Quote from Jeanette on Dec 11th, 2016, 8:20am:Quote from Fernando on Dec 10th, 2016, 10:07pm:Now, the spirits should be doing what Fernando has said all along - study what is out there, find out who they can work with and improve the conditions once trust is established. Except for guard duty here and there and protecting Jeanette, the spirits have not done a damn thing.
Correction, they have done things such as fix power grids and highways. Fernando complained about that so they had to alter the time line to undo it all. They offered protection for others. Both Fernando and Hondo complained about that and even threatened to leave the party if the Texas Spirits protect anyone else. Don't complain about the Texas Spirits not doing anything when Fernando is the reason they are not doing anything. The Texas Spirits should have left Fernando at home so they can get some work done in peace.
Quote from Fernando on Dec 10th, 2016, 10:07pm:Jeanette should at least be an envoy for them and find out that is going on and how the spirits can help. Bur she has not done that either. For her doing that with the hospital would be a good first step.
When Fernando returns, Jeanette should barrow his civil war surgical kit and ask from it what would the docs need. From that since the kit is 90% metal they spirits can make it. The wood parts and case can be made in Japan or Israel and then they get a case or two with 4 of them in it by "air mail."
If the hospitals will not accept anything shipped via the Charlton Railroad, they would not accept this either. No wonder the world is still in the shape that it's in. People don't trust those who can do something about it.
Jeanette Isabelle
I think you got them confused.
The spirits, according to you, have not extended their reach a few miles past the Texas border. What power grids that are available outside of that reach are what the people did. Remember we are somewhere in Southern Montana - well outside their reach. In areas with wind turbines, they were put up and repairs, bring back between 40% to 65% of those that fell in the Happening.
Military Bases that were resettled were discovered to have their own generators and needed fuel to turn them on. (This is similar to the power back up units in a data warehouse: large diesel engine turning generators day and night. This diesel engine is similar to a ship's diesel engine in size and power.)
Many solar panels that powered street lights and so on were taken down and used to build larger solar farms. Existing solar farms were repaired. And other technologies - Other Spirit Technology or man made, were tested an exploited. Though there is a lot going on it is not that hard to get going one segment at a time. In recreating and repairing an infrastructure is what these settlements have been doing. Electrical, water, food, transportation (vehicles, roads, rail, sea, and air), and communications are the important ones. With Food and water being first, and the rest to follow as needed.
The Spirits (Though I personally do not agree with them) done this for the people of Charlton and expanded their help through parts of Texas and even a few miles beyond but they have not extended themselves beyond that, and we are at least 1800 miles from there. In that, there are hundreds of miles of road and rail to fix up and many towns to connect too before the spirits can send a train from Charlton to the town we are in. And they had over 40 years to fix this up and they did nothing. So who's fault is that? Not Fernando's. He was not around when this happened. But he is right in complaining about it, because as he sees it, the spirits are willing to help those who are going to fulfill their goals, what ever those goals maybe, for that is what they have shown themselves out to be.
I as a writer and a character have pointed out where the spirits can recycle buses and train cars, but they did little to anything about them. I as a writer and character stated what and how things should be repaired, and yet, they did little with that information. So who's at fault here?
Because of the past with these and other spirits, many out there do not want to deal with the spirits because people got burned in their dealings. In Hondo's entry posts - another spirit group took over and corrupted a town. Who's fault is that? Were there Texas Spirits there to help those from the dictatorship of this spirit group? No there wasn't. And they too had a copy of Jeanette's Journal which predicted of Hondo'a arrival and they tried to have him killed. I doubt you noticed that at all. But Hondo's clan promised that they would find every copy of the journal and destroy them. They think they got them all, it is obvious that they did not. Since people got burned by dealing with the spirits, they do not want to deal with the spirits.
Again, this is where Jeanette being an envoy would work best for their benefit - both the people and the spirits. She does not have to tell them that she is working for them, all she has to do is say that she is representing a group of investors, medical workers, what ever, from Israel, Japan, what ever and in that representation she has gone from town to town to make deals and arrangements to improve their medical facilities. The only issue is that such supplies will be delivered by sea to Texas and have to be brought up to their towns. Once that is dealt with, then they can reap the rewards. All she needs the towns to do is to sign up for this and create another treaty - this one for the sharing of technology and trade routes for medical reasons. Once she has a book load of towns willing to do the work to get the roads and rail running again, she can show the spirits this and work started to get this done. In a matter of months, the first of the deliveries can be sent to the towns. So what is the delay? Saying that Fernando this and Fernando that is an excuse because it does not fit what the spirits want.
Not getting any this done is what Fernando is complaining about. This has always been his complaint. The Spirits concern about Jeanette's Journal is a load of crock and we as writers and characters know this. The Spirits trying to persuade Jeanette into immortality, taking care of Elsa and then Penny, and other things offered to her have been nothing more than traps laid out for her for not doing what has to be done and that's helping others that are out of her way. Everyone that she's help came to her, and most of them in the guise of a spirit. She does not see that she is being manipulated to do as they want her to do. Fernando is here to help out who ever is out there that needs help. He's willing to help Gabrielle because she needs help. He does not care about her being a stupid leader for the spirits because that is what they want her to be. Jeanette is willing to help Gabrielle because the Spirits told her that it has to be done. Guess what, a serpent told Eve to go eat an apple and guess where that landed mankind!
I just don't believe that you are actually blind to this insight. This is not about the spirits or helping out 1 very specific person. This is about a journey where many along the way are going to need help in one form or another. This is about the interaction of characters and what they can do for others and for themselves. This is about looking at the landscape and seeing what is wrong and try our best in correcting them. This is about the trip this group is taking and seeing the world for what it is and doing something about it. In all this the spirits can go to hell because they had 40 years to undo this and did nothing and because somebody points it out to their face - Fernando - that they cite him as the cause of the problem? That is the biggest loaded crock of shit I have ever heard.
As Fernando says, "No excuses. Lets get this shit done!" For Jeanette that means making deals and signing up hospitals and the towns they are in for supplies they need that can be shipped from Texas which will lead to the rebuilding of roads, rail and airways. That means for her to start with this one hospital Karl is in and deal with it. If she needs to barrow Fernando's civil war surgical field kit, she is welcomed to it if she asks for it first. She can then look it over and see how simple it is; with the exception of a couple of handles, everything but the box is made of metal. The handles on those few items are made of wood though plastic can be used instead.