Talks with Tory Part 1
A Fictional Talk with a Fictional Character!
21st Century Short Stories | Talks with Tory Part 1
It’s with great pleasure to announce I have received permission from Tory to share some details from her memoirs, journal entries, and other documents from the time of Emergence. Her way of writing is unique, and we see that on full display in the book (pick up a copy using this link today!) and these excerpts from her memoirs. Of course, what kind of person would I be if I didn’t ask some questions as well!
When I asked why she broke the story into different publications, she responded “It makes sense to tell the story folks want to hear, and then to lay my life out once they are curious. If it were up to me, I’d refuse to write it down at all, but someone has to. I may not be the best writer, but I was there for most of it.”
I pressed her for more details, asking why she didn’t rely on AI and ghost writers. She replied, “I know how things happened as much or more than anyone else. I also know the people who know the bits I may have missed. They’ll have their voices heard in the next book.”
She indicated that her upcoming book, Emergence: Fall of the West, was wrapping up the events between the Council and the Absolutists. This presented the question: “Why not include all these details in a tell-all memoir?”
“Because, as I said, I am not the best writer. As an Abnormal, I learned to read and write differently than others. I’ve been honing my skills but there are some hurtles I just cannot get past. Passive verbs, contractions, all these different things are foreign to me, and I struggle to accept them. We all start somewhere, and I know Stewie had the same issues. I can see it in his earlier works. That gives me hope.”
I will admit, as I reviewed the pages, I found a curious theme in them. Tory based most of her thoughts in the draft around various quotes she had written down in her journal. She told me the quotes helped orient her. It’s certainly an interesting approach to writing one’s memoir if you ask me, but it’s not like I’ve accomplished what she has. I’m just sharing my work in the hopes it helps the world (which reminds me, please subscribe to receive notifications whenever I post something new)!
I’ve decided to break things down into a few different posts. This one covers some quotes and her thoughts on them during the events of Emergence. I’ve listed them in the order they were written.
Excerpt 1 from Tory’s Journal:
“No one, no matter how powerful, should take the right of choice.”
“Mil” in the Zelu Compendium by Stewie
I am glad Vasil has the full works of Stewie. The quotes from his stories seem to speak the obvious in the most mundane and prophetic ways. It is difficult for me to articulate better than that but my time in White Tunnels reading up on history and the works of Stewie has made me find better words to speak my mind. David and the others speak about my growing confidence and I do not see it the same way as they do. They claim I am less prone to being embarrassed, but it is simply not true. I have merely found my voice to speak my mind and have the opportunity to prove myself.
I had no choices in what I learned growing up, nor was it my choice on how I learned to speak. I learned to write and speak from my parents and what little we had available to us. It was through sheer persistence in the education system that I managed break through the ceiling most Abnormals failed to hit. Any later and I would never have had the chance. They shut most of the shared schools down leaving Abnormals with limited resources and no opportunities whatsoever.
My drive and ambition to prove the world wrong was the only choice I could make and it made the burden of existing worse than most could possibly imagine. I was an Abnormal trying to survive in a world that hated me, a world that still hates me outside of these tunnels. No one should be treated that way.
No one should have their voice suppressed and their ability to live their life how they choose stripped from them. I would not wish such a fate upon my worst enemies no matter how much vindictive energy is inside me. I do not want to turn into them.
I see Vasil as a beacon of light. He offered me the choice to show what I was capable of and I am slowly rising to that challenge. I do not like leadership, but if he asks me, I think I would accept whatever his offer might be. If for no other reason than to prove him right in his theories and give credence to the Genetic Unity Deniers.
Excerpt 2 from Tory’s Journal:
“It is not the burden one bears, but the grace with which one bears the burden.”
“Gormund” in the Zelu Compendium by Stewie
As I have mentioned, I have hoisted a burden by merely existing. Abnormals are the scapegoats for all things, but even more than that those of us who seek to pursue life in regular society are always met with scorn and abuse. It is the nature of things. People who claim to be above such discrimination have always found ways to ridicule me with many common threads like the way I speak and my social awkwardness. I may speak weird in their minds, but it is how I learned! The way I write is how I learned! It is ingrained in my very being and I cannot escape it. I have to fight to force contractions into things. It’s unbearable at times… but enough of the nit-picks of myself.
Stewie offered an idea, a way forward. I might bear the burdens of the world because they said I do—and I might bear the brunt of every single damned thing that goes wrong around me—but I can find solace in the fact that I have a choice. I, an Abnormal, have a choice in the face of such attitudes! I can’t believe I did not know what choice I held and utilized for so long! I can choose to simply bear the world’s slander with grace. When I told David this morning about this very thought, his agreement surprised me in its vehemence. He saw the same wisdom in it. He said there were some religions that held the concept of grace in high regard but I’ve not touched on religious history much in any depth.
I think he was referring to the Christians and their varied practices. Maybe I should look further into the various religions of the past; they might help me make sense of the actions taken in the history books. Such a strange thing to say ‘past’ and ‘history’. Do they mean the same thing? Do the connotations differentiate them? Should there be a differentiation?
In any case, I choose a new burden. I will continue to write my thoughts down. It helps to sleep when I do. Someday, if we ever make it out of this alive, I will write about it. I have to. The world needs to know what we did. I just hope I will be competent enough to do so when the time comes.
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