Changing from writing mainly short fiction to writing a novel is more than just increasing the word count by a factor of 10. The pacing changes by necessity. Crossover takes more time getting the main characters to Cleveland than Subject 13 did getting Nasty to Rochester. I did try to keep the interest up using character conflicts.
Crossover, though, was never meant as a serial, so it gets awkward at times cutting it down. It took me a few more years to work out how to split a story into proper chapters instead of just scenes. It's a skill of its own. Not helping is having read a number of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. Pratchett didn't believe in chapters. I, though, do, at least now. Doesn't make it easy to retro fit chapters.
As pointed out in the comments section of the last chapter, Vicki had a tech upgrade. Originally, she had an iPod to listen to. Her cell phone wasn't a smartphone; the iPhone was starting to come out and was overpriced, at least in Canada.* They weren't ubiquitous yet, though Blackberries** pre-dated them. With a minor change, Vicki now has a iPad, though, again, not fully charged.
Keith has a hardcopy of the CHC's schedule. Electronic copies are good for early planning, but paper is far easier to mark up and pass around. Most conventions start on Friday, typically Friday afternoon. Opening ceremonies can be full of pomp and circumstance or they can be informal welcomes that last as long as needed and no more. I tended to skip them, wanting to get to the events. Keith is early. Keith has a good point about being early. Meredith is going to make him late.
Micki's explanation is good enough. The "mirror" universe is closer to a complimentary universe, like complimentary angles adding to 180°. The Foundation has researched the universe, having had to deal with incursions before. The stories of what happened haven't been written; Eagle has been around long enough to have had several Peregrines before Nasty showed up.
Keith and Meredith's arrival at the hotel didn't go unnoticed. The comparison to the Millennium Falcon isn't a bad one, and one that wasn't intended when I gave Keith the car. Both Keith's Yugo and the Falcon have been heavily modified and look like they're ready to fall apart if someone sneezed at them.
The cosplayers are dressed as in-universe heroes. Laser is a speedster, like the Flash and Quicksilver. Q-Ball wears power armour, though with far more coverage than Meredith has. He gets his code name from his real name, Quentin Q. Quinn. Hey, it's comics; those names are allowed, even if they feel more Golden Age than Crossover deserves. Sirocco manipulates the air and fires blasts of wind. Why cosplay as real heroes? For the costumes, of course! Other cosplayers will be dressed as in-universe fictional heroes, which will be seen later.
The mirror universe's Canada is not a nice place. No one trusts Canadians for they always have an ulterior motive. They always have a sneer for others. And their Beavertails? Made from real beavers. I had fun writing Omega's parts.
Tomorrow, Crossover Chapter 5.
Also tomorrow, over at Psycho Drive-In, emergency hiatus caused by technical issues.
Saturday, over at Seventh Sanctum, Watership Down, for reals.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of /Lost in Translation/.
* Rogers had the exclusive on the iPhone and was the company that charged the most for it in the world.
** Blackberries were used mostly in government and larger corporations in 2008. The phones weren't a consumer item until later, and RIM was slow to enter the consumer market.
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