Baxil (baxil) wrote,
Baxil
baxil

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I have a challenge for you.

Yes, you. Reading this journal right now.

All I ask for is fifteen minutes and one hundred words.

Here's the deal: I maintain a shared fiction universe, TTU (or "The Tomorrowlands Universe"), on my website. It's an urban fantasy setting -- based in a world that essentially was our Earth until the waning days of 1996, when without warning a dragon walked through the background of a live news broadcast, and within days a cascade of all sorts of magical effects, including people shapeshifting into all manner of creatures (collectively coined "therianthropes"), had started. More detail available at the link above.

Now, for a while this shared universe was simply a place for stories; then I (and some other contributors) got bored, and started producing things that were not so much stories as fictional non-fiction. Cultural artifacts, if you will, from within this world. I coined the word "Culturalia" for it and have written some songs and an essay or two.

What is the challenge? Here it is: I recently wrote a piece of TTU culturalia titled "The Death of Teleportation," exploring why one of the most potentially revolutionary ideas failed to make more than a momentary dent on the world. The essay is written as an article published in the Boston Underground, a counterculture newspaper. And what happens when provocative stories run in newspapers? I'll tell you what: Letters to the editor!

So give me a brief letter to the editor -- 50 to 250 words. Respond to the essay. Respond as you would, or as someone else (fictional) would. Point out something he missed. Cite statistics (make them up if you have to; this is a world-building exercise). Hotly dispute one of his conclusions. Hotly dispute one of the conclusions your fellow letter-writers reach and defend poor old Vick. Heck, even agree with him and share your personal teleportation horror story or urban legend. Or whatever! Be creative!

If something breaks the universe's canon, I'll let you know -- but don't let that stop you. I'm trying to give people latitude to have fun on this, and if you stay within the framework of the history cited in the essay, you should be fine with your facts.

Oh, and just to make this easier on me, provide a name (NOT yours -- make one up), and (if you can be bothered :)) a neighborhood of Boston and/or nearby city as the letter writer's hometown. (For your convenience: list and map of Boston neightborhoods.)

Results may be posted as more culturalia (linked to the original essay) unless otherwise requested. Thanks! :)

Tags: ttu, writing
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