Topher Lydon

We are at the halfway point in this book. There is (at least) another 20 chapters. This next arc is specifically focused on Peter vs the Beast. Should run for four chapters. I mentioned at the start this book is Tommy and Peter's book. Short and geeky win the day!

And I mean, imagine the Volley Ball on the White House lawn in summer.

I wanted Will to have a running mate who is every inch his equal, and given the choices out there. I wanted someone that would meet him on his level, and bring something to the table. Pete Mitchell does that.

NEXT: The Beast, The Twink, and The Rabid Wolverine Peter gets REALLY angry

It was a good way to show Will's Evangelical speechs. He's always had that prophet approach that causes people to listen. It's where he is strongest. Hah, different life he'd have a mega church somewhere. He's built for that style, TV/face to face, Townhall. His opponants, Biden (unlike the real 2024, Biden HAS NOT stepped down yet) and he that shall not be named... who have their own powerful strengths. Biden's natural rapport (when capable of it) and statesman presence. And then we have the Republican candidate with his... and like him or hate him, this is undeniable, his ability to galvanize his base is awe inspiring.

This was one of the first scenes I wrote for this book, the town hall scene. It was the core of what I was writing, and wanted to get across. We're so mired in tribalism, that we're being exploited. England, Canada, the US. It's the same playbook, the rich buying both sides of the equation and switching their support back and forth, while ensuring no one is looking at them. Farage and Starmer exactly the same as Pollivre and Carney, as the US enigma. And we need to look past the mouthpieces, and start tackling the real root of our problems.

If Will didn't face them, he'd never cause them to stop and think. He can't win them all, he just needs to win enough of them.

Good morning I am awake, apologies, I have been very tired lately (not sleeping well) so late rising. enjoy the chapter

CHAPTER 21: FIRE AND ICE Location: Hangar 4, Willow Run Airport, Detroit (FADL) Time: 2300 Hours. July 8th, 2024. Status: Campaign Day 4. The hangar smelled of jet fuel, ozone, and old iron. It was a cathedral of American industry, vast and shadowed, lit only by the work lights suspended high in the rafters. In the center of the concrete floor sat the campaign’s charter plane—a refurbished Boeing 737, painted a stark, matte slate-grey with no logos, just the tail number N-1776-WC.

Will suffers a nervous breakdown. Completely understandable, it sets the pattern for his career going forward into politics. the worry throughout Carter's order, and eventually his second breakdown in Carter's Throne. This story, while hard going, is important to the over all story of the series. Without this story, Canada would have fallen so much sooner in the Annexation.

this book is a tough one. I was... unhappy when I wrote it, if you have read Ottawa tales, you know why, this was right on the heels of Duncan I was... not myself.

little Peter's preference for technicolour was one of his first defining traits.

Tomorrow, Oliver front and center

that and Orel's got a secret that not even Orel knows about.

He does. And tomorrow we find out WHY he has to control Orel so badly.

it is 2024, also IT WAS NOT an American attack on Enrico, it was a Russian one. I was very careful in researching the drone used in this. The Russians intercepted Enrico's plane as a reprisal for Enrico screwing the Russians out of state of the art Targeting chips (earlier in the story)

Or he provides the Lawyer that uses the video, the police search, the mistakes to get Finn off. Tarquin has his ways. He also has the means to bury Finn in the system. So it's difficult for a kid like Finn, who has ZERO reason to trust police or the system to help him, to see a path out of this. Orel, however, smarter than your average water bear.

Well it isn't impossible, controlled crashes happen Key Survival Factors (Case Examples) Vesna Vulović (1972): Survived a 33,333-foot fall without a parachute after her plane broke apart. Her survival was attributed to being trapped in a tail section of the plane, landing on a steep, snow-covered, wooded mountain slope, and having low blood pressure, which caused her to pass out instantly (preventing her heart from bursting). Juliane Koepcke (1971): Fell 10,000 feet into the Amazon jungle strapped to her seat, surviving with only a broken collarbone and severe injuries, then navigating the jungle for 11 days. Annette Herfkens (1992): Survived a crash in the Vietnamese jungle, living for eight days despite 12 broken bones, using insulation material from the plane to gather water.

Ok need to get these ages on track. Graduation in Ontario 17. At the start of the Asset and the Liability Garrett and Kyle have been out of school for 18 months. Add 3 months for this story to start. so Kyle and Garrett are late 19 early 20. It's been two years since Capt. vs Goofball, making Lydia 15 and now 17 It makes Steve and Kenny 18 Brian was almost a year older, so he is 19, Alex is a year younger than Brian at 18. Both Orel and Finn are the same age as Lydia, so in the 17/18 range. Oliver is the same age as Tabby... Tabby was born in 2002, making him 23/24. Alvin is described as a year or so older than Tabby making him 25. Tarquin is a few years older so he's in the later Twenties early thirties at a stretch. Which fits their dynamic and why he was guardian over Orel after Alistair Merrick died. Axl Fraser is described as 16-ish. Same age as Ethan and Aiden McCormick (Tabby's younger brothers the Twins) Charlie Levesque (a future story) is also 16 at this point. Phil Blanchard (Again a future story) is the same age as Garrett. making him 20-ish at this exact moment. For those interested Jacob Carter is 17 in 2025, as is Tommy though Tommy is a little younger than Jake. Ned, in 2025 is just about to turn 30 (there that covers the Carter boys) If I have forgotten anyone I am sorry... it's complex when it gets to this stage of interwoven book narratives. If I make mistakes understand it's because I am writing a story and while fix dates and established continuity is nice, sometimes it has to give way to narrative need. Sorry for the stats, this is for my head, and to clarify it all for me going forward. It's getting to a point where I need to create index cards for all these characters.

Indeed, and THIS all comes in handy later, I sort of need it to fall apart quickly. But it is a catalyst for a scared 17/18 year old who doesn't know better to do something stupid. And for Orel to prove, once again, why he isn't incapacitated. Orel knows what to do.

Jerk, putting logic into my story. Yeah it's a little weak but you know... story... I never said it has to hold up. Finn isn't a lawyer, he's a school drop out mechanic street kid. Police are terrifying, and never take his side. So even if the O.P.P. proceduraly did something wrong, it plays right into Tarquin's hands, makes it easier for him to get the case dismissed. "Look Finn, I got rid of this problem for you, now you owe me..." Just... let me have this one. Just one time... :: big writer puppy eyes ::

Indeed, useful that. I wonder who is going to remember it exists... Small town, always wise to check things out, and if the doors weren't locked up. There is probable cause, waves hands in a wishey washey writer kind of way...

A violation with that exact intent. The more I write of this SOB the more dirty I feel. I want to bad end him... I know it's a mark of a good villain when he makes the readers want to punch him... but when the writer wants to punch him as well... yep.