Kincaid microfiction "Goodbye"

[Bad Alias]

I just think Jim didn't do a great job writing his second book. I think FM is the worst book in the series. The characters' motivations are confusing. Jim's characters are much fuller and more believable in basically every other book. The only other character problem I have is the role reversal of Murphy and Harry from GS to SG. I have a problems with a lot of stuff Harry does from a "stop being an idiot" perspective, but that fits the character Jim has written.

Kim could have been written in a way to where we understood why she did something so stupid, or, better yet, the scene could have been written where Harry gave her enough information to think she could do it, but withheld some critical piece of information that would have stopped any rational person from attempting it.

@g33k: MacFinn had industrial interests; I don't recall whether or not it was inherited wealth.

[Arjan]

Maybe the jihadist "dying in the right cause guarantees heaven" mindset will intentionally "die trying" (with no expectation of success).

Zealots do not die trying. They know they will win, they have god on their side after all. They die knowing they did the right thing, they know their side will ultimately win etc.

I don't think we have ANY evidence that Kim was in that sort of mindset.

Instead, I think she seriously hoped she COULD do it.  She knew the consequences of failure -- not just that she might die, personally; but that her beloved cause would be WORSE OFF.  Consequently, she would have been expecting to succeed... or at least, seeing this course as the best odds of success.

I think she just saw no alternative to trying. She probably considered telling Harry more but deemed it too dangerous.

[Mira]

Zealots do not die trying. They know they will win, they have god on their side after all. They die knowing they did the right thing, they know their side will ultimately win etc.I think she just saw no alternative to trying. She probably considered telling Harry more but deemed it too dangerous.

  Which was her fatal error, that, and being over confident in her own modest abilities.

[Arjan]

  Which was her fatal error, that, and being over confident in her own modest abilities.

We know Harry a lot better than she did.

[Mira]

We know Harry a lot better than she did.

That is also true, which is part of my argument that though he called her his sometime apprentice, that wasn't the kind of relationship they had because by Harry's own estimate, her talents were modest at best, ergo she wouldn't be White Council material, i.e. a future full wizard.   So if he told her anything about the White Council, it would be little because there is a lot he was not allowed to say.  And if she really had the kind of close relationship a master/apprentice is, she should have known she could have trusted Harry to help, especially in this case. 

[Arjan]

That is also true, which is part of my argument that though he called her his sometime apprentice, that wasn't the kind of relationship they had because by Harry's own estimate, her talents were modest at best, ergo she wouldn't be White Council material, i.e. a future full wizard.   So if he told her anything about the White Council, it would be little because there is a lot he was not allowed to say.  And if she really had the kind of close relationship a master/apprentice is, she should have known she could have trusted Harry to help, especially in this case.

She had enough power to break the laws of magic so not telling her about them and in extension about the white council that maintains them was a grave and dangerous neglect. "She should have known better" is not really an argument we can use here.

[g33k]

She had enough power to break the laws of magic ...

That doesn't necessarily need any magical mojo at all.  Consider the porno-sorceresses from Blood Rites.

OTOH, it doesn't look to me like she DID break any of the Laws... trying to restrain a dangerous magical creature isn't lawbreaking, and I think that's all we know of ... ?

... so not telling her about them and in extension about the white council that maintains them was a grave and dangerous neglect...

This is another element that I don't know that we know about.

Harry MAY have warned Kim about the WC and the Laws and the Wardens.  Since she wasn't contemplating anything against the Laws, I don't think the topic would have come up.

Did our interior-monologue POV of Harry's thoughts reveal that he hadn't told her about the WC/Laws/Wardens?  If so, I'm gonna have to call THAT an instance of EIW -- or even Jim's oversight -- rather than a sign of Harry's neglect.
 

[Bad Alias]

Did our interior-monologue POV of Harry's thoughts reveal that he hadn't told her about the WC/Laws/Wardens?  If so, I'm gonna have to call THAT an instance of EIW -- or even Jim's oversight -- rather than a sign of Harry's neglect.

It's strongly implied. Harry thinks about how the Wardens would kill her for messing around with the circle, I assume because it's related to summoning Outsiders. He doesn't mention this as a reason for not messing with it. In the early books, the WC's existence is very hush hush. This plot point is pretty much dropped later on. Additionally, Kim mentions Harry's the only wizard she's ever heard of.

I'm a strong advocate of the WC publicizing the existence of the Laws and the fact that consequences will be inbound in a credible manner. All they really need to do is get it on the internet next some basic principles of magic like circles.

[Mira]

It's strongly implied. Harry thinks about how the Wardens would kill her for messing around with the circle, I assume because it's related to summoning Outsiders. He doesn't mention this as a reason for not messing with it. In the early books, the WC's existence is very hush hush. This plot point is pretty much dropped later on. Additionally, Kim mentions Harry's the only wizard she's ever heard of.

Yeah, what he does say is that type of circle was used for summoning really bad assed demons.  Which given Kim's level of both knowledge and skill would be totally irresponsible, and cost her her head to boot even if she did pull it off.   

[g33k]

It's strongly implied.  Harry thinks about how the Wardens would kill her for messing around with the circle ...

Yeah, what he does say is that type of circle was used for summoning really bad assed demons ...

TYbothVM!

So, it didn't even cross his mind.
Gotta call that EIW.

[g33k]

... I'm a strong advocate of the WC publicizing the existence of the Laws and the fact that consequences will be inbound in a credible manner. All they really need to do is get it on the internet next some basic principles of magic like circles.

Not gonna happen 'til the Masquerade drops.

Of course, the Paranet is pretty darned open.  Not much privacy/security wonkery there, AFAIK.  Like the internet itself, the goal is connectivity and information-sharing, not privacy.  They've GOT to be reaching out & recruiting.

I think that -- below the level Harry or the White Council (or many other members of the supernatural community) can see it -- the Masquerade ***IS*** dropping.  It's happening "now" in the series, it's mid-drop.

[Avernite]

Not gonna happen 'til the Masquerade drops.

Of course, the Paranet is pretty darned open.  Not much privacy/security wonkery there, AFAIK.  Like the internet itself, the goal is connectivity and information-sharing, not privacy.  They've GOT to be reaching out & recruiting.

I think that -- below the level Harry or the White Council (or many other members of the supernatural community) can see it -- the Masquerade ***IS*** dropping.  It's happening "now" in the series, it's mid-drop.

To be fair, I get half a dozen witchy posts on my facebook feed per week. Doesn't make me think magic exists.

[g33k]

To be fair, I get half a dozen witchy posts on my facebook feed per week. Doesn't make me think magic exists.

Yeah, but this is something new.

Folks are discussing events.  They are sensibly confirming and denying events.   They are suppressing panic & baseless rumors, but passing warnings; sharing methods.

Last but not least... most of the Paranet'ers already KNOW magic is real; they are (or personally know) practitioners and Gifted's of various sorts.

Large organizations -- military/intelligence & other government agencies, NGO's reaching marginalized religions... hell, maybe even really-socially-engaged AD AGENCIES! ... will suddenly have "the Paranet" on their radar.  It will appear to either be The Real Deal, or a stunningly coordinated & dedicated multinational prank.

[morriswalters]

If it was something that would get her killed by the wardens why tell her anything at all?  And I mean anything. He clubs you over the head with it in the first two paragraphs.

I never used to keep close track of the phases of the moon. So I didn’t know that it was one night shy of being full when a young woman sat down across from me in McAnally’s pub and asked me to tell her all about something that could get her killed.
“No,” I said. “Absolutely not.” I folded the piece of paper, with its drawings of three concentric rings of spidery symbols, and slid it back over the polished oak-wood table.

To be fair, I get half a dozen witchy posts on my facebook feed per week. Doesn't make me think magic exists.

You are a minority depending on what you consider magic.

[Bad Alias]

TYbothVM!

So, it didn't even cross his mind.
Gotta call that EIW.

You're welcome. I kinda agree with EIW. It can also be explained, not just hand waived, with Harry having such a bad experience with the Council coloring his experience and then slowly change his mind as he has to interact with more of the Council than Morgan and more often as well. It you recall, the other warden in Summer Knight thought Morgan was being overzealous with Harry when Harry was trying to gain entry to the meeting dressed in a bathrobe. Harry never gives the guy or the wardens generally any credit for that, but we surely can.

Not gonna happen 'til the Masquerade drops.

Of course, the Paranet is pretty darned open.

Yeah. I think Harry has largely sidestepped the Council by founding the Paranet. Even if it wasn't his intention of it going as widespread as it did.

To be fair, I get half a dozen witchy posts on my facebook feed per week. Doesn't make me think magic exists.

Are you talking about the Masquerade falling or my idea of publishing the Laws of Magic?

If it was something that would get her killed by the wardens why tell her anything at all?  And I mean anything.

Because she was already asking questions about it meaning she was already messing with something that could get her killed. "Hey, stop messing with that! It's dangerous," is something.