Today on Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: The Pals and the HFA

Welcome friendly readers. Thanks for being here.

We talking HFA. Yesterday we mentioned some of their successes. Today we discuss their down fall.

The end of the HFA can be described in two words . . . Gary Meyer. He was the SID agent assigned to destroy their group. He spent some time undercover with them. History sees it as extremely significant and fortuitous that he did not cross paths with Max Gavaskar when she was on Lava. When their paths did cross much later that became a story history will recall for generations.

Meyer had been given the assignment to hunt for Max Gavaskar but he delegated that job to one of his underlings an agent Marcus Perry. When Agent Perry failed, Meyer assigned Perry to a post in the Lavan desert. Nothing is known of Perry after that. It is suspected that Meyer was directed to not delegate the Max Gavaskar mission that led him to meet her.

History knows much about that meeting but less about his work in taking down the HFA. The SID was hunting the HFA even before they blasted the Marcus Johnson to bits. Once the SID felt openly justified to declare the HFA as terrorists they made the hunt for them top priority.

Meyer eliminated the HFA leadership one by one with a cold calculated efficiency until he was pulled from this task and set to chase Max Gavaskar.

When Meyer was pulled from his HFA hunt there were still a few HFA leaders alive but their influence was gone. It wasn’t long after this that the SID ceased to be a functional organization and the HFA’s raison d’être no longer existed. What was left of the organization melted away into the annals of history.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: The Pals and the HFA

Greetings terrific readers. Thanks for being here.

Yesterday we mentioned that the Pals were instrumental in helping Max Gavaskar escape the SID when they were trying to arrest her. But, what else did they do?

Not much. Many historians refer to them as dilettantes. Their impact was certainly less than their more militant counterparts, the HFA. Having helped Max Gavaskar was certainly a big thing for human / Harappan society but they had little impact on the SID itself. They did provide some support in Kiki Lu’s Bhor Blast investigation. That turned out to be a significant contribution but Miss Lu is given most of the credit for that project. The Pals just gave Kiki the contacts she needed.

The Harappan Free Army was a group of militants who’s goals were similar to the Pals. The HFA lacked the restraint of the Pals but perhaps because of that they were more effective in harming the SID.

The Pals were strictly a Harappan group. Membership was restricted to born Harappans. HFA had a bigger tent. They were open to anyone who chafed at SID control. Their center of activity was planet Lava. They did have operatives on Harappa and Kusha but their influence was centered on Lava.

Of course they are most remembered for blowing up the SID starship the Marcus Johnson. It was a suicide bombing. We don’t know the name of the person who carried out this attack but they were definitely HFA.

The HFA were also involved in Max Gavaskar’s exile. When the Paladin Societies’ network was compromised by SID infiltrators (Gary Meyer) they turned to the HFA for provide protection for Max. They put her up in their safe house north of Colonial. They helped Max’s friends break into the SID science center and manufacture the Quick Quack crystals.

The HFA helped Max and Dorian Thain stowaway on the SID starship the Debendra Gavaskar with their connections in the SID flight kitchen, which is also how they got their suicide bomber on to the marcus Johnson.

It is rumored that the HFA were planning on destroying the Debendra Gavaskar starship but that they cancelled their plans so that they could offer help to Max. That they saw the importance of the woman who became the “Mother of the Galaxy” is seen as their highest moment.

Tomorrow: Downfall of the HFA

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: The Paladin Society and the HFA

Greetings wonderful readers. Thanks for being here.

The Paladin Society, or the Pals, were working to hinder SID operations in any way they could. Paladin had tried to carry our a guerilla war against the SID’s mining operation in the White Mountains. He was able to force them to change their plans. They moved their mining site to a location they thought Paladin would leave alone. History tells us how well that worked.

When Paladin was killed on Harvest Day he became a martyr for all Harappans. A lot of people felt some guilt that paladin died doing what we all should have been doing. 

I suppose that in hindsight, we Harappans didn’t have much of a chance. Once Salus got in bed with the Earthers and the SID we were doomed. The best thing to come out of this was that Max, the Mother of the Galaxy learned an important lesson. How knows what would have happened is Max Gavaskar did not know the importance of speaking as one people during a First Contact?

So, the Pals worked for several years agains’t the SID. Did they accomplish anything? Yes and no.

They were instrumental in helping Max Gavaskar escape the SID’s clutches when she first discovered their dark secret. Alice Toten, one of the top leaders of the Pals, met with Max and arranged for her to go to Salmo on planet Lava. 

So much of what we know as history happened because Max Gavaskar just happened to be on planet Lava when Dorian Thain passed through there on his way home to Kusha. How would have things gone differently had Max not been present for the Kusha Coup, First Contact and the Bhor Blast? She certainly would not be known as the Mother of the Galaxy.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Greetings wonderful readers. Thanks for being here.

The Paladin Society, or the Pals, were working to hinder SID operations in any way they could. Paladin had tried to carry our a guerilla war against the SID’s mining operation in the White Mountains. He was able to force them to change their plans. They moved their mining site to a location they thought Paladin would leave alone. History tells us how well that worked.

When Paladin was killed on Harvest Day he became a martyr for all Harappans. A lot of people felt some guilt that paladin died doing what we all should have been doing. 

I suppose that in hindsight, we Harappans didn’t have much of a chance. Once Salus got in bed with the Earthers and the SID we were doomed. The best thing to come out of this was that Max, the Mother of the Galaxy learned an important lesson. How knows what would have happened is Max Gavaskar did not know the importance of speaking as one people during a First Contact?

So, the Pals worked for several years agains’t the SID. Did they accomplish anything? Yes and no.

They were instrumental in helping Max Gavaskar escape the SID’s clutches when she first discovered their dark secret. Alice Toten, one of the top leaders of the Pals, met with Max and arranged for her to go to Salmo on planet Lava. 

So much of what we know as history happened because Max Gavaskar just happened to be on planet Lava when Dorian Thain passed through there on his way home to Kusha. How would have things gone differently had Max not been present for the Kusha Coup, First Contact and the Bhor Blast? She certainly would not be known as the Mother of the Galaxy.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: The Paladin Society and the HFA

Greetings terrific readers. Thanks for being here.

Harappans and Earthers did not get along from the beginning. Then when the Earthers ruined our homeworld things got ugly. Things would have been much worse if Dorian Thain had not negotiated a settlement that gave Harappans possession of planet Kusha in such a way that prevented the Earthers from having any real influence here.

The Paladin Society formed on Harappa not long after “Harvest Day”. 

Why do we call it Harvest Day? That was the day John Trenton Keller, captain of the starship Marcus Johnson blasted a large vein of illumaphane which started a cascading blast that knocked the planet off its orbit. That day was also something of a Harappan holiday.  Harvest Day was typically the beginning of the harvest season. The first day “Harvest Day” ended with a feast after everyone worked so hard. So now, “Harvest Day” is how we remember the blast that destroyed our home world.

The Paladin Society was a response to the Harvest Day Blast. They became an underground movement that was fronted by the Harappan Cultural Center in Sandon.

After the Harvest Day Tsunami destroyed Salus and most of Caelum, Sandon became the Capitol of Harappa. The SID based their operations there so they could be close to the University.

The Harappan Cultural Center was established as a front for the Pals. The public goals of the Cultural Center were to preserve what Harappan culture they could before having to leave for Kusha. In the back ground the Center hosted the Pals who were working against the SID in any way they could.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: The Pals and the HFA

Greetings intrepid readers. Thanks for being here.

I hope you all had a great weekend. Me and my band, the Gutterminds, played at a pub in Harappa City Saturday night. We and, I think, the crowd had too much fun, too much wine and definitely too much Oodo.

Sunday I spent relaxing in my friend Dorian’s garden. Actually it’s mostly the work of his wife Alex, but it’s a lovely place. He and I shared a few beers and solved the planet’s problems. That’s a pretty easy task on Kusha. We don’t have many problems here. Now that Max has solved most of our problems life is good here.

Just so you know we still have an appointment with Max herself in a few weeks. Dorian and I will get an audience with the Mother and I’ll share with you what conversations we have.

Between now and then I’ll keep telling tales of life on Kusha and around the Milky Way. This week we’ll discuss the Paladin Society and the HFA (Harappan Free Army).

After humans from Earth, notably the SID, came to Harappa tensions grew between the two human worlds. To this day most Harappans will not trust an Earther. Even after Earth has gone through so much transition in the past few years.

As a response to this tension two Harappan groups formed with similar but slightly different philosophies.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Notes from the Author: Hug an atheist today.

Welcome special readers. Thanks for being here.

Last week I critiqued the Ham / Nye, Creationist / Evolutionist debate. I thought the evolutionist won, but then I have a bias. I am an atheist. I came to my atheism after a long slow trip through religion and spirituality. I tried really hard to find a religion that I could work with.

I am not without spirituality. I pray every night. An atheist who prays? Yes. For me, prayer is a time to remind ourselves of our good fortune and our obligation to contribute what we can to society. I offer my thanks for being alive and remind myself to seek my highest potential.

I don’t wish to offend my Christian friends. I don’t begrudge them their faith. As long as they don’t try to force their spiritual views into American Law I’m fine with however you choose to express your spirituality.

I’ve heard several times recently, Christians complain about atheists promoting atheism.  (yet I have never had an atheist come to my door selling their religion). Atheists are the group that people are less likely to vote into office. 

I love a good religious debate I actually enjoy it when the JWs come to my door. I doubt that they enjoy me trying to convert them but they have come to MY home so I get to offer up my view. I wish my Christian friends understood that not everyone wants to be lectured to. I enjoy a good debate but most often Christians tout their faith yet refuse to even listen to another’s point. I usually avoid these conversations since they tend to be one sided affairs. 

There is no war on Christ in our society. There is a war on people who try to force their opinions on others. Recently, well known Republican leader, Tom De Lay claimed that the American Constitution was written by his god. That’s when my hackles go up. America is and always has been a secular nation. Secularism is the genius of the American experiment. I can be an atheist in America without worrying about the state assaulting my beliefs.

There are Americans who are trying to change this. I have heard way too many times over the past six years the claim that we are a Christian Nation. We are not. 

Freedom is not free. Every American, Christian or other should be fighting to prevent any one religious sect from taking over our secular government. Secularism is not evil. If you think it is you might want to reconsider your support for the USA. Just remember that a secular America has room for all faiths and for those of no faith.

Never mix red wine with Oodo.

Earth Year 2014

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog

Welcome fine readers. Thanks for being here.

Yesterday I discussed the friends. They were one of several undergrounds that were working to end the power of the LC or Leadership Council.

When the Harappans first arrived on Earth the Criers Guild, who ran the media, made a big show of the arrival. The faces of the Harappan delegates were all over the 3deos. However, the Scribes portrayed the Harappans as primitives. The claim that the humans how left Earth had devolved in their two hundred years apart. Earth had moved forward while Harappans were still living in the old paradigm.

Alex and her circle believed that they weren’t getting the truth about the Harappans. Not many people believed the news the Criers put out, but life was pretty good so most people didn’t want to rock the boat.

Alex has told me in the years since that she and her friends felt that Dorian being the youngest person in the Harappan delegation that he would be the most open to talking freely with them. She had no idea about the Harappan’s notion that the Green Bible could not have been written by Marcus Johnson. It just turned out handy that Dorian had something to offer the Friends that was going to take down the LC. Their power emanated from the Green Bible. When its veracity was questioned their influence waned.

Have a great weekend. Bubba the science guy will post tomorrow.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Who were the Friends?

Welcome terrific readers. Thanks for being here.

Who were the Friends?

My friend Dorian Thain was on Earth to negotiate a diplomatic agreement between Earth and our home world, Harappa.

The Earthers took the stance that Harappa belonged to Earth since it was settled by humans from Earth and all humans at the time were subjects of the Leadership Council. Next week we’ll discuss the LC but for now we’ll say that they had once ruled with an iron fist but by the time the Harappans got to Earth their influence has waned. 

Much like the Keepers on Harappa the LC had moved to the background. Their influence was felt through the Scribes and Criers guilds.

Several underground groups had been forming in the decades leading to the Earth Revolution. The Knights of Tarsus were one and the Friends were another.

Dorian’s wife Alex was a Friend. They met when she decided to abduct him in an attempt to get the true word out about the Green Bible. She shot my friend with a tranquilizer dart. They still joke about that. Dorian brings up that incident when ever he wants to tease his life partner. More than one I’ve heard her threaten to do it again.

There are rumors that the Friends were an extension of an ancient Earth religious sect but we don’t know exactly what the connection is. So much history was lost in the Great Crash on Earth.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: What do we know about Mary Carmini?

Welcome wonderful readers. Thanks for being here.

What do we really know about Mary Carmini? History tells us that she was one of the most vile humans ever. Her influence on the Knights of Tarsus has been well documented. Once she was out of the picture they ended their expansionist ways and they became contributors to society rather than destroyers.

She was born in Salus to one of the keeper families. The Keepers were the ruling class. They sequestered themselves early in their history and the common people rarely saw them. they ruled through the Salusian Bishops.

Her husband, known to history only as Mr. Carmini was killed in the Harvest Day Tsunami. The Keeper Compound was right on the coast just northwest from Salus. The entire settlement was wiped out. We know that she had children but we don’t know how many nor anything about them. The Keepers were a secretive bunch. They kept their records in their compound on paper and all that disappeared in the tsunami.

She went to Earth on the first diplomatic mission, the one that included my friend Dorian Thain. Dorian tells me that she wouldn’t even speak to him. She was rude and dismissive the entire time they were together on that mission. 

When Dorian was abducted by the Friends and went public with the Harappan belief that the Green Bible was a fake, Mary Carmini was recruited by the Knights of Tarsus. Most historians refer to the Knights as terrorists but I prefer not to use that word since it has been used too often to tar a people for fighting for their rights. 

Tomorrow: The Friends

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Pt 2 of Dorian's Tattoos

Welcome terrific readers. Thanks for being here.

Yesterday I started telling you the story of Dorian’s tattoos. The first part he got in Salus on planet Harappa. The rest of it he got on Earth.

The history of Dorian’s first trip to Earth has been written many times but I don’t know of any that have told the story of Dorian’s Earth tattoo. 

After his tour with the Friends, the tour that started all the mess that Dorian is blamed for, he was contacted by the SID and they offered him asylum. They did so in order to get him to speak on their behalf. He did so for a while but when he went to Cascadia the SID turned on him and declared him a terrorist.

That forced him underground and he had to make his way from Cascadia to the Texas Space Port. With the help of some of the Cascadians he walked to New Denver and from there he got on the the train system. While he was traveling through the western wilderness he and his party came across a band of nomads.

They had a legend that an otherworlder with the mark of the eagle would come to deliver them from the wilderness. No one knows where that legend came from but it turned out to be fortunate for Dorian. Had he not had the “mark of the eagle” on him the nomads may not have let him pass through their lands. 

When the nomads saw dorian’s tattoo and learned that he was really from another planet they fell in love with him. They made him a member of their clan and they asked if he would accept a gift. That gift turned out to be a matching eagle tattooed on his other shoulder. A tattoo done in the old way. 

Dorian said they had two artists working on him for over twelve hours. He would never have made it through that ordeal without something they gave him to eat that put him into an altered state.

Dorian wont say so, he has good friends among the nomads still, but I believe and many other historians believe that the tattoo was a test for Dorian. Apparently he passed the nomads moved to Kusha to be near him. They turned out to help him when he fought Lanice and her attempt to overthrow him.

The tattoo the nomads did was a matching eagle on the other shoulder and a banner that connected the two eagles. What does that banner say?

Dorian has been evasive over the years about the message on his chest. It is not a secret. There have been pictures published showing the tattoos and some of them have the resolution to show what the words say, but many people just don’t know. So for you . . .

“vires per unitatem”

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Dorian Thain's Tattoos

Welcome stout readers. Thanks for being here.

I know the true story of Dorian Thains tattoos. I wasn’t with him when he got the first part but I was with him when he found the artist. We were in Salus on a mission for the Librarians. We were there to get information about what the Keepers of Salus were up to. At the time Salus was building up for a war. They had been stockpiling weapons and Caelum, the City of the Founder was feeling threatened.

My brilliant idea was to cruise the bars where soldiers hung out and see what we could get from some drunk army folks. History tells us that my plan didn’t work out quite the way Dorian and I thought it would. Things worked out well in the end but there were some moments where I had to reconsider if my plan was a good one or not.

In the process of cruising the bars and taverns we passed by a less than crappy looking tattoo shop. We went in and Dorian met the artist. She was good looking and the work she had on display looked good too.

After the Battle of Caelum Ina and I left to be on our own. I took her up to the White Mountains to meet my kin. Dorian had some business with the Librarians and he went with them to Salus. While there he returned to the tattoo shop and got the first eagle. The black and gray tattoo was on his left shoulder. It’s an eagle in flight. One wing is splayed across his collarbone and the other wing goes down the upper arm.

I know that he was concerned that his mom wouldn’t care for the art work. He was right to be concerned. I hear that she wasn’t too happy when she first saw it. She complained that he didn’t get a colored tattoo.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you how Dorian got the matching tattoo on Earth.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Bubba the Science Guy: The Bill Nye / Ken Ham Debate

Welcome festive readers. Thanks for being here.

Last week many of us watched a debate between Bill Nye the Science Guy and Ken Ham a staunch Creationist. The first thing I read about this, even before I saw it was that Bill did poorly. His facts were fine and all but that Ham fellow was more pleasant and better prepared.

That is often the critique of scientists. When they come out of their labs, and especially when confronted by Creationist arguments, they tend to become condescending and sometimes rude. Christians on the other hand tend to be pleasant people. If you aren’t interested in facts I can see why you might favor the Creationists. 

If facts do matter to you then Creationism is a fail. I suppose the Creationists can still argue some divine intervention when it comes to the creation of DNA and science can not yet explain what caused the Big Bang. There is just too much evidence that demonstrates that the Earth is more than six thousand years old. We have trees older than that. We have layers of ice in the Antarctic older than that, we have layers of soil older than that. We certainly have fossil evidence that points to an Earth that is billions of years old.

From what Mr. Ham presented it seems to me that the Creationist argument is nothing but criticisms of evolution. The only evidence provided to support creationism is from the Bible. As a young man I spent a couple of years studying the Bible. I found that it wasn’t for me but I want you to know that I do know the document. There may be some spiritual advice that some will find beneficial but it is not science or history. It is a collection of parables and myths.

Facts aside, for me the telling moment in the debate was when an audience member asked “What would make you change your mind?”

Bill Nye answered “Evidence” and Ken Ham answered “Nothing”. To me that says it all. That is the difference between science and faith. It is the difference between the left and the right in American politics.

Never mix red wine with Oodo.

Earth Year 2014

Philip the Bards Harappan Blog: The Second Renaissance

Welcome grand readers. Thanks for being here.

I think it will be a quiet weekend. I’m not getting together with the Gutterminds this weekend. Benny the drummer is out of town on a family trip and Jaycee is singing at an event at the Concert Hall. Without her voice and the drums we’d only be a shell of what we can be.

Jaycee is singing with a choir, doing some classic Harappan songs. The Harappan Symphony will finish the concert with Marc Wilson’s Third Harappan Suite.

Jaycee offered me and Ina tickets but I’m not much for crowded events. I can watch the concert on the 3deo here at home.

People still play the old Harappan music. Some of it sounds a little dated now that we have resurrected Twentieth Century Earth music. 

Some people are starting to call Earth’s Twentieth Century the “Second Renaissance”. I’d have to agree. When we look back at that period of time there was an explosion of creativity. Not just in music but in all the arts and the sciences too.

From jazz early on in the century to the rap and rock of bands like the Toxik Idols, from Picasso to Warhol, from Einstein to Hawking, knowledge and art was blossoming. Society evolved too. When the century began there were still small minded people who saw homosexuality as unnatural. I know it’s hard to believe that humans felt so, so recently. There were still examples of racism well into the century and even beyond some.

The Greenies solidified some of those social changes for good but rolled back some of the social gains. They took away some of the freedoms that we now take for granted. They took away the music, much of the art and any thing that did not honor the Messiah, Marcus Johnson. The Second Earth Renaissance was pushed underground, preserved by the man for whom this art was banned. How messed up is that?

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480