...but he had no identity. Unseen...: You cannot see a sodium ion dissolved in water.
...the slippery surroundings were too easy: lye is often used to make soap and alkali-laden water feels slimy or slippery.
...but when he was with her he was so caustic: lye is also known as caustic soda.
...bitter about life: Foods with a higher pH, those that are laden with alkali taste bitter.
...he cut so deeply into all he touched: Sodium hydroxide, lye, burns your skin if you touch it.
...the solution came to him: Solution is the liquid, dissolved molecule sense.
...dissolve yourself in the watery world of Ions: Self-explanatory.
...and you’ll hurt no one...: A dilute solution of sodium hydroxide is not harmful.
...and perhaps you’ll even cleanse a few souls.: Almost all soap is made with lye although some manufacturers won't put it on the label.
...the room was warm with his anticipated acceptance into the tightly knit group.: Dissolving NaOH in water is a strongly exothermic process. The more lye, the hotter it gets.
...he longed for something more to his life. Huh?
Tomorrow, more chemical analysis. Get it?
Entry 3-185: June 29, 2015
Ion My Love 3
Yesterday, I introduced you to Nat, a sodium molecule who was now in an ionic state in a water bath. He had grown tired of being part of NaOH, sodium hydroxide or lye. Here is part 2 taken from my first published article called Ion My Love that appeared in the now-defunct Chemistry Magazine way back in 1972. I remind you that the following paragraph is reprinted by permission of The American Chemical Society, the copyright holder.
An electric feel to the air announce the new arrival, bearing the threat of destroying equilibrium forever. The room was warm as Nat saw her heading straight for him, a golden yellow aura about her. There was no chance to feel sour about the intrusion. A shock, a moment’s fleeting touch – the feeling lasted only an instant, but it held the promise of a future. Nat knew the world had come into a new balance, safe to touch and taste. He felt vital, as if he dwelled in the silver lining of a cloud. What he felt was not merely a joi de vivre but a reminder of the very origins of life. The primordial sea in all its power and glory would never have been known or feared had it not supported and woven the first fragile threads of life.
Here is the breakdown of that paragraph with all its blinding cleverness:
...an electric feel to the air: Wait, what? Air? Literary license. But because Nat was an ion, he was positively charged. The introduction of other ions might change that.
...bearing the threat of destroying equilibrium forever: The pH of the water had achieved a steady state but anything could disturb that.
...the room was warm as Nat saw her heading straight for him: base/acid, there was bound to be a reaction with more heat.
...a golden yellow aura about her: Well, she was a chlorine atom and we all know chlorine gas is yellow in color.
...there was no chance to feel sour: She was the chlorine atom from hydrochloric acid. Just as alkali tastes bitter, acidic compounds (think vinegar) taste sour.
...a shock, a moment’s fleeting touch: there are a bunch of electrons flying around at this point.
...Nat knew the world had come into a new balance, safe to touch and taste: Well, duh. We go from two very dangerous compounds, lye and hydrochloric acid to something much, much safer.
...as if he dwelled in the silver lining of a cloud: Again, a little bit of literary license. The water created by Nat release his hydroxyl ion and the Chlorine atom (Chloe?) produced water and clouds are nothing but water vapor. Also, sodium, in its native state (before it explodes) is silvery in color.
...a reminder of the very origins of life: All life started in the ocean, a salt-filled ocean.
...had it not supported and woven the first fragile threads of life.: Same thing. Life on Earth began in the oceans.
Tomorrow, Nat meets his mate face to face, or electron shell to electron shell. What will become of him?
P.S. I found this little nugget on Yahoo Answers while researching this article: The Na+ and OH- ions that are produced are immediately surrounded by water molecules (typically 6, each). It is the formation of the hydration sphere about each ion that is exothermic. So much so that the total energy for the solvation of solid NaOH is negative.
Entry 3-186: June 30, 2015
Ion My Love 4
Yesterday, we found out that Nat, a sodium molecule who had grown tired of being part of NaOH, sodium hydroxide or lye was floating around surrounded by six water molecules. But someone had just dumped some hydrochloric acid into the bath. Whatever will happen? Here is part 3 taken from my first published article called Ion My Love that appeared in the now-defunct Chemistry Magazine way back in 1972. I remind you that the following paragraph is reprinted by permission of The American Chemical Society, the copyright holder.
As the room emptied, all left carrying with them an air, a wisp of happiness, as if touched by their presence. He drew closer and closer to her, and then they met and joined in an embrace that would not broken in a world of sunshine and Earth. A love like theirs was no mere physical attraction; it was based on something deeper. It penetrated his outer shell and he transferred his soul. They were so perfectly matched that they and other couples like them set up a home in a modern multilevel construction. All who knew them, loved them and called them the salt of the Earth.
Here is the breakdown:
...as the room emptied: The solution was starting to evaporate.
...all left carrying with them an air: Well, the water is evaporating so of course the water molecules are being carried off into the air.
...a wisp of happiness: I was thinking of fog or water vapor here.
...as if touched by their presence: If the water bath was heated up by first the exothermic reaction of dissolving NaOH into water and then the acid, it would evaporate faster.
...he drew closer and closer to her: As the water evaporates, the solution becomes more concentrated.
...then they met and joined in an embrace that would not broken in a world of sunshine and Earth: Once the sodium atom and chlorine atom were bound, nothing short of electrolysis would break them up.
...a love like theirs was no mere physical attraction: This was said tongue in cheek.
...it was based on something deeper: Wait for it. Ionic versus covalent bonding?
...It penetrated his outer shell and he transferred his soul: Or in this case an actual atom. The chlorine ion is negatively charged.
...They were so perfectly matched...: NaCl, sodium chloride or salt is extremely stable.
...they and other couples like them set up a home in a modern multilevel construction: I was thinking of a salt crystal.
...All who knew them...called them the salt of the Earth.: Ta-dah. Get it?
So even a sodium atom deserves happiness. Who says love isn't universal?
Well, enough for today's chemistry lession. If you want to read more, you can check out this discussion. Here is a tiny snippet from the Georgia State University article: An atom of sodium has one 3s electron outside a closed shell, and it takes only 5.14 electron volts of energy to remove that electron. The chlorine lacks one electron to fill a shell, and releases 3.62 eV when it acquires that electron (it's electron affinity is 3.62 eV). If neutral sodium and chlorine atoms found themselves closer than 0.94 nm, it would be energetically favorable to transfer an electron from Na to Cl and form the ionic bond.
Entry 3-187: July 1, 2015
Cinematic?
In my Rome's Revolution series, I try very hard to write cinematically. That means I am attempting to form not only pictures in your head but pictures that could someday be rendered into a movie.
The middle section of Rome's Revolution has a split narrative, that is each paragraph is in two sections, one from Rei's perspective and one fro
m Rome's. As the climax of Part 2 draws near, it was time to reunite the couple. My vision for this reunion was meant to be filmed from Rome's balcony then have the camera whip across into MINIMCOM's cockpit. Each of the two lovers were seeing the same thing but just from a different locale. See if you think I pulled it off:
Rome took that as her cue to disconnect the link to the Overmind. She walked to the edge of the balcony, placing her hands on the stone railing there. She shielded her eyes with one hand and scanned the horizon and finally spotted a tiny white presence, glinting in the early morning sun. She waved to it then closed her eyes to open a channel.
~~~
Inside the cockpit of the modified tug now the starship known as MINIMCOM, Fridone sat in the co-pilot’s seat, watching the view screens and various instruments. Next to him, in the pilot’s seat, sat Rei just staring out through the cockpit window, watching the sun as it was rising over the Vuduri enclave. His reverie was interrupted when his mind was warmed by his wife, the sultry little Vuduri, who thought to him, “Rei?”
“Yes, sweetheart?” he replied.
“It is time. Come and get me.”
“You bet!” Rei thought enthusiastically.
Then out loud, Rei said, “You heard the woman, MINIMCOM. Go and get her.”
Ah. Reunited at last. I always know they would be together again but it was a long time coming.
Entry 3-188: July 2, 2015
The Alluvial Plains
When you are writing anything, but especially novels that are supposed to evoke images (see yesterday's article), it is important not only that you describe the scene but you use words that have a certain sound. I like to use alliteration but that is not the only way. Certain words just flow and create a sound picture that underscores the visual you are trying to create.
Near the end of Part 2 of Rome's Revolution, after Rome and Rei were re-united, the time had come for the final confrontation between the very war-like Essessoni, led by Captain Keller, and the Vuduri holed up in the compound near the ocean. It was my thinking that the rivers and lakes of Deucado would have all tried their best to flow to the ocean and at some point, created a sandy plain that stretched many miles inland. So this is how I started out the battle scene:
On the alluvial plain to the west of the Vuduri enclave, the assaulting army from Earth was taking up their position. Knowing that all the equipment had once been packed up in a 10-meter by 100-meter ovaloid compartment made it that much more impressive. From Captain Keller’s perspective, after they got to the break in the cane-tree woods, there was no longer a need for the element of surprise. What they brought would announce their presence in a very large way.
According to Wikipedia, an alluvial plain is a largely flat land form created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms.
But it is just the sound of the words, "alluvial plain" that gave me the sound painting I was looking for. See if this picture matches the imagery that the wording suggests:
Does this seem like a neat place to hold your "final" battle? It does to me.
Entry 3-189: July 3, 2015
Chess pieces
During the middle portion of Rome's Revolution, Rome spent a lot of time with the Overmind, explaining to the bodiless entity how things really were. Once they had come to a meeting of the minds, the Overmind agreed with Rome's goals and wanted to prevent any further bloodshed.
However, as we now know, the Essessoni were out to cause as much death and destruction as they could. They couldn't take the chance of having anybody or anything stand in their way for the Darwin Project's end game. Rome and the Overmind knew that any misstep would cause a fire fight to break out and there would be many deaths on both sides.
But how to stop it? Mentally, the woman and the spirit worked out a series of steps and maneuvers that should result in war being averted. No one could know for sure. After all, some famous general said the first casualty of any battle is the battle plan. Meaning things spiral out of control very quickly.
So while it worked out nicely on mental paper, they had to actually get living, breathing humans to cooperate. Some without even knowing it. Keller was confused by the Vuduri tactics which was actually a good thing:
Using a pair of binoculars, Keller could see the Vuduri streaming out of the enclave. The soldiers were equipped with very ordinary looking rifles but he knew that they were not ordinary. Rising up from the airfield to the south were waves of fighters but rather than coming forward, they hovered over their own troops in a long, wide formation. The Vuduri took up positions from north to south. It was a long line, longer than Keller had anticipated.
While it made no sense, if this was the first recognition of the coming conflict, even after the call went out for reinforcements, crossing the ocean would take time, time the Vuduri weren’t going to get. Keller figured the Vuduri probably underestimated the capabilities of the older Earth’s weaponry anyway. He chuckled to himself, imagining them sitting there in their ivory tower, convinced of their advanced technological prowess. What they did not know was that the Essessoni were not bound by their rules and they were going to get hit with things that were unthinkable to them.
Believe it or not, so far, so good.
Entry 3-190: July 4, 2015
What’s wrong with that boy?
Since the very beginning of Rome's Revolution, Rei Bierak (pronounced Ray, not Rye) has been our eyes and ears. Everything he encounters is weighed against our 21st century sensibilities. But this is not just limited to technology. Rei is also supposed to represent our conscience, our morals, our rationality and he uses those to cope with somewhat outlandish situations.
First, there were the Vuduri, who normally don't even speak. They have no emotions (or at least they try) and they would rather surrender their individuality to the Overmind than think for themselves. It was Rei's interaction with Rome that set them on a new path. That is why the series is called Rome's Revolution.
But Rei also had to deal with the various threats to mankind, like The Stareaters and even threats from within, that is, the violent and war-like Essessoni who fancied themselves at the new Ark Lords. The members of that group, part of Project Darwin, had their own orientation, foreign to us and could not comprehend the actions of, what is to us, a rational human being.
When Captain Keller was about to launch his attack, he expected Rei to just go along and translate English to Vuduri. But Rei had his own agenda and was already at work, with Rome, setting up the chess pieces to stop the war before it started:
The particle beam cannons would make quick work of reducing their compound to rubble after they took the soldiers out. The strike would not be pretty but it would be decisive. Paired with each member of the Ark’s crew was one of the Ibbrassati, armed with hand weapons in case it came to that.
Communication was hard and was limited to some rudimentary hand-signals. Keller waved to Ionelli who came over to stand beside him, along with Trabunel.
“Get me Bierak,” Keller said. “I need to organize the assault. This won’t take long but I don’t want any of our people hurt by friendly fire.”
“He’s gone, sir,” said Ionelli.
“What?!” Keller said. “Where? When?”
“A few hours ago. He hopped off the troop carrier along with another old guy and disappeared into the woods.”
“Damn him!” Keller said. “There is something seriously wrong with that boy. Well, I don’t have time for this. We’ll discipline him later. Do what you can to get everyone fanned out. I don’t want to make it easy on them.”
Keller didn't care about the lives of the Ibbrassati. He barely even cared about the lives of his own people. All he cared about was conquest.
He got his, in the end.
Entry 3-191: July 5, 2015
The chess match begins, part 1
A few days ago, I told you that Rome's plan to stop the war before it started could be likened to a chess match. Rome and the Overmind plotted out each move and potential counter-move to prevent hostilities from escalating at the climax of Rome's Revolution.
Captain Keller was standing at the edge of the alluvial plain and getting ready to launch an all-out assault. The only thing stopping him was his promise to Rei that he would not fire the first shot. But that didn't prevent him from getting ready. However the deployment of the enemy's troops confused him.
“All right, you guys,” he said to his troops. “This is it. We hit them fast and we hit them hard. We’re taking over this world and nobody is going to stop us.”
A cheer went up from his men. The Ibbrassati were not sure what he said but after they saw the reaction of their allies, they cheered as well.
After the cheer rippled down, he said, “Get ready for my signal.”
Trabunel tugged at his sleeve and pointed up. “Um nefoi,” he said. “Um asdrenhi nefoi. Drede-sa ta iudre ciose.”
“Huh?” Keller said but he looked up where Trabunel was pointing. Heading straight for the open area between the two warring parties was a sleek, wasp-waisted ship bristling with PPT generators, plasma thrusters and more.
“Get ready to fire,” Keller said desperately.
“Nei sa drede ta um nefoi ta guarre. Drede-sa ta um rapicetir,” said Trabunel. “Nei oncantoi eonte.” He shook his head and waved his arms to make his point. “Rei,” he said finally.
“Rei? You mean Bierak?” Keller asked. Trabunel nodded.
I know what Keller was thinking. He was thinking what the hell? But the plan that Rome and the Overmind hatched, along with Rei's help, comes from so far out in left field that Keller cannot even figure out how to deal with it. His paralysis was critical to the success of the plan.