I suppose it's a testament to the beat-downs being handed out to spammers hither and yon that I don't get a lot of pure, bulk spam any more. I do get the occasional very confused Korean spamming me about... well, I have no idea, seeing as I can't read Korean. And those where it's some schmo trying to foist stuff off on me, they actually seem... apologetic. Like, well, here's this ad, and we're really sorry for bothering you if you weren't interested, and, um, here, go ahead and flay the skin right off my back.
I find this to be an improvement.
In other advertising topics of annoyance, it seems these days most companies will, if given the opportunity, shamelessly advertise at you. I got a fresh credit card the other day (I'm still not entirely sure why they expire, besides the fact that they tend to wear out a bit in your wallet) and rediscovered the joy of not being allowed to activate it until I'd sat through several advertisements about this and that. Sheesh. Here I am, trying to make them a little money, and they go and make it as irritating as they possibly can. Another irritating thing I've noticed is they're still trying to foist off their "Credit Protection Plans". I'm not talking about the "if you lose your job, we won't make you pay your monthly fee until you get a new one" thing, but the bit where they say they'll insure your purchases and limit your liability against fraud, and... well, a lot of other things that they're already legally required to do. Yes, it's another instance of companies trying to sell you products you already get for free. Bastards. I could have sworn the government was making noises about stomping on this, but I guess with the election coming up they're not likely to mess with the companies contributing all that money...
I also got pestered when I fiddled with my phone service recently (Sprint and AT&T doing their normal, happy capitalist under-cutting of each other). At some point I'd managed to get signed up for AT&T, and was getting charged quite a bundle for long distance service, which was foolish as I only make maybe three or four long distance calls a year. So, Sprint it was, where the friendly customer service person tried to sell me other products, only to discover that I was pretty much already enslaved to Sprint for my cellular phone service and I had more than enough credit cards, already, thank you, and why was a phone company offering credit cards, anyway?
It was rather amusing to watch the train of thought barrelling onwards when she was trying to sell me cellular phone service. See, I already have a Sprint PCS phone, which I communicated clearly, but the schpiel had gotten underway, and there was no stopping it with little facts like me already having got one. Yes, yes. I know it's very clear. I own one. Very high quality, yes. I own one, thank you, I don't need to be told how cool it is. Oh, well. Maybe she was getting paid by the minute.
Down on Earth, the Foundation begins their plan to deploy mobile dolls to crush all opposition. Many soldiers of OZ, however, rebel upon hearing that their leader, Treys, has been put under house arrest. Calling themselves the 'Treys Faction' they stand against the Foundation's plan. This is a noble sentiment spoiled only by the fact that the mobile dolls are more than capable of laying some serious smack down on the Treys Faction's old Ares and Leo suits. Although, of course, OZ has been sustaining casualties like this since the start of the series so the Treys Faction should have plenty more where that came from.
Up in space, Heero and Quatre have been captured, although it's not entirely clear how. The Wing Zero, the Mercurius and the bits of the Veii are hauled in as well. This time, Duke Damaio orders Tubarov to execute the Gundam pilots and destroy the Gundam - no ifs, ands or buts. Quatre starts to lose it again when he sees the bits of Trowa's Veii, and a brief scuffle ensues between the two Gundam pilots and their guards. The guards, having a few brain cells to go around, decide to heck with it, let's kill the blighters now. But, Heero and Quatre are saved by the sudden intervention of the Treys Faction's members on the moon base.
Wing Zero, meanwhile, is fiddled with by one of the Moon Base goons. He discovers it has a rather powerful thought-control system, which allows the OZ test pilot they put in it to react as fast as the Mobile Dolls. Of course, about this point, Tubarov calls up. The minion explains his find, saying that they could use this system in OZ mecha... No, no, Tubarov explains. You don't understand. You must be using a strange, new definition of 'destroy' of which we were not previously aware. DESTROY the Gundam, don't test it. The minion surls a bit about this. Sure, I'll destroy it, he says. Right after I test one last thing...
Quatre and Heero are taken to the Treys Faction's secret section of the moon base, which is apparently far, far larger than it ought to be, given that there seem to be entire sections hidden away from anyone's access. The Five Doctors have hidden away here, too, and run a few tests on Quatre. It seems that the thought control system in Wing Zero is a bit too powerful, and tends to warp the thoughts of the pilot, which is why Quatre when entirely gonzo when he tried to pilot it. The Doctors remark that while the Gundam pilots are physically in top shape, mentally they're rather wacky, which means it's probably a bad idea for them to be using Wing Zero. They also remark that Lady Une is missing, presumed dead (Yeah, right) as is Trowa. Quatre insists that they look for Trowa, but it's impossible at this point.
The Doctors surl a bit that if Quatre hadn't lost it, the combined firepower of the Wing Zero, the Veii and the Mercurius could have laid waste to the moon base. But nooo. Quatre really wasn't thinking about the thought control system when he ran the blueprints, of course, just the big-ass gun. Which, Heero points out, got lost in the big battle. Oops. At least Duo and Wu Fei have gotten away, and can probably complete their Gundams on their own.
Soon enough, of course, the OZ loyalists show up, surrounding the area and forcing everyone to surrender. The minion who wants to test Wing Zero is in charge, however, so instead of executing the Doctors and pilots on the spot, he uses the Doctors as hostages, and puts Heero in the Wing Zero to run a test suite, thinking, he won't try anything with the Doctors as hostages. Even the Five Doctors, of course, are snickering about this. Heero won't be stopped by such a stupid thing.
Heero, in the Wing Zero, runs the test suite, reacting faster than even the Mobile Dolls thanks to the thought control system. Quatre, who tagged along, remarks that this is wrong, relying on a machine for your skills. About this time, naturally, Heero goes a bit nuts. The Wing Zero activates fully, and he starts rampaging a bit. He thinks he still has control, of course. He sees his enemies clearly. The ones shooting at him, trying to take his life... So he blows up some Mobile Dolls. Of course, the ones toying with his life are just as bad, so off her stomps to look for the Five Doctors. The Doctors, realizing what's no doubt happening, go wandering off to look for Heero to give him an opportunity to kill them.
Quatre gets away from the fleeing OZ minions, who're trying to figure out what's worse - calling for backup and having to explain this to Tubarov, or getting squished by Heero. Quatre nicks the damaged Mercurius, and goes after Heero. Although Heero now, much like Quatre did, sees anything in his way as an enemy, Quatre's pure-hearted do-gooderishness manages to at last shake Heero out of it. Seeing, suddenly, an image of Relena for no clear reason, he opens the cockpit of the Wing Zero and falls out, hitting his head and deciding to have a nice lie down. And glow a bit. Yes, glow. Quatre hops out and wanders over, touching Heero on the shoulder - the glow transfers to Quatre, and he muses, "It's someone on Earth, isn't it."
Quatre sets off the Mercurius' self-detonation device as cover for the pair's escape, as they steal a shuttle and head for Earth, leaving the audience baffled. The Doctors wander in a moment later, and Dr. J remarks with surprise, "Hey, we survived... again!" Of course, the Wing Zero got left behind, and is perfectly intact... waiting for the next sucker, er, I mean, pilot.
Rant 'o the day contains no additives, preservatives or alien spores of any kind. Use only as directed. Do not expose to direct sunlight. Do not fold, spindle, multilate or remove identifying tags. Handle with care. Contains less than 3% milk fat by weight, not by volume. Certified 'Syndicate Approved'. Squeeze the lemon. Remember, kids, only users lose drugs.
THIS SPACE FOR RENT