Blogocentric Formulations

Splurt

"30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  | May 2

Prompt ▼

What one fictional character would most like to meet and talk to? Why? What would you like to ask?

I had a really hard time narrowing this down, because there are so many characters in so many books that I love. I briefly though about wanting to meet Court Gentry (from Mark Greaney's Gray Man series) or Evan Smoak (from Gregg Hurwitz's Nowhere Man series), but then I realized that I'm not really in need of a former black-ops soldier to save me from a dangerous predicament. I thought about Harry Potter, but that seemed like an obvious choice. Locke Lamora from Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards sequence was a possibility, but then I'm not sure what I'd really have to discuss with a con artist from a second-world fantasy setting, and I'd probably end the meeting with the realization that he'd stolen my wallet or conned me out of something more valuable.

Space Team by Barry J. Hutchison is one of my current favorite series, and I would chose to meet his character Splurt which is basically a sentient, shapeshifting blob of green goo with eyes floating in it. He has a special relationship with the series protagonist Cal Carver, and seems to be psychically linked which is how he's able to assume the forms that are helpful to Cal during their various space adventures (including a giant version of one of the Golden Girls).

I'm not sure there's anything to talk with Splurt about because he doesn't communicate via any discernible language (other than his goo-ball surface rippling in response to other people talking at him), but I would definitely want to meet him because, for one, he's fonking (oh yeah, there's space swearing in this series too!) adorable. Second, he's got a great sense of humor, apparently. But third and most importantly, since it's been established that his psychic connection (along with a little help pulling matter from alternate timelines) is what allows him to shapeshift into anything in Cal's subconscious, I guess I'd be more than a little curious to see what the contents of my subconscious would manifest through this character in the course of our meeting.

I suppose it probably sounds a little self-analytical and egocentric to want to meet someone based on how they would react to you... but I defy anyone who's read and loved the series to not want to meet this little guy in person!