Bbc side exit headers

So I have established neighbors but for some reason I can only see the routes installed in the routing table on 1 side of the neighborship.
​
Router A

router ospf 3 redistribute bgp 100 subnets network 20.20.20.0 0.0.0.255 area 0 neighbor 20.20.20.2 ! router bgp 100 bgp log-neighbor-changes neighbor 10.10.10.2 remote-as 200 neighbor 10.10.10.2 ebgp-multihop 5 ! address-family ipv4 bgp redistribute-internal network 20.20.20.0 mask 255.255.255.0 redistribute ospf 3 neighbor 10.10.10.2 activate exit-address-family CORPORATE-LEFT#show ip route Codes: L - local, C - connected, S - static, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2 E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2 i - IS-IS, su - IS-IS summary, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2 ia - IS-IS inter area, * - candidate default, U - per-user static route o - ODR, P - periodic downloaded static route, H - NHRP, l - LISP + - replicated route, % - next hop override Gateway of last resort is not set 1.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 2 subnets, 2 masks C 1.1.1.0/24 is directly connected, Loopback0 L 1.1.1.1/32 is directly connected, Loopback0 2.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets B 2.2.2.0 [20/0] via 10.10.10.2, 00:04:23 10.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets O IA 10.10.10.0 [110/20] via 20.20.20.2, 00:05:35, Ethernet1/0 20.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 2 subnets, 2 masks C 20.20.20.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet1/0 L 20.20.20.1/32 is directly connected, Ethernet1/0 30.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets B 30.30.30.0 [20/0] via 10.10.10.2, 00:01:52 50.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 2 subnets, 2 masks C 50.50.50.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet1/1 L 50.50.50.1/32 is directly connected, Ethernet1/1 

Router B

router ospf 2 redistribute bgp 200 metric 2 network 10.10.10.0 0.0.0.255 area 1 neighbor 10.10.10.1 ! router bgp 200 bgp log-neighbor-changes neighbor 20.20.20.1 remote-as 100 neighbor 20.20.20.1 ebgp-multihop 5 neighbor 30.30.30.2 remote-as 300 ! address-family ipv4 bgp redistribute-internal network 2.2.2.0 mask 255.255.255.0 network 10.10.10.0 mask 255.255.255.0 network 30.30.30.0 mask 255.255.255.0 redistribute ospf 2 neighbor 20.20.20.1 activate neighbor 30.30.30.2 activate CORPORATE-RIGHT#show ip route Codes: L - local, C - connected, S - static, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2 E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2 i - IS-IS, su - IS-IS summary, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2 ia - IS-IS inter area, * - candidate default, U - per-user static route o - ODR, P - periodic downloaded static route, H - NHRP, l - LISP + - replicated route, % - next hop override Gateway of last resort is not set 2.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 2 subnets, 2 masks C 2.2.2.0/24 is directly connected, Loopback0 L 2.2.2.2/32 is directly connected, Loopback0 10.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 2 subnets, 2 masks C 10.10.10.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet1/0 L 10.10.10.2/32 is directly connected, Ethernet1/0 20.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets O IA 20.20.20.0 [110/20] via 10.10.10.1, 00:06:19, Ethernet1/0 30.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 2 subnets, 2 masks C 30.30.30.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet1/1 L 30.30.30.1/32 is directly connected, Ethernet1/1 

Foundations of Humanity 26 (First Impressions) - an NoP fanfic
Thank you u/SpacePaladin15 for establishing the Nature of Predators Universe, and for allowing Fanfics to flourish!
Thank you again, u/Braquen, u/Acceptable_Egg5560, u/Liberty-Prime76 and u/BiasMushroom721 for proofreading! This is my side of the Nature of a Giant crossover!
Huu boi this got to 34k characters, so had to split the chapter. Hooray making a backlog!
First - Previous - [Next]
Memory transcription subject: Valek, Venlil tourist
Date [standardized human time]: Sept 11th, 2136. Middle of 3rd Claw
I thought of happy memories of the last time my class and I had visited, “I couldn’t figure it out last time, but I was just a pup with a bunch of other pups back then. I know it has something to do with reattaching lines in the right configuration, but every time I got close--”
A black mass. A yawning, toothy pit! Hungry barks! “Teeth! TEETH! PREDATOR!”
I could see the beast’s gaping maw crawling forward to swallow me whole! I couldn’t let it get me! It would eat me! I couldn’t stop my momentum; I just kept getting closer to the inky void and gnashing teeth! I collided with the predator and thrashed and flailed against its wild mane, before my back legs found purchase and I launched myself back from whence I came.
Maeve’s voice shouted from behind just before her arm wrapped around me and halted my retreat, “What the hell, Valek? There’s no Predators he-EOLY SHIT!”
Finding sanctuary against my mate, I found my voice once more. “Big! Teeth! Call the Exterminators! Help! Teeth!” I thrashed in Maeve’s arm, trying to scratch at my prowling assailant.
A voice echoed from near the threat as another form appeared. “What happened?” A human? Another threat? He’s near the predator! He was looking at us! “Y’all okay?” His head turned toward the beast. “You okay?”
“I’m fine! Mostly surprised!” It imitated a Venlil with its movements, but I knew better! “It’s okay! I’m not here to hurt you!”
It was toying with us! Trying to get us off-guard! “Don’t eat us!” Protect your mate! “She’s dealt with Predators already! You’ll be sorry!”
I suddenly felt Maeve shake me. “That’s enough, Valek; get a hold of yourself.”
Get a hold of myself? Doesn’t she realize the threat? The-
“You forgot to say I should be set on fire, or that I’m a freak of nature.” I heard the beast say, now grabbing the edges of the hallway. “In case you need suggestions for insults.”
My voice faltered as I tried to understand it. The words were there, but my mind just couldn’t accept them. Maeve fell silent above me, but continued to hold me fast.
The other human brought itself beside the giant, “Oh my! ‘Nother human! Howdy there!” He raised his hand to his head, touching two fingers to his forehead, then flicking them in our direction. A gesture of greeting.
My ears snapped to the human as I tried to reconcile the friendly gesture amid my panic. Maeve, however, was undeterred and floated past me, coming closer to the monster. Alvi held my shoulder, and supported us against a nearby rope.
“Wow! You… You’re huge!” She had that same wonder in her voice that she always had when she found something new.
In response, I heard the familiar whistle of a Venlil laugh. It was coming from the… it’s a Venlil? “Yes. It’s a condition.”
Maeve continued her approach. She didn’t look the least bit afraid. Even though her arm remained in a cast; a cast given to her by the last predator she tangled with. But continue, she did. “I didn’t know Venlil could display gigantism! That’s incredible!”
I blinked. Gigantism? The translator was unhelpfully vague, something about making things big. The giant seemed similarly confused, “I’m sorry, my translator didn’t quite get that. Display what?”
Maeve reached back to us and I took her hand, and Alvi’s in my other, before she pulled us with her along the corridor. “Gigantism. It’s when a tumor grows on the pituitary gland controlling growth hormones, which causes it to overproduce. It can cause people to grow extremely tall.”
The creature’s confusion seemed to grow, though its body wobbled along with its tail; excitement? “Humans have Marklen-Jauntes syndrome??” Maeve asked for clarification before it continued, “Marklen-Jauntes Syndrome, named after twin giants. Its symptoms are basically exactly what you described!”
Maeve clapped her hands together with a quiet snap, “Oh! It sure sounds like it!”
The giant pushed off from the doorway, and Maeve pulled us into the boxy junction. Their conversation faded in my ears as the realization hit me. It was a syndrome. A medical condition. Maeve had moved to float around the giant as she and the other pair began talking in earnest. I felt Alvi squeeze my paw. “Valek. You okay there?”
My ears fell in worry, “I… I don’t know. I mean look at it! How can Maeve not be terrified of that?”
Alvi ran her paw through the fur on my shoulder, “I think she may have seen worse by now.”
The memory of those shadestalkers on the ground, and Maeve’s shriek of furious pain on the wind sent a chill down my spine. “But shouldn’t that make her more cautious? Make sure that doesn’t happen again?”
Alvi tapped the tuft of her tail against me, a lilt of humor on her voice, “If Maeve were cautious, do you think she would have joined the program? Or came to the Berrypatch?”
I pulled Alvi tighter against me; she was absolutely right. My attention drifted back to their conversation; they were talking about the medical issues of giants. I fully focused on what they were saying as Maeve was finishing her thought,
“... Hopefully, with the Venlil's help, that will change!"
The giant’s ears fell in...shame? It has shame? “You would have to keep it secret. If it was known it was to help giants, the Venlil might refuse.”
Hold on, we would gladly help! “W-we wouldn’t!” The giant’s eyes and ears focused on me, while Maeve and the other human turned to face me. "Our people wouldn't keep secrets like that just because they're big! We may not be the ones in the clinic, but we would gladly offer medicine and equipment.”
The giant let out a deep huff, as if I told a bad joke! “Sir… I’m guessing you haven’t heard of me. Is that correct?”
“N-no?” My tail curled around Alvi and I at my admission. “Should I…?”
The giant’s massive tail swayed behind them, “I guess introductions are in order. My name is Tarlim.”
“The Venbig!” The human announced with a flourish while he slowly floated past ‘Tarlim’s’ front, while the latter whistled in amusement.
“Yes. The ‘Venbig.’ And the Texan there is Jacob.” I saw his tail wag at the name. A sign of fondness for a friend. “May I know who all of you are?”
“I am Maeve, a pleasure to meet you,” She nodded, as she shifted her grip on the rope to reveal Alvi and I behind her. “This is Valek, my exchange partner,” I reflexively flicked my ears in acknowledgment, “And this is Alvi, a close friend of ours.”
Alvi hadn’t moved much beyond floating. She had one eye turned to stare fully at the giant, but otherwise seemed to have locked up, as she had before.
The giant, Tarlim, returned our greeting with a polite bow as he steadied himself on some overhead netting. “Good to meet you. Now, the reason I asked is this: I was imprisoned in a correctional facility before I was able to escape.”
Escape?! I exclaimed, in thought and in voice, “Y-You escaped??”
The giant tried to deceive us, but it couldn’t keep its condition a secret! I put myself between it and Alvi, “Get away from him! He’s dangerous!”
Maeve tried to be kind, “Valek if he’s here I would hardly think-”
But she didn’t know what that meant! We made a promise that we would teach each other about our people, even the bad parts. I had to warn her about it! “Correctional Facilities are where we put dangerous Venlil! People with Predator Disease who have shown themselves to be a threat to the Herd! We try to teach them how to live with the Herd, but if he escaped? He's gotta be dangerous if he had to break out!” I kept the threatening beast in my sight as I put myself between them and my herd.
The beast crouched threateningly, Fixing me with a predatory stare as its ears locked onto me, “Dangerous? Do you know what they put me through in there? The people running those places are monsters!”
“They help people!” I protested, amazed that someone could see their own care as harmful. “They treat people so they are safe around the herd!”
“Oh, HA!” The beast’s face cracked in an angry snarl, “You must feel so safe when we’re strapped into chairs and electrified! Or jammed into rooms where the only safe floor is too small for everyone! It must be soooo perfect to hear about that!”
“Th… That…” They WHAT?! No! “No! Even if that were true, it would be to teach you to stick together! They… They wouldn’t do something like that if it didn’t work!” …right?
A tiny voice spoke behind me, but the beast bore down on my senses, “Stick together! Suuuure!” It’s tail lashed behind it. It was going to pounce! “That’s why they tried to kill me for making sure more people could fit in the Circle! And obviously the electric chair was for proper fear response! That's why they commissioned a chair with enough voltage to fry me from the inside out!”
“Electric chair? You were in an electric chair?” That same tiny voice. Alvi’s words pulled me from my maelstrom and I reached for salvation. I needed Maeve.
“Yes!” The Giant had turned his attention to Alvi as I flew towards my human. “I have been put in that-”
“I saw you on the TV!”
I was wrapping myself around Maeve when Alvi said that. She… saw him? He was on TV? All of us had fallen silent to watch her, including the giant.
“Which part?” It asked with a heavy breath. “The final judgment? The election debates?” I heard a whimper coming from its throat. “When… when my father…?”
Father? It had a father? Wait, why is that a surprise? They were born, so they must have had one.
Alvi spoke with what kindness she could, “I don’t remember much. I was still just a pup when the trial started, but I remember seeing your photo on the TV. My parents didn’t let me watch it after that. I started to research it after I moved out, that’s when I saw the Chair.”
I heard the giant growl. “That Brahking photo! They were so proud to hold me up even though I couldn’t!” Their attention swung back to me. “I don’t suppose, mister Valek, that was also justified?”
I stood tall at the challenge. This… They would not get past me. “I…! I don’t know about any photo! My Family doesn't have a TV, just a radio.”
They flicked their ears dismissively, before bringing them back to Alvi. Was it… kinder? When it was addressing her? “So you saw the chair.” They sighed. “It was only shown after the trial was done. Then you had to have seen what that management did. Instead of letting the place be investigated, they drove all the inmates outside so they could cause chaos! And slipped away while everyone was trying to figure out what happened!” It whistled a derisive laugh, “What about the crimes revealed? Producing and testing drugs to sell on the streets? How the sessions were altered for higher voltage? Oh! And do I even need to mention what happened to the women there?”
Its eye never left me, and I shrunk beneath it while Alvi spoke behind me, “No. No you don’t. What happened there was terrible, there’s no grooming that!”
“Worthy of the Arxur!” It huffed again. “What a title for that place. And you know what the worst part is?” It pointed directly at me with its primary claw; the insult clear in its seething voice. Singling me out as outside of the Herd. “I was in there because of that! Not some test, not Predator Disease, just stupid people Scared. O-Of. My. Size!!”
The rage in its throat was broken by its sobs, as its eyes bubbled with gathered tears, unable to fall for lack of gravity. This thing was crying? It had family, and it cried from remembered pain?
Maeve pushed off of her line, and drifted to the giant, her hand curling around their pointed claw and putting its paw back to their chest. Her words were quiet, a sharp contrast to the giant’s anguish. “I think that’s enough of that. I’m sorry that we had a rough start. We were in the wrong, and it wasn’t, and isn’t, ok for us to react like we did.”
We weren’t wrong! Look at it! How can we be wrong to be careful around something that could eat us without a thought?
I bet your dad thought the same thing.
The thought stopped my heart and flared my wool. When I saw it - No. Saw Him. - when I saw him I scratched and kicked, and I came out unscathed. He hadn’t so much as taken a single step toward us. Only talking. What happened? Why was I so afraid…
Maeve’s voice continued as my thoughts swirled, “We… are sorry for what happened, and want to make it right. I don’t want to intrude any more on your day with your partner, but can we treat you to something here? Valek tells me they have really good fried veg? I’ve never had Venlil Tempura before.”
Why is this familiar? What about this fear… The Meetup.
It-He… Tarlim? Heaved and hacked against waning sobs, barely croaking, “Y-You…you can’t make it right,” the words were only a whisper; barely captured at this distance. “This, all this, just made you more afraid of me. E-Every moment would be forced and shamed. Not genuine.”
This is the same fear I felt when I met Maeve. The same fear that was wrong. Fundamentally and completely. This fear…
Maeve answered without pause, “I think we could surprise you. But I won’t press it. Before I let you go, I’d like to end on a good…noooote…” Maeve checked her empty pockets, as her voice grew a more boisterous timbre, “ah man, I left my pad in the locker. Anyway, you’re way fluffier than the average Venlil, aren’t you? Well, humans have recorded something else called Hypertrichosis; Jacob may know it as Werewolf Syndrome. It manifests in humans as rapid and thick hair growth over their entire body! Jacob can show you when you get back to your pads. ”
Tarlim’s tail thrashed in distrust, but it-NO! HIS! ears fluttered, giving away their conflict. Maeve turned away and pulled herself back down the corridor we came from, scooping up Alvi and I as she passed. But I pulled away from her hand, meeting the eye of the giant.
Nothing about this fear is real. Who I am and what I do is MY CHOICE, and I had the gall to forget that.
“I reacted to you the same way I reacted to seeing Maeve for the first time - well, her hair, anyway. I’ve tried to be better, but I mess up sometimes. I’m… I’m sorry I messed up with you.”
I pushed off down the hall, and met my herd before we continued on.
“Wait!” We found our anchors, and turned to meet the bellowed plea. Tarlim dried his tears on his wool, before looking back at us. “There's a food court near the arcade.” Barely a pause as Tarlim took another breath; the same one I take when I make a Choice. “If we see each other there maybe… maybe we can start over…”
My mouth cracked in a human smile, and my tail swayed at the invitation. “I think I’d like that.”
Tarlim returned our kindness as we floated back down the corridor.
I wanted to just get back to having fun. I had come here with Maeve and Alvi to get away from reactions like that! Not… Not Be the reaction! This was- this was a vacation! Please just…
Breathe.
In. and Out. The Paw is not gone. We can make this work.
“Hey, Valek?” It was Maeve. My love, and my Choice. Her mask met my eye as I spun to meet her. “Are you OK?”
“I will be. I’m sorry for how I reacted.” I feigned a joyful flick and invited them to follow, “Come on! We can take another path and find something fun that way.” I floated ahead of my herd and led the way.
I checked behind me at the next turn and they were following a distance behind. Alvi showed her concern with her tail, while Maeve was unreadable through her mask. It was ok, we can put this behind us once we find something else to occupy us.
Well that was a disaster.
The Maze was more of a problem then I expected it to be. The maze itself was easy enough, but the ‘puzzle rooms’ turned out to be all of the rooms, but they were randomly activated. Sometimes we would fly into a room and it would shift color, pulling the supports into the wall and starting to list the game rules. The last room before we got out kept shifting the gravity, so by the time we made it to the exit we were exhausted in mind and body. Well, Alvi and I were. I don’t believe I had seen Maeve so energized.
“Wanna go again?!” Her voice was bubbling with sarcasm, and she couldn't contain her mischievous cackle when Alvi and I met her mask and signaled an emphatic No! In unison.
She pulled Alvi against her and asked her to hold on, quickly doing the same to me. She pushed off from the Maze exit to the open air in the center. She did the same kick as back in the maze and we started to spin, at which Maeve let go of the two of us to slow our inertia. We spun there together, holding paws and hands, before I spoke into the space between us.
“I’m sorry that I ruined the day. I thought we could go back to having fun, but I spoiled the mood.”
Maeve spoke first, “It’s alright Valek,”
Then Alvi, “It may not have been the best start, but he offered to try again.”
Maeve squeezed my paw and met my eye, “And I look forward to it. That's all we can really do: move forward.” She pulled us back into a tight hug, “Thank you, both of you, for a wonderful day.”
An angry gurgle bubbled up from our embrace, and Maeve continued, “But I could really do with a proper meal. Valek, you mentioned something about fried veg?”
I pulled away and looked around at the various signage, pointing at the exit we had entered from. “The food court connects with the Visor Arcade, so we can go out the way we came in.”
“Alright! Alvi, you hold on, and Valek? Don’t.”
“What?”
Maeve kicked her legs again and set us spinning quickly, before flinging me in the direction of the exit, and she and Alvi the opposite way. I may or may not have squealed in terror during my hasty flight.
I was able to catch a support line as I passed. I looked out to see that Maeve had done the same, and was just pushing off to come my direction; Alvi was completely wrapped around her torso, like she was caught out in Galetime.
My tail thrashed behind me in admonishment when Maeve was in ear-sense. “You evil woman! You could have killed me!”
I could hear her - no, Alvi! - giggling as they floated over! She was having the time of her life! Maeve defended herself breathlessly, “Oh, come on, that was barely a brisk walk. I knew you’d correct yourself, that’s why I threw you instead of Alvi.”
I hit the pad and opened the bulkhead as they met me, Maeve barely correcting against a passing line to float cleanly through the threshold. Alvi disengaged once we were all inside. “Also because I’m her favorite.”
I flattened my ears in playful anger while she stuck her tongue out at me, and Maeve spoke up from the button. “Now, now, children, I love you both equally. One is just a little more biblical than the other.”
A little more religious? What?
“But I think it is time to come back to earth.” her hand hovered over the button while Alvi and I found our supports.
A button pressed, a growing hum, and our feet met the floor … Eventually. We had forgotten to remember that the floor was White, so we all collapsed on the semi-soft ground head-first. Thank the Sun for padding!
“Okay!” I heard Alvi comment, “Seems we’ve been re-educated on where the ground is.” She stood, shaking her wool. “Wish it hadn’t been a crash course.”
Maeve cackled from the floor as I stood, “HaHa! Multilingual pun! I love it!”
She was still giggling when we walked over to help her up. We were just dusting ourselves and flattening errant tufts when the exit hatch opened, and we stepped outside.
Alvi was last to step over the bulkhead, nearly tripping as her paw caught its lip. Having recovered, she asked, “Anything else you would like to do before lunch Maeve?”
Maeve took a quiet breath as we all waved an excited goodbye to Shishi, cold can of Sprunk in paw. “Speaking from experience, if we wanna do VR, and I kinda do, eating before may be unwise.”
Having reached our locker, I waited for Maeve to don her burka, “The Visor Arcade is on the way, and I’d love to show you this quick sightseeing game. It’s pretty basic, but it will show a few other Federation Homeworlds too!”
Maeve’s voice lit up, and I regretted that her eyes were hidden, as I knew they were shining! “I can see More worlds?! Yes, please! Let’s do that!” Maeve bounded forward almost to around the corner. “Uh… Where is it?”
I flicked my tail teasingly, “It is where we are going. You shouldn’t go running off, you know how strangers are.”
Maeve stood at the corner with her good hand on her hip, “Well then be a good boy and lead the way!”
I could feel my snout quickly blooming.
Oh, that’s not fair.
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Disclaimer: This post is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not to be construed as financial advice. Investing in the stock market involves a significant risk of loss, including the risk of loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. You should conduct your own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
​
Nvidia Corporation (NVDA), a leading chipmaker and AI company is on a tear recently, with its stock price hitting $389.46 on May 26, 2023 - a nearly 30% jump since the last earnings report. Contrastingly, the broader economic, geopolitical, and social environment send signals of uncertainty. The market's volatility index (VIX), which currently rests at a relatively low level of 17.95 hints at an imminent downturn, indicating complacency among investors. However, it's important to remember that markets are complex and frequently behave contrary to expectations.
While the broader market seems calm, one sector, in particular, is leading the trend: the technology sector with chipmakers and AI companies are seeing a significant uptick.
The big question is, should we dive in or wait it out?
Before we get into that, let's be clear, this analysis is not financial advice. It's meant to shed some light that help us make better-informed decisions.
Let's get into it!
Nvidia's fundamentals are robust, but that's not our focus today. With the company venturing into high-growth territory and emotional responses overpowering rational data, we're turning our attention to technical analysis for potential insight into future movements.
To begin, we can see the Relative Strength Index (RSI) for NVDA is at 83.62, suggesting an overbought condition, which is typically considered when the RSI is above 70. This high RSI value might imply that the stock is due for a short-term pullback, as observed in NVDA's historical performance.
In the past, NVDA's RSI crossed the extreme overbought line of 80 five times: on Feb. 19, 2020, Sept. 2, 2020, July 6, 2021, and Nov. 8, 2021. Each time this occurred, there was a short-term pullback in the stock price ranging from 5.0% to 38.9% over periods from three sessions to a month. However, in each case, the stock reached a new record high within three months of the pullback.
Previously, a pattern referred to as bearish technical divergence was observed, which suggests that rallies are taking more and more out of the bulls, leaving them vulnerable to bear attacks. This pattern emerged in Nov. 2021 when the stock kept rising to a record $333.76 on Nov. 29, 2021, while the RSI was actually trending lower to a sub-overbought reading of 69.53 that day. This was followed by a significant 11-month bear market, where the price plunged 66.4% before bottoming at $112.27 on Oct. 14, 2022.
NVDA's price is currently close to the Fibonacci resistance level of $394.8. If it breaks this resistance, the next key level to watch would be $483.48. On the other hand, if the price declines, the Fibonacci levels of $364.09, $360.93, and $339.98 could provide support.
Fibonacci extension is another technical tool to identify possible resistance.The most common Fibonacci extension levels are 1.618, 2.618, and 4.236.
Let's calculate the 1.618 Fibonacci extension level for NVDA:

1. Subtract the low from the high to get the difference: 394.80 - 108.13 = 286.67
2. Multiply the difference by the Fibonacci ratio: 286.67 * 1.618 = 464.02
3. Add the result to the low price: 108.13 + 464.02 = 572.15

However, please note that these levels are theoretical and while they can often serve as areas of support or resistance, they're not guaranteed to hold.
In summary, NVDA has been experiencing a strong upward trend across all these periods. This is accompanied by high trading volumes, suggesting robust investor interest. Given the strength of this upward trend and high trading volumes, it could be surmised that the market sentiment towards NVDA is bullish.
During the past 13 years, the highest PE Ratio of NVIDIA was 224.98. The lowest was 13.68. And the median was 39.94
​
So, where do we stand?
Nvidia's underlying fundamentals are strong, yet the recent trading frenzy seems to eclipse these fundamental values. As emotions run high, we're observing price action that is increasingly detached from the stock's intrinsic worth. Anticipate considerable volatility in the coming month, which may lead to substantial capital losses for those choose to trade this stock even though overall sentiment is bullish. That being said, our enthusiasm for NVDA and AI at large is unwavering. We're extremely bullish, and we foresee plenty of upside potential. Despite this, due caution is warranted. Here are our projections and perspectives for the ensuing month:
​
Bear Scenario:
Based on our analysis of Fibonacci Retracement levels and price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio trends, we consider NVDA reaching $480 as the more conservative, or bearish, outcome. This represents a potential 23% increase from the current price level. In this scenario, NVDA would have a P/E ratio of 251.31, indicating a market capitalization of approximately $1.18 trillion. This could be an opportune moment to sell, locking in gains before any potential market correction.
​
Bull Scenario:
On the more optimistic, or bullish, side of the spectrum, we draw upon Tesla's impressive P/E ratio of over 1,000 during its significant rally two years ago. If NVDA were to reach a similar P/E ratio, this would translate to a stock price of $2190. However, considering NVDA's near trillion-dollar market capitalization and current growth rates, reaching such a level would be extremely ambitious. At this stock price, NVDA would have a market cap of an astonishing $5 trillion.
For perspective, Apple, currently the world's most valuable company, has a market cap of $2.7 trillion. If NVDA were to reach the same market cap as Apple, this would equate to a stock price of $1095. However, the market often anticipates such significant milestones and investors may start selling before reaching this psychological barrier.
As NVDA begins to show signs of a meme stock momentum, it’s essential to draw upon historical precedents from similar market movements. Notably, Dogecoin experienced a sharp downturn after it nearly reached the much-anticipated $1 target, peaking at $0.74. AMC's stock price exhibited a similar pattern, retreating after it hit $72. There appears to be a consistent trend of investors taking profits when the price hits approximately 3/4 of a clear target. Given this, if we set a bullish target for NVDA at $1,000, we can anticipate a potential price ceiling in the vicinity of $720, where significant resistance may be encountered. For those seeking to mitigate risk, considering an exit at around $680 could be a prudent strategy. This price corresponds to a market capitalization of $1.68 trillion and a P/E ratio of 355.5. While this is an ambitious target, it's not beyond the realms of possibility given the current rally.
​
Realistic Scenario:
While the above scenarios provide a range of possibilities, we believe the most likely outcome lies somewhere in between. A P/E ratio of 300, while high, is not unheard of for high-growth tech stocks. This would place NVDA's market cap at around $1.4 trillion and the stock price at approximately $573. Given NVDA's strong fundamentals and growth prospects, we believe this to be a realistic target.
In conclusion, while trading high volatility stocks with meme stock momentum can be very risky, and has no fundamental backing at this point. It comes down to emotional control and resilience. We believe that a thorough understanding of NVDA's technical and fundamental indicators can guide investment decisions. Please keep in mind that investing involves risk and it is important to do your own research and consult with a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
​
It's crucial to remain cool-headed and resilient. Knowledge is power, so understand the technical and fundamental indicators to guide your investment decisions. Remember, trading involves risk - don't go all-in without doing your homework and consulting with a professional advisor. Happy trading!

So my monitor broke recently so I havent been using my pc (didnt use it for around 3 weeks), came back and my Corsair h150I Elite RGB is not on iCue anymore. I deleted and resinstalled iCue 5 or 6 times, trying new versions every time. Nothing. I also uninstalled Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0 as that seems to cause problems for some people.
I have the AIO plugged into a USB 2.0 header along side my LIAN LI hub (they are both plugged into the same header I used that little trick people do.) BUT I know for a fact that is not the problem because it was working before my monitor broke. My graphics card is having driver problems (more on that in another post). EVERYTHING IS BROKEN. Someone please help me

Hey guys, so my monitor broke recently so I havent been using my pc (didnt use it for around 3 weeks), came back and my Corsair h150I Elite RGB is not on iCue anymore. I deleted and resinstalled iCue 5 or 6 times, trying new versions every time. Nothing. I also uninstalled Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0 as that seems to cause problems for some people.
I have the AIO plugged into a USB 2.0 header along side my LIAN LI hub (they are both plugged into the same header I used that little trick people do.) BUT I know for a fact that is not the problem because it was working before my monitor broke. My graphics card is having driver problems, EVERYTHING IS BROKEN. Someone please help me

git link - https://github.com/moseszuasola/Task-Reminder.git
​
// PUT endpoint to update a note - server side
app.put('/notes/:noteId', (req, res) => {
const { noteId } = req.params;
const { clientName, taskName, taskLink, taskDescription, updates } = req.body;
const currentDate = new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0];
const note = notes.find((note) => note.id === noteId);
​
if (note) {
if (updates) {
// Update the updates array
note.updates = updates;
} else {
// Update other properties
note.clientName = clientName;
note.taskName = taskName;
note.taskLink = taskLink;
note.taskDescription = taskDescription;
}
​
saveNotesToFile((err) => {
if (err) {
console.error('Failed to save notes:', err);
res.sendStatus(500);
} else {
res.sendStatus(200);
}
});
} else {
res.sendStatus(404);
}
});
// Event listener for the submit button in update function - client side JS script
submitButton.addEventListener('click', (event) => {
const newUpdate = updateInput.value;
​
if (newUpdate) {
// Create a new list item for the update
const updateItem = document.createElement('li');
updateItem.textContent = newUpdate;
updateList.appendChild(updateItem);
​
// Enable the update button
$('#note-list').find('.update-button').prop('disabled', false);
​
//New update from input update
const updateInput = document.getElementById(noteId);
const newTextUpdate = updateInput.value;
// Send the array of values to the server
fetch(`/notes/${noteId}`, {
method: 'PUT',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
},
body: JSON.stringify({
updates: [newTextUpdate],
}),
})
.then(response => {
if (!response.ok) {
console.error('Failed to save to database:', response.statusText);
}
})
.catch(error => console.error('Error saving to database:', error));
}
// Remove the temporary input box and buttons
taskDescriptionElement.removeChild(lineBreak);
taskDescriptionElement.removeChild(updateDiv);
taskDescriptionElement.removeChild(buttonContainer);
});

Hey guys, so my monitor broke recently so I havent been using my pc (didnt use it for around 3 weeks), came back and my Corsair h150I Elite RGB is not on iCue anymore. I deleted and resinstalled iCue 5 or 6 times, trying new versions every time. Nothing. I also uninstalled Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0 as that seems to cause problems for some people.
I have the AIO plugged into a USB 2.0 header along side my LIAN LI hub (they are both plugged into the same header I used that little trick people do.) BUT I know for a fact that is not the problem because it was working before my monitor broke. My graphics card is having driver problems, EVERYTHING IS BROKEN. Someone please help me

As the episode resumed to the heat of midday, the camera panned down from the sun and on to Topher and Ezekiel as they stalked through the savanna.
Topher stopped both of them suddenly. "Check this out," The camera features human footprints on the ground. "Those are human footprints."
"I can even see some drool," Ezekiel pointed out the specks of drool.
"That must mean Ezekiel Clone," Topher deduced, and they continued moving forward and holding out their slingshots.
"Remember, we keep calm," Ezekiel told Topher after they stopped, their bodies starting to descend.
"Right. All we have to do is set up a trap that'll lure him in," Topher claimed.
"That's a good idea, amigo," Ezekiel agreed before looking down. "What the? Uh-oh."
The scene zoomed out to show the duo sinking in quicksand. "Quicksand?" Topher realized.
"Help!" they cried out.
\
"How are we supposed to find that alien?" Owen asked the girls as they stalked through the savanna with their slingshots ready. He turned around and backed into a bush, only to hit something almost immediately. He slowly turned around to look, and his eyes went wide and the camera zoomed out as he realized he'd just bumped into a rhino's butt.
The camera panned to the animal's head as it looked backwards and snorted, and the focus returned to Owen as he screamed and took off, knocking Eva and Izzy out of the way. The rhino's viewpoint was shown, and in its eyes, Owen zipped through the savanna Road Runner style.
Izzy and Eva got up from the collision. "I am so going to kill Owen for that!" Eva declared.
"Save it for when we find him," Izzy said before they ran to locate Owen.
Meanwhile, Owen was screaming his lungs out and running until he bumped into someone and fell down. He groaned while opening his eyes, and when he saw that it was Mal he crashed into, he yelped and got up.
"What is the matter with you!?" Mal scowled in Owen's direction.
"A rhino chased me away," Owen stammered. "What about you?"
"Same thing, but with a lion instead of a rhino!" Mal growled.
"I didn't mean to run into you," Owen apologized.
"And I didn't mean to do this!" Mal took hold of Owen and hurled him up into a nearby tree. Owen hit his head on a branch, and he held onto it for safety.
"That was on purpose!" Owen confronted him, but screamed for his life.
"Maybe that'll teach you a lesson for nearly killing me, tubby!" Mal mocked him.
\
The footage returned to Ezekiel and Topher stuck in quicksand still, Ezekiel holding out a stick.
"I don't want to die in quicksand," Topher moped. "I prefer a quick death."
"Be quiet and look!" Ezekiel hushed the junior Chris when he heard the bushes rustle and Ezekiel Clone hopped out.
"Ezekiel Two. Over here," Ezekiel waved the stick in front of his clone's face, to which he snarled and bit on.
"You've got it," Ezekiel said when the feral clone dragged him and Topher out of the sand, Topher holding on to Ezekiel. "We're nearly out."
The boys were soon out of the quicksand. An antelope was heard off-screen, and as it ran past, Ezekiel Clone growled and went off to chase the animal.
"Shoot him, Ezekiel! Now!" Topher ordered. Ezekiel stood up and readied his slingshot. He shot the ball, but rather than hit the clone, it hit the intern holding a camera and knocked him to sleep, much to their disappointment.
\
The scene returned to Mal and Owen. Owen was still hanging on to the branch, but Mal was lying by the tree and whistling 'In the Hall of the Mountain King.'
Izzy and Eva arrived at last, and noticed Owen's plight. "What did you do to Owen, Mal?" Izzy squinted her eyes at Mal.
"I just gave him a little boost up that tree," Mal admitted.
"He did this to me because I ran into him by accident," Owen said.
"You are really petty," Eva told the troublemaker as Izzy stood next to the tree. Izzy kicked the tree hard, and it made Owen let go of the branch, but Eva was able to catch him in her arms.
"Call me whatever you want, but I just found some alien tracks," Mal smiled at the footprints on the ground and followed them. "Enjoy being put up for elimination!"
"Not if we beat you to it. Follow him!" Izzy commanded Owen and Eva, who obeyed willingly.
\
Back with Ezekiel and Topher, they were following the footprints until they heard the bushes rustle.
"Did you hear that?" Ezekiel asked and the bushes rustled harder.
"It must be your clone," Topher guessed and they pulled the slingshots. "Ready your tranq balls. On three. One, two, three!"
They ran screaming, and the shot cut to the bushes to reveal Mal, Eva, Izzy, and Owen coming out screaming and holding their slingshots. Topher and Ezekiel shot their balls, and the other four did the same.
One by one, the six were shown getting hit in separate shots. Owen, Mal, Topher, Ezekiel, Eva, and Izzy. A big cloud overtook the scene and vaporized to show the contestants out cold with their goggles lying on the floor.
The music note icon promptly appeared in the top-left corner of the screen, accompanied by its usual ding.
"Iiiiiit's song time!" Chris announced from off-screen, the camera panning right to show him and Chef in a jeep a couple yards away. "Hello?"
The camera was suddenly filled with darkness. "Hey!" Chris shouted as an eye opened to show Chris looking down. "Anyone in there?" The scene showed that Chris was prying Mal's eye open. "What do you prefer? Dynamite or TNT?"
"Dynamite!" Mal answered the question partly awakened.
Chris focused on the contestants lying on the ground. "Half an hour of you guys sleeping?! Oh yeah, that's gonna be great for ratings," he said cynically. "I want a song, pronto! No matter where the tranq balls hit you and how "groggy" you might be. You will be eliminated if you do not sing at least once! Now sing!"
///\
[The African drumbeat that played from earlier started the song as Chris left and the camera panned down to Mal.]
"What a sickening day on the Serengeti! I just feel like kicking a pup!"
[Mal started the first line.]
"I'll find that clone and win this game! As soon as my leg wakes up!"
[As he sang, the camera focused on his legs not waking up and laying still.]
"You ditched us and went alone! You failed, and I find that pathetic!"
[Topher sang, his face against the ground.]
"We teamed up and almost had the clone! I wish we were a bit more athletic!"
[Ezekiel sang next while on his arms, adding "Really, we were that close!".]
"Almost, doesn't count to me! You didn't catch him, that's all!"
[Eva raised her head up and sang their way, turning her head to see Izzy crawl up to her.]
"To be fair, we didn't fare well! But at least we have our balls!
[Izzy sang next. "Tranq balls, I mean," she added.]
Owen stood on his feet, wobbling his body back and forth. "I should sing or I'll get kicked out. There's something I wanna say. Rhinos…and…lions…are really scary. My body…just…feels…like…resting!" He went back to sleep once more.
[Mal was focused on again, and he was attempting to get up.]
"What a sickening day on the Serengeti! I just feel like kicking a pup!"
[Mal stood on his two feet and noticed them bending over.]
"I'll find that clone and win this game! As soon as my leg wakes up!"
[His knees collapsed to the floor and made him bend.]
"My head!"
[Eva was holding her head with one hand.]
"My hand!"
[Ezekiel rubbed his hands together.]
"My arm!"
[Izzy flexed her arms to see if they're stable.]
"My face!"
[Topher mumbled groggily.]
"Wake uuuuuuuuuuuuuupppp!"
[Eva and Izzy sang together.]
"Wake uuuuuuuuuuuuuupppp!"
[Ezekiel and Topher sang the last line of the song together.]
///
The shot immediately cut over to Chris and Chef. "Somebody better catch the clone fast 'cause the plane is taking off in exactly one hour, with or without you," he told the contestants, five of them standing still while Owen rested still.
Chris pinched his nose, then turned to Chef. "Man, you are ripe! But, you wanna watch the tranq ball massacre on the widescreen?" he asked.
Chef pressed down on the gas pedal and sped off, but as Chris had been standing he quickly fell off the jeep.
"Hey!" Chris called out. "Get back here! AND STAY AWAY FROM MY HOT TUB!" he yelled as he ran off after his assistant.
Eva heard the sound of snoring, and it prompted her to make her way towards Owen and kick his side, jolting him awake.
"I didn't eat the strawberry cupcakes at the bake sale!" Owen shouted. "Oh, hi Eva."
"I'm giving you one more chance," Eva warned Owen. "If you ditch me and Izzy again, you're on your own from then on!"
"I won't do it again. I swear!" Owen pledged.
"You two were right about me going alone," Mal said and strolled towards Topher and Ezekiel. "I'll work with you now."
"Now you're reconsidering your plan," Ezekiel snorted. "And what makes you think I'd assist you after you tricked Sadie and got her eliminated?"
"That girl was expandable, and I didn't want to deal with any couples left in the game," Mal explained.
"Even if they're weak-looking and easy to beat in a contest?" Topher asked.
"I'd rather take on a powerhouse than an oblivious fool anyday, anytime," Mal said proudly.
"Temporarily. We'll work together temporarily for this portion of the challenge," Topher sighed.
"That's all I need. Now here's what we're going to do," Mal got the prairie boy and the junior Chris in a huddle and whispered their plan.
Confessional: Mal
"As you saw earlier, I encountered a lion while I was by myself earlier. Having allies by your side is necessary at a time like this," Mal claimed. "Allies that are easy to shove in front of a dangerous animal and let them be devoured while I protect my life!"
Confessional Ends
The scene flashed forward yet again, this time showing Eva, Izzy, and Owen as they walked through the plains.
"I'll forgive you for leaving us behind this fast because I love you," Izzy said to Owen. "Next time won't be so easy."
"I already talked to him about that!" Eva reassured her. "You can lay off, Izzy."
"I just wanted to let him know, Eva," Izzy replied.
Owen sighed. "I'm sorry for being so cowardly. I'm too young to die, sure, but I can't ignore lives as well, especially if they're my friends." A rustling was heard just before he tripped and fell down with a cry of "Whoa!"
The camera pulled back to show Owen had fallen in a bush that was littered with red berries, with red stains all over him. "P.U. These berries are as smelly as my underwear during laundry day," he winced.
"It seems like you fell in a patch of Serengeti blood berries," Izzy told him. "They are a sight to see, but their juice smells just like fresh blood.
"I said sorry for leaving you with that rhino," Owen wailed.
"I didn't push you into that bush. You tripped and fell yourself," Eva said.
"Now I have to go wash off these blood berries," Owen moaned as he stood up.
\
The scene moved to Owen at the edge of a pond, covered in red stains. "I'd rather be covered in strawberry jam than this," he complained as he peered into the water. A rustling was heard nearby.
He paused for a moment, and looked around. "What was that?" he asked before Ezekiel Clone showed up and sniffed the air.
He perked up and the camera cut briefly to the still berry-covered Owen washing up then back to him. The clone took the opportunity and launched himself at the fun guy.
The shot cut to Mal, Topher, and Ezekiel as they arrived on the scene. "This is simply entertaining," Mal said happily over the sounds of a violent and one-sided scuffle between Owen and Ezekiel Clone.
"I'm going to shoot if you two are just going to stand there like statues," Ezekiel said impatiently.
"Someone help me!" Owen yelled.
"Help is on the way! Eva shouted as she and Izzy arrived in time. The three boys got distracted by their arrival, and Eva wasted no time taking out her slingshot and tranquilizer ball.
A close-up was shown of Eva's slingshot as the tranq ball was loaded and drawn back, and the shot moved to show Owen trying his best to keep Ezekiel Clone from punching his face.
The shot came, and immediately knocked Owen and Ezekiel Clone into a deep sleep.
"We did it! We stopped that alien!" Izzy shouted to her friend.
"Technically, I was the one who put that thing to sleep, but sure, you can leech off my success," Eva said.
Chris and Chef returned in the jeep. "Congrats, Eva. You are on your way to first class!" Chris announced.
"I would've shot that clone if I didn't lose my balls on the way here," Topher claimed.
"Whatever you say!" Chris said with a smile. "Now quick. Grab Owen and let's get the heck out of Africa before that thing wakes up!"
\
The footage skipped ahead one more time to the Total Drama Jumbo Jet as it took off from the Serengeti plains. The camera zoomed in to the top of the fuselage between the wings, Ezekiel Clone pulling himself up before prying off a panel and crawling in through the opening.
Confessional: Mal
"Looks like it's time for me to pack my bags today since I'm the one going home," Mal glumly said, but quickly smiled in satisfaction. "Or it would be if I hadn't suddenly found a loophole through all this."
Confessional Ends
A flash took the scene to the elimination chamber, where Chris was standing in the middle of the room with all six contestants. "Mmm, tension-y!" he taunted, holding out the stack of passports.
"Alrighty then, one vote for Owen. And, the lucky loser with five votes is...," Chris finally said, reading the last passport with a devilish smirk as he paused for further effect.
"Mal."
"Serves you right!" Eva smirked.
"See you never, Mal!" Izzy taunted him.
"So this is where my journey ends…" Mal scowled at the pleased faces of the contestants.
"I'd agree with that, but I have to say otherwise this time around, 'cause Mal is not the one going home tonight!" Chris announced.
"Are you kidding me?" Ezekiel yelled. "He got the most votes out of all of us!"
"That is true," Chris explained, "but I remember telling all of you to sing earlier. You did, but it seems one person broke that rule. And I specifically said that you'll be eliminated if you don't sing, so Owen, here's your parachute!"
The teens, except for Mal, gasped as Owen was given his parachute.
"You're implementing this rule now of all times?" Topher protested. "Some of us don't even sing the songs in every episode."
"True, but this time, I was placing the rule on everybody, not just a select few," Chris said.
"It is what it is," Owen sighed.
"Don't be so down. You're better than this," Izzy told him. "And you're not getting evacuated this time.
"That does make me feel a bit better," Owen smiled again. "And thankfully, Mal has been exposed to the public."
"Just one more thing before you go!" Izzy jumped into Owen's arms and they began to kiss each other.
"Ugh. This is what I wanted to avoid," Mal reacted with disgust.
Owen and Izzy finished their kiss and Izzy got off of Owen. "If you didn't know it yet, we're now boyfriend and girlfriend," Izzy reminded the funniest guy around.
"I'll miss you, but just know I'll be watching you make the finale," Owen said to Izzy and made his jump…only to get stuck in the exit. "Could somebody push me out please?"
The camera cut to the outside of the plane, and Owen could be seen falling out of the open door.
"I'm gonna miss that guy," Chris said idly as the shot cut back inside to show the host staring out of the door. "Now, Eva," the host asked as he turned back around. "Who you bringing to the big leagues?"
"It's a decision I'll regret," Eva said while Izzy smiled expectantly next to her. "But I'll have to choose... Topher."
"WHAT?!" Topher and the others reacted.
Confessional: Eva
"Izzy's my companion, but I couldn't let her be in first class for the third time in a row or her head would be overinflated with arrogance. If I bring Topher over, he could give me tips on how to stop Mal for good," Eva clarified.
Confessional: Mal
"They might miss the big boy, but getting rid of Owen for the second time was like scraping gum off my shoe," Matthew smirked. "A bit sticky, but oh so satisfying. I'll have Chris's rule to thank for that."
Without warning, the confessional door swung open and Chris leaned in. "Things are getting cra-zy!" he told the camera with an excited grin, the series' capstone theme playing in the background. "Thirteen down and only five remain," he continued as Mal scowled. "Who will almost die next? Find out right here, on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
He lingered in the confessional as the music ended, and finally noticed Mal. "Whaaaat?"
(Roll the Credits)
\
(Bonus Clip)
The clip opened up to a shot of Owen parachuting down. "I wanted to sing, but I was too tired to do so. It wasn't my fault."
"Like my other elimination, I was eliminated irregularly instead of just getting the most votes. I think that's lame," he admitted sadly. "On the bright side, I get to keep my brain and me and Izzy are sitting in a tree!" Owen sang. "K.I.S.S.-"
He trailed off while drifting down, eventually landing in the quicksand...right next to a lion. They were both sinking, but it didn't erase the fear in Owen's face and the viciousness in the lion's.
"S.O.S.! S.O.S.!" he told the camera as his parachute covered him completely. The lion roared heavily, and Owen started to scream for his life.
18th: Shawn
17th: Amy
16th: Lindsay
15th: Rodney
14th: Jo
Eliminated: Owen
13th: Duncan
12th: Sky
11th: Heather
10th: Cody
9th: Ella
8th: Noah
7th: Sadie
6th: Owen

Many praises to u/SpacePaladin15 for this universe.
Credit again to u/TheManwithaNoPlan for helping edit!
[First]-[Prev]-[Next]
News transcript: VRPBN Urgent Broadcast. Date: [Standardized human time] September 27th, 2136
We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news from The Cradle! It has been revealed that a large-scale evacuation of human forces from the Cradle has been underway for the better part of a Paw following an attack from the Arxur. Losses are yet to be tallied, but allied forces are thought to have taken extreme casualties over the course of the campaign. More information regarding the planet and the state of the remaining Gojid populace is still coming out as we speak, and we will keep you informed of all updates. Wait, hold on, something new just came in…
Memory transcript: Sol-Vah, Gojid Exterminator. Date: [Standardized human time] September 28th, 2136
We are extinct. The Cradle… so many people killed. The Arxur attack has completely destroyed the Gojid. The survivors were taken by the humans. The culture… the people…
I stared at the screen in horror, my quills raised stiff in anguish. It had been two paws since the humans and Arxur worked together to destroy The Cradle. The news kept saying things like ambush and human casualties, but it had to be wrong. The humans did this! They… they had to!
“The millions of rescued Gojid are currently on their way towards Earth as the UN retreats,” the news anchor continued, “Officials assure us that they are being treated well and safely during the transit. They will be moved to refugee camps on earth until more permanent arrangements can be made.”
Refugee camps! Ha! What a way to try and spin their version of cattle farms!
My people have been wiped out, none to see anything beyond a life as cattle for the humans or for the Arxur. All those people! All those lives! All reduced to nothing!
And there was nothing I could do.
I sobbed, burying my face in my paws. Why? Why?? Why did this have to happen??
There was a pressure on my arm. A hand. A paw. Meant for comfort.
I looked up, eying Mute to my side with one eye. He was always a stoic person. He had to be for his job. But here, he signaled his sympathy. He lowered his head and pressed it against mine.
A moment of stability.
“I-I never even went there,” I sobbed, “I-I was born off-world. I never- I never got to see my home planet.” I leaned into him. “It’s gone. It’s… it’s all gone…”
He held himself against me. I heard his heart beating. His steady breaths. It felt like a constant.
Mute patted me on the side of my snout, and began pushing me back. Part of me wants to protest, but he began signaling. “You. Safe. Good.”
He always tried to help us through tough times. “Th-thank you.” I wiped my snout to try and clean the runny mucus dripping from it. “I just… I wish I could do something.”
Mute lowered his head. “Sorry. You. Pain. Me. Pain.”
Empathy. The thing that sets us apart from the predators. Our ability to feel what another feels is always astounding.
Sharing my pain made it easier to bear, even if just a little. “Th-thank you,” I nuzzled under his chin. “Thank you.”
We sat in silence on the couch, just finding what comfort there was in each other’s touch. The television has faded into the background in our moment.
“… still unclear what shall happen with the refugees in the long term,” a Paltan labeled as a refugee coordinator said, “even in the last claw, humans have petitioned the government of Venlil Prime to house a large portion of the Gojid rescued.”
What.
“And where would we keep them?” The Venlil talking to the Paltan asked, “They would need housing if they were to come here! You can’t expect us to just toss them into fields of tents!”
Come here? What are- what?
“Some humans have already been giving suggestions on where we could house them!” The Paltan rebutted. Wait, are the humans trying to make us complicit in farming the Gojid? I can’t believe they- “There are tons of apartments and complexes just sitting empty or with less occupants than they can hold! There are thousands, if not millions of homes just waiting for the refugees to fill them!”
Apartments? Homes? What? But- what??
The Paltan and Venlil kept debating back and forth on how Venlil Prime would be able to accommodate Gojid refugees. Mute and I just sat frozen, desperately trying to comprehend what was being said. They acted like it was a sure thing. That the Gojid people would be coming to Venlil Prime. That the Humans were accommodating everyone so they would be able to transfer to Venlil Prime’s protection as soon as possible.
But that… that was impossible! “That… that can’t be true! P-Predators don’t do that!”
But the pair continued on. Kept talking about how the humans were letting go of their prey. That they were giving them to the Venlil to not be eaten. It doesn’t make sense. The humans were predators! They invaded the Cradle and must have called in the Arxur! They- they must have! The Arxur just betrayed these humans since being traitors is in a predator’s nature!
But why did the humans rescue those Gojid?
The logic didn’t make sense. It didn’t flow. If the humans were capturing cattle, why would they give them to the Venlil? Where… where was the cruelty? The needless bloodshed? The abject terror of the Arxur? What are they playing at? Why aren’t they acting like…like predators??
Mute had their tail tapping on the ground as their mind raced. They kept an eye stared at the screen with a steady gaze. His attention was now fully upon the words the presenters were saying.
“They could…” I swallowed, mentally grasping at straws, “they could be lying. The- the humans have taken control of our media! They…”
Mute signaled a negative. “Calm. No threats.”
Mute was good at analyzing people’s behavior. As good as I have been. So if he said that the presenters were honest, then they were. And I had to admit that he was correct. I had seen no signs of distress beyond hoping to help the refugees. “Y-you’re right,” I groaned, “I don’t understand how it could be, but you’re right. They… how could the predators just give up their prey? It doesn’t make sense!”
Mute reached into his belt and pulled out his voice box. Whatever he was about to say, he felt it was important. “It Is A Show. Humans Must Act Good Around Us.”
“A show?” I ask, “you think it is an act? Just waiting until they can eat us?”
“Not Eat,” he said before coughing and reaching for his glass of water.
“But what else could they want us for?” I asked, “Eating people is what predators do!”
“There Are Worse Things,” he replied, “Slaves. Torture.” He coughed, “They Would Have Approved of The Facility.”
By the Protector. They would have. The logic fell into place before my eyes. “They… they’re biding their time. They must be. But… what can we do?”
Mute let out a deep breath. A breath of determination. He pressed his voice box against his throat. “We Protect Them Until The Taint Is Shown.”
He was right. That was all we could do. All I can do.
Mute reached over and grabbed the remote, shutting off the holovision. With a sigh, he stood from the couch and signaled to me. “Come. Follow.”
I reluctantly followed him from the couch, smoothing down my quills so that I at least looked somewhat presentable. I saw Mute grab a small bag of…something from a cubby before beckoning to me. I quickened my pace to match his as we exited his house. When Malcos had disappeared, all rights to property transferred to Mute as his adoptive son. It was a good sized property, allowing me to sleep in one of the guest rooms with a nearby restroom that, combined, was slightly bigger than my entire apartment. And the yard itself was a good size, with a small area that someone could grow a personal garden. But because of the demands of our jobs, the spot was covered by trimmed grass.
He walked over to a small garden shed. It looked to be in good condition, presumably kept up by Mute himself. I never saw anyone else on the property, so I was left to assume as much. He signaled for me to follow him as he opened the door, disappearing inside. Confused, I followed him in. What I saw was most certainly not what I was expecting. Within the small shed was an ornate Shrine of the Herd. While I wasn’t a follower, I knew from my time on Venlil Prime what one looked like, as it was one of the dominant religions.
In the center of the mostly wooden shrine was a metal cast of what looked to be a strangely-proportioned Venlil with four arms, each pointed in one of the cardinal directions. At the base were 8 bowls set along a shelf. Each held a single claw within. “What…” I pointed at the… offerings, “what are those?”
Mute pulled out his voice box. “A Predator That Shall Harm The Herd No Longer.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a common act for exterminators to take reminders of their tougher jobs. Keepsakes to let them remember what they fight for. I nodded and closed the door behind me, letting only the light from the windows illuminate the scene. Mute was knelt in front of the shrine, his head bowed and his eyes closed. I knelt next to him, doing my best to mirror his pose. It was then that I heard something I hadn’t ever heard before: Mute’s real voice.
It was raspy and thin, unaided by his electrolarynx that he keeps on his person. Barely even a whisper. Barely even words. “i will protect the herd from the taint. none shall bring harm while I stand vigilant. may my offerings show my devotion to the herd.”
A moment passed in silence as he simply prayed. I took a moment to stare at the claws in the offerings. They were mostly gray with age, some more than others. For the majority of the claws, I could pinpoint local wildlife that they came from, but the others were unfamiliar. One in particular stood out to me. It was smaller than the rest, with a distinct shape that tickled something in the back of my mind. Where have I seen a claw like that before…
I felt Mute’s hand upon my shoulder, breaking my train of thought. He had his voice box pressed to his throat again. “When They Come Here, I Shall Protect Your People. The Herd Protects Its Own. This I Swear.”
It took me a moment to fully realize what he had done. He had brought me to this so I could witness this. Witness his vow of protection, and see that he meant the words. This was a private moment for him, and he felt safe enough to have me around in it. Willing to be vulnerable in my presence.
I reached out and took his paw in mine. “You have always shown you were willing to do whatever it takes to protect others,” I said, “I have always had faith in you. Thank you for everything.”
Mute gave an appreciative bow, lightly nuzzling my snout. He had done so much for me. Offered friendship when I first came to the planet. Supported me through the incident with the Giant. Gave a recommendation to that security office during my suspension. And now, offering room when I had none, and an oath when my people are alone.
My tongue met his snout, giving it a careful lick.
He froze. I froze. His snout began to bloom orange, all the more apparent due to his exterminator cut. It was almost comical how it contrasted his normally stoic behavior and presence. His ears flicked with deliberate action. “You. Care?”
I did care. I hadn’t realized how much I had cared before. It had just been an unspoken fact. But now… “Yes.”
Now it was spoken.
​
[First]-[Prev]-[Next]

One thing to know, is that a highway, I-75 in Michigan's city of Sault Ste. Marie has 394 as it's final exit before a bridge that connects another city called Sault Ste. Marie on the Canadian side, and that exit number coincides with some ASCII "letter sums".

word/name	math problem	connection to The Soo
Susan	19 + 21 + 19 + 1 + 14	diminutive name Sue is pronounced the same as Sault
Jesus	10 + 5 + 19 + 21 + 19	There's a St. Joseph Island on the St. Mary's River which separates the Twin Soo cities.
Cross	3 + 18 + 15 + 19 + 19	The Soo is a crossing for many things, and also, it's coincident how this word adds up to the same number the letters of the name Jesus add up to.
Larry	12 + 5 + 18 + 18 + 25	Larry is a hypocorism for Lawrence, seeing as The Soo is on a waterway system that feeds to the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Drown	3 + 15 + 15 + 23 + 14	some unfortunate drowning incidents have happened in the nearby St. Mary's River, and the Great Lakes area in general.
Stuck	19 + 20 + 21 + 3 + 11	one can be stuck for hours on the International Bridge connecting the twin Soo cities.

there's probably more to the list, but I didn't wanna make it too convoluted.
Letter's A to Z each have UPPERCASE ASCII values in a range between 65 to 90. Also, all words which have 394 as the UPPERCASE ASCII sum have 74 as a nth letter sum and are 5 letters long each.
Because ASCII inventor Bob Bemer was born in The Soo, it's only natural that I find reasons to bring up ASCII talking about that area.

I hate when that happens. I’d rather miss by a whole lot more than that.
I’d rather the price reach no where close to my exit price. If I’m going long, I’d rather it get to about $0.50 cents away before turning south.
It’s different when it gets a penny below profit and then retreats to a loss. That’s disappointing.
It’s the same on the other side.
I’d rather it bust through my stop, falling dollars below. That’s when I’m thankful I got stopped out.
But when it falls just a penny below just to kick me out of the game before retreating to my profit point - I don’t like that.
So what? What’s the lesson here?
Maybe it’s not all about what I like. And just like other things in life, I’m not going to like everything. On those days I don’t throw in the towel, I regroup and prep for the next day.
On ‘penny missing’ trades , I don’t need to change the strategy. There’s no need to move the profit and stop points up or down a penny.
Instead on those days I recognize that I took my chance and the trade simply didn’t work in my favor.
If I can’t accept that then I need not trade.
But I accept it, knowing profitable trades are just around the corner.

As we all know, the KOTOR 1 remake is a thing that theoretically may happen. Now, I’ve always said that we live in the worst time for reboots ever, because mainstream writing was continually getting worse, even before the writers strike. Which is why I’m very skeptical that the remake will not make major, awful story changes.
However, for this hypothetical, we’re going to ignore that, and pretend that a KOTOR 2 remake is guaranteed, and that Chris Avellone has been signed on as lead writer, and is free to do what he wants, as in, we’re imagining that this is an unrealistically perfect scenario.
What would you desperately want unchanged about the story and game, vs what you hope they would alter?
Personally, I’ve always thought excluding certain party members based on the sex you choose to play as, to be the absolutely stupidest thing ever, and I don’t know why that idea wasn’t shot down immediately, let alone actually got into the game.
Another change I’d like to see, is for them to actually do all the stuff they wanted to, but ran out of time for. Even if they follow through on killing off Bao-Dur, I just want them to finally get a chance to fulfill their original vision from all those years ago.
I’d also like to have the characters interact more. The restored content mod makes it so you basically have to exit and re-enter the ship constantly just to see all the interactions, since there are so many, but I still want more. These characters are great, and I want to see them argue, or bond with one another.
Finally, I’d like for the ways you can trigger your companions ascent to force-users, to be a bit more complex, or easy to start, respectively. Some companions can literally be convinced to open up to the force with a single conversation in the correct location. Others, if you haven’t been on their good side enough, and don’t have them in your party when a specific conversation, in a specific area is triggered, then it’s not happening. It shouldn’t be so easy to convince some party members, and for the others, you shouldn’t have to look up a guide.

People here hate Lorna. I get that she's whiny but come on. I'm rewatching S1 rn and Tom (and I say this as a HUGE Tom fan) is awful to her. Really, really awful.
Tom dumps Lorna right at the start of the show, IN SCHOOL rather than at home, without telling her the reason and says "I'm just not in love with you anymore" which is as cold as it gets. Then he goes back to her because Izzie rejects him and he doesn't want to be alone. He marries her, snogs her best mate on the wedding night, then gets fed up because it turns out Lorna is pregnant. He says he's gonna quit teaching, totally out of the blue, and yes Lorna is selfish to say he can't but she's absolutely right that as a couple expecting a child, it is not the right time for him to walk out of a steady, well-paying job that supports them both and has good working hours around having a kid. He kicks off and throws it to her that she's controlling him and only looking out for herself, when that's all he has done up to this point. Tom then shouts at her that she didn't give him the choice about the baby and she feels the last thing she can do to save their relationship is abort the baby. She shouldn't have lied about it being a miscarriage, but Tom made clear he didn't want the baby or - by extension - her. She didn't know what else to do.
Rather than ever being honest with her, he ends things and ends up with her best mate. She's devastated about being lied to, tries to off herself, and then when she comes back they act like it's totally unreasonable that she's returned to her job and her home. Even when Tom and Izzie were fighting and Jack says one of the three have to go, both of them try to save themselves leaving Lorna as the one to leave even though she genuinely hasn't done anything wrong in that situation.
I'll admit, Lorna is a lot less likeable in S2 for me because she does impose on them by staying in their home so unnecessarily (and I don't buy that her falling down the stairs was purely down to the MS, she was already considering throwing herself down them). BUT in that series, both Tom and Izzie (particularly Tom) use her as a pawn in their war against each other. She tries to get herself back out there with Andrew but yes, while she's full on, he's still pining for Kim and ultimately she's left on the side again. She was a good teacher, as shown with Dale when she's the one who spots and pushes for a diagnosis because of his condition. She wasn't a bad person and the way she was, the whining and woe-is-me traits that everyone hates, is largely because of what is done to her by her friends.
Lorna has an utterly miserable experience in her time on the show, and the vast majority of that is inflicted by the two people who supposedly care about her the most, Tom and Izzie. She then gets this horrible illness and exits in a really tragic way.
I'm not saying she's the best character by any means, and I love Tom - but only S3 onwards. He grows a lot because of what happened with Lorna, with losing Izzie, with the pain and grief he goes through. It's just a shame that Lorna was treated so poorly throughout her time on the show. The one thing they got right was Andrew's tribute to her, it was a good moment to see someone defending Lorna.

Oh my God was this list hard to rank 😅 I took about I would say at least 15 hours of my time into this and all of that was just to rank them at a certain level without much to say. First off we have about 8 Tiers from F,D,C,B,A,S,SS, and Premium though I barely put much into their. Remember this is just an opinion so don't take too harshly if your favorite episode isn't high on my list. For some episodes I may not say much or anything since this was too long originally.
F Tier, these are my least favorite episodes and most likely I have a vendetta against them in some way that made it hard for me to like them

1. S2 Ep 8 Nebraska- I hate Lori and I think this episode expresses it, most definitely a vendetta. I didn't exactly like the stuff with Hershel and recovering though it was okay, but lori made some questionable decisions to go off on her own to look for Rick even though she should know he's fine seriously. She wrecks a car and then barely dies from a walker, mind you she is pregnant and shouldn't do these things easily my least favorite episode.
   
2. S10 Ep 21 Diverged- I honestly forget this episode so much since it has nothing truly interesting or important to the story
   
3. S7 Ep 6 Swear- this episode feels slow paced and dull due to oceanside being not seen well for me and I feel like Tara put on the best performance she could for it.
   
4. S8 Ep 2 The Damned- this episode to me was just a lot of action and in the walking dead I don't want that. We see a couple of characters die (including Francine 🪦 I absolutely loved her character and hate how she died here :[ mindless) Erics death started here, but it just wasn't impactful enough.
   
5. S3 Ep 11 I Ain't a Judas- Andrea is a boring character in the show and I hate her in this episode. The focus should've been on the prison honestly and maybe If she killed the Governor I would've understood her more.
   
6. S10 Ep 20 Splinter- if most of the episode was real I would've loved it, but they weren't...
   
7. S3 Ep 5 Say the Word- Andrea just isnt much good in this episode and Rick going crazy wasn't a fun idea to me.
   
8. S8 Ep 3 Monsters- aside from the one fight with Rick I really didn't care much for it again for the fighting and having Morales return and die felt out of place.
   
9. S2 Ep 2 Bloodletting- the group searching for Sophia was okay for a concept, but this episode was okay and went slow paced for me until the end.
   

D Tier, moving on these episodes were for me mostly just forgettable or boring so I won't say much except they weren't all bad

1. S1 Ep 3 Tell it to the frogs- first off S1 won't be all high because I'm ranking EVERY episode, but this one felt slow in pace more as well compared to the last two. Shane was a badass though.
   
2. S11 Ep 3 Hunted- Forgettable... Not much to say.
   
3. S5 Ep 11 The Distance- Forgot entirely this was an episode, after rewatch still don't like it except for Aaron.
   
4. S2 Ep 9 Trigger finger- It was a bit better than Nebraska, mostly cause of the Randel scenes.
   
5. S7 Ep 14 The Other Side- Sasha somewhat makes a noble decision.
   

163-162. S11 Episodes 22 following 21- 22 had the Warden being uninteresting as a villain and 21 was boring as can be which is why they sit besides each other.

1. S8 Ep 7 Time for After- I don't like the plans they have to deviate from Rick and him going to Jadis again feels like a horrible decision on his part.
   
2. S9 Ep 8 Evolution- The ambience is the best part, though I hated Jesus' s death as it felt like a bad sendoff.
   

C Tier, These are a bunch of boring and hard to follow episodes that have some highs that keep it out of former tiers.

1. S2 Ep 1 What lies Ahead- I liked the RV scene with Andrea, but what follows is dull.
   
2. S11 Ep 4- The pope is somewhat average.
   
3. S7 Ep 12 Say Yes- The carnival was a nice scenery for TWD, but they had too many fake outs with the walker "shooting" at them and the deer fake out.
   
4. S9 Ep 7 Stradivarius- The Search for Eugene feels tiring to follow what's happening and I ended up watching the episodes once and never again because of it.
   
5. S2 Ep 4 Cherokee Rose- Watching the episode is fun because of the well, though I feel like it was stupid as an idea as the group should have more common sense before doing something dumb.
   
6. S2 Ep 3 Save The Last One- Shane was horrifying, but the rest was dull.
   
7. S8 Ep 14 Still gotta mean something- Rick felt unnecessarly cold hearted in this episode killing off the Saviors that helped him which I didn't like, though Jared got a well deserved death.
   
8. S4 Ep 9 After -It was okay watching Carl try to scavenge while Rick was injured and I liked the scene with his shoe being lost.
   
9. S7 Ep 5 Go Getters- the episode itself wasn't bad yet I never really enjoyed it too much aside from Maggie being a badass and the ending was pretty good.
   
10. S4 Ep 10 Inamtes- Inmates was a pretty well rounded episodes showing off some of the group which I liked seeing Tyreese the most.
    
11. S8 Ep 6 The King, The Widow, and Rick- the episode was pretty lackluster for me and I didn't really appeal to seeing the garbage people much in this or everyone going to attack the saviors which was a dumb move to do. Ezekiel was probably the most fun of the episode.
    
12. S3 Ep 16 Welcome to the Tombs- the finale for season 3 has always been horrible as it barely gives tension between the Governor and Ricks group, it just felt unfitting for a finale.
    
13. S11 Ep 8 For blood- it was a okay Mid Season finale to say the least (sorry, 1/3 season finale). I did like some of the parts in it with Maggie which is why it sits higher than others.
    
14. S5 Ep 7 Crossed- I thoroughly enjoyed the chase scene between the three officers and Ricks group, but that was about it.
    
15. S4 Ep 13 Alone- I liked watching the parts of the group split up, except for Maggie, Bob, and Sasha as they felt very uneventful to me. What makes this episode better had to be the part about Daryl and Beth with the ending of the introduction to Joe's group.
    
16. S7 Ep 10 New Best Friends- a lot of these parts I forgot about in this episode when it came to the Kingdom though after rewatching it I enjoyed those parts more than the Garbage people. I just honestly think Jadis's group is uninteresting and makes for no substance.
    
17. S10 Ep 15 The Tower- I sometimes forget about this episode and it's premise with Beta, but I think it holds up enough for a weird one and The stuff with princess was okay.
    
18. S9 Ep 3 Warning signs- I think the episode was okay, I just didn't like Season 9 A that much...
    

B tier, now we get to the episodes I could watch again in the past 6 months or binge through without skipping

1. S11 Ep 2 Acheron Part 2- this was close to being put into C tier since I really hated some parts about it like how they left Gage to die and still had to fight off dozens of walking regardless. The group in the first two episodes seem to switch off and on from good to bad.
   
2. S7 Ep 4 Service- for some reason people hate this episode and I can't see why except for the fact it mainly deals with Negan at Alexandria; in my opinion it was him and a couple other characters who saved season 7 and 8 for me.
   
3. S10 Ep 3 Ghosts- I forget the episode...
   
4. S10 Ep 7 Open Your Eyes- I thought the episode was fine as I don't hate Siddiq and all, though I liked and hated the ending as I loved the twist of Dante and hated that Siddiq had to die so early on.
   
5. S6 Ep 7 Heads Up- I didn't like the twist of Glenn and all, but I liked the suspicion with Carol and Morgan as well as the Ending being dramatic.
   
6. S8 Ep 11 Dead or Alive- it's not good to know when you remember an episode due to bad things. Daryl has been making more off decisions for the character and Tara seems to be completely Reckless now making me hate her moving forward.
   
7. S4 Ep 4 Indifference- The Scenes with Carol and Rick we're amusing with crude Humour as well as some more tense scenes in my opinion and I hated/liked when Rick told Carol she couldn't come back.
   
8. S3 Ep 6 Hounded- honestly I would've rather put this episode a little bit higher due to Merle (probably my favorite charcater which contributes to a lot of episodes being higher) being a badass while fighting Michonne and pulling out puns as well. The reason it doesn't get higher is still due to Rick and the phone situation being uneventful.
   
9. S11 Ep 9 No Other Way- Alden dies in this episode which I should've seen coming that sucks. The ending feels misleading a bit though everything else in the middle is pretty great.
   
10. S11 Ep 5 Out of the Ashes- literally the only reason I put this here was due to Lance so deal with it!
    
11. S4 Ep 11 Claimed- Rick had a pretty solid pair of scenes with the Claimers and I liked watching Glenn and Tara (Surprisingly).
    
12. S10 Ep 13 What We Become- I thought the flashbacks/hallucinations we're pretty good, but aside from that this episode was just mediocre.
    
13. S9 Ep 4 The Obliged- I liked watching Daryl and Rick fight each other over different views on how everything should be and the ending I thought was pretty suspenseful as well as the saviors and oceanside.
    
14. S11 Ep 15 Trust- Lance feels exactly like the Governor in some of these episodes which is what I like about him, and from here I start to enjoy Princess maybe because Mercer is around more xd.
    
15. S10 Ep 17 Home Sweet Home- I thought Maggie was a good enough concept for an episode with the reapers, though it didn't hit that hard watching again. It still Is most definitely better than the other 3 episodes of S10 part C but enough for A Tier.
    

A Tier, after this point complaints may start to stop, but that doesn't mean entirely. These episodes I enjoy watching over and over again with some good tension and comedy as well.

1. S1 Ep 5 Wildfire- For the episodes Jim was in I liked him and learning his backstory as well so this was a pretty fun episode.
   
2. S4 Ep 15 Us- the stuff with Abraham and their group was pretty wholesome to me and I liked Joe for the time being in here seeing how he is pretty fair to be honest giving things where they are due and trust to Daryl.
   
3. S6 Ep 11 Knots Untie- I somewhat feel like the episode drags due to there being too much at hilltop, but it is a new community so I can't truly argue. I remember enjoyably when Rick stopped the assassination attempt.
   
4. S8 Ep 9 Honor- the beginning with Carl I thought was good to showcase the events that unfolded before the decimation and Carl's death hit hard.
   
5. S5 Ep 4 Slabtown- I personally don't mind the hospital arc too much, yet it won't get all of it's episodes too high of course. I liked watching Noah and Beth converse and I thought this was a new era for the walking dead.
   
6. 10 Ep 1 Lines we Cross- the part with the Satellite was amusing to watch as it was a big change to see and I like that about the walking dead on occasions.
   
7. S9 Ep 6 Who are you now?- I liked learning of Luke's Group (you heard me, Luke's Group) and what they have been like learning of some of their past.
   
8. S10 Ep 8 The World Before- I liked mostly just watching two scenes, the beginning with Dante and Gabriel and Dante. I loved the fact no one even considered a Whisperer living amongst them and how he did some much devious stuff was mind boggling and amazing to watch. When Gabriel talks about forgiveness to Dante and kills him shows me how Gabriel has changed the past seasons.
   
9. S7 Ep 9 Rock in the Road- Rick gives off a good speech to Ezekiel and I liked seeing him and Morgan reunite again. The stuff with Gabriel wasn't too bad either.
   
10. S3 Ep 9 The Suicide King- the Governor finally seems to be starting to let things of him slip which I love to see. I also enjoyed watching Merle with Daryl as well too.
    
11. S11 Ep 11 Rouge element- I thought that the twist of Steph was pretty good and I don't mind the episode being a bit long and tedious for it's reveal.
    
12. S11 Ep 23 Family- I loved the fact Lydia got bit just because it shows us that people can still get bit and survive. It shows to me that in the finale no one could be truly safe even though Luke gets bit and still dies.
    
13. S11 Ep 17 Lockdown- Saving Sebastian was okay ig.
    
14. S8 Ep 10 The Lost and The Plunderers- Simon's character I think was made perfectly as he is a hotheaded person who is all about power and showing that off. Killing most of the Garbage people was terrifying to watch and showed how Negan could be more merciful than others.
    
15. S1 Ep 1 Days Gone Bye- I think for the pilot it did it's job well and showed off enough of what the show could be. Of course this doesn't mean it was all good but as pilots go it was pretty solid.
    
16. S11 Ep 1 Acheron Part 1- The only reason I put it this high was for the interrogation scenes especially when it came down to Ezekiel. Him and Mercer are honestly a great pair and I love his ending to the show as it's fitting.
    
17. S5 Ep 10 Them- after losing most of the group it seems like a fitting episode of despair and plays it perfectly.
    
18. S5 Ep 12 Remember- the first shown scenes of Alexandria was pretty good and I liked the interviews scene too. We also saw a lot of new character introductions.
    
19. S11 Ep 6 On The Inside- The ferals was a nice touch of horror that I never knew I could need. Making the people with the ferals Virgil and Connie made the most perfect sense as well.
    
20. S6 Ep 13 Not Tomorrow Yet- this episode shows off how our group is seeming to be the bad guys starting to kill people in their sleep. I like how Glenn and Heath have their first kills and show how they are changing.
    
21. S7 Ep 1 The day will come when you won't be- I like the title as it references Doctor Jenner, but for the episode I liked Negan and that's mostly it. Seeing two people die was horrible to me, but necessary and since I don't rank episodes for being bad due to deaths I can still rank them high.
    
22. S6 Ep 16 Last Day on Earth- Simon has a good introduction and I like them trying to get from point A to B, but what stands out to me most is probably Abraham and Eugene with his speech about him
    
23. S7 Ep 15 Something they need- Sasha was probably the highlight of the episode for me and I liked them and Negan's interactions. It Is a good effort to show that they aren't all monsters and I like seeing Eugene as well.
    
24. S3 Ep 7 When the Dead come knocking- Glenn and his interrogation with Merle was amazing and I liked seeing Glenn's true will shine.
    
25. S8 Ep 12 The Key- I don't like this episode much honestly if it wasn't for Negan and Ricks Speech as well as Simon and his deviousness.
    
26. S8 Ep 1 Mercy- the beginning I had to move up due to some good portions of it like Rick and Negan. I also liked the ending a lot even though I watched the trailer a lot and knew of Gabriel and Negan's interactions.
    
27. S9 Ep 1 a New Beginning- wow two series beginnings next to each other... Yeah it's weird but they weren't exactly S Tier Material. The beginning with them trying to get a horse accessory was great tension to watch and I already love Ricks Beard.
    
28. S10 Ep 18 Find me- okay so maybe I exaggerated My feeling towards Season 10 C a bit since I like some of the episodes a bit and others worse. The reason I put this here is mostly good plot lines and that was it.
    

Around here I wanted to say the reason for some episodes ranking higher is due to the fact the others are horrible and some of these have redeeming qualities. It's hard to put over 150 episodes ranked from horrible to greatness and know the points of interest.

1. S3 Ep 3 Walk With Me- Merle brings joy to me seeing him again and I love him from here on out. I like how the Governor seems to be innocent enough until the big reveal with the militia which is amazingly put.
   
2. S10 Ep 9 Squeeze- I hate Squeeze... There i said it. The cave sucks honestly and Id rather not watch it again because of that, but Negan is the only saving grace for this episode and if it wasn't for him I would never watch this episode again.
   
3. S8 Ep 13 Do Not Send Us Astray- Simon attacking the Hilltop was the most great action of this season that I never minded and it felt terrifying after Tobin's fate was sealed.
   
4. S3 Ep 12 Clear- I had to move it from S Tier, but nevertheless a great episode. Morgan's return was done perfectly and I felt like his character did a full 180 after this. Michonne and Carl's side story was also good.
   
5. S2 Ep 12 Better Anglels- Shane and Ricks final confrontation was amazingly executed and loved the difference from the Comics with Rick killing shane and Carl shooting his reanimated self; Shane and Randel was also good too.
   
6. S4 Ep 12 Still- Daryl and Beth make sense to pair together and I like seeing how we get a bit more back story to his character. They feel like the most perfect example to put for a mismatched pair.
   
7. S6 Ep Thank You- The journey with Glenn's group trying to get back was amusing to see even though the dumpster ending wasnt really the best, still horrible to see.
   
8. S10 Ep 4 Silence the Whisperers- Negan and Lydia have a good bond and I like how Negan defends her even though I hate how no one believes Lydia that Negan protected her.
   
9. S8 Ep 4 Some Guy- I still love watching Ezekiel and the Kingdom so I enjoy this episode and how he feels defeated the whole time. Jerry is the best bodyguard in my opinion as well as it is shown and Shivas death is heartbreaking.
   
10. S5 Ep 8 Coda- The reason I put this soo high was due to Rick and Bob. I did like the ending a bit even though I feel like Beth's death could've been avoided.
    
11. S3 Ep 14 Prey- originally this episode was C Tier for me, but I re-watched it and put it this high due to the Governor being a literal psycho and I love this side of him.
    
12. S11 Ep 20 What's been Lost- Lance felt underutilized as soon as he died, I really wished they could've made a difference with his exit on the show.
    
13. S8 Ep 8 How it's gotta be- Forgot about Natanias death.
    
14. S11 Ep 7 Promises Broken- Negan and Maggie had a good talk together about before.
    
15. S10 Ep 6 Bonds- Okay.. XD.
    
16. S6 Ep 10 The Next world- I thought the stuff with Rick, Daryl, and Jesus was goofy, but great.
    
17. S11 Ep 19 Varient- I do like the idea of evolving walkers though I feel like it was a bit late in the show.
    
18. S3 Ep 13 Arrow on the Doorstep- the meeting was just terrific to watch as the Governor is so sinister inside it with Milton and Hershel having a good talk as well with Martinez and Daryl having a good show off time. Merle and Glenn have some good times too.
    
19. S9 Ep 2 The Bridge- The log scene was amazing and Aaron had a good scene with the amputation.
    

S Tier, These episodes are some of my favorite to watch with a good glass of Tea and some snacks.

1. S7 Ep 7 Sing me a song- Negan and Carl were fun to watch as well as some more insight on the sanctuary as Daryl breaks free. Negan and Carl also Bond.
   
2. S10 Ep 10 Stalker- Daryl VS Alpha!!!
   
3. S11 Ep 16 Acts of God- Lance is very horrifying as to what his next move is and Leah's stuff was good.
   
4. S3 Ep 8 Made to suffer- it was a great Mid season finale as I enjoyed the fight with the Governor and Rick as well as the ending with Merle and Daryl.
   
5. S2 Ep 6 Secrets- Glenn has to deal with hiding multiple people's secrets and I feel like the comedy is pure gold here.
   
6. S1 Ep 2 Guts- The rooftops scenes were great as well as the parts where they wear guys to avoid the walkers, it always felt like a sense of panic in this episode.
   
7. S9 Ep 9 Adaptation- the introduction to Alpha was simple enough and I feel like it's a good episode.
   
8. S11 Ep 10 New Haunts
   
9. S11 Ep 12 The Lucky Ones- Carol finally feels a little bit like she's back to her old self in this community with Lance and their deals.
   
10. S4 Ep 1 30 days without and Accident- probably my second favorite of the beginning episodes as it demonstrates exactly how the group has got along since the recent events. Has a good story with the shopping market and the roof caving in was awesome.
    
11. S3 Ep 10 Home- this episode shows how Merle and Daryl are far apart which I can still keep watching Merle and be entertained as well as the fight scene at the end with the Governor being cocky as can be.
    
12. S9 Ep 16 The Storm- snow is a new but simple thing that I like along with Negan Earning trust with Michonne.
    
13. S10 Ep 2 We are the End of the World- Gamma saving Alpha is one of my favorite scenes of how it shows Alphas power towards the group and influence on it's people.
    
14. S6 Ep 8 Start to Finish- The walls coming down had an interesting story as well as many like the Wolf getting loose and Diana having a badass/amazing exit.
    
15. S9 Ep 11 Bounty- The Movie Theatre scene was pretty good as well as Alpha with and Lydia.
    
16. S5 Ep 2 Strangers- The uneasy feeling of Gabriel is pretty good to show the groups trust and I like how the ending is played out with the reveals.
    
17. S11 Ep 13 Warlords- The Complex is a pretty good place to see and I like seeing the evolution of Negan and Aaron.
    
18. S9 Ep 15 The Calm Before- The highlight is the end with the pikes though it made sense for the lesser characters. I hated seeing Henry and Enid die (Not with Tara).
    
19. S10 Ep 11 Morning Star- The start of the battle is ingenius with the tree sap fire scene and it makes for a suspenseful ending to the episode to come.
    
20. S9 Ep 5 What come After- The episode is meant to be a sendoff for Rick so I'll rank it about everything else instead. I did enjoy some of the sequences with Hershel and I loved seeing Shane again. He really puts perspective on some episodes like Season 5 which makes me enjoy watching those episodes more as well as Shane. Ricks exit was also done is a pretty good way.
    
21. S7 Ep 13 Bury me Here- I liked watching Morgan slowing go back into insanity which I believe is due to PTSD of some sort. The episode feels really well done and I like the ending to it with Richard Dying and Carol being told everything.
    
22. S9 Ep 12 Guardians- Alpha is great to watch in this episode and the way she kills the two whispering who challenge them is great!
    
23. S8 Ep 5 The Big scary U- the main focus is Negan and Gabriel which is an amazing talk between then two before settling their differences. I also like the unease at the sanctuary through betrayal.
    
24. S11 Ep 14 The Rotten core- the whole episode is one of If not my personal favorite to watch for the complex alone being a nice setting. I enjoy every bit of this episode as well as the side deal with Sebastian and how Mercer is revealed to be a pretty nice guy.
    
25. S5 Ep 15 Try- The whole episode feels like a decent into madness for Rick seeing everyone against him. I like how he goes into protective cop mode and try to defend the ones he lives as well as his speech at the end.
    
26. S11 Ep 18 A New Deal- The whole episode is average, but the ending just feels amazing to rewatch.
    
27. S2 Ep 11 Judge, Jury, Executioner- I personally like Dale a lot so I love this episode. It really shows how the group is starting to turn as they believe to do what is best for the group and not morals. Dales death is also very heartfelt to watch and showed off the walkers dangerousness.
    
28. S10 Ep 14 Look At The Flowers- Negan and Daryl make a good pair to watch though I enjoyed watching Beta and him struggling to get back on track after Alphas death and I love him so much more for this episode.
    
29. S5 Ep 5 Self Help- Daryl and Carol at the moments have some good episodes together so it's not surprise I'd love this episode. With Noah in the episode as well it feels like a amazing show of how the characters (Carol and Daryl) have changed morally.
    
30. S6 Ep 13 The Same Boat- Carol has been shown to be ruthless, but this episode shows her true colors as how she doesn't want this to be her life anymore.
    
31. S5 Ep 13 Forget- the episode itself has many great minisodes it felt like which was fantastic.
    

50 and 49. S4 Ep 6 Live Bait and 7 Dead Weight- I put these both here due to the fact of me loving the equally. The 6th episode feels like a showcase of how the Governor gets broken entirely and starts to get built back up positively showing what could have been and for a time it feels beautiful to me. The 7th though shows how some things can mess with his mind and make him go back to being a psychopath that kills everyone he sees.

1. S8 Ep 16 Wraith- The ending to season 8 was pretty eventful for the battles begin as Eugene saved everyone's asses from a cool trick with the bullets. I am happy that Rick decided to save Negan and I love the episode except for the ending being off-putting with Maggie.
   
2. S6 Ep 9 No way Out- The Wolf has a pretty interesting end that I enjoyed to see and aside from the the entire eoisode is the best part. You never feel that sense of boring to it as the action is nonstop great.
   
3. S5 Ep 5 Now- I liked small bits and pieces of this episode mostly revolving around Diana and her role starting to change. If she survived I don't doubt I would've loved to see her go through more of an arc.
   
4. S7 Ep 11 Hostiles and Calamities- I can see the hate for this episode, though I love it myself. Eugene in my opinion is at his best here and I love watching him here with Negan and their interactions. It was also great how Dwight had framed the doctor.
   
5. S5 Ep 6 Consumed- Abraham was one of my favorite characters not just for jokes but for this episode. His backstory is heartbreaking to learn about and relatable. When he falls down after beating Eugene in defeat I can feel his pain with him.
   
6. S9 Ep 13 Chokepoint- Daryl VS Beta!!!
   

SS Tier, after this point there is no bad things that the episodes could have drag it's down. These ones are my person favorites.
Around this time I also realized that it seems my numbers on the side aren't matching so I'm fixing it from here so skip 42- 38. Idk what happened but I messed up somewhere and went to fix it but couldn't find the problem.

1. S2 Ep 13 Besides the Dying Fire- The walkers attacking the farm was a great scene just as much as the Democracy speech was from Rick, though Lori is horrible to Rick in this episode. Also Rick tells the group "we're all infected"
   
2. S4 Ep 2 Infected- I love the scene where Patrick reanimates and the morning fight they have in the prison. So much stuff happens at once. The ending was Great with Tyreese and. The pig scene was sad to watch.
   
3. S6 Ep 6 Always Accountable- One time when I like Sasha is this episode with Abraham. Where to begin; The Rocket launcher scene was great, Abraham is great with quips, Daryl with Dwight is a good scene and I love the ending as well.
   
4. S6 Ep 14 Twice as Far- The Denise speech wasnt too bad and the death was great. I enjoyed Abraham and Eugene; I think my favorite scenes was with Abraham and Eugene with another one of his speechs towards him which was funny and heartfelt.
   
5. S4 Ep 16 A- The best part is when Joe's group comes along and how Rick bites out his throat signifying that he and Shane are now alike. I also like when Rick and Daryl talk as well as Rick figuring out this olace kidnaps people.
   
6. S2 Ep 7 Pretty Much dead Already- Shane is what I love about this episode, he and Dale had a really funny encounter and I feel like Shane makes me laugh and be serious at the same time with each scenes. I also like how Rick is more accepting towards Hershel.
   
7. S10 Ep 16 A Certain Doom- Beta was good in this episode and had some great parts, but the fights wee great especially the scene with the Music. Betas death felt odd, but that doesn't lower the episode.
   
8. S4 Ep 14 The Grove- I mean do I really have to explain? Carol is a savage here and I love when they finally talk about Karen and Davids death here. Nothing in this episode is a low note.
   
9. S2 Ep 5 Chupacabra- I love everything about Daryl's scenes in this that show how he is a badass and capable of holding his own. Also love his Hallucinations.
   
10. S11 Ep 24 Rest In Peace- certainly wasn't the best finale, but I felt like it did well enough for the episode. It tied up most loose ends for the show given its runtime and I feel like it is fitting enough.
    
11. S2 Ep 10 18 Miles Out- my favorite of Season 2 has Shane and Rick have the best battle I have seen even more than The Governor and Rick or Negan and Rick. This battle utilizes both of their strengths and weaknesses with some things that have never been done in the show much more like using your blood to attract walkers to other places. It was an amazing episode all in all.
    
12. S1 Ep 6 TS-19- idk what it is but I love watching this episode over and over again and I love it the more I watch it. It is probably because I like Doctor Jenner a bit more in each watching of his tragic backstory with his wife.
    
13. S9 Ep 14 Scars- The flahsback was an amazing one that told us something vital to the story about how they don't trust people coming in anymore. What Daryl and especially Michonne went through is tragic.
    
14. S5 Ep 3 Four Walls a roof- this episode is perfect for a number of reasons like Bob and his antics or Savage Rick, this was a turning point for the walking dead and this is where Rick gets some of his roots.
    
15. S1 Ep 4 Vatos- even though I love TS-19 I love Vatos more. This is unique to some episodes where you see a group just like Ricks that is trying to survive and this is where we realize the world is bigger than we thought still.
    
16. S7 Ep 16 The first day of the rest of your Life- The battle was amazing and I feel like this was the best it was going to get for the coming seasons, but season 9 and 10 surprised me.
    
17. S10 Ep 5 What it always Is- Negan with the Kid is the highlight I think, I could've honestly seen this going farther, if it wasn't for the former savior. I feel like this was fitting for an entire episode of, but we diverged a bit.
    
18. S4 Ep 3 Isolation- Hershel and Tyreese are the highlights for me with Tyreese going berserk and Hershel being a kind soul. This is a staple episode for why Season 4 is amazing and why Hershel is what made season 4 great.
    
19. S6 Ep 4 Here's not Here- I love learning about Eastman and Morgan in this one off. I love how it is somewhat told in the first person narrative to the Wolf and how Morgan changed back to who he was. Eastman shows how he and Morgan are pretty similar and why he should be like him.
    
20. S5 Ep 14 Spend- aside from Francine being here to be used as eye candy for me I loved how some of Alexandria like and dislike rick's group here. I do hate Noah dying as I feel like he could've been so much more.
    
21. S10 19 One More- I love havng the episode based on Aaron and Gabriel as they have came a long way since their beginnings. When they have few an encounter with Mays I felt like this was a testimony to who they are as people. We see how they care for each other and how Mays fails to make a point of who they are until Gabriel Kills him showing he has gone farther away from the light.
    
22. S7 Ep 3 Cell- Daryl is locked up and he is now being treated like shit. This episode feels great cause of how it feels like he is trying to break Daryl. Dwight also has a great mission on how he mercy kills a savior and shows he isn't as bad as you may think.
    
23. S6 Ep 1 First time again- I do enjoy the setting of the episode how we see the diverge in Alexandria and who listens or hears Rick out. The episode is a great example for staring episodes... But not the best at it.
    
24. S5 Ep 9 What Happened and what's going On- I loved Tyreese's character so to see him die was horrible for me. His episodes I feel like was a good send off since it is a test to who he is as a person who is confounded about the world around him.
    
25. S3 Ep 4 Killer Within- this episode was played perfectly and I feel like is a good sendoff for other characters as well like how I hate Lori. She is made just a bit better from her sacrifice and thought T-Dog went out in a good way as well. The prisoners also had a good show for their trust.
    
26. S4 Ep 5 Interment- this is where Hershel's best episode is as he is the best Samaritan Alive in the apocalypse. At the end where Rick and Carl fend off the walkers inside the gates in a great bond and I love the whole episode.
    
27. S6 Ep 3 JSS- it is well rounded and has good action as well as a lot of tension and suspense with Carol showing off her capabilities and Morgan with his philosophy.
    

Finally we cracked the top ten and into Premium Episodes. If you've made it this far you are are persistent as me... Well probably less since this took a long ass time but still. These are the episodes whee I cherish them and can watch more than once a month.

1. S8 Ep 15 Worth- Worth has what I want in an episode; good characters and story/plot. Eugene's parts are made more important seeing how he needed to stay at the sanctuary to save Alexandria and the other communities. I loved even more Dwight's part where I have without doubt the most suspense with him and Negan. Simon also had the most best arc death as it felt complete.
   
2. S5 Ep 16 Conquer- the episode has a lot of action and the ending was the pivet. I love the speech he has and how Diana let's Rick be in charge now was a sort of cliffhanging ending that signify's perfection.
   
3. S5 Ep 1 No sanctuary- both Season 5's beginning and finale are amazing and the way Rick and his group take down Terminus in one episode is amazing as they fight there way out and the scene with Judith was great. Morgan was just a sprinkle of wholesomeness to see.
   
4. S10 Ep 12 Walk With Us- The Episode had just enough action, good deaths and character interactions to make it here. First of the battle at hilltop was amazing. The second best thing was Earl and I feel very sad every time I watch this episode at his part. Then the best thing is the end with Alpha and Negan.
   
5. S3 Ep 1 Seed- The best beginning to a season it shows how the group has changed since Rick and the prison is a great example. The tombs are a great scenery and the ending was perfect for a cliffhanger as well as Conquer.
   
6. S3 Ep 2 Sick- the prisoner episode was pretty good to watch as a group of prisoners try to take on walkers. While some are good others would rather be assertive. Rick has definitely changed since season 2 and the group is played great here and much more human like.
   
7. S7 Ep 2 Well- what helps this episode is the last episode before it having a dark tone. This instead has a more uplifting one with the king and with Carol and Morgan being a great pair. The Kingdom seems to be a good community and seeing how Carol tries to smooth talk the king and how he tells whays her bullshit is an amazing scene.
   
8. S10 Ep 22 Heres Negan- We realize he was a kinda lousy husband that wasn't really too good to becoming a really supportive husband who cares deeply for his wife Lucille. The story before showed a lot of Negan and how he is and I love Lucille as a character from this episode trying to do whats best for Negan.
   
9. S4 Ep 8 Too Far gone- Honestly this IS the best episode, but I am bias so I had to put my own personal favorite above it not to say this isn't right behind it easily. Too far gone is what feels like a season finale but isn't. The Governors first encounter should've been this and I'm glad we got to see it unfold great. Rick has a great speech in it about not being too far gone yet and the Governor killing Hershel to start the best battle of the series. The Governors death feels fitting and the ending was sad and amazing.
   

Before I get to this last one I wanted to say a thank you in advance to whomever reads this as I really had a hard time making this and spending a lot of time to do this isn't easy. And remember this last episode is my very own person opinion entirely and in no way is it the best of the series definitively, without any furthermore, lets end this.

1. Season 3 Episode 15 This Sorrowful Life- Now what makes this episode so great to me? Well I'm totally biased towards the actor and the character in the show Merle Dixon. I could watch Merle all day which is what they episode feels like with the perfect duo of Michonne and Merle on their way to the governor. It has some of the most perfect comedy in the episode as well as having the best sacrifice redemption arc and ending. This episode made me laugh, smile, cry and more. There will never be a time when I ever change my opinion about this episode in existence.

Again another huge thanks to everyone and I hope this will satisfy everyones needs... Now I'ma go watch S3 Ep 15 Legit.

By Fin
“Holy crap.” James Talbot stepped back from his handiwork. It was beautiful. It made him want to scream.
Talbot was a chemist, the modern form of an alchemist, and he’d discovered something as wondrous and terrible as the most extreme postulations of his forbearers.
This was it. The culmination of all his works. This is what he’d fought for decades for, why he’d abandoned connections with everyone he’d ever known. But now it was all worth it. He would reveal the Masterwork at the Grand Chemistry Convention. It would steal the show, and he would be revered beyond every other human being who had ever lived.
It had taken Talbot long enough to assemble the Masterwork that he’d shed the title of ‘young’, not to mention most of his non-gray hair. Although it was hard to tell whether that was from aging or from what he’d beheld in his long sojourn. He was only 45, after all, and the rest of his body still held firm from decades of outdoorsmanship.
Talbot stood before a wall, upon which was painted the most intricate design any human had ever seen. It was a diagram of… unknown things. A chart of runes, maps, and artfully painted lines. There was no text in any living language on the diagram, but the harmony within the full tapestry visually sang, imparting something unfathomable in a way that Talbot could somehow fathom. The man who’d made it, who’d studied it for 15 years, barely understood it himself. But he knew that it was the ultimate solution to the entirety of philosophy, containing the answers to every question humanity had ever seen fit to ask. It had existed in his notebook for a while, in bits and pieces, but today had been its first full assembly, and it was magnificent.
He had to keep it hidden, or someone would take it from him.
He retrieved a tarp and threw it over the wall, nailing it in at the top so it hung down to cover his designs. Just to be sure, he moved his desk to block the wall, then locked the door to his office when he left for the day. James Talbot was more excited than he had ever been, and he celebrated that night with a fireplace and a large bottle of whiskey.
Of all the people at his office to commit espionage, Talbot never would’ve suspected the night janitor. This may stem from the fact that he also never suspected the night janitor to be part of a massive secret organization dedicated to keeping humanity as ignorant as possible in matters of the Higher Order.
But no matter what Talbot suspected, Tim Willis was indeed part of this society, and after he’d entered Talbot’s office with his master key to do some routine cleaning, the obvious secrecy surrounding the wall at the back of the room worried him. So he moved the desk out of the way, lifted the tarp, and inhaled sharply.
This was bad. A tapestry of the Higher Order more complete than any he’d seen before, or any reported by the other Censors of the Agency for the Preservation of Humanity.
Willis quickly replaced the tarp and desk. As soon as he’d locked the room, he pulled out his phone and dialed the number for an Alexander Talc.
Talbot arrived the next morning with a song in his heart and a latte in his hand. The former died horribly as soon as he entered his office only to find someone sitting in his chair, and the latter died horribly as it fell from his fingers, limp in shock.
The person in question was a short, slight man who wore thick glasses and a dark gray suit. He was sitting on Talbot’s office chair, facing the now uncovered back wall with all of its eldritch calculations. Talbot’s desk had been moved to the side of the room, left askew with the tarp crumpled up on top.
As Talbot entered, the stranger spun the chair around so he was facing the chemist, a broad smile on his face. He was undeniably attractive, in a delicate sort of way.
“Ah! You must be the aspiring alchemist?” He spoke softly and cheerily, but with an unnerving edge. Talbot couldn’t identify any specific aspect of his voice that disturbed him, but upon further consideration he concluded that it was the incongruity of the situation, the warm friendliness of his tone grating against Talbot’s unease.
Talbot took a step back, shaken. “I don’t… what-”
“Quite an impressive display here. You’ve managed to glean a quite large amount of knowledge about the Higher Order, especially considering you’ve never consulted us at the APH.” He pronounced it phonetically, like Aff.
“What are you-”
Talbot heard a click from behind him, and turned to see Tim Willis, the night janitor, closing and locking his door. He could barely register the betrayal.
“Ah, yes. Tim is working for me. For us. The Agency for the Protection of Humankind really frowns upon anyone attempting to learn the Higher Order.”
Talbot, finally able to form a full sentence, asked, “What’s the Higher Order?”
“You know what it is, of course, although you may not have heard the term. It’s what we call the mechanics of the very fabric of the universe itself. The questions about ‘why are we here?’ and ‘is there a god?’ and all the stuff like that. All theoretical philosophy, basically. And you, apparently through sheer dumb luck,” He turned to admire the mural again, “have managed to find more of it than any human being ever, including us! Quite impressive. Big hand.” The man slow-clapped for Talbot. The small sweet-looking man being sarcastically condescending was jarringly incongruous.
Talbot felt a surge of anger, and it helped him produce a full sentence. “Dumb luck?!?” He advanced on the man. “My Masterwork is the product of 20 years of research and experience! This is the greatest thing anyone has ever done, and how dare you say I achieved it through dumb luck!”
The man raised his hands placatingly. “Okay, okay!” He chuckled. “Years of research, whatever. You found the Higher Order. That’s where we come in.”
“Why?”
“Ah. Well, you see, the reason that no one’s found the entire Higher Order is simple. It’s because we stop them.”
Talbot was incredulous. “What?! Why would you stand in the way of progress like that?!” As a scientist, the possibility that there could be anyone actively against gaining knowledge was incomprehensible to him.
The man grimaced, as though he was about to break some terrible news. “Well… there are some parts of this tapestry you’ve assembled, specifically here...” The man pointed at a small segment of the diagram, a thick horizontal line with four thin lines crossing perpendicularly that turned into five lines on the other side, “That grants access to some other planes of existence. Planes of existence that are home to some very dangerous things. And due to some logistical aspects of the Higher Order,” He gestured at another segment of the diagram entirely composed of square symbols, “if you muck about in their domain, they are able to muck about in ours. The Law of Equivalent Interference.”
“But… how would our finding answers count as ‘mucking about in their domain’? If we knew the danger, we just wouldn’t go there.”
The man was silent, then answered Talbot’s question with a question. “Tell me, Talbot. If humans discovered another dimension, do you really think they’d be able to stay out of it?”
“Fine. But then why do you have to censor the whole thing? Why not give them the benign parts that would still forward human progress by centuries?”
“Because the Higher Order is like Algebra. Or a logic puzzle from Highlights magazine. If you give someone smart enough just a few clues, they’ll eventually assemble the whole picture. Which we desperately want to avoid.”
There was a long and heavy silence.
“Ok.” Said Talbot, wrapping his head around the new information. “So the APH stops people from finding the answers to these questions so our world isn’t destroyed by Fourth Dimensional entities?”
“Exactly!” The man nodded, delighted at Talbot’s comprehension. “Well, they’re technically Fifth Dimensional. The existence of time in our reality means that this is the Fourth Dimension.”
There was another silence.
“Sorry, what was your name again?” Talbot asked.
The man looked utterly devastated. “Oh no! I can’t believe I was so rude!” He vaulted the desk and approached Talbot, stopping just short and shaking his hand. “Alexander Talc, Class 2 Censor Operative for the APH.”
“Censor as in… ?”
“Yes, I censor things. People too, if necessary.”
“So what,” Talbot asked, “You’re here to kill me?”
Talc gasped. “What?!?! No! As if we’d be so barbaric! We’re here to recruit you.”
Talbot’s eyes widened. “Wait, really?”
“Of course! You know more about the Higher Order than any human outside of the APH, and probably more than a majority of those inside of the APH. Your expertise could be vital in preventing a breach in our reality!”
“What would this job entail?”
“Well, we’d need you to fake your death, change your name, burn your research-”
Talbot recoiled.
“Now I know that sounds like a lot,” Talc backpedaled, “But allow me to let you in on a little secret.” He leaned in conspiratorially, then glanced around as though to make sure nobody was listening. Satisfied, he whispered, “The dental is off-the-charts.”
Talbot shook his head. “What happens if I don’t take the job?”
Talc winced. “Things get considerably less pleasant. I have to call in a Class 3 Purge Operative, and that’s always a hassle.”
Talbot chose not to inquire into the purpose of a ‘Purge Operative’.
Talc gently laid a hand on Talbot’s shoulder. “It’s a lot to take in, I know. How about we move to some place more hospitable and you can think it over?”
Talbot nodded, his mind elsewhere. Talc gently guided him out of the room, Willis following and closing the door behind them.
Talbot stared down into his conical paper cup, filled with water that tasted plasticy. The three men were in the lobby of Talbot’s workplace, leaning against a table adorned with donuts and a water cooler.
Talc bit into a day-old bear claw as Talbot swirled his water and considered the situation.
If he accepted the offer, he would be shipped off to another state, away from his home in Bedford, where he would join whatever on earth APH was. Talbot hated the idea of working for an agency whose entire purpose was to destroy knowledge. On the other hand, if he didn’t accept the offer, they’d likely kill him.
Purge Officer…
Would working for the APH really be so bad? Talbot liked Talc enough. Maybe they could be friends. Or… more than friends. And if the APH truly wanted Talbot to be able to suppress the Higher Order, he’d have to know the Higher Order. Which meant research. He could essentially continue on exactly as he was.
Except he would never be recognized as the genius he was. Talbot involuntarily crushed his paper cup as he realized that, if he took the offer, he’d never win a Nobel prize. He’d never present at the Grand Chemistry Convention. He’d never write a revolutionary scientific paper. He would be forgotten.
He knew what he had to do. He couldn’t say no, or he would be killed. He couldn’t accept, or he would be forgotten, which was worse. He had to escape.
But how? This was some sort of world-ruling secret agency. They probably had eyes everywhere. What could he possibly do to get away?
His eyes wandered towards the stairs. The stairs that led to his office, which held the key to every single natural law.
Talbot tossed his cup in the trash, then approached Talc.
“I think I’m ready to make my decision. But first, can I go to the restroom?”
Talc nodded. “Of course! Take all the time you need!”
Talbot nodded and jogged toward the restroom. In the tiled floor under him, he saw Willis’s warped reflection following him discreetly.
He entered the single restroom and quietly opened the window. He could see Willis’s shadow under the door as the man hovered just outside.
Talbot waited a couple seconds, then flushed the toilet, turned on the sink, and silently crept through the window. He fell a few feet to the alley below, and had to suppress a grunt.
Now what? He needed to escape, but his notebook was still upstairs. All his research was in there, and he couldn’t leave it to the APH.
The only ground level entrance to the building was the main lobby door, which was directly in Talc’s sightline. However, who said he had to enter on ground level?
Talbot’s gaze rose to the old fire escape above him. The bottom of the structure was a platform that lined up with the second floor. A ladder was folded up on the platform, an old rusty latch keeping it from reaching ground level. Talbot couldn’t reach the latch from where he was on the ground, so he looked around for a solution.
He had a bum throwing arm, so he couldn’t toss anything up to break it. Unless…
Talbot considered Talc’s words. The very mechanics of the universe itself... He felt a flare of pride as he realized how little Talc truly understood.
The sigil that granted access to the Fifth Dimension was just one of several such Seals. Over all Talbot’s years of study, those portions of the Higher Order were the most applicable. They did not just show universal aspects of reality. They represented those aspects. They were symbolic, and like all symbols, they were powerful.
They were simulacra of natural laws, and could be manipulated in order to manipulate those laws themselves. It allowed anyone who knew the Seals to weave a sort of magic, ignoring the laws of time, space, or gravity by sketching and then destroying the corresponding runes, temporarily destroying that Law’s influence over oneself. Talbot’s hypothesis was that there was a single Greater Seal for each law that controlled that law anywhere and everywhere. If that one was found and destroyed, the laws of reality would change forever.
For greater, wide-scale application, Talbot had scrawled in his notebook, The Greater Aspects must be located and manipulated.
Talbot dropped to the ground and dragged his finger through the alley gravel. He assembled the rocks into a facsimile of a tiny part of the Higher Order, one that he’d experimented with a lot. He looked around for a suitable vessel, settling on a rock. He poured all his mental energy into the stone, and used his hands to scatter the pebbles that made up the Seal of Velocity.
The rock sprang from the ground and soared upwards, clanging against the ladder before anticlimactically falling into a dumpster. From inside, Willis banged on the bathroom door and said something indistinct. Talbot’s second telekinetic toss hit the ladder before falling onto the platform itself. He broke another Seal, and his third throw smacked into the latch, splitting the rusted thing and shooting the ladder downwards.
It made a lot of noise, and Talbot could hear Willis pounding on the bathroom door inside. He seemed to be breaking it down, as Talbot heard wood split with a crunch. Talbot quickly mounted the ladder and climbed up to the platform, trying not to think about the alarming creaking sounds the old construction was making. From there, he took the stairs two at a time, spiraling up and up until he reached the sixth floor.
Six flights of stairs only had him a bit winded by the time he reached his floor. He tried the door to the inside, and found it unlocked.
Talbot entered the hallway outside his office quietly. He considered how this would play out. Willis and Talc would be storming up here at any moment. He had to move quickly.
Talbot entered his workroom, dragging his desk over to block the door. He took a moment to gaze forlornly at his Masterwork, because he would never be able to take it with him. All the same pieces and diagrams were in his notebook, but the full Masterwork was a thing of beauty, one that he would never behold again.
He snapped a picture of it with his phone. It wasn’t the same, but it’d have to do.
Talbot grabbed his notebook, its leather-bound pages bulging with decades of research. Some of the sheaves of paper stuck out at odd angles, newspaper snippets and glossy photographs glued into the most faithful companion Talbot had ever had.
Was there anything else he needed?
The door began to rattle.
Talbot grabbed a sheet of blank paper from his desk and rapidly sketched as many Seals as he could. He had an idea of how he could escape, but he needed to harness his work to do it. Using the Masterwork as a reference, he scrawled the Seal of Time, the Seal of Space, the Seal of Gravity, and, after considering it, the Seal of the Fifth Dimension.
Just in case. He thought.
With a crack, his door burst open, shoving the desk out of the way. Talc and Willis stood there, the latter looking enraged, the former strangely calm.
“Talbot, this doesn’t have to happen this way.” Talc appealed, but Talbot was done listening. He would not be forgotten. He would be immortalized, through his work.
Talbot ripped a corner off of his Seal sheet, and glanced down at the Seal of Time. With a glare at Talc, he stuck it in his mouth and began to chew.
Talbot disappeared with a pop, as Willis lunged towards where he’d just been.
Willis stopped short, then turned to Talc. He was noticeably upset at losing their quarry.
“What do we do now?”
“Well, we follow him.”
“How?”
Talc approached the Masterwork. “It’s simple. I’m sure Talbot understood that time travel doesn’t work the way everyone thinks it does. Cause and Effect are inextricably linked, and cannot be put out of order. Traveling through time actually just creates another dimension, a splintered facsimile of your original where things play out differently.”
“So… to follow him do we just use the Time Sigil?”
“Seal, Willis. And no. That will just create another splinter plane. Now that the reality has already been established, we need to follow him. Using this.”
Talc’s thin fingers traced the outline of another Seal, one Talbot hadn’t thought to inscribe.
“There are many ways to traverse the Multiverse.” Talc said, “Using Seals to rip open the barriers between planes is one of the simplest.”
Talc sketched down two copies of the seal, then separated the two and handed one to Willis. The two locked eyes and nodded in unison. They both rent their sheets in half and disappeared.
Talbot didn’t ‘land’, per se, but he still felt off-balance when he blinked into existence in his office. He staggered, but caught himself before he could fall. The world felt… different here.
Out of everything Talbot had discovered, Multiversal travel was his least considered. He’d been too cowardly to experiment with anything but the Space, Gravity, and Velocity Seals, so this experience was new to him. Naturally, as any scientist does when faced with something unfamiliar, he started taking notes.
Effects of Time/Universe Traversal:
–Slight nausea. Somewhat noticeable. Temporary?
–World overall feels discordant. Silence sounds different than back home. My tinnitus is in another key. Feels like I don’t belong.
–Different frequency hard-coded into every reality?
Before he could assemble an entire thesis on the underlying resonance within the multiverse, he realized with a start that he had to get out of here. Talc and WIllis were likely following him, and even if they weren’t, there were copies of them in this dimension.
Talbot had willed himself about 10 minutes back in time, and it seemed like that’d worked. His Masterwork was complete and the desk and tarp were off to the side. The trio were likely downstairs in the lobby, where Past-Talbot was thinking over the pros and cons of their offer. At least, he thought so. Time travel seemed to create a splintering reality, one that maintained consistency with his original up until the point where he showed up. There were plenty of unfamiliar worlds out there, but the Seal of Time created one quite familiar. Right now Past-Talbot-
Past-Talbot doesn’t sound right. Pretty soon it’ll be my present, then my future. How about Talbot-2?
After settling upon a name to call his double, Talbot exited his office and left through the door that led to the fire escape, in too much of a hurry to close it. He scrambled down the stairs, knocked the latch off the ladder, climbed to the ground, popped open the bathroom window, and climbed inside. Right as he got his arms through, the door opened.
Talbot-2 walked in, then stopped short as he saw himself dangling halfway through the window. Talbot put a finger to his lips, and indicated Willis-2 with his eyes. Talbot-2 silently shut the door, locking Willis-2 outside.
Talbot-2 opened his mouth to speak, but barely got out one word. “What-”
“I’m you, from the future. Well, not from your future, but from a future.”
Talbot-2’s confused expression was replaced with excitement. “So the Time Seal Worked?! Fantastic! What’s it like?!”
“I’d tell you all about it, but I’m currently stuck in a bathroom window and being hunted down by two government agents. Although I don’t actually know if they work for the government…”
Talbot-2 pulled him through the window into the bathroom. “Sorry.”
Once he was in, Talbot glanced at the door behind Talbot-2.
“Okay. Here’s the thing. Some version of Talc and Willis will be here any minute. Whether mine followed me from the future or not, yours will catch on soon. We need to get out of here, and get the Masterwork to somebody else.”
“Wait, which Talc and Willis will show up?”
“One of them… or both of them. It doesn’t really matter! Do we know anybody we can send our notes to?”
Talbot-2 considered it. “Davis?”
Talbot frowned, and opened his notebook to an early page.
Dr. Wilson Davis
–Spineless fool. He calls himself a chemist, but refuses to venture outside the conventions of the industry. No true scientist works a cushy chemical production job! We journey! We endeavor!
Talbot shook his head. “He’d never publish something like this. If they tracked him down, he’d probably take their oppressive offer.”
“Johnson?”
Dr Monica Johnson
—Chemist and conspiracy nut. Super gullible, but generally a good person.
“She’ll believe anything.” Talbot said. “...Which is actually probably a good thing in this case. If she thinks it’s real, she’ll distribute it, and she’s earnest enough to leave my- our name on it.”
Talbot-2 nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Actually, it sounds like an idea, not a plan. What is our plan?”
Talbot thought for several seconds. “Here’s what we do. You pretend to accept their offer, and do whatever they tell you. If all else fails, you’ll get a cushy job working for the government. Meanwhile, I get this,” Talbot indicated his notebook. “To Johnson, and then…” He paused.
Someone knocked on the door.
“And then?” Talbot-2 prompted in a whisper, glancing behind him.
“Then… I’ll figure something out.”
Talbot-2 nodded. “Alright. Are we ready to go?”
“I think so.” Talbot replied.
Talbot slipped out of the window, and Talbot-2 opened the door to greet Willis-2.
The man peered around him. “Who were you talking to in there?”
Talbot-2 shrugged. “Myself. You know, crazy scientist stuff.”
Talbot dropped to the ground, then produced his sheet of Seals. He picked out one specific design, a circle bisected by a thin line. On one side of the line, a stylized forest thrived, and on the other a pictographic city loomed. Talbot ripped the Seal of Space from his paper and stuck it in his mouth, once again disappearing with a pop.
Talc and Willis appeared in Talbot-2’s workroom, and quickly exited. Both spun in the hallway outside, and both spotted the wide-open door to the fire escape. They both moved down the rickety metal construction and found themselves in an alley behind the building.
“See that?” Talc pointed at the window.
“Yeah. Did he go in through it?” Willis asked.
“Of course. But if he used the Seal of Time to try to come back and alert himself, I’m guessing he came through here to talk to him…self, but he couldn’t have left. The only point at which he was in the bathroom, you were right outside. He popped in, popped out, popped another Seal.”
“Is there any guarantee that he came back to alert himself? He could’ve gone to any point in time.”
“I know his type. The out-there intellectual. He’s been burned by everyone but himself. He’ll only trust himself. And if he came to himself before we’d arrived, he wouldn’t believe him.”
“Sorry, who wouldn’t believe him?”
“Him! Aren’t you-” Talc took a moment to consider the context. “You know what, nevermind. The point is that this reality’s Talbot is now in league with our Talbot, and that’s not good.”
“What do we do?”
“Well firstly, we need to cut it down to one Talbot. Two is too many to deal with.” Talc pushed on his earpiece, then spoke. “Hello? Can you hear me, Talc?” There was silence, until something dawned on him. “Ah, dammit. I can’t call my own earpiece.” He adjusted something on his earpiece. “Willis! Do you copy?” Willis heard Talc both from right next to him and through his earpiece. He didn’t hear the reply, but his earpiece buzzed as its exact copy broadcast something. Willis took his earpiece out and squinted at it, curious about the exact Multiversal properties that bonded it to its clone.
“Yes, this is Talc. But not your Talc. Listen, Talbot ran off to this dimension, and we believe he’s working with your Talbot. We need to meet up, then dispose of the dupe.”
Talc listened for a response, and Willis’s earpiece vibrated as his double presumably replied.
Talc turned to Willis. “Alright. They’ll meet us back in Talbot’s office. There we can get rid of the redundant one and track our quarry.”
Their quarry was currently depositing a large package of brown paper in a big blue mailbox.
Talbot paused as he lowered the boxy parcel. This was his life’s work, his notebook and all his scattered papers, and was the second-most important thing he owned, next to the wall that contained the Masterwork itself, which was likely being dismantled by his enemies at that very moment. This was the last 20 years of his life, and he was about to gamble it away to a crazy woman on the off-chance that his legacy might live on. Talbot wished he’d spent more time with reasonable scientists, if only to expand the pool of people he could mail his book to.
With a deep breath, Talbot released the book, wincing at the gentle ‘paff’ sound it made when it fell onto the envelopes at the bottom of the box.
His job complete, Talbot slipped the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and disappeared into the afternoon.
Guns are inelegant, Talc told his subordinate often. They’re loud, messy. Tools of thugs and soldiers, not agents of a higher purpose.
But there’s a downside to not carrying a gun, Willis countered silently. The difference between shooting a person and being forced to kill them more intimately is palpable, and not often a positive.
Willis considered this as Talbot-2 stopped struggling and finally went limp in his arms. Willis released the garotte from around the man’s throat, then lowered him to the floor of the office.
An irritated sigh came from behind him. Willis turned to see Talc shaking his head and walking toward him.
“No, you need to finish the job.” The man said. He kneeled, took Talbot-2’s forehead in one hand, his chin in the other, then jerked his head to the side, snapping his neck.
“If you stop garrotting when he goes limp, he’s just unconscious.” The other Talc, Talc-2, stated.
Willis nodded, numbly. He didn’t really hear the man.
“I know this is hard,” Talc said, shifting into a gentler tone, “But this is all for the good of humanity. If we let these ideas run wild, we’d all be dead.”
“Worse than dead.” Talc-2 added helpfully. “Our very essences would be consumed by dark beings from beyond our world.”
Willis nodded again. He’d heard it all before. So why did he still find it so hard to hurt people?
“So where’s the other one?” Willis-2 asked, seemingly unaware of his double’s predicament.
“That’s the big question, isn’t it.” Talc-2 mused, “However, before we can ponder it, first things first. We need to get a CC team in here to handle that wall.”
All four men were familiar with the APH Cognito Containment Teams, mysterious individuals in surgical masks that took away artifacts of forbidden knowledge to be stored or disposed of.
Talc-2 clicked his earpiece, then said a series of numbers and codes that were unintelligible to either Willis. He finished by saying, “Please send a Class-4 CC team. Over.”
He turned to the others. “They’re on their way. We need to secure Talbot’s place of residence.”
“Do we know that’s where he’ll go next?” Willis-2 asked.
“Not necessarily,” Talc-1 responded, “But it’s quite likely he’ll at least stop there to retrieve personal effects before going somewhere else.”
Both Willises nodded, almost in sync. The logic made sense. They would lock down Talbot’s house first.
All was silent in the small house several miles outside of town that Talbot called his abode. Then frantic footsteps sounded from outside, as someone ran up the footpath leading to the front door. Then, a faint scratching as Talbot scrambled to fit his key into the lock. A quiet clacking came next, as Talbot’s cat descended his cat-tree and approached the door to see what was happening.
Talbot swung the door open and gently pushed the cat out of his way with his foot.
“Sorry Ozzy,” he muttered.
He produced his debit card and snapped it in half, having extracted all the money from his account before arriving here. He pulled several thousand dollars from his pockets and shoved them in his wallet, his backpack, the pocket on the inside of his jacket, and his shoes.
He grabbed a spare toothbrush and tube of toothpaste from the master bathroom, shoving them into the backpack as well. He was going on the run, for god knows how long.
He paused as his eyes fell on his set of keys. He wouldn’t be taking his car or his house, so they’d likely not be necessary.
But I might as well just in case. Talbot grabbed the jangling key ring and slipped it into the inside pocket of his pants.
His cat mewed at his feet. After a moment’s hesitation, he grabbed his carrier and bowl, both monogrammed with a matching ‘Ozymandius’.
He knew bringing Ozzy was objectively a bad choice. It was impractical and stupid. The cat was loud, and would slow him down. But Talbot couldn’t bear leaving his baby here to be subjected to whatever evil ideas Talc and Willis had in mind.
Talbot coaxed Ozzy into his crate, then picked up the cat and donned his backpack. He took one last look around his house before he opened the front door and was immediately grabbed by both Willises, one of which held a chloroform rag over his mouth until he went limp.
Talbot awoke with a start. He glanced around, disoriented, and immediately registered that he was in some sort of interrogation room. His chair was metal, and bolted to the floor. Before him was a table, and above that table a blinding light mounted on the ceiling shone directly into his eyes. On the wall across from him, very much breaking the theme, was a ‘Hang in there!’ poster and a wall-mounted hand sanitizer dispenser.
Talbot tried to stand, only to find that his wrists and ankles were strapped into the chair. He strained against the bonds, cursing as the straps held strong.
He thought he heard faint snickering.
He turned to glare at the mirror to his right. “What are you planning to do to me?!”
Silence.
“What are you planning to do to my cat?!?”
More silence.
The Talcs and the Willi were standing behind the one-way mirror on Talbot’s left, looking at the back of his head as he shouted at no one. Talc looked mildly amused at Talbot’s complete misunderstanding of the room’s orientation.
Willis-2 glanced at Talc-2, who shrugged and motioned for Talc-1 to enter the larger room. Talc-1 did as asked.
The door at the front of the room opened, and Talc stepped out. He took a seat across from Talbot, and cleared his throat.
“First off, the most important thing. Your cat will be well-cared for, no matter the outcome of this conversation. Great name, by the way.”
Talbot refused to thank him for the compliment.
Talc cleared his throat, and there was a long silence.
“What about my first question?” Talbot asked, his voice trembling.
Talc sighed, then reached below the table.
Several seconds later, he came back up, notably with some difficulty. He slammed Talbot’s notebook down on the table. Next to it, he laid the sheet of seals Talbot had used to traverse space and time.
Talbot was stricken. “How did you-!?”
“Find this? Simple deduction. I’m frankly insulted that you didn’t consider that we’ve been tailing everyone you know for months. Johnson was the only person you could send this to.”
“What did you do to her?!”
“Nothing! We’re not the bad guys here, Talbot. We pulled the package from her porch before she ever got involved. We’d never hurt anyone.”
“Then where am I?” Talbot spat, then rephrased. “I mean… where is the version of me from here? Wait, are you from here or there?”
“I’m from there, assuming you mean your original reality. And Talbot-2 is fine. He’s in the next room.”
Willis winced behind the mirror.
“You never actually answered my question.” Talbot said quietly.
Talc pursed his lips regrettably.
“Well… here’s the thing, Talbot. What I’d like to do is offer you a chance to redeem yourself. I’d like to let you join the APH and help us protect humanity. But you’ve made it clear that that’s not what you want, and if we let you into our fold now, we’d forever be looking over our shoulders, wondering whose side you were truly on. And we can’t just let you go, no no. Your theories would largely be regarded as crackpot, but there are ways to prove these things, and you would certainly find them.”
Talbot swallowed. “Couldn’t you just… you know… erase my memory?”
Talc stifled a laugh. “Unfortunately, this is not Men In Black. Actions have consequences. There are no take-backs. And I’m sorry, Talbot, but this is it for you.” Talc stood, turned on his heel, and left.
“Why the hell’d you wake him up just to tell him that?” Willis muttered behind the glass.
“Hey, wait!” Talbot screamed at him as he departed, but there was no response.
Talbot tried to stand again, but slammed back into his chair as the bonds held.
Willis entered a few minutes later, holding a syringe. He winced at the sight before him. Talbot was hunched over, resting his head on the table. His shoulders were bobbing as though he was sobbing quietly.
Willis approached Talbot and tightened the strap on his right wrist. He moved around him and reached for his left hand, only to see that the strap had been sawed apart, and Talbot’s hand was free.
Willis grabbed his elbow, but Talbot struggled against the man’s grasp. The scientist was trying to keep it firmly on the table under his face.
Frustrated, Willis grabbed Talbot’s head and lifted it back, so he was sitting up straight.
As he beheld Talbot’s face, Willis felt a bolt of fear lance through him. The man was smiling, but it was not a happy smile.
It was the smile of a trapped animal that knew it would take a limb before it went down. With his eyes, Talbot indicated downwards. Willis slowly lowered his vision to the stainless steel tabletop. In Talbot’s hand was a housekey, the teeth worn down from sawing through the leather strap and scratching a symbol into the table. Right under his hand, the surface was pockmarked with the Seal of the Fifth Dimension.
Willis lunged for Talbot’s wrist, but it was too late. The alchemist brought the key across the symbol, carving another scratch to break the Seal and the boundaries between their reality and one far darker. Neither man had time to scream.
Talbot felt himself slip free of the chair, and out of the leather strap around his wrist.
Willis’s grip loosened, and it felt like he was flung across whatever intermediary pathway connected the fourth and fifth dimensions.
Part Two posted promptly!

Timeline: May 27th, 9 PM, I parked my car in a private parking lot (I didn't know because there was no sign indicating this on the entrance and exit)
May 28th, 8 PM, I went to get the car but the car wasn't there. I called the local towing company and confirmed that they had my car, so I went there to pick it up, had to pay using credit card so I can get my car back. The receipt indicated they towed my car at 6 PM, kept my car in a lot for half an hour, charged me freaking 540 US dollars.
There were no signage on the side of parking lot where I was parking. There was only one signage indicating authorized parking only on the wall of the building opposite to where I was parking, but a SUV was completely blocking the sign because the sign is only 60 inches high. I found that out after my car was towed.
I plan to file a complaint against the towing company through the City of Seattle service and DOL. Might also dispute the charge through CC company.
I have photos of the entrance/exit, the car in the spot before it was towed and the point of view going into and out of the parking lot indicating the little to none visibility of the signage.
Do I have any grounds for the complaint? What other options do I have?

Timeline:
May 27th, 9 PM, I parked my car in a private parking lot (I didn’t know because there was no sign indicating this on the entrance and exit)
May 28th, 8 PM, I went to get the car but the car wasn’t there. I called the local towing company and confirmed that they had my car, so I went there to pick it up, had to pay using credit card so I can get my car back. The receipt indicated they towed my car at 6 PM, kept my car in a lot for half an hour, charged me freaking 540 US dollars.
There were no signage on the side of parking lot where I was parking. There was only one signage indicating authorized parking only on the wall of the building opposite to where I was parking, but a SUV was completely blocking the sign because the sign is only 60 inches high. I found that out after my car was towed.
I plan to file a complaint against the towing company through the City of Seattle service and DOL. Might also dispute the charge through CC company.
I have photos of the entrance/exit, the car in the spot before it was towed, the point of view going into and out of the parking lot indicating the little to none visibility of the signage.
Do I have any grounds for the complaint? What other options do I have?