R.B. Thurman's Blog, page 7

Travel. Space Travel. (Part One)

In space, it has to be done. Somehow.  And while there are many methods of ‘travel,’ let’s focus on a detail often overlooked in space travel.

Just how far are we going?

Good question.  Actually, that is the question one should be asking.  The one thing rarely touched on in space travel is distance.  For a simple reason: it can become meaningless.  Does it matter that you’ve covered 700 quintillion light years in the last few minutes if you still have 12 septillions to go? Even if you’ve heard of those numbers, it doesn’t matter; the distance is rarely what projects the distance.

Time, however, can be more powerful.  I can conclude this by merely polling people’s preferred method of travel from Los Angeles to New York.  Of course, not everyone is from the US, so for diversity, let’s include a couple others: Cape Town, South Africa to Lagos, Nigeria, for those on the African Continent; Altay, China to Hong Kong for those in Asia; Paris, France to Moscow, Russian Federation in Europe; Perth, Australia to Melbourne for the Pacific Rim; and Bogota, Colombia to Brasilia, Brazil in South America.  I don’t think you have to travel these routes to consider what you would feel your preferred method of travel from point A to point 1. I’m gonna guess walking wasn’t your answer.

Why is that?  Why wouldn’t you want to walk these distances?  Think of the scenery you’d be missing, the landmarks you would pass, the scenic vistas and breathtaking views.

I’m gonna assume you’re not saying you wouldn’t walk it because you’re lazy like I am; I’m going to think you wouldn’t walk it because of time. Specifically, the time it would take to traverse the distance.

When I started writing the book, I used a ‘conventional’ measure of speed to project the distance and time covered, though later I considered wanting to avoid plagiarizing this method over making a better measure my own. Along with this, I would also consider what it is I’m trying to measure.

The reasoning was to give more scale to both our own galaxy and the star systems within.  Science Fiction has the trapping of relativizing the distances between things.  Stars, planets, galaxies – the distances being covered are just dismissed.

In this book, I made an effort to show the distances covered, without it being undemandingly lengthy. The measure of distance used is Light Years per Hour, or as the book refers to this, Kliks.

It is explained briefly here:

This vessel, named the TSCTessla, was on its 347th voyage from its homeworld of Earth, but only the third into this particular area of space. The TSCTesslawas a midsized deep space vessel, carrying a complement of seventy-eight restless crewmen. Although the exterior was refit to mask its age and update certain technologies, the dated interior clearly emphasized its lengthy service. In spite of its small size, it had an impressive array of weapons, rivaling armaments on larger battleships. It had a top speed of one-point-five light-years per hour (or one hundred fifty Kliks), although presently it cruised at sublight speeds.

Prologue

I thought I would give another number along with this one, to assure you this is not slow:  one light year covers 6 trillion miles.  So this ship is moving at about 9 trillion miles per hour!  That is not slow.

The scale of the universe prevents this from being a significant speed, as the star nearest to us, Proxima Centauri (in the Alpha Centauri system) is still about 3 hours away at this speed.  I would also point out that at this speed, it would also take 10-15 years to cross the Milky Way Galaxy. Maybe less, but shaving a year or two off won’t change the fact that THAT IS A LOOOONG TIME!

The story does have two shortcuts mentioned.  One is glazed over here:

Richard, smiling, gives up on the spot. “Well, it is an old yacht from the Viking series.” He looks around at the dimly lit and rather dusty room behind him. “It is not much to gaze upon, but it has a light drive, so I do not have to use the toll gateways.”

Richard

The ‘toll gateways’ are the first shortcut.  The book won’t go into much detail on them, because, well, Richard doesn’t use them.  And while the context could imply they work at a speed similar to the ‘light drive’ his ship uses, they do not.  They are faster.  But as the word ‘toll’ implies, there is a cost.

In the United States (and in some other countries) some roadways function like these gateways do in space; a faster way to get to another place, often a more direct route. Some of these routes may have a charge associated with their use.  The ‘toll’ is a cost for the benefit provided, usually a faster, shorter path.

The second shortcut is one I mentioned when I was talking about Joe: the Mass Displacement Drive. This drive as Richard points out:

“… in theory we could cross the Milky Way galaxy in a matter of seconds instead of ten to fifteen years with conventional light drives. This is an incredible breakthrough!”

The Mass Displacement Drive, or as it is later known the Fold Drive is a method of travel designed to mitigate distance.  As Richard explains, you will be able to cover vast distances in seconds.

What will this enable?

That seems like a silly question, but realize it can appear I’ve undermined the original premise of coming up with a plausible measure of speed. Next week we will touch on why these technologies are present when we look at the distances between the various planets mentioned.  When it comes to that, you probably see that I didn’t answer the question, since we didn’t even examine the distance between Earth and Alexandria.

Thanks for visiting!  If you enjoyed this post, please like and share! You can follow on Facebook, Tumblr, and please feel free to read excerpts from The Silent Invader @RB_Thurman (and follow!), in addition to the chapters I add here. If you prefer, you can also read my posts on Goodreads (I do a few book giveaways there, so you may want to check it out for that).  Your comments are welcome below.  Also, sign up on my contact page, and receive notifications for when the next blog arrives.

Me of the Month: April 2018

Novel writing was not my first avocation.  If anything, it never was going to be something I pursued with vigor.

I would actually prefer to write (and illustrate) a graphic novel.  I was seeking to publish a monthly and had I succeeded, it would likely be wrapping up about now (to give some perspective, I would start about 2-4 years after Spawn was published).  When it came to character development, the characters for my graphic novel were more exhaustively developed than the ones for my tome (at the time.  I would invest more in the book, but it was still secondary to the graphic novel at this point).  I would start with four principal characters, and as the series developed, a few others would be introduced, before the over-arching story would begin to become clear.

The story was set in a period shortly after a nuclear holocaust encompassing everyone and everything, referred to as ‘the event.’  After ‘the event,’ some children born exhibited unusual abilities and ‘powers,’ (the typical superhero kind), and these would be harnessed and cultivated to counter the growing threat from a dangerous element possessing such powers for a more nefarious end.

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If you are noticing a few parallels to my novel, to the back-story of Earth, that’s not by accident.  The two were in development, and even at times on parallel tracks.  I would move from the graphic novel story and back to the novel, treating the graphic novel as the ancient historical markers for events that the textual volume may only glance over.  Roughly 100-150 years separate the two, so there was no reason to think the ‘history’ would be perfectly preserved.

It also helped define a timeline for when the novel could start, and when the graphic novel would end. I think the ‘history’ in the graphic novel would also point to opportunities for various non-Terran species to interact with humanity and introduce them to the universe I had developed.  One I developed (and will discuss a little later) would be featured rather pervasively in the graphic novel because of their seeming ‘presence’ in the universe.  But by the time of the novel, they would seem to be absent.

This being a graphic novel, one of the areas where I spent a lot of time was their appearance.  The first four were probably not very typical, even in the late twentieth century.  Let me elaborate on one of the characters.

This character would not be ‘born’ with powers, like many of the super children, but would be ‘given’ them, through some concoction created from the scientific understanding of how the event affected the children with super-human abilities.  While that would prove to create an unusual dynamic for her (her talents would prove unreliable so she would compensate in other ways to avoid using them), I think what I liked most about this character was her heritage.  Her mother was a Hispanic executive assistant in Mexico City who would pursue a relationship (that would ultimately fail) with the Japanese executive she assists.  So, without thinking too hard, what does that make her ancestry?

The focus of the development of each of my characters for the graphic novel was more on their appearance than who they were and what they did. I was drawing them, so it was essential to know what each would look like, and how they would be distinctive.

My creativity, however, overwhelmed the resources needed to produce this graphic novel, as I have mentioned before, I was broke. Working on the two projects together did give me more ideas on character interactions and even story development.

I’m sorry, this blog was supposed to be about me!

Um, I wanted to draw a comic book. But, I didn’t.

Yup, that’s enough of me. Next week, the theories of space travel, according to The Silent Invader.

Thanks for visiting!  If you enjoyed this post, please like and share! You can follow on Facebook, Tumblr, and please feel free to read excerpts from The Silent Invader @RB_Thurman (and follow!), in addition to the chapters I add here. If you prefer, you can also read my posts on Goodreads (I do a few book giveaways there, so you may want to check it out for that).  Your comments are welcome below.  Also, sign up on my contact page, and receive notifications for when the next blog arrives.

Everyone else.

I thought I would mention a couple others you will see in the novel.  But, to be clear, I didn’t ‘explore’ the galaxy in this novel, simply because the story didn’t allow me to.  Though, Richard did travel a lot more than this remark would imply.

The first place we will visit is Camelot.  You know, that Camelot:

This morning, we went into orbit of Camelot, the fourth planet in orbit of a star named Excalibur. Although Joe thinks it does, whatever significance the name of this star has on this planet eludes me. Oh well, I cannot know all of it.

Richard

This is a planet where two groups of non-Terrans live.  The parties are in conflict when Richard arrives, though this doesn’t seem to be the biggest concern regarding the melee for Richard, as he discusses the matter with another character:

“Well, this tells me a lot!” She stands up and turns to face Richard. “Well, Prince, it looks like we have a civil dispute to suppress before I can get started. And we have thirty-six hours to do it.”
They move onto the chair. Richard questions her statement. “There is a civil dispute, is there not?”
“Well, that’s putting it lightly.” She leans toward him, lowering her voice. “The way the Pact likes to make anything sound. They rarely emphasize a matter, so anyone overhearing would think lightly of it.” When they reach the top, they step off. They start toward another compound, to the left of the one they were in. “Actually, it’s a full-scale war. The dispute is between two factions, the Thelka and the Invenorigg.” Upon reaching the door, the admiral whips out a card, inserting it into the slot on her left. The door opens. “The Pact, in all its wisdom, chose the side doing the worst and decided to build an alliance with them.” They enter a hallway, one that leads to a set of stairs descending into the ground.
“I do not understand. Are they not supposed to be allies with the Pact?” Richard inquires.
“I can’t say I was in the loop on the decision. All I know is they wanted us to set up base as fast as we could. They only sent us out here about a month ago, and we didn’t have information on who we were aligned with. So I was told to approach the leaders of the Thelka and offered them support. They were all too happy to accept.” They enter the facilities connected to the stairs. The room is filled with more computers, noisily going about their business. The personnel seeing to the computer’s needs, look up occasionally at the pair rapidly moving through the maze of technology.
“But what would that accomplish? To be clear, they are losing!” Richard yells, trying to speak over the insistent computers.

While this may present a problem, this isn’t the only one to be had with their ‘allies.’  While my goal here is mainly to introduce the Thelka, Richard is given this impression of those they defend, by a Terran officer named John:

“I do have one question: how dangerous would you consider this trek? I guess should have already asked this.”
“No danger whatsoever!” assures John, gesturing grandly with his arms and hands. “The natives in the jungle are extremely friendly! And there are no predators in there, either.” John pauses. “Why?”
“Because I wanted to take my wife along. She is wanting to see more of the planet, and I thought this would be her chance.”
“No problem! Bring her along as well! This’ll give us more people to talk to along the way!” John bellows.

Richard & John

I want to insist on reiterating a point I made earlier with Richard. Don’t assume anything about anything, especially when it is shared without evidence in the novel. It seemed I wasn’t opposed to presenting how knowledgeable or ignorant a party can be, without giving context as to what you should assume about what this party should know.

While I could go on, I’ll allow you to decide where the story goes from here regarding the Thelka.  The second party I want to bring up actually introduces themselves before you meet the Thelka:

She turns back to the computer, the screen she sat in front of suddenly changes, displaying the seal of the Pact. “Finally!” She exhales in impatience.
The seal fades out to a humanoid, wearing a uniform of a planetary ambassador member of the Pact. His voice is deep, hinting of arrogance. As Richard listens to the exchange, observing his colorful facial tattoos and three anodized metal rings on his head, each a different metallic color and embellished with metal leaves, thinks he might be of the Taxalian Republic. “Good evening, Admiral Kershaw. As the director of operations over your present assignment, I must formally introduce myself. I am Ambassador Telvin Klek of the People’s Republic of Taxal. It is my responsibility to inform you of your mission. The person who delivered this message, a representative of the Alexandrian Empire, already has information pertaining to this mission; however, his presence is only as an observer, not to interfere or provide further details to you concerning the nature of this top secret mission. He will be assisting you in suppressing the civil dispute on the planet in order for there to be no distractions from the task at hand.”

Our ambassador is also not from earth, a non-Terran from another planet aligned with the Pact.  I presented this person to reflect that while there are many other planets, both aligned with Earth, and some aligned with the Tyberian Empire, they do each have their qualities.  Qualities that will present themselves as the story develops in the book and even further in the series.

Next week, I’ll bore you with more stuff about me, but after that, we’ll talk about some of the technology employed in the book, along with how travel between planets (in a timely manner) is possible.

Thanks for visiting!  If you enjoyed this post, please like and share! You can follow on Facebook, Tumblr, and please feel free to read excerpts from The Silent Invader @RB_Thurman (and follow!), in addition to the chapters I add here. If you prefer, you can also read my posts on Goodreads (I do a few book giveaways there, so you may want to check it out for that).  Your comments are welcome below.  Also, sign up on my contact page, and receive notifications for when the next blog arrives.

Tess.

Tess is the final person Richard is able to add to his group before he receives some bad news.

Tess Coronado is a resident of a planet named Feldspar.  Feldspar has a unique history relative to Alexandria and many of the other worlds that are in or near the Tyberian Empire.  Richard succinctly relates:

Feldspar is one of the few republics existing in our part of the galaxy that was not at one point in time under the Thorvus Empire.

While I have touched on the influence of The Thorvus Dominion in other blogs, what makes this significant is both why they were never conquered, and how encompassing the Thorvus Dominion was.  As Richard had mentioned earlier, this domain was more vast than the current Tyberian Empire.  Thousands of years prior, and with ships, it would reason less capable than what is built in the era of the book.

What else does Richard share about Feldspar?  Its main industries:

Feldspar is home to the Key Titanium mines, the largest mines in this quadrant. They pull enough titanium out of there in a day to build fourteen luxury-class ships almost six miles long! That is a lot of titanium!

I could ask if that’s a lot of titanium for a single planet to pull from a mine in a single day.  Of course, the dimensions and approximate tonnage of titanium needed for each ship would likely be essential to know, and if anyone would care to put a pencil to the number, you can respond in the comments below.  I will say it is unlikely the ship would be built to be ‘lighter’ (i.e., using the lighter titanium to substitute for steel’s strength). I would personally think with this ‘abundance’ titanium could be used more than steel or similar metals would, possibly keeping the vessel at a weight similar to steel, but with other advantages expected (greater strength, possibly larger spaces within, in relation to using steel or aluminum).  In a later post, I might guess what the weight of such a ship would be, and give everyone an idea of the amount of titanium I refer to.  I’ll also try to get an idea of how much is mined on earth.

Why this is important has to do with Feldspar itself.  Tess, while discussing the finances of her world, will share that mining titanium is not the only thing Feldspari do:

“Well, actually, most of it goes to the people of Feldspar, as far as better roads for transportation, better medical centers, better educational centers, and things like that.” She shrugs her shoulders. “Whatever’s left is enough to fund research into better ship designs and alternative uses for the titanium.”

Tess

Titanium is central to the economy of Feldspar, it would appear, especially when you have a castle like this:

The ship lands near a massive fortification on the peak of a mountain known as GreiMetel Mountain. The fortification, built two hundred and fifty years earlier, is made entirely of titanium, save a few decorative marble and granite details. The landing site near the edge of the plateau is covered with reinforcing titanium plates.

Even taking into account the amounts of titanium referenced before, the idea of building a castle, likely BLOCKS of titanium, can seem absurd.  So, they have a lot of titanium.

What about Tess?  Who is she?

Richard invites his cousin.  Not because of Ana, since she’s really the only other ‘girl,’ and not just because she’s family.  Richard briefly mentions why in this passage:

I have cousins on Feldspar. Tess, the oldest daughter of my aunt, is about my age. And then there are some other ones. But Tess is the only one of import, because she was with me in school.

Like Richard, she also went to school on Earth. So they shared this experience.

Of course, if you’ve read the synopsis of my book, Richard has his plans changed.  Can you guess who shares that little nugget of insight? I’ll give you a hint:

“Wow! How did you manage to talk your dad out of this ship? A ship with a light drive, even an old one, is tough to secure.” She brushes back her reddish-blond hair. “But one from the Viking series!”
“Well, I guess I am a capable negotiator,” Richard leans back in his chair, proud of this feat.
“Can I ride with you back home? I want to see your ship!”
Richard leans forward. “Oh, I am not going home in the neartime. I am traversing the galaxy in search of coolness.”
Tess displays a look of surprise, wrinkling her eyebrows. “You’re kidding, right?”
Richard, now mildly confused, thinks for a moment. “That is my plan in any case. Is there something I should be remembering?”
Tess laughs, shaking her head. “I can’t believe you don’t know! You would manage to be the last person informed of the most important event in your life!”
Richard’s confusion begins to multiply exponentially. “I do not understand. What are you referring to? If it was important, I am sure I would have—” He instantly recalls something she’s probably referring to.
“Your wedding! You know it’s been arranged for the past, what, twelve hundred years!” She pauses, still grinning. “I thought you came here to get us!” Tess stops for a moment, noticing the color has left Richard’s face. “Are you well, Richie?”

Tess & Richard

Tess gets to share the ‘news’ with Richard, though it doesn’t look like she knew she would.  Of course, Tess, being family, wants to help:

“Richard, it’s not the end of your life. You know, she might be a nice girl, and it might work out in the end.” As she says it, she pauses, dwelling on the words. She releases her smirk starting to frown instead.
“Yeah, it could,” he says, trying to stay optimistic. “But I do not know.” He folds his arms. “This whole wedding is a silly idea, if you ask me.”
“Well,” she says, thinking for a moment, “it’s to benefit both Alexandria and Thorvus-Maxia. By bringing you two together, it will finally unite your planets for the first time in fifteen hundred years.” Tess looks around for more reasons. “I mean, you both have the same background. It’s not as though you’re marrying a total stranger.” Tess stops and bites her bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I meant…”
Richard waves his hand, smiling a little to comfort her. “No, it is of minor concern, I know you are trying to help.” He refolds his arms. “My family has been trying to convince me this is inevitable as distant as I can remember.”

While she does make an effort to comfort him, you’ll have to read to find out how effective her efforts were.

It is also worth noting that since she is Feldspari (Richard’s ‘aunt’ obviously married into another family), and I will reveal that she does indeed join Richard when he assumes his official duties as a captain of a ship, how does this affect her role?  I’ve quoted Richard already speaking to the independence of Feldspar from Alexandria.  So while Tess is indeed in a command role on a Tyberian ship below Richard, she clarifies that:

“Feldspar recognizes the crown and its prince! We don’t serve them, or him.  On this ship, he’s just my cousin,” she snaps.

What would prompt a comment like this?  I guess you’ll have to get the book and see for yourself. (Book!) I only briefly touched on Tess, by way of introduction, but if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll get to see more of her, especially when dealing with the threat Richard faces.  We’ll revisit her soon.

Next week, we’ll briefly touch on a few other non-Terrans mentioned in The Silent Invader, along with a few locations visited.  Until then, please enjoy chapter 3 of The Silent Invader, and Tess’ introduction in the story.

Thanks for visiting!  If you enjoyed this post, please like and share! You can follow on Facebook, Tumblr, and please feel free to read excerpts from The Silent Invader @RB_Thurman (and follow!), in addition to the chapters I add here. If you prefer, you can also read my posts on Goodreads (I do a few book giveaways there, so you may want to check it out for that).  Your comments are welcome below.  Also, sign up on my contact page, and receive notifications for when the next blog arrives.

The King and Queen.

I Introduce King Mordecai and Queen Anastasia Tyberius.

First, the queen.

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Queen Anastasia Rochelle Macabee-Tyberius, hearing of his arrival to Alexandria, awaits him at the entrance. She hugs him as he reaches the doorway. Richard blushes.
“I am so proud of my son! He will be married by this time tomorrow!” Seeing her son is now trying to smile and squirm away, she lets go. Ana and Tess look away, trying to hide her grins.
“Hi, Mom,” Richard says, still smiling at his mother. His mother pauses, smiling and nodding, finally grasping one of his arms.
After waiting a few moments, she chooses to break the silence. “So are you excited? Tomorrow is your big day!”
Richard’s smile disappears as he lets out a deep sigh. “Yeah,” he says quietly, “excited.”
Still smiling, she shakes her head. “Richard, what is wrong? You can tell me.”
Richard fakes a smile. “Nothing, I will be fine.”

The Queen & Richard

The queen makes her entry into the story early in the book.  However, it seems she merely ‘appears’ in the story.  I think I wanted her to be present in his life, but I can’t speak to why she is in there so briefly.  I really don’t remember.  But, like all the other characters in the book, she has a story, too.  In fact, given everything that could develop over the course of the series, it may be fun to explore that.

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But for now, our queen is obviously a mother, and given this is her only child, there is likely an attachment there unlike that of mothers with more kids (I’m speaking in observable ignorance; I’m not a mom).  She is looking forward to his wedding, though for reference, this isn’t something he is looking forward to.  This succinct inquiry and what follows basically represents her brief impact on his life.

Of course, there is a lot that can be read into their exchange (this isn’t all of it; you’ll have to read the book for more), but she’s there.

And then there is the King.

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His entrance to the story is a little different, and has a different effect on Richard:

King Mordecai Tyberius stares intently at the copper-toned ship setting down on the tarmac before him. He folds his arms, his finger tapping his arm as the gantry lowers.
Richard steps off the Spartacus, his friends following. He sees his father, the king, is there to welcome him. On each side of the king are security officials wearing the standard-issue security uniforms, a double-breasted silver jacket, two rows of gold buttons up the middle of the chest on either side of center, trimmed in gold with ceremonial tails on the jackets, along with gold epaulettes and fringing, and the appropriate rank insignia marked in white thread. The pants, a wide gold strip of finely embroidered ribbon runs the length of them, each with a gold sheathed sword, less than half a meter, tied to the leg opposite the king. Each stands at attention, their hand on the hilt of their sword. They each bow as Richard approaches, their hand never leaving the hilt. “Son,” he says, now approaching Richard, “you really need to understand the seriousness of this wedding. This is more than just a dinner party you can walk in on late.”
Richard ignores his comment. “Glad to see you too, Father. How is Mother? That is good to hear.”

The King & Richard

If you read about Richard, you would understand where this tension originates.  But, as is learned later by Richard, the actions of his father were deemed necessary.  At this point, Richard doesn’t know the import or seem to care.

I’ve seen from personal experience that parents will often make decisions their children might not like, but for their benefit.  Of course, the child will express disdain for this, but the parents hope they will appreciate this later.  The book is not written from the viewpoint of his parents, but you will see him in the book, and get his view of what transpires.

I started with them because they are only in the book briefly.  I imagine this could be interpreted as a written manifestation of something I felt as I wrote, maybe about my parents.  I can appreciate why that could be the case.  You’ll have to read for yourself whether the novel can convince you of that about me since I can assure you much of what was written (about 98-99 percent) was written before this century, about 95 percent was written by 1997.  So you’ll have to judge for yourself.

There is actually only one other main character who is not from Earth in this novel.  There are other non-humans; they’re just not main characters.  We’ll touch on a few of them this month, just to show a little more of the universe the story occupies.  Next week though, we’ll get to talk about Richard’s cousin, who joins him on the adventure.  As a preview, this week (on 3/15/2018), I will release Chapter 3, and you will get your first glimpse of Tess.  Consider it a quick intro to my blog for next week.

Thanks for visiting!  If you enjoyed this post, please like and share! You can follow on Facebook, Tumblr, and please feel free to read excerpts from The Silent Invader @RB_Thurman (and follow!), in addition to the chapters I add here. If you prefer, you can also read my posts on Goodreads (I do a few book giveaways there, so you may want to check it out for that).  Your comments are welcome below.  Also, sign up on my contact page, and receive notifications for when the next blog arrives.

Me of the Month: March 2018

I’m told people like to learn about the author of their books, their life, and inspiration for their books.  Today, they may even want to know what that author is like, or know their interests to better understand how that contributed to the book.

And while I’ve personally shared much of the development of the book here, here, here, and here,  some want a little more.

Starting this month, I will share a little more.  Of me.

To start, I don’t like to share.  At all.  It was a struggle for me to even share that with you.  And if you want to get to know the author of this book, you would need a time machine.  I’ve changed a little since then, though I can remember who this guy was anyway (I’ve met him a few times).  It seems a good point to start there.

Who was R. B. Thurman?

At the time of the completion of this book, I was broke.  In the sense that I was working a little, and not making much doing it. Writing helped fill some of my extra time.  Despite how slow I type, writing actually didn’t take that long, compared to editing.  Editing was such a chore, I couldn’t focus enough on it to be effective.  I enlisted the aid of a few friends to help me.  One particular friend who helped at the time derived great pleasure finding word choices that were amusing, even though the scene would indicate amusement was not the sought-after emotion to be evoked.

Since editing was a chore, and I would soon after dispose of my computer (writer’s block, duh. doesn’t everyone do that?), I printed them a copy to look over. Actually, I printed several over the years, but it is interesting that by this point, I was printing it in 100-page allotments.  And it took weeks for them to review them (they’re not a pro; they’re just a friend helping out).  Printing was relatively cheap, so going to a Kinkos (now, FedEx Office) to print this stuff made sense, versus buying my own printer (because why would I buy a printer?  I have no money for that!)

[image error]I still needed work.  Work that paid better than the employment I had.  That’s when I joined … the Corporate American Workplace.  I choose not name the place because it doesn’t matter; they’re all surprisingly similar.

The Corporate American Workplace was assured to pay better than my previous job so, why not, let’s give it a try.  Now, in case you’re wondering, no my first job at the Corporate American Workplace was not in management (Seriously?  I’m a writer/artist! I have no skills of interest to a 20th cent. Corporate American Workplace!)

The Corporate American Workplace was surprisingly hard to apply for when you don’t know how to contact them about the job offer.  This is before the internet was useful and ubiquitous, so job search engines could tell you someone was offering a job at a Corporate American Workplace maybe 6 months ago, and maybe still are, but they won’t actually connect you with that Corporate American Workplace.  They don’t do that kind of research, provide that kind of assistance.  You have to look into the ‘phone book,’ dial a ‘phone number,’ and ‘speak’ to someone about your interest in an opportunity at their Corporate American Workplace.

Compared to today, it is surprising I ever found work, let alone this job.  The interview/screening process was particularly exhaustive.  The Corporate American Workplace (let’s call them CAW for now) relished the idea of giving a test of ‘competence’ for the job in question, screening applicants well before any job offer were made.  CAW didn’t want to waste their time training you for the job, so they pre-empted firing you for incompetence by testing you for it instead. It seemed to add a middle-man, but okay.

Once you passed the test for CAW, CAW then calls you (using the ‘phone.’ It was common to speak to them then), and conducts an interview.  Once again, adding a middle-man to the hiring process.  These interviews by CAW (yes, there was more than one) seemed more an opportunity to be enthusiastic about the idea of working for CAW, without actually knowing much about what that entails.  Also, it seemed that many of the questions used by CAW interviewers were designed to ensure uniformity and compliance. Of the interviewer it would seem, not the interviewee.  Do you really think I will be unable to provide my work history? I’m still working as I apply for this job!  I think I can remember at least that place. ‘My overall work experience?’  I’m young and dumb, I haven’t had a chance to ‘experience’ yet.  But, give it time.

After CAW decided that my tests scores were good, and my interview was acceptable, CAW decided to see if I could type as its final insult.  You know, the one thing I can’t do well.  Fortunately, the bar was surprisingly low for this, sitting on a coffee cup off the floor, and that’s what I had to clear.  My typing score was awful, don’t get me wrong; the score I needed though represented an unrealistically low clearance.  Even for me, I could’ve taken lunch in the middle of the typing test, and probably passed (Why have a test like this!?!!)  And yes, CAW ‘fired’ a few over even this.

After CAW finally allowed the (cream? ice? dross?) to rise to the top, CAW decided to offer me a job.  Now came the fun part.  ‘Yes we want to hire you, but not today.  In 6 weeks. Maybe. We’ll be in touch.’  Thanks, CAW.

[image error]Now, as hard as it was to get a job with CAW, I did get paid pretty well (Okay, I got paid really well!).  But, CAW preferred that you didn’t do certain things. Like use your vacation time at the time/place of your choosing, or decide not to work overtime because you need to ‘do something else.’

“What?” Says CAW. “‘Do something else?’ There is nothing else! There is only CAW!” (Link to an excerpt from a typical Human Resources meeting on the defined ethical uses of company toiletries.)

Yeah.  Fun times to be had at CAW.  I worked a few years with CAW and chose another route.  At the time, I didn’t appreciate just how much I made, and hard it was to replace that compensation from CAW (I was still young, still dumb.  But I did get ‘experience’ from it).

The upside?  It did allow me to buy a printer (and yes, another computer!)  No more FedExKinkos (now, FedEx Office) printouts!

My story is boring you.  But that’s not by accident; I am boring.  Let’s talk about something more interesting.  Like the all the non-earthlings in our book.  I will start with Richard’s parents, since they are there briefly, and give a frame of reference to his actions.

Thanks for visiting!  If you enjoyed this post, please like and share! You can follow on Facebook, Tumblr, and please feel free to read excerpts from The Silent Invader @RB_Thurman (and follow!), in addition to the chapters I add here. If you prefer, you can also read my posts on Goodreads (I do a few book giveaways there, so you may want to check it out for that).  Your comments are welcome below.  Also, sign up on my contact page, and receive notifications for when the next blog arrives.

Ana.

Ana is an extra.  She wasn’t supposed to be here, yet here she is.  Ok, why is she here?

Well, it’s complicated:

“Hello, my name is Ana Santiago,” she softly announces.
Richard unfolds his arms, thinking for a moment. “I cannot say I am clear on your relationship with him,” he inquires. “Please clarify, are you military?”
Ana smiles coyly. “Of course, silly. I’m his shrink!”
Maice cringes. “That is not your official title!” he mutters in a highly restrained tone.

Ana & Maice

Ana, the first main female character in the book, introduces herself and succeeds in upsetting her charge in less than fifteen words.  But, she is aware of the circumstances she finds herself suddenly in:

Ana shakes her head, after sipping her latte. “I can’t say I’m interested in going on such a testosterone-filled adventure”—she glances over at Maice, noting a smile creeping onto his face— “but I don’t see I have much choice.”

Ana

What brings her into the picture?  It concerns why Maice is on leave:

Richard unfolds his arms, thinking for a moment. “I cannot say I am clear on your relationship with him,” he inquires. “Please clarify, are you military?”
Ana smiles coyly. “Of course, silly. I’m his shrink!”
Maice cringes. “That is not your official title!” he mutters in a highly restrained tone.
Ana looks back at him in disappointment. “Well, ‘military counselor’ is too vague. It’s not as if you really value my opinion on anything!”
Maice refolds his arms, turning up his nose at Ana. “I don’t believe your functions on my behalf need to be public knowledge. From now on, I demand you inform others of your official title, not some fictitious one you’ve made up for the moment!”
Ana shakes her head. “For your information, you are not my superior, and you have no business giving me orders! And second of all, I think I have a right to inform your travel companions of what I’m doing here, so they can know what kind of person you really are!”
“You think I’m some sort of crazed lunatic in need of psychiatric help! Considering how little you actually know about me, I find your opinion on the matter worthless!”

Richard, Ana & Maice

Tempers flare quickly over her simple introduction, and it seems Maice would like more ‘separation’ between them.  If this arrangement seems unusual to you, remember I wrote this when I was younger, so procedures for treating a ‘patient’ like this would’ve been beyond me.  But, I would also point out that their arrangement may be more than it seems.

Let me share two examples.  The first is just prior to Richard’s wedding.  Ana and Maice are discussing their preparations for the event.  More specifically, his preparations:

Maice stops at the entrance. “Now what are we getting?” He glares intensely at Ana. “What are you possibly going to need from here?”
Ana stops, turning on her toes to face Maice. “Well, I don’t need anything from here, but you might.” He turns away from her as she put her hands on her hips. “For the wedding, remember?” Maice crosses his arms in defiance. “Maice, you have to wear a tuxedo.”
“No! I’m not wearing that! I can wear my service dress uniform!” He turns his back on the store, ready to walk away. Ana comes up behind him.
“Maice,” Ana says sternly, but with her voice still very soft, “the reason why you have been showing such poor progress recently is because you are resisting me all the time. You need to learn to compromise a little.” Maice turns around, his arms still crossed.
Her voice becomes a little less adamant, expressing more compassion. “Maice, I’m not trying to change you. I’m just asking for you to please cooperate with me on this. I’m sure you appreciate Richard’s invitation to his wedding…” She looks over to Richard. He nods in agreement. “So the least you could do is dress accordingly.”
Maice unfolds his arms. “All right,” he says defensively, “I’ll wear the suit.” He points a thumb at himself. “But I’m choosing which one I’m gonna wear!”
Ana smiles. “I want you to.” Ana turns around, moving back to one of the racks. She glances briefly at Maice, looking him up and down completely. She turns to the rack, immediately plucking a tuxedo from the assortment. “How about this one?”
Maice moves closer to her to get a better look at it. He starts to nod his head, then quickly shakes it, walking away.  He walks back again, getting still closer, touching the fabric and checking the seams before stepping back and folding his arms, groaning. He looks at Ana. “Well, um, what do you think?” he asks.
“I like it.”
Maice nods. “I guess I’ll take this one.”
Ana smiles, patting him on the shoulder. “See? That wasn’t so bad!” Maice stands tall for a moment, his face beaming.

So helpful!  What would he do without her?  The second is at the wedding, while locating a seat:

Reaching the midpoint, Richard stops. He turns back to the group. “The rest of the seating from this point is for the family.”
Ana frowns. “Oh, well,” she sighs. “I guess I’ll have to try to get a picture from the aisle, seeing how I’ll need binoculars to see the stage!” Seeing two seats, deep within the rows, Ana prepares squeeze her way to them.
Seeing Ana wants to sit on his row, the gentleman at the end of the row stands, gesturing for Ana to stop. He then motions for the others to move down to fill in the opening. As they shuffle down, Ana looks back to Richard. “What are they doing?” she asks.
Richard smiles. “They are giving you a place to sit.” He looks up seeing everyone in the row is now settled. “The aisles from here to the back of the hall are too narrow to walk down. This is easier.”
Ana smiles. “Wow! An end chair! Now I can get a really good picture of the bride!” She quickly shoves Maice into the row, plopping herself down on the end seat. Maice is barely settled before she tosses him her purse, having extracted a camera. Maice looks at the purse, then at Ana, taking a deep breath. She turns back, now smiling coyly. “Thank you for holding it for me.” Maice looks at Richard, shooing him away from his embarrassment.

When  I wrote the initial draft, I was trying to figure out what I wanted from these two for a long time. Trying to determine what their relationship was, outside of what seems to bring them together.  I realized as the book continued, there was a lot more than I could reveal in only this book about them, and since they’re not central to the story (in this book, at least), there was only so much I can share of their interactions.  But, like the others, I though carefully about who they are, and how they would react to each other, and everyone else.

I would also point out another thing that could be missed (I obviously did, when I wrote this):  These two are serve in a Military capacity to their home government, and one is now serving as an escort to a foreign power.  This may not seem like that big a deal, since they’re friends.  But it clearly was something I didn’t realize at first.

Of course, Ana’s unique set of skill makes her invaluable even to Richard, since he is needing help learning about the problems his new wife faces.  In one particular scene, Ana avails herself to assisting Richard:

Once the music stops and the audience applauds the couple’s moment, she curtsies and quickly runs off. Richard stands dumbfounded in the middle of the floor before deciding to pursue.
Ana, noticing how quickly Rebecca darts away from the floor, decides to follow her as well. Ana meets with Richard in front of a restroom entrance Rebecca enters. Richard looks at Ana. She folds her arms. “Is something wrong?” she asks.
He looks down at the floor for insight. “I need to ask a favor of you,” he starts, looking up. “Rebecca has a profound fear of space travel!”
“Well, doesn’t it seem like a dumb idea to have the reception here then?” she snaps, wildly gesturing to the dance floor.

Ana, unlike Maice, is not beyond sharing her feelings.  And while my previous blog on him may seem to indicate he volunteers a lot, you may want to read more than the hundred or so words from the book in that post to decide that.  And while she does get along with some, she has conflict with others in the book, too.

Next month we’ll look at some of the others who interact with Ana (and the others!), and where these call home.  I’ll start with the few non-humans that are featured in this book, and a few others.  That’s because in April, we will talk more about something else entirely.

With that, next week, we’ll get a jump on talking about something that has nothing to do with the story and characters of The Silent Invader.  Next week, we’ll talk about me.

Thanks for visiting!  If you enjoyed this post, lease like and share! You can follow on Facebook, Tumblr, and please feel free to read excerpts from The Silent Invader @RB_Thurman (and follow!), in addition to the chapters I add here. If you prefer, you can also read my posts on Goodreads (I do a few book giveaways there, so you may want to check it out for that-I’m hoping to feature one for my overseas fans. Stay tuned).  Your comments are welcome below.  Also, sign up on my contact page, and receive notifications for when the next blog arrives.

Maice.

This is Maice Bendix:

In any case, in my efforts to locate other lost long friends, I have located Maice Bendix. Maice and I used to be on our American-style football school team. While I held a minor position on the team, he had admired my dedication to the game. I found this particularly encouraging, considering he was the MVP the year we graduated, if that gives you any idea of his skill in the sport. He had expressed an interest in law enforcement or the military or doing something involving combat in some form. Joe heard he was attending a military college somewhere in Iraq. In any case, he went into the Terran military, and we lost contact.

Richard

Maice is a study in contrasts when it comes to friends.  While I didn’t touch on this with Joe, I will state that these two do not have a great deal of interests in common.  Which, is not impossible.  I can’t say that everyone I count as a friend, were friends with all the others.  Some simply didn’t know the others; some never had the opportunity to know them like I did.  And while I certainly brought many of them together at times, it was usually on things we all had in common.  Or, it helped to have something in common.

Now, the book makes it clear that some time passes between when he finished school on earth, and when he returns.  Even the comment above implies that, since he lost contact.

So, does time have any effect on this friendship?  I present exhibit A:

Maice turns to his left, hearing footsteps on the linoleum nearing himself. He looks down at the young men stopping near. “Can I help you?” he asks.
Richard smiles. “Hey, Maice! How is it going?” Maice adjusts his deep-tinted shades, still staring quietly at Richard. “It is me—Richard,” Richard adds, hoping to trigger a dormant memory. Maice raises an eyebrow.
Failing to recall himself to Maice’s memory, Richard tries a different approach. “We played American-style football together in high school?”

Richard & Maice

Richard clearly has not forgotten his friend. Maice, well … let’s say he’s distracted for now.

I can assure you Maice knows Richard, and even remembers him, since he is willing to join this adventure.  However, when I say Joe and Maice are a study in contrasts, I will share what was a surprising insight I give into the thinking of Maice:

Within an instant, he identifies it as a midsized commercial freighter, the type normally ferrying goods between Earth and Mars. As it nears the runway, Maice mentally critiques the pilot’s sloppy approach, the heavy freighter lightly swaying to and fro. Maice shakes his head as the freighter plops onto the runway, thinking of how much wear the landing gear must be getting from such abusive landings. He looks up, noting another aircraft approaching.
Maice smiles, instantly knowing what it is: a military deep space fighter. Since these normally are on patrol near the orbit of Pluto, or even further, Maice knows what a rare privilege seeing one touchdown Earth side is. Maice is aware of the grueling training these pilots must go through before they are even allowed near one of these special ships. Maice’s smile broadens as it makes its approach—a near textbook approach with little or no correction needed to guide the ship onto the runway. As it touches down, Maice takes notes as the front wheel gently plants on the center of the runway stripe.

Maice

As I was editing this, I was curious why I allowed the narrator to be so invasive, but as I consider how he develops as a character, this proved to be an interestingly direct insight. Maybe even the only one in this book, as to his thinking on matters of concern to him.

So, the big question:  Is he quiet?

While I’m sure I could give a deep and thought-proving answer, revealing heartfelt introspection on the matter, I think Maice can answer that better than I:

Maice looks down for a moment. Then he looks up, letting up a thunderous laugh. This startles Joe. “I remember now!” he bellows. “You were the water boy!” Joe looks over to Richard. Richard shrugs.
Maice takes a moment to regain his composure, reducing his voice to a less stentorian tone. “What are you doing here? I thought you were a prince.”

Maice does speak.  And he has a lot to share reagrding combat.  Of course, Richard extends to Maine the same invitation as Joe, and while he is reluctant…, he cannot speak only for himself, we’ll just say:

“I am on leave from school, and I thought it would be cool to just explore the galaxy a little. You know, just see what is out there.”
“Why should we be interested in traveling with you?” he interrogates.
Richard pauses, mentally tripping over the word “we.” “Well, um, I heard you were on leave, and I was merely offering an opportunity to travel, as a civilian, for a brief time.” Richard tries to look around, without drawing attention from Maice. “If you are interested, I would really enjoy having your company once again. It could be similar to a high school reunion!”
Maice looks down again. “Hmm,” he ponders, “we might need to report back halfway into a trip. If so, we would need to return to duty within five days of activation.”
Joe starts looking around. Richard smiles. “Well, I am not planning on any deep space exploration, just seeing some sights. We will not need to go very far for that!”

With that, I introduce Ana.  If you would like to see more of what transpires, you can read Chapter 2, now available here!

Next week, we’ll learn more about our ‘stowaway’ on this adventure.

Thanks for visiting!  If you enjoyed this post, lease like and share! You can follow on Facebook, Tumblr, and please feel free to read excerpts from The Silent Invader @RB_Thurman (and follow!), in addition to the chapters I add here, including chapter 2, featuring Maice and Ana! If you prefer, you can also read my posts on Goodreads (I do a few book giveaways there, so you may want to check it out for that).  Your comments are welcome below.  Also, sign up on my contact page, and receive notifications for when the next blog arrives.

Joe.

Joseph Pike is Richard’s best friend.  Just who is this human, anyway?

Joseph Pike lives on earth (duh).  He also attended a high school with Richard, as he explains here:

I am planning to surround up a few of my friends from high school who are still on Earth. I know it has been a few years, but I have been able to maintain contact with a lot of them since then, and I even managed to locate a couple I had lost contact with.

In this moment, I am contacting Joseph Pike, my best friend from high school. He works for a big industrial firm there, but I cannot remember what it is called. I have it written down here somewhere. Here it is—Matterhorn Power, Industry & Electronics. Hmm. I guess they make generators and electronics.

Richard Tyberius

Joseph Pike, friend of Richard Tyberius, works at a manufacturing plant.  If you knew anything about where this is, you’d realize this isn’t much of a stretch for believability.  It would be more surprising how little has changed there after dozens of decades.  Oh well.

Joseph is not just anybody, though.  Consider this little tidbit:

As they walk up to the receptionist counter, young woman, sitting behind the counter, typing away, stops, seeing the pair approach her. “Can I help you?” she asks politely.
Joe looks down to her, smiling. “It’s me. I’m here to see Mr. Matterhorn,” he causally remarks.

Joseph Pike

You do remember the name of the place he works, right?  It’s that Mr. Matterhorn.  And while you could be led to believe this is a small family company, I would suggest you read the book and decide that for yourself.  So Joseph does have a little more leeway than some when it comes to getting some free time.  And not just because he happens to know the boss.

One of the contributing factors is a project he is working on:

Joe snaps his fingers and displays a large grin. “See if you can guess what this is!” Joe goes back to the desk behind his own. It still has several books, not to mention papers, on it, but there is also something else on it. “This is what I wanted you to see.” Richard moved closer to the desk, to get a better look at what was on it.
“What exactly is this?”
Joe smiles proudly. “It’s a model for a mass displacement drive. This could easily be the fastest engine for a galactic starship ever built.” Richard gasps, pointing at the thing on the desk and stepping closer.
“Your senior paper was on this!” Richard looks down to recall a key thought. “You said in theory we could cross the Milky Way galaxy in a matter of seconds instead of ten to fifteen years with conventional light drives. This is an incredible breakthrough!” Richard excitedly exclaims.

Think about what Richard has just shared.  His best friend has developed the fastest form of propulsion ever conceived, as a school project.  Let that sink in.  This is your introduction to Joe.

He is basically a smart person.  And while that may seem stereotypical to include someone like this in a science fiction novel (I’d really have to think, but I can only think of maybe one or two that didn’t have any. But I’m not that well read in the genre), you also have to consider that he isn’t as stereotypical as it may seem at first.

One example is that he is dating a girl.  But not just any girl.  A girl so unlike him, Richard is quick to raise an objection.  To the whole concept:

Richard jumps up. “Why?” he asserts. “You hated her in high school! Why, every time you two intersected paths, I was certain someone was going to be maimed!”
Joe laughs. “‘Hate’ is such a strong word,” Joe objects. “‘Strong-willed’ would better describe her. There are certain things she feels very strongly about. Once I realized that, well, we sorta hit it off.”
Richard looks intently at Joe. “You desired her all along, did you not?” Joe smiles. “That explains why we were intersecting paths with her so much.” Richard grins. “You were trying to, how you say, hitching up with her?” He shakes his head.
Joe blushes, looking down. “Well, it wasn’t until after high school we connected though. But we’ve been dating for almost a year now.” He stands up, his arms still folded, and steps behind his desk.
Richard’s eyes follow his friend. “A year? You are probably close to …” He watches as Joe pulls a small box from the top desk drawer. The paper dust lightly covering the heavy black velvet on the outside of the box indicates to Richard the box may have been there a while. “Asking her?”

Richard Tyberius & Joseph Pike

This is one best friend talking to another, realizing he’s missed something about his friend in the absence apart (maybe even in their time together).  But, it also shows Joe is more than a brain.  You’ll get to see more about this aspect later, but realize like Richard, and even Becky, there is more going on for him than is touched on in the book.  Last month (Jan 2017) was the chapter introducing you to Joseph, who regularly goes by ‘Joe’ as well.  Suffice to say, he is only one of the people Richard knows on Earth.  When you meet his next friend Maice, you will see next week that Richard has a diverse friend pool.

Thanks for visiting!  If you enjoyed this post, lease like and share! You can follow on Facebook, Tumblr, and please feel free to read excerpts from The Silent Invader @RB_Thurman (and follow!), in addition to the chapters I add here. If you prefer, you can also read my posts on Goodreads (I do a few book giveaways there, so you may want to check it out for that).  Your comments are welcome below.  Also, sign up on my contact page, and receive notifications for when the next blog arrives.

FYI:  Right now, you can enter to win a book on Goodreads!  Under giveaways, do a search for “The final Tyberian King,” and enter for your copy!

Earth.

Yes, Earth is in the book. But, Earth has had a troubled past by this point in ‘history.’ Let’s look at an event on our home, in the ‘future.’

This was touched on in my blog regarding Richard, but let’s revisit this point from another perspective.  Notice in this scene where Richard briefly inquires about events in Earth’s ‘past:’

As the elevator makes its ascent, Richard admires the intricate etchings on the smooth brass trim. When he reaches out to touch it, he is surprised to find the surface actually smooth, as if there is a transparent film protecting the etching. Richard touches the velvet. “When was this building built?” he inquires to Joe.
Joe thinks for a moment. “Well, actually, I think about seventy years ago.”
“I did not think this style of architecture was popular on your world then,” Richard comments.
Joe nods. “That’s the advantage of owning your own company: you can design your buildings however you want! I think one of the previous CEOs relished gothic architecture.” He refolds his arms thumbing the velvet behind him. “But, personally, I think the marble and brick here are just to make people jealous of how stupid rich this company must be!”
Richard nods. “Were they involved with the Cesium Convention?”
Joe shrugs. “Maybe. Officially, they didn’t get involved with military projects till after.” Joe looks at the ceiling. “Though, it wasn’t long after.”

Richard Tyberius & Joseph Pike

The ‘Cesium Convention’ represents a turning point in the history of mankind, and it also sets the conditions under which first contact is made.

When I first started this book, one of the things I found common with ‘first contact’ stories was that mankind often faced an unprecedented opportunity (and, unfortunately an almost formulaic response) when first contact was made.  It basically boiled down to two or three realities:

-Mankind, at the peak of civilization, encounters (or is visited) by an alien race on Earth.  Are they nice? Are they a threat? Often it doesn’t matter, because a war starts anyway, and whether mankind is enslaved briefly or simply brought to its knees, mankind prevails in the end.

-Mankind, at the peak of civilization, visits another world and discovers life, an alien species.  Are they nice? Are they a threat? Often it doesn’t matter, because a war starts anyway, and whether mankind is enslaved or briefly brought to its knees, mankind prevails in the end.

-Mankind, in the present day (or why not, the past), is visited by an alien race.  Are they nice? Are they a threat?  Doesn’t matter because a war starts anyway, and whether mankind is enslaved or briefly brought to its knees, mankind prevails in the end.

The pattern is very similar with most first contact science fiction novels.  They come, we attack (or not), and mankind is out on top in the end.  Because, we’re mankind, duh.

I decided on a different approach.

First contact is not in the deep past, obviously, nor the present.  It is still in the future.  What changes is the circumstances on Earth when first contact is made.

Consider: If an alien race visited Rome in 80 A.D. versus 580 A.D., would there be a difference?  In 80 A.D., Rome was the largest city on earth, likely in history by that point in time.  Numbering over one million, this city was basically possible thanks pervasive engineering feats, such as aqueducts bringing fresh water from nearby mountains into the city with little effort, and public sanitation methods similar to our modern day (sewers, indoor plumbing, etc), making ‘city life’ possible on an unprecedented scale. The Flavian Amphitheatre (also known as the Colosseum), newly completed, would have been one of the largest public works projects commissioned at the time, and a spectacle in its own right.  The Roman legions, after exhaustive retraining and improvement of military discipline, was not only one of the largest armies of the time, but one of the most capable, likely deployed in many expansion campaigns throughout the known world.  However, the feared Praetorian Guard were likely still there in Rome, in defense of the Emperor. Rome was still on the rise, and could be said to represent the peak of humanity at this time.

[image error]

580 A.D., not so much. By this time, the ‘splendor’ of Rome was long gone. The masses of people had likely depopulated Rome, possibly because of a lack of water and basic sanitation (I guess it wasn’t maintenance free), or simply general neglect.  The large public works projects of the past had likely started becoming parts of other projects, thanks to stone theft, or were simply damaged in conflicts.  The armies of Rome were no longer the fighting force they once were–at least in Rome. There was still a Roman ‘presence’ in the form of the eastern Byzantine empire, but its capital is on the site of present-day Istanbul (then, Constantinople.  Why did Constantinople get the works? That’s nobody’s business but the Turks’).

These two realities surrounding one place shows how one can get a very different impression of Rome, depending on when you visit.  Most first contact science fiction could be described as visiting Rome in 80 A.D.  My book is covering a period of earth history more like 580 A.D. Rome.

So, it makes you wonder what first contact was like, since humanity is not at its peak.

Richard briefly references history on the matter regarding the Cesium Convention, making clear what brought humanity to this state:

Richard glances to his right, where he notes a sign remarking on the company’s 175th anniversary in business, celebrated a year earlier. ‘I see,’ he surmises, ‘I presume they were on the winning side.’ Richard nods, briefly staring into the foliage lining the road, a combination of native grasses, reaching two meters, a few large, well-cared for evergreens, and a strip, three meters wide, of perfect Bermuda grass along the edge of the curbed roadway. “I wonder,” he pulls out his digital assistant, requesting information on an event he calls the ‘Cesium Convention,’ the digital assistant returning information regarding a nuclear holocaust experienced on Earth more than one hundred fifty years earlier.

‘A nuclear holocaust’ could be considered an endgame scenario in most books.  However, it doesn’t mean that everyone would die.  It would be difficult to imagine a huge portion of mankind being spared of any injury or harm, but the event alone would represent a general step backwards.  There is little that could easily survive such an event, and when we consider the many things that make the modern world possible, much in the way of tooling, techniques and experience could be lost.  An example is most electronics or electronic devices are not hardened against an eletromagnetic pulse like that a nuclkear device could generate.  THough far away even solar flares can have an effect, though this is usually more focused and actually more intense in nature.  Given the potential loss of anything and everything using electricity, how much stuff could we build without electricity or refined metals?

Of course, it could also be viewed as an opportunity.  Consider, there could not be a cleaner break from the ‘past’ than an event like this.  Does is matter what was before the Cesium Convention, if this story takes place 150 years after that?  I thought this would offer a realistic separation from any history before.  Of course one could ask whether the positive influences from everything before are still there, among humanity. Or, if all the bad tendencies and desires are still possible after such a dramatic change.  I will admit this book doesn’t have a chance to lay bare everything, but we will meet a few characters over the coming weeks, and by meeting them, and perhaps reading about them in the book, you can see for yourself how much (or even, how little) mankind has changed.

Next week, we will start with Richard’s best friend, Joseph Pike.

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