Post by Unlikely Alloy on May 25, 2022 21:35:27 GMT
THE CHARLESTON COMMUNIQUE
June 3rd, 2022
WHAT IS THIS STRANGE CONTRAPTION?
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WEATHER
Partly Sunny
Low: 58 F
High: 87 F
HERO GEAR
Analog Analysis
LEAD ENGINEER
Exclusive Interview
ABUNDANT ALLITERATION
Reporters' Reliance Riles Readers
TODAY'S FEATURES
WEATHER
Partly Sunny
Low: 58 F
High: 87 F
HERO GEAR
Analog Analysis
p.2
LEAD ENGINEER
Exclusive Interview
p.2
ABUNDANT ALLITERATION
Reporters' Reliance Riles Readers
p.4
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An astonishing new arrival!
Seemingly appearing from nowhere on June 2nd, 2022, a massive metal machination made waves on the South Carolina shoreline in the early hours of the morning. While the people of the area are no doubt used to heroes and their usual technologies, this device was nothing like anything seen before outside of a novel. Rather than running on mystical energy or even electricity, the device - a brass-colored walker standing nearly 18 feet high - seems to be powered by steam, of all things. Various valves and pneumatic tubes are visible from the outside even at a distance, while a closer look at the workings seems to show that motion is achieved by the interaction of a series of interlocking gears composed of all sorts of different materials - from iron to ivory! A clockwork walker, in this day and age - quite the sight to behold!
Story continues on p. 5
2
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It is certain that the full capabilities of this analog apparatus are yet to be determined, but what can be said for sure is that despite its strange construction, it is in fact quite durable.
The pilot has generously allowed a number of tests, showing that the pneumatic machine can withstand even modern gunfire without so much as a dent in its armored shell. How this will fare against higher-level weapons and meta-machinations is yet to be determined, but the craft is certainly sturdier than it appears. One would think that being largely composed of brass, it would be far easier to destroy, but the pilot claims there is more to the clockwork than we can possibly imagine! Do the gears provide some secret shielding? Is there more to those pneumatic tubes than meets the eye? Does steam power simply cloud our judgment?
While the craft does not appear to be particularly maneuverable, it can certainly keep up with its own potential. Clocked at speeds up to 55 miles an hour, jettisoning steam allows for tight turns, and the cogwork conveyance's construction allows for multiple parts of the body to turn up to 270 degrees at the lower and upper torso in almost owl-like fashion. Spiraling both in conjunction allows a full one and a half circles of radial coverage.
If this intriguing invention has any major weakness, it is in momentum and stopping itself from moving - although with a properly skilled pilot, those skids can turn into slides, which can be just as effective as any other tackle maneuver, especially given the craft's durability. It is not yet known what enemies this contraption may pit itself against, but surely they can be expected to be of great interest.
It seems that the craft's weaponry is just as nonstandard as the rest of it. It packs quite a punch - of the literal variety! Steam pressure chambers allow for a rocket punch ability, as the machine's fists can be nearly detached, then reeled back in by their cables after striking an unsuspecting foe! The gear gundam has no ammunition based weaponry - no guns, no rockets. What's more, there's no other high technology based weaponry, either - no lasers, no electrical netting. Instead, a series of chemical-based canisters allow for the release or jettisoning of various reactive agents, no doubt quite the surprise to any who happen to be caught within the chemical cloud!
WHO IS THIS MASKED MACHINIST? NEW INTERVIEW SHEDS LIGHT ON PILOT
The man identifies himself as Mr. H. George Wolfram, but specifies that friends usually call him "Duck." When inquiries were made as to the origin of this unusual nickname, Mr. Wolfram offers a rakish grin and says that it's "What the boys say you better do when he's around."
He claims to be one of the so-called "Clockwork Boys," an evident group of steam-powered preservationists like himself, though he admits to "Not having seen the others in some time." According to "Duck" Wolfram, it "gets a bit sproingy [sic] when you start skipping about through space-time." Mr. Wolfram attributes this claim to something he calls the "resonant waves," a strange type of interference created by the clockwork system within the steam-powered mech. He states that while sometimes the waves can be controlled, giving him the ability to get somewhere in a hurry, at other times they "do their own thing" and he never knows where he'll end up next. He claims to have been to the distant past and the far future, a hundred places and times scattered across as many dimensions.
Prompted by this claim, reporters were curious to what the strangest things Mr. Wolfram had encountered had been. He tells stories of people as tall as skyscrapers or as small as insects, creatures of unimaginable natures, and encounters beyond the stars, and beyond the limits of human comprehension.
"Never set much stock in those claiming to be gods. I've met a lot of 'em, over the years. God of this, god of that. Some of 'em you recognize, the big names: Zeus, Thor, Baphomet. Others, well, they just seem to pick something they're good at and claim to be the god of it. Met a so-called God of Technology, once. Could do just about anything with it, but all he wanted to do was perv on some skirt that thought she was the chosen priestess of some other so-called god. I'd have felt sorry for her, but she was just as barmy as he was, in her own way."
For whatever reason, it seems that theocratic-based abilities have very little effect on the pilot. Could it be the power of disbelief? While this is certainly an odd matter, it is fair to say that there are other abilities out there just as strange and wondrous. Nonetheless, should any further information about this strange phenomenon come to light, it would certainly be of interest.
It is certain that the full capabilities of this analog apparatus are yet to be determined, but what can be said for sure is that despite its strange construction, it is in fact quite durable.
The pilot has generously allowed a number of tests, showing that the pneumatic machine can withstand even modern gunfire without so much as a dent in its armored shell. How this will fare against higher-level weapons and meta-machinations is yet to be determined, but the craft is certainly sturdier than it appears. One would think that being largely composed of brass, it would be far easier to destroy, but the pilot claims there is more to the clockwork than we can possibly imagine! Do the gears provide some secret shielding? Is there more to those pneumatic tubes than meets the eye? Does steam power simply cloud our judgment?
While the craft does not appear to be particularly maneuverable, it can certainly keep up with its own potential. Clocked at speeds up to 55 miles an hour, jettisoning steam allows for tight turns, and the cogwork conveyance's construction allows for multiple parts of the body to turn up to 270 degrees at the lower and upper torso in almost owl-like fashion. Spiraling both in conjunction allows a full one and a half circles of radial coverage.
If this intriguing invention has any major weakness, it is in momentum and stopping itself from moving - although with a properly skilled pilot, those skids can turn into slides, which can be just as effective as any other tackle maneuver, especially given the craft's durability. It is not yet known what enemies this contraption may pit itself against, but surely they can be expected to be of great interest.
It seems that the craft's weaponry is just as nonstandard as the rest of it. It packs quite a punch - of the literal variety! Steam pressure chambers allow for a rocket punch ability, as the machine's fists can be nearly detached, then reeled back in by their cables after striking an unsuspecting foe! The gear gundam has no ammunition based weaponry - no guns, no rockets. What's more, there's no other high technology based weaponry, either - no lasers, no electrical netting. Instead, a series of chemical-based canisters allow for the release or jettisoning of various reactive agents, no doubt quite the surprise to any who happen to be caught within the chemical cloud!
WHO IS THIS MASKED MACHINIST? NEW INTERVIEW SHEDS LIGHT ON PILOT
The man identifies himself as Mr. H. George Wolfram, but specifies that friends usually call him "Duck." When inquiries were made as to the origin of this unusual nickname, Mr. Wolfram offers a rakish grin and says that it's "What the boys say you better do when he's around."
He claims to be one of the so-called "Clockwork Boys," an evident group of steam-powered preservationists like himself, though he admits to "Not having seen the others in some time." According to "Duck" Wolfram, it "gets a bit sproingy [sic] when you start skipping about through space-time." Mr. Wolfram attributes this claim to something he calls the "resonant waves," a strange type of interference created by the clockwork system within the steam-powered mech. He states that while sometimes the waves can be controlled, giving him the ability to get somewhere in a hurry, at other times they "do their own thing" and he never knows where he'll end up next. He claims to have been to the distant past and the far future, a hundred places and times scattered across as many dimensions.
Prompted by this claim, reporters were curious to what the strangest things Mr. Wolfram had encountered had been. He tells stories of people as tall as skyscrapers or as small as insects, creatures of unimaginable natures, and encounters beyond the stars, and beyond the limits of human comprehension.
"Never set much stock in those claiming to be gods. I've met a lot of 'em, over the years. God of this, god of that. Some of 'em you recognize, the big names: Zeus, Thor, Baphomet. Others, well, they just seem to pick something they're good at and claim to be the god of it. Met a so-called God of Technology, once. Could do just about anything with it, but all he wanted to do was perv on some skirt that thought she was the chosen priestess of some other so-called god. I'd have felt sorry for her, but she was just as barmy as he was, in her own way."
For whatever reason, it seems that theocratic-based abilities have very little effect on the pilot. Could it be the power of disbelief? While this is certainly an odd matter, it is fair to say that there are other abilities out there just as strange and wondrous. Nonetheless, should any further information about this strange phenomenon come to light, it would certainly be of interest.