I'm really happy to hear this. Dare I say "ineffably"?Broken Dragon wrote:Spoiler
I can promise one thing though - if this novel goes gold, I'm totally EXPLODING with the most wildest things I've ever imagined crammed into a sci-fi metaphysical transhumanist far-future space opera with dragons - with a strong emphasis on the inspiring positivism!
Haha, here is a word that wasn't in my vocabulary until now. Thank progress for the modern internet.Кал wrote: I'm really happy to hear this. Dare I say "ineffably"?
Yeah, I've seen it a month ago (forgot to give you a thank you for those Boston Dynamics robots!), but the prevalent tone of the opinions wasn't really to my taste so I refrained from replying. Mostly because I'm tired of the "Oooh, true AIs are scary and incomprehensible! Oooh!" - the first part (scary) is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy - treat something with fear, and it will become frightening one way or another, and the second part (incomprehensible) is downright... well, I won't fling brutal epithets around, but let me say that a random Dark Ages peasant would also have considered the idea of, say, modern television as incomprehensible.Кал wrote: And speaking of transhumanism, did you see the new entries in this topic?
) 
I can't wait. 
'Айде бе, аз исках почивка, не още бъхтене! 
I'm taking a loooooooooong break from this one. Although I'm already chock-full of ideas for Books 2 and 3... 
(Can't believe how many typos I had made!!) It makes me shudder.I drew the power of my grandest vision, and heralded before them the new, final, Great Age I was going to bring upon Creation. I told them Salvation was upon us All, and we were soon to become One. Forever.
Oh, how foolish they were.
The merest of pauses was their only response. After that instant, they fell upon me in absolute earnest, in complete unison. They were the wisest individuals of the galaxy; and they were also the deadliest, and most powerful, save for the greatest of dragons. And though it burdened their hearts, they carried out any hard decisions with determination to the end.
Yet I was prepared for such mindless, reality-bound rejection. Saddened, yet prepared. I summoned the entirety of my existence, the very definition of my being, and cast it into the mirror of the Universe to magnify its light a thousandfold. I flared with the greatest, purest radiance of the stars themselves, a Beacon for all the souls in the world, an Avatar of the Great Cosmos itself. With merely a gesture, I controlled everything; I foiled their attacks, averted their powers, prevented their retreat, and broke their resistance. My Will was Law, and with a gesture I bade them become Enlightened, to see the One Truth. They were not ready for Ascension; each one burst into a brilliant spark of pure Essence, their individuality severed, yet their Spirit Enduring.
):This potentially might find its way into Book 2 (or 3, or whichever), but that's soooo far down the road, that I don't care about posting it publicly - the only thing is the fictional author will be a recurring meta-character (and has his own epigraph in Chapter 24), but meh."Is uplifting truly a blessing of the enlightened age? The word 'uplift' means 'to take one higher'; uplift in the metaphorical sense means to ascend to the soaring infinite skies of existence. Uplifting as an advanced evolutionary procedure of revolutionary proportions is meant to open the eyes of those beings who cannot open them themselves, and to present them the beauty of the Great Cosmos.
Yet is this really how uplimals today see their origin and purpose? Are they truly different beings from us? Or is the long, complicated process of uplifting merely an installation of a Homo Sapiens psyche in a different biological base template? Are transhumans to be considered absolute egotists for creating their mirror image in the form of uplimals, or are they heroes that brought the gift of enlightenment to countless beings in the universe?
In this book, renowned author and researcher Sir Dr. Reibwyr Draus explores the issues and characteristics of uplimal society, recounts their conflicted history across the Restoration Era and struggles for independence, analyzes the impact of the Supremacy Wars and the Axiom Crusades on uplimal populations, and presents detailed sociological observations on each of the major clades, explaining their psychology, behavior, emergent tradition and mythos, and desire for wider recognition as independent species."
— online blurb, "Uplifting: The Ethics of Assisted Transcendence", Datalinks
Big words for big concepts. A space opera needs its operatic stage."The Æther Age is called after the ultra-region-slash-substance known as <Æther>, <ether>, <dark matter-slash-dark energy>, <quantum vacuum>, <Overspace> (the theoretical containment plane of SUHN-space), and according to some sources, <Realm of God> (or simply God), <The Great Verge>, and <imagination>. Some fringe sources also state that the Æther is the metaphysical manifestation of the Great Cosmos itself – as far as such an entity might be perceived in its ontological entirety."
) I don't mean such highly specialized passages (where the highfalutin vocab serves a comedic purpose as well):He had no idea a conversation about clouds could last so long, even when it included nephologious terms like cyclonic lift or altitude boundaries.
~ And what can break the ice in said relationship? Why, nothing less than the most important art of the future:The door's intercom chimed. Airo went and opened.
Veralla stood at the threshold, looking at him happily. "Hi!" she said.
"Get lost," Airo growled.
"For what purpose?" she asked, perplexed.
After a while, the intercom chimed, and the door opened on its own. Veralla entered the room.
"Hey!" she said brightly. "What are you doing?"
Airo lifted his head (...). "I am... playing games," he said, blinking away the confusion.
"Oh! Games! Can I play, too?"
"If you want to," Airo said patiently, and the dragonet hrrr-ed in joy. He moved to free the seat but Veralla jumped, and landed straight into his lap.
"How do you play?" she asked, standing on her hind legs and watching the screen eagerly.
Airo, still shocked by the event, struggled to find his voice. "You use these buttons, and..."
"I know, I know," the dragonet said impatiently. "Kiana showed me how to use all kinds of interfaces, even a keyboard, if I had to. I ask how do I win?"
Airo explained her the nature of the game. The dragonet began to play. She clicked the keys clumsily with her claws, her eyes narrowed at the flatscreen, forked tongue flicking out in concentration. Airo watched her in stunned silence, paying no heed as her absentmindedly lashing tail swatted him on the head. (...)
He was about to say something, when Veralla's sinuous neck curved and she turned her head to him. "Are there any games with dragons in them?" she asked curiously.
Airo winced, but nodded. "There are," he said. He had found one entry earlier during his play. "Search the index directory for Soukou Zmei."
She did, and loaded the game. The intro played, and then a dragon with a human on its back began flying through grand ruins amidst a vast ocean and endless skies.
"Why I cannot turn around?" Veralla asked, frantically pressing keys.
"The way is only forward," Airo said. "You must control both the rider and the dragon."
Veralla grabbed the aiming sphere. The avatar onscreen lifted his enchanted cannon, shooting a stream of glowing bolts. Enemies exploded in brilliant clouds of multi-colored lights. Epic symphony and haunting chimes flowed from the speakers. Veralla hrrr-ed, completely enthralled.
Airo checked surreptitiously on his heads-up display for historical data about the game. He stared at the display in awe. The game was one of the recovered infoclusters from the Codex. It was made in the time of the Ancients, before the Cataclysm. More than thirty millennia ago.
And yet, perfection reigned immortal.
Veralla played for a long time. Airo sat there, pinned by her, watching her, thinking... thinking nothing. He felt eerily relaxed, despite the fact he was in physical contact with a dragon. Veralla struggled with the controls. Without realizing what he was doing, Airo bent forward, and put his hand on her foreclaw, steadying her aim. The music flowed in harmonic resonance, the levels scrolled through dozens of magical vistas, dragon and rider united in their quest for good prevailing over evil. Airo guided Veralla...
...Why he called her by name?...
...and together they finished the game when the early light of pre-dawn paled onto the wall. Airo hadn't realized this room had a window.
"This was so beautiful," Veralla said in a small voice.
~ A whiff of Dao (only in reverse):"While here," Boyd cut in, "everything is showmanship! Pure, bamboozling performance! They don't even use real, practical invocations, like the tried-and-true exothermic globular pyrokinetic offensive energy discharge!"
It took a second for Veralla to puzzle out that. "You mean a fireball?"
Then it becomes its own thing:"What is the difference?"
"To understand that, you have to understand the Way itself."
"I understand it well enough: it is a pile of philosophical crap made to placate keening souls with false promises of awakening."
"There are no invalid interpretations of the Way."
~ What do you know about pansexuality? And what do food and sex have in common?"Amidst the entirety of of the universe," the old Knight intoned, "there exist nine primal directions: Forward, Backward, Upward, Downward, Sideward, Inward, Outward, Stillward; and finally, The Celestial Way, which unites all the previous directions of the Great Cosmos.
"And from that core constellation every other Way comes forth: lifeward, deathward, richward, poorward, joyward, sorroward, freeward, shackleward, loveward, fearward, lightward, darkward, and so on.
"Thus the Celestial Way defines All, and at the same time, encompasses All; the Alpha and the Omega, the Ying and the Yang, the Aught and the Naught, and the Ten Thousand Things that form the rest of the absolute, grand totality of existence – magic, reality, energy, matter, thought, life, death, freedom, enlightenment, and ascendancy."
Airo listened silently, assailed by sudden memories. Long ago, an eternity before, Zenassa had spoken the same words.
"The Way is immutable and never-ending," Magus continued. "The Way is ever-changing and fleeting. The Way is an idea. The Way is a journey. The Way is a path to enlightenment.
"The Way can be considered many things. It is simultaneously all of those things, and yet none of them. The Way can become known in time, yet it is by definition unknowable. The Way can be followed, yet it will only lead to where one desires to go. The Way shines with the immortal radiance of the stars, yet it will never bestow awakening against one's will.
"The Celestial Way is what one desires of it to be."
Seriously, I like the innuendo flavoring all conversations with Sphagus, erm, Bernard. It mixes in the right amounts of immature and mature."I like girls who have adventurous spirit like myself."
"Only girls, Sphagus?"
Bernard waggled a finger. "Don't mix omnisexuality with lack of preferences, dear Teha. I can have intercourse with everything that moves, but I still pick my partners. Like I've said, good cuisine and good sex – they have a lot in common. Both can be satisfied in a myriad of ways, yet quality is what sets apart mere indulgence from wholesome gratification."
"Yah, in that case, you're the burger joint of the galaxy (...)"
It bothers me because it's actually true: Veralla is always there for Airo, and she never gets testy, unreasonable, or (excessively) clingy. Is that supposed to be the prerequisite for, the ideal foundation of, a friendship/partnership? But what about those times when we aren't on our best behavior? How should our friend/partner approach us then? How would Airo approach a Veralla crisis?She had never given up on him. She had stood always at his side, offering her support and inexhaustible joyfulness. She had saved his life, both in body, in mind, and in soul. And she asked nothing in return, his smile and the brightness in his eyes a reward enough for her.
Or this?"What are you thinking about?" Veralla asked, pulling Airo from his reverie.
"The past," he replied. "I am saying my farewells to it."
"Oh," she said, all childish wonder as usual. "Will the past not be sad if you do so with it?"
"No, it will not," he replied, and smiled, feeling more free than ever. "In fact, it will become much happier. It has waited for a long time for me to release it."
"Oh." Veralla uncoiled somewhat, so she could look at him, her snout inches away from his face. "I did not know that temporality from the space-time continuum was able to possess or express emotions."
"I did not know either," he laughed, meeting her amethyst gaze.
~ Well, this was glorious."I want to give you a present, too."
"Oh," he said, taken aback pleasantly. "What kind of present?"
"A kiss," she said, her voice shy.
"A kiss?" he asked in amused notion. His smile widened. "Sure, go ahead. Although I do not know how a human and a dragon would... you know, do such a thing."
In response, her large, serpentine tongue licked him across the face.
"Okay... that also works."
"Was it a good kiss?" she asked anxiously.
"It is difficult for me to decide," he replied mildly. "This is the very first time I receive a kiss from a dragon. I have no previous experience to—"
Veralla licked him again, dazing him into silence.
"What about now? Was the first kiss good?" she asked.
"You... you kissed me again only so you can ask the same question?" Airo balked.
She showed her teeth in a devious smile, her slit-pupiled eyes sparkling, "I will continue to kiss you until you have enough experience to answer me."
На 07.11. в пощата си Кал wrote:Препоръчвам ви топло: The Celestial Way
Четящи приятели (:
Ако художественият английски не ви затруднява, ви препоръчвам с цялото си сърце и ум романа The Celestial Way: https://choveshkata.net/blog/?page_id=8444
Българските романи, които без колебание бих превел и предложил на целия свят, се броят на пръстите на ръцете ми: „Време разделно“, „Приказка за Стоедин“, „Аз, грешният Иван“, „Слънце недосегаемо“, „Ортодокс“... Към тях миналата година се присъедини и The Celestial Way – с допълнителното преимущество, че него дори не ми се налага да го превеждам, ами мога директно да го предложа на света. ;) (Казано по-сериозно: това е един от текстовете, за които току-що започнахме да търсим западни агенти и издателства.)
Визионерски, градивен, обърнат към големите теми в космоса ни – и вътрешния, и външния. Вълнуващ. Ето как ме вълнува мене: viewtopic.php?p=28219#p28219 (и надолу).
Всъщност ме развълнува дотолкова, че влезе като едно от препоръчителните четива в конкурса ни за позитивни романи „Изгревът на следващото“ – редом с „Реквием за Хомо сапиенс“ на Зиндел и „Мъглявината Андромеда“ на Ефремов: https://choveshkata.net/blog/?p=8772
Та... поискайте си го. :) Просто драснете един ред на Човешката библиотека (poslednorog -в- gmail.com) – и ви го пращаме електронно. (А ако предпочитате на хартия, съвсем скоро се появи и хартиеният тираж.)
И прочетете ли го, елате при мен да си поговорим. Или да помълчим, с поглед към нощните небеса – и всичките пътища, които ни чакат там.
Вдъхновяващи,
Кал)
А до приятелите си чужденци Кал wrote:I warmly recommend: _The Celestial Way_
Friends (:
In my life as a reader, I've come across only a handful of Bulgarian novels that I would love to translate into English and show to the whole world. Last year, I found one more: Drake Vato's The Celestial Way. The good part is, it's already in English. See: https://choveshkata.net/blog/?page_id=8444
The novel is visionary, constructive, and hopeful. It tackles the great issues of our cosmos--both the inner and the outer one. It's exciting. That's how much it excited me: viewtopic.php?p=28219#p28219 (and the posts below).
We've even included it among the recommended reading for our first national contest for positive novels (in Bulgarian), along with such heavyweights as David Zindell's Requiem for Homo Sapiens and David Brin's Uplift series.
If you trust my recommendation and wish to read it, just drop a line to poslednorog -в- gmail.com. We'll send you the ebook.
And if you do read it, come talk to me. Or come sit next to me in silence, and let's gaze at the night sky together--with all the ways that await us there.
May your ways inspire you,
Kal