The Celestial Bureaucracy

[mrrandomplayer]

Bump.

Link to video.

 

[Tomorrow's Dawn]

Okay. So to start off, I wouldn't have posted this if I had not realized, Tommorrow's Dawn, that you still logged in regularly.

I have been a lurker on this site, and others, for years. I have been able to go year after year from tale to tale, author to author, and fantastic writing to
fantastic writing, finished story to finished story, and even unfinished story to unfinished story. I have read the works of those authors who have
been widely acclaimed such as Vanadorn (Civ3 stories and tales- Pax Romana) and Sisiutil (of whom you have even mentioned yourself) and Daftpanzer
(also Civ3)- all without registering to this particular forum.

I have even, over the years, gone back and reread a number of these great stories over yet again and again through the years (which may also result
in my rereading my favorite parts numerous times in addition). I managed to go through the stories on this forum for over SIX YEARS without feeling
like I just HAD to register so that I could say something.

However, your story here has been the final straw that broke the elephant's back. I never say this, but seriously: OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I found your story while sifting through the forums. I am naturally (by now) drawn to any story that has more than 10 pages to its name- I REALLY like
reading FINISHED stories. And I never skip to the end either- I start and the prologue and read through to the end. So imagine my surprise when I
realized that this wonderful piece of ART was allowed to remain unfinished though the author remains active on the forums! My initial reaction
was to the knowledge that it was unfinished with a bried flash of and then a complete and then when I discovered your
activity: !!!!

This story is something I have never seen before. Yes, it is great writing. Choice screenshots and pictures. Wonderful artwork. Hand-selected images.
Various writing formats. But it has another thing that no story I have read before (on forums) has ever incorporated into itself: it has something
beyond the game, not just with regular characters (which has been done before)- but an astoundingly great adaption of fantasy WITHIN the story.

It would be a wonderful thing if you would please continue, and eventually finish, this wonderful story. Thank you.

I should probably direct you to Civ3 S&T, where MTB4884, who I've collaborated with in a crossover with this story, is still (IIRC) pumping out regular updates for his own story.

On a personal note, I don't forsee myself finishing or adding to this story any time soon, though I do have the general outline mapped out and can drop,
which was always my nuclear option I had prepared years ago if I knew I wasn't going to finish the story.
I just have a lot of IRL priorities to iron out. To put it simply, I'm Dustin Hoffman from The Graduate at the moment, minus the Mrs. Robinson drama, if that paints a better picture.
That and I'm undertaking a novel I ideally want to pitch to a publisher this year (too optimistic), or next (less optimistic but still).
I suppose this is my Sisiutil moment. (Sorry Sis, for naming a moment after you)

I don't want to put down your hopes, or give any false hope.
Just feel that my readership should hear it as is.

 

[MK101]

I will preface this statement with an apology for anyone who's hopes are inflamed at the sight of a new post on this thread and then torn to shreds when confronted by this comment and not an update which I am sure by this point is the Civ 4 S&T equivalent of a Unicorn - or a Game of Thrones novel written in under 5 years! My deepest apologies then for that.

I merely wanted to offer my own praise for this much-praised story and congratulate you on having the required mentality to have stuck at it for so very long - I have always been incapable of the required focus myself, I've been forming the basis for my own dystopian fantasy 'novel' for 8 years and have only an introduction to show for it in terms of actual writing

In total I have read through this entire thread some 4-5 times in the 3 or so years since I first discovered it, each time I leave the story for some extended period of time I always need to read the whole thing again, which is hardly a chore because your characterization is extremely enjoyable, it is merely a question of finding the time. Beyond the mere enjoyment of reading your story, however, doing so honestly enhanced my enjoyment of playing Civ 4 by convincing me to approach each new game as a tale in it's own right, whether they go anywhere or not. In tandem with the fantastic modding community here, especially Leoreth and DoC - the sub-forum for which I know you are still fairly active in, the result of my LOOOONG time lurker status, punctuated by the odd infrequent post over the years - my time playing Civ 4 has been preserved and extended far beyond most games - cannot even begin to calculate the hours I have spent playing this game!

So thank for the immensely enjoyable story and the best of luck in your future endeavors, be they educational or in the realms of publishing - I hope the pitch goes well for you whenever you do make it

 

[mykeedee]

The First 3 books actually came out within 2 years of each other.