Start a religion in which you charge people for salvation!

As far as 'Zoo' goes, I'll think about it a bit more before I try to offer any thoughts on it. I am certainly enjoying reading it.

Thank you for posting it - and the other works I'm looking forward to.

Onyx Tao

Well, your thoughts, positive, negative, or otherwise will be welcome, if you do decide to share them. : )

The problem is, I don't *read* critically. I do the critical thinking *after* I've read, over the course of the next day or two as I slowly extract the themes, connections, motivations ... it's quite possible for me to read a 'bad' book and not realize what a stinker it is until after I've finished. No, nothing you've written, and I decline to name names in that respect.

All I'm prepared to say is that I'm enjoying it (The Zoo) as well as enjoying the first two 'Ferran's Fixer' stories, and looking forward to more.

I am seeing certain repetitive themes / motifs emerge between the two series (what I refer to as physical domination as opposed to mental domination), and a general sense that your protagonists emerge from both types more unbowed than less, making these - to my aesthetic - upbeat. I treat both of these in C&S along with several different modes of coping (collaboration, resistance, insanity), with the thought that only resistance can be effective. In that vein, I wonder how the other prisoners in FF-1 cope mentally with the afteraffects; everyone seems fully recovered by FF-2. That's perhaps the one place where I find the reality / supension-of-disbelief breaking down - mental resistance to trauma doesn't seem like something that could be designed in, or if it could, it implies a much finer genetic control than seems evident - call it a tech level fudge. Since I like character development, it seems like a loss of some potentially juicy story bits.

Or maybe that's just the author in me whining over the road not taken.

Regardless, two excellent series, and I'd like to reiterate that I'm enjoying them.

Thanks,
Onyx Tao

I believe I briefly mention that there were others who indeed, did not come through their experience whole and sane.

But most of them are not characters in the story (although it's possible I'll come back to some of them later) - because Farren's mercenary company simply isn't a good place for people who are suffering from mental fragility. Heck, Kennard's old bunkmate is on the edge of being thrown out just for being kinda dimwitted.

As for how people recover from stress... the mechanisms which cause traumatic stress disorders are even today becoming better understood - and they're not quite as complicated as you'd think.

There are even, currently speaking, substances that, combined with therapy can relieve the effects of PTSD.

I know, because I used to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder fairly badly (flashbacks, panic attacks, I'd physically attack, snarling if someone approached or touched me when I was sleeping... I couldn't tolerate being in crowds, etc.) and I am _completely_ cured now.

Of all the things that are pulled-out-of-the-butt "space magic" or plot-devicey, that's actually not among them, strange as it may seem.

Keep in mind, I'm going on stuff I've researched that we know _today_ and the stories are set hundreds of years in the future, among spacefaring races who have conquered FTL travel, artificial gravity, and terraforming science.

Even some small changes in the way the brain attaches memory of traumatic experiences to the amygdala and other centers of the brain that control fear or panic reactions could conceivably result in individuals who simply don't get post traumatic stress disorder.

Koben and Arrek both have the genetic trait that helps protect their brains from traumatic disorders.

One of the characters in the next installment does not have this trait. He's come through his recent experience with Scrim because he's well-balanced to begin with, and comes from a fairly challenging homeworld.

Also... as I've mentioned, there's actually a substance you can take today, that removed _my_ PTSD after only a few uses, combined with therapeutic introspection. I'd imagine that in the future they'll have even better and less crude therapies available.

Now, how Zain'll deal with what happens to him next - especially in light of his earlier ordeal - remains to be seen.

And yes, I do think that I've repeated some motifs, especially, as you've noted, the physical domination thing. Just my cup of tea, although I promise that it won't be the only sort of thing I ever write about.

And in the Zoo, I think there's definitely some mindfuck going on, especially in chapter ten. And I can say that I've got planned some more of the effects of that, and how the characters will have to deal with the outcome, as one of the conflicts/challenges in the story.

I'm _really_ glad you're enjoying the series' though, and I very much appreciate your taking the time and energy to make good points and observations. I find them helpful, and I'm grateful for the input!

Coyote

I don't _know_ anything about PTSD, nor have I had the misfortune to suffer from it, so I bow to your experience. I'm glad to hear it's so treatable; I did not know that.

I'm glad to hear you've recovered.

As far as The Zoo having some mindfuck aspects ... well, it was either that or the author contriving to extend the series. I'm not too surprised to hear definitively that it's the first.

As far as repeated motifs - I'm not objecting, just mentioning. I probably wouldn't be enjoying your work so much if I didn't have similar tastes in tea.

Cheers,
Onyx Tao

Technically, it is _not_ considered curable. It is considered _treatable_ through psychotherapy and sometimes drug regimes, but the person suffering from it can expect to live with it for the rest of their lives.

The only effective substance for curing it, MDMA, is currently illegal, because it is used as a recreational drug.

Sorry... not to get too off-topic. I'm just a little sore because I know that there's lots of people suffering needlessly.

About the story stuff... here's to similar tastes in tea! : )

I'm not actually contriving to extend the series though. The Zoo is not a series. It's a novel. I've just been posting the chapters individually. : ) But I'm (more or less) observing novel structure for it, as far as pacing, length, and buildup. : )

I'm enjoying all your stories right now, greatly! ^-^ Though I still need to finish reading zoo as well :P Long series that is.

Heh. Thanks. It's long because it's a novel. : ) I'm just not done with it yet.

lighter, very delicate brews. I used to drink some pretty strong black teas, but I've gotten away from those. Although I have an occasional yearning for lapsang souchong, which is a smoked tea and ... well, very different from the delicate greens

I did not intend to suggest seriously that the series was contrived, just that I was enjoying wondering what elements were mindfuck. My all-time favorite TV show was the 1960's *The Prisoner* so, if you're familiar with it, that should tell you something.

That MDMA is effective against post-traumatic stress disorder is news to me, and a good thing to know.

The US government's unsane position and actions on drugs come as no surprise to me. Their position on marijuana is equally irritatingly unsane given its efficacy in cancer and HIV treatment regimes.

Cheers,
Onyx Tao

RE Tea: I am not a _frequent_ tea drinker, but I dearly enjoy my tea when I do drink it. It's actually sort of a special occasion drink for me. My favorite black tea is actually Twinings English Breakfast tea. I'm a sucker for various early grey/bergamot teas, but unfortunately, most of those are a lot of cheap black tea mildly flavored with bergamot. I prefer the ones where it's very strong, and the tea is of high quality. I sometimes make my own chai tea from scratch, with black tea, peppercorns, cardamom, and some other spices. Most chai blends strike me as kind of weak and commercial-tasting.

I did like the Prisoner, but never got to see many episodes. I do enjoy strangeness like that though - I like watching plots within plots unfold, or stories where the entire paradigm changes unexpectedly (Matrix, Sixth Sense, etc.).

As far as US Drug Laws, yes, I think they are unsane.
Things that are proven to be very dangerous and have a negative impact on society are legal, sold over the counter or given by prescription. At the same time, other things, which are sometimes less dangerous than legal medicines or recreationals, are incredibly illegal.

We spend zillions of dollars a year putting people behind bars for smoking marijuana. We make all sorts of research chemicals and medicinals illegal to the point that they can't even be used experimentally.

If a fraction of the money spent on making people into criminals was put into teaching them how to use things safely, I think we'd all be a lot better off.