also I wonder what effect Charlie tying up that much money has on Erfworld economics
I don’t know. Erfworld economics is very strange, as a lot of money seems to be “consumed” by things like building, popping, and upkeep. If a side spends a bunch of money to pop an heir, where does that money go? It’s not like they’re buying it from another side. I would guess that the amount of money changing hands in Erfworld is trivial compared to the amount going back into the system.
And there are also spellcasters who do nothing but money, who are bound to be a much bigger distortion on anything resembling an economy than anything Charlie’s doing. Well, except of course that Charlie probably also has a bunch of moneymancers working for him, who are distorting it in just the ways that he wants.
We are generally introduced to casters working for the different sides that show up in Erfworld, but we’ve not seen any hint of Charlie having any casters at all. We have seen examples of Charlie employing them on short term mercenary contracts and how he’s a good employer for such contracts. Given his organisation’s single minded focus on profit, he probably wouldn’t need moneymancers helping out anyway.
I dunno; I think it’s safe to assume that Charlie has some of every casting class doing his bidding one way or another, either by being on his side, or hired as mercenaries, or through unofficial channels of influence or control. We haven’t seen all of them introduced as such, but that’s partly because there are so damned many different kinds of casters in Erfworld, and partly because most of Charlie’s resources are hidden from us. But at the very least, Jojo doesn’t seem to be a short-term hire, and neither does Headmaster Clarence. Vanna, meanwhile, is a temporary hire, but she’s a hire of Faq, not of Charlescom, and yet Charlie clearly has some sort of angle on her, too.
Not quite. Here, have another look.Bonnie was in Thinkspace getting the stand down order through Delta (with the Arkendish offline, Charlie’s orders have to go through relays). As soon as Bonnie realizes that Parson is a “friendly,” she curses ("Oh, DISH!"), breaks the connection with Delta, and countermands the “fire at will” order.
You will also notice, I hope, that when she responds to Delta’s relay, she takes her attention off Lilith, who uses the opportunity to fly into the vault in an attempt to protect Parson (and puts herself into the line of fire).
A post-mortem analysis of the incident (presuming he does those, and he probably does) will clear those Archons of any direct blame.
Bonnie, OTOH was the one who gave the initial “shoot on sight” order, and might not be so fortunate (although one presumes that she did so under the protocols established for Operation: Big Game).
I agree that the archons aren’t morally culpable, and you make a good point that the order may not have been fully relayed before the incident. However, the question remains as to how Charlie will react to this. He’s been having a pretty awful day, after all. While there has been some evidence that he’s a fair ruler, he’s also ruthless.
This arc has provided a lot of revelations about Charlie’s nature, including his skill set, physical state and appearance, and the depths of his ruthlessness. He was eager to vivisect Lilith for tactical benefits (rather than attempt to turn her back to CC). I could easily see his reaction going either way on this one, regardless of how the facts shake out. On the one hand, Charlie does seem pretty devoted to the bottom line, and punishing loyal troops for an honest mistake goes against that. On the other hand, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve never seen Charlie suffer a defeat like this one (heck, it’s probable that no one has). It wouldn’t surprise me if we see another side of him in response to this.
Probably not any more than “liberating” the firearms is.
Charlie is very aware that he’s fighting Fate. I don’t think he’ll lash out at his archons, who are one of his biggest resources, when he’s aware that Fate is twisting things.
And it looks like I was completely wrong about bullets going through portals into other kingdoms.
If Charlie tries to take it out on anyone, it’ll be Parson (note that I said “tries”, not that he’ll succeed). Even if his emotions do overcome his considerable pragmatism, I don’t think that he’s really capable of taking it out on his units. Charlie isn’t a unit; he’s a player. And as such, he only really fully interacts with other players. To him, the whole world is like one big strategy game. If you get pwned in Starcraft or chess, you don’t take it out on your zerglings or pawns.
Didn’t Charlie already say that he’d go after Stanley in the event he lost a lot of money? Take out Stanley and you not only defeat Parson but you get your money back.
Charlie cares about money first and foremost. He’ll only punish the Archons if it doesn’t cost him.
he was guesstimating 140 mill, will he break cover and take spacerock as he suggested for 35 (assuming Parson turning back shipped 5 mill back to CC)
Yikes. We know Charlie has ludicrous funds and firepower. If he really decides to cut loose, he could do quite a bit of damage. I’m sure Parson’s continued existence as GK’s Chief Warlord alters his plan a bit, but it does make sense. Last we saw Stanley, he was trying to recruit the pukey elves, right? I wonder if he’ll send a strike team to try to take him out.
I’d really like to know more about how Charlie’s munitions work in Erfworld. Can a group of archons with M16s take down an Overlord with an Arkentool bonus? Does Charlie have sniper rifles that can fire between hexes?
He planned to take out his losses on Stanley if he had successfully taken out or turned Parson. Without Parson on Stanley’s side, or better, with him on Charlie’s side, Stanley would be easy prey. But with Parson on Stanley’s side, well, he’s already been trying to conquer Stanley, and been continually thwarted.
More evidence towards Charlie perhaps being an Earther. (use of term broken when related to an Erfworld mechanic)
Didn’t you see the pattern on his tie?
Charlie is Charlie Brown.
See also “condition brown” when he goes off-dish, and his subsequent groan of “good grief”.
And as soon as Parson realizes this, he’s going to be bound by his Duty to the cause of taunting the bad guy to make references about pulling away the football.
Charlie appears to be a cross between Charlie Brown and Charles Xavier (note the Cerebro-looking helmet and bald dome). But that’s just his signamancy, he’s also previously referenced Charles In Charge and Charlie’s Angels. Him looking like Charles and Charlie doesn’t necessarily guarantee that he’s a player or an Erfworldian, does it?
I’ve raised this theory before on the Erfworld Forums. While reading Book 0, I thought it was hinted that the drugs that the flower power lady was growing and that Charlie was hooked on, gave visions of ‘Stupidworld’. My own theory is that Charlie is a regular Erfworld Carnymancer, who has seen much of Earth in drug induced visions.
Wow. Charlie’s about to attack in a big way.
“This was the vengeance option he was pursuing. . . . It was time to lose a lot more, so that the enemy would lose everything.”