Category: writing

Pai-Graf, 9/x

If you ever want to sidetrack people, get them talking about their kids. Even I am guilty of that, proud of my two debt-free, employed daughters (cough hint cough) that I am.

The importance of children echoes through all of my stories. Those who cannot or can only have a few are devastated by that knowledge. Reina, also, is NOT at pleased at the prospect. The world of the Change is not one of GrrlBosses and WineAunts. You marry in your late teens and get knocked up ASAP; FFS, Empress Fussy has ten kids. Personally? I think that may be because I’m a mule and my wife sterilized by chemo when she was 28. We adopted two. One of the reasons it was so easy for Pavel and Reina to adopt Tay, I suppose.

Anyhoo, Graf forgets what he was told and nearly dies. He is technically the main character, so I rather that not happen.

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Pai-Graf, 8/x

These girls just won’t stop; it is kind of funny, really. Neither has had a boyfriend before and they are both being made older about that relationship and the complexity between the three of them. Pai thinks she has the upper hand because of vast intellect. Alix does because “I’m good enough and not a fake human.”

Next segment is off to visit Pai’s mom. Constructs, even tribe Tohsaka’s who generally like and get along with humans, are very debilitating and potential fatal.

Personally, a bit better today. Wife came home yesterday afternoon but was still in “Key West Party Girl” mode so instantly started drinking rum smoothies. Her playing music downstairs – loud music – was very rude and disrespectful to me, especially after I asked her twice to turn it down. She better snap out of that shit.

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Pai-Graf, 7/x

These two gals are absolutely catty about what I think are some of the dumbest things. Then again, I’ve worked in hospitals around nurses for nearly fifteen years, so it could be worse. But, I’m here to tell their story, not make one.

Pai’s last line sounds a bit ominous.

In RealLife, I’m slightly worse. Went to bed at 1800, woke up with a mild fever at 0100; barely slept. Dogs went off at 0550 and I damn near died navigating down the steps to let them out and feed them. Finally ate something just now after about 20 hours of nothing. Rather shaky. It makes it hard to “get into” their story when you don’t feel very good.

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Pai-Graf, 4/x

A rival appears. Never had something like this shown to me before. Plenty of romances, sure, but to have Alix come out of nowhere and immediately lay claim to the main character? Who is already spoken for? I’m on very unfamiliar ground, right now. This is either take the story places I have not imagined or will wreck it on the rocks in about a thousand words. We shall see.

In the background there is more I want to know about Ceres, and these two girls are not helping. And “my flesh needs to be fed” sailed right over the heads of both humans. That will definitely come up next.

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Pai-Graf, 2/x

After the horrid months of January thru May, my wife is taking a well-deserved vacation at Key West. As an uxorious person, it is likely I shall begin to lose my mind almost immediately. I’m trying to slam out parts 3-6 as fast as I can, as I’ll be insane in a few days and ‘prolly delete whatever posts I make.

Below, after Graf’s confusion and uncertainty, Pai, now whole, attempts to physically and mentally comfort him. There is still leeriness on his part, but I think things get better. I’ve heard it said that “in freefall, doggie-style and reverse-cowgirl are the same thing.”

A “housewife plug-in.” Dang, but that would be useful.

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Pai-Graf 1/x

Yes, it’s a lame title. You get what you pay for.

I do not know if this will just be another short story about these two, or whether it shall metastasize into its own novel. There is a bit of revelatory info in this segment, and there is also Pai’s original mission. I simply have no idea where any of this is going. I love that.

Best place to start a story? In the middle. How do you hurt a man who has nothing? Give him back something broken. Here we go, frens.

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Irrational Pai, 5/5, End

Here’s the end of the first part of their journey together. A ending with a beginning. Already typing their next short story. From what’s here, she has to continue her mission to the imperium, something about the colony on Ceres, but will have to at some point have a conversation in tribe Mendro’s construct (and will it be in the dilapidated city or the elegant restaurant of Kuban’s?) with her mom about this human. It had better be short as their construct is not very “human friendly.”

For those curious as to why all the politics was not done via emails or chat, as Page Zaplendam pointed out to me in our last interview, even with 22nd century tech, some things are best by word of mouth only; diplomacy, technology, or other matters.

From a technological standpoint, this is a new situation. Unlike Nichole 5 who was a stand-alone android, this body of Pai is more like Minerva when she was still Reina. Once independent, Minerva chose to be with Laszlo Hartmann until he died. The other case of a machine in love with a human was Henge, but she assumed a human body to be with Gary. I think the next story will delve a bit deeper into what happens when Graf encounters the totality of Pai’s mind, of which her android we’ve been reading about is only perhaps 5% of her consciousness. Love stories are fun, but pushing the bounds of what I know is funner.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Hope to have more next week. Deus vult.

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Irrational Pai, 3/5

They are so pushy. All of them. At least Pai, it seems, know enough to realize when she goes too far, such as grabbing Graf by the throat in the last segment or demanding he marry her.

Nonetheless, it was still funny she took him to bed so fast. Hey: I don’t care what her claims are, if a cute girl wanted 17-year-old me? I would not even have asked my parents. In the Breakup/Change, families matter more than in our time, and even more for the Winsteads, what with their loss.

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Iter, 3/x

It was a 17-hour drive, augmented by my GI tract bug. DIdn’t get home until 2347. I’m recovering today but very glad to have the day off. In fact, after this update, I’m laying down for at least rest if not a nap

“A walk in the woods,” is an old military metaphor for a failed commander to use his sidearm to blow his brains out to try to expiate his failure. Thankfully, this is just a walk between two cousins, more human than human, who are groping their way to an understanding and acceptance what their loss.

I do like how Aurie – she’s so down-to-earth in private! – immediately recognized where Min’s grief was leading her. And put a stop to it, instantly. That meeting with Reina has me a little worried, though. She’ll likely work on Min’s mind in the exactly opposite way.

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Red Rain, 11/11, End

Welp, not where I thought it would go, but there it is. And, better for a lazy writer like me, it didn’t really “end” as we don’t know what happens one second later. However, all in all, it was an interesting exercise in allegory, even if heavy handed in a few places.

I’m already starting on my next and final project for my third collection. It will be much shorter than this but at least four times as depressing. I need to make book #20 into some kind of fun novel. There are millions of stories out there in hundreds of my characters; I just need to listen. Thanks, everyone, for reading along.

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