Wow loved this concept and you did a fantastic job putting it to good use in this story! I enjoyed the overall questioning one’s sanity feel, that was well drawn with the maybe unreliable narrator with his attendant suspicions that may be reasonable but could turn out to be paranoia. Also that thing about psychoflage--first I’ve heard the term and it’s such a cool concept all by itself. Desperately want backstory on what the military’s comparatively weak sauce psychoflage tech is. Also, I’m probably reading too much into Hippocrates--the moment a midwestern drawl came out of that box I was suspicious, then when its avatar was specifically designed to be soothing doctor visage, I lost all faith in him. Hippocrates is a dispatched minion piece of the overall psychoflage, right?!
Thanks! ‘Psychoflage’ is just the word that popped into my head when I was trying to figure out a way for this thing to have been hidden for so long when it’s there in plain sight + why humans were messed up by it. Backstory, hmm... watch this space 👀
The final flashback is so freaky! I’m amazed at how masterfully you wove facts together with sci-fi, thriller, and horror vibes into a single, fantastic story!
I see what you did there with "Asaph". I thought it was a cool name, too, and used it for a ship.
https://randallhayes.substack.com/p/jamestown-2107-482
Well spotted!
Wow loved this concept and you did a fantastic job putting it to good use in this story! I enjoyed the overall questioning one’s sanity feel, that was well drawn with the maybe unreliable narrator with his attendant suspicions that may be reasonable but could turn out to be paranoia. Also that thing about psychoflage--first I’ve heard the term and it’s such a cool concept all by itself. Desperately want backstory on what the military’s comparatively weak sauce psychoflage tech is. Also, I’m probably reading too much into Hippocrates--the moment a midwestern drawl came out of that box I was suspicious, then when its avatar was specifically designed to be soothing doctor visage, I lost all faith in him. Hippocrates is a dispatched minion piece of the overall psychoflage, right?!
Thanks! ‘Psychoflage’ is just the word that popped into my head when I was trying to figure out a way for this thing to have been hidden for so long when it’s there in plain sight + why humans were messed up by it. Backstory, hmm... watch this space 👀
The final flashback is so freaky! I’m amazed at how masterfully you wove facts together with sci-fi, thriller, and horror vibes into a single, fantastic story!
Thank you! That is high praise coming from such a talented storyteller as yourself!
Oh, thank you!
Wowww that ending!!! That was fantastic! Chills in that final dream - er I mean flashback.
Thank you! 😊
Well done, very imaginative. Reminds me about some info about Phobos, which i'll relay in a restack!
Thank you Scoot! That means a lot! ☺️