P is for Phaedra

Um, hello down there? I’m not entirely sure where I am right now, although I’m never far from the Timea. I’m Phaedra, main character in ‘A Symposium in Space’. Yes, this short f/f science fiction story was inspired by Plato’s classic. It was also published in an anthology, although my author got the rights back. Now, I’m not entirely sure what my author is going to do with me and my story. A possible home may have turned up, so keep your fingers crossed!

In the meantime, here’s a little about me, sharing my notions of love in a sample from ‘A Symposium in Space’. 

“Well, I don’t think love is limited to simply a passion for a person,” I began, fumbling for the right words. I glanced at Sokrat for inspiration. She cocked her head, every so slightly to the side. One of her side whiskers rested on her shoulder. “Love can manifest in more varied forms than that.”

“No doubt your definition of love would include extensions of a person,” Pausania said.  Her mouth turned down in a cruel twist. It was one of those times I couldn’t tell, if she was smiling, or not. Once, we’d shared a mutual contempt for life givers, who loved their ships too much. “Such as an inanimate object you can simply project your own self love upon.”

“Such as a spaceship,” I said, saying out loud what she’d only hint at. “Such extensions are, it’s true, a form of self love. By learning to love one’s self, as well as laugh at one’s own folly, you grow, change, and become wiser. You learn to be more patient and tolerant of others, rather than simply looking down at them.”