Homesick

Here's another story through FiftyWordStories.com, this one has a bit of a sci-fi feel to it.  As always, please read and rate on the site.

http://fiftywordstories.com/2013/10/17/chris-griglack-homesick/

Bioshock Infinite

I know I'm a little behind with this review as the game came out at the end of August, but I finally had the chance to play through Bioshock Infinite this weekend, and it is hands down my favorite shooter of the year.  I loved the previous two installments of Bioshock for their gritty sci-fi/horror take on first person shooters, but this one blew the others out of the water in terms of story, depth, and gameplay.

Bioshock Infinite takes place in 1912 in the city of Columbia, which is the Heaven to Rapture's (the underwater city of the first two games) Hellish nightmare city.  Columbia floats high above the clouds while Rapture is sunk deep beneath the ocean, and the society of Columbia is a virtual utopia founded on American patriotism and a cult-like sect of Christianity.  While the first two installments had you fighting zombie-like junkies with guns and genetically modified powers you inject into yourself, in Infinite you'll be fighting more or less normal humans with twisted ambitions.  You no longer inject yourself with plasmids to grant powers either, Columbia's technology allows you to drink a tonic which uses the salts in your character's body to power the genetic enhancements.  The overall feel of Columbia is that it's a city which managed to pull off the utopia that Rapture was aiming for, but after spending about 5 minutes walking through its streets you'll get the feeling that the society is far too good to be true, even if you haven't played the other games.

The image of perfection shatters when you attend the Founder's Day raffle and are greeted with some old fashioned racism like a slap in the face, and when I say that I mean they don't slowly build up to it, the way it's introduced will make you say "Woah," when you get to it.  At this point things turn sour very quickly for the main character, Booker DeWitt. He's labeled as the "False Prophet," the equivalent of "Enemy of the State" in this brainwashed community.  From here you evade and kill the people coming after you until you meet up with Elizabeth, and things really start getting interesting.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that Elizabeth may be the coolest support character ever to appear in a shooter game.  She will find you money, open locked doors and safes, throw you health packs and salt when you are running low, and toss you fully loaded guns when you are running low on ammo, replenishing your ammo stock and removing the need for reload time every once in a while.  You don't need to protect her from being killed, she's not just thrown in as fan service or eye candy, and she has some really cool abilities which I won't go into because they tie into the central story and I'm trying to avoid spoilers.

The actual gameplay is very similar to the previous Bioshock installments, but with the added bonus of a shield which recharges after taking cover for a few seconds, gear which adds abilities (don't worry no RPG type stats to manage) and the addition of Elizabeth which, as already mentioned, is awesome.  All your weapons and powers are upgradable through the currency system used in Columbia: Silver Eagles, and your health, shield, and salt levels are upgraded by drinking Infusions found throughout the game, usually in the more secretive areas.  Instead of farming Big Daddies and Little Sisters for ADAM the optional content of this game is found through exploring locked rooms which Elizabeth opens for you, code books and ciphers which she also decodes, and locked chests that you need to find keys for.  There's enough optional content in the game to keep you entertained, and it's arranged in such a way that you won't need to backtrack for half an hour to get back to the actual mission.

The highlight of Bioshock Infinite is the amazingly beautiful and complex world through which the story is presented.  Like its predecessors, Infinite is built on a world of duality which harkens back to the olden days of the early 20th century: men and women wear hats, the music is all done in styles which the majority of gamers are not going to hear anywhere except in games like this and Fallout (listen closely for some fantastic anachronistic versions of songs like "Tainted Love" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"), and nobody walks around staring at a handheld device.  At the same time though, this is a flying city with automated "Patriots" and a giant mechanical bird to protect it, and they've developed a tonic that allows you to do things like shoot fire or lightning out of your hands or summon a flock of crows to attack.  It's a world which appears to be a utopia, yet just a scratch at the surface shows the atrocities it's built upon, and the propaganda used to keep the people believing.

And if I can just go back to the music for a moment.  Except in combat scenes, the music in this game is not at all background music.  Every time you encounter a radio, phonograph, or the few "live" musical scenes it's a captivating event that reminds you just how similar this world is to our own.  I know I just put a lot of time into telling you how different and unique the world of Infinite is, but when you stop to listen to the beautiful rendition of "Shake Sugaree" sung in Shantytown or this haunting version of "Fortunate Son" sung while a war rages all around, it gives you the feeling that the people of this world are not so different from those of our own.  They have the same ambitions of greed, revenge, redemption, longing for freedom, love, and hope. (Video may have minor spoilers but if you haven't played through the game it's almost certainly not what you think)

Bioshock Infinite is an all-around stunning game, easily the best of the Bioshock games and easily the most original and entertaining shooter of the year.  I recently bought it used for about half price, but I wish I had purchased it on release for full price because I was missing out.  I highly recommend picking up a copy of your own, this is a game I definitely won't be trading in anytime soon.

Shattered

New 50 word original fiction on FiftyWordStories.com entitled "Shattered."  Feel free to read and rate using the stars below the story.

http://fiftywordstories.com/2013/10/02/chris-griglack-shattered/

Love At Last Sight

Here's an original 50 word story published through FiftyWordStories.com.  Please read and rate using the tool on their site.

http://fiftywordstories.com/2013/08/30/chris-griglack-love-at-last-sight/

Magic!

Some authors are very good at explaining the workings of their magical systems, others are good at leaving an impression of a very powerful force that is not fully understood even by those who dare to use it, and others are just downright terrible at providing any insight as to what the hell is going on.  That's why I've composed these categories to give fans a better understanding of how the most common magic systems work in fantasy literature.  They're by no means official or set in stone as the only types of magic which are effectively used, in fact, they're not even mutually exclusive.  Hopefully there will be more categories to come as I continue to expand my fantasy repertoire, but for now I give you the four categories of fantasy magic.

Like For Like Magic
This is a type of magic usually associated more with darker worlds or characters.  It requires sacrifice or payment to accomplish.  This can be through the methods more traditionally associated with sacrifice, or simply through conversion of materials or forces into other materials or forces.  For instance, alchemy or magics involving consumption of particular ingredients (potions, tonics, etc).  This may also apply to magics drawn from a source if the source has limited power.  For example, a magic stone or talisman infused with power which is channeled until consumed.  Of course, this category also includes demonic pacts, bargaining or trading something for power, whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual.

Magic of Will
Magic that is determined by the mental strength of the user.  This is the most classically associated form of magic, and is often found in high fantasy.  Whenever magic is an art that requires studying and practice to apply it is generally magic that is determined by the will of the user.  A novice will never be as adept in any of these schools of magic as an expert unless they are meant to be some sort of prodigy.  This could also include forms of magic which are powered through divine sources, in other words, magics which are temporarily granted to the highly devout based on the strength of their conviction.  A priest or cleric whose powers may no longer work if they were to stop believing, or whose powers may be granted by a different benefactor if they were to convert, though these users may also be considered magical by association depending on the circumstances.

Innate Magic
This is magic that is best thought of in terms of an inherited trait.  Much like some people are born more athletic than others, some may be born with higher aptitude for magic than others.  It may be something that can be balanced out by practice, knowledge, and experience, but this type of magic is largely defined by its users potential at birth, whether this be an inherited genetic trait or random selection.  A great example of this would be the Aes Sedai in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.  While even the weakest Aes Sedai are able to train and learn how to better use their power, they will never be able to draw in as much of the power as those born with stronger gifts.  In some cases this may even be a racial distinction, eg. all elves are born magic users, some humans, and no dwarves.

Magic By Association
Usually the worst kind of magic.  This is when the magic user themselves does not possess any particular ability for magic, but may wield an item that allows them access to it.  A staff that allows its wielder to ignite fires is a magical staff, but the person who uses it is only magical by association.  Even cases where a character is in an event that triggers powers they otherwise would not have had.  In some cases, the magical item/area/event may only be accessible by some, due to any of the things mentioned above, but until they can use magic without its aid they are not generally considered to be magical.

Rainmaker

Original prose poetry flash fiction "Rainmaker" is now available on LinguisticErosion.com.

http://www.linguisticerosion.com/2013/06/rainmaker.html

Woof!

One of my original micro fiction pieces has been republished by FiftyWordStories.com.  Check out "Woof!" for free, and be sure to leave a rating.

http://fiftywordstories.com/2013/06/13/chris-griglack-woof/

Consume Some Knowledge

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children with strong reading comprehension skills.  I return briefly to the real world today after an extended stay in my preferred fantasy realms to attempt to dissuade you from your rampant consumerism.  I know it's been done a million times before in a million different ways, but I'd like to do it through promoting a different set of values which can replace the emptiness of body image and ownership obsessions.  I'm here today to tell you why intelligence and strong, self-realized ethical values are vastly superior.

So here it is:  You are not your possessions.  The clothes you wear, cars you drive, homes that you don't really own are not a part of you.  Not even your effortless weight loss, miraculous hair growth, or discreet penis length increase is you.  You're not who you vote for, or how many Facebook friends you have.  There is only one thing which can accurately be labeled as "you," and that is your mind.

Your personality, your experiences, and how you interact with the world around you is what defines you.  You could be the richest most attractive person in the world and still be a terrible person.  In fact, most of the richest and most attractive people are also the worst people.  When all is said and done, your money and your possessions and your physical image will be gone, but the person you were will still live on.  That's what a legacy is.

Kings, queens, presidents, and dictators are ultimately judged in the same light as poor, nameless peasants: for their actions.  The only difference is the level of influence each life has, but influence is not always measured in power, wealth, and fame.  Every one of us is shaped by those that came before, be they our teachers, family, or communities, we our all constantly pushed and pulled in all directions by countless influences.  Some are naturally stronger than others.  Family supersedes most influences, especially early in life, and we live in an age of tremendous monetary, media, and societal influences, but strongest, most lasting influences are those of free thought and self-realization.

If society were to collapse overnight and it was left to a handful of survivors to rebuild the world, the civilizations that their efforts would create would bear little resemblance to ours.  Except in one aspect: their principles of science, logic, reason, and discovery would be nearly identical to our own if left unchecked.  These are things which cannot truly be forgotten because they are not truly taught, they are discovered, invented, innovated.  The sun will set tomorrow for the same reason it set yesterday, and if this reason is ever forgotten, it can be rediscovered.

But if we all do our parts there's no need for society to crumble.  This isn't done through supporting your local economies through consumerism, it's achievable simply by being ethical and passing this idea along.  And I don't mean ethical in a religious or governmental sense.  I mean the strong kind of ethics that come from seeing a good deed have a good effect on a person.  The type of ethics which come from feeling bad and not wanting others to feel the same.  No threats of damnation, imprisonment, or even death can replace these ethics if properly passed along.  Nothing can take away your ability to do a good deed, to see it's effect, and to feel it in your heart, just as nothing can stop the force of discovery and progress.  These things can only be halted for a time, for they are universal.

So where are your efforts in life truly best spent?  In building knowledge, character, empathy, and understanding, and then passing these things along to others.  If you put your time to these, people will remember you and how you affected their lives and they will do the same.  Your legacy could burn bright then fade out, or consume the lives of others, but the best legacies are those which spark in others and lead them to their own understanding.  This is the unstoppable force greater than economy and government combined.

Hellfire

So thoroughly they burn,
Stilling, killing, willing
All to ashes filling urns.
The flames so bright
They stir the dead,
And frighten souls interred.
And each one has its turn.

None

Solitary, I
Watch the duality
Of the Triumvirate play
Out before my weary eyes,
Their pent up rage boiling over
As if hexed.  How they fall to
Pieces like trees in September, though with less
Height, the simplest of breezes able to break them
Like a flimsy set of nine pins.  Fools!  Only the
Rarest of men may bask in the decadence of power uncorrupted.

Sacred Pasture Sacrifice

In sacred pastures they lay me down to die
Bleeding out beneath the pale blue sky.
A melody so softly hummed
'Mongst winds and rippling grain;
I pray that this day's sacrifice
Will not be in vain.

Dream of Tomorrow

Man's nature is to dream;
Whether awake or sleeping.
To dream of things that are not, but could be.
Should be.
Of all things that can not be;
But one day, maybe.
To see the future 'fore it happens
And shape it in the image of the past.
To know the universe,
And others,
And dream until the dream does last.

Firearms: Humanity's Worst Invention

If I had to pick a single invention which has had the most impact on civilization I would bypass the commonly thought of light bulbs  automobiles, and the computer and go back a bit to the firearm.  While all these other inventions can be shown to have had massive, incalculable effects on our daily lives, only the firearm has uprooted societies and precipitated the wholesale slaughter of entire races of people.  Of course, firearms have undoubtedly done some sort of good for societies and individuals throughout the years, and while I'd like to argue that our world would be far better off had they never been invented, the argument is impossible to prove without the aid of some sort of time machine.  Instead, I'd like to try to make the case through a look at how firearms have changed our perspective of killing.

It would be impossible to have any sort of discussion about the impacts of firearms without looking at how warfare has changed as a result of their invention.  Today firearms and explosives are the weapons of choice for waging war, and it's clear why: they're effective.  Warfare before the invention of the firearm was an arduous process which took years or decades to resolve.  Single conflicts could take days of fighting (the Battle of Varna is reported to have lasted four days) and sieges of individual cities or fortresses took years or even decades (the Siege of Candia lasted 21 years).  Even after the completion of these conflicts, the death tolls were minuscule compared to the wars of recent history.  

Some might argue that the expedition of warfare is a good thing as wars today last years rather than lifetimes or generations.  But of course, this is only because we've developed weapons capable of killing the same amount of people in far less time.  The reason wars took so long before the firearm is because they were fought with the sword, spear, and bow, weapons which took extensive amounts of training to use properly and were capable of far less damage even in the hands of the most skilled.  Warfare today is not based upon the skill of the soldiers, but on their quantity and their armaments.  After all, the most disciplined armies and talented marksman are completely helpless against nuclear arms, or even less devastating explosives.

The best illustration of this point is the child armies which have become commonplace around the world.  Before the firearm, the notion of sending children to fight wars was ludicrous.  Children had neither the strength nor skill to properly utilize the weapons war was waged with.  In times of desperation societies would recruit adolescents (which we think of as children) and the elderly to assist them, but they were never the major components of any legitimate army.  This is still true to some extent today: no army of children will ever be as capable as one of well-trained disciplined men and women, but unlike the weapons of old which required strength to use, a gun in the hands of an untrained child is every bit as effective as one held by an untrained adult.

The problem with firearms is that they make it so effortless to kill.  Soldiers no longer have to look into the eyes of their opponents as they kill them.  Killing is no longer a massive struggle of swords raising and falling, it's a trigger being pulled with all the effort it takes to change TV stations.  It has become a deeply impersonal thing to take another's life.  We kill thousand with the press of a single launch button, and we destroy cities and topple societies in minutes.  We have the ability to kill entire peoples without sending a single soldier into battle, and we don't bat an eye at this practice until we feel it is being "misused."  And to top it off: we spend more money funding military pursuits than we do to advance the lives of our own people (here in USA at least).  Our capacity and appetite for destruction is so great that the majority of our war efforts today are reconstruction of the things we were so quick to shatter. 

So why are firearms the worst invention we've ever come up with?  Homer said it best centuries before these weapons were even developed: "The blade itself incites to deeds of violence."  Even then they knew that the sword serves no purpose but violence and ownership of a weapon is meaningless unless it used.  Sure you could perform acts of violence with just about anything imaginable, but firearms have no other purpose but to commit acts of violence.  And even though we've since developed amazing technology which allows us to defend ourselves without having to use lethal force, (mace, stun-guns, rubber bullets, etc) firearms have so disconnected us from what it means to kill another human being that we seem to prefer lethal force.

Why Can't We Just Celebrate Spring?

Today is Good Friday, the second most widely recognized of the cluster of nonsensical religious holidays which leads to Easter.  Yes Easter, the day when Jesus, who, like many hillbillies, is the Father and yet also the Son, returns from his three day cave nap to again walk the earth.  We of course, celebrate this holiday by giving chocolate rabbits and stashing brightly painted eggs all over the place, just as Jesus would have wanted it.

I understand the need for some sort of celebration of Spring.  Winter sucks.  Now the snow is finally melted, the birds are starting to return, animals are out of hibernation.  On the surface that's what this holiday is supposed to be about: new life.  But the Catholic Church can't have you running around enjoying life and being all happy, so we get the sick lead up to Easter which is Lent, Ash Wednesday, and Good Friday.

Lent, of course, is the 40 day period where you're supposed to give up eating meat as a sort of proxy-sacrifice for Jesus.  The idea behind this is to penance and self-sacrifice, a sort of "Now you sit in the corner and think about all the ways you hurt poor Jesus."  This generally goes from Ash Wednesday until Good Friday, which is supposedly the day Jesus was crucified.

Which brings us to the main event.  Jesus died for your sins, you filthy swine.  Well, for three days at least.  Because we all know that on Sunday he got up, dusted himself off, and saw to organizing the most corrupt institution known to mankind.  The sacrificial rebirth trick: oldest trick in the book.  It's how the Christians have their cake and eat it too.  Because any logical person would be happy to tell you that you can either die for someone's sins or still be alive, but you sure as shit can't do both at the same time.

Short Gothic Fiction

Here are two sample Gothic fiction stories I wrote as a contributor for WikiHow.  They page they're on is "How to Write Gothic Fiction."

"Death On The Rocks"
http://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Short-Gothic-Story

"Cold As Ice"
http://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Modern-Gothic-Excerpt

Most Badass Fictional Characters

Warning:  This post contains minor spoilers.  Most of what follows is general character profile, but there may be plot points included, especially in the video games section.  This post is intended to be a recommendation for readers, not to ruin the stories mentioned.  No endings are revealed.

Television
Walter White - Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston is currently the greatest actor on television.  For the first three years of Breaking Bad he won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.  His high school teacher turned major meth dealer is possibly the most devious scheming character ever on screen.  The viewer can't help but remained glued to the screen as Walter quickly spirals downward, overtaken by greed and power.


Spike Spiegel - From Cowboy BeBop, the single best animated series ever created, Spike is a bounty hunter in the future who travels the solar system to earn enough bounty to get by.  He is a master at a very zen form of martial arts which requires minimal effort on his part while using his enemys' excess force against them.  He's also a skilled spaceship pilot and marksman with his pistols.  Spike is obsessed with the figures of his past, but puts on a cool, often sarcastic demeanor around his crew.


Dr. Walter Bishop - The mad scientist from J.J. Abrams' Fringe, Walter Bishop means well but must always overcome feelings of guilt at his past actions and his own mental deterioration.  He is a man who carries the weight of having kidnapped a version of his son from an alternate universe after his own son dies of disease, an act which sets in motion a chain of events that begins to rip the other universe apart.  Walter may be losing his mind, but he is still a genius in all fields of fringe science, from telepathy to scientific necromancy.


Literature
Achilles - "Sing, O Goddess, the ruinous wrath of Achilles, / Son of Peleus, the terrible curse that brought / Unnumbered woes upon the Achaeans and hurled / To Hades so many heroic souls, leaving / Their bodies the prey of dogs and carrion birds." How much more badass could an opening be? The Iliad is easily the best war story ever told, and fleet-footed Achilles is its main character. Fated to choose between a path of long life, happiness, and obscurity, or a short, but heroic life which would assure him eternal glory. The vain, arrogant Myrmidon would be an awful character if he wasn't literature's greatest warrior, but he is, so he earns the respect of his peers and fear of his enemies, and his story is still told toady.


Logen Ninefingers - From Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, Logen Ninefingers, or The Bloody Nine, is the most feared warrior in the North. He is possessed of a berserker rage which makes him dangerous to even his allies in battle. In such rages he often cannot get enough killing and will rip through anything in sight until he is satisfied. Logen also has a very unique world-view for such an infamous killer, and often says things like "You have to be realistic about these things."

Roland Deschain - Stephen King's Dark Tower series has a cult-like following, and its central figure, Roland the Gunslinger, is a man obsessed with his quest of reaching the Dark Tower.  Traveling through multiple universes and through nightmare worlds, Roland never hesitates to do whatever's necessary to reach his goal.



BONUS!
Gerald Tarrant - From the little-known Coldfire Tilogy by C.S. Friedman, the Neocount of Merentha was once a leader and gifted sorcerer in the Church but turned to darker masters in exchange for immortality to pursue his studies and remake the world in his image.  Tarrant is possessed by a vampire-like curse which prevents him from interacting with light and heat.  Instead, he draws his power from the forces of death, darkness, and cold, powers which he is beyond proficient in crafting.


Graphic Novels

Michonne - The world of fiction in all its forms is full of ditsy, vain leading ladies.  It abounds with annoying Skylar Whites and Faye Valentines, arrogant Egwene al'Vers, and emotionally unstable Elayne Trakands.  Even the rare female leads who do not fall into one of these character pitfalls can often be outshone by their male counterparts, as Olivia Dunham is by Walter Bishop.  Michonne does not fit into any of these categories.  Instead, she is arguably the most badass character in The Walking Dead.

When she first appears in the graphic novels, Michonne wields her classic katana, and drags along the chained, mutilated zombies of her boyfriend and his friend.  From there she only gets more badass.  Skilled with her sword and subtlety, Michonne is rarely afraid of zombies or other humans, and often gets the jump on her opponents before they can react.

John Constantine - The witty, asshole magician created by graphic novel mastermind Alan Moore appears throughout the DC universe, but first appeared in Swamp Thing and currently stars in Justice League Dark and his new series Constantine.  Constantine is not liked by anyone else in the DC universe, but his allies often put up with him for limited periods of time.  He is self-motivated, and often requires "something for his troubles" before he'll act on anyone else's behalf, even if the world is in danger.

Rorschach - Masked vigilante from Alan Moore's Watchmen, Rorschach has his own methods of cleaning the scum out of the streets, and they're not pretty.  He often kills or brutalizes  the criminals he pursues, and continues doing so even after vigilantism has been officially outlawed.  At one point characters in Watchmen tell a joke about a "villain" who used to beg them to punish him.  One character asks whatever happened to that guy and is told that he tried the same thing on Rorschach and was thrown down an elevator shaft.


Video Games
Kratos - Warrior of Sparta, God of War's Kratos was granted inhuman fighting powers by Ares, the God of War, but these powers came at a terrible price.  Kratos was turned into an unstoppable killing machine with his blades chained to his arms and burned into flesh.  Now he seeks revenge on Ares, but he must find the power to kill a God.


Dante - Devil May Cry's lead character, Dante is a nephilim who wields demonic powers.  He uses multiple weapons including swords, guns, gauntlets, nun-chucks  scythes, and hammers, but his trademark weapons are Rebellion the sword and Ebony & Ivory, his pistols.  Dante doesn't believe in not being flashy, so even simple actions like putting on his jacket become showmanship


Vincent Valentine - A hidden character in Final Fantasy VII and the star of Dirge of Cerberus, Vincent is a former Turk (an elite division of Shinra) who was experimented on by the mad scientist Hojo.  Now a demon lives within him which he struggles to control.  In FF7 Vincent wields a triple-barreled shotgun and can transform into a number of demons, including a Jason-like monster with a hockey mask and chainsaw.  In DoC the shotgun is customizable but the demon Vincent transforms into is always Vincent's Chaos Form, which is his final demon form in FF7.

Micro Fiction

Here are two original micro fiction pieces (under 100 words) published by MicroHorror.

http://www.microhorror.com/microhorror/author/chris-griglack/woof/

http://www.microhorror.com/microhorror/author/chris-griglack/call-to-the-grave/