Mar 25, 2025
To:Orionless
So admittedly, when I first read this I laughed out loud because of how different my vision of the later chapters was compared to your prediction lmao
Alan Moore once said to not be too honest with your readers but I don't think it would hurt too much to explain the role of the additional details in these chapters are. And plus, you're a writer--so from fellow writer to writer, I think it might be interesting to share my thoughts.
First, it's to paint a different world unlike the one that Atlas and Julian will find themselves active in--for the most part, they're just in a quiet city where people are kinda just silently doing their own things as the end approaches. I believed that this limited the novel's perspective on ideals and morals--because these guys just had it too good. I believed that this would make the dilemmas featured in this novel slightly naive, because the spotlight was mainly on people who lived in a slightly more comfortable modern society.
Sanctivus (and Abigail's experiences in it) was added to paint that "other world" that people like Julian could not even fathom, where man-made devils such as Cillian ran around, where it was almost hopeless for children like Jack to live to be righteous. This was a way to acknowledge that there are parts of the world where living is hellish and people are just trying to survive day by day... a world where even if the world is prevented from doom, the people in it won't necessarily find "salvation." It's a world that is chaotic, loud, and messy, compared to the quiet and introspective world that we will spend the rest of the story in.
For the most part, it was designed to have a story of its own that the readers WON'T be able to read to completion because Abigail Kovacs, one of the main characters, chooses to LEAVE Sanctivus for the sake of the whole world... inadvertently forsaking those stories to progress on their own, without the attention of her and the readers themselves. But I will say that Cillian's story will resolve eventually (though not much attention will be given to it--that's the point--we're missing his POV because we're too busy focusing on Atlas and Victor. And if you found Cillian's story as interesting, imagine all the stories we are missing from this same universe as the sky is collapsing. That is the point--not everyone will get to have a say in "saving the world" and not everyone wants to have a say in "saving the world").
Second, it's to really give Abigail a distinct philosophy and perspective on life that will come in handy when morals and ideals clash/intertwine later in the novel--because her perspective, knowledge, and understanding (of those who have no voice in the world) are something that the other characters SEVERELY lack. So I'd say her unique "worldview" and "lifestyle" will be critical when Atlas/Victor considers what to do with their power henceforward (this is still a mystery to the reader, I guess lol).
Finally, it's to set apart Victor's "team" from Atlas's "team"--one is fantastical and extreme, while the other is rather grounded and relaxed.
Whether or not she flips to a different side is, uh, I guess still a mystery, but I honestly.... don't really expect that. Sure, she might become DARKER... but to flip sides entirely... hm... how much of a simp for Victor would she have to be for that to happen 💀 still, I guess it's possible, but I think I'd have to be in a horrible, horrible mood for that to happen (or if my ideals switch up very quickly somehow in the next few weeks). I'm avoiding romance like a fiend so hahahahahaha I really doubt Abigail would just jump on the Victor bandwagon
And I'm mentioning all this because I don't really think that I'm giving away too much by saying all this, because really, these few chapters... are kinda... not the point of the story. It's an important acknowledgement of the "other side of the world." I do think these chapters may accidentally prepare the reader for a more exciting and epic story, but... like I said, the point was to make sure the reader knew that this isn't entirely a "quiet and peaceful world" that we will spend our time on for the rest of the chapters. Wars and war crimes exist... so when considering if the world is worth fighting for, all the voiceless victims should be accounted for.
Still, yes, Cillian is a nice addition to the story. If I planned on continuing writing after this novel, I was going to make a separate story of Cillian as the protagonist (who is, really, one of the most messed up characters I thought of), but... well, I thought it would be good to use him as a way for me to explain how screwed up the world can be.
And Sanctivus is also from my backlog... which would have been 18+ because of how bat#### crazy it was, from the protagonist to the antagonists... Absolute insanity. So I thought, "yeah, this is a good example of how insane the world could be."
But yeah, uh, I'm glad you found it exciting.
