Days 3&4 of my NaNoWriMo novel. Again I'm disabling comments on these entries. Don't get me
wrong, I love feedback and comments, in this case though they would
only serve to distract me and cause me to second guess myself. Finally,
this novel is of course Copyright © 2012 Steven Lake & Engen Books. Word Count today: 1264
I've been writing at work and really it depends on how busy we are as to when I can sit and write new things. The past couple of nights have been busy, I'm still happy with my progress. 4 Days into November and I have 4446 words total written. That's still almost 1200 words a day. I might have to alter the original plan and knuckle own at some point over the weekend and write, even a little bit.
But as the old saying goes; The best laid plans of mice and men, gang aft agley. This happens when we get too ambitious with some plans before we’re in a position to pull them off. You’ve got to build the molehill first before it can become a mountain. How many villains have tried to take over the world first thing, only to be stopped short? That’s the inherent problem most of us have, trying to go too big, too quickly. If this book serves no other purpose, let it serve as a warning to you, the reader, not to reach for too much too fast. Little schemes build over time into bigger things. None of us started as big fish in a small pond, but we all think we are. Problem is, there’s always a bigger fish, usually someone who wants to stop all our plans. Speaking of plans, now that the warnings are out there, let’s look at a few.
I already mentioned the weather control machine, I still can’t believe how well it works, or how much those poor souls believe in it, and me. It was a stunt, a gamble, but they bought it hook, line and sinker. I’d be hard pressed to think up something better, but I know I will. It’s just a matter of time before the next big idea hits.
Secret Base: Location, Location, Location
So you’ve got your plans, you’ve got your money, some henchmen and science types working for you. Now the question is, where are they working from? You’re not working out of your basement or garage I hope. You are? No. No, no, no, no no. No! That won’t do. You cannot have your base of operations where you live, or any place that the authorities can just beat down your door any time they want. First of all, it’s too easy a place to get caught, second you don’t want to bring work home with you. Also it ruins the lawn with people tramping all over it and it bugs the neighbours when you get raided. If there’s one thing you do not want to do, it’s piss off the neighbours. They’ll try and get you thrown out of the neighbourhood, plus you won’t have any more unsuspecting test subjects. So we’ve got to get you out of your house and into a location where you won’t bother anyone.
Personally, I’m in favour of an underground bunker setup, out away from populated areas, just in case of an explosive mishap. It also makes it harder for spies to find you and damn near impossible for test subjects to escape. Now it doesn’t have to start out underground, inside a cave is fine for when you begin. As your operation expands, you can excavate further into the cave and deeper underground. Soon you’ll go from having a cave to having an entire complex, then from a complex to a bunker and once you reach that stage, there’ll be no stopping you. Caves are great, I think anyway. They’re so versatile and you can tunnel back to your home so you have easy access (mind your city’s infrastructure though, boy do they get mad when you destroy a sewage pipe or flood a subway line) If you need more rooms, just dig down another level. Hell you can even dig a bottomless (as far as you know) pit for unwanted guests, but more on that when we talk traps.
Now let’s say you don’t want to be that far from an urban centre, well underground can still work for you. You’ve got the money, buy an old building and convert it for your needs. You can explore digging in the basement and then put a compound under your new complex. What you use the building for is up to you. Office space, apartments, minion barracks, anything is possible, you just have to dream it. Or keep taking tips from me. Remember, potential tenants are potential test subjects for airborne as well as waterborne experiments. You want to make sure that any building you do use is not located near schools or hospitals, we’re trying to rule the world, but we’re not heartless. Today’s students could be tomorrow’s Super Villains. Also, you have no idea what kind of germs are in a hospital, so many sick people in there, you don’t know what you’ll catch. My last point about an underground location, hey if it’s good enough for our governments and military then it’s good enough for our uses.
Maybe you just want to use that office tower you bought and not put anything under it. Waste of space in my opinion, but to each their own. Many corporations do this to try to look legitimate. Some of the best Evil companies hide in plain sight like that, but you have to be aware of the security risks involved. You’ll need a larger security force to guard every entrance, including sewer access, two guards at every position. Keeps the good guys, the tourists and the media out. Lousy press always snooping around. Gutter reporting that’s all it is! Digging for dirt that isn’t there, always with a camera in your face, never getting minute’s peace! Umm… but I digress… security, that’s important. Also, you want to put in both a secure, private elevator from your penthouse office to the basement and a ladder down the side of the shaft. Also a private staircase, in case of fire, earthquake or hostile takeover. I’ll cover more when we talk about escape plans. Take the time to have tinted, bulletproof glass installed in all the windows, in case of snipers and peeping toms. Cameras, security cameras everywhere, every room, hallway, staircase. Make Vegas casino security look like mall cops! Leave nothing out, except the bathrooms, cameras there are just creepy, and illegal. Lastly, put a helipad on the roof and barbed wire around the edge of the roof, keep those nasty grapnel gun using people away.
Ideally, if possible, most of us want an island somewhere in the Caribbean or the South Pacific to build our bases in peace. This can take years to accomplish, or just the right extortion scheme to get the money to buy one. We’ve all seen the movies where our hero operates from a hidden base on an abandoned or isolated island. Preferably one with an active or dormant volcano. Active can be fun, but dormant you get to reactivate, with science! An island can let you be so creative, private lagoons for swimming, private harbours for building ships. Jungle foliage to be filled with traps. All kinds of wildlife to act as natural barriers and if you’re lucky, that volcano running through your base area. The volcano serves a few purposes, if you can divert a stream or river into the flow then the stream can be used to provide all the power you need. The lava flow can be used to heat your compound and you get to use it to dispose of unwanted or uninvited visitors. No fuss, no muss, no clean up. We’ll cover that more again when we talk about traps.
Some people out there, don’t ask me why, put buildings on the top of mountains, why not build IN the mountain. It’s more useful and roomy that way. Also you’re not susceptible to weather changes, landslides and avalanches on the inside. But some people are foolish. Others have tried submarines. Those are great for using as escape or transport vehicles, but not as your primary base.
