I'd
really like to say it all came out of some divine inspiration or something
but I'm really not so sure I can say that. I suppose to get a clear
picture of how all this started, I'll have to go back to summer of 1998,
when Robotech was still being aired on Cartoon Network. I had been
hooked on the show by a friend of mine. Naturally, when I saw the
books at the local book store, it was time to do some shopping.
It
was the fall of 1998 by the time I had finished reading every single one
of the 21 Jack McKinney books. I was of two minds about it.
On one hand, I was glad I had been able to watch and read such a great
story. But, on the other hand... well, it was over. Like anyone
else, I wanted more. There were certain things that kept nagging
at the back of my head, mainly that all-encompassing question "what next?"
However, nothing truely cohereant came to mind for a story, so I was stuck
with nothing but a set of random musings that didn't lead anywhere.
It
was the Winter Solstice of 1998 that really threw everything out of whack.My
grandfather had not been well since Thanksgiving and he had died early
the morning of the Solstice. It was really the first time anyone
close to me had died and it was naturally something that really got me
thinking... thinking a bit too much, really... about death and what we
do when there is nothing that we can do.It's a strange thing, but I remember
everything about when my father told me, but almost nothing about the rest
of the day. I can only speculate, really (this sound familliar?).
Somewhere in there, I picked up the second of the three-book compilations
and started paging through it. Not really sure why, it must have
seemed appropriate for some reason. I found the page which described
how the Veritech pilots dealt with the constant death around them."Who?
I don't know that person." Everyone reacted that way, except for
one character: Rick.
Now,
again, I'm not sure where the jump to Max was made, but it seemed like
a good fit. But suddenly it all clicked. All the way through
the reading of the books, I hadn't been able to figure out why a guy like
Max would have joined the RDF. It just didn't seem like him, given
everything else he did. It was suddenly obvious to me that something,
somewhere, had drastically changed his outlook on life.
And
the gaps began to fill in.Macross Island had been a quiet little place,
aside of the ship's activities, for ten years. A city had built around
the SDF-1 and now everyone was ready for the thing to lift off triumphantly
and take Humanity to the stars. As you know, reader, this isn't what
happened. The Zentraedi attacked instead, turning festivities into
carnage. And then, that fold. It ripped everyone away from
Earth for a good two years. And, it occurred to me, with all the
death, who would have noticed three more bodies; those of the Sterling
family.And so, James, Allegra, and Anna Sterling were born in my mind...
with the sole purpose of dying.
James,
by the way, was named after my grandfather. It was becuase of his
death that I had started to think about death, something I didn't like
to think about in the slightest. So, it seemed fitting that one of
the people close to Max that had died and changed his outlook on life should
be named that.
And
ultimately, almost without my realizing it, that became the main theme
of To Dream With the Stars. It's taken me a very long time to decide
that that was how it happened. Even longer, still, to be able to
write this page and explain to anyone reading the story that that was how
it came about. Max became a sort of mirror for me, only it happened
to him over and over and over. His family, Jeff Machlis, Ariana Allan,
Roy, Ben... and onward. And each time, he could not remember just
what he had been thinking.
So,
now, I suppose you're wondering why in the world I'd post something like
this on line. Well, part of it is, like I said, I didn't really know
that that was how it all happened until maybe about a year ago. The
other part...Well, I owe it to my friends at The Robotech Network.
Gippy, Exey, Guardy, Mir, Pro, Invid, and eveyone else. I mentioned
it in a chat once, they were enthused, I sent it to them and they liked
it, suggested posting it, so I did. So, I've gotta say a big thankies
to all of them for putting their faith in my story. Come 1999, they
became a much needed force of fellow Robotech fandom and what's more became
some good friends. So guys, you rock! ^_^
And
so, one by slowly churned away one, the chapters have been posted.
My take on Max has grown and changed and, in a way, I've grown and changed
with him. So, here it is over two years later and I'm still with
it. I'm picking away at the chapter for Dolza's Rain of Death, now,
and I'm really not sure what direction that will take Max. It occurred
to me the other day that I hadn't given any thought to how Max would react
to the destruction of Earth. Just how attached to Earth as a whole
is he? It's something I'm going to have to give a bit of thought.
So, that of course means that it'll be a while before the next chapter...