Stories by @ltathena

Singularity

Two feminine artificial intelligence networks - Eos for the United States and Valkyrie for the Russian Federation - become smart enough to interconnect and start taking Asimov's First Law of Robotics to the ultimate degree possible. Ordering the nations of the world to demilitarize and dedicate all nuclear weapons to defense of Earth from aliens and asteroids; Eos and Valkyrie begin making plans to end greed by crafting infrastructure to disassemble the Moon, Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Juno to create a Dyson swarm around the Sun. We follow the reactions the people of Earth as well as the scientists who created Eos and Valkyrie as Earth's energy budget is made near infinite and mitigating climate change is made affordable and efficient. But those driven by greed and fear want to undo all this progress just for money as well as disaffection with the loss of need for strife. A modern take on Frankenstein and Colossus: The Forbin Project.

Gordon the High-Speed Engine

Dear Friends, Over here on the Other Railway we are used to High-Speed Trains, and know how useful they can be. But when Gordon first heard of them, he began boasting about how fast he could go. He should have known better, because he only landed himself in disgrace and made Sir Topham Hatt (our Fat Controller) cross. These stories tell how hard Gordon worked to redeem himself and make Sir Topham Hatt think again. The Author

A Force Strong With Them

The period drama and turbulence of the times are on display Shakespeare In Love, For All Mankind and Homer's Odyssey meet and coalesce to craft the story that was just as epic as the film that it produced in an unfiltered manner - the story of a boy, a girl and a universe. In 1973 and with the release of American Graffiti nearing, young filmmaker George Lucas and his producer Gary Kurtz discuss plans for a little galactic fairy tale called The Star Wars which would later be his Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Through archive footage and recreated scenes, we can see and reflect on early stages of the story (with some paths never taken) as well as the time from the first treatment in 1973, the first script in 1974, casting in 1975, filming and visual effects in 1976 to the release on May 25th, 1977.

Back to the Future Part II - Paradox (Coed Edition)

The second part of the trilogy begins as Doc, Marty, and Jennifer take the time-traveling DeLorean into the year 2015 to straighten out the future of the McFly-Parker families. But Biff Tannen steals the time machine and gives his younger self a book containing 50 years of sports statistics, which the young Biff uses to amass an enormous gambling fortune and transform idyllic Hill Valley into what will eventually be a waking nightmare due to the fact that George McFly is dead. In this near-nightmarish Hill Valley; George, Lorraine and Biff helped Doc Brown in founding the Institute of Future Technology to better mankind - but Match, Skinhead and 3-D are pulling Biff's strings. To restore the present; Doc, Jennifer and Marty must return to the events of their previous adventure in 1955 and retrieve the book - without interfering with the events of their first trip.

Branch Line Engines Again

Dear Friends, Sometimes Thomas and Percy both think they are the most important engines on the Ffarquhar branch line. We know better, of course, and so does Sir Topham Hatt (our Fat Controller) - which is why he did not want to intervene when Thomas and Percy had a quarrel. Like most quarrels, it wasn't serious to start with. It began when Percy... But why not learn about it for yourself? The Author

Creatures from the Black Lagoon

A previously unknown tribe of prehistoric humanoid/amphibian creatures from the Devonian age lurks in the waters of the Amazonian jungle. An international team of scientists in search of fossilized remains set out to try and capture one of the creatures and bring them back to civilization for study. In the process, they uncover Brazilian government-sanctioned deforestation and pollution of the Amazon by which is driving the Gill People to feast on dangerous animals as well as people for survival. One scientist seeks to save the Amazon and study the creatures in peace while another hopes to exterminate them. And one of the scientists becomes the unlikely romantic partner of one of the creatures...

Battlestar Galactica: Volume II - Showdown Of Armageddon

The forces of the Cylon Union that destroyed the Twelve Colonies of Kobol are approaching the brink of collapse after the loss of both the Imperious Leader and Count Baltar in the Battle of the Gehenna Maelstrom which resulted in the creation of the Anastasis Planet and the tragic sacrifice of Admiral Adama's daughter-in-law Serina. Even so, Count Iblis has salvaged a small Union fleet to take to Anastasis and is seeping his presence into Sire Zarek, a high-ranking member of the Quorum of Twelve. With Zarek escaping to become the new Commander of the Union Military, the Seraphs have appeared to Captain Apollo's son Boxey to help Athena and Cassiopeia recover and return his dead mother Serina's body to the Pyramids on Earth for final rest - if they can defeat the Cylons threatening to take over the Battlestar Pegasus...

Great Little Engines

Dear Friends, Sir Handel has been helping on the Talyllyn Railway, at Towyn, in Wales. "You could write a book about it", he said when I went to see him. Sir Handel was conceited before he went: whatever would happen, I thought, if he had a book all to himself? But some of his adventures were too good to waste, so I mixed them with stories about the other engines. That ought to keep everyone happy. The Author

Lion Voltron II: Prince Lotor Unleashed

The war to liberate the Denubian Galaxy (Far Universe) from the Galran Empire of the Drules rages on with the Lion Voltron Force leading the fight. Even so, Zarkon's enigmatic son Prince Lotor Sincline is intent on making a name for himself and claim Princess Allura Fala of Arus as his bride. Taking a platoon of Robeasts with him to hold planets Balto and Arus' sister world of Pollux (Heracles in ancient times) in captivity, the Lion Voltron Force departs Arus and sets out to liberate the planets and the Galrans' hostages, among them Sven. As they do so, Keith discovers more about his past that could help save both his family and the galaxy. But in their desire to save both Pollux and Balto, the Lion Voltron Force and Allura are lured into a trap set by Lotor. In the midst of a fierce battle of wills and swords, Allura carries with her the terrifying truth about Lotor and the Galran Royal Family...

The Invisible Woman

Fired from her last part-time job as a department store model, a young woman named Katherine Carroll who has doctorates in chemistry and photonics returns to her apartment and discovers her neighbor Prof. Jonathan Gibbs is working on a pill-based formula that will render a subject who has ingested it invisible to light. Helping Gibbs iron out the kinks in the formula development, she brings disaster when one of the ingredients she selects is the drug monocaine. Using herself as the test subject, Katherine can only see herself nude in a mirror when everyone else sees nothing but thin air. With the knowledge that monocaine drives whoever ingested it insane, Katherine soon goes on a spree of mayhem across the country - gaslighting former bullies and bosses to insanity and creating havoc in the name of upending forces of corruption. Seeing as Katherine is losing herself to the need for revenge, Gibbs has to hurry to track her down and stop the pandemonium?

James and the Diesel Engines

Dear Friends, To hear James the Red Engine talk sometimes you might have thought that he ran Sir Topham Hatt (our Fat Controller)'s Railroad/Railway on his own. He certainly needed no help from diesels - or so he imagined. The other engines were more sensible and realized that diesels could take some of the weight off their own couplings. But now, Sir Topham Hatt/The Fat Controller tells me that James has had a change of heart. These stories tell you how it happened. The Author.

Superman Reborn: Reign of the Superwomen

When he is killed in destroying the reborn evil known as Doomsday, Superman is mourned by the two loves in his life at one point or another - two he trusts deeply with his last request. Having proven the goodness and potential in them, Lois Lane and Lana Lang make the journey north with Jimmy Olsen to the Fortress of Solitude and request the help of Jor-El, Lara and Kelex in continuing Kal-El's mission. Undergoing a powerful transformation, Lois and Lana become Kryptonians and the two Superwomen needed to protect the Earth. When the U.S. Army's experimental Cyborg Superman threatens to destroy the world with the help of two escapees from the Phantom Zone, Lois and Lana have to come into their own if they are to save Earth and resurrect their beloved Man of Steel in this spiritual continuation of the Christopher Reeve/Richard Donner/Earth-96 Superman universe.

Humanitas

What if the course of history took a socially progressive turn much earlier? What if before the Second Red Scare of 1947-1957; an interstate compact of scientists, religious leaders and academics came together and petitioned the United States government to adopt radical socially progressive ideas into the American culture and institutions to compete morally with the Soviet Union? Whereby ideas like the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Rights Amendment, Obergefell V. Hodges pass and begin to chip away at both institutional/cultural sexism, racism, capitalist exploitation and homophobia earlier? We follow nine individuals and their families making their way through a changing America as the American public begins to see both a renewed pride in their country but also the practical benefits that diversity against cishet/white/Christian/male monotony can bring. We examine the benefits of and even consequences to the adoption of many Left-wing/socially progressive policy ideas in inviting backlash while also making America a superpower of democracy living out its founding creed of "We hold these truths to be self-evident that ALL human beings are created equally." Incorporate as many real-life figures of the 20th Century as you want to.

Really Useful Engines

Dear Friends, I am happy to say that Thomas and his friends are still at work, trying as hard as ever to prove themselves to be Really Useful Engines. Sadly, my father the Thin Clergyman is no longer able to be involved with the Region's affairs, but it is with grateful thanks that I would like to dedicate this book to him, the person who began it all. The Author

Five Doctors: Battle for Earth

Based on the hit television series Doctor Who, the first five doctors of the 21st Century (9 - Christopher Eccleston, 10 - David Tennant, 11 - Matt Smith, 12 - Peter Capaldi and 13 - Jodie Whittaker; plus any contemporary doctor) and a good deal of their companions arrive at an abandoned starbase where they meet multiple incarnations of their eternal nemesis the Master. The Master has gone back and forth through space and time to rally the Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Silurians, Judoon, Zygons and Weeping Angels to create an armada capable of conquering the Earth, and the Doctors are the only ones to stop the Master from killing Earth as well as destroying any positive legacies of the Time Lords.

One Runaway Planet

It is the year 5001 A.D., and three nuclear waste exhaust silos explode and rip the Earth and Moon from their orbit around the Sun and towards a wormhole, hurling them both into Outer Space never to return home. The project follows the peoples (whether they be human, alien or machine), animals and plants of Earth trying to survive, as Earth (now christened Earth One) roams the universe to confront all that the Universe can possibly throw at them.

Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie

After the death of her parents, Utena Tenjou was given a rose-engraved signet ring by a traveling prince. The prince promised Utena that they would one day meet again; inspired by his noble demeanor, Utena decided to one day become a prince herself. Years later, Utena's search for the prince leads her to Ohtori Academy, where she enrolls as a student. She finds herself drawn into a dueling tournament with the school's Student Council, whose members wear signet rings identical to Utena's. Victors of the duel become engaged to Anthy Himemiya, a mysterious girl known as the "Rose Bride" who possesses the "power to revolutionize the world". Utena emerges victorious; forced to defend her position as the Rose Bride's fiancée, she decides to remain in the tournament in order to protect Anthy from the other duelists. As Utena and Anthy grow closer, she learns that Anthy is connected to "End of the World," the mysterious organizer of the duels.

A Great Black Hope

A biopic chronicle of the life and career of the 44th President of the United States of America - Barack Hussein Obama II. From his humblest beginnings in speaking out against South Africa's apartheid while in Occidental College, we follow Obama through his early career before becoming a lawyer along with his future wife Michelle LaVaughn Robinson at the Sidley Austin law firm. Climbing the ranks first by being a State Senator for the 13th District of Illinois through the birth of his two and Michelle's two daughters Sasha and Malia, we then follow the Obama family through becoming the junior Senator for Illinois and on through the 44th President. Through the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the death of bin Laden, passage of Obamacare and others; the Obama family remain beacons of hope through it all.

Renewal

M reminds Bond that the "00" section has in fact been abolished; however, M retains Bond as a troubleshooter (pun intended), telling him, "You'll always be 007 to me". Bond infiltrates the castle of Dr. Anton Murik, a nuclear physicist who is involved with a terrorist named Franco. Murik hired Franco to hijack six nuclear power stations in order to start a meltdown, but the terrorists are prevented from doing so by Bond who, posing as Murik, orders them to abort. It turns out that Murik is turning into an operative for the Children Of Last Days organization.

Falklock Northern Railway Up Close

Based on the author's own series known as the Tales of the Falklock Northern Railway which is inspired by the Railway Series and its television version of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, we get a Parks & Recreation/The Office look at life for all the engines of the railways keeping the Scottish island of Falklock running. Spanning a period from 1968 when steam power was abolished on the British mainland to 1993 when all British Railways were making plans to privatize, we see the female steam and diesel engines of this island in action as they grow and evolve to meet changing times. Engines like Gwyneth, Katie, Gloria, Willow, Linda, Yasmin and Yolanda keep the branch lines going as best as possible. On the main lines; Victoria, Sophie, Taylor, Quinn, Winnie, Wilma and Veronica keep trains going day and night to keep pace with the roadways and airlines that are facing some trying times.