Bodies of water in the amazon rainforest

 (This is a separate series from the other one I am writing and posting here. But they DO take place in the same collective universe.) 

1: ≈ 180 hours after excavation

 The subject seems to show no hostility. It moves slowly, most likely a side effect of being suspended in stasis for a long period of time. We are led to believe that, despite finding our few subjects frozen and encased in ice, they had not been unconscious throughout their ‘stasis’. Which would of course mean it's NOT a type of stasis, nor is it to be considered hibernation. After inspection of their casing, one of our less experienced archeo-biologists is led to believe they were surviving off of the ice itself. This theory is backed by little evidence, other than seemingly, entirely coincidental air pockets around the arthropods ‘feet’, which are more accurately described as the ‘ends of their legs’. We are currently stumped. 

[We have made the executive decision to call them 'Stumps']
2: ≈ 220 hours after excavation

 One of our subjects has fortunately passed. We have begun examinations of the body, and minimal incisions have displayed the ‘arthropods’ adeptness at storing liquids. Beneath the Chitin, or the shell of the insectoids is a casing, flexible and pressure resistant. We have attempted opening the casing with surgical equipment Similar to that of ‘LASIK™’. It is, Intensely heat resistant as well, incredibly so. 

3: ≈ 245 hours after excavation.

 Within the casing (we have decided to refer to it as the creatures ‘cast’), is a clear liquid, which we theorize is simply just water. However, upon closer inspection we have found this liquid is a breeding ground for water-based bacteria, microbes, etc, etc. 

[5 Hours after breaching the ‘cast’.]

 Three of our scientists have reported feeling nauseous after exposure to the solution within the creatures cast, and have promptly been sent to a nearby medical outpost. They are currently in quarantine, their symptoms are standard for bacteria. 

Including
Coughing, runny nose, trouble breathing, seizures, simulated hemophilia.

Ji'nur'kakf’Eng had worked with humans before. He served on a multi-species science vessel for six standard months. To his pleasant surprise, he had been enfolded by the strange, new species. The few that spoke clicking languages could say his full Name. The rest called him nicknames like “Vamps” and “Batman”, with a strange accompanying song that followed him through the decks. There was some sort of cultural thing about his appearance that nobody had time to explain. Of the nicknames he had been given, he honestly just preferred “Jin.”
This new vessel was a promotion, being the Head Medical Officer of a ship was something he had wanted as soon as he realized his calling to heal. But the ship itself was… very different. Unlike the vast and nearly spherical Galactic Federation ships, this one was a smaller reconnaissance-class gunship from the Terran Union. She was shaped mostly like a triangle, with actual wings (wings!) for in-atmo flight. The front came to a distinct point, with another point on either side sitting more towards the wings and coming less far forward.
“She's a Falconidae model,” Captain Ntuli said, seeing his confusion. “Terran designers will go on kicks and design things based on Earth animals. It's a type of hunting bird.”
“Oh, I see,” Jin answered quietly. He was a man of science, but being on a ship designed to look like one of his species’ major predators made him quickly chitter to the spirits that it wasn't some kind of omen. “What’s her name?”
The captain grinned, her teeth incredibly white in her dark brown face. He didn't shiver at the sight, having forced himself to get over the teeth thing within the first month of his previous post.
“Her name is T.U.S. Kissimmee Asp.” She said proudly. “It's a pun in English, so I don't know if it translates to K'ohe'la.”
Oh! She could use the clicks of his tongue! That was a pleasant surprise.
A tall, red-haired female in grease stained coveralls leaned out of the ramp hatch. “We call her Kissy when she's being nice, and Asp when she's throwing fits,” she interjected, wiping her hands with a rag.
Captain Ntuli sighed, gesturing towards the other woman. “This is one of our Engineering officers, Miss Josephine Drakonos.”
“Just call me Josie! There's another Drakonos on board and it could get confusing as hell otherwise.”
Josie offered her hand with a smile. Jin knew this bit of human greeting. He unclasped the wings around his shoulders and stood straighter, offering his own four-fingered hand to shake hers.
“I'm Dr. Ji'nur'kakf’Eng. Most humans prefer to call me Dr. Jin.” He finished with a greeting click that may have been out of her hearing range, but it was polite.
“Oh, you're the new doc? Cool. We, uh, might get kinda familiar. Engineering can be rough some days,” she said sheepishly.
Jin laughed lightly at that, a crackling sound in his lower throat.
The captain led him onto the ship, Josie scurrying off to yell at some Ensign. She toured him through the slightly cramped galley, letting him nod and click his hellos to the personnel there. (“Oh my God, he's Batman!” “More like the man-bat.” “Could you assholes not be racist for ten fucking minutes?”)
Jin was pleasantly surprised that he wasn't the only non-Terran on board. There were a few Ryeté in the rec room, making humans shriek when they extended their second set of jaws to quickly snatch food out of their hands. A Shex sat in the navigation seat, adjusting things with their tentacles. There was even an Ah'gua as the communications officer.
“The humans call me Penny,” she said, returning his greeting click with a hiss-click of her own. Her feathers were a purely tropical shade of yellow with bands of cobalt blue. “You have no idea how nice it is to actually use my upper voice box to talk. Finally! Someone with working ears!” she whistled.
Jin sent his own click-squee-chirps, quickly arranging for the two of them to commiserate over lunch after the first few shifts.
Captain Ntuli led him out of the bridge towards a small office towards the point of the left wing. “You'll need a quick debrief with our security officer before setting up shop in the medbay,” she said. “Meanwhile, I'll be on the bridge. We're launching in 45.” She gave Jin a firm pat on the back, and he tried not to wince. That was uncomfortably close to his wing joints.
He reached out and knocked on the door, a clipped voice replied, “Come in.”
Sitting behind the desk, in a neatly pressed uniform, was a dour-looking version of Josie. Same red hair and dotted skin, only this one wore her hair tied high on the back of her head. She also looked decidedly less friendly.
“Have a seat, doctor.” She waved towards one of the stools in front of her. Jin was briefly glad that they didn't have those silly chairs with backs.
“I am Head Security Officer Marinne Drakonos, and I have a few things to go over with you.”
She pulled something towards her that looked like a list, but he didn't try to read it first. He didn't want to be impolite.
“Let's go over your credentials here. Honors Graduate of Xinfuah medical school, residency at the refugee hospital on Queree IV, and a six month tour on the GFS Chordata. I take it you have experience with all of the species aboard this ship?”
“I do, yes.” Jin answered with a nod. “My concentration was Aviary and Mammalian medicine, but I have worked with Cephelapods and Reptiles.”
“Good. You were hired before I could go over your file, and I would truly loathe to have someone unqualified,” she said quietly.
He noticed that her eyes were gray, like steel, that there was something hawkish about her profile. The fur on his back rose. All humans were predators, he knew, but this one seemed more predatory than he was used to.
“This vessel will have a large number of ground missions, and something always goes wrong, no matter how hard anyone tries to prevent it. It is the nature of such things,” Officer Drakonos continued. “The cases you get may range from crushed limbs to quarantine level 4 decontamination. I must do my due diligence and know you are prepared. How sensitive is your hearing?”
The question took him off guard. “Um, slightly above average for my species.”
“Hm.”
Her gray eyes roved over the fleshy dish around his nose, his prominent and ridged ears. K’ohe’la had the best hearing above water in the galaxy, with the nocturnal subspecies of Ah’gua coming in second. Jin’s ears twitched under the scrutiny. They were rather attractive by his own kind’s standard, but she surely wasn't admiring them.
She huffed a breath out through her nose. “If you do not have earplugs, they can be provided. At 1400 tomorrow, you will attend the ship-wide briefing and walkthrough of evacuation, crash, and hostile boarding procedures.”
Jin’s ears twitched in surprise. “Do you expect these things to happen? I thought this was a reconnaissance vessel doing planetary surveys for a mining company?”
Officer Drakonos shrugged. “I always expect the worst and believe in being prepared. There will be drills for all of these scenarios, and anyone not following procedure could face disciplinary action.”
She said those last two words with more glee than Jin thought was appropriate.
Three weeks had passed, and Jin had grown more comfortable with the crew, his few fellow scientists, and Penny. O’Donnel played some strange instrument called a Violin. Korfin was the fighting game champion in the rec room. Reyes had a truly delightful collection of poetry. Even the Captain had surprised him with her melodic singing voice during karaoke night (an event he swore to never attend again).
The first survey went off without a hitch, and so far he had only treated a few burns and joint sprains from over-eager engineers and security personnel. Nothing had seriously gone wrong.
He heard the echoing voice of Officer Drakonos in his head say “Yet.”
True to the earlier predictions of Josie, he did see her regularly for small things. Right now, that was a small second-degree burn on her forearm.
“I didn't know it was still hot!” She whined.
Jin crackled in his chest and twitched his ears. He heard something like that from her almost every three days.
“You need to be more careful,” he chided, applying the disinfectant spray. “Otherwise you're never going to take over from Jerimovich.”
“Sweet Christ, you sound like Marinne. It's always 'think of the performance review Josie', 'show qualities of leadership Josie', and 'you're lucky I don't report the still in the bay, Josie'. Ugh.”
Jin jerked back. “There's a distillery in the engine bay?”
“No,” she replied too quickly. “And there isn't a shrine to Danny Devito either.”
“Who is-?”
“Don't worry about it.”
He sighed, reaching for another nozzle to apply the spray on bandage.
“Out of curiosity,” he asked, “How are you and the Security Officer related? Unless you aren't and I'm just being racist.”
“Oh. Yeah, I guess you wouldn't realize. She's my twin sister,” Josie answered, sighing with relief from her burn.
“Twin… oh! When single-bearing mammals have two at once?”
“Yep. It's not that uncommon these days, and our mom is a twin herself.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I'll head back to-”
“JOSEPHINE, MOVE!”
They both jumped and spread apart from the door, and Officer Drakonos burst in with the shex navigator, Firek, on her back. His color was a muted gray instead of his normal shifting chromatophores.
“Set him here,” Jin jumped to attention and guided her to the water tank he had just for Firek. “What am I looking at, illness or contaminate?” He asked, placing electrodes and setting an intravenous patch on the unconscious male.
“Contaminate. Some jackass snuck some blue rass on the ship and smoked it next to a ventilation shaft. Went straight into the bridge.”
Jin nodded and prepped to flush Firek’s secondary lungs and gills, then paused for a brief moment. “Get Penny out of there. She won't be as sensitive as him, but she takes in a lot more. And put out an alert for the Ryeté and anyone with allergies. If anyone starts hacking or having swollen eyes, send them here immediately.”
She nodded, then quickly strode out of the room, her comm already in hand.
Jin adjusted the salinity in the tank, and prepped an oxygen station for when Firek could breathe air.
“Hand me that,” he gestured at the frozen Josie. “I need the beak-appropriate mask, and go push the blue button next to the door twice. It’ll turn on my extra oxygen supply. Don't bother with the yellow one unless Korfin or Kurlok show up.”
“Uh, yeah!” Josie shook out of her surprise and moved quickly.
Officer Drakonos surged back into the room, with a coughing Penny hanging onto her shoulder. “I cleared the bridge, just in case. At least until the filters pick it up.”
Jin got Penny settled, checking her vitals and pressing one of her small pseudo hands over the mask to hold it down. Her lungs were rasping, and there was a faint whistle that told him her upper and central voice boxes had a bit of damage. His ear twitched, picking up the repeated pings of the officer’s comm.
“Fuck!”
Jin flapped for a moment and looked behind him. Officer Drakonos’ face was red, and he could hear her heartbeat pounding in her chest.
“Josie, tell me to not make an example,” she growled.
“Marinne, you’ll get fired if you airlock an idiot for smoking rass.”
“I didn't say anything about airlocking.”
“No!” Josie shouted. “Whatever weird, evil thing going on in your head is not worth it.”
Officer Drakonos inhaled deeply and shook her comm towards her sister's face. “I have now thirteen allergic or adverse reactions out of a crew of thirty people. That is forty-three percent of my charges. For at least two of them, this could have been fatal. Someone is going to pay for this.”
She turned on her heel and marched out of the medbay. Jin swore that the air was colder in her wake.
He glanced a Josie. “Does she normally-?”
“Act like that? No,” she replied. “If anyone had died it would be worse. If something this bad had happened to me? There might be bodies.”
He shivered. “Why would the captain have chosen someone like that to be a security officer? Sounds like an incident ready to happen.”
“Nah, that's what makes her good at her job.” Josie looked at him with the same steel colored eyes as her sister. “Marinne cares. A lot. She puts herself in the position of a mama bear who would do anything to protect her cubs.”
“So this is a… protective anger? Even for those she doesn't know? Those not kin or even the same species?” Jin's people only had something like that on an individual basis. Or a colony would feel emotions as one. One person acting like this for near strangers seemed too much.
“Oh yeah. And she was serious about making whoever did it an example. Humans pack bond, remember? If she thinks they're hers, then they are.” Josie shrugged. “Vengeance is one of her love languages.”
When the next roll call came, they were now a crew of twenty-nine. (“I bet she airlocked Talley!” “Not until he was in pieces.” “Shut up, she is our boss you chucklefucks!”)
Jin watched her, sitting at the back of the mess hall. Her eyes scanned and assessed everyone. Firek was colorful again, sipping his fish paste through a straw. Penny spoke with a slight rasp that only he could hear. O’Donnel’s eyes were still swollen, but he'd be okay. Korlok was already back to snapping up his lunch with both sets of jaws.
Her eyes, cold and metallic things that they were, touched him in turn. They were possessive. Satisfied.
Jin hadn't ever felt anything like this, been subject to a care that was coupled with rage. It was uncomfortable, but something in his chest settled. He was, at least, on the shield side of that care.

Hello,
I'm a bit bummed out and overwhelmed looking right now and with other stuff. I've been doing this stuff and I love using candles to manifest things. They have been hella effective to me. One spell started working before the candle was technically done burning. The issue is apparently 2 people in my house developed a sensitivity fairly recently. We got into an argument because I'm not being accommodating enough.
I really have tried to be accommodating though. I've done it with only open windows, not opened the door to my room, fanned the smoke away from their rooms when I started being able to see it, asked another person if they could smell it (they said no), burned things gradually to minimize the smoke, did it when they weren't awake...a lot of things.
Their bodies are SO SENSITIVE that she can sense it even across the house and say it gives her a headache and makes her eyes water.
I really don't want to be insensitive, but I don't want to give up working with the candles/fire. I've had a lot of success with them and did my first successful healing spell with them recently. It was successful and I was so happy (But I can't really share with anyone because they're also very much not my religion)
Is there a kind I can buy that may work still? I've been using a generic cheap kind I could find. 9 dollar pack with two of all the colors. Are there soy/scentless ones you guys use? Anyone know an affordable pack with a lot of color variety under 30 dollars? I'm really trying not to break the bank.

As the title says .... I was for a long time a fan... Loved when she was pregnant with her 4th as I was having another at the same time. I loved watching the whole home birth (she inspired me to find my own power to do the same)... But then I started noticing how I felt about things... About things on my body, things I was feeling, she would mention something and I would be like, oh I feel that too... And ended up on my own medical spirals and body image spirals but I obviously can't completely blame SNL for all of that. But the more I saw the commentary in here, the more I realized the correlation between her manic posts and my own feelings of self doubt. Everything could be cured by frivolous spending right? Wrong... Anyways...I unfollowed her after the breast lump debacle because that was actually enough for me. My mental health has improved greatly since eliminating my exposure to fake issues. She is not good for women in any way... She is not body positive, she's a grifter in the worst way. I can't even comprehend her latest bs about her dark armpits... Are we really at that low of a point where we have to point out armpit insecurity?? I just... It's wild. Anyways I'm hopeful that the age of influence is on its way out and we start remembering how amazing it is to be a woman, how great it is that we have these bodies and brains that do so much for us every day... And how we need to cherish and celebrate that, instead of pretending we are embarrassed by our dark underarms.... You will not find that confidence online that's for sure, there's no Amazon link available for that. ♥️💪🏻

Hi guys :)
I recently had a big upgrade over the last year but that really came to fruition these last few months. Since then, I’ve been having pretty severe skin issues everywhere. It’s like my skin got 10x more sensitive overnight as if I now have eczema and am allergic to everything.
Spirit came through during a channeling when it started to happen and stated that my vibration is making it so now my body does not agree with my surroundings anymore. It’s super uncomfortable.
This has come after having to change many things over the year as I’ve gone through this ascension, including only drinking water without fluoride, only being able to eat food that’s natural and not processed in any way, etc. Now I can only use natural things on my skin and in my hair, such natural soaps, only wearing cotton, etc. None of this is a deliberate choice or decision but seems to be a requirement now.
I have been working through it since then but recently saw another well-known psychic speak about his experience with extremely sensitive skin and described exactly what I’m dealing with.
Now I’m wondering, has anyone else experienced skin sensitivity as their abilities get stronger? And an overall need to go natural in other areas of your life?

This is really hard for me to post, but I’m hoping there are other mamas here who have been where I am and figured out what worked.
I had my first kid 21 months ago and I haven’t been able to get the weight off. I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life, and nothing I’ve done in the past to mange my weight has worked since giving birth.
While pregnant, I had to change my diet in my third trimester to help with gallbladder attacks. I ended up losing close to 30lbs. After birth, I was still having attacks and lost another 30lbs in 2 months. The stress of it all caused my breastmilk supply to dry up and my cycle came back just 2 months postpartum. While the gallbladder attacks stopped, the weight almost instantly came back. 50+ pounds in less than 6 months. I was already overweight when I got pregnant, but now I’m around 100lbs overweight.
I’ve tried everything that has previously worked for me with no results- keto, low carb, cico, intermittent fasting, omad. I started back intermittent fasting 16:8 in late December and barely lost anything up until March. March I decided to ramp it up a bit and cut out caffeine (because I read it raises cortisol levels which causes the body to hold onto fat), almost all sugar (I still eat fruit), eat OMAD, and added more movement to my day. I’m still not losing weight. My calories are consistently between 1200 and 1800 a day. I also gave Ovasitol a shot with no results.
Has anyone else experienced this after having a baby? For the record, I feel good, my skin is much clearer, and I’m not bloated, but the weight is not budging past the little bit of water weight I’ve lost. We want to try for another baby, but I want to lose a significant amount of weight first. Any advice? Or is this best left to my doctor to help me figure out?

Wherever you stand in the discussion, I don't think there's any debate over the fact that the exploding crossbow is a perplexing weapon with a complicated design. I've seen people argue that the crossbow is bugged because it's taking out weak points in more shots than other explosive weapons that, according to in-game stat pages, deal less damage. Why does the grenade launcher (~370 damage) take out a bile spewer in fewer shots than the crossbow (420 damage)????
It's not bugged, just poorly designed. Or it's genius, and just poorly communicated in its design. We don't have enough in-game information to know for sure, so please consider this all to be theoretical until proven otherwise.
Now onto numbers! ^{(Note: These numbers are not 100% accurate but they are close enough to get the point across}) The crossbow does 420 damage total, split into ~50% from the bolt's impact (210) and ~50% from the resulting explosion (also 210). Explosive damage will always do full damage to weak points (Charger butts, Bile Spewer bodies, glowing Tank and Hulk backs, etc) while non-explosive damage does only 10% damage to weak points. This means that the crossbow will deal 420 damage to standard soft-body enemy parts, but only 231 damage (21 impact + 210 explosive) to weak points.
The crossbow has significantly higher damage per shot than most of its primary weapon peers, making it theoretically great at eliminating most common targets on the battlefield while still dealing 55% of its damage to weak points instead of only 10%. That's a cool quirk unique to this weapon, if a bit complicated in its implementation.
So the crossbow is not bugged but is functioning as intended with its damage. However, it's still not ideal if you're bringing it along with the intention of hitting weak points. The JAR Dominator has a higher rate of fire with higher damage and a larger mag and will ALWAYS deal its full damage (275) to weak points because it's 100% explosive damage, despite having no AOE associated with it. The Plasma Punisher has more in common with the explosive crossbow as it also splits its damage between impact (100) and explosion (150). However, the Plasma Punisher, like the Dominator, is 100% explosive damage, meaning it's still dealing the full 250 to all weak points. It also has the added benefit of a large AOE, allowing you to damage Charger weak points from the front if you aim between the legs and take out weaker groups if needed, something the crossbow can't do in its current state with its "single-target shaped charge".
Overall, it seems that the crossbow isn't useless, but in trying to diversify its damage types it doesn't stand out in any particular role compared to its peers. You could make the argument that a weapon with incredibly high single-target damage that breaks out of its niche by being semi-resistant to weak point restrictions is enough to make it worth taking along. But now we can get into what makes this weapon a standout amongst its true peers. The only way I see the crossbow being a true consideration in your loadout is if compared to its actual primary weapon competition: Sniper weapons that reward precision with high crit multipliers.
A high crit multiplier is great for sniper weapons with small magazines and low rate of fire, like our friend the explosive crossbow. It's the reason why the lower damage of the counter sniper (140) can one-shot Devastators to the head while the higher damage Dominator (275) takes 2-3 shots. It's also why the AMR can kill a Hulk in 2 shots to the eye (both a crit and weak spot), but takes a magazine or more to kill it from the rear (just weak spot, not a crit spot). Building a weapon around a high crit multiplier rewards good aim with high damage and, more importantly, punishes bad aim with lower overall damage when unaffected by multipliers. Against the Automatons this type of weapon excels as their units have a very obvious crit spot (high-contrast white skull), but the bugs are a faction with fewer crit spots and sniper weapons suffer here. This is where the high base damage of the crossbow finds its niche ^{in theory}.
The explosive crossbow's role is a single-target damage tool like other snipers, but with forgiveness and flexibility. Hit them in the body. Hit them in the leg. It's dealing high damage that is not reliant on hitting a crit spot. You only have to hit the target's soft body. And if you come across Bile Spewers and Chargers, with their big "weak" points, you're not totally screwed ^{in theory}.
Even after all of this theorizing, however, the crossbow has many other downsides to consider (mag size, rate of fire, bolt travel time and drop, no armor piercing, etc). In most situations it would probably be simpler to take a counter sniper for pure crits OR a Dominator for armor and weak point flexibility, followed by a secondary or support weapon to cover what either is lacking.
What about buffs? Buffing the damage of just the bolt would be the play ^{in my opinion}. It would make the sniper-like stats make more sense and allow the current role of the crossbow, a sniper for enemies without crit spots, to stand out further from its peers without creating an overpowered weak point destroyer (weak point damage is currently balanced by the crossbow's unique split between the bolt and explosion damage). You could also go the opposite direction and reduce the damage of the bolt while increasing the crit multiplier, but that would destroy the identity of the crossbow and make it even more irrelevant ^{in my opinion}.
Tl;dr The design behind the crossbow is a sniper-style weapon that deals high damage to soft-body targets that typically lack a crit spot. This also allows forgiveness to those who can't hit crit spots in the first place. The explosive damage of the weapon leans further into the flexibility of its design, allowing it to tread water as a primary that can still damage weak points without destroying balance. It may not be the best weapon in the game, but I believe Arrowhead put genuine thought into this experimental design of a weapon, and I love to see weird niches flourish. Releasing this gun with a large AOE alongside the Eruptor was a huge mistake and ruined any chance for it to be recognized when it launched. With slight tweaking, it could be great.

Have a 5 gallon Fluval Spec V that I've had cycled and running for about a year now. I put shrimp in it about 3-4 months ago give or take and they've been doing great! Breeding, tons of babies. I think the guy only gave me 2 or 3 females so the population growth has been slow growing.I haven't needed to do much but top offs and don't fuss with the tank much, it's moderately planted. Yesterday I decided to syphon the sand, getting the poop and stuff. I took about a gallon of water, which I'm hindsight was too much I think. I put in dechlorinated water and everything seemed fine.
This morning I found 1 dead adult and 3 dead babies. in a panic I tested the water and found ph to be about 7 (normal), ammonia at a .10 ppm, 0 nitrite and maybe 3-5 ppm Nitrate. Nothing alarming but I imagine there were other bodies I missed in the hard scape I couldn't get to.
My question is how should I proceed? I haven't changed the water since yesterday because I'm afraid I did too big of a water change yesterday and feel like the parameters need to level out and let the plants do their job. I did put a few drops of prime in the water to hopefully help with the ammonia. I don't want to lose amore shrimp though. Should I change a little water to get some of that ammonia and nitrate out? Leave it alone and hope for the best?
Signed, Terrified Shrimp Mom
Edit to add: I know ammonia, nitrate and nitrite should be 0. Wondering if too many water changes might hurt the shrimp more than a slightly elevated ammonia and nitrate

~7 year old shepherd. Male neutered. 100lbs. History of bladder stones once, around 4 years ago. After that recurring UTIs and due to that an enlarged bladder and straining while peeing/UTI symptoms.
Saw a specialist nearly a year ago, they hospitalized him and ran a catheter to "reset him" and basically drain every bit of urine out in hopes that his bladder can kind of constrict a little. Since then, he's been peeing a lot better (kind of) but that's because he's on 3 different medications for it.
He takes 300mg pills of Gabapentin 3x a day, 3x bethanecol chloride 20mg, and 2x 20mg prazosin. I try to give him the prazosin after his second walk, sometime around 11am-12pm because he gets super duper drowsy from it and it's difficult trying to walk him in this SoCal sun while he's drowsy. Problem is, once he's taken his dose of prazosin, he usually leaves an entire ocean under him and completely soaks his belly band. We walk him enough for him to get a lot of pee out, and the specialist said he'll more than likely never truly empty his bladder completely on the walks, but I mean, idk where he's holding all this pee considering we walk him plenty and make sure he's getting a good amount of urine out.
He does drink copious amounts of water at weird times of the day. There's times where he just stands drinking water for like 3 minutes straight. All his blood work or whatever came back normal, they did test for Cushing's right when I took him in about a year ago. I did ask the specialist if his intake is normal, she said most likely yes, his body is just used to the water intake from all the UTIs.
My thing is, he usually drinks a gallon's worth at night, right before bed after our last walk, or in the middle of the night. Should I try to limit his water intake at night at least? Maybe pick up the bowl when we go to bed?

I posted a few days ago about my birth experience but the more days that go by the sadder i get about missing my golden hour with my girl. we did skin to skin and nursed a little. but i was taken to surgery within 30 minutes, then gone for hours. i missed her foot prints and some of her firsts. i’m so sad i won’t get that time back. i feel robbed.
my husband on the other hand was thrown a newborn hungry baby without me to feed or comfort her when she was looking for me. he thought she’d be okay for 20-30 minutes without me (and she was fine for that amount of time, but he had to bottle feed her to keep up). this man has changed my pads for me, dressed me, bathed me, fed me ice chips, kept my water cup FULL, he wiped the blood from my legs and cleaned me when i accidentally peed myself. yesterday i tried to go to the bathroom by myself when he was coming home and he walked in the door when I was crying because i couldn’t get up. he literally put his arms around me and lifted me from the toilet and undressed me because i leaked. he helped put my pants on and pulled my mesh underwear up over my abdominal incisions. he’s looked at my nasty c-section incision and felt my belly for signs of infection. i even told him how humiliating it felt that i couldn’t do it myself and he said he wasn’t looking at my body in a bad way. today in the car he put his arm over me so i wouldn’t move as much with the bumps in the road. i’m just so lucky to have someone take care of me when i need it the most 😭😭
baby bonded with him because of my surgery and they’re like best friends. he loves her so much, and she looks for him when she hears his voice 😭

The hotel hallway is dim, illuminated only by flickering lights. Elena is nowhere in sight, running after her would prove useless. The fire escape is the best way to intercept her. As I opened the door, I hear the echo of feet pounding against stairs. It was her. Swiftly, I hop over the railway, she wouldn’t escape so easily.
Elena’s adrenaline was no match for my speed. I gain on her with every jump. She is almost to the exit. I can’t let her escape. I’m so close. She’s reaching for the door, but her ponytail lags. I jump over the last flight of stairs and reach out as far as possible. Relief washes over me when I feel her silky hair in my hand. I yank back as hard as I can, her head whips back followed by her shoulders. She stumbles back but I catch her. We wrestle in the stairwell but quickly I gain control. I pull her against my body and with one hand over her mouth, I slowly crack the door… All clear. It seems no one heard us in this deserted shithole.
“No one can help you now,” I whisper in her ear. She tries to bite my hand but only manages to graze my skin. “You're going to have to try harder than that.”
…

The sun begins to rise—a glimmer of light peeks through the hotel room's curtains where they don’t quite meet. I dim the bathroom light, my eyes are burning from the fluorescent bulbs. 

I turn to the mirror. It’s dirty, so my reflection is blurred, but it doesn’t hide the age starting to show on my face. My hair is beginning to thin, the bags under my eyes are now turning purple, and my eyes are bloodshot. Not only is my age showing, but so are the years of secrets and lies.
I run the sink faucet and splash the cold water on my face. The cold water stings and sends a chill through my body. My eyes lock on their reflection, they look unfamiliar.

 “Are you ready to talk now?” I call back to Elena. I watch her through the mirror. The tub is small and her knees are folded to fit inside. She is choking, the ropes binding her hands together have chaffed her wrists, there is steam rising off the wet towel on top of her mouth. 

My hair is greasy, it’s been days since I’ve showered. I wet my hands and run them through my hair. I feel a wave of adrenaline rush over me.

I walk over to the tub, and raise the towel from Elena’s mouth, “You ready to start talking?” I ask again. Elena weakly pushes her lips together and blows a raspberry, a mixture of drool and water flows out of her mouth. She was always a spitter, and now it was her only defense. “Save your energy.” I put the dripping towel over her face and turn the bathtub faucet. The water pours over the towel, and her body writhes. The rush of energy from the cold water doesn't last and my eyelids feel heavy. If I’m tired, I know Sam can’t last much longer. 38, 39, 40. I turn off the faucet. I lift the towel and slowly ring it out on her face. 7, 8, 9, 10. “Where the fuck is she” I scream. I am losing my patience. Elena is still gasping, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. I sling her over my shoulder and throw her on the bed just a few yards away. Quickly I hook the rope on her wrist to the handcuffs hanging loose from the bed frame. She coughs in rhythm and her eyes flutter shut, she must be exhausted. I need to rest before she wakes up. I sit in the chair in the corner but my body is still tense while my mind races. I know Sarah wouldn’t have told Elena where I keep the safe (change). They might not have gotten to her, or she could have escaped if they did. I can’t get the image of my house out of my mind, the tables turned over, the broken glass, the blood-streaked walls. The blood may not have been hers. She’s smart, she knows how to defend herself. She could have escaped. Did they even capture her? Was it all a trap to lure me? Is she dead? Is she suffering? I don’t want to think about it anymore, I need to rest. My eyes ache from holding them open, I concede and let them fall shut. 

…
I gasp and my eyes shoot open, I feel an aching chill take over my body. My eyes focus and Elena is smiling in my face. There’s an excruciating cold pain in my chest, I look down and I see a knife protruding out. I watch as Elena slowly turn the knife, ripping my chest open. Her eyes are glowing, hungry for my cries, I won’t give her the satisfaction. Slowly she pulls the knife out but there is no relief. She pokes me again with the knife, it’s dull and the pressure builds as it slowly penetrates my soft stomach. Again, she slowly pulls the knife out, wiggling it along the way.
“Where is she?” I gasp, blood slowly filling my mouth.
“Since you really want to know, I guess I’ll tell you.. She is in Baltimore, well her head is in Baltimore, her body is in Essex, and her legs in the Back River. She wasn’t easy to catch, you’d be proud.” I drain the emotion from my eyes, my face is heavy. Elena’s face twitches with disappointment.
She continues, “The funny thing is we don’t even need you. She told us where the safe is, all to save you. I promised we wouldn’t go after you if we got what we needed, which was of course a lie, we have to kill you regardless. Or maybe she caved because of the pain. We didn’t go so easy on her as I have with you. First I cut off her fingers, one by one, and her toes, but of course it wasn't enough. I’ll give it to her, she’s tough, I suppose you coached her in the event she got mixed up in your nasty business. Do you feel guilty about that? I would. The person I love most in the world is dead because of me. I couldn’t live with the guilt knowing that my innocent wife died in such a painful way; and trust me, it was painful. I like to call it the death by a thousand cuts. Too bad you weren’t there to save her.”
I can no longer tell the source of the pain. I close my eyes and let the pain run its course, I deserve to feel every moment of the unbearable agony. She leans in real close, I feel her hot breath on the nape of my neck “Her last words were ‘Help me, David.’”
My body shakes uncontrollably and the dark room grows dimmer, I’m ready for relief. “I love you, Sarah. I’m sorry”.

I haven't edited this, but here it is, all 9 pages, for your reading pleasure. I am very excited to hear your opinions on my critique, and what you thought about it. I loved the book, and I'm very ready to watch the movie in a couple days. I had so much fun reading it. Thank you for reading! -Ari
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An Analysis of Turtles All the Way Down, in lieu of the movie*,* from a feminist and communist perspective
When talking about mental illness, especially with a book like Turtles All the Way Down, one has to acknowledge the sense of isolation and feelings of catastrophizing that come with the mental health crisis brings. The first time you have a mental health breakdown, especially when you’re not a seasoned veteran, dealing with the first hospitalizations and medication stabilizations, one doesn’t know what to expect.
From personal experience, the book talks about the situation in a couple of weeks, but in my personal experience, it took months to stabilize myself, get my meds right, to leave the hospital, and I wasn’t “myself” again for another six months after leaving the hospital because the medication they had put me on had inevitably turned me into a zombie. But, of course, mental health journeys are not all the same, and not everybody’s experiences are the same. Sometimes, it takes longer, sometimes less.
But, I think it is worth talking about Aza’s journey from a literary standpoint from a communistic and feminist perspective because it talks about the human experience that real people find themselves in in the real world, in real circumstances, especially when it comes to the value of the mentally ill in society, the roles we place on our care givers and support systems around us, and the dangers of turning everyone around us into a caregiver (such as “caregiver’s fatigue” or “codependency”).
“I felt my stomach begin to work on the sandwich, and even over everybody’s talking, I could hear it digesting, all the bacteria chewing the slime of peanut butter- the students inside of me eating at my internal cafeteria”. (Green 2) When Aza talks a lot about her OCD, she mentions the idea of C.Diff bacteria eating away at her, and depersonalizing (not feeling like a real person, or being a fiction). I think it’s important to talk about the nature of her mental illness, about the symbolism of the disease because, in the context of the book, she technically is a fictional character, and that her fears are not unfounded in the sense that we are reading about a fictional character afraid that they’re a fictional character. And that there’s a strangeness in that there’s an awareness that she’s experiencing that maybe the other people around her aren’t experiencing, on some level that is perceived as mental illness, but is hyper alertness or hyper awareness.
The sense of depersonalization is the fact that she is being controlled by the writer, John Green, who wrote the book about her, and the sense that she is not in control of her actions is also, not unfounded.
So, there’s a sense of irony when describing her mental illness because it should be given with care and compassion because the irony is that, she is a fictional character, and the things she’s experiencing are real, and they shouldn’t be understated or devalued in any meaningful way in the same way that for a lot of mentally ill people the experiences that they have have value to them and what they are experiencing are real to them and what they are experiencing feel real to them.
“You know how old people lose all shame about eating, and it makes you puke to watch them? (Burroughs 6)”
“They can consume us like parasites, eat us, drink us, and leave us lifelessly prostrate. And yet we are always inviting the parasite as if we are eager to be drained and eaten. (Bellow 62)”
The thing about her friend, Daisy, which I found fascinating in the book is that, from a feminist perspective, although Daisy calls her “Holmsey” which refers to Sherlock Holms, Daisy is slated as a main character type who is always chatting away and leading the show and being the person who is leading in situations. In fact, it’s to the point that Aza turns Daisy into a mother figure and has her, at several points throughout the novel, direct her actions like her own mother does.
“And we will improve your mood until you are able to say three or even four words in a row; sound good?”
“Sounds good.”
“And then you can take me to work, Sorry, but I need a ride.” (Green 8)
There are several references to Daisy even being about the same physical statue as her mom, to the point that Daisy has physically reduced all the women in her life to one role: caretaker and sees them as one overseeing entity.
“Daisy was about my mom’s size…”. (Green 20)
This serves a purpose in that she feels incapable of being autonomous to herself because her mental illness has depersonalized her and made her out-of-control of her actions. It’s very much like she is like Mychal, who is physically described as a baby by Daisy (and, at first, is physically repulsed by the idea of being in a relationship with, but still gets into a relationship with him). Daisy is constantly taking care of the people around her. Her mother is constantly taking care of Aza, even to the point of, during her breakdown, carrying her from her bed to the bathtub, and back again, much like a baby.
And this is because society thinks, through the communistic perspective that mental illness renders us useless and infantilizes us. And, we see that several times throughout the novel that Daisy vents her frustration for Aza in her fanfictions by calling Ayala, the character that represents Aza, as “useless” which embarrasses Aza.
Capitalistic society demands that we constantly prove our worth and value to the system every day by proving our fitness, lest we become infantilized and are deemed “useless”. Though we will receive love, care, and support from those around us, the people who deem us mental ill might never see us as “normal” or “functional” to the needs and wants of the system in a way that is useful to the system.
Which is where Davis comes in as a very interesting character as well as the symbolism of the White River.
“The White River is beautiful in the abstract- blue herons and geese and deer and all that stuff- but the actual water itself smells like human sewage. Actually, it doesn’t smell like human sewage; it smells of human sewage, because whenever it rains, the sewers overflow and the collective waste of Central Indiana dumps directly into the river.” (Green 19-20)
We learn that the reason for the smell is Pickett’s Engineering mishandling funds to set up a tunnel system would handling the Sewage Retention Systems for when it rained in Indianapolis. Pickett got the money twice, for contracts that were mishandled, making him very rich, and through bribery, but the tunnels were never finished.
At the end of the novel, his body was found in the tunnels, dead, which is a strange fitting end for someone who tried to escape through tunnels that he was never able to complete, but also sad, because he had explained that he would try to outlive death by trying to leave his money to his pet tuatara.
It is the use of wealth in the novel that is very interesting from a communistic perspective because the mishandling of funds got Pickett his wealth, and destroyed the natural resources of the White River’s natural beauty, thus alienating the natural resources enjoyed by the citizens. But, at the same time, the tunnels that were unfinished later became co-opted as a guerrilla effort to beautify an ugly space that was mishandled by the bourgeoisie and average citizen to create an art space, in which Mychal showcased the seemingly popular “Prisoner 101” piece.
Also, the wealth that Pickett received from the mishandling of funds was later redistributed after his disappearance in smaller amounts to his children, unsuspecting bystanders of the affected nature of his actions, as well as Aza and Daisy for their silence, active bystanders in the investigation in the form of $100,000.
“We are about to live the American Dream, which is, of course, to benefit from someone else’s misfortune. (Green 23)”
The misfortune that Daisy and Aza had profited from was the disappearance (and later death) of Pickett himself.
“He freely gave to charity/ He had the common touch /And they were grateful for his patronage /And they thanked him very much /So my mind was filled with wonder /When the evening headlines read/“Richard Cory went home last night/And put a bullet through his head.” (Simon, Garfunkel)
But, it supported their college fund, and continued future that would assure their ability to have a more sustainable future without worry or care, a redistribution of wealth in the circumstance.
“But maybe the money is just part of me. Maybe that’s who I am. A moment later he added: What’s the difference between who you are and what you have? Maybe nothing. (Green 78)”. The struggle that Davis had was that he felt as though he weren’t good enough for Aza because of his wealth, that it made him inferior because it made him pompous, that because he because he only had material things to give her, especially in the eyes of her mother, that he was pompous, egotistical, and arrogant.
“They say love flies out the window when poverty comes in the door, but people get the sense backwards. (Dazai 81)” From the feminist perspective about Davis, he was the poorest person in the group because he lacked a mother figure, which is something that everybody else had, and that what everybody else was rich in, experience, which can’t be exchanged for material possessions, are one of the inalienable things, like people.
It’s why have been proven, in communistic theory to be important, though they aren’t necessarily providing a working function to the system because they provide intrinsic value elsewhere.
“The capital given in exchange for labor power is converted into necessaries, by the consumption of which the muscles, nerves, bones, and brains of existing laborers are reproduced, and new laborers are begotten … the individual consumption of the laborer, whether it proceed within the workshop or outside it, whether it be part of the process of production or not, forms therefore a factor of the production and reproduction of capital; just as cleaning machinery does. (Rivkin, Ryan 903)”
That’s quoting Marx, which places inherent value on women, though lesser value and seeing them as wives, mothers, and cleaning machines, as part of the labor force, just unpaid labor force.
The whole point is that Davis saw her as normal because he himself seemed to be struggling with mental illness himself, and that his wealth deemed him privilege to be seen as normal. And, a lack of a support system didn’t get him always the adequate care he needed in order to be taken care of, that he had to be a “strong man” or “man up” and take care of his brother and be the support system (thus, from a feminist perspective, it seems as though the infantilization of mental illness only falls towards women because we often ignore the problems of men’s mental health struggles).
And, as well, it seems as though, through this normalization that Davis did for her, he allowed her to be seen in a way that provided her support, and as well as giving her financial support was able to provide for her in a meaningful way in her future that would change her life and make it so that she was able to provide for herself, despite the fact that, at the end of the novel, she would see many future struggles, but she would be able to gain the autonomy she needed to be a fully fledged, realized human being in order to take care of the next generation.
“Merrick: Ladies and gentleman, thank you… for revealing yourselves tonight. I’ve always found that when I have had an audience, they learn nothing true of me.. But I see what’s real in them. And, if they are lucky, they go home a more honest version of themselves. (A beat.) Maybe that is only what I wish to believe… that my visage could bring some good… (a longer beat.) I’m tired. I’m so very tired. (Martin 50)”
I think there is a fine line of being seen with mental health struggles and being infantilized, and it’s so hard to walk it because most people are trying the best they can do to make people feel supported and loved. So, if you’re helping and supporting someone who has a mental illness, know that what you’re doing is the best you can, and it’s always appreciated. I know with my family they have made mistakes, but it’s what we all learn along the way.
I think my mom has said it best, “we are fragile, fallible creatures who are not perfect, we’re only trying our best with what we know at the time.” And nobody sees the value in you more than your support system. Though, turning everyone into your support system does have immediate benefits, there are problems with being infantilized and being resented, as shown in the book, and working through that to have healthy relationships that are more mature is the way that we work to undo those things in adulthood.
Works Cited
Bellow, Saul. Dangling Man. Penguin Classics. New York: 6 September 2006.a
Burroughs, William S. Naked Lunch. Grove Press. New York: 1959.
Dazai, Osamu. No Longer Human. New Directions Publishing. 1948. Green, John. Turtles All the Way Down. Kindle Edition. New York: 2017.
Martin, Del. The Elephant Man. Your Stage Partners. 2023.
Rivkin, J., Ryan, M. (20170123). Literary Theory: An Anthology, 3rd Edition. [[VitalSource Bookshelf version]]. Retrieved from vbk://9781118718384
Simon, Paul and Garfunkel, Art. “Richard Cory”. Sound of Silence. Columbia Records, 1966. Transcript of Lyrics.

Chapter 1

Concept art for Sybil
Of Men and Ghost Ships, Book 1: Chapter 11
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Alen followed close behind Erik, so close that on more than one occasion, when the larger alien stopped, Alen bumped right into him. Erik looked back at the smaller man with a grin. "I get that you're not used to this sort of thing like I am, but you might wanna give me more space, kid. You stand that close, and I could catch ya with my elbow spikes on a backswing without realizing you're even there!"
Looking at the rather intimidating spikes, Alen couldn't help but imagine what would happen if they hit him in the chest. He swallowed hard. "Uh, yeah... you're right... Sorry about that!"
Erik just laughed, which seemed to be his standard reaction to a lot of things. "That's all right, kid. You're just new to this, is all! Give it a few more pirate attacks, and you'll be an old hand like me!"
On the one hand, Alen wasn't a huge fan of being called "kid." On the other hand, at the moment, his survival was ninety-nine percent dependent on the large alien keeping him safe, and he wasn't about to protest the label right now of all times. "Ah, yeah, well, I kinda hope that won't be a thing. I've already seen enough of pirates for a lifetime or two as is..."
Erik chuckled ominously. "Well, now's a bad time to get into the transport business then. Way I hear it, pirate activity has seen a huge surge recently. More than we've seen since before the vitexrā showed up on the scene!"
Alen had heard similar rumors but dismissed them as just that, rumors. However, his current predicament is making him rethink that assessment. "Why now, of all times?"
Erik shrugged a pretty impressive display of muscle and bone from Alen's angle. "Dunno. Why does anything happen? The time's just right for it, I suppose. All I know is it means I enjoy one of my favorite pastimes more."
That confused Alen. "And that is?"
Erik stopped and raised an axe, taking a moment to look back at Alen and grin. "Killin pirates, of course!"
With that, a pirate in a battle suit walked around the corner, only for Erik's axe to fly right into his faceplate. The pirate fell, but Erik was already in motion, running toward the second. He would have probably taken the pirate out before he got a chance to get a shot off if Vanessa hadn't beaten him to the punch with a shot over Alen's shoulder that hit the pirate center mass and dropped him like a rag doll. There were no more pirates behind them, and Erik shook his head while pulling his axe free. "Only a partial squad. Must have run into some of our guys who gave a good account of themselves. Hopefully, they got to pull back too..."
Alen somehow doubted that but supposed it was a nice thought. He also made a mental note not to stand so close to Vanessa either because now one of his ears was ringing. Still, that was preferable to what would have happened if he'd encountered the pirates alone.
Erik gave his axe a quick wipe to clean off the blade, and they resumed their hunt for Commander Ried.
-
Carter looked at the captain's chair with mild trepidation. He wasn't as intimidated by the seat as he had the "other" chair, but he still felt some sense of hesitation. "Anything I should know before sitting down and getting hooked in?"
The vixen walked out from behind Carter into his line of view. "There are many things, but you have neither the time nor the capacity for most of them."
The girl shook her head and then adjusted her glasses. "Will you stop being so hard on the man? He's already done better than our last dozen candidates! I think it'll really work this time!"
Carter really didn't like the sound of that. "This time? What happened the other times?"
The pirate faded into existence while laughing heartily. "Oh, don't worry about those scallywags lad. None of them had the fire in their bellies that you do! You'll do fine! I'm sure of it!"
Carter crossed his arms and glared at the pirate. "That still didn't answer my question. What happened to the last few 'candidates?'"
The pirate actually seemed to hesitate, which was uncharacteristic enough to tell Carter there was something he was hiding. "Well, you could say being the captain of this ship has gotten a mite bit more difficult as time's gone on. You could say it overwhelms a lot of the weaker-willed candidates." Then, he suddenly seemed to return to his more boisterous self. "But I'm sure you'll be fine! The last few were just the dregs of their pirate crews who managed to get themselves stuck on the ship. But you! You're already a ship captain! This is just a slight upgrade, that's all!"
Well, that didn't do much to bolster Carter's confidence about sitting in the chair, but what else could he do? Just survive eating bug paste indefinitely? And that's assuming they even let him. A glance at the vixen was all he needed to reinforce that thought. "Alright, but if I manage to survive this, I get to make the first call on what we do next. And I mean just about anything, other than flying the ship into a black hole or something else stupid like that."
The pirate was quick to respond. "Agreed!"
The girl was a little slower but still nodded. "Agreed."
The vixen sighed. "Fine! But if you make us regret giving you that decision, I'll make you regret it even more!"
Carter looked at the chair again, willing himself to sit, but seemed rooted. After a moment, he finally muttered, "Aw, to hell with it. I 'm not gonna live forever anyway!" and sat down.
He wasn't sure what he expected, but for a moment, nothing happened, and then he fell. It was like that moment when you're just about to fall asleep and suddenly get jerked awake, but rather than suddenly stop, it kept growing stronger. It felt like the world around him was growing, or maybe he was shrinking. He felt like he was slipping beneath the waves of a stormy sea. He tried to swim to the surface but just kept sinking. He realized he was holding his breath and tried to gasp for air, but his body refused to respond. His mind was so overwhelmed by the new world it found itself in that he wasn't sure it had the capacity for more minor, more insignificant acts like breathing or making his heartbeat.
Then, the world went black. Or rather, Carter found himself alone in a dark room. It took a moment for him to regain his sense of self, and it took another moment for him to resume breathing normally. That was when he realized he wasn't actually alone. There was a hand on his shoulder.
Carter looked up, and despite the blackness of the room, he could clearly see the girl standing over him. She looked...well, he didn't have the words to describe how she looked. Something between divine and demonic, with a bit of humanity sprinkled in for flavor. Nothing about her changed. She still wore a simple T-shirt, blue jeans, and nerdy glasses. However, despite her compact frame, Carter could see she was somehow...immense.
The girl smiled encouragingly. "Oh good! You already remembered how to breathe on your own! That puts you a couple steps ahead of our last few captains."
Carter tried to wipe the sweat away from his brow but realized his hand was somehow both tangible and intangible at the same time. His voice was more than a little shaky as he asked, "What...what the hell was that?"
The vixen answered, "That...was you getting just the briefest glimpse of what it's like to be one of us. For a moment, you could perceive the entirety of the ship, and it almost swallowed you whole."
The pirate was there as well. "But it didn't! I told you the lad had some fight in him! Here, lad, let me help you to your feet!"
The pirate reached out, and Carter instinctively took his hand. Just as he remembered the AI was intangible and couldn't be touched, the pirate pulled him to his feet with a force that felt like it was about to pull Carter's arm out of its socket.
After the pirate let go of his hand, Carter stared at it, then back to the girl who'd also touched his shoulder moments before. "How...is any of this possible?"
The pirate laughed. "Because...you're in our world now, boyo!"
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It's always fun to try and describe a surreal/indescribable experience! Those are often some of my favorite paragraphs, at least as far as writing goes. Maybe it's just because it feels so creative to try to explain something so abstract. =)
Nothing tomorrow (Friday). I'm gonna finalize the editing for OMAD book 3, get that sent off to be formatted, and contact my cover art guy!
My Wiki has all my chapters and stories, including the short series and stories that I write for an occasional change of pace or style!
As a reminder, "Of Men and Dragons" Books 1 and 2 are available to purchase in e-book or physical form. (Both softcover and hardcovers are available!) Book 3 is almost done being edited, so I'll just have to get the cover art and formatting done, and it will be available to purchase as well! Hopefully, in no more than a month or two! (Barring more Amazon drama like last time...finger's crossed!)
OMAD Book 1: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NCPP3PP
OMAD Book 2: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ7FQ1ZJ

So, me and a good buddy of mine, Hog Meat, were out in the middle of Mothman River fishin for channel cats in my old john boat. All of a sudden this most foul and putrid stench permeated the air around us. It were one of them REALLY bad stanks too, like the kind that makes yer eyes sting and get all watery. I immediately suspected that the smell’s genesis was in old Hog’s drawers, as he had been muchin on a truck stop burrito made up of goat and cheese and washing it down with Papst beer.
“Goddamn it, Hog!!! You gotta warn a fella before you go ripping muddy nukes in your drawers!!! That bout made me puke, you dirty sumbitch!!”, I said. But old Hog Meat just turned to me and said, “It weren’t me.” I retorted, “The hell it wasn’t, you no good sumbitch!!”, and picked up the paddle so I could crack his skull.
Just then came a blood curdling scream from the ridge above the river. Instantly, I knew what it was. It were one of them goddamn sasquatch!! Them sumbitches are known to inhabit this here valley, and they put off an odor that would make the Reverend Wilson slap his momma! That sumbitchin, mangy motherfucker must be up thar on that ridge spyin on us, I thought to myself.
See, them old sasquatch put off a putrid odor. That’s how you knowd they is in the vicinity. Some folks say it is some sort of furmoan they put off as some sort of self-defense mechanism. Or, it could be a wet old fart emanating from their hairy nethers from all of the rotten shit they eat. Or, it could just be that they don’t bathe. Whatever it be, it smells like microwaved dog shit!!
Well, we kept on fishing. I figured, “Fuck that damned old mangy beast!! He is not gonna fuck up my Monday fishing. I layed outa work down at the saw mill just so I could go fishin.” But if’n it moves closer or starts throwing rocks at us, then I would have to whip out my .44 magum and cut down on its ass. That is when the second toe curling scream erupted.
It was like “HOOWOOOOOWOWOWOOOOOWWWWWWOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”
Then it dawned on me. That weren’t no damned sasquatch. Old Hog Meat turned to look at me. We both knew something was off with that second scream. He said, “I don’t reckon that thar is one of them boogers. I think that is ….a…” Then I cut him off and completed his sentence, “Dogman!”
Even the word “dogman” sends chills up and down my spine. It am is a big old mangy mutt that looks like a wolf. They can be all black, or gray, or shit-stained brown. They stand up on their two hind legs and walk just like a man! They got them long ears that stands straight up on their haids with frilly little tufts of hair standing on the ends of them. They got them big old ferocious teeth, and glowing yellow eyes! They got no front legs. Instead, they gots them some arms and hands that looks like a tyrannosaurus rex! You know, thar hands kind of dangle out in front of them like some sort of fairy.
Those dogmen motherfuckers are pure evil! They ain’t good fer shit! Take sasquatch, for example. At least when you murder one of those monsters you can carve it up and slow cook it fer a couple of weeks and eat it. But them dogmen, shit, they is uneatable. When I kill one of them thar dogmen I usually just take em off and throw their corpses in a ditch on the side of the road. I tried burning their bodies at one time, but the smoke from the fire made me hallucinate. The last time I inhaled the smoke I wandered around butt-ass naked in the woods fer 2 solid weeks thinking I was Jesus Christ for squirrels. When I finally came to, I was down thar in Wendigo General Hospital. They found me in front of the Dairy Queen making love to a VW bug in the parking lot. They carted me on down to the hospital. They told me I was foaming at the mouth and dug 11 pine cones out of my ass. That were sum fucked up shit right thar! But I digress. Now, back to the story at hand.
Hog Meat had already unpacked his AR-10 rifle, apparently preparing to defend hisself. I said, “Hog Meat, put that damn shootin iron away, you shit head! Everbody knows that dogman don’t attack nobody when the sun is out! They wait fer dark. That old fuck is jest gonna pace around on the ridge top, howling and making an ass outa hisself until it gets dark. Then – and only then – he will skulk down to the water’s edge and make his attempt to murder us. But listen to me. By then we will be long gone!”
This made old Hog Meat feel better. It was about 2:00 pm at the time. I said, “Let’s just fish fer a couple more hours, then leave at 4:00 pm. The sun don’t set til 6:00 pm, and by then we will be back at my trailer cleaning these here catfish and sipping shine!” Hog Meat agreed, saying “Damn, son, you is right! Fuck that damned old dogfuck. Let’s git to fishin!”. I nodded in agreement.
Well, over the next couple hours we heard that sumbitch up there on the ridge, stalking around, back and forth, and occasionally howling. I am thinking to myself, “Shit fire!! What kind of hunter can this here dogman critter really be if it lets it prey know where it is at like this? What a fucking asshole!” But anyway, it did not matter none. We will be long gone soon enough. Then that old monster dog will have to be content to dine on road kill. Serves him right!!
Well, the next couple of hours the fishing REALLY turned on. We soon passed our limit of fish, but kept on a’fishin’ anyway. Fuck them game wardens!! Ha ha!! We was gonna have us enuff meat to put in the freezer! We just popped open a few more beers and kept fishing. Then, something terrible happened.
Hog Meat said, “Hey, I hate to break it to you, dude, but we are out of beer.” He looked at me, and I looked back at him. Then I spoke. “Goddamn it! I can’t fish without drinking beer!! I was so pissed that I picked up the boat paddle and flung it into the river. Next, I grabbed the tackle box and was about to sling it into the drink too, but Hog Meat stopped me just in time.
“Whoa!! Calm down, dude! It’s ok. It’s ok! I got something even better than beer!”, he said. My eyes grew bright and wide in anticipation. I asked, “You got some blow?!?!” Old Hog Meat shook his head no, then proceeded to pull out a half gallon of Jack Daniels. At first I was not very impressed. “Oh, its that fancy smancy, high-filutting store bought whiskey. Oh well, I guess if that is all you got …”, I said.
So we kept on fishing, passing the bottle back and forth between us. After a while passed we had filled up every stringer we had and every ice bucket we dun brung with us with catfish. We had to start throwing them down on the floor of the boat. But after a bit even that became ridiculous. It looked like it was bout time to stop fishin. “Well, hell, I guess we got to call it a day and git to skinning these here fish”, I said. Old Hog Meat was drunker than a drunk-ass skunk. Me, sure I was a little buzzed by the time we finished that bottle of store-bought hooch. But for the most part, I was fine. That damned old store licker ain’t high-proof enuff to twist my testicles, if you know what I mean. I decided to pull up the anchor.
As I was busy doing that, old Hog Meat had pulled out his AR-10 again and was blasting away at ducks flying by. I screamed, “WATCH IT! GODDAMN IT!! THOSE SHOTS ARE GOING RIGHT BY MY HEAD!!!!” He laughed and put the rifle down. “Fuck face!”, I said.
As I was bout ready to crank up the old Evinrude for the ride back to the boat ramp, old Hog Meat got a really serious look on his face. I figured he needed to shit. But that was not it. Instead, with a quivery voice Hog Meat said “What the fuck happened?!?” I said, “You is drunk! That is what fucking happint. You need to pull yerself together, brains-fer-shit!”
“No!! Look around!! It’s … dark! What happened?!?!?!”, he said. I replied, “It’s called night, motherfucker!! It’s what happens after the fucking sun goes down!!!.
Then it hit me. There’s a fucking dogman in the woods. After cypherin on this here predicament fer a moment I realized that the boat ramp was on the same side of the river as that infernal dogman. Hog Meat, now clutching his rifle, knowd it too. “Well, goddamn it!!! You forgot about that goddamned dogman in the woods, you hooch swilling sumbitch!!!!”, I said to Hog Meat.
“ME?!?!? What about YOU!!!!! You forgot it too!!! And you is the smart one!!!”, protested Hog Meat. He was right. I have about 30 IQ points on the old boy. Afterall, old Hog Meat still can’t figure out how his phone knows to ring right at the exact moment someone decides to call him. “It’s like it’s designed to do that, er something”, he says.
Well sir, we high tailed it to the landing. I told Hog Meat that I would load the boat on the trailer and that he had to stand guard with his rifle while I was doing that. Then we would dive into my truck get our asses outa there. He agreed.
When we got to the landing everything was going like clockwork. I was busy loading the boat and Hog Meat was standing guard like a champ. We was all loaded up and ready to skedaddle when headlights from on oncoming vehicle approached. Hog Meat got all excited. “IT’S THE DOGMAN!!!”, he yelled. I replied, “Shut the fuck up! Dogman don’t drive no truck, dumbass!”
In fact, it weren’t the dogman. It was the game warden. He got out of his green truck and walked over to us. “Hey thar”, he said. “Ya’ll been doin sum fishing out on the river today?” We said that we had, and then he asked to look in the boat. There were more than our legal limits just lying on the floor of the boat, and many, MANY more on stringers and in coolers. The warden said, “Well, it looks like you two boys had a good day on the river. But I hate to tell ya’ll this, but you is about to have a shitty night, cuz I is taking ya’ll to jail for poaching catfish!”
“Aww shit!”, I said. Hog Meat asked the warden if he could just let us off with a warning this one time. This seemed to rub the game warden the wrong way, as he pulled out his baton and started beating the shit out of old Hog Meat while telling him that you can’t catch and keep 300 “fucking catfish in one day of fishing!”
Then it happened. Quicker than the human eye can see, that damned old dogman shot out of the woods and flew by the warden, taking off his head with his razor sharp claws as he passed!!! Then it came by for another pass, scooped up the headless body, and took off with it into the woods. Then he, and the warden, were gone! Hog Meat was standing there in disbelief. I said to him, “Git in the goddamned truck, Hog Meat!! Let’s git outa here!!” Hog Meat hastily complied, and off we went!
The ride home was quiet. We were both a little bit in shock from what we had just witnessed at the landing. Finally, I reached into the glovebox and took out a Slayer cassette and put it into my truck’s tape player. The gentle shred calmed my nerves.
When we got back to my place, old Hog Meat looked like he was gonna puke. He started ambling off to his truck, as if to leave. “Where in the fuck do you think you are going?”, I asked. He turned and looked at me with a blank stare. It was as if his soul had left his body. “Git your fat ass over here and start helping me clean all these fish, fuckhead!”, I demanded. After a moment, he did as I said. He knowd I would throw a good beating down on his ass if he did not.
In about a half hour we wuz armpit deep in fish guts. Old Hog Meat looked over at me sheepishly and asked if we should tell someone what happened back at the landing, perhaps even call the police. I picked up a whole catfish and smacked Hog Meat over his head with it. “Fuck face, are you dumber than a dick?!?! Ain’t nobody gonna believe us if we tell them. The way I see it, that damned old dogman did us a real solid tonight. We got away with our hide and all of our fish!!! Otherwise, we would both be in the pokey tonight, cuddling with ‘Big Jim’ in lock up. Now shut yer yap and git to work!”
We finished up and called it a night at around 2:00 a.m. Hog Meat went home and I settled in with a nice jar of shine. Old Hog Meat was never the same after that night. He started staying to hisself and stayed real quiet around others. I reckon he dun up and got hisself a case of the dogman pussies.

Hello everyone. I have recently got interested in whisky (as I have never drank it before) and was looking online for a good first bottle to try.
Landed on Jameson as it is easy to acquire, cheap and is supposed to be one of the best for beginners.
Also keep in mind I live in the balkans, so many "rare" whiskeys (aka most except Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker or Jameson) are hard to get and much more expensive then in the west. That combined with the several times lower wage, (minimum wage is $3, meaning a 1l bottle of Jameson ($33) is over a full day of work) means that getting better whiskey probably isn't happening for a while.
Now, onto my experience drinking it. I used a glass which looks like a mix of a glen cairn and a wine glass, and was drinking it neat at room temperature outside with friends.
On the nose I felt no ethanol, but not that much smell either (probably do to the glass). The smell I did get was pleasant, sort of a mix of wheat or malt with a bit of flower.
However when tasting it, I could not pickup any real taste notes other then the ethanol, possibly being ofset slightly by some buttery taste in the mouth. I drank it by breathing out all of the air in my mouth, and taking a small-medium sip of it, and keeping it in my mouth for a few seconds. After that I would swallow, and after 5-10 seconds I would breathe in again.
Overall I didn't really like the taste. Even mixing it with coke, or adding a few drops of water, which I tried later wasn't really that pleasant.
Having researched it now that is apparently normal for beginners, and the best way to combat it is to drink whiskey regularly to get your body used to the alcohol, so you can differentiate the flavours in it.
My question is, what is the best way to do that? Should I drink a few sips a day for a few weeks, or is there a more efficient method?
Thanks for reading.

I posted this on narcissisticparents also but wanted to post here for a broader opinion.
Sorry in advance for the really long post. My dad and soon to be step mom(SM) are getting married this September and i am so torn if i should even go.
Theres quite a bit of backstory i need to mention. My dad started dating SM when i had just turned 17. I am now a few months from being 24. She is extremely self centered and would always create drama if i did something she did not like/agree with. Our relationship was always hot and cold, more often bad but we did have some times that we got along and were friendly. One day, I got home from work one day and i had purchased a $10 Nalgene water bottle from the store i worked at. I had this in my hands when i walked in the door and she saw it and stopped me asking what it was. I, as im taking my shoes off, told her i bought it after work (with my own money). She blew up at me and yelled at me for 45 minutes while im standing in the doorway holding all my stuff, about how i am ungrateful and taking advantage of my dad. I literally bought it with my own money. I was 17, what did she want me to do with the money? Pay the bills for my dad????? Thats just the tip of the iceberg with her, but shows that she blows up very easily.
Fast forward to now, they got engaged in Feb of 2023 and planned the wedding for September of 2024. I moved to MT from MN, where they still live, in 2022 with my husband. They came out to visit us and stay with us for a week in july of 2023. The first night they were at our house, she “asked” me to be her Matron of Honor. She gave me a bag of stuff telling me she wanted me to be the MOH. Feeling pressured as they were staying with us for a week i agreed, and i was kind of excited, but that went away quickly.
In august, she told me she wanted me to purchase my bridesmaid dress. I asked her if I could wait a few months, until May-June time to purchase as it was 13 months out. I told her i dont know what my body will look like in over a year as i was trying to lose weight and my husband and i were starting to try to get pregnant. She kept saying she wanted me to purchase it now and i told her that if i do purchase it now, please have a backup plan in case, come june/july and it doesnt fit. She said that I was purposefully trying to “sabotage” her wedding by not fitting into this dress. She also told me that “I cant control how much you eat. Thats on you.” I kept telling her it had nothing to do with that and mostly the fact that i could be pregnant and i dont believe this will fit if i am. If i wait until May-June to purchase i will know if i will be largely pregnant.
This turned into a huge argument with her saying a lot about me and i was trying to be as respectful as possible. A few weeks later, my dad calls me to ask me to apologize to her. He didnt know exactly what happened, and he didnt want me to tell him either. I told him anyways and he didnt think it was a big deal. I told him that i would apologize to her (to keep the peace) after she did, as she needs to know that her words hurt people. He said he would talk to her about everything i told him and to see if i could purchase the dress later. I found out months later that he never said anything to her other then that i would be calling to apologize. Nothing else. So i sent him a message about the fact that i knew he never said anything and asking why he would even tell me he would if he never actually intended on doing it. That she has talked to me like this for years and he just lets it happen/avoids it and that it is not okay. He read it and never responded.
SInce then, he has not contacted me at all. He complains that i never call, but i feel like i left the ball in his court. I have contacted him to say happy birthday but other than that i haven't reached out either, again feeling like I left the ball in his court.
***So the problem, after all this, do i even go? Again i live in MT and would have to travel back to MN. I told my husband to not even go to the wedding as he would be sitting alone for the ceremony, sitting alone with people hes never met for dinner (she wants me sitting at the head table, i asked if i could just sit with him for dinner and I was told no). The only thing that he would be missing if he didn’t go is pictures. They hardly even acknowledge he exists unless i bring him up anyways. So i told him not to even go to the wedding. The problem is, do i fly back by myself? If i do this, i would have to find a place to stay and probably rent a car. No, my parents have never offered for us/me to stay at their place. They offer for us to stay at other places, but not with them. Plus, SM is renting an airbnb for the morning of to get ready and i would have to find a car to get there. It is a 16 hour drive to mn, so that doesnt make sense to do for the weekend. Plus we have dogs we need to board.
If my husband comes, we would stay with his mom. SM wants me to stay overnight the night before the wedding at the airbnb, but if my husband comes to the wedding, hed also have to be alone the night before and get ready alone. And then again be alone for the entire wedding. So again, I told him not to even go.
Do I just go to the wedding to save face with my extended family? I know my SM will be running all kinds of stories to them when they ask where i am. Do I go to save the relationship with my dad? I know this bridge will be burned if i dont go. I feel like i am the only one who has been putting in effort for this relationship lately anyways.
They constantly say that i have “changed” but the only thing that has changed is that i push back against their manipulation tactics now. Since i started dating my now husband, he has constantly helped me to stand up for myself against them and thats what they dont like. They know if they just make me feel bad enough, i will cave and do what they want but it doesnt work as easily anymore, especially since i now live states away. BUT, now theyve got me feeling guilty and bad again and i dont know how to navigate this.
TLDR: My dad and step mom are getting married in september, but she is super disrespectful to me and has been for years and my dad is passive/avoidant. Do i go to the wedding to save the relationship with my dad who allows her to speak to me the way she does? Or do i just tell them i wont go and deal with the fallout of the relationship?

First of all, not production related but this is one of the only forums i know of with like minded ppl.
Im sure many of you in here are a lot like me, you love to make music but you have no idea how social media works, or maybe you just hate using it.
I made a song that blows all of my previous work out of the water and i want people to hear it unlike my other songs which max out at 100-150 streams. Im not trying to be famous i just want like 5k-10k streams and id be happy
On top of not knowing if this is the correct avenue, i also have no idea how to go ab finding the right person to manage me
Should i spend the next year posting snippets into the void until i get better at social media? Or should i just focus on the music and outsource that side of things?
Pls dont body me in the comments im just lost, not lazy

This essay introduces a framework called "temporal asymmetry" to reconcile the apparent discrepancy between the biblical account of a young creation and the scientific evidence for an ancient universe. This framework proposes that from an Earth-based observer's perspective and using Earth standard time, the universe appears to have a genuinely old history spanning billions of years. However, this does not conflict with the idea that from the Creator's eternal, transcendent point of view, the entire cosmos was brought into existence in a literal six-day period.
Key points:

1. Biblical texts suggest that God experiences time differently than humans, transcending our Earth-based perception of time (e.g., Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8).
   
2. Scientific theories like relativity show that time is relative to the observer's frame of reference, which in our case, is an Earth-based perspective using Earth standard time.
   
3. The temporal asymmetry model suggests that while we, as Earth-bound observers, perceive a universe with a truly ancient history, this is fully compatible with the idea of a recent creation from God's eternal vantage point.
   
4. This framework takes scientific evidence for an old universe seriously while maintaining the truthfulness of the biblical creation and Flood accounts.
   
5. Objections to this model, such as the appearance of age or ad hoc reasoning, are considered and found to be unpersuasive.
   

The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of humility, reverence, and openness to mystery when exploring the complex relationship between science and faith. It acknowledges God's transcendence and sovereignty over time and creation, highlighting that from our Earth-based perspective using Earth standard time, we can affirm the genuine antiquity of the cosmos while simultaneously recognizing the validity of the biblical account of a recent creation from God's eternal point of view.
Introduction
The age of the earth and universe has long been a point of tension between biblical literalists who affirm a young creation based on the Genesis account and mainstream scientists who see compelling evidence for an ancient cosmos spanning billions of years. This treatise proposes a conceptual framework for reconciling these divergent perspectives by appealing to the concept of temporal asymmetry—the idea that time can be experienced differently from different frames of reference. By exploring how a transcendent Creator might experience time in a radically different way than creatures embedded within space-time, and by examining scientific evidence and biblical accounts that lend support to this idea, we can begin to see how both a young and old creation might be simultaneously true from different vantage points.
Biblical Foundations: Creation, Flood, and Divine Temporality
The starting point for this reconciliation is the biblical testimony itself. Genesis 1-2 describes God creating the heavens and earth, along with all their inhabitants, in six literal days, culminating in the Sabbath rest on the seventh day. This orderly, structured creation week strongly implies that these were normal solar days as experienced by earthly observers. The genealogies and chronologies found throughout the Old Testament further reinforce the impression of a relatively recent creation, spanning only a few thousand years.
The Bible presents God as the sovereign Creator, bringing the universe into existence by His word and wisdom. In our modern age, it's fitting to think of Him as the Master Programmer or Cosmic Engineer, designing the laws, constants, and structures that govern the cosmos with perfect precision.
According to Genesis 1, God's "deployment" of the Creation program took place over six literal days. On Day 1, He brought forth the foundational components - space, matter, light, and time. Day 2 saw the formation of Earth's atmosphere, while Day 3 involved the emergence of dry land and vegetation.
The fourth day marked a pivotal stage in Creation. God spoke the Sun, Moon, and stars into existence ex nihilo, just as He did in days 1-3 - a direct manifestation of His omnipotence. However, rather than simply having them "wink" into being instantaneously, God appears to have utilized an accelerated process to "construct" these celestial bodies and "fast-forward" their development.
In a sense, God ran a "rapid simulation" of cosmic evolution, compressing billions of years' worth of stellar formation, nuclear fusion, and planetary accretion into a single 24-hour period. This dramatically sped-up process would have produced a universe with a coherent "virtual history" - including light trails suggesting vast distances, radioactive isotope ratios implying ancient ages, and cosmic background radiation pointing to a primordial "Big Bang.
Importantly, this "appearance of age" would not be a deceptive trick, but a purposeful design feature. It would grant the universe a realistic "backstory," providing a credible cosmic context for Earth's existence. It would also showcase God's ability to craft a cosmos of immense size and precision, with countless stars and galaxies fine-tuned to support life.
Moreover, by front-loading the universe with a "virtual history," God would be endowing it with vast potential for future development, setting the stage for billions of years' worth of stellar and biological evolution to unfold within stable, pre-designed parameters.
On Days 5 and 6, God filled the Earth with living creatures, each programmed to reproduce after its kind, with rich genetic potential for adaptive variation. The creation of mankind in God's image marked the climax of His creative work, which He declared "very good" - an elegant, error-free system, perfectly aligned with His intentions.
Viewing Day 4 as involving a "rapid formation process" offers a robust integration of the biblical Creation account with scientific evidence for an ancient universe. It affirms that God created the heavens and the Earth supernaturally and recently, while still accounting for the apparent age of the cosmos from our finite perspective.
Through this lens, scientific research becomes a means of "reverse engineering" the universe, uncovering the sophisticated algorithms and subroutines God employed in constructing the heavens and the Earth. Each discovery of a finely tuned constant or elegantly balanced force points to the ingenuity of the Creator, the Master Developer behind the cosmic code.
Ultimately, the concept of God utilizing an accelerated formation process on Day 4, while still creating ex nihilo, provides a compelling synthesis of the biblical doctrine of Creation with the scientific evidence for a universe spanning billions of years. It magnifies God's wisdom, power, and artistry, inviting us to marvel at the work of His hands. As we probe the depths of the cosmos, we are not merely analyzing inanimate matter and energy, but encountering the handiwork of the living God, in whom all things hold together.
Additionally, the account of the global Flood in Genesis 6-9 describes a cataclysmic event that reshaped the earth's surface and destroyed all terrestrial life outside the ark. The Flood is presented as a real historical event that left observable traces in the geological record, such as the deposition of vast sedimentary layers and the burial of innumerable organisms as fossils.
Modern scientific observations of the geological record provide compelling evidence for an earth that is approximately 4.5 billion years old. Radiometric dating techniques, the analysis of sedimentary layers, and the study of fossil succession all point to a planet with a vast and ancient history. At the same time, some scientific discoveries, such as the presence of DNA in fossilized dinosaur bones and the existence of polystrate fossils, seem to challenge the conventional old-earth paradigm and lend support to a young-earth perspective. This apparent discrepancy can be reconciled by appealing to the concept of temporal asymmetry, which suggests that time can flow at different rates from different frames of reference. By proposing that the historical observers of Earth's past, particularly during the biblical Flood event, experienced time at a different pace than the geological processes shaping the planet, we can begin to understand how the earth can be both "young" from a biblical perspective and "old" from a scientific perspective.
To illustrate this concept, let us engage in a thought experiment. Imagine that during the cataclysmic events of the global Flood described in Genesis, the inorganic components of the earth underwent a period of vastly accelerated change. From the perspective of an indestructible, immortal observer standing on the ocean floor, time would appear to move at its normal pace, and all the standard measurement systems used by modern science would still apply. However, from the vantage point of someone on the water's surface, the geological processes below would be unfolding at a breathtaking speed, like watching a time-lapse video in fast forward.
In this scenario, the geological aging of the earth would proceed according to the predictions of naturalistic models, but it would be compressed into a much shorter timeframe as experienced by the surface-dwelling observers. Millions of years' worth of sedimentary deposition, tectonic activity, and erosion could have occurred within the confines of the Flood year, as the inorganic earth was supernaturally accelerated to accomplish God's judgments.
One key aspect of this model is that organic material, such as living creatures and their remains, would not have been subjected to the same accelerated time flow as the inorganic components of the earth. This explains why we might find relatively intact biomolecules, such as DNA fragments, in fossils that are purportedly millions of years old based on the geological strata in which they are found. If the fossils were formed during the Flood event, when the organic remains were buried rapidly and the surrounding inorganic material was aged at an accelerated rate, it is conceivable that traces of original biological material could have survived to the present day.
Similarly, the existence of polystrate fossils, which extend through multiple sedimentary layers that are conventionally interpreted as having been deposited over long ages, becomes more explicable if those layers were laid down in rapid succession during the Flood. The organic remains would have been preserved in their original orientation as the inorganic sediments were compressed and aged around them.
Acknowledging the Supernatural
Naturalistic scientists will undoubtedly reject this scenario out of hand, as it invokes supernatural intervention in the natural world. From their perspective, any appeal to divine action is inherently unscientific and untestable. They will seek to explain away anomalies like dinosaur DNA or polystrate fossils through purely naturalistic means, even if those explanations strain credulity or require ad hoc assumptions.
However, for those who are open to the possibility of a Creator God who can act in ways that transcend the ordinary laws of nature, the idea of supernaturally accelerated geological processes becomes a viable option. If God is the author of time itself, then He is not bound by the uniform flow of time that we experience as creatures within the universe. He could easily manipulate the relative rates of temporal progression for organic and inorganic matter to accomplish His purposes, such as executing judgment on a sinful world through the Flood while preserving the remnant of life on the ark.
Interestingly, the concept of accelerated geological processes is not entirely foreign to naturalistic scientific models. Many simulations of Earth's history, such as those used to study plate tectonics or climate change, rely on compressed timescales to make the computations more manageable. These models do not attempt to replicate the full 4.5 billion years of Earth's history in real-time, but instead, artificially accelerate the relevant processes to simulate long ages within a shorter span of model time.
From a certain perspective, these simulations can be seen as analogous to the biblical view of Earth's history, where the vast ages inferred from the geological record are compressed into a much shorter timeframe as experienced by human observers. The key difference is that naturalistic models attribute the acceleration to the limitations of human computing power, while the biblical view attributes it to the sovereign power of the Creator.
The framework of temporal asymmetry provides a conceptual tool for reconciling the apparent discrepancy between the vast age of the earth inferred from the geological record and the much younger age suggested by a literal reading of biblical chronology. By proposing that the inorganic components of the earth underwent a period of supernaturally accelerated aging during the events of the global Flood, we can begin to understand how millions of years' worth of geological processes could have unfolded within the confines of a single year as experienced by the earth's inhabitants.
Ultimately, the temporal asymmetry view requires an openness to supernatural intervention in the natural world and a willingness to subordinate human reason to divine revelation. It challenges us to recognize the limitations of our creaturely perspective and to embrace the mystery and majesty of a God who transcends the very fabric of space and time. As we seek to unravel the complex history of our planet and the universe beyond, may we do so with humility, reverence, and a deep sense of awe at the eternal power and wisdom of the One who spoke all things into existence.
Biblical Evidence for Temporal Asymmetry
Intriguingly, the Bible also contains passages that suggest a more complex relationship between God and time. In Psalm 90:4, Moses declares, "For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night." This verse implies that God's perception of time is radically different from our own, with a thousand years passing like a mere day from His eternal perspective. Similarly, the Apostle Peter writes, "With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day" (2 Peter 3:8). These passages hint at a profound temporal asymmetry between the Creator and His creation.
Another compelling biblical example of God's ability to manipulate time is found in the account of Joshua's long day (Joshua 10:12-14). During a battle against the Amorites, Joshua prayed for the sun and moon to stand still, and God miraculously prolonged the day to allow the Israelites to achieve victory. This event suggests that God can supernaturally alter the flow of time in a localized way, causing the sun to remain in the sky from an earthly perspective while time continues to pass normally on a cosmic scale.
Scientific Evidence for Temporal Asymmetry
The concept of temporal asymmetry finds support not only in biblical passages but also in certain scientific theories and observations. Einstein's theories of special and general relativity demonstrate that time is not an absolute constant but can dilate or contract depending on relative velocity and the presence of mass-energy. Clocks tick at different rates for observers in different reference frames, a phenomenon that has been confirmed through precise experiments with atomic clocks.
In the extreme environment near a black hole, gravitational time dilation becomes so severe that an outside observer would see time coming to a virtual standstill for someone falling into the event horizon. This extreme example illustrates the principle that time can flow at vastly different rates depending on the gravitational context.
Recent discoveries in quantum physics have further challenged our intuitive notions of time as a linear, unidirectional flow. Experiments with entangled particles have demonstrated apparent violations of temporal causality, with measurements on one particle instantaneously influencing the state of its entangled partner, regardless of the distance between them. Some interpretations of quantum mechanics, such as the retrocausal and transactional models, suggest that influences can propagate backward in time, blurring the distinction between past, present, and future.
While these scientific theories and observations do not directly prove the kind of radical temporal asymmetry proposed in the biblical creation account, they do challenge our conventional assumptions about the nature of time and open up conceptual space for considering more expansive possibilities. If time can be relative, variable, and even bi-directional within the constraints of known physical laws, then it seems plausible that a transcendent Creator, unconstrained by the limitations of space-time, could experience and manipulate time in ways that far surpass our current scientific understanding.
Theological Implications and Potential Objections
This proposed reconciliation of a young and old creation through temporal asymmetry has several important theological implications. First and foremost, it preserves the truthfulness and authority of the biblical creation, Flood, and long day accounts, taking seriously their historical and theological claims without reducing them to mere mythology or symbolism. It affirms that the universe is the purposeful handiwork of a personal, transcendent Creator who can supernaturally intervene in the fabric of space-time.
At the same time, this model challenges us to expand our understanding of God's relationship to time and to embrace a greater sense of epistemic humility. It reminds us that our creaturely experience of time is not absolute but relative to our finite, embedded perspective within the cosmos. It calls us to worship a God whose ways are higher than our ways and whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9), even as we seek to understand His self-revelation in nature and Scripture.
Of course, this model is not without its limitations and potential objections. Some may argue that it involves a measure of phenomenological language or apparent age in the creation, which could be seen as incompatible with God's perfect truthfulness. Others may object that it is too speculative or ad hoc, going beyond the plain meaning of the biblical text in an attempt to accommodate modern scientific paradigms. Still others may feel that it grants too much validity to conventional old-earth dating methods and does not sufficiently critique their underlying assumptions.
However, the objections raised against the proposed model of reconciling a young and old creation through temporal asymmetry are ultimately unfounded and fail to appreciate the explanatory power and theological coherence of this framework.
Firstly, the claim that this model involves phenomenological language or apparent age in creation, which could be seen as incompatible with God's perfect truthfulness, is misguided. The framework of temporal asymmetry does not suggest that God created the universe with a mere appearance of age, but rather that He created a genuinely ancient cosmos in a condensed timeframe from His eternal perspective. The antiquity of the universe is real, not illusory, and is a testament to God's omnipotence and transcendence over time itself. God is not deceiving us by creating a universe that bears the marks of a lengthy history; He is showcasing His ability to craft a cosmos of immense complexity and depth in a manner that defies our temporal limitations.
Moreover, Scripture itself affirms that God's relationship to time is radically different from our own. Passages like Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 reveal that God's experience of time is not constrained by the linear, unidirectional flow that we perceive. The Bible presents a God who is eternal, unchanging, and sovereign over the very fabric of space-time. It is entirely consistent with the biblical portrayal of God's nature to suggest that He could create a universe with a genuine history spanning billions of years from our perspective, while simultaneously accomplishing this work in a literal six-day period from His own perspective.
Secondly, the objection that this model is too speculative or ad hoc, going beyond the plain meaning of the biblical text to accommodate modern scientific paradigms, is unfair. The framework of temporal asymmetry is not a desperate attempt to force the Bible to conform to contemporary scientific theories, but rather a principled effort to take both biblical revelation and empirical evidence seriously. The model is rooted in a careful exegesis of relevant biblical passages, such as the creation account in Genesis, the Flood narrative, and texts that speak to God's eternal nature and His sovereignty over time. It also draws upon well-established scientific observations, such as the relativistic nature of time and the evidence for an ancient universe, to formulate a coherent and compelling synthesis.
Furthermore, the charge of being ad hoc or speculative could be leveled against any attempt to reconcile biblical and scientific perspectives on origins. The very endeavor of harmonizing ancient religious texts with modern scientific discoveries necessarily involves a degree of extrapolation and interpretation. The framework of temporal asymmetry is no more speculative than other proposed solutions, such as the day-age theory or the framework hypothesis, and in fact has the advantage of preserving a more straightforward reading of the biblical text while still engaging meaningfully with scientific evidence.
Finally, the criticism that this model grants too much validity to conventional old-earth dating methods and fails to sufficiently critique their underlying assumptions is misplaced. The temporal asymmetry framework does not uncritically accept all the claims of modern scientific dating techniques, but rather acknowledges the substantial empirical evidence for an ancient universe while offering a fresh perspective on how this antiquity can be reconciled with the biblical account of a recent creation. The model encourages a critical evaluation of the assumptions underlying radiometric dating methods and other techniques, recognizing that they are based on extrapolations of present-day processes into the distant past and may not account for the possibility of supernatural intervention or alternative interpretations of the data.
At the same time, the temporal asymmetry framework provides a robust explanation for why scientific dating methods consistently point to an ancient universe. If God did indeed create a cosmos with a genuine antiquity from our temporal perspective, then it is entirely expected that empirical investigations would uncover evidence of this ancient history. The model thus engages constructively with the findings of mainstream science while still maintaining a commitment to the truthfulness and authority of Scripture.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the framework of temporal asymmetry, supported by both biblical passages and scientific observations, provides a thought-provoking way to conceptually reconcile the affirmations of a recent, six-day creation and global Flood with the evidence for an ancient earth and universe. By recognizing the radical difference between the Creator's experience of time and our own creaturely perspective, we can begin to see how both a young and old creation might be simultaneously true from different vantage points.
This model challenges us to engage seriously with the anomalies and evidential tensions within conventional dating paradigms, even as it expands our understanding of God's transcendence and mystery. It seeks to be faithful to the truth of God's self-revelation in both Scripture and nature while acknowledging the inherent limitations and challenges of harmonizing these distinct modes of divine discourse.
The objections raised against the framework of temporal asymmetry are ultimately unpersuasive. This model offers a compelling and biblically faithful way to reconcile the apparent discrepancies between the scriptural account of creation and the scientific evidence for an ancient universe. By recognizing the radical asymmetry between God's eternal perspective and our own limited, temporal vantage point, we can affirm the genuine antiquity of the cosmos while still upholding the literal truth of the Genesis creation account. The framework of temporal asymmetry thus represents a promising approach to resolving one of the most persistent and contentious debates in the relationship between science and faith.
Ultimately, the goal of this reconciliation is to stimulate further reflection, dialogue, and reverent wonder in our exploration of the manifold mysteries of creation. As we pursue truth in both science and theology, may we do so with humility, recognizing the incomparable wisdom and power of the eternal, transcendent Creator who has graciously granted us the ability to study His handiwork. Let us approach these profound questions with a spirit of worship, marveling at the God who transcends time and space, and yet who is intimately present in every moment of our lives.
Addendum: A Framework of Progressive Revelation for Reconciling a Young and Old Creation
The concept of progressive revelation, which holds that God has gradually unveiled His truth and purposes to humanity over time, provides a helpful framework for understanding the apparent discrepancies between the biblical account of creation and the scientific evidence for an ancient universe. By recognizing that divine revelation is an ongoing process, with later revelations building upon and clarifying earlier ones, we can begin to see how the temporal asymmetry model for reconciling a young and old creation fits within the larger context of God's unfolding self-disclosure.

1. The Accommodation of Ancient Cosmology

The early chapters of Genesis were written in a cultural context where the prevailing understanding of the cosmos was vastly different from our modern scientific perspective. The biblical authors, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, communicated divine truth in a way that was accessible and meaningful to their original audience, using the language and concepts of their time. This accommodation to ancient Near Eastern cosmology does not undermine the theological and spiritual truths conveyed by the creation account, but it does suggest that we should be cautious about interpreting it as a scientifically precise description of the universe's origins.

1. The Focus on Theological Truths

The primary purpose of the Genesis creation narrative is to reveal fundamental theological truths about God's nature, character, and relationship to His creation. It affirms that the universe is the purposeful handiwork of a sovereign, all-powerful Creator, who brought order and beauty out of chaos and who created human beings in His own image to serve as stewards of the earth. These truths are not dependent on a particular scientific understanding of the universe's age or the specific mechanisms of creation. They transcend the limitations of human knowledge and remain valid regardless of our evolving scientific insights.

1. The Principle of Accommodation

Throughout Scripture, we see examples of God accommodating His revelation to the limitations of human understanding and cultural contexts. Jesus Himself acknowledged this principle when He told His disciples, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now" (John 16:12). The apostle Paul also recognized that our present knowledge is partial and incomplete, and that we see only dimly as in a mirror (1 Corinthians 13:9-12). This suggests that God's revelation to us is not exhaustive or absolute, but is tailored to our capacity to understand and respond to it at different stages of redemptive history.

1. The Analogy of Galileo and Heliocentrism

The tension between the biblical account of creation and modern scientific discoveries is not unprecedented in church history. In the 17th century, Galileo Galilei faced opposition from the Catholic Church for his support of the heliocentric model of the solar system, which seemed to contradict biblical passages that speak of the sun rising and setting or the earth being fixed and immovable (e.g., Psalm 93:1; Ecclesiastes 1:5). However, as scientific evidence for heliocentrism accumulated, the church gradually came to recognize that these biblical texts were not intended to teach scientific cosmology, but rather to affirm God's sovereignty and faithfulness using the language and concepts of their time. Similarly, as we grapple with the evidence for an ancient universe, we may need to reevaluate our interpretation of the creation account in light of later scientific revelations, while still upholding the essential theological truths it communicates.

1. The Harmony of God's Two Books

The principle of progressive revelation suggests that God has disclosed Himself and His truth not only through the written words of Scripture but also through the natural world, which the psalmist declares to be "telling of the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1). As scientific discoveries shed new light on the structure and history of the universe, they can deepen our understanding and appreciation of the Creator's wisdom, power, and grandeur. The apparent discrepancies between scientific findings and traditional interpretations of Scripture may actually be an invitation to seek a higher synthesis that does justice to both divine revelation and human reason.

1. The Temporal Asymmetry Model as a Faithful Synthesis

The model of temporal asymmetry, which proposes that God could have created a genuinely ancient universe from our perspective while completing His work in six literal days from His own eternal vantage point, represents a faithful attempt to synthesize the biblical testimony with the scientific evidence for an old cosmos. By recognizing that God's experience of time is not limited to our creaturely perspective, this model affirms the truthfulness of Scripture while also taking seriously the empirical findings of modern science. It challenges us to expand our understanding of divine temporality and to embrace the mystery and majesty of a God who transcends the very fabric of space and time.

1. The Call to Humility and Wonder

Ultimately, the framework of progressive revelation reminds us to approach the question of the universe's origins with a spirit of humility, reverence, and openness to further divine illumination. As we seek to harmonize biblical truth with scientific discovery, we must acknowledge the limitations of our own understanding and the possibility that future revelations may shed new light on this complex issue. Rather than clinging dogmatically to a particular interpretation or model, we are called to stand in awe of the eternal, transcendent Creator who has revealed Himself in the pages of Scripture and in the marvels of His creation. As we continue to explore the mysteries of the universe, may we do so with a posture of worship, trust, and anticipation, knowing that the God who has spoken in ages past is still speaking to us today, inviting us to behold His glory and to join in His cosmic purposes.
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