24 Comments

That was an excellent dip into sci-fi, and I love the shout out to The Suff.

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Right?! I had to giggle when I read that.

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Sally this was a delight to read, and definitely feels like sci-fi to me! So fun to see a different “side” of Ferris Island!

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I wonder what a bot would do if it could speak whale.

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It would ask a whale to take it to Sidney.

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Exactly 🙂

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Nov 11, 2023Liked by S.E. Reid

No doubt this is 100% SF, with the idea that an AI driven machine could gain self awareness by exchanging information and emotional context with arboreal living networks. Can't get much more SF than that I think. And then, whether you meant to, or it was a subconscious realization, you seem to me to have given a bit of an homage to ET!

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Nov 11, 2023Liked by S.E. Reid

Great read!!! As always, your way with words is remarkable, and the story is truly intriguing. Johnny Five as a naturalist! Feels worthy of a screenplay. Well done.

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Glad I got to meet. Druid!!! Makes later story so much more meaningful!! Love your writing!!

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Nice story - thx

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Cosy scifi, great fun. Hope Druid thrives in the woods.

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Thos was an enjoyable read. I loved that quick, Suff reference. I was starting to get M3gan vibes partway through but then you took it a different route.

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Definitely sci-fi! I would argue that sci-fi, even “hard” SF, is not fundamentally about technology, robots or aliens, but about extrapolating beyond the limits of what we currently know or are able to do in terms of science and technology, and exploring what that might look like and how it might relate to us. And this story definitely does that!

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Wonderful as always. I like your brand to sci-fi ☺️

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Nov 11, 2023Liked by S.E. Reid

Beautiful story that transcends genre.

I have to admit... for a second I thought Druid would have an acorn for a brain and the oak tree was it's literal "mother!"

Anyway, I hope he made it.

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The prose here is great. You got me wanting to try my hand at a SF story sometime.

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I really enjoyed reading this. Great story!

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Fantasy and science fiction is my favourite genre! This was so much fun! And I recognised the suff from a random reference in notes that I didn’t understand so thank you for sharing the links as I had a little poke around and enjoyed reading some of the spin offs! The suffering was particularly chilling 😱

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Nov 11, 2023Liked by S.E. Reid

This was fun! Definitely put the Ferris Island in Sci F.I. Really fascinating--and a little harrowing to think what the trees would say. Old mama Oak overriding the programming is a cool thought!

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