Succession (6/5. End)

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that getting back to Aurie’s innate aggression was the key to this story. Turns out I was correct.

The investigation and running the different terror cells to ground would turn this into a novella. I’m not saying that will not happen, but it is not happening here.

I’m still playing with some ideas about getting Ildi and Lem apart and hope to put some words down tomorrow. That will make for a Wednesday post. But, things are complicated in that story: not just the science part of science fiction, but the politics between the imperium, the rump state of Chu, and Dorina’s involvement, recalling that Dorina is of tribe Tohsaka – coded in Japan – which makes the Chinese not at all comfortable. 

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Succession (5/5)

My wife, some months back, expressed an interest to know more about Henge. I’ve mentioned here before that what I saw was sort of an Arwen/Elessar moment: Gary was dead and Henge gave up her life. I did not want to have my next collection in on that note, so I’ve brought her into the picture here, showing a glimpse of what a completely different form of life can do.

I’m almost finished with part 6/5 (yea, me), and am trying to condense what brought all of this to a head, while still sounding reasonable. Yes, reasonable people don’t don suicide vests but fanaticism does strange things to the mind. Ultimately, there is either a person or central committee behind this carnage. Driven by hate, sure, but a cold, rational hate to plan and execute something like this.

In Berserker and Regent, we have seen what Aurie can physically do when she thinks her friends are threatened. I think internal matters of the imperium are going to get worse before they get better.

Happy weekend, all.

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Succession (4/5)

“When stuck or in doubt, blow shit up; kill people,” said an old friend of mine, Columbus’ best graphic artist. And that is where we are. 

It’s interesting that whereas Ivan said there were two more, there are, as you’ll see, more than that. That’s how cells work: cut off from one another with only the bare information to get done whatever a central committee wants done.

Hindsight being 20/20, I think there will be six parts. The next deals with immediate aftermath of the terrorist attack – Aurie’s mom, Henge, gets a chance to literally shine. Part 6/5 will be several hours, perhaps a day, later, when the Hartmanns try to piece together what happen, and more importantly, why.

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Succession (3/5)

Aurie and Jimmy wrap up their conversation in the bath. He reminds her of her violent nature and that seems to steady her; she sets about plotting something.

So. That gives us two “Chekov’s Guns:” whoever arrived overnight and what actions Aurelia’s mother, Henge, might be able to do in an emergency. I’ll start blowing things up on Wednesday. This short story is already at 3,000 words and I don’t want it to get out of hand.

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Succession (2/5)

Time and precognition is a tricky matter for me.  It is dangerously simple to hit either the wall of “infinite possible futures” or strict Calvinist Determinism. I try to negotiate my way with people being embedded in time, where God is not, but people also sharing in the small-d doctrine of co-creation.

So, as we’ve seen before, Aurie on odd occasions gets a tiny glimpse of the future. The public ceremony of her taking the reins of the imperium being the most recent. While here and in the next installment, her husband attempts a work-around, I think for Aurie it has created a sense of fatalism.

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Succession (1/5)

Working on my next short for my third collection. Successions and coronations should be as boring as possible. Extravagant, sure, but boring. A non-boring succession is called a civil war or revolution.

As I alluded to in the manuscript of The Fallen – now entitled Martian Wonderland – Empress Fussy is retired. A bit curious as to how that happened, I began to make some notes. Those notes are turning into this story. However, who wants to read “boring”? As an old friend gifted me: ”start killing people and blowing shit up.” Okay, I’m pretty good at that. So, this will start tamely, get some foreshadowing going in the next installment, then the blood will start raining. Works for me.

The fundamental tension shall be two-fold: Faustina built her imperium upon military force and the conquest of first the Deep South and later the northeast up to the Northern Federation. Being demi-human, her rule is hands-off (subsidiarity) yet personal. Handing her legal and extra-legal powers to another woman – another older woman in the eyes of many humans – is a provocation. You can read in Ice Inundation Intelligence where Robert talks about factions inside the imperium who want a return to a republic and chafe at being under a family sprinkled with “more human than human.” The succession is when it comes out into the open.

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Colour of Maine (3/3)

First short of the next collection complete (barring copyediting, of course). I’m rather please for how I wrapped it up, keeping with the religious and life-affirming themes of my works (barring all those people Fussy and Aurie have killed, of course; that’s war, not murder – a critical distinction).

My future history is called Machine Civilization, but there are times where it’s all humans, or sometimes humans and demis. I’m glad I was able to get tribe Toshsaka back into the fray. Many no longer have any relationship with physicals at all. Nice to see Thaad, eldest Thinking Machine on Earth, is still about.

I don’t think it’s prurient to mention Colour’s post-coital response. I recall a million years ago, BC (before children), when my wife was overseas on assignment in the Far East for a mere six months. I made sure she couldn’t walk much the next day; funny thing was, with those muscles out of use, I couldn’t much either.

Trying to piece my way through a second story. Having people talk to themselves, by themselves, is not really engaging to the reader, so, like an orb, I am pondering things.

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Colour of Maine (2/3)

We start with more politics with the NorFed Executive Council before Colour pokes the wrong bear and gets her orders from Aurie. Part of this is fun for me: only by being middle-aged myself could I imagine “old folks” striking up a romance. What I would have considered creepy in my 20s is perfectly normal, now.

When Colour walks out of the meeting, I had to remind myself just how do you get ahold of someone in a tech environment equivalent to the 1970s? We all take our phones for granted. Fortunately, Loup must have realized that, too, so I had him hanging out in the area. We find out why he’s there.

Conclusion tomorrow. With the Henge-talk at the end of this part, I’m now thinking she should get a short story, too.

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Colour of Maine (1/3)

Happy New Year. Yeah, sure. Buy precious metals: silver and lead. In the meantime, I am beginning book #19: my third short story collection. Especially after my last three novels, there are many, many threads which need to be tied off. One of which is Miss Colour Jansen of Maine, Northern Federation, who Aurie made off with in Regent and we see now and again in Ice Inundation Intelligence. I threw some words at the wall between Christmas and New Years to give her closure, and that’s what we’ll see this week.

After that, I really need to find out what the hell happened in Broken Child, a story in Imperial Entanglements. I’ve seen resentment about Aurie being Fussy’s successor, and I’ve a few other things buzzing in the back of my mind, as well.

My objective is to have all the shorts done by Ash Wednesday. As I’m sure my copyeditor is giving up booze for Lent, he can bill me after Easter. That leaves me the task of one more novel, to be written, edited, cover, published, by June, just in time for Ximaginarium. I can do that.

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“The Fallen” Ep/2. END

Fork. Stuck. I wanted closure for both two important points: the first, of course, is that Allie – and maybe her alone but more likely with some Life Guard (in the military, not swimming, sense) with her, are the one’s to enter Wonderland. Do I skip over securing the shrine? You bet I do. ”Some things Man was not meant to know,” is a phrase which exists for a reason.

The second is something touched on by Aurie first which even young Allie picked up on. For someone such as Fussy, accustomed to autocratic power her whole adult life, NOT acting along those lines would be very odd for her. So, in the midst of hinting at more wonders beyond that wall Allie could not – then – pass, she puts her great-grandmother very firmly into her place.

The end. Thanks for reading and thanks for those with comments and suggestions. I hope to have this published in 6-8 weeks, following editing and copyediting and formatting. Deus vult.

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