History Literature / TheMunicipalists

** Sarah Laury's student play, "The Man in the Tower," is a plot point. [[spoiler: The play was Sarah's love letter to Kirklin, with the characters of the beautiful runaway and the solitary wizard representing the two of them. Unfortunately, it was also filled with sophomoric metaphors for their real relationship -- so Henry and [=OWEN=] are able to figure out that Kirklin has been hiding Sarah in an unlisted train line after reading how the wizard and the beautiful runaway placed themselves in the stars as a figure-8 constellation.]]

* RailEnthusiast: Henry doesn't have many interests outside of work, but he does like trains. Before his parents were killed in a train accident, his father gifted him a model "Steam Beetle" train, which was Henry's prized possession until a bully threw it out the window of his school bus. As an adult, Henry keeps a model train on his desk, and is excited to see another rare model Steam Beetle on display in Metropolis.
--> Next to my nameplate, I had placed a 1:64 scale model of an eight-axle C8 Manley & Wrexler. I had a reputation at the agency for being somewhat joyless and so I'd brought the model from home to liven up my workspace. It was from a series of collectibles called Trains of Yore, which depicted classic locomotives in scrupulous detail. They were generally marketed towards the elderly, but I was thirty-two and owned over two dozen of them. I liked the look of that handsome little locomotive on my desk and the C8 never had an accident while in use. So there was an inspirational element.

[[caption-width-right:350: A tight laced, by-the-book human bureaucrat and his rebellious AI partner [[TheyFightCrime fight crime]] in the big city.]]

* TheyFightCrime: A stuffy human bureaucrat and his day-drinking AI partner have to work together to stop [[spoiler: a radicalized branch of their government agency]] from terrorizing the largest city in North America.

* HolographicDisguise: Since OWEN's physical appearance is a [[ProjectedMan projection]], he can disguise himself in the blink of an eye -- he can change the color & cut of his suit and his hair, he can disguise himself as a sniper or a doctor, or change his size and appearance to resemble a bulldog or a bear. He also uses the projector to put embarrassing disguises on Henry, much to Henry's chagrin.

* RefugeInAudacity: Much of [=OWEN=]'s style of problem solving can be summed up as "go big or go home," thanks in part to his flair for the dramatic (inherited from his creator, Klaus, and the many gangster/ western films they watched). When he and Henry need to get through a crowded subway station, he projects a disguise of a surgeon in bloody scrubs holding a Styrofoam cooler and shouting that he's got a human brain for transplant. To his credit, [=OWEN=]'s outlandish plans often work because he's got the confidence to pull them off.

* VirtualSidekick: Henry Thompson is accompanied on his investigation by OWEN, the handsome [[ProjectedMan holographically projected avatar]] of the [[ArtificialIntelligence highly experimental supercomputer]] built by Henry's government employers. OWEN is most helpful when he's assisting Henry with research, reconnaissance, and navigation. Whenever he "helps out" by projecting embarrassing disguises onto Henry or threatening interrogation suspects with a very convincing holographic katana, OWEN tends to make a mess of things. Much of OWEN's personality and understanding of human mannerisms comes from the classic Gangster, Western, and Samurai films his creator loved, which means OWEN has a flair for drama and escalating situations that puts him at odds with his neurotic, rule-abiding human partner.

* WesternTerrorists: The attacks carried out on the Suitland & Metropolis branches of the Municipal Survey, and the bombing of the Metropolis Museum district were carried out by [[spoiler: the radicalized Metropolis branch of the USMS]]. Their goal is to [[spoiler: "destroy the continuation of western civilization" and disrupt capitalism]].

* {{Fainting}}: PlayedForLaughs -- OWEN quickly discovers that all the violence and gore in the classic Gangster & Western movies he's watched haven't prepared him to observe when Henry has to treat the injuries he sustained in Biggs' failed assassination attempt. The AI simply [[AfraidOfBlood can't stand the sight of]] Henry's puncture wounds and it briefly overloads his circuits.

* ComputerVirus: The attack on the Suitland office is facilitated by a virus uploaded to OWEN's network. [[spoiler: The virus is also what allows OWEN to develop more self-awareness.]]

%%* LetsGetDangerous:

Henry Thompson has dedicated his life to improving America's infrastructure as a proud employee of the [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction United States Municipal Survey's]] Suitland Office. So when the agency comes under attack from a mysterious terrorist organization that seems to have suspicious knowledge of the USMS's inner workings, he dutifully accepts an unexpected mission to visit the insular Metropolis branch of the USMS to look for answers. But Henry's plans to investigate the Metropolis branch quietly, quickly, and carefully are totally derailed by his new partner: a day-drinking know-it-all AI named OWEN, who just so happens to be the digitally projected embodiment of the USMS's state of the art supercomputer.

Personality clashes with his partner aside, Metropolis proves to be more treacherous than either Henry or OWEN could have predicted. The biggest, busiest, and most beautiful urban agglomeration in America, the gleaming city of Metropolis nevertheless hides dark secrets and deadly traps. Danger lurks around every corner, and secret plots that involve everyone (from top personnel in the [=USMS=] to Mayor Laury's beloved daughter) are afoot. Henry and OWEN find themselves fighting to save not only their own lives and those of the city's millions of inhabitants, but also the soul of Metropolis.

Personality clashes with his partner aside, Metropolis proves to be more treacherous than either Henry or OWEN could have predicted. Danger lurks around every corner, and secret plots that involve everyone (from top personnel in the USMS to Mayor Laury's beloved daughter) are afoot. Soon, Henry and OWEN find themselves fighting to save not only their own lives and those of the city's millions of inhabitants, but also the soul of Metropolis.

* VirtualSidekick: Henry Thompson is accompanied on his investigation by OWEN, the handsome [[ProjectedMan holographically projected avatar]] of the [[ArtificialIntelligence highly experimental supercomputer]] built by Henry's government employers. OWEN is most helpful when he's assisting Henry with research, reconnaissance, and navigation. Whenever he "helps out" by projecting embarrassing disguises onto Henry or threatening interrogation suspects with a very convincing holographic katana, he tends to make a mess of things. Much of OWEN's personality and understanding of human mannerisms comes from the classic Gangster, Western, and Samurai films his creator loved, which means OWEN has a flair for drama and escalating situations that puts him at odds with his neurotic, rule-abiding human partner.

A comic-thriller from author Seth Fried, ''The Municipalists'' recounts the adventures of a neurotic, rule-following bureaucrat and his irreverent, freewheeling AI partner as they attempt to save the gleaming city of Metropolis from an unprecedented terrorist plot that threatens the American way of life.

A comic-thriller from author Creator/SethFried, ''The Municipalists'' recounts the adventures of a neurotic, rule-following bureaucrat and his irreverent, freewheeling AI partner as they attempt to save the gleaming city of Metropolis from an unprecedented terrorist plot that threatens the American way of life.

* ShowWithinAShow: Sarah Laury's student play, "The Man in the Tower," is a plot point.

* VirtualSidekick: Henry Thompson is accompanied on his investigation by OWEN, the handsome [[ProjectedMan holographically projected avatar]] of the [[ArtificialIntelligence highly experimental supercomputer]] built by Henry's government employers. OWEN is most helpful when he's assisting Henry with research, reconnaissance, and navigation. Whenever the A.I. helps out by projecting embarrassing disguises onto Henry or threatening interrogation suspects with a very convincing holographic katana, he tends to make a mess of things. Much of OWEN's personality and understanding of human mannerisms comes from the classic Gangster, Western, and Samurai films his creator loved, which means OWEN has a flair for drama and escalating situations that puts him at odds with his neurotic, rule-abiding human partner.

A comic-thriller from author Creator/SethFried, ''The Municipalists'' recounts the adventures of a neurotic, rule-following bureaucrat and his irreverent, freewheeling AI partner as they attempt to save the city of gleaming city of Metropolis from an unprecedented terrorist plot that threatens the American way of life.

Henry Thompson has dedicated his life to improving America's infrastructure as a proud employee of the [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction United States Municipal Survey's]] Suitland Office. So when the agency comes under attack from a mysterious terrorist organization that seems to have suspicious knowledge of the USMS's inner workings, he dutifully accepts an unexpected mission to visit the Metropolis branch of the agency to look for answers. But his plans to investigate the Metropolis branch quietly, quickly, and carefully are interrupted by his new partner: a day-drinking know-it-all AI named OWEN, the digitally projected embodiment of the USMS's supercomputer.

--> "It's a program I wrote for myself," he said, noticing my interest. "When I take a sip, a series of complex math problems are generated that overwhelm my interface's processors. it diverts resources away from my less essential functions like social intelligence and inhibition."

* OrphansPlotTrinket: Downplayed. Henry's first model train was a rare "Steam Beetle" given to him by his father right before his parents were killed in a train accident. Neither Henry nor his father were aware of how valuable the model was -- it was Henry's prized possession because it was the last gift his father ever gave him. He kept it as he bounced from foster home to foster home until a school bully threw it out the window of the bus. So while the actual model Steam Beetle was lost before the narrative even begins, the plot trinket is what engendered Henry's interest in model trains. Part of the reason he takes an interest in Metropolis is the incredibly rare model Steam Beetle train on display at the transport museum.

A comic-thriller from author Creator/SethFried, ''The Municipalists'' follows the adventures of a neurotic, rule-following bureaucrat and his irreverent, freewheeling AI partner as they attempt to save the city of gleaming city of Metropolis from a mysterious terrorist plot that threatens the American way of life.

* HolographicDisguise: Since OWEN's physical appearance is a [[ProjectedMan projection]], he can change disguise himself in the blink of an eye -- he can change the color & cut of his suit or his hair, or he can disguise himself as a sniper or a doctor, or as a bulldog or a bear. He also uses the projector to put embarrassing disguises on Henry, much to Henry's chagrin.

%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

Henry Thompson has dedicated his life to improving America's infrastructure as a proud employee of the United States Municipal Survey's Suitland Office. So when the agency comes under attack, he dutifully accepts his unexpected mission to visit the Metropolis branch of the USMS looking for answers. But his plans to investigate quietly, quickly, and carefully are interrupted by his new partner: a day-drinking know-it-all AI named OWEN, the projected embodiment of the USMS's supercomputer.

But Metropolis is more treacherous than either Henry or OWEN imagined. Danger lurks around every corner, and secret plots that reach from top personnel in the USMS to the mayor's daughter are afoot. Soon, Henry and OWEN find themselves fighting to save not only their own lives and those of the city's millions of inhabitants, but also the soul of Metropolis.

* HolographicDisguise: Since OWEN's physical appearance is a [[ProjectedMan projection]], he can change disguise himself in the blink of an eye -- he can change the color & cut of his suit or his hair, or he can disguise himself as a sniper or a doctor, or as a bulldog or a bear. He also uses the projector to settle embarrassing disguises on Henry, much to Henry's chagrin.

* LogicBomb: Downplayed -- OWEN wrote up some software that generates complex mathematical problems that tax his systems, diverting processing power away from "social inhibitions" and other non-essential personality features. He modeled the program on his creator's drinking habits, and pairs it with an animation of his avatar sipping whiskey.

* SelfDestructMechanism: Employees of the Municipal Survey were given agency-issued cell phones with a secret, explosive self-destruct feature built in. The feature is hijacked in the attack on the Suitland Office, injuring several employees when the phones explode -- Henry gets shards of screen glass stuck in his face and hand.

* EyepatchOfPower: Terrence Kirklin, director of the Metropolis branch of the Municipal Survey, has a eyepatch covering the right eye he lost while in the Coast Guard. It adds to his general demeanor of bad-assery (or [[spoiler: supervillainy, later in the book]]0 paired with his goatee and the fact that he's 6'-5".

* EyepatchOfPower: Terrence Kirklin, director of the Metropolis branch of the Municipal Survey, has a eyepatch covering the right eye he lost while in the Coast Guard. It adds to his general demeanor of bad-assery (or [[spoiler: supervillainy, later in the book]] paired with his goatee and the fact that he's 6'-5".

* HolographicDisguise: Since OWEN is a projection, he can change his appearance in the blink of an eye -- he can change the color & cut of his suit or his hair, or he can disguise himself as a sniper or a doctor, or as a bulldog or a bear. He also uses the projector to disguise Henry.

* RailEnthusiast: Henry doesn't have many interests outside of work, but he does like trains. He keeps a model train on his desk, and is excited to see a rare model train on display in Metropolis.

%%* WesternTerrorists:

--> "Next to my nameplate, I had placed a 1:64 scale model of an eight-axle C8 Manley & Wrexler. I had a reputation at the agency for being somewhat joyless and so I'd brought the model from home to liven up my workspace. It was from a series of collectibles called Trains of Yore, which depicted classic locomotives in scrupulous detail. They were generally marketed towards the elderly, but I was thirty-two and owned over two dozen of them. I liked the look of that handsome little locomotive on my desk and the C8 never had an accident while in use. So there was an inspirational element."

* RailEnthusiast: Henry doesn't have many interests outside of work, but he does like trains. He keeps a model train on his desk, and is excited to see a rare model train on display in Metropolis.
--> "Next to my nameplate, I had placed a 1:64 scale model of an eight-axle C8 Manley & Wrexler. I had a reputation at the agency for being somewhat joyless and so I'd brought the model from home to liven up my workspace. It was from a series of collectibles called Trains of Yore, which depicted classic locomotives in scrupulous detail. They were generally marketed towards the elderly, but I was thirty-two and owned over two dozen of them. I liked the look of that handsome little locomotive on my desk and the C8 never had an accident while in use. So there was an inspirational element."

* TheyFightCrime: A stuffy human bureaucrat and his day-drinking AI partner have to work together to stop a radicalized branch of their government agency from terrorizing the largest city in North America.

%%*

* AttackDrone: [[spoiler: The monitoring drones maintained by the Municipal Survey are weaponized by Kirklin's forces during the car chase that Henry and OWEN get sucked into. Even without missiles or firearms, the drones are basketball sized lumps of metal that can be dropped from a great height.

"You didn't notice that the team who won the agency's softball league last year called themselves the Supercomputers?"\\