Category: science fiction

A Colour to Trust

Largely back up and running. Not writing for nearly a week was horrible. There are still a few s/w sets I need to reload onto Rory (the new machine’s name) but I can at least type.

Getting back to the story, things, as you will read, and changing rapidly. Aurie is about to get a baptism of fire in international power politics, where who you think is a friend or rival could surprise you. Faustina had the advantage of putting together the imperium in something of a power vacuum. Aurelia is in it now, up to her neck.

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Empty Colours

We confirm something I’ve long suspected about Henge. I mentioned in my writing exercise, Cadets (pts 1-4), but until published in meatspace I don’t really consider some idea I play with to be canonical. As this MS also isn’t published, Henge’s condition is not technically set but I’m proceeding as if it is. I do wonder: if she could ever find another functioning fusion reactor or engine, and put herself into the equipotential flux point, could she reassemble her body? Pull nanomaterials from some other point of herself to fashion eggs? She’d certainly need help from the Thinking Machines to do that.

And, shedding? A regenerative effect? That was completely new to me, as well.

I like how Aurie is so unassuming: a bar of soap to wash a Regent’s hair? No fancy shampoos and conditioners for her!

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Colour’s Plea

Something a recapitulation of the last few installments but once this is book, I want those scenes clear in the reader’s minds as I’m going to gloss nearly their entire 600-mile ride and go immediately into imperium politics, internal, external, familial. There will suddenly be a lot of names thrown at the screen. In the book you will be able to flip to the front to the family tree and go, “oh, that’s who this is.” Not really bothering with that here.

Colour’s letter is in blockquotes but formatting WordPress is not worth the bother.

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Colour Me Surpised

Even though presented through dialog, this is still something of a cheap way of data-dumping onto the reader what’s probably ahead for what will be part three of the novel. All we know is the meeting in Tokyo and Aurie’s summon south. Her army? Colour? Jimmy? (remember him?) Long Island pirates? There are many things in flux here.

I suspect the next couple of installments will be General Hartmann dealing with them quickly. I know she’ll want her friend to go home and tell the Governing Council all she’s seen, to sway them more to the imperium’s side. One of the four legates will have be acting general but I still bet the army pulls way back to not look threatening in this new political situation. Much to think about.

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Colour of a Dream

This concludes the ‘Nova Scotia arc.’ I lay 1:2 odds that when Jimmy walks into his house, the RCMP are waiting on him. Who knows?

Story-wise, I’ll be going dark for a while as I’m blind as to where this is going right now. There’s one conflict on the horizon: Aurie’s huge argument with the Empress. Fussy wants Aurie married now. Fussy is also still seething that Aurie’s demi-human brother married a “normie” of questionable genetics; Jimmy might be a step too far. On the other hand, as Aurelia will throw in her face: “There are less than ten of us! Are we some Semite tribe to marry our cousins?”

Minor conflict. These are great characters on the stage and they deserve great conflict. With Texas edging to the imperium’s side, does Canada sign a defensive agreement with Mexico? Suddenly Faustina is the one surrounded; she would not like that and likely respond kinetically. Does Liz, Fussy’s first child, switch on her listening array on the back of the Moon only to hear, “Humans look tasty. See you soon.”? Maybe old Empress Togame finally dies, provoking a succession crisis in the Japanese Empire while Aurie is there in a diplomatic capacity? A lot to think about.

If anything interesting happens, I’ll toss it onto here. I’ve an author meet’n’greet at the Heath, Ohio, Indian Mound Mall on Saturday. Hope to sell a book.

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Traitor’s Colours?

Similar to the short battle through Burns’ eyes, here two we simply hear his internal reflection on what Aurelia and the doctor are saying to one another. That prevents the “wall of text” of exposition which I hate so much.

Missed an update yesterday as I had guest over after work. Given the four Manhattans I had, anything coherent like posting was out of the question. After today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, I’ll be at the end of the Nova Scotia arc. I’m going to pause as I’ve written 38,000 words with no plot. That needs fixing.

In the meantime, I’ll be working on a plastic model of U-292. If anything interesting happens, I’ll toss it onto the blog.

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Colour’s Dirty Friend

This is certainly R-rated for any of your sensitive types out there. If that’s a problem, skip this and the next for cat pics on Facebook. If not, I think that if Jimmy were thinking with his upper head a little better (and I turn that into a joke tomorrow), he’d notice that, once again, Aurie is effectively reading his mind. Of course, troll a hottie like her across the field of view of a 27-year-old, it’s going to be pretty obvious what’s on their mind.

Looking a few installments ahead, I brought productive work at DayJob pharmacy to a halt today when asking both pharmacists, “what the best drug to turn a demi-human into a temporary super-soldier without killing them?” They settled on either PCP or high-dose epinephrine. I’ve given them 48 hours to pick one or the other.

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Colour of the Future

My pause to think over the weekends is working. After this segment, below, there will be a chapter break in the published book. I will then change perspective. That is, we will not have Aurie as the main character (MC) for a little bit. Instead, we’ll have Jimmy Burns; we shall see the world, and Aurie, through his eyes. I did something similar in “Empress’ Crusade,” where for three chapters the MC became President John Dysart of the Gulf Shore States, rather than Empress Faustina. It’s a fun exercise for me and I think it allows the reader a totally new view of the world. Whenever Aurelia is finished in Nova Scotia, the MC shall again be her.

Aside: had a DayJob colleague read my short story “Cadets,” today. She was going on about “what a bitch that Faustina is!” I laughed. “Wait until you meet Reina.”

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Ice Colour

So, who wants to see Aurie in the nude?

Well, you’re not going to here. This is a written story, not ecchi manga, you pervs.

I know that the Thinking Machines do not plan, certainly not in our sense, as they think too fast; while we open the fridge to wonder about dinner they’ve completed a schedule to terraform Mars. I think there is something a little similar with demi-humans. Not speed… just some difference I do not fully get, yet. I’ve seen a little of that with Faustina both in combat and with her sons. So when Aurie nonchalantly says, “I’m hoping to get laid,” it is apparent she’s given this some thought.

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White Colour

Wrist is still hurting and likely will for at least another week. Lovely. At least I can type with the brace off.

Here we get a glimpse into the imperium’s ethnic policies after Colour makes the mistake of thinking the world before the Change still exists. Diversity is no one’s strength. And then Aurie says yet another startling thing.

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