Wesley Britton's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-u-s-s-enterprise"

Once upon a time, there was one thing that amused me about Star Trek episodes not set on any of the Enterprises or other starships. Whenever Kirk or Picard’s Enterprises flew over a strange new world, they usually encountered one leader or a handful of council members who always spoke for an entire planet. Yes, there was usually a rebel opposition of some kind or a culture in conflict with the other government, but, again, we met only a handful of these folks. The Enterprise just couldn’t fly over the rest of the planet, encounter different countries, and talk to other leaders. The galaxy seemed full of inhabited worlds with only one, two at most, governments and cultures per planet.

Of course, I realize in the context of a one-hour TV drama, there’s limited time to introduce many new guest characters or try to flesh out much cultural diversity on these inter-planetary stop-overs, at least those not part of empires like the Klingons or Romulans. That’s where a literary epic can go places a starship on the move doesn’t have time to explore. (Of course, I’m talking single-episode stories, not civilizations like the Vulcans, Bajorans, or Cardassians who are so wonderfully developed over many story-lines across multiple series.)

For my part, from the very beginning I knew a number of settings and cultures would be involved in the Beta-Earth Chronicles for a variety of reasons. For example, when Malcolm Renbourn is ripped across the multi-verse in The Blind Alien, he’s a captive in the country of Balnakin. A racist, slave-holding culture, Balnakin believes its people are naturally superior to everyone else as their emphasis is on new technology, the disciplined dignity of its citizens, and their eyes are focused on the future, not the history so prized across the ocean on the Old Continent. When Malcolm escapes to freedom, he goes north to the much looser but far less powerful country of Rhasvi. It’s there where he really begins to learn about his new planetary home as his polygamous family begins to form.

But, by the end of The Blind Alien, Tribe Renbourn is forced to flee Rhasvi after a series of devastating catastrophes and disasters. After sailing over the Philosea Ocean, they settle in the country of Kirip in The Blood of Balnakin (book 2). Here, everything is different not only for the man from Alpha-Earth, but for his Rhasvin wives as well. Having grown up in poverty, most of them never expected to go to places outside their small home regions, especially to a country suspicious of outsiders where everyone speaks a different language. In many ways, the Renbourn women are now a bit like aliens themselves, ostracized by locals unhappy over this unwelcome intrusion of non-Kiripeans. As international figures, the family of exiles and outcast tour many regions of the Old Continent, meet many religious and political leaders, and are even captured at sea by the Liege of the island country of Arasad who threatens fatal consequences to Tribe Renbourn for their not bowing to her evil will.

By the opening pages of When War Returns (book 3), Malcolm unhappily realizes he has to do unpleasant things to give his growing family official protection and a secure sanctuary against the tribe’s growing list of threats and adversaries. This means Tribe Renbourn must relocate to Alma where Malcolm reluctantly accepts the title of Duce of Bilan, which places him in Beta’s equivalent of England’s House of Lords. Alma is very much the opposite of Balnakin with a deep cultural love of history and colorful pageantry. To make his title legitimate, Malcolm must accept an arranged marriage with Sasperia Thorwaife, an enhanced mutant who wants to take control of Tribe Renbourn.

At the same time, the Prince of Alma has lustful designs on the Renbourn wives. His sister, the High Priestess of Alma’s official church, wants to impose a strict orthodoxy on all inhabitants of Alma. In particular, she wants to end religious freedom for the country’s immigrant populations, and many of them live in the region the Duce of Bilan represents in the capital.

As the story progresses, the Renbourns battle one of their own, the heir to the throne, and a church that inflames the entire country to the brink of civil war. By the end of When War Returns, that war erupts and the Renbourns are among thousands of refugees who take to the sea to flee the coming bloodletting.

The fourth book of the saga, A Throne for an Alien, begins with that refugee fleet following the Renbourns wherever they go. That ends up being the island of Hitilec, a neglected country which sits in Beta’s version of the Caribbean. In my opinion, a new character, Elena Richelo, best paints a vivid history and culture of Hitilec in her introduction to A Throne for an Alien. So I’ll let her give you her thoughts in her own words in a post here next week. Stay tuned.

What all this means is that the circumstances surrounding Malcolm Renbourn and Tribe Renbourn are constantly changing. They face uncertainty from ever-shifting threats, pressures, and adversaries that arise from so many international and very personal forces. Readers can never know what to expect as the tribe moves from being frightened fugitives to becoming alleged political leaders themselves to survivors of disasters that impact an entire planet. And, as the saga progresses, the threats intensify as old foes are joined by new, even more powerful enemies whose agendas have more and more consequences for the Renbourns and Beta-Earth itself.

Of course, I admit my panorama can’t measure up in any way with a galaxy of humans, Vulcans, Betazoids, Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi, Bajorans, the Dominion . . . In most ways, it’s hard to see any parallels at all between my books and Star Trek or Star Wars or any other science fiction saga that uses spaceships, robots, advanced technology, or exotic weaponry.

But I can think of one thing we all share, or at least something I tried very hard to make the center of my books around which everything else revolves. Memorable, engaging characters. If my characters don’t fascinate you, intrigue you, resonate with you, nothing else matters. True, I hope readers will feel they’re experiencing a rich, detailed canvas that integrates history, culture, politics, sex, religion, and so many aspects of human life on two earths. In my books, I hope you’ll see all these things through the eyes of one blind alien and the many personalities of Tribe Renbourn in all the places they live and travel.

The Beta-Earth Chronicles (so far)

The Blind Alien (still on sale for 99 cents!)
https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Alien-Be...

The Blood of Balnakin (Book 2)
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Balnakin...

When War Returns (book 3)
https://www.amazon.com/When-War-Retur...

A Throne for an Alien (book 4)
https://www.amazon.com/Throne-Alien-B...

Coming This Fall!

The Third Earth—The Beta-Earth Chronicles: Book 5
http://bmfiction.com/science-fiction/...