Skip to main content

A Giant Slide and Robots

I had this dream earlier this week that I dropped my youngest child off at daycare so that I could go ride a giant slide made out of dirt.  I started to slide down it, but it was kind of slow going.  Part way down the slide was a traffic light.  The light was red, so I stopped.  When it turned green, I started sliding underneath the covered part of the slide.  It was really tight and I was having a hard time going down it, so I decided to go back up the way I came.  I went to the daycare to pick up my daughter and they had shaved her head.  I wasn't really happy about this.

Anyway, I didn't have a dream about robots, but someone mentioned the Hardiman exoskeleton recently.  I was only half listening until they mentioned that they were never able to turn it on with someone inside because it had violent and uncontrolled movements.  My head immediately snapped up.  A robotic exoskeleton that tries to kill the person wearing it?  I needed to know more about this.  
So I jumped down the internet rabbit hole by googling the history of exoskeletons.  Disappointingly, Hardiman wasn't actually evil, it was just a design flaw.  But in its favor, it was creepy looking and fascinating, as were its predecessors.  

So I kept clicking on articles until I ran across this one: The Hidden Burden of Exoskeletons for the Disabled  

Here is a quote from this article: 
"most of the time, when writers imagine our future bodies, they either erase or “fix” disabled people." 

Oh.  

My main characters in the Culling series are obsessed with surviving over all else.  And understandably so, since someone is always trying to kill them.  And yes, they are all able-bodied, and would have to be (or would they?) to survive.  My story is about a distopian future, but I didn't thoroughly think about how this would effect my characters.  Someone out there in the wastelands has a brother or sister who is not able to walk without assistance.  I want to hear those stories as well, and maybe even a story about a character that was so mage that mobility and physical strength really didn't matter.  
I am never going to finish this series.  I just finished my third novella last night, with the feeling that I am not done.  I need to do some clean up and clarification on  heck, all of them, then maybe continue writing.   I have to work tomorrow, so I'm pushing out the next chapter of the Culling series today.

 Chapter 6 is now live.  This chapter is mostly character development focused, with some flirting and arguing between Charlotte and Orville.



Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Possibly the Last Short Story for Awhile

Something strange happened this month: I missed my 12 Short Stories deadline.   There have been many things changing in my life, and I’ve realized that there are a few things I will need to put less energy into.  That doesn’t mean I won’t write anymore, but that I may write less, or may just focus on longer pieces.  That being said, I did write something, it just didn’t meet the word count. So here is one more story.  It’s not a story about politics, it’s a story about human nature and human feelings. ——— The war is over, or at least that is what they say.  But how do you stop such a thing once it is started? Charles sighed when I asked him, “You act as if you don’t understand politics.” “I don’t,” I scratched a sliver of paint off the window with a razor, “I’m not even sure we should be doing this.” “They said we could remove the blackout paint,” Charles swiped an even curl of latex to the ground.  It fell among the budding roses, an artificial petal. “But there are still soldiers ove
Read more

Decay, Swine, and Beauty

We are staying at an estate that is like a beautiful woman with tangled hair.  Neglect is slowly wearing away at her, and you know that in ten years she will no longer be beautiful.  But right now, her unkemptness makes her eyes seem wild, and she is ablaze with a vibrancy no clipped hedge ever had. And there is a pig. I'm hoping to have a little more time to write while we're here.  The kids have attended one day of school this month thanks to the snow, and they had some fierce cabin fever.   I've been inching along with my mystery, but I really want to get sidetracked and write a little office romance for kicks.
Read more

Short Story: Distraction

It was an office, not unlike any of the other offices around the city. There were windows, visible to the lucky few cubes on the ends of the rows. Then there was Vera's cube, situated next to the row of manager's offices. Today she was lucky, someone had left their door open and precious slant of sunlight escaped, warming her back and washing out half of her computer screen. "I never realized your hair was red," Tracy dumped a large stack of paper on her desk, "The florescent lights make everything look so soupy." "What is that?" she pointed at the stack of paper. Tracy only offered compliments when he wanted a favor. "I need this entered," he smiled, a dimple appearing in his cheek. "You have a secretary," Vera waved a freckled hand to her left, "Ask him." "He's sick," Tracy gave her puppy-dog eyes, batting his long dark eyelashes. Vera sighed and fought back a smile. Tracy was such a s
Read more