1) The first thing that struck me was the repetition — the guy says things twice! Like this: ‘“Damn,” said Captain Major Vance, as the spaceship under his command began to drift sideways towards the stars, “we’re drifting sideways towards the stars.”’ This gives off a sort of sardonic air. For some reason, though, I find it cute at the same time (I doubt he was going for ‘cute’ — that’s just my reaction). Through this I get the impression that Morty’s got a very dry sense of humour, and that he’s not one to be too flowery with his prose.

I also get the impression that he’s actually not that big a science fiction fan. I mean, the way he incorporates those space elements into the text, it almost seems like he’s mocking the genre. That actually isn’t a bad thing, though. Sorta reminds me of the Thunderbirds, in a way. Like, the idea of puppets was pretty entertaining, and sorta campy — the fact that it all happened in space is pretty gratuitous, though, and pushes things over the top. The mention of ion-powered engines,the cosmic dust, the fact that he talks like there’s only ONE satellite orbiting Jupiter — they’re pretty gratuitous as well. Oddly enough, this doesn’t take away from the text.

Basically, he’s a wise guy. But not obnoxious. I dunno, I’m engaged by the combination. As they like to say on the internet, “I’d hit it.”

2) I guess so. That wasn’t the first thing that came into mind when I got to the parts with the female characters, but now that you mention it, I will try to think about what those paragraphs tell me about his love life.

It’s interesting how both paragraphs with female characters are also filled with sadness. I get the impression he’s not the most successful player on the court, in a manner of speaking. But he treats his leading ladies with respect. So, while he might not be a Cassanova, he’s still a gentleman.

I question whether Krenzler’s ever had a solid, long-lasting relationship, because it’s hard for me to feel that the main characters of those vignettes have any sort of real connection with their female counterparts.

Beyond that, it gets too difficult to say any more about his previous relationships.
I sort of wonder why you’re asking this question. I’m guessing the story isn’t so much about the 5 little ones, but rather, about the writer, eh? I’d like to see how you would continue that and pull the scope away from the smaller stories to focus in on the writer.

3) I don’t know. In my experience, things tend not to end abruptly. Whenever something comes to a quick end, usually, I think “Wow, that was fast.” The fact that I’m thinking about it brings it up front and centre all over again, and so really the ending isn’t an ending at all — it’s more of a “begins again.” Sure, the moment might be gone, but the feelings, they linger. Or maybe it’s just that I think too much. I dunno.

I’m probably missing the point of these questions, but whatever! Hope that helps.