One of my problems with space opera, at least traditional-esque space opera, has been the tendency to name aliens, uplifted species, etc. in ways that are either unpronounceable or in ways that are just plain weird.
Okay, okay. I'm sure everyone is going to hate me for saying this, but most speculative fiction baddies (i.e., the so-called bad guys) are terrible.
I have experimented to see how I can bring dramatic agency into the stories I write.
Our concept of time — specifically, our mechanical, abstract sense of time — is an artificial (cultural) construct.