Ladies and Gentleknights.
I am leaving the KOTOS.
This decision has not come lightly, or actually very suddenly. It's been something I've been considering for quite some time. However, this last Sunday, at Church, the sermon clarified the reasons this is necessary and important to do.
I am a Christian. I know that this life is only a short time, and that I should be using this time, this life that God has given us, for things that will last in Eternity. Things that mean something for the Glory of Jesus Christ.
Instead, I have tended to stay as a child, and enjoying the things of a child, which are satisfying for a little while, but have no purpose in Eternity, or for the advancement of Christ's Kingdom.
KOTOS is but one of many things I waste my time on. It is a fictional story set in a fictional world and Universe/Megaverse, with fictional characters, and fictional scenarios. Â It is fictitious and useless to Reality, no matter what your religion is.
Don't get me wrong! I LOVE KOTOS. In fact, last Sunday, thinking about this, I realized that I love it too much. It consumes my every hour. It is what I think about when I rise, and when I go to bed. (I don't need cocaine, Theo. I'm addicted to this already.) It has become chief among my Idols that I put before God in priority, and thusly, I must get rid of it, due to my lack of discipline.Â
However, there is one thing about KOTOS that is edifying. One thing that is not fictitious, and that is the people.Â
Is it sort of depressing to say that you guys have been my longest-running friends I've ever had in my life? Well, nevertheless, it is true. I know that my leaving may hurt some of you, and for that I am sorry. I begin to wish I had never joined all those years ago so that I wouldn't have to say goodbye now, but I know that God has planned history since the Beginning, and that this is all for a purpose. (Oh that he would share that magnificent plan with me, but alas, I must wait till the end of time, and the beginning of Eternity to find that out, I suppose.)
So, because KOTOS still has value because of the people, I want to stay in touch with that which matters. Therefore, if ever you need me for something truly important... Something truly non-fictitious... drop an email.
alonoshbilling at gmail dot com
I check email at least once or twice a week.
So, in one way, this is farewell, but in another, not so much. After all, we all live on the same planet. :P We all like similar things. I'm not deleting any accounts, I'm just not going to be using/be on them every day or every week or even every month. Because if it's purely for entertainment, then it's purely for me, not for Jesus Christ. And that makes it a waste of time.
But I have no doubt that we will bump into each other. Perhaps when one of you guys gets famous, or when we all get into DLU, or any number of things which, though unlikely, are still possible.
Or perhaps for those of you who (though we disagree on semantics,) have put your trust in Jesus Christ, when Eternity arrives, and we are all Caught Up in the clouds.Â
Isn't that amazing to think about?
Oh, a few last things. Perry and Stirling.Â
Harold, you have written Perry the best. Therefore, Perry is yours to use for KOTOS purposes. You helped shape his 'magic' and you've written him the most clearly, in Savants.
Theo. Wiz. I know I'm in the middle of writing Time with you guys. I know this throws a wrench in that. Â My solution is simple, but I think it's most effective. Feel free to do anything, but I recommend this.
Kill him. Â
Kill off Stirling. I know he's on the cover of S.A., but it looks like I won't get to write him in after all. And unlike Peragrine, which I feel everyone has been able to write/pilot/understand very well, Stirling is a character of mine that is very difficult to understand fully. Â Currently, I cannot think of anyone I feel comfortable writing Strider correctly.
But if the majority vote is to keep him, I suggest that Theo writes him. But Theo would have to take it very seriously, because though Strider does not swear, or make jokes about cocaine, he is NOT a perfect person. Well, not until he finds his family. (gah, even as I try to describe the guy, I have to re-write this sentence 3 times.)
In finishing, this is not good-bye. Only goodbye to the fictional aspects of our friendship. So, fellow Knights, till next time, whenever that may be!
Sincerely,Â
James.