Lorinda J. Taylor
@termitewriter.bsky.social
1.1K followers 870 following 1.6K posts
Retired librarian, writes SF/F about intelligent termites, first contacts, future history. Books at http://amzn.to/u9bYWa
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
Featuring my series The Man Who Found Birds among the Stars. 7 5-star reviews on v.1: "... a story of flawed heroes and perfect plot, of hard science and tender hearts. It is intelligently written, fantastic entertainment for the imagination." amzn.to/2iTNuUd
#SciFiSat [No #androids but I have “servobots.”]
Recycling teams hissed along in their haulers, disappearing into utility tunnels beneath the buildings. Here & there servobots bustled about like industrious mechanical spiders, picking up trash and sprucing up the grounds.
#vss365
#SciFiSat The lower deck housed the bunkrooms; laboratory, medical and research bays (including a cryostorage unit); a tiny galley; and a common area with a table and seating. An inactivated servobot brooded balefully in a corner.
#vss365
#SciFiSat Kaitrin, Gwidian, and A’a’ma returned to their quarters together, accompanied on the lift by one of the strange, long-legged Kr♪isí’i’aid servobots that talked incessantly to themselves in an absent-minded twitter. [Don’t forget that the ILFs of Krisí’i’aid are Big Birds]
#vss365
#SciFiSat [1/2] “Professor, with all due respect, all of the Krisí’i’aidá smell – a bit off.”
“We do?” In considerable alarm, Tió’otu stuck his beak against his own breast, his nostrils dilating. “Odd. I notice nothing.”
#vss365
#SciFiSat [2/2] The lift had stopped to let out the servobot, which was muttering crankily, as if it could understand what was being said and had no patience with it.
#vss365
#SciFiFri [1/6] Yang gathered himself together and said, “I accepted the command. … And then The next day Robbie went to Hurtline and told him he had changed his mind and wanted to command the mission after all. …
#SciFiFri [2/6] “I was in the Admiral’s office when he did that, and Hurtline made it eminently clear afterward that it was Robbie he had wanted all along and that he had expected him to come around. He used me to keep Robbie in the fold.”
#SciFiFri [3/6] “I don’t understand,” said Lara impatiently. “Why wd your appointment make Nikalishin change his mind?”
Kibby said, “I wd guess Kolm reminded him that Yang’s inexperience meant, if Yang flew the mission, a disaster was much more likely than if Robbie flew it.”
#SciFiFri [4/6] “Here is exactly what he said,” said Yang. “‘That sick bastard used you to force me to change my mind. You see, I don’t want to be responsible for your death.’ But I was so upset at this final humiliation that I said I thought Eiginsh’s models were correct …”
#SciFiFri [5/6] “Shane, how could you think that?” said Prf. Lara.
“I don’t suppose I really did. Anyway, Robbie told me I was deluded and so he was even more glad he was doing it and not I. I exploded at him and announced I was putting in for a transfer to Ground Command. …
#SciFiFri [6/6] “Then he said I ought to wait because after the mission was over, I might be rid of him permanently.”
Prf. Flournoi said, “So that’s why he and Kolm flew. Because they knew they were the only ones who might be able to pull it off. To save lives if it was possible.”
Unfortunately, I had to look up the meaning of that Hebrew phrase - so now I say, Thank you!
I took my swollen, painful ankle to the ER this morning and it's not a blood clot. That's good, but they had absolutely no idea why it was swollen & so sore when I step on it. So that was a waste of time and effort, in my opinion. Maybe things will get back to normal tomorrow.
[1/2] “You know how on a space port, even with the dampening fields around the inhabited sectors, there is always that deep #undertone – kind of a low-frequency rumble that comes through the very ground – because of the flyer engines and the landings and takeoffs …”
#vss365
[2/2] Robbie was nodding. “When I was in the Academy, we used to call that #undertone the ‘Base bass.’ I notice its absence, too, when I’m away, especially in Eira. In the summer they sleep with the windows open and you have those roosters and dogs, and the goats bleating…”
#vss365
#SciFiSat [1/6] Soon the Wet Time would arrive; it was not the best time for waging a war, but if the shwei’na’vrun’zei| chose to fight in the mud and the downpours, the Marchers would show them how it was done!
#vss365
#SciFiSat [2/6] Fog made the enemy’s poison worse, but a driving rain washed it out of the air. That could be an advantage.
The Cohorts were deployed in the clearing all around the fortress. All we could do was settle in and wait for whatever might happen next.
#vss365
#SciFiSat [3/6] The inactivity was starting to strain the patience of the Commanders. There was not enough brush or easily obtainable stone or even a sufficient workforce to build shelters for the entire army and the rain was getting on everyone’s nerves.
#vss365
#SciFiSat [4/6] Zhu’zi’a’ro’a called a War Council where everyone wrangled over the next step. Some wanted to persevere for another 12 days, some thought all troops should withdraw until the rain lessened, and some thought part of the army should pull back to Vu’rak’vit’cha.
#vss365
#SciFiSat [5/6] It rained during the darktime, but dawn revealed a dappled sky and some misty sun. One eye of the Nameless One peeped between the clouds, then dodged behind a peak and disappeared. I had offered to serve as an Eye-Sentry on the wall…
#vss365
#SciFiSat [6/6] Then I saw Lug’tei’a posture up toward the sky and I took its sending. “Holy beloved Nameless One! I summon blessing from your sky!”
And as if in answer there came a flash of lightning and the ground shuddered with thunder! And it began to pour rain!
#vss365
#SciFiFri [A medical drill is underway.] “You’ll have to take off your clothes, tho. That doesn’t waste any power.”
“Goddam.”
“You want us to play our part, don’t you? You want to judge how your medical staff reacts to this kind of emergency.”
“Aw, I already know what you can do.”
#SciFiFri When Kibby popped into MedBay a few minutes later, he found his disgruntled commander installed in a scanning bed, clutching a blue-and-white striped blanket over a skimpy green gown. “Congratulations, Robbie!” said Kibby. “You figured out a way for the Captain to be truly off duty!”