Wayne Gray

Thank you! And you're very welcome. I'm glad this one resonated with folks. It hit me fast and suddenly, and I'm so happy I got to share it with you and the others here. I'm already working on another story, and continuing Engineer Benson too. So ... I'll be around.

Thank you, Dave. This was a great exercise. I'm glad you enjoyed it and walked along with me on this journey. I hope, for all our sakes, that the world understands the importance of empathy better in the future. And ... maybe this little story can help a bit.

That's a timely sermon. Good on your church leaders for choosing it. I have to watch who I am around. I pick up the ... vibe of those around me. I internalize the prevailing emotions of those around me. It's why a great concert is unspeakably amazing. It's not just the music, it's the crowd reacting and responding to it. It's why new movies are great to see in the theater. As time has gone on, I've found myself less and less able to moderate this. I guess that means I'm more empathetic? Regardless, it has had a weird effect. I am now more likely to avoid crowds. I pick and choose who I hang out with and where I go more carefully. I cannot watch violent shows anymore. Not person-on-person violence. Vikings, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us are just a few that I had to stop watching. So it's a bit alien for me to imagine people who don't feel that. Who can tolerate the pain of others. I can't not even in my media. Maybe I do have a worm. Just a defective one without all the great "side effects." That sounds about like my luck. LOL. Thanks for reading and writing, Tony. You're always encouraging, and I appreciate you.

I'm glad you found the epilogue satisfying. It, unexpectedly, became one of my favorite parts of the story. Rook and Rios... both of those guys, their vignettes, I liked them the best of the examples we saw. Sort of haunting and quietly powerful. Understated. But changing so much. So you're right to wonder about those jobs that require "bad" people. Or people who rail against society. Or just people who like to see institutions and things burn. Those folks will eventually find their tribe. They'll stop hurting people because it also hurts them. They'll eventually get help, because others will feel their pain. And they'll either help bear it or find out what they need to stop it. So crime would stop. Wars would end. Needs around the world would be met. What would the armed forces and police do after that? Well, there's a hell of a lot of resources that have been hoarded for decades by very few. And now those people need hands to get those resources out to those who need it most. I think there'd be plenty to do for a long time. Good work. Stuff worth doing.

If only, eh? But yes. Maybe one day. Thank you for reading and commenting. I appreciate the time you spent on this one.

Great to hear you enjoyed it, Mike. You're absolutely right about the close bonds formed in the military, law enforcement, fire, emergency response, etc. Places where the bonds between your fellows can literally save your life. Where people reach and try harder than they could have otherwise, without those bonds. But yes. Such closeness is often limited by our societal pressures to conform to heternormanitive constructs. And it doesn't serve us. We get to see a world where this barrier is slowly broken down. I do like chapter 3 for this reason. Even before the infection, Davis and Stanford had their moment. Where they allow themselves just to be what they are with one another. And they're both better for it. Lewis and Hardy, too. It took longer for that to become physical (off screen, as it were), but it was no less meaningful. You guys are lucky to have each other. Me too, with my guys. It's a tiny taste of what's possible. Thank you for reading and commenting. This really was a fun one.

Thank you. I like the "what if" nature of it. While it took a strange worm to instill empathy in my story, I believe it's possible without it. The story serves as a view port into a world where it's possible. And ... I'd like to live in such a place. You know, AFTER the worm has taken over.

Thank you, tim. It's a strange world when "empathy" becomes a political issue. Yet, that's where things are right now. I wanted to write something that leans into it, weaponizes it. Not to hurt people, but to make a point. Lack of empathy is the root of many problems in the world. Though there's no magic worm to help us, maybe we'll figure out how to start showing it before it's too late. At the very least, we can be an example to others, and simply do the best we can.

They've all got to end. While this one is on the shorter side for me, I think it works all right considering the subject. Thanks for reading and for the comment!

Thank you for reading along and commenting, Chris. I had a good time with this one!

Thank you, kbois. I do like how it turned out.

Epilogue It had been five weeks since their visit to Central. Atticus watched as the helo descended, wind shearing across the open yard. Beside him stood John, calm as always. Framing them in a loose crescent, a dozen soldiers stood silent sentinel—each cradling a rifle, each shifting just enough to betray unease. The rotor slowed, and the aircraft settled. The door opened. General Taggart stepped down. Atticus narrowed his eyes and whispered, “Alone?” Taggart strod

Happy Saturday, molly! How about forgoing "normal" entirely? you're looking forward to having your routine back, not this three-day-long interruption of it. Because, yes. "Normal" sucks.

I am somewhat aware of your "controlling ways." 😉 I'm glad you could see what I was doing with the general. I mean, besides seducing the hell out of him. We've spoken of how most of those who had come to you had stressful jobs demanding control from them. And how with you, they willingly gave it up. To have the burden of deciding removed, just for a while. That has stuck with me, and the general is a prime candidate for just such treatment. And in a way, I guess he got it. We'll have to see about that "tricksy" comment. 😛 Thanks for the read and comment, Mike. One more chapter to go.

I like that you didn’t use the word “innocent.” 🙂 Thanks for reading and for the comment, Mike.

Ohhh ... being compared to a Twilight Zone episode is NOT an insult. LOL Thank you for that. It's a fantastic compliment. I'm glad you have enjoyed what I've posted so far. On Sunday, the last installment will show up. I hope you like the Epilogue as well - I really do think it send the story off in a good way. Actually, now that I think about it ... the Epilogue does have a Twilight Zone feel to it. Huh. :)

The thing is ... they DO. They do know how people really feel. It's not all positive. But, the negative is shared. Split among them. Borne by all, not one. And when you split a burden it becomes easier to carry. If you focus and fret about a burden, it becomes harder to bear it. This is why joy can be magnified and burdens can be halved. Because it works both ways. Of course we're going to focus on the positive things. Those are the things that give us joy and ... more. It's not about ignoring the hard stuff, but allowing those hard things to land on multiple shoulders instead of one pair. You'll actually see some of this in the next chapter. What I mean. I think the epilogue does a pretty good job of displaying it. Maybe, if you bore the worm, you'd start LOVING bell peppers. Or maybe you'd turn a whole cairn against them, and they'd burn them in effigy. 😛

I can't leave this alone. If you watch that musical performance and feel nothing ... then I don't know. It meets the definition, the GENUINE definition of the word "awesome." People use that word, but they don't know what it really means. That performance is awesome. It's staggering. And amazing. And jaw-dropping. And the first time I heard it I literally cried because it just made me so emotional.

Thank you, Tony. I appreciate the nice words. Your thoughts are great. And mine here are tangential, but relevant, I think. What if people knew what others felt? I think many of the obstacles to connection would simply vanish. If we knew and could feel that others were scared, and unsure, and careful, and loving, and tender with us ... I think it'd do wonders for our ability to just take people as they are. To accept what they can and are able to give, and inherently understand why that limit exists. To respect it. To see where others are on the journey of life, and just embrace that. All that you mentioned works on the barriers we place by our nature of having to protect ourselves. We layer up in armor of one sort or another. And it takes therapy, psychedelics, time, or a tremendous experience to move beyond those crutches. You're not wrong. The worm is a shortcut to all of that. I do realize and acknowledge that. But ... oh. What a world.

It’s genuinely an incredible experience.

Yes. Wait until Sunday. Read the Epilogue when it's posted. Then, if you still have questions about anything, we'll get them answered. Thank you for reading and for taking the time to comment. I appreciate that.

Yeah. It's a "mistake" because they didn't anticipate the backlash. They can't even stand on their own decisions and choices. Gutless. Spineless. Heartless. Thank you for the comment and for reading. I'm glad you're here.

I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and could feel what I tried to convey. I am proud of the scene with the guitar. Music is so evocative, and trying to imagine what it would feel like to someone creating it as the listeners appreciated and fed into it broke my brain a bit. If you have time and patience, check out this video. Warning, it is 12 minutes. But I feel it's worth the watch/listen. It's a savant-level performance on an 11-string guitar. It's the closest thing I could find that MIGHT approach the emotional impact of what John did, thanks to that reinforcement. If you really can't sit through the whole thing, watch from about minute 10 on. The crescendo is chillbump-inducing. Thank you for reading and commenting. I appreciate it.

I'm sorry, but yes. The Epilogue comes on Sunday. But ... I think it wraps things up in a good way. Tell me if you agree on Sunday. Thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate it.

Wow. tim ... I've said this many times over the years we've known one another. you ... are brilliant. Words formed around a feeling, a thought, around emotion. Where the reader understands the message even when the mechanics of language fail. When you read something, and it evokes that feeling in spite of the limitations of words on a screen. you inspire me. you have a gift, friend. And I'm glad I've gotten to experience that through poetry I'll never be able to write. Some things can't be taught or learned. And even if it's hard right now, the spark is still there. The potential. Thank you for reading and sharing this. I appreciate you.