Story 261: "Pillar of Salt" by Nascent

[wendelah1]

When I first began reading XF fanfic, crack_van was my, uh, crack supplier. I started at the top of the Memories and just kept on reading. "Pillar of Salt" was recced there by runpunkrun back in 2003. Unfortunately, by the time I found the site in 2007 or so, the links to this fic were broken. Eventually, I found a copy of "Pillar of Salt" archived—somewhere else—and was able to read it. I loved it. SO MUCH. Her Scully sounded just like the one on screen, and her Mulder did, too. Their relationship was just as codependent as the canon version. She wasn't trying to rewrite canon, she was enlarging it and adding to it! I had to have more Nascent fic. Because she'd taken down her website, it was a long, tough search.

But in 2011, Nascent archived some of her fanfic at Gossamer. This is particularly significant for "Pillar of Salt" because she rewrote an important section.

"Pillar of Salt" is set Winter 1998, post-"Fight the Future." It's told in first person, Scully's POV, which works wonderfully in Nascent's hands. As the story begins, Mulder has invited Scully away for a weekend, but under false pretenses. What can I say--it's Mulder being Mulder. I don't want to give anything away but let's just say the vacation does not go as expected--for either of them. Nascent is particularly good at integrating the relationship story into a well-plotted X-File.

Thank you to ledez_dreams for the nomination. The link is to Nascent's page at Gossamer. Please scroll to the fic. Don't forget to let us know what you think, and please keep the nominations coming.

Read Pillar of Salt by Nascent.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

This is one of my favourites (I put it in my top ten in the last post!). It was the first work of Nascent I read and I remember not being able to put it down, devouring it in one sitting, only to wish I had allowed myself to drag it out more. Here's why:

Nascent does a great job with the science. Obviously NDE's aren't hard science, but I really appreciated the discussion on how to create cardiac death, and how to revive the patient. It is much more concerned with expressing science than the show ever is. Scully's disgust with the process is very in character, and she of course is right to be disgusted, it does go against her beliefs, as a scientist for the risk posed to the patient, and as a spiritual person in it's attempt to, as Dr Von Deer says, "trick" the soul. I love the line to Mulder
"How dare you put me in this position, where to refuse you is to somehow betray you and to agree to play along is to betray myself?"

The X file is well thought out and interesting. What starts as a test for M &S's relationship and Scully's ruminations on her own faith and beliefs turns into a very interesting case. I'm actually curious to find out what is going on in that hospital and who is responsible. It also culminates in the perfect explanation for who is responsible, one that manages to be a surprise when you find out, but so clear upon re-reading. The story works as a whole, the x-file and Mulder's original intention for coming there isn't simply a vehicle for M&S to address their feelings for one another. There is a lot going on in this story, and I tend to like anything that isn't straightforward.

I'm not sorry the story doesn't culminate in a traditional relationship. Like Wendelah said, Nascent is adding to canon rather than diverting from it. She places the whole story into canon, but she scratches my relationshipper itch by finally having these two frankly and honestly discuss their relationship and their feelings for each other. I happen to think this story is very romantic, even if there's no actual romance (unless you count the dream sequence- or NDE that Scully experiences). I think this slots itself nicely into a season sixish spot, and it won't be long before they do succumb to their feelings.

The rewritten dream sequence. I read the new one, and re-read the old one at keyofx. Not sure what I think of it. I didn't dislike the old one and the new one is also fine. The sex in the first draft might have been a bit obvious, I can see why she might have wanted to scratch that. But at the same time, I find the original a bit more dreamlike and nightmarish, something that I liked. Scully sees all kinds of unsetting and disjointed images, and discussions with the important people in her life and I also liked the recurring snake in each scene and the culmination of Scully finally realizing what that means. The rewritten portion is a little more… straightforward. I liked the pregnancy though, it is definitely an expression of something Scully is preoccupied with at the time and it makes sense that it's expressed. I'm interested to know what other motivations others think Nascent had for the re-write. Like I said, it's much more tidy, so I could see the desire to edit, but the disjointed chaos of the first one actually appeals to me.

This story is a classic example of how this show has resulted in very rich fiction, that so often (and sadly in a way) surpasses the quality of the show itself. I think if a premise like this had been the episode "Demons," This one just seems so much richer in both character and plot.

[wendelah1]

This must be ledez_dreams?

I agree with everything you wrote, including your thoughts on the earlier version. I'm in day two of a three-day migraine but as soon as I'm feeling more like myself, I'll be back.

[ledez-dreams.livejournal.com]

Haha yep, it was me. Totally forgot to log in!
Hope you feel better, migraines are the worst!

[wendelah1]

Live Journal ate my comment when I tried to preview it.

I'm going to switch to my word processor and cut and paste.

Attempt the second

[wendelah1]

Here is the gist of what I wanted to say:

Apart from her writing, which is excellent as always, "Pillar of Salt" stands out because of how well the X-File/casefile demonstrates the depth of Scully's feelings for Mulder and the strength of commitment to him, while tying the story into the central motif of the series: Mulder's obsession with what happened to Samantha. I hadn't thought of the comparison to "Demons" but now that you mention it, I can see the parallels. There are also significant differences.

Nascent's writing is full of interesting visuals, especially in the original dream sequence, and I would have loved to have seen this story or "Theory and Practice" made into an episode. Having said that, I'm pretty fond of "Demons" myself. I think "Demons," with its focus on back story, i.e. the complicated relationships between the Mulders and the CSM, enlarged the canon universe in a way that "Pillar of Salt" doesn't try to do. "Demons" also showcased Scully's investigative abilities, whereas Mulder and Scully act as a team once they're focused on investigating the deaths in the hospital. Mulder in "Demons" is much crazier than Nascent's Mulder. Maybe it's more subtext than text, but as I see it, in "Demons," Mulder is displacing his fear of losing Scully to cancer, a situation over which he thinks he has no control, onto his search for answers about what happened to Samantha. The one flaw in "Pillar of Salt" is that it provides no good motive for Mulder's bizarre behavior. Here is Scully's take on it:

I stood several feet away, watching with my arms folded on my chest, as anger and anxiety warred over every fiber of my body. Why did I let him do this? Why did I let him make me watch it? Why did he do it?

I didn't know what he expected to find. An unprovable, inscrutable droplet of 'wisdom' from the imbibed font that was his father? I knew better. This was not about truth, or even answers.

Mulder just wanted to know if it would work. He wanted, as we all do, for the world to be bigger than reality tells us it is, for confirmation that we are not meaningless and random. He has a greater capacity for hope than I, and I admire and love him for it, but....

But. There I stood.

We know why she's at his side. But, seriously, he "wanted to know if it would work"? No wonder she's so pissed off. I'll have to go back and skim to see if there's a better explanation from Mulder's POV for why he's undergoing this procedure. I'll need to reread both dream sequences again, too. (Nascent, if you're reading this, don't hate me, but I think I preferred the original version.)

Re: Attempt the second

[bmerb.livejournal.com]

Dang now I have to go read the original!