Sept Poll-Challenge-The Saga

[Mistral]

ok, #1 is Capt Calhoun and #2 is the Great Pumpkin. Wait, no, it's the other way around. No wait, oh, what the heck am I doing here? It's a good thing there weren't more entries or it would be Tuesday before I got them all sorted out. Oh, wait, it is Tuesday. My bad.

Poll closes in 72 hours.

 

[captcalhoun]

i'm not voting.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Both stories were great! "Mayflies" was very imaginative and well-written, but I had to go with "Sniper:Life Story." That story really resonated with me.

Kudos to both writers!

 

[trampledamage]

i'm not voting.

pfft! I am. I think this is the best story you've written and stacking it up against entries from previous months by everyone else it deserves to win. I was planning on voting for it from the start, so I'm going to.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

OK, let me start by saying I thought both stories were EXCELLENT, and choosing between them was extremely difficult, to say the least.

But I ended up going with Calhoun's entry.

 

[Admiral2]

The cap'n and the sniper, of course...

 

[captcalhoun]

i'm not voting.

pfft! I am. I think this is the best story you've written and stacking it up against entries from previous months by everyone else it deserves to win. I was planning on voting for it from the start, so I'm going to.

it's a moral choice. i will not, have never and never will vote for my own story. and, as good as your's is, and not wanting to be egotistical, i think mine did the saga thing better. so... *shrug*

 

[trampledamage]

i'm not voting.

pfft! I am. I think this is the best story you've written and stacking it up against entries from previous months by everyone else it deserves to win. I was planning on voting for it from the start, so I'm going to.

it's a moral choice. i will not, have never and never will vote for my own story. and, as good as your's is, and not wanting to be egotistical, i think mine did the saga thing better. so... *shrug*

I agree with you - I think you did the saga better too. Yours is a true life story.

 

[Goliath]

I thought captcalhoun's story was quite good. One of the best he's ever written, in fact. But I preferred "Mayflies," for two reasons.

First, because it was more science-fictional. "Life Story" could have been set here on Earth, today, in any number of our planet's war-torn shitholes. "Mayflies" could not.

Second, because I thought its structure and conclusion were more satisfying.

So, I voted for "Mayflies."

 

[Starkers]

I went with CaptCalhoun, but let me tell you my curser hovered for a while before I clicked down, that's how close it was.

the sniper story was a simple story well told. Nothing especially original, but well written and nicely paced. The DS9 tale, by contrast, was perhaps more original, but didn't seem to flow as well.

 

[Admiral2]

I thought captcalhoun's story was quite good. One of the best he's ever written, in fact. But I preferred "Mayflies," for two reasons.

First, because it was more science-fictional.

Yes, but the "science" and the "fictional" in that story could both be nitpicked to a fare-the-well, which was ultimately why I stuck with the capt.

 

[captcalhoun]

what's not science fictional about people of various species living on a distant planet under the control of an evil empire of two other species in a parallel universe?

 

[Admiral2]

what's not science fictional about people of various species living on a distant planet under the control of an evil empire of two other species in a parallel universe?

I was referring to Mayflies, cap'n.

And I didn't say anything was "not science fictional." I said that the "science" and the "fiction" of Mayflies could be nitpicked, which means the science is mostly wrong and the fiction may violate canon.

 

[Goliath]

what's not science fictional about people of various species living on a distant planet under the control of an evil empire of two other species in a parallel universe?

It could be argued that the alien species, evil empire, and parallel universe are just space-opera window-dressing.

The core of your story consists of the psychological development of a human being who grows up under an oppressive regime, against which he ultimately rebels.

That's a story which could be told about someone on Earth, today. All you'd have to do is change a few names--the same way I changed a few things to adapt the pilot episode of The Shield to the Trek universe.

Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I've always agreed with those readers and critics who argue that a truly science-fictional story could not possibly be told without its element of scientific/technological speculation. H. G. Wells's The Time Machine, for example, could not have been told without--well, imagining a time machine. And Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea could not have been told without imagining Captain Nemo's ocean-going submarine.

 

[captcalhoun]

what's not science fictional about people of various species living on a distant planet under the control of an evil empire of two other species in a parallel universe?

I was referring to Mayflies, cap'n.

And I didn't anything was "not science fictional." I said that the "science" and the "fiction" of Mayflies could be nitpicked, which means the science is mostly wrong and the fiction may violate canon.

wasn't talkin' to you, Admiral. no offence.

 

[trampledamage]

what's not science fictional about people of various species living on a distant planet under the control of an evil empire of two other species in a parallel universe?

I was referring to Mayflies, cap'n.

And I didn't anything was "not science fictional." I said that the "science" and the "fiction" of Mayflies could be nitpicked, which means the science is mostly wrong and the fiction may violate canon.

Can't argue with your point about the science since I made most of it up off the top of my head, but I can't see the problem with the fiction possibly violating canon since there was nothing in the challenge requirements that said stories had to fit within those parameters.

 

[Mistral]

violate canon all you want, is my take on it. Following canon was never a requirement. Neither was the application of "science"-hell, y'all could have written about fairies for all that I care. They would've just had to be Star Trek fairies is all. In a "saga" -type story.

 

[Goliath]

violate canon all you want, is my take on it. Following canon was never a requirement. Neither was the application of "science"-hell, y'all could have written about fairies for all that I care. They would've just had to be Star Trek fairies is all. In a "saga" -type story.

Oh, I know. I was just indulging my own personal taste in stories.

After all--if I don't indulge myself--who will?

 

[Admiral2]

I was just clarifying what I originally said.

 

[Mistral]

violate canon all you want, is my take on it. Following canon was never a requirement. Neither was the application of "science"-hell, y'all could have written about fairies for all that I care. They would've just had to be Star Trek fairies is all. In a "saga" -type story.

Oh, I know. I was just indulging my own personal taste in stories.

After all--if I don't indulge myself--who will?

I know a gal in Vegas...

There aren't any votes from Xeris, Dnoth or Gibraltar. We're gonna need this tie broken, people!