Fun and Games in a Geocentric Universe
Hey there, Action Force.
Helen and Troy’s Epic Road Quest is due out in stores on July 16th. If you’re going to only buy one book where a minotaur fights a cyclops in bicycle shorts, this is definitely the one. But if by some chance that isn’t enough to convince you, let’s talk about some other stuff.
The story takes place in a world very similar to our own. Historically, it’s mostly parallel with our own and much of the cultural norms remain the same. But a lot of the things that seem like our world are slightly different once you look underneath the surface.
Probably the most notable difference, aside from the presence of magic and monsters, is the complete absence of guns. This isn’t because they lack the ability to create them, but because the gods of this world, who are much more interventionist just like the gods of myth, decreed that such weapons would never be used and their mere possession could be subject to a sudden and harsh smiting. Any attempt to actually fire a gun was met with inevitable retribution, and it’s hard to win wars when your army is decimated by lightning bolts.
The gods didn’t make this decree to curb the world from senseless violence, but because they much preferred watching people stabbing each other up close and personal. It was even considered at one point to impose a divine ban on bows and spears, but in the end, the gods decided they were amusing enough to keep. In every other respect, Helen and Troy’s world is technologically on par with our own.
Cosmologically, their Earth is actually the center of the universe ala geocentric theory. The stars really are just lights hanging in the firmament, and the sun does go around the world. The gods exist in a semi-material plane just beyond that. For that reason, there’s no such thing as a space program though an attempt was made by the island nation of Atlantis to launch a manned rocket into the heavens in ’61.
As you probably suspect, it didn’t go well.
While most of the laws of physics still apply, there is also magic to throw a wrench in the works. Magic is a somewhat mysterious force, but just as science has marched forward in our world, so has magical understanding in this one. While technology is more reliable and easier to use, there are still experts in the field of study. Helen’s minotaurism is a treatable condition with the help of modern magical understanding, and there are enough fantastic elements running through this world that it isn’t considered unusual to see a little bit of it on a daily basis.
Magic is, in fact, why this world parallels our own in so many respects. The Sahara Dessert came about because of the slaying of a dragon. World War Two was an epic struggle, ala every fantastic mythical war you’ve ever seen, and only ended when a magic ring was thrown into a volcano. Mythology is history with some of it being quite accurate and other parts being mostly exaggeration or misinterpretation, just like real history. The magical history of this world is a mix of our own, myth, and its own fantasy elements. It’s a bit fuzzy in how it all works together, but if you’re looking for detailed explanation of how it works, you’re thinking too hard. Just remember it’s our world unless noted differently.
One of the completely irrelevant elements (but still kind of interesting) is how they view their stories. Since the the world is culturally parallel, they have a lot of the same shows and movies we do. But in this world, the more science fiction a show is, the more “fantasy” it is considered. It’s a reversal that makes perfect sense. In this world, things like a solar system, spaceships, and extraterrestrials are deemed (rightly) pure escapism with no basis in reality. Star Trek exists in this world, and it’s a popular show. But the “science” behind it isn’t taken remotely seriously, and Star Wars, in many ways a classic fantasy, is actually considered harder science fiction than Trek. If a story has a guy running around throwing fireballs or using a magic sword, it is far more believable than if he’s telepathic or got superpowers from exposure to radiation.
This is the world of Helen and Troy’s Epic Road Quest, similar enough to be easy to jump into but different enough to be worth visiting. I think you’re going to like it.
Keelah Se’lai
Fighting the good fight, Writing the good write,
Lee
