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Thread: A short Wipeout HD inspired fanfic

  1. #1
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    Default A short Wipeout HD inspired fanfic

    I don't know what came over me, but after tiring of tiring of trying to get the elite gold medal for Chenghou Project on Phantom I decided to write a brief fanfiction. I don't claim to know much about the Wipeout universe, and it's not written very seriously, but I thought I'd post it here anyway.

    4/8

    They say the average lifespan of a Phantom Class pilot is thirty laps – I remind myself of this as I sit here on the grid, strapped inside the cockpit of this rocket powered coffin known as the Icaras. This is the fourth race of my first season; Chenghou Project, and since the finish line will be my twentieth lap, there’s supposedly more chance that I’ll survive the race than not.

    It’s the time spent waiting on the grid that I hate most, those endless minutes that they spend calibrating the systems. You can’t help but contemplate your own mortality. Still the corporations ensure that we are the highest paid sports stars that have ever lived, and if I can even survive the next five races, then I’ll never want for anything again.

    I’m last on the grid. I don’t know how they decide the running order, but this is the fourth time I’m starting from the back. It all seems most unfair, and is making me somewhat paranoid..

    Looking up through the canopy I can see that giant white anti-gravity yacht floating around above the circuit. They say that the fat cat supremo who organises this whole sick sport watches the race from onboard. Heaven knows what goes on in there, he keeps himself shrouded in mystery .Well today I’m going to give him a race to remember. I’m third in the championship, but there’s only two points in it. I want to be in the lead going into the next race at Metropia, and I’m going to pull out all the stops.

    Over to the left I can see thousands of spectators lined up against the main straight. Ghouls all of them! Well, my wife is in there somewhere, and she’s not a ghoul – but I can imagine the majority of the crowd are just yearning to see some sort of spectacular accident. They seem to forget that there are people inside these ships!

    Further down the straight and to the right, there’s the Terminus One building – that’s where I arrived at the Chenghou Project last night. I briefly bumped into the championship leader Max Van Uber on the stairs outside the building. He wished me good luck in the race. Seemed like a nice guy to be honest, but on the track there’s no room for kindness.


    “THREE” – I really wish they’d count down from ten or something.
    “TWO” – Must time this boost just right.
    “ONE” – Aim to be on the left of the straight for the first corner.
    “GO!”

    You’d think you’d get used to it, but my stomach feels like it’s been left behind on the grid. We are given months of simulation training, but it can’t prepare you for this sort of acceleration.

    But enough of that already. I’d been hoping to overtake at least one other ship on the straight, but they all started perfectly, and I’m still in last place at the first right hand corner.

    The first corner isn’t much of a challenge, but it’s important to position yourself properly for the dreaded Chenghou hairpin. After wrestling with the controls to ensure I hit the first two zip pads, the Icaras is totally out of shape, and I'm unable to prevent the base of the ship from slamming into the outer wall beneath the decorative monorail.

    My whole body feels ruptured by the impact, as if my skeleton was bursting out of my skin. The Icaras slows to a near standstill, and looking up I can see the most sinister looking track official watching me from a small tower on the inside of the hairpin. I only glimpse him for a second before slamming on the accelerator again – the ship catches another zip pad which propels it high into the air and over the jumps. I try frantically to execute a barrel roll, but nothing happens.

    Steering hard to the left I struggle to keep the nose down through the next endless shallow downwards curve. Up ahead there's an almighty explosion and the entire track is monetarily engulfed by an arc of purple light.

    “CONTENDER ELIMINATED”

    Again I only catch a brief glimpse of the blackened wreckage of Max Van Uber’s Goteki 45, scattered across the banking. There was no way on earth he could possibly have survived. Tragic for him, but a massive boost for my championship chances. This was the first time in years that a Goteki 45 had been ahead on the points table, so there would be much disappointment for the fans.

    Going under the bridge I manage to pick up a boost. It all happened so quickly that I was at the next corner before I thought to use it.

    The massive blue “ROBOTS BUILD ROBOTS” sign looms above me. So if Robots build Robots, who builds the Robots that build the Robots? It’s a bit of a chicken and egg scenario, but no time to ponder this because I’m already at the next corner and still in seventh place.

    I need to do something fast, there’s a short straight ahead followed by a plummeting drop before the final chicane. Robots build Robots – I hit the boost.

    "ENERGY CRITICAL" - Obviously my request to supply the Icaras with extra energy had fallen on deaf ears.

    The ship soars upwards and over a couple of the rival craft – the acceleration pushing my eyeballs into my brain. Now I just need to get the nose down to get into the tunnel chicane and I’ll cross the line in fifth.

    There’s a large neon yellow EG.X sign above the tunnel entrance and it’s filling my vision much too quickly. Must get the nose down. Robots build Robots - oh dear.

    “CONTENDER ELIMINATED”
    Last edited by jimsin; 14th July 2009 at 11:51 PM.

  2. #2
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    good job keep up the good work...dont let my beloved icaras be destroyed, oh pretty please

  3. #3
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    Very nice - keep going.

  4. #4
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    Nice work! Keep it up!

    During these races pilots have to receive great overloads about 8G! They are losing consciousness on every steep bend of MagStripe or a sudden turn... like pilots... It is a hard for their health

  5. #5
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    hehe - many thanks for the comments.

    Sadly that's the end of the story though - the point of the abrupt ending is that when something goes wrong then there's no time to think about it, because it's all over in a split second :S
    Last edited by jimsin; 14th July 2009 at 12:34 PM.

  6. #6
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    Well that was a sad Ending.

    R.I.P Anomyous Icarus Pilot. And Well done for AGS for winning yet again.

  7. #7
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    Amen...

  8. #8
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    Nicely done, jimsin. I liked it. Well told, the details of the fictional world blended into a believable narrative, and nice touches of humour that are integral to the character and story instead of just seeming stuck in there. Needs another little stage of proofreading to catch a couple of tiny errors, but very well done.

    Luckily it's a short story so it's easy for me to read and analyse quickly.
    Thanks for the story.

  9. #9
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    Creative Wipeout related writing class, graded and reviewed by our very own Lance.

    [I spotted the spelling mistrakres as well ]

    Well done,I've only seen one other better in the many years that I have been a member.

    10/10

    I should not say better,Equal would be a better and fairer description .
    The only other was written in a more masculine prose.
    But it all got a bit "Technical" .

    Where's your essay is far more heart felt and "In the Moment",you have to love that.
    Last edited by blackwiggle; 14th July 2009 at 02:42 PM.

  10. #10
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    I couldn't/didn'twantto stop myself from reviewing; I'm an amateur writer, primarily poetry, but more recently, short prose. jimsin done good.

    BTW, I'm a presumptuous bastard.

  11. #11
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    Thanks to you guys too for such nice comments - it was really just written out of Chenghou Project frustration at 3am when my eyes had gone too blurry from looking at the screen - didn't expect such kind feedback.

    I keep popping back and making corrections here and there, so hopefully will get rid of any errors soon. Think the biggest problem was that I kept switching tense - the narrator would never be in a position to tell this story, so it's really just a recording of his internal thought processes. It is very light hearted though, I don't think that anybody worthy of being a Wipeout pilot would be contemplating the 'Robots Build Robots' sign in reality

    Was very thrilled to hear it described as 2nd best story though (not worthy, not worthy)... but this makes me very eager to know which is the best? I want to read it!

  12. #12
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    Robert builds the robots that build the robots?

  13. #13
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    Wordsmiths both it would seem.

    Can't help myself if there is a unfilled crossword puzzle to do.

    It's mine.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by blackwiggle View Post
    The only other was written in a more masculine prose.
    More masculine? In what way?

  15. #15
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    In regards to being the 2nd best story,that's only a opinion, based on a opening introduction done by somebody [Lance might remember]about 6 months ago.

    Then you have the "Official back story" written for the game by forum members here.
    The people who have designed the various versions of Wipeout are forum members [Studio Liverpool]

    You would be able to read if you have the original booklets/game instructions that come with all the previous wipeout games

    Sorry.I can't be bothered editing this,but after reading it ,well it seems a bit adroit.

    No harm intended,ignore me as would be your want,your entitled to it.
    Last edited by blackwiggle; 14th July 2009 at 03:20 PM.

  16. #16
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    I always thought the ships had ejector seats!

  17. #17
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    It would be awesome if Studio Liverpool will release CG movie related to WipEout! ...or some studio will receive rights to make the full length REALLY NICE movie about these great competitions

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jambo View Post
    I always thought the ships had ejector seats!
    They do have ejector seats, but as far as I'm concerned, you're always hanging on til the last second trying to make it round a corner, and your chances of actually managing to eject within the microseconds available would be slim to zero

  19. #19
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    It have to be automatical to save pilot's life! It is the future but I think it is not brutal

  20. #20
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    I didn't consider an automated eject - but not sure how that would work within the split seconds available.

    In any case it's just a silly story based upon my own perceptions of playing Wipeout HD - with all those canons, plasma bolts, mines, missiles and rockets and missiles flying around, I can't help feeling that there would be a considerable loss of life - but that's just my own impression and I'm sure that's not the way that the makers of Wipeout would have us see it.

    It's lucky I forgot to include the paragraph about the thirty seven spectator fatalities in the previous year's race

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