The Third Dimension appeared on-line in Plasma Frequency Magazine. PFM re-emerged in 2016 with help from Kickstarter, and they’ve introduced a number of new features including a rookie author program, revamped editorial process, and broad reading choices with stories free on-line as well as in print and ebook editions.
Note: Unfortunately PFM has now sunk again and all that is left is a terrible spam site.
‘The Third Dimension’ is pretty much sci fi, as long as you can suspend your disbelief—I find a glass of wine helps, except with politicians—and it owes something to Ian R MacLeod’s magical novel The Light Ages, plus a few other works that I won’t name to avoid spoilers.
When I was young, I spent time collecting various things—rocks, shells, stamps, and even leaves—and that also plays into ‘The Third Dimension.’ I had books to help me identify my finds, but I couldn’t figure out what some of the rocks were. Later I realized that the interesting specimens I’d found on suburban streets were actually lumps of bitumen and concrete that didn’t feature in my amateur geology handbook.
Finally, ‘The Third Dimension’ makes reference to Rupert Sheldrake‘s concept of morphic resonance. Sheldrake has made various claims about morphic resonance—for example, if an idea has been thought of once it’s more likely to be thought up again, because of something called the morphogenetic field.
If you want to test your ability to suspend disbelief, reading up on Sheldrake’s ideas could be useful, but one glass of wine definitely won’t be enough. Like Fox Mulder, we all want to believe, but I suspect that spec fic writers tend to be better than average at distinguishing fact from fiction. Writers can recognize speculative fiction even when it isn’t called that.
Once found a small rock in the Atlantic Ocean with lots of little stones, all different colors and textures, seemingly growing out of it. I was so sure it had been flung through the universe until someone told me it was part of a construction pile of stones used for making driveways. I don’t think I believe that 🙂 Love your stories and posts!
Thanks. The innocence of childhood is a precious thing. All things considered, I wish I still had it. Maybe not when an Ethiopian princess emails offering 10% of a zillion dollars though :).
A disappointment that I recognise. When searching the beach in Lyme Regis, Dorset, UK I found wow! chunks of gold! Only to be told that the substance was Pyrites, commonly called fool’s gold. Needless to say, I felt a bit of a fool!
From my perspective, nothing foolish at all. Another of my classics (and I wasn’t that young) was the micro-meteor that shot through a window like a bullet and took a piece out of a wall. I looked up images and information and convinced myself that’s what it was. Later I noticed an identical stone a block away in a neighbor’s yard. I don’t think whoever it was with the slingshot actually aimed at the window (they must have been a fair distance away). I hope not anyway.
On another topic, I have been reading your work. I find it stimulating and I am partially ashamed of my poetry in comparison because of its simplicity. Your immense vocabulary and intelligence. are stunning. However, I appreciate your support and I will continue to write, as poetry for me, is a life time habit that is very enjoyable. Thanks again Steve.
Thank you, Margaret. I definitely have an immense capacity for making mistakes. Unfortunately that’s about it.
What I learned from my poetry class was to write from the heart and not hold back. My language is basically technical, so that’s what comes out. I used to live in South America and that affects the words and expressions I use as well. I don’t think much when I write, it’s just me.
I’m quite sure that simplicity is best in every way including resonance with your audience. Unfortunately it’s a problem for me because of my background. You have nothing to be ashamed of and everything to be proud of.