Tag: machine civilization

Civil Wars 2, 10

The thing about tampered genes is you never know when they might show up. A majority of Faustina’s descendents are human. A majority of Gary & Henge’s are Demis; the difference is that Fussy’s two husbands were human, and there was no way to create a breeding program without first cousins marrying. Very bad form. In G & H’s case, not only is Gary a Demi, his wife is a former Machine with a manifested physical body. That makes for some very interesting genetic permutations over the generations.

Saying all that, Pai sits their hosts down and tells them about their son’s gift. She graciously mentions her old self, version 1 (and I bet Suza and Tér will go nuts to see her again; the twins had not been born when Pai went to version 2.) as a temporary bridge until the rest of the Hartmann clan is informed and some kind of tutor system set up; given the wars – which will be back on in the next segment – this temporary bridge might be at least a year.

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Civil Wars 2, 9

Fairly significant reveal about the infant son of their Hartmann hosts. Wonder where it will go? Once we get all this settled, it’s back to the fighting and politics.

Apologies for the no Wednesday post. Sick again; wife and I had food poisoning. I’ve not really slept in three days or eaten in one-and-a-half. A couple of people at DayJob echoed similar problems for them of their kids. Food quality, not to say safety, is dropping fast.

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Civil Wars 2, 5

Longer segment, but it really didn’t lend itself into being broken in two. Had I, a good point would have been when Pai was about to decapitate Robert for what he called her husband. But things moved on fairly quickly. At the end, I included a bit from a homily at my church Sunday before last; to wit: listen. You never know when you’ll hear.

If you’re curious as to why Robert’s left arm and leg are artificial, there’s something you can read. And the references to Graf’s gift/curse as well as Luce (pronounced loo-che) are from here.

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Nazca, 1

Another short story project. This will be a submission for an anthology likely due out in the spring of next year. It is fairly contemporanious with my last short; both of these are, of course, a part of my future history, and, more specifically, the coming of the Civil Wars.

In the story, there is a reference to the goings-on on Mars. Also, later, we meet a minor character first introduced in my most recent novel.

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Civil War, 5

If you’re watching, yes, this is a replay of Upper Hell from Dante’s Inferno. Each level they descend represents another Circle, another kind of sin. In this shorter installment, we cover two: impetuous lust and hoarders/wasters.

And, for those new to all this, Graf and Pai, husband and wife, are first featured in Irrational Pai. Their relationship, human and Machine, is almost unique and constantly changing the world of those around them. A daughter of the ruthless Machine Reina of Russia, Pai is often at odds with her Upper Midwest farmboy husband and his sense of niceness and fair play.

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“Coming Back to Life”

Yes, it’s a Pink Floyd reference. As many know, I’ve been silent here for months, and that’s all on me. When I published my twentieth book, it was as if a switch was thrown in my mind: “you’re finished.” I wasn’t, of course. Irrational Pai is after all called the “first book of the Civil Wars,” implying several more. It’s just I didn’t care. And, there was a thousand last-minute things to do before selling a property in June; I’ve been sick on and off since last November – although I did give up hard alcohol at the start of July.

My reboot, as it were, came on Thursday evening at Imaginarium. I had commited myself and my fellow writers, the Lemurs, to five short stories based around the theme of “Underground.” Physically? Politically? Didn’t matter: stick to the theme, just as we did last year with our Cartaphilus theme. So, I hammered something out in just under three hours. It sucked, of course – we’re going for speed, not grace – but has since been flogged into something nigh-well respectable.

Further, it was enough to get past the reboot screen and keep going. I was asked to participate in another anthology, this one with the theme of “Captured!” In order to keep things close to me, I did what I did at Imaginarium: I wrote about something related to the coming Civil Wars (note the plural) in my future history. Selfish? Sure, but it works. And, it worked well enough I just finished the raw MS of another story.

It’s good to be back. My apologies for my absence. I shall begin posting segments later this afternoon. Deus vult.

Civil War, 3

Given what we know from the prologue, Pai is increasingly in a “shoot first, ask questions later” mode. Even Graf twice mentions her acting like her mother, the most ruthless person on earth. There might be a bit more with their team, then a chapter break. Still not really decided on how to carry this kind of story forward.

I’m playing with the idea of part one of three being on the moon, part two back on earth with Alix and the children, and perhaps part three off to Mars. Or maybe somewhere more exotic. I’ll know when I’m told.

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