What Would You Be?
Want a glimpse behind the scenes of the world of Artemis? My friend Rowan Derrick – with a little help from me – has designed an on-line quiz that will show you which of the Professions you might have followed if you’d been born on the world of Artemis. You can find the quiz on my Facebook page or directly link to it here .
Make a Choice!
There’s even an “extra” involved in the quiz. One of the Professions listed as a possible solution has not yet been mentioned in the novels! Even if this isn’t your chosen Profession, you’ll get a behind the scenes look at the various Professions, what purpose they served, and, in cases, how they have changed in the five hundred years since that seminal event: the slaughter of the seegnur and death of machines.
And, if I do say so myself, it’s a really wonderfully designed quiz. It offers a lot more options than I’ve seen elsewhere, so you can feel as if your choice is really “yours.” So, what Profession would you be?
“What are the Professions?” I hear some of you asking. “And why does she persist in using a capital letter?”
Well, as you learn pretty early in Artemis Awakening, those who created the planet divided the human population into two general categories: Professions and Support. The Professions were trained with special skills – and often possessed arcane abilities – that enabled them to act as guides and supports to the seegnur when they visited the planet Artemis. Support was the rest of the population – the farmers, crafters, fishers, and all the rest. Depending on where they lived, these people might never see one of the revered seegnur. Or if they worked as staff at a hotel or resort, they might have quite a lot of contact with the seegnur – but of a very different sort.
As I was telling the folks who came to my signing at Bookworks this past weekend – (Thank you! And thanks for the excellent questions!) – I’ve long been interested in anthropology and mythology. Most myths grow out of a desire to find answers for those transcendent questions like “How was the world created?” “Who made us?” “What is the purpose of life?”
I decided that for those born on Artemis they would know the answers – not as matters of faith, but of fact. There’s a big difference between the two. As I said a while back (WW 2-19-14), what characters knows is true shapes them in complex and intricate ways.
Certainly, the slaughter of the seegnur and death of machines would raise new questions – but not change those basic facts. It’s really interesting to write a culture that differs from any other human culture on such a fundamental level. I look forward to exploring both this root culture and the numerous interpretations that have evolved from this foundation since the slaughter of the seegnur and death of machines.
On other fronts, the second installment of Scot Noel and my discussion about the Art Contest is now up. This time we start discussing specific pieces of art, so you can get a look at some of the ones that tempted me personally. We don’t just stick with art, either. Since we’ll be writing stories based on the winning pieces, we also talk about the nature of inspiration. That’s always a fascinating topic.
Speaking of inspiration, it’s time for me to get back to work. I’m researching for a couple of short stories, in between I’m reviewing and revising material for my book on writing. If there’s ever been anything you’ve wanted to ask about either the art or craft, now’s a really good time!
