Story 258: "SN 1572" by prufrock's love

[wendelah1]

I'd been thinking about posting this so when it was nominated by an anonymous lurker, I decided to go ahead. It's a major new work by a talented writer. Dear Anon, thanks for the suggestion. I hope you will join the discussion.

Title: SN 1572
Author: prufrock's love
Email: prufrockslove@yahoo.com
Rating: NC-17
Classification: Novel, Post-colonization, Angst, Dark MSR, Other
Summary: After colonization and Earth's devastation, Scully remains in one of the few safe, walled colonies, remembering the past and praying for some future with Mulder. Whatever the hell Mulder has become.
Author's Note: A reworking of Negative Utopia

This fic follows the general outline of "Negative Utopia," which we read many years ago. If you want to see that discussion, here it is, along with a working link to the story: Story 76: "Negative Utopia" by prufrock's love. The changes to her earlier fic are more than substantial enough to warrant the re-titling. I loved "Negative Utopia," and, to be honest, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this fic. I am happy to report "SN 1572" is also an excellent story, though not without its flaws.

Read SN 1572.

After you've read the story, please come back and let us know what you think. The nomination post is always open for your suggestions.

Comments

[ledez-dreams.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Although I love post-col stories, this didn't work for me, same as Negative Utopia never has. I do however have a hard time figuring out why exactly this is the case. I like the detail, and this story definitely fleshes out Negative Utopia in a way that complements them both. The world is described well and I find it quite believable. I have probably read and watched too many dystopian movies and books that I have a dim view of what would happen to the position and rights of women in such scenarios. So I did find Scully's position believable as well.

That being said though, I think it was Scully's lack of control in a post colonization world and her seeming acceptance of this. I suppose this is somewhat in contradiction to what I just said in the previous paragraph, but it does bother me. She relies on Skinner to protect her, and having to be labelled as "his" as a result, and she also requires Mulder's protection to an extent once she is reunited with him.

In general I agree that characters can (and probably should) be OOC in stories such as these, but this just one just seemed to take away Scully's fighting spirit a little too much. I know she exerted some authority as a physician back at the camp, but it almost seemed like an indulgence afforded to her, and this was proven when it became apparent that Skinner was actually preventing people like Byers from reaching her and he faked an injury just to come talk to her. (Incidentally, I agree with whithersoever that Byer's characterization was a pleasant surprise in this story, I very much enjoyed him). I suppose you could argue that this story picks up a long time after this new society has been going on, and that Scully would have had a long time to acclimatize herself, but I still think she could have had more agency. The best dystopian stories (in my opinion) feature strong characters that are trying to subvert the society in which they live. It seems to me there was an opportunity to give her more of an empowered role that the author didn't seem to want to take. I'm really glad the other reviewers are touching on this also, I agreed with most of what I've read here.

I also didn't really like that despite all the detail and building of this world, there really wasn't more to the plot than Scully wanting to be with Mulder, and Mulder wanting to be with Scully. I know it's not exactly that simple, but that is sort of what it boils down to. It misses out on the fact that the best thing about Scully and Mulder is that they have their commitment to each other, but also shared commitment to their work. The story sort of gives Mulder all the power and reduces Scully to a bit of a sidekick to him, the equality in their relationship seems to disappear in this world, which even if it's plausible given the circumstances, I don't like it.

I think I would have enjoyed the story much more had they been reunited earlier rather than Scully pining for him so much. The story then could have explored their relationship in a changed setting while simultaneously had them actually do something to learn more about the colonists, or fight back. Life during Wartime was an excellent example of this. So basically, I guess I just want a whole different story, haha.

Sorry also if my review is a bit vague and I may have also gotten some of the details muddled or even flat out wrong. I read this over a week ago and about halfway through found myself skimming more than actually reading. Which is unfair to the work, but I also didn't want to spend a lot of time reading something that really wasn't doing it for me.

Part 1

[wendelah1]

I had to divide this comment into two sections.

That being said though, I think it was Scully's lack of control in a post colonization world and her seeming acceptance of this. I suppose this is somewhat in contradiction to what I just said in the previous paragraph, but it does bother me. She relies on Skinner to protect her, and having to be labelled as "his" as a result, and she also requires Mulder's protection to an extent once she is reunited with him.

It's meant to disturb the reader. You've read enough dystopian novels, so you know the drill. It's realistic for the weaker to need protection in a world gone mad. If anything, Scully wants the few remaining women and their children to be more protected, not less. She wants civilization back.

I know she exerted some authority as a physician back at the camp, but it almost seemed like an indulgence afforded to her, and this was proven when it became apparent that Skinner was actually preventing people like Byers from reaching her and he faked an injury just to come talk to her.

Now here I think you're misreading the fic. It's not an indulgence on Skinner's part for her to practice medicine. Her power lies in her knowledge. She's of tremendous value to Alpha Colony, even to the rest of the survivors outside its boundaries because she can deliver babies and heal the sick. He uses access to her to barter with those outside. Scully knew Skinner was limiting access to her clinic and she approved of it--until he didn't tell her about Mulder's message.

I suppose you could argue that this story picks up a long time after this new society has been going on, and that Scully would have had a long time to acclimatize herself, but I still think she could have had more agency. The best dystopian stories (in my opinion) feature strong characters that are trying to subvert the society in which they live. It seems to me there was an opportunity to give her more of an empowered role that the author didn't seem to want to take. I'm really glad the other reviewers are touching on this also, I agreed with most of what I've read here.

As you said below, you wanted to read a different fanfic. "Life During Wartime," for example, which is also my favorite post-colonization fic, has four authors and tells 14 different, loosely connected stories. During the part that concerns Scully and Mulder, they spend 90% of it estranged. The first 13 of those 14 fics are mostly about death, grief, loss of control, loss of faith, and attempting to survive under the most extreme conditions. Only in the final story do we see them attempt to fight back against the machine.

In "SN 1572," it's all over. We lost. The colonists got what they wanted, and they've left the planet. The only thing left fighting for is life itself. This isn't just a dystopian novel, however, it's a romance, or at least it's trying to be one. I think prufrock's love was trying to see if she could take the world she created in "Negative Utopia" and make it less bleak, more hopeful, and more romantic. I also think she gave Scully much more agency in this story.

Compare her situation in "SN 1572" to "Negative Utopia," where she's handed over to Mulder by the leader of a rival colony in exchange for Skinner's head. In "SN 1572," Scully chooses to go with Mulder, even after witnessing him murder Skinner. We may not agree with her choice, but it's still hers to make.

In "Negative Utopia," the opening line is "I am his now." This line is repeated over and over again, throughout the fic. Talk about resignation and defeat. In "SN 1572," the opening line is "We are survivors, not monsters." Scully doesn't describe herself as anyone's property. "I am Dana Scully, the doctor and one-woman science and mathematics department of Alpha Colony," she tells us. "Five years ago, before the sky fell and the world cooled, Mulder and I brought monsters to justice."

Part 2

[wendelah1]

The story sort of gives Mulder all the power and reduces Scully to a bit of a sidekick to him, the equality in their relationship seems to disappear in this world, which even if it's plausible given the circumstances, I don't like it.

But that's not what happened. At the beginning of the story, Mulder sacrifices himself to save Scully, and arguably the other people in the bunker, from the colonists. He's tortured and experimented on and used by them. He's been driven completely crazy. He kills Skinner because he sees a threat to Scully that isn't there. I would argue that apart from his decision to leave and give himself up to the colonists, he's the one who has no agency whatsoever. The line that keeps getting repeated in this story is Mulder's question to Scully. "Are you real? Are you really Dana Scully?" He's that disconnected from reality.

I also didn't really like that despite all the detail and building of this world, there really wasn't more to the plot than Scully wanting to be with Mulder, and Mulder wanting to be with Scully. I know it's not exactly that simple, but that is sort of what it boils down to. It misses out on the fact that the best thing about Scully and Mulder is that they have their commitment to each other, but also shared commitment to their work.

This point I can't argue with. I wish it had more plot too. I'm an unrepentant NoRomo and this fic is a dystopian romance, emphasis on romance. That's why she has all of the flashbacks interwoven into this fic. It's now primarily a relationship story, set in a post-col world. I don't care what she said in her introduction, there was nothing romantic about "Negative Utopia."

This ending has Mulder and Scully driving off into the sunset together, with William riding shotgun. Scully chooses to stay with Mulder over a chance to return to Alpha Colony and take William with her. I'd bet that this resolution made her core audience pretty damn happy, especially compared to the bleakness of "Negative Utopia." In a way, her leaving Alpha Colony behind at the end to stay with crazy Mulder was a sacrifice, too, one that is supposed to balance out his sacrifice at the beginning. As a non-romance reader, I'd like to know what happened next, and not just to them. I like to know the fate of the rest of humanity. But that's not the story she wanted to tell. As a writer myself, I feel I have to respect that.

But. Fanfic is supposed to be fun and if you didn't like the fic, you were right to skim it. That was above and beyond, as far as I'm concerned.

Your comments were not vague at all; in fact, your analysis helped me to clarify my own thoughts. Thank you so much for letting us know what worked for you and what didn't.

At some point, we should do a reread of "Life During Wartime." It's been more than four years and now that it's mostly up at AO3, I'm really tempted.

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

I liked Negative Utopia when I read it back in the day, and the differences in this story (as far as I can remember NU - I'm a slow reader and I'm pretty sure if I try to reread I will still be here commenting in a month's time) were interesting in the expanded details - but overall I preferred that Negative Utopia felt like an end of everything, whereas SN 1572 is more hopeful.

I usually like hopeful! But I suspect I want a different story, too. Which is not to say this is not a well-written story, just that I wasn't really feeling it, either.

[ledez-dreams.livejournal.com]

I doubt I would have realized it before reading these comments, but I realize now that I prefer Negative Utopia on it's own. I actually did like that it was so bleak, and that it left a lot of detail and backstory out, as well as an uncertain ending. In a way it made that story more satisfying in how unsettling it was.

SN 1572, as was pointed out here by some, is trying to give Scully more agency, to flesh out the romance, make the whole story more hopeful. For me, strangely, it does rather the opposite. The ending, "Mulder and Scully riding off into the sunset with William riding shotgun" , HA, really leaves me feeling a bit empty, thinking… so that's it?

For some reason, I'm reminded of The Road, if anyone has read it/seen the movie. Now if anyone wants to talk about a bleak future, I have yet to find a scenario to top that one, wow. The end of that is rather heartbreaking, a family trying to keep a semblance of normalcy in the face of what is an almost certain end. And I love that book, although I don't know if I could bring myself to read it again.

The thing about fan fiction is you're writing existing characters rather than original ones. Readers are going to have certain expectations, whether they be justified or not, that will shape their opinion on the work. In this case, I guess I just expect more from Scully and Mulder.