ELS
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | ELS |
| Author(s): | Dawson Rambo |
| Date(s): | October 18, 1997 |
| Length: | 1259K |
| Genre: | het, MSR, case file, NC-17 |
| Fandom: | The X-Files |
| External Links: | posted at the The Annex as both a text file and as a zip file |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
ELS is a MSR X-Files novel by Dawson Rambo.
It shows up often on fans' "must-read" lists.
The author has some 2001 comments about this story in Thrills and Chills: How Do I Write a Great Thriller?.
Publication History
It was originally posted to first the author's webpage, and then to alt.tv.x-files.creative, the latter in 25 parts due to its extreme length. The novel was also posted to The Annex.
A Description
The novel includes several cases, but focuses on the chase for an unknown serial killer who is targeting federally-protected witnesses to punish them for their transgressions against society. The title is an acronym for "Equidistant Letter Sequences," a mathematical concept that plays a huge role in the storyline.
Author's Comments Regarding the Explicit Content
Dawson Rambo had a unique proposal regarding this novel's explicitness and worries that it would be read by underage fans:
I have a question for all Authors and for all parents that have children that read stories from this newsgroup. I have posted the first half of my ongoing novel "ELS," which carries an NC-17 rating. As of this writing, that rating is for violent content. There will be future chapters where that rating will apply to sexual content as well.
I have taken the step of adding delimeters, or "markers" in the body of the text to set off those sections that I believe are "too intense" for younger readers. The idea is that a reader exercising discretion can set their text reader to search for the "end" marker (the "#" character,) when they encounter the "start" marker (the "@" character) so that they will be able to skip those intense scenes.
As some of you may know, I'm also a software engineer. I can write software for use by parents that will detect those markers when "reading" a story and automatically screen them out. This software can be written so that when an adult uses it, the scenes are left in, but when a child reads it, they are screened out.
The question I pose to parents is: Would you want this piece of software? I would not charge for it; it would be free to anyone that asks for it, forever.
The question I pose to authors is: If there is a large enough call for this, would you be willing to adjust your stories with those two little characters to allow parents to decide what their children read?
At this point, I'm just collecting opinions. The technical aspect of it is pretty simple. A program could be written in a matter of days (with my work schedule,) to take advantage of this concept. [1]
Much Fannish Attention
From Old School X Interview: Dawson E. Rambo (2021):
I had a private mailing list for people that wanted my stories 2-3 days before I posted to atxc, and at its height it numbered about 2,500 people.
[...]
At the height of my writing, during ELS and shortly after, I was getting between 100-150 emails a week. At the end, I went back and counted, and I’d gotten over 27,000 emails in just over four years. The support was incredible!
[...]
ELS and Umbra and most of the Bandit stuff are my favorites. Snapshot not so much because it wasn’t really organic as a story. I just kept adding things to it. Umbra was a lot of fun to write. ELS was…different.
I was standing in a Borders in Tucson, AZ and I saw a book on one of the tables called The Bible Code, and I picked it up and started reading it. Within about 10 minutes the entirety of the plot to ELS had popped into my head. I could not wait to get home and start writing, and that kind of urge…that kind of experience where the book just FLEW off my fingers was amazing. The first time that’s happened. It actually helped me finish Umbra so I could get to writing ELS ASAP.
Reactions and Reviews
If CC were to make another X-Files Movie I would want this to be it. But given the evolution of the MSR that aspect of it would have to change to reflect its current state. [2]
ELS by Dawson Rambo would kick ass as a mini-series. [3]
It's just plain edge-of-your-seat plot from start to finish. Well, maybe the ending is a bit weak, but that could be redone. [4]
ELS. Whoa! Yes, it's [the story] I was looking for and Dawson is just as great as I remember. [5]
What will make me send feedback? Well, I think that it's really a factor of my mood. My first XF feedback was to Dawson Rambo concerning ELS. I was so stunned at the complexity and detail that he put into his work that I stayed up all night reading the entire thing. As soon as I reached the end, I was composing a letter. I didn't even think to tell him what I liked. I just knew that I had to tell him that it was appreciated. [6]
...I just read "ELS" by Dawson Rambo.. HOT DAMN!!!! Some really good stuff there... it can be found at Annex... [7]
Awards and Nominations
The story was honored with four Spooky Awards in 1998:
- Outstanding X-File: First Place
- Outstanding Long Story: Second Place (tie with Reach by Khyber)
- Most Chris Carter: Second Place (tie with Antidote by Karen Rasch and Rachel Howard)
- Outstanding Original Villain: Second Place - Mark Dupree
References
- ^ posted to alt.tv.x-files.creative on December 21, 1997, see Authors & Parents...please read. :) for much more, including comments from fans
- ^ Shippers in eXile -- still here!, May 3, 2002
- ^ From Fic to Film, post by Binah, March 9, 1999
- ^ From Fic to Film, post by Sunflower, March 9, 1999
- ^ looking for old fic, post by Kathleen, October 10, 2001
- ^ Peeve #12: The Feedback Feedbag , comment by StarGzrCMC, December 3, 1998
- ^ novel length fanfic, post by Paradigm, May 3, 2000