I have no words to describe just how moved and amazed I was by this piece. I'm simply afraid I cannot do justice the depth of my reaction, lest I cheapen it. I'm only sorry that this work seems to have been overlooked.

Thank you. I suppose it sounds vain to say this story still touches me, but it does. I'm glad I'm not alone in that.

I really have to ask this, because it's bugged me since I read the story. Did you shop this out to any other publications aside from the one it was published in? I'm talking real mainstream sci-fi mags and the like.

A couple. It was a long time ago, so I don't remember all the details, except for the one response I got. It was from the editor of Analog, who said "I just don't like this story about giant cockroaches."

Augh. D:

this was an interesting read. I'm going to have to track down that piece of music

Thanks. And yes, you should track down all of Beethoven's 7th, which is my favorite piece of his if not my favorite music of all. (Granted, it faces stiff competition from Dvorak's New World Symphony and... Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. :D )

As for the specific movement I mentioned, the one that inspired this story, it's everywhere. It's common enough that I'd guess you know it, whether or not you know where it comes from.

true, when I heard it I did recognize it, I simply didn't know it was from him

"I just don't like the story about cockroaches?" That's all that the editor got from this? He or she must not have read it..just skimmed it. That's a pity.

Beats the "After a careful review, we believe you novel is not commercially viable" response. Received by return Priority Mail on Friday when I sent them the book on Monday. Apparently the "careful review" occurred between 10:12 and 10:14 on a Wednesday morning.

I'd only seen this in Anthro, wasn't aware it was on FA (which seems to have eaten up all your quotation marks).

Just wanted to say it is _really good_. Like. _Really really good._

Thank you! I'm glad to know when somebody actually reads the thing. :)

Yes, I know about the quotation marks. I guess I forgot to edit them straight again before I posted the story here.

Posting stories here is a pain because the only format that posts so you can read it without a further file download is plain text. And "smart quotes" aren't part of the original text character set; only straight quotes are. What you're seeing where the quotation marks should be are little black diamonds with question marks in them; the site's standard for "I don't know what character this is."

Cubist (the editor at Anthro) and I have religious differences. He likes curly quotes and I like straight. I use straight quotes. He shifts them to curly for posting on his web site. After he's done with the story, and I post it here and on my personal website, I edit the curly quotes back to straight ones. But not always, apparently.

I could put a word processor format file here but you'd have to download it before reading, and I'm insecure enough to think that people wouldn't. So I go with the text, and all the attendant troubles, so when people click it here they get to read it right away. No further download required. I don't know, maybe the other way would be better.

Oh, why don't I post my original file instead? Because Cubist is a damn fine editor. We usually go back and forth a couple times before the story's edited to our mutual satisfaction, and since he converts to HIS preferred format before we do the editing, that's the format we use. The final version that goes on Anthro is far better than what I submitted there, I assure you. :D

This story has such a deep, wonderful meaning that really grabs hold of you once you begin to understand the true message. The way you conveyed the idea through words was absolutely brilliant. Bravo.

Thank you. I suppose I shouldn't say it, but this story touched me myself. I often wonder if I'll ever come up with anything else that can do that so deeply.

It doesn't say whether they'll consider reprints, but you might want to check this out...

http://www.music-strange-fiction-submissions.info/

Thank you. I am doing so now.

This was Will Sanborn's Anthrodreams podcast and the narrator gave the story power, check out his page here on FA or just search your story title.

This has to be one of my favorite audio adaptations of many short stories I have read here.

The audio adaptation: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/13841628/

Thanks so much for listening to this. I know about the adaptation, and I love it too. I thought I put a link to it in my "gallery" somewhere but I may not have, as I don't think I can claim ownership of it. Anyway it's a great adaptation in a great series.

It is