Dragonfly over Kazakhstan by lsellers (13+)
Fandom: PRIMEVAL
Pairing: None
Length: one-shot, around 7,000 words
Author on LJ: lsellersfic
Author Website: Louise Scribblings
Why this must be read:
There aren't many stories in the fandom that have a harder SF edge, but this is one of the best exceptions. It's an eerie little story, one in which - in spite of its relatively short length - the world building is strong and gives a sense of the way that timelines colliding can really mess things up. In short, Nick comes out on the other side of an anomaly and realises just how much Helen's experiments have changed everything.
It's a very interesting, and creepy, idea, and lsellersfic runs with it and runs with it well. What makes it particularly interesting is the fact that it's not told from Nick's point of view, which adds another eerie edge to it.
"And what would you be?" he asked.
"My name is Stephen," I replied. He blinked, slowly, once. One hand reached out for my face but then dropped back suddenly. He said nothing.
"My current form is based on the idea of a dragonfly," I added into the awkward moment, "but with adaptations which allow me to process solar energy to an extent. And you are?"
"Cutter," he said, "Nick Cutter."
"You look human," I commented.
"You sound surprised. Humans are extinct I take it."
"It is hard to tell, but I think not. Although they never like to think so, a lot of humans adopted the predator form. However it is a long time since I met someone who chose the human form. It is not terribly efficient in many ways."
"Chose the human form?" there was a tone of vehemence, or perhaps disbelief in his voice.
I looked at him carefully, unanswering. He reply suggested to me that he didn't really understand what I was saying. This in turn gave me food for thought.
"That anomaly," I said at last, "it led back to the early 21st century?"
"Aye," he nodded.
"But you have never heard of the Shanghai nanites?"
"Never."
"That doesn't make much sense to me, they reached back to the 21st century long ago. In so far as long ago makes any sense when you're talking about time travel."
Dragonfly over Kazakhstan
Pairing: None
Length: one-shot, around 7,000 words
Author on LJ: lsellersfic
Author Website: Louise Scribblings
Why this must be read:
There aren't many stories in the fandom that have a harder SF edge, but this is one of the best exceptions. It's an eerie little story, one in which - in spite of its relatively short length - the world building is strong and gives a sense of the way that timelines colliding can really mess things up. In short, Nick comes out on the other side of an anomaly and realises just how much Helen's experiments have changed everything.
It's a very interesting, and creepy, idea, and lsellersfic runs with it and runs with it well. What makes it particularly interesting is the fact that it's not told from Nick's point of view, which adds another eerie edge to it.
"And what would you be?" he asked.
"My name is Stephen," I replied. He blinked, slowly, once. One hand reached out for my face but then dropped back suddenly. He said nothing.
"My current form is based on the idea of a dragonfly," I added into the awkward moment, "but with adaptations which allow me to process solar energy to an extent. And you are?"
"Cutter," he said, "Nick Cutter."
"You look human," I commented.
"You sound surprised. Humans are extinct I take it."
"It is hard to tell, but I think not. Although they never like to think so, a lot of humans adopted the predator form. However it is a long time since I met someone who chose the human form. It is not terribly efficient in many ways."
"Chose the human form?" there was a tone of vehemence, or perhaps disbelief in his voice.
I looked at him carefully, unanswering. He reply suggested to me that he didn't really understand what I was saying. This in turn gave me food for thought.
"That anomaly," I said at last, "it led back to the early 21st century?"
"Aye," he nodded.
"But you have never heard of the Shanghai nanites?"
"Never."
"That doesn't make much sense to me, they reached back to the 21st century long ago. In so far as long ago makes any sense when you're talking about time travel."
Dragonfly over Kazakhstan