I Am
Dear reader,
This is your dactylographically ambitious host, Cheeseburger Brown. I'm delighted that you've been enjoying Simon of Space enough to push through the prior forty-four chapters on-line.
I hope your interest is sufficient to propel you to purchase a copy of the book, to see how it all concludes.
Now now, I know what you're thinking -- what a cruel bait and switch. To be candid, I kept all the chapters available for free for as long as I could but, in the end, a man has to pay bills.
So, if you've derived forty-four chapters worth of enjoyment from this story, I do hope you'll consider taking the final plunge: buy the book, and help support more projects of this kind. Thank you.
posted by Simon of Space at 04:57
122 Comments:
Well, that was worth waiting up for.
Thanks.
I thought I could write more after reading the finale a second time - but I'm still all fogged up. I'll get some sleep now and see if I can whistle tomorrow.
I was right.
They did sentence poor Simon to death.
CBB, thank you. Immensely.
This has been quite a ride.
Alas, where Simon woke up alive...he shall now sleep for eternity. Beautiful ending.
What do you think's the morale of the whole shebang, CBB? Is there any?
Well...I think it's about not what we have done in the past that makes who we are now. Who we are now, is what we do this moment that will define us...not to others, but to ourselves.
last word verification for SoS: zzuwlq - the ramblings of a sleeping drunkard, "Zzzz...you wulq!...zzzz"
i hate it when a story ends like this....in a cliffhanger.
CBB did this with the vader blog, but it wasn't so bad then, because we already know what happens after it's ending...
with this, we're left to wonder how things play out.
or course, this leaves room for a sequel, or a continuation..i do hope this is not the last we see of simon
I miss Simon already, but thanks so much CCB. I hope to continue to see more of your original SF for a long time to come.
Thank you CBB.
Stands up and claps for The Master Writer
Outstanding job CBB.. love how you ended it, and glad you did NOT kill Simon.
Damn it's going to suck not looking forward to more of these... ~sigh~
Sniglet: ymtdhadf (David Hasselhoff's Yiddish's kid's name)
Final Stats:
426 MS Word Pages (normally spaced and margins)
92 Paragraphs
18,663 Lines
165,860 Words
769,601 Characters
941,237 Characters w/spaces
Amazing.
Fantastic read there CBB :) look forward to picking up a dead tree version and keeping my eye out for your future work.
Thanks CCB, kept me coming back for more. Good luck in the future.
Beautiful.
Mr. Hemming,
Before I read what appears to be the final installment, and before the comments section fills up to the point where this gets lots in the mix, I wanted to thank you for what has been an incredibly enjoying read for these past months. I mean, honestly, really entertaining, exciting, interesting, all that jazz. This is the sort of thing that brings back memories of the Golden Age of sci-fi, like Andre Norton, that I ate up as a kid. It's been great fun, from day one, and it's a little odd that it's over. Can't wait for the sequel!
-TC
Incredible. So good. Amazing ending to this story, and journey.
My hat is off to you, CBB.
It really has been an incredible journey, and this is the best way it could have ended. I hoped I didn't ever have to say goodbye to this amazing universe, but the time has come. Thank you sir author for a truely moving story that I won't ever forget. You made me think in ways I never have. The philosophy, psychology, humor, drama, fictional science, and humanism of your work should be read by everyone. Thank you, and good bye.
OOOOHHHH BOY !!!!!
I have to comprehend everything. I am a bit weary about the ending.
I may have been an ending but even a begining too.
In life we face many obstacles with one completed we are able to start fresh and close that chapter of life to open one new. Simon was TV he closed that part of his life by becomming Simon. And now a new life will proceed once Simon and TV "reunite".
I hope there is a prequel for I anticipate a better ending for our friend Simon.
**SNIFF**
***SNIFF***
sanna
word veri- vifnce
"veri fun comes to end"
Wow, not what I was expecting. Still formulating an opinion....
P.
Thanks CBB, true to your style you add a few last twists (Jeremiah's new reflections), and have me constantly contemplating my own morality. Masterfully done.
A terrific tragedy. I loved it!
This was truly a beauttiful story that i'm going to miss reading each day. Thank you for giving this story to the world. Now go convince the wife (and a few agents) that you should be writing to pay the bills!
I believe I speak for everyone though when I request an epilogue. Just something to let us know if Terron or Simon won the fight for dominance, or if the sum is greater than the parts...
Also, the song "Right Where it Belongs" off the NIN Album "With Teeth" should be the official song of S.O.S. - Here is the refrain:
What if everything around you,
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you think you know,
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection,
Is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks,
Would you find yourself...find yourself afraid to see?
Now i'm off to see the wizard about a dead tree edition.
vdxibthp - An experession of disgust over something ending: "Vdxibthp! Simon of Space ended today!"
I wanted to comment before reading anybody else's.
Short, but oh so sweet. Wow. Had I not been at work while reading it, I would have been more than just misty-eyed. What a ride.
I can't begin to pick one quote as a favorite... the whistling scene and of course Jeremiah's last scene were the most moving.
Thanks, CBB.
I always held out a smidge of hope for Butch and Sundance as well. This was the best of all endings.
A quote I received this morning that is somewhat apropos of today's post:
Our absurdity warrants neither that much distress nor that much defiance. At the risk of falling into romanticism by a different route, I would argue that absurdity is one of the most human things about us: a manifestation of our most advanced and interesting characteristics.
~Thomas Nagel
Thank you, Matthew. So much.
(Last word veri fun:
zoguibgu
A heartfelt thanks to Matthew with a head-cold,
"Zog-yoo Bagyoo")
My favorite line:
"Oh, Jeremiah," I said softly; "You may domesticate us, but we shall teach you something wild."
When this is put to cinema, and there is a whistling tune worthy of these words, I will want that whistled at my memorial.
Good show.
So, any chance of a dead tree version? I'd buy one...
I was hoping, once I saw that the Queen of Space had arrived, that we'd get a chance to see what the Pegasi translators made of her 'tummy trouble' :)
*frrrt!*[APOCALYPTIC PORPOISES!!]*frt.*[ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE!!]*um, excuse me*
word veri: iyvgt - IY'Ve GoT no idea.
Misanthrope. Um. First, welcome to the comments. Second, not to speak for CBB or anything, but yes, you may buy this at will in a dead-tree edition. See the link in the first paragraph in the upper right corner of the main Simon of Space blog page. Then throw in another preposition just for me.
Since I first started "getting into" SoS, I have been haunted by the fear that, being an on-the-fly story, the ending couldn't possibly live up to my expectations.
CBB had a lot of expectations to live up to... and the end of Darth Vader's blog was so good ... so perfect... that I doubted that CBB could match it; and it certainly seemed that the end of SoS could never be worthy of all of the antecipation that has been developing and fed by the SoS communitity.
I hate to make the comparison, but this final chapter has a similar feeling to the last darth vader chapter... melancoly, yet moving, and powerful. It feels like it should feel, and shows CBB doing what he does best: taking us inside the head of a complex yet thoroughly human character. I'm not sure that all of my questions have been answered ... but the possible holes in the plot that may have been left open have ceased to be an issue for me. With this ending, it's clear that, whatever detours CBB's ride may have taken us on over these last few months, in the end, he brought us right to the point he wanted us; and he knew where he was going from the beginning.
Congratulations CBB, and thank you!
Bravo.
This is almost exactly like that Steven Seagal movie where he was trying to bring down those Rastafarian drug lords.
Most excellently awesome and such.
Carry on.
Man.
It's a fitting ending, I guess, but not the way I wanted it. I'm still deciding if that's good or not. It feels like the end of Heinlein's The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, which pissed me off to no end (but then again, the story wasn't one of his best anyway).
I echo the others in saying "please, please give us AT LEAST an epilogue". Sure, the mystery is great and all, but I'm hoping you didn't just leave it this way because it was easier to write.
Either way, I tip my hat to you one final time for Simon.
Oh, and Edmund: check your weather forecasts. We're looking at sustained winds of 50mph or more, with gusts much higher and tornadic activity (or at least microbursts). I don't know about the power company in YOUR neighborhood, but ours tends to have problems with stuff like that :)
*dons raincoat*
After reading and re-reading:
A couple of things:
"Simon of Space -- are you Terron Volmash?"
No, his body is, though his face and mind/memories are definitely NOT.
They're going to re-integrate his BAD personality, then let it loose again????
I'm sad there was no tearful goodbye with Pish, or Vera.
Funny how whistling meant so much to him. Ever see the very first Star Trek, The Next Generation? Data was trying to whistle but couldn't master it when Riker met him.
WordBlurg: eyfggy (Eyes Foggy from seeing this come to an end)
How awful to know that the you as you know it is about to end. I hope that Pish and Jeremiah are right...that the hybrid will be greater than the sum of its sources. I think that with his friends by his side...Duncan, Pish, Vera, Brother Phi, and not to mention Jeremiah, among all the others...that the newly-reborn Terron Volmash will not be devoid of Simon and his innocent wisdom. Simon will live on in him, and will change him. At least that's what I prefer to think!
I do not believe that he will ever go back to the Equivalency...if the Executives believed there was a chance of this, I don't think they would have chosen to restore Volmash's memories to him as his punishment.
I'm now off happily to purchase the dead-tree version from Lulu!
Many thanks, CBB!
Just picked up two copies. So long and thanks for all the fish CBB.
Standing Ovation
My Crack is fulfilled, and whadaya know, a few of us were even right! i don't remember who said it, but simon reintegrated with terron. interesting.
all we really can do is whistle and just be cheerful. what a guy. it's something of a pity that Simon will become Terron. the best human being in the galaxy to become the worst.
i'm going to go reserve my signed copy now.
TRH
word veri: xqnwinwq. ah jeez, that one's just nuts.
God bless you CBB!
And it's good to see that we Canadians still hold supremacy in all artistic endeavors!
Oh, poop -- I missed where I could get a signed copy, and just ordered it from Lulu. :P
Also left a review on Lulu for the book...if I'm not supposed to mention that it had been a blog, let me know and I'll edit out the mention!
Went ahead and removed mention of the blog from my review!
Scratches head.
Shrugs.
Turns on heel and exits whistling "Easy Come, Easy Go".
Sheik, I'll be praying for you and your fellow Texans!
I didn't even wait...
As soon as I saw that the final chapter was up, I bought my signed edition.
Then I read the ending.
The integration makes sense to me. I think, effectively, that TV has been sentanced to death, and that SOS has been released...
...Because SOS is the stronger personality. This was proven in his actions.
But this is just my view, based on the evidence I've seen in court. Any epilogue might spoil the outcome I've made for myself, based on my view of the world.
WV: wflmgtd: waffle, maggoted.
Does the crystal truly only restore the memories? If so, then why is anyone worried about Simon "becoming" Volmash again? Personality does not come from memory. Memories can be clouded by one's personality, but just the memories alone should not cause some conversion of Simon's self into an evil being. He'll suffer from having those images in his brain, but his mind will remain intact in all its Simon-ness.
At least that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. Looking forward to hearing how to pay for my signed copies!
edmund - you didn't think much of the ending, eh?
Oh, and I'm in the Dallas area, too. My first time to live in a place where hurricanes are more than something I see on the news. Should be interesting for those young bald cypress trees I have in my front yard.
I think i found Captain Ting's accent. i was reading MFDH's trimester reports, the third one he quote's the midwife, a south african lady:
"We'd bitta move her now or we're going to heff thes beby right here," pronounced the senior midwife with melodious South African inflection.
sounds like the late great Ting to me!
and again, CBB, you are awesome. i emailed for a signed copy.
TRH
oh fine...word veri: jvuuwy. juvie...why? what SoS's kids thought when they got sentenced to jail and he got to have his old memories back.
Brillant ending. I love the room left for interpretation and hope. Keep writing - we'll buy!
Thank you.
Amazing. I will be buying this book.
My word verification?
xodus
Somehow appropriate
A wonderful ending to an equally wonderful tale. Thanks for everything Cheeseburger. It was fun.
good story, all in all..
I think the last bit with the simultaneous whistling was a bit... err "hippy"... and the scene with jeremiah didn't flow so well.. and was a little unnatural considering jeremiah's previous stocism... maybe it's just a limitation on this form of narrative... and the timing with which installments come. Normally by the end of a book, you'd be all wrapped up in the characters... but reading a bit every day may make some things less than fresh in our minds.
Well, I've been watching this blog with baited breath every day for some 4 months now?
What am I going to do now?
Anyways, thanks for the wonderful story CBB.
-fooburger
Brilliant ending.
I believe that Jeremiah trying to go against what he was supposed to do caused him to start dying? Or something? This part was the only bit that confused me. His revelations and all that were very moving. Great ending.
Crushed Head Faeda did retain her hospital memories, and her love of poetry.
She was violent, but then she was biting people and throwing silverware before the transfer, so...
I think that the crystals were originally intended to be a complete wipe, so that there was a dramatic threat in the story (simon might be replaced) Later, CBB needed Faeda to know simon, so it was a memory-restore.
Simon of Space was an awesome story... I'm sad to see it end, but glad to have the closure. I loved it all.
CBB, I'm forever a fan. I'll be ordering that signed copy with my next paycheck. Save me one. And thanks for sharing... our interaction as the story was written has been an amazing experience. THANK YOU !!
- Jeff S.
Woof. What a great read and wonderful finale. Nice to see my gut instinct to seeing (hearing?) the golden robot refer to SoS as 'Sir' was on the mark.
Like hepcat, I ordered first, read second. Neither a disappointment.
Thanks for the great ride, CBB!
word veri: ezpovnb
easy POV, noob!
Wow. Simon's adventures have been a source of entertainment for a long time and now the it has come to an end. And what a marvellous closing! Now that Simon becomes part of Terron, perhaps Terron will learn to appreciate the Horror he has caused, and regret, thus opening a path to true redemption. No taking shortcuts this time!
When I buy the dead tree edition--which may not be soon, but the day will come--I will read it again and then borrow it to all my friends and relatives so they too can get to know Simon of Space.
Thank You.
Dear all,
It is done. I was up all night, but it is done.
I just got back from the post office, where a nice lady was explaining to me how much it costs to send books to Australia and Brazil. I'm crunching the numbers now. Those of you who've ordered signed editions will be receiving order details via e-mail shortly.
I just wanted to thank you all again for all the fun. I've had a hella good time on this journey. I'll never forget it.
Give me a few weeks to recover and then look for details of upcoming projects at my website, http://mfdh.ca .
I need a stiff drink.
Love,
CheeseburgerBrown
Attention Benjamin Powell:
Your e-mail address appears to be defunct. I cannot send you your order details.
Love,
CheeseburgerBrown
Simon's punishment is unfortunate for his new, distinct personality.
However, it was his choice to be punished for Terron's crimes. He claims to be Terron Volmash, for whatever reason. Quite possibly the pressure of Jerimiah and Duncan's nutty morality pushed him into accepting the burden Terron's guilt.
The thing that is established by the Maze puzzle is that Simon of Space bears the same problem-solving pattern as Terron Volmash. Given the same set of information, Simon and Terron would likely act in the same way. That is probably the best reason I can think of that Simon might be punished for the acts of Terron.
Unfortunately, that makes the commutation of Simon's sentence to a mind-restore fairly nonsensical. Simon, in his short life experience, has been a humble and caring person. Why would the Executives or the Neighborhood seek to have Terron's experiences restored to Simon, knowing that would result in a personality likely to attempt to overthrow them upset the current order?
The only explanation I can see is that the Executives secretly allowed Terron's activities against the Neighborhood as an experiment in evolving Solar life. Why else would they be secretly on hand while Olorio wiped Volmash/Nestor's mind against Terron's will? It was not Terron's plan to become Simon. Executives were there to make sure Terron's mind was preserved so it could be restored at a later time when the vessel was ready.
So, lucky for Terron that he gets a second chance at life, perhaps tempered with the friendships and memories Simon made, due to the manipulations of the Executives.
But too bad for Simon that he will now have the experiences that allowed Terron to consider mass torture the lesser of evils compared to the hidden omnipotent control of the executives.
We learn early in the story that Terron Volmash commits perhaps the worst crimes against humanity in recent Solar memory. Somehow Terron the rebellious teenager grew into Terron the terrorist of the Equivilency movement.
I don't think it's hard to imagine that Terron's motives were the freedom of solar life from the controlled zoo the Executives keep them in. When it became clear that he wasn't merely interested in profit and power, Olorio had to put him away.
It's too bad Jerimiah came to love Simon, because this new Simon/Terron is going to have plenty of reason to hate and act against Jerimiah.
Simon has a lot of suffering coming his way. He will become a very complicated character, and in many ways a person much more textured and interesting that Simon.
I think it's OK to miss Simon for his Simplicity, but I welcome the coming of the new Terron/Simon. He'll be tortured over what he's done and by the convictions that lead him to do it, but I believe that he will continue the fight for freedom and for the sharing of the Math, and he may just be the key to Solar life's resistance of Jerimiah's "Something Wicked". You have something like Angel/Angelus from the Buffyverse there, and that made a pretty good story. But it would be better in space.
As much as CBB revealed in this story, his form was consistent throughout; any question answered only lead to more we did not know. There's still more we don't know about Jerimiah, the Executives, the Equivelency, especially Terron, Mars, and dozens of other things. Also, we don't know what happened to Fartles the dog.
If CBB ever wanted to make a prequel or sequel to SOS, there is more than enough material and freedom to make it interesting and worthwhile. Let's just see...
Congratulations CBB. Great story. I'll buy a copy. Best of luck to you!
wordveri: vypncs
Vampire, you posess a never-corrupted soul.
Has nobody mentioned the snow? Is anybody still reading these?
The snow in the last chapter was a nice touch. I could see it and feel it, and that's a good thing when it's still hitting 100 degrees here on September 22. You got skills, CBB.
That's all.
wordver: jchepn
jesus christ heels pumpernickels
One thing that seemed a bit weird was the sudden appearance of Nurse Randa and her kiss for Simon. I was like - huh?
I think we were supposed to react that way along with Simon.
That may be the most unanswered questions I've ever encountered in such a strikingly well-written piece of literature.
word veri: onveki
Santa Claus in Eastern Europe, ordering his reindeer?
Note to those buying the book from Lulu: in Canada it's cheaper to buy two books to qualify for Super Saver Shipping than it is to buy one book and pay for regular shipping. Plus, CBB gets paid more! Give one to a friend!
CBB: Awesome. Your talent continues to impress and I believe you have the skill to be a real-life paid author. Looks like I forgot to buy a signed edition, but maybe I'll ask you to sign my copy if and when we meet IRL.
Constructive criticism: I think that the ending to this story is a little abrupt-- after 195,000 words we deserve a longer teary goodbye scene, even though it's probably not that fun for you to write. Simon should reflect on his "death" a little more, to give the audience a bit more feeling about the impact of his sentence, and to make the ending more firm. Yes, I know it's not really the end for Simon but it is for the book!
But of course, please treat my criticism as nothing more than a minor complaint. Ultimately Simon of Space was a gripping and exciting story. I really like how you mixed in levity with some very complex and deep ideas, and you really created a fantastic and detailed world for your characters to live in. It's like Frank Herbert meets J.K. Rowling.
Amazing work, sir. Have a drink. You deserve it.
Thank yu for writing this. I hope to see a book version of this someday. Keep up the good work.
I hope the quality of the bindings and paper is good as I plan on reading it quite a few times.
How is someone actually able to create, print and publish mass quantities so quickly?
When will they be ready to ship?
Enguiring minds want to know
Dear Dave,
I ordered the best binding available. The paper stock is not tissue, but I wouldn't expect anything too fine. I haven't published on this particular stock before (the colour storybooks use different paper).
The answer to your question is Print On Demand. There are a number of service providers around, but I still favour Lulu ( http://www.lulu.com ).
Basically, you prepare/format/design everything yourself and then send the files to them electronically. When somebody orders a book, they print and ship it. There is no inventory, no up-front investment.
Downsides of Print on Demand: you can't get the production costs as low as traditional printing, so the per unit cost is a bit hefty (i.e., my royalty on each sale is more than enough for a cup of coffee but not enough to buy lunch). Also, if anyone wants signed copies there is a compounding of the shipping costs, as the books have to be shipped out to me and then I have to ship them out to the readers again.
The upshot? Self-publishing without the punishing fees of vanity presses, and instant availability.
So...the answer is: it's shipping NOW. If you order today directly through Lulu the book will be printed inside of a week, and then shipped right to you while it's still hot of the press.
Love,
CheeseburgerBrown
Attention S. Spellmire:
Your anti-spam boundaries cannot be penetrated by my e-mail.
I cannot process your order.
Love,
CheeseburgerBrown
Great story. I've been a fan since the beginning and this was the site I would pull up first to check if there was an update. I will miss Simon :( If the publishing world doesn't sign you then they are on crack! Off to purchase a dead tree version. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your time and hard work to bring us pleasure.
CBB:
Not that you don't have enoug to do, but when can we see some SOS apparrel?
I want a T-shirt that says:
Fifty Million Hours
or
You are safe, Do not panic.
And let's not forget logowear for fellcorp, the citadel, kamari, and the QoS.
cbb, you are a gifted individual. thank you for sharing your gift with us.
Excellent, excellent, excellent work. Reading Simon of Space was one of the joys when a new issue appeared in my feed reader.
I shall be saddened to see it go.
Thanks muchly for the great story.
Hmm.
That’s my initial thought. I needed to dwell on this for awhile.
As stated above, CBB has never been one to tie down lose ends. Very much like life that way. We are certainly left with a litany of unresolved issues, relationships and motivations. I’d speculate that if written in the “conventional” form without deadline, CBB may have another 250 pages are so of content to explore/enrich.
Beautiful.
Yet I’m still left uneasy by the ending. I can’t determine if I have an inability to look past questions I hoped to have answered (J was there on Kamari why exactly? Why was TV on Calcitrates just before/after the wipe? etc), or if it’s a wonder at the justice served here. I’ve enjoyed so many novels with open endings that I suppose it’s the justice served coupled with why did it have to end because of this.
Terron, in an effort to escape justice, and perhaps to escape his own conscious, becomes Simon. Simon is coerced into retrieving the NC but along the way has shown such redemption that an Executive is risking death to allow Simon to ‘continue.’ But simply with Simon’s acknowledgement of “I am” he is to receive the memories (none of which appeared to have been restored by Dr Pemma’s procedure) et al of the ‘meatsack formerly known as Volmash’ which seems to serve the purpose Jeremiah stated when descending into the maze – (paraphrasing) atone and stand for the pain of others, ie very much a Christ figure – rather than serving the purpose of punishing TV himself; as long as the mob feels satisfied then it is the right outcome. What other possible justice is done?
There was speculation that Simon only had memories and that the good of Simon would win out over the evil of TV. But Simon himself states his life will be ending, and it didn’t seem it was a metaphor. Else why wouldn’t our new being, Terron of Simon, be capable of reporting/serializing from the other side. A simple ‘Wow that feces is fornicated up’ would show that life goes on. Otherwise at 12:01 you have someone sitting up in a cell saying ‘How’d I get here ….. wait, am I free.’ I need to reread Crusha Your Heada’s (was that ever a Kids in the Hall reference CBB?) revelations before her demise to determine the nature of these replacements and see just what kind of Simon is left.
Do you think he will be given Fellcorp drugs to handle the depression?
Regardless, that is one very accountable former tyrant.
So many questions – like, were any of those reporters names former word verifications?
Well I’m off to by an autographed copy. And get some sleep.
Ah, la moralità. Lo spirito umano.
CBB Bene Fatto. La Ringrazia. Ringraziarla veramente
DoD
Veri word fun: utgwicsm
What Cletus says in response to his daughter asking if she can join her friends at the Tasty Freeze – Ut G Wics’em (You can got with them)
I was away for a bit and got to read the last three chapters at once. Beautiful.
Cheeseburger... This was wonderful. I will not try to describe it, because your words speak for themselves.
[stands up and applauds solemnly]
here i am again, i just won't go away.
has anybody considered the irony that our beloved protagonist's initials are the internationally acknowledged code for requesting aid? simon calls for help, calls out to a cold and heartless galaxy, or perhaps he is the help that the galaxy so desperately needs. and i'm still pissed we didn't learn what "Something Wicked" was.
TRH
word veri: ksubvypg. 'kay, sub vie page. what the submarine captain says while looking over the shoulder of somebody working at a computer and browsing the screen where the subs all vie for spots in the armada.
Bravo, Bravo, Encore
no seriously. More. Please. ;)
I'll be replacing one of the amazon ads on my blog with one for Simon. Hopefully this will generate so much interest that Lulu won't be able to keep up with the demand and will have to stop producing any other books and become dedicated to producing SoS in huge quantities so that it overtakes the bible in the bestsellers lists.
last sos verifun: yrrqh. What you do Mr. Brown, you rock!
Thanks CBB, I had no idea! What a great idea for a first book.
I already emailed you with a few questions, now I'm ready to buy.
Sniglet: xzylz (Zee, lazy!)
If you had seen all that I have seen you might have understood how I came to do what I have been accused of.
Though I acted for all of Solarkind, no one understands the cost of my actions better than I do.
You were only an infant when you chose to share my burden...
I'm sorry, Simon. I am forever in your debt.
On justice:
If volmash erased his memories so that he wouldn't have to live with them, ('take the money and run') then this is the only way to deny him that.
Well, I think I've finally reached my conclusion. I don't think I really liked the last chapter. I've thought it out, and it just felt a bit rushed. I'm likely to get hammered for saying so, but I also don't really like the loose thread ending style... I feel without a certain amount of closure that I prefer. What can I say, I like comedy more than tragedy. It's not my story to write though, so I'll take it how it is.
However, I *did* love the overall story, and have already paid for my signed copy.
P.
wzdmcwpz - you got me...?
Absolutely amazing. Great story. I'm gonna go play Amazing Grace or something.
Word Verification: xfbitf - A drunk rapper.
The way I see it, Simon was telling the truth when he answered "I am" to the question, "Are you Terron Volmash?"
He is Terron Volmash, or at least, he is what TV would have been at a simpler time.
Does this make him responsible for TV's decisions? I don't know... I'm still puzzling that one out.
Also, I don't think Simon will be erased in the memory-restoration procedure. The Simon we know will "die," but the amalgamation of the two, I believe, will be more Simon than Volmash.
I base this on the way Faeda was after her memory restoration. She remembered Simon, and she still had many of the same personality quirks (psychoses... quirks... whatever). I have hope that the Simon in Simon will win out, even though he will be tortured by guilt at the memories he is given.
Veriword: kgeth
The name of the villain in a sci-fi story written by a talentless hack-of-an-amateur, K'geth.
I can't believe I didn't say this...
Awesome story, CBB, that was one of the best narrative trips I've ever taken, hands down (and I've taken quite a few).
As soon as I can afford to, I'll be getting my dead-tree edition.
People, people, how callous can you be? Please have some compassion and refer to them as "living-impaired" tree editions.
Thank you.
pneuma - I tend to agree that, although it had some great things in it, the last chapter was surprisingly short, but, wide open for a sequel! Such a great story, but I'm left to think up the end on my own.
Either way, wide open for a sequel. CBB can go to a publisher and speak the language so many of them understand -- money. "See how many people were reading this online? See how many bought the book? Now, wouldn't you love to publish the sequel(s)/prequel(s) and make some money off this thing I've created?"
I’m new to serialized novels via blogs, and I’m not sure how many quality ones are out there. (I recall some inspired community members embarking on some odysseys – I’ll check those out).
But in a note to CBB I had mentioned what an interesting psycho- socio- experiment this has been. Both to see our excitement grow by being feed the story in small segments over short intervals, and to see the nature of the community between cycles. We were even more enticed because we had the sense we could influence the story, and CBB stopped by from time to time to set us straight, tease us or just say ‘Hi.’
Its seemed more like an online classroom than a fan-forum. After each episode we all first complimented CCB, then turned our attention to one another and waxed on about themes, motivations, speculations, etc. But because we had a new episode to consider every few days, the discussions stayed relevant and engaging instead of the tripe you might find on a fan forum for traditional novels or films.
Just one fan’s belief that SoS has been more than the words scribed by CBB, our own Blighton. And that what has made it great are teddy, Lilaena, Dave, Edmund, The Sheik, Indrax, Anonymous, Denim, Mark, Phy, Simon (not of Space), and so many more.
So thanks to all of you as well. You helped make it a great ride.
DoD
Veri word: dypdl
Which of these recipes should I make for my hot date tonight … hmm … ‘dip, onion’ – no … ‘dip, horseradish – no … ‘dip, dill’ Perfect!
I had to let that ending marinate for a while, in order to distill my opinion.
It was almost unspeakably good.
I'm between employment at the moment, but the very first moment it's possible, I'll be ordering my living-impaired-tree edition for permanent perusal, and maybe a second copy to loan to friends so I can get them hooked on the magic that is Mr. Cheeseburger Brown.
veriwordfun: nlhtd. "What part of the story didn't you like?"
"None of it."
"You mean -"
"Yep. Nil hated."
:)
delirium of disorder has it exactly right. The joy of this piece of serial magic was enhanced muchly by the fan participation.
Line of the day: ... none. Poignant and sublime in its entirety, nothing spiked. Nothing needed to.
Everything else I have to say on the subject, I have already said here. Everything, that is, except this:
Thank you CBB.
Final weevee: aqbjpg (... perhaps we should all do this one? :D
)
razorsmile, that one's easy :P
aqbjpg = aqua blue jpeg :D
WOW! thank you cbb!!!!
You have a true gift, Matthew.
This has been simply wonderful.
Please do go through the re-write process and see this through to completion as a mini-series.
And do not let the Hollywood pinheads pee in your plotline.
VeriWord finale: tvrtppqo. If the "q" was a "g" it would be TV is the right place to promptly go. And I think I'll go with that.
PS: Use a narrator when you write the screenplay. After all, this is taken from Simon's narrated diary...
You get me guessing to the end, and your ending is better than any I could think of. Excellent!
I experienced laughter, tears and did a lot of thinking about what it means to be human. That's what the best SF does.
[Applause]
Dear all,
1) Holy crap -- I'm going mad processing orders for signed editions! I didn't expect to have to fulfill quite so many. Wow. Those of you who have made the request, there should be enough money for me to place the order with Lulu first thing Monday morning.
2) There will almost certainly be a 2nd edition of SOS. All of your comments, criticisms and insights will be taken into account for the rewrite. This time it will have the help of a professional editor, and some marketing. Yes folks, it's true -- I'm in negotiations with an actual publisher. Bless the Web.
3) My wife's not mad anymore.
4) A lot of you have written me very nice e-mails. And when I say "a lot" I mean a fucking truckload of you. I say this by way of explaining why I can't respond to all of you personally. I tried that for The Darth Side and it just about killed me. I gave up after just a few weeks. For SOS I'm afraid I have to draw the line sooner, for sanity's sake. But it doesn't mean I don't appreciate your words. Thanks and thanks.
Love,
CheeseburgerBrown
CBB - Glad to hear that about the publisher. I will be glad to get my signed copy of your self-published version, but especially cannot wait to unleash the "real" publication of this on my unsuspecting friends and family. I've told some of them about you already, that they will one day know your name, and they just aren't taking it seriously. It's like they have this notion that anybody who would post a novel to the web must not be very good. I've blogged about the lulu version, so folks who read that (Jim and Dave) will know about it, but my friends and family will just see it as a vanity press, I'm sure.
When it's available in stores, to them I will say:
"I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger."
Well, not really, but I will say "I told you so." Or "nanny-nanny boo boo," or something similar.
CBB:
Way to wrap it up man. I'm gonna miss this place; and keep an eye on your future work...
While I'm happy at the respose; I do hope I can get those two signed copies I just emailed for! :-)
Tell your wife she rocks, BTW
mnlby: Matt's Nice Lullaby!
i saw that you will be doing a second version and my arms shot up in excitement as i issued a little squeek of excitement. HAPPY HAPPY MORE SoSCRACK! and how about a prequel...? if it comes to a choice between an edited, perfected version of Simon of Space and a plain old release of Terron Volmash or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Nightmare Cannon (and yes, that will be the title of the prequel), i choose the story of the Kamari Horror. it would contain far more expansion to the universe we have been shown. by the way, CBB, again, when can we see some concept art? the jeremiah drawing is really good and i want to see more like it! i'd love to see Jeremiah and Simon crawling over rubble in the capital city of Metra, or especially a panoramic shot of our strange duo standing in the school. ooh ooh ooh and a bust shot of simon from the chest up smirking wryly with the Nightmare Cannon perched on his shoulder. and how about a good painting of the Face of God, that gas giant that Samundra orbits, or a splitscreen poster, one side is Greskin Mile leaning on a cab and the other is him sitting in court, or...there are a lot of cool visuals i would love to see made into posters. i would buy them all and hang them everywhere in my apartment. seriously, you want to make more money, find a print-on-demand poster company. you could also release a book of SoS art, that would work as well. t-shirts, of course. i want one that says in big bold letters,
YOU ARE SAFE
DO NOT PANIC
and thanks to indrax for the idea. logowear too. heck, if you were to go to a print shop in the city you work in (i believe it's quebec, if my memory of your blog serves me right) you could find out the costs, charge shipping and a few dollars per shirt or poster or whatever for artist fees, that would work just fine and make you a little more money. in fact, i'm sure you could even set it up so that we actually order through the print shop and pay you via paypal and they simply bill you once a month or something.
i'm something of a business nut, my parents having started their own highly successful business and me having grown up around it...anyhoo...
Simon of Space forever! Kamari Forever! Kamari Forever! Kamari Forever!
does anybody still think the executives are really the good guys? the whole domesticating humanity thing.
TRH
word veri: qlkquo. click quo. kind of like status quo, but for a computer mouse.
Let's not forget one of the "community's" premiere members - Delirium of Disorder!
But I believe that the success of a story belongs mostly to the millions of Anonymous who read it. However I shall take a teeny tiny piece of the credit and save it to show my grandchildren someday.
I imagine that the 'real' (second draft?) published version will be under your real name, or are you going to still use Cheeseburger Brown? I ask, so I can make sure I find it when it hits the shelves.
Of course, in the years to come, the original, self-published Lulu version will probably be worth a lot more. ;)
The publisher bit is fantastic, CBB, glad that this is all coming together for you. And that your wife isn't mad anymore, which is always a relief.
*hugs*
Lil'
Ah! I totally forgot the original reason for posting.
Teddy made me think of it with his request for concept art from CBB (who is madly ordering copies of his own book so he can get writer's cramp again signing them all). I'd love to see some SoS related art, but perhaps there are artists hiding among us who could surprise us with some fan art?
I'm going to bug my friend who draws. This'll be great. :)
Dear all,
The first batch of signed editions is underway. Orders will be fulfilled in the sequence in which payment was received.
Those of you who paid right away: you're owed a "thank you" by the others, as you're subsidizing their shipping until they get around to paying. It's not like I had the money to cover it (sure, I could've saved up the money and put it aside for the purpose, but that would've been too clever by half for the likes of me).
Lulu is warning of an approx. 1 week delay at this time for printing, pleading that they are being buried by too many requests.
I will send an e-mail to each of you on the day that your signed book goes in the mail, on its way to you. I will be using inexpensive shipping to keep costs down, so tracking numbers will unfortunately not be available. If your book does not turn up after a reasonable amount of time, let me know...note: for those of you in Australia "a reasonable amount of time" might be a bloody long time, as apparently the goods go by ship. And that's water-ship, not space-ship.
Love,
CheeseburgerBrown
Addendum:
If you are interested in expedited shipping, contact me.
This is probably only viable for people in North America, as the rates for expedited overseas shipping represent a terrifyingly violent jump up from the base rate such as to give me six new grey hairs just *hearing* about it from the girl at the post office yesterday.
Still, if you're rich or something feel free to inquire. I'm looking especially at you people in Asia and South America, whose parcels will apparently travel by default via rickshaw and llama, and may therefore not arrive until early 2006.
Love,
CheeseburgerBrown
on an merchandising note;
There are companies out there on the interweb like cafepress and equisto which if you give them the images/text then they will print the Tshirts/mugs/mousemats whatever as they are ordered (much like Lulu, nice to hear that they're swamped heh). Like Lulu these companies take the money from the sale and pay a small commission. I would certainly buy a SoS Tshirt with "You Are Safe" on the front and "Do Not Panic" on the back.
I second ... er third or fourth (whatever) the merchandising note. I want a t-shirt with
You Are Safe
Do No Panice
on the front and on the back
Simon on the Neago which is on fire saying:
Can I panic NOW?
CBB,
So happy to hear about the publishing house being smart. Can't wait to see you on the scifi/fantasy shelves of my local B&N :) I'm definately hanging on to my signed copy and I'm ready to do the "ha-ha" dance :P
Guys/gals,
I have to say I'm letting myself get a little more excited than I want to about this SoS phenomenon. Definitely have to have You Are Safe - Do Not Panic on each side of the shirt.
One note, though -- I bought a National Novel Writing Month t-shirt a few years ago, and WOW did it fade fast. To do quality shirts that you can wear a long time, it takes quite a bit of money.
DoD: If you don't mind, I want to use part of your post in an article I'm writing on SoS.
Indrax -
Of Course. Send us a link would you?
Flattered,
DoD
hey I started reading this like only 2 nights(or so) ago and I've been hooked on it ever since. Man for the past 48 hours I've been doing only 2 things. Read SoS, sleep. Eating's not counted since I was eating and reading it at the same time. Going to the toilet's not either cuz I'd be kinda reflecting on what I just read. Okay basically this is really one heck of a good story and I'm trying to get everyone else to read it and MAN its great great GREAT.
Just like a lot of people out there I'm wishing for an epilogue but I guess perhaps leaving the ending open like that would be good enough. Ah well, what to do?
To be honest some parts got so philosophical or CHIM ( means deep) that I understood like 1/4 of what they were talking about but WTH man it's still a great story. And I love it.
CBB ur a real genius heh
Oh btw, I liked how the titles of the first and last chapters fit : "I think, therefore" "I am"
word veri : ktksqaey
k, take it, 'sokay...
Someone already said it, but the tune that was going through my mind when SoS whistled was Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Eric Idle in Life of Brian.
Awesome story, CBB, I've been reading you since the Darth Side Memoirs and havent been disappointed yet!
"I THINK, THEREFORE I AM."
That's great, I can't believe I didn't notice that! Wow. CBB, have I ever mentioned that you have a certain genius with words?
Dear all,
At the suggestion of several (and at the design suggestion of Justin), I've set up a CafePress storefront chocked full of SIMON OF SPACE schwag.
Check it out: T-shirts, posters, mugs --
http://cafepress.com/cburgerbrown
Love,
CheeseburgerBrown
What were they whistling you ask? From MFDH.CA
“When I have nothing else to whistle I tend to whistle Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, which is also a fine book.”
I think it would make a particularly funny scene, all those reporters trying to whistle those trip-el-ets. Surprised some didn’t hyper-ventilate.
Nice schwag, CBB. Favorites, in order:
- Jeremiah T-shirt
- Mug
- You Are Safe... T-shirt
Can't buy any yet, but once the sting of the autographed lulu.com edition wears off, I'm sure I'll partake.
I know it's rare for sci-fi to be a NYT bestseller. I guess Crichton does it, but I'm not sure he did before at least one of his books became a movie. Anybody know?
It's strange, getting to experience something so completely before its "birth." I guess it will be a re-birth, when SoS hits bookshelves.
I'm working hard revising my book now, fleshing out the characters more, etc. Sometimes I lean back and say, "I wrote that?" Usually, it's in a good way, but not always. Regardless, I'm on it again and reading this has been my inspiration.
Everybody wondering what music would be used if a movie or TV miniseries were made from SoS? Well, CBB may need look no farther than his own brother.
Go here to download some of the music of the Syntax Error project. I've only listened to 2's Complement so far, and it's great. Polished, lyrical instrumentals with a modern feel. On hearing the second track, Floating Point, I immediately was taken away to Simon's universe.
Treat yourself today.
I second mark! CBB, your brother's music is amazingly well done, an excellent change of pace from the green day, sum 41, stones and other rock-out music i usually listen too. it's nearly 2am as i write this and i gotta say, the music certainly sets an awesome tone. i am only on the third song of 2's Complement (desequenced) and am in the middle of d/ling 6 and 7, but it's still awesome. i would love to see him collaborate with you on a SoS soundtrack, first of all because there is some real talent on both sides that way and secondly, with an independent musician, the feel you want it to have is certain to be taken seriously and the author, not the record companies or producers or anybody, will have final say and influence. seriously, even if there isn't a movie (which would be a regrettable sin) i would still buy a soundtrack. just put in a little leaflet saying which parts to play when we're reading what bits of the book. oh, and the apparel: no money this month. in october i will be buying THE simon of space tee and likely the cheap one as well, the poster and the coffee mug. i still want more original SoS artwork! umm...how much do you charge for commission works, if that's what it would take to get a few of my favorite panoramas from the perspective of the author's mind's eye?
TRH
word veri: npxurcuu: no pox, you're cured! you are safe, do not panic.
oh, and let's get a SoS hoodie, can we? it IS very nearly october after all
Dear all,
Re: Syntax Error
Please note that the vocals are performed by my lo-ve-ly wife (that's her on the cover, too). Also, it should be noted for the record that my brother is SOS's #1 Fan, and in fact the Lulu edition is dedicated to him.
Re: More SOS Artwork
I'd love to spend time making more SOS artwork, but for the next two weeks I'm pretty serious screwed for time...I kinda have to catch up on all the stuff I let fall by the wayside while I was crunching on SOS. I have several frighteningly massive projects whose deadlines are rapidly approaching, plus two painting commissions that are horrifyingly overdue.
Love,
CheeseburgerBrown
DoD, you're the best. The rest of you guys too...
It's funny how on subsequent readings of the final chapter, I've come to accept it as a good idea. Maybe I'm picking up on more subtleties; I don't know.
By the way, what's the price jump to get a signed edition? I saw the instructions on MFDH's book site, but I'd like to know before purchasing how much more it's going to be (like most people, I have limited funds right now).
One more rousing cheer for the wonder that is CBB's writing! I'm really happy to hear that a publisher wised up and grabbed you. Maybe we can have a convention someday, and all the original posters can have an "in" crowd table, or something like that...
Oh, and Teddy... that book title was priceless.
I'm grabbing a SoS mug from CafePress.
I'm SO tickled that a publisher is interested in CBB and SoS! And I hope that it gets made into a movie, either big-screen or small. I have very rarely ever become so attached to a character from a book, or cared so much about what happens to him. The other characters, too...after a while, you feel like they're real.
Sheik,
I charge $5.00 processing/handling to sign a book, plus it costs $7.00 to have to book shipped out to me for signing in the first place. I ship it back to you by default by the cheapest shipping (exact cost depends on where you live, but everywhere less than $10).
Love,
CheeseburgerBrown
CBB,
Sent you an email back on the 22nd for a signed edition from my gmail to yours.
I guess I'm not in the 1st wave, since I haven't seen a reply with payment info.
let me know, and i'll pay asap.
Dear AK Hepcat,
Your order information has been sent twice. It's even been sent a third, bonus time, with a variation on your e-mail address.
Check your spam box, maybe.
Love,
CheeseburgerBrown
Thanks, CBB, I just got a blank response from you! And there's nothing in the gmail spam box. Weird, weird, weird.
But at least it's getting there.
Mother of love.
I think I look at this more like Greskin and less like Simon. From my point of view, Terron committed suicide (a good thing if he was truly evil, sad but expected if he was just manipulated), and therefore gave Simon a free life. Simon and Terron do not share a soul (and in fact, do not share a body since they got it surgically altered), so since the only thing they really share is genetic material- and we-do-not hold a clone guilty of her original's crime. So in my opinion, the jury members are coitally cruel to resurrect T.V. to posses Simon, cha.
stlfyq- still fiction.
I finally have money to buy a deadtree edition and Lulu doesn't have Simon of Space anymore! Tell me I'm just making a stupid user error and that I can still get a copy of the first edition. I suppose I really am too late to get a signed one?
Thanks...
~Rae
Whoa- i am dumb. I found your post scripts.... sorry!
Rae
vary -> varry
Dear anonymous,
There is no such word as "varry."
But thanks for playing.
love,
CBB
Thanks very much. Just came across this and spent the next couple of days hooked!
Beautifully written and utterly captivating. I hope there's more to follow...
I just read through the whole story - and interesting vision, although the nature of your philosophically ideal constructs wasn't too appealing towards the end, and somewhat lacking in plausability. Similarly, I would have preferred it if the Equivalent had explored the rather more reasonable point of view that advocating random selection is itself a value judgement which cannot be justified, excluding as it does certain optimum values, in particular those of narrow equilibrium which would need to be maintained (although that would naturally be possible assuming such maintainers). I would advise a more thorough reading of Nietzche's "Beyond Good and Evil" for information on the rather common (unconscious) treatment of science as a religion which seems prevalent in this kind of story.
Writing style was nice and fluid, easy to read although it could probably be tightened up in places. Any excessive verbosity didn't detract from the narrative, though a more obviously dictated style would have been beneficial to me to maintain immersion in the diary. The structure, going back to the origins of the novel, was *most* enjoyable to read, and is probably the most suitable method for such things on the internet. I will recommend this to my friends as another online book worth reading.
Sneakbout, mail at gmail.
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