Bill W - Crash Landing by Bill W

[Graeme]

Crash Landing by Bill W

Sheriff Taylor is notified that an object has been seen streaking across the sky. In seeking answers, he discovers it was a meteorite, but then people start getting ill. Are these two events related and what are they going to do to stop the spread of the illness?


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

[Bill W]

For those who are wondering, I've removed this story from the anthology.

[Dolores Esteban]

I'm sorry to hear this. But I understand your decision and I guess I know how you came to it. It's sad.

[C James]

Bill, I very much enjoyed this story, and I'm delighted to see it back, Thank you!!!!!

 

One aspect that sticks in my mind though is the reverend Fred Phillips. He didn't get ill. That's slightly incongruous, unless you think about it... and remember just how many big name homophobe "reverends" have been caught with rent boys, etc... Let's just say I'm not surprised in the least that reverend Phillips is immune. Well done!!!

 

And BTW, for anyone wondering about the viability of life surviving a fiery meteorite entry into the atmosphere, that's not far fetched at all, because it is very possible. In fact, a meteorite named Allan Hills 8400, found in Antarctica, is a piece of Mars, and has what some think to be microscopic fossils.

 

There is also a fairly mainstream theory that, due to MArs cooling first, it would have been habitable before Earth was, and thus life might not have arisen on Earth at all, it may have arrived here, in a meteor, just like the organisms in Crash Landing.

[Bill W]

• CJ, although I did not mention Rev. Phillips getting ill in the original, it was one of the points mentioned that I changed. Rev. Phillips said his God would protect thim, and then later I mentioned that did not happen.

[C James]

Ooops!

 

I thought "God did not protect him" meant something else (his sexuality) did. I see now it could be read the other way, and he did get ill. Either way, I love it.

[Bill W]

Although I had originally left it open ended, for the readers to decide why Rev. Phillips would go to Cheyenne to address the situation, I decided to clarify it after I'd received a questioning comment about it. Although I didn't intentionally word it so it could be interpretted either way, I'm glad that's how it worked out. It maintained my original intention.

[colinian]

Bill,

 

Thanks for putting this story back on GA Stories. It's interesting and a nice diversion from the typical plague-based movies and stories. I like the ending as well, leaving it up to the reader to think about what might have happened to so-called Rev. Phillips and his followers, especially when he discovers his son has the enzyme (for example), or insists on getting the injection without any publicity (for another example). Even though there were many deaths, including one of your protagonists, I finished reading it with a smile.

 

Colin

[Bill W]

Thanks, Colinian. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's always nice to see the bullies and bigots getting a taste of their own medicine, so I'm glad you liked the twist.

[Pandosan]

It was an awesome story, your spelling and grammar were excellent. It was an interesting plot. My only issues with it were a) It seemed like a very long, and detailed, story plan. The ideas are there, and it made reading it very easy, but I feel that if you essentially took every sentence you had there, and expanded on them to create seperate chapters in and of themselves, it would be very good. My second issue was that, not that I am at all berating it, it just made the story seem way too unrealistic in a very technical and scientific story that you had started, was that you seemed to promote that gay's/bi's were the only cure. I'm unsure why, but it just seemed to paint heterosexuality in an overly bad light. Overall, I'd rate it 4 out of 5.

[Bill W]

Thank you, Pandosan, for your comments and I'm glad you enjoyed this. Now, to discuss your points.

 

First, it could possibly have been expanded, but if I'd done that, would I have lost the readers by drawing it out too much - sort of like beating a dead horse? Besides, the anthology stories are supposed to be 'short' stories.

 

As far as making staights look bad, that wasn't what I was doing. What I was saying was that there was a biological difference with gays/bi's that made them produce a specific enzyme which the straights did not produce. It was my way of suggesting that being gay/bi is not a choice (although bi's do have some choice, although they also produced the enzyme) but that there are biological differences that make them that way. I will expand on that idea ith the story I've written for the Summer Anthology (Choices) with a little story I've called 'Future Imperfect.'