JackPoint: The Novel, To the rescue of Hackbaby! Options

[Doc Chase]

Damned teenagers, no attention spa... OH SHINY!

OK, outline: Chapter One: The Theft of HackBaby.

Chapter Two: Slamm-0! and NetCat are the worst parents ever!

Chapter Three: In-Character Online Chat between JackPoint members. Everyone is downright slotted off something fierce. The Exchange walks in like it owns the VPN, and tells them the deal. FastJack calms everyone down enough to point out, "It's just another Shadowrun, the Johnson just screwed us first, rather than last."

Chapter Four: (Moral) Event Horizon: Hard Exit comes up with a brilliant, Ice Cold plan for Kane and his crew. Kane goes Pink Mohawk and changes the plan to include pyrotechnics and heavy metal, along with taking the ship instead of just the paydata. Hints to the "Rose Garden" are found onboard, bad enough to make a Somali Pirate yarf.

Sound like a good start?

A bit broad for the four chapters. With the exception of Chapter Three (arguably our first sample), the rest of it would cover multiple chapters: Chapter Two could easily be Chapter 1-3, Hackbaby's theft a Chapter 5 flashback with the aftermath handled in chapter 4, IC chat becomes Chapter 8 after the preliminary legwork gets done to track Hackbaby in 6 and 7.

9-10 are the legwork to track and hit the Event Horizon, possibly with a "discussion" with O'Malley and the Mob about Yakuza assets going wiggy and buzzing out of town every time some boat comes around, according to a low-level Yak manager that a runner who needed a favor with the Mob brought in under Gamma-S.

11 is a viewpoint from the Event Horizon. 12 is a second IC chat where Hard Exit lays out the plan for Kane and Krew. Kane alters the plan in 13, chapter ending as the crew dives onto the boat, pyrotechnics and heavy metal going full bore. 14 is the fight, 15 is the viewpoint of the doomed captain of the Event Horizon, who may survive long enough to get asked some tough questions by angry runners. Perhaps a mid-chapter cut to look in on Hackbaby, who gets transferred from Lucky Eddie to Angry Johnny, who has a bunch of deliveries to make.

16. A creative interrogation of the captain involving a nautical battery, fuel oil, and nipple clamps.

17 is the third IC chat, the revelation of everything they found onboard the Event Horizon. Exchange comes back in, states that there has been a...complication.

18 is when Hackbaby drops off the Exchange grid. Enter the Black Hats, who have a vested interest in making their mysterious benefactor happy. They see a chance to make some scratch on the side, and they take it.

19 is cleanup. Netcat and Slamm-o! find the remains of Angry Johnny and the van. Trail goes cold. Event Horizon disappears in to the deeps without a trace, Kane happy he got to fuck some shit up. Pledges all over the world to make the Rose Garden disappear, and people start gearing up.

20 is the final IC chat. The Exchange takes its licks. It acknowledges mistakes were made, but the end result is for a good greater than any team of people on the planet, Hackbaby and co. included. It will, however, do everything in its power to ensure that its debts are paid. Everybody pays.

Epilogue: A black sedan drives through a gate and along the road to an opulent house. Mysterious figure with a bundle swaddled in cloth gets out, covered by chauffeur with umbrella. Knocks on door.

Brackhaven answers. There's a smile on his face when he sees the bundle.

End book one.

[CanRay]

A lot better, Doc, thanks.

I really need to take writing courses.

[Troyminator]

...In the hands of Kenneth fucking Brackhaven.

Oh My Lord, Please Yes! I'll beg you like I beg my wife for it to be Brackhaven.

Somehow, I feel a bit responsible for this as I asked the question that brought this doom to your (our?) lives.

Please keep going, good people. I am awed by your creativity

[Troyminator]

Brackhaven's posession of the child is secondary. The handoff was done because the Exchange needs the Rose Garden shut down. The team that Slamm-O! puts together is the one that has the best statistical chance of succeeding. It is also one that Netcat cannot go on.

I am catching up on these posts, so please forgive me if I am offering info that has already seen the light of day.

I thought in. . . . . 6WA?. . . . . it had some fiction that Netcat and Pistons (IIRC) are already going in search of Puck?

[ggodo]

I am catching up on these posts, so please forgive me if I am offering info that has already seen the light of day.

I thought in. . . . . 6WA?. . . . . it had some fiction that Netcat and Pistons (IIRC) are already going in search of Puck?

uh. . . I can't get to a book right now, but I don't recall anything. . . In fact I don't recall any fiction in the book.

[Troyminator]

It may not be 6WA. It was late when I posted and I haven't had time to double check. Hopefully I will have time after work today.

[CanRay]

I thought in. . . . . 6WA?. . . . . it had some fiction that Netcat and Pistons (IIRC) are already going in search of Puck?

They searched for him. No success.

[Doc Chase]

A lot better, Doc, thanks.

I really need to take writing courses.

With enough coffee and a dearth of shiny objects, I could probably write this book.

The trouble with this is, there are far too many shiny objects and not enough coffee on the planet. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

We can tweak the chapter quantity, but 20 seems like a fairly good number for right now. Depending on how much story we can pump in, that number could easily increase to 24/36 chapters in all. Plus, it makes writing the book by chapter much easier! Once everything is written, the writer(s) and editor(s) can arrange the chapters to where they make the most sense.

[Xahn Borealis]

With enough coffee and a dearth of shiny objects, I could probably write this book.

The trouble with this is, there are far too many shiny objects and not enough coffee on the planet. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

This. So much this.

Also, where was the Puckhunt in 6WA?

[Doc Chase]

This. So much this.

Also, where was the Puckhunt in 6WA?

I don't remember. I'll have to reread it to find it, but I know Puck disappeared, and Netcat/Pistons did a small, aborted search.

[CanRay]

We can tweak the chapter quantity, but 20 seems like a fairly good number for right now. Depending on how much story we can pump in, that number could easily increase to 24/36 chapters in all. Plus, it makes writing the book by chapter much easier! Once everything is written, the writer(s) and editor(s) can arrange the chapters to where they make the most sense.

Ah man, we're rocking. CGL hasn't even released any novels yet and here we are working on the skeleton of a duology/trilogy of an anthology.

Hell, we're only hearing rumors that they even have authors right now...

[Doc Chase]

Ah man, we're rocking. CGL hasn't even released any novels yet and here we are working on the skeleton of a duology/trilogy of an anthology.

Hell, we're only hearing rumors that they even have authors right now...

I prefer to get as much done as early as long as my attention span holds. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[CanRay]

With you on that OH SHINY!

[Troyminator]

Ah man, we're rocking. CGL hasn't even released any novels yet and here we are working on the skeleton of a duology/trilogy of an anthology.

Hell, we're only hearing rumors that they even have authors right now...

Seriously, you all awe me with your creativity. I feel priviledged just be allowed into this thread.

[Doc Chase]

If our general 20-chapter outline is good, perhaps a sample is next in order.

We know what one will be - the chatroom. Let's talk about the second.

Ideally, this should be a chapter that cements the reader in our world. Let them see the dichotomy between the haves and the have-nots. Let's show them the shining corporate towers of the AAA, and the slums of Blade Runner.

Ground them in the now with a vision of the future. And then we take Hackbaby from Angry Johnny and leave his fate to the wind.

[CanRay]

Any one of Chapter 1-3 would be a good choice. I'd suggest an actual Shadowrun, to cement exactly what these people do for a living, with Slamm-0! and Netcat on a 'Run together with a team, starting with a Short-Con to get Netcat into the Corporate Spires (I'm thinking Dinner Party, where she's be able to pick up paydata from their CommLinks using Sprites), showing how the top half lives, with Slamm-0! hacking the system to keep her off the radar and cameras from the "Borrowed" low-level security room that he is using as a back door (The rest of the team has the guards otherwise occupied, and someone who is able to mimic voices giving regular reports. Probably from a magician who got the spoken codes from a Truth Spell.).

Then have another issue happen. Hostile Extraction during the party, perhaps, causing everyone having to buzz turbo as it's all gone pear shaped. So a quick chase through the city, showing how the city deteriorates as we move away from the Corporate headquarters and eventually into a Safehouse Squat in the Barrens to split up the paydata and themselves physically, "See you at the meet with Mr. Johnson."

Then home, to Slamm-0!s parents to find... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/devil.gif)

[Doc Chase]

"Fuck, I got spotted."
"Security, 'Cat?"
"Worse. Ex-boyfriend."
"Roger th-Wait, WHAT?!"

[CanRay]

"Fuck, I got spotted."
"Security, 'Cat?"
"Worse. Ex-boyfriend."
"Roger th-Wait, WHAT?!"

Oh, very nice! And we can have him from her Pre-Crash history, too. When she was just a University Student with no cares in the world. Great counter-point of life right there, one event can totally throw your life into disarray!

[Doc Chase]

Oh, very nice! And we can have him from her Pre-Crash history, too. When she was just a University Student with no cares in the world. Great counter-point of life right there, one event can totally throw your life into disarray!

And meanwhile the team is laughing about it on the tacnet. Yeah, the urge to build a scene is...building.

[CanRay]

Not to mention a very jealous Slamm-0! not helping matters.

"How serious was this relationship you had with him?" "Not now, I'm in Indian Country. I need to extract. If he calls me by my real name, I'm blown completely. AND we lose our op." "So you don't want to tell me. Fine, was he better in bed than me?" "My toaster is better in bed than you, you said so yourself, now shush and get me the frag out of here!"

[Doc Chase]

Not to mention a very jealous Slamm-0! not helping matters.

"How serious was this relationship you had with him?" "Not now, I'm in Indian Country. I need to extract. If he calls me by my real name, I'm blown completely. AND we lose our op." "So you don't want to tell me. Fine, was he better in bed than me?" "My toaster is better in bed than you, you said so yourself, now shush and get me the frag out of here!"

"Fine, say it."
"Say what?"
"You KNOW what."
"Do we really have to do this?
"Yes we do."
"Fine. YOU are my baby daddy."
"Just as long as we have an understanding. Service door. Distraction in three, two, one."

[CanRay]

Man, this book writes itself!

[Doc Chase]

Man, this book writes itself!

It does. It's kind of frightening.

[Magus]

The Exchange approves...........

[CanRay]

OK. Chapter One is a great place to start... Give a nice boilerplate to explain the world, magic's come back, cybernetics and biotech allow people to be more human than human at the expense of their souls, so on and so forth...

Give a verbal description of Seattle, looking at it from reality and the "Emerald City" view via AR to give a combination of how the world is seen... Glass and Ferrocrete under polluted rain in reality to digital perfection and beauty in the virtual... Then focus in on the towers/pyramid where the 'Run is going down, explaining who Shadowrunners are and what they do. Let's say Aztechnology for shits, giggles, and kicking the Azies in the crotch. (I love doing that.).

Focus through the parking garage of the Arcology, move through the corridors of the lower-level staff, into a security room to introduce the team there quickly and efficiently, focusing mostly on the drooling, sleeping guy whose head is plugged into the computer console, Slamm-0!, while the actual security team that's supposed to be there are "Tied Up" at the moment. A quick scene with someone using another person's voice to give the pass phrase of the hour, which had been taken using magical means, then to the cameras looking over the party.

Describe the opulence, beauty, and richness in Mesoamerican styling (Mental Note: Research that.), as a counterpoint to the bare bones nature of the lower levels, then focus on Netcat, describing what she's doing and how she's doing it... A creature of the Matrix reborn.

That should take the first ten-twelve pages or so...