Month: August 2021

Prayers and snacks

I don’t know what life was like for European royals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Perhaps it was all one long string of social engagements? Perhaps some actually had important duties to perform? The children of Russia and the imperium are tools; tools for AI’s, tools for demi’s in places of power. I’ve noted a near-fatalism among this little band. To some extent these are my stories, and you can go all the way back to “The Fourth Law,” nearly seven years ago, when young Lily Barrett told her boyfriend, “Death is as light as a feather. Duty is as heavy as a mountain.” Obviously, this echoes through all of Machine Civilization.

Something is definitely up with what Laszlo is thinking about Reina’s android. I wonder where that’s going?

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Podcast 11: Religion in Machine Civilization

Having covered politics and sex it was time to turn my attention to the last of the “not to be discussed” triumvirate of religion. More specifically Christianity and ever more so, Roman Catholicism. Only two of the machines are believers and I’d guess about half, barely, of the human characters who get a speaking role in my twelve books are. I and my characters are never preachy but it is a very important matter for many of them.

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Midwife

For long time readers, crises do not last long in my stories; part of my terse style or maybe I just want people talking again? Kira lives and once getting herself back in mind lays out to her family and friend where things are going next. Her brother and sister are, I think, taken aback by this and there will likely be a huge argument in coming installments. Laszlo? Between being a demi and under his mother’s thumb I suspect a broad and deep streak of fatalism which could only be described as “Russian.”

I like nurse Green’s little throw-away line about “Viscount Breazeale is my lord.” Something even I struggle with in stories set so far in the future is feudalism. While both RealWorld sides of my family are older than the American Republic, arriving around 1766 and 1739, respectively, they were obviously a cantankerous lot very bloody-minded about setting up a new home away from aristocratic interference. Now, nearly 300 years later, that is discarded for the personal loyalty of a neo-feudal system to demi-humans and machines tasks my imagination sometimes.

I am hoping Les’s concluding words will be the segue to my next podcast – about religion – coming out late Friday or early Saturday. Please everyone have a good weekend!

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Aqua

At long last we meet this Machine. I think his construct is what he thinks Mars will look like once the terraforming project is complete. As to what he wants with Princess Kira? I’ve no idea, but things start to move fast.

As we’ve learned, Kirry is a demi and it seems their contact was brief, so I do not think this will be a major emergency. However, even a small medical crisis can become a major one when in – or on – a hostile environment.

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Podcast 10: Sex in Machine Civilization

Nearly twenty minutes of a middle-aged ex-engineer talking about sex. Perhaps your time would be better watching your grass grow? In modern times, this very important subject is treated so lightly and so callously that our society finds itself confusing “gender” with sex and thinking there are scores of them. That’s not how I roll.

Even in one of my earliest books one of the machines says, “Sex differences go all the way down in a way even we do not comprehend. The coders did not know that and many early models went insane.” Never once does any character speak of gender. Even the co-creation byproduct of humans carries elements of their sexuality, leading to Thaad’s most interesting development.

NOTE: more than any other podcast to-date, this one is packed full of spoilers. FYI.

As you hopefully can see, I have made several structural changes to this site. The RSS’s for the podcasts are now at the top of the sidebar. Instead of listing all links to my books – after all, they are on display right there – I have an overall link to Amazon and Smashwords. Yes, yes: baby steps. But steps nonetheless.

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Boots on ground

At long last our travelers make it to the Martian surface. Things inside Princess Kira’s head continue to develop. Funny to see that even in an experimental station on another world, people just go about their business as best they can. Seems things are settling down a little, so there’s no reason not to think that Laszlo and Kira won’t be able to… what’s that light in the sky?… a plot point?

After my abject failure with no podcast last week, I have been able to record and edit this Friday’s. Further, as I have DayJob this weekend, I plan to record next week’s ‘cast this Friday. I always wanted to get at least 1-2 episodes ahead but to-date have not had a chance. Will try to rectify that.

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“Free Fallin'”; and podcast delay

As expected, my good notes about sex and religion stayed right there on the page, not moving to my mouth and thence into the microphone. I was able to load two cars of stuff for Daughter #1’s return to college tomorrow AM… the 98F and 100% humidity of central Ohio. Between their summer and shoveling snow in the winter, Ohio was made to give middle-aged people like me heart attacks.

So, just to throw some content out there, the royals are docked with Martian Control and get a briefing. With a hint of a surprise guest. Additionally, Kira tries out the Void for the first time, now she begins to understand what she is.

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It’s Australian for Beer

Having the last installment the exposition of Mars, here we have exposition of the huge station of Martian Control. I mentioned in one of my podcasts that Australia has “affiliate” or “auxiliary” status within the Polar Alliance. I’d imagine that if Aqua found someone he wanted who was willing to serve on the terraforming project, he would invite them over.

I may make it official that my Friday podcasts will start coming out Saturday; things are just too busy around here. I won’t make that final until Daughter #1 is back to college this Saturday and I have a chance to see what that does to my schedule – I suspect very little – but am already leaning in that direction. Having already discussed politics, I’ll turn my attention to sex and religion. After all, those are the three things one should never discuss in polite company. And I am anything but that.

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An Open Secret

At the start of part three of this novel, when Faustina and her sons have finished dinner, it seemed pretty much that everyone knew about Laszlo’s sexual preferences but no one would talk openly about. In a way, that’s how the world and polite society used to work: you might know something untoward about a family member or co-worker, but so long as they weren’t up in your face demanding you worship their failing, society continued to function. It seems that polity has returned in the Changed world. Saying all that to say this: onboard ship, the girls have a laugh at the boys.

There’s also the first close-in images of Mars. The Red planet is rapidly not.

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