Re: [HOE] Blackleaf Correctional Facility (SPOILERS) (Hopler)

[<dl@Fomalhaut.mmcc.monash.edu.au>]

On Mon, 6 Nov 2000 toadpooka@juno.com wrote:

> SPOILER
> 
> 
> SPACE
> 
> 
> When Cyborgs came out, I remember some guesses going around as to what it
> is that is imprisoned in the rock beneath Blackleaf Correcitonal
> Facility.  I scoffed at the ideas that it was actually Satan (or
> whatever) at first.  But did anyone notice what the heading of that
> section was?  I think that says it all right there.
> Of course, since that imprisoned thing is an enemy of the Four Horsemen,
> it makes them a lot more like the Biblical idea, where they worked for
> God and weren't a force of evil at all, just destruction and mayhem.  I
> wonder what impliactions that might have...

I've only just rejoined the mailing lists after an absence of a year and
a bit. I figure I may as well take this oportunity to throw out the
collection of ideas I've had about the Lost Colony setting as some of them
relate to the topic at hand. (Some of this also incorporates ideas other
people have put forward, like the sympathy for the devil connection)

Ideas about lost colony.
========================
Banshee is alive.
The rocks the skinnies have are alive.
Question is, is it good or evil?
Is it possessed by the evil under blackleaf, or is it some Gaia type
entity? perhaps something different.

Satan is under the blackleaf prison. 
The prison is nearish to the grand canyon.
The big anouk fortress thing is near a grand canyon type area. 
My Geographical knowledge of the US isn't up to the task of telling
whether there is a closer canyon that would fit the bill, and my
Geology knowledge isn't up to telling how long it would take for the
canyon to expand that far, nor even if it could expand in that direction. 

Banshee is earth, in the future.
Banshee has one moon. It's solar system has an asteroid belt.
That's why the ghostrock is there, it's left over from the past
occupation of the reckoners.
The only reason this doesn't gel is that, as has been pointed out,
someone in a space ship should have noticed. The planet has constant cloud
cover by the sounds of things, unlikely that people will be able to see
enough stars from the ground to tell, but in space it should be bleedin'
obvious to anyone who looks. Maybe Hellstromme et al. know this and have
kept it covered up? Maybe it's quite some time in the future and the sun 
has started to change shape and colour. Anyone care to comment on the
likely repurcussions planet temperature wise?

The reckoners are dead, that's why they aren't in HOE.
They got killed in the future of HOE.
Shane has said he wanted the trilogy to be a fight, lose, and ultimately
win type deal. 
Maybe Raven and the insect spirits won. Maybe the anouks are the mutated
descendants of humankind who evolved to feel no fear, they certainly
don't seem to behave as though they do in the descriptions in the psyker
book etc. (Although they're more descended from Lizards/dinosaurs, maybe
the crossbreeds?)

There is a new sort of material (like ghost rock, but not) that the
anouks/skinnies can use, but humans haven't figured out yet. Could this be
the same stuff as is under blackleaf? This would give a reason why the
fortress was so precious to the Anouks, as well as supporting the future
earth theory.
=============

Some of this doesn't quite mesh in my own head, I'd just thought I'd throw
it out for people to kick around.
Although the above puts forward a future of earth idea, I still like the
alternate reality earth idea, it's a distinct possibilty, and would make a
few of the things that don't quite fit, fit. However from a trying to
guess what's going on, it's much less fun...

> Speaking of Blackleaf, are any future adventures or supplements going to
> deal with it?  My second read-through of it really got my interest
> piqued.

If relevant parts of the above are true, then quite probably, however it
may be in lost colony rather than HOE...


-- Tim Betz