Phase Q/New Sounds

Ka-pap-ka-pap-ka-pap-pap-pap.

The small metal box emits sounds as it bursts forth with laser fire.

Trad squaddies duck for cover. However, the concrete and steel give way. Powerful light drills through barriers like warm butter.

Zappo, gwoong, blong.

Trad squaddies fall, by the dozens, hundreds, thousands at a time.

Teenagers take over villages, then towns, and even whole cities. No one seems to guide the revolution. Just a spontaneous takeover.

The adults in government flee, deserting their posts. Rather than occupying the offices and garrisons and bases, the teenagers simply blaze them to the ground.

It’s a relatively technical war, with optical equipment deciding many battles. In the rare instances where Trad forces come out on top, they execute traditional military maneuvers such as torturing boys and raping girls. When Futuristas win battles, the battlefield itself often seems to morph into something altogether foreign.

Whole regions of the country fall under Futurista sway. These regions remain relatively free from curfews or other military restrictions. Yet, they definitely feel the effects of war.

A few rogue Futuristas install themselves as despots in a small corner of the hinterland. There, they commandeer all the electronics, set up a massive games room, and demand tribute from the villagers’ daughters.

Amid the chaos, new forms emerge. Monstrous buildings made out of some kind of superclay stretch up miles into the sky. Aircraft fly at the speed of fusion. New air villages evolve, spiraling through the clouds with functioning groups of Futuristas, Trads, and zonnyxes.

Often warfare breaks out among the functional groups. Economies tear apart, and reform elsewhere. After the destruction of the tubeworks, far more trade takes place in plain materialspace.

Amid the flourishing new forms, diminishing quantities of relics continue to serve efforts. Trains on tracks made of plain steel still transport shipments of arms. Traditional airplanes continue to fly beneath the shadow of the superliners.

Futurista groups clammer for a return to the tubeworks, while celebrating their victories in materialspace. In one secret research lab, an uncommon group of programmers and tinkerers gather to hatch a plan.

“It’s no use,” says Zank, a goateed programmer now verging on adulthood. “Even if we have all the materials, there’s no obvious way to reinstantiate a new internodal.”

“C’mon,” huffs Lupak. “We can think of something. Why don’t we redline the transcoms? Or write another layer, do it all in softlinks? I’m going to smoke a bowl.”

Meanwhile at Command HQ, Mrs. President secludes herself in a light shelter. “We’ve got to strike against these kids,” she says.

“I know, dear,” says the President. “We’re going to get back to normal.”

Phase Q: An interactive adventure.