Since it seems everyone was so disappointed when the plot showed up, let’s try something else: cute girls in once-pieces and hot guys in Speedos. As my eye doc said to me yesterday afternoon: “Better? Worse?”
Tag: friendship
A Nasty Outbreak… of Plot!
I’ve left plenty of lampshades hanging, time to turn on the lights. Should be no surprises for anyone following along; I don’t like surprising readers… I’d much rather have them get to the end of chapter (or entire book), put it down, and mutter, “never thought of it that way!”
Also: when Teresa stood and said, “mess me up!” I broke out laughing. I’ve no idea where that came from! Hilarious!
Doing Your Best
Some caffeine and alcohol in the afternoon helped me to lay down the rest of their dinner. I’ve over 1k words beyond that, but it’s another day and back to political stuff with Teresa. I hope to wrap it up tomorrow and then wait and see what comes next. I think there will be one more installment with Mac, followed by the POP back to ‘present’ of Nichole with the Nation on the move…
Carbs are poison
They really are. You can learn a lot from reading my stories.
Tired from DayJob but wanted to jot down the rest of the dinner scene before it leads into Mackenzie’s history. The only problem is: they’ve not shown me anything of her history! I think the rest of her family is dead, but I’ve no real idea. I got to the last line of the tiny entry of what’s below, walked away from the computer, loaded the dishwasher, made sure my clothes were ready for the morning… and: nothing.
Tomorrow, depending on when my family returns, will be chaos. I hope we can learn the name of Mackenzie’s brother, soon.
Friends; for dinner
Enough politics. The second section of this book is supposed to highlight Mac, so let’s get the camera back where it belongs. Hopefully my RealLife family is back in two days, so I might be busy cleaning up tomorrow. It’s good to be writing again; we’ll see.
Questioning Civic Orthodoxy
Taking to Americans, especially White Americans, about any form of government different than what we have now is a huge exercise in futility. Europeans at least have a couple of thousand years playing about with nations and states. Northeast Asia has had some clever mixes of despotism. But here, it’s always “1776!” and “muh Constitution!”
It’s not just because I know history so well. There are plenty of folks who know history better than I do but flinch as if shot when I suggest that our federal republic has outlived its usefulness. I really think it has to do with family: that fact that mine is so old and predates the Republic helps, but is not the only factor. Still, having ancestors is a tremendous psychological cushion, as it were, when looking at our day to day crises.
Buttercup
Typed a little during the week. Spent most of my off-work time drunk. Beginning to wonder is that pain under my right ribcage is at all related to that? Dog still dead, fam still gone… one of those two should be back Wednesday or Thursday. Three weeks to Matsuricon.
WTF is going on in Nichole’s Part Two?
001
At 19,074 words, the raw manuscript of Part 1/3 of Nichole5’s second book is complete. While trying to keep it light-hearted and romantic, I had no choice but to lay some groundwork for what’s coming: Nichole & John Brunelli personally reconning what’s going on across the Columbia River, to the far northeast of the City. Teresa both a passive informant as well as secretly excited at the possibility of succeeding her father in power*. And finally the simple girl, Mackenzie: who just wants to make beautiful art, about to become a double-agent.
Nearly 20k words, and not one battle! I must be thinking back to my roots as an author! Wonder what that bodes for Part 2/3? Will it open in the middle of combat, or will things continue to progress slow by slow? The world wonders. And for Nike and Zom’s? I’m not remotely close to looking past that curtain.
*I recalled the scene from Robert Graves “I, Claudius,” where, some days after being picked to be Emperor by the Praetorian Guard, Claudius meets with a select few of the Senate leadership:
A senator: “You are not fit for this job!”
Claudius: “I agree. I am old; some say I am without my wits. But I am alive while dozens of my family went to the grave with theirs fully intact! You say I have no experience… do you have more? I’ve been in the Imperial Household since my birth, watching how it works. Do you know more?”
Expect Teresa (via Nichole) to have a similar speech in Part 3/3… if she’s still alive. Also, I hope in this installment I’ve captured Nichole’s recognition of the moral grey zone she’s stepped out into, by asking what she does of her friend. I realized, just now, that she’s created a box of safety around her boyfriend. Good Lord, but that’s going to backfire.
Life Imitates my Art, again
In chapter 10 of my forthcoming book, Friend & Ally, there’s an exchange between Nichole and her human friend, Mackenzie, who’s a wonderful artist:
“Oh.” Another bite. “So you’re an… android?”
“Yes! Completely self-aware and a fully stand-alone machine! But…” She looked about conspiratorially, leaning a little forward. She was very happy her friend leaned in, too! “…I’d rather stand with my friends than alone!”
Mackenzie leaned out, laughing out loud for once. A bit of crepe fell out of her mouth.
When she started on her second crepe, Nichole had them amble east and north, toward the river. Mackenzie could guess why. Indeed: coming to Naito Parkway, she spied Kongo’s mast in the distance. But, for now, she was too taken with the new world being opened up before her.
“Not at all!” Nichole had replied to her. “Several of my siblings are quite taken with art! My eldest sister, Hajime, does oil painting! If I can get some time on the PSU satellite links, I’ll try to print some copies for you!”
“That would be nice.” To look at art made by someone who wasn’t human… Mackenzie shuddered slightly in anticipation.
“You okay?” Nichole asked. They walked close to one another under her umbrella; typical for Portland, mostly cloudy had become light rain.
“Yeah.”
While horribly mischaracterized by the media (c’mon, Popular Mechanics!) as AIs, these are merely expert systems, using heuristics to create paintings the programmers want to see. Real art by real AIs? I seriously doubt we’d understand it.
Friend for dinner
Work sucked less; dog still not well. After work had to walk to my car in the rain. I’m writing books set in Portland, so I regarded it as theater training. Still maneuvering my way to the conclusion of Part 1 while at the same time laying the groundwork for Part 2
I want to show that Gil and Nichole love one another, but at the same time I want to show that they both know there’s something very odd about their relationship. In other words, it’s a pretty typical guy-gal thing.
machciv 