rune1806 posted a comment on Thursday 3rd April 2008 9:21pm for Encounters

I enjoyed this update very much, the Minds trying to figure out magic and Alus trying to learn more about Harry. Well done.

Patches posted a comment on Thursday 3rd April 2008 7:21pm for Encounters

This is a really good story. I enjoyed the surprise Sma and Harry felt about the model T going 1.3 Mach! That would be an experience. I wonder how fast the Knight bus goes? Similar magic I'm sure. It is really great that they were also surprised by the moving paintings and that Skaffen-Amitskaw couldn't analyse how they did it. Sma maybe starting to be curious about "magic" and just what that entails. Of course Harry is off by himself and if my understanding of "cannon history" hasn't changed too much in this story, he might end up saving Hermione from the Troll? Again? I hope to find out soon. Thanks for writing. I'm really enjoying this AU version. pms

Mark Blaine posted a comment on Thursday 3rd April 2008 6:12pm for Encounters

Good work. Drones vs. Troll, should be interesting. The apparent disconnect of Voldemort from Harry has implications that I want to see played out. And, as always, what house is Harry in?

uthamm posted a comment on Thursday 3rd April 2008 1:19pm for Encounters

Nice story. Nice enough that I am planning to purchase "Consider Plebas" (hope I spelled that right).

I like it - do we see Drone on Troll action ahead? Might be awfully hard to explain to McGonagall . . .

I can see Hermione going off the nut on realizing that Harry is a SPACEMAN . . good times that would be.

impatientuser posted a comment on Thursday 3rd April 2008 12:18pm for Encounters

Excellent chapter. I was looking forward to the troll though =(. I eagerly await the next.

pfeil posted a comment on Thursday 3rd April 2008 8:07am for Encounters

So nice to see Sma out-manipulating Fumbledore =)

So will one of the drones save Hermione? The Minds would love to get 2 magical realizer-candidates together and encourage their breeding, and I can't help but think that she'd be more than willing to do it in return for a neural lace, since I can't see her being any less than a best friend for Harry, who'll be just as enthusiastic about spending time in the library and learning as she is, and she'll properly understand his incredulity faced with everything. I'm also glad that his maturity means that there's no way he'll end up friendly with Ron, since I expect he wouldn't be able to stand him.

( Assuming that Hermione is actually a candidate, not just seems like one because of the rapid incompetence of everyone else at Hogwarts. )

Oh, and I never got an email alert for this. I might just save something not setup right, though.

bookaholic_au posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 8:24pm for Encounters

'Sma stared at the insensate professor and then inspected her meal, wondering what sort of hallucinogenic the locals had slipped into the food.'

Classic. I look forward to reading more of your work.

Thwaaack posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 6:48pm for Encounters

First of all, I thoroughly enjoyed this newest chapter. Especially Sma's verbal sparring with Dumbles.

As for what is to come: I have to say I completely agree with Bogdan's review. I can't see Sma allowing, or at least sitting back while DD tries to have the students sent back to the dormitories. When looked at from a tactical standpoint, it is an incredibly stupid choice.

You had DD performing at least a certain level of Legilimancy on Harry and Sma, so it seems like you believe that a Legilimans could infact glean thoughts from someone from the Culture undetected. That being said, I'm sure that DD's method is much more subtle and gentle than anything Snape would employ.

Personally, I would love to see Snape visiting St Mungos for a while following Harry's first class, Legilimancy overloading his mind or else some culture defence mechanism knocking Snape into a coma of sorts. I wouldn't kill him outright from just that, but I think it would be fitting that he suffer for what is essentially a specialized version of rape.

As for the sorting hat.....I don't know if I would prefer the sorting hat going catatonic from what it finds in Harry's head, the sorting hat demanding an "Extended sorting" or the Culture tech being able to hide from the hat. Personally, I think one of the first 2 would be the most fitting.

Keep it up, I can hardly wait for the next chapter.

Wonderbee31 posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 5:11pm for Encounters

Coolness indeed, and like how the ships are having trouble getting on with understanding how things are supposed to work magically, and the way that Sma was twirling Dumbledore like a top. With all the guarentees, now a Troll makes a move, and going to be curious to see how that plays out later on.

haphazard1 posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 4:47pm for Encounters

I am not very familiar with the Culture books (I've only read the first), but this has been very interesting so far. I'm loving the reactions to Earth, magical society, and Hogwarts. Not to mention the various ship names.

I wonder what the Minds will make of a troll? Although with his guardians, I think Harry will make quick (and messy) work of it.

epsilon posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 12:11pm for Encounters

whimsical007: While Ruskbyte did mention his intentions, I doubt they are unchangable yet. The very fact that he mentions delaying liquifying Snape's brain is a clear indication of that. I am merely offering a suggestion what I think this Harry would/should do. I have found that such feedback helps me a lot in avoiding/correcting plotholes or enhance the story beyond what my original outline would have been.
As for Harry blending in, I believe that idea will be dismissed once they learn about Harry's fame and just how unusual his late arrival at Hogwarts is. Let's not forget that the Culture does allow immigration from less developed planets, and I believe the minds would be very interested to get more wizards; Harry is the only logical focal point for a recruitment campaign... that alone makes blending in difficult. Him flaunting his/The Culture's morals on the other hand would allow a more effective pre-selection of people suitable for living in the Culture.
Beyond all those considerations Harry is (almost) a teenager who's just discovered the joys of sex (even if not intercourse). It just doesn't seem likely that he'll stop; especially not once he realizes that many of the older witches are interested (lets not forget that all of them grew up with the legend of Harry Potter/The Boy Who Lived. Ginny is far from the only girl with a crush on him!).
And it's unlikely that the Minds would discourage him; they've plotted to prepare him for reproductive sex as soon as possible, so they'd hardly try to slow him down just because he's at Hogwarts. I think they'd still hope for him to father his first child during the summer break (if not Christmas).
But we don't need to argue this point, elast of all here. Ruskbyte will read it and then decide to what degree these speculations fit the characters. He's far too good a writer to force his characters to comply with a preconcieved plot.

Geddon: We don't know how legillimency would fare against neural implants... the very idea that seems dominant in the feedbacks is that legillimency does indeed work, but doesn't connect with the brain only, but through the neural interface to the whole Culture and especially the Minds. The amound of information flashing by in a fraction of a second would then fry Snape's brain. Of course someone did mention that the Culture is familiar with mind reading, so they may be able to block it, who knows?

Bogdan: X-Ray lasers, like all lasers, don't do damage through penetrating the skin (like bullets) but by burning through it. As such high absorbtion would be a benefit, as it transferes more energy more quickly to the material to be destroyed. For lasers to be less effective, the material would have to be highly reflective. Of course given the likely energy output, anything but perfect reflexion would still burn though the material, so I don't think it makes a difference one way or another.
As for the house, just having access to the information doesn't mean he's Ravenclaw... of course since few students actually fit their house's supposed characteristics, I don't think the decision can be predicted at all. I will however predict that the Hat will not sort him quickly and instead enjoy a conversation with the Minds.

adr: There are some fics, especially Slytherin!Harry fics where this issue is mentioned (including things like a Prefect/Snape deciding they should instead head to another place and not the dungeons). I believe some timetravel fics also touch upon the issue, but since all protagonists are usually first years, they rarely get a chance to voice their oppinion to the school at large, let alone overwrite Dumbledore. But I think everyone can agree that it's a clear sign how screwed up the Wizarding World is.

Quirrel loosing control over the troll may work, but we know that at this point Fluffy already prevents him from passing the first room, so he couldn't get the troll in anyways. And that's not a new situation either. Given his stutter I think Sma wouldn't accept him as effective teacher regardless of any excuse. The best/only way would be for Dumbledore to come up with an excuse without the fool opening his mouth again.

gadriam posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 11:38am for Encounters

Oh, feel free to kill Snape at the earliest convenience. I won't mind in the slightest.

Knowing nothing about the Culture, you have managed to rouse enough interest for me to actually order the books. I look forward to not missing a third of the apparent story.

Keep at it. There's just no way I'll let this story go unread. The drones are great, Ska is brilliant and the conflicts between the supertech and magic are wondrous to behold.

g

adr posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 10:01am for Encounters

After posting my first review, I noticed that bogdan's review also pointed out the lack of common sense in sending the students out of the great hall. Honestly, I didn't read it before I posted... so please take it as a coincidental suggestion.

Has anyone written a story where Quirrel tried to explain that he was bringing in a 2nd troll for his part of Sorcerer's Stone's protection and lost control of it due to magical exhaustion? Seeing as this was on Halloween and Dumbledore didn't even place the Mirror of Erised into the Stone's chamber until the Christmas break, Quirrel might claim to have been taking advantage of the feast to bring two trolls in for his trap before he lost control of one and decided to ask Dumbledore for help. This is one way you could keep Quirrel from losing his role in the plot.

Of course, Sma's reaction to the troll getting loose in the first place and the entire issue of some artifact being kept at the school with that kind of security will be interesting to read.

-adr

adr posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 9:44am for Encounters

This is a most interesting story; I look forward to reading more. Could you give more details on IM Banks's Culture stories, or a link to a site with more info? I've had little luck in finding out more about them.

The cliffhanger at the end of this chapter would seem to foreshadow a meeting where Hermione learns about Harry's upbringing, as it is likely that Harry and the combat drones will be the ones to rescue her from the troll in the bathroom. You could use that as an opportunity to expand more on the nature of the Culture's civilization. Since she was a loner and a bookworm prior to learning about magic, it would not be too OOC for Hermione to have some familiarity with SF and thus be more accepting of the existence of alien civilizations.

On another issue, I've read many HP 1st year stories but could not recall any where somebody points out the stupidity of dispersing the students unescorted by the teachers out of a safe location that is unimpeded by obstacles and with multiple exits, while a dangerous creature stalks through the corridors. Particularly where at least 1/4 of the students will be sent into the last reported location of said creature. Diziet Sma strikes me as just the sort of person to point out the lack of clear thinking to the response to Quirrel's alert.

Just think of what can follow such a scene.

- avis de rapina

busted posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 3:37am for Encounters

I can't wait to see Harry interact with the other students :D

cmatbmed posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 2:31am for Encounters

I have really enjoyed this story.
Your characters are great.
Thanks For sharing.

Bogdan posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 2:10am for Encounters

I noticed what while Dumbledore managed to settle an agreement with Sma, it was only verbal. I can see Sma state that the verbal agreement is void simply because it was based on Dumbledore's verbal assurances that Hogwarts being safe. Then, milk some more.

For instance, get Quirrell fired. A coward like that teaching DEFENCE? I can't see the Minds agreeing to Harry be taught but from the best. Sma either. Place the argument in the Great Hall and in front of all the students and Dumbles will have to take action, lest he becomes publicly responsible for loosing The Boy Who Lived, for Hogwarts, as well as his plans.

Regarding arguments, I don't know cannon!Sma's leadership assertiveness, but until the next chapter is posted, I can easily picture the following scene:

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories
immediately!" (PS 10)

"Disregard that order!" said an incredulous Sma. "You would have 11 year olds leave an easily defendable Hall with only one major entrance so they could run into the troll's path? Are you senile?!?"

The Hall was instantly quiet. The students didn't know who the young woman was, but she just insulted THE Albus Dumbledore! Yet, after a bit of thinking, she was oddly right, especially in the eyes of the Slytherins and the Hufflepuffs who would have to go towards the very dungeons the troll was roaming amok in.

"Perfects, take roll of attendance! Now!", came the lady's next orders. "Senior students, take defensive positions towards the Hall's Entrance! First and second years, gather towards the teacher's table!" Then, to the astonishment of all present, she jumped over the still full food filled table, walked over to the collapsed Defense Teacher's form, raised him up by the scruff of his robes with a remarkable ease, and slapped him twice, hard enough for it to echo un the walls of the rather large hall.

"Where did you encounter the troll, coward? You will take us there, now!" Then, towards Dumbledore: "Assign a competent teacher to organize the defense here, then come with me."

This is all wishful thinking from my part. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to read the Culture novels, as I have barely enough time to keep up with the HP Fanfiction. So, of course, I could be wrong, and the Minds could order Sma to keep back and observe if Skaffen's theory that the wizards of Terrasa are insane is in fact true. Or underestimated.

Now for the troll itself. Hmm... It would not do to have the troll easily defeated. I do not know about X-ray laser, but X-rays diminish in intensity the more dense the material they are passing through is. And Trolls have thick, magically enhanced hide. The X-ray laser could just give him a sun-burn. I don't know about the HS laser. Antimatter, on the other hand...

The Hermione Speculations. Sma will have a lot of time on her hands, along with all the crew aboard the It’s Not My Fault. Once Harry gets wind of the bigotry in the wizarding world, I can see them considering alternatives and solutions. Again, I could be off, but what about recruitment? Bright, eager and willing. The perfect candidate.

About what House will Harry be sorted into. If it's Gryffindor or Slytherin, I for one will be disappointed. Considering that in canon the hat sorted Draco in Slytherin before it even touched his head, Harry's neural lace, connected to his drones, and Sma, Skaffen and several minds in the background, should have the Hat screaming "Ravenclaw!" just as promptly. Though, Hufflepuff is not completely out of the question.

This was my tiny speculations. Once again, sorry for not having all my data straight. Maybe I'll make some time to read the novels, but I doubt that will happen in the next 2-3 weeks.

Anyways, keep up the good work!!!

Musings of Apathy posted a comment on Tuesday 1st April 2008 10:27pm for Encounters

Excellent story and chapter. I look forward to how Harry and his drones will deal with a loose troll in a small bathroom.

Thank you for writing.

Mike (MoA)

Jiapa posted a comment on Tuesday 1st April 2008 9:52pm for Encounters

Yay! I've got no constructive criticisms at all. I just wanted to let you know that I'm enjoying this story a great deal. I'm looking forward to seeing more cross-cultural interaction. *snicker*

whimsical007 posted a comment on Tuesday 1st April 2008 9:46pm for Encounters

We mustn't forget the house elves, a previously undetected non-human species that can access the hyperspace grid in a different manner than "wizards". With all the surprises, how soon before all three GCUs are in orbit to closely examine this odd planet and how soon before more Special Circumstances agents arrive for more scrutiny and investigation on the ground?

epsilon, in the Author's Notes for the last chapter, Ruskbyte wrote: "He had not had sex yet and will not until sometime in either his fourth or fifth-year at Hogwarts." I am taking him to mean intercourse and it is with that meaning that I used the term "sex". As far as Harry single handedly provoking a significant change in wizarding sexual mores, he does know (and Sma and Skaffen will remind him if he forgets) that he isn't supposed to appear or act too different from the non-Culture wizards.

Mickey, I had the same thought about "immune", but Skaffen might be using the word as it is used in medicine or biology where it can mean "not susceptible" which is not the same as "unaffected" and such terms as "partial immunity" are used.