The disk is made up of a fibrous outer layer called the annulus fibrosus and a jelly-like interior called the nucleus pulposus. If you have a fissured disk and interstitial fluid comes in contact with the nucleus pulposus, the disk can secret Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNA-Alpha). This substance is so toxic, so inflammatory, that it can cause back pain and swelling just by its release.
So how does this relate in any way to the whole Rome's Revolution universe? All will be explained tomorrow.
Entry 1-266: September 17, 2013
Back Pain and the Revolution
From the minute Rei wakes up in Rome's Revolution, back pain becomes an important underlying theme to the first novel. Silas Hiram, one of the original settlers from the Ark I, also experienced back pain and you'll read about his story when I release The Vuduri Companion next year.
In the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, I had proposed that the release of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha, discussed in yesterday's post was freed by tiny rods puncturing the disks of the colonists as they were being frozen. I had originally proposed that this substance somehow had an antifreeze effect and allowed for the humans to survive freezing.
I got rid of that but kept in the back pain. Now the story just reads that during the time that the colonists are frozen, the vertebral disks desiccate (dry out). The re-hydration process as designed by the mission architects is flawed and Rei (and the others) wake up with degenerative disk disease.
OMCOM to the rescue. He invents a pill (gene therapy, eek) which eventually cures Rei's back and gives Rei unnatural healing powers, as witnessed in Rome's Evolution. Rei is able to win over the Deucadons in Part 2 of Rome's Revolution because he correctly deduced that the survivors of the Ark III crash-landing also had back pain.
Rei and Rome get yellow pills. The rest of the colonists get white pills. The genetic changes are documented by Virga in Rome's Evolution. OMCOM's yellow pill has both an immediate and long term effects on Rei's physiology. The pills don't just fix Rei's back. Rei also gets super hearing (Rome does not), a cell phone in the head and one other side effect which I have never told anyone but will be revealed next year in The Vuduri Companion.
The short story is entitled "Not The End" but that is as much of a clue as I choose to give away at this time.
Entry 1-267: September 18, 2013
The Deucadon Wheels
The world of Rome's Revolution resides mostly in my head. It is my job as a science fiction writer to take that world and put it into words so that you can get a sense of what I am talking about. Sometimes, though, I have a clear vision of something but it's hard to express using words despite the clarity of image in my mind. Here is an example where I can see Rome's actions so clearly but some people still don't know what I'm trying to get across.
“What kind of phenomenon?” Rei asked.
“Many stars have disappeared.” Rome replied, clipping her fingers together then opening her hand flatly as if releasing pixie dust.
“What do you mean disappeared? I don’t understand,” Rei said for the hundredth time.
Another example of this would be the wheels of the Deucadon ground cars as described in The Ark Lords. Since they lived underground, they couldn't use internal combustion engines and pollute their limited supply of air. Instead, they use first their nuclear-powered rods then later their semi-infinite geothermal power to spin flywheels and used the stored energy to move the cars around. The wheels were supposed to be of special design. Here is their description:
Bukky pointed to a small cart which was not much more than four wheels and two benches. The wheels themselves were of a fascinating design. Their outer rims were extremely thin metal and connected to the axle with spokes made of gently curved metal strips. Quite pretty in a way. The weight of the cart made them flex slightly which indicated they also acted as shock absorbers. Attached to the back of the cart was a metallic box emitting a faint whirring noise.
Well, I was cleaning out our rather large storehouse of collected science fiction books and I found about 15 duplicates. I also found some novels about Perry Rhodan who was a big hit in Germany and made it over to the US in the mid to late 60s.
They only made one movie about Perry Rhodan called Mission Stardust and it was so awful they never made another. But I was still curious to see what it looked like, just because. What blew me away is their moon buggy. They stole my wheels!! Well, since the movie was made in 1967, I guess I can't really say that. Anyway, take a look at the picture and see what you think.