text:
Mirror, Mirror
© 2006 by Darke Angelus
Part Four – Brand New Perspective
By late afternoon of that terrible day, Vegeta had decided to give up. On himself. On his family. On his very sanity. He was sitting in one of the lounge chairs on the lower patio deck still wearing the clothes that he had slept in and not giving a damn. In front of him was a sandwich that was untouched and a six-pack of beer that wasn't. He was coming to the conclusion that perhaps drinking and feeling sorry for himself should become his new hobby. Lord knows he was good at it.
All Hail the Saiyan Prince of Beer guts! he thought somberly and cracked the tab on his fourth with grim determination. What else was there for him anymore? What was there really? He had purposely pushed Bulma away before the tournament with the warped logic that she would easily move on with her life after he had lost his own. If she didn't want him now it was his own damned fault, not hers. Kakarrot's infectious stupidity had claimed his only son, turning the boy against him. He couldn't even challenge the bastard to combat over the issue because he knew that the other pureblooded Saiyan would easily kick his ass. He always could. The only person still on his side seemed to be Bulma's mother.
That was enough to get him to start crying. Again. Not for the first time since this unending nightmare started to unfold, Vegeta cursed being wished back. He might have ended up in Hell and back among a sea of familiar faces, but at least he would have been whole. Now ...he didn't know what he was.
Even worse, he was beginning to discover that he no longer really cared.
He felt a prickle on the edge of his consciousness and looked around in time to see Gohan land in the courtyard. He slouched further down in his seat and tried to appear invisible. It didn't work (Of course it wouldn't, he thought to himself, When it involves me it's jinxed!) and the teenager began marching towards him. "Vegeta-"
"He's not here. Try the next house."
"I've been thinking about this all day. What Trunks said was dead wrong. I'm with you on that one. He should never have said what he did. It wasn't fair. But I honestly believe that maybe you two should sit down and have a good long talk-" Vegeta still wasn't looking at him and his hand began pantomiming a duck's beak wagging up and down. "...Are you drunk?"
"Not yet. Go home, boy."
"I didn't come all the way over here to talk to you about Trunks."
"That a fact," Vegeta quipped, staring at him with bored half-lidded eyes.
Gohan voice remained level when he said; "I want to spar with you."
Vegeta released a bark of laughter that contained absolutely no humor. "Your perfect, wonderful, heroic father is back home now. Go fight with him."
"I'd like to, believe me, but he's out of my league now ever since he reached Super Saiyan Level Three. Since you never managed to get that far, I figure now we're pretty evenly matched."
Vegeta could have sworn that his heart actually skipped a beat. The can of beer paused at his lips and his dull gaze suddenly sharpened on the teenager. "...What the hell did you just say?"
"Well, I don't mean to rub your face in it or anything but it's the truth, Vegeta. Dad's just too powerful now. I know it was Babidi's magic that helped you get to Level Two, but I bet you could get close to it on your own if you tried-"
Vegeta slammed his hands down on the patio table and got to his feet, crossing his arms in his usual stressed pose. "Why are you trying to get me angry, brat? What's the reason?" He was studying Gohan very seriously.
The teenager matched his stare; completely calm, perfectly composed. "Since when have I needed a reason? It's how you always are, isn't it? Or have you changed as much as my father has?"
"Watch your tone with me, boy," Vegeta said in a low, dangerous tone.
"What're you going to do about it, old man?" Gohan shot back.
Dropping his arms in surprise, the muscles across Vegeta's chest clenched and unclenched in agitation. His hands curled into tight fists, the knuckles turning white as he increased his grip in his growing fury. He wasn't sure what was pissing him off more; the boy's sheer insolence or the fact that he wasn't backing down from his arrogant conduct. There had been the odd time before when Gohan's smart mouth had gotten him in trouble but this blatant challenge was unprecedented. "You need to be reminded of your place," Vegeta snarled. "If it's a spar you want we'll do it right here."
This time Gohan was the one who crossed his arms. "Why not inside of that simulator you're always bragging about? Or are you out of practice? I hear you haven't trained since we all got back from the Look Out."
Vegeta's dark features flushed to a deep crimson. "Let's go," he grated out from between clenched teeth.
The gravity simulator had long since been moved inside the headquarters building into a specialized reinforced section on the ground floor. It was soundproofed and equipped with anti-blast shielding that was guaranteed to offset any explosion and channel it outside. Vegeta had only managed to breech the wall once and, true to its design, the built-in shields had projected the displaced energy harmlessly into the sky.
Gohan waited impatiently beside the door for Vegeta to slip into a more appropriate outfit for sparring. He could feel his resolve faltering with each passing second but knew backing out of the challenge was no longer an option. He had intentionally provoked this conflict and now had to see it through to its end and make his payment. Probably in blood. Maintaining the gruff façade, he quipped; "I thought you'd run away," when Vegeta came down the stairs wearing his sleeveless dark blue training suit.
Fixing the teenager with a withering glare as he pulled on his gloves, Vegeta shot back with: "You're going to be wishing I had by the time I'm through with you."
Gohan didn't drop his gaze but he managed one swallow. His throat had closed up to the size of a pinhole. "I've never sparred in the simulator before. What shall we set it at?"
"How about five hundred times earth's gravity?" Vegeta asked seriously as he entered the security code and waited for the reinforced doors to open.
"Fine," the teenager answered without hesitation.
Vegeta knew full well that the teen had never reached that level of training and would be smashed to the floor the instant the gravity emitters engaged. Fighting in here would be a huge advantage in his favor and, not for the first time, Vegeta's resolve lapsed. He stopped at the room's entrance, suddenly lost in thought. Something wasn't right here...
Gohan sensed the hesitation and boldly walked into the huge chamber as if he owned it. "I'll let you pick the setting," he said, adding a distracted wave.
"Don't do me any favors," Vegeta shot back. He walked over to the control panel and eyed the read-out. The highest level he had ever reached was five hundred and four and he was reasonably certain that all the teenager was accustomed to was earth's own paltry gravitational field. His old self, the Vegeta before all of that Majin Buu bullshit, would have entered 'five-hundred' into the console without hesitation. That old Vegeta would have relished watching Gohan's painful struggles on the steel floor with detached, gloating satisfaction. Right now, however, he found that he just wanted it to be a fair fight. "I'm going to set it for ...one hundred."
Gohan flashed him a grin. "That should be okay. I'll try to keep up with you on that one," he said with clear sarcasm.
The older Saiyan hesitated and stared solemnly at him. "This isn't like you."
"How would you know? The only time you talked to me these last seven years was to put me down for going to school. I'm a disappointment to the Saiyan race, right? Here's your chance to prove it, once and for all."
Casting him one more resentful glare, Vegeta hit the 'engage' button and flexed his muscles as the simulator began the steady progression of increasing the punishing gravity. Gohan could feel the pull almost immediately and willed his body not to betray him by trembling from the increasing stress. He had to maintain the appearance of the antagonist and knew that he was a crappy actor. Across from him, seemingly oblivious to the pressure, Vegeta did a few one-armed push-ups and executed a series of nimble back flips before getting into his unmistakable half-front facing posture, legs spread for balance. Gohan stood in a rooted stance and faced him squarely without any fear.
"The simulator has now reached one hundred times earth gravity," the mellow voice of the computer told them. "Maximum safety parameters have been established."
The pair faced off but neither made the transformation into Super Saiyan, wordlessly agreeing that the first to fall back on the change would be unanimously declared the loser and the match would be made forfeit. This was a face-off that pitted youth against experience; enthusiasm against composure; impatience against wisdom. It was a battle that would be waged solely using wits and skill.
For the first few minutes, the two charged and feinted, each evaluating the other's strategy and technique. They had sparred before, sometimes in life-or-death battles, but now there was something different that made Vegeta particularly wary. He tried to tell himself that the motivation behind this challenge was only teenage hormones and chronic immaturity. In the back of his mind, however, he knew that the teenager wasn't one to act on his emotions like Saiyans traditionally did. He was the thoughtful, intuitive one. There had to be a reason for him to be acting so irrational but Vegeta was damned if he could figure out what it was. Because of this, he resolved that he was not going to hurt Gohan.
Too much.
Forcing pictures of past enemies and battles through his mind, Gohan fed on the anger that the memories radiated; Frieza, Cell, even Vegeta himself when he had first appeared on earth. He released a shout of anger and charged. His kicks and blows put Vegeta on an unexpected defensive and the older Saiyan actually gave ground. With a snarl of anger, Vegeta dropped into a low stance and released a straight-up sidekick that collided with the youth's jaw and knocked him back a few feet. When Gohan wiped his mouth there was a streak of blood smeared across the back of his hand.
"First blood," Vegeta remarked smugly. "Might as well give up now, b-"
Gohan suddenly phased out and materialized behind the older Saiyan faster than the eye could track. Vegeta felt a knee connect with his lower back and knew that he'd be pissing blood by evening. If there was anything that he hated more than getting nailed in the nuts, it was a cheap shot to the kidneys. With a growl, he brought his elbow straight back and heard a satisfying exhale of breath as his strike connected with the boy's ribcage. After that he immediately dropped to the floor and knocked Gohan off-balance with a low sideswipe with his right leg. Not to be outdone, the youth fell back on his muscular arms and kicked out with both feet connecting squarely with Vegeta's stomach, driving him backwards.
The Saiyan turned his misplaced momentum into a back flip and rebounded from the wall of the simulator. He executed a series of lightening-fast feints, phasing in and out of sight, before appearing directly in front of Gohan and knocking him backwards. Vegeta avoided a one-knuckle fist punch aimed for his Adam's apple and leapt into the air. Executing a swift flip, he released a side-snap kick that clubbed the teen on the side of the head. It knocked Gohan off of his feet and sent him skidding across the smooth metal floor.
Stumbling backwards and trying not to succumb to the pull of gravity, Gohan squinted through a vision marred by bright colors, trying to shake off the blow. Vegeta regarded him with guarded curiosity, again registering that something was off about the nature of this conflict. "You're holding back," he observed. "Feeling me out, testing my defenses. Why?"
"You're different."
"I'm different?" He couldn't believe it. "I'm not the one who came here half-cocked and spoiling for a fight, brat."
"Vegeta, some of the moves that you're using are my dad's style. Haven't you noticed?"
He recoiled as if physically struck. Shaking his head, he forced himself to play back their brief skirmish. The teenager was right. There only two different moves he could see, variations really of his two favorite kicks, but it was enough. "No ..."
"I watched my dad's kata this morning and it's the same with him, he's adopted some of your stances into his routine. I'm not the one holding back here, Vegeta. You are."
"Shut up, boy," he snarled. Kakarrot had warped his mind, body, and emotions and now that taint had even reached his fighting style; a Royal kata that had been handed down through one thousand years of Elite selective breeding. It was final damned straw and he felt that familiar old rage and hate rise from the ashes at last. He was damned if he was going to allow the moves of some Third-class piece of shit pollute his proud lineage.
"It's true, you're fighting like my dad," Gohan persisted. "A part of you realizes that, I think. You're fighting me in here as much as you're fighting him-"
"Shut up! Just- SHUT UP!" he shouted back, lashing out with fists and feet. There was a desperate intensity behind his assault and Gohan was genuinely shocked by the strength, skill, and speed of the Saiyan's myriad attacks. The transitions between the man's moves were effortless and fluid. All motion was the height of perfection; aerial maneuvers, flexibility, posture, and stance. Gohan's panicked eye took note of everything as he desperately avoided key blows and returned others point for point.
Saiyan and hybrid flew into one another; a blur of strikes, kicks, and blocks. Gohan quickly recovered his wits and he moved like a possessed soul with several of his punches and kicks actually getting through Vegeta's defenses. One palm heel glanced off of his cheekbone while a knee barely missed connecting with his groin. It was at this point that Vegeta resolved to stop humoring him and show the brat just what the Prince of Saiyans could really do in a fight.
Jumping back to avoid a hammer-fist strike that would have easily shattered a rib, Vegeta let the battle lust drop over his mind and transform everything around him into a crimson veil. All at once, Gohan found himself on the receiving end of the Saiyan's unique repertoire of martial arts; gainer flash, whip back, spear-fist thrust, reverse kick, ridge-hand strike, dagger lunge- He could find no defense against that alien technique and in the span of twenty swift heartbeats, the teenager found himself back on the simulator floor, barely conscious.
The rage deserted Vegeta as swiftly as it had come, leaving him hollow and cold. He felt absolutely no sense of victory at the sight lying at his feet. He had lost his temper. It was something that hadn't happened since Trunks had been eight and caught him off guard with a Super Saiyan transformation. No trip to the park is going to smooth this one over, he thought morosely.
He knelt down beside the teen and reached out to touch him, drawing his hand back and curling it into a fist instead. "Gohan, I-"
The teenager stirred. "... would have ...killed me if you'd ...wanted to..." he rasped out from between swollen lips.
"No-YES! But I wasn't- I-I'm not..." He almost said it out loud: I'm not the man I used to be.
As if catching that thought, Gohan wearily raised his head and actually smiled at him. "...How much more proof do you need that you're ...a better person now, Vegeta?"
All of the blood drained out of his face as he struggled to respond. With a growl, he turned sharply and walked away. Gohan thought for sure that he was heading for the exit but he walked over to the console instead. After a few seconds, the computer informed them: "The simulator has now returned to standard earth gravity. All safety parameters are no longer in effect."
Gohan immediately felt the strain leave his battered frame and he released a sigh of relief, sitting up. "That's better. Thanks, Vegeta," he said sincerely, rubbing his aching shoulder.
"You tricked me," Vegeta said in a low voice, not turning around. He had not escaped unscathed from their frenzied skirmish; there were a number of bruises that marked his arms and face but the injuries were mild in comparison to what he had inflicted on the teenager. He squeezed his eyes shut in shame.
Pulling off his sweaty T-shirt, Gohan wiped his face. "No, you knew what I was up to right from the start," he said, his words muffled by the fabric. "I could see you figuring it out while we fought."
This time the older Saiyan looked around at him. "Idiot. What purpose did it serve? Look at the state of you!"
"It could have been worse and you know it," the teenager said. When he received no denial he plunged on, "The only language that you and my dad understand is combat. Trying to talk to you when I first came here would have been useless. I know that you wouldn't have listened to me."
"I'm listening now."
Gohan's bruised face became serious. "Good, because I have a lot to say..."
Trunks maintained his direct course west while struggling with everything that his mother had told him earlier. His young mind was frantically trying to process all of the information before he began the fateful chore of facing his father and atone for his earlier misconduct. Bulma had been surprisingly calm when she had dealt with him, but he knew better than to expect that treatment from his father. If past experience was any judge, the man was going to be brilliantly pissed.
"His own father just handed him over to Frieza like he was some- some unwanted pet. How could he do that?" the boy wondered bitterly, unable to comprehend the logic behind the action. At the age of five, his dad would have been old enough to grasp what was happening to him. He would have felt betrayed, abandoned, unwanted... left at the mercy of the butcher responsible for the extinction of his race.
He suffers from nightmares to this very day from what that-that miserable bastard did to him, his mother had confessed with unusual spite. She was a woman who never held onto a grudge and so the fierce hatred behind her words came as a brutal shock. His father was a full-blooded Saiyan; beatings wouldn't have fazed him so it had to have been something else. Something... worse.
"No," Trunks choked, his eyes burning with unshed tears. He shook his head to try and drive the suspicions away. He had barely scratched the surface of what he suspected and even that mere glimpse was enough to cause him to shudder. It was too awful to consider. Too- too evil.
As evil as his father had once been.
Trunks realized he was actually terrified to face his father now that he knew the truth of his terrible past. An interstellar butcher responsible for the deaths of an incalculable number of alien lives. A celestial bad-ass who had no equal until the moment he set foot on earth and set forces into motion that were still in action to this very day. He had the entire universe to roam but here he stayed: playing house with a wife and son. Why?
His mother's voice was back: What matters is that Vegeta loves you very much. He can't say it out loud but it's true. He's so proud of you, Trunks. To become a Super Saiyan at so young an age and so powerful-
He and his father had been drifting apart over the last few years; a distancing so unperceivable that the boy barely noticed, too wrapped up in his own life with friends and school to realize that perhaps his absence had been noticed. And missed. Vegeta wasn't the only one at fault here, not by a long shot. It dawned on Trunks that he had been acting like a self-centered little rich kid who believed that the world revolved around him. His cheeks flamed with shame at how often Gokou's name entered into conversations at home, oblivious to his mother's veiled glances at his father, or of the older Saiyan's tendency to lapse into silence when the name was mentioned.
He had to make things right, he knew that, but he was drawing a blank on how to do it.
His senses picked up a familiar ki as he neared the Capital and was astonished to see Gohan streaking by in the opposite direction. The teenager slowed his pace long enough to offer the boy a wave and Trunks' keen eye caught sight of a split lip and bruises on the older hybrid's face. He had a pretty good idea where the teenager had come from, and that knowledge filled Trunks with increasing dread.
When he landed in the courtyard, he found his father standing in the shade under one of the trees apparently waiting for him. He was wearing one of his blue training suits and it looked like it had endured some light combat. There were also bruises on his face. That meant that Trunks' earlier suspicions were confirmed; Gohan and his father had gotten into it. He couldn't think of a reason why but when Vegeta snapped his outraged glare solely on the boy, he couldn't think of much else. His fear had returned with a vengeance.
"D-Dad listen, I'm really sor-"
"Shut up. I've been thinking hard about what you said earlier. About you wanting Kakarrot for a father-"
"I-I didn't mean it-"
"Yes, you did. Listen up boy, and listen good. Maybe Gohan rattled my brain a bit or maybe I'm finally losing my mind for good. Whatever the case, it's my turn to speak and I don't want to hear a peep out of you until I'm finished. This is a once-in-a-lifetime-never-to-be-repeated offer and I don't want to lose my train of thought. Got it?
"I-" Trunks had a pretty good idea of what his father was going to say and decided not to interrupt him. " ...Sure, sure dad," he said in a meek tone, easing down into the nearby bench. He was squaring his shoulders and waiting for the barrage to come.
Taking a few seconds to consider his words, the older Saiyan surprised the boy by speaking in a calm, measured voice that was completely uncommon to his usual impatient nature. If anything, hearing it made Trunks even more anxious and so he listened closely, not interrupting. "If it hadn't been for a simple blow to the head caused by a senile old human, Kakarrot would never have become who and what he is today. He would have attacked the Earth, probably destroyed it because that's what Saiyans do-" Vegeta shook his head and corrected himself, "No, that's what Saiyans did. What I'm trying to say is that because of that one thing, Kakarrot's destiny was changed. He was raised among humans and believed himself to be one. As a result he adopted ideals that no Saiyan would have ever been able to accept under normal circumstances; respect, friendship... and that cursed 'L' word that your mother uses every damn chance she gets.
"I didn't have the comfort of an upbringing like that. I had a throne, an empire, and a proud race torn away from me until all that I had left was my own name. I've had to fight for every single scrap I could get my hands on ever since I was your age. A life like that makes you hard. And cold. And pitifully grateful for any little speck of simple kindness you can scrounge. Your mother gave me that gift over ten years ago and I've never forgotten it.
"Our argument made me aware that you take your life for granted, just as Kakarrot does. That circus clown has two strong sons and a spitfire for a mate, and yet his greatest ambition is to do nothing more than bum around the planet. You have more wealth than you can imagine. You're one of the most powerful beings in the universe. You have your freedom. Yet none of that seems to be enough for you. You're not content with your station and that pisses me off to no end. Sometimes I just want to lock minds with you and show just you how bad things can get for a boy-" he swallowed and looked away. "But no matter how disrespectful you are, there's no justifying that punishment. You'll just have to take my word for it. If the worst thing in your life is thinking that I'm a lousy father then you're an idiot- Just like your revered idol."
Trunks was shaking his head. "Stop it, dad! I don't want to hear anymore-"
Vegeta suddenly shouted: "You will LISTEN! You piss and moan that I never talk to you! Well damn it, I'm talking now so shut up!"
The boy's mouth closed with an audible snap.
"I'm not trying to offer you excuses but you have to understand this, Trunks: I am a pureblooded Saiyan. I'm the last true prince of an extinct race of warriors that killed solely for pleasure. Bloodletting was a sport to us, nothing more-nothing less. To us, all other races were inferior. You can pin it on genetics or evolution all you want but the truth was that I liked the way I was. I was the most feared killer in the universe and I reveled in that title. Was I insane? Your mother and her friends would like to think so. The brutal truth is that I was completely sane. I didn't actually lose my mind until I endured my first defeat at the hands of Kakarrot. That's when I went fucking crazy. And that madness remained right up to the day I sacrificed myself to kill Majin Buu-" he stopped suddenly, realizing that he had been close to raving. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcing himself to calm down. "It was the fusion that caused all of the problems," Vegeta told him in a softer voice. "The Potara Earrings were meant to create a permanent amalgam of Kakarrot and myself but we broke apart inside Majin Buu. I'm seeing things from Kakarrot's perspective but that isn't the worst of it. He's in my mind and soul, effecting my emotions, my fighting style, everything that's important to me. I lost something integral after that damned Fusion. I'm no longer the person I used to be and ... I honestly don't know what to do."
"Dad, I-I ..." Trunks was at a loss for words. His mother had told him earlier what happened but actually hearing his father confess the truth was not something he could have prepared himself for. It wasn't the victory he thought it would be. To see his father so vulnerable was more terrible than the first time he had seen him fall in battle.
He got to his feet and put a hand on his father's arm and was briefly encouraged when Vegeta made no move to shake him off and widen the distance. "What can I do for you?" he asked sincerely.
"Stop bringing up Kakarrot for a start. I know he's you're hero. I know for a fact that he's stronger and more powerful than me but I don't need to be reminded of it every goddamned day." There. He finally admitted the painful truth it out loud for the first time since he and Kakarrot had first met. He was surprised to find that it rolled off of his tongue easier than he'd thought it would. And damned if he didn't feel better for saying it. He felt ... felt ...
He savored that odd feeling, testing it, while Trunks stood beside him and started to cry. "I'm sorry dad! You're my father! Not him! I never should have said it. I'm sorry!" Tears were starting to spill from his blue eyes and run down his cheeks, and he wiped his running nose on the sleeve of his shirt, chest hitching miserably.
Watching his son struggle with his grief, Vegeta considered this odd unburdened sensation deep within him. It was as if someone had lanced an infected boil and released the poison trapped inside of it. The only difference was that this infection had been deep in his soul, festering for decades.
He suddenly recalled some of Gohan's words after their fight. The teenager had prepared quite a sermon and he had lectured with the skill of a Baptist minister. Vegeta had listened as best he could but he hadn't retained much beyond the salient points. He was a Saiyan, after all, and the boy had been dead-on when he had said that combat was the only language Saiyans really understood. Still, he remembered enough, and those words came back to him now.
" – My father is back, but when he was gone you were as close to a father to me as any man I knew, next to Piccolo. I'll always respect you for it. Deep down you're a good person and now you've been given the chance to finally prove it. Make it work, Vegeta. I know you can do that."
There had been more, an hour's worth of babble, but those five sentences summed it up perfectly. He had been given a second chance to make things right for his family and the time had come to shelve the self-pity and get back to living.
Cool! Gokou was back to cavorting around in the background of his thoughts. It's about time, Vegeta. Let's get down and par-tay!
Not you, dumbnuts, Vegeta thought back. I'm taking back control of my mind once and for all.
Oh yeah?
You'd better believe it.Sure, right. And how you gonna do it-
With his mental control back on track, Vegeta envisioned a huge stone slab dropping out of the sky and squishing the orange-clothed irritant like a bug under a rock. A crimson pond began to quickly spread around the pillar. He could even see Kakarrot's fingers and feet twitching spasmodically under the heavy weight and he absorbed the sight with private relish. It was only a mental representation, but one took the victories you could get. Finishing off the vision, a mountainous broom swept the grisly mess into a dark, rarely used corner of his mind and he sealed the door shut with deadbolts and chains.
You got into my body and emotions, even my damned kata, but I'm taking my mind back. It's the only thing of mine I've got left. Understand? he yelled at the door.
There was no answer, which was precisely what he expected. He nodded in satisfaction and returned to the real world.
Trunks was still bawling and Vegeta rolled his eyes and lightly batted the side of the boy's head, ruffling his already mussed lavender hair. "You get that emotion from your mother. Quick to temper and speaking without thinking, you get that from me. You're our son, all right," he muttered. When Trunks looked up, he was astonished to see his father was smiling down at him.
"Dad ...?"
"Let's go inside and get something to eat," Vegeta offered and he watched his son release an excited shout, one small arm punching at the sky in a gesture of victory.
That painful tension in the center of his being loosed even more. Vegeta felt a little like celebrating himself.
Bulma had noticed over the evening meal that something about Vegeta was different but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
He had been unusually polite at the table, and receptive to Trunks' banter about friends and school (but nothing about Gokou, the boy had taken his father's words to heart and it would be a long time before he would ever bring that name up in front of him again). She was relieved to see that the two had apparently made their peace but she saw bruises on Vegeta's face that weren't there the night before. Trunks was unharmed, she noted gratefully, but she felt that familiar worry start to return to her weary muscles. She was wondering if her husband had gone to Mr. Satan's mansion to visit an old pink friend ...
When supper was over, Vegeta went back to cleaning the rest of his neglected fish tanks and Trunks stayed close by his side. Bulma wanted to talk to her husband about this miraculous turn-around to his behavior but she figured it was more important for the pair to interact and make up for lost time together. When she had received Gohan's call over what had happened that morning, her first instinct had been to simply chastise the youth. Telling the boy about his father's dark past had been her absolute last choice, but it was one she was glad she had made. Trunks was human but he was also half-Saiyan and responding enthusiastically to powerful figures was an instinctive thing in his alien make-up. She had now ensured that he would give his father the proper respect he deserved.
What worried her now was Vegeta's reaction to his son's knowledge of his past. While they were together, Trunks would no doubt be fishing for juicy tidbits about his father's past life as a soldier. He might become irritated by the boy's curiosity but she had a pretty good idea that if he was going to lose his temper over the issue it was going to be at her. She had betrayed his confidence in her by telling Trunks everything. There was no telling what his reaction might be and for that reason, she kept her distance until bedtime.
When she finally braved up the nerve to go into their bedroom, Bulma found it empty but noticed the double doors to the balcony were open. A gentle breeze was blowing at the curtains and they were billowing gently in the breeze. She peered outside and saw her husband sitting on the railing of the balcony, looking out at the lights of the Capital. She hovered in the doorway, watching him and committing every detail to memory. Recalling the details of his past, Bulma's head now felt swollen with all of the contradictions this enigma had exhibited over all the years she had known him; villain and hero, murderer and lover, traitor and friend, loner and father.
He was freshly showered and clad in a pair of simple sleep pants, his damp hair was undisturbed by the slight breeze that was hitting this side of the headquarters building. He usually had his arms crossed in that constant gesture of tension but this time his fingers were loosely laced together and lying on his stomach. When he finally noticed her, he inclined his jaw and gestured to the city; an unspoken invitation to join him.
"It's a beautiful night," she said, standing beside him.
He nodded mutely. "Hell of a couple of weeks, though."
"Yeah, it was that," she admitted and in the back of her mind, he caught; Hell of a couple of months, truth to tell...
"I know you spoke to Trunks."
She cast him a startled glance. "What makes you think that I said anything to him?"
"Obnoxious brat in the morning, regretful child by evening. It didn't take a genius to figure out why."
He passed her an absent wave. "I'm not angry." He lapsed back into his strange silence and then added in a softer voice, "It takes a lot more than that to get me angry now."
"Is that really a bad thing?" she dared to ask.
Turning his head, he looked into her face – her beautiful, trusting face, and admitted, "No, I don't think it is."
Troubled, she examined him closely in the light of the half-moon overhead; a moon that she had wished back six years ago in a time when they had been newlyweds, lost in love with each other and oblivious to the pressures and trials that would almost rip that union to pieces. His face was calm while he let the examination linger, watching her eyes, familiarizing himself with their luster and assured to see the concern there, and the love.
Those eyes suddenly narrowed in suspicion. "Are you drunk?" she asked.
He had been expecting anything but that. "Am I- What? No!" He swung his legs off the railing and stood to face her. "I'm trying to tell you that I'm starting to make my peace with what's happened to me."
She was still eying him shrewdly. "Uh-huh. And what brought this suddenly around?"
"Gohan, Trunks," he flushed slightly when he added, "... your mother."
That surprised her. "Mom?! What did she do?"
He was shaking his head. "I will never tell you even if a live to be hundred." He could start to see the gears turning in that genius mind of hers and added quickly, "and neither will she."
The doubt was finally starting to leave her face. "And how do I know that come morning you won't be right back to your old evil self?"
"I don't think he's a tenant anymore."
"Oh, come on!"
"I'm serious, Bulma. I faced my share of trials today and there wasn't one hint of that usual homicidal compulsion-" He suddenly broke off, considering, and felt compelled to add; "Well, I did lose my temper with Gohan when we fought earlier but he purposely goaded me into it."
Now she had her answer about the new bruises on his face. "Gohan! When was he here?"
"It was probably around the time you were talking to Trunks. He's one smart son of a bitch, I'll give him that much. He let me win just to test my self-control. I could have killed him."
"But you didn't," she said, relieved.
"It wasn't even close. And that's not like me in a fight."
"No, it sure isn't."
He actually betrayed an absent shrug. "Perhaps that's not such a bad thing. Today I finally realized that all that I really care about are you and Trunks. You two are the only people that matter in my life. The rest on this world are of no consequence." He let those words sink in for a moment and then continued, "I'm trying to say that I want to try and make things right between the three of us. If you'll permit me, that is."
"I've put up with you killing my boyfriend and nearly destroying the earth," Bulma spoke carefully in a neutral tone. "You scared the shit out of me on Namek and treated me like some damned employee when you were training to fight Cell. I've stayed by your side through the V'Nhar, Dorothy Pereaux, Installation 15, and Frieza's poison. I've put up with more years of your stubborn, self-righteous bullshit than I'd like to count. Do you know what all of that means, Vegeta?"
He opened his mouth to respond and found himself at a rare loss for words. All he could get out was a meek, "No."
She closed the distance between them and suddenly kissed him. "It means that I'm sure as hell not going to let you off the hook now," she said softly, smiling for the first time tonight. "Not when there's finally a reason to hope that things will change for the better."
They embraced and kissed again and Bulma was encouraged by the fervor of his lips, not to mention the accuracy. Their disastrous first attempt at reconciliation was still fresh in her mind and she was cautiously optimistic that the man she loved seemed to be back at the controls.
Gently moving aside a few stray strands of her sea-foam colored hair, he softly pressed his lips to her forehead, kissing her gently before moving down, following the shape of her eyes, the curve of her cheek, the outline of her jaw with his lips. Tasting the soft flesh of her neck, earlobes, eyelids, he ran the tip of his tongue across her lips, tracing their contours before slowly sliding his tongue between them, teasing her lightly.
As the kiss deepened and began to get serious, Bulma thought that her trembling legs were going to betray her. She reached down and was relieved to find him hard and throbbing with need. Oh yes, her Vegeta was back at last!
He caught that thought. When they parted for breath, he told her, "No, I'm not the same person. I'm different. Better, I think." Gohan had said the same thing but now, right now, was the first time that he actually believed it might be true.
"I think so, too. Let's see what else you are," she said in a husky voice. She took his hand and led him back into their bedroom. Spurred on by their mutual excitement, clothes were shed in short order before they collapsed eagerly onto the bed.
With a subtle shift of her hips, she accepted the entire length of him with a gratified sigh. Two months, she thought absently, arching her back beneath him and grabbing firm hold of his muscular back. It's been too damned long-! They became a delicious tangle of limbs riding the sea of navy blue sheets.
The two melded into one, each feeling, giving and receiving pleasure. It was intense, it was beautiful, wonderful, and more. Much more. It was the rejoining of two souls that had been separated for too long and were aching from neglect. Two soul mates consummating their union as if it were the first time they ever met. Their pleasures spiraled higher, both of them riding the edge of their union to the brink and holding it there, reveling in the intimacy. Their kisses were fevered, hands roughly tender as they grew reacquainted with each other, purposely delaying the inevitable, becoming familiar with each other's body through the delicate senses of taste and touch.
Softly murmured words were exchanged as each reached the edge time and time again. They were trapped in the fleeting eternity of their lovemaking before their passion sent them tumbling over the edge, falling down into the sweet transcendence of the moment; the touch of softened skin to hardened muscle. The one, soon returning to two as they finally drew apart, the swift beat of their hearts slipping to a slower rhythm and their heavy breathing gradually easing.
Feeling all of the muscles of her body relaxing from their efforts, Bulma settled in under the covers and felt his muscular body settle into place behind her, molding against her as close as he could. She took one of his hands and kissed it and felt his lips softly brushing against her shoulder. His hand traced the swell of her breasts and then went down to rub back and forth against her belly. Comforted by his touch, Bulma felt herself beginning to drift off. Her passion and lust sated in the act of their mutual love.
All was silent for perhaps ten minutes when Vegeta suddenly murmured, "I'm curious. Do earth females have to endure a fertility expiration date?"
Her eyes snapped open like window shades and her entire body stiffened against him. "...What?"
"Nothing. Go to sleep."
"Vegeta, what did you say?" She waited for more from him and got nothing. By the time her shocked mind began to process the possible implications (Was he asking if I could still have children? Was that it?!) he was asleep and snoring, another one of the side-effects he had gotten from merging with Gokou.
Bulma rolled over and watched him as he slept, her mind whirling. Unaware that she had begun doing it, she began to caress her own stomach.
Standing out side of the bedroom door clad only in nightie and housecoat, Mrs. Briefs shared the same look of stunned amazement that her daughter presently wore. She had heard every word (and a great deal more), her ears were very keen for a woman of her age. She eavesdropped just to assure herself that things were going to be all right between the troubled couple, or so she tried to tell herself anyway. Regardless of her motives she had heard enough and eagerly ran back to her bedroom.
Mr. Briefs was sitting up in bed and reading a thick tome about String Theory when his wife pounced on the bed like a little kid. "So, Bulma and Vegeta are getting along, are they?" he queried neutrally, knowing about his wife's odd voyeuristic tendencies where the odd couple was concerned.
"Better than that, honey! I think that they might decide to have another child, isn't that wonderful?" she gushed.
Mr. Briefs dropped his book into his lap while his wife discarded the housecoat and slipped under the covers. She gave him a sweet peck on the cheek and then rolled over onto her side. "Just think, we might hear the sweet pitter-patter of little feet soon. I can't wait!"
She fell quickly asleep, unaware of her husband sitting bolt upright and saying over and over in a hoarse whisper; "...the horror ...the horror ..."
Bulma slammed her palm down on the snooze button of the blaring alarm clock and rolled over to stare groggily at the ceiling. It had been a peculiar night's sleep. At least two times an hour throughout the night she had snapped awake and looked for Vegeta, convinced that having him once more in her bed had just been a dream. She found him in the exact same place each time; lying close beside her and sleeping peacefully. That annoying new tendency to snore had been replaced by his endearing purr-like rumble. To convince herself that this wasn't some cruel vision, she actually poked him to confirm he was real.
When dawn broke and she woke up to continue the odd ritual, she found his side of the bed was empty and almost panicked until she heard rustling in the room. Vegeta was up and changing into his jogging clothes, another familiar hobby that she was pleased to see him returning to. Seeing she was awake, he walked over and kissed her. "I'll see you later," he promised and left the room.
Bulma made a mental note to clear her noon hour for a quickie and then slapped her forehead in exasperation. It would have been the perfect time to ask him what he had meant about 'fertility expiration dates' and the moment was lost. "Damn it!" she cursed, wondering if her intelligence was on temporary hiatus. When she and Vegeta had first started courted, he'd had that effect on her; disarming her, making her second-guess herself, (driving her crazy) and damned if he hadn't taken up the reins and started doing it all again.
She rubbed her stomach again and allowed herself a small, wistful smile. Perhaps the time had come to stop taking the Pill once and for all ...She would have a deep discussion with him before doing it, though. This time, she had a deep suspicion that he just might be receptive to the idea.
Over breakfast, it was just her and Trunks with Mrs. Briefs flouncing all around the kitchen as if someone had slipped Ecstasy into her morning tea. The boy was shoveling food into his maw but he was more asleep than awake. Vegeta had dragged him out of bed to join him on his morning jog through Western Capital Park and now he was already exhausted even though it was barely eight o'clock. Bulma wasn't sure if it was her husband's method of bonding with his son or punishing him, but she found it hard to contain her amusement as she watched the boy struggling to keep his head up. She imagined that she would get a call from school today informing her that he had fallen asleep in class. It wouldn't be a first time.
She snapped her fingers beneath his chin and he jerked upright in surprise. "Trunks, go upstairs and take a quick shower. Hurry now, or you're going to be late for school."
"Uhm, 'kay mom," he mumbled and dragged himself out of the chair to go upstairs. It was almost painful to watch.
Bulma turned to her mother. "Has Vegeta been in for breakfast?"
Mrs. Briefs flashed her a beaming smile. "Not yet, honey!"
"...Mom, are you alright?"
"I couldn't be better!" she said happily. "It's just such a beautiful day!" she executed a near-perfect pirouette and danced off into the pantry.
Bulma shook her head and decided it was time to get to her office. The emergency with her family seemed to be resolving itself quickly and she had to get caught up on her work before there was a crisis of another kind. She had been ahead of things when Vegeta had been training for the tournament (after all, during that lonely period there hadn't been any other diversions to occupy her time), but now she was almost two weeks behind on paperwork, requisition orders, personnel reports, meetings, agendas and all other tasks that directly concerned a company President. Since stepping down to permit his daughter's control of the company, Mr. Briefs just tinkered around in the labs. Bulma envied her father that freedom and wondered how long it would be before she could turn the reins over to Trunks.
She went downstairs and was immediately aware that something was brewing. All of the staff of Research and Development were standing in the corridor, milling around and talking in excited undertones. The first thought to go racing through her mind was; Oh crap- Mutiny! And she started backing up towards the stairs when Charles McNeal spotted her and came racing over.
"He's back! He's back!" he was spouting over and over. "My little buddy's back!" Some of the other scientists and engineers responsible for Capsule Corp.'s prototypes now noticed her and applauded, grinning wildly. A few even cheered.
"Keep it down out there, you morons!" a voice shouted from inside the lab and they all recoiled like a bunch of children, shushing themselves and moving further down the corridor to resume their excited chatter.
Bulma knew that voice. She peered around the side of the glass door and saw that Vegeta was standing at the drafting table scribbling furiously onto a blueprint. He was still in his jogging suit and he was so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't even notice her. He had a pencil behind either ear and, assured that he was alone, he put on an old pair of Charles' glasses and began to fill in some fine detail. Bulma ducked back before she was spotted.
"How long has he been here?" she asked Charles.
"I got in at six-thirty and he showed up about fifteen minutes later," he told her. "He stood in front of the GravTab blueprint for close to an hour, just reading it over. Then he started making revisions."
She stole another peek. "It looks like he's redrafting the whole thing."
Charles was close beside her. "No, that's something else," he whispered. "He finished the modification for the GravTab in about five minutes. I don't know what he's designing now but whatever it is, it's big."
That explained the staff's excitement. Vegeta's blueprints were like unexpected Christmas gifts for the Research team and they actually started some scuffles among the employees as they squabbled about who would be lucky enough to get a crack at unraveling the designs and engineer a workable prototype. Down here, the Saiyan was regarded by Bulma's old department as a hero who had thrust Capsule Corp. into the limelight with its technological marvels. Not for the first time, Bulma thought it was ironic that her husband would command all of this respect for his talent and not his power.
"How did you do it, Bulma? The last time he was here, he was a wreck," Charles' voice broke and she was astonished to see that he was near tears. Whether it was from the excitement or genuine concern for the Saiyan, she wasn't sure.
She gripped her old friend's arm and offered him one of her most dazzling smiles. "It doesn't matter now. Like you said before, he's back."
My Vegeta is back, she thought, relieved, watching her husband as he worked. Her heart was glowing with love and pride for her man. And he's better than ever.
They would all live happily ever after.
It was about damned time!
The End.


text:
A dozen bound and tortured bodies were discovered dumped on the side of a remote highway in Michoacán. Police found the latest victims of the ongoing battle between rival drug traffickers on Monday.
A threatening message was located near the beaten bodies of 11 men and one woman piled up and wrapped in a tarp, police revealed at the scene. Sadly, this has become a frequent occurrence: Last week, police found four bodies and a menacing note in the same spot.
This reoccurring brutality stems from opposing drug cartels fighting over cocaine smuggling routes running up from Central America into the United States, the world's top drug consumer. Because Mexico's drug trade has become a very lucrative business—pulling in roughly $40 billion a year—having control of these routes ensures a hand in that money.
Despite thousands of Mexican troops dispatched to numerous drug hot spots throughout the country, bloodshed has not decreased. U.S. authorities, worried that the violence will spill over the border, have offered a helping hand, pledging $1.4 billion through the Merida initiative in an attempt to help Mexico combat the cartels.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Universal Remotes
View Single Post
"Think BOOM!"
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W
Casino cash: $0
Originally Posted by
This is kind of a complex question. I'm trying to get a universal remote that is capable of controlling all my stuff and can't seem to locate one.
Here is what I have:
Sony Television
Samsung DVD
Time Warner Cable box (Scientific Atlanta)
RCA receiver with the usual surround capabilities
So far, I've purchased two 'universal' remotes that say they are capable of controlling the reciever, but neither of them are able to. Tried all the codes in the book and looking for them on the internet but nothing works.
I've tried an RCA universal remote, and one of the "one for all" brand. The RCA one wouldn't even touch the RCA reciever
and the OFA remote would get it to switch sources but that's about it. No volume or surround adjustment controls.
So, before I had to have 4 remotes on hand to get all the functions of all these devices. Now I've spent $35 trying to consolidate them, and have 2 more.
So, anyone know of a brand or model that's going to work? Otherwise, I might have to see if I can open a trap shooting range with all these POS remotes lying around
Bummer. I guess I got lucky.
I have Dish Network, and their remote allows control of my A/V receiver, DVD player and VCR, along with the satellite receiver of course.
Mind you, it doesn't give total control of the devices; just the basic functions.
Good thing too. The wife would go completely nuts if more than one remote was needed.
I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 102,315
View Public Profile
Find More Posts by Donger


text:
Difference between revisions of "Oral-History:Jin Ku Kang"
m (Text replace - "[[Category:Power, energy & industry application|" to "[[Category:Power, energy & industry applications|")
m (Text replace - "New Brunswick, NJ" to "Hoboken, NJ")
|(One intermediate revision by the same user not shown)
|Line 15:
|Line 15:

This manuscript is being made available for research purposes only. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the IEEE History Center. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of IEEE History Center.

This manuscript is being made available for research purposes only. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the IEEE History Center. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of IEEE History Center.

Request for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the IEEE History Center Oral History Program,

Request for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the IEEE History Center Oral History Program, , , NJ USA. It should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user.

It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows:

It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows:

JIN KU KANG, an oral history conducted in 1996 by Andrew Goldstein, IEEE History Center,

JIN KU KANG, an oral history conducted in 1996 by Andrew Goldstein, IEEE History Center, , NJ, USA.

== Interview ==
== Interview ==
Revision as of 16:38, 30 June 2014
About Jin Ku Kang
After receiving his electronics and computer science degree in 1972, Jin Ku Kang began employment with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, where his projects included calculator and electronic switching system development. KIST and Samsung joined to form Samsung-GTE Telecommunications for electronic switching equipment production, and the KIST switching project transferred to the new Samsung-GTE. From 1977 through 1980, Kang continued switching work at Samsung-GTE. From 1980 to 1982, Kang worked at Korea Electric Telecom, or Tetri, a predecessor to Etri. At this new company, created through governmental support, Kang worked on public switching system development and on software development, directing the switching system software development laboratory. In 1982, Kang worked at Trigent Computer; a private company manufacturing PCs; beginning in 1983 he worked at the new Trigent Microsystems computer workstation company.
Kang describes the Korean government's role in electronic switching development. He details work at Samsung-GTE to develop an electronic switching system for the famed Hotel Shilla, describing the difficulties in this process. Kang describes other projects at Samsung-GTE, characterizes component availability during this era, and assesses electronic switching system sales. At the end of the interview, Kang describes Korean PC development, marketing, and sales.
About the Interview
An Interview Conducted by: Andrew Goldstein, Center for the History of Electrical Engineering, 27 August 1996
Interview #315 for the Center for the History of Electrical Engineering, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Inc.
Copyright Statement
This manuscript is being made available for research purposes only. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the IEEE History Center. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of IEEE History Center.
Request for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the IEEE History Center Oral History Program, IEEE History Center at Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, NJ 07030 USA. It should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user.
It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows:
JIN KU KANG, an oral history conducted in 1996 by Andrew Goldstein, IEEE History Center, Hoboken, NJ, USA.
INTERVIEW: Jin Ku Kang
INTERVIEWER: Andrew Goldstein
DATE: 27 August 1996
PLACE: Seoul, Korea
Education; Korea Institute of Science and Technology
I'm with Mr. Kang of Chi-Gem Microsystems, on August 27, in Seoul. Kang, can we begin with your education?
First of all, my English is so poor. I'm very sorry about that. Anyway, let me try. My major was electronics and computer science. And I completed my education in 1972. After that, I entered KIST, Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
Where did you go to school?
Hanjung University in Seoul. I was a researcher at the organization. My first project was development of a small size pocket calculator. That was a very long time ago, in 1972. Then we developed a desktop calculator, with a big size LED display.
Can you tell me how the project was organized? Who supported it, and how many people were working on it? Details about that?
<flashmp3>315 - kang - clip 1.mp3</flashmp3>
Okay. Our main laboratory was the System Engineering Lab. Among them, four people were researchers. The other parties were a support group, like technicians, and like that. We finished the calculator development project in 1972.
Electronic switching system development
We started another project that was electronic switching system development, sponsored from Korean government. And the period of that project was only one year. At that time, nobody in Korea knows about the Western Electric ESS, Electronic Switching System. It really is a strategic product, over a big country like the United States, Japan, France and England. Anyway, we started that project, without any background, experience, or knowledge. And yet, we started. But finally we failed, because we couldn't meet the schedule. After one year, our government, mostly the ministry of Communications, MOC, declared this project a failure.
Let me get the years right. This began in 1974, is that right?
No, 1973.
In 1973, and then for one year?
That's right. We returned the plant to the Korean government, but at that point it was too big, so big, for that organization, KIST, at that time. So the manager over that institute decided to rename the plant, so we could keep doing the development.
The project manager at the Ministry of Communications?
No, at the institute, the President of the institute.
He decided to keep funding your project, even though the funds from the Ministry of Communications were stopped?
That's right.
So, who was the manager at KIST?
The actual manager was Man Young Chun. Anyway, so we can keep that project. And finally, fifteen months later, we finished with that project.
Fifteen months after you started doing it on your own?
So there was another three months needed to finish that project, from the original schedule. Do you follow me?
So it was a total of fifteen months, from the beginning? Not twenty-seven months?
That's right. And at that time we developed five different systems locally, Seoul, Husan, Decu, Dechung and Pong. That's local big cities. And we installed that system. We made a network. And we can switch the old telephones.
But they weren't connected to actual telephones?
Yes, it was a really good system. No problems, no errors. During that time, we met GTE in America. The director of sales over KIST, he came to Korea, and he wanted to sell some PBX. And at that time, the manager over GTE, in Korea, he talked to him. "We already have the system you want to sell in Korea." But, the director was really surprised. He understood that Korea could not make ESS, or PBX. So, they decide to come to KIST, and they looked and they investigated. Really, they can make a phone call. It's a different city. But they asked the manager of that project, "How long does it take? How much did you pay for this project?"
To develop it?
Right. "How many people involved?" He was not a specialist for the evaluation, for the project. He was only the sales person. So, he reported back to headquarters, and he needed some real evaluation specialists.
Some engineers to come look at it?
He brought around ten specialists. Hardware engineers, software engineers, mechanical engineers, and purchasing documentation, every area. And they really evaluated in more detail. And finally, they decided that KIST can be one partner for their new development.
So at this point, GTE was considering selling your system? They would buy the right to sell the system you had developed?
That's right.
In the Far East?
Yes. But not the same one. They needed another system.
They wanted you to design a different system?
Yes, a different system.
So they needed to see how good the one you had done was?
That's right. So finally, we made a contract between KIST and GTE to develop some PBX. At that time, I think it was 1973.
Can I interrupt you for just a second? Once you had successfully built the ESS, wasn't the Ministry of Communications interested anymore?
No? Had they found different equipment, or did they simply abandon their plan to upgrade the phone switching system?
They had some special reason. But, I don't say why they don't like that system. Anyway, they don't have any interest in the new system.
Anyway, so we finished with that project around 1977.
Designing the new system for GTE?
Actually, from 1974 to 1977. It was a three-year project.
Mini-computer control for electronic switching system
In the meantime, we developed our own mini-computer as a controller for the ESS. And that computer was the first model developed in Korea. It's a really new, nice, good, good, mini-computer. And my job about that computer was to design the hardware, especially to develop data portion and micro-programming. And we developed a complete mini-computer. Using that mini-computer, we developed a perfect electronic switching system for the GTE.
What was the capacity of the system?
At that time it was 500 lines. Small and medium size PBX. So we made a team, two groups, one is hardware and one is software. I was involved in the hardware team, the hardware group. And I designed many circuits. The mini-computer, and switching systems, many things.
KIST structure
How many people were in the group at this point?
The hardware group at that time was less than twenty. And for the software, maybe ten people. A very small organization.
How big was KIST at this time?
Yes, that was KIST.
All of KIST?
That's right.
Was KIST doing other projects, or were the people at KIST doing other projects too, or was everybody working on the GTE?
GTE project. So around thirty persons. Thirty people. Ten in software, twenty in hardware. Including mechanical engineers, and power supply, and everything.
And not many people at KIST were working on other things?
Were there were other big projects?
Yes. But only thirty people were involved in the ESS development projects.
Then how many people were at KIST, total, at that time?
Seven hundred.
Collaborations of KIST and GTE
GTE had a development contract with you, so they were paying your salaries?
While you were working for them?
Now, did GTE share technology with you, as you were developing the mini-computer?
No. They didn't provide any technology. We agreed that the specification was the specification of a switching system. That's it. Anyway, so we developed that ESS project by ourselves. And after that project, the GTE development team found out that it's very difficult to produce this system in United States, or other countries. And they did the other thing, the documentation. That documentation didn't weaken in English, but most engineers don't like the writing itself. Even in Korea.
So the documentation was not as good as GTE's?
That's right. They couldn't understand it. It's quite different in English.
Samsung-GTE Telecommunications
So, finally decided that this system should be produced in Korea. So they needed some partners. Not the development, but the manufacturing. So, finally they found out the partner was Samsung Electronics. And they made a joint company, Samsung-GTE Telecommunications. And all the work from Korea KIST is transported to the Samsung-GTE Telecommunications.
Is that in Su Awn?
That's right. Not in Su Awn. In some other area. In Seoul, anyway.
Anyway, they asked not only the prototype and documentation and other works, but also they needed a key person, key technical engineers. So, I was picked and I went to GTE with many of my friends. That was April 1977 when we transferred to GTE, Samsung-GTE.
And this was the first PBX system for sale, in Korea?
That's right.
Switching system for Hotel Shilla
When we went to Samsung, the top manager with that company asked us, "Please develop the special switching system for the hotel, Hotel Shilla." Do you know Hotel Shilla? It's the biggest hotel in Korea.
In 1978 they opened that hotel, so it was only one year later. And the specification of that switching system was quite different from what we developed. We developed as just a general proportion ESS. But the hotel was quite different. Too many service features, and there were many. And the line capacity was quite big. Complex systems. At that time, the line capacity was 1,500, compared to only 500. So three times larger, bigger and only one year later. So, difficult, really almost impossible. So most of the people from the KIST, they said, "Impossible, we cannot." He called the person over at KIST, and they push him, our team, to make a pretend version.
Who called KIST? Who was it who called?
Man Young Chun.
Okay. But, at this point, you were at Samsung now, right?
That's right. But same answer from him. "It's really impossible." And he called GTE people. "I have this kind of plan. Please help me." But the same answer, "You cannot. It's impossible." And finally he called us, the engineers, and he said, "Okay, this is our order to you. Please make an ESS for Hotel Shilla for the next year. There cannot be any arguments." So then we start to develop a new, different type of switching system.
The one who made the order was Young?
Yes. V. C. Lee is the Chairman of the Samsung group. A really big guy, and really powerful person.
Lee Hee Chung?
No. It doesn't matter. So, it's funny that somebody at Samsung first went to KIST, and only then came to GTE. Because GTE had the cooperative arrangement with Samsung, so I'm surprised that someone at Samsung went to KIST first, and only later came to you.
No, let me explain. There's KIST and GTE supports with some money for their switching system, and finished the development. Then finally they decided to make this system in Korea. They needed a partner, so they have Samsung. Samsung Electronics. And they made a joint venture company, Samsung and GTE. They became Samsung-GTE Telecommunications.
Now there's the Shilla Hotel project.
That's right. We moved with this company. And actually, the Chairman of that group, the Samsung Group, Chairman V. C. Lee, made an order to make some special switching for the Hotel Shilla for the next year. And then we started a new project.
Some other group, they are producing the existing switching system. One is the development project, and another is the manufacturing.
Okay. And you're in the development group.
Yes. Mostly I'm involved with the development.
So you had one year. Now, do you know why the Hotel Shilla wanted to develop a new switching system? Couldn't they buy it somewhere else?
I don't know why. Really, KIST was a national think tank. Most of the engineers at KIST were top-level engineers. And V. C. Lee can get good engineers from KIST, at least at that project. He really stimulated, and he had some confidence.
I understand that. But I wondered why the Hotel Shilla didn't just try to buy their system from someone who had already developed it?
What you just told me was why Chairman Lee believed that they could do it.
That's right. Okay, Hotel Shilla, they really want tradition of style. Very old style. Shilla is Korea's old dynasty. So she thinks most of the equipment should be made in Korea.
The Hotel wanted to have Korean equipment to contribute to their image.
<flashmp3>315 - kang - clip 2.mp3</flashmp3>
Good image. That's right. Anyway, we really tried to develop that product, and after one year, we installed that system at the Hotel Shilla. Their system was not stable. There were some reasons. The person over Hotel Shilla, he asked the person over Samsung-GTE Telecommunications, "Please bring the system early." Every meeting he asked. So, the person over Samsung-GTE Telecommunications asked us, "Please finish the product earlier, and then install earlier." So really we were very hurried to shorten the period. We brought the system at the Hotel. But we found out, it's not ready. And we are waiting until they finish all the decorations, the rooms, something like that. Then we will install the connections to all the lines and install the software, and something like that. But during that time there were some mistakes. Some pipeline was broken.
Yes, and it was a big problem. So we take out the machine, and wash it with soap or some other materials. So really ridiculous, right? And dry. And we re-installed. But, it was not stable, still not working.
Was it not stable because of the water damage?
That's right.
So it worked in the laboratory, but because this unit got soaked with water…?
Yes, we only had one machine. So we really spent much time to make a stable product. But finally, we replaced that system. Maybe six or seven months later. So anyway, we finished that product. And after that, we developed many different types of switching systems for military applications and many different types of applications.
Samsung-GTE contracts
All of the development projects, did they help each other? Like, things you learned here, would help here?
That's right.
So, Samsung-GTE had military contracts?
Yes. At that time the telecommunications business was mostly a monopoly, to some small number of companies, like GoldStar, OPC, and Tehan-Johnson.
I don't know that last one, Tehan?
Johnson is the cables.
Okay. How do you spell Tehan Johnson? I've heard of the other companies, but not that one.
Mostly three companies. And Samsung, they try, really they try to get into the telecommunications business.
But mostly these three companies that protect it. But Samsung, finally they get into the PES system, the Private Exchange System, and still this is a public system, not the private, right?
You mean the systems made by GoldStar, OPC, and Tehan-Johnson were public systems, not private systems?
That's right. And they provided the PBX also. They were mostly the mechanical type of switching system, not electronics.
So, when Samsung started to get into PBX, who did they sell it to?
Their market share was big. The major competition was Samsung and GoldStar. So, mostly Samsung succeeded in getting into new business. They got around 40 percent of the market share, in Korea. And the next step was getting into public switching system business.
Components availability
When you were developing the switching system for Shilla Hotel, or maybe before with KIST, did you have any special problems getting parts? For instance, were there any special conditions?
Very bad. More than twenty years ago, the Korean trading system, especially international trading system, was so bad. And we tried to get minicomputers from the United States. It takes around seven or eight months to get the minicomputer. And same situation as the other components, major components. So, too late, too many complications. This was our problems, one of our problems. And also, we had no experience in the switching systems, and there was not any know-how, or technology. So really, we were starting from the zero place.
How did you try to make up for those problems? What things did you do to try to improve those problems, or get around them?
For the situation, the government, especially the Blue House, like the White House in Washington, is quite powerful. They supported the import of the major components. Even though, it took six months. But that was very helpful to us.
So, you could actually get President Park to help you import them when you needed them?
That's right. And mostly the technology was hard. We cannot have any references from other countries, like the United States, Japan or Germany. They are really protective.
So, those countries weren't sharing?
They don't give any information.
So you would listen, and then come home and try to build what you had heard about?
That's right. So anyway, that was a kind of the switching system history in Korea.
Switching system sales
The first switching system that you built at KIST, do you know who GTE could sell them to, and how many they sold?
I don't know exactly.
Was it a success though? Did GTE make money with them?
I cannot say. But Samsung, they made money. But GTE, I don't know. Anyway, you can get more detailed information from Mr. Lee. He worked at Samsung Electronics. I don't know the exact name. Anyway, Samsung was the research center.
In the GTE-Samsung partnership, was GTE actively involved in managing it? Or, was it mostly Samsung management?
Mostly Samsung.
Can you continue the story about switching systems in Korea?
Okay. I spent three years in Samsung-GTE Telecommunications. We developed many switching systems, and we sell many switching systems in Korea. So Samsung can get around 40 percent of market share in Korea.
Korea Electric Telecom; public switching system development
And at the time, Samsung finally the company was supported from government.
Maybe it was called KTC?
Yes, KTC.
A new company was formed, sort of by the government?
That's right.
Korea Telecom, is that it?
To take over the job that the Ministry of Communications used to do?
That's right, not the current KTC. The Bank of Industry was a major stockholder, and some government involved that company, they decide to hand over the private company. And there were many companies like OPC, [inaudible word], the main company tried to get that company. But finally Samsung was chosen.
I see. So this was a government function that was being privatized.
That's right.
Being handed over to a private company. All these companies bid for it, and Samsung got it?
That's right. And so Samsung has two markets. One is private switching system and another is the public switching system from this one.
The public switching system is just the phone systems for big cities?
That's right. And then, okay, for me, '72 to '77 I worked for KIST.
From 1972 to 1977. Then from 1977 to 80?
Samsung. In 1980, I moved to another organization.
To Etri.
Early Etri. At that time, we didn't call it Etri. It was Tetri, Korea Electric Telecom.
The thing that turned into Etri?
That's right.
That's from 1980 to 1982?
Yes. I was involved in public switching system development project at the Etri. And so, I was the head of switching system software development laboratory, for around three years. And then, I moved to Trigent Computer.
[End of tape 1, side a]
Can you tell me about what you were doing while you were at Etri, in 1980 to 1982? First of all, is Etri a private company, or is it government-sponsored?
So they were getting money from the government to develop a public switching system?
Yes. KIST is kind of integrated in areas, like electronics, mechanical, and in different areas. And around that time frame, they divided.
KIST spun-off?
As a spin-off to many different institutes. And electronics, another institute. Communications, another institute and so forth. And the communications was at Tetri. So most of the people in this Etri, or Tetri, were KIST. Anyway, I moved to the Etri, and we developed a new project from the previous to the public switching system. And mainly there are three laboratories. One is control and another one is analog. And then we had data control as well as software. And I was involved as head of this software group. There were really three people who headed the project. The other two guys were my classmates from college. And I was leading the laboratory, as a whole project manager.
So you had these two jobs.
As manager of the whole. At that time, our people was a very small number. But finally, we were around forty persons.
Just in the software division?
Yes, the software. Fifteen was from each company GoldStar, OPC, Samsung, or something like that.
When you say they were from these companies, were they employed by these companies and assigned to work at Etri?
That's right.
I see.
For the technical transfer.
So, who owned the technologies developed at Etri if the employees came from many different companies?
The major holder was Etri.
Right. So the people at Etri worked for different companies, is that right?
Yes. There were many major engineers that were Etri people. And some other engineers from other different companies. And we make one team, something like that.
Okay, so you were telling me about the public switching system that you developed there?
That's right. And I finished that project, and we installed that machine to the Young In area, and we provided the real service. That was my final project at Etri.
How big was the system?
How big?
At that time, around 1,000, something like that, 1,000 lines.
Trigent Computers; PC manufacturing and applications
And then I moved to Trigent Computers, another private company. And at that time a few companies in Korea got into the PC business. Now PC was really a new item. And mostly they don't know how to use something like that. It was really very hard to learn the PC business in Korea. Our government decided to try the PC business, or information industry, they were would have some educational PC product. But finally, 5,000 units for the PC were installed at the schools and office, something like that.
So the government would pay to buy PCs to sort of stimulate--?
That's right.
But these would be Korean manufactured PCs?
Yes. So finally, five companies were selected for that project. And Trigent Computers was one of them.
Do you know the others?
GoldStar, Samsung, Trigent, Johnson, [inaudible phrase].
What is this?
Hanyo Sanyon. It's a Korean company.
And what's this?
Now, did all these companies already have a PC designed?
GoldStar and Samsung already had one.
But, did Trigent?
Trigent? Our first model was a CPM from Japan. Shop model. And really no evident software, so nobody buy that machine, because cannot use. It was just the hardware.
Couldn't it run any software written for CPM?
That's right.
You're saying it had no software?
Yes. Software means, applicant software. CPM was inside.
CPM is the operating system.
So if your machine was a CPM machine, couldn't it run any application?
Mostly word processor, or Lotus 1-2-3, something like that. No, software at that time.
You're saying there was no software written for any CPM machine?
No, hardware and O/S for the CPM and application. There's no software. For these, we can use this application. But the application was not there, like the word processor, the Korean version.
So, the applications didn't exist in Korean?
Because they did exist for English.
Yes. So, Trigent moved to the Apple Computer. It is a CPM and Apple machine. So, when I joined the Trigent, they made Apple the compatible machine. The material cost was so high. And the production capacity was around 20 units per month.
Did you sell them only in Korea or for export?
Only for Koreans. It was very small, just twenty units per month.
And you sold them to the government?
Now, where did the applications for this machine, for the Apple machine, come from?
For this machine there are many applications for mostly English versions. But, more than the CPM machine. So, some users can use the Apple. Because some professors attending college in America used the Apple computer, so they needed the Apple computer. And even in Korea, some people can buy the Apple compatible machine. So, totally 5,000 units, the 1,000 units per company. Trigent got 1,000 unit PC project from the government. But the price of that PC was too low compared to the computer costs.
This included the PC, audiocassette, the manuals, the CRT screen, training, and the support, everything. A very big problem for Trigent. It's a very small company.
Well, how did Trigent get in with these big companies in this contract? How were they able to do that?
There are many stories. Okay, Dr. Y.T. Lee, is really the Godfather of the Korean machine industry. He was really a famous person. He is Chairman of Trigent. And he made a proposal of that project.
The project was his idea?
Yes, to the government. And finally, the government takes his project.
What does Y.T. Lee do now?
Currently he has many titles. He serves as chairman of Trigent and chairman of Korean Information Industry Society.
I see.
And my job, as a new designer was to meet the price.
They wanted you to design a new machine whose material cost was lower than the sales cost.
That's right. So, finally I designed a new system. But, it was compatible with current machine.
It was still Apple compatible.
So this based on the 6502 processor?
Yes. And the real MCs are like that.
So, you got it down to $170.
So we can make money. I hired many production engineers and production employees and produced many pieces, all day long and night and day. And it's a lot. We finished delivery of 1,000 units. Think about that. Okay, actually, we started manufacturing from January.
Trigent had its own production equipment?
Yes. We got many increments and employees, and we produced many pieces. And we delivered the 1,000 units as a first company. After that, there was some boom for education PC. Every parents bought PCs for their children.
So, the project worked.
Yes, as an education product.
Well, then Trigent moved to an IBM compatible?
After that we moved to the IBM PC.
When did that happen?
Late 1983.
So you had to start over again and design a new PC?
Yes. This is such a story, the Trigent computer. This was a tremendous venture for a small company.
Where did the venture capital come from?
KDIC, Korean Development . That's our venture capital company. They put the money up for the project.
Because someone I spoke to yesterday told me that it's hard to get venture capital in Korea.
Yes, it is. So, it was really a pioneer. And at the Trigent, I worked at the research center. I was the manager of technical planning and exporting. That's why Trigent started the workstation business at that time.
Trigent Microsystems
And 1983, they transformed the workstation business into Trigent Microsystems. That's my new company. These are some brochures and the catalogues of our product. And this is our company overview.
Okay. Thank you for your time.
[End of interview]
- 1 About Jin Ku Kang
- 2 About the Interview
- 3 Copyright Statement
- 4 Interview
- 4.1 Education; Korea Institute of Science and Technology
- 4.2 Electronic switching system development
- 4.3 Mini-computer control for electronic switching system
- 4.4 KIST structure
- 4.5 Collaborations of KIST and GTE
- 4.6 Samsung-GTE Telecommunications
- 4.7 Switching system for Hotel Shilla
- 4.8 Samsung-GTE contracts
- 4.9 Components availability
- 4.10 Switching system sales
- 4.11 Korea Electric Telecom; public switching system development
- 4.12 Trigent Computers; PC manufacturing and applications
- 4.13 Trigent Microsystems


text:
Life at Deloitte
Combination History
2002.04.11 T N Soong & Co (TNS)and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) Signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
2002.04.22 The Board of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu ( DTT ) approved T N Soong & Co (TNS) to become a member of DTT
2002.12.14 T N Soong & Co and Deloitte & Touche Taiwan signed an agreement on December 14, 2002 to deliver client services under one name, "Deloitte & Touche". The new arrangements that take effect on June 1, 2003, mean that "Deloitte & Touche" will be the sole representative of the global organization Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) in Taiwan.
2003.06.01 T N Soong & Co and Deloitte & Touche Taiwan combined to become Deloitte & Touche (D&T) effective June 1, 2003. D&T and its broader network represent Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in Taiwan.
History of Deloitte & Touche Taiwan (D&TT)
1954 Mr. S. T. Chiang established the new firm "Deloitte & Touche Taiwan"
1970 D&TT represented one of eight the global accounting firms, Touche Ross, providing clients services in Taiwan.
1985 D&TT became a member of Touche Ross
1989 Deloitte Haskins & Sells and Touche Ross combined to produce Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, D&TT still represented as a member
2003 D&TT combined with TNS as the new D&T from June 1.
History of T N Soong & Co ( TNS)
1960 Mr. T N Soong established "T N Soong & Co"
1964 TNS represented six of nine the globe accounting originations
1985 TNS became a member firm of Author Andersen
1996 TNS Tax Consulting Co was established
1997 TNS Cooperate Consulting Co was established
2002 TNS became a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
2003 TNS combined with D&T Taiwan as the new D&T from June 1.


text:
Fiesta is on, but dancers in limbo
By ADRIENNE P. SAMUELS
CLEARWATER -- Mexico's President Vicente Fox last year asked his fellow citizens to forgo their Mexican independence day celebrations out of respect for the Sept. 11 attacks. Last year's Clearwater festivities were canceled.
This year the celebration is scheduled to begin Friday. But it, too, might be affected by Sept. 11.
Guards along the U.S.-Mexico border have questioned the visas for the popular ballet company Ballet Folklorico de Hidalgo. Members may not make it here in time for the Clearwater show, according to the Mexican Council of Tampa Bay.
"We have a problem at the border because our groups can't get through," said Odilon Mesquite, vice president of the council. "This is a big problem right now."
Late Wednesday, Mesquite said he hoped that members of the ballet would be granted their travel visas. If so, members of the ballet would have time to ride their chartered bus from northern Mexico to Clearwater for the event, which two years ago attracted nearly 2,000 Mexican nationals from throughout Florida. Mexican artisans and dancers, as well as government officials, reconnected with friends and family living in the Tampa Bay area.
"We're going to have our celebration, anyway, if we don't have the ballet; but we're really worried," Mesquite said.
The issue is particularly troubling for the area's Mexican population because they were asked not to publicly celebrate Mexican independence day in 2001.
Clearwater and Mexico, particularly the state of Hidalgo, share a bond marked by the exchange of millions of dollars a year. Mexican immigrants settle in the United States and often wire money home.
Mexican independence day traces back to Sept. 16, 1810, when the Rev. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla stood atop a church and shouted el grito, or a call to arms, to the indigenous people of the country now known as Mexico.
That call -- "Mejicanos, Viva Mejico!" -- told members of Mexico's lowest caste to take back the country that was originally theirs before Spanish conquistadors took over.
Three hundred years of exploitation prompted the Indian and mestizo (people of mixed Spanish and Indian descent) forces to take up machetes and axes against the Spaniards living in Mexico.
It was the beginning of the revolution of native Mexicans against Spain.
The history is "most definitely" grim, admits Jacqueline Lee Craig, vice president of money-wiring company Envios Hidalgo and a sponsor for this weekend's events. But the history is what makes Mexican independence day so important, Craig said.
"There's close to 19,000 of us living in Clearwater," Craig said.
The three-day festival starts Friday at noon.
If you go
Festivities run from Friday through Sunday at the Harborview Center, 300 Cleveland St., Clearwater.
Friday's events: noon to 6 p.m., artisan exhibit and sale; 8 p.m., welcome to the celebration and performances by several ballet troupes; 10:30 p.m., the presentation of awards to winners in the Mexican-Clearwater soccer and basketball leagues; 11:30 p.m., the independence day shout; midnight -- 2 a.m., mariachi band plays.
Saturday's events: noon to 6 p.m., artisan exhibit and ballet performances; 9 p.m., a large party featuring Super 48 Sound and Sentimiento Latino.
Sunday's events: 9 p.m., an end of festival jam featuring Sonido Titanic and Banda la Herencia de Guerrero.
© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-893-8111
From the Times
North Pinellas desks


text:
This is a silly article
This article is silly. Coming from a source other than the computer games, trading card game, novels, RPG, or manga, its content is not part of official Warcraft lore, but nevertheless has become part of the culture belonging to the World of Warcraft community.
Kran & Conscience is an upcoming World of Warcraft machinima comedy created by Kranitoko Productions. The show is set to be released sometime in 2010/2011, but scripts are being made. Apt-T Productions has said that if the show is good, they will sign up and also release it in their name. The theme tune will be Jonathan Coulton — Code Monkey. The show revolves around an 18-year-old warrior who starts his journey around Azeroth, but soon meets a Conscience and agrees to take it back to its owner.
Plot Edit
Kran, a human warrior, has not long turned 18. When somebody turns 18, they may enter Azeroth to begin their journey to become a champion of their class. When he accidentally ends up in a Warsong Gulch battle, he meets a conscience named Cryss, an idiotic human priest/rogue. Cryss has the ability to give the one he links with two choices when asked a question. He also has the abilities of a priest and the stealth of a rogue, but can also give the person he touches stealth mode too. When Kran learns that Cryss' owner has suddenly left Warsong Gulch, it's up to Kran to find Cryss' owner.
Characters Edit
Main characters Edit
- Kran, voiced by Charlie Murray, is a human warrior who starts his journey into Azeroth. He is soon left taking care of a conscience named Cryss and must take Cryss back to his owner.
- Cryss, voiced by Cryss Leonhart, is a human priest/rogue conscience, who was conjured by his owner Captain Pert Strinder. After his owner suddenly leaves the Warsong Gulch battle he and Cryss were in, it is up to Kran to return Cryss back to Pert.
Recurring characters Edit
- Captain Port Strinder is a human paladin. While he sets off back into the Warsong Gulch battle, he leaves Cryss inside a house, and tells him to wait there while he goes and finds something in the battleground. But suddenly, he escapes the battleground without Cryss.
- Negi is a gnome mage who save Kran and Cryss' life from the dragon in the Twilight Grove. He plays a role throughout the series.
- Mysterious Man is...well...nothing is known on him at this time...because he is...MYSTERIOUS!
Guest appearances Edit
- Lylandris is a night elf who is found in the Ironforge Hall of Arms. She is the battleground master for Warsong Gulch. She appears in episode one and teleports Kran into Warsong Gulch, even though he does not want to enter it.
- Stitches is an abomination sent into Darkshire by the Mysterious Man to destroy Kran.
- Stark is a human warrior, who is the father of Kran. He appears at the beginning of episode one, giving Kran a pep talk before he leaves for Azeroth.
- Zin is a human warlock, who is the mother of Kran. She appears at the beginning of episode one, and only has a brief role saying goodbye to Kran, and then punching Stark.
Episodes Edit
Episode One: Of Rats and Retards Edit
Kran is about to start his journey into Azeroth and leaves his home in Goldshire. He arrives in Stormwind, which he has never been to before. He decides to have a bit of fun, but soon, he crashes into Ironforge by the tramline. When he tries to ask a night elf where he is, he soon ends up in a Warsong Gulch battle, where he meets Cryss, a conscience. Cryss' owner leaves the battle without him, leaving Kran to find his owner for him.
- The episode title is a pun of the book Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck.
- The episode will be released 2010/2011.
Episode Two: Era-Gone Edit
- The episode title is a pun of the book Eragon, written by Christopher Paolini.
Episode Three: The Iron Titch Edit
- The episode title is a pun of the book The Iron Giant, written by Ted Hughes, and the movie of the same name, directed by Brad Bird.
Episode Four: Stranglethorn Bail Edit
- The episode title is a pun of the area Stranglethorn Vale, found in the Eastern Kingdoms in Azeroth.
Episode Five: Shatterclysm Edit
- The episode will be recorded after the events of the Cataclysm, which ties into the Kran & Conscience plot.
- The episode title is a pun of the third expansion World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, released in 2010.
Episode Six: Me-ramore Isle Edit
- The episode title is a pun of the area Theramore Isle, found in Dustwallow Marsh, in Kalimdor in Azeroth.
Consciences in Kran & Conscience Edit
A Conscience is a lot different in Azeroth to what they are in our time. In our time, a conscience is something in the persons mind who has a rhectorical question on their mind, which involves two choices. The good choice and the bad choice.
In Kran & Conscience however, a conscience is a solid figure and is a very rare gift to be given. So rare, that only a few people in the universe has one. They give the person they are linked to, two choices on any question they are given. The good choice and the bad choice. E.G. "Do I travel North, South, East or West?" and say the correct answer would be North, then the conscience would answer South (a wrong answer) and North (the correct answer). Also, every conscience has the power of a priest and the stealth of a rogue. However, with the power of the Heart of Stone, a Consciences powers can be improved, and can break the link between the conscience and their owner, meaning the Consciences powers can be used without the conscience being linked to anybody.
A conscience is created when somebody finds a Heart of Diamond and touches it.
Questions Edit
- How similar is Kran and Conscience to Dude, Where's My Mount?
- It's a little bit similar. Kran is sane, sort of like Dave, and Cryss is a little bit insane, but Phil is 100% insane. It has comedy, action but also has a little bit of Drama too. Like in Dude, Where's My Mount, there is a villian, but instead of the villian being a woman, it is a dark male figure who is out to warn Cryss about Kran and talk him into what he "really is".
- When will Kran & Conscience be released?
- Well currently, I, (Charlie Murray) am in sixth form, and I will try to use my EMA to buy a brand new 500gb computer, thus giving me some extra features. I can also buy programs such as Adobe Pro and things like that, so not for a little while. But the scripts for episode one has been made, and I am currently writing all the scripts, with a few helpers of course. If all goes well, I will plan on looking for a 2010 release or earlier if possible.
- How many episodes will there be?
- 15 in Season One, if you must know.
- Can I be on the show?
- I haven't really made that decision yet. I have got a few people already to help me with voices if they are needed, but right now I do not need anything. If I am in such need however, I will post the help on the Machinima Forums.
- What server will you be filming on?
- Silvermoon EU server. Yes, I am a British... If, however, you would like to come and meet me, thats if I am on, which isn't very often now, my character name is Kranitoko and I am in the raiding guild named Celtic Leaf Army.


text:
Contact Us
Have a question? Please complete the form below and an associate will respond to you shortly.
RightWay takes Customer Satisfaction very seriously. If for any reason you are either dissatisfied with the service you have received or if you would simply like to compliment an employee on the service you were given, we want to hear about it! Either way, one of our Regional Managers that oversee multiple locations and/or our General Manager will review your comments within 24 hours and you will be contacted. Please take the time to fill out the form below to let us know about your experience: