“the Tyranny of Numbers”, End notes
[ Endnotes posted 16 Dec 2020 ]
Where did the idea for the story come from?
In some ways it was triggered by one of the elements of the ‘Twilight’ story arc in BtVS Season 8 (and beyond), but obviously I took that in a different direction. In other ways, it took partial inspiration from a story where Buffy was confronting Quentin Travers about an action he had taken, and discovering something about the nature of Slayers she would have preferred to not be true; again, different direction. Some was just the thought of how I would go about tackling the idea of Giles as a ‘bad guy’.
Is there any particular significance to the title?
It’s actually a known term - Google it and you’ll see - though it pertains to the limits of computing power rather than anything more exotic. I just liked the sound of it.
What is the thing I like most about this story? the thing I like least, or about which I feel most doubtful?
Most: I was fairly satisfied with the characterization I did of both Giles and Dawn, but probably my single most favorite moment was when he switched off his Gloating Big Bad persona and inquired urbanely, “Tea?”
Least: Though I believe I did a decent job at it, the basic structure of the story had a LOT of talk, talk, talk. In fact, it really all came down to talk. Making conversation come across as movement is very demanding, and I occasionally wonder if I fully succeeded.
Is there anything I think I could have done better, or might do differently if I had it to do over?
As noted in the preceding, I could have added more active elements: Dawn approaching Giles, sounding him out, a (necessarily brief) action sequence where he immobilized and captured her … it could have been done, and probably would have worked. The story that actually came to me, however, seemed to want to begin in media res, and I went with what was working for me.
Was there a different direction I might have wanted to take the story, and what would have been some of the advantages of the not-taken path?
Aside from what I’ve already said, no. Maybe I should have gone about it in a different way, but this is the one I chose.
Any observations to add at the end?
Only that, in my original conception, I would have had Xander - not Dawn - confronting Giles. All told, I believe this approach worked out better.