It's a brand new day at the convention, and Keith has made the discovery that lets Meredith get involved in the plot. Yes, it took way too long to get to this point. I consider Crossover to be a lesson in pacing. I needed to make the mistakes to realize that they were mistakes. Crossover was my third NaNoWriMo project and my third major work. Prior, most of my writing consisted of short stories and serials. Switching from shorter formats to the longer novel was a paradigm shift. I've improved on pacing; I know how to not get bogged down in the details. Still working on chapters, though.
One of the core ideas of the Subject 13-verse* was that, over time, different people would take up the mantle of the heroes. I then go and create a title where the titular character couldn't have a new person take over the role. That was the reason I created the Peregrine role in Subject 13, to show the changing of the person underneath the costume. While not initially planned on being the replacement, Keith's new friend, Naomi, could become the new Prototype Alpha.
Keith's explanation is the best I could do to get across the idea of how the dimension breaching ray would appear. Yes, it does appear to break the laws of physics, but the breaching introduces energy from an external source. I'm sure someone has given thought to how to break through to a new dimension and how that would affect physics on both sides of the barrier. There's math involved, and possibly coefficients to adjust numbers between dimensions. It'd make fluid mechanics and dynamics look simple.
The panel is a staple of science fiction, fantasy, and comic conventions. Panelists talk about a subject of interest to attendees, and ask and answer questions about the subject. Can*Con, where I'll be a panelist this year**, is representative, with panels on writing, reading, and even blood spatter analysis***. The panel Alec and Pierce put on, "Effective Costumes: How to Keep a Secret ID Secret", may not be typical, but it fits the setting, where budding artists, writers, and heroes alike can use the information. The entire scene could be lifted and turned into a non-fictional treatise on costuming and secret IDs. There are reasons to maintain a secret ID, most of which boil down to protecting oneself and one's loved ones.
Again, I went with Vicki's point-of-view instead of Nasty's. Part of it was to show Nasty as Peregrine, the heroine. Vicki knows the person underneath and can comment about Nasty's discomfort. She also will be paying attention to what's going on up front. Nasty's POV would be a running commentary punctuated by expletives and missing out on some of what Alec and Pierce are saying. The POV also leaves a bit of a mystery for readers on what is happening when Peregrine is called away.
Quick rundown of the heroes namechecked in the panel:
- Blaze, from Alec and Pierce's comic, Hero Ablaze!, has fire powers.
- American Eagle, from Subject 13, part of the American Eagle Foundation for Justice in Rochester.
- Major Flagg, from Alec and Pierce, an in-universe fictional version of heroes like Captain America.
- Q-Ball, part of the Global Vanguard, powerer armour wearer and developer. The Vanguard are a team I started working on for a potential title, and fill the role of the Justice League and the Avengers.
- Crimson Shadow, a Chicago-based crime-fighter by night. No real plans beyond namedropping, but the Shadow fills in the role of the likes of Batman, Daredevil, and Moon Knight.
Tomorrow, Crossover Chapter 11.
Also tomorrow, over at Psycho Drive-In, comparing the Fifties to now.
Saturday, over at Seventh Sanctum, Spaced Invaders.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of Lost in Translation.
* If I had a better name, I'd use it. For now, the first series gets to name the setting.
** My blog, my choice to advertise blatantly.
*** Writers tends to research a lot of subjects that could get them on watch lists and even do-not-fly lists.
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