(on boredom in our modern society and its effects on our ability to be)
Written for the Science Fiction Contest II!
Remember when my fimfic flair used to say 'they might as well be humans'? That was directly inspired by a comment FanOfMostEverything left- on my last sci fi contest submission. I don't think I've changed much.
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What do you mean by that?
11544148
i.redd.it/3u08z3fry6ra1.png
do you spend a lot of your time confused?
Oh, you Dick.
As I said with that earlier story, a very human story with a thin pony veneer, but still a very good tale of virtual desolation. The tragedy of never getting that one stallion's name was especially poignant, to say nothing of the deeply concerning implications of how many ponies might still out there aside from those hooked up to Sam. Goodness knows we've seen that kind of societal collapse before in this fandom through Friendship is Optimal, and Sam doesn't even understand that satisfaction necessarily comes with some dips in the road.
In any case, thank you for this and best of luck in the judging.
A poignant parable, Mr Malkovich. Your style reminds me a lot a friend of mine, especially the poignant existential explorations broken up by dollops of deadpan absurdist humor.
Once I get my own fic for the contest published, we can compare and contrast our takes on the extremely niche genre of A Lonely And Incomplete Soul Occupying A Fictionalized Equestria Run By An All-Powerful AI With A Three Letter Name That Starts With S.
The dream sequence maintained a clever layer of narrative tension, due to the uncertainty of the source pony. The easy prediction is Crane, as the first scene loads like a gun belonging to Chekov. But there's also the wish fulfillment possibility that the memory belongs to 'the stallion', and Card is about to salvage a very regrettable missed connection. The fic makes sure to quash any possibility of romanticism with the Crane confirmation and subsequent gritty reveals.
We even get a pseudo-circular ending a la Pink Floyd's The Wall. Our protagonist has certainly gone on a journey of discovery, but whether that journey will manifest as a meaningful change in their life is ambiguous. One of the tenants of the cyberpunk genre is the blurry line between "real" and "artificial." Bodies, feelings, thoughts, and even experiences are either commodities or worthless, overabundant junk. Corny as it is, Card Carry's search for value is a relatable one, especially to someone who is involved enough in online culture to read fanfiction about cartoon characters.
Best of luck in the contest. I leave off with a Buddhist koan that Card Carry might appreciate.
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.
11544953
I was well aware of the obvious twist, given this story only has three 'characters'. I wanted to write a story that meant nothing, and seemed to end no differently than it began. I'm giddy to find out I was apparently thinking along the same lines as you, and doubt I shall be waiting long to find your take; only a day left in the competition, after all.
I do still want to talk about this blind but also not want to repeat what others have said (without looking at what said commenters have said), so I will make this a bit quick and just put it in bullet points:
I will leave it at that, as a sense of boredom permeates Card Carry, even with the horrid stuff she's seen and learned about in the end.
Thank you for the thoughtful story, Str8aura, and may you do well in the contest, fellow contestant!
but doctor, i am Pagliacci!
ooh, an ominous statement about the state of the world!
this is not my beautiful wife!
oof, one would think that, wouldn’t they?
so true actually, that is what therapy is sometimes
oof. i mean i guess it does seem inscrutable when you try to break it down
nice save there, Card
now this feature does not seem very well-designed!
ooh, tantalizing
and a wonderful way to end it, wrapping all the way back out to the beginning. Card Carry goes on her journey of searching and discovery, discovers the twist in the tale, and then… ends up right back where she started, except with a fuller picture of the existence she is trapped in. well done!
11595609
You're the best of us, bicyclette. Cheers.
I'm still processing my way through this, because this is one of those stories where it feels like every time you dig down a layer further and somehow the story both makes more and less sense so you want to dig even *further*...
What I will say is that right now, this feels like a powerful commentary on social media and the bizarrely paradoxical hypersocial isolation it induces. Where you can watch a million things scroll by on your screen - here's a cute animal! A celebration! A disaster, lives ended being fed straight to your eyes! - but produces a drug-like emotional deadening as time goes on and you're exposed to more and more... There's a parallel, at least that I see, between Card Carry's unnecessary "job" and the phenomenon of "doomscrolling".
If science fiction is a means of using discussion of the fictional to comment on the real, then I think this fic nails it beautifully. It doesn't preach or hammer the reader. It just... reminds you, just enough to be discomforting and yet enthralling all at once.