Temple in the Stars – Part 4

I’ve lost basically all of the momentum that I had spent an entire month building.  My impressions are basically nil, my page views nonexistent.  It is a grim thing, and one I was not really counting on.  We can never plan for the curve balls live is willing to throw at us.  All that is left for us to do is take them on the chin, and pick ourselves back up.  It sucks, it hurts, and it won’t get any easier, but it doesn’t last forever.  I want this.  I want it more than I want my pride, more than I want to be recognized or respected.  I want this for myself, and if I must make this the labor of my life, I shall die knowing that I’ve held nothing back.

So, for the next phase of Temple, I have some really interesting twists and turns in mind.  I am pleased with where I am at as an author right now, in that the world feels very interesting.  The concepts seem plausible, the world slowly showing definition and dimension.  It’s not easy, because I honestly lack the time to refine my ideas with editing.  I’m basically putting my own first draft of the story out on the internet for all to see.  I can’t tell if that’s incredibly brave, or incredibly foolish.  Probably both, to be perfectly frank.  However, given my position, the fact that I’m sitting here slamming out words to fuel my dreams is going to have to be accomplishment enough.

Speaking of accomplishments, I managed to intrigue and draw praise from the wife for my ideas on this story.  She is a rather accomplished reader, a teacher of English, and a lifelong avid writer herself.  Earning her praise is no small thing.  She pulls no punches when it comes to editing my work, and I’ve had to salve my pride after more than one scourging by the lash of her competence.  It’s never easy, but it does make those times where I’ve actually managed to draw out a compliment all the more worthwhile.  Here’s to hoping it’s not the last time.

Without further self-flagellation….

Temple in the Stars – Part 4

The final problem Ashley had run into with her newfound dilemma was how to access the impossible marvel buried at the center of the asteroid.  If she just drilled into it lackadaisically, the sphere of life within would be destroyed by the harsh vacuum of space almost instantly.  She would have to make an airtight seal which would simultaneously allow her to breech the bubble and maintain it at the same time.  “This is impossible Everett” Ashley groaned into her hands as she rested her elbows on the table.  “I can’t possibly manage to fit all the requirements I’m working under into one device with the materials I have on hand.”  She wanted to pull her hair out.  She was ground zero to the most absolutely stunning find in the entirety of human history, and if she couldn’t solve this then she would lose out on everything to do with it.  It just wasn’t fair!  Everett piped up then, filling the silence of her despair with fresh hope.  “Yes you can Ashley.  You’ve got it all in the docking bay.  You’ll run yourself pretty tight on materials for repairs, but we can definitely fabricate a device which will meet your needs.”

Ashley stared down and the unseen eyes of Everett’s interface, not really seeing the pad at all.  You’ve got it all…  Could she actually pull this one off?  Everett didn’t even understand how to lie, so if he said she had the parts and could pull this off, then she could.  She would be taking an awful risk.  If she ran herself tight on spare parts, and anything at all went wrong, she would be forced to either abandon the contract, or pull in the Smelting station and lose her rights in the process.  She couldn’t even bring herself to be mad; with something this big, she’d take any chance to jump on it regardless of how questionable it was.  If she wasn’t willing to go all out for this thing, she may as well call up the station now and get it over with rather than take any of the risks on herself.  Now or never Ash.

“Alright Everett” she said as she carried the pad over to the space on the repair bench where he could have access to the full bay computer systems.   Inset lights on the table lit blue, signifying that he was within the designated uplink and had successfully taken control.  “Let’s do it your way.”  Ashley felt something ease within her.  Now that the decision was made, it was all up to the planning and follow through.  Those were things she did as easily as breathing, and with Everett to help mitigate any risks, it was the best chance she could hope for.  As the plans flashed into place across the holodisplay running end to end on the back of her bench, she swallowed hard.  “That’s one heck of an ambitious plan Everett.” she chuckled weakly as they grew in complexity and filled her workbench area.  Each step was predicated on the previous going exactly to plan, with zero margin for error.  If she screwed up any of this over the course of her excavation, she was dead.  That simple.  The potential foul-ups for each stage of construction were insane.  She would have to juggle drilling down to the depth allowed to keep the atmosphere in tact, flying in the correct manner so that she wasn’t space dust, and maintain tunnel measurements down to the millimeter.  No pressure Ash.  Just think, Dad could probably do it blindfolded with one arm tied behind his back.  The mental image of her tiny and heavily mustached father navigating that absurd scene in her mind made her laugh.  Her dad most likely couldn’t do it like that, but she knew he could definitely get the job done.  It was up to her to follow in his footsteps. 

To be continued…