The Short Briefing Sergeant's Tale (short story): Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Story | {{Infobox Story SMW | ||
|main character = [[The Conquistador]] | |main character = [[The Conquistador]] | ||
|featuring = | |featuring = | ||
|enemy = [[Tardigrade]] | |enemy = [[Tardigrade]] | ||
|setting = | |setting = | ||
|writer = | |writer = Simon Bucher-Jones | ||
|anthology = | |anthology = The Book of the Enemy (anthology) | ||
|release date = | |release date = 25 January 2018 | ||
|publisher = | |publisher = | ||
|format = | |format = | ||
|series = ''[[Faction Paradox (series)|Faction Paradox]]'' | |series = ''[[Faction Paradox (series)|Faction Paradox]]'' | ||
|prev = T.memeticus: A Morphology (short story) | |prev = T. memeticus: A Morphology (short story) | ||
|next = A Bloody (And Public) Domaine | |next = A Bloody (And Public) Domaine (short story){{!}}A Bloody (And Public) Domaine | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the fifth story in ''[[The Book of the Enemy (anthology)|The Book of the Enemy]]''. It was written by the anthology's editor, [[Simon Bucher-Jones]]. | '''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the fifth story in ''[[The Book of the Enemy (anthology)|The Book of the Enemy]]''. It was written by the anthology's editor, [[Simon Bucher-Jones]]. | ||
== Summary == | == Summary == | ||
A young Homeworlder who fancied styling | === Pre-Narrative Briefing === | ||
[[Pre-narrative Briefings (short story)#Briefing F|Briefing F]] | |||
=== Story === | |||
A young Homeworlder who fancied styling themselves "The Conquistador" was getting yelled at in a drill formation by the [[Littlejohn|Sergeant-Instructor]]. One of the cadets calls the Sergeant short. The instructor sneers, and explains that every place that can lead to life will inherently lead to a certain life form, the life form of the enemy - it was even tied to the existence of the [[Great Houses]]. This explains why it was impossible to remove the homeworld of the enemy, as they had no one homeworld but lived everywhere. Indeed, once alive, they're near indestructible, can live without nutrients for decades, in radiation, in extreme temperatures. And while a Homeworlder can do this to, it can do all these things at once. They have collective psyche, and when they congregate in spacetime history changes to be more of them than of the Homeworld. Worse, it's not even clear that they're conscious, that this is intentional, or that their worldview has a place for things like the Great Houses. The Sergeant-Instructor tells them that this life form is a tardigrade - that it could be the Enemy proper or a tool of the Enemy, before insisting that the recruits think about this before calling others short in the future. | |||
== Characters == | == Characters == | ||
| Line 24: | Line 28: | ||
* "[[The Conquistador]]" | * "[[The Conquistador]]" | ||
== | == Worldbuilding == | ||
* [[ | * [[Milikin]], [[Vonsolador]], [[the Buckaroo]], [[Reaver (The Short Briefing Sergeant's Tale)|Reaver]], [[Razorette]], and [[the Void (The Short Briefing Sergeant's Tale)|the Void]] are all soldiers of the [[Fourth Wave]]. | ||
* Other options are floated for the identity of the enemy, giant mutated ant-things, scorpion men, and giant (CENSORED). The last is stated to be censored for the [[Subject (Subjective Interlock)|Subject]] undergoing [[Subjective Interlock (short story)|rebuild]] for their safety. Given other references in the anthology, as well as the other identities floated, it's likely referring to a spider. | |||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
''To be added'' | |||
== Continuity == | == Continuity == | ||
* "The Conquistador" thinks of [[Robert Scarratt]] as one of the great soldiers of the [[Fourth Wave]]. | * "[[The Conquistador]]" thinks of [[Robert Scarratt]] as one of the great soldiers of the [[Fourth Wave]]. Scarratt's history was documented in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'' and the character was central to [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Brakespeare Voyage (novel)|The Brakespeare Voyage]]''. | ||
* The sergeant-instructor mentions [[Leviathan (The Book of the War)|Leviathans]] | * The sergeant-instructor mentions [[Leviathan (The Book of the War)|Leviathans]], described in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'' among others. | ||
* The | * The [[Sergeant-Instructor]] is named as [[Littlejohn]] in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Subjective Interlock (short story)|Subjective Interlock]]''. The character would go on to reappear under that name in [[PROSE]]: ''[[White Canvas (novel)|White Canvas]]''. | ||
* The [[Fifteenth Doctor]] later mentions "[[the Conquistador]]" as an example of a [[Time Lord]]'s [[Vocational name|title]] in [[TV]]: {{cs|Space Babies (TV story)}}. | |||
{{FP series}} | {{FP series}} | ||
{{TitleSort}} | {{TitleSort}} | ||
[[Category:The Book of the Enemy short stories]] | [[Category:The Book of the Enemy short stories]] | ||
[[Category:Stories set in the War]] | [[Category:Stories set in the War]] | ||
Latest revision as of 21:12, 8 September 2024
The Short Briefing Sergeant's Tale was the fifth story in The Book of the Enemy. It was written by the anthology's editor, Simon Bucher-Jones.
Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
Pre-Narrative Briefing[[edit] | [edit source]]
Story[[edit] | [edit source]]
A young Homeworlder who fancied styling themselves "The Conquistador" was getting yelled at in a drill formation by the Sergeant-Instructor. One of the cadets calls the Sergeant short. The instructor sneers, and explains that every place that can lead to life will inherently lead to a certain life form, the life form of the enemy - it was even tied to the existence of the Great Houses. This explains why it was impossible to remove the homeworld of the enemy, as they had no one homeworld but lived everywhere. Indeed, once alive, they're near indestructible, can live without nutrients for decades, in radiation, in extreme temperatures. And while a Homeworlder can do this to, it can do all these things at once. They have collective psyche, and when they congregate in spacetime history changes to be more of them than of the Homeworld. Worse, it's not even clear that they're conscious, that this is intentional, or that their worldview has a place for things like the Great Houses. The Sergeant-Instructor tells them that this life form is a tardigrade - that it could be the Enemy proper or a tool of the Enemy, before insisting that the recruits think about this before calling others short in the future.
Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Milikin, Vonsolador, the Buckaroo, Reaver, Razorette, and the Void are all soldiers of the Fourth Wave.
- Other options are floated for the identity of the enemy, giant mutated ant-things, scorpion men, and giant (CENSORED). The last is stated to be censored for the Subject undergoing rebuild for their safety. Given other references in the anthology, as well as the other identities floated, it's likely referring to a spider.
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
To be added
Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
- "The Conquistador" thinks of Robert Scarratt as one of the great soldiers of the Fourth Wave. Scarratt's history was documented in PROSE: The Book of the War and the character was central to PROSE: The Brakespeare Voyage.
- The sergeant-instructor mentions Leviathans, described in PROSE: The Book of the War among others.
- The Sergeant-Instructor is named as Littlejohn in PROSE: Subjective Interlock. The character would go on to reappear under that name in PROSE: White Canvas.
- The Fifteenth Doctor later mentions "the Conquistador" as an example of a Time Lord's title in TV: Space Babies [+]Loading...["Space Babies (TV story)"].
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