Michael Brachman's Blog: Tales of the Vuduri, page 175
May 12, 2013
Happy Mother's Day
When I started writing the original novel, VIRUS 5, I never thought about the mothers of any of the characters.
Once the story took on its modern form, I mentioned Rome's parents when Rei and Rome first put on the Espansor bands and Rei got to see Rome growing up inside her mind. He got to see her family life and that was the first time I learned that Rome came from a mixed marriage.
I never knew I was going to write Part 2 but when I did, that was when I found out Rome was pregnant and she became a mother herself at the end of that part.
I never knew I was going to write Part 3 but once I finished Part 2, I knew I had to. So we got to finally meet Binoda, Rome's mother, and she turned out to be a fairly impressive individual. She became a constant supporting character through the rest of the books. Her reunion scene with Fridone, Rome's father, is still one of my most favorite scenes in all the books.
I didn't know I was going to write The Ark Lords. It just came to me one day. At that point, Rome's role as loving mother became a central element as did the love and support of her mother, Binoda.
But what about Rei? I knew nothing about his parents. I didn't know I was going to write Rome's Evolution but when I did, suddenly there was a flashback to Rei's "last day on Earth" and we got to meet his mother, Ruth. She was very loving and supportive.
Having started out with none, I ended up with three. So Happy Mother's Day to Rome, Binoda and Ruth; you are all great parents and provide an inspiration to your children and those around you.
Mike
P.S. My mother's name is Ruth so this was just a tricky way of throwing that in. Happy Mother's Day Mom.
Once the story took on its modern form, I mentioned Rome's parents when Rei and Rome first put on the Espansor bands and Rei got to see Rome growing up inside her mind. He got to see her family life and that was the first time I learned that Rome came from a mixed marriage.
I never knew I was going to write Part 2 but when I did, that was when I found out Rome was pregnant and she became a mother herself at the end of that part.
I never knew I was going to write Part 3 but once I finished Part 2, I knew I had to. So we got to finally meet Binoda, Rome's mother, and she turned out to be a fairly impressive individual. She became a constant supporting character through the rest of the books. Her reunion scene with Fridone, Rome's father, is still one of my most favorite scenes in all the books.
I didn't know I was going to write The Ark Lords. It just came to me one day. At that point, Rome's role as loving mother became a central element as did the love and support of her mother, Binoda.
But what about Rei? I knew nothing about his parents. I didn't know I was going to write Rome's Evolution but when I did, suddenly there was a flashback to Rei's "last day on Earth" and we got to meet his mother, Ruth. She was very loving and supportive.
Having started out with none, I ended up with three. So Happy Mother's Day to Rome, Binoda and Ruth; you are all great parents and provide an inspiration to your children and those around you.
Mike
P.S. My mother's name is Ruth so this was just a tricky way of throwing that in. Happy Mother's Day Mom.
May 11, 2013
Why the 35th century?
Why did Rei and his Ark II arrive at Tabit in 3455, not 2800AD or 3600AD?
My guiding principle behind the book(s) was that anything that could be fact checked, would check out.
The Arks traveled at a top-end speed of 5% of the speed of light. So the theoretical journey from Earth to Tau Ceti should have taken 240 years. If they continued on at full speed to Tabit, it should have added in an additional 420 years to travel the 21 extra light years.
But the whole premise of the book is that the Ark II hit something, probably an asteroid, and caromed out of the Tau Ceti system at an odd angle, straight for Tabit. My further assumption was that the propulsion module was damaged and therefore they could only coast.
When you put those two items together, you come up with about 1400 years of total travel time. If you add that to the launch year of 2067, you get 3467 but I didn't want it to be exact so I cut back the trip by a few years.
The small difference doesn't matter. What does matter is that Rei ended way the hell from where he expected and an incredible amount of time had passed. And then he met Rome...
My guiding principle behind the book(s) was that anything that could be fact checked, would check out.
The Arks traveled at a top-end speed of 5% of the speed of light. So the theoretical journey from Earth to Tau Ceti should have taken 240 years. If they continued on at full speed to Tabit, it should have added in an additional 420 years to travel the 21 extra light years.
But the whole premise of the book is that the Ark II hit something, probably an asteroid, and caromed out of the Tau Ceti system at an odd angle, straight for Tabit. My further assumption was that the propulsion module was damaged and therefore they could only coast.
When you put those two items together, you come up with about 1400 years of total travel time. If you add that to the launch year of 2067, you get 3467 but I didn't want it to be exact so I cut back the trip by a few years.
The small difference doesn't matter. What does matter is that Rei ended way the hell from where he expected and an incredible amount of time had passed. And then he met Rome...
May 10, 2013
So what about those mutations, anyway?
I couldn't let go of the idea of OMCOM releasing mutated VIRUS units into the universe. I loved the idea of machine evolution into autonomous self-aware entities. I even allowed OMCOM the luxury of having to allowed the mutations on purpose.
This was much more consistent with OMCOM. He thought everything through. But why? Since I had eliminated the Bridadiras and Cecetiras, I didn't know.
This is where trusting your characters comes in. I knew OMCOM would tell me why eventually. It wasn't until I was coming to the end of The Ark Lords that I found out. He sure did wait till the last minute!
OMCOM allowed the mutations to occur and allowed them to become autonomous self-aware units to roam the universe to look for the origin of the Stareaters. He correctly deduced that natural selection would produce a greater variety of entities than he could have designed himself. Some developed novel forms of propulsion (null-fold anyone?) and some were have thought to have left our universe altogether.
This is a nice tie-in to the next book after Rome's Evolution. I included a little epilogue which takes place 17 years after the conclusion of that book. It shows that Aason and his sister Lupe are taking off in Junior for a "milk run" in space. How does that relate to the mutations? You will find out in The Milk Run which should be available by the end of the year.
This was much more consistent with OMCOM. He thought everything through. But why? Since I had eliminated the Bridadiras and Cecetiras, I didn't know.
This is where trusting your characters comes in. I knew OMCOM would tell me why eventually. It wasn't until I was coming to the end of The Ark Lords that I found out. He sure did wait till the last minute!
OMCOM allowed the mutations to occur and allowed them to become autonomous self-aware units to roam the universe to look for the origin of the Stareaters. He correctly deduced that natural selection would produce a greater variety of entities than he could have designed himself. Some developed novel forms of propulsion (null-fold anyone?) and some were have thought to have left our universe altogether.
This is a nice tie-in to the next book after Rome's Evolution. I included a little epilogue which takes place 17 years after the conclusion of that book. It shows that Aason and his sister Lupe are taking off in Junior for a "milk run" in space. How does that relate to the mutations? You will find out in The Milk Run which should be available by the end of the year.
May 9, 2013
Lawlidon - A VIRUS dinosaur?
When I originally came up with the idea of VIRUS 5, the rapidly reproducing VIRUS units mutated and quickly became autonomous, self-aware entities. Originally, my plan was to show evolution occurring at a tremendously fast-paced rate.
I even had a little story where the amount of source material (aka the body of the Stareater) was becoming difficult to come by and the VIRUS units resorted to cannibalism. Once that had been established, one of the more intelligent VIRUS units made a defensive pact with another and they became basically a two-celled VIRUS-based organism. From there, they increased in complexity.
I had this vision of VIRUS-based dinosaurs fighting each other over the remains of the Stareater.
What has this got to do with anything? After I decided to write Book 2 and realized I had to write Book 3, I wanted Book 2 to end on a cliff-hanger. So it ends just the way Part 2 of Rome's Revolution ends now: Rei and Rome and Aason all comfy in Rome's room at the Vuduri complex. But then in the old book, Rei and Rome scream and pass out. Then the sky goes black. Pretty cool, huh?
Turns out, the sky went black was because a gigantic VIRUS-based creature, called a Bridadira, which is Vuduri for Protector, blocked the sun. I wanted to have a "dinosaury" name for him so I called him Lawlidon. He did battle with another group of VIRUS-based mutants called Cecetiras which means Hunters. There was a titanic space battle, it took all the forces of Lawlidon, the Vuduri space armada and even MINIMCOM to defeat them. MINIMCOM was transformed into who you see today.
But I have to tell you, the whole thing seemed stupid. The battle served no real purpose other than provide some action. It made OMCOM seem pretty foolish to allow for the mutations in the first place and it meant no one would ever be safe ever.
So bye-bye Lawlidon. I eliminated the whole concept of the Bridadira and Cecetiras and allowed MINIMCOM to transform into who he is today all on his own. Thank you Steve Troyano.
But what about the mutations? They are still out there. What do we do with them?
More tomorrow.
I even had a little story where the amount of source material (aka the body of the Stareater) was becoming difficult to come by and the VIRUS units resorted to cannibalism. Once that had been established, one of the more intelligent VIRUS units made a defensive pact with another and they became basically a two-celled VIRUS-based organism. From there, they increased in complexity.
I had this vision of VIRUS-based dinosaurs fighting each other over the remains of the Stareater.
What has this got to do with anything? After I decided to write Book 2 and realized I had to write Book 3, I wanted Book 2 to end on a cliff-hanger. So it ends just the way Part 2 of Rome's Revolution ends now: Rei and Rome and Aason all comfy in Rome's room at the Vuduri complex. But then in the old book, Rei and Rome scream and pass out. Then the sky goes black. Pretty cool, huh?
Turns out, the sky went black was because a gigantic VIRUS-based creature, called a Bridadira, which is Vuduri for Protector, blocked the sun. I wanted to have a "dinosaury" name for him so I called him Lawlidon. He did battle with another group of VIRUS-based mutants called Cecetiras which means Hunters. There was a titanic space battle, it took all the forces of Lawlidon, the Vuduri space armada and even MINIMCOM to defeat them. MINIMCOM was transformed into who you see today.
But I have to tell you, the whole thing seemed stupid. The battle served no real purpose other than provide some action. It made OMCOM seem pretty foolish to allow for the mutations in the first place and it meant no one would ever be safe ever.
So bye-bye Lawlidon. I eliminated the whole concept of the Bridadira and Cecetiras and allowed MINIMCOM to transform into who he is today all on his own. Thank you Steve Troyano.
But what about the mutations? They are still out there. What do we do with them?
More tomorrow.
May 8, 2013
The original plan
My original plan for the then-titled VIRUS 5 was to write a "you are there" style sci-fi action/adventure drama. I had the clever acronym Virtually Identical Replicating Unit System already worked out back in 1973 so it seemed like a good place to start. The basic characters, Rei and Rome, were the same. OMCOM was there. The Stareater was there and Rei used VIRUS units to destroy the Stareaters.
There was so much different back then. Rei was from the same time period as Rome. She was part of a culture that had remained behind and was considered more advanced than Rei. I don't remember how OMCOM transferred his consciousness into the mass that destroyed the Stareater but I did have the mutations. I remember making them seem more ominous and accidental. It wasn't until the modern version that I actually figured out a reason that OMCOM let it happen.
In fact, when the series was still entitled VIRUS 5, the mutations were autonomous and some were truly evil. I just loved the idea of having evolution occur at machine speed. I was even thinking that they would have VIRUS based dinosaurs, etc.
Ask me about Lawlidon. No, wait, I'll write about Lawlidon tomorrow.
There was so much different back then. Rei was from the same time period as Rome. She was part of a culture that had remained behind and was considered more advanced than Rei. I don't remember how OMCOM transferred his consciousness into the mass that destroyed the Stareater but I did have the mutations. I remember making them seem more ominous and accidental. It wasn't until the modern version that I actually figured out a reason that OMCOM let it happen.
In fact, when the series was still entitled VIRUS 5, the mutations were autonomous and some were truly evil. I just loved the idea of having evolution occur at machine speed. I was even thinking that they would have VIRUS based dinosaurs, etc.
Ask me about Lawlidon. No, wait, I'll write about Lawlidon tomorrow.
May 7, 2013
Back to the beginning
Now that my new novel Rome's Evolution is out, I thought I'd travel back to the beginning of Rome's Revolution and go through it page by page. I don't mean reprinting it but rather go through the scientific analysis of what led up to the current long form.
The version of Rome's Revolution that is out now is actually three books in one. The first book was originally entitled VIRUS 5. Later, when I decided to write the second book, I knew I had to go back and subtitle the first one. They couldn't all be entitled VIRUS 5. So I elevated VIRUS 5 to the series title and called the first book VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir which is Vuduri for Stareater.
The second book became VIRUS 5: Bez Onquoade which means "An Uneasy Peace" in Vuduri. After I wrote the second book, I knew I had to write the third so it became VIRUS 5: Pedele Ta Asdrales which means Battle for the Stars.
After I had finished them, I came to the conclusion that since most people did not speak Vuduri, the titles would seem like nonsense. Since I didn't want to give away the major plot twist of the first book, rather than call it VIRUS 5: Stareater, I decided to rename each book after the planetary system in which the major elements of the action took place.
I also decided that the VIRUS units were really only bit players and it was Rome's transformation that was the single most important element. So out goes VIRUS 5 and in comes Rome's Revolution.
Book 1 became Rome's Revolution: Tabit and Book 2 became Rome's Revolution: Tau Ceti. The third book, technically, should have been called Rome's Revolution: Sol but that seemed dopey so I renamed it Rome's Revolution: Earth.
And that's where the books remained until I decided to boil them down to the omnibus which is Rome's Revolution today.
More tomorrow.
The version of Rome's Revolution that is out now is actually three books in one. The first book was originally entitled VIRUS 5. Later, when I decided to write the second book, I knew I had to go back and subtitle the first one. They couldn't all be entitled VIRUS 5. So I elevated VIRUS 5 to the series title and called the first book VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir which is Vuduri for Stareater.
The second book became VIRUS 5: Bez Onquoade which means "An Uneasy Peace" in Vuduri. After I wrote the second book, I knew I had to write the third so it became VIRUS 5: Pedele Ta Asdrales which means Battle for the Stars.
After I had finished them, I came to the conclusion that since most people did not speak Vuduri, the titles would seem like nonsense. Since I didn't want to give away the major plot twist of the first book, rather than call it VIRUS 5: Stareater, I decided to rename each book after the planetary system in which the major elements of the action took place.
I also decided that the VIRUS units were really only bit players and it was Rome's transformation that was the single most important element. So out goes VIRUS 5 and in comes Rome's Revolution.
Book 1 became Rome's Revolution: Tabit and Book 2 became Rome's Revolution: Tau Ceti. The third book, technically, should have been called Rome's Revolution: Sol but that seemed dopey so I renamed it Rome's Revolution: Earth.
And that's where the books remained until I decided to boil them down to the omnibus which is Rome's Revolution today.
More tomorrow.
May 6, 2013
The problem with Aason
I like Aason. I really do. He is a curious combination of brilliance and child-like demeanor. However, a lot of times he gets in the way because Rei and Rome are responsible for all the action and I can't have him exposed to danger.
My solution in Part 3 of Rome's Revolution and in The Ark Lords was to send him away a lot. Fridone took him once, before he was reunited with Binoda then the grandparents took him again. I expressed my guilt over always getting rid of him through dialog between Rei and Rome. Several times, Rei asked if they were being poor parents by always sending their child away. Rome always pointed out that it was for his safety. She never mentioned the fact that also the author had trouble dealing with his presence in action scenes.
In the new book, Rome's Evolution, I had a similar problem and found a similar solution. I sent him away with the grandparents. However, this turns out to be a tactical mistake for the parents but you'll have to read the novel to find out why.
Aason's reward for all his patience is he gets to be the star of the following novel, which takes place 17 years later, called The Milk Run which should be out by the end of the year.
My solution in Part 3 of Rome's Revolution and in The Ark Lords was to send him away a lot. Fridone took him once, before he was reunited with Binoda then the grandparents took him again. I expressed my guilt over always getting rid of him through dialog between Rei and Rome. Several times, Rei asked if they were being poor parents by always sending their child away. Rome always pointed out that it was for his safety. She never mentioned the fact that also the author had trouble dealing with his presence in action scenes.
In the new book, Rome's Evolution, I had a similar problem and found a similar solution. I sent him away with the grandparents. However, this turns out to be a tactical mistake for the parents but you'll have to read the novel to find out why.
Aason's reward for all his patience is he gets to be the star of the following novel, which takes place 17 years later, called The Milk Run which should be out by the end of the year.
May 5, 2013
Sex, Drugs and Money
My new scifi novel Rome's Evolution has all of the above, just in the 35th century.
As far as sex, well, the scene is not very explicit and not as funny as the one in The Ark Lords but it is still gives Rei and Rome an intense period of intimacy.
As far as drugs, the Onsiras have a drug that converts Vuduri into Zengei. What is a Zengei? You'll have to read the book to find out.
And money? This is has been the subject of a previous post but in the new novel, money is introduced into Vuduri society. The why is explained and I can tell you Rome is none too pleased. Please read the book and find out all about it.
If you haven't read the original novel, Rome's Revolution, you might want to start there.
As far as sex, well, the scene is not very explicit and not as funny as the one in The Ark Lords but it is still gives Rei and Rome an intense period of intimacy.
As far as drugs, the Onsiras have a drug that converts Vuduri into Zengei. What is a Zengei? You'll have to read the book to find out.
And money? This is has been the subject of a previous post but in the new novel, money is introduced into Vuduri society. The why is explained and I can tell you Rome is none too pleased. Please read the book and find out all about it.
If you haven't read the original novel, Rome's Revolution, you might want to start there.
May 4, 2013
Starting with a bang
I have noticed that as the world's collective attention span grows shorter, some movies have resorted to starting out with an explosion or chase scene then rolling back in time leading up to that event.
For example, in the first Iron Man, Tony Stark is shown blowing things up then they go back in time to show you how he ended up here.
So I made up my mind to start out both The Ark Lords and Rome's Evolution with an explosion.
In The Ark Lords, it was pretty lame. It was just a grease fire. In Rome's Evolution, it is actually a bomb and it isn't just for dramatic effect. It is actually at the core of the plot. So thank you would-be assassins for letting me start the new book with a bang!
For example, in the first Iron Man, Tony Stark is shown blowing things up then they go back in time to show you how he ended up here.
So I made up my mind to start out both The Ark Lords and Rome's Evolution with an explosion.
In The Ark Lords, it was pretty lame. It was just a grease fire. In Rome's Evolution, it is actually a bomb and it isn't just for dramatic effect. It is actually at the core of the plot. So thank you would-be assassins for letting me start the new book with a bang!
May 3, 2013
Rome's Evolution is live!
I have posted the new novel Rome's Evolution on Amazon, B&N, Kobo and SmashWords. The paperback is under way. I'm just waiting on the proof. I will be posting the iTunes version in a week or so. Apple requires a lot more prep work to get a book into the iTunes store.
The preliminary version of the web site is up at Rome's Evolution and the links to the various bookstores will be live on Monday.
If you can't wait, here are the links for the Kindle and Nook, ready to go.
So, the only thing left is rolling out the paperback and iTunes. I have a June deadline for my book-signing so I think I am on track. Here is Bruce's amazing book cover:
Very exciting!
The preliminary version of the web site is up at Rome's Evolution and the links to the various bookstores will be live on Monday.
If you can't wait, here are the links for the Kindle and Nook, ready to go.
So, the only thing left is rolling out the paperback and iTunes. I have a June deadline for my book-signing so I think I am on track. Here is Bruce's amazing book cover:
Very exciting!
Tales of the Vuduri
Tidbits and insights into the 35th century world of the Vuduri.
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