Genocide (1375 hits)
Category: UberMadness!Rating: 0.29 on 147 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by UberMadness! (View user info) at 2006-09-24 11:20:18 EDT
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This post is officially part of UberMadness!. Click here for more information on the rules and restrictions. |
Entry 1
I remember studying genocide in college. I think it was in World History. I found the genocide section of that class to be very interesting because of how disturbingly wrong genocide appears to anyone who has morals. Committing genocide takes a lot of cooperation from a lot of people and in most cases, when all is said and done, it's hard to figure out how so many people stood by and watched it.The Ukraine famine was one of the worst genocides of the last century. Ukraine is one of the most fertile areas in Europe, and at the time it grew most of the Soviet Union's grain. There were lots of people in Ukraine who supported separation from the Soviet Union, so Stalin started shipping all the grain out and ended up starving seven million people. On purpose.
Sounds simple, right? Think of all the people that would have had to be involved. Thousands of Soviet officials had to participate in the creation and maintenance of this "famine" in the breadbasket of Europe. It's weird, when you think about it: thousands of KGB officials had to accept that there were millions of Ukrainians being deliberately starved to death despite the fact that there was an abundance of food to feed them.
Not only did all those officials, who presumably had a conscience, have to play a role in this genocide, but they also had to deny its very existence. They had to ship people off to Siberia for saying they were hungry. They had to lie openly to foreign media, and to citizens, and probably to themselves. By lying to themselves and blindly following the orders of those above them, they didn't have to deal with the reality of what they were doing. And maybe that's how they were able to do it at all. As it turns out, the enabling factor in most instances of genocide is good men closing their eyes, looking the other way, and refusing to do anything when confronted with evil.
My name is Dave Stevenson and my story isn't a story about genocide. It's about secrets, lies, the utility company, and a good man who made a choice when confronted with evil. It all started when I came to this town.
The first thing I did when I got into Marengo, Iowa, in the summer of '87 was read the welcome sign. 'Our Town...Make it yours.' the thing read. I thought it was clever, but never figured anybody would take it literally. I talked my way into a position with the public works department as a glorified metal detector. You know those 'call before you dig' signs? If you called in Marengo, you got me.
I worked in that position for a few years, driving around the sticks and explaining to people why they shouldn't dig up the gas lines and why hooking up the septic tank to the weeping tile drain wasn't a good way to "save some diggin.'" It paid the bills and they gave me a nice city truck to drive around, but I wanted something cushy, with an air-conditioned office, so I left that job and got hired on as the Utility Billing Clerk.
Now let me say before I continue that I moved to Marengo to escape the big city. I was jaded and had become tired of living the urban lifestyle. When I first heard about the Iowa County Safe Haven Site, I assumed it was a building that junkies could go to for free clean needles and a place to shoot up. I asked one of the old ladies in town how Marengo could stand for a government endorsement of heroin use. As it turned out, the Iowa County Safe Haven was what city people call an animal shelter. The ensuing discussion I had with that old lady was one of several awkward conversations I had during my transition to a mindset that included small town values.
It came as a great surprise to me, then, when one of the city councilors walked into my brand new office and explained the deal that they had with the previous Utility Billing Clerk. Apparently it seemed that certain members of the city council, as well as selected citizens of Marengo, had been receiving "special billing arrangements" for quite some time. It had been the first revelation of any kind of wrongdoing in this town. Every once in a while somebody would have a few too many, stagger down Main Street and get arrested for public drunkenness, but other than that I'd perceived the town as spotless. That was, of course, up until my meeting with a certain councilor.
I'm just a normal man. I knew that refusing to go along with this little scheme would probably end me up at the back of the unemployment line. I'd worked too hard to give up my prestigious position as a billing clerk in a town of two thousand people. It doesn't sound very prestigious if you say it like that, but it was the life I wanted.
I liked my small town life, so I played their game. The members and friends of the city council got a whole bunch of free electricity that year. The year after, too. I made up for the missing voltage wherever I could. Hospitals, the Iowa County Safe Haven Center, even the concession stand at the Little League Park. A few bucks extra here and there on those bills and the people of Marengo never knew the difference. I'd by lying if I said if never weighed on my conscience, but I just shrugged it off.
Like I said, though, I'm just a normal man. Like any normal man, I have my limits. When the town council decided to close down the Little League because it was costing too much to run, I'd had enough. Now that might seem like an odd place to draw the line. They rob the hospital and I do nothing, but they try to close down the Little League and I draw a line? I know, it sounds silly. Of all the battles to pick, right?
If it hadn't been the Little League, it would have been something else. I figure the important thing isn't so much where I chose to blow the whistle, but that I chose to blow it at all. I filled an envelope with all the evidence I could collect and sent it to the State Senator. Then I cleaned out my office and put my house on the market and waited. I figured I'd probably go to jail or something for my part of it.
Well, the state came in and shut the whole thing down. They're launching an investigation into the city's dealings with the electric company. A few high-level people in the Marengo government ended up going to jail, and a whole new breed of "honest" politicians sprung up in their place. I pled out and got a big fine and a few hundred hours of community service. I lost my job, of course, and I haven't gotten a new one yet. Nobody really wants to hire a criminal, which I guess is what I am, despite having been forced into this from the beginning. I'm volunteering at the Little League under court supervision, and pretty soon my mandatory hours will be up.
I don't have the audacity to compare what I witnessed to what went on in the Ukraine or at Auschwitz. But in the end, maybe they're not so different. Evil, executed on any scale, is something that requires a lot of grunt work, and those who become the grunts have to make a choice. I had to make a choice to conceal all those records. Every uniformed KGB officer had to make a choice too. If enough of them had agreed to do the right thing, there never would have been a famine in Ukraine.
Sometimes choices come with personal sacrifice. For me, it would have meant being fired. For the average KGB guy, it probably would have meant being executed. Some might defend all those underlings, saying that they had no choice. I say that's inaccurate. They had a choice: follow unjust orders or die. I don't think that death is reason enough for good people to do nothing about the evil they see in the world. Thinking that it is is the sort of thing that causes genocides.
My name isn't Saint Dave. I don't know if I could have stood up to Hitler or Stalin. I'm just a good guy who saw some wrongdoing and decided to do something about it. I know it doesn't make me a hero, but I suppose that at the very least, I avoided my own personal genocide.
- VS -
Entry 2
Mission log, transmission now in progress. Twenty-one hundred hours, gee-em-tee. Live vocal feed down to Earth, but the ionosphere's playing up a bit on the night hemisphere. Nice fireworks for those in the northern hemisphere, but the data processing from the computers will have to wait for better bandwidth.
Another routine mission to the radio telescope monitoring substation. The sensors are all taking care of themselves, as are the primary systems, and repair robots take care of the maintenance work. Still, for some stupid reason, mission control still insists on sending people up here to send back the data. At least it's cheap enough, what with the skyhook swinging us up here at the price of gravity. It's a fun ride, and a good way to acclimatise to space travel, I suppose.
Above, in the forward viewing portal, the dawn reflects brightly off the clouds.
This is not quite true. For spacecraft, the only real reference to up or down is the viewing window itself. Sure, even in the twenty-first century there was rotation-based pseudo-gravity, and by the beginning of the twenty-third, industrial neutronium production meant that even a thin sheeting on the bottom of deep-space craft added rather a lot of weight to the matter - I'm sorry, you'll have to pardon the pun.
It's a bit odd, because it feels like you're hanging on the underside of the world, with an infinite drop below. On the other hand, there's nothing below to hit. Out in the greater universe, direction is based entirely on reference points, and for the most part those reference points are arbitrary. So of course, up isn't the same for everyone. The basic thing is that what you can see at the pre-defined top of the viewing portal is a planet, at sunrise, with a lot of light reflecting back up to me.
Another thing is, being as we're in orbit around Earth here, sunrise, or its equivalent, comes every ninety minutes or so. That means in an eight-hour shift, five or six dawns is ordinary. Not that day length doesn't vary massively depending on the particular planetary body and its spin. But in this case the day length is artificially shortened by the fact that we're spinning around faster than it, and it's blocking the light from the sun, rather than the planet's natural rotation carrying us into the shadow. I hope you didn't fall asleep during my speech there.
I suppose you're wondering what is about to happen. Natural enough, as, if you weren't interested, you wouldn't be listening. I'm about to check the radio log for recent messages and check for any anomalies that may correspond to an intelligent signal. We've had a few, over the years, but mostly from species either too far away to reply again yet, or last-ditch death speeches of aging races.
For some damned reason, a good half of all intelligent species in earshot have lived on planets in some way too unstable to support them for more than the few million years they needed to evolve, before the environment went ape-shit. The only messages those types sent were the galactic equivalent of wall-graffiti, basically saying 'we were here'. Same thing almost happened to Earth, though we had a fair hand in that one.
This looks rather promising, just now. It seems most of the work has been done for us; it's in twentieth century German. I'll set the translator on it, and look up the history file.
Here it is. In the twentieth century, it went damn-near unnoticed when the first radio signals were unwittingly cast out into the galaxy. First sound, then flat-screen pictures were broadcast with abandon. What with a planetary scale war about to be unleashed, nobody paid much attention to the fact that most of what was being broadcast was little more than propaganda.
Some old racist turds, by the name of Hitler and the Nazi party, sent out some of the first TV pictures. Some two hundred twenty five light-years closer to the core, a bunch of aliens have got his message. They didn't much like what Hitler had to say, and I've just received a letter of reply condemning his fascist ass and hoping we beat the shit out of him, which we did, in the truly gruesome fashion of projectile warfare.
And the translator is done. Ding! Wow, that's - well I don't know quite how to say it, but it looks like we've got some neighbours. It'll probably take a week or so to get it all organised, but it looks like that old genocidal maniac did us a favour. If the first signal they replied to had been the original SETI transmission, we'd have been waiting another thirty years for it. That was a pretty ambiguous message, too, so we'd have got nothing like that kind of understanding on the first round.
I'll make a surface upload to the main processing station just as soon as I get a clear transmission path, estimated time of arrival ten minutes. That's one hell of an aurora we got out there tonight folks, so get to a window if you can. The lights are on, and it looks like one hell of a party. We've got a whiles to get ready, so take your time because we haven't built the car yet.
Transmission out, twenty-one hundred and five, gee-em-tee. Have a nice day.
Entry 1:
Adamdidit2u
Ally788
apollo88
AsshOly
august_sobriquet
awesome_face
Axolotl
BLITZKREIG_BOB
Bob_Dole
Brdn_Nkd
Bubba2341
BubbaEarl
calbearspolo
CaptainObvious
CaptainThorns
charminglybeef
Chroniclysm
Circe
coley
Cracked_out_cali
cshape
DonovanMD
DrogoRoch
Ducky
DuiTicket
EatMeCompletely
EchoBoxing
firefly
FunnyAsCancer
gallowayveer
Genko
ghola
gravitas
Hirilnara
HotWillie
iddqd
intellismartness
Jack_McCallum
jgreening
JMG114
justagirl27
kaos-king
kimmy02721
kybernetikum
littledan
loki
LSD420
Magicaddict
Mahalagus
Maltese
MandaPanda
Merlina
Method
morontian
munkeypants
NerfHerder
nyxmar
ooQueso
Pentameter
polyamorousaj
professorfuckface
prozac
redskieslookfake
Remission
ripple
Sacrilicious
satchel
ScarfaceMN
scourge
Serious_Melvin
shandythedog
Shaun_Rocks
Shlongy
sicosemen
Soley_Trinity
SPECIALk
stevie_says
strwbryfanatic
thorpe
Uberjunkie
Wicked
Wiggles
William_Q_Percy
WingedFoote
76 eligible votes (84 total) *
Entry 2:
Allyson
Amontillado
BadAssJulie
badassmofo
Ballare
Bigmike
c1ndy
Confuzitron
corn_nugget
Coyote
Crystle
darko
Davros
Defect
DonkeyOnTheEdge
Durae
eppliks
FuckTheArmy
GetNakeddd
goferforhire
griffsrgr8
hot_pocket
ilikesteak
Impassive-Digressive
indoninja
joedaddy
JoeyG
JonnyX
lechuza
messmind
Orgasmatron
QueenAshlee
rad1101
Razor
Samo
simple_catalyst
Siren
Spam
sparkle_pink
Spooner
St_Jimmy
Stagger_Lee
supadupapupa
The_Yellow_Dart
viciousness63
43 eligible votes (45 total) *
* Eligible votes are those made by users who had either (A) posted 3+ messages OR (B) written 100+ [lowered from 750+] reviews as of the beginning of the UberMadness! competition.
User Reviews
Submitted by Genko (user info) at 2006-09-30 11:19:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
This was Genko vs. Fuckthearmy.
For what it's worth, I don't think you ripped off Contact. Good game, FTA.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2006-09-29 15:35:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Tough call on this one but my vote would have gone with #2.
I didn't see the connection that Author 1 was going for as clearly as I would have liked.
#2 was casually written, almost too casually, but still a more enjoyable read.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2006-09-29 11:52:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Spam... I guess you are right in a way... I think it was the Hitler thing that really caught me. I didn't see the connect in Jack34987493847893625783678256256's post then, but after reviewing I do now.
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2006-09-29 00:33:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
don't ask me why
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2006-09-28 18:54:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I hate it when I miss words out overly convoluted sentances.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2006-09-28 18:52:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2006-09-27 19:01:58 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:22:34 (#)
Ranking: 0
I see where the similarities with contact are here, but they are vague and broad at best.
Contact has actually come uyp before in Ubermadness - http://www.ubersite.com/m/70896 (entry 2) - where it was ripped of WHOLESALE. It's intresting to note that the people voting against entry 2 for this reason didn't seem to mind too much in that round.
--
Are you high?
SIMILARITIES?!?!?
One of the KEY plot devices in contact and THE ass-kicker as far as story goes is that aliens pluck the Hitler broadcast from Earth out of the ether. Jesus Christ, why didn't the author just write about Tokyo being terrorized by a gigantic mutant lizard named Godsilla?
I mean, if the author REALLY never read Sagan's book or saw the movie I'll take back my harsh words, but the odds of that are about a billion to one.
--
Actually yes, I am, but that doesn't invalidate my point.
It's long been a known fact that the first TV signal strong enough to broadcast to outer space and hence to alien civilisations is the Hitler broadcast. As far as I'm aware, Contact doesn't have a monopoly on that fact.
so yeah, there were similarities - SETI program, Hitler broadcast etc - but to compare this to Contact they way that YOU is - to steal your simile - like watching Platoon or Full Metal Jacket and scream "OMFG!! you like, TOTALLY ripped off Apocolypse Now!!".
None of this changes the fact that you still voted for Jack118512312103216's entry "Do Not Reply" in last years UM where the Aliens sent us diagrams on how to build a massive transmitter with which to reply to them. A transmitter which became the focus for various political and theological debates. Fair dues, I've not read the book, but that entry pretty much ripped off the movie wholesale.
All I'm saying is, if you're going to vote for that entry (despite it's abysmal opposition), then you forgoe the right to arbitrarily vote against #2 here for plagiarism.
(this is, of course, to intend no offense to Jack(numbers) who's subsequent entries (including the one to knowck me out) were fucking masterpieces.)
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2006-09-27 19:01:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:22:34 (#)
Ranking: 0
I see where the similarities with contact are here, but they are vague and broad at best.
Contact has actually come uyp before in Ubermadness - http://www.ubersite.com/m/70896 (entry 2) - where it was ripped of WHOLESALE. It's intresting to note that the people voting against entry 2 for this reason didn't seem to mind too much in that round.
--
Are you high?
SIMILARITIES?!?!?
One of the KEY plot devices in contact and THE ass-kicker as far as story goes is that aliens pluck the Hitler broadcast from Earth out of the ether. Jesus Christ, why didn't the author just write about Tokyo being terrorized by a gigantic mutant lizard named Godsilla?
I mean, if the author REALLY never read Sagan's book or saw the movie I'll take back my harsh words, but the odds of that are about a billion to one.
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2006-09-27 07:53:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by messmind (user info) at 2006-09-27 05:25:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2006-09-27 04:59:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by kimmy02721 (user info) at 2006-09-26 16:17:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-09-26 14:45:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I guess.
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2006-09-26 14:03:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by ScarfaceMN (user info) at 2006-09-26 11:14:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by DrogoRoch (user info) at 2006-09-26 06:25:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Good read.
Submitted by DuiTicket (user info) at 2006-09-26 01:47:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by lechuza (user info) at 2006-09-26 01:14:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2006-09-25 20:30:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-09-25 18:53:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
wow, if Author #1 could take his story and put it into pill form, he'd put Lunesta and all those other sleeping pill companies out of business...
again, #2 was stupid AND English (and still gets the vote)
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2006-09-25 17:28:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
Both put me to sleep, which shouldn't have happened given the title.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2006-09-25 16:21:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
It's probably going to lose but I'm going with #1.
that's all I have to share
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2006-09-25 15:56:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Entry 2... I suppose... blech
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2006-09-25 15:20:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I didn't like either of these much.
#1 seemed to write a story then match it to the title. Plus I got sick of hearing the word "Genocide" in the first 3 paragraphs.
#2 was reasonably creative, but wasn't particularly loyal to the title.
2 by a nose.
-Dave
Submitted by simple_catalyst (user info) at 2006-09-25 15:01:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
these were shit.
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-09-25 15:01:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2006-09-25 14:41:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
#1 sucked slightly less.
Submitted by Uberjunkie (user info) at 2006-09-25 14:19:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Tough call. Neither really "wowed" me.
Entry #1 was choppy but at least it made sense.
Entry #2 didn't click for me but maybe if I understood it, the whole space alien contact thing would have been cool.
Submitted by Pentameter (user info) at 2006-09-25 13:43:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Eh
Submitted by Durae (user info) at 2006-09-25 13:01:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Wicked (user info) at 2006-09-25 12:54:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
poor
Submitted by hot_pocket (user info) at 2006-09-25 12:48:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Son, this is the only time I'm ever gonna say this. It is not okay to
lose.
-- Homer Simpson
Dead Putting Society
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2006-09-25 12:46:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by EatMeCompletely (user info) at 2006-09-25 12:40:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2006-09-25 12:21:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Entry one was a turd, but entry two was an overflowing bowl full of turds.
I mean WTF, genocide is your title and the best you can come up with is little leauge and some half assed story about how hitler saved us 30 years on contacting some aliens.
Fuck both of you
Submitted by Siren (user info) at 2006-09-25 12:14:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by august_sobriquet (user info) at 2006-09-25 11:52:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-09-25 11:19:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Number one by a hair.
Submitted by morontian (user info) at 2006-09-25 11:13:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Magicaddict (user info) at 2006-09-25 10:17:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Entry 2 could have been a lot better. Entry 1 was feel-good.
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2006-09-25 08:46:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by intellismartness (user info) at 2006-09-25 06:48:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
These were pretty much the same style, but very different plots.
Neither really used the title.
Shrugs
Submitted by Soley_Trinity (user info) at 2006-09-25 06:47:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Merlina (user info) at 2006-09-25 04:58:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2006-09-25 02:45:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Boo
Submitted by FuckTheArmy (user info) at 2006-09-25 01:54:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Some time, I'll post what I actually should have written.
Submitted by supadupapupa (user info) at 2006-09-25 01:54:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
meh.
Entry 2 was a bit more interesting.
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2006-09-25 00:17:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Wiggles (user info) at 2006-09-24 23:54:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
No Comment
Submitted by Ducky (user info) at 2006-09-24 22:33:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-09-24 21:31:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by DonkeyOnTheEdge (user info) at 2006-09-24 21:22:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
For having the stones to do a sci-fi esqu thing.
Submitted by Impassive-Digressive (user info) at 2006-09-24 20:14:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by thorpe (user info) at 2006-09-24 20:06:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Another close one, easily the best so far. These were both interesting to read because they both thought outside the box and both had a bit of a point to them
Entry 1 I think put a better spin on the use of the title though.
Submitted by WingedFoote (user info) at 2006-09-24 20:06:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
entry two simply was too much build up for not enough payoff. the first one was a nice little piece, nothing special, but still very nice...
Submitted by shandythedog (user info) at 2006-09-24 20:02:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
"on purpose"
that was a good line
Submitted by BadAssJulie (user info) at 2006-09-24 19:58:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2006-09-24 19:17:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Tough call.
Submitted by charminglybeef (user info) at 2006-09-24 19:04:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Good matchup.
Both were well written and well-executed.
My vote goes to #1, for the surprisingly-honest and effective use of the title.
Submitted by viciousness63 (user info) at 2006-09-24 18:50:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I actually enjoyed number two. The writing of number one was subpar.
Submitted by cshape (user info) at 2006-09-24 18:40:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by ooQueso (user info) at 2006-09-24 18:40:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
nice
Submitted by professorfuckface (user info) at 2006-09-24 18:39:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
both pathetic stories
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-09-24 18:22:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I don't know, but the first one spoke to me a lot more.
Submitted by Ally788 (user info) at 2006-09-24 18:12:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by nyxmar (user info) at 2006-09-24 18:01:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
Neither of these are good, the topics are off base and the plots are so obscure they become irrelevant. In a world of two evils, coin toss, entry 1 wins.
Submitted by Serious_Melvin (user info) at 2006-09-24 17:51:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2006-09-24 17:45:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Purple headed yogurt slinger.
Submitted by Samo (user info) at 2006-09-24 17:44:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by EchoBoxing (user info) at 2006-09-24 17:41:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
1 sucked something awful so they get my vote
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2006-09-24 17:37:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
This couldn't be more boring. I don't have any idea what the fuck #2 was even talking about. Where's the cartoon penis/stick figure posts?
Submitted by gallowayveer (user info) at 2006-09-24 17:30:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by NerfHerder (user info) at 2006-09-24 17:27:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
#1 all the way.
Submitted by kybernetikum (user info) at 2006-09-24 17:16:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by calbearspolo (user info) at 2006-09-24 17:12:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked it.
Submitted by DonovanMD (user info) at 2006-09-24 17:04:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by Hirilnara (user info) at 2006-09-24 17:04:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:47:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
This was a tough choice for me. #2 was definitely a fine piece of writing, but #1 just appealed to me more, storywise.
Submitted by AsshOly (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:47:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hmm. Both of these were very well written. I think I enjoyed entry two more, though, just because it was more out there.
I dont know, it's tough to choose. One made better use of the title. And during entry two, there were a few points where I had to go back and reread paragraphs because I stopped paying attention.
I dont know. entry one I guess. Good job to both of you and good luck in future rounds.
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:41:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:22:34 (#)
Ranking: 0
I see where the similarities with contact are here, but they are vague and broad at best.
Contact has actually come uyp before in Ubermadness - http://www.ubersite.com/m/70896 (entry 2) - where it was ripped of WHOLESALE. It's intresting to note that the people voting against entry 2 for this reason didn't seem to mind too much in that round.
_____________________
I voted for #1 because I thought the writing was better. I may be the only
person here who hasn't read or seen "Contact."
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:39:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
#2 is Contact in Space.
Submitted by Shaun_Rocks (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:26:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I really enjoyed entry 1. 2 seemed to almost have something resembling what could be considered a good idea, and while it was ok, I thought the execution was fairly poor.
Submitted by Remission (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:23:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
*shrugs*
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:22:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I see where the similarities with contact are here, but they are vague and broad at best.
Contact has actually come uyp before in Ubermadness - http://www.ubersite.com/m/70896 (entry 2) - where it was ripped of WHOLESALE. It's intresting to note that the people voting against entry 2 for this reason didn't seem to mind too much in that round.
Submitted by awesome_face (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:17:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:14:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
these matches are all a lot closer than i expected.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:12:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
#1 was rubbish. Read like an essay, very dull, a pointless ending, and almost no relation to the title at all.
#2 showed promise and I quite liked the 'voice' of the writer, but it felt pretty muddled.
Submitted by Ballare (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:08:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by corn_nugget (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:06:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by FunnyAsCancer (user info) at 2006-09-24 16:02:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I didn't like where #1 was heading at first, because of the use of "genocide" five times in 3 sentences. But then they spun it around, wrote well, and got my vote.
#2 I just couldn't understand the point. It seemed like they had a decent grip on the language, but after a while, it just boiled down to a lack of clarity. If I had to read it again to comprehend what they were going for, it meant it wasn't as well-written as #1.
Submitted by ripple (user info) at 2006-09-24 15:38:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
better
Submitted by St_Jimmy (user info) at 2006-09-24 15:34:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by polyamorousaj (user info) at 2006-09-24 15:26:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Hm...
I think I know who #1 is just for the simple fact that they wrote about Marengo, IA.
Way to try and pull votes, AJ- you rat bastard!
HA HA RABBIT
Submitted by QueenAshlee (user info) at 2006-09-24 15:20:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
Jeepers...
Submitted by The_Yellow_Dart (user info) at 2006-09-24 15:20:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
The one that made me fall asleep less.
Submitted by gravitas (user info) at 2006-09-24 15:16:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by JoeyG (user info) at 2006-09-24 15:11:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
whats with the titles ffs?
Neither of these were good. But, give the authors something to work with at least.
Entry 2.
Just.
Submitted by littledan (user info) at 2006-09-24 15:09:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Number one, barely. I know I'm a terrible writer, and that's why I'd never be in UberMadness. But what's with all the mediocrity this time?
Submitted by SPECIALk (user info) at 2006-09-24 15:03:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
what a crap title
both of these sucked, but at least i could follow #1
Submitted by HotWillie (user info) at 2006-09-24 14:58:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by firefly (user info) at 2006-09-24 14:52:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by GetNakeddd (user info) at 2006-09-24 14:47:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
They were both horrible, the first more so than the second, but I liked the last few paragraphs with the aliens' commentary on Hitler. So my vote goes for that one.
I didn't even finish the first, it was so boring
Submitted by stevie_says (user info) at 2006-09-24 14:41:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I VOTE FOR NEITHER.
Submitted by goferforhire (user info) at 2006-09-24 14:33:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
have a nice day
Submitted by Coyote (user info) at 2006-09-24 14:22:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Came back to this because I was curious how the matchup would go down with the other überfolk.
I thought entry One would probably be running ahead, but I had no idea the break would be so large. To me, it came off as a moralistic lecture, verging on sanctimonious. Did we really need another heavy-handed reminder that expedience and morality are frequently at odds with each other? Author One, if you're going to write that you don't have the audacity to compare petty corruption to Stalinist genocide, then you should make sure your story isn't built around doing exactly that.
Entry Two strayed dangerously close to plagiarism territory, but what saved it for me and earned it my vote, was the pretty clear opinion of the narrator that getting the signal out on time was a positive benefit of genocide. A very strange argument to attempt, but it made me chuckle. The rest of the story was sufficiently different from Contact that it didn't push the ripoffometer into the red.
Submitted by sparkle_pink (user info) at 2006-09-24 14:17:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I not voting for entry 1 because I decided that I would rather go to class instead of reading the first part.
These were both incredibly boring.
Submitted by William_Q_Percy (user info) at 2006-09-24 14:11:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by BubbaEarl (user info) at 2006-09-24 14:09:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by ilikesteak (user info) at 2006-09-24 14:08:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
Number 2 sucked less. I AM NOT A ROBOT!
Submitted by ilikesteak (user info) at 2006-09-24 14:06:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
This one sucked less.
Submitted by MandaPanda (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:58:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:49:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Okay, call me an idiot. I guess people don't read books or watch movies these days.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_(movie)
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:45:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
This was a tough call.
Author 1 wrote a great piece, but I just don't think they capitalized enough on such a kick-ass title. Aside from that personal beef I see no flaws with the piece.
I can't see the reviews yet so I am assuming that Author 2 is getting crucified for what is perceived as a blatant rip-off of Contact, both the book by Carl Sagan and the movie released a few years ago. Author 2 wrote a nice piece, could have cleaned it up a hit, but who am I to complain, being king of the typos.
In the end I have to go with #1, because the KEY plot device in #2 is such an exact take on Contact that, rip-off or innocent mistake, I just can't let it go.
Sorry #2.
Submitted by redskieslookfake (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:43:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You both went all Godwins. Number 1 sneaks it for me however
Submitted by satchel (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:36:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by c1ndy (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:31:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by eppliks (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:21:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by jgreening (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:19:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Well, these were better than the pair in Sixtey-Nine, but not amazing.
#1 was written very well, though.
Submitted by Spooner (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:14:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Entry Twop was shorter, Entry Two gets my vote.
Submitted by badassmofo (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:12:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by LSD420 (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:06:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
even though submission 1 is a little too ETS-like, submission 2 just didn't make sense to me...
Submitted by Maltese (user info) at 2006-09-24 13:04:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
ANAL SODOMY WOOOOOOOOO
Submitted by Genko (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:57:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Pretty good, entry two. You'd have gotten my vote if you'd written more about the ship crew's embarrassment at having Hitler's propoganda be the first thing the aliens saw.
Submitted by griffsrgr8 (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:56:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
What the crap?
Submitted by Mahalagus (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:51:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Genko (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:49:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by justagirl27 (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:35:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by Allyson (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:31:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:30:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
contact
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:29:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by Amontillado (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:27:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
asdfjkl;
Submitted by Confuzitron (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:13:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:10:37 (#)
Ranking: 0
the first one was bad and the second one was boring.
hard to pick.
Submitted by Confuzitron (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:12:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:10:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
the first one was bad and the second one was boring.
hard to pick.
Submitted by Bob_Dole (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:05:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
The first one was a little long a read, but a good story; and a good analogy of the typical problems we see day to day. "Just following orders" has been used far too often as an excuse for one's own actions.
The second one, um, I honestly didnt really read. I kinda skimmed it. I'm sorry. It just didnt hold my attention. The writing was good, but the subject just wasn't down my alley.
Submitted by strwbryfanatic (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:02:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I was also scared that #1 was going to make a school report their entire story. So in other words, the introduction of the story was quite long. Maybe too long. But overall #1 was much better than #2.
However, neither of these were painful to read! I'm glad the writing's getting better. :)
Submitted by coley (user info) at 2006-09-24 12:01:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I think #1 had a fucked-up understanding of the word genocide. But, at least, I could read the story and not be bored.
#2 I had a hard time reading; it wasn't very interesting to me (personal taste, I know). And I didn't quite catch a good tie-in for the title.
Someone point it out to me, I'm sure it's there.
Submitted by coley (user info) at 2006-09-24 11:59:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
UGHHHHHHHHHHHH
Submitted by Coyote (user info) at 2006-09-24 11:59:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by strwbryfanatic (user info) at 2006-09-24 11:58:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by prozac (user info) at 2006-09-24 11:50:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by CaptainObvious (user info) at 2006-09-24 11:48:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Cracked_out_cali (user info) at 2006-09-24 11:46:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
#1 was well written, but the story was kinda bland, for a title like 'Genocide'
#2 was just hard to follow... and wasn't that Hitler thing already used in 'Contact' with Jodie Foster?
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2006-09-24 11:43:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Now THIS was difficult... both were excellent entries, and I actually had to step away from the computer and make some lunch while thinking about this vote.
#1 - I feel that the opening was a bit too long. At first I was worried that it was going to be a school report, but you came through. The tale was simple, almost boring, but in the end... that was exactly what you needed.
#2 - Another awesome story, but almost a little too tech heavy in the writing. Some of the dialogue wabbled back and forth from "official" to "informal" and that made you lose points to me. I REALLY hate going against this piece, but I think you'll do excellent overall in the competition.
Submitted by iddqd (user info) at 2006-09-24 11:37:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
i find that with the majority of um posts, you can read the first paragraph and know which is going to be better.
i think that many people who write for these things need to learn how to attract the readers attention a bit faster.
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2006-09-24 11:37:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Method (user info) at 2006-09-24 11:36:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Defect (user info) at 2006-09-24 11:35:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Eh, I'd say both of these were better than the last two.