Awesome / Existence

• Gerald Livingstone bets his career on a *hunch*, which pays off spectacularly!
• Dr. Betsby's unusual blackmail - confessing to poisoning, threatening to release what the poison was!
  • This requires elaboration. The victim? A prominent senator. The symptoms? The senator descended into psychotic ranting during a live debate. The poison? A prescription anti-addiction medication. The good senator was literally getting high off the emotional release of spewing his own hateful rhetoric, and when he didn't get his rush this time, he upped his "dose" willingly. In the words of Dr. Betsby, "he ingested a medicine used only to deny addicts the feedback pleasure of their high. And so, when he did not get the accustomed jolt from sanctimonious rage, he upped the level of his rancor, in search of the buzz, the jizz, the zing."
    "You claim that the very name of the substance that you used might damage the senator even more than his upsetting words and actions. You threatened to reveal that information, if you are arrested, or if any other action is taken against you."
    "I never expressed it as a threat. That would be blackmail in the legal and felonious sense. I simply pointed out that, if I am charged with a crime, or harmed in any way, then naturally, more facts will emerge, than if I were simply left alone."
    "And now you claim that the stuff was legal, with legitimate therapeutic uses. Still, many substances have multiple effects, contingent upon—"
    "Let me save you the trouble of going down that path. This one has only therapeutic uses. Few known side effects and only mild counter-indicator warnings."
    Hamish nodded. He had been afraid of this. "So, legally, you may only have committed the crime of treating a patient without his consent? But your threats..."
    "As I said, I doubt you could make any blackmail charge stick. I've been careful with my wording. I have an excellent lawyer program."
    "Hm. Not as good as ours, I bet. Still, you imply that we... that Senator Strong might have reason to fear complete disclosure. Because the public might be less forgiving, upon finding out what concoction it was."
    "No Flies on you," Betsby commented.
    "What?"
    "Just something my gramps used to say. A compliment to an active mind. Go on Mr. Brookeman."
    Hamish frowned.
    "You imply that Strong's medical condition is one the public would despise even more than your act of slipping the senator a cryptic, behavior-altering substance."
    "Oh, I won't get off, scot-free, if you people choose to reveal everything... or force me to. Some will call me a hero, but I could lose my medical license. Maybe get some jail time. Strong could sue me."
    "But his political career would be kaput."
    Clearly, the fellow thought this a decent trade. And despite himself, Hamish felt drawn to Roger Betsby. If for nothing else, then the sheer gall and originality of his approach, and the way it had been formulated as a puzzle, as if for Hamish alone...
    He ventured. "It would have to be a medical condition that's both intrinsically repugnant and somehow voluntary. A lifestyle choice."
    Betsby nodded. "Go on."
    "And yet... something that's relatively unknown to the public. Or, at least, under the popular radar."
    "It's an addiction, isn't it? Senator Strong has a habit. A bad one. You... you slipped him an antidote! Oh Lord."
    The other man nodded, with a glint in his narrow eyes. "Bingo."
• Tor using her smartmob to avert a terrorist attack!
• Tor's recovery (of sorts) from her crippling injuries.
• Yi Ming, the autistic boy, helps Mei Ling escape some Men in Black, despite living in a world plastered with cameras and tracking devices.
• Tor's smartmob saving Bin, his artifact, and through them, the human race.
• Tor, her partner, her spacecraft, and a dozen drones escape and defeat a millions-year-old warship.
• Humanity, for continuing to survive memetic warfare against the Crystal Plague.