Posted by Cyborg Hexapus on Nov 04, 2024
Thankfully this one didn't take me too long to get through in the audio department, although it does feel shorter than any other chapter...
Well, I will be working through a lot of stuff as the story goes on anyways, trying to do things for every character introduced so far... and probably adding just a few more to keep myself from bloating things too much.
Now... what should I talk about in this post?
...
Well, I suppose I should talk about the choice to try to include the Paiute in the story.
For quite a time... I've had an interest in the struggles of indigenous people, not to idealize them for their struggle, but to see just how they were able to survive genocide through centuries and bring as much of their cultures with them. Their stories, their languages, their views of the world.
Obviously, these last few chapters have focused pretty much exclusively on their struggles, in an open sense. But I want to show their joys too. Maybe even include some snippets of their stories, based on the source I've managed to get for those. I'm also hoping that, by drawing a throughline between these three major groups of people - the Paiute, the aliens, and our main trio - with their own pasts and stories... I can make them as human as they deserve to be, from someone who isn't involved with them directly. It's the first time I'll be trying to do this.
(The source I am referring to is the book Southern Paiutes: Legends, Lore, Language and Lineage by LaVan Martineau, a seemingly very comprehensive text attempting to source as much as possible for the protection of such information. (If anybody would happen to know of any other texts I should or could refer to for information, feel free to email me about them, I'd love to make sure I'm getting as much right as I can.))
I don't necessarily think I'll be going the route of making Bran, Joshua and 'Ichael the grown up children of any Paiute, or having them get adopted into their cultures... but I do intend for there to be some connection, something that helps them all move on into better lives for themselves. I want there to be a future - IRL and in the story - that draws from the things they know, into something we otherwise wouldn't be able to imagine. A positive future that takes all the good we can manage to give.
I don't think I'm the person to get that future here IRL, but I'm trying to support the people who are trying to do that; people blocking pipelines, restoring river ecosystems from damage done by dams... artists trying to speak their voice. It's all probably just one big extension of that.
I still don't know if I'll succeed in the ways I want to, but I'll keep trying.
...
Thank you to everybody who reads this, and I hope to see you in the next updates for "Oh, Isolation!"