So. As my patrons know (thanks to the recent peek over my shoulder), I have been grinding my face against outlines for what is starting to feel like forever. So far, though, I find something useful to add or tweak every day, so I think there’s still a lot of forward progress happening.
That’s good.
Less good? Coronavirus.
If you didn’t know, I wrote some work-for-hire in the Afterblight setting, in which the world is consumed by a horrific engineered viral plague. ( http://rebellionstore.com/products/orbital_decay ) In that one the lethality rate hovers around 90% – the lethality rate for Covid-19, right now, hovers around 2%. On the one hand this is scary as hell – a few years ago I was hospitalized with pneumonia, not looking forward to a repeat – on the other hand, my research has rendered me perhaps a little blasé. Covid-19 will not result in hordes of maniacal Mad Max style raiders beginning a new society whose currency is severed ears and blood, so it’s not meeting my expectations of doom in the slightest.
However, because I feel the urge to PSA, wash your hands regularly, wash your face regularly, wash your hair regularly, wash your clothes regularly – in fact, just wash everything regularly. And use regular soap. If you get ill, it’s your responsibility to avoid spreading it – so cough into your elbows, avoid public places, and get what medical advice you can via help lines. That 2% of people probably won’t include you, but you being responsible with your own health and hygiene will mean that the 2% will be much less likely to include someone’s beloved grandma or toddler.
Also, the longer this goes on? The better. Kind of. The harder we all make the virus work to spread – especially by ensuring that if we get ill we don’t spread it to others – the more evolutionary pressure we put on Covid-19 to rapidly reduce its lethality.
So yeah. Things suck, but for a given value of okay, things will probably be okay.
As of the end of this month, the Patreon is properly back and running again – you can expect to be charged at the end of March/start of April. I think the most likely patron-exclusive content right now is going to be more like the recent peek over the shoulder – but keep your eyes open. I’m sure I’ll come up with more to sneak into the feed as the month progresses.
In the meanwhile, I’m going to get back to the keyboard and spend some time figuring out the hypertechnological relics in my space opera. I hope you all have the very best of months – and wash your hands whenever you get home.
