Date: 07 Jun 2014 23:25 Title: God Only Knows
That is a fine story, it was poignant story for Gary and does explain a lot of his character.
You've done a great job of match Mac story style and you capture the hidden darkness of TOS Federation and Gary past.
Author's Response:
Thanks, Bill. This Gary had a lot to contend with early in life. I see this as his darkest day, with things slowly improving from here on out thaniks to good friends - like Jim, Carol and his godson. :)
Date: 04 Jun 2014 09:25 Title: God Only Knows
That was incredibly tragic and heartbreaking. From the broken home to the death of his mother because they couldn't afford treatment...I'm with kes, I'd have thought by TOS it was truly universal healthcare. Very tragic...especially knowing what happened to Mitchell in TOS, you wonder if that cloud at the end is the foreshadowing for his own unfortunate end in this universe. Very well done.
Author's Response:
Thanks, TS. This Gary is truly haunted by his past, and I think, given Mac's other pieces in this series, it's what defines him and shapes him into the man he becomes - a man who wants to do his bit to help society, but on his own terms, not pigeon-holed into what everyone else's idea of a 'good citizen' is, or does.
Like I told kes below, to my mind, Gary didn't fully understand the circumstances surrounding his mother's illness and death - children often don't, they just know someone they love was taken from them too soon.
I don't imagine Rebecca would have told him outright that there were extenuating circumstances regarding her treatment - she didn't want to cause him any additional worry, just wanted to focus on getting him to his eighteenth birthday - and I don't imagine doctors would have discussed her condition with a minor without her consent.
Date: 03 Jun 2014 02:49 Title: God Only Knows
I can but look on with quiet amazement. Taken the story, opened it up and placed all this inside it that makes it much more. Richer in detail, in the pain Mitchell has. Oh, if only Gary Lockwood had been able to get his teeth into this in his prime.
It fits in with the image of Eldman I have as this grim post-WWIII city that is dirty, grim and somehow lacking. I somehow thought in the 23rd Century that healthcare was problematic for some. Maybe Rebecca either didn't know about her condition or chose to not do anything about it so long as her kids were fine.
Eldman hangs under this dark cloud but San Francisco doesn't (weatherwise in reality....)
It's raw, it's real. This made the man who we saw in Where No Man Has Gone Before as well as the alternate version in this series.
Truly done something to this series and maybe you'll return to it when Mitchell gets out of his damn funk :)
Author's Response:
You hnor me, sir, both by your words and by allowing me to step into this world you created, for just a little while. And I think you've hit the nail on the head - this rough, unhappy childhood goes a long way to explaining the Gary we see in your AU, or even the great womanizer who was Gary Mitchell in TOS, for what better way is there to keep from being hurt again than by not allowing anyone to get too close. You really do have wonderful gift for drawing out the hidden secrets and personalities of these behind-the-limelight characters. :)
Date: 02 Jun 2014 17:14 Title: God Only Knows
Heartbreaking. Somewhat shocking, too, that in the Federation, someone would die from not being able to afford health care. I always got the sense that top-rate care was universally available by the TOS era.
The scene at the cemetery was beautifully drawn -- you captured that alone-but-not-really-alone feeling of visiting a departed loved one perfectly.
Author's Response:
Thanks, kes. The scene at the cemetery was meant to be a subtle hint at the ESP powers the Mitchell of TOS was known to possess.
And I suspect that not being able to afford health care was not the deciding factor in Rebecca's death. This is told from an eighteen-year-old's perspective, someone who was only fifteen when his mother was diagnosed, and I doubt he fully understood the diagnosis, or reasons for treatment (or lack thereof). To my mind, there were other issues involved - other health conditions or frailty that would have made surviving organ replacement surgery untenable, but by eighteen Gary had lost his whole world, and needed someone to blame. My fault for not making that clearer.
Date: 01 Jun 2014 19:43 Title: God Only Knows
Oh man, that last line. That's the bonechilling line, beyond any of the others. Gary, the man under the perpetual dark cloud, the cursed survivor, in a way. Beautifully rendered, as always. Superb.
Author's Response:
Thanks! I was wondering if anyone would catch that. Just as the sun came out for him when his father left the family, so now, given recent events, that bright spot of warmth is gone again. Will it ever be rekindled? That's for Mac to decide...
Date: 01 Jun 2014 15:42 Title: God Only Knows
You did a great job of setting the moods in both of these scenes. I was particularly touched by Gary's fear that his father was stalking them, just waiting for a chance to carry out his terrible threat. I'm so glad that never happened and Gary's little family had a measure of peace.
Great cover image, too!
Author's Response:
Thanks! Like I said, I had a great original to work with, so all praise goes to Mac. :)