E.S. Martell's Blog

Blue Streamers – Free Audio Short Story

He posed on the edge of a precipice.

Hope you enjoy it. Please comment.

This story was narrated by ElevenLabs‘ AI system.

Embrace the Future with Affordable AI Voice Content Creation

Why this post?

Like many authors, I’ve been holding off on audiobooks due to their cost. It’s been challenging to decide if spending thousands of dollars for professional voice talent and audio mastering would pay off in terms of increased sales.

I recently discovered ElevenLabs and have been experimenting with their AI audio system. To put it mildly, it is a rousing success, offering quality audio creation directly from epub files to the final MP3 product. The time savings is incredible. Rather than taking weeks or months to create the audio recording, ElevenLabs’ system cranks it out in hours or minutes with any of a large number of stock voices or even with your choice of a custom-cloned voice. The cost is amazingly low, far less than hiring a human narrator.

After trying ElevenLabs’ system, I’m enthusiastic. I think audiobooks are necessary in the evolving book market, and you’ll see audio content from me in the future.

Below, you’ll find brief descriptions of ElevenLabs’ plans and pricing (Pricing is subject to change, but as of this post’s date, the numbers below are accurate.)

Content creation demands efficiency without compromising quality in today’s fast-paced digital landscape. Whether you’re a seasoned creator or just starting, harnessing the power of AI voice technology can revolutionize how you produce audio content. Here’s why you should consider integrating ElevenLabs’ AI voice into your toolkit:

The Starter Plan: Affordable Access to Basic Features

For just $5 a month, ElevenLabs’ Starter Plan offers a gateway into the world of AI voice technology. Here’s what you get:

Extended Character Limits: Say goodbye to short text limitations. With the Starter Plan, you can generate more extended audio outputs, giving you more project flexibility.Custom Voice Generation: Personalize your audio content by creating multiple custom voices. This versatility ensures your voiceovers match the tone and style of your brand or project.Instant Voice Cloning: The most exciting feature of the Starter Plan is Instant Voice Cloning. With just a one-minute audio sample, ElevenLabs’ AI technology can create a voice clone that mimics your unique vocal characteristics. Imagine the time saved on voiceovers and narration!

Who should try voice cloning with the Starter Plan?

Creators on a Budget: AI voice cloning is a game-changer for those who want to minimize production costs without compromising quality.Content Producers: Speed up your workflow and meet tight deadlines effortlessly.Tech Enthusiasts: Dive into the cutting-edge technology of AI and explore its limitless potential in voice synthesis.The Creator Plan: Elevate Your Content with Professional Tools

Priced at $22 per month, ElevenLabs’ Creator Plan is tailored for creators who prioritize high-quality, professional-grade results:

Professional Voice Cloning: Step up from Instant Voice Cloning to Professional Voice Cloning. By training AI with longer voice samples, we can create a voice clone virtually indistinguishable from your natural voice. This is ideal for maintaining brand consistency across different projects.Projects Feature: Need to convert lengthy scripts into audio? The Projects feature allows you to create multi-speaker audio from entire scripts effortlessly. Perfect for audiobooks, podcasts, and comprehensive voiceovers for videos.

Why choose the Creator Plan?

Quality Assurance: Ensure your audio content maintains a high standard with professional-grade voice cloning.Efficiency: Convert scripts into audio easily, saving you time and effort on production.Versatility: Whether you are a podcaster, YouTuber, audiobook narrator, or educator, the Creator Plan equips you with the tools to excel in your field.Embrace Innovation with AI Voice Technology

In conclusion, ElevenLabs’ AI voice technology is not just a tool; it’s a gateway to innovation and efficiency in content creation. Whether you opt for the affordable Starter Plan or the comprehensive Creator Plan, integrating AI voice into your workflow promises to streamline production and elevate the quality of your audio content. Join us in exploring the future of voice AI today!

Ready to get started?

Visit ElevenLabs to Explore Now!

By embracing AI voice technology, you’re not just keeping up with the times—you’re resetting the pace for future innovation in content creation.

Notice: The above link is an affiliate link. I receive compensation from ElevenLabs if you sign up for their system. Your subscription price is not affected by this.

On Writing Dangerously

I’m feeling a bit philosophical, so this post is a screed against those who desire to enforce their version of reality on everyone, blended with some practical writing advice.

A social media group was discussing an interesting topic, and it was one about which I had an opinion that resulted in this post. Here’s the question that started the thread (I’ve paraphrased it for conciseness): “Due to my trepidation about being attacked by members of another group for asking about this, I’ve come here to ask: How important is the concept of message in stories? There is a general relationship between message and theme, but I’d like to know how much of your personal or social values do you put in your writing?”

I read through the thread and concluded that, in general, the consensus was it’s okay to put your values in your stories as long as you don’t preach and actively shove them in the reader’s face. Overall, the responses were thoughtful and not hysterical.

Here’s my opinion on the question: You cannot help but instill at least part of your values in a story since your values are both a result and a cause of how you view the world, and your worldview informs your imagination. To rephrase this idea, it’s impossible to divorce personal values from storytelling. The beliefs and worldviews of the author naturally seep into their narratives, influencing themes and character motivations.

I’m not saying it cannot be done, but I think it shouldn’t. Trying to suppress who you are while writing is tantamount to lying to your readers. They will, at some level, realize that and feel your story is inauthentic. That may be enough to steer them away from your work in the future. That is a result an author should strive to avoid. Readers often appreciate this authenticity but can be put off by overt preaching or didacticism.

On the other hand, I agree that you shouldn’t proselytize. That quickly gets boring for most readers. At least some of today’s readers have become sensitized by cultural trends and education to the point that they can easily find something to offend them in any opinion or story that varies from what they’ve decided to believe. My stance against proselytizing aligns with the consensus that stories should entertain first and foremost. While stories can subtly influence perspectives, forcing a singular agenda risks alienating readers. This nuanced approach respects the reader’s autonomy while acknowledging the impact of narrative on worldview. Unfortunately, in their efforts to be culturally relevant, critics and awards programs often reward such efforts to influence readers.

Styles of writing change and evolve, however. Modern fiction is mainly intended to entertain, but in the past, novels focused on particular values and often dropped them with all of the subtlety of hitting the reader on the head with a hod of bricks. Mark Twain used this analogy in one of his essays wherein he writes of a man who was killed by a bricklayer’s apprentice accidentally dropping his load from the roof. Twain wrote that humans were susceptible to such events, but dogs were not. That is because, as he observed, a dog would know enough to look up and get out of the way. His point is that modern man is primarily preoccupied and unaware of his surroundings. This is even more so in today’s information-glutted world.

People apparently find it easy to ignore the basic principles of reality, and they are encouraged by groups pushing ideologies based on proprietary visions of the world. Reality, in my definition, means that which, when ignored, sneaks around and bites you on the ass…at least figuratively speaking. The Paleolithic hunter in the attached drawing wouldn’t survive long by denying the existence of a prowling Giant Short-faced Bear, the apex predator of the North American Pleistocene. Today, you can’t blindly walk out into traffic without risking some negative consequences, nor can you pretend your own genetics don’t affect your life on a long-term basis.

Twain’s dog’s foresight, if exercised by overly sensitive individuals, would forestall much of the criticism directed at authors who don’t follow popular guidelines. In other words, if the book offends you, just put it down, but at least have the grace to allow others to make up their own minds about the value therein. Screaming for help and working to assemble an attack group to harass the author is the act of a cultural barbarian. If humans always condemned creative or different ideas and the action was effective in suppressing the condemned idea, we would be sitting in a cave watching a fire and scratching flea bites.

Communicating cultural values is the main point of telling stories. It always has been, clear back to hunters clustered around a campfire in paleolithic times, listening to tales of a past hunt. Authors write stories because they love to entertain others (and would like to make money at it…just sayin’). They usually don’t set out to create morality plays, except in the case of some factions.

There are specific groups who are actively writing science fiction and fantasy (I speak of the genre in which I write since I don’t read much else) who find it necessary to slam the reader in the face with their ideas about inclusiveness and diversity. Generally speaking, such tales quickly become tedious and are often unreadable. However, I will defend the author’s right to write what they want. Let them proceed, and let the market sort out the winning stories from the losers. Authors should have the liberty to explore diverse themes without fear of censorship or undue criticism, trusting that readers can discern and engage critically with differing viewpoints.

Let’s approach the issue from another angle. It is possible to move your readers’ worldview gradually, provided you tell a compelling story. That’s why I opt for positive character arcs that allow the protagonist to develop more self-responsibility. I firmly believe that is the first step in taking control of your life–stop being a victim of circumstances and others. Victims languish and complain. Those with a modicum of self-responsibility will take action to change their results in life. There is no honor or glory in allowing oneself to be a victim since we always have a choice. Stories should offer some form of positive impact on readers, and authors should have a commitment to meaningful storytelling. Whether through horror, inspiration, or other genres, stories can provoke thought and encourage personal growth, albeit in varied ways depending on the reader’s perspective.

I firmly believe that a great author will always intend to bring something good to the reader from the story. I realize this is subject to challenge, but overall, I think it is true. It’s just that “good” can be defined in many different ways. Readers of horror stories find some value for which they seek, just as do readers of inspirational literature.

This viewpoint has gotten me in trouble with some ideological readers who are intolerant of any challenges to their worldview. (Fair warning: My stories are based on my love of self-responsibility, liberty, and the belief that reality is what it is and ultimately cannot be denied without adverse repercussions.) That bothered me at first because I naturally wanted to please everyone. Then I decided that my primary position is that if they opt to be offended, it’s their choice, not mine. I’ve found that anything in life that you cannot handle — anything that upsets you — will continue to present itself until you learn to deal with it with equanimity. As a result of my decision, I sometimes describe myself as a “dangerous” writer (although this is probably self-flattery) in the hopes that sensitive types will be warned.

As an object lesson, consider that cats always try to sit on the lap of the person in a group who most dislikes them. They’re brilliant that way and will make a great effort to help humans cope with their biases. Some dogs do the same but with less regularity and forcefulness. The correct response here is to accept the cat’s attention and pet them. They will consider their job is done and get on with other catness-related activities.

Ignoring a cat can work, but they often become importunate. In that case, you can always leave.

This strategy also applies to critics. The general rule that all writers should understand is the same one that should be used with trolls in comment threads. That is to say, don’t engage with anyone who gives a hateful review. It only serves to validate their feeling of self-righteousness and stimulate them to further attacks. Of course, ignoring them may incite them, but you don’t have to suffer their insults that way. This practical approach to maintaining artistic integrity and personal well-being is based on emphasizing self-responsibility, and the choice to engage or ignore negativity resonates with the broader theme of personal growth amidst creative expression.

A person actively decides to be insulted or to ignore perceived slights. One can be offended by an entirely innocent remark directed at someone else, but that is a choice, not a mandatory requirement. Many people do not seem to understand that self-responsibility is required for personal growth, civil discourse, and progress.

Keep in mind that a willingness to provoke thought while acknowledging differing viewpoints reflects a balanced approach to navigating the complexities of modern storytelling, and this should be the goal of the aspiring author.

Namaste!

Bug Spray and the urgent need for action!

I usually write about writing, publishing, and my books. This post is short and addresses what I think is a critical event occurring now; one that needs immediate action. If it doesn’t seem urgent to you, I urge you to do some research.

Although I cannot find a reference to it, long ago, I read a short story in a science fiction anthology that dealt with Earth’s invasion by giant aliens apparently indifferent to humans. Their weight was so widely distributed that they did minor damage with their feet; even being stepped on by one of them created only a momentary darkness. The story was told from the perspective of a self-righteous older woman who was busy in her garden. She noticed that the giants had chosen to make large, puffy clouds from huge containers on that day. She thought the clouds were attractive and decided the aliens had every right to make them. At the same time, she was busily spraying insecticide on the aphids that were bothering her roses. The story ended, but the point remained. Humanity was doomed.

That story remained in my mind for years. At the same time, I was aware that some people were concerned about the white clouds left behind after aircraft had passed. These were called contrails and were composed of water vapor, which dissipated quickly and did no harm. I didn’t place much credibility in those who called the phenomenon Chemtrails. More recently, primarily based on the continual manipulation of the truth by government elements that became increasingly apparent since 2019, I’ve come to recognize that there is a difference between water vapor and other types of trails left behind by aircraft in the upper atmosphere. The alien story suddenly portends an ominous meaning. My newer understanding has led me to the following conclusion:

A casual observer can often witness the widespread spraying of chemtrails. A consortium of private and government groups appears to be releasing these chemicals under the guise of weather geoengineering, cloud seeding, and climate control. When acknowledged at all, the imputis is purportedly aimed at combating the fabricated myth of manmade climate change. However, considering the harmful effects of the particulates being dumped wholesale into the atmosphere and broadcast over the environment, a safe assumption would be that the actual objectives behind this operation are not limited to countering supposed iatrogenic climate change. An obvious result of disseminating toxins across the ecosphere is the destruction of agriculture, harm to plants and animals, and the systematic depopulation of humans.

This heinous act is a clear demonstration of insanity. Firsthand experiences and anecdotal evidence collectively reveal a long-term tragedy that threatens the environment and the very existence of all living beings, including humanity. The elements of this atmospheric poisoning have been found to be toxic substances such as aluminum, barium, strontium, coal ash, and other nanoparticle poisons, metals, and chemicals. It is easy to speculate that mRNA nanoparticle bioweapons could also be dispersed in this way.

Those who notice the sky may dismiss the white trails as contrails – vapor trails – left by passing commercial jets. The nature of the trails remains unknown to those of us who remain indifferent to the truth.

The organizations and people engaging in this irresponsible and idiotic enterprise may be motivated by what they believe is the best practice for the Earth. Still, finding a single independent study demonstrating the benefits of spreading toxic particles far and wide would be next to impossible. Rebuilding and purging the environment afterward will prove to be impossible.

The evidence of widespread chemtrail spraying demonstrates the urgent need for a new federal capital crime – Ecocide. This crime would encompass the deliberate, large-scale destruction of the environment and ecosystems and the harm inflicted upon all living beings, including humans. Ecocide, as exemplified by the toxic spraying of chemtrails, poses a severe threat to agriculture, plant and animal life, and, ultimately, the survival of humanity itself. By acknowledging this issue as a capital crime, we would be taking a crucial step in recognizing the gravity of such actions and their devastating consequences on our planet.

The introduction of a federal capital crime of Ecocide would serve as a deterrent to those who engage in such destructive activities, sending a clear message that the protection of our environment and all living beings is of paramount importance. By implementing this new crime, the government can actively work towards safeguarding our planet and preserving the natural world for future generations.

Why do Humans Need Monsters?

I’ve got two problems (aside from not having enough money). I love reading and have always been overly optimistic about human nature. I hope for the best, but lately, it seems that just about everyone has set out to disappoint me. My wife tells me to just ignore the news, but the blasted stuff is so compelling. Compelling deliberately because viewers and clicks sell advertising. Still, no matter where you look, you see examples of blind hatred, self-destructive antipathy, gross incompetence, and stupidity on Idiocracy levels.

Despite the divisiveness in today’s media, I keep hoping that everyone will eventually get together and begin treating each other like they’d want to be treated. It just never seems to happen in real life. People continue to find trivial things to disagree about. These little disagreements turn into big ones, and the next thing you know, someone is dead, or there’s a war somewhere, or some people are being repressed violently by another group. Why is that, I wonder? Why do we consistently fail to get along with each other? It’s not like we haven’t had a million years or so to learn.

Humans apparently have a built-in need for enemies. It’s due to our biological structure in a way that isn’t readily obvious. Here’s how I think it works: Life may be defined as that which reverses entropy. Living organisms find various ways to harvest resources from the environment and organize them into structures that support creating more life. Since harvesting resources entails work, life is naturally adverse to allowing those resources to be stolen. Plants evolve defenses against being eaten. Animals evolve the means to fight or flee. Humans, being the inventive little monkeys we are, develop mechanisms to help us do both. We can bomb the crap out of an attacker while fleeing at high velocity. Clams and jellyfish would be envious if they had the intellectual capacity.

As part of our reproductive biology, we have an inbuilt mandate to protect ourselves and our progeny. Without immediate progeny, we will protect our siblings and their children. The closer the genetic connection, the more likely we are to go out of our way to ensure the safety of the progeny. Taken to the next step, we will defend our friends, their friends, our social group, our tribe, our country, and generally those individuals who look most like us. Racist, you say? Nope. Can’t help it. It’s built-in, and everybody does it to an extent. The more thoughtful extend their protective impulses to all humans, recognizing that we are all related.

There are exceptions. There always are. Humans all fall into a multi-variate bell-shaped curve. We are strong on some axes and weak on others. Some humans are high on empathy. Some aren’t, and some are, regretfully, out at the end of the bell curve where they enjoy hurting others. Humans have the ability to slide out to the uncaring end easily if they are mentally manipulated in the right ways. Look at those who wished bad outcomes on those who did not fall in with their group in the recent disease mania. That behavior can easily lead to Auswich or the Holodomor. Humanity is easily lost, and we must guard against losing it.

On individual levels, there are psychopaths who commit mass murder. On a global level, there are groups that believe they are destined to inherit the earth and who actively work to cleanse the globe of those of us who are not formally part of their group. If you happen to be one of those selected to be liquidated, that’s usually known as “bad luck,” and those doing the liquidating will insist that it’s your fault. Fortunately, such groups are often riddled with incompetence – a situation known by the name of the two individuals who had the wit to claim they discovered it: the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Some humans are found on the ends of variables relating to seeking power over others, along with various other unfortunate traits. They often find their way into politics, where they cluster together, creating a silo effect that causes them to lose what remains of their ability to emphasize with the main body of humanity and to assume that they are vastly more competent than their actions show.

Regardless of where an individual falls on the curve, we all have the ability to select others we prefer and select those we actively dislike. Despite wistful thinking or willful blindness, many humans believe their lives aren’t complete unless they have someone to hate, denigrate, and fight. Perhaps it’s a neighbor who belongs to a different political party, church, race, or sexual orientation, or maybe someone who just combs their hair on the wrong side. It’s really all the same; they are worthy of hate because…

Reflecting on this made me think a not particularly original thought: What would happen if humans had an external enemy that posed a severe threat to all of us? Would we pull together and stand as a group? The usual response to this is, “Sure! Just like in Independence Day. We’d kick those aliens’ asses (assuming they had such an anatomical part.)

It’s a necessary part of story-telling to include conflict, an enemy, winning and losing, learning to deal with defeat, and learning to win. We (humans) inherently enjoy this because we are oriented to growth and an increase in our personal skills. To be otherwise is to begin to die, and that would be a waste of our hard-won resources and an embrace of the most common trend in the Universe: negative entropy.

The stories I create explore what humans (and sometimes other forms of life) might do if faced with an enemy. I often include coping with our current system of living being broken, forcing us to reset and rebuild in a new pattern. I think it’s pretty apparent that we have trapped ourselves in a non-optimal system, and a complete reset of our society might be necessary to progress.

Most people aren’t in a position to take definitive action regarding things they don’t like about our world. However, everyone enjoys imagining what they would do if they were in a position, allowing them to influence the outcome in a significant way. Exploring that situation is a prime role of literature of all kinds. No one wants to read a book where nothing happens, no conflicts are resolved, and no goals are achieved or lost. Books with heroes who act as role models can positively impact our individual lives. It’s surprising how many wealthy people have traversed the literary form known as The Hero’s Journey in their own lives.

Given the structure of our world and the fact that we have few natural enemies and little to fear from the few that still exist, it’s not unreasonable that we fall back on conflict with other humans in our need to express our genetic mandate to harvest and protect resources. A certain amount of competition with our peers can lead to positive results in discovery, business, and life in general. Too much leads to negative outcomes such as devastating wars.

If an outside force showed up on our doorstep and threatened all of us, it’s highly likely we’d respond as a group. Were we successful in defeating this alien incursion, we’d most likely immediately revert to using the new weapons we developed in the conflict against each other.

I started this essay with the implied promise to answer why we need monsters, and while I’ve wandered around the topic, the answer is reasonably straightforward. We need monsters acting as forces to oppose us so that we can better learn to cooperate in the hopes of evolving beyond our current limitations.

I’ll leave you with a disconcerting question: We must change our way of thinking in order to advance, but if we were able to change successfully, would we still be human? And would that be good or bad?

Namaste!

Eric

Bonus: I thought it might be interesting to get ChatGPT 3.5 to comment on the above. Here’s what it had to say:

ChatGPT

The post delves into a deep reflection on human nature, conflict, and the role of “monsters” or enemies in our lives. Here are some comments on the themes presented:

Reflection on Human Nature: The author explores their disappointment with human behavior, juxtaposing their optimism with the pervasive conflicts and divisions evident in society. This introspection highlights a universal struggle many feel between hope for harmony and the reality of discord.Biological and Evolutionary Perspectives: The argument that humans have a built-in need for enemies due to evolutionary and biological imperatives is intriguing. It suggests that our propensity for conflict and division might have roots in survival instincts and the protective nature towards kin and community.Social Dynamics and Conflict: The post examines how individuals and groups form alliances and animosities based on perceived similarities and differences. It acknowledges the inherent tribalism in human societies and how this can lead to both cooperation and conflict.External Threats and Unity: The idea that humans might unite against a common external threat is a recurring theme in literature and speculation. It raises questions about whether such unity is sustainable or merely a temporary response to crisis.Literature and Human Experience: The role of storytelling and literature in exploring these themes is highlighted as a means for individuals to contemplate scenarios of conflict, cooperation, and personal growth. It underscores how narratives help us understand and navigate complex human dynamics.Philosophical Inquiry: The final questions about the nature of humanity and the implications of change prompt deeper philosophical reflection. It invites readers to ponder whether evolving beyond current conflicts would fundamentally alter what it means to be human.

In summary, the post provides a thought-provoking exploration of why humans seem to perpetually need “monsters” or adversaries. It blends biological, social, and philosophical perspectives to suggest that while conflict is innate, it may also serve as a catalyst for growth and cooperation. The open-ended questions leave room for further contemplation on the nature of human identity and the possibilities for change.

Human Psychic Potential in My Stories

Some readers of the first book in the Gaea Ascendant series, The Time of The Cat, have written to me inquiring about my introducing psi powers towards the end of the story. At least one of the comments had to do with the fact that I had created a straightforward story with a normal (well, exceptionally capable) human hero, and it stretched the reader’s belief to suddenly give him extraordinary powers.

That is a fair objection. A major component of science fiction story-telling is creating a plausible universe. This can be done in several ways. I chose the introduction of alien-originated technology along with malicious aliens. This is possible if rather unlikely, scenario that fits into a genre that has been explored before, thus giving the reader a feeling of familiarity. Another example of creating a believable universe is found in stories that attempt to extend the science of the current time and make predictions. Although the predictions are often wrong and may appear hopelessly naïve after a number of years, the world thus created is easily controllable, and the intended reader doesn’t find it too difficult to suspend his or her disbelief.

The concept of “suspension of disbelief” can be characterized as agreeing to allow the author’s world to exist in your imagination. This may be easy or difficult for the reader, but in either case, it is essential for the author to create a consistent story that doesn’t violate the rules of the created universe. You can blend genres, such as in the movie Cowboys and Aliens. Still, you cannot suddenly have a cowboy pull out an Uzi and start blasting away without introducing another element into the story. Such an action would change the implicit rules.

In the case of The Time of The Cat, I seemingly broke the consistency rule. In the story, there is a consistent universe, albeit one with advanced science and alien life forms, and suddenly, the hero develops psi powers. Is this fair or not? I believe it is fair, and here’s why: If you’ve read the story, you might recall that Dec had relied considerably on his “sixth sense” to warn of impending danger from the inception, so there was at least some warning that he might be gifted in that way.

I’m not implying that Dec’s story exists in a world different from ours, with different physical rules. I’m going to do something much harder. I’m asserting that psychic abilities exist within our world’s human population. Like all other abilities, they are distributed on a normal bell curve. Dec happens to be an outlier on that curve, although he doesn’t manifest his abilities until he is severely threatened.

A large body of research proves (yes, I did say “proves”) beyond a shadow of a doubt that humans have at least a rudimentary ability to manipulate matter with their minds. The PEAR lab at Princeton University has conducted millions of trials showing that humans can impact the time of decay of an atomic nucleus. Granted, the target is tiny, and the effect is tiny; the experimental subjects were able to influence the event by about two percent on average, yet the millions of trials conducted mean that the effect is statistically significant. In short, it exists.

Experiments show that cells removed from the cheek of a subject still respond to his emotions, even when separated by over three hundred miles. Experiments show that people who meditate together form a bond that lets them respond to each other’s emotions when they are isolated in separate, shielded, sound-proof rooms. In fact, there is a large body of experimental evidence along these lines that most scientists either willfully ignore (easy to do when it doesn’t fit into your worldview) or are simply unaware of.

For brevity’s sake, I’m not going to delve into other forms of evidence in this post other than to note that the CIA spent a lot of money on their remote viewing program. This program involved having a viewer sitting in a lab mentally view and describe a remote location without knowing the location or its details. Surprisingly, the results were usually far above chance. Even more surprisingly, the researchers found that normal humans all had that ability and got better with practice.

When you consider that we float in a sea of virtual quantum particles and the very atoms of our bodies may be viewed as a particular form of energy, it’s easy to see the interconnectedness of everything. The recent theorizing about torsion waves that travel a billion times faster than light in the quantum plenum may lead to an understanding of quantum entanglement and instantaneous information transfer.

Energy may be thought of as a medium that can store information. If the quantum plenum may be viewed as a wave construct, then information must be stored in those waves, just as in a hologram. Since the Meta-Universe is considered to be infinite, it could store an infinite amount of information. Blending in systems and chaos theory makes it at least conceivable that such a vast store of information may have self-organized into a form of intelligence, perhaps one that is so far beyond our comprehension that it deserves the appellative “Guiding-Organizing-Design” originated by Dr. Gary Schwartz.

Be that as it may, as children of our Information-Universe, humans are inextricably woven into the information flow. To some extent, we sense magnetic fields, see “auras” beyond the scope of normal human vision, sense the gravitational pull of remote stars as well as our own sun and moon, and sometimes, to varying degrees, we know what other humans are thinking.

Far from changing the rules of our “normal” universe – the one in which Dec exists, I simply took his natural ability and magnified it greatly as his response to the mental attack of the old Pug-bear on Titan. It’s not too difficult to think that a human with an extraordinary ability might be able to impart some of the techniques of this ability to others.  The Pug-bear’s attack opened Dec’s mind, and he was able to transfer that to a lesser extent to Liz and also, but even less successfully, to Rudy. It makes sense that emotionally bonded couples would be more able to make such a connection. In the PEAR research at Princeton, emotionally bonded couples scored almost five percentage points higher on psychic-related tasks when working together.

So, that’s my answer. In a nutshell, I’m fully convinced that psychic abilities exist, and like other human abilities, it’s evident that humans can learn to use them and get better with practice.

In the second book of the series, Second Wave, Dec’s psychic ability also plays a large part. I could say more here, but I would end up spoiling the plot. Instead, I’ll simply comment that human psychic ability is something that I take for granted and often weave into my stories. More examples are the shamanistic journeys that Cadeyrin takes in Heart of Fire Time of Ice, and the spiritual experiences of Kathleen and other characters during their time travel episodes in other books in the Time Equation Series.

Namaste!
Eric Martell

Reviews for Heart of Fire Time of Ice

I’m going to post some of the reviews for Heart of Fire Time of Ice (A Time Equation Novel). It’s one of my best-selling books, and most readers leave positive reviews. However, like many books, it sometimes impacts readers the wrong way. A few readers absolutely hate the characters, the plot, the values in the story, and me for even daring to write such a story. The story has even been criticized for taking so long for the characters’ relationship to develop.

This used to bother me. Like every author out there, I want my babies—er, books—to be loved and enjoyed. Fortunately, I’ve made my living working with the general public for most of my life, and I know that some people aren’t going to like you, no matter how hard you try. Life got much easier for me when I learned that you can’t always please everyone.

What you can do is to create your best product, your best effort. That takes time and attention to detail. I’m still finding errors in my books despite having used a professional editor and gone over them many times. It’s incredible how easily today’s AI-based editorial systems make finding mistakes. Sometimes, they raise a stink about words or sentences you deliberately wrote in less-than-proper English. For example, some of my characters are not native English speakers and use odd constructions in their sentences. AI editors don’t like that and don’t seem inclined to learn not to flag it as wrong (at least at the current state of AI development).

I work hard to write my characters as realistically as possible. If a character has a certain personality hang-up, that will inform their actions until or unless they develop beyond that problem. Since I employ a positive character development arc, my MCs usually find a way to conquer their problems. To me, that’s part of the fun of writing. I get to create flawed personalities and then provide them with the circumstances necessary for them to cure their own problems.

In Heart of Fire, Time of Ice, I created Kathleen, but she soon took over the story on the strength of her character. She’s been suffering from rejection all of her life and is both emotionally and physically scarred. As a result, she has become reclusive, timid, and fearful. She buries herself in her physics studies in a vain attempt to hold the world at bay. At the time of the story, she’s moderately close to her mentoring professor. When he is murdered as a result of her discovery of a mathematical relationship buried in the very nature of time itself, she is overwhelmed with grief.

Circumstances, however, will not allow her time to heal. She’s suddenly snared in a trap of her own when she instinctively activates the time equation to escape the murderer. She gets away, but at what price? She is trapped in the Pleistocene—the last ice age—about thirteen thousand years ago. Suffice it to say that the environment, the beasts, and many of the humans of the time were less than welcoming.

She finds that her survival depends on her doing something she’s not prepared to do — develop a relationship with a handsome prehistoric hunter. She’s torn between wanting him to accept her and her past nature of flinching from all relationships. She also has an inbuilt prejudice against him, thinking that he’s an uneducated troglodyte, not realizing that education is only helpful to the extent that it enables an individual to better survive and deal with the environment they are in. Once she realizes how perfectly aligned he is with his environment, she feels unworthy and cannot see herself as adding anything to their relationship. She subconsciously feels that she must find something, anything, relevant to primitive survival that she can bring to him before she can view herself as a worthy partner.

Cadeyrin, for his part, is on what he views as his death journey. A sabertoothed cat killed his mate, his father was more recently killed in a mastodon hunt, and his entire tribe has been scattered by enemy attack. He’s been traveling alone, surviving through reflex, and waiting for something to kill him. When he saves Kathleen from another sabertooth, he begins to think that he might have a reason to continue living. The problem is that when he understands that she comes from a culture far advanced from his, he doubts that he will ever be able to live up to her standards. Nevertheless, he resolves to do his best to take care of her.

Together, the two encounter the challenges of the harsh environment just to the south of the ice wall of glaciers and gradually learn what it means to have a true partner. Then, in the face of another attack, the time equation provides a way out, but it threatens to separate them forever. Now, it’s up to Kathleen to fight her way through memory loss to become the decisive and self-confident woman who is nearer her true potential.

I can only give more information by risking spoiling some of the fun surprises in the story, so here are some of the reviews. The readers can tell their opinion without my interpretation:-)

By the way, I don’t like reviews that say nothing useful, e.g., “Not my style.” I wonder why you would bother to leave a review if it isn’t helpful to other potential readers.

First, here are the review statistics to date:
348 total reviews, 54% 5 stars, 25% 4 stars, 13% 3 stars, 4% 2 stars, 3% 1 star

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Entertaining Read
July 19, 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Enjoyable take on the time travel genre. Engaging characters. Like potato chips… bet you can’t read just one of this author’s novels. I rarely am engaged enough by a story to bother with next book in a series; this time was different and I really want to see what happens next. Kudos to the author.

5.0 out of 5 stars Review
July 19, 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

If you enjoy time travel romance with historical context, this is an enjoyable read. I especially like when the characters travel in different time zones & connect past, present & future.

3.0 out of 5 stars Slow-cooked Romance
July 18, 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

If you like your romance with a slow build and plenty of scene development and background, you will love this! I am used to something faster, but I did enjoy this one. 3 stars because I like a faster pace and more relationship development and sexual passion.

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! A definite recommend!
July 11, 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

What great world building — in both times. The characters leap off the pages, no two dimensional beings here! I enjoyed the combination of science, history, and survival skills. The author treats the readers with respect — we can figure the science, the strange sounding animals (yes, I googled some the terms & names). This is one book that keeps you interested all the way through without needing to “skip pages” past the boring parts. A definite recommend!

2.0 out of 5 stars Very weak main female character!!
July 10, 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I found this book had so much potential and possibility, and kept some of my interest as I kept reading, but the main character was simply too wussy! Too indecisive, too weak, and too neurotic.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very aptly titled….
July 8, 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Wow…it took me a little time to get into the meanings of our heroin’s profession and intelect…but once i figured that to be ‘Just the way it is’…..i really got into her adventures…her fears, and eventually her understanding of herself…loved the crossover of language and total blending of intelligence from the now and then….will love to continue on with the next books..

5.0 out of 5 stars I read all three books in this series. AMAZING story and characters,
July 4, 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This was truly a new type of adventure foe me. I love the characters and the story line is deep and goes beyond the norm in description of timelines. A very unique presentation of time travel. It was descriptive enough to give me a visual in my mind of how man lived and survived in the early time periods. It also presented a very real sense of taboo of this in present times and how some humans cannot be trusted to work for the good of all mankind. Very challenging topics.

5.0 out of 5 stars I read all five books in this series. AMAZING story and characters,
November 17, 2023 Holy Time Travel!!!
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

Seriously, this was such a great read! I thoroughly enjoyed every page. My only critique would be that the ending seemed rushed to me in comparison to the main body of the storyline. Still well deserving of 5 stars!

Finally, here’s an example of someone who did not like the story but failed to give any helpful feedback. I can only guess what set this reader off.

1.0 out of 5 stars WTH did I just read
July 4, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

Don’t bother. This is garbage.

Like I said before, “You can’t please everyone.” However, the readers who enjoy the story keep me writing, so thanks if you’re one of them!

Namaste!

Eric

FAPA Press Release for Pirates of the Asteroids — 2020 Award

Local Author Receives National Recognition

Lake Buena Vista, FL (8/1/2020) – The Annual 2020 Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s BookAwards recognized Pirates of the Asteroids by Eric Martell, in the category of Adult Science Fiction, as a Silver medal winner. Eric Martell’s Cyber-Witch: The Origins of Magic was awarded the same prize in 2018.

Hosted by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association, this prestigious national award is open to books published between 2018 and 2020. The judges for this national competition are librarians, educators, and publishing professionals.

“The FAPA President’s Book Award exists to promote excellence in the publishing industry by recognizing talented contemporary authors who put both heart and soul into their work. FAPA is proud to be a champion of authors and publishers going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect,” said Patti Jefferson, Past President of FAPA.

Pirates of the Asteroids is a science fiction story, published by Second Initiative Press, which tells the story of the inception of the asteroid belt community’s move for independence from a corrupt Earth government and sets up their struggle for freedom, detailedi in the follow up story: The Belter Revolution.

Due to CoVID-19, medalists were informed via email and a recorded presentation of the “ceremony”.

“We are proud to announce this year’s winners who truly embody the excellence this award was created to celebrate. Their works are representative of creative storytelling, bold concepts, and innovative ideas which make the President’s Book Awards so well respected by librarians and those in the publishing industry. We salute all of our winners for their fine work.” said FAPA’s President, Pat Standford.

The Florida Authors & Publishers Association is an organization for authors, publishers, illustrators, editors, printers, and other professionals involved in the publishing industry. It focuses on providing the highest quality of information, resources, and professional development to members and others interested in the writing and publishing profession.

FAPA Press Release for Dustfall’s 2021 Award

Florida Author Receives National Recognition

Lake Buena Vista, FL (7/31/2021) – The Annual 2021 Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s BookAwards recognized Dustfall by E. S. Martell, in the category of Adult Science Fiction, as a medal winner.

Hosted by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association, this prestigious national award is open to books published between 2019 and 2021. The judges for this national competition are librarians, educators, and publishing professionals.

“The FAPA President’s Book Award exists to promote excellence in the publishing industry by recognizing talented contemporary authors who put both heart and soul into their work. FAPA is proud to be a champion of authors and publishers going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect,” said Pat Stanford, Past President of FAPA.

Dustfall is an Adult Science Fiction novel, published by Second Initiative Press, which has an apocalyptic setting. Here is a brief description:

Interstellar dust is falling all over Earth, and humans are mutating into monsters. Raf can barely get enough food, and finding romance is the last thing in his mind. Then she shows up, and life suddenly isn’t worth living without her.

Now he wants her, she wants him, and the mutants want both of them – to eat!

The alien dust has begun to free the monsters hidden in Earth’s life forms, but will the two survive when the deadliest creature appears?

“We are proud to announce this year’s winners who truly embody the excellence this award was created to celebrate. Their works are representative of creative storytelling, bold concepts, and innovative ideas which make the President’s Book Awards so well respected by librarians and those in the publishing industry. We salute all of our winners for their fine work.” said FAPA’s President, Renee Garrison.

The Florida Authors and Publishers Association is an organization for authors, publishers, illustrators, editors, printers, and other professionals involved in the publishing industry. It focuses on providing the highest quality of information, resources, and professional development to members and others interested in the writing and publishing profession.

Science Fiction as it relates to Science

The title of this post may lead some readers to quip, “There is no relationship,” but I think it can be demonstrated that speculative science fiction can play a valuable role in scientific endeavors.

Let’s begin by considering the scientific method. It’s a mental tool that has evolved to explain the phenomena of nature. It is supposed to be used in a way that leads to testable predictions that humans can use to manipulate their environment in a reproducible way. The steps of the method involve creating a hypothesis – a thought story or explanation of an observed phenomenon. The hypothesis must fit well with other known facts related to the phenomenon. Tools such as Occam’s Razor are often applied to ensure the hypothesis is as simple as possible.

The primary criterion for a hypothesis is that it leads to testable predictions. If it can’t be tested, then its explanatory value is roughly akin to that of magic. Science generally doesn’t operate on the basis of “It happens because it happens” or “It happens because of a wizard who wants it that way.” For those who are so-minded, one can say, “It happens because the universe is so constituted,” but that still doesn’t fit the criteria for testability.

The hypothesis is used to create predictions, and then experiments are designed to (hopefully) test the predictions. I’m not going to delve into the problems with experimenter bias except to state that it exists and can innocently lead to mistaken assumptions about how to test the predictions. Of course, some are biased and intentionally design experiments to prove their bias is correct or even falsely report the data.

Modern science is vulnerable to such problems due to the selection of experiments with sexy, positive results for publication and the relationship of being published with tenure and grants. But, that’s a structural problem that can and mostly is overcome by careful and conscientious researchers. There can also be bias due to established scientific fables, which are believed by a consensus of scientists that later turn out to be incorrect.

When a hypothesis generates predictions that turn out to be correct, it can be woven into existing knowledge to create a scientific theory – a logically reasoned and self-consistent model.

The benefits of this approach are well known. In essence, modern society exists mainly due to our use of science to discover and manipulate reality.

Now that we’ve looked at what science is let’s pause for a moment to the point before a hypothesis is generated. This could be during the course of a scientist’s research, or it could stem from a novel question sparked by anyone’s curiosity. Here, speculative science fiction can step in, not just as entertainment, but as a potentially valuable tool for sparking curiosity and asking intriguing questions.

The science fiction genre covers all sorts of stories ranging from those that postulate fictional (and often impossible) worlds, those that deal with social issues such as gender identity or political structures, and those that deal with worlds that are more in line with the reality we’re presented with daily. Those latter forms of speculative science fiction can postulate devices, principles, and discoveries. Devices can range from communication devices (who knew that Captain Kirk’s communicator would end up as a personal cell phone with unlimited functions) to weapons such as rail guns, plasma cannons, etc., to spaceships of various types.

When read by the right person, speculative science fiction can ignite critical “what if” questions that might eventually lead to scientific discoveries. This, in turn, could pave the way for the creation of new tools, enabling humans to explore uncharted territories. The potential of speculative thought to generate novel hypotheses suggests that science fiction plays a significant heuristic role in human development.

In light of this potential role, I’ve attempted to create devices such as FTL engines, matter transporters, and weapons that are loosely related to current research or, at the minimum, speculative theories. However, I must admit, my crystal ball broke the day before I started writing, so I highly doubt that my fictional devices will come into existence – at least in the form that I’ve described in my books.