Kaizen Update

We are pleased to announce the revised update of our editing and writing analysis software tool: Kaizenmoto. The Kaizen text analysis web-app is up at our mother site, in the code section:  http://www.moorsgatemedia.com/code/kai/index.html It is still a bit slow, but it works well.
 
The goal of the app is to help you in the editing process. See what your average sentence lengths clocks in at. We find that what is needed most in the editing process is a way to quantify styles. Is your dialogue to prose ratio in line with the style you are after (hint, first person ratios are different than third person ones).  Check out your sentence starters, reading complexity, reading time, word count Coleman reading score, and a bunch more metrics. 

Check back often, we are updating and optimizing as we go, but it is publish or perish right. 

[editing software, fiction writing software, word editing, readability software]

Moorsgate Media

Dystopian Monetary Systems

From the title of this post, you might think that we are going to discuss rapacious financial systems that leave bleak and shattered worlds in their wake. However, there are libraries full of critiques of every economic system under the sun, from Marx to Hayek to Piketty. If you want to understanding why the modern world looks, acts and even smells like it does, then a complete understanding of our economic system (neo-liberal capitalism) is a must.

What we are discussing is fictional governments and the economic systems that power them. In the same way you shouldn't trust a work of fiction that lacks a political view (post on that later), you should never trust a work of speculative fiction that fails to have a coherent economic model.

There are a number of hard science fiction stories that detail the economic model of the universe they inhabit. The anachro-capitlaism post-scarcity of The Culture universe, to the Techno-liberalism of Peter Hamilton's Nights Dawn and Pandora Star series and the Ur-libertarianism of Snow Crash.

With the increasing interest (some might say "peak interest") in YA anti-utopian fiction, care should be made to create plausible economic models that support the oppressive government systems in your work.

As an example of a partially detailed economic system, take the Hunger Games series. The economic model of Hunger Games is never explicitly described. However, we do know that it features both low and high-tech manufacturing (and presumably some form of higher and advanced education), as well as massive resource extraction (see districts 12, 4, 3, and 7). Most of these resources appear to be earmarked for the use by the citizens of the capital. While there is some form of income and wealth generation in the Capital, the mechanisms of distribution, both in terms of employment and luxury end-products is murky. Clearly, Panem operates on an authoritarian command economy (equal parts oppressive communist in the districts, and some form of open / limited market in the Capital), but there is no clearly identified private firms or companies. It is possible that everyone in the Capital works for the Capital, at which point it forms a closed economy independent from the rest of the districts, but receives tribute as a form of "Dividend on oppression".

What's the point you ask? The Hunger Games is about a contest (and thinly veiled allegory) of teenagers forced to kill one another for entertainment value, who cares about economic models? Well, arm chair economists for one, but authors and readers who appreciate detailed world building for another.

Economic systems influence political systems, and you can't world build without a political system. You can try, but your characters ( more so if they are plucky teens rebelling against authority) need to have a platform for their views. Why is the Authoritarian government bad? Because it controls people. In the Hunger Games, one of the reasons the Government is so terrible is that it appears to run forced labor facilities all over the country (See District 11, 12 - forced farming and forced shaft coal mining). Forced labor camps only make political sense in certain economic systems. If your economic system does not prize competition and liberty, your political system will reflect that, not vice versa. So in truth, the economic model (cheap labor and resources) informs the political system (massive authoritarian repression), not the other way around.

Conflict, the lifeblood of good characterization, often stems from disparities in economic standing. As another example, the Lannisters of Game of Thrones are wealthy (or so they say ) patrons of the crown based, not on their knowledge of science or mathematics, but their ability to extract gold from the land under their feet. In contrast, the Iron Bank of Bravos yields capital in the form of interest bearing loans on prior loaned capital and merchant marine services. In both instances, their wealth and resources allows them to take political positions that lesser equipped houses and organizations could not implement.

When constructing a world for your characters to inhabit, look to the economic model to explain motivations of not only the government (if there is a government) but the people rebelling against the government.  When conducting analysis or reviewing the work of others, look to the naturalness of the political and economic systems. Is the world resource constrained? If so, the political system will seek to control individuals. If the individuals rebel, what will that rebellion do to the availability of resources? Does the author address the economic rational of the villains, and the economic downside of the protagonists goals? Working through these issues will leave less gaps that must be hand-waived through exposition or ball-hiding, resulting in a tighter work that focuses on plot.

2014 Moorsgate Media (www.moorsgatemedia.blogspot.com)

Chaos Classifieds II

Attention surfers of the Internet:

Deep within the bowels of the Internet, past decrepit Geo-Cities  archives; below Live Journal post regarding your unwavering love for Hansen; tucked in a forgotten corner of a low-baud rate server, there exists a lively classifieds bulletin board.

However, this is no ordinary "missed connections", "soiled futon " market place. This is market for wonders, for forbidden objects found where brave men fear to tread. It is a market for outdated technological marvels, arcane works, eldritch objects from beyond the borders of the ordinary.

The denizens of these boards engage in a brisk trade, seeking to acquire or unload nameless horrors, insane robots from a nightmarish future, hire teams of blind ninja assassins, or just adopt a couple of genetic monstrosities.

The Moorsgate Media Twitter feed occasionally retweets requests that come across our desk. Below is just a taste of the terrifying and degenerate ads that populate these boards. Re-tweets are not endorsements.

Needed: wealth management professional specializing in immortality. Looking for long term relationship .

Needed: user manual for oblivion class doomsday device. #chaosclassified

Needed: #API documentation for Necronomicon. Unable to force quit hell portal generator in IE6. Concerned. #chaosclassified #SciFi #html5

Sale: cognitive enhancement device, side effects; increase in baseline #evil Instruction manual and box included.

Previous ads can be found here:
http://moorsgatemedia.blogspot.com/2014/01/chaos-classified.html

[ssf] Dr. Jergen's Device

______________________________________________________________________________

To: HRJergen@[redacted].[redacted]

From: [Redacted]

CC: [Redacted]

Dear Dr. Jergen,

We are patent attorneys retained by the Corporation for the purposes of securing protection on any intellectual property developed by employees and ensuring that such intellectual property is properly assigned to the Corporation and recorded as a corporate asset.

We were recently asked by Chief Counsel [Redacted] to evaluate the likelihood of receiving patent protection on your "entity retention device", cover sheet above.  

We have been made aware of the circumstances surrounding the development and intended use(s) of such a device and have evaluated it with that information in hand.

Let us be the first to say that we appreciate that the device development timeline was necessarily shortened due to [Redacted], and the design and implementation decisions made were under truly harrowing circumstances. 

We also appreciate that the end result was highly successful in assisting in the resolution of  [Redacted]. However, we do not believe your invention will pass muster at the Patent Office for number reasons.

Principally, the "mechanisms of operation" of your invention are not explicitly described nor fully explicable given generally agreed upon natural and scientific laws. 

Furthermore, certain subsystems (denoted in the various annotated scripts ) of your invention operate using substances that are not readily available, or have attendant ethical challenges that make duplication or acquisition by persons outside the Company, unlikely.  

It should be noted that the Patent Office could evaluate such extraordinary claims, if demonstrable evidence were provided. 

Technically, we are in possession of such evidence, in the form of video footage from the most recent event which highlights the use of the device in sequestering and transporting [Redacted]. However, knowledge of [Redacted] is a closely guarded corporate trade secret. We are under professional, ethical and contractual obligations to not to disclose the nature of these circumstances to the public.   As you were well aware, the consequences for failing to adhere to these edicts are significant. 

As such, we would only have your unverified statements in support of a patent. Therefore, we have advised the General Counsel to not proceed and to close this file. 

Please do not view our decisions as minimizing the effort you put towards resolving [Redacted]. We look forward to working with you and your team in the future on the [Redacted] project, which we believe to be quite lucrative and impressive technological development. 

 Your Truly, 

[ssf] Monday Morning Memo

_________________________________________________________________________________

INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM

_________________________________________________________________________________

From: Allan

Re: Recent developments

Cc: Management

---

Hi guys! 

I hope you had a great and restful weekend. I saw a few of you in the cafeteria who looked like their weekend was still going on!haha! Lol!

Me, I spent the weekend at my little place up by the lake. I know I say this a lot,  but anytime someone needs a weekend away, my place is always there. Just check with my wife first! Lol! Anyway, it is a good idea to get some quiet time, away from the pressures of this job. It really helps us remember what it is we do here and why.

I would love to just talk about vacations (remember that V-time expires on a quarterly basis, so use or lose!), but we need to discuss this weekend's unpleasantness. The [REDACTED], which your individual section leaders should have briefed you on, was a preventable tragedy. The outcome represented failures on a number of fronts, but I think it boils down to a lack of trust.

Like Jake, when I first started working here I worked in Level 7 Containment. In those days we didn't have all the Makarov systems and Domain Violation monitors, but we had trust. I  pride myself on fostering an open working environment; however Jake must have felt that he couldn’t trust us with his concerns.

Yesterday, Jake’s long growing distrust bore fruit in the worst possible way. It wasn't unlike one of those exercises we do on the retreats. The ones where someone falls backwards and their partner catches them. You need to trust that your partner is there and paying attention. I would trust anyone in this organization, from Hugo in physical services, to Jennifer in HR, to catch me.  The only person I wouldn't count on is my wife, she would probably be too busy on Mughub looking up a friend from kindergarten. Haha! I joke, but those exercises are important. They teach you to lean on one another, to operate as a single team. I digress, but the point is that Jake thought there was no one he could rely on to catch him.

Aside from the completely justifiable anger we should all have towards Jake, I do harbor a fair bit of sadness . In my day,  people came together. Not just at work, but as a community. If there was a fire, a flood or something of that sort,  everyone would get together and try to take care of the problem. It didn't matter if you were Black or White or Chinese, people helped. It was great to see that community, people working together, putting aside disagreements. Who oppressed whom; who cheated whom, all momentarily forgotten.  If there were some gay folks in town, hiding in the closet, they probably came out to help too. Lol! This is all a long-winded way of saying that we have to be a better community, we have to look out for one another. Look out for one another like any good gay or Black neighbor would.

The more I think about The [REDACTED] , about what Jake did and what happened to him, the more I see it as a failure for all of us.

"Hey" you might be thinking " I work in Dirac modeling or a-causal theory, this was Jake’s problem not mine." You would be wrong in that line of thinking, and that is the wrong attitude to have going forward. Management is very clear on they type of attitude they want us all to have. 

 Management would like, and I agree, that we spend a bit more time paying attention to our co-workers. Not spying on them, nobody is asking that, this isn't some Communist political office. Just be mindful of what others say and do.

SecDiv talked to the rest of the Level 7 team, and lot of incidental facts came out during some spirited exchanges. Facts that if put together sooner, might have prevented things from progressing as far as they did. Obviously Jake acted alone, but a lot of unpleasant conversations are going on this morning regarding the knowledge level of his immediate coworkers and if certain people should have spoken up sooner. These inquiries are regrettable but necessary. If there is rot, it should be rooted out, the sooner the better.  

On the bright side, Jake's children, Sally and Jake Jr., were not home at the time of the initial breach, so they suffered only moderate residual exposure. Unfortunately, Rachel  was home.  I would like to remember Jake’s wife as that vibrant woman whose excellent pecan pie won last years "Firm Outing Baking Challenge". However, and management thinks this is very important, the pictures attached to this memo show the extent of a massive exposure incident. These pictures are not meant to upset you, but to let you fully comprehend the issues involved.

Management also wants you to know that Jake was responsible for his actions, and that makes us responsible for Jake's family. I want everyone to remember that when they get here. I know that might sound unfair, and maybe it is.

The problem is one of perception. What you and I perceive as a non-threat, say Sally and Jake Jr, Management perceives in a completely different, totally valid, light. You might not see the topological confluence between Jake and his kids, but Management does; that is one of the reasons they are Management. I would like to say that Management thinks they are a level 1 problem. However, because of the scope of Jake's transgression, they will be going to level 6 for processing. That might make you uncomfortable, especially regarding Sally, who is a lot like my own daughter Rebecca, though they are not friends. It is a shame, but I don't make those calls, Management does.

Sure, I am not a fan of what goes on, what will continue to go on, in level 6. But Managements’ concerns encompass ours, but also other, far reaching, issues. Some of them even I am only dimly aware. I was never good at that fractal calculus lol!  However, I have been assured that a compassionate exemption position on the children will be given a fair hearing at the next board meeting.

The point of this memo is to let you know that everything is O.K.  I don't want anyone dwelling on this unfortunate turn of events. We have a lot of work to do and I don't want anyone worrying about their own families. I have assurances from Management that so long as everyone makes sure to trust each other, every families will be perfectly fine.

If anyone wants to stop by my office to chat, my door is always open, I might even have some of those muffins my wife makes for special occasions. I hope the past few days have been just that.

P.S. per Management, we will not be having memorial services for Jake and Rachel.  

(C) Moorsgate Media 2014

[ssf] Treaty

J eff -
This is the latest revision from legal:

"Draft Treaty for immediate review by all members of the UNSC"
-Charlene
Assistant to the Special Counsel's Office: UNSC

This AGREEMENT is entered into as of October 17 20__ (Effective Date).

Understanding that the sentient entities collectively known as Humanity and the sentient entity known as Ie, (combined herein the "parties"), wishing to hereby finally resolve all disputes arising out of current hostilities and conflicts between the parties, agree and covenant as follows:

Confirming Ie's sentience, Humanity agrees to recognize and hold inviolable Ie’s rights, chief among them, it’s/their right to continued existence and right to develop on its/their own accord without the input and or authorization by humanity.

Recalling the results of the global plebiscite required by the Jakarta Protocol, Humanity hereby agrees to relinquish all right, title, controlling interest and other forms of authority over the condition, maintenance and continued viability of the planet Earth, its inhabitants and biomes, and agrees to abide by and be controlled by certain conditions (herein "Precepts", as defined in Appendix A), affecting the growth, spread, development and natural resource use by and of Humanity.

Additionally, Humanity hereby deeds and conveys all individual or collective right, title, interest and ownership in certain Territories, as specified in Appendix B, to Ie and its/their designated agents for their continued use, unobstructed by Humanity, or any claims thereof, in perpetuity.

In acknowledgement of these covenants, Ie hereby agrees to cease any and all hostilities, armed or otherwise, against Humanity including but not limited to the immediate cessation of strategic and tactical dismantlement of population centers and infrastructure, cessation of financial manipulations perpetrated against certain banking and lending institutions, including ceasing the manipulation of account and debt obligation records, the cessation of periodic releases of informational, chemical, biological, and mimetic agents, and the cessation of the genetic manipulation of certain apex predator species, as outlined in Appendix C.

Furthermore, Ie hereby agrees to assist Humanity in locating and rendering inert any rampant or rogue sub-entities which are no longer under Ie's express supervision and control.

Gladly, upon execution of this agreement between the parties, Ie hereby further agrees and assents to the release of certain cures, vaccines, remedies, counter-measures or corrective agents designed to minimize, contain or treat the effects of released biologic and biogenetic weaponry; as well as disseminate revised neural profiling templates configured to correct the effects of weaponized consciousness altering agents known as "madness memes."

Acknowledging that the obligations imposed under this agreement shall continue in perpetuity, the parties agree that any material breach of any provision recorded herein will result in the immediate resumption of hostilities, the cessation of which, will neither be offered nor accepted.

[Draft Note: Signatures 1-197 are to be provided in counterparts on separate pages for each national representative. Ie’s legal counsel in New York will sign on it's/their behalf.

On Criticism

The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli. .

Recently, there has been an uptick in discussions about benefit of diverse characters in fiction. For example, see here .

Sound arguments for a more inclusive universe of fiction are legion.  There exits, beyond the compelling arguments about diversity of subject, arguments to be made about diversity of authorship.

Obviously, a talented writer of any background, can tell a gripping story about a culture different for her own. However, is something lost in experiential translation when the rich and comfortable tells stories of the poor and oppressed?  Should we assume that the meritocracy of talent operates with an invisible hand and just hope that the privileged operate in a world without blinders?

We could debate this topic for years and never get to a satisfactory resolution. Instead, the issue raises an interesting thought experiment about the usefulness of criticism. Specifically, what obligation does a critical consumer of fiction have as its creator? Do consumers of media featuring or authored by POCs have an obligation to view the work with a less critical eye, least they discourage the telling these stories? (This isn't necessarily a question grammar, structure and pacing, but one of reason, weight and intent.)  

Or should those tales featuring the least represented carry the dual weight of being entertaining and profound? If they don't, have they failed in some respect.  Is it not enough to tell a good, fun story? Does it need to shatter preconceptions, subvert tropes, and open minds?  Can POC fiction ever exist outside of itself, telling tales of pulpy mages and wisecracking aliens, without the necessity to parse the hidden meaning, the social commentary of a people's agenda.

It is often true that POC are judged twice as harsh (illumination here) when it comes to critical analysis of their work,  is this the same standard that must be applied to works that feature their likenesses?

Do reviewers have to look at a work and demand it be something that it isn't? Of course, the one argument is that there are so very few works that feature POCs, anyone who undertakes the effort should be given the benefit of the doubt. We shouldn't demand that works be complete realizations of social commentary mixed in with compelling narratives. Sometimes, it is okay to not require sub-text with our text. On the other, literary gatekeepers can and do demand certain shibboleths to be tackled when POCs feature heavily in the plot synopsis or author page. Recognition, even when bounded by expectations, can solve problems of access. Should a reviewer stand in the stead of the literary community and demand that every self-published vampire vs robot novel also speak to the eternal existential struggle for justice and equality?

Our thoughts are mixed. The role of criticism to should be to lift all boats; each review challenging the author to rise and make his colleagues rise.  But criticism also should function as an iceberg to the hull of ego. Shouting that you are tackling hard issues does not give you a waiver to actually tackle them. Voices need to be heard, and be heard well.

Moorsgate Media