Selection Criteria by Graeme

[Graeme]

Selection Criteria by Graeme

 

Ensuring the psychological stability of the crew for the first manned interstellar is a big responsibility.

 

 

:nuke: :nuke: Spoilers Below!!! :nuke: :nuke:

[Red_A]

Everything we see of Graeme, is a thoughtful measured piece, from his fiction to his posts, this is no exception.

It is a beautiful piece with an unexpected twist at the end of the story, I bet nobody will get it.

[Andrew Q Gordon]

Graeme,

 

Not sure when you found time to write this but am glad you did. I agree with the first poster that I never saw that ending coming. Clearly this was not something that you wiped up overnight, not with all the level of sophistication behind the concept.

 

I love the Sam character, clearly I would have failed the test even with having a bf if flirting with the hottie is grounds for disqualification.

 

great job all around.

 

Andy

[Benji]

..................Loved the selection criteria being used on your main character, it was perfectly masked away from the office politics! Great story Graeme!

[Graeme]

Thanks, everyone!

 

The story was written a couple of months ago, and it had a couple of iterations to make sure it flowed properly. I'm surprised that no one spotted the ending, though, because I thought it was going to be pretty obvious! As someone commented on my Justice anthology story from last year, if an author mentions something unusual, there's usually a reason. I expected everyone to pick up on that

 

Part of the inspiration was from the novel Flight of the Dragonfly (later expanded and republished as Rocheworld) by Robert Forward. In that story, the journey was only the start of the story and they had other challenges, but I've 'borrowed' some of the same technology -- light sails powered by banks of lasers in an orbit around Mercury, plus some technology to reduce the aging that would be experienced on the journey.

[Cia]

Well it may sound pompous but to me it did raise some flags. First off, Sam is truly asexual, which is rare. Yeah, he's got great skills in the job they are bringing him in for but then to be expecting him to take over as management on a division with such importance in his 20s? Unlikely at best due to exactly why he said he knew he lost the job and why he didn't want to work at John Hopkins. Lack of experience. So why put him in that position?

 

My thought when they were talking about the testing and his abililty to interact with the teams and candidates and his overall dedication to the program whether he got the job or not was that they would not be going this far to tempt and manipulate him without some ulterior motive. Besides, I'm sorry but a mission made up solely of couples? That's a nightmare waiting to happen in some aspects. If there are altercations you have no one who is able to look at the issue without being influenced by an unbiased attachment since each person has a partner they are loyal too first and foremost. Sam showed his loyalty and drive for the mission to succeed and that was what clinched his appointment to the team.

 

The writing was smooth, flowing and I loved the personal interactions. I kept getting interrupted as I read and with some stories I can't just jump right back in and with this one I could. It was a great story, thank you for the interesting read Graeme!

 

 

[C James]

I very much enjoyed this! Thank you Graeme!

 

One of the aspects i was delighted to see was an asexual character. Asexuality is rare, but very real.

 

I liked the human interactions, and the character development. I also found the mission concept intriguing.

 

Besides, I'm sorry but a mission made up solely of couples? That's a nightmare waiting to happen in some aspects.

 

I can't resist commenting on this, not to be picky, but because I've long found that particular issue (crew dynamics on long duration missions)interesting.

 

NASA has studied this quite a bit, and their determination was (this was in the early 60's) that the most unstable crew composition was three people, because (absent a strict command structure) the interpersonal relationships, especially under stress, had a tendency to devolve into continually shifting alliances (to form two against one). This issue has been demonstrated all too well when NASA astronauts were sent to Mir. That's why, when ISS was running three-person crews, (one Russain and two Americans, or visa-versa) they arranged the crewing so that the odd-one-out was the commander.

 

What would be a stable dynamic for a small group for a mission duration of a lifetime? That's an intriguing issue. I can see valid arguments both for and against the couples model that Graeme used. I think it could work (at last as well as any other option) but that's only a guess. Its an interesting concept!

[Hamen Cheese]

Given how "hot" Sam is, I'd think that by the time they get to that place the other 18 people would be cheating on each other with Sam, even if he never reciprocated. Hehe.

 

Thanks for the story. It was enjoyable.

[Kanaye]

Interesting concept. I too, did not see the ending coming.

 

I do like your mix of characters.

 

While on one hand I do think Hamen's comment, how the other 18 would be cheating with Sam is correct. On the other hand, they will have been working with him for quite a while before they even get up there, and they'd probably know his orientation pretty darn well by then.

 

Well done, Graeme.

[Graeme]

Given how "hot" Sam is, I'd think that by the time they get to that place the other 18 people would be cheating on each other with Sam, even if he never reciprocated. Hehe.

 

Thanks for the story. It was enjoyable.

Interesting concept. I too, did not see the ending coming.

 

I do like your mix of characters.

 

While on one hand I do think Hamen's comment, how the other 18 would be cheating with Sam is correct. On the other hand, they will have been working with him for quite a while before they even get up there, and they'd probably know his orientation pretty darn well by then.

 

Well done, Graeme.

I remember reading an article about an asexual some time ago, which is why I've been on the lookout for a story where it would be relevant. Yes, they're rare, but there are still a significant number of them. A quick search on Google finds:

 

Asexuality Visibility and Education Network

 

As for the others on the mission, I have to disagree with both of you. He's a good (great) looking guy, but for people in long term committed relationships, why would that cause them to want to cheat? The crew is going to be late twenties to early thirties in age, and a lot of people at that age realise that appearances are not everything. Plus, the selection process was designed to eliminate those who would be tempted to cheat.

 

Is the idea that people might stay committed to another person for a long period of time really that strange?

 

As to whether the idea of monogamous couples is a good idea, I think it would depend on the crew size. The crew will only be thirteen people with Sam (the other three couples are backups in case something happens before the mission leaves). With that small a crew, sexual politics could cause massive disruption if they were all single, which is why the psychologists went for the other option to eliminate that possibility, even though it would have drastically reduced the pool of potential candidates.

 

In Robert Forward's book, the crew were all single, but it was also a much larger crew. The issue of what to do with small crews for long term missions has also been touched on by other authors (eg. in the start of Robert Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land").

[Nephylim]

I'm sorry but pretty much as soon as they all started talking, especially when this was said "there

[wildone]

Great story Graeme

 

I had to read this story in two parts due to a commitment. I think that kind of gave me an advantage to knowing where you were going with this. When Sam was called into meet Jerry and learn he wasn't getting the job as the director was when I figured it was because he was going to be put on the mission.

 

The one thing I have to compliment you on is that fact that you actually may have wrote the first story I have read involving a asexual character. Sadly I have to admit I had a preconceived idea of what asexual meant, from your story I learned the true meaning and am intrigued to learn more.

 

Like other stories of yours Graeme, it was easy to get into and the characters were easy to identify with. Great job once again and hopefully we see as much even as your family commitments demand more of your time. You always amaze me how you do it all.

 

 

[Rilbur]

It was a truly interesting story. The 'twist' at the end was a tad bit predictable, but not so much as to be a let down.

[Kev de Cauchery]

I like the story and for me it's the first one on asexuality. Interesting, and a lot to think about.

 

I didn't spot the ending because I guess I was thinking about another matter, not quite related to the story.

 

I was thinking, asexuals should be able to love, right?

[Toast]

Thanks for a great read. I enjoyed it very much. I guessed Sam was going from the start. For the reasons you sighted. I think I liked the part about Sam being the best and most loyal friend you could find or want. Friendship. Very well written and a good time.

[Dolores Esteban]

I didn't see the obvious and I had no clue of where you were going with the story. I think I was a bit distracted by my own story that is a sci-fi story as well. I expected a similar story maybe. This is definitely not a good approach to reading a story.

 

So, well, I was surprised by the ending. I liked the concept of the story. Like others said, it's my first story on asexuality as well. I like how you pick up uncommon topics and develop them slowly and somehow casually. I didn't feel forced to read on the subject. I also like your style of writing that is simple and to the point, and not flowery and thus distracting from the story itself.

[NightOwl88]

A very good story Graeme, very thought provoking. Almost a psychological case study with a dash of sci-fi tossed in.