Michael Brachman's Blog: Tales of the Vuduri, page 177

First Look: The cover of Rome's Evolution

Bruce has been working very, very hard to bring "The Hand" of Deucado to life. Here is a first look at the cover. It will change but at least it gives you an idea of the size of this titanic structure.


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What do you think?

Secrets Revealed: Who was Sally Reynolds?

Sally was mentioned several times in the original long form version of Rome's Revolution and again in The Ark Lords. So who was Sally and what was her relationship to Rei?

Sally was Rei's college sweetheart and the love of his life when he was younger. Her father was Chairman of the Reynolds Corporation which was the principal contractor behind the Ark program. When the program was announced, Rei knew right away he wanted to go. Sally did not. Even though they loved each other very much, the difference was irreconcilable. Sally did, however, use her influence with her father to get Rei accepted into the Ark program.

Sally was a eco-biologist and after college went down to Brazil to study how to repair the rain-forest in the Amazon. She contracted a nasty strain of what would later be called the Lupine Flu and should have died. However, she did not. It turns out she had a genetic mutation which gave her an immune system that was adaptable to any virus. The doctor who took care of her in Brazil was named Raul. He fell in love with his patient and married her and they eventually moved back to the United States.

The fact that Raul and Sally were together hurt Rei deeply but his belief in traveling to the stars helped him overcome his resentment and eventually the three of them became best of friends.

You will read about Sally and Rei's last night together in the upcoming novel Rome's Evolution. There are a few clever references in the first Intermezzo to later events and Sally's relationship to Rome will be revealed.

Wait, her relationship to Rome? What the hell? How is that even possible? You'll find out soon!

Secrets Revealed: Guns and Ramps and Sunglasses

One of the running jokes of the whole Rome's Revolution universe is that every time Rei and Rome fly to a new place and walk down (or up) a ramp, there is horde of people waiting to attack them.

- The first time Rei and Rome land on Deucado, there is a group of Ibbrassati waiting for them with clubs, maces and other evil looking objects.
- When they land at the Vuduri enclave on Deucado, when Rome was experiencing respiratory distress, they were greeted by Vuduri with standard issue Vuduri weapons.
- When they land on Earth, they are immediately taken into custody by a group of Vuduri soldiers as Rome is placed under arrest.
- When they arrive back on Deucado, at the end of Part 3 of Rome's Revolution, they are greeted by a large group of people but at least this time it was joyous.
- When they first land on Helome, walking down the ramp appears to be an innocent act. However, the two women accompanying Virga are carrying hidden weapons and it is their intent to kidnap Rei for use of his genetic material.
- When Rei, Rome and Ursay walk up the ramp beneath the Tevatron, they are "welcomed" by a heavily armed contingent of the Darwin group, aka the new Ark Lords.

Why enumerate each of these incidents? Because in all of them, Rei is leaving the cool, dimly lit interior of a starship (or the Tevatron) and, unlike Rome who has a second, internal iris, had to put his hand up to block the sun until his eyes get adjusted to the brighter light. Why didn't he just bring a pair of sunglasses with him from Earth?

The answer to that question will finally be revealed in the first Intermezzo of the upcoming novel Rome's Evolution.

Secrets Revealed: The Flying Horse, Part 2

The idea behind the flying horse incident (first mentioned in Rome's Revolution) was to bring into the sharp focus the idea that the Earth in 2067 AD is not a very pleasant place. Overpopulation is causing a massive breakdown in the weather, the economy and the lifestyles of the regular people. Global storms, unending recession, the concentration of the wealth of the world in the hands of very few people, all contribute to a very high level of dissatisfaction in people's lives.

This discontent and fear that the planet may collapse under the weight of too many people spurs on the development of the Ark program. Within Rei's time on Earth, terrorism has spilled over to our shores and slowly cities and communities become walled fortresses. It is very dangerous to be out in the open. Having been accepted into the Ark program, Rei was given a severe restriction on the amount of personal items he was allowed to bring along. As such, he had to give away all his furniture, his entertainment system, basically all his earthly belongings.

He borrowed Raul's truck to get rid of the final few pieces of furniture and donate the remainder of his clothing. He was on the way back to his "last night on Earth" celebration dinner with his parents and Raul and Sally when a terrorist bomb (IED) exploded on the far side of a retaining wall and blew up a horse. Its carcass was flung up and over the retaining wall and landed on the hood of Rei's truck.

The incident and its aftermath will be described in better detail in the upcoming novel entitled Rome's Evolution.

Secrets Revealed: The Flying Horse, Part 1

The flying horse has been mentioned several times throughout Rome's Revolution and figures more prominently in Rome's Evolution. The following is a deleted scene, excised from the current version. In the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, Rei and Rome have this exchange while Rome was training Rei on how to fly a starship:

     “There is one thing I have wanted to ask you, as well,” Rome said.
     “Sure.”
     “When I was in your mind, I saw an image of a flying horse that almost killed you. Can you explain that please?”
     “Oh, that,” Rei said. “Sure.” He took a deep breath. “On my last night before I went into quarantine…”
     “Why did you go into quarantine?” Rome asked.
     “Before the dehydration and cryo-hibernation,” Rei replied. “You had to go into quarantine for a month to make sure that you weren’t harboring any noxious diseases or anything. They wanted to make sure the new world was as clean as possible.”
     “I understand. Go on.”
     “Well, I was on my way over to Raul and Sally’s.”
     “Sally?” Rome asked. “You were in love with her, no?”
     “Yes,” Rei answered. “I was in love with her. But she married Raul.”
     “Did that not cause bad feelings?” Rome queried.
     “At first,” Rei said. “But I let it go. I couldn’t really blame her. I was committed to going on the Ark and she wanted to stay on Earth. It worked out for the best. I got to know Raul and the three of us became friends.”
     “That is nice,” Rome said.
     “Yeah,” Rei answered. “So anyway, we were all going to have dinner together with my parents. I had borrowed Raul’s truck and spent the day getting rid of the last of my possessions.”
     “Why did you do that?” Rome asked.
     “Because we were only allowed to bring 20 kilos worth of belongings. I brought some books and some clothes and some music. That’s it. I didn’t really need anything else. Certainly not furniture. It’s not like I was ever coming back.”
     “So the horse?” Rome reminded Rei gently.
     “Yes. Anyway, I was coming out of a tunnel and I saw some people riding horses on the other side of the retaining wall.”
     “And your horses flew?” Rome asked, confused.
     “No,” Rei answered, “it was a bomb.”
     “I do not understand.”
     “Somebody set off a bomb on the bridle path and blew up one of the horses,” said Rei, disgustedly.
     “Why would they do that?” Rome asked with a slightly horrified tone.
     “Beats me,” Rei shrugged. “The goals of the terrorists were so obscure, that’s why nobody could ever address them.”
     “So they blew up a horse?” Rome asked.
     “Yes. Its carcass catapulted over the retaining wall and landed right on the hood of my truck. It smashed the windshield. The crash curtain never went off. It was just dumb luck that I wasn’t killed or injured seriously.”
     “That is horrible,” Rome said. “No wonder you wanted to leave your Earth.”
     “Yep. That and the global storms, pollution, overpopulation. We had pretty well made a mess of things…”
     “Yes, you did,” Rome said somberly.

More tomorrow...

Secrets Revealed: The static tunnel to Helome

As mentioned several times in Rome's Revolution and later in The Ark Lords, there was a static tunnel built between Earth and Helome which allowed easy and quick travel between the two worlds. Because Helome was just starting out as a new colony, you'd have to think it was for transporting colonists and supplies. But why go through such an engineering effort for a sparsely populated world? Especially because travel through the tunnel rendered most Vuduri unconscious unless they were wearing a T-suppressor.

The Overmind of Earth never does anything capriciously or for a trivial reason. Could there be a second, more insidious purpose for building this tunnel? MINIMCOM refused to ever use it claiming either it was at the wrong vector or later because he could fly so much faster that the effective speed the tunnel could provide.

Never fear! The answers to all your questions are coming in the upcoming novel Rome's Evolution which should be out in the next two months.

Secrets Revealed: The deported Darwin members

One the questions remaining at the end of The Ark Lords was how were the deported members of the Darwin Project treated once they arrived at Helome? As you will recall, at the end of The Ark Lords, Rei had MINIMCOM strip them of their clothes and pack them into the cargo hold like sardines. The entire group was then transported via MINIMCOM and Junior to the planet Helome.

In the Epilogue, Rei made reference to the fact that a second wave of Darwin members had turned themselves in and were also transported to the new planet. Rei had promised Virga he would send volunteers for use as "breeding stock." While technically they were not volunteers in the traditional sense, MINIMCOM told Rei and Rome that Virga accepted his "gift" and they would serve the desired purpose.

In fact, when MINIMCOM was addressing Rome, his exact words were "She said what you and Rei have given her and all the residents of Helome is priceless."

When Rome questioned whether they would be interred and treated as criminals. Rei said to her, "I'm pretty sure the Overmind of Helome will see to it that their children are raised as human beings, not murderers but I'll tell you what. We'll go back some day and check things out. What do you say?" Rome agreed and I'm sure you do too.

There are some Darwin characters we "care" about more than others. How did Captain Keller fare? What about Bonnie Mullen? How about Nick Greer who lost his right hand when MINIMCOM sliced it off?

All of your questions will be answered in the upcoming novel Rome's Evolution.

Secrets Revealed: The remaining Darwin members

What happened to the remaining Darwin members who were not captured and deported? Right at the end of The Ark Lords, Rei and Rome have this little exchange:

     Rome looked around from side to side then up at her husband. "I know you've removed all the weapons but do you think we have to worry about any of the remaining Darwin people that have evaded capture?"
     "Naw," Rei said dismissively. "Most of the ones we missed the first time turned themselves in voluntarily. There might be a couple of them wandering around. Not enough to do anything."
     "That’s a relief," Rome said. "I would not want to live my life constantly worrying about them."
     "They’re done," Rei said. "And they know it."

Well, at least that's what they thought. Two years go by and there are no incidents. But then... You'll read all about it in Rome's Evolution.

Secrets Revealed - Rome's Evolution

Before we go back and revisit all the "hidden" secrets of Rome's Revolution and The Ark Lords, I thought I'd list, as a teaser, the major secrets revealed in the upcoming book Rome's Evolution. In these cases, I'll just refresh your memory of why these things are loose ends and skirt around the actual answers. But at least you'll be ready for them when the book comes out.

1. What happened on Rei's last day on Earth. What was the flying horse?
2. Why didn't Rei take a pair of sunglasses with him?
3. Why did Rei take a dangerous space-walk just to retrieve his music slab when they were on their year long trip?
4. Who was Sally Reynolds and what did she mean to Rei? What was her relationship to Raul? To Rome?
5. What happened to the remaining Darwin members who were not captured and deported?
6. How did the exiled Darwin members fare when they got to Helome?
7. What ever happened to Sussen, the spy on Deucado who precipitated the crisis in Part Three of Rome's Revolution?
8. What happened to the Onsiras, in general, without MASAL to guide them?
9. What is the Overmind of Earth like?
10. Rome says time is like a river. It is possible to travel back to past lives. Is this where premonitions come from? We want more!
11. When is Lupe coming?
12. Why are there so many caves on Deucado with smooth roofs?
13. Why is there so little diversity of life on Deucado?
14. Is there any place for money in the 35th century?
15. Was there ever sentient life on Deucado?
16. Why did the Overmind built a static tunnel to Helome when it was just a fledgling colony world?

Coming up in the next two weeks: all the non-answers I can come up with to these questions.

Secrets Revealed - Rei's Rescue

Secrets of Rei's Rescue from Rome's Revolution:
1. The pilots of the space tug that rescued Rei were ordered by the Overmind to overtake the Ark for observation but were not ordered to retrieve it. The pilots made that decision on their own.
2. The pilots figured out how to use the EG lifters in reverse to lock on and slow down the Ark's rotation all on their own.
3. In the text, the author (me) says in another age, they'd just let it pass on by. That was referring to had the incident occurred in the vicinity of Earth.
4. The author (me) said in another place, they might have destroyed the Ark. We saw vivid evidence of this when they arrived at Deucado.
5. All on their own, the pilots were able to determine that they could tow the Ark via PPT tunnel if they had two tugs. They called down to Dara and got the other tug to come join them. The Overmind did not object.
6. So you see that while OMCOM is supposed to be some genius and took credit for how to get the Ark from Tabit to Deucado, the reality is, the method of towing was already developed by humans. All OMCOM did was figure out whether that configuration would be workable, long term.
7. The pilots decided to tow the Ark back to Dara. The Overmind had no objection because its curiosity was piqued. This Overmind had been built for exploration and research. Other Overminds would not have cared.
8. When the astronauts enter the Ark and pick out one sarcophagus for retrieval, Rei was not their first choice. Who was?
9. Was it Paul Chung, Wally Stanislaw, Andrea Grenmuller or Russell Martell? We don't know. The placement of the sarcophagi in the Ark was for weight distribution purposes. And who are those four people? You'll find out in the upcoming Rome's Evolution.
10. Since Rei was NOT their first choice, how did they pick him? They just couldn't figure out how to free the person next to Rei. They figured the chamber was stuck. It was only when they got to Rei's sarcophagus and discovered that it, too, was stuck that they explored further and found the locking mechanism.
11. Once Rei was revived, he went through extreme disorientation, not because of how much time had passed but because of how much society had changed.