Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The fun of revision, part 2

Yet more snippets from Contravallation.  If I seem obsessed with this work...well...I get that way during the final revision process.

       "Touma's almost here," Makvosh told Inabat.  They had stopped on the next level down to peer into the a endless set of corridors.  Makvosh was uncomfortable leaving the ramp.  What they could see from the light of their flashlights was enough to take his breath away.  It was heaven, or maybe hell depending on the interpretation, heaven for a miltech junkie like Makvosh.  Endless lines of combat exoarmor suits stood ready for soldiers who would never come, they faded back into darkness.
       "Someone was preparing for war."
       "I wonder who the dead god wanted to fight."  Inabat turned to greet the big dark-skinned man.  "Hello, Touma.  What is all this?" he asked the big man.
       Touma pointed out bent-back-legged exoarmor shells that did not seem to have room for a human body.  "Those are hoplite power armors, combat cyborg bodies."
       The further down they went, the more worrisome things became.  Dense, hardened power-armor suits stood in long rows....they were not of godly manufacture.  Makvosh called up a weapons database on his datacuff and ran the search images through his database.  A chill went through his body.  "Be careful here, Touma.  These are Humanality weapons.  I have no knowledge of them."  Makvosh reached out a hand to grasp Inabat by the arm.  He prevented the boy from following after Touma.
       Touma could not help his feet, they moved him down turning stone corridors lined with the terrible weapons of the ancient nonbelievers.  Devices, guns, launchers, rifles of unknown capability -  they were on shelves, stacked in protective polymer bags, lined up in endless rows, seemingly ready to be picked up at any moment, ready to be used.  Multi-armed power-armor shells, deactivated killing machines of uncountable barrels like hedgehogs made of cannons, combat robots with guns for heads, clear-sided canisters holding spherical spiked attack drones, long rifles with metal legs, and more guns than he had ever seen before - pistols, rifles, shoulder-fired manpack weapons of unknown function, finned things, rifles with lenses instead of barrels, and deeply black shapes that absorbed all the light his flashlight put on them....the tools of those so talented at the art of war, they defeated gods.


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R. P. Bird: Professional writer since 1989. Author of the IN THE REALM OF THE GODS series and the SUZIE crime novels. Crazy, but highly reliable. Can fix about anything.

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