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Quite the unexpected ending.......
You had me laughing with this one!
D. Eden
“Hier stehe ich; ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir.”
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Laughter is the best comment
Laughter is the best comment, at least to me. Maybe in time they will write the book of pancake recipes as well.
thanks for the comment!
- Io
A stagnant society
With their only thought being able to fight, they would never even consider necessary developing anything else but a better fighter. In that respect their society has stagnated.
These people could never exist outside of this world they live in. The outside world would destroy them in the process of putting an end to their brutal way of life. They could never understand a world where fighting for honor is no longer thought to be a necessary part of living. They would never understand that not fighting does not dishonor anyone, as they believe.
MacGregor was a survivor, one who had learned the adage of "there's always someone meaner" than himself. Henry was naive in that area, never having the need to worry about surviving in a situation that he's been forced into.
The one thing missing in this story is an explanation about how these people came to be in this underground world. Or how they gained all the knowledge of the plant world. And where all the different goos were found.
This is an interesting story, so different than other stories. It flowed in a very linear manner, which made it easy to follow.
Others have feelings too.
There is a lot more to say about the people underground
I appreciate the thought you put into your comment. There is a lot that I couldn't or didn't put into the story. I've actually had all of this in my mind for more than ten years.
Among the Fomoiri (which is what these people are called), there is an emphasis on fighting, but it's because there are other groups of people underground, with whom they have armed conflicts. However, the fighters are a low class: MacGregor says (truthfully) that he is as much a slave as Henry.
Virtually all of the Fomoiri's ingenuity and research and technology goes into botanical science. The goos are all plant-based. The phosphorescence is plant-based technology. They know a lot about health and healing and improving the conditions of their life. If you think about the scenes in the school, the boys and girls learned together, and there was no time in the day for fighting. They were developing their minds.
While they developed all this botanical knowledge, they DIDN'T work on improving their martial arts. Or their amorous arts. So, yes, they are or were very insular, isolated, and probably as vulnerable as you say.
I do have a lot to say about how they got there and why they're down there, but that's for another story, I guess.
thanks again,
- Io
A romp in the underworld
Jules Verne it ain't, as I said previously, how were they studying botanical science when green plants need to photosynthesise and where were they getting their vitamin D, again it's synthesised in the skin by sunlight? At least MacGregor was trying to stay alive and trying to help his friend do the same.
Angharad
The one implausible bit
Okay, I concede! You've found the one implausible bit.
Perhaps in a future rewrite I will have their food delivered.
hugs,
- iolanthe
I really hope that Michelle Nylons doesn’t discover this story
If she does, look out Underworld. She’ll rewrite the manual.
Jill
Oh, Lord, won't she!
Those poor underworlders won't know what hit them!
Thanks for making me smile,
- iolanthe
As Alexander Pope would say . . .
. . . the proper study of mankind, is man. Which is kind of a pitch for Anthropology. Henry seems destined to give it a (brave, new) twist!
An interesting story . . . Though it feels like you have lots of thoughts about the origin of this curious society that didn’t fit into the tale as such. A sequel, perhaps? It’s impossible to say how Henrietta’s “innovations” will alter — or even undermine — their ossified social structure. I’ll confess I like the idea of getting the intrepid Ms. Nylons to update their manual!
— Emma