Glow-worm - 0.1

Glow-worm - 0.1 - Parahumans 2
Ward is the second work in the Parahumans series, and reading Worm first is strongly recommended.  A lot of this won’t make sense otherwise and if you do find yourself a fan of the universe, the spoilers in Ward will affect the reading of the other work.

Ward is not recommended for young or sensitive readers.

The Glow-worm chapters were a teaser event leading up to Worm 2.  They aren’t required reading but offer flavor and additional angles by which to view certain characters.  They take the form of forum posts, chat conversations and emails.

They’re best described as a kind of a post-epilogue, pseudo-prologue bridge between the series.  Those who read them on the Worm site shouldn’t feel the need to read them again – they’re included here for convenience’s sake, with a few readability improvements.

If you’re not interested or find this hard to read, click here to jump to chapter 1.

Welcome to the Parahumans Online message boards. You are currently logged in, [email protected]_The_Sky You are viewing: •  Threads made in the last day OR •  Threads marked as important. •  Thread OP is displayed. •  Ten comments per page. •  Unread messages in private message history •  Threads and private messages are ordered chronologically. This account is a Cape in Civilian Clothes (Abbreviated CICC) account.  Your linked account is a verified Cape account.  You may receive alerts if it is believed that you are compromising either identity. Both linked accounts are in good standing.

♦  Topic:  We’re Back Online In:  Boards ► Parahumans Online Hope_In_Pithos (Admin) Posted on August 15th, Y1:

To call the efforts of everyone involved heroic would be grossly understating things. This IT project required the efforts of seventy eight PHO staff members, employees of Stateside Online, former officials of the US government, former members of the United States space program, members of international space programs, the Guild (Masamune in particular), and numerous independent experts and volunteers. At a time when we’re all stretched thin and there is an incredible amount of work still to be done, seven hundred and eight individuals devoted spare time and valuable resources to get us and six other partners online.

Things will be clunky and frustrating.  For most, with congestion being what it is, things will be slow enough that people can get a cup of coffee and come back to find the page hasn’t fully loaded.  We’ve stripped away a bit of the polish and the gloss: the header images, badge graphics and the ability to include video or images are gone for now, to keep things simple and easy.  We will be moderating very carefully to ensure nobody disrupts anyone’s ability to access the site.  It will be painful.  Help each other, be patient, and contribute the best you can.

In so many ways, things will be frustrating, slow, and painful.  Care, helpfulness, patience, and contribution will make literal worlds of difference.  In so many ways.

But we’re back.  Stay tuned for bigger, better things.  Bear with us as we sort through it all.

►  I♥Lethe Replied on August 16th, Y1: @ Dgators – Generally, you want to be careful because you won’t get any updates to OS360 or other PC OSes, no patches to your phone.  There is no tech support and there is little recourse for anyone hit with malware. Plausibly there’s a lot of desperate people out there who see that the defenses are down and we’re in early days.  It’s probably easier for someone to come up with new means of attack than it is for anyone to roll out a proper patch.  Presumably if they wanted to infect systems or get access they would want to do it now when it would probably let them get access to things that follow.

►  KillDestroyKiss (Library) Replied on August 17th, Y1: Library project is moving ahead! Plenty of people brought laptops and phones and we’re piecing things together by loading from cache.  It is more zombie net than real net but we’re finding things. There are more coming but people want to delete their search histories before they hand their computers over. Because porn.

Downside is now a lot more people know about the net access at the library. Hours-long wait times Q.Q

►  [email protected]_The_Sky Replied on August 17th, Y1: I have access through the portal at the east of the city.  When I go through I’ve been doing loops through the old neighborhoods to see what I can scrounge up.  If you need something to fill major gaps I can try looking.  If not, I’m going to see if I can round off my collection.  Would be nice to have a good excuse if I get accused of smuggling or looting tho

►  boaty5 Replied on August 17th, Y1: what collection?

►  [email protected]_The_Sky Replied on August 17th, Y1: Any/all of: Masque/Costumes Under Clothes/Heroine/Shine On

►  boaty5 Replied on August 17th, Y1: fuck that. I regret asking. screw the capes. screw everything about celebrating the capes. they. failed. us. Site administrators discussed this post.  We’re leaving up the first half as we feel it is important for people to process and address these feelings and sentiments.  We’ve removed the second half (personal insults) and delivered one infraction.

►  [email protected]_The_Sky Replied on August 17th, Y1: [Edit: removed this myself- I decided I don’t really want to get into this]

►  boaty5 Replied on August 17th, Y1: just because I’m on a site about capes doesn’t mean I like them.  it means I recognize how important they are to what happened and what happens next

►  KillDestroyKiss (Library) Replied on August 17th, Y1: Hm!  @ [email protected]_The_Sky – We’re looking to get everything we can recorded digitally.  Would you be okay with letting us scan your collection?  You’re in the city?

►  [email protected]_The_Sky Replied on August 17th, Y1: 100%.  I can bring it to your library.  PM me with location & times good for you.  Information is too important

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♦  Topic:  [Headline] Refugees Barred Access In:  Boards ► World News ► Main Boo-chan Posted on August 17th, Y1:

[Transcribed from print]  Conrad James Freed and his family could tell a harrowing tale of their trip across Earth Bet’s America.  They have finally reached the Northeastern Bet-Gimel portal, hearing rumor of wait times, only to be told there is a possibility they may not be allowed in at all.

They had been driving, hitchhiking and hiking for four months.

“They aren’t giving us answers,” he told Bulletin News on Saturday.

Their family had been trying to subsist on their rural property in Wisconsin when the weather took a turn for the worse.  Though it was June, Conrad says he saw snow falling on the fields where he had planted the first crop of the season.

Two days later, there would be a knock at his door.  Authorities had flown over and saw the lights of his house.  They warned him the snowfall and the groundwater was contaminated.  It would be the last straw, as the unseasonably cold weather had cut into the already thin initial harvest.

Conrad says the authorities wanted him and his family to leave right away.  “They didn’t give us a chance to pack.  One of the men even grabbed my daughter.  He bruised her wrist, he held her so hard.  I promised I would cooperate if he would only give us five minutes.  I was in shock.”

He and his wife decided to make the harrowing trip to the nearest portal without the assistance of authorities, a decision he says he made on the spur of the moment, after the manhandling of his daughter and the manner in which he was forced from his home.  “I came to regret that decision.”

Conrad’s story is far from unique.  Evacuation is still underway even two years and two months after Gold Morning.  Where things took a turn for the worse for Conrad and his family, and where an undisclosed change in policy may affect uncountable refugees from Earth Bet, is that the border agents have apparently ceased processing refugees.

Tensions are rising and as the number of people in the refugee settlement slowly climbs and resources are stretched thinner, people are speaking out.  Conrad says, “We know there is more than enough space on the other side.  We see people coming and going but they won’t let us through or even meet us to answer our questions.  We’re willing to settle outside of the city.  I know agriculture and I know they desperately need farmers.  Even if they give us a minimum of supplies and tools, it has to be better than this.”

Bulletin News reached out to authorities and received no response.

–Thoughts?  Anyone know what was up?

►  K.G. Ray (City: West Point) Replied on August 17th, Y1: They’re letting people through again now, and they’re letting a lot through.  Speculation might have been right. Article might have been more about political pressure than anything else.

►  Geronimo Replied on August 17th, Y1: Official word is that they wanted to pause and get organized so they could double the number of people coming through. Doesn’t make a lot of sense when it comes to their silence until now.

►  Nakyak (Cape Geek) Replied on August 17th, Y1: lots of capes stationed at the portal. some thinkers like Squint and Danger Zone are there. pretty sure if you watch how they rotate in and out there will always be one thinker on duty. screening refugees?

►  [email protected]_The_Sky Replied on August 17th, Y1: @ Nakyak – could be.  Could be that it means less need for pain in the ass background checks with internet running at 33K.  Danger Zone sees likelihood a person commits violence to each and every person around them, recency, flavor of violence.  Squint sees contraband, possible other hazards.  Skip background check, move people along.

► Boosher Replied on August 17th, Y1 Speaking of security, there was another thread where someone said something about rock & a hard place?  It’s apparently being talked about a lot among the refugees.

► Nutty Replied on August 17th, Y1 @ Boosher – This article, search for Nancy Y’s statement.  People traveling across the US to get to portals are being warned about multiple threats.  Word on the capevine is that with everyone having pulled out, all former quarantine zones are breached.  In the US and elsewhere.  Nilbog is the one everyone knows about.  He’s in custody, his children aren’t.  If you’re paying attention to hero groups and their movements, they’re making lots of trips out.  They’re tired and people say they’re aloof. I say they’re fighting a hard fight and they’re keeping their distance from public and media because they don’t want us to know it.

► boaty5 Replied on August 17th, Y1 they don’t want to tell us a lot of things.  what even happened?  the world ended and nobody is willing to explain.

► [email protected]_The_Sky Replied on August 17th, Y1 @ Boosher – a big part of what was being talked about in other similar articles was the threat of bandits, bad weather, the wasteland and chasms, unstoppable robot armies, the food shortages.  Edit: Nutty beat me to it.  Slow internet sucks.  I think boaty is a good example of why they’re aloof.  People want to assign blame.  Assign the blame to the man who did this.  In times of crisis, look to the people who are helping.  Support them or try to be one of them.

► ✘ [Post removed & user infracted]

► Deepwell5 Replied on August 17th, Y1 I agree for the most part, [email protected], but it’s more complicated than that.  I gotta side with boaty.  We made a covenant with the capes.  We put up with a lot.  In exchange, they were supposed to protect us.  It’s pretty clear they didn’t.  Maybe it was impossible.  That’s fine.  But let’s not ignore that they broke their end of the contract.  Let’s not ignore that the PRT is gone, we no longer have non-capes in charge of them, and they have more proportional power than ever.  Let’s not ignore that they’re making a new PRT without any of the key rules that defined the last one.  Less communication, no oversight.

I’m scared.  You should be too.

► DonJon Replied on August 17th, Y1 Amen

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♦  Private Messages from Glitzglam:

Glitzglam:  u cant engage with them.  u gotta let it lie. [email protected]_The_Sky:  I’m worried what happens if the wrong ideas get traction. Glitzglam:  So am I.  Im more worried about u.  Thought u might need pep talk. Glitzglam:  Have u got that email yet? Glitzglam:  ? ? ? [email protected]_The_Sky:  If this is a pep talk it isn’t a very good one. Glitzglam:  Thats a no huh?  fuck Glitzglam:  u right though Glitzglam:  I hate typing on phone.  Ice cream or coffee.  I pep talk u in person.  When u can fit it into cray schedule [email protected]_The_Sky:  You’re a beautiful person.  Yes.  Sounds nice.  Soon Glitzglam:  We can talk about how gang is getting together for big shebang and what a disaster it will be. [email protected]_The_Sky:  you’re doing the terrible pep talk thing again. :0 Glitzglam *New Message*:  😮

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