QSFer Layman Kingsford has a new post-gender space opera out, part of the forthcoming tabletop game experience “Living Starship”: NEW RELEASE: Galactic Overture #1: D’Trex Taree – Layman Kingsford.
Set in the POST GENDER science fiction universe of Living Starship, follow D’Trex Taree, an officer cadet in the Situdel Fleet Academy as they are given command of a small team of enlisted cadets. Their assignment on their first day of Zoology class seems simple, but not everyone is willing to work as a team. Will D’Trex manage the outing to the satisfaction of Academy instructors?
About the Pronouns:
Two of the major aspirations I hold for the Living Saga (comprised of the fantasy Living Empires, the superheroic Living Metropolis and the space opera Living Starship) is to realize a truly POST-GENDER fictional setting where culture and society did not develop in any way influenced by a person’s reproductive biology. Gender and gender expression therefor do not exist.
To that end, the English language needs some adjustment. In the Living Starship series I have chosen exclusively to use THEY/THEM/THEIR as singular pronouns. I have codified THEYZ/THEMZ/THEIRZ as exclusive plural pronouns. This also means that YOU/YOUR is singular and YOUZ/YOURZ is plural.
I am also experimenting with my own version of phonetic English. I am assembling an alphabet where every letter has ONE and only one sound. This means, for example, that the letter “C” has been excised completely since “K” and “S” cover the same sounds. You will also notice a lot of double vowels. These represent the traditional long sound of each vowel.
There are a number of other changes which you can peruse, if interested, on the Cheeky Dingo website (Living Starship Stories section – Language Primer). These new linguistic rules only apply to proper names of characters, locations, space stations, and starships.
Story PDF (free) | Stories Page | Living Starship Game Page
Excerpt
D’Trex followed the major with their eyes wondering if they had drawn any undue attention. They felt safe breaking protocol in this small way as the major was only a third their height and thus less likely to notice such surreptitious eye behavior. D’Trex imagined what their own uniform would look like with gloves, boots and jacket stipe illumined in Health Division amethyst. The major wore the black vest and purple sleeves of a warrant officer but had a white collar and double white bars on boots and gloves. The major was not only a Zoology professor but the Academy station’s Zoology Department Director! Theyz were in luck to have such an august instructor for this introductory class.
“Ug, enlisted,” one of the other officer cadets hissed in a whisper. D’Trex’s keen ears had no problem picking up the epithet. They hoped that the major’s hearing wasn’t as sharp. The major looked to be of Gruk genome-ology, small and semi-aquatic. That they were an enlisted officer working as a department head was quite rare indeed.
Author Bio
Layman Kingsford grew up in New Mexico and now lives in Denver, Colorado. He has a BFA in music and creative writing but spent much of his adult life as a professional ballroom dancer (one-time US Champion). He has had stints as a professional trombone player and also as Brock N. Alnite, a drag performer and cofounder of Haus Alnite.
He currently spends his time writing Living Saga stories and novels while designing/publishing tabletop games – some of which are also related to aspects of the Living Saga.
| Author Website | https://www.livingstarship.com |