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Self-promo time! What stories, links, or media do you want to share with the #writephant crowd?

*Better Angels: Tour de Force* is available on the Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy https://truckstop.waterdragonpublishing.com/product/better-angels-tour-de-force/

I've designed some new ribbons to promote Better Angels that I'll be giving away at Readercon and Worldcon this year! https://stevendbrewer.com/whats-in-your-dna/

5. They say that reading fiction can make us more empathetic, especially when real life has people encouraging dehumanization. What stories convince you that humanity exists and is still good, or at least capable of being better? #Writephant

I don't look to fiction for that, honestly. Fiction is a dark mirror that reflects our fears, dreams, and fantasies.

Instead, I look to community to convince myself that people are good. I love the community here. All of you are wonderful. Thank you.

4. What makes a being "human" or coded as human? Think about our bonding with the Mars Rover, and mourning when Rover went dark.
#Writephant

Or Eccentricity and his humartians! h/t @tobadzistsini

3. There is also the talk of creating characters that aren't human -- animals, aliens, and robots are the tip of the iceberg. Have you written stories with characters not considered human? #Writephant

Heh. The Better Angels are non-human biological androids that represent a clean-room re-implementation of the human genome. They are molecularly assembled in a replicator and have a programming stack that governs their behavior. But they can look human. Or, you know, like a thicc pink snake.

2. How does the concept of humanity affect your writing or stories #Writephant

My Better Angels stories are about non-human biological androids. In their world, machine AIs were banned after a cataclysmic war and the only artificial intelligences permitted are embodied. They have programming, but can be more or less human-like. It gives me a context to talk about issues of humanity in a light-hearted way. But I think there are some deeper meanings there.

1. To you, what does it mean to be human? #Writephant

Human has a couple of important distinct meanings. One is more narrow: the idea of being a member of *Homo sapiens*. The other is more general: contrasting sentient beings as separate from beasts or monsters. Are "elves" human? Maybe? It depends on the lore of your particular world.

Some observations on attending Business Meetings of the World Science Fiction Society #WSFS https://stevendbrewer.com/world-science-fiction-society-first-business-meeting/

I'm going to LOSCON this year! https://stevendbrewer.com/loscon-51/

David heard growling and realized it was coming from the plant. Then it began to bark like a dog.
The Angels ran in.
"David! David! Did you see our new pluppy!"
"Pluppy?"
"Bebe won it in a raffle!" Bebe said.
"Are you sure it's not a dogwood?"
"It doesn't have that kind of bark!" (2/2) #wss366

David returned to Angels' Wings a few minutes late for dinner. The Angels were already in the galley.
"Eating Fun Meals again, no doubt," David grumbled.
He walked through the lounge on the way to the galley and stopped when he saw that there was a small potted #plant in the middle of the room. (1/2) #wss366

Lambda pointed, one, two, three times.
Totemo loosened her sidearm in its holster.
"Let's do this!" she whispered. She took a deep breath and they stood up.
Lambda sprang forward snarling.
"Holufinian Environmental Protection!" Totemo bellowed, drawing her weapon. "Shut down the beam!" (2/2) #wss366

Totemo Isogashii and Lambda crept through underbrush on the nature preserve. Ahead, they could hear the sound of a cutting beam.
The sound ceased.
Lambda put her paw on Totemo's hand.
They laid silently, scarcely breathing. Then the sound resumed.
"Where are they?" Totemo whispered. (1/2) #wss366

The final schedule for Worldcon 2025 has come out and I am ON THE PROGRAM! https://stevendbrewer.com/seattle-worldcon-2025-schedule/

Tanuki-chan sometimes growls at us. At least, we thought at first it was growling, but then we realized she was trying to say "MaroSnacks!" But she can't quite say the whole word, so it just comes out, "Mmmm—!" But now we know what she wants. #DogsOfMastodon

Taxes are surging with the impact of tariffs, but what I haven't seen people talking is the regressive nature of tariffs. They tend to fall disproportionately on people with lower incomes. It's just another way of shifting the tax burden onto the working class. But, sure. Tell me again how the Republicans have your back. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/11/treasury-posts-unexpected-surplus-in-june-as-tariff-receipts-surge.html

This #ppop song by DNY has lyrics in four? languages (I recognize English, Japanese, Tagalog, Spanish, more?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pCSXOyBxZQ

Dr. Seethe was traveling to a medical conference with his colleague Dr. Cope. He hated having to #fly with him, because Dr. Cope had a super annoying habit. Every time they announced the departure of an aircraft, he seemed to be required to say, "Take off, eh!"
As they walked down the concourse, the loudspeaker announced, "Final call for boarding of Flight 4935 to Toronto."
"Take off, eh!" muttered Dr. Cope.
Dr. Seethe shook his head.
"What a hoser!" he thought. #wss366

I should know better than to read a David Brooks article. He says, "If you know what a left-leaning person thinks about immigration, you can predict what he thinks about abortion. Right-leaning people tend to have more diverse and discordant views. A right-leaning person’s view on immigration is less predictive of his views on gun control. There’s more conformity on the left."

The word he's looking for is "principled." People on the left are more likely to be principled.

What's in *your* DNA? https://stevendbrewer.com/whats-in-your-dna/

Who follows accounts with zero posts?