DriveThruFiction's Xmas in July sale is almost over. That means you only have a few more days to save 30% on all of my titles. Novels, collections, and individual stories (69 cents each!) can be yours at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/browse/pub/16618/J-Alan-Erwine, but time is limited, so head over there now!
I thought I'd share an older very short story today. This is also a story that I've considered turning into a one-act play. In an odd way, this story was inspired by Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants." It wasn't inspired by the subject matter, but rather by the idea of two characters having a conversation, but neither saying what they really mean. Enjoy...
Origins
“How long has it been?” the younger man asked his companion.
“Years,” the older man mumbled without looking up.
“Do you remember what we talked about last time?”
The older man looked away, staring out the window of the orbiting café at the swirling clouds of the gas giant below them. Browns, whites, oranges, and reds danced together in organized chaos blending into new colors never before seen by the human eye, or imagined by the human mind.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” the younger man said with a smile, revealing his perfect white teeth.
“Take it however you like,” the older man said with a grunt as he stood, “I’d just rather you take it somewhere else.”
“Please, Endrick, there’s no reason for hostility,” the younger man said, motioning for Endrick to sit down.
Endrick sat. “How’d you find me?” he asked, staring out the window again at the stars tracing a slow path across the inky darkness of space.
“It wasn’t hard. You left a virtual trace everywhere you went. It’s impossible to hide when you insist on using computers.”
Endrick grunted and nodded. He still wouldn’t look at the younger man.
“Truth is, Endrick, you wanted me to find you.”
A bellowing laugh burst forth. “You flatter yourself too much.”
“Orders, please,” a small waiter robot asked as it rolled up to their table.
“Nothing for me,” Endrick said.”
“Just an Eridanian tea for me.”
“Swill.”
“Me or the drink?”
Endrick smiled.
The younger man nodded. “I see you haven’t lost your pathetic excuse for a sense of humor. Too bad.”
The robot rolled back with his drink, which the younger man downed in one shot. “Staring at those stars and the gas giant aren’t helping us solve our problem.”
Endrick finally looked at the younger man. He was tall and of strong build with perfect hair and perfect complexion. The most striking feature, however, were his royal blue eyes. Obviously the young man had gone through extensive gene modification in the womb. “I wasn’t aware that we had a problem, other than the fact that I was sitting here trying to enjoy the view until you came along and ruined it.”
The younger man let out a short laugh and shook his head. “We could all day if we wanted, but I have clients waiting for me. Do you have the item?”
“And what item would that be?”
“The artifact.”
Endrick nodded, stroking his unmodified profound chin slowly. “I have a number of artifacts. After all, I do sell them.”
The younger man’s face grew as red as the methane clouds of the gas giant below. “Come on, old man, the artifact from Tau Ceti 2. The one we talked about the last time I saw you.”
Endrick looked confused. “I’m not sure I remember our previous conversation. I am getting old, after all. I’m nearly 120.”
“Damn it, old man, you remember the conversation. You’re just being an ass.”
Several people in the café turned to glare at the two men. Loud outbursts were rare. Most of the clientele wanted to keep things quiet and private. Endrick shrugged and pointed at the younger man, who just glared back at him.
“This isn’t the place for us to have this discussion.”
“Oh, I think it is,” Endrick said with a suddenly serious expression. “I conduct all of my business in public, and that includes with you…you little sniveling shit. I wouldn’t want to be alone anywhere with you. A knife in my back or throat really isn’t how I want to end my evening.”
The younger man looked away to watch the glow of two ships docking a few hundred kilometers away. “Fine, we’ll do this your way. Do you have the artifact or not?”
“And what artifact was that?”
“The one you excavated in the cave atop Clarke Mountain on Tau Ceti 2,” the younger man whispered.
“Why do you want it?”
“I hardly think that’s any of your business.”
“That’s what you said three and a half years ago.” He looked away at a giant storm forming on the gas giant. The multi-colored, turbulent clouds were beginning to coalesce into one giant rotating mass. “Are you going to tell the people on Earth?”
The younger man shrugged.
Endrick nodded. “Fine, but the price hasn’t changed.”
“The money’s not a problem.”
Endrick motioned for a waiter robot. The robot rolled along on its wheels with an annoying squeak, drawing a glare form one or two of the customers. Sitting on its serving tray was a flat stone two feet by two feet with what looked like writing on it.
“You’re sure it’s a match?”
“Absolutely. It’s definitely cuneiform writing matching Sumerian script.”
“And its place of origin…”
“Was definitely Tau Ceti 2, dated to more than 3,500 years ago.”
The younger man smiled. “Very good. I’d assume you don’t want a credit transfer.” He tossed a small sack onto Endrick’s lap. “I think that should more than cover it.”
Endrick picked up the sack and felt the gold coins jingle. “Should be more than adequate, but I have to warn you. If you tell everyone about that,” he said, pointing at the stone, “It could destroy everything we think we know about ourselves.”
“I’m counting on it.”
From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:
We recently posted about the Xmas in July sale at DriveThruRPG. It’s a great sale, but they only list titles that are $4.99 or more, but we decided we wanted all of our titles listed, so you can now get all of our RPG and fiction titles for 30% off at https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2805/Nomadic-Delirium-Press, but only for a limited time.
Celebrate Xmas in July at DriveThruFiction by getting any of my titles for 30% off. Head over to https://www.drivethrufiction.com/browse/pub/16618/ and pick up one, two, or all of my titles today...but it's only for a limited time.
I've noticed that a lot of bookstores won't display the cover for my screenplay of The Opium of the People. They list the book, but it's without a cover. I guess some stores find it too controversial...
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
https://books2read.com/u/bzJqDE
We've seen quite a bit of backlash to our newest title, Do You Really Want to be a Science Fiction Writer? And everyone of the bad comments has been because of an article titled "Using AI." The reason that people are mad is because they say that we're advocating for the use of AI. These people have obviously not read the book, because that's not what the article is about.
Here's the complete article...you can be the judge...
The Future isn’t what it used to be. – Arthur C. Clarke
In reality, this essay can basically be summed up with just one word…DON’T!
AI is basically theft. All it does is combine works of other authors, without their permission, to supposedly “help” your writing. Theft is never a good thing. Would you want someone stealing pieces of your work that you’ve actually worked hard on? If you wouldn’t want it done to you, don’t do it to others.
Many try to argue that AI makes writing easier. Nobody ever said that artistic creation is supposed to be easy. Many of these people are arguing the whole idea of “work smarter, not harder,” but AI does not make you look smart. Quite the opposite actually. AI writing is easy to pick out, and many of the writers using it are not having the success that they claim. I do find it quite amusing that people think using AI to help with their writing will help make them rich. Believe me, very few authors are getting rich. Most authors have “real” jobs that keep a roof over their heads. Writing, including using AI to write, is not a way to get rich. Writing is done because we enjoy it, because we have things to say, and because we like the challenge of creating. AI takes away from all of this. You aren’t creative if you’re using AI, you’re a thief, and if people want to run you out of the business with pitchforks in hand, then I’m with them!
If you truly want to be a writer, then you have to have at least a little talent to pull it off. If you don’t, then this field is not for you, and believe me, AI is not going to suddenly grant you the talent of an Isaac Asimov or a Connie Willis. You’re just going to be a hack. If you don’t have the talent to be a writer, there’s nothing wrong with that. I couldn’t build a house if I tried, and I couldn’t hold political office. I accept these limitations, and do what I can do. Everyone should follow this advice. Being a writer is not for everyone. If you really don’t have the talent, do something else.
I may sound a bit angry in this article (as opposed to my usual charming self), but people using AI to be “writers” is something that actually pisses me off. Use your talents, and if this isn’t one of your talents, then find something else to do.
In addition to being a hack and a thief if you use AI, this technology is also bad for the environment, and bad for our economy. Some people are seeing an increase in their power bills because of the drain that this ridiculous technology puts on the energy grids, and this exorbitant use of power is bad for the environment.
Some people have argued that using spellcheck or grammar check is a form of AI, but it isn’t. These have existed since before the rise of AI, and if anything, they’ve actually gotten worse over the last few years. Words that actually exist are marked as not being in Word’s dictionary, and good god, the grammar suggestions word processing programs suggest are often horrendous. To be a successful writer, you have to actually know some grammar, and it’s even more important now so that you can know when you need to override your stupid word processing program.
Word processing is not AI. Programs like ChatGPT and such are, and if you have the talent to come up with a story and write it, then you should be able to see that programs like these don’t actually help your writing. If you want to be a true wordsmith, then you’ll see that these programs muddle your words and ruin your story. I’ve never personally tried to use AI, but I have seen works where people obviously have, and it’s clear that they didn’t want to take the time and make the effort to actually write something original, and something that was their own, and this is what writing is supposed to be about.
Students are using AI to help them write papers for school, but the point of school isn’t to write the papers, it’s to learn the material, and you learn the material by writing your own freaking papers. It’s the same with writing fiction of any kind, including science fiction, in order to be a good writer, you actually have to take the time and make the effort. If writing was easy, everyone would be doing it, but writing is a very difficult career or hobby, so if you have to use AI in order to write your stories, you’re either untalented, or you’re shorting yourself on your own abilities. Even if it takes longer to get published by actually writing your own stuff, it’s worth it. You’ve actually accomplished something without stealing from others, and without using a technology that, to be completely honest, is severely lacking.
Also, don’t submit AI created material to editors, especially if their guidelines say no AI. They will almost certainly be able to tell, and you never want to anger a potential editor…remember those long memories!
To close out this essay, I will reiterate what I said earlier, if you want to use AI in your writing, DON’T!
From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:
We've created a bundle featuring Do You Really Want to be a Writer? and the newly released Do You Really Want to be a Science Fiction Writer? You can download both of them for just $4 at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/528885/
Following up on the success of Do You Really Want to be a Writer? Author and editor J Alan Erwine now tackles science fiction. In this collection of 17 essays, Erwine looks at everything from what type of press is right for your work to a brief look at creating aliens and alien worlds.
If you’re interested in writing science fiction, grabbing this book should be a no-brainer.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FGWR4DNP
Various retailers: https://books2read.com/u/bzNdv9
DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/528882/
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/s/5f921d9fdc
Itch.io: https://nomadicdelirium.itch.io/do-you-really-want-to-be-a-science-fiction-writer
Towards the end of May, I wrote a blog post about people requesting a sequel to Slave to the Stars, and I said that I wanted to work on short stories for a bit, and didn't really want to work on a novel right now. So, of course, while working on the revisions for Do You Really Want to be a Science Fiction Writer? I came up with an idea for a new novel.
So, today I wrote the first thousand words in my sixth novel. I really didn't want to work on another novel at this point in time. Not sure I have the mental facilities to pull it off at the moment, but this novel keeps screaming at me, so I guess I will write it...
The annual Smashwords Summer/Winter sale is currently going on. This year you can download any of my novels, short story collections, or scripts for 25% off at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine. In addition, all of my short stories are currently available for free. So, if you've ever thought about reading my work, download a few stories to get a taste of the diversity of my stories.
This was a really dismal month for sales. Luckily we have credit cards to help with rent.......
My new novel, Slave to the Stars, continues to be my top selling title. https://books2read.com/u/3Gg068
Tilmath was born a slave, but she was no ordinary slave. Unlike most humans, she was an Espari, a human capable of sensing the emotions of other beings.
Now, having escaped from her slave masters, the teenager finds herself on the run and about to meet some of the most interesting creatures she could ever imagine, and go on an adventure that she could never dream of. Using her poorly trained empathic senses, she tries to do everything she can to survive, but quickly learns that survival isn't the most important thing for a slave girl escaping to the stars.
