ᗘ Humans Are The Precursors Directory ᗛ



ᗘ HATP is a pet project I USED TO work on during my downtime.

As of 12/24 it's on indefinite hiatus.


I’ll keep the main point of this message short: as much as I’d like to, I don’t see myself working on HATP anymore. I’d still like to (but maybe not with as much verve as I used to), but I’m just no longer in the position to pursue it in any meaningful capacity. The writing’s been on the wall for a while now, I just thought I’d go ahead and actually cut loose instead of leaving HATP in a sort of weird purgatory state.

-So, what now?

Now’s where the fun begins. Instead of dropping the story cold turkey, I thought I might as well blow the entire thing wide open. That’s right, I’m releasing everything. All my notes, all the drafts, the story’s framework, cut sections, the works.

ᗘ RIGHT HEREᗛ



-Jesus, that’s a lot of content. Is there any place to start?

Yes! If you sort by most recently edited, there should be a doc called “primarily plotline”. That’s your guide.

-Is there any reason you dropped this?

Honestly, ambition. I like writing, but the response just wasn’t there, and the format I was releasing content in (chapters) was incompatible with the amount of things going on. I tried to address this with a small intro section with every new upload, but the plot’s just too complex to work well in a long-term format.

- Are you doing anything else?

Yes. No, most of it isn't out. It should be in my neocities, in the writing page, when it is. You can access it by just going to the homepage of this website. Just delete the "HATPdirectoryR" part off this link.




Updates

8/11: I know I said chapter 13 soonish two whole-ass months ago (shits been GIGAFUCKED in my personal life) but chapter 13
real fucking soonish
I prommy this time. It's also a big un.

3/13: quick update: No upload this (2 week period), since shit is continuing to be hectic at a just-barely-manageable pace in my academic career. I can't quite yet give a concrete ETA but do expect an upload At Some Point in the near future.
1/14: micro-update: #9 might be a few days late-- no real reason, it's just taking slightly longer than expected for me to get from the 'rough draft' stage to the 'ready for final proofreading' stage.
11/27: Tunnel Mice #3 is going to be delayed for finals! Absolute latest ETA is going to be friday of this week, but since the end of the semester's coming, things will start to slow down.
11/10: Monday's upload is going to be CoTS #6! It's a bit on the long side, but I doubt I'll have any issues editing things/

ᗘ Published content


Prelude: (Reddit)

-ᗘ Overview: A solar particle flips a bit in an AI tasked with upholding a utopia, granting it insight into a quietly festering stagnancy.
-ᗘ Key points: Introduces the setting and the System Administrators. Happens a handful of years before main events.


A Shipmind's Soliloquy: (Reddit)

-ᗘ Overview: An old warship is called out of isolation to investigate a distress signal claiming the return of an equally archaic enemy.
-ᗘ Key points: Introduces To Reach Out And Touch and includes a scattering of details about the setting, primarily humanity's struggles in antiquity.
-ᗘ Disclaimer: I wrote this when I was still figuring out how to make my writing not objectively suck dog balls. Feel free to skip it.


Not One Step: (Reddit)

-ᗘ Overview: The sole remaining processor node of a human-built defense network reflects on its struggles to preserve those under its protection.
-ᗘ Key points: Provides a rough historical timeline, introduces the first alien species.


Dr. Aus-Lamn-Katt Has a Bad Day: (Reddit) (Drive)

-ᗘ Overview: An alien researcher has his work interrupted when a nearby anti-orbital gun activates, pointing him towards To Reach Out And Touch's skirmish. Several lightdays away, a spacer lends her mechanical skills to a stranded wayfarer.
-ᗘ Key points: Introduces Cas Sellivim and Aus-Lamn-Katt, and tells us a little bit about them.


(One-off) Warning Signs: (Reddit)

-ᗘ Overview: Six-page story following the last survivor of the fleet that tripped Mesik's invasion alarms. They don't last very long.
-ᗘ Key points: Introduces the Herdfleets and offers insight into what happened to them after the war. Sets the scene for the third chapter of Children Of The Stars.


Children Of The Stars: (Reddit)

-ᗘ Overview: A spacer finds her mining plot inhabited by an unregistered ship, and assuming a bearucratic mistake, moves in to investigate. In an adjacent sector, a nascent AI discovers the warm wreckage of a human ship.
-ᗘ Key points: Considered the main storyline. Introduces Tim and Sociv.


Tunnel Mice: (Reddit)

-ᗘ Overview: An uplifted mouse aboard the To Reach Out And Touch has her life inverted after reluctantly accepting a faustian offer.
-ᗘ Key points: Introduces Karyafet, re-introduces To Reach Out And Touch. Gives insight into recent history.

ᗘ Unublished content


Backstories: (Unpublished)
A collection of three short stories recounted by Cas, Aus-Lamn-Katt, and TROAT during the intermission, each sharing a common theme of their struggles with an unexpected need to kill. Offers insight into the creation of the System Administrators, everyday life in the AHC, and Katt's formative years as a conscript.

Excerpts From the Democratarian Bible: (Unpublished)
Unreleased bonus content. Dubiously plot relevant.

Bonus content:

Text:

Beta Storyline: (Drive)
Unreleased bonus content. The original, 85 page, written-in-a-feverish-week-and-a-half story of Children Of The stars. Certain "bad" bits of fiction can be so bad they're entertaining, but the original story's just barely mediocre to be boring.


Character and Setting Notes: (Drive)
Spoiler free version of the document I use to keep track of things. Not required content.

To Reach Out And Touch's complete and unabridged rant about the M1 general purpose naval cannon: (Drive)
Because the edited version just wasn't long enough.

-------ᗘ

Images:

I didn't like how I did these pictures, so I commented this whoooole section out and am just now re-adding it. Each link is a mini-webpage.
-ᗘ Sketch: Dogshit chickenscratch worldbuilding notes for Sublevel 802-K

-ᗘ Image: Fleetherd Uranium has a perfectly normal day

-ᗘ Image: Cas gets a good whiff of that fresh Mesik atmos

-ᗘ Image: YIPPIE


F U L L Y A U T O M A T E D A S E X U A L S P A C E B U R E A U C R A C Y