The Hand of Starling – Devlin Stone Alive and Living on New Earth? 1/03/3134
INN - Interstellar News Network
SHADOW: Well met, Truth-seekers! The Hand of Starling is back once more to
guide you toward enlightenment with the show The Republic doesn’t want you to
see! I’m your host, Shadow, and with me as always are my fellow Illuminati,
Phantom and Wraith.
PHANTOM: Question reality!
WRAITH: Look out below!
SHADOW: … Uh, welcome, gents. Before we begin today’s topic: “Devlin Stone:
Dead or Alive?” our question of the week here comes from a viewer using the on-line
nick of Pkilter03. He (or she) says: “Starling Guys, your show rocks”—spelled in the
common ’net style, I see—“But I’m wondering if you have had a chance to (or will
have the chance to) investigate the corporate conspiracy in our very midst. Is it true
that a certain J.B. has gained access to the secret codes which locked down the HPG
grid, and that he has technicians working day and night coding the viruses that keep
them down?”
WRAITH: Whoa!
PHANTOM: I’ve heard this one before…
SHADOW: Ain’t that the truth! Kilter, of course the Starling Group is always
dedicated to finding the truth, and in our endless quest for same, we fear not going
anywhere to ferret out the knowledge we bring to you. That said, rest assured that “J.
B.’s” activities have not gone unnoticed, but we’ve yet to see evidence of a corporate
plot against the Inner Sphere. In fact, “J.B.” would like us not to know how much the
blackout is really costing him, every day, thanks to ruined shipping schedules, lost
product shipment, and the general incompetence of his various CEOs in the absence
of his direct leadership.
WRAITH: But that’s a story for another time!
SHADOW: Right. So, thanks for your question, Kilter, and on with the show. Today’
s item: Devlin Stone, the man who forged our wondrous Republic--
WRAITH: *snerk!*
SHADOW: Don’t make me come over there, Wraith! Anyway, Stone: Some
eyewitness reports have him alive and living on New Earth. Others say he’s pushing
up daisies in an unmarked grave back on his homeworld of Kittery? Brothers, what
say you?
WRAITH: New Earth!
PHANTOM: I say he’s gone to Strana Mechty!
SHADOW: Interesting. We have conflict here. Back it up, folks. Wraith first.
WRAITH: Bam! Okay, so we established earlier that the Knights of the Sphere,
backed up by their shadowy Ghost Knights, are not only the real power behind The
Republic, but that the Exarch is just one of their mouthpiece figureheads, and that
they brought down the HPGs to keep him in line, right?
SHADOW: With you so far…
WRAITH: So, bearing that in mind, we have Stone dropping out of the limelight just
before it all happens. Very coincidental, don’t you think? But before you cut me off
there, notice the reports we’ve seen thanks to our friends in the Inquisitor and its
affiliates. Eyewitnesses are saying that since the HPG went down, there have been
numerous Stone sightings, including one here on Towne, where he traveled incognito
as a mere transient. Anybody notice that this “crazy bum” (as the unenlightened
described him) is nowhere to be found now? Then comes the New Earth sighting.
Over seventy eyewitness reports in the Wiedergeburt area, on numerous occasions,
place Stone there.
PHANTOM: Wishful thinking!
WRAITH: Is it now, Brother Phantom? Think: Stone drops out of sight, maybe from
personal illness, or maybe because he perceives a threat to his power, or *maybe*
because it’s time to move to the next phase of his plan to dominate the Inner Sphere
by destabilizing it a bit and making them beg for his brand of order. His Knights
handle the rest in his brief absence, and soon folks are remembering his promise to
return. The man’s setting himself up as a new messiah, but he has to stay hidden for
a time, but not too far from Terra, the center of his power. So, he sets up on New
Earth! It’s all crystal clear!
PHANTOM: Fah! I still say he’s gone to Strana Mechty! Why work on The Republic
and the Sphere when that’s already assured by the Knights. Out there in the Clan
home worlds; that’s where the real threat lies.
SHADOW: Alright, Phantom. Back it up.
PHANTOM: Right! Now, consider for a moment that Stone’s reforms managed to
touch not just the Republic, but everybody. Under his economic and political plan,
people gained a measure of self-determination in a land of plenty, something that
threatened to destabilize the other Great Houses until they adopted similar social plans
and diverted funds toward domestic policies, rather than military build-up. Suddenly,
everyone’s military is weakened while Stone’s secretly building more ’Mechs for his
hidden armies. What can mess this all up?
SHADOW: The Homeworld Clans?
PHANTOM: Right, those guys who cut themselves off from the Inner Sphere while
the Jihad was still going on. Nobody’s sure what they’re doing, or what they’re
planning—you can ignore this ‘they had a civil war’ and got all beat up crap; its all
propaganda to keep their continued technological advances and massing military
secret—but they still have access to technology outstripping us, and ranks of
genetically bred warriors, techs, and laborers to make it all work. Stone sees the
threat, but he knows the score, too. All it will take is to corrupt these Clans as the
Spheroid ones have been—by raising a grassroots resistance based on greed, that
most basic of human motivations.
WRAITH: So, Stone, by his lonesome, goes to incite a revolution in Clan space? Get
out!
PHANTOM: Come off it, Wraith! It’s not like he hasn’t allegedly done it before!
Besides, I don’t see why he wouldn’t take his best Ghosts with him as well. He could
accomplish his goals in half the time.
SHADOW: And what are his goals?
PHANTOM: Eliminating the threat of a “rogue entity ,” either by corruption, or
assimilation. To do that, he needs to stir the pot some. What we can expect to see—
mark my words—is a second Clan Invasion from the Homeworlds, this time from the
rest of the Clans. Stone probably hopes their advance will be blunted by their exiled
brothers here in the Sphere, effectively exhausting all of them, and from that
weakened state, he can corrupt and destroy all Clan civilization and assure his absolute
rule!
WRAITH: An excellent plan, Phantom, but… I still don’t see why he has to travel out
there himself. Even if you’re right, he could still be on New Earth, coordinating
everything from there.
PHANTOM: *sigh* There’s just no getting through to you, sometimes…
SHADOW: Powerful arguments both ways, gentlemen. Excellent work as always,
but we’re out of time once again. Come back next week, Truth-seekers, as the Hand
of Starling continues to lift the veil of conspiracy to bring enlightenment to all!
INN - Interstellar News Network
SHADOW: Well met, Truth-seekers! The Hand of Starling is back once more to
guide you toward enlightenment with the show The Republic doesn’t want you to
see! I’m your host, Shadow, and with me as always are my fellow Illuminati,
Phantom and Wraith.
PHANTOM: Question reality!
WRAITH: Look out below!
SHADOW: … Uh, welcome, gents. Before we begin today’s topic: “Devlin Stone:
Dead or Alive?” our question of the week here comes from a viewer using the on-line
nick of Pkilter03. He (or she) says: “Starling Guys, your show rocks”—spelled in the
common ’net style, I see—“But I’m wondering if you have had a chance to (or will
have the chance to) investigate the corporate conspiracy in our very midst. Is it true
that a certain J.B. has gained access to the secret codes which locked down the HPG
grid, and that he has technicians working day and night coding the viruses that keep
them down?”
WRAITH: Whoa!
PHANTOM: I’ve heard this one before…
SHADOW: Ain’t that the truth! Kilter, of course the Starling Group is always
dedicated to finding the truth, and in our endless quest for same, we fear not going
anywhere to ferret out the knowledge we bring to you. That said, rest assured that “J.
B.’s” activities have not gone unnoticed, but we’ve yet to see evidence of a corporate
plot against the Inner Sphere. In fact, “J.B.” would like us not to know how much the
blackout is really costing him, every day, thanks to ruined shipping schedules, lost
product shipment, and the general incompetence of his various CEOs in the absence
of his direct leadership.
WRAITH: But that’s a story for another time!
SHADOW: Right. So, thanks for your question, Kilter, and on with the show. Today’
s item: Devlin Stone, the man who forged our wondrous Republic--
WRAITH: *snerk!*
SHADOW: Don’t make me come over there, Wraith! Anyway, Stone: Some
eyewitness reports have him alive and living on New Earth. Others say he’s pushing
up daisies in an unmarked grave back on his homeworld of Kittery? Brothers, what
say you?
WRAITH: New Earth!
PHANTOM: I say he’s gone to Strana Mechty!
SHADOW: Interesting. We have conflict here. Back it up, folks. Wraith first.
WRAITH: Bam! Okay, so we established earlier that the Knights of the Sphere,
backed up by their shadowy Ghost Knights, are not only the real power behind The
Republic, but that the Exarch is just one of their mouthpiece figureheads, and that
they brought down the HPGs to keep him in line, right?
SHADOW: With you so far…
WRAITH: So, bearing that in mind, we have Stone dropping out of the limelight just
before it all happens. Very coincidental, don’t you think? But before you cut me off
there, notice the reports we’ve seen thanks to our friends in the Inquisitor and its
affiliates. Eyewitnesses are saying that since the HPG went down, there have been
numerous Stone sightings, including one here on Towne, where he traveled incognito
as a mere transient. Anybody notice that this “crazy bum” (as the unenlightened
described him) is nowhere to be found now? Then comes the New Earth sighting.
Over seventy eyewitness reports in the Wiedergeburt area, on numerous occasions,
place Stone there.
PHANTOM: Wishful thinking!
WRAITH: Is it now, Brother Phantom? Think: Stone drops out of sight, maybe from
personal illness, or maybe because he perceives a threat to his power, or *maybe*
because it’s time to move to the next phase of his plan to dominate the Inner Sphere
by destabilizing it a bit and making them beg for his brand of order. His Knights
handle the rest in his brief absence, and soon folks are remembering his promise to
return. The man’s setting himself up as a new messiah, but he has to stay hidden for
a time, but not too far from Terra, the center of his power. So, he sets up on New
Earth! It’s all crystal clear!
PHANTOM: Fah! I still say he’s gone to Strana Mechty! Why work on The Republic
and the Sphere when that’s already assured by the Knights. Out there in the Clan
home worlds; that’s where the real threat lies.
SHADOW: Alright, Phantom. Back it up.
PHANTOM: Right! Now, consider for a moment that Stone’s reforms managed to
touch not just the Republic, but everybody. Under his economic and political plan,
people gained a measure of self-determination in a land of plenty, something that
threatened to destabilize the other Great Houses until they adopted similar social plans
and diverted funds toward domestic policies, rather than military build-up. Suddenly,
everyone’s military is weakened while Stone’s secretly building more ’Mechs for his
hidden armies. What can mess this all up?
SHADOW: The Homeworld Clans?
PHANTOM: Right, those guys who cut themselves off from the Inner Sphere while
the Jihad was still going on. Nobody’s sure what they’re doing, or what they’re
planning—you can ignore this ‘they had a civil war’ and got all beat up crap; its all
propaganda to keep their continued technological advances and massing military
secret—but they still have access to technology outstripping us, and ranks of
genetically bred warriors, techs, and laborers to make it all work. Stone sees the
threat, but he knows the score, too. All it will take is to corrupt these Clans as the
Spheroid ones have been—by raising a grassroots resistance based on greed, that
most basic of human motivations.
WRAITH: So, Stone, by his lonesome, goes to incite a revolution in Clan space? Get
out!
PHANTOM: Come off it, Wraith! It’s not like he hasn’t allegedly done it before!
Besides, I don’t see why he wouldn’t take his best Ghosts with him as well. He could
accomplish his goals in half the time.
SHADOW: And what are his goals?
PHANTOM: Eliminating the threat of a “rogue entity ,” either by corruption, or
assimilation. To do that, he needs to stir the pot some. What we can expect to see—
mark my words—is a second Clan Invasion from the Homeworlds, this time from the
rest of the Clans. Stone probably hopes their advance will be blunted by their exiled
brothers here in the Sphere, effectively exhausting all of them, and from that
weakened state, he can corrupt and destroy all Clan civilization and assure his absolute
rule!
WRAITH: An excellent plan, Phantom, but… I still don’t see why he has to travel out
there himself. Even if you’re right, he could still be on New Earth, coordinating
everything from there.
PHANTOM: *sigh* There’s just no getting through to you, sometimes…
SHADOW: Powerful arguments both ways, gentlemen. Excellent work as always,
but we’re out of time once again. Come back next week, Truth-seekers, as the Hand
of Starling continues to lift the veil of conspiracy to bring enlightenment to all!
| January 3, 3134 |
