6.4 KiB
[RT][HF] The Maker's Ark, Chapter 44: Outbound
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Author: u/DocFuture *
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URL: http://docfuture.tumblr.com/post/174250844146/the-makers-ark-chapter-44
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Score: 17
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Created: 2018-05-25T21:17:02
Post:
Comments:
u/DocFuture [+5] (5 minutes later)
Back, after too long a delay due to RL issues. I really wanted Outbound to be a single chapter, but when it hit 6k words and I wasn't close to done, I realized I needed to split it--and had to keep going for a while to make sure I split in the right place, and everything matched. Lots of subtle stuff for rational readers to ponder here.
One good thing about the split--the next chapter is already halfway written, so (crosses fingers) I might actually get it out on schedule.
u/CreationBlues [+4] (27 minutes later)
Great to see new stuff! I can’t remember when I started reading your serial, but it’s been since the call at least, a couple years. I don’t have too much to comment on unfortunately. I’m really just on the ride to see what will happen, but I’m certain it’ll be entertaining.
u/DocFuture [+1] (5 hours later)
Thanks! No other comment needed if you're enjoying the ride and want to see what will happen next. It lets me know I'm doing the essential thing 8-)
u/Bigandmighty [+3] (3 days later)
What's this novel about?
u/Empiricist_or_not [+4] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm (4 days later)
Imagine the flash as a teenage girl written by someone who does the math where the first real chapter is pure physics porn in a world where architypes justify some of the comic book tropes with the world recognized top tinker as her adopted father. It has a lot of comic book expies and a well thought out plot involving literal and effective demigods protecting humanity from Eldritch outsiders/God's and slice of life. It's a personal favorite.
u/DocFuture [+2] (5 days later)
Thank you for the summary; A couple of notes: The Maker's Ark is the third novel in the series, The first two are The Fall of Doc Future and Skybreaker's Call. They are intended to have satisfying endings for each individual book, though a lot of background is revealed in each one, so I recommend starting with Fall.
I also wrote a short series of essays explaining what I was attempting to do with the setting; the first one is here: http://docfuture.tumblr.com/post/87548056861/behind-the-future-part-1-creating-a-superhero
u/nicholaslaux [+2] (5 hours later)
I hate it when illegal flower pickers steal my flowers.
u/Empiricist_or_not [+2] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm (16 hours later)
I'm drawing a blank on which mythological flowers jorney-newsie (sorry along with mad-hatter I found his cap as a pun, now that he doesn't have to worry about people thinking he's too young because he's in with the hero's re-wrighting society and partners with one or more gods, hilarious) might have been stealing. Anyone have any guesses.
u/DocFuture [+2] (19 hours later)
Ooo, I can give cryptic hints 8-) Here are a few.
A) It's a real plant B) It's not (as far as I am aware) illegal to grow C) It wasn't illegal for him to pick it--it was growing wild D) There was nothing unique about the particular flowers he was picking E) He was interested in it as a potion ingredient, which I think readers will find entirely plausible.
u/Empiricist_or_not [+2] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm (20 hours later)
I'm not thinking of any flowers similar to the apples of Edun, though not illegal to grow, and potion ingredient makes me think poppies.
Edit spelling
u/DocFuture [+1] (23 hours later)
Even Journeyman would know not to try for Greta's apple orchard--the skulls around the edges are a giveaway there 8-).
Poppies aren't a bad guess--I should have said "nothing derived from it is known to be illegal."
A few more hints: F) It is (probably) unique in a way that makes it difficult to obtain. G) If you gave some to a botanist, their biggest challenge would be unambiguously identifying it. H) One of the more famous people to write about it in detail died in a volcanic eruption.
u/elysian_field_day [+3] (23 hours later)
Well, that last hint makes me think of pliny the elder, who wrote a book about natural history akin to an encyclopaedia... but for the actual plant, well, laurel seems like a good candidate for mythological reasons, but that does seem to contradict (D) since something like Apollo's laurel tree (formerly known as Daphne) is certainly unique, and also I don't think identifying laurel is particularly hard... hmm.
u/DocFuture [+1] (a day later)
Well, it isn't laurel, but I was indeed referring to Pliny the Elder, and the plant is in Naturalis Historia.
u/PeridexisErrant [+2] put aside fear for courage, and death for life (a day later)
Laserwort? That would have all kinds of interesting implications...
u/Empiricist_or_not [+2] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm (2 days later)
Have they ever found any, or is it still an extinct/mythic natural morning after plant?
u/PeridexisErrant [+2] put aside fear for courage, and death for life (2 days later)
We don't know!
It's well documented historically, but we're not sure whether it was driven to extinction or simply had the name forgotten. I tend to favor the extinction hypothesis over extant-but-unidentified, but nobody's really sure.
u/DocFuture [+1] (2 days later)
8-) As soon as I read about Silphium/Laserwort, I realized I couldn't possibly come up with a better fictional MacGuffin to get Journeyman into trouble--and all the personal backstory was already in place.
And it was used for a lot of things--it was last copied into a list of 'essential condiments' nine centuries after it was gone.
u/DocFuture [+1] (a day later)
Ding ding ding! We have a winner! 8-)
u/thrawnca [+1] Carbon-based biped (a day later)
Not Guybrush Threepwood?