The lord of light

/BEGIN RECORDING/

"This is Doctor Joseph Mortimer speaking, about to begin session 1 with patient 06, a young woman by the name of Carice van Houten. First session will outline her initial impressions and opinions of her job role as well as traditional question list allowing scrutiny for any signs of anxiety or adjustment disorder"

KNOCK KNOCK

"Session 1 begins"

Doctor Mortimer sits on the red velvet chair, readying his datapad while shifting his body into a more comfortable posture.

"Come in Mrs Houten"

A young, quite attractive red haired lady walks in, and with his inviting hand gesture, takes a seat opposite him. She crosses her legs and gazes expectantly at him.

Dr Mortimer: Good afternoon Mrs Houten, I am Dr Mortimer and I will be your psychiatrist for the duration of your acting role in this endeavour. Can you please state you name, age and current job role for the record.

Houten: Sure, my name is Carice van Houten, I am 31 years old and play the character of Melisandre in the HBO T.V. series Game of Thrones

Dr Mortimer: Can you expand on this character?

Houten: Melisandre is a red priestess of the lord of light, and currently serves Stannis Baratheon. She is a mystical, mysterious character who can seemingly perform magical acts involving fire

Dr Mortimer: But you know this to be false?

Mrs Houten laughs briefly

Houten: sometimes I have to remind myself I am mortal. The pyrotechnics team really have taught me well and made me into a fluent inflammist. The looks on the faces of those men! Ha I really did feel like a magician.

Dr Mortimer: Mrs Houten, what inclined you to accept the acting job that was offered to you?

Houten: oh, several things. The moment they outlined what they had done I was instantly intrigued. The character seemed like the sort of person I would like to inhabit. And the secrecy and security made it oddly attractive. I had to sign so many forms and contracts, and accept so many conditions. The sheer notion of being in character 24 hours a day for months at a time seemed like a tremendous undertaking, and in a way that was a reason for my acceptance, I enjoy challenges. Then again, the substantial money that was offered to me was the deal maker. [P/N With the absence of several major areas of would-be budget for a usual TV, HBO was able to reallocate these funds into fields that needed specialisation or expansion on, such as recording techniques and actors playing a character perpetually throughout the series. These actors would be paid tremendous sums of money in exchange for the heightened requirements needed from them]

Dr Mortimer: Did you have any idea of the risk?

Houten: Well I had inkling or a rough outline due to being told of the safety hazards beforehand. But I never really comprehended it until I was down on the scene. That frightening event with the Maester trying to poison me was a real eye opener.

THE NORTH…

FIGHTING FOR LORD ROOSE BOLTON…

APROXIMATELY 1 DAY FROM WINTERFELL…

DESTINATION…UNNAMED VILLAGE WHERE STANNIS BARATHEON IS ENCAMPED…

NOTABLE WEATHER… SNOWSTORM… CONDITIONS…EXTREME

FORCE…VANGUARD

LEADER… SIR…

Hosteen Frey smiled wickedly on his horse, before succumbing to a bout of coughing. He cupped his hands to his mouth in an attempt to catch the warmth. He felt nothing. The cold had long ago numbed his body, so much so that he thought that if his legs were to fall off, he would not even notice. Hells, they might have already fallen off. Behind him, barely visible against the blinding snowstorm, was the vanguard of Roose Bolton's army. They were primarily composed of Freys and Manderly's. The Frey footmen were going at a snail pace, the near waist high snow impeding their every movement. The Manderly's were faring slightly better due to the fact that the majority of them were mounted. Every so often, individuals would break off from the main group, lagging behind until they became lost in the distance. No doubt there would be a line of bodies stretching from Winterfell to the snowed out village Stannis was bunkered down in by the time they were finished. Like a trail of bread crumbs Hosteen mused in his state of agony, or at least it would be if the damned snow would stop falling. The Frey doubled over on his horse as a particularly heavy fit racked his body. Gods, it wasn't this bad at Winterfell. Shrugging himself further into his thick fur cloak, he resigned himself to his fate, the wall of white consuming his vision as he urged his beleaguered horse on.

LOCATION…IN ORBIT ABOVE THE NORTH

SHIP CLASS… CLASSIFIED

LEADER…THE DIRECTOR

ROLE…SURVEILLANCE…RECORDING…ALTERATION

"Director sir, Roose Bolton's vanguard are approximately one and a half days away from Stannis Baratheon's camp, requiring they maintain their current speed."

The Director stood up and clasped his hands behind his back, taking on his signatory command stance. Around him dozens of personnel were occupied on the consoles in front of them, each with their own important tasks and areas to run. They were the administrative and managerial heart of the operation, in control of the activities of the small flotilla of ships that were allocated to this project.

"How many men?" he barked. He was in charge of the entire Game of Thrones operation, whatever he said went. He made the decisions, aided by analysts and statistical surveys that influenced his decisions.

"In the vanguard, 2,843 men, with an average attrition rate of one man per 55 minutes."

The Director nodded. "Against those numbers, what are Stannis Baratheon's chances of winning?"

Before the Crewman could reply a figure cloaked in a lab coat suddenly sprung up at the holotable.

"If I might answer that question Captain," Einstein the Smart AI began, "Without our intervention Stannis has a 12.3% chance of obtaining victory with an uncertainty 0f 1.4% both ways. This is including the still unmade fortifications that are being built around his camp. All appropriate factors have been taken into account including morale, weapons, mounted units, army strength and health, tactics for both sides and equipment and armour used."

"Thankyou Einstein"

"If I may remind Director, according to last week's statistical survey based around the question "Do you want Stannis to triumph over Roose Bolton?, An overwhelming 82% of audience surveyed said yes, thus it would be in our best interests to-"

"Yes Einstein, I understand what the audience wants"

"-aid Stannis Baratheon in his upcoming battle to allow more even chances. I recommend using method 8.4.16i INTENSITY 3- How to increase attrition rate in the North to the attacking army with one army attacking another in a fortified position at intensity level 3; 'in the event of one army, with superior numbers and-"

"I understand the protocols Einstein!"

"My apologies Director"

An exasperated Director shook his head. Einstein was unarguably an immense help in the operation. The amount HBO had to pay for a 8th Generation Smart AI was immense, but deemed acceptable for the project. Sometimes though, Einstein could go overboard in his arguments and go on and on as if no one else could make a decision. Ha, not so different from me then. They were the perfect match. The method Einstein was referring to were the predetermined protocols created to affect characters, groups or events subtly to alter events or provide advantage to one group. The first number that Einstein stated (8) referred to the nature eg. battle, the next number (4) was location, e.g. the North and the 16 referred to the battle scenario with the (i) indicating which side is being disadvantaged/advantaged. The intensity level was self-explanatory. It was how much the side gets affected, ranging from 10 to 1, with 1 being most affected. The protocols weren't meant to account for every possible scenario, as there were so many variables that it would prove impossible to implement, but to simply provide a guide. 8.4.16i relied on 3 things; supplies, equipment and transport. These factors could be destroyed, damaged or spoiled with minimal suspicion. Affecting the men themselves directly was deemed too risky. Instead, inhibitors were secretly injected into water supplies or enhances to the danger of the natural environment was executed to account for this.

"Implement method 8.4.16i at INTENSITY 3" The Director acknowledged grudgingly.

Though he had his back to it, the Director could see the smirk spreading across Einstein's face.

Dr Mortimer: How did you cope with the first few weeks on the job?

Houten: The first few weeks were very difficult for me, it was a period of adjustment more or less as I tried to acclimatise myself to my new environment and culture.

LOCATION…THE NORTH…UNNAMED VILLAGE

CURRENT STATE…. WAR…ENCAMPMENT BEING FORTIFIED

ARMY GROUP…VARIED...

LEADER… STANNIS BARATHEON…

NOTABLE THREAT…ARMY INCOMING…

ENCAMPMENT PROSPECTS OF WINNING…MINIMAL…

Stannis Baratheon was restless. He had tried to go to sleep, lying stiffly across his bed as he willed himself to slumber. But for all his attempts his anxiety kept him from that eternal bliss that allowed no worries to enter. And so, after languishing for over 2 hours, he gave up and succumbed to not sleeping for the night. He had gotten out of bed and had put on his thick fur garments before heading out to oversee the fortifications. Though it was past midnight, the bright moon and reflective snow coating the ground allowed an illuminated scene into his eyes. Men were still labouring away, some continuing to dig out a moat that was planned to stretch around the entire encampment. Others were erecting palisades around key military areas. Stannis nodded his head unconsciously in approval. Around his camp there were no trees or obstacles to conceal attackers, only a flat soft snow covered ground that stretched into the distance, a vague outline of a forest far-off the only indication of possible camouflage. Several men were out in the fields of snow, throwing down crude representations of caltrops that landed softly into the ground, sinking a far way into the soft surface to render them undiscoverable. Some of the more experienced men of the mountain clans of the north were finishing off their wolf holes, digging pits into the ground and placing sharp stakes into the bottom before covering them up with a snow covered thin board that would break away with only a small weight placed on them. They were good defences, at least they were considering the time and resources they had been given, yet Stannis did not inwardly feel that it was enough.

Dr Mortimer: I understand you have become very close with Stannis Baratheon, how does he appear to you?

Houten: Stannis is a very old fashioned man, he believes strongly in loyalty and justice, he may come across to people as a hard and cruel man, but when you dig a bit deeper, you find an inwardly kind and honest person.

Dr Mortimer: Do you agree with his thought of mind?

Houten: Well…parts of it. His ruthlessness would at first appear to be a negative trait, but when you pair it too his belief in justice and fairness, it doesn't seem so bad.

Even with the bolster to his forces with the Wulls, Norreys and Flints, and House Glover and Mormont pledging their armies to him, he still did not have enough men to properly match Roose Bolton's combined strength. The mountain clans, though fearless in their own right, weren't as well trained or equipped as the men opposing him. They were more wildling in their fighting style. What was that saying about wildings? A shout, a slash, and a nice clean death? Or something along those lines. No, Stannis didn't have the utmost confidence in his force. But they were all he had. I can't defeat my enemy on the field! He mentally despaired. 9 times out of 10, the man with the larger army wins.

Then we shall be the tenth.

He remembered saying the same things a lifetime ago, he had just entered the war and the first obstacle he faced had seemed like his last. Renly, his damned little brother had declared against him, and had fielded a massive force easily dwarfing his own. Stannis remembered how he had tried to think of any and all strategies that could even the odds, but could come up with nothing. In his anguish, Melisandre had cajoled and reassured. They had removed Renly as an obstacle, and his banner men flocked to Stannis's side. But not without a cost

I killed my brother.

We killed him, share the blame

He wasn't your brother.

He wished she was with him. These days she was the only pillar left , a stone support that he leant all his worries against. Salladhor had left him, Davos had betrayed him, his wife was weak, and her daughter was disfigured. She had stayed behind at the wall, where her power was supposedly stronger. Assured him that she would watch for him in the flames. Didn't make it any easier. Tightening his fists, Stannis Baratheon turned and paced back to his flimsy command tent. The moon, in a sudden change of thought hid behind a mass of ominous black clouds, abruptly killing off the illumination to shroud the area in darkness. And distant in the expanse, distinct as a shade blacker than its surroundings, a snowstorm was ravaging.

For the night is dark and full of terror.

Dr Mortimer glances at his Datapad

Dr Mortimer: Well Mrs Houten I am afraid that our time is up. It has been a pleasure to talk to you and I look forward to meeting again.

Houten: The pleasure is mine.

The lady stands up and without a glance back walks out of the exit door. Dr Mortimer remains in his seat for an extended period of time, deep in thought, until a sigh pulls him into the present. He stands up and walks towards the recorder

/END RECORDING/

.

.

.

/BEGIN RECORDING/

"This is Doctor Joseph Mortimer, about to begin session 1 with patient 07, a young woman by the name of Rose Leslie". First session will outline her initial impressions and opinions of her job role as well as traditional question list allowing scrutiny for any signs of anxiety or adjustment disorder"

Knock Knock

"Session 1 Begins"

A/N: Okay so the first 3 chapters are kind of an introduction before the "Main" plot, just to introduce the scenario. So for those who didn't get it, or if I didn't write in a suitable manner to allow my idea onto words, Ill do a short summary:

So centuries after the Human-Covenant war, the UNSC had recovered and continued to advance in the Milky Way Galaxy. However, as they have only explored a part of the Orion arm of the galaxy, recolonisation of 'glassed' planets and the settlement of new planets to extract new resources or build large scale settlements are still largely dominant on their agenda. The film industry incurred a massive blow to their operations, due to several factors. These include lack of suitably appropriate film environments for the film settings that people wanted to see at the time (lush scenery, beauty, grandiose environments), reluctance on the official's to allow filming and the general deficiency of film popularity. However, this is starting to change due to the stunning TV series created by HBO known as Game of Thrones. A sensation that has gone on for twenty years strong and shows no signs of faltering, Game of Thrones was hailed as an astounding revolution and rebirth of the TV and filming industry. In actuality, Game of Thrones is nothing more than the Galaxy's largest hoax, the most successful reality TV operation in the history of mankind. The world of Westeros was stumbled upon by an expedition funded by the company to check out and set up on a planet outside of explored space that seemed a suitable location for a film's setting. Instead of notifying the official UNSC government of the find, the Director of the program and the board of the company decided to-

[[DATA NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE]]

Now, the world of ice and fire is under worldwide 24 hour surveillance, recorded in several locations simultaneously and put together to create the most successful show in history. Though decisions in the show are primarily made by the unsuspecting 'actors' of Westeros the director and his crew have limited flexibility in modifying or altering the major events in the show. This is achieved through the use of high end technology and subtle methods to improve or disadvantage a particular group, or to alter character decisions through many different variables, such as mood altering drugs or subliminal mind treatment and the like. Actor 'Moles' are also used by HBO, real actors that are paid a great sum of money to play a character perpetually throughout the period of the TV show, with only few chances for return to UNSC ships in orbit for psychological analysis and family and contact communication. Though the risk of native characters becoming suspicious of the company's involvement is high, it is negated by the clever use of an

[[DATA NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE]]