...and Day 8 typed up. Finally. One problem, though.

This revision's both clarified and confused my ideas for where the plot goes. I'd intended to make the story a bit vague on the location of the world it's set on, and then reveal the story's set on Earth, and go into the history leading from some point at the 21st or 22nd century, to the time the story's set. The reveal was supposed to be put across in a confrontation between the protagonist and the ruler of the planet, set at the ruins of Carthage.

The issue is that I now can't get Planet of the Apes out of my head. I hadn't intended it as a "Goddamn you... goodamn you all to Hell!" moment, but the reveal then leads to a big story about how Earth got to be the way it is in the novel, and this discussion is the final breaking point in the relationship between protagonist and ruler.

I knew the reference wouldn't escape people's attention, but I'm finding it overbearing - considering throwing out the passage and starting again with the world-building to avoid the idea.

To what extent does this kind of reference ruin a story? There's nothing new under the sun, after all, but this is getting ridiculous. Any ideas?

-j