Jump to content

Ctrl+V


Ragitsu

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 15.7k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Ragitsu

    9602

  • Certified

    2481

  • tkdguy

    1134

  • Clonus

    804

Re: Ctrl+V

Yah, that's D O L G O N O S O V. Heck of a name for a good old boy to have to carry around, isn't it? My first is Grigori, but everyone's called me Greg since I was old enough not to wet my diaper. Not that the exact name matters anymore, but dang, habits die hard. My parents were Russian, got the heck out of the USSR back when it WAS the USSR, not too many years before it all went pear shaped. US was taking in skilled 'defectors' then, especially from Communist countries, and so a very pregnant Katya Dolgonosov and husband were welcomed into the country with open arms and 6 hours later, delivered a bouncing baby US citizen in Hampton Roads. They moved down into Kentucky and settled, and that's where I grew up, went to college, and ended up after the world ended. Afraid I'm a bit ahead of myself there, though.

Parents turned real hyperpatriotic after getting in, even got their citizenship in the 90s. I got brought up in that house, I took a ROTC scholarship to the U of Kentucky. Go Wildcats, hey? Fun years, and I got a head start on the physical training and military mentality a lot of young punks have trouble with. I graduated, a shiny new second louie, and what luck I had- I got to go over and play around in the desert for 4 of the next 5 years. Did two combat tours over in the Sandpit with the Big Red One, got myself a promotion the second time around leading my platoon in one of a hundred Baghdad ops, got myself a bronze star for 'heroism' another time and got myself a Purple Heart the last time when a IED sent shrapnel just the wrong way under my helmet and took my left eye from me, just as clean an in and out cut as you please. No other cuts. Bizarre, wasn't it? Anyway, that was enough for the military, I got my butt sent home to recuperate in Walter Reed for a few weeks, honorable discharge mine for the taking when I wanted. Figured I was gonna apply to the CIA, I knew a few guys back over there who told me it was a great way for officers with a good head on their shoulders who didn't want to keep getting shot at the rest of their time. I had the application in my hand and on a bus (healed scar tissue hidden under my black eyepath) when guess what? Martial Law. I'd known the rumors, sure, but I didn't realize it'd gotten that bad. I wonder what would have happened if I kept going out to Langley? Eh, no sense wondering now. I turned around and headed home to Kentucky to see my family.

When I got there, my house had been burned down and nobody I'd known had lived through the fighting. Didn't have much else to do, so I drove up on to Louisville, where I'd heard there was a strong military presence. There was. A great man, Colonel Bates- he'd been in my command chain in the desert- had scraped together most of 2 battalions from haphazard National Guard and Regular patrols, and welcomed me back in without a word. One eye or no, I could still qualify with the M-16 Alfa Deuce and could still lead a strong platoon or a weak company in street battles. I got trained for that shit in the desert. And in a lot of ways, keeping Louisville clear was actually easier than the Iraq mess. At least I could always tell who needed shooting here. We quickly learned to stay away from the river, at least a mile, and the Colonel set up HQ around the university and airport, south side of the city. We had almost a thousand civvies in there with us too, including the mayor. Based on what I've seen since, I think we were the closest thing to a functional civil and military government east of the Mississippi later on. Anyway, we called our base the SOUP Kitchen after what they called the military sent into the cities to enforce martial law- Special Operations And Urban Pacification. SOUP teams, so our base was the SOUP Kitchen. Military humor, I guess. Some of the civvies had experience with hydroponics and seismology, so we got greenhouses set up on a spare runway and monitors set up for any diggers trying to breach the perimeter.

You know, we actually held out for... dang, what, 9 months after the balloon went up? Took back half the city, some vicious friggin block by block wars. Couldn't get within a mile of the river still, too thick around there for us, but we took and cleared a majority of Louisville. We had meager but healthy food, and a deep-deep well found a source of water to drink, we were hot stuff. So naturally, this being the military, it all went to crap. I guess now our refusal to fuckin' die cheesed off something, because one day we got a sharp uptick in contacts. Piggies- that's what the noncoms called the plague victims, though I never heard it after I left Louisville- started hitting us en masse, 100 strong at multiple points of the perimeter all day, you couldn't hear for the machine guns chattering out just long enough in each burst for the gunner to yell Die Mothereffer Die just like their sergeants trained them. Then around evening the monitors went berserk, because a dozen somethings were boring through solid rock underfoot at high speed. Sinkholes started sprouting in and around our greenhouses, killing most of our food stock, and we lost a hundred good soldiers and as many civvies in the firefight. I still don't know if we killed whatever frigging nightmares came for us or if they just fled under the pressure. I passed out from exhaustion after the all clear sounded. And then, of course, I got no good rest, because that's when the dreams started.

It was always back in Iraq. I was in the shotgun seat of a truck, on yet another endless convoy from the middle of nowhere to the edge of nowhere, looking ahead. The guy next to me would be talking to me, calmly and in a deep voice. If I ever looked to my left, the dream would end and I'd wake up soaked in sweat with a last echoing voice in my head; I "wasn't ready yet". Supercilious so and so. That and the ****ing birds on the hood despite the wind and speed, that made it really odd. The dream would mainly tell me things like I had to get out of town, that everyone who stayed in Louisville was going to go mad and then die, and that the Colonel would be first. You can guess how I reacted to that. I woke up sweating a lot, even in winter. I started seeing the birds around town too, when we still did sweeps. Piggies were everywhere, and mean as a pit bull. You heard one scream, you got into a fortified position because you were about to see a hundred. We started getting whittled away, the civvie morale collapsed, and things were clearly going to heck. I stuck around though, because we carved out a sustainable life once we could damn well do it again. That lasted until the Colonel actually went nuts. One of the best men I ever knew, he took me aside after a long patrol and asked me in furtive tones, "Greg, you've been one of my best officers, I want you to know that. You're going to be one of my-" I remember this bit word for word, "-generals in the army of the angels." I smiled and nodded. Then I loaded my ruck with as many MREs and filled canteens of water as I could carry, and magazines of 5.56 ammo and other essentials, took my rifle, and slipped out of the camp with a few others I knew I could trust to the last yard and headed north. The dream voice insisted I go north over the Ohio River and into Indiana and head east. It knew where I had to be, and the devil if I wasn't about to listen to whatever it wanted after it'd warned me about the Colonel. As I was crossing the big interstate bridge, I heard the explosions and gunfire echoing faintly behind us, and saw a bit of a rising cloud when our ammo dump cooked off. I hope to blazes nothing survived that.

Not too much to tell of the last, what was it, month and a half now. We'd been moving northeast into Ohio now, moving when it's clear, raiding water heaters and buildings I could verify clear for food and drink, always sleeping with an escape option near at hand and with one ear to the ground. You can hear the diggers coming usually if you do that, dunno if you're aware. Sounds like frying bacon and ice cubes in a blender at once when they're boring through rock. Saved my rear a few times, I don't mind telling you. I can handle the plague victims, they go down to bullets like anything else. The ones that come out of the ground, only defense is being somewhere else. Fast. Even then, we lost people, and now? I'm the only one left. I'd only had a few dreams since then, mostly warning me to stay away from other people and reinforcing that I was "needed" somewhere very specific as soon as I could get there. Dunno what the heck's going on, but if the little birdy voices in my head want me somewhere I may as well be there. Not much better to do when the world's going to heck. But they've been getting more and more frequent ever since I hit the state line..

Personality/Appearance: Greg is at this point pretty rail thin, considering how slim pickings have been across southwest Ohio. Still wears his military fatigues and even his old set of body armor, but he usually keeps it under a muddy poncho for rain protection and in case someone who doesn't like soldiers sees him. Kind of tall, though, lanky with the lack of food. Black hair that used to be a crew cut before he began wandering around the ass end of the Midwest by himself, so now it's pretty shaggy and the straggly beard isn't helping things. The one eye he has left is bright, bright blue, which just makes it stand out more compared to the drab scratched leathery eyepatch he wears over his other one. He looks a lot older than his late 20s, considering he's spent almost his entire adult life first fighting Iraqis and then zombies. Despite that much psychological stress- notably losing everyone he's ever known two separate times in the last year and spending much of the time inbetween in daily desperate combat- he's still a fairly reasonably coherent, friendly person.

He's a "southern gentlemen" or less charitably a "Good Old Boy". Polite to other people far past where normal people would cut off, chivalrous towards women, and all that. Always ready with a smile and maybe even a joke- after a firefight's over, of course, because interrupting life or death combat with a quip would be Unprofessional and if nothing else Greg is pathologically 'professional' about his job of being a soldier. Cautious, meticulous, careful unless driven ahead before he's ready. He used to be pretty skeptical about the idea of metaphysical, but prophetic dreams have pretty much wrung that out of him. Still, there have to be Rules about all this somewhere, even if they're written where he can't read. He'll learn them and figure out how to win, probably sometime after he figures out what winning is with the new rules. The only real notable mark left on his mind from all he's been through is that sometimes the caution goes to the point of paranoia- he tries to sleep with one ear to the literal ground when he can sleep, so he can hear things coming. Maybe. Or maybe it's just a compulsion at this point, hard to say.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Ctrl+V

 

Yah, that's D O L G O N O S O V. Heck of a name for a good old boy to have to carry around, isn't it? My first is Grigori, but everyone's called me Greg since I was old enough not to wet my diaper. Not that the exact name matters anymore, but dang, habits die hard. My parents were Russian, got the heck out of the USSR back when it WAS the USSR, not too many years before it all went pear shaped. US was taking in skilled 'defectors' then, especially from Communist countries, and so a very pregnant Katya Dolgonosov and husband were welcomed into the country with open arms and 6 hours later, delivered a bouncing baby US citizen in Hampton Roads. They moved down into Kentucky and settled, and that's where I grew up, went to college, and ended up after the world ended. Afraid I'm a bit ahead of myself there, though.

 

*Snip*

 

He's a "southern gentlemen" or less charitably a "Good Old Boy". Polite to other people far past where normal people would cut off, chivalrous towards women, and all that. Always ready with a smile and maybe even a joke- after a firefight's over, of course, because interrupting life or death combat with a quip would be Unprofessional and if nothing else Greg is pathologically 'professional' about his job of being a soldier. Cautious, meticulous, careful unless driven ahead before he's ready. He used to be pretty skeptical about the idea of metaphysical, but prophetic dreams have pretty much wrung that out of him. Still, there have to be Rules about all this somewhere, even if they're written where he can't read. He'll learn them and figure out how to win, probably sometime after he figures out what winning is with the new rules. The only real notable mark left on his mind from all he's been through is that sometimes the caution goes to the point of paranoia- he tries to sleep with one ear to the literal ground when he can sleep, so he can hear things coming. Maybe. Or maybe it's just a compulsion at this point, hard to say.

Interesting and well-written. :) If it was a story, I'd be reading onward.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Ctrl+V

 

You cant run a horse 24 hours, there is no maybe/or about it you simply cant. Or rather you could run it for 24 hours, but if you run it hard you will kill it, run it slowly and you will injure it.

 

(This is why messenger services in the past (basically whenever horses where the main mode of transport) needed multiple horses at set waypoints, you cant ride them very long/hard without making them worthless.)

 

And even if you miraculously got a full day out of it it would still need to rest afterwards, plus feeding them isnt as simple as "Hey horse, heres a field, Go nuts!".

 

 

Time space and special equiptment, well simply barricade a mechanics shop, or a private garage if they have the stuff you need, you dont need much of a barricade as it doesnt have to last very long, if it takes more than a day or 2 to fix its not worth fixing it. Of course this is assuming the garage has suitable parts (I dont know how likely that is as I am not a mechanic)

 

But stealing a car, if your first thought is "hotwire" when someone says steal a car you need your head examined :D. Simply look for cars that are parked up outside a home (place of work too if you feel the workplace is unlikely to be too "populated"), when you find one that looks in good nick, break the door down and search the house and any contained corpses for car keys, and then try said keys on the car. Very quick process.

 

(as an aside, it is still very possible to "hotwire" modern cars and bikes, I unfortunately dont know the process however so the above is the best option for me)

 

And a horse is never a preferable option to a car and should be traded at the soonest oportunity. As a bonus when you find a working car your horse transport becomes horse meat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Ctrl+V

 

book ID: author ID:

Submission Information form

To help your publishing process start smoothly, please complete all spaces on the following pages.

If you have any questions, feel free to

contact your Check-In Coordinator.

Your Check-In Coordinator is _________________and can be reached by phone at 1-888-728-8467 ext ____

or by e-mail at _________________________.

Thank you for ChoosIng

Contents

Step 1: general Information

Step 2: Interior Layout

Step 3: Cover Layout

Step 4: Checklist & Production Fee schedule

step

General Information

Please use the exact spelling and punctuation that should appear in your book.

Be sure to note any capitalized, italicized, bold, or case-sensitive letters.

Pen Name:

Book Title:

Book Subtitle (if necessary):

Book Size: select a size for your book (check one)

*minimum page count 48 pages

*Landscape orientation is not available.

Color Books

5 x 8

6 x 9

8.25 x 11

8.5 x 8.5

8.5 x 11

Black & White Books*art/generalBiography & autobiography/Entertainment & Performing artsBiography & autobiography/generalBiography & autobiography/Rich & FamousBody, Mind & spirit/occultismBody, Mind & spirit/supernaturalBusiness & Economics/Careers/generalBusiness & Economics/generalComputers/generalCooking/generalEducation/general

Family & Relationships/DivorceFamily & Relationships/general

Family & Relationships/MarriageFamily & Relationships/Parent & adult Child

Family & Relationships/ParentingFiction/action & adventure

Fiction/Classics

Fiction/EroticaFiction/Fantasy/generalFiction/gayFiction/generalFiction/horror

Fiction/LesbianFiction/science Fiction/generalFiction/short stories (single author)Fiction/suspense

Fiction/Thrillers

Fiction/WesternsForeign Languages study/generalhealth & Fitness/generalhealth & Fitness/sexualityhistory/generalhistory/Military/generalhistory/native americanhouse & home/Repairhumor/generalJuvenile Fiction/generalJuvenile nonfiction/generalLanguage arts & Disciplines/generalLaw/generalLiterary Collections/generalMathematics/generalMusic/generalnature/animalsnature/generalPerforming arts/generalPets/generalPhilosophy/generalPoetry/generalPolitical science/generalPsychology/generalReference/genealogyReference/generalReference/Personal & Practical guidesReligion/holidays/Christmas

Religion/InspirationalReligion/spiritualityscience/generalself-help/generalsocial science/Ethnic studies/african-american studiessocial science/Ethnic studies/generalsocial science/Ethnic studies/hispanic-american studiessocial science/handicappedsocial science/sociology/generalsocial science/Women’s studiessports & Recreation/generalsports & Recreation/Martial arts & self-DefenseTechnology/generalTransportation/automotive/generalTransportation/aviation/generalTravel/general

Book Categories: select up to three (3) categories that best fit your book.

These categories will be used to place your book on the AuthorHouse Web site.

*If your color book has a page range of 24-48, choose saddle stitch or Perfect Binding*all color books with a page count of 4-20 will be saddle stitched *all color books with 52+ pages will be perfect bound*all black and white books will be perfect bound

step

General Information

Please use the exact spelling and punctuation that should appear in your book.

Be sure to note any capitalized, italicized, bold, or case-sensitive letters.

About the Author

About the Author

Explain why readers will be interested in your unique voice as an author. Write in the third person (he, she, it) and highlight your credentials.

Maximum of 300 words

About the Book

Write a brief “teaser” summary of your book. Describe the main points of your writing in a way that will encourage buyers to purchase and read your book.

Maximum of 300 words

This will be your back cover text, unless you have purchased the Personalized Back Cover option.

Free Preview

A preview of your book is placed on our website to give customers a sample of your work.

Maximum 1,000 words

Please provide the EXACT passage that you prefer.

You may send this text as a separate Microsoft Word document if you prefer.

Dust Jacket/Hard Cover

Dust jacket hardcover books may only be in the 6”x 9” size.

If you selected the dust jacket hardcover, your softcover book will also be 6”x9”

Minimum of 108 pages

About the Book

Free Preview

step

Interior Layout

Please submit your manuscript in its complete and final

version to save time and extra production fees.

Interior Layout Ideas: Please indicate any ideas your Book Designer may need for the interior layout of the book.

Image Quality

Manuscript Submission Tips:

72 Pixels Per Inch

300 Pixels Per Inch

Microsoft Word 6.0 or higher is the preferred format for submitting your manuscript.

submit your manuscript as a single document. DO NOT save each chapter as an individual file.

submit images for your book sEPaRaTELY with a list of where the images are to be placed. Place holders in your text are required.

all images must be submitted digitally in either JPG or TIF format and must be a resolution of 300 ppi (pixels per inch) or higher. Please contact your author assistant for a copy of our image submission guide if you need additional information.

Hardcopy images will be subject to additional scanning fees.

Special Instructions:

Images:

Other:

step

Cover Layout

standard covers are created from images you provide and/or stock art

or photography from: Think Stock Images (click to open)

Cover Layout Ideas: Please indicate any ideas your Cover Designer may need for the cover layout of the book.

Image Quality

Cover Material Submission Tips:

72 Pixels Per Inch

300 Pixels Per Inch

Cover/Image Notes:

Back Cover:

Flaps (Dust Jacket Only):

submit any original images in digital form. All digital images must be at least 300 ppi at their intended size.

For stock art, please provide the image number from the website above.

If you purchased the Personalized Back Cover, your photo and/or text may be included.

There may be some color variation between cover proof, and the final book.

If you have the Personalized Back Cover option in addition to a dust jacket hardcover, you may provide up to 150 words for each interior flap.

Books below 80 pages will not include text on the spine.

It is the author’s responsibility to secure any necessary copyright permissions for any imagery you provided.

step

Submission Checklist

Before submitting your materials, please consult the following checklist to make sure that all of your materials are in order. a quick review of this document may potential save you a significant amount of time and trouble!

Your Check-In Coordinator will need three things from you before moving you forward to production: your manuscript, your completed submission Information Form, and any images you plan to include. all of these materials will have to be formatted to our standards. For detailed instructions and formatting standards, please consult the Manuscript submission guide or contact your Check-In Coordinator.

When you are ready to submit your material, you may:e-mail• as attachments to initialcheckin@authorhouse.comupload• files at http://authorinfo.authorhouse.com/uploadMail on disc• to authorhouse, attn: Check-In Coordinator, 1663 Libery Drive, suite 200, Bloomington, In 47401

Submission Information Formhave you selected a book size? †have you filled in all necessary book information †(title, subtitle, pen name, categories)?have you filled in your about the Book, about †the author, and Free Preview sections?have you expressed all design information that †you would like to relay to your design team?have you included a cover idea? †

Images Checklist

Do you have all of your images saved as separate †jpg or tif files?are you aware that if you exceed the number of †free images allowed in your book, you will incur extra charges?

Do you have written permission to publish any †images that you do not own the rights to?

Do all of your images meet our minimum †resolution requirement of 300 dpi (dots per inch)?have you clearly indicated where you would like †each image to be placed in your book by using image file names?

Manuscript Checklist

Is your manuscript saved as one continuous file? †

Does your manuscript contain unnecessary ‘hard †returns’?are all tables, columns, and footnotes formatted †correctly?have you removed all manual page numbers? †are all images removed from the manuscript? †have you clearly indicated where each image is †to be placed?

NOTE: If you are submitting a print-ready PDF or InDesign file, different formatting rules apply. Please consult your Check-In Coordinator.

Important Notes

Please do not submit materials if you are unsure • about any of your material formatting. Your Check-In Coordinator will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Do not submit any material until • all material is ready. We will not be able to proceed with your book until we receive everything we need from you.

step

Production Fees

Pre-Production WorkFile Merging $5.00 per fileImage Extraction (from manuscript) $5.00 per imageIf author cannot supply jpg or tif format image Black & White Image scanning $5.00 per imageColor Image scanning (Color Book) $10.00 per imageLarge or specialty Image scanning $50.00 per imageData Entry $3.00 per pageany romance language $4.00 per pageFaded/Difficult to read $5.00 per pageManuscript Prep $2.00 per page

Removal of manually placed page numbers, headers, errant hard returns, etc.

Special Format & DesignImage Insertion (B&W Books) $5.00 per image

Black & White books may insert up to 10 images free.Image Insertion (Color Books) $10.00 per image

Color Books may insert up to 50 images at no cost.

Image Manipulationsimple Cropping $10.00 per imageColor adjustment $25.00 per imageComplex Cropping $55.00 per imageCustom headers $2.00 per chapterMultiple Tables of Contents $25.00 each

a single table of contents is free.

Basic Index CreationUp to 500 entries $200.00 501-800 entries $300.00 801-1,000 entries $400.001,001+ entries QuotedFootnotes (bottom of each page) $2.00 per footnoteEndnotes (end of each chapter) $5.00 per chapterEndnotes (end of the book) no ChargeTables $10.00 per tablestock image inside the book $12.00 per image stock images for the cover (up to 2) no chargeadditional cover stock image processing fee $12.00 per imagespecialized book layout/design Quoted

If extensive additional work is required.

Galley/Cover Proof Delivery all Web uploads no chargePrinted B&W galley Proof $50.00CD-RoM galley proof $25.00Printed Color galley $2.00 per page

+$10.00 shippingPrinted cover proof $25.00

Galley (Interior Design) Modifications

galley Content ChangesFirst revision (up to 25 changes) no chargeadditional galley changes $100.00

per block of 25Re-Tech $275.00

any new manuscript submitted after 1st galley

Cover Design ModificationsFirst cover corrections no chargeadditional text changes $25.00additional design changes $70.00

note: If corrections to the cover or galley are requested after submission to the printer a resubmission fee will apply.

Misc.Title/subtitle/Pen name change $90.00

Printer resubmissionone version $200.00Paperback and hardcover $250.00Re-Tech (as part of resubmission) $250.00PDF Retech $50.00note: This applies only to new versions of PRInT-REaDY materials submitted after 1st galley.These fees apply when you need authorhouse to perform additional services which are not included with the standard publishing package.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Ctrl+V

 

In a game of 3.5 DND it had me as a level 5 Cleric and my buddy as a level 5 barbarian. After raiding villages and such we were debating what to do when a dragon suddenly flies right above us. Its looking for a fight and swoops down and knocks me over so I sonic burst it 100 feet above me while my buddy climbs on it and stabs it several times while i then take down several wolfs approaching me. Accidentally my barbarian ally kills the dragon and proceeds to rip off its wings and glide down to the ground safely thanks to his epic rolling of 5 20s in a row,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...