Followers of the Space Sloth,

First, I apologize if you are getting this update twice.

I’ve been out of touch with Inkshares for a few days and thought I’d give my followers an update. A week ago I ran a Spartan Sprint. The heat index was over 100 and the event was held on a ski resort. It was…challenging (?). Character building. An experience I can draw on for future stories and obstacles. Ok, it was just hard. Although on the plus side most of the places on my legs I tore skin off are healing.

The next day I left for the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) conference. There are always things there that inspire me and remind me why I do my full time job. The main plenary speaker was Lisa Jackson, Apple VP of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, and former Administrator of the EPA. The takeaway from that was helping students find ways to be engineers without having to sacrifice who they are.

And I suppose I should mention the conference was in New Orleans, a very cool place to get inspired for new story ideas. The French Quarter, St. Louis Cemetery #1, Lafayette Cemetery, the Garden District (yes, walked past the Anne Rice house). Also spent some time with my wife looking at local artists’ work and stopping through some galleries. Some very interesting work by both street and gallery artists.

And while none of this seems to directly relate to the science fiction worlds of Fortunes of the Space Sloth or Stage Clear I believe all experiences are valuable. We’ll just have to see where these end up taking me. Now…back to the stars. 

Greetings followers of the Space Sloth,

Good Evening Followers of the Space Sloth,

I’m throwing out an opportunity for followers of "Fortunes of the Space Sloth". Any group (club, business, group of friends) that can pool together at least 10 Pre-Orders will get their own short story. The story will be set in the Space Sloth universe and will feature their group members in some way.

Greetings Followers of the Space Sloth! 

It occurs to me that I have been remiss in posting additional excerpts from the story. So I’ll make a deal with you. If we can get the orders up to just 50 I’ll send out the full Chapter 5. 

In Chapter 5 the Space Sloth starts to investigate the system they are in and makes an interesting discovery. It sets the stage for the next several chapters, a life threatening situation, and a cosmic mystery. 

Aren’t you a little curious? 

Thanks for the support. 

Greetings Followers of the Space Sloth, 

I’m sorry for the long silence. We took a quick vacation to Chicago and have been dealing with a moth infestation in our garage (any suggestions on that topic are appreciated). 

For this update I wanted to take a minute to talk about communication. All the sarcasm and adventure aside communication plays a really big role in the story. Our intrepid, but reluctant, crew does have to interact with a few other species during their journeys. I spent a fair amount of time considering how this inter-species communication would occur. Universal translators are great but didn’t seem to meet the tone of the story. I settled on using associations. 

Our memory works by forming associations, between images, sounds, smells, feelings, concepts… In the story the aliens communicate by searching for mental constructs that approximate the association they are trying to make. Two of the alien races are therefore given names we (i.e. humans) already know because they convey the same associations. The Krell and the Nephilim. 

I’ll leave it to you to ponder what those associations could be...:)

And hey, quick reminders. There is one more day for the Draftfest. If you haven’t already have a look at some of the drafts up and give some feedback. And the next contest is underway, the Nerdist Video Game Contest.  

Greetings Followers of the Space Sloth! 

It’s been a couple updates since I talked about the writing and funding process itself, so here goes. For those of you who are new to the book there is a completed first draft. Keep in mind the sample chapters on Inkshares are from this draft. 

Through the kindness of friends and family it is getting a thorough critique and is transforming as we speak. One person is reviewing it for interest, one for content, and one for structure. I’ve also been going through and adding bits and pieces of backstory and information that got left out the first time. I really am very happy with how the story is fleshing itself out. Publication aside, the fact that people are reading…and enjoying…the story is pretty cool. 

The funding process is chugging along slowly. The semester has come to a close. The paperwork is (almost) done. And my spring 50K ultramarathon is completed (Spartan Race is next if anyone is curious). So, more time for writing, editing, and promoting the book! 

Wish me luck and keep spreading the word where you can. The Space Sloth and her crew still needs your help. 

PT 

This glimpse into the world of “Fortunes of the Space Sloth” is brought to you from the Universal News Network archives. If you are intrigued to discover how the Agave Springs may factor into the story please express your interest with a Comment, Recommendation, or Referral. And if you really feel like you have to I’ll even accept Pre-Orders…

Mars Station (UNN) – The search was called off today for the civilian space service vessel Agave Springs.  The ship was under contract to make a colony resupply run to the new Minneopa sector.  The Agave Springs made its last check-in with TSA Control just before entering the Minneopa jump zone.  Two days later a courier vessel returning from Minneopa reported that she had not arrived and no trace or wreckage could be found of her.  A thorough search by TSA and Navy vessels failed to turn up any trace.  A review of ship’s logs and interviews with docking personnel at Mars Station have provided indications that the Agave Springs’ fusion engines may not have been maintained correctly and were operating beyond normal TSA allowed tolerances.  The investigative team concluded that the Agave Springs was a victim of fatal engine failure resulting in the destruction of the vessel during wormhole transit.  Charges have been filed against the vessel’s owners and several personnel at the Mars Station inspection facility. There were 32 crew and passengers aboard the Agave Springs.  Notable among these was Cynthia Le Sueur, retired actress and activist for colony rights.  She was in route to permanently retire as a colonist.  (Archive #A45998J2)

You have requested a brief lesson on “Spacer Families” via the Wiki-Teacher service. By opening this message you have agreed to have your TSA account charged 2.25 credits.

Spacers is a generic term applied to individuals who live the majority of their lives someplace other than a major planetary body (i.e. in orbital stations, on asteroids, or in interplanetary space). While Spacers are passionate toward self-reliance and personal freedom they also value organizational structure. The majority of Spacers practice a philosophy of neo-Taoism and have a tendency for nostalgia.

Spacers are organized into several collective bodies referred to colloquially as Spacer Families. Originally these were groups of individuals with similar backgrounds, be they nationalistic, ethnic, or philosophical. During the early years of space colonization fatal accidents were numerous. This resulted in a large number of orphaned children without a civic infrastructure established to care for them. As the various Spacer groups started caring for these children their organization changed to a family, or kinship, structure.

Through breeding, training, and attitude Spacers are known to be the best low and zero gravity workers in the system, although they can be difficult to work with at times.

Family names do not indicate a genetic relationship. All members, regardless of heritage, adopt the same last name. The Family names were chosen for various reasons although many experts will suggest that not a lot of time was spent thinking about them. There are currently five recognized Major Families:

• Armstrong – The majority of the members have an association to North America. This is the most highly structured of the Families with many connections to asteroid mining.
• Korolev – While the founding members traced their ancestry to Eastern Europe the current demographics are more diverse. This family specializes in ship construction and repair.
  
• Shenzhou – The majority of this Family’s members trace their ancestry back to China or neighboring Asian countries. With diversified interests this Family prefers to work with space based agri-businesses.
  
• Rogers – A highly multicultural group whose members share little ethnic or national similarities. They are the Jack of all Trades of the Families.
  
• Gordon – The most eccentric of the Families. Prone to exaggeration this Family is nonetheless known for taking on challenging, near impossible, low gravity contracts.
  

Minor Families – Over time smaller Families have disappeared or been absorbed into the larger groups (e.g. the Goddard and Gagarin branches). Still, a number of small groups continue to reappear over time (e.g the Bakers). It is not clear if the Spacers currently living in new colony systems will remain as sub-branches of the Major Families or eventually split off into their own groups.

Do you have any further questions on this topic? Charges will apply.

Thank you for using the Wiki-Teacher service, your best source for information and educational lessons while in space. And remember, Wiki-Teacher practices a strict No Refunds policy. So don’t ask.

If you liked this update for Fortunes of the Space Sloth please let others know by writing a review, making a recommendation, or consider clicking that Pre-Order button now!  Thanks.

Greetings followers of the Space Sloth,

We have reached the T-90 day mark and the start of the summer push for support. My plan was to have all the grading and semester work done by now but I have about two more days of grading left. Multiple choice tests always seem like such a good idea at the END of the semester.  Please be patient as I resist the urge to have a nervous breakdown.

Writing "Fortunes of the Space Sloth" has been an adventure. The story reveals new pieces of itself to me every day and I’m eager to share more. I just know you’ve been dying to get answers to questions like...

Who is Buttercup? And what is her real name? Why is she running around with a nuclear weapon as an accessory?

What was Sebastian’s upbringing like? How is Spacer culture organized? And why IS he such as ass?

And why should they really be keeping a closer eye on Jocko?

These questions, and many others, will be answered in Fortunes of the Space Sloth! (insert your own echo effect fade out)

PT