Wednesday, March 28, 2012

How Do You Forget A Completed Story?

I'm really beginning to worry about my memory...

I have a story called "A God To Dance With", which concerns immortal archaeologist Scott Madigan as he investigates the burial site of Querahl-tan, the "Sleeping God" of the planet Stelvra.  Along the way, Scott's lover, Zoe Baird, is killed and her body is possessed by the being known by the Stelvrans as Querahl-tan, who's really an energy being known as a Dolwa.  It's one of my favorites, though I've had trouble convincing editors of its worth.

As part of a rejection letter, one editor commented that "A God To Dance With" seemed like the first chapter of a longer story.  I hadn't been thinking that way when I wrote the story, but after reading that comment, I started thinking about what else Scott and the Dolwa (who used Zoe's name as well as her form).  I had come up with about a dozen stories that were planned to be combined into an anthology titled A Bright Symmetry.

I completed one other story, had two others about 90% finished...and put the project aside to work on other things.  Over time, I forgot about them.

Yes, you read that right.  I forgot about a completed story.

And I thought Sam Beckett had holes in his memory.*

So I'm going to tackle the project again, still under the collective title of A Bright Symmetry.  I'm going to complete the two incomplete stories, write a short prologue piece that'll come before "A God To Dance With" and make that an epublishing project.

By the way, the answer's yes.  The character of Scott Madigan here is the same Scott Madigan from the vampire novel, nearly twenty-five hundred years later.  Georges and Brynna make a cameo appearance in here, too.

*That's a Quantum Leap reference, for those who don't know.  Go to Wikipedia and look it up.

So here's three of the characters, Scott, Zoe and Arcadia Ryan...


Scott Madigan

Name:  Scott Madigan
Race:  Human (Immortal)

Age:  41 (given)/2797 (actual, as of 4498)
Date of Birth:  4457 (given)/1701 (actual)
Place of Birth:  Unnamed North American city (given)/Dublin, Ireland (actual)
Citizenship:  Scott is a citizen of the Federation
Legal Status:  No criminal record
Relatives:  Ian Madigan (father, deceased), Jennifer Madigan (mother, deceased)

Height:  175.26 cm (5’9”)
Weight:  75.57k (160 lbs)
Eye Color:  Blue
Hair Color:  Blonde
Religion:  Catholic
Intelligence:  Above average
Strength:  Normal
Stamina:  Normal
Durability:  Normal
Agility:  Normal
Reflexes:  Normal

Profession/Rank (Current):  Freelance mission coordinator, archaeologist, adventurer
Profession/Rank (Former):  Soldier, government security agent, numerous others
Current Alias:  None
Former Alias:  None
Personal Weaponry:  Ariflex Mark II Pulser
Special Weaponry:  Various, as needed
Other Weaponry:  Various, as needed
Transportation:  Various, as needed
Usual Base of Operations:  Kevelan

Friends/Allies/Confidants:  Brynna Alexander, Colin Alexander, Jess Alexander, Zoe Baird, Lauren Chedraki, Nathan Chedraki, Anastasia Krestyanova, Lily McConnell, Arcadia Ryan, Georges Severin, Lisa Stennis, Trebinocosalliche
Enemies:  Jha’na, Telen’na
Skills:  Archaeology, martial arts, computers, flying, security specialist
Special Abilities:  Scott is immortal; he was born in the year 1701 and hasn’t aged since the year 1742.  Because of this, minor injuries heal extremely quickly.  Short of total disintegration, his body will repair any damage done to it.
Source of Special Abilities:  Unknown
Interests/Hobbies:
Attitude:  Being immortal has begun to weigh heavily on Scott Madigan.  He is at times sullen and reserved, observing situations for a long time before acting.  Even when the life of a friend or a loved one is at stake, Madigan won’t take any rash action.  This has sometimes backfired on him, as he has at times waited too long, resulting in loss of life.  He is a loyal friend who will speak his mind if he has something to say.  Madigan has known some of the most famous names in history:  Caralynn Adrasteia, Lin Sillo, Tamara Bauren among others.


Zoe Baird

Name:  Zoe Baird/Quérahl-tan
Race:  Human/Dolwa

Age:  34/~600,000 years
Date of Birth:  4464/Unknown
Place of Birth:  Kevelan/P’Thresen Sector (The Arc of Heaven)
Citizenship:  Zoe is a citizen of the Federation
Legal Status:  No criminal record
Relatives:  Jonas Baird (father, deceased), Kamila Baird (mother, deceased)

Height:  167.64 cm (5’6”)
Weight:  60.33 k (133 lbs)
Eye Color:  Blue/Mahogany
Hair Color:  Red
Religion:  Fundamentalist/Atheist
Intelligence:  Above average/Genius
Strength:  Normal
Speed:  Normal
Stamina:  Normal
Durability:  Normal
Agility:  Normal
Reflexes:  Normal

Profession/Rank (Current):  Freelance mission specialist, archaeologist, adventurer
Profession/Rank (Former):  Observer, savior of the Stelvran race, “Sleeping God”
Current Alias:  None
Former Alias:  None
Personal Weaponry:  Ariflex Mark II Pulser/None
Special Weaponry:  Various, as needed/None
Other Weaponry:  Various, as needed/None
Transportation:  Various, as needed/Self-transportation
Usual Base of Operation:  Kevelan

Friends/Allies/Confidants:  Brynna Alexander, Colin Alexander, Jess Alexander, Lauren Chedraki, Nathan Chedraki, Scott Madigan, Arcadia Ryan, Georges Severin, Trebinocosalliche
Enemies:  Jha’na, Telen’na
Skills:  Archaeology, martial arts, computers, flying, dancing
Special Abilities:  In her original human form, Zoe possessed no special abilities other than an empathic sense that helped her understand Scott Madigan.  After her death and merging with the Dolwa known as Quérahl-tan, she possessed the attributes of the Dolwa:  Telepathy, telekinesis, energy manipulation, unassisted transportation and unassisted time travel.  She also has the ability to rearrange matter on a sub-atomic level and can “freeze” people in time.
Source of Special Abilities:  These are the natural abilities of the Dolwa and were attained by fusing with Quérahl-tan.
Interests/Hobbies:
Attitude:


Arcadia Ryan

Name:  Arcadia Ryan
Race:  Human (Immortal)

Age:  33 (given)/2535 (actual)
Date of Birth:  4465 (given)/1963 (actual)
Place of Birth:  Unnamed North American City (given)/New York City, New York (actual)
Citizenship:  Arcadia is a citizen of the Federation
Legal Status:  No criminal record
Relatives:  Unnamed parents (deceased), Amy Ryan (adopted daughter)

Height:  170.18 cm (5’7”)
Weight:  60.33 k (130 lbs)
Eye Color:  Blue
Hair Color:  Blonde
Religion:  Atheist
Intelligence:  Above average
Strength:  Normal
Speed:  Normal
Stamina:  Normal
Durability:  Normal
Agility:  Normal
Reflexes:  Normal

Profession/Rank (Current):  Master of the freighter Sentinel; freelance spacer
Profession/Rank (Former):  Adventurer, soldier, pilot, numerous others
Current Alias:  None
Former Alias:  None
Personal Weaponry:  Ariflex Mark II Pulser
Special Weaponry:  Various, as needed
Other Weaponry:  Various, as needed
Transportation:  Freighter Sentinel, various support craft, as needed
Usual Base of Operations:  Mobile

Friends/Allies/Confidantes:  Brynna Alexander, Zoe Baird, Lauren Chedraki, Nathan Chedraki, Anastasia Krestyanova, Lily McConnell, Georges Severin, Lisa Stennis
Enemies:  MilSci
Skills:  Marital arts, computers, flying, strategy and tactics
Special Abilities:  Arcadia is immortal; she was born in the year 1963 and hasn’t aged since the year 1997.  Because of this, minor injuries heal extremely quickly.  Short of total disintegration, her body will repair any amount of damage done to it.
Source of Special Abilities:  Unknown
Interests/Abilities:
Attitude:

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