What is it with all the robots and witch hunts around robots? There is such a stink being made about AI and I do believe those who argue in favor of its generative operations miss the point about creation entirely. A story, a drawing, a painting, a song … the power in them is not the idea behind them. It is, rather, in the journey the artist takes from conceiving the idea through its development to publishing. The person you are when embark on a journey of creation is not who you are at the end of it, and the work often, in some subtle ways, reflects this.
You cannot pass words through a generator and call yourself an artist. That is nothing less than a perversion of the word “art” and all it entails.
As such, you will never find AI-generated narratives at the Calamity. Every attraction being developed in real time, right before your very eyes, is hand-crafted by a tortured artist the way The Old Ones intended. Rest assured attractions like House, A Vampire’s Vengeance, and Bus Driver are terrible because the writer—that same tortured artist, me—is terrible. Please enjoy and support my garbage because it is real effort and not false claims and dishonesty.
Now, with that being said, let’s get into it →
No big news this week except Rise of the Warlock Queen remains in active development. The editing continues! As such, I continue to expect this attraction to see prominent placement in the Calamity very soon.
The Warlock Queen aside, House has blueprints for the completion of this draft of the attraction; this means House will be ready for editing as soon as it runs its course here, backstage!
I do hope you are as excited as I! Keep an eye on this space for continued updates.
Edgar continues to prove to us how reckless he can be. And Isabelle? Well, she’s just following along as if they’ll stumble into no great danger. How will this pan out for them? We here at the Calamity are unsure. However, they appear to be getting closer to the Beings’ lair, so perhaps we’ll all find out soon enough. Read the latest installment of A Vampire’s Vengeance:
Solomon, Solomon, Solomon. What are you doing, Solomon? Who have you become? Or is this who you’ve always been? What is real? What is dream? Can you uncover the truth in this week’s installment of House?
It’s always doctors, scientists, and hypnotists. Not all doctors, scientists, and hypnotists, but somehow always a doctor, scientist, or hypnotist. Always be wary of these characters when you come across them in your wanderings. Portrait of a Murderer gives us reason to exercise caution.
on sale now
An old woman risks everything to discover what became of her husband. Currently the most popular tale from the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique.
Welcome to another installment of Bus Driver! In the last edition, we witnessed the odd celebration of the people in the trading outpost as they paraded the body and severed head of a flying monster. Too sick to stomach the sight and the smell, one of the residents leads the bus driver back to the basement diner to explain the celebration. If you missed it, you can read Part XXXIII here. Let’s find out about this flying monster →
The bus driver followed the resident back into the building and down to the basement dining area. He took a seat at a table against the wall and leaned back, letting his head come to rest on the high back. Without the horrible stench assaulting his nostrils with such strength, his nausea subsided.
The resident took a seat across from the bus driver and introduced himself.
"Name's Hal. Pleasure to meet ya."
The two shook hands, and then Hal reached into coat pocket and produced a rolled cigarette. He dig into another pocket, produced a lighter, then lit up. The bus driver soon realized Hal was not smoking tobacco. The resident took a long drag and passed it to the bus driver who looked at it with curiosity.
"It'll help ease your stomach, son. And put you to sleep well enough, for someone who's not used to it."
"Just surprised is all. We don't get much in the settlements. Some try to grow a plant here and there, but we have limited resources." The bus driver took a few sips from the joint and passed it back.
"We do okay out here. We have a good source of water tucked away, and we just cluster the plants close to it. The problem with distribution is keeping it fresh when we travel with it. Can't rely on sandwich bags and mason jars the way we used to back in the day."
The effects of the weed crept up on the bus driver in a slow and pleasant way. Before long, the resident was halfway into his tale about the monster they paraded outside, the sounds of which continued to trickle into the basement dining room.
"Hold on, wait," the bus driver said, raising a hand. "You're telling me this thing was just harassing you all? And we drove right past it?"
Hal laughed and shook his head. "No, its dormant during the day. We--wait, you know what? Maybe. Come to think of it, we never figured out where it slept. So you could have driven past it."
"Shit. That's fucked up."
"You're telling me? Shit, we had to deal with that thing chewing on our lines. Every morning, first order of business for the next watch was to find out where the damage was and patch it. Damn thing couldn't get too close to the crystals, but it tried, over and over, to knock them over."
"But the electric field kept it out?"
"Sort of. Listen, the crystals do a damn fine job of repelling those fucking monsters. But a flying menace like that? Who's figured it out? It comes swooping down, aiming its whole body like a missile at them. Thank fuck we were there when the first crystal went down. We got it back up fast. It cost that nightmare something fierce too. That yellow sticky stuff dribbling out of its neck, you see that? That shit was coming out of its eyes when it got too close to the crystals. So we know those crystals are worth a damn. We put up the shields soon after, and that's kept things stable for a bit, but the damn thing kept trying, and because it was close, it attracted other monsters. Now that its dead, we hope those other things will just leave."
Those other things. The bus driver was silent, processing. He knew he should be concerned, but he and Hal had finished the joint and he was feeling relaxed and wanted to enjoy the feeling a bit longer; it might be longer still before he'll get another opportunity to unwind.
Hal, noticing the bus driver was falling into a bit of a stupor, said, "I'll go find Manuel, and we'll get you set up for the night. I don't think you'll have any trouble sleeping."
Hmm. That seemed anticlimactic. And here I was expected some grand narrative and epic battle. At least the bus driver will actually get some shut eye. It’s not a long drive from the settlement to Las Vegas, but perhaps there is a reason they’re hunkering down for the night. I suppose there’s only one way to find out! Come back next week!
Thank you for joining me Backstage, once again! I certainly hope you enjoyed your time perusing the various attractions we offer. Yes, I know, it can be difficult to appreciate those half-baked attractions; you just want to experience the whole thing right now!—I get it. But this is also part of the fun, is it not? Isn’t suspense fun? It’s fun, right?
Please, share your thoughts with me. What are your favorite parts of Backstage? What are your least favorite? You can reply to this email, leave a comment on this post, or use any of the survey buttons below.
I look forward to seeing you next week!
Cordially,
Mad Alex
Please, for the love of all that is unholy and calamitous in this world, please let us know what you think of this content! The buttons below will each take you to a respective survey consisting of two to three questions. Your opinions will help shape the future of Backstage at the Calamity.