The rough draft of Schism is finished. I typed the final chapters today. Hooray! Now there's only one more book to write to complete The Earthside Trilogy. And then rewrites, revisions, edits, proofreading -- yes, there's still a way to go on this, but at least 2/3 of it is written, anyway.
I am going to take a brief break before diving in to the final novel, so hopefully that scrambled brain I referred to in my last entry will come back together as I life out of my writing fog (for a little while, at least). Until the fog lifts, I hope you will excuse me for not having anything to blog about, as I've been wholly focused on finishing this particular part of the project all weekend. As such, I will be fair and give you something from my corner of the world. Here, I proudly present the Epilogue from Schism. Remember this is a rough draft, but it still gives you a good idea of where things are at, and where they're going. Enjoy, and I hope you have a great week!
Epilogue
Brother Harold Dempsey wandered aimlessly through the floor of The Grand Canyon. He had no idea how he got there from Mempkin Abbey in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. His last memory was being admitted to the hospital with an aneurism that the doctors suspected was on the verge of rupturing. After that, everything was fragments. He remembered doctors telling him the robots had fixed it. He remembered standing outside of the hospital, and somebody he didn’t know offered him a ride. He remembered trains, cars, and buses. He remembered the land turning from green trees, to brown dust, to red rock. He remembered cold turning hot, countless faces, and green and blue signs passing on the endless highways.
And the voices. He remembered the voices most of all.
They told him to come and bear witness, but to what, they would not say. If he resisted, there was pain. If he cooperated, there was silence. Blessed silence. Just like the Abbey. He missed it. At least here, he had it again. Since he arrived, it has been quiet in a ways he had never known.
Until today. Then the voices started again.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and took a drink from the water bottle – where did it come from? He didn’t know, but he was grateful for it. Shelter would have been nice, but fortunately it was late summer and the weather had been nice, if not a bit hotter and drier than he had ever known. But he must stay here. There was something he had to see.
Suddenly, a ship appeared in the sky and his eyes were opened. This was it! Salvation was at hand! Now he remembered, deliverance was coming. This was it, the dawning of the new age that had been promised since the beginning. He smiled and gave a shout of joy, opening his arms to the Heavens.
Then there were noises. He squinted against the rays of sunlight streaming around the ship to see bodies; bodies that looked so small from down here. He saw bolts of lightening. The ship shuddered. There were screams and shouts.
“No, what’s happening?” he asked, squinting at the figures in the light.
He jolted as a clenching pain extended through his head. He collapsed, holding his head. Finally, the pain receded. He noticed that a small trickle of blood had escaped his nose. He swiped it away with the back of his hand to watch. Were they angels? Were they demons?
One figure pushed the other.
No, they were something else.
There was more shouting and another explosion of light. Suddenly, his mind cleared. What was this? Why did he come? He meant to resist but –
He jumped as the grey body landed on the ground ten yards in front of him. He walked slowly to it. It shuddered on the ground, then finally stopped. Sparks erupted from it’s ears. Brother Dempsey leaned over it, taking in the face he now recognized as one of them, one of the ones that spoke to him and deceived him into coming here. And he understood. He stood and spat on the ground next to the cyborg.
“Welcome home.”
I am going to take a brief break before diving in to the final novel, so hopefully that scrambled brain I referred to in my last entry will come back together as I life out of my writing fog (for a little while, at least). Until the fog lifts, I hope you will excuse me for not having anything to blog about, as I've been wholly focused on finishing this particular part of the project all weekend. As such, I will be fair and give you something from my corner of the world. Here, I proudly present the Epilogue from Schism. Remember this is a rough draft, but it still gives you a good idea of where things are at, and where they're going. Enjoy, and I hope you have a great week!
Epilogue
Brother Harold Dempsey wandered aimlessly through the floor of The Grand Canyon. He had no idea how he got there from Mempkin Abbey in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. His last memory was being admitted to the hospital with an aneurism that the doctors suspected was on the verge of rupturing. After that, everything was fragments. He remembered doctors telling him the robots had fixed it. He remembered standing outside of the hospital, and somebody he didn’t know offered him a ride. He remembered trains, cars, and buses. He remembered the land turning from green trees, to brown dust, to red rock. He remembered cold turning hot, countless faces, and green and blue signs passing on the endless highways.
And the voices. He remembered the voices most of all.
They told him to come and bear witness, but to what, they would not say. If he resisted, there was pain. If he cooperated, there was silence. Blessed silence. Just like the Abbey. He missed it. At least here, he had it again. Since he arrived, it has been quiet in a ways he had never known.
Until today. Then the voices started again.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and took a drink from the water bottle – where did it come from? He didn’t know, but he was grateful for it. Shelter would have been nice, but fortunately it was late summer and the weather had been nice, if not a bit hotter and drier than he had ever known. But he must stay here. There was something he had to see.
Suddenly, a ship appeared in the sky and his eyes were opened. This was it! Salvation was at hand! Now he remembered, deliverance was coming. This was it, the dawning of the new age that had been promised since the beginning. He smiled and gave a shout of joy, opening his arms to the Heavens.
Then there were noises. He squinted against the rays of sunlight streaming around the ship to see bodies; bodies that looked so small from down here. He saw bolts of lightening. The ship shuddered. There were screams and shouts.
“No, what’s happening?” he asked, squinting at the figures in the light.
He jolted as a clenching pain extended through his head. He collapsed, holding his head. Finally, the pain receded. He noticed that a small trickle of blood had escaped his nose. He swiped it away with the back of his hand to watch. Were they angels? Were they demons?
One figure pushed the other.
No, they were something else.
There was more shouting and another explosion of light. Suddenly, his mind cleared. What was this? Why did he come? He meant to resist but –
He jumped as the grey body landed on the ground ten yards in front of him. He walked slowly to it. It shuddered on the ground, then finally stopped. Sparks erupted from it’s ears. Brother Dempsey leaned over it, taking in the face he now recognized as one of them, one of the ones that spoke to him and deceived him into coming here. And he understood. He stood and spat on the ground next to the cyborg.
“Welcome home.”
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