Part of the challenge of writing a book about the future and the arrangement of the stars is figuring out where everything sits. I used a program called Voyager III by Carina Software to figure out what the stars looked like from Alpha Centauri on the night Silas Hiram discovered that Alnilam disappeared.
I also used it to figure out the exact date of Rei's launch for the upcoming book Rome's Evolution. There is one chapter which is a flashback to Rei's "last day on Earth" which wasn't really. It was simply the last day before he entered quarantine. It was necessary that the stars be aligned so that Rei and Sally Reynolds could see Orion the Hunter and Cetus the Whale at the same time and also have the Moon be as close to Orion as possible.
I stepped through the days within the program and came up with the date of January 24, 2067. Everything was perfect. Rei went into quarantine and was cleared on February 23, 2067. The dehydration protocol lasts two weeks so Rei went into cryo-hibernation on March 11, 2067. He was placed aboard the Ark II on March 13 and they launched on June 24, 2067. There you go. Mark it on your calendar!
Entry 1-103: April 7, 2013
Stars (4): Celestial motion
A lot of my calculations were performed using Microsoft Excel. I used it to calculate travel times, the ages of people, the timing of sequences.
I even used it for mundane things like story outlines and page counts. It was very helpful in calculating how long it would take the VIRUS units to digest the Stareater.
One other program I used was Microsoft Visual FoxPro for celestial mechanics (see the upcoming post Moons). When I was writing Part 2 of Rome's Revolution, it was very important for me to know where each of the two moons, Mockay and Givvy, were at each point of the story. I used FoxPro to produce a full day's worth of illustrations of the relative positions of the moons.
The point being, I believe in the stories and I believe in the math. So when I do these calculations, their results force the stories to follow a certain pattern. I adjust the story to meet those patterns rather than the reverse.
That's the difference between science fiction and fantasy. One bends to truth to tell a story. I bend the story to tell the truth.
Entry 1-104: April 8, 2013
The Moons of Rome's Revolution
Moons, in general, play a part in each of the novels of the Rome's Revolution series. That would be Rome's Revolution, The Ark Lords and the upcoming Rome's Evolution.
In Part 1 of Rome's Revolution, most of the action takes place on Dara which is actually a moon of Skyler's World, a Jupiter-class gas giant. Dara is large enough to actually retain a thin atmosphere.
In Part 2 of Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome travel to Deucado. That world has two moons, Mockay and Givvy, both on the small side. I patterned them after Phobos and Deimos which orbit Mars. Their names are just a little joke: they are the Vuduri translation of Mickey and Goofy.
In Part 3 of Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome take a stroll along the beach underneath Earth's Moon before they are kidnapped by Onsira forces.
In The Ark Lords, our heroes travel to the world of Helome which has one moon called New Luna generally referred to as Nuna. In the original, uncut version of Rome's Revolution, we had already been introduced to that moon during the time we spent with Silas Hiram.
Also in The Ark Lords, on their way back from Helome, Rei and Rome actually stop and walk on our Moon to try and recover a space probe which had been parked on the far side.
In the upcoming Rome's Evolution, the Moon plays an important part as a celestial marker when Sally Reynolds is charting out Rei's future using her psychic powers.
Finally, while I cannot say for sure, I suspect when we explore the twin habitable planets of Nu2 Lupi in The Milk Run, I suspect there will be a moon or two or three involved.
Entry 1-105: April 9, 2013
Beer on Helome?
One of the casualties of compressing the first three books into one was the excision of the beautiful little story about Silas Hiram. This story will return when the seventh part is published, working title The Vuduri Companion. This book will be a series of short stories and maybe even a novelette or two.
Many of the salient events of Silas' night were recounted in previous blog entries.
Silas Hiram 1 - Astronaut, Farmer
Silas Hiram 2 - Amateur Astronomer
Silas Hiram 3 - Tonight's the night
Silas Hiram 4 - Silas Sees Sol
Silas Hiram 5 - Excerpts from Silas' Journal - Rome's Revolution
One of the things Silas was known for was his beer. Because he was an Ag professor, he was allowed to bring a variety of seeds. He was sure to include barley and hops. In the little story, there were a few allusions to Silas getting really good at brewing beer and bartering with neighbors for wine, etc. In fact, the night "Silas Sees Sol" - he had a beer in his hand.
Unfortunately, Silas was either killed the day after his last log entry (from The Ark Lords) or consumed by the Piranha Rats but he never lived to see New Earth, later Helome blossom.
Years later, in the upcoming Rome's Evolution, Rei and Rome return to New Earth, now called Helome and during a social event, they are served beer. As it turns out, this was cultivated by the banished would-be Ark Lords, members of the Darwin Project, who had found feral crops of barley and hops. The fact is these were the descendants of the crops that Silas had planted. They had survived for 14 centuries and 17 waves of Piranha Rats and still thrived.
Entry 1-106: April 10, 2013
Rei's Rescue -The Problem with Silence
In the stirring opening chapter of the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, the first thing you, the reader, encounters is the near-collision of a Vuduri space tug, just emerging from a PPT with the tumbling, out-of-control Ark II.
In every other science fiction movie, you'd hear the Red Alert, Collision Detector kind of klaxon to pump up the adrenaline, right from the jump. But the Vuduri have no need for klaxons. All of them are connected to the computers and various devices through their blece (display board) and stilo (stylus) which are data interfaces built right into their nervous system.
If I were ever going to make a movie of this, I'd throw the klaxon in anyway. I'd make up some excuse like it would be for mandasurte who were accompanying them and they just forgot to turn it off. I just don't think you can have an exciting near-collision without a warning siren going off in the background.
Entry 1-107: April 11, 2013
Rei's Rescue – Rome’s Story
In the original long form of Rome's Revolution, we saw Rei's Ark rescued from space. We also saw two white space-suited individuals (who we later found out to be Rome and Canus) help Rei in his re-animation.
One of the scenes deleted from the long-form was called "The Night They Recovered Rei - Rome's Story" but it is now in the archives. In this little story, Rome is much more "Vuduri-like" in that her mind floats free from her body. I decided to make her more "Essessoni-like" trapped in a Vuduri society so this had to go. Here is the story:
Rome didn’t actually sleep in the traditional sense. None of the 24-chromosome, mind-connected Vuduri really slept. They rested each night, of course; they had to. Their bodies needed the time to regenerate the same as all humans have since the dawn of mankind. Unlike their predecessors, however, it was during this quiet period that their minds soared within the Overmind, contributing to its growth, absorbing its extended senses. This meditation also served a second, more insidious purpose. All the private memories and sensations a person experienced during the day were spread and shared with the other minds within the group, effectively robbing those memories of their personal nature. Because of this process, when a decoupled
mind was finally deposited back into the body, it began the next day cleansed of any vestige of individuality.
On this particular evening, during her assigned rest period, Rome lay perfectly still within her quarters on a mattress that molded itself around her body. Rome’s eyes were closed, her breathing was shallow but steady. Mentally, she floated free, using the minds of others to watch the recovery mission occurring in space over 100 light minutes away, almost 2 billion kilometers. Because the Overmind used gravitic modulation, the crewmen within the spacecraft were so close to Rome, cosmically speaking; it was as if she were right there with them during the operation.
Rome watched as one of the space tugs returned from recovering Rei’s sarcophagus, leaving the huge Ark II quietly alone in orbit around Dara. In anticipation of the tug’s arrival, the Overmind insisted that Rome’s mind return to her body. The Overmind was going to require her services so it declared her rest period over even though it was far too short. It did not occur to Rome to challenge the order. She arose and prepared to answer the call to duty.
In the current version, the explanation for why she was selected to reanimate Rei is more important than the how.
Entry 1-108: April 12, 2013
Secrets Revealed - A new series
The upcoming novel, Rome's Evolution, is going to reveal many secrets that have been withheld up until now. In fact, it marks the end of the Rei and Rome story arc.
My promise to you, the reader, is that at the end of that novel all the loose ends will be tied up with the exception of one: what the hell has OMCOM been doing out there all these years? The answer to that question will be revealed in the final book of the series entitled The Milk Run.
However, there are so many secrets, in-jokes, hints, back-stories, etc. that don't fit anywhere so I will start laying them out in this space over the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy them.
Entry 1-109: April 13, 2013
Secrets Revealed - Rei's Rescue
Secrets of Rei's Rescue from Rome's Revolution:
1. The pilots of the space tug that rescued Rei were ordered by the Overmind to overtake the Ark for observation but were not ordered to retrieve it. The pilots made that decision on their own.
2. The pilots figured out how to use the EG lifters in reverse to lock on and slow down the Ark's rotation all on their own.
3. In the text, the author (me) says in another age, they'd just let it pass on by. That was referring to what would have happened if the incident had occurred in the vicinity of Earth.
4. The author (me) said in another place, they might have destroyed the Ark. We saw vivid evidence of this when they arrived at Deucado.
5. All on their own, the pilots were able to determine that they could tow the Ark via PPT tunnel if they had two tugs. They called down to Dara and got the other tug to come join them. The Overmind did not object.
6. So you see that while OMCOM is supposed to be some genius and took credit for how to get the Ark from Tabit to Deucado, the reality is, the method of towing was already developed by humans. All OMCOM did was figure out whether that configuration would be workable, long term.
7. The pilots decided to tow the Ark back to Dara. The Overmind had no objection because its curiosity was piqued. This Overmind had been built for exploration and research. Other Overminds would not have cared.
8. When the astronauts enter the Ark and pick out one sarcophagus for retrieval, Rei was not their first choice. Who was?
9. Was it Paul Chung, Wally Stanislaw, Andrea Grenmuller or Russell Martell? We don't know. The placement of the sarcophagi in the Ark was for weight distribution purposes. And who are those four people? You'll find out in the upcoming Rome's Evolution.
10. Since Rei was NOT their first choice, how did they pick him? They just couldn't figure out how to free the person next to Rei. They figured the chamber was stuck. It was only when they got to Rei's sarcophagus and discovered that it, too, was stuck that they explored further and found the locking mechanism.
11. Once Rei was revived, he went through extreme disorientation, not because of how much time had passed but because of how much society had changed.
Entry 1-110: April 14, 2013
Secrets Revealed - Rome's Evolution
Before we go back and revisit all the "hidden" secrets of Rome's Revolution and The Ark Lords, I thought I'd list, as a teaser, the major secrets revealed in the upcoming book Rome's Evolution. In these cases, I'll just refresh your memory of why these things are loose ends and skirt around the actual answers. But at least you'll be ready for them when the book comes out.
1. What happened on Rei's last day on Earth. What was the flying horse?
2. Why didn't Rei take a pair of sunglasses with him?
3. Why did Rei take a dangerous space-walk just to retrieve his music slab when they were on their year long trip?
4. Who was Sally Reynolds and what did she mean to Rei? What was her relationship to Raul? To Rome?
5. What happened to the remaining Darwin members who were not captured and deported?
6. How did the exiled Darwin members fare when they got to Helome?
7. Whatever happened to Sussen, the spy on Deucado who precipitated the crisis in Part Three of Rome's Revolution?
8. What happened to the Onsiras, in general, without MASAL to guide them?
9. What is the Overmind of Earth like?
10. Rome says time is like a river. It is possible to travel back to past lives. Is this where premonitions come from? We want more!
11. When is Lupe coming?
12. Why are there so many caves on Deucado with smooth roofs?
13. Why is there so little diversity of life on Deucado?
14. Is there any place for money in the 35th century?
15. Was there ever sentient life on Deucado?
16. Why did the Overmind built a static tunnel to Helome when it was just a fledgling colony world?
Coming up in the next two weeks: all the non-answers I can come up with to these questions.
Entry 1-111: April 15, 2013
Secrets Revealed: The remaining Darwin members
What happened to the remaining Darwin members who were not captured and deported? Right at the end of The Ark Lords, Rei and Rome have this little exchange:
Rome looked around from side to side then up at her husband. "I know you've removed all the weapons but do you think we have to worry about any of the remaining Darwin people that have evaded capture?"
Naw," Rei said dismissively. "Most of the ones we missed the first time turned themselves in voluntarily. There might be a couple of them wandering around. Not enough to do anything."
“That’s a relief," Rome said. "I would not want to live my life constantly worrying about them."
"They’re done," Rei said. "And they know it."
Well, at least that's what they thought. Two years go by and there are no incidents. But then... You'll read all about it in Rome's Evolution.
Entry 1-112: April 16, 2013
Secrets Revealed: The deported Darwin members
One the questions remaining at the end of The Ark Lords was how were the deported members of the Darwin Project treated once they arrived at Helome? As you will recall, at the end of The Ark Lords, Rei had MINIMCOM strip them of their clothes and pack them into the cargo hold like sardines. The entire group was then transported via MINIMCOM and Junior to the planet Helome.
In the Epilogue, Rei made reference to the fact that a second wave of Darwin members had turned themselves in and were also transported to the new planet. Rei had promised Virga he would send volunteers for use as "breeding stock." While technically t
hey were not volunteers in the traditional sense, MINIMCOM told Rei and Rome that Virga accepted his "gift" and they would serve the desired purpose.
In fact, when MINIMCOM was addressing Rome, his exact words were "She said what you and Rei have given her and all the residents of Helome is priceless."
When Rome questioned whether they would be interred and treated as criminals. Rei said to her, "I'm pretty sure the Overmind of Helome will see to it that their children are raised as human beings, not murderers but I'll tell you what. We'll go back some day and check things out. What do you say?" Rome agreed and I'm sure you do too.
There are some Darwin characters we "care" about more than others. How did Captain Keller fare? What about Bonnie Mullen? How about Nick Greer who lost his right hand when MINIMCOM sliced it off?
All of your questions will be answered in the upcoming novel Rome's Evolution.
Entry 1-113: April 17, 2013
Secrets Revealed: The static tunnel to Helome
As mentioned several times in Rome's Revolution and later in The Ark Lords, there was a static tunnel built between Earth and Helome which allowed easy and quick travel between the two worlds. Because Helome was just starting out as a new colony, you'd have to think it was for transporting colonists and supplies. But why go through such an engineering effort for a sparsely populated world? Especially because travel through the tunnel rendered most Vuduri unconscious unless they were wearing a T-suppressor.
The Overmind of Earth never does anything capriciously or for a trivial reason. Could there be a second, more insidious purpose for building this tunnel? MINIMCOM refused to ever use it claiming either it was at the wrong vector or later because he could fly so much faster that the effective speed the tunnel could provide.
Never fear! The answers to all your questions are coming in the upcoming novel Rome's Evolution which should be out in the next two months.
Entry 1-114: April 18, 2013
Secrets Revealed: The Flying Horse, Part 1
The flying horse has been mentioned several times throughout Rome's Revolution and figures more prominently in Rome's Evolution. The following is a deleted scene, excised from the current version. In the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome have this exchange while Rome was training Rei on how to fly a starship:
“There is one thing I have wanted to ask you, as well,” Rome said.
“Sure.”
“When I was in your mind, I saw an image of a flying horse that almost killed you. Can you explain that please?”
“Oh, that,” Rei said. “Sure.” He took a deep breath. “On my last night before I went into quarantine…”
“Why did you go into quarantine?” Rome asked.
“Before the dehydration and cryo-hibernation,” Rei replied. “You had to go into quarantine for a month to make sure that you weren’t harboring any noxious diseases or anything. They wanted to make sure the new world was as clean as possible.”
“I understand. Go on.”
“Well, I was on my way over to Raul and Sally’s.”
“Sally?” Rome asked. “You were in love with her, no?”
“Yes,” Rei answered. “I was in love with her. But she married Raul.”
“Did that not cause bad feelings?” Rome queried.
“At first,” Rei said. “But I let it go. I couldn’t really blame her. I was committed to going on the Ark and she wanted to stay on Earth. It worked out for the best. I got to know Raul and the three of us became friends.”
“That is nice,” Rome said.
“Yeah,” Rei answered. “So anyway, we were all going to have dinner together with my parents. I had borrowed Raul’s truck and spent the day getting rid of the last of my possessions.”
“Why did you do that?” Rome asked.
“Because we were only allowed to bring 20 kilos worth of belongings. I brought some books and some clothes and some music. That’s it. I didn’t really need anything else. Certainly not furniture. It’s not like I was ever coming back.”
“So the horse?” Rome reminded Rei gently.
“Yes. Anyway, I was coming out of a tunnel and I saw some people riding horses on the other side of the retaining wall.”
“And your horses flew?” Rome asked, confused.
“No,” Rei answered, “it was a bomb.”
“I do not understand.”
“Somebody set off a bomb on the bridle path and blew up one of the horses,” said Rei, disgustedly.
“Why would they do that?” Rome asked with a slightly horrified tone.
“Beats me,” Rei shrugged. “The goals of the terrorists were so obscure, that’s why nobody could ever address them.”
“So they blew up a horse?” Rome asked.
“Yes. Its carcass catapulted over the retaining wall and landed right on the hood of my truck. It smashed the windshield. The crash curtain never went off. It was just dumb luck that I wasn’t killed or injured seriously.”
“That is horrible,” Rome said. “No wonder you wanted to leave your Earth.”
“Yep. That and the global storms, pollution, overpopulation. We had pretty well made a mess of things…”
“Yes, you did,” Rome said somberly.
More tomorrow...
Entry 1-115: April 19, 2013
Secrets Revealed: The Flying Horse, Part 2
The idea behind the flying horse incident (first mentioned in Rome's Revolution) was to bring into the sharp focus the idea that the Earth in 2067 AD is not a very pleasant place. Overpopulation is causing a massive breakdown in the weather, the economy and the lifestyles of the regular people. Global storms, unending recession, the concentration of the wealth of the world in the hands of very few people, all contribute to a very high level of dissatisfaction in people's lives.
This discontent and fear that the planet may collapse under the weight of too many people spurs on the development of the Ark program. Within Rei's time on Earth, terrorism has spilled over to our shores and slowly cities and communities become walled fortresses. It is very dangerous to be out in the open. Having been accepted into the Ark program, Rei was given a severe restriction on the amount of personal items he was allowed to bring along. As such, he had to give away all his furniture, his entertainment system, basically all his earthly belongings.
He borrowed Raul's truck to get rid of the final few pieces of furniture and donate the remainder of his clothing. He was on the way back to his "last night on Earth" celebration dinner with his parents and Raul and Sally when a terrorist bomb (IED) exploded on the far side of a retaining wall and blew up a horse. Its carcass was flung up and over the retaining wall and landed on the hood of Rei's truck.
The incident and its aftermath will be described in better detail in the upcoming novel entitled Rome's Evolution.
Entry 1-116: April 20, 2013
Secrets Revealed: Guns and Ramps and Sunglasses
One of the running jokes of the whole Rome's Revolution universe is that every time Rei and Rome fly to a new place and walk down (or up) a ramp, there is horde of people waiting to attack them.
- The first time Rei and Rome land on Deucado, there is a group of Ibbrassati waiting for them with clubs, maces and other evil looking objects.
- When they land at the Vuduri enclave on Deucado, when Rome was experiencing respiratory distress, they were greeted by Vuduri with standard issue Vuduri weapons.
- When they land on Earth, they are immediately taken into custody by a group of Vuduri soldiers as Rome is place under arrest.
- When they arrive back on Deucado, at the end of Part 3 of Rome's Revolution, they are greeted by a large group of people but at least this time it was joyous.
- When they first la
nd on Helome, walking down the ramp appears to be an innocent act. However, the two women accompanying Virga are carrying hidden weapons and it is their intent to kidnap Rei for use of his genetic material.
- When Rei, Rome and Ursay walk up the ramp beneath the Tevatron, they are "welcomed" by a heavily armed contingent of the Darwin group, aka the new Ark Lords.
Why enumerate each of these incidents? Because in all of them, Rei is leaving the cool, dimly lit interior of a starship (or the Tevatron) and, unlike Rome who has a second, internal iris, had to put his hand up to block the sun until his eyes get adjusted to the brighter light. Why didn't he just bring a pair of sunglasses with him from Earth?
The answer to that question will finally be revealed in the first Intermezzo of the upcoming novel Rome's Evolution.
Entry 1-117: April 21, 2013
Secrets Revealed: Who was Sally Reynolds?
Sally was mentioned several times in the original long form version of Rome's Revolution and again in The Ark Lords. So who was Sally and what was her relationship to Rei?
Sally was Rei's college sweetheart and the love of his life when he was younger. Her father was Chairman of the Reynolds Corporation which was the principal contractor behind the Ark program. When the program was announced, Rei knew right away he wanted to go. Sally did not. Even though they loved each other very much, the difference was irreconcilable. Sally did, however, use her influence with her father to get Rei accepted into the Ark program.
Sally was a eco-biologist and after college went down to Brazil to study how to repair the rain-forest in the Amazon. She contracted a nasty strain of what would later be called the Lupine Flu and should have died. However, she did not. It turns out she had a genetic mutation which gave her an immune system that was adaptable to any virus. The doctor who took care of her in Brazil was named Raul. He fell in love with his patient and married her and they eventually moved back to the United States.
The fact that Raul and Sally were together hurt Rei deeply but his belief in traveling to the stars helped him overcome his resentment and eventually the three of them became best of friends.
You will read about Sally and Rei's last night together in the upcoming novel Rome's Evolution. There are a few clever references in the first Intermezzo to later events and Sally's relationship to Rome will be revealed.
Wait, her relationship to Rome? What the hell? How is that even possible? You'll find out soon!
Entry 1-118: April 22, 2013
First Look: The cover of Rome's Evolution
Bruce has been working very, very hard to bring "The Hand" of Deucado to life. Here is a first look at the cover. It will change but at least it gives you an idea of the size of this titanic structure.