🚀 go-pugleaf

     Hail and well met, Round Robin fans!  It's been a long, long time
since the first cycle of Round Robin was concluded.  Round Robin II started
up shortly thereafter, but only one episode was put out before a series of
events put the whole enchilada on hold.  But now, bizarrely enough, it's
starting again, with three of the original five Lords of the Outer Darkness
(Electrifyin' Eric Alfred "Rev. Sabre" Burns, Jammin' John "CHAOS Engineer"
Bankert, and Gallopin' Gary W. "the Swede" Olson) joined by three brand-
spankin' bare-ass new Lords (Cryptic Chris "Frobozz" Angelini, Jaunty Jesse
"Shadowywriter" Taylor, and Macabre Mason "No Nickname" Kramer).
     This Round Robin primer, an updated version of the one posted a couple
or so years ago, prior to the conclusion of the first Round Robin cycle, has
been put together to reintroduce you, the reader (what, you didn't know you
were a reader already?), to the characters, concepts, and events that
defined the Round Robin milieu.  Shortly, Sabre will be posting a revised
version of Round Robin II #1, and the cosmic wheel (flat repaired) will
start rolling again.
     What follows is a listing of characters, based on their rank in the
various organizations in the story.  After that, a detailed character
summary will introduce each character and fill in some details, and the
various organizations (MegaCorp, the Fringe Corps, Earthguard, and so on)
will be discussed.  Finally, a synopsis of the seventeen episodes written
for the first Round Robin cycle will let you know everything that has
happened to date.  If by some quirk of fate you wish to read the actual
episodes in question, which we highly encourage, check out the ftp site at
fenris.hiof.no, in the /pub/Comics/Fanfiction/Superguy directory.  You'll
need to go through the index files to find which files contain the episodes
in question, but we think you'll find it well worth the effort.
     And now, without further ado...

                         THE ROUND ROBIN PRIMER

       PARANORMAL STAFF OF BASE STATION ROUND ROBIN (12 total):

            (All ranks are in the Fringe Corps of the
                United Compact of Planets, Inc.)

     1). Sheen, Captain (in charge)
     2). Digulio, Commander (second-in-command)
     3). Granite, Lieutenant
     4). Shockwave, Sublieutenant
     5). Random, Sublieutenant
     6). Corpse, Ensign
     7). Morph, Ensign
     8). Ice, Ensign
     9). Gypsy, Ensign-in-Training (Midshipman)
     10). Combustion (Doctor, Rank Unknown)
     11). Thresher, Ensign
     12). Spammeister, Lieutenant Commander (deceased)
     12). Singularity, Commander (replacing Spammeister)

       OTHER STAFF/PERSONNEL OF BASE STATION ROUND ROBIN:

     Ambassador Monique Dumont, Megacorp Council
     ALEXIS, Round Robin's Artificial Intelligence
     Ernie, Bartender of Topside

       EARTHGUARD MEMBERS, PAST AND PRESENT (at least 30 total):

       (All ranks are in the Earthguard itself)

     1). Wavelength, Commodore (Leader)
     2). Delphi, Captain (Senior XO)
     3). Impulse, Captain (Junior XO)
     4). Excalibur, Commander
     5). Robin of Biggibastion IV, Commander (deceased)
     6). Kid Nuclear, Lieutenant Commander
     7). Dynamo, Lieutenant (Sgt. Mjr. in Scout Corps)
     8). Grey, Lieutenant (deceased)
     9). Vortex, Lieutenant
     10). Monopulse, Sublieutenant
     11). Fascination, <rank unknown>
     12-30+). <Unknown>

       NIN CONGLOMERATE AGENTS:

     Nichet, Bryce, Qukuk (part of a team that was working with Robin of
          Biggibastion IV to take over the Round Robin station - being
          taken to Earth to stand trial)
     Nixaen (tech officer for the team, also the Black Serf of the Inner
          Light - escaped and heading to Iskandar)
     Edward Stuart, Vice President (assigned to Iskandar negotiations)


                    A LIST OF ALL CHARACTERS
                    (plus some common terms)

ALEXIS:  Round Robin's Artificial Intelligence.  She was tampered with
     extensively, by Ninite agents and the Blue Lord, and the final battle
     against the Blue Lord revealed the existence of not one but two
     command shells that had been in existence since Round Robin's
     construction.  The shells deactivated, ALEXIS's functions have
     apparently returned to normal.

ARISTITE: a crystal capable of facilitating the creation of a gestalt mind,
     believed to only exist on Iskandar.

ARGONAUT: the Fringe Corps Cruiser taken to Iskandar by Digulio's team.

BEKERE SIGMA: Solar system where Gypsy, while on a Lone Brigade mission,
     encountered and was given enhanced powers by the Red Lord.

BILLIAMS: Petty Officer on board the Argonaut.

BLACK LORD:  (see Orthano)

BLACK MIDDLE MANAGER:  (see Orthano)

BLACK SERF:  (see Nixaen)

BLUE LORD:  The Fifth Lord of the Outer Darkness, who rebelled against the
     other Lords and the Middle Managers, seeking to destroy their quest
     for re-unification and to annihilate all of creation, to create a
     universe of perfect balance and nothingness.  His plan failed when
     the Lords, Serfs, and Middle Managers, along with the mortals on
     Round Robin station, refused to consent with the reality he
     constructed.  In the end, the Blue Lord was consumed by his own
     reality, giving him what he had sought after even as his consciousness
     dissolved and his power was reabsorbed into Graisoul, the Blue Middle
     Manager.

BLUE MIDDLE MANAGER:  (see Graisoul).

BLUE SERF:  (see Ernie).

BRYCE:  one of the Nin Conglomerate agents taken aboard Round Robin.  Now
     heading to Earth to stand trial.

CHEDHA: Robin of Biggibastion IV's personal secretary, now looking for new
     work.

COMBUSTION: (race uses no personal names).  Chief Medical Officer of Round
     Robin, though his rank is unknown.  Doctor Combustion is a member of a
     humanoid race on the verge of an evolutionary step.  The manifestation
     of evolutionary cusp seems to be psychokinesis.  Doctor Combustion
     possesses pyrokinesis, which he has terrifically fine control over
     (being able to use it in surgery).  However, his Gross (or large-
     scale) control lacks, and he has a tendency to blow things up.

CORPSE:  (Real name unknown).  Ensign in the Fringe Corps.  Corpse is an
     undead Zombie, and is therefore immune to the effects of most damage.
     After being ripped apart, blown up, or whatever, he just pulls himself
     together.  He seems to be immune to most pain, as even being liquified
     by Shockwave or having Granite accidentally pull off his arm doesn't
     seem to bother him.  However, the bioelectric burst generated by
     Monopulse seemed to bother him, and regenerating too quickly causes
     him pain.  His overwhelming combat style bought a few essential
     minutes for his strike team to escape the Blue Lord, just before the
     final battle.  Corpse is a regular at the Saturday Night Poker Games
     in Topside.

CROATAN: one of the five major "seedworlds," a seedworld being a world
     that has, seemingly independently, developed human life forms.  The
     other four are Earth, Gyrass, Ninath and Pendar.  (see Gyrass,
     Ninath, Pendar).

DARK, THE (deceased):  (see Graisoul).

DELPHI:  (Derek Dumont).  Captain and Senior Executive Officer of the
     Earthguard.  Delphi possesses strong telepathic powers (apparently
     stronger than Ambassador Dumont's).  Delphi, along with Impulse and
     Wavelength, co-founded the Earthguard.  He is married to Impulse and
     is Wavelength's lover.  He seems to have strong concern for the well-
     being of the Earthguard members, past and present, and accompanied
     Wavelength on her trip to Round Robin station.  In the battle against
     the Blue Lord, his mind was heavily damaged, and he is returning to
     Earth to undergo therapy.

DIGULIO:  (Vik).  Commander in the Fringe Corps, Executive Officer of Round
     Robin.  Digulio is a bioengineering product of generations of
     interbreeding between Paranorm humans and a reptilian race also in the
     United Compact of Planets, Inc.  He looks quite human, except for his
     reptilian slit eyes. Furthermore, Digulio possesses the proportional
     strength, speed, durability, and reflexes of a Digulio.  Whether or
     not digulios are the race he come from or something else is unknown.
     Digulio is a military stick-in-the-mud.  He does attend the Saturday
     Night Poker Games in Topside, though.  Has been sent by Sheen on the
     diplomatic mission to Iskandar.

DODSON: C.P.O aboard the Argonaut.

DUMONT, MONIQUE:  Ambassador from the Megacorp Council (the ruling body of
     the United Compact of Planets, Inc.).  Dumont is a psionic, possessing
     some telepathic and empathic powers, and is a very classy and graceful
     lady, especially given her size.  She is the sister of Derek Dumont
     (Delphi), who is a stronger telepath.  However, Ambassador Dumont
     claims her fine control is superior.  Whether this is true or not is
     not known.  She has shown great concern for Sheen's welfare.  She is
     also attracted to Shockwave.  She has some sort of antagonistic
     relationship with Edward Stuart, who feels she is not as nice as she
     seems.  Her probing of The Dark confirmed his benign intentions, and
     gave her a momentary glimpse of the Black Lord.  She is on the mission
     to Iskandar.

DYNAMO:  (Andrew Stuart, formerly Kid Electron).  Lieutenant in the
     Earthguard, Sergeant Major in the Scout Corps (where he is on detached
     duty).  Dynamo possesses terrific electrical powers, capable of
     overloading electrical devices and saturating an area with
     electromagnetic radiation.  He wears a shoulder mount NeuroCannon,
     which he recharges with his own powers.  Dynamo is the brother of
     Excalibur (who is far more powerful), Impulse, and Edward Stuart.  He
     is intimate with Sheen (though he doesn't possess the power to exceed
     her mirror force's threshold, allowing them to touch meaningfully).
     Dynamo seems to be a pleasant person.  After serving Yin and Yang
     during the struggle against the Blue Lord, he left Round Robin station
     with Wavelength, Excalibur, and Impulse.

ERNIE:  (Last name unknown).  Bartender at Topside, Fringe Corps Rank (if
     any) unknown.  Ernie was the Blue Serf of Inner Light, and the only
     Serf of the Inner Light who knew of the existence of the Middle-
     Managers and the Lords, prior to the events leading to the final
     battle against the Blue Lord.  Now, no longer a Serf, Ernie carries
     the Blue Seed of Balance (not to be confused with the Bluebird of
     Happiness) within him.

EXCALIBUR:  (Charles Stuart, formerly Sir Ion).  Commander in the
     Earthguard.  Excalibur is apparently one of the most powerful
     Earthguard members, possessing some form of ionic powers and wearing
     armor.  Excalibur is the brother of Dynamo, Impulse and Edward Stuart.
     He was been sent to Round Robin to report on an unprecedented Economic
     Opportunity (centering around the planet Iskandar), and to test
     Sheen's ability to command.  Unknown to him, he was also being tested
     by Wavelength, as to his diplomatic ability, a test he failed, by not
     overcoming his attitudes against Kid Nuclear.  The Black Lord claimed
     him for a Pawn in the events leading to the battle against the Blue
     Lord, and the Blue Lord wounded him severely during the battle.  No
     longer possessed, Excalibur is on his way to Earth to heal.

FASCINATION:  (Real name unknown).  Member of Earthguard, rank unknown.
     Powers and Personality unknown.  Fascination is apparently a friend of
     both Impulse and Sheen, but nothing more is known about this entity.

GENEVIEVE TOMBOLO:  Tombolo, the Gold Middle-Manager of the In-Between
     Greyness, forced Wavelength to give birth to Genevieve, whom he then
     caused to accelerate into adulthood.  Genevieve was initially the Gold
     Pawn, only later becoming the Gold Serf upon Robin of Biggibastion
     IV's death.  She now carries the Gold Seed, and is accompanying Kid
     Nuclear to planet Orzechowicz, to learn more about herself.

GOLD LORD:  (see Tombolo).

GOLD MIDDDLE MANAGER:  (see Tombolo)

GOLD SERF:  (See Robin).

GRAISOUL:  Graisoul is one of the Five Friends who created the universe as
     a projection of their thoughts, following their creation of the Lords
     of the Outer Darkness (reflections of the Friends' Pride) and the
     Serfs of the Inner Light (reflections of the Friends' Shame).  As the
     Blue Middle Manager, the embodiment of Balance, Graisoul existed in a
     number of bodies, his true identity hidden even from himself, and one
     of these bodies was that of Lt. Grey, a lieutenant in the Earthguard
     who had the ability to accelerate to the speed of grey light and turn
     intangible.  Grey was killed by a MARIO robot deployed by Nichet's
     team, but was resurrected by the Black Lord as The Dark.  The Dark,
     who had become a provisional member of the Fringe Corps, eventually
     learned the truth concerning his existence, and was reclaimed by
     Graisoul, causing The Dark's body to die.  Graisoul eventually
     reabsorbed the Blue Lord, as well as the energy of the Blue Serf and
     the Blue Pawn, and became complete again.  He left with the other
     Friends, continuing their ever-ascending journey.

GRANITE:  (Mark _________).  A lieutenant in the Fringe Corps.  Granite
     possesses a Stoneform which gives him great physical strength and
     durability, though he is slow.  Granite is a good friend of
     Shockwave's, and seems to be concerned about others.  With Digulio on
     a mission to Iskandar, Granite is Sheen's second-in-command on Round
     Robin station.  Granite is a regular at the Saturday Night Poker Games
     in Topside.

GREEN LORD:  (see Sutai).

GREEN MIDDLE MANAGER:  (see Sutai).

GREEN SERF:  (see Wavelength).

GREY (deceased):  (see Graisoul).

GYPSY:  (Sarah Isabel Chamorra).  A former pawn of the Red Lord,  Gypsy
     possessed near invulnerability, in addition to will-warping and
     stealth, the latter two being her natural paranormal powers, the
     former granted by the Red Lord.  She was recruited by MegaCorp at age
     twelve, and trained to become a Lone Brigade operative, the only
     success that experimental project produced.  Later she was assigned to
     Round Robin station, and worked to help Kid Nuclear make the
     transition to becoming the new Red Serf.  When the Red Lord was
     reabsorbed by Mayat, she lost her invulnerability.

GYRASS: one of the five "seedworlds" that independently produced human
     life.  It was destroyed by the Middle Managers of the In-Between Grey
     to initiate the endgame that cumulated in their becoming the Five
     Friends again.

ICE:  (Lusaki).  Ensign of the Fringe Corps.  Ice's paranormal abilities,
     while assumed to be Cryokinetic, are not known.  Ice is a native of
     Rialto Colony.  He is Ko'velt, a Submissive.  Separated from his
     culture, serving the Fringe Corps at the instruction of his Rialton
     chi'velt (dominative), he apparently feels lost and is in considerable
     distress.  He respected Kid Nuclear as a Chi'velt, and appreciated the
     chance to be Dominated by him, until Kid Nuclear's divorce from Sheen
     became final, at which time Ice's attitude abruptly changed.  In the
     final confrontation with the Blue Lord, it was revealed that the Green
     Lord had made Lusaki his Pawn, dominating him as a Chi'velt.

IMPULSE:  (Anne Stuart, formerly Lady Thunder).  Captain and Junior
     Executive Officer of the Earthguard.  Her powers are electromagnetic
     in nature, and her `bioelectricity' seems to allow her to function
     efficiently with little sleep.  Impulse co-founded the Earthguard with
     Wavelength and Delphi.  She is married to Delphi, and is Wavelength's
     lover.  She is the sister of Excalibur, Dynamo and Edward Stuart.
     Recently, she accompanied Wavelength, Delphi, and Robin to Round Robin
     station.

KID NUCLEAR:  (Benjadi).  Lieutenant Commander in the Earthguard.  Kid
     Nuclear has nuclear powers of some kind, that are quite powerful,
     along with super strength and durability.  He came from Rialto Colony,
     where the culture has organized itself around patterns of dominance
     and submission.  In the course of the events leading to the battle
     against the Blue Lord, Kid Nuclear took over the role of Red Serf, and
     now carries the Red Seed.  The battle gave him the final realization
     he needed to become ohm'velt, completely balanced between Dominative
     and Submissive, the ultimate goal of all followers of the Leiphalian
     movement on Rialto, which none since Leiphali himself were able to
     attain.  After the battle, Sutai, who had once been Rialto Sun-Tei,
     founder of the Rialto colony, suggested that he should complete
     Leiphali's work on Rialto.  He was Sheen's estranged husband, and he
     divorced her while on Round Robin station at Gypsy's orders.  He
     resigned his commission and departed the station with Genevieve
     Tombolo for planet Orzechowicz, to meditate and determine what to do
     next.

LEIPHALI:  A philosopher and teacher on Rialto, who formulated the
     principles of Khai'khkaa Meditation and the personal quest for inner
     balance.  According to the Leiphalians, it is better to achieve an
     inner balance of the Chi'velt and Ko'velt (Dominative and Submissive)
     aspects of one's personality into the Ohm'velt, or inner harmony and
     balance.  The Ruling Chi'velts of Rialto Colony have banned the
     teachings as inimical to the established order (which apparently
     believes that balance must be found in the group, not the individual,
     and that a person must either develop into a Chi'velt or a Ko'velt).
     The Leiphalian cult feels the quest for Ohm'velt is a logical
     extension *of* the society, and practice in secret.  They have a
     yearly Convocation of Leiphali.  (The story of how Leiphali became
     such an important figure in Rialton history is being recounted in the
     'Rialto' series, which made a return earlier this year.)

LOCHAIR, ADM. KYSON (deceased):  (see Mayat).

LONE BRIGADE: A concept pursued, and eventually abandoned, by Megacorp, in
     which a single paranormal operative went on secret missions in Nin-
     controlled space, on missions with a high deniability quotient.  Gypsy
     is the only paranormal known to have successfully completed a Lone
     Brigade mission.

(continued in part two...)
--
Gary W. Olson    swede@shell.sojourn.com    swede@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu
                      http://www.sojourn.com/~swede