Susan
The Amazing Adventures
of Sara Corel
A novel by Toomey
Origins
of Susan
Sharon Best:
I've been following the comings and
goings in and of the Aurora Universe for a couple of years, in silence up to now. I
guess I've always thought of it as a guilty pleasure, something the rest of my family
might not easily understand. (They all have their own computers now and leave mine
alone. So I don't have to clear my 'history' file after each session
) Anyway,
count me as a fan. I'm there at least once a week. And I am grateful.
Thank you.
I found your site originally when
searching for anything about my favorite flying blonde. To feed my obsession, I
guess. I don't know why, but there is something compelling about the tension between
gentleness and power that pushes my imagination. There are elements in the uberstory
that have a stimulating effect on my dreams, waking and sleeping.
I must say I am greatly relieved at your
recent de-emphasis of the more prurient elements in your stories especially since
the frequent, serial sexual episodes tended to obscure the narrative, besides being
inevitably repetitious. I don't mean this as a put down, but really
how many
ways can anyone come up with novel descriptions of the old in-and-out? And
I've always thought of our heroine as a super-girl at the edge of
innocence, just short of womanhood. That her form and substance stirs the
noblest perceptions of beauty, rather than the merely base carnal instincts.
Even before the Aurora experience, I have
been writing a version of her story in my mind, but I have come to it from a
different perspective. Your inspiration, and those of your other contributors, has at
last stirred me to try to put my musings to the test by making them available to a
general readership in a way that would have been impossible prior to the Internet.
Four chapters are complete enough (I
expect tweaking to continue forever) to be made available. I'm guessing that I should
create a website repository for this project accessible by a link. I'm hoping that
you might be kind enough to bear such a link. I don't want to create a whole
fanfiction website, just secure an unadorned place in cyberspace to park the text.
Regrettably, my story does not take place
in the Aurora Universe, but rather in a model of our own, and is much more like the
grand old style of science fiction than the comic book or fantasy related genres. The
super girl at its heart is not our dear Kara Zor-el, but is certainly inspired by
her. I want to use the story as a vehicle to explore several themes:
1. The effect on our world as we know it
by an actual superhuman suddenly thrust into our midst. I've extrapolated a
humanistic sentient being, produced by a technology so far advanced that it is
indistinguishable from magic (Sturgeon's Law), culminating in a constructed
personality that is indistinguishable from human (the Turing Test). Her interactions
with our Terrestrial societies will produce profound effects.
2. A "strange visitor from another
planet" represents First Contact with an alien civilization. This by itself
changes everything. The collective psyche of our civilization would suddenly be
challenged by the realizations that not only are we not alone, but we're not nearly
as important as we thought we were. Even if it impossible for our primitive science
to learn anything about how such a being is produced or works (it's pretty hard to
find out how something ticks if you can't take it apart), the glimpse of the
future she embodies is itself enlightening (and possibly frightening; after
all, any story about created life is a variation of "Frankenstein").
3. In the real world or, at least, an
analogue thereof to explore the duty, obligations and responsibilities of a person
with, "powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man." I suppose that
fighting crime is important and a way to generate adventurous plots, but it has
always seemed to me that Clark Kent mild mannered reporter for a great
Metropolitan newspaper was far more important to his community than his alter
ego. Even in a single large city (let alone the entire planet) the
institutions that comprise the Rule of Law, prodded and pushed by an unfettered
Free Press, would have a greater impact on crime than any vigilante, no
matter how buff.
4. Everyone who has shared the dawning of
consciousness by a small child experiences with them the joy of discovery of a new
world. Origin stories have always been my favorites (I've always wondered what it
would be like to watch someone "Growing Up Super"). How fascinating it
would be to be there at the birth of Athena, "sprung full-grown from the mind of
Zeus."
5. Well, there are some other things, but
damn! am I long-winded, or what? Make up the rest yourself. I was going to talk
about the element of humor, but I bored myself silly, so kindly disregard the
previous blather. By the way, have you ever seen the Anime Maris the
Chojo?
Anyway, if you think you might be
interested, let me know and I'll fling my link at you.
© Patrick Hill, 2000 |