The only problem is he may be a bit too short (he is only 5' 10') and his hair may be too dark. Also his hair is usually perfect and one of Rei's trademarks is his unkempt hair. Oh well, it's a place to start. I am open to suggestions.
Entry 1-162: June 5, 2013
Andrea and the Casino - Part 1
I cut this stuff out of Rome's Evolution to make the Casino scene run faster but I thought you might want a little more insight into how it came to pass:
Andrea was seated behind a wood-paneled desk that would have been normal for Earth but here on Deucado stood out. Andrea stood up and reached forward with her hand. She was wearing a very Barbara-Edenesque pink hat, tied around her chin by a pink ribbon. Atop the scarf was a pillbox hat, also in pink, that was in consonance with the ribbon. To further the effect, she wore a bright red tank-top covered by a billowy pink vest with filmy sleeves.
Rei was so angry when he first arrived at the casino. He could see the taint of his people seeping everywhere on this planet. It was as if the Essessoni were a disease. But seeing Andrea dressed as ridiculously as she was, made Rei realize every one of his crew was probably functionally insane. Never in their wildest dreams, let alone training, did anything prepare them for a society which was want of nothing. A society where you had to define your own goals and life, there was no pre-determined path or outcome.
Tomorrow - why the heck were there Vuduri in the casino? Could they be gambling?
Entry 1-163: June 6, 2013
Andrea and the Casino - Part 2
Here is the second half of the omitted portions from Rome's Evolution regarding Andrea Grenmuller and why the Vuduri showed up at the casino:
Andrea was no more and no less insane than any of the other Essessoni. She came to a world where there was no need for money and fashioned an attraction which exploded, bursting spontaneously into the need for coins. That David would bring the silver ingots to her, no questions asked, made it easier to mint the coins and distribute them and then create an edifice that would make them want to turn them in again. The mathematics were staggering and engaged Andrea’s mind in a way that no normal project would. By employing a carefully enlarging pyramid, Andrea was able to recruit 2 then 4 then 8 then 16 then more than she could count. They all bought into a system where you had to buy in. They built the inn and restaurants first. They wanted to get the denizens of Deucado used to the coming to the top of The Hand. Then, behind a large construction wall, they built their glittering palace of play. It was ready the day the wall came down. At first, only the Essessoni flocked in. Not too far behind were the Deucadons. An element of gambling had developed in their society even in the short 500 years since they had been stranded on this planet. Next came the mandasurte. They often emulated the Essessoni but in a sly way. They too wandered in and began to partake of the games.
Finally, the Vuduri came in, not in droves but in spurts. Their reason was always the same. This was research only to try and understand why the other three races seemed to be attracted. As part of their research, they even felt themselves compelled to gamble a little. None were so brave, yet, to take part in the table games. They claimed that interacting with the one-armed bandit was sufficient to find out what they needed. But one look at them would tell you that it wouldn’t be long until they were “researching” the table games too.
No, Andrea had it right. If you build it, they will come. And come back. And come back.
Entry 1-164: June 7, 2013
Rome's speech and formal English
The Vuduri don't normally speak. So when Rome learned English, she only spoke it formally. Initially, she did not know how to use contractions. You can see that clearly in Rome's Revolution especially the first half.
Later, as she became more comfortable with the language, she occasionally used contractions. However, when she is stressed, her speech goes to back to formal very quickly. Also, if she can't think of a word, she will substitute the Vuduri equivalent until she can think of the proper English term. You can see that in The Ark Lords when she refers to herself as a veprocenda which is an approximation of the word housewife or homemaker.
By the end of Rome's Evolution, she has been speaking English for five years and is very fluent. She uses contractions nearly all the time, even when she is communicating mentally with Rei.
There is one other time when you will notice that contractions go by the wayside. When I first started Rome's Revolution, I said if Rei doesn't understand Vuduri, then we don't either. So when they are speaking in Vuduri (which I tell you by saying "they said in Vuduri"), you will see there are no contractions because the language does not support them. Eventually, Rei became so fluent in Vuduri and Rome in English that I didn't even bother telling you which language they were speaking in. In fact, sometimes they speak in both.
About the only way to tell is to look for the presence or absence of contractions in Rome's speech. If they are in there, it's English. If they aren't (and she isn't stressed), it is probably Vuduri. If it's blended, would it be Venglish? Or maybe Engluri?
Entry 1-165: June 8, 2013
Rei takes his bearings, part 1
In the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, the first time Rei can get his bearings is when he wakes up on the cot/gurney in the airlock which was turned into a decontamination/isolation room. Rei looked around and saw his sarcophagus in the corner. He gave up on the idea that this was all a dream and decided to concentrate on his surroundings.
The first thing he noticed was the monitoring equipment mounted by his bedside. Now if you got anything out of the novels, you know the Vuduri were not big fans of wires so everything was wireless. He was wearing a sensor band that was stuck to his forehead. As soon as he removed it, the equipment showed his heart as having stopped. You'd think that would cause a reaction on the part of the Vuduri but remember, OMCOM was watching him the whole time.
I wanted to make the scene futuristic but relatable so I made the assumption that vital signs are vital signs so no matter how exotic their equipment was, Rei would still be able to recognize a normal sinus rhythm on an EKG.
The next thing I did was have Rei look down at his hand. In the modern version, Rei shouts "ouch" as the needle is withdrawn from his skin. In the original long-form, he was asleep. But would a future race such as the Vuduri even take a blood sample?
My original plan was to take the Great Dying, send mankind back to the Stone Age and then have them progress so that by the time Rei gets there, they are just ahead of us (Rei, actually) in technology. So the short answer is, yes, they still use needles and have to take blood samples.
Entry 1-166: June 9, 2013
Rei takes his bearings, part 2
The next thing I had Rei do, in the long form of Rome's Revolution was twist around and he felt a shooting pain in his back. In the modern version, he doesn't feel the back pain until he stands up but the back pain plays a central role in the evolution of the plot regardless of which version you are reading.
Despite the outcry from his back, Rei twisted around and checked out the wall of monitors, readouts and displays. I postulated that the Vuduri would use a written language but there was no chance it would be English. So I let them have an alphabet similar to ours but the letters and numbers were formed differently. To Rei it just looked bizarre.
In both the long-form and the modern version, Rei wakes up wearing a Vuduri jumpsuit but he is bigger than a regular Vuduri so I made the jumpsuit too tight in the shoulders in both versions. I still don't know what the Vuduri wear on their feet. I guessed they wore something like moccasins but to this day, I still don't know.
W
e find out later that the protocol was supposed to be the frozen person was to be dressed in their flight suit which was stored in the lower section of the sarcophagus. That and a baseball cap. But I still don't know if they had work boots, shoes or even footies. I guess I didn't spend enough time looking down at their feet!
Entry 1-167: June 10, 2013
Where are all your robots?
It was funny. My stepson Matt was reading the original third book of the long-form of Rome's Revolution. He hadn't commented much but finally he asked, "Where are all your robots?" I knew the answer but realized I had not made it clear in the books. I liked the comment so much that I had Rei speak those actual words (in Chapter 30 of the current book) when he and Rome are traveling to the courthouse through I-cimaci.
That simple comment opened the door to explaining The Robot War, MASAL's plan the "thin the herd" and a whole host of other items. I will give you all the details about that tomorrow.
The fact is, robots are banned from Vuduri society because of that war. And computers are not allowed to use gravitic modulation. Rome gave OMCOM access to the Casimir Pumps and that is why she was put on trial when she came back to Earth in what is now Part 3 of Rome's Revolution.
In the final book in the series, tentatively entitled The Vuduri Companion, there will be a little short story about the final phase of the war. It was actually orchestrated by MASAL so that the Vuduri and the Overmind thought he was dead. The result of that final battle was called the Denver Crater (even though it was centered in Boulder, CO) and it is so large, it can be seen from the Moon with the naked eye.
So, thank you Matthew for forcing me to add in those extra details.
Entry 1-168: June 11, 2013
The Robot War
If you have been reading my Wiki called Rome's Revolution: The Science Behind the Science Fiction, you probably read about The Robot War. But if you have not, here is the content which explains about how The Robot War came about:
MASAL (the Master Logical Entity) used PPT Transceivers rather than EM signals as his communication between modules. This allowed him to grow very large and eventually span the Earth. MASAL controlled all the robots, vehicles, automated equipment and so on. After MASAL invented the 24th chromosome and the Overmind arose, MASAL's PPT Transceivers allowed him to become fully integrated into the Overmind.
MASAL's ultimate plan was to transform humans into living robots. He watched and waited and grew impatient. He instigated a series of disagreements with the Overmind and eventually forced the two to split. This precipitated a war. MASAL turned the robots into deadly weapons and slaughtered a tremendous number of Vuduri. Everything under his control was also used as weapon including airships, ground vehicles and so on.
Eventually, the humans prevailed. MASAL had taken his last refuge (or so the Overmind thought) beneath the Flatirons just outside of Denver. The Vuduri constructed huge PPT cannons and blasted out the mountains. The resulting crater was so huge, it is easily seen from the Moon with the naked eye.
In the aftermath of the war, the Vuduri banned the use of robots forever. Not in space, not under the sea, nowhere on land or on other worlds. A new type of computing device, digital in nature, was invented. Because they were digital, machines like OMCOM could never be integrated into the Overmind so they were permitted limited control of vehicles, starships and so on. With that control, a fundamental law was established: no computer could ever have access to a Casimir Pump or PPT Transceiver again. The fear was that with the vastly increased range of PPT Transceivers, even digital computers could become unleashed, a crime called Tasanceti.
Unfortunately for Rome, the Stareater crisis caused her to have to violate the law and she later paid for this crime by being banished from the Earth. To make matters worse, MASAL wasn't even dead although Rei and Rome eventually corrected that problem.
Entry 1-169: June 12, 2013
How are the Vuduri assigned jobs?
In fact, why do they even work at all?
Simplistically, since all robots are banned from Vuduri society, you still need things done. It is true that there are machines and vehicles but ultimately you need people.
Since all Vuduri are connected to the Overmind (at least they were until Rome's Revolution, why would one person know more or have better skills than anybody else?
The answer lies in people's physical capabilities, eye-hand coordination, strength of voice, etc. Most Vuduri schooling concentrates on refining (and testing) these capabilities so that by the time a Vuduri person reaches adulthood, they are assigned a job that their physical capabilities are best suited.
Some examples: Canus was assigned the role of medic because he had fine motor control in his hands. Binoda was assigned the task of wrangling animals because she had a good and strong voice. Rome was selected to be the data archivist on Dara because she had excellent eye-hand coordination. The list goes on.
In the end, the Vuduri society flows very smoothly because each Vuduri is plugged into the Overmind and performs a task to which they are best suited. However, if you learned nothing else, the Vuduri, as a people, are rather boring.
Entry 1-170: June 13, 2013
The Espansor Bands
The Espansor Bands were the device that jump-started the romance between Rome and Rei in Rome's Revolution. The bands have been an integral part of the story going way back to the first draft of VIRUS 5 in 1973. I know where Rome got the bands. She got them from her mother, Binoda, as a keepsake to remind Rome about her father. But where did Binoda get them?
It turns out the Overmind of Earth had created a eugenics program to see if he could stem the genetic tide changing the Vuduri into Onsiras. The code name for the program was Slayer (in Vuduri) because it was meant the slay the Onsira phenotype. At the time, nobody, including the Overmind, knew MASAL was behind the transformation. The Overmind of Earth prattled on about this program in the novel Rome's Evolution much to Rome's dismay. Even more so when she found out she was just a lab experiment. However, as it turns out, the program's name was literal because Rome actually was the slayer of MASAL.
Binoda was originally selected to work in animal husbandry because she had a strong voice. This was required when working with animals. However, the Overmind had his scientists perform a genetic analysis of all Vuduri and came to the conclusion that Binoda was one of the closest living relatives to Hanry Ta Jihn. Her mission was changed. She was selected to mate with Fridone because the Overmind felt she would be the most attractive to the mandasurte scientist.
She was given the bands by the Overmind so that she could look into Fridone's mind and figure out what it would take to produce an offspring. However, the bands malfunctioned (or maybe they didn't) and Binoda and Fridone bonded in a way that had never been experienced before.
The result of that bonding was Rome and we are the better for it. In Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome experienced the same phenomenon. They were, in fact, soul mates. In Vuduri, Rome called it Asborodi Cimponeti which means companion spirits.
Entry 1-171: June 14, 2013
Star drives revisited
In a previous post, I discussed the various star drives used in the Rome's Revolution universe. Today's post concerns whether they are factual or not. Remember, because it is hard science fiction, my rule is that everything that could be fact-checked would, in fact, check out.
The Grey Drive is based upon the concept that there is a lot of energy in matter (E=mc2 anybody) so if you figured out an efficient way to convert matter to energy, you'd be on to something. This is a fact. But the creation of a quantum black hole, feeding it xenon atoms and harnessing the Hawking Radiation to drive an Ark forward was made up. Well, not testable
at least.
The PPT drive and later the continuous PPT drive was based upon the Casimir Effect which is real and has been measured. I took some liberties in inventing the Casimir Pump but nobody can prove this is not true.
Negative energy seems like an exotic concept but nonetheless, if the Casimir Effect is real, then negative energy is real. And from everything I've ready, where there is negative energy, there is no space. So to the extent that it can be fact-checked, the PPT tunnel method of flying faster than the speed of light cannot be proven wrong.
Now for the Null Fold drive. This is completely made up. Everybody knows in algebra we learned about "i" which is the square root of -1. So the Null Fold drive is completely speculative and based upon the fact that you can split negative energy into a real and imaginary component (like in algebra) and somehow that allows you to bypass the absence of space created by negative energy. Hurts the head, huh?
Well, in the next novel, The Milk Run, you will be introduced to the Null Fold Drive, Generation 2. I have no clue what is the guiding principle behind it. I am just postulating that the Null Fold Drive, Gen 2 takes you out of our universe and reenters somewhere else which means you are traveling effectively faster. Where you are when you are not here is problematic but forms the basis of the machinations behind the plot of The Milk Run. Stay tuned.
Entry 1-172: June 15, 2013
35th century food revisited
I discussed this in a previous post but I wanted to revisit the idea of what food will be like in the 35th century.
When Rei is first awakened, in both the original long-form version and the current version of Rome's Revolution, Rome offers him some food. They use a food synthesizer which creates any form of food you want. Rei later uses this to his advantage to create such wonders as coffee, birthday cake and so on. The fact is the Vuduri Rei first encountered on Dara were forced to use food synthesizers because they were on an airless moon with no source of supplies.
But what about food on Earth? On Deucado, we know people eat "real" food in that Rei is involved in creating vast farms, Binoda oversees the ever-growing bison herd and Fridone is managing the creation of the largest sustainable fishing (swishing) fleet in the universe.
But on Earth, what do they eat? Mostly I avoid the issue. Whenever there is action on Earth, there is no time for eating. There was a wonderful luau scene in the original long-form version of Part 3 but it was excised to shrink the size of the book.
So what do Vuduri eat? I cannot tell you for sure but I believe they use some form of food synthesizers in their home but the organic sources are grown. I don't know any other way to reconcile Binoda as an animal husbandry expert if the Vuduri have no use for food.
I remember in the movie "Masters of the Universe" when Courtney Cox introduces the people from the planet Eternia to the wonders of spare ribs. This implies they were vegetarian because some of them voiced disgust when they found out they were eating meat.
I don't think the Vuduri care. I think they have better, or at least different, things to worry about as to whether the food is vegetable or animal in origin. It is all protein to them. Luckily for us, Deucado will eclipse Earth someday as the crown jewel in the empire of Man and there they like real food!
Entry 1-173: June 16, 2013
How did Rome get pregnant?
Well, duh. But why was she ovulating? She told Rei that Vuduri women controlled their ovulation and only became pregnant when the Overmind informed them it was time.
Rome was only partially right. The Overmind had a hand in when a Vuduri woman ovulates but also not having sex was a big boost towards controlling who got pregnant. The relationship between Rei and Rome in Rome's Revolution was not a part of the Overmind's plan.
It turns out that without the Overmind, a Vuduri woman has a monthly cycle and Rome got pregnant without realizing it was possible. Of course after she found out, she was rather pleased. As we found out in Rome's Evolution, since she was part of the Overmind's Slayer experiment, it had not yet given her permission to give birth and privately she suspected she never would be. The fact that she and Rei were charting new territory with the mix of Essessoni and Vuduri gave her the freedom to have a child whenever she was ready and I guess she was ready for Aason.
What about Lupe?
Entry 1-174: June 17, 2013
My first book signing
Friday, June 14, 2013 was my first book signing. It was an overwhelmingly positive experience. The people at The Doylestown Bookshop and Krisy Paredes in particular made my visit there great.
Many of my friends and family came to the event and the show of support was very gratifying. I even sold 15 books including 10 of Rome's Revolution alone! But the biggest surprise of the evening was the number of people, old and young alike, who stopped by and expressed interest in my books and their longing for more science in their science fiction.
I cannot tell you how musical that was to my ears. To have a 13-year-old beg his mother to buy my book because it had science in it gives me hope not only for my fledgling career as a science fiction writer but for the nation as a whole. I thought that with the advent of Twitter and Facebook and other social media the day of reading books was drawing to a close. If my experience at The Doylestown Bookshop taught me nothing else, it is that books and readers are still coming.
Awesome!
P.S. Thank you to my wife Denise, my daughter Paula, my incredibly talented brother Bruce, Linda Young, Sarah and Daniel Macias and my stepson Perry for standing by me. And thank you to Kenny and Penny Robinson for their surprise visit. And a great big thank you to Glenn and Risa Neiman for putting the wheels in motion leading up the book signing in the first place.
Entry 1-175: June 18, 2013
Binoda, Part 1
Rome's mother, Binoda, makes her first appearance in Part 3 of Rome's Revolution. She was mentioned in passing when Rei and Rome had their first experience with the Espansor Bands. But who is she really?
I don't know that much about her background. Only that she had a fairly non-descript childhood. She was raised by her parents which in and of itself is a tell that she was a little out of the ordinary. She also had a sister, who she knew, which was also unusual.
Binoda was like many young Vuduri and hoped for a career in industrial solvents or space exploration but to her dismay, she discovered she had a natural talent for speaking. Her voice was strong and clear unlike most of her peers who could barely speak.
There is a test they give young Vuduri around 10 years old and it is, in fact, a speaking test. Most Vuduri flunk or in their opinion pass. Binoda was found to have a particularly strong voice.
There are only two career paths for Vuduri with strong voices. One is a liason with the mandasurte. The other is in wrangling animals who are typically not mind-connected. Poor Binoda was put in the second tract before she even hit puberty. She was destined to be a farmhand, raising animals. That was the path she followed for many years, until her 18th birthday.
Unbeknownst to her, the Onsira transformation was already taking place and the Overmind was hard at work trying to uncover the cause and the cure.
Tomorrow, genetics!
Entry 1-176: June 19, 2013
Binoda, Part 2
As we found out in Rome's Evolution, after the Overmind discovered the Onsira transformation, he set aside a secret cabal of scientists to determine the cause and the cure. Most Vuduri had a diploid pair of the 24th chromosome. This artificial chromosome only reproduced through mitosis, not meiosis so each Vuduri had to have two pair to guarantee their child had a dual set.
When they examined the 24th chromosome more carefully, they c
ame up with (what was originally thought to be) a recessive element of the 24th chromosome coming forward but the frequency of the phenotype was increasing. They determined that the cure would be to try interbreeding the Vuduri with the mandasurte creating a race of half-bloods (called mosdurece in Vuduri) to prevent the Onsira phenotype from expressing itself. This was simply meant to be a delay tactic until they could come up with a longer-term cure. But in the short term, it would end the threat of the Onsiras before it started so the program was called Slayer in Vuduri.
The Overmind decided that if they were going to interbreed full-blooded Vuduri with mandasurte, they wanted the best version of this new type of Vuduri. So they created a genetic mapper, sort of a genetic time machine, that tracked genetic drift backward until they found the closest living great-great-great-grandchildren of Lacy Henry which meant they were the descendents of Jack Henry, Hanry Ta Jihn in Vuduri.
Binoda scored the highest of any Vuduri on the planet. She was therefore the best candidate to interbreed with a mandasurte. The Overmind surreptitiously researched the mandasurte and found a scientist by the name of Fridone who would give them the best offspring. Of course, this turned out to be Rome.
It came as quite a surprise to Binoda the day the Overmind informed her that her mission had changed. The Overmind gave her explicit instructions and six months to mold her body into that which the Overmind believed would be most attractive to Fridone. What the Overmind did not realize is that the attraction could work both ways.
Tomorrow, Fridone and Binoda, a love story.
Entry 1-177: June 20, 2013
Binoda and Fridone, a love story
In the beginning of The Ark Lords, Rome learns of the Slayer program although Fridone never called it that by name. He did reveal to Rome that Binoda had been sent to seduce him and mate with him for reasons that were never made clear to Binoda. The Overmind equipped her with a killer body and the Espansor Bands and sent her to Hawaii, ostensibly to study the migration patterns of the Red Opah. This was a fish that Fridone knew well.
After she arrived in Hawaii, she put on a specially fitted Vuduri jumpsuit that accentuated her curves even more. Think Jessica Rabbit. However, when she arrived at Fridone's boat and started up the gangplank, before she could even begin putting on a show, she slipped and fell and hit her head and chipped a tooth. Fridone helped a groggy Binoda on board and held her firmly until she felt strong enough to stand. The boat was unmoored and their voyage began, out into the open waters of the Pacific.
As if the chipped tooth and disheveled hair wasn't enough, Binoda quickly discovered she had no sea-legs and spent much of the early part of the voyage hanging over the railing, throwing up. She was a mess. Fridone was amused but empathetic and took her down into the cabin and showed her how to sit, knees pressed against her chest until she adjusted to the wave pattern.
Binoda was so grateful that she revealed to Fridone her true mission. She even showed him the Espansor Bands and told him the Overmind's plan. To her surprise, Fridone said he would try it with her as his curiosity was piqued.
Well, just like in Rome's Revolution, the bands malfunctioned and they joined souls and the rest is (future) history.
Entry 1-178: June 21, 2013
Who is Binoda?
As mentioned in previous posts, I tried to think of actors to play Rome and Rei. I don't know if I was successful but those posts seemed to be popular. So here are two actresses I picked out who might be good as Binoda.
The first is Lisa Hartman. I don't know if blonde is her natural hair color. I know that at 5' 4", she is the right height. She is also a very good actress so that part helps. Here is her picture:
The second actress I looked at was Lynda Carter who you may remember played Wonder Woman on TV. She has the right color hair and a very regal presence but she may be too tall. The records show her at 5' 9" tall and Rome is supposed to be just a smidge over 5 feet so I'm assuming Binoda is not that tall. Here is Lynda's picture: