| From: | Josh Harrison mataxes@****.net |
|---|---|
| Subject: | The ED/SR Connection |
| Date: | Wed, 21 Jun 2000 23:30:20 -0400 |
From: Rand Ratinac <docwagon101@*****.com>
> That would be me, Josh. As far as that being official,
> the general consensus is that the novels are not canon
> material. A lot of what happens in them doesn't fit
> the rules of Shadowrun, so they're taken with a grain
> of salt.
This doesn't make any sense to me. The events described in "Burning Bright"
aren't what really happened? Haqrelquin's mission to seal another breach for
the Enemy and his obvious references to "Harlequin's Back" in "House of the
Sun" have no worth at all in knowing what's going on in the setting? Dodger
didn't actually meet Morgan in the Arcology and wake her up? The discovery
of the Bug Spirits in "2XS" never happened?
I don't think that adherence to game rules (or lack thereof) should have any
effect at all. Frankly, I like the fact that you don't always "hear the dice
clattering on the table" as you read the books. I think that sets SR novels
apart from most of the "game fiction" out there (which pretty much blows
rancid goat chunks, IMNSHO).
Rather than try and duplicate somebody's "game experience" with their books,
the writers recognize that the rules are to a certain extent arbitrary --
they can be bent to suit the needs of the story. Things are done for their
dramatic effect, not their adherence to game rules. As it says in the
sorcebooks when dealing with beings like Harlequin or Deus, "they can do
whatever needs to be don to suit the needs of the story." Indeed, with this
in mind, aren't the novels adhering to the *primary* rule of RPGs? That all
the rules are merely guidelines, and not railroad tracks?
> (Just off-hand, Psychotrope causes a number
> of adult deckers to become otaku and heals one of them
> of paraplegia.)
I haven't read that one yet (I actually stopped reading them after "Just
Compensation"), but a friend told me the basic idea behind it. So what? We
don't really know the capability of the Deep Resonance, and just what it
really can do (I won't give away the secret here, in case folks haven't read
it yet). Hell, we don't understand the human mind yet -- how do we know what
can and can't be done to it?
> So until someone comes out and says
> "Yes, ED and SR are one and the same." it's still
> disputable, even with WWE
*shrug* If that's the party line, whatever. I don't think that it will ever
be explicitly stated, and not just because FASA isn't carrying on the ED
storyline now. I think announcing the connection in some kind of press
release would probably cause more problems than it solves. The connection is
there for those who want to see it, and it can be ignored if you don't want
to. This is much better than coming down on either side of the fence.
> Seriously, I don't dispute that they're supposed to be
> the Fourth and Sixth Worlds, but the fact of the
> matter is that no one in FASA has ever been officially
> prepared to say that.
We'll just have to see about that... *wink*
-- Josh Harrison -- mataxes@****.net
"When Fate taps you on the shoulder, you'd best pay attention.
Unfortunately, she has the blasted habit of tapping you on the
opposite shoulder, so that when you turn around she's actually
on your other side, giggling like a schoolgirl. I hate that."
