saki101

I love hearing about the process of deciding when the first experiment took place! I think several options could work, the one you've chosen (Sherlock's grandfather is the beginning?), or your earlier ideas, or the one you were musing on, that a few additional experiments took place scattered through human history, but only after science has developed can there be deeper research into them. Humans have been so drawn to the night sky for so long, it wouldn't surprise me that fusions had happened in several parts of the globe over the millennia. Yet, space is so empty, that it also would seem likely that the experiment was one very lucky coincidence (a human looks up with the strong enough desire right as an alien passes by to hear her/him). Do you see the aliens as distant visitors, or part of our solar system, or even a form of life (the auroras) that has been here far longer than we poor bipeds? Answering that question might help you decide which is best, even if that info only remains in your head...

Can you tell that I'm having fun with speculating?

As for the opening passage: I think my confusion started with the word "others". I wasn't sure at first what that meant (I think "other needs"?) and had to turn back to re-read. In addition, you might consider linking this sentence "seen such an image for other reasons" to the first statement about that image, perhaps with an adjective added to "an image". There's just enough distance between the two moments that a subtle word could reinforce that connection. Or maybe fixing the first thing I mentioned might be enough, as that threw me enough that I had to struggle a bit figuring out John's thoughts. That idea, that an image could be soothing and a painful memory is powerful; I just want the reader to see that power right away. :D

OT: I prefer the real tortes myself, but I wouldn't trust the postal services not to steal some bites from the real thing! ;-)