It’s a lousy pun, but it’s mine. So there.
It looks as if were going to be learning about Ai’s first interactions with her father. That also means her interactions with humans in general. Honestly, I’m a bit curious, myself. Must be why I decided to come back to it.
I had to go ask my older teenaged daughter what you call those long strands of hair in front of your ears. It’s good to have experts to draw upon when writing!
I do not know if I’ll continue with this or not; if I do, I’ll have to retcon a title. That’s fine.
At wit’s end, after trying to catch up on Winter season’s anime, my wife and I trudged upstairs from our pellet stove-warmed basement. The best things about best friends is that they tell you the truth.
“If there was one thing you really wanted to know about my world, Machine Civilization, what would it be?”
This was not a shot in the dark. She’d read the end of WWE this morning and knew I was at loose ends.
“How were they made? Ai, and everyone else?” She asked.
Well, hot diggity damn.
There are things that, as a creator, you DO NOT DO: explain jokes, explain magic tricks, explain creation.
So much for #3.
Nope: I refuse to be drawn into a technical discussion about coding AI’s. But, you know what I like? My regular readers do: I adore my character’s conversations! In my first trad novel, The Fourth Law, Ai, at her friend Lily’s question, briefly touched on her awakening. Okay. What was that like?
*See what I did there?
Yesterday’s impression – and I don’t do impressions – was correct: the eighth installment was a good place to stop. However, I’d already written most of this last, and did not want it to go to waste. I’ve even seen a little beyond it, one of the dangers of writing, but Gary & Henge’s micro-story is at a close. For now. The coda, below, features Faustina, who, sooner than later, will have her own book.
What’s – or rather – who’s next in my Machine Civilization Dreams series…?
Writing this, I thought at the time is was the last installment. Late last night, more drunk than normal, I saw a little more about Faustina. Looking at what my then-self wrote, I’m not entirely thrilled with it. After I post this, I’m going to see if they allow me to ‘soften’ what I wrote.
She’s still going to be fundamentally good, but what eight year-old, who can move effortlessly between the machine’s home and ours wouldn’t end up a little disturbed or drunk on power? Anyway: plan on the curtain coming down on WWE on or about installment #10.
Let’s wrap up the Pope’s visit!
Gary may think that Henge has learned a little subtlety from her father, but when it comes to getting what she wants… maybe not. In the fallout of the wedding of their friend Susie, Henge unearths a problem and wants it fixed. Now. By an expert. So here’s installment seven that, along with eight, has a special guest!
I guess I could subtitle this one, On the Beach. Henge and Gary get a visit from a friend they’ve not seen in almost a year. And she’s bringing big news; news that’s fraught with emotion for our couple.
I see at least two more entries for this storyline. Will I see more? Should I move on? The world wonders.
Mmmm… stir-fried southwest chicken for burritos! Spanish rice… refried beans! Things I don’t eat on my low-carb lifestyle. If I drank less, I could eat worse…
Not happening.
Besides what’s on the table, Gary recalls the taste of his Intended and what is perhaps a bitter taste of his future…?
A smaller installment; first of two, actually. ~550 words is too small but ~1200 was too long… broke it in half, anyway. A look into the Hartmann’s home: the Domestic Church. If I get it edited before bed, I’ll post part 5.
They seem like really nice people!
machciv 