All Comments on 'Star City Stories: Enter Sandman'

Stang, there are some seriously intriguing ideas floating around in that head of yours! Keep writing! You are definitely one of the most entertaining writers I've read - amateur, professional, mainstream, erotic, sci-fi, romance, whatever. I check the new stories list daily just hoping to see one of your stories!

A fun and entertaining story as always Stang. Loved the Transformers reference.

SS06 has just brought it into another dimension, TK U MLJ LV NV

was a chance for Dalton to scare someone and say this line:

I'm the beast under your bed

other than that, nicely done, Stang.

Wrong category. LW doesn't really fit - the sci- fi element dominates. Enjoyed it very much, however.

Wrong classification... Not in to sci fic...

Use to look forward to SS6 stories. Now read the first paragraph, say "uh huh," go to the final 3 or 4 paragraphs and see my opinion validated. SS6 no longer (in my estimation) an outstanding poster. Just my opinion (which, with a dollar, you can buy a coke).

I am amazed that you can come up with such detailed, imaginative and enjoyable stories weekly! I really got a kick out of a 35 year old pony too. Live long & prosper

Another great story. Thank you.

Lots of light fun.... Clearly SciFi and it would be better in that category because it lacks the LW tension, but I love SF.... Keep on chasing the forms while trying to maintain the underlying theme..

If you continued this story, or expounded on the universe you created.

Great story - again! Thanks for sharing.

I liked the part about "offing" the bible thumpers, but then you ruined it by keeping the slut wife around.

Your closet cuck is starting to come out again, so it's probably time to resume the testosterone therapy.

Metallica does not like wimps either, and we will see you in court for plagiarizing and using our lyrics without permission.

(zed0's friends Lars and James)

Oops possibly. Its still an LW story, but in an SF setting. I think RAH would have liked it.

You sure know how to weave an elaborate tale Stang. Great work - top marks.

it was 65 Million years ago...more or less, that the dinosaurs were wiped out by the meteor...

having said that, it was, as usual, a bloody good read...and I was entertained, which, after all is the whole point of a fictional story.

Well done! Chuckle :)

Hope you add to this and make it a series.

Need a stang, shelby shiva edition :D

Thx

In the first page you write:

"The computer could make sure that the polarity of the magnetic floor was the opposite charge of the emitters. That way the shuttle and the deck would repel each other."

Anyone who makes a statement like this is ignorant of one of the basic laws of physics: OPPOSITE charges ATTRACT. LIKE charges REPEL.

I have also noted in your many stories poor editing and usage of punctuation and quotation marks. For example, when making a quote within a quote, one uses single quotation marks [similar to an apostrophe], not double quotation marks as in the initial quote.

Also, when a character is speaking and the quotation extends beyond one paragraph, one does not put closing quotes until one reaches the end of the entire quotation--but does use opening quotes in each paragraph.

Exactly what manual of style do you and mikothebaby use?

I agree with Rhomanov........Shelby Shiva Edition...Mk1 the World Ender. Hell, I would buy it for the name alone. That aside, awesome story, damn cereal got soggy as I put it down to read instead. :)

Let's have more Star City Stories, I say!

You story does a great job of shredding the aura around earth-bound religions and revealing their hipocracy. You even poke at God with the comment about starships, implying He doesn't really exist....but then you write a story with a theme about a man who provides leadership and inspiration when no one else seems to be capable of doing so, and he provides a path to salvation for "his" people. Your story hits many of the big bible themes, updated for today's times...we have the faithful building an Ark in preparation for the arrival of the next world-wide wash cycle while the faithless majority partying hard ignoring the ten commandments. So I'm curious...will the next Starship story address the second coming?

Not a bad story, you have developed as an author. You still have syntax, spelling and grammatical errors, but you are getting better. Where you have made no improvement is your excessive use of the word "fuck" or variations of the word. That usage is boring and distracts from your basic story line. You are not a 12 year old who has just discovered dirty words. You are an adult, but your use of that word does not prove you are an adult.

You have taken and old storie line and gave it a twist.

Thanks for the entertainment.

Mike from Texas.

Story shows a lot of thought about things other than sex and backstabbing. I agree about what you must think about organized religion. Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if religion was about a better world and NOT power for certain individuals.

StagStar06 - your stories are always brilliant so no more need be said.

So I am turning to the critics this time. First address is to the swearing - for goodness sake swearing is all but second nature to most and you not only find fault but then insult the author's intelligence. Seriously! As for the grammatic specialists - and there are way too many on this site. Write a story yourself and use an actual name. Anonymous does not cut it! And then criticise yourself - now that would be entertaining.

Ok enough said. I think this is the longest I have written here. Again - Congrats StangStar. Your stories just continually shine in my books!

Keep it up.

I had a little problem getting into it at first trying to wrap my thoughts around this futuristic, science fiction tale. However, once you brought in the conflict and the competition between science and religion you had me hooked.

Thanks for sharing you're amazing skills with us.

Captain Kirk's actual line was "Why does God need a starship"

But all quibbling aside the story was brilliant. I started out my comment that way because it seems to be what everyone else is doing. After wading myself through a list of stories with tag lines that let me know I'd throw up if I read them, like I watched my wife get gangbanged by a group of guys (who would write something like that) I finally get a chance for my weekly Stang fix. I don't always like the stories and I also never know what to expect, but the quality of the story telling keeps me coming back. I think that some of your staunchest critics are like me, writers who've posted on the site that want to throw rocks. I think the thing that astounds most of us more than your lack of punctuation (please get a better editor) is your imagination. You continue to come up with theses things week after week. My question is are you going to allow other writers to write stories in your new sandbox?

I had trouble keeping my eyes open to read it. I don't really care for sci-fi, I too think this story belonged in the sci-fi section-- not loving wives, but like you said there's a cheating wife in it so fuck it. I had to skip a huge portion of the story because I was getting bored--but I finished it. I didn't love the story but I didn't hate it either--would I read it again as I do with my favorite stories?!--- fuck no!

Like Fur, Chrissie, Cheaters in Space A risk well done. You find ways to make the same story different. Keep taking chances and being creative. Thank you for all of your hard work.

SS06...You are getting better and better with each story. I like your imagination and attention to detail. As a BIG Star Trek fan, I can relate. Keep up the GREAT writing.

PS: (Although I'm not a big Ford fan...GO MOPAR), Keep the Mustangs in the stories.

Your stories have a "smoothness" to them that makes them great to read. This was is well told from the three points of view. Thanks!

I think it is awesome you left a comment on your own story! Loved it, as always.

Pls do at least a minimum research. Firstly, the asteroide which hit the world causing the extinction of the dinosaurs happend abt. 65/66 million years ago, not a few hundred thousand. Secondly, asteroides are small objects in the asteroid belt around the sun. A body big enough to make a threat to the sun would not be an asteroid by definition. A big planet on the loose, could if such is possible. A planet circles a star, if the star cooles down the mass remains intact, so the planet should be in it's path regardless. However, it's a story and therefore it is acceptable to invent a new undiscovered fenomena, but don't abuse the known.

You are an amazing story teller. Thank you.

I LOVE ALL your stories... and the ones like today were kinda weird but fun.... keep up the good work you haven't done a bad one yet....

So in order to write a story you have to disrespect the Bible, Catholic Church, Christianity and people who have faith? Just one small example: "But this

time people are not as uninformed. They aren't going to be swayed by a bunch of boola-boola and cheap wine...When they needed it the most, the church was

unable to pull a miracle out of its ass" Justify your mocking faith because of something that happened to Galileo almost 400 years ago? Where were all those

Moslems, Buddhists and others during this time according to you? Being real good guys saving humanity I bet. You're right in a way; in most of the world she wouldn't be encouraged to commit fantasy adultery scheme you concoct to satisfy your deep psychological needs to disrespect authority. If there was a disagreement with the local religion they'd simply all be killed. As inhumanly as possible. 1 star only cause I can't go lower.

great read like always. The religious angle was a nice hook.

too far out now for me. I loved your older mustang stories much better. its probably too cliché now, huh?

Few technical errors, but what the hell. Great story.

Wow, that was a very entertaining story. Quite a surprise after last week's story.

Stang didn't attack religion. He pointed out a very real problem with all organized religions. Belief is the most dangerous thing to have in religion. Thousands died during the crusades because of belief. Muslims commit horrible acts with suicide bombings because of belief. But in all of human history bot one person has died from an idea. Kevin Smith wrote it best in his movie Dogma. People are willing to die and kill for belief, but no one dies because of an idea.

I read the first page and stopped as the story wasnt for me. I will predict however there is a clueless cuck in the story who drives a mustang. The two seem to go hand in hand even in the future. Why not let the guy getting the strange pussy be the driver of the mustang every now and then?

Good attempt at SF. Really liked it.

Not the usual fare, but that's a good thing. I don't know why, but I pictured Liev Schreiber as Dalton, and Joeseph Fiennes as Denton. 5 stars for going mondo non typical.

Please forgive the earlier comment that appears to have been posted

By me. My brother in law used my outer which is always logged in.

I'm glad he liked the story but I don't share the rest of his opinions

StangStar06, you are a really great story teller, and a very good writer, too. Thanks for this entertaining short story, and thanks also for staying true to form - the Mustang in every story is like listening for a favorite saxophone hook. I look for it every time. I am curious though, have you thought of writing a novel? Heck, maybe that's what you do in real life. I once corresponded with a really great erotic writer for a while, and eventually discovered that she is a famous writer who has won international awards and has had NYT best sellers ... and she is a also very good looking woman, of a certain age. You are certainly not a woman, though, so you're not "Janey". But Thanks again and please keep up the good work.

and for the most part well executed. As a nerd myself, I hope that someday writers will give up or at least ease up on the stereotypes. I am a classic nerd, high academic achiever, genius level IQ, etc., etc. I also did time in the military in spec ops, earned my black belt, had success in tournaments that earned me a reputation as someone not to fuck with. As I leave my mid-50s behind I can still bench press 275 lbs. Maybe once in a while you can let the nerd be more manly.

As a nerd I must point out that "literally" having the weight of the world on his shoulders would require him to physically hold up the world. No one has done that since Atlas and Heracles. I'm sure you intended to use it in the figurative sense. Avoid using trendy words that you don't fully understand. You're an author for god's sake, words are your medium.

Also, the asteroid you described would not damage the sun. Have you any idea about the make-up and properties of the sun? It would never make it there before exploding.

I like and look forward to you stories for I never know what you are going to come out with. I do like most of your stories some more some less. I do appreciate your trying out different ideas. I don't know if mikeobaby is doing more or less editing but your writing has improved as also your story development.

Thanks for entertaining us.

Jack

Weird story, just as you promised. Good story, funny story, I guess perhaps controversial to some.

This makes a couple of stories in a row where we begin to delve into life's deepest, most profound question: exactly *why* do you love pony cars so much? Very interesting picture emerging.

Great read, thanks so much for your weekly efforts. Lightens up my week.

first, this quote:

"I couldn't save him anymore. One of the strictest laws of the Sandmen is that once someone has seen us, they have to die."

isn't there an even stricter law that sandmen not use their position to wantonly murder people? i'm sure there is, as it is mentioned repeatedly that sandmen only kill by request of the target. so dalton is just another murderer.

second, while reading about the plans the church was implementing, i couldn't help but see the similarities of that future church's plans with the plans of the early christian church. of course, originally, the plan was to infiltrate and influence roman politics and commerce to ensure the survival of the jewish "race"; it has never really been that interested in saving souls.

"....there are far more tales of Star City than one old Sandman could ever tell."

I hope so.

Your writing is always interesting. Rock on.

A bit of a stretch from your usual. Not much tension in the drama but a pleasant read. At least it did not leave me angry. Thanks

I don't always like your subject matter but I always admire and respect your talent and your imagination.

Good story. Off the wall? Maybe but very entertaining in MHO.

I think there are more stories in and about Star City as the old Sandman said. I'd like to read them. Maybe after a few stories originating in Star City, there might be one or more about life on the spaceship.

Thanks for your hard work and please keep it up.

Woodmanone

Now I would hope you content on the series

I have always enjoyed your writings and now with science fiction in the mix, even more. Good Show! Cheers

the sandman would be a great series set. The tale about the sandman offing his own wife is just one.

Well done and this is fertile ground for lots of tales

As bad as i hate to say this, i think you are wasting your talent writing short stories , you should be writing longer stories ,as in " BOOKS ". Your story telling ability always leaves me wanting more, maybe in a book you wouldn't leave me wanting.....lol Thanks again for your efforts they are always anticipated and enjoyed ... Bob

Is the popular thing to do. It's just too easy to be interesting. This story sort of switches satan and god, evil and good. Your good guys go around assassinating priests to save the world for the godless. Wow. Novel idea at least.

Readers in Sci-Fi would have suggested it be put in Humor! The science errors abounded! Some have already been addressed.

How big to take out human life? Another 'Chicxulub' at more than 100 miles across would certainly do that, and a lot more! 1-3 miles across would probably take out all those near the surface (except near the impact site), but how many could be put in widely dispersed, deep and hardened 'Biospheres?' If Earth were to hit Old Sol, it would barely be noticed (but by whom?)

DIVERTING the PDO (potentially dangerous object) with 51 years of advance notice is a feasible consideration. NOT blow it up (you get hit by buck-shot rather than a solid bullet!) Just move it a LITTLE off-course as early as possible and let astronomy work its magic! Just takes a (relatively) small, steady pressure to change the path.

You CANNOT get out of our Solar System in a year...but you don't have to. Just get outa Dodge (City, KS). A couple of weeks before impact, maybe, to avoid the shrapnel.

If it's going to hit Earth, terraforming Mars might be feasible. But if humans ARE going to another Solar System, it would take several generations - IF we were to find Earth-like planets 'nearby!' And very few males would be taking up star-ship space (just a BIG bank of excellent sperm). Name the star-ship Xena!

4*. (I did enjoy the rest of the tale)

PS - LW is exactly right. The central theme of the story is Sweetie's sex with Bull, and the effect on Hubby (and BiL)!

It is always a bit risky to go into new fields... and speculative science perhaps more than most. I would suggest a look into Project Orion and its offshoots if you want to do the great asteroid stories... and perhaps finding someone to do some quick back-of-the-envelope calculations to keep you a bit rooted.

Fer one, one strategy might be to go into earth or solar orbit, and wait a few years until the planet settles and recolonize it... get the Noah myth into play. Mucking with the sun is a few orders of magnitude unlikely. Comets have hit the sun recently with no tragic consequence...

The Sandman character is a modernization of the dark sheriff/reformed outlaw type - too many "guns" and too much direct action to be a noir PI. It does give you a POV to write from to do some gritty semi-realism, and still have the gumption to deal with the characters to resolve the issue if it doesn't happen more organically.

Hum... could be fun. The Mary Magdalene-ish character was nice... but having a heroic character attempt suicide is I think dramatically flawed.

This makes Denton Jesus... which I think is tres amusant. And with the last speech, you seem to see that too. But, is the kid Jesus and Denton Moses? Who knows...

Humm... well, I look forward to the next one.

Green-something

http://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/ImpactEffects/

May be a useful estimation tool for those of you amused by the scenario.

Green-something

If you haven't written or started to write a novel - you Should Do It!

Of course, hopefully, you would continue to entertain us here in Lit, you have yet to fail.

Thanks again, I'm not too much into Sci Fi but I did enjoy this story!

BTW, if I told you that I used to race my 64 & a Half mustang convertible out Woodward Avenue, from 8 mile road to Teds' Drive in, you could guess my age and YES, I enjoy your ponies - all!

Thanks again!

I usually read your weekly offering and as might be expected the quality varies all over the map. No one could hit it right every week, although you have a pretty good batting average. From Denton's world wide broadcast at the end I would think that you've recently read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" although, thank you very much, you didn't go on for 40 pages as her John Galt did. You really seem to have a hair across your ass for the Catholic Church and I can't blame you for that.

What I can blame you for, with all your writing experience you made the very common error with your combination of pronouns. On page 4, Beth says: "Because I might have made a mistake, but from now on it's he and I against the world." Aside from that being a very poorly constructed sentence, if it is one at all, you got the pronouns wrong. I won't go into the issues of case, but I will give you a very simple rule on how to pick pronouns. You simply drop one of them and see how it sounds with the single pronoun. In this case, drop the "I" and you'll have: "...from now on it's he against the world." Obviously that's not right; it should be: "...from now on it's him against the world." Now drop the "he" and you'll have: "...from now on it's I against the world." That's not right either; it should be: "...from now on it's me against the world." Put it all together and you get: "...from now on it's him and me against the world." This simple test works every time; just use your ear and you'll always get the right pronouns. So many amateur writers are enamored of the pronoun "I" and at least half the time it's used incorrectly. I will say that in general your grammar and punctuation is right on.

So keep your contributions coming....and watch your pronouns!

The previous anonymous poster has written the same thing I have been writing about. When to use me instead of I. But for those who hate anonymous posters, my comments to StangStar06 have been through emails.

I enjoy the creativity and imagination of this author. I don't read for sex and appreciate those who can write a good story without graphic detail. This is one such writer. I enjoy reading most of his offerings.

My only reservation in this story, is the depiction of the Church. We are obviously entering the stage that is depicted in the book of Revelations. I don't want to live in a word without the moral influence of Christ. Without which, there is no morality or right and wrong. With out fear of God, there will be much lawlessness, deceit and a loss of institutional trust. Not a good life to look forward to. So fiction is fine, but I think the Church should be off limits. After all, President Obama is already trying to kill Christian institutions and the faith apparently in favor of Islam. Oh, Joy!

Thank you for sharing your talents.

Worse than crap, get over yourself!

@ SS06 60 million years ago the kreta tercier border was.....................

I began it and a good Sci Fi story will be........

BTW the asteroid impact coused an huge earthqueck, which united in the opposite end to the impact on the Earth. So a huge Hypervulcanic event began at the Angara ancient area, because the interferencia of the earthquick waves broke up the earth crush to give free way to the basaltic vulcanic eruption. This is the Angara basaltic platau in Siberia now. First the quick effect to the asteroid impact was and a long lasting hypervulcanic event was for 100-200 thousand years. The dinosurus extict was from two effects of the asteroid impact:

1. Quick effect from the impact.

2. Long time effect from the hypervulcanic eruption (basalt eruption)

The last biggest supervulcanic eruption (non hypervulcanic) in the last 100 000 years the Toba Supervulcanic eruption ALMOST EXTINCT THE HOMO SAPIENS SAPIENS 74000 years ago. (Only circa 600 Homo Sapiens Sapiens remained..............)

Not because I enjoyed this story more than your others and I have a different take on science and religion but because this was a big bold scenario with a lot of work put into it. It's extremely difficult to construct a fantasy world and keep it coherent and believable. Your mag-lev experiment with the small crash on landing was perfect. Your spin on how the laws of attraction between males and females got turned upside-down to make nerds into sex gods was fascinating. The dilemma of good Christians and bad church was vividly portrayed. The Sandmen, perhaps not as believable, but certainly useful for injecting tension and emotion in the story. All in all, a very fine fearless effort which needs to be praised and should inspire other authors to push the boundaries. Please write again.

I enjoyed this piece the most of you recent "journey" into the odd plots rumbling through your mind. I liked the vision you created when calamity was reality brains became sexy over brawn. In true sci-fi fashion man makes leaps and bounds in technology and other scientific advancement in the face of extreme adversity (perhaps it is more a human truth than fiction). The grammar police are out in force. One thing I do is to judge musical performances and I've noticed a trend that I sometimes judge musical performances even when I'm not paid to do so. This keeps me from sitting back and simply enjoying the actual listening part. Some of you need to get a clue and simply read for he enjoyment of reading. It's like a flipping book club here sometimes but the discussion is being performed by a bunch of editors. Lol, enjoy the simplicities of life a little more often. This is Lit for pity's sake.

In regard to Anonymous, the story was not about being Christian (or any other faith for that matter) but about the ways human beings can take the wholesome portion of faith and screw it up through religion. Are you seriously supporting the manner in which they went to propagate the institution of the Church in full violation of its supposed teachings? I would like to say I don't understand but your last statement tells me everything I need to know about you, your true belief system, your personal fortitude and your inability to live the life you want others to think you do. The fact you state that opinion on an erotic site makes me giggle hilariously inside.

Methinks the author is correct re: ".... it's he and I against the world."

See http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-linking-verbs.aspx

Good story. However the milk could come from other being as a cow............

I get the impression here that after a while certain authors get high marks just because of who they are and not what they write. I think I am seeing that here.

In his earlier works, SS06 write some very telling tales. Yeah, he needs a Little, Brown Handbook for his grammar errors or maybe find an editor who can actually edit. Editors do more than find grammar errors; at least the good ones do. One of the things a good editor would have told him is, "SS06, your stuff is getting repetitive, stale and predictable. To combat that your stories have now gone in the direction of being so far out there the reader needs a space shuttle to get to them!" I would have advised him to flee from the cute gimmick of having the brothers names so much alike while their occupations and temperaments are so far apart. I would have advised this simply because readers can have trouble remembering who is whom. I would have advised that if he wants his stories to have a futuristic setting, fine, Just do not stick in a freakin' Mustang in 2048 unless it comes equipped with a Flux Capacitor. Do not set it in a time period when Mankind has reached a state that it no longer fights wars over stupid stuff and we have all come together - right now, Any human being, in the darkness of night when they are free to be honest with themselves, knows that day will never happen. It has not happened in twenty thousand years and there is no reason to believe it will happen in another twenty thousand.

And, for the sake of brevity, I would advise not to ever bring religion in any shape or form into a story. At least not in the way it was done here. It put me off from enjoying any remaining story. Any believing Christian will tell you, science will not save the world. Jesus Christ will save people. Since the ultimate goal is a "new Heaven and a new earth", I think the planet is pretty much hosed as well. Leave out religion, any religion, unless it is vital to the storyline and the author has an intimate knowledge of the subject.

In short, just because it has a popular authors name to it does not mean it is a good story. Hemingway wrote crap, too. This piece was too complex, too preachy, and just poorly written.

And you know the nice thing about being a critic? I don't have to like it when I know that it could have been so much better.

Nice twist on cheating cause the church made me do it. However you failed to give proper due to the sci fi books and TV shows and movies from which most of this tale arises. I mean Star Trek, Logan's Run, When Worlds Collide and Forbidden Planet. There may be others, No crime in researching a topic.

The statement "exit night, enter light. Life goes on with the coming of the dawn.", is magical. Keep up the good work !

Kudos for an imaginative and well-written story. I am not always a fan of SciFi stories, but enjoyed this one immensely. You very rarely disappoint SS06. Please keep up the good work, you are a gifted storyteller.

Loved this!!! An excellent twist on the baser natures of humanity. I also loved the Metallica lyrics all the way through it so much so I had to listen to it on a loop while reading. 5 stars!!

Say your prayers little one

Don't forget, my son

To include everyone

Tuck you in, warm within

Keep you free from sin

Till the sandman he comes

Funny how the religious read these stories but yet appear be so moralistic and trusting in the words of their religion... Religion has always been the scourge of mankind and still is I think.

One of your best Stang

OldMarineVet

Glad to see my advice was helpful. Giving yourself a little more time between stories seems to allow you to tighten up the structure while giving the characters greater depth.

You have found an idea that can be expanded beyond this website. Star City can be an idea that gets you published. Suspence,Romance,Science Fiction,Detective & Murder mystery. I would be glad to lose you from here if I can buy your book or e- book instead.

I admire your gift. And envy your opportunity.

From the Midwest,your friend

A Merry Man

... unless you know something about science. A few reviewers called you out on the effect of the asteroid on the sun and solar system, but there are more problems than that, for example: 1) Knowing the orbit of the asteroid well enough to know it will hit Earth means also knowing the exact date and time of the collision--not just within a year or two. 2) Escaping to even the nearest star--if it had habitable planets, which it likely does not--would require many lifetimes, not a few decades.

You have written so much and--usually--so well, it is a shame that you haven't developed a better facility with grammar and punctuation.

Another decent tell there SS. Keep em coming.

As for the comment below me... yes its quite likely that they would have the approximate time and date (within a 12 hour window) of impact with all the relevant date... but in a case like Apophis that was passing close enough to earth, that if it hit JUST the right spot it would be back for a visit in.... 2036 or some such... but It didn't hit the *keyhole* as it was, so we avoid destruction for now. An asteroid like in the story would be a whole other matter outside of Apophis, size wize and gravity wise would well.... not the place to get into all that so, while your right that with all the relevant data they could have the exact date... with just a small flux in data they wouldn't know exactly but the position of the earth over a several month period would vary by such a massive distance....the entire concept of the story asteroid is bupkis, but its not as cut and dry as you think.

Also as for the taking decades or hundreds of years to reach another solar system, at todays speeds yes... but you need to factor in relativity, and the possibility of mankind finding another energy source along with a new propulsion system/ability that could speed us up tremendously... mankind left the 18th century doing 6 miles an hour, he left the 19th century doing 60 miles per hour, he left the 20th century doing 600 miles per hour...whose to say some sort of mag lev or some such isn't found that continues the factor of 10... so leave the 21st century doing 6000 miles an hour as a general speed, factored by what we can do today with planetary sling shotting amongst other things and well.... I'm not a scientist but all it would take is one or two people discovering one or two new theorys and techs that could see us off into the stars.... don't forget star treks warp field theory is in actuality a scientific theory within constraints... the problem with warp... with moving the universe itself and not the ship.... is the amount of power required.... that's the first stumbling block.... give humans the amount of power required to do that and well.... we'll either head out to the stars or blow the entire solar system and half the galaxy up ourselves.....

As it is star, not a bad swing at a different tale, though you might want to look up or around a little bit before taking on something outside your expertise, *such as the hole of the asteroid hitting time line* i'd do 4.5/5 if I could but since the last time I aid that and I gave ya a 4 instead of a 5..... 4.5/5... rounded up so 5/5

Major surprise, this story. Very entertaining. Twelve stars.

Let me apologize in advance for the comments below, as I have tremendous respect for you and always enjoy your stories. Until this one.

Now for a bit of hyperbole: not only was this your worst story, but I am pretty sure it is one of the worst I have ever read on this site. Most of the other horrendous stories on this site fail due to poor writing. This is not the case with this one. It was decently written. However, I hesitate to even call it a story.

First, the storyline started as very interesting and engaging. I was enjoying it, even though I didn't find it brilliant. It was definitely original. But then the embedded Mettalica references simply started getting in the way. I realize you typically make these kinds of cultural allusions and its part of what I like about your writing. However, this was simply annoying. At that point I began to wonder if you were including the allusions into a storyline you developed, or if you had developed the storyline merely to showcase the allusions.

Second, when the religion shit entered the story everything just went to hell. I kept wondering if she was a plant from a rival nation, a group of billionaires, etc. Nope! The church? Really? At that point it stopped being a story and became a mechanism for you to rant about your dislike of organized religion. Really over the top. So much so it drowned out all the uniqueness of the original storyline. Typical. Not something I expect from you. And then you drop the line about Galileo? Man, have you had your head up your ass for the past hundred years?

I could easily tell that at that point the storyline no longer mattered for you. Case in point: he says he is looking for love - that's his kink, right? He never wanted to settle for what the other nerds were settling for in marrying bimbos who didn't love him. So, he thinks he has found it in his wife, only to discover her cheating. You would think that since having true "love" was everything to him, his world would have completely become undone. Instead, he hears her lame story and then decides to take her back. He can't trust that she won't do it again, he is not sure that she really loves him, but hey . . . Who needs love anyway? Not like that was very important to him?

Disappointing. 1 star.

Stang Star, you are my favorite LW story writers: well versed in a wide variety of topics, witty with a mean sense of humor.. Keep up the good work!

But you need to bone up on Geology and Paleontology: Dinos perished some 65 mio. years ago - sorry I am a Virgo :-).

I look forward to lots more of your stories.

The story was priceless - a nun marries and cheats to serve the church that has mind washed her most of her life -

Of course it would work - and certainly has for centuries - we have innumerable examples of people - men and women who "sacrificed" themselves in service of a religion where what they did contradicted everything the religion stands for - just to save the institution. That makes this one of the most realistic stories ever on the site.

As for a logical minded nerd who listens then understands and then accepts the failings of this dedicated supplicant who has turned her back on all of her past life just to care for the man she loves - that makes him just what he was portrayed to be - deliberate, thinking (not just reactive) and overly rational. Hate it if you want but it is realistic - having her be the one he gets is the stretch heh -

Always fun -

I always vote but don't always comment. As always, interesting material, well told. I do like how your mind twists. Bit of a rant on the church, don't you think. If it weren't for the Sister of Fate, one might think you a church hater. Again, well done.

Liked it a lot.

VERY minor quibble: I know it's your trademark, but this would have been a good story to take a pass on the 'Stang, it really had nothing to add here and felt tacked on.

This tale was pretty far out there. That isn't a bad thing, though. The Metallica references had me chuckling whenever you put one in there. I own most of their CDs, so yeah. As I said in the title for this comment: Metallica FTW! \m/

5 Stars!

oh yes i do sci fi stories and this one was great a little sad at the end

Thanks for a delightful, original sci-fi tale. I just love having The Church vilified!

Either the Sandman keeps his identity secret, so he wouldn't have a special license plate and badge, or he doesn't and then there wouldn't be a rule about having to kill anyone who'd seen their face.

That and Dalton should have gotten together with the witch...

And the attitudes toward the churches rang true (from someone who was raised/tormented by religious fanatics). I do believe in God which, to me, is not the same thing as the all-powerful church. And the Sandman is not a bad way to go, as described.

or taking us the a frontier where

"No one has gone before"

while sticking it to the institutions that have taken it upon themselves to

dictate the morality of society as accepted by the "masses".

Denton lives in the moment. Unlike my handlers, Denton isn't worried about life after death. Denton has often told me that Heaven isn't too far away. He sees it every time he looks in my eyes. His version of Heaven is being married to me and doing his science.

For a long time, I've been trapped between a rock and a hard place. I've been trying to find the middle ground in a war that has yet to be declared. Yesterday, I made a terrible mistake while trying to play both sides against the middle. It almost cost me everything. That forced me to pick a side and I have. I choose Denton.

Written by a complete wanker.

Yes, this was a different type of story BUT I enjoyed it. Yes, there were some inconsistencies in the story BUT it was still well-written and entertaining. I consider myself a religious person BUT I am anti organized religion. I can believe that organized religion would act this way. Remember this is my opinion and I don't really care what other people do or think-that is their right. (I do not need emails telling me my opinion is stupid, it is what it is...and I don't force my opinion on others.)

Thanks for another interesting and entertaining story.

not a fan of sci-fi but I always enjoy the fruits of the furtile mind of SS

Wow SS. I had to stop reading your interesting futuristic    

fable of earth's doomsday to give my comment here as soon as I noticed that remark made about the Kardashians.

You really hit the nail squarely when you (or the protagonist) ask, quite logically, what the Kadarshians really do to deserve any recognition . 

My witty response to that would be "BOOBS AND BUTTS?" 

All the hoopla about the Kardashians really shows how inane some people are! Wake up America! That's why you lost the twin towers and numerous poor souls.

You're right. They are just hyped up porn stars, unfortunately on prime time TV in our country.

As above.