Sci-fi story fragments
December 18, 2008 – 11:45 pmTim Hwang is ridiculously good at making people feel immediately included and invested in the Making of Something Wonderful. Watching him, I wonder if that’s a bit like what I do when I get contagiously enthusiastic – only better, in ways I need to learn from.
Email really is addictive – like a slot machine with random positive reinforcement, I read once. Even after a few days of slipping, it takes effort to Turn Off Thunderbird until I just sit down and write this silly thing. (Later: Written! That feels good. Now I have to do another draft of it; hurrah.)
I agree completely with Eric Nehrlich about pants.
Finally, my three favorite parts so far from The World Is Too Much With Us, the sci-fi story I’ve been writing on and off again for… over two years now. Some people here know the context, some don’t; I’m curious what conjectures about the characters and stories people come up with based on these fragments.
Fragment the First:
“I’d try it, if you don’t mind it,” Paul advised. “I used to. It takes the edge off your brain, calms it down some.” After a short silence that was broken only by the sound of Emmy alternately gulping and pausing to grimace, he added: “I don’t do it any more. It lets me think too straight.”
“I miss that part,” said Emmy as a wave of nausea, warmth, and a familiar fuzzy sleepiness stole over her. She drank another quick pull and fought the urge to gag. The room had a lurching inertia to it, but her mind… was… coming… back into… control… much slower and more clumsy than she was accustomed to, but settled coherence through a fog. Emmy opened another bottle, a stubby green one this time, drank again. “It tastes like sleep deprivation.”
Fragment the Second:
“You need a better human API.”
He stared. “You should talk. One of the unwritten rules is that you aren’t supposed to state the specification.”
Fragement the Third:
“At least you were known for that. You fit into the category of affectionate anomaly. You want it back, because it’s safe for you to be a danger; you know the role well, and so do they.”
2 Responses to “Sci-fi story fragments”
First fragment: Emmy seems to be trying out some drinks she has not had before but which Paul has had. Emmy: tries things out; risk-taker, and does so probably because there is Paul, who seems to be a trusted friend, who has experienced what she is just experiencing. Paul is also like Emmy, a risk-taker. Paul feels like an old soul, reflective, learns from his experiences, a reliable friend.
Second Fragment: I do not know what an API is. Nevertheless, This exchange is interesting. They are arguing.
Third fragment: I love the phrase “it’s safe for you to be a danger.” One who is an anomaly can sometimes get away with things, including engaging in something potentially dangerous, because in the mind of others, s/he has an excuse/reason why s/he behaved the way s/he did. An affectionate anomaly at that – could mean that even if weird, still likable. People who are viewed as an anomaly can take advantage of the opportunities this label presents. At the same time, others can also take advantage of people who are viewed as an anomaly and use them to get what they want.
By 5-ee on Dec 19, 2008
Thanks! Ooh, that’s pretty interesting… I’ll post a few more fragments and then start filling in more context so these bits might make more sense.
An API is the public interface that a piece of software presents to the outside world, saying “here are the kinds of things you can tell me or ask me for, and here are the kinds of responses I can give.”
By Mel on Dec 19, 2008