Chapter #2 (GoS)
Photo by Pramod Tiwari on Unsplash
This chapter took a bit longer to write than I was expecting… considering it’s only four pages. However, I really like the nuances of Vincent’s perspective on trying to harness otherworldly power, while trying not to give too much away.
The black site “Capella” was also a bit of a departure from Dirge, which mostly focused on Vaughan and the pilots in Cronus Squadron, revealing a bit more of Vincent’s hand in the story.
One thing I’ve noticed is how much easier it is to write, now that the process is more consistent. Check out Abbie Emmons’ short for more context.
Alright! Between drafting a hypothesis question for my psych class, I’m also hammering out Chapter #3. Hopefully I don’t mess up the meet cute too badly :)
And here’s an excerpt, enjoy!
“The rectangular bronze monolith stands at an impressive forty feet in height; its face etched with symmetrical lines and angular contours. As it moves, I grin, watching the patterns distort slightly, suggesting its higher-dimensional origins.
The stele draws close as we continue beside it—then suddenly I stop.
It’s subtle, like the documented unease one feels passing through a wormhole. This time, though, instead of judgment… the sensation feels familiar, somehow.
Strange. I could have sworn Rachael mentioned at least one of these steles would glow, along the lines of its iconography, if undisturbed by sentient life.
Finally, the last of the stele disappears into a slit in the wall, specifically designed for an object of its size. And as we follow the artifact, we pass through a sliding door into a much larger room. Inside the dimly lit industrial chamber, overhead lamps embedded in the ceiling thrum like a softly beating heart. They illuminate ten equally spaced platforms, only five of them containing a bronze stele like the Netzah Key. It takes just a moment longer for the most recent addition to appear high above us.
There’s a certain appeal to housing something so ancient, and potentially extremely dangerous objects, in a lab like this one. The brutalist design of it all brings a smile to my face, like a priest inside his deity’s chief quarters within a ziggurat.
“I wonder.” I say, admiring the holy relics enshrined vertically upon their altars. “Do you think Solomon felt as awed, like this, building his temple?”
I glance toward Dr. Velkas, who… appears to have no honest idea what I’m talking about. That, I dearly miss when speaking with Rachael: she got it. She understood the magnitude of what I am trying to accomplish. For the future assurance of the GUILD Republic. For the damned Houses.
For all Terrans.”
