemingly
abandoning her in his quest for power in Exodesia. She felt Clive
could be molded, as Kar-Fai was molding Clay Byron, into an
instrument of vengeance. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Fellbane, however, had other
plans. He desired the power of the Black Cabal for himself, and had
schemed for nine years to be in the position to claim it. Fellbane
asked Kar-Fai Liao if he could train Fellbane in some of his mystic
arts. Kar-Fai was offended that such an interloper would see the
training at Feng Qi as something so casual and superficial. Fellbane
caused a mild uproar with his commentary following Kar-Fai's refusal
to train him. Kar-Fai lost control and with one blow killed Fellbane.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jerusha was shocked and
asked to speak to Sui-Li Ko alone. Sui-Li felt Kar-Fai's action was
rash and out of control, but she admonished Jerusha that Fellbane
brought a potential evil with him to Feng Qi, and that was not to be
tolerated. Jerusha confided that Fellbane had cast a spell nine years
prior so that she and her son could not be found by Cary Bradcroft.
Sui-Li was surprised, as the Shadow Baron had become well-known in
mystic circles for his power and knowledge, though he'd not yet
wrought the good he went on to accomplish leading the Aggregate. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jerusha understood, but
asked that Kar-Fai weave a new spell protecting her and Clive from
Bradcroft. Kar-Fai did so, and added the caveat that only one who
wielded the sword and amulet of the Black Cabal could banish the
spell. All was made well for the time being. Jerusha was invited to
stay at Feng Qi to live, and she agreed. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thus, Clive Dharma, Clay
Byron, and Caulder Gaunt trained together with Mei-Chan Ko
under Archimedes for nine years. Caulder fell deeply in love with
Mei-Chan but feared upsetting their dynamic at the monastery by
sharing his feelings. Gaunt was a confident man, but he was troubled,
as he still had no memory of his life before 1955. By 1975, Gaunt
and his young fellow pupils had excelled at their training. But Clay
Byron desired a slightly different path. He announced that he was
leaving for training in Libania under the Marchessa. The others chose
to remain in Feng Qi for a bit longer. Clay embarked, and Kar-Fai
wished him well, and dubbed him “Sojourner” for his restless
spirit. Clay promised Clive and Gaunt that he'd meet them again one
day. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The one saddest about Clay
leaving was Kar-Fai's young son, Jun-Kim Liao (or June Kim, born
1967) who saw Clay and Clive as older brothers and Gaunt as an uncle.
Jun-Kim was the offspring of the marriage of Kar-Fai to Colleen Soh
(b. 1940), a half-Irish, half-Korean whose father Kim Park Soh (b.
1918) had lived at Feng Qi in the 1930s and 1940s and became an agent
of Bram Vallard via his connection to Feng Qi, where he had trained
in the 1920s. Kim Park's other daughter, Lerby Soh, married Vallard's
son Randolph Hoxworth (b.1947) and the couple settled in Hallmark and
had three daughters: Betsy, Lerby, and Jill, all of whom would one
day meet their cousin Jun-Kim, whose importance to this narrative
will grow as we move along. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">III. Lucifer Revisited</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Alec Duarte first
encountered Kicia Marie Blessing in 1971 when he came to Hallmark to
finish off his father Tony Duarte and Tony's partner and lover Marco
Allegretti. He set up his place of operation in a Hotel 6 and that
evening, after staking out Tony's mansion, dropped in at the Lucifer
Club for a few drinks and to see naked girls dance. He was sexually
frustrated due to his time with Mariposa Marisol. Celibacy was
getting old for him. Kicia was a stunning dancer at the club who
caught his eye immediately. He soon learned after a table dance from
Kicia that she was only 15 years old. The pimp Diggs Reale who, at
that time, owned and ran the Lucifer Club had managed to persuade
Kicia to start stripping at 14. He roped her in via her mother
Acacia, who Javier, the founder of the club, enlisted as a dancer
after he met her by chance on a trip to India in 1954. One year
later, Kicia was born, the offspring of Acacia's marriage to Black
Torpedo Ray, whom she had wed one week after meeting him.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Acacia knew her daughter
looked much older than her age, and she knew the next stop on the
illusory highway to fame and riches offered by Diggs was a life of
turning tricks. In 1971, Kicia's father was in prison, framed by
Diggs and Eli Singer; he and Acacia had divorced in 1958. Alec was
the first man Kicia had danced for that didn't immediately attempt to
score with her. She was fascinated by this 23 year old loner with
pale blue eyes and a swanky moustache and soul patch. At the end of
the evening, Alec bid her a fond farewell and she gave him her phone
number. He said he didn't know how much longer he'd be in Hallmark;
only that he would be back and look her up – and hoped she'd be in
school by then. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Three years later, Duarte
returned to Hallmark for phase two of the Marchessa's three mandates.
He decided impulsively to make it a stealth mission, mainly to get a
job in Hallmark and establish a dual ID so that he could move freely
as Cowan, whose cowl he first donned on this trip (the cowl would
have many configurations over the years). But above all, he stayed
around to see Kicia Blessing. The job he chose was as a cab driver;
he was utterly fascinated by taxi driving. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Alec began hanging out at
the club for a few weeks, getting to know Kicia's father; they became
fast friends. Ray approved of Alec, and Alec alone, as a match for
his now 19 year old daughter. Acacia had returned to India for a
time, but Ray wanted her back at the club, their differences aside.
Alec made some young friends who frequented the Lucifer Club, much to
their families' dismay. From Gossingham, he met Shirley Townshend
Drake and her husband Shelby and son Lance. Lance was only six years
old and already craved heavy metal and occult imagery; his favorite
group was the infamous White Rabbit, led by the rowdy Hasty
Greenhalgh, and his favorite shop was Bradcroft LTD. Lance loved
Alec; Alec wasn't sure what to make of this kid but appreciated the
cameraderie. Lance's uncle was preparing to open a comic book store
in Hallmark called Origins, but for now, was holding mini-conventions
at Northland Mall in upper Hallmark. H. Sidney Drake looked down on
his relatives, especially nephew Lance's proclivities as Sidney was a
devout born again Christian.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One of Alec's drinking
buddies was a fellow cabbie at Zenith Cab: Renee Pointier, a French
immigrant who was in her 30s and certainly an alcoholic. She and Alec
had a few drunken nights of wanton sex, but he felt he was getting
far off track from his fixation on Kicia, not to mention his
impossible yearnings for his teacher the Marchessa. Renee dug Alec a
good bit, and confronted him over Kicia. He made his feelings
apparent, and Renee soon left Alec, Zenith, and Hallmark – at least
for a good 10 years. Her replacement became Alec's “sidekick” for
the duration of his time cruising Flicker Street for fares: a 16 year
old cabbie-in-training named Hobie T Reale, Diggs' nephew. Alec
taught Hobie some martial arts and Hobie referred to Alec as
“teacher”. Alec said he was on a mission, Hobie could not come
along, and when next he came to Hallmark, he would give Hobie a
proper training. The two would often smoke ganja and ruminate on the
nature of the universe, which Alec would soon be doing in a whole
different venue.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the midst of all this,
Alec never wavered in using his tightness with Ray to see Kicia every
chance he got. They had a sweet and tender dynamic that belied the
violence and vice surrounding them. Alec practiced using his hard-won
skills to hit the mob, and was only marginally successful. Finally,
the time came for his mission: to infiltrate Javier's Order of Cosmic
Emptiness. He managed to kill guest speaker Antioch Moldor, a
powerful warlock and founder of the Aggregate analog group the
Damnation Brigade. Javier let Cowan escape and was intrigued by him.
</span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It had been two months of
what was supposed to be a two week mission. Alec went to see Kicia
one night when she was home alone studying (Ray got her back in
school) and Ray was clubbing. They finally had “The Talk”
(capital “T”, capital “T”), which was what Alec called the
awkward crossroads a potential couple invariably arrived at, in order
to decide to be a couple or not. Alec tried to spill his guts, and
was doing okay when Kicia savagely seduced Duarte. She had wanted him
for so long she was boiling over. After an hour of oftimes tender,
oftimes tempestuous coupling, the two lay in bed and finished “The
Talk”. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Kicia didn't think they
would work unless Alec took her with him when he left and unless Alec
got over his infatuation with his teacher. Neither seemed possible,
and for the first time that he could remember, Alec Duarte – Cowan
– cried. He said goodbye to Kicia and expressed that should their
paths cross again, maybe they could be together. Kicia found this
unlikely and said some soul-crushing things to Alec to disabuse him
of this notion and get him to leave before she, too, lost it. And
thus, Alec returned to the Marchessa for three more years, and
consummated their attraction. Kicia dropped out of school and
embraced the Flicker Street bohemian crowd, the hub of Hallmark's
outcasts, freaks, loners, artists, and aesthetes. There she met the
enigmatic Brother Zodiac and the two began a passionate affair filled
with romance and music and – other, darker things to be discussed
shortly.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">IV. Sojourner's Solacium</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sojourner made it to the
Marchessa's Solacium in Libania in 1975.He submitted himself for
training, and was accepted. He met Cowan for the first time, having
no idea yet that Alec avenged Clay's family's deaths. Duarte helped Sojourner adjust to the different approach of Marchessa's Solacium.
Clay responded well to his new teacher. Clay was intrigued by the
relationship Libania and FOPA had with Serafinia. While at the
Solacium, he met Redmund Jeffrey, an African-American spy for REACT
posing as a FOPA double agent. Jeffrey was there to aid in
destabilizing relations ever further with Serafinia. Ironically he
married a Serafinia native and had two daughters they raised in
Serafinia: Laura (b. 1956) and Ophelia (b. 1958). Clay met and fell
for Laura Jeffrey. With Redmund's permission they wed.</span> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Redmund despised Byron,
however, and plotted to eliminate him without provoking the
Marchessa.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Laura was soon pregnant,
and, in her eighth month, she was killed by an explosion set at the
Solacium by Redmund and meant to be blamed on the Serafinians.
Laura's child, to be named Jeffrey Byron, survived however, and
Redmund gave the baby to Ophelia and demanded she and her husband
Charles Mourning raise the child as their own back home in the U.S. with Redmund's aging mother, the baby's great-grandmother, Cecilia
Jeffrey. The child was born in June 1976 and was named Michelito
Mourning. It would be many years before the truth of his parentage
was outed. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Redmund's own wife Unocita
Quonquonero tried to kill him for using her and playing with their
family's lives. Redmund beat her badly and she confided in Clay that
she contemplated suicide daily. She threatened to tell Clay the truth
about why the Mournings left South America so suddenly after Laura's
death. Redmund killed her, making it look like suicide. Unocita's
brother Rajael cried out for Redmund's blood. Alec Duarte knew it was
time for the monster Redmund Jeffrey to pay the price, and so he
challenged him to a duel of hand to hand combat. Redmund was no
slouch in this area, but hardly up to the training of the Marchessa.
Alec snapped his neck and his threat was over. Once again, Cowan had
avenged Sojourner without really knowing it; Alec was none the wiser
than Clay was about Clay's son.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With Redmund's entire family
gone, Clay Byron focused once more deeply on his training. When Alec
left the Solacium in 1977 to fulfill his final mandate, Marchessa
knew he may never return, and he did not. Clay was left behind to
lose himself in honing his body and mind to their sharpest points in
order to obliterate the pain of his lost wife and son. The Marchessa
promised Alec that when Clay seemed ready, she would send him back to
Hallmark to claim his fortune and, hopefully, his place beside Cowan
in the Aggregate. Cowan did indeed find his place among the Aggregate, as recounted elsewhere, but he was pained to learn that
Kicia was involved with the enigmatic Brother Zodiac. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">V. Black Cabal Rising</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In early 1977, Jerusha
Dharma fell ill and could not be saved by anyone at Feng Qi. Clive
felt it was time to conclude his training there and go to London to
get his mother's affairs in order. He left behind Mei-Chen to train
for one more year before she headed to Hallmark to petition for
membership in the Aggregate. With the resources available to him via
the Byron estate, Caulder Gaunt accompanied Clive and loaned him a
large sum of money and helped to establish his credentials. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Gaunt called upon a friend
and former co-worker at OrDeR Enterprises, Oswin Juan Clancey for
help in Clive's ventures. Oswin flew to London from Hallmark with his
associate Stephanie Ransom Avril, wife of Egon Avril of the infamous
Avril clan discussed in our tenth installment. Gaunt and Clancey
forged documents such as an archaeologist's degree, a tidy bank
account, and any other identifying documents. These items were
created for Clive under the name Randell Coventry. Clive Dharma
wished the world to continue with their ignorance of his existence. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oswin Clancey (b. 1953) is
noteworthy as the son of Zachariah Clancey and Dawn Cheshire, both
discussed thoroughly in earlier treatments. He was an executive in
advertising at OrDeR. He and Clive bonded immediately and he used his
resources to help “create” Randell Coventry. He was also looking
to invest in new ventures. Stephanie was as well, and she had a
degree in archaeology and shared Clive's interests. It was implicit
that no one involved in this enterprise reveal the truth. Gault
assured everyone that they would be rewarded richly when Clay finally
took control of his fortune. Another investor, the Frenchman Aloysius
Pascal, came on board in late 1977, and he and Clive became best friends. He, Clancey, Stephanie, and Gaunt
set up shop in London, where Clive stayed for nearly two years,
scraping together enough cash for one last grand expedition. Thus was
Coventry Expeditions born. During his time in London, Clive/ Randell engaged in a short-lived and tempestuous marriage to Pascal's sister Margeurite.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Caulder worried that he had
been corrupted by Clive's obsessions and that their years at Feng Qi
were for naught. He missed the peace he had found there. But he found
himself drawn in by the danger and clandestine nature of his
activities. He wondered what kind of man he really was before his
amnesia. He decided to forge ahead with Clive's plan and head to
Hallmark, where he met with Cary Bradcroft and propose a merger with
Bradcroft Ltd. Cary agreed to consider it, but felt he should meet
with Coventry himself first. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For Gaunt's part, he decided
to stay in Hallmark until the Ghost Cat arrived as planned to
petition for membership in the Aggregate. He felt the time had come
to tell her how much he truly loved her. But Mei-Chan rejected
Caulder's advances, however. She simply did not see him in that way.
Gaunt was frustrated beyond words. He began hanging out in Flicker
Street, drinking heavily and filled with self-pity. He took up
painting, producing abstract portraits inspired by his time at Feng
Qi. The more he painted, the more bizarre the symbolism – images of
vistas unimaginable filled his canvases, as visions of frightening
planes and creatures filled his lucid dreaming. He dreamt almost
nightly of Clive and his sword and amulet. In his dreams the Black
Cabal was reborn as one man, wielding the ancient talisman against a
mad god with a third eye and six arms.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As for Clive Dharma, he left
Stephanie in charge of their London office and planned an expedition
to Exodesia in 1979. He felt they needed a guide, a go-between to
survive in Exodesia. Gaunt recommended Javier, who was grudgingly
welcome in Exodesia. Javier went to London to meet with Clive, Oswin,
and Aloysius, and soon the four of them were in Africa, making the
expedition up the mountain where lied the city of Exodesia. They came
before the priest Assias, whose attention was drawn to Clive's
talisman. Assias attempted to barter with Dharma for the objects.
This was in vain. Clive announced that he wished the defeat of the
Shadow Baron and could assure it happening if Assias trained himself
and Pascal in certain Exodesian and Piscean arts of dark alchemy.
Oswin had no desire to learn and Javier was already well-versed.
Assias agreed, and Dharma and Pascal trained for one year in
Exodesia. During this time, Arch Priest Urias was in America working
for SkullCorp and assembling a new Damnation Brigade to plague the
Aggregate. This was fortunate as he coveted the secrets of the Black
Cabal himself. Assias was not a member of the Obscuros; thus, Clive
and Javier correctly believed that he could be trusted. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oswin was housed in
Exodesia's Azure City, a place where Exodesians of a more benign bent
than the Obscuros dwelt. Assias was the prime minister of sorts of
Azure City. Javier finally felt at home somewhere in Exodesia. The
year at Azure City went by quickly and surprisingly well for Clive's
party, especially given the dark forces at work all around them.
Oswin attributed much of this to Clive's talisman, which Oswin
believed gave Clive a certain aura that protected the group. Though
this seemed to be mere speculation on the part of a layman, it
actually was a correct assumption. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the summer of 1980 Clive
“graduated” from his studies in Exodesia. The next stop for the
Dharma party was Hallmark. Pascal was sent to the London office to
meet with Stephanie. He was to work there, while Gault and Oswin took
care of business with Cary Bradcroft. Javier bowed out of the whole
affair, but thanked all for helping him actually have a decent
experience in Exodesia. Clive now assumed the identity of Randell
Coventry and began traveling with Stephanie to archaeological digs to
gain actual experience at the position he had faked his way into.
Before he left Hallmark, however, he met with one final investor –
someone he'd wanted to seek out for some time – Orphee deLander.
What passed between them was to be revealed to the public late that
year and will be discussed in our next installment, in which Clive
steels himself to finally face Cary Bradcroft. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">October 31, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Flicker Street, all
characters, images, and story elements are Copyright (c) 2015 George
Henry Smathers Jr.</span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-11633140053980522932015-10-16T15:34:00.001-07:002015-10-19T11:31:39.957-07:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 15 - I Luciferi<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The longest installment yet. Enjoy!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh9La9EQnWtduty7dKK42X46VID_XIR2OysGjf_Np0QAMtd4IK7Hi0YGApYx1GBU_g3_06obuinpthLhoJROCnsutJTB47F8MEztwGkLzPAqmzQG5fVGRU1yUsAYbysEsoX7rruzscQP2u/s1600/Prester+John+Grey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh9La9EQnWtduty7dKK42X46VID_XIR2OysGjf_Np0QAMtd4IK7Hi0YGApYx1GBU_g3_06obuinpthLhoJROCnsutJTB47F8MEztwGkLzPAqmzQG5fVGRU1yUsAYbysEsoX7rruzscQP2u/s320/Prester+John+Grey.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment #15
– I Luciferi</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I. A Digression Rising...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now it's time to take a
sideways glance at a wild cluster of subjects interlaced to forge a
complete portrait: a sharp slice of the Hallmark “street scene”
over 30 years of mutations and permutations, at its very nexus point
on Flicker Street itself. This is only one such scene but we explore
it here as a respite from the labors of the Aggregate.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Explored within is the
history of the infamous Lucifer Club, from 1952-1982. Through the lives of its owners
and patrons we can trace the bloody fingerprints left on the world by
the wounds and scars of an American city (albeit a unique one).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II. The Lucifer Club</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1952, the man called
Javier, son of Biazel Karollus, was embracing his Exodesian side and
was assisting Arch-Priest Urias the Grand Necromancer as Urias made a
bid to become one of the birthing SkullCorp's inner circle. Javier
envisioned an exclusive club where the more decadent and, shall we
say, curious denizens of Flicker Street and beyond could congregate
and indulge themselves without a care. Javier did not really
discriminate with the “exclusive” tag; he was not against lower
classes of folk patronizing the club – as long as they paid. Urias
lent Javier some capital, and a handful of Hallmark's finest chipped
into invest, all with the caveat that it be repaid in one year, and
Javier would become co-owner of the club, with Urias a silent
partner, hence the club was yet another source of revenue for
SkullCorp. Javier's plan was to eventually buy out Urias – if that
was possible.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Javier opened the club on
New Years Eve, 1953. From the first night, two groups that would be
mainstays and lifeblood of the club congealed. The first group to
hold court in the club revolved around Nels Christensen, a cohort of
Javier's that worked for the Machine. He was an investor in the club.
His brother, Lambert Christensen, would often visit. What Nels did
not know was that the Lambert that would drop in on him from time to
time was actually Bram Vallard aka the Apparition (and his split personality Royal Hoxworth aka Saturnine). The real Lambert “loaned” his ID
to Vallard for long stretches while he tooled around Europe. But the
real Lambert died in 1950. Vallard continued the ruse however,
keeping Nel's older brother alive. Vallard was such a master of
disguise and subterfuge that Nels never discovered the truth.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nels found a motley group to
drink and watch the exotic dancers with. One of his employees, Judd
Fullerton, who he condescended to in the workplace, became a
treasured drinking buddy, as did Judd's best friend, Henry Colter (b.
1923), who played drums in the closest thing the club had to a house
band, the Ulysses Reale 6. Henry was the only white member of the
band, so Nels tended not to invite Henry's bandmates over except for
an occasional toast. Shiloh Mercer, the soprano sax player, often
crashed their gatherings in an extremely inebriated state. Shiloh was another of the African-American branch of the Mercer clan, and was the 6th great-grandson of Ewen Cromwell. The whole
group enjoyed Shiloh's company, except Nels and his friend Jonathan, an
occasional member of this poor man's Rat Pack. Jonathan Sebastian III
was a wealthy German-descended heir who was a major investor in the
Lucifer Club. Jonathan was often referred to as the “sixth wheel”
by the employees. Javier actually was himself a tight member
of Nels' crew, though unlike Nels and sebastian he was fair to everyone.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There was a final key player
in the “Christensen Quintet” as they became dubbed due to an
off-hand remark by Ulysses Reale's bass player, a real cut-up called
Ondine Jackson. Jackson's epithet was hardly appreciated by Nels, but
it stuck. Nels had recently invested a great sum of money in film
production and distribution, and wanted foreign films as well as
cheapo American flicks on his slate. Nels befriended an Italian
producer whose young nephew, Luca Stenoretti (b. 1923), was honing
his craft as a cinematographer. Nels flew to Italy to see Luca's
latest work on a film called <i>The Sirens of Pallas</i>, a period
adventure film with mythological elements (this at that time had not
yet coalesced into the genre we now know as peplum, or “sword and
sandal” flicks). This was the first film Stenoretti directed
himself (and shot as well).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Stenoretti wielded a secret
which kept Javier installed as as the “fifth banana” in the
Christensen Quintet. Luca's mother, Isabella Clerici, was Javier's
daughter; hence Biazel's granddaughter. Luca admired his charismatic
grandfather and knew he was a practitioner of “black magic”
(though Javier always told him it was “grey magick”), and was
amazed that Javier looked younger than he himself. Javier agreed that
he and his grandson would not go public with their relations. But
Luca resolved that his films as a director would always be suffused
with horror or the occult, even in his lower key thrillers and
westerns. Later, Luca's half-brother Blasco Clerici, would work on
Luca's films and also join Biazel's order (which Luca refused to do,
as did Javier). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. “The Others” </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The second group of regulars
that helped define the club, and caused some controversy in the
media, was all African-American and were a tight bunch. Playfully
called “The Others” (referring to being seen as on a lower
tier as Christensen's cohorts and also distinguishing this group from
the Ulysses Reale 6), their main man was definitely Ulysses P. Reale,
trumpeter - a proud, strong black man who refused to be cowed into
submission by the likes of Christensen or Sebastian. His wife was
Emmaretta Swope, who often sang with Reale's group or with a
small orchestra. Reale himself did no drugs, though he drank, but
some of his pals in and out of his group were users and/ or dealers.
His alto sax player, the virtuoso James Colburne, was a heroin addict, as was
Ulysses' childhood friend Paul Cutler, a quiet, kind gentleman with a
roaring habit who also dealt when he could. </span>
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Reale and Cutler were joined
by three other perennials: the aforementioned Ondine Jackson;
Octavius Flay, a pimp who'd grown up with the rest but refused to
drop out of the macking business; and young Junius G. Hand, who was
on the waitstaff in the club's kitchen. Sebastian especially hated
that such a menial would come and hang out in the club when his shift
was over. Shiloh Mercer would gravitate to the “Others”' table
regularly, unlike Colburne, who was into his own thing, and that
amounted to: his alto and heroin. And he romanced both harder and
more often than any woman who came his way, though he did end up
getting married in the 1960s. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IV. Erszebet</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Junius Hand looked up to
Flay's pimping success and loved Ondine's quick wit. He imagined a
life dazzling folks with his talents in both areas. He even had a
name for a whole new persona to do just that: Black Torpedo Ray,
after an aquatic creature he saw in one of his father's books. Junius
had a serious, very forbidden crush on the club's main dancer and
arguably greatest attraction: Erszebet Singer (born 1930). She was
gorgeous and seemingly unattainable. She was quiet, but when she did
speak, she lit up with a thick South Carolina accent that made her
hard to follow in conversation. She was a burlesque star of some
acclaim, and Javier had cultivated her to the delight of the club's
investors, who he easily paid off within a year of opening. Then only
Urias had any stake in the club besides Javier. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Erszebet was not the only
popular dancer that plied her trade there. Felicia McGee, formerly
the mystery woman known as Crimson Velvet, made many a guest
appearance; her lifestyle, however, was ruining her good looks.
Arronaxe LaRue was a popular performer. “Her claim to fame was her
frame”, the saying went. She was not lithe and athletic like
Erszebet; she had enormous breasts and extremely wide hips, and
tantalized the crowd with both. Geneva was also a shapely and popular
dancer but she was black and was forbidden from performing regularly.
She was also Ulysses' sister and Ondine's wife.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Erszebet was a quarter
Jewish and was quite devoted to her Bible readings. She found no
shame in her work, however, but her brother, Eli, certainly did. Eli
Singer was a bit of a proselytizer, which made him rather unwelcome
at a place like the Lucifer Club (though the archways of the club's
front door portrays a falling angel bearing the epithet: “All are
welcome. Harm none”). Erszebet and Henry Colter were actually
related. Henry was a half-uncle to Eli (b. 1929) and Erszebet. Thus
Henry's and Erszebet's constant flirtation was somewhat incestuous,
and angered Junius. Eli, however, would rather his sister be with
their uncle than a black man any day. The roots of Henry's and the
Singers' families (as well as those of many other noteworthy denizens
of Flicker Street and beyond) lie with the Parminters of Gossingham;
their family history will chronicled further along in our narratives. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">V. The 1953 Affair</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During the Christmas
holidays in 1953, Javier held a lavish “Yule Bash”. Colburne's
alto solo on “Greensleeves” was a scorching highlight of the
Ulysses Reale 6's set. The music was really jumping; the alcohol was
plentiful, those that needed a fix got one out back, and the girls
were on full display in all their pulchritude. Arronaxe almost stole
the evening when she doffed her top, but Erszebet continued to reign
supreme, dancing with a Santa hat on – and not much else. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As the evening wound to a
spastic close, Erszebet went missing. Eli had come to the club to
disrupt her “unholy frolicking”, but she was nowhere to be
found. Javier asked Eli to leave and Singer swore he'd destroy the “pagan
heathen bastard” Javier before he died. While Javier was avoiding a
serious problem, another arose. Nels, Henry, Judd, and Luca were
extremely intoxicated and wanted a special table dance from Erszebet.
They went looking in Javier's office, and found her making love with
young Junius G. Hand! Javier came upon the scene. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Did you know about this?”
asked Nels. Javier indicated he did. He plead with the four not to
tell anyone for fear that Eli would launch a literal lynch mob
against Junius. Then Erszebet confessed she was already pregnant with
Junius' child. This wasn't the first time they had carried on. Javier
hatched a scheme: if her pregnancy was found out, the Christensen
Quintet would claim they had a mad consensual orgy with a willing
Miss Singer. Erszebet thanked them, and agreed to go along, but
worried it would ruin the men, especially Javier and Nels. Nels was
furious, but swore to go along with the pact, even though he really
thought Junius should be lynched anyway. Not only was he a Negro,
thought Christensen, but he was damned annoying with his constant
jokiness. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everyone went about their
business, but in a few weeks Erszebet was starting to show. The rumor
mills began grinding as she stopped performing and wouldn't allow
herself to be photographed. Javier leaked the story to the media
himself, though no one knew this save him. As predicted, all was
traced to the Yule Bash. Javier admitted to the media there'd been an
orgy. The other men all said, “no comment” (as did Luca in Italy;
he was actually quite taken with Miss Singer and wished it had been
him). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The scandal almost did in
Erszebet. “The Baby with Five Fathers” and “Heir to the
Christensen Quintet” were some of the labels attached to the unborn
child. The baby's complexion (even given Javier's odd skin tone)
would give away that it had a black father. Geneva Reale had agreed to
deliver the baby (she had studied nursing before resorting to
dancing) in secret, and it would be sold to a black family. Geneva
knew a couple: the Jamaican Heracles Torrance and his mixed-race wife
Tamara Welsh. They could not have children, and little Dane Hand, as
Erszebet called him, became their son, Dane Torrance (who we know as
an adult aka The Troubleshooter from recent accounts). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The official story was that
the child was stillborn. None of the five men save Javier knew what
had become of the child. Part of the pact the five men swore was that
they would no longer congregate at the Lucifer Club. They did agree
to attend a 15 year reunion there if the club still stood in 1968.
Javier soldered on through the scandal and finally bought out Urias
in 1960. Junius never did learn the truth about what happened; he
assumed his child was in fact stillborn. He did become a pimp,
following in Octavius Flay's footsteps. He was ambitious though; now
known as Black Torpedo Ray, he hoped one day to own the Lucifer Club
himself.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">VI. The 1968 Affair</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The reunion did indeed come
to pass. The Yule Bash of 1968 was something to see at the Lucifer
Club, still owned by Javier but managed by Black Torpedo Ray. Times
had changed. The drugs were more mind-altering, the music more wild
and free, the women baring more than ever before (in other words
everything). Flicker Street pulsated with the orgiastic energy that
flowed in and out of Javier's “pleasure palace”. The Ulysses Real
6 reunited for an amazing set. Colburne and Mercer were solo artists
by this time, and each led their bands to the utmost heights of free
jazz. Ulysses was still something of a hard bopper, and some of his
newer arrangements, mixing R&B and rock influences with his
wife's bewitching voice, blew away the teeming throng at the club.
Ondine Jackson was back on bass and cracking wise. His wife Geneva,
who danced and sang back up to Emmaretta, had blessed him with a son
Ondine Jr. in 1945 andOndine Jr.'s wife, Violetta Amadeus, had given
birth to their son Amadeus “Amajack” Jackson mere weeks before the bash.
</span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Henry Colter was more
straight ahead bop than funk, but he could still mix it up on the
drums a bit. Of his family, his wife, Mary Rudisill (b. 1920; a
relative of the Palmers of Hallmark) and two sons (Radley Colter, b.
1940 and Milburne b. 1950) attended the party, though it was a bit
much for Mary. Young Milburne had a great time. Of the “Others”,
Octavius Flay made the party, flanked by a stable of his finest
ladies of the evening. Black Torpedo Ray said, “Damn Flay! I may be
a mack daddy, but you still the mackest of the macks!!” Most of
Flay's offspring made it to the bash: his sons Cornelius, Moxon, and
Jaffa; and his daughter Octavia, who was there with her boyfriend
Euphrates Straw of the Aggregate (who was also there to keep an eye
on Javier). Octavius' daughter Bethel was a devout Christian and she
was in church that night. She would eventually marry her pastor,
Judah Greene, and have a lovely daughter Scheherazade. All five
children of Octavius were from his marriage to Ulysses' sister
Rochelle Reale, making the Flays and Reales cousins.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ondine and Ulysses have been
discussed, but one beloved member of their crew from elder days was
missing: Paul Cutler, the quiet, kind addict had finally succumbed,
leaving behind three beautiful daughters, all of whom attended the
bash: Naomi, who brought her 10 year old son Hobard Torino “Hobie
T” Reale, to the party but not her estranged husband Godfrey Reale
(Ulysses' son); Zandalee, who was at the time dating Hiawatha Hand
but had her eye on his half-brother Black Torpedo Ray; and Pauline Cutler
aka Cotton Suede, much discussed in these pages. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Black Torpedo Ray hosted the
Lucifer Club Burlesque Film Festival. It began with vintage clips of
Erszebet and many of her peers; and continued with three shorts
specially made for this festival. These were the work of directors
Matthias Creed, Cornelius Flay, and Luca Stenorettli, all honored
guests at this Yule Bash. Luca and Henry were not the only members of
the infamous Christensen Quintet to adorn the party. Javier was
present, naturally, as were Judd and even Nels, who'd been living in
Europe ever since the scandal broke. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ray also hosted another
special triple event, this one an unadvertised surprise: performances
by the “big three” dancers of the fifties, opening with a still
comely Geneva, and continuing with the jaw-droppingly buxom Arronaxe,
and, finally, at age 38, still stunning and radiating her signature
charisma, Erszebet Singer. The assembled throng was bowled over, and
Ulysses and the other musicians played some swanky, evocative
stripper-appropriate tuneage. Shiloh Mercer in particular soloed
madly with no abandon while Miss Singer shook herself gradually into
a frenzy. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Two hours later, the
Christensen Quintet were plastered and Erszebet was still sailing on
her first trip with LSD, as supplied her by Arronaxe. The six
adjourned to Javier's office, where Erszebet immediately grabbed
Henry in a passionate kiss. They made out while Javier went to confer
with Ray and let him know not to disturb them. When he returned, Judd
was crying in the corner, Henry was asleep with his pants off,
Erszebet was naked and being fondled by Luca, Nels was cursing in the
other corner, and Javier found himself curiously and intensely
aroused by the whole thing. “Life imitates art!” he screamed as
Luca made love with Erszebet on his fold out couch.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After Luca rolled off
Erszebet, she called out to Javier, “I want you! I want you want
you want you!” Javier was not the kind of man to indulge in what we
now call date rape. He was not the kind of man to make love to a
woman with anyone else around either. And he thought it so twisted
that the story they concocted 15 years ago to save Ray's life had
stirred to life, a gargantuan beast of brobdinagian lust. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So he made love with
Erszebet. Afterwards he noticed Henry and Luca had dressed and were
just outside the doorway. Nels and Judd were nowhere to be found.
Erszebet dressed but was still tripping. Javier called for Ray and
asked him to get her home; Javier would lock up and get the others
out. Ray went out the back with Erszebet. Javier heard Nels call him,
“Let me the hell out of here!” Javier ran downstairs, Henry and
Luca behind. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nels told Javier this was
it; he was done with the group, the club, and “that slut”. Henry
almost struck Nels for his remark. Judd asked if they could just
leave. Javier agreed only if they made a new pact, that no one would
speak of what happened. “Of course you idiot”, said Nels. “Now
for chrissakes, let us out of this infernal place”. Luca lunged
forward to deck Nels, but Judd held him back. Then, when Luca was
calmer, Judd said, “Okay. Good night. I'm riding with Nels.” Judd
was sobbing.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nels and Judd took off.
Outside, Ulysses' son Diggs Reale was pacing in the alleyway. He had
been in and out of the club all night, seething mad. He was also a
disciple of Octavius Flay and a rather nasty pimp and procurer in his
own right but was jealous of Ray's success. He was waiting, waiting
for a chance to plant certain items in Ray's car and to pay off his
partner in sabotage – Eli Singer. Singer called the police after
the club had closed down at 3 am. Only the Christensen Quintet,
Erszebet, and Ray were inside then. By the time Nels and Judd roared
away, only three of the 'Quintet' remained and they spoke for a
moment about what happened, then resolved to lock up, leave, and
never see each other again.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so they each departed,
just as police cars came into view. Ray was in his car out back
talking to a sobbing and shaken Erszebet. Diggs had hastily split.
But Eli Singer was heading back to the club to confront the Quintet.
He found the front door locked and began screaming madly. The police
drove up and immediately accosted him; then they spread out and
covered the alleys and the back, where they found Ray and Erszebet.
The cops confronted Ray and asked to check his car. They found a ton
of cocaine and some semi-automatic weapons concealed in the trunk. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The police dragged Singer to
the back of the club. They thought he was drunk (he was) and they
were going to have some fun and rough him up. When Eli looked up, he
saw Erszebet being pulled out of the car and Ray resisting arrest.
“That ain't my shit you rat-soup-eatin' motherfuckers!” was one
memorable curse Ray hurled at the men in blue. He used kung fu (his own
peculiar technique) on the cops but their sheer number hemmed him
in. Eli grabbed one of the cop's guns and shot his Erszebet, then shot
at the cops. They blasted him away, and he lie cold and dead in the
snow as the police pushed Black Torpedo Ray into a car and took
Erszebet, shot in the arm, to an ER.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The police report was
chilling: a pimp resisting arrest, a hooker shot by a wino who had to
be killed in self-defense... everything was distorted, but to the
racist, sexist police commissioner it was just another day. The mayor
called for the club to be closed. Javier realized he needed to lower
his profile or face the wrath of someone like his father or Urias. So
the club closed while Black Torpedo Ray languished in prison for
nearly five long years. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">VII. The Prince of Flicker
Street</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Erszebet recovered quickly
from being shot, and grieved her mad brother. She soon found out that
she was pregnant again. She resolved to once again give her child up
for adoption. It was a daughter, born in September 1969. She named
her Celeste but her new parents changed her name. It would be years
before this girl would find out her true parentage. Even Erszebet
wasn't sure if it was Henry's, Luca's, or Javier's. She was actually
going to tell Ray that their son Dane was alive when the cops came
upon them. She swore she'd tell him one day. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Javier sold the club to
Diggs Reale but soon divined that Diggs and Eli Singer were
responsible for what happened that night right after Javier left. He
admonished Diggs not to reopen too soon; the authorities would be all
over the club all of the time. Diggs shrugged off Javier's advice and
proceeded to reopen, making sure to keep all the right wheels
greased, so to speak. Diggs was highly prosperous, keeping the “all
are welcome” sign and attitude, though in fact, whites were rarely
welcome, unless they were dealers or cops on the take.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In late 1973, Junius Gauge
Hand was being offered a deal by his prison warden and the FBI</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">to get him out of prison to
help them take down Diggs. In no time, Black Torpedo Ray was back on
Flicker Street. He had scores to settle and was not to be trifled
with. The first thing he did was have dinner with his daughter Kicia
Blessing (b. 1955). Kicia's mother was the exotic Indian belly dancer
Acacia Krishnamurti aka Acacia Blessing, who Ray wed briefly from
1954-1958. Acacia was a discovery of Javier's and was popular at the
club. Kicia was hanging out in Flicker Street with the bohemian
crowd. Ray was proud of her for not being a whore or a druggie. Ray
next went to the Lucifer Club, where he confronted Diggs and warned
him to sign the club over to him or die. Diggs laughed and accused
Ray of tripping on some manner of drug. Ray beat him senseless and
forced Diggs to sign the club over to him. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It had come to Javier's
attention that Ray was free from prison. Javier went to Hallmark and
sought out Ray, who was staying with Ulysses Reale. Javier was glad
to see his friends again and together they mapped out a strategy to
get the club back on its feet, so to speak, as Diggs had driven it
into the proverbial ground and made of it his own personal pleasure
palace of pimping and hard drugs. Their efforts were successful,
though it took a few years. Ray integrated the club more, and forced
the macks and dealers who hung out there to do their business on the
streets, not inside the club. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The disco craze of the late 70s inevitably hit the Lucifer Club like a tsunami, and with it
came a shock wave of cocaine fever. Ray started to burn out as the
decade waned, and personal troubles involving his children took a
toll, so finally, in 1982, he sold the club and retired early, living
like a prince, and treating all of Flicker Street as his kingdom. </span>
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">VIII. Thaumaturgy Revisited...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The man who purchased The
Lucifer Club was known as Prester John Grey, and he was well-known
all through Flicker Streeet and the larger Hallmark music scene. Prester John was born Vance Orlison Parminter in 1949 in Exodesia, the offspring
of Grey Parminter and Basil Dylan Orlison (son of “Doc Vance” and
Eve Dylan, daughter of Dr. Basil Dylan, the first major physician in
Hallmark), both born 1920. Basil D. Orlison had a sister, Faustine,
b. 1922, an occultist who owned the first occult shoppe in the city,
even before Malcolm Bradcroft's shoppe, called simply Faustine's.
Faustine married the aspiring bookstore magnate TR Bessemer Jr., an
African-American entrepreneur. Their children were Eve Bessemer, b.
1953, and Taurean Bessemer III, born 1955, who as an adult merged his
business with the smaller Noel chain, though Bessemer-Noel in its
entirety was later sold to OrDeR Enterprises.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Faustine and Malcolm
Bradcroft merged their interests into one shoppe, and in tandem,
willed it to Cary and Ashton (though Ashton was technically not alive
to see it). Faustine passed away in 1955 in childbirth. Hence
Bradcroft LTD was born. In the years between Cary taking the shoppe
and his affair with Katherine Van Juss (1956-1959), he began to fancy
Grey Parminter, a formidable witch, whose lover Basil, was slain by
the Exodesians in 1953. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Grey Parminter's story goes
something like this: Her grandmother was Exodesian High Priestess
Phallasma III, who begat a daughter, Selma Cairne, a powerful witch.
Selma and her husband John Petty Parminter, the great-grandson of
Exodesian Lodin, wished to spearhead a 1939 expedition into Exodesia
– well before the Bradcrofts. But they weren't nearly as mentally
or spiritually prepared as the Bradcrofts. Their expedition included:
Grey, a teen of immense magickal promise; her lover, Basil; Selma and
John Petty Parminter; Selma's sisters Ainwe and Anowre and their
husbands, the occult book collectors Rainer and Werner Faust, who
were brothers. The party was captured and tortured by the Obscuros.
Grey offered her life and that of her lover and son if the others
could go. Priest Assias was not thrilled, but he capitulated. Selma
blessed her child and departed; she also bonded with her mother
Phallasma, who favored her granddaughter Grey.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The small family unit stayed
but Basil was put to death for heresy in 1953 for studying the Presence
Vaikuntha. Grey was afraid for her young son, and they fled
Exodesia. Grey had been converted to Hinduism just before Basil's
death. The mother and boy had also been delving into the legend of
Vaikuntha, as well as his defeat 1000 years earlier by the original Black Cabal (a group that
forged a seemingly indestructible sword and amulet). Grey forsook the Exodesians and sought out Vaikuntha. She
invoked his worship to gain revenge, realizing Urias would have her
dead. Grey took Vance to Gossingham MA, near Hallmark. Faustine, ill
at this time, was divesting her share of the curio shoppe to Cary, as
noted previously.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cary Bradcroft welcomed Grey
Parminter Orlison with open arms – very open, as they began an
affair. However, they always distrusted each other. Young Vance had never felt anything
for the emotionally distant Basil, but was drawn to benevolent Cary
Bradcroft. Where they parted company was over the mad god Vaikuntha,
which Grey was beginning a coven for – a coven infused with a Hindu/ neo-pagan/ scorched
earth vibe. Cary's concern was enormous, especially as she had
befriended Katherine Van Juss, sorceress and a lover of Cary's on
occasion. Cary's daughter Sarah was Katherine Van Juss'' though she
was married to the mage Janos Disraeli, which whom Katherine had a
son, Griffin (later known as Rory Sabbath). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Janos confronted Grey over
Vaikuntha. They fought; Grey was killed. Janos was afraid his
delicate balance of power with the Shadow Baron would be ruined. He
made it appear that Biazel had done the deed. The bottom line was
that Janos slew Grey, for her evil intentions regarding Vaikuntha's
imminent manifestation were bearing deadly fruit. As for Vance
Parminter, he always believed his mother was slain by her lover Cary
Bradcroft. Grey had convinced her son to become a lifelong acolyte of
Vaikuntha. Young Vance Parminter ran away when his mother was killed,
and the Bradcrofts were never able to locate him, or so Cary wished
everyone to think. So he allowed Vance to became the homeless street
urchin who began hanging out in Flicker Street in 1966. Cary kept tabs on
Vance until Vance developed a 3<sup>rd</sup> eye, which grew in
1972 and blocked all psi “transmissions” Cary'd been tapping
into astrally via Vance's mind.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IX. The Third Eye... Opened</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Vance Parminter first
emerged in the Flicker St scene in 1966 at age 17. His 3</span><sup><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">rd</span></sup><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
eye hadn't opened yet. In 1968, he met Althea Westin (whom he
immediately fell for) and her fiance, Rankin Hogarth, who she was
pregnant by. She had the child in 1968 and named him Franklin Westin
Hogarth II after Rankin's congressman dad, who attempted to destroy
his son and Althea's lives. The couple fought violently over his dad
and their son, leading to Rankin fleeing with his son and forming a
commune with James Diablos and others in 1969. After the couple's
divorce Althea took in the couple's son, whom his dad had renamed
Wesley Francis Garth, whose nickname was “Scrapper”. With Vance's
role unknown to Rankin, Hogarth was soon reinvented as Desi
Decadence, a 'shock rock' superstar. Rankin was pushed to the extreme in a chaotic spell that ruptured his persona. This was Vance's first real working, so perhaps his
sloppiness can be forgiven. But he did it for love and, after all,
made Rankin a rock star </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(which Vance differentiated
from being a musician).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rankin/ Desi and Vance lost
touch, to Vance's relief. Vance pursued Althea and at last
consummated their attraction (Vance was 23, Althea 19). They wed soon
after, and had a child, Anjou Faustine Parminter (b. 1972). Vance
busked, playing acoustic blues, and wrote and sang poems of a
Lovecraftian bent. Althea waited tables and Wes, Anjou, and their
parents eked out a meager existence. Musically, Vance was offered to
jam in 1969 with Opal Masque, the German progrock band led by Glu Volker and
Hercule Fogg. Volker had heard a crude demo recorded a
year earlier and dug Vance's concepts. They recorded their premiere
album, <i>La-Bas (Down There)</i> in early 1970; Parminter was 21. He then
adopted his famous cowl and white mask, covering his 3<sup>rd</sup>
eye, which emerged when he turned 23. Anaximander-Zayan played bass
on this first album.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Vance was especially curious
about his Exodesian heritage. After an ill-fated pilgrimage to
Exodesia and rejection by the Obscuros, he assumed the Parminter
forenames, but rejected the family name, becoming “John Grey”. As
he studied the occult he added an exalted title in some would say a
blasphemous context and became Prester John Grey (Presbyter Johannes being a
legendary figure of early Christendom). He draped himself in occult
imagery but seemingly venerated the cross and crucifixes. As noted, he was
famed for wearing a large black cowl and a chalk white faux porcelain
mask evocative of the Phantom of the Opera (concealing his 3<sup>rd</sup>
eye), framed by extremely long dreadlocked hair. He was known for
playing the guitar with small daggers and cross-shaped plectrums. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1971, Volker, Fogg, and
Prester John recorded <i>Weltanschauung</i> and toured tirelessly with a lineup consisting of PJG,
Anaximander, Glu, Fogg, and synth/ vox/ sax man Jorg Jungen Reinl. In
1972, they added female vox/ keys with Anke Mueller and switched bass
to Brit Hasty Greenhalgh. Also in 1972, Prester John's daughter Anjou Faustine Parminter was
born. The constant touring and occult obsessions were rending PJG's
marriage. In 1974, Anke died (allegedly an occult sacrifice) and
Reinl decamped, leaving 1975's final Opal Masque album, called <i>Torn
from Me Mother Whore</i>, for years to feature PJG, Hasty, Glu, and Fogg.
</span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1973, PJG and Althea
separated, and in 1975, divorced. Grey even wrote the lyrics and
music to the chilling lament of their marriage, the title track on <i>Torn from Me Mother
Whore</i>. In 1975, PJG finally recorded his scary acoustic album<i> In
Nomine Anti-Christ</i>. Althea raised her two children alone back in the
Mt. Mosaic area.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From 1976 -1979 PJG was a
key member of bassist Grady Voorman's psyche-funk project Cold Meat,
also featuring Gilligan Dubecker on drums, Reinl on alto and tenor
sax, and Gibson Dubecker on piano and synth. Sadly, Cold Meat
coincided with the termination of the marriage between Althea and
John. PJG was to spend the next decade plus working alongside Desi Decadence once more.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">X. Lucifer Rises Again
(1979-1982)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There was an extra-musical,
clandestine reason PJG sought out the ex-Rankin Hogarth. Desi was
essentially PJG's creation. Part of his persona, from his
debut as Prester John Grey onwards, was as a follower of Bradcroftian occultism. He
became an authority on the various orders and factions abroad in the
world of ritual magick. He realized that the Bradcrofts were against
Vaikuntha (who his mother was an adherent to). Grey had sworn a vow to his
mother to become a vessel for Vaikuntha, and none would deter him.
When Vaikuntha returned to this plane, PJG became a secret
worshipper, and actively sought out Vaikuntha's avatars, beginning in
1979.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1982, the idea of the
Lucifer Club strongly appealed to Prester John Grey, so he re-opened
it as a rock club, heavy on the metal, brutal with the punk, all
subtlety be damned. He cultivated a strong image in the scene and was
revered by clubgoers and record mavens alike for his work with Desi,
Cold Meat, Opal Masque, and solo. No one could predict in 1982 that
Grey's finest years as a musician – and most devious years as an
occultist – were yet to come.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Originally this article was
to contain a more comprehensive genealogical look at the Parminter
clan of Gossingham, but that fell just beyond the purview of this
piece. Look for more info on this remarkable family in future
accounts.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">October 16, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Flicker Street, all
characters, images, and story elements are Copyright (c) 2015 George
Henry Smathers Jr.</span><br />
<br />
<br />Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-77821885031983118812015-10-10T20:17:00.000-07:002015-11-27T09:48:18.299-08:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 14 - Extrapolations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment #
14 – Extrapolations</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I. How Sharp...?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's like a beauty
pageant for mystery men”, grumbled Alec Duarte over his drink.
“Instead of a baton, some clown'll break out num-chucks”. He
laughed as he swilled down his paper-bagged lunch, much to the
chagrin of his associates in the Aggregate. He was hoping the
membership drive would divert his attention from thinking about Kicia
Blessing.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The first prospective member
was introduced to the group. He was called Serpent's Tooth and
boasted an elaborate partially-scaled out fit that covered his entire
head and body. Ledge wanted a piece of him but Straw took the honors.
Serpent's Tooth was holding his own against Straw, who, like Ledge
and Duarte, was slightly inebriated, which the Shadow Baron was not
too thrilled with. Then, before anyone could move, Straw collapsed.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Don't beat a drunk when
he's down, Tooth!” cried the ever ill-timed Thomas Ledge. Soon,
Cary realized that his first applicant had thrust his fingers into a
sensitive nerve cluster on Straw's back which temporarily disabled
Euphrates. Ledge wasn't pleased and sprung up to wail on the smaller
man. “I could just cry 'Uncle' but I guess that'd be redundant”,
said Serpent's Tooth. Then he peeled back his mask to reveal - </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Damon Carroll!" spat Ledge. "My
brother's foster kid! Hell yeah you can call me uncle. Guys, I helped
raise this boy. My brother Clarke and his wife were Damon's foster
parents til Damon joined that cult. How's that goin' for you, by the
way, kid?”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Damon replied, “It's not a
cult. And I just finished college. Now I'm studying to be a
chiropractor. Listen, this is secret stuff; can I trust everyone? No
offense - “</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Straw made his way off the
floor and answered. “If you trust Ledge, then you're already half
way to making a public service announcement, the way he talks. By
comparison, the rest of us are 'loose lips, slink- uh, sink ships.
Man what's you do to me? I didn't drink that much.” </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We are taking much risk
trusting you, Damon-san,” added Konchuman. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You're safe here, Damon”,
stated Cary. “Just let us ask the questions for awhile. We have
some time before the other applicants arrive so can you tell us more
about yourself and why you wish to join?”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The unadulterated truth
about Damon Carroll should be laid out at this time. Much of this he
relates to the curious seven. At the points where Damon finds it
inconvenient or painful to relate events, we will make note but keep
the reader clued in.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">II. Baphomet</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Damon was born in 1956, a
Pisces. Biazel was not thrilled about Damon's parentage – that his
beloved daughter Velupsa Karollus could engage in an affair with Kong of all men disgusted him, especially when she was still married to Biazel's
disciple Smith Fabricand, who was besieged by the Bradcrofts at this
time. Smith was killed while Velupsa was pregnant with Kong's child.
Biazel made sure for decades that no one, save Velupsa and himself
(not even Kong) would know who Damon Karollous' real father was.
Biazel took the newborn child from an ailing Velupsa and put him in a
foster home, foisting him off as Damon Carroll. Biazel did have plans
for the child but it would be years before they came to
fruition.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After an unpleasant
upbringing in foster care, in which the highly intelligent Damon was
hardly challenged (except by a plethora of bullies), he was finally
taken in by Clarke and Sadie Ledge in 1965. Damon did so well in
public school he was allowed to skip a grade and graduated from high
school in 1973. His time with the Ledges was also coming to an end
that year (not 1969 as reported elsewhere). The Ledges' marriage was
crumbling, as Sadie had learned of Clarke's homosexuality. As soon as
Damon graduated, he fled to California, angry at both his foster
parents. Sadie died that year, and Clarke in 1974 (as covered
elsewhere). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Damon went to college in
California for four years and his experiences there were uncanny and
are what lead him to becoming Serpent's Tooth. He had been secretly
studying the occult for a few years; hence, the contention with his
parents. Damon was especially interested in Kabbalah, Kundalini,
tantric magic, and alchemy. He attended several meetings of
like-minded folk, and, at one, in early 1974, he met a shy
androgynous girl who called herself Chrome. She asked him to attend a
meeting of her coven, the Order of Cosmic Awakening. Damon got a
distinctively bad vibe, and the reigning wizard of the coven was a
wizened, gnarled old man with gleaming green eyes. His name was
Biazel Karollus and he informed Damon that he was his grandfather but
that Velupsa Karollus, Damon's mother, was dead. “But meet your
other living relative, Damon – your cousin, Chrome Genet, or as we
call Chrome here: Baphomet!”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With that, the cultists tore
away Chrome's clothing to reveal her true nature as a hermaphrodite.
Biazel went on a tangent about the “third sex” being revered going back
to ancient times as beings especially receptive to incredible
magickal power. These integrated beings could mate with males or
females, but were incapable of parthenogenesis. Damon was rushed by the throng, and
though he fought boldly (Clarke had taught him to fight since he'd
been beaten in the foster home), the wave of robed disciples buoyed
him about and forced him into an elaborate ceremonial room. They
pushed Chrome in afterwards. Damon skipped over much of what followed
in his account to his prospective teammates. Suffice to say, Damon
and “Baphomet” did indeed “mate”, though Damon found it
distasteful. But despite that, there was something in hir eyes that
softened Damon's heart. She was the aggressor in the affair, yet
Damon still saw hir as an innocent of sorts. S/he chanted while
making love with Damon, softly, invoking the tantric energies.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After all was said and done,
Damon felt defiled and disoriented. Chrome slunk out of the room,
tears in hir eyes. Biazel entered and confronted a dressing Damon.
“S/he's my daughter Genesse's offspring. Your family. We thought
we'd bring you into the fold in a pleasurable way. What do you think
boy? I know tantra appeals to you. As a matter of fact, I know
everything about you, Damon Carroll. Things even you don't know. Or
aren't ready to grasp quite yet. What say you boy? Join the order?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hey! The boy's ready to
crack. Moldor! Come in here. Damon, Antioch Moldor is a lieutenant
of mine whose had right good success disrupting Disraeli's more –
unh, benign branch of our thaumaturgical tree. Recently had a mix
up in Massachusetts with that bastard Javier. Well, you don't know what I'm talking about.... but you will”. Biazel's eyes glistened
emerald in the dim light. While the old man spoke in his peculiar
accent, Damon had been curling his hand about a flaming brazier
behind him. When Moldor approached Carroll, Damon hit the man with
the brazier chained loosely to the wall. He wrapped the chain around
Moldor's neck and screamed, “I'm leaving! And don't try to follow
me. I-I'll kill you.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let it be as it may then,
boy. Kill me?” he wheezed as he laughed.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Then – him!” screamed
Carroll as he jammed the flaming brazier into Moldor's face, scalding
him slowly to death. Blood and wax sprayed on Damon's robe, which
he doffed as he bolted out the back door. He ran, and ran...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This nightmarish experience,
and the abuse he suffered in his youth, mitigated by the solid values
espoused by Clarke and Sadie Ledge, made Damon's mind a roiling but
fertile petrie dish of possibilities. After college, he sought out
Javier of the Order of Cosmic Emptiness in Hallmark. Javier carried
on the Order of Gammadion, a “good” order to Biazel's decidedly
evil one. No sooner had Damon set foot in Hallmark than Javier found
him in his new apartment. Javier, it turned out, was family to Damon
– the son of Biazel and a half-human, half-Exodesian woman called
Sharima; hence, Damon's uncle.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Javier offered to train
Damon unconditionally. Javier was surrounded by dark forces and
yearned for filial companionship. Damon agreed, and the two men
trained for over a year until Damon abruptly severed their alliance.
The crestfallen Javier accused Damon of using him as a stepping stone
to train with Cary Bradcroft or even Juniper Thoth (aka Jennifer Roeg, daughter of
Gerhardt Vossius/ Kanabal; a left-hand path mage that we'll be
dealing with in future volumes). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Damon apologized; he didn't
ever mean to use his uncle and told him how thankful he was. But he
was, indeed, wishing to train with Bradcroft next. Javier grudgingly
gave Damon his blessing. Damon created a masked identity because he
wished to move about inconspicuously in Hallmark and continue his
chiropractic studies. Bradcroft happily welcomed Damon. He announced
that a new member had been found. But the “try-outs” were far
from over. There were several more candidates to consider. And the
team demanded Cary employ a more diplomatic system of arriving at a
decision instead of simply by a sorcerer's fiat. Bradcroft agreed
that they would review all of the applicants and vote as a group
afterward on who would stay and who would go.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">III. Candidates </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The next candidate was Lars
Poole (b. 1957), the first-born son of Orphee deLander. Poole went by
the code name Corona, as he could generate a heat plasma field around
himself and, like his father, cause tendrils of energy to emanate
from it. He was not nearly as powerful as his father but he could be
a great asset. After Corona spoke briefly and nervously to the group,
Cary brought in a young man named Stephen Bartholemew aka Myrmidon
after a Greek legend. Stephen did not care if his ID was public or
not and rarely referred to himself as Myrmidon. Stephen has been
discussed briefly in an earlier installment as he was the son of the
White Archer, Brandon ver Dorn. He was born in 1959 to Medea Strasser
Bartholemew, a former REACT spy who studied under REACT's "superspy" couple Thurston "Tyger" Smythe and Annabelle deVries. When ver Dorn's assignment for REACT ended, he sadly
abandoned his identity as Sigmund Bartholemew and his bride. He never
knew he had a child and REACT shielded him from that info.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Medea remarried when Stephen
was three, but her husband refused to give the child his name, which
was Angelo Blatanski. Angelo was an abusive, insufferable idiot by
all accounts. He was a very low level mob informant and steelworker at Vossius Metalworks. and took out his
frustrations daily on his wife and on Stephen. This nurtured in
Stephen a repressed rage that rarely took a firm shape, but when it
did it was bloodthirsty. None of this was shared with the Aggregate,
at least not then.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Blatanski was allegedly
killed by an undercover policeman in 1975, though Stephen's own
mother suspected Stephen was the true culprit. He was never even
considered as a suspect, but despite it all, Mrs. Blatanski cast out
16 year old Stephen to fend for himself. He was able to work
full-time at the Harness & Toffler grocery chain, where he met his
best friend - Lars Poole. Lars had encouraged Stephen to apply for
the Aggregate, though Stephen was only a self-trained street fighter
and marksman. He caught on quickly, and had the benefit of the
marvelous ver Dorn genes.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The next applicant was the
young martial artist Ko Mei-chan, known in Asia as Ghost Cat. She was
born in 1943, the fraternal twin of Archimedes Ko, and spent some
time at Feng Qi studying with the late Shun Ti. She was amazingly
youthful, looking all of a schoolgirl when she was 32 years old. Her
father, Bram Vallard aka the Apparition (and Saturnine and many more)
was, of course, the schizoid co-founder of both the Aggregate and the
Silent Seven before them. Ghost Cat took part in some training with her
nephew Jun-kim Liao, who was being groomed to be a true force of
nature in the martial arts world. The team were impressed with the demonstrations of her skills,
particularly in a playful match with Konchuman.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">IV. Greetings from
Gossingham</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Supposedly every party has
its crashers, and that seemed to be the motivation of the final
applicants: a couple, Garnet and Cynosure. Garnet was a gorgeous
woman clad head to toe in shades of garnet, her birthstone, replete
with duster, blazer, and incredibly long scarf. She looked more like
a rock star than a superhero, though in Flicker Street, the two often bleed into and subsume each other. She claimed to be a superior fighter and
assassin-for-hire, seduction being her hook to draw in the enemy. She
radiated a deadly charisma.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cynosure also cultivated a
baroque rock star image, with part Edwardian dress, part gypsy
flamboyance, and a completely made up lavender-painted face and a WWI
fighter helmet, goggles and all. He would be labeled “steampunk”
in the modern era, no doubt. He was fully color-coordinated with Garnet. His claim was heightened senses – all five honed to
superhuman levels. Beyond that, he was a bit of a scrapper and
admitted he could really use some “combat training” but mainly just loved
playing music (he was toting a gorgeous guitar with him).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cynosure spoke little,
letting his lady friend do most of the talking. Garnet was young but
tough; perhaps callous is a better word. She demanded entrance into
the group so vehemently that Cotton asked, “Young lady – are we
bein' pranked – or what?? Don't waste our time”. Alec grinned
broadly at this.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Garnet was born Garnet Pace
in Gossingham in 1957. She went to work for a SkullCorp warehouse in
1974. She quickly acclimated herself to the company's set up and
advanced quickly. Her seductive persona helped immensely. She first
knew Cynosure as Cyrus Parminter, a childhood classmate (and sometime
boyfriend) of Garnet's sister Ruby Pace, born, like Cyrus, in 1962.
Cyrus dreamt of becoming a rock star since he was a small child and
had the innate talent to build towards his dreams. When he was
twelve, he began going by a name he created: Convy Lee Sutch, and
refused to ever answer to his legal name. He had a troubled
relationship with his mother, and became legally emancipated at age
13. He moved in with Ruby and Garnet and their cousin Sam, who shared
a trailer park dive. Sam, a journalist, was the closest thing Convy
Lee had to a paternal figure in his teens. With Sam's help, Cyrus
Parminter legally became Convy Lee Sutch in 1977. Under Garnet's
tutelage (and often under her warm body), Sutch created the Cynosure
persona and was inducted into a small team of Skull corporate spies. Garnet went way for a time for "training"; she was actually bearing CL's daughter, Sarah Pace (b. 1979), who was soon adopted by a barreb couple who were also extended family to Convy Lee. Thye called her Jynx Parminter. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It was in this capacity that they applied for membership in the
Aggregate. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">But the assembled throng was
not really fooled. There seemed to be more style than substance for
sure. When the group voted, Corona, Myrmidon, and Ghost Cat were
voted in, bringing the Aggregate's number to a healthy 11. Their
latter two hopefuls were rejected. Garnet angrily stormed out.
Cynosure trailed behind but paused to make a filial gesture at
Stephen, the “devil's horns” or “evil eye”, because he
thought Bartholemew seemed cool. Their paths would cross again, and
often, as we shall see in future accounts.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And so the Aggregate faced a
new and uncertain year. They spent most of their time training;
getting in sync with each other; learning each other's peculiar
moves and techniques. In our next treatment, we hope to gather
together some dangling threads and advance our narrative further than
before. But let's clarify some points re: certain organizations in
Flicker Street's orbit.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">V. 1979: The State of Things</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is as good a time and
place as any to iterate the convoluted intrigues of Skull and REACT –
who does what exactly and whose side are they on? On the surface the
impression given FSO and the Aggregate is there's a simplistic 'good
spy (REACT) vs. bad spy (Skull)' cold war scenario. Things are quite
a bit more complex than that, as is no doubt evident by now.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SkullCorp began as a vice
and racketeering outfit (as 'The Machine') that segued, simply put,
into an international conglomerate that deals in entertainment and
media. Skull uses money from its overflowing coffers to fund armies
in South America and destabilize regimes in foreign countries. Many politicians are where they are due to Skull's largesse, and hence
votes for such actions are plentiful. Skull's main base in South
America is in Libania, a country with a long history of political and
territorial strife. As of 1978, Generalissimo Copron is the ruler of
Libania, having performed a military coup partially funded and
carried out by REACT at the onset of President Eisenhower's
administration. There is constant strife between Libania and
neighboring Serafinia. The two have been enemies for centuries, their
conflict rooted in religion and the sacred ground of the Ziggurat, on
the border between nations. Serafinians are considered savages by
Libania, but are not – as rumored – cannibals. The ancient
Yashaharo clan, whose villages border Libania to the south, are still
cannibals, and live a Stone Age existence to this day.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Libania's ruling military
party is FOPA (English translation; in English Freedom Of the
People's Army), coincidentally pronounced the same as the French
phrase faux pas. They have been espousing socialist values, albeit
beneath a militaristic patina, for decades. American and Libania are
officially enemies in the cold war, and no trade or embargo between
the two exist. They are ruled by President Carter in 1979 as Communist
and a terrorist threat. This hasn't made him rule out mending
relations if he's re-elected. Serafinia is considered a US ally. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And now, we turn everything
we've just learned upside down. In actuality, as mentioned above,
Copron gained power under Eisenhower, though Ike was out of the loop
of all the CIA and REACT maneuvering. The benefits to this were
manifold: Libania is one of the world's richest sources of homegrown
illicit drugs; Copron wanted arms to conquer Serafinia and outlying
nations such as Enquador; and so a permanent trade was set up in the
1950s. The US, with the knowledge of REACT's upper echelons,
purchased massive quantities of drugs for decades while arming FOPA
to the proverbial teeth.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So what are the connections
between Skull and REACT, who both fund Libanian military aims? In the
US' case, the drug supply and the hiring out of FOPA agents for an
occasional regime change is the main connection between FOPA and
REACT. But Skull also develops highly advanced technology
extrapolated from that shared by Omega Ceti I. Libania has bases
underground and in the jungle where cutting edge experimentation
takes place daily.Through FOPA, Libania (read Skull) began purchasing this alien tech as early as the late 1950s. The pods, regenerators,
tellaxes, cybernetics, etc. went full circle into the hands of REACT
and used against Libania. Thus both ostensible sides (REACT and
Skull) were officially engaged in a cold war. And so we ask again:
where does one end and the other begin in this Ouroboros-like
construct? Bottom line: our true heroes on the world stage fight
against both sides, and struggle to stay above the fray. The Freedom
Squadron Ops has succumbed to the charade; the Aggregate has not and
likely never will. And this is the status quo in 1979. Much grist for
conspiracy theorists indeed.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">October 10, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Dedicated to the editors
that gave me a chance: Michael Huegen, Samir Shukla, Scott Homewood,
Steve Puchalski, Sam Gaines, Dave Yount, Allen Freeman, Shawnti
Therrien, Jason V Brock, Win Scott Eckert, Dennis E Power, Michael
Croteau, John Donald Carlucci,... and Sarah L Covert.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Flicker Street, all
charactes, images, and story elements are Copyright (c) 2015 George
Henry Smathers Jr.</span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-81507320205194846602015-10-05T04:19:00.001-07:002015-10-06T08:21:56.717-07:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 13 - Iconoclasts<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In which many questions are answered, and many more raised.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-4e9dD9HUH1lxP2ssgwEczFtond27WlgfbfyooIM6kgBPJxYSx9JnVPSOVH-JRqnTQSnXaVDZF0KDae3yEr5fVr-qSjBXR-wyGsto4-zzmwQe6qhyphenhyphenHdPHgfCWOeFJRlXOiJlCdQY78J2l/s1600/Cowan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-4e9dD9HUH1lxP2ssgwEczFtond27WlgfbfyooIM6kgBPJxYSx9JnVPSOVH-JRqnTQSnXaVDZF0KDae3yEr5fVr-qSjBXR-wyGsto4-zzmwQe6qhyphenhyphenHdPHgfCWOeFJRlXOiJlCdQY78J2l/s400/Cowan.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment #
13 - Iconoclasts</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I. Reconstruction</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When we last left Freedom
Ops, their team had been ravaged by the seemingly indefatigable
Exodesian Deomond. Their latest member Solus, along with Dr. E's
help, managed to destroy Deomond – and himself – utterly. Dr. E,
however, went comatose, and most of the team was catatonic, missing limbs, or both. It was decided to use Roger Greer's “Freedom
Squad” as the most necessary human guinea pigs yet. REACT used tech
purloined from Skull, in turn lifted from Omega Ceti I. This was the
powerful regenerative tech – part medical science, part pure
alchemy – that REACT perfected for military use, starting with
Greer's outfit, decades before it began helping the US citizenry in
any appreciable way. Euphrates Straw wished what his brother Emerson
had wished – to pilfer the tech, and perfect it for Aggregate use. If
Freedom Ops was going to be on the front line, being blasted and shot
and blown apart and being mended to be sent out for more, Straw felt
the Aggregate had the same duty – albeit for diametrically polar
opposite political rationales.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Still, the team, asked, just
who was Solus? Solus was nothing short of a new form of life,
extrapolating and splicing genes from Omega, Pisces, Exodesia, and
humanity, and grown in a tube. He had no parents save Rykards and
Caleb, and was a combination of genetic material harvested from the
aforementioned species, bolstered cybernetically, and bombarded with
TSD treatments. His mind was programmed to be that of the ultimate
agent for Freedom Ops, and now, REACT was furious that he was
destroyed on his first real mission. So they scrapped the envisioned
Solus line for now, and concentrated on rebuilding and enhancing
their current lineup, and subtly implanting them with a deep-seated
loyalty to REACT and to the USA. Thus the men who had been friends
and partners of Aggregate members might surprise their erstwhile
acquaintances, as there would be something just a bit</span> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">amiss.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The only Freedom Squad
(henceforth, FS) members not to be mildly reprogrammed were Ursulin
(his mind resisted any probing) and The Wrath, who astonishingly had
sustained little injuries in the Libanian fracas. Wrath was offered a
genetic “tune-up” and acquiesced to a point; he resisted being a
part of the mind trials. REACT took note and considered him a low level risk.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After the dust settled, much
of 1977 had been spent sorting through just what to do with FS Ops.
Roger Greer, Jim April, Ben Renova, Oregon Powell, and Brandon ver
Dorn all had limbs replaced and awoke from their lengthy comas ready
to resume their status. Dr. E's mind (and suit) were now more
malleable. Ursulin announced, after 25 + years, he and his brother
Anaximander would be leaving Earth, to return to the races that
conceived them and proffer themselves as a great success. Their
parents were gone; it was time to fulfill their mission. And so REACT
was stymied once again. SkullCorp saw this as a great thing, however.
They were never pleased that Ursulin “defected” to REACT.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The “new” FS Ops
welcomed two new members, who REACT had secured as further “tokens”
to compete with the Aggregate's multi-ethnic makeup.<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
These were the black vigilante Dane Torrance, aka The Troubleshooter (his story shall
unfold shortly); and the second draftee, not only FS Ops' first female
member, but also Asian as well. She called herself Lumena, but she was
really Kono Nashida (b. 1956), daughter of Kai Nashida (b. 1933),
herself the daughter of the brilliant Professor Kenji Nashida, whose
experiments with Omegan tech and cybernetics created Konchuman and Go
Demon. Kono's father, she claimed, was Kong the Claimer! She swore
she wished to atone in some small part for her father's evil by
joining FS Ops. For his part, not only did Ben Renova believe her
most sincerely, he was utterly smitten by Lumena.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is worth noting that no
sooner had FS Ops returned to active status than the serial killings
in Augensburg began again with a vengeance. The killings were even
more ferocious and appalling than before. The reconstructed team
turned their attention to this mystery in late 1977. Fortunately, so
did a hero with no affiliation with the Squadron.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II. Proof</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before leaving Earth,
Ursulin and Anaximander visited the Aggregate. But a few months
before this, the group was faced with an offer of membership from
Alec Duarte aka Cowan. Duarte had managed to break into Bradcroft
Manor. Alarms were ringing as he identified himself as Cowan, and
claimed he was the best thing that ever happened to the team. Shadow
Baron bid them hear him out, though Thomas Ledge's hair-trigger sense
of outrage and Cotton Suede's cynicism did little to create an
atmosphere conducive to understanding. Though actually, between her
immense pulchritude and streetwise attitude, Alec took to Cotton right
away. She was very familiar to him.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bradcroft invited Duarte to
speak out and explain himself and how he could benefit the team.
Cowan related a brief autobiography, including his true identity. He
felt he was taking an awful risk, but if Marchessa felt these were
his “true peers”, then so be it. Ledge had no confidence in
Cowan's abilities despite the fact that he'd taken the team unawares.
Ledge challenged him to “mix it up” with him for awhile to gauge
his skills. Despite their 20 year age difference, Cowan held his own.
But when Ledge connected, it was thunderous. He should've been
pulling his punches but he wasn't. Cowan felt everyone there was
messing with his mind. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He matched martial arts with
Konchuman (also much stronger than Alec), Cotton, and Straw. He
savored the time with Cotton. The solitary Lykos was impressed with
and liked Duarte. As did Cary Bradcroft, who offered him a spot
training with the team. It was at this point that Go Demon announced
his return to Japan for a time. It seems his brother was in trouble
and he wanted to help out. Bradcroft wished him well. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cowan was constantly butting
heads with Ledge, Straw, or Suede. At least Straw respected him, if
not his many off-the-wall views and ways of tackling an issue. Cowan
and Lykos bonded nicely however, and Konchuman could see the good in his
new teammate. But Cowan vowed he'd wear down Ledge eventually; he
felt a right-leaning radical like Ledge was weighing the group down,
and if it was him or Ledge leaving, baby, it'd be Ledge.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ursulin's and Anaximander's
visit went well. They had a special dinner at Bradcroft Manor; Ben
Renova and Kono Nashida attended. Ben and Kono were getting very
close very fast, but she was most intrigued by Ursulin, who'd been
suffering a severe cold front in the romance department for years. On
a flimsy pretext, she got Ursulin to take her to Mt. Mosaic. Renova
was insanely jealous, but propriety won out. At Mt. Mosaic, Lumena
and her “Captain Omega” made love for days, basking in each
other's company. He asked her to come away with him and his brother
and she agreed. Breaking it to Ben was difficult. He challenged
Ursulin to a duel, and then realized how foolish he was. He realized
how his time with FS Ops had eroded his social skills and his
fortune, and so he retired from active duty and devoted himself to
his financial empire and began dating again. He was especially
interested in his first wife Samantha's sister, Vanessa Mac Art (Samantha gave Ben one child, a son, John Philip "JP" Renova II, b. 1976). Lumena
left with the sons of Shun Ti, and in a short time, gave birth to
Ursulin's son, whom she named Benjamin Nashida. He went by “Benny”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thus the so-called Freedom
Squad lost three members in one fell swoop. And their losses in 1977
didn't end there. As the year waned, the killings in Augensburg
became a major side case for Cowan. And what – and who – he
uncovered – was quite shocking. One night in late October, Cowan,
acting on an outlandish hunch, amazingly finally spied the killer
dismembering a young girl's body. Cowan didn't realize he was also
being followed – by one of FS Ops' newest, eager to make a name for
himself: Dane Torrance, aka the Troubleshooter. He and Cowan
struggled. Cowan whispered, “Don't ruin this for all of us, man. Do
you see who that is?” And indeed, Torrance gasped when he realized
the man who committed acts against nature in a seedy flophouse was
none other than his own trainer in Freedom Squad Ops - Oregon Powell!
Troubleshooter rattled off his feelings. Sullying the heroic name of
the Duellist was enough; what the man was doing was too much; and
betraying the Squad was beyond the pale. “Your priorities are
seriously fucked, man, but you get the gist of it. Good. Let's take
him.”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The two men rushed in on
Powell, who calmly explained that he'd been waiting for them.
Torrance attacked Powell, who outfought him. Cowan called the police
and the Aggregate for back-up. By the time the latter had arrived,
Dane Torrance had been beaten down by Powell and Alec was facing off with him. When the police entered, Dane was charged with the murder of the young girl, among
other preposterous charges. The police attempted to subdue Cowan but
he crashed through an upstairs window and hid out until he saw the
cops taking Torrance and Powell in. Then, with his rifle, he
assassinated Powell – a clean head shot, then fled. The cops fired,
once hitting Alec in the leg. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Aggregate arrived and
told the police they'd made a terrible mistake, that Dane Torrance
was a government agent on the trail of the Augensburg Slayer. The
Augensburg police were hardly sympathetic; all they knew is they saw
a black man home invading a middle class white and killing the home
owner's neighbor's daughter. The Negro – as they referred to him –
had one white male accomplice now wanted for first degree murder.
And, their argument went, wasn't Powell a higher ranking cover agent
than “the Negro”? Professional jealousy perhaps? Cotton nearly
decked the officer in charge but Konchuman held her back.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Alec had collected a file of
evidence linking Powell to the murders circumstantially but hadn't
wanted to go there, so to speak. He realized he had been a fool to go it alone. Powell
had been connected in town and all the police in Augensburg were in
his family's pocket – his adopted family, the Powells, that is.
Oregon was really the grandson of Biazel Karollus himself, and
beneath the charm and chivalry beat a heart pumping with the stench of purest evil.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So Alec was on the run,
wounded, and trying to collect himself. Cary Bradcroft paid a
personal visit to “Freedom Central”, the fancy new headquarters
of FSO,as they colloquially called themselves now (it changed weekly
it seemed; 'the Squadron' was another recent favorite). Bradcroft
attempted reason with Greer and a REACT liaison called Howard
Unsworth. REACT and Freedom Central had issued a formal statement,
which was reiterated to Cary: “It saddens us to report that agent
Torrance will soon stand trial as the Augensburg Slayer. He
apparently had an accomplice, a man identified as petty criminal
turned vigilante Alec Duarte, who attacked agent Powell as Powell was
attempting to save their captive. Duarte will be tried for first
degree murder when apprehended. REACT will assist local police in any
way they can to stop this highly dangerous felon.”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cary then did something he
swore not to do unless absolutely necessary: he mystically mindwiped
all of the FSO, the REACT agents involved, and the Augensburg police. He
reached out astrally until he found Alec, and sent some of the team
to retrieve him and procure medical attention. He had had enough of
feeling helpless when such power was at his disposal; Nocturno always
told him he was over-cautious about utilizing his gifts.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so the case dropped.
Alec's file made its way to Hallmark PD, who declared Powell to be
the Slayer but his murder remained unsolved. Torrance shook off his
few days in jail, not quite sure what really happened. He returned to
the FSO. And Alec overcame a grave fear: prison. In his teens, while
an abused errand boy for his father, Alec was pinched once and served
a year in prison. He was 14 and was assaulted twice, until he came
under the platonic protection of a fellow inmate, Junius G. Hand,
known on the outside as Black Torpedo Ray (b. 1935). Ironically,
there is a connection between Ray and the Troubleshooter to be
explored in the near future, which ties in with the late Hiawatha
Hand. As Cary's spell did not affect the Aggregate, Alec retained his
memories of the fateful night he felt sure he might land back in
stir.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. Readings in Astrology </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Brother Zodiac (Trevor
November) became an outspoken nemesis of Freedom Central and all it
stood for. No one could discern quite where his loyalties lie or his
origins. But one man</span> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">was intent on tracking them:
Cowan. Zodiac called Orphee deLander's Red Oasis commune home, and
wandered Flicker Street as he'd always had, though not quite with his
youthful fervor. While Graven Idyll was still preaching from a fiery
bull pulpit at times, BZ's approach was smooth. The police and REACT
still kept a current file on him. All they could find was that he looked
to be in his late 20s, had no real criminal record, and was raised in
New Orleans as Trevor November. He first arrived in Flicker Street in
1968, and looked and acted almost exactly the same in 1978. He felt
the hope of '68 was draining from the world, that violence saturated
society and that society was becoming a police state whose repression
in turn fed the brutality: a twisted Ourobouros or Midgard Serpent
greedily devouring its own tail.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many women were attracted to
him; many men for that matter. But the first to fall under his wing
openly was a haunting young lady of mixed race called Kicia Blessing.
While Trevor November frequented Bradcroft Ltd's curio shoppe with
Kicia in 1978, Alec was much further south – Libania, where he
finally gave his full report to the Marchessa. She was pleased. She
was just beginning a physical descent into middle age, but was as
voluptuous and charismatic as ever before. Alec felt it was a now or
never situation, and so he took the biggest risk of his life. He may
as well have inserted his phallus under the chopping block. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He nervously propositioned
his mentor, mother, sensei – was it really so twisted after all?
Alec was not prepared for the response he received. The Marchessa
took him in her soft arms and kissed him passionately. They ended up
sharing a mind-blowing sexual experience, one might say
transcendental. The Marchessa knew tantric techniques as well, and so
Alec learned quite a lot that fateful day. After a deep sleep, Alec
awoke and asked the Marchessa, “What now?”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She answered, “the night
belonged to us – it always will. But I cannot belong to you, not in
the way you want.” Alec understood, and also inquired when Reva
would be returning. She'd be 18 now and he wouldn't even recognize
her. “No”, declared Marchessa, “ you wouldn't recognize her.
And not just in the physical sense. She left here, not a week ago,
with some money, and a wagon full of idiots armed to the teeth. And
they had quite a pharmacopia. It saddens me.”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Reva's gotten into drugs
and just rides off with arms merchants?? Couldn't you stop them?" “</span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Could you have stopped
them? We may be slightly more than merely human, but how many bullets
before we fall?”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Point taken”, said
Duarte. “I'm – I'm sorry mistress. I forget myself after what
happened between us. I won't again”.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Marchessa stated, “She
is a woman now. I cannot fathom the workings of her young mind. My
training has made her feel liberated, more empowered than the other
girls in the villages. She has a brilliant mind. I'd hate to see it
turned to sordid ends, but it is beyond me now. My only consolation
is that she will not be the pawn of men with guns and drugs – she
will be the one in control. And with what I've taught her – the
last thing I said when I called out to her as they drove away was,
'be blessed, Reva'. She replied, 'Reva? Who's that?' She giggled and
screamed, 'Now they call me the Magdalene!'”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With so much to absorb, and
feeling helplessly frustrated, Alec took his leave of the most
important woman of his life. “I'll try to sneak by every year or
so. And – thanks again – for the night”. And he departed,
leaving the proud Marchessa wracked with sobbing. Tears held back a
hundred years can't help but be a flood when finally they come.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In Hallmark, Kicia and
Trevor were deliriously happy. But there was a naysayer among the
audience they drew on Flicker Street. It was Cotton Suede, and as the
saying in Flicker Street goes, “Miss Cotton Suede is not to be
messed with”. Cotton confronted Brother Zodiac and his young
mistress one afternoon in Flicker Street outside the infamous Lucifer
Club, most recently done up as a disco by longtime owner Black
Torpedo Ray. “What's your bag, man?' she asked Zodiac. “you come
off all righteous about the evils of 'The Man' and the joys of
'Cosmic Awakening' - but where are you when folks like me and mine or
the Tentacle and his are fighting, with our minds and our bodies, to
be free. Truly free.”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm in no cult lady. I am
free – a truly free agent out on these streets. Orphee is simply letting me crash at the Red Oasis. You don't dig my
setup, that's alright – but I harm none, as the epithet goes, and
if I declare a 'side' – be it yours, or the Tentacle's, or even the
Pig Squadron – you will be among the first to know. Seems like we
should've had this talk ten years ago. But back then, you weren't a
part of a group with a gobstopper of a name and a bonafide integrated
cast of characters.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cotton grabbed the slim Trevor
by his left arm and yanked him up to her. “I'm not making a dent in
that pretty head, but so help me I will... Flicker Street belongs to
the people, and you've been out there – doin' your moves, turning
on some cats and chicks, pulling some Pied Piper shit just like
deLander. Except he has the guts to admit it. They call you the 'Grey
Messiah', these kids. Like her - “ Cotton points at Kicia, who
hasn't said a word. “What happened to the bosomy biker broad you
were doin' before her? She get tired of you ridin' her hog?” Cotton
laughs loudly. “Well, I've known this beautiful moonchild her whole
life, and you're not just gonna step in and crash Kicia's good
thing.”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kicia replied indignantly, "I'm happy with where I am
now, and with who I am, Miss Cotton. You've been like a big sister to
me an' I loves you, but frankly, you in my business, an' I don't like
it. Just back off an' let us be, okay? You might find I'm not as
ignorant about all this as you think I am. If Trevor hurts me, he's
gone. An' he knows that. Right?”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yes indeed. And that's
not going to change”, answered Zodiac.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Uh huh”, responded
Cotton. “Fascinating. Well I'd best be going... and, 'Trevor'?”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yeah?”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've got my eye on you.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cotton was short, but her
hips were wide, and they swayed madly, as she jogged away, soon lost
in the bustle of Flicker Street. The woman formerly known as Pauline
Cutler had more pressing business with the Aggregate. They were to
await Alec's return to Hallmark and then hold a 'membership drive'.
The idea was ostensibly Ledge's, though Cary had been pondering it
for months, since Cowan first crashed their meeting in January 1977.
Straw thought it could be massively entertaining. “Make them come
to us for once. Groovy”, he laughed. Konchuman hoped more Asians or
Indians would join. He missed Go Demon, now back in Japan, and his
fallen friend, Hiawatha Hand.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IV. Alec's Return Home</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As everyone got situated for
the membership drive meeting on October 5, 1978, Cotton and Alec got
to talking. She broached the subject of Brother Zodiac and Kicia
Blessing. He was visibly rattled by hearing her name. As he nervously
smoked, he asked her how Kicia was, and informed Cotton that he
hadn't seen her in some time but thought about her. “Well I'd
rather her be with you any day than that arrogant - “</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thomas Ledge interrupted, as
he was wont to do. “With Cowan? He's a two-bit loner. Hell, he
might not even like chicks for all we know.”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well”, interrupted
Straw, “ for all we know, the same could be said for you. I never
see this Susan you're so mad about. An invention of your closeted
psychosis Ledge?”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Konchuman and Lykos remained
silent, and, as usual, uncomfortable when Ledge trotted out his
homophobic assertions. And Straw was insistent on playing right into
it.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ya know what, Miss Suede?
Let's talk about Kicia for real sometime. This conversation hardly
dignifies her.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Straw, impatient, bellowed,
“Now you know why we need new blood so badly. A good transfusion
could keep us going for years to come, right Ledge?”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Might need to ditch the
bad blood all in one fell swoop I say. Some of which – Straw –
has been curdling since before my time here”. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Straw raised a fist and
said, “Regarding old, tired, bad blood, I say, 'Let it bleed...'”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Indeed Straw?” said
Cary, taking everyone off guard with his entrance and his upbeat countenance. “Well, since my
sanguine friends are crying out for the new blood, let me pacify
them, as a good host. Bloodthirsty ghouls, meet... the Serpent's
Tooth!”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Who or what is the Serpent's
Tooth? Who is the proverbial 'new blood' and will they make the cut?
What's the mystery of Kicia Blessing? What is the Lucifer Club? And
why the hell does the Aggregate put up with Thomas Ledge anyway? All
this and more will hopefully be answered in the next episode of
Flicker Street....</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">October 6, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Copyright 2015 George Henry
Smathers Jr.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dedicated to my friends on Google + and on Facebook who have read and shared this work, especially my friend and collaborator Ivan R. Schablotski.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Flicker Street, all characters, images, and story elements are Copyright (c) 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-31809948064379126082015-10-01T04:59:00.000-07:002015-10-24T21:53:21.139-07:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 12 - Deviations<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What seemed like ephemera turned out to be a key chapter. Enjoy!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbEVAhadHyq83aOZB-ByFHMn6SQ4iFes1Pt0p3WcfYCJ8sVG_r28eHZAnOAahi2xGbE1BfxGcE-3OzlgPqzQUcfkFvHEV94T5puoHR6DUCFOp-qMm7tGKXyyxKTHImGzEWLeqa5QkU-4t/s1600/Cowan%252C+Kappy+McCleary+Duarte%252C+%2526+Kranz+Mueller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbEVAhadHyq83aOZB-ByFHMn6SQ4iFes1Pt0p3WcfYCJ8sVG_r28eHZAnOAahi2xGbE1BfxGcE-3OzlgPqzQUcfkFvHEV94T5puoHR6DUCFOp-qMm7tGKXyyxKTHImGzEWLeqa5QkU-4t/s400/Cowan%252C+Kappy+McCleary+Duarte%252C+%2526+Kranz+Mueller.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment #
12 – Deviations</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I. The Pod As Womb </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Omegan and Piscean
penchant for “soft conquest” culminated in their vying for Earth.
The Omegan Terminus was not a downed alien vessel or a crashed
starship. It was however truly a “mothership” in that it
contained an Omegan Birthing chamber. It was an extradimensional
vessel traveling alchemically; it emerged inside Mt Mosaic based on
the mountain's karmic ley lines. Tephiris was not the first, but the
first known, Omegan scout and was extremely long lived. He came
through the Terminus in a birthing pod, i.e. he was born incarnate on
earth. He traveled his homeworld but North America remained his base
of operations. He communed with Native Americans and settlers and
slaves alike, always assuming a race's form and co-mingling with them
all, spreading his seed far. Tephiris was the first newly born
Exodesian in centuries – an Exodesian by virtue of the fact that he
was the genetic product of pure Omegan seed and Piscean ovum.
Tephiris thus was himself an experiment in keeping the peace between
the coldly warring races. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tephiris was the father of
the druid Brithemain, born c. 12,000 BCE. Tephiris was born c. 13,
000 BCE and died sometime before Shun Ti's and Asenath-Zayan's births
(c. 1500 AD). No Exodesians and few Omegans or Pisceans were as
long-lived, i.e. over 14,000 years old. Only the hybrid priests
Mordechai and his nephew Gammadion lived nearly as long. In addition
to his genetic gifts, Tephiris used many alchemical life extension
formulas, to varying degrees of success.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mt Mosaic was the nexus
point aka the “Terminal Pointe” of the truce if you will between
the quietly warring races. Tephiris periodically used the pod tech at
Terminal Pointe to travel to Omega and to Pisces to report as a scout
for both races. The pods he utilized were the basis of the modern
tech of the tellax pod that revolutionized human transport, though it
only became used commercially in the early 21<sup>st</sup> century.
It was plundered by SkullCorp from the tech Ursulin shared in the
1950s, and by the close of the century REACT and the Aggregate (and
some of their foes) had access to this incredible teleportation
technology.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To some Exodesians Tephiris
claimed to be wholly one of them, and mated with some of their women.
In his very old age Tephiris mated with a Frenchwoman named Dominique
Chanel. Their daughter, Francoise Chanel, married into the Mercer
family. This infused Cromwell's line with stronger Exodesian genes,
as Francoise's son Leopold Mercer was also the grandson of the
Carnifex. Leopold was also the grandfather of the gunfighter Mercy.
Many of the descendants of Cromwell (himself Tephiris'
great-grandson) and the great envoy Tephiris had extraordinary
abilities; most, however, appeared and lived as human, save for a
predilection for unnatural longevity.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When Ish of Omega and
Asenath of Pisces were engineered to be the official infiltrators of
Earth, Tephiris felt his time had come. He gently slipped away,
imbibing moonbrew and ruminating on his thousands of adventures and
many descendants on Earth. We shall now examine some of the foremost
ones.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II. For A Few Digressions
More...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The legendary gunfighter
Mercy began life in 1843 as Nero Mercer, the son of Napoleon Mercer
(the great-grandson of Ewen Cromwell) and Lily Runningwater, a mostly
Pawnee Indian and herself a granddaughter of Cromwell's. Besides
this, Nero was the great-great-grandson of Tephiris. Mercy was
blessed with a retarded aging process, a strong healing factor, and
an unerring marksmanship, his favored weapon being a portable Gatling
gun. Most though him insane, but few dared square off against this
titan of the Old West. Once his hands were crushed; he defeated his
enemy regardless but lost his woman. His hands healed fully over a
matter of weeks. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shortly after this, he
encountered Shanedo Nakemura, a deciding factor in his life. Nakemura
(b. 1823) was known in Japan as the 'Demon Dog' (translated) and was
a wandering ronin who took along his young daughter Meiko on his
journeys, teaching her all he knew along the way. Shanedo was the
deadliest ronin to emerge from Japan in the waning days of the
Tokugawa shogunate. He had run afoul of the Pan-Asian fanatical sect,
the Hei Naodai, and wished to shatter them into a million pieces. Shun
Ti at Feng Qi thought a truce could be arrived at; Kith M'Nali, the
“Black Tamerlane”, did not concur and bedeviled Shanedo for a
number of years. Shanedo was contracted to come to America in the mid
1860s and retrieve certain stolen Nakemura family artifacts. Shanedo
had the feeling Kith had stolen them. Kith had a secret base in
America, from which he plotted the end of the then-current US
government, as he saw millions of his countrymen still in bondage. M'Nali was a busy man...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shanedo faced off with Kith
over the artifacts and won. M'Nali begged for his life, the first
time he'd done so (though he was very insincere). Then Mercy appeared
and shot Kith a number of times. Kith was taken totally unawares, an
odd and uncomfortable feeling for him. Shanedo bid him go. M'Nali
headed to his base and medical attention. Mercy and Shanedo forged a
mutual respect of sorts over this odd incident. Shanedo's daughter
Meiko (b. 1850) was immediately taken with Mercy, and he with her. In
time, Shanedo came to grips with this. The two men fought together as
partners a number of times (including on the steppes of the Ziggurat
in 1868), and Shanedo now felt an outcast from Japan. Mercy proposed
marriage, and soon he was Shanedo's son-in-law; now family. In 1878,
the child Nero Nakemura was born to Mercy and Meiko. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shanedo had one last mission
he wished to fight alone. He returned to Asia, while his daughter,
now known only as the Lady Ronin, became Mercy's partner in his
increasingly outre adventures. In 1890, word reached Meiko that her
father was slain in battle with Kith. Mercy and the Lady Ronin
embarked on one last grand adventure, one with a bittersweet climax.
After failing to route M'Nali, Meiko announced that she'd be staying
in Asia, sometimes at Feng Qi. Her goals were two-fold: to avenge her
father, and to further train, and, hopefully, to teach at Feng Qi.
She would raise young Nero as a Japanese but would tell him all about
his legendary father. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mercy was devastated. He
wandered Europe, alighting in France, where his daughter, La Comtesse
de Marangias, held court. La Comtesse had wed one Armand Tressilian
and had one infant daughter, Edith, b. 1890, and a son already on the
way (This son would grow up to be the legendary Richter). But Mercy was drawn back to the United States and his family
there, which essentially amounted to his brother and his brother's
family. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. Marisol's Odyssey</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mercy's half-brother was the
much-discussed Sorrow, who married the wild Libanian gunfighter
Carmelita Rodriguez. She gave him three daughters: twins Luna and
Solita are covered elsewhere, but now we turn our attention to
Mariposa Marisol Corvo, b. 1877. Marisol inherited Sorrow's unnatural
longevity and many of his skills (Sorrow was the grandson of
Exodesian Arch-Priest Urias, as established in past chapters, as well
as the great-gradson of Ewen Cromwell). Marisol, as she chose to be
called then, was a shapely stunner of a girl, but was something of a
tomboy. She craved action and excitement. She was proud to come from
a family of long-lived gunfighters, and wanted to learn the arts of
combat herself, something that did not interest her older sisters. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When she met Mercy's bride,
Meiko Nakemura, as a small child, she was staggered by her fighting
prowess. A female samurai! Thought Marisol (though Meiko was
technically a ronin, i.e. a masterless samurai). She asked Meiko to
train her. The Lady Ronin agreed, but it had to be their secret. And
so, furtively, they held a number of sessions. This ended in 1890,
when Meiko was called away to Asia and never returned. Marisol vowed
she'd find her one day and conclude her training with Meiko. Sorrow
took good care of his daughter in the meantime. She reached
adulthood, a buxom, athletic young woman with a razor-keen mind, and
she decided to move to Libania, despite the risk and strife there.
Carmelita warned her about Libania and Serafinia, but Marisol claimed she was to become a nun. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Marisol actually made her
way to Asia with a cache of gold her father gave her. She struggled,
and fought, but she finally reached Feng Qi, based on all she'd been
told by Meiko. This was in 1900. She was reunited with Meiko
Nakemura, who, as promised all those years ago, resumed training
beside her. They trained together for 35 years, neither of them aging
appreciably, just getting stronger and more finely honed in their
arts. But then Kith M'Nali returned after a time away from Feng Qi.
He had been assembling various criminal and revolutionary elements to
fall under the Black Skull Society rubric. Marisol and her master
encountered Kith one day and they soon began hurling curses at each
other. This erupted into a full-fledged duel. Shun Ti, worried, came
to watch. She knew by now that nothing could tear them apart. In
their pitched combat, the Lady Ronin, sliced off one of the Black
Tamerlane's legs. He fought on, hopping, crawling, and spurting blood
all about the dojo. In an amazing reversal, he leapt on his single
foot and hacked off Meiko's right arm (her sword-wielding one), and,
as they both fell and crawled about the floor slick with their blood,
he impaled Meiko on his blade. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Marisol was aghast and felt
like running up to M'Nali and slitting his arrogant throat. He and
his detached limb were spirited away, though. Much later, she learned
that certain mystic allies of Kith's were able to re-attach his leg.
Another rumor later flotaed about was that Ish used Omegan tech to
restore it. This was several years before Ursulin arrived on Earth
and began disseminating regeneration tech to a chosen few; of course
today it is widely used and has revolutionized medicine.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shun Ti took over Mariposa
Marisol's training (she had ceased going by her surname). Marisol
“graduated” to the highest level that Shun Ti could grant her in
1950. Marisol was still a stunning young woman. She wondered if she
would age as well as her father, who died at 98 in 1938, but only
appeared middle-aged.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IV. The Marchessa Unbound –
and Her Wayward Pupil</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After Mariposa Marisol
attained the highest honors Shun Ti could bestow upon her, she gave
herself the title “The Marchessa”. It had only taken her 73 years
to attain this total mastery of the mystic and martial arts. And this
time, she really was determined to return to Libania. There, she
founded her own Solacium, patterned after the one Shun Ti would
retreat to (and which was an Omegan creation). She gathered agents
over the decades and created her own temple. did not establish any
particular order for those interested to join. She didn't want to
foment another cult in a region reviled for them. She simply taught
her eclectic blend of alchemy and martial arts. FOPA raided her on
occasion, but they finally ruled that she did indeed fit into their
“Freedom of the People' mantra.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Her goal was to train others
and to pass on the knowledge she'd received, but so few had what it
took. The Marchessa lived a long, lonely life. She yearned to be a
lover and an adventurer, not a monk, but such, she felt, was her lot.
All of that changed in 1965, when the 88 year old Marchessa, who
looked and felt no older than a human woman of 35, found a new
purpose. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We must derail our attention
from the Marchessa at this point, and return to a character from a
past installment. His name was Alec Nicholas Duarte, b. 1948 in
Hallmark. He was born a fraternal twin, his brother Julius Antony
Duarte born minutes before him. It seemed the two hated each other
from birth. Certainly their parents hated them both from their
births. The twins' mother, Roxanne Cooper Duarte, was the maternal
granddaughter of Hallmark co-founder Ananias de Ruyter. She was also
a stripper, a prostitute, and a heavy drinker. Roxanne's mother Eliza
severed ties with the de Ruyters when she married Axel Cooper, an
attorney for the mob (who, ironically, had married her for her money
and family name; now he was supporting her by defending infamous
mobsters such as Boston Haverty).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Roxanne's brother, Elias,
was also an attorney, and though a rabid right-winger, he was no
criminal. He was rather ugly to Roxanne, and distanced himself from
her. Elias had two daughters with Gwyneth Shaw: Susan Cooper (b.1950)
and Selena Cooper (b. 1960). Both figure prominently in future
narratives. These women were the first cousins of Alec and Julius
Duarte, whose father, Antonio “Tony” Duarte (b. 1918), took over
organized crime and racketeering in Hallmark by the 1940s, filling
the gap left by Boston Haverty's defeat at the hands of the Silent
Seven. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tony Duarte was the worst of
the worst: a wife-beating pederast/ pimp/ killer. He gladly
prostituted Roxanne while he chased young men new to the mob, his
favorite being Marco Allegretti, who just happened to be Roxanne's
long-time pimp. She tried to escape numerous times before Marco
finally plugged her in the street (Paige Street, to be exact) in 1959. Tony
told his boys that their mother was mentally disturbed, and had finally
committed suicide.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everything changed in 1965,
the year Alec Duarte met the Marchessa. Tony had arranged a major
drug deal in Libania. He loved doing business with the Libanians. He
sent one of his up-and-comers, a 25 year old errand boy named Reve
Raphael the great-grandson of Hallmark co-founder Guillermo Renova. He assigned Alec and Julius, 17 years old, to accompany
Reve. Tony also asked Reve to take Reva, his 5 year old daughter.
Reve and Alec were filled with dread; was Tony going to sell the girl
into “white slavery” or “kiddie porn”? With Tony Duarte
nothing was too low. Julius was amused by it all – and sailing on
cocaine.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tony had heard a rumor that
there was a place called the Solacium where all four of these youths
could be trained into fighting machines for the drug enforcement arm
of Tony's Libanian operation. Julius opted out of the training; he
was far too fey for much physical exertion. Reve oversaw the
operation, and watched helplessly, Julius' gun trained on him, as he
handed over his daughter and Alec to the Solacium. When the drug
transaction was completed, Reve flipped out about Reva and Julius shot
him to death. Julius and Tony's men left Libania, leaving Alec and
Reva with the Marchessa. She thought Tony a fool, as she'd never paid
him anything; Duarte simply assumed the Marchessa would train the
children for a few years til they could take their places as mob
enforcers. Julius was happy, feeling he was finally rid of Alec; Alec's feelings were more than mutual.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The woman once called
“Marisol” had no intention to prostitute the children or anything else – except the training part. She
became a mother figure to the two youths, though Alec hid well his
deep-seated sexual desire for his new mentor. Alec, being older, took
far quicker to the more rigorous training. In 1971, after Alec has
been with the Marchessa for six years, the Marchessa laid out three
mandates for Alec to achieve to prove his worthiness to “graduate”
from the Solacium. Reva Raphael's fate shall unfold shortly.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">V. The Three Mandates</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The mandates were odd at
first to Alec Duarte. But he soon became excited by the challenge.
Here were three opportunities to find catharsis, gain revenge, and right the karma in his own life for the sake of the Marchessa's plans for him.
He humbly thanked her, and began planning his take on the mandates.
And he wanted her more than ever.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The three mandates were, in
order: 1. Draw first blood. 2. Infiltrate and foment chaos. 3.
Present yourself before your true peers. These mandates were
reminiscent of what Alec had read about the Freemasons and the
Knights Templar. Thus he devised a disguise with which he could carry
out the mandates.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Late in 1971, Alec Duarte
returned to Hallmark. Masked and armed, he broke into Tony's house.
Taking out Tony's goons, he made his way to Tony's master bedroom,
where Tony and Marco were engaged in some rather bizarre sex acts.
Alec slit Marco's throat and smothered Tony with a pillow as he
struggled for a gun. He gained the proverbial upper hand, and shot
Tony to death through the pillow. Alec took one item from beneath his
father's bed and lugged it with him. He calmly, discreetly made his
way out the way he came in, just as more of Tony's men arrived. Alec
rode away, flooring it just as Hades broke loose at the Duarte
stronghold.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Duarte returned to
Marchessa. She encouraged him to return to Hallmark, to see what was going on in the streets with people his own age. This disinterested
him, but he saw her logic. After the Duarte/ Allegretti killings,
Alec waited a good while, continuing his training and using the money
in his father's box to buy arms in Libania. He knew he must be
well-equipped, even though buying the arms there was something of a contentious conflict of interest for Duarte.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Alec returned to Hallmark in
1973. While hiding out in a dive in nearby Augensburg, Duarte caught
a poster advertising a meeting of the Order of Cosmic Emptiness, an
obvious takeoff on the Order of Cosmic Awakening. The meeting was to
take place in the town of Gossingham, not terribly far from Hallmark.
Alec planned to go as a man called simply Cowan. A cowan is an
outsider in Masonic and similar traditions. Infiltrating an occult
group – pretending to be one of them but actually not – was an amusing irony to Duarte. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Leading the meeting was a
cryptic gentleman called Javier. Javier appeared to be a nice fellow
– the kind of man a loner like Alec actually wouldn't mind
befriending. The absurdist, almost dada, approach to the occult and
spirituality empluyed amused Alec beneath his Cowan cowl. No one
seemed to find Alec's dress odd; several other attendees wore masks.
Towards the end of the meeting, the “special guest” was unveiled
– a self-proclaimed sorcerer named Antioch Moldor, flanked by two
large bodyguards. Moldor used his time in the spotlight broke out
into a rant about the Abstruse, losing Alec completely. And so he
took this opportunity to get up, pretend to fall, and as Javier
reached out to help him, he used a kung fu move on Javier, flipping him
through the air. He pulled a gun, cautioning all to stay back “or you'll all be meeting Abraxas way ahead 'a' schedule!!"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He laughed, backing his way out, as
Moldor's guards approached. Alec swiftly shot them both, each in
the head (Tony Duarte made sure Alec was a top flight marksman
through years handling guns before the fateful mission to Libania).
Alec hurled himself down a flight of stairs, knocked out a window,
and made it to his car. Only Javier seemed to be following him. There
was something about Javier, an energy of some kind, that rattled Alec
a bit when he flipped the spokesman for Cosmic Emptiness.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The incident made the
sometimes irreverent paper <i>The Flicker Street Dispatch</i>, but not the
straight-laced major Hallmark rag <i>The Occidental</i>. As for Cowan, he
returned to Libania. He continued his regimen having passed the first
two mandates. He was glad to see Reva, who was like a sister to him,
still serving the Marchessa. He was not glad to see FOPA thugs ogling
the 14 year old when she went to market. The Marchessa said it would be roughly three years before Alec, as the Cowan, was ready to present
himself to his peers. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In mid 1976, Alec returned to Hallmark. He took a room in the poorest section of town and kept a low profile. Occasionally, reporters would pester him for info on his father and family and their criminal activities. Alec deflected skillfully albeit with little patience. Eventually, his minor celebrity eroded, and he was left alone. He landed a job with Zenith Cab and worked as many hours as he could stand. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He had a brief alcohol-soaked rendezvous with a fellow cabbie, an older Frenchwoman named Renee Pointier that left Renee heartbroken and cynical. She left town, and, as we have seen with the uber-fertile "Flicker Street Family", predictably she was pregnant. Alec had mistreated her and felt badly, but crime was rampant in the parts of town he most frequented and it obsessed him, as his own family was much to blame, in those days especially Julius Duarte and his lover/master Milo Majestyk, who strove to unite organized crime in Hallmark. What happened to that fuckin' Aggregate? Alec thought, not knowing the government had fractured the group. He decided it was time for the third mandate to play out...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">VI. 1977 </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was a routine meeting for
the Aggregate. They recently lost some members (and some friends on
another team); some to death, some to coma, some to defection to
Orphee deLander's camp. Only seven remained: Shadow Baron, Thomas
Ledge, Euphrates Straw, Cedric Lykos, Cotton Suede, Konchuman, and Go
Demon, who was himself debating returning to Japan. Suddenly, alarms
went off, and the group mobilized. But it was all for naught. “It's
just me, man. I ain't a threat to you. I'm Cowan, and I could just be
the best thing that ever happened to this not-so-sensational seven”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To Be Continued...........</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">October 1, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Copyright 2015 George Henry
Smathers Jr.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dedicated to Philip Jose
Farmer, my favorite author. RIP.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Special thanx to Jason V Brock. He knows why.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Flicker Street, all
characters, images, and story elements are Copyright (c) 2015 George
Henry Smathers Jr.</span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-55217708337996948432015-09-28T12:26:00.000-07:002015-10-04T14:17:37.695-07:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 11 - Liberation<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This chapter covers most of the 1970s, as the Aggregate splinters into various factions. Enjoy!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment #
11 – Liberation </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I. The Aggregate Revisited</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In a way, the years
1970-1975 constituted a second golden age of sorts for modern
heroism, with an international, interracial team who took part in a
vast array of fantastic adventures (some to be detailed in future
accounts), battling the machinations of SkullCorp, especially those
of the “Black Tamerlane” Kith M'Nali (who Thomas Ledge
tastelessly called “Black Manchu”) and Phileas Caleb. Urias and
Carnifex became partners in the late 70s and especially had problems
with Ben Renova. The wicked arch-mage Biazel Karollus and his group
the Abstruse, or the Order of the Thaumaturge, encountered the
Bradcrofts via the sorcerer Antioch Moldor. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As the curtain fell on 1972,
the following individuals' activities fell under the rubric of the
Aggregate: Shadow Baron, Nocturno, Snow Archer, Dr. E, Ursulin,
Emerson Trent, Euphrates Straw, Thomas Ledge, Cedric Lykos, Hiawatha
Hand, Gulliver, The Wrath, and the Blue Dahlia. At the end of the
year, revolutionary Arliss Gordon Cope (aka Graven Idyll)
came to the group for help in rescuing several of his militant group,
including one Cotton Suede (b. Pauline Cutler). The group made it
out, except for Emerson Trent, who they were informed had been
kidnapped. Shadow Baron offered Graven Idyll a spot on the team, and
he acquiesced. Cotton was not invited to join but invited herself
along on their adventures several times.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1973 was a year of upheaval
and many battles fought; a number of them lost. Trent's captors
traded him with Phileas Caleb. Trent finally confronted Caleb mano a
mano; In the midst of fisticuffs, which Caleb was losing, Caleb shot
up Trent with a massive dose of what Donal Rykards laughingly called
“Skull Wine”, a TSD-derived, lethal concoction. It mutated cells
as TSD did, but at an uncontrollable rate. Trent did not explode like
Dr. E; he merely imploded, and crumbled away. The loss in terms of
genius and brotherhood to the Aggregate was inestimable. Euphrates
Straw swore his family would personally destroy Caleb. Trent left
behind a 14 year old son in Jamaica, Roman Torrance “Oblidiah”
Trent, who was determined to learn the truth about why his father
left Kingston. Oblidiah was already making music, and would soon record as, and permanently assume the persona of, Ras Free Man.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Carnifex returned after
three years to menace the Aggregate, leading a unit against the
Aggregate: The Damnation Brigade, which included Pallor (an undead
creature, born Lasse Pallor, 1920, d. 1943; resurrected 1943),
L'Argent (Claude Mercer, 4x great-grandson of Ewen Cromwell and of
Tephiris; an unerring thief and pickpocket; the richest solo criminal
in France; and possessed of uncanny resilience and reflexes),
Tormenter (Solomon Vossius; covered elsewhere), Vigil and Parrish
(“Elijah Pike” and Price Parminter, two religious
fanatics with mysterious pasts who received TSD enhancement while in
prison; incredibly powerful), and Zhey (master martial artist Zhey
Liao; half-brother of Archimedes Ko and descendant of Shun Ti). The
brainchild of Antioch Moldor, a powerful sorcerer and disciple of
Biazel, the Damnation Brigade plagued the Bradcrofts' “superteam”
on and off for four years, and slew Gulliver in their very first
attack on the Aggregate.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II. New Blood</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1974, Dr. E's containment
suit began to unravel in the midst of fighting Parrish and he
exploded; Parrish was destroyed; Blue Dahlia was believed to be dead
as a result. Lykos was badly injured but healed. REACT declared Dr E
too dangerous and now under their purview; he was taken away. Paige
learned the truth she had long suspected – that E was Evan Eloy
Queeq, her ex-lover and Kyle Fabricand's father. Kyle sat on the
board at Skull at this point. Paige tried to see Queeq to no avail,
angering the Bradcrofts. Cary confronted Kyle, and they soon fought,
a quite uneven match, with Cary's parting words stating he'd spare Kyle's life “only because you are Paige's son”. In January
1975, Nocturno went to the man who masterminded the wife and
child-swapping Paige endured – Artemus Thorne. Their confrontation
escalated, until Nocturno wiped out Thorne utterly. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cary told Ashton that
Nocturno's powers, and those of Dr. E, were out of control, and that
the Aggregate needed to keep a lower profile in order to persevere.
REACT and the government were seemingly aware of everything they did,
despite the Bradcroft's mystic safeguards. With this, Nocturno left -
left Cary, the group, America... everything, and was gone until 1982.
He was working on a project – a magickal working that was to be his
crowning achievement, and thus left the Aggregate to Cary to lead
(with the aid of his field commanders, Brandon ver Dorn and Euphrates
Straw).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cary immediately began
securing new allies. In early 1975, The multi-powered martial-arts
motorcyclist Konchuman (Ishiro Nakamura) and his 19 year old cousin,
known as Go Demon, joined. Go Demon (Jiro Nashida, b. 1955) was the child of the brilliant professor Kenji Nashida, who began
working with SkullCorp in the 1950s. His daughter Kai Nashida caught
the eye of Kong and they had a child, known as Lumena, who plagued
the Aggregate in the late 70s. Konchuman's father was Shiro Nakamura,
half-brother of Kenji Nashida. The brothers were the grandsons of the
legendary gunfighter Mercy and his passionate lover, the “Lady
Ronin”, Meiko Nakamura. Kenji had been a colleague of Trent's and
offered his son and nephew (both of whom had been participants in TSD
trials) to work for the Aggregate, much to Skull's, Caleb's, and
Rykards' chagrin. Cary swore he would safeguard the cousins.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shadow Baron approached
Deacon Thrush (born Bishop Mercer, a cocaine dealer and martial
artist who was yet another descendant of Carnifex), who came up under
Graven Idyll's wing, to round out the team. Thrush had just scored
big, and then moved to Europe for a time, leaving behind Cotton
Suede, not knowing that she was pregnant with their son. Cotton swore if Bradcroft could wait
for her to give birth, and for her to find family to help raise the
child, she would fight for the Aggregate for as long as they needed
her – or unto death. Shadow Baron gladly agreed to these terms. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. Lords of Liberty</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1975, President Ford and
REACT unveiled Freedom Ops. Ford was famously quoted as saying, “Our
long national nightmare is over.... Now we are wide awake – and the
American dream has a bright new lease on life”. It was announced
that REACT and other agencies would be “employing a highly trained
team of exceptional individuals to curtail threats foreign and
domestic that regular intelligence agencies can't touch.” REACT
“drafts” almost half of the Aggregate: Snow Archer (whom they
rechristen the White Archer, to Brandon's chagrin), Dr. E (somewhat
recovered), Wurm, The Wrath, and Ursulin (who they wish to keep the
closest tabs on). Thomas Ledge, surprisingly, was not selected but was
told that his REACT insider status in the Aggregate was invaluable.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The US rounded out their
“sensational seven” (President Ford's epithet) with Jim April,
the Flare (a token black member), and millionaire Roger Greer,
otherwise known as Liberty Lord. They were trained intensively on
working together and nicknamed the “Freedom Squad”, though only
the wealthy, super-powered but daft conservative Greer took a shine to
the name.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Roger Anthony Greer was a
very wealthy man whose positions had been handed to him with little
sweat. He was what we would call a “legacy hero”, i.e. someone
carrying on the name and persona and symbology of a deceased or
retired hero before them. The original Liberty Lord was actually a
failed, deeply flawed hero who nonetheless tried to do the right
thing. He was Clarke Ledge (son of Kong [though he knew it not] and
brother of Thomas Ledge, who was aghast that he wasn't chosen for
Freedom Ops), a closeted homosexual teacher who was born in 1934 in
Lincoln, Nebraska – not the place nor era to be outwardly gay.
Clarke Ledge suffered at the hands of his father, brother, and peers,
and remained very closeted as a gay man for many years. In the early
1960s, inspired by the Silent Seven's exploits, he moved to Hallmark,
complete with teen sidekick “Pronto” (Luis Esteban, the son of
Clarke's gardener and a boy thrown out of his house when his
homosexuality was discovered), whom he had trained rigorously. Clarke
had served in the Korean War with his brother Thomas, though he
detested institutionalized slaughter. Clarke boasted superhuman
strength and agility, as did Thomas. Kong's genes were strong in
Clarke as well. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The two fought crime, rather
sloppily, in the early 1960s in Hallmark as Lord Liberty (as opposed
to Lady Liberty, obviously) and Pronto. Pronto was often injured in
battle, and Clarke tended to him as best he could. Their family
doctor was suspicious of the two young men living together, even with
Luis ostensibly Ledge's live-in stable boy and gardener. Clarke
decided to move to nearby, quieter Gossingham and buy a generous
spread. Alas, he counted not on the plethora of rednecks in
Gossingham. Clarke decided he should be married and have a child.
Pronto was extremely jealous.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1964, LL and Pronto were
approached by Cary Bradcroft about being charter members of the
Aggregate. Bradcroft divined their situation and told them they would
be under protection for their homosexual relationship. Clarke blew up
and he and Pronto denied being gay, and informed Bradcroft that they
would handle crime as a duo, as they'd always done. Bradcroft
admonished them that their days could be numbered...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And indeed, in 1965, Pronto
was killed in a vicious scrap with four raging homophobes while
Clarke was at work one day. Luis Esteban was barely 19. Clarke hunted
down the scum that had slain his lover and with his immense strength
killed all four. He left Gossingham when suspicion began to turn in
his direction. He moved back to Hallmark and wed Sadie Palmer, a
well-off wallflower of a girl (and the first cousin of Brandon ver
Dorn). He again turned down Cary's offer to team up. Instead, he
debuted as Liberty Lord with a brand new costume, and brutally
dispatched criminals at night, usually beating them just short of
killing them. He and Sadie raised a foster child for a few years,
Damon Carroll (from 1965-1969), and Clarke encouraged him to be a
chiropractor, which Damon ultimately did. Damon never learned that
Clarke was gay, though Sadie found out in the early 70s and began
seeing a psychotherapist.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But what fascinated Clarke
Ledge the most was the company he'd gotten a job with – SkullCorp,
where he worked in entertainment advertising. As the years went by,
and his marriage began to dissolve, he became obsessed with tracing
every aspect of Skull's operations. In 1974, he accidentally unlocked
a computer code to a computer far more advanced than what he was
accustomed to. This machine, extrapolated from Omegan technology
years earlier, laid out the inner circle of Skull. The program was
filled with disinformation in case someone cracked it, as had
happened once before (to be covered in future chapters), but the
basic structure was accurate, enough for Liberty Lord to take the
info to Shadow Baron. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And then he was shot point
blank in the back of the head and left for dead. Fortunately, he had
been followed by Roger Greer, also highly distrustful of Skull,
though still trafficking with them. Greer found the dying Ledge, who
murmured some indecipherable verbiage, as well as, “Now you can be
Liberty Lord. They know about me...Don't let them...”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Much transpired over the
next year. Roger Greer was of genetic prime stock; he was a 3x
great-grandson of Carnifex through the Paiges. He wasn't as strong as
Clarke, but he trained himself mercilessly for months. Still
ostensibly on good terms with Skull, he asked if he could volunteer
for TSD. TSD experimentation was at an all-time low, Skull having
gathered as much info for now that they felt germane. So Roger bought
his way in. His procedure was very safe and streamlined; not like the
days of Queeq and deLander.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He emerged, physically a man
of Olympian proportions. He was also smarter, though his septic
political leanings mitigated much of his intellect. He decided the
only way to stop Skull was through REACT. He never thought twice
about approaching the Aggregate. Greer left his wife Angela and young
daughter Kelsey (b. 1972), setting them up for life financially, and
offered his services to REACT. He scored the highest on the team
training tests (Ursulin held back; he had no desire to lead) and was
nominated the first chairman of Freedom Ops. A few more months of
training together and 1976 – the nation's bicentennial – would
herald the first mission of what Roger Greer called “Liberty Lord
and the Freedom Squad”. And, to clarify, at this point, Greer's
companies still worked with SkullCorp. Conflicting interests
indeed...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IV. Shifting Paradigms</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Around the time Cotton Suede
took her place with the Aggregate, another female member signed up.
This was Silent Indigo, Nocturno's “alchemical child”. Cary knew
Ashton did not want his daughter in the team, but she was in a
torrid, intermittent affair with Orphee deLander, the Absurd
Tentacle, who persuaded her to be his “inside woman” in the
Aggregate. Cary hoped that eventually he could make a firm alliance
with the Tentacle.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cary trained the mute Indigo
in the mystic arts, honing and refining her talents over the
following months. Then, the team was confronted by Brother Zodiac,
who now seemed more a nemesis than an ally. It was learned that
Zodiac was raised in New Orleans as Trevor November. It was unknown
what his place and date of birth were. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Graven Idyll and Cotton
Suede were making headway in their war on the mob, often clashing
with the urbane Milo Majestyk, the head of the mob in Hallmark. Majestyk succeeded as "godfather" the sadistic Tony Duarte,
who had twin sons: Julius and Alec. Julius Duarte was content to live
a decadent life, merely waiting for Milo to be executed by the
law or by his rivals. Alec ran away as a teenager, having had enough of
his gangster father and prostitute mother, Roxanne Cooper Duarte.
Alec Duarte's story will be expanded upon in future chapters.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1976, while a few of the
Aggregate were dealing with a kidnapping case of appalling
proportions, an attempt was made on the life of Thomas Ledge. The
would-be assassin was not found out. The “kidnappings” turned out
to be a voluntary exodus of Flicker Street youths to a bizarre
commune which engaged in “happenings” designed to purge oneself
of accrued psychic trauma and to begin to heal psionic scar tissue.
These performance art like rituals were filmed by the ringleader,
Kranz Mueller, who turned out to be the seemingly late Dahlia
Mueller's father. Kranz was raising his granddaughter Kappy McCleary
in this highly charged environment. Konchuman was instrumental in
rescuing Kappy, and Ledge helped reunite her with Dahlia's ex-husband
Keefer McCleary. Kranz was held on charges, along with his daughter
Eva Mueller (Dahlia's sister) and Eva's lovers Nels Vorchett and
Elrod “Fenris” Sebastian. During the trial, another attempt on
Thomas' life was carried out; again he survived, albeit badly wounded
this time. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The mistake made was in
thinking that the assailant was tied in with Kranz Mueller's
Psycho-Situationist Theatre “cult”. In reality, the threat to
Ledge was of a much more personal nature. Ledge was stalked and
baited with notes upon his release from the hospital. One note was
empty save for a photograph of a woman, Adora White, who Thomas had a
teenage affair with. Adora was dead, the last he'd heard. But she
left a widower, Desmond Daltrey, and a son, Jericho.Thomas flew to
the Mid-West to confront Desmond. Desmond explained that his son had
been killed in Vietnam and he couldn't help Ledge any further. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jericho Daltrey was, in
fact, a black ops agents for REACT since 'Nam and was indeed alive –
after a fashion. A landmine had nearly killed him, but REACT rebuilt
him with highly advanced cybernetic technology cribbed from
SkullCorp, as well as Omegan regenerative tech that they now
possessed. Jericho Daltrey learned while at REACT that he was the
biological son of Thomas Ledge. Jericho himself was divorced and his
son by Jamice Albrecht was named Desmond “Dez” Daltrey II (b.
1965). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The members of the Aggregate
broke up Kranz Mueller's group and returned the minors involved to
their homes. Cary found it ironic given how young the members of the
Aggregate were when they began their respective careers. An explosion
rigged to kill Ledge caught the Aggregate unaware. Hiawatha Hand was
killed. Euphrates Straw and Cotton Suede were badly injured.
Konchuman was partially dismembered, but his TSD Recombinant mutation
has utilized some cybernetics and he was able, much like Jericho, to
be reconstructed and healed. Go Demon pursued a man Lykos spied on an
adjacent rooftop. Lykos climbed on the back of Jiro Nashida's
motorcycle and the two were hot on the saboteur's heels when Silent
Indigo appeared. She had homed in on his body energy and trailed it
unfalteringly. She knocked the startled man off a rooftop and he
suffered a nasty fall that would've killed a normal human. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But Jericho Daltrey was no
longer a “normal human”. He feigned unconsciousness, and was
taken away by a hospital, followed by REACT vehicles. The REACT
agents on the street obfuscated everything that happened. When Thomas
Ledge arrived, with credentials, the REACT men identified Jericho
Daltrey as Ledge's stalker – and told Thomas that he was Daltrey's
father. They also claimed Jericho was dead, and informed Ledge that
the crimes against him and the others were solved, and that the case
was closed. Ledge was forced to believe the story, as he still
trusted REACT, but Shadow Baron and Silent Indigo knew that Jericho
was alive, though they could only trace him so far. Daltrey was
alive, but the hero Hiawatha Hand was deceased, and Cotton, Straw,
and Ishiro were nearly so. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">V. Kong's Last Claim?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No sooner had the Aggregate
recovered from the Daltrey incident than Kong the Claimer issued to
them a bold decree: he invited them to Castle Kong, his fortress in
Germany, to hold a twisted New Years ceremony. There, he swore, the
final battle between them would transpire. The year 1976 was waning,
Jimmy Carter had won the presidency of the United States, and the
so-called “Freedom Squad” was entrenched in foreign affairs. They
spent much time ostensibly sabotaging the efforts of FOPA in Libania,
while Skull was filling Libanian coffers with enough money to commit
terrorist acts all across South America. Serafinia was finally
conquered by FOPA, with the help of drug and arms money supplied by
Skull's business end. Though to the average American, Skull was
largely an entertainment conglomerate. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Freedom Ops planned to deal
with two major threats in 1977 and were “too busy” to loan any
help to the Aggregate against Kong. As for the Aggregate, they were
now boasting their most eclectic lineup (even after Hand's death):
Shadow Baron, Thomas Ledge, Euphrates Straw, Graven Idyll, Cotton
Suede, Konchuman, Go Demon, Cedric Lykos, and Silent Indigo. Cary
Bradcroft felt it was time to recruit for the scenario with Kong, but
there was no time to adequately train new members. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Freedom Ops had acquired two
new members: one was The Duellist, a “legacy” hero. The original
Duellist had been, of course, a woman, Sidonie van Kant Vossius. This
new Duellist was a man named Oregon Powell, who had toyed with names
such as Cavalier and Rapier but decided to honor the celebrated pulp
era heroine. Oregon Powell had a deep, dark secret in his past; he
was raised by Duke Powell as his own son, but Oregon was actually the
child of the inscrutable Clarissa Rushmore, who was another offspring
of Biazel Karollus. Powell's true father was Lawrence Rubinstein, a
Jewish scientist and authority on Omegan technology, who Clarissa
seduced while he was in college. So the new Duellist had a sliver of
the demonic in him, which we will explicate upon shortly.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The second new member was
known as Solus. Solus had spent his life as a virtual human guinea
pig. He was bred carefully; his parents selected with much
deliberation. He was born in 1947, name unknown, parents classified.
As a child, he began the TSD treatments (at the same time as the
experiments conducted on Evan Eloy Queeq). Urias oversaw Caleb's and
Rykards' experiments on him (Rykards was even inspired by the project
to perform TSD on his own children). By 1977, he was the most
powerful TSD “graduate”, with power beyond that of Dr. E or the
Absurd Tentacle. Could he be controlled? was the burning question for
REACT, now that they had acquired him from Skull. In return, REACT
was to be hands off in Skull's global interests. REACT, of course,
broke the deal. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Returning to the
Aggregate.... Shadow Baron led his team on New Years 1977 to Castle
Kong, totally unsure what to expect. As it turns out the surviving
inner circle of Skull was waiting: Urias, Kyle Fabricand, Kith
M'Nali, Phileas Caleb, and Donal Rykards. This was the first time the
Aggregate had actually met Donal Rykards face to face. Bradcroft's
team defeated all of them, except Urias, who they managed to keep at
bay until Thomas Ledge could make his way to Kong. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In Kong's inner chamber, he
was clad in elaborate armor and awaiting Ledge. Ledge smashed his
armor and in a blood rage hurled him from the highest parapet of
Castle Kong. His body washed ashore as the Aggregate made their way
to the coastline. The Skull inner circle buried Kong and held an
elaborate ritual as a kind of wake; the aggregate was not invited.
They were assured, however, that Kong the Claimer was, indeed, in
fact, at long last deceased. He was buried next to his half-brother
Coyle. Thomas Ledge was still unaware that Kong was his father. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">VI. The Plunder of Libania</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Forced into a temporary
“ceasefire” with SkullCorp, the frustrated, wounded, and frankly
depressed team returned to America. Kong's death was bittersweet –
a pyrrhic victory it felt like to the team. Then, once home, Silent
Indigo announced her departure to go and live with Orphee at his Red
Oasis (his chateau based on his that of his grandfather Richter).
Graven Idyll also bowed out of the team, after giving it his all for
five years. He was also swayed by deLander, as well as by his on and
off affair with Fiora Charme. Cary Bradcroft began actively seeking
out new blood for the team; he also decided that the team was too
structured. He felt if members had more freedom they would be more
likely to stay around longer. He decided that Bradcroft Manor was too
limiting an HQ, and, sizewise, began thinking more along the lines of
Freedom Central, where Freedom Ops hung their cowls – save that
Cary never intended such a militaristic milieu. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And where was Freedom Ops
while all this was going down? They were battling for their lives
against the being called Deomond, the Exodesian uncle of Urias and
physically the most powerful of all Exodesians. Dark alchemy had
fortified him through his long life, and he was a veritable force of
nature. Freedom Ops found him at the Ziggurat in Libania, where he
declared himself king and defied the Libanian and Serafinian armies.
What caused him to make such a move is simple: Urias requested it. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Squad” had been
investigating a rash of murders in Augensburg (just outside Hallmark
County). They were apparently politically motivated in some twisted
way, almost like the infamous Maddox Family slayings of 1969 in
California. In the midst of this case, they were called to South
America to stop Deomond.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The battle was swiftly
joined. Deomond attacked Dr E, who detonated, killing a number of
Libanians and Serafinians. 21 years old Corporal Diaz Montaldo of
FOPA witnessed this, and, as we shall see, the carnage visited on his
people by the battles between “heroes” and “villains” left a
deep and abiding impression on Montaldo. For one of the Serafinians
was his lover Concepcion. Deomond grievously injured Wrath, the
Duellist, the White Archer, and Liberty Lord, who refused to back
down despite missing an arm. Only Dr E and Solus could stand against
Deomond, and, as noted, Dr E's bid backfired – quite literally. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Solus brought to bear all he
had against Deomond, blasting him again and again with his solar
radiation bursts and engaging him in hand to hand combat. Solus
created a containment bubble around the two of them and he and
Deomond fought a long, bloody fight. In the end, Solus released all
of his energy on Deomond, incinerating him. The bubble barely lasted
but just long enough for a quite literally burnt-out Solus to
collapse.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">REACT back-up was everywhere
all at once, spiriting away the wounded and dying “Freedom Squad”.
Dr. E was contained and recovered swiftly. The man called Solus
expired, his inert body next to the ashes of Exodesia's greatest
warrior. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Coming soon on these pages:
The Aggregate: the Next Generation? Who lives and who dies in Freedom
Ops? Who is the serial killer of Augensburg? Who was Solus really?
All this and more will be answered in the upcoming treatment
“Extrapolations”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">September 28, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Copyright 2015 George Henry
Smathers Jr. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To my blood brothers Sean
Lee Levin, Michael T Jones, Scott Moseley, Mark Baranowski, Tim
McLain, Bill White, and Gary Sondergaard.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To all my buddies in the
Wold Newton community: it couldn't happen without you guys.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In loving memory:</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thomas S. Davis 1966-2004</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Christopher A. Pack 1968-2013</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Flicker Street: all
characters, images, and story elements are Copyright (c) 2015 George
Henry Smathers Jr.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<br />Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-86699005324125283542015-09-19T20:07:00.002-07:002017-09-13T12:58:00.499-07:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 10 - Thaumaturgy<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And so we come to a key chapter in our ongoing narrative....</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Flicker Street Treatment #10
– Thaumaturgy</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I. Dark Roots</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now we take a sharp turn to
the left – the Left Hand Path, as it were. This attempt to document
the tangled genealogies and fantastic exploits of those who practice
magick in this world we are building will hopefully clarify rather
than obfuscate. This can be done by tracing the lineage of our
thaumaturgical tree, and describing the strange fruit it bears.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At the topmost branch (or
deepest root depending on one's perspective) are the Presences, those
beings worshiped by the Pisceans as dark gods. There are only a
handful of these beings glimpsed in certain accounts. The most
powerful of these are “brothers” Abraxas and Vaikuntha, offspring
of the abstruse Presence whose name can only approximately be
rendered as Xhuquaqua-Quoeln (the Tamerlane line in recent centuries
supposedly adopted “Qua” as a family name in obeisance to this
abstract being). This fearsome Presence gave birth through
parthenogensis. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Vaikuntha has no known true
offspring (though in an avatar form he impregnated a woman once, then
jumped consciousness into the soulless infant body, was born, and
swiftly aged the child's body back to a facsimile of the older
Vaikuntha). Despite his general lack of emotional of sexual ties to
other beings, the malevolent Being has spent more time on Earth than
any other Presence, and is especially fond of Earth. When Vaikuntha
is glad, Earth is his dominion. When the multi-limbed Presence – a
diety among many men – is in sour disposition, the Earth quakes
beneath his fury. He is sworn enemy of all humans and Exodesians
alike. Vaikuntha draws his name from the Heavenly abode of Lord
Vishnu in Hindu religion; his true appellation has been forgotten by
his own design. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Abraxas is a fearsome and
oblique Presence. He takes his name from an ancient Greek Gnostic
prinicle or entity. Abraxas has a number of descendants through his
three known offspring: the Presences Caprice, Thrall, and Demiurge.
These issue of Abraxas and one of his mates, Shahava, number among
the eldest living beings in the known realities. Who knows how many
issue sprung from these three over the millenia? We shall examine a
handful shortly.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We know from previous
accounts that the earliest contact with long-lived alien, or
extradimensional beings, on Earth took place c. 20,000 years ago, or
18,000 BCE. The Omegans and and Pisceans converged on Earth at that
time at the place known as Terminal Pointe in English, on Mt. Mosaic
on the North American continent. Thence, they began their alchemical
mating experiments in Africa, which in several generations yielded
the hybrid race the Exodesians. The Omegans, under the direction of
pilot Ph'nath, also emerged on Earth nearly as long ago, at a
Ziggurat in South America – in a territory whose “ownership”
has been fought over by the indigenous peoples of Libania and
Serafinia for centuries. Shortly after Ph'nath's arrival, a Piscean
envoy appeared to keep the peace, as it were. And so the balance of
Earth's fate was struck. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Presences (except
Vaikuntha as noted above) on occasion mated with humans and
Exodesians (pardon if the information given hence is repetitive; it
merely stands to set the bloodlines in a greater context). The
earliest such mating occurred in relatively modern times, i.e. in the
CE period as we measure time in the West. The eldest of Abraxas'
terrible litter was the Demiurge, a frightful being invoked only
sparingly in the Piscean clusters. Demiurge mated with an Exodesian
princess consecrated to him, Ayazela of the house of the priest
Tyrlus. and their offspring was a being called Tyrlus Drexus, another
entity sworn to make those of Earth bend the knee or pay the ultimate
price. Drexus is called on and worshiped as was his father by
Exodesians and human magi alike.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The next two matings of the
children of Abraxas the Abstruse (as he came to be called by modern
occult scribes, who also dubbed Abaraxas' cult followers as simply
'The Abstruse' or 'the Order of the Thaumaturge'; alternately 'The
Order of the Cosmic Awakening') occurred significantly later than the
birthing of the fearsome Tyrlus Drexus. Abraxas' daughter, known as
Caprice, was what some men might dub a succubus, though she was far
from that. She seduced and was bonded to a man born of a human
father, Izaiah Karollus (a Jewish kabbalist, b.c. 1314) and an
Exodesian maiden Tarish (b.c. 999) This man, Lucius Karollus, b.
1353) impregnated Caprice, and their only offspring was called Biazel
Karollus (born 1387), a prime mover in magickal events on Earth –
some might say <i>the</i> prime mover . </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's difficult to determine
how many offspring Biazell may have fathered in his seven centuries
on Earth, but three, all by different mothers, figure definitively in
our larger narrative. Biazel had settled in Hallmark in 1898, bent on
accessing its mystic ley lines and Mt. Mosaic (he had tried in the
past but been defeated). He appeared to be an elderly Victorian dress-clad dandy.
He founded the cults and covens collectively known as 'The Abstruse'
and churned out many scholarly and some rather light-hearted tomes on
ritual magick and thaumaturgy. He kept his background prior to
Hallmark shrouded in rumor and legend.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 1899, he wed the
headstrong intellectual Alanna ver Dorn (b. 1869; the “old maid”
daughter of Hallmark co-founder Ambrosius ver Dorn, himself
half-Exodesian), who gave birth to Biazel's wickedly beloved
daughter, Velupsa Karollus, in April of 1900. The child, however, was
declared still born and Alanna sued successfully for divorce from the
unflappable Biazel. Biazel simply raised his child in secret, with a
succession of surrogate mothers, molding her into a thaumaturgical
weapon.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">II. The Fabricands and the
Avrils</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The perennially youthful and
seductive Velupsa Karollus had only a handful of known partners, but
that was enough to secure the mystical dynasties of the Avrils and
the Fabricands. In 1928 Velupsa wed Smith Fabricand (1906-1956)
offspring of Hercule Fabricand, b. 1881; and Artemisia Smith). In
1930 Smith and Velupsa begat their elder son John Paul Fabricand, who
married Paige Bradcroft (another descendant of Cormac Llewyn Paige
and his son Miles, co-founders of Hallmark). They had no issue of
their own but raised Kyle , Paige's son by Evan Eloy Queeq, as theirs
(much to the boy's ultimate detriment).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 1936, Velupsa and Smith
had Anatole Fabricand, a man much less mystically inclined towards
the mystic arts. Anatole actually became a psychoanalyst and spent
years as an analyst to the so-called “mystery men”. He encouraged
his daughter, Tabitha, b. 1967, to follow suit in the field of mental
health. Tabitha's mother, Edwidge Avril, also hailed from a mystical
background, her parents being the mage Keegan Avril (1900-1956),
descendant of Exodesians. Tabitha did indeed become a clinical
psychologist, against the urging of her stepfather Rudolph Dawes
(Edwidge divorced Anatole shortly after the birth of their second
child and married Dawes, with whom she had a tempestuous
relationship). Tabitha's sister Urania, born in 1974, the gifted
offspring of an Avril and a Fabricand, is among the most precocious
and awe-inspiring of young magickal talents. Velupsa's blood
certainly courses in her veins. As it does strongly in her uncle, the
man born Damon Karollus in 1956, but most commonly known as Dr. Damon
Carroll, or, in certain circles, as “The Serpent's Tooth”. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The divorced Velupsa welcomed
a man she was deeply attracted to, the Skull executive Bromley
Chamberlain, into her coven of the Abstruse and into her bed in 1956.
At this point only a handful knew Chamberlain's true ID as Kong,
notably the Exodesian arch-priest Urias. By 1956, Velupsa had driven
Kong near madness with her lust, her demands, her overpowering
persona – but she gave birth to Damon, his son. Only Urias knew the
truth for decades; Kong did not, nor did his son. Damon Carroll ended
up in a foster home and Velupsa took her own life (in 1958) on a
twisted dare from Kong, who distanced himself as much as possible
from Biazel and his cult for many years. Damon went on to play a key
role in the history of the Aggregate, and finally learned the
identity of his true father.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Regarding the Avrils, their
line in America began with the French Raoul Avril (b. 1872) and his
Scottish wife Martine Keegan, whose line could be traced back to much
Pictish breeding with Exodesians. Their son Keegan (1900-1956) wed
Astrid Janssen, Astrid was the daughter of Bjorn Janssen, child of
Cormac Llewyn Paige (though only Ewen Cromwell knew this) and
Cormac's other Indian lover Mary Cloud. Bjorn was passed off as Mary
's husband Stole's son. Astrid's mother was also mostly American
Indian; her name was Hester Hand, and her relative, Hiawatha Hand,
joined the Aggregate in 1971. And so Astrid Janssen was the
great-granddaughter of Ewen Cromwell. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Keegan had a brother Quint
Avril, b. 1910, who was a persistent foe and rival of Vance Orlison.
Keegan himself, with Astrid, had Raoul Avril II, b. 1934; Egon Avril,
b. 1938; Charmain Avril, b. 1942; and, lastly, Edwidge Avril, b.
1947. Raoul wed Wanda Jimenez, the half-Latino,
half-African-American daughter of the Avrils' servant Betty Jimenez.
They married very young, and their interracial union scandalized a
number of Hallmark's blue bloods, but they remained together for many
years. They had a son, James Avril, born 1952, who became an Air
Force test pilot. James, however, distanced himself slightly from his
parents and identified himself as “Jim April”. April became a
trial subject for REACT-subsidized TSD experimentation in the 1970s.
SkullCorp had struck a deal to share some of their technology with
REACT, who added its benefits to America's ever-growing arms race.
The TSD gave Jim April what he called “the Flare” (which he also
took to calling himself), an ability to control flame. He was
conscripted to duty for REACT in 1976, at the launch of their
“Liberation Ops” program (also known as “Freedom Ops”, a name
preferred by its nominal leader Roger Greer). This program was
intended to birth a government-owned and sanctioned group along the
general lines of the Aggregate. More information on Freedom Ops will
be detailed in upcoming treatments.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Raoul and Wanda Avril tried
unsuccessfully to have more children over the years, while Raoul's
brother Egon married archaeologist Stephanie Ransom. They had two
sons, Karl Raoul Avril, b. 1964, and Jesputh Ransom Avril, b. 1967.
Stephanie was a partner in Randell Coventry's Coventry Expeditions,
which merged with Bradcroft Ltd. In 1982. Keegan Avril's first
daughter, buxom beauty Charmain Avril, was an exotic dancer, and was
quite a superstar in the 1960s and 1970s. She remained single until
1982, when she retired and married Dr. Lawrence Rubinstien. Keegan's
youngest daughter Edwidge's marriage and offspring have been
discussed above. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Keegan Avril and Smith
Fabricand met their demise together in 1956 at the hands of Nocturno.
They had been plotting against Cary Bradcroft since his move to
Hallmark early that year. They wished to garner the attention of the
Exodesian ruling religious sect, the Obscuros (from which the
Abstruse gains much of their knowledge, passed down from Piscean
principles) by slaying the “one that got away”, Cary Bradcroft.
They offered to sacrifice Cary to the Obscuros, actually. The
Arch-Priest and Grand Necromancer, Urias (discussed elsewhere in this
chronicle), was all in favor of the idea. When Avril and Fabricand
tried to capture Cary, Nocturno appeared and simply destroyed them
with a powerful working he had been preparing for the dangerous duo
for some time. Cary was stunned at Nocturno's first use of his undead
power to take human lives, and girded himself for a war with other
mages that never came. For Nocturno's actions served as an
unequivocal statement that the Shadow Baron was not to be trifled
with. Thus a magickal cold war of sorts began that lasted for some
years, until Exodesian priests craving power caught the attention of
the brothers Bradcroft.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Before his demise, Smith had remarried, to Patricia Paige, daughter of Miles Paige II and Blanche Westin. Their daughter, Milicent Sherrad Fabricand, born 1954, grew up to be a very kind, maternal woman who ultimately helped the Aggregate immensely and tried more than once to settle down with two of its most prominent members. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">III. The Disraelis and the
Van Jusses</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Bradcrofts have been
much-discussed up until now, but their many notable offspring and
extended families have yet to be covered. To understand the roots of
these families, we must consider one Janos Disraeli. Disraeli's
origins are uncertain. It is known that he is European, of an
indeterminate age, and the father of two children by two different
wives. What is certain is that for a time, he was possibly Earth's
most fearsome sorcerer, with power to rival or exceed that of the
Bradcrofts, Biazel Karollus, or any Exodesian. He surely carries the
blood of Exodesia, Omega, or Pisces or is of some descent from one of
the Presences. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Disraeli led the Order of
Gammadion, an ancient secret society founded by a man said to be
descended from the eldest known Exodesians. Gammadion was a priest
who lived at least 10,000 years ago and was the maternal grandson of
the druid Brithemain, who at one point guarded the Ziggurat in South
America. Brithemain was the son of a human tribeswoman, Salvara, a
Serafinian, and the ancient Exodesian explorer named Tephiris, who
criss-crossed our planet in his Pod in antediluvian times and spread
his seed far. He waged war, but yearned for peace, with the
Exodesians. Gammadion's uncle, Mordechai, was a member of Gammadion's
order, a warrior priest who may have been the longest lived man ever
born on Earth. In 1498 CE, Mordechai had his last known dalliance
with a mortal woman – a barmaid called Finn Cromwell. From this
union sprang Ewen Cromwell. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Gammadion disappeared from
his order well before the founding of Hallmark, some said to find a
means to extend his already preternaturally long life. Some have
whispered that Gammadion is willing the order to his heirs, for they
believe Janos Disraeli is Gammadion's true son. It is unknown just
when Janos Disraeli stepped in to lead the sect, though what is known
is that Janos took the sect in a somewhat different direction.
Gammadion's taste ran more towards Omegan alchemy; Disraeli preserved
this, but injected some arcane rights from the Pisceans. Disraeli
called his group at times the “true Exodesia”, and claimed to
have a more balanced outlook than Exodesians, whom he saw as
sycophants to Pisces and its dark Presences. Exodesia's obsession
with infiltrating and eventually displacing humanity held no charm
for Disraeli. The Obscuros and Biazel Karollus alike scoffed at
Janos. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Disraeli's major accomplice
in his occult activities was Griffin Van Juss (b. 1890), the son of
Enoch Van Juss, one of the Dutch settlers who founded Hallmark. It is
unknown if Enoch, like several of the settlers, carried Exodesian
blood, though it seems likely. Griffin Van Juss had three children:
twins Remuel and Katherine, b. 1923; and Rachael, b. 1927. The three
siblings met Cary and Ashton Bradcroft in 1945, while in college at
Oxford. The five of them formed a coven, along with Cary's lover, the
half-Indian Jerusha Dharma, and, later, the duplicitous young Myrus T
Fellbane. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Katherine and Ashton soon
began an affair; unfortunately Rachael was also in love with Ashton.
The coven studied through the late 1940s and into the 1950s. During
their studies, Janos Disraeli himself taught them much, but they
wrongly felt that the Order of Gammadion was an evil path. The
Bradcrofts were good men, but filled, alas, with hubris. In 1954,
Remuel and Katherine quit the coven to join their father in
Disraeli's order, while Rachael remained with the Bradcrofts.
Katherine discovered she was pregnant with Ashton's child. Disraeli
knew the twin brothers were bound for Exodesia, and he did not wish
to encroach on the hidden land. The Bradcroft twins did just that,
but Rachael stayed behind. Jerusha and Fellbane both insisted on
coming. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The details of the Bradcroft
expedition can be found in treatment #1: Backstory. Suffice to say,
only Cary penetrated Exodesia and survived to tell of it. Ashton was
destroyed but resurrected as an undead homonculous in the Obscuros'
birthing chamber. Cary lived, and gained extraordinary mystical
knowledge at a staggering rate inside the chamber. He felt his brain
would explode. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">By 1955, Cary had regrouped
in Europe, traveling and sorting through his newfoundc knowledge. In
the meantime, Fellbane took Jerusha to London, where his cousin
employed them. She had a son that year, a boy she named Vincent
Cliven Dharma, or Clive. She gave Clive an amulet his father, Cary
Bradcroft, had given her. Clive grew up hating his father and
wondering why he abandoned Jerusha. Fellbane made sure this belief
was fostered. Clive Dharma will be discussed extensively in future
installments but for now we turn to his extended family. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">While Cary made his way
across Europe, his brother had found Rachael Van Juss and told her
the shocking truth of his new existence. After she digested the
horrid news, she agreed, out of a love she still felt for Ashton, to
take part in a magickal working with him. Now known only as Nocturno,
the man who was Ashton Bradcroft used alchemy - ancient, complex,
possibly deadly - alchemy to infuse his essence into Rachael van
Juss, thus entering into an alchemical wedding with her, and, even
more startling, an alchemical pregnancy resulted.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Nocturno learned that
Katherine had given birth to his child. She named the boy Ashton van
Juss and was not shy about his parentage. Nocturno refused to come
for her or the child, though, and Rachael lied to her family about
the source of her own pregnancy. When her odd-looking daughter was
born in late 1955, she named her Silent Indigo (for she was dark of
skin and mute) and agreed to raise her. She kept Nocturno's secrets,
and Griffin van Juss was outraged, demanding to know what sort of
inhuman being fathered Silent Indigo. The van Jusses were living in
Holland when Rachael returned to them, so, in 1959 Griffin summoned
Cary Bradcroft to his Dutch manor, and he confronted the Shadow
Baron. Remuel demanded his father slay Cary Bradcroft. Katherine,
however, yearned for Cary as she had his brother, and they
consummated their desire for each other. Cary fought Griffin, slaying
him in the process. Remuel and Katherine attacked Cary, but he
escaped and returned to Hallmark. He was distressed that he had to
kill Griffin; he was even more distressed when he learned the darkest
family secret: that Remuel and Katherine were engaged in an
incestuous affair. Unsure of her baby's father, Katherine nonetheless
kept it and it was a daughter she named Sarah Janos van Juss, b.
1960.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As for Janos Disraeli, he
was attracted to a number of women in the 1960s, among them
Katherine. The two wed in 1963, and he agreed to raise Justin and
Sarah (he was already the girl's godfather). He put a permanent stop
to Remuel's and Katherine's affair by basically frightening Remuel
into leaving Holland. Remuel headed to America; his first stop was
Hallmark, where he challenged Cary. Cary defeated him handily, and
Remuel slunk away, ending up in New York City, where he opened a
small occult bookshop. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 1965, Katherine gave
birth to Janos' first known child: Griffin Disraeli (known years later as Rory Sabbath). But there was
already a rift developing between Katherine and Janos. They divorced
the following year. Janos sought out Remuel in New York and was
amused by his bookshop. He was also a bit taken by a young woman who
hung out at the shop: an aspiring poet/ chanteuse named Sophie
Pavlinchak (b. 1947). Within a year Janos had charmed the young woman
with promises to bankroll her creative endeavors. She impulsively wed
the magician, and was soon expecting his child. In 1967, their
daughter Tana Disraeli was born. Sophie began traveling with her
band, and Janos allowed her this freedom and returned to Europe for a
short time. In that time, Sophie lit on Hallmark for a show, and was
immediately enamored of Flicker Street. She met a mysterious
gentleman, an older man called Bram Vallard. As sharp readers might
recall, Bram Vallard is the favored pseudonym of James Vallard
Tressilian, the Apparition (also known as Lambert Christensen, Royal
Hoxworth, and Saturnine). Vallard wooed the impetuous young musician,
to no avail. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">IV. Sophie</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 1969, Vallard, who was
still infatuated with Sophie, invited the Disraelis to his retreat in
China. They were hosted by Vallard's young son Archimedes Ko.
Disraeli was no stranger in China. He had visited Feng Qi on one
previous occasion and met with its mistress, Shun Ti. Vallard had
trained in the Orient all through the 1920s and periodically returned
to his resort there. Unfortunately for all, Biazel had plans for
Sophie Pavlinchak as well. He decreed that she would serve as fodder
for one of the Presences, who would destroy Disraeli and Vallard, two
of the many figures Biazel saw as potential threats to him. He and
Janos had a centuries-long rivalry, and Biazel foretold that this was
to be the perfect time to end it once and for all. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Biazel summoned the Presence
known only as Thrall, who destroyed Janos Disraeli and ravished his
wife after drugging Vallard, who dreamt he was making love with
Sophie. She was in a delirious state the entire time. She dreamt she
was with Bram and was unaware of Thrall's violation. Thrall
disappeared into its own plane. Ko managed to get his father, Sophie,
and little Tana to safety and to medical attention. Sophie went to
Europe and attended Disraeli's funeral. Vallard invited her to
convalesce at his chateau, to which she agreed. She soon found she
was pregnant; she skaed Vallard to give the child his name as he
likely the father. Vallard honestly did not recall his time in a
drugged state, except that it was possible he and Sophie made love.
So he agreed to wed her at the chateau. She did not wish to be
married again so soon, but Vallard insisted; he was old-fashioned
that way. But he soon had to return to Hallmark and help with the
final confrontation with Kanabal. He was away for weeks, and later
that year (1970), Sophie had a son she named Devon Vallard. Devon was
the first child born of a human and one of the Presences since
Biazel's birth, and he swore he would one day claim the child for the
Order of the Thaumaturge.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 1973, Vallard went on
what he deemed one last mission as the Apparition, with Shadow Baron
and some of the Aggregate. Vallard's ultimate purpose was to
assassinate Biazel. This mission will be detailed in future
treatments; the word after the mission though was that the Apparition
had not made it back alive. Archimedes Ko took over the Apparition's
retreat, and was soon recruited to help train Ko's nephew, Liao Jun
Kim (or June Kim Liao, b. 1967), who figures prominently in the
future of Flicker Street. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Twice widowed, with two
young children, Sophie Pavlinchak had returned to New York to advance
her career. She suffered from deep depression and nightmares for
years, and eventually slid into drug addiction. She had two notable
affairs in the 1970s. In 1973, she slept with Remuel van Juss one
night at his bookshop. She was soon pregnant again, though she wished
no further contact with van Juss and regretted the entire sordid
incident. She strongly considered an abortion, but ultimately decided
to bear the child. She would raise it herself, she decided. The child
was born in 1974. She named him Iain Pavlinchak; Iain after her own
father, Ian Rhys McGregor. And thus we see another reason Biazel
targeted Sophie; she was not merely a wayward and troubled young
intellectual with dreams of fame as a rock star poet. She also had a
genetic destiny, since her father was not only a great hero but also
the bastard son of Exodesian Arch-Priest Urias. Her mother, Silvana
Pavlinchak, had met McGregor during World War II and had a passionate
affair, which resulted in Sophie. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sophie had a mentor in New
York, Matthias Creed, who was an underground filmmaker of some
repute, having directed such provocative films as </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Awakening
in Hell </i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and was
working throughout the 70s on his magnum opus </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Abraxas Rising</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. Matthias,
though gay, had married a woman briefly in the 1940s and had a son,
Emeril Creed. Emeril and his father had a strained relationship, but
Emeril was essentially good-natured, not dark at all like Sophie's
previous lovers. She had vowed never to be wed again, but relented to
see if the “nice guy” was her cup of tea. She soon decided he was
not, but by this time had given him a daughter, Kirillian Creed, born
in November 1977. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sophie did something bold
and, some would say, cruel at this point. She sought out Bram Vallard
with the help of her best friend from Flicker Street – Orphee de
Lander, whom she also saw as a mentor of sorts. Orphee contacted
Archimedes Ko, and soon realized Vallard was not truly dead. Ko
contacted Sophie and agreed to take her to his father. Ko believed
that Devon Vallard was not really his half-brother but declined to
theorize exactly why he speculated this. Sophie flew to meet with
Vallard. She took along her first three children but left Kirillian
with Emeril. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Upon seeing Bram again and
conferring with him, she agreed with him that there was much more to
Devon's conception than they realized. Vallard, detective that he
was, was convinced his own son Ko was in on Janos Disraeli's death
and the drugging of Sophie and Vallard. Sophie implored Vallard to
help her fake her own death; she was burnt out on her lifestyle,
wished to get clean, and, rather callously, wished to detach herself
from the Creed family for good. Vallard declined to help her, but Ko
stepped in and acquiesced. It was only a matter of time before word
reached Emeril Creed that his wife and mother of his infant daughter
had died in a plane crash coming home to them. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sophie's descent into
darkness continued, and she eventually abandoned Devon, wishing no
more reminders of the mysterious incident. As for Emeril Creed, he
quickly remarried and Thelma Bruce, his new wife, adopted Kirillian
Creed. The Creeds agreed to do what they could to expunge the child's
memory of any trace of Sophie, though Matthias Creed, who loved his
granddaughter dearly, was opposed to this. As fate would have it,
Emeril took a job in Hallmark in 1980, and Thelma passed away of
cancer in 1988. From then on, Kirillian took a liking to hiking to
escape her blues, and told her father often that one day she'd scale
Mt. Mosaic and learn its secrets. She had an instinctive intuition
that Mt. Mosaic was of importance to all humanity. It would be some
years, but she would come to learn how correct she was. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">September 20, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Copyright 2015 George Henry
Smathers Jr.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Special thanx to Scott
“Vesbius Flestrin” Moseley, a true brother and Flicker Street
enthusiast.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Extra special thanx to Win Scott Eckert, a mentor when I really needed one, for years of friendship, patience, and creative mythography. Win inspired me to write comix and stories in earnest again, and thanx is not enough for this gift.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Flicker
Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright 2015
George Henry Smathers Jr.</span></span></span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-72793217454345006002015-09-16T17:33:00.004-07:002015-09-28T12:15:25.220-07:00FLICKER STREET - Treatment # 9 - Aggregate<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This was a tough one to finish. So much information to impart... but it's done at last. Enjoy! </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_denSo8mWcXNubMb9TlPSDi1Oh3rTm9lgrAMXjaXtDygpzO3f-HwvRHvcEH0k-f5rIXjyPYwDGSPtggMkogyP41Hu1BtkCrb2M2f5uSx4YcUgxVoz3EXdmsuFxfqrsbbUfi4j6hPHlSyX/s1600/Hieronymous.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_denSo8mWcXNubMb9TlPSDi1Oh3rTm9lgrAMXjaXtDygpzO3f-HwvRHvcEH0k-f5rIXjyPYwDGSPtggMkogyP41Hu1BtkCrb2M2f5uSx4YcUgxVoz3EXdmsuFxfqrsbbUfi4j6hPHlSyX/s320/Hieronymous.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment # 9
– Aggregate</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I. The Bradcroft Legacy</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bear with us as we go back
over facts presented in treatment # 1 – Backstory. In 1956 Cary
Bradcroft arrived in Hallmark MA (apparently alone). His uncle
Malcolm had lived in Hallmark for several years and owned and managed
a curio shoppe there. Malcolm willed the shoppe to Cary, whose twin
brother Ashton had reportedly been killed during an expedition to
Africa. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When Cary took the title of
baronet, his presumed dead brother dubbed him the Shadow Baron. As
ever-fickle fate would have it, Ashton was indeed dead as we perceive
the state. But he was in fact undead, and karmically attached to his
brother. One could say he was now his brother's magickal familiar
(that is, a mediator between the magician and the spirit world, and
an aide in performing magickal workings) although Ashton, now calling
himself simply Nocturno, was potentially more powerful than Cary. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The brothers decided to keep
a low profile in Hallmark for several years, but the festering evil
in the city and in the world around them spurred Cary to gather
various extraordinary individuals who had been operating as
vigilantes over the years, mainly the “pulp era” heroes loosely
allied under the moniker The Silent Seven. With malefic forces such
as Carnifex, Kanabal, and criminal organizations such as SkullCorp
(ostensibly a reputable conglomerate but the Bradcrofts knew better)
numbered among the threats to humanity's safety and freedom, the
Shadow Baron resolved to organize a group, called simply the
Aggregate, to deal with these menaces. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The final straw, as it were,
was the murder of the heroic half-Exodesian polymath Vance Ewen “Doc
Vance” Orlison at the hands of Carnifex and Kanabal, abetted by
Kanabal's bloodthirsty offspring Solomon Vossius, soon to be known as
the Tormenter. After Orlison's funeral, during which Cary was
accosted by REACT agent Thomas Ledge, he began formulating a solid
plan to put the Aggregate into play and encompass an even broader
range of talent as the Silent Seven. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By March 1964, the
proverbial die was cast. Under the sign of Pisces, as unveiled to
Cary during a vision, or premonition, he received as he was dangling
tortured in the inner chamber of the Obscuros sect in Exodesia a
decade before, the Shadow Baron made his move. Cary had spent several
years befriending the Omegan Ursulin, and Dr. E was born Evan Eloy
Queeq and was at one time a lover of the Bradcrofts' beloved cousin
Paige. Dr. E wanted Paige to go on thinking him dead from the
TSD-related accident that changed him into E. Her torment was doubled
by the fact that her son, Kyle Fabricand, was really Evan's. Shadow
Baron and Nocturno agreed to keep each party's secret, though they
felt it foolish.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Aggregate was funded by
Bradcroft Ltd, in association with the Vossius company now run by
Sidonie and Andreas. Later, Renova, Inc. became a partner and the
entity became known as The Zed Foundation. The bulk of the Aggregate
consisted of members imported from the Silent Seven. Saturnine,
Richter, Sword, Kraken, Anton Gamble, and Gadgeteer V were all
co-founders of the Aggregate. The final co-founder was 26-year old
Brandon ver Dorn, who lived a double life as the Snow Archer; some
might say he lived a triple life in actuality, an observation to be
clarified shortly. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II. The White Archer?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Brandon was the
great-grandson of Ambrosius ver Dorn (b. 1837), who largely
bankrolled the Cromwell Party that led to Hallmark's founding.
Ambrosius was the bastard son of a Dutch miner, Cesar ver Dorn, who
hit it rich, and of the woman known only as Seripha, an Exodesian
refugee. More than one of the descendants of the Dutch founders of
Hallmark were named for Seripha. Ambrosius benefited from his
mother's genes and he lived 105 years (and even then he was killed in
a car accident).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Brandon ver Dorn was Dr. E's
closest friend, and worked for the brilliant Emerson Trent and his
polymath half-brother Euphrates Aquinas Straw. Ver Dorn was always
cryptic about his early life back then, and sowed some distrust among
the team at times but eventually revealed his story. We will digress
for a time to discuss the secrets of the Snow Archer. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ambrosius ver Dorns' son
Christian fell in love with Seripha de Ruyter (named for Ambrosius'
mother, as alluded to above), stunning daughter of the great
adventurer Ananias de Ruyter and Inocencia Renova. They had a son
with copper skin and grey eyes, who was given the appellation Hendrik
van Hoke II. This was due to the fact that Seripha de Ruyter was wed
to Christian's best friend, Jost van Hoke, who claimed the child as
his own. But Hendrik was truly a ver Dorn. Seripha and Jost had a
daughter of their own, Matilda van Hoke, whose son, Dugas van Hoke,
aka Locke, was a musician (he played bass in the band the Sacred
Mirrors for a time) and a SkullCorp operative in the 1960s (he
reported directly to Phileas Caleb). Hendrik van Hoke II changed his
surname to ver Dorn as an adult married into the heretofore
undiscussed Palmer clan. His wife, Esther Palmer (daughter of first
cousins Randolph and Ruth Palmer, whose sale of their grocery store
chain in 1947 to the Harness family assured the Palmer's place in
Hallmark society), bore him Brandon Palmer ver Dorn. The entire
family were scandalized by Hendrik and found his son an impetuous (if
goodhearted) youth and were not terribly dismayed when they embarked
in 1947 on what appeared to be a fatal flight to the arctic. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hendrik ver Dorn's renowned
flight skills, honed in World War II, did not save him, and he was
killed when his plane hit an icecap in the midst of a “freak
storm”. Young Brandon was believed killed as well. Amazingly, so
the story goes, he was found by a tribe of Inuits and raised by them
as their own. Exactly what transpired in the life of Brandon ver Dorn
from his 10<sup>th</sup> to his 17<sup>th</sup> year is largely
unknown, but by his own account, he became the greatest hunter,
archer, and scout in the tribe – save for one man that ver Dorn
referred to simply as “Aguila”. Aguila called Brandon “The
White Archer” and despised him as a blood rival. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The account is a familiar
one, one possibly embroidered by Brandon over the years. Simply, the
chief of the tribe, Silver Eyes, adopted the ten-year old ver Dorn
and the chief's natural son, Aguila, was bitter and resentful. In
this archetypal situation, the two “brothers” finally duelled,
and, as to be expected, when the time came for Brandon to settle the
matter with Aguila's life, he spared Aguila and merely humbled him.
It is known with some certainty that in 1955, Ursulin, in his travels
about the world he was born, but not raised, on, found Brandon and
ver Dorn was spirited back to SkullCorp HQ. This was when Ursulin was
still cooperating with Skull's scientists, before he decamped and
became a free agent, albeit one hotly sought out by REACT. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ver Dorn suffered a massive
culture shock, having been partially raised by what some saw as a
“primitive” culture and then rescued by an alien benefactor and
exposed to technology far ahead of the society he left behind. In
1957, Esther Palmer ver Dorn passed away, leaving her only child her
portion of the ver Dorn and Palmer fortunes. Ver Dorn was now free to
travel and decide his fate. In 1959, ver Dorn was approached by REACT
and recruited by them, though he questioned their motives. However,
he decided that Skull's path was the wrong one for him, and for
humanity, and so went to work for the ostensible “good guys”, who
already had accrued quite a file on ver Dorn. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The file was labeled “Snow
Archer” as REACT, frankly, even in those days before political
correctness was codified, felt “White Archer” was patronizing to
the tribe Brandon joined, and the group didn't want a stigma of white
supremacy attached to the son of a man who fought the Nazis. They
also didn't feel like competing with Skull's progressive ethnic
hiring policies. Ver Dorn decided to become a double agent,
ostensibly working for REACT but reporting his information to Cary
Bradcroft, who Ursulin introduced him to. On top of all this, the
perpetually busy, seemingly sleepless Snow Archer operated as a
part-time vigilante on the streets of Hallmark inspired by the Silent
Seven, though it wasn't long before he was outed as Brandon ver Dorn,
wealthy but definitely not a stereotypical playboy. His years as the
son of Silver Eyes gave him a rather zen and good-natured outlook,
despite the darkness in his life.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Archer's first mission
for REACT involved going undercover in the lower echelons of
SkullCorp under the name Sigmund Bartholemew. Ver Dorn saw this as a
way out of his brushes with the law as a vigilante and so he faked
his own death and sunk himself into becoming Bartholemew. Brandon ver
Dorn had been too long without any meaningful female companionship,
and embarked on a passionate affair with co-worker Medea Strasser. To
foster his disguise, “Sigmund” married the young German girl, and
she was soon pregnant. The catch to all this was that Skull didn't
want Bartholemew working as a mere office flunkie but as a soldier
attached to FOPA in Libania. This was because they had researched
Bartholemew and learned his true ID and that he was a REACT agent.
Their test for him was a mission in Libania. They threatened to
murder Medea and their infant Stephen if he refused to comply.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The spy called Sigmund
Bartholemew was put in charge of a FOPA unit in Libania. They were
raiding their long-time enemies the Serafinians. “Bartholemew” was
told if the mission went well he could be promoted to the rank of a
top political assassin and eventually reach the inner circle of
Skull. He was warned that at this point there was no turning back.
But he was in contact with Ursulin, who, with Dr E and the Shadow
Baron, rescued the Archer and defeated the Libanian raid on
Serafinia. This mission could be said to be the seed from which the
Aggregate grew. No longer just a concept in Cary Bradcroft's mystical
visions, but a core group of four men who had no legal identities in
society – Nocturno; the believed dead ver Dorn and Queeq; and Ursulin (or
“Captain Omega”). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It should be noted before
returning to the genesis of the Aggregate in 1964 that in 1961, when
the Libanian raid was foiled, Sigmund Bartholemew was declared
deceased, and SkullCorp cut loose Medea Strasser Bartholemew with a
modest severance package, and she and her son had to go on welfare
until they met Angelo Blatanski, a man of questionable integrity who
married Medea and raised young Stephen Bartholemew, about whom much
more will be related in future accounts.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. The Sixties</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As noted elsewhere, in 1964,
the mystery men called Sword and the Kraken were slain by the
barbarous Carnifex. Existentialist crusader Anton Gamble retired and
pursued his passion for Dawn Cheshire Vossius Clancey. Lined up to
fill the void were Trent and Straw, both welcomed into the group. Two
black men in such a position in 1965 was seemingly unthinkable, but
the Bradcrofts could care less. The entire enterprise was like a
secret society anyway, with the public not privy to its workings.
Though African-Americans (really Jamaican-Americans) were entrenched
in the group, the Aggregate was void of distaff membership for a
time, and was roundly criticized within the group itself for it. This
would change dramatically by the end of the decade. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1966, The Absurd
Tentacle was invited but declined. He scoffed at the operation for
his own abstruse reasons. Thomas Ledge, however, joined up that year,
as a liaison to REACT. The Shadow Baron felt it better to follow the
maxim of keeping one's enemies closer. Ledge caused no end of
controversy in the group. In combat with the team's foes, Ledge lent
a great deal to the proceedings. He was well-trained, fearless,
agile, superhumanly strong, and healed very quickly. He aged slowly
and was rarely ill. Kong's genes were strong in him.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1968, the problem of no
women in the group was resolved with a vengeance, as the group
drafted in three female members (or was it four? More on that
shortly). Hyacinthe and Fiora Charme were hippie hangers-on to Orphee
de Lander, and both had been administered doses of TSD. Hyacinthe
believed her powers lie in her ability to affect others' mood for the
better. Her best friend Emily Duncan claimed to ply the same talents
under the name Fiora Charme. Marcella Motto was a young Libanian
drfated into illicit TSD trials who emerged as Princesa Verde (“The
Emerald Princess”), who boasted green skin, gossamer jade wings,
and the ability to control vegetation. Orphee de Lander took
immediate interest in recruiting her, but Shadow Baron beat him to
it.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Soon after this femme
contingent signed up, a man called Hieronymous followed suit.
Hieronymous though unknown to many at first was also a woman –
Dahlia Mueller, who disguised as a man, with a costume festooned with
mystic symbols and topped by assymetrical goggles and a cowl covering
her entire face. Hieronymous was a mystical artist, able to
transcribe mystic symbols with ease and vivify them.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1969, Richter and
Saturnine were on the cusp of retirement, and missed many meetings.
Thus Shadow Baron and Nocturno sought out two new members to replace
the literally irreplaceable. The superhumanly strong and tough Wurm,
adorned with Spanish conquistador and dragon imagery, became the next
official recruit. He was really Benjamin “Ben” Renova, heir to
the vast Renova fortune first struck when his great-grandfather
Guillermo Renova staked his claim with the Cromwell Party at Mt Mosaic in
1887. Ben was also descended from the Van Hokes and the Exodesian
Elodie. He owned Van Hoke General Hospital, Renova Bank & Loan,
and Renova Plaza. He was a major benefactor to the fledgling Zed
Foundation (built on the original Bradcroft Foundation). Renova was
nearly as much a right wing idealogue as Thomas Ledge (they became
lifelong best friends) though Ben was by far the easier to take. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gulliver joined in late
1969, and was still in training when the group went up against
Kanabal for the final round. Gulliver was Enos McClegg, a Scottish
alcoholic who stood a menacing 10 feet tall – another TSD
experiment. From 1967-1969, the ever-changing team found themselves
battling the likes of Exodesian Xeronixia; gangsters Tony Duarte,
Marco Allegretti, and Milo Majestyk; the deadly Kith M'Nali, or the
'Black Tamerlane' (discussed at length previously); the Exodesian
Arch-Priest Urias; and, at long last, Kong the Claimer in person (or
so they believed). Fiora Charme left the team in 1970 to marry and
tour with Sacred Mirrors keyboardist (and brother of the Absurd
Tentacle) Bertrand Rojiczek. Over the next few years they had two
children: Collette and RD.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In May 1970 the final battle
with longtime foe Kanabal was joined. Gadgeteer V was killed, and
Anton Gamble presumed dead. Hieronymous was on leave during this
battle (She was giving birth to her daughter by the Absurd Tentacle
and put the child up for adoption. It was adopted, and christened
Espasia Felts). Saturnine and Richter went into retirement. An era
had ended. The gauntlet had truly passed forevermore from Vance
Orlison's Silent Seven to Cary Bradcroft's Aggregate.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IV. The Dawning of the Age
of Aquarius/ Horus?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1971 was an eventful time
for the world's only full-fledged “superhero” team, albeit one
still operating beneath the public's radar. Comings and goings were
hard to track; there were odd visitations; and the threats
investigated became more varied – and deadly. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hieronymous returned, after
her time away struggling with the decision to give up her daughter.
She dropped the he-drag and became known as the Blue Dahlia, with the
same esoteric abilities as Hieronymous. Hyacinthe followed her best
friend's lead and departed the team to spend her time as part of
Orphee de Lander's emergent “Terminal Culture” movement. He was
invited once more to join the group, by emissaries Dr E and Snow
Archer, and was so enraged that he attacked them and seriously
injured the Archer, thus sidelining him from battle for weeks. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shortly thereafter, Princesa
Verde became involved with a dusky-skinned, green-eyed man called
Cedric Lykos, and Cary Bradcroft harbored his suspicions about this
stranger to Hallmark. Another man to provoke the interest of the
Aggregate was the bohemian who called himself only Brother Zodiac. He
was grey-brown of skin, had grey eyes with incandescent swirls like pools of gold which he perpetually hid behind round purple shades. His
long thick cascading hair was usually tied back and he was ever
barechested save for an open vest adorned with scales, sequins, and
locks of hair. He wore a round medallion emblazoned with the zodiac
wheel. Brother Zodiac was truly inscrutable; he befriended both Cary
Bradcroft and Orphee de Lander but neither seemed able to pierce his
veil of mystery. One thing was sure; he exuded power; yet he declined
a commitment to either Cary or Orphee to lend them that power. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, Dannish Bacon,
lead singer for the Sacred Mirrors, died in France of a drug
overdose. Fiora Charm reluctantly took the slot as their lead
vocalist. She had her hands full with RD, her son by Mirrors
keyboardist Bertrand Rojiczek, who she recently wed. Bertrand was
intrigued by Brother Zodiac's charisma and high standing in the
Flicker Street scene with his aura of hallucinogenic mystery and
dimestore Zen homilies. The Brother anticipated this and turned down
Bertrand's off to “jam”, claiming he (Zodiac) was no musician; he
merely “dug” Flicker Street and all it symbolized. By mid 1972
much of the Sacred Mirrors crisis was a mute point (about which more
further along); Fiora became pregnant again and in early 1973 had a
daughter Collette Rojiczek. She retired from music and from the
Aggregate permanently. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As for Cedric Lykos, his
secrets came to the fore when he and Princesa were visiting Cary at
the Bradcroft Ltd curio shoppe in late 1971. Cary was training a new
clerk at the shoppe, an American Indian named Hiawatha Hand who had
petitioned Bradcroft for membership in the Aggregate and only
recently been accepted. Hand had been in prison when he was forced to
be subjected to the TSD trials. They left him with tremendous
strength and endurance and a “second sight” of sorts – a form
of clairvoyance and danger signal, a feel for the “vibes” of
those around him. And those vibes were running rampant the first day
Hiawatha Hand met Cedric Lykos in the curio shoppe.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No sooner had the small
group had a chance for introductions than a mystic portal opened,
spilling out a many-eyed, mutlt-tentacled eldritch monstrosity which
bound Cary's face and hands left he perform any magick. One mighty
tentacle swatted Princesa Verde away; another Hiawatha Hand. But
Cedric Lykos had lept on the creature almost immediately. Cedric
began savagely biting and clawing at the creature until Lykos' own
flesh began to fall way, revealing a bipedal wolfen creature. The
tenacious man-wolf used all his strength to roll over the undulating
thing – just enough for Cary to free a hand and murmur a spell.
With that the mass of eyes and lampreys was sucked into the air
itself, like a film played backwards. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cary quickly explained what
he'd done, but more urgently, he questioned Cedric Lykos, whose
surname had been a clue to Cary when they met that Cedric was other
than he appeared. Cedric Lykos was a true lycanthrope. Cary said that
he had heard rumors of Cedric's race, the umbra lupa (“shadow
wolves”) when he was in Exodesia in 1954, but never saw a real
werewolf. Cedric explained, “My people were once humans in Egypt –
kidnapped, enslaved, raped, and experimented on magically... merged
with wolves and interbred with Exodesians. Word of our our lives
spread in whispers through the world over centuries – til we were
legend.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some of escaped and
roamed Earth through the millenia, but not my family. The house of
Lykos were the chosen dogs of the sect ruled by the vile High Priest
Praven the First. His contemporary namesake ruled my immediate
family. My brother, Vulpis, became a hunter for ancient Praven; I was
sent by Priest Urias for his own purposes to infiltrate the Zed
Foundation. I am sorry, Baron Bradcroft.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am not a full baron,
Cedric. Your people were not just slaves per se, if I am correct
but...”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hand finished, “Familiars
to the sorcerous clergy of Exodesia, correct?”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yes”, said Lykos. “But
I wish to be your familiar, O Shadow Baron. I oppose the Exodesians
and loathe the place of my birth. Make me one of you.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cary agreed, as Lykos had
saved his life from the Thzhugua beast. He prepared a spell with
Nocturno to crack the spell placed over Cedric and shield him from
detection by the Exodesians. After the spell was successfully cast,
Cedric found Princesa Verde had left the mansion, but did leave a
note for him. She claimed the deception Cedric perpetrated was too
much; that he had simply used her; and other harsh accusations. For
Cedric's part, he was deeply in love with her, and he was crestfallen
to say the least. But the Aggregate did accept him. He and Hand
became fast friends, and he was the perfect familiar for Cary, who
did not want Cedric to feel enslaved in his new station as in his
old.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As noted earlier, Flicker
Street's premiere psychedelic band, the Sacred Mirrors, was falling
apart by mid 1972. It was in that year that not only did Fiora Charme
abdicate her spot as the Mirrors' chanteuse, but also crimefighting
P.I. The Wrath, a new and unknown quantity on the Hallmark scene,
came into play. The Wrath soon discovered that the Mirrors' guitarist
Zane Whiteside D'Azai and bassist Locke were actually SkullCorp spies
attempting to subvert Orphee deLander's Flicker Street scene. Zane
and Locke were spies for Phileas Caleb and Donal Rykard and had been
for some time. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's worth noting that Locke
was born Dugas van Hoke, half-1<sup>st</sup> cousin of the Snow
Archer. They shared a grandmother, Seripha de Ruyter, named for the
Exodesian Seripha (b. 1700; the mother of Ambrosius ver Dorn and ancestor of Locke and the Archer), whose ancestor Arch-Priestess
Serafinia the First the country of Serafinia was named for. The
Serafinians were originally pagans who worshiped the Exodesians.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Neither Zane nor Locke were
heard from again. Zane, repentant, was given a new ID: Daniel “DJ
Dan” Carson by the Wrath and moved to a trailer park in nearby
Gossingham. He continued to see his on and off married girlfriend
Chloris Pendred (Kong's granddaughter, about which more in future
installments). Locke was slain in a gunfight by Wrath. Wrath's
heroism inspired Cary to dispatch the unlikely duo of Thomas Ledge
and Euphrates Straw to seek his services in the Aggregate. The Wrath
agreed, as long as he could keep his PI office. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wrath's roots in the fabric
of our larger tale run deep. He was really John Gauvin (b. 1943), and
had been a P.I. Since 1967. He took the costumed identity of The
Wrath in 1970. He was a master of weaponry and collected it avidly.
He was a fierce fighter and first rate detective. He had exceptional
genes that nurtured these talents. His father Danel Gauvin, an
insurance salesman with a fiery temper was the son of one Peter
Gauvin and Rachel ver Dorn, the great-granddaughter of Ambrosius ver
Dorn, making John a cousin of Locke and the Snow Archer. Ambrosius,
of course, daughter of the Exodesian Seripha, was descended
maternally through the line of the notorious priestess Phallasma and,
ultimately, the Arch-Priestess Serafinia (all of which has been
covered at some length). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The black-haired John Gauvin
has much Hispanic blood. His mother was Pilar Llosa, making him the
nephew of Emilio Florenza (born Vargas Llosa, 1930), one of the 'Four
Outsiders' who pilfered SkullCorp cash, tech, and documents and fled
from Skull in the 1950s. Thus John is first cousin of Florenza's
children, one of whom, Juliana Florenza (b. 1967), will be discussed
at much length in the modern portion of our account. Pilar Llosa was
the daughter of Carolina Fuentes (granddaughter of the ill-fated
Libanian guide Jacinto Fuentes) and Tomas Llosa, who boasts quite a
pedigree. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Through Tomas Llosa, John
Gauvin is the great-great-grandson of the long-lived gunfighter
Sorrow; the fourth great-grandson of Urias (not to mention Urias' long-lived ancestors); and the fifth great-grandchild of Ewen
Cromwell the Carnifex. Much proud heroic and villainous blood alike
coursed through the veins of the man called Wrath, and the Shadow
Baron saw grand potential for good in John Gauvin. When next we
convene, we'll examine in depth the radical changes ahead for the
Aggregate as the 1970s wane.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">September 16, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Copyright 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In Memory of Thomas Shackleford Davis, 1966-2004. RIP. You taught me how to build a world.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Special thanx to my blood brother Sean Lee Levin, for belief, cameraderie, and collaboration. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Flicker Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span><br />
<br />
<br />Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-16184034389114668322015-08-27T16:47:00.001-07:002015-09-22T19:04:02.365-07:00FLICKER STREET - Treatment # 8 - Entangled<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I have returned with more hopelessly convoluted synopses of my Flicker Street Saga. I'm inching towards the main story after these backstories. Prepare for something deeply personal beneath the fantastique....</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment # 8
– Entangled</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This Tangle of Thornes...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As recounted in Treatment #
1: Backstory, three Irish-born siblings were the linchpin of an
organized crime unit in the late 1940s and early 1950s called
Brothers-in-Arms, later known as the Machine. Their enormously
successful organization became the spine of the fledgling Skull
Corporation, when paired with Kong's Black Skull Society.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How three immigrant petty
thieves became the prime movers of arms deals with a postwar
communist country known as Libania boggles the mind. But Kong, as
Bromley Chamberlain, CEO of SkullCorp and also known as Mr. Drang, VP
of 'Special Projects' manipulated them to greatness as it were. He
inspired the Burden ne Brighton brothers to embrace their new
identities as Artemus Calvino, Augustus Breton, and Geoffrey Barton
Thorne. Artemus excelled as a ruthless businessman as well as a
top-notch mercenary. Augustus kept the books and was in charge of
paying the law to look the other way. Geoffrey, fluent in Spanish,
was the go-between to Libania. His heart was never really in it, and
he lost himself in drink and “loose women”. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One thing about the
hardscrabble background of the Thornes was that they were, indeed,
survivors. But the eldest Thorne was even more determined, more
ruthless, in his quest for power. For all it got him, his brethren
ultimately outlived him, though their quality of life was rock bottom
by this time. For some time, the younger siblings felt bullied and
envious of the overbearing and dictatorial Artemus Thorne. Captain
Vargas Llosa was also disgusted with Artemus' never-ending greed, and
his leering after Llosa's wife Carmen. Artemus also fancied the
Llosa's precocious young daughter Marilia. Artemus had his eye fixed
firmly on the barely pubescent girl.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The three disgruntled men
wanted a way out – out of the Machine, Skull, and FOPA forever.
They found an invaluable ally in Dr. Turner Lawton, a somewhat manic
and unstable TSD specialist who had experimented on himself before
his son was born. For all his dangerous traits, Lawton was a true
friend to the three gentlemen, and vowed SkullCorp would fall one
day. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Augustus implored Lawton to
experiment on him with TSD; at first Turner refused, But felt that
maybe with the two of them enhanced they might have a better chance
against SkullCorp. Augustus was injected with TSD in 1956. He felt no
untoward side effects – but when his daughter first opened her
eyes, they briefly flared a deep flaming red. It would be many years
until her eyes burnt so brightly again, but the memory literally
emblazoned on his brain caused him to name her Kendall (i.e.
'kindle'). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Augustus and Vargas
concocted a scheme to rob SkullCorp of $4 million and irreplaceable
paperwork, plus, Lawton insisted, a variety of high-tech gadgets.
They would scatter to the four winds, so to speak, change their
names, and live off of their shares of the pilfered Skull loot. With
the papers, they had much dirt on Skull and could resort to blackmail
were they ever found out.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This was not the devastating
blow the mutinous quartet imagined; it was a mere inconvenience to
Kong. However, the man born Kaosong Qua had photographic memory, and
he let events play out over the years to avenge his, and SkullCorp's
honor, and to eliminate the quartet of traitors.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II. The Grand Plan</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was in late 1947 that the
“grand plan” went forward. Libania was in an upheaval after WWII,
and stocks were down at SkullCorp. This was to last only a short time
however. But the “Four Outsiders” (as they called themselves)
struck while the proverbial iron was scorching, and Kong suffered his
first defeat. This is probably what fueled 40 years of hate that
resulted from the Outsiders' actions.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Artemus Thorne suspected
Vargas Llosa right away, but he had no proof. Artemus sought out
Llosa's wife Carmen Francisco, and murdered her. It is worth
reiterating here that Vargas Llosa boasted quite the pedigree: his
grandparents were Alonzo Llosa and Luna Corvo, the latter the
daughter of the legendary gunfighter Sorrow and his wife Carmelita
Rodriquez. Luna's sister Solita was the mother of the colorful
bandit/ guide Felix Tequila, described further in past chapters.
Felix's daughter Esperance had a son, Diaz Montaldo, b. 1956, who we
shall explore in the some depth in the modern portion of our account.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After Artemus' slaying of
Carmen, he lived out a long-brewing fantasy: Thorne wed the 15
year-old Marillia Llosa, daughter of Carmen and Vargas. Thorne lorded
it over the arms deals and drug smuggling based in Libania, to the
pleasure of Kong and Skull's inner circle.</span> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The 1950s were increasingly
frenzied for the man calling himself Artemus Calvino Thorne. He had a
suspicion that the traitor Vargas Llosa was “hiding in plain sight”
in Hallmark, MA. He confided this to no one. While on his quest to
find Llosa, now going under the guise of a Cuban Catholic professor
named Emilio Florenza, working at Cullen Darby Communal College
(CDCC), Thorne met the stunning and eccentric Paige Bradcroft. He
immediately used his wealth and power to home in on her. She'd
recently had a brief affair with Evan Eloy Queeq “the first American Indian physicist” they called him (take from that what you
will). But Artemus' vast charisma won her over. Theirs was a
whirlwind wedding, and soon after, in 1956, their son, Calvin Artemus
Thorne, was born.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But Paige soon “relapsed”,
and Queeq impregnated her. Sensing this and furious, Artemus filed
for a quick divorce, and “gave” Paige to his best friend John
Paul Fabricand. Artemus had no real ground to stand on, as he was a
bigamist, being married to young Marillia in Libania. John Paul
claimed the son, Kyle, as his own, a Fabricand, but his deeply
Native-American features belied that. Kyle learned of the mystic arts
from his legal father, though he really detested him. In 1962.
Marillia bore Artemus a daughter, Nanda Marillia Thorne, nicknamed
“Nan”. In his travels, Thorne kept his lives in Libania and
Hallmark eons apart. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. Quatros Rebeldes</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so what of the other 'Four Outsiders'? With Queeq's help, the man now known as Emilio Florenza kept his cover, teaching at CDCC and raising a good-sized family. He had married Consuela Diamante, and had four daughters: Carmen, twins Carillia and Carmilla, and the youngest Juliana (born 1968), as well as a son Ricardo, or Ricky, born 1977. Before his death, Artemus Thorne held one last investigation in Hallmark and concluded Florenza was indeed Llosa. He mailed his mysterious findings to a then-unknown party. His foolish return to Hallmark led to his ultimate (and, many would say, well-deserved) demise, though.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dr. Turner Lawton fled to France with his newly-acquired
tech, and soon wed the bohemian Jaresse de Funes. He changed his name
to Danton Lloyd-Langton (after “Llosa-Lawton) and they had a son
Jareth Llloyd-Langton born 1966. Danton became a high school science
teacher, and in 1970 went to Hallmark to help out Emilio. While
there he had an affair with the militant Maya Clancey, a student of Emilio's (and
daughter of Dawn Cheshire and Zachariah Clancey). He returned to France and Trent Clancy
their child was born . Later, Trent went by the name Flint Water. Flint's
brother Jareth was the victim of a nasty divorce in 1982. Lawton took
Jareth to Hallmark and tried to rekindle his romance with Maya. This
rather quickly went south, and Maya did not reveal then that Flint
was Jareth's brother. Despite the risk, Lawton decided to stay in
Hallmark and teach, keeping a low-profile and home schooling his son
for the most part. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Augustus Breton Thorne
retired with his proverbial ill-gotten gains and settled in Arizona.
He took the name David August. He led a simple, quiet life on a farm
with his wife Kim Batten. The two of them did the whole nature thing
– camping, hiking, hydroponics – until their daughter's eyes
flared once then returned to normal. Naming their daughter Kendall
August, the two were happy throughout the 1960s – until Kim died of
cancer in 1973. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The youngest Thorne brother
became Greg Burden once more. He moved to England and wed a Welsh
woman, Ellspeth Gough, in Manchester in 1961. Their daughter Gloria
Erin Burden was born in 1962 in London. When Ellspeth died in 1965,
Greg moved to Montrose IL and wed Miranda Guidrey a biker chick.
Their son Jeremiah Guidrey (name on birth certificate) was born in
1968. The impetuous Miranda was abusive to Greg and abandoned him.
She learned his true name and blackmailed him into letting her split
with Jeremiah while he became a desolate alcoholic and raised Gloria
alone in IL. She renamed her son Jeremiah Thorne and hoped to one day
find Greg's money and secrets. She moved to Hallmark where Skull was
and bided her time. Alas, drugs and prostitution deterred her from
getting far. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paige Bradcroft Thorne
Fabricand finally took her own life in 1974, after learning E was
alive and that she couldn't be with him. Paige and Kyle were living
in NZ at the time. By 1975, Nocturno had had enough after Paige's
fate. Nocturno (Paige's cousin) destroyed Artemus Thorne. Kyle barely escaped his wrath. Calvin, on the move, took odd jobs and occasionally saw his
half-sister Nan, who he dearly loved. He was approached in 1975 by
Ewen Cromwell, who offered to train him. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That same year, in his travels, Cal had assumed the name Brett Thawne and wed a bi-polar junkie called Iris Knarpp (natal name unknown). This disastrous union came to a halt when Cal took up Cromwell's offer. Abandoning his wife and their marriage (which Iris had annulled when she learned "Brett Thawne" never really existed), Cal swore never again to grow intimate with a woman, a vow he upheld for many years. As for Iris Knarpp, she gave birth to Cal's daughter, christened Arletty Thawn, in December of 1975. While his half-brother </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Kyle became a Skull inner
circle member under the tutelage of Donal Rykards, Calvin Thorne
made his debut as the deadliest mercenary this side of his mentor the
Carnifex, and became known as Exterminans, or the Death Walker. His nom de guerre was derived, oddly enough, from an essay he'd read penned by none other than Anton Gamble, whose work, though a bit left-leaning for Cal, had always fascinated him. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In concluding this installment, we must flash forward and alight once more on the year 1987. 40 years
after Quatros Rebeldos, the four men who betrayed Skull, had scattered, they were at last accounted for. And an inferno was on the horizon....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">August 27, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Copyright 2015 George Henry
Smathers Jr.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Special thanx to</span><span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> Thomas S. Davis, whose childhood imagination inspired me to attempt my own original comix stories. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Extra special thanx to Bill White, for giving me the key to return to and inhabit Flicker Street.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: #632035; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: #632035; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: blue;">Flicker Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span></span><br />
<br />Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-27594356052381733782015-06-30T02:09:00.000-07:002015-09-01T14:08:28.457-07:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 7 - Interstice<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This treatment was quite an undertaking. Juggling dozens of characters and plot threads from prior installments led to a rather larger than intended interstice. Still, I think it's successfully wrapped up a first phase, if you will, and subsequent installments should find the world of Flicker Street much easier to digest after these seven initial segments. At least, that's my intention. Enjoy! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment # 7
– Interstice</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWx5JvYy3so5Z3GU-M4vJQlAiRYxpQ3NinfuZnSSXWGgp8zhhm0eutl_LpGjrKwbV0xo2S5pYGfPUHnNnC-t9AMrvT9rWCNPQpTYZQELhzm9x-qHIu1_bsqrQ22VwoZQVOOpP0ugBJ_Z0g/s1600/Kyle+Evan+Fabricand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWx5JvYy3so5Z3GU-M4vJQlAiRYxpQ3NinfuZnSSXWGgp8zhhm0eutl_LpGjrKwbV0xo2S5pYGfPUHnNnC-t9AMrvT9rWCNPQpTYZQELhzm9x-qHIu1_bsqrQ22VwoZQVOOpP0ugBJ_Z0g/s200/Kyle+Evan+Fabricand.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQd70XwGgHOyrZ1XEXq8ft18MKBKUnPkIwD4uNeKU6K9nd4U5SdhL99vZnmcQhWcbuL6gqTQQKvsBEPO6XHSRQaVrL5sF8xQuqpu_saHpEjxIpAV_qZ8ryOKeQTE1owdDWK_5qpsEFjzwf/s1600/Cal+Thorne+-+Death+Walker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQd70XwGgHOyrZ1XEXq8ft18MKBKUnPkIwD4uNeKU6K9nd4U5SdhL99vZnmcQhWcbuL6gqTQQKvsBEPO6XHSRQaVrL5sF8xQuqpu_saHpEjxIpAV_qZ8ryOKeQTE1owdDWK_5qpsEFjzwf/s200/Cal+Thorne+-+Death+Walker.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I. Kanabal Reborn</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gerhardt Vossius had used
Kirsten Roeg in 1949 to attempt freedom and for his own amorous
needs. He soon rejected her and their daughter Jennifer however. In
1959 the one-legged unrepentant cannibal killer began corresponding
with a former teammate from the Silent Seven who'd also fallen far
down on her luck – Felicia McGee. The once stunning, kick ass
crimefighter Crimson Velvet had become a stripper, then a prostitute,
and, at the age of 40, a stag film actress. She formed a sick
attachment to the erstwhile Captain Caliban. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At this point, Gerhardt had
had years to formulate a plan to gain revenge on his many enemies.
Gerhardt once again took advantage of his extremely liberal warden,
Mallard, as he had when he engaged in conjugal visits with Kirsten.
He and Felicia conjugated several times while Vossius was
incarcerated. This led to the 1961 birth of twins Gareb and Luana
Vossius. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The final straw was when
Kanabal escaped from prison in 1962. This was engineered by Kong, who
wished to play Vossius and Ewen Cromwell against each other and
eliminate several of their common enemies at once. Kong put up
Vossius in a filthy hotel, where he began murdering whores and
vagrants and consuming their flesh. His leg grew back, and he grew
incredibly strong and youthful looking for his age (then 58).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kanabal and Carnifex, under
Kong's direction, put together a plan to wipe out the Silent Seven
(all still alive, save honorary member Sorrow), as well as Dawn,
Zachariah, and all of her Clancy children (Gerhardt insisted he get
to know his son Solomon). Felicia feared for her life, and that of
her babies. She resolved to go to Vance Orlison and Gadgeteer V for
help. Before she could act, Carnifex broke into the Clancys' home at
night and butchered Zachariah in front of Dawn and their five
children – though he flashed a large smile at 15 year old Solomon
Vossius. Solomon smiled back shockingly by all accounts. And then
Cromwell took the eldest boy with him. “Your hate can take a most
wondrous shape, tainted blood of my blood”. As per Kong's orders,
Solomon was reunited with his father. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After Felicia's justifiably
hysterical warning, Vance conferred with Cary Bradcroft AKA The
Shadow Baron, while Richter, Sword, and Bradcroft's young charge
Brandon ver Dorn (b, 1937), also known as the Snow Archer (for
reasons that will be made clear in a future treatment), teamed to
rescue Solomon. Months went by, and in 1963, the reluctant allies
Carnifex and Kanabal drew further blood. Vance had been on their
trail for some time and one night the two rogues smashed into his
stately manor. Before Vance could react, Carnifex had dug his blade
deeply into Doc's heart and out the other side. Solomon was again an
accomplice; the sanguinary partners were encouraging the younger
Vossius to follow in their blood-caked footsteps. By this point,
Solomon was already imploring Ewen to train him in all his fighting
skills.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II. The Gauntlet Passed</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dr. Vance Ewen Orlison was
given a heroic funeral; it was densely attended and an extremely
emotional event. “Doc Vance” was considered America's greatest
hero and he was showered in accolades and tears. One man that
attended, the Brit Cary Ashton Bradcroft, the Shadow Baron, owner of
an extremely eccentric curio shoppe on Flicker Street, decided that
enough was indeed enough. SkullCorp had to be destroyed. Cary and his
undead twin Ashton Cary Bradcroft, now known only as Nocturno, took
their long fulminating plans into fruition. As Cary made his way to
their manor to map out the brothers' plans, he was accosted by a
stocky sideburned man in a bomber jacket. He introduced himself as
Captain Thomas Christopher Ledge, a Korean War veteran recently
recruited by the government group REACT. After a fog of doubletalk
emanated from the cocky Capt. Ledge, Cary broke in and pointed out
that the funeral of such a venerated figure as Vance Orlison might
not be the right place or time for “official business”. Ledge
answered, “I was hoping for something more casual myself... maybe
I'm outta line. But lemme share two things, Mr. Bradcroft... first,
not everyone in the upper echelons believed “Doc Vance” was the
good little soldier boy you do... an' two: you're on our list. High.
Good day... we'll be meeting again soon I'm sure”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A brief digression: Thomas
Christopher Ledge was born on April 13, 1929, and was the first-born
son of the man born Kaosong Qua and variously known as Caine Ledge,
Bromley Chamberlaine, Mr. Drang, and others... but self-identified as
... Kong the Claimer. Thomas Ledge is a key player in our account as
future segments will make clear. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In March 1964 (under the
sign of Pisces interestingly), the Aggregate was formed. It was
funded by the Bradcroft Foundation (established 1960) and was
composed at first of surviving, active members of the Silent Seven,
as well as the Shadow Baron, his semi-undead brother Nocturno,
Ursulin, the Snow Archer, and the mysterious Dr. E. who was clad head
to toe in a gold metallic form-fitting armor of sorts. Sword,
Richter, Gadgeteer V, the Kraken, Anton Gamble and Bram Vallard in
his Saturnine ID (he claimed madly that the Apparition was busy on
missions in the Far East) rounded out the team. Sidonie Vossius,
retired as the Duellist, ran Vossius Metalwerks with Andreas, and
they had made the shift in the company's emphasis from munitions to
appliances since their father's death in 1953. The Korean War was the
last war Vossius supplied hardware to.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Aggregate was the
Bradcroft brothers' attempt to consolidate and expand Vance's basic
concept for the Silent Seven but instead of a small unit of
loose-knit vigilantes, the Aggregate was conceived as a larger
umbrella outfit, a haven of sorts, for any specially-talented
individuals who could be coerced into attacking Skull's power-mad
agenda. The eleven founding members were in accord with this
objective. While imprisoned by the Obscuros sect and tortured in
Exodesia, Cary Bradcroft had an epiphany about such a group.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. Prodigies</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before any further
discussion of the Aggregate, we must trip a small bit back in time to
the heyday of Phileas Caleb's vaunted “Operation: Outreach”
program for SkullCorp. We have briefly lit on this brightly-monikered
operation previously, but three key individuals “discovered” by
Caleb as part of this program figure extensively in the early
Aggregate saga. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The foremost of these was
Evan Eloy Queeg, pegged by Caleb as the “first known
Native-American physicist”. Under the direction of Caleb and Donal
Rykards, Queeg was immediately put to work on the new Omegan tech
brought by Ursulin. Queeg's personal philosophies and theories, which
tended to meld quantum physics and Native spirituality, were right in
tune with Omegan (and Piscean) transcendental philosophies. He had
the strongest grasp of Omegan tech of any human outside of Caleb.
Rykards' interest in Queeg's genius marked him as the first human
trial of trans-morphic somatics. Rykards engineered a secret test,
unknown to Kong, to bombard Queeg's mind (even more brilliant than
his own) with the energies later dubbed TSD. This was in 1956, before
the trials were perfected such as the 1963 trial undergone by Orphee
deLander. The result? “Dr. E” as his students called him, died in
a tremendous explosion at the SkullCorp Advanced Sciences Institute
building in Augensburg MA. The entire institute was destroyed,
costing Skull valuable research and employee's lives (though the
latter mattered less to them). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rykards was sent away to
study the alien tech in Asia as his “punishment”. Kong hated him,
but felt him too valuable to sanction. Rykards returned in 1963. In
Hallmark, the Bradcroft twins' cousin Paige Bradcroft was reeling.
She had become emotionally involved with Queeg, and was pregnant with
his child, but this didn't deter Skull's Artemus Thorne, who lusted
for her himself but who magnanimously “gave” her to Smith
Fabricand's son John Paul Fabricand. Paige and John Paul were wed
under duress. Nocturno, an avowed foe of the late Smith Fabricand,
swore John Paul would pay for sullying his cousin.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ursulin, often derisively
called “Captain Omega”, returned to Earth in late 1954 and found
his mother Shun Ti at Feng Qi in China (His father Friedrich
Einnhauser was deceased by this time). He stayed with her for a time in
secrecy, unknown to the likes of Kith and Carnifex. In 1955, she sent
him to find his twin brother, whom he'd never met, Anaximander-Zayan.
Zayan was a drifter, who took a variety of human disguises throughout his long life. Posing as a beatnik named Joel E. Moss, he was overjoyed
to meet his brother. The two became very close, and Ursulin managed
to find work and infiltrate human life in the American South. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The problem Kong and co. had
in 1956 was that they needed Ursulin's help in figuring out what
really happened at the Institute to Dr. E. Paige's child was born
late in the year and was named Kyle Fabricand. Artemus Thorne
murdered John Paul soon thereafter and declared Paige his. He raped
her, and she shamefully married him. Their son Calvin Artemus “Cal”
Thorne was born in 1957.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The brothers Thorne
attempted, with Caleb's help, to find the “rabbit hole” Ursulin's
Pod had vanished into to seek his help. They found a brilliant young
scientist, a prodigy, named Emerson Trent (born in 1937) – who
possessed Dr. E's brilliance at assimilating Ursulin's tech with
Caleb's help. Trent grew up in a shantytown in Kingston, Jamaica; he
was a brilliant scientist, kidnapped and forced to work for SkullCorp
before being “rescued” (i.e. kidnapped again, as he saw it) by
the Aggregate in 1965. Trent had been told his family was dead, and
resigned to toil for good with the Bradcroft Foundation. Trent's
family had also been told that Emerson had perished. Phileas Caleb
orchestrated these deceptions. Trent's half-brother Euphrates
Aquinas Straw was born in 1940, and was brought from Jamaica as
assistant to Trent. Straw was not only brilliant scientifically
(though not on the level of Trent), he possessed many skills,
especially in the martial arts. He was a true polymath. He was
captured and tested (and tortured) by SkullCorp in the mid-60s. It
was hoped by SkullCorp that Straw not survive his ordeal, but it
actually enhanced his already formidable skills. He joined the
Aggregate officially after this, and became a key member for years,
as was his brother.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Trent, Straw, Ursulin, and
Nocturno sought out the vigilante, Snow Archer, in 1961, and soon
discovered he was the well-off and highly intelligent Brandon ver
Dorn. Archer was the first to encounter a reconstituted Queeg, now
composed entirely of explosive plasma energy, who was saved by Trent.
Trent would do all he could for the explosive being that had been
Evan Eloy Queeg. Ver Dorn, in helping Queeg cope with his lost
humanity, made a lifelong friend of the man called Dr. E.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Though the Aggregate was a
secret and closed group from its 1964 foundation, Orphee deLander aka
The Absurd Tentacle learned of it and often was invited to join but
refused unless he could be the leader. The Bradcroft's group then
acquired the brawler, genetically enhanced by his relations to Kong,
named Thomas Ledge, in 1967. Ledge, as stated previously, was a
Korean War veteran and an agent of REACT. He was “assigned” to
the Aggregate, and the Bradcrofts tolerated his presence, feeding
Ledge reams of mis- and disinformation. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In future treatments members
inducted in the late 1960s who do not figure in the mission detailed
in Part V such as recombinants Wurm (Benjamin “Ben” Renova),
Princesa Verde, Heironymous (Dahlia Mueller), and Gullivar (Enos
McClegg) will be covered at length. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IV. The Earth Mother
Revisited</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Zachariah Clancy's hatred
and jealousy of the brothers Stenbrau (Anton Gamble and the Kraken)
had lead to his downfall. He had gone to work for SkullCorp where he
felt he could make a real difference, but he inadvertently learned
that Anton Gamble's warnings were not in vain. He vowed to go public
with his discoveries. Kong brought in Carnifex to assassinate Clancy,
which was Ewen's plan all along anyway. Ewen hardly minded taking the
rap as his hatred of the Vossiuses was legend by now. After Cromwell
slew Clancy, Dawn was threatened by her grandsire that she was next
and should live in fear til the day came. And then Carnifex and
Kanabal took the 15 (going on 16) year old Solomon Vossius and fled,
leaving Dawn, trained from birth to take care of herself, feeling
more helpless than ever. At least her other four children were
unharmed – physically anyway. They all vowed that night that
Cromwell, Vossius, and their own brother would pay. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Kraken, Sword, and the
recent Hallmark-based vigilante Snow Archer (to be explored in future
segments) combined forces to protect Dawn and her family, at Anton
Gamble's and Cary Bradcroft's behest. This was part of an effort on
the Shadow Baron's part to forge a new, stronger team in the wake of
the Silent Seven – a team which he called the Aggregate . </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of Cary's team took a
drastic step in protecting Dawn – Eryk Stenbrau. The Kraken had
been falling deeper and deeper in love with her over the years, and,
placing the Clancy children under the care of Andreas and Sidonie, he
kidnapped Dawn. He was indeed doing this for her ultimate protection,
but no doubt hoped he could mend her broken heart. She thought him a
fool, and by defeating him in combat, proved she could take care of
herself.”But I'm taking care of your whole family. Vance and Cary
will get Solomon back.” Dawn thought Eryk naïve; she knew that
Solomon was simply wishing to follow in his father's reprobate
footsteps. “He belongs with his father; he always has. A mother
knows these things”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But true to form in such
fantastic situations, Dawn grew more attracted to Eryk, and she made
love with him in order to escape. But she had never really loved one
man – she used Gerhardt, used Clancy for status (though she deeply
cared for her family with them), and was now using Eryk's love for
her to escape. And it worked. But, she realized, there was one man
she had come to have genuine feelings for – Eryk's brother, Anton
Gamble. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dawn escaped, and Kraken
followed. She found shelter with an old friend of the Clancys –
Antoine Grimadi, a bi-racial Italian businessman. She knew she was
pregnant with the Kraken's child and when she gave bith, she left the
child with Antoine and his wife Chloe. They raised him as their own,
Germaine Grimaldi, though Dawn had initially named him Luther
Stenbrau. The Kraken tearfully searched for the pregnant Dawn,
rendezvousing with his partner Ian Rhys McGregor. But Ewen Cromwell
had found them first, and swiftly dispatched them both. He fed their
grisly remains to Gerhardt Vossius, who allowed his now 17 year old
son to look on as he feasted on his well-cooked repast. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dawn found Anton Gamble in
France in 1965 and suggest they begin a romance. She took him
completely off-guard. He was the man she's been looking for all these
years, she finally realized. Or was she deluding herself, and
becoming ever the amoral opportunist? Did Ewen Cromwell's blood run a
bit thicker in her veins than she would've liked? Regardless, she
still deserved none of the horrific incidences visited upon her by
her grandfather and by her first husband. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anton and Dawn moved to
Germany, where Anton reverted to his natal name Jakob Stenbrau,and
the two were soon married in Berlin in 1967. They moved into Chateau
Noir (“which they nicknamed Chateau Stenbrau”) , formerly
Richter's German HQ but now considered abandoned,a ruin. Richter
promised the Stenbraus that he would keep them informed of their
enemies – and friends' – whereabouts though they were technically
on the lam. On June 23, 1968, their son, Deric, was born . Gamble/
Stenbrau quit the Aggregate, and was overjoyed, feeling that nothing
and no one could shatter their happiness. He was deluded. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1970, Kanabal and
Carnifex, under Kong's direction, ferreted out the Stenbraus. It
seems that Cary Bradcroft did indeed learn where they were (from
Richter) and he and Nocturno cast a protective spell so they'd not be
found. The Avrils and the Fabricands, supervised by Kong himself,
broke the spell. By this time the 23 year old Solomon Vossius was
undertaking missions with Cromwell and Gerhardt and, encased in a
bizarre S & M outfit – an armor/ latex combo, now called
himself the Tormenter and had acquired a penchant not just for
cannibalism, but rape, torture, and necrophilia. Gerhardt was proud.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">V. Noir Holocaust</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The three perverse banes of
the Stenbraus' existence arrived in May 1970 at the Chateau Noir.
Unfortunately for them, the Bradcrofts sent in a contingent of
Aggregate agents to put a permanent stop to the aforementioned banes.
Carnifex and the Vossiuses planned a swift bloody strike but
unfortunately for them, the Aggregate planned the same. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Carnifex and co. carved
their way into the chateau, but the Stenbraus stood their ground.
They'd been warned mystically by Nocturno, and so gave their child to
their friends the Grimaldis to take care of. The Tormenter jumped the
gun on the raid and leapt onto Dawn, who sent him hurling into a
wall. Kanabal approached Jakob, who he tossed out the first floor
window brutally. That was to be the last anyone saw of Anton Gamble.
Suddenly the roof caved in, courtesy of Thomas Ledge. Ledge pounced
onto Kanabal and then pitched the cannibal through a nearby window,
bellowing, “And you pansies gave the Silent Seven so much trouble?
Whatta joke!”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A volley of arrows
penetrated Carnifex's armor but caused him little pain. Ursulin and
Richter appeared on two sides of the hallway. Both fired their
weapons; Ursulin's maser causing Ewen far more pain. He blindingly
hacked Ursulin's right arm off, ceasing his fire. Saturnine appeared
beside his brother and fired several rounds at Cromwell, who simply
leapt forward and skewered the madman on his blade. Or so it
appeared. “James!!” screamed Richter, who hefted a grenade at
Carnifex point blank and ducked for cover. The explosion rattled
Cromwell, who was then dealt a harsh blow to the kidney by Thomas
Ledge. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Tormenter picked up
Cromwell's heavy blade and hacked at Gadgeteer V. Euphrates Straw
disarmed the young sadist and then knocked Solomon down with several
kung fu moves. Straw helped up Andreas, who was bleeding profusely.
Kanabal came up behind the two like some feral beast, ripped off
Andreas' right arm, and began savagely beating Straw with it. Poised
above a prostrate Straw, Kanabal prepared to do in the young
polymath. But Straw leapt up and kicked him into a back snapping
punch from Ledge. Their personal politics aside, Ledge and Straw made
a superlative fighting team. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When Kanabal rose, Dr. E was
standing before him. While Solomon skewered Andreas Vossius to death
with his own electro-rod, Kanabal clawed at Dr. E's sleek protective
armor, getting closer to its inner layers until E finally cocked his
fist back and planted it square inside Vossius' mouth – snapping
off his teeth (fangs really at this point), rupturing his jaw, and,
with an explosive plasma burst, blasting Gerhardt's skull apart into
so many discreet fragments. Dawn, lying in the corner, smiled, and
tried to get up and over to E for protection when Cromwell
sidestepped her, sword in hand. She attempted to fight him but he
snapped her neck in one stroke. Ewen's lovely, vivacious
granddaughter fell to the ground, her life snuffed by Carnifex. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Where was Anton Gamble in
all this? Several wondered. Saturnine was missing as well, and
Richter raced off to find them. Snow Archer faced down Tormenter,
with Ledge behind him. Straw was mending Ursulin's arm. Brandon ver
Dorn and Solomon Vossius faced off in a brief but tense martial arts
exchange. Ver Dorn clearly had the fighting advantage as Solomon was
still in training. Ledge grabbed Vossius, and screamed, “Hey rough
trade … you think you got what it takes? Fuck YOU!!” and slammed
his spike-helmeted head so hard into the nearest wall Vossius went
out cold. Ledge was then pummeled into the next room by the far
stronger Carnifex. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cromwell turned, and the
wounded Tressilian brothers bombarded him with gunfire. Suddenly an
exploding titanium arrow hit Cromwell square in the mid-spine. As it
exploded, it crunched fragments of Cromwell's spine along with his
armor, mail, muscle and flesh. A fine spray of blood arched through
the air. Dr. E walked up to the faltering Cromwell, and, touching him
on the shoulder, ignited a propulsive explosion that sent Carnifex
into a fit of finest agony as he caught fire, exploded, and went
sailing through the front door, his left leg and right arm snapping
off from the force of the detonation. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He crawled away, bathed in
flame, and Ledge said, “I know he can heal an' all... so where do
you put these creeps when you're done playin' footsie with 'em? If
they survive that is....”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We're... working on
that”, said Ursulin. “Let's take the two with us... I've an idea
you'll quite like, Thomas”. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What about you, buddy?
That arm...”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's... painful, but it
will soon regenerate. All of the regenerative powers found in those
such as Cromwell can be traced, via Exodesia, to Omegan and Piscean
sciences. We are natural regeneraters. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What about Gamble?”
asked Straw. “Did you find him, Richter?”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Non”, said Richter,
“He's completely disappeared. I can't imagine what could have
happened”.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tell you what happened”,
interjected Thomas, “Fuckin' coward's what he was. His wife and gay
buddy are over here dead – where's he?? Hell, his frickin'
arch-enemy got his head blown clean apart – good work, E – an'
“Mister Existentialism” is nowhere - “</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Enough, you foul
bastard,” came the icy tones of Saturnine, who emerged from the
shadows as if from limbo. “Jakob Stenbrau is – was? - more of a
man than you'll ever be with your ludicrous posturing”.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Head case chimes in. Duly
noted”, tossed off Ledge as he lit a cigar.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Straw said, “You are one
cold motherfucker, Ledge – but in a fight you got my grudging
respect”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cause I had your back,
boy - “</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Boy???”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“ <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- an' you mine. Seen a
little combat, you'd know whereof I speak. But you're A-OK with me
Straw.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm so fucking honored,
bigshot – os should I say 'bigot'?”. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ver Dorn, weary of the
exchange, said, “With real leadership – no offense Richter –
this could've been a win-win for us. But we took casualtie. Hard.
Just like when Ian and Eryk bought it. Andreas Gerhardt and this
poor, poor woman, Dawn – they didn't deserve to die. So let's get
their bodies – and these two prisoners – outside. Trent is
rendezvousing in the jet with us – any minute.”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Richter said, “I'm staying
behind, as is my brother. Effective now, we're out of the Aggregate.
For our own reasons. And we would appreciate it if you'd let the
world think Anton Gamble perished today.”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In a way, with Dawn's
death, I'm sure he did”, said ver Dorn. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think we can all
relate”, said Ursulin. “Even Thomas Ledge”, he smiled.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Trent's jet soon touched
down. The deceased and the still unconscious prisoners were all
strapped down. “Been thinkin'” said Ledge as they took off on the
long flight to Hallmark.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yeah”, laughed
Euphrates, “ That must've been a hell of a struggle”.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was, “mon”. I was
thinkin' we should have a set of permanent holding cells for these
assholes when we bag 'em. “</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hardly a new idea among
this group”, Straw cynically replied.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yeah – but we should
call it – the Compound”.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ver Dorn said, “I like
it.”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Back at the chateau, the
brothers Tressilian tended to an old friend, badly wounded, and
awaited medical aid. Their friend began sobbing uncontrollably, “Dawn
– Dawn – I couldn't even save her..”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Richter leaned over his
uncontrollably lachrymose friend, “It's alright, mon ami. The
struggles of Jakob Stenbrau and of Anton Gamble are over. But though
you will soon be a new man, the wounds of past lives will pain you
for some time”, said Richter tenderly to his old comrade.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We're going to invent a
whole new ID for you old friend”, said James, “I came up with the
the name Jason Barlowe. Thoughts?”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I like it”, sobbed
Gamble, “I think I'd like to be a chef. That I haven' done - “</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And just think”,
declared a very animated Saturnine : “'Dead at 52: Anton Gamble,
visionary author of “Distortion”, “Terminus”, “Sacred
Mirrors”, and “The Earth Mother” - a legend in our time taken
far too soon'. Hahahahaha....”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">VI. The Map to Our Sorrows</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Madness is what we thrive on
in these times/ Stretching tendrils to the stars/</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From nearer suns and distant
climes/ It is the map to our sorrows, writ large/ </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A holocaust of our soul/ It
feeds us and it drains us/</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A divine madness lovingly
wrought/ It always will sustain us/</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A broken id/ A carnivale of
illumination</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But in the dark in the pale/
In this twisted shadow nation/</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We merge as we dissolve/ A
voice in mercurial pain/</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Asks us once/ how much of
what we are yet remains?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Excerpted from The Sacred
Mirrors, “The Map to Our Sorrows” from the LP “The Palest
Carnivale”; music: Richard Dannish Bacon/ Zane Whiteside D'Azai;
lyrics: Anton Gamble (Jakob Stenbrau)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">July 1, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Special thanx to my wife Sarah L. Covert. She is my dawn.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Extra special thanx to Thomas S. Davis, whose childhood imagination inspired me to attempt my own original comix stories. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">RIP Christopher Andrew Pack, 1968-2013, a great editor and a great companion. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: blue;">Flicker Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span></span>
Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-9180876718934648992015-06-25T12:40:00.000-07:002015-11-13T14:55:24.185-08:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 6 - Tentacles<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This piece was conceived as the 7th treatment in the series, but can fit just as easily here. What may not congeal for the reader should do so with the next installment, "Interstice", due in early July. In the meantime, enjoy!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment # 6 - Tentacles</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I. The Heir to Richter</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 1955, Kong, posing as Mr.
Drang, a Eurasian businessman, approached a brilliant young artist
and poet living in France called Orphee deLander. Born Orpheus
deLander “Orphee” Rojiczek on July 9, 1929, Orphee was parented
by a ½ Polish, ½ Greek father (Mikos Rojiczek, born 1900) and a
French mother (Collette Bertrand, b. 1911). Orphee's mother Collette
was a Bohemian whose mother Cybelle Bertrand (birthdate unknown) was
a stunning model and a groundbreaking painter in her own right.
Cybelle met Jean Aumont Tressilian, La Comte de Marangais, in 1910 and
they had a brief and intense affair. She was deeply impressed with
his many admirable traits – his keen intellect, his passion for
justice, his steadfastness, his love of art and of animals (he was a
vegetarian who raised a wolf pack as pets) and his formidable
physical prowess. Unfortunately he was too impassioned for the cool
platinum-haired Cybelle, eternally lost in her own reverie. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jean was heartbroken; this
was his first real love. He had spent his childhood and teens tending
to a mentally ill mother, La Comtesse, who demanded he and his
brother James Vallard Tressilian (popularly known as Bramwell "Bram" Vallard) be molded into instruments of
vengeance against their father's killer Luc-Pierre Montreux. In 1912
Jean launched his vendetta against Montreux as the mystery man
Richter, and finally brought down the unscrupulous banker, even
winning the heart of Montreux's daughter Hermione. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Richter wasn't aware he had
a daughter by Cybelle for many years. For Cybelle's part, she raised
her daughter to be the classic free spirit, pursuing art, music, and
love wherever she found these things. The roving businessman Rojiczek
was perhaps a poor tonic for these needs but he gave her a life of
comfort, where she could explore her passions. Their son, Orpheus,
was a peculiar child, even by his mother's jaded standards. He took
the name Orphee deLander at a tender age to record his endless reams
of poetry and sign his crude but expressive artworks. Mikos was less
impressed by his son's “arrested development” than was Collette,
and pressured his son into sports, travel, and business. Orphee
scoffed at all three – his sport was art, his travel inward, his
business simply being. Mikos died of a massive aneurysm when he was
only 40 shortly after a raging attack at his son, whose presence he
could bear no more. His last known words were screeched at a fever
pitch to his son: “Get outside more!!!”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Then his thoroughly narrow
mind just burst, as his son answered, mumbling, “Go inside
more...”, as he shed a single opaque tear. This became his mantra
it seemed. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">II. Distortion</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Fifteen years later,
Collette Bertrand Rojiczek was still her son's most ardent fan and
patron, and was excited when Mr. Drang offered Orphee a job – to
head a publishing/ filmmaking arm of Drang's co. Democorp (a
subsidiary of SkullCorp). Orphee leapt at the chance to create
avant-garde art and get paid for what he was worth (he was in dire
financial shape, as Collette had donated most of Mikos' modest
fortune to charities and used the rest for her and Orphee to travel
Europe and Asia). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But before he even began his
ostensible new career with Democorp, his initiation, as it was, into
the company was via SkullCorp. He came to SkullCorp's main offices in
Hallmark MA in 1955, and began being debriefed on Omega, Pisces, the
Terminus, the Pod, Exodesia... all the secrets Skull was hiding and
that only a handful (Anton Gamble and Cary Bradcroft, to name two)
outside of the Machine knew anything of. At Kong's behest, Orphee was
being tested. DeLander had read Anton Gamble's mind-blowing recent
books and wished to explore Gamble's theories. As a result, he
became, as Gamble before him, a lifelong target of REACT
surveillance. After being debriefed by Drang, Orphee wished to
investigate the legendary ship Terminus. The truth is that “Mr.
Drang” was recruiting for far more than a publishing position while
in France in the mid-1950s. Kong didn't want an artist; he wanted a
first rate spy and a test subject for a whole new platform of human
test trials utilizing Ursulin's purloined Omegan tech. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For eight years Orphee
toiled for Kong/ Drang's company, called the Democorp Artists Refuge
while still based in France, and tried not to let the money and the
secrets sway his work and artistic integrity. Just as Skull wished to
corner the market on cutting edge science and employed headhunters to
seek such talent, so too did they wish to corner the market on
progressive and alternative artforms – be it visual art, film,
literature, or music. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 1963, Orphee moved to the
US to work in a special SkullCorp division. The pay was wonderful,
and Orphee sent his mother money to support her penchant for
traveling and remaining unemployed. To be near the hub of Skull
activities, Orphee settled in Hallmark (the Flicker Street area
proper) with his longtime lover Eugenie Heurtebise, b. 1937, whose
brother, Cloquet, died in 1959, killed by the cops after being
informed on by his American lover, Anne Francesca. A New Wave film
director friend of Orphee's made a fictionalized film about the case
called <i>Asphyxiation</i>. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Orphee was intrigued by the
hard sciences divisions of Skull – he was placed under the auspices
of Donal Rykards – brilliant scientist, hideous human being.
Rykards made it clear to deLander that he was essentially going from
being a publishing magnate to a less-than-human guinea pig in the
eyes of Skull. Orphee was ready, at that point, to transcend his
current existence so why not? After reading Anton Gamble's 1962
dice-up of existentialism and radical physics, “Distortion” (not
a novel about electric guitars as many now assume), he was game. He
asked exactly what he'd be undergoing and even begged the question if
it involved the type of distortion Gamble elucidated on. Rykards
conferred with Phileas Caleb, overseer of all Skull science and tech
(and in the vaunted inner circle that began as the Machine). Caleb
found it amusing and said to Orphee, “There's a drug. LSD. Trial
experiments have been conducted on prisoners and college volunteers
with it. Let's call what we're giving you – TSD. Trans-Somatic
Distortion. Congratulations on your perception. Carry on, Donal.” </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And so Orphee gained access
to (and helped name) TSD – a Skull-funded operation dealing in
genetic experimentation extrapolated from Omegan tech in Hallmark
first in 1956 (when it was called trans-morphic somatics). This was
from the tech Ursulin of Omega Ceti I (derisively called “Captain
Omega”) brought with him in 1951 when his Pod entered Mt. Mosaic
through extradimensional space at a landing now called Terminal
Pointe. It was made clear that the experimentation on deLander could
go on for a few years if Orphee was willing to deal with the results.
What Skull really wanted was a home-grown mutant – they called them
“recombinants” - that was a creation of Omegan science. Orphee
was a perfect genetic subject (there were others lined up; some
argued more perfect) in that genetically, he carried Exodesian blood
– his great-great-great-great-grandfather was the Exodesian priest
Urias, and his eighth great-grandmother was the Exodesian priestess
Alluu, Ewen Cromwell's grandmother. Orphee's grandmother Cybelle Bertrand
surely carried some Exodesian genes to account for her mysterious
longevity. Based on the exploits of his grandfather, Richter and
great-uncle, Bram Vallard, Skull was convinced Orphee had an enormous
genetic destiny. And then there was the seemingly natural causes his
father passed away from. Were they so natural? </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">While in Hallmark, Orphee
had an affair and the woman, Darby Poole (descendant of the Cromwell
party's cabin boy Cullen Darby) became pregnant. Shortly before this,
Orphee became the earliest test subject of a TSD experiment. He felt
guilt, not knowing what would happen to the child, who was born Lars
Poole in 1964. Darby died in the early 1970s and Lars began the long
shuttling between foster homes and orphanages that scarred his young
life. The boy eventually was named a ward of the occultist Cary
Bradcroft, who raised the teen as his own son. But Orphee's
experiment had had a distinct effect on his son's genetic structure.
</span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Orpheus and Eugenie remained
in Hallmark ostensibly because Orphee's brother, Bertrand Rojiczek
(b. 1937) lived there. Bertrand was a keyboardist in an up-and-coming
doomy psychedelic band, The Sacred Mirrors, formed in 1966, whose
lineup was: Richard “Dannish” Bacon, on vocals; Locke (Juve
Dugas), Belgian bassist and agent of Phileas Caleb; Zane D'Azai,
guitarist/ hippie burnout; and redneck drummer Butch Blanton (born
1949 in Hallmark's “mill town”, Augensburg MA). The couple hung
out with the band and met their friends: the man who called himself
Graven Idyll (Arliss Gordon Cope), a radical black militant who
inspired Orpheus; Hyacinthe (Cynthia Gauvin; Orphee became very
attracted to her [she called him “My Land”]); and Fiora Charme
(Emily Duncan), who came on the scene as the childhood sweetheart of
Dannish but, after he brutally dumped her she wed Bertrand, though
she is also in love with Cope. In 1970 Richard Dannish “RD”
Rojiczek was born to Bertrand and Fiora. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">III. Tendrils</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Orphee opted to remain in
Hallmark not solely because of his brother, but also he was “drafted”
by SkullCorp to be a full-time agent in MA. This brought him full
circle back in contact with TSD. He finally obtained clearance in
1969 to undergo a much more intense TSD experiment than he had taken
part in six years earlier. He decided to split with Eugenie at this
point lest something else happen to a child of his. Impulsively,
however, the amative deLander bedded the seductive Hyacinthe. Their
child, Etienne Rojiczek, was to be born in 1970. He married her
shortly thereafter. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Orphee's second TSD
experiment was conducted by Rykards and Caleb together. After this
experiment Orphee began to explore the extent of the physical and
psychokinetic abilities he acquired via TSD. He became one of the
most powerful products of Skull's riffs on Omegan technology. The
TSD-induced transformation changed him physically – he became
stronger, leaner, hairless, with dark translucent skin. One could
see hints of his musculature and nervous system writhing under his
flesh, and his eyes became blackened opaque pools. When he cried his
tears were red. He could discharge and manipulate undulating waves of
psychokinetic (or “PK”) energy. He called these his tentacles,
and soon Rykards was referring to him disparagingly as the “Absurd
Tentacle”. The name stuck, despite Orphee's distaste of it.
Finally, one other ability he gained was the ability to take on any
physical form for lengthy periods of time – a technique of disguise
inherent in Omegans and Pisceans alike. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Orphee visited Terminal
Pointe MA at Mt Mosaic, where the Pod was drawn into our world in
1951. At Terminal Pointe, he met with the Pod's pilot Ursulin, who
agreed to help him master his abilities, and swore to bring in
someone far more powerful to help as well – Nocturno, the undead
man formerly known as Ashton Bradcroft. Despite his disdain for
corporations, Orphee accepted some help from Renova, Inc., who Cary
Bradcroft accused of trying to exploit the Tentacle. DeLander quit
SkullCorp for good upon learning of their true nature and plans from
the Bradcrofts – things he'd suspected for years but was biding his
time (a true Cancerian), using Skull for power as they used him as a
guinea pig.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">IV. Honor</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">By 1971, the Absurd
Tentacle's dominating personality was overpowering Hyacinthe. He
became drawn to Nocturno's homonculi daughter Silent Indigo, whose
origins will be chronicled in an upcoming treatment. They had a passion
beyond human erotic experience, resulting in an offspring named
Honor, b. 1973. Hyacinthe filed for divorce from the Tentacle, and
afterward he and Silent Indigo continued their affair and decided to
raise their child together. Nocturno had other plans. Indigo had
betrayed Nocturno to Kong, and so he “unmade” her alchemically.
Orphee swore revenge and left hallmark for a time, deciding that the
“so-called forces of good (Nocturno) and evil (Kong) are more alike
than they they pretend”. Orphee turned young Honor over to
Hyacinthe (now going by her natal name, Cynthia Gauvin) to raise. She
had remarried one Phillip Parlington, whose name Honor took. For
years Phil was the only father Honor knew, though Phil and Cynthia
Parlington divorced when Honor was still young. Hyacinthe was also
raising her son Etienne Rojiczek, and he saw Honor as a little
sister. She was hypersensitive, sharing her father's birthday, and
Etienne was always there to protect her – or tried to be. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After the 1980 divorce from
Phil, Cynthia took Honor and Etienne away to a new house and became
paranoid and besieged by LSD flashbacks. She had many emotional
problems and she sheltered Honor to an unhealthy degree. Honor's 1<sup>st</sup>
attempt to break free was when she grew infatuated with Jesputh Avril
(grandson of SkullCorp co-founder and dark occultist Keegan Avril) in
1984. She had gone by Honor Parlington for years, but at Jesputh's
urging, took the name Honor Bradcroft, after Ashton Bradcroft
(Nocturno), her grandfather. Part of Jesputh's interest in Honor was
in her latent magickal energy – and the Bradcroft fortune.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cynthia remarried again, in
1985, to Brandon ver Dorn aka Snow Archer (b. 1937), an ally of
Nocturno's; his ID was known to his wife but not her children.
Brandon was the great-grandson of ambrosius ver Dorn, the chief
bankroller of the Cromwell party of 1886. Brandon and Cynthia had a
daughter, Quill, b. 1988. By this time, Honor was a mess. Brandon and
Etienne both tried to help her, but she detached herself. She trusted
Phil Parlington, her adopted father – a huge mistake as he raped
her in 1990. Jesputh was her idealized dream man who would take her
away from all this, but he merely wanted sex and prestige from her,
and let their friendship dissolve when it looked like she was no easy
lay. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Neither Etienne nor Honor
saw their father for a long time. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">V. Apocrypha</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Absurd Tentacle appeared
in Hallmark throughout the 1970s, helping spark a new
counter-cultural revolution (sometimes derisively called “Terminal
Culture” after the ship that brought the knowledge that started it
all). In the mid-70s he reunited with Heurtebise and they finally
wed, spawning a daughter, Cejour deLander, in 1975. By this time,
Bertrand and Fiora had a daughter, Collette, and had separated. Fiora
roamed free for a while, having an intermittent love affair with
Arliss Gordon Cope that spawned Collias Cope. Bertrand raised his two
children, RD and Collette, alone. We shall revisit this branch of the
Rojiczeks (and Etienne) further along in our treatment. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The deLanders decamped to
England at the end of the 1970s and the Absurd Tentacle and his
family basked in a younger crowd's attention. Cejour grew up much
like her grandmother and great-grandmother – a true willful free
spirit. Orphee wondered if his daughter would bear the marks of his
post-human transformation in any way. DeLander became friends with a
small cadre of telepathic recombinants – hardcore punks Kelvin
Mallory, his sister Fallon Mallory AKA “Mal Black”, and Mal's
best friend, a pre-teen Japanese girl Miya saito, whose nom de plume
was “Mia Zero”. Orphee also became close friends with Oblidiah Trent, AKA Ras Free Man (b. 1957), a young Jamaican reggae musician who was spending a few years in England touring and recording but mostly just plotting vengeance for Phileas Caleb's murder of Trent's brilliant father Emerson Trent, who Caleb used as surely as he had Zachariah Clancy in Phileas' "outreach" program. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Orphee also befriended the
African-American detective Cotton Suede (b. Pauline Cutler, 1954),
who'd been sent by mysterious parties to ferret out the Tentacle and
return him to America. She ran afoul of his “bodyguard” who
looked out for his extended family when he couldn't – a deadly
martial artist called Luna Sumatra. Orphee's charm and charisma soon
had them all getting along and sharing a commune with his
grandmother, Cybelle, who was as youthful as when Richter first lost
his heart to her 70 years earlier. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In an odd set of
circumstances, Orphee deLander simply disappeared in 1980. Some say
the parties that sent Cotton to trail the Tentacle eventually assured
his demise; some pointed to suicide; some say he faked his death and
assumed a brand new ID (things he could easily do). Some say his
power finally overwhelmed him and he simply dissolved away, a soul
too fragile for this world. That last scenario is the one he likely
would've found the most amusing. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He left behind a thriving
organization, Coventry Expeditions (originally deLander Unltd), to an
inscrutable young man known only as Randell Coventry, who became the
Absurd Tentacle's final disciple. Eugenie and Cejour returned to
Hallmark in 1981 and Cejour and her cousin Collette became best
friends and drifted into the goth and punk scene at a very young age
in the late 1980s. By this time the secrets of Randell Coventry if
not the ultimate fate of Orphee deLander had unraveled. These secrets
will be explored in depth further along in this narrative. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">June 25, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: blue;">Flicker Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span></span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-154199596018235462015-06-24T06:22:00.000-07:002015-06-24T06:27:56.619-07:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 5 - Paroxysms<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This may be the final dispatch for a short while as I work on another article and prepare to move. The armored gentleman below, The Tormenter, does appear in this installment, albeit as a child. More on him soon. Enjoy!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvjDt55Br7yTNdB4jDLI5guoyrUfWQB57pCxcYbSf5msS0PaIxhRSB19kVF9D7v0tkLjFKvsidy8eun4HrBt6PCl9dLSopfQIwqBk-fD-62Adf49dMpHj97pKla6IcUJnseaZPBCLkyHj/s1600/Tormenter+-+Solomon+Vossius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvjDt55Br7yTNdB4jDLI5guoyrUfWQB57pCxcYbSf5msS0PaIxhRSB19kVF9D7v0tkLjFKvsidy8eun4HrBt6PCl9dLSopfQIwqBk-fD-62Adf49dMpHj97pKla6IcUJnseaZPBCLkyHj/s400/Tormenter+-+Solomon+Vossius.jpg" width="321" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment # 5
– Paroxysms</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I. Sheba Rising</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Among the more horrid
attributes of the already proven thief/ rapist/ assassin Ewen
Cromwell the Carnifex was his virulent racism, which surfaced with a
vengeance when one of his many illegitimate daughters, Sheba Cheshire
(born 1900), had a passionate affair with an African man – and not
just any African man – but Abassi M'Nali Mathabane AKA Kith. Ewen
had an affair with Sheba's mother, Morrigan, during a mission in
Ireland in 1899. Unlike the vast majority of women Carnifex had
sexual congress with, this was not a rape. He actually had genuine
feelings for Morrigan. Hence his psychotic over-protective attitude
towards their daughter. He would visit Morrigan and Sheba
periodically through the years, though World War I was a challenging
time for a mercenary. Sheba shocked her mother when she informed her
that not only did she know her father's profession, she wished to
become a professional killer as well. Morrigan thought her daughter
was insane, but Sheba had inherited his father's leonine grace, raw
strength, athleticism, and rapid healing process. She insisted in
training with any kind of weapon she could get her hand on. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1919, Ewen gave in to his
daughter's burning curiosity and thirst for blood. When they left
Ireland for Asia, Morrigan killed herself. The Carnifex never looked
back. But his daughter was his obsession for a time – the only
person he'd cared for since he was a boy. Hence he entrusted her with
the one woman he knew could mentor her, care for her, and temper her
increasing excesses. This was the woman called Shun Ti, with whom
Cromwell had trained from 1872-1887. Shun Ti had needed a challenge
then after giving up her twin sons, the Omegan-raised Ursulin and the
Piscean-reared Anaximander-Zayan. Calming the raging beast Carnifex
was beyond anyone's capabilities as an instructor, it seemed. Beyond
Shun Ti, however, of all the Naodai AKA the Tamerlane Overlords, one
man commanded Carnifex's respect – the man called Kith. There was
only one problem; Ewen would never yield to a black man, even in
training. But perhaps, 22 years later, Ewen could muster the patience
to let his daughter train under Kith and to contain and direct her
dark impulses. Shun Ti favored this scenario. But she foresaw what
could happen even before it did, such was her Omegan intuition. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For Kith's part, he had not
been with a woman in decades, instead honing his chi energy at Feng
Qi with the Naodai, who he hoped to lead should anything happen to
Shun Ti. But still, he loved Shun Ti as a mother. She even revealed
her true nature as Ish the Omegan to her pupil. Kith forged of Sheba
a formidable force in all too few years. Inevitably, an attraction
grew, and Sheba gave herself to Kith as she had to no man before. Ere
long, Sheba was with child, and it was only a matter of time before
the baleful Ewen learned all. When he did, he challenged Kith, and
the two dueled – it was a close match – one called off by Shun
Ti. “The child to be deserves a family – and the dawn of a new
reasoning between us all”. Ewen contained himself. Sheba chose not
to wed Kith, though he offered, but Sheba did recall her mistress'
words, and called her daughter Dawn Lee Cheshire (born 1927). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shun Ti offered to raise
Dawn at Feng Qi. Sheba, now a mother, was more uncertain than ever as
to how to channel her destructive tendencies. During a walk by the
ocean when Dawn was one, Sheba resolved to smash the infant's skull
open upon the rocks. But Kith had been following her, and saved his
daughter. Sheba declared them finished, though he deeply professed
his love for her. She was leaving Feng Qi to train alongside her
father and become the deadliest killer the world had ever known. And
leave she did, and with Ewen, who could barely contain his rage at
the ebon-skinned man he felt had tainted his sacrosanct offspring. He
vowed Kith would die an exquisitely painful death. But for now, Kith
had an infant to raise – just when he was making connections that
would further his projected rise to power. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the 1930s Sheba Cheshire
became a first rate femme fatale and distaff assassin. With her
father becoming embroiled in ever more conflicts, Sheba learned how
to handle herself, to recruit, to train – but always with “daddy”'s
ultimate approval. She clashed, at one time or another, with all of
the Silent Seven, excepting Gadgeteer V and Captain Caliban. The
Saturnine nearly killed her, but this, oddly, turned her on, and for
a time she bedeviled him to no avail. Sheba was bi-sexual and was
drawn to Crimson Velvet (Felicia McGee). The two finally consummated
their affair but Crimson tried to strangle her afterwards. Sheba got
away and vowed never to bed a mystery woman again.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1938, Sheba was finally
caught and sent to prison by Eryk Stenrau, the Kraken, a man she was
both attracted to for his intellect and his superior martial arts
prowess. She was sentenced to death, though the Kraken himself plead
her case. By this time, her father was ensconced in the jungles of
Libania, lording it over a cannibal tribe and awaiting the
Orlison-Vossius expedition to the Holy Ziggurat. This has been much
discussed previously. Suffice to say, the government watchdog group
REACT took away Carnifex where, at least for a time, he could harm no
one else. In his healing agony, though, his heart rent over his
daughter's passing. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II. Then Came Dawn....</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dawn Lee Cheshire was 11
years old when her mother was finally apprehended and punished. Shun
Ti and Kith began training Dawn at a young age, though not to be a
killer. Shun Ti taught Dawn the co-mingled Omegan and Piscean
disciplines that she and her great love Friedrich Einnhauser
(Asenath-Zayan) learned together in the preparation for their mission
to Earth in 1823. Throughout World War II, Dawn was kept safe with
Shun Ti and Kith at Feng Qi, mastering all that she was taught. In
1946, she wished to go to America. Kith, in disguise, took her to
Hallmark, drawn as he was (and so many were) to Mt. Mosaic. Kith had
had brushes with the Silent Seven in the 1930s but took a perverse
pleasure in walking unaccosted in their city. He also wondered if
their views on race were any more advanced than that of barbarians
such as Carnifex, or, indeed, most of the Caucasian world. In Asia
during the war jingoism was the standard, but in America, blacks
still seemed to instill the most fear in whites. Kith's resentment
over his tenure as a slave had hardly dimmed with time. But with
Sheba... it seemed, for a brief moment, that things could be
different. He wanted this for Dawn as well. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dawn was a stunning mixture
of racial characteristics. Even hardcore racists gasped when she
walked by. But the man who caught the shy 18 year old's eye was
Gerhardt Vossius, characterized in those days as “the most eligible
bachelor in Hallmark MA”. His legal brother Andreas was gay, and
assumed Gerhardt was as well. Gerhardt had had a kinky affair with
Felicia McGee in the 1930s but soon discarded her. Now she made a
living as a stripper. His secretary Kirsten Roeg was infatuated with
him, but he hardly noticed her. In general, the sullen millionaire/
ex-adventurer was by nature a loner... until Dawn's soft dark eyes
fell upon him. Kith, a master of disguise, posed as (what else?) her
father and called himself by his real name (unknown to all his
enemies). He called Dawn Lee Cheshire Dawn Mathabane. Kith did not
want to be the cracked mirror image of Ewen Cromwell when it came to
his daughter and so allowed her to date Gerhardt – chaperoned until
she turned 19. Vossius offered Mathabane a lucrative job at Vossius,
a pencil pusher job, insulting to his intellect, but the pay was
spectacular. He took this guise for a few months, evading recognition
by those of the Silent Seven that might drop by, such as Doc Vance;
and contending with patronizing jabs by his co-workers, who called
him “coffee boy”. He was ready to leave America after all this,
until Dawn announced her engagement to Vossius!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kith saw this as a good
subversive move though. He would return to Feng Qi after the wedding
(scheduled for July 1947) and Dawn could be his spy. She was already
vastly trained in subterfuge, self-defense, and arts and sciences far
beyond the cretins who called him “coffee boy”, beyond even
Gerhardt Vossius. She cared deeply for Gerhardt but was admittedly
seduced by the “high life”, regardless of the racism she endured.
She agreed to use Gerhardt for what she could and report all to her
father. His infiltration of Vossius Metalwerks would play right into
his existing plans as the Machine developed. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. Kanabal Unveiled</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the wedding all was going
well, with all of Vossius' partners in the Silent Seven in
attendance, as well as Isaak Vossius and luminaries such as the De
Ruyters, the ver Dorns, the Van Hokes, the Renovas, the Paiges, the
Darbys, the Palmers, and other prominent Hallmark families. Some
members of each family opted not to attend, mortified by the
interracial wedding. But this was to be expected in blue blood 1947.
Kith gave away his daughter, and as it seemed no one would speak now
or forever hold their peace (and dozens almost did), Dawn and
Gerhardt were declared husband and wife. Always one to be late, but
always one to make a grand entrance, into the church came crashing –
Carnifex! Doc Vance, though hopelessly outclassed, stepped forward,
though his former group had few if any weapons on them – save for
Ian McGregor. “Let me finish what should've been done eight years
ago!” he spat at Cromwell, who unsheathed his own fearsome blade,
which he'd somehow regained since the Libanian debacle. He deflected
Ian's thrusts, knocking him back and turning to address Dawn. “You!
I can tell you already bear the seed of this bastard of Jerissen –
do you even know your child won't be human? Mixed race all around...”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kith's eyes flared with
power. Ewen admonished him: “Simmer down, African. Worry not; I
disavow this granddaughter borne of miscegenist folly, but more – I
part with a wedding gift. The truth. I've spent the last seven years
trying to learn just what happened that day in 1939, and what
Deomond's words meant. The human monster we sought wasn't quite human
after all – not quite many things – a hero, a philanthropist, an
Exodesian bastard. He's what Exodesians call hasslichen – what
Native Americans call wendigo. Their power is sustained by eating the
flesh of their own kind. So, “Doc”, your precious brother, your
mystery man Captain Caliban.... how obvious did it need be!??” Ewen
laughed heartily, then spun once more towards his granddaughter,
“your husband, you dirty black whore, Gerhardt Vossius – is
Kanabal!!”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gerhardt was already fleeing
the church, as it seemed all but fainting society wives and a
crumpled heart-shattered girl called Dawn were left behind. Gerhardt
was fast – faster than his half-brother realized. He must've eaten
already, thought Doc, and the image repulsed him. Carnifex smashed
through the church windows to see Gerhardt already in his car, and
taking off. Save he wasn't alone. He'd grabbed a woman, Olivia Palmer
de Ruyter, wife of the criminal Anon., now incarcerated for life. She
felt she shouldn't be judgmental about the wedding as many were. She
was regretting her decision, as, while he drove, Kanabal was
literally ripping her apart and devouring her alive to gain strength.
As she expired, so did Gerhardt's windshield – beneath the weight
of Carnifex.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With his sword he smashed
the hood into a shrieking metal pulp. The car upended, penning
Vossius beneath. But Kanabal flung the car's debris far down the
street and charged at Cromwell. Cromwell sliced off Gerhardt's right
leg with one smooth stroke, and spat on him, exclaiming, “ See if
you can do what I did.... but... just in case... you have three more
limbs to practice with....”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cromwell! Enough!!”
cried Kith from about a foot behind him. “this has gone on enough.
You'll never atone for your barbarism no matter how many Vossiuses
you bring down.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Careful, Mathabane –
your daughter is one now – and is carrying its vile turpitude.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With that, Carnifex sprang
for the nearest darkened alley. None could find him, though the
police certainly tried. None tried harder than Doc Vance – whose
brother, all along, had been his greatest, most mysterious foe. Even
Bram Vallard, who was as one with shadow, had no luck. Gerhardt
Vossius was imprisoned for life but never regrew his leg. But then,
he never had much chance to consume human flesh either.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Vance invited Dawn into the
family, and she agreed to remain in Hallmark and have her child –
she hoped it'd be a son so she could call him Solomon. She prayed
he'd have the wisdom that eluded three generations of Cheshire women.
Vance bade farewell to Kith but mentioned that he had hired a
brilliant black lab technician, Zachariah Clancy, at ORDER
Enterprises, who he would nurture despite rampant racism, and,
hopefully, if all went well, perhaps Dawn would be open to a date
with the young man. Kith was pleased, as much as he could be, and he
and Doc shook hands uncomfortably.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A bizarre but key wrinkle in
the tale of Gerhardt Vossius should be noted here. Vossius' long-time
secretary Kirsten Roeg began visiting Vossius in prison and writing
him daily. It seems she had been silently pining away for him for
years but never made her feelings for him known. She tried everything
to get his case appealed, working with a famed criminal lawyer Hephel
Kryle, whose father had also been an attorney of note (and a
criminal). But it was no use. It was enough that an insanity plea
kept the erstwhile Captain Caliban off of death row and in prison for
life. But Vossius did have an incredibly liberal warden during this
period, one that could also be bribed for the right amount by Miss
Roeg. This led to a brief series of conjugal visits between Vossius
and Kirsten. Kirsten wanted nothing more than Vossius' child, if she
couldn't secure his freedom. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so, on September 15,
1949, Jennifer Roeg entered the world. Her birth certificate read
father: Gerhardt Vossius. Kirsten stayed in touch with the baby's
father throughout the 1950s, though he stopped writing her and
refused her visits once it was clear she couldn't get him released.
The final fate of this branch of the Vossius clan shall be revealed
further along in this narrative. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IV. The Earth Mother</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Solomon Vossius was born in
November 1947 and, indeed, it was only a matter of time before Dawn
wed Zachariah Clancy, and their first born daughter, Artemis Morrigan
Clancy, was born in late 1948. Both of the brothers Stenbrau were a
bit crushed by the whirlwind romance between Zachariah and the
recently divorced Dawn Vossius. Anton Gamble was becoming a cult
writer of moderate success, mainly penning science fiction but on
occasion texts on existentialism and mysticism. His 1948 book, “The
Piscean Myth?”, recounting his views on what he saw in Libania in
1939, sold poorly but immediately placed him under lifelong scrutiny
by REACT. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gamble and his brother Eryk
Stenbrau were both enchanted by Dawn Lee Cheshire Vossius Clancy, and
she considered them dear friends, but her heart belonged to her new
husband. Neither Eryk nor Anton ever broached the subject of their
feelings with anyone but each other, nor, though Dawn suspected, did
she ever confront them. But Clancy suspected. But he remained civil,
if aloof, with the brothers. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1950, the Clancys' second
daughter Maya Marie Clancy was born. Doc Vance was true to his word
that Zachariah would advance at ORDER Enterprises, despite much
jealousy and backbiting hurled Clancy's way. In 1953, the Clancys had
their first son, Oswin Juan Clancy, and in 1955, Hannibal Orrin
Clancy was born. Solomon never got along with his younger
half-siblings. He constantly bullied and tormented them. He had
inherited his father's sadistic streak, no doubt; though no one then
could foresee how far that vicious streak would extend. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Despite the time and
environment in which they raised their family, the Clancys managed to
prosper. They became Hallmark's first truly affluent African-American
family. But two things marred their happiness, and it wasn't the
racism directed at them that caused these traumas. First of all, as
noted, Solomon Vossius was a true problem child, and he began acting
out at home and at school at an extremely young age. In 1960, Solomon
nearly beat a white boy to death, claiming the boy was a racist
bully. In truth, Solomon learned how to handle himself with racist
children when he was a small child, never letting them get over on
him or win a fight. But now he had taken things to a horrid extreme,
as the attack was unprovoked in any way. Vance recommended several
child psychologists for the boy, but none could crack his steely
veneer, which only grew worse as he entered his pre-teens. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The greatest threat to the
Clancys however was from without, not within, and it came from a man
called Phileas Caleb. Caleb had noted Clancy's scientific genius for
some time; Caleb was a “headhunter” of sorts for SkullCorp. He
and his partner, the somewhat misanthropic Donal Rykards, scoured the
world for budding scientific talent. Age, race, nationality – all
mattered naught to the pair, as Skull was eager to harvest genius
wherever it presented itself. So many young people were able to gain
scholarships to study with and work for SkullCorp that would normally
never have such opportunity. Skull was seen a progressive leader in
education and prosperity, and President John F Kennedy even awarded a
special congressional medal to the company, as accepted by CEO
Bromley Chamberlain. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Zachariah Clancy and Vance
Orlison had become close friends over the years, and Clancy wished to
remain loyal to Vance. But Orlison desired what was best ultimately
for the family, and encouraged Zachariah to take a coveted position
at SkullCorp – one where Zachariah could, under Caleb's aegis,
oversee and train a host of young lab technicians in cutting edge
areas of technology. The Clancys' own children, with the exception of
Solomon, were performing at very high levels in school, and Zachariah
didn't want any of them held back by issues of their race or gender.
Before Clancy could take the position, however, he was given
unsolicited advice from Anton Gamble. By this time (1961), Gamble's
work was being hailed as visionary in some circles; in others he was
debunked as a paranoid crank. Zachariah held little stock in Gamble's
theories, though if Clancy did make it to SkullCorp, he would see
that much of what Gamble professed was true. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gamble warned Clancy that
SkullCorp was a sham, a pernicious entity whose sole goal was power –
that the young talent being mined by Skull were going to be exploited
and discarded. Clancy felt Gamble was indeed paranoid, and more,
jealous of Clancy's success. And of his wife. Clancy pushed Gamble
physically back and informed him he'd known for years that the
Stenbraus wanted Dawn – but they lost out. Zachariah pointed out
that Gamble's most recent book “The Earth Mother” was an ode to
Gamble's unrequited lust for Dawn. Gamble admitted Clancy was right
but that didn't justify ignoring warnings about Skull. He encouraged
Zachariah to talk to Eryk, but also others who knew far more than he
did about the things he was trying to make Clancy aware of. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Who?”, spat Clancy,
“Your 'alien informant' “Captain Omega”? Your friend Bradcroft
who peddles occult curios on Flicker Street?? What a joke!”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do you mean to tell me
Vance Orlison doesn't ever wonder about Skull?” asked Anton.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Vance is a great man, a
great hero – unlike you and your pathetic brother – and he's seen
a lot of strange things. But he's pragmatic, a sound thinker. You're
just a lunatic – a beatnik hack with a thing for sisters. Go peddle
it somewhere else, “Jakob Stenbrau” - I'm not buying”.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But you're selling, man –
a piece of your soul – and your family's.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Zachariah was by nature a
pacifist and so he contained his indignation at this remark and
merely walked away. </span>
</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What he was walking into
will concern us shortly...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: #632035; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">June 24, 2015</span></span><br />
<br style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: #632035; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Flicker Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-17719182571843858822015-06-23T00:02:00.000-07:002015-06-24T21:14:59.403-07:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 4 - Apogee & Perigee<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Continuing the convoluted FLICKER STREET backstory. Prepare for a savage pulp holocaust, as our beleagured heroes (and villains) face certain death in a South American jungle where life as we know it began for some .... and may end for all! The entrancing beauty pictured here doesn't appear in the story, alas... well, obliquely she does.... Enjoy!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment # 4
– Apogee & Perigee </span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I. Gleaning the Ziggurat</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With basically all of
Vossius Metalwerks as collateral, and generous contributions from
ORDER Enterprises, Renova Inc., and the Paige Foundation, the Silent
Seven (plus their eighth “silent partner”, Captain Caliban, who
also brought back Sword and Richter for this mission of missions)
embarked on their massive expedition to Libania in 1939. This was no
horse and buggy poor mans' army as was the case in 1818 and 1868. The
Libanian government gave their full cooperation, though the
Serafinians did not. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Serafinians had a long
cultural memory. They knew the cover story for the real founding of
Hallmark: Dutch and South Africans (with Jerissen posing as one) led
by the Cromwell Party supposedly struck riches at Mt. Mosaic . This
they did, but it was not their true purpose. The Serafinians were a
deeply spiritual people, primitive by Libanian standards. Some
ghoulish pundits even speculated that Serafinians still practiced
tribal cannibalism.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thus the Serafinians
disputed the ostensible purpose for the Ziggurat expedition: that it
was simply an archaeological exploration and unearthing of riches and
natural resources (And indeed Vance was, among many other things, an
archaeologist, and Gerhardt a metallurgist and anthropologist). The
Seven enlisted two guides: the Libanian who colorfully called himself
“Felix Tequila” (born Jorge Maroto Jr), and a Serafinian, Mokae.
Feliz was the grandson of the legendary couple Carmelita Rodriquez
and her husband the master gunfighter Sorrow (grandson of Urias and
great-grandson of Carnifex). Vance Orlison felt guilt at deceiving
their guides and the Libanians that followed them, but he had to be
sure who he could trust with the Piscean secrets. He dreaded that his
father Jerissen or Urias would make an appearance at such a
well-publicized expedition. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What the party did not know
is that they were being stalked – predictably – by Carnifex, who,
months early in anticipation, had set himself up as a godlike
chieftain to a primitive tribe that neighbored the Serafinians. This
tribe, the Yashaharo, did indeed practice cannibalism and other
brutal rites. Carnifex was fascinated by artifacts he found with the
Yashaharo. After mastering somewhat their language Cromwell discerned
that the objects had belonged to another white man they adopted and
who also became their leader - Kanabal. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chastened by the loyalty of
his tribe, and feeling he was closer to Kanabal's roots than Vance
ever was, Carnifex planned an elaborate attack – to strafe and raze
to the ground Serafinia and attack the Seven head on, alone. Perhaps
he was a bit mad by this time. But Cromwell had no notion that he
himself was the prey this time. The Yashaharo betrayed him, and their
real leader revealed himself – a tall, impossibly muscled golden
skinned man with long dreaded copper hair and emerald green eyes. As
he sank beneath the weight of Yashaharo bodies, he cried,
“Kanabal???”. The imposing figure, silhouetted in the flame of
Cromwell's throne of human bones, merely shook his head and smiled.
And then was gone. For a few moments at least. As he turned, Ewen
recognized an Exodesian symbol on the cloak of the golden man.
Carnifex passed out then, the first time in centuries.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When he awoke, Cromwell was
in a narrow and deep pit. He could almost leap to the aperture above
with his formidable strength but … not quite. The golden man,
crouched at the pit's orifice, taunted Carnifex. He knew far too much
about Ewen for Ewen's liking. Finally, Carnifex dug his bleeding
hands into the stony walls and crawled out. He rolled over, prepared
to battle, though his weapons had been confiscated. He knew he was a
match for this Exodesian cur. But in one blinding swoop, the “cur”
caught Cromwell in a half nelson, and snapped Cromwell's back so
loudly the Yashaharo stilled their tribal drumming for a few seconds,
then resumed their war dirge. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ewen's body was hurled away
like useless flotsam; he landed atop a huge felled tree and lay
paralyzed,spitting up mass amounts of blood and gore. “You've never
felt what your victims feel... I hope you're taking all this in,”
smirked Ewen's conqueror. “Shall I call over some of the tribe to
gang sodomize you so you'll feel an inkling of the anguish you've
plied on the victims of your lust over the centuries??” He laughed.
“Even I haven't the stomach for that I'm afraid but you do – if I
let you keep your stomach...”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You're as much monster as
I – a cannibal that devours their victims while they yet live... I
know all about you Kanabal..”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You think me Kanabal? You
are amusing... cur. Kanabal is a rogue, a transgressor... he has no
more place among the Yashaharo than among Exodesians.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So you are an –
Exodesian?” Ewen could scarcely breath and his throat was filled
with coagulating plasma. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course – Deomond,
the most powerful but who remains wisely in shadow save when needed.
My brother is High Priest of the Obscuros – Alataris; my father
Priest Lord Praven of Exodesia.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So Jer- Jer-”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No need to struggle with
the math as you heal, poor human. Jerissen and Urias are my nephews,
yes, hence the two leaders of this expedition are my great-nephews.
You might even have encountered Urias' long-lived grandson Alexei
Corvo – had you made it that far.” </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Without ceremony, Deomond
hefted Ewen's massive frame off the tree and to the ground, then
stated, “I know you Carnifex. Once I was - almost – like you.
But I know you are no Exodesian. Your father was half-Exodesian; you
are mostly human. But extremely long lived and with amazing
regenerative abilities – even beyond some Exodesians. That is your
gift. This - “, he tore Ewen's right hand from the socket and
discarded it. “ - mine. My strength cannot be equaled, not that I
don't crave the challenge. Perhaps the Yashaharo will enjoy a snack.
What next? An eye? Your endlessly bragging tongue?”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Deomond stood to his full
eight feet. “Now go, I weary of you. You're a hard conquest but not
hard enough”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ewen spat blood at Deomond,
and curses as well. “I'll – I'll -”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know. A familiar
mantra. I think you're in shock. Now – GO”. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can't – walk, you...
steaming pile of excrement”. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then …. and let me say
this no more – lest that sodomy threat becomes all too real –
then CRAWL!!”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And for the first time in
centuries, Ewen Cromwell crawled, his body slowly, agonizingly
knitting itself back together. He crawled through the woods of
Serafina, making sure to avoid the sounds of the people of the
village. He feared the cannibals he'd lorded it over devouring him in
his current state.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II. Pulp Apocalypse</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over the next weeks the
Seven (or ten) toiled to finish their expedition. Deep in the
caverns, at last, they found him – the legendary Piscean pilot
PH'NATH. He was buried, as if a king, with animals sacred to the
Serafinians and the Yashaharo. The furthest the 1868 expedition got
was a chamber above the antechamber adjoining PH'NATH's burial
palace. When Orlison and Vossius smashed into the antechamber, Felix
Tequila hugged tightly Mokae. These two supposed enemies began crying
and, in Felix's case, swigging back his namesake beverage. “What's
going on here?' Richter demanded. Mokae answered, “I'm not Mokae,
fellas. Matter of fact, I'm family. Your cousin as a matter of fact.
And this mystery's been rattlin' me for some 60 years.” The middle
aged man pulled off his long grey wig and hat and scarf. “Name's
Sorrow... when it needs to be”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After all the fantastic
adventures of the twenties and thirties, in a world on the brink of
war, seemingly all of the Silent Seven (number be damned) felt a
sense of wonder, of true discovery. They were the fruit of another
race, but now they confronted those who planted the seeds. Even in
death, this tableaux held immense awe for these very special
individuals. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Suddenly, from above,
gunshots were heard. The group scrambled to the top. Crimson Velvet
and Felix, the lookouts, claimed a huge man was shambling towards
them, crushing Libanian soldiers and resisting bullets due to a heavy
armor. “Cromwell!” cried Sword. The group swiftly made their way
topside, which was exhausting but just as well as Cromwell was barely
standing when they set eyes on him. Delusional, he screamed, “You
want to eat me... sodomize me.... what? Here's my other hand... oh,
it's full at the moment.” He was holding Felix Tequila by the
throat. He'd also managed to strap on a gun belt and two daggers
prior to the Libanians firing on him. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sorrow spoke loudly over the
chaos, “Let's do this right, great-grandpa... me an' you, a duel at
dawn... near PH'NATH's grave... Ain't it perfect?”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You... idiot”, mumbled
Ewen Cromwell as he crushed Felix Tequila's windpipe. The once always
animated Libanian fell to the ground, another pile of rubbish beneath
Carnifex's bloodstained boots. Ewen yammered, as shock rippled
through the Seven, “Look at this.... a stub!! How can I be a
proper-like gunfighter with this??”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sorrow answered, “One on
one, Cromwell...me and you. Now.”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ian Rhys McGregor shouted,
“I can take him now; don't do this Corvo!”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Grandfather!" implored Richter.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sorrow”, said Alexei as
he easily outdrew and pumped six bullets into the already gore-soaked
Carnifex. They were exploding bullets as well, so Cromwell was bit
twice by the same vermin as Sorrow was fond of saying.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before anyone could react,
the one-handed Carnifex drew and shot Sorrow in the heart
three times. As his blood painted the air, he gasped, “98 years...
not.. tooo.. bad a … ru...”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By this time McGregor was on
Cromwell with his blades, further carving the already ravaged man
whose blood he wished he'd not share. But he'd spill as much as he
could this day. Cromwell punched Sword once in the gut and Ian flew
into a nearby jeep. Crimson Velvet caught his legs with her whip
while Richter emptied several rounds into him. Cromwell toppled and
didn't move. Gerhardt oddly held back but Vance grabbed Cromwell by
the face and punched him so hard his own hand broke. But Cromwell
fell.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyone for torture”,
joked a misty-eyed Gadgeteer V as Sidonie screamed, “Get Up... get
up!!!!” To all's amazement, Ewen stirred. Andreas stabbed him in
the side with a very long needle that emitted a very deadly
electrical display. Everything was foggy for Ewen Cromwell then. His
body was struggling to heal . He began to stagger towards the jeep
where Ian was out cold. “NOOOO!!” Screamed Sidonie, and she never
screamed in vain or for cheap histrionics. She leaped in the way of
Ewen and his sword-swinging descendant and recalled for a brief
second when Ian first called her the Duellist and gave her the cutlas
carved from a meteorite. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Off came Cromwell's “good”
arm. He dove face down to the mud, his blood pooling around him.
Felicia was deeply shaken, as were they all to varying degrees. “What
do we do now?”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Vance answered, “we bury
our dead, we make arrangements to take the burial chamber back, and
we wow the world... at what cost though. Lord...”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And him?” </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We leave him here. The
Serafinians are coming. The Yashaharo have been roused. Maybe they'll
eat him... what's left anyway.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A clean cut lad of perhaps
25 whose only evidence he'd made his way to the Libanian holy village
was a drop or two of mud on his pristine slacks appeared. “We've
got it chief. This was a REACT sanctioned operation – not the
private expedition you blue bloods thought. You can bury your
friends; they're natives, but the Ziggurat and everything inside –
and what's left of this man here – are ours. Any resistance will be
seen as an act of treason against Allied forces – and we are on the
cusp of war from the swords – pardon – I hear rattling”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It took all Doc had to not
splatter this dandy's face across the tundra. He had to contain the
throbbing in his temples. Almost as an aside, Gerhardt caught the
man's eye. “Mr. Vossius – you do great work for our troops. Keep
grindin' 'em out. By the way, I love that little necklace you have
on. Familiar somehow.” </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hmm. Don't see how. It's
older than your grandfather I'm sure”. And that was about as
animated as the “new reformed Captain Caliban” behaved from the
time Cromwell appeared, much to Vance's chagrin. Perhaps his brother
hadn't changed... </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The chaos resolved itself,
the REACT team took it all and two heroic men – Felix Tequila, and
his grandfather, the seemingly immortal Sorrow, were given funerals
worthy of the greatest Libanian heroes. And so, the Seven had been
stalked after all, not by Jerissen or Urias, but by Carnifex and
(fortunately) Deomond, and, with incredible stealth, by a nascent US
government organization that we will revisit many a time in this
narrative – REACT.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. REACT</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">REACT (originally “Reaction
Enforcement Alliance for Counter-Threats”; as of 1968 “REactionary
Agency for Counter-Terrorism”) was created, originally, as a high
alert intelligence gathering/ information clearing house in
anticipation of the Allied forces' entry into WWII. The events in
Libania completely altered the scope of the organization. While an
organization such as OSS was a wartime intelligence apparatus that
morphed after World War II into the CIA, REACT's goals crystallized
rather quickly. Intelligence on the alleged presence of non-human
races and tech on Earth had been gathered for several years, however
crudely. But the very publicly reported Libanian expedition forced
facts into the light that begged corroboration. And the most
perplexing item was that FDR himself ordered the Seven to retire
their vigilantism and concentrate on the domestic war effort, or,
were they so inclined, to enlist in the armed forces. As any such
organization with a shred of integrity and who espoused the freedoms
the war was ostensibly being fought for, they nearly all retired
their masked personae. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sword and Richter returned
to their native countries. Isaak Vossius formally adopted Sidonie,
and she and her half-brother Andreas bonded. She knew the torment he
was going through being a closeted gay man in the macho US political
clime. Gerhardt saw the losses he suffered as a result of the
expedition easily reverse themselves. War is big business, and
someone's blood is always pumping those iron cannon shells that
Vossius made its millions off of in the first war. Felicia McGee
retired; she ended up as an “exotic dancer”. Anton Gamble became
a controversial author and his brother Eryk Stenbrau enlisted in the
military, where he endured much anti-German sentiment. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Only “Doc Vance” and the
man born James Vallard Tressilian remained engaged in the war effort
but on their own terms. REACT “deputized” Vance Orlison, and he
fought saboteurs and axis madmen all through the war. The mysterious
Tressilian embarked on black ops missions for the Allies, though
occasionally would find himself working the other team, as it were.
Much more mercurial than his brother, who was a tremendous aid to the
French resistance, the Apparition was his own man, first and
foremost, and took orders from no one. Only occasionally did the
Saturnine emerge and dispense his sense of justice, though usually in
urban settings and not so much in America. Bram Vallard, as he most
preferred to be called, may've been insane, so he jested, but he was
no fool...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To close on REACT for now,
it will become apparent that REACT and its most denounced foes after
the war were inextricably linked; ostensibly enemies but deeply in
bed together. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This echoes the OSS' use of
Nazi fugitives to help build the CIA, or Werner von Braun being the
head honcho of American rocket technology. But not all heroes
subscribed to this “necessary evil”, and fought to cease the
pandemic of duelling ideologies being really just a Janus coin...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">June 23, 2015</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Flicker Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-21722860162653160022015-06-19T18:13:00.002-07:002015-09-03T21:56:34.326-07:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 3 - Arcs<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so continues the back story of FLICKER STREET. Enjoy!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET Treatment #
3: Arcs</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I. Twilight of the Pulps</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To constitute an actual
seventh member roster of the Silent Seven, as Saturnine and
Apparition were in fact one man, Doc Vance and Richter drafted in a
young girl (17) named Felicia McGee, who wore a red luminescent
form-fitting uniform as Crimson Velvet. Her weapon of choice was a
whip, though she also wielded a mean stiletto. She was an amazing
fighter, and asked each of the group to train her further as she was
eager to learn. They soon found out that she was an escapee from an
orphanage where she was sexually abused. Gerhardt Vossius took an
immediate interest in her, which did not bode well. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was around this time that
Sidonie Van Kant, the Duellist, was revealed to be the daughter of
Isaak Vossius and one Gretel Van Kant – hence an heir to Vossius
Metalwerks and half-sister of Andreas Vossius – Gadgeteer V. She
bore no blood relation to Gerhardt Vossius, the head of the
corporation of his (legal) father. The ailing Isaak grew more and
more disenchanted with his “son”'s decadence and squandering of
the Vossius fortune. Andreas was the legitimate heir but was immersed
in his crimefighting and research as Gadgeteer V. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As the 1930s waned, great
fortune (though not financial) came to the Silent Seven. They had
managed to break apart Boston Haverty's massive racketeering mob. The
man called Anon., was revealed to be none other than Hallmark founder
Ananias de Ruyter's son Victor – a chief heir to ORDER Enterprises.
Soon, in 1937, new blood infused the team. Sword and Richter both
took leave of absences to Europe, but were ably replaced by two new
young mystery men on the scene, filling the quota of seven members.
Ascendant chairman (once again) Doc Vance welcomed a protege of his,
Jakob Stenbrau, a second generation German immigrant who fought crime
(and wrote books) under the persona of Anton Gamble. Gamble, like
Orlison, was something of a polymath, and penned endless tracts of
visionary existentialist thought. And he could hold his own in
combat. As could his brother Eryk, the other new member, who operated
under the name the Kraken, after his favorite mythological beast. The
Kraken wore a special jet pack that could convert to a submersible
tank, and he plied the Stasis ray gun, which could paralyze his foes
for short bursts. He was also an amazing aficionado of mixed martial
arts.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Only the vile Kanabal eluded
the group among their local foes. In
1938, Vance was given a proposal by his half-brother Gerhardt.
Gerhardt would take a huge risk to the Vossius corporation and fund
not only an all-out nationwide manhunt for the cannibal-at-large but
also he would fund the ultimate expedition to the Holy Ziggurat. He
knew he was disappointing their dying father, and wished to atone.
Vance, for all his misgivings, placed his trust in his brother but
elicited the one condition Vance knew Gerhardt would place on the
arrangement. “Let me be – the silent partner – yours
specifically – to the Silent Seven. I have the skills and talents
of our father; it is time I turned them to good. I wish to emulate
you – to know what it is to be – a hero”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What
would you call yourself?”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You,
my brother are superego, the superman – I am id, wild, perfectly
able to mete out justice as the Saturnine. I was inspired by
Shakespeare – were Will a pulp scribe. Call me – Captain Caliban”.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Brilliant!”
replied Vance.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so the grand adventure
of 1939 awaited the Silent Seven as Doc Vance prepared his ultimate
excavation of the Piscean ruins at the Libanian Ziggurat. It was to
be their last grand adventure as a team, though hardly the most
intense drama they were to experience, especially as they knew
Kanabal awaited them in Hallmark. But before the career of the Silent
Seven draws to a close, first we must pole vault time and space and
reveal another chapter in the lives of one of our key players. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II. The Man Who Would Be
Kong</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As of 1931, The man born
Caine Ledge had now learned at least some of his true heritage. The
woman he now knew as his grandmother, Shun Ti, guided him through
Feng Qi and the secrets of the Tamerlane Overlords. She also explained
his genetic heritage. In 1900, Caine Ledge's father Sun-Kao Qua
dallied with a Swiss maiden, Ingeborg Olaus, but apparently discarded
her when he learned she was pregnant. Shun Ti made it possible for
her to get to America, where, on the plane, she met salesman Richard
Ledge, who was immediately smitten with her. They were soon wed, and Ingeborg Olaus became known as Inga Ledge. She gave birth to Caine in 1901,
but Richard soon proved cold, conservative, repressed yet sexually
demanding. As discussed elsewhere, Caine's long journey to his
destiny was finally at least partially fulfilled upon meeting his
biological father, who impressed him no more than did Richard Ledge, and his grandmother, who he began to hold great reverence for. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kaosong Qua, to use his
birth name, studied the co-mingled knowledge of Omega Ceti I and
Pisces, which were pooled when Einnhauser and Shun Ti trained
together for their mission. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shun Ti's training came
easily, and the man who now chose to call himself “Kong” mastered
arcane Piscean rites and thaumaturgy and Omegan technology and
sciences. The combination of the disciplines of the warring races in
the hands of Kong was what set him apart – on a plane with the
Exodesians.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But many within the
Tamerlane Overlord circle, including even Sun-Kao, resented this
exceptional outsider and his access to their most vaunted secrets.
Many attempts were made on Kong's life, but he survived; his
attackers rarely did. Kong was no longer the easy prey he could have
been upon his arduous trek to Feng Qi. The day came, in 1935, when
Kong challenged his own duplicitous father – and cut him down
savagely. The years of abuse and uncertainty as to who he was and
where he belonged exploded. It was decided, against Shun Ti's will by
the Overlords that Kong learn the full truth about Ingeborg Olaus. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kong learned from brigands
in the circle that, though his biological father was now deceased,
Sun-Kao's mistress ran his affairs. Unsure what to expect, he was
floored when the woman he recalled as “Inga Ledge”, was now
confronting him as Ingeborg Olaus, and, alongside her, her young son
Coyle, who had taken the name Einnhauser, after his own biological
father.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Caine soon learned that his
real parents met while in the service of Urias, an Exodesian wielder
of magick. Ingeborg told him he was of the house of Tamerlane and
could claim that name as well. She told him his destiny as leader of
a Pan-Asian group, the Hei Naodai (“Black Skull”). </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Kong ruminated on this, not
admitting that Shun Ti had told him she assembled the fragments of
the Naodai herself when she came to China. Ingeborg admitted that the
Tamerlane clan had killed Richard, and she offered to supervise Kong's training in the skills of the Tamerlane Overlords – martial arts,
alchemy, magicks. She knew that he was already Shun Ti's most outstanding pupil but felt he was not prepared for a meeting with the
infamous thaumaturge Urias. Shun Ti ostensibly obliged Ingeborg all
of this, though she truly believed Olaus and her son Coyle were
power-mad fools far out of their depth. Ingeborg was deluded in that
she felt as soon as Urias was back from his world-spanning travels,
he would be hers. Rather than endure being wrong, she took her own
life while he was gone, leaving Coyle in the care of his father's
lover Shun Ti.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1937, Kong at last met
Urias, who was in dire shape after a recent defeat at the hands of
his uncle, Deomond, the most powerful living Exodesian. Urias put Tsun-lun Liao (“The Claimer”) in
charge of Kong's training. Kith (Abassi M' Nali Mathabane) became
Kong's new spiritual mentor. Kong, now accepted by the Tamerlanes,
rallied them, intrigued by Sun-Kao's dream of Pan-Asian unity.
Sun-Kao's father had led Hei Naodai (Black Skull Society), which was
founded by a Japanese, Norumori, in the late 19<sup>th</sup> century.
This man deliberately chose Chinese characters in naming the society,
which rejected Nipponese nationalism. Kith was a co-founder – a
black African slave trained by the Tamerlanes and later by samurai
in Japan. By 1950, Kith was a formidable mystic, on par with Urias,
and he had gleaned the secrets of never aging – which Shun Ti had
taught Kong. Kith became known as the "Black Tamerlane". Shun Ti and young Coyle took a break from the building
intrigue, though the bi-racial boy Coyle harbored his own dark dreams
– dreams only suspected by his brother Kong, who defeated Tsun-Lun
in fair non-lethal combat and hence was known as Kong the Claimer.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. Skull Ascendant</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wartime was Kong's time to
forge a master plan. He learned that Urias had, through proxy, many
wartime industrial interests in the US, and that “the
Machine” was run by the following: two of Urias' mystical disciples
(Smith Fabricand and Keegan Avril); two young scientific prodigies:
Phileas Caleb and Donal Rykards; Kith himself; and three businessman/
grifter brothers, the Thornes (Artemus, Augustus, and Geoffrey, who
had only recently made their way into the inner circle). The three
brothers' company was known originally as Brothers-in-Arms, and
supplied arms to the chaotic political clime in Libania and its
neighboring country Serafina. Kaosong Qua resolved to join, subvert,
and control the Thornes' company. Brothers-in-Arms had its hands in
many pies, crooked and straight, but Kaosong had many ideas how to
improve and boost the company to the top, such as merging the Naodai,
the Machine, and the Thornes' South American interests into one
massive cartel with the company's new name, SkullCorp as the
figurehead. He recruited Capt. Vargas Llosa, a shrewd young captain
in the Libanian revolutionary army and close friends with the younger
two Thornes, to mobilize FOPA (roughly in English, “Freedom of the
People's Army”) as the muscle for black ops. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kong told Urias he wanted
in, but in a quiet fashion. Urias hasn't the stomach for business
anyway and steps back, remaining on the board. Based on his
proposals, Kaosong Qua is voted head of the company. For a time, it
seems as though there may indeed be honour among thieves, but in the
years that follow, the worm will turn. One skill Liao the Claimer
helped Qua master was a mastery of disguise, for which Kong had some
predisposition due to his grandmother's genetic structure. For the
board vote and onward, in the company, Kong will be known as Bromley
Chamberlain except to the board, who knows him as “Mr. Drang”.
Few on the board, Urias and Kith particularly, know Kong's true
nature. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Skull's board coalesced in
1951, when Kong's brother Coyle joined as an intern. Also that year,
there was a paradigm shift regarding the Omegans. Kong realized that
Urias' driving force with the Machine was the plundering of Omegan,
Piscean, and Exodesian knowledge in order to subjugate the earth.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IV. Omega Rising</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But in 1951, a crucial event
transpired. Urias learned that a spacecraft was being pulled
interdimensionally to Earth – to Mt. Mosaic. This ship was known
only as the Pod, a small ship captained by Ursulin, young son of
Shun Ti and Friedrich Einnhauser, from the world Omega Ceti I .The pilot, nicknamed “Captain Omega”, is disingenuously greeted
by Urias and Bromley Chamberlain. The good-natured, almost naïve,
Ursulin, was there to share his technology and Urias engaged him with
trips to Exodesia and to the Black Skull Society (formerly
Tamerlane) stronghold (which Tsun-Lun Liao, as per their honorable
battle, ran for Kong). Was this to be the latest wrinkle in the
tentative treaties between races?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rykards and Caleb
immediately begin synthesizing the Omegan tech that they have
newfound access to. The inner circle wondered why the Omegans had chosen now to unlock for a chosen few the secrets men have spent
millenia trying to divine from Mt. Mosaic? Did it have something to
do with Shun Ti/ Ish? Was it a trap of sorts? Nonetheless, the man
known as Kong/ Bromley Chamberlain/ Mr. Drang saw an oportunity and
seized it – a seemingly innocuous shift in the Machine. He
officially decided to change the name and look of the company to the
public. He called the company “SkullCorp” and designed for Skull
a distinctive, albeit exotic, symbol/ logo. He folded the Omegan
characters for “chaos” and “song” into a stylized skull
designed in Exodesia. The result was the SkullCorp logo. Thus, in
1951, SkullCorp proper was unveiled to the world, which, alas, was
never to be remotely the same.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Three years on (1954), Kong
controlled a small but expanding business/ criminal empire; was a
master of martial arts and of mystic arts; was an unparalleled master
of disguise; and had the intelligence to absorb even more knowledge
at a staggering rate, making his knowledge of science – Omegan,
Piscean, and Exodesian alike – unparallelled. He decided the Black
Skull Society – some of whom were his cousins – would be his
personal fighting force, once he took care of Liao, who he'd wearied
of. And he had an army in South America, training towards their
inscrutable “revolution”, under Vargas Llosa, agent and friend of
the the business geniuses the Thornes. His blueprint for world
domination was seemingly unopposed. But only seemingly.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, the
once-naive Ursulin learned he'd been used, and learned to what
extent. He vowed to bring down SkullCorp, even though he had no
allies on his native world or on his currently adopted one. So he
soared away, alone and afraid back into a dimensional rift such as
the one he emerged from (called a “rabbit hole” by Phileas Caleb,
who had an immense crush on the captain). This was in 1954. Urias had
had enough of Kong, and sought to take the company by proxy. Kong
confronted him in an all-out battle for supremacy. The student
outstripped the teacher, however. Licking his considerable wounds,
Urias, a proud priest of the Exodesian clan the Obscuros for three
centuries, boiled with rage but accepted Kong's offer to remain with
SkullCorp, but only if he could do his work back in Exodesia.
Magnanimously, Kong's accepted his offer as his only other plans for
Urias were slow torture and death. Kong also slew Tsun-lun the former
Claimer in short order, leaving his wife a widow and four sons bereft
of a father. Kong was to destroy many families in his life. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kong then let the Thornes
handle most of the business; Phileas Caleb and Donal Rykards the
science; Fabricand and Avril the occult studies, and Kith lead the
Hei Naodai. Urias was to keep his people in check, and was liaison to
Exodesia. Kong was unchallenged, though the remnants of the Silent
Seven, after the debacle at the Ziggurat, swore the Exodesians and
their allies would fall. It would take a stranger to Hallmark to put
into motion a true fight for the fate of Earth – a man called Cary
Bradcroft, who came to live in Hallmark in 1956 and was also known –
as the Shadow Baron.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">June 19, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Flicker Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-89406882118123429112015-06-16T00:32:00.000-07:002015-07-01T11:49:47.403-07:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 2: Tangents<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here is my Flicker Street treatment, part 2. Though I envisioned it to be twice as long and to be dubbed "Arcs & Tangents", the pulp era proved too rich a vein to mine and so must be concluded in a third treatment - one that will pick up many threads from the Backstory treatment. Afterwards, there will follow the Flicker Street saga as set in the modern day (1987-2016), which is where the main story unfolds. Perhaps the backstories will enhance one's appreciation of the more modern material or perhaps the richness of it will boil down to rife self-indulgence on the part of the author. Whatever the case, I obviously enjoy playing in this vast toybox - regardless of era, character, or genre. Hopefully you will find some joy in it as well.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Treatment # 2. Tangents
</span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVNxj-Em_QVmKNeqBiRFcIB_tVqsE5oHQ5fFNVcivFeU6ZA2BFkavBPK4PFCitPzCb6cX-R89NqZM6JPCm-gDIIc79xbniaz3PwL4XXewKLRLfQW5BoCn9hlvsp_VDfFkv_UmqDXHKVMf/s1600/Sword0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVNxj-Em_QVmKNeqBiRFcIB_tVqsE5oHQ5fFNVcivFeU6ZA2BFkavBPK4PFCitPzCb6cX-R89NqZM6JPCm-gDIIc79xbniaz3PwL4XXewKLRLfQW5BoCn9hlvsp_VDfFkv_UmqDXHKVMf/s200/Sword0002.jpg" width="141" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioe-eSEGltrWh6P0coR74B-1f1r8F01JRMaI2v_bhNAN1ik_oapKGzYroxoOdlNfpsh67z7e1RX6N8JuiAtupVernwg0JyyB2ZXSW9xGTq9Bt8gMgDXk-Y0DuHJIo9KSGRo69vRRA9YqSe/s1600/Kracken+%2528Eryk+Stenbrau%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioe-eSEGltrWh6P0coR74B-1f1r8F01JRMaI2v_bhNAN1ik_oapKGzYroxoOdlNfpsh67z7e1RX6N8JuiAtupVernwg0JyyB2ZXSW9xGTq9Bt8gMgDXk-Y0DuHJIo9KSGRo69vRRA9YqSe/s200/Kracken+%2528Eryk+Stenbrau%2529.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I. The First Men of Mystery</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As Hallmark established
itself financially, socially, industrially, crime was bound to
surface. The first vigilante in Hallmark's Victorian era was a
mystery man known as A Man Called Sword, or Sword. Sword was the kind
of mythic figure celebrated like the legendary gunfighters Mercy and
Sorrow. Sword was born Ian Rhys McGregor, date unknown (some claim as
far back as 1857, though he looked no more than a hale 30 in his
first sightings in 1914). Some later speculated that he was an
offspring of Carnifex or of an Exodesian. He wielded an enchanted
rapier that could appear or disappear at his whim, and was quite the
swashbuckler. Some rumoured that he trained under the Tamerlane
Overlords themselves, but his martial arts skills were perfunctory;
he had an altogether original fighting style, more like a buccaneer,
but did incorporate some wu xia techniques.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In Europe, the first real
hero to aid the masses and crusade for justice was the mysterious
Richter (born 1892). Richter was at first a loner, but resolved to
seek out other such individuals over the years and band together to
aid a planet being plunged into world war. Richter's story began in
1912, as he used his interesting talents to avenge himself on the man
who killed his father. He was torn as to whether to slay the man or
not, but the felon, Luc-Pierre Montreux, was slain by another's hand.
Richter was not above killing, but preferred to capture and torture
his victims psychologically. He also commanded a loyal pack of
ravenous wolves that served to terrorize his foes. Richter lived by
his own strict moral code and was unfaltering. It was quite an
adjustment working with other so-called heroes, but it was soon
apparent he had quite the gift for leadership.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="widows: 1;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">An
interesting fact about these two earliest of modern vigilantes is
their bond by blood. Ian McGregor was indeed older than he appeared;
he was, in fact, the great-uncle of the man called Richter, born Jean
Aumont Tressilian. And both men carried the blood of Exodesia in
their veins. This convoluted circumstance dated to the days of
another ambitious party to find unusual and perhaps lucrative relics
– the 1868 journey to the Holy Ziggurat in Libania, untaken by a
retinue of gunfighters and sordid hangers-on. As in the later
expedition to Mt. Mosaic, the journey to plunder the Holy Ziggurat
was undertaken by Jerissen of Exodesia.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="widows: 1;">
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="widows: 1;">
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II.
A Fistful of Digressions </span>
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="widows: 1;">
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="widows: 1;">
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jerissen's
younger brother, the priest Urias, had attempted to crack the
Ziggurat in Libania in 1818, and was thwarted by Carnifex, with whom
he had a bizarre dynamic. Sometimes Cromwell would work for Urias,
sometimes they would partner, but, often, they were at odds. In 1818,
in Libania, their relationship fell under the latter of these
categories. Cromwell, with his then-current lover, the Scottish Betsy
McGregor, and their daughter Stavia (allegedly Ewen's mother's name)
and their guide, Jacinto Fuentes, made their way to the Ziggurat's
upper steppes – only to find Urias awaiting them, mocking Ewen in
believing Ewen could trick the mage. Urias told Ewen he could have
the riches inside if he were to surrender his daughter to Urias. Ewen
unhesitatingly agreed, though knowing there'd be a catch, he
proffered, “What of the wench with you?”, meaning Francesca
Corvo, young daughter of Urias' guide, Pietro Corvo. Urias forced
Pietro to go along with the trade, but alas for Cromwell, Urias had
already impregnated Francesca. Urias took Stavia and unleashed his
power on Ewen. Their battle laid waste several of the Ziggurat's
steppes, and killed Jacinto Fuentes, whose family cursed the two men
should they ever return. A draw, the battle ended with the Exodesian
and the seemingly immortal barbarian vowing to meet again in this
spot in 50 years (the significance of this date unknown to all but
them apparently). </span>
</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so in 1868, Ewen
Cromwell returned, full bore, with Jerissen by his side. He noted
that Jerissen's brother, the “spoiler of daughters”, Urias (a
hypocritical epithet from Ewen surely) was nowhere to be found.
Before anyone could embark on the Ziggurat, Cromwell was corrected –
Urias was well represented – by his and Francesca Corvo's 49-year
old son Franciscus, of smooth bronzened skin that belied its years of
hard work. Franciscus' allies were choice: first, his wife: Lily
Runningwater, a sultry carmine-coloured beauty brandishing an
intimidating blade (who Carnifex found oddly familiar); then, the
dread half-breed gunfighter Sorrow, unchallenged in 5 states thus far
and only 28 years old, though he appeared no more than 21 save for
the deep creases beneath his eyes, which he hid beneath the brim of a
fantastically long-brimmed hat. Sorrow was accompanied by his wife
Carmelita, also a deadly sure shot. And then came Mercy, another
half-Indian (rumored to be Sorrow's half-brother, though the two were
constantly on opposing sides in some adventure or another), who toted
a full-blown Gatling gun and spoke little, chomping constantly on his
cheroot.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mercy”, mused
Cromwell... “I can smell my own. You're a Mercer. I had a Mercer
wench once – Edith – back in France. You wouldn't be a spawn of
her son Louis would you?”.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mercy retorted, “Louis was
my grandfather. But I feel your days of whoring are done Cromwell.
Your bastards aren't too fond of you these days”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh, and what of Stavia's
child by Jerissen's brother? Jerissen, do you think we'll meet your
nephew today?”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm young”, called a
voice in a rich Scots brogue, “... in body. But I'm Franciscus'
age. I'm your precious grandson, you bastard.” </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Is this it? Am I to die
today?? Where the omens and premonitions Jerissen? Are we taking this
mountain and its Piscean wreck or not???”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A battle ensued, needless to
say. Jerissen made his way up the ziggurat as Ewen deflected bullets
and blades. Until Jerissen reached the top steppe. There a shadowed
figure, long katana in hand, leapt in his way. “Ah, my wife”,
cried out Mercy, “meet the Lady Ronin”. Who promptly sliced off
both of Jerissen's arms. Suffice to say, the Exodesian and his
barbaric accomplice didn't make it into the ziggurat that day. Which
only fuelled Cromwell's frenzy to penetrate Mt. Mosaic.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The coterie of gunfighters,
adventurers, and Libanians (and Libanian adventurers) owing their
blood and preternatural abilities to Exodesia will be explored
further along in this narrative. But to answer a dangling question
from our previous segment, the man to be called Sword is indeed the
great-uncle of the French mystery man Richter. As can be inferred
from the above exchanges, Franciscus and Ian were half-brothers,
spawn of Urias. Franciscus' son by Lily was Sorrow, who, by that
time, in the course of his adventures, bedded a French noblewoman,
Jeanne Aumont, and gave birth to one Armand Tressillian – the
father of Jean Aumont Tressilian, AKA Richter, and of his sister
Edith and his brother James Vallard Tressilian (about whom, much more
to follow). </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. The Pulp Ethos</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ewen Cromwell was a
mercenary, but no less so were the bankers and industrialists that
bled dry Hallmark's booming immigrant population. Wage slavery was en
vogue and what could not be done legally was given over to vice. But
one man began a movement to challenge Hallmark's corruption and
liberate its cowering masses from its crime wave. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first man native to
Hallmark to be hailed as an adventurer was Dr. Vance Ewen Orlison
(born 1893). Vance's middle name derived from his father Basil's awe
at the achievements of Ewen Cromwell, the man who shepherded the
party that essentially founded hallmark (Vance was never thrilled
about this). As a doctor, and as a man, Vance was a true polymath;
his friends and closest associates affectionately dubbed him “Doc
Vance”. Orlison's extraordinary talents stem from the fact that he
was the product of a fevered affair between the renegade Exodesian
Jerissen and Basil Orlison's daughter Ilona. Almost a decade later,
Ilona's very married twin sister Enola would find herself expecting a
child by the wily Jerissen as well, a child no less amazing, but of a
different bent than Vance.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Vance first began using his
talents to do good in 1921. A decorated veteran of the Great War, and
recipient of numerous degrees before then, Vance saw a need to
protect his city, his country, and his world from the worst mankind
(and other-kind) had to offer. He accepted that he was only
half-human, but despised the Exodesians for the moral vacuum that
they inhabited in feeling humans were fodder for their manipulations
and schemes. He hated his father and uncle most of all, and clashed
with them both on occasion. He was spoiling for a chance to ruin Ewen
Cromwell, and reveal the co-founder of his city as the ruthless
killer Carnifex. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But Vance realized that
despite his many gifts, Hallmark's “bronze demi-god of
super-strength and super-science” (as one lovely reporter who
wished to bed him dubbed him) could not hope to win alone against the
Exodesians and the other criminal elements proliferating in hallmark
(mainly in the form of corrupt politicians and businessmen). So it
came as a surprise to begin hearing about brutal beatings
administered to petty crooks in the streets as well as portentous
warnings publicly targeted at compromised public figures. This trend
began in 1926, and continued unabated over the next year or so. The
perpetrator began making sure the newspapers (especially the
mob-controlled Occidental) began crediting his work to the
Apparition. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then, another rash of
crimefighting began – more brutal, more freewheeling than that of
that of the Apparition – gang members began suffering gangland
style executions at the hands of a bloodthirsty vigilante who called
himself the Saturnine. The authorities feared a rash of copycat
vigilantes – and, in a few short years, their fears came true.
Vance listened intently for activity involving his own old hero, the
man called Sword, but to no avail. Vance's research and travels had
convinced him that Ian Rhys McGregor was indeed his first cousin and
that they were like-minded in their desire to stop their Exodesian
fathers. Vance even dreamt of an expedition to the Ziggurat – an
adventure he was born for. Vance also felt Mt. Mosaic itself, ruled
unsafe and containing naught but the wealth Hallmark's founders
gleamed from it, was nonetheless housing secrets beyond even his
far-flung imaginings.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Late in 1927, Vance was
called on by one Andreas Vossius, the son of Isaak Vossius, one of
Ambrosius ver Dorn's Dutch retinue in 1886. Isaak was actually an
infant during the expedition, cared for by his mother Lotte, who had
had been rumored to be a lover of Ewen Cromwell's in Amsterdam.
Lotte's husband Andre even challenged Ewen to duel – but did not
survive. Vance knew right away he's met a kindred spirit – i.e. one
who was perhaps a grandson of Cromwell. Sadly, Isaak's own wife was
hardly faithful – Enola Orlison Vossius had a son, Gerhardt, in
1904, but Vance's research into Gerhardt marked him as another spawn
of Orlison female and the priest Jerissen – hence Vance's own
brother! But young Andreas was different. Cromwell blood or no, the
young man (21) was earnest, shy, self-effacing, and intensely
intellectual. Andreas, it seems, was an inventor – and a problem
solver par excellence, a strategist. Vance needed someone like
Andreas to complement his own skills and to put a team into place to
make headway in the struggle against evil in its manifold forms.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">“<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Doc Vance” dubbed
Andreas Vossius “Gadgeteer V” and it stuck. Andreas felt a
purpose in life at last, away from a less-than-ideal childhood and
much youthful angst. The two resolved to find and recruit Ian
McGregor next. Vance and V took off to try to find McGregor for a
time, but came back empty handed. To their surprise, a costumed
buccaneer greeted them and introduced herself as the Duellist. Yes,
herself. She was a German girl of 23 who had trained under McGregor
and revealed that when he wanted to be found, he would be. But she,
in the meantime, proffered her services. Andreas had no problem with
it (though still closeted, Gadgeteer V was homosexual), but Doc was
overprotective. Sidonie Van Kant was the woman's name and she assured
them she could hold her own. Not only that, but while they were gone,
the Saturnine's reign of terror on the criminal element had
intensified. Vance feared he may have to be stopped himself. The
Apparition, it seems, was much more mysterious, and worked through a
network of street spies and informants. He was rarely glimpsed in the
flesh. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Andreas had quit his job at
Vossius Metalwerks but his brother Gerhardt was now a young junior
executive. Gerhardt and Vance got along famously, though Gerhardt's
parentage was an open secret really. Vance finally encountered the
Apparition in 1929, and, after a lengthy battle, the two made peace
and agreed to pool their resources. One thing on Vance's agenda was
to stop or at least curb the behavior of the mysterious Saturnine.
The Apparition was opposed to this, claiming the city needed someone
to go where they dare not. It was shortly after this point in Doc's
declaration of war on evil men that his two most respected allies at
last surfaced.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The men called Sword and
Richter paid a secretive visit to the ORDER skyscraper in 1930
(Orlison was still a joint shareholder with Ananias de Ruyter's son
Victor and Doc's HQ was in the ORDER Tower Plaza - a marvel of
architecture well ahead of its time; it afforded a magnificent view
of Mt. Mosaic). They had been working together in Europe for a time
and realized their extended family needed help in the US with the
occasional encroachement of Carnifex and his Exodesian
acquaintances. Richter suggest they form a loose group and base it
for the time being in the ORDER Tower. Vance even elected Richter the
first chairperson. He demurred to Ian Rhys McGregor, but lent all the
means at his disposal to the team. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Vance had reservations: some
about Sidonie, but that was his own male ego talking; but,
especially, about the at-large Saturnine. Apparition, who had worked
with him before, assured the group that Saturnine was in, and that he
would attend a meeting soon. Before long, he did in fact, but managed
to put Sidonie and the sensitive Andreas well on edge with his mania.
Richter and Vance were both too shrewd as sleuths not to detect
something amiss. What it was they would not grasp for a while longer.
The team, in the interim, became known as the Silent Seven.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over the next four years,
the group had three arch-foes (not counting their vendetta against
Urias, Jerissen, and Carnifex): Boston Haverty, the current lord of
vice in Hallmark; the man known only as Anon., a shadowy figure who
perpetrated crimes and dared the group to solve them; and, worst of –
Kanabal. Kanabal was, as his name suggests, not merely a crime lord
and a murderer but a cannibal as well – and one that sent gruesome
remains of his repasts to the police – and to Doc's lab.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The group's financial
benefactor (besides Doc) was Lambert Christensen, a self-made
millionaire who won his fortune in the far East, and who in time was
revealed (only to the group) to actually be the Apparition.
Christensen himself was a cover ID used by a man called Bram Vallard,
who Richter revealed to be his younger brother James Vallard
Tressilian. This laid many of their fears to rest, but raised more
questions than ever about the Saturnine, whom they eventually learned
was Royal Hoxworth, a wealthy citizen of Hallmark. The twist to all
this was that Tressilian was a classic case of “split personality”:
he was not only Bram Vallard, Lambert Christensen, and the
Apparition, but, unconsciously, also Royal Hoxworth – the
Saturnine. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Silent Seven loosely
persevered through wartime; a moderately changing lineup (including the coming of key members the Stenbrau brothers, AKA Anton Gamble and the Kraken); and harsh
revelations regarding the vile Kanabal, as well as the death or
disappearance of more than one member. All the while, factors were
set into motion that lay the groundwork for the rise of the Machine –
and the destiny of the man called Kong. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This particular chronicle is to be
concluded in Treatment #3: Arcs.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">June 16, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Flicker Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-70986523904361394662015-06-14T20:32:00.000-07:002015-09-18T22:16:53.780-07:00FLICKER STREET Treatment # 1: Backstory<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So here at last is an extended treatment for my magnum opus of sorts, Flicker Street. I began aiming for a 15,000 word 3 part master treatment but found the research (into my own work...) daunting for now, in that I wanted to post something as promised on time for once. Thus I'm posting only part one, followed by answers to the basic questions of just what the hell Flicker Street is/ means/ etc. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The main action of Flicker Street will transpire between the years 1987 and 2016 (I am currently working on the events of 2010), but this backstory will hopefully give a small taste of the background elements that, truthfully, as in the case of the forthcoming genealogical charts, will enhance one's experience of the tale but one need not feel beholden to them. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One will notice an open-endedness to each segment, and a hopping about chronologically. Some things will come into focus after one has digested the overlapping sequences; much more will be made apparent in the next treatment. As noted at the conclusion of this post, character is tantamount in this saga, but the genre trappings give one a wide berth when it comes to the kind of stories to be told. when it comes to telling this story - nihil obstat!</span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1O5qFXoxV5kIck_bCfckok_o80pW3hPfP77gvMiEzpy_5ZPYN9pMLd7PVNF0gHfjTBzIpQ36xzyR5ae5CnhU4Gc4SjyTsydtvY5ePBYKnYYkO1ac6IbzKqC3IB0EK-KYuV2Ww36YSRvH/s1600/Kong+%2528Kaosong+Qua%2529+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1O5qFXoxV5kIck_bCfckok_o80pW3hPfP77gvMiEzpy_5ZPYN9pMLd7PVNF0gHfjTBzIpQ36xzyR5ae5CnhU4Gc4SjyTsydtvY5ePBYKnYYkO1ac6IbzKqC3IB0EK-KYuV2Ww36YSRvH/s400/Kong+%2528Kaosong+Qua%2529+2.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FLICKER STREET</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">by Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Treatment # 1 - Backstory</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I. The Soft Conquest</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Like many a tale, Flicker
Street begins with war. This, however, is a war where both sides are
too jaded to actually fight. It is, nonetheless, A millenia-spanning
cold war - between the Omegans: explorers, wanderers, adventurers,
decadents ...star gypsies roaming the cosmos; and the Pisceans –
mystical, spiritual, beyond the temporal or corporeal... soul fish
swimming the current of the ether. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Omegans, natives of the star
Omega Ceti I, have allowed technology to render them a life of
opulence. The class wars that plague Earth are rarely problems here.
No one is starving, no man consumes another beast for food. Omega's
utopian existence is monitored carefully by its orbital capital city,
the starfaring Hemiopolis Fractorium. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pisceans are close to
nature. Alchemy is their passion, and yields medicine, well-being,
and heightened consciousness. They commune with presences that
inhabit non-corporeal spheres. They have mastered the healing arts.
Saurian in nature, they can physically shape shift (as can Omegans).
Pisceans consort with true magick. Life, as for Omegans, is lengthy
by Earthen standards – and filled with experience and new
sensations.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Both races have reached the
seeming apex of their respective technological and cultural
development. And hence, fighting off inevitable entropy, they both
begin annexing other races, “soft conquests”, so to speak...
Rather than pool their monumental knowledge for an even greater
harmony, they seem bound to be rivals – to compete for the
attention of “lesser” races – i.e. those races that appear most
receptive to their aims and philosophies. Neither race is, despite
their ostensibly benign nature, above manipulation and infiltration
of their target races. Neither side is particularly aggressive, hence
the temperature of their conflict; thus, subterfuge suits them well
as they both find invasions distasteful. Thus it behooves them well
that both races can alter their appearance at will. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It has been estimated that
twenty thousand of our years ago, the Omegans were the first alien
race to reach Earth, in a magnificent starship they called the
Terminus. They landed in the mountains of what is now northern
Massachusetts. The native Americans believed them gods and helped
them erect a huge pyramid-like structure around the mountain. This
became an enclosed site and the highest peak in northeastern united
states. It was eventually known as Mt. Mosaic.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Pisceans first arrived
on Earth shortly thereafter, in pursuit of the Terminus. Though they
lost the epic “space race”, which by now was mere sport to them,
they were welcomed by the native peoples of Central America, who
constructed the Holy Ziggurat to house the captain of the expedition.
</span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a time, it looked as
though real war would break out between the longtime rivals. But
neither wished to use such an unspoiled planet as a beachhead for
conquest. Hence the shaping of a new paradigm, a concept that was
obvious to both races for eons but bypassed by their own
stubbornness. They agreed to a grand experiment – a cosmic working.
They called this Exodesia. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">II. Exodesia</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In an unprecedented move,
the two stubborn races born of Omega Ceti I and of Pisces, agreed to
allow test subjects from each race to mate and mingle. And to
procreate. Their genetic structures, despite their outward
appearances, were compatible enough to produce offspring. Some
resembled their Omegan parent, and hence could “pass” as human;
some their Piscean forebears. Some were hybrid. This gave the
thinkers of the respective races much to ponder upon.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a generation was
fostered, they were given a new home. It was dubbed Exodesia, and
ruled by a hybrid child grown to a powerful adult named Phallasma.
Phallasma was a hermaphrodite and wielded science and sorcery with
equal dexterity. Most hybrid children were male or female, but the
birth of a hermaphrodite was always a cause for awe and celebration,
for those fully attuned to the cosmics of their two parent races, and
their two sexual selves, could wield great power. As thousands of
years passed, the hybrid “look” became dominant in Exodesia, thus
fully marking them as their own race. They, like their alien
forebears, were blessed with longevity – an Exodesian could live as
long as 2000 years at the utmost, though it was rare for any to reach
that sacrosanct number. Omegans clocked in at 5000 years, and it was
rumored that a Piscean could see 10,000 years of life.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Exodesians lived in
peace and solitude for millenia, honing their society into one
steeped in the esoterica of Piscean religion and magicks and leavened
by the luxury of Omegan tech. Humans rarely encountered Exodesians,
who could pass for human (albeit odd-looking humans) by this point.
Exodesians generally were careful not to mate with humans though it
did happen on occasion. When it did, the offspring invariably
appeared human but possessed special talents due to its unusual
parentage. This new form of hybrid being generally could live 400 or
500 years and manifested various ultra-normal abilities .</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In time, the offspring of
Exodesian and human blood sought each other out. After many years of
searching, a small aggregate was formed. These men became explorers,
searching for the truth of their origins. One group of Dutchmen
became determined to explore the mystery of Mt. Mosaic. Their guide
was an ostensibly half-Exodesian mercenary called Ewen Cromwell
(also known as Carnifex). The dutchmen founded a town in the late
nineteenth century that came to be known as Hallmark, in Hallmark
County, MA. The path the dutchmen followed Cromwell on was a straight
and narrow trudge through snow, and flickering lights from where no
one knew shone the way to the mountain. And so, in time, this path
was paved into a road that ran straight through Hallmark and on to
the highway. In Hallmark County, the road was called.... Flicker
Street. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">III. A Tender Alchemy</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was decided by the
Omegans and Pisceans alike that the actions of the Exodesians in
spawning with humans, and the actions of those spawn which led to the
discovery of the Titanus wreck, were intolerable. They feared humans
would one day breach Exodesia. But stealth remained their style, and
so they elected one exceptional individual from each of their races
to go to live on Earth as humans in human identities, and to monitor
and influence events. Rather, to negate the influence of the
half-breed who now craved their secrets. This was the first treaty
enacted between the two races since the creation of Exodesia. The
individuals chosen prepared by pooling their knowledge and each shape
shifted into a more human form. The male of the two, Asenath-Zayan, a
Piscean, went to Earth to live in Germany as a scientist called
Friedrich Einnhauser, while the Omegan female, Ish, became the
Chinese master of many disciplines called Shun Ti. The councils of
each world preferred the two agents take more inconspicuous guises
but they wanted to be placed highly enough to affect change. They
arrived on Earth in the nineteenth century, shortly before Cromwell's
party coalesced. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Unexpectedly, during their
training Asenath and Ish fell deeply in love, but vowed to see each
other on Earth when they could. During one of their meetings, Ish
became pregnant with twin sons. The twins were born in 1872
(roughly). One appeared Omegan, human-like for the most part, and was
named Ursulin. The other was dubbed Anaximader-Zayan and resembled a
full-blooded Piscean - saurian but humanoid.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Exodesians, for their
part, were sick of the humans and wished to take over their world,
using resources gleaned from their parent races. Again stealth and
espionage, rather than outright invasions, remained their modus
operandi. The history of the races infiltrating humanity is fraught
with the exploits of spies and secret agents all the way up to the
present day.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IV. The Cromwell Party in
the Shadow of Mt. Mosaic</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The expedition to Mt. Mosaic
began in 1886 and consisted of the guide, mercenary Ewen Cromwell
(AKA Carnifex, though not known as that to the party, but to his
patrons and victims) and his son Cormac Llewyn Paige, as well as
Cormac's Indian wife Janella Two Trees and their infant son Miles,
and the Cromwells' cabin boy Cullen Darby; The Dutch explorer Ananias
de Ruyter, his business partner Hendrik Van Hoke, and Van Hoke's
South American assistant Guillermo Renova; the British plantation
magnate Dr. Basil Orlison; the Dutchman who bankrolled the journey,
Ambrosius ver Dorn; ver Dorn's employees Marcellus and Lotte Vossius
(also one of Ewen's lovers); and the true leader of the expedition –
the renegade Exodesian Jerissen. Ver Dorn had hired a passel of
workers to develop the land surrounding and leading to the mountain
and thus developed a small town for shipping in supplies and such
along the “flickering path” (as Janella called it). Ver Dorn
declared this the hallmark of their journey and hence the small town
of Hallmark was established in 1887. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cromwell, against Jerissen's
orders, plundered the base of the mountain for minerals and gems –
great riches were found there. Who left them, they could not discern,
though many occurred there naturally. Hundreds of rare Indian
artifacts remained as well. It was as though there was a centuries
long trail of jewels and corpses winding its way up the mountain –
but had anyone penetrated the deep rock housing The Terminus? Only
Jerissen and Ewen suspected an interstellar or extradimensional craft
lay covered in stone and ice, as only they were versed in Exodesian
lore (though there was more to Ewen than met the eyes). What did
Jerissen and Ewen find inside that mountain? What secrets still lie
waiting in the hulk of the Terminus?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In any case, the founding
and development of Hallmark led to a coalescence of immigrant
families settling the outlying areas, specifically the town of
Gossingham. Soon families such as the Vossiuses, Cairnes, the Fausts,
the Palmers, the Parminters, the Rudisills, the McClearys, the
Greers, the Westins, and many more poured into Hallmark and
Gossingham – and all will have a bearing to some degree in our
larger narrative.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">V. One Hundred Years On...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Please excuse a brief flash forward to gain some perspective on the repercussions of the Cromwell party. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is 1987. Hallmark is a
booming American city clutched, like most, in the throes of its
excess - trickle-down economics, rampant capitalism, heavy metal and
big hair. The major conglomerates based in Hallmark feed into all of
these memes – ORDER Enterprises (Orlison-DERuyter), Renova Inc.,
and the Paige Foundation are foremost among such corporations. The
names of Hallmark's founders adorn shops, signs, and skyscrapers in
their ubiquity. But the most massive, troubled yet wildly pervasive
corporate entity in our culture remains SkullCorp, based, but not
originated in, Hallmark MA. In recent years, the feds, the police,
vigilantes galore have tried to upend Skull and find the rot beneath
– and have scored many a success. As the 80s wane, however, Skull
is on the rise again, finding new ways to package its pop-culture
omniscience. For Skull is not like the hallowed bankers and
industrialists that built Hallmark. Skull is a “leisure
corporation” - focusing on news, media, entertainment, keeping the
masses occupied and empty of revolutionary thoughts – hence,
Skull's resurgence is a prefect fit for the “age of excess”.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">VI. The Machine?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The story of the so-called
“Machine”, the entity that birthed SkullCorp, lies with a number
of men hungry to exploit the growing rumors of power emanating from
certain locales and personages. Greed was the major engine, it seems,
that drove these men, as well as the hybrid races, and the Exodesians
themselves. But in time there arose those who would challenge this
state of things. Sadly it took quite a while...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Matthew Brighton (b. 1903)
was a petty thief with heavy delusions, though tenacity was his
redeeming trait. An impoverished Cockney teenager, an almost
Dickensian figure, he stowed away upon a freighter to Massachusetts
from England in 1920 with his pregnant mistress, who soon gave birth
to his son Artie. Matthew was a jack-of-all-trades, a flim-flam man,
constantly in trouble with the law in Hallmark. Inspector Withrow
Saunders doggedly attempted to have him incarcerated, but Matthew was
given special treatment by a shady lawyer, Kryle, who persuaded
Matthew to wed the mother of his now two children. Thus Demelza Fluke
became a Brighton and was soon pregnant yet again. He had a
near-fatal brush with Saunders, but killed him. He went to live in a
nearby small town, Gossingham, and raise his family under the name
Burden. Kryle assisted him immensely, not part of which was that
Kryle, it was rumored, had a taste for Demelza (now “Elza Burden”),
and, some said, for Brighton/ Burden himself.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In Gossingham, the man now
known as Massey Burden raised his three sons: Arthur Burden (formerly
Artie Brighton), David Burden (ex-Davey Brighton), and Gregory Burden
(ex-George Brighton). The thief and swindler Massey Burden was nearly
apprehended for theft and was shot to death in 1934, alongside his
wife and Kryle. The three children were remanded to foster care.
Arthur began working at 15. All three men had much luck after being
turned out of the orphanage (which they nearly set fire to). Indeed,
it was hard to believe they were Brighton spawn, for each excelled at
any number of felonious arts but managed to stay out of the hands of
the law.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the 1940s they naturally
eased into organized crime (who helped them evade the draft), until
they were informed of a nascent organization that would function as a
clean entertainment corporation fronting an international cartel of
vice. They were told this process was dubbed “The Machine” and
fell ultimately under the rubric of a Mr. Drang, whom no one had ever
spied. The three brothers had their first substantial disagreement
over this direction. David and Gregory were wary; Arthur determined
to climb to the top of the Machine. The brothers were ultimately in
congress in 1951, when they changed their identities one last time,
becoming, respectively, Artemus, Augustus, and Geoffrey Thorne. This
was the year they ascended to the board of the Machine, alongside the
men called Donal Rykards, Phileas Caleb, and Bromley Chamberlain, to
name some key personnel. There was even an African board member, Kith
(Abassi Mathabane); a self-professed German expat, Coyle Einnhauser;
and a mysterious bronze-skinned man called Urias. This was the inner
circle of what was dubbed the Skull Corporation aka SkullCorp, its
name derived from an organization ruled in the East called the Black
Skull Society. Did any one agent of Skull run things behind it all? A
question many asked – and many paid dearly for asking. The answer
was Mr. Drang. Finding out who Drang really was will be covered later
in this narrative.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">SkullCorp's goals were
simple: keep the inner circle (“The Machine”) shrouded in
secrecy; maintain an entertainment empire as a facade; orchestrate
arms for drugs operations to bankroll a physical army of
revolutionaries serving Skull (under the command of a man who
ascended to the inner circle: Captain Vargas Llosa; Llosa lived in
Libania, the country where the Holy Ziggurat was located with the
buried Piscean artifacts); and to use cutting-edge science to
experiment tirelessly with Omegan, Piscean, and Exodesian tech for
their own twisted aims, be they conquest or pure pleasure. Perhaps
not so simple after all.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">VII. A Tender Alchemy
Refrain</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shun Ti and Friedrich
Einnhauser continued their affair; their children were sent to the
planet each fit in best with physically, i.e. Ursulin was raised an
Omegan; and Anaximander a Piscean. Shun Ti, whose disciples generally
believed her to be a man, had founded the Tamerlane Overlords in 1823
and claimed descent from the conqueror Tamerlane (a figure Ish
personally found distasteful but was legendary in China). She trained
and honed students in a magnificent temple, utilizing what would be
termed mixed martial arts today, but which were ancient among the
Omegans for millenia. Rather than experiment as her race and the
Pisceans had in creating the Exodesians, Shun Ti/ Ish saw herself
awakening the natural chi life energy of her students. Hard science
was of little interest to Shun Ti. The point where science and
mysticism meet – that rare alchemy – was what drove the woman
once known as Ish.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shun Ti's greatest student
was an outsider who mastered the Overlord techniques. He was an
escaped African slave who stumbled upon the sanctuary Feng Qi
(meaning “ethos”) in his flight from his European masters who
were attempting to locate the legendary reserve but failed. He was
captured by the students of Feng Qi and brought to Shun Ti, who soon
mastered his tongue and told him he could never leave or share their
secrets, but he could become one of them if he passed the training.
For food and shelter, the highly intelligent and cunning man Abassi
Mathabane traded one form of servitude for another. Dubbed Kith by
Shun Ti, Mathabane remained at Feng Qi from 1844-1871, when Shun Ti
declared him no longer trainable; he had reached the apex and was
second only to her. He was acquitted with honor but craved more of
the secrets of the Omegans and resolved to find Exodesia. He had
learned much spying on his master; but what he failed to realize was
that Ish wanted the tenets of Feng Qi exported. Hence, after she gave
up her children, she accepted a brash Brit for 15 years of intense
training – Ewen Cromwell. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Asenath-Zayan fared worse in
his double life. He began his life as an orphan teenager in Berlin
and altered his appearance as he grew “older” (though he really
didn't age appreciably). When “Einnhauser” was in his 80s,
Asenath faked his death and reinvented himself as his own grandson
Friedrich Einnhauser II and at this time (the late 1890s), purported
to be around 30. Einnhauser excelled as his “grandfather” had,
and by the 1920s was firmly ensconced in the halls of academia. He
was the first true physicist. Sadly the Nazis coveted his knowledge
and he fled Germany in the mid 1930s. He shape shifted into a new
identity and reached America, where he hoped to reach allies, but was
found by a mercenary working briefly for the Axis – Carnifex AKA –
Ewen Cromwell, who slew him, much to the chagrin of Ewen's employers.
Cromwell became a wanted man in even more countries then.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">VIII. The Chaos Song</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There was one man who
plundered the secrets of both Mt. Mosaic and the Holy Ziggurat
(located between Libania and the trading town of Serafina). He also
trained under the Tamerlane Overlords and was given access to
Exodesian knowledge. But he began life as a seemingly ordinary
Midwestern man called Caine Ledge (b. 1901) – ordinary save that he
exhibited an intellect well above his peers in school, winning the
lower middle class Caine a scholarship; he was superlative at sports
but had little interest in them; and, some in the town opined he may
be a “mongoloid” - an uncharitable way of saying “someone with
Down's Syndrome”, due to the vaguely Asian slant of his eyes. But
it was three key events that changed forever his suburban existence.
First, as a teen, he entered into an affair with an older, apparently
Asian woman called Ona. After weeks together, Ona abandoned young
Caine. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Second, his father Richard
Ledge (a traveling salesman) disappeared when Caine was in his
twenties, and his mother Inga sank into depression and lethargy.
Next, when Richard at last returned, Caine had this feeling that the
man calling himself Richard Ledge was not his father, though they
were identical in appearance. Foremost of all, he was actually kind
to his son for the first times Caine could recall. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In any case, Inga and
Richard had another son, called Coyle. Inga and Coyle left Richard,
never to return, when Coyle was an infant. Inga left behind a journal
for Caine. Caine was by now married to Claudia Clarke, and had three
children of his own. “The new Richard” was more an avuncular
figure to young Thomas Ledge, Caine's first born, but this ended when
Carnifex slew Asenath-Zayan. Caine found his alleged father dying
(the third key event in Caine's awakening) and was warned – he was
admonished to study Inga's journal and he was told that the real
Richard Ledge was dead; that he was the scientist Friedrich
Einnhauser, and, above all, a Piscean by birth – not of this world.
Coyle, therefore, was half-human. Asenath told Caine as much as he
could before he passed, and revealed that Richard Ledge, the hard,
cold man who raised Caine, was no more Caine's biological sire than
Asenath was. Asenath's final utterance to Caine sounded nothing so
much as, “Chaos...Song...” </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Caine left the U.S. shortly
thereafter, to follow the uncertain trail left by the two people he
had considered his parents but whom now were strangers. In his
selfishness and sense of betrayal, he left his wife Claudia behind
with three children – Thomas, Delores, and Clarke. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Inga's journal eventually
brought him to Feng Qi, and a meeting with his real father, Sun-Kao
Qua, and Sun-Kao's remarkable mother – Shun Ti, who addressed Caine
Ledge thusly: “Welcome home, Kaosong Qua”. Caine Ledge preferred to choose his own new appellation, and answered, "Grandmother? Call me Kong".</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IX. The Baron in Shadow</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Though they were heirs to
his genetic legacy, not all of Ewen Cromwell's descendants inherited
his thirst for power. One branch in particular eventually proved his
undoing. These were the Bradcrofts. In England, Cromwell dallied with
a married woman, and the son was Mason Randell (b. 1850). Mason's
daughter Suzette, wed Vincent Bradcroft (b.c. 1875) , a minor member
of the peerage, a baronet (see Burke's Peerage). Vincent and Suzette
had two sons, Dunne and Malcolm. Vincent was an occultist and learned
the truth (or somewhat of the truth) about his wife's sinister
grandfather. Vincent was fascinated with the founding of Hallmark and
the notorious Cromwell party, as well as the fabled Holy Ziggurat. He
founded a company, Bradcroft Ltd, dealing in occult paraphernalia,
and hoped to raise money for archaeological expeditions to the
mystical sites. Vincent became obsessed by the idea of another race
co-existing with humans, and wondered what sort of mystical land they
must inhabit. Most just thought Bradcroft mad, alas. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Each of Vincent's sons in
their own way carried on his work. Malcolm became so intrigued by Mt.
Mosaic that he moved to Hallmark in 1923. He soon wed Blair Paige,
daughter of Miles Paige, who was born during the Cromwell Party's
expedition. He opened an occult curio shoppe in Hallmark. Malcolm's
brother Dunne was a bit more conservative and a total skeptic when it
came to Vincent's claims. However, his twin sons, Ashton and Cary (b.
1925) were avid listeners to their grandfather's tales – especially
the ones about a second race existing alongside humanity and armed
with unfathomable occult powers. Their mother Elizabeth encouraged
the boys behind their father's back, and encouraged them to begin
saving for their dreams of expeditions into the unknown. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Vincent warned of other
races manipulating humans, who had no chance, no say, none to protect
them. Ashton and Cary were true believers and vowed that they would
protect humanity. Their grandfather eventually went mad from the
visions he had during his magickal workings – none realized he had
glimpsed the Pisceans' eldritch alchemy and presences that they
communed with - though the twins suspected such a thing was possible.
They had begun learning magic from their grandfather secretly since
boyhood, and when Vincent finally “cracked” in 1938, rather than
be deterred, the brothers dove full tilt into the world of the
occult. They formed a coven in college with a classmate, Remuel Van
Juss (son of Dutch emigres). It was small, consisting primarily of the
Bradcroft twins, a young half-Indian girl named Jerusha Dharma, and
Remuel's siblings Katherine and Rachael. Soon, a socially awkward and
aloof 17 year old with the unlikely name of Myrus T Fellbane was
initiated as well.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Katharine soon gravitated
romantically towards Ashton and they began an affair, while Cary fell
deeply in love with Jerusha Dharma, much to the chagrin of Fellbane.
The coven studied all through college and beyond. One of their
teachers was Janos Disraeli, a world-renowned occultist who had made
contact with presences from other planes. Remuel and his sister fell
under Janos' spell and quit the coven. Rachael remained, and the
Bradcrofts declined Disraeli's help, feeling it was a path that led
to evil. They were more determined than ever to find Exodesia.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1954, they embarked for
Exodesia in Africa. They were soon captured by two Exodesian priests,
Alataris and Urias. The Bradcrofts attempted a peaceful exchange but
Urias insisted they were encroaching on holy grounds and must be
transmogrified in the “birthing chamber” to be alchemically
cleansed of physical and spiritual impurities so as not to “pollute”
Exodesia. They went along with this but once in the chamber, Ashton,
ever rash, blasted Urias and Fellbane, coward he was, ran, taking
Jerusha. Alataris subdued Cary and the twins were tortured and forced
to prove their worthiness. But Cary broke free, yelling after Myrus
to take Jerusha far away, down the path they'd marked. Cary attacked
Urias and Alataris, and dove into the “birthing chamber” where
Ashton was captive. Ashton was destroyed, or so it appeared, even as
Cary made it into the transmogrifying chamber during Urias' final
ritual.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fellbane took care of the
confused Jerusha, and the two made it down the narrow mountain
steppes, even as a bright explosion flared in the air above them.
Fellbane avered that the brothers were lost forever to them. This was
doubly crushing for Jerusha, in that she realized she was pregnant
with Cary's child. Fellbane took Jerusha to England, where his
wealthy cousin Vanderville Tippett gave them both employ. They both
apparently forsook magic, and Jerusha had a baby son, but refused
Myrus' proposals of marriage. Jerusha wished to visit the twins'
uncle Malcolm in Hallmark at his curio shoppe, but Tippett forbade
the vacation.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1956, a man calling
himself Cary Bradcroft came to attend his uncle Malcolm's funeral.
Cary established that he was alive, and had been in touch with the
ailing Malcolm, who willed him the shoppe – and his fortune. Cary
immediately began the erection of Bradcroft Manor and got to know the
citizens of Hallmark. Many times he had to relate the sad story of
his “big brother” Ashton's passing. He was open about his
mystical proclivities but most felt him harmless – though there
were many sorry to see he survived his epic journey. He was passed on
an honorary title in England of baronet, and was so amused he laughed
aloud one day in his sprawling manse that he was the “baron in
shadow”. A cold voice answered, “you shall be the Shadow Baron.
And I – I am now merely Nocturno”. The voice was Ashton's.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A Quick Q & A:</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;">“</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What is Flicker Street?”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A main street in a medium sized but flourishing American city. A community in the center of that city where all manner of bohemians and "freaks" find solace and refuge. A "flickering path" that leads far up a winding mountain that holds secrets humanity is likely not ready for yet, </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">but which have shaped its history for millenia.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“What is the
Flicker Street Family?”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Flicker Street Family,
as I've come to call it, is a genealogical chart consisting of
dozens of families and hundreds of characters interwoven through
blood, marriage, and other intimate partnerships. To quote Michener,
“It's damned near incestuous”. Or, to honor Philip Jose Farmer,
let's just admit that it is, in fact, in spots, rather incestuous.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“What Does
Flicker Street Do?”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Flicker Street follows the
modern-day lives and adventures of the descendants of two co-mingled
alien races vying for cosmic supremacy. Flicker Street focuses on the
inhabitants of a city perched near a mountain holding secrets of
their very existence... and of otherworldly power.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The story is told in an
open-ended, serialized fashion. It is like a multi-genre, multi-generational soap opera
where we follow the lives (and deaths) of those that have inherited
cosmic misfortune. The emphasis however will always be on character
above all. How do these characters live? Where do they work? Who do
they love and hate the most? You will become invested in this
extended family of modern urban characters whose roots derive from an
interstellar cold war. </span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"What is the Format?"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Much of the story points in
the treatment above will be shown in flashbacks and cutaways. Side
story arcs set in the early days enumerated here will be woven
into the modern narrative as appropriate. Consider the fragments above to be chapters of unfinished tales. This treatment has been
concocted to garner interest in the Flicker Street concept and brand.
It is an origin story of sorts for the urban phantasia to follow...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Welcome to Flicker Street!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Henry Covert</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">June 15, 2015</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Flicker Street, all images, characters, and story elements are Copyright 2015 George Henry Smathers Jr.</span><br />
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Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-33479434562997558942015-06-13T15:30:00.002-07:002015-06-13T23:05:35.427-07:00Counterfeit Messiah: a Vintage Flicker Street Treatment<span style="color: #351c75;"><br />This is not the massive <i>Flicker Street</i> treatment I'm currently at work on but rather a treatment/ "scriptment" done for a comix story for anthology editor Mark Mazz in 2008 and set in the Flicker Street Universe. I felt it warranted its own short story. While an entirely fictitious tale, I can state that many incidences in this story could have, and perhaps do, sadly, occur in that blurry zone called "real life".
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;">For anyone further interested in Leo Rosegrave, Bryn Deerfield, Liao Jun Kim, or any of the other characters depicted here, please follow my current progress in realizing new <i>Flicker Street</i> projects by following this blog. Thanx! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="gs8s1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="gs8s0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="gs8s"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t08s0"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Counterfeit Messiah</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>by Henry Covert</b>
</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="iqiy3"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t08s2"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>(sequence
breakdowns and synopsis)</b> </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="b85d2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="o7f40"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Story
opens with Leo Rosegrave's voice. Rosegrave, or Graves as he's
usually referred to, is our narrator and audience identification/
surrogate. We'll experience the story from his POV, which will
hopefully enhance the subtext and aid the story flow. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="q43p0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zxqj0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Sequences:</b>
</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ldrj1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ldrj0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>1
- The First Interviews</b> </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zpko0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="d7n1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="iosp"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zo7g"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="owwa0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="bwo50"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="mn950"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Graves is narrating,
but does not appear "on-camera" yet. This intro is a visual
re-enactment of an interview conducted in 2003 by Barry Keller, a
fairly incompetent columnist for a local free 'alternative' weekly
paper called <i>The Flicker Street Dispatch</i> (named for the
largely bohemian community it has targeted for almost 25 years). The
interview is held at a trendy local coffee dive with an author named
James Ray Harbin about his new book, a not so subtly titled alleged
autobiography called <i>Ray of Hope: The Covert Missions of a
Crusader Against Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking. </i></span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="bwo51"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="bwo52"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="bwo53"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="f_qm"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="f_qm0"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The punny title is an
essential part of the absurdity of the entire mini-phenomenon
surrounding Ray (which he prefers to answer to) that is beginning.
Harbin is hoping to time the release of the interview with his
appearance promoting the book at a corporate but quasi-liberal
bookstore called Literati's, which, as fate would have it, is about 3
yards away from the coffee dive in an upscale plaza. Harbin comments
that his "semi-biographer... til he left town", a Mr. Jerzy
Talbot, had interviewed Harbin and his mentor at this very coffee
shop for a magazine that Harbin and his Talbot had both previously
contributed to. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="lpix0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="asqc0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Keller
asks Harbin to state for the readers the premise of his book, which
he claims is 100% true and autobiographical. The book's claims are as
follows: James Ray Harbin (b.c. 1963) grew up entranced by comics and
cartoons, war movies, and anything to do with kung fu and martial
arts. Despite all this fascination with action and violence, Harbin,
as his parents before him, was raised as a member of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The boy once enamored of
superheroes decided to do what he thought was his heroic calling - to
become a missionary and witness overseas for the Mormons. He ends up
in South Korea at 18, when he allegedly is swept up in a deadly,
days-long riot, where he is attacked and injured by a Korean
protester, who he must kill - with his bare hands - in self-defense.
Thus begins the transformation from geeky Mormon to lethal assassin.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="asqc1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="degu0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Social
order more or less disintegrates (this is c. May 1981) as a result of
the riot, and Ray, after a night in a hospital due to his attack, is
caught up again in the midst of the unrest. To survive, falls in with
purveyors of contraband, mainly cigarettes, whiskey, and – peanut
butter! He ends up in jail and is roughed up by the Korean guards.
Upon his release, he is approached by Jean-Marc LaSalle, a man in his
50s who first spotted him in the hospital. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="degu1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="v2vm"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="degu2"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">LaSalle
recruits him as an operative for <i>Pyramid</i>, a completely
clandestine branch of international intelligence clearing house
REACT. Apparently, LaSalle just trolled about the streets looking for
young foreigners to recruit as special agents, or so Graves thought
when he read this. Over the next 15 years, by Harbin's account, he
was trained to work undercover amongst human predators, infiltrating
their sordid operations, and assassinate them with impunity and
without mercy or conscience. LaSalle's line was always that, by the
verynature of their crimes (explicitly detailed in Harbin's book),
these perpetrators had forfeited their civil rights, and, being
beyond the reach of conventional law enforcement due to their wealth
and total obscurity/ anonymity, they more than deserved the brutal
punishment James Ray Harbin and agents like him were trained to
administer. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="n615"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="p-ex"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="vyca"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ec51"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Harbin details every
aspect of his colourful (mostly blood-red) career, from infiltration
of Korean prisons to his hand in the "disappearance" of
London's most notorious child pornographer; from his seeking out
terrorists (who, he maintains, are prime recipients of the vast
fortunes reaped from human trafficking)to his role in the celebrated
'Wonderworld' busts, where a huge ring was broken open (Harbin
portrays himself in a particularly heroic - if sloppy and reckless -
light in this endeavour). </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="l7ds"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="r6cf"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="r6cf0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qhls"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ray's 300 + page tome
depicts numerous acts of Martial Arts prowess and bladed weapons
brought to bear against "the world's most evil - and elusive -
criminals... human predators who evaded conventional law for far too
long... but they were dealt grim justice with extreme prejudice by
the agents of <i>Pyramid", </i>or so claims Harbin in his
screed.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="nb2m"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="rrrs"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qx.s"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">After
the interview is concluded, Harbin poses at the coffee shop's veranda
for several "studly" action pics holding various knives and
trying to look cool and menacing. Barry Keller, somewhat skeptical of
Ray's claims, decides to do some research. He has 2 days til his
deadline. the book signing is in just under 2 weeks. Ray is
interviewed the next day by the area's larger, more conservative
"mainstream" newspaper, <i>The Daily Occidental</i> (who
will thus beat the FSD to the punch by a week and a half in breaking
the story. The tone of the writer towards Ray and everything he says
is fawning, glowing, and obsequious - and nauseating when the
grizzled Leo Rosegrave reads it. "They may as well have fellated
him while they were at it", he thinks. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qpmh"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ciw1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="mj.s"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="sn83"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This 2nd interview can
be depicted in 1-2 panels at most with Graves noting the above, now
that the coffee shop scene has given the audience the premise of who
and what Ray claims to be. In between this interview and the
publication of Keller's piece, Ray does 2 radio reviews - one local;
one national. He is quite on a roll, publicity-wise. His radio
interviews center on the huge and growing problem of human
trafficking and the sexual exploitation of young children. He
explains, as he did to Keller, that "the underground kiddie porn
industry is used to fund terrorist cells.... there are vast
international networks of kidnappers and pornographers who earn
billions of dollars working beyond the reach of the law." It was
by operating in that grey area that Harbin, LaSalle, and co. were
able to administer justice also "beyond the reach of the law".
</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="sn831"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zo1v"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ajif"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The
reaction of the audiences on both shows is amazing. Both shows are
swamped with call-ins, praising Harbin as a saviour of the world's
lost, forgotten, and exploited, and a "modern Messiah.. to the
many victims whose abuses demand the most extreme punishment". </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="wz7c0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zxqj1"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2
- The Book</b> </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zxqj2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ajbj"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="wa:q0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Graves
works at the Literati's bookstore. Graves is also a freelance
journalist on the side. Graves' employers are making a huge deal out
of the book signing that day. Graves, ever cynical, is highly
skeptical - for many reasons. First, off, he has known James Ray
Harbin for almost three years as one of Graves' customers at
Literati's. He has always felt strange vibes; something not quite
right. To a man like Leo Rosegrave, a man like James Ray Harbin
asking where a particular CD is located feels akin to being shaken
down by an oldschool flim-flam man. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qzih"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="xddu0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zrz8"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="g7gm"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Graves had been hearing
for those three years from Ray that Ray's book will be published
soon. And... gradually, Ray began making some of the less outrageous
claims in his book to Graves. Graves finally encountered
Harbin's more outrageous claims when he did a book loan at Literati's
the day they received their shipment in preparation for the book
signing. He thought he knew what to expect going into the book, but,
right from the start, Harbin launches into a scenario taking place in
London, apparently in the early to mid 1980s in the book's context,
in which Ray "cleaned" (i.e. assassinated - and violently,
with his ostensible specialty, a bladed weapon) a man called Horst
Ewers, allegedly one of the world's most wanted - and most depraved -
child pornographers and traffickers. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="u1rf"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Harbin's
account is written like a lurid spy novel, but filled with details
about the hotel the events occured at, lending it a certain
verisimilitude. Before reading the book, Graves had been more than
cynical; now he was stunned, and felt almost violated for giving this
cat the time of day to </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">extol
his "secret agent past" as a "crusader against human
trafficking". In his mind, from thereafter, Graves never
believed a single word uttered by James Ray Harbin.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="z7qk0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t.23"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="b0q9"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ez3b"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">And then Keller's piece
saw print. As promised, Ray was the cover image, knife flashing in
his hand, but the headline and much of Keller's article built
around his interview with Ray cast considerable doubt on Harbin's
authenticity. A major point Keller and his editor, John Bandicott
(who neither liked nor believed Harbin at all) included in the piece
was that they had taken the time and effort to actually check with
REACT's Central Euro-Org (headquarters). The organization's Chief
Secretariat had no records of a "James Ray Harbin" as
having ever been employed by them or by any of their adjunct
organizations (intelligence agencies that route info through REACT,
which has always maintained it is an "international intelligence
clearing house" only, though romantic rumours and fictions
portraying it as involved in hands-on espionage and covert ops have
persisted for decades). </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="fuf50"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="e-ym"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="bbih"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ray
refuted the organization's claims, stating that it was obvious an
agency employing covert agents would never admit to anyone that they
did, or who any of those agents were; otherwise it would cease being
"covert" and lose its effectiveness. Keller's piece let
this point rest, while, two days later, <i>The Occidental</i>
admitted they had followed up on the same lead, came up with the same
lead, but still took Ray's "seemingly reasonable" argument
at face value, and all was well with the corporate-owned rag.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="hjl-2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="s9yq"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="s9yq0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="yvu5"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zo92"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="i3ku"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Not so <i>The Flicker</i>
<i>Street Dispatch</i>. Two days before the signing, an enraged
Harbin, wife towing behind (as usual), launched into a hysterical
tirade at the general manager at the main information desk. Graves
was there, and he figured that Ray still saw him as an ally. After
his paroxysm, when the GM assured Ray that all would be well at the
signing regardless of the press, Ray and wife sidled up to Graves and
asked his opinions of the book now that he'd read it. Graves was
circumspect, choosing his words carefully. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="i3ku0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="i3ku1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t6x8"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">He
said it was "well written... a nice thriller", but did have
one pointed question for Ray that he couldn't resist asking while Ray
was high on the fumes of ego trip. "If you really killed 100
criminals - as I'm sure you did, it says so in the books, and you're
going public under your real name, but REACT disavows you, aren't you
afraid ofyour book being seen as a confession of sorts.. and that if
someone is able to follow LaSalle's tracks - which I know will be
hard, you make that clear here - then, you could be in some real
trouble, especially if the story goes international?" </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="tu0j0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ray
responded, "Well... well, yeah, that's why I mention in the book
how the manner I was trained to perform these duties - " </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="tu0j1"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Psy
Ops is the term", Graves smiled. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="tu0j2"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"
- how that went against my Christian ideals and that it was an inner
struggle. I got out because I couldn't take it anymore." </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t90x"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"You
felt guilty for those murders... assassinations... whathaveyou?"
</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t90x0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Well,
the acts, the lifestyle of being an operative.." </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t90x1"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"But
did you feel guilty?" </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t90x2"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"...No.
They were all scum who raped children.. and worse, and they all
deserved to die. I just happened to be chosen". By God? Graves
thought.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="p737"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="fyp2"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Graves
broke off to return to work and said he'd see him at the signing
tomorrow. He wanted Ray to still trust him, just for a little while
longer, til he could pry open the chinks in Ray's persona - cracks
already visible to Leo Rosegrave, if no one else.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="j7ip0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The
next afternoon, Literati's on Paige Street hosts the book signing -
and the madness truly begins... </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="j7ip1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qb.y"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="up_."></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="km12"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The book signing draws
a large turnout. Graves stands near and watches, feeling sick at
seeing the fawning masses trip over themselves to thank Harbin for
the "great service" he's doing "for mankind".
Ray's typical reply: "I risked my own life and sanity time and
again to protect our children... they're, like, our legacy." Ray
is thanked by mothers and youth leaders (many right-wing
fundamentalists) who had “no idea... of how much of this goes on in
the world... it's ghastly and horrid." "I've tried
educating my young 'uns [Graves chuckles at that quaint turn of
phrase] about the dangers out there and to be careful and vigilant,
from your book, I know now these predators are literally waiting
around every corner... just waiting to prey on our kids.. to rape and
sell them off to some horrid place like Asia, I mean, in Asia.."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="gq3j"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="kxfk0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>3
- The Phenomenon</b> </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="gq3j1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="pnqy"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t.xt"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This
is just the beginning of the long stretch of blind adulation and hero
worship ladled on James Ray Harbin by the ignorant and thankful (or
thankfully ignorant?) masses who begin posting laudatory 5 star
reviews of <i>Ray of Hope</i> on the Internet. Many of the internet
reviews are anonymous; Graves wonders if they're plants, orchestrated
by Harbin himself. Harbin's superstar status would prove relatively
short-lived, a year at most, as other forces came into play. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="i0rh"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="bwms"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="st44"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="hq.2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="cwek"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">However, things first
begin to unravel for the local folk hero when magazines he had
freelanced for (and was interviewed by, prior to his book's release)
begin calling into question his credibility on their internet talk
forums. Harbin, more than once, promised to "appear" on the
forums and repudiate the claims made against him, but he never
surfaced. According to a prominent adjunct site a magazine that
Harbin formerly freelanced for, <i>True Dragon,</i> various episodes
in <i>Ray of Hope</i> were dissected and fact checked by an intrepid
team devoted to uncovering those who misrepresent themselves in the
world of Martial Arts and armed and unarmed combat training and
skills. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="xpf2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="v.u3"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="k8va"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="b1of"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">One of the first things
debunked, in painstaking detail, was Harbin's alleged assassination
of alleged child pornographer Horst Ewers (no evidence of whose
existence can be uncovered). All of the 'verisimilitude' Graves noted
regarding this incident went out of the window, as the layout of
rooms, amount of floors, and architectural details did not match the
hotel Harbin swore his "cleaning" took place in. And, of
course, no long-time employee of this hotel could recall any murders,
or even evidence of one - no evidence of blood, a struggle, nothing -
in a five year timeframe on either side of the timeframe Harbin
roughly outlines at the opening of his book.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="omia"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="rwpn"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qvet0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>True
Dragon </i>goes on, over a period of many months, via chatboards
(which Harbin declines to appear on, though offered repeatedly), and,
finally, in an exhaustive article by writer Michelle Liao, examining
Harbin's claims, top to bottom, to debunk the vast majority of those
claims. The May 1981 riot in Kwangju City that Ray claimed to have
been caught up in did not in fact occur, so his presence there is
impossible. He claimed the riot killed hundreds and wounded
thousands, and was a retaliatory riot commemorating one a year
earlier in Kwangju by students against the military. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="bds9"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The
1980 riot did occur, though not on the scale described by Ray; its
anniversary uprising, quite frankly, did not happen. Liao combs and
collects news reports from around the world; eyewitness accounts; and
official statements from the South and North Korean governments, and
the protesters.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="hd7x0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="rwpn0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="gj1x"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="rg1t"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="no_0"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ms. Liao, whose cousin,
Jun Kim, is among the world's most skilled Martial Artists and an
expert in nearly every Asian form of unarmed combat, has, along with
True Dragon staff members, has found no credible evidence to support
Harbin's claims of a 3<sup>rd</sup> degree Black Belt mastery of
Hapkido. The notoriously reclusive Liao Jun Kim did venture an expert
opinion, based on materials provided him by his cousin. Based on a
cursory read of selected chapters of <i>Ray of Hope</i>, and also
upon a photo essay Harbin appeared in in 2001 "demonstrating"
his "mastery" of "multiple forms of martial combat",
Master Liao concluded that, "This Harbin has not approached the
rudiments of true form. He would never survive unarmed in the
skirmishes he claims to have been involved in in this book and in
your magazine. Unfortunately for the victims of all-too-real human
predators, Harbin has crafted an autohagiography, if nothing else...
and exploits the pain and suffering of the innocent for his own
profit as surely as the 'evil' men he describes. Though I reserve
judgment, I sense a sickness in the soul when a man demands fealty to
his God from others, and, days later</span></span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">, is dispensing death to his fellow man, no matter how
diseased they are..... if indeed such things occurred".</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="j7.o"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="o0b7"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="hrua"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="lc-6"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In the 2001 issue of
<i>True Dragon </i>alluded to by the Liaos, there did indeed appear a
photo shoot of Ray demonstrating certain moves. This accompanied an
interview, conducted by Jerzy Talbot, where he first claimed to have
been a clandestine REACT agent. He claimed here that in 1998 he led a
raid on a Florida hotel room to rescue a missing 7-year-old girl Ray
dubbed "Ally" (the real names victims of sexual offenses
are prohibited from being used by the press in pending cases). Ally
was being sexually abused and slated to be filmed for kiddie porn.
Harbin claimed to have killed more than one perpetrator before
rescuing Ally, "scooping her up with the very hands I had just
used to dispense permanent justice to her victimizers", as he
dramatically states in his account of the events. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="jibf0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="jtt1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="jibf1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="j2bp"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="jtt10"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qops"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">These events were
described extensively in the climactic chapter of <i>Ray of Hope, </i>in
which Ray claimed these events were part of the series of nationwide
busts on a massive kiddie porn/ human traffic ring code-named
'Wonderworld'. Leo Rosegrave, after reading this magazine and having
read <i>Ray of Hope</i>, decided to investigate what really happened
with Wonderworld's Florida busts and how (or if) James Ray Harbin was
indeed involved. Leo would be mining a richer vein with the <i>True
Dragon</i> crowd - seemingly the only healthy skeptics in a country
full of rubes desperate for some half-assed hero to "save the
children". Here's an idea, thought the grim Leo, "How about
start with some decent parenting?"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="mwmh"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qops1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="hyrp"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>True
Dragon</i> had gone on to challenge "Dr. Harbin"'s Ph.D.,
which he claimed to have obtained in Korea. A thorough inquiry by
Michelle Liao into degrees issued for the last 30 years at the
university Harbin cites in his book, there is no such record. This
information was later double checked when Harbin's birth name was
revealed. The conclusion was the same: this man has never been a
doctor - of any sort.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ur..3"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="k8-s"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="n89v"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">One
of Graves' favourite magazines that he freelanced for was <i>ONUS
Magazine</i>, based out of a small hamlet called Gossingham, not far
from Flicker Street. Grave's editor, Sam Pace, a native of
Gossingham, loved to publish anything controversial, anything to get
the 'status quo' in an uproar - and anything to rankle the sort of
rednecks Sam grew up with in Gossingham - the same sort of folk that
seemed to be Ray's most ardent and gullible supporters. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="n89v1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="n89v2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="e.ad"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="c6id0"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sam asked Graves to
begin working on a longform piece, using his "ins" with
Harbin and with Literati's, and pool it with the mounting doubts
about Harbin's authenticity spreading like mad over the web (though
most in Flicker St and Gossingham still seemed to take him at face
value). Pace wanted <i>ONUS</i> to be the venue to bring down this
"teller of tall tales" who, he felt, had an "unnatural
obsession with discussing kiddie porn". Pace's prompting
crystallized for Graves where his own thoughts were already heading. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="my_70"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="e.ad0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="my_71"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="eb3m"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="l7sh"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="my_72"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="nxdg"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="nxdg0"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Graves knew such a
piece would be too hot for <i>The Dispatch</i> - despite Bandicott's
hatred of Harbin after Ray sent Bandicott a 'letter to the editor'
that amounted more to a death threat for daring to question Harbin in
any way. Barry Keller was running scared - as usual - so Sam's offer
to Graves was irresistable - especially since <i>ONUS, </i>unlike
Bandicott's weekly, was a national, not local, publication. Graves
decided to focus on all the salient points of the Harbin case, and
Sam told him word count was no issue - it could be a two-partner. Sam
half-joked that maybe Leo could write a complete book on Harbin down
the road, and sell the ancillary rights to retire early. Pace
reasoned if Harbin was making an easy living off his chicanery, why
not let his old buddy Leo Rosegrave profit from it as well?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="r4_b0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="r4_b1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="rbe8"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="q.-a"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="rbe80"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">One point that puzzled
Graves due to its lack of much mention anywhere was - what became of
the mysterous Jean-Marc LaSalle, Ray's mentor and inductor into this
nightmare world of avenging angel of the world's children? <i>True
Dragon</i> had published, in 2002, an interview by Jerzy Talbot with
Harbin and a man who claimed to be Jean-Marc LaSalle, supposedly
conducted at the same java joint next to where Graves worked. Full
circle....</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="q.-a2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="l3q9"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ixyo"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The
interview was corroborated by the shop's employees and managers;
Keller had even mentioned it in passing in his original <i>Dispatch</i>
article; for some reason it just didn't register with Graves - not
until it was mentioned, again, in passing, in Michelle Liao's
comprehensive online piece. Graves asked Michelle who was the
interviewer? She said it was a young white guy named Talbot, one of
Harbin's fellow freelancers and that they'd become friends through
the magazine. This same gentleman collaborated on Harbin's photo-op
piece in 2001. At some point, this gentleman was no longer a part of
Harbin's growing hype machine as it hurtled towards the book's 2003
publication. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="e5ak"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ixyo0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Talbot,
like Ray, had resisted ever appearing on the talkboards online and
defending "their" (until they mysteriously fell out)
position on Harbin's many claims. Talbot was almost Harbin's
publicist; however we regard their association, it ended abrubtly and
inexplicably shortly before <i>Ray of Hope</i> hit the streets.
Talbot had allegedly moved to Florida and was never seen or heard
from again in the Flicker Street area. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t4pw0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="cur9"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="k2on"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="k2on0"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">But what of LaSalle?
Michelle claimed the rumour (perpetuated by Ray himself) was that
LaSalle was dead, and, in patented James Ray Harbin style, it was a
murder rife with drama. Leo had been corresponding with a young man
called Henri Maturin, who'd done some intensive research for Michelle
Liao on her piece. Graves asked Henri to check the French newspaper
"morgues" for any reports of the murder (or death at all)
of Jean-Marc LaSalle. As fate - or luck, in Harbin's case - would
have it, LaSalle is indeed no longer alive to be interviewed. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="mlws"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="urox"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="upia"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="c3ov"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Henri pointed Graves in
the right direction: shortly before their falling out (and the book
launch), the elusive Mr. Talbot had submitted this report to <i>True
Dragon</i>: "In June 2003, LaSalle and Harbin flew to France for
a meeting with US and European officials. LaSalle agreed to meet with
American intelligence officials on June 6, 2003 in order to exchange
certain 'sensitive' documents in exchange for protection. The night
before this exchange was to take place - June 5, 2003 - four officers
broke into the hotel room in which Harbin and LaSalle were staying.
Thee officers apparently attempted to steal the documents and soon a
melee broke out. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="vu5w"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="j587"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="j5870"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="kykz"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ajcp"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">During the struggle,
three of the four attackers were slain and the fourth escaped.
"Harbin was left with a dislocated left knee and several cracked
ribs. He crawled over to the lifeless body of his longtime mentor and
friend, 67 year old Jean-Marc LaSalle. Ray called a Captain Luc
Herzog [supposedly a high-ranking Pyramid liaison in France]. Harbin
said he needed a team of washer/ dryers [those that clean up after
the 'cleaning' apparently]. Herzog dispatched such a group and rushed
Harbin to the hospital. The next day, the meeting that had caused
such calamity beforehand did indeed go down - Herzog personally drove
Ray to the meeting place. Harbin thus gained immunity and protection
due to the information he supplied - and lost his best friend over.
The documents have been hidden across three continents as ultimate
insurance". Graves thinks, if this did really happen, the
documents themselves were probably kiddie porn...</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="os6t"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="fb10"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="nz0t"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Talbot
wrote an article about REACT for a leftist political magazine in late
2003 (the last evidence he still lives after the move to Florida)
that "three [not 4] unknown attackers waylaid them in
Marseilles." Graves follows the logical deduction that LaSalle
was killed on, or about, June 6, 2003, in Marseilles, France. However,
Henri Maturin, going over and above for True Dragon (or Michelle),
made the following statements under oath and signed the affadavit in
court:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ii_k"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ii_k0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="gdxf"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qz1f"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="b5.1"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"There are no
reports of, or evidence of, any law enforcement officer being killed
in Marseille on these dates. Also, no mention of any shootouts
involving REACT operatives or Marseille police on these dates in
Marseilles. I reviewed all area newpapers between June 1 and June 10
of 2003 for any mention of the death of a Jean-Marc LaSalle, or any
occurrences of violence in any hotel room during this time frame. I
found no record whatsoever of any corresponding event in all of
Marseilles during those 10 days, and no record of a Jean-Marc LaSalle
being there, alive or dead, during those times".</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="jzwp0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qb:i"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="q8.t"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This
kid's good, thought Graves. So, all evidence indicates LaSalle didn't
die in Marseilles as claimed by Harbin and "reported" by
Talbot (his parting gift to Ray?). Of course, Talbot was the only
one, outside of Harbin himself, in this whole state, that could say
they met LaSalle (or a man calling himself that) in person - during
that long ago coffee shop interview. Graves has shaken</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="q8.t0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="q8.t1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zw_7"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">down
everyone at the coffee shop, his work, anyone who frequents that area
- no one seems to recall a sit-down between Harbin, Talbot, and an
older, sophisticated gentlemen. Everyone knows Harbin practically
lives at that cafe. Some even recall a guy fitting Talbot's
decription... but alas, no Jean-Marc.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="a-0i0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="c3ew"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Graves
then launched into an extensively researched piece debunking Ray's
Wonderworld story. Leo believed the ultimate pivot on which Ray's
dupicity spun lie his book's climactic chapter due to the sheer scope
of its treatment of the 'Wonderworld' busts; these were not "top
secret" spy missions (though govt agents took part in them), but
a nationally coordinated bust conducted by local law enforcement
(with federal backup) in multiple cities over a few days throughout
America, and with extensive media scrutiny. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="s0yb"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="mxeg"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Harbin
had not indicated anywhere in his book prior to his 'Wonderworld'
chapter that he involved or even aware of its planning - very odd
considering he painted himself as the ultimate crusader in this very
kind of situation. But make no mistake, once he inserts himself into
the action, there's no amount of hoary thriller cliches portraying
him as the hero of children everywhere that he so pathetically, in
Leo's view, is not - nor ever was. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ivne"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ta-w"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="s0qt"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zuyg"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zuyg0"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Graves' view is that by
inserting himself into such a high profile, nationwide sting
operation as Wonderworld, Ray is almost crying out to be revealed as
a fraud. Almost. In Harbin's account, the raid went down on September
3, 1998, in "a town in Florida". Harbin actually arrived in
this nameless town weeks earlier, accompanied REACT operatives and
local law enforcement to stake out suspects in a hotel as part of
Wonderworld raids - waiting to coordinate the arrests on an
international scale. This should have been right up Ray's alley,
thinks Graves - but no, he botched it in the story as in its
telling.. but still managed to emerge a superhero in his account.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="s2jq"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zab8"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="lpix5"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The
suspects were four Korean and three Thai males. On September 3,
Harbin was waiting in their "monitoring station" (which he
does not describe any further) with 'behavioural scientist' Bryn
Deerfield, M.D. when the surveillance equipment that Harbin and co.
had apparently placed in the suspects' suite began picking up
activity that indicated the group had a captive, a seven year old
named "Ally", and were beginning to sexually abuse her,
intending to film and/ or photograph their activities. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="k4o:"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="m1bz"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="mngs"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="h9lp"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t2rm"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t2rm0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="xzqw"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Harbin, against orders
to hold back, ran heroically to the suite, carelessly leaving his
firearm behind. He forced the lock with a card and was nearly shot by
the lookout man, but he swiftly stabbed him in the jugular with a
Ka-Bar knife. Two local deputies entered the room quickly after
Harbin and fatally shot the two remaining men in the living room, who
had drawn firearms. Ray sped to the bedroom, where he found a Thai
man manning a camera tripod - apparently so entranced by
photographing "Ally" that he was oblivious to the gunshots
he must've heard; Harbin's explanation later was that "very loud
techno music was playing in the room". Is this what led Ray in
the correct direction of the bedroom? thought Graves. A very sloppy
account, in his opinion.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="xzqw1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="s0xp"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="sdp5"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Two
of the Koreans were lying on the bed with the naked victim. According
to Ray, the camera man swung his tripod at Ray's head as a makeshift
weapon, but Ray produced a telescoping baton, with which he shattered
the man's left knee, then, as the camera man lost his balance, Ray
brought down the end of the tripod, camera attached, on his skull,
cracking it and killing him. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="sdp50"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="wrq1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="wrq11"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ufk5"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A Korean smashed a
window, and as he attempted to escape, Ray pushed down the man's neck
with one of his Hapkido moves until the Korean's throat was slit
completely open (Ray has a thing with Koreans, Graves thought). Then
Harbin ministered to "Ally", who was taken to the nearest
hospital by Emergency Medical Services, where the girl's family was
apparently there waiting for her. Who called them is undisclosed. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="rfil"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Harbin
was reprimanded by REACT for his reckless actions, but "Ally"'s
father "pulled some strings" (what type of strings this man
could pull with a group like Pyramid that he wouldn't have known
conclusively even existed until that day is not disclosed in Harbin's
account), and not only</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="dwfv"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">was Harbin
forgiven all, but the two trigger-happy deputies that followed his
lead were as well. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="wrq12"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="hnfb"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t_yg"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t_yg1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t_yg0"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Harbin's old
"semi-biographer", Jerzy Talbot, as noted earlier,
recounted a truncated version of these events for the 2001 <i>True
Dragon </i>piece. There he says four of the seven pornographers died
that day; this does not jibe with the above account from <i>Rayof
Hope, </i>where apparently five were slain. Talbot claimed in his
original article that the 4 kills were corroborated by New Orleans
Police Officer Ed Letterier, who was allegedly present at the
incident. Graves decides to track down this Leterrier, by Talbot's
account a cocky oldschool cop from Bywater with a Cajun father and a
redneck temper. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="yi_:"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="cb5r"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Talbot
quotes Letterier thusly: "Yeah, I met these Pyramid fuckers,
alright? I worked Wonderworld from August to September '98, and I met
two of these clowns. One was some show-off punk, James Earl Ray or
some shit, and the other was some headshrinker bitch, Brenda or
somethin'." </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="d450"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"James
Ray Harbin - and Bryn Deerfield, sir?"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="d4500"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="gmm:"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="v8.7"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="v8.70"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"I guess so, I'm
still tryin' to wipe their stench of me. We assumed they were CIA. We
were way off. So, anyway, the fuckin' raid went down. These fuckers,
they're strictly take no prisoners. They're not legit law enforcement
- they're assassins. Think they're above the goddamned law - well,
they ain't. Between the closet case 'superhero' and the psychobabble
bitch, I hope I never see or hear about their crooked "Org"
the rest 'a' my natural life. Jesus. There is still due process,
ain't there? Fuck."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="lh6q"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="en6j"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="nu1z"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qci:"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qci:0"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Talbot claimed he
interviewed Letterier on June 6, 2001 and descibed him as active, not
retired, on the force. Graves called the New Orleans PD in February
2005 and was told there was no police officer named Edward Leterrier
currently employed by them, full-time, part-time, or even on reserve.
Further checking with their Personnel Offices, Graves found he could
not obtain the names of retirees, so Leterrier could have retired
between June 2001 and February 2005. But what was a New Orleans
police officer out of Bywater doing in the unnamed "small town
in Florida" where the raid allegedly happened when the officer
had no connection to REACT, and was not a member of local law
enforcement in Florida?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-small;">Leterrier was likely
yet another colourful product of Harbin's imagination – and his
derogatory comments about Ray, Graves felt, were examples of
disinformation – Harbin having at least someone in his book
“mistakenly” “misunderstanding” his crusade.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ozcg0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ozcg1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="kuyc"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="o2rp"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="luuw"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="bstb"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ikcf"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">After weeks of
exhaustive news searches and online research, Graves found only two
Wonderworld raids in Florida during August or September 1998. Local
law enforcement, working in tandem with Customs Agents, seized
hundreds of images of child pornography from the computer of a man
who lived just outside Jacksonville FL. However, no shooting, no
arrests. Just the carrying out of a search warrant and the seizure of
the offensive materials. This was on September 4, 1998, and was
reported in the local media. If police (or anyone working with local
authorities) had killed four (or five, depending on the account) men
during a daytime raid, it could not have been kept from all media
altogether. Graves follows every possible lead, and all that emerges
is that on September 3, 1998 - the day of the events Harbin and
Talbot describe - a Miami home is raided, and police seize, as they
did the next day in Jacksonville, a home computer, its hard drive
filled with images of child pornography.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="c1hb0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="j4if"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="slek"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In
the media, Miami and Jacksonville are mentioned as among the American
and international locations where the coordinated operation on
Wonderworld took place. Wonderworld was essentially a worldwide
computer file sharing operation devoted to child pornography. Graves
reads every account of a Wonderworld bust in the world. No government
involvement, no shoot-outs, no deaths, no dubious heroics. As far as
can be assessed, Wonderworld was a 'club' devoted to disseminating -
not (as in the case of the tripod-wielding arch-villain)
manufacturing - the product. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zsic0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="vbbd"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Graves
followed up to see if there were any police raids in Florida between
August 30 and September 5, 1998 that resulted in any fatalities. Then
he asked officers in Jacksonville if any </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">raids
connected to Wonderworld resulted in fatalities. The police
department's spokesperson offered a flat, unequivocal "no".
Leo did find one newspaper account of the seized computer porn just
outside Jacksonville on the September 4. His final visit was to speak
with an Officer Janssen of the Miami City Police who had not only not
heard of any such incident in Florida in 1998, but in order to be
absolutely sure, one would need to provide a suspect's or victim's
name, date of birth, and/ or social security number. None of which
Harbin so helpfully provided, right along with "a small town in
Florida".</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="n..v0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="c533"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="b76o"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">There
were no reports in the media of an EMS vehicle ferrying a seven year
to a "small town" hospital. No trigger-happy deputies
chastised, then commended. No reports of four - or five - dead
Koreans and Thai at any coroners' offices. By this time Leo Rosegrave
was sick of Florida - the visit there, reading about it, the red
tape, talking to the locals and cops, the weather, all of it. But, it
was, to him, ultimately to a good end. In his view, this entire
incident - as so many in Ray of Hope - was entirely fabricated. And
the refusal - despite countless opportunities to do so - of Harbin or
Talbot to answer their critics online and elsewhere - places all of
Harbin's claims in grave doubt.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ap9m"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="j28n"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Even
as Harbin's fervent legion of wild-eyed supporters leapt to his
defense against any who'd question their dubious hero, Harbin's wife
left him, apparently beginning to believe him a fake as well. He
talked her back within weeks, but they both remained unemployed (she
hadn't worked since they got married and he was laid off in his job
as telephone computer tech support around the time the book was
published). Even as Graves was preparing his <i>ONUS</i> piece, he
ended up in Harbin's orbit one last time. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="hlcv"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="l33b"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="l33b0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="l33b1"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Two of Graves' fellow
employees at the bookstore caught Harbin, usually abetted by his
returned wife, trying to scam by bringing back books for refunds -
books that appeared stolen from other shops. He also attempted
switching price tags on items and began carrying a large black bag
which occasionally set off the store's electronic alarm (Ray, of
course, would just keep on walking). </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="o2a90"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ip7j"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ip7j1"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">One
of Grave's co-workers, an affable artist named Ren Kuttner, was a
regular at the coffee shop next door; his ex-fiancee Amelia Coxsone
still worked there. Harbin was also considered a living legend, folk
hero, sex symbol, ad nauseum at this shop. Everyone there militantly
defended him, and were rabid attack dogs against his detractors. Much
as this sickened Ren, he kept coming here on his breaks because,
simply put, he was still in love with the head barrista. In a weak
moment, Ren mentioned to her that Ray'd been attempting to steal and
scam in the store, and it looking liked he'd be barred from the store
(they long ago sent every unsold copy of his book back to the
publisher). Amelia humored her ex, but then reported the conversation
to Ray. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="gk3k0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="e8so"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="e8so0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="fsa2"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">An hour later, in plain
sight of Graves, Harbin and his wife approached Kuttner. Harbin
boldly threatened to murder Kuttner for his slander, screaming, "No
one - no... one.. slanders the good name of James Ray Harbin" (a
line of unbelieveable irony, Graves would discover). Harbin was on a
rampage, and finally, he was removed and barred from ever returning
to Literati's. When asked if Ren wished to press charges for
harassment, death threats, and stalking, Kuttner begged off, finding
discretion the best part of valor - and vowing never to trust the
girl he once intended to marry for the rest of his natural life. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="fsa21"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="cp0k"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Following
this drama, Harbin's wife split again. Word of mouth was hurting the
book, largely due to the online debunkers. He may've still been the
Second Coming to a few trendy over-pierced barristas, but weren't
going to be paying his rent. So Harbin hustled like a madman for new
interviews -print, TV, or radio - and, most potentially lucratively,
gigs speaking on the lecture circuit of foundations and universities
as an authority on the things he was speaking out against in his
book. This may've been his single biggest mistake. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="jdbn"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ll720"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>4
- The Fallout</b> </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="sn0l"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">On
January 23, 2006, In Colorado, Harbin had been booked for a
high-paying speaking gig. Just</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">before
he was to appear, a warrant for his arrest was executed. At this
point, the truth about this small-time self-spawned legend was no
longer the province of sceptics, journalists, martial arts experts,
and internet bloggers. It was now a matter for local and federal the
law - the kind of law Harbin sneers at and blames again and again in
his book as a root cause of "nothing being done .... for the
children".</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="u-xg"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="mp8p"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="vqz5"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="lp1q"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ebvf"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Harbin's first court
appearance in Colorado was scheduled for February 2, 2006; his bond
was set at $ 5,000.00. But as far back as 2004 REACT had been
describing Harbin's history as pure fiction. Working closely with
REACT's Central EuroOrg (including their Chief Secretariat in
Auvergne, France - who's been on record since 2003 declaiming
Harbin's bona-fides), and other REACT member countries, the Colorado
Bureau of Investigation found Harbin's credentials bogus and have
classed his numerous attempts to profit from his masquerade as
federal felonies. His charges include, but are not limited to,
criminal impersonation of a federal agent (a severe felony), fraud,
computer crime, and attempted theft. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ihs96"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="sank"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="sank0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="nwfk"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="umfa"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Once arrested, the
Colorado police began unraveling the truth behind the mostly
self-manufactured mythology of James Ray Harbin, covert agent of
REACT and tireless advocate for and defender to the death of
exploited, abused, and molested children. First off, his real (birth)
name is Dwayne Ray Gilley. He legally changed his name to James Ray
Harbin in Seattle, WA in 1990. Some have said James Harbin was the
star of a minor string of spy thrillers from the 1960s - and, sure
enough, an eBay search yields a dealer's page specializing in
latter-day pulps, or "aggressor" fiction. Actually, the
James Harbin series is called 'The Aggressor'. The fictional Harbin
is never depicted as liberating Asian children from kiddie porn and
snuff film rings, however (elements that do figure prominently in <i>Ray
of Hope</i>).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ed_x"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="wz8m"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="unr40"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="wqz5"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The CBI, with assist
from REACT, set about building their case against Harbin, who
remained in jail for sometime with no one to come forward to pay his
bond (his wife had left him twice since his credibility became
damaged; the last time for good, well before his engagements in
Colorado). The meticulous research conducted in the last year and a
half by <i>True Dragon </i>and their adjunct website, provided a
wealth of information debunking almost every incident in Harbin's
book and his subsequent claims in his paid appearances. And Leo
Rosegrave was not far behind, keeping up as best he could with this
process, awaiting the collation of data and the final verdict, at
which time the plan he and Sam had hatched was a "final
interview". </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="v8460"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="q_bs"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="mo_0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="mo_00"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">REACT reiterated their
much earlier statements of having no records of a James Ray Harbin
having ever been associated with any of their divisions; this time
they included the name 'Dwayne Ray Gilley' as part of their
statement, now that Ray's birth name was public. REACT disavowed any
knowledge of or dealings with Gilley, and, once again, denied the
existence of Pyramid, or that they were in any way active such fields
of covert operations or espionage. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qr4o"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="rc4b"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="q7rz"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="q7rz0"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The CBI and REACT say
the chronology given in the book <i>Ray of Hope</i> by the man
born Dwayne Ray Gilley is patently false. The following is what they
managed to piece together as factual - some of which was uncovered by
Leo Rosegrave and Michelle Liao since 2003. Dwayne Ray Gilley was
born in Seattle WA on April 6, 1963. A CBI investigator was able to
track down and interview Harbin's first wife, Suzy Stroupe. Here were
his findings, which Ms. Stroupe would later reiterate under oath:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="v9bj0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Suzanne
Stroupe was born in Gossingham in 1962 and met Dwayne Gilley at
Brigham Young University (he was actually a Mormon). They wed in
1984. hey had one child together in 1989. The couple changed their
last names from Gilley to Harbin in Seattle WA in 1990. Dwayne
changed his first name to James as well, to fully reflect why they
made the name change - they'd selected Harbin because of the
character James Harbin in the pulp novel series 'The Aggressor'.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="tlwm6"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="db0q"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In
1991 the couple separated; Stroupe moved to Gossingham, where most of
her family hailed from. Harbin told Suzy that he was moving to Korea
to teach English. Three months later, Harbin surprisingly emerged in
Gossingham, where he remained near his wife and daughter until 1995</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="wk45"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">when
they divorced. From 1995 to the present Harbin has kept in close
contact with his child and ex-wife, and he currently resides in
Flicker Street. Ms. Stroupe told the investigator that Harbin "has
a fascination with comic books, action heroes, heroes in cartoons and
especially in old pulp novels. He regularly attends comic book
conventions." </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="h-8-"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="m6nw"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="a85m"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="vsy1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="vsy10"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Stroupe stated her view
to the CBI investigator that "in my opinion it would be
completely impossible for Dway - James, whatever, to have been a
covert agent or assassin - these things he claims to be - and a
graduate of the university in Korea where he claims to have gotten a
Ph.D. without my knowledge. I never saw any Ph.D. Dwayne and I were
practically inseparable for most of our relationship. My ex-husband
is a habitual, pathological liar and I asked him many times to get
some sort of psychological help to help him deal with reality. He
refused, and that's essentially what led to our divorce". </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="lk1g"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="vklp"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ferf"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Stroupe
went on: "Once, he told me his father had passed away and that
he needed to make funeral arrangements. I called my mother-in-law to
offer condolences, and found that Mr. Gilley was alive and perfectly
fine! It was just crazy". Stroupe also wished it pointed out for
the record that the scar he allegedly acquired as a result of being
stabbed in the riot in Kwangju (the one that never actually
occurred), was actually the result of a kidney operation. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ytgq0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="tgpr"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="x48z"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">With
Harbin's personal mythology effectively destroyed, he's accusing the
CBI of being a tool of REACT and his ex-wife of herself being a
perpetual liar, and bitter over his remarriage. Sam Pace publishes
Graves' article and Sam asks Leo if he'll do the exclusive interview
with Ray that they'd discussed – as the ultimate follow-up. Graves
heads to Colorado...</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="kv_32"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ihs98"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>5
- The Final Interview</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="a2cb"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ca.e"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ig-9"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="w0:n"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Leo comes to see Ray at
the jail where he's being held before his final judgment. No one
would come forward to pay the $ 5,000. So much for his devoted
following, thinks Graves. Ray acquiesces to a "final"
interview after pleading guilty and saying very little to explain
himself in court - and saying nothing to the press. Whether he will
'come clean' or not, Graves doesn't know - or believe that it'll
happen. His intention is to call out Ray, to make him squirm, to gain
enough insight by reading between the now-debunked lines, to
construct a story - a psychological snapshot of what really drives
Dwayne Ray Gilley. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="wrex0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="g00-"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="n4es"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Beyond
the need for attention, ego-aggrandizement, the need to be regarded
as a hero like those of his comics, cartoons, and pulps - beyond a
calculating, years-long and convoluted bit of grifting to enrich
himself financially; and far, far beyond what he still claims is the
good he's really done. What is this good, that he claims is more
important than his own fate and whether what he says is truth or lie?
It's to draw attention to, and, hence, aid "the plight of the
exploited and degraded children of the world". And it is upon
this justification for all he's done that Ray clings - and it is that
fragile rationale that Graves hopes to use against Ray, to undo and
expose his true sickness once and for all.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="n2wc"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This
section runs on pure dialogue. Without scripting the entire section,
here are some highlights (not necessarily in order) and the
resolution:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="binm0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="gw_1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="gw_10"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="v7oj"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Leo leans in close to
Ray. (Leo's look and manner here evokes a very intense grizzled Nick
Nolte [circa <i>Clean </i>and <i>Hulk</i> look - but younger])
"Jean-Marc LaSalle doesn't really exist... does he? He.. never
really existed, did he Ray?" (flips back to more jovial Graves
as he stands up.) </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="v7oj0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Harbin:
"I didn't like what you wrote in that magazine".</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="xi9-"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Graves:
"What? I mean, what in particular? I'm sure there was a lot in
there you could've found objectionable".</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="xi9-0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Harbin:
"That sick description of my book".</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="pdcd"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="piwn"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="xl6y"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Graves
(pulls out the <i>ONUS </i>issue, flips through, and his eyes settle
on this quote, which he reads aloud to Ray): "<i>Ray of Hope</i>...
how to take such a screed? A vigilante's wet dream... or a cry for</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-small;">help from a closeted
pedophile?"</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="y6:d"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">H:
"Yes. (angry) Why... how could you write something like that
after everything I've done for exploited children?"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="niwl"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="mxax"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="w0b8"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">G:
"Do what? Exploit them further? Make a quick book off of
fabricated suffering when the real deal's out there, festering? How
are you helping, Ray? Did you read Liao Jun Kim's quote? I've met
him, you know - a Zen Buddhist, by the way - and he just nailed it.
Not to hurt you, or stymie your book sales - but because he was
right. He read you. The whole thing about you.."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="dq8u"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">H:
(getting very enraged)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="dq8u0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="r.50"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="nke."></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="nke.0"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">G: "Easy, big boy.
The whole thing is... yes, the hook is sexually exploited children,
kiddie porn, human trafficking, the whole sordid enchilada... you
know - of course you do - it turns on people, Ray. Certain types of
people. Why? We could theorize endlessly, and "behavioural
psychologists" do - like Bryn Deerfield, who, by the way, I did
find and her story is the Wonderworld deal is pure bunk – she
wasn't there, and she's never met you.. oh yeah, and she may sue you
for - "</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="nke.1"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">H:
(furious) "Did you have a point to make before I smash your head
into this table?"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="vtif"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="m..u"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="m..u0"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">G:
"With Crane, Tiger, Monkey, whatcha got for me? Yes, I do have a
point, and then I'll leave. And I brought you a present here in my
bag. Some stuff I printed off the Internet. Makes me lose my lunch
even catching it out of the corner of my eye, but maybe it'll help
alleviate your loneliness while you await the sentence. And maybe
you'll get something out of it before you scramble to destroy it when
you hear a guard coming..."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="repu"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">H:
: "What the fuck???"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="eb:d0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="eb:d1"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">G:
(lays down five pages of child pornography on the table in front of
Harbin) "Here you go, Dwayne Ray Gilley - you know, you told the
truth about one - just one, apparently - thing - "</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="k1j4"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">H:
"Get this filth - "</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="k1j40"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="huyv"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="b11r"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">G:
" - the plight of the exploited and degraded children of the
world..." (turns to leave) ".... you do care about their
plight. You love it, you wallow in it, you jerk off to the
suffering.... well...". Graves turns, opening the door, says,
"Enjoy it while you can, you sick fuck. Pretty soon, your final
secret won't be a secret anymore... Best of luck".</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="b11r1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="e6ef"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="csc1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="csc10"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="r6nu"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Then Graves leaves.
Harbin is enraged. He wants to smash that pathetic bastard. His heart
races.... he looks down at the images Graves left behind, and
somewhere in his bizarre consciousness flits the thought, <i>there
are other ways to calm down .... to relieve all this stress...</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="r6nu1"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">He
reaches down, under the table, between his legs....</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-small;"><b>[possible ending]</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-small;"><b>06-17-08</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="f-tw1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="t.232"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="lccs"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="lccs0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="tei0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="f-tw4"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="f-tw2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zbp-"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="y3oj0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="y3oj"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="y8kd0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="i0m6"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="jpm_"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qw3s1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="qw3s0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ktwa1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ktwa0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="ktwa"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="f-tw6"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="m.y90"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="zwww0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="yj7g0"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3852574899003991711" name="yj7g"></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Leo Rosegrave aka
Graves, James Ray Harbin aka Dwayne Ray Gilley, Flicker Street, </b><i><b>The
Flicker Street Dispatch</b></i><b>, </b><i><b>The Daily Occidental</b></i><b>,
</b><i><b>ONUS Magazine</b></i><b>, Sam Pace, Michelle Liao, Jun Kim
Liao, Suzy Stroupe Gilley, Gossingham, Jerzy Talbot, Jean-Marc
LaSalle, REACT, REACT EuroOrg, REACT: Pyramid, Paige Street, Ren Kuttner, Amelia Coxsone, Barry Keller, Horst Ewers, John Bandicott, Luc
Herzog, Edward Letterier, Henri Maturin, Bryn Deerfield, Officer
Janssen, Literati's, </b><i><b>Ray of Hope: The Covert Missions of a
Crusader Against Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking, True
Dragon, </b></i><b>and all related images and story elements were
created by Henry Covert 1983-2008 and are all Copyright 2015 George
Henry Smathers, Jr.</b></span></span></span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852574899003991711.post-61384154279522200882015-04-24T13:57:00.002-07:002015-04-24T14:15:53.853-07:00Henry Covert's 555 Films That Freak Me Out - 2015<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: #3d85c6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Yet again.... 555 films, honed down from a massive list of 750 all-time favourites. After many changes from previous such lists, and much brain-wracking, these films, as close to being in order as possible, indeed represent those movies I absolutely rate the highest in my personal pantheon. As always, all are indelibly etched onto my brainpan - regardless of genre, length, or what some might deem "good taste".</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">1.
2046 (Wong Kar-wai, 2004)<b><br /></b>2.
Dawn of the Dead (George Romero, 1978) <b><br /></b>3.
X-Men (Bryan Singer, 2000)<b><br /></b>4.
Oldboy (Park chan-wook, 2003)<b><br /></b>5.
Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone, 1994)<b><br /></b>6.
Superfly (Gordon Parks Jr., 1972)<b><br /></b>7.
Django (Sergio Corbucci, 1966)<b><br /></b>8.
Tristana (Luis Bunuel, 1970) <b><br /></b>9.
Orpheus (Jean Cocteau, 1950)<b><br /></b>10.
Sweet Movie (Dusan Makavejev, 1974)<br /><b><br /></b>11.
The Great Silence (Sergio Corbucci, 1968)<b><br /></b>12.
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (Peter Greenaway,
1989)<b><br /></b>13.
Last Tango in Paris (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1972)<b><br /></b>14.
Possession (Andrzej Zulawski, 1981)<b><br /></b>15.
Scorpio Rising (Kenneth Anger, 1964)<b><br /></b>16.
Night of the Living Dead (George Romero, 1968)<b><br /></b>17.
Judex (Louis Feuillade, 1917)<b><br /></b>18.
Cutter's Way (Ivan Passer, 1981)<b><br /></b>19.
Bad Timing (Nicolas Roeg, 1980)<b><br /></b>20.
Cannibal Apocalypse (Antonio Margheriti, 1980)<b><br /></b>21.
The Idiot (Akira Kurosawa, 1951) <b><br /></b>22.
The Killer (John Woo, 1989)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">23.
The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1968)<b><br /></b>24.
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (Russ Meyer, 1970)<b><br /></b>25.
Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith, 1997)<br /><b><br /></b>26.
Vivre sa Vie (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">27.
Holy Mountain (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973)<b><br /></b>28.
X2: X-Men United (Bryan Singer, 2003)<b><br /></b>29.
Ganja & Hess (Bill Gunn, 1973)<b><br /></b>30.
Drugstore Cowboy (Gus van Sant, 1989) <b><br /></b>31.
Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968)<b><br /></b>32.
El Topo (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1970)<b><br /></b>33.
Aguirre: The Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972)<b><br /></b>34.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974)<b><br /></b>35.
Spider-Man (Sam Raimi, 2002)<b><br /></b>36.
The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, 1992)<b><br /></b>37.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (David Lynch (1992)<b><br /></b>38.
Blue Collar (Paul Schrader, 1978)<b><br /></b>39.
Messiah of Evil (Willard Huych, 1973)<b><br /></b>40.
Querelle (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1982)<b><br /></b>41.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)<b><br /></b>42.
Across 110<sup>th</sup> Street
(Barry Shear, 1972)<b><br /></b>43.
Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg, 1988)<b><br /></b>44.
Mask (Peter Bogdanovich, 1985) <b><br /></b>45.
Taxi Driver (Martin Scorcese, 1976)<b><br /></b>46.
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (Ivan Dixon, 1973)<b><br /></b>47.
Heavy Traffic (Ralph Bakshi, 1973)<b><br /></b>48.
The Face of Another (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1966)<b><br /></b>49.
The
Fly (David Cronenberg, (1986)<b><br /></b>50.
The Dead Zone (David Cronenberg, 1983)<b><br />
</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">51.
Hulk (Ang Lee, 2003)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">52.
A Housekeeper (Claude Berri, 2002)<b><br /></b>53.
Performance (Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell, 1970)<b><br /></b>54.
Thief (Michael Mann, 1981)<b><br /></b>55.
The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)<b><br /></b>56.
Candyman (Bernard Rose, 1992) <b><br /></b>57.
Black Jesus (Valerio Zurlini, 1968)<b><br /></b>58.
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (J. Lee Thompson, 1972)<b><br /></b>59.
The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)<b><br /></b>60.
The Beyond (Lucio Fulci, 1981)<b><br /></b>61.
1984 (Michael Radford, 1984)<b><br /></b>62.
Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, 1962)<b><br /></b>63.
Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)<b><br /></b>64.
Alucarda (Juan Lopez Moctezuma, 1977) <b><br /></b>65.
Fritz the Cat (Ralph Bakshi, 1972)<b><br /></b>66.
Truck Turner (Jonathan Kaplan, 1974)<b><br /></b>67.
Spider-Man 2 (Sam Raimi, 2004)<b><br /></b>68.
Secretary (Steven Shainberg, 2002)<b><br /></b>69.
The Fountain (Darren Aaronofsky, 2006) <b><br /></b>70.
The Last Man on Earth (Ubaldo Ragona, 1964)<b><br /></b>71.
Soylent Green (Richard Fleischer, 1973)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">72.
The Cat O'Nine Tails (Dario Argento, 1971)<b><br /></b>73.
WR: Mysteries of the Organism (Dusan Makavejev, 1971) <b><br /></b>74.
Hit Man (George Armitage, 1972)<b><br /></b>75.
Lord Love a Duck (George Axelrod, 1966) <b><br /></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">76.
Ms. 45 (Abel Ferrara, 1981)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">77.
Heat (Michael Mann, 1995) <b><br /></b>78.
Day of the Dead (George Romero,1985) <b><br /></b>79.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise, 1951)<b><br /></b>80.
Black Caesar (Larry Cohen, 1973)<b><br /></b>81.
Hell Up in Harlem (Larry Cohen, 1973)<b><br /></b>82.
Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai, 1994)<b><br /></b>83.
In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)<b><br /></b>84.
Thriller – A Cruel Picture (Bo Arne Vibenius, 1973)<b><br /></b>85.
Siegfried (Fritz Lang, 1924)<b><br /></b>86.
Kriemhild's Revenge (Fritz Lang, 1924)<b><br /></b>87.
Hard Boiled (John Woo, 1992)<b><br /></b>88.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975)<b><br /></b>89.
Faster Pussycat... Kill! Kill! (Russ Meyer, 1965)<b><br /></b>90.
INLAND EMPIRE (David Lynch, 2006)<b><br /></b>91.
The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)<b><br /></b>92.
Lady Snowblood (Toshiya Fujita, 1973)<b><br /></b>93.
Fitzcarraldo (Werner Herzog, 1982)<b><br /></b>94.
Welcome Home Brother Charles (Jamaa Fanaka, 1975)<b><br /></b>95.
Alphaville (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965)<b><br /></b>96.
Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001) <b><br /></b>97.
The Duellists (Ridley Scott, 1977)<b><br /></b>98.
Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)<b><br /></b>99.
Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)<b><br /></b>100.
The Devil in Miss Jones (Gerard Damiano, 1973)<br /><b><br /></b>101.
Bully
(Larry Clark, 2001)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">102.
Flash Gordon (Mike Hodges, 1980)<b><br /></b>103.
Keoma (Enzo Castellari, 1976)<b><br /></b>104.
The Big Bird Cage (Jack Hill, 1972)<b><br /></b>105.
Foxy Brown (Jack Hill, 1974)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">106.
The World of Suzie Wong (Richard Quine, 1960)<b><br /></b>107.
Freeway (Matthew Bright, 1996) <b><br /></b>108.
Deadbeat at Dawn (Jim Van Bebber, 1988) <b><br /></b>109.
Butterfly & Sword (Michael Mak, 1993)<b><br /></b>110.
Minnie and Moskowitz (John Cassavettes, 1971)<b><br /></b>111.
Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)<b><br /></b>112.
Scarface (Brian DePalma, 1983)<b><br /></b>113.
The Mack (Michael Campus, 1973) <b><br /></b>114.
Four of the Apocalypse (Lucio Fulci, 1975)<b><br /></b>115.
Belle du Jour (Luis Bunuel, 1967)<b><br /></b>116.
Immortal (ad vitam) (Enki Bilal, 2004)<b><br /></b>117.
Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsey, 2002)<b><br /></b>118.
American Movie (Chris Smith, 1999)<b><br /></b>119.
Brotherhood of the Wolf (Christophe Gans, 2001)<b><br /></b>120.
Martin (George A Romero, 1976)<b><br /></b>121.
Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)<b><br /></b>122.
Sid and Nancy (Alex Cox, 1986)<b><br /></b>123.
M Butterfly (David Cronenberg, 1993)<b><br /></b>124.
Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983) <b><br /></b>125.
High and Low (Akira Kurosawa, 1963)<b><br /></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">126.
The Whip and the Body (Mario Bava, 1963)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">127.
Liquid Sky (Slava Tsukerman, 1982)<b><br /></b>128.
Clerks II (Kevin Smith, 2006)<b><br /></b>129.
Candy (Christian Marquand, 1968)<b><br /></b>130.
Lucifer Rising (Kenneth Anger, 1972)<b><br /></b>131.
Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)<b><br /></b>132.
The Night Porter (Liliana Cavani, 1974)<b><br /></b>133.
A Dangerous Game (Abel Ferrera, 1993)<b><br /></b>134.
Monster (Patty Jenkins, 2003)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">135.
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (Sam Peckinpah, 1974)<b><br /></b>136.
Putney Swope (Robert Downey, Sr., 1969)<b><br /></b>137.
Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (Benjamin Christensen, 1922)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">138.
Southern Comfort (Walter Hill, 1981)<b><br /></b>139.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart At the River Styx (Kenji Misumi,
1972)<b><br /></b>140.
American Pop (Ralph Bakshi, 1981) <b><br /></b>141.
Once Were Warriors (Lee Tamahori, 1994)<b><br /></b>142.
Santa Sangre (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1989)<b><br /></b>143.
Z (Costa-Gavras, 1969) <b><br /></b>144.
Towers Open Fire (Antony Balch, 1963)<b><br /></b>145.
Out of the Blue (Dennis Hopper, 1980)<b><br /></b>146.
Watermelon Man (Melvin Van Peebles, 1970) <b><br /></b>147.
L'Age D'Or (Luis Bunuel, 1930)<b><br /></b>148.
Get Carter (Mike)Hodges, 1971)<b><br /></b>149.
Coffy (Jack Hill, 1973)<b><br /></b>150.
Cannibal
Holocaust (Ruggero Deodato, 1980)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;"><b><br /></b>151.The
Omega Man (Boris Sagal, 1971) <b><br /></b>152.
Giants and Toys (Yasuzo Masumura, 1958)<b><br /></b>153.
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (Jamoril Jires, 1970)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">154.
Freaks (Tod Browning, 1932)<b><br /></b>155.
X-Men: The Last Stand (Brett Ratner, 2006)<b><br /></b>156.
Carlito's Way (Brian DePalma, 1993)<b><br /></b>157.
Blow Out (Brian DePalma, 1981)<b><br /></b>158.
New Rose Hotel (Abel Ferrara, 1998)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">159.
Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999)<b><br /></b>160.
Week End (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967)<b><br /></b>161.
Fantastic Planet (Rene Laloux, 1973)<b><br /></b>162.
Once Upon A Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968) <b><br /></b>163.
Fingers (James Toback, 1978)<b><br /></b>164.
Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa, 1952)<b><br /></b>165.
A Better Tomorrow (John Woo, 1986)<b><br /></b>166.
A Better Tomorrow II (John Woo, 1987)<b><br /></b>167.
Nadja (Michael Almereyda, 1994) <b><br /></b>168.
The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978)<b><br /></b>169.
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Ted Post, 1970)<b><br /></b>170.
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (Don Taylor, 1971)<b><br /></b>171.
The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, 2008)<b><br /></b>172.
Tokyo Drifter (Seijun Suzuki, 1966)<b><br /></b>173.
Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)<b><br /></b>174.
Dolemite (D'Urville Martin, 1975) </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">175.
King of New York (Abel Ferrera, 1990)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">176.
The Moderns (Alan Rudolph, 1988)<b><br /></b>177.
The Bad Sleep Well (Akira Kurosawa, 1960)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">178.
Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">179.
American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, 2003) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">180.
The Caveman's Valentine (Kasi Lemmons, 2001)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">181.
Flavia the Heretic (Gianfranco Mingozzi, 1974)<br />182. Serpico
(Sidney Lumet, 1973)<b><br /></b>183.
Wolfen (Michael Wadleigh, 1981)<b><br /></b>184.
Temptation of A Monk (Clara Law, 1993)<b><br /></b>185.
Dust Devil (Richard Stanley, 1992)<b><br /></b>186.
Moll Flanders (Pen Densham, 1996)<b><br /></b>187.
Violent City (Sergio Sollima, 1970)<b><br /></b>188.
Revolver (Sergio Sollima, 1973) <b><br /></b>189.
A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan, 1957)<b><br /></b>190.
Afraid to Die (Yasuzo Masumura, 1960) <b><br /></b>191.
Sweet Sweetback's Baadassss Song (Melvin Van Peebles, 1971) <b><br /></b>192.
Oedipus Rex (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1967)<b><br /></b>193.
Planet of the Vampires (Mario Bava, 1965)<b><br /></b>194.<b>
</b>Seconds
(John Frankenheimer, 1966) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">195.
Castle of Blood (Antonio Margheriti, 1963) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">196.
Teorema (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1968)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">197.
Ashes of Time Redux (Wong Kar-wai, 1994)<b><br /></b>198.
Branded to Kill (Seijun Suzuki, 1967)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">199.
The Howling (Joe Dante, 1981)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">200.
Mallrats (Kevin Smith, 1995)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">201.
Sword of Doom (Kihachi Okamoto, 1966)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">202.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000)<b><br /></b>203.
The Ninth Configuration (William Peter Blatty, 1980)<b><br /></b>204.
Last
Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1961)<b><br /></b>205.
Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009)<b><br /></b>206.
Manson (Robert Hendrickson, 1973) <b><br /></b>207.
The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964)<b><br /></b>208.
The Hand (Oliver Stone, 1981)<b><br /></b>209.
Death Wish (Michael Winner, 1974)<b><br /></b>210.
High Plains Drifter (Clint Eastwood, 1973)<b><br /></b>211.
It's Alive (Larry Cohen, 1974) <b><br /></b>212.
The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982)<b><br /></b>213.
They Live (John Carpenter, 1988)<b><br /></b>214.
Prince of Darkness (John Carpenter, 1987)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">215.
God Told Me To (Larry Cohen, 1976)<b><br /></b>216.
JFK (Oliver Stone, 1991)<b><br /></b>217.
Wuthering Heights (Robert Fuest, 1970) <b><br /></b>218.
Sonatine (Takeshi Kitano, 1993) <b><br /></b>219.
Fay Grim (Hal Hartley, 2006)<b><br /></b>220.
Street Smart (Jerry Schatzberg, 1987)<b><br /></b>221.
Crimes of Passion (Ken Russell, 1984)<b><br /></b>222.
The People vs Larry Flynt (Milos Forman, 1996) <b><br /></b>223.
Blind Beast (Yasuzo Masumura, 1969) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">224.
Suicide Club (Shion Sono, 2001)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">225.
Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">226.
Lady Vengeance (Park Chan-wook, 2005)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">227.
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (Hugh Hudson,
1984)<b><br /></b>228.
Incubus (Leslie Stevens, 1966)<b><br /></b>229.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgoisie (Luis Bunuel, 1972) <b><br /></b>230.
Goodbye Uncle Tom (Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi, 1971)<b><br /></b>231.
Se7en (David Fincher, 1995)<b><br /></b>232.
Lenny (Bob Fosse, 1974) <b><br /></b>233.
Venus in Furs (Jess Franco, 1969)<b><br /></b>234.
Brainstorm (Douglas Trumbull, 1983)<b><br /></b>235.
Companeros (Sergio Corbucci, 1970) <b><br /></b>236.<b>
</b>Blood
and Black Lace (Mario Bava, 1964) <b><br /></b>237.
Sex and Fury (Noribumi Suzuki, 1973)<b><br /></b>238.
Punk in London (Wolfgang Buld, 1977)<b><br /></b>239.
Point Blank (John Boorman, 1967)<b><br /></b>240.
Silent Running (Douglas Trumbull, 1972)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">241.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (Kevin Smith, 2001)<br />242. Heathers
(Michael Lehmann, 1988)<br />243. Gozu (Takashi Miike, 2003)<br />244.
Donkey Skin (Jacques Demy, 1970)<b><br /></b>245. Stalker (Andrei
Tarkovsky, 1979)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">246.
Last Cannibal World (Ruggero Deodato, 1977) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">247.
The One-Armed Swordsman (Chang Cheh, 1967)<b><br /></b>248.
RoGoPaG (Roberto Rossellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Pier Paolo Pasolini,
Ugo Gregoretti, 1963)<b><br /></b>249.
King of Comedy (Martin Scorcese, 1982) </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">250.
Today We Kill... Tomorrow We Die! (Tonino Cervi, 1968)<b><br /></b></span></span><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">251.
The Straight Story (David Lynch, 1999)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">252.
Happiness of the Katakuris (Takashi Miike, 2001)<b><br /></b>253.
Blacula (William Crain, 1972)<b><br /></b>254.
The Devils (Ken Russell, 1971)<b><br /></b>255.
Coonskin (Ralph Bakshi, 1975)<b><br /></b>256.
Pretty Baby (Louis Malle, 1978)<b><br /></b>257.
Cannibal Man (Eloy de la Iglesia, 1973) <b><br /></b>258.
The Heroic Trio (Johnnie To, 1993)<b><br /></b>259.
Woman in the Dunes (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964)<b><br /></b>260.
Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)<b><br /></b>261. Dracula: Sovereign of
the Damned (Minoru Okazaki, 1980)<b><br /></b>262.
Don't Torture A Duckling (Lucio Fulci, 1972)<b><br /></b>263.<b>
</b>Ravenous
(Antonia Bird, 1999)<br />264. Charly (Ralph Nelson, 1968)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">265.
Dark Passage (Delmer Daves, 1947)<b><br /></b>266.
The Mechanic (Michael Winner, 1972) </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">267.
Fahrenheit 451 (Francois Truffaut, 1966)<b><br /></b>268.
The Witches (Mauro Bolognini, Vittorio De Sica, Pier Paolo Pasolini,
Franco Rossi, Luchino Visconti, 1969)<b><br /></b>269.
The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973)<b><br /></b>270.
Unbreakable (M Night Shyamalan, 2000)<br />271. The Lathe of Heaven
(Fred Barzyk, David R. Loxton, 1980)4<b><br /></b>272.
Red (Lucky McKee, Trygve Allister Diesen, 2008)<b><br /></b>273.
Harakiri (Masaki Kobayashi, 1962)<b><br /></b>274.
Clerks (Kevin Smith, 1994)<br />273. Succubus (Jess Franco,
1967)<b><br /></b>274.
The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)<b><br /></b>275.
Les Vampires (Louis Feuillade, 1915-1916)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">276.
City of the Living Dead (Lucio Fulci, 1980) <b><br /></b>277.
The Panic in Needle Park (Jerry Schatzberg, 1971)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">278.
Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter (Yasuharu Hasebe, 1970)<b><br /></b>279.
Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino, 1997) <b><br /></b>280.
Meet the Feebles (Peter Jackson, 1989)<b><br /></b>281.
The Black Cat (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1934)<b><br /></b>282.
Lisa and the Devil (Mario Bava, 1973)<b><br /></b>283.
Carnival of Souls (Herk Harvey, 1962)<b><br /></b>284.
Black Test Car (Yasuzo Masumura, 1962)<b><br /></b>285.
Masculin Feminin (Jean-Luc Godard, 1966)<b><br /></b>286.
A Touch of Zen (King Hu, 1971) <b><br /></b>287.
A Lizard in A Woman's Skin (Lucio Fulci, 1971)<b><br /></b>288.
Kill Baby Kill (Mario Bava, 1966)<b><br /></b>289.
Dr. Strange (Philip DeGuere, 1978)<b><br /></b>290.
The Story of A Three-Day Pass (Melvin Van Peebles, 1968) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">291.
The Testament of Orpheus (Jean Cocteau, 1960)<b><br /></b>292.
Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943)<b><br /></b>293.
Fireworks (Kenneth Anger, 1947)<b><br /></b>294.
The Blood of A Poet (Jean Cocteau, 1932)<b><br /></b>295.
The Human Tornado (Cliff Roquemore, 1976)<b><br /></b>296.
May (Lucky McKee, 2002) <b><br /></b>297.<b>
</b>The
Cut-Ups (Antony Balch, 1966)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">298.
The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">299.
Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">300.
Repo Man (Alex Cox, 1984)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">301.
Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">302.
Black Shampoo (Greydon Clark, 1976<b><br /></b>303.
Choose Me (Alan Rudolph, 1984) <b><br /></b>304.
The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorcese, 1988) <b><br /></b>305.
Judex (Georges Franju, 1963)<b><br /></b>306.
Porcile (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1969)<b><br /></b>307.
Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972)<b><br /></b>308.
Casualties of War (Brian DePalma, 1989)<b><br /></b>309.
Cobra Verde (Werner Herzog, 1987)<b><br /></b>310.
Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965)<b><br /></b>311.<b>
</b>Don't
Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973)<b><br /></b>312.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (Kenji Misumi, 1972)<b><br /></b>313.
Rosetta (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 1999)<b><br /></b>314.
Baby
Doll (Elia Kazan, 1956)<b><br /></b>315.
Golden Swallow (Chang Cheh, 1968)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">316.
Descent (Talia Lugacy, 2007)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">317.
Dirty
Pretty Things (Stephen Frears, 2002)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">318.
The Saragossa Manuscript (Wojciech Has, 1965) <b><br /></b>319.
Hero (Zhang Yimou, 2002)<b><br /></b>320.
Mad Monster Party (Jules Bass, 1967) <b><br /></b>321.
Q the Winged Serpent (Larry Cohen, 1982)<b><br /></b>322.
The Belly of an Architect (Peter Greenaway, 1987<b><br /></b>323.
Fando & Lis (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1968)<b><br /></b>324.
Onibaba (Kaneto Shindo, 1964)<b><br /></b>325.
Jubilee (Derek Jarman, 1978)<b><br /></b></span></span><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">326.
Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures (Marcelo Motta, Jose Mojica Marins,
1976) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">327.
Superman: The Movie (Richard Donner, 1978)<b><br /></b>328.
Looking for Mr. Goodbar (Richard Brooks, 1977)<b><br /></b>329.
The Man Who Fell to Earth (Nicolas Roeg, 1976). <b><br /></b>330.
Contraband (Lucio Fulci, 1980)<b><br /></b>331.
Dragon Inn (Raymond Lee, 1992)<b><br /></b>332.
Night of the Comet (Thom E. Eberhardt, 1984)<b><br /></b>333.
Kanto Wanderer (Seijun Suzuki, 1963) <b><br /></b>334.
A Bay of Blood (Mario Bava, 1971)<b><br /></b>335.
Baba Yaga (Corrado Farina, 1973) <b><br /></b>336.
Kiss Me Deadly (Robert Aldrich, 1955) <b><br /></b>337.
Days of Being Wild (Wong Kar-wai, 1990)<b><br /></b>338.
Murder My Sweet (Edward Dymytryk, 1944) <b><br /></b>339.
The Wizard of Gore (Herschell Gordon Lewis, 1970) <b><br /></b>340.
The Patchwork Girl of Oz (J. Farrell MacDonald, 1914)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">341.
The Last House on Dead End Street (Roger Watkins, 1977)<b><br /></b>342.
J.D.'s Revenge (Arthur Marks, 1976)<b><br /></b>343.
Daughters of Darkness (Harry Kumel, 1971)<b><br /></b>344.
Vampyres (Jose Larraz, 1974)<b><br /></b>345.
Shiver of the Vampires (Jean Rollin, 1972)<b><br /></b>346.
Talk Radio (Oliver Stone, 1988)<b><br /></b>347.
One on Top of the Other (Lucio Fulci, 1969)<b><br /></b>348.
Danger: Diabolik (Mario Bava, 1968) <b><br /></b>349.
In Cold Blood (Richard Brooks, 1967)
</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">350.
The Lady Hermit (Meng Hua Ho, 1971)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;"><br />351.
Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (Shunya Ito, 1972)<b><br /></b>352.
Sympathy for the Devil (Jean-Luc Godard, 1968)<b><br /></b>353.
Five Dolls for an August Moon (Mario Bava, 1970)<b><br /></b>354.
The Harder They Come (Perry Henzell, 1972) <b><br /></b>355.
The Professionals (Richard Brooks, 1966)<b><br /></b>356.
Lulu on the Bridge (Paul Auster, 1998)<b><br /></b>357.
Prospero's Books (1991)<b><br /></b>358.
A Snake of June (Shinya Tsukamoto, 2002)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">359.
Tetsuo: the Iron Man (Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989)<b><br /></b>360.
The
Ice Storm (Ang Lee, 1997)<b><br /></b>361.
Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971)<b><br /></b>362.
Flesh Gordon (Michael Benveniste, Howard Ziehm, 1974)<b><br /></b>363.
A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)<b><br /></b>364.
A Boy and His Dog (L.Q. Jones, 1975)<b><br /></b>365.
Thor (Kenneth Branagh, 2011)<b><br /></b>366.
Puce Moment (Kenneth Anger, 1949)<b><br /></b>367.
Return to Oz (Walter Murch, 1985)<b><br /></b>368.
Lolita (Adrian Lyne, 1997)<b><br /></b>369.
The Addiction (Abel Ferrara, 1995)<b><br /></b>370.
Irma Vep (Olivier Assayas, 1996) <b><br /></b>371.
Beauty and the Beast (Jean Cocteau, 1946)<b><br /></b>372.
Tattooed Life (Seijun Suzuki, 1965)<b><br /></b>373.
Chinese Box (Wayne Wang, 1997)<b><br /></b>374.
The Devil's Rejects (Rob Zombie, 2005)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">375.
The Butterfly Ball (Tony Klinger, 1977)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">376.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Leonard Nim8y, 1986)<b><br /></b>377.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Nicholas Meyer, 1982)<b><br /></b>378.
Un Chant D'Amour (Jean Genet, 1950) <b><br /></b>379.
Shadows (John Cassavettes, 1959)<b><br /></b>382.
Scanners (David Cronenberg, 1980)<b><br /></b>383.
The Incredible Shrinking Man (Jack Arnold, 1957)<b><br /></b>384.
The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979)<b><br /></b>385.
Hell of the Living Dead (Bruno Mattei, 1980)<b><br /></b>386.
Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (Chang Cheh, 1969)<b><br /></b>387.
Eyes Without A Face (Georges Franju, 1960)<b><br /></b>388.
Take A Hard Ride (Antonio Margheriti, 1975)<b><br /></b>389.
Bury Me An Angel (Barbara Peeters, 1972)<b><br /></b>390.
Return of the Living Dead (Dan O'Bannon, 1985)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">391.
Sister
Street Fighter (Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, 1974) <b><br /></b>392.
Watership Down (Martin Rosen, 1978)<b><br /></b>393.
Dog Star Man (Stan Brakhage, 1962-1964) <b><br /></b>394.
Throne
of Blood (Akira Kurosawa, 1957)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">395.
Koko,
A Talking Gorilla (Barbet Schroeder, 1978) <b><br /></b>396.
Hard Eight (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1996)<br />397.
Full Contact (Ringo Lam, 1992) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">398.
Mr.
Frost (Phillipe Setbon, 1990)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">399.
Jungle
Emperor Leo (Yoshio Takeuchi, 1997)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">400.
Fellini Satyricon (Federico Fellini, 1970)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">401.
Night Tide (Curtis Harrington, 1961)<b><br /></b>402.
Gimme Shelter (Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin,
1970)<b><br /></b>403.
Spasmo (Umberto Lenzi, 1974)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">404.
The Mansion of Madness (Juan Lopez Moctezuma, 1973)<b><br /></b>405.
The
Last Movie (Dennis Hopper, 1971) </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">406.
Joshua (Larry G. Spangler, 1976)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">407.
The Stranger's Gundown (Sergio Garrone, 1969)<b><br /></b>408.
Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974)<b><br /></b>409.
Inauguration
of the Pleasure Dome (Kenneth Anger, 1954)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">410.
Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">411.
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Jim Jarmusch, 1999)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">412.
Hong Kong 1941 (Po-Chih Leong, 1984) </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">413.
Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara, 1992)<b><br /></b>414.
Gambling City (Sergio Martino, 1975)<b><br /></b>415.
Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969)<b><br /></b>416.
La Encadenada (Manuel Mur Oti, 1975)<b><br /></b>417.
The Glass Ceiling (Eloy de la Iglesia, 1971)<b><br /></b>418.
Images (Robert Altman, 1972)<b><br /></b>419.
The Haunted Palace (Roger Corman, 1963)<b><br /></b>420.
Invitation to A Gunfighter (Richard Wilson, 1964)<b><br /></b>421.
Down and Dirty Duck (Charles Swenson, 1974)<b><br /></b>422.
Jane Eyre (Robert Stevenson, 1943)<br />423. Henry Fool (Hal Hartley,
1997)<b><br /></b>424.
Ladies and Gentlemen The Fabulous Stains (Lou Adler,
1982)<b><br /></b>425. Phantom
of the Paradise (Brian DePalma, 1974)<b><br /></b></span></span><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">426. Whore
(Ken Russell, 1991)<b><br /></b>427.
Baise-Moi (Virginie Despentes, Coralie, 2000) <b><br /></b>428.
Short Eyes (Robert M Young, 1977) <b><br /></b>429.
Casino (Martin Scorcese, 1995)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">430.
Gun Crazy (Joseph H Lewis, 1950)<b><br /></b>431.
The Hawks and The Sparrows (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1966)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">432.
The Honeymoon Killers (Leonard Kastle, 1969)<br />433. Space Is the
Place (John Coney, 1974)<br />434. Underworld Beauty (Seijun Suzuki,
1958)<b><br /></b>435.
M*A*S*H (Robert Altman, 1970)<b><br /></b>436.
Wizards (Ralph Bakshi, 1977)<b><br /></b>437.
Battlestar Galactica (Richard A Colla, 1978) <b><br /></b>438.
That Man Bolt (Henry Levin, David Lowell Rich, 1973)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">439.
Clean (Olivier Assayas, 2004)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">440.
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Forbidden
Planet (Fred M Wilcox, 1956)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">441.
American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000)<b><br /></b>442.
The
Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1964)<br />443. Lost Highway
(David Lynch, 1997)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">444.
The Man in the Moon (Robert Mulligan, 1991)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">445.
Angel Heart (Alan Parker, 1987)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">446.
Manhunter (Michael Mann, 1986)<b><br /></b>447.
To Live and Die in LA (William Friedkin, 1985) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">447.
The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">448.
Run, Man, Run! (Sergio Sollima, 1968)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">449.
Zachariah (George Englund, 1971)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">450.
Enter the Dragon (Robert Clouse, 1973)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">451.
The Punk Rock Movie (Don Letts, 1978)<b><br /></b>452.
Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of A Serial Killer (Nick Broomfield,
1993)<b><br /></b>453.
The Red Shoes (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger,
1948)<b><br /></b>454. Tenebrae
(Dario Argento, 1982)<b><br /></b>455. His
Majesty the Scarecrow of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1914)<b><br /></b>456. Aileen:
The Life and Death of A Serial Killer (Nick Broomfield,
2003)<b><br /></b>457. Oui,
mais... (Yves Lavandier, 2001)<b><br /></b>458.
Django, Kill! If You Live, Shoot! (Giulio Questi, 1967)<b><br /></b>459.
Penitentiary (Jamaa Fanaka, 1979)<b><br /></b>460.
Black Sabbath (Mario Bava, 1963)<b><br /></b>461.
Female Trouble (John Waters, 1978)<b><br /></b>462.
Polyester (John Waters, 1980)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">463.
Season
of the Witch (George A Romero, 1972)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">464.
Shivers (David Cronenberg, 1975)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">465.
The Bitter Tears of Petra van Kant (Rainer Werner Fassbinder,
1972)<b><br /></b>466.
Party Girl (Daisy von Scherler Mayer, 1995)<b><br /></b>467.
Go (Doug Liman, 1999)<b><br /></b>468.
Nerosubianco
(Tinto Brass, 1969)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">469.
Eve's Bayou (Kassi Lemmons, 1997)<br />470. Ginger Snaps Back: The
Beginning (Grant Harvey, 2004)<br />471. Breaking In (Bill Forsyth,
1989)<br />472. Amateur (Hal Hartley, 1994)<br />473. Johnny Got His Gun
(Dalton Trumbo, 1971)<br />474. A Zed and Two Noughts (Peter Greenaway,
1985)<br />475. The Kentucky Fried Movie (John Landis, 1974)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">476.
Living in Oblivion (Tom DiCillo, 1995)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">477.
Gregory's Girl (Bill Forsyth, 1981)<br />478. Hannie Caulder (Burt
Kennedy, 1971)<br />479. What Have You Done to Solange? (Massimo
Dallamano, 1972)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">480.
Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural (Richard Blackburn, 1973)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">481.
Beatrice Cenci (Lucio Fulci, 1969)<br />482.. Force of Evil (Abraham
Polonsky, 1948)<br />483. Werewolf Shadow (Leon Klimovsky, 1971) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">484.
Shock Treatment (Jim Sharman, 1980)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">485.
No One Heard the Scream (Eloy de la Iglesia, 1973)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">486.
Blackmail Is My Life (Kenji Fukasaku, 1968)<br />487. Paths of Glory
(Stanley Kubrick, 1957)<br />488. Myra Breckinridge (Michael Sarne,
1970)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">489.
Deadly Sweet (Tinto Brass, 1967)</span></span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="widows: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">490.
Mama und Papa (Kurt Kren, 1964)<br />491.
Ana (Kurt Kren, 1964)<br />492.
Romper Stomper (Geoffrey Wright, 1992)<br />493.
Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 2014)<br />494.
The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman, 1960)<br />495.
The Last House on the Left (Wes Craven, 1972)<br />496.
Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (Robert Taylor, 1974)<br />497.
The Pitfall (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1962)<br />498.
Woyczek (Werner Herzog, 1979)<br />499.
Sister Street Fighter: Hanging by A Thread (Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, 1974)</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="widows: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">500. Salo,
Or the 120 Days of Sodom (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975) </span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="widows: 1;">
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="widows: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">501.
Witch from Nepal (Siu-Tung Ching, 1985)<br />502.
Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)<br />503.
The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel, 1962)<br />504.
The Long Hair of Death (Antonio Margheriti, 1964)<br />505.
Tombs of the Blind Dead (Armando de Ossorio, 1972)<br />506.
Web of the Spider (Antonio Margheriti, 1971)<br />507.
Targets (Peter Bogdanovich, 1968)<br />508.
Nightmare Castle (Mario Caiano, 1965)<br />509.
Fox and His Friends (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1975)<br />510. La
Grande Boufee (Marco Ferreri, 1973)<br />511.
A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavettes, 1974)<br />512.
The Pyjama Girl Case (Flavio Mogherini, 1977)<br />513. Spider
Baby (Jack Hill, 1968)<br />514.
Electra Glide in Blue (James William Guercio, 1973)<br />515.
Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)<br />516.
Jigoku (Nobuo Nakagawa, 1960)<br />517.
Un Chien Andalou (Luis Bunuel, 1929)<br />518. Peace
Hotel (Ka-Fai Wai, 1995)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">519.
Sick Girl (Lucky McKee, 2006)<b><br /></b>520.
It
Lives Again (Larry Cohen, 1978)<br />521. Assault on Precinct 13 (John
Carpenter, 1976) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">522.
Roseland (Fredric Hobbs, 1971)<br />523. For A Few Dollars More
(Sergio Leone, 1965)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">524.Gods
and Monsters (Bill Condon, 1998)<br />525. Straight Time (Ulu Grosbard,
1978)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">526.
Red Lion (Kihachi Okamoto, 1969)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">527.
Django Strikes Again (Nello Rosati, 1987)<b><br /></b>528.
Escape from New York (John Carpenter, 1981)<b><br /></b>529.
The Velvet Vampire (Stephanie Rothman, 1971)<b><br /></b>530.
She-Devils on Wheels (Herschell Gordon Lewis, 1968) <b><br /></b>531.
Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)<b><br /></b>532.
Vigilante (William Lustig, 1983)<b><br /></b>533.
Mannaja (Sergio Martino, 1977)<b><br /></b>534.
Stray Dog (Akira Kurosawa, 1949)<b><br /></b>535.
Frankenstein: The True Story (Jack Smight, 1973)<b><br /></b>536.
Female Yakuza Tale (Teruo Ishii, 1973)<b><br /></b>537.
Blood
Sabbath (Brianne Murphy, 1972)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">538.
I Spit on Your Grave (Meir Zarchi, 1978)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">539.
Black Sunday (Mario Bava, 1960)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">540.
Le Jardin des Supplices (Christian Gion, 1976)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">541.
Gojira (Ishiro Honda, 1954)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">542.
The Magic Cloak of Oz (J. Farrell MacDonald, 1914)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">543.
Stereo (David Cronenberg, 1969)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">544.
Crimes of the Future (David Cronenberg, 1970)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">545.
Hercules in the Haunted World (Mario Bava, 1961)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">546.
Death Laid An Egg (Giulio Questi, 1968)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">547.
Murder in A Blue World (Eloy de la Iglesia, 1973)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">548.
Pena de Muerte (Jorge Grau, 1973)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">549.
The Night Stalker (John Llewellyn Moxey, 1972)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">550.
Invocation
of My Demon Brother (Kenneth Anger, 1969) </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">551.
Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstien, 1925)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">552.
Emma Mae (Jamaa Fanaka, 1976)<br />553.
Case of the Bloody Iris (Giuliano Carmineo, 1972) <br />554.
Akira (Katsuhiro Ohtomo, 1988)<br />555.
Carrie (Brian DePalma, 1976)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: #3d85c6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">As with last year's list, I dedicate this list to fellow film fanatic friends Bill White, Sean Levin, Michael T Jones, Tim McLain, and Scott "Vesbius Flestrin" Mosley. And, of course, to the wonderful woman who watches all this with me: Sarah L Covert. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: #3d85c6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: #632035; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="background-color: #f7f0e9; color: #3d85c6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Comments and brickbats welcome.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span>Henry Coverthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03325932199108331560noreply@blogger.com0