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“You don’t forget a sandwich like that. I remember thinking that if it took being rich to eat like this, I’d probably have to get rich.” This is me every time I eat a fancy sandwich. I rhapsodize for so long everyone thinks I'm crazy. But now, thanks to you, I can point to a fictional character and say "I'm not alone!" At which point my friends will probably say, "But he was eating something really gourmet and you had a BLT from Subway." But you know what, Subway...Substack it's all the same.

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Mar 31, 2023Liked by J.E. Petersen

Love it. Don't have much to say except that I always want these scenes to be like:

PAIN/FEAR OF DEATH

“THAT was for me”

REMEDY

“And THAT was for [Andre]”

THEN TWIST WITH MORE PAIN AND FEAR OF DEATH

“And THIS was for me again”

Obviously you and your characters in this situation aren't like that, but I can still fantasize. You know what? Nevermind you've inspired me to write a sketch of this myself - thanks!

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Random thoughts that skittered through while reading:

1. Of Course cars and planes should be able to self-propel by now and if we’d ever stop in-fighting, it would happen. Its inclusion felt both obvious and eerie.

2. Jackson and Callan’s weird “friendship” freaked me out the most. My instincts kept screaming, “weirdo alert! Why aren’t you hearing it?” Of course, the reader knows things’ll be ok, but I’m a mom of a boy and would’ve turned a putrid green had I known of any such encounter(s) & couldn’t stop my mind from that automated impulse. That undercurrent of primal fear for young Jackson added intensity to the read.

3. The details about food are a delightfully compelling element that fantasies and sci-fi (not that I’m any expert) don’t generally include. Why wouldn’t a totally evolved species know how to hit that out of the park? I hope it doesn’t go away as the story progresses, but continues to leave the reader hungry in more ways than one.

4. His choice. No idea how to express my sense of satisfaction and relief that he did what he did in exactly that way. I wouldn’t be able to continue to connect with Jackson if he’d been too quickly forgiving or just a little more vengeful.

Incredible chapter.

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