In Earthside, the nanotechnology comes about as an attempt to heal the physical body and prevent hurt and death. In Domino, the focus shifts to abandoning the body for the eternal freedom the machine offers. The characters in the new work don’t want to be human anymore, because there’s too much pain and responsibility in life. Instead, they want to break free of the physical world so they can roam about, controlling what they want and ignoring the rest.
It’s interesting that the catalyst for the Domino program is a struggle for control and responsibility. People want to pick and choose what they’ll be responsible for and, unfortunately, they choose wrong. They try to control things that can’t be controlled, when in fact they’re ignoring things they need to fix before it destroys them. And, of course, that’s exactly what happens: ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. Instead, it allows it to grow and become the monster they never saw growing right in front of them.
On the surface, it sounds like a typical theme. What intrigues me is that it emerges when I find myself dealing with issues of people refusing to accept personal responsibility on things they need to do, while micromanaging and dominating things that absolutely aren’t their business in the first place. It happens. And the hotter it gets, the more those tempers flare. If you’ve seen my social media posts this week, then you know that the drivers in our county have gone extra crazy in this latest heat wave. “Yes Sherri, people drive badly.” I could practically see the eyes roll through the computer screen yesterday when I talked about three incidents I've personally had in four days where people could have been hurt or killed. Who cares about a crazy man hanging out of his truck window, or a tow truck speeding and weaving on the Interstate? Then this morning, I get up to traffic alerts for a car fire and a bad accident, a text from my husband that the Interstate was a parking lot, and a later story that somebody got hit by a train downtown.
Yea, right; I’m too sensitive. But you have to admit that the question is in your head, too: How does one get hit by a train? They don’t exactly sneak up on you.
Or do they?
Of course, we have more important things to do than to check our mirrors, look both ways before crossing the road, return the buggy to the designated collection spot, park (and drive!) between the lines, put our foot on the brake at a Yield sign (somebody hit a Yield sign near my house hard enough to knock it over), and step to one side when the train honks a horn. And that, fair readers, is my point. We put a lot of time and energy in refusing responsibility for what we should have done while what we should be doing is growing from a harmless speck to a monster we can’t defeat. This is especially true when it involves facing truths that we don’t want to face.
Such is the emergent theme in my writing, and I find it interesting. What’s more, aliens might not be gone yet. The idea for my next novel actually an alien presence that only the AAI (Advanced Artificial Intelligence) can detect. Of course, the people assume it’s a programming error. It’s not like an alien presence could infiltrate humanity for thousands of years without our knowing.
Right; because we’re so alert to the world around us – at least until the train hits.
This new series might build on to Domino, or be it’s own project. Until then, we’ll see where life and my muse take it.
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great rest of the week.
Bye!