I’ve given up on all planned projects involving the character Erol Zane. It’s not fun anymore. I foolishly thought I could keep pace with our Modern Problems of sociopathic billionaires, unregulated AI, and general depravity, but when I first heard the rumor of a billionaire technocrat having allegedly received a botched procedure on his sad dingus, I lost interest in my project entirely. It seemed no matter how deeply I ventured into the absurd, reality caught up.
So now I’m just going to get back to writing as a casual hobby, focusing on those halcyon pre-internet days, because that’s the kind of world I yearn for. I’m finally old enough to be nostalgic.
To provide closure for my own sake, here’s a draft ending to The Galt, which would have found Erol fulfilling his life’s goal of reaching Mars:
I hope everyone is great and rewarded deservedly. I’ll see y’all in meatspace!