1031 Lifetime: Future's End

Future's End
December 31, 2034

Stallion's Gate, New Mexico


In the first of a trilogy of leaps, Sam leaps as himself into his own future?a future in which he never returned home. When a woman named Isabella finds him and leads him to the remnants of what was once PQL, Sam discovers the existence of a fanatical cult devoted to his legacy being led by a group of religious zealots. Is it truly peace they are after or something diabolical? And through it all, can Sam find a way to change the tragic fates of his family and friends after such a long absence? (1 of 3)


Written by: Damon C. Sugameli


Thanks,
TVS Team

(acclaimed)

Our rating system this season consisted of six raters! We took the average of six raters and came up with an average for that episode.

Based on ratings of 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, the average of this episode was: 9.75


Some of the comments given were:

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Valery S. Gemini said:
I've read literally hundreds of Leapfics, but among them almost none (apart from maybe 2 or 3 not worth to be remembered) explore the "other end" of the string: Sam's future post-PQL present timeline. So this one is quite a novelty.

I don't know -and I don't mind- if this story is "QL canon" or not. It's so different from what we're used to... but throughout all the VS, I've ALWAYS tried to keep in mind what Don B. would have done with his characters if he'd had the chance to pursue their adventures on TV - surely, sooner or later, he'd have thought about exploring Sam's future? I had even considered for a while writing a fanfic in that style myself...

Now I don't need to, after having read Damon's version of "the other end of the string" I only have one single comment: perfect! Writing about the future - Sam's, PQL's, but ours as well- could mean many traps, but he avoided all of them: every single thing he says IS credible, there's not any "poor writer's tricks". I'd already been very impressed by "Second Genesis" so I'd hoped to read more from Damon soon. This is brilliant, I do hope we'll read more of the kind next year.

Which brings me to THE ONLY bad thing about this story: knowing that we'll have to be patient throughout the whole summer break to read its conclusion! Will Sam keep on leaping or will this be the end of the VS, period? The "human part" of me wants to read about Sam going back home at last, meeting his son, kissing his wife... but the "QL fan part" wants to read more and more, endless leaping stories!!!

Rating: 10, 11, 12... (well, I'll have to stop at 10)
Wonderful, Damon!

RATING: 10

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sporty said:
I would rate LIFETIME: FUTURE'S END a 9 (This was a great story. Will definitely tell others about it.)

RATING: 9.0

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Morris Finkle said:
Away.... awww!

RATING: NR

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seeker said:
No comment given.

RATING: 10

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sparky said:
I have to admit that this is one for the books, Damon! Keep it up. Can't wait for next week's! I'm sure that it's going to be just as intriguing.

RATING: 10

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kazzi said:
Unable to rate.

RATING: NR

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Now, it's your opportunity to rate this particular story. Let the author(s) know how you rate this story. If you'd like to give feedback, please go ahead and leave a reply!

Thanks!
The Virtual Seasons Team

Damon, I've finished reading the final version and well, what can I say? I'm totally dumbstruck for once. A GREAT story that had me in tears, even on the second reading.

A well thought out plot and very well written, this is definitely a MUST read for all Quantum Leap fans.

AND as I've already had a sneak preview of part 2, here's a word of WARNING!! The roller-coaster ride doesn't stop here :eek

Thank you, Helen and Sue, and to the raters as well! As I've stated elsewhere, this is an idea I've had for close to ten years, and I'm pleased to finally be able to tell it. A few minor details had to be tweaked to have it fit into TVS continuity, but I think it worked out pretty well. Even though the character of Isabella was first introduced in Sue and Ruthie's RPG, The Leap Continues, I felt that she could find a place in the TVS universe too. I've left it open for her return in Sue's virtual spinoff series, Into the Future, but if the situation allows, she could always show up again in the Virtual Seasons somehow, I'm sure.

And by the way, even though her avatar picture is Nicole Kidman over at TLC, I decided to recast Isabella for "Future's End" and Sue's series. The actress, Alicia Witt, is actually closer to the age I envisioned her being:



She's a real-life child prodigy too, so it wouldn't be too off-the-mark for her to play a character who is the offspring of a genius. Beauty and brains in one! *sigh*

Mikey

This taken from the season 7 summaries

We are introduced to Edward St. John VI, son of Edward St. John from a previous timeline

Click to expand...

:rollin

LOL! Yeah, Mike, it was supposed to be Edward St. John the Fifth's son, although I do believe that MJ and AJ had envisioned Roddy McDowell playing the role anyway... kind of like how Kimberly Cullum played both Abigail and Sammy Jo as children.

Anyway, thank you, Mike and Steve for your kind comments. I'm glad you both enjoyed it! All 3 of these ideas were originally separate stories; the future story was the one I had the easiest time writing because most of it was already charted out in my head for the better part of the last 10 years. I always knew I wanted to have it end with Sam meeting his older self just before he died, so that he could see firsthand what would happen if he didn't listen to what the Bartender told him in "Mirror Image." I wanted to come up with a way to make it possible for Sam to return home after it was already established in MI that he never did. Hopefully, I conveyed that in this first story.

It should also be noted that when I first started writing a rough draft of this a couple of years back, the female character was not related to Sam at all. Also, the prologue was a lot longer and focused on Al, thinking about his friend lost in time forever. With the knowledge that "A Bold Leap Forward" is supposed to center on Sammy Jo, I thought it might be fun to play around with her attempting to leap after her father and have something go dreadfully wrong in the process.

I'm still extremely proud of this story compared to all the rest of the stories I've written so far. I'm glad that I was finally able to share this with people!

P.S. I can promise you haven't seen the last of Isabella in TVS. I still might actually cross her over into Sue's series, but remember: in the present, she has yet to be born. So, she'll be reappearing in some form or another!