I need to change the Forrester entry sequence. Currently, I have the settlers going into hybe before the ship leaves the solar system. However, in MTB, I have the settlers going into hybe AFTER the nuclear waste pod is launched which can only occur when the ship is beyond the solar system which takes 2 months to clear. Fortunately, the entries are fairly easy to swap around in the program.

A number of sloppy writing errors have crept into MTB which I will have to correct. So much of writing is re-writing. Even as I write the first time, I sometimes write the same sentence over several times usuing different words or different structures.  However, the narrative is going well. The Forrester Journals are also moving apace.  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.  Until “The First Battle of Morn” is actually available for sale, I won’t know if my commitment to this project will pay off.  

Driving back from the city last night – somewhat exhausted from an expedition to purchase a parakeet for Libba and facing preparing a dinner for guests, my mind entered its hyper-drive state which sometimes   happens when I am over-tired and stressed.  The conflict of MTB for John is going to be establishing  clone/human relations on a fair basis.  This is not going to be easy as he is going to clash with Staimler. It is going to start with his developing friendship with Tony Bartlett – the friendship will continue with the Bartlett clone who wakes him. By then, the clones have evolved their own society and basically revere Dr. Staimler as their creator.  Clones are grown is artificial wombs which in turn have been created from human stem cells. The children are raised in sterile environments and inculcated with a sense of clone purpose. Although Dr. Staimler has managed to eliminate most of the clone tendency toward severe autism and mental disorder, it does crop up now and then. In fact, the offspring of 2 clones has more than an 80% chance of displaying this. Therefore, clones are taught from an early age that sex is evil. Education of clones is specific to the function of the original subject. Therefore Bartlett Desig 7 (who wakes John from hybe) is very little like the original Tony Bartlett – except that he is a brilliant engineer. However…..the latent characteristics of the original Tony are just waiting to surface. As Tony becomes more human, he becomes a bridge between clone and human. His loyalty switches from Dr, Staimler to John.   Dr. Staimler is not evil. However, he does not value the individual. He values the mission. He will do anything to ensure a successful mission or a successful experiment.  John, while valuing the mission, also values the individual and individual rights and choice.  This puts him on a collision course with Dr.
Staimler.  Ultimately, when the scientists (teachers) artificially extend their lives on Morn, John will refuse to join them. However, he will get the promises of 3 scientists (Gussie being one) to protect humanity from the others as much as they can.

I have opened FTB with John Forrester’s departure ceremony during which he has remembered his farewell to his parents and his one-time girlfriend, Tania. I have established that the year is 2129 as well as the purpose of the New Hope missions. We know that John is tall and has light brown hair, his father is difficult and we have had a brief allusion to the political issue of human clones as well as the fact that Alpha Centauri is not a sure bet and that it’s going to take 20 years to get there with everyone in hybe – which has not been fully explained and will never be fully explained other than that it’s a kind of perfected suspended animation. Like Asimov’s “jump” which is how he dealt with the enormous distances in space, it’s just assumed that we have discovered the how and why this works. I have opted to stick with the theory that we are confined to the speed of light and that at 2129 while we can go very fast, we still do not have the technology to move a large space craft along light beams. Even at the speed of light, it still takes many years to reach most galaxies.

What I grapple with today is:  Is it time to switch  the scene to the Aurora? Perhaps he could be in a conversation with Tony Bartlett in which they are reminiscing about Earth.  I want to be slower about John’s feelings toward Dr. Staimler.  After all, I am setting up Staimler to be the antagonist to John’s fundamental idealism.  

Sometimes the hardest part about being a writer (at least for me) is the self-discipline part. I love writing. I love solving plot problems, character problems etc. I love the whole process. However, for some unknown reason, when I sit down to write, I always think of a million and ten other things that need to be done – the laundry, fix the deer fence, go to the grocery store, check my e-mail… check my e-mail again in case anything new has come in.  However, today I MUST at a minimum:

·        Complete at least 2 pages on MTB

·        1 Journal entry for Forrester

I have added another page to my author website for links to scientific URLs that might be of interest. I feel it is important for readers to realize that sci-fi is a unique genre that bases its conflict and conflict resolution on facts – not magic. The futuristic worlds that are created, while often improbable, all have their roots in the current scientific knowledge base.

Voting will probably take up much of my time today. When I am not voting, chances are I will be checking the news and the polls. However, early this morning I have re-written my author welcome page as well as made some entries into the Morn glossary. Today I still need to:

·        Write at least 2 pages in MTB

·        E-mail booksurge & check on progress of book cover

·        Check finances

·        Check membership to Science Fiction Writers

Each day I need to add at least one entry to Morn glossary or journals glossary. I need to add at least one entry to Forrester Journal. I need to work on “Morn: The Beginning”.  If how I’ve worked in the past is any indication,  MTB (Morn: The Beginning) will be written more or less chronologically with some sections written ahead.  As with all books, I learn as I go. I was researching light speed yesterday, as, of course, my space ship needs to travel fast. However, I’ve decided that, contrary to most current science fiction, my future world does not have the technology to make interstellar “jumps” or travel at warp speed around the universe. Scheduling my time is and always will be a challenge. How can I accomplish all that I need to accomplish and still be a functioning human being? Ie cook dinner, buy groceries, pay bills, maintain friendships, be a good mother, etc.?