The Mad Ginger Scotsman

Rest in Piece, John Blanche.

Truth, Justice, Freedom, Reasonably Priced Love, and a Hard Boiled Egg

Every step I choose to take begins to set the world aflame!

And the soldiers march behind me,

I can hear them beat their spears!

And for the first time in all my life,

I know I'm more than what I fear!

For those of my followers who are confused, here’s a brief explanation.

In the Discworld book Night Watch, the 25th of May is the anniversary of the Revolution of Treacle Mine Road, otherwise known as the Glorious 25th of May. This was a relatively minor skirmish in the city’s great history, a struggle for power, a liberation that removed a madman from the throne to replace him with a different madman. But it was the city fighting back against oppression and cruelty and torture.

And in the fighting seven men died. Seven graves in the cemetery. And those who were there wear the lilac to remember them.

Discworld fans use this date as a convenient date to honour Sir Terry Pratchett and to remember his work.

Because there truly are no books like them. They are so amazing, with Pratchett having an amazing insight into fantasy, as well as the depths of the human condition.

Night Watch especially shows this. It’s dark, it’s funny, it’s grim, it’s silly. It’s a book about inevitably, it’s a book about change. It’s terrifying, it’s bleak, it’s hopeful, it’s warm! It’s about a man reliving the worst days of his past, but he still strives to protect those he knows are lost. Because they’re not lost yet. They’re in front of him and he does the job in front of him.

Where, as civilians riot against the cruelty of the law, a man defends his watch house by sitting out front with a cup of lukewarm cocoa in one hand and a cigar in the other, telling the rioters he’s on break.

A book where a man must mentor his own child self. A book where he must walk his own past through the horrors he witnessed.

Where he gets so close to changing fate, before fate spins round with a haymaker.

And it’s also a book where the chant of the revolution is “Truth, Justice, Freedom, Reasonably Priced Love, and a Hardboiled Egg.”

Where there is an old soldiers song about angels sticking their arses in the air, that just might make you weep.

We love you, Sir Terry Pratchett.

How do they rise up?

go to About:config find media.mediasource.enabled and toggle it to false find media.cache_readahead_limit and change it to 9999 find media.cache_resume_threshold and change it to 9999

additionally if you'd prefer mp4 to webm

also in about:config, find: media.encoder.webm.enabled media.mediasource.webm.audio.enabled media.mediasource.webm.enabled media.webm.enabled and toggle them all to false

note! this will limit video to 1080p

I can't stop thinking about how, despite everything, everyone on the Hail Mary Project either liked, loved, or greatly respected Grace.

I just keep thinking about the parts of how the greatest minds of that generation followed him everywhere like ducklings, and listened to his every word, even copying some of his sayings, either because they liked them or it made them smile.

Yao Li-Jie and Olesya Ilyukhina instantly took to him. This man they had never met before, and they welcomed him with open arms.

When they first meet, Yao assures him that he, too, can be brave. And before that, we see him clapping him on the shoulder and joking with him as if he'd known Grace eons.

Olesya knew he was scared, and she tried to comfort him, telling him that he'd be dying in some pretty awesome company. She knew he was terrified, knew that there was nothing else that could be done, but she wanted him to know that he wouldn't be alone, that she and Yao would be with him.

Carl was his best friend during this entire process; he went with Grace everywhere. They made a life-form together, all while eating Grace's favorite candy and joking. He didn't hesitate to spend as much money as he could to see whatever experiment Grace came up with come full circle. And when the worst came, he told Grace that he could do it, that he knew who he was, and that he could do it.

Stratt saw he was sad and decided singing for him would make her feel better (she was right). When he got nervous and felt he didn't belong, she was always there to stop that line of thinking. Either by patting the back of his chair or pushing him forward so he could explain what was happening. She never let him fall to the back; she kept him front and center.

And I'm not sure if this was her or not, but when he was being taken away, his head was in someone's lap, and fingers were carding through his hair, trying to comfort him.

She packed everything she could for him, packed everything he loved in his pages as a way to say sorry, even though she knew it her apology would never be accepted.

And Stratt was lying, and she knew she was lying when she said Grace didn't have a family or friends, because he did.

And yeah, Grace never really saw that, because he didn't think that much of himself, but everyone else saw it; they became his friends, his family, his picket fence.

But saving the world got in the way, and I can't stop thinking of how if things hadn't gone so wrong, he would have hopefully figured out how much he meant to them all, not just because he was smart, but because they genuinely loved being with him, for him.

Even the security liked him.

His students love him.

Rocky, Adrian, and all of Erid adore him.

But not in the "I will be punished in hell for my sins" way.

In the "You are sending another flood? You doubt us? I know what we can do, we have all the tools if we just try. And you know it, and I know it. Challenge accepted" way.

She's not building an arc, but she's building her ship of faith.

When she must send Grace, against his will, she is angry. But she never wavers. "I believe in him too. More than in my own emotional comfort."

So many people die, and die horribly. And Eva Stratt remains locked in a staring contest. "We will persevere. Throw whatever misery you want. We can do it."

And then she is proven right.

"But why? Why did this have to happen?"

Perhaps less overtly than the Hail Mary crew, this is a sacrifice for her too. She was fully prepared to spend life in prison or be put on the death penalty for taking responsibility for this. She was fully prepared to give up her life with no glory, no statues, ultimately not going down in history as the hero she was but rather as the criminal scapegoat she knew they were going to make her into.

I think that's why a lot of people who get angry on behalf of Ryland Grace as if they were placed into that situation themselves are missing the point. Sending the data-return pods and saving Earth was never about "I told you so and here's Rocky as proof and I'm saving you all anyways because I'm better". Staying on Erid was never about "You all threw me away so I'm never coming back".

Because in the end, we must recognise that there was no better option for anyone involved. Nobody wants to send people to their deaths and commit mass ecological destruction and commit humanitarian crimes just like how nobody wants to die in the cold vacuum of space on a one-way-trip. Nobody wanted any of this. That's why I think it hurts all the more that Stratt did like Grace. It would have been an excruciating decision to place Grace aboard the Hail Mary knowing that the reason why he's likely to succeed is because he's a "fundamentally good person". The qualities that make him somebody who deserves to live are the same ones that make him the necessary sacrifice. Like sending Laika up into orbit knowing her innocent cooperativeness is what made her the best candidate.

Gimmie Eridians who are absolutely heartbroken to hear that humans where so desperate and so scared that they where willing to part with not just one Grace, there were three of them! Gimmie Eridians touched to find that the humans planned a way for their sacrifices to be as comfortable as possible. Gimmie Eridians who send earth a message saying “We know it must have hurt to send your heroes to die, but one made it and he’s safe here. We lost 22 good Eridians on the journey we would have lost 23 if not for your Grace.”

* New student, very small. Grace said it was pebble. Pebble is small Earth rock. Pebble likes name.

* He found out Eridians have no gender rules.

* Students brought him mineral sample. After he stopped crying he said he loves show-and-tell game. Human naming conventions oddly literal.

* I told him Earthsun grew bright.

* I took him up atop atmosphere bypass elevator to look at stars.

* He woke up from nap and found me still with him. I did not wait on his chest; he says I am heavy like “elephant” and he “couldn’t breathe.” I laid my arm over him instead, kept him close, feeling safe. He said “cuddle” was warm.

* Before class he heard younglings singing.

* He has plants in house from sprouts on ship. Plant grew “bud.”

* Engineers got seawater temperature right. He took off shoes and stood in water, sighing. He didn’t care about pants getting damp. Cried until shirt was also damp. Humans very endlessly wet.

* He missed “Doritos.”

* Adrian helped food scientists make taumoeba dried paste. Made it crunchy after heating. We fused it into triangle form. Told him it was Tauritos. That made him laugh-cry. Laugh-cry is rare and precious.

* He remembered Eridians have no gender rules.

* We made him celebration outfit. Used metals he calls pretty. He can see frequencies named “colorful” and “shiny.” These make humans happiest.

* I gave him hug when he wasn’t expecting it. Easier to hug close now with exosuit. Hug when Grace sitting down so he does not fall over.