Guy Stewart's Blog, page 7

WRITING ADVICE: Short Stories – Advice and Observation #30: “Neil Gaiman & Me”

In this feature, I’ll be looking at “advice” for writing short stories – not from me, but from other short story writers. In speculative fiction, “short” has very carefully delineated categories: “The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America specifies word lengths for each category of its Nebula award categories by word count; Novel 40,000 words or over; Novella 17,500 to 39,999 words; Novelette 7,500 to 17,499 words; Short story under 7,500 words.”
I’m going to use advice from people who, in addition to writing novels, have also spent plenty of time “interning” with short stories. While most of them are speculative fiction writers, I’ll also be looking at plain, old, effective short story writers. The advice will be in the form of one or several quotes off of which I’ll jump and connect it with my own writing experience. While I don’t write full-time, nor do I make enough money with my writing to live off of it...neither do most of the professional writers...someone pays for and publishes ten percent of what I write. When I started this blog, that was NOT true, so I may have reached a point where my own advice is reasonably good. We shall see as I work to increase my writing output and sales! As always, your comments are welcome!
Without further ado, short story observations by Neil Gaiman – with a few from myself…
Twenty-three years after its publication, I FINALLY read Neil Gaiman’s novelette, CORALINE. OTOH, I DID read his AMERICAN GODS eight or nine years ago (a mere nine years after its publication). While I’m not a new convert to his writing, the two books – one for adults, the other for younger…adults (it wasn’t for the faint of hear by any means!), I wanted to look at his writing advice and see what I can learn and apply to my own writing. I also want to see if I’ve been doing things right!

1) To start out, I’ll share this most glorious truth from him: “…we convey truth with stories, which is fundamentally the most gloriously giant contradiction that you can ever imagine.” Why is it a contradiction? Because in even more simple language, he – and anyone who has ever written a word of fiction – are trying to share TRUTH using out-and-out LIES!

I have been committing socially approved LYING! And I find myself among a truly amazing list of people – and among them, some are some TRULY AMAZING LIARS!!! Intending no disrespect, Jimmy Carter is a LIAR!!! (The Hornet's Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War (2003)! Enea Silvio Piccolomini (who later became Pope Pius II) wrote wild lies in a tale of a novel adultery in 1444 before taking holy orders). Ted Geisel, WWII humorist and political cartoonist became a popular writer telling crazy lies to little kids! Conan Doyle, a prosperous doctor wrote lies about a detective who never existed and never would! He’s a LIAR!!! He even made up stupid words!

Salman Rushdie is an Indian-born British and American novelist. He combines fantasy with historical fiction and in 1988, a religious leader in Iran ordered all Muslims who believe as they do to assassinate this fiction writer. They agreed – he was telling lies to the world and he needed to die. All because he likes writing fiction.

I do, too! Just…nobody has ever tried to kill me for my fiction. I don’t think that ever happened to Neil Gaiman, either.

Anyone who writes fiction is, as Gaiman writes, “…taking people who do not exist and things that did not happen to those people in places that [don’t exist], and we are using those things to communicate true things to kids and to each other.”

2) “I wrote short stories and sent them out to places that could conceivably publish them, and they all came back. And I looked at the stories which went out and came back and went out and came back, and I thought, ‘Okay, well one of two things is true here. Either I’m not good enough or I don’t understand the world, there’s stuff I don’t get, there’s stuff I need to know.’” -Neil Gaiman

Sometimes, just knowing the “superstars” simply gives me peace. It’s also not that I HAVE no publications. But as you can see over there on the right, it’s been a while since I made a major sale. I am at a point where I’m…discouraged.

3) “Everything you encounter in life has the potential to influence your work: overheard dialogue in a coffee shop, that song on the radio you can’t get out of your head, the television scene that perfectly depicts the sexual tension of a first date. Don’t limit yourself to only the influences in your genre. Drink from a wide-brimmed glass of creative inspiration.”

I CAN say that I’ve followed this bit of wisdom! Do I still read science fiction? Sure – but I read lots of other things now as well. In the box in the bathroom alongside the toilet: October 2024 Writer’s Digest; Personal Collection of writing articles; WITH CHRIST IN THE SCHOOL OF PRAYER (Christian Theology); THE THREE POUND ENIGMA (Medical Books/Medicine); CORALINE (Children’s Fiction); so…a few things that I read besides science fiction.

Also, my life has been fairly interesting: night supervisor for a home for the profoundly physically and mentally handicapped young adults; CNA for two different nursing homes; visited Haiti as a missionary; camp counselor; camp director; traveled with Christian bands twice (once when I was 20-ish all over Minnesota, N,S Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin; later when I was 25-ish from the Rockies to New York City then to Nigeria, Cameroon, and Liberia: military overthrow of the Nigerian government while we were there; attempted military overthrow of Cameroon’s President-For-Life; taught at private, public, and charter schools: science-plus whatever was needed for 21 years; school counselor for 10 years at an inner-ring suburban high school; taught all levels: middle school, high school, English Language Learners; Special Education; International Baccalaureate; husband of 38 years; grandfather for 15 years; father/father-in-law/foster parent; published writer…

Anyway, I’ve had a few…unusual life experiences that find their way into my stories.

4) “Don’t tell readers how to feel…I would rather you just felt it. I will tell you what happens, and if I leave you crying because I just killed a unicorn…and I’m gonna break your heart.”…Many professional authors preach “Show, don’t tell.” Even though that advice is commonplace, Gaiman’s unique spin on that advice is more memorable than most…Create emotion in the scene without dictating emotion. Give readers a reason to care about the characters and the events they read, and their emotions will follow.”

Whoa…I guess I never thought about this. HOWEVER, I’ve had people accuse me of manipulating them in classes I teach or stories I write. I think there’s a difference between telling a story and having someone experience it; not digesting it for them. I am guilty of doing that kind of messing with my readers.

I have been manipulated by an author – and I HATE it. It’s like when you watch broadcast news. I loathe when the reporters, the station managers, and the company arranges, cuts, and focuses the news on what they WANT me to feel. Lately, it seems that broadcast journalists have bought in almost entirely to the aphorism, “If it bleeds, it leads…” Journalists, who claim that they are impartial are no more that people with a job. They may have had a bit of training, but their JOB is to sell papers; or views; or clicks; or downloads; or reels. They will ABSOLUTELY report the news – but they will repackage the facts to get a maximum amount of emotional voltage. Movies do the same thing.

And before drawings, paintings, celluloid, the internet, and computers? There were writers. It’s my job AS A WRITER to “…I will tell you what happens…and I’m gonna break your heart.”

WOW. I learned a lot about how Gaiman writes and how I do it, too.

References: https://bobbypowers.com/neil-gaimans-top-13-writing-tips/Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhK6miXJMTMNyB3kzq-r6I2LVCTZJj0CDS0dPV2Qapl6e9rZPuHx2u5QKcKT1QGeDg1_tPMv-lpnuSr_eiBjwPXmex9mcgtuH2-SUtZEpGWV0_HdtJQelVt5K69NulJBUqNju5GNjHgQibXsIo4NeWpTOj4ai85jCRjMHOtwtkqshzxFvZPUSjXZNq6=s320

IDEAS ON TUESDAY 662

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them. Regarding horror, I found this insight in line with WIRED FOR STORY: “ We seek out…stories which give us a place to put our fears…Stories that frighten us or unsettle us - not just horror stories, but ones that make us uncomfortable or that strike a chord somewhere deep inside - give us the means to explore the things that scare us…” – Lou Morgan (The Guardian)

H Trope: Apocalyptic Diary
Current Event: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385522045/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687402&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0143036874&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=12GZ8H98NAT6JAAX4NBC

July 4, 1895

Mother said that when she was a girl, they ate pigeon every day at a time, and sometimes for days and days at a time. She said she hated pigeon meat.

She also said that pigeon didn’t make you vomit until you brought up only blood. She said there were days when pigeon’s didn’t fill the sky and eat everything in sight, including people sometimes. When I asked her if they sounded nicer when she was a girl, she said, “No, they’ve always sounded like a rusty mill wheel pump in an afternoon breeze.”

July 14, 1895

Mother is worried. The store in town said that they’re out of shotgun shells.

Pa and Danforth, my oldest brother spent the afternoon casting lead ball shot and packing Grandpa’s old musket.

This morning, a family came through town in a covered wagon. Mother covered my eyes, but I saw before she could get her hands over them. The wagon cover was shredded and there were dead people in it. It didn’t look like they had any eyes, either. Mother took me and Dennis, Dorothy, and Debra into the tornado shelter. We’ve never had a tornado in Minnesota in the fifteen years since I was born, but Pa said there was one just before him and Mother met and courted. She started crying about the end of the world until Pa came down and held on to her tight. Danforth didn’t even say anything nasty to me when I held Mother’s hand.

After we got back to work, he came up to me and asked if I wanted to know what was really going on.

“Why you wanna tell me?” I asked.

“’Cuz you’re always readin’ them crazy books.”

His idea of crazy books are Jules Verne’s FROM EARTH TO THE MOON, and HG Wells’ THE TIME MACHINE. I shrugged, expecting him to start in on me again. Ever since he stopped school and started working with Pa, he’s acting like he’s all better than the rest of us. But I’ve seen the look on his face lately, like when the pigeons in the sky are worse than a tornado storm. When they all land and eat the land bare and there’s nothing we can do because the feathers and skin are poison, and the meat makes you vomit blood…Danforth said, “I been hearin’ some things in town.”

I scowled, crossed my arms over my chest – which had gotten bigger lately – and said, “What kind of things?”

He shrugged. “Fine then, if you don’t want to know.” He turned and headed out of the house. Mother busied herself with cleaning up after dinner.

I hated myself for it, but I blurted, “What have you heard?”

He turned and leaned toward me, “You know that crazy Wells book you were so moony over last summer?”

“THE TIME MACHINE?”

“That’s the one. I heard in town that it’s real. In Washington.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

He shrugged, “Someone said that someone said that even though it didn’t look like the illustration I seen, there’s a time traveler come to the president. A couple of years ago.”

“The illustration you saw was from a children’s book!”

He grunted, “Anyway, they said they heard that someone heard that the traveler asked about pigeons.”

“Why’d they want to know about pigeons?”

Danforth shrugged and went back to work. Mother called me to help with supper.

July 19, 1895

I’ve been thinking about what a time traveler could possibly want with pigeons. They’re monsters and the preachers round these parts think that they are a curse placed on mankind for the hubris of thinking he was better than nature. Most of them are old enough to remember when people actually ate pigeons instead of pigeons eating the clothes and food off us. Pa says that the pigeons don’t eat Human meat – except for the eyes. Mother hushed him up real fast and asked me if I’d heard what he said. I turned around and said, “What?”

Mother managed a pained smile and a glance at Pa that would have peeled paint from the outhouse – if there’d been any paint left on it.

Later that day, a pigeon flock passed over our town and it was dark enough to have to light the lanterns. The sound is horrible and we could hear the sound of the birds as they relieved themselves on our house.

Mother shouted at the roof as if she was trying to scare them away. She scared the littles so much, I finally had to hold the youngest and let the others lean on me.

It took fifteen hours for the flock to pass. Mother said, “This is the end of Humanity. The very, very end, and we will have died surrounded by meat we can’t eat any more, bereft of what food we grew and might have eaten, with our waters poisoned by pigeons who drop a deadly rain as they pass over us…”

Pa said nothing, but hung his head. Danforth and me looked at each other until finally Dan looked down. He was so much like Pa, it made my heart clench tight.

Outside, the deafening shriek of the passing flock faded into complete silence.

Names: ♀ American Midwest, ; ♂ American MidwestImage: http://www.redflagmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Extinction-5.jpgImage: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51niGRrH6DL.jpg
[A longer version of this story titled "Pigeon" appeared in the March 2016 issue of the Scottish Science Fiction and Fantasy magazine SHORELINE OF INFINITY]

JAX LUNAR LUMBER Chapter 9: Hmmm, Not QUITE So Fast!

On the way to the neighborhood Home Depot for the obligatory weekend project as well as a load of flowers and potting soil, I started musing on my hitch as a “yard ape” for a company called Knox Lumber. We, too were busy this time of year, and it was a familiar feel whenever I went to one of these stored. Know was one of the original “Do It Yourself” (aka DIY) stores, a precursor to today’s Lowes, Menards, and Home Depot. In 1986, Payless Cashways purchased Knox Lumber Company, eventually filing for bankruptcy. Before it vanished, the rumor in the store was that you could build an entire house by waiting patiently for a year while EVERYTHING went on sale…

Rolling down the driveway, I suddenly had a thought and snickered.
When my wife asked, “What?” I shook my head. “No, what?”
I reiterated the train of thought above, then added, “I was wondering if it would be possible to build a colony on the Moon using just what you could buy at Knox?”
We pondered it for a few moments, then suddenly said in unison, “Yes!” Inspired by Matt Weir, the result of my musings continues below.

Once my grandkids – Noah, Natalie, Ronan, and Rayna – arrived and set about separating Roza Rymbayeva Golovkin, Six-Times-Great-Granddaughter Of The Last Lunar Walker’, Gene Cernan from her “handler”, I grinned at Sturdlan Vilbix, self-proclaimed Roza’s handler.

The grandkids and went to her, gently taking her hands and leading her as they pushed Sturdlan Vilbix aside, ignoring them.

As they did, every piece of spy equipment Turdman’s people had brought had its electronics and quantum circuits scrambled. “Sturdland” shouted, “Hey!” and they found themselves alone and in the flesh without an Image Enhancement Field surrounding them.

I was startled to see “they” were a rather round, runty “he” with blaze orange hair, coiffed into something they’d have called a beehive in the 1960s mostly worn by women in the US – the grandkids’ great great grandmother had worn one just like it, but brunette instead of orange. He reminded me of a TwenCen cartoon character called Complex or something like that. It wasn’t really flattering on either Sturdlan’s real face or their/his virtual face.

I waited. The grands were waiting too. Finally, sensing the show was over, the main part of the pack escorted Roza out, chattering like a passel of grandchildren typically do, keeping their voices down and trying to amaze her with their intelligence and sense of humor. Natalie – who had just finished her training as a sergeant in the Solar Marines – was a specialist. She stepped closer to him, expertly blocking a move by Sturdlan to follow her and “rescue” his meal-ticket…or whatever she was to him. Nat blocked him/them and the man found himself un able to move and in danger of experiencing a broken arm.

It wasn’t clear exactly what she’d specialized in, but I don’t dig that deeply into my kids or grandkids’ lives. OTOH, by the precision with which they had rescued their target and the “enemy” (not sure how long Sturdlan was interested in maintaining that position), I was pretty sure it was some form of logistics. She was also in the Solar Commonwealth’s United Marine Marching Band and reportedly challenging the current Drum Major for their position.

I waited a bit longer then opened my mouth…

Sturdlan said, “Fine…” he started to walk free. Nat increased the pressure of her grip. Sturdlan winced, nearly going down on his knees.

I said, “That’s not the phrase I was looking for, Mr. Turdland. Perhaps you’ve forgotten. I only wanted to hear two words: ‘I accept.’” I shot Nat a glance. She eased off a bit and he started breathing again. He remained silent. Nat increased the pressure. He started to pant.

A few moments later, after sagging, he growled, then managed, “I. Accept.” He paused, adding, “Grud…”

Nat squeezed hard enough for me to hear a pop. He screamed and started to collapsed. Nat held him up, then twisted his elbow. I heard another pop and he gasped. When she released him, he went to his knees and his hands, head hanging between his shoulders. He muttered something I didn’t appreciate. “What was that?” I said.

Nat took a step back to him. He hastily said, “Nothing! Nothing!” She leaned in and he winced. She said, “Probably shouldn’t continue trying to mutter sweet-little-nothings again, eh? Boy?” He managed to nod without passing out. Nat grinned, kissed me on the cheek, and followed the rest of the herd of family.

I said, “So, how about we arrange an itinerary that will feature Roza instead of your somewhat…how can I say this and offend you most…childish, simplistic, and meaningless trash?”

“It’s what people want!” they said, struggling to their feet. The air around them flickered and the image of a purple baboon formed around Sturdlan Vilbix. The eyes grew wide the baboon exclaimed, “That’s not what’s supposed to happen!”

I nodded. “Rosa probably wasn’t supposed to share her own music, either. Nevertheless, it will.” Sturdlan glared. I said, “It’s a good thing you’ve got a smaller, but reasonable venue to share your music in, generously sponsored by Jax Lunar Lumber.” I grinned.

“Over my dead body!” Sturdlan shouted, surging to his feet. The effect without his image enhancement was less than threatening; thought worrisome even so, mostly because his face had changed color as his blood pressure soared, and I was pretty sure he carried concealed weapons. I passed him the Lunar ordinance regarding unregistered firearms as enforced on the Moon by all signatories – which currently included all of the nation states from Earth with either single-nation colonies or cooperative colonies.

“That’s the penalty for anyone who chooses to take out any one of the weapons recorded on your person or concealed in various pieces of luggage…”

“You can’t…”

I leaned in, “You might want to read through Lunar Law, Mr. Turdland.” I turned and walked away. I turned back, “Just to show you there’s no hard feelings, the venue you’ve been offered is owned by Jax Lunar Lumber, Limited Liability Lunar Company.” I turned and headed own. I was under no illusions that I had won anything but a brief reprieve from conflict between myself, family, and this man.

Resources: The Moon Trees, https://www.urbanforestdweller.com/we-almost-forgot-about-the-moon-trees/ ; https://www.space.com/moon-colonists-lunar-lava-tubes.htmlImage: fabricated by me using two public domain images.https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YkAeUwwE2aksDqd5tgwyec-970-80.jpg.webp

IDEA ON TUESDAY 659

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them. Regarding horror, I found this insight in line with WIRED FOR STORY: “ We seek out…stories which give us a place to put our fears…Stories that frighten us or unsettle us - not just horror stories, but ones that make us uncomfortable or that strike a chord somewhere deep inside - give us the means to explore the things that scare us…” – Lou Morgan (The Guardian)

H Trope: immortality
Current Event: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal_DNA_strand_hypothesis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109559/

While the Wikipedia entry explaining the Immortal DNA strand isn’t exactly a current event, the second entry IS and though it is a medical paper and written in medical language, it happens to be significant to the life of our family.

To make this understandable to lay people, I’d like to use those worn-out tropes of horror: vampires.

Let’s just say that the vampire DNA strand is immortal, but because so many vampires were killed in the 19th and early 20th century by various vampire slayers such as Koshiko Kamiyama, John Averill, Twelve String Digby (http://www.fvza.org/tophunters.html), Van Helsing and Buffy, it has become widely spread and doesn’t produce vampires any more.

It’s legendarily reported that the vampire slayings were in response to an outbreak of vampires in the 17th and 18th Centuries (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-real-vampire-slayers-397874.html).

It is the 21st Century now and people travel everywhere all the time. A chance college meeting leads to romance for a couple with old, Eastern European roots – Curtis Allen is the result and he discovers his vampiric leanings not long after his mom is transferred to the 3M headquarters in Minneapolis. He attends a prestigious private high school…but the story begins when his dad has to tell him about the birds, the bees and the bloodlust…

“Listen, Vlad, you’re thirteen now, there are things you need to know about yourself…”

Vlad snorted, “Dad, I know all about sex, so you don’t…”

“I know you know all about sex! This has nothing to do with sex. It has to do with a family…problem.”

Vlad frowned and said, “What are you talking about?”

His dad cleared his throat. “Listen, son, this is hard for me to talk about, but it has to do with when you get passionate with a girl…”

Vlad laughed. “Dad, you know I’m gay, right?”

His dad sighed, “A father can hope, can’t he? It doesn’t matter the orientation. It’s just that when you get passionate, you can…nibble on people.”

Vlad had no idea why it happened, but he was abruptly so embarrassed, his pale skin flushed red. His throat got tight, and he suddenly found that his hands, sitting in his lap, were worthy of intense study. He managed to croak, “Dad…”

“Listen, son, I can’t sugar coat this, so I’m just gonna say it out loud…”

“Don’t, Dad!”

“You’re a vampire, son, and when you ‘nibble’ on people, you’re passing the virus to them.”

Of all the conversations he’d imagined having with Dad, this was one he’d never thought to rehearse. He opened his mouth then closed it. Finally he managed, “You mean anyone that…has ever had a bite…is gonna become a vampire?”

Names: ♂ RomaniaImage: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51niGRrH6DL.jpg

MINING THE ASTEROIDS Part 27: The Future Marches ON!

Initially, I started this series because of the 2021 World Science Fiction Convention, DisCON which I WOULD have been attending in person if I felt safe enough to do so in person AND it hadn’t been changed to the week before the Christmas Holidays…HOWEVER, as time passed, I knew that this was a subject I was going to explore because it interests me…
Today’s Source: https://www.astroforge.com/updates/firing-on-all-cylinders-announcing-40m-and-mission-3
Foundational Resource: (A general Wikipedia post detailing what the authors currently know about asteroid mining: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_mining)

From the AstroForge website noted above: “From the day we started AstroForge, our goal has been the same – to unlock a cost-effective and sustainable mining solution that replenishes resources and safeguards our planet's future.”

I confess that this sounds like a rosy picture and some drastically serious advances. But are there any NAYsayers? These were a few questions asked by a member of the famous Reddit website:

“Back; r/science fiction icon; Go to science fiction; r/science fiction; 1 yr. ago [deleted]
“How do you think asteroid mining would work?
“How would a mining company offset the price of fuel for operating the machinery and spacecraft necessary for transportation of materials from the asteroid belt to Earth? “How long would miners be away from home?
“Would they drink the water from asteroids?
How much would be done by robots?
“These are a few of the many questions I can think of, I’d love to hear your thoughts!”

Here’s a link to a whole BUNCH of people who think mining asteroids is ridiculous: https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/17zs0z3/experts_and_entrepreneurs_explain_why_mining/

Yet Humanity has been mining for the 43,000 years: “The oldest-known mine on archaeological record is the Ngwenya Mine in Eswatini (Swaziland), which radiocarbon dating shows to be about 43,000 years old. At this site Paleolithic humans mined hematite to make the red pigment ochre. Mines of a similar age in Hungary are believed to be sites where Neanderthals may have mined flint for weapons and tools.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining) That’s a few years. Granted, mining the ASTEROIDS is something we’ve never tried (though we have technically mined the Moon (small amounts, nevertheless, “bringing back Moon rocks” was technically the first space mining.) At the dawn of the mining age, MOVING rocks from one place to another was the initial first step of “mining” when “Paleolithic humans mined hematite to make…red pigment... Mines of a similar age in Hungary are believed to be sites where Neanderthals may have mined flint for weapons and tools.”

Perhaps the steps AstroForge and others are taking are those initial primitive first steps.

Had those Paleolithic humans attempted to mine iron ore on the level of the great Iron Range Mines of Vermillion, Mesabi, and Cuyuna, they would have failed. By World War Two however: “…Minnesota's rich iron deposits were a vital component of America's war effort. About 70% of the iron ore that America devoted to the war came from Minnesota, amounting to more than 333 million tons, according to Pam Brunfelt, a retired Vermilion Community College faculty member and historian. ‘Without the Iron Range, we would not have won the war,’ said the Britt, Minn., native, who is writing a book about the phenomenon. ‘It was just the most astonishing accomplishment.’”

We haven’t really started mining the asteroids yet. Likely, we’re far from it. HOWEVER, as we deplete the ores easily available on the surface of the Earth and the environmental destruction caused by Earth-mining steadily mounts and the ridiculousness of the “environmentalists” who demand that we stop “raping the Earth” or “polluting the air” or destroying our future with “too much” CO2…all while DEMANDING that they have their cell phones, lithium-battery-powered cars (made at horrible Human cost by a mining procedure SO toxic is makes iron mining look like children playing in a sandbox), the COST of asteroid mining will seem paltry – IF you still want all of your electronic toys…

The skills that we’ve gained from decades in space, planetary landings, transporting (admittedly small) payloads of metal ore BACK to Earth for analysis, 26 years of constant occupation on the ISS (which STILL remains, despite immense odds!) an INTERNATIONAL Space Station; we continue to move toward mining asteroids.

Easy? Nope.
People gonna die? Yep (Today: “A cradle-to-gate attributional life-cycle assessment study…of a “gigafactory” for which “cobalt sulfate [from which “lithium-ion batteries” are “ produced in China, and the cobalt raw material is sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Potential health impacts from both emissions and occupational accidents…lead to…fatality rates in the artisanal cobalt mining in the DRC are considered: a high scenario at 2000 fatalities/year and a low scenario at 65 fatalities/year. The current main use of cobalt is in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which have become the dominant technology for rechargeable energy storage (OECD 2019).”
(https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-022-02084-3)

But do we need to do it? Yep.
Will we gain skills important to move Earth’s manufacturing OFF THE SURFACE TO SAVE THE SEA OTTERS? Yep.
We NEED to do it, so we WILL do it.

Noted Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_asteroid_close_approaches_to_Earth, https://www.pharostribune.com/news/local_news/article_7fcd3ea5-3c14-533f-a8d5-9bf629922f34.html, https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/04/29/like-asteroid-mining-be-careful-what-you-wish-for/, https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/learn/historyculture/theroadtothefirstflight.htm, https://hackaday.com/2019/03/27/extraterrestrial-excavation-digging-holes-on-other-worlds/, https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/every-small-worlds-mission
And Now Some NEW NEWS: https://payloadspace.com/astroforge-picks-up-first-commercial-deep-space-license/
AstroForge YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXvm_l29o-QImage: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/A2D5/production/_114558614_hls-eva-apr2020.jpg
Interesting Stuff The Might Apply To Mining Asteroids: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgej7gzg8l0o

IDEAS ON TUESDAY 658

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them? Regarding Fantasy, this insight was startling: “I see the fantasy genre as an ever-shifting metaphor for life in this world, an innocuous medium that allows the author to examine difficult, even controversial, subjects with impunity. Honor, religion, politics, nobility, integrity, greed—we’ve an endless list of ideals to be dissected and explored. And maybe learned from.” – Melissa McPhail.

Fantasy Trope: The Quest
Current Event: http://contemplativequest.com/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland

Světlana Angelika pursed her lips, looking out over the hectares of forest. In the MSP Vertical Village, it was mostly deciduous trees – oak, maple, patches of white-barked birch, poplar – with a sprinkling of pine trees. The concourse she and Uthman Aali were on was packed with people. Not a hundred thousand, for sure, but too many to think. “We need to go somewhere,” she said abruptly, speaking in the too loud manner of all the inhabitants of Vertical Villages everywhere.

Uthman gave her a look that said, “You’re crazy.”

She slugged him in the shoulder. It was a little kid move – but then, they’d been friends since they were three years old. “No, I’m serious. We need to go somewhere real.”

Without changing his stare, Uthman said, “We can go up to the six hundredth floor...”

“No! I don’t mean here. This is all so...boring. We need to go,” she pause, “through a looking glass.”

“A what?”

“A looking glass! Haven’t you ever read Alice in Wonderland?”

“I might have seen a threevee of it once. Wasn’t it a cartoon?”

“Yes – and no, you haven’t seen this. Lewis Carroll wrote a novel, it’s true. But he was a mathematician. His logic is all over the book. Math. Everything.”

Uthman snorted, “It sounds like science fiction.”

“It’s fantasy – she steps through a mirror.”

“If it’s math and logic, it’s science fiction.”

“There are talking rabbits,” said Světlana. “And a talking, disappearing cat. As well as a talking, smoking caterpillar, talking mice, and soldiers made of playing cards.”

“OK. You win. It’s a fantasy. But what does it have to do with us? What kind of mirror can we jump through? I’m sure there are some here – but...”

“The windows. We can jump through one of those.”

“A window?”

“Come on, let’s go to the outer walls. We’ll leap through one of those!” She turned and ran, Uthman running after her.

Names: ♀ Czech, Roman; ♂ Arabic, Hindu Image: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/98/71/e5/9871e52bbc09c525af21b8f6471eab15.jpg

CREATING ALIEN ALIENS Part 39: The Exploration of Radiation-Proof Intelligences

Five decades ago, I started my college career with the intent of becoming a marine biologist. I found out I had to get a BS in biology before I could even begin work on MARINE biology; especially because there WEREN'T any marine biology programs in Minnesota.
Along the way, the science fiction stories I'd been writing since I was 13 began to grow more believable. With my BS in biology and a fascination with genetics, I started to use more science in my fiction.

After reading hard SF for the past 50 years, and writing hard SF successfully for the past 20, I've started to dig deeper into what it takes to create realistic alien life forms. In the following series, I'll be sharing some of what I've learned. I've had some of those stories published, some not...I teach a class to GT young people every summer called ALIEN WORLDS. I've learned a lot preparing for that class for the past 25 years...so...I have the opportunity to share with you what I've learned thus far. Take what you can use, leave the rest. Let me know what YOU'VE learned. Without further ado...

So, let’s stipulate that aliens who are sapient intelligences invade our Solar System and out of desperation, we use the most powerful of the vast store of Human weapons from around the world to attempt to halt their implacable invasion of Human space…

A barrage of nuclear weapons explode, including antimatter weapons Humanity has cobbled together solely in an attempt to save themselves.. The aliens keep on coming. Their ships are disintegrated as are some of the aliens, but a number of the bodies of the aliens themselves head for Earth, stopping to take out the Martian and Lunar colonies, and then swing around the Sun and take out the Venusian colonies.

Why didn’t our nukes stop them???

Using Earth’s elite space forces, we manage to capture several of the Invaders. Using physical impacts, we knock two dozen out and rush them to a Lunar research station.

Under an atmosphere collected from an Invader ship, we recreate their air and begin an extensive and detailed bioassay.

We also discover that no matter how much we try and sterilize the samples of Invader tissue to prevent the contamination of Earthly biological forms with the alien ones, they are impervious to RADIATION…in fact, once we get more samples, we discover that the Invaders have nothing even remotely resembling CANCERS or MUTUATIONS. Among FURTHER facts, the Invaders (and a few other non-sapient lifeforms we got while capturing the intelligences, appear to be virtually identical within a species…) Specifically, their “rat-equivalents” and “sparrow-equivalents” appear to be singular species. Their paramecia seem to all be one species. Even a sort of furry green ball with multiple eyes and several manipulation limbs are all identical – no variation. ALL OF THE “GREEN POOFBALLS” are the same. They are genetically identical.

ALL of the sapient, intelligent aliens are exactly the same as well…if you examine ONE alien from its external anatomy to its DNA, you find that each and every one is EXACTLY THE SAME… Baffled, an elderly physician sends a memo for a presentation that they think will explain what Humanity has just discovered. They have a theory based on the discovery of a bacterium during the first quarter of the 21st Century.

They have cells and DNA that are immune to mutation because RADIATION HAS NO EFFECT ON THE CELLS…

“In fact, it appears that every single intelligence we’re captured is essentially a clone of every other intelligence.”

The conference erupts into chaos…

The horror never abates. Fear grips the entire Solar System and there are plans to destroy the Moon along with all lifeforms on it. The plans proceed swiftly until someone realizes that heat, laser, and energy weapons are all radiation-based.

They have no effect on the Invaders. Almost immediately, the politicians and ambassadors assemble and a conference proposed to the Invaders through a modified form of Morse Code. They accept.

From then on, communication is perfect, but the psychology of Humanity and Invaderity appear to be mutually incomprehensible…even though they have created an artificial language both seem to be able to use to communicate mathematical concepts.

The rest of the Human and Invader experiences are mutually incomprehensible… Neither side appears to ONLY understand destruction of the other. They appear to comprehend one word: war.

Abstract
“This report presents the recommendations of an international group of experts convened by the World Health Organization, in association with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency to consider the implications of food irradiated to doses higher than those recommended in 1980 by the Joint Expert Committee on the Wholesomeness of Irradiated Food. Irradiation ensures the hygienic quality of food and extends shelf-life. The public perception of the safety of food irradiation has generally precluded its widespread use. However, current applications of food irradiation to doses over 10 kGy have been in the development of high-quality shelf-stable convenience foods for specific target groups such as immunosuppressed individuals and those under medical care, astronauts and outdoor enthusiasts. The Study Group reviewed data relating to the toxicological, nutritional, radiation chemical and physical aspects of food irradiated to doses above 10 kGy from a wide range and number of studies carried out over the last forty years. This report presents a comprehensive summary, along with references, of the effectiveness and safety of the irradiation process. It concludes that foods treated with doses greater than 10 kGy can be considered safe and nutritionally adequate when produced under established Good Manufacturing Practice.” (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10524010/)

Sources: Human-Induced Radioresistance as a Possible Mechanism for Producing Biological Weapons: A Feasible Bridge between Radioresistance and Resistance to Antibiotics and Genotoxic Agents - PMC ; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4450694/ Image: https://image.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/alien-human-600w-136457129.jpg

CREATING ALIEN ALIENS Part 39: The Explorations of Radiation-Proof Intelligences

Five decades ago, I started my college career with the intent of becoming a marine biologist. I found out I had to get a BS in biology before I could even begin work on MARINE biology; especially because there WEREN'T any marine biology programs in Minnesota.
Along the way, the science fiction stories I'd been writing since I was 13 began to grow more believable. With my BS in biology and a fascination with genetics, I started to use more science in my fiction.

After reading hard SF for the past 50 years, and writing hard SF successfully for the past 20, I've started to dig deeper into what it takes to create realistic alien life forms. In the following series, I'll be sharing some of what I've learned. I've had some of those stories published, some not...I teach a class to GT young people every summer called ALIEN WORLDS. I've learned a lot preparing for that class for the past 25 years...so...I have the opportunity to share with you what I've learned thus far. Take what you can use, leave the rest. Let me know what YOU'VE learned. Without further ado...

So, let’s stipulate that aliens who are sapient intelligences invade our Solar System and out of desperation, we use the most powerful of the vast store of Human weapons from around the world to attempt to halt their implacable invasion of Human space…

A barrage of nuclear weapons explode, including antimatter weapons Humanity has cobbled together solely in an attempt to save themselves.. The aliens keep on coming. Their ships are disintegrated as are some of the aliens, but a number of the bodies of the aliens themselves head for Earth, stopping to take out the Martian and Lunar colonies, and then swing around the Sun and take out the Venusian colonies.

Why didn’t our nukes stop them???

Using Earth’s elite space forces, we manage to capture several of the Invaders. Using physical impacts, we knock two dozen out and rush them to a Lunar research station.

Under an atmosphere collected from an Invader ship, we recreate their air and begin an extensive and detailed bioassay.

We also discover that no matter how much we try and sterilize the samples of Invader tissue to prevent the contamination of Earthly biological forms with the alien ones, they are impervious to RADIATION…in fact, once we get more samples, we discover that the Invaders have nothing even remotely resembling CANCERS or MUTUATIONS. Among FURTHER facts, the Invaders (and a few other non-sapient lifeforms we got while capturing the intelligences, appear to be virtually identical within a species…) Specifically, their “rat-equivalents” and “sparrow-equivalents” appear to be singular species. Their paramecia seem to all be one species. Even a sort of furry green ball with multiple eyes and several manipulation limbs are all identical – no variation. ALL OF THE “GREEN POOFBALLS” are the same. They are genetically identical.

ALL of the sapient, intelligent aliens are exactly the same as well…if you examine ONE alien from its external anatomy to its DNA, you find that each and every one is EXACTLY THE SAME… Baffled, an elderly physician sends a memo for a presentation that they think will explain what Humanity has just discovered. They have a theory based on the discovery of a bacterium during the first quarter of the 21st Century.

They have cells and DNA that are immune to mutation because RADIATION HAS NO EFFECT ON THE CELLS…

“In fact, it appears that every single intelligence we’re captured is essentially a clone of every other intelligence.”

The conference erupts into chaos…

The horror never abates. Fear grips the entire Solar System and there are plans to destroy the Moon along with all lifeforms on it. The plans proceed swiftly until someone realizes that heat, laser, and energy weapons are all radiation-based.

They have no effect on the Invaders. Almost immediately, the politicians and ambassadors assemble and a conference proposed to the Invaders through a modified form of Morse Code. They accept.

From then on, communication is perfect, but the psychology of Humanity and Invaderity appear to be mutually incomprehensible…even though they have created an artificial language both seem to be able to use to communicate mathematical concepts.

The rest of the Human and Invader experiences are mutually incomprehensible… Neither side appears to ONLY understand destruction of the other. They appear to comprehend one word: war.

Abstract
“This report presents the recommendations of an international group of experts convened by the World Health Organization, in association with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency to consider the implications of food irradiated to doses higher than those recommended in 1980 by the Joint Expert Committee on the Wholesomeness of Irradiated Food. Irradiation ensures the hygienic quality of food and extends shelf-life. The public perception of the safety of food irradiation has generally precluded its widespread use. However, current applications of food irradiation to doses over 10 kGy have been in the development of high-quality shelf-stable convenience foods for specific target groups such as immunosuppressed individuals and those under medical care, astronauts and outdoor enthusiasts. The Study Group reviewed data relating to the toxicological, nutritional, radiation chemical and physical aspects of food irradiated to doses above 10 kGy from a wide range and number of studies carried out over the last forty years. This report presents a comprehensive summary, along with references, of the effectiveness and safety of the irradiation process. It concludes that foods treated with doses greater than 10 kGy can be considered safe and nutritionally adequate when produced under established Good Manufacturing Practice.” (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10524010/)

Sources: Human-Induced Radioresistance as a Possible Mechanism for Producing Biological Weapons: A Feasible Bridge between Radioresistance and Resistance to Antibiotics and Genotoxic Agents - PMC ; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4450694/ Image: https://image.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/alien-human-600w-136457129.jpg

What I've LEARNED WRITING, My PUBLISHED Stories, and LINKS To Online FICTION

 

PUBLISHED STORIES

EMERALD OF EARTH March 2024STUPEFYING STORIES: March 24, 2024 "Feedback"Stupefying Stories: September 19, 2023 "Worlds At War"ANALOG SF Nov/Dec 2022 "Dinosaur Veterinarian"STUPEFYING STORIES, August 2021 "Doctor to the Undead"STUPEFYING STORIES Various Blog entries 2020-2024ANALOG SF Nov/Dec 2019 "Kamsahamnida, America"ANALOG SF Sept/Oct 2019 "Road Veterinarian"Nebula Tales Magazine -- Sept 2019 "Cockroach, Gecko..."ANALOG SF May/June 2019 "Robotic Space Killer..."Reprint of "Pigeon", SHORELINE OF INFINITY story April 2018STUPEFYING STORIES December "Bogfather"2017NANOISM February 2017ANALOG SF January/February 2017 "The Last Mayan Aristocrat"AURORA WOLF October 2016 "Carpe Hnub"DEVOLUTION Z January 2017 "Rolling Zombie Bones"THE MARTIAN WAVE September 2016 "Biking Mars"SciFutures Treatment March 2016CAST OF WONDERS November 2015 "Fairy Bones"SHORELINE OF INFINITY March 2016 "Pigeon"PERIHELION SF September 2015 "Prince of Blood and Spit"WORKING WRITER NEWSLETTER May/June 2015 "Learning Through Slushing"ANALOG SF, April 2015 "Whey Station"FIVE STARS -- Stupefying Stories "Best" of the Early Years August 2014SPACEPORTS AND SPIDERSILK January 2015 "I Need More Space!"PERIHELION SF July 2014 "612 See, 612 Do"PERIHELION SF November 2013 "A Woman's Place"STUPEFYING STORIES August 2013 "Oath"PERIHELION Science Fiction June 2013 "Invoking Fire"AURORA WOLF May 2013 "TechnoPred"CRICKET MAGAZINE FOR CHILDREN January 2013 "The Penguin Whisperer"SFWA Blog July 2012 "The Futures of YA SF"CAST OF WONDERS December 2011 "Peanutbutter & Jellyfish"HOPSCOTCH FOR GIRLS Aug/Sept 2011 "UBA Scientist!"TURTLE MAGAZINE Jan/Feb 2011 "Simple Science"AETHER AGE ANTHOLOGY November 2010 "Looking Down on Athena"STUPEFYING STORIES ANTHOLOGY September 2010 "Oath"STUPEFYING STORIES "Teaching Women To Fly" January 2010STORIES FOR CHILDREN (paper anthology), February 2009 Marcus and Eggplant Save Patokay""DRAGONS, KNIGHTS, AND ANGELS "The Baptism of Johnny Ferocious" April 2006THE WRITER (yeah, that one), March 2006 "A Matter of Time"ANALOG SF, October 2004 "Warning! Warning!"CICADA, January/February 2000, "Dear Hunter"CRICKET MAGAZINE FOR CHILDREN, July 2001 "Firestorm!"ANALOG SF, June 2000, "A Pig Tale"SIMPLE SCIENCE SERMONS FOR BIG AND LITTLE KIDS, CSS Publishing 1998CRICKET MAGAZINE November 1997 "Mystery on Space Station Courage" -- Nominated for Paul A Witty SS AwardANALOG SF, August 1996 "Absolute Limits"LINKS TO ONLINE STORIESSTUPEFYING STORIES "Feedback" March 30, 2024STUPEFYING STORIES "Worlds At War""Doctor to the Undead" STUPEFYING STORIES, August 2021"Writing As a 9th Gendered Polyoriented Alien Wizard""Prince of Blood and Spit" PEREHELION 2015"To Boldly Go...""Oath" (reprise)"Writer's Constipation...""The Penguin Whisperer" (page 7!)"Bogfather""Nanoism" February 2017"Carpe Hnub", October 2016A REVIEW of "Fairy Bones" December 2015Technopred, May 2013Cast of Wonders -- Best of 2015"Fairy Bones" Nov 2015 CAST OF WONDERSAURORA WOLF May 2013 "TechnoPred""Peanut Butter and Jellyfish" pt 1 at CAST OF WONDERS"Peanut Butter and Jellyfish" pt2 at CAST OF WONDERSMy Rant Against YA Dystopian "Literature""Oath" STUPEFYING STORIES"A Pig Tale" ANALOG, June 2000

WRITING ADVICE: Can I Use “Old” Ideas To Create New Stories? Aladdin, From A THOUSAND AND ONE ARABIAN NIGHTS (sort of...)

In September of 2007, I started this blog with a bit of writing advice. A little over a year after THAT, I discovered how little I knew about writing after hearing children’s writer, Lin Oliver speak at a convention hosted by the Minnesota Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Since then, I have shared (with their permission) and applied the writing wisdom of Lin Oliver, Jack McDevitt, Nathan Bransford, Mike Duran, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, SL Veihl, Bruce Bethke, and Julie Czerneda. Together they write in genres broad and deep, and have acted as agents, editors, publishers, columnists, and teachers. Since then, I figured I’ve got enough publications now that I can share some of the things I did “right”.

While I don’t write full-time, nor do I make enough money with my writing to live off of it...neither do all of the professional writers above...someone pays for and publishes ten percent of what I write. When I started this blog, that was NOT true, so I may have reached a point where my own advice is reasonably good. We shall see! Hemingway’s quote above will now remain unchanged as I work to increase my writing output and sales! As always, your comments are welcome!

Today, I thought I’d say something all on my own, unsupported by my published or unpublishable works

My wife and I watched the live-action version of Disney’s “Aladdin”. The tale itself is old, NOT part of the original Arabic “One Thousand and One Nights” which was recorded in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age, and NOT “not being part of the original Arabic text. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by the Frenchman Antoine Galland, who acquired the tale from storyteller Hanna Diyab. Historians consider Diyab the original author of ‘Aladdin’, with the tale partly having been inspired by Diyab's own life.” The story has been done dozens of times in venues ranging from the original story written some time before 1688 and told by its author, Syrian Diyab; to a British pantomime in 1788; to a Canadian video game in 2016.

Aside from the fact that Will Smith is a hero of mine – for all his body of work, not just his speculative fiction parts (“Independence Day”, “Men In Black”, “Hancock”, “I Am Legend”, the pre-production “Gemini Man”, and “I, Robot”, even “The Legend of Bagger Vance” – “Ali” was great and I love “In Pursuit of Happyness”. At any rate, I remember hearing speculation about whether or not he could pull off a part automatically associated with the late Robin Williams – Genie.

I think he did, but that’s not where I’m really headed today.

After watching the movie, I commented to my wife that while Disney had managed to retain the magic of the cartoon version, they’d made a subtle change that I applauded even more: Jasmine went from a strong-will Daughter Of The Sultan to a savvy – even brilliant – politician who had her eye on the throne of the mythical Arabian Sultanate (as opposed to a caliphate and an emirate (as in United Arab Emirates) because she both loved the land and people – in fact, she meets Aladdin because she’s going about among them in disguise. The story, which I’m sure originated as one of the :

“A caliphate is an Islamic state under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph, a person considered a political-religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire ummah (Muslim community).”

“An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Arabic or Islamic monarch-styled emir. The term may also refer to a kingdom…Etymologically emirate is the quality, dignity, office, or territorial competence of any emir (prince, commander, governor, etc.)…The United Arab Emirates is a federal state that comprises seven federal emirates, each administered by a hereditary emir, these seven forming the electoral college for the federation's President and Prime Minister…Furthermore, in Arabic the term can be generalized to mean any province of a country that is administered by a member of the ruling class, especially of a member (usually styled emir) of the royal family, as in Saudi Arabian governorates.”

“Sultan is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning ‘strength’, ‘authority’, ‘rulership’…it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who claimed almost full sovereignty in practical terms (i.e., the lack of dependence on any higher ruler), albeit without claiming the overall caliphate, or to refer to a powerful governor of a province within the caliphate. The adjective form of the word…[is] the dynasty and lands ruled by a sultan are referred to as a sultanate…The term is distinct from king, despite both referring to a sovereign ruler. The use of ‘sultan’ is restricted to Muslim countries, where the title carries religious significance…”

(all above are taken from the entry in Wikipedia)

At any rate, the idea of a prince, princess, king, queen, etc. going out to hobnob with commoners isn’t new or singular to any culture (https://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/87ve5x/did_kingsqueens_ever_dress_up_as_commoners_and/) and has become a trope (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething) actually it’s a SUB-trope of this one: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KingIncognito), though apparently now the live-action Jasmine has her own category (along with Princess Leia Organa): https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PoliticallyActivePrincess. (Which actually doesn’t surprise me at all as Disney owns both of them.

The fact that Jasmine changed from a passive character (while falling in love with Aladdin, of course) to a politically active one is a definite improvement to the cartoon version. I enjoyed the secondary love interest between genie and Jasmine’s maid servant as well, mostly because I like that “old romantic” aspect of him (he’s over a thousand years old!!!!!)

I have no doubt that while the heart of the story has remained the same for over three centuries and survived the telling through countless translations – minimally from Arabic to French to English – it has also changed through the telling. I found a hint that someone, somewhere is going to take Aladdin, Jasmine, and the genie to the 35th Century in “Aladdin 3477 – 1: The Jinn of Wisdom”. Could be interesting, certainly…

But what if I used the HEART of the story to write a completely different story. The 1995 movie “Clueless” was loosely based on Jane Austen’s masterpiece, EMMA though the resemblance is only noticeable to people who have read Jane Austen. Even though it was barely recognizable, it made bank. I think I could use “Aladdin” to write a science fiction story that might not be recognizable, either, yet owe its life to the tale.
I’ll need to alter quite a few aspects and I'm hip-deep into writing a SCIENCE FICTION PARABLE...so I'll keep you posted.

Image: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9f/22/3b/9f223b1e57a36e14db3eb13715fbe3f9.jpg