22 Comments
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Zivah Avraham's avatar

What an ending! Science fiction is something I have a strange relationship with - sometimes I love it with a fierce passion, and sometimes it leaves me cold. This was on the love end of the spectrum, definitely.

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S M Garratt's avatar

Thank you, @Zivah Avraham - I agree with your thoughts about Science Fiction - for me, nobody does it better than Ursula Le Guin - her ability to have strange worlds/ new ideas but to build out from these to explore the human experience within a new set of rules constantly delights me. I always struggled to convey emotional depth in my screenwriting, feeling constricted by the rules and the limited words, but in prose, I am beginning to find ways to express ideas and explore the inner workings of people… something I have sometimes struggled to understand in the real world.

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Sandolore Sykes's avatar

The ending surprised me so much! I thought we were going in a dark direction and the almost spiritual ending, sublime and sweet… stunned me! This is a love story! How surprising and how unusual this story was… bravo Steve… it took me on a journey!

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ARC's avatar

Finally got a chance to dig into this full story. This is an exquisite fusion of science fiction and raw emotional depth—entanglement as both a quantum phenomenon and a profound metaphor for love, loss, and the self’s dissolution into another. The writing is immersive, lyrical, and devastatingly intimate. A beautifully executed meditation on connection, grief, and the permanence of love.

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S M Garratt's avatar

Honestly, I'm at a loss for words right now. Thank you... for taking the time to read the story and for your thoughtful and generous comments. This story made me go deep and to be seen like this and understood means more than I can express.

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Joseph L. Wiess's avatar

I wish you had submitted this to Thorny Thursday. It's en excellent piece.

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S M Garratt's avatar

Thanks Joseph - I have no idea what thorny Thursday is… enlighten me

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Joseph L. Wiess's avatar

We, The Substack Fiction Writers, have themed days.

Mondays are Macabre Mondays. This is for horror and suspense. If you tag @newworlds (JohnCoon), @shainaread, and several others, they'll put it in their newsletter.

Tuesdays are Terran Tuesdays. @theblackknight handles that.

Wednesdays are Warrior Wednesdays. This is A catch-all about brave men, warriors, hunters, cowboys, etc. @thebrotherskrynn and @themanbehindthescreen are the men to tag.

Thursdays are for romance. I took over the newsletter started by @kathrineElaine. I run all kinds of romance stories. I take 'em all and let people read them.

Fridays are Sci-Fridays - And I'm never sure who's In charge over there.

You are free to join in; we'd all love to have you write.

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Johnathan Reid's avatar

No-one's in charge of Sci-Fridays. We're an entangled collective. 😛

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S M Garratt's avatar

OMG, isn't that like a borg hive mind? The lack of emotion in that always weirded me out. I wonder how many people could be entangled into one... that feels like a horror story.

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Johnathan Reid's avatar

Indeed it is.

Your call on the quotient...

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S M Garratt's avatar

Thanks Joseph - this sounds great- is it too late to push entangled next Thursday or do you prefer to do the launch of stories this way?

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Joseph L. Wiess's avatar

I'll take it and put it in the next three Newseltters. Each part to it's own day.

Thank you for offering them.

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S M Garratt's avatar

Your welcome- hopefully it will get a few reads and more people will see it - I’m pretty happy with it

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Steve Weinzirl's avatar

I liked the idea of the story. Not sure about the "science" of it. It's obviously not hard science fiction which frees you to have more fun with it. I could see this story depending on magic as easily as science. It was good.

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S M Garratt's avatar

I agree - the notion that any science significantly advanced enough would appear as magic is still true - the science is interesting though - the progress of quantum biology is one of the most significant areas of research around the human consciousness and it’s that I was interested in - there is so much we don’t understand that almost anything is possible- thank you for reading and commenting - I’m glad you still enjoyed it.

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Jon Howski's avatar

That’s a beautiful story that shows just how varied and unique science fiction can be 👏👏👏

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S M Garratt's avatar

Just want to say Jon thank you for commenting on each episode- it really helps bring new eyes the work and it feels great to know people are reading -

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Jon Howski's avatar

Your welcome, I really enjoyed the story

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Victor Jimenez's avatar

Absolutely fantastic.

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S M Garratt's avatar

Thank you Victor - that means a lot!

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S M Garratt's avatar

Thanks Jon - so glad you enjoyed it... it was a real challenge to write...

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