Comments on Right Behind: The End of the World, Part 4

Actually, I liked ending on the dirty-diaper refer...

2008-06-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

Actually, I liked ending on the dirty-diaper reference. Brings back the basics in a way L&J never manage to do--yeah, you're fleeing for your child's life, but some things can't be let to wait.

About the polytheism, I suppose it depends on the deities. In Hippolytus, Artemis says that, when one god has a wish, the others get out of the way. OTOH, when Demeter's grief for her daughter threatened the crops and thus the survival of the human species and thus the gods' sacrifices, Zeus took action. But not in any particular hurry.

So with a polytheistic system, you might (a) have gods deciding to act only after all the children have disappeared in a 24-hour period, largely be letting people have new children, or (b) have some god(s) standing up against whatever is doing this thing. I have to admit, the idea of, say, Inanna or Kuan Yin rising up and protecting the children--or her children--has a certain appeal.

Also, the idea of families trying to hide undergro...

2008-06-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

Also, the idea of families trying to hide underground is chilling. I might actually write a short story based on the idea - perhaps about Londoners trying to hide in the Underground, or Parisians in the Metro.

"prayed for the mountains to protect us"bonus poin...

2008-06-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

"prayed for the mountains to protect us"

bonus points for the Revelations reference

It's an unusual cliffhanger - "will they change th...

2008-06-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

It's an unusual cliffhanger - "will they change the nappy without soiling the leather seats!? Stay tuned!" ;-)

Yeah, that totally wasn't supposed to happen that way. I suddenly realized that I was writing what was supposed to be the next section, couldn't shorten that up to fit in with what I'd written and couldn't come up with anything good, decided, "Well, this seems like a good stopping place," and just kind of cut it off. In retrospect it is kinda funny...

Another way to look at it would be from the viewpoint of the modern pagan movement, where the Wave is on the way and some of them successfully appeal to the old gods to protect their children. What would happen when people realized that their children didn't disappear?

That's, uh, that's like the opposite of a bad idea for a story...

It's an unusual cliffhanger - "will they change th...

2008-06-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

It's an unusual cliffhanger - "will they change the nappy without soiling the leather seats!? Stay tuned!" ;-)

But seriously, I love the way this story is turning out. It's gripping and it really makes you care for the characters, which is quite an achievement given that we know they're unfortunately doomed to failure.

Oh, no apology needed. My kids are 29, 22 and 13,...

2008-06-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

Oh, no apology needed. My kids are 29, 22 and 13, all out of the presumed age limit for being snatched. I just didn't realize how seriously creepy this story arc was until I had the kiddo underfoot today.

I would love to see the polytheist line followed to a logical end. Another way to look at it would be from the viewpoint of the modern pagan movement, where the Wave is on the way and some of them successfully appeal to the old gods to protect their children. What would happen when people realized that their children didn't disappear? Would they have to go on the run to escape becoming lab subjects of a hysterical nation? (using the US-centric viewpoint)

So many ways to twist this... :-)

I'm terribly sorry, but I think it's supposed to b...

2008-06-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm terribly sorry, but I think it's supposed to be creepy. One of the accusations Fred levels against Left Behind a lot is that it's just not creepy enough. But there's nothing about the setup that's not inherently creepy or downright scary.

I imagine a lot of time would be spent trying to play one god off against another for personal protection. That's how it tended to work, at least in the Greek/Roman contexts with which I have the most anthropological familiarity.

Of course, assuming the Wave continued and no one was able to save their child, whether they asked Zeus, Thor, or Anubis for help, there would be a mounting wave of horror. Everyone would slowly realize that one of three things was happening: all of the gods had turned against them, something was happening and the gods didn't care any more, or something new and more powerful than all the gods combined was sweeping across the globe.

Huh. That's a cool story, too.

Well written story, but it's giving me the creeps ...

2008-06-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well written story, but it's giving me the creeps as I am babysitting my 2 1/2 yr old grandson today.

I wonder how this would work if part of the basic premise included polytheism?