Ooh, all the lovely feedbacks! Thank you all for your positive comments and for your good wishes for my health to improve. I'm not sure how well my body will respond - I've reached that certain age when it's more realistic to hope for a slowdown of the deterioration than to plan for a full recovery. But I have good doctors, so we'll see what happens.
Sue S. - My take on Lex is that he thinks he's right no matter what anyone else believes. This hubris has invaded every aspect of his life for so long that it's taken root and driven out any inherent decency or kindness. That's why, instead of fearing Superman, he challenged the hero at their first meeting ("Let the games begin!") to a contest, one which he was certain he would win. Even facing his imminent death, he can't admit he was ever wrong or even truly defeated. To me, that's the tragedy of Lex Luthor.
scifiJoan - Thanks. I was working on finding the "inner Lex," if you will, and it looks like I hit pretty close to the mark.
VirginiaR - I don't think Clark is pleased that Lex is dead either. But I did want to show that he was glad that the pressure Lex placed on his life was now gone. As far as "getting out of one's own head," I'm always pleased to do that. It's dark and scary in there. Of course, my muses cackled over the cauldron of this tale more than once. And they don't "bwahahaha" in harmony.
Deadly Chakram - Thanks for the kudos. I'm glad the small details didn't distract you from the central theme. Lex' arrogance had to come through. I couldn't let him weep and beg for his life. It would have been out of character.
LMA - You're too kind. I wanted to put in enough details to outline the locale and the situation, but not so many that it turned into a landscape. I'm glad you thought the balance was effective. I couldn't let Clark stand up at the very end and announce that he was Superman. It had to be a personal revelation. I even considered having Clark interview Lex just before the execution, but that would have turned into a negotiation, a la "Save me or I reveal your secret!" And maybe - just maybe - Clark knew Lex would be startled into drawing in a big lungful of air to shout out the secret as he momentarily forgot what he'd be inhaling. One last act of mercy from Superman?
Millefeuilles - Thank you for your insightful comments and for delurking. You should come out from the shadows more often. Yes, Lex' self-delusion that Superman would "rescue" him was not one of his best thoughts. And I deliberately refrained from having Lex plan to apologize for all the bad things he'd done or tried to do to Superman. That would have been terribly out of character. If you've read some of my other work, you'll know that while I don't focus on death and suffering exclusively, neither do I shy away from it. I was actually going for "chilling" in this tale, so I'm glad that came through to you.
Groobie - Lex and Clark connected? Hmm. That wasn't my intention, but I can see where you got that. Clark's reveal was certainly a personal message to Lex. I prefer to think, instead of Clark being relieved by Lex' death, that he's relieved that he and Lois won't have to lose sleep wondering when he will show up next and what devastating scheme he'll bring with him. But your thoughts and reactions are perfectly legitimate, especially since I try not to tell my readers how to think about what I've written.
I have a few longer stories I keep poking to see if they're ready to take out of the oven. Hopefully at least one of them will be sufficiently baked by the end of the year, just in time to get lost in the annual Kerth furor.
Begin editorial comments:
I believe that any society has the right to invoke any reasonable and equitable punishment for wrongdoing which it desires, which means that I take no position on whether the US or France is "right" on the question of capital punishment. This story should not be read as any kind of endorsement or condemnation of the death penalty.
End editorial comments.
Thanks for letting me play in this fun sandbox. See y'all soon!
