I am attempting to create an electrical generator/motor thingy, that has electrical arcs coming off of it at certain points in time. I have two sets of 3 brush-based electrical arcs that i would like to trigger in alternation with a pause in between, as well as having a light associated with them turn on when they do.
I get the impression I should use a multi_manager to accomplish this, but the tuts regarding them aren't leading to my understanding what to do.

So, what I'd like is:
time 0: blank
time 1:brush set A appears for a set length of time as well as their associated lighting effect.
time 2:pause of a set link until
time 3:brush set B and lights appears for an equivalent length to A
time 4:pause until returning to time 1

Any suggestions?

I think it would look better with env_lasers or env_beams, and then just use a multithreaded multi_manager to target them, and then at the end target itself again. If you need help, feel free to ask.