DaveRexel's Journal: SoftWars

SOFTWARS
A TALE OF OUR TIME
FOR THE INNER GEEK IN EVERYBODY :-)
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enough...
proclaimed the emperor
there will be no software freedom for them

the jar is a gift from the sun, he will fight first against us, then will
greatly assist us

go forth! make the hardware merchants aware of the greater price that awaits
those that do not bow to our wishes

ignore or disrupt councils and courts
remind rulers and states of the great dangers that will confront them
if they forsake our bounties for the elusive benefits of software freedom

embrace, extend and disrupt
the efforts of contemporaries
and always
be ...

the emperor paused, looking around the table
glancing first to his right as if to reassure himself

SINTEL THE CLONER
master of designs that favoured the empire
the base upon which the foundations of the empire were built
these annoying free software creators had developed a surprisingly capable
threat
impudently using the master of clones creations
but the soon to be completed plan to restrict hardware to trusted imperial
systems
together with the convoluted eulas that bound the populace
and the hidden iceberg of patents
would eventually crush all resistance

MICHA THE HELL-FIEND
aah, the mighty demon that fuelled the empire from below
providing the population with a never ceasing flow of hardware bearing the
imperial software
not one of his subjects was equal to this hell-fiend, or more useful
looking at him the emperor saw faint tinges of the software freedom anomaly
flaring up in the folds between the hardware demons mighty muscles
the demon dared to provide a few dicerning citizens with the loathsome
collaborative software
once this softwar was over the hell-fiend would humbly toe the line, his massive
logistic neck bowed with sintels help

SIR HUGH PACKED THE THRALL
a glance at the once mighty soft and hard-ware wizard brought a supercilious
sneer to the emperors lips
to think that this wizard had once threatened the budding empire with his well
engineered core systems
hughs cloak could not hide the tell-tale traces of anti-imperial flames that
reflected feeble dreams of escape
but alas sir hugh was rendered decrepid with the sheer power of the emperors
implacable resolve

MARIAA THE BANSHEE
this litigous being of unknown gender laughed hideously as it boldly met the
emperors eyes
the spirits of the enslaved masters of illusion chained to its throne howled in
misery
so did the vast sea of wretches addicted to the exquisite fantasies woven by
these fettered adepts
the banshees grip on the populace was dangerous as the wretches could not live
without illusion to mask the misery of existence

this one will have to be ensared and tamed,
thought the emperor to himself
or destroyed once the last free entities were dispensed with
but at least this one did not show any signs of the enemy as yet
he mused as his eye fell on the newcomer to his court

SOL THE SUN-KING
having recently submitted openly to the emperors will, this arrogant blustering
janus was a sorry sight
with one eye tightly closed and and the other widely open
the rest of his person minutely mirrored his dual nature
one hand clutched powerful core systems that were in appearance as tightly
closed as the imperial systems
the other brazenly wielded a shockingly open threat to the emperors flagship
imps redolent with the aroma of coffee guarded their master from the active
ex-chimps surrounding the emperor
who somberely regarded his latest ally with feelings as mixed as the face of the
janus

IBEEM THE GIANT
sat with his back almost pointed at the emperor, his immense stature amplified
the implied disrespect by its sheer mass
as did the mantle of software freedom slung graciously over the shoulder
farthest from the table
once again the emperor sneered, how easy it had been to surpass this giant in
the early softwars
of course the beast was sulking
it had been almost imperial in its day
but the emperor had been merciless as a raptor
and the giant had stumbled and limped
for what would be eons for lesser beings
out-manuvered by imperial subterfuge and cunning

but, to the emperors horror
the giant had with intricate and surgical precision
slowly and publicly amputated one of its arms, the one that had performed
imperial tasks
near the foundries where

THE MANUHARDWARE CLANS
this disparate but extremely numerous group
did all the manufacturing at unbeatable unit price
with great ingenutity but extreme cruelty
in the sweatshops and slave-pens
the planets hardware was forged

with immense beauty the arm still performed as if still attached to the giant
the manuhardware clans chattered in pleasure
at the accuisition of this powerful artifact
even if the arm could not substantially affect the clans gargantuan output
the giants designs were held in the deepest respect
the manuhardware and ibeem had a dryly congenial regard for each other

the emperor hissed with displeasure
these manuhardware clans were not of his country and idealogically opposite to
his imperial ideals
the mutual distaste and suspicion the the emperor and the manuhardware clans was
almost tangible
however it was of utmost strategic importance to keep the manuhardware clans
locked down
luckily the early softwars had bound them to the empire by legal and punitive
methods
they were bound as well to the courtiers
notably sir hugh and the hell-fiend
but the clans had also caught the scent of freedom

the emperor drifted into plans of world dominance
into that pleasurable and comfortable den of yore

hmmm ... then He would have a place in history
He, the First Human to ever amass such incredible wealth
then He would ultimately donate the bulk of it to improving life for His
subjects
thus doubling the reasons for history to remember His Empire
hmmm ... only the Truly Ambitous realise that history only rewards Superlative
megalomania
how simple and joyful His subjects would be
once the planet achieved Imperial Harmony
with every device locked to His Imperial Designs
make it unlawful to ...

the fireplace crackled and all eyes turned to watch

PHOENIX THE FIRE-BEING
hovering in the flames, calmly decimating the emperors explorers who wilted in
the searing heat
its power grew steadily. fuelled by the increasing masses of citizens fleeing
vast hordes of elementals
those shadowy monsters voraciously preying on the weak underbelly of imperial
systems
causing immense damage to the general populace who subsequently flocked to the
shelter of the fire-being

the emperor woke from his reverie in startled rage
had he not once crushed this dinosaur in the early stages of the softwar?

the raptor reacted with well prepared deadliness
he tirelessly whipped his armies of trolls, shills, kept politicians and
litigators into renewed frenzy
these servants
thus lubricated by the network of imperial commerce
and anxious to preserve and further their positions in the shifting sands of the
imperial global hive complex
screeched the emperors message in all places, obfuscating the true issues and
spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt

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I am a sysadmin and have servers and the fiber to host an eventual production
online.

if anyone's interested in developing the story further please reply to this thread.