It's back! Sekrit Santa 20.

[THX1138]

@Luiglin Yes we are, but take your time...

 

[sule]

I guess I should go ahead and confess to having written "The Rooster of Moscow."

If emrosenagel is OK with it, I'll share a copy with anyone who asks for it (I'm not sure if I want to do anything with it, but I'd like to keep my options open for now).

 

[Swank]

Oh, I wrote Correction.

 

[Provincial]

I guess I should go ahead and confess to having written "The Rooster of Moscow."

If emrosenagel is OK with it, I'll share a copy with anyone who asks for it (I'm not sure if I want to do anything with it, but I'd like to keep my options open for now).

Yes please, I would love a copy. The excerpt makes it sound interesting.

 

[Provincial]

Oh, I wrote Correction.

That’s the one that Victoria Silverwolf gave us a content warning on, isn’t it!

It really was a great story, in part because it left lots of questions unanswered and because it could be read on more than one level. Was ARN setting out to improve the human race, or was it more a case of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, or The Girl With All the Gifts? Did he gift all the people who came to see him or just the ones who passed his assessment of them? What exactly did his assistant say to the main protagonist which was so persuasive - or was it simply that she was under the control of the gift?

Loved it.

 

[Provincial]

Well, given that mine was correctly guessed (randomly or otherwise) -

I can confirm that I did, indeed, write this one. The only thing that's kept me up at night about it is that @genelewis expressed that they were looking forward to seeing the rest, and I don't honestly know just where it goes from here (though on reflection I agree it needs to go somewhere). Ah, well. That'll be a project for another time this year. Hope you don't mind me spreading your gift around.

Your story was both thoughtful and enjoyable. Long life is not necessarily a gift, is it? Your main protagonist has a chance to start again, but it rather looks like he intends to repeat all the same mistakes if he gets the opportunity.

I have known someone a bit like your main protagonist, though obviously on a smaller scale.

Also, the author of Robinson Crusoe (?) based that story on a real-life accidental marooning, and apparently the real RC made a much better fist of his life on the island than he did on his return to England. (I think the Man Friday business was pure invention).

 

[Swank]

That’s the one that Victoria Silverwolf gave us a content warning on, isn’t it!

It really was a great story, in part because it left lots of questions unanswered and because it could be read on more than one level. Was ARN setting out to improve the human race, or was it more a case of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, or The Girl With All the Gifts? Did he gift all the people who came to see him or just the ones who passed his assessment of them? What exactly did his assistant say to the main protagonist which was so persuasive - or was it simply that she was under the control of the gift?

Loved it.

ARN was there to help, but was essentially overwhelmed by the extent of the disaster.

I hadn't really decided exactly who did or did not get the gift, but I think it is safe to say that he might have withheld fluid contact from some women while still performing his service.

The conversation with the assistant is a mirror of what the conversation with him - he established what has gone wrong in the world, and she tells how things could be improved over time. The MC doesn't become a different person, just one that has more focus and finds direction in life from recent revelations.

 

[Provincial]

ARN was there to help, but was essentially overwhelmed by the extent of the disaster.

I hadn't really decided exactly who did or did not get the gift, but I think it is safe to say that he might have withheld fluid contact from some women while still performing his service.

The conversation with the assistant is a mirror of what the conversation with him - he established what has gone wrong in the world, and she tells how things could be improved over time. The MC doesn't become a different person, just one that has more focus and finds direction in life from recent revelations.

Thanks, but it you didn’t have to provide any explanations - I was just enjoying the space for speculation!

 

[Provincial]

I guess I should go ahead and confess to having written "The Rooster of Moscow."

If emrosenagel is OK with it, I'll share a copy with anyone who asks for it (I'm not sure if I want to do anything with it, but I'd like to keep my options open for now).

Thanks @sule for the copy of The Rooster of Moscow. I read it immediately, and thoroughly enjoyed both the image of a flock of chickens running through the rubble of (presumably post-Napoleon) Moscow in single file, and also the calm, peaceful welcome and refuge they received at the end of their journey.

Since then I’ve been researching the cultural references. I recognised Baba Yaga, but who/what is in the egg? A firebird? A cockatrice? And why do they want to attract the cockerel and his family? I thought that maybe hens and a cockerel might feature in a legend about the protection of Moscow, but couldn’t find any. Apparently Russians are extremely dsmissive of chickens!

Surely the hens aren’t being invited in just so they can be popped in the soup one day?!

 

[THX1138]

Thanks @sule for the copy of The Rooster of Moscow. I read it immediately, and thoroughly enjoyed both the image of a flock of chickens running through the rubble of (presumably post-Napoleon) Moscow in single file, and also the calm, peaceful welcome and refuge they received at the end of their journey.

Same here, very well done!