There are several oddities about this image which were downplayed in the original long-form and eliminated in the modern version.
First, why doors? This is covered in Rome's Revolution as Rei and Rome are headed back to Earth. Next, why is there a sitting area with a place for multiple humans when the Vuduri never socialize? This was touched on briefly in the original long-form. Next, why do they have dressers when the only thing they ever wear are jumpsuits? Same goes for the nightstand. Why bother?
Finally, there is the refresher, aka bathroom, covered in an earlier post. At least this thing has a reason to exist but I put a door on it. Why?
The answer is very simple. None of these things are important but when I "choreograph" a scene, I have to know where things are so people can move in a fluid manner and not bump into things. So this isn't really Rei's apartment, just a prop. Rei's real apartment hasn't been built yet. You will have to wait 14 centuries to see the real thing ;)
Entry 1-207: July 20, 2013
The Center Court
(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)
In Rome's Revolution, after Rei leaves the isolation chamber and walks down the south corridor, he and Rome enter the center courtyard. Because the star-base was originally built using a tentpole and Mylar sheath, the whole thing is pyramidal and the top of the ceiling in the center is very high.
I believe the Vuduri removed the top section and put in some sort of translucent or transparent panels but I cannot be sure. Nor can I be sure why they did it in the first place. I can only tell you that my recollection of the place was that it had some windows. Perhaps since all Vuduri cities have "The Tower" this was an attempt to approximate some of its functionality.
What was the purpose of the center court? You will see the annular layout of Skyler Base makes it difficult to build useful extensions of the rings in this tight. And also the standard Vuduri design always has a focus of attention in the middle. As such, it was only natural at Skyler Base. The open section in the middle was fairly spacious. It had two main areas. The first was the food preparation area where they had a fairly elaborate bank of food synthesizers.
The other side of the courtyard was seating areas. The Vuduri are not very social creatures so most of the tables were designed for one person, two at the most. There were a few four-man and six-man tables but those would have been for meal-time meetings, not a bunch of friends.
Rei's first exposure to Vuduri food was at the synthesizer station. His introduction was less than auspicious. I will cover that in more detail tomorrow.
Entry 1-208: July 21, 2013
Rei's first taste of Vuduri food
(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)
In Rome's Revolution, Rome takes Rei to the food preparation area to enjoy a brief meal in the Center Court.
This scene was meant to demonstrate several things. Rei's brain was slowly waking up and through his interview with Rome, he discovered that the differences between their societies was not just a technological or philosophical one. The 24-chromosomes within their blood made them beholden to the Overmind and it changed group dynamics making them fundamentally different.
This is when it truly hit Rei that the Vuduri were a different species. Their distancing themselves from art, music, being social, even joy made them colorless and devalued the individual to the point where any of them were almost completely replaceable. Their food was simply a reflection of this.
Except for the fact that people had to eat, the entire experience set Rei back. The first thing he ordered was some soup and it was tasteless and he discovered the Vuduri no longer used spoons.
His next attempt at eating was protein blocks which reminded Rei of soggy, Styrofoam chunks. They had virtually no taste. It was here he discovered the Vuduri no longer use forks or knives. Instead they used long toothpicks call biskars to stab at their food.
The Vuduri didn't even consider it food. They just thought of it as sustenance. Given that context, Rei found the meal was satisfying, if not tasty. He used the opportunity to interview Rome and find out what happened to Vuduri society.
Entry 1-209: July 22, 2013
The Vuduri do not have fun
During their first meal together, Rei uses the opportunity to query Rome regarding certain elements making up Vuduri society. He quickly discovers that the word fun is not in their vocabulary.
“Do you guys do anything for fun at all? What do you do about socializing? Parties?” asked Rei.
“We have no need to socialize. We all know exactly what is going on with everyone else all the time,” Rome answered.
Rei exhaled then took a deep breath. “So I’ll ask you again,” he said. “What do you do for fun?”
“And I will answer you the same way,” Rome replied. “As I understand your definition of it, we do not have fun.”
“Well, that’s so, so boring,” said Rei.
“That would be from your perspective,” Rome said, ever so slightly defensively.
“What about hobbies, clubs, I don’t know. Something other than your job?” Rei asked hopefully.
“No, we do not have any of those either,” Rome replied flatly.
“How about a husband or a boyfriend? Do you at least have a boyfriend?”
“No,” Rome said.
“Friends in general?”
Rome shook her head no.
“What about family?” Rei asked. “Do you still have family? A mother? A father?”
Rome nodded. “Yes, the Vuduri have parents. But our lives revolve around the Overmind so it is not that important who you live with. I lived with my mother and father for many years, but only because it was convenient. Many Vuduri do not do so.”
“So if you don’t have friends and you don’t have family and you don’t have a boyfriend,” Rei asked, “what the hell do you do? Don’t you need somebody in your life?”
“We have no need,” said Rome. “We have our work. We are all very satisfied with things exactly the way they are. Anything else would be a distraction.”
Bottom line: The Vuduri do not understand the concept of fun. Their loss.
Entry 1-210: July 23, 2013
Rei's first joke
In order to see if the Vuduri have a sense of humor, in the original long-form of Rome's Revolution, Rei tells Rome a joke. This is harder than you think because most jokes are culturally-oriented. Rei had to think of one that did not tie to his place and time. Rei is sitting with Rome in the Center Court. There are two other Vuduri crewman sitting at another table...
“How about humor?” Rei asked. “Tell me a 35th century joke.”
“What is a joke?” Rome asked.
“It’s, I don’t know, a funny story.”
“A funny story? Stories are stories. Can you give me an example,” Rome said.
“All right.” Rei thought for a minute. “OK,” he said. “Here’s a joke. Two birds are sitting in a tree, watching a little turtle slowly make his way to the end of a branch…”
“How did the turtle get in the tree?” Rome asked.
“Hold on, you’ll see,” Rei said.
“All right,” Rome replied patiently.
Rei continued. “So anyway, the turtle gets to the end of the branch and starts flapping his arms and jumps off and goes crashing to the ground.” Rei slapped his hands together hard. “Boom!” he said loudly.
Rome jumped. She frowned at Rei. The other two people turned and blatantly stared at him as well.
Rei ignored them and continued. “So the little turtle gets up, dusts himself off and climbs back up the tree and back to the end of the branch. He flaps his arms again and jumps off and…”
Again, Rei slapped his hands together. This time Rome was prepared. “Boom! He falls to the ground again.”
“Go on…” Rome said, slightly alarmed.
“OK. So now the turtle is climbing back up the tree a third time and the one bird turns to the other and says, ‘Dear, don’t you think it’s time we tell him he’s adopted?’”
Rei laughed to himself. He looked at Rome. She did not react.
“That’s it. That’s the joke,” Rei said.
“I do not understand. How do birds talk? And adopting?” Rome cocked her head. “I believe I understand the word. Why would they adopt a turtle?”
Rei sighed. “It’s a joke!”
Rome said, “OMCOM says a joke is meant to be amusing which is the purpose of humor. Where is the humor in that?”
“I don’t know. You tell me. "
After that, Rei gave up. But not permanently. Eventually he taught Rome how to laugh and by the end of the series, she is kidding him herself. Quite an improvement.
Entry 1-211: July 24, 2013
Skyler Base: The Space Tugs
(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)
In a previous post, I gave you a picture of what the Vuduri space tugs looked like. They figured prominently in Rome's Revolution.
Not only were they responsible for discovering and retrieving the Ark II, they were also responsible for towing the Ark from Tabit to Deucado. Of course, one was converted to “The Flying House” and the other evolved into MINIMCOM. MINIMCOM gave "birth" to Junior in The Ark Lords. You will learn in a year or two that MINIMCOM gives birth to another ship called Fury (sort of a girl spaceship) and Junior has his own child named Trei (pronounced tray). But that is for another day.
The tugs were transported to Deucado in the removable rear sections of the Algol. If you look at the first post in this series, you can see a stylized version of the transport containers. These cargo containers were dismantled and used as part of Skyler Base and left behind when the Vuduri abandoned Dara.
Each tug is stored in its own hangar at the north and south end of the base. The hangar can be pressurized and there are giant doors that lead into the hangar. Normally, the hangar is left exposed to the extremely thin atmosphere of Dara so the Vuduri usually use the airlocks to the side (mentioned in the post about the Iso chamber) so that they do not need to go through the pressurization/depressurization cycle.
Tomorrow I'll take you back to the Center Court and try and figure out why everyone wears those stupid white jumpsuits.
Entry 1-212: July 25, 2013
Why does everybody wear those stupid white jumpsuits?
I've said it many times but I'm not 100% sure I've said it this way: we humans are not only capable of learning history but also predicting future history. This was the fundamental premise behind Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. We have a racial (read: species) knowledge of the future. So when I built the universe behind Rome's Revolution my assumption was that whatever we see in common among many science fiction novels and movies has predictive value.
When you watch 2001: A Space Odyssey and especially THX 1138 you see everybody dressed in white and speaking in muted tones, there is something to that. My mission was to discover the underlying principles behind such commonalities.
So... everybody in the future wears white. Why? My future people, the Vuduri, wear white because a) they are not slaves to fashion and b) they do not want clothes to be anything they ever need to think about. When Rei is awakened, it never occurred to them to give him anything else to wear other than a white (and ill-fitting) jumpsuit. Unfortunately, even when he got an opportunity to retrieve his "regular" clothes, they got ruined because Estar wanted to kill him.
So what about those stupid, white jumpsuits? Are they thick? Are they thin? Do they have buttons? Zippers? Velcro? The answer is yes, no, no, no and yes. They are not particularly thick. They clasp together using a velcro-like fastener and that is that. I'm not even really sure why the Vuduri wear clothes. Maybe that's just one habit that did not die when they upgraded to having the Overmind in charge.
The thickness of the material is important is because Rome is built (like her mother) in a spectacular fashion and if the jumpsuits were too thick, nobody would notice. Rei notices. She is the complete package even though the Vuduri cannot appreciate it. If you have taken the time to read Rome's Evolution, you will see that Bonnie Mullen tells Rome that if she had Rome's body and face, she'd rule the world.
I guess the bottom line is, everybody wears those stupid white jumpsuits but they are not particularly unflattering and it makes it easy to figure out what to wear in the morning (see Albert Einstein).
Entry 1-213: July 26, 2013
Rei's Brain
I took Rei's name (full name Reinard) as a variation of my Dad's name. When I originally created the character back in 1973 when the novel was VIRUS 5, he was much younger. Pretty much a kid.
In the modern version of Rome's Revolution, he is a man, roughly 25 years old when the story starts. Throughout the course of the novels, culminating with the flashbacks in Rome's Evolution, you get a better sense of his character. He is smart and a good problem solver but he has a sense of humor. He is also a very loving husband and father. The man he ends up becoming was definitely not the man we first met when the story opened.
Rei's brain was altered by events through the course of the story. Being frozen for 14 centuries and then having his mind melded with Rome's and then genetically modified caused his brain to evolve as well. Rome hints at this when she tells Rei:
Rome leaned forward to touch his forehead then motioned to hers.
“It is the bands, Rei.” She looked him in the eye. “I told you. We are our own samanda now and more. We are Asborodi Cimponeti, our spirits are one.”
But even Rome does not understand fully the changes that occurred in Rei.
In a kind of Flowers for Algernon kind of way, Rei really does grow smarter. He really does get to use more of his brain. He goes from being a passive, slightly shallow person to being a man of action. You can see his confidence grow during the course of the novels. In Rome's Evolution, you can see that he is unwilling to accept a diagnosis of paralysis. You can see that he is fully aware that his thinking process was compromised by the explosion. You can see that he had no fear in attacking Steele although I think he was a bit foolhardy in that action. Finally, when it comes time to fight the ethereal battle, he has no hesitation.
So here's to Rei's brain. He is a good man and has matured to the point where he eventually becomes the de facto leader of all of Deucado. He ultimately rises up to become head of the Galactic Union after we begin encountering other species. You'll find out about that starting with the novel entitled The Milk Run.
Entry 1-214: July 27, 2013
Vuduri Hi-def Screens
(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)
In the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, Rei spent a lot of time wandering around the star-base at Dara. I was trying for a "you are there" experience but that got edited out when I had to introduce ‘action, action, action’. Rei spent a lot of time in his apartment just trying to get a feel for the Vuduri life-style. He sat down at their computer workstation, not unlike ours, and use his engineering skills to try and figure out how the viewscreen worked.
On a whim, Rei spoke out loud. “What are all of these screens for?” he asked, pointing to the various virtual instruments.
“The view screens are multi-purpose,” replied OMCOM. “Any workstation can be tied in to the central storage facilities, database, sensors and more.”
“How do they work? The view screens
, I mean.” Rei pointed at the flat panel in front of him.
“You just issue orders. I will produce the desired images or data.”
“I don’t mean commands,” Rei said. “I mean the electronics.” He bent over and looked underneath the desk but saw nothing.
“They have emitters along the frame that project an ultrahigh frequency array of electromagnetic radiation through the panel.”
“What is the panel made of?” Rei asked, rising up again.
“It is a borosilicate matrix doped with gallium arsenide, germanium oxide and other rare earth elements.”
“Hey!” Rei said. “I actually understand something you just said. It’s glass, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but it has a variety of compounds within it that emit photons when excited by the proper resonant frequency.”
“How do you get that?” Rei asked. He touched the screen lightly. “Is it like an LCD? I mean a liquid crystal display or is it an electron beam like a CRT?”
“It is like neither. The X and the Y grids have differing frequencies which are adjustable. When a certain element, you would call it a pixel, is to be excited, the frequencies of the two beams are adjusted so that where they intersect, the difference is the resonant frequency of the active element.”
“A beat phenomenon?” Rei asked.
“High frequency, but yes. The beat phenomenon excites the desired element into a higher energy state and when the excitation stops, it drops back to its resting state and emits a photon of certain color.”
“So, I get it,” Rei said excitedly. “It’s like an LED except you don’t need to actually build the electronics into the panel. By god, I actually understand something! This is so sleek that I even get it. Maybe the drugs are finally wearing off. I thought maybe being asleep so long made me stupid or something. ”
“Certain physical principles are true regardless of the date on the calendar. Much of our underlying technology is based upon laws of nature that were well known in your time.”
“What kind of resolution can they generate?” Rei asked, waggling a finger at the screen.
“What you would refer to as pitch is the size of one molecule so they are capable of extremely high resolution.”
If only the Vuduri liked football!
Entry 1-215: July 28, 2013
I-cimaci is Lisbon
When Rei is first awakened in Rome's Revolution, he is confronted with a torrent of new information. It takes him a long time to absorb it all.
One of things that he learns is that the current de facto capital of Earth is called I-cimaci which means "The Beginning" or "The First" in Vuduri. The reason this is significant is because when I was designing the Vuduri language, I had to base it off of something so I decided to base it off of Portuguese. My thinking was the disease vector, Darwin Virus Strain 4, would sweep through the US, Europe and Asia. Since Portugal is at the tip of the Iberian Peninsula, I figured that if the disease attenuated at all, it would be the weakest there.
The only other place where people would be less affected would be land masses that are isolated, like Hawaii. That was why I decided to make that the home base of the mandasurte. It is ironic that MASAL decided to go there to create his staging area for conquering the human race.
The rest of the countries of the world were more or less reset. The story of Jack Henry (found in The Ark Lords) takes place in north Jersey but it is explained that eventually, people migrated from the Americas and back to Europe. By the time Rei and Rome get there, the continent is nearly deserted. Except for Southern California. You'll have to read Rome's Evolution to see what is going on there.
Entry 1-216: July 29, 2013
Bruce's questions
My brother Bruce had a few questions for me, prompted by reading Rome's Evolution.
1. Why would Rei create a trellis that he had to duck under?
2. Did the shrimpy Vuduri build it? I suppose so if he has to duck. Does he have to duck going into each room of the house?
3. Is the house one story? Is it shaped like a 'U'. Open in the middle. I thought I remembered you could look out a window and see the other wing.
Here are the answers:
Rome had the Vuduri build the trellis after a near-fatal encounter with a blanket the previous year. The incident took place about a year after The Ark Lords. The Vuduri only build things one way and they are not very imaginative. So, while Rei could clear it full upright before the honeysuckle vines grew, they were getting rather thick overhead so that he now he has to duck down a little. His head would not hit the trellis but it would hit the vines.
At the end of Rome's Revolution, the Vuduri built Rei and Rome's house but under the direction of the Essessoni so it was built more like a traditional (2067AD) Earth house, complete with 10 foot ceilings and 7 foot doorways. So Rei does not need to duck in his own house.
The house is a one-story ranch-style house U-shaped made out of aerogel. The left side and the middle section belonged to Rei and Rome initially. The far side was an in-law suite with its own entrance. The in-laws could also access Rei and Rome's portion using an inside door.
Binoda and Fridone built a solarium which Rei and Rome could see across the center courtyard. This was mentioned in The Ark Lords. Eventually Rome's parents moved into their own home so Rei and Rome had access to both wings. Rome converted one room into a playroom for Aason. Another eventually became Lupe's bedroom.
Rome converted the solarium into a studio because it had fantastic northern light. After Rome's Evolution, she concentrated on getting the Library and campus up and running but eventually left it in the hands of others. When Lupe was old enough, Rome became a full-time teacher and painted as her hobby.
When Rome retired, she threw herself into her art. What happens to Rei and Rome at the end of their life will be revealed in a short story called "Not The End" which will be in The Vuduri Companion, due in late 2014.
Entry 1-217: July 30, 2013
Vuduri Cities
After Rei had absorbed how the Vuduri view screens worked, he got past it and asked to see some of the "new" Earth. He asked to see a "typical" city. He learned that not only was it typical, it was the only design the Vuduri every came up with:
“OK. Show me something else. Can you show me a picture closer in? Streets, buildings, things like that?”
The view screen changed to an aerial view of the city. Looking down, it resembled a bulls eye. There were a series of rings and blocks with straight lines cutting across and up and down, like an eight-armed asterisk. In the center was a single giant, gleaming tower.
“What is that?” Rei asked, pointing to the structure. “The tall one.”
“It is simply called The Tower,” answered OMCOM. “It contains support for what few items require fixed elevation.”
“Like what?” Rei asked.
“Weather measurements, crop distribution, aerial traffic management. Should I go on?”
“No,” Rei said. “Show me something else. Show me more city.”
OMCOM flashed a series of pictures showing I-cimaci from an elevated viewpoint as well as from ground level. The buildings closest to The Tower were perhaps three or four stories tall and the buildings on the far side of the innermost rings were lower, only one or two stories. The streets themselves were wide and serene. All eight of the major thoroughfares ended at The Tower. It reminded Rei a bit of Philadelphia where City Hall sat right in the middle of Broad and Market.
Underneath each of the pictures were notations but the writing and the lettering was in Vuduri so Rei could not make out what they said. From their general placement, he assumed they were captions. The letters themselves had a very odd, blocky appearance. At least the Vuduri used fonts.
“Can I see another city?” Rei asked.
<
br /> “Yes,” said OMCOM. The picture washed away and was replaced by another image that looked exactly the same as I-cimaci. It, too, had a tall structure similar to The Tower.
“What is this one?” Rei asked. “What’s the name of this city?”
“This is E-brixome,” replied OMCOM.
“You are sure? You are sure this is not I-cimaci?”
“Yes, I am sure,” replied OMCOM placidly.
Rei studied the central tower in more detail. He decided it was possible it was somewhat smaller than the previous one but not by much.
“The layout looks identical,” Rei noted.
“The Vuduri have developed what they believe to be the optimal layout for their urban areas so to them it would be illogical to deviate from that ideal,” said OMCOM.
Tomorrow: Vuduri schools
Entry 1-218: July 31, 2013
Vuduri Schools
In the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, Rei was done sorting through images of Vuduri cities. He was curious about daily life...
“Where are all the people?” he asked. “What about schools, kids? Stuff like that?”
The array of thumbnails was replaced with a single picture of a large number of children. They were lined up in row after row, doing what looked like calisthenics.
“What am I looking at?” Rei asked.
“That is a Vuduri academy,” OMCOM answered.
The next picture revealed a three-legged trestle, similar to a see-saw but with three arms balanced about a cone-shaped pivot point. Each arm ended in a flat metal plate and on each of the flat metal plates there stood four children.
“What are they doing?” Rei asked.
“It is a dadar-fo,” said OMCOM. “It teaches balance and team work.”
“What about classrooms?” asked Rei. “Teachers?”
“They do not…” OMCOM paused. “I understand what you are referring to. However, the Vuduri do not have schools in the sense with which you are familiar.”
“Why not?” Rei asked.
“With the Overmind, each child has access to the complete accumulated knowledge of the entire human race from the day they are born. They do not need to be taught language or areas of expertise. The only training they require is in the physical domain as their bodies mature. Thus Vuduri academies are geared toward exercise, eye-hand coordination and similar.”
“Eye-hand coordination? Do they play sports?” Rei asked. “Kids have to want to fool around…”
“As I understand the term sports, no. There is no need for competition of that sort in the way you are familiar with it. There is no ‘fooling around’ as you refer to it. It is not in their nature.”
The point of this is that the Vuduri consider themselves more or less interchangeable. Especially those that have accepted Second Sight which is where the Overmind processes and delivers edited sensory input to their brains. So in the end the only thing distinguishing one Vuduri from another would be their physical characteristics. So their entire life is devoted to training and enhancing the physical.
Entry 1-219: August 1, 2013
The moment in the loading dock
(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)
This little moment was in the original, long-form version of Rome's Revolution but got excised because I had to move the plot along more quickly.
Rei and Rome arrived at the dead end of the East Corridor and stood before some very large doors, perhaps two stories tall. Rome pointed to their top.
“This is loading dock for the Algol,” Rome said. She pressed a stud and the two doors slid sideways, disappearing into the walls. A semi-cylindrical room opened up in front of them, a half tube with a 20 meter ceiling. Unlike the rest of the Vuduri complex, this one area was illuminated by bright lights hanging from the ceiling. At the far end was a round door, rolled back, leading to a sizeable airlock. Several workers were bustling about the room, carrying cargo bins. Others were operating a conveyer and yet others were moving parcels on what appeared to be a cushion of air. The frantic pace reminded Rei of loading operations at an airport, of all things. No one looked at them or even acknowledged their presence. Each and every one them were dressed in the ubiquitous white jumpsuits.
Rei ignored them ignoring him. He walked over to the far wall and touched it.
“This doesn’t look like aerogel like the rest of this place. What’s it made of?” Rei asked.
“It is a metallic alloy,” Rome replied, coming over to where Rei was standing. “This is actually one half of a cargo section from the Algol. We used it for a staging area to begin construction. This is where we started.” She pointed to where the crewmen were entering. “That is the connecting corridor. Beyond that is the Algol.”
“Can I go inside and see?” Rei asked.
“No,” Rome replied. “We cannot go aboard right now. They are busy loading the equipment that is to be returned with us. Perhaps later.”
“Is there somewhere else we can go so I can see it? Somewhere with windows?”
“Not really,” Rome said. “We do not have windows on this station.”
“No windows?” Rei asked, perplexed. “What if you want to look outside?”
Rome shrugged. “There is nothing to see. Just Dara. If we need to observe anything else, we use our instruments.”
At this point, all Rei could do was sigh.
Tomorrow, another attempt on Rei's life by Estar. It was removed from the current version of Rome's Revolution but I thought you might want to read it.
Entry 1-220: August 2, 2013
Estar tries to kill Rei again!
In the current version of Rome's Revolution, Rei is almost killed twice. He later deduces it was Estar behind these murderous attempts. However, in the original long-form version, there were actually four attempts on his life making it pretty easy to figure out that somebody was gunning for him. As mentioned in a previous post, I stole one of the attempts on his life and used it to explain why the Vuduri had spare quarters. Here is the deleted scene:
Without so much as another word, Rei jumped up and went out the door and turned to his left and left again, walking up the East Corridor toward the Algol. When he got there, he saw that the door was open and no one was around so he went in.
The connecting corridor was open. The tunnel that led to the Algol beckoned to Rei but he could not stop himself from looking around. Once again, the sheer size of the area and the fact that everything he saw here was transported aboard a single ship impressed him. To his left, the entire wall was filled with shelves holding white and grey containers, some large, some small. Unable to suppress his curiosity, Rei walked over to them and touched one of the smaller ones on a lower shelf, trying to ascertain its purpose or contents. The container was completely sealed on all sides and there was no apparent latch or lock. Rei ran his hands around all the surfaces but he could feel nothing.
He tugged on the box and saw that it moved easily. He pulled it all the way out and was surprised to see how light it was. The material comprising the box was almost translucent so Rei lifted it up to hold it against one of the overhead lights, hoping that he could see into it.
A slight tremor shook him a bit and the box wobbled in his hands, just enough that past it, he saw a motion on one of the upper shelves. Unbelievably, the whole shelving unit began to pitch forward, moving quickly. Rei leaped to the side, just in time. The entire wall of shelving crashed down to the floor, spilling containers everywhere and had he remained in the way, he would have been crushed for sure.
Some Vuduri crewmen came running in and saw Rei gathering himself up from the floor, still holding the box. There were shelves and containers everywhere.
“I didn’t do it,” he said sheepishly. “It was the quake.”
One of the crewmen flung his hand towards the door in an angry motion and Rei took the opportunity to get out of there. Slinking might be a good word for his actions. There was no chance they were going to let him aboard the Algol so once again, he headed back to his quarters which was apparently the only place in the entire habitat where he could be safe.
As always, the fact that Rei can think for himself is at the bottom of it all.
Entry 1-221: August 3, 2013
Rei and the bands, part 1
In the original, long-form version of Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome used the Espansor Bands but the experience was quite different. It was not nearly as intimate and it did not cause Rome to fall in love with Rei. The scene is fairly long so I will break it up into multiple entries. Here is part 1:
Rome pulled her long hair back then placed the other band on her head. Rei could actually see it constrict around her brow indenting into the skin a bit.
Rome closed the box and then flipped it over. She touched a depression in the design there and the bands began to vibrate ever so gently.
At first, nothing happened. Rei started to speak but Rome interrupted, saying only “shh…”
He looked into her brown eyes and began to imagine what it must be like to be inside her head, looking at him. With a start, he realized, he wasn’t imagining it. He really was looking at himself, looking at her. He jerked his head back and put his hand to his temples, pinching the band. He blinked rapidly, trying to focus and then his point-of-view switched back to his own and he saw Rome smile at him. But her smile bespoke more to him. He could feel the warmth in a way that defied words. He could feel that she was…he widened his eyes. The image of looking at an image of a mirror within a mirror within a mirror confused him. He wasn’t sure if he was thinking his thoughts or listening in to her thoughts. The distinction became fuzzy. Certain images, he knew had to have originated in her head.
He saw Rome as a child. She was always a little different. Taller, stronger. The taunts from the minds of the other children rang in his head. Talker! That’s what they called her. He saw that it hurt her at first but later she embraced her individuality. He saw her parents, always doting but always, no, ashamed? Proud? A mix? He couldn’t tell. He saw that she had two sisters and one brother. He was delving deeper when he heard her ask him to open his mind, that she wanted to know his past. He relaxed and felt her guiding his thoughts to his own childhood. To his crowded world. To the poisons in the city and ocean. Of his hard work, the construction of the Arkships. She recoiled as she felt him slip into cryo-hibernation then forced herself to relive his reanimation.
Rome was tall? She stood out from the crowd? Boy, did that change. More tomorrow.
Entry 1-222: August 4, 2013
Rei and the bands, part 2
In the original, long-form version of Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome used the Espansor Bands but the experience was quite different. It was not nearly as intimate and it did not cause Rome to fall in love with Rei. The scene is fairly long so I will break it up into multiple entries. Here is part 2:
Rei shuddered as a wave of sensation flooded over him, over her. He looked down and saw that they were holding hands. He couldn’t really tell which was his hand and which was hers because the perspective was so blurred but it didn’t matter. It was what they both wanted, the contact. He had to close his eyes because he was becoming dizzy and that made her dizzy. She knew how to handle this, it was second nature to her so he let her lead and he became an observer.
Breathing was no longer a natural action. Each breath became a conscious effort although he wasn’t sure who was directing it. They were now past the level of intellect and purely within the realm of emotion. He could feel Rome, he was looking at her soul. She was gentle, kind, not at all like the reserved woman he had first met. With a start, he realized that she was physically attracted to him. He knew that he was attracted to her and even as he thought it, he knew that she knew. He forced his eyes open and looked at himself then forced the perspective to be him looking at her. Without conscious thought, they leaned forward and put their arms around each other. He luxuriated in the feelings as their personalities were laid open. This was no collaboration. This was a merging of the minds. What had been two people was now one entity, holding on the body of the other, breathing in synchrony. Thoughts, images, sounds, memories, all swirled around in a maelstrom of history.
There was a tiny beep and suddenly, it was all gone. It was just Rei, holding Rome in his arms, silent but for the heavy breaths. He lowered his head to her shoulder and with a start, realized she was wearing perfume. He wanted to know why but the connection was gone.
They just held on to each other for the longest time. Rome did not appear to have any desire to let go either. Finally, she whispered in his ear, “what did you think?”
“Unbelievable,” was the only word that came to mind and so he said so. Without even realizing it, he kissed her gently on the cheek then used all his strength to sit up straight and let go of her.
Seriously: Rome wearing perfume? More tomorrow.
Entry 1-223: August 5, 2013
Rei and the bands, part 3
In the original, long-form version of Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome used the Espansor Bands but the experience was quite different. It was not nearly as intimate and it did not cause Rome to fall in love with Rei. The scene is fairly long so I will break it up into multiple entries. Here is part 3:
She reached down and took his hand again. Rei didn’t mind. With his free hand, he reached up and rubbed his eyes. He sighed deeply and said, “That was so intense. How do you stand it? I don’t think you could do that for very long without going crazy. Is that what the Overmind is like?”
She smiled at him. “No,” she said, “the Overmind only connects the higher brain functions, just the intellect. Your feelings, your memories are your own unless you want to present them to the group. It is more like a conversation, more like a verbal interchange. These bands were built long before the need for such a distinction was made clear.”
“Wow,” he said. “I have memories now that I know are from your head but they feel just like real memories.” He looked down at their hands, fingers now intertwined. She didn’t seem to be in any hurry to let his hand go. “Rome, you had it rough as a kid.”
“I survived,” she said. She pulled her hand free and touched another depression on the box. Rei’s band loosened and he removed it from his head. Rome did the same and he could see that there was a mark on her skin where the band had been. She popped open the box and placed the bands in there gently. Then she closed it.
“We can do that again sometime if you would like but it would be best if we waited a few days so that your mind can assimilate what it has acquired now.”
“I’d like that,” he said. “Now that I know what to expect, I think I would really enjoy that.”
“All right.” She stood up and carried the box over and placed it back in the dresser drawer. Rei considered all that he had just been exposed to while she came back to sit down on the bed again.
“You didn’t reconnect to the Overmind yet, did you?” he asked.
“No. Why?”
“Because you like this. You told me you didn’t but you and I both know you do."
In this older version, Rome did not realize that Rei was her Asborodi Cimponeti. This is long before I knew that Rome's parents used the bands as well. It is pretty neat to learn things about the characters as you write them. I wonder what happened to Rome's brother and two sisters. The modern Rome has no siblings. Oh well.
Entry 1-224: August 6, 2013
Rei's second joke
In the original ver
sion of Rome's Revolution, Rei's character was much more shallow and joked around lot. Too much. The current version of Rei has a sense of humor but some of his funnier jokes got excised. Here is the joke he told Rome when she was in respiratory distress in the Vuduri compound in the second book aka Part 2. The leader of the Vuduri, Pegus, is about to connect her to the Overmind of Deucado. Rei has to rub her belly to distract her from the pain.
“Keep rubbing while you are thinking,” Rome said.
“Oh yeah,” said Rei. “OK, I’ve told you all about my world. You know that we had lots of crime and police officers that help the victims and try and find the perpetrators?”
“Yes, like our Cavaliers. I understand,” Rome replied.
“OK, here goes: The story takes place in New York which was our largest and the most sophisticated city in our country.”
“You have explained this to me,” Rome said. “Go on.”
“OK,” Rei continued. “A turtle was walking down an alley in New York City…”
“A turtle again?” Rome interrupted him. “Is that the only type of joke you know?”
“It’s kind of hard for me to remember a joke that doesn’t have all sorts of cultural references,” Rei answered defensively.
“All right, continue.”
“Anyway, the turtle was walking down an alley when he was mugged, that means attacked, by a gang of snails.”
“Snails?” Rome asked. “The kind that crawl?”
“Yes, snails,” Rei replied. “A police detective came to investigate and asked the turtle if he could explain what happened. The turtle looked at the detective with a dazed expression on his face and replied ‘I don't know, it all happened so fast.’”
“Snails? Oh!” Rome said. “So fast. Yes, I get it,” she said and she started to laugh. “Oh! Oww!” she said plaintively. With a tortured look on her face, Rome closed her eyes and forced herself to cease acknowledging sensory input from the outside world.
Rei was pretty funny!
Entry 1-225: August 7, 2013
"Legal" Time Travel
In the marketing materials for Rome's Revolution, I am quite proud of the fact that my books contain only "legal" time travel. As a hard science enthusiast, I simply cannot tolerate time travel stories where people go back in time and change the past. So what does the term legal mean in reference to time travel?
Let's start with the simplistic: you go to bed at night, close your eyes and poof, it is eight hours later. Not really time travel? Well, imagine if, instead of falling asleep, you were frozen solid and thawed out 14 centuries later. Still legal, right? So traveling into the future is always legal and creates no time paradoxes. Don't think it could happen? It already did. Some Russian scientists were able to take tissue from a plant that had been frozen for over 30,000 years and get it to grow, thus resurrecting a species 300 centuries old. The plant is still growing and fertile and producing white flowers and seeds. So traveling into the future is a piece of cake.
But traveling backwards in time, that's always a problem. Everyone has heard of the grandfather paradox. You go back in time, kill your grandfather before your father is born, so you were never born, so you could never travel back in time and kill your grandfather. Some authors side-step this with the "multi-verse" theory. They allow you to travel back in time, change things and thus create a new timeline. Your original timeline is preserved.
Not for me. But my characters can travel faster than light. How do you harness this capability to travel in time? You cannot do so interactively but you could do so "observationally" and thus legally. My characters send out the starprobes which turn around and look back snagging photons that were emitted farther in the past. Thus the starprobes and their lens-less camera are time machines but only in the sense that they can see into the past. They cannot actually travel backwards in time. They can never interact with anything in the past and they can never disturb the one true timeline.
The final method is explained by Rome in Rome's Evolution. She explains to Rei that time is like a river and a consciousness, not a body, can travel up and down the river without interacting with anything or changing anything. To Rome, it is another form of observational time travel. To see definitive proof, you will have to read the book!
Entry 1-226: August 8, 2013
Rei's third joke
In the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, in Part 2 (when it was still VIRUS 5), Rome has just given birth to Aason. Rei, Rome and Aason are in Rome's room in the Vuduri compound as she recovers. They know they have to leave for Earth and soon to head off a possible strike force that would come and wipe out the Ibbrassati. Rei wants to lift the tension in front of them:
“Yes,” said Rome, “another day or so. Then we must go.”
“Great. Can’t wait,” Rei said, resignedly. His mind worked furiously trying to figure out some way to lighten the mood. He looked down at little Aason who appeared to be drifting off.
“I got it,” he said, snapping his fingers.
“Got what?” Rome asked.
“I just thought of my first Vuduri joke.”
“Tell me,” Rome said.
“OK. What did the one Vuduri say to the other?” Rei asked.
“I do not know,” Rome said. “Tell me.”
“Nothing. The Vuduri don’t talk to each other.”
“Heh,” Rome laughed. “That is funny,” she said. “Do you have any others?”
I think Bruce gave me this one. Rei has one other joke. I'll reveal that in a day or two.
Entry 1-227: August 9, 2013
The Wait Equation
The book Rome's Revolution is all about people from the past using the best technology they could find to get to the stars. They had no confidence that had they simply waited, eventually mankind would have invented a faster-than-light (FTL) star drive. Because of the degrading conditions on Earth, they thought that mankind might not survive long enough to see that day.
In July of 2005, Andrew Kennedy wrote a paper entitled "Interstellar Travel: The Wait Calculation and the Incentive Trap of Progress" and published it in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS) 59 (7): 239–246. His conclusion was simple. Don't wait. Go now.
So the principles behind my story are supported by a noted academic. Similar concepts as mine were used in the original Star Trek episode called "Space Seed" and remade in the latest J. J. Abrams Star Trek Into Darkness.
There is one story that is even closer to mine. A. E. van Vogt (one of my favorite authors growing up) wrote a short story entitled Far Centaurus in 1944 which, in simplistic manner, is exactly the same as mine. However, in this story, it took over 500 years to reach Alpha Centauri and they sent four men. No women! What the hell were they thinking? It most certainly was a one-way trip.
Anyway, they get there and there are already people there, people from the future. Sound familiar? There are certainly some striking overlaps with my story. They are a little sick when they first wake up. One of the men died somewhere along the trip. The people at Far Centaurus are repulsed by them (because they smell?).
Then, in a goofy twist, the three surviving men fly back to Earth and break the time barrier and return only a year and a half after they left. And there is a girl waiting for them - not named Sally.
Oh well. I didn't even know about this story nor did the wait equation even exist when I started Rome's Revolution back in 1973. I think my story is way better than A. E. van Vogt's. He died in the 2000 so he can't defend himself. I guess it's up to you to decide.
Entry 1-228: August 10, 2013
Rei's final joke
In the original long-form of Rome's Revolution aka VIRUS 5: Part 3, OMCOM was supposed to make a surprise appear
ance and inform Sussen that her war was over before it started. The joke started out as: Knock, knock. Who's there. If you were Vuduri, you'd already know. Here is how it actually turned out. This scene was excised from the current version and Sussen's fate became a mystery until the release of Rome's Evolution.
“I have a short message for you,” said OMCOM. “It may make things clearer for you.”
“A message? For me?” asked Sussen, exasperated. “Who left me a message?”
“It is from Rei.”
“The Essessoni? How did he know I was coming?”
“We all did,” OMCOM replied. “Your escape did not go exactly unnoticed.”
Sussen felt every muscle let go. She was weary beyond measure. “What is the message?” she asked, completely drained of spirit. The realization that her sacrifice was totally in vain set in to her core.
“It is called a joke,” said OMCOM.
“What is a joke?” asked Sussen.
“It is a humorous story. It has a buildup and a point called the punch line.”
“I do not care,” said Sussen, tonelessly. “Proceed if you must.” There was no will left in her.
“It comes in two parts. The first part is simply knock, knock,” said OMCOM.
“Knock, knock?” Sussen replied. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It is what humans do when they come to a door and wish to announce their presence. Rei said your proper response is supposed to be ‘who is there?’”
“But as a Vuduri, I would already know who is there,” countered Sussen.
“Do you know?” asked OMCOM.
Sussen thought about it but said nothing.
“Please answer,” insisted OMCOM.
“No,” said Sussen. “I do not know who is there.”
“That,” OMCOM replied, “is the second part. That is what Rei called the punch line. Your future has been unwritten. In its place is a new unknown. Rei and Rome both said to welcome you to the new human race. Your place in it is up to you.”
Thank goodness I excised this joke. Otherwise I would have had no plot for Rome's Evolution!
Entry 1-229: August 11, 2013
Why were our cities erased?
Early on in Rome's Revolution, Rei finds out from OMCOM that there is no evidence that we, of the 21st century, ever existed. Here is the actual exchange:
“What about buildings from my time?” Rei pointed out. “Surely there is something left of my age. In my time, we had buildings and artifacts from other civilizations that were thousands of years old. What about our cities?”
“They were…” OMCOM paused for a moment.
“What?” Rei asked.
“I am searching for the correct word, the one that will cause you the least distress.”
“Just tell me,” Rei said quietly.
“Very well,” OMCOM replied, “Your cities, they were erased.”
Rei sat back in his chair.
“I don’t understand anything about this,” he said. “What am I going to do? There’s no place for my people here.”
We find out in The Ark Lords that this was the last request of Jack Henry (Hanry Ta Jihn) just before he died. But why? Why did Jack Henry want the cities erased?
The ostensible reason was because Hanry Ta Jihn postulated that another Ark might land some day with other Ark Lords. He wanted them to give up all hope of ever finding the virus weapon. While Jack's fighters destroyed the Tevatron, he was guessing that there might be other places where the Garecei Ti Essessoni placed yet other caches of virus and he wanted them impossible to find.
But now the time has come for me to reveal the real reason. It is because I am lazy and I didn't want to have to think about what our cities and civilization looked like after 14 centuries. I frankly did not want to have to do the research on how well our building materials stood the test of time. That was why. When I wrote that scene above, I had absolutely no clue as to the reasoning behind it, just that I didn't want to be bothered. Little did I know that it would become the climax of the fight between Hanry Ta Jihn's rebels and the Erklirte.
So thank you, Jack Henry, for giving me a reason so I could keep this secret up until now.
Entry 1-230: August 12, 2013
History Week
It's History Week here at Tales of the Vuduri. When I say history, I mean the future history underlying the world of Rome's Revolution. As I have explained many times before, I believe in the future history as much as I do the past. There is no other way to explain how I could have written random stories over a 40 year span, only to find them fitting together neatly, like puzzle pieces as I spin the yarn of Rei and Rome.
Some the highlights coming up:
- Earth in 2067 AD
- Why they are busy building domes around the cities
- Rei's college days at Syracuse
- Rei's engineering degree
- Sally's incredible immune system
- The rise of the Cavaliers
- The last Cavalier
If I can think of more stuff, I'll throw it in but that should give you a hint of what is just over the horizon.
Entry 1-231: August 13, 2013
Earth in 2067 AD
While the roots of Rome's Revolution really precede 2067 AD, for our purposes, it was the state of the world at this point that creates the conditions producing the story. I will be including a little material in The Vuduri Companion that explains the origins of the Ark program but that won't be ready until next year.
All I did was presume that the world would be the way it is now, but whatever trends we see today would just continue. For example, our economy is a mess. I took the trend of more wealth getting into the hands of fewer people and just assumed life would be even harder in 50 years. In other words, the rich got even richer. I postulated that most people would live in tighter quarters, have less to eat (and drink!) and so forth.
Next, I assumed global warming wasn't going to get any better any time soon so I ramped up the hurricane season and invented Category 6 and Category 7 hurricanes. These monster storms were continent sized and forced people to start building domes over cities for protection which is the subject of tomorrow's post.
I also assumed that overpopulation is just going to get worse and extrapolated that the world would be nearing 10 billion people in about 70 years. Thus when the Great Dying took place, that was the number I came up with.
I assumed that terrorism is not going to ever go away and that at some point it will spill over to our shores and become a constant, fear-inducing part of our lives. One of the little Intermezzos in Rome's Evolution shows Rei driving down a walled road and some horseback riders are blown up by an IED.
Finally, with so many people, I assumed that new diseases were going to be cropping up all the time. Little did I realize when I first started writing Rome's Revolution that some of those diseases were man-made. This, of course, formed the central plot of The Ark Lords.
The bottom line is, the Earth in 2067 AD is not that pleasant of a place and was only going to get worse. The Ark program was created, in part, in recognition of this fact and that someday a cosmic or man-made disaster was going to wipe out the species. Personally, I hope this is not true and as a society we start fixing things rather than making them worse but a dystopia is inherently more interesting (and dramatic) than a utopia.
Sorry.
Entry 1-232: August 14, 2013
The Domes
As mentioned in yesterday's post, the Earth in 2067 AD was not a very pleasant place. For our purposes, Rome's Revolution really begins on this date. It was at this point in time that global warming had gotten so bad that scientists had to up the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to acknowledge Catego
ry 6 and Category 7 hurricanes.
Category 4 hurricanes are rated from 130-156 mph and Category 5 hurricanes are currently measured as 157 mph or higher. Taking the simple 26 mph boost as the rating, a Category 6 hurricane would be from 183 mph to 209 mph and a Category 7 hurricane would be 210 mph and higher. In addition, the diameter of such storms would larger than a continent and go from the North Pole all the way down to the Equator.
The storms were larger and more frequent so finally, the governments of the world had to take action. They started building 300 mph-proof domes over major cities. The domes were not air tight but were meant to protect against the destructive force of the winds. They were transparent and would allow for rain to fall using a louver system.
I have not watched the TV show "Under The Dome" but I imagine the domes would be much larger. After the major cities were domed in, society as a whole began to experience some relief from the cost of reconstruction after major storms. The excess funds were used to finance the construction of domes over smaller municipalities and in Rome's Evolution, Intermezzo 1, you can see that Rei is headed toward West Chester, Pennsylvania and the dome there is partially complete.
I've seen other TV shows, like the sort-lived Terra Nova, that portray American cities as domed but that was because of pollution, not planet-sized storms.
Entry 1-233: August 15, 2013
Rei's college days
In the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, the only hint we got about Rei's college education was when he used the Espansor Bands with Rome the very first time. Here is the little snippet from that event:
When Rei graduated high school, he shucked off the accolades as the least important thing in his life. That he got a full scholarship to school, and there he really flew. He was an engineer, a pilot and an athlete. He was all things and when he was a senior, the Ark project was started. When the call went out for volunteers to leave his world and start a new one, far away, among the stars. Rei threw himself into the competition, just so he could find a place.
Now for a little more background: Rei attended Syracuse University. He was a high school State Champion in the 400m individual medley. That got him a full scholarship to Syracuse. He swam for the SU swim team all four years. This is why I always describe him as having broad, swimmer's shoulders. His first summer at Syracuse, he stayed on campus and worked. He took flying lessons and in just one summer, he got his pilot's license on single engine craft. The following summer, he stayed at school again and learned to fly commuter jets. He considered going into the Air Force after college but the Ark program called to him in a way he could not resist.
Rei met Sally Reynolds his sophomore year and fell in love, hard, as did she. They dated all through college. When the Ark program was announced, it came as a surprise to Rei that it was Sally's father's corporation sponsoring the program. He was hooked instantly and tried for a year to convince Sally that they belonged together, somewhere in the heavens. She resisted and it eventually drove them apart. Sally went down to Brazil, got deathly ill, met Raul and that was the end of the romance.
Rei was not selected for the crew of the Ark I but he kept on trying. Sally used her influence with her father and secured Rei a place on the Ark II. Rei never regretted that, only that Sally was not going to accompany him to the stars. Sally and Rei's last night together was documented in Rome's Evolution, Intermezzo 1.
Tomorrow, I will tell you a little more about Rei's engineering degree.
Entry 1-234: August 16, 2013
Rei's Engineering Degree
Rei was a student athlete. As mentioned yesterday, he swam all four years for the Syracuse swim team. But he really did enjoy learning and worked hard to get his engineering degree. He got a B.S. in General Engineering which sounds bland but the reality is, he studied multiple disciplines and was qualified to work in many areas.
He studied Agricultural, Civil, Chemical, Electrical, Industrial and Aerospace. Because he was a general engineer, he did not qualify for outstanding recognition in any specific discipline (referred to as being ranked in Rome's Revolution) but that did not diminish his worth. Even though Sally Reynolds asked her father to put Rei in the Ark program, all it did was get her father's committees to consider Rei. He actually got in on his own merits.
We see evidence of this throughout Rome's Revolution, The Ark Lords and Rome's Evolution. It was his engineering skills that allowed him to defeat the Stareater, crash-land the Ark II on Deucado and eventually create Project Broadloom. You will learn in a future book that he designed an even more ambition agricultural program called Project Desert Bloom but that is for another day.
So here's to Rei Beirak, Engineer Extraordinare, and taking his skill set and applying it to make life better for all in the 35th century.
Entry 1-235: August 17, 2013
Sally's immune system
As mentioned in a previous post and reiterated in the first Intermezzo in Rome's Evolution, Sally and Rei came to a parting of the ways when he decided he wanted to join the Ark program and she did not.
Sally had a degree in Botany and after college she went down to the rain forest of Brazil to help with the reconstruction efforts. It was there that she contracted a mutated strain of what was later called the Lupine Flu. In reality, that virus was actually artificial and code-named Strain 3 by the Darwin Project. This was documented in The Ark Lords. She went to the hospital and was placed in a ward along with the other victims of this vicious man-made disease and expected to die. In fact, she did die, several times, but they were able to resuscitate her each time. It was during the last attempt that something miraculous happened. Instead of succumbing, her immune system started making universal and general purpose antibodies that could not only fight off Strain 3, but any virus in the world.
Sally recovered fully and as far as the doctors in Brazil could tell, Sally could no longer be made ill by any virus. One of the doctors there was named Raul and he spent so much time with Sally, he fell in love with her. The feeling was mutual and when Sally decided to return to the US, Raul came back with her and married her.
We find out later (from the Overmind of Earth) that Sally's universal immunity included Virus Strain 4, the virus responsible for The Great Dying. More than nine billion people died. Sally did not. The members of the Darwin Project had inoculated themselves and tried to hide out underground until the destruction passed but their technology failed them and they all died. However, Sally not only survived but thrived and was one of the progenitors of the new human race that eventually became the Vuduri. While they were 70 generations removed, she was Rome's great, great, great grandmother.
Entry 1-236: August 18, 2013
Tails of the Vuduri
We interrupt History Week here at Tales of the Vuduri to address an important point raised by my co-collaborator, artist, editor and inspiration behind MINIMCOM, my brother Bruce. Bruce was complaining to me about the paucity of plants, etc., in the world of Rome's Revolution, to decorate Rei and Rome's house. He also said there should be plenty of Earth animals running around and Earth plants, both brought in and from the Ark's stores.
I explained to him that it is true that there have been plants and animals imported from Earth. Some were brought by starship; some were resurrected from seeds and frozen embryos. But mostly the imports were concentrated on bringing food crops and food animals, not flowers or dogs. In fact, Binoda is in charge of developing the bison herd brought in from Earth.