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It's been ten years since I posted my very first attempt at fiction here at BCTS (or indeed anywhere). For those of you who have been around that long it was 'The Healing Dagger', a short story of about 18,000 words set in the aftermath of a global pandemic. I try not to go back and read it now. Far too embarrassing!
However far too many of you were kind enough to comment and encourage a fledgling author (and yes those comments really did matter to me and gave me the confidence to be more adventurous).
As a result 'The Frozen Balance' was born. I won't say any more about the book. You are all probably sick to death at seeing its link on Amazon pop up in your story lists. The only thing I will mention is that every penny/cent/euro/kroner it generates goes to support this site.
Then came a wonderful period of writing where I had the great privilege to co-author a number of books with the immensely talented Nancy Cole. A lady who, in my opinion, is right up there as one of the very best writers of TG/TS fiction around. We had a lot of fun with such stories as "The Legend of Alfhildr', 'God Save the Queen' and 'By Any Other Name' covering everything from the seventh century Danelaw, through the French Revolution, to mid nineteenth century Southern Germany. She has also written a wide range of other novels including the excellent Newly Chronicles starting with 'Tips'.
Unfortunately Real Life put a stop to my writing (in a good way, I completed my transition successfully) and I ended up taking a very long sabbatical. However, I'm afraid my compulsion to write has returned so I'm going to be inflicting my prose on you poor suffering souls once again.
'Cassandra' is a traditional coming of age tale with a dark undercurrent. Unlike much of the 'feelgood' TG fiction you may have read there is no universal and loving welcome here. Pockets, yes, but it will be a hard fought battle for our heroine.
I hope you all enjoy it.
Persephone
Comments
Any Relation?
Any relation to the ancient Greek Cassandra? She was given the gift of prophecy, and cursed that everyone would reject or dismiss her prophecies.
-- Daphne Xu
Relations
Daphne,
I'm afraid not. I just happen to like the name. You may see a trend here (Persephone, daughter of Demeter. Cassandra, the doomed seer of the Trojan War.)
Sorry, the curse of a classical education. :)
Persephone
Non sum qualis eram
This name?
So will you use -- what was that name? The character the Achilles heel was named after?
Did your classical education include physics more modern than Aristotle's Physics?
-- Daphne Xu
Lousy Marksmanship in the Trojan War
Daphne,
Just for you I'll see if I can work in both Hector (who killed Achilles' lover Patroclus) and Paris (the one who's archery was so bad that he hit Achilles' heel instead of the centre of the visible mass as he had been taught to do - sheesh, typical officer).
As for physics lessons, I'm sure the text books we had were entitled Physick (which as you know was an old term for a laxative. Certainly any knowledge of the subject passed straight through without lingering).
Persephone
Non sum qualis eram
Thank you
That's quite nice of you.
That shooter was a lousy marksman because he hit Achille's heel instead of his center? I've generally been a lousy tennis player. In one summer of lessons, I hit a ball on a fellow student's head. She was about 60-70 feet away. Another time, I hit the instructor -- I think squarely on his Achille's heel.
I don't really expect those who demand classical education for everyone to expect everyone to learn Aristotle's physics, while only science majors learn Newtonian physics, quantum theory, etc. But if they do, it's really bad. (One scientist complained about having to learn Aristotelian physics as a junior, while he was learning quantum mechanics.) Physics is interesting, and without physics, chemistry itself would be impossible.
-- Daphne Xu
Not a very good scientist if
Not a very good scientist if he didn't understand that each level of science is absolutely accurate, until it isn't. Understanding why one 'just worked' until hitting the wall, and being replaced by another that explained that wall and redefined the original understanding - until it hit another wall, is a good foundation of science.
Same with astrophysics, or astronomy. Knowing where we came from, and how people understood things to be in the past, is the foundation for moving beyond that. (Unless you're a member of the Flat Earth Society.)
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Festering
This comment has festered in me, long enough that I even misremembered who made it. Learning quantum theory in particular included the 19th-Century realization that something was very wrong with classical (Newtonian) mechanics -- appearing primarily in the statistics of huge numbers of particles. Learning relativity involved learning that Newtonian physics wasn't quite accurate, although there wasn't that sense of wrongness. (In this case electromagnetism promoted the discovery of relativity.) In any case, the notion of research and discovering new things pervades physics education. "Absolutely accurate"? No way.
As far as I could tell, the universal requirement of education in the ancient classics was based on the notion that the ancient classics embodied true, absolute knowledge. "Things" might have advanced, but basic fundamental ideas? Never. Or at least, one couldn't be considered educated if one hadn't read the ancient classics or "great books" -- maybe it didn't matter if one forgets most of it. I have suggested slipping "The Feynman Lectures on Physics" in among the "Great Books" in the great-book-based education.
-- Daphne Xu
My point was very simple.
My point was very simple. For those people who had to work with day to day observations, and create things for regular use, the descriptions of physics _were_ accurate - as far as they were concerned. You're focusing on the fringe cases. Fringe cases push understanding, they don't generally affect the people that make civilization run. Even today, where all of our machines, space flight, etc, required Newtonian, not Aristotelian physics, your average person couldn't really tell you the difference. (concentric circles around the earth) (Realistically, it was Galileo Galilei, not Newton, that defined much of our modern observations) If you go up to the average man on the street, and ask him what gravity might be, the most they'll say is that it makes stuff fall down to the earth, and maybe holds us in place. That's Aristotle, not Newton, or Einstein.
I'm in IT. My father was a mechanical design engineer with EE add-ons. I'm very cognizant of the various differences, but I'm also aware - unlike most school systems - that science and mathematics, beyond a certain point, have very little use for the vast majority of the population. That point? FAR lower than most people would assume.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Cassandra is a good story so far
I loved all of Nancy Cole's books, and really wish she was writing more.
I loved the story about the General's son that she posted the beginnings to here.
Good news
Looking forward to reading anything you write!
Love, Andrea Lena