The Swarm Cycle is a collection of stories written around a concept introduced by the Thinking Horndog about an alien invasion and Earth's reaction to it. The intent is for it to be a public, multi-author universe after the fashion of the popular Naked in School stories.
The Sa'arm, a tripedal race with some physical resemblance to a cross between a mushroom and a lizard but with a hive mind, is sweeping across this galactic arm toward the center. They communicate by some sort of ESP, and ignore any race that does not. In their path is the Confederacy, a Galactic civilization that universally practices nonviolence -- and Earth...
Interested authors should visit our wiki at: https://swarmwiki.tampaad.net/index.php?title=Main_Page This describes canon for the Cycle -- the rules, if you will. We have an author support group, but are suffering issues over the email list. Contact Thinking Horndog or Zen Master.
Set in Thinking Horndog's Swarm Cycle, this pickup story follows two very different families extracted from the same location. Jason stops to help a young girl walking home in the snow, and... Why would Bob White's Covey decline to be picked up - on multiple occasions? Readers advise me that I should let you know characters from "THE Harem Tales" and "Woody" begin to appear in Chapter 2. Having read these stories will help. A character list would not.
With AIs watching everything, all the time, how can humans mutiny against a tyrannical, sadistically abusive, Captain? Boats knew Captain Dreck had to die. How? Then, what? My thanks to TrunkMonkey, Doc, the late pcbondsman, Steve, Fred, and Reluctant Sir for their editing, proofing, and altogether making this a better read. Note: A few real people and places inhabit this story, but everything is fiction. Even cited opinions.
Despite the rabidly pacifistic outlook of the Confederacy, the war it wanted humans to engage in on their behalf against the Sa'arm was nothing but brutally violent. What if humanity could employ some of its history to implement other more elegant tactics that could end this existential threat, instead of just doing what the AI's thought was best? A story for vets, ham radio ops, history buffs, engineers and art and culture lovers.
Japan should have played a key part in the Confederacy's war effort against the Sa'arm, but politics instead kept the nation isolated and unappreciated. Eventually some Japanese executives get accidentally picked up, making possible a second Meiji Restoration that no one but Japan sees coming. Politics, intrigue and military history are prominent features of this unusual tale. (Rev 2, changes mostly technical issues in Ch. 1-7)
This story progresses over an extended period, from the time "The Good Ship Lollipop" arrives to found the experimental Harrad Colony on Pern through the development and first deployment of a new weapon some fifteen years later. I think you'll enjoy this story more if you have read others in my series. My thanks to Steve, Fred, pcbondsman, Trunk Monkey, Doc, Zen Master, SGTStoner, and Lou - for proofing, editing, and very useful suggestions.
How do you punish someone when they've done something that could have got them executed, but you really don't want to do that? When a concubines life is pretty much all about sex deciding on a suitable punishment can be really difficult. No/minimal sex.
Calix has left his cousin's gang behind and agreed to fight for humanity out among the stars. What does that even mean? Will he find himself and, maybe, a new family?