June 29, 2017

LOVE IN A TIME OF ALIEN INVASION -- Chapter 65

On Earth, there are three Triads intending to integrate not only the three peoples and stop the war that threatens to break loose and slaughter Humans and devastate their world; but to stop the war that consumes Kiiote economy and Yown’Hoo moral fiber. All three intelligences hover on the edge of extinction. The merger of Human-Kiiote-Yown’Hoo into a van der Walls Society might not only save all three – but become something not even they could predict. Something entirely new...

The young experimental Triads are made up of the smallest primate tribe of Humans – Oscar and Xiomara; the smallest canine pack of Kiiote – six, pack leaders Qap and Xurf; and the smallest camelid herd of Yown’Hoo – a prime eleven, Dao-hi the Herd mother. On nursery farms and ranches away from the TC cities, Humans have tended young Yown’Hoo and Kiiote in secret for decades, allowing the two, warring people to reproduce and grow far from their home worlds.

“We had nearly fallen into stagnation when we encountered the Kiiote.”
“And we into internecine war when we encountered the Yown’Hoo.”
 “Yown’Hoo and Kiiote have been defending themselves for a thousand revolutions of our Sun.”
 “Together, we might do something none of us alone might have done…a destiny that included Yown’Hoo, Kiiote, and Human.” (2/19/2015)

Kiiote and Yown’Hoo brought their war to us because they couldn’t breed in space. They needed Earth to do that and now we’re the poor dorks who inherited their endless war,” he paused, adding, “That’s how the Earth First faction feels. The Yown’Hoo and Kiiote want us for one thing – as babysitters. The Masters, Pan and Zir, Mother of All, Ji-hi, and the Martyr, St. Admiral had a greater vision. They wanted to form an interstellar civilization. They held minority views, but convinced at least some on each world to invest their time and resources into the Triad Project…”

Great Uncle Rion broke in, “The faction I have supported has worked to create a new belief system that all would follow. The main tenet is to weave personal lives into a complex whole, flexible, peaceful interstellar union.”

I stared at my great uncle. “You want to start a religion?”

He shrugged, gesturing to the conjure’s place, “We need all the help we can get here.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Religion had been one of the first things the world before ours had attempted to abolish. It was after the Horrible Teens, when terrorism wrought by religious factions of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism Judaism, Bahaism, Confucianism, Jainism, and Shintoism had torn the world apart. The declaration of the United Faith in Humanity hadn’t really taken hold – no idea why. It always seemed sensible to me. Anyway, they tried and the UFIH hadn’t really replaced it. “So you want to create something like the UFIH, but with a metaphysical aspect”

GURion pointed at me and said, “Exactly.” He also waved toward where the conjure had been. “Things like that make our mission both more plausible and a matter of even greater urgency. The Yown’Hoo that created the beings can’t exactly explain what they are. They aren’t technically alive – yet they are. So they’re not just machines, even in a biological sense.” He made a rude noise, “It’s even clear to me – and I’ve been fabricated from materials, the ultimate materialist you might say, and I can see plainly that there are aspects of Humanity that are more than merely chemical reactions! A Human author your biological great uncle was fond of was named CS Lewis…”

Xio exclaimed, “I loved the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA!”

“Me, too. But he also wrote a deadly serious novel in which Humans tried to cast off their nature by furiously believing and trying to create an entirely UNnatural man. A ‘new’ Man so to speak who             had no truck with nature and would be entirely scientific.” He paused. “That didn’t work out any better than the UFIH, which became just one more religion among many. It even spawned its own terrorists who self-righteously terrorized the Old Believers.” He sighed, though he didn’t need to, and said, “Humanity is perverse on so many levels…you have no idea.”

Retired looked at us, seated at his feet, sighed, and said, “This is exactly what I hoped to avoid.”

“What?” I said.

“You’re looking to me for leadership! I’m an old man! I want to retire – hence the name! You nineteen…” GURion sighed and corrected him. Retired nodded. “Eighteen of you – you need to start to make decisions. Running away at this moment is prudent. But it cannot be the way you live the rest of your lives. The time has come when you give me orders.”

“But what if we give you a stupid order?” Qap whined then said.

He said a truly foul word, adding, “I didn’t say I was abandoning you! I will act as your guide, but I have to stop making decisions! And I will stop. Right now.” I opened my mouth and he pointed at me, smiled, and said, “And I will tell you when you are about to blunder. But then we will discuss what our next steps should be. On the shoulders of this Triad more than either of the others…”

I was sure he was going to say something like, “Rests the future of Humanity.” Or something inspiring like that.

But he concluded, “...rests the burden of learning your roles in this hideous world we’ve left for you.” Shaking his head, he said, “Get some sleep. We’ll leave when everyone wakes refreshed and we’ve eaten.” He left us in the room, still sitting. One-by-one; two-by-two; or as a herd, we went to our rooms to await the morning.


June 27, 2017

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 310

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them.

Current Event:

Sophie Sperl stared at the researcher and pursed her lips. "How is this legal?"

The technician who was hooking up the wires that led into the helmet shrugged. "You're like fourteen?" Sophie nodded slowly. He continued, "And you're in a maximum security prison, so I figure you probably committed some really bad crime, so you have no, like, rights or anything." Sophie growled and squirmed. The tech looked at her and said, "I should let you know that the room is completely monitored and I'm armed with a taser,  and whoever's watching can send sleep gas into here in a second." He worked for a while then said, "What'd you do?"

Sophie snorted. "I killed someone."

"Duh," said the tech.

Sophie looked at him and said, "What's your name, handsome?" She squirmed in the chair until the straps pressed up under her breasts.

"Arnava Boqpool, and I'm gay."

Sophie looked disappointed and squirmed until she was comfortable again.

"Sorry, kiddo."

"You're the same age as me! I'm as much of a kiddo as you are!"

He shrugged, finished the contacts in the helmet and said, "Yeah, but I'm a genius."

"I am, too."

"You're a genius at murder. I'm a genius at being a sponge."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He picked up the helmet and tried to place it on her head. She snapped her head back and forth until he stopped and said, "You can be conscious for this or I can tase you out cold." He shrugged. "Up to you."

She stopped struggling and let him put the helmet on her head. He snugged a strap under her chin and said, "There. This shouldn't take too long. They say your brain is no match for mine."
He sat down across from her and lifted an aluminum bad bristling with wires and spikes and placed it on his head.

"What, you're a refugee from GAME OF THRONES?"

"Nope." He leaned to one side and said, "When I turn on the interface, we'll meet mind to mind. You'll try and kill me. I'll absorb you like so much spilled Koolaid." He flipped the switch.

Names: India ; , Germany
Resource: “Robert Sawyer…Neanderthal Parallax…plans sent by aliens…lets people read each other’s minds...strongly implied that this will lead to utopia.”

June 25, 2017

POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY: Dreams of a Humanist SF Writer, Fan, and Activist

Using first the Progress Reports of the upcoming World Science Fiction Convention in Helsinki Finland in August 2017 to which I will be unable to go (until I retire from education)), and eventually the Program Guide, I will jump off, jump on, rail against, and shamelessly agree with the BRIEF DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of first the Progress Reports, then the Program Guide. This is event #. The link is provided below…

The Con Committee came up with a list of questions to kick off the Update. They asked all of the Guests of Honor four questions (question 3 was in two parts.) Question 1 was: “What is the greatest (scifi) idea, that you’d like to see invented/come into being in the next one hundred years? Why? (It can be social, technological, etc.)”

John-Henri Holmberg replied: “I’ve actually tried to take this seriously over a few days, keeping it at the back of my mind while following the daily news. Over the years, sf has offered us an almost unlimited number of realistic or fanciful innovations, ideas, and debates…Poul Anderson’s Brain Wave, published in 1954. In that story, our Solar system emerges from the cosmic cloud it has been traveling through for the last many thousand years, a cloud full of particles that have inhibited the speed of neural impulses. And since mammal life evolved before we entered the cloud, our bodies begin again to function in the way they were designed – and intelligence in all species is vastly increased, not least in humans. In the novel, this means that we can finally turn away from childish things: superstition and envy, racism and nationalism, war and the lust for power over others, narrow-mindedness and intolerance. What will happen then will be up to the different beings we become. But it would be a new beginning. And that seems
to be what is called for…”

According to Wikipedia, Holmberg is a “Swedish author, critic, publisher and translator, and a well-known science fiction fan…[having] published over 200 science fiction fanzines of his own…One of the fans with whom he worked was fellow Swede Stieg Larsson [author of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and the rest of that Millennium series].”

I don’t know Mr. Holmberg’s beliefs, but in the SFE: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, he is characterized this way: “In his critical work, he has stressed the secular, rationalistic basis of sf literature and often discussed Feminist and Gender-oriented sf.” I would guess from the information above that his personal philosophy would tend toward Humanism, that is, “[the] philosophy informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human being, it supports the maximization of individual liberty and opportunity consonant with social and planetary responsibility. It advocates the extension of participatory democracy and the expansion of the open society, standing for human rights and social justice. Free of supernaturalism, it recognizes human beings as a part of nature and holds that values-be they religious, ethical, social, or political-have their source in human experience and culture. Humanism thus derives the goals of life from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions, and asserts that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny.– The Humanist Magazine”

That’s good for him. I’m sure he has no personal beef with me for being a Christian. I’m sure we could sit down for a drink and talk science fiction with little or no trouble. I’m sure both of us could behave just fine, and if we happened to hit it off, we might even be friends.

The issue I take, is that based on my personal view, it was Humanity that chose to irrationally disregard a clear direction and consequence for that disregard (“…from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not [n]eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die. …”) from the Individual in charge. That led to the intended system falling apart.

Seems pretty simple to me.

A Humanist rejects any kind of supernatural explanation and appears (to me) to make the assumption that Humans possess the ability to, en masse, make rational decisions. It’s just that we haven’t grown up enough yet (at least not all of us seven billion have.) Growing up, we would (in a curious allusion to the Christian New Testament “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.   1 Corinthians 13:11”) leave behind such things as “superstition, envy, racism, nationalism, war, lust for power over others, narrow-mindedness, and intolerance.”

In Anderson’s novel, Humanity leaps into space there to discover that because we evolved in the energy dampening cloud, we are more intelligent that all of the other intelligences in nearby space. The main character remains on Earth to live with the newly intelligent animals and former Humans with mental disabilities while the others meet various fates.

This is the future that Mr. Holmberg hopes will come about (though he doesn’t see any real hope of that based on his brief ending remarks). Even so, it seems somewhat unrealistic that once everyone comes out of their “slow thinking” phase at some future time, our societies (which would disappear, I assume?) would grow to a point of dropping all religious, national, race, envy, tolerance, opinion, violence, and control issue.

Certainly Ada Palmer (who is planning on being at the Helsinki WorldCon) has made a stab at visioning such a society in her book, which I’m reading now Too Like the Lightning.

Hopefully they’re on a panel together! [If they are, Paul Foth, would you take notes for me?] I would love to hear some practical suggestions of steps for us to take now – a bit more concrete than “be more tolerant”... or “don’t be envious”.

Image: http://www.leidenanthropologyblog.nl/images/sized/images/uploads/Pels_Header_New_York_Worlds_Fair_1964_Bell_Telephone_Pavilion-578x220.jpg

June 23, 2017

MARTIAN HOLIDAY 104: Aster of Opportunity

On a well-settled Mars, the five major city Council regimes struggle to meld into a stable, working government. Embracing an official Unified Faith In Humanity, the Councils are teetering on the verge of pogrom directed against Christians, Molesters , Jews, Rapists, Buddhists, Murderers, Muslims, Thieves, Hindu, Embezzlers and Artificial Humans – anyone who threatens the official Faith and the consolidating power of the Councils. It makes good sense, right – get rid of religion and Human divisiveness on a societal level will disappear? An instrument of such a pogrom might just be a Roman holiday...To see the rest of the chapters and I’m sorry, but a number of them got deleted from the blog – go to SCIENCE FICTION: Martian Holiday on the right and scroll to the bottom for the first story. If you’d like to read it from beginning to end (70,000+ words as of now), drop me a line and I’ll send you the unedited version.

Martian society needed to be responsible for lifting Artificial Humans up. In fact tolerance in Martian society had vanished at some point, replaced by a harsh ideal that every person must agree in all things – or there would be a chaos of different opinions.

Aster had the chance to change all of that. FardusAH, with her network of assistants to all of the other Mayors of Mars, was a powerful ally. The – literally – underground society of Artificial Humans were a power far beyond any that Naturals imagined.

The Orphans Ball might very well be the crux by which Martian society might return to one that allowed all beings a voice. A place where none were silenced and all were welcome to speak.

The slithering person of vo’Maddux was a different issue. In that creature’s mind, the Mayoral Consort should stay in the Pylon. But the “blue-collar” workers and FardusAH’s allies, the Natural and Artificial men and women who listened to her dad, attended his secret Christian church needed to know that what Aster had planned wasn’t “a stunt” by the Mayor’s Office. A union of Martians, is what she wanted – a union against the current power structure – and was something she was ready to work for. She suddenly realized that she wanted to do it, no matter what it cost her. Up to and including her life. She explained the Orphan’s Ball, then added, “After that, our intentions will be public knowledge. It will be impossible for Naturals to ignore the fact that Artificial Human families are as vulnerable as they are. It’s clear that the true enemies of all commoners both Natural and Artificial lived in the highest classes of Naturals; those who made their homes in the Owner’s District. She said, “We must make sure that those in the HOD come to the Ball.”

One dark blue arm lifted. Aster nodded. A voice thickened by many years of use; distinctly neither male nor female. It said, “You bring the HODders there and mix in blue’uns and you get yourse’f a shoot.” The hand dropped down.

Aster scowled. The accent and the slang was virtually impenetrable to her. A younger inti stepped forward, letting her see him full on. He couldn’t have been more than thirteen – though she knew full well that Artificial Humans were manufactured at whatever age and size required by the purchaser or the job. Still, he looked young. He said in clear SpanDarinGlish (a creole of Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and English), “She means to say that if you throw this Ball of yours and we come in, the HODders will call out the guard and it’ll be a massacre.”

She nodded gravely. “True. But I will also have invited those among the other influential – those in medicine…”

Someone from deeper in the dark laughed and called out, “They cut us open like rats!”

Aster, Escort of the Mayor of Opportunity snapped back at him, “And some have answered to me that they deplore the practice and have sued for change! I am the Escort of Mayor Etaraxis!” Her title rang from the high ceiling of the underground intersection. She let it for a moment. Then she said, “I have been delivered into this peculiar bondage and have kept a timid post. Until now. I will cease to live in the shadow of my captor. I will direct a modicum of the power that streams from the Mayor to my own use. I will direct to Mars; to free all Martians, to create the society my father and those with whom he came to this Newest World envisioned.” She stopped, hands held down, before her, chin up.

There was silence for a time.

Then the gender-neutral voice called again from the darkness, “You watch that witch by ‘is side, girl! She be evil with flushin’ slime! We watch fo’ ye, girl. I watch fo’ ye! Mark me wor’!”

The intis began to leave. The young man stepped up to her and said, “Great-Great said that you need to watch vo’Maddux. That she was a slimy evil.” He leaned closer, “We will watch for you, your Majesty. We will watch and protect you.” He added, “Great-Great also told me that you should pass on to the Mayor that there is a different snake in his castle.”

Aster frowned. “I know, vo’Maddux…”

The heavily accented voice called again from the darkness after it let loose a long cackle. It said, “vo’Maddux’s just a pit bull, Deary! The real power behind her is dark; he’s been plannin’ ‘is from the Landin’! He be ready to move soon, whennuh high’n mighty Mayor is in his tower and thinks e’s safe! Warn ‘im, Deary! An’ ye watch yer own back, girl! Watch yer back. Your daddy, he knows the name! Ask him the name and the time!”

The looked he fixed on her made her want to shudder. Instead, she nodded slowly and said, “Go, then. When the moment is right, I will give the signal.” He grinned, turned, and ran into the darkness.

A moment later, Aster was alone.


June 20, 2017

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 309

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them.

H Trope: adaptational heroism
Current Event: “Throughout this work, we advance four primary ideas: (a)The concept of heroism is a way to unify several types of courageous or brave actions that have largely been treated independently in the literature to date; (b) that the simple presence of risk accompanying prosocial behavior is not enoughto define heroism; (c) heroism is viewed as distinct from otherprosocial activities, such as compassion and altruism (and may represent an entirely different behavior); and (d) that while heroism is primarily a positive and prosocial act, a simplistic view of this behavior misses important (and sometimes negative) aspects of the phenomenon.” (http://www.scribd.com/doc/161425346/A-Conceptual-Analysis-and-Differentiation-Between-Heroic-Action-and-Altruism)

“My baby sister tells me you can help us find Carlos,” Carmita Rodriguez Cruz said. Her eyes narrowed, “She’d better be right.”

Austin Ventura remembered then that she was also taking kickboxing lessons – and that his best friend was missing. “I’m not sure exactly where he is. I just know that there are certain places he’s likely to be.” He dared, “We’re in probability together. You do the math.”

She scowled darkly at him, but didn’t contradict him.

Score one, he said to himself.

Paulina Rodriguez Cruz, sister to Los Traviesos Gemelos, said, “Quit flirting, you two! Carlos has been kidnapped and we have to rescue him!”

Austin exclaimed, “I’m not flirting!”

Looking at him, Carmita said, “She’s right, A-man.” Looking at Paulina, she said, ¿Qué te hace pensar que fue secuestrado?

“I have another question for you, dear sister – what would he be doing out in the middle of the night, by himself, without telling one of the three of us? Aren’t those enough reasons?”

“The bigger question is why would anyone kidnap him,” said Austin.

Carmita bristled, “Just ‘cause he’s not rich like you, doesn’t mean that there’s no reason to kidnap him!”

“You two have to cut it out! Carlos may need us out there!” Carmita and Austin looked at each other then looked away, hanging their heads. “You both know that Carlos is a better person than all three of us put together.”

Austin felt a chill run up his spine. He said, “What would that have to do with kidnapping?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It just…felt right. Don’t you think?”

He grimaced as a chilly breeze blew from across the parking lot, chasing bits and pieces of leaves and paper over to them. “Much as I know about him, I have to say I agree.”

“What do you mean?” Carmita said. “I’m his twin. I’m just as good as him!”

“Better,” Austin said.

“What?”

“You’re better than him in everything. It’s like when you guys were conceived, you sucked all the talent out of him. You got everything.” Carmita was glaring at him. He added slowly, “You got everything except his good heart.” She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it. Austin said, “You look like los peces de colores loco.”

“A crazy goldfish?” she echoed, puzzled.

“Yep. You ever seen one?”

“No.”

“Sure you have. Someone who’s locked up and can’t do a single thing – and if they don’t start moving, it’s gonna drive ‘em crazy.”

Paulina said, “Fits you like a glove, Cabroncita.”

Carmita snorted and said, “Let’s get going.” She tossed her gigantic purse over her shoulder, “A-man, we’re gonna need your car.”

Names: Mexico, Mexico; Minnesota, Italy (= “baby in the woods”, “foundling”); Spanish form of French name ‘Paul’
Image: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OCWXw6InF70/TKigMBk87NI/AAAAAAAAAy4/tL7MhIfL9CM/s1600/2212_1025142570.jpg

June 18, 2017

WRITING ADVICE: What Do You Do When A Famous Writer Has A Book Published Whose “World” Idea Is VERY SIMILAR To One You Had?

In September of 2007, I started this blog with a bit of writing advice. A little over a year later, I discovered how little I knew about writing after hearing children’s writer, Lin Oliver speak at a convention hosted by the Minnesota Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Since then, I have shared (with their permission) and applied the writing wisdom of Lin Oliver, Jack McDevitt, Nathan Bransford, Mike Duran, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, SL Veihl, Bruce Bethke, and Julie Czerneda. Together they write in genres broad and deep, and have acted as agents, editors, publishers, columnists, and teachers. Since then, I figured I’ve got enough publications now that I can share some of the things I did “right” and I’m busy sharing that with you.

While I don’t write full-time, nor do I make enough money with my writing to live off of it...neither do all of the professional writers above...someone pays for and publishes ten percent of what I write. When I started this blog, that was NOT true, so I may have reached a point where my own advice is reasonably good. We shall see! Hemingway’s quote above will now remain unchanged as I work to increase my writing output and sales! As always, your comments are welcome!

Let me just say that this is weird because it happened to me before.

Many years ago, I had an idea and approached a publisher. It had to do with writing a fictional account of an historic incident with which I was familiar. After researching and writing for over a year, I approached an editor. She was very excited with the story. We worked together and then suddenly this book was published: https://www.amazon.com/Firestorm-Adventures-Time-Neubert-Schultz/dp/0876142765/ref=la_B001JRZJLS_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1497730292&sr=1-1

The editor I was working with said that wouldn’t matter, but the fact is that the book died and I was the holder of a paper manuscript that wasn’t worth anything. (I WILL say that the same editor bought a short story that I wrote – and bought a sidebar as well: https://shop.cricketmedia.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/166x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/r/cricket-magazine-july-2001.jpg)

Of course, the history of the Great Hickley Fire was there for the taking and there was nothing I could do to prove that I’d had the idea first – even if that could have been verified. It was just a weird coincidence that where that book's main character was named Maggie, my main character's name was Megan...

And now it appears to have happened again. Many years ago, I wrote the story, “Oath” that took place in a world very like the one presented in Brenda Cooper’s novel, WILDERS: “Coryn Williams has grown up in the megacity of Seacouver, where her every need is provided for—except satisfaction with her life. After her parents' suicides, her sister Lou fled the city to work on a rewilding crew, restoring lands once driven to the brink of ecological disaster by humans to a more natural state. Finally of age, Coryn leaves the city with her companion robot to look for her sister. But the outside world is not what she expects—it is rougher and more dangerous, and while some people help her, some resent the city and some covet her most precious resource: her companion robot. As Coryn struggles toward her sister, she uncovers a group of people with a sinister agenda that may endanger Seacouver. When Coryn does find her sister, Lou has secrets she won't share. Can Coryn and Lou learn to trust each other in order to discover the truth hidden behind the surface and to save both Seacouver and the rewilded lands?”

Here’s my story: http://www.stupefyingstoriesshowcase.com/0130826/0130826-40.html (published in 2013). Certainly not identical in any way, but the concept of people jammed into megacities and allowing the rest of the world to “go wild” again is similar enough to be…creepy.
So, to satisfy myself, I’ll give you the timeline that led to my stories.

I belonged to a blog group called THE FRIDAY CHALLENGE. Here’s the original challenge that sparked my idea: http://thefridaychallenge.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-03-14T08:00:00-05:00


I didn’t win that competition, but both Bruce Bethke and Henry Vogel had nice things to say about it – and offered me another challenge. http://thefridaychallenge.blogspot.com/2010/04/and-winner-of-greater-challenge-is.html

That’s where “Oath” came from.

Noodling around in that same world led next to another story published in PERIHELION MAGAZINE called “Invoking Fire” (no longer available online) and may lead to more stories because it’s really the first chapter of a YA quest novel. Another story that took place in the world I call Vertical Villages and Return To The Wild, was “Technopred”. In it, I postulate that our technological development has forced the evolution of intelligence in animals. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC seemed to think so as well when they produced “Raccoon Nation” (Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpAw5bDrw5w) You can also read my story here: http://aurorawolf.com/2013/05/guy-stewart/

Others are unpublished, but they’re there. I’ve also slotted other stories of mine into the same Universe that comes out of the Vertical Village Movement. In fact, a novel I’m shopping around, OUT OF THE DEBTOR STARS has major plot twists that take place in the MSP Vertical Village.

So – a question to the great “outdoors” – should I be worried or not?

Image: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9f/22/3b/9f223b1e57a36e14db3eb13715fbe3f9.jpg

June 15, 2017

LOVE IN A TIME OF ALIEN INVASION -- Chapter 64

On Earth, there are three Triads intending to integrate not only the three peoples and stop the war that threatens to break loose and slaughter Humans and devastate their world; but to stop the war that consumes Kiiote economy and Yown’Hoo moral fiber. All three intelligences hover on the edge of extinction. The merger of Human-Kiiote-Yown’Hoo into a van der Walls Society might not only save all three – but become something not even they could predict. Something entirely new...

The young experimental Triads are made up of the smallest primate tribe of Humans – Oscar and Xiomara; the smallest canine pack of Kiiote – six, pack leaders Qap and Xurf; and the smallest camelid herd of Yown’Hoo – a prime eleven, Dao-hi the Herd mother. On nursery farms and ranches away from the TC cities, Humans have tended young Yown’Hoo and Kiiote in secret for decades, allowing the two, warring people to reproduce and grow far from their home worlds.

“We had nearly fallen into stagnation when we encountered the Kiiote.”
“And we into internecine war when we encountered the Yown’Hoo.”
 “Yown’Hoo and Kiiote have been defending themselves for a thousand revolutions of our Sun.”
 “Together, we might do something none of us alone might have done…a destiny that included Yown’Hoo, Kiiote, and Human.” (2/19/2015)

Lieutenant Commander Patrick Bakhsh (ret) – Retired – sighed and said, “We need to sleep. We have a long trip ahead of us before we reach Grendl. The anti-Triad faction will be looking for you, the Kiiote and Yown’Hoo will be doing the same; and now conjures will be after us as well.”

Fax said, “It wearies me simply thinking about it.”

“Sorry son, that’s the least of our concerns at this point.” Fax nodded and headed for the Pack’s room.

Weird statement. I said, “What does that mean? What could be more important than all those people – and things – trying to kill us?”

Great Uncle Rion turned to Retired. “What are you talking about?”

Retired sighed again. “It’s too big to explain in one night.”

“I don’t care how big you think it is. We’ve followed you for days now – we’ve left everything we know behind. Thus far, we’ve been blind – even Qap and Xurf are doing what you tell them to. But you keep putting this off! It’s time we all know what the hell you…you…adults are doing with us!” I’m embarrassed to say I stomped my foot like I was a little kid. I’m even more embarrassed to say that Xio came and stood by me, slipping her arm around my waist. Then Qap and Xurf…and so did Dao-hi.

Dao-hi said, “‘Car speaks for me.”

Qap was in her bipedal form and growled, facial hair standing on end.  “In this matter, our Pack-mate speaks for us as well.” Fax, in his wolf form, pressed against the back of my legs.

Retired turned to face us down. “I can’t tell you what you want to know.”

“Why?”

He looked downright grim as he hung his head. “Because the situation on Earth is…dire.”

“But WHY?” Xio said.

“I don’t even know…”

“Tell us what you know,” said GURion suddenly. “I have been cut off from the world – at least the secret world of our plot to merge the three intelligences in this part of the galaxy.”

“I know only a little more than you know,” Retired said. He flicked his hand toward the spot GURion had eliminated the conjure. “Those things are a surprise and they complicate an already twisted situation.” Shaking his head, he sat down on a chair. For some reason, I was compelled to sit on the floor. Xio sat next to me; Herd and Pack arranging themselves at his feet as well. GURion stepped back and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. Retired sighed then started, telling us the story of how the Triads had been established. I opened my mouth to tell him we already knew all that. He glared at me, so I shut it.

I did raise my hand when he said the word “Korea”. “What’s that?”

“A conflict that involved only Humans from two political ideologies fighting on a piece of property – the country of Korea – that belonged to neither. In the end, the conflict split the country even further into a population who had abundant resources and services and population who had very few resources and services.” He paused, looking at me and Xio long and hard. “Even now, there are Humans who are fighting for either the Yown’Hoo or the Kiiote. There are others who are fighting against the Triads…”

Xio said, “Why would they do that? We’re trying to create something that will benefit all three societies – we’re working to stop the war!”

“That’s not how some Humans view it. They want Earth back…”

I couldn’t help it, “That’s stupid.”

Retired grimaced then said, “Humans evolved here. We reached into space by ourselves. We started knitting the world together by ourselves. We had just reached the fusion power stage and expanded the space station to a permanent crew of thirty – then the Kiiote and Yown’Hoo brought their war to us because they couldn’t breed in space. They needed Earth to do that and now we’re the poor dorks who inherited their endless war,” he paused, adding, “That’s how the Earth First faction feels. The Yown’Hoo and Kiiote want us for one thing – as babysitters. The Masters, Pan and Zir, Mother of All, Ji-hi, and the Martyr, St. Admiral had a greater vision. They wanted to form an interstellar civilization. They held minority views, but convinced at least some on each world to invest their time and resources into the Triad Project…”

Great Uncle Rion broke in, “The faction I have supported has worked to create a new belief system that all would follow. The main tenet is to weave personal lives into a complex whole, flexible, peaceful interstellar union.”

I stared at my great uncle. “You want to start a religion?”

He shrugged, gesturing to the conjure’s place, “We need all the help we can get here.”


June 13, 2017

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 308

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them. Regarding Fantasy, this insight was startling: “I see the fantasy genre as an ever-shifting metaphor for life in this world, an innocuous medium that allows the author to examine difficult, even controversial, subjects with impunity. Honor, religion, politics, nobility, integrity, greed—we’ve an endless list of ideals to be dissected and explored. And maybe learned from.” – Melissa McPhail.

F Trope: “jerkass gods” (CS Lewis Till We Have Faces and Neil Gaiman American Gods)

Abril Molina stood with balled fists on her hips. “They did this, you know.”

Santiago Ribeiro pursed his lips and said in a low voice, “It’s the easier answer. You know, blaming jerkass gods rather than taking responsibility for polluting the lagoon ourselves.”

Abril bristled, “You blame Humans for this?” She grunted, “I know you hate all of us who are pure blooded Humans…”

“Please! Don’t bring magism into this! I may be three fourths elf, but I can no more conjure poisons from the water than you can conjure a will-o’-the-wisp to light your way to bed!”

Abril turned to belt him. He caught her fist but was powerless to stop her words, “How dare you! I am no magist! We’ve been friends since...oh, I don’t know, since I had to change your nest litter! I am no more magist than you are thoughtful.”

Stung, he released her and returned to the side of the lagoon. Squatting, he reached out and spread his fingers, lowering his hand until it was centimeters from the surface. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and stilled himself. After a few moments, the same stillness seemed to flow from his hand and across the surface of the lagoon, traveling from shore and farther and farther into the water.

The stillness spread until the air seemed to stop gusting; even the light grew gellid, thickening until the image of near-elf and water appeared to be a painting.

After some time, dark began to creep upward from the water. Boats, barges and skiffs collecting dead animals slowed until the stopped moving. Abril felt her breath congeal in her lungs and could not breathe.

Then Santiago stood up, turned to her and said, “We are both right.”

“What?”

“True war brews and this is but the first skirmish.”

“There’ve been other die offs! Twelve years of them – how do you explain that away with magic?”

“It’s the dolphins and the manatees.”

“What?”

“It’s the dolphins and the...”

“No, no! I know what you said, I mean to say, ‘What have dead dolphins and manatees...”

“And the pelicans and the algae and other microscopic life,” he interjected.

She nodded, adding, “…and pelicans and phyto and zooplankton have to do with magic and pollution?”

He lifted his chin to the farthest reaches of the lagoon, the water between a barrier island complex, “There is a war brewing.”

“Between who?”

“I can’t tell, but the gods jerking the strings have stuffed each dolphin and each manatee with a spirit and they are the front line – and the manatees are losing.”

“Which side is the good side?”

Santiago turned to look at her, his gaze boring deeply into her own. Abril shuddered as he said, “In the war between these gods, their only good is their entertainment.”

Names: ♀ Uruguay, Spain; American Hispanic, Portugal

June 11, 2017

Slice of PIE: Post-Ideas – Is This Like Post-Christian and Post-Truth?

Using the panel discussions of the most recent World Science Fiction Convention in Kansas City in August 2016 (to which I was invited and had a friend pay my membership! [Thanks, Paul!] but was unable to go (until I retire from education)), I will jump off, jump on, rail against, and shamelessly agree with the BRIEF DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of the Program Guide. This is NO event as the link is provided below appears to be dead now…(How much would you like to bet that the title generates more hits than I’ve ever gotten? The current record after “CHRISTIANITY: Anthropogenic or Universal?” is “Conspiracy Revealed: Adolph…” with 979 hits…)

OMGosh! I’m going to have to come up with some of my own ideas again!

So, in no particular order, here I go:

YA science fiction – where’s it going now that the dystopian frenzy seems to be settling down?
Christianity and science fiction – is there really any problem…or is it more a “quality issue”?
Education in SF – why do SF writers insist that Americans have somehow hit upon the “perfect” educational institution and how might the union-stasis be having a negative effect on paradigm-shifting change? (See: “Gladly Wolde He Learne” by Harry Turtledove -- http://turtledove.wikia.com/wiki/Gladly_Wolde_He_Lerne)
The future of the Wild – why do we seem to build cities over everything? Is “progress” REALLY our middle name?
The future of Population – is “more people” always better? (GRR Martin’s Tuf Voyaging stories, in particular, the Suthlam ones)
AI – REALLY possible? REALLY desirable?: And do the proponents realize that they TOO will be destroyed…or do they assume that because they sing its praises, they’ll be accepted by our “robot overlords”?
Nature – what’s natural and what defines a “park” and do us 21st Century types REALLY know what “nature” is?
Camping in the Future – where? What? How might it be…REALLY different?
Different Societies – Will They Be As Leftists Expect Them To Be? (Historical Note: Left was Right, Right was Left…the old GOP (anti-slavery) and DFL (pro-slavery)…)
Back to WHAT Future? – What if the Global Warming debacle led to a society that went ALL THE WAY backwards? (Returning to pre-1800 levels of CO2, pollutants, emissions, etc…means eliminating excess population…and a way to DO that may be to secretly boost the anti-vaxxer movement.)
Fifty Solutions To The Fermi Paradox – I’ll comment on each one from this list! That should keep me going until the Program for WorldCon in Helsinki is published! (www.astro.ufl.edu/~lebo/.../Fermi's%20Paradox%20-%20Stephen%20Webb.docx)


So then, until next time (‘cause I’m on vacation AND I don’t have any idea what to say about ANY of these…well, that’s not exactly true, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!), ponder these and then have at it whenever I post an entry!

Program Book: the link appears to be no longer alive…
Image: https://www.portent.com/images/2013/08/iStock_000016093336Small.jpg

June 8, 2017

MARTIAN HOLIDAY 103: Stepan of Burroughs

On a well-settled Mars, the five major city Council regimes struggle to meld into a stable, working government. Embracing an official Unified Faith In Humanity, the Councils are teetering on the verge of pogrom directed against Christians, Molesters, Jews, Rapists, Buddhists, Murderers, Muslims, Thieves, Hindu, Embezzlers and Artificial Humans – anyone who threatens the official Faith and the consolidating power of the Councils. It makes good sense, right – get rid of religion and Human divisiveness on a societal level will disappear? An instrument of such a pogrom might just be a Roman holiday...To see the rest of the chapters, go to SCIENCE FICTION: Martian Holiday on the right and scroll to the bottom for the first story. If you’d like to read it from beginning to end (70,000+ words as of now), drop me a line and I’ll send you the unedited version.

Stepan Izmaylova looked up at QuinnAH, the adolescent Artificial Human who had attached himself to rolled his eyes, and said, “You wouldn’t understand.”

The boy’s faced purpled – literally – and he shouted, “I thought you were…”

“It’s because I don’t think you know what the definition of propitiation is.”

“Huh?”

Stepan grinned and said, “See, there’s stuff you don’t know!” He reached out tentatively and when Quinn didn’t flinch, tousled  his hair.

Then the boy slowly pulled away and said, “Let’s get below. There’s enough stuff up here to start your stupid garden.”

“It won’t be a stupid garden once it starts to feed people…”

“What kind of people?” Quinn asked as they reached the hole they’d come up through. The rope was still coiled to one side and the antigrav plate still leaned against the low wall that edged the roof of the entire warehouse.

“Anyone who has Human DNA will be considered Human.” He looked down at the boy and said, “You and I are Humans; together.” He paused, “I think that this is the message God has called me to proclaim.” Quinn snorted. Stepan put his hand on the boy’s head and pressed down hard. “Respect your elders!” He grinned an instant later.

Quinn shook his head and said, “Let’s go over here. I think it’s where the stairs got hidden.” Stepan turned to follow, bending to pick up the rope. For an instant, he lost his balance. Quinn grabbed his hand and pulled him upright, saying, “Maybe I better hold your hand, then, Preach.” He led Stepan across the roof, his hand firmly in the other man’s grasp. He didn’t pull away and neither did Stepan, feeling the implicit trust of the Human gesture. Quinn stopped, dropped his hand and pointed, “I think this is it.”

A thick coating up dust and debris was no different here than the rest of the garbage on the roof. But faintly raised up in the slanting light of the Martian sun as it began to slide toward setting, there was an outline. The boy stepped back as Stepan knelt. Conscious of the unstable roof and briefly wondering how they could possibly get the credits to renovate it to make it strong enough to support several metric tons of soil and several thousand liters of liquid, he dug with his bare hands. After a while, he’d cleared enough space to show that it was in fact, a sort of seal.

“My turn, Preach,” said Quinn, gently pushing him away.

“You can’t…”

“I was bred for hard work, Human. You were bred for intellect. You got me started, now let me do what I can do best.”

Stepan pursed his lips then slowly grinned. “Out of the mouth of babes,” he muttered.

Quinn had found a grip and was carefully cleaning around it. “You say something?”

“Nah. I’m only now beginning to realize how deeply my prejudice is rooted.”

“Huh?” the query grew to a groan, then a growl. Stepan saw muscle and sinew swell on the boy’s arms as the sound faded and he focused his energy on the seal. After several moments, something gave and a sigh escaped into the air, cutting through the cloud of dust they’d raised. The air smelled unlike the air around them – not bad. Different. Once the seal had been broken, the doorway opened easily and soon stood open.

“I’ll go down first,” said Stepan. Quinn was silent. Stepan looked down at him, grinned then said, “What, now that there’s mystery and real danger, you’re not going to rush on in?”

Quinn hadn’t taken his eyes off the doorway. His words were faint when he said, “I ain’t the one who believes in a powerful god. You is. No idea what’s down that hole and I don’t feel good ‘bout findin’ out.”

“Point taken.”

“What?”

“You’re right. I’ll go down. You wait here.” Without waiting, Stepan sat on the edge and said, “I was a hero of the Faith Wars. There’s nothing down there that can harm me – not after all these decades.”

“Keep tellin’ yourself that, Preach. My only thought is that maybe they wasn’t tryin’ to seal us out. Maybe they was trying to keep something IN…”


June 6, 2017

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 307

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them.

SF Trope: genetic memories

Iker Dương flexed his bicep.

Leonie Gonzalez shook her head and rolled back over on her stomach.

“What? I thought you said you wanted to see a trick?” Iker said.

Without looking at him, she pulled up the latest Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennan book on her Kindenookpad – or knop – and got back to her reading.

“What are you mad at?”

Leonie said, “Listen Iker, I like you and all, but if you want us to be anything more than buddies, you’re going to have to actually talk to me.”

Iker sat down. The sappy sad look on his face almost made Leonie give in and feel sorry for him. Instead, she rolled over with her back to him.

He arched over her, planting his hands firmly on the ground then flipped his feet over, landing lightly. She almost grabbed him then, too. But they were almost done with their college freshman year, she wanted to get into medical school – she was aiming to be the first forensic anthropologist on Mars because now that the population there had topped three million, there were going to be MURDERS…

He flexed his bicep again and said, “I’m trying to show you something.”

She sighed.

“Not my muscle! I’m showing you what we’re doing in the lab!”

“Trying to create muscles from nothing?”

“Hey!” He pouted and she relented a bit. “I’m sorry, but the Mexicans and the Vietnamese are not known for producing Olympic weightlifting champions...”

“It’s not my muscle, it’s what’s in my muscle!”

“String beans?” She winced an instant after speaking the words but couldn’t say, “Iker, wait!” fast enough to stop him from sprint away. She also couldn’t quite stop the thought that he had a rather cute backside as well and even though he was sorta on the skinny side…”Iker, wait!” He kept going. She stopped, pondered for an instant, then put her ancestry to work and sprinted, catching him in ten long strides, grabbing his arm. She thought for an instant that the bicep wasn’t as wimpy as she’d imagined. “I’m sorry, Iker – but you’re just such a tempting target. What...”

“DNA – I have a data package in my bicep. I’ve been carrying it for the past week and we’re going to take it out tomorrow to see if…”

From the shadows of the science building, a voice said, “I don’t think you should be talking about this, folks.”

Names: Swiss German, Argentinian; Mexican, Vietnamese
                                                                      
Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/3,2,1_blast-off!_(15871161250).jpg/511px-3,2,1_blast-off!_(15871161250).jpg