In the universe for Rome's Revolution, among other things, Rei plays a similar role. For example, in yesterday's post, I showed that Rei asked such a question. He just came right out and asked OMCOM how it was possible that Rome was able to lock herself in her room.
Here is another familiar example. When first informed about Casimir Pumps, Rei had the following conversation with OMCOM:
“Yeah…” Rei said, mulling things over. He jerked his head up and snapped his fingers. “Hey, wait a minute…OMCOM?”
“Yes?”
“You said that you split zero energy into negative and positive energy. Where does the positive energy go?”
“The positive energy is used in a variety of manners. Sometimes it is used to create elementary particles. Sometimes it is used to accelerate that matter. It is the power behind the plasma drives. Sometimes it is converted into a more flexible form such as electricity.”
Rei held up his hand as if to stop things. Then he said, “So, let me get this straight. You go to a region where there is no energy. You suck negative energy out of it and get to go faster than light and the waste product is power that you use to drive your ships? That’s…that’s beyond perpetual motion. That’s impossible.”
“First of all,” OMCOM replied, “it is not perpetual motion. Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It is simply redistributed in a more convenient manner. Second, when you measure total entropy, it is increased. The sum total of the usefulness of that energy to the universe is decreased. Things are balanced.”
I have found as author, I can pretty much say or do anything as long as I can back it up with facts or extrapolation. After all, that is the very definition of hard science fiction. But sometimes the leap from fact to fiction is clear in my mind but is irreconcilable to the user as presented. Thus Rei serves a useful role when he asks questions on behalf of the reader, just as Hurley did in Lost.
P.S. I got a nice shout-out from Graeme Brown's Worlds of the Imagination. Thanks, Graeme.
Entry 1-271: September 22, 2013
Why did Rome's apartment have two chairs?
One of the points I tried to hammer home in Rome's Revolution was that the Vuduri don't socialize. When Rei first meets Rome and she takes him to her quarters, he sees two chairs, a little table and a sofa. In fact, this was the actual exchange:
“Why two chairs?” Rei asked. “You guys don’t socialize, you told me.”
“Occasionally, Estar and I meet here to perform some fusion of data-cubes,” Rome replied. “The task required that we be in close physical proximity. I would not call that socializing.”
Is this the real reason?
I don't know. I just made it up. It seemed stupid to me to have an apartment which consisted of a bed, a desk and a bathroom. It seemed like you need another area just to fill the room out. In the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, I had Rei fall asleep on the sofa he had in his quarters. Why would there be a sofa if the Vuduri never socialized? Rome's explanation sounds adequate if flimsy and nobody has ever complained about it but I think it is just a little inconsistent. Why would you go back to your room to work on datacubes? Why wouldn't you do it in a lab or the stellar observatory or whatever?
You will recall having three chairs in the galley of the Flying House was one of Estar's main concerns when she kidnapped Rome and Rei. A lot of mayhem and death resulted because of Estar's doggedness in trying to find out the answer.
Oh well, the Vuduri are inscrutable and having two chairs in Rome's apartment just makes for a better story. At least now you know the real reason. Sort of.
P.S. As I mentioned the other day, I got a nice shout-out from Graeme Brown's Worlds of the Imagination. Thanks, Graeme.
Entry 1-272: September 23, 2013
Rome is hot
In the world of Rome's Revolution, I cannot tell you exactly what my characters look like. I've posted some suggestions on actors that could play Rome and Rei but even they aren't exactly as I envision them. I'm not an artist so I can't really sketch them out. I do know that Rome is gorgeous by our standards. She was described as tiny, at most five feet tall. Her beautiful, shoulder-length, dark brown hair had hints of gold throughout. Her eyes were very dark as well. Her skin had an olive tint to it. She had an athletic build, but it was distinctly feminine, bordering on spectacular.
Here is a little incident that occurred in Rome's Evolution that occurred the day after Rome became a true telepath. She was just finishing up her questioning of Paul Chung, a "person of interest" but he was neither a suspect nor a witness. She was reassuring April Chung, Paul's wife, that everything will be OK:
April nodded. “I know you’ll take care of them. We all believe in you.”
“Thank you,” Rome replied, releasing her grip and they left the house.
As soon as they got outside, Rome tugged on Rei’s shoulder.
“What?” Rei asked.
Rome said, “Do you think I have a fever?”
Rei bent over and kissed her on the forehead. “No,” he said. “You’re fine. Do you feel sick?”
“No,” Rome said. She furrowed her brow. “Do I radiate more heat than a regular Essessoni?”
Rei pulled his head back, confused. “No more than anybody else,” he said. “What’s going on?”
Rome shook her head. “Even during his most stressful times, Paul kept thinking to himself that I was really hot compared to his wife. What does that mean?”
Rei and Bonnie laughed.
“Why is that funny?” Rome asked.
“It means he thought you were really attractive,” Bonnie said.
Rei held his hand up. “Yes, Romey. Sexually.”
“I don’t understand,” Rome said. “I…” She stopped short. “Oh!” She cocked her head. “Do you think I’m ‘hot’?” she asked her husband.
“Romey, if you were any hotter, you’d be incandescent,” Rei said with a smile on his face.
Rome nodded definitively. “I don’t know why it matters to me. It shouldn’t but it makes me feel good.”
“It should, honey,” Bonnie said. “If I had your body and face, I’d be running this world.”
Rome is pretty funny sometimes, even when she does not mean to be.
Entry 1-273: September 24, 2013
Rome tries beer
In yesterday's post, I related to you an amusing anecdote when Rome was reading Paul Chung's mind and he thought she was hot. The humor comes from the fact that in the world of Rome's Revolution, the phrase Paul used was a colloquial expression and Rome did not really understand what he meant.
However, the differences in the cultures can sometimes be practical, as well. I remember an episode of M*A*S*H where they were complaining that all of Korea smelled like Kimchi which is fermented cabbage. If you were Korean, it smelled delicious. If you were not, it might smell much worse.
Well, there are many other parts of our culture that Rome is not familiar with. In Rome's Evolution, Rome and Rei travel to Helome to take a roll call of the incarcerated Darwin members. They discover that Virga and Captain Keller have achieved a detente. In fact, they are living together. Captain Keller's group have discovered some barley and hops which were meant to be a veiled reference to the crops first planted by Silas Hiram so many years before.
So here is the first time Rome tries beer:
Virga left the room while Rei and Rome took seats on the sofa. Keller sat down in the rocker. Virga returned with a small tray and several squeeze-bulbs, some clear, some with a translucent brown liquid.
“We have water and beer,” Virga said.
“Beer!?” Rei barked. “How? Where?”
Keller laughed. “We found some feral fields of barley and hops way up north on the site of the original settlement. Virga’s people were kind enough to let us expe
riment a little.” Keller leaned forward and grabbed one of the brown squeezebulbs. He lifted it up. “Try it and tell me what you think.”
Rei snorted a laugh and reached down and grabbed one for himself. He took a healthy slug and said, “this is great!” He turned and offered it to Rome. “Do you want to try it?” he asked.
“I suppose,” Rome said, suspiciously. She took a little sip, scrunched up her face and said, “This is horrid! How you can drink this?”
Rei laughed. “It’s an acquired taste,” he said.
“I will stick with water,” Rome said and Virga handed her a clear squeeze-bulb.
Tomorrow, Rome tries wine.
Entry 1-274: September 25, 2013
Rome tries wine, part 1
In yesterday's post, I related to you the amusing incident from Rome's Evolution when Rome tried beer for the first time. But that does not mean she is against alcohol in any form. In fact, in the world of Rome's Revolution she is quite familiar with the concept.
To demonstrate this, I relate to you an incident that occurred early in the book entitledThe Ark Lords:
Rei spoke up, trying to break the mood. “Maybe this will help. My mother told me you never go to someone’s house empty handed,” he said. He held out the linen bag which Bonnie gratefully received. She pulled out a bottle.
From its distinctive shape, there was no question what she held in her hand. Bonnie’s eyes lit up. “Wine!?” Bonnie exclaimed. “How did you…”
“What is wine? I have never heard the word before,” Rome interjected.
“Fonhi,” Rei offered. “Fermented grapes. It’s got alcohol in it.”
“Oh, I’m familiar with that,” Rome said, relieved to finally know the nature of the package. “We had something similar. My father’s people would drink kefir at family affairs, which is made from fermented cocoanut juice.”
(Bonnie opens the bottle, serves the wine then goes to make a toast)
“Here’s to Rei Bierak,” she said, cheerfully. “Always full of surprises!”
Rei laughed. He lifted his glass as well.
Rome looked around the room. “Aren’t we supposed to clink the glasses?” she asked. “That’s what you taught me.”
“You can just raise them,” Rei replied. “It works the same.” Rei and Edgar took a nice swallow from their glasses.
“Sorry I can’t join you,” Bonnie said. “Gotta stick with water. Second trimester and all.”
“I understand,” Rei said.
Rome sniffed the glass then took a small sip. “Mmm, this is delicious,” she remarked. “I’ve never tasted anything like it before. Where did it come from?”
“We found a good spot for a vineyard near the edge of the project, east of where they’re building the resort city of Ur,” Rei answered, waving his hand toward the window. “Some of the boys wanted to try their hand at growing grapes and making wine. They’ve been working at it for over a year. This is from their first full run. It’s a little strong, though. Almost port. They put too much sugar in it.”
As you probably know, there was some unpleasantness that ensued. Rei was afraid that Rome would come to associate wine with bad things but she was stronger than that. Tomorrow I will show you her "recovery" from fear.
Entry 1-275: September 26, 2013
Rome tries wine, part 2
In yesterday's post, I related to you Rome's first exposure to wine. If you read The Ark Lords, you know that afterwards, Edgar Mullen attacked her and Rei was rightly concerned that Rome would come to associate wine with bad things. He needn't have worried. This is from later in the story:
Ursay led them back through the small vineyard, past his farmhouse, to a ramshackle building resembling a barn. Rei was surprised to see no sign of Vuduri aerogel anywhere. After all three entered, Ursay pulled the doors closed and directed them to one end of the building where there were multiple racks of oaken barrels stored on their sides. The floor was nothing more than combed dirt. Ursay had them sit at a rough-hewn table pushed up against the wall. To Rei, the chairs appeared to be hand-made and slightly mismatched. Once they were settled, Ursay left them to amble slowly back the way they came, pausing briefly at each barrel. Finally, he stopped in front of one of the larger ones. After reaching down for a pitcher that was dangling from a peg, he fussed around the spigot at the base of the cask. He returned to Rei and Rome carrying the pitcher filled with a dark, ruby-red liquid and placed it on the table.