I’ve posted a new excerpt from Nobility Among Us, part of my favourite scene in the book, over at SuperversiveSF. Take a look and tell me what you think!
Meeting an Outcast – A Superversive Extract from Nobility Among Us
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Author Archives: Ben Zwycky
Sci Phi Art by Cat Leonard
The ever awesome artist Cat Leonard has been at it again, producing evocative painting after painting to illustrate stories from the Sci Phi Journal. You can take a look at them here:
http://www.sciphijournal.com/teaser-art-for-issue-4/
Additionally, through the wonders of modern technology, you can now order all sorts of merchandise incorporating those paintings, so for example you can have a tasteful Beyond the Mist T-shirt (or even pillow or duvet cover, to help you dream about the Gravity Ring) delivered to your door:
The Greatest Joy
We’re slandered and insulted,
Betrayed and ridiculed
Potrayed as evil, backward
And so effortlessly fooled.
Relentless in their mockery,
Comfortable with lies,
They never tire of poking fun
At those they so despise.
They laugh at our great suffering
And flaunt their stolen wealth
Secured by crony networks
And in the best of health.
And yet we have a hope that their blind eyes can never see,
And know a joy so deep it runs into eternity.
We know the Source of all, who is above all time and space,
Whose glories far outweigh all trials that we could ever face.
His peace is overwhelming, his mercy covers all;
His grace is still transforming all victims of the Fall.
Our future is so radiant with love and joy and light,
So how could we fear mortal men in all their puny might?
We won’t lash out in anger, we’ll rest and sleep in peace,
Then in the morning work to make His loving rule increase.
So pause now and consider, who you’ll serve and trust —
The Lord of all creation, or men drunk with powerlust?
An Apology, a Request and an Announcement
My apologies for the lack of poem this week, my youngest son has a minor case of pneumonia (not the first time, it’s a lot milder this time). He’s not had to be hospitalised, he’s taking antibiotics which seem to be kicking in properly, he’s regained his taste for food and had his first calm night in about a week, so things are looking positive. This has meant a lack of restful nights for the whole of this past week, so I haven’t gotten much written. I would appreciate people’s prayers for Timmy that he would continue to recover well and that we could get some quality rest.
I did manage to write a poem, but that will be used in chapter 11 or 12 of Beyond the Mist, so I can’t post it until that is published (which will probably be in Sci Phi Issue 6). Sci Phi Issue 4 is on schedule for the end of February/beginning of March, and the cover art for that by the ever Awesome Cat Leonard has just been released, so take a look and imagine the possibilities…
Sci Phi Journal Issue 4
Beauty’s Message
To what does purest beauty bear witness in its prime?
What message does it send to us that transcends space and time?
That we are not the pinnacle of all there is to be;
There are higher things than us, a land beyond the sea;
That greater things await us than the universe contains,
Sights and joys that will outmeasure all our trials and pains;
Deeper truths and loves than we could dare to dream,
Resplendent life abundant by a holy healing stream.
All flowing from the source of all, who we’ll see face to face
Where holiness is merged with love as justice is with grace.
There is our true purpose, there is our true home,
That is why down here on earth our hearts will always roam.
Spreading the Word about the Sci Phi Journal
I trust that at least some of my fine readers and followers have taken a look at an issue or two of the Sci Phi Journal and have liked what you saw there, I certainly have. It is showing a lot of promise, but the economic realities of publishing mean that in order to be sustainable in the long term, its readership will need to keep on growing, as the editor outlines at the link below:
http://www.sciphijournal.com/how-sci-phi-is-going/
I am sure that there are plenty of other people out there who like depths to their stories and to explore the depths of the stories they like, and so would love the journal if they knew about it. The next part of Beyond the Mist will be appearing in the next issue, which is in the works, but how long it will take until it and subsequent issues appear will depend on the level of readership. So, my discerning friends, I would ask if any of you are part of a community of science fiction fans or writers, or of philosophers; or know anyone in a philosophy department, or in the media, please consider suggesting to them to take a look, every little increase in the potential audience will help.
Nothing Good Ever Happened At the Point of a Gun – SuperversiveSF
Over at Superversive SF, Amy Sterling Casil weighs in on the recent massacre in Paris:
All I will add is that this is yet another reminder, for those that need to be reminded, that freedom is neither free nor the default state of mankind. It is immensely costly, and those who enjoy the benefits of freedom the most are often the most isolated from and unaware of the daily sacrifices needed and made to preserve and defend it.
There are and have always been entities, groups and philosophies that hate freedom and given the opportunity will gleefully slaughter or crush the rest of us underfoot, whether we are innocent or not, and silence all dissent. My own father-in-law was imprisoned for handing out leaflets in favour of free elections, a friend of the family was imprisoned and tortured for close to a decade for being ‘too great a religious influence’. That regime is now thankfully gone, but there are many others like it, and many who pine for it to come back or for something similar to ‘succeed’ where it failed.
My gratitude and utmost respect goes out to those who each day put their lives on the line and do all they can to not give such people the opportunities they crave.
Meet (or Hear) the Man Behind the Curtain
Last month I was interviewed for the Sci Phi Journal in connection with my ongoing contribution in the form of the serial Beyond the Mist. Be amazed at my boring voice and semi-coherent ramblings!
http://www.sciphijournal.com/meet-the-contributor-ben-zwycky/
(This was the first audio interview I have ever given, so hopefully I will get better at it with practice, assuming there will be a next time)
New Year
A calendar completes its course, it’s cycle ends this day,
People see this as a chance to live a different way.
But opportunities for transformation come each hour,
Not just when fireworks fly and great bells ring from every tower.
Every waking moment we have space to turn around
Reevaluate our goals and aim for higher ground
Through willpower freer than the chains of our own circumstance,
We can change the style and aims of our own journey’s dance.
Repentance quite literally means that you change your mind;
Transform the way you think and value every end and kind.
This precious gift from upon high to reverse our decay
And key to free us from the debt we never could repay.
Sci Phi Journal Issue 3 now available in print!
Sci Phi Journal Issue 3, including Beyond the Mist chapters 4 and 5, is now available in printed form from Amazon:
Sci Phi Journal Issue#3
The Zwyckyverse 