nice work! really clever take. didnt quite see rhe twist coming. humourous too! perfect length. the anti growth/ pro stability position is one i very much agree with.
Nice! This was really well done. I was going to take a similar route regarding the type of person to be chosen. Now you've forced me to consider alternatives. 😬
Whoops, sorry about that – clearly a case of great minds thinking alike! And I've honestly no idea how one character got their name... 😉. Thanks for reading the story and so pleased you enjoyed it.
Great story Johnathan. I've read a bunch of these quest entries now. One aspect I thought you handled well was the incorporation of some much-needed levity. Definitely felt the Monty Python influence in this one.
It seems like almost all of us chose the science fiction prompt (not surprising, given that it's tied to a current cultural concern). It's fascinating to see how each story is distinct in its plot/style/characters, yet all of them seem to share at least a few things with another. Two things I noticed in yours. First was that your Witness asks right away 'Why' they were chosen. I stumbled on that question too, I think it's a natural question tied directly to the prompt. The other was the idea of small micro-decisions having a butterfly effect on overall cultural trends. A bunch of the stories ran with that theme.
Well quested, sir! And a good, non-deadly take on the disappearance too.
Thank you, Sam, especially for performing such a close reading. I was always asking "why" as a child and I'm not sure I ever stopped. I think writers should always ask themselves this question - and sometimes have their characters do the same!
I was also fascinated with chaos theory in my 20s and the later field of complex dynamic systems. Leaders often pretend to know more and have a bigger influence than they do in reality. It takes a lucky tyrant to drastically change the world within a short time-frame. Or an innocent butterfly... 😉
I might be weird, but I often read the comments first to check how well a story is received before reading it - like reading the reviews before buying a book. Just didn't want any twist to be easy to find. But I will DM you my thoughts as another reader has privately asked the same question!
nice work! really clever take. didnt quite see rhe twist coming. humourous too! perfect length. the anti growth/ pro stability position is one i very much agree with.
Thanks for reading my story, Nick, and so pleased you enjoyed it!
Nice! This was really well done. I was going to take a similar route regarding the type of person to be chosen. Now you've forced me to consider alternatives. 😬
Whoops, sorry about that – clearly a case of great minds thinking alike! And I've honestly no idea how one character got their name... 😉. Thanks for reading the story and so pleased you enjoyed it.
Great story Johnathan. I've read a bunch of these quest entries now. One aspect I thought you handled well was the incorporation of some much-needed levity. Definitely felt the Monty Python influence in this one.
It seems like almost all of us chose the science fiction prompt (not surprising, given that it's tied to a current cultural concern). It's fascinating to see how each story is distinct in its plot/style/characters, yet all of them seem to share at least a few things with another. Two things I noticed in yours. First was that your Witness asks right away 'Why' they were chosen. I stumbled on that question too, I think it's a natural question tied directly to the prompt. The other was the idea of small micro-decisions having a butterfly effect on overall cultural trends. A bunch of the stories ran with that theme.
Well quested, sir! And a good, non-deadly take on the disappearance too.
Thank you, Sam, especially for performing such a close reading. I was always asking "why" as a child and I'm not sure I ever stopped. I think writers should always ask themselves this question - and sometimes have their characters do the same!
I was also fascinated with chaos theory in my 20s and the later field of complex dynamic systems. Leaders often pretend to know more and have a bigger influence than they do in reality. It takes a lucky tyrant to drastically change the world within a short time-frame. Or an innocent butterfly... 😉
I'm excited to read this! Thanks for joining us again on this adventure.
This is probably giving too much away for those who haven't yet read the story! Is it OK to delete the comment and then I DM you privately?
If you like - I kind of assume that people have already read the story by the time they get to the comments, but feel free!
I might be weird, but I often read the comments first to check how well a story is received before reading it - like reading the reviews before buying a book. Just didn't want any twist to be easy to find. But I will DM you my thoughts as another reader has privately asked the same question!