Drabblecast 315 – Heaven is a Place on Planet X

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

Feature: Heaven is a Place on Planet X by Desirina Boskovich
Drabble: In the End by Ken Galo
Genres: Sci-Fi



Friday, March 7th, 2014
It was 8:34 p.m. on a Tuesday, and it was almost the end of the world.

Actually, the world was expected to end on Friday, at precisely 5 p.m., eastern daylight time. This was not a forecast, or a projection: it was more like an appointment.

Episode Art: Mary Mattice
Read by: Folly Blaine
This story is part of The Apocalypse Triptych.

Twabble: “ "Seems like magic? Of course. Any sufficiently advanced technology does!" The nanobots finished their incantation. ” by Farseeker

[strawman]

Well, there's a concept for you. It's all spoiler, so how do you comment safely? Just to say that this would make a pretty good Prequel to a Series.

And, as if to pat me on the head and call me a smart doggy, I realize that's pretty much the idea of Apocalypse Triptych. Pretty smart deal, ya'll.

[MartinForgeWorks]

The scary part of this story was how believable the human cooperation was. Normal German people chose to fallow Hitler with horrible acts and so many other examples around the world of such things. Seems the same would happen with an alien invasion.

Great reading like always. And I do many always, I enjoy many other podcasts but sometimes the audio quality for them is poor and it's difficult to hear a story as I ride in the automobile. Disappointing because some of the story's are great. But with Drabble cast they all seem to be very clear and crisp readings

Thank you Drabble Cast

Mackenzie
Martin Forge Works

[strawman]

Great reading like always. And I do many always, I enjoy many other podcasts but sometimes the audio quality for them is poor and it's difficult to hear a story as I ride in the automobile. Disappointing because some of the story's are great. But with Drabble cast they all seem to be very clear and crisp readings

Thank you Drabble Cast

Mackenzie
Martin Forge Works

And it's so unnecessary. They can just listen to B-Sides, where Norm has given away all the technical secrets for FREE...
Well, they'd just have to put as much effort into it as Norm,

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

The scary part of this story was how believable the human cooperation was. Normal German people chose to fallow Hitler with horrible acts and so many other examples around the world of such things. Seems the same would happen with an alien invasion.

That part was believable, and we see that kind of behavior (with much less murder, for now) every day -- in the roads, schools, airports, etc.

What wasn't believable, at all, is how docile the population was. Sheeple can, and do, put up with outrageous abuse (and that's just at the DMV), but it stops at blatant slaughter on the streets! There would have been everything from riots, to immediate retaliation on individual enforcers, to all kinds of passive and active resistance tactics (from every side of any political, social, or religious spectrum). The aliens, and anyone appearing to support them, would be assaulted repeatedly.

The story's protagonist wouldn't have been spit on, in that bar. She would have been killed days before.

This major plot-holage really bumped me, but the story was otherwise a great
appetite whetter for follow on stories about what happens next.

[Arby's Mom]

What wasn't believable, at all, is how docile the population was. Sheeple can, and do, put up with outrageous abuse (and that's just at the DMV), but it stops at blatant slaughter on the streets! There would have been everything from riots, to immediate retaliation on individual enforcers, to all kinds of passive and active resistance tactics (from every side of any political, social, or religious spectrum). The aliens, and anyone appearing to support them, would be assaulted repeatedly.

I seem to remember something about the leaders of the countries who tried to not participate instantly vanishing. If you think you'll die if you don't go along, you tend to go along.

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

If anything, those leaders vanishing would exponentially increase the resistance.
Do I need to spell out the countries, religious, and social groups that would resist this invasion with a fervor? That might even take extreme offense at the proffered notion of that heaven? Where chaos, anarchy, and resistance might already be a daily fact of life? This would just give them a unifying theme and support from resistance-minded players, world-wide.

Alien invasion, even with the wouldn't-be-believed-for-two-seconds promise of heaven, would galvanize the meek in "civilized" countries. Plenty of people are still willing to risk their lives for a cause (especially resisting invaders!). Not only that, but once the deaths become personal, and once it looks like they're dead either way, many more people fight back in whatever way they can. There are many covert methods that people would use to cripple the enforcers without the perpetrators risking their life overmuch.

"I'm sorry Ms enforcer, the computer shows you haven't paid your power or water bills in months."
"Routine" construction kills the phones of headquarters, or accidentally floods it with sewage. Etc., etc.

Those are just the mild, non-lethal acts. In truth, the enforcers would be killed by the score. Those ray guns would be passed around like a new boy in prison.

[tbaker2500]

Episode was good, well done. I do think it suffered from an, IMHO, typical problem with apocalyptic and post-apocolyptic stories. Human behavior is exceedingly complex. Often, like in this story, it is reduced to a simpler facet of humanity in order to justify the premise.
Niggling point - Anybody who has been on xanax knows it wouldn't help the enforcers like the story suggests. It might let them sleep all day, but not commit horrible acts.

[danthelawyer]

As someone who frequently dislikes stories everyone else is raving about, and often because I get hung up on what I perceive to be logical flaws, I have to say I disagree with the above assessments of this story. I thought it was quite wonderful, and I thought the narration was amazing.

I also think the idea that there would have been rioting in the streets is a little overly optimistic. People are complicated, but they sadly often tend to be pretty obedient.