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Deltaview Force: An Opco Boone Adventure: Difference between revisions

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Deltaview Force: An Opco Boone Adventure (view source)

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{{a|opcobooneadventure|{{image|DeltaView Force|png|The diff-sensor swept for semantic content. A.J. watched the display. The hourglass flipped.}}}}
{{a|opcobooneadventure|{{image|DeltaView Force|png|The diff-sensor swept for semantic content. [[A.J.]] watched the display. The hourglass flipped.}}}}===Raid===
===Raid===
{{Smallcaps|Boone made the}} window. He elbow-smashed the pane. He reached in, lock-snipped, pivoted and mule-kicked the door, in a single fluid motion. The door smacked on its hinges, quivered and timbered onto the rubble.
{{Smallcaps|Boone made the}} window. He elbow-smashed the pane. He reached in, lock-snipped, pivoted and mule-kicked the door, in a single fluid motion. The door smacked on its hinges, quivered and timbered onto the rubble.


A.J. was jazzed. This was ''sweet''.  
[[A.J.]] was jazzed. This was ''sweet''.  


Boone motioned the unit forward with a curt, pointed air-punch.  
Boone motioned the unit forward with a curt, pointed air-punch.  


The squad fanned left and right. They deployed the four-hand doc-clearing technique.   
The squad fanned left and right. They deployed the four-eye doc-scanning technique.   


[[Aggie]] went left. She swivelled in and barked, “clear”.   
[[Janice Henderson|J-Rod]] went left. She swivelled in and barked, “clear”.   


[[Algernon Farquhar|Algy]] went right. He swivelled in and barked, “clear”.  
[[Algernon Farquhar|Algy]] went right. He swivelled in and barked, “clear”.  


[[Sir Jerrold Baxter-Morley, Q.C.|Baxter-Morley]] went route one. He kicked over a drum and barked, “clear”.  
[[Roly Punchface|Punchface]] went route one. He kicked over a drum and barked, “clear”.  


From nowhere: A kerfuffle behind a plaster wall to the right. The unit spun, caught offguard: panic: fumbling with safety catches, grappling with magazines.
From nowhere: A kerfuffle behind a plaster wall to the right. The unit spun, caught offguard: panic: fumbling with safety catches, grappling with magazines.
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Boone took his finger off the [[NAV trigger]] and holstered his [[CSA]], still smoking from the muzzle. “Eyes peeled, ladies. ''Now'' we are clear.”
Boone took his finger off the [[NAV trigger]] and holstered his [[CSA]], still smoking from the muzzle. “Eyes peeled, ladies. ''Now'' we are clear.”


Boone fixed [[A.J. Paul|A.J.]] with a hard stare. “All right, kid, in you go. Let’s throw a [[redline]] around the immediate area.”
Boone fixed [[A.J.]] with a hard stare. “All right, kid, in you go. Let’s throw a [[redline]] around the immediate area.”


A.J. followed up with a static-mount diff-sensor. The rookie unclipped the stabilisers and set the unit on the floor. He punched in the coordinates and it emitted a sheet of red light.
[[A.J.]] followed up with a static-mount diff-sensor. The rookie unclipped the stabilisers and set the unit on the floor. He punched in the coordinates and it emitted a sheet of red light.


''Okay, everyone hold still, now.''
''Okay, everyone hold still, now.''


The diff-sensor swept for [[Semantic structure|semantic]] content. A.J. watched the display. The hourglass flipped. It flipped again. After a few moments it rendered: ''zeroes across the board''.  
The diff-sensor swept for [[Semantic structure|semantic]] content. [[A.J.]] watched the display. The hourglass flipped. It flipped again. After a few moments it rendered: ''zeroes across the board''.  


“We’re clean, sir. No blues, no reds. Zilch material alterations. The text-field is Delta-1 as we left it.”  
“We’re clean, sir. No blues, no reds. Zilch material alterations. The text-field is Delta-1 as we left it.”  
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The kid re-ran the analytics. The diff binoc whistled and beeped.  
The kid re-ran the analytics. The diff binoc whistled and beeped.  


Aggie: “There! In the schedule!”
Janice: “There! In the schedule!”


A.J. squinted. A.J. shrugged. He ran his finger down the margin. “Point nine-nine-seven. Some quote-curl inconsistency in the defs, but that’s a routine re-type job. As good as clean, sir. You could eat your dinner off that.”
[[A.J.]] squinted. [[A.J.]] shrugged. He ran his finger down the margin. “Point nine-nine-seven. Some quote-curl inconsistency in the defs, but that’s a routine re-type job. As good as clean, sir. You could eat your dinner off that.”


''As good as'' clean, but ''not'' clean. ''Interesting''. “Re-type? Who does a ''re-type''? Recalibrate it, lad. Let’s go find those missing diffs.”
''As good as'' clean, but ''not'' clean. ''Interesting''. “Re-type? Who does a ''re-type''? Recalibrate it, lad. Let’s go find those missing diffs.”


“Whatever you say, sir.” A.J. twiddled dials and hit ''RENDER''. “Okay, team: Stand by. All material DVs should now show up.”
“Whatever you say, sir.” [[A.J.]] twiddled dials and hit ''RENDER''. “Okay, team: Stand by. All material DVs should now show up.”


The [[redline]] swept a red sheet over the text-field. It burped a negative.
The [[redline]] swept a red sheet over the text-field. It burped a negative.
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Boone shot the rookie a quizzical look. “Why so?”
Boone shot the rookie a quizzical look. “Why so?”


A.J. smiled. “This way I pick up all syntactically relevant amendments while filtering out the [[Signal-to-noise ratio|noise]]. I’m sure we would have caught anything that made a difference. Sir. The text-field is clean.”
[[A.J.]] smiled. “This way I pick up all syntactically relevant amendments while filtering out the [[Signal-to-noise ratio|noise]]. I’m sure we would have caught anything that made a difference. Sir. The text-field is clean.”


“Run it again, Soldier, but this time ''include the noise''. Let’s have a gander at that formatting and punctuation delta.”
“Run it again, Soldier, but this time ''include the noise''. Let’s have a gander at that formatting and punctuation delta.”
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Algy looked up. His jaw twitched.  
Algy looked up. His jaw twitched.  


Aggie looked down. Her cap was jammed tight. A sweat drop swelled on the brim. The unit didn’t ''breathe''.
Janice looked down. Her cap was jammed tight. A sweat drop swelled on the brim. The unit didn’t ''breathe''.


This time ''two'' curtain beams shot out of the DV generator: one red and one blue.
This time ''two'' curtain beams shot out of the DV generator: one red and one blue.
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“Stop right there, lad.” Boone’s voice was urgent.
“Stop right there, lad.” Boone’s voice was urgent.


A.J. froze. “What is it?”
[[A.J.]] froze. “What is it?”


Boone intoned in a halting whisper. “It looks like — no, it can’t be that.”
Boone intoned in a halting whisper. “It looks like — no, it can’t be that.”


“Can’t be what, Sir?” AJ was wide-eyed.
“Can’t be what, Sir?” [[A.J.]] was wide-eyed.


The DV unit bleeped and re-rendered. The familiar blue/red display was riddled ''green''.
The DV unit bleeped and re-rendered. The familiar blue/red display was riddled ''green''.
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Even as she said it, Boone knew it. “Yeah.”
Even as she said it, Boone knew it. “Yeah.”


“What, sir? ''What''?” A.J. hissed.
“What, sir? ''What''?” [[A.J.]] hissed.


Algy looked on. “Cadet, you could be looking at a live [[Biggs particle]].”
Algy looked on. “Cadet, you could be looking at a live [[Biggs particle]].”


Eagle-Squad Cadet A.J. Paul looked at his commander with wondrous eyes. “Seriously? A [[Biggs hoson]]! I don’t bel —”
Eagle-Squad Cadet [[A.J.]] Paul looked at his commander with wondrous eyes. “Seriously? A [[Biggs hoson]]! I don’t bel —”


Boone turned furiously. “SHHHHHHH! Silent running, soldier!”
Boone turned furiously. “SHHHHHHH! Silent running, soldier!”


A.J. clammed pronto.
[[A.J.]] clammed pronto.


Algy shrugged. “But I don’t think it ''is'' a [[Biggs hoson]], though”. It just ''looks'' like one. Hosons are not stable. A hoson would have degraded into entropic tedium by now. This has a much longer half-life.
Algy shrugged. “But I don’t think it ''is'' a [[Biggs hoson]], though”. It just ''looks'' like one. Hosons are not stable. A hoson would have degraded into entropic tedium by now. This has a much longer half-life.
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===Cubicle===
===Cubicle===
A.J. cocked his GMSLA and kicked off the planking round the cube. Revealed: rubble-showered youth in sharp suit, prone, pale face and pinned under collapsed pitch book stack. It was heavy, but not load-bearing.
[[A.J.]] cocked his GMSLA and kicked off the planking round the cube. Revealed: rubble-showered youth in sharp suit, prone, pale face and pinned under collapsed pitch book stack. It was heavy, but not load-bearing.


“Don’t move, son. We’ll have you out off there in no time.”
“Don’t move, son. We’ll have you out off there in no time.”
Line 146: Line 145:
“P.A.D. Masks! Now!” Boone’s tone was urgent. The squad masked up ''toute de suite''.  
“P.A.D. Masks! Now!” Boone’s tone was urgent. The squad masked up ''toute de suite''.  


A.J. yammered, “What is it?”
[[A.J.]] yammered, “What is it?”


Boone held out a flat-palm that said “quiet ops”. He unholstered his Z10 commlink and jacked up a secure connection back to control.  
Boone held out a flat-palm that said “quiet ops”. He unholstered his Z10 commlink and jacked up a secure connection back to control.  


“This is Boone to Control Room: Aggie, do you copy?”
“This is Boone to Control Room: [[Lecteur]], do you copy?”


A static-crackled ''Roger'' said she did.
A static-crackled ''Roger'' said she did.


“We’ve got a damaged squidboy with pitch books and a red herring. We’re gonna need a wall thrown up around this unit pronto.”
“We’ve got a damaged squidboy boobytrapped with pitch books and a red herring. We’re gonna need a wall thrown up around this unit pronto.”


Static crackle. “On it, Boone. Have your unit affirm confidentiality. [[OneNDA]] Protocol, over.”
Static crackle. “On it, Boone. Have your unit affirm confidentiality. [[OneNDA]] Protocol, over.”
Line 160: Line 159:
“OneNDA terms affirmed, over.”  
“OneNDA terms affirmed, over.”  


“You all okay over?”
“You all okay over?” ABL had shi-shi French accent. She knew it and played to it like a boss.


“Yeah, it’s fine. Precautionary measure only at this time, Aggie. Kid’s a di-Alpha-head gabbling with a draft [[Offering circular|OM]]. Most likely stale or public-side but some risk of [[MNPI]] infection.”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Precautionary measure only at this time, Annabelle. Kid’s a di-Alpha-head gabbling with a draft [[Offering circular|OM]]. Most likely stale or public-side but some risk of [[MNPI]] infection.”


Aggie said, “[[Unpublished price-sensitive information|Oopsie]].”
[[ABL|Lecteur]] said, “[[Unpublished price-sensitive information|Oopsie]].” she said it coquettish.


Boone yukked. The squad yukked. “That’s solid A grade material, Agster. Love your work.”  
Boone yukked. The squad yukked. “That’s solid A grade material, Abster. Love your work.”  
 
“Zis bores me, Opco”. That little “sh” at the end. It drove Boone wild. The Abster clicked off.


The Squidboy wore a lapel badge. It said “{{Caps|Renfield}}” [[A.J.]] nudged him with his boot. All the signs. Tell-tale blue/red track-change marks running up his arm. Tossed-out [[rider]]s and [[mark-up]] littered the splintered cubicle. A half-done [[CBT]] module cycled lazily on his screen.
The Squidboy wore a lapel badge. It said “{{Caps|Renfield}}” [[A.J.]] nudged him with his boot. All the signs. Tell-tale blue/red track-change marks running up his arm. Tossed-out [[rider]]s and [[mark-up]] littered the splintered cubicle. A half-done [[CBT]] module cycled lazily on his screen.
Line 258: Line 259:
The comlink crackled. “Boone, this is control room. The wall is active. Code word: Project Viper. OneNDA protocol affirmative. You may proceed.”
The comlink crackled. “Boone, this is control room. The wall is active. Code word: Project Viper. OneNDA protocol affirmative. You may proceed.”


Boone opened up the comlink on back to base. “He’s pretty far gone, Aggie. I think it’s stale. But he’s packing a red herring. Take no chances.”
Boone opened up the comlink on back to base. “He’s pretty far gone, J. I think it’s stale. But he’s packing a red herring. Take no chances.”


The squid kid said, “I teach you the Superman.” He clawed back the pitch book.
The squid kid said, “I teach you the Superman.” He clawed back the pitch book.


A.J. tried to grab it but the squid hung on tight. He hugged it close to his heart.  
[[A.J.]] tried to grab it but the squid hung on tight. He hugged it close to his heart.  


Roly pressed the muzzle of his ’92 to the kid’s temple and cocked the [[NAV trigger]]. “Collaterslise ''this'', motherf—”
Roly pressed the muzzle of his ’92 to the kid’s temple and cocked the [[NAV trigger]]. “Collaterslise ''this'', motherf—”
Line 307: Line 308:
The text was 9 point Times New Roman. It bore the [[Sullivan & Cromwell]] alignment. It was deep. It was wide. There were unpunctuated tracts nor mortal lungs could hold. It had its own mad beauty. There were random underlines. Haphazard block caps. ''Crazy'' indents. The text swooned. It danced on the page. It funneled to a vortex. The physical transmogrified to the syntactic. Not the cultural units twirled. Constructions curled. They folded giddily back upon themselves. [[Provisos]]. [[Provuso]]s. [[Incluso]]s. [[Carve-in]]s. [[Carve-out]]s. [[Lexological constant]]s. It was bonkers. It was mad. It was deep —
The text was 9 point Times New Roman. It bore the [[Sullivan & Cromwell]] alignment. It was deep. It was wide. There were unpunctuated tracts nor mortal lungs could hold. It had its own mad beauty. There were random underlines. Haphazard block caps. ''Crazy'' indents. The text swooned. It danced on the page. It funneled to a vortex. The physical transmogrified to the syntactic. Not the cultural units twirled. Constructions curled. They folded giddily back upon themselves. [[Provisos]]. [[Provuso]]s. [[Incluso]]s. [[Carve-in]]s. [[Carve-out]]s. [[Lexological constant]]s. It was bonkers. It was mad. It was deep —


Boone’s voice boomed. “[[AJ]]! Snap the fuck out man, that's dangerous.”
Boone’s voice boomed. “[[A.J.]]! Snap the fuck out man, that's dangerous.”


But AJ was ''gripped''.
But [[A.J.]] was ''gripped''.


“AJ! pull out!”
“[[A.J.]]! pull out!”


AJ was hooked: The text tesseracted out to unimaginable dimensions. It twisted and bucked and exploded into a billion points of light, every one an intricate private world —
[[A.J.]] was hooked: The text tesseracted out to unimaginable dimensions. It twisted and bucked and exploded into a billion points of light, every one an intricate private world —


AJ’s head rolled. Eyes out on stalks. Punchface shrugged. “Wga5’s with ''him''?  
[[A.J.]]’s head rolled. Eyes out on stalks. Punchface shrugged. “What’s with ''him''?  


Aggie clocked it.
J-Rod clocked it.


“AJ! withdraw soldier!” Aggie slapped his chops. AJ lolled left and lolled right. He be ''goneburger''.
“[[A.J.]]! withdraw soldier!” Janice slapped his chops. [[A.J.]] lolled left and lolled right. He be ''goneburger''.


The infinitesimal ASCII points bloomed into multicoloured kaliedoscope of mark-up. Each one its own universe of semantic depth —
The infinitesimal ASCII points bloomed into multicoloured kaliedoscope of [[mark-up]]. Each one, its own universe of semantic depth —


“Jesus! We are ''losing'' him, Boone. He is not ''ready'' for this.”
“Jesus! We are ''losing'' him, Boone. He’s not ''ready'' for this.”


Punchface said, “He’ll cope.”
Punchface said, “He’ll cope.”


Boone was suddenly present. “Aggie initiate intervention. ''NOW''. I’M GOING IN.”
Boone was suddenly present. “Janice initiate intervention. ''NOW''. I’M GOING IN.”


Aggie cracked the [[red herring]]. It showered other worldly light across the room. She held it up straight. Boone shut h it s eyes tight and gripped it hard, two handed. “Call it, aggie.”
The air was thick. Boone grabbed the Squidboy. “And you, my friend: you’re coming with me.”


The OM threw out ghoulish radiation.
Algy snapped his other arm.  


Aggie said, “NOW.”
Squidster tensed.  


Boone cracked open his eyes and drank it all in.
Algy pressed his GMSLA to the boy’s temple. “it’s loaded, son. I wouldn’t want you to become ''collateral damage''. 


So you are saying the same old things that have tripped every new fangled financial scheme in history are no longer germane remain.
Squidster relaxed: “Okay, okay, my dudes.” His knee buckled. He planted on a wooden chair. Boone took the knee and clapped shoulders.  


“Yes it is! It is all ''disclosed'' man! We’re only taking orders stapled to [[big-boy letter]]s! We’re ’wildly'' over-subscribed!”
Janice cracked the [[red herring]] and aimed it at them. It showered other-worldly light across the room. She held it up straight. Boone shut his eyes tight and gripped it hard, two handed. “Call it, Janice.”


“But this company won’t make any money?”
The OM threw out ghoulish radiation.


“You fool,” he cried. “Revenue is ''irrelevant''! This is the ''internet''! There ''is'' no ''[[money]]'' any more! Money is irrelevant! ''I'' am irrelevant! ''You'' are irrelevant —”
Janice said, “NOW.”


“Now hold on —” 
Boone cracked open his eyes and drank it all in.
 
Renfield laughed like a maniac. “We are ''all'' irrelevant! Everything is free! We are liberated! There are no bricks [[and/or]] mortar! we are going to be rich!”
 
The poor squid kid then dissolved into a gurgling hysteria, then rolled over and shot me with intense, red-beaded eyes. “How much can I put you down for? We’re full on our lines but I can get you a piece —”
 
“Alright, A.J., bring him in”
 
Ten days later the market imploded, taking the young tadpole, PetVan, BluBeenz and [[Lexrifyly]] with it
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