ARTICLE 37 FREE ZONE - WARNING ENTER HERE ONLY AFTER LISTENING TO EPI 30

[jtollert]

So was there any significance with all of the attention put into the location of the key to the ship other than pointing to Ish's overall distraction?  Any reason why the Iris had systems that seemed 10 years too old and a communications network running significantly slower than normal?  I'm just not sure if these were leading anywhere or if they had anything to do with the purpose behind the ship's design that we were weren't privy to?

[nlowell]

So was there any significance with all of the attention put into the location of the key to the ship other than pointing to Ish's overall distraction?  Any reason why the Iris had systems that seemed 10 years too old and a communications network running significantly slower than normal?  I'm just not sure if these were leading anywhere or if they had anything to do with the purpose behind the ship's design that we were weren't privy to?

It was a symptom of his being over his head. He kept dithering around when he *should* have just taken it to the bank and put it in a rental box.

The systems were factory installed and downgraded to keep the ship's new price below some threshold. Had nothing to do with the plot, but did give you something to worry about.

[surfsailor]

A common theme through all six books, Ishmael helps the people around him.  In most instances he brings about some growth and whom ever he is helping becomes more than they were before.  At the same time Ish seems to gain as well, sometimes in great bounds and others only incrementally.

From early on he demonstrates a perceptiveness that seems beyond the normal.  His immediate understanding that the whelkies are more than they appear shows this aptly.  His understanding that 'Lois' is more than a name on the roster also serves to illustrate the point.  Is it coincidence that he meets and helps Sarah Krugg, the daughter of a very powerful shaman?   

Otto Krugg and those like him 'listen to the world'.  Man is no longer confined to 'the world', perhaps there are those whose senses are tuned to a greater range.  Master Newmar seems a likely candidate.  Perhaps too Chief Stevens.  Consider Ishmael's power to affect change after several years under Master Newmar.  He has gone from helping a few people to healing an entire ship and much of the crew.  Fifteen years later he loses his way and Chief Stevens happens to be on station when he needs yet another engineer. 

Several months with her has him becoming more and more in tune with the universe around him.  He gains a greater perspective for his place in it and on the events that have lead him to it.  Right and the end of OS he is thinking about his future, specifically about the dolphin and upon making a decision hears/feels that same 'snap' the Otto heard placing the heart into his first whelkie. 

My point is this, perhaps Ishmael's future or destiny or whatever is not as a spacer at all.  Or at least not as just a spacer.  Perhaps that last year culminating in Greta's death served for Ishmael the same purpose that box fish did for Richard Krugg.  Most of us (me included) have been caught up in the idea that Ishmael belongs in space, and well he might.  But, we have not actually seen him any other role.  Ishmeal Horatio Wang - Galactic Shaman.  I like it.

Am I seeing movement in the shadows where there isn't any?  Perhaps.  Probably.  But as Nathan has pointed out, we have only scratched the surface of Ishmael's potential.  I can't wait to dig a little deeper.  Write on Mr. Lowell, write on.

[planish]

Most of the alternatives and suggestions are variations on "and they lived happily ever after" and ignore the reality that in order to end the Shares, Ishmael has to go back to NOT being a spacer. He's not running away, as some of you have suggested. He's not selling out. He's completing a part of his journey. It's part of life. Every so often, if you're very lucky, you get to gather yourself, assess your circumstances, and find a new trajectory. From that standpoint, this book is right in line with the other stories.

At first, my reaction was "wait ... what? I thought that he was going to go back to being a spacer in some capacity or other, but with a sense of having been renewed. Or some such.
But you're right about changing courses through circuitous routes. (Oh, was that a mixed metaphor?) Sorry.) One of Canada's best-known TV national news anchors started out in the Navy, then dropped out of college, worked as a baggage handler, got hired by a radio exec who heard him make an announcement over the airport PA system, etc. You never know.

A common theme through all six books, Ishmael helps the people around him.  In most instances he brings about some growth and whom ever he is helping becomes more than they were before.  At the same time Ish seems to gain as well, sometimes in great bounds and others only incrementally.

That was what I got from the last chapter.

Ish: "Usually it's given out by the village shaman, to someone who needs strength or guidance"
[snip]
Stacey (nodding at the collection on the desk): Looks like you've got your work cut out for you.

Earlier, Ish says "a rough bundle reminded me of a task I needed to do." It sounds to me like he's not ready to give up that role, whether he does it as the captain of a ship, or what.
Also, like Otto Krug, Ishmael didn't have any Owner's Manual to follow doing what he did. He just winged it.

About the dolphin whelkie: My take on that is that unlike Captain Ahab ...

The harpoon was darted; the stricken whale flew forward; with igniting velocity the line ran through the grooves;—ran foul. Ahab stooped to clear it; he did clear it; but the flying turn caught him round the neck, and voicelessly as Turkish mutes bowstring their victim, he was shot out of the boat, ere the crew knew he was gone. Next instant, the heavy eye-splice in the rope's final end flew out of the stark-empty tub, knocked down an oarsman, and smiting the sea, disappeared in its depths.

... Ishmael is able to give up his cetacean, and move on.

Finally, I don't think it was really a downer ending. The last episode reminded of the opening theme music to the TV show Millenium. It's all scary, tragic, and sad until the very last chord where it changes to (I think) a major 7th, which completely brings the mood up.

[nlowell]

Oh, I suspect he'll head back to being a spacer, but he's going ashore at the end of OS ... and returning to his roots.

I'll be REALLY interesting to see where I go next.

And keep in mind, I've only got the sketchiest notion of what's going to happen.

Also remember that when I sat down to write Quarter Share in 2007, I had a gimmicky first line, an cliche orphan, and the idea that i wanted to tell a story. That's about all.

And NOW look that's happened.

Hmm...Looking at it like that, I'm a little scared.

[chess]

Oh, I suspect he'll head back to being a spacer, but he's going ashore at the end of OS ... and returning to his roots.

I'll be REALLY interesting to see where I go next.

Yes, I am really looking forward to these future stories.  After having listened back to episodes 27-30 multiple times now, it seems clear, at least to me, that OS had to end the way it did, in order to keep open these possibilities.  I can imagine all sorts of futures for Ishmael and it will be very interesting to see where you decide to go with them.  After Cape Grace, of course.  Right? ;-)

[Richard]

@Nate - It's my understanding that only having a sketchy notion right now just means the coffee's still brewing. Once the story's ready to be written, you'll know it, although I've been told by a couple of your peers that sometimes the characters take charge and change your plan for you.

[dilwyn]

Owners share is without a doubt the best of the series so far. It's so unusual for a series of this length to keep getting better and better. I'll look forward to whatever Nathan produces next.
"Trust Lowell"

[Sean]

I'd be surprised if he doesn't go back to space after so many years in the deep dark.  But he probably needs to go planet side for a bit to realize he's grow beyond such a life. Maybe a turn with the TIC is in the works...?

Nathan, you say you had only sketchy ideas, but I keep finding pieces that fit in the early stories only in light of the later.  How did you plot the overall arc?

[nlowell]

Sean - there were few "over all arc" plans.

The longest idea -the one with the most legs was - of course - the father. When I started I didn't know how or where but it seemed inevitable that I'd need to find a way to make that work.

Next longest was the whelkies. Those just seemed like such a great mcguffin even in the beginning. That's why I had him get ten of them. I didn't know how or what, but I knew we'd need a good supply.

When I started Full Share and realized that he needed to go to the Academy to get to Double, that's when the trading took off, but I also needed to be careful not to make him too much money. He needed to get out of school in debt, just like everybody else.

Starting Double, I knew he was going to find his father, and I knew where he was. It was important that he not be anybody special. A short order cook in a diner struck me as fun. Keeping him hidden until this book was part of the plan.

I knewn that Ishmael would need money to become an owner when I started Captain's Share so the set up with the Chernyakova gave him the leg up to buy his own ship. I also wanted to get him tangled emotionally. Up to there, he was footloose and fancy free but the theme of "doing what's always been done" needed him to be caught up in his own cultural references as a land rat .. so he *had* to be married. I also wanted to push the idea of 'don't screw with crew' by making him be a *victim* of his own ethics. Greta was his downfall.

Going into the last book, we had a few loose plot threads to resolve ... Greta, Father, the Chernyakova, and a requirement that he become Owner and at the end of the book, be faced with the possibility of finally completing the journey he began on his mother's death. I was pretty sure it would be Greta who died when i started. I didn't know how, but the timeline was set by the two ships' saling times. I needed to get the Iris back into Diurnia in time to meet the Agamemnon.

It probably bears repeating .. I don't plot in advance except for some very sketchy ideas about what I want to do in the book. Owner's Share had to wrap up and -- since I planned to do new stories with Ishameal -- he had to wind up freed from his current cycle. I think originally, I'd planned on ending the Ishmael line here with he and Greta plying the spaceways, living happily ever after and raising the next generation of spacers. In some ways, I almost wish I had. It wouldn't have been as strong a story, but it would have been easier to pull off. In the end, I decided that i liked the character too well to give up on him so I took the darker path that lets me tell more about him in the future. In spite of all the commentary and negative reaction, I think it was the right choice.

That's probably more than you wanted to know ... and I'm probably leaving out some stuff ... but that's a look at the top layer, I think.

[Tara_Li]

Going into the last book, we had a few loose plot threads to resolve ... Greta, Father, the Chernyakova, and a requirement that he become Owner and at the end of the book, be faced with the possibility of finally completing the journey he began on his mother's death. I was pretty sure it would be Greta who died when i started. I didn't know how, but the timeline was set by the two ships' saling times. I needed to get the Iris back into Diurnia in time to meet the Agamemnon.

One thing that somewhat confused me, I think, is this idea - I don't know if you said it or someone else - of Ishmael "returning to his roots".

I always thought of Ish leaving Neris was because he really had few roots put down - his mother passing away pretty much left him with nothing binding him to anywhere.  I thought his decision to start his own company *was* his decision to put down roots.  He certainly wasn't forced into becoming an owner - other options were presented him, and if he'd taken the option of buying a yacht, he'd certainly have had all the time in the Deep Dark he'd really want to take.

The key defining characteristic of Ish was his innovativeness - his way of looking at things, and coming up with new solutions, from the improvement in updating the astrogation databases, to looking at the solar winds outside of the ecliptic, to his development of the very-long-jump trade routes, which it certainly seemed nobody else was working (because the premiums on those jumps were so high...)

It sounds like you're taking Ish back out of the Deep Dark, but where does he go from there?  Joining his father in being a fry cook?

Of course, he *does* have the money now to start his own line free and clear - maybe by "returning to his roots", he's going back to Dunsany Roads?  I don't know - I can't wait to see where.  Though I have to admit, I can't wait to find out where Tanith Fairport is going, and what's up with Royce and Hadrian...

[Sean]

Thank you!  That's actually quite informative. I appreciate the insight.

As for doing the 'happily ever after' bit?  Might have kept things quiet on the boards but would NOT have been as strong or memorable a story.  The more I think about this the more convinced I become.

My nits are slightly more focused.  For instance, in some ways the last meeting with Kurt seems contrived, almost as if you needed to cut text so you brought him in to explain away what would otherwise have taken a chapter or two to address.  Perhaps in the print version you could have him surface briefly earlier in the story, in a way that foreshadows his later role? 

Mind, I believe what you've done is excellent.  At most I offer some thoughts, as they come to me going back through the full sweep. 

[ratz]

In spite of all the commentary and negative reaction, I think it was the right choice.

I'd say it proves it was the right choice.

If anything we got off easy.

[mimccart]

In the end, I decided that i liked the character too well to give up on him so I took the darker path that lets me tell more about him in the future. In spite of all the commentary and negative reaction, I think it was the right choice.

That's probably more than you wanted to know ... and I'm probably leaving out some stuff ... but that's a look at the top layer, I think.

There are more positive reactions than negative ones by far.  Human nature is that the negative speaks louder and gets remembered more.  Basic Psych 101 stuff.

You know, you could just about do a semester seminar on the series with the discussion alone.  Throw in "alternate plot twists" as short writing assignments and you might have a nice curriculum--at least for a couple of semesters.  Might work as an online class, too. 

I just love hearing the author's insight and back-story.  I could never write a story like a Hollywood movie set--where the facade looks real but there is nothing behind it.  Even if no one else would ever know, I would need to understand how everything fits together.  I have always felt as a reader that I want to believe the author has thought out their universe (even though I know that some writers don't think like that at all) and so I would design my universe with order and answers if I was the writer.  You've obviously done just that and the fact that you have made those back-stories available to us is like gold to me.

[surfsailor]

I agree with the ending you wrote being better than an easier alternative.  It hurt at first but as the previous posters said, the longer it steeps the more I like.

The returning to his roots bit seems loose to me.  Neris?  Lois?  Port Newmar?  I got the impression that after his time with Chief Stevens a trip to see Master Newmar was in the works.  Now I'm not so sure...