Nov 26, 2024
Another chapter, another banger.
I like the way you craft environments a lot. There's always something to look at, but it's not ADHD-fodder - bright and shiny. It's a lot more muted and sensible; the sprawling concoction of machinery and nature that Lena lives in carries a palpable melancholy, which really draws you in, and never lets you go.
As for her struggles, they resonate very well; I would like to think not just with me, but with most people. There is always talk about hard work vs talent, but here you see that discussion given a more metaphysical vibe. Because ultimately becoming a transhuman is a choice, it is work, but it is also tantamount to injecting and manufacturing talent. Becoming a transhuman places your floor ten levels about a human's ceiling.
It's interesting to see Lena's internal conflict described so early, in such a succinct and telling manner as well. There is obviously a voracity about her: she wants to succeed. But to do that, time and time again, she's presented with the same Faustian gambit. I do hope she pulls through. I want to read her pulling through.
Stellar job.
