Author's Note and Commentary

I read the Tripod series in middle school and greatly enjoyed them. In fact, one of the first fiction stories I ever wrote was an alternative ending of The Pool of Fire: Henry's balloon slipped off the roof, the City wasn't destroyed, and the Masters won! (The last chapter was a defiant Will writing a note saying humans would continue to resist the Masters, even as the green gas was closing around him!). Even today, it's a very good alien invasion story, despite using many sci-fi fiction tropes to allow the underdog humans to win.

I was always curious about what the Masters were like, so I wrote up this short vignette about what the Masters were thinking after surviving Henry's attack. Some other comments:

- We still don't know if Skloodzi refers to the Masters, but that's what I did.

- One thing I tried to convey is that the Masters are very disciplined, rational creatures who cannot lie to each other. Notice that when the Master that Henry's group failed to kill escapes and tells another Master this incredible story about slaves attacking Masters, the other Master does not doubt or act incredulous, but immediately aids him.

- Another example of the alienness of the Masters is this sentence: ""It was before First Period. I and fellow Skloozi Xlot were mating in a garden pool..."

- Haha, if you remember City of Gold and Lead and Pool of Fire, you note that Will, Fritz and Henry witness what is clearly the act of 2 Masters mating, and 'cannot make sense of it'! Only many years later did I understand what John Christopher was hinting at! ;)

- It is a wonder the Masters are so blase about security, especially after the Tripod was destroyed in Pool of Fire and Ruki kidnapped. But again, the only way for humans to win in alien invasion stories if aliens are idiots!

Okay just wanted to drop this quick note about what I was thinking when I wrote this story. Glad you all enjoyed!

- Silicon Avatar