A Defrag's POV And A StoryVerse Update

What we don't see. Another point of view and new SV nodes.

Welcome to another episode of The World of Spherean!

Thanks, everyone, for being here, and a warm welcome to all new subscribers.

This week, we have another update from Spherean, my dystopian novel set on Future Earth. As mentioned last week, I’ll focus on providing progress updates on the draft going forward.

The Spheres that protect the last of Earth’s civilisation are failing. Scientist Hein Sorenson has found the solution and gets entangled in a web of cybertheft, corruption, and murder that leads to the destruction of one of the Spheres. A race against time unfolds to ensure the survival of the human race.

After last week’s refresher, I tackled the not-so-trivial challenge of splicing an old chapter previously written into place, salvaging what I thought was salvageable and cutting the rest. I cut liberally, filling the gaps with new words.

It is good to be back in Spherean every day, even if I get sidetracked by minor characters like Skit and Skat, who demand more time, which I gladly give them. Here’s a scene from the first chapter that isn’t in the draft, written from the point of view of those two up-to-no-good young Defrags.

The event was in full swing when two young Defrags entered the auditorium. Some hotshot scientist, a White Coat, fumbling with a mole on his cheek, gave an important-sounding speech no one was interested in, and everyone was anxious to get to the buffet.

Skit nudged her friend and nodded towards the far corner where the food was basking in the afternoon glow, seeping in from the glass ceiling above. Scat’s eyes grew big, and together, they made their way through the audience towards their first proper meal in weeks.

The speaker thundered as if in reprimand for the interlopers.

“—Today, we close the gap between extinction and survival. Long have we sought to rewrite DNA on a molecular level, control point mutation, and stabilise proton tunnelling. Today, this quest ends with the Quantumbridge.”

They ignored him and everyone else and homed in on the delicacies under the disapproving glances of Logicians, Emotionaries and Creationists alike. As long as no Omniversants were nearby, they couldn’t care less. Their client was adamant about making sure to be seen but not caught.

Skat pointed. “Spherum!” He grabbed the bottle and poured it into a tall glass, spilling some spiced liquid on the white tablecloth. He gulped it down, smacked his lips, and sighed in appreciation for the synthetic beverage.

They ate and drank noisily, earning them disdainful glances, but they didn’t care. Amused, they watched the speaker being heckled by an audience member, and then it was all over. The White Coat stormed off stage, and the raid on the buffet began.

Sometimes, it’s great to write different POVs of the same scene (only the speaker’s line is lifted from the first chapter.) You might end up with something far more compelling that way, and if not, no harm, no foul.

These two, Skit and Skat, have since become more than side characters, and, who knows, maybe they’ll get their own spin-off at some point. They weren’t always Defrags. How they went from being glorified Creationists in spotless tangerine uniforms to subversive elements dealing in shady augmentations is another story.

Did you know there are fourteen types of tangerine colour? I didn’t. Of course, I had to look them all up, which led me to colour symbolism and colour meaning charts, which resulted in me spending hours reading about colour psychology.

Here are the two tangerines I gravitated towards for Skit and Skat.

Why do Creationists wear this colour? What’s its significance? Why do these two Defrags have different hues of tangerine? The premise here, of course, is that there is intent behind every choice, even if that intent may be obscured. If it is obscured, what’s the point of it being there? I believe that even if not everything is spelt out, it's essential that these details remain in the story, whether they are obscure or not.

Then again, colour designation or identification via hexadecimal code is a tiny part of the whole. As the adage in Gestalt Psychology goes, “the whole is more than the sum of its parts.”

So, this week, I spent more time researching and re-reading various topics than writing, which is all good. It also gives me things to ask and talk about with people who know far more than me about these fascinating subjects such as Immunology or Neurobionics.

If you found this content interesting, you may also like “In Gain We Trust – Part I.”

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StoryVerse Update

The adventure continues. We have new nodes!

Do you remember the StoryVerse? It is still growing, and it’s not too late to participate. DM me if you’re interested!

Today

Claudia Befu

continues from where

Dr. Kathleen Waller

has led us to the last time, and again, we’re presented with two choices.

I could say it’s crystal clear where this will all lead, but that would be a lie. As with the choice you are facing, it is as opaque as “milk.” Thank you, Claudia.

You can jump right back in here or start at the beginning.

Last time on StoryVerse…

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