The Golden Ratio of Science Fiction

The past two days have been incredibly laid back and I have had more time than usual to write. The great thing about this is that I've also taken the chance to research various subjects concerning The Broken Bowl sci-fi story. Mainly galactic tidal patterns, the golden ratio, moons (chaotic and otherwise) as well as the nature of memory and how it is effected by supreme trauma and loss. I know these seem completely unrelated, but as I said yesterday, I'm trying to tie them together to form several powerful images in this short story.

The hard thing about the current story is when I should make the break between what what the reader knows as a the "reliable narrator" and have him slip into "unreliable mode." The question is whether or not the reader should be aware that he is unreliable before he does or not.

The other major thing I've been working on today is getting the sci-fi elements into my short story without overwhelming the story itself with solar system details. I think one of my friends put it best when he said, "Are you putting this stuff in there to say, Hey, I know enough so that you can take me seriously? Or are you putting it in there to say, Hey, I know a lot of stuff? I have all of these ideas about the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, how tidal patterns work on galaxies and whorls and sea shells, but I'm finding it difficult to find where those details should work in reference to the stories. Thanks for listening.

So say we all.
Bri