A starship is born, part 1 of 4

While I have a general idea of how a story is to progress, many times the dialog and even sometimes plot twists are supplied by my characters. To non-writers, that would seem insane, but most writers would understand the phenomenon completely. So, too, it was that my characters surprised me when MINIMCOM, the starship that was once an auto-pilot computer, gave "birth" to a son who he called MINIMCOM Junior or just Junior for short in the beginning of The Ark Lords.

When I think back, I realize that MINIMCOM himself was a surprise and had burst on the scene, all of his own volition. The fact that he became one of the most, if not the most, popular characters in the Rome's Revolution was a revelation. Once I became familiar with him and became attached to him, I began to think of him as an entity, not just computer. And all entities, not just biological ones, probably have the need to reproduce to propagate the species.

I had explained previously that Junior was not truly a child. He wasn't even a clone. His method of gestation and birth was more like budding which is seen in flatworms, sponges and coral. Because Junior retained all of MINIMCOM's memories, he was born fully cognizant of his place in the world. But once he split off from his father, he developed his own unique personality.

After I was "informed" that Junior was coming, I engineered it backwards to produce a "stork" which was nothing more than an OMCOM clone in the form of a starship. I took the design from the old Commando Cody serials and you will see that in the description of the "delivery" of MINIMCOM's child.

The idea of MINIMCOM as a parent grew on me but I had always thought of him as, well, male. You will see, when Rei pointed out the starship had given birth, MINIMCOM was quick to state he thought of himself as a father, not a mother.

Starting tomorrow, I'll show the delivery and "birth" of Aason's cousin and best friend, the starship named Junior.