Ah yes, to satisfy your curiosity .. I am not dead. :)

Instead, in between my thesis writing and Anarchy Online i've not had a minute's free time as any free time scrounged up would automatically be entered as "Sleep Time" which is more or less the only thing keeping me sane (not crazy would be more appropriate .. if there were borders indicating Sane and Not Quite Sane ... I've dodged the border patrol and am now hiding in the local suburb sewer eating dead rats or leets for a week ) Without further ado, here is the big post that i figure that i owe you people for keeping the blog alive for so long without me.

I can talk about my thesis writing and rant about it but there is only so much you can rant about how genes are organised in the cell :P so lets move on to the other world that I live on .. the world of Rubi-Ka. A highly technologically advanced Notum mining world which is torn apart by battles between the Omni-Tek company which legally owns the planet and the Joint Clans who believe the planet belongs to the people.

My journey to Rubi-Ka was done through the eyes of Serra Stormshade .. a young idealistic Opifex (think Sci-fi version of elf) who believes that one person can make the difference in the struggle for survival and freedom. Faced with misfortune the shuttle that she took down to the planet crashed but fortunately she survived ... wading to the shore with tired arms and a heavy heart she realised that she is lucky to be alive but her death would have had no meaning in the contant battle going on in Rubi-Ka. Deciding that she can make a difference , she joined the Joint Clan Alliance as a freedomfighter. This young Agent .. regarded as a terrorist by Omni-Tek, for that is what one man's freedom fighter is to another, made quick friends with the Martial Artist Itame, the Enforcer Janorath and the Adventurer February5. I would chronicle their tale here but I felt that, to do justice to their story they should have to do it themselves.

The first picture is of Storm looking at the sinking shuttle which very nearly became her cold impersonal tomb. As a new fledgling Agent she had to fight many scary and wonderous creatures ...

Fortunately she wasn't left to fend for herself in her struggle. In the city of West Athens where she arrived after joining the clans she met up with a kind soul called Good Boss .. concerned with the lack of balance between the people who are both new and those who are very experienced in the world of Rubi-Ka he decided to fund and start an organisation for clan newbies where they can help each other. This was Good Spirits. The motto of the org is "Froobs can win !" and it seeks to become one of the titanic power in Rubi-Ka but instead of using a harsh military discipline or soulless bureocracy , the org seeks to win by relying on the bonds of friendship. Will the org succeed ? We think so.

The first time Storm saw this she thought that the end of the world was coming .. it reminded her so much of an old old movie she saw on the shuttle trip to Rubi-Ka called Independence Day .. together with Itame they kicked up a big fuss and tried to warn the people in the city , only to be laughed at since giant battleships like this were very common .. especially with the alien threat to the planet.

Storm has met many interesting people during her adventures .. like this guy Crazypants , who walks around Old Athens in a manbra/bikini set. He has achieved something akin to notoriority in the city and most people know him by name or at least by description.

Well life in Rubi-Ka is quite fun and Storm does get to indulge in her favourite hobby of photography. Fortunately for me, there are some real life females who are daring enough to model for Storm. Well, always wanted to be a photographer .. maybe through Storm's eyes I get to live it up.

So what are you waiting for ? Come on in the notum is just fine.