albertnothlit

Yay, thanks! I'll take your revenge wishes into consideration, lol

Hi, everyone. Since a few readers have the kind enough to tell me that they would be interested in more background information for my science fiction story 01-Spark, I'm going to start by talking about Spark itself and how it's used. If you'd like to check out the story, follow the link below. Any other questions are more than welcome! https://www.gayauthors.org/story/albertnothlit/01-spark Spark After the war to end all wars had come and gone, most of the world was reduced to ruins. For a while, isolated settlements struggled to survive making use of anything they could. The long perpetual twilight that followed the impact of the bombs on the world's most important cities meant that no plants could survive without help. Sunlight was all but forgotten for nearly a generation, as survivors hunted around for food in any form they could find it. Soon, though, even canned goods became inedible and many of the struggling settlements starved to death. The few who managed to survive did so by clinging to life in the neighboring areas of the few nuclear power plants that had not been completely destroyed, but their existence was solitary and isolated. Of all the cities of the world, only one was able to retain its infrastructure which, while damaged, was able to keep going because it did not use fossil fuels, but instead a much more efficient form of energy: Spark. The substance, biological in origin, was found to be far more energy dense than oil, and its mass to energy conversion ratio was nearly one hundred percent. The Island city where Rick lives is the only place in the world where a Queen has been able to be held in captivity without catastrophic consequences, and many speculate that she is the last of her species. The entire city's power grid has been retrofitted to work using her Spark output, but there was a price to pay. In the Island, the use of Spark and its fallout has contaminated the city's water supply beyond all hope of salvation. The form of spark that is used for energy generation is highly toxic to humans. Even casual ingestion of unfiltered and untreated water causes strong psychotropic hallucinations and a devastatingly quick onset of dependence on more Spark. Eventually, those addicted to the substance die of heart attacks or starve to death, lost in their own hallucinations. To counteract this, a large portion of the energy derived from Spark is diverted to the huge water treatment plant that is the center of the Island city. It is a vicious cycle, since the more Spark is used, the more contaminated the water becomes, and the energy expenditure of the water treatment plant grows. Should the source of spark ever fail, the entire population of the city would quickly succumb to Spark addiction from drinking tainted water, and eventual death. There has been talk of relocating to another area among some of the younger generation doomed to live in a city that is hostage to its own Queen slave, but although there have been a few expeditions to scout out suitable places, none of those who have left have ever returned.

Chapter 7. The Night “Fuck him,” I said, smashing my heel against the floor to pulverize this little machine. “I'm sick of his little games!” “At least he can't hear us now,” Andy pointed out, trying ineffectually to get to the computers working again. I tossed him his boot for him to put on. “Whatever he thinks he's going to do will take time. We can use that time to try and come up with a plan.” “Yeah. Good idea. But where the hell do we start? And what is going on, how is he even doi

Yeah, Andy turned out not to be evil, but they sure are in a difficult situation.

Yeah, Bentley is a bastard.

Thank you for reviewing!

Decadence in a society is awful, but sometimes unavoidable

Yup, I have a thing for many legged monsters.

Chapter 6. The Queen I stumbled forward, free. Now I had to act. I prepared myself to attack him right then, just in case he changed his mind. I knew he was a better fighter than I was, but if I didn't seize this chance I might regret it later. I got into second pose. Andy saw how I tensed my body as I flowed into the offensive posture, and he reacted instinctively, assuming a defensive stance. Should I trust him? Or fight? We held the tension for a few long moments, but then I saw the s

Glad you liked it!

It's a hard choice, for sure. And things are only going to get tougher. Thanks for the review!

Wow, thank you! I really had to think this story through so I wouldn't write myself into a corner, but I can see now it's paying off!

I guess we can all put down our pitchforks, huh? Poor Andy. Thanks for reviewing!

Chapter 5. The Deal Trapped. I tried to move, but my arms and waist were fastened to the wall somehow, on either side of me. Carefully, mindful of the pain in my head, I looked down. Thick metal straps held me tight to the wall, two on both of my forearms and a single big one around my waist. They were what was keeping me upright and seemed to be part of the wall somehow. I struggled against them but they didn't budge. I was beaten, helpless, and before my eyes Andy was free to hack into th

I get the feeling that I've stumbled upon a rich, detailed world that reaches far beyond the confines of this awesome story. It was amazing. The introduction scene in particular managed to keep a steady flow of tension, discovery, and empathy for the characters. The shift in POV was smooth, and it was great seeing the interaction from both sides. There was just enough background information added so that a completely new reader, like me, can become immersed in the universe without weighing down the narrative with too much added info that might break the pace. I also liked the biological accuracy of portraying ligers as bigger than either of the parent species. I kept imagining the ripple of muscles beneath the tan-white fur of a liger pacing in a zoo every time Calix moved.

Thanks! At the risk of sounding like a cheesy TV show, stay tuned for next week!

Thank you! it's amazing to hear that the fight sequence accomplished its purpose

I deliberately kept the references to Jane vague for this reveal. I couldn't resist!

Oh, man. I have answers to all of your questions, and an entire world thought out as the backdrop to this story. If you guys are interested, I could post small snippets that detail just why spark is so necessary, the reason for the rivalry between the Island and the Mainland, and so on.

Thanks! I'm glad my action sequences work so well!

Chapter 4. The Fight What I saw in the tunnel was unexpected. I imagined a corridor just like the ones above me, but as I hurried down the shortest way to the genesis chamber I saw that I was crossing a very old, corroded-looking pathway that looked more like a tunnel than a hall. My quick footsteps echoed in the emptiness and silence of the place. There was no hint of the blaring alarm that had been going on in the upper levels and the lights here were very dim, reminding me of fireligh

Hi there, cocoon! Thanks for reviewing. There's still a lot left to tell in this story, although once again I'll refrain from any spoilers despite the temptation to reveal stuff! I'm originally from Mexico, although my native language is English (long story). I currently live in Mexico City. I've been to Europe a fair number of times, though, and I love it there. I'm even traveling there this summer! I hope you like the remainder of this story, and thanks again for the review.

Thank you very much! that's exactly what I was going for when I created Rick. As for Andy, let's just say that I still have a couple of tricks up my sleeve when it comes to character development

You are absolutely welcome. Poor Andy. Rick doesn't mess around, though. If it turns out that the entire thing was planned, Andy's going to have a very bad day. Rick might be a sub, but that doesn't mean he will hesitate to use his fists, should it come to that…

Glad to see that Andy's been given the benefit of the doubt, lol Thanks for the review!