Tag Archives: Salvation

storycraft – grounding sci-fi tales of wagon trains to other worlds

Musings, Stories, , , , , , , , , ,

10-23-2026 [draft essay]

The entertainment paradox

I am struggling with the entertainment paradox. A contrast of two narrative engines. It’s like spitting into the wind.

In tales where hope is fragile and desperation abounds, do we celebrate individual exceptionalism—witty, charming heros (reluctant or rogue) outwitting a bad guy; or communal exceptionalism—meritorious, dedicated collectives overcoming villainy?

When crafting sci-fi stories of trailblazing salvation—wagon trains to other worlds, whether that be to haven, heaven, or the stars—do we, in effect, say “goodbye” to physics, “hello” to a genie, or “thank you” for relationality?

Is salvation merely a change of venue—a lucky ticket into a safe harbor, or a low-stakes relocation offer? If so, hope rests entirely in a locality. But if the journey itself is the prize, our hope shifts toward ongoing transformation and the relationality discovered while underway.

This tension is starkly apparent when contrasting the magical mechanisms of Alan Dean Foster’s Lost on Paradise with the slow pilgrimage between stars in my own Calliope’s Reach. Foster’s tease functions like an alien race suddenly presenting a read-only feed akin to an interplanetary Zillow advert: “Check out the listings, we’ll take care of all the details, what have you got to lose?” It is an invitation by a genie.

Advocating an alternative narrative engine is a heavy lift, facing the embedded strengths of a longstanding, mainstream engine (no matter how repetitive its outputs have become).

Continue reading storycraft – grounding sci-fi tales of wagon trains to other worlds →

Calliope’s Reach … pathfinder

Mediation, Musings, Stories, , , ,   3 comments  

Teaser

Calliope’s Reach
(do magpies dream of Calliope?)

© 2026 John Healy
Draft 8-23-2026, 9-6-2026

Table of Contents

Epigraph
Prologue
Act 1a: at anchor – ready room
Act 1b: anchors aweigh
Act 2: Shakedown
Act 3: the sea of Azores
Epilogue

Notes
Gallery

Epigraph

Here rise to life again, dead poetry!
Let it, O holy Muses, for I am yours,
And here Calliope, strike a higher key,
Accompanying my song with that sweet air
which made the wretched Magpies feel a blow
that turned all hope of pardon to despair

– Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy (1321), trans. Anthony M. Esolen, “Purgatorio”, Canto I, lines 7 to 12.

Prologue

Ted was mindful of his family line. It was a weight which occasionally surfaced, nagged, butted into his musings.

His genetic code allowed entry into the archives, into the remembrances of some of his ancestors’ long lives, at least the ones that were literary, those who journaled to learn from their pain, to examine the dots and dashes of life. Especially trajectories left unresolved, untidy loose-ends, the indeterminate half-lives of half-cocked decisions.

And he was a child of such a decision. An offshoot of an illegitimate liaison somewhere between the Earth and the stars. He’d always felt like a black sheep. That was the vibe of the voices in his head as a child, reinforced by the indifferent care he received from place to place.

Now, while in a dark patch between jobs, he wondered whether he had a future in space, where his ancestors had gazed.

Continue reading Calliope’s Reach … pathfinder →

Balancing of the books – just deserts

Mediation, Musings, , , , , , , , , , ,   2 comments  

[Draft 4-12-2026]

Moral inferences & influencers

The other day at my gym, I got into a conversation about a media influencer who talked about how some contemporary despots did really bad things, but also improved the lot of others. Or how famous, honored activists (or celebrities) did some really good things, but kept secret some really bad things. Is such moral duplicity anything new under the sun? Like the “pitchfork effect.” Or “halo effect” (especially for priests).

The implication was some sort of tally of debits & credits. So that moral worthiness depends on a good enough moral “batting” average. Or that there’s adequate majority merit, like 51% good and 49% evil.

This struck me as “moral accounting,” which historically the Church rejected. Such accounting encouraged some to literally try to buy their way into heaven (indulgences) – much like compensatory carbon credits. Or, even trade or transfer (loan) merit (to get around that “eye of a needle” thing). And perpetuated the notion that great wealth is a sign of social superiority and spiritual merit.

Continue reading Balancing of the books – just deserts →

Braiding and mattering – connecting complexity

Mediation, Musings, Poetry, , , , , , , , , ,

[Draft 3-2-2026, additional notes 3-3-2026]

Beyond warp & weft

Words matter. And I like finding words which, literally or metaphorically (even poetically), integrate existing concepts in sociology, psychology, philosophy, religion, education, business – in a more accessible manner. For example, the “layered cake” model helps visualize an interdisciplinary context.

Braiding and mattering are such words. More than “connecting the dots,” they weave together complex (multidimensional) strands.

Continue reading Braiding and mattering – connecting complexity →

The attention age – secular sirens & salvation

Mediation, Musings, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   5 comments  

[Draft 3-24-2025]

Pay attention!

You’re at a cocktail party … or maybe in a social setting with your family … your attention is selective – like moving a spotlight around a stage, or tuning between foreground & background channels. Did you notice the person dressed in a gorilla costume walk by in the distance? [4]

Others want your attention. Sirens are calling you.

You want attention. Thrive on such attention.

(quote)
… the ability to grab the attention of the consumer is more important than the actual product or service offered. … we will forever be invested in [hunger for] other people paying attention to us. – Chris Hayes [1]

Continue reading The attention age – secular sirens & salvation →