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Glitch in the Machine:
My thoughts:
This story is the second one in the Hewett series. My first Matt/Ginny story “Matters of the Heart” was such a blast to write, I didn’t know it I’d be able to top it as far as pure writing pleasure goes. But this turned out to be just as much fun.
My original plan was not to include Ginny as much as I wanted Matt to interact with some of the other characters a little more. As with most of my stories I always know what the disaster is going to be but I seldom know how the plot will resolve itself. Yes I’m along for the ride as well. As it worked out I couldn’t leave Ginny out of all the fun as it just wouldn’t be realistic. (Besides, Matt missed her.)
I dove into Keith’s back story a bit as the series was confusing on his past and I saw a chance to clear up an inconsistency in the episode “Identified.” When Straker asked Ford, “How long have you been with us?” Ford answers two years. But we know from “Confetti Check A-OK” he was one of the first recruits, along with Nina, Joan, John Masters, and a few others. I have Keith clarify that he was assigned to HQ two years before “Identified.” It was fun portraying him as a family man as well.
The “techno-babble in this story was mostly based on real technology and the explanations given are technically accurate. As is almost always the case the technical stuff should forward the plot, not be the plot although the “glitch" certainly was part of the plot in this story. I think I did okay balancing the two aspects.
I have featured the character of Jen in quite a few of my stories. I introduced her in “Mission of Mercy” and it has been fun to see her develop into the woman she is shown as in this story. I don’t see her as brash, but she is not afraid to go after what she wants. I portray her as someone who is just as brilliant as Ginny but less reserved. (She’s a native New Yorker with a lead foot after all.) And she is a very perceptive individual. Ed is going to have his hands full with her.
This story ended up following the standard three act structure, with three separate disasters; the glitch in the communications system, the undetected attack on Moonbase, and the infantry style assault. The various subplots all support the main body of the story.
Louise made an observation that the relationship between Matt and Ginny is much deeper that the one between Ed and her, in the “Soul Mates” Saga. I’m forced to agree with her and I think the reason for that is the personality dynamics between the characters. While Ed and Matt share some basic core beliefs, Ed is much more reserved than Matt. The Ed/Ginny dynamic in “Soul Mates” is more of a, one on one relationship, with Ginny being the more social of the two. (I portray Ginny to be much warmer than she was shown in the series.) In the Hewett series Matt is clearly more outgoing and Ginny really gets to let her hair down when she is with him. There is enough similarity to form a bond yet differences that keep the relationship interesting.
The same dynamics will come into play with Ed and Jen. Straker has been isolated for years and has formed a shell that very few people get to enter. In this storyline Alec has succumbed to cancer and Virginia has become Ed’s best friend. As we learned in “Matters” the relationship goes deeper than that; not lover’s but certainly more than friends. When Virginia’s husband arrives at HQ, Jen sees how it has affected the commander, and offers him comfort. A mutual attraction is brewing here as is revealed later in the story. At the poolside Jen crosses over to Ed’s comfort zone, knowing he would be uncomfortable with a public display of affection, even though she would have loved for him to scoop her up and jump in the pool as Matt did with Ginny. I purposely left the details of their later rendezvous to the imagination but I can tell you it was more than holding hands with their feet in the water. (How good is your imagination?)
“I wrote a lot of dialogue in this story, both internal and external. Dialogue is one of my favorite parts to write as it can really get the reader to identify with the characters. Internal dialogue can be extremely powerful as it gives the reader an untarnished view of the characters soul. In one scene Matt has finished a conversation with his wife and is sitting back in the Commander’s chair contemplating the awesome responsibility that Ed carries on his shoulders. It was a very deep look into the Commander personality from Matt’s point of view.
For the climax of the story I wanted to try something a little different. With Moonbase’s defenses down the aliens could have easily destroyed the base. An infantry style assault on the base was an idea that had been floating around in my head for a while and it was fun to be able to do it in this story. It added a new dimension of drama to the attack.
I was surprised how much Matt developed as a strong character in this story as I put a lot of myself and my core beliefs into him. At one point Matt is trying to convince Ed that he needs to go to Moonbase. I almost thought it was written too strong when Denise commented that Matt had some “serious stones” a point she later clarified stating that she was in awe of him for a moment. I especially enjoyed the war of thought between Ed and Matt at that point. And truth be told, Matt’s reason for wanting to go to Moonbase was twofold. Of course he wanted to help Jen get the tracking system back up, but he was also concerned for his wife.
I wanted Matt to be able to show some of his resourcefulness by assisting with some of the repairs on the base. By having him work on systems he would be familiar with, I kept the story in the realm of realism. He was able to utilize his civilian skill set and still make a difference in the outcome. He wouldn’t know enough to repair the particle beam weapon or the utronic systems but antenna and weapons positioning systems are old and proven technology, as are the S-band microwave communications systems, used during the Apollo missions.
At the end of the story we see Ed and Jen taking the first steps to a deeper relationship. The “study” of course refers to the computer relationship study required to be performed on SHADO personnel wishing to pursue a romantic involvement with someone inside the organization.
The last scene shows Matt in a contemplative mood considering his recent acceptance of a commission in SHADO. As a modest person he questions his suitability for the role and still feels unworthy of the “honor” that has been bestowed on him. Of course Ginny will have none of it and she lovingly shows him his worth and ability. That’s right Ginny; you give him the what for.
I took a lesson from Denise’s recent essay on romance for the midnight swim using the, with or without, exchange to set the scene. The rest is left to the imagination. Mine’s pretty good; how’s yours?
I was able to work seven of the phrases and slogans (plus one unofficial one) into the story making all of them flow naturally with the scene. The voiceprint identification box was a gimme for the tough one which was my old quote from the Sanskrit. Picture Alec in “Identified.” He opens the cigar box and speaks, “But soft, what light by yonder window breaks, it is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” That was a classic line! The other tough one was the “Knee deep in ironing” but that one fit right in with Matt telling Ginny that she’s pregnant. As Guina had pointed out it was a nice switch for the husband to tell the wife as it’s usually the other way around. The unofficial one was “The Man” as Denise likes to call Ed.
I had as much fun writing this one as I did with “Matters of the Heart”. I hope everyone enjoyed it.
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