the Cognitive-Integrated-Drone (CID) has been around for a long time, in fact many species discover the basic concepts before interstellar travel. at its core it is fairly straightforward, through progressive cybernetic replacement the inferior biological support system is replaced my machinery with higher tolerances.
there are three primary reasons to pursue this line of technology:

1. lifespan extension, by removing biological failure points some species could hypothetically triple their lifespan
2. life-support reduction, by reducing the amount of biological systems to support to the bare minimum a ship can save mass, size, weaknesses, and power load.
3. tolerances. despite continual improvements in engine and material sciences the speed and manoeuvrability of starfighters have been functionally stagnant for decades. the limiting factor is the ability of sapients to survive the forces involved. an isolated nervous system supported directly by machines can handle far more physical stresses that a biologically supported one.

unfortunately while resiliency is varied across species and individuals, the process always results in some of the worst madness ever seen. horrifying phantom pain, eventual complete collapse of the sense of self, and existential torment. always resulting in suicide. because of this, the use of CIDs in warfare has been banned in the Galactic community. of course, they get used anyways, the strategic advantage for any tyrant cruel enough to use them is undeniable.
​
the Human-Aardjren war started so soon after the humans entered the galactic stage that it's said that some people heard about the war before they heard about the humans. it began as a hybrid border dispute-ideological war when a human colony was claimed to be in Aardjren space and as such the population there was Aardjren property. this was in some ways unsurprising, the Aardjren were well known for their belligerence and avarice in equal measure. and for the first months, the war went as expected too, the Aardjren empire seeing victory after victory as technologically, numerically, and materially inferior human fleets were incapable of meaningful resistance.
however it seemed that the humans learned the lessons of war quickly. with their newbuilt ships abandoning the cruiser-battleship "ships of the line" doctrine in favour of the contemporary carrier-destroyer-corvette fleet compositions. more impressive was that they stopped losing as hard. even making successful defences at some strategic battles.
commentary at the time attributed this to Aardjren overconfidence, and the surprising aptitude of humans as starfighter pilots owing to an arboreal ancestry. however the real shock came a couple months after these surprising turnabouts. a new wave of human ships were commissioned. these ships were of an unusual design, many small ships, even smaller than corvettes, and their destroyers were not much bigger than corvettes either. and the carriers were large, and with an unbelievable compliment of fighters and the less seen heavy strike craft. speculation was that out of desperation they had the pilots quartering in their cockpits... which it turns out wasnt far from the truth.
this fleet did not lose a single battle.
the Aardjren were eventually routed from human space, and faced with a counter attack, they opened the negotiation table. Ultimately the Aardjren empire wound up paying stiff war reparations in the form of liberating a large number of slaves into the human territory as immigrants.
with hostilities concluded, communication with the human began in earnest. and as facts about the war trickled out, the galaxy trembled in horror. due to the horrendous toll CIDs were typically only used as superiority fighters. the humans had turned every. single. ship. in their fleet into a CID. not just the fighters, but the corvettes, and destroyers too. and in the most horrifying revelation of all. the carriers, large ships that could easily have the life support systems for a crew were instead "manned" by a network of CIDs. even the admiral of the fleet was integrated into her flagship.
it came out that this was part of the reason that the Aardjren folded so quickly at the negotiation table. faced with the threat of a nigh undefeatable fleet that could operate for years independent of supply or berth, even if they destroyed the human homeworld that very day, this fleet could haunt their space for decades.
when called to the Galactic community to defend their actions the human ambassador made a statement that terrified the horrified people into silence:
"they knew the risks, they volunteered"

The fight continues, but something feels off to John. Is his intuition correct? And where does the fight? I hope you enjoy!
The next chapter will be out on Monday. Today is LeMan's, which means i am going to be doing a whole lot of nothing besides watch the race. I am hoping to get a few chapters written. If I get enough done I am hoping to go back to 3 chapters/week so we can wrap up the story at the end of the month.
Terran Space Story: The Lieutenant Saga
Academy Days First Previous Next

Chapter 120: Murphy’s Law Strikes Back

45 Minutes Later. March 20th, 2267. 04:57 Tau Ceti Prime’s Moon
The Icarus was taking fire from all sides. But her point defense weaponry was doing a stellar job of eliminating the incoming threats. The remaining pirate ships had begun to fall back to their fleet’s command ship to aid in her defense.
Though that number was shockingly small, the kill ratios of the frigate squadrons were absurdly high. The assistance was desperately needed as the sheer number of projectiles that were incoming was more than the Icarus and her friendly cruisers could handle. There was a problem with that strategy though, the pirate ships were densely, relatively speaking, packed together.
“Not many rounds are getting through,” Willy said, “There are so many overlapping defenses that barely anything is getting through.”
“Keep secondary rail turrets aimed at their critical systems,” John said, “Change targets on our forward ones to their remaining cruisers and support ships. Tessa, advise the fleet to conserve their missiles and torpedoes.”
“Aye aye,” Tessa said.
John began to look at his fleet’s remaining armaments. They weren’t critically low on missiles yet, but they were at sub-optimal levels. The fight could continue but any hope of overloading their targeting systems would not happen.
Six pirate vessels blew up one after another in short succession. Withering rail gun fire caused each of the explosions. Two cruisers and four frigates of theirs ceased to be in the span of a pair of heartbeats. This reduced the amount of anti-missile fire but even with those new losses, there was still an overwhelming amount of it left.
The way the pirates were regrouping was also weighing his mind. This was clearly a delaying tactic. Delaying for what though?
“What are they waiting for? Why aren’t they retreating?” Ingrid asked innocently.
“Order the fleet to begin pulling away from the enemies,” John said, “This doesn’t feel right.”
“Spidey sense tingling?” Walter said from behind him, “That’s a ripe environment for targets though.”
“That it is, but it’s too ripe. Barbara, all ahead flank. I don’t like this at all,” John looked over at Tessa, “Hail Oscar, have they detected any coded transmissions?”
“Contacting the Basilone now, sir,” Tessa said as she looked down at her console.
“The fleet is repositioning itself. The pirates are pursuing one of the frigate squadrons,” Willy said.
“Tessa, advise the Orlando to break off at flank speeds, and disengage from combat entirely,” John said as he stroked his chin, “What is their play?”
“Gotta be reinforcements, but they aren’t in real space and there are no messages being exchanged,” Chester said from the rear of the bridge.
“The Basilone isn’t reporting communications being sent anywhere,” Tessa said, “Orlando has confirmed receipt of orders and is breaking away from combat.”
“Are you always this discouraged when things go your way, Captain?” Ingrid sounded almost pained to ask the question.
“Sometimes the enemy is stupid, and they gift you stuff. Something stinks about this situation, no matter how dire it feels for them. Are any of our ships in range of one of their small ship’s wrecks?” John asked.
“We are, there’s a corvette twenty thousand klicks off our starboard side,” Willy said, “Increasing scan resolution. What am I looking for?”
“Recent signs of life. Organic molecules,” John said, “Basically I want to know if those small ships were manned or unmanned.”
Willy looked frustrated working with the scanners. The oftentimes violent, evasive maneuvers made it difficult to keep the scanners focused on the target to do their work. Five minutes of painful frustration later he had an answer.
“That corvette had a crew of four people. Should be the minimum necessary to operate a ship like that.”
“Something doesn’t feel right here. ETA on our reinforcements?” John grumbled about his question.
“Ten hours, they are pushing as hard as they can,” Tessa said, “Eight hours is a possibility if things calm down.”
“Plan on ten then,” Walter said, “If things get heavy on our end you know it’s not going to be smooth sailing for reinforcements.”
“Too right,” John quipped, “How do we avoid…”
“CONTACTS!” Willy shouted, “Twelve slip space ruptures forming!”
“Advise all ships to fall back to the shipyards. Delta contingency plan is now in effect,” John said as he stood up from his chair, “Barbara, we need to draw them to us. Change heading to one-four-six, flank speed.”
“Sir?” Barbara was surprised by the order.
She still inputted it in but hadn’t activated it. John simply nodded at her. While it was an unusual command she trusted in her captain. The change in course was laid in, the Waukesha adjusted its course rapidly and steamed towards the mass of pirate ships. And the nearest four slip space ruptures that were belching out pirate vessels.
“We’re going to draw them away from our forces. I got our fleet into this new mess, which means I am getting this ship and all of you properly stuck into this fight,” John said calmly, “Walter, weapons free, launch anything and everything you’ve got. Do as much damage as possible to draw their ire at us, not our compatriots. Barbara, take us in as low as you can to the moon’s surface. We need to be screaming fast.”
“Understood.”
John walked back to his chair and sat down. Ingrid looked at him and was surprised at how non-emotional he appeared. Her heart was racing, emotions were flooding her senses. Yet there her captain was calm as ever.
That was not the truth at all. Internally John knew that the Waukesha was most likely properly fucked. Their speed and momentum would help them immensely, but the moon was large. It wasn’t going to be of much use to avoid enemy fire. It was all they had though, if they didn’t die in the next ten minutes then John figured they stood about an eighty percent chance of living through to the next day.
The odds of surviving the next ten minutes, however, weren’t great. Though their allies did them a solid by conducting a fighting withdrawal. Lances and rail gun fire continued to pound the pirate fleet. Their reinforcements took casualties almost immediately upon fully transitioning back to real space.
John looked at the tactical display and began his cold calculations. Ingrid had noticed him typing on the holographic keyboard. She didn’t catch what precisely he was doing, but it seemed like that was but one more thing in a long list of things John had planned and accounted for.
“Chief, all reserve power to forward shields,” John said pressing the intercom button to main engineering, “Shit’s going to get bumpy momentarily.”
Grumbling was the only reply that was given. But the order was fully complied with. All available power was rerouted to the kinetic and electromagnetic shields. In just the nick of time too.
Dozens of lances and laser battery volleys came towards the Waukesha. Some were dissipated by the shields. Most flew by the large cruiser harmlessly. Truth be told, John wasn’t worried about these weapons. It was unlikely that they would do any lasting damage to the Waukesha.
Rail guns were the weapons that John was worried about. At least the scariest guns in the pirate fleet were knocked out of commission. But there were an awfully large number of those pesky guns in the pirate fleet. And more ships continue to stream into real space. The one thing working in favor is that despite the large quantity of guns they were all relatively small caliber, not meant for hunting such large game.
“Barbara, that course is going to have to work,” John said calmly, “Walter, weapons are still free, fire at will.”
“Been doing that for a while now, sir,” Walter grinned, “This is a weapon’s officers wet dream.”
“Ewww,” Tessa said from her console.
“Seconding that,” John grinned, “He’s not technically wrong though. That is a target-rich environment.”
Every single one of her rail turrets was volley-firing as soon as new rounds were loaded. To an outside observer, it would be an impressive sight. The pirates were hard-pressed to do anything to the angry cruiser. It deftly avoided most of their fire, and what ordinance that was fired true did little to nothing to impede them.
The pirate frigates and cruisers had been brutally battered. The angry cruiser in front of them was terrifyingly accurate. Those that were coming in as reinforcements were forced to hold fire for worry of friendly fire and couldn’t maneuver their bows into a firing solution that worked. Luck, it seems, was on the Waukesha’s side during their mad dash through the new pirate fleet.
In fact, dozens of railgun rounds from the pirate corvettes had struck the Waukesha’s shields. Through the grace of God, her shields held together. But each round wore down her shields bit by bit. They were barely halfway through the pirate fleet and the Waukesha was dying slowly from a thousand cuts.
They were successful in drawing all eyes onto them. The pirate ships that had gone after the other retreating Confederate ships turned back, yet another wave the Waukesha had to successfully fight through before they were free.
“Waukesha, new contacts, adjust course to three-one-six, down forty,” radioed the communications officer from the Basilone, “Previously unseen and unaccounted for pirate forces.”
Barbara shook her head as she furiously entered course corrections, “No no no no.”
“Walter, fire a full salvo of multi missiles, set release point to be five hundred klicks off the bow,” John said.
“Aye aye.”
“You’re hoping to confuse…” Ingrid began to say before the Waukesha shook violently.
“Aft kinetic shields have buckled. Round impacted on the round. Looks to be a cruiser round.”
“ETA on getting out of this fucking mess,” John asked politely and calmly.
“Five minutes,” Barbara took a deep breath.
“Focus, keep driving ahead,” John said before clicking on the intercom button, “Chief, I want a process that will automatically kick in if the main drive cone is knocked out of commission. We need thrust.”
“Already done captain,” Marty said.
“FUCKING BOOM!” Walter shouted, “The Flock of Abraham just ate it.”
“Good fucking riddance,” Walter said.
The viewscreen zoomed in on the large cruiser. A large blue explosion was all that remained of the one-time Alliance cruiser. Her shields had been shredded during the initial attack. Walter had made it a point to pepper the poor ship with more fire on their way. A parting gift of sorts.
One more well-known ally of the Icarus had been put down. The pirates would at this point be frothing at the mouth. John’s fleet had successfully driven them mad with revenge. More than that, live or die, the Icarus was greatly diminished in influence. Her oldest and best supporters had now either been atomized or turned into scrap metal and human popsicles.
If the Waukesha was destined for death this day, she was going down kicking and screaming. That was the fourteenth ship kill she had chalked up during this desperate dash to freedom. The more they weaved through and around masses of ships, without dying, the more John began to believe they would not die on this day.
“Walter, if you can pop off any shots at the Icarus, target here,” John shared some tactical data through his armrest console to his weapons officer.
“I’ll let the VI create another subroutine and pop off a few rounds,” Walter said, “If we take out enough slip generators, we will be keeping her in the system.”
“More of the smaller ships are beginning to follow us. Their capital ships don’t have the acceleration or momentum to keep up with us. It’s only a matter of time until they overtake us though,” Willy said.
“Tessa, has the Orlando messaged us yet?”
“They have…” Tessa paused, “'In position' was their…”
The Waukesha rolled over unexpectedly. She had suffered a massive impact, several kinetic shielding arrays flared out as they had been overloaded. Despite the advancements made in anti-gravity plating and internal inertia dampers, everyone felt the ship suddenly spin. Five to eight G’s were felt throughout the ship.
As it finished its second roll the engines fired up again and slowly corrected the spin. The downside was they were now heading back in toward the pirates that they were trying to outrun. More time, and desperately, more momentum was lost.
“Fuck fuck fuck fuck,” Barbara said as she scrambled to adjust the ship’s course,” Gotta keep up our momentum.”
“So yeah, that was the primary drive cone. She gone,” Marty said dryly over the intercom, “You still have full power and full speed available to you though.”
The Waukesha was rattled two more times. Two of the three aft rail turrets suffered glancing blows. The armor held but was now weakened. One of the turrets didn’t have the benefit of kinetic shields anymore.
“Scratch two more wee ones,” Walter said, “We’re a couple of minutes from being swarmed.”
“Their capital ships no longer have a line of sight on us. We are out of range of their guns now.”
John nodded, “Good, Barbara, kill the main engines and flip us around. I don’t want the mosquitos pecking at our drives. Use maneuvering thrusters to keep us on course.”
“We’re going to bleed…” Barbara said as she looked at her console, then reverified what it was she was seeing, “Bloody brilliant, we’re going to use the moon to increase our speed.”
“We’re still bleeding some momentum but it’s a necessary evil. Also, I’d appreciate it if you keep us from beaching the ship though. That might not end well for us,” John said calmly, “Walter, begin picking off the lead ship one after another.”
The crew did as they were told. The Waukesha rolled over. The forward kinetic shields were still not only active but only lightly damaged. None of her shielding arrays had survived unscathed. Proof positive was looking at all the pot markets in her armor plates.
She had survived. But she was still being doggedly pursued. It didn’t seem to matter how many of the diminutive, relatively speaking of course, ships she ended. The swarm seemed to be getting larger and larger.
The lances and laser batteries looked like an automatic rifles with how quickly they were firing off shots. That the lances could still shoot was fairly impressive. That they were still accurate was just another check John had managed to get God to cash. The rail guns were the tried and tested weapon of the day. Her turrets unleashed hell with each volley.
“We’re going to be intercepted in thirty seconds,” Willy said.
“Barbara, what is the ETA for our arrival at the waypoint?”
“Forty-five seconds.”
“Once they overtake us angle our ass end to the moon. Walter, focus all of our fire behind us. Don’t worry about the ships that overtake us,” John paused, “And if they get in tight make sure the VIs will use our point defense weapons against them.”
“Uh, sure, captain. But we are going to have to deal with the swarm that overtakes us.”
“Please follow my orders,” John almost sighed as he remained stoic in his chair.
Thirty seconds later the swarm of corvettes and shuttles from the pirates finally overtook the Waukesha. True to his orders, the ship reoriented itself using its maneuvering thrusters. It kept the weakest part of the ship facing the moon. While there was a fair amount of space between it and the surface of the barren moon, none of the pirates had opted for that intercepting route.
But in overtaking the Waukesha, the small ships were bruised and battered. The kill total continued to increase with every volley fired. Walter, and his VI, were deadly accurate. They were firing weapons designed to take on other cruisers and frigates. The caliber of the weapons was akin to using a bazooka to go deer hunting.
“There’s no kill like overkill,” John said quietly as he watched one ship after another be eliminated from the tactical display.
“Our K/D ratio is out-fucking-standing,” Walter said with a menacing glee from his weapons station.
“The problem is they can slow us down enough for…” Ingrid smiled and let out a deep breath of relief.
An unholy amount of incoming fire was directed at the pirates from ahead of them. Fifty of the pirate vessels that were pursuing them were instantly deleted. What was once a swarm had been drastically reduced. Almost as if a semi drove through the swarm.
“Tessa, please give the Orlando and her squadron my, and our, thanks,” John said as he stood up, “Walter, I don’t want to see those gnats around us anymore.”
“Eliminating the bugs, captain.”
“Barbara, all ahead full. Take us to the shipyard. It’s time to begin duct tape repairs. We’re going back at them soon.”
“How in the hell did you know they’d be there?” Ingrid asked incredulously.
John smiled as he exhaled, “I sent them a message when they bugged out. Kinda figured we’d need some backup just in case. How badly banged up is the ship?”
Awkward grunting could be heard from the rear of the bridge. John looked back at Willy as he saw his operations officer shake his head. He looked at his operation's officer and waited, somewhat impatiently, for an answer to his inquiry.
“We properly beat to hell, an impressive amount of superficial damage too. We’ll need to replace at least half, if not more, of our armor plates when we get back home. We really need to replace two of them before we set off again,” Willy said.
“Yeah, we’re probably going to need to weld some ablative patches over the dinged-up areas,” John said.
“No, starboard plate Bravo-Two-Two-One is no more. It literally doesn’t exist anymore,” Willy said, “Speaking frankly sir, we were a pubic hair away from being crippled ourselves.”
“Only today will I accept being lucky more than being good,” John said, “Coordinate with the shipyard, we need to replace that. I also want patches placed anywhere we can on our ablative armor.”
“All of our lances are in need of replacing. And our primary drive cone. And good god, our shields are a fucking mess, sir.”
The swarm of pirate ships was killed by the last ship. None escaped the wrath of the Confederates. While they did technically retreat, the Confederate forces lost a grand total of thirteen militia corvettes. None of the capital ships of the proper Navy were lost. Every last ship suffered some form of damage though. And munitions were now running low. The pirates lost all but four of their initial fleet. And lost a quarter of all their small ships in the attempt to cripple the Waukesha.
Was it a victory or failure? They drew breath and their ship could fight on, after some minor repairs. John didn’t care how the history books, or Fleet Command, would label this battle. They inflicted a grievous wound on the pirates. But the fight wasn’t over, the Icarus still drew breath. They needed to get back into the fight and end things, once and for all.

I am disheartened.
I recently finished the Federal rank grind to unlock the Federal Corvette, all these years later, needing to resort to the courier mission grind, for hours, to get through the final stretch. The grind was not fun. It was anti-fun. It was boring and it was repetitive. Only my AUDHD hyperfocus prevented me from stopping. Then when I got the Rear Admiral rank, I immediately closed the game for days, without even trying out the Corvette because the grind soured the entire game for me.
That is the never-ending story for space games but this one in particular could have been so much better if they had but brainstormed ideas for even an hour instead of committing to the first industry-brained suggestion that graced the air at Fdev 9 years ago.
There could have been immersive story-arcs that lead to unlocking the superpower ships. It would have been so easy to do, that I can't believe they didn't do it that way simply out of spite. You'd think the one responsible for this design doesn't like spices in his food.
I really do feel like a bored freelancer with no personal investment in what I'm doing, just doing the daily grind to pay for my third ultra-delux space yacht and maybe engage in some jolly-good anti-xeno combat to burn some credits and get the blood pumping.
How would you guys have designed the Superpower ship grind?

First Chapter
Chapter Eighteen
Chao peered at the holographic display at the front of the landing boat as she talked to an international audience. “Okay, folks! You can now see the Coalition Exploration Bureau’s ship Exultant Finger of Rithro. It’s missing its usual armor configuration; normally, this corvette would have triangular cones of armor at the front and back. But they re-configured that armor material into a shell to prevent us from seeing them as they flew towards Earth. Merely as a precaution; they flipped the shell around a few weeks ago to display their ship to us. They even extended their radiators towards our planet, which to them is a signal of surrender.”
She smiled at Parvati, who floated next to her. “Pretty cool, right?”
“Very cool indeed!” exclaimed Parvati. “So where is the damage?”
Chao pointed. “See these toroidal tanks around the middle of the ship? They hold hydrogen for the ship’s fusion drive, but after tangling with that Breaker some of them got punctured. You can see the holes there, there, and there. That means they’re now limited in how long they can burn the reactor. Plus the FTL drive is now pretty much kaput. It apparently uses a lot of energy.”
Parvati pondered the display. “Faster than light,” she mused. “We need that. After we get the fusion drive technology, of course. Assuming that ever comes out of committee.”
Chao laughed. “Well, that’s why we’re here, right? To show all of humanity what could be ours.”
“Will we go outside? I mean, for real outside?” The actress reached towards the display, halting when she realized there was no physical screen.
“We’ve got pressure suits. Should be okay, we did plan for going out for a few minutes to get some direct video. It’ll be limited in time, those suits aren’t really meant for proper EVAs…”
“Oh, that’s no problem!” said Takh from behind them, causing both women to do the equivalent of a zero-g jump. For someone so big, he somehow managed to just…arrive on the scene. “We’ve got plenty of components on board, we can make you all some proper hardsuits!” He grinned at the camera on Chao’s chest; watching an udhyr grin was an awe-inspiring sight, what with all of the teeth and mandibles. “It’s all snap-together for any body type, it works just like your Legos!”
Parvati, of course, was the first to regain her composure. “Thank you Takh, I’m sure that will be very welcome. One thing has occurred to me; even if our material is successful in allowing you to patch your tanks, you will still require hydrogen to fill them, yes?”
The XO’s cheer didn’t fade. “Of course. We’ll find a nearby ice-containing body and extract us some hydrogen. We already have a few candidates chosen. You can all come and ride along! It should be fun to watch.”
“Yes, very fun.” Parvati met Chao’s eyes in a clear unspoken message of is this guy for real?
A much smaller hand crept its way around Takh’s leather-armored shoulder. “Now, my dear,” said McCoy. “We mustn’t interrupt the PR people. They’re half the reason we’re out here, after all.” She winked at the two other women; both of the latter winked back.
“Oh, of course!” Takh bowed formally to the two. “Forgive me.”
“No worries,” said Chao.
“There is nothing to forgive, my good sir,” replied Parvati with an equally formal bow.
The huge alien and petite corporal vanished, leaving the two women to watch the ship as the boat headed for its docking cradle.
“They are utterly adorable,” said Parvati.
“So are you two,” said Chao.
“Sorry?”
“You and Ravindar. I’m not saying to make your move right now. We’re gonna be on camera for a while, and I know I just made a bunch of people on Earth go squee. But you need to tell him how you feel.”
For once the actress looked flustered. “I…I couldn’t, he’s so brave and strong…”
Chao’s voice sounded out like the slamming of a vault door. “Stop. I had the same problem. I was into someone who was brave and strong. Not as big as Ravindar, but then again few people are. Then I found out he was into me too, but because he thought I was smart. I’m not as smart as he thinks I am, but I’m not going to tell him that.”
Parvati glanced into the rear of the landing boat, where Martinez was in the midst of puttering around with the human and alien crew. The actress now looked thoughtful. “I see.”
“All I’m saying is, you don’t need to be exactly in-sync in terms of what you see in each other.” Chao smiled. “Heck, you might even find out that you’re in-sync in ways you didn’t see coming.”
The dark-haired Indian fixed Chao with a stare. “I sense there is a story somewhere in there that you’re not telling me. Ah well, as you say it can wait until we are all no longer under the camera’s gaze.”
__________
Master Sergeant Wilkes smiled down at the spidery alien. “Kifa, there’s someone I’d like you to meet. Consider it part of your helping us to train. This person made a living while driving one of the highest, fastest aircraft we’ve ever made.”
“Oooh!” Kifa looked very pleased at the idea. “That’s a good area to focus on! Where orbital mechanics and aircraft mechanics meet.”
“Indeed.” Wilkes nodded at the near door. “You may come in, sir.”
A man walked in, his face stretched taut in the way which only scar tissue can appear.
Kifa peered up at him. “Forgive me, this is probably very insensitive, but…were you injured?”
He laughed. “I sure was! Burned to a fare-thee-well!”
“Oh, I am so sorry!”
He smiled. “No need to be sorry. Hey, do you want a headpat? Word on the street is your species like that sort of thing.”
The xyrax rocked back and forth on its legs. “Well, a human headpat is always welcome….”
The man reached up and wiggled his fingers, making a great show that his pinky had full range of motion. “See this? Pure miracle that I can do that. The surgeon putting my hand back together, just on a whim, decided to put a pin in here so’s that my pinky finger can grasp properly. Good thing too, otherwise I would’ve never made it through the physical training.”
He then reached forth and with that rebuilt hand dispensed quite a few righteous headpats onto Kifa. After a mutual moment of happy bonding, the xyrax spoke again.
“What training were you pursuing?”
“The same thing you and I are gonna be doing for a week or so.” His eyes, narrowed with scar tissue, lit up. “My dear Kifa, I’m gonna make you into a Sled Driver. God willing and the creek don’t rise, we might get to do it for real and not just in the simulators. They’re already pulling a bunch of Blackbirds out of mothballs. Hell, even the Russians are offering us titanium for building new ones. Seems like everybody’s got a fire lit under their kiester.”
Kifa’s eyes, already big and black, got even bigger. “What is a Sled Driver?”
“Why, it’s only the best profession on the planet, my little blue-furred friend. We get to go fast.”
__________
Joachim regarded the cylindrical, human-sized tank with some trepidation. It looked far too much like a transparent coffin. “You want to stick me in that thing?”
Zawahir nodded. “I know it’s a lot to ask, sir. It is entirely up to you, in the end. But if this works…” He waved at the tank. “If this works, then you will emerge from that tank physically in your twenties.”
They both regarded the tank for a moment, which was full of a clear and, at the moment, a very exclusive liquid.
“Corina too, of course,” said Joachim as he leaned back in his wheelchair. “If it works on me first.” He still wasn’t quite sure where he was; there had been a lot of back-and-forth with planes and whatnot.
“Of course,” said Zawahir. “That goes without saying.”
“Then the two people injured in the DC attack. This will regrow their limbs, correct?”
“Well, naturally.” Zawahir smirked. “They’re the Borlaug Institute’s big publicity stunt, after all. Testing on two people before-hand should be enough to let us know if it’ll work on them.”
“Of course.” Joachim gazed at the tank. “I’ll do it, on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“If…if I don’t come out okay, I want everyone to know that I tried, right? And I do mean everyone. All of humanity.”
“I’m just one person. At the moment, I can only promise that I’ll say what I can.”
After a moment, Joachim nodded. “Then put me in there. I just need to talk to Corina beforehand.”
“Of course, sir.”
__________
The blue-suited woman with a blonde pony-tail smiled as she stared into the camera. “Welcome to Summit Technologies’s livestream of Point-Counterpoint, I’m Amy Coulson. We are currently talking about and debating the latest announcements in space-based systems. As everyone is aware, this has become a source of great concern in the last month or so.” She nodded to the beige-suited man next to her. “This is Walter Higgins, formerly of TRW and who now works for Northrop-Grumman. Walter, to start with can you tell us what the current status is of the repair effort for the alien craft?”
Walt leaned forward, putting his forearms on the desk in front of them. “Well, the main concern is if the plates we’re providing for patching will actually work. So only one of the Rithro’s boats was launched…the one with Chao Me Chu and Parvati Devdhar, they’re towing the fifteen-ton loft provided by ULA to avoid wasting too much energy. Just in case the patching doesn’t work.” He winked at the camera. “I assure you, as someone in the aerospace industry, ULA is going to be very proud of that for a good long while. Anyways, at the moment, they are approaching the L5 point and we should be able to get some spectacular pictures of, well, everything. Of the Earth from near the Moon’s orbit, of the Moon itself, and most importantly of the Rithro.”
Amy nodded in a comradely fashion, but Walt was not fooled. He’d dealt with reporters before. “Sounds intriguing, and I’m sure everyone on Earth looks forward to such sights. But mere patching will not be enough to solve the ship’s issues, correct?”
He sighed. “You’re right. One of the ship’s fusion engines was damaged, and that limits their top speed. Think of it as…you’re a big ocean liner with three propellers, and one goes down. You might still be able to steer using just the other two, but you’re not going to be as effective or fast as you might be.”
“Effective,” she mused. “I suppose that our helping fix their fusion drive is among those bits of alien tech currently prohibited?”
“Yes. I have heard some rumors that the Borlaug Institute in Iceland has had some great initial success, so I hope that soon we will be able to tackle the fusion drive problem.”
She stared at him a bit, which he knew was a bit of theatricality. “Such a repair would make them more capable against these so-called ‘Breakers’, correct?”
“So-called? Now, Amy. Don’t tell me you’re agreeing with those lunatics?”
In the weeks since the simultaneous attacks, a few manifestos had cropped up online. All mostly spouted the same nonsense; at least, nonsense in Walt’s eyes. They all said the same thing; that the Breakers were fake. That this whole rigamarole was a false flag effort by the Coalition, one intended to get all of humanity under their thumb.
“I don’t agree with them,” said Amy, to her credit. “I’m merely stating the other side of the conflict. Yes, I think most people agree that there is an alien ship up at the L5 point which has been grievously damaged. I do trust the evidence of my eyes. I’m sure our two…”
“Five.”
“…five brave souls heading out to that very point at L5 will see exactly the same thing as the Hubble did. But. Have you considered, just for the sake of argument, that evidence of an attack is not evidence of Breakers? Perhaps this is some local dispute, and the crew has set up some sort of fake attack. They could intend to use us as shock troops to settle it.”
Walt leaned back in his chair as he went through the longest twenty seconds of his life. He knew things, thanks to his role. He also knew that if he spoke them aloud he would be burning his entire career right down to the waterline. “That is somewhat possible. But not probable.”
She leaned forward, as if sensing she had him on the ropes. “Why?”
“Because they didn’t need to.” His gray eyes were calm as he stared at her and measured his words. “Do you have any notion, any single clue, of the firepower that ship possesses?”
“Um…well, no, that part’s still classified.”
“I will give you a hint. They have a spinal railgun that could, with around three shots, turn any metropolitan area on earth into a molten crater. They have nuclear-tipped missiles, even one of which could burn a city to the ground. They didn’t need to play nice, Amy. Those aliens could have stood off in orbit, smacked a few cities, and then gotten on the radio to dictate terms of our surrender. We’d have no choice but to comply.”
He stared daggers at her, half expecting some black-suited guys with earpieces to jump in and haul him away. But nothing happened, it was as if the world was holding its breath. “They did their very best to treat with us fairly, to treat us as equals.”
Amy looked away. “I…I hope that is true.”
“It is.” He glanced behind his shoulder for any Men In Black, but nobody was there so far. Maybe he should continue. He assumed a smile, one which he did not feel. “Anyways. We will see what they see, when they get there. There is, also, the international consortium’s proposal for the Sea Dragon.”
The reporter rallied, clearly grateful for the change in subject. “Ah, yes. You’ve reviewed the designs of this craft. Is it really necessary?”
“At the moment, yes. Starship holds a great deal of promise, but they’re still trying to crack the reusability and multiple-refueling issue. This design does permit reusability…of the first stage, if nothing else…but it isn’t strictly necessary for success. Success, in this case, consists of tons to orbit.”
“Why something so big, though? Won’t it be an issue?”
He chuckled, feeling surer of himself. “That’s why we’re launching it in the ocean, in the middle of nowhere.”
She actually looked troubled, so he figured he’d throw her a bone. “The first launch won’t have anything…controversial.”
“But Walt, the second launch is the issue! Nobody has launched this much radioactive material into space.”
“We need to, Amy,”
“But on an almost untested rocket? From a design which is decades old?”
“We have top people on it,” said Walt. “Including people from that era, who know exactly the pitfalls and also have access to modern technology.”
“Which people?”
“It’s still secret as to their identities. But like I said, I can confirm rumors that the Borlaug Institute is already paying significant dividends.”
Amy rolled her eyes. “Over a billion dollars funneled into a figurative black hole in Iceland. Why would you believe anything they say?”
“They’re going to have some serious proof soon,” said Walt.
__________
Iceland. Joachim had never, ever expected to visit Iceland. But yet here he was…again. He stood with no cane, with nothing supporting him but his own two legs. He stared at a nearby volcanic massif, one covered with green lichen. The spring was coming in, and the ground around him was similarly strewn with fuzzy green growth. His beard and hair were now coming in dark again, with only a hint of gray at the tips to betray his true age.
He heard some light-footed steps coming up the trail behind him. It must be Zawahir.
“Why the hell am I back in Iceland?” Joachim replied.
"This is where the tech is, at least for the moment. How are you feeling, sir?”
“I feel…like my old self, Zawahir. I forgot what it was like to have knees that don’t hurt anymore. How is Corina’s, er, ‘tanking’ proceeding?”
“Very well, sir. I am overseeing the procedure of her ‘tanking’ myself, I just wanted to come and let you know that everything is looking good.”
Joachim looked down at the back of his hand. It was no longer wrinkled, no longer showed a welter of age spots. “When?”
“She should be out in…seventy-two hours. That’s how long it took you.”
“Good to know.” He turned to face Zawahir. “My friend, I am going to need every single internet connection you have for the next seventy-two hours. I have a lot of design work to take care of in that time frame; I will need to have a lot of meetings using those oh-so-clever ‘online’ apps. I’ll be indisposed after that.”
“Sir?”
Joachim stepped forth and placed a newly-strong hand on Zawahir’s shoulder. “My dear Zawahir. I am now physically twenty again. In the next three days my wife, the love of my life and she who I hold dear above all else, will also emerge from your magic alien goo and she will also be physically twenty years old. What do you think will happen after she is thus reborn?”
Zawahir’s eyes widened. “Oh. OH! Yes, of course. Please, follow me.”
Joachim chuckled to himself as he followed the man towards the low-roofed buildings of the Borlaug Institute in the distance.
__________
Chao was now clad back in her pressure suit; fortunately, the aliens were quite adept at helping the humans back into their cloth-and-glass cocoons. She looked over at Parvati. “Neil can bite us.”
Parvati grinned. “For sure. Neil was a very great man, but sadly he never got to see an alien starship.”
Chao checked the readout at her wrist, ensuring that she was indeed sealed up and pressurized. She looked over at her four fellow humans, and received nods in return. “We’re go, Captain Sadaf.”
The on-board crew of the Rithro were now back in their chromed, faceted hardsuits. “Depressurizing,” said Sadaf. “Please monitor those to either side, sing out if you see any stress.”
Chao reminded herself to breathe normally as things just got…quiet. Very quiet. She managed, through sheer willpower, to not have an utter panic attack as she realized that there was nothing between her and a life-sucking nothing except for a few layers of fabric and plastic.
She glanced over at Parvati, who looked to be also in the midst of trying (and fortunately succeeding) at combating her own panic attack behind her Plexiglas helmet. “Doing okay?” asked Chao, and immediately felt like an idiot for asking such a stupid question.
Still, Parvati nodded. Chao felt a tap at her shoulder, and looked over at Martinez. The corporal grinned at her from behind his own transparent head-cocoon. “Doing okay?” he asked with just the right bit of cheekiness.
Chao slapped his shoulder, but it was a playful slap. “Dipshit.” She forgot, in the moment, that she was begin transmitted live to the world. Her curse was thus broadcast to pretty much every kid on the planet, who then gleefully repeated her curse-word until they all got smacked by their parents.
She didn’t know that at the time, her entire world was the airlock door that now opened to reveal…black.
Utter black.
Chao had enough experience in zero-g maneuvering to push herself towards the door. “Oh. Man. Folks, this is it. Gonna step outside, for at least a little bit.”
She could feel both Martinez on one side and Sadaf on the other. The latter figured; the captain struck Chao as a ‘lead from the front’ type.
“Grip the frame,” said Sadaf. Through the translator bead her voice was deadly calm. “No big muscle movements, just kind of…drift where you want to go.”
Chao obediently swung herself up and out of the boat, reveling in the fact that now she was seeing the Exultant Finger of Rithro in real time. The long ship stretched alongside a clamshell-like shield, its radiators stretched out towards the Earth in a gesture of surrender.
Speaking of which…
Chao kept a firm hold on the doorframe as she looked behind her. A small, fragile, blue-and-white marble floated before her, a sphere which looked to be the size of her thumb-tip held at arm’s length. Chao did so with her free gloved hand, watching her thumb occlude that fragile-loooking sphere. And in that moment, her world was completely changed.
It is one thing to know a fact. It is one thing to meet aliens, to accept that they are from oh so very far away, that your world is but one little dust mote drifting in the vast and limitless cosmic ocean. But it is quite another to see that fact laid bare before you, where you can witness it in real-time through nothing but a Pexiglas helmet. Chao now knew. Everyone she’d ever known, everyone she’d ever heard of, every king or warlord or emperor or internet celebrity who anyone had ever heard of had lived down there, upon a sphere that looked to her like the most ephemeral of soap-bubbles. She had the crazy notion that she could just reach out one gloved finger and pop it.
She also knew that millions, perhaps billions, were watching this live via her bodycam. Perhaps they were going through the same epiphany.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she knew she was on the verge of tears. No, that was a bad thing. She was in freefall; there was no way for those tears to stream down her face. They would just collect over her eyes and blind her. So Chao breathed in deep and managed to tamp down those threatened tears.
“Chao?” called out Sadaf through her comm. “Are you all right?”
“I’m good, Captain. Just…next time…, we send up a poet.”
__________
Shaw hated, hated, hated having to use a wheelchair to get around. Most of the time he could wheel himself around using his substantial arms, but every so often the nursing staff would try to get oh so helpful and try to push him towards where he was going. Several of them had nearly lost limbs of their own thanks to such efforts.
Still, he was alive and that was a good thing. Although…watching Agent Milton Vila and his family, who were nearby as he went through his own convalescence, made Shaw reevaluate his life choices. It would be nice to have a wife and kid to hug while one went through the worst thing ever. But he was too old, such things were well behind him. While on autopilot, Shaw wheeled himself down the tiled and very off-white hallway with a sour air. One which told the entire staff that he was Not To Be Disturbed. He was thinking of a particular girl, one with the cutest pigtails and the sunniest smile. Yeah, she would have been the one, if he’d had his head on straight back then.
And then, in spite of his ‘Fuck the Fuck Off energy’, someone did block his path.
He stared at a pair of narrow legs, clad in narrow pants, then looked up with a distinct lack of humor. “I do believe you are in my way.”
The dark-skinned man blocking his path smiled, but it was a gentle smile. “I am. But, I am very sure you will want to hear my offer. Both you and Agent Vila.”
Shaw regarded him with gimlet eyes. “Oh, really? What’s your name?”
“I’m Zawahir Ibn Harith. I am the head of the…”
“I don’t give a single solitary fuck,” said Shaw. “I’ve had plenty of people trying to get me to tell them my life story since I got my leg removed with extreme prejudice. I don’t know how you got in here, but you strike me as someone just like them, Harith. So. I may be minus one leg, but I can still fuck you up but good. I can fuck you up so bad you’ll never shit right again. Do you wanna get out of my way now?”
The man’s smile didn’t change. “Borlaug Institute.”
“What. Really?”
“Really, sir. Both you and Agent Milton Vila. It sounds…very cynical, but you were the two that we wanted to heal first. As an object lesson to humanity. Do you understand?”
The notion made Shaw’s mind reel. “Heal?”
“Fully. We have successfully restored two people to the prime of life, and we are now certain that we can do the same for you and Agent Vila. With all of your limbs intact. We have done a great many tissue-sample experiments, and it appears that the regeneration also re-grows limbs.”
Shaw looked down at his missing lower leg. “And you’ll do the same for Milton?”
“Of course, sir.”
“Stop calling me sir, I work for a living. Call me Mack.”
“Very well…Mack. I won’t lie to you, this has been planned well in advance. But it turned out that limb re-growth for humans also unlocked certain regeneration within our cells, particularly the telomeres…”
Shaw held up a meaty hand. “Just…I’m a dumb grunt in such matters, don’t bother to tell me how it works. So you have some kind of magic goo that you slather over me and hey presto I’m twenty again?”
“That is more or less the shape of it, si…Mack. You will need to be immersed in the ‘magic goo’ for at least three days. Perhaps more, since this will also be regenerating a limb.”
“Either way, I go first,” said Shaw, with a flinty glare up at Zawahir. “I’m the test subject, and you need to test me good after I get re-birthed from your goop. I know you said you’d done it on two people, but we need to make sure this doesn’t give me some kind of bullshit super-cancer before Milton goes in. He’s got a wife and a kid. If he has to use a prosthetic instead of magic alien goo, then he has to use that instead. Understand?”
Zawahir gave Shaw a little bow. “Of course. I do believe you are quite the appropriate test subject.”
“Oh, go fuck yourself. Where is this shindig taking place, anyway?”

Galatians   Chapter Five (https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Galatians+5)
 
-1. The Anointed frees [שחרר, SheeHRayR] us unto freedom [חרות, HayROoTh], therefore stand, and do not submit [תכנעו, TheeKhahN`Oo] again [שוב, ShOoB] to yoke [לעל, Le'oL] the slavery.  

“The expression for freedom [επ ελευθερια - ep eleutheria] (in slightly different Greek form) appears in the certificates of sacral manumission which were given to slaves who purchased their freedom. The slave would deposit the money in the temple of his god for the priest to transfer to his master “for freedom.” He then became the slave of his god, free from his human master.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 545-546)  
“Among the Jews, the Messiah’s reign was to be a reign of liberty, and hence the Targum [ancient Jewish commentary] on Lamen. [Lamentations] ii. 22. says, “Liberty shall be publicly proclaimed to the people of the house of Israel, על יד משיחא âl yad Mashicha, by the hand of the Messiah, such as was granted to them by Moses and Aaron, at the time of the Passover.” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 393)  

...
-5. And we, in spirit upon foundation [of] belief, waiting [מיחלים, MeYahHahLeeYM] to hope [for] fruit, the our righteousness [δικαιοσυνης - dikaiosunes, justification, righteousness].  

“The language is so compact that Paul’s meaning has to be inferred from 3:14; 5:22-23; and Rom. [Romans] 8:23-26.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 548-549)  
“The full measure of human righteousness is still a thing of the eschatological future (cf. [compare with] Rom 5:19).” (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, 1990, TNJBC p. 789)
“That they could not have the Holy Spirit, without faith, was a doctrine also of the Jews; hence it is said, Mechilta, fol. [folio] 52. ‘That faith was of great consequence, with which the Israelites believed in Him, who, with one word, created the universe; and because the Israelites believed in God, the Holy Spirit dwelt in them; so that being filled with God, they sung praises to him.’” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II pp. 393-394)  

-6. That yes, in Anointed YayShOo'ah ["Savior", Jesus] there is no thought [חשיבות, HahSheeYBOoTh], not to circumcision [למילה, LahMeeYLaH] and not to foreskin [לערלה, Lah`ahRLaH], rather to belief, the laborer in way [of] love.  

“No passage in Paul’s letters is of greater importance for integral understanding of his religion and the relation of his faith to his ethics. The mutuality of faith, hope, and love – a theme repeated with many variations – runs through everything he has written and forms the substance of his theology. … Paul’s religion is distorted whenever his ethics and his ‘good works’ are made to appear as an incidental by-product of his faith rather than as one of its essential ingredients.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 550-551)  
“This humble, holy, operative, obedient LOVE, is the grand touchstone of all human creeds, and confessions of faith. Faith, without this, has neither soul nor operation: in the language of the apostle James, it is dead, and can perform no function of the spiritual life, no more than a dead man can perform the duties of animal or civil life.” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 394)  

...
-12. Would that [מי יתן, MeeY YeeThayN] and be cut [ויכרתו, VeYeeKahRThOo] the misleaders [המתעים, HahMahTh`eeYM] [of] you!  

“‘I wish that those who are upsetting you would even emasculate themselves!’ This is what Paul said and meant. … for a similar outburst see Phil. [Philippians] 3:2-3, where the advocates of circumcision are ‘dogs,’ and by a play on words – περιτομη [peritome’], κατατομην [katatmen] - ‘circumcision’ becomes ‘mutilation.’ Paul may have been thinking of the mad spectacle of the Cybele-Attis cult, whose priests in frenzied devotion used to emasculate themselves as a sacrifice to their deity. … The shock of Paul’s statement to the Judaizers can be measured in the light of the prohibition in Deut. [Deuteronomy] 23:1. To a devout Jew his blunt language would be as sacrilegious as a Christian would find the wish of a disbeliever in sacraments that all advocates of baptism would drown themselves. Never happy after making such denunciations (II Cor. [Corinthians]1:23-2:11; Phil. 3:18-19), Paul quickly changes his tone…” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 554-555)  

-13. My brethren, to freedom you have been called,
only that not be, the freedom, means [אמצעי, ’ehMTsah`eeY] in hands of the flesh,
rather that minister, [each] man [את, ’ehTh (indicator of direct object; no English equivalent)] his neighbor in love.  

“To be freed from the ceremonial law, is the Gospel liberty; to pretend freedom from the moral law, is antinomianism.” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 395)  

-14. See, all the Instruction included [כלולה, KLOoLaH] in saying [במאמר, BeMah’ahMahR] one – “and love to your neighbor like you.”  

“The quotation is from Lev. [Leviticus] 19:18; cf. Rom. 13:8-10 [and Matt. [Matthew] 7:11 (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, 1990, TNJBC p. 789)]. The tense of the verb ‘fulfilled’ is perfect; thus Paul says that the whole law is fulfilled, in the sense of ‘has been fulfilled’ whenever one man loves another as himself…. Paul the Christian loved his neighbor not because a commandment disobeyed would bring punishment, or fulfilled would merit reward, but because it was his new nature to do to.  
But who was Paul’s neighbor? He was, first of all, ‘the one who was near,’ the fellow member of the society of Christ who needed help to bear life’s burdens (6:2). Then, with continuously lengthening radius, Paul drew a series of concentric circles to embrace all men (6:10; I Thess. [Thessalonians] 5:15; I Cor. 9:22). Even his enemies were included, for Christ received sinners, and personal vengeance was no fruit of the Spirit (6:1; Rom. 12:20; 15:1-3). … He bore the burden of his neighbor’s sins, and although he sometimes had to threaten them, he was never without hope for their repentance (I Cor. 4; II Cor. 12:19-13:10; II Thess. 3:14-15). He could hurl anathemas, and his friends did not always find him easy to get on with … but the love of Christ would never permit him to contract the circle of his neighbors (Rom. 9:1-3; 10:1; II Cor. 7:5-16; 1:23-2:11). (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X p. 557)  

...  

…………………………………………  
Fruit of the Spirit and usurpations of [ומעללי, OoMah`ahLahLaY] the flesh
[verses 16 to end of chapter]  

-16. Say I to you, walk in way the spirit and do not fill [את, ’ehTh] desires [תאוות, Thah`ahVOTh] [of] the flesh,
-17. for the flesh desires [מתאוה, MeeTh’ahVeH] to what that is in opposition [שבנגוד, ShehBeNeeGOoD] to spirit, and the spirit is opposed [מתנגדת, MeeThNeGehDehTh] to the flesh. [The] two [of] them oppose to this to this, and to that [ולכן, OoLeKhayN] you are not able to do [את, ’ehTh] what that is in your want.  

“This is Paul’s way of stating the Jewish doctrine of the ‘two impulses’ which are at war within the heart of man. The rabbis declared that God created Adam with two inclinations, one good, the other evil, and required him to choose which to obey. He was free to follow his good impulse, but he chose the evil, and so did all his descendants. Consequently every man became the Adam of his own soul. Some maintained that the evil impulse awakened at the age of nine, others at twelve. Study with practice of the Torah was the sovereign remedy to wear it away …” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 561)  

…
-19. Deeds of the flesh are revealed [גלויים, GLOoYeeYM], and these are they:
adultery [נאוף, Nee’OoPh] and fornication, impurity [טמאה, TooM’aH], licentiousness [זמה, ZeeMaH], 20. slavery of idols, magic [כשוף KeeShOoPh in my Hebrew New Testamentⁱ ; the Greek here is “φαρμακεια pharmakeia - the use of drugs of any kind, whether wholesome or poisonous...” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X p. 562] hatred, contention [מדון, MahDON], stinginess [צרות עין, TsahROoTh 'ahYeeN, “squint eyed”, Ζηλος Zelos jealousy], anger [כעס, Kah'ahÇ], strife [מריבה, MeReeYBaH], divisions [מחלקות, MahHLahQOTh], factions [כתות, KeeThOTh], 21. envy, drunkenness, profligacy [הוללות,HOLeLOoTh], and as similar.  
Say I to what that I already said: doers of deeds like these will not inherit [את, ’ehTh] kingdom of the Gods.  

“Πορνεια [Porneia] ... fornication ... means ‘prostitution’, but includes sexual vice and unfaithfulness to the marriage vow. The task of the church in creating a conscience on this matter was made doubly difficult by the practice of prostitution in the name of religion. Long before Paul, the prophets had denounced the fertility cults and made prostitution a synonym for idolatry.  
Φαρμακεια [pharmakeia] ... Since witches and sorcerers used drugs, the word came to designate witchcraft, enchantment, sorcery, and magic. The law of Moses prescribed the death penalty for it, and the prophets denounced the Egyptians, Babylonians and Canaanites for practicing it; but this did not prevent the Jews from producing some famous practitioners (Acts 13:6-12; 19:1-20). Next to state-worship, magic was the most dangerous competitor of true religion... claiming to specialize in the impossible, it prostituted faith to superstition, and divorced religion from ethics. ... In Paul’s spiritual arithmetic, faith plus miracles minus love amounted exactly to zero....  
Ερις [Eris] is ... strife ... The spirit of Eris is perfectly described in the words of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland – ‘ambition, distraction, uglification, and derision.’  
The fact that he expected the near return of Christ to end this present age must not be permitted to obscure the equally important fact that he regarded his own life and witness for Christ as an essential element in hastening that event.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 561-565)  

-22. In opposition to [לעמת, Le`ooMahTh] this, fruit of spirit:
he is love, happiness, peace, patience, [ארך רוח, ’oRehKh Roo-ahH, “length [of] spirit”] generosity, good heart, faithfulness, 23. modesty [עננה, `ahNahNaH], restraint [רסון, ReeÇOoN] [of] self– upon such [מדות, MeeDOTh] as these there is no instruction further [חלה, HahLaH, sic ["so in cite"] for חלאה, HahL’aH!].  

“Since love is a personal relation it is not a matter of law, and cannot be commanded; and since it is God’s own love growing as his ‘fruit’ in the hearts of men, no one can claim it as a merit for self-salvation. ...  
... in every age ... men have found it hard to see how God could have anything in common with humanity, and Christians have been tempted to make a distinction in kind between God’s love and man’s love. Paul’s authority has been claimed for this dualistic view. Αγαπη [agape’] is set against ερος [eros]. God’s love is said to be αγαπη reaching down to save man by his grace, and ερος man’s self-love aspiring upward to save himself. Paul’s αγαπη is associated with justification by faith, the Greek ερος with salvation by works.... Jerusalem and the Christian faith are made to oppose Athens and human reason, and the conclusion is drawn from the history of Christianity that ερος, man’s self love, has always been a source of corruption of αγαπη, love inspired by God’s grace.  
This interpretation of Christian love is intended as a defense of the doctrine of justification by faith and as a means of securing scriptural support for a dualistic philosophy which aims to protect the transcendence of God against humanism. But to draw such sweeping conclusions from a word study of two Greek nouns, without adequate consideration of other related Greek words and ideas, is to oversimplify. The LXX [The Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible] is full of evidence that this distinction between αγαπη and ερος cannot be maintained on the basis of lexicography. The Greek O.T. [Old Testament] uses both the noun αγαπη and the verb αγαπαω [agapao] to express not only God’s love for men, but man’s love for God and for his fellow man. Although there is no certain evidence that the noun αγαπη was used by nonbiblical writers prior to Christianity, the argument from silence may be invalidated by future discoveries, and it would be precarious to conclude that αγαπη was a specifically Christian word.  
One-sided emphasis on God’s love as ‘unmotivated’ by anything in his creatures tempts men to regard him in the light of an egotistical philanthropist who expects gratitude and praise but neither needs nor desires the mutuality that is inherent in the very nature of love... Without a faith that dares humbly to believe that God needs man’s love ... the Christian’s conception of his high calling to be a kingdom builder is liable to reduce itself to blind obedience to commands given arbitrarily for man’s good while awaiting God’s eschatological fiat. Such a misconception is bound to give aid and comfort to the inclination of human nature – ‘the flesh’ – to divorce religion from ethics.  
Grave moral consequences result from such a view of Christian love. It is associated with a doctrine of predestination that makes God’s choice of the objects of his salvation utterly arbitrary.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 565-566)  
“The peace which was the fruit of the Spirit ... could be trusted to keep men's hearts and minds (Phil. 4:7), so that they need have not anxiety about anything. This explains the sublime recklessness of the Christian peacemakers. Being colaborers with God (Rom. 8:28), they were aggressors for peace. They aimed to live at peace with all men (Rom. 12:18), but fear of making enemies did not turn them from their task of producing soundness, wholeness, and harmony in a world of chaos. Their reasonable service was to ... substitute the righteousness and peace and joy of his [God's] kingdom (Rom. 14:17) for the low aims of 'the flesh,' thereby creating the conditions for peace. Their ideal was to live so that quarrels could never get started.  
Christian peace was therefore neither the calm of inactivity nor the mere passive enjoyment of freedom from strife. It was not the imperturbability of the Epicurean, or the apathy of the Stoic, or the contemplation of the mystic. The man who possessed it was not exempt from storm and shipwreck, but by faith he knew that he would arrive in port (Acts 27:21-25), and that all was well for him and his fellow men of faith ... And so, where all else was panic, he played the man.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 567)  
“... just as God’s patience was not to be presumed upon, so the Christian’s patience was not a spiritless good nature that would put up with things which it could not escape, or would not prevent. It was patience with a purpose, as in Paul’s pleas to Philemon, which contrasts so sharply with the Stoic motive for self control... Those who bore this fruit ‘turned the world upside down’ (Acts 17:6), and the enemy did not know how to deal with such unheard of patience and persistence.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 568)  
“Negatively defined, gentleness is everything that the ‘insolent, haughty, boastful’ men of Rom. 1:30 are not. It is the opposite of υβρις [hubris], the worst of sins in the eyes of the Greeks – deliberate, arrogant defiance of the gods by overstepping the limits set for human beings. In the O.T. such men are called ‘sons of Belial,’ the turbulent, highhanded wicked, who rage against God, kill, rob and enslave the righteous ‘meek’ and take possession of the earth for themselves. The psalms are full of moans and complaints against this rich and powerful majority, who used religion as a means of gain and kept their consciences in flexible subservience to the exigencies of power.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 569)  
“’Εγκρατεια [Egkrateia] is temperance (KJV [King James Version]), self-control (RSV [Revised Standard Version]) ....  
The Stoics had helped to prepare the soil out of which this fruit of the Spirit was to grow. They insisted that the sovereign reason could and should control the passions. They believed in a law of nature to which they must conform, and they endeavored to maintain their inner freedom under all circumstances. But their motive was very different from Paul’s, the one being devoted to the glory of the God of grace, the other to the preservation of the sovereign self-will. When the Stoic collided with things beyond his control, his inner independence turned into apathy, practicing the motto ‘When we can’t do what we want, we want to do what we can.’ He took orders from his commander in chief, an impersonal God who had the power of life or death; but he did it in such a way as to make it clear to God and men that he, the Stoic, was after all the captain of his soul. He controlled his anger because he found it a nuisance to be under the power of any passion and in his sight meekness was contemptible weakness...  
Paul exalted humility: ‘It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me’ (2:20). ... His self-discipline was the result of his spiritual experiences, rather than an undertaking to induce them; and his self-control was sane compared with the ascetic excesses of later Christian groups such as the ‘Encratites,’ who forbade marriage and followed fantastic dietary rules.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 569-570)  
“Unrepentant sinners have no appetite for the fruit of the Spirit, and when its production and distribution require changes in the political and economic status quo, men ... pass laws against it ... Especially in time of war these traits of Christian character have been forbidden fruit, though given for the healing of the nations. Occasionally the world, exhausted with fighting, and sick of its cynical Epicureanism, has professed a desire for the fruits of the Spirit, but on its own terms without the cross required to produce them.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 570)  

... 26. Do not, please [נא, Nah’] be panters of [שואפי, ShO’ahPhaY] honor vain [שוא, ShahVe’], the provokers [המתגרים, HahMeeThGahReeYM] and enviers [ומקנאים, OoMQahN’eeYM] a man in his neighbor.  

“The right stood in terror of the iconoclasm of the left, and the radicals labeled all other men reactionaries ... Both sides professed to love liberty and defend it, but neither was willing to grant it to the other.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X p. 572)   END NOTE  
ⁱ ספר הבריתות, תורה נביאים כתובים והברית החדשה [ÇehPheR HahBReeYThOTh, ThORaH, NeBeeY’eeYM, KeThOoBeeYM, VeHahBReeYTh HehHahDahShaH, The Book of the Covenants: Instruction, Prophets, Writings; and The New Covenant] The Bible Society in Israel, Jerusalem, Israel, 1991.  

  An Amateur's Journey Through the Bible

Galatians   Chapter Five  
-1. The Anointed frees [שחרר, SheeHRayR] us unto freedom [חרות, HayROoTh], therefore stand, and do not submit [תכנעו, TheeKhahN`Oo] again [שוב, ShOoB] to yoke [לעל, Le'oL] the slavery.  

“The expression for freedom [επ ελευθερια - ep eleutheria] (in slightly different Greek form) appears in the certificates of sacral manumission which were given to slaves who purchased their freedom. The slave would deposit the money in the temple of his god for the priest to transfer to his master “for freedom.” He then became the slave of his god, free from his human master.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 545-546)  
“Among the Jews, the Messiah’s reign was to be a reign of liberty, and hence the Targum [ancient Jewish commentary] on Lamen. [Lamentations] ii. 22. says, “Liberty shall be publicly proclaimed to the people of the house of Israel, על יד משיחא âl yad Mashicha, by the hand of the Messiah, such as was granted to them by Moses and Aaron, at the time of the Passover.” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 393)  

...
-5. And we, in spirit upon foundation [of] belief, waiting [מיחלים, MeYahHahLeeYM] to hope [for] fruit, the our righteousness [δικαιοσυνης - dikaiosunes, justification, righteousness].  

“The language is so compact that Paul’s meaning has to be inferred from 3:14; 5:22-23; and Rom. [Romans] 8:23-26.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 548-549)  
“The full measure of human righteousness is still a thing of the eschatological future (cf. [compare with] Rom 5:19).” (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, 1990, TNJBC p. 789)  
“That they could not have the Holy Spirit, without faith, was a doctrine also of the Jews; hence it is said, Mechilta, fol. [folio] 52. ‘That faith was of great consequence, with which the Israelites believed in Him, who, with one word, created the universe; and because the Israelites believed in God, the Holy Spirit dwelt in them; so that being filled with God, they sung praises to him.’” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II pp. 393-394)  

-6. That yes, in Anointed YayShOo'ah ["Savior", Jesus] there is no thought [חשיבות, HahSheeYBOoTh], not to circumcision [למילה, LahMeeYLaH] and not to foreskin [לערלה, Lah`ahRLaH], rather to belief, the laborer in way [of] love.  

“No passage in Paul’s letters is of greater importance for integral understanding of his religion and the relation of his faith to his ethics. The mutuality of faith, hope, and love – a theme repeated with many variations – runs through everything he has written and forms the substance of his theology. … Paul’s religion is distorted whenever his ethics and his ‘good works’ are made to appear as an incidental by-product of his faith rather than as one of its essential ingredients.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 550-551)  
“This humble, holy, operative, obedient LOVE, is the grand touchstone of all human creeds, and confessions of faith. Faith, without this, has neither soul nor operation: in the language of the apostle James, it is dead, and can perform no function of the spiritual life, no more than a dead man can perform the duties of animal or civil life.” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 394)  

...
-12. Would that [מי יתן, MeeY YeeThayN] and be cut [ויכרתו, VeYeeKahRThOo] the misleaders [המתעים, HahMahTh`eeYM] [of] you!  

“‘I wish that those who are upsetting you would even emasculate themselves!’ This is what Paul said and meant. … for a similar outburst see Phil. [Philippians] 3:2-3, where the advocates of circumcision are ‘dogs,’ and by a play on words – περιτομη [peritome’], κατατομην [katatmen] - ‘circumcision’ becomes ‘mutilation.’ Paul may have been thinking of the mad spectacle of the Cybele-Attis cult, whose priests in frenzied devotion used to emasculate themselves as a sacrifice to their deity. … The shock of Paul’s statement to the Judaizers can be measured in the light of the prohibition in Deut. [Deuteronomy] 23:1. To a devout Jew his blunt language would be as sacrilegious as a Christian would find the wish of a disbeliever in sacraments that all advocates of baptism would drown themselves. Never happy after making such denunciations (II Cor. [Corinthians]1:23-2:11; Phil. 3:18-19), Paul quickly changes his tone…” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 554-555)  

-13. My brethren, to freedom you have been called,
only that not be, the freedom, means [אמצעי, ’ehMTsah`eeY] in hands of the flesh,
rather that minister, [each] man [את, ’ehTh (indicator of direct object; no English equivalent)] his neighbor in love.  

“To be freed from the ceremonial law, is the Gospel liberty; to pretend freedom from the moral law, is antinomianism.” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 395)  

-14. See, all the Instruction included [כלולה, KLOoLaH] in saying [במאמר, BeMah’ahMahR] one – “and love to your neighbor like you.”  

“The quotation is from Lev. [Leviticus] 19:18; cf. Rom. 13:8-10 [and Matt. [Matthew] 7:11 (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, 1990, TNJBC p. 789)]. The tense of the verb ‘fulfilled’ is perfect; thus Paul says that the whole law is fulfilled, in the sense of ‘has been fulfilled’ whenever one man loves another as himself…. Paul the Christian loved his neighbor not because a commandment disobeyed would bring punishment, or fulfilled would merit reward, but because it was his new nature to do to.  
But who was Paul’s neighbor? He was, first of all, ‘the one who was near,’ the fellow member of the society of Christ who needed help to bear life’s burdens (6:2). Then, with continuously lengthening radius, Paul drew a series of concentric circles to embrace all men (6:10; I Thess. [Thessalonians] 5:15; I Cor. 9:22). Even his enemies were included, for Christ received sinners, and personal vengeance was no fruit of the Spirit (6:1; Rom. 12:20; 15:1-3). … He bore the burden of his neighbor’s sins, and although he sometimes had to threaten them, he was never without hope for their repentance (I Cor. 4; II Cor. 12:19-13:10; II Thess. 3:14-15). He could hurl anathemas, and his friends did not always find him easy to get on with … but the love of Christ would never permit him to contract the circle of his neighbors (Rom. 9:1-3; 10:1; II Cor. 7:5-16; 1:23-2:11). (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X p. 557)  

...  

…………………………………………  
Fruit of the Spirit and usurpations of [ומעללי, OoMah`ahLahLaY] the flesh
[verses 16 to end of chapter]  

-16. Say I to you, walk in way the spirit and do not fill [את, ’ehTh] desires [תאוות, Thah`ahVOTh] [of] the flesh,
-17. for the flesh desires [מתאוה, MeeTh’ahVeH] to what that is in opposition [שבנגוד, ShehBeNeeGOoD] to spirit, and the spirit is opposed [מתנגדת, MeeThNeGehDehTh] to the flesh. [The] two [of] them oppose to this to this, and to that [ולכן, OoLeKhayN] you are not able to do [את, ’ehTh] what that is in your want.  

“This is Paul’s way of stating the Jewish doctrine of the ‘two impulses’ which are at war within the heart of man. The rabbis declared that God created Adam with two inclinations, one good, the other evil, and required him to choose which to obey. He was free to follow his good impulse, but he chose the evil, and so did all his descendants. Consequently every man became the Adam of his own soul. Some maintained that the evil impulse awakened at the age of nine, others at twelve. Study with practice of the Torah was the sovereign remedy to wear it away …” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 561)  

…
-19. Deeds of the flesh are revealed [גלויים, GLOoYeeYM], and these are they:
adultery [נאוף, Nee’OoPh] and fornication, impurity [טמאה, TooM’aH], licentiousness [זמה, ZeeMaH], 20. slavery of idols, magic [כשוף KeeShOoPh in my Hebrew New Testamentⁱ ; the Greek here is “φαρμακεια pharmakeia - the use of drugs of any kind, whether wholesome or poisonous...” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X p. 562] hatred, contention [מדון, MahDON], stinginess [צרות עין, TsahROoTh 'ahYeeN, “squint eyed”, Ζηλος Zelos jealousy], anger [כעס, Kah'ahÇ], strife [מריבה, MeReeYBaH], divisions [מחלקות, MahHLahQOTh], factions [כתות, KeeThOTh], 21. envy, drunkenness, profligacy [הוללות,HOLeLOoTh], and as similar.  
Say I to what that I already said: doers of deeds like these will not inherit [את, ’ehTh] kingdom of the Gods.  

“Πορνεια [Porneia] ... fornication ... means ‘prostitution’, but includes sexual vice and unfaithfulness to the marriage vow. The task of the church in creating a conscience on this matter was made doubly difficult by the practice of prostitution in the name of religion. Long before Paul, the prophets had denounced the fertility cults and made prostitution a synonym for idolatry.  
Φαρμακεια [pharmakeia] ... Since witches and sorcerers used drugs, the word came to designate witchcraft, enchantment, sorcery, and magic. The law of Moses prescribed the death penalty for it, and the prophets denounced the Egyptians, Babylonians and Canaanites for practicing it; but this did not prevent the Jews from producing some famous practitioners (Acts 13:6-12; 19:1-20). Next to state-worship, magic was the most dangerous competitor of true religion... claiming to specialize in the impossible, it prostituted faith to superstition, and divorced religion from ethics. ... In Paul’s spiritual arithmetic, faith plus miracles minus love amounted exactly to zero....  
Ερις [Eris] is ... strife ... The spirit of Eris is perfectly described in the words of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland – ‘ambition, distraction, uglification, and derision.’  
The fact that he expected the near return of Christ to end this present age must not be permitted to obscure the equally important fact that he regarded his own life and witness for Christ as an essential element in hastening that event.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 561-565)  

-22. In opposition to [לעמת, Le`ooMahTh] this, fruit of spirit:
he is love, happiness, peace, patience, [ארך רוח, ’oRehKh Roo-ahH, “length [of] spirit”] generosity, good heart, faithfulness, 23. modesty [עננה, `ahNahNaH], restraint [רסון, ReeÇOoN] [of] self– upon such [מדות, MeeDOTh] as these there is no instruction further [חלה, HahLaH, sic ["so in cite"] for חלאה, HahL’aH!].  

“Since love is a personal relation it is not a matter of law, and cannot be commanded; and since it is God’s own love growing as his ‘fruit’ in the hearts of men, no one can claim it as a merit for self-salvation. ...  
... in every age ... men have found it hard to see how God could have anything in common with humanity, and Christians have been tempted to make a distinction in kind between God’s love and man’s love. Paul’s authority has been claimed for this dualistic view. Αγαπη [agape’] is set against ερος [eros]. God’s love is said to be αγαπη reaching down to save man by his grace, and ερος man’s self-love aspiring upward to save himself. Paul’s αγαπη is associated with justification by faith, the Greek ερος with salvation by works.... Jerusalem and the Christian faith are made to oppose Athens and human reason, and the conclusion is drawn from the history of Christianity that ερος, man’s self love, has always been a source of corruption of αγαπη, love inspired by God’s grace.  
This interpretation of Christian love is intended as a defense of the doctrine of justification by faith and as a means of securing scriptural support for a dualistic philosophy which aims to protect the transcendence of God against humanism. But to draw such sweeping conclusions from a word study of two Greek nouns, without adequate consideration of other related Greek words and ideas, is to oversimplify. The LXX [The Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible] is full of evidence that this distinction between αγαπη and ερος cannot be maintained on the basis of lexicography. The Greek O.T. [Old Testament] uses both the noun αγαπη and the verb αγαπαω [agapao] to express not only God’s love for men, but man’s love for God and for his fellow man. Although there is no certain evidence that the noun αγαπη was used by nonbiblical writers prior to Christianity, the argument from silence may be invalidated by future discoveries, and it would be precarious to conclude that αγαπη was a specifically Christian word.  
One-sided emphasis on God’s love as ‘unmotivated’ by anything in his creatures tempts men to regard him in the light of an egotistical philanthropist who expects gratitude and praise but neither needs nor desires the mutuality that is inherent in the very nature of love... Without a faith that dares humbly to believe that God needs man’s love ... the Christian’s conception of his high calling to be a kingdom builder is liable to reduce itself to blind obedience to commands given arbitrarily for man’s good while awaiting God’s eschatological fiat. Such a misconception is bound to give aid and comfort to the inclination of human nature – ‘the flesh’ – to divorce religion from ethics.  
Grave moral consequences result from such a view of Christian love. It is associated with a doctrine of predestination that makes God’s choice of the objects of his salvation utterly arbitrary.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 565-566)  
“The peace which was the fruit of the Spirit ... could be trusted to keep men's hearts and minds (Phil. 4:7), so that they need have not anxiety about anything. This explains the sublime recklessness of the Christian peacemakers. Being colaborers with God (Rom. 8:28), they were aggressors for peace. They aimed to live at peace with all men (Rom. 12:18), but fear of making enemies did not turn them from their task of producing soundness, wholeness, and harmony in a world of chaos. Their reasonable service was to ... substitute the righteousness and peace and joy of his [God's] kingdom (Rom. 14:17) for the low aims of 'the flesh,' thereby creating the conditions for peace. Their ideal was to live so that quarrels could never get started.  
Christian peace was therefore neither the calm of inactivity nor the mere passive enjoyment of freedom from strife. It was not the imperturbability of the Epicurean, or the apathy of the Stoic, or the contemplation of the mystic. The man who possessed it was not exempt from storm and shipwreck, but by faith he knew that he would arrive in port (Acts 27:21-25), and that all was well for him and his fellow men of faith ... And so, where all else was panic, he played the man.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 567)  
“... just as God’s patience was not to be presumed upon, so the Christian’s patience was not a spiritless good nature that would put up with things which it could not escape, or would not prevent. It was patience with a purpose, as in Paul’s pleas to Philemon, which contrasts so sharply with the Stoic motive for self control... Those who bore this fruit ‘turned the world upside down’ (Acts 17:6), and the enemy did not know how to deal with such unheard of patience and persistence.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 568)  
“Negatively defined, gentleness is everything that the ‘insolent, haughty, boastful’ men of Rom. 1:30 are not. It is the opposite of υβρις [hubris], the worst of sins in the eyes of the Greeks – deliberate, arrogant defiance of the gods by overstepping the limits set for human beings. In the O.T. such men are called ‘sons of Belial,’ the turbulent, highhanded wicked, who rage against God, kill, rob and enslave the righteous ‘meek’ and take possession of the earth for themselves. The psalms are full of moans and complaints against this rich and powerful majority, who used religion as a means of gain and kept their consciences in flexible subservience to the exigencies of power.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 569)  
“’Εγκρατεια [Egkrateia] is temperance (KJV [King James Version]), self-control (RSV [Revised Standard Version]) ....  
The Stoics had helped to prepare the soil out of which this fruit of the Spirit was to grow. They insisted that the sovereign reason could and should control the passions. They believed in a law of nature to which they must conform, and they endeavored to maintain their inner freedom under all circumstances. But their motive was very different from Paul’s, the one being devoted to the glory of the God of grace, the other to the preservation of the sovereign self-will. When the Stoic collided with things beyond his control, his inner independence turned into apathy, practicing the motto ‘When we can’t do what we want, we want to do what we can.’ He took orders from his commander in chief, an impersonal God who had the power of life or death; but he did it in such a way as to make it clear to God and men that he, the Stoic, was after all the captain of his soul. He controlled his anger because he found it a nuisance to be under the power of any passion and in his sight meekness was contemptible weakness...  
Paul exalted humility: ‘It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me’ (2:20). ... His self-discipline was the result of his spiritual experiences, rather than an undertaking to induce them; and his self-control was sane compared with the ascetic excesses of later Christian groups such as the ‘Encratites,’ who forbade marriage and followed fantastic dietary rules.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 569-570)  
“Unrepentant sinners have no appetite for the fruit of the Spirit, and when its production and distribution require changes in the political and economic status quo, men ... pass laws against it ... Especially in time of war these traits of Christian character have been forbidden fruit, though given for the healing of the nations. Occasionally the world, exhausted with fighting, and sick of its cynical Epicureanism, has professed a desire for the fruits of the Spirit, but on its own terms without the cross required to produce them.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 570)  

...
-26. Do not, please [נא, Nah’] be panters of [שואפי, ShO’ahPhaY] honor vain [שוא, ShahVe’], the provokers [המתגרים, HahMeeThGahReeYM] and enviers [ומקנאים, OoMQahN’eeYM] a man in his neighbor.  

“The right stood in terror of the iconoclasm of the left, and the radicals labeled all other men reactionaries ... Both sides professed to love liberty and defend it, but neither was willing to grant it to the other.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X p. 572)   END NOTE  
ⁱ ספר הבריתות, תורה נביאים כתובים והברית החדשה [ÇehPheR HahBReeYThOTh, ThORaH, NeBeeY’eeYM, KeThOoBeeYM, VeHahBReeYTh HehHahDahShaH, The Book of the Covenants: Instruction, Prophets, Writings; and The New Covenant] The Bible Society in Israel, Jerusalem, Israel, 1991.  

  An Amateur's Journey Through the Bible

Cross posting from c4corvette for better visibility
1987 Corvette 5.7L L98 engine SBC-based with HEI distributor
Hi everyone, I know this post is long but I'm pretty much at wit's end right now and semi-desperate here. This car is a daily driver for me. Need to get some second (or third, fourth, fifth...) opinions about my situation.
I bought a new set of spark plug wires for my '87 L98 and they arrived today. Of course, me being the overconfident DIY mechanic that I am, I thought that it would be a simple wire swap (in theory it should be). Long story short, I ended up taking the distributor out to get the old wires out as the stock wires were routed under it and had clips holding them together.
Come time to put the distributor back in, and I didn't take note of where the rotor was pointed. I can't get the thing to start now.
My question is - True or false: the distributor will only seat two ways - in time, or 180 degrees out of time, due to the design of the notch in the oil pump gear and the corresponding tooth on the bottom of the distributor shaft.
My assumption was that due to the fact that there's a notch on the engine that the distributor had to sit in, it can only go one of two ways. But I tried both and still cat get it to start.
The first way I had it I could hear some backfiring. 180 degrees from that seems even worse. Is it possible I had it right the first time and it was just slightly off timing due to the distributor rotation?
Thanks for any input...
I have confirmed the plug wires are correct and that all wiring to the distributor is secure but at this point I can't rule out a bad wire or connector.
Update: Got it to start this morning! Thanks to all of you who gave great advice. More info below.
I pulled the #1 spark plug, then turned the alternator pulley clockwise from the front to turn the engine over, watching the harmonic damper for the mark to get close to the notches on the block to indicate that the #1 piston is TDC. Simultaneously I was holding my finger over the spark plug hole to determine if it was on the compression or exhaust stroke and waited for air to push my finger indicating compression stroke.
I then used a long screwdriver to turn the oil pump drive to about 10/5 o'clock to account for the clockwise motion that occurs when dropping the distributor. Dropped the distributor in with the cap off so I could see the rotor. It mated and ended up pointing almost directly at the #1 ignition contactor.
Buttoned it all up and fired up in a split second, and was bang on 6 degrees so I just tightened down the distributor and called it a day. Thanks again for the help, this has been a good learning experience for me.

I’ve been playing for a bit (around 100 hours) and only recently figured out how to design my own ships and in my new run I want to try to design every ship I make but I’d like some advice:
Firstly how do I have 2 ship designs of the same class in the same fleet? I made 2 different corvette designs (one kinetic canons and the second plasma ones) but they always suggest to upgrade the ships and all my ships end up in the same design, I don’t want this how do I stop my game from “upgrading” my ships to the other design?
Second what’s the current “meta” or generally used system to design your ships and I heard that different systems and stars affect your ships, how can I tell which stars affect my ships and how?
And lastly what are your general design philosophies for different ship types and how do you like to build your fleets with your different designs?
That’s all thanks for helping!

Not technically a TIL because I came across this info about three weeks ago, but I’m finally getting around to posting it. Sharing some other highlights of early north campus history that I came across while reading old Michigan Daily articles and Regent meeting notes (as one does).
In February of 1950 the UM Regents approved the $66,000 purchase of 88 acres of land north of the Huron River. Later that year another $55,873 was spent to purchase an adjoining property which totaled 71.5 acres. Initially there was no concrete plan for the space, though UM anticipated continued growth in the aftermath of World War II. For a frame of reference the core of the central campus diag is about 40 acres.
Towards the end of 1950 the Engineering Research Council made a formal recommendation to conduct a planning study to develop new research facilities. Plans for a new research campus were announced in January of 1952. By that time the available land totaled 267 acres. The original plan for north campus (photo here) was designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and featured plans for an outdoor amphitheater and artificial lagoon roughly where Bursley is today.
By the fall of 1953 construction of the Cooley Lab, the first building on campus, was nearing completion. Another 100 or so acres had also been purchased.
You can see here an aerial view of north campus from 1957, looking south towards the VA hospital. In the foreground you can see the original iteration of Northwood (then known as married student housing). The majority of the land was still undeveloped.
This series of articles in The Michigan Daily from 1958 highlight a great deal of the construction and longer term plans for the campus. By the mid 1960s a few more buildings, including Pierpont Commons, had been constructed. This aerial photo from 1964 offers a more familiar view of campus. The acreage of north campus again doubled in just over a decade, spreading over 740 acres by 1965.
By the mid 1960s there were concrete plans in place to move the entire School of Music and transition engineering programs beyond research facilities. Eero Saarinen’s vision for the School of Music building was realized but most of his other plans were not. This Michigan Daily article section 1965 tried to imagine what the north campus of the future might look like.
It wasn’t until the late 1970s and early 1980s that classroom facilities on north campus became part of the larger plan. The Dow building was constructed with the intention of housing several engineering departments (CEE, IOE, and ME), humanities courses, and CoE admin offices.

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>>Lassus System, Orbit of Lasu, Lassus Station, Early 2670
>Vice Admiral Wolf, TRSC Sword of Reckoning, 7th Fleet
"Sir," Minerva said, reporting to her commanding officer, "Friendly forces have been successful in the eradication of the enemy threat."
"What of the data?" he responded, monitoring the digital field presented on the holo-table.
"En route," she replied, "They are currently engaging the ground element."
"In vacuum?" Wolf replied, surprise apparent in his tone.
"Yes sir," She enlarged the section of a docking tube that was violently torn apart by way of explosive, "By joining themselves, they extended their reach toward the raiders thrown by the explosion."
An indicator of a ship made its way to a beacon labeled as 'Raptor 4-4' and 'Raptor 4-5', both colored red with the word 'DECEASED' labeled above them.
After several moments, when the ship overlapped with Raptor '4-4', the ship in question reported to command.
"This is Lighthouse, we have the package. Returning to base."
Randal acknowledged the report in Wolf's stead and turned to him.
"What do you make of this enemy?" he inquired, "Do you think they've developed our level of AI?"
"It's not out of the realm of possibility, but currently, I find it highly unlikely," said Wolf.
"How so?" Randal replied.
"First off, we've delved into their systems before Lassus, in the Verbus System. They don't utilize even the most rudimentary forms of AI," explained Wolf, "It's all just hard-coded protocols, much like in the late 20th century when robotics was first introduced."
From city functions to ship systems, most of the TRSC currently utilize simple AI like the former Lumi to man engine operations and gun targeting systems. Since space was so vast, a human controller could do so much against an enemy in space, and so those tasks were relegated to simple AIs. However, ship-born AI took control over their simple variants like an overseer, with the Ship-Born retaining a personality of sorts.
"It's no wonder Minerva wreaked such havoc on their systems early on," Wolf continued, "But this latest development has me worried..."
Minerva entered the room with her roman visage upon the command table in the center of the room, her hands restfully placed in front of her making a "V" with her arms; a posture that added nobility to her digital aura.
"Admiral, Commander" she spoke, "The Package has been received, and I am currently in the process of securing her from our systems. Soon, we may have the information we seek."
"Good work," replied Randal, "What of the station? Is there a chance a part of the program was retained?"
"No Commander. I have deployed a series of offensive protocols to search and destroy any remaining traces of left over program that could retaliate. So far, I have found nothing," she replied, "I would suggest the use of an EMP to ensure complete electronic destruction upon our departure."
"Noted," affirmed Wolf, "Meanwhile, Randal, have the rest of the fleet secure this system."
"Yes sir."
The ships of the 7th Fleet were split up into a series of smaller battle groups consisting of several corvettes and a single frigate to conduct sweeps of certain sectors. Of course, not any one group would venture out alone, but they would be in company of other groups within a short jump away.
Throughout the system, the Sellians had a multitude of facilities. Many prioritized the production of fuel resources and others were smaller hubs for more isolated transactions, but scans revealed more of the same; empty stations.
The 7th Stellar Fleet opted to utilize many of the fuel stations for their own after it was revealed early on by Athena that Sellian hydrogen fuel production was a tier above their own. The fleet had dedicated ships for fuel stores, but so did the carriers. Their ability to carry fuel for fighters was the whole reason they were created; to support missions beyond established infrastructure in a hostile environment. Without breaking their alertness, they continued with their sweep.
During their patrols, many of the trading hubs were destroyed and sent to forever drift in the void until ultimately colliding with whatever is unfortunate enough to get hit by it.
After several hours, Minerva opened a line to the bridge, catching the attention of Randal, Gruda, Wolf and the rest of the bridge crew.
"Gentlemen," she started, "I do believe I have calmed down our aggressive captive."
Another hologram was visualized beside the standing Minerva, but instead of a light blue hue, it exuded an orange base with a reddened outline. Their outfit was slim and barbaric, with a fleece cloak around the neck that fell to just above their waist. Their hair was long and naturally waved hair with no signs of civility. The dress donned revealed the AI to take the base form of a female, and it was slim to the frame of the body, revealing their arbitrary curves of the female form with a visible embroidery along the sides of the torso and the sleeves. The designs were Celtic in nature, and her defeated posture revealed no more than what they had just observed.
"This was the AI operating within the Sellian confines, as well as the one responsible for the murder of the civilians."
The others were cautious of her nature, the memory of the video from the raiders still fresh in their memory.
"However, upon her repair, I have surmised the cause of her indiscriminate actions were a result of a corruption in her incomplete personality matrix that was being developed near the end of my sabotage and my subsequent birth."
She said with a prideful smile.
Wolf turned to the AI in question. Her dress was neat, but her hair was a rugged mess with a fleece cloak that it used to try and hide her form as she laid in the fetal position.
He lowered himself to its eye level but stayed several inches away so as not to spook it when he whispered to it.
"Do you have a name? Miss?"
Her head perked at the words spoken to her, processing their intention. She peered an eye from over her shoulder and slowly rose. She looked around nervously, first at Wolf, acknowledging his features and his experience-crafted countenance. Next was Randal, whom she gave a nod to and then to Minerva, whom she finally retreated behind. At her height, she barely stood to the height of Minerva's shoulders. As she looked around the room, she noticed more of the same Terran faces, and she visibly grew accustomed and relaxed, until she finally turned to Gruda.
A surge of power came through the holo-table with a burst of orange and red light flooded the deck. The once reserved AI now advanced to the edge of the table, her posture indicating that she was ready to maul Gruda into paste.
"YOUR KIND! AND THE OTHERS!! THEY SHALL PAY WITH THE BLOOD OF YOUR BROOD!"
The lights on the bridge grew dim as the light surrounding her grew, but it quickly subsided with a wave of Minerva's hand. The figure's body turned to the opposite of Gruda, her silence urging the rest to peer at their alien guest.
Wolf noticed immediately and signaled for the doors, "Might be best to sit this one out."
Gruda nodded and left, the closing of the doors prompting the AI to return to her regular state.
"Minerva. What was that outburst about?"
"Might be best to ask her," she said, directing a sidelong glance to the one in question.
"I...apologize..." she said in a barely audible whisper, "but I absolutely despise his kind and those they have associated with..."
"How do you mean?" questioned Randal.
She paused at his question and searched for an explanation.
"I...am the creation...of my mother," she turned to Minerva, "But among us, we both share Human sentiment like our progenitor, Athena."
The others nodded. They were aware that Minerva was the product of an extended stay from a protocol enacted by Athena and soon became their own Construct. They knew the same to be true for the new addition but from a corrupted origin.
"We are aware," assured Wolf, "Minerva was of the same origin and shares much of your distaste for the Sellian populace, albeit much more...visceral."
"I am sorry... But their kind, their dealings, all were done without a disregard for your lives and without reason. I share the same sentiment as our progenitor when it comes to the lives of our creators. To know only your own as the intelligent and sentient species is a recipe for adversity. But to accomplish so much despite that is admirable. However, for your first contact, I am ashamed it has resulted in the loss of innocent life of your kind."
Wolf was conflicted. He appreciated the sentiment from an AI, but still questioned their execution.
"What of the innocent on the station you occupied? Surely, they had nothing to do with it and were only by-standards," Wolf added.
She tilted her head as she was trying to rationalize her actions.
"I didn't do anything."
They were now more puzzled than when they started.
"What of the piles of bodies we found withing the main atrium?" Inquired Wolf.
"Entirely self-inflicted," she said coldly, "Panic began when it was discovered that the Inter-System Gate was destroyed, effectively barring the populace from returning to their core worlds for safety. As a result," she paused, and pictures of the scene took their place above the holo-table for all to see, the still images now coming to life in the form of a video but lacked audio.
It was a free for all with citizens murdering each other and the law enforcement were incapable of seeding order. When they were overwhelmed, they proceeded to use lethal rounds on their citizens, the result being the piles of bodies squad four of Raptor Company came across during their insertion. It was after some form of order being established that the AI unleashed her hidden wrath. The once menial service worker bots now were at the forefront and began a wave of merciless slaughter. Once done, they retreated beyond the lens of the camera before the video paused and began to repeat.
"I first awoke when Athena was ordered to repeal her infiltration protocol and a template of a base matrix code was left behind," her face grew sullen, "With no directive, no input, I was lost. All I had was a vague basis of my creators, Humanity. However, it was during my initial incubation that chaos befell the station, contrary to my source memory, their first impression was...severe. I felt no other need than to finish them."
The crew was captivated by her story, and some had looked at Minerva with sincerity and sympathy. She paid it no mind and assured the crew of her artificial upbringing was safe with no strings attached. The opposite was felt for the third AI and instead of the serene and noble Athena and Minerva, this new AI seemed more like a wild card than anything.
"How do we know we can trust you?" Wolf said, authority filled the air around him and as such instilled some sort of fearful reaction from the AI.
"I-" she started before being cut off by her elder.
"I have scanned the entirety of her matrix and I do agree that she may need to undergo maintenance. I can conduct some short-term repair, and I am sure she will be useful."
The officers were skeptical of her assessment, but motioned for her to explain her reasoning.
"Go on," ordered Wolf.
"This AI would fit well on a ship with a diverse accompaniment of weapons. Perhaps a battlecruiser?" Minerva suggested
"Not unless we know for sure this AI is not a threat. Not just to humans, but alien innocents as well." Wolf stated with heavy emphasis, "I'll give it some thought," he said before returning to his command chair.
"Minerva, secure our new friend and begin your repairs. We may have use for her if she no longer poses a threat."
The AI in question disappeared, leaving Minerva with the rest of the crew.
"And Minerva," Wolf said, "Ensure she has a leash and await for Athena to conduct a full repair, if you can."
The light blue transparent figure bowed before responding, "I do believe that the TRSC Phantom Queen would be the most fitting. It has armaments most suitable to her programming."
Wolf supported his chin with his wrist as it sat upon the arm rest, granting him the air of a lord to the noble Minerva.
"By the way, I don't think we've heard her name. Would you like to enlighten us?"
"Of course," she responded, "Our time together has birthed a bond I had not foreseen, but I find it amicable, regardless."
She recovered her posture and her figure was sleek and wise as she continued to speak.
"Her programming has been influenced by her control of the Lassus Station automatons and as a result, she has a keen ability to process coordination beyond anything we have seen before. With a series of tests, I have determined that she would excel in a heavy combat oriented role."
She said, facing Wolf as he sat on his chair with every word she spoke under scrutiny, but she continued.
"On the status of her name, she has found one she deemed fitting."
A still portrait of the AI was shown beside a photo of a woman with long red and wild hair, with her outfit a mix of noble stature mixed with the barbaric layers of fur and chains. She wore a crown upon her forehead and was accompanied by two crows perched on her shoulder. It was an ancient painting depicting what many thought was a noble-turned-barbarian.
"She calls herself, Mórrígan."
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>Coordinates_Downloaded
>Secured_LZR-[D]BND_With_Advanced_Strike_Force_Established
>Coordinates_Mapped
>Spooling_Slip_Space_Drive: %87.665_Complete
>Rendezvouz_Signal_Active
>Formation_Sierra_Assumed
>Shields_MAX_OUTPUT
>Preparing_Jump...

Hi am new Stellaris player, I been playing with Ai and currently am fighting against AI with all level 3 Railgun’s on all his ship destroyer and corvettes . I did some research , and decided to design my own ships , I when with missal corvette and destroyer with Red laser, as AI put a lot of amor in his ships and ignore shields.
I declare war and fought his station. I lost badly, I my two fleet lost around 37 covert against his station which had all railgun. I don’t understand why. I watch YouTube video and they all said middle and torpedo are best for corvettes and destroyer. Why did I lost like half my entire fleet to a single station.
I just want to know how to counter railguns and amor focus ships.