Slice of PIE: I SHOULD Write About Father’s Day, Right?

My banner above says, “Where Writing, Christianity and Speculative Fiction Interact and You Can Comment On My Fiction – So We Can Learn TOGETHER”.

 

I’ve meant that from the day I posted my first entry on August 1, 2007 six years ago.

 

Hardly anyone posts a response these days, but from what I read, that’s because:

 

There are over a billion FaceBook pages. I’m there: https://www.facebook.com/guy.stewart.946

 

There are half a billion Twitter account users. I’m there: @gstewart75 (https://twitter.com/gstewart75)

 

Outlook has almost another half billion. I’m there: gstewart75@hotmail.com

 

LinkedIn has 225 million. I’m there, too.

 

Dropbox has over 100 million. Working with a friend of mine on Dropbox.

 

According to my source, in 2012, there were approximately 31,000,000 of which 35% use eBlogger like I do. That comes out to 10,850,000 so I really DON’T feel bad that people don’t comment. I DO know that somewhere in the neighborhood of 35,000 people have stopped by during that time.

 

I DO know that there are 462 Comments and that I have fairly regular commenters.

 

So what have I learned in the past 6 years?

 

Lots – I learned that I LOVE writing in blog-bits! What are they? If you look at my sidebar, you’ll see A PINE IN THE CITY ALONE (picture book), A SHORT LONG JOURNEY NORTH (young adult/middle grade historical), LOVE IN A TIME OF ALIEN INVASION (young adult science fiction), and A MARTIAN HOLIDAY (science fiction novel for adults with a Christian worldview).

 

I’ve written three other picture books thus far (one went to my agent but she didn’t think it was strong enough, the second and third I’m still revising); two YA/MG novels (one I sent to my agent and she found it confusing, the other I’m waiting to publish my first NON-genre novel to jump into the genre novels for kids); a fantasy novel I am also waiting on my publication of one of TWO novels that are out there in Submission Land; and a Christian novel whose elevator pitch is “Jan Karon’s MITFORD series meets CROSS AND THE SWITCHBLADE (or for a more contemporary title, you could try CHASING THE DRAGON)”.

 

Have I sold any books? Nope.

 

Have I sold any stories? Yep. (See above for my most recent publication.)

Am I constantly writing?

 

As my Scandinavian forebears might have said, “You betcha!” 

I also learned that when I publish something in my blog, it’s considered published. Of course, the books I write are ONLY initial drafts – I play with ideas, characters, tone, and theme. That’s why if you read my posts in order, you’ll see that not only do the things I listed change – but names, genders and tenses change as well. When I do the final draft, all of that will be resolved – but that’s what I need the input for! I want to know what is working and what is not. I solicit the views of people of various beliefs as well – I do NOT feel called to write for the evangelical Christian market (except for some few, very specific projects). I need to know if my own faith is peeking through TOO MUCH. I don’t want to bury what I believe, but I don’t want to be offensive to my market, either.

 

I want to do what Jesus did – tell interesting stories that are perfectly legitimate on the surface of them, but can be interpreted on a deeper level as well. “The Prodigal Son” is an excellent piece of flash fiction (they called them parables in Jesus’ day) by itself. Makes you sigh and wish that your family was like that! (I talked about this long, long ago: http://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2008/11/writing-advice-parable-storythat.html). But it can be read on a spiritual level as well and it was “for those who have ears to hear”.Anyway, I HAVE to get this posted, so I’ll end now. I LOVE blogging. I love comments.

 

‘nuff said.

 

Resources: http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media/, http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/social-media-user-stat-infographic/ , http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/08/02/blogging-statistics-facts-and-figures-in-2012-infographic/

Image: http://us.123rf.com/450wm/spotmatikphoto/spotmatikphoto1305/spotmatikphoto130500753/19667150-montage-of-multicultural-people-couple-and-families-father-mother-son-and-daughter-children-eating-h.jpg

A New Story Up At PERIHELION!

PERIHELION Online Magazine published a short story of mine called "Invoking Fire"!

http://www.perihelionsf.com/fiction_6.htm

I got the idea because my concern with the preponderance of electronic books and its impact on the poor of the world. When I TALKED about it, no one seemed able to see my point.

But this story seems to have gotten me an audience. Maybe more people will consider the impact of US going electronic on THEM who need the books we "throw away"...

In fact, this was brought abruptly to the forefront of thought when I got an email from an old student of mine. She's starting a non-profit organization bent on revitalizing the classrooms of Liberia with better classrooms...AND BOOKS...

From where?

Here.

When all of our books are self-righteously electronic, then where does that leave THE REST OF THE WORLD?

Sorry.

Image:  http://matthewsdent.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/perihelion-june-132.jpg

POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAYS: The Holy Grail in Ancient and Modern Times -- And The Movie of A Young Friend of Mine

A young friend of mine – whom I had the privilege of writing with in a class he took from me when he was very young (he’d already had three short stories published by then) – premiered a movie for which he conceived the idea, wrote the screenplay, directed and edited. For the complete story, read the article here:

http://post.mnsun.com/2013/06/perpich-student-premieres-independent-film/

As I shared the basic idea with my daughter’s good friend – a teenager’s favorite hat, one he wears only on the weekend, disappears so he sets off to find it and ends up crossing with gangs and twisting and turning with humor in what is billed as a “thriller with comedic twists” – I suddenly realized that I was watching LORD OF THE RINGS the next night (talk about comedic twists!).

My reflections on WEEKEND HAT and LORD OF THE RINGS abruptly began to range all over the place, lighting on MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL as well as other modern interpretations of the legend like THE FISHER KING, and THE DA VINCI CODE.  Ancient literature such as Conte de Grale, Percival, Morte dArthur depends heavily on the legend, but modern lit and speculative fiction in particular has mined the trope. From Samuel R. Delany’s Nova, to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover books, to Judith Tarr’s Kingdom of the Grail, Elizabeth Bear’s Grail, and Charles Stross’ Accelerando and the expectation that someday Humanity will transcend itself with the help of technology. 

“Why is the Grail legend, traditionally known as an emblem of Christianity, still so popular in a culture that has generally turned away from traditional religion? How does a legend steeped in medieval supernaturalism thrive amid modern skepticism and secular humanism? How does the Grail maintain relevance long after the culture that created it?” (The Science Fiction Film Reader by Greg Rickman)

This myth; this powerful image is diminished and made simple by our longing for a trinket or place or loved one taken too soon – something that I have lost or had taken from me. The concept seems echoed in everything we do.

From the loss of the cup Jesus and his followers used to drink and dine during the very first Jewish Passover that became Christian Communion to civilizations far flung in both time and technology seeking their origins, lost fleets, sons or daughters of Emperors or even the “glory of forgotten days” – all of these are recreated in speculative fiction of the past and today.

The Quest for the Holy Grail with its cascade of amplifying and diminishing movies and literature is also reflected in a little movie by a great young adult in the arts-friendly city of Minneapolis.

If you’d like, please share any other reflections of the Holy Grail you’ve read or watched lately!

Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyTq-s3SX-dnGgX6CbKk8uE8W7M0dGxQg84qmzGkGhdWhyphenhyphengjFEDP_37dg99tKN1uoEBKPDbUKWS-qywXBaY2EoPHDjiR0lkTCLbin9VWUCgk14EHOEw3x4h-b-7ecjuST6A_Md1lsEGE/s320/1indy-idol-holy-grail.jpg

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 115

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: Post-cataclysmic rag-tag armies struggle to kick [some bad guy] out of the good ol' US of A
Current Event: http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/11/21/could_north_koreans_invade_america

Salvador Cadenas de la Parras screamed, “¡joda la tierra!”; he also cursed the sky and the very air he breathed. He threw his hat over the cliff and cursed an invisible America two thousand kilometers to the north.

Yomery Kauam smiled, shook her head then laughed, saying, “If only you’d have expressed you passion to the Commander in Chief, you’d be on Haitian and Dominican soil at this moment, smashing through that pestilential wasteland on your way to Florida. Instead, you’re here, throwing your hat over a cliff into the bright morning sun.”

Sal spun around, cursed her, fixing her with as fierce a glare as he could. “I wanted to be there!”

Yomery shook her head, “You didn’t want to be there – you wanted to be a hero with El Presidente’s medallion on your chest and women on your arms.” She gestured to the far-away target. “Invading America today is nothing at all like invading it forty years ago!”

 

“It’s the same!”

 

Yomery headed back down the hill. Sal ran after her, grabbed her shoulder. She grabbed his hand, stopped and let gravity and mass work together to flip him over her shoulder. Keep her hand firmly on his wrist, she pulled him back toward herself until he came to a sudden, breathless stop on his back, at her feet. She leaned over, kissed his nose and said, “Let’s talk when you calm down, OK?”

 

She scramble down the trail, listening carefully to make sure she hadn’t broken anything important on Sal. When she heard him groan and scramble to his feet, she headed to the monitor bunker they’d been sharing since Venezuela had launched its preemptive attack against what had formerly been the glorious US of A. She’d been born there in the Decadent Decade just before the Fizzle. The one-time world power was now reduced to planning invasions of one-time failed countries like Venezuela...

 

Sal limped up beside her and said, “¿Por qué hizo usted esto?”

 

She replied in unaccented American English, “Because you tried to bully me.”

 

“I...I...I...”

 

“You should practice your English, Sal. We may not be in on the real invasion, but the occupation of America should keep us busy for…oh, the next decade.”

 

“America might...”

 

“America’s not going to do anything except surrender.”

 

He stared at her and said, “Haven’t you ever watched the Mad Max movies?”

 

“I don’t see what some ancient, flat, American movie...”

 

“It has everything to do with this whole invasion! We may be strong; we may be brave, but the Americans have corazón profundo.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“They have a deep spirit when they’re forced into a corner.”

 

She pursed her lips, glanced north in the direction of the legendary “land of the free and the home of the brave” and said, “That may be true, but I’ve heard that El Presidente has a surprise up his sleeve for the Americans.” Sal ran up behind her, reached to grab her arm then jerked his hand back. Without turning around, she said, “Let’s just say that Americans may have a history of resisting oppressors – Brazilians have a history of subverting our oppressors.”

 

References: http://www.mrqe.com/lists/post-apocalyptic-movies/cinemas-best-to-worst-postapocalyptic-movies

Names: ♀ Venezuela (both); ♂  Venezuela (both)

Image: http://www.madmaxmovies.com/mad-max/mad-max-cars/chevy-impala/ImpalaAttack.jpg

WRITING ADVICE: Bruce Bethke’s TWELVE STEP PROGRAM FOR WRITERS #10

Somewhere around thirty years ago, I met Bruce Bethke for the first time – when I responded to an ad in a newspaper for a science fiction writers group seeking new members. I called, then sent in an “audition story” and was invited to join the group at the ORIGINAL, original Loft Literary Center (before grant money started flowing) in Minneapolis. One of THEM reviews books now, the other published a few books and short stories but no longer writes. Bruce doesn’t write much lately except for non-fiction; he is currently executive editor of STUPEFYING STORIES, an irregular anthology of new speculative fiction, he mostly works for a super computer company as well as presiding over Rampant Loon Press. These nuggets of wisdom can be found here: http://www.sfwa.org/2009/06/a-12-step-program-for-writers/. They are used with the author’s permission.

10. We will continue to take inventory of our old unsold stuff, in hopes that something will germinate in the dark and suddenly and spontaneously become a best-seller.

I completely get the first part – but I am puzzled by the last part.

 

So, I’ll do the tough stuff first: “...in hopes that something will germinate in the dark and suddenly and spontaneously become a best-seller.”

 

As I am an old writer, I do in fact, have paper files that would allow something to grow in the cabinet were seeds to get in and water seep create a moist environment conducive to germination and growth.

 

I also realize that paper is DEAD organic matter and turning into something that it is NOT is akin to expecting Spalanzani’s mesh-covered meat to burst with maggots and flies. It’s not going to happen.

 

I have submitted, at best count, something like 800 times. At a guess, I have on file (paper and electronic) something like 600 manuscripts. Of those, roughly 10% have been accepted for publication SOMEWHERE. That means that 60 of my manuscripts have seen the light of day and someone besides me has read them. If I were to dig back to my earliest attempts, I’d find completely unpublishable (note to self: “Self, is it significant to the state of publishing in this second decade of the 21^st Century, that until I added, Microsoft Word XP did not have ‘unpublishable’ in its dictionary? This would make an excellent POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY!”)

 

To date, none of them has reached the NYT Bestseller List (though one is still available from CSS Publishing or Amazon.com).

 

The chances of one of the remaining manuscripts becoming a bestseller are the same as the chance of you spontaneously combusting in your rocking chair. According to Straight Dope, “Over the past 300 years, there have been more than 200 reports of persons burning to a crisp for no apparent reason.” That works out to a .18% chance that you will spontaneously combust today – with an average world population of 3.5 billion, you’d have to wait six million or so years before your turn came up. Your chances of being hit by a tornado are better: “Even if you were to camp out permanently in the heart of tornado alley, statistically speaking you would most likely have to wait 1400 years before being struck by a twister.” (Skyfire TV)

 

So germinating a best-seller from my earlier manuscripts is pretty much a bust. But I can SEND OUT earlier manuscripts to less exalted markets than I usually write for! I did that recently.

 

The first part of Step 10 is easier to understand and I have evidence that doing it on a regular basis might just net a sale for me.

 

I primarily write science fiction because I primarily read science fiction. (Of COURSE I’ve read Chronicles of Narnia (odd – Microsoft Word XP has the word “Narnia” in it…); Lord of the Rings; The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever; Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell; War For The Oaks; and Chronicles of the Deryni! (Who DO you think I am?)). I wrote a story I really loved and duly sent it out to my primary markets: ANALOG, ASIMOV’S, OSC’s INTERGALACTIC MEDICINE SHOW; and LIGHTSPEED.

 

Rejected there, I aimed at my second tier magazines: DSF, BUZZYMAG, and a few others. Finally, frustrated, I sent it to AURORA WOLF. The editor there loved it, paid me and published it! (See the link above if you want to read it.)

 

This was a story I’d almost given up on – I’d sent it out the first time in March of 2011 and revised it twice. It was in a world that was sparked by an idea that Bruce Bethke had tossed out and while it took two revisions PAST the usual number I do with a typical story, it did in fact, spring from my files as ultimately published! Another piece of fiction has the same story –written in 2010, it suffered through six markets over the next year and it was ultimately published as a PODCAST by an English online YA magazine! (Cool, huh? I’m published internationally!)

 

Anyway – I continue to mine my past for present and future ideas – and Bruce Bethke recommends that same! (Tongue in cheek, of course.)

 

Resources: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/190/do-people-really-die-from-spontaneous-human-combustion, http://www.sky-fire.tv/index.cgi/tornadoes.html

Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CzAk6T9Uzna8zgl4RkTh_2J36Rnx88cgJeEDu567INcRsOXbTkNnG_d08xGoeerfsRbYIB-8tgDbSeVdxnkySyIGYJIsHWMMXpyuWAKSrdk9ANmn0IFbfPilAgI4EAWQqsoJklRyd1qZ/s400/Redi.JPG

A PINE IN THE CITY, ALONE WITH A BOY 2

From where I sit on the back yard steps, I can see a pine tree we left behind after we first bought our house. There were four others, but they’d grown so close together, we had to have them cut down as they were killing each other as they competed for soil space, water and sunlight.

Where we live, at the intersection of Great Plains, Deciduous Forest, and Coniferous Forest, there’s a wild mix of trees and grassland. But what would happen if you went further south? What would happen if a migrating bird dropped a seed of, say, a Jack Pine in Oklahoma City? What if a little boy, from a near-destitute white family, discovered it, found out about it, nurtured it…and that’s what this is about.

Once upon the same time, just as long from now,

There lived a boy in the city, alone.

A home made of metal that banged when it rained,

He was one of nine who slept in a pile, through the winter hot and long.

Image: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/02/22/sports/22zwolle.1.600.jpg

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 114

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: Cobweb jungle

Current Event: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/spiders-in-pakistan-encase-whole-trees-in-webs

“I love spiders,” said Farzana Niazi.

Byron Neson shuddered and said at the same time, “I hate spiders.”

Farzana shot him an irritated look and said, “Why would you volunteer to come on this trip, then?”

Byron blushed and turned away, saying, “My therapist said that I needed to face my fears.”

Farzana shook her head, “Oh, I understand the concept – it’s just that there must be a…safer place to face it.” She gestured to the forest covered by the webs of a dozen different spiders. “Who knows what kind of spiders are on all those trees?”

He shuddered, “Thanks for helping me overcome my fear.”

She relented, “Fine – there’s obvious evidence that they’re not carnivorous.”

“How would you know that?”

“Well, first of all, there are a zillion of the things and they’re all still alive. If they were carnivorous, they’d be eating each other.”

He sniffed, “I pretty much agree.”

“What other reason could there be?”

“An absence of their own kinds of food.”

“What?”

“Maybe they don’t like eating each other – maybe the different ones have different prey and right now they’re starving to death and waiting to drop on to something like…me, maybe.”

She shook her head and set up the capture traps. Each one had a ring of water in the center suspended from a Teflon, “no-stick” cone. Thirsty spiders would be drawn by the water then slide down the funnel through a scanning micro-camera with a computer chip that would identify each one and count them.

“It’s getting dark,” Byron said.

“Duh. That’s when the spiders are most active. They don’t sleep like us,” Farzana said.

“We’ll be heading back soon, right?”

She gestured at the wagon he was pulling and said, “What’s it look like you?”

He bit his lower lip then said, “So one trap for each of six trees?” He pointed at six nearby trees and counted. “So we should be able to leave in a couple…”

“Don’t be silly! What kind of sample accuracy would I get if I just took from the trees in one section?”

“A sensible one?” Overhead, Byron was sure he heard the webs rustle, as if something were moving around more than usual. A gentle breeze blew across the flooded land from off the Indian Ocean.

“No, a sample that would get me laughed out of grad school.”

He grunted and went with her as she tugged him along after her. They continued to set the traps, moving deeper into the web-shrouded forest. The sun set behind roiling clouds on the horizon, promising more rain even as the monsoon season came to an end.

“Are we there yet?” he asked.

“We’re not there,” Farzana said irritably. Overhead, the tent shivered like something was settling in for a night’s sleep. She didn’t appear to hear it.

Byron did.

Clearly.

He said, “We need to go now.”

“We’ll go when I say it’s time.”

The rattling overhead increased and Byron said, “How long has it been since these things have eaten?”

She shrugged as she set out and armed the last device and stood up, arching her back, fists in the small. Byron couldn’t help but ogle for a moment. Something moved over his head in the tent, making a sound like tearing crepe paper.

This time Farzana looked up and said, “That’s an odd sound. I’ve never...”

Names: ♀ Pakistani, Pashtoon; ♂ English, Spanish

Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRWY4hZQOLpVNNSA0t6wFs4LSxwAjV2zkQ4Tpd516bOzSBfeSUPySZXTbhBodkHqaKqFzq3gvtVYZiazXXqM9YQwxTEc43qaKlcv9c2vuPm1I06muPW3-LFW0CyDwqC34ZWTfzB5PEeKGz/s1600/gorse_and_webs_2010_10_08.jpg

POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY: What Makes Me Sad About STAR TREK: Into Darkness

The brainchild of Gene Roddenberry, a WWII pilot, LAPD officer and eventual screenwriter; STAR TREK’s influence on the world will here have to go without comment.

The focus here would be the grief I have felt ever since the release of JJ Abrams new movie.

Roddenberry had the original idea for STAR TREK and envisioned it as “a combination of the two science-fiction series Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. He sold the project as a 'Wagon Train to the Stars' and as Horatio Hornblower in Space.”

He had very specific ideas that had to be contained in the series:

“religion and mystical thinking were not to be included, and that in Roddenberry's vision of Earth's future, everyone was an atheist and better for it”

Over the past five DECADES, “Star Trek [has been] one of the most culturally-influential television shows, and is often regarded as the most influential science fiction TV series—in history.”

“The Star Trek franchise inspired some designers of technologies, such as the Palm PDA and the handheld mobile phone. Michael Jones, Chief technologist of Google Earth, has cited the tricorder's mapping capability as one inspiration in the development of Keyhole/Google Earth. It also brought teleportation to popular attention with its depiction of "matter-energy transport", with phrases such as famous misquoted ‘Beam me up, Scotty’ entering the vernacular. In 1976, following a letter-writing campaign, NASA t0 name its prototype space shuttle Enterprise, after the fictional starship. Later, the introductory sequence to Star Trek: Enterprise included footage of this shuttle which, along with images of a naval sailing vessel called the Enterprise, depicted the advancement of human transportation technology. Beyond Star Trek's fictional innovations, its contributions to TV history included a multicultural and multiracial cast. While more common in subsequent years, in the 1960s it was controversial to feature an Enterprise crew that included a Japanese helmsman, a Russian navigator, a black female communications officer, and a Vulcan-Terran first officer…”

It appears to me that another idea of Roddenberry’s made it into the series as well: the superiority of American capitalist white males. This is apparent in the arrangement of the Bridge of the USS ENTERPRISE – the elevated center is Captain Kirk (from Iowa); at his feet Sulu, the Japanese Empire (perhaps representing the Yellow Horde) and Chekov, Communist Russia. To one side, Montgomery Scott, the European Common Market; far behind him, Uhura stands for all of Africa and blacks in general; and inferior half-breeds the world over are represented by Spock.

All of this came from Roddenberry's vision of the future. Whether I agree with his views on religion or American “moral superiority” or not, I cannot deny the influence of his ideas on the real civilization of this planet.

JJ Abrams “rebooted” the world of STAR TREK in 2009 to wild acclaim. His movie ranks as the second biggest money-maker of the entire 12 movie franchise, with only STAR TREK THE MOVIE out-selling him.

There were so many changes – aside from the obvious shift in the time line and the existence of two Spocks – the ship grew, Kirk’s dad was dead and the Klingon Empire was a serious threat to the much weaker Federation…now that there were only 10,000 Vulcans left and their super-science influence has been lost. At this point, the Federation Founding members consists of the nearly extinct Vulcans (effectively eliminated), Humans, Tellarites and Andorians. While there are ten others listed as Federation Council Members, Star Fleet appears to be mostly run by Humans.

Abrams' Star Trek is supposed to be a whole different world. Abrams had the chance to right everything that was wrong about STAR TREK.

He might have done it if he’d had a vision as Roddenberrry did. If he had set out to change the world as Roddenberry had, he might have recreated STAR TREK, bringing it into the 21^st Century; dealing with 21^st Century issues. Roddenberry’s show dealt with 20^th Century issues (clumsily at times, but nevertheless…) in episodes like, “Let This Be Your Final Battlefield”; “Devil In The Dark”; “The City On The Edge Of Forever”; “The Enemy Within”; “This Side of Paradise”; and “Balance of Terror”. Abrams might have done the same.

But that ship left Space Dock four years ago and is long gone from the Solar System. For example, instead of circling back to the Prime Directive conundrum that started the movie, Abrams et al left the obvious question dangling unanwered: as a still-effective super power, do we have the right to intervene in the internal politics of smaller countries?

Instead of renewing the ideals of STAR TREK, Abrams renewed the movies of STAR TREK, going so far as to lift scenes from at least two of them, invert them and make them UNDENIABLY more exciting, better filmed, more realistic, funnier, and better acted.

But it’s clear – at least in my opinion – that he’s not the least bit interested in “going where no one has gone before”, and instead appears to be taking “the road to El Dorado”.

Resources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_influence_of_Star_Trek, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Roddenberry, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek, http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Federation_members, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138749/

Image: http://joeorman.shutterace.com/Trek/trekcity3.jpg

LOVE IN A TIME OF ALIEN INVASION 3

The Cold War between the Kiiote and the Yown’Hoo has become a shooting war. The only way to stop it is to lock Kiiote, Yown’Hoo and Human into a matrix of need – to create “super beings” capable of not only living together, but combining three different technologies into one. On Earth, there are three Triads – one in the US, one in India and one in China.

Protected by the Triad Corporation, they intend to integrate not only the three peoples and stop the war that slaughters Humans and devastates their world, but to stop the war that consumes Kiiote economy and Yown’Hoo moral fiber (literal in their case) – and eventually confront the extra-Universe aliens who created the Interstice.

According to the best and wisest of the Triad Societies, the Merger of Human-Kiiote-Yown’Hoo into a Congenic will produce a stable construct capable of incredible expansion, creativity, longevity...and wealth – for it seems that it is the Three alone who inhabit the Milky Way, though unknown to them, there is another called the Hive which must complete the Triad – hold it if you will.

Earth-Free Activists plan to blow up one of the Nurseries – places where the Yown’Hoo and Kiiote can actually breed and the young survive far from their homeworlds. One such is south of Winnipeg on the Canadian Prairies. It falls to the North American Triad to move to stop them without letting them know that they have been betrayed...or discover that someone has been betrayed.

The bus rattled across town until it stopped in front of the Old Metrodome. It had been sort of an experiment in cold-weather architecture. According to a history site, it also collapsed due to the megatonnes of snow that had fallen on it one winter.

I couldn’t believe that much snow could fall in winter, but I guess things were different back then. One of the climate sites I ditt on says we caused the coming Ice Age. Another one says we caused the coming Heat Wave. The third one...Forget it. I’m a science ditt geek. I like stuff like that.

Anyway, TriCo optioned it and turned it into quarters for us. Why was our house an entire domed stadium?

Think about it! How else can you feed a herd of eleven grazers, six carnivores and a pair of omnivores; give them places to live, work to do and the ability to be under constant surveillance by a gazillion intelligent beings – as well as provide security for a group of beings so unusual that there were only two others like it on the planet. (And MAN we’re they being raised weird! More on that later!)

They’d scooped up the plastic grass and replaced it with living prairie and farmland; landscaped the rows of seating into agricultural terraces where were could grow our own food; put in trees and then gave us the job of maintaining the place – while the best query marker gurus on the planet made sure we know all about everything.

They’d also surrounded the whole place with a ten kilometer “no-war zone” to keep us safe and turned the whole mess into one group of teenaged aliens in a fishbowl.

Thanks a lot. Most of the escalating war...’Shayla nudged me from her seat behind and said, “Where are you?

“In the bus with you,” I snarked. My mind sure wasn’t in the present. I turned and leaned backward. “Have you ever wondered why where here, ‘Shayla?” She rolled her eyes at me and dug an elbow into her favorite litter mate’s ribs.

Quill – who I call ‘Quillthebitch’ in my head, ‘cause, let’s face it, not only IS she one, but she ACTS like one – yelped and snapped at ‘Shayla who said in gutter !Grank, “Listen Quill, the philosopher has something to say!”

Quill gave me a grin, showing teeth almost as big and buck-toothed as a sabertooth’s. Then she said, “I wonder if he tastes like a philosopher, too?”

I turned around, irritated by both of them.

‘Shayla bobbed over the seat and said, “Oh, come on, Car! We’re just teasing!”

From the other side of the seat, I could hear Quillthebitch say clearly, “No we weren’t...” She yelped in real surprise and pain this time when ‘Shayla spun around and did something with her foot. I figured I’d try again, “Listen ‘Shay, I’m trying to be serious. I got a ditt about an hour ago.” He dug out my ipik and hit the project key. 3D letters leaped up between us. It read, “confhtgΛ/Humpcdone?”

Like I said, I sub to about two dozen casts, sites, commentcorps, and ditty. I ditt close to a thousand every week. Even if the lupes and llamas – that’s what we call the Kiiote and the Yown’Hoo when it’s just us Humans – could crack our codes, they wouldn’t understand what we were saying.

‘Shayla didn’t get it either. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I shook my head and said, “The conflict is heating up. Is the Human peace done?”

“Oh,” she said. Shaking her head, she said, “I still don’t get what it means.” She hopped the back of the seat and dropped down beside me, sliding close. On the way, she avoided a few tentacle grabs and flirty tail brushes.

In order to maintain my focus, I started yammering, “The commentator of the day’s looking at how an escalation of the war between the Kiiote and the Yown’Hoo would affect the Human-brokered commercial peace that’s existed for most of the time their young have been being born on Earth and our people taking care of them while they fought their war in far off star systems or whatever.”

She shrugged.

Sometimes she bugged the living daylights out of me. So I tried a more direct route, “What if the aliens start shooting up OUR home place?”

Image: http://llamabutchers.mu.nu/CenturionLlamas.jpg

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 113

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: Planetary/Interplanetary Romance

Current Event: (not immediately current, but… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Nowak)

Sergey Akinpelu shook his head, saying, “Dad, you can’t just go there and talk to her!”

Still climbing on to his electric motorcycle, Sergey’s dad slipped his helmet on his head. “You think I can’t do what I please?”

“It’s not that, Dad! The rocket’s surrounded by soldiers. I don’t want you to get shot.”

Dad cinched the helmet tightly under his chin and said, “They will not shoot me. I love her.” Sergey glared at his dad as he lowered the solar cell umbrella and pushed it into the place where there’d once been a gas tank. Thumbing the ignition, he added, “My love for her is not like that of her previous husband.”

“Five husbands, Dad! The lady married five guys and she dumped all of them!”

“She will not ‘dump’ me. You will see.” He throttled the cycle up and rode away.

Ceeiab Saliguero, Sergey’s best friend and ex-girlfriend, said, “What’s your dad think he’s going to use to win captain Ansari’s love?”

Sergey snorted, “His sex appeal?”

Ceeiab laughed and shook her head. “Are you gonna go after him?”

Sergey frowned. He’d never really thought of it that way. If Dad got shot trying to get into the PAVATAR – the newest Plastic Aerobic Vehicle for Hypersonic Aerospace TrAnspoRtation – sent up to the growing International Space Station, then he’d inherit everything. He snorted again and said, “Inheriting all of nothing is still nothing.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Listen, would you lock up the house? I gotta follow Dad and make sure he doesn’t get himself killed.”

“Now there’s my boy!” Ceeiab said with cheery sarcasm. Sergey flipped her off and hopped on his own motorcycle. It started with a bit more of growl than Dad’s toy had. Sergey had modified it based on the research he’d done for his virtual science class. Mr. Bondar was excited about what he’d found out about the new 3DacLion (three dimensional anode-cathode Lithium ion [http://www.extremetech.com/computing/153614-new-lithium-ion-battery-design-thats-2000-times-more-powerful-recharges-1000-times-faster]) battery Sergey had…

He yanked his thoughts away from physics. It was a place he’d retreated more and more lately. He had to find Dad.

He took a few shortcuts Dad would never think of and reached Stonesand Airport before him. It was surrounded both by a three meter tall cyclone fence and a new-generation pain generator field. He sniffed. That was easy enough to overcome, the essential idea being the same as deflecting a sneeze by pressing the upper lip. Except that he used damp, twisted fiberglass draped over a nearby suitably conductive surface. He’d tested it once to meet a girl who worked at the port. He glanced down the face of the fence toward the gate.

His father rolled up, but Sergey was staring through the fence. In the center of the landing strip was thick-bodied rocket on landing pads. On top of the rocket was the rotund, winged PAVATAR passenger vehicle. Tomorrow it would be packed with twenty people submerged in hyper-oxygenated sky-gel against acceleration, hunger, and fear of lift-off and spaceflight.

Gunshots and screams from the gate made him turn abruptly...

Names: ♀ Hmong, Brazilian; ♂ Russia, Nigeria

Image: http://www.nancyatkinson.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/night-launch-pad-004-1-560x272.jpg