A restless night for Jackie, who may or may not be overreacting. Ever since she got that game, things have been getting weird. It's odd that she hasn't made that connection, but technology and magic tend to, at least in fiction, not play well together. Sure, there are exceptions, but technology is usually treated as the equalizer. And, really, who suspects a computer game of being nefarious without being a right nutter?
The benefits of using a city I live in as the setting is knowing what's around. For an American city, I'd have people walking around with Starbucks cups. At the time of writing, Tim Horton's would've been the most likely cup to see. There's always a Timmie's around, and there's one on campus. Today, it's a toss up between Tim's, which has really expanded in downtown Ottawa since 2007, and Bridgehead, a local chain that now outnumbers national chains in town except for Tim Horton's. And if anyone from a café wishes for product placement in a future story, leave a comment below. It might not work for a fantasy, but if you want the girls from Unruly or even your chain to be available in an interstellar empire, I can work it in.
In 2007, the local weather was starting to fluctuate a bit, but not to the extremes over the past few years. Jackie was exaggerating about sunbathing in February, but we've seen thirty to forty degree shifts in temperature over the course of a day or two, going from deep freeze to spring-like weather. We also see it going the other way, from fall to Arctic, is the same amount of time.
Of course, when the weather can follow the city limits, then there is something weird going on. Not that anyone would notice here unless they actually took a closer look. During some of the storms from the remnants of hurricanes this past summer and fall, Ottawa somehow had a rain shield. Rain hit all around, but nothing got into the city. At a past apartment, I've seen rain hit a part of the city while leaving my area dry. In the story, though, the weather acting odd is a hint that something is up.
Jackie's hope for the bus is also dated. Of all the things to have gone pear-shaped in the past twelve years, I wouldn't have expected the bus service to tank. It was having problems in 2007, and the O-Train, now called Line 2, was a pilot project at the time. The O-Train was also the first major improvement in transit service to Carleton University in decades. People were using the bus. A year after Digital Magic was written, the bus strike of 2008-2009 struck, and things started going downhill from there. Today, good luck getting anywhere by bus. Massive service cuts coupled with an LRT not ready for prime time. I have a full rant to write up post-NaNo on this, but for now? Jackie shouldn't complain too much about the bus service she's getting.
The eyes in the window came from a lucid moment while either falling asleep or waking up. It was just too cool to not use, even though I really don't write horror. Urban fantasy, though, can use the element. This is a scene that I could easily salvage from the story for use elsewhere. Right now, that's the fate of Digital Magic, to be taken apart for the good ideas. The rest can lay quietly in a folder somewhere. I'm sure that I've used Jackie and Trish, not by those names, in another work as it is. Professors in Computer Science liked to mention code reuse. I'm just taking the concept to another field. It's not plagiarism if I give permission to use my own work.
Lance finally appears in person! Took him long enough. I can now try to work on a love triangle. I've seen enough anime to know how those work. I've watched Marmalade Boy, which had love polyhedrons. Of course, the issue isn't just tossing potential points in. There needs to be chemistry. Remember this for later chapters.
Tomorrow, I always feel like somebody's watching me, in Digital Magic Chapter 5.
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, unexpected hiatus.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, fixing Sonic the Hedgehog.
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