Magical nuclear weapons. 5/5 Go to Comment

The head researcher killing himself reminds me of the last frame of this comic: http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/4611731.html

Once again, I am stunned by your mastery of prose. I really love your submissions. They're always beautiful pieces of wordcraft. Very nicely done.

Sidethought: can the creatures exist outside of the cloud bank? I would assume that certain ones couldn't, due to the nature of various realities, but others very well might. That could be an iiiiiinteresting plot hook. Woo for "The Mist". Go to Comment

As is the source: there isn't much that rivals complete and utter annihilation of millions of souls in the space of a few seconds. It's a devastatingly horrifying thought. I think Ouro captured that feel quite nicely. Go to Comment

Man, this is quite awesome and fits your world perfectly! Glad you are back posting! Go to Comment

Thanks for all your kind words, my friends. Yes, what I envisaged the contaminated zone to be is like something from "The Mist", full of weird monsters and unseen horrors. And, of couse, the way Mieville, in Perdido Street Station, describes the city of Suroch, after a "Torque bomb" has been detonated over it. The term "cockroach tree" paints a neat picture...

/David Go to Comment

BOOM!

Wow this is one amazing sub, just imagine what the witchocracy would do with its lethal payload. Go to Comment

I dearly love the notion of these vermin. They're gremlins, adapted to thaumatechnology; perhaps in the quiet hours when the machinery isn't doing as much, you can hear the infestation as an occasional faint cackling, whistling sound, a cross between the sound of a fire and of the radio waves of the aurora.

One possible explanation for them that I could think of would be a kind of spontaneous generation; in the highly charged environment of a thaumatechnological engine, the concentration of energies might be enough to coalesce into a kind of lifeform, which would serve to explain why they're so attracted to machinery and why, outside that environment, they're rendered helpless. Go to Comment

One of the best charms of this bit is actually a small tray of seasalt on top of the case(preferably seasalt that has been exposed to sunlight for 24 hours (pull it in at night if you can)). I have had friends computer show actual and timable improvements when the tray was there... and it often crashed and was slower when it was not. His wife through out his tray of salt... and two days later it had a fatal drive crash. Again, you opinion and results may vary.

The overlap between marginal communities is our primary source of this. The Wicca community and the Computer users which in the begining were both maginal groups, started this kind of synergy. Go to Comment

I wish that second paragraph had been added as an idea to the submission. That is a great idea. Go to Comment

I have always loved steampunk and thaumatology.  This is a perfect addition to magical steampunk and magi-tech systems. 

 

Not only is this a great idea. It is really well written.  The into bit is colorful and in character.  The entry of the text book is perfect as it sets the scene for the rest of the submission.  The rest of it is clear, concise, and useful.

Two paws and a tail up for you.

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Well, did it work? If a few doo-dads glued to the case will keep my comp running fast and clean I'll take it with a smile! Go to Comment

I usually associate malevolence with gremlins, not a blissfully unaware interference.
Also, I'd prefer other methods of extermination. Go to Comment

Another great submission from you. I fear my computer might have a Cog Devil colony inside it. Go to Comment

That would make a great rp angryscotsman93. Go to Comment

Great work as usual, re-read this and voted.

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"{...} small, vaguely flame-like smears of ghostly luminescent smoke entwining and enmeshing themselves endlessly through the rotating transmission shafts, pumping pistons and spinning cogs of their machine nest, basking in the various, delicious energies emanated by the enchanted mechanisms."

Oh my gosh, I just got a visual of Fern Gully.

Horrifying revelations and scarred memories aside, I love this submission. The Cog Devils are very much usable and interesting, and they make a very good excuse to get more description of Locastrian thaumatech. :D Go to Comment

Darn, i get to these too late! If I had gotten here earlier, my comment would sound a lot like Kassil's first paragraph.

Steampunk gremlins. Excellent. Go to Comment

Excellent little beasties! Some might try and propagate these creatures for use in sabotage! Go to Comment

An old friend of mine (who is actually a computer engineer) claims that the only way of avoiding computer problems is to increase your computer totem. Apparently, this is achieved by gluing bits of crystal, seashells, crucifixes, dreamcatchers, feathers, tiki-figures and coloured beads to the casing of the computer. His laptop really looks like a magpie´s nest. I´m not making this up, I swear....

/D Go to Comment

Absolutely epic.

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