Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
That bit of stagecraft needs to be filmed and shown on state television and if there is no television available in the various towns and villages of the affected areas, then have units of the New Imperial Russian Army go around and show the film in the churches and squares to the people.
The fun part on that little bit of stagecraft, is that it's going to get embellished with each retelling. The story by the time it gets back to Moscow ought to be...pretty epic. Probably something along the lines of Saint Jehane calling down lightning from heaven, followed by the ground opening up, and the cat descending to Hell where it belongs.
Filming it would fix it. By just having the story transmitted orally it becomes more flexible and alive.
People can tell each other what they heard someone saw, and that while they of course don't believe it was anything supernatural the people who spoke with the people who had been there saw something. Possibly just some unexploded ammunition got mixed in with the wood or something. Possibly.
Ghost stories are much more rapidly spread by people who can tell each other that of course they don't actually believe in them.
Someone with an enterprising mind may think that with all the recent publicity that Kat has been receiving lately, that it would be a good idea to collect as many of the Scare Cats as possible and sell them.
The fact the Scare Cats has the stamp of Klaus' shop on the back may be enough to authenticate them for collectors and they may be sold as is or restored to their original condition.
The fact the Scare Cats has the stamp of Klaus' shop on the back may be enough to authenticate them for collectors and they may be sold as is or restored to their original condition.
"Oh ghosts? Yeah, we used to have those because of those damned scare-cats"
"What do you mean 'used to have"?
"Well, my mother told me the Grand Duchess herself came out here, and cast them out, sending them back to hell where they belong with a brilliant white fire".
"It's a miracle all right, those damned things still curse us, we tried burning them, they just sit there grinning at us. I think we need to petition the Grand Duchess for her intercession too"...
"What do you mean 'used to have"?
"Well, my mother told me the Grand Duchess herself came out here, and cast them out, sending them back to hell where they belong with a brilliant white fire".
"It's a miracle all right, those damned things still curse us, we tried burning them, they just sit there grinning at us. I think we need to petition the Grand Duchess for her intercession too"...
Her retribution will be sure to hit Fyodor where it hurts the most.
Considering the ease of production and cheapness of the material required for it's creation,
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Part 90, Chapter 1410
Chapter One Thousand Four Hundred Ten
21st October 1960
Mitte, Berlin
The first thing that Emil had done was to tell his team to come up with ideas. He didn’t care how outlandish they sounded, he just wanted them throwing ideas out there and then afterwards they could try to figure out exactly what was feasible. That was why he was looking at the ideas on the chalkboard in his garage. BMW had promised that his team would get a working space soon enough but having the team of a half dozen men that included two engineers, two mechanics, a machinist and a rider in the garage sitting on whatever chairs could be found was working for now. The meetings were just twice a week at present, when they got a permanent location and some idea of what their goals were, they would be meeting and working every day. The problems with this location were instantly obvious. The parts of the disassembled Helios sitting on every horizontal surface and the other motorcycles in the garage, not to mention Maria’s complaints about them eating and drinking everything in the kitchen all provided unwelcome distractions. There were also deadlines and budget constraints that they needed to contend with in the coming months. First though they would need to settle on a plan, but in order to get there they needed to determine what was feasible.
Looking at the list there some pretty outlandish ideas, he swiftly crossed out the ones for exotic fuels and the most radical or unconventional changes to the basic engine. Those would be explored at a later time if they proved promising. Then he drew stars next to the ideas that seemed to hold the most merit. Building on the success of the 500 Kompressor engine was one idea that everyone agreed on, there had been considerable advancement over the prior two decades. Just they had differing ideas on how to go about doing that. Turbocharging seemed like an interesting idea to explore as because that technology had improved vastly over that same time period. Fuel injection was something that had come into widespread use in aircraft engines from the late 1930s until piston engines had been replaced by turbines. Disk brakes, light-weight alloys that had come as a result of the space program, possible improvements to the electrical system and suspension. The list still ran on for a considerable length.
“All of these are worth looking into” Emil said, “I guess we’re going to be spending a considerable amount of time in the coming days looking these things up and…”
“Why not talk to Leni?” An unexpected voice asked.
Emil looked past the men sitting around and saw Zella sitting on the steps that led up to the kitchen. He’d had no idea that she had been watching this meeting. With the University term in full swing she had needed to bury herself in her studies, so that had resulted in a bit of domestic peace in recent days. To put it simply, Zella didn’t have time to cause trouble, so she wasn’t getting into arguments with Maria. From Emil’s perspective, Zella’s problems were rooted in how she saw herself. In her mind, Zella was still the tomboy she had been several years earlier, unfortunately for her physical maturity had thrown a wrench into the works. She had become an attractive young woman and the sort of attention that brought her was something she was still grappling with. Emil supposed that he ought to be grateful that she was still trying to figure that out and had been reluctant to get into a relationship. Most of the young men who she regularly interacted with had what Emil considered the worst possible traits they could have, no future or inclination to improve themselves. If Emil was being honest, he would say that they were trash. If only Zella would learn how to be a bit more discrete when it came to how she handled difficult situations, it would probably go a long way towards her figuring out her place in the world.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?” Emil asked.
“The lecture was canceled because the professor called in sick” Zella said, “Besides that, this is far more interesting.”
Emil realized that Zella’s presence was just one more distraction that he would need to roll with.
“Marcella just made a good suggestion” Emil said, “Her friend Magdalena works at the Berlin Central Library. If any of you have a ready source of information, I would suggest you use it quickly.”
With that everyone left, and Emil flipped the chalkboard over and saw the lengthy list of equipment that was going to go to the corporate office. They were not going to like this and wouldn’t until Emil started to get results.
“What’s your game Zella?” Emil asked.
Zilla got up and walked to one of the vacated chairs and sat down where it would be easier to talk to him.
“You don’t think that you are the only one into this?” Zella asked firmly in reply.
“What the motorcycles, the racing and whatnot?” Emil asked.
“Why not?” Zella asked, “I was there with you all the way around the world.”
Emil was about to say that it was different, but she did have a point. Still though, it was something that simply wasn’t done. The accusations of nepotism would be the least of his problems if he allowed Zella to get involved.
“Your mother knows where I keep the key for the desk drawer where I keep my old service pistol and she would use it on me if I allowed you in on this” Emil said, “She’s the one you would need to convince, not me.”
Zella looked disappointed, but Emil wondered if he had just made a mistake by not giving her a hard no.
21st October 1960
Mitte, Berlin
The first thing that Emil had done was to tell his team to come up with ideas. He didn’t care how outlandish they sounded, he just wanted them throwing ideas out there and then afterwards they could try to figure out exactly what was feasible. That was why he was looking at the ideas on the chalkboard in his garage. BMW had promised that his team would get a working space soon enough but having the team of a half dozen men that included two engineers, two mechanics, a machinist and a rider in the garage sitting on whatever chairs could be found was working for now. The meetings were just twice a week at present, when they got a permanent location and some idea of what their goals were, they would be meeting and working every day. The problems with this location were instantly obvious. The parts of the disassembled Helios sitting on every horizontal surface and the other motorcycles in the garage, not to mention Maria’s complaints about them eating and drinking everything in the kitchen all provided unwelcome distractions. There were also deadlines and budget constraints that they needed to contend with in the coming months. First though they would need to settle on a plan, but in order to get there they needed to determine what was feasible.
Looking at the list there some pretty outlandish ideas, he swiftly crossed out the ones for exotic fuels and the most radical or unconventional changes to the basic engine. Those would be explored at a later time if they proved promising. Then he drew stars next to the ideas that seemed to hold the most merit. Building on the success of the 500 Kompressor engine was one idea that everyone agreed on, there had been considerable advancement over the prior two decades. Just they had differing ideas on how to go about doing that. Turbocharging seemed like an interesting idea to explore as because that technology had improved vastly over that same time period. Fuel injection was something that had come into widespread use in aircraft engines from the late 1930s until piston engines had been replaced by turbines. Disk brakes, light-weight alloys that had come as a result of the space program, possible improvements to the electrical system and suspension. The list still ran on for a considerable length.
“All of these are worth looking into” Emil said, “I guess we’re going to be spending a considerable amount of time in the coming days looking these things up and…”
“Why not talk to Leni?” An unexpected voice asked.
Emil looked past the men sitting around and saw Zella sitting on the steps that led up to the kitchen. He’d had no idea that she had been watching this meeting. With the University term in full swing she had needed to bury herself in her studies, so that had resulted in a bit of domestic peace in recent days. To put it simply, Zella didn’t have time to cause trouble, so she wasn’t getting into arguments with Maria. From Emil’s perspective, Zella’s problems were rooted in how she saw herself. In her mind, Zella was still the tomboy she had been several years earlier, unfortunately for her physical maturity had thrown a wrench into the works. She had become an attractive young woman and the sort of attention that brought her was something she was still grappling with. Emil supposed that he ought to be grateful that she was still trying to figure that out and had been reluctant to get into a relationship. Most of the young men who she regularly interacted with had what Emil considered the worst possible traits they could have, no future or inclination to improve themselves. If Emil was being honest, he would say that they were trash. If only Zella would learn how to be a bit more discrete when it came to how she handled difficult situations, it would probably go a long way towards her figuring out her place in the world.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?” Emil asked.
“The lecture was canceled because the professor called in sick” Zella said, “Besides that, this is far more interesting.”
Emil realized that Zella’s presence was just one more distraction that he would need to roll with.
“Marcella just made a good suggestion” Emil said, “Her friend Magdalena works at the Berlin Central Library. If any of you have a ready source of information, I would suggest you use it quickly.”
With that everyone left, and Emil flipped the chalkboard over and saw the lengthy list of equipment that was going to go to the corporate office. They were not going to like this and wouldn’t until Emil started to get results.
“What’s your game Zella?” Emil asked.
Zilla got up and walked to one of the vacated chairs and sat down where it would be easier to talk to him.
“You don’t think that you are the only one into this?” Zella asked firmly in reply.
“What the motorcycles, the racing and whatnot?” Emil asked.
“Why not?” Zella asked, “I was there with you all the way around the world.”
Emil was about to say that it was different, but she did have a point. Still though, it was something that simply wasn’t done. The accusations of nepotism would be the least of his problems if he allowed Zella to get involved.
“Your mother knows where I keep the key for the desk drawer where I keep my old service pistol and she would use it on me if I allowed you in on this” Emil said, “She’s the one you would need to convince, not me.”
Zella looked disappointed, but Emil wondered if he had just made a mistake by not giving her a hard no.
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No. no noooo……., Don't get confused with our OTL image of the "Biker". In this universe, the girls will no burn bra's but put one leathers in ride off into the sunset. Emil and his gang will tap into a complet new demographic group to promote sales. Marketing will drool, think about the succes of the Fohn (aka herbie) films, Girls, motors, sun and fun. This will be fun watching. LOL
I think you're both right.
"Biker" will not have the same image that it has OTL. Youth, independence, adventure are more likely to be the watchwords now.
Bikes will become more powerful, that's inevitable, but rather than supersport bikes, I would expect more bikes along the lines of the K75, maybe down to a 500cc V Twin.
Right idea, wrong response. She wants in on designing, have her do something of the equivalent of an internship with an engineer. Said engineer should be instructed to stress the schooling that goes into this sort of work.
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An important and often overlooked point is that it often doesn't matter if a consumer product works well, if it looks butt ugly then it will struggle to sell. Now P-M has often mentioned Zella's artistic ability. So combine top class engineering with someone who can possibly help make the bike look achingly cool and you have a potential world beater.
Edit: Thinking about this a bit more, a decent fairing does both jobs. It improves performance through better aerodynamics and improves the looks of the bike. Especially if it's a shiny red or black.
Edit: Thinking about this a bit more, a decent fairing does both jobs. It improves performance through better aerodynamics and improves the looks of the bike. Especially if it's a shiny red or black.
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Part 90, Chapter 1411
Chapter One Thousand Four Hundred Eleven
24th October 1960
Tempelhof, Berlin
It was Monday morning and Kiki found herself at her usual table in the Hospital Cafeteria. Currently, she was reading the newspaper and enduring an uncomfortable silence with Doctor Berg. Lately, the older woman had been looking at her with an increasing amount of disapproval for the simple reason of her neglecting things again. Was that really a surprise? Kiki barely had time to sleep these days.
The front page of the BT had an analysis of the American General Election that was coming up in a week. The conclusion was that while relations with the Harriman Administration were frosty at the present, he wasn’t openly antagonistic which was what was expected if Barry Goldwater was playing a key role in setting American foreign policy as Vice President next year. From Kiki’s perspective, that was going from a not so great situation to one that was bad for everyone. She had seen how dangerously close they had come to a bloody proxy war in Korea the prior summer. No one had any idea of how things may have shaken out if that had boiled over, but it would have left multitudes dead as armies had collided and civilians were caught in the crossfire. That much was certain, and Kiki found it a complete obscenity that none of the lessons of the previous century seemed to have been learned. People still thought that war solved more problems than it created.
“You look like you are angry about something” Berg observed from across the table.
“People are stupid” Kiki replied.
“You’re just figuring that out now?” Berg asked.
“Hardly” Kiki replied, “I just don’t get why idiots always seem to end up in charge.”
“Because people who are truly intelligent end up spending all of their time out doing things while dolts and weasels have all the time in the world” Berg said, “You are going to finish what’s on that plate, correct?”
Putting down the newspaper, Kiki looked at the food, as unappetizing as it was and tried to take a few more bites. Potato dumplings with extra sauerkraut and bread in addition to the green salad that Berg insisted she eat. In the most recent physical examination that she had endured after she had come back to University, it had been discovered that she was on the verge of being underweight. Something that Berg said was completely unacceptable because the last thing that they needed was to have her land in the hospital with serious illness again. That was why she had been ordered to eat heavier foods, particularly if she was going to be as physically active as she was.
Not that Kiki could afford to be sick, she had a full load of courses that she was taking, it was those relating to the War Academy in the mornings and in the afternoons, she was in lectures that were prerequisites if she was going to have any hope of going to medical school in a couple years. Berg was worried that she was going to suffer some sort of mental or physical collapse and was constantly urging Kiki to take better care of herself. Berg had joined what seemed like everyone else in her life saying exactly the same things. To say that they didn’t understand was a bit of an understatement.
“I wish that you would stop trying to save the world and focus on yourself Kristina” Berg said, “Just for a few days.”
“You sound like the Gräfin” Kiki said, “She’s always telling me to act my age. That I take on too much responsibility.”
Berg normally hid her annoyance with Kiki but to find herself in agreement with Kat Mischner was not a position she liked to be in. Her clashes with Kat had been legendary.
“I helped that woman bring three heathy babies into the world, which was something of a miracle considering her nature” Berg said, “And she made it all needlessly difficult because she has the same sort of stubbornness that she somehow taught you. It is something that will not serve you well in the future.”
“But she told me that everyone will make assumptions about how I got where I am for my entire life” Kiki said, “The only way around that is to work twice as hard.”
“Not at the expense of your health and happiness” Berg said, “The last thing you want is to be my age and be haunted by choices that you’ve come to regret.”
“Do you have regrets like that?” Kiki asked in reply. As soon as she said it, she realized that it wasn’t the right question to have asked.
Berg stared at Kiki and seemed a bit surprised.
“I wasn’t given many choices when I was your age” Berg said with a bit of anger in her voice, “Secrecy, fear and rejection were the pitfalls that were the lot in life for someone like me. It is very hard to have serious regrets when you have to contend with survival and the knowledge that certain things reaching the wrong ears could have serious personal consequences.”
Kiki went back to her meal, which seemed like the safer option at the moment. Doctor Berg confided in very few people the truth about her personal life, Kiki being one of them. Compared to Berg’s problems four decades ago, Kiki’s seemed extremely trite.
24th October 1960
Tempelhof, Berlin
It was Monday morning and Kiki found herself at her usual table in the Hospital Cafeteria. Currently, she was reading the newspaper and enduring an uncomfortable silence with Doctor Berg. Lately, the older woman had been looking at her with an increasing amount of disapproval for the simple reason of her neglecting things again. Was that really a surprise? Kiki barely had time to sleep these days.
The front page of the BT had an analysis of the American General Election that was coming up in a week. The conclusion was that while relations with the Harriman Administration were frosty at the present, he wasn’t openly antagonistic which was what was expected if Barry Goldwater was playing a key role in setting American foreign policy as Vice President next year. From Kiki’s perspective, that was going from a not so great situation to one that was bad for everyone. She had seen how dangerously close they had come to a bloody proxy war in Korea the prior summer. No one had any idea of how things may have shaken out if that had boiled over, but it would have left multitudes dead as armies had collided and civilians were caught in the crossfire. That much was certain, and Kiki found it a complete obscenity that none of the lessons of the previous century seemed to have been learned. People still thought that war solved more problems than it created.
“You look like you are angry about something” Berg observed from across the table.
“People are stupid” Kiki replied.
“You’re just figuring that out now?” Berg asked.
“Hardly” Kiki replied, “I just don’t get why idiots always seem to end up in charge.”
“Because people who are truly intelligent end up spending all of their time out doing things while dolts and weasels have all the time in the world” Berg said, “You are going to finish what’s on that plate, correct?”
Putting down the newspaper, Kiki looked at the food, as unappetizing as it was and tried to take a few more bites. Potato dumplings with extra sauerkraut and bread in addition to the green salad that Berg insisted she eat. In the most recent physical examination that she had endured after she had come back to University, it had been discovered that she was on the verge of being underweight. Something that Berg said was completely unacceptable because the last thing that they needed was to have her land in the hospital with serious illness again. That was why she had been ordered to eat heavier foods, particularly if she was going to be as physically active as she was.
Not that Kiki could afford to be sick, she had a full load of courses that she was taking, it was those relating to the War Academy in the mornings and in the afternoons, she was in lectures that were prerequisites if she was going to have any hope of going to medical school in a couple years. Berg was worried that she was going to suffer some sort of mental or physical collapse and was constantly urging Kiki to take better care of herself. Berg had joined what seemed like everyone else in her life saying exactly the same things. To say that they didn’t understand was a bit of an understatement.
“I wish that you would stop trying to save the world and focus on yourself Kristina” Berg said, “Just for a few days.”
“You sound like the Gräfin” Kiki said, “She’s always telling me to act my age. That I take on too much responsibility.”
Berg normally hid her annoyance with Kiki but to find herself in agreement with Kat Mischner was not a position she liked to be in. Her clashes with Kat had been legendary.
“I helped that woman bring three heathy babies into the world, which was something of a miracle considering her nature” Berg said, “And she made it all needlessly difficult because she has the same sort of stubbornness that she somehow taught you. It is something that will not serve you well in the future.”
“But she told me that everyone will make assumptions about how I got where I am for my entire life” Kiki said, “The only way around that is to work twice as hard.”
“Not at the expense of your health and happiness” Berg said, “The last thing you want is to be my age and be haunted by choices that you’ve come to regret.”
“Do you have regrets like that?” Kiki asked in reply. As soon as she said it, she realized that it wasn’t the right question to have asked.
Berg stared at Kiki and seemed a bit surprised.
“I wasn’t given many choices when I was your age” Berg said with a bit of anger in her voice, “Secrecy, fear and rejection were the pitfalls that were the lot in life for someone like me. It is very hard to have serious regrets when you have to contend with survival and the knowledge that certain things reaching the wrong ears could have serious personal consequences.”
Kiki went back to her meal, which seemed like the safer option at the moment. Doctor Berg confided in very few people the truth about her personal life, Kiki being one of them. Compared to Berg’s problems four decades ago, Kiki’s seemed extremely trite.
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