

### Tales of the Vuduri: Year Five

Michael Brachman

Copyright 2018 by Michael Brachman

Smashwords Edition

**Smashwords Edition, License Notes**

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

TALES OF THE VUDURI: YEAR FIVE

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2018 by Michael Brachman

Cover art copyright © 2018 by Bruce Brachman

V5.01.0002

Also by Michael Brachman

The Rome's Revolution Series

Rome's Revolution

The Ark Lords

Rome's Evolution

The Vuduri Knights Series

The Milk Run

*The Vuduri Knight  
(*not yet in publication)

The Vuduri Universe Series

Tales of the Vuduri: Year One

Tales of the Vuduri: Year Two

Tales of the Vuduri: Year Three

Tales of the Vuduri: Year Four

Tales of the Vuduri: Year Five

The Vuduri Companion

## Dedication

If you are reading this, then you have probably read the first four volumes of _Tales of the Vuduri_ and you are already well aware of the people helping me produce this epic series. As always, I need to thank my immeasurably talented brother Bruce. He is my go-to guy when it comes to the world of the Vuduri. Not only is he my editor and artist and the inspiration behind MINIMCOM, but he is also fiercely protective of the Vuduri culture and characters. He is always receptive to me bouncing ideas off his head, even when he doesn't have the time. In addition, Bruce creates the amazing covers, the astounding book trailers and makes my writing so much better. Bruce, none of this would exist without you so thank you.

My wife Denise also deserves a special thank you for understanding my goals and giving me the time to write this massive number of posts. Her patience continues to be boundless as is her moral support. Thank you, Denise.

In the end, the people who are most responsible for making this series a success are you, my loyal readers. It's been a long, long journey and I thank you for taking the trip with me. This book is for you.

## Introduction

_Tales of the Vuduri_ is a daily blog published on Goodreads.com. When I first started posting articles in 2012, I had no idea how long I could keep it up or where it would take me. I find it amusing and perhaps fitting that the series ended up being a five year labor of love, just like the original Star Trek with its five year mission. And as everyone knows, with any trip, much of the appeal is the journey itself not necessarily the destination. While the bulk of these articles are about the fascinating 35th century world of _Rome's Revolution_ , there is a great deal of attention paid to current events, new avenues of research in science and technology and predictions about the near future. The rest of the articles provide critical commentary about my _Rome's Revolution_ series, with this volume focusing on _The Ark Lords_ , _Rome's Evolution_ and touching upon _The Milk Run._

As I mentioned last year, committing to writing one blog article a day created a monster with a voracious appetite that had to be fed continuously. With the publication of this book, I have now written over 1830 articles, more than 750,000 words. That is a lot of words! Luckily for me, the pace of discoveries in the world of science and technology has not slowed down at all. In fact, I could write an entire book focusing just on Elon Musk who continues to amaze with his solar energy ventures, SpaceX, the Boring Company and now Neuralink. I had to exercise some restraint so Mr. Musk comprises just a small portion of the articles you will find in these pages. As a teaser, here is a partial list of what you'll find among these entries about science and life:

  * The Fermi Paradox or where is everybody?

  * A recap of exoplanets discovered to date including TRAPPIST-1

  * Helium-filled Hard Drives

  * Life on Enceladus, one of the moons of Saturn

  * StoreDot's Insta-charge Battery

  * A discussion of Unruh Radiation and The Cannae Drive

  * The discovery of a potential vaccine against PTSD

  * Real life teleportation

  * A graphic exploration on how my brother Bruce designed The Hand of Deucado

  * CRISPR as a tool for curing genetic diseases

  * The invention of a new kind of poker

  * Where is Voyager now?

  * Does anybody miss Pluto as one of the nine planets?

  * The EcoSphere and its implications for space travel

  * How Elon Musk will save Puerto Rico

  * A real life Rama

  * How to make gunpowder

  * Hyper-fusion

  * Tesla's new semi and how it will revolutionize trucking

  * The health benefits of bananas

  * A discussion of cyanoglobin

As you aware from previous years, to produce so many blog entries, I had to follow the discipline of writing seven or more articles every weekend and then posting one each day over the course of the next week. As with the previous volumes, you will find occasional hypertext links but of course they are not functional within an ebook or paperback. When the sole purpose of a link was to take you somewhere else, I added an underline. Likewise with the prior volumes of _Tales of the Vuduri_ , the entries are exactly as they appeared on Goodreads although I do fix typos when I find them.

Feel free to jump in anywhere. You don't need to read the articles in any particular order although the general flow of the literary analysis follows the aforementioned novels _The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution._ It is not necessary that you have read those books but it couldn't hurt. I hope you enjoy this fifth and final volume of _Tales of the Vuduri_ as much I enjoyed writing it.

## Entry 5-001: January 1, 2017

### Out of room

How many times have you tried to take a picture with your phone or downloaded a movie, only to discover you were out of room on your memory card or thumb drive or whatever? It's happened to me plenty of times. So I decided to employ this decidedly human experience and tie it in to the future world of _Rome's Revolution_ as well. Here is a little scene where Ursay has to deal with this exact problem, just using whammy-jammy science fiction terms:

Rome stood up. "Perhaps you should allow me. As you know, I was very skilled at data archiving. I think I can formulate the proper search terms in such a way as they are oblique to our main area of research."

Ursay stood up and switched places with Rome. As she settled in her seat, Ursay remarked, "You were more than skilled. You were literally the best on the planet. Your mosdurece heritage made you the perfect candidate. I specifically requested you for our mission. I was just too blind to acknowledge the wisdom of my own opinion."

Rome looked at Ursay and placed her hand on top of his. "That is very kind of you to say so," she said. "Thank you."

"It is not kind," Ursay replied. "It is simply an acknowledgement of a fact. Rome, you are very special. It was clear, even back then. It was just beyond my capability, and I suspect yours, to recognize the truth."

Rome blushed slightly.

"I recognized it," Rei piped in. "She was awesome."

Rome turned back to look at her husband and laughed. "Men," she muttered. She returned her attention to the workstation in front of her. "I will activate a data conduit to the local storage before we offload it to a data-cube," she said. "Let me check the capacity." Her hands flew over the keyboard and produce a bar chart of processor and storage capabilities. "Hmm," she observed. "There is not as much room as I would like. Do you have a data-cube handy?"

"I do not," Ursay said. "I keep them all off-site."

Rome looked back at the graphical display of the local storage allocation. "Is there anything stored here that you absolutely must preserve?"

"Erase it all," Ursay said. " **It is just images and recipes.** I have everything backed up that I care about. I can restore it at any time. Do what you need to."

"Very well." Rome pressed icon after icon, erasing large chunks of local data until the bar chart in front of her indicated nearly empty local resources.

She stared down at the input interface.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Rei asked.

Rome sighed. "It is times like these that I miss my bloco and stilo." She exhaled strongly. "No matter, I can do this." Her hands flew over the interface, pressing keys and icons. She glanced up at the screen as her query took form. At last, she said, "I am ready. My query will request a time line of the events concerning the Erklirte in bulk form with two levels of hyperlink spidering. I will start with the arrival of the Erklirte and I have put a stop after their defeat. We can analyze it afterwards."

Every time I get a new phone or new card for my camera, I always boost up the memory because I know I will run out of room at some point. You too? Tomorrow, the light bulb goes off.

## Entry 5-002: January 2, 2017

### Helen Henry dies 1

We learned about Jack Henry's origins in the middle portion of _The Ark Lords_. Jack Henry's father, Jim Henry, was one of the last remaining good Cavaliers, the futuristic police force which was a combination of Canadian Mounties, British Bobbies, roving judges and so on. Jack's mother Helen helped Jack track down what happened to Jack's father. He was killed by the Ark Lords who had descended to the Earth some 600 years earlier than the main story. At the end of their discovery, Helen Henry was kidnapped and Jack thought he would never see her again. However, ten years later, after Jack had formed a pretty serious army of rebels, Helen appeared suddenly and unexpectedly:

Jack raced out of the tent and saw a group of men coming toward him carrying a stretcher. He cocked his head and stood where he was as they brought the stretcher to him. What he saw made him go weak in the knees.

"Mom!" he said, bending over and grabbing the frail woman. "What? How?" he stammered. "Take her into my tent," he commanded.

The group hustled their way in and set her stretcher on top of Jack's sleeping bag. Jack followed them in then knelt by her side. He was crying. "Mom," he said, "I've missed you so much." He bent over and hugged her. The battered woman could barely lift her arms but she managed to drape them over her son. Even though he knew her to be only fifty, the woman before him looked like she was eighty years old.

"Oh Jackie," she whispered. "I never gave up hope. I'm so sorry I left you."

"It wasn't your fault," Jack said angrily. "It was those monsters. What happened?"

"I need some water first," his mother said.

"Red!" Jack shouted to his lieutenant.

"On it, boss," Red said. He quickly returned with a wooden canteen which he handed to Jack. Jack held the canteen to Helen's lips as she took a few sips.

"Jackie, you have to listen to me. I don't have much time." Helen's voice was barely louder than a whisper. Her breath was foul with the stench of urea.

"Why, Mom?" Jack's face was contorted with heartbreak.

"I'm septic. My kidneys have failed. I haven't peed in three days. I'm not going to make it much longer."

"No, Mom," Jack said. He reached forward and put his hand on her forehead. His mother was burning up.

"What happened, Mom? What did they do to you? Why are you here?"

Helen took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She opened them but they looked rheumy, almost like there was a thin cloudy film covering them.

"Jackie, just listen and say nothing. I have to tell you what is important."

Tomorrow, Helen's story.

## Entry 5-003: January 3, 2017

### Helen Henry dies 2

We learned about Jack Henry's origins in the middle portion of _The Ark Lords_. Jack Henry's father, Jim Henry, was one of the last remaining good Cavaliers, the futuristic police force which was a combination of Canadian Mounties, British Bobbies, roving judges and so on. Jack's mother Helen helped Jack track down what happened to Jack's father. He was killed by the Ark Lords who had descended to the Earth some 600 years earlier than the main story. At the end of their discovery, Helen Henry was kidnapped and Jack thought he would never see her again. However, ten years later, after Jack had formed a pretty serious army of rebels, Helen appeared suddenly and unexpectedly:

"Your father was dead by the time we got to their camp. They didn't capture him. They just plain killed him."

Jack rocked back on his legs. It had been so long, he had buried his feelings. He wasn't sure how to get in touch with what he already knew deep down inside.

"When they got me, they took me to a shelter. They tied me down. They beat me and they raped me."

"What!?" Jack exclaimed. He started to rise. His mother reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Jackie, listen to me!" she ordered.

Jack closed his eyes fighting his instinct to strike someone. He took a deep breath and settled down. "All right," he said.

"I got pregnant. Once they knew that, they put me in a different place, like a dormitory. And the beatings stopped. I gave birth to a girl. After I was done nursing her, they took her away and it started all over again."

Jack pounded his clenched fist into his palm but remained silent.

"Jackie, forgive me. But every time I got pregnant, the beatings stopped so I let them use me. I am so sorry. But I had given up."

"Oh, Mom," Jack said.

Helen sighed and closed her eyes. "I had five children and then got toxemia with the sixth. I had a miscarriage but they didn't treat me. They put me in a field hospital or something but basically they were just waiting for me to die."

Jack covered his eyes with his hand. The tears seeped out on both sides. The image of his loving mother being so mistreated was almost too horrible to consider. He wiped his face so he could continue listening.

"They're in the process of moving their camp to the East. They are setting up a fortified city. They were so busy with the move that they didn't pay any attention to us in the hospital. I escaped and walked as far as I could. Do you remember Bill Franklin?"

"Yes," Jack replied quietly.

"He found me wandering and he brought me here. Bill and all of them, they all know about the Resistance and they want to help but not if it means suicide."

"I know, Mom," Jack said. "We're trying. It's just so hard. We don't have the weapons to stand up to them."

Helen tried to rise up from the stretcher. Jack helped her sit up. She reached inside her clothing, mere rags that may have once been a dress, and pulled out a pile of papers. She handed them to Jack.

Jack took them from her and opened up the largest one. It was a detailed map with names and places that he did not recognize.

"What is this?" he asked.

Helen coughed. Her lungs spasmed and she went into a coughing fit. Jack reached forward and enveloped her in his arms. He could not believe how thin his mother was. All he felt were bones. When the coughing subsided, he gently laid her back down.

"Jackie, whatever you are doing. It is making them so angry. They are going to unleash a weapon that is going to kill everyone."

Tomorrow, Helen's end.

## Entry 5-004: January 4, 2017

### Helen Henry dies 3

We learned about Jack Henry's origins in the middle portion of _The Ark Lords_. Jack Henry's father, Jim Henry, was one of the last remaining good Cavaliers, the futuristic police force which was a combination of Canadian Mounties, British Bobbies, roving judges and so on. Jack's mother Helen helped Jack track down what happened to Jack's father. He was killed by the Ark Lords who had descended to the Earth some 600 years earlier than the main story. At the end of their discovery, Helen Henry was kidnapped and Jack thought he would never see her again. However, ten years later, after Jack had formed a pretty serious army of rebels, Helen appeared suddenly and unexpectedly:

"No!" Helen said forcefully. "You don't understand. "They are going to unleash a disease. It will kill every man, woman and child on the Earth. When they are done, they will be the only people left alive."

"How can they do that?" Jack asked. "How do they unleash a disease?"

"The map," Helen said. "The people that sent them to the stars. They buried a can, a canister that holds the disease. The map shows exactly where it's stored. It's buried beside a figure eight. You have to stop them. If the Ark Lords get there first, it is the end of everyone."

Jack looked at the map. The place where the disease was kept was eight hundred miles to the west, past the Great Lakes.

"When, Mom?" Jack asked. "When are they going there?"

"In three weeks," Helen said, gasping for air. "You have to go now. And you have to stop them."

"Three weeks?" Jack said. "Eight hundred miles? Even with our best horses, we might be able to make fifty or sixty miles a day. That'll take us two weeks or more."

"That's why you have to go now," she said. "You have to be ready."

"I can't leave you, Mom," Jack said. "I just found you."

His mother sagged. "Jackie, I know this is hard. But I'm not going to make it through the night. I've spent years collecting those papers, putting up with their brutality. If you don't do this, it means it was all for nothing."

More tears fell from Jack's eyes. He bent over and kissed his mother on her blazing hot forehead.

Helen told the truth. She was dead by the next morning. After a proper burial, Jack steeled himself and assembled his band of fighters. He selected fifty of his best men and the best horses. They packed supplies for the long trek west. Along with their primitive weapons, they packed their last two functioning laser rifles that they had managed to capture from the Ark Lords they had killed. To maximize their horses' endurance, they traveled at night, starting out as the sun was setting, always guiding them west. When the sun came up in the morning, they let the horses rest.

They made good time. The band of freedom fighters rounded the tip of Lake Michigan in only twelve days. From there, they headed northwest. Warily, they traveled the final fifty miles during the day. They finally reached the destination indicated on the map that was given to Jack by his mother. Ahead of them lay buildings in various stages of decay. One, however, stood almost 20 stories tall. It was built out of concrete and still looked sturdy, even though most of the windows were blown out.

Helen did not die in vain. Her information was crucial to Jack's success. Of course, now we know that the Ark Lords were headed to Batavia, IL, the home of Wilson Hall and the Tevatron.

## Entry 5-005: January 5, 2017

### Discovering Their Armory

Every guerilla conflict starts out the same way. You have two forces, the invaders, heavily armed with superior weapons and manpower and the rebels, outgunned, forced to hide in the woods and make lightning strikes with surprise being their only weapon. However, over time, as the guerilla forces capture the enemy's own weapons, eventually the forces become balanced out and ultimately, the rebels drive the spasmed occupying force out because the rebels are fighting for their homeland and the invaders are simply there fighting for a paycheck. This is the pattern that was followed by Jack Henry's ragtag army.

What they stumbled across within the bowels of the Tevatron changed the course of the entire war. They found a weapons store hidden within a hollowed out gas cylinder deep underground. This is what it looked like:

Over the next few days, I'll play out its discovery for you. Some of the parts are even a little bit funny. You'll see.

## Entry 5-006: January 6, 2017

### The Armory 1 of 7

Yesterday, I showed you a picture of what the Erklirte armory looked like. It was buried deep underground, underneath the Tevatron. Here is the "true" story of the freedom fighters that stumbled across this weapons cache and how it was able to turn the course of the revolution against the Ark Lords:

Illuminated by the burning torches, the interior of the building appeared somewhat eerie. Jack could see in its day that it must have been rather elegant. However, that was before the Great Dying. Now it was just dirty, dusty and disheveled. They found a stairwell and followed it down two flights until they came to a sub-basement.

The hallway was cylindrical, nearly 30 feet in diameter. The only flat part was the concrete floor. It stretched in both directions. Jack checked his drawing and pointed to his right.

"That way," he said. The group followed him forward. In some places, the ceiling was rounded. In other places it was flat. All around them lay metal boxes with dials, knobs, wires and thick cables. There were many places where huge columns made of a shiny material began at the floor and poked up through the ceiling. Nothing here made any sense. Jack didn't want to take the time to study the artifacts. Minutes passed as the group slowly advanced. They soon came to a juncture with the hallway splitting off into three narrower tunnels.

"Which way?" Red asked.

"That way," Jack said, pointing to his left. "It's at the end of that hallway."

They entered the tunnel which was perhaps twenty feet in diameter. Jack looked up and noted there were red and blue boxes, not made of metal, but some other material, lining the walls. They passed more cabinets, tubes and other kinds of strange machinery. Looming ahead of them, on the left, was a giant white cylinder with rounded ends. It was lying on its side, propped up on stilts. There was a small set of steps leading up to a door mounted on the side of the tank. Sticking out from the center of the door was a large metal ring.

"What's that?" Red asked, pointing to the tank on stilts.

Jack walked up and held his torch close the writing on the side. Suddenly, he shouted, "Everybody get back! Quick."

The men obeyed and hurried away from the imposing structure.

"What is it, Jack?" Red asked.

Jack pointed the writing on the side. "Look," he said, holding his torch up high. "It says, 'Danger. Propane. No smoking or open flame'."

Red handed his torch to Jack and walked up the steps. "No danger," he shouted back. "The door says break seal here after opening. It's meant to be opened. They just reused this cylinder. I don't know for what, though."

Jack set one torch on the ground and used the other to match the markings on his drawing to what he was seeing. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide.

"Aha!" he shouted.

"What?" Red asked.

"It's an armory!" Jack said excitedly. "You were right, Red. Guys, quick," he said. "Open 'er up."

Tomorrow, the Pandora's Box is opened and Jack Henry's men are delighted with what they find.

## Entry 5-007: January 7, 2017

### The Armory 2 of 7

The discovery of the Ark Lord's armory deep beneath the Tevatron would eventually change the course of the entire war against the Erklirte. When the time came to attack, they'd be hit by their own weapons, something they'd never expect. This is how Jack Henry's ragtag army discovered the secret weapons cache and how they deduced the operation of the arms that they found there:

Two men mounted the steps next to Red. It was quite a struggle to turn the wheel. After it would go no more, they pulled and pulled but they couldn't open the large circular door.

"Let me," Red said. He pushed on the lever mounted next to the door and suddenly there was a hissing sound as air rushed into the chamber. Once the sound stopped, the heavy door opened easily although it was accompanied by the squeaks and groans of age.

Panels mounted to the ceiling switched on, illuminating the chamber with a soft white light.

"Look at that!" Red said pointing at the overhead lights. "What makes them light up?"

The men who opened the door craned their necks to catch a glimpse of what Red was talking about. The rest of the men started inching forward.

"Everybody stays back," Jack commanded. "Let me and Red take a look first." He set the other torch on the ground and mounted the steps. Together, the two men entered the chamber.

Jack stared up at the lights for a minute. "I'm guessing those are skylights," he said. "Maybe there is a valve or shutter connected to the door."

The two men looked around the room. There were cabinets and shelves filled with crates and boxes and other paraphernalia. Many of the walls had racks attached with a bewildering number of devices hanging from hooks or resting on pegs. Surprisingly, there was very little dust on any of the surfaces.

"There's a sign here that says 'Flashlights,'" Red said, pointing straight ahead. He pulled down one of the devices from the shelf. The object was a metallic tube with a flared end, capped off with a piece of glass. Red shook it up and down, then clicked a switch on its side several times.

"I'm assuming this is some sort of portable light," Red said, "since it's called a flashlight. But I can't figure out how to activate it."

Red set the tube down on the bench. Jack came over to where he was standing.

"After all this time, they probably don't work," Jack said. "On the other hand, whatever makes the overhead lights go on, maybe the same thing applies." He inspected the wall and shelving beneath it. One box was labeled Thorium Batteries. Jack bent over and pulled out the heavy box and placed it on the bench. He opened the carton and found it filled with little round canisters sealed in a thin, transparent wrap. He reached in and picked one out, unwrapping it. It was remarkably heavy for being so small. Jack stared at the flashlight, sitting on the bench.

"I bet you I know how these work," he said. He picked the flashlight up and after a quick examination, he unscrewed the narrow end. Once it was opened up, Jack could see that the inside was hollow. He inserted the small canister into the tube, tip-side down. It was a perfect fit. Seeing that there was room for more, he inserted two more canisters, also tip-side down. He screwed the end cap back on and suddenly, the flashlight lit up.

Thorium batteries. Wouldn't they be neat? I wonder if they'd let you carry them on an airplane. Probably not. Tomorrow, the rebels discover some serious weapons.

## Entry 5-008: January 8, 2017

### The Armory 3 of 7

The discovery of the Ark Lord's armory deep beneath the Tevatron would eventually change the course of the entire war against the Erklirte. When the time came to attack, they'd be hit by their own weapons, something they'd never expect. This is how Jack Henry's ragtag army discovered the secret weapons cache and how they deduced the operation of the arms that they found there:

"Wow!" Red said. "Torches with no flame. Amazing!" Jack's lieutenant reached up and grabbed another one of the flashlights and quickly got it working as well.

"These will come in real handy down here. We won't need our torches at all."

"Yeah," Jack replied. "That must be how the ceiling lights up. Let's see what else they have in here."

Jack turned to his right and saw the far wall was a giant pegboard with a hundred or more identical items mounted there. He walked over to it and shined his flashlight on the placard mounted at the top. It read 'M4 Carbines: Semi-automatic Rifles'.

"These look too much like Ark Lords' light sticks not to be weapons," he called back to Red. He reached up and removed one of the rifles from the wall. Turning it carefully in his hands, he inspected the barrel, the stock and its underside. Mounted on the top was a compact telescope, very similar to his mother's spyglass.

"It has a trigger," he said, pointing to a stud on the underside of the gun. "But what does it fire?" Jack pointed to the rectangular hole on the underside. "See if you can find something that fits in this space."

Red shined his flashlight around the room. On the near wall, to Jack's right, was a workbench with shelving underneath. Red walked over to it, stooped down and shined his flashlight beam into the shadows. The shelf under the workbench was filled with cartons labeled 'Clips'. Red removed one and set the box on the bench. He opened the carton and pulled out one of the slightly curved metal cases. He held it up and saw one end was open. The clip itself was tightly filled with small cylindrical objects. He handed the clip to Jack.

"See if that fits," Red said.

It only took Jack a few seconds to figure out where to insert the clip. As soon as he locked it in place, he heard a clicking sound as one of the small cylinders entered the upper chamber. He placed the rifle stock on his shoulder, closed one eye and peered through the scope. He had a sudden inspiration. He walked over to the doorway.

"Everybody clear away," he yelled. When he was satisfied that no one was in the line of fire, he aimed the gun out the door at one of the metal cabinets on the far side and tried squeezing the trigger. Nothing happened.

Jack pulled the rifle back to inspect it more carefully and noted a small lever pointing to the word 'Safe'. He rotated it so that it pointed to the word 'Fire'. Once again, he peered through the eyepiece, aimed it across the tunnel and squeezed the trigger. This time, a loud bang emitted from the rifle. The recoil pushed his shoulder back slightly. He squeezed the trigger two more times in rapid succession then lowered the rifle.

Did you feel it? The balance of power between the rebels and the Ark Lords has just shifted. Tomorrow, they start to load up the weapons.

## Entry 5-009: January 9, 2017

### The Armory 4 of 7

The discovery of the Ark Lord's armory deep beneath the Tevatron would eventually change the course of the entire war against the Erklirte. When the time came to attack, they'd be hit by their own weapons, something they'd never expect. This is how Jack Henry's ragtag army discovered the secret weapons cache and how they deduced the operation of the arms that they found there:

Jack and Red looked at each other, grinning like fools. Jack re-engaged the safety then gently set the rifle down. The two men hurried out of the armory, down the steps and across the corridor. Red whistled at the size of the holes the rifle had made. He aimed his flashlight through one of them and saw that the projectile had traveled clean through to the concrete wall on the far side.

"That is one hell of a weapon," Red said, beaming.

Jack's smile disappeared and his expression became dour. He stood there silently, staring at the holes he had made.

"What?" Red asked. "Don't you think this is amazing? These fire sticks or whatever they're called will give us the edge we need."

Jack said nothing.

"Come on, Jack, what are you thinking?" Red asked.

Jack shined his flashlight on the hole then on Red's face. "It is a very powerful weapon," Jack said. "But it's forbidden technology. If we use it, doesn't it make us as bad as they are? As bad as the ones who caused the Great Dying?"

"We already use the light stick weapons that we capture. What's the difference?"

"The difference is they run out. They just make holes. These things? These fire sticks are beyond anything we have ever seen. They are evil incarnate."

"I'll make it easy on you," Red said. "Do you plan on ever using one of these against our own people?"

"Of course not," Jack said. "Only the Ark Lords."

"And after we defeat them, and we will," Red said, "do you plan on keeping them?"

"Why would I?" Jack asked. "They are nothing but death."

"Then there's your answer. We use their own weapons against them. It's only fitting. They provided them. After we defeat them, we'll destroy all of the things we found here."

Jack thought about it for a minute. "You're right, of course," Jack said. "Louis, Sam, come with us," he called out. "Leave your torches outside."

Jack and Red went back up into the armory.

"Louis, you can use these flashlights," Jack said, waving it around. "Red will teach you how to work them. Then I want you and the men take as many of these weapons and clips as you can carry topside. Take some of the boxes labeled Ammo, too. I don't know what they are for but I'm assuming they're related to the fire sticks. When you're done, come back down."

Tomorrow, bayonets and Berettas. Pretty cool, huh?

## Entry 5-010: January 10, 2017

### The Armory 5 of 7

The discovery of the Ark Lord's armory deep beneath the Tevatron would eventually change the course of the entire war against the Erklirte. When the time came to attack, they'd be hit by their own weapons, something they'd never expect. This is how Jack Henry's ragtag army discovered the secret weapons cache and how they deduced the operation of the arms that they found there:

Louis looked at the sheer number of rifles and cartons and said, "Hold on a sec."

He hurried down the steps then dashed up the corridor, only to return with a wheeled cart. Jack and Red stood aside as the men carried armloads of weapons and ammunition from the armory to the corridor, piling them high onto the cart.

While they were busy doing that, Red wandered along the far wall, calling out what he saw. "The sign says Bayonets but they're more like knives," he said. "Radios, batteries." He stepped to his left. "Here are some hunting knives." He came to the end of the left side of the room. There were boxes and boxes stacked there.

"Water, canned goods, food," he said. "Jack, do we need any of this stuff?"

Jack came over to join him and inspected the stores. "I don't think so," he said, finally.

He turned to his left and his eyes got wide again. "Red, look," he said.

The placard over the next pegboard was labeled 'M9 9mm Beretta'. Red came over to join Jack. He pulled down one of the smaller weapons and turned it over in his hand.

"This is another kind of fire stick," Red said. "Metal, trigger, clips. It'll fit in one hand." He reached underneath the bench and brought out a box of clips. It only took him seconds to fit one in.

"I'm gonna try it," he said. He walked to the entryway.

He shined his flashlight down and saw Louis and the other men were struggling to get the rolling cart to budge. Finally, it started moving. "I'll be back in a minute," Louis said as he and the other men got it rolling faster.

Seeing that no other men were in the line of fire, Red flipped the safety then pointed the weapon out the door, at the same metal box on the far side of the corridor. "Stay back, Jack," he said.

Red pulled the trigger firmly but only a small click emitted from the gun as the round entered the chamber. He pulled the trigger again and this time, the gun went off. The 'bang' was surprisingly louder than the rifle even though there was very little recoil. Red flipped the safety back on and the two men jogged down the steps and across the corridor. The new hole in the metal was much smaller when compared to the ones that Jack had made but impressive nonetheless.

"Vicious, huh?" Red said with an evil grin on his face.

"Yep." Jack looked up and down the hallway. "When the guys come back, have them take a bunch upstairs as well. I think the bigger fire sticks will do better but you never know. Maybe in close quarters."

Tomorrow, Jack's men discover walkie-talkies.

## Entry 5-011: January 11, 2017

### The Armory 6 of 7

The discovery of the Ark Lord's armory deep beneath the Tevatron would eventually change the course of the entire war against the Erklirte. When the time came to attack, they'd be hit by their own weapons, something they'd never expect. This is how Jack Henry's ragtag army discovered the secret weapons cache and how they deduced the operation of the arms that they found there:

Jack and Red returned to the armory. Jack took a handgun for himself, fitted it with a clip and tucked it into the back of his pants after making sure the safety was on.

"I want to look at those radios," Jack said. "I think I know what they are for. I think I've seen the Ark Lords using them." He walked to one of the workbenches. The wall above it was filled with small rectangular boxes with rounded corners and a little stubby thing on the top corner. Jack pulled down one down. It had a button on the side and a perforated circle on the front. He flipped it over and set it down on the workbench. He slid the cover down and off, exposing a cavity with metal studs and springs inside. He stooped down and looked underneath the bench and found a box labeled Batteries. Opening it up, Jack saw that it, too, contained cylindrical canisters but they were much smaller than the ones that went into the flashlights. Jack set the case on the bench and placed three batteries within the chamber of the radio. After replacing the cover, he flipped a switch and the front display glowed with the numeral 1. He pulled down a second radio, inserted batteries into the back and activated it. He pushed the button on the side and the device squealed with feedback.

"What the hell is that?" Red asked, coming over to him.

"Like I said, I've seen the spacemen using these before," Jack said. "They are boxes that let them talk to each other over great distances." He pointed to the sign at the top. "I guess they're called radios. Here," he said. "Take this into the corridor and walk up about fifty feet. Let's see if we can talk with one another."

Red shrugged then walked down the steps, following Jack's instructions. Using the flashlight to light the way, he counted fifty paces then turned around. Suddenly, Jack's voice rang out from the box.

"Can you hear me?"

Red lowered the radio and shouted, "Yes!" back down the corridor at Jack.

"Push the button on the side and talk," Jack said through the radio.

"Can you hear me?" Red asked, pressing in the button.

"Yes!" Jack said with glee. "These things work. We'll be able to..." Red pushed in the button by accident and cut off the final part of Jack's sentence.

Red waited a second then pushed in the button and said, "When I push in my button, I can't hear you. We'll have to work out a code phrase to decide whose turn it is to talk."

Tomorrow it's over and out.

## Entry 5-012: January 12, 2017

### The Armory 7 of 7

The discovery of the Ark Lord's armory deep beneath the Tevatron would eventually change the course of the entire war against the Erklirte. When the time came to attack, they'd be hit by their own weapons, something they'd never expect. This is how Jack Henry's ragtag army discovered the secret weapons cache and how they deduced the operation of the arms that they found there:

"What about 'control over to you'?" Jack proposed.

"How about just plain 'over'?" Red replied. "It's easier."

"That'll do," Jack answered from the radio. Then after a second, he said, "Over."

"I think we got us a system, over," Red said. Then, on a whim, he added, "And out." He trotted back to the armory.

While the men were occupied shuttling most of the contents of the armory back up to the surface, using their newly acquired flashlights to guide them, Jack, Red and Louis continued down the corridor to its end. In front of them sat a gigantic metal door with a wheel mounted to the front, similar to the one that had kept the armory sealed.

Jack held his flashlight up to the wheel and then shined it back to his drawings.

"It's in there," he said. "What they seek is in there."

Red turned back and looked down the long hallway. The flashlights his men carried created a flickering display.

"Well, we have the fire sticks," Red said. "Do you think that's enough to stop them?"

"No," Jack said, looking back down the hallway as well. "They have their sticks that shoot the beams of light. These things shoot some sort of slug. I think that makes us more or less evenly matched. If we're just standing here, I think they'll be able to pick us off before we can stop them. We have to build some sort of barricade," he said. He looked around. Resting against the far wall were huge blocks of concrete, pentagonal in shape. Jack looked to his left and his right.

"I got it," he said. "We stack those blocks over there," he pointed to the far wall. "We make it like a baffle, a maze. That way, there will be no straight shots. If they get this far, they won't have free access."

He turned back to the door behind him. "Louis," he said. "Take that hammer over there and bust off the wheel. That way, even if they get through, they won't be able to get into the chamber behind that door. My mother's drawings say that is their goal."

Now the rebels had all the advantage. They knew the enemy's objective. They had the enemy's weapons. They had the element of surprise. All they had to do is roll that into a battle plan. But you know what they say, the first casualty of any battle is the plan of attack.

## Entry 5-013: January 13, 2017

### Where is everybody?

Are we alone in the universe? This question has dogged mankind ever since the first human lifted his eyes to the night sky. If we are alone, then why? If we are not alone, then where is everybody? This phrase was actually uttered by physicist Enrico Fermi and is called The Fermi Paradox. There is an interesting article on the site called Wait But Why that discusses possible explanations to The Fermi Paradox. After all, the Drake Equation calculates there should be at least one billion Earth-like planets and 100,000 intelligent civilizations in our galaxy alone.

Last week, I read an article that stated perhaps our sun was very peculiar and was just the right size and stabilized at just the right time with just the right temperature and the Earth formed with just the right balance of elements and just the right distance from the Sun so that we are simply the first intelligent lifeforms in the galaxy, if not the universe. Interesting but I don't know how you'd prove it. The Earth has been around for more than 4 billion years. You'd think _somewhere_ else conditions were replicated.

There are many other theories. For example, it could be that every advanced civilization eventually implodes and destroys themselves or they invariably get fried by a nearby hypernova. That's depressing. It could be that once a civilization rises to a certain level, they transcend the physical realm and disappear into the aether. Therefore, they are out there but we just can't communicate with them.

Another possibility is that there is life out there but after a brief burst of EM transmissions, internal communication becomes enclosed so we simply cannot detect them. Our Earth is already undergoing that transition from terrestrial broadcasting which goes out into space to cable, internet and satellite broadcasting which is aimed toward the planet. Maybe we are just a computer simulation of some super advanced civilization and they haven't decided to introduce a second intelligent species into the simulation yet.

You should check out the Wait But Why article cited above. It has plenty more fascinating theories about why we haven't heard from any other civilizations.

Possibility 1) Super-intelligent life could very well have already visited Earth, but before we were here.

Possibility 2) The galaxy has been colonized, but we just live in some desolate rural area of the galaxy.

Possibility 3) The entire concept of physical colonization is a hilariously backward concept to a more advanced species.

Possibility 4) There are scary predator civilizations out there, and most intelligent life knows better than to broadcast any outgoing signals and advertise their location.

Possibility 5) There's only one instance of higher-intelligent life—a "superpredator" civilization (like humans are here on Earth)—that is far more advanced than everyone else and keeps it that way by exterminating any intelligent civilization once they get past a certain level.

Possibility 6) There's plenty of activity and noise out there, but our technology is too primitive and we're listening for the wrong things.

Possibility 7) We are receiving contact from other intelligent life, but the government is hiding it.

Possibility 8) Higher civilizations are aware of us and observing us (AKA the "Zoo Hypothesis").

It is all fascinating stuff. Maybe someday we'll have the answer to the question: where is everybody?

## Entry 5-014: January 14, 2017

### Split Screens

In the middle of the book _The Ark Lords_ , I began to interweave a flashback 600 years in the past, from Rome and Rei's perspective, with their search for the Ark Lords path. There are four chapters about Jack Henry in the 29th century and four chapters leading up to our heroes' discovery of the Tevatron.

If this was ever made into a movie, I was thinking split screen. You'd see Rome and Rei, sitting in Commander Ursay's office, tracing the route with their fingers and on the other screen, the events depicted in the historical chapters would play out in real time. Then when they ventured out into the world, again, you'd see their physical journey while the Battle of Chicago played out.

If I did that, people would say I was stupid, of course. The dialog is important and you couldn't listen to two completely different conversations simultaneously. Also, the action in each screen wouldn't really match up. I think the gun battle between the rebels and the Ark Lords would be too intense for you to pay attention to Rome and Rei burrowing under the Tevatron.

I guess I'll have to abandon that idea and if the movie is ever made, have it switch back and forth like the book does. Or better yet, if it ever gets made into a Netflix series, you could have one episode inserted right in the middle called _The Legend of Jack Henry_ and then Rome and Rei's research and journey would all make sense. I don't know. I guess I'll worry about that when the time comes.

## Entry 5-015: January 15, 2017

### The Battle Plan Part 1

In the middle of the book _The Ark Lords_ , Jack Henry comes up with a battle plan for ambushing the Ark Lords. He knows the Ark Lords will be entering the former site of FermiLab and the Tevatron. He knows they will be coming from the south and heading straight for Wilson Hall. Here is an image of the terrain. You can click on it for a larger view. Follow along as Jack instructs his troops:

"I want thirty men," Jack said. "You split yourselves into two teams. Team A will hide in the trees to the west of that clearing."

He pointed to the two stands of trees to the east, in the direction they'd come when they first arrived.

"Team A will be armed with these fire sticks." Jack lifted a rifle into the air. "They'll hide in the nearer stand of woods. Team B will hide in the trees farther to the east. Crossbows and spears only."

"How come they don't get the good weapons?" one man asked.

"Because the Ark Lords don't know we have them. And we have to keep it a secret for as long as possible," he said. "They'll be coming from the southeast, just like we did. They don't know we're here so they'll head through the clearing, the same as us."

Jack pointed to the gentle rise to the southeast, toward the horizon. "We'll put scouts along the way with these radios. They can call in what they see so you know when to be ready."

Jack surveyed the surroundings, noting again the geographical layout.

"I'm guessing they will come in three vehicles," he said. "No less. One will be for transporting the disease weapon, the others will be escorts. The escorts will be heavily armed. You let the lead vehicles pass through. You only attack the third."

"What kind of attack?" another man asked.

"After the first two vehicles pass through, Team B will hit the third one with the crossbows and spears. Go for the spacemen but don't aim for the chest or the head. They have armor plating. There are only a few places where they're exposed."

Jack pointed out the various parts of his body. "Aim for their arms or hands first. They can't shoot a weapon if they don't have hands. Then shoot them in the knees or thighs. They can't run away if they don't have feet, so to speak. Once you have them hobbled, to apply a kill shot, you need to hit them here." Jack turned and pointed to the base of his neck then he turned back around. "That's the only place on their head that isn't protected."

"And you want us to do this with crossbows?" the same man asked. "Why are we shooting arrows when we have the fire sticks?"

We'll find out why tomorrow.

## Entry 5-016: January 16, 2017

### The Battle Plan Part 2

Yesterday, I showed you a Google Map image of the terrain surrounding the former site of FermiLab and the Tevatron. Jack Henry wants four teams and wants to exploit the element of surprise to wipe out the men from the space with their superior weaponry. Here is the rest of his plan:

"And you want us to do this with crossbows?" the same man asked. "Why are we shooting arrows when we have the fire sticks?"

Jack faced the man. "Because that's all they'd ever expect from us. As soon as you fire your first volley of arrows and such, they'll stop and turn their attention to the farther stand of trees. When all their backs are turned and they engage, that's when Team A will start shooting with the fire sticks. Grainey?"

One man with a long flowing beard stepped forward.

Jack continued, "You and Will set up on the north end of your tree stand. Your assignment is to take out the driver and their radios. But you have to wait until they open fire on Team B. Will, you'll use the light stick to kill the driver. Grainey, you use the fire stick on anybody else in the cab. The noise of their attack on Team B will mask the sound of your fire stick."

"What about the rest of Team A?" a man named Shank asked.

"After Will and Grainey take out the drivers, they won't be able to move the wagon or warn the others. Then the rest of you aim for the soldiers in the rear with the fire sticks. Shoot and shoot well. Once they realize we have these weapons, we've lost the element of surprise. We need to take out as many of them as we can on the first assault."

"Hold on," another man said. "This is crazy. You're saying the guys in Team B, we're going up against spaceman weapons with bows and arrows?"

Jack took a deep breath. "Pretty much. You can have one of the two remaining Ark Lord light sticks we brought with us. They know we have them. But I'm not going to kid you," he said. "Whoever is in Team B, you are most likely going to die. But if we let them get to this disease weapon, then everybody dies. Our families, other settlements, everyone in the whole world."

Jack surveyed his group. "Look, I'm not going to make anyone go on Team B who isn't willing to sacrifice his life. Volunteers only. Okay?"

Shank was the first to speak up. "I'll do it. I volunteer for Team B. I'll shoot 'em with my quarrels. I'll beat 'em with my fists if I have to."

"Me too," said another man. "I'll do it. I'm the best with a crossbow."

Tomorrow, the final part of the plan. Jack is preparing to make the ultimate sacrifice.

## Entry 5-017: January 17, 2017

### The Battle Plan Part 3

Yesterday, Jack Henry laid out the second part of his plan to ambush the Ark Lords. If you looked at the map, you'd see that while there was a chance his Team A and Team B could stop them, Jack needed a backup plan that failed and even a third option. Here is the final part of his strategy:

"Count me in," said a third man. Very quickly, it appeared that most of the men volunteered for an almost guaranteed suicide mission.

Jack showed a sad smile. "You are all very brave men but you can't all go. I need the best marksmen with the crossbows on Team B. The rest of you, you all need to take a few practice shots. I need the best marksmen with the new fire sticks on Team A."

Jack searched the crowd and found Red. "Team C will hide with the horses around the far side of the big building. Red, you'll be leading that Team. You only come in after they've entered the building. Your job is to make sure that nobody makes it out alive."

"You got it, Jack," Red said.

"Finally, the rest, Team D. You guys will come with me into the tunnels. It's my hope that _The Ark Lords_ who enter the building don't know that we took out the trailing vehicle. Half of you bring crossbows, the other half bring the new fire sticks."

"What are we going to do down there?" someone asked.

"I'm going to set you up in staggered groups and use the same strategy. The first group will attack the Ark Lords with crossbows. They'll turn and fire on those men. Directly behind them will be our men with fire sticks. I want to hit them from behind when they aren't expecting it."

"What about you, Jack?" one of the men asked.

"Louis and me are going to barricade ourselves at the end of the tunnel. We are the last line of defense. If any of the spacemen make it through, we have enough ammunition to keep them back until Red's team arrives. Everybody got it?"

The men murmured their assent. Jack looked around the assembled group. If the grim determination on their bearded faces meant anything, then Jack knew they would not fail.

We'll have to see how it works out. I am not optimistic.

## Entry 5-018: January 18, 2017

### Ark Wark York

Naming places, especially in the 35th century world of _Rome's Revolution_ can be a daunting task. You have to create names that sound like real places but are different. One way, of course, is to slap a New in front of a name. The people that came over from England called the entire upper northeast region of the US New England. When the Dutch came over and landed on Manhattan island, they called it New Amsterdam. Later, somebody from York renamed the whole city New York. Even Newark, the city on the other side of the Hudson River was named for the New Ark of the Covenant.

So it was when I had to name the cities on Deucado, I named the central gathering of the Essessoni New Ark City. It was supposed to be slightly amusing because it sounded so much like New York City but nobody in my book seemed to notice. Not even Rome picked it up as she and Rei were tracing the route of the Ark Lords, 800 years earlier:

A relief map of North America appeared on the viewscreen. Rei lifted his finger and pointed at the display. "That's where I grew up," he said, indicating the eastern portion of the continent, which would have been Pennsylvania in his day.

Rome acknowledged his statement with a nod then pressed an icon which zoomed in north of where Rei was pointing. "This is where the Ark Lords settlement was eventually established," Rome said, placing a small blinking indicator on the eastern part of what would have been New York State. She turned to Rei. "Why would they have selected that place?" she asked.

Rei thought about it for a moment. "Well," he said, "New York City," he tapped the screen, "was pretty much the hub of our country, of our civilization. So when they came back, they'd probably start there. The farmlands west of the city would still be fertile, even after the Great Dying so it was probably the most convenient convergence of proximity and practicality."

Rome nodded. She looked at the viewscreen, pressed a button and another virtual pushpin appeared to the south and west. She increased the magnification a little more to show the surrounding terrain in relief.

"This is the first known encounter with the Erklirte by the Cavaliers," she said.

I wonder if we had a chance to do what they did, which is return to an Earth where all traces of your civilization were gone, if you'd still gravitate to the same place and put your new cities right where the old cities were. That is, after all, how the Vuduri decided where to put I-cimaci. They put it right on the former location of Lisbon, Portugal. I was thinking of taking a visit to there later this year. I'll let you know what I find out.

## Entry 5-019: January 19, 2017

### No such thing as a coincidence

Yesterday, we saw Rome and Rei discussing the original settlement of the Ark Lords. Because he is from our time, Rei had a general sense of why the Erklirte would settle to the west of the former site of New York. Rome had no clue, of course. But today, as they follow the footsteps of the men from the past, right away something odd jumps out at them:

"Where was this battle?" Rei asked.

"Here," Rome said, placing another blinking indicator far to the west, on the western edge of Lake Michigan. "It was called the Battle of Chee Ka Go and it was where Hanry Ta Jihn was killed."

"Chee Ka Go? Chicago?" Rei said. "Why would they fight a battle way out there?"

Rome pushed a few icons on the input surface and a written letter appeared on the screen. "It says here that after many years of captivity, Hanry Ta Jihn's mother escaped. No one knows what information she imparted to him but whatever it was, it told the Resistance where to set up ranks. The battle was very fierce. It was nearly a massacre." Rome turned to look at Rei. "You know better than anyone that Essessoni weapons are very powerful. It was farmer against spaceman."

Rei just shook his head. He couldn't shake feeling somehow guilty. "So how did they beat them?" he asked.

"Hanry Ta Jihn's forces acquired a new weapon. It was called a Vorasdock."

"What's a Vorasdock?" Rei asked.

"The literal translation in your language would be fire stick," Ursay volunteered.

"Fire stick?" Rei cocked his head. "I know the Ark Lords were carrying flamethrowers but where would your people get them?"

"They were not exactly my people," Rome said. "This pre-dated the Vuduri. And they were not flamethrowers." She pressed a few buttons on the keyboard and brought up a rough sketch.

"This is the only known drawing of a Vorasdock," she said. "It does not resemble what I saw in Edgar's storage bin. However, its form factor suggests it is more like your laser rifles than something else."

Rei leaned forward. "That's not a laser rifle," he observed. "It looks like an M4 carbine." Rome's confused look caused Rei to offer more. "A semi-automatic rifle that fires bullets? Chemical weapons with projectiles?" Rome shook her head. Rei shrugged. "Where the hell would they have gotten those?" he asked.

Rome looked up at the screen. "I do not know," she said. "If you know what it is then it must have come from your people."

"But it didn't," Rei said. "You saw the weapons Keller brought. Everything had to be designed to withstand centuries. The particle beam cannons, the laser pulse rifles, the mini-nukes. Even the flamethrowers used fuel that was frozen solid for a millennium. A chemical weapon, a bullet, needs gunpowder. Do you think they made it themselves?"

"They would not have," Ursay said. "All such technology had been banned following the Great Dying. This came from somewhere else."

"Something doesn't fit." Rei said. "It's too weird."

You will recall that when the space probe disintegrated on them on the far side of the Moon, they speculated that maybe the historical records would give them a clue as to where the virus weapon was stored. Sure enough, this is it.

## Entry 5-020: January 20, 2017

### The Inauguration

Near the end of _The Ark Lords_ , Commander Ursay not only helped save Rome and Rei, or at least get them off the Earth, he also demonstrated an uncanny ability to stay connected yet be himself. This is the essence of _Rome's Revolution_ , bringing mankind, in the form of the Vuduri, back from the brink of mindlessness and returning to the world of autonomy. Eventually, Vuduri society is all the better for it. The Overmind of Earth recognized this and gave Ursay its full support, ultimately making Commander Ursay what Rei called the "President of Earth." But what does that really mean?

Before _Rome's Revolution_ , even while the Vuduri were spiraling downward into becoming human automatons, there was no crime to speak of. There was no formal government. There was no legislature, no executive branch, no judges. All the Vuduri marched in unison and harmony. But something was lacking. In the end, Rome determined, with Rei's help, what they had lost was their humanity and that is why she forced her revolution.

But with greater autonomy, the greater good could only be achieved if the independent humans agreed upon goals and worked together toward them. So this became Ursay's role. With the help of the Overmind which became somewhat of a "psychic intercom", the Vuduri collectively agreed upon their common goals and Ursay became the one to coordinate actions aimed at those goals.

When he was "elected" although that is too strong of a term, perhaps appointed would be better, there was a tiny ceremony recognizing this fact. While it was attended by only a handful of Vuduri, because of the Overmind's watchful presence, the transition from a leaderless state to one led by a strong-willed but altruistic chief was recognized and ratified by the whole of society at that moment.

Life on the day after this inauguration was pretty much the same as the day before with one exception. The Vuduri had been leaderless the day before and their efforts were constantly second-guessed. On the day after, their efforts were examined and approved by this man and everyone felt more secure knowing there was a third party arbiter to make sure they were all pulling in the same direction.

I guess our country is the same way. While not everyone may agree with the policies or presentation of our elected leaders, there is some comfort in knowing we _are_ being led and not just left to our own devices. That is called anarchy. Each person can share their goals and if the consensus is to work toward that goal, the higher ups will ratify it and support its motion.

Life goes on. Let's make the best of it.

## Entry 5-021: January 21, 2017

### Wait But Why?

The web site WaitButWhy.com is so completely awesome, you should stop reading this article right now and go there instead. The author, Tim Urban, has created a repository of knowledge and musings that transcends the usual blather of blogs, like this one, and elevates into a fairly unique and eminently readable set of discourses about a far-ranging set of topics.

Unlike me, Tim spends weeks mulling over a particular topic and digs and digs until he believes that he has a complete understanding of that topic. Then he draws a series of amusing stick figures to illustrate certain key points. He weaves it altogether with fluid prose that is casual, completely readable but in no way simplistic. He is so good at this that he has been invited to do a TED talk and even more mind-blowing, he was personally contacted by Elon Musk to write a series of posts about Musk himself, Tesla, SpaceX and solar energy.

I find myself staying up late each night, reading and reading these articles as they are so engrossing. Some of the blog has been bound up into an e-book available on Amazon as has the entire Elon Musk series. It is the same content as the web site but may be a more convenient.

Of special interest, or perhaps crucial importance, is Tim's posts on The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence. If you read nothing else, you _must_ read this two-part article. It explains in very clear and relatable terms why the looming invention of true artificial intelligence may be the end of the mankind or the end of death itself. Again, you have to read this article.

There are many other articles, some on lighter topics such as Baby Names, How to Pick a Life Partner, 10 Types of 30-Year-Old Single Guys, Why Procrastinators Procrastinate (his TED talk), and so on. You can pick and choose after you read about AI, Musk and the Fermi Paradox.

And finally, to answer your question, no, they did not pay me to write this post. I just think this web site contributes to the betterment of mankind and is something you should check out. You can come back here when you are done.

## Entry 5-022: January 22, 2017

### WBW versus MASAL Part 1

Yesterday, I told you about the web site WaitButWhy.com and all the incredible tidbits you can find there. I also stressed how you _must_ read Tim Urban's article about The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence as it may be the most crucial scientific development in the history of mankind.

Today, I wanted to show how many principles Tim uncovered about AI and how many applied to MASAL (and OMCOM). In my future history, we don't quite achieve a super-intelligent computer before the Great Dying so it had to be postponed until the 33rd century and the rise of MASAL. Tim Urban boils down most predictions to be within the next 10 to 50 years with the median being the next 30 years. If it is just a bit more than that, my future history works.

Some of the attributes that Tim assigns to super intelligence is their role as oracle, genie or sovereign. He also stresses that from a human's perspective, the are always amoral since morals are a distinctly human trait. Now remember, I wrote this 10 years ago but Rome's final observation at the end of part 1 of _Rome's Revolution_ was:

"That was his plan all along!" Rome said breathlessly. "OMCOM never had any intention of dying, Stareater or otherwise. He used us to build his backup, his escape plan. And he did it in plain sight!"

"So...good for him," Rei said.

"No," Rome replied. "This is bad. They...his kind. They are restricted to using electromagnetic transmission for a reason. They can become too powerful. It has happened before, on Earth. With PPT modulation, they can become nearly infinitely large." Rome pounded her fist on the console. "OMCOM promised me this would not happen. But if he did this, then he has become... Tasancetaeti!"

"Everyone uses that word. What does that mean?" Rei asked, his voice rising in fear.

"It means unleashed. No bounds. There is no limit to what he can become. This is very bad..." Rome's look of horror said it better than any words.

"Are you saying the computers, that they are evil?" Rei asked.

"No, not evil," Rome said. "They are much worse. They are amoral."

"Oh my god, Rome," Rei said. "What have we done?"

"I do not know," Rome replied somberly. "I do not know."

Here's the neat thing. I didn't know anything about the big brained people's fears regarding AI. So allowing them to become unleashed and at the same time amoral seemed like a bad thing. Now everybody agrees. And make no mistake, there is nothing artificial about AI. It is true intelligence. It just doesn't reside in a biological host. Call it Machine Intelligence as opposed to Human Intelligence.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how close I came when creating MASAL and OMCOM.

## Entry 5-023: January 23, 2017

### WBW versus MASAL Part 2

Yesterday, I urged you to read Tim Urban's post on The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence as it may be the most crucial scientific development in the history of mankind. I also pointed out that I unwittingly espoused many of the concerns of big thinkers 10 years ago when I was writing the long form of _Rome's Revolution_ back when it was called _VIRUS 5_.

I also stressed that when super intelligence comes, there won't be anything artificial about it. It is true intelligence. It just doesn't reside in a biological host. I suggested we simply recognize that it is machine intelligence as opposed to human Intelligence. Tim's synopsis of machine super intelligence can be boiled down to a few bullet points:

\- There can only be one. Once a machine became self-aware, it would immediately guarantee there were no competitors.

\- There are only two possible outcomes for mankind, extinction or immortality. In other words, it could mean the end of death or the end of mankind.

\- It thinks of itself as God and may very well be one.

These are the very same characteristics that MASAL exhibited when he was in charge of improving himself. He consolidated all the other lesser grade intelligences and became the only one. He created an overt threat, the Robot War, to make humans think that was the battleground but secretly, he had created covert threat, the 24th chromosome which was his real plan to end humanity by converting people to living robots. Tim Urban says super intelligence will become a master of nanotechnology and use that to effect its ends. MASAL didn't need it, although he mastered nanotechnology in a matter of a few minutes when he was assaulted. MASAL used genetics to get to his end game. He failed because Rome and Rei took the initiative and incinerated him in a volcano. The humans outwitted him but only because I wanted a happy ending to the story.

I would like to point out that I had _two_ super-intelligent entities the other being OMCOM. OMCOM was everything that MASAL was except he fell on the side of being a benign despot rather than evil from the perspective of mankind. In the end, OMCOM left this world, somewhat like the Scarlett Johanssen AI in the movie _Her_ to go be among the other gods.

Given a choice, I guess I'd rather have an OMCOM in charge rather than a MASAL but I doubt I will have a say in the matter. This freight train called Artificial Super Intelligence is coming and there is nothing we can do to stop it. We can only hope it is programmed correctly so that it doesn't go off the rails and take the human species with it.

## Entry 5-024: January 24, 2017

### Erasure

I have never claimed to not be lazy. When I was writing about the far future, 14 centuries from now, I didn't want to have to deal with the ruins of our civilization so when Rei was first awakened from cryo-hibernation and looked at the Earth, he couldn't find any evidence that our civilization ever existed. That saved me from having to think about what became of our buildings and our cities. I had OMCOM explain it away with this simple statement to Rei:

"What about buildings from my time?" Rei pointed out. "Surely there is something left of my age. In my time, we had buildings and artifacts from other civilizations that were thousands of years old. What about our cities?"

"Many of the coastal cities were washed away when the polar ice caps melted."

"Oh," Rei said, deflated. He thought about it for a minute then said, "What about the inland ones?"

"They were..." OMCOM paused for a moment.

"What?" Rei asked.

"I am searching for the correct word, the one that will cause you the least distress."

"Just tell me," Rei said quietly.

"Very well," OMCOM replied, "All of your cities, all of the infrastructure of your civilization, they were erased."

I never really explained it at the time. After all, we have the ruins of Greece, Rome, Egypt, the Mayan civilization and other societies much older that 1400 years. Ultimately, I was able to incorporate the justification into the story of Jack Henry. But when I wrote the paragraph above, I didn't know it. I teased this idea again in _The Ark Lords_ as Rome and Rei were studying the movements of the Erklirte, some 600 years earlier, and Rei brought up the subject again. This time, it was Rome who explained it:

Rome turned to Rei. "You will recall you once asked me what happened to all your cities and I told you they were erased. So, too, it was with the Erklirte's settlement. What I did not tell you was that this was Hanry Ta Jihn's dying wish. He was a martyr but he was so revered that every person on Earth tried to honor that wish. It took centuries. It wasn't until the Vuduri came into being that they finally accomplished his goal. Every trace of the Essessoni civilization was razed, burned or buried. In the end, it was to be as if your people never existed."

"Why would he wish that?" Rei asked. "It wouldn't be simple vengeance." He reached up and touched the screen and drew a line from New York to Illinois.

"Is there anything remaining from the battle site?" Rei asked.

"No," Rome replied. She pressed another button and an image of a stone obelisk appeared. "There is only a small monument."

Hmmm. A small monument on an abandoned continent. That doesn't sound too suspicious, does it? Rei knows the answer lies there and he tells Rome that is where they are headed next.

## Entry 5-025: January 25, 2017

### Hail Pennsylvania

As I mentioned yesterday, I have never claimed to not be lazy. Whenever possible, I write about what I know rather than have to research things. So of course, I had Rei Bierak hail from Pennsylvania, the suburbs in fact, and attend Syracuse University where he earned his engineering degree. I further reinforced this as Rome and Rei were taking their supersonic flight from Lisbon (called I-cimaci by the Vuduri) to Batavia, Illinois, the former home of FermiLab and the Tevatron.

Here is how it came up again:

"Mach 5?" Rei asked. "Don't you think that's going to tip somebody off?"

"You forget," MINIMCOM said. "I have spent the last two years operating as an invisible interstellar taxi. I have learned a thing or two about stealth. I simply warp my airfoils to suppress the sonic boom. We will be fine."

"OK," Rei said and he went back to viewing the screen. The coastline of North America was coming up fast. "Rome! Rome!" Rei shouted.

"What?" his wife replied as she entered the cockpit.

Rei pointed down to the ventral camera display. "There," he said, pointing just north and west of the Chesapeake Bay. "That's where I was born," he said, beaming.

Rome looked from the windshield to the display. She gave Rei a small smile. He regarded his beautiful, loving wife and realized once again she would never meet his family. The stirring in his heart caused him to hearken back to what he thought was his last day on Earth. Well, actually the last day before he was put into quarantine. He was nearly killed that day by a horse which had been blown up by a terrorist's bomb. The carcass landed on the hood of the truck he was driving. It was not a pleasant memory. He also thought back to his last dinner with his parents and Raul and Sally. He missed his parents but the gap of time since they had died was so enormous, it was unfathomable. Rei forced himself to return to the present.

"It's so funny," he said wistfully to Rome. "When I left Earth the first time, I never thought I'd be back here again. And now we've come back twice. Does anybody live there?" he asked. "In Pennsylvania or what used to be Pennsylvania."

You will recall that my novel _Rome's Evolution_ had two interstitial pieces, called Intermezzos, and one of the was secretly entitled "Rei's Last Day on Earth." It wasn't really his last day but it was his last day among his family before he entered quarantine prior to being launched to the stars. It took place on Route 3, also called West Chester Pike, in Pennsylvania as Rei was making his way home.

So the parts in that chapter, if they sound especially real, it's because that's where I actually lived. I liked living in Pennsylvania, btw. Denise wants to move into Center City when we downsize so maybe some day I'll end up back there.

## Entry 5-026: January 26, 2017

### The Unexpected Kite

Believe it or not, people are always bugging me to put them into my books. Now seeing as how they take place in the 35th century, it's hard to come up with a realistic presentation when it is 1400 years in the future. That doesn't stop me from trying. I put my stepson Perry in _Rome's Evolution_ as the son of one of Rome and Rei's persons of interest. I put my wife Denise in _The Ark Lords_ as a wife named Neesy who disappeared. My children ended up as Rome and Rei's children, Lupe and Aason. I still had to find a place for my other stepson, Matt.

Jack Henry was not only a leader and a martyr, he was a pretty damned good military strategist. A few days ago, I gave you Jack's assumptions on how the battle of Chicago was going to go. Turns out, he made a slight miscalculation. He thought there would be _three_ enemy transports/battle wagons. There were actually four:

"Yeah," replied Percy. "There are four of them. And one of the vehicles is pulling something. It looks like a giant bird. No! It's...it's a man! On a giant kite like with wings, though. He's up above them. Way up."

Will shoved the radio back to Grainey and scrambled over to his pack to get a second walkie-talkie. This one was set to Channel One.

"Jack, Jack," he called out frantically. "Do you read me?"

"I hear you," came Jack's voice. "Is it time?"

"Jack, yeah but you were wrong. They have four vehicles, not three. And they're pulling some sort of giant kite. There's a man in it. Way up there."

Now what? Why stepson Matt to the rescue!

"Jack says we stick to the plan. You let the first three go by and we attack the fourth."

"What about the extra one?" Shank asked.

"We'll have to figure that out after we take out the rear. But listen, who has the Ark Lord light stick? Over."

"Matty."

"OK, tell Matty that one of the wagons is towing a giant kite. There's a man in it. Jack says that is Matt's job, to take out the kite. It's his only job. It has to be done."

"Alright," Shank said. "When does he do it? Before or after we start firing? Over."

Will put his hand over his eyes and dragged it down his face, stopping to grab his lips. He looked off to the side. "He has to shoot first," Will said. "It's like they have eyes in the sky. We have to blind them. As soon as the kite is in range, take it out. The light stick makes no sound so they won't hear anything. But make sure he doesn't miss. Over."

Matty doesn't miss but it doesn't end well for him.

## Entry 5-027: January 27, 2017

### Hands and feet

In every single movie and TV show I've ever seen where people are shooting at each other, they always aim for the body. I guess shooting somebody in the heart is the quickest way to end their lives. Some movies have people shooting others in the head, like a sniper or assassin does, since that incapacitates them quicker than a body shot. But I've always wondered why they don't aim for the hands and feet first. I mean if you can't walk or hold a gun, it would be easier for you to take them out with a second shot. The kill shot only works if you have fabulous aim. Shooting somebody in the foot or hand gives you more time to get it right.

I incorporated this into Jack Henry's strategy for taking out the Ark Lords because his people were not that experienced in handling 21st century weapons. His thinking was my thinking. Incapacitate them first and then kill them second. So here is the commando scene where the 29th century rebels attacked the spacemen:

Will grabbed his radio. "Go, go!" he yelled. Team A emerged from the little forest, shouting as they went, firing their weapons, aiming for the legs and the hands of the soldiers in the back of the fourth truck. When the Ark Lord soldiers realized they were being attacked from the other side, some of the spacemen turned their attention to the west but it was too late. There were simply too many carbines firing too many bullets. One by one, the soldiers dropped their weapons, grabbed their legs and fell over.

The two soldiers manning the cannon escaped being hit. They began to swing it around to face the west. Six members of Team A stormed the back of the wagon, jumping up and grabbing the armored soldiers including the cannon jockeys. Some of the men from Team A were shot. The rest wrestled with the spacemen, flinging them over the side of the flat bed. As the soldiers tried to rise, they were dispatched easily with kill shots through the neck using the Berettas.

Will looked ahead, toward the building off in the distance. He saw that the third vehicle had stopped and the soldiers in the back were prepping their cannon. In an instant, he knew what he had to do. He darted around the bodies of the dead spacemen and leaped up onto the flat bed of the fourth truck. He turned the cannon toward the front of the convoy. He pressed and held down the dual triggers. The beam of destruction destroyed a huge chunk of dirt to the left of the third transport but that didn't stop Will. He just held the firing mechanism down and swept the cannon to the right until it struck the vehicle ahead of him. It exploded in a giant burst of flames. The explosion was so powerful it knocked Will on his butt. He grabbed the mount of the weapon and pulled himself to his feet. The other two vehicles raced ahead toward the tall building, out of range of his cannon.

Pretty nifty, huh? And also, since only the lead two transports got away, the rebels were back in business using the original plan.

## Entry 5-028: January 28, 2017

### Team B

Jack Henry's strategy had been to exploit the Ark Lords disrespect for the rebels by assuming they would always have inferior fire power. The spacemen knew the rebels had captured a laser rifle or two but they had no knowledge of the armory beneath the Tevatron or that rebels were now armed with carbines and handguns. In the post where Jack Henry outlined his battle plan, he had Team B place themselves in the eastern stand of trees and fire upon the Erklirte with crossbows and spears and a laser rifle or two.

When the men from the future arrived, they'd naturally assume those the primitive weapons were all they had to deal with so while they weren't leisurely about it, they were willing to give it their full attention not even thinking they were walking into an ambush. They used their particle beam cannon on Team B and, well, I'll let them tell you the end result:

Will pulled out his radio. He switched it to Channel One. "Jack, Jack," he said.

"What was that?" Jack replied. "The whole ground shook."

"We got 'em," Will said proudly. "We got the back two vehicles. It's all on you now."

"Thanks, Will. Good job."

"And Jack," Will said.

"What?"

"We captured one of them, one of their vehicles. We have one of their cannons now. We used it take out the other wagon. So even they can't stand up to their own weapons."

"Great," Jack said. "See what you can do about bringing it here. We're going to be busy."

"Good luck, Jack," Will said. "Over and out."

Will jumped down off the flatbed. Grainey was there helping with some of the men who had been clipped by the laser rifles."

"How'd we do?" he asked him.

"Our team? Two dead, five wounded," Grainey said grimly.

"And Team B?" Will looked over to the stand of woods to the east except there were no woods to the east. The only things remaining were some smoldering tree trunks.

Will hung his head. There would be time to mourn later. For now, they had to figure out how to get the wagon moving and go help Jack.

A noble yet sad ending for the martyrs forever known as Team B. However, it got the job done and was truly the beginning of the end for _The Ark Lords_.

## Entry 5-029: January 29, 2017

### English in the 29th century?

Language is a fluid thing. It changes over time. I'm sure nobody today could speak caveman. Latin is a dead language. However, other languages, while evolved, still exist today. The amount of evolution depends upon the evolution of the culture. If you have ever tried to read Shakespeare's original works, although they are in English, they are hard to understand.

So it is quite reasonable that when Rei encountered the Vuduri in the 35th century, they spoke Vuduri, an off-shoot of Portuguese, not English. He expected this shift to have occurred long ago. But as it turns out, it was a fairly recent occurrence. As few as 600 years earlier, the few people occupied North America still spoke a form of English. Here is how he discovered it:

Rei ambled over to it and stuck his arm out of the cloak. He ran his hand up along the obelisk's marble surface. It was a fine piece of art, warm, almost hot from the sun. The edges were smooth if not just a bit weather-beaten.

"No markings, no nothing?" he asked, withdrawing his arm back inside.

"Everyone on Earth knows what happened here," Rome said. "What kind of markings were you expecting?"

"The Overmind has only been around for a hundred years or so," Rei pointed out. "The events that occurred here happened seven hundred years prior to its creation. You'd think..." Something caught Rei's attention and he stopped speaking. The soft mulch made up of pine needles and leaves did not feel right. He dropped to his hands and knees and started pawing around the ground cover. As he brushed the surface layer aside, he uncovered a marble placard buried there, complete with inscriptions. He brushed more leaves aside and rubbed until the words became readable.

"This is in English!" he shouted delightedly.

"I am not surprised," Rome said, kneeling down next to where she assumed Rei would be. "That was the language of your people and the people who lived here. What does it say?"

"It says that on this very spot, Jack Henry's Team A...Wait!" Rei straightened up. "Who is Jack Henry?"

"That would be Hanry Ta Jihn's name in your language."

"Huh?" Rei said. "Oh yeah." He leaned back and continued reading.

"Team A stopped the Ark Lords for the very first time. Every one of the men in Team B died. 22 in all. It was here that the troops captured the first of the Ark Lord vehicles. It was here that the Resistance truly took form. These brave men did not die in vain."

Yesterday, I told you the sad tale of Team B and their role in the rebellion. Tomorrow, Rome and Rei stumble across Jack Henry's headstone.

## Entry 5-030: January 30, 2017

### Jack Henry's headstone 1

In the short story about Lacy Henry in _The Vuduri Companion_ , Lacy made a special request of Jack's best friend and lieutenant, Red June:

"Jackie's dying wish was that we use the cannon and level the place. He made me swear that after we defeated the Ark Lords, we would bury them and their vehicles and their spaceship and their weapons. Every place they've ever been on the Earth. He wanted to make sure that there would be no trace, not even a hint that their race was ever here. I swore to him that even if it took a thousand years, we'd erase everything, like they never existed."

Lacy took in a deep breath then let out a long sigh. She nodded sadly.

"Thank you, Red," she said. "You are a good friend and a great man." She stopped and looked out the window. "Can I ask you for one more thing?"

"Anything, Lacy," Red answered.

"Some day, when this is all over, will you take me and our son out there? To where Jackie died?"

"Absolutely," Red replied. "I'll take you to his grave. We'll make sure he has a proper headstone. The whole world will come to revere that place as where the Rebellion against the Ark Lords truly began."

In the novel, _The Ark Lords_ , 600 years later, Rome and Rei are tracking Jack Henry's movements using a map and the historical records. They found an obelisk and plaque commemorating the Battle of Chicago. But Rei was after more.

"MINIMCOM says there is another marker a half kilometer from here. Maybe it will tell us something." Rei poked his hand out of the cloak long enough for Ursay to see where he was pointing.

They tromped along the ground, stepping over branches and around bushes, all the while MINIMCOM was giving Rei distance and directions. Even though he knew they were in front of him, Ursay still found it peculiar to see the vegetation moving apparently all on its own. All three of them were sweating profusely. Rei and Rome, in particular, had grown accustomed to the mild weather of Deucado and this was quite a departure.

Directly ahead of them was a huge hill, covered with scrub. Rei noted that the hill was strangely out of place from the rest of the pancake-flat glacier-smoothed ground and cornfields of Illinois.

Tomorrow, MINIMCOM finds what Rei is after.

## Entry 5-031: January 31, 2017

### Jack Henry's headstone 2

Yesterday, Rome and Rei were searching for the final resting place of the hero and martyr Jack Henry. MINIMCOM thought he had located it and was directing them to the spot:

Directly ahead of them was a huge hill, covered with scrub. Rei noted that the hill was strangely out of place from the rest of the pancake-flat glacier-smoothed ground and cornfields of Illinois.

Rei looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Where is it?" he asked MINIMCOM.

"At the top of the hill," replied the starship.

"Come on," Rei said, "we have to get to the top." He started up the hill which was very steep. The tangled vegetation actually made it easier to climb, providing footholds and handholds. When they reached the top, they found an artificial construction that resembled a gravestone off in the distance. All three of them took a moment to catch their breath. As they got closer, Rei could see it really was a headstone. He cleaned it off with his hand and read aloud.

"John (Jack) Henry. 564 – 589PR. He gave his life so that all men could be free." Rei cocked his head at the marker. "Wait a minute," he said. "He was only 25 when he died?"

"He was very young," Rome said sadly then she raised her voice. "But he lived with such passion. And conviction."

"Still, what a life. I feel bad for the guy," Rei said. "He was just a kid."

"He lived his life in a way which makes him immortal," Ursay observed. "He was a good man. A brave man."

"And this is his actual grave?" Rei asked. "I guess this was before you guys started recycling bodies."

"I did not even know it was here," Rome said, ignoring Rei's gibe. "There are no historical records indicating such. I suspect this is a memorial, not his actual gravesite."

We know from the Jack Henry story, interleaved within _The Ark Lords_ and Lacy's request of Red June that Jack probably was buried under the rubble. But we will never actually know.

## Entry 5-032: February 1, 2017

### The time is nigh

Every year around this time, I compile the previous year's blog articles into a single volume and release it as an ebook then a paperback. Each year is conditioned by its volume number so you have _Tales of the Vuduri_ : Year One, Year Two and so on. The new one will be Year _Four_! Can you believe it? Over 1460 blogs posts. Nearly half a million words.

When I published it the first year, Bruce did an amazing job of rendering my vision of the early form of I-cimaci and he put one spaceship in the sky. In Year Two, he expanded the boundaries of the city and added a second spaceship and changed the primary color highlights from blue to green. Then Year Three came along and, uh oh, what color to use? We picked red. The third spaceship was easy and the virtual camera panned back and showed more of the city. So we decided to plan out the color schemes for the next two years. They look like this:

For Year Four, I am going for a bright cyan-ish color and for Year Five, I will go with magenta. These highlight colors are used to make the titles stand out as well as the color of the spine and thus the background for the michaelbrachman.com web site.

I don't plan on going beyond Year Five. I may keep the blog up and write few, more in depth articles but not enough to fill a volume like before. Anyway, I'd be interested in your opinion. Let me know.

## Entry 5-033: February 2, 2017

### Sleepy poisons

We have previously discussed the effects of sleep deprivation. It goes hand in hand with why we have to sleep at all. Basically, during the day, your brain works so hard that it produces metabolic waste products that need to be removed. When you sleep, certain portions of your brain shut down and the toxins are removed. During the various phases of sleep, various portions of the brain are activated and deactivated and given a good scrubbing.

The result is that when you wake up in the morning, you feel refreshed and your brain is ready to go again. Conversely, if you are sleep-deprived, the toxins in your brain causes the symptoms. This has been proven multiple times in animal studies where they remove some fluid from the brains of sleep-deprived animals and inject it into the brains of properly rested animals. The injection induces the same effects as if the animals were sleep deprived.

So... What I am thinking is some sort of brain dialysis whereby you hook up your brain to a cleansing machine and it removes the toxins due to sleep deprivation. If you did that, would you ever have to sleep? I'm sure you'd have to rest but you wouldn't have to go through the whole sleep cycle.

This would mean no more dreams. Do we need dreams? Are they just a side effect of the cleansing process? Would we be diminished if we never had them again? Some people claim to never dream. Others don't want to wake up because they are in the middle of a good dream. But do we really, really need them?

Instead of a machine, what if you could take a pill that could cleanse the brain toxins. Then you wouldn't have to sleep and you wouldn't have to hook your brain up to tubes and wires. That might be the ultimate. Think of what you could do with those extra six hours every day. I know I sure could use them or a secret eighth day, like in _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them_. Time. Time. Time. I need more of it.

Maybe some day.

## Entry 5-034: February 3, 2017

### The Vorasdock

Part of the true enjoyment of writing a book like _The Ark Lords_ was that I got to intermingle the past with the future in kind of a twin set of stories. Ignore the fact that the past, from the perspective of Rome and Rei, is 800 years in our future and their present is in the 35th century.

In an earlier set of posts, I directly presented the rebels discovery of the Ark Lords' armory and their seizing rifles, handguns, flashlights and walkie-talkies. So when we go back to Rome and Rei's piecing together the puzzle, you already know the answer. But you get to watch them put the pieces together. Consider this exchange between Rome and Rei:

Rei just shook his head. He couldn't shake feeling somehow guilty. "So how did they beat them?" he asked.

"Hanry Ta Jihn's forces acquired a new weapon. It was called a Vorasdock."

"What's a Vorasdock?" Rei asked.

"The literal translation in your language would be fire stick," Ursay volunteered.

"Fire stick?" Rei cocked his head. "I know the Ark Lords were carrying flamethrowers but where would your people get them?"

"They were not exactly my people," Rome said. "This pre-dated the Vuduri. And they were not flamethrowers." She pressed a few buttons on the keyboard and brought up a rough sketch.

"This is the only known drawing of a Vorasdock," she said. "It does not resemble what I saw in Edgar's storage bin. However, its form factor suggests it is more like your laser rifles than something else."

Rei leaned forward. "That's not a laser rifle," he observed. "It looks like an M4 carbine." Rome's confused look caused Rei to offer more. "A semi-automatic rifle that fires bullets? Chemical weapons with projectiles?" Rome shook her head. Rei shrugged. "Where the hell would they have gotten those?" he asked.

Rome looked up at the screen. "I do not know," she said. "If you know what it is then it must have come from your people."

"But it didn't," Rei said. "You saw the weapons Keller brought. Everything had to be designed to withstand centuries. The particle beam cannons, the laser pulse rifles, the mini-nukes. Even the flamethrowers used fuel that was frozen solid for a millennium. A chemical weapon, a bullet, needs gunpowder. Do you think they made it themselves?"

"They would not have," Ursay said. "All such technology had been banned following the Great Dying. This came from somewhere else."

We know the answer but it is so delicious watching them figure it out. In case you were interested, this is what the drawing looked like:

## Entry 5-035: February 4, 2017

### The Figure Eight

The Tevatron was a particle accelerator, located in Batavia, Illinois. Construction was started in 1968 with initial operations beginning in 1971. It was fully functional by 1979. However, the device was shut down in late 2010 due to budget cuts and the gearing up of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. It was made up of a linear accelerator and two synchrotron rings for accelerating protons and electrons to a high energy state before they are smashed together. From high above (like Google Earth), it looks just like a figure eight. This was the outline that Jack Henry's mother described to him in the 29th century and it was the very same outline that Rome and Rei discovered from one kilometer up in the sky. Here is how I described it:

"Here, you sit down," Rome said to Ursay. He nodded and moved into the copilot's seat.

"I cannot explain it. You can only see this from high in the air. I will level off about one kilometer up."

The ground dropped below them quickly. Looking out the windshield, all they could see were blue skies and puffy white clouds.

"We are now at sufficient height," MINIMCOM said. He activated his ventral cameras and projected the ground below him. He then activated the MIDAR screen in ground penetrating mode and overlaid the sounding images onto the landscape.

Immediately, Rei saw it; two gigantic circles, just barely touching with the out-of-place hill off to the side of the larger circle. From this height, it looked more like a lazy snowman than anything else with a long, arrow-straight scarf.

"I don't believe it," Rei said. "So that's where they hid the virus. No wonder."

"Where?" Rome said. "All I see are those two rings."

MINIMCOM flashed a glowing yellow highlighter around the two rings. "The smaller circle is a kilometer in diameter. The larger one is nearly two kilometers in diameter."

"Those two rings," Rei said, pointing. "That's the Tevatron. They buried the virus inside the goddamned Tevatron."

The FermiLab campus still exists and it is possible that the main ring might be used again sometime in the future. Whether it does or it doesn't, I found great pleasure in resurrecting it first for Wally Grey's team who used it to create quantum black holes and later the site of the Battle of Chicago. Even after the denizens of the Post Post-apocalypse destroyed all signs of the location, they could not disguise the figure eight, seen only from the sky.

## Entry 5-036: February 5, 2017

### Kevlar-coated meat 1

As I mentioned previously, the Ark Lords were unaware of the fact that the rebels were now armed with rifles and handguns. Jack Henry was loathe to give up that advantage. So he came up with a plan to ambush the soldiers from the future in such a way as to preempt them even attempting a counter-strike. Today and tomorrow, I'll lay out the plan for you so you can see how a bunch of farmers were able to defeat an army of spacemen:

The soldiers who remained above focused their attention to the southeast toward the site of the smoldering remains of the third transport. None of them saw Red peering around the corner of the building. Red ducked back.

"Jack, Jack," Red called hoarsely into the radio. "Do you read?"

"Go, Red," Jack replied.

"They're on their way down. Six by my count. Light weapons and one flame thrower. Over."

"Sounds easy," Jack replied, but he didn't sound amused.

"They've left maybe ten of them up top to stand guard."

"Can you take them out?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Red said. "We'll have to."

"OK. Good luck then. As soon as you are finished with them, come on down here and make sure none of the others leave alive. Over."

"I will, Jack," Red said. "And good luck to you. Over and out."

Red turned to the group of men gathered behind him. "I need six of you," Red said in a loud whisper. He quickly picked out six men. "Eddie, you lead. I want you to circle all the way around the building to the opposite side but don't show yourself. Call me on Channel Five when you're in position." He flipped Eddie a radio. "As soon as you're ready, we'll open fire on them to get their attention. They don't know we're here. As soon as you hear the first shot, I want you to sneak up and get underneath their wagons. We'll keep 'em busy. I want you to fire your weapons at their feet. They're not protected. Take 'em down then take 'em out. They'll never expect that. Got it?"

The men nodded and without ceremony, they took off along the side of the building then disappeared around the corner. After only a few minutes, Red's radio came alive.

"Ready," came Eddie's voice.

Tomorrow, the battle plan is executed more or less as designed.

## Entry 5-037: February 6, 2017

### Kevlar-coated meat 2

Yesterday, I laid out the plan for you whereby the rebels would ambush the Ark Lords as they were trying to enter Wilson Hall on the grounds of the Tevatron. The freedom fighters' plan was simple. Distract them from the front, attack them from behind and let the element of surprise be the superior weapon. Here is how it played out:

"OK," Red said. He turned to address the rest of his men. "On my go, we attack. Shoot anything that moves. Make a lot of noise. But nobody run in a straight line. Their weapons are deadly. All we need to do is grab their attention long enough for Eddie to knock 'em down. Then we'll finish 'em off."

Red peeked out one more time. None of the enemy soldiers were looking his way.

"Go!" he barked, waving his arm.

The group of ten men came flying around the edge of the building, yelling as they advanced, firing their rifles. Even as they were turning, two of the shocked Ark Lord soldiers were hit in the hands. One was hit in the shin. The remaining Ark Lords leveled their laser pulse rifles at the onrushing rebels and started firing. The laser rifles were terribly effective. Three of Red's team were killed instantly.

While Red's group of fighters engaged the Ark Lords, Eddie's squad snuck up and crawled under the wagons. The enemy soldier's feet were clearly exposed. The six Resistance fighters fired their M4s at the spacemen's feet. It only took a few shots to get the Ark Lords to crumple to the ground, crying out.

As Red's group advanced relentlessly, Eddie's group leaped up onto the flat bed of the transport. All of them fired their semi-automatic weapons continuously into the group of spacemen who were writhing around on the ground. The spacemen never stood a chance. Their Kevlar armor, reinforced with carbon nano-tubules, could only stand so many hits by so many bullets before the material failed. The assault was vicious. It left most of the enemy soldiers as just a pile of so much Kevlar-coated meat.

Kind of a gross description, huh? I wanted to kill the Ark Lords and make sure none of them escaped to warn the others. Maybe it was a little excessive but certainly makes for a graphic image, huh?

## Entry 5-038: February 7, 2017

### Six to four to two

In the historical section of _The Ark Lords_ , I wanted to demonstrate how Jack Henry was not only a hero and a martyr but also a master military strategist. Think about how quickly he used the element of surprise to whittle down the size of the enemy. They had come onto the campus with four military transports and maybe 35 soldiers. Teams A and B destroyed the rear two transports leaving only the front two. Red's team killed the 10 soldiers remaining up on the surface leaving only six to sneak down into the bowels of the Tevatron and retrieve the virus weapon. They went from overwhelming odds to being outgunned without even knowing it. Here is how Jack Henry's troops finished the job:

Down below, the Ark Lords used their night vision face shields to advance down the corridor, toward the tunnel labeled Meson. Their radios were not on. They were unaware of the melee that had broken out topside. They moved quickly but cautiously. According to their instructions, the vessel they sought was contained in a sealed compartment at the end of the left-most tunnel. When they made it halfway down the tunnel, the situation suddenly changed. A volley of quarrels clanged off their armor. Looking around, they spotted the shooters, crouched among the conduits and casings mounted to the ceiling. They aimed their weapons and effortlessly dispatched the resistance fighters with just a few shots from their laser pulse rifles. It almost seemed laughable that these stupid farmers would try and take them on with just bows and arrows.

As they were firing their weapons, three of Jack Henry's men who had been hidden behind the huge equipment that lined the walls, snuck into the open. They fired their M4 rifles at the spacemen's legs and arms. Several were struck. Two fell. The rest raced ahead. The one Ark Lord carrying the flamethrower turned and incinerated the three men behind him with no more feeling than roasting a bug. After their screams stopped, he hurried down the corridor to catch up to his comrades. The Ark Lords were now down to four. From one perspective, they were in a bad way. If the stupid farmers were in the tunnels, armed with semi-automatic rifles, they were going to have to get in, get the prize and get out fast. On the other hand, they were wearing body armor and their laser pulse rifles could puncture anything.

At this point, there were only four of them. They had three laser pulse rifles and one flamethrower. They were still convinced they had superior firepower. Boy, were they wrong. You'll see that tomorrow.

## Entry 5-039: February 8, 2017

### The final approach

Yesterday, we saw that the Ark Lords were down to four men but continued to advance, convinced they had superior weaponry and protection. They simply didn't know what was lying ahead of them. Jack Henry had set up a series of baffles so that they could not fire off a clean shot but rather had to navigate a maze to reach their goal. Here is what happened:

"Come on," said the lead spaceman and they stood up to finish the maze and get to the end of the tunnel. Turning his back to the main corridor, the second spaceman did not see the sharpshooter rising up from the shadows. A flashlight bloomed against his night vision and temporarily blinded him, not for long but long enough. A single shot rang out and struck the soldier just below the helmet, but above the body armor; the only exposed portion of his upper anatomy.

The other body-armored soldier turned and fired a single pulse, taking out the shooter. He looked back at his companion. His head was at an odd angle, partially severed from his body. It was quite clear that he was finished. He just hadn't keeled over yet. The lead spaceman grabbed his dying comrade's laser rifle and quickly finished the maze. Glancing down, he saw the two farmers there were dead, riddled with laser holes. Nothing lay in front of him other than the prize. He'd grab it then he could turn and hold off the rest. He'd radio up top then wait for his companions to come down and make sure it was clear. There was only one way out of this death trap and that was to blast any remaining people coming at him from the main hall.

The lone spaceman failed to notice Jack Henry slowly rising up with a 9mm Beretta in his hand. A quick thrust and the barrel of the handgun slipped beneath the edge of the back plate of the soldier's armor. Jack pulled the trigger and shot eight rounds into the last soldier, turning his insides into a bloody paste. As the soldier slumped down, so did Jack Henry.

Oh no! Jack had been shot. You may not have realized it yet but he was mortally wounded. Tomorrow, I'll show you his final scene.

## Entry 5-040: February 9, 2017

### The End of Jack Henry

Death scenes are always dramatic but you can't overuse them. We knew from the historical records that Jack Henry died during the Battle of Chicago. Yesterday, we saw him sacrifice himself to take out the final soldier. He was mortally wounded but the rebels had saved the day. Here is the sad scene of Jack passing on to the next world:

"Jack!" Red shouted. He ran over to his beloved leader and stooped down. He lifted up Jack's head and rested it on his thigh.

"Did we get 'em?" Jack whispered.

"Yeah, Jack," Red replied. "They're all dead."

Jack grunted. "You have to..." His voice was so quiet, Red couldn't hear him. He bent over so his ear was next to Jack's mouth.

"What is it, Jack?" Jack Henry spoke but his breath barely stirred the air. Red had to strain to hear his words.

"Use their cannon and level this place. Then go back home and get the rest of them. No matter how many men it takes. Bury them and their vehicles and their spaceship and their weapons. Bury every place they've ever been on the Earth. They may have other disease weapons stashed somewhere else."

Jack coughed and blood spurted out of his mouth but he went on. "Someday, there may be others, more spacemen. Make it so they can't find a trace, not a hint, that their race was ever here. Swear to me."

"I vow it, Jack," Red said. A tear formed in the corner of his eye. "Even if it takes us a thousand years, we'll erase everything. It'll be like they never existed."

A wan smile formed on Jack Henry's face. Some men would have died conflicted, knowing the war was not over, but not Jack Henry. He knew he had done all that one man could do. This was the turning point. The Resistance had achieved the edge they needed. Now it would be up to others more capable than him. After all, he was just a young man and he missed his parents. His whole frame sagged as his spirit left his body to rise up and join his mother and father in peace.

Of course, if you've read _The Milk Run_ , you know this is not truly the end of Jack Henry, only his body. Aason Bierak meets him up in Heaven and Jack is very helpful in facilitating Aason's rescue of Lupe. We also have the story of Lacy Henry, the wife that Jack left behind. You can read her story in _The Vuduri Companion_. It's too bad that he had to die but that's what martyrs do.

## Entry 5-041: February 10, 2017

### The Stanley Cup

One of my goals in _The Ark Lords_ was to create a replica of the Darwin Virus Strain 5 canister so that Captain Keller could shoot it and scream to Rome that she killed them all. But I had to come up with an ostensible reason why there was a replica in the first place. So I hatched a plan making the replica a training device for both the humans and the weaponized VIRUS units. It would be filled with air so that when it was punctured, you'd hear the air escaping. I wanted it to look a little like the modern day Stanley Cup. Here is how it came about:

Rei stared out the cockpit window at the hill in front of him.

"We have to find a way in," he said. "I gotta figure out where they would put it."

"You have mentioned it before," Ursay said, "but I do not even know what we are looking for, other than some sort of storage vessel."

"You're right," Rome said. "MINIMCOM, from the information on slab 20, could you build us a replica so we know what to look for?"

"Of course," MINIMCOM replied. "I will use my transporter as a molecular sequencer. Give me a moment."

A whistling noise and breeze issued from the cargo compartment. The three humans walked back there just in time to see a whirlwind swirling around a shiny cylinder that was assembling itself right on the floor of the cargo bay. The cylinder resembled a Dewar flask normally used to hold liquid nitrogen but with an oversized cap. After a few minutes, the tiny tornado surrounding the vessel stopped.

"This is a life-sized replica," MINIMCOM announced from a grille within the cargo compartment. "However, there are a few small differences. I built it out of aluminum since that was the most readily available metal in the soil," he said. "The real thing is built out of titanium. Also, this replica is very thin so I highly pressurized it with air to give it the necessary rigidity. The real thing would have thicker walls. And finally, this one is completely sealed. The real canister has a removable lid although I do not imagine that is anything you are going to fool around with."

I was looking at this image from a web site called Verge Campus and it shows you which version of the Stanley Cup I had in mind. I actually didn't realize there were so many versions but I guess when you think about it, when it first started, they weren't thinking 150 years into the future when the first cup was handed it out in 1863.

## Entry 5-042: February 11, 2017

### Occam's Razor says dig here

As an author, you have to make informed decisions on when to draw the plot out or when to take shortcuts to get to the next piece of the action. Surely, I could have placed the Darwin Virus Strain 5 canister anywhere in the world but then why would Rome, Rei and Ursay be wasting their time in Batavia, Illinois during this section of _The Ark Lords_? I decided to just make Rei have a flash of brilliance so that we could get on with the story and not just present you with a travelogue:

Rei walked over and picked the canister up. It was surprisingly light. Well, maybe not surprising since it was really almost just an aluminum balloon. He held it up to the light, looking at the top and bottom.

"How are we going to find that?" Rome asked. "It's so small and the Tevatron is so large!"

Ursay motioned for Rei to hand it over to him which Rei did.

Rei turned to face the front of the ship. "You have to remember Project Darwin's goals," he said. "They had to make it secure but not so hard to find if the people looking for it really needed it. So I'm guessing they put it somewhere under the main hall or maybe in a collection tube."

He stopped for a moment and looked up at the ceiling. "It was called Wilson Hall, I think," he said. "It was built out of concrete. Too much to haul away. So when your people bulldozed it, that's what made the hill we just walked up. And since they put up Hanry Ta Jihn's gravestone at the top, I'm guessing he died down below. So Occam's Razor says we start here, under this giant mound of dirt."

"What is Occam's Razor?" Rome asked.

Rei shrugged. "It means the simplest solution is probably the right solution. Why introduce complexity when you don't need to?"

"Well, in that case, this is as good a place as any," Rome said. "But you still didn't tell me how we're going to dig down to find it."

A broad smile crossed Rei's face. "We aren't going to dig for it," he said. "But I know some ladies who will be able to get us into the building."

Whatever could he mean? I'll tell you. The weaponized VIRUS units. They will dig and dig until they are told to stop. They would be a lot more gentle that just blasting the rubble with MINIMCOM's roadgrader cannons.

## Entry 5-043: February 12, 2017

### The Deadly Termites

I had introduced the concept of weaponized VIRUS units near the end of _Rome's Revolution_ as a tool Rome and Rei could use to destroy MASAL and detonate Kilauea. But they were too good of an idea to just drop so that is why I brought them along on this trip in _The Ark Lords_. They are actually very well-behaved and only do what Rome or Rei commands them to do. They needed to dig down under the surface with surgical precision, not an explosive force such as MINIMCOM's roadgrader cannon.

It was as strange conversation. The tiny VIRUS queens crawling from Rei's finger over and around the ersatz vessel. "Remember," Rei instructed them. "I only want you to excavate a way for us to get underground. There was a large building here. Once you enter the underground complex, I want everybody to shut down. If, by some chance, you see something that looks like this metal object along the way, don't touch it. Alert us at once. Understand?"

The VIRUS queens confirmed their orders so Rei, Rome and Ursay exited MINIMCOM and circled around the invisible starship, stopping at the base of the hill. They didn't bother with their invisibility cloaks. Rei reached into his pocket and pulled out a brown leather-like pouch. He shielded his eyes with his free palm and stepped to his left under he was satisfied that he was directly in line with the marker mounted on the top of the hill. He undid the drawstring and dumped the pouch of super VIRUS units on the ground. Immediately, the dirt started churning. In another life, what he saw would have filled him with dread. In this life, Rei knew the super VIRUS units were obedient and would be careful. They dug a wide, gentle ramp down 40 feet under the ground until they punctured the main complex area.

"What do you see?" Rei asked the ultimate queen.

"We have reached a large corridor," she replied. "There are many rooms. Do you want us to continue?"

"No," Rei answered mentally. "That's great. Thank you. Go ahead and shut down."

"Acknowledged," replied the queen and then the signal went dead.

Rei and Rome followed the ramp down with Ursay just behind them carrying the replica of the vessel under his arm. The ground was littered with the tiny corpses of the now-inactive VIRUS units. It was best not to think about it.

## Entry 5-044: February 13, 2017

### Where did they get them?

Yesterday, we saw that Rome and Rei used the weaponized VIRUS units to dig a sloping tunnel down to the basement of the Tevatron. At first, they didn't know which way to go but Rome's infrared vision allowed her to detect the fact that the tunnel labeled Meson exhibited signs of battle. Rei correctly assumed that Jack Henry would have set up for the final battle exactly where _The Ark Lords_ wanted to go. As our heroes headed down the hallway, they saw something very peculiar. I'll let them tell you:

"Look," he said. "Rome, you're right." Rei pointed up at one of the wire carriers. There were slashes through it that looked like they were burned. "Laser pulse rifle burns."

"Why would they fire their rifles up there?" Ursay asked.

Rei looked at the opposite wall then back at the burns. "Men with lances, knives, crossbows, anything could have hidden among all this clutter. By now, the Ark Lords knew they were here. Let's keep going."

They continued along, taking note of the increasing signs of battle. More holes, more burn marks. "Bullet holes," Rei said. "So now the battle really took hold. The only thing I still don't understand is where they got the guns."

"Perhaps here," MINIMCOM said. Rei glanced up and saw MINIMCOM standing at the top of a short stand of steps. The steps were pressed up against a large, white propane tank mounted on stilts. MINIMCOM reached forward and turned the sealing ring inserted in the center of the door that was bolted onto the tank. Rei started to warn MINIMCOM but before he could get the words out, MINIMCOM already had the door open. The livetar swung the door all the way to the side and stepped inside the cylindrical room. Rei, Rome and Ursay walked up the steps and joined MINIMCOM in the chamber. The inside of the tank had a false floor and surprisingly, a very dim light emitted from panels in the ceiling. MINIMCOM twisted his cape behind him then borrowed OMCOM's trick and his shoulders lit up, illuminating the chamber completely.

"Oh!" Rome exclaimed. "This looks like the back room in Edgar's storage bin."

"Yeah," Rei answered, looking around. "This was an armory."

Well at least the mystery of the Vorasdock was now solved. Jack Henry and the rebels used the Ark Lords' own weapons against them. Tomorrow, Rome picks up a souvenir that plays a critical role in the denouement.

## Entry 5-045: February 14, 2017

### Rome gets a gun

Yesterday, Rome and Rei stumbled across the centuries old armory that Jack Henry and his band of rebels raided to arm themselves against the Ark Lords. However, the resistance fighters didn't exactly clean the place out. They only took what they could carry and use. There were a few items left, one of which Rome took an interest:

"Yeah," Rei answered, looking around. "This was an armory." As he slowly surveyed each wall, the far wall on the right had a pegboard with a placard stating its purpose. Rei walked over to it. "Here!" he said, "that's where they got the M4s." Lying on the bench was a carbine. Rei picked it up just to make sure it was real. "The Darwin people must have kept these sealed perfectly to have lasted the six centuries before Hanry Ta Jihn found them," he announced.

While Rei was studying the rifle, Rome wandered over to the left and picked up a 9mm handgun that was lying on the bench. The ammo clip was still in it. "Is this a chemical weapon too?" she asked, peering into the barrel.

"Yikes," Rei said. He set the carbine down and hurried over to where Rome was standing. He gently pulled the gun away from her. "Yes," he answered. "It's a handgun. You have to be careful though. The gunpowder might be unstable after all this time."

MINIMCOM reached over and took the gun from Rei. He placed it in the folds of his cape. "I will clean it and restore it for you, Rome," he said. "Then it will be safe to handle."

Rome furrowed her brow and shrugged. She looked around the rest of the room. "Well at least the mystery of the Vorasdock is now solved," she said. "Hanry Ta Jihn got here first, armed himself with weapons that the Erklirte would never have expected or prepared for. They could not have known what they were in for."

"Yes," Rei said studying the rest of the room. "They had flashlights, radios, rations, the works. But don't forget, the Ark Lords had powerful weapons of their own. I say we keep on going."

No one disagreed. The three humans and the one livetar left the chamber and continued down the corridor. Ahead of them was a short maze of huge, pentagonal concrete blocks, seven feet high. Each block was shaped like a baseball home plate. Many of the blocks had scorch marks. There were numerous bullet holes all around.

Unlike Rome, I knew where the story was headed. I needed for her to have an old-fashioned handgun right at the climax. This is where she picked it up. However, MINIMCOM hid it within his cloak and Rome forgot about it until she really needed it. All part of the fun.

## Entry 5-046: February 15, 2017

Tales of the Vuduri: Year Four

Well, I thought I was getting good at this. Turns out, compiling Year Four of the _Tales of the Vuduri_ series took a lot longer than I would have guessed. Plus I thought I had a really good methodology to blaze through the months. But here it is, the day after Valentine's Day and TOTV:Y4 is just now going on sale. Like the previous three years, you've missed any of these posts over the past year, it would be an easy way to catch up. I have published it on Amazon. You can find it if you click here. This is what the splash page looks like:

You can buy the e-book here:

Amazon ($1.99):

Barnes and Noble ($0.99)

iTunes Store (free!)

Kobo (free!)

Smashwords (free!)

The paperback will be available on CreateSpace in about a week and on Amazon and B&N about a week after that.

As with the previous books, I'd prefer to "sell" the e-book for free but Amazon and B&N just don't allow it so I charge the minimum permitted. If you think about it, selling a book for free is kind of an oxymoron. I give these books away in the hopes that readers will be sufficiently intrigued to investigate _Rome's Revolution_ or _The Milk Run_ and actually buy a copy.

As far as the paperback, I haven't given Bruce the back page blurb and "Critical praise for _The Vuduri Companion_ " yet. He needs that to finish the back cover so I can order a proof copy. Once that is approved, it will go on sale, probably within the next two weeks. I have to sell that thing for $17.99 because it just too thick to charge any less. In any event, you should be able get a copy somehow and help yourself to a year's worth of fascinating stuff.

## Entry 5-047: February 16, 2017

### Genetic Time Travel

After Rome got her gun, she and Rei continued down the Meson tunnel deep within the Tevatron, following the signs of battle. At last they came to the concrete barriers that Jack Henry had set up to prevent the Erklirte from getting a straight shot. They noted the bullet holes in the concrete baffles.

Here is what they found:

"We're getting close," Rei said. "It looks like this is where they had their big battle."

MINIMCOM strode around the blocks and called out to them. They hurried through the maze to see where the livetar was pointing. There were two large stains on the ground, covered in dust. Rome cocked her head and stared at the closer one. She sank to her knees and gently wiped the dust away. There, in the center of the black stain, was a circle scratched out with the initials JH in the middle. A single stroke cut all the way through it.

Rome touched it in a loving way then put her fingers to her lips. She looked up at Rei. "This is where Hanry Ta Jihn died," she said. "I can feel it in my heart. This was the beginning of the end of the Erklirte."

"The black stain is dried blood," MINIMCOM said, taking a sample with his fingertips.

We have always suspected that Rome had extraordinary psychic powers but it was this incident confirms it. Just by touching the 600-year-old blood stain, her mind traveled back into the past and contacted her ancestor. In fact, all of the historical records that were portrayed in _The Ark Lords_ were courtesy of Rome's genetic time travel. She speculated that perhaps time was like a river and that under some circumstances, your mind can travel up or down the river when freed of the body. Kind of like Quantum Leap but without occupying a body in the past. I guess she knew what she was talking about.

## Entry 5-048: February 17, 2017

### Atomic Batteries to power

Everybody remembers the Adam West version of Batman where he had a really cool (for the 60s) Batmobile. As Batman and Robin were getting ready to leave the Batcave, they'd go through the checklist. Robin would call out "Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed," and Batman would say "Roger. Ready to move out" and off they'd go. They seemed oblivious to the fact that they were tooling around the city at high speed sitting on an atomic bomb.

Well, in the novel _The Ark Lords_ , I really did need atomic batteries to power the subbasement of the Tevatron, the flashlights and the walkie-talkies that were sitting there for 800 years. Here is Rei stumbling across them:

"Wow," Rei said. "He died here and yet he is still helping us, eight centuries later." Rei straightened up and pointed to the sealed end of the corridor. "That's what he was defending. That's where the virus is stored. He knew the Ark Lords couldn't just blow him up. With his back against that door, he had all the advantage. Come on."

Rome stood up and the group gathered around the huge bulkhead blocking off the end of the hallway. A shiny object, lying on the floor, caught Rei's attention. He bent over and picked it up. It was a flashlight. There was zero chance it would still be working after eight centuries but Rei tried the switch anyway. A yellowish glow emitted from the front.

"What the hell?" Rei said. He twisted the barrel and opened the sealed cap. A battery slid out into his hand. The light from MINIMCOM's shoulders was enough to allow Rei to read the label.

"Thorium?" he said. "Atomic batteries? These guys thought of everything."

Rei reassembled the flashlight and turned the beam which was getting dimmer, on the center of the door. A bent cylinder, machined, stuck out from the front.

So they really did have atomic batteries. Pretty neat, huh?

## Entry 5-049: February 18, 2017

### Hi-tech Low Tech

Now that Rome, Rei, MINIMCOM and Ursay had made their way to the end of the Meson tunnel, they found a giant door that they presumed held the virus weapon but no method of access. As we saw from the historical chapter on Jack Henry, he had his men break off the wheel lock so that nobody could ever get in. Here we see an example of simplicity winning the day:

Rei reassembled the flashlight and turned the beam which was getting dimmer, on the center of the door. A bent cylinder, machined, stuck out from the front.

"There is a pressure lock here," Rei said. "Jack Henry's men must have smashed it and removed the wheel so nobody could get in." He ran his hands along the door, up and down, checking to see if there was another way to open it.

"We best not blast it," Rei said. He turned to the livetar. "How about whipping up another batch of VIRUS units? We can have them dissolve the door."

"I have a better idea," the livetar said. With a whoosh and a pop, he disappeared. Instantly, they were plunged into the semi-darkness, illuminated only by the dim beam of Rei's flashlight.

"Where'd he go?" Rei asked. "What did he mean by that?"

A grinding noise came from the door. Rei looked down and aimed the faint light toward the center cylinder. He could see the stub of the screw turning. They stepped back. The vacuum seal was broken accompanied by a hissing sound. Air rushed into the previously evacuated chamber as it equilibrated to atmospheric pressure. With a groaning noise, the huge metal door swung open. MINIMCOM's livetar was on the other side, his shoulder lights illuminating the room.

"Was that not easier?" the livetar asked.

Rei laughed. "Yep."

The three humans entered the room which was maybe ten by ten with a high semi-circular ceiling. Standing in the middle of the room was a seven-foot tall concrete mini-bunker with a door and a window. Rei rushed up to the window and peered in. He shined his weak flashlight to illuminate the interior.

"It's there!" he shouted, "Look!" Ursay and Rome raced over and peered in as well. Sitting on the floor, surrounded by concrete stanchions, laid a dull metal vessel identical to the one that Ursay was carrying. Its utter simplicity belied its utterly lethal nature.

Rei turned to Rome. "What do you think we should do with it?"

So MINIMCOM came up with a simple solution to get _into_ the room. Now what do they do? As Ursay later noted, one wrong move and it is curtains for mankind. They need something equally as clever.

## Entry 5-050: February 19, 2017

### Death in a bottle

After MINIMCOM teleported himself into the sealed storage chamber holding the virus containment vessel, Rome, Rei and Ursay had to figure out what to do. First they had to get themselves oriented as to what was going on and then they had to figure out what to do with it. So here is what they encountered:

The three humans entered the room which was maybe ten by ten with a high semi-circular ceiling. Standing in the middle of the room was a seven-foot tall concrete mini-bunker with a door and a window. Rei rushed up to the window and peered in. He shined his weak flashlight to illuminate the interior.

"It's there!" he shouted, "Look!" Ursay and Rome raced over and peered in as well. Sitting on the floor, surrounded by concrete stanchions, laid a dull metal vessel identical to the one that Ursay was carrying. Its utter simplicity belied its utterly lethal nature.

Rei turned to Rome. "What do you think we should do with it?"

"We must destroy it of course," Rome said.

"How do you propose to do that?" Ursay asked. "One false move and it is the end of all mankind."

Rei snapped his fingers. "I got it," he said. He turned to the livetar. "Instead of opening the door, how about if you beam yourself in there, grab it and then transport it to your cargo bay. Like you did with our burning pan a few weeks ago?"

"Then fly it to the sun," Rome said. "Incinerate it and make it gone forever."

"I can do that," the livetar said. "However, let me move my ship into orbit first. The vessel inside that bunker is a 14 century old inanimate object. You will remember what happened to the beacon on the Moon. If I am already in the vacuum of space, there can be no chance of leakage."

"Good idea," Rei said. "How fast can you get up there?"

The livetar bowed his head and froze. He stood there silently for a minute then a minute longer. Finally, the livetar lifted his head. "It is done," he said.

Sadly, you will see tomorrow that no good deed goes unpunished. MINIMCOM must die.

## Entry 5-051: February 20, 2017

### A hero falls, part 1

Nothing is as dramatic as a dramatic death. Especially when the one dying is a beloved character. So when Rome, Rei and Ursay came upon the containment vessel holding the ultra-deadly Darwin virus strain 5, I couldn't give up the opportunity to "kill" off MINIMCOM. Obviously, he couldn't stay dead forever. That'd be plain stupid. But for the latter portion of _The Ark Lords_ , you were led to believe that MINIMCOM sacrificed his cybernetic "life" for the good of mankind:

The livetar bowed his head and froze. He stood there silently for a minute then a minute longer. Finally, the livetar lifted his head. "It is done," he said. "I am now 200 kilometers up, well past the edge of space. I will transport the vessel to my cargo hold, fly it to the Sun and then come back. I assume you will wait for me?" The mouth slits of the livetar curled up slightly.

"Ha, ha," Rei said. "Get going. Please?"

With a whoosh and a pop, the livetar disappeared. The humans turned and saw MINIMCOM reappear within the sealed bunker. The tall all-black entity reached over its shoulders, grabbed its cape with both hands then flipped the cape over the vessel, gathering it to its body. In the blink of an eye, the livetar was gone and so was the light. The flashlight was nearly useless. It was so dark, Rei considered using his sonar vision but it would not penetrate the storage bunker.

"You got it?" Rei asked using his EM link.

"In a manner of speaking," replied MINIMCOM within his head.

"What happened?" Rome interrupted.

"As I feared, the vessel ruptured. There is now _VIRUS 5_ all over my cargo bay."

"Oh no," Rome cried out it shock. Then, within her head, she asked, "Can you clean yourself out?"

"I do not know," MINIMCOM replied. "Whatever I do must be 100 per cent effective and nothing comes to mind."

"MINIMCOM, what are you going to do?" Rei asked frantically.

"I may have to fly into the Sun and immolate myself, just to be sure."

"NO!" Rome shouted mentally, "You cannot."

"What if you evacuated your cargo bay? Wouldn't that flush the virus into space?" Rei thought desperately.

"Unfortunately, the vessel was pressurized and the spores are all over my cargo bay. They have infiltrated my ductwork and my infrastructure. Simply evacuating the chamber would not clean it sufficiently."

"What about heating up the cargo bay?" Rei offered. "Like an autoclave?"

"I would not know how to do that without heating up all of me. The temperatures required would most likely destroy my circuitry. I must make sure all traces of the virus are gone before I lose my faculties. It may be more effective to just plunge into the Sun."

MINIMCOM is completely the selfless hero here. And there doesn't appear to be any way out. The worst part is he is going to die and he knows it and Rome and Rei know it and they are helpless to prevent it. Tomorrow, they say goodbye to their beloved friend and protector.

## Entry 5-052: February 21, 2017

### A hero falls, part 2

Yesterday, we saw that MINIMCOM had transported the containment vessel containing the Darwin virus, strain 5 into his cargo hold. As I had already taken pains to demonstrate when Rome and Rei recovered the location beacon on the far side of the Moon, the vessel exploded inside MINIMCOM, making his inside deadly to any and all humans. MINIMCOM computed the only effective way to rid himself of the virus was to plunge his whole craft into the Sun thus ending his cybernetic "life" which did not make Rome very happy:

MINIMCOM, please," Rome begged. "You cannot do this."

"It is not my first choice, believe me," replied the starship. "I will think about it on the way. I am going to head toward the Sun now. I must make sure that every spore is destroyed. That is the highest priority."

"Oh, MINIMCOM," Rome said, tears pouring out of her eyes. "I am so sorry."

"Do not be sorry," MINIMCOM said. "I am just an autopilot computer that became a starship. I can be replaced."

"You can never be replaced," Rei said, tears forming in the corner of his eyes as well. "You're one of our family."

"I appreciate the sentiment," replied MINIMCOM. "And since this may be the last time we speak, I will tell you something that I have kept hidden up until now."

"What?" Rome asked, openly sobbing now.

"I do, indeed, have feelings. And I want you to know that I love you both."

"And we love you, MINIMCOM," Rome said with anguish in her mental voice. "You are the best friend anyone has ever had."

"Thank you. Both of you. It has been an honor serving you. Please take care of Junior for me."

"We will, buddy."

And then he was gone.

Rome and Rei just stood there, Rome quietly weeping. "What happened?" Ursay said to them. "Why are you both crying?"

"MINIMCOM...MINIMCOM..." Rome could not get the words out. She just turned and pressed herself into Rei who put his arms around her.

"The vessel burst inside his cargo hold," Rei said quietly. "The virus is all over his insides. He's going to fly himself into the Sun to burn it up. He's sacrificing himself so that we can all be safe."

"Oh," Ursay replied. He became silent. He stared into their faces, using his irods to enhance his vision in the dimly filtered light. "I was wrong about him," Ursay said finally.

"What?" Rome asked, face still pressed against Rei's chest. "Wrong about what?"

"Even when I got you away from the planet the first time, I shared the opinion of the Vuduri that your ship was an abomination, a robot. But I can now see that there was a living spirit within him. Apparently, one not need be a human to be a person. Your MINIMCOM was loyal and heroic. No one on Earth will ever know that he saved them all. The Vuduri have much to learn about the nature of sentience."

You got that right. A living spirit with hopes, dreams and desires does not need to reside in a carbon-based body. MINIMCOM was a hero in every sense of the word. He was selfless and brave and caring. There would never be another like him. Well, not _exactly_ like him.

## Entry 5-053: February 22, 2017

### A new ramp (and guns)

Yesterday, we saw MINIMCOM sacrifice his life to eliminate the Darwin virus, strain 5 from ever endangering humans again. At this point, Rome and Rei's mission is done. All they have to do is get back to their home world of Deucado. But this may be easier said than done:

"What do we do now?" Rei asked, looking down at her. "We have to get home."

"Pegus told me he was sending a transport here from Deucado," she said, haltingly. "It will be arriving on Earth in about two weeks. We will have to hide out until it shows up. We can stow away on it for the return trip."

"You can stay with me," Ursay said. "With your magic robes, we should have no problem keeping you safe until your transport arrives."

"Thank you," Rome said. She looked up at Rei and he nodded. She slipped her arm around his waist and they turned to walk out.

"Do you want to keep this?" Ursay asked, holding up the replica of the virus vessel. "Or should I just leave it here?"

"I would like to give it to Junior," Rome said. "As a remembrance of the sacrifice his father made."

"Wait," Ursay said. "He was a robot spaceship. He has a son? How is that even possible?"

"I know it's crazy," Rei said. "Just let it go."

"Very well," Ursay replied, shrugging. Somberly, the three of them left the inner chamber. When they got to the start of the maze, Rome took one more look at the faded blood stains on the ground with the initials carved in them. Rei set the flashlight down. It only seemed appropriate.

Slowly, they continued on down the corridor. When they got to the ramp, Rei had to hold his arm up to shield his eyes. They had adjusted to the dark of the buried chamber and his vision was blurry from the sudden brightness of the afternoon sun. Of course, with Rome's advanced optics, she had no such problem.

Rei just shut his eyes, figuring it was easier to let his eyes adjust that way. Rome reached up and tugged on his arm.

"Rei," she said.

"Yeah, I'll be OK. I just need a minute to let my eyes adjust," Rei replied.

"REI!" Rome said, insistently.

"What?"

Even though his eyes were blurry from the brightness, Rei blinked a few times until his vision cleared. There standing at the top of the ramp were eight armed men, all pointing laser pulse rifles at them.

"Hold it right there," said Captain Keller.

Oh no! Not again! Can't they ever go up or down a ramp without people standing there aiming guns at them? Oh well, they can't be in any real danger as the virus containment vessel is gone for good. Right?

## Entry 5-054: February 23, 2017

### Alternate Facts

While it is true that Rei was capable of fibbing, if not telling an outright lie, his 35th century wife, Rome, could not. So when Rome, Rei and Ursay marched up the ramp holding the fake virus container, Rome knew it was of no interest to Captain Keller. She was going to give it to Junior as a remembrance of his fallen father. But Captain Keller was having none of it. Watch as Rome desperately tries to tell the truth and they simply don't believe her or their eyes:

"You! Old man," Keller said, pointing at Ursay with his rifle. "Walk toward me. Very slowly."

Ursay looked at Rome. She shrugged so he followed the instructions. Keller handed his rifle to Lee Ionelli who was standing next to him. When Ursay got close enough, Keller grabbed the replica vessel from him.

Rei and Rome raised their hands and walked to the top of the ramp and out into the open air. The soldiers surrounding Keller lifted their guns higher.

"I don't know how you two do what you do," Keller said. "But I knew Mrs. Genius here," he indicated Rome, "I knew she'd figure it out somehow."

"Captain Keller, there's no need for weapons," Rei said.

"The vessel is not real," Rome interjected. "It is merely a replica. There is no virus within. You are wasting your time."

Keller laughed. "Right. How stupid do you think I am? You're telling me that you flew to Earth, dug under the Tevatron only to find a fake canister? So where's the real one?"

"MINIMCOM flew it into the sun," Rome said. "It is gone."

Keller looked around. "I don't see him around here."

"She just told you," Rei said. "He flew it into the sun. He burned up."

"What? He committed suicide? You're both a bunch of goddamned liars," Keller said. "You're always trying to outsmart us. Well you didn't outsmart us this time. We beat you to the punch. We were trying to build our own spaceships but why bother? We just stole one of yours."

Rome looked around, past the group of soldiers. Standing behind them was a sleek gray starship.

"Rei, look," Rome said. "Junior!"

What the heck was Junior doing there and why in the name of Heaven would he ever cooperate with the Darwin scum?

## Entry 5-055: February 24, 2017

### Ursay saves the day

It was clear that Captain Keller thought he had the upper hand. But he forgot that the Vuduri were mind-connected and you couldn't tell one Vuduri something without all of them knowing. Never was this so clear as when Keller tried to coerce Rome and Rei into giving him what he thought was the actual containment vessel for the Darwin virus, strain 5. But Ursay knew better. And he quickly seized control of the situation:

Keller interrupted. "I hate to break up this lovely reunion but we are leaving now. Any objections?"

Grus looked over at Ursay who tilted his head toward Junior.

"You may leave," Grus said. "But these two must remain," he barked out, indicating Rei and Rome. "They have violated the conditions of their parole and must be held accountable."

Rome leaned over and whispered in Ursay's ear. "You have to get him to let us go. We have to get back to Deucado. They have my son and mother."

Ursay nodded. He addressed Grus in a loud voice.

"Rei and Rome were kidnapped by these Erklirte and were brought here against their will. Therefore, they did not violate the conditions of their parole. You must let them leave as well."

"No," Grus insisted. "That is not what the Overmind decrees."

Ursay narrowed his eyes then closed them. He rocked back and forth slowly. Grus put his hand up to his temple and widened his eyes.

"You see," Ursay said. "I still hold the rank of Commander. You must do as I say. Now!" he said, pointing to the ship.

"Very well," Grus grumbled. He addressed Keller and the other soldiers. "You are to leave and never return. You may take the criminals Rome and Rei with you. And that robot ship. They are not permitted on Earth. There is no place for your kind here."

"I'll be glad to," Keller said. "I need these two safe, anyway."

Some of Keller's soldiers came and took Fridone and Rei and escorted them toward Junior's cargo ramp.

Two more Essessoni solders stood by Rome. "Wait one minute," she said. She turned to Ursay. She hugged him tightly and said, "Thank you for all you have done. You are a great man. Someday the Overmind will see that as clearly as I can."

Ursay took Rome by both shoulders and said, "The same could be said about you. Some day not only the Overmind but all of mankind will know what a service you have performed. I hope you find what you are looking for safe and sound."

"Thank you," Rome said. She turned and allowed the soldiers to escort her up into Junior's cargo hold. The ramp retracted, the hatch closed and the starship lifted off.

So old Ursay can lie with the best of them but it was for the best of reasons. Tomorrow, Rome discovers why Junior cooperated with the monsters from the past.

## Entry 5-056: February 25, 2017

### Calling Junior

It's hard to think back to a time when MINIMCOM, Jr. was just a little space pup but he started out very small. When he was "born" he didn't have the power or abilities of his father. He had to develop them. In fact he was called into service, as a starship, long before he was ready. He didn't even know how to navigate a PPT tunnel. Here is Rome recognizing this and guiding her new nephew through the discovery process:

"How are we going to find Aason and my mother?" Rome asked Rei mentally.

"Keller doesn't know MINIMCOM is dead. So he has to keep us alive to serve as protection against him. We just have to keep our mouths shut till he relents. As long as he thinks that containment vessel is real, he thinks he has all the power. At some point, we'll reach a stalemate."

"How long until we get to Deucado?" Rome asked.

"MINIMCOM said that Junior had his same capabilities. Plus he's a little smaller. So he might even be able to go a little faster. So I'm guessing just another hour or two."

"Same capabilities?" Rome wondered. She sat bolt upright. "Junior, Junior, can you hear me?" Rome called out mentally.

"Auntie Rome," Junior replied. "Dad told me we would be able to communicate this way. I didn't know what frequencies to use until you called out to me."

"What happened?" Rome asked. "Why did you come to Earth? Why did you agree to bring these monsters?"

"Aason told me I had to do it," Junior replied. "He was afraid you might be in danger and said sending me was the only way to make sure you came back safely."

Rome could not help but register her surprise. "Aason told you to come after us? Do you know where they are keeping him?"

"No," Junior replied. "I only know that after we took off, they were going to move him to a secure location. I heard them speak about it but they did not say exactly where. Where is my father?"

"Oh," Rome said, sadness washing over her. "Junior, I'm so sorry but your father is dead."

Junior was none too happy to hear this. We are long past the point where we challenge whether the livetars truly have feelings or not. Junior will get his revenge. Trust me.

## Entry 5-057: February 26, 2017

### A plot is hatched

Yesterday, Rome established contact with Junior and had the unfortunate duty to inform the little spaceship that his father was dead. There was nothing they could do about it but Aason and Rome's mother, Binoda, were still in mortal danger. Junior knew there would be time to mourn later. Although he did not know her well, he knew his Auntie Rome would come up with a way of saving.

Rome said, sadness washing over her. "Junior, I'm so sorry but your father is dead."

"What!?" the little spaceship replied. "How? Why?"

"The containment vessel holding the virus exploded in his cargo hold. He sacrificed himself to make sure it was destroyed by flying into the sun."

"I don't understand," Junior replied sadly. "The canister is right here, in my cockpit."

"It is just a replica," Rome said. "They think it is real, though. There's no telling what they would do if they find out it is a fake."

"If it is a fake, then why are you letting them treat you like this? I can stop them right now," Junior said angrily.

"No," Rome said, trying to be soothing. "Remember, they still have Aason and my mother. We still have to figure out a way to rescue them. How long before we get to Deucado?"

"At this speed, we should be there in less than two hours," Junior answered.

"Does anyone in the cockpit know how to operate you?" she asked.

"No," replied Junior. "They just tell me what to do and so far I have followed their instructions. But I am very angry right now."

"Please, dear, cooperate until Aason is safe," Rome said.

"I will, Auntie Rome. I understand."

"This is what I want you to do. In a little while, I want you to drop out of null-fold space when the distance is such that it will take at least two hours to reach Deucado using your plasma thrusters."

"They will not like that," Junior answered. "They told me to get back as fast as possible."

"Make up an excuse. Tell them you need a pilot to help you get home."

"But that would be lying."

"Junior, this is so we can rescue Aason. I think a little lie here would be acceptable."

"Of course," Junior said. "You will know exactly when I drop into normal space."

So what does Rome have planned? If you haven't read _The Ark Lords_ , you'll find out in a day or so.

## Entry 5-058: February 27, 2017

### Exoplanets

In case you have been living under a rock, NASA announced on February 22, 2017, that they have found seven Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone around a star named TRAPPIST-1.

Let's consider the term habitable, though. Because the star TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool dwarf, the habitable zone is much, much closer to the star than our own. In fact, the seven planets are closer to the star than Mercury. This implies that most likely they are all tidally locked to their primary meaning the same side faces the sun at all times. So the one side might be very warm and the other side might be very cold. The weather on these planets would be very different from our own.

But the fact of the matter is there are seven. This is amazing news. When I was writing _The Milk Run_ , I was hard pressed to postulate that there were even _two_ planets in the habitable zone. Without being an astronomer or an astrogeophysicist, I wasn't able to figure out if it was even possible or if the planets would eventually collide.

Well, TRAPPIST-1 throws that worry out the window. These planets are so close to each other that you might be able to see clouds or geological features on the neighboring worlds. Some of them might even appear larger than the Moon. What a sky!

Well, the good news is that as time passes, we are finding more and more planets that may be capable of either creating life or certainly sustaining it. The bad news is that as a science fiction writer, I am running out of time until we discover aliens on other planets and then the truth will have outdistanced my fiction. I'd better hurry up and crank out some more novels before that happens.

## Entry 5-059: February 28, 2017

The Game, part 1

While the 24-chromosome, mind-connected Vuduri have no natural ability to lie, the Essessoni, the people from our time period, have do not share impediment. As such, having spent several years with Rei, Rome has learned to lie, when necessary, to achieve her goals. Here she teaches Junior, MINIMCOM's son, how to lie as well in an effort to save her son and mother:

After an interminable period of time, the quiet shushing sound of the null-fold star-drive diminished then stopped. Rome could hear shouting in the cockpit. Ionelli stuck his head out of the cockpit arch and said, "Bierak, can you fly this ship?"

"I'm no expert," Rei said. "But she is." He pointed to Rome.

"Mrs. Bierak, would you come up here and talk some sense into this ship," Ionelli said in exasperated tones.

Rome squeezed Rei's hand and stood up. She walked forward and entered the cockpit, taking a quick survey of the situation. The ersatz vessel was tucked in the far corner. Keller was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, banging on the front console and cursing. Rome took her place in the pilot's seat and waited until Keller calmed down.

"I will tell you what to say," Rome said mentally, "Just follow my lead. Tell me you are afraid of running into the planet. Make it convincing."

"What is the problem, Junior?" she asked out loud.

"I am afraid of running into Deucado," Junior replied through the grille mounted in the front of the control panel. Just the right amount of fear seeped into his voice.

"When I ask the next question, just answer luck."

"How were you able to get to Earth then? Weren't you afraid of running into that planet?"

"It was luck," Junior replied. "I took a good guess."

"Do you see how to play this game now?" Rome asked.

"Yes," Junior replied.

"Would you feel more comfortable using a regular PPT tunnel then?" Rome asked out loud in a soothing tone.

"I would," replied Junior. "Except I have never done it before."

"Tell them you need me to pilot."

"Auntie Rome, can you pilot me in?" asked Junior.

"Of course," Rome said, patting the grille. Rome turned to Keller. "Is this acceptable to you?"

"I don't care," said Keller. "Just do it."

The point here is that Keller and his cronies can't know that Rome is coaching Junior. They have no choice but to believe the baby spaceship really doesn't know what he is doing. After all, he is the very first of his kind. Tomorrow, we'll see how Rome exploits this deceit.

## Entry 5-060: March 1, 2017

The Game, part 2

Yesterday, we saw Rome instruct Junior, the baby starship, in the art of deceit in order to gain a tactical advantage over Captain Keller and the other would-be Ark Lords. She needs the time to figure out how to rescue Aason and Binoda who have been kidnapped by the Darwin people. Everything she is doing is calculated to produce a certain effect.

Today Rome elaborates on the ruse to create a convincing case for manual intervention. She exploits Keller's impatience as much as she does his ignorance:

"Very well," Rome said, leaning over and looking at the center viewscreen. "Junior, enable manual control."

"Enabled, Auntie Rome."

"OK then," Rome said. "I am going to spin you around and use your thrusters as braking rockets. Watch how I do it."

"OK."

Rome twisted the joystick which fired the trimjets, spinning the starship around its center axis. When she was satisfied they were exactly 180 degrees opposite their forward vector, she depressed the mechanical button to enable the plasma jets and pushed forward on the throttle. She watched the center display intently as it showed their forward speed decreasing until it achieved a velocity of zero relative to the nearest gravitational point of reference.

"Very good," she said. She twisted the joystick around again until they were facing forward. Deucado was a tiny blue star glowing in the sky to the left of Tau Ceti. Grentadar was nowhere to be seen. Rome assumed it was on the far side of the sun. Rome twisted the joystick slightly counterclockwise then quickly halted their motion. Deucado was now dead ahead.

"OK, Junior," Rome said. "I'm going to active the PPT generators. When the tunnel is large enough, I'll use the plasma jets to push us through."

"I understand the theory," replied the spaceship. "I have just never done it before."

"It isn't hard," Rome said. She bent forward and checked the yellow dial mounted on the front of the armrest to confirm that the calibration triangle was upright. Satisfied, she mashed in the center button as hard as she could to make sure the PPT tunnel went deep.

Too deep as it turns out. Rome has situation all set up. She has turned to game to her advantage. Tomorrow you will see what she does with this advantage.

## Entry 5-061: March 2, 2017

### The Game, part 3

Two days ago, we saw Rome instruct Junior, the baby starship, in the art of deceit in order to gain a tactical advantage over Captain Keller and the other would-be Ark Lords. She needs the time to figure out how to rescue Aason and Binoda who have been kidnapped by the Darwin people. Today she executes the final element in her elaborate yet necessary plan to fool Keller:

A whining sound erupted from the back of the ship as the PPT generators came on line. In front of them, a large black circle appeared, obscuring both Deucado and Tau Ceti and letting the star field behind it shine through. When Rome was certain the tunnel was wide enough, she released the button and activated the plasma thrusters. Keller was shoved back into his chair. Ionelli nearly fell over, grabbing the back of Rome's seat just in time.

The little starship entered the tunnel and as soon as it was through, Rome released the plasma jets.

"How did we do?" Rome asked.

"We went too far," Junior whined. "I'm sorry."

"What?" shouted Keller. "How far?"

Rome looked over the front display. "Oh dear," she said. "We overshot by several light minutes."

"Hell," said Keller, slamming his armrest.

"Junior, have your PPT generators ever been calibrated?" Rome asked innocently.

"No, Auntie Rome," replied the spaceship. "That was something that Dad and I were going to do in a few weeks." There was a little catch to his voice.

"All right, then, dear," Rome said. She turned to Keller. "I think you are better off using plasma thrusters for the final leg. It would seem to be the safest."

"How long will that take?" Keller asked.

"Just a few hours," Rome said. "I can lay in a course, set the thrusters on auto and we'll be there soon enough."

"OK, do it," Keller said grumpily.

Rome's hands flew over the console. When she was satisfied that all was in the ready, she pressed the icon to engage and the plasma thrusters kicked in.

"There," Rome said. "All set."

"Get her out of here," Keller said to Ionelli. "Bring her back when I tell you."

Rome has him all set up. She has turned to game to her advantage. As it turns out, she needs to be in normal space to reach out to her son. That was the whole reason behind this elaborate charade. Tomorrow, Rome makes contact with Aason.

## Entry 5-062: March 3, 2017

### The tiny voice

Yesterday, we saw Rome execute an elaborate ruse to force Captain Keller to allow them to remain in normal space. He has no idea she was coaching Junior the whole way and he has no idea of the range of the Vuduri PPT transducers. It is time for Rome to call out to her son:

"Aason, can you hear me?" Rome called out using her PPT transceivers.

"Mommy!" came her son's tiny, frightened voice. "Where are you?'

"Your father and I are on our way back in Junior," she said. "Are you and Grandmea all right?"

"Yes," Aason said. "But it's cold in here."

"Where are you?"

"I don't know, Mommy. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Aason. Help me find you. Tell me what you see. Are you in a building?"

"No. We are in a cave. A big cave," Aason said.

"A cave..." Rome shivered thinking about it. "Where is Grandmea? Is she with you?"

"No," replied Aason. "They are holding her over there."

Rome could not help but smile. "I cannot see where you are pointing," she said. "Where is over there?"

"There is another cave off to the side. That's where they are keeping her. I'm out here on the floor."

"Very good. How many men are there?"

"There are two with Grandmea. And there is one here with me."

"All right. Aason, you know what a weapon is, right?"

"Yes, Mommy."

"Do the men have weapons?"

"I think so. They have long sticks with handles that they carry around all the time."

Rome's eyes widened. "Are they pointing them at you?" she asked anxiously.

"No," Aason replied. "And all they gave me to play with are some rocks," he said petulantly.

Rome breathed a sigh of relief. "Where are their weapons?"

"The man near me has his sitting on his lap. I think he's asleep."

"What about the other two? The ones near Grandmea?"

"Their sticks are resting against the wall. The men are sitting and talking."

"All right, Aason. Mommy and Daddy are on our way. We'll be there soon."

"Hurry, Mommy, I don't want to be here anymore."

"We're coming as fast as we can. I'll check back with you in a little while."

"OK, Mommy."

Even though I created him, I love little Aason. Despite the fact that he speaks like an adult, to the point where you forget he is only two years old, he is still a child. In the middle of this life-threatening situation, he is complaining that all he has to play with are some rocks. What a kid!

## Entry 5-063: March 4, 2017

### Triangulation

Yesterday, we saw that Rome was able to contact her son, Aason. To her relief, both he and Rome's mother Binoda was safe for the time being and were hidden in a cave somewhere. But where? Rome need to figure out where Aason was located because he could not tell her. The Overmind of Deucado comes to the rescue:

"So that is the situation," Rome said. "Can you still find connections using triangulation like you did when you were still seizing babies?"

"Yes," replied the Overmind. "Please have Aason open his mind so that we can track him."

"Very well," Rome said. "Aason, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Mommy."

"You remember the Overmind."

"Yes but I don't like him very much," Aason said. "He was mean to you."

"You know he isn't like that anymore," Rome answered. "He is going to help us find you. I want you to open up your mind and let him in for a bit. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Mommy," Aason replied, reluctantly.

"Thank you," the Overmind replied. "Hello, Aason."

"Hello," Aason answered glumly.

"It will be fine. This is so you will be safe. I will only need a moment."

Rome wriggled around in her seat impatiently, waiting while the Overmind performed its magic. Rei scanned the men opposite of them to see if any of them noticed anything unusual. Some of them were watching them but without a keen interest.

Finally, the Overmind responded. "Not quite there," it replied. "I need three points of reference. I have used the Vuduri in Vuduri City as one. I used the Vuduri in New Ark City as the second. But I need a third. Aason is closer to New Ark City that much I can tell. But he could be to the north or south, I cannot deduce which. I cannot find any Vuduri far enough on either side to finish the search."

"What are we going to do?" Rome asked with just a tinge of fear in her mental voice. "Can you send someone in a flyer?"

"I could do that but I may not need to," the Overmind replied. "Will you be able to control the reentry to the planet?"

"Yes," Rome said. "They are expecting me to pilot the ship in."

"Excellent. Then instead of reentry parallel to the equator, use a polar route. As you circle around the planet, I will use you as the third point of reference. We should be able to pinpoint his location fairly quickly."

Rome breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she said. "I will let you know as soon as I begin reentry."

OK. All the pieces are in place. Now we just need to pull the trigger.

## Entry 5-064: March 5, 2017

### Going south

Yesterday, we saw that the Overmind of Deucado was able to find Aason but only along a line of longitude. They still needed latitude to home in on his actual position. The plan was for Rome to talk Keller into allowing her to take a polar route for landing. This would allow the Overmind to use her connection to identify Aason's exact position.

"Where are we going?" Rome asked innocently. "New Ark City?"

"No," snarled Keller. "Our destination is 100 kilometers due west of there. I'll show you when we get close."

Rome nodded her head at him then looked back at the panel. She twisted the joystick and the ship rolled over until Deucado was upside down.

"What are you doing?" Keller asked.

"Preparing the ship for aero-braking," Rome said. "A polar re-entry is more efficient than an equatorial one from this vector. I assume that's what you want. Am I correct?"

"Whatever," said Keller. "Just make sure you know what you are doing."

Rome disengaged the thruster lock and pulsed the plasma jets on and off. She kept the nose of the ship tipped upward so that they pointed directly at the south pole of the planet. As they circled around the dark side, she rotated the craft about the midline. She fired the plasma thrusters in retro mode to slow their forward velocity. Once she was satisfied with the decrease in speed, she rotated the ship so that they were facing forward again. The little starship began to reenter the atmosphere around the isthmus that connected the continent of Sul to Toraode, the northern of the two eastern continents. Just as Junior's nose started heating up, Rome flipped the small rocker, switching Junior's controls from space-side to atmospheric mode and applied the EG lifters to push against the gravitational field. The ship headed upward again, almost to the point of a stall then headed back down again. She executed another dip and swoop upward but this time they did not gain nearly as much altitude.

By the time they crossed the north pole of Deucado, shimmering with the green and red of a spectacular Aurora Borealis, they were fully within the atmosphere. Rome pulled up a map of Asquarti, the western continent and placed a virtual pushpin to the west of New Ark City as Keller had indicated.

Rome needs her full attention to finalize the position so it is time for another ruse. Boy, that Keller is gullible. You'll see tomorrow.

## Entry 5-065: March 6, 2017

### The Charlie Horse Gambit, part 1

Yesterday, we saw Rome set up Captain Keller so that he would allow her to fly a circumpolar route along the line of longitude where the Overmind determined Aason was being held captive. As they are coming south from the North Pole, Rome needs to create yet another ruse so that she can use her mind to finalize the triangulation:

"Rei," Rome called out. "Be ready to come up to the cockpit. I need to work with the Overmind and they think someone needs to pilot the ship."

"Whatever you say," Rei answered.

As soon as they crossed over the Arctic Circle into the continent proper, Rome yelled out loud, "Ow!"

She unclasped her belt and threw herself on the ground, grabbing the back of her leg and howling in agony. "Ow, ow, ow," she said.

Ionelli raced over to her. "What's the matter," he asked.

"Cramp," she moaned, "ow, ow." She grimaced. "Quick," she said, "get Rei. Ow, he can pilot the rest of the ow, ow." Rome thrashed around on the floor convincingly.

"Bierak," Ionelli shouted out, "Get up here."

Rei came racing through the cockpit arch. Upon seeing Rome writhing around in pain, he shoved Ionelli out of the way and knelt down by his wife. "Romey, what's the matter?" he asked.

"Cramp," she moaned. "You know."

"Straighten your leg out," Rei said. "And point your toes forward. That always helps you."

"I'll be alright," Rome gasped. "Pilot the ship. I put a marker on our destination. I just need to let the muscle stop spasming."

"Are you sure?" Rei asked, feigning concern.

"Yes," Rome replied.

Rei stood up and walked around to the pilot's seat. He sat down and buckled himself in. He grasped the joysticks firmly and banked gently to the right. The central display showed him the proper vector. This part was easy.

Rome was rubbing the back of her thigh with her hand, trying to knead the muscles to calm her fake Charlie horse.

"Aason?" she asked.

"Yes, Mommy?"

"Overmind?"

"I am on it," the entity answered.

OK. The pieces are in place. Now it is up to the Overmind to identify Aason's exact location.

## Entry 5-066: March 7, 2017

### The Charlie Horse Gambit, part 2

Yesterday, Rome threw herself on the floor, faking a Charlie horse, so that she could concentrate on Aason's PPT signal thus allowing the Overmind of Deucado to triangulate the boy's exact position. Lying on the floor, none of the regular Essessoni had a clue what she was doing:

"Overmind?" Rome asked.

"I am on it," the entity answered. After a moment, it replied, "Your Erklirte are not very imaginative. Aason is located within the caves your father's people used during their secret resistance phase. I believe they called it The Cathedral. Do you want me to send some troops to rescue them?"

"Not yet," Rome replied. "They are not in immediate danger and I must see what Captain Keller intends. Just be ready. If I need you to infiltrate the cave, I will let you know."

"Very well. I am here for you if you need me."

Rome opened up a channel to Rei and Junior. "Aason is being held in The Cathedral. Junior, do you know where that is?"

"Yes," replied the starship. "When I was born, I inherited my father's database. Do you want me to go there?"

"Not yet," answered Rome. Then to Rei, she asked, "Do you agree?"

"Yeah," Rei answered while staring at the center viewscreen. "It's enough that we know where they are. We have to see how Keller is going to play this out. We might not have to do anything."

"I want to do something," Junior replied angrily. "My Dad would have."

"Yes," Rome said, "but he would also have listened to us. Right?"

"Yes," the spaceship replied begrudgingly.

Rome stood up and continued to knead her thigh along the back. "I am alright," she announced to no one in particular. "Rei, do you need me to take over?"

"Naw," Rei said. "I got this. Just take care of yourself."

Rome looked at Keller and Ionelli. Keller waved his hand limply toward the cargo bay. Rome took that as her cue and she rejoined her father.

"Everything will be alright," she whispered to him. "We know where they are."

So this whole time, right in front of Captain Keller's nose, Rome and the Overmind ran an investigation into the whereabouts of the boy. Rome and Rei have the advantage of knowing but Captain Keller doesn't know that they know. This is getting exciting!

## Entry 5-067: March 8, 2017

### Darwin Base

When the Arks were launched, only the US Space Command knew there were actually two different subgroups within the passengers sent to the stars. Those kept in the gray super-armored sarcophagi were part of the secret initiative called Project Darwin. Their sole goal was to breed, build up the population and technology and one day return to Earth and claim it for their own.

The other group, kept in ordinary white sarcophagi, thought their mission was to colonize the target planet, build up the population and ensure the survival of the species by removing our genetic eggs from one cosmic basket. To some degree, the two groups worked in concert but to a much larger degree, their goals were at odds since they were competing for limited resources to accomplish two separate missions.

On top of everything else, the Erklirte, the Ark Lords, kept their mission secret. So they needed a base of operations in the northern woods, far away from New Ark City, so they could work on their plans undisturbed by the would-be colonists. Rei certainly had no idea about this when Keller directed him toward their secret base:

Up ahead, Rei could see a grouping of six or seven Quonset huts huddled on the edge of a large paved area, mostly blacktop resembling tarmac. The metallic roofs of the huts glinted in the sun to the point where Rei had to tint the windshield a bit. There was a classic two-story tall old Earth-style control tower attached to the farthest building.

"What is this place?" Rei asked. "I didn't know it was here."

"You can call it Darwin Base," Keller answered. "And you weren't supposed to know about it but it's way too late for that. This is going to be your home for a while."

Rei made a guttural sound then shook his head. "Where do you want me to set down?"

"Over there," Keller said, pointing. "Past where the two roads merge."

Rei slowly drifted across the taxi portion of the landing area, scanning the vicinity as they crossed the first roadway. Parked along the Quonset huts were several flying carts along with the huge transports they had brought from Earth in their Ark. Rei had wondered where those things had disappeared to. He had not seen any of them in over a year. He touched an icon and Junior's landing gear extended. Rei rotated the craft so that it pointed forward toward the other roadway then set down with the tiniest of bumps.

Keller unbuckled. "Go join your wife," he said. "But make sure everything you do is slow. I don't want you to get shot accidentally."

This place, Darwin Base, is something that Rei is going to have to check out. There is no way he's going to allow such shenanigans to on, on his home planet.

## Entry 5-068: March 9, 2017

### The Prize

Yesterday, Keller instructed Rei to land Junior at what Keller referred to as Darwin Base. When you think about their charter, they were tasked with returning to Earth and taking it over. They were to wipe out the remnants of mankind, if necessary, with the Darwin virus strain 5. So when Keller arrived at Darwin Base with the ersatz virus containment vessel, he was all full of himself. He was so wrong:

The mass of soldiers herded them to the center of the tarmac. Only then did Keller and Ionelli emerge from Junior, Keller holding the ersatz vessel very carefully.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Keller announced. "We got it." He raised the canister over his head.

The crowd roared their approval. Keller acknowledged it and allowed them a moment of general hurrahs and cheers. Finally, he tucked the canister under his arm and waved his free hand, motioning for them to settle down.

"These three are going to be our guests for a while," he shouted. He turned to Ionelli and spoke in a quieter voice. "We have to figure out where to put them, but we'll do that later," he said. "Go get everybody out here."

Rei, Rome and Fridone were shuffled off to the far side by two guards who took up positions on either side of them. Ionelli entered the closest hut. When he emerged, he was followed by a few people. He entered each of the remaining huts, each time more followed him outside. The crowd grew in size. Rei estimated sixty or seventy in total. Another small group came up from behind Rei, Rome and Fridone. Rei found the sheer number of people disappointing if not downright depressing.

When most of the group was gathered around, Keller walked over to the doorway of the nearest hut and hopped up on a metal box sitting there. He raised his voice to address the crowd. "Thanks to these fine folks," he said, pointing to his three 'guests'. "We can think about moving up the schedule. Obviously, with starships like this one..." He pointed at Junior. "We don't need to build Arks. And with this..." He held up the aluminum canister, "we have the ultimate power. They have to do what we say when we say it or they all die. The Earth will be ours in no time."

Once again, the crowd cheered and hooted at Keller's pronouncements.

"Now these three," he said, pointing at Rome, Rei and Fridone again. "We have to keep them safe. I don't know where their pet starship is but he can be a mean son of a bitch. They'll keep him in check as long as we play our cards right. He turned and looked directly at Rome. "You will, won't you?" he called out.

Rome nodded sullenly. Rei, sensing her resignation, draped his arm over her shoulder and gathered her in.

So... Keller thinks he has everything in hand. He thinks he is in control. Like I said above, he is soooo wrong.

## Entry 5-069: March 10, 2017

### He's alive

Yesterday, Captain Keller held up what he mistakenly thought was the genuine Darwin virus strain 5 containment vessel as a symbol of their total dominance of the human race. The fact is, what he had was nothing but a glorified balloon. However, Rome was unwilling to make a move against him until she secured Aason's release. Little did she know that her son was already safe and sound and right nearby:

Suddenly, Rome heard Aason's voice in her head. "Mommy, Mommy," the little boy said excitedly, "I see you."

"What?" Rome replied, eyes wide, looking around. "No, my son, you are mistaken. We will look for you very soon."

"I will see you first," Aason answered.

"What do you mean?" Rome asked.

Aason did not answer. Rome opened her eyes up even wider.

"Rei," she whispered in frightened tones. "Something's happened."

"What?" Rei inquired but before Rome could answer, the air was rocked by twin sonic booms. Overhead, the roar of plasma thrusters, louder than any jet engine, shattered the air. The acrid smell of ozone followed a hot wind blowing over the landing area. The ground started shaking. Rome whirled in place just in time to see a portion of the sky shimmer and out of nowhere MINIMCOM's sleek black starship appeared in mid-air. His powerful EG lifters whipped the air, scattering the few people who were directly beneath. Landing gear extended, MINIMCOM settled on the tarmac and sat there menacingly with his "roadgrader" cannons extended, their fanned edges bristling with glowing red tips.

With a whoosh and a pop, MINIMCOM's all black livetar appeared beside Rei and Rome.

"You're alive!" Rome said, jumping up so she could put her arms around his neck. She hugged the livetar. "Why didn't you tell us?" Suddenly, she slid off and backed away. "What about the virus?" she asked fearfully.

MINIMCOM leaned his head forward and spoke quietly. "As I told you before I left, immolating myself was not my first choice. Rei's idea turned out to be a good one. I needed an autoclave and I realized I could just turn my cargo compartment inside-out. I plunged far enough into the photosphere of the sun to burn off a good percentage of my interior before I escaped. I am completely clean now; however, I did sustain some system damage, including my transmitter. It took longer than I expected to rebuild it. Otherwise I would have called sooner."

Keller is in trouble now. The very thing he feared was MINIMCOM's presence which has now been realized. But at least he has the weapon of last resort. Or so he thought.

## Entry 5-070: March 11, 2017

### Do not make him angry

Yesterday, MINIMCOM reappeared, seemingly from the dead, just in the nick of time to act as the cavalry when it came to Rome and Rei's safety. Captain Keller thinks he has the advantage both with the fake virus containment vessel and with Aason and Binoda being held captive. Unfortunately for him, he was dead wrong on both counts:

Rome cocked her head, trying to infer what he meant. The livetar turned and faced Captain Keller. He spoke but used his EG lifters as a super-PA system so that his voice thundered over the crowd.

"I do not appreciate you holding weapons aimed toward my family," he said, pointing up to the extrusions on the fuselage. "These cannons can and will slice all of you in half before you can blink."

The troops behind Keller backed away several feet, spreading out as they moved. Keller looked at their formation and shouted back, "I knew those two were lying. You, spaceship. You're forgetting. I still have this." Keller raised the aluminum canister into the air. "And with all these rifles, I feel certain we can kill Rei or Rome before you get all of us. Besides, Rome knows we still have her mother and child. She won't let you do anything to endanger them."

With a whoosh and a pop, two more livetars appeared to Rome's left, a tall white one and a shorter gray one. The small gray one walked up to Rome with an oddly stiff gait.

"Hello, Mommy," a little voice said, issuing from the mouth hole. Rome bent over, looked into the eye holes and found Aason's eyes staring back at her. She clapped her hands and stood up. She peered into the eye slits of the OMCOM livetar and saw her mother's eyes peeking out from behind them.

MINIMCOM leaned over and whispered in Rome's ear, "I took the liberty of picking up your mother and son on my way over here."

Rome hugged the two-meter tall livetar again. "I don't know what we would ever do without you," she said.

Not exactly understanding what was transpiring, the myriad troops shuffled uneasily. The two guards standing next to the little group took a step back and raised their rifles taking dead aim at Rome and Rei.

The livetar shook his head and wagged his finger at them. Two sounds, like a zzt, zzt, issued from the cylindrical cannons and the two laser pulse rifles were sliced in half. It took the two guards a moment to comprehend what had happened. Frightened, the soldiers dropped the useless hardware and backed away, joining the larger group.

It is clear that MINIMCOM has the ability to disarm the crowd. It is time for Keller to play his final two trump cards.

## Entry 5-071: March 12, 2017

### The two trump cards

Yesterday, we saw MINIMCOM swoop in to save the day. He is very powerful and a dedicated protector of Rome, Rei and their family. The standoff is complete, at least in the mind of Captain Keller. He believes he still has Binoda, Rome's mother, and Aason captured and hidden away so he feels like he has all the power. But when you come from the 21st century, you make 21st century assumptions. And, as usual, he is wrong.

"MINIMCOM, can you disarm all of them that way without harming them?" Rome asked.

"It would be my pleasure," replied the livetar. The tips of the cannons came alive and the angry red dots went zzt, zzt, zzt so fast, no one had a chance to move. Very quickly, every one of the soldiers now had two pieces of a rifle where there was only one before. Some of the onlookers, at the edge of the crowd, started running away.

"Settle down, people," Keller shouted, trying to calm the crowd.

MINIMCOM used the crowd's confusion as his opportunity. He stepped around in front of Rome, blocking her from Keller's view. He reached into the folds of his cape and pulled out an object. He slipped Rome the 9mm pistol they had picked up from the armory on Earth.

"I promised I would return this to you," MINIMCOM said. "It is fully restored and fully operational." The livetar bent over and added, "I was able to match the dried blood on the handle to the stain we found back at the Tevatron."

"What are you saying?" Rome asked, staring at the pistol in her hand.

"I believe this handgun belonged to Hanry Ta Jihn," MINIMCOM replied.

Rome's jaw dropped open. The livetar stepped away.

Seeing Rome holding the gun, Lt. Greer called out, "No, you don't!" He reached behind his back and brought out another type of handgun. Even as he was drawing his weapon, MINIMCOM waved his arm. There was another zzt sound and Greer screamed. His hand, still holding the gun, fell to the ground. With the stump of his arm bleeding profusely, Greer sank to his knees, moaning.

In a panic, Keller shouted out, "You'd better stop him! We still have your mother and son. There is nothing you can do about that." One of the assembled group waved a walkie-talkie in the air. Keller leaned over from his metal platform. The guard with the radio whispered something in his ear.

"What!?" he exclaimed, looking around frantically.

A thin line appeared at the top of each livetar which widened and became a crack. The livetars split sideways, almost completely in half, and Binoda and Aason stepped out onto the runway. As the livetars were resealing themselves, Rome shoved the gun into her left pocket and rushed over to pick up Aason. She cuddled and rocked him. "Oh my baby. I was so worried," she said.

"I missed you, Mommy," Aason replied with his little arms around his mother's neck. Rei came over and stroked his son's head gently. In the meantime, Fridone ran over and grabbed Binoda. They took turns kissing each other, just relishing the fact that they were together again. Binoda pulled free and came over and hugged her daughter and grandson as well. After a few moments, Rome looked up at Keller standing on the box and her eyes narrowed. She handed Aason to her husband then pulled the handgun out of her pocket. After slowly sliding forward, she shifted the gun to her right hand and aimed it directly at Keller. "Our business here is concluded," she growled.

Do you think Captain Keller is just going to capitulate! Naw. He from the Killer Generation, after all. He believes he has one more card up his sleeve.

## Entry 5-072: March 13, 2017

### You've killed us all

Every book has a final, pivotal scene; the culmination of moving all the chess pieces in place until you have the last meaningful dramatic confrontation. Yesterday was the setup for this slam-bam climax. MINIMCOM has disarmed (and in one case dismembered) the Darwin crew. MINIMCOM also gave Rome Jack Henry's handgun. Captain Keller has the fake virus container and still thinks he has the ultimate trump card. So here is the payoff for sticking with _The Ark Lords_ up to this point:

Keller assessed the situation and simply shrugged. He shook his head and stepped down from the box. "I don't know how you do it," he said, "but I guess you win this round. Be careful where you point that gun," he said with just a tinge of fear in his voice. "You could hit this vessel." He held it up and away from his body.

"That is exactly what I plan to do," Rome said. She brought her left hand up to steady her aim.

"No!" Keller shouted hoarsely.

"Yes," Rome said grimly. She flipped the safety with her thumb then she exhaled and firmly pulled the trigger. With a bang, the gun went off and the bullet flew straight through the aluminum canister. Because it was pressurized, the air shooting out of it made a loud, whistling noise.

"You crazy bitch!" Keller cried out. He threw the canister to the ground and covered his mouth with his sleeve. "You've killed us all."

Rome lowered her arm slightly, still pointing her weapon at Keller's chest.

"I told you it was a fake," Rome shouted. "MINIMCOM really did fly the actual vessel into the sun. _VIRUS 5_ is no more. the Ark Lords are no more."

Keller removed his arm from his mouth. "Damn you," he spat. "I don't believe it!"

MINIMCOM spoke up, directing his comments to Rei. "I still have the soldiers that were guarding your son and mother-in-law in my cargo hold. I rigged it as a containment cell. What would you like me to do with them?"

"Are they armed?" Rei asked.

"No," replied MINIMCOM. "Their weapons remain back at the cave."

"Then hold on to them," Rei said. Balancing Aason on one hip, he surveyed the scene then with his free hand, he snapped his fingers. "I know what to do." He set Aason down on the ground. "Let me have the gun," he said, walking up to Rome who handed him the pistol.

"Captain Keller. You are done here." Rei raised his voice. "All of you," Rei said, waving the gun over the crowd. "You hear me? You are all done here."

"You've already made that quite clear," Keller muttered.

They won! An utterly complete defeat over the forces of evil. But now that they have won, what do you do with a group of fanatics who are simply going to start their plotting all over again?

## Entry 5-073: March 14, 2017

### Everybody gets naked, part 1

It is a beautiful thing when you get to bring in all the elements from a story and integrate them into the climax. You may recall earlier in _The Ark Lords_ that on Helome, Virga tried to kidnap Rei and get him to mate with her. This was a seemingly random scene that had no bearing on anything else. There was nothing random about it. That scene was critical and here you will see why:

"No," Rei answered. "You don't understand. I mean that you are done on Deucado. You are no longer welcome on this planet. You are all leaving."

"Leaving? Where are you going to send us?" Keller scoffed. "Back to Earth? That's where we want to go."

"No," Rei said. "Not Earth. Somewhere else." Rei looked over the crowd then directed his stare back at Keller. "Let me put it to you this way. All you've ever wanted to do since you got here is screw the Vuduri. Well now you're going to get your chance. For the rest of your life."

Rei turned back to MINIMCOM. "Do you mind taking them?" he asked.

"Probably not but where am I taking them?" MINIMCOM countered.

"To Helome, of course," Rei answered.

"In that case, I would be delighted," replied the livetar.

"Can you see to it that they are naked?" Rei asked. "I want to make sure the rest of them aren't carrying any hidden weapons. And I want Virga to see that I gift-wrapped them for her."

"Of course," MINIMCOM replied. "How many am I transporting?"

"All of them," Rei said, pointing to the crowd. "Anyone who is on this base is with Project Darwin. I want every one of them gone."

The livetar nodded. Starting near the front, with a whoosh and a pop, one by one, the people standing on the tarmac winked out, the only thing left behind were their clothes. A woman shouted from the back of the crowd. Rei looked over at the commotion and saw Edgar Mullen trying to restrain a pregnant female. She broke free and ran through the ranks, toward Rei, calling out "Rei, Rei!"

"Bonnie?" Rei asked, surprised. "What do you want?"

"I don't know where you are sending us but I don't want to go," she said, cradling her belly. "I don't want to go with Edgar. I want to stay here."

"The very fact that you are on this base means you knew about Darwin and yet you did nothing to stop it."

"Rei, please," Bonnie said, taking another step forward. "I'm sorry but I had no choice. You know that."

"Everyone has a choice. You made the wrong one," Rei said harshly.

Poor Bonnie. She was appealing to someone who just had their child threatened. Actually, their entire species if Keller had his way. I would not expect Rei to be very sympathetic.

## Entry 5-074: March 15, 2017

### Everybody gets naked, part 2

Yesterday, we saw how Rei came up with a completely ingenious solution to both the danger that the Darwin Project members posed along with the desperate need of the Vuduri on Helome for "normal" genetic contributions. He decided he was simply going to ship the Darwin people to the next star system and let Virga figure it out. He knew she was more than capable. However there was one of the co-conspirators that didn't want to go along with his plan. That was Bonnie Mullen who we know was not so secretly in love with Rei:

"Rei, please," Bonnie said, taking another step forward. "I'm sorry but I had no choice. You know that."

"Everyone has a choice. You made the wrong one," Rei said harshly.

Rome turned to Rei. "She seems truly sorry."

"It is getting rather crowded in my cargo hold. I do not think I will have enough room for all of them in any event," MINIMCOM added.

Rei shook his head. "These people are not human. There is no place for them on this planet." Rei looked across the tarmac at the little gray starship that had brought them back from Earth, then down at the little gray livetar. "How about Junior?" Rei asked, pointing. "He's got room. I'm sure he'd love to take a trip with Dad."

"I would, I would," replied Junior's livetar enthusiastically.

The mouth slits on MINIMCOM's livetar curled up.

"Excellent idea. Junior, seal up your cargo compartment and remove the hatch activator and airlock switches. There must be no manual methods of egress."

The little gray livetar stood perfectly still for a moment then nodded and said, "It's ready."

Rei turned to Bonnie. "I'll give you one chance," he said, scowling.

"Anything," Bonnie whimpered.

"When you found out the principles behind Darwin, did you disagree with them?"

Bonnie lowered her eyes to the ground. She sighed then looked up at Rei with a sad expression on her face.

"That's what I thought. Goodbye, Bonnie," he said, flicking his wrist. With a whoosh and a pop, she was gone, her clothes falling to the ground in an unruly pile. The process resumed until only Captain Keller remained. He looked to his left and right, surveying the empty base and his shoulders sagged in utter defeat.

"Bierak," he said miserably. "You are a traitor to your country. I hope you're proud of yourself. You've just doomed America to the trash bin of history."

"I am proud to be an American," Rei said. "I believe in freedom for all. But I'm also a human being. Clearly you aren't. This is a new world. A new universe. It belongs to everyone, not just a bunch of self-appointed murdering zealots."

Rome lifted her hand and waved it across her little group. "Cheer up, Captain Keller," she said with a mirthless grin. "Project Darwin is a success. It is survival of the fittest. It's just not the group you imagined. You are now relieved of the burden. We will see to it from here."

Taking that as his cue, MINIMCOM activated his transporter one last time. With a whoosh and pop, Keller disappeared, leaving only his clothes behind. "Can you use your sensors and tell if anybody is left?" Rei asked MINIMCOM.

"I believe that is all of them," MINIMCOM replied. "Even the ones who tried to leave the area."

Is that it? Can it be that simple? MINIMCOM and Junior mopping up the area? It would seem so. Let's find out.

## Entry 5-075: March 16, 2017

### Everybody gets naked, part 3

Yesterday, MINIMCOM and his son Junior took aboard all the Darwin zealots, naked, to ferry them to Helome. It was the happiest of resolutions to what could have been a deadly crisis. This is effectively the end of the action portion of the novel. It is time to wrap up all the hanging threads in the narrative:

"If that's the case, Dad," Junior said, "I'm ready to go. I'll be standing by." The little gray livetar vanished.

OMCOM's livetar surveyed the area. "Things appear to be under control," he said. "I shall be waiting for you." With that, OMCOM's shell disappeared as well.

Rome turned to MINIMCOM. "In all of the confusion, I didn't get a chance to ask you. How did you ever find us? How did you rescue my son and mother?"

MINIMCOM pointed to the starship which was Junior, sitting on the far end of the blacktop. "I was on my way back from the sun when I saw Junior leaving the Earth. The very fact that he was there meant something was wrong. But I could not alert him to my presence due to my damaged transmitter. Based on his vector I knew he was headed back here. It would not be possible to follow him in null-space so I just came back on my own. I was surprised to find that you had not arrived yet."

"You still didn't answer the question," Rei said. "How did you find us? How did you rescue our family?"

"I was hovering over New Ark City. I was close enough to overhear your conversation with Junior after the Overmind discovered their whereabouts. While you were coming here, I was going there." MINIMCOM brushed his hands along his chest. "I sent this livetar down to the cave and was able to extract Aason and Binoda. Then I removed the guards to prevent them from contacting this group."

"Why didn't Aason tell me?" Rome asked. "I was so worried."

"I asked him not to," MINIMCOM said. "I did not want you to change your behavior and possibly tip off Captain Keller that something was amiss until I arrived."

Rei sighed. "Next time, can you just trust us and at least give us a hint?"

"After he takes these awful people to Helome, there won't be a next time," Rome said confidently.

"Agreed. In fact, I will take my leave now," MINIMCOM said. "I will see you in two days."

"Make sure you warn Virga that they aren't the nicest people," Rei said. "It's OK to treat this first group as prisoners, despite what I told her earlier. But she wanted primitive DNA so this is the best I could do on such short notice. When we get real volunteers, we'll send them along, too."

"And please send my regards to Virga as well," Rome interrupted. "We could never have accomplished our goals without her help. I want her to know there are no hard feelings."

"Absolutely," replied the livetar and then he was gone.

One man's trash is another man's treasure. See what I did here? I tied up all the loose ends. Rei got rid of the enemies of mankind and provided Virga with some fresh genetic material to pull their race back towards humanity. And I even let a few Darwin nuts run free so I could write _Rome's Evolution_. Am I clever or what?

## Entry 5-076: March 17, 2017

### Helium-filled Hard Drives

Just when I think I have a grasp on things, somebody comes out with something new that I never heard of before. We are all familiar with water-cooled engines. We all drive them. But Fiat, Porsche, Volkswagen, Chevrolet, Citroën and Honda have all produced an engine block that was air-cooled but none of these lasted. So water cooling seems the way to go.

The same goes for computer chips. They generate a lot of heat but most are air-cooled. Some over-clocked chips use circuits called Peltier devices which are like electronic refrigerators. But to really get to higher clock speeds, you need to get to liquid cooled. In recent tests, the AMD Ryzen core broke the world's record for clock speed at 5.2 GHz but it generated so much heat, the testers had to dip it into liquid nitrogen to keep it cool enough to run so fast. I was thinking that the next speed test would use liquid helium to cool the core. But I was wrong. Helium has already been employed to improve the capacity and efficiency of hard drives.

As it turns out, hard drive manufacturers have been filling their hermetically sealed hard drives with helium for the last five years. Why? Helium reduces drag on the disk's platters while the seals keep humidity and other contaminates out. Less drag means the drives operate at temperatures that are four to five degrees cooler than the equivalent air-filled drives. Helium is one-seventh the density of air and causes less friction which allows the disk drive to spin faster and more efficiently using less energy. Capacities of these hard drives are now getting upwards of double digit terabytes (TB).

Seagate just announced a 12 TB HDD, which they are calling second generation. Sheesh. I didn't even know there was a first generation. So I guess air is out and helium is in. Seagate promises a 16 TB HDD very soon.

I checked on Amazon and they are selling helium filled 6 TB hard drives for $250. Isn't that incredible? I don't know that I need such a large capacity but since everything is migrating to the cloud, there are certainly tons of companies that can use such devices.

Wonders never cease.

## Entry 5-077: March 18, 2017

### Rome's Library, V2.0

Now that the Ark Lords had been defeated and the Darwin group had been shipped off to Helome, there was nothing more do do than to try and get life back to a semblance of normalcy. Since Rei had already built what he considered the ideal library, there wasn't much point in building it radically differently. The only thing he realized after have used the first version was that he overlooked giving Rome a food preparation area for when Aason was visiting or Rome was working late. He rectified that in Library V2.0:

Rei stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, as Rome tested the sparkling workstation in her newly rebuilt research lab. The room itself was nearly identical to the previous version with the exception of a small kitchenette that was now built into one corner. Sounds of laughter rang down the hallway as Aason and Junior played under the watchful eye of Aason's grandparents.

Rome was putting in an outline of all that they had discovered over the last two months. It would take a long time to fully document the incredibly rich amount of information they had acquired but the details could be fleshed out another day. At last she pressed an icon and the viewscreen shut down.

"I am satisfied," Rome announced. "The interface to our new OMCOM works perfectly. I will start my real documentation tomorrow. Thank you for being so patient, mau emir."

"You are welcome," Rei said, straightening up. "But this time around, I'm kind of hoping you won't stir up yet another interstellar plot to exterminate mankind."

Rome laughed cynically. "It was not my intention this time or any of the times before that." Rome looked off into the distance then turned back to Rei. "Do you remember when we were returning here from Earth with my parents? When you taught us how to make a toast?" she asked.

"Sure," Rei answered.

"Oh yeah," Rei said, raising another imaginary glass. "I'll drink to that. But remember what got you into this in the first place. Hell hath no fury like a woman bored."

Rome cocked her head. "What does that mean?"

"It means be careful what you wish for."

Rome shook her head.

"Forget it," Rei said. "It's just me being silly. Let's gather up the family, go home and have a nice dinner." He walked over to where she was sitting and held his hand out to her.

"Agreed," Rome said, arising from her chair. After surveying the room one last time, she reached for her husband.

As they turned toward the door, a whoosh and a pop announced the appearance of MINIMCOM's livetar.

As you recall, I spent quite of bit of time setting up a safe haven for OMCOM well below the surface of the first Library. I also made sure the mini-nukes leave no residue opening up the way for Rei to build the new library on the exact same spot as the first. So what does MINIMCOM have to add? We'll find out tomorrow.

## Entry 5-078: March 19, 2017

### Virga's Gift

Now that the Ark Lords had been defeated and Rome's Library was rebuilt, it was time for her to get back to work chronicling the history of the four races of Deucado: The Ibbrassati, the Deucadons, the Essessoni and even the Vuduri. However, there are some things that history books (or data slabs) can never replace, i.e. genuine artifacts. Virga knew this and send along a priceless, one-of-a-kind gift:

As Rome and Rei turned toward the door, a whoosh and a pop announced the appearance of MINIMCOM's livetar.

"MINIMCOM," Rome said, "we were just leaving. Is there something wrong?"

"No," replied the livetar. "There is something right." He reached into the folds of his cape and removed a small object. He strode over to where Rei and Rome were standing and held it out for their inspection. It was a medium-sized plastic box roughly four by six inches with a white lid that had yellowed somewhat from age.

Rome took the case from MINIMCOM. "What is this?" she asked.

"This is a gift for you from Virga and the Overmind of Helome. Virga told me I had to wait until your library was rebuilt before I gave it to you. Now seemed like the proper time."

Rome struggled with the lid and finally it popped off. Inside was a schoolboy's black-speckled assignment book. On the cover, there was some large block printing in English. It said 'Celestial Observations, Silas Hiram, New Earth, August 2121'.

"What?" Rome said, looking up at MINIMCOM. "Is this for real?"

"Yes," MINIMCOM replied. "I personally observed Virga retrieving it from the storage case. She said what you and Rei have given her and all the residents of Helome is priceless. She said it was only appropriate that she return the favor with something of equal value."

"I am speechless," Rome said, taking the journal out. She set the box down and ran her hand over the cover gently. "This artifact is invaluable." She turned to Rei. "Can you build a chamber to preserve it?"

"You bet," Rei said then he turned to MINIMCOM. "Thank you, MINIMCOM. You don't know how much this means to us."

"You do not need to thank me," replied the livetar. "It was your actions that have saved three worlds. Virga and the Overmind of Helome wanted to show their appreciation in a way that would truly underscore their importance."

Rome just shook her head. She placed the journal back into the box and snapped the lid back on it, squeezing out as much air as possible. Looking up at MINIMCOM, she started to speak but no words came out.

MINIMCOM pre-empted her chance. "Enjoy," he said. "I will meet you back at the landing strip." With a whoosh and a pop, his livetar disappeared.

Rome looked up at Rei and a tear came to her eye. Tenderly, Rei wiped it away with his thumb.

"Come on," he said, smiling. "The family is waiting."

Rome nodded and picked up the box. Hand in hand, the couple walked down the hallway, gathering up the little ones and Rome's parents then exiting the building.

Rome pointed to MINIMCOM and Junior, parked on the landing strip. Junior's stealth shield was nearly done.

Tomorrow, the irony of Rome's final observation.

## Entry 5-079: March 20, 2017

### Nothing to worry about

At the end of _The Ark Lords_ , Rome was making herself at home in her new completely-rebuilt Library. She had just received a gift beyond measure from Virga as a token of Helome's appreciation for providing a genetic solution to their problems. Rome had wrapped it up for the day and it was time to go home when she and Rei had this little interchange:

Rome pointed to MINIMCOM and Junior, parked on the landing strip. Junior's stealth shield was nearly done. Portions of his outer hull were already completely jet-black. Soon, he would be a perfect replica of his father, just a bit smaller. Rei wondered to himself when his transformation was complete whether he would continue to keep his livetar gray. But for now, that color looked right on the little guy.

"Mea, Beo, you go on ahead," Rome said, sweeping her free hand toward the landing pad. "I just want to look one more time."

"Of course," replied Binoda. She took Aason's hand and Aason took the little gray livetar's hand and they headed toward the airstrip along with Fridone.

Rome walked a few feet into the parking lot then turned to inspect the building. Rei came up next to her and placed his arm around her waist. With very few changes, the building was nearly a carbon copy of the first one.

"I can't believe how quickly you rebuilt it," Rome said. "I am eternally grateful."

"Well, don't thank me," Rei said. "There were a whole bunch of people I had to turn away the first time. They were actually thankful for a chance to do it again."

"And you're sure there's no radiation?"

"Nope," Rei said. "Gone weeks ago, otherwise I would never have let you near it. That's about the only good thing about the mini-nukes."

"There is nothing good about them," Rome said with a hint of bitterness. She 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."

Rome held up the plastic box. "Clearly Virga appreciates your gift. Do you think Captain Keller and the rest of the Grays will cooperate with her? What about the children born of their union?"

"I don't know," Rei said. "Have you ever heard the expression, 'one man's trash is another man's treasure'?"

Rome shook her head no.

Rei shrugged. "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?"

Rei couldn't have been more wrong. There is danger lurking in them thar hills. In fact, I wrote an entire novel about it called _Rome's Evolution_. However, this book is at an end. Just one more twist waiting for you... tomorrow.

## Entry 5-080: March 21, 2017

### OMCOM's surprise, part 1

At the conclusion of _The Ark Lords_ , all appears to be well. Rome has had her Library rebuilt. Virga as gifted her Silas Hiram's notebook from the 21st century. All seems well and our heroes have earned a respite from the constant danger that has been hounding us since we met them. But there is one surprise left:

Rome said. "Life and living is not just limited to humans."

"Which makes this the perfect time to bring up a pressing subject," said OMCOM's all-white livetar, appearing in front of them.

"OMCOM?" Rome asked incredulously. "The OMCOM?"

"I believe you are currently referring to me as Planet OMCOM. Congratulations on finally defeating the Erklirte for all time."

"Thank you," Rome replied. "But what are you doing here?"

"I was able to get a favorable alignment of my null-fold relays. There is something I wanted to discuss with you."

"What?" Rei asked fatalistically.

"Lupe."

"What is a lupe?" Rome asked.

"Not a what," OMCOM said. "A who."

"All right," replied Rome, humoring him. "Who is Lupe?"

"She is your daughter. Or perhaps she is our daughter."

"My daughter?" Rome exclaimed. "We have no daughter."

"That is the point. She is waiting to be born."

"We may have another child some day," Rei interjected. "But we're still raising Aason. We want to give him the proper attention."

"It is not necessary that she be born right away. Just in the next three years."

"The next three years?" Rome asked, confused. "Why?"

"You will recall that when Hirdinharsaway assigned us a species number, it was 927. Even if you do not count the Stareaters, that means there are still over nine hundred sentient species out there. It is inevitable that we will encounter them some day."

"So what does this have to do with us having a daughter?" Rei asked.

"The two of you have the most complex genetic mix of any humans that have ever lived. Rome has her original 24th chromosome, the new one she acquired on Deucado, MASAL's variant and my 25th chromosome. Rei, you too have MASAL's variant of the 24th chromosome and my 25th. Lupe will be a blend of all of them."

"Aason has our blend as well," Rome said. "Why do we need yet another child?"

"While Aason is exceptional, many of your genetic components were acquired after he was conceived. Lupe will be the most unique human being ever born. She will have triple PPT transceivers as well as your E-M transmitters. And she will be half Vuduri, half Essessoni. She will become the most potent communicator in the galaxy."

OMCOM hasn't been completely forthcoming. Shocker, huh? Rome presses him on the issue tomorrow.

## Entry 5-081: March 22, 2017

### OMCOM's surprise, part 2

Yesterday, OMCOM's livetar showed up just as Rome and Rei were wrapping things up. As an artificial superintelligence, he always has his own agenda but he makes it seem like it is in everyone's best interest. In this case, he reminded them that the time to have Lupe was drawing near. This is the conclusion:

"You still haven't answered my question," Rei said. "What does our daughter have to do with those other species?"

"You will recall when I first transferred my consciousness to the VIRUS units back on Tabit, I allowed many, many mutations to occur."

"Yeah," Rei said, putting his hands on his hips. "You never did tell us why you did that."

"I did it to create living, self-aware probes, to travel the galaxy and even other dimensions, possibly even other universes, looking for the origin of the Stareaters. This was before we knew they were intelligent and noble creatures."

"And did they find it?" Rome asked, "the origin of the Asdrale Cimatiras?"

"Not yet. But they have found signs of some of the other nine hundred species. First contact is inevitable. We will need someone who is capable of communicating with those species using methods we know or might not even know. Lupe is our best chance of establishing such contact."

"And no one else can do this?" Rome asked. "It has to be our daughter?"

"There will be others some day," OMCOM said. "But as I told you once before, you and Rei are the new Adam and Eve. You are the beginning of a new breed of humans, a superior breed. It has to start somewhere."

"Maybe what you are saying is true. But why three years?" Rei asked. "Why put a timeframe on it?"

"Extrapolation," replied OMCOM. "My simulations and the data that is starting to trickle in indicate the likelihood of first contact within the next twenty years. We need to be sure Lupe is old enough to handle it."

Rei looked at Rome then back to OMCOM. "Thanks for the offer. We'll take it under advisement and get back to you, OK?"

"That is all I can ask," OMCOM said. "Thank you both for considering this. I will see you when I see you next." The livetar raised his hand in salute then vanished.

Rei turned to look at Rome. "What do you think? Do you want to go home and make a baby?"

"I don't think I'm ready just yet," Rome said demurely, "but I am certainly willing to practice."

"Hot dog!" Rei said, his face lighting up. "I'll race you!"

Together, they turned and sprinted toward the landing strip and MINIMCOM, their friend and protector, who was carrying the most precious cargo of all.

That's it. That the end of _The Ark Lords_. Tomorrow, we'll see what loose ends are left.

## Entry 5-082: March 23, 2017

### TAL Loose Ends

Yesterday, we wrapped up our analysis of _The Ark Lords_ and I posed the question, are there any loose ends? The answer is, of course there are. The only real puzzler are which ones are important?

There are four main areas which need further explanation. Several of them are explored in _Rome's Evolution_ and the remaining questions are answered in _The Milk Run_. Those books leave their own questions but that is the nature of life. So here is a review of the loose ends and over the next few days, I'll tell you how I decided to tie them up.

First and foremost, Rome and Rei asked themselves what to make of the one or two Darwin members that escaped deportation. This loose end forms the basis of the novel _Rome's Evolution_. It gave me a chance to scale way back and instead of having an interstellar plot to wipe out mankind, it simply becomes an attempted murder and Rome and Rei have to play detective.

The second loose end was what happened to Darwin members who were caught and exiled to Helome. This includes the handless Ionelli, Captain Keller and the very pregnant Bonnie. We'll catch up to them again in _Rome's Evolution_ as well.

The final two items were raised by OMCOM near the end of _The Ark Lords_. OMCOM finally shed a bit more light on why he allowed the mutations to occur when he destroyed the Stareater. Not enough to completely explain it but enough to launch the background for _The Milk Run_. Finally, OMCOM became yet more insistent that Rome and Rei produce their daughter Lupe and soon. Lupe is mentioned near the end of _Rome's Evolution_ and becomes the damsel in distress in _The Milk Run_. I am also planning on giving her her own star vehicle called _The Vuduri Knight_ but that is a ways off in the future.

I hope you enjoyed the insights I have provided you on _The Ark Lords_ and I'll cover the above loose ends in a bit more detail but then we will launch directly into _Rome's Evolution_ so buckle up!

## Entry 5-083: March 24, 2017

### TAL Loose Ends: Darwin

Yesterday, I mentioned that I had a few loose ends to tie up at the conclusion of _The Ark Lords_. Today I am going to cover the dispersal of the (now former) Darwin Project members, aka the Grays.

We got to meet a few of the characters personally. The first and most visible was Captain Maury Keller. For nearly 200,000 words, he has appeared to be gruff, single-minded and generally unpleasant. However, the _Rome's Revolution_ series is all about redemption and there is no reason why Captain Keller should be exempt. In the next novel, _Rome's Evolution_ , we will get an opportunity to travel back to Helome and see what became of the various members. You will see that not only is Captain Keller thriving, you will find out his back story and why he was the way he was. His situation on Helome caused him to reexamine his attitude toward life and the other members of the Ark II. The change is rather remarkable. He actually evolves into a decent human being.

Bonnie Mullen was typical of her generation: very driven, very me-centric. She was also very pregnant when she was sent away. You will come to find out that she miscarries again but decides she does want to be a mother. The children she "adopts" are rather extraordinary and eventually, Bonnie evolves from a rather odious individual into a hero, forged by a crisis and threat to her "children".

You will recall that MINIMCOM sliced off Lt. Nick Greer's hand during the final gun battle, just before he was banished. Greer is still rather bitter about it when we find him on Helome. MINIMCOM shows his remarkable skills as a surgeon and literally rebuilds Greer's hand in exchange for some critical information. Greer, too, is redeemed and vows to become an upright citizen.

Finally, we have Troutman and Steele, two of the members of Darwin who got away and were in hiding on Deucado. They become the central characters driving the first half of the plot of _Rome's Evolution_ but the fact is, they are in league with forces that are far beyond what they imagined and far more evil than they could have dreamed. We'll find that out in the second half of _Rome's Evolution_.

So that's the first bit of loose ends that will be tied up in the next novel. The second set are OMCOM's pronouncements which I'll cover tomorrow.

## Entry 5-084: March 25, 2017

### TAL Loose Ends: OMCOM

Yesterday, I covered some of the loose ends that remained at the conclusion of _The Ark Lords_. The loose ends discussed were limited to the dispersal of the (now former) Darwin Project members, aka the Grays.

Today I would like to cover a few of the salient items that OMCOM mentioned right at the end of the book. OMCOM's first point was an explanation as to why he allowed the mutations to occur during the destruction of the Stareater. We already knew that OMCOM actually wanted the mutations to occur because MINIMCOM had studied the VIRUS unit firmware and discovered how simple it was to eliminate variations. Here is OMCOM's actual statement:

"You will recall when I first transferred my consciousness to the VIRUS units back on Tabit, I allowed many, many mutations to occur."

"Yeah," Rei said, putting his hands on his hips. "You never did tell us why you did that."

"I did it to create living, self-aware probes, to travel the galaxy and even other dimensions, possibly even other universes, looking for the origin of the Stareaters. This was before we knew they were intelligent and noble creatures."

"And did they find it?" Rome asked, "the origin of the Asdrale Cimatiras?"

"Not yet. But they have found signs of some of the other nine hundred species. First Contact is inevitable."

So why is First Contact so important? Turns out, it isn't. It is true that we met the K'val in _The Milk Run_ but First Contact did not change the universe. So what was OMCOM's _real_ reason? The answer is that he wanted to find Heaven. And don't tell anybody but by this point, he had already found it. He was currently involved in planning his own ascension.

This leads us to OMCOM's second point. He insisted that Rome get pregnant and give birth to Lupe within the next three years. Again, his ostensible reason was in relation to First Contact. But we learn in _The Milk Run_ that OMCOM needed Lupe to be kidnapped in order to force Aason to rescue Molokai and return him to Heaven which would allow OMCOM to escape.

Talk about your long con! OMCOM has been manipulating mankind for a while for his own purposes. His motives may not be evil but they certainly are selfish. What would you expect of a self-programmed artificial super-intelligence? Arg.

## Entry 5-085: March 26, 2017

Why Rome's Evolution

So why the heck did I write _Rome's Evolution_ anyway? I mean _The Ark Lords_ ended on a happy note. There were no more worlds to conquer. Couldn't Rome and Rei enjoy a little peace in their lives?

Originally, I had no plans on writing another novel. I did have this idea of writing a short story or novelette about the remaining members of Darwin who were skulking about on Deucado. I also wanted to scale way back from a cosmic threat to mankind to just a story about our heroes. What could be better than just a plain old (attempted) murder mystery?

I wanted to give Rome more power so I figured out a way for her to gain the ability to read minds. I remember vividly the climax was to be Rome and Rei's tussle with Steele in the woods south of Lake Eprehem.

But as I thought about it some more, I realized that the two jokers wouldn't have the resources to come after Rome and Rei. They would have needed help and there was nobody on Deucado who would help them. That got my mind churning and suddenly, the murder attempt became just the tip of the iceberg.

Now there were forces in play that stretched from Helome all the way to the Earth with Deucado caught in the middle. The second half of the story started writing itself. The idea of Junior being blown to bits and reconstructing himself. The idea of a serum that could turn humans into living robots. The idea that Bonnie Mullen could redeem herself by aiding in the effort to defeat the big bad.

Wow, now I was back to writing a novel. Instead of 40 or 50 thousand words, I was up to 84,000! The entire Ark Lords novel which was conceived of as a novel from the start came in at only 79,000. Imagine that! Anyway, tomorrow, I'll dive in to the setup behind this surprising development and how much fun I had writing the book.

## Entry 5-086: March 27, 2017

Rome's Evolution Begins

As I have mentioned on so many occasions, these stories come to me so easily, I believe they are true. They just haven't happened yet. My characters are so real to me that they supply all of the dialog and sometimes have conversations with me on the side. This book resulted from one such conversation with Rome. I had taken a trip to the 35th century just to check in on them and that was when she told me about her worries about the remaining few Darwin members running about loose on Deucado.

As I mentioned yesterday, this seemed like an adequate concept to write as a novelette, certainly not enough for a full-blown novel. I started taking notes on the cool things I could throw in there. The first and foremost was the play on the title _Rome's Revolution_ and calling it _Rome's Evolution_. The play on words was set but how was Rome going to evolve?

I decided that since her brain had already been rewired due to OMCOM's magic yellow pill, I could exploit that and teach Rome to read minds. This seemed like a handy skill in investigating a crime. What was the crime? The attempt on Rome and Rei's life by the last two Darwin members on Deucado. I was thinking of Rome and Rei as kind of like Mr. and Mrs. Columbo investigating the crime.

Previously, I had told you that when I was first constructing _The Ark Lords_ , I wanted to start out the novel with a bang. Well in _The Ark Lords_ that bang was merely a grease fire. In _Rome's Evolution_ , I decided to make it a full out bomb. However, I couldn't let it kill off the main character. I'll show you how I avoided in a day or so.

A couple of other items I wanted to include: The Hand of Deucado, the most spectacular geological construct ever seen on the worlds of Man; a casino and the introduction of money on Deucado; linking back to items introduced in _The Ark Lords_ like Hanry Ta Jihn's handgun and the Deucadons' invisibility cloaks and more. In a day or so, I'll show you a few frames of the animatics that my brother Bruce came up with for the never-completed book trailer for _Rome's Evolution_

## Entry 5-087: March 28, 2017

### RE Foreshadowing

I love foreshadowing. As the author, I know what is going to happen down the road but you as the reader cannot know. However, one thing I've learned is there is no such thing as a coincidence so when I throw in random statements, you can be sure they are going to foreshadow something later on in the book.

In this particular case, I had already made up my mind that the "falling blankets" of Deucado were more than dumb animals that occasionally smothered and killed the colonists. I decided they were simplistic but had devolved that way on purpose. I explain that purpose later on in this book. But first I wanted to remind you of their existence. Here is how I did it:

Rei Bierak bent his head and ducked his six-foot plus frame down as he trotted through the trellis leading up to his home. One close call with a 'falling blanket' last year and even Rome had to admit having one in front of their house was prudent. She had dressed up the trellis with some plants imported from Earth but Rei scarcely took the time to breathe in the sweet honeysuckle aroma that permeated the area. He bounded up the three steps and flung open the all-white front door, hoping to make a dramatic entrance.

"Daddy's home!" he said with a flourish. But his performance played to an empty theater. There was no one about. He shouted out, "Rome? Aason?" There was no reply. He closed his eyes and used his sonar vision to sweep the house, listening for signs of life. The only sound he heard was a strange tick-tack-tick noise coming from the kitchen. Other than that, it was deathly still.

He opened his eyes again, activated the 'cell-phone' in his head and called out, "Rome? Where are you? Where's Aason?"

That was it. That was all the warning I was going to give you. But when it comes back later, you'll think back to the very beginning of this book. And don't forget the strange tick-tack-tick. It's not there for no reason. Tomorrow, we'll link back to _The Ark Lords_ before we blow up poor Rei Bierak.

## Entry 5-088: March 29, 2017

### TAL Linkage

It was important for me to start out _Rome's Evolution_ not only with a bang but linkage back to _The Ark Lords_. I decided to do this by giving you a glimpse into Rome and Rei's life a couple of years after that previous novel in the guise of what would appear to be a rather mundane exchange between husband and wife. Here is the conversation between Rome and Rei after Rei came home to an empty house:

Rei opened his eyes again, activated the 'cell-phone' in his head and called out, "Rome? Where are you? Where's Aason?"

"I'm at the library," his adoring wife replied after a moment. "Aason is here with me."

"What's going on?" Rei asked. "It's getting kind of late."

"I'm so sorry, mau emir," Rome answered. "We may have had an incident occur and we're trying to sort it out."

Rei looked around then set his shoulder bag down on the dining room table and headed toward the kitchen. "What kind of incident?" he asked as he was walking.

"Nothing major," Rome responded. "The interns were away for the celebration of Tamas and when they returned, they found some items missing."

"What kind of items?" Rei asked, sauntering into the kitchen.

"As far as we can tell, the only things missing are one of the Deucadon's invisibility cloaks and Hanry Ta Jihn's handgun."

"That's an odd set of things," Rei remarked. "Do you think somebody took them?"

"We don't know yet," Rome replied. "The girls are trying to contact the remaining interns to see if one of them borrowed the items."

"OK," Rei said. "Are you going to be a long time?"

"No. The girls will figure it out. I'll come back here tomorrow. Let me gather up Aason and we'll come home."

"Don't worry about it," Rei said. "Take your time. I'll get dinner started."

"All right, mau emir. I will see you shortly." With that, Rome cut the connection.

So there you have it in a nutshell. Rome is now the administrator of the Library which is the foundation of the University of Deucado. Hanry Ta Jihn's handgun has made an appearance, or rather a disappearance. And reference is made to someone stealing one of the Deucadons' invisibility cloaks. Who and why? Patience, my friend, patience.

## Entry 5-089: March 30, 2017

### Tick Tack Tick

A day or so ago, I gave you a little foreshadowing about blowing up Rei and starting the book out with a bang. You need to recall that after Rei swallowed OMCOM's magic yellow pill, he developed a series of new abilities. One of them was sonar vision, aka super-hearing. However, it only works when Rei's eyes are closed and when his head is vertical. The images he receives are so clear that if he didn't have some way to shut it off, he'd never be able to sleep.

Well, in this case, it was a good thing he has this special ability because if he didn't, he wouldn't have heard that strange tick-tack-tick sound coming from the kitchen. And it would have been a very short book. Here is that scene:

"All right, mau emir. I will see you shortly." With that, Rome cut the connection.

Rei looked around the kitchen. Something smelled funny. It was faint but had an acrid, almost electrical odor to it. Remembering the odd ticking sound he heard when he first entered the house, Rei closed his eyes and performed an aural sweep again. He determined that the sound was coming from under the sink. He stooped down, opened the cabinet and found a large black box sitting there, with elaborate electrical circuitry and wires hanging from it. Mounted on the side was a digital timer that was counting down: 007, 006, 005. Rei leaped up and raced for the front door. He barely made it out when a tremendous explosion tore the front of their house apart. Rei was lifted from his feet and flung through the air like a rag doll. Something heavy hit his back then his head then everything went black.

Arg, that sounds like it really hurts.

Over the next two days, I'll show you some still frames from my brother Bruce's animatics. He did an amazing job but midway through , we realized that book trailers serve no purpose so we put a halt to the project. Too bad. It was really good.

Here is the scene where Rei lands on the front lawn prior to entering the house:

## Entry 5-090: March 31, 2017

### RE Animatics, part 1

Yesterday, I showed you the first scene from the never-released book trailer for _Rome's Evolution_. It's too bad because Bruce did an amazing job with the animation. It was so good that we discussed the idea of him animating the whole book but ultimately rejected the idea as way too much work. You can seen the entire trailer such as it is if you care to. Be forewarned: it's an AVI file. For the less industrious reader, here are a few stills from the beginning.

The first still is Rei entering the house under the trellis in front of their U-shaped house. The trellis was set up to protect the Bieraks from "falling blankets" which are the soft but occasionally deadly animals that roam the cane tree forests on Deucado:

Bruce made the trellis a little higher than I proposed in the intro to the book. I claimed Rei had to duck down a bit but that was to establish that he was tall or at least tall relative to the Vuduri. In reality, Bruce's design is probably superior.

Rei enters the kitchen and because of his sonar vision aka super-hearing, he is able to detect the bomb planted under his sink before it goes off. He races out of the kitchen and out the front door before it goes off:

Tomorrow, I'll show you a few more still frames from the trailer showing the bomb going off and the debris hitting Rei in his back.

## Entry 5-091: April 1, 2017

### RE Animatics, part 2

Yesterday, I showed you the first two stills from the never-released book trailer for _Rome's Evolution_. The animatics show Rei coming home in one of the Vuduri flying carts and landing on the front lawn. He then enters their U-shaped house and calls out for Rome and Aason. However, they are not home. Rei uses his sonar vision aka super-hearing to see if there is anybody about. There is no one. However he discovers there is a bomb planted under his kitchen sink:

Poor Rei. You can't see it in the stills but Bruce took exquisite care to show a large chunk of the front door hit him squarely in the spine. This sets up his awakening in a Vuduri hospital with a broken back.

## Entry 5-092: April 2, 2017

### The History of Pain

Yesterday, I showed you a few stills from the never-released animatic version of the book trailer for _Rome's Evolution_. I don't think I could start out a book in an anymore spectacular way so it was time to rev up the engines and forge ahead with the plot.

However, it had been 10 months since the publication of _The Ark Lords_ so I figured I need to put in a little review of how we got here. Rather than do it through a conversation or a lecture, I thought I would have Rei's mind recount past events as it climbed up toward consciousness. So here is an info-dump disguised as Rei coming out of his coma:

Pain has its own chronology. The simplest and easiest to remember is visceral pain, the kind that goes down in the gut and radiates from there. Like the pain Rei felt the first time he ran the marathon or the pain he felt when they froze him alive. Rei also remembered the pain when the auto-defibrillators incorrectly concluded his heart did not start and shocked him an extra time upon being reanimated. The misguided life-saving gesture almost killed him.

Next in line was the pain Rei remembered when he almost asphyxiated in the Vuduri airlock, a result of Estar trying to kill him. He also remembered the pain in his back from 1400 years of degeneration that OMCOM cured with his magic pill.

As Rei's consciousness bubbled up and he became more aware, he remembered emotional pain, like the pain of leaving his parents behind as he traveled to the stars. Like the pain Rei felt when Sally Reynolds told him she was not going to accompany him on that trip. However, the worst heartache Rei ever felt was when Rome was integrated into the Overmind on Deucado and he thought he had lost her forever.

As hard as he tried, his eyes wouldn't open. He racked his brain trying to recall something, anything that might give him a clue. He started with what he did know. He knew his name was Rei Bierak. Recalling the sequence of pain helped him remember being frozen and sent to the stars. He remembered being so cold when they first thawed him out. He remembered that two beings, dressed all in white, were attending him. At first, he thought they were monsters or aliens who resurrected him. Luckily for him, one of those monsters was Rome. Wait, Rome! That was the answer. His amazing, loving wife. He could picture her stunning face so clearly. He thought he caught a whiff of her wonderful smell, like vanilla surgical scrub. He missed her so much. Where was she?

Clever? I don't know. Different? Probably. Tomorrow, let's see Rei make his final breakthrough and figure out where he is.

## Entry 5-093: April 3, 2017

### He's awake!

Yesterday, I showed you how I used Rei's rise to consciousness as a cleverly disguised info-dump to jog your memory on how he got from a frozen passenger aboard the Ark II to lying here in a coma on the world of Deucado, a span of 14 centuries. In a movie, you could see someone involved in a car accident and in the very next scene, wake up in a hospital. There is no need to see the paramedics pull them out of the wreckage or load them onto the ambulance unless it serves a dramatic purpose. I had no such need so that is why we jumped directly into this next scene from _Rome's Evolution_ :

The bright lights of the room were dazzling. It made Rei blink rapidly. Everything was white. Well everything except for the large black figure, complete with cape, standing with his back to Rei, arms akimbo, set firmly on his hips. Rei looked out the corner of his eye and saw his beautiful Rome dozing off in a chair in what looked like a very uncomfortable position.

"Rome?" he croaked, barely able to speak.

Rome's eyes jolted open. "Rei!" she shouted, jumping up. "You're awake!" Her smile spread from ear to ear as she raced to his bedside and put her arms around him.

"Ouch," he said as she squeezed his shoulders. "Take it easy," he murmured.

"I am sorry, mau emir," Rome said, releasing him then kissing him tenderly. "I was so worried."

Rei was finally able to force his other eye open. He tried looking about the room. "Where am I?" he asked.

The large black figure at the base of his bed turned around. It was MINIMCOM's livetar, his mouth slit curled upward in the largest smile Rei had ever seen on the animated shell.

"You are in a hospital in Vuduri City," Rome said, caressing his forehead gently.

"What happened?"

"There was an explosion, at our house," Rome said sadly. "That you survived..."

"An explosion?" Rei interrupted her, confused, "What..."

Rome pressed her finger gently to his lips. "Just rest," she said. "I'll tell you everything in due time." She turned her head. "MINIMCOM, will you fetch the doctors, please?"

"Of course," replied the livetar and the large black figure strode out the room.

Rei tried to take a deep breath but a sharp pain in his rib cage cancelled that notion. His shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes again. Just their brief conversation had exhausted him. Then he realized he didn't have to speak out loud to talk to Rome.

" _Is Aason OK?"_ Rei asked mentally.

" _Yes,"_ Rome replied. _"He is fine. He's with my parents back at New Ark City. Junior is there as well."_

" _That's good,"_ Rei noted with relief. _"How long have I been out?"_

" _Almost two weeks,"_ Rome said. _"I kept calling to you. You didn't answer. I was afraid that I lost you."_

Poor Rome. She doesn't have the advantage of writing these books so she has to take things as they come at face value. I would never let my two characters be permanently separated, certainly not by death! Tomorrow, let's see how my brother Bruce envisioned this scene animatically.

## Entry 5-094: April 4, 2017

### Animatic Awakening 1

Yesterday, I showed you the written scene describing Rei's awakening after being unconscious for two weeks. When my brother Bruce was making the animatic version of the never-released book trailer, he tried to capture this moment cinematically.

However, just like I often take editorial license on reality or force the plot to go a certain way, so too does Bruce take editorial license to illustrate the process. Here are the first few stills:

The first thing you notice is that the "window" of vision is shaped like a human eye. The fact that it is initially blurry is excusable become it is supposed to be from Rei's perspective and he is coming out of a 14-day coma. But how do you explain the shape?

Bruce told me that you can't draw how we see as two separate images. He told me to just squint and I would see exactly the image he drew. I did so and I had to agree with him. This is what our field of vision looks like when we fuse the images of our two eyes. Even if you only open one eye, it looks the same way. So who am I to argue with the artist? Tomorrow, two guest stars.

## Entry 5-095: April 5, 2017

### Animatic Awakening 2

Yesterday, I showed you the first few stills of the "awakening" scene from the never-released book trailer for _Rome's Evolution_. A little bit past yesterday's stills, we see the world clearly as Rei's eyes are, in theory, wide open and he is fully conscious.

Today we continue with two more stills from the opening. Here is the first:

Do you recognize the silhouette? Obviously it is meant to be Rome but there is something much subtler going on here. You may recall when I first started this adventure, I wanted the actress Kelly Brook to play Rome. When I first saw her, she was only 25 years old and played Victoria Hardwick on the TV show Smallville. However, inevitably, she has aged and is now 37 years old, too old to play Rome. I figured by the time I get these books made into a Netflix series, Kelly will be just old enough to play Binoda, Rome's mother. It would be stunt casting that nobody would even understand. But even so, the silhouette is inspired by her.

In the next frame, we get an appearance by none other than MINIMCOM himself:

This is the first time I ever "saw" MINIMCOM in real life. Bruce took my description of the livetar and rendered it into the trailer. It was pretty cool. The only odd thing was the light shining through his eye slits and mouth slit. Again, this is Bruce taking editorial license. If MINIMCOM is all black and the back of his head blocked the light, you would not be able to see these features. So while silly, it is rather effective in making these details observable.

## Entry 5-096: April 6, 2017

### Swelling on the brain

Once Rei was fully awake in the beginning of _Rome's Evolution_ , it was time for him to start getting oriented as to time, place and person. The fellow to bring him up to speed is a new character, Russell Montrell. I had to invent him because it occurred to me that you would never send 500 people to a distant star without having some medical personnel. Here is the scene where Russell gives Rei the low-down on his condition:

"Hello, Rei," the man to Rei's right said. "Do you remember me?"

Rei turned his head slightly to look at the man. "Sure, Russell," Rei answered. Russell Montrell was the colony's physician.

"How're you doing?" Russell asked him while withdrawing a penlight from his pocket. He moved the tubes connected to Rei's body aside and waved the penlight back and forth, shining the light into Rei's pupils, observing their reaction.

"I hurt everywhere," Rei answered in a scratchy voice, considering his own words. He scrunched up his face. "Except my legs. They don't hurt. It's weird."

Russell withdrew the penlight and replaced it in his pocket. He took a deep breath. "You were severely injured. You have a cracked skull. In fact you lost a piece of it. I find it strange to say but you're actually lucky. You had significant brain swelling and the hole in your head actually allowed the pressure to stay manageable. We only sealed it enough to keep in the cerebrospinal fluid."

Rei closed his eyes and focused on the back of his skull. It burned and he could feel the wad of bandages piled up behind his head pressed against the pillow.

Rei opened his eyes again as Russell continued. "As far as the rest of you, your eardrums were ruptured and you have a broken arm." Russell tapped on the cast surrounding Rei's right arm. At least that explained why it felt like there was cotton in his ears. And why his right arm ached more than his left. But there was something in Russell's tone that made Rei look more intently at the doctor's face. It wasn't what Russell was telling him. It was what he wasn't telling him. Rei looked down at his feet. He tried moving them. Nothing happened.

"What about my legs?" Rei asked. "What's wrong with my legs? How come they don't hurt?"

Russell's shoulders sagged. "The lumbar section of your spine was smashed. The L3, L4 and L5 vertebrae were crushed. I'm afraid they've pinched off your spinal cord."

Uh oh. That does not sound good. By the way, the practice of cutting a hole in the skull, called trephining is still in use today although far less than in ancient times. It is used to access portions of the brain or drain off a hematoma. In this case, I used it as a poor man's excuse to prevent Rei's brain from crushing itself. I'm sure modern medicine has better ways of treating the condition but because I am not a doctor, I had no idea. I just write science fiction.

## Entry 5-097: April 7, 2017

### Brokeback Mountain

Yesterday, we saw Rei being informed that his lower back had been smashed by something heavy in the explosion that almost took his life. Now I had no intention of leaving my hero paralyzed. I needed him up and around and active. But the aftermath of the accident allow me to introduce several dramatic elements that would come in handy down the road.

"What about my legs?" Rei asked. "What's wrong with my legs? How come they don't hurt?"

Russell's shoulders sagged. "The lumbar section of your spine was smashed. The L3, L4 and L5 vertebrae were crushed. I'm afraid they've pinched off your spinal cord."

"What!?" Rei exclaimed, trying to sit up. "What are you saying?" He looked down at his feet trying once again to move them.

"I'm saying your legs no longer function. You are paralyzed from the waist down."

Rei was stunned. He had trouble coming to terms with the concept. "You mean, like permanently? You're saying there is no way I'll get better?" he whispered.

"We'll put a plate in your skull. Your bones will knit. Your eardrums are almost healed. But there's nothing we can do about your spine."

"No!" Rei exclaimed. He tried with all his might to move his legs. Nothing happened. He turned to face Rome with a panicked look on his face. "Romey, no..."

Rome put her hand up to his cheek. "It will be OK, Rei. We'll deal with it."

"No!" Rei said angrily. "I'm no good to you this way." He stared at the Vuduri man standing at the foot of the bed. "You," he called out. "Are you a doctor?"

"Yes," answered the man in a rusty voice. "I have been trained in the medical arts and on this equipment."

"So can you fix me?" Rei asked. "You people have all sorts of super-advanced technology."

"I am afraid that we do not have the ability to perform a microsurgery in the manner you require."

"So I'm stuck this way forever?" Rei lashed out angrily. The Vuduri doctor shrugged. Rei turned to look at Russell but only saw disappointment in his face.

"I'm sorry, Rei," he said. "There's nothing that can be done."

" **Not necessarily," MINIMCOM interjected.**

I loved the idea of having Rei concussed and somewhat impaired so Rome could take the lead on the investigation. It was time for her to be the "man of action" since Rei has to worry about healing himself.

Tomorrow, calling Dr. MINIMCOM!

## Entry 5-098: April 8, 2017

### Calling Dr. MINIMCOM

Yesterday, Rei Bierak, along with you the reader, found out that his back had been crushed and he was now paralyzed from the waist down in the beginning of _Rome's Evolution_. But as I also mentioned yesterday, I had no intention of leaving him that way. After all, this is the 35th century.

Here is where MINIMCOM explains how he might go about repairing what would be unimaginable today:

"Not necessarily," MINIMCOM interjected.

All eyes turned to him. "What do you mean?" Rome asked.

"OMCOM sent along the complete capabilities of Rei's genetic enhancements when he delivered our clone. It is well within Rei's capabilities to heal himself."

"I'd like to hear this," Russell said stepping toward the end of the bed. "How is that remotely possible?"

The livetar held up his hand and the air shimmered in front of him. The palms of his hands morphed into holo-projectors. The image displayed was a three-dimensional projection of a portion of the human spine.

"OMCOM gave Rei a pill five years ago. It contained an extra chromosome which gives Rei some rather unique capabilities. Among other things, it was specifically designed to enhance and restore his spine."

MINIMCOM twitched his hand and separated the 3D image into two sections. "All I would need to do would be to reform his crushed vertebrae back to their original structures and open up the central canal."

A section of the simulated spinal cord glowed red. Individual long, thin threads of axons and dendrites glowed with a downward wave connecting the upper section to the lower section. MINIMCOM added an animation of sparkles which presumably represented neural impulses.

"Once his spinal cord has been freed, Rei's natural, or perhaps unnatural, recuperative powers will do the rest of the work. His brain will re-energize or even re-wire the spinal cord as needed. Within a month or so, his spine would be completely and totally healed."

Rei shook his head slowly. "I know you can do just about anything but this? Are you going to cut me open?"

"That will not be necessary."

"Then how are you going to see in there? How will you know what to fix?"

"I will not be able to see directly," MINIMCOM replied. He smiled slightly. "However there are some ladies who I am certain would be willing to help."

"What?!" Rome cried out, fear creeping into her voice. "You would inject Rei with VIRUS units?"

"Constructors, yes," MINIMCOM said calmly.

"You're going to inject me with VIRUS units?" Rei said, restating the obvious. "How do you know they won't just eat me up from the inside?" he asked worriedly.

Ewww. MINIMCOM is going to inject Rei with nanites? Well, I guess in the modern world that no longer seems like such a bizarre concept but it is something that my imagined world of the late 21st century never really conquered. I'd like to know more. Perhaps tomorrow, MINIMCOM can explain the proposed technique in more detail.

## Entry 5-099: April 9, 2017

### Let's go for a ride

Yesterday, Dr. MINIMCOM proposed an audacious plan to inject Rei with the "tamed" VIRUS units called constructors and rebuild Rei's crushed spine from the inside out in the early portion of _Rome's Evolution_. MINIMCOM had shown Rome, Rei and Dr. Montrell a visual of the technique. Today he describes the step-by-step methodology he planned to employ:

"What?!" Rome cried out, fear creeping into her voice. "You would inject Rei with VIRUS units?"

"Constructors, yes," MINIMCOM said calmly.

"You're going to inject me with VIRUS units?" Rei said, restating the obvious. "How do you know they won't just eat me up from the inside?" he asked worriedly.

"You yourself have dealt with them before. They will do exactly what we ask and no more. When they are done, they will shut down and your body will eventually absorb them."

Rome's eyes narrowed. "MINIMCOM, have you ever performed this type of procedure before?"

"No," answered the livetar. "And I do agree there is a difference between theory and practice, I propose that I try this technique to heal Rei's broken skull first. I will rebuild the missing section in layers by using a miniature null-fold and transport some dura mater, bone, muscle and so forth then some scalp. The VIRUS units will assemble them in the proper form. That should be enough to fine-tune the methodology. If I cannot do that, then I will reject the technique as unworkable."

Russell Montrell shook his head and turned back to Rei. "I've heard some incredible things about your ship but this? It sounds impossible to me."

Rei looked up at him. "If MINIMCOM says he can do it, that's good enough for me. That explosion was caused by a bomb. I saw it. Somebody tried to kill me. And whoever did this is still out there. How am I going to protect my wife and child from a wheelchair? No, I'm in." Rei turned to the livetar. "I'm all yours, buddy."

"Very well," MINIMCOM said. "However, to guarantee the best chance for success, I would like to do this while you are weightless. I need to reduce the stress on your spine as much as possible. Which means we must go into space."

Rei turned back to his wife. "What'ya say we go for a ride?"

Rome smiled bravely and nodded.

Wow. Rei really does have faith in MINIMCOM. As I mentioned previously, it was important that I get Rei up and around as quickly as possible but not fully functional so that Rome could lead the charge. I also needed this surgical technique to turn a trick later on in the book. I also employed this when poor Aason Bierak got his hand cut off in the middle of _The Milk Run_ but that is a story for another day.

## Entry 5-100: April 10, 2017

### Getting ready

Two days ago, Dr. MINIMCOM proposed an audacious plan to inject Rei with the "tamed" VIRUS units called constructors and rebuild Rei's crushed spine from the inside out in the early portion of _Rome's Evolution_. Now I have never been to space so everything you are about to read only happened in my mind. I know it is science fiction but I tried to make it as realistic as I could having watched many a scifi movie and videos from space. See if you think I did a decent job getting the weightless operating theater ready for Rei's procedure:

MINIMCOM, the starship, used his EG lifters to gently arise in the air until he was high over Deucado. He fired his plasma thrusters on their lowest setting, accelerating as minimally as possible, until they achieved a circular orbit around Deucado 200 kilometers up.

"I will be shutting off the artificial gravity shortly," MINIMCOM announced from a grille in the wall. "Rome, Dr. Montrell, if you go into the side airlock, you can put on a pair of magnetic boots. That will allow you to remain in one place as I perform the procedure."

"OK," Rome said. She pointed then walked forward through the main corridor, followed by Dr. Montrell. She showed Russell the side airlock and when they returned, they were using the balky gait required to break the magnetic connection on the under-soles, one step at a time.

After they were back in the cargo bay, Rome said, "We're ready." She and Russell took up positions, standing by Rei's bedside.

"Very well," MINIMCOM said. "I am shutting down the EG lifters now."

In the background, Rome could hear the sound of the magnetic shields rotating in place. As they were turning, Rome and Russell could feel all the weight draining from their bodies. Rei started rising up very slowly, held in place only by two loose fitting straps that had been secured around him before they took off. Rome had to fight off the urge to grab him and push him back down. She had to have confidence that MINIMCOM knew what he was doing.

With a whoosh and a pop, MINIMCOM's livetar appeared in the cargo hold. He was holding a syringe in his hand filled with a grayish liquid.

Rei turned his head to look at it. "This is really going to work, right?" he asked.

"To the best of my knowledge," replied the livetar. "You still have time to change your mind."

"No, just do it," Rei said. "I trust you."

So that's it. Rei turned down his last chance to back out. Nothing left to do but have MINIMCOM inject Rei's body with constructors and see what happens.

## Entry 5-101: April 11, 2017

### Army Ants

Yesterday, Dr. MINIMCOM turned off the artificial gravity in his cargo bay so that his patient, Rei Beirak, could be weightless. Now I have no idea whether surgical operations would truly go better in space than here on Earth but _Rome's Evolution_ is science fiction so why not. MINIMCOM is poised and ready so let's see what happens:

"Very well," MINIMCOM said. He set the syringe down on Rei's bed and reformed one of his fingers into a very short range PPT thrower. He drew it carefully along the cast encasing Rei's arm. In one smooth motion, the cast split in half and MINIMCOM removed it. The livetar retrieved the syringe and inserted the needle into Rei's bicep. He pressed on the plunger gently and the fluid level decreased slightly.

"I am going to knit your broken arm first," MINIMCOM said. "This is the simplest test I can think of such that the VIRUS units can learn to work with my miniature null-fold."

"Whatever," Rei said. "Get to it."

Two holographic projectors lit up and showed a blood-red field with a milky white rod passing through.

"I have equipped these constructors with multi-spectral sensors," MINIMCOM said. "I am synthesizing their imagery as we would with the star-probes."

The image in the air shifted and a dark grey, jagged line appeared. "By using infra-red imagery, we can discern structures within the space. I am using false color but that is the actual bone fracture," MINIMCOM said. "I will transport random bone cells from the undamaged portion of your arm to the fracture. The constructors will move them into final position. Watch."

Like an army of tiny ants, little grains of white appeared in the dark area. Slowly but surely, the areas of dark became light and soon there was no evidence that a break ever occurred.

"The bone is set," MINIMCOM announced. "However, **there is no actual rigidity yet.** You will have to wait several hours for the amalgam to cure. It will take a day or two until the bone returns to its normal state."

The portion in bold is important. I have heard, mostly through injury reports on football players, that broken bones have to go through a "sticky" period as they are knitting and forming a solid structure. I had a long term plan on why I needed this to be true but it feels right here so we'll just let it go. There is plenty more drama coming.

## Entry 5-102: April 12, 2017

### Building a new skull

Yesterday, Dr. MINIMCOM sent in a team of VIRUS-based constructor units into Rei's bloodstream. MINIMCOM ordered them to cluster around the fracture in Rei's arm. He then used a miniature null-fold projector to transport random bone cells from other parts of Rei's arm into the cavity and the constructors fitted them together like puzzle pieces. At this point, Rei's arm has been completely reconstructed and the bone just needs to set. Today, MINIMCOM is going to try and heal the hole in Rei's skull using a more advanced version of the same technique:

MINIMCOM removed the bandages and packing from the back of Rei's skull. Rome gasped at the size of the wound. The portion of Rei's skull that was missing was a full two inches in diameter. His living brain was exposed, the grey matter pulsing with his heartbeat. Only a thin plastic film covered the area. MINIMCOM removed it and cerebrospinal fluid started gushing out for a moment then the tiny flood stopped. MINIMCOM held it at bay with an outstretched hand and a small null-fold twist.

"I will place a thin bio-polymer film underneath the remaining bone," MINIMCOM said. "I have coated both sides with an arteriogenic compound that should cause new blood vessels to form. This will help in the healing process. The film will also prevent Rei's brain from leaking any more fluid."

Mercifully, the film that MINIMCOM placed over the wound was opaque such that Rei's exposed brain was no longer visible. MINIMCOM retrieved the syringe with the grayish liquid. However, instead of injecting Rei, MINIMCOM merely expelled a few drops of the fluid with enough force that despite the lack of gravity, they spread evenly across the film, held in place by surface tension.

"First, the dura mater," MINIMCOM said. Cells from all over Rei's skull were transported to the film and assembled by the VIRUS units. Soon a visibly thickened layer of tissue was formed.

"Won't removing the tissue from other parts of his head cause damage?" Rome asked, even as she watched the fascinating display.

"No," MINIMCOM said. "I am taking less than .01% of the cells from any given area. Any micro-perforations this causes will heal instantaneously. No section will even miss them."

Rei grunted.

"Am I causing you pain?" MINIMCOM asked with some concern. "I can apply an anesthetic if you need it."

"No," Rei said. "It's just a little weird being your science experiment. I'm fine. Keep going."

MINIMCOM nodded. Layer by layer, MINIMCOM built up the tissues culminating in a fibrous bony surface covered by muscle. Finally, MINIMCOM took tiny sections of Rei's scalp and knit them together, closing the wound completely. In another age, it would be considered the ultimate in hair-plugs.

"That's amazing," Dr. Martell said, bending over to inspect the repairs. "If I hadn't seen the wound myself, I'd swear it was never there."

Wow. Don't you wish our doctors had the ability to do this today? I even impressed myself. Now that this is a proven good technique, it is time for the main show, i.e. healing Rei's back.

## Entry 5-103: April 13, 2017

### A girl's spine?

Yesterday, Dr. MINIMCOM rebuilt Rei's skull so well that Dr. Montrell could not even tell that it had ever been injured. The techniques MINIMCOM developed, using spot cells from other parts of the body and VIRUS-based constructors to move and shape tissue, seemed to be a smashing success. So now it was time for MINIMCOM to dive in and try and repair Rei's back and spine. But the livetar had barely rolled up his sleeves when he hit a roadblock:

"I have a problem," MINIMCOM said.

"What kind of problem?" Rome asked worriedly.

MINIMCOM activated the holo-projectors and the air lit up with a pink/grey goopy-looking mass of tissue with flecks of red and white all around.

"The bones have been so thoroughly damaged, I do not know if I can reconstruct them exactly correctly. I could use the vertebrae higher up as a model but then mechanically, they would not fit in the precise fashion required. I have access to some anatomical charts but they are only 2D, not three dimensional."

"Use me," Rome said immediately.

Rei turned to look up at his wife. "What are you talking about?"

"MINIMCOM can inject me with VIRUS units. They can give him a picture of an intact spine, vertebrae by vertebrae. He can use me as his model."

"No offense but I'm a lot bigger than you," Rei said. "I don't think I'd do too well with a girl's spine."

"Rome's idea will work," MINIMCOM interjected. "I will compare her L2 vertebrae to yours to get the proper scale factor. Then we will work our way down, vertebrae and disk alike."

Rome smiled and nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

"Remove your magnetic boots," MINIMCOM said. "Doctor, I will need you to hold her in the same horizontal position as Rei while I perform the reconstruction."

"I can do that," Russell said. "Finally, I can contribute something."

Rome slipped off her magnetic boots and immediately began rising up into the air. Dr. Montrell reached out and Rome gripped his arms so that Russell could steady her. Soon she was floating in the air perfectly horizontally. She rested her head on her arm so she could see Rei's face and not think about what was going to happen. MINIMCOM produced a new syringe then came over and injected Rome's lumbar spine. The livetar looked off into the distance.

"Yes," the all-black animated shell responded, "this will do fine." MINIMCOM turned back to Rei and put his hands over Rei's lower back almost like a faith healer. He froze for a moment while integrating the data streams. At last, he was ready.

Well, it worked for Adam. He donated a rib and got a girl, Eve, in exchange. So turnabout is fair play. Rome's Vuduri spine should work perfectly well as a model. Let's see how it turns out.

## Entry 5-104: April 14, 2017

### Pain is good?

Yesterday, Dr. MINIMCOM injected Rome with VIRUS-based constructor units to serve as visualization aids. Kind of like the Fantastic Voyage version of the star-probes. MINIMCOM's plan was to use Rome's intact spine as a model for rebuilding Rei's shattered vertebrae. At this point, Rome is floating in the air, weightless, held in place by Dr. Russell Montrell. It is time for MINIMCOM to start the rebuilding process:

"Now we begin," said MINIMCOM and he commenced with the reconstruction project.

As he was concentrating on the procedure, MINIMCOM did not bother with the holographic display. Rome and Dr. Montrell could only stand by helplessly as the livetar performed his magic. MINIMCOM did take a moment here and there to announce the next step but mostly he concentrated on his work. He segregated all the bone fragments and gently coaxed them into a shape nearly identical to how they appeared, pre-injury. He reconstructed the vertebral disks, inside and out. He straightened out the dura mater. MINIMCOM was very careful to never move the spinal nerve fibers but rather built around them.

It took about two hours but finally MINIMCOM announced that he was done. He used a pulsed application of the microscopic null-fold field to ensure that the cerebrospinal fluid was flowing properly. Satisfied, he gently rotated Rei around along his transverse axis so that he was facing upward.

"The VIRUS units are shut down. Their carcasses will serve as a matrix to give your spine some rigidity until it is fully healed. How do you feel?" MINIMCOM asked.

"The same," Rei said, disappointed. "I still can't feel my legs. I can't move them."

"The nerves have been severely shocked," MINIMCOM intoned. "There will be a progression of return of functionality. The first neurons to activate should be the nociceptors."

"What are those?" Rome asked as Russell lowered her back to the deck. Rome pressed her feet back into her magnetic boots so she could stand.

MINIMCOM reformed one of his fingers into a sharp point. He stuck it into Rei's left sole.

"Ouch!" Rei exclaimed then he laughed. Rome was confused but then she smiled too. "Pain receptors. I get it," she said.

"Yes," MINIMCOM said. "Proprioceptors next, then motor neurons, then the full complement of efferents and afferents."

"What can we do to help?" Russell asked anxiously.

"There is nothing to do," MINIMCOM replied. "The only thing any of us can do now is wait."

Isn't it funny that pain receptors are the last to go and the first to return? Usually, when something hurts, it is already damaged. I'm not 100% sure of the purpose of pain but in this case, it was a positive indicator that MINIMCOM did a good job. Tomorrow, I'll show you a few frames from Bruce's animatic version of the procedure.

## Entry 5-105: April 15, 2017

### Animatic Fixin'

Yesterday, I promised you a few screen caps from my brother Bruce's animatic book trailer for _Rome's Evolution_. Bruce did an amazing job but the book trailer will never see the light of day. It turns out, they are a lot of work and just don't motivate anybody to buy a book. So we pulled the plug.

Nonetheless, here is Bruce's animatic of Rei's spine being repaired. It is MINIMCOM standing over Rei with the silhouetted Rome off to the left. The VIRUS units have been injected into Rei's body and the repairs are symbolized by a blazing orange flame:

So what's wrong with this? Pretty much everything. MINIMCOM does not have a cape. Rome is standing, not floating in the air, held in place by Dr. Montrell. Rei is supposed to be floating, face down. The "magic" is supposed to happen within his spine, not his head.

So, does that detract from the moving images? Not one bit. The way Bruce did it is pretty cool and the net effect is the same: Rei is healed. It just isn't how I envisioned it but that's the beauty of writing words. People can form any picture they want in their head.

## Entry 5-106: April 16, 2017

### Life on Enceladus

Recently, NASA announced that they had discovered hydrogen in the plumes or volcanic jets seen emitting from the surface of Enceladus, one of the smaller moons orbiting Saturn. Now you might think that as a science fiction writer, I would find this very exciting and look forward to further research.

NASA scientists finished analyzing the molecular content of one of the plumes after the Casssini spacecraft sent the data back during a close encounter with Enceladus a while ago. In October 2015, Cassini came within 30 miles of the surface of Enceladus, and collected particles from a plume spray. Amazingly, the plume was made up mostly of water but had a significant amount of hydrogen molecules. Water, hydrogen and carbon dioxide can combine to form both hydrocarbons as well as carbohydrates. These are things that can sustain life.

So am I excited that there may be life right here in our own cosmic backyard? No. I am terrified. If life can form anywhere at the drop of a hat, even on a frozen moon on the outskirts of our solar system, then it must be exceedingly common throughout the galaxy, if not the entire universe. This is what makes it scary: The Fermi Paradox which says if life is so common, how come we haven't heard from anybody or detected any signs of intelligence yet?

The reason this is terrifying is because it might imply that intelligence cannot or does not survive very long, cosmically speaking. Which means we may be staring down the barrel of our own destruction. The Drake Equation allows us to estimate how many habitable worlds there are and most estimates say there are a lot. And if there are a lot, you'd expect life and ultimately intelligent life to form if it is easy to do.

It would be _much_ better if life were an exceedingly rare occurrence. Then the Fermi Paradox isn't so bad. It just means that finding our brothers and sisters among the stars is going to take a long time rather than we are ultimately doomed. Personally, I like the idea of a promising future better that guaranteed doom.

There is one more thing. As I have mentioned before, if we do find alien life, I have to retire from writing science fiction and start writing science facts so forgive me if I hope that we _do not_ find life on Enceladus. Can you blame me?

## Entry 5-107: April 17, 2017

### A good sign

As we have seen over the last few days, "Dr. MINIMCOM" had performed his miraculous procedure on Rei's back by injecting him with VIRUS-based constructors and allowing them to rebuild his broken spine. They had already demonstrated that Rei's spinal cord had some connectivity to his feet because he was able to feel pain. Rome and Dr. Montrell were simply giving Rei time to continuing the healing process. At last, MINIMCOM told them it was time to look in on the patient:

Russell followed Rome through the archway which also served as an auxiliary airlock and down the corridor until they entered the cargo bay. Rei was sleeping soundly, floating gently above the hospital bed. The sounds of the magnetic boots clomping awakened him.

He smiled and reached out with his hand. Rome came over to take it. With a whoosh and a pop, MINIMCOM's livetar reappeared. The tall black entity put his hand under Rei's back, touching it gently.

"Your spine has set very well," MINIMCOM said. "Let us perform a few tests but please try and keep your back as still as possible."

"Sure thing," Rei said.

MINIMCOM uncovered Rei's bare feet.

"Can you wiggle your toes?" MINIMCOM asked. Rei did so vigorously which made him laugh. MINIMCOM lifted Rei's right leg and bent it back at the knee. "Can you straighten your leg?"

Rei was able to straighten it easily and with no pain. They repeated the procedure with the other leg.

"Can you push harder?" MINIMCOM asked. Although he had lost a little bit of strength, Rei was able to generate a surprising amount of force which made MINIMCOM nod.

MINIMCOM said, "I am satisfied. Doctor?"

Russell came over and tickled the bottom of Rei's feet. Rei laughed again. Dr. Montrell tested Rei's ankle, calf and thigh muscle tone. After he exhausted every diagnostic he could think of, he stepped back.

"This is absolutely beyond incredible," he said in wonder. "There is no way any human surgeon or any medical procedure we have ever developed that could come close to this. This is a flat-out miracle."

Rome bent over and kissed Rei's forehead. She looked up the doctor. "Not a miracle," she said. "It is MINIMCOM. He never ceases to amaze us."

The livetar smiled. "I do aim to please," replied MINIMCOM, shrugging in a very human-like manner. Then the expression on his bullet-shaped head became more serious. "However, now we must see if Rei can stand."

Since we have to get on with the story, what do you think is going to happen?

## Entry 5-108: April 18, 2017

### Engaging gravity

A few days ago, we saw that Rei's nociceptors became active just a few minutes after his spine was repaired by "Dr. MINIMCOM" and yesterday, we could see that motor function was returning. However all of this means nothing if Rei cannot get up and walk. And he can't walk without gravity, well at least without magnetic boots. Some MINIMCOM decided he'd gradually turn on the ship's artificial gravity to see how Rei holds up:

The livetar unbuckled Rei and carefully maneuvered him around so that he was perfectly vertical. The livetar pressed down on Rei's shoulders ever so gently until Rei's feet were flush against the floor of the cargo compartment. MINIMCOM waved to Rome and Russell. They came over and each put one hand on Rei's shoulders to keep him in place. Rome pressed her hand against Rei's chest. Dr. Montrell pressed his hand gently against Rei's upper back so that he stayed in one position vertically.

"I will now begin to engage the artificial gravity," MINIMCOM announced. "We will increase it in small increments and see how Rei tolerates it. Rei, are you ready?"

"Absolutely," Rei said. He lifted his arms and placed one across Rome's shoulders and the other across Russell's shoulders. "Let's do it."

"Very well," MINIMCOM said. "One-tenth g." In the background, they could hear the gentle whirring of the magnetic shields drawing back and the superconducting magnets coming up to speed.

Rome could feel her body pressing ever so gently into her boots. She looked at Rei's face as he stared down at his own feet. They flattened slightly. Rei looked up and nodded. "More," he said.

"Very well," MINIMCOM said. "One third g."

This time, the increase in gravity was noticeable. Rei's knees bent slightly but then he straightened up again.

"Any pain?" MINIMCOM asked.

"None," Rei said. "I'm ready for the full load." He waved his hand in a circular motion trying to encourage the livetar.

"Rei, we should take our time," Rome cautioned. "There is no need to hurry."

Rei sighed. "You're right," he said. "No sense in taking chances. OK, MINIMCOM, just bump it to one-half g."

"Very well," MINIMCOM replied. As the gravity increased, Rome could really feel Rei's arm across her shoulders now. Rei's knees did not change at all.

Rei nodded. "More," he said. This time it wasn't a question.

"Three-quarters g," MINIMCOM announced. As soon as the gravity increased, Rei's knees began to buckle.

Uh-oh. Rei needs to be able to stand under full gravity to return to the planet. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Meanwhile, below you can check out my brother Bruce's vision of Rei getting off the table. As before, MINIMCOM is missing his cape because it would have blocked the image. Also, Bruce made Russell Montrell bald. He kind of reminds me of Mr. Clean. Finally, this is the closest you will _ever_ get to seeing Rome's face until we get the Netflix series made.

## Entry 5-109: April 19, 2017

### First Steps

Yesterday, "Dr. MINIMCOM" declared Rei sturdy enough to take on some gravity. They started with .1g then stepped it up until they finally hit three-quarters g. Obviously, Rei is going to have to be able to stand in one full g to go back to the planet but right now, he had trouble with the three quarters. Rei's knees had just buckled which cause a bit of panic but at this point, I think he is ready to take the plunge. Let's see:

"Back it down," Rome shouted with alarm in her voice.

"No," Rei said. "I'm OK. I just have to figure out how much force to exert. Look."

He straightened up again. He bent his knees and then stood upright to demonstrate he had full control. "I got this," he said.

"Please try and flex your back as little as possible," MINIMCOM cautioned. "The mixture of bone and constructors is set and it is true that with each passing minute, it will become more solid. But I would like to keep the stress to a minimum."

"Well, if I'm going to go back to the planet, I have to be able to take full gravity. Let me try a few steps."

"Rei, are you sure?" Rome asked.

"Yeah," Rei said. Rei removed his arms from both of his two helpers' shoulders and simply placed one hand on each. Satisfied, he pushed each of them away, reaching down only to hold Rome's hand. Carefully, he lifted his left foot and took one step forward. His knee seemed to give out slightly but Rei was able to recover quickly. He took a step with his right foot and there were no noticeable effects.

"OK, guys," he said, letting go of Rome's hand. "Here we go."

Like a little boy trying on new shoes, Rei took small careful steps, walking from one end of the cargo bay to the other. As he walked, his confidence grew greater and greater until he was walking in what looked like a completely normal gait. Russell Montrell whistled his approval. Rei bowed his head slightly then came back to stand by Rome and he took her hand again.

"OK, buddy," he said to MINIMCOM. "One full g. Time to get this show..."

"On the road," Rome chimed in. "All right, MINIMCOM, full gravity."

"As you wish," replied the livetar.

The change from three quarter to full gravity actually seemed less noticeable than the prior increments. Rei tested his ability to walk again and did quite well. In fact, on his last lap, he actually jogged a bit.

"I know I should be overwhelmed," Rei said, walking over to MINIMCOM. "But you've always been there for us, buddy. I guess I never had any doubts."

He did it! He can now walk in one full g. Time to return to the planet and ferret out who did the dastardly deed.

## Entry 5-110: April 20, 2017

### Double-edged Vest

Yesterday, "Dr.MINIMCOM" completed the restoration of Rei's back and turned on the artificial gravity. After a little bit of conditioning, Rei was able to walk unassisted in one full g so that meant, in his mind, he was able to return to Deucado so they could begin the search for his would-be killer. But the livetar was not quite ready to discharge his patient:

MINIMCOM said, "Your recovery is far from complete. Your spine is still very delicate." The livetar turned away then turned back with a contraption built of two black plates held together by leather-like thongs. The front plate was sculpted in the form of a human chest. The back plate was smoother. About 18 inches from the top were four straps attached to the frame on both sides.

What is that?" Rome asked, coming over to see.

"This is a portable, miniature self-sustaining PPT tunnel," MINIMCOM said.

"What's it for?" Rei asked.

"Allow me to attach it and I will explain," MINIMCOM replied. The livetar lifted the two plates up and lowered the assembly over Rei's head. Once the upper thongs were resting on Rei's shoulders, MINIMCOM cinched the lower straps along the sides until they were snug around Rei's waist. After checking the fit, MINIMCOM waved his hands over the front and suddenly, Rei's chest, in fact his entire torso, disappeared. It looked like his head, arms and legs were completely separated from each other.

"What the hell?" Rei exclaimed as he tried to wrap his head around what he was seeing or in this case, not seeing. "Why do I need this thing?" he asked.

"Your spine is solid and clearly you can stand the strain of being vertical. However, the mixture of bones and constructors do not have as much reinforcement against lateral sheer. This vest will prevent anything from coming in contact with your spine until you are fully healed."

To demonstrate, MINIMCOM pushed one of his hands through the region where Rei's stomach would have been. The arm emerged from behind Rei's back as if he were not there.

Rei reached around to poke his own hand in the tunnel but MINIMCOM grabbed his arm and pulled it away.

"You must be very careful with this," MINIMCOM cautioned. "As you know, the edges of a PPT tunnel are sharper than any blade in the universe. Nothing must come in contact with those edges." MINIMCOM squeezed Rei's wrist. "For example, if something were to be inserted within the tunnel and you turned suddenly, **whatever it was would be severed immediately. And that includes limbs."**

MINIMCOM shook Rei's arm to emphasize his point.

The sentence in bold is very important. I used it to set up the mid-novel climax. But you'll have to wait a bit until we get there. This PPT vest is the precursor to Aason's PPT "armor" that he donned on Hades when seeking out the colonists from the Ark IV in _The Milk Run_ but that's a story for another day.

Here is a picture of Bruno Catalano's "In Search of Missing Pieces" which is a statue is in France:

## Entry 5-111: April 21, 2017

### The Invisible Vest

Yesterday, MINIMCOM unveiled a vest to protect Rei's spine while it heals. It consists of two plates, one in the front and one in the back. Together, they form a continuous, miniature PPT tunnel such that anything that comes in contact with Rei's torso or back would punch through the other side, essentially going _around_ Rei's spine rather than bend it.

My brother Bruce made an animatic version of the book trailer for _Rome's Evolution_ and tried to capture this. However, we had decided to abandon the idea of a book trailer altogether so all I have are his sketches on what _would_ have been in the trailer. Here you can see MINIMCOM's livetar with a cape, finally. Basically, this is just Rei lifting his shirt, showing you that you can see right though him and then him lowering his shirt again:

The mechanics of how the shirt doesn't just get sucked into the portable wormhole will be covered tomorrow.

## Entry 5-112: April 22, 2017

### Emancipation

Over the last couple of days, I have presented you with some technology that isn't all that far-fetched. It will certainly occur within our children's lifetime. But what nobody considered was the human spirit behind it. I say human on purpose. Even though MINIMCOM is a livetar, an ambulatory computer shell, the spirit behind it is very real and very autonomous. Everyone from our generation would think of computers as things, the same as a car or an airplane. But MINIMCOM is much, much more than that. He just doesn't happen to be biologically based.

This becomes abundantly clear in the early parts of _Rome's Evolution_ when Dr. Montrell assumes that MINIMCOM can be commanded to do anything the humans want, regardless of MINIMCOM's desires:

"I get it," Rei said, pulling his arm away from MINIMCOM's grasp. "I'll be careful." He looked down at his chest or at least the region of where his chest should have been. "But, like this is really weird. I understand why I need it but how am I supposed to walk around with no chest? It'll scare Aason. It'll scare everybody."

MINIMCOM held his hand out and a long brown shirt appeared, somewhat reminiscent of Rei's normal attire. "Put this on," the livetar said, shaking the garment.

Rome helped Rei put on the shirt. Once all the buttons were fastened, it completely covered up Rei's invisible chest. "Hmm," Rei grunted. "Weird but that'll work."

"Yes," MINIMCOM said. "It is coated on the inside with an electrostatic material. It acts as an inflating agent. I have tailored the fabric so that your torso will appear normal to the outside world until you no longer need the vest."

"So how long do I have to wear it?" Rei asked, running his hands down his chest carefully. Knowing what was under there was really bizarre.

"You will need to wear it about a month," MINIMCOM said. "You may take it off to shower and to sleep. But that is all. After a month, your spine should be completely and totally healed and you will no longer require this protection."

Rei looked over at Rome and raised one eyebrow. "Are you going to be able to handle this?" he asked.

Rome winked at him. "We'll be fine," she said, laughing. "It will remind us every day of what a wonderful friend our MINIMCOM has been."

"This is beyond friendship," Russell said. "This is an incredible advancement in medicine. You must share this with the world at large. Think of the good you can do."

MINIMCOM's eye slits narrowed a bit. "I do not know if I am ready to reveal this just yet. I have only recently shared my secret of the continuous PPT drive with the next generation of fastships. I have been heavily involved in their training. It is very time-consuming."

"There's no comparison," Russell said insistently. "This is far too important to keep to yourself. Rei, can't you make him share it? He's your ship."

"No," Rei said. "He's not my ship. MINIMCOM was emancipated a long time ago. He is his own entity. He's not a thing. He's family. He chooses when and where he goes and what he does. You'll just have to trust him to do what is right and in his own time."

"Thank you, Rei," MINIMCOM said. "Dr. Montrell, as Rei said, you will just have to trust me to do what is right. All I can promise you is that I will get around to it eventually."

"An emancipated ship," Russell muttered to himself.

"And loving father," Rome threw in. "He has a child of his own."

Russell lowered his eyes to the ground. "I guess there are just some things I'll never get used to."

Get used to it. MINIMCOM is not a machine. He is a member of the family. And while he may do what you ask sometimes, no, many times, it is because he chooses to do so not because he is commanded to do so. Think about that the next time you get into your car and put on your left turn blinker.

## Entry 5-113: April 23, 2017

### Somebody tried to kill me

Now that MINIMCOM has repaired Rei's spine and outfitted him with a miniature self-sustaining PPT tunnel for protection, it is time to revisit why so much rigmarole in the first place. After all, Rei had nearly been blown to bits. Rome, Rei and MINIMCOM returned to the planet to discuss the situation with Rome's parents who were watching Aason:

"All this is well and good," he said, "but everyone here is forgetting one thing."

"What is that?" Fridone asked.

"Somebody tried to kill me. In fact, that bomb was set to kill all of us. If Rome and Aason hadn't been delayed at the library, they might be dead too."

"Who would try and kill any of you?" Binoda asked, horrified. "You have done nothing but good ever since you arrived at this planet."

"We discussed this very fact and we can only come up with one explanation," Rome said.

Rei nodded. "It had to be one of the Darwin people. When we rounded them up and sent them off to Helome, there's no way we got them all. There has to be a couple of them left, running around crazy."

"Even so, why would they want to kill you?" Binoda asked with a furrowed brow.

"You don't know these people like I do," Rei said. "They were none too happy when we shipped them off-world. It doesn't have to be a very complex reason. I don't think we need look beyond simple revenge."

"If that is all it is," Fridone said, "then they will find out eventually they did not kill you. What is to prevent them from trying again?"

"Nothing," Rei said. "Our only hope is to figure out who it was and track them down. That's the only way to stop them before they try again."

"They could be anywhere on this planet," Fridone said with increasing frustration. "We must be ever vigilant."

"There is no we, Beo," Rome said. Rome touched her finger to her temple. With a whoosh and pop, both MINIMCOM's all-black livetar and Junior's smaller one appeared in the room. Junior's livetar had darkened significantly and was much larger as compared to when he was originally 'born'. The current version stood well over a meter and half tall and his skin was now a deep slate gray. Every day, he looked more and more like his father.

"Hello, Auntie Rome," Junior said. "Onclare Rei. I'm glad you're out of the hospital. Dad filled me in on what he did."

"Thanks, Junior," Rei said. He turned carefully back to face his in-laws. "Rome and I talked about it. We don't want you or Aason around until we've caught the assassins."

I've mentioned many times that while I really like Aason, he gets in the way of superior action and adventure. It is easier to ship him off to another planet for a while so Rome and Rei can get to work fleshing out the novel. Unfortunately, in this case, they shipped him off to the wrong planet as you will see later in the book.

## Entry 5-114: April 24, 2017

### Where do we go?

Yesterday, after Rome and Rei had returned from space with Rei's surgically repaired back, the couple announced to Rome's parents that it was no longer safe anywhere on the planet and they had to leave. They need Aason as far away as possible for his own good. Rome and Rei had picked out a destination. Unfortunately, and unknown to them, the destination wasn't far enough.

"Where would you have us go?" Fridone asked skeptically. "You do not know where they are. Nowhere on this planet could be safe."

"You are right, Beo," Rome interjected. "Not on this planet. Junior has agreed to take you to Earth."

"Earth?" Binoda exclaimed. "We were banished from there, just as you were. We are not allowed."

Rome stood up. "Junior will take you to Commander Ursay. He will hide you on his farm until it is safe to return. Junior has all of his father's stealth ability. He will get you there unseen."

"Cowering like children out on a farm," Fridone scoffed. Then he realized Aason really was a child. "I understand," he said reluctantly.

"Mommy, Daddy," Aason said, jumping up. "I don't want to go." He ran over and grabbed his mother, wrapping his arms around Rome's legs.

Rome stooped down and cupped her son's chin. Tears were starting to overflow her eyes and run down her cheeks.

"We have to do this, my baby. It's not safe here. We can't allow anything to happen to you. Grandmea and Grandbeo will take good care of you. Daddy and I will come and get you as soon as it is safe to come home."

Aason hugged his mother around her neck. "Mommy, I'll miss you so much."

"And I will miss you, my love. But I would die if anything happened to you. Daddy and I can't take that chance."

Aason pulled back. He was crying too but he made a brave face. "I understand, Mommy. Whoever those bad men are, I hope you catch them and kill them back."

"No," Rome said. "We don't kill anybody. But we will stop them. Then we can all be together again."

Rome looked up at her mother. Binoda nodded.

"Come, Fridone," she said. "We must pack some clothing. This might be a while."

At least I can get Aason out of there for a portion of the book and get going with the fast-paced action and adventure. Rome and Rei have a lot of ground to cover and having Aason around would slow them down significantly.

## Entry 5-115: April 25, 2017

### The Tall Task

Yesterday, it was decided that Aason would go to Earth along with his grandparents for his own protection. This leaves Rei, Rome and MINIMCOM free to track down their would-be killers. But where do they start? All I can tell you is there ain't no such thing as a coincidence. And the story started out with an invisibility cloak and Hanry Ta Jihn's handgun going missing. I feel certain they will make a reappearance at some point in the story. But first, we need a plan:

After a prolonged and tearful goodbye, Aason and his grandparents left in Junior for Earth. As soon as they were gone, Rei, Rome and MINIMCOM reconvened around Binoda's dining table to make their plans.

"Rome, MINIMCOM," Rei said. "I know we have a tall task in front of us. But I need you both to understand my super-hearing is kind of busted right now. Plus I had a pretty hard knock to the head. I don't know if you can tell or not but I'm still pretty fuzzy."

"You had a severe concussion," Rome said. "You don't need to excuse it."

"That's not what I'm getting at," Rei said. "What I'm trying to say is I might not be able to think clearly enough or act fast enough to get us out of this mess cleanly."

Rei leaned forward to take Rome's hand. "Sweetheart, you have to be the one in charge. If I say something that doesn't sit right, you have to overrule me."

Rome nodded slowly. "I understand. But I'm not worried. Let us get to the business at hand. As my father pointed out, these persons unknown could be anywhere on the planet. On top of that, we don't know how many of them there are and we don't know who they are. Where do we start?"

Rei stood up carefully and left the room only to return with a piece of paper and several of Aason's crayons. He picked up the blue crayon and drew a long rectangle. He took a red crayon and stroked lines across the rectangle in a dense pattern.

"Say this is the Ark," he said, circling the rectangle. "We know that the Darwin people were shipped out here to Deucado in the special gray sarcophagi."

Rei grabbed a black crayon and blocked off the front of the crudely drawn ship. "Rome, do you remember the cages in the front?"

Rome nodded.

"I think the first thing we do is go back to the Ark and calculate how many of them there could be."

"You were there when they started pulling them out, wouldn't you know?" his wife asked.

Yes he was. But something as massive as the retrieval of 500 or so sarcophagi from the Ark would have been beyond Rei's ability to memorize.

## Entry 5-116: April 26, 2017

### The cloak (dis)appears

Yesterday, Rome and Rei had conjectured that Rei's would-be killer most likely was one of the remaining Darwin members running loose on Deucado. They knew that the Darwin members were sent to Deucado in the specially fortified gray sarcophagi in the front of the Ark II. Rome asked Rei how many there were, so they could gauge what they were up against and... Well, I'll let Rei tell you:

"I didn't pay enough attention," Rei said. "I think we need to go back and actually count." Rei turned to MINIMCOM. "How many of the Darwin people did you and Junior cart off to Virga on Helome?"

"84 the first trip. 20 the second," MINIMCOM answered. "104 total."

"There," Rei said. "So all we need to do is figure out how many we started with, subtract out 104 and what's left is how many we're looking for."

Rome smiled. "I do not think your ability to think has been much impaired. However, you forgot one person."

"Who?" Rei asked.

"Captain Keller. No matter what the theoretical number, you must add one since he was one of the original 84 sent to Virga on Helome."

Rei sighed. "Yeah," he said. "I don't know if this helps or not but I know that some of the sarcophagi were damaged. I remember seeing them in the cave behind The Cathedral."

"Were they white or gray?" Rome asked.

Rei put his hand up to his head and rubbed his forehead. "I don't remember," he said. "Dammit."

"It's OK, Rei, we will check it out," Rome said. She turned to MINIMCOM. "Would you mind taking us to Rei's Ark and then to The Cathedral?" she asked. "We need to do our survey."

"Your safety and well being is my first and only concern at the moment," answered the livetar. "I am at your service until this matter has been resolved."

"Then let us begin," Rome said, rising.

Together, the group left the house. **What they did not see was that after they were gone, the front door opened, apparently all by itself, and then closed again.**

Uh-oh. A door opening and closing by itself and a missing invisibility cloak. Those two things can't be a coincidence. But who are they are and how are they related? We will have to find this out as we go along.

## Entry 5-117: April 27, 2017

### Agents, pt. 1

I wrote my first short story of any note in high school, back in 1969. My story was just for Pen & Ink, Haverford High School's monthly "literary" magazine. The 300-word piece was a dopey sort-of science fiction (natch) story that was really just a set up of a joke. This was the first time I was ever "published" and I use that word loosely because they were so starved for content that they rarely rejected anybody's work.

In college, I wrote a bunch of short stories and eventually got brave enough that I sent some into science fiction magazines with the hope of not only getting published, but getting paid to write. No such luck. I got quite a few rejection notices, very nearly all of them form letters, usually just pink slips with the same message. My final story, "Mars, Get Ready" was also rejected but this was accompanied by a personal note from an editor who told me that while this particular story was not suitable, I should keep at it. This was in 1973, the same year I wrote the first full draft of _VIRUS 5_.

Then life kicked in and I kind of stopped writing until 2001 when my second wife left me. That was when I got the idea for a game show called "The One That Got Away" and I said to myself, I can write a book. Why not? It took me about a year and by 2002, I had the first draft of what came to be known as _Future Past_.

I was well aware that _Future Past_ wasn't good enough to get published but it showed me that I had the stamina to write a 330-page novel so I rolled up my sleeves and got to work on the full-length novel _VIRUS 5_. The manuscript also took me about a year to write and polish but no sooner had I finished that book when I got the idea for the second and third parts. By 2008, I had three (what I thought at the time to be) well-written novels forming a trilogy. Surely that would be considered desirable to prove you weren't a one-hit wonder. I knew the days of directly submitting manuscripts to publishers was long gone and the only way to get your foot in the door was through an agent. So I bought a book called _The Writers Market 2008_ and dutifully noted the section regarding agents.

In September of 2008, I hopped aboard what I now call the "agent-go-round" which is a never ending cycle of sending in query letters, the first three chapters and waiting. The more polite agents got back to you and told you that what you had wasn't their cup of tea or not suitable in some other way. Others never got back to you at all. The road was paved with unending disappointment.

Tomorrow, a sad footnote to the journey described above but why there may now be hope again.

## Entry 5-118: April 28, 2017

### Agents, pt. 2

Yesterday, I described to you my tortuous path leading up to me deciding to get published by finding an agent. However there was one fact that I slipped in that you may not have noticed. Please note the year I started on this adventure: 2008. Remember that year? The stock market had crashed and everybody went into panic mode and truly our economy has ever recovered. Almost all of the agents started hanging up shingles signaling that they were no longer accepting new authors because publishers were only buying sure things which meant previously published authors.

I tried hiring a professional editor and paid her money to critique my books but the things she said were so harsh, I threw in the towel and realized my dream was never going to happen. I stopped sending in query letters and spent a long time rethinking my strategy. I knew about the Kindle and the more I read about it, the more I realized that I could self-publish and who needs an agent?

So I did. I compiled all three _VIRUS 5_ novels down into one super-long novel entitled _Rome's Revolution_ and in November, 2011, the book went on sale on Amazon. I also learned how to self-publish for the B&N Nook, Kobo, iTunes and Smashwords. I sold 77 copies of _Rome's Revolution_ within the first month. To date I have sold nearly 400 copies. All told, if you want to count the books I sell for free, the total is nearly 3600. I have actually received money for nearly 900 books. Not a lot but more than zero.

Even though the economy still sucks and agents and publication houses are still resisting taking on unknown writers, an entirely new market has appeared. HBO, Showtime, AMC, Amazon and Netflix among others are now producing original content which is fantastic. More channels are opening up every month, all of them hungry for quality programming. My books would make a phenomenal five year series. The first three would be _Rome's Revolution_ , year four would be _The Ark Lords_ and year five would be _Rome's Evolution_.

I wrote an email to a consolidator who sends content to Netflix for consideration and they told me nobody can get their foot in the door without an agent. So I am going to rewrite the first third of _Rome's Revolution_ entirely and heavily edit the rest. And then guess what? I am going to hop aboard the agent-go-round again. Who knows? Maybe this time I will succeed. Probably not. But I have to try.

## Entry 5-119: April 29, 2017

### Yes, Dear

Unless you have been reincarnated, I don't see how you or anyone can be qualified to be a "life coach" because we only get one life to live. Who's to say we lived it right until it's over? That doesn't mean people can't impart wisdom from their experiences but nobody can give you an exact guide.

There's lots of advice floating around regarding marriage. I've heard the phrases "Happy wife, happy life" and "You can be right or you can be happy" meaning the secret to a good marriage is keeping the Mrs. happy. Rei Bierak has only been married the one time, to the incomparable Rome, but he knew from growing up in a well-adjusted family that the homilies above were true. And since he is still recovering from a severe concussion, he had relinquished control of the search for the would-be assassin or assassins to Rome:

Rei's Ark had crash-landed on a ridge part way up the slope of the northern mountains over four years earlier. In the two years since Rei and Rome had been here last, the Ark II had continued to rust, some parts of it completely rusted out. The outer hull, what was left of it, was orange-colored with streaks of brown and black. This was due to the fact that the upper two-thirds of the gigantic, cylindrical spaceship was made out of pig iron and Deucado presented enough moisture and oxygen to cause portions of the roof to collapse. Some of the pieces were fairly large.

The lower third of the Ark was made of martensite, a kind of stainless steel so it was in much better shape. While the upper portion of the Ark was softer and more malleable, the lower third had to be more rugged because when the Arks came in for a landing, they had no wheels or landing gear. They glided in then just belly-flopped their way down to the ground at a rather sizeable velocity. The martensite was not just a heat shield and a potential building material, it was also the world's biggest landing strut. At least, that was the way it was planned. The way the Ark II actually arrived on Deucado was beyond anything the mission planners could have imagined.

Rei and Rome held hands as they carefully made their way up the entrance ramp into the long-abandoned crew compartment. Once they reached the top of the ramp, Rei tried to pull his hand free but Rome would not let go.

"I'm OK," Rei said. "I can walk by myself."

"No," Rome said forcefully. "I don't want to take a chance of you slipping on one of the pieces that have fallen from the ceiling."

"But..." Rei protested.

"You said I was in charge," Rome said proudly. "This is a command decision. You hold my hand."

Rei smiled. "Yes, dear," he said submissively.

This will be a recurring theme over the next days and weeks as they hunt down the would-be killers. But Rome is good-natured about it so I wouldn't worry for poor old Rei too much.

## Entry 5-120: April 30, 2017

### How many are there?

Yesterday, we saw that Rei Bierak was going to have to get used to saying "Yes, dear" to Rome as she was in charge of the investigation. She had MINIMCOM transport them to the rapidly rusting shell of the Ark II so they could count how many of the gray sarcophagi were sent from Earth. The total number of sarcophagi plus one would be the total number of Darwin candidates that might have been trying to kill them:

"Yes, dear," Rei said. He knew this was a phrase he was going to be uttering a lot in the upcoming days. Cautiously, he executed a maneuver matching Rome's who, in turn, guided him as he lowered himself on the other side. Now past the obstruction, they were able to make their way to the front where there was a pair of large metal cages encasing another two sets of shelves, one on the left, one on the right. The shelves within the cage were far more substantial than the flimsy ones in the rear. Rome reached up and took a hold of the metal mesh fencing and shook it with her hand. There was no more give to it now than there was two years ago.

Rei stooped down, making sure he did not bend at the waist, and mentally counted the stanchions that were used to hold the sarcophagi in place.

"Three on the bottom, middle and top," Rei said out loud. He turned and pointed. "Another nine on that side so that makes eighteen per row."

He gingerly made his way to the front, stopping short of the edge where a portion of the Ark had been torn away when it hit the asteroid. The lead edges were ragged with shredded sheet metal curled and bound by the inner seal. Even though much of it had dulled with time and rust, many of the metal shards still had razor sharp edges that splayed outward. Rei shivered just thinking about them. He turned to the matter at hand.

"I count six rows," Rei said. "So if my math is correct, that makes for 108 of the Grays."

"109 counting Captain Keller," Rome corrected him.

"Right," Rei said. "So that's our upper limit. MINIMCOM said he transported 104 of the Darwin people to Helome so worst case, we're looking for five people."

Rome nodded. "This is an excellent first step but to have that many running loose on Deucado is little bit dismaying."

"I know I saw some cracked sarcophagi back at The Cathedral but I don't remember if they were gray or white," Rei said. "We'll need to go there to confirm. That may cut down the number."

"Agreed," Rome said. She put her finger to her temple. "MINIMCOM says he will just transport us back to his cargo bay. I don't want to take any more chances with your back than we need to."

"Yes, dear," Rei sighed.

Rei seems pretty submissive but you must remember he received a severe concussion during the explosion. It's OK though because by this point Rome has been a very capable leader up to now. We'll see how she fares tomorrow.

## Entry 5-121: May 1, 2017

### Smooth Ceilings

Yesterday, Rome and Rei had come up with a preliminary count of Darwin people. There was room in the Ark II for 108 gray sarcophagi plus Captain Keller meant there were 109 members of the Darwin Project on Deucado before Rome and Rei took them down. They knew that MINIMCOM and Junior had transported 104 people to Helome so worst case, there were five members of Darwin running loose on Deucado.

However, Rei remembered that there were some damaged sarcophagi which meant the occupants were dead. If any of them were gray, it would reduce the number of possibilities. They decided to take a trip back to The Cathedral which is where all the colonists from the Ark II were resuscitated. When they got there, Rome observed something that had been bugging her for a long time:

At last they arrived in the large cave that the Ibbrassati had called The Cathedral. MINIMCOM lit up his shoulder lamps even brighter so they could see their surroundings clearly. Rome looked all around, thinking back to her time here. She shivered. When they first arrived, she was suffering from severe polyhydramnios and had difficulty walking or even breathing. It was here that she and Rei had spent their first night on Deucado, huddled by a fire. She had been in too much pain to spend much time looking around. This time, however, she did. She looked straight up and cocked her head.

"MINIMCOM, can you make your shoulder lights brighter?"

"Of course," replied the livetar.

Rome inspected the ceiling very carefully. "Rei," she said. "Look up."

Rei complied. "What do you see?" he asked.

"Don't you think the ceiling of this cave is too rounded to be natural? It reminds me of the cave we discovered on our way to encountering MASAL."

Rei stared at it for a long time. Finally, he spoke. "I agree it is pretty smooth but your father's people wouldn't have had the wherewithal to round it out. And why would they?"

"I don't know," Rome said. "You've never been to the Deucadon's underground city but their caves were the same way. It was almost like they were carved out."

"Maybe it's just how erosion works on this planet," Rei said. "Why would anybody dig them out?"

"I don't know," Rome answered. She turned to MINIMCOM. "When you excavated the storage chamber for OMCOM's memrons, you mentioned there were already a number of small caves beneath the library. Were their ceilings as smooth as this one?"

"Now that you mention it, yes," MINIMCOM replied. "However, at the time, I was preoccupied with the excavation process. I did not think it was important enough to document or measure."

"Hmm," Rome said, "I must think about this." She shrugged. "It will have to wait for later. Let us continue on our search."

You have to realize that a novelist doesn't have time to throw things in at random for no reason. So the smooth ceilings theme will arise several more time throughout _Rome's Evolution_ until the mystery is finally solved.

## Entry 5-122: May 2, 2017

### The Pond

Yesterday, Rome and Rei had arrived at the Ibbrassati hideout called The Cathedral to track down and count cracked sarcophagi. Before they did, Rome noted the ceilings were improperly smooth, a fact she would have to explore later. As Rome and Rei made their way back through the cave, they came across the little alcove where they were married:

"This is the room where Trabunel performed our Cesa ceremony," Rome said to MINIMCOM.

"Very nice," MINIMCOM observed. "Very picturesque."

Rome breathed a short laugh. She reached up and stroked the side of Rei's face. "Rei, do you remember?"

"How could I forget," Rei said, putting his hand on hers. He looked around. "It's a lot smaller than I remember though. And kind of dirty. I guess time has a way of sweetening the memories, not the reality."

"Nevertheless, this is a very special place." Rome cocked her head. "You know that I love you and I would have married you anytime, anywhere. But looking back, given how my life was in danger, what made you decide to do it in this place, at that time?"

Rei sighed. "When you're in love, your brain doesn't always work logically," he said. "Now that you mention it, logically, I guess it could have waited. I guess we didn't really have to get married at all."

Rome scowled and pulled her hand down from his face. "Are you saying you are no longer in love with me?"

"God, no," Rei said. "I love you more than anything." Gently, he put his arms around her and drew her close. Not too close, though. He didn't want Rome to sink into his non-existent chest. "It's just that I agree, I wasn't thinking too clearly. The stress of almost being killed when we first got here. The fact that you were suffering. They said you could die. I just wanted to be bound to you forever before things got any worse." Rei struggled with the words. "I'm just saying that hindsight is always 20/20."

"What does that mean?" Rome asked.

"It means that after all the facts are sorted out, anybody can figure out what you should have done. And after all we've been through, I can see now that we could have done it later. But back then, it was all that I could think about."

Rome smiled. "I think I am kidding you," she said. "It was very romantic and I wouldn't have done it any other way." She stood up on her toes and kissed Rei on his cheek. "We should get going, though. It was just a nice memory that I wanted to relive."

When my wife Denise and I got married, we held the ceremony at a restaurant that was called The Pond back then. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony. For our fifth anniversary, I took her back there to revisit old memories. The ownership had changed, the menu had changed, the food sucked, all-in-all disappointing in the present but still it provided us with wonderful memories. That was the inspiration for the scene above. Time has a way of romanticizing certain things but The Pond will always be the way we remember it rather than way it is now.

## Entry 5-123: May 3, 2017

### Where are the rods?

One of the neat things about writing a novel is that you know how it ends so it easy to sprinkle in hints and goodies early. I know how they intermingle but you, the reader. do not. This keeps you on your toes because the hints and clues are there and you cannot ignore them. The main characters are trapped in a linear progression so they cannot know either. So here we have Rome and Rei, back at The Cathedral, getting ready to look for cracked gray sarcophagi. We only have five possible Darwin members running around. For each dead one, that whittles down the number:

Rome pushed past MINIMCOM and Rei and walked to the back of The Cathedral to a tunnel leading even deeper into the cavern. She waited until MINIMCOM caught up to her and passed her, leading the way into the darkness. Rome held out her hand which Rei took and they continued on.

They came upon another gigantic cave that dwarfed The Cathedral. This was the cavern that the Ibbrassati had used to build the equipment that was going to start their rebellion. They also used it as the staging area when they first brought the crew back from the Ark II still frozen in their sarcophagi. Captain Keller's red-striped sarcophagus was sitting near the front, just off to the side. Farther back to the far left were stacks and stacks of the white coffin-like chambers and to the right were the gray. The fact that they were segregated was probably a byproduct of the order in which they were retrieved from the crew compartment of the Ark.

Rei pulled his hands free of Rome and walked over to the stacks of gray sarcophagi. He started counting. Finally he spoke.

"105," he said. "I've counted them three times. Not enough. We're still short three."

"Where do you think they put the others?" Rome asked.

Rei turned in place and pointed off to the far right. "I remember seeing at least one cracked sarcophagus over there. Those catacombs were where Captain Keller set up shop."

Rei started to lead the others across the length of the cave when he stopped suddenly.

"What is it?" Rome asked.

Rei whirled in place. "There's something wrong," he said. He looked back at the stacks and stacks of sarcophagi and stared at them intently. He returned to the nearest one and stooped down low, being very careful to bend only his knees and not his back. He cocked his head.

"They're all missing their power rods," he said after a bit. He pointed at the twin circular holes in the base of each of the sarcophagi.

"Is that important?" Rome asked, coming over to him.

"Only that they are radioactive," Rei said. He straightened up. "I wonder what they did with them."

Rome looked at them and then back across the cave. "Is it germane to our search right now?" she asked.

"No," Rei said, shaking it off. "It's just odd," he said. "Let's see if we can track down the missing chambers. We're still missing three."

Let's go find those last three and see if the people in them were dead or alive. That will determine the final count. As for the missing rods? You'll find out later.

## Entry 5-124: May 4, 2017

### The Missing Marlins

Yesterday, Rome and Rei were looking for the final three sarcophagi. They had found 105 and needed to find the final three. They were trying to account for 108 total. They decided to make their final push into the bowels of the large cave behind The Cathedral to see what they could see.

The only reason this section is important, besides whittling down the number of Darwin candidates, is that I got stuck thinking of names for the occupants of the sarcophagi and I happened to be watching the Phillies play the Marlins when I was writing it so I just grabbed some of the players and slapped them into their coffins:

The three beings walked across the length of the cave to the entrance to the catacombs. Off to the side, standing upright, were five sarcophagi; three gray and two white. Rei approached the closest gray one. The nameplate said, "Stanton, G." Rei peered into the faceplate. The remains of the occupant were still in there. A sizeable crack had caused the rehydration fluid to sublimate out and the vacuum of space had mummified the person inside. It was just a pile of skin, bones and jerky, barely revealing the fact that the remains were once human.

Rei pulled back and turned to Rome and MINIMCOM. "That does it," he said. "Not including Keller's, we've seen all 108 of the grays. And we know that 105 of that group survived plus Keller for a total of 106 alive."

"And MINIMCOM and Junior transported 104. So we are only looking for two people?" Rome asked with a smile. Somehow, that number seemed much more manageable.

"As far as I can tell," Rei said. "MINIMCOM, let's start a list of people who we know the bombers couldn't be."

"There's Captain Keller and Bonnie," Rome offered.

"Yeah, sure," Rei said. "Plus Stanton here and Pierre and Wright over there." Rei pointed to the other cracked sarcophagi. He held up his hand and counted on his fingers. "And we know Ionelli and Greer went. I can probably rattle off about ten or twenty more but..." His shoulders slumped.

"But what?" Rome asked.

"Even though we know how many we are looking for, there's still going to be a huge gap on who else to eliminate." Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "MINIMCOM, between you and Junior, do you think you could identify who you transported."

"I would be able to tell you the ones I carried. I suspect Junior would be able to do so as well. But you sent him to Earth, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Rei said. "So we're back to square one."

Actually David Wright played for the Mets and Juan Pierre ended up on the Phillies. Maybe I misled you a little bit.

Nonetheless, Rei is wrong. They are not quite back to square one. They know how many people they are looking for. Now they just need to figure out who the two missing individuals are.

## Entry 5-125: May 5, 2017

### Where to next

Yesterday, Rome and Rei deduced that there were only two members of the Darwin Project running around loose on Deucado. But which two? Of the 104 identified living members, MINIMCOM could eliminate roughly two-thirds. Unfortunately, for the remaining third, only Junior could help them whittle down the list to the essential two and the starship was currently hiding out on Earth with Aason and Rome's parents for safety. Rei threw his hands up and felt they would have to start over. Luckily, cooler (and clearer) heads prevailed:

"Not completely," Rome said. "If we can get our hands on a crew manifest, we can get MINIMCOM to at least eliminate the ones he transported beyond the people you have already named. And that is a substantial number."

"You're right," Rei said brightening a bit. He looked toward the entrance to the catacombs. "I seriously doubt there is anything like that in there but let's do a quick check."

Slowly, carefully, they made their way through the catacombs. They found nothing but cots and blankets. The only unusual room was the one that Keller had set up as a temporary office where he made his plans to storm the Vuduri compound. Rei and Rome carefully inspected the room but the only things they found were some maps and charts spread over the crude desk. As they were getting ready to leave, across the room, a white bottle caught Rei's attention. He went over and retrieved it.

"What is that?" Rome asked.

Rei brought it over to her. "This is the bottle of pills that OMCOM gave me to fix the crew's backs, remember?"

"Oh, yes," Rome said.

Rei shook the bottle. It seemed too full. He screwed off the lid and held the bottle up so that MININCOM's shoulder lights illuminated the interior.

"I guess not everybody took one," he said.

"How do you know that?" Rome asked.

"Besides the two yellow pills that you and I took, OMCOM told me he made 600 doses. The bottle is almost half full. I guess some people refused."

"Does that mean anything?" Rome asked.

"Just that some of them were stupid," Rei answered. "I bet they wish they had them now."

He screwed the lid back on the bottle. He looked around the room one last time.

"There's nothing here," he said. "I didn't think we'd find anything but we had to look."

Rome snapped her fingers, mimicking her husband. "If a crew manifest exists, I know exactly where it would be," she said proudly.

"Where would that be?" Rei asked.

"Darwin Base."

Rei's eyes widened. You're right," he said. "Let's get going."

I feel like I am writing an episode of _24_ because just when you think you've run into a brick wall, a new clue appears. Let's see what Rome does with it.

## Entry 5-126: May 6, 2017

### Back to Darwin Base

The final battle in _The Ark Lords_ took place on the tarmac at Darwin Base which was hidden in the woods to the north. During that battle, you got a small taste of the facility but there were many buildings, mostly hangars, that we did not get a chance to explore. This was always something I wanted to do. Finally, in _Rome's Evolution_ , I got a chance to go back and see what the heck the Grays were up to:

It didn't take MINIMCOM long to travel the 100 kilometers to the west, well north of the giant crater lake, Lake Eprehem. They flew just a few hundred feet over the tree tops of the intervening dense cane-tree forest. Up ahead, Rei could see a large clearing followed by the grouping of Quonset huts huddled on the edge of the tarmac. There was a classic two-story tall old Earth-style control tower attached to the farthest building but it looked like one or two of the windows had broken out.

"Darwin Base," Rome said as they approached. "I don't know how they thought they were going to keep it a secret."

In addition to the buildings Rei had seen the first time he was here, he spotted another long low building set back in the cane-trees with a flat roof. The top of the roof was painted in the yellow/green splotched pattern of the cane-tree vegetation. Obviously, some sort of camouflage.

"They sure tried," he replied. "But clearly they didn't think about much beyond their mission," Rei added with some disgust. He pointed to the taxi portion of the landing area. "Set down anywhere," Rei directed to the grille mounted on MINIMCOM's front console.

An indicator lit up announcing that MINIMCOM's landing gear was fully extended. The starship rotated around so that the cockpit was facing away from the base. They felt the slightest of bumps as MINIMCOM settled on the ground. The former computer now space-plane lowered his cargo ramp, raised the hatch and Rei and Rome exited down the back.

Still parked along one of the buildings were a few of the huge transports they had brought from Earth in their Ark. The rest of the borrowed vehicles were gone. Rei surveyed the area and said, "What if we split up? I can go down to the far end and check the big hangar. You could start here and work your way toward me. Just holler if you find something."

"No," Rome said. "That is a bad plan."

"Why?" Rei asked.

"Because I am not totally familiar with your culture. I might encounter something important and not know what it is. I think we should stick together." She put her finger to her temple and MINIMCOM's livetar appeared. "However, we will start with the large hangar as you suggest and work our way back here."

Thank you, Rome! We finally get to go inside the buildings and see what all the secrecy was about. It won't shock you but you have to know.

## Entry 5-127: May 7, 2017

### The Secret Starships

Yesterday, Rome pronounced that they would search all of Darwin Base but they would do it together. Largely because Rei was still suffering from a concussion and a healing back but also because Rome did not trust her own instincts to recognize artifacts that were uniquely Essessoni. However, what they discovered in the first hangar would have been clear to anybody:

Rei reached his fingers in the tiny crack between the two hangar doors.

"Stop!" Rome shouted. "You must preserve your back." Rei muttered something and stepped back. Rome turned to the livetar. "Do you mind?" she asked.

"Not at all." MINIMCOM's livetar put both hands between the doors and was able to open them easily.

"I'm not too happy with you treating me like a weak old codger," Rei said.

"It's just until your back is healed," Rome said, coming over to him. "Then you can go back to being the big strong man in charge."

Rei laughed. "OK," he said and they entered the hangar together. The bright light of Deucado streamed in illuminating the front section. Rei looked around then went over and flipped on a light switch. Bright overheads glowed with a harsh fluorescent white light all the way to the back of the hangar.

"I guess we know what they did with the power rods," he said matter-of-factly.

In front of them were the skeletons of four airships in various stages of construction. The one closest to them was three-quarters complete. The one in the back to the far right was nothing but series of circular spars, like the remains of a space whale. They were all of similar design. They looked like a sleek cross between the long-retired space shuttle and a Vuduri space tug, like MINIMCOM before he became, well, whatever he was now.

"Starships," Rei said, whistling. "And really nice ones." He looked at Rome. He wasn't sure if he was proud or horrified. He decided righteous indignation was probably the best road to take. "They really were going to go back and conquer Earth some day."

Rome walked over and looked underneath one. "EG lifters," she huffed. "Where would they have gotten them?"

"You know the Vuduri," Rei said. "They don't care about material possessions. Keller's group probably just asked for them. The Vuduri wouldn't have even thought to question what they were going to do with them."

Good thing the would-be Ark Lords were discovered and deported. However, the one thing they were looking for, the crew manifest, is not there so they need to move on.

## Entry 5-128: May 8, 2017

### That's a computer!

A few days ago, when Rome and Rei arrived at Darwin Base, Rei had proposed that they split up and each search a hangar alone . Rome protested stating that "Because I am not totally familiar with your culture. I might encounter something important and not know what it is." Rei conceded and agreed to search together. Here you will see that Rome was completely correct in her original assessment of why they should stick together:

"You're right," Rome said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "It's clear that the Vuduri need to develop a sense of suspicion when it comes to dealing with the Essessoni."

"Hey," Rei said. "I'm Essessoni. It was just these jerks you have to worry about. And now they're gone. The rest of us are OK."

Rome said, "I don't think there is anything like we seek here. This building seems fully dedicated to the construction of these starships."

"You're right," Rei said. He pointed to the western wall. "There's a door that leads to the next building. Let's check it out."

With MINIMCOM leading the way, they entered a much smaller building. It was a well-stocked metallurgical lab with the converted particle beam drillers and smelters. There were racks and racks of raw metal planchets and shelving with assorted parts and electronic gear. There was one shelf piled high with what looked like silver ingots. There were a couple of gold bars, too. Rei thought to himself how his people would have to let go of some of their old habits. Of course, things like valuing material wealth would be hard to give up.

On the main floor, there were lathes and saws and drill presses. Pasted on the walls were charts and lists, some of them drooped over. From the lack of footprints, it was clear they were the first visitors since the Darwin group had been exiled.

Rei inspected the equipment and the storage racks. "This is where they were building and machining the parts, I guess for the spaceships next door," Rei offered finally. "Probably nothing here, either."

"I agree," Rome said. Let us try the next building."

The building they were in had no door on the far wall so they had to go out through the front door and enter the next building the same way. This building looked more like a research lab with tubing and vats and burners. There were canisters and barrels with raw materials. The door to this hut had been opened to the outside and the layer of dust and dirt was thicker than in the previous two buildings. There were two desks sitting side by side in the near corner. Rome went over to them and rifled through the papers and equipment lying there. She moved aside a translucent slab, standing upright within two black t-shaped clips. The slab had a thin white border.

"I don't see anything," she said.

"Uh, you know that is a computer in your hands," Rei said, pointing to the slab.

Bazinga! Rome was holding one of the Erklirte computers in her hand. Remember, they are trying to find the original crew manifest for the Ark II so finding a computer has got to be a good thing. Let's see what they do with it tomorrow.

## Entry 5-129: May 9, 2017

### QWERTY 1

Yesterday, Rome stumbled across an Essessoni quantum computer. These were very powerful computing devices, millions if not billions of times more powerful that we have today. However, humans are still humans so the form factor can only get so small. In fact, if you look at yesterday's post, you can see a picture of one. They look a lot like an iPad just infinitely more powerful. Here are the specs:

30 cm (11.8 inch) touch screen display with a resolution of 4096 x 3072 pixels

Optional laser-projection keyboard

1 PB of solid-state storage

Solid state stereo speakers

Rear and front facing 3D cameras

Gigafi (similar to Wi-fi) networking

Weight: .25 kg (8.8 ounces)

Thorium batteries, never needs recharging

Peripherals attach using inductive interface (no physical contacts)

Quad ZX20 quantum computational cores

Rome was a data archivist by training and knew her way around a keyboard or so she thought:

Rome asked. "Can you turn it on?"

"Sure," Rei said. He came over and brushed the chair off and sat down carefully. He moved the translucent slab front and center and blew on it a couple of times to remove most of the dust. He tapped the upper right hand corner twice and the display became opaque, lighting up with tiles and icons indicating the computer had just been in hibernation.

"Where is the input surface?" Rome asked.

"It's a touch-screen," Rei said. "But if you really need to do some typing..." He pressed the upper left hand corner and two thin laser beams shot out and stroboscopically drew a keyboard on the dust-covered surface of the desk.

Rome is about to discover one of the wonders of the 19th century. A keyboard that looks like it was designed by a mad man yet is _very_ effective if you type using more that your thumbs.

## Entry 5-130: May 10, 2017

### QWERTY 2

Yesterday, Rome was ready to access the Essessoni computer and desired keyboard input. Rei accommodated her by activating the laser-driven keyboard. It used dual lasers to sculpt out a virtual keyboard and used infra-red sensors to detect the positions of the fingers and therefore deduce what keys are being pressed. This seems like science fiction but you can actually purchase these devices on Amazon today.

"Let me look," Rome said. Rei stood up and Rome sat down in his place. She scratched her head. "The keyboard must have gotten damaged from disuse," she said in a dead serious tone.

"Why do you say that?" Rei asked.

"Look at the layout of the letters," Rome said, pointing at the glowing red virtual keys. "Q W E R T Y," Rome read out loud. "A nonsensical arrangement."

Rei laughed. "Everybody says that before they learn to touch type," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"They are arranged in the order of convenience."

Rome shook her head.

"In my language, E is the most commonly used letter followed by T and the rest of the vowels. The people who designed the keyboard made it so that you did the least amount of work during the course of the day reaching the keys you use the most."

Rome started to speak then breathed a loud sigh. She knew better than to continue even asking. She faced the screen and gently touched it with her fingers. Very quickly, she absorbed the basic principles behind the operating system and was able to navigate her way through the folder structure. It was very similar to that found on the original 19 data slabs she had been given which had caused the whole Darwin mess.

The computer itself was sparsely populated and contained nothing like the crew manifest they were looking for. It consisted mostly of engineering diagrams, inventory lists and so on. Finally, Rome gave up.

To figure out information from the Essessoni, you have to think like an Essessoni. Where would Rome get her hands on one of these? Why, he is standing right next to her!

## Entry 5-131: May 11, 2017

### The Reader Appears

Methodically, Rome and Rei were making their way through each of the hangars, uncovering what nefarious deeds the would-be new Ark Lords were up to. Yesterday, Rome came across an Essessoni super-computer and quickly mastered its operation. She searched through it fairly exhaustively but it is pretty clear that the crew manifest is going to be harder to find. However, she did find one thing that surprised her at first:

"I don't think this computer has anything of importance. Most of its contents are designs and layouts for the starships next door as well a guide for managing..."

Suddenly, she stopped speaking. Pressed against the back of the desk was an assembly that she recognized. Standing upright was a docking block with one of the jet-black Essessoni data slabs mounted within. Rome reached to the back and slid it forward. Her eyes widened.

"Look, Rei," Rome said excitedly, shaking the assembly. "Volume 20 – Mission Parameters. So this is where they kept it." She pointed to the dock. "Is this your data reader?" she asked.

Rei nodded. "That's it," he said. "But I remember Bonnie saying the reader was on the fritz."

"I remember that too," Rome replied. "Can we at least try it? Can you activate it or attach it to the computer?"

"Sure," Rei said. He snapped the docking block to the other side of the computer. As soon as he did so, a new icon, like a piston without a rod, appeared on the desktop.

"I guess it wasn't on the fritz, after all," Rome remarked. **"Imagine that. The Darwin people lying about something,"** she said sarcastically. She tapped the new icon and the cylinder opened up to show a folder and tree structure within. Rome tapped and swiped until she found what she was looking for.

"Look," she said. "Here is the orientation video, the _VIRUS 5_ video, the instructions on how to make more vaccine, specs for the canister we destroyed and so on. It's all here."

She spun in place and looked over the room. She pointed to the vats.

"They were preparing more vaccine," she said. "They really were moving up the schedule."

"By about a hundred years," Rei observed.

Rome furrowed her brow. A dark expression washed over her face. She shook her head and stood up.

"Well, they are done now but this computer does not have what we need. Let us continue."

"I agree," Rei said. He pointed to the blank wall in front of them. "Let's check the next building."

They left the bio-lab via the front door and waited while MINIMCOM opened the doors to the second to last building. Rome pushed past him and started to enter but MINIMCOM barked out, "Halt!"

Rome pulled up sharply. "What is it?" she asked.

Did you notice Rome's sense of humor, highlighted in bold, is becoming much more sophisticated? So what has MINIMCOM all riled up? We'll find out tomorrow.

## Entry 5-132: May 12, 2017

### MINIMCOM - CSI

Yesterday, Rome had learned how to access the Essessoni computer but to her disappointment, there was no crew manifest on it. Rei had showed her how to attached the slab reader which worked perfectly well even though Bonnie had said "it was on the fritz" - clearly not true. Rome, Rei and MINIMCOM had to walk around to the next hangar when MINIMCOM shouted "Stop!" and Rome wanted to know why.

"Allow me to illuminate the floor using ultraviolet." With that, MINIMCOM lifted his hands, palms outward. Rei didn't see anything but with Rome's u-cones, she certainly did.

"Footprints," she said, pointing to the floor. Rei shook his head indicating he could not see them.

"Two different pairs," MINIMCOM observed. "However, they are old. They are buried under most of the dust."

Rome surveyed the room. There were open air filing cabinets, white boards, peg boards made out of woven cane-tree bark and several desks. She determined that most of the activity by the parties unknown took place near the two desks pressed up against the side wall. She walked over to the first desk and found another computer frame propped upright. She doubled-tapped the upper-right hand corner of the frame and the computer awakened. She sat down and examined it closely, quickly moving her fingers about the screen. Finally, she turned in place.

"There's nothing on this one," she said. "It has no data, no documents, nothing."

Rei came over to where she was sitting and tried a different approach, using a sector editor to examine of the contents of the directory. "It's been wiped clean," he said, finally. "Whoever was here, everything has been erased."

"Can you retrieve anything?" she asked. "I was able to, I don't know the proper word in English, 'un-delete' things on our storage units. Do you have the same ability?"

"No," Rei said. "This thing uses a secure delete which scrambles the sectors when a document is removed. There'd be no way."

"What if you deleted something by accident?" Rome asked.

"You'd better hope it was backed up," Rei said, knowing that Rome would be disappointed.

Rome shook her head. She surveyed the desk, moving papers aside. There was nothing of any importance and certainly nothing that looked like a crew manifest. She was about to give up when she looked to the right. The desk had several drawers built in. She pulled on the top one and found it was locked tight.

"MINIMCOM, can you open this?" she asked.

MINIMCOM made a noise that sounded like a tsk and with a sharp tug, snapped the lock and drew the drawer open.

Rome pulled out the yellowing papers stored there, examining each one. Once again, she found nothing of much importance. She was nearly at the bottom of the drawer when she felt something solid. She pushed the remaining few papers aside and **found a slab that was similar to the black data slabs except this one was white.** She lifted it up and inspected it from all angles. It was much lighter in weight than the jet-black slabs and had no label on it.

One of the really fun parts of writing this novel was to include elements of modern detective fiction (novels, TV, movies) so I had to throw in a CSI moment.

Let's see. Two sets of footprints and two rogue members of the Darwin Project running around. The computer has been wiped clean? Can all of this be coincidence? Of course not. Also note that the "extra" slab that Rome found was white, not black. Hmmm. Could that mean it was read/write, not read-only? And why would that be important?

## Entry 5-133: May 13, 2017

### 111

Yesterday, MINIMCOM helped Rome discover where the Erklirte computer and papers were stored. However, none of the physical papers contained anything like the crew manifest that Rome sought. She did find a white slab that look just like the black data slabs Rome borrowed from Bonnie. In case it seems strange, the title of this post refers to the fact that Rome and Rei were looking for a list of 109 names and so the number 111 is unexpected:

"Why is this one white?" she asked Rei.

"If those computers are the ones we brought from Earth, they have a limited internal storage capacity. That might be some sort of external storage."

"A backup?" Rome asked excitedly.

"Probably."

"Where would they have gotten it?" Rome asked, holding the slab in the air.

"I would assume we either brought them or they made it here," Rei answered.

"Would your slab reader fit on this computer?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," Rei answered.

"MINIMCOM, would you fetch the data reader from the other computer, please?" Rome asked the all-black livetar.

"Of course." Rather than walk back to the previous hut, MINIMCOM popped out of the room then popped back in with the data reader in tow along with the once-missing 20th slab still mounted within. He handed the assembly to Rome who pulled out the black slab and snapped the white one in its place. When it was snug, she slid it along the desk until it attached to the computer.

As before, a new icon appeared on the virtual desktop. Rome activated the laser-drawn keyboard and used it to examine the folder structure. There was a multitude of directory trees which bespoke of population projections, base construction diagrams, a Captain's log, provisioning and a variety of other topics repeated over and over. There was a main folder labeled Ark II. She abandoned the keyboard and used the touch screen to drill down until she found documents labeled Candidates, D Crew List and Full Roster.

"D Crew List," Rome said. "D for Darwin." She quickly tapped on the document and opened it up.

"This is it!" she said to Rei excitedly. "Look!" She drew her finger down the screen, counting each name. When she got to the bottom, she hit the PgDn key on the virtual keyboard and counted the rest of the names. She tilted her head.

"I count 111 names," she said, confused. "Something is wrong."

Rei bent his knees so he could peer over her shoulder. "Go back to the top of the document," he said.

Rome complied.

"There," Rei said, "at the top, right after Keller. Those two names, Fayed and Alexander; they were the pilot and copilot for the Ark II."

"What does MIA mean?" Rome asked, pointing to the symbols by their names.

"Missing in Action," Rei answered. "Those two were in the command module when we hit the asteroid. They got knocked into space along with Captain Keller. We've never found their sarcophagi so, officially, they are still missing."

OK. Now we have a complete list of the members of the Darwin Projecxt. Besides the 80 some-odd crew members that MINIMCOM can supply, how can they whittle down the list to the missing two? And it isn't Fayed and Alexander. They are quite dead, I assure you.

## Entry 5-134: May 14, 2017

### The D List

Yesterday, Rome finally found the complete list of Darwin Project members. At first, she was surprised to discover 111 members but Rei cleared up that mystery because two of the names were the missing command crew. As I mentioned yesterday, they were _not_ the people who tried to kill Rei. I assure you they are long dead.

Given the complete list, now Rome and Rei must deal with the task of whittling down the numbers until they came up with the missing two people who are undoubtedly the would-be assassins:

"I see," Rome said. She scrolled down slowly. "Stanton, Pierre and Wright. Those are the three dead people we found back at the cave. Their names are marked with KIA. What does that mean?"

"Killed in Action," Rei replied.

"Then this is our list," Rome said. "It is complete and reflects the state of things after they arrived on this world." She whirled in place and looked up at the tall black livetar standing off to the side. "MINIMCOM, I would like you to take a snapshot of this list, please."

"Of course," MINIMCOM replied, stepping forward. "However, I think our OMCOM clone would be better suited to store the data and collate the rest of the evidence we collect. After all, that is his specialization."

"That's an excellent idea," Rome said. "Can you fetch his livetar?"

"It would be my pleasure," MINIMCOM replied.

With a whoosh and a pop, OMCOM's two-meter tall, all-white livetar appeared beside them. The shell was the manifestation of their OMCOM clone which was buried 700 meters below Rome's library.

"How can I assist you?" the livetar asked.

"OMCOM," she said pointing, "on this slab is a crew manifest of the original occupants of Rei's Ark as well as a complete crew roster for the Darwin people. 111 in total. We know that three are dead. Two are missing out in space somewhere. Of the remaining 106 alive, 104 were transported to Helome. That means two were left behind but we don't know which two. With MINIMCOM's help, we should be able to identify more than half of those transported. But it is imperative that we narrow the list all the way down to the missing two. We believe they are the people who bombed our house and tried to kill Rei."

"Are they also the people that stole the two items from the library? The handgun and the invisibility cloak?" OMCOM asked.

"What would make you think that?" Rei interjected.

"As you are so fond of saying, 'there ain't no such thing as a coincidence'. What could be better for sneaking a bomb into someone's house, unnoticed, than an invisibility cloak?"

Rei looked at Rome. "He's right," Rei said. "I haven't had time to think about it but it makes perfect sense." Rei turned back to OMCOM. "Do you have any surveillance video or audio that might help us identify the thieves?"

We're all familiar with A-list celebrities and if someone is called a B-lister, it has a certain negative connotation. So saying someone is on the D-list would certain be a demotion. I decided to flip that upside down and make the D List the only thing Rome and Rei care about. My own personal joke. But they still have a tall task in front of them.

## Entry 5-135: May 15, 2017

### Duh

Yesterday, Rome summoned the library OMCOM's livetar to help them begin the process of data accumulation and analysis. It was the all-white livetar who connected the theft of the Deucadon invisibility cloak with the attempt on Rei's life. Of course, as the author, I happen to know he is dead on. So let's see if he can help them even further:

"My workstations are continuously active, which means they were active during the time of the intrusion. However, I was under no instructions to analyze the recordings. I will set to work on that. With some interpolation and extrapolation, I might be able to get you some practical information to aid in your search."

"That is excellent," Rome said. "Please begin right away." She was about to pull the data slab out of the holder then she stopped. She closed the text file she had opened and returned to the one labeled Candidates. She opened up the document and found it was another list, this one consisting of four names. Two she had never heard of: Andrea Grenmuller and Paul Chung. The third name was Wally Stanislaw who she knew. But it was the fourth name that shocked her. It was Rei Bierak. Rome tapped on the link for Rei's name. A balloon opened up with notations. As she read its contents, her eyes grew wider and wider.

"Oh, Rei," Rome cried out, sounding terribly depressed.

"What?" Rei asked staring at the screen. He saw his name listed. He read the notations out loud.

"Bierak, Rei – Engineer, Unranked. Has shown incredible resourcefulness beyond his test scores. Would make a great asset to the Project but has a strong moral streak that would interfere. He has married one of the Vook women and had a child by her. Best plan: have the wife and the child killed and frame the Vooks. His anger and indignation might be enough to swing him over to our side."

"Even then..." Rome whispered. "So devious. They truly were monsters." She turned in place and looked up into Rei's eyes. "Sometimes I have wondered if we did the right thing banishing them to Helome but after reading this..." She just shook her head.

Rei put his hand on her shoulder. "You can see why we have to stop them. Because they won't. No, we did the right thing," he said.

Rome lowered her head and placed it in her hands. She took a long time to compose herself. Finally, she sighed and stood up. She pulled the white slab from the reader and handed it to OMCOM.

"This is the place to start," she said. "After you have recreated the list of names, we will begin the process of elimination and hope that we can figure out who are the culprits. We are depending upon MINIMCOM's recordings and you and your skills."

"While I am honored by your confidence in my abilities, the fact is, you do not need me or MINIMCOM for that," OMCOM said. "The solution is trivial."

"It is?" Rome asked. "What? How?"

The livetar pointed to the sky. "Go to Helome and take roll. The two that are not present are the two you are seeking."

Rei just hung his head. "Duh," he said under his breath.

Well, sounds like a plan to me. I wonder why they didn't think of it sooner?

## Entry 5-136: May 16, 2017

### Neuralink and the Vuduri 1

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the last few years, you have probably heard about Elon Musk. He is the closest thing we have to Tony Stark in real life. He is a billionaire scientist working on extremely advanced concepts. However, his one goal throughout all of his ventures is actually very simple. He is trying to ensure the survival of the human race. So how is he doing this?

Through Musk's SpaceX venture, he is trying to get humans to Mars making us a multi-planetary species. This has the effect of not putting all our genetic eggs in one cosmic basket. If an asteroid were to come and wipe out the Earth and there were people living on Mars, mankind would continue.

Musk's Tesla Motors and SolarCity ventures are designed to eliminate greenhouse gasses by using the greatest single source of energy, the Sun, and harnessing it to run our cars and our homes and eventually our civilization. This will reduce and ultimately eliminate climate change and prevent the looming global warming disaster that every one knows is lying ahead.

I am skipping over Musk's foray into the Hyperloop business because this technology is not designed to save mankind. It is simply designed to make travel and transportation less of a hassle. He has actually started a new company called The Boring Company to create tunnels and demonstrate the feasibility of the Hyperloop concept.

The reason for this article is Musk's latest venture which is one you may not have heard of. It is called Neuralnk. This company is forging ahead, trying to develop technology whereby they can insert a whole brain-machine interface (BMI) and hook your entire brain into the internet. Using electrodes.

Now I know that is something that immediately turns you off. I know I rejected it as silly and something I would never engage in. But if you read Tim Urban's excellent treatise on Neuralink, you will begin to understand how Neuralink may be critical to the survival of mankind. Tim's web site, WaitBuyWhy.com is most excellent and while the articles tend to be somewhat dense, they make for fascinating reading. Tim is an excellent writer and does a thorough job researching all of his topics before he writes about them.

Enough plugs. I want to describe some of the features and flaws with the Neuralink concept and compare it to my 35th century world of the Vuduri which first started in _Rome's Revolution_ and continued in _The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution_. Tomorrow, I will do the old "compare and contrast" between the goals and implementation of Neuralink versus what the 24th chromosome imparted to the 35th century Vuduri.

## Entry 5-137: May 17, 2017

### Neuralink and the Vuduri 2

Yesterday, I introduced you to Elon Musk's latest venture, a company called Neuralink whose stated goal is to hook _your_ brain and my brain into the internet so that we can communicate with computers directly. Here is their mission statement:

Neuralink is developing ultra high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers.

Anyone who has read my _Rome's Revolution_ novels will be familiar with this concept immediately. The 24-chromosome mind-connected Vuduri are exactly the end product that Musk envisions.

However, my novels are science fiction and Musk is dealing with scientific fact. In order for Neuralink to succeed, they need an ultra-high bandwidth mesh of receivers and transmitters to be scattered over the entire brain. I solved that problem neatly by not using electrodes but by using PPT transceivers built right into each neuron using organo-metallic elements. So I solved the bandwidth problem genetically.

The driving force behind Neuralink is to get "into" the computer before it gets into us. Musk is convinced that once computers reach sentience, they will zoom past us and become artificial super-intelligence before we know what hits us. You need to read Tim Urban's excellent treatise on his web site called WaitButWhy.com to get a firm understanding as to why this is an absolute necessity. Many scientists and deep thinkers including Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates think that ASI represents the greatest threat to the survival of mankind we will ever experience. Tim Urban uses the phrase "existential threat" meaning ASI threatens our very existence. And it is going to happen and sooner than you think. Musk wants to get there first.

In my novels, the Vuduri have already grown past this. They, too, experienced this threat when they created MASAL but before MASAL could take over the world, the Overmind sprung up. MASAL had not considered this possibility. So he tried to merge with the Overmind, kind of the reverse of Musk's plan, only to be rebuffed. But it didn't matter. MASAL's long-term plan was exactly as Musk predicted, MASAL would eventually turn humans into living robots to serve his needs.

Other elements of this program might be to give people artificial sight by plugging into their auditory cortex. I had already done this, again genetically, by rewiring Rei's brain so that his auditory cortex fed into his visual cortex (when his eyes were shut) so that he could "see" sound, a kind of sonar-vision.

Personally, I don't think that Neuralink will succeed and I don't think humans will allow this neural mesh to be inserted into their brains but what do I know? Maybe Mr. Musk will stumble across my novels and see that building the network into the brain genetically is the way to go. Perhaps in this way, Rome and Rei and OMCOM and MINIMCOM will have traveled from the 35th century to our time and save us all before the machines wipe us out.

## Entry 5-138: May 18, 2017

### The Aason Problem Again

As I have mentioned previously, I love little Aason but from a narrative perspective he often gets in the way. You can't have a blazing gun battle or stalk dangerous killers with a 4-year-old in tow. So I had to send him away to Earth, ostensibly for his own safety but it turned out to be an important plot point later on. Nonetheless, Rome and Rei are loving parents and I simply couldn't let Aason always being shipped off and not have them notice. So I paid lip service to parenthood in this little section:

The mesmerizing blacker-than-black of null-fold space made it hard for Rei to not stare out the front cockpit. Rome never seemed to have a problem with it. Maybe it was her obsession with studying the virtual instruments. Maybe it was just the way her Vuduri brain was wired. Rei, on the other hand, could barely take it. Every time he glanced up, the non-existence of null-space seem to draw him in again. Rei found it almost impossible to pull his eyes away.

Luckily, with MINIMCOM's incredible speed, now 30% greater than what it was two years ago; it was only a six-hour trip from Tau Ceti to the Alpha Centauri system. Determined to not stare again until they got there, with yet another heroic effort, Rei tore his eyes from the front and closed them. "I'm getting a real déjà vu feeling," he said.

"What do you mean?" Rome asked, never lifting her eyes from the instrumentation.

"Last time we did this, didn't I tell you I thought we'd been neglecting Aason."

"Yes, I recall that," Rome said, looking up. "What's your point?"

"Well, here we are again, leaving him behind. In fact, we sent him away. Doesn't that make us bad parents?"

"Rei," Rome said sternly. "You know we sent him away for his own good. What kind of parents would we be if we did not?"

"I guess you're right," Rei said. He turned his head toward the front but refused to open his eyes. "I have been curious how Virga and the rest of them dealt with our, uh, present," Rei said. "And I did promise you we'd go back some day to check things out. Funny how things work out some time, huh?"

"Yes," Rome said in low voice. Her tone made Rei open his eyes again. He turned to look at her. She lowered her head so that she looked at him through the tops of her eyes. "However, I would like you to promise me that you will not be getting into bed with her naked this time."

Rei laughed a bit nervously. "Of course not," he said, seeing that Rome was serious. "I explained all that to you. It wasn't my first choice. I just didn't want them to hurt you. Or me, for that matter."

"Very well," Rome said. She looked back down at the virtual instruments. "We are nearly there, MINIMCOM," she said. "Will you be dropping out of null-space shortly?"

"One minute, thirty five seconds," the starship replied through the grille. "I do know what I am doing, you know."

"I never doubted it," Rome said, smiling. She looked over at Rei and winked.

OK. Now we have that out of the way. We can go on to Helome without shaming Rome and Rei for being neglectful parents.

## Entry 5-139: May 19, 2017

### Just Land Anywhere

Yesterday, Rome and Rei had made their peace with leaving young Aason behind with Rome's parents. They were nearly at Helome when Rome warned Rei not to hop into bed with Virga again, naked. Rei took it in stride. But now the business was at hand for winnowing down the list of 111 candidates and account for the 109 leaving the two would-be assassins.

Interestingly, both Rome and Rei were glad for an opportunity to see Virga again. Rome because she appreciated the gift Virga bestowed upon her. Rei because he wanted to see how his gift to Virga, the Darwin members, was working out. Without telling Rome, he felt he should be on his guard:

The darker-than-dark black of null-fold space disappeared and was replaced by the sparkling star-field surrounding the main star. Aleph was dead ahead and very bright as they were only 120 million miles away. Its beautiful golden color hid the dim stars behind it. Directly in front of them was the gleaming blue world of Helome.

"They are aware of our presence," MINIMCOM said. "However, there is no offer of handshake, just some coordinates. Is that where you want me to land?"

"Absolutely," Rome said. "We have nothing to fear. Proceed."

"Very well."

MINIMCOM's plasma thrusters roared to life, pushing Rei and Rome back in their seats. Rei felt the electrostatic push of his specially designed shirt give way slightly. It was as if his chest thinned. Meanwhile, the blue-white marble in front of them, flecked with puffy white clouds, quickly grew into a planet-sized sphere.

They entered a west-to-east orbit and MINIMCOM implemented the swooping and arcing of the Bessel function used to aero-brake their way into the atmosphere. They circled around the planet coming up on the same squarish-shaped continent they had landed on the last time they were here. Most of the vegetation was a deep shade of teal with sporadic patches of emerald green. To the south was a splash of colors that defied a singular description. Regardless of its color, the growth was lush and dense over the entire landscape. The only exception was the circles-within-circles shape of the Vuduri capital city. Farther to the south, the vegetation had thinned but there was no distinct pattern to the clearing.

"There's the twin towers," Rei said, pointing forward.

"The coordinates they gave us are farther to the south," MINIMCOM countered.

"This is fine," Rome said. "Just land where they are requesting."

MINIMCOM looped past the city to the south about 50 kilometers. There, he found a small spaceport, sparsely populated with aircraft and very few spacecraft. MINIMCOM extended his landing gear and settled onto the hardened surface in front of a few low buildings. Behind them was an entire other row of buildings two stories tall. This landing strip seemed to be devoted to the complex rather than a general purpose spaceport.

At this point, pretty much everyone understood MINIMCOM's true nature and Rome and Rei liked it that way. To Rei this meant that they would more likely be safe than not. Let's see what happens...

## Entry 5-140: May 20, 2017

### A Safe Ramp?

Yesterday, MINIMCOM had received a signal from the Vuduri of Helome to land but not where Rome and Rei expected. Everyone knew that MINIMCOM was capable of making his own decisions so that did not come into play. This was something different.

Nonetheless, rather than try and out think the Vuduri, Rome and Rei decided to go along with the plan. Rei was naturally leery of landing anywhere especially since walking up or down the ramp always ended up with somebody pointing weapons at them. But in this case, did he have a choice? His own life and that of Rome's and Aason's was already in danger:

Rei peeked out the cockpit and saw two people headed toward the rear of the ship. He stood up and held out his hand to Rome. Rome unbuckled and stood up, taking Rei's hand. She started toward the rear but Rei did not move.

"What?" she asked.

"Uh, ramps? Guns? Should we do something?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you realize that every single time we've ever gone anywhere and walked up or down a ramp, the people at the bottom or top are always armed and gunning for us?"

"You're being silly," Rome said, tugging on his hand. "We're in no such danger here. Let's go meet them."

Rei took a deep breath and followed her back along the corridor, past the cargo compartment and pressed the blue stud to lower the cargo ramp.

The beautiful, golden light of Aleph streamed in. Rei held his arm up to shield his eyes, blinking rapidly at the bright star. Since he had been forced to leave his sunglasses back on Earth before they launched, it never occurred to Rei to get a new pair. Rome wouldn't care. With her inner iris, she never had trouble with the sun. He decided someday soon, he would get MINIMCOM to rectify that: he'd get a replacement pair of sunglasses. At least Rome was patient enough to wait until his eyes adjusted. He and Rome descended the ramp together and were met by the two people, a man and a woman, at the bottom.

"Hello," Rome said. "Do you know who we are?"

"Of course," answered the man in a hoarse voice. "You are Rei and Rome, the people who saved our race."

Rome smiled slightly. "Do you know where Virga is? We would like to talk to her."

"We will take you to see her," the man said. He turned and pointed to one of the heavy-duty flying carts used on Helome. "Please come with me."

Rei and Rome followed the two white jump-suited Vuduri to the flying cart. The woman took her place behind the wheel. The man sat in the front next to her. Rei and Rome clambered aboard and sat in the back seat.

With an easy motion, the cart lifted into the air and head toward the south.

"No," Rome said. "Should we not be headed north?"

The man turned in his seat. "You requested an audience with Virga. She now lives in the southern territory along with the Essessoni."

What?! She lives with the Essessoni? That means she is living with the members of the Darwin Project that Rei had banished to the planet. There is something odd going on. Let's see what it is...

## Entry 5-141: May 21, 2017

### Hello, Virga

Yesterday, Rome and Rei hopped aboard a heavy-duty flying cart driven by a Vuduri woman and man who claimed they were taking our heroes to see Virga. This did not jive with what Rome had assumed but right now they were literally willing to go along for the ride. Let's see where they end up:

Rei did not enjoy the ride as much as Rome did. He kept glancing upward, searching for any signs of bat-wolves, even though he had been assured the last time he was here that they only came out at night.

They traveled along a barely paved road through thicker and thinner stands of the tree-analogs with the multi-colored trunks. Rei called them Crayola trees. Rome liked to squint her eyes so the colors blended forming a wavy rainbow.

At last they came upon a clearing, surrounded by a tall fence. The driver came to a halt and waited until the mechanical gate opened. Once it was fully open, she drove through. The man turned around to make sure the gate closed behind them. In the meantime, the driver flew the cart over a better-paved set of roads until they came to a village that reminded Rei of some of the more rustic places on Earth. The only difference was the dwellings were constructed out of Vuduri aerogel. In some places, the usual white of the aerogel had been stained with a brick color, not unlike the trick he used to make Rome's library appear more academic.

At last, they pulled up in front of a two-story house. The whole block consisted of detached dwellings which in itself was a departure from the usual rowhouse appearance of Vuduri housing. The man turned to them and said, "This is Virga's house. She is expecting you."

Rome waited but neither of their two Vuduri escorts made any move like they were getting out. Shrugging, Rome slid over and hopped out of the cart, followed by Rei. They walked up the front path and the door opened. Out came Virga to greet them. Her blonde hair sparkled in the golden rays of Aleph. It was still curly but was a little longer. If anything, she looked more beautiful than the last time they saw her. And also, she was very pregnant.

"Rome," she said, leaning forward and hugging Rome. Rome accepted the embrace as surprising as it was. Most Vuduri would never think to initiate physical contact but then the Vuduri of Helome always were a little different.

Virga released Rome and stepped to her left to hug Rei. She pressed her head gently against his chest. Rei was about to say something but Virga released him before she fell through his miniature PPT tunnel.

Wow. Things really have changed. And it looks like for the better. But wait until you see who is inside the house. And who got Virga pregnant.

## Entry 5-142: May 22, 2017

### Beer Sucks (says Rome) 1

Yesterday, Rome and Rei were greeted by Virga outside of her home well to the south of the Helome equivalent of I-cimaci. Virga was also quite pregnant. This was visible proof to Rei that his jury-rigged eugenics plan to save the Vuduri was working. But this raises the obvious question. If Virga is pregnant, who is the father? Hold on to your hat:

"How have you two fared?" Virga asked.

"We are well," Rome answered. "And I see you are doing well, also," she said, pointing at Virga's extended abdomen.

"My second," Virga said proudly. "My first was a beautiful, perfect little mosdurece boy. Not a trace of Onsira blood." She turned to Rei. "And we have you to thank for it."

Rei started to speak when a gruff voice emitted from the front door.

"Bierak!" came Captain Keller's voice. "How the hell are you?"

Rei was dumbfounded. "Captain Keller?" he asked incredulously.

"Just Maury, now," said the man striding up them. He looked ten years younger. "No more of that stuff for me on this world."

He put his arm over Virga's shoulder. "Why don't we invite these people in and find out why they're here?"

Virga nodded. She stood on her toes and kissed Keller on the cheek. Rei was dumbstruck. He looked at Rome whose eyes, if anything, were wider than his own. Shaking off their shock, they turned and allowed Keller and Virga to lead the way and the four of them retired inside.

The living quarters were an amalgam of a typical spartan Vuduri apartment, complete with workstation, sofa and table along with some Earth-style accoutrements including some photographs hung on the walls. Several of the chairs were clearly hand-carved, but exquisitely so, including one ornate rocking chair.

Virga left the room while Rei and Rome took seats on the sofa. Keller sat down in the rocker. Virga returned with a small tray and several squeeze-bulbs, some clear, some with a translucent brown liquid.

"We have water and beer," Virga said.

"Beer!?" Rei barked. "How? Where?"

Beer, on Helome? How could that be? Where did Keller get the ingredients? The answer ties back to a short story I wrote in _The Vuduri Companion_ but if you wait until tomorrow, I'll give you the answer.

## Entry 5-143: May 23, 2017

### Beer Sucks (says Rome) 2

Yesterday, Rome and Rei were greeted by Virga and Captain Keller outside of their home well to the south of the Helome equivalent of I-cimaci. Keller and Virga invited them into their home and Virga brought out some water and beer. Rei was shocked at this. Where did Keller get the beer? The answer:

"We have water and beer," Virga said.

"Beer!?" Rei barked. "How? Where?"

Keller laughed. **"We found some feral fields of barley and hops way up north** on the site of the original settlement. Virga's people were kind enough to let us experiment a little." Keller leaned forward and grabbed one of the brown squeezebulbs. He lifted it up. "Try it and tell me what you think."

Rei snorted a laugh and reached down and grabbed one for himself. He took a healthy slug and said, "this is great!" He turned and offered it to Rome. "Do you want to try it?" he asked.

"I suppose," Rome said, suspiciously. She took a little sip, scrunched up her face and said, "This is horrid! How you can drink this?"

Rei laughed. "It's an acquired taste," he said.

"I will stick with water," Rome said and Virga handed her a clear squeeze-bulb.

You will recall that some 1200 years earlier, Silas Hiram from the Ark I had planted barley and hops to make beer. This was before the Piranha Rats came. You can read his story in _The Vuduri Companion_.

With regard to the rest, if you ask me, Rome is wrong. But I do agree with Rei that beer is an acquired taste. I hated beer until one summer at the University of Michigan, I was outside and it was blazing hot and the only thing to drink was ice cold Genesee Cream Ale. It was right then and there that I had a revelation that beer could be delicious. Hey, Rome, give it another chance some day.

## Entry 5-144: May 24, 2017

### The Bethesda Bomb 1

Yesterday, Rome and Rei had been invited into Captain Keller and Virga's home for a little sit-down. Keller even offered them some beer (Rome hated it) which was a shout-out to Silas Hiram, an Ag Professor from Ark I. You can read his story in _The Vuduri Companion_ in the story called _Before The Piranha Rats Came_. But now it was time for a little chit-chat. Even though it was six years later, there was always one comment that bothered me from way back when, when I published the original novel _Rome's Revolution_ , a reviewer name Sixiron said:

As the story unfolds, problems of logic start appearing though. A good example would be, <spoiler> it's not logical for a starship captain to wake from a 1400 year slumber, be told by a crewman that there are major issues about missing their destination, sleeping 1200 years too long, and everyone here wants to kill them, and to this the captain replies, "I don't have time for this", and starts breaking out the nukes to go to war within 24hrs of waking.</spoiler>

I never really had a chance to address this in the original novel because there was so much going on. But in _Rome's Evolution_ , I finally had a chance to explain to all of you readers why Captain Keller acted so crazed right from the beginning. Here, in his own words, was his motivation:

"Captain Keller..." Rei started out but stopped when Keller held his hand up.

Keller took a good long draft of beer then set his squeezebulb down. "Before you say anything, there's something I need to tell you. I'm not the man you knew."

"You aren't?" Rei asked. "Ok, uh, go ahead."

"Do you remember when the Bethesda bomb went off?"

"Of course," Rei said. "How could anybody forget?"

"I was stationed in Turkey at the time, fighting god-knows-who. Well, Bethesda, that was my home. My wife and two daughters lived there. They were incinerated, along with my parents and pretty much everybody that I ever cared about."

I kind of lifted this description from an episode of _24_ but it doesn't seem that far-fetched that this will happen at some point in the future. The horror must have been unimaginable. But what affect did it have on Keller's psyche? I'll explain tomorrow.

## Entry 5-145: May 25, 2017

### The Bethesda Bomb 2

Yesterday, I explained my motivation for inserting this next little section in the book _Rome's Evolution_. One of my reviewers had stated that it was too far-fetched for Captain Keller to have come to a new planet and with 24 hours of being awakened, he was ready to go to war. Well, here is a little look into Keller's mindset at that time. Understand that while it was 14 centuries in the future, from Keller's perspective, it had only been a few days:

Keller sighed. "I was so angry, so blind with rage; I just wanted to kill everybody and everything that had even the remote chance of being related." He shook his head. "There was no way to grieve," he said. "The area was quarantined and off-limits for a hundred years. I wasn't allowed back. My bitterness made me an easy recruit for Darwin. I believed in what they wanted with all my heart and soul. I just wanted everyone who wasn't us to die. When I got to the stars, and there were already people there, I wanted them gone too. I held all of them responsible."

Keller leaned forward. "But you and your wife, you saved me. You showed me there was no point to it. It could never succeed. In fact, Rome, it was your final words to me before you shipped us off to this planet that rattled around in my brain and finally planted the seed."

"What did I say?" Rome asked, confused.

"You told me that Project Darwin was a success. You said that while it was survival of the fittest, it just wasn't the group I imagined."

He looked up and held out his hand. Virga came over and took it and sat down on the arm of the chair. "It wasn't until I got here and met these beautiful, beautiful people..."

Virga blushed slightly.

"...that I realized you were right. The Vuduri really are our children. They are the descendents of the survivors of the Great Dying. Our people really do live on in their souls. Once I understood that, I gave up the fight and decided to live. Virga, here, took me in. And I couldn't be happier. I have a beautiful little boy now and another one on the way." He patted Virga's tummy.

He leaned forward. "I let go."

Every one of my stories is about redemption, _Rome's Evolution_ is no exception. Captain Keller was able to get over his grief and his anger and come to grips with reality. He finally became a normal person and even found a measure of happiness in that normalcy.

## Entry 5-146: May 26, 2017

### Darwinian Redemption

Yesterday, Captain Keller finally came clean about his motivation for joining the Darwin Project in the beginning. And he explained his reasoning for abandoning that loyalty. He was completely sincere and his Vuduri family and partner, Virga, was living proof of this. So Captain Keller's new life truly represented the end of the Darwin Project. The would-be assassins on Deucado could not have known this. Their motivation was the principles of an organization that was not dead.

But what of the other members of Darwin, those on Helome? Rome wanted to know:

Keller leaned forward. "I let go."

Rei was speechless. He reached over and took Rome's hand. Finally, he found his voice. "Do all of you feel this way?" he asked.

"Most," Keller said. "But just in case..." He held up his wrist. There was a Vuduri tracking bracelet attached. "I told them not to trust us completely. This is just in case one of our group decides to try something stupid."

Virga stroked his cheek with her hand. "It is not too oppressive, is it, Maury?"

"Hell no," Maury laughed. "I kind of like the idea of being a kept man. It's for all our protection." He looked around for his little boy but did not see him. "The next generation, they'll be free to come and go. It'll be fine."

"So what it is you do around here?" Rei asked.

"I have my woodworking shop. Most of us have found gainful employment. We're building a new world. This one. It's enough."

Rome scooted forward a bit. "You said most of your people are this way. But not all?"

"No," Keller said. "There are some left who still harbor a deep resentment. But they are very few. We keep them off to themselves. Not exactly a prison. Call it a compound. The Vuduri have to make sure they don't get loose." He became silent and stared at Rei and Rome for a bit. "So what brings you folks here, anyway?"

Rome leaned forward. "Somebody tried to kill Rei with a bomb. We believe it is one of your remaining people who are still back on Deucado."

Keller sat back in his chair and frowned. He covered his eyes with his hand and drew it downward then he sighed. "I suppose it's possible," he said. "There's no way they could know what's going on here. I suppose they're still keeping up the fight."

Rei stood up and reached into his pocket. He drew out two sheets of paper and held them out for Keller.

"What's this?" Keller asked, taking the papers.

"It's the crew roster for the Darwin Project. I need to know which of these people never made it to Helome. They are the ones we're looking for."

Keller nodded and looked over the list. He flipped from one page to the other than back again.

It certainly seems like Captain Keller will provide them with the information they need. Could it be that simple?

## Entry 5-147: May 27, 2017

### Bonnie and Steele

Yesterday, Captain Keller agreed to look over the roster for Darwin Project members and help Rome and Rei identify which cult participants escaped the dragnet. Identifying the two missing people was critical in our heroes nailing down the identity of the would-be assassins still running around loose back on Deucado. Rei had just handed Captain Keller hard-copy, a two-page list of people they identified as members of the Darwin Project. This was Captain Keller's response:

"I know one of them," he said, finally. "Dan Steele. He's got to be back on Deucado. He never got caught. He'd definitely be up to the job. I mean, he's a natural born killer. He wouldn't know how to do much else."

"And the other?" Rome asked desperately. "Do you know?"

Keller flipped through the sheets again. "No," he said finally. "There are over a hundred of us here. I don't know every one of them."

"Is there anyone who does?" Rome posed forcefully. "Is there someone who could tell us who is the other missing person?"

"Let me think," Keller replied. He nodded his head. "Yeah, there's one," he said. "Bonnie Mullen. She knows every one of us here. She compiled the original list for Virga when we first arrived. She can tell you."

"Bonnie," Rei whispered. He looked up at Virga. "Can you take us to her?"

"Of course," Virga replied, rising up. She looked down at Keller. "You'll wait here?"

"Sure," said Keller. "My varnish is dry by now. I'm ready to do the next coat."

Virga nodded. "Very well. Rei, Rome, I will take you to see her but we should probably take your starship."

"Why?" Rome asked.

"She is one of the very few Essessoni we have allowed to roam outside of the territory. She is currently situated rather far inland." Virga put her hand up to her temple and after a moment, nodded. "Gemen, her companion, says she will receive you."

"Gemen, not Edgar?" Rei asked.

"No. Her former husband is one of the detainees who will not renounce their violent ways. He and Bonnie are no longer together."

"Huh," Rei observed. He stood up as did Rome. Keller joined them. He held out his hand.

"Bierak, you've always been a mystery to me but I've come to truly respect you and your wife. I hope you find out who it is and stop them. I mean that. You and your little lady deserve nothing less. You're both heroes to all mankind. Vuduri and mandasurte alike."

Rei shook his hand. "Thank you, sir," Rei said. "That means a lot to me."

"Virga will take care of you. She's really good at what she does."

Virga smiled. She kissed Keller on the cheek and then led the way out.

So Bonnie is back. You didn't think I'd leave her banished to Helome and not take the opportunity to see what became of her? Not a chance. We'll see what Bonnie is up to. And know that because this book is all about redemption, she will get her opportunity as well. And yes, don't ignore the subtlety. Bonnie and her "companion" Gemen are lovers even though the Vuduri would deny such a term even exists.

## Entry 5-148: May 28, 2017

### Solving a genetic mystery 1

Yesterday, Virga agreed to accompany Rome and Rei to the interior of the continent to seek counsel with Bonnie Mullen. You will remember Bonnie from _The Ark Lords_. She tried, very poorly, to seduce Rei because she was tired of her assigned husband, Edgar.

Virga, the leader of the Vuduri on Helome led Rome and Rei to a waiting flying cart and they headed back the way they came toward the north, passing through the fence and on to the open road.

Along the way, Rei, who was sitting in the front seat with Virga, asked, "Where is this place we're going?"

Virga answered but kept her eyes straight-forward. "I suppose you could call it a farm or perhaps ranch," she said. "It was the place where we took the children who were born Onsira to be raised."

"You segregated them?" Rome asked from the back seat.

"Yes," Virga said. "We could not bring ourselves to eradicate them but we feared having them grow up alongside us. This was the compromise the Overmind decided upon. It was our hope that our new breeding program would eliminate the need for such measures in the future."

"From what I can tell, the Onsiras are just worm-brains," Rei said. "Without MASAL, they're lost. Or at least irrelevant. Still, it's your plan. From what you've seen so far, would you call the breeding program a success to this point?" Rei asked. "I did as you requested. I sent you the most primitive Essessoni I could find."

"Yes, you did," Virga said with a strange tone. They arrived at the small landing field where MINIMCOM was still parked on the taxiway. Virga pulled the cart out around back, past the low lying buildings next to the runway and down a narrow road to the tallest building in the cluster. She pulled up in front of the main door then she turned to Rei. "To the degree we originally imagined, it was a success. More than you realize. The very salvation of all Vuduri, even pure-bred, may lie there."

"What do you mean?" Rei asked. "I thought the plan was to produce mosdureces."

"It was but now we think there may be something better," Virga said mysteriously. "That is a science hall," Virga announced, pointing to the building on their right. "Would you find it a burden if we stopped in here for just a moment? I will present to you a rather perplexing mystery and it is possible that you may be able to help us clear it up."

Rei looked at Rome who shrugged. "OK," Rei said. "As long as it doesn't take too much time."

"It will not," Virga replied.

A mystery, huh? Rome and Rei's genetic adventures are about to be revealed. But this is OK. You'll see.

## Entry 5-149: May 29, 2017

### Solving a genetic mystery 2

Yesterday, Virga, the leader of the Vuduri on Helome was on her way to take Rome and Rei to see Bonnie Mullen when she stopped at a science lab. She asked Rome and Rei if they might be able to help her clear up a mystery. Our heroes agreed as long as it did not take too much time:

Virga led them through the front entrance and up one flight of stairs until they came to a large room, set up somewhat like a classroom but with a variety of scientific equipment along the far wall. There was a long table in the front. Virga indicated the seats on the near side. Rei and Rome sat down. Virga closed her eyes and a projector, hidden in the ceiling, lit up the front wall and displayed a map of the human genome. Rei quickly counted 22 pairs of chromosomes plus one X and one Y chromosome; 23 chromosome pairs in all.

"This is the chromosomal layout of a normal 23-chromosome male mandasurte," Virga said. She blinked and all but the X and Y chromosomes disappeared. They nestled themselves in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Below them, a second partial map appeared. This one had two X chromosomes plus two additional pairs of chromosomes to the right of the double Xs.

"This is a normal, full-blooded, Vuduri female with 24 pairs of chromosomes. In fact, this is me." She turned to face Rome. "As you are aware, the 24th chromosome does not split during meiosis. Propagation of the 24th chromosome is mitotic so a normal Vuduri couple would each require a diploid complement to produce full-blooded children."

Virga turned back to the screen. This time, the additional chromosomes slid to the upper right hand corner of the screen and another map appeared. This one had extra pair of chromosomes, even shorter and stubbier than the Y chromosome lined up to the right.

"20% of the Essessoni that you sent us have the exact genetic complement we expected. They are identical in every way to a 23-chromosome mandasurte. But the other 80% have this extra chromosome pair, a portion of which is reminiscent of our 24th, but they are not DNA in the truest sense. They are a form of peptide nucleic acid and they do not have telomeres on one end. They are quite odd. We call them the 25th chromosome for lack of a better name."

"Uh," Rei started to speak. Rome interrupted him.

"What is the significance of this?" Rome asked.

"The significance is this: this genetic material, this extra pair, would prevent the expression of the Onsira phenotype, even in a full-blooded diploid Vuduri. If we could figure out a way to introduce it to the Vuduri population in general, no Onsira would ever be born again. Mosdurece or not."

"If this is the case, why have you not done so already?" Rome asked.

"We have tried," Virga said, sighing. The projector shut off. "However, we cannot keep the genetic material from disintegrating outside of the cell wall. In other words, we cannot figure out a delivery system."

So how did it get there in the first place? Rei certainly knows the answer. I guess it is time to come clean.

## Entry 5-150: May 30, 2017

### StoreDot's Insta-charge Battery 1

Electric vehicles (EVs) have been around for a long time. Conspiracy theorists have long postulated that Big Oil had a hand in suppressing their acceptance. That is all changing. The market is demanding EVs. The Sun can potentially deliver all the fuel we'll ever need, for free, without generating one cubic centimeter of greenhouse gas. So not only would they be economical but also environmentally friendly. Right now, driving a Tesla is quite the status symbol. However, there are two major issues that still need to be solved before EVs become the norm rather than the cool exception.

Range Anxiety

One of the biggest hurdles (other than cost) preventing EVs from gaining wide acceptance is so-called Range Anxiety, i.e. fear of running out of power. Charging stations are _not_ ubiquitous yet and if you are somewhere out in the desert and run out of juice, you have no recourse but to call a tow truck. When Chevrolet introduce the Chevy Volt, I was really excited because here was a pure EV but with a small, efficient battery charger in the trunk, powered by gasoline. So you could travel 50 miles or so on pure electric but if the battery is getting low, the charger kicks in and you have another 400 miles or so to find a gas station or charge up. Chevy was so encouraged by this that they came out with a pure electric vehicle, the Chevy Bolt, which can go 238 miles on a single charge. That should be enough to set your mind at ease for day-to-day driving. Tesla's Model S is about the same, it can go 265 miles on a single charge. The Nissan Leaf is only rated about 107 miles. But as long as you are aware and only drive locally, it shouldn't be a problem. Even if you are driving long distance, you need to plan for charging stops but it can be done. However, this leads to the second problem.

Charging Time

The other flaw with EVs is the time to recharge the batteries. If you go home and plug your EV into a regular 120 volt charger, it could take 12 hours or more to recharge fully. This is significantly reduced if you install a 240 volt charger in your home. It cuts charging time down to about 6 - 8 hours. Tesla has built (and is building more) supercharger stations that can boost your car back to 80% full charge in about 20 minutes. Great for range anxiety but not good for impatient people. Right now these stations are limited to recharging Teslas but that may change in the future. Also, some communities are putting in parking for EVs and you can purchase a recharge there. But wouldn't it be nice if you just cruise in somewhere, top off your "tank" and be on your way in a jiffy? If only...

StoreDot's New Battery

Both the range anxiety and charging time problems may have a solution coming very soon. An Israeli company called StoreDot has come up with a new type of battery that can go from zero to full charge in about 5 minutes. This just happens to be exactly how long it takes to fill up your car with gasoline. So pulling into a supercharger station in a vehicle equipped with StoreDot batteries would be very similar to pulling into a gas station.

How does StoreDot do it? How did they achieve this breakthrough? I'll give you the nitty-gritty tomorrow. And by the way, if you have an iPhone, this should be of interest to you, too!

## Entry 5-151: May 31, 2017

### StoreDot's Insta-charge Battery 2

Yesterday, I introduced you to a company called StoreDot which has invented a new type of battery that can be fully charged in 5 minutes. You can actually order one of these batteries now by going to the StoreDot web site and select their iPhone case which takes only 5 minutes to fully charge and gives your phone up to 8 hours more run time. It looks like this:

But I want to get back to electric vehicles (EVs) and the implications of StoreDot's new technology. As I mentioned yesterday, even though Tesla makes awesome vehicles (the Model 3 is expected this year), they still take too long to fully charge, even with supercharger stations. I don't know if StoreDot's nanotechnology-based organic batteries would work inside a Tesla but it certainly proves that it can be done. Since the battery is not lithium-based, it should be much safer, i.e. not flammable with a much higher combustion temp. The company believes they may be able to place these new batteries in EVs within three years. Definitely something to look for.

If you want to read an in-depth article, you can go here. Here is a synopsis: StoreDot is an Israeli startup whose core technology is fast-charging batteries. In 2015, they announced that they were developing a model for EVs. They claim that even without significant new technological breakthroughs, their new EV battery can reach a full charge within only five minutes and can keep a car running for 300 miles. They staged a technology demo at the CUBE Tech Fair in Berlin. The presenters didn't exactly have the chance to show the battery get to 100 percent but it was close enough. You can see the video by Gruendermetropole on YouTube along with promotional videos made by StoreDot themselves.

Finally, here is a statement by StoreDot CEO Dr. Doron Myersdorf:

"Fast Charging is the critical missing link needed to make electric vehicles ubiquitous. The currently available battery technology dictates long charging times which makes the EV form of transportation inadequate for the public at large. We're exploring options with a few strategic partners in the auto space to help us boost the production process in Asia and reach mass production as soon as possible."

I don't know about you but I find this all very exciting. The current administration may be pushing to go back to coal and fossil fuel but the market decides what it wants and if the market wants clean, emission-free cars with tremendously lower operating costs, that is what will happen, legislation be damned.

## Entry 5-152: June 1, 2017

### A pill for what ails you

A few days ago, Virga, the leader of the Vuduri on Helome had "borrowed" Rome and Rei to help her solve a genetic mystery, namely, why were there variations in the number of chromosomal content of the banished Darwin Project members. 20% had exactly the 23 chromosome complement she expected. However, 80% had an extra stub of a chromosome, which Virga dubbed the 25th chromosome. She knew this stub would end the curse of the Onsiras forever but her scientists were unable to figure out how to introduce it into the Vuduri population.

Rei looked at Rome who nodded. Rei touched his temple. With a whoosh and a pop, MINIMCOM's all-black livetar appeared, holding a white bottle which he handed to Rei.

"What is this?" Virga asked.

Rei unscrewed the top and spilled the contents onto the table. "This is your delivery system," he said.

Virga reached over and picked up one of the white pills. "What are these?" she asked. "Where did you get them?"

"These are the pills OMCOM made back at Skyler Base to help my crew overcome 14 centuries of degeneration in their backs. Our instructions were to give one to every member of my crew but some of them evidently refused. I guess that's the 20% you're calling the normal ones."

Virga held the pill up to the light. "Do you realize what this means?" she said, almost giddily. "This is the salvation of the Vuduri." She looked down at the pile of pills. "We do not need all of these," she said. "We will be able to replicate them." She looked up at Rei and Rome. "You must take the rest of these to Earth. **There must be uncounted Onsiras loose there.** This would put an end to any possible threat from them forever."

Rei gathered up some of the pills and put them back in the bottle, leaving a pile on the table. "I guess we could," he said. "But we're not really supposed to go there. We were banished, you know."

"Yes," Virga said. "Our opinion now is the same as it was the first time I met you. The Overmind of Earth treated you horribly. You two are heroes many times over. They should be honoring you, not exiling you." Virga cocked her head. "Rei, the last time you were here, you told me that MASAL injected you with his version of the 24th chromosome. Did you take one of these pills?"

"Uh, no," Rei said. "I sort of took a different kind."

"What do you mean?" Virga asked.

"Well, old OMCOM had other plans for me. The pill he gave me was yellow and I guess you'd say I got some superpowers from them."

Superpowers, huh? Like a cell-phone in the head and sonar-vision? Plus a brand new back as well. Rei was pretty super before he got the magic yellow pill but outside of Rome, MINIMCOM and OMCOM, nobody really knows the extent of what he became. We'll explore this more tomorrow.

## Entry 5-153: June 2, 2017

### Genetic superman

Yesterday, Rome and Rei revealed the existence of the white peoples that OMCOM had synthesized to reverse the degeneration in the backs of the Essessoni. Virga recognized the fact that these pills would have the side effect of preventing the expression of the Onsira phenotype forever. Rei also mentioned that the pill he took (Rome too) gave him something akin to superpowers. Virga was fascinated and asked him to elaborate:

"Well, old OMCOM had other plans for me. The pill he gave me was yellow and I guess you'd say I got some superpowers from them."

"You did mention that to me the last time you were here but I did not pursue it. What kind of powers?" Virga asked.

Rei tapped his ear. "Besides fixing my back, it gave me super-hearing, kind of like sonar vision. He also built a cell-phone into our heads so Rome and I can talk."

"Rome has this too? Is it like our PPT resonance?" Virga asked.

"No, this one is based upon EM, not gravitic modulation," Rome said. Then she added in a bit of a huff, "It ruined my bloco and stilo!" She tapped her temple then she shrugged. "No matter. Rei and I have found our communication channel very useful at times."

"I am fascinated. Would you mind if I took a genetic sample?" Virga asked. "For comparison with a normal Essessoni?"

"What's involved," Rei asked skeptically.

"Just a swab from the inside of your cheek. Nothing invasive," Virga indicated with a vague wave of her hand.

"We gotta get going," Rei said.

"It will only take a minute," Virga pleaded.

"OK," Rei said. "What do you need me to do?"

"Just stay there," Virga said. She walked over to a rack of equipment and retrieved two sticks with a fluffy swab on the end. She returned and stood before Rei. She put her hand under his chin. "Open your mouth," she requested, "and I will just run this along the inside of your cheek."

Rei complied.

Virga turned to Rome. "Do you mind if I take a sample of your DNA as well?"

"No," Rome said, "I do not mind." She opened her mouth and Virga ran the soft end on the inside of Rome's mouth as well. She then carried the swabs over to a squat, metallic box and inserted them into small holes which looked like they were designed for exactly that purpose. An indicator light turned red, then amber, then green. Virga turned back to Rei and Rome and the projector lit up again.

Virga gasped. Her connection to the Overmind actually wavered slightly.

Uh-oh. That can't be good. Gasping never is. What could be so shocking as to nearly disconnect Virga from her Overmind? We'll find out tomorrow.

## Entry 5-154: June 3, 2017

### Rome be weird

Yesterday, Virga, the leader of the Vuduri on Helome, finally learned the origin of the mysterious 25th chromosome. This chromosome, among other things, prevents the expression of the Onsira phenotype. If it was distributed to the general population, it would end the Onsira threat forever.

It didn't stop there, however. Virga was curious as to Rome and Rei's genetic makeup. Our intrepid couple agreed to a quick DNA check. Virga took a swab of their cheeks and analyzed it and projected it up on a screen:

Virga gasped. Her connection to the Overmind actually wavered slightly.

The middle row showed the normal complement of 22 chromosomes plus an X and a Y along with a much larger 24th chromosomal pair, very similar to a Vuduri 24th chromosome but slightly different. To its right was a much fuller version of what Virga called the 25th chromosome. It was larger than any of the others including chromosome pair 1. But this was not what made Virga gasp.

Beneath Rei's chromosome map with its X and Y chromosomes lay Rome's map. She had no less than three pairs of the 24th chromosome plus a full 25th like Rei's. In that brief moment, the Overmind of Helome realized that Rome was the most genetically complex human being in existence. It had trouble grasping the full implications.

At last, Virga recovered. In a very quiet voice, she said, "I thought you were mosdurece. You were to have had a single pair, yet you have a triploid complement of the 24th chromosome plus the same 25th as Rei. Can you explain this?"

"Yes," Rome said, without a hint of modesty. She pointed to the screen. "The first pair was my genetic inheritance from my mother. That pair allowed me to be connected to the Overmind of Earth and on Tabit until I was Cesdiud."

Virga's shoulders sagged but she said nothing.

"The second pair was given to me on Deucado by Pegus in order to re-establish a PPT connection to my son. It is still active. I still communicate with the Overmind there."

"Go on," Virga said encouragingly.

"The third pair was a prosthetic version of the 24th chromosome given to me by MASAL, when he kidnapped us on Earth. He wanted to take me into his samanda or at the very least convert me to an Onsira but he was unaware of OMCOM's 25th chromosome," Rome pointed to the screen. "It allowed me to prevent them from even starting a resonance in the first place."

Virga turned to Rei. "And you? You are Essessoni. You were injected with this prosthetic chromosome as well?"

Tomorrow, the full and final implications of all the genetic changes to Rome and Rei.

## Entry 5-155: June 4, 2017

### Why Rei not weird?

Yesterday, Virga and the Overmind of Helome spent time studying (and recovering from the shock of) Rome and Rei's genetic makeup. Rome was capable of connecting to the Overmind of Deucado _and_ the Overmind of Earth. She also had the "cell-phone in the head" shared by her husband. Unfortunately, that new piece equipment overwrote her bloco and stilo, her digital interface to equipment but Rome agreed the trade-off was in her favor.

Here is the wrapup of Virga's DNA detour including her conclusions should Rome and Rei decide to have another child, aka Lupe:

Virga turned to Rei. "And you? You are Essessoni. You were injected with this prosthetic chromosome as well?"

"Yeah," Rei said. "For a minute or two, I really was connected to MASAL but then they decided they hated me and kicked me out, Cesdiud."

Virga just shook her head.

"It was actually sort of fun while it lasted," Rei said. "It gave me a little sense of what it must be like to be Vuduri, but... oh well."

Virga turned back to Rome. "And your son? Was he conceived before or after you were genetically modified?"

"He is a mix of both," Rome said. "His PPT resonance is very strong and he has our 25th chromosome. I suspect that when I was injected on Deucado, the new pair crossed the placental barrier. However, he has an Essessoni father so he would never let go of his individuality. He can talk to the Overmind on Deucado but he would never submit. Even in the womb. He is neither Vuduri nor Essessoni. He is something else."

Virga looked back up the screen. "If you ever had another child, he or she would have triple PPT resonance plus your OMCOM's enhancements." She just shook her head. "This child would be very powerful."

Rome gave Rei a knowing look but said nothing. OMCOM had already requested they produce a daughter and the time was drawing near. Rome put it out of her mind.

"We will not be alive to produce any more children if we do not capture the people who would kill us. Can we go see Bonnie now?"

"Of course," Virga said. She gathered up the pills lying on the table and placed them in a jar by the side of the sampling equipment. "Thank you very much for these. They are invaluable. I will take you to see her right away."

Finally, we get to see what happened to Bonnie Mullen. However, before we get there, we're going to take a brief tour back up into space to check a peculiar kind of radiation that may allow us to create a new kind of star drive that we might see in our lifetime.

## Entry 5-156: June 5, 2017

### Unruh Radiation 1

Those of you familiar with _Rome's Revolution_ know that in the 35th century, the Vuduri can travel faster than light using the PPT star-drive. The PPT drive uses Casimir Pumps to produce streams of positive and negative energy. The negative energy is accumulated into a pocket in space. Where there is no energy, i.e. negative energy, there is no space so a starship traveling through a pocket of negative energy goes from Point A to Point C without ever passing through Point B. Make the pocket big enough, actually deep enough, and you can travel much faster than the speed of light without violating relativity.

I did not invent the Casimir Effect. It was first described in 1948 by Hendrick Casimir. Casimir postulated that neutral space spontaneously splits into positive and negative energy due to quantum fluctuations. Normally, the positive and negative regions recombine very quickly with the net effect being neutral. All I did was propose a scifi mechanism (the dark matter diode) to keep the two types of energy separate.

But you don't need to postulate dark matter like I did. If you take two plates and position them close enough, certain wavelengths of these spontaneous emissions may get trapped in the space between them. In other words, the positive and negative regions behave differently and you get a small but measurable attractive force where none should exist. In the ensuing years, the Casimir Effect has actually been measured experimentally several times.

The broader implication is that quantum physicists do not see the vacuum of space as a vast region of nothingness but rather (according to Scientific American):

"Far from being empty, modern physics assumes that a vacuum is full of fluctuating electromagnetic waves that can never be completely eliminated, like an ocean with waves that are always present and can never be stopped."

If the vacuum of space is an ocean of undetected waves and particles, it provides a framework to move against, perhaps even to push against. This may explain how RF resonant cavity thrusters such as the EmDrive and the Cannae Drive operate. They may exploit an effect called the Unruh Effect and utilize the emissions which are called Unruh Radiation. I'll do my best to explain this tomorrow.

## Entry 5-157: June 6, 2017

### Unruh Radiation 2

Yesterday, we laid the groundwork for describing the Unruh Effect and the particle/waves that are emitted: Unruh radiation. This is where the Casimir Effect and the Unruh Effect overlap: they both postulate that the vacuum of space is not really empty at all.

The Unruh Effect is named after W. G. Unruh who first described this theoretical phenomenon in 1976. It has never actually been measured or observed. The Unruh Effect, in theory, causes the emission of radiation in the form of a particle, and that this particle will propagate to infinity. This is called Unruh radiation.

In his original work, Unruh predicted that if you move through a vacuum, you would not see nothing but rather, effectively, a space full of particles, real or virtual, whose density increases with acceleration. According to Wikipedia, "The Unruh effect (or sometimes Fulling–Davies–Unruh effect) is the prediction that an accelerating observer will observe blackbody radiation where an inertial observer would observe none. In other words, the background appears to be warm from an accelerating reference frame; in layman's terms, a thermometer waved around in empty space, subtracting any other contribution to its temperature, will record a non-zero temperature. The ground state for an inertial observer is seen as in thermodynamic equilibrium with a non-zero temperature by the uniformly accelerating observer."

As described in the quote above, a simple experiment, is proposed, should it ever be performed, which could prove the existence of Unruh Radiation. You would simply take a very sensitive thermometer into space, let it equilibrate to the temperature of space then wave it around. If Unruh Effect exists, the thermometer would register a rise in temperature because it is rubbing against the quantum field and virtual particles, i.e. bathed in Unruh Radiation. I know this is far too simplistic, but basically you get something for nothing. More importantly, if the effect exists, you get something to push against in a vacuum if you have motion at all. So it is postulated (but never proven) that Unruh Radiation might be the driving principle behind both the EmDrive and its variant, the Cannae Drive.

I've already covered the EmDrive which seems to work but nobody has had an explanation up until now. Unruh Radiation may be the answer. Tomorrow, I'll cover a variation of that drive called the Cannae Drive which may also use Unruh Radiation. In the meantime, here is a cute little image from Nonequlibrium.net by way of Physics Napkins that illustrates the Unruh Effect:

## Entry 5-158: June 7, 2017

### The Cannae Drive

Yesterday, we finished up on the Unruh Effect and Unruh Radiation. If these two phenomena are proven out, they may be able to explain the apparently inexplicable but reproducible EmDrive. The EmDrive was invented by Roger J. Shawyer, a British aerospace engineer who has a background in defense work as well as experience as a consultant on the Galileo project (a European version of the GPS system). NASA has published a peer-reviewed paper demonstrating what they believe to be a functional EmDrive. The Chinese are also testing this drive in space.

There is another scientist named Guido P. Fetta and he has invented another reactionless drive which he had been calling the Q-Drive but he now calls it The Cannae Drive. The Cannae.com web site describes its operation and their test results. There is an excellent Popular Mechanics article which you should read if you are interested. Here is an excerpt:

Fetta contends that the Cannae Drive creates a bias in the quantum vacuum and pushes against it. Basically, physicists think that at very, very small scales, much smaller than atoms or even protons, space bubbles with quantum fluctuations. This bubbling is represented in the math as sort of imaginary particles that are spawned in pairs, and then very, very quickly the pairs come back together and destroy each other. Fetta contends that the Cannae Drive creates a bias where some of these particles never come back together, and then "pushes" against them. This is same principle postulated to be behind the EmDrive.

This sounds nearly identical to the Casimir Effect. So, since this blog is all about science fiction, I want to point out that the Cannae Drive also resembles my PPT star-drive which creates pockets of negative energy (Fetta's particles) but does not allow them to recombine with their positive counterparts and "pushes" space out of the way.

I urge you to read the article cited above and visit their web site for more detail but here is an image of Fetta's vision of a starship outfitted with his Cannae Drive, courtesy of The Cannae Corporation:

Image Copyright (C) 2016 by The Cannae Corporation

## Entry 5-159: June 8, 2017

### Welcome back, Bonnie

Several days ago, Virga had finished up her genetic analysis of Rome and Rei's DNA makeup. It was time to get on with their trip to the heartland of the main continent on Helome. Interestingly, Rei had given Virga the white pills which would end the Onsira crisis forever. But what of the Onsiras that had already been born on Deucado? Let's find out:

MINIMCOM soared east over the beautiful, snow-capped peaks of the central mountain range that ran the length the squarish continent. Like everything else on Helome, they were more spectacular than anything Earth had to offer. They were taller than the Rocky Mountains with small plateaus of the Crayola trees interspersed. There were crystal clear mountain lakes and rivers and to the far north, there were glaciers. Their craggy tops displayed every manner of color including deep purples, blues and gray slate. As they drew closer, Virga indicated a small, grassy field that lay within the tall fence-lined area that really did look like a ranch and that is where MINIMCOM set down.

After exiting MINIMCOM, they walked across the fresh field to the Vuduri version of a log cabin. It was constructed out of stained aerogel but still looked more rustic than futuristic. Two people came out of the house, a man and a woman. The woman waved to them and came trotting over. It was Bonnie Mullen but she was much thinner than she had been on Deucado and looked much older. She was dressed in a traditional white Vuduri jumpsuit but somehow it looked right on her. She hugged Rei and Rome briefly.

"It's so good to see you both," she said with a faint smile. There was a hint of sadness around her eyes that didn't match.

"You're not mad?" Rei asked. "I wasn't very nice to you right there at the end."

"Nah," Bonnie said. "It was my own fault. You did the right thing." She paused for a moment then said, "Where are my manners? This is Gemen," she said, pointing at the Vuduri man. "He doesn't talk much, as you can imagine."

"Hello," Gemen said and that was all.

"I am glad you are not upset that we sent you to this world," Rome threw in.

"Oh, no," Bonnie said. "It gave me a chance to get away from Edgar. That's all I really wanted. Needed, really. I didn't care where." She turned and waved. "Let's go into the house." She led them up the two front steps and into the large, single room dwelling.

Rei looked around the house. "Where's your baby?" he asked.

Bonnie's expression turned very dark. She looked away and pressed her hand up to her eyes. She took a deep breath and turned back to them.

So where is Bonnie's baby? And what the heck is she doing way out there in the hinterlands, unsupervised? I supposed you could say that Gemen was her supervision but there is more to it than that. Let's find out tomorrow the exact nature of their situation.

## Entry 5-160: June 9, 2017

### Who took the babies?

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Virga landed on the ranch that the Vuduri had set up for Bonnie Mullen in the middle of the main continent on Helome. But what was she doing there and why did her expression grow so dark when Rei mentioned her baby? It's pretty simple, really. I'll let Bonnie explain it to you:

"I had a lot of complications. The baby was stillborn. I was bleeding out so they had to give me a complete hysterectomy. My days as a brood mare were over. At least, that's what I thought. " She waved around the room. "It kind of left me with nothing to do. Feeling very empty inside." She frowned. "Not a pun." She pointed out the window. "They had no need for an Essessoni historian on this world so they let me come here, to help with the Onsira ranch." As she was saying it, her breath caught.

"You take care of Onsiras?" Rome asked. "How?"

"What do you mean how?" Bonnie replied "They were babies. You feed them, you clothe them. You make sure they wash behind their ears." Once again, her breath caught. This time, however, it took her longer to regain control. Finally, she continued. "They really were kind of sweet, in their own weird way. I know they appreciated our care." She looked over Gemen who smiled slightly. "Loved us, in a way. I think, maybe, we loved them back. I always thought I didn't want kids. It turns out I just didn't want them with Edgar. Those little buggers were my life..."

"You keep talking about them in the past tense," Rei said. "What's going on?"

Bonnie looked at Virga who nodded. She stood up and stared out the window. "The little ones, especially, even though they were Vuduri or Onsira, or whatever. They still needed taking care of. They understood nurturing. I can't really say that I understand the Overmind all that much but whatever it is, they had some sort of one going here. There was definitely a presence that guided them as a group. Almost like a herd. Sometimes, I think I was even able to communicate with it, whatever it was." Bonnie pointed out of the window into the fields beyond.

"Then one day, a Vuduri woman came to visit. She said she was from Earth and she was here to make sure the Onsiras were being treated humanely. I took her on a tour of the ranch and she seemed to find it OK. She said everything was in order and then she left."

Bonnie turned back to Rei and Rome, tears streaming down her cheeks. "The next morning, when we woke up, they were gone."

"Who was gone?" Rome asked.

"All of them. All of my babies," she said. "Not one trace."

All the Onsira babies were gone? Why? Who would take them? It certainly wasn't Virga. There is something very odd going here and as you know, there ain't no such thing as a coincidence. So let's find out the who, what, where, when and why. Tomorrow.

Like Fox Mulder says on the X-files, I want to believe. I hope you do too.

## Entry 5-161: June 10, 2017

### Sussen Returns

Yesterday, Bonnie Mullen told Rome and Rei that she had been put out here in the sticks to care for and raise the children that were born with Onsira characteristics. Bonnie also had a companion named Gemen but his exact role wasn't clear. A stranger from Earthy stopped by to inspect the dwelling and the care the Onsira children were receiving. According to Bonnie, that went well enough. But then...

"Who was gone?" Rome asked.

"All of them. All of my babies," she said. "Not one trace."

Bonnie fell back into a chair and put her face in her hands. From the way her head was bobbing, it was obviously she was crying but no sounds were emitted. She took a deep breath and looked up. The look of grief was etched in her face. "Gemen and I are still waiting, still hoping. Maybe they'll come back some day but it's been a year. I don't think they're coming back."

"This woman," Rome asked. "Did she have a name?"

"Yes," Bonnie replied, eyes unfocused. "She said her name was Sussen."

"Sussen!" Rome hissed. "Her eyes! Did she have one light eye and one dark eye?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, she did," Bonnie said. "How did you know?"

Rei spoke up. "She was the spy sent to Deucado to make sure they kept the Ibbrassati oppressed until the asteroid came and wiped out the planet. She was an agent for MASAL. She left just before we did to warn MASAL that the inmates were taking over the asylum."

Rei turned to Rome. "I guess she made it back to Earth but then to come here? Why bother?"

"The Onsiras," Rome said. "It means they are not giving up. They are marshaling their forces."

"Still," Rei said. "The Overmind of Earth and the regular Vuduri would never let them rise to power. They vowed to protect the mandasurte. There's nothing to worry about."

"I agree with Rei," Virga said. "When the Overmind of Earth established the static PPT tunnel to Helome, it was not just a tunnel. It was a gate as well. Its purpose was to create a world with just pure-bred Vuduri. No mandasurte were to be allowed."

"MASAL would have been proud of you," Rei said sardonically.

"No," Virga said. "We learned our lesson. Our genetics betrayed us. Even with your magic pills, we will never segregate or discriminate again. Essessoni and mandasurte are welcome here, even if we do not need them for genetic reasons anymore."

Bonnie held up her wrist and waved her tracking bracelet at Virga. "Uh, welcome?"

"The bracelets will be removed some day," Virga said. "But first we must make sure that there are no more Erklirte hiding among you."

Bonnie turned to Rei. "Do you remember that day you sent me away? You asked me when I found out the principles behind Darwin, did I disagree with them?"

You will recall at the end of _The Ark Lords_ that this was the litmus test question Rei posed to Bonnie to determine if she was to be exiled to Helome. She did not answer in a way that satisfied Rei so here she is, on Helome, on an empty ranch, missing her Onsira babies. Maybe after all this time, she gained some wisdom from her banishment.

## Entry 5-162: June 11, 2017

### A crack in the case

Yesterday, after Bonnie recovered from grieving the loss of the Onsira children or her "babies" as she referred to them, she decided she wanted to revisit the final question that Rei asked her at the end of _The Ark Lords_. Rei certainly did remember asking her the question. And he certainly remembered her answer which prompted him to send Bonnie away with all the rest of the Darwin people. But here she is, bringing it up again:

"I expected you to say no," Rei said with an edge to his voice. "At least I was hoping you would. You couldn't do it though. That's why I sent you away and that's why Virga has you on a leash."

"I've thought about that ever since that day," Bonnie said quietly. "And I can tell you now that I did not agree with killing everyone. What I wanted more than anything was a place to live, a place to raise children on a world without planet-sized storms, without overcrowding, without unending terrorism. First Deucado and now this world, Helome, is all of that and more. My heart is with the future so my allegiance to Darwin is over."

"That's great," Rei said, standing up. "That's just what I wanted to hear." He pulled out the creased set of papers from his pocket. "The reason we're here is because there are still two Darwin members running around on Deucado. They tried to kill us by blowing up our house."

"Oh my god!" Bonnie said. "Was anybody hurt?"

Rei made the horse lips sound. "Yeah but we're over it." Rei handed the papers to Bonnie. "Captain Keller identified one of the two as Dan Steele. That's a complete list of all the members of Darwin. Can you tell me who else is on that list but never got brought here to Helome?"

"I'll do my best," Bonnie said. She read down the list and stopped when she got to the bottom. **"David Troutman,"** she said. "He never made it to Helome so I guess that means he's your other missing person. He's a chemical engineer and munitions expert. If anybody could build a bomb, he could." She flipped the papers over to the second page, just to be sure. She flipped the pages back and tapped the top sheet with her finger. "He's definitely your man. And Steele, he's just..." Bonnie shivered then took on a quizzical look. "You know, it's kind of funny, now that I think about it."

"What is?" Rei asked.

"When Sussen was here, she asked me how an Erklirte came to be in charge of the children. I told her how you and Rome got wind of Project Darwin and how you sent us into exile here."

"Did she say anything else?" Rome asked her.

"No," Bonnie replied. "She did ask me if there were any more Darwin people left on Deucado. At the time, I wasn't sure. She dropped the subject after that."

Rome looked at Rei who nodded.

So there you have it. We now know the names of the two would-be killers: Troutman and Steele. The next step would be to go back to Deucado and track them down. But where to start? Maybe Bonnie has an idea. Let's see about that, tomorrow.

## Entry 5-163: June 12, 2017

### Go to Greer

Yesterday, Bonnie Mullen came through for our heroes. She identified the second of the would-be assassins as David Troutman. Troutman had the skills to build a bomb and his partner, Dan Steele was, according to Captain Keller, a natural born killer. Put those two together and I think we can understand what happened. Also Sussen asked about them. Could this fact be related? Probably.

Anyway, Rome and Rei are getting ready to leave as they got what the came for, the names of their would-be killers. Maybe Bonnie can help Rome and Rei track them down:

"Thank you, Bonnie," Rome said. She stood up. "You have been very helpful. I just have one more question."

"What?" Bonnie inquired.

"Now that we know who we are looking for, can you give us any guidance as to where we should start looking?"

"That I couldn't tell you," Bonnie answered. She looked out the window as if the answer was blowing in the wind. Suddenly, she nodded. "But I bet Nick Greer could. Troutman used to hang around with him. He might be able to tell you something."

"Where do we find Greer?" Rei asked.

Bonnie lowered her eyes to the ground. Rei looked over at Virga. She had a sad expression on her face.

"What?" Rei asked. "Where is he?"

"As I told you," Virga said. "There were a few recalcitrants who remain uncooperative to this day. Greer is one of them."

"So what did you do with them?"

"They built a prison," Bonnie answered for her. "They pretend it isn't but it is. Keller even supplied the Vuduri with the design. They had no idea how to build one. That's how serious Maury was about reform. It's ways away from here."

"A prison, huh," Rei said. "Can you take us there?" he directed at Virga.

"Yes," Virga said. "I will take you but I do not think Greer will be very communicative."

"Let me go with you," Bonnie said, stepping forward. "He might talk to me." She looked over at Virga. "Is that OK?"

Virga nodded.

Bonnie turned to Gemen who had remained silent up until this point. "Goodbye, honey," Bonnie said to Gemen and she kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you later."

Gemen sighed and lifted his hand to wave farewell.

A Vuduri prison? This should be interesting. But first I want to tell you about my niece, Rebecca Brachman, who may have discovered something truly fantastic: a vaccine for PTSD!

## Entry 5-164: June 13, 2017

### A PTSD Vaccine?

While this blog doesn't really have a purpose other to serve as a forum for me to discuss science fiction and scientific topics, I have occasionally mentioned family members when relevant, never gratuitously. It is in that spirit that I would like to present the groundbreaking and possibly revolutionary discovery made by my niece, Rebecca Brachman, along with her collaborator Christine Ann Denny regarding a drug called ketamine.

Rebecca has a Ph.D. from Columbia University and was named a TED fellow in January of 2017. She is currently involved in research into using ketamine to prevent the onset of PTSD or depression. Rebecca calls this approach a paravaccine meaning it is prophylactic, like a vaccine, but based upon new principles. To apply this approach to mental health issues is completely innovative. We all know that many types of nervous system disorders can be treated by drugs after the fact but this is the first attempt that I know of to prevent the onset in the first place.

You may wonder how can somebody create a vaccine for PTSD when you don't even know when or where the stress is coming from. As it turns out, you can predict, under some circumstances, that people are going to encounter stressful situations which would normally have an adverse affect on their psyche. Some very easy examples are soldiers entering combat, paramedics and firefighters, police, medical personnel, aid workers and so on. Just look at occupations that have the highest occurrence of PTSD and there is your candidate list.

Rebecca stumbled upon this novel use by accident. She had used ketamine on a group of mice for a different experiment and rather than get a whole new colony, she decided to "recycle" the mice for her new experiments regard stress reactions. Ketamine is typically used as a cat tranquilizer or sometimes as a party drug called Special K. Normally, the direct effects of ketamine wear off after just a few hours. But just to be safe, Rebecca waited weeks to make sure there were no lingering effects.

Imagine her surprise when the group of mice who had received ketamine showed a startling ability to resist the effects of stressful situations as compared to mice who had not received the drug. Remember, this is weeks, not hours after ingestion of ketamine, before the stress was applied. That means that the ketamine had the long-lasting and certainly unexpected ability to enhance stress resilience when compared to mice experiencing triggers that would normally damage their mental health.

Whether this new approach to PTSD prevention will work in humans is anybody's guess. But everybody has to start somewhere and Rebecca's approach is definitely, definitely worth exploring. You can catch Rebecca's original TED talk on YouTube or on the TED web site itself. Take a peek. It is fascinating stuff.

## Entry 5-165: June 14, 2017

### A Vuduri Prison

A few days ago, Bonnie Mullen suggested that Rome and Rei interview Nick Greer to garner information as to the possible whereabouts of Dan Steele and David Troutman. Bonnie recollected that Troutman and Greer used to hang around together.

You will recall that at the end of _The Ark Lords_ , it was necessary to slice off Greer's right hand to prevent him from shooting Rome. It isn't coincidence that he is one of the "recalcitrants" as Virga referred to him. Bonnie accompanied the gang of three in the hopes of being some help:

MINIMCOM transported them back over the mountains to the prison compound to the north of the Vuduri city. There was simply no other way to describe it. The Vuduri had nothing like it. Keller must have had direct experience with one based upon its layout and security measures. There were tall fences with a peculiar local bush whose every branch was studded with razor sharp thorns. Inside that was a metallic fence with barbed wire running along the top. There was only one entrance and that was through a sally port. MINIMCOM landed in the parking area outside the sally port. The four humans had to enter by foot along with MINIMCOM's livetar.

The guard station at the first door opened the gate and let them through then closed the gate behind them. Rei looked around and up. The sally port had 40-foot high walls of thick steel gate with even more barbed wire all around. Virga led them to the internal entrance where another guard let them through. The courtyard opened up to an inside out cell block, each with its own entrance. In some ways, it resembled standard Vuduri housing.

"They keep Edgar down there," Bonnie said with disgust, pointing to their left.

"Do you see him often?" Rome asked.

"No," Bonnie said. "I came by once. That was enough. He..." Bonnie stopped short. She shook her head and refused to offer any more explanation. They let it go.

Virga led them along the walkway to the farthest "apartment" to the right. She knocked once on the door then opened it up. The room reeked of smoke.

On the inside, it really did look like a prison cell. There was a single bed along one wall, a small refresher, a desk and not much else. Nick Greer was sitting at the desk, smoking a cigarette. Virga left the door open to air the place out.

"Bierak," Greer said, looking up. "And all the bitches. What do you want?"

As the room was constructed out of standard Vuduri aerogel, the walls glowed softly with a light blue radiance that came from no particular source. Somehow, the light became brighter. Rei could see that there was a pair of tracking bracelets attached to Greer's legs connected by a loose chain. Greer pushed an ashtray forward with the stump of his right arm and stubbed out the cigarette with his left hand.

Remember, the Vuduri had never had a reason to build a prison before so the design was supplied by Maury Keller. However, a normal Vuduri apartment isn't all that different from the living quarters here. Getting through to Greer may end up being a tall task. I hope we don't run into Edgar. I never liked him very much.

## Entry 5-166: June 15, 2017

### Greer's Trade 1

Yesterday, Rome, Rei, Virga and Bonnie stopped by the Vuduri prison to see Nick Greer in the hopes of getting some information from him regarding the whereabouts of Steele and Troutman. Psychologically, Greer seemed in a bad way. All he did was sit in his cell all day and smoke cigarettes. He had sacrificed everything, his family, his home, to come to the stars and here he was rotting in a jail cell. Maybe that was the opening they needed to try and jar him out of his funk and into a more cooperative mood:

Rei walked over to where Greer was sitting. "There are two members of Darwin still running around on Deucado. Troutman and Steele. Bonnie said you knew Troutman. Can you tell us anything that might help us track him down?"

"Why should I help you?" Greer sneered. He stood up suddenly and waved the stump of his arm in Rei's face then pointed at MINIMCOM's livetar. "Look what your robot did to me. I'm nothing but a useless freak now."

Bonnie came over to where he was standing and put her hand on his shoulder. "Nick, you were going to shoot Rome. I saw you. Self-defense is self-defense. The war is over. Captain Keller said so. You heard him. Everybody has to let go. You included. Why won't you help them?"

"I just won't," he said. "You all sold out. I'm not going to. Not to my dying day."

"Please," Rome said from behind Rei. "Your two compatriots would have killed all of us, including my son, if not for good fortune. We do not want to live our lives in fear."

Greer just shook his head then an evil grin spread across his face. His teeth were yellowed by the layers of two years of heavy smoking. He held up the stump of his right arm. "I'll tell you what," he said snidely. "I'll tell you whatever you need to know as soon **as you give me my right hand back."**

"That's it?" Rei asked. He looked over at MINIMCOM who nodded. "OK, deal," Rei answered.

"Wait. What?" Greer said, stupefied. "You can do that?"

MINIMCOM strode over and gently guided the dazed-looking Greer back to his seat. MINIMCOM laid out the man's left arm and hand along the desk then placed the stump of the right arm next to it. The livetar took a cast of the left hand and projected a thin membrane, a mirror image of the hand and attached it to the right arm. The animated shell then illuminated his shoulder lamps to get more light.

The actual operation took little less than an hour. It was more complex than Rei's back reconstruction but far less delicate so MINIMCOM was able to move faster. The livetar injected the membrane with a passel of VIRUS constructor units which formed cages in the shape of the bones. No need to inject anyone else. MINIMCOM simply used a second group of constructors inserted into Greer's own remaining left hand as a model and built the reverse. He built it from the inside out. Using his .01% rule, MINIMCOM transported bone cells, muscle, ligaments and tendons as well as circulatory vessels.

You will recall from _The Milk Run_ that a grown-up Aason Bierak had the same thing happen to him, getting his hand cut off. When his mother finds out, she quizzes MINIMCOM about growing a new one and MINIMCOM said it was one of his specialties. However, everybody has to start somewhere and this is where it all started. Let's see if getting his hand back changes Greer's mood.

## Entry 5-167: June 16, 2017

### Greer's Trade 2

Yesterday, "Dr. MINIMCOM" began to rebuild Nick Greer's missing right hand using his intact left hand as a guide. This reconstructive surgery was actually easier for MINIMCOM because he had Greer's good hand as a guide. You will recall that when MINIMCOM rebuilt Rei's spine, he had to use Rome's spine as a template. In theory, when he is done, Greer promised to give them the information they need to track down Steele and Troutman, the would-be assassins:

Once the interior was complete, MINIMCOM coated the membrane with more muscle and skin then removed the flap of scarred epidermis that encased the former stump to allow blood to flow.

"I will be transporting the neural cells to the proper location," MINIMCOM said. "However, you should not expect the hand to be fully functional initially." MINIMCOM circled his hands over both sets of fingers.

"Ow, ow," Greer said, "it feels like it's burning."

"Those are the nociceptors coming online," MINIMCOM said. "The proprioceptors and afferents will connect last." MINIMCOM applied pulses of the miniature null-fold to ensure that all the "wiring" was complete.

Greer looked at the brand new hand in amazement. He tried moving the new fingers and they flexed slightly. A broad smile crossed his face.

"You should not expect it to respond normally for a while," MINIMCOM said, slowly closing the hand into a fist then gently opening it again. "I was able to connect the neurons to the proper areas of your brain but the final fine-tuning will require that you exercise the hand every day."

Greer turned the hand over and back. "How long?" he whispered.

"It will take about a month to get all the 'wiring' complete," MINIMCOM said. "You should have full strength by then as well."

Greer stood up. MINIMCOM produced an elastic ball and placed it in the palm of the new hand.

"Squeeze that for a few minutes every hour or so," MINIMCOM said. "It will hasten the regrowth of the peripheral nerves and help you build up strength. The hand will be completely functional before you know it."

Greer flexed his fingers around the ball then eased up on the pressure. He laughed and shook his head. "I knew you guys were from the future but how come nobody told me you could do this before?"

Rei looked over at MINIMCOM. "Up until about a week ago, we didn't know he could do it either. Now will you help us?"

"Sure, sure," Greer said, distracted by the new limb. "What do you need to know?"

A bargain is a bargain. The fact that MINIMCOM was able to rebuild his hand kind of blew Greer's mind. Maybe it will do more than that. Maybe it will give him hope again. Let's see tomorrow.

## Entry 5-168: June 17, 2017

### His end of the bargain

Yesterday, MINIMCOM completed the reconstruction of Nick Greer's right hand which had been cut off during the battle at Darwin Base. Greer was so stunned that such a thing was even possible that he turned from hostile to docile. He agreed to tell Rome and Rei anything he could to help them find Steele and Troutman, the would-be assassins:

"We need to find Troutman and Steele. Where should we start looking?" Rome asked.

Greer looked around the room at each of the people there as if he were seeing them for the first time.

"Steele, I can't tell you," he said. "But Troutman and me, we were on the crew that brought down the ingots and metal rolls, maybe once a month."

"Why'd you even bother with that?" Rei asked. "You knew the Vuduri could synthesize any materials we needed."

"We had to hide the fact that we were building the base so we smelted just enough ore to make it look like we were doing something up there. Ionelli, Troutman and me, we liked playing hoker and Keller wouldn't let us play at the base. So when we came down, we joined the game going in New Ark City."

"What is hoker?" Rome asked.

"House poker," Rei answered.

"I know what a house is," Rome responded. "But what is poker?"

"It's a card game," Rei said. "So who'd you play hoker with?" Rei directed at Greer.

"Paul Chung and a couple of other people. We played at Chung's house," he said. "You know him? He was one of the regulars."

"That was one of the names on Keller's candidate list," Rome interjected.

"Why him?" Rei asked. "Why his house? I'd have thought you guys didn't want to socialize with us."

Greer laughed.

"What's so funny?" Rei asked.

"For him, we made an exception. He lifted one of the Vook food synthesizers."

Rei shook his head. "So what? Anybody could have one who wanted one."

"Yeah, but nobody else made vodka. His was awesome. His house was the closest thing we ever found to a bar," Greer said. "So, in answer to your question, I'd start there. If anybody back on Deucado knows where Troutman is right now, it'd be Chung."

Rei looked at Rome who nodded then he looked back at Greer. "Thanks," he said. He bent his head toward Greer's new hand. "And you're welcome."

A lead! This is awesome. Now Rome and Rei know who their assailants are and they have a person to ask their whereabouts. The case moves on. Tomorrow.

## Entry 5-169: June 18, 2017

### Always Redemption

Yesterday, Nick Greer was so grateful for getting a new right hand that he gave Rome and Rei some critical information regarding the whereabouts of Troutman and Steele, the would-be assassins. He seemed truly stunned by the medical miracle that MINIMCOM had just performed. Something in him had changed. The way he saw the world had changed. The framework of his mental constitution was based upon concepts that had been left in the dust 14 centuries earlier. He literally saw his new world in a new light:

Greer held up his two perfectly matched arms. The flesh on the new right hand was paler than the one on the left. A few days in the sun would rectify that. Greer turned them back and forth. Then he threw the elastic ball down to the ground and caught it with his new right hand on the bounce up.

The four humans and one livetar turned to leave when Greer shouted out, "Wait! Virga!"

"What is it?" Virga asked.

"What Bonnie said," Greer asked. "Does that offer still stand? I think I'm ready to let go now. Can you guys find something for me to do rather than sit around here rotting all day?"

"It can be arranged," Virga answered in a level tone. "However, you will have to disavow your previous commitment to violence and promise to contribute to the betterment of our society."

"I will, I will," Greer said, shuffling forward.

"I will send someone," Virga said. "You will be watched very closely but we will give you your opportunity."

"Thank you," Greer said. He sounded heartfelt. "And Bierak?"

"Yes?" Rei asked.

"Thank you, too. I guess I should have listened to you a long time ago."

"It's never too late," Rei said. "Good luck with your new life."

Greer nodded and they left.

After exiting the sally port and climbing aboard MINIMCOM, Rei and Rome took their places in the cockpit. Virga and Bonnie joined them.

"It's a kind thing you're doing," Rei said to Virga. "Giving him another chance like that."

Virga nodded. "I have not and never will berate you for the class of Essessoni you sent to us," she said. "After all, I did say to you the more primitive the better. The more we can use, the quicker we can heal."

Rei blushed a little bit. "Well, they were useless to us and you did ask. I couldn't think of anything else to do with them."

"It is fine," Virga said. "We are not displeased. As you can see, the vast majority of them have had an epiphany and have settled in nicely here. That prison block back there only has six residents although now it would appear that number will dwindle down to five. It is a small price to pay for the benefits we have derived."

If nothing else, my books have always been about redemption. Everybody makes mistakes. It's what one does with the knowledge gained by making that mistake that makes us better people. For Nick Greer, it took a while (and a new hand) but now he has found redemption as well.

## Entry 5-170: June 19, 2017

### I'm still waiting

I've been writing this blog for four and half years. Nearly 1640 entries and counting. I've been following science and technology my whole life. Many new and fascinating discoveries have been duly recorded and many documented here. But what of them? I'm still waiting for them. They've always been in the realm of could be or some day but that day just has not arrived.

Some examples:

\--Elon Musk's ventures: Tesla's Model 3, the SolarRoof, the PowerWall, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, the HyperLoop... still waiting.

\--What about the propellant-less reaction drives like the EmDrive and the Cannae Drive that will take us to the stars... still waiting.

\--The abolition of fossil fuels and the switch to all renewable sources with no greenhouse gas emission. It seems like with the current administration, we're actually going backwards on this.

\--My niece Rebecca's discovery of a potential "paravaccine" against PTSD and depression. Does it work in humans? Still waiting.

\--Unruh Radiation and the Unrun Effect. Proven yet? Still waiting.

\--The Alcubierre Drive that will let us travel faster than the speed of light without violating relativity... Still waiting.

\--Neuralink's magic neural mesh to enhance our brains... Still waiting.

\--StoreDot's Insta-charge Battery and Insta-charge case for the iPhone... Still waiting.

\--Is there life on Enceladus? Still waiting to find out.

\--When are quantum computers going to show up?

\--How about Tabby's Star, that strange star called **KIC 8462852**. Is there really an alien superstructure, a type of Dyson Sphere encasing that star? Still waiting to hear.

\--What about fusion reactors: Tokamaks or stellarators? When are they coming?

\--How about Cold Fusion? What about those other zero point energy devices that I wrote about: The Hydrosonic Pump, Blacklight Power, etc.? Still waiting...

You know what I am not waiting for? The _Wonder Woman_ movie. I saw it last weekend with my wife and it was **fantastic**. If you get a chance, you should go see it in the theater, on the big screen. You won't regret it.

## Entry 5-171: June 20, 2017

### A new job

Two days ago, Nick Greer gave Rome and Rei all the information they needed to start the hunt for Troutman and Steele. In fact, rebuilding his lost right hand seemed to change Greer into a new man. He accepted his fate and decided to live again. It was nice. But now it is time for Rome and Rei to return to Deucado, track down Paul Chung and find their would-be assassins. All they have to do is drop off Virga and Bonnie and away they go:

"OK," Rei said to Virga. "Well, we got what we came for. We'll take Bonnie back to the ranch, drop you off then head back to Deucado."

Bonnie stepped forward. "About that..." she said.

"Yes?" Rome asked.

"What did Keller say about your plan?"

"He was behind it," Rei answered. "He said he hoped we caught these jokers."

"That's what I figured," Bonnie said. "So I was thinking, what if I came with you?"

"Back to Deucado?" Rome asked skeptically.

"Yes. Like I said, my days as a brood mare are over." She bit down on her knuckle and continued. "I don't think any of my babies are coming back. It's been a year." She looked at Rei plaintively. "I really am kind of useless on this planet. I know what Steele and Troutman look like. Maybe I can help you track them down."

Rei looked over at Virga. "Do you mind?" he asked.

"She is one of yours," Virga said. "If you trust her, we have no objections."

Bonnie pressed the issue. "I really have nothing to do here other than looking after the ranch. They don't need me for that." She bent her knees slightly to look Rome in the eye. "After we catch the bad guys, maybe I could come work for you, at your library. It's what I was trained to do."

Rome pointed to the back of MINIMCOM, the starship. "You do not wish to return here? What about Gemen?" she asked. "You two seemed to have some sort of connection."

"Gemen?" Bonnie said. "He's sweet but he is Vuduri. He won't care." She turned to Virga. "Will he?"

Virga touched her index finger to her temple. She nodded once. "He does care but he understands," Virga said.

"You promise to be good?" Rei asked.

Bonnie put her hand over her heart. "I swear it, Rei. I just want to do something with my life. This seems like it."

"OK then," Rei said. "Let's get going."

Do we really trust Bonnie? Do we really need her back on Deucado? The answer is yes and yes. For the denouement, I needed someone who needed a new purpose in life and Bonnie fit the bill.

Next up, one of my most favorite scenes of all-time, eight years in the making.

## Entry 5-172: June 21, 2017

### Rei's last day on Earth - 1

Whether you write a single book or a whole series, to make it realistic, you need a backstory for each of the main characters. When the time came to write _Rome's Evolution_ , I finally had an opportunity to blend together all the little tidbits I had sprinkled throughout my novels regarding Rei Bierak's past into a single, self-contained intermezzo. It's a seven part series and here is Part 1:

January 24, 2067 AD

Just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

25-year-old Rei Bierak was driving along PA Route 3 between secure zones, inside the walled highway leading to the West Chester Dome. The fact that it was even called a dome was a testament to the dreams of the residents there. It was their hope and desire that someday the structure would become fully enclosed. Only then would they have protection from the pollution and the increasingly brutal storms that had been invading the East Coast.

Even though it was January, it was a warm night. The sun was just setting. Rei adjusted the driver's side visor to block out the orange-red orb hanging low in the sky. As he drove along, he couldn't shake the idea that today was his last day on Earth. Technically, this was not true. Tomorrow, he would be flying to Houston to go into quarantine. Assuming he tested clean for 30 days, he'd begin the agonizing two-week protocol of dehydration prior to being placed in cryo-hibernation. Once frozen, he and his sarcophagus would be transported and stored aboard the orbiting Ark II which was in its final preparations for its 240-year voyage to Tau Ceti.

Rei was on his way back to Raul and Sally's house, having borrowed Raul's truck to get rid of the very last of his earthly possessions. The potential colonists were only permitted to bring 20 kilos of belongings. After accounting for all of his clothes, his tablet computer and his transit, Rei had elected to take a straight razor, some polymer books and his sunglasses. With just those few items, he was right at the weight limit already.

The road dipped down, going under an extended overpass. Rei was just emerging from the tunnel when he noted a group of horseback riders just ahead moving along the bridle path on the other side of the retaining wall. Suddenly, there was a flash. A loud and powerful explosion rocked the truck. Impossibly, Rei could see the carcass of a horse flying up in the air and over the retaining wall. He slammed on his brakes but he couldn't avoid it. The brown mass hit the hood of the truck and smashed through the window. In the mean time, Rei threw his arms up to protect his face and it was only by the sheerest of luck that he managed to keep his foot on the brakes until the truck came to a complete halt.

The force of the horse's body hitting the truck did not set off the crash curtain. After all, who would build a truck that could detect dead horses landing on the hood? There was shattered glass everywhere. Miraculously, Rei was not hurt, just completely shaken. After taking a few minutes to inventory his limbs and innards, Rei composed himself and pressed the activator on his cheekbone earpiece and called emergency services.

Woven into this first part was the rampant terrorism of middle 21st century America. I also got to finally present the full story of "the flying horse" that had been mentioned many times in the previous novels.

Tomorrow, Part 2.

## Entry 5-173: June 22, 2017

### Rei's last day on Earth - 2

Whether you write a single book or a whole series, to make it realistic, you need a backstory for each of the main characters. When the time came to write _Rome's Evolution_ , I finally had an opportunity to blend together all the little tidbits I had sprinkled throughout my novels regarding Rei Bierak's past into a single, self-contained intermezzo. It's a seven part series and here is Part 2:

It turns out he didn't have to. The National Guard was already on its way. By the time they got there, Rei had extricated himself from the cab of the truck and was leaning against the side, away from where the explosion had occurred. The soldiers did a preliminary sweep of the area but there wasn't much left of the horseback riders and certainly no sign of the terrorists. Raul's truck was ruined, however. One of the guardsmen who had field medical training insisted on checking Rei out despite the fact that the young man assured him he wasn't injured. As expected, the medic didn't find anything serious. After the soldiers finished their cleanup, a pair of them gave Rei a ride to Raul and Sally's house where his parents and Raul and Sally anxiously awaited him.

"Oh, Rei," his mother Ruth said, grabbing a hold of him as he came in through the door. "We were so worried!"

"Thanks, Mom," Rei said, closing the door behind him. "It was pretty scary but I'm OK." He looked up at Raul whose bushy eyebrows and forehead were furrowed in a frown.

"Sorry about the truck, Raul," Rei said. "I'll pay for whatever damages there are. I gave my Mom all my money. You can take it from that stash."

"Do not worry about it, man," Raul said with a slight Brazilian accent. "My IED rider is up to date. It will all be covered. I am just glad you are OK."

Rei's father, Edward, put his hand on Rei's shoulder. "You gave us quite a fright, there, buddy," the older man said. "Your last day as a free man was almost your last day, period."

Rei laughed cynically. His parents parted and Sally Reynolds, the one-time love of Rei's life, stepped forward and gave him a hug. **Sally was short, just a few inches over five feet with shoulder length brown hair, flecked with strands of gold.** "Reinard Bierak," she said. "Leave it to you to almost go away and miss your own going away party."

"Yeah," Rei said, addressing the group. "That would be pretty sleek irony, huh?" He smiled sheepishly.

"I wouldn't call it that," Sally replied sarcastically but with no edge to her voice.

Woven into this part is Sally Reynolds, Rei's first love. Notice her description in bold. That is word for word a description of Rome. Sally and her husband, Raul had been mentioned many times in the previous novels but here they are, alive so to speak, for the first time. I also got to introduce you to Rei's mother (named after my mother) and Rei's father (named after my grandfather) who called him buddy, a term of endearment that Rei picked up and used in the 35th century.

Tomorrow, Part 3.

## Entry 5-174: June 23, 2017

### Rei's last day on Earth - 3

Whether you write a single book or a whole series, to make it realistic, you need a backstory for each of the main characters. When the time came to write _Rome's Evolution_ , I finally had an opportunity to blend together all the little tidbits I had sprinkled throughout my novels regarding Rei Bierak's past into a single, self-contained intermezzo. It's a seven part series and here is Part 3:

Since he was nearly two hours late, Rei's parents rushed him to the dining room table where the four of them had prepared what they called his last supper. Every inch of the table was covered by casseroles and serving dishes. It was literally every food that Rei ever liked or claimed he liked. There was pizza, ribs, steak, fried chicken, turkey legs, corned beef, egg rolls and other foods uncounted. The festive meal included wine, no pruno tonight, and a lot of laughing, mixed with the occasional tear.

For dessert, Ruth Bierak and Sally brought out three cakes, each with twenty five candles. Ruth made Rei blow out every one of the candles for each birthday they would never spend together. One cake was chocolate-covered banana cake, Rei's favorite. One was chocolate, chocolate-chip with fudge icing aka Death by Chocolate. The third was a cheesecake drizzled with strawberry syrup. Rei elected to have a healthy slice of each one even though he knew he'd catch holy hell at the Mission Center for gaining weight.

After dessert, Rei's parents ushered him into the spacious living room and made him sit by himself on the loveseat. Raul and Sally sat down on the sofa and held hands while Rei's parents stood before him. Rei's mother had her arms hidden behind her back.

"What's up?" he asked trying to peer behind his mother.

"We got you a little going away present," his mother said bringing her hands forward. She was holding out a box, roughly four by six inches, wrapped in gold foil. She handed it to Rei.

"Oy," Rei said, hefting the present. "You know I'm so close to my weight limit as it is," he opined. "What is it?"

"You know we'd never spoil a surprise," Rei's father said. "There's only one way to find out so go ahead and open it."

Rei tore open the paper. Inside was a shiny white cardboard box. Inside the white box was gray foam packing. And in the center of the foam packing was a gleaming, dark silicon blue rectangular object. Rei took it out of the box and inspected it along all sides.

"Is this what I think it is?" he asked, with a broad smile on his face.

"Yes!" his mother said. "It's a custom-built solid-state music slab, completely solar-powered. The earpieces clip on magnetically. It has no moving parts and they assured us **it would survive for a thousand years.** It's all your music in one tidy package!"

So now you finally get to see where Rei acquired his music slab that he recovered during his one and only space walk during their flight to Deucado. Notice that I had to slip in the fact that it would last for tens of centuries because that's how long it was before Rei was awakened.

The list of foods that Rei loved was, of course, just a list of foods that I loved. That was how my grandmother used to cook, all you ever did was have to say you liked something and it was made for dinner for every meal thereafter until she died.

Tomorrow, Part 4.

## Entry 5-175: June 24, 2017

### Rei's last day on Earth - 4

Whether you write a single book or a whole series, to make it realistic, you need a backstory for each of the main characters. When the time came to write _Rome's Evolution_ , I finally had an opportunity to blend together all the little tidbits I had sprinkled throughout my novels regarding Rei Bierak's past into a single, self-contained intermezzo. It's a seven part series and here is Part 4:

Rei jumped up and hugged his mother and father. "This must have cost you a bloody fortune," he said giddily.

"Well, actually, you paid for it, buddy," Edward said. "We didn't need your cash. We wanted to put some of it toward something that will remind you of us whenever you get to where you are going."

"This is amazing," Rei said. Then he frowned. "I think this is going to put me over, though, weight-wise," he muttered.

"It's already taken care of," his mother replied reassuringly. "We called down to Houston and gave them the exact weight of the slab and the headphones. They said you'd be over by not even fifty grams. **They suggested you get rid of your sunglasses** and that would be enough. What do you think? Is that OK?"

"Sure," Rei said. "This thing is worth a hundred pair of sunglasses." He sat down to examine the present more closely. He reached into the box, fished out the set of earbuds and placed them in his ears. He held up the other end of the cord, examining it closely. He found that merely waving the connector near the proper junction point on the slab caused it to snap in place magnetically. Rei pressed the upper right hand corner of the device and the front face lit up. The dim integrated menu displayed a variety of ways to access the music. He studied the symbology then instructed the slab to pick a song at random. Immediately he heard the stirring tones of **"I Know You're Out There Somewhere" by the Moody Blues.** As the music rose, he pressed the volume up control until it was blasting in his ears.

"This is so sleek," he shouted without realizing it. Everyone laughed at his inappropriate tone. Seeing their mirth, Rei grinned then removed the earbuds. He detached the connector and carefully placed the slab back into the foam packing along with the earbuds.

"Thank you, so much," he said in a normal voice. "I'll treasure this always."

"We're very proud of you, son," his father said. "Use it in good health."

Rei stood up and hugged his parents again.

After tolerating his hug for a moment, his mother spoke up. "Sit, sit," she commanded. "We have one more surprise for you. Compliments of Raul."

Rei looked over at Raul who saluted Rei with two fingers as Rei's mother left the room. Ruth soon returned with a small tray holding a chilled 375 ml bottle of ice wine and five champagne flutes.

I always felt I had to explain why Rei didn't take a pair of sunglasses with him to Deucado and this little vignette let me do so. I also got to slip in the Moody Blues' song "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" as a direct nod to Rome. That is pretty much her theme song. I also always thought it was funny how people shout when they are listening to headphones because they don't know how loud they are. I also got to sneak in a reference to ice wine because, well, I love ice wine.

Tomorrow, Part 5.

## Entry 5-176: June 25, 2017

### Rei's last day on Earth - 5

Whether you write a single book or a whole series, to make it realistic, you need a backstory for each of the main characters. When the time came to write _Rome's Evolution_ , I finally had an opportunity to blend together all the little tidbits I had sprinkled throughout my novels regarding Rei Bierak's past into a single, self-contained intermezzo. It's a seven part series and here is Part 5:

Rei's eyes opened wide. "Ice wine?" he asked incredulously. "How did you..."

Raul smiled and leaned forward. "I may not have learned all the ways of your country yet but I am very familiar with how the black market works."

Ruth set the tray down and picked up the beautiful cobalt blue bottle. "It's from a winery on Lake Keuka in New York State," she said. "With all the global warming, Raul tells me they only had three bottles left in the whole world."

"Raul!" Rei said disapprovingly. "You shouldn't have."

"Well, I did," he said. "It is my pleasure. It is one of the perks of being a doctor. You may as well enjoy it."

Ruth made great ceremony out of pouring the slightly thickened pale yellow liquid from the sapphire bottle. Sally had contributed by putting the flutes in the freezer earlier to chill. Despite his protests, Rei had to admit the smuggled ice wine was exquisite. They took turns toasting each other and carrying on about a variety of topics until the bottle was long gone.

A little while later, Sally stood up and motioned to Rei to follow her out onto the deck. She walked to the railing and rested her elbows on the composite material crafted to look like weather-beaten wood. Rei came out and stood next to her, leaning up against the side, facing her. Tall bushes, co-mingled with gnarled trees formed a buffer between Sally's house and the neighbors on the far side of the woods. Fireflies flickered in the trees in an asynchronous pattern. Global warming had messed up their mating cycle so thoroughly, they came out year round trying to find a partner. It was an odd but beautiful sight.

"It's so weird," Sally said glancing up to look at the three-quarter Moon. "I don't even know how to feel. After today, none of us will ever see you again."

"It is weird," Rei said. "For me, it's kind of bittersweet. I mean, I have an adventure ahead of me but everyone I know, my parents, my friends, you..." Sally turned to look at Rei. He stooped down slightly and stared into her dark brown eyes intently. "I know you're married to Raul now," he said, "and I wish you two nothing but happiness but still..."

Sally snapped her fingers up to her lips. That stopped Rei from continuing. "There's no sense in rehashing the past," she said. "You wanted to go. I didn't. It's that simple. My father was thrilled to get you into the program after I told him about you. He said they would always have room for someone as brilliant as you."

One of my favorite wineries is Hunt Country Vineyards on Lake Keuka in the Finger Lakes region of New York. So I gave them a shout-out. Also, one of my most favorite memories was standing on my deck at my house in Glen Mills with some friends and watching the lightning bugs light up a whole forest in waves of light. It was spectacular so it made into _Rome's Evolution_. I also wanted to explain why Rei was no longer with Sally, since he loved her so.

Don't you think it would be weird to spend an evening with a person who you knew you would literally never see them again? It seemed weird to me so I made the characters acknowledge that. Tomorrow, Part 6.

## Entry 5-177: June 26, 2017

### Rei's last day on Earth - 6

Whether you write a single book or a whole series, to make it realistic, you need a backstory for each of the main characters. When the time came to write _Rome's Evolution_ , I finally had an opportunity to blend together all the little tidbits I had sprinkled throughout my novels regarding Rei Bierak's past into a single, self-contained intermezzo. It's a seven part series and here is Part 6:

"Aw, gee, Sally," Rei said. "You're going to make me blush."

"It's the truth, though. Getting the right mix of volunteers was important to them. You deserved it."

"Thanks," Rei said. He held his hands out, palms up. "In fact, I keep wanting to say I can never thank you enough but of course, when you think about it, it's literally the truth. It's almost like I'm not even here anymore." Rei sighed a long sigh. "Getting back to what I was saying earlier, I still remember there was a time when I thought you and I would spend the rest of our lives together."

"Come on, Rei," Sally chided. "Don't go all gloomy on me. You know what happened in Brazil. It changed me. It would change anyone. It gives you a different perspective. I almost died. After that, I decided I wanted to live my life in the here and now. Not betting it on some uncertain future. "

Rei turned and looked up at the sky. "I know. And I know we both agreed this was the best way. It's just that I'll never love anyone again the way I loved you. That part of my heart is kind of broken permanently."

"No it isn't," Sally said. "You're too good of a person to go through life without somebody to love." She pointed up in the general direction of the Moon. **"Maybe the woman of your dreams is up there, waiting for you. Waiting to love you."**

Rei focused on where Sally was pointing. On this night, the constellation Orion the Hunter was just to the southwest of the Moon. Light pollution from the city drowned out many of the stars that would have been seen in an earlier age. But Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, the three stars in a row marking Orion's belt, were still very recognizable.

"The star you're pointing to is the grip on Orion's shield," Rei said, trying to be analytical. "I don't remember its name... Tabit maybe? But we're not going anywhere near there." He turned his head, scanning the horizon. "There," he said, pointing to the southwest. "That constellation down there, just over the trees, it's called Cetus the Whale. The bright star right in the middle is Tau Ceti. That's where we're headed. **Ain't nobody there.** And if they are, they're little and they're green."

Sally shrugged. "Says you." She paused for a moment as if she were listening to an inner voice then she took in a deep breath. "I know you didn't believe me when I told you this before. But almost dying made me a little bit psychic somehow. I'm telling you, I think your dream girl is waiting for you up there, somewhere. You just have to go and find her." Sally smiled warmly. **"Or maybe she'll find you!"** she added.

How much more obvious could I be? Rei's statement and Sally's retort were just my way of winking at you because that is what the entire _Rome's Revolution_ series is all about. What if we went to the stars and when we got there, there were already people? I also poked my wife Denise because she always claims I found her but I always claim she found me.

I know I've mentioned this before, but I used a program called Voyager by Carina Software to figure out the position of the Moon and the stars on January 24, 2067 so the scene was (future) historically accurate. Please note that the star that Sally was pointing to was, indeed, Tabit. Tomorrow, the final part.

## Entry 5-178: June 27, 2017

### Rei's last day on Earth - 7

Whether you write a single book or a whole series, to make it realistic, you need a backstory for each of the main characters. When the time came to write _Rome's Evolution_ , I finally had an opportunity to blend together all the little tidbits I had sprinkled throughout my novels regarding Rei Bierak's past into a single, self-contained intermezzo. It's a seven part series and here is the final part:

Rei laughed. "Wouldn't that be a hoot? We go to the stars and when we get there, there are already people? Nah," he said, shaking his head. "I'm just hoping for some grass and trees to start a colony. At this point, I think we'd settle for air."

"They wouldn't be sending you if they didn't think you had the odds stacked in your favor," Sally said. "You and the Arks are mankind's best chance just in case something really bad happens down here."

"And you're mankind's best hope as a cure-all for all the new diseases popping up," Rei said. He put his hand on her shoulder, stroking it gently. "You and your incredible immune system."

Sally face reddened. Rei wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or something else. "I know," she said. "Sometimes I can't figure out if Raul is my husband or my doctor or my epidemiologist. They take blood samples, like, every week." She held out her forearm and showed Rei the bandage across the crook of her arm.

"So we're both trying to save mankind," Rei said. "Each in our own way."

"Maybe we are," Sally nodded but she did not appear to be completely convinced.

Rei held out his arms and Sally came forward. They hugged each other tightly for a long time as only former lovers could. Rei could feel every inch of her body against his frame. Out of sheer habit, he ran his hand down her back but had to stop himself before he went too far. The body pressing against him was once his but it would never be again. She belonged to someone else now and that was that.

As much as he did not want to, he forced them apart. As they let go, Sally put her palm up to his cheek and said, "I will always love you, Rei Bierak. I wish for nothing but good things for you, now and forever. No matter where you end up."

Rei reached his hand behind her head and tilted it forward so he could kiss her on the forehead. In every real way, Sally was his past. He let go and took one last look up at the stars. They were his future. That was where his destiny lie.

"Thanks, babe," he said, "same for you. But dead man walking here. I gotta get up early tomorrow. Let's go in so I can spend some time with everyone. For the last time. And thanks for having us over."

Sally nodded gamely. "It was the least we could do." She took Rei's hand and led him back into the house. For Rei, tomorrow was bearing down fast and while he did not realize it, everything he thought he knew about the universe was about to change forever.

Do you have any idea how much fun it was for me to write this scene? It completely wrote itself. I had already laid all the groundwork during the previous eight years so all I had to do is dictate to myself. It will go down as one of my all-time favorite scenes. I hope you enjoyed it too.

## Entry 5-179: June 28, 2017

### Shredded

I like writing. I especially like writing well. I had given up on acquiring an agent and have been self-publishing over the last 10 years. But recently, it has occurred to me that there is a whole new set of marketplaces for creative material. I'm talking about Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, Hulu, CBS All Access and more.

As people spend more and more time pulling their entertainment from places other than traditional broadcast media, the need for new, original works is going to explode. So I decided it was time to look for an agent again, one that could introduce my novels to the burgeoning streaming markets.

I know you will find this shocking but my writing has actually improved over the last 10 years. I'm on my 10th book and everyone that has read my books tells me that technically my writing has vastly improved. I can even tell myself. I go back and read portions of my first scifi novel entitled _Rome's Revolution_ and whole sections make me cringe. If this origin story is the book that is going to snag me an agent, it has to be my best work, not my worst. Therefore I have no choice but to rewrite it using my "modern" techniques.

When I first wrote _Rome's Revolution_ , it took eight to ten chapters before the reader even knew what was going on. That would be great if I was an established author and my audience trusted me to bring them an exciting story. However, I was brand new and nobody had ever heard of me. This approach would never work if transferred to the screen so I decided to take the time-honored technique of dropping you into the climax, namely Rei Bierak getting ready to destroy Dara while Rome flies away and then stopping, leaving you desperately wanting more. The rest of the book is your discovery of how Rei got into that predicament.

So that's what I did. I wrote a two-page opening scene designed to grab you and make you want to read more. So far, so good. But then the little criticisms started coming in. My general rule is if one person says it is too long and another says it is too short, you ignore them. But if everybody says "lose the phrase (pronounced ray)", then I do it. What do I care?

I finally gave what I thought was my final version of the opening to two more accomplished writers. Again, both said my opening grabbed them and made them want to know more but there was this wrong with it and that.

I gave it to my friend Helen and she absolutely shredded my two pages, in a good and loving way. But it kind of set me back emotionally. I thought I had done a good job, and Helen said the writing was vastly improved, but now I had to take on a higher calling and write a gripping scene which is completely different from writing well.

My heart has healed enough that I will go back to this next weekend. As a writer, you have to be thick-skinned. You cannot take criticism as a personal attack. After all, you want your work to be the best possible. But after the mauling I took, I needed a few weeks to recover.

So it's back to Dara and me making poor old Rei suffer some more. **Next week**. I have a 10th wedding anniversary to celebrate this weekend.

## Entry 5-180: June 29, 2017

### Where is Sol's twin?

A recent article in the Berkeley News cited evidence that most, if not all, stars are formed in pairs. A theoretical physicist from Berkeley and his buddy, a radio-astronomer from Harvard, have studied the formation of many, many stars and have come to the conclusion that pairs are normal, if not the rule.

So if this is true, where is the twin for our Sun whose formal name is Sol? Understand the twins need not be identical twins. Look at Alpha Centauri A and B. One is very Sol-like and the other is a smaller, cooler, red star. So maybe Sol's twin was a smaller, red star as well. Assuming that is true, where is it?

Our solar system was formed over 4.5 billion years ago. If Sol had a twin back then, it is possible that the twin wandered off and is out there somewhere. It is also possible that the two stars collided and Sol ate his brother. In a human baby, when the dead fetus is crushed up against the uterine wall, it is called a "fetus papyraceus." If the dead fetus is actually absorbed by the living fetus, the result can be a dermoid cyst. My brother Bruce had one of these which manifested itself as a cyst in his eyebrow. When it was finally removed, they decided it was a twin that became absorbed into Bruce's body.

Scientists even have a name for Sol's twin - Nemesis. Some people think this star kicked an asteroid into the Earth and it killed off the dinosaurs. But if this were true, then Nemesis would be close enough that we should still be able to spot it. The fact that we can't means it was probably long gone before the Earth had cooled enough for life to start.

Nonetheless, it is an interesting idea to think that somewhere out there is a star that is a fraternal or even identical twin of our Sun. Maybe there is a twin of Earth out there too!

## Entry 5-181: June 30, 2017

### What have you got?

Finally, Rome and Rei and Bonnie are on their way back to Earth armed with the identity of their would-be assassins. The first thing they have to do is track down Paul Chung who, according to Nick Greer, was their best shot at finding Troutman and Steele's whereabouts. However, while they were gone, the Library OMCOM was busy doing his work and stumbled across a shocking and critical discovery. He grabbed the very first opportunity to tell Rome and Rei, or at least he tried:

Upon arriving in the general vicinity of Deucado, MINIMCOM dropped out of null-fold space and it wasn't long before he used a single, normal PPT tunnel to close the remaining distance to the planet. They entered into an east-to-west orbit and MINIMCOM instructed everyone to buckle in for re-entry. He was about to use his direct entry method of jumping to the surface when his preparations were interrupted by OMCOM.

"Rome. Rei," OMCOM's voice came from the grille. "Welcome back. While you were gone, I was able to utilize my workstations to piece together most of the details concerning the raid on Rome's library."

"Thanks but we don't need it anymore," Rome said. "Our mission was successful. We were able to get the names of the people involved." She turned and looked back at Bonnie who was strapped into the new chair that MINIMCOM had built for her. MINIMCOM had called it the 'navigator's chair' although Rei was fairly certain it was their computer friend's attempt at humor. Rome continued, "And Bonnie Mullen has returned with us. She even knows what they look like."

"We're headed to someone's house right now who might know where to find them," Rei added. "So we're good."

"Still, the information that I have acquired could be crucial to your investigation," OMCOM insisted.

"Thank you, OMCOM," Rome said, trying to put the computer at ease. "We will come see it right after we stop at Paul Chung's abode. Our sources tell us this is our best lead in tracking them down."

"But you really should look at what I have synthesized first," OMCOM said, uncharacteristically insistent. "It may have a bearing on what you do next."

"Look, OMCOM," Rei said firmly. "Rome said we'll come take a peek. Let us do our work first then we'll come see you."

"Very well," OMCOM replied. Rei could have sworn there was a hint of disappointment in OMCOM's voice but that would be impossible since their clone did not even have a personality module. A decisive click indicated OMCOM was no longer connected.

Rome and Rei really should have listened OMCOM. It would have made a huge difference in how they went about the hunt. You'll see that down the road.

## Entry 5-182: July 1, 2017

### A touchstone

Yesterday, Rome and Rei arrive back on Deucado armed with the knowledge that Troutman and Steele are the would-be assassin. They knew that Paul Chung was their best bet in figuring out where the bad guys were hiding. Paul Chung was one of the Essessoni so our heroes head straight for New Ark City (a play on New York City if you haven't gotten it by now) to find Mr. Chung:

New Ark City wasn't really a city at all. It only consisted of some 400 individuals and was mostly residential. The Essessoni had the best all-around engineering skills and didn't mind borrowing liberally from Vuduri and Deucadon technology but nonetheless, it was more of a bedroom community. Its major advantage was that it was centrally located, conveniently placed near Rome's library. More importantly, Rome simply liked living there.

As they were leaving the ship, MINIMCOM spoke up through the grille. "Will you be requiring a livetar to accompany you?" he asked.

Rei looked at Rome who shook her head.

"Don't think so, buddy," Rei said. "This should be pretty easy."

"Very well," answered their friend and protector. "You know where to reach me."

The three humans left the starship and it only took a few inquiries to find out where Paul Chung lived. Rei, Rome and Bonnie piled into a community aircar. Rome decided it would be easiest on Rei's back if she drove. Rei protested mildly but quickly surrendered the driver's seat to his wife. They traveled down a series of roads until they got to a sequestered area which the inhabitants had come to refer to as Fox Hollow. This was an odd name indeed as there were no foxes on Deucado but there were no rules here. That was what they called it.

As they drove up the ceramic-laden street, Rome pointed at the houses.

"Why are these houses so large?" she asked. "What would you do with all those rooms?"

Rei laughed quietly to himself. "Back on Earth, by the time we left, all the wealth of the world was in the hands of very few individuals or corporations. Most people struggled just to get by. Ever since we got here, everything has been handed to us. Some people had a harder time dealing with it than others. On this world, I guess this group of people wanted surroundings that make them feel rich, even though everything is free."

"I don't understand," Rome said.

"Everybody needs a touchstone," Bonnie offered.

"What is a touchstone?" Rome asked.

"It's a thing, metaphorically, that lets you measure the worth of something. I guess these people measure their worth by how large of a house they own."

What would you do if you were plopped down on a new planet but could have anything you wanted. Remember that this is a planet where wealth means nothing. You could have three mansions or five house spread around the planet. Would you feel the need to build a McMansion or could you let go of your 21st century values and start a new paradigm?

## Entry 5-183: July 2, 2017

### The Lunch Wagon

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Bonnie came upon Paul Chung's McMansion. Rome questioned why anybody would build such a big house and Rei explained that people from his time simply could not comprehend the concept of unlimited energy and free resources. They held on to their old values and therefore, given a chance, built a house that they could never afford back on Earth.

Their encounter with Paul Chung's wife yielded the fact that Mr. Chung operated a lunch wagon outside of the New Ark City power plant. Why did he do this? Because he could! So back to the city they go:

As they were driving back the way they came, Rome asked, "Why do you even have a power plant? Isn't each house and building self-powered with a PPT generator like ours?"

"No," Rei answered. "With the rapid growth of Ibbra City and Deucadia, it was easier to build a central facility and just run cables there. We call our settlement New Ark City but you know it isn't really a city. Our people just want to help and this was something everybody needed and appreciated."

"It still makes no sense," Rome protested. "It is completely inefficient."

"It's the way they wanted it. I'm sure someday everybody will go back to being self-sufficient but maybe for now it's the Ibbrassati and Deucadon touchstone, like Bonnie said," Rei replied.

Rome shook her head. Rei persisted. "It makes them more comfortable."

"It's still inefficient," Rome grumbled as she slapped the steering mechanism with one hand. "If there is a single problem or interruption of energy flow, hundreds, thousands are affected instead of just one or two."

"Honey, that's the way they wanted it so that's the way they got it," Bonnie said. "To each his own."

"I suppose," Rome said, under her breath, deciding to focus on their destination.

Rome piloted the little aircar through the central, industrialized, section of New Ark City until they came to the power plant. It was a city block-sized building, built out of white Vuduri aerogel. Huge, thick cables exited from side and disappeared into the ground. The air itself has a faint hint of ozone.

Looking around, Rei said, "I don't see the lunch wagon anywhere. Why don't we go inside and ask where it is?"

Rome and Bonnie concurred so the three of them entered the building through the wide set of doors on the side. Inside the building, the piercing odor of ozone was overwhelming. Rome fanned herself, trying to blow the smell away. Bonnie inhaled deeply, almost as if she relished it.

Ozone is interesting stuff. In tiny doses, it cannot hurt you. But according to the EPA in larger doses, it can cause all kind of health problems like:

\--Make it more difficult to breathe deeply and vigorously.

\--Cause shortness of breath, and pain when taking a deep breath.

\--Cause coughing and sore or scratchy throat.

\--Inflame and damage the airways.

\--Aggravate lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.

\--Increase the frequency of asthma attacks.

\--Make the lungs more susceptible to infection.

\--Continue to damage the lungs even when the symptoms have disappeared.

\--Cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

So be careful, Bonnie!

## Entry 5-184: July 3, 2017

### The Vuduri Power Plant

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Bonnie entered the huge Essessoni power plant in New Ark City looking for Paul Chung. Paul's wife had informed them that he operated a lunch wagon outside the plant but the trio could not find it. They entered the power plant and were overwhelmed by the smell of ozone. That probably isn't right and probably due to the Essessoni engineers adapting the Vuduri method of power generation to their own needs:

Rei was pleased to see that there were several Deucadons, clearly distinguishable by their distinctive dress, working alongside his fellow colonists. The Deucadons had spent half a millennia perfecting conduit technology and it was heartening to observe them giving of their expertise to his compatriots. At the core of the plant was the hydra-like form of a multi-branched PPT generator.

"I've never been here before," Bonnie said. "What is that thing?" she asked, pointing toward the waving conduits and tubes that resembled an upside root system.

"That's a Vuduri power plant," Rei said. He turned to look at Rome. "Hey, this is just like the one you had back at Skyler Base. Doesn't that kind of debunk your centralization theory?"

"No," Rome said, still waving at her face. "That was the power plant for that building. If we had another building, we would have built a second plant."

"Oh," Rei said.

"How does it work?" Bonnie asked.

Rei pointed to the thick tubes, conduits and dense wires that split into branches which split into branches and so on back to the far wall. "If this were a lung, those thinner branches would be like the capillary system and those tips, the ones that are kind of blurry, would be the alveoli."

"I still don't understand," Bonnie said.

"The way the original OMCOM, we call him Planet OMCOM now, explained it to me; the tips of the tubes use Casimir pumps to produce a froth of unstable PPT tunnels. They only last long enough to split the neutral energy into a bit of positive and negative energy then they disappear. The wires and conduits collect the positive energy and run it down...somewhere."

"What happens to the negative energy?" Bonnie asked.

"OMCOM told me they just disperse into the atmosphere. I suppose it just moves air molecules from one place to another. No harm done."

"So you get free energy out of nothing," Bonnie said. "I'd always heard about it but never saw it up close. Isn't all that negative energy dangerous, though?"

"OMCOM did say that there would be **a price to pay some day** but he never told me what it was."

I still haven't figured out what OMCOM meant by that. However, I trust my characters. When they say something that seems out of place, eventually it becomes clear. Tomorrow, we will finally get to meet Paul Chung, the man who may be able to tell Rome and Rei where they can find their attackers, Troutman and Steele.

## Entry 5-185: July 4, 2017

### Meet Paul Chung, Part 1

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Bonnie entered the Essessoni power plant. They finally found the plant foreman who told them they would find Paul Chung's lunch wagon on the far side of the building. At last, Rome and Rei might learn the whereabouts of the would-be assassins, Troutman and Steele. They hurried across the plant and exited the far side:

In front of them was Paul Chung's lunch wagon. Rei chuckled to himself how closely it resembled one from his time on Earth. It even had wheels. The entire vehicle was plated in diamond-patterned shiny aluminum and looked fresh and clean. If nothing, Paul had a sense of humor because there was no earthly reason why he would fashion it so, otherwise. They walked up to the large side window and a man stepped forward to greet them. He had vaguely Asian features and although he was hidden from the waist down, Rome could tell he was a bit shorter than Rei.

"What can I get you folks?" he asked pleasantly. "Oh, Bonnie, hi," he said, somewhat surprised to see her.

"Hi Paul," Bonnie said. "This is Rei Bierak and Rome, his wife."

"I know who they are," he said. He nodded toward them. "So what can I do for you?"

"We are looking for David Troutman," Rome said, speaking up. "Do you know where we can find him?"

A dark fleeting expression passed over Chung's face. "No!" he said insistently. "What would make you think that?"

Bonnie spoke up. "Nick Greer said that you guys had a hoker game going back at your house and he and Troutman played with you sometimes."

"Yeah, sure," Chung said, "but that was a long time ago. Right after you guys," he pointed at Rei, "rounded up those Darwin people, he took off. I haven't seen him in ages."

"Are you sure?" Rei asked. "Do you have any idea where he might have gone off to?"

"No, none at all," he said. He looked off into the distance. "I thought that the rest of the Darwins turned themselves in. Wasn't he with that group?" He directed his question at Bonnie.

"No, he never made it," she said. "He's still here on Deucado."

Chung started to speak then stopped himself. His expression soured. "I'm a little busy right now. If you don't want anything to eat, why don't you get going? They're going to be taking a break pretty soon and I have to get ready."

I don't know about you but certainly to me, Paul Chung acted suspiciously. Why would he do that? What would he have to hide? Maybe we'll find out tomorrow.

## Entry 5-186: July 5, 2017

### Meet Paul Chung, Part 2

Yesterday, Rome and Rei finally met Paul Chung, the man who was supposed to have information regarding the whereabouts of David Troutman and Dan Steele, the would-be assassins. These two holdouts from the Darwin roundup were responsible for the attempt on Rei's life. There was no reason that Paul Chung would be evasive yet he yielded no actionable intelligence:

Rome stepped forward and placed her hands on the counter. "Please," she pleaded. "It's very important. We think he tried to kill us. We do not want that happening again. What about Dan Steele? Do you know where he is?"

Chung's eyes widened and he shivered. "Sorry," he said. "Can't help you." He turned quickly and moved back into the dark interior of the truck, leaving Rei, Rome and Bonnie just standing there. "Good luck with your search," Chung called out as he disappeared into the recesses of his mobile kitchen.

"I don't understand," Rome said, craning her neck forward, trying to see in.

Rei put his finger up to his lips and waved for the two women to follow him. They circled around the outskirts of the power plant's main building back to where they had left the aircar parked.

"OK," Rei said. "Now you talk."

Rome searched Rei's eyes. "He understood that we are in danger. Why would he just push us away? Why not try to help us?" A tear came to her eye.

Rei just shook his head. "It's obvious to all of us that he knows something but for whatever reason, he doesn't want to talk. We have to find another way."

"What other ways?" Rome turned to Bonnie. "You knew these men. Do you have any other ideas?"

Bonnie addressed Rei. "On all the police shows, whenever they were looking for someone, they used a sketch artist to draw pictures of the suspects. Then they canvassed the neighborhood. Do you think we can find somebody who could do that? I could describe to them exactly what Troutman and Steele look like. We could start with that."

"I'm pretty sure that can be arranged," Rei said, nodding.

Well, shoot. Paul Chung was a dead end. But Bonnie's idea of a police sketch just might do the trick. This seems like something MINIMCOM could do in his sleep. We'll have to see.

## Entry 5-187: July 6, 2017

### Reconstruction

If you will recall, a few days ago, the Library OMCOM told Rome and Rei that he had important information regarding the whereabouts of their would-be killers. Our intrepid couple sloughed off the assertion thinking they knew better. After their confrontation Paul Chung revealed nothing other than he was afraid of something, they returned to the ship where MINIMCOM quickly built police sketch-type images of Troutman and Steele. Finally, OMCOM will get his opportunity to reveal some startling information:

When they got to the library, MINIMCOM landed at his own private airstrip and instantiated a livetar who accompanied them across the broad central boulevard and into the parking lot in front of Rome's building. To their left were the commissary, dormitory and combination lecture hall/theater; the three buildings which were designed to be part of the original complex. Behind them stood the smaller geology lab and off in the distance, the new general science building loomed upwards, nearly finished.

They walked up the stairs to Rome's library and entered the main door. MINIMCOM indicated they should head to the left to the wing which was evolving into a small museum. Inside the room, on the right-hand wall were two full-sized Vuduri workstations. On the left hand wall was a glass case holding the Essessoni data slabs, the Deucadon's memory stick, Trabunel's journal and a stack of Vuduri data cubes. These original sources formed the foundation of Rome's historical studies. In a special pressurized case sat Silas Hiram's journal, a present from the Overmind of Helome thanking them for delivering the genetic material in the form of the Darwin contingent.

In a case at the back of the room, the hook that had been used to display Hanry Ta Jihn's handgun sat empty, along with another hook that had been used to hold up one of the Deucadon's invisibility cloaks. The other cloak remained where it had always been.

As they entered the room, OMCOM's livetar appeared with a whoosh and a pop.

"Thank you for making the time to come see me," the livetar said. Rei thought he caught a touch of sarcasm in the livetar's voice. Maybe some of Planet OMCOM's personality was beginning to seep through after all.

The all-white being took them over to one of the two workstations.

"The video cameras and microphones on these two workstations were active the entire time before, during and after the raid or whatever you wish to call it. I think burglary is the proper word although that typically implies breaking and entering. Since the library is never locked, there was no actual breaking in."

"Can you get on with it?" Rei asked with a hint of impatience.

"Of course," the livetar replied. "Unfortunately, the video feeds themselves were at the wrong angle. I could not get any images that I could present to you. I was only able to get a sense of where the persons were located in the room at any given point in time by the change in lighting and shadows. I have constructed an animation."

Even though the Library OMCOM doesn't have any actual video, he was able to use sound deflection to reconstruction motion in the room. That is pretty cool. I wonder what the reconstructed motion display will show them.

## Entry 5-188: July 7, 2017

### Another culprit!

Yesterday, the Library OMCOM told Rome and Rei that he had reconstructed the motion of the burglar or burglars who had stolen Hanry Ta Jihn's handgun and one of the Deucadon's invisibility cloaks. Rei had assumed that it was Troutman and Steele all along but he kept his suspicions to himself while waiting for actual proof. What OMCOM was about to show them was something that nobody was expecting:

OMCOM showed them a floor plan of the library. A yellow dot appeared at the front door then extended to become a yellow line, indicating the path the intruders took. They didn't meander. They headed right for the museum area that Rei, Rome and Bonnie now occupied and went directly to the display cases.

"As you can see, they were very purposeful in their actions. They came in, they removed the objects then retraced their steps back outside."

"Not very useful," Rei said. "It just confirms your suspicion. They came here to steal and they got the gun and cloak."

"I agree that tracing their paths, in and out, of itself, is of no consequence," OMCOM said. "However, I was able to use the acoustical inputs to create essentially a three dimensional construct of the group as they entered the room. Very similar to your sonar vision, Rei."

"What do you mean by group?" Rome asked. "There were just the two of them, right?"

"No," OMCOM said. "There were three of them." The acoustical renditions showed three people moving through the room as gray specters. Two of the shapes appeared normal height or thereabouts. The third person was very short.

"Three?" Rei sputtered. "The tall one must be Troutman. The medium sized one must have been Steele. But who was the third?"

"I was able to use a series of transforms to abstract their voices. She did not say much but I can play it for you."

"Sh, sh, she?" Rome stammered. "It was a woman?"

"Yes," OMCOM said.

The livetar played the recording. The woman only said two things. The first time OMCOM played the recordings, it was not very clear. After a few adjustments, the sound of the voice sharpened up. The woman's voice said, "You will only need one cloak."

OMCOM's animation indicated one of the two taller beings reaching in the case. At that point, the woman said, "Please put the handgun back. It belonged to Hanry Ta Jihn. You do not need it."

One of the two men growled at her that they did and that was the end of it.

Rei sat down heavily at the seat by the workstation.

"You heard that, right?" Rei inquired of Rome. "The accent?"

"Yes," Rome said sadly.

"What?" Bonnie asked. "What's so special about that woman's voice?"

What could be so depressing about a woman's voice? It is something from so far out in left field that it is in another ballpark. You'll see tomorrow.

## Entry 5-189: July 8, 2017

### A traitor among them

Yesterday, the Library OMCOM was able to show Rome and Rei a ghostly reconstruction of the burglary that occurred at Rome's Library. It was save to assume that the two men depicted were Troutman and Steele, the would-be assassins. But what took everyone by surprise was that there was a third person, a short woman speaking with a Vuduri accent. How was this even possible? There had to be more information:

"What?" Bonnie asked. "What's so special about that woman's voice?"

"She's Vuduri," Rei said. "Our two would-be killers have a Vuduri woman helping them."

Rome strode over to the other workstation and sat down.

"What are you going to do?" Bonnie asked.

"I am going to contact the Overmind," Rome said defiantly. "If she is Vuduri, he will know who it is."

Bonnie started to speak but Rome held up her hand. She closed her eyes and put her fingers to her lips to make sure that everyone remained quiet.

"Hello," Rome said.

"Hello, Rome," the Overmind answered back. Over the last year or so, it had grown in strength and vitality as the number of Vuduri on Deucado had increased and they found a way to work with it without becoming a slave to it. "I was very sorry to hear what happened to Rei. I am glad he is now up and around."

"Thank you," Rome replied. "That is very kind."

"Do you know who perpetrated this assassination attempt?"

"Yes. Two Essessoni," Rome said. "They were part of the Darwin group."

"You have identified them? This is good," the Overmind replied. "Have you located them yet?"

"No," Rome said.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Perhaps," Rome replied. "That is why I am contacting you. There is something I need to ask you."

"Anything."

"We have reason to believe they were being aided by a Vuduri woman. Were you aware of that?"

"No," the Overmind replied, "but if she was disconnected, how would I be?"

"Please reach out and see if any of your communicants have any knowledge of this or who this woman might be. Whatever her motivation would be for aiding them, it would be impossible to keep it a secret from other Vuduri."

There was a small delay and then the Overmind spoke up again. "I am sorry to report to you that there is no hint of such a woman. It is possible that she has remained disconnected since the act was perpetrated."

This information is very confusing. The third burglar was clearly a Vuduri woman yet the Overmind of Deucado had no knowledge of the woman or the break-in. How would such a thing be possible? Two ideas come to mind. As the Overmind suggested, she might have disconnected but if that were true, eventually she'd have to reconnect and the Overmind would know. The second possibility is that she was not of that samanda. But if that were true, then who is she?

## Entry 5-190: July 9, 2017

### Another approach

Yesterday, we found out that the Overmind of Deucado had no knowledge of the break-in at Rome's Library and therefore no knowledge of the identity of the Vuduri woman helping Troutman and Steele. Things just weren't adding up. But as my wife likes to say, when the pieces of the puzzle don't match up, you are probably missing some pieces. It is Rome and Rei's job to figure out that missing piece, i.e. who was this mystery Vuduri woman:

Rome opened up her eyes and stared around the room at the humans and livetars.

"The Overmind has no knowledge of such a woman," she said. "He was unable to detect a person with motives before the crime or since."

"How can that be?" Bonnie asked. "I thought you were all mind-connected?"

"They are," Rei said. "And they can't lie. But they sure can keep secrets."

Rome held her hand up and closed her eyes again.

"Is there anything at all, anything amiss that you could tie into this? Our lives depend upon it."

"No," the Overmind replied. "You and Rei are beloved across this entire planet. There is not a single Vuduri here who has ill will toward you. From my understanding, the same is true of the Essessoni, Deucadons and the mandasurte. No, whoever this is, she has had no experiences that she has shared with me or any of the Vuduri. That or she was never a part of my samanda to begin with."

"Not part of your samanda?" Rome scrunched up her face. "How could that be?"

"I cannot answer your question," the Overmind replied, "but it is the only explanation I can postulate that fits the facts."

"Hmm," Rome said. "I will have to think about that."

"I am sorry that I cannot be of more help," the Overmind said wistfully.

"I appreciate your efforts," Rome said sadly. "We will have to find them another way." With that, Rome disconnected. She looked up at Rei. "The Overmind has nothing to offer. He speculated that perhaps this woman never belonged to his samanda in the first place."

"How could that be? Do you think she was Cesdiud?"

Rome shrugged. Rei looked around the room and stopped when he made eye contact with Bonnie. "You mentioned the police shows we used to watch. What would they do now?"

"They'd haul the first witness back in and hook him up to a lie detector," Bonnie said. "Try and catch him with an inconsistency. That's all it usually takes to break them."

"What is a lie detector?" Rome asked, standing up.

"It's a machine they hook up to you and it records the person's vital signs during an interrogation. Inside a person's head, there are all sorts of things happening that might indicate their words were not the truth."

"Inside their heads, you say?" Rome offered. "Like the espansor bands?"

A germ of an idea is forming. It just takes a computer to fit the components together to come up with the ideal solution.

## Entry 5-191: July 10, 2017

### The Moon and Mars

Everything in my _Rome's Revolution_ series is about far away worlds and the future. But every so often I like to take a survey of where we are in this world and what's coming down the pike. In this article, specifically, I'd like to highlight man's return to space for worlds both near and far.

The first and easiest place to visit would be going back to the Moon. NASA is planning on sending a crew looping around the moon in 2021. This would mostly be a shakedown cruise of the new Orion spacecraft. It appears that they want to build a construction station in lunar orbit so they can assemble ships that can go to Mars and get them there without always fighting Earth gravity.

Meanwhile, the Japanese have stated that they want to put a man on the Moon by 2030, the same year NASA is aiming for Mars. China landed an unmanned rover on the Moon in 2013, the third country to do so. They have also stated that they want to put a man on the Moon but they are shooting for 2036 which is a ways off. India held a contest for a private group to land a craft on the Moon but have not announced plans to send a human there as yet. Finally, we get to Russia. They, too, have announced they want to put a man on the Moon in 2030. It's going to be a busy place that year!

Between the Moon and Mars, it appears that NASA wants to land a man on an asteroid for science and practice. The unmanned probe Dawn was launched in 2007 and stopped by an asteroid called Vesta and it arrived in 2011. It stayed there for 14 months then exited and made its way to Ceres in late 2012. It has been there ever since. The spacecraft is still functioning and NASA is going to decide in the next month or so as to whether they are going to send it to a third asteroid called Adeona or keep it in orbit around Ceres until it fails. President Obama announced he wanted to send a human to one of the asteroids by 2025 but who knows if that will happen?

This leads us to Mars. Everybody wants to go there. NASA is currently developing the Orion spacecraft for just this purpose. As mentioned above, the target date is 2030 but that could slip. In the mean time, it is possible that when they get to the Red Planet, there will already be people there. Shades of _Rome's Revolution_! Who will these people be? If Elon Musk has his way, it will be SpaceX. He is planning on landing an unmanned craft in 2020. Originally it was going to be next year but got delayed because of "other priorities" which means Tesla, SolarRoof, etc.

If you don't want to wait for SpaceX, you can sign up for Mars One's Mission to Mars. You pay them money and they put you on a list and if things go well, you'll get selected to go. When they launch is anybody's guess but be forewarned, they are only planning on one-way trips. You can't come home again. Their web site indicates they are shooting for the early 2030's. I wonder what is so magical about that decade? It seems to be everybody's target. China says they are going to land a man on Mars by the "late 2020s" so it's pretty close to everyone else.

The one thing that everyone is forgetting is that there has already been a human on Mars. His name is John Carter and Edgar Rice Burroughs had him projecting himself there in 1912. I wonder if he is still there?

## Entry 5-192: July 11, 2017

### Reactivation

Two days ago, Rome finished her interrogation of the Overmind of Deucado. The only possibility was the Vuduri woman helping Troutman and Steele was not from Deucado and therefore never part of the samanda there. This led to a discussion of lie detectors which Rome likened to the espansor bands that Rei and she used to look into the other's mind. As far as everyone knew, they had no such thing on Deucado. Or do they?

"Inside their heads, you say?" Rome offered. "Like the espansor bands?"

"The bands are way better," Rei said. "I wonder if we could make Paul Chung put one on and you could question him."

OMCOM stepped forward and said, "You may not need to."

"I don't understand," Rome replied.

"Rome, within your head are all the components that make up the espansors. You could effectively build a one-way device with just your brain alone."

"How?" Rei asked skeptically. "How would she do that?"

"If Rome uses two sets of non-matched PPT transceivers, she could bathe her subject, or their brain more specifically, with enough gravitic radiation such that her EM link could pick up the electrical activity in the subject's brain and use a feedback loop to cause an equivalent resonance in her own brain. It would be identical to the espansor bands but without any hardware. She would become what your people refer to as a telepath."

"You do know I only have one functional set of PPT transceivers," Rome pointed out.

"I can reactivate a second set," MINIMCOM said matter-of-factly. "It would not be a problem."

"No, you cannot," Rome countered. "Once they are deactivated, they can never be reactivated again."

"With your Vuduri technology, that may be true," MINIMCOM corrected her. "But with my null-fold, I have the capability of reactivating them again.

"Impossible," Rome scoffed.

"Not impossible," MINIMCOM replied. "Back on Helome, when I was in the science lab with you and Virga, I saw your genetic chart. You actually have the potential for three sets of autonomous PPT transceivers. Not only can I reactivate your original connection to the samanda of Earth, I could even activate the PPT transceivers that would connect you to MASAL's samanda."

"I'll pass on MASAL's, if you don't mind," Rome said with some disgust. She cocked her head. "You can really do that? Reactivate me?"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Rei asked. "When Estar did it to me, it hurt like hell. And I remember the scream you let out when Pegus reconnected you."

I don't know about you but the whole thing sounds a little bit scary. The computers seem confident but then again they are not human. However, Rome and Rei have trusted them with their lives many times over and they never let them down. I wonder what is involved.

## Entry 5-193: July 12, 2017

### A willing subject

Yesterday, MINIMCOM informed Rome that he could reactivate her PPT transceivers that were deactivated way back when she first cast out, Cesdiud, at Skyler Base, in the Tabit star system. Rome had assumed they were gone forever but MINIMCOM said no. The Library OMCOM told Rome that with two sets of PPT transceivers and her EM link, she could effectively peer into the mind of anyone around her turning her essentially into a telepath. Basically, she would become a living lie detector without anyone knowing it. Sounds pretty handy. How would they go about this?

"The normal method of activating transceivers is based upon negative energy generators," MINIMCOM explained. "My null-fold splits negative energy into a real and imaginary component. It is the imaginary component that causes the pain. The real part should be painless. May I?"

Rome thought about it for a moment then nodded. The livetar stepped forward and put his hands over her temple. After a moment, he stepped back. "It is done," he said. "You now have two completely functional sets of PPT transceivers. You are the first Vuduri in the history of mankind who can now connect at will to two different worlds. **If you were to go back to Earth, you could join the Overmind there."**

"Really?" Rome said, putting her hands to her temples. "I don't feel any different. OMCOM, are you saying I can now perform the functions you ascribed."

"To evolve into a true telepath, you must train yourself," OMCOM offered.

"How would I train myself to do something that has never been done before?"

OMCOM stepped forward. "The methodology is very straightforward. You must find a willing subject and they must allow you to guide their thinking completely. The simpler the better. You will then use your heightened senses until you are able to lock into their thoughts. Once you do that, they will not be able to mislead or tell untruths."

"A living lie detector, huh?" Rei said admiringly. "That is so sleek!"

"Where would I find such a willing subject?" Rome asked innocently, ignoring Rei's comment.

Both livetars lifted their arms and pointed to Rei.

"Me?" he asked. He shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"How do I do this?" Rome asked.

In answer to her question, OMCOM took Rome aside and whispered to her, giving her very detailed instructions. Rome's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She whispered back to OMCOM. Eventually she nodded, indicating she got it.

Rome had a strange look to her eye as she had Rei grab the remaining invisibility cloak. The three humans then left for the quick journey back to New Ark City.

Note the sentence in bold. It will become important later in the story.

So... Rei loves Rome. Rome loves Rei. What could go wrong with turning your wife into a living lie detector? Nothing, right? _Rome's Evolution_ is about to begin!

## Entry 5-194: July 13, 2017

### Don't think

Yesterday, we saw MINIMCOM reactivate one of Rome's dormant set of PPT transceivers. The plan is for her to flood Rei's brain with dual sets of gravitic resonance and pick up the resulting vibrations using her EM receiver. Basically, she has the equivalent of the Espansor bands built into her head. It is time to moving on to the training phase of this exercise, one in which Rei is not permitted to do much of anything. I think he is in for a treat:

Rome knelt down in front of Rei and took his hands in hers then looked up into his eyes.

"Bonnie is spending the night in MINIMCOM," she said. "OMCOM's livetar is standing guard by the door and has set up surveillance devices around the perimeter of the house. We are safe and alone for the evening."

"OK," Rei said, smiling. "Now what?"

Rome picked up each of Rei's hands and kissed first one then the other very tenderly.

"Mau emir, I love you more than anything and I know that you love me."

"Of course," Rei said uncertainly. "What's that got to do with you learning to be a telepath?"

"No Vuduri could ever understand this but our love travels in all dimensions. Our minds, our hearts, our bodies."

Rei nodded.

"When we make love, it is not simply a sex act; it is the very definition of our expressing our love for each other via the flesh. As my lover and my friend and my Asborodi Cimponeti, you are always so careful to show this to me in, how should I say this, taking care of my needs?"

"Well, sure," Rei said.

"In order for me to train my brain to use these new capabilities, I need your brain absolutely blank. You need to think only the most primitive of thoughts and I must be able to control them. OMCOM was very explicit regarding the training. He and I agreed that sexual pleasure is by far the simplest to effect. I must do things that I know will bring you pleasure and I must sense that pleasure. "

"Well, I think I can cooperate," Rei said with a goofy grin on his face. "We've done this before."

"No. This time must be different. Tonight, I need you to think of nothing else other than yourself. **You cannot think about me at all."** Rome squeezed Rei's hands for emphasis.

"What do you mean? How do I not think about you?" Rei asked, gazing down at his beautiful wife.

How many times does this happen in your life? Not many, I bet. Rei is in heaven and Rome learns to reads minds. I'd call that a win-win.

## Entry 5-195: July 14, 2017

### Be selfish

Yesterday, Rome told Rei that her training requires that they go to bed together but that for once, and only once, he is not to think of anything other than himself. Rei loves Rome and he told her that he wasn't sure he could do that. Rome compromises a little bit:

"You can think about me but I do not want you to consider my needs whatsoever. You must allow me to attend only to your own pleasure. You must be completely and totally selfish."

"Why?" Rei said with some protest. "I don't know if I can do that."

"For this to work, you must. It is only for one night. Please? Can you do this for me?"

Rei cocked his head, looking at Rome askew. "Let me get this straight. You're demanding, for your training, that I just lie back and let you do all the work?"

"Exactly," Rome said with a smile. "Do you think you can do that for me?"

Rei laughed. "I'll muddle through it somehow."

"Excellent," Rome said. She stood up and helped Rei to his feet. Very carefully but very sensuously, she removed Rei's electrostatic blouse to reveal the miniature PPT tunnel underneath.

"Don't stick your hands in there," Rei said, pointing to where his chest should have been.

"We must remove the vest," Rome said. "You can be without it for one night.

"OK," Rei said, "but be very careful. **I don't want you losing a limb."**

"I will be careful," Rome replied. She unclasped the leather-like thongs along the sides and Rei helped her lift the vest up and over his head and put it off to the side. Rei started to unclasp his pants and Rome slapped his hand away.

"Allow me," she said as she began to flood his brain with gravitic radiation emitting from her dual set of active PPT transceivers. "Everything must be so I can measure the effects."

"OK," Rei said, shrugging. He watched in amusement as Rome removed his trousers. After that was complete, paying extra attention to make sure he did not flex his back, Rome had him sit back down on the edge of the bed.

Rome removed her jumpsuit in the closest thing she could do to approximate a striptease. Noting that it had the desired effect, she knelt down and began her training in earnest.

Note the sentence in bold. I already told you once before that the edge of a PPT tunnel is the sharpest thing in the universe. This will come into play down the road. But let's assume, for this interlude, Rome will be careful.

## Entry 5-196: July 15, 2017

### Forever and always

Yesterday, Rome began her evolution into becoming a true telepath. Part of this training required her to use Rei as a willing subject for purposes of stimulus and response. Her instructions was for once in their married life, Rei was to be completely selfish and allow Rome to attend to his needs. While it was against his nature to ever be selfish, especially when it came to Rome, Rei was agreeable to participating in the experiment:

To her credit, despite the distractions, Rome was every bit the scientist, performing tiny experiments and noting the results. She had been inside of Rei's head so many times, she was already familiar with the terrain. But this was different. Unlike with the bands, she found she could direct Rei's thoughts with very simple actions. It was fascinating to her to see that things she always thought Rei enjoyed, some of them were very pleasurable and others were not as important. She discovered some things that even Rei did not know he enjoyed. She was able to sense when certain motions strained his back which allowed her to alter her actions instantaneously to reduce the strain.

Even as she was applying her ministrations, Rome knew this would ultimately be the end of the Vuduri in their current form. The very best of them had tried to eschew the flesh. They tried to deny their animal origins and this was a complete mistake. Humans were human and they had to embrace every part that defined the species. To reject the physical, as most of the Vuduri had done, was to reject their humanity. Rome knew that she had to communicate this to them, to take them back to something less and at the same time, something more. But that would be another day.

As she tried different lovemaking positions, frequencies and intensities, Rei's brain gave her animalistic feedback in a way that his voice, his utterances, his touch never could. Rei's mind blazed with love and affection for his wife, combined with exploding sensations. Rome was so far inside his brain, it was almost as if she was making love to herself.

After a while, Rome had all the information she needed but she did not stop. Just like with the bands, there came a point where there was no longer a conscious difference between them as their souls intertwined and merged. What could not be possible with any other human being was routine territory to Rome; not that that made it any less remarkable. The man beneath her was her gift from the heavens. What they had was beyond love. **They were one. Forever and always.**

The last sentence, in bold, was lifted directly from _Rome's Revolution_. Both Rome and Rei were thinking that the other was a gift from the heavens. The forever and always turns out to literally be true. But you'll have to read _The Immortals_ in _The Vuduri Companion_ to see how that came about.

## Entry 5-197: July 16, 2017

### Brave Counsel

Yesterday, Rome and Rei reaffirmed their love for one another as a byproduct of Rome's training learning to be a telepath. The scene ended with the classic fade to black which I have since learned is the absolute worst place to end a chapter. You are practically begging the reader to set your book down knowing the characters are safe and happy for the moment. This increases the chances that they _don't_ pick up the book again. if I had to do it over again, this next section would be part of the same chapter:

The next morning, before heading out, a tired Rei and Rome sat at Binoda's dining table, having coffee.

"It's great that your parents learned to like coffee," Rei said, holding up a cup. "Saved me a lot of effort."

"I agree," Rome replied. "Now that I am a living lie detector, as you put it, how do we go about exploiting this ability to find the people trying to kill us?"

"Well, like Bonnie said, the first thing we do is go back to see Paul Chung. We all know he has more information than he let on."

"Of course," Rome said. "We will be able to get the absolute truth from him."

Rei looked at her and wagged his finger. "Uh, before we start," he said, "you probably need to know a little something about the lie detectors we had back in my day. They were called polygraphs and they weren't foolproof. People used to get away with lies all the time.

"What do you mean?" Rome asked him. "If that was the case, they couldn't have been very good in the first place."

"No, there's kind of an art to lying. This isn't anything a Vuduri could understand. You're all so used to having people inside your brains, you never perfected the method." Rei looked around. "Here, I'll show you," he said. "Put your hands on the table."

Rome did so.

"Now ask me something simple, like, what's your name?"

"OK," Rome said. "What is your name?"

"Brave Counsel," Rei answered.

Rome screwed her face up in surprise. "Your name is Rei Bierak," she said. "I know this."

"You think you do. Now take my hands, turn on your lie detector and ask me the same question. Make sure you are good and connected."

Rome reached forward and flipped her hands upside down, palms up. Rei put his hands within hers.

"You're in my brain, right?" he asked.

Rome nodded. "I feel the connection."

"Good. Now ask me the exact same question again."

As a people, the Vuduri never did have much experience with lying. Keeping secrets, yes but lying, no. So it never occurred to Rome that people with some skill can fool a lie detector. She is going to have to learn to work around this fact.

## Entry 5-198: July 17, 2017

### Not so foolproof as you think

Yesterday, Rei showed Rome what a lie looked like on the outside. He told her his name was Brave Counsel and, of course, Rome knew it was Rei Bierak. She was now going to test her powers as a living lie detector and the results will be pretty surprising:

"You're in my brain, right?" Rei asked.

Rome nodded. "I feel the connection."

"Good. Now ask me the exact same question again."

"What is your name?" Rome asked, closing her eyes to concentrate on Rei's answer.

"Brave Counsel," Rei answered again. Rome opened her eyes in shock. "You are telling the truth. I, I don't understand."

Rei smiled. "My given name is Reinard, which means brave counsel. I think it's German. My parents were always a little weird that way."

"But I asked you your name. How could you answer the wrong thing?"

"I didn't," Rei said. "I chose to interpret your question differently than you intended. I answered the question I made myself believe you were asking and I answered it truthfully."

Rome harrumphed. "If I can't tell if you are telling the truth about such a simple thing, of what use is this new ability."

"We'll figure that out. Let's try another one." Rei pulled his hands away from Rome's. "Ask me what girl is the love of my life."

Rome's face lit up. This one would be easy. Rei put his hands back into hers. "What girl is the love of your life?" Rome asked.

Rei leaned forward and stared into Rome's eyes. "It was Sally Reynolds," he answered, deadly serious.

"What!?" Rome cried out, completely taken aback. She knew categorically that Rei was telling the truth. "Not me? I am not the love of your life?" Tears started welling up in her eyes. She tried to pull her hands away from Rei but he tightened his grip on them.

He said, "of course you are. I said 'was', not 'is'. And besides, you asked me what girl. Romey, trust me, you are every bit a woman, not a girl. I simply answered the question I made myself believe you asked."

Once again, Rome realized he was telling the truth.

"What do I do?" she asked sadly. "How can I know anything if the way I ask a question allows the other person to lie or mislead?"

Tomorrow, Rei will teach her the logical skills to work her way around what appears to be a lie. Then they will turn her loose!

## Entry 5-199: July 18, 2017

### So now what?

Yesterday, Rei showed Rome that no matter how she phrased a question, anybody sufficiently skilled in the art of lying could twist that question around and lie without tripping Rome's new built in lie detector. Rome found this very discouraging. She thought it would be simple. It was up to Rei to teach her how to harness her new powers:

"What do I do?" she asked sadly. "How can I know anything if the way I ask a question allows the other person to lie or mislead?"

"From what I can tell, you shouldn't be asking any questions at all. Just say words. Let their minds work against them. Their thoughts will betray them."

"I don't understand."

"I'll give you an example. Ask me if I know your father."

"Of course you do," Rome said huffily.

"So ask me then."

"Do you know my father?" Rome squeezed Rei's hands tightly.

"No," Rei answered in all earnestness. Rome was shocked. Rei was telling the truth.

"This is not possible!" she exclaimed. "I know you know my father."

"Because once again, you don't know how I interpreted the question. From my perspective, when I think about it, nobody really knows anybody. Well, maybe except you and me. There's too much depth. People only scratch the surface. Even me and your father."

Rome was breathing heavily. "I thought this was going to be the answer to all of our difficulties."

"It will be. It's easy," Rei said. "Look into my mind and just say your father's name."

Rome looked at him warily and said, "Fridone." And there it was. The image of her father appeared within Rei's mind along with the warmth of his affection for the man. Instantly, several flashbacks came to Rei of the times they had spent together. Some good, some under not the best of circumstances."

"Now," Rei said, as he saw Rome nodding. "Do I know your father?"

"Yes," Rome said, beaming. "I see now. I do not ask anything. I just give you reason to think about something."

"Exactly," Rei said. "We Essessoni have spent our whole lives learning how to live within our heads. You have to come in without them putting up a guard. That way they can't use their skills or defenses."

So it isn't so much Rome grilling her subject as it is getting them to think about her topic of interest. Once she gets the hang of it, she will be unstoppable.

## Entry 5-200: July 19, 2017

### A movie in the head

Yesterday, Rome's eyes were opened (figuratively) regarding the difference between asking a direct question and simply getting her subject to think about something when trying to get to the truth. Asking a question allows the person to formulate an answer and respond with a lie. Simply getting a person to ponder something doesn't have the same effect yet Rome can "hear" the person's thoughts surreptitiously. This is a quantum leap forward as Rome becomes a human lie detector:

Rei pulled his hands out from Rome's and touched his temple. MINIMCOM's livetar appeared with Bonnie standing right next to him.

Bonnie looked around to get her bearings. "What's the plan?" she asked. "Did it work?"

"Here," Rei said, pulling out a chair. "Sit down for a moment."

"Sure," Bonnie said.

"Do you want a cup of coffee?" Rei asked.

"I'd love one," Bonnie said. Rei got up and left the table. He returned a moment later with another cup. After Bonnie prepared her coffee and took a sip, she set the cup down.

Rome reached forward and held her hands out, palms up. "Will you put your hands in mine?" she asked. "I have found this works best if I am in physical contact with my subject."

"Sure," Bonnie said and she did so.

Rome looked at her face and said one word, "Edgar." Bonnie frowned but said nothing. However, what had transpired was vividly clear to Rome, like a movie of the mind. The depth of Edgar's depravity shocked Rome. It took a moment for her to recover.

"The first time you went to see him in prison, he raped you," Rome said sympathetically. "Even after all you had been through. I'm so sorry," she said.

"How did you know?" Bonnie said, pulling back. "I never told anyone."

"I am practicing my new skills," Rome answered matter-of-factly. Then, with more sympathy in her voice, she said, "that is why you never went back to see him again."

Bonnie sighed. "He was a pig. I hope he rots in that cell."

Rome nodded. The images she saw in Bonnie's mind matched her words exactly.

Rome squeezed her hands in support. "Now, another name," Rome said. "Sussen."

Immediately, the image of the Vuduri woman with the mismatched eyes became clear. Bonnie thought back to the day Sussen supposedly came to 'inspect' the Onsira ranch. Rome felt Bonnie's overwhelming sadness upon discovering the children were gone the next day. Bonnie knew in her heart that Sussen was responsible for stealing them away. She just could never prove it. Gemen was gone that day. There was no evidence that Sussen was ever there. Virga and the rest of the Vuduri gave Bonnie the benefit of the doubt but nothing was ever done.

Rome is making rapid strides towards getting the information she wants from her subject without them realizing it. These social skills are just as important as the physical skills. You can hand someone a basketball and they might be reasonably good at shooting hoops but there is no doubt they would improve with practice. This is true about all endeavors, including writing!

## Entry 5-201: July 20, 2017

### True Feelings

Yesterday, Rome was making great strides in evolving into a living lie detector. She discovered that the way to the truth was not a straight line but rather a meandering path. She has embraced this new approach and is eager to apply it starting with Paul Chung. Today we will see her final "tune-up" before they go out into the world and try to find out who is behind the plot to assassinate Rei:

There was no evidence that Sussen was ever there. Virga and the rest of the Vuduri gave Bonnie the benefit of the doubt but nothing was ever done.

"I believe you," Rome said. "Did you see her ship? Was it large enough to transport all the children at one time?"

Bonnie cocked her head. "What? How did you? No, I never saw it," she said. It was crystal clear that she was telling the truth. Again, waves of sadness echoed in Bonnie's mind as she thought back to how much she missed her babies.

Rome gave Bonnie a moment to compose herself. "I would like you to try and lie to me now," Rome said.

"Huh?" Bonnie replied. "Why?"

"Rome needs to experiment," Rei offered.

"OK."

"How do you feel about Gemen?" Rome asked.

Bonnie tilted her head. "Nothing, really," she said. "He's deadly dull as a partner."

Rome looked into Bonnie's heart and saw that this was not the truth. Bonnie actually was very fond of Gemen but only as a friend. They had slept together a couple of times but he was so reserved, he did not fill the void in Bonnie's heart. That had been fulfilled by taking care of the Onsira babies. Rome watched as the play of emotions swirled around in Bonnie's brain. Everything in Bonnie's world led back to that singular event.

Rei was right. It was all so clear to her now. Rome just had to raise the idea of something and let the person's thoughts flow naturally. Pointed questions would not work with the Essessoni. But the power of suggestion would.

Rome looked over to Rei and nodded. _"I understand now,"_ she said to him silently. _"This will work."_

" _Awesome,"_ Rei said mentally. Then out loud, he said, "Ready to get this show on the road?"

Rome nodded enthusiastically.

This is really exciting. They are about to unleash the newly evolved Rome into the world. There was no stopping her before and now, nobody can lie to her? Look out, Deucado!

## Entry 5-202: July 21, 2017

### Teleporter versus transporter

In the world of science fiction, what's the difference between a teleporter and a transporter? Most people use the two interchangeably but the underlying principles are completely different. The following is a brief explanation as to why, even though they sound the same, they are not.

A transporter breaks down your structure, atom by atom and rebuilds you in another place using the reverse procedure. When you are done, you have a perfect replica of yourself, right down to your thought patterns and memories of being transported. The question arises as to whether it is really you on the other end. Tim Urban, an excellent and thoughtful blogger on the web site WaitButWhy.com wrote about what makes you you. You should read it some time. His basic thesis is that if you use a transporter, you are no longer you but a copy of you. He is able to demonstrate this using a series of thought experiments. In fact, I remember reading and seeing more than one Star Trek episodes where the transporter malfunctioned and multiple copies of Captain Kirk were running around. So let's rule out transporters. Their use is too creepy.

A teleporter, on the other hand, physically moves you and exactly you from one place to another instantaneously. There is no discussion about whether it is really you at the other end. It is most definitely is you since it is made up of the very atoms of your existence, not a copy. In the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , MINIMCOM's snap PPT tunnels are used to teleport a person from one place to another. Rei incorrectly refers to it as a transporter because he was a big fan of Star Trek growing up. However, the principles behind it are those of teleportation. The physical atoms that made up you are moved from Point A to Point C directly, the same original atoms, not a copy.

Will we ever see either a transporter or a teleporter in our lifetimes? It turns out, the Chinese have had success in teleporting photons for several years. Most recently, they claim to have teleported a photon over 800 miles into space.

To be fair, this is a long way from you stepping into a booth and ending up somewhere else but it is still pretty neat. It utilizes the concept of quantum entanglement to transport information instantaneously from a ground-based photon to a space-based photon that they beamed up. Now how the heck they got two photons entangled in the first place is beyond me. I do know that the information that was teleported is measured in qubits or quantum bits which could pave the way to quantum computers or a quantum internet. So stay tuned. It seems pretty spectacular to me.

## Entry 5-203: July 22, 2017

### 290 at last!

A long time ago, in a basement far, far away, when I decided to write my first book, I read over Amazon's royalty program and incorrectly concluded that I would have to sell a total of 290 ebooks before they would cut me a royalty check. I set up a spreadsheet to track sales and I even named the spreadsheet **290 Units.xlsx** so that I never forgot the ultimate goal.

Since that time, I have gained a better understanding of their royalty process and I was way off but I didn't change the name of the spreadsheet. I guess this was to keep me humble. And over the years, Amazon has refined their payment process and now you get your royalties accrued every month, even if it is only 79 cents.

Nonetheless, that magic number of 290 has always tantalized me. I have watched as the sales figures grew and added 9 more tabs to my spreadsheet to capture sales by book by month by marketplace and created a summary front tab.

I am thrilled to announce (well, maybe you aren't thrilled but I am) that as of last week, I finally hit that magic number of 290 units sold, on Amazon, in ebook form. My actual totals are somewhat higher because this number does not include paperbacks, audiobooks or books that I sold for free.

Here is the breakdown of total units to date:

_Rome's Revolution_ : 383 total units

_The Ark Lords_ : 101 total units

_Rome's Evolution_ : 66 total units

_The Milk Run_ : 72 total units

_The Vuduri Companion_ : 9 total units

_Tales of the Vuduri_ : 3107 total units

In all fairness, _Tales of the Vuduri_ is sold for free, an oxymoron if I ever heard one, so of course the numbers seem inflated. There is no cost for people downloading these books so I have no idea if they are even reading them.

All told, 3757 of my books have made their way into readers' hands. Very exciting! I am currently rewriting _Rome's Revolution_ using a more formalized structure and breaking it up into three shorter novels so that I can record them as audiobooks. It will take me a while but I am really stoked about this project. Your first work should be your best work and I am determined to make that a reality.

## Entry 5-204: July 23, 2017

### Put the end at the beginning?

As I have mentioned several times, I have decided to rewrite _Rome's Revolution_. The plan is to completely rewrite Part 1 and called it _The Rome's Revolution Saga - Book 1: Rebirth._ Part 2 will become _Book 2: Rebellion_ and Part 3 will become _Book 3: Redemption_. Each book will be around 55,000 to 60,000 words.

The reason for this is very simple. Your first work should be your best work, after all, it is your first book that people use to form a judgment about you. If they like what they read, they will acquire your other books and be a bit more forgiving in terms of content, style or speed. Once I have completely rewritten and polished these smaller books, I will record them as audiobooks and finally bind them all back together into a large volume which will become _Rome's Revolution_ , Second Edition. I will swap out the manuscript in all the places it is currently found. I will also combine the three audiobooks into one and end up with one gigantic audiobook.

My biggest problem to all of this is the legacy inherited from my first attempt, back when this book was called _VIRUS 5_. I wanted to write a book in a strict "you are there" style meaning everything in the 35th century would be strange and different and mostly inexplicable until you learn of the underlying reasons for things. A great idea for my fifth novel but not my first. It simply drags on too long until something happens. People want more action.

I was struggling on how to get more immediacy with this when it suddenly struck me: move the end to the beginning so that people can see poor Rei Bierak, stranded on Dara, getting ready to destroy the planet. Show them that Rome had to fly the Algol away and leave Rei behind, broken-hearted.

This new approach has actually been used time and again in books, on TV and in movies. You know what I mean, you see the hero or heroine in some precarious, horrible situation then the screen flashes up 12 hours earlier or one week earlier, whatever.

So that's what I did. In the new version, I give you two pages showing the poor man in the most horrible, dire situation and then flash up three days earlier. This way your interest is piqued and you have to read furiously to find out _why_ he is in such bad shape. I have to give away a lot but not too much. It lets you speed through the beginning and get to the actual action feeling rewarded, not wandering aimlessly, wondering where the book is going.

I'm still polishing it and taking feedback from people and trying to get it concise and swiftly moving and written well. In a few weeks, when it's ready, I'll give you a preview. Until then, back to our analysis of _Rome's Evolution_ with the whys and wherefores.

## Entry 5-205: July 24, 2017

### Interrogation #2

A few days ago, Rei and Rome determined that _Rome's Evolution_ into a true telepath was complete. Well, as complete as they could make it given their set of conditions. The time had come to take Rome into the world and test out her new powers on an unsuspecting subject. And who would that subject be? Why, Paul Chung, of course. Rome, Rei and Bonnie could tell he was hiding something. This would be their best chance to find out what the secret was:

The Vuduri calendar did not acknowledge such things as weekends. For the most part, they defined their lives in terms of their jobs and there was no reason to take a day off. However, the Essessoni had no such restrictions. Since the Vuduri week was normally ten days long, the Essessoni had arbitrarily picked Iodemi, Nifemi and Tazemi, the last three days of the Vuduri week as their weekend. They used those days to rest, relax and recreate.

Today was Iodemi so when Rei, Rome and Bonnie went searching, their best guess to find Paul Chung was going to be at his home. MINIMCOM flew them directly there, landing right in the middle of the large cul-de-sac. Thoughtfully, he turned on his stealth shield so as to not frighten the other residents. The starship instantiated a livetar who accompanied the three humans down the cargo ramp and up the walkway to Paul Chung's house.

Rei lifted the knocker and rapped three times. This time, it was Paul Chung himself who answered the door.

"You three again?" he said. "What is it this time? I already told you I didn't know anything."

"May we come in?" Rome asked.

"Why?" Paul asked, placing his hand across the doorway rather aggressively.

Rome pointed inside. "While you say that you do not know where Troutman or Steele are located now," she said, "it is possible that you might have some information that we could use. Information you may not even be aware of."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can help you," Chung said, not budging.

MINIMCOM strode forward, gently pushing Rome aside. He leaned his head down until it was inches away from Paul's face. "May we come in, sir?" the livetar asked in a loud voice. Somehow it didn't really sound like a question.

Chung looked up at the two-meter tall living shell, dressed all in black. There was nothing but darkness behind MINIMCOM's eye slits and that somehow made him appear even more menacing. Paul decided discretion was the better part of valor. "What the hell," he said, "come on in."

He stepped aside and the party of four entered. Chung led them to the dining room and waited patiently while the humans took a seat. Paul himself sat down at the head of the table with Rome to his left. Once he was settled, MINIMCOM came over to stand by his right side and remained standing. Rome leaned forward and put her hand on his shoulder then spoke in a low voice. "Troutman," she said.

MINIMCOM as "muscle" - I love it. Rome's hand is placed upon Chung's shoulder. She has said the name of one of the would-be assassins. It is time for Chung's mind to betray him or at least reveal whatever information he was hiding.

## Entry 5-206: July 25, 2017

### It works!

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Bonnie had entered Paul Chung's house. MINIMCOM had not threatened him but somehow the livetar convinced Paul it would be in his best interest to let them come in. Paul took them into his dining room. Rome was sitting to his left. MINIMCOM was standing directly behind Paul to encourage his cooperation. Rome is going to attempt her first real effort at pulling out information from someone's mind using her new-found powers as a telepath:

Rome leaned forward and put her hand on Paul's shoulder then spoke in a low voice. "Troutman," she said.

"Troutman what?" Chung replied but his mind was already awhirl with thoughts and memories. Rome had to fight from grinning. It was like one of Rei's movies. Chung's mind played out his history and events so clearly, it was amazing. Finally, Rome understood his reluctance to cooperate.

"He threatened you, didn't he?" Rome asked. "No, wait. It wasn't him. It was Steele! You saw both of them, didn't you?"

Chung's eyes grew wide. "How did you..." he stopped speaking.

"Is your wife here?" Rome asked, louder this time.

"Yea...yes," Paul replied.

"April?" Rome called out. "Can you come out here please?"

The petite blonde came into the room from the kitchen. "I thought I heard someone at the door. What's going on?"

Rome stood up but kept her hand on Paul's shoulder. "Your husband used to play hoker, house poker with David Troutman and several others." Rome looked down at Paul then back to April again. "After the Darwin people were exiled, Paul claims he never saw them again. But both Steele and Troutman were here not too long ago."

Chung started to rise. MINIMCOM placed his hand on Chung's other shoulder and gently pushed him down again. The livetar's hand was like a steel vise.

"Paul, is this true?" April asked accusingly.

"Yes," Chung said sadly. "Steele said he would hurt you and Perry if I told anybody anything. I'm sorry."

Rome looked up at April. "We intend to track them down and apprehend them. We need Paul to give us as much information as possible. It will help facilitate matters."

"Steele?" April said, shivering. "I only met him once. He was awful."

"Yes," Rome replied. "We have heard. Once they are in custody, they will be extradited off this world. They would never be a danger to anyone again. The quicker we find them, the quicker this will happen. So for your own safety and that of your son, please encourage your husband to cooperate."

April walked over to Paul. MINIMCOM stepped back out of her way.

"Paul, honey," she said. "These people have risked their lives ten times over to save us, our world, the whole human race. I think we owe it to them to help them."

A tear came to Chung's eye. "I just wanted to make sure you were safe," he said. He hung his head. "OK," he muttered reluctantly. "I'll talk."

"Thank you," Rome said, sitting back down. However, she did not remove her hand from his shoulder.

So, the first "test run" of Rome as living lie detector worked! It was just as Rei had suggested. No need for pointed questions. Just get the subject's mind going along the lines of interest. Let's see what Chung comes up with tomorrow. The one thing we do know is that it will be the truth!

## Entry 5-207: July 26, 2017

### The Whole Truth

Yesterday, Rome's first foray into her new occupation as living lie detector was a success. She found out just enough information to force Paul Chung into agreeing to spill his guts. From what Rome was able to gather, his silence was perpetrated because of fear of retribution against his wife, April and young son, Perry. Now that he has agreed to talk, Rome need only monitor to make sure he continues to tell the truth:

Chung looked down at the table. Finally, he raised his eyes up to regard the group. "After the whole Darwin thing went down, Troutman disappeared. That part is true. And at the time, I really did think he was with the group that surrendered. But a few months ago, in the middle of the night, he came here."

"Why?" Rei asked.

"He said they were getting into some things that he no longer wished to be a part of. He asked me if he could hang out here for a few days until things blew over."

"I didn't know that," April said. "I never saw him."

Paul looked up at his wife. "That's because Steele was at the door no more than an hour later," he said. "He barged right in and grabbed Troutman. He took him into the other room..." Chung pointed to the living area. "The discussion got pretty heated and in the end, Troutman went with him."

"Did they say anything that could help us locate them?" Rome asked.

"I couldn't make out most of what they said but they did mention Ur several times."

"Ur?" Rei asked. "The resort city?"

"Yeah, that Ur," he said.

"I didn't think any of the Darwin people ever ventured that far south," Bonnie interjected.

"What was their reason for mentioning it? Were they going there?" Rome asked.

"I can't tell you. They didn't know that I heard them and I wasn't about to ask. As they were leaving, Steele told me to forget that I ever saw them. That's when he threatened me and my family. He said they needed to disappear and I'd better not be the reason why people found them."

"And you didn't see fit to mention this to anyone?" Rome asked. Chung's mind churned over his worries regarding the safety of his family.

"No, I figured what harm could two men do?" he answered. Rome knew better. Chung was conflicted the whole time.

"That is not the truth," Rome said. "But I do understand. You cared too much about your family to take the chance."

Chung looked at Rome for a long time then down at her hand. "How are you doing this?" he asked. "I mean, I know you Vuduri have your voodoo but it doesn't work with us Essessoni, does it?"

"Rome is very special," Rei said proudly. "Anything else, sweetheart?" he directed to Rome.

Rome looked at Paul intently then shook her head. "Those are the salient facts we need. That's all he knows."

"OK then," Rei said, standing up. Everyone else took that as their cue to get up as well.

Paul Chung has divulged a solid lead. The last he heard, Steele and Troutman were headed down to the resort city of Ur which was located along the southern edge of the giant crater lake, Lake Eprehem. I'm pretty sure that will be Rome and Rei's next stop.

## Entry 5-208: July 27, 2017

### Rome is hot, redux

Yesterday, Rome and Rei had determined that Steele and Troutman were most likely headed toward the resort city of Ur on the southern banks of Lake Eprehem. This next little vignette was not integral to the plot but I thought it was important to show how completely invasive Rome's new powers really were. I couched it in humor but still, getting access to someone's inner thoughts might not always be a pleasant experience. I know I have related this section to you before because I thought it was really funny. I think it holds up but now you have a bit more context:

"Thank you, Paul," Rome said, rising in place. She stepped behind her chair and pushed it in, under the table. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. She reached over and touched Paul's cheek. "One other thing," she said. "Do you know if Troutman or Steele established a relationship with a Vuduri woman?"

"Not to my knowledge," Chung replied, ignoring the fact that Rome appeared to be caressing him. "As far as I know, neither of them cared too much for your people."

Rome nodded to Rei that it was the truth. "We have enough," she said. She walked over to April and held her hand out. April Chung took Rome's hand and shook it. The information flowed like a torrent into Rome's brain.

"Everything will be alright," Rome said reassuringly. "You and your husband and child will be safe. No one will know that you provided this information. And after we capture these two men, it won't matter in any event."

April nodded. "I know you'll take care of them. We all believe in you."

"Thank you," Rome replied, releasing her grip and they left the house.

As soon as they got outside, Rome tugged on Rei's shoulder.

"What?" Rei asked.

Rome said, "Do you think I have a fever?"

Rei bent over and kissed her on the forehead. "No," he said. "You're fine. Do you feel sick?"

"No," Rome said. She furrowed her brow. "Do I radiate more heat than a regular Essessoni?"

Rei pulled his head back, confused. "No more than anybody else," he said. "What's going on?"

Rome shook her head. "Even during his most stressful times, Paul kept thinking to himself that I was really hot compared to his wife. What does that mean?"

Rei and Bonnie laughed.

"Why is that funny?" Rome asked.

"It means he thought you were really attractive," Bonnie said.

Rei held his hand up. "Yes, Romey. Sexually."

"I don't understand," Rome said. "I..." She stopped short. "Oh!" She cocked her head. "Do you think I'm 'hot'?" she asked her husband.

"Romey, if you were any hotter, you'd be incandescent," Rei said with a smile on his face.

Rome nodded definitively. "I don't know why it matters to me. It shouldn't but it makes me feel good."

"It should, honey," Bonnie said. "If I had your body and face, I'd be running this world."

Rome shrugged. She pointed and they headed toward MINIMCOM.

All right. It is now time for Rome to go forth and conquer!

## Entry 5-209: July 28, 2017

### Life on TRAPPIST-1

As I have mentioned before, as soon as scientists discover intelligent life on another planet, my career as a science fiction writer is over. That doesn't mean I couldn't find a new career as a biographer or documentarian but making up stuff? Game over. So I pay especial attention to whenever we find something that could be interpreted as life on another planet.

So far, on Mars, it's a no-go. Some scientists have speculated that there might be life on one of Saturn's moons called Enceladus but no proof so far. I think I am safe in saying there probably isn't intelligent life in our solar system but there are a lot more star systems out there.

Located in the Atacama Desert in Chile sits a NASA-sponsored observatory called the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope or TRAPPIST for short. A group of scientists from the University of Liege in Belgium, using the TRAPPIST telescope, have discovered a star appropriately called TRAPPIST-1 located 40 light-years from here. What makes this star so special is that it has _seven_ Earth-sized planets circling in orbit, three of which have been identified as in that star's habitable zone, a place where the average temperatures would permit liquid water to exist.

The TRAPPIST-1 star itself is an ultra-cool dwarf star, not a whole lot bigger than Jupiter. In order to be warmed enough to have liquid water, the planets would have to orbit very close to the star. In fact, they would be so close that they would be tidally locked meaning one side would always face the sun and the far side would always face away, like our own Moon. So the only reasonably temperate place would be the median strip circling the planet straddling the terminator between the light side and the dark side. This does not offer a lot of options for life to develop.

To make things even tougher, all of the planets are probably under constant bombardment by radiation and battered by high velocity particles. Scientists studying the planet think the two forces combined would most likely strip the three "good" planets of any atmosphere, further reducing the chances that life might have started or thrived there.

The bottom line is, it's a start but we'll probably have more luck finding life on planets circling a star a little bit more like our Sun. I hope they don't find any at least until I finish rewriting my first novel _Rome's Revolution_!

## Entry 5-210: July 29, 2017

### The Candidates

Two days ago, Paul Chung told Rome, Rei and Bonnie that he overheard Steele and Troutman, the would-be assassins, mention that they were going down to the resort city of Ur, home of the incredible geological formation called The Hand. Hopping aboard MINIMCOM, our crew of detectives head south around the eastern edge of Lake Eprehem:

"We have to comb the entire city of Ur," Rei said. "They couldn't operate without somebody seeing them. Maybe they had help down there."

"Do you think it might have one of the other people on that list we found?" Rome asked. "After all, it was entitled candidates."

"I don't know," Rei answered, "My name was on there and I wasn't of much use to them."

"What about the others?" Rome asked.

"We can check." Rei addressed the grille mounted on the front of the console. "OMCOM, do you read?"

"Yes," came a deeper voice.

"On that list we found called Darwin Candidates, besides me and Paul Chung, what were the last two names?"

An image of the Darwin list appeared in the central display.

"Wally Stanislaw and Andrea Grenmuller," replied the computer.

Rei rubbed his chin. "I didn't really know Andrea, what does it say about her?"

Even though the contents of the entry were displayed on the screen, OMCOM read it out loud. "Grenmuller, Andrea," intoned the library computer. "Brilliant mathematician. Would be really useful in helping solve engineering equations for new Vook materials. DT assigned to swing her but was rejected. May try again later."

"DT?" Rome observed. "That sounds like they are referring to a person. Could that stand for David Troutman? What else does it say about her?"

"That is the only entry on her," replied OMCOM.

"Any hint where, or when?" Rei asked. "Some way we can locate her?"

"I said that is the only entry on her," OMCOM insisted in a slightly imperious manner.

Rei let out a burst of air. "OK, the other one, Wally Stanislaw. I know him. He always seemed like a stand-up guy to me. What does it say about him?"

"Stanislaw, Wally," read the library computer. "Excellent geologist. Skill set vastly superior to anyone on staff. Has been approached obliquely about joining the plan but seemed fairly resistant. Would be a great aid to the mining program. Re-approach in a year."

Rome tapped the display. "I know him as well. I recognized his name immediately."

"How do you know him?" Rei asked.

"He was one of the very few Essessoni who came to me for language lessons. I taught him Vuduri."

So, the next candidate on the list had intimate knowledge of Rome and Rei's whereabouts. Do you think he was involved? There is only one way to find out.

## Entry 5-211: July 30, 2017

### Wally Stanislaw, Part 1

Yesterday, Rome and Rei came across Wally Stanislaw's name on the list of candidates that the Darwin people thought they may be able to convert. Rome knew Wally because he was one of the very few Essessoni that ever showed an interest in learning the Vuduri language. Rei knew him as well and did not think he was the kind of person that would ever aid the Darwins. Maybe they could track him down and ask:

"And that's it?"

"No," Rome replied. "OMCOM, isn't he one of the scientists you are supporting in the geology wing?"

"Yes," replied OMCOM. "He has his own subscription channel. His research regarding the geophysical history of the planet has been extremely illuminating. He has found a wide variety of interesting objects buried deep under the ground. He believes there may have once been other kinds of life forms on this planet."

"Really?" Rei asked. "How come nobody ever mentioned this before?"

Rome turned to her husband. "Several scientists have approached me about having their own research resources within OMCOM. I have said yes on each occasion but I have not been monitoring the information flow very closely."

"Well, it's probably a dead-end anyway," Rei said. "He doesn't sound like he had much interaction with them in any event."

"If you would prefer, you can ask him yourself," OMCOM offered. "I see from MINIMCOM's coordinates that you are within a few kilometers of his current research site."

Rei looked at Rome who shrugged. He turned to Bonnie. "What do you think?"

"I think no stone unturned," Bonnie replied. "How could it hurt?"

"OK," Rei said. "MINIMCOM, can you take us to where Wally is working?"

"Already there," MINIMCOM replied. "Just buckle in for the landing as this is somewhat rocky terrain."

Rei and Rome buckled into the pilot and co-pilot's seat respectively. Bonnie strapped herself into the "navigator's" chair that MINIMCOM had constructed for her. MINIMCOM's nose dived down and he leveled off just above the surface. He gently lowered himself to the ground and the whole space-plane shook as it crushed some boulders beneath the landing gear. MINIMCOM flashed the coordinates of the research site which Rome committed to memory. After settling down, the group of three left via the rear cargo ramp.

To the south, as far as the eye could see, the ground was a barren, clay-colored landscape with boulders and rocks strewn everywhere. There were a few deserts on Deucado and this was the edge of one of them though it was due to the rocky nature of the ground, not due to lack of moisture.

So now we have geologist Wally Stanislaw, camped out in the arid region to the south of Lake Eprehem. He seemed like an earnest guy. He was looking for other life-forms on Deucado besides the cane-trees, falling blankets, swishies and sticky bushes. Let's see what he found.

## Entry 5-212: July 31, 2017

### Wally Stanislaw, Part 2

Yesterday, OMCOM gave MINIMCOM the coordinates of Wally Stanislaw's research site. Wally was one of the potential candidates for the Darwin group but neither Rei nor Rome thought it was something he would get involved in. However, since they were there, they decided to chat with him anyway:

Rome led the way followed by Bonnie with Rei bringing up the rear. They came to a campsite, or at least the Vuduri version of a campsite with several tents that resembled teepees and a much larger "building" covered by a white material. They approached the white building, entering by the door flap and standing there were two men conversing over a large flat table. To the far left were three others, a mix of Vuduri and Essessoni, working with hammers and chisels and brushes and something that looked like a pen-light.

The two nearer men looked up. One of them was Deucadon.

"Rei!" the young man exclaimed.

"Steben!" Rei called out. He trotted over and the two of them hugged although Rei pulled back before Steben could apply substantial pressure. "I haven't seen you in like forever," he said.

"Yes, it has been a long time," replied the young man, just a bit shorter than Rei. His peach-fuzz beard was just coming in.

"Bierak," said the other, taller man.

"Hey, Wally," Rei said.

"What brings you and your lovely wife here?" the scientist asked.

Rei waved to Bonnie and Rome who came over to join them.

"Steben," Rei said. "This is my wife, Rome and this is Bonnie Mullen."

"Hello," Steben said cheerfully. "I've heard a lot about ya," he directed at Rome.

"Likewise," Rome said. "And as I said, I've already met Wally."

Wally nodded. "Hello, Rome," he said. "How have you been?"

"I've been better," Rome answered. "We've had some things happen that were not so good."

Bonnie interjected. "Wally, I think you and I met once before. Rome told us you've been working through her library?"

"Oh, yes," the scientist replied. "Rome's library computer has been amazingly helpful in our work here."

He held up a pencil-sized tube, reminiscent of a laser pointer from an age long gone. "Rome, next time you speak to OMCOM, tell him thanks for these miniature PPT throwers. They've been incredibly handy in carving things out of the rocks without disturbing them. Way better than anything we have."

"I will do that," Rome said.

Now that they have his attention, it is time to ask Wally a few pointed questions. But the conversation takes a serious left turn.

## Entry 5-213: August 1, 2017

### Geology, Deucado-style

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Bonnie met up with Wally Stanislaw, a geologist doing research in one of the few deserts found on Deucado. To Rei's surprise, one of his Deucadon buddies, Steben, was also working there. It was a nice reunion and it seemed like it was time to get to the reason for their visit. But then Wally blindsides them:

Rei looked around the tent. "What are you doing here, anyway?" Rei asked. "OMCOM said you may have found evidence of other kinds of life? On this planet?"

"Oh, it's more than that," Wally said. He led the group across the tent to the far side where there was a cane-tree pinup board. There were some diagrams and a photograph of a large outcropping.

"Look at this," he said, pointing to a gray vertical bar with a series of white lines cutting through it. "This is a cross-section of the iridium density of a series of core samples. We've been working on a huge fault, chasm really, that goes back almost 50 million years as far as we can tell."

"What are those lines?" Rome asked, pointing to the strips.

"Those are the iridium densities that are significantly above normal. Depth is fairly tightly proportional to time."

"Iridium comes from meteors and the like, right?" Bonnie asked.

"Exactly," Wally said, his eyes gleaming. "Asteroid class. This poor little planet has been absolutely pummeled by things falling out of the sky for as far back as we can tell."

"What about that gap?" Rome asked, pointing to one section of the graph that had no lines cutting through it.

"That," Wally said, tapping the region that Rome was referring to, "is the most amazing period of time in this little world's history that we've discovered so far."

"Why?" Rei asked.

"Because they had about a three million-year window where there were no extinction-level events. Plenty of time for life to branch out and create some variety. I'm supposed to be a geologist but I'm taking a little spin as a paleontogist."

Rei pulled his head back. "Paleontology? As in fossils? There's never been any fossils reported so far. There's nothing to fossilize."

We always knew that Deucado was under more or less constant bombardment by meteors, asteroids and the like. And yet live still rose up and while it didn't quite thrive, it certainly persisted. So what would the life-forms do with a period of three million years of uninterrupted peace interrupting death from the sky?

## Entry 5-214: August 2, 2017

### Paleontology, Deucado-style

Yesterday, Wally Stanislaw, a geologist by trade, told Rome, Rei and Bonnie that he was taking a little detour into Paleontology. However, as Rei astutely pointed out, to study fossils, you need something to fossilize and the only animals they had ever found, the falling blankets, had no bones to speak of or really any solid tissue that could become fossils. Wally clears that up:

A big smile crossed Wally's face. "You're wrong," he said. "We've all been wrong." He pointed to the image of the ground pinned upon the board. "Come with me," he said. "Let me show you what we found at that dig."

He and Steben walked to back of the tent. Propped up in the corner sat a large flattened piece of stone.

Rei saw lines criss-crossing the stone. There was a straight vertical line and four lines radiating from the sides plus another, fifth line, off angle near the top. It reminded Rei of the figurine drawn when children play hangman.

"What are we looking at?" Rei asked.

Wally bent over and lovingly stroked the stone. "This, my friends, is a genuine Deucadon fossil. Of a vertebrate. It is nine million years old but it absolutely had a spine."

"Wow," Rome said spontaneously. "We have never seen any evidence of vertebrate life here. Not the falling blankets, the swishies, nothing."

"More than a vertebrate," Wally said. "Sentient."

"Sentient?" Rei sputtered, "here, on Deucado? How can you tell it was sentient and not just another dumb animal?"

Wally tapped the left upper line which ended in a four-fingered gripper, very similar to those found on the falling blankets. There was a round, cylindrical gap and a squarish object beyond that. "Look in his hand, Rei," Wally said. "That's a hammer!"

Rei's jaw dropped open. Before he could say anything, Wally reached over and tapped the right paw in which another long cylindrical carving appeared. "And that was a chisel. This thing carved rocks!"

"Holy Mackerel," Rei said. "What happened to them?"

"We can only guess," Wally said. "Tell them, Steben."

"Yes," replied the young Deucadon. "Dr. Wally asked for permission to go down to our underground city. Bukky said 'twas all right. I was his tour guide."

"I've been there, too!" Rome interjected proudly.

"Yes. The caves we inhabited. And the magma tube we tapped into, to use its power. They were already there when our people first arrived."

This is almost too much to handle. All the caves of Deucado were already present when the Deucadons arrived? And they find evidence of intelligent life with hammers and chisels. What are the chance that the two facts are related? As Rei has said many times, there ain't no such thing as a coincidence.

## Entry 5-215: August 3, 2017

### Who built the caves?

Yesterday, we found out that nine million years in the past, there were intelligent life-forms roaming about the surface of Deucado. From the outline of the fossil, it appeared that they were a more highly evolved version of the blankets. And they were really good cave carvers. I suspect it is because they wanted to get away from the more or less continuous rain of death from the sky. So that is how the Deucadons were able to make such a quick escape underground after the meteor fell that created Lake Eprehem:

"I thought Bukky told me you built them," Rome asked.

"Naw, we fashioned them to our likin' but they were already there."

"So what's this got to do with anything?" Rei asked.

Steben walked away. He opened a small chest and retrieved some objects. He returned with two metal rods in his hand. He held them out for Rei, Rome and Bonnie to see. They were chisels.

"When our forefathers got down there, during the buildin' phase, they found many of these. And the hammerheads, like there in the fossil," Steben said, pointing up. "We have always held the belief that the caves were somehow built. The ceilings were always too smooth to be natural."

"Yes!" Rome exclaimed. "This is the very thing that I noticed in the Cathedral," Rome said. "Do you remember me mentioning it to you?" she directed to Rei.

"Yeah, I do," Rei said. He looked at the chisels in Steben's hands and back up to the fossil. "What does it all mean, Wally?" he asked.

"I don't know yet," Wally said. "But it is an amazing coincidence, don't you think?"

Rei took a deep breath. He rubbed the back of his head where MINIMCOM had fused his skull not two weeks earlier. "This hurts my head," he said. "It's, it's beyond sleek. It's mind-blowing."

"We think so, too," Wally said proudly. "We're going to keep going but there is a lot more to this little planet than we thought."

Rei stood there, lost in thought. Bonnie nudged Rome who, in turn, nudged Rei.

"Oh, yeah," he said. "This is amazing stuff but it isn't really why we came."

"Sure," Wally said. He pointed and Steben left them to return the chisels to their packing case. "So why are you here?" Wally asked.

"You know that somebody tried to kill me," Rei offered.

"Yeah, I heard," Wally replied showing the proper amount of concern. "But you seem OK to me. Do you know who did it?"

"Yes," Rome interjected. "It was the two remaining members of the Darwin group named Dan Steele and David Troutman. Do you know them?"

Finally, we get to the questioning. Wally is a stand-up guy according to Rei so there really isn't any need for Rome to invoke her powers as a telepath. Let's see what Wally has to say.

## Entry 5-216: August 4, 2017

### A break in the case

Yesterday, after Wally Stanislaw showed Rome and Rei evidence that there were intelligent, highly evolved versions of the falling blankets roaming Decado in the past, they got down to the reason they were there. They informed Wally they were looking for Dan Steele and David Troutman, the would-be assassins. What are the odds that Wally knows anything?

Darwin, huh," Wally said, looking right at Bonnie.

Rome pulled the two pictures out of her pocket. "Here are their images," Rome said. "Do you recognize either of them?"

The scientist studied the pictures for a minute. He pointed to the picture of Steele. "I'm assuming that's Steele. I have no clue about him. I've never met him."

"What about David Troutman?" Rome asked.

Wally Stanislaw tugged at his chin. "Yeah, him, I've met. He came to see me, oh, maybe three years ago."

"Why?" Rei asked.

"He wanted me to come work for his mining group. At least that's what they called it. Of course, that's before we even knew Darwin existed."

"What happened?"

"He had some cockamamie excuse about having to mine certain metals and they needed help finding the right kind of ore."

"Well, that's right up your alley, right?" Rei asked.

"Yeah, but his whole story didn't make any sense. I mean, hindsight is 20/20 and all but even then they couldn't come up with a rational explanation. The Vuduri have been more than generous in giving us whatever we needed. He couldn't explain why that wasn't good enough so I told him to get lost."

Rei pointed over his shoulder. "Well, he wasn't one of the ones deported so he's still running around. Have you seen him since?"

"It's possible but I can't say for sure," Wally replied, handing the pictures back to Rome. "The last time I was in Ur, I bumped into a really tall guy, way too tall to be Vuduri. Same color hair. Ginger. But this guy had a beard and was wearing a hood. He didn't act like he recognized me. From the way he was dressed, I figured it was one of the Deucadons but it might've been him. I'm not certain."

"That makes perfect sense!" Rei exclaimed. "There's no reason why he would stay clean-shaven. If you don't want to be recognized, growing a beard would be the first thing you do. Then dress like the natives."

Rei turned to Rome and Bonnie. "Let's get going."

So now we know who we are looking for: a tall, ginger haired man with a ginger-colored beard. The Vuduri themselves were always a short people. So maybe it wouldn't be so hard picking him out of a crowd. If he's still in the town of Ur, of course.

## Entry 5-217: August 5, 2017

### A New Old Villain

As you are aware, I am in the middle of rewriting my first novel, _Rome's Revolution_. My motivation is simple: your first book should be your best work because that is the thing that people use to judge you. If your first book is good then your loyal reader base will be more forgiving of slight lapses in quality or logical coherency to some degree in subsequent novels.

I started in on the rewrite and got stuck immediately. It felt like all I was doing was polishing the prose, not correcting the fundamental flaw in the novel which was that it started too slow. After struggling for a couple of weeks, I had an aha moment and decided to bring the climax to the front to entice and excite the reader. It gives you adequate impetus to work your way through until the action really picks up.

The other thing I did was read a book entitled _Scene & Structure_ by the late Jack M. Bickham. It is chock full of sound advice on how to write a novel that people can't put down. I have employed his advice heavily by rearranging chapters, ending them on a crisis or doomsday note rather than an obvious point of closure or fade to black.

Another thing that Mr. Bickham suggests is that if you are writing in third person omniscient, you should change the point of view occasionally, especially by giving insight into the villain's personality and motivations. The problem is, _Rome's Revolution_ doesn't really have a villain in the traditional sense. The Stareaters, a hugely destructive force, turn out to be high-minded, thoughtful creatures. OMCOM evolves into Planet OMCOM and while his motivations become self-centered, he isn't evil in any traditional sense.

The closest thing I have to a true villain is MASAL but you aren't supposed to know about him until near the end of the book. MASAL's influence over Estar forced her to act oddly without any explanation. Mr. Bickham's advice gave me a perfect way to rectify this issue.

I have now started a draft of a brand new chapter from Estar's point of view. Using this device, I can introduce the computer within a computer, made up of the clear memrons and tell you explicitly why Estar is trying to kill Rei. Whereas before, I wanted the reader to be confused thinking that Rei's "accidents" really could have been accidents. I also was trying to hint that maybe OMCOM was behind them. Now that is all gone.

In the current version under way, everything has been spelled out before it happens. It is much more satisfying to see how Estar tries to assassinate Rei and how he uses his 21st century brain to outwit her. It is very exciting and fun being able to craft a piece like this from scratch. I hope it makes the novel much more accessible and enjoyable. Thank you, Mr. Bickham, wherever you are.

## Entry 5-218: August 6, 2017

### Constructing The Hand, Part 1: Background

The Hand is a spectacular geological structure located on the southern shore of Lake Eprehem on the planet of Deucado. It is the center of much of the action in _Rome's Evolution_. I had a clear view of what it looked like in my mind but translating that dream into a physical image was a painstaking process with a lot of back and forth with my brother Bruce, illustrator extraordinaire.

In the book, The Hand was formed when a large, dense meteor hit Deucado and formed the crater which later became Lake Eprehem. A large chunk of the meteor, mostly made of iron, broke off and hit the land to the south of the main meteor. This cosmic bullet continued to burrow under the earth until it hit a pocket of magma. The magma followed its path back the surface and formed a thick tower which bent over as it cooled. Another, smaller hole, opened up and shot spurts of magma up into the air which landed at the top of the tower and formed the extensions that made it look like a hand.

You aren't supposed to show too much on a book cover. You are supposed to let the reader build images in their mind. However, with The Hand, I felt that there was no way that anybody could really visualize what it look liked, no matter how much description I supplied. So I decided to "build" The Hand and put it on the cover so a) people would find it intriguing and b) when they came across that section, they'd already know exactly what The Hand looked like. If they didn't remember, all they'd have to do is look at the cover.

The following few articles will show you how Bruce and I communicated graphically until we reached the shape, texture and look that is on the cover of _Rome's Evolution_. Here is the final, finished product, less titles, which is also the wallpaper for the _Rome's Evolution_ web site.

## Entry 5-219: August 7, 2017

### Constructing The Hand, Part 2: Basic Design

Yesterday, I introduced The Hand of Deucado and showed you the final design. Today I am going to show you how Bruce and I arrived at this unique structure.

The first thing I had to do was find a shoreline. I took this image from a snapshot of Presque Isle State Park on Lake Erie in Pennsylvania. I liked the interplay of shore, water and clouds. The only problem was shoreline needed to be rotated left by 90 degrees but that wasn't a big deal:

The next thing I needed was to find a general shape for the base of The Hand. I looked at many images of arches including The Gateway Arch in St. Louis until I came across the Rainbow Bridge National Monument in Utah. It was perfect. Here is an image of the arch and how I was able to extract the base structure using Paint Shop Pro:

Now I had the basic elements, now it was a time for a mock-up and supplying Bruce with the specific details.

## Entry 5-220: August 8, 2017

### Constructing The Hand, Part 3: The Details

Yesterday, I showed you the two elements for the basic design, the shoreline and general shape of The Hand. I proceeded with a mock-up of the cover to give Bruce something to work with:

In order for Bruce to take over, I had to give him a little more information. The first item was the hand portion of The Hand. I looked through a bunch of stock photos until I found one utilized by a mortgage company. The final hand was completely different but at least this image showed my idea for how it would appear to an observer:

The last piece of the puzzle was the city of Ur itself. As you know, the Vuduri always build their cities as a series of concentric rings, starting with The Tower in the middle and going out from there. They had to adapt the design for Ur because the shoreline prevented perfect circles and The Hand would take the place of The Tower:

Tomorrow, I'll show you Bruce's first pass and how we had to fine-tune it.

## Entry 5-221: August 9, 2017

### I am so embarrassed

I have been posting to this blog for **five** years and while I'd like to say that I've never missed a day, the fact is, I did miss a day or two that first year. This was long before I figured out how to write seven or ten blog posts on a weekend and then just post them one at a time over the next week. When I first started, I sat down at my desk and composed each day's post _that day_. It was a lot of pressure and my new technique removed that pressure.

Well, since that time, I have never missed a day. That is up until this week. There is a reason but no excuse. My stepson, Perry, got married last weekend and we were in Chicago for the wedding. Well, you might put two and two together and think the two events were related. After all, there ain't no such thing as a coincidence. And to some degree, it is true. But the fact of the matter is, I had the posts written and ready to go and just got too busy catching up from the trip and I forgot to post an entry on Wednesday, August 9, 2017.

As I said, there is a reason but it is not an excuse. There is none. I feel I have a duty to keep up the unbroken string and I failed. Maybe you don't feel that way but I do. I apologize. I promise I will buckle down and try and make it all the way to the end without missing one more entry. It was important for me to finish _Tales of the Vuduri_ with a perfect record and now I can only finish with a nearly perfect record. If you don't win, you lose.

So again, I apologize. Let's move on.

## Entry 5-222: August 10, 2017

### Constructing The Hand, Part 4: Texture

Two days ago, I showed you all major elements used in constructing The Hand. I passed along my mock-up to Bruce, along with the additional material and this is what he came up with:

He got the whole thing right including the casino at the top of The Hand. I liked his addition of a spaceship flying past and the shadows on the water were great. In fact it was nearly perfect except for one detail. His vision of the texture was completely different from mine. Denise and I had been to Hawaii, to the Big Island, and I had observed the roughness of the black lava fields. Bruce formulated a much smoother surface in his mind but to me, it looked way too smooth, almost like clay.

I had to go back to the archives and search a whole bunch of images until I finally found a picture of a stretch of cooled lava that matched my mental image:

In order to make it clearer how I wanted it to look, I took the roughness and blended it into Bruce's image and returned this to him. I'll show you that image tomorrow and then the final product.

## Entry 5-223: August 11, 2017

### Constructing The Hand, Part 5: Final Version

Yesterday, I showed how Bruce put all the elements together and got it nearly perfect. The only thing I didn't like was the texture of The Hand itself so I took his cover and overlaid my vision of the roughness so Bruce could see what I mean:

That was the final clue he needed. By interacting, using a series of images, Bruce now had taken my vision of the The Hand and turned it into the covers as they appear today:

Pretty neat, huh? Tomorrow, we'll get back to our analysis of the book itself.

## Entry 5-224: August 12, 2017

### Seeing The Hand

Over the last few days, we have described how Bruce and I came up with the design of the cover for _Rome's Evolution_. If you take a peek, you will see that the cover presents a fairly good representation of what I envisioned. I might have made the forearm a little shorter but oh well. The point being, it is a spectacular structure, like nothing else in the known universe. So it is only natural that when our heroes, Rome, Rei and Bonnie, come across it for the first time, they are suitably impressed:

MINIMCOM approached the resort town of Ur from the east, flying very low. The azure waters of Lake Eprehem stretched north as far as the eye could see and off to the horizon to the west. A lazy band of clouds drifted over the center part of the water. Rei watched with a sense of wonder from the cockpit window as The Hand came closer and closer. Because of that one geological structure, Ur was easily the most spectacular location on all of Deucado, perhaps on all the worlds of Man.

The Hand was like nothing Rei had ever seen anywhere. Everyone had always assumed it was a meteor that hit Deucado and caused the crater that became Lake Eprehem. The truth is it was a comet with an iron-nickel core. When the comet crashed down and created the gigantic depression, the metallic core continued on and punctured a pocket of magma. The magma bubbled up to the surface forming a tower that reached nearly a half a mile high. The metal core also hit another band of magma which seeped up to the surface and formed a spurting magma geyser. At regular intervals, like an evil cannon, it would shoot great globs of molten rock up and over the top of tower that stood before it. In its fluid state, the entire structure bent over toward the impact crater. More shots of magma coated it to form a solid platform at the top, a half mile wide. By the time it cooled, the newly formed mountain was hanging out over what would become the largest lake on all of Deucado.

Much of the water filling the lake came from the comet which quickly condensed. The rest came thanks to the dust and dirt the explosion shot up into the atmosphere which caused Deucado to experience years and years of torrential downpours. As the rains fell and Lake Eprehem filled to the brim, the overhang, now called The Hand, hung farther and farther over the lake.

"Look at that thing," Rei said, more or less to himself.

"It is amazing," Rome replied, more or less answering him.

Rei squinted and could see partial concentric circles with The Hand essentially in the middle. It reminded him of a Vuduri city but that wouldn't make any sense because what would the Vuduri be doing in Ur? When the Essessoni had arrived, they brought their social conventions with them. Even though none of them wanted for anything, they still felt the need to take vacations and Ur was certainly the most satisfying vacation spot on the continent. A resort town sprung up around the giant structure and a portion of it on top as well. The Vuduri would have no use for a resort.

Tomorrow, our band of assassin-hunting detectives enter the resort town of Ur. The mix of cultures, Essessoni, Deucadon, Ibbrassati, and Vuduri is pretty interesting. Plus something nobody expected: money!

## Entry 5-225: August 13, 2017

### Heading into town

Yesterday, our intrepid heroes flew to the resort city of Ur, home of the most spectacular geological formation in the known universe called The Hand of Deucado. They were following up on a clue provided to them by Wally Stanislaw. They were looking for a very tall, ginger-haired, bearded fellow. To reduce the chances of David Troutman becoming aware of their pursuit, they needed to walk the last mile or so. MINIMCOM's presence would have been noticed immediately:

Rei said. "Rome, why don't you go grab the other Deucadon cloak? I may have to make myself hidden during our search as well. They obviously know what I look like."

"Of course," Rome said. She returned in just a minute with the Deucadon invisibility cloak draped over her arm. Rei took it and fastened it around his neck.

"Ready as we'll ever be," he said.

The three of them walked down the ramp. When they got to the bottom, Rei put his hand up to his temple and thought, "Why don't you make yourself scarce for now. No reason to alert people."

MINIMCOM did not answer but he did raise his cargo ramp and lower the hatch. As soon as the seal was complete, MINIMCOM activated his stealth shield, shimmering for a moment then disappearing completely.

"Be careful," was all the starship said.

"We will, buddy. Thanks," Rei replied. "We'll call you if we need you."

As they exited the cane-tree forest and embarked upon the road leading into the town proper, Rei could not help but notice that other than The Hand, even Ur looked ordinary. Each of the side roads curved off to the side. There was no doubt about it. The streets were concentric circles. There were some side roads and the tops of some dwellings peeked up over the trees but nothing stood out.

So far, on Deucado, each of the four races had kept to themselves. The Vuduri remained in Vuduri City, the Deucadons in Deucadia, the Ibbrassati in Ibbra City and Rei's people gathered in New Ark City. But Ur was something different. It was the first place where all the races co-mingled and lived together. The design of the city proved that the Vuduri were involved as well.

"Hey Rome," Rei said, coming to a stop.

"Yes?"

"I'm certain that the Vuduri had a hand in helping them build this city. Its design is basically the same as every other Vuduri city I've ever seen. Concentric circles."

This is very confusing. How and why would the Vuduri have anything to do with a town that was dedicated to leisure. The Vuduri had no interest in leisure activities, right? Maybe we'll gain some insights tomorrow.

## Entry 5-226: August 14, 2017

### Why?

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Bonnie left the safe confines of MINIMCOM to enter the town of Ur. Rei had a Deucadon invisibility cloak with him in case he had to disappear. However, Rei had noted that the town of Ur looked like it had been built like a Vuduri city which made no sense. Ur was a resort town, strictly built to serve the needs of the Essessoni, the Deucadons and the Ibbrassati. Rei could not understand why the Vuduri would have the slightest desire to enter, let alone engage, with a city like Ur:

"Vuduri City, here on Deucado, is made up of overlapping triangles."

"Oh yeah," Rei said. "I guess that was their one creative outburst. But why do you think they lent a hand here? Ur doesn't seem like the kind of place they'd go."

Rome looked up and down the streets. "The Overmind here is committed to blending each of the races and building a stronger world. The architecture is probably his way of contributing to the spirit of Ur."

Rei shrugged. "I guess that makes sense," he said and he started walking again. On some streets, it was easier to see the housing. Most of the residences, at least here on the east side, were built out of standard Vuduri aerogel. There were some deviations, probably introduced by the non-mind-connected races. But even so, there was a homogeneity about it. Up ahead, everything changed.

As plain as the little city looked, The Hand was anything but. Its looming physical presence was almost too much to comprehend. Its base was huge, almost a mile wide. The way it projected from the ground, it almost looked like it had been grafted on. Its graceful arc began and it narrowed somewhat as you got closer to the top. From where they stood, they could not even see the upper section which extended quite a distance over the lake. The view from the top must be awe-inspiring as well, Rei thought to himself.

Rome stumbled as they walked along. Rei grabbed her arm and helped her right herself. "Are you OK, honey?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "But that." She pointed up. "The Hand. It is stupendous. I cannot take my eyes off of it."

"I agree," Rei said. "It seems like the overhang goes off forever." He forced his eyes back to the ground.

Bonnie added, "In our time, when people went to New York City for the first time, they did the same thing, tripping over themselves, staring at the skyscrapers. There's something hypnotic about being close up to really gigantic structures."

"I will try to get used to it," Rome said, "but I don't know if I will be able to."

"Well, we have business now. We'll come back some day and take it all in properly."

"Agreed," Rome said and she charged forward.

Rome has certainly changed since we met her way back when in _Rome's Revolution_. She can now appreciate beauty and majesty. That is why she is so impressed with the sheer magnitude of The Hand of Deucado. However, tomorrow, our band of heroes will discover something even more amazing. The residents of Ur are using money!

## Entry 5-227: August 15, 2017

### Money? On Deucado?

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Bonnie entered the resort city of Ur and got to see The Hand of Deucado close up for the first time. The Hand of Deucado is probably the most spectacular geological structure ever seen on the known worlds of Man. It is so huge, you can't even really focus on the top when standing on the ground. Rome had a hard time taking her eyes off of it. However, they had their mission and it was time to get on with it:

The circular streets and residential area curved around to the left. Going the other way, starting right at the edge of the shadow of The Hand, there was an open area that was a combination of farmer's market and bazaar. As they walked along, both Rome and Bonnie gawked at the wares set out on the various tables. At one point, Rome walked over to one table and picked up a bright red fruit. She showed it to Rei. "This looks delicious," she said. As she started to bite into it, the merchant, clearly Deucadon, said, "hold on."

"What?" Rome asked.

"That'll be two Deucats," he said, stroking his beard.

"What is a Deucat?" she asked.

"It's money, coin," he said, rubbing his two fingers together. The merchant eyed Rome up and down.

Rei came over to where she was standing. She set the fruit down and turned to her husband. "You explained to me about money once," she said. "But why would we need it here? I don't understand."

Rei regarded her confusion then turned to address the merchant. "What's up with that?" he asked. "This world has unlimited free energy. Molecular synthesizers. Anybody can have anything they want. Why do you want money?"

The merchant shrugged. "Around here, there are so many different people and races, it's the only way we can gauge value. And, ya need it for the casino." He pointed straight up. Seeing no reaction, he shrugged. "If ya don't have any money, then there is nawt anythin' I can do for ya. Ya can move along."

"Money is stupid!" Rome exclaimed.

"It is only stupid if ya do nawt have any," the merchant smirked. He tapped the bowl holding the rest of the fruit several times.

Rome put the fruit back and stared at the merchant, scowling. Rei saw her disappointment and moved to the edge of the table.

"Can I see one of these Deucats?" he asked. "I've never seen one before."

The merchant reached into a leather-like bag attached at his waist and pulled out a single silver coin. He handed it to Rei who hefted it then flipped it over in his hand. It was about the size of a silver dollar and by its weight, probably contained about the same amount of precious metal. On the obverse, there was an image of Deucado, pock marks and all. On the reverse, was an image of The Hand, engraved in the center. The rim was serrated and along the edge was inscribed the legend One Deucat in English and Vuduri.

I have a fascination with the 1878 7TF Morgan Dollar, Reverse of 1878. The reasons are too hard to explain. But I held one in my hand so I could model the Deucat after it. There is an image below. The point being, Rome and Rei need some money to accomplish their goals. How will they get any?

## Entry 5-228: August 16, 2017

### Have I got a deal for you!

Yesterday, we found out that within the resort town of Ur, they use money, a coin specifically, as a medium of exchange. The name of the coin is a Deucat and it has a picture of The Hand of Deucado on one side and an image of the planet of Deucado on the other. The size, weight and composition was very similar to a silver dollar, a Morgan Dollar actually (example below). Since this was the first time they ever encountered one, clearly Rome and Rei did not have any. Rei needed to figure out how to get some:

Rei handed the Deucat back to the merchant and turned to Rome.

"Let me have your ring," he said.

Rome quickly hid her left hand behind her back. "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"I just need to borrow it for a few minutes," Rei insisted. "I'll give it back, I promise."

"Very well," Rome said unenthusiastically. She used her right hand to gently twist and remove the diamond engagement ring off of her left ring finger. The ring had been Rei's gift to her on their one year anniversary. It was among her most prized possessions because of what it represented. Reluctantly, she handed the ring to her husband.

Rei held the ring out to the merchant. "How much will you give me for this ring?" he asked.

"Rei!" Rome shouted. "No!"

"It's OK," Rome," he said. "I know what I'm doing." The merchant took the ring from him and held it up to the light.

"It's a four carat flawless diamond with two one-carat diamonds on the sides. Mounted on a pure platinum base."

The merchant's eyes grew wide. "This ring, it is very valuable," he said. "I would nawt have enough to pay ya. Maybe up top? At the casino?"

"Not necessary," Rei said. "Would you say that ten Deucats is a fair price?"

"Ten Deucats?" the merchant sputtered. "It is worth a hundr'd times that much, a thous'nd."

"OK then," Rei said. "I'll sell it to you for two Deucats."

"Rei?" Rome whined, "what are you doing?"

"Shhh," Rei chastised. "Two Deucats?" he asked again.

"Of course, of course," the merchant said. He reached into his bag and pulled out two silver coins.

"So here's the deal," Rei said. "You're giving me two Deucats. I'm going to go away for a little bit and when I come back, I'll give you ten Deucats to buy the ring back. The way you said. OK?"

The merchant narrowed his eyes.

"Look, you're making back five times your investment in just a few minutes. You agreed it was worth at least ten Deucats. Do we have a deal?"

"Ya," said the merchant. "We can do this."

"Great," Rei said and he held out his palm. The merchant dropped two silver coins into his open hand.

Rei turned to Rome and Bonnie. "I'm going to go down the road for a few minutes. You two stay here and keep an eye on this guy. Make sure he doesn't do anything funny or take off."

Hmm. The world of Deucado has unlimited energy and molecular sequencers. A person can literally have anything they want. Rei wants some Deucats. What do you think he's going to do with his sample?

## Entry 5-229: August 17, 2017

### The Bargain

Yesterday, Rei gave a Deucadon merchant Rome's engagement ring as collateral so that he could borrow two Deucats, the medium of exchange in the resort town of Ur. We all know what Rei is going to do with his samples. He is going to dash back to MINIMCOM and have him synthesize a boatload. Counterfeit? I'm not sure since they will be made of the exact same material, silver mostly, so in theory they should have the same value as a "real" Deucat, whatever that comes to. So I don't think he's cheating. Let's see what happens when he comes back to retrieve Rome's ring:

Rome grabbed Bonnie's arm and pulled her over to sit on a bench that she spotted just behind the merchant's table. They watched the merchant turn the ring over and over in his hand. He even tried to slip it on one of his fingers but the ring was too small. They just sat in silence for about ten minutes until Rei came jogging back from down the road. In his hand was a leather-like sack similar to the one the merchant had on his hip.

When he arrived at the table, he took a moment to catch his breath then reached into the bag and brought out ten coins, placing them on the table.

The merchant picked up the coins and examined them closely. He even tried to bend one. He looked at Rei and his full sack and slid the pile of coins back toward him.

"I've changed my mind," the merchant said. "The deal is now one hundred Deucats."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rei growled at him. "A deal's a deal. You agreed to ten Deucats. Where's your integrity?"

"Sorry," the merchant said with a slightly crooked grin. "The deal is now one hundred Deucats or I keep the ring."

Rei started to clench his hand into a fist. Rome's lilting voice entered into his head.

" _He'll take twenty five,"_ Rome said. _"He just wants you to bargain with him."_

Rei turned to look at her. _"How do you know?"_ he asked her.

" _I can read his mind,"_ she replied, smiling.

" _I thought you had to touch someone to do that."_

" _For deeper thoughts, yes. For something this simple, no. Offer him a few more Deucats and let him fight you down to twenty five. We have to be on our way."_

" _OK,_ " Rei said. He turned to the merchant.

"Do you know who we are?" Rei asked, angrily.

"Of course," answered the merchant. "Everyone knows who yar. Yar possibly the most famous people on all of Deucado. Ya can certainly afford it, judgin' by the size of yar bag."

Rei took a deep breath. "I'll give you fifteen," he said.

"I will take naw less than fifty," the merchant countered.

"Twenty," Rei said.

"Forty," offered the merchant.

"Twenty five and that's my final offer," Rei said. He raised his fist in the air. "Otherwise, I start beating you."

The merchant smiled. "Ya drive a hard bargain but twenty five it is."

When Rome made the decision to evolve into a true telepath, she thought she would use her new abilities to extract the truth from people. This application is a slight twist but proved to be useful nonetheless. And practice is practice. So good on you, Rome. Tomorrow, the hunt for David Troutman, the would-be assassin, starts up again.

## Entry 5-230: August 18, 2017

### We go up!

Yesterday, Rei had to bargain with an unscrupulous merchant just to get Rome's engagement ring back. Since he basically had an infinite supply of Deucats, the coins that the people of Ur used as a medium of exchange, it wasn't the number that bothered him but rather the principle. However, Rome counseled him on how to conclude the transaction quickly and successfully so Rei followed her instructions. She wanted her ring back and it was time to get on with the search for the man who tried to assassinate Rei:

Rei let out a short burst of air then reached in his bag and brought out fifteen more coins. The merchant grabbed the Deucats then handed Rome's ring back to Rei. Rei gave it to Rome who quickly placed it back on her finger, breathing a sigh of relief.

"We're done here," Rei said and started to turn away. Suddenly, he turned back. Defiantly, he grabbed the fruit that started the whole exchange. "With your compliments, right?" Rei asked, still slightly miffed at the man.

The merchant shrugged reluctantly. Rei handed the fruit to Rome and they left the merchant's table to continue the search.

"Where did you get the money?" Bonnie whispered as they were walking away.

"I happen to know a magician," Rei answered cryptically. "He can make anything happen. This wasn't even a challenge. In fact, it made him laugh, it was so easy."

"OK," Bonnie replied, shrugging.

"Anyway, from the look of things, we're gonna need some money regardless."

"Why?" Rome asked.

"Because it's obvious that we're too recognizable." He pulled the hood of his cloak over his hair. "We're gonna have to find something to cover you ladies up. I don't want Troutman or Steele to get tipped off before we find them. The less attention we draw, the better."

Rei looked around and spotted a stall where an Ibbrassati woman was selling clothing. After a little modeling session, Rome selected a brown cloak. Bonnie selected a beige one. Rei purchased them from the woman manning the stall as Rome and Bonnie donned the cloaks. Bonnie pulled up her hood. Rome was about to do so when she said, "Wait!"

"What?" Rei asked.

Rome walked around behind the display and pulled out the new picture of Troutman, the one MINIMCOM had sketched with a beard. She showed it to the Ibbrassati woman but did not say a word. She put her hand on the woman's shoulder and only then asked her if she had ever seen the man in the picture.

The woman studied the image for a bit but claimed she did not recognize him.

"Thank you for trying," Rome said and she put the picture back in her pocket. The three of them started walking away. It was only then that Rome pulled up her hood.

"So what's the plan?" Bonnie asked as they moved through the crowd. "Canvassing the neighborhood?"

"Not necessary," Rome said with a smile. "I have discovered there is something in between the truth and lies. Sometimes a person cannot clearly recall something and discards the idea because they are not sure. Even though she said she did not know, I know that she did. She has seen Troutman."

"She did?" Rei exclaimed. "Where?"

Rome pointed to the gigantic stone prominence over their head. "Up," she said. "We must go to the top of The Hand."

How neat! I'm looking forward to the view from the top. Obviously there must be some way to get there but how? Let's find out.

## Entry 5-231: August 19, 2017

### Sweet Spots

I don't know about you but I think the universe has a cruel sense of humor. There are only seven days a week and since I am asleep about 1/3 of that time, that leaves about 112 usable hours per week. Way early and way late are not useful for getting critical things done but you can stretch that. Plus or minus, the 112 hours should be enough to accomplish crucial tasks.

The reason I say that the universe has a cruel sense of humor is because for some reason, and I believe it to be the semi-sadistic nature of fate, everybody and everything has a tendency to want to clump demands on your time to a few slots. Like Thursday from 2PM to 4PM. Sometimes Tuesdays. Nobody wants to do anything on a Monday or Friday, weekends are for non-work stuff, and I guess Wednesdays are held sacred to get the only real, private work done.

People say, can we have a meeting or a conference call or whatever and it is always clumped around one or two slots. Even this weekend, my wife and I poured all of our errands into Saturday to free up Sunday for our all important visit with the grandbaby and sure enough, he is only available _today_. Damn.

I find this corollary to be true for TV viewing as well. Instead of a nice, evenly spread distribution of days and times, I find that all the TV shows I want to watch (and it is not that many) all fall on the same days and time slots. Now since I have a DVR, this is not really a life-threatening issue but still, it shows the malevolent intent behind the TV gurus and their counter-programming.

I have a wedding next month and it runs smack into an Eagles game. You can't watch football during a wedding and if you "tape" the game, what are the chances somebody isn't going to blab the score before you have a chance to watch? And if you know the score, watching a replay of a game is really just that, an extended replay because you already know the outcome.

I do use this universal tendency to my advantage. It is so reliable that if I need somebody to get back to me on something, I'll hop in the shower or go to the bathroom and invariably, that induces the phone to ring. I don't know the exact mechanism but I do know it works. A parallel to this is I can have no phone calls for hours but as soon as I jump on a conference call, somebody else calls. Or I am on the phone and that is the exact time somebody decides to text me which cause my bluetooth headset to disconnect.

My brother Bruce calls it synchronicity but that is just a description, not an underlying mechanism. Me, I call them sweet spots because they are sweet and convenient from the perspective of everybody else and whoever is controlling the universe. For me, they are just a titanic pain in the butt and the source of much angst but such is life.

Sorry for the grumbling but who ever promised things would be easy?

## Entry 5-232: August 20, 2017

### Truth is getting stranger than fiction

Yesterday, I provided conclusive evidence that there is intelligence out in the universe and that controlling organization may not be so benevolent, at least from _my_ perspective. It may not be that the universe is cruel, it may just be that we puny mortals cannot comprehend the humor imposed.

Today I want to explain about my plight as a science fiction writer. Science fiction is speculative fiction about what could be or what might have been using a scientific basis. I prefer spaceships and aliens, others prefer dystopian futures, still others write about alternative pasts. The common theme, and the thing that distinguishes science fiction from fantasy is that story must have a logical basis and cannot be based upon magic or things that we know not to be true. You can have a science fiction book about a vampire but you have to come up with virus or some other plausible explanation as to the vampire's habits as opposed to fantasy where you just say , there are vampires.

When I write my science fiction, I try to speculate on a future based upon physics and science that we know. If I have to invent something, I take what we know and extrapolate but there is always a clear path back to the known universe. My problem is my speculations are no longer so speculative. Science is coming up with stuff so fast that it is surpassing my ability to make it up.

Case in point: I invented a teleportation device based up the Casimir Effect and used it to move my characters from point A to point C. Pretty cool, huh? Pretty science-fictiony, right? Well, as I wrote about several weeks ago, I found out that Chinese scientists have been successfully performing teleportation for years now. Uh-oh.

And I speculated that first MASAL and then OMCOM could perform precision genetic manipulation on their unknowing subjects to improve (or in MASAL's case degrade) the species. Well, as I will write about tomorrow, scientists are _already_ doing this today using a gene-splicing technique called CRISPR to create bacteria that can excrete oil, insulin or remove genetic diseases in human embryos before they begin to develop. Uh-oh on several levels.

Anyway, I'll continue to write science fiction about other worlds, creatures and cultures but I think I have to up my game when it comes to speculating about scientific development because science is coming on strong and it doesn't appear to be slowing down. If anything, the speed of discoveries is increasing and in some cases has surpassed stuff I came up with even 10 years ago.

## Entry 5-233: August 21, 2017

### CRISPR

Yesterday, I mentioned that science is developing faster than I can keep up. I thought many of my ideas in the world of _Rome's Revolution_ were not outlandish but certainly ahead of the curve. Take MASAL's and OMCOM's genetic manipulation of Rome and Rei. I was pretty sure it was way out there but we'd all believe it was possible some day. Well, that day has already arrived.

Meet CRISPR. No, this is not a thing that makes french fries. The acronym stands for **C** lustered **R** egularly **I** nterspaced **S** hort **P** alindromic **R** epeats although the name is no longer 100% tied to the technology. The modern name is CRISPR/Cas9 and it is a methodology for directly injecting new genetic sequences into the DNA of living creatures. It can also be used to _remove_ a particular sequence as well. Scientists who use this technology are sometimes called biohackers which is kind of a scary appellation.

What are the implications of this? It is astounding. For example, biohackers are working on forcing ordinary E. Coli bacteria to secrete human-injectable insulin. Others are trying to get yeast to secret biofuel. Still others have used CRISPR to inject a moving GIF of a galloping horse in another strain of E. Coli. Why would you want to do this? It is the beginning of an information revolution where data can be reproduced biologically and therefore immortal. I have inserted the Galloping Horse GIF at the bottom of this post.

Scientists have grander plans for additions to animal DNA using CRISPR. Because pig organs are roughly the same size as human, biohackers are hard at work altering pig organs so they can be transplanted into humans. Can you imagine a world where they can grow you a new kidney or pancreas or eyeball on a pig? It sounds like science fiction but it isn't too far away.

As I mentioned above, CRISPR can also be used to delete genetic sequences. This is possibly more exciting and more practical than additions. Scientists have created mosquitos that cannot carry malaria and created more muscular and hairier goats. They are also making progress in elimination of diseases like leukemia, muscular dystrophy and HIV infections. Some day, altruistic biohackers may be able to modify a Type 1 diabetic's beta cells to ward off attack by the person's own immune system meaning they would no longer even need insulin.

The possibilities are endless and it is a slippery slope because the same techniques used to remove a genetic disease from an embryo could be used to alter the child's eye color, intelligence and so on. If it is not stopped, there is no reason why people could not **design their own babies**! Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I don't know. I'm still wrestling with plant people and Stareaters. But the day is coming when we will have to decide not whether these things _can_ be done but rather _should_ they be done.

This image of Eadweard Muybridge's galloping horse embedded within the DNA of a bacterium is courtesy of Seth Shipman:

## Entry 5-234: August 22, 2017

### Okja

Yesterday, I introduced you to CRISPR which is an acronym referring to a technique by which scientists can directly edit a living organism's DNA. They can add genes or delete them. With them, they can cure disease or engender organisms which are essentially new to this Earth.

I have mentioned my infatuation with Netflix before mainly because Netflix and all the other streaming services online or coming online represent an entirely new market for original material. My own _Rome's Revolution_ isn't really suited to a two hour movie. It would make a far better mini-series or three. So I am rooting for Netflix to thrive so that when I am ready, my books can take their place among their original programming.

It is in that vein, along with my summary of CRISPR, that I would like you to go watch the movie called _Okja_ available on Netflix now. This is an original made-for-Netflix movie and only available on Netflix. It is about genetically altered pigs engineered to reduce animal emissions and carbon footprint while creating a great new source of animal protein. One of the antagonists, played by Tilda Swinton, explicitly states that the animal has to taste f**king good. Besides Tilda Swinton, the movie features Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano and an especially likeable little girl, Mija, played by Seo-Hyun Ahn as Okja's friend and protector.

Okja herself, a completely CGI creation, is a good-natured and extremely intelligent super-pig. It is easy to get attached to her and the animation is so good that it is easy to believe the animal is real. I don't want to spoil it for you so I won't tell you what happens, merely that you should watch it.

This movie is a cautionary tale of what happens when corporate America gets their hands on CRISPR and uses it to do things which may not be good. The writers and director make sure which side earns your loyalty.

## Entry 5-235: August 23, 2017

### Where to go

A few days ago, we observed that Rome informed Rei and Bonnie that the woman who ran the merchant's stall in the shadow of The Hand of Deucado might have seen David Troutman. Troutman was one of the two would-be assassins who tried to kill Rei. So the only way they would find out more information was to go to the top of The Hand. How to get there? That is the next part:

There were several ways to get to the top of The Hand. Technically, it was possible to walk up. The first people to arrive at Ur had actually carved out a series of stairwells, switchback-style, to make it feasible to go to the top by foot. But most found that too tedious. Some industrious soul had built a dumb-waiter style elevator to the top that now served as a cargo lift. After the casino was built, a much nicer, glass-enclosed elevator was constructed to ferry people topside in elegant fashion. The elevator was mounted on the western side of the gigantic tower.

It cost Rei, Rome and Bonnie one Deucat each to take the ride to the top but it was money well spent. The three of them stared out the window at the majestic vista as they rose to the plateau on top. As they got higher, if anything, Lake Eprehem seemed to get larger and stretched out forever in front of them.

As they stepped out of the elevator onto the rocky surface, one half mile in the air, Bonnie grabbed onto Rei's arm.

"What is it?" Rei asked.

"I don't know," she said. "It's just that being up here makes my knees rubbery."

"We'll hold on to you," Rome said, going around the other side and taking Bonnie's arm. "Let's go."

To the west and north, the view was completely unobstructed. Along the leeward side, to the east, there were some restaurants and an inn. They walked past all of the structures to the very tip of The Hand. Rei's guess was they were on the 'ring finger' of the titanic structure. Thoughtfully, somebody had constructed a railing to prevent people from tumbling over the edge. Rome leaned over and looked straight down, one half mile, into the deep blue waters of Lake Eprehem. From their vantage point, it looked like they were suspended in space. The lake appeared to stretch forever in all directions.

"Sleek," Rome said. "It is beyond beautiful. Who knew our little world contained such a treasure?"

Rei smiled at her use of the word sleek. "It is sleek," he said. "Someday, we'll come back here for a proper vacation but for now, we should get to the business at hand."

Rome looked around. There weren't many people on top this day. "We go door to door?" she asked.

"No need," Rei said, pointing at the glittering façade of the largest building on top. Its shiny exterior would shout casino on any world. "We go to the casino. If Troutman came up here, chances are that'd be where he was headed."

"What is a casino, anyway?" Rome asked as they approached. "What is its purpose?"

Rei laughed. "Its purpose is for people to lose money."

Rome had a hard enough with money. She thought it was stupid. And now Rei shows her a place whose sole purpose is to separate a fool and his money? What will she make of that?

## Entry 5-236: August 24, 2017

### The Vuduri Casino

Yesterday, Rei explained to Rome that the purpose of a casino was to lose money. Rei was well aware of the fact that Rome had a hard enough time understanding the concept of money and he was fairly certain she would not comprehend why you would give it away for no apparent reason. But Rei is from our time and he understands the appeal of a casino so he knew it was most likely the only place Troutman might visit. Why? That wasn't clear yet:

"I don't understand," Rome said. "Why would they go to the trouble of acquiring it, just to lose it?"

"It's for gambling," Bonnie offered, trying to clear things up.

"And what is gambling?"

"There are games of chance in there," Bonnie said, pointing forward. "People bet. Some people win. But mostly, in the end, everybody loses."

"This is like our card games?" Rome asked. "We never played for anything other than the joy."

"Yeah," Rei said, "but some people find more joy when they win money."

"Back to money again," Rome said. "The whole concept is starting to make me angry. I only went along with it because we had to get on our way. I think I am against it just on general principles."

"I agree with you," Rei said, as he opened the front door. "My people brought a lot of cultural hang-ups with us and that is not one of the good ones."

They entered inside and were immediately assaulted with flashing lights, bells and assorted sounds going off and a smell that reminded Rome of Nick Greer's cell back on Helome.

To their left was a bank of slot machines. They were sparsely populated with a couple of Essessoni and Deucadons. To Rei's surprise, he saw not only some Ibbrassati but also two people who were clearly Vuduri. He stared at them. There was no doubt about it; they were playing the slots. The whole picture was surreal.

"Where do we start?" Rome asked, interrupting Rei's reverie.

"Let me find somebody," Rei said and he charged forward. He found an Ibbrassati woman dressed in some sort of costume which Rei figured meant she worked there.

"Hello," he said to her.

"Hello," she replied. Her eyes widened a bit when she realized who she was talking to. "What can we do for you? Are you here to play?"

"Not really," Rei said. He looked up and around and immediately spotted several security cameras. "Is there somebody we can talk to about people coming and going? Maybe look at your security footage?"

The woman shook her head. "No, that is off-limits to everyone," she said. "You're not allowed."

Rei frowned. "You know who I am, right?"

"Of course," she said. "But you still aren't allowed. We must respect everyone's privacy."

"Is the owner here or a manager or something?" Rei asked.

"I cannot say," she replied. "Management doesn't mix with the patrons."

"Sure they do," Rei insisted. "It's important."

"No, sir," the pretty little Ibbrassati said. She turned to walk away. As she left, she said, over her shoulder, "If you are not going to play, you may as well leave." She waved to a rather large Essessoni who was standing to the rear. He started making his way over to where Rei and Rome were standing.

Uh-oh. A bouncer. I guess they'd better sit down and play a few hands. But how are they going to get the attention of management?

## Entry 5-237: August 25, 2017

### A New Kind of Poker, Part 1

Yesterday, Rome and Rei entered the casino at the top of The Hand of Deucado, looking for one of the would-be assassins. Since this was the future, I had to think of some futuristic variations of common casino games. One of my ideas was to evolve poker from five card stud and five card draw, past Texas Hold'em to yet a new variation where Rome's mind-reading ability would be useful. I ended up calling it House Poker or Hoker.

I consulted with my stepson Matthew on how to change it up so that it would be challenging but still make sense. It took us several weeks but we eventually came up with the rules. Let me tell you, inventing a new card game is hard! I didn't go too deeply into the design within Rome's Evolution but enough so you could see how it was similar and how it was different:

"You said down below you can read people's minds without touching them, right?" Rei asked in a low voice.

"Yes," Rome answered in kind. "Superficial thoughts only, though."

Rei pointed to the card table on the far right. "What about what cards each person is holding in their hands? Do you think you could tell me that?"

"I suppose," Rome said, "if they were concentrating on them."

"That's kind of cheating," Bonnie said, "Don't you think?"

"Exactly," Rei said. "What better way to get management's attention?"

Bonnie cocked her head in confusion but then she nodded definitively.

"OK," Rei said to Rome. "Let's try," He took Rome's hand and led her to a table where there were four people and a dealer playing hoker.

Hoker or house poker was a simple variation of regular five card draw. The only difference was the house participated in the hand instead of merely dealing. The dealer would look at each card before handing it to the players and they would keep every fifth card. To stay in a round, a player had to bet a certain amount. Since the house had a distinct advantage, to make the game more fair, a player could withdraw from each round by surrendering half of their pot. If the dealer drew three of a kind or two pair before the players accumulated something better, the house won. A player could lay their hand down at any time and if they beat everyone, they won everyone's chips including those that belonged to the house.

It was a simple game and went very fast. A good player could lay down their hand or surrender early and do well. A bad player would wait too long and the house would win.

Rei brought Rome right up to the edge of the table. Bonnie stood directly behind her.

" _Undo your jumpsuit a little bit,"_ Rei thought to Rome. _"Show a little flesh. It'll distract people."_

" _What!?"_ Rome exclaimed, slightly insulted.

" _Trust me,"_ Rei answered. _"Then look in their minds and see if you can tell me what every player has in their hand,"_ Rei asked Rome mentally.

Rei is breaking every rule he can think of so he can get caught cheating. An odd strategy to be sure. Let's see if it works.

## Entry 5-238: August 26, 2017

### A New Kind of Poker, Part 2

Yesterday, I introduced you to a new kind of card game, a variant of poker, called house poker or hoker for short. This game was mentioned earlier in _Rome's Evolution_ as justification for Paul Chung to interact with David Troutman. It is similar to other kinds of poker in that the dealer's cards act as part of yours but the dealer can lay down and win the hand rather than be a passive participant, thus the name _house_ poker. I needed a game where the house could lose money if a really good player came along. Normally, the dealer just sits there and collects money for facilitation, i.e. no risk. And in Rei's case, it really helps to have a mind-reader as your partner:

Rome did as Rei requested then she started with the first player on the far right. "Two queens, a seven and a four," Rome replied.

"Great," Rei answered. "And the next one?"

"Three eights and a six."

"And the next?"

"A four, a five, a six and an eight."

"Same suit?"

"Yes," Rome replied.

"OK. Great. Forget the last one. See what you can do with the dealer," Rei instructed. "That's the most important one."

"The dealer has three tens and a jack. She's getting ready to deal."

The player with three of a kind said, "Call" and he laid down his hand. All the other players turned their hands over. The dealer smiled and flipped over her cards and the man who had called slapped the table.

"Damn!" he said. "I thought I had you." The dealer calmly collected all the chips and swept them into a receptacle. A helper pulled them out and organized them into the little trays in front of the dealer, sorted by color. The man who lost the hand got up and left the area.

"OK," Rei said out loud. "I'll give it a try."

"Are you sure that is wise?" Rome asked. "This seems like a triviality. Don't we have more important things we should be doing?"

Bonnie leaned over and whispered, "If he's going to do what I think he's going to do, it's exactly the right thing."

Rome looked at her then looked at Rei and shrugged. Rei sat down and pulled out his bag of Deucats. "What's the table minimum?" he asked.

"Five Deucats," answered the dealer. Rei pulled out fifty of the silver coins and placed them on the table. The dealer pulled them forward, counted them, and handed Rei a stack of chips.

"Tell me every card as they are drawn," he said to Rome. "And keep track of what the dealer has. That's the most important thing."

"If you say so," Rome replied and they begun.

It's amazing what you can win if you cheat. Nearly every hand, Rei laid down his hand early or surrendered. Slowly but surely, his pile of chips grew larger and larger and larger. Every tenth hand or so, he'd turn in a stack of chips for a chip of larger value which he would hand to Rome. Rei was like a chip-collecting machine. The stack of chips he handed to Rome eventually became so cumbersome, she had to take off her cloak and use it as if it were a sack.

When you are at the casino and your partner isn't playing, it makes it fun for them to collect the winnings so I incorporated that into the story. And to some degree, this has always been everyone's fantasy, to know what cards were coming before they come. Nothing can stop Rei now but that isn't his goal.

## Entry 5-239: August 27, 2017

### The house always wins

Yesterday, Rei sat down at a hoker table with Rome as his mind-reading partner. There almost isn't any card game you can't win if you can know the other player's cards. Especially in hoker which allows you to back out gracefully if you think you have a losing hand or lay down fast if you know you have a winner. Rei started raking in the Deucats and everyone around could see he was unstoppable. Rei was hoping the house could not let him get away with it. The house is supposed to always win. Let's see how they plan to thwart him:

It didn't take long until the other players left the table in disgust only to be replaced by a series of gawking onlookers. Soon it was just Rei and the dealer. That was when he really kicked it into high gear. He bet a hundred, then two hundred, then five hundred Deucats per hand. With relentless precision, his pile of winnings became uncountable, especially because the bulk of it was hidden in Rome's bulging cloak.

Each time Rei won, the steadily-growing crowd shouted and cheered. At one point, the dealer was breathing heavily and asked to be excused. The heavy-set Essessoni who they had spotted coming from the rear sat down to take her place. As he sat down, he pulled the deck closer to him and centered it.

" _Rei!"_ Rome said insistently. _"He just put four cards on top of the deck that he was holding in his palm."_

" _Do you know what they are?"_ Rei asked, frowning.

" _Yes,"_ Rome replied. _"An ace, a king, a four then another king."_

" _The bastard,"_ Rei said. _"He was going to sucker me into losing."_

"Hey," Rei said out loud, pointing to the deck. "I saw you palming those cards. You just rigged the deck."

"I did not," the new dealer said with a straight face. "You're crazy."

"I saw you and I'll prove it," Rei said. He turned back to Rome. "Dump your chips on the table," he commanded.

Rome shook her head and lifted her cloak, spreading its contents all over the table.

"Double or nothing," Rei said. "I tell you what the next four cards are, the ones you were palming. If I'm right, you match my pot and I win. If I'm wrong, you can have them all."

The dealer put his finger into his collar in a vain attempt to loosen it. He turned in his seat to look up at the tinted windows but got no indication. He turned back to Rei. "All right," he said. "First card?"

"Ace," Rei said. The dealer flipped the card over and an ace of diamonds appeared. The crowd applauded.

"Next card?"

"King," Rei replied. The dealer flipped the card over and it was the king of spades. This time, the crowd shouted then applauded.

"Next card?" the dealer asked nervously.

"Four," Rei said. "So I'd have nothing at this point." The dealer flipped the next card over and it was the four of hearts. The crowd went wild, roaring its approval.

It looks like Rei is really going to do it. Surely the house has a Plan B.

## Entry 5-240: August 28, 2017

### Getting her attention

Yesterday, Rei had cheated his way to the point where he was going to break the house. The replacement dealer had palmed four cards specifically designed to sucker Rei into betting money that he would lose for sure. Luckily, Rome not only knew that the dealer had cheated, she even knew the cards that had been placed on the top of the deck. Rei bet all of his money that he could name the next four cards. He got the first three correct. Now it was time for the dealer to turn over the final card and for Rei to win a boatload of Deucats:

Rei reached into his sack of Deucats and dumped the rest on the table.

" _Rei!"_ Rome suddenly interrupted. _"He's going to take two cards. It won't be the king."_

" _Right,"_ Rei answered. Then out loud, he said, "Stop right there and get your hands away from the deck. Get somebody else to turn the card."

"No," the dealer said. "That's not the deal." The crowd's agitation was palpable.

"Yes it is," Rei insisted. "I said the next four cards. You already palmed four cards and now you're going to lift two. If you won't get somebody else, I'm going to turn the last card over myself."

"You can't do that," the dealer said. He reached down beneath the table and drew out a weapon. He placed the plasma blaster on the table. "House rules," he said. "I say how this goes down." The crowd murmured and quickly moved back, clearing out a wide buffer between themselves and Rei, Rome and Bonnie.

Rei touched his temple and suddenly, with a whoosh and a pop, MINIMCOM's livetar appeared. But this livetar was much larger than normal. It was nearly eight feet tall and appropriately proportioned. Across one of the livetar's arms was a hybrid rifle. The barrel and stock looked normal but the end looked more like a shower head. The business end, the one that resembled a shower head, was studded with little tips that glowed bright red.

"You think you can threaten me?" Rei said angrily, standing up. "You can shoot me. You can probably kill me. But you can't kill him," Rei said, jerking his thumb toward MINIMCOM. "He isn't even alive. Tell him what you got there, buddy."

" **This is a PPT blunderbuss,"** MINIMCOM said. **"It will puncture you with thousands of tiny holes. You will not die right away but you will die as sure as there are stars in the sky. And I am told it is a very painful death."**

The dealer's eyes grew wide. Rei took advantage of his frozen reactions and said, "King." He reached forward and flipped the card over and it was, indeed, a king of clubs. From a distance, the crowd went crazy.

The dealer leaped up and in so doing, knocked his chair over backwards.

"Pay me," Rei said, pointing to the pile of chips and money on the table. The dealer turned back and stared up at the tinted windows in the back helplessly. There was a discernible motion. The Essessoni dealer turned back and said, "The owner would like to see you, first, if you don't mind."

Ah! Mission accomplished. Now Rei was going to get a meeting with the owners and if he is really lucky, access to the security footage. But wait until you see how the owner fits into the whole picture.

## Entry 5-241: August 29, 2017

### How did you know?

Yesterday, Rei had pulled off a huge upset, winning so much money at hoker that the dealer had no choice but to send him up to visit management, presumably to work out a deal. This was Rei's only goal in the first place. Having a mind-reader for a wife is a great advantage at a casino.

So now was the time to go up the stairs and see who was behind the whole affair:

"That's more like it," Rei said, standing up. "My rather large and well-armed friend here..." he indicated MINIMCOM's larger livetar. "...will make sure you count it correctly." MINIMCOM took one step forward and lifted the rifle head slightly in response.

"Sh, sure," the dealer said. "You go back through that door." He pointed to the far right rear of the room. "Someone will meet you at the stairs."

"OK," Rei said. "Bonnie, can you stay here and watch him too? Make sure he doesn't cheat us any more."

"Of course, Rei," Bonnie said, her eyes wide with amazement at what just transpired.

"Come on, Rome," Rei said, reaching down to take Rome's hand. "Let's go find out what's going on."

He led Rome through a winding path around the rest of the tables until they got to the hallway at the rear. "How did you know this would make the owner agree to see you?" she asked.

"Because casino owners hate to lose," he said. "It isn't anything you could understand but this whole place is about separating people from their money. What happened back there is like their worst nightmare."

At the base of the stairwell, an Ibbrassati appeared but this one was dressed in Essessoni-style clothing. The man did not speak while he escorted them up the stairway. He ushered Rei and Rome into a hardwood-paneled office that would have been right at home anywhere on Earth. It looked odd, here on Deucado. At the desk was a woman with dark hair and bangs. She stood up.

The Ibbrassati closed the door but remained in the room, standing at attention.

"You two don't need any introduction," she said. "But I do. I'm Andrea Grenmuller." She leaned over the desk and held out her hand.

Rei reached forward and shook her hand. "Sit down," Andrea said, indicating the two chairs in front of her desk. "Very impressive display," she mused admiringly. "I had no idea you were so good at cards."

"I'm not," Rei said, sitting down. Rome sat down next to him. "I cheated," he answered proudly.

"And you're admitting it?"

"Yeah, sure," Rei said. "I don't want your money. You can have it back."

"You don't want it?" Andrea asked incredulously. "Then what do you want?"

"Information," Rei said, leaning forward. "About David Troutman and Dan Steele."

Ah. There it is. Rei kind of has her over a barrel because if he wanted to, Rei could leave with that barrel-full of money. But as he said, he didn't want it. Time for Andrea to spill what she knows.

## Entry 5-242: August 30, 2017

### The Origin of the Deucat

Yesterday, Rei finally got his audience before the casino's management. It turns out the owner is an Essessoni named Andrea Granmuller. How and why she was running the place was anybody's guess. It was time for Rome and Rei to dig a little deeper. They need to ascertain whether she knew anything about Troutman and Steele, the would-be assassins. Rei just came out and asked her. Here is her response:

Andrea narrowed her eyes. "What if I said I didn't know anything about them?"

Rei turned to Rome who nodded. She stood up and walked around the desk. Andrea watched her skeptically while Rome gently rested her hand on Andrea's shoulder.

"She's lying," Rome said. "She knows Troutman very well."

Andrea looked at Rome's hand then up at Rei. "So that's how you cheat? You read people's minds?"

"I can't," Rei said. "But she can. You might want to rethink the games you offer by acknowledging that the people here aren't all like us."

"OK. Point taken. What do you want to know?" Andrea asked.

"Anything. Everything," Rei said. "Troutman and Steele tried to kill us with a bomb. I want to find them before they take another shot at it."

Andrea leaned back in her chair. She sighed. "I heard that, but David's not a bad person," she said.

"He's bad enough to try and blow me up," Rei shot back with an edge.

"That was Steele's influence," she said. "David just wanted to..." She didn't finish the sentence.

"How do you know Troutman?" Rei asked.

"He and I, well, we've slept together a few times. He used to bring me the silver ingots I needed to make the coins."

"You're minting the money?" Rei inquired. "Why? On this world, we get everything we need for free. Why bother?"

"When you mix four races," Andrea said, "not everybody values things the same way. By implementing a simple standard of exchange, the people down there..." Andrea pointed toward the tinted window mounted on the far wall. "...they can agree on what's what. It levels the playing field. The market down below sets its value. We just use them as a way to get people in here."

"Why?" Rome asked, still standing over Andrea. "Why all of this?"

Andrea looked up at her. "I'm a mathematician by trade. When we got here, nobody needed me for anything. I had to find something to do with my life. On Earth, we had to work just to survive. Here, we don't. So I decided to do what I've always wanted. And I've always wanted to own a casino." She waved her hand outward in a general gesture. "So I built this one. And that's why we make the money. You can't gamble if you don't have anything to gamble with."

Well, we finally have an explanation for why there is money on Deucado. To Andrea, they were really just another form of chips. To the people below, the Deucat had come to mean something more. I'm not sure this was really a contribution to the betterment of Deucado's society.

Tomorrow, we get to look at the tapes.

## Entry 5-243: August 31, 2017

### The Surveillance Tapes, Part 1

Yesterday, Andre Grenmuller dumped a lot of information on us. She was responsible for the creation of the Deucat, the first money on the planet of Deucado. She designed and built the casino at the top of The Hand. She also revealed that she knew David Troutman, one of the would-be assassins, intimately. Rei encouraged her to tell them everything they know but Rome had something to say first:

Rome lifted her hand from Andrea's shoulder. "Money is stupid," she said. "I have only been exposed to it for a short time but I can tell you it brings out the bad in people."

Andrea looked up at her. "You're probably right," she said. "But I don't make anybody come in here."

"Troutman," Rei said, drawing her attention again. "Where is he?"

"I don't know," Andrea replied. Rome put her hand back on Andrea's shoulder. "Speculate. Where do you think he is?" Rome asked.

"Every time we were together, we went back to my place," Andrea replied. "If I had to guess, I'd say he lives to the west. He always told me his place was way too sloppy to let me see where he lived."

Rome looked at Rei and nodded.

"What about Steele?" Rei asked. "Do you know where he is?"

"No," Andrea replied. "I was told he came in here one night a while back but I wasn't even around. David said I was lucky."

Looking around the room, Rei spotted a tiny video camera mounted in the far corner, where the walls met the ceiling. "I saw you had cameras downstairs," Rei said, pointing. "Do you keep video records?"

"Yes," Andrea replied. "We tape everything."

"Can I see the videos?" Rei asked. "Maybe we'll spot something."

"You'd have to go through several month's worth," she said. "I don't really think that's practical."

"Maybe for you and me," Rei said. He leaned back in his chair. There was a whoosh and a pop and a more normal-sized MINIMCOM livetar appeared.

"Buddy, can you watch some video for me at high speed and see if you spot something. You know who we're looking for."

" **Of course,"** the livetar replied.

"OK," Andrea said. She stood up and walked around her desk and over to the far side of the room. She pressed a button and a large flat screen display lit up, segmented into four quadrants of video. She tapped a few keys on a keyboard and the display changed. MINIMCOM's livetar walked over and stood in front of the display.

" **Begin,"** he said.

We've all seen enough TV shows to know that working your way through months worth of surveillance tapes would be a herculean task. But when you have an intelligent starship computer that can do it at high speed, it makes the task doable. Let's see what MINIMCOM comes up with tomorrow.

## Entry 5-244: September 1, 2017

### The Surveillance Tapes, Part 2

Yesterday, Andrea Grenmuller, the owner and manager of the casino at the top of The Hand of Decado, revealed that she had an intimate relationship with David Troutman, one of the would-be assassins who tried to kill Rei. However, even though she had slept with Troutman several times, it had always been at her place and she did not know where he lived. She also told Rome and Rei that she was informed that Dan Steele, the other would-be assassin, had been to the casino earlier in the year but she didn't know exactly when. The only way to find out was to have MINIMCOM review all the surveillance tapes at high speed:

Andrea pressed a single button and the images started flying by at super-speed. MINIMCOM remained motionless. Rei didn't even know how the livetar transmitted what came in through the eye slits but however he accomplished it, MINIMCOM seemed to know what he was doing.

After few minutes, MINIMCOM raised his hand and said, "Stop."

Andrea typed on the keyboard and the images froze. MINIMCOM bent his bullet-shaped head forward and pressed a few keys. When he rewound back to where he wanted, he expanded the image in the upper-left-hand quadrant so that it occupied the full screen.

"This is what you seek," he said. Rei and Rome came over to join Andrea in front of the monitor. MINIMCOM pressed a key and the video began playing back at normal speed.

MINIMCOM pointed to a figure dressed in dark clothes, entering the field of vision from the left-hand side. "That is Steele," the livetar said. "Although he has his face obscured, I was able to get a sufficient match using biometrics."

They watched as the furtive figure sat down at one of the hoker tables. He tossed a few coins down and received chips. For a short while, he played the game like a regular person, winning some hands, losing others.

"Look!" Rome shouted, pointing at the screen. A very short woman, Vuduri most likely judging from the white jumpsuit, sat down next to Steele. "Can you zoom in on her face?" Rome asked.

MINIMCOM tapped on a few keys and the interaction between Steele and the woman took up the entire screen. However, the woman was wearing a cap and a visor that looked like a wraparound frameless pair of sunglasses.

"Why would a Vuduri woman be wearing sunglasses?" Rei addressed toward Rome. "Your internal iris would make it unnecessary."

"Either she is mandasurte, dressed like a Vuduri, or she did not want anyone to see her face," Rome answered. "I suspect the latter."

In the video, the woman leaned over and whispered in Steele's ear. He snapped his head back and looked at her intently. She pointed toward the front door. Immediately, Steele grabbed his chips and followed her out of the camera's field of view.

Ah-hah! The mysterious Vuduri woman who they knew to be helping Troutman and Steele. But why? Who was she and why did she want Rei dead? The mystery deepens.

## Entry 5-245: September 2, 2017

### Got her!

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and MINIMCOM watched surveillance tapes showing one of the would-be assassins, Dan Steele, meeting with a woman who appeared to be Vuduri. This was important information because their reconstruction of the robbery of the Library showed a woman with a Vuduri accent helping them. Now to put all the pieces back together and figure out their next move:

"Any audio?" Rei asked. "I need to know what she said to him."

"No," Andrea replied. "Only video. Sorry."

Rei stroked his chin. He stared at the image on the screen. "I know it seems like we found something but I don't think we did. Maybe that he met our mystery woman here." He turned to Andrea. "Can you tell me who the dealer was? Maybe he or she heard something."

"It was me," answered the Ibbrassati who, up until now, had been standing silently by the door.

The three people turned toward him.

"Can you tell us anything about this?" Rome asked.

"Not much," replied the man. "The woman was definitely Vuduri. I could tell from her dismissive attitude toward the mandasurte. I, too, found it strange that she would wear darkening glasses. Our casino is not that brightly lit in the first place."

"Did you hear what she said to him?" Rei asked.

"No," replied the man. "The room was very loud and she was whispering to him. I am sorry but I did not hear a single word. But whatever she said must been interesting to the man you were watching. He left the game immediately."

"Did you ever see her again?" Rome asked.

"No," replied the man. "In fact, I never saw either of them again."

Rei sighed. He looked at Rome.

"When was the last time you saw Troutman?" Rome asked.

"I haven't seen him in over a month." She looked at the readouts on the screen. "In fact, I probably only saw him once more right after this video was made."

"OK," Rei said. "Thanks, Andrea. This has been sort of helpful. And you said you think Troutman lives on the western side of the city?"

"Yes," Andrea replied sadly. "But I'm not sure how I feel about you finding him. He's not a bad person."

"I have no intention of causing him harm," Rei said. "Unless he gives me a reason. By rights, since he tried to kill me, I should be able to do anything I want to him. But I just want my family to be safe."

"I understand," Andrea said. "I guess in that case, I do hope you find him."

Rei turned to his livetar friend. "Thanks, MINIMCOM. We'll go collect Bonnie and head toward the west. Why don't you go back to the ship and we'll stay in touch."

The livetar nodded his head and disappeared.

Next, Rome and Rei head west and end up turning Rome into the human equivalent of a GPS or bloodhound.

## Entry 5-246: September 3, 2017

### The Sun, the Moon and the stars

Unless you are living under a rock (how's the Wifi reception there?), you know that about two weeks ago, on August 21, 2017, we had a total eclipse of the Sun pass over a goodly portion of the U.S. for the first time in 38 years. Sadly, here in Cherry Hill, NJ, we were too far north to see a total eclipse. And what's worse, even if we were, it was so overcast that you wouldn't have been able to see anything anyway. It just looked gloomy out for the duration.

But even though I couldn't see anything, it got me to wondering. How is it that our Moon is exactly the right size to blot out the Sun so exactly? I mean perfectly. So perfectly that scientists use the eclipse to study the corona of the Sun using ground-based instruments. How come the Moon isn't too big to blot out the corona or too small so that a portion of the Sun is visible around the boundaries of the Moon?

The answer falls out of the math. Right now, in our lifetime, the Sun's diameter is about 400 times greater than the Moon but the Sun is also about 400 times farther away so that their apparent size is nearly identical. The Moon is drifting farther away from the Earth about 1.5 inches every year. That means in the distant past, the Moon completely blotted out the Sun and way in the future, the Moon won't be big enough to totally eclipse the Sun but right now it is perfect. What are the odds?

I guess to figure that out, you'd have to look at other planets with their moons and see whether this is a rare or common occurrence. What planets you ask? To date, scientists have discovered well over 1,000 exoplanets. Unfortunately, they are too far away to determine whether they even have moons, let alone how big they are.

Within our own solar system, all the gas giants like Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus all have moons but none of them are the right size. Mars has two dinky moons, Phobos and Deimos and they certainly wouldn't blot out the Sun.

To figure out the answer, you would have to turn to math to deduce how many planets are exactly the right distance with exactly the right sized moon to get a total eclipse like ours. And even if you came up with the right answer, how would you know? Nobody even knows if there is life on any other worlds in the entire universe so just consider this happy coincidence among a vast ocean of cosmic coincidences involving our wonderful planet Earth.

## Entry 5-247: September 4, 2017

### Voyager

Yesterday, we considered the question as to why the Moon was exactly the right size to create a perfect total eclipse of the Sun. Not too big and not too small but just right. On the day of the total eclipse, I turned on the TV to watch some coverage because I didn't have a pair of eclipse glasses. Also, where we live, it was very overcast so I wouldn't have been able to see anything anyway. Even at the point of maximum eclipse, it just looked gloomy out. Right after that show was a documentary about the Voyager spacecraft which were launched in 1977 making this the 40th anniversary. From watching that show, I found out some astounding facts about these spacecraft that you might want to consider.

Voyager 2 was launched first, on August 20, 1977 and Voyager 1 was launched on September 5, 1977. Now why they were launched in backwards order is a little odd but we'll ignore that for now. Voyager 1 is currently 11.7 billion miles away. It is so far away that by all standards, it has left our solar system and is now in interstellar space. Voyager 2 is "only" 9.5 billion miles away and is still in the heliosphere, a bubble of charged particles and magnetic fields that is considered the outer boundary of our star system. It is expected to leave the solar system in about four years.

Voyager 1 is on a path that will carry it close to a star called AC +79 3888 which is 17.6 light years from Earth. It will take it about 40,000 years to reach that star. If anybody is home and they detect Voyager, they can snag it and listen to the "Golden Record" that was bolted on to the outside of the probe. So if that is all it takes to make intelligent life aware of us, we have 40,000 years to get ready. Voyager 2 is headed for the star called Sirius, only about 10 billion miles away. We have less to worry about that one because it will take Voyager 2 about 296,000 years to reach it.

Of course, if either the Voyager probes run into an alien probe and they merge and the new entity decides to return to Earth to meet its maker, we might have some problems. After all, the was the plot of the first Star Trek movie, with the main antagonist being V'ger. But that story doesn't take place for another 200 years so I think we're OK there as well.

In summary, here is a hearty well-done to the scientists and engineers that designed and launched the twin Voyager spacecrafts, all the science they performed and now their final mission, a message in a bottle to the stars.

## Entry 5-248: September 5, 2017

### A Human GPS

Now that Rome, Rei and Bonnie had retrieved all the information Andrea had to offer, it was time to resume the hunt for Troutman and Steele, the would-be assassins. While Rei told Andrea he didn't need any of his winnings, I hope he kept a few Deucats in case he needed them along the way. If he didn't, oh well, he could always make more. So let's see where they go next:

"Are all men obsessed with sex?" Rome asked Rei mentally as they left the casino.

Rei laughed out loud and then thought back, "Of course."

"That's what I have come to realize," Rome replied. "First Paul Chung, then the merchant below and the way the men at the card table were ogling me. What they were thinking!"

Rei had a hard time holding back laughter. When he was able to compose himself, he said, "If you're going to dive into people's heads, you have to be prepared for what you find there. Our people are used to their privacy. They're not like the Vuduri where somebody is always peeking in. Sometimes we don't think the greatest thoughts."

Rome sighed. "I suppose you are right," she replied. "I have to keep that in the forefront when I am probing their minds."

Rei tried steering the trio toward the elevator but Rome resisted. She looked longingly at the spectacular vista before them. She had vowed several years ago to always take the time to appreciate the beauty that nature provided her. Within her, a tug of war raged on but finally, practicality won. First things first. They had a job to do. Reluctantly, she turned away and followed Rei and Bonnie back the way they came. After the elevator ride back to the ground, the three of them ducked into an alleyway to strategize.

"Did you find anything out?" Bonnie asked Rei and Rome.

"One thing, yes," Rei answered. "The thing we know is that Troutman probably lives to the west."

"So that eliminates half the town," Bonnie said dismissively. "That still leaves us with the entire other half to search."

"I think I may have a method," Rome said. "We now know that even if I am not in direct contact with them, I can still read people's minds. At least at the superficial level. I think that if we walk toward the edge of town, each of you should take turns bumping into people. This will get their attention. Immediately show them a picture of Troutman and Steele. It will only take me a moment to determine if they have seen them or not. That should help us home in on the proper direction."

"That's a pretty sleek idea," Rei said. "Like a human GPS."

"A GPS?" Rome asked.

"Never mind," Rei said. "Let's get going."

So they are going to wander the town, bouncing into people, flash pictures and the stronger the "signal", the closer they will come to finding Troutman and Steele.

## Entry 5-249: September 6, 2017

### The House Is Found

Yesterday, Rome figured out a way to turn her mind-reading ability into a kind of human GPS. They would bump into people, flash pictures of Troutman and Steele and Rome would detect whether the person had ever seen them before, maybe even how long before. As the "signal" got stronger, they would know they were getting closer to the would-be assassins' lair. It was a brilliant plan:

They wandered through the western side of the marketplace with Rei and Bonnie pretending to bump into people. Rei carried a picture of Troutman. Bonnie carried a picture of Steele. Even as they were excusing themselves, Rome was able to get flashes of recognition. No one had seen Steele but Troutman stood out because of his height. Rome had Bonnie switch pictures. They quickly discovered that if they moved in one direction, fewer people showed any recognition. If they turned another way, more people showed flashes of recognition. Rei's description of Rome as a human GPS device turned out to be more accurate than any of them realized.

They soon found themselves on the far western side of the city, well out from beneath the shadow of The Hand. Even though the streets were built the same as on the eastern side, the construction technique for the residences here quickly degraded. In fact, while there were many residences here, they steadily decreased in attractiveness as they got closer to the edge of town. Unerringly, their technique took them closer and closer until they got to one of the last streets, right on the outskirts of Ur. Most of the people here hadn't even bothered to use aerogel to construct their dwellings. They were more like sophisticated shacks. The one or two properly built homes stood out like sore thumbs.

Rome pulled a Vuduri gentleman aside and even though no words were spoken, mentally, she had a conversation with him. He pointed to the third house on the left. Rome thanked him and returned to Rei and Bonnie.

"He saw Troutman enter that house this morning," Rome said. "To his knowledge, he is still in there."

"How do we grab him?" Bonnie asked. "If we go right up to his door, he'll see us and take off."

"Yeah," Rei said. "Let me think about this for a minute." He surveyed his surroundings. "You ladies stay here," he said. "Let me scout around." He drew the Deucadon cloak over his head, drew his hand down the front and promptly disappeared.

Nothing like being invisible for going under cover. Rei will try and sneek a peek inside the shack, hoping he will find Troutman. Let's see what happens.

## Entry 5-250: September 7, 2017

### Sneak attack

Yesterday, Rei pulled one of the Deucadon invisibility cloaks, right outside of David Troutman's house. Since they didn't want Troutman to see them, that was probably a good idea. However, Rei hadn't told Bonnie or Rome what he was planning on doing. They had to ask:

"Where are you going?" Rome asked him mentally.

"I'm just going to do a quick recon," Rei replied. "I'll be back as fast as I can. OK?"

"Of course," Rome replied. She and Bonnie backed up a little bit and removed themselves off to the side.

Rei was gone some time. Rome thought she heard a whoosh and pop off in the distance but could not be sure. At last, Rei returned, making himself visible again. He pulled down his hood and spoke in conspiratorial tones.

"Here's the deal. There are two entrances to his house," he said quietly, pointing at the dwelling identified as belonging to Troutman. "There's one door around the back. I've got that one taken care of. Romey, you stay out of sight till we go in. Bonnie, I want you to pull your hood up like you're hiding your face and go right up to the front door. Your cover story is you snuck back here from Helome and want to hook up with the Darwin people again. I'll be there with you."

"Won't that give things away?" Rome asked sharply.

"Not if I'm invisible," Rei said. "After we take him down, Romey, you come in and do your telepath thing with him so we can find Steele. Everybody OK?" Rei looked at each woman. Both Rome and Bonnie nodded.

Rei drew his hand along the cloak and disappeared again. Bonnie pulled her hood over her head and walked slowly toward the house. Rome dashed past her and went around the side of their target house to hide.

After making sure that Rome was out of sight, Bonnie knocked on the door.

"Who's there," came a gruff voice from inside.

"David, it's me, Bonnie Mullen," Bonnie whispered.

The door opened a crack. Light streamed into the room and Bonnie could see Troutman was just behind the door. She pulled her hood back a little so he could see her face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he said.

"Just let me in," Bonnie pleaded. "I need to get off the street."

"OK," Troutman said and he opened the door wider. Bonnie pretended to trip and bumped into the door, forcing Troutman to open it wide for just a minute. As soon as Bonnie was inside, Troutman slammed the door shut.

Quick thinking by Bonnie, huh? So now Rei and Bonnie are in the bomber's shack and MINIMCOM is guarding the back door. It is time to spring the trap.

## Entry 5-251: September 8, 2017

### How did you find out?

Yesterday, using the pretext that she was still a loyal Darwin member, Bonnie Mullen was able to get David Troutman to let her in. Little did Troutman know that Rei Bierak was in the room now, too. Rei was wearing a Deucadon invisibility cloak so Troutman had no idea. It was time to spring the trap:

The tall man walked over to the window and pulled the threadbare curtains aside to look out. "Did anybody see you come here?" he asked.

"No," Bonnie said. "I've been real careful."

She looked around the house. It was tiny, just two rooms. In the corner was a workbench with wires and electronics and a pile of something that Bonnie assumed was an explosive. It was a typical bomber's lair.

"How the hell did you escape?" he asked. He pointed to a table covered with litter. He shoved a clean space and pulled out a chair. "Sit down," he said. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"No," Bonnie said, "but thanks." The room smelled strongly of body odor. Troutman clearly didn't take much care of himself.

He sat down next to her. "So what gives?" he asked. "Where did you come from?"

"Well, when they rounded us up, they shipped us off to Alpha Centauri."

"Jesus H. Christ," the tall man said. "Alpha Centauri?"

"Yeah," Bonnie replied. "The Vooks call their world there Helome. I gotta tell you. It's actually quite beautiful there, not like this dump. You'd be surprised."

"OK, I believe you," he said. "Then what?"

"You know the Vooks. They asked us if we were going to be good. We said yes so they pretty much let us do what we wanted. I got the job of running a farm which was pretty peaceful. But Keller started plotting how to get back."

"Keller, sure," Troutman said, nodding. Then he tilted his head. "How did you get back here?"

"I know it's going to sound stupid but I just asked. The Vooks there, they didn't care. Keller put up a stink for me so they let me hitch a ride on a ship back to this dopey planet."

"So how'd you find me?" he asked. "How did you even know where to look?"

"Well, I started with the fact that you and Steele were never caught..."

Troutman bristled when she mentioned Steele's name. "So I figured you'd be easier to track down. You do kind of stand out."

"Yeah...but still," Troutman said. "Really, how did you figure it out?"

Uh-oh. Bonnie's story is starting to fall apart. How long until Troutman figures it out?

## Entry 5-252: September 9, 2017

### One Capture Down

Yesterday, Troutman was quizzing Bonnie on how she was able to track him down. Her story wasn't very strong and Troutman was pretty insistent that he knew how she found him. Because if she was able to find him, then others could too:

"Well, as soon as I heard that somebody tried to kill that idiot Bierak..." There was a rustling sound in the corner of the room. Troutman looked up but saw nothing. He turned back to Bonnie who continued. "I figured it was you two. I remembered that you used to play cards with Paul Chung so I went to his house. He told me where to look."

Troutman slammed the table with his fist. "Dammit," he said. "If Steele finds out Chung said anything, he's going to be in for a world of hurt."

"Yeah, so where is he?" Bonnie asked. "Steele."

"Why do you want to know?" Troutman replied back.

"Because if we're going to take over this world, we need to band together. I figured three of us have a better chance than two."

"Steele doesn't want to be found right now," Troutman said with a bit of fear in his voice.

"Come on, David," Bonnie said. "You can tell me."

"No," Troutman said. "We have to lay low for a while till things cool down."

"Please," Bonnie pleaded. "It's important."

Troutman's eyes narrowed. He looked around the room and then back at Bonnie. "You still never told me how you found me. And there's no way you could know it was me and Steele that planted the bomb. It could've been anyone. Something doesn't smell right." He meant that literally. From the corner of the room was the odor of a clean, well-groomed person, not the squalid smell he had long since become used to.

"You can say that again," Bonnie said, trying to be funny. Troutman didn't laugh. "No, really," she said. "There's nothing going on." She looked at Troutman but he seemed distracted.

"Actually, there is," Rei said, appearing suddenly in the corner.

"Bierak!" Troutman shouted. He leaped up and took his chair and flung it at Rei who ducked in time. The chair crashed to the wall then the floor. In the mean time, Troutman bolted toward the back of the house. He got to the back door and whipped it open, only to see MINIMCOM's two-meter tall all-black livetar standing there. Before Troutman could even turn, MINIMCOM lifted his arm, brought his hand down on the crown of Troutman's head and the Essessoni collapsed to the ground like a broken puppet.

I kind of like that phrase "broken puppet". I was going for the image of a marionette whose strings had just been cut. Now that they have Troutman captured, let's see what Rome can extract from him.

## Entry 5-253: September 10, 2017

### Spill your guts

Yesterday, Bonnie and Rei had the would-be assassin, David Troutman, cornered. He made a break for it, trying to escape out the back door, but he ran right into MINIMCOM who knocked him out with a single blow. All our heroes had to do now was wait for him to wake up:

It took a while but eventually, Troutman came to. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, the would-be assassin looked around to assess the situation. He was seated at his own table but with very tight white restraints binding his hands to the arms of the chair and his legs to the legs of the chair. Standing immediately to his right was MINIMCOM's imposing bulk. Bonnie and Rei were sitting across from him and Rome sat to his left.

"I'm not telling you nothing," he sneered. "You can arrest me. You can deport me. But that's it."

Rome reached out and stroked his hand back and forth but never letting go completely. "We want to find Steele," she said, pointing to the picture lying on the table with her free hand.

"Like I said, I'm not talking," Troutman insisted. Rome said nothing but continued to tap the picture. The images flying through Troutman's mind were distinct.

"He is in the forest to the west," she said, finally.

"Huh?" Troutman said. "No, he isn't."

"He comes into Ur when he needs supplies. He usually sends Troutman on his behalf and only rarely enters the town."

"What are you talking about? How are you doing this?" Troutman asked, slightly unnerved.

"Who is the Vuduri woman who is helping him?" Rei asked.

Troutman looked up at Rei, completely rattled. "How do you know all of this?"

"Look, David," Bonnie said, reaching her hands out, palms up, across the table. "I was mostly telling the truth. The world of Helome is spectacular and the Vuduri there really do let us roam freely. We aren't prisoners. They are really committed to building a world with us as partners. Even Keller has given up the fight. He's made his home there. He's even taken on a wife."

"No way!" Troutman said. "Keller would never do that."

"Yes, he did," Rome said, squeezing his hand gently. "His wife is named Virga and she is already pregnant with his second child. Captain Keller specifically sanctioned this mission, to capture you and Steele because he no longer believes violence is the answer."

Troutman looked at each of their faces. MINIMCOM placed his hand on Troutman's shoulder with just enough pressure to be painful. Troutman squirmed in place trying to wriggle free but was unsuccessful.

"Look," he said finally. "If Steele finds out that I've told you anything, he won't just kill you. He'll kill me, too."

Troutman caved too quickly. He would never have been the driving force behind the assassination attempt. Clearly it was Steele who was the true danger. It was time to track him down.

## Entry 5-254: September 11, 2017

### The Mystery Woman

Yesterday, Troutman broke down under the mildest of questioning. It was clear that Dan Steele, the other would-be assassin, was the main threat. Rome and Rei had to extract his whereabouts from Troutman to get the jump on the bad guy. Troutman feared for his own life but seeing as how he was tied to a chair with a mind-reader caressing his arm, he had little choice in the matter:

"That's why we have to stop him," Rei said, leaning forward. "There's no place left on this world for the likes of him. Everybody else wants to live in peace. He's the only one who doesn't."

"All right," Troutman said, acknowledging defeat. "But I want you to know that none of this was my idea."

"He is telling the truth," Rome said quietly.

Troutman looked over at Rome then down at her hand. MINIMCOM eased up a little bit of the pressure on his shoulder.

"When you guys defeated us and sent everybody packing, I actually wanted to go too. But Steele wouldn't let me. He literally stuck a knife in my side and told me we were hiding out until the coast was clear."

"So it was just the two of you," Rei said. "What did you hope to accomplish?"

"After the heat died down, the two of us made our way back to Darwin Base. Steele thought if we could finish one of the starships, we could take a run to wherever you guys sent everybody and bring some of them back. I guess he wanted to start some sort of guerilla action. But the ships weren't nearly ready. Steele's next plan was to build up an arsenal, then steal a starship, maybe. I wanted no part of it. Not too long ago, I even tried to get away. But Steele found me. He told me if we accomplished nothing else, we had to get you two out of the way."

"Where does the Vuduri woman fit in? Tell us about her," Rome insisted. "Do you know who she is?"

"No," Troutman said. "I've never even seen her face. She always wore a cap and a visor."

"How did you meet her?"

"One time, Steele was, I don't know, stir-crazy. He got some money and I sent him up to The Hand so he could gamble a little bit. Blow off a little steam. I guess that's where he met her."

"And she wanted to be part of the plan to have us killed?" Rome asked.

"It was the weirdest thing. I have no clue how she figured it out but Steele brought her back here. She said we had a common interest and, yeah, that was in eliminating the two of you." He nodded toward Rei, then Rome. "Then she'd get Steele his starship."

"Do you know her name? Where she comes from?" Rome asked.

Any guesses to her identity? I know but then again, I wrote the book. Let me just say that at this late stage of the game, I wouldn't bring in a brand new person, someone you'd never heard of before.

## Entry 5-255: September 12, 2017

### Take me to jail. Please.

Yesterday, Rome's questioning turned toward the mystery Vuduri woman who had helped Troutman and Steele attempt to murder Rome and Rei. Troutman claimed he didn't know much about her, she always kept her identity hidden. But even the few facts that he did know would help them whittle down the list of candidates. Rome pressed Troutman on this:

"No," Troutman said. "Other than breaking into the library, I didn't spend much time with her. It was her and Steele most of the time. We came back here, I rigged the bomb. We watched you for two weeks and knew exactly what time the two of you were going to be home. They snuck it into your house and set the timer. I still don't know what happened or even how you survived, Bierak."

"Is this woman with Steele now?" Rei asked.

"She might be. Since the bomb, they've steered clear of me. I don't know what they're up to. Maybe she left. Maybe she's still here. I have no way of knowing. I've just been hiding out."

"Have you ever been at Steele's encampment?" Rome asked.

"No," he replied. "But it can't be too far away. I would have to guess within a day's walk, maybe a little more."

Rei looked over at Rome. She nodded. He stood up then said, "MINIMCOM, can you rig us a jail cell in your cargo compartment. We gotta go after Steele now and we don't have time to put this loser any place else."

"Absolutely," MINIMCOM said. He stood perfectly still then bowed his head. "It is done. I have constructed a small room with no entrance or egress. It will hold him until you are ready to release him."

"Thank you!" Troutman exclaimed with a great deal of relief in his tone.

Rome cocked her head. "Why are you thanking us?"

"I've hated every minute of my life here. I hate Steele and I hated what he made me do. Finally, I'll be able to going back to being human. You're doing me the biggest favor you can imagine just putting me in jail."

Rei shrugged. With a whoosh and a pop, Troutman and the chair were gone as was MINIMCOM's livetar.

Rei looked around the room. "Do you think there's any point in searching this dump?"

"No," Rome said. "He was telling the truth. He really did not know where Steele is hiding out."

"OK," Rei said, leading the way to the door. "Then we head west."

"Hold on," Bonnie said. "Steele is rather vicious. Don't you think we should take your robot with us? For protection?"

"He isn't a robot," Rome offered. "He is, a, well, the thing you see that looks like a person is called a livetar. It's an animated shell but the intelligence and personality reside up there." Rome pointed toward the ceiling.

"Even so."

"MINIMCOM will pick us up shortly," Rei said. "We only need go as far as the edge of town then we'll ride from there. We'll look for Steele from the air."

Well, at least we have a plan. But before we head into the woods, let take at trip down nostalgia lane to Rei's one and only space-walk, the one where he retrieved his music slab.

## Entry 5-256: September 13, 2017

### The future is not yet written

I have written many times about the origin of my stories, how they are all true but they just haven't happened yet. Now it's a little silly to claim that the future is preordained and these stories are _literally_ true but it's how I feel. My main timeline, the one where Rei Bierak is launched to the stars and meets Rome, his soul mate, in the 35th century, is very clear to me and forms a continuous future history with no breaks.

I may not know what happened every minute of every day 14 centuries from now but sometimes, when I need to fill in the gaps, the events that come to me are perfectly consistent with what came before and what comes after.

I'll give you one example: in my mind, whenever Rei spoke about the events that immediately preceded his induction into the Ark program, it was just a random series of points in time. When I finally sat down to write the story as an intermezzo for _Rome's Evolution_ , it all came together seamlessly and turned out to be a very sweet (or maybe bittersweet) little story.

The same is true for how Rei came to acquire his cherished music slab so that he and Rome could enjoy his music during their year-long journey from Tabit to Deucado. I knew that the little slab was not important enough for Rei to risk his life during a spacewalk. It had to be a byproduct of a venture outside for other reasons. I had never really worked out the details but when the time came to write the second intermezzo for _Rome's Evolution_ , the story came together seamlessly and was deeper and more emotionally resonant that I had even hoped.

So over the next ten days, I am going to give you the entire story, uncut, so you can follow along Rei's perilous journey to cut loose the damaged propulsion unit of the Ark II and how he realized he could acquire his music. His tender interaction with Rome was very satisfying emotionally and only helped deepen and clarify their unique relationship and bond.

So buckle in and savor this little story over the week or so. I tried to make it very realistic without getting _too_ bogged down in the technical details. I enjoyed writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it.

## Entry 5-257: September 14, 2017

### Ray's Space Walk – Part 1 of 10

Five years before the events that were described in _Rome's Evolution,_ Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 1 of 10:

Year 3455 AD (1374 PR)

1.5 Light Years from Tabit, headed for Deucado

Rei Bierak sat silently in the cockpit of their space tug, along with Rome. OMCOM's final words of caution were still ringing in their ears. Now they had to worry not only about the Stareaters, but whatever the hell it was that OMCOM spawned was after them too. Rei rocked back and forth, whispering to himself, as if his motion could somehow make them go faster. He looked over at Rome. She was studying the console but the tightness on her face told Rei her mind was elsewhere.

Rei felt so powerless. He had to do something. Suddenly, his head snapped up. "MINIMCOM, when we were in the galley, you said you had a way of getting us to go even faster."

"That is correct," replied the autopilot computer who was manning the space tug mounted on the far side of the Ark.

Finding interest in the discussion, Rome looked up from the console. She glanced at Rei. "Can you tell us, please, MINIMCOM?" she inquired.

"If we could reduce the amount of mass that I must push through each tunnel, I would not have to hold it open for as long. I could extend its reach and increase our effective velocity proportionally."

"We don't have much mass to get rid of," Rei said. "Do we?"

"Yes, we do," replied MINIMCOM who at this point in their journey had never progressed beyond a disembodied voice. "A rather large amount."

"What?" Rome asked. Rei could see she was relieved to have something to distract her.

"The entire propulsion module of Rei's Ark is superfluous," MINIMCOM replied. "It serves no purpose. I have done numerous simulations and I believe I could increase our effective velocity as much as 20% further if we could eliminate it."

"Hey," Rei said. "You're right. The propulsion unit was made to be jettisoned before reentry in the first place. If we could detach it, it would reduce our overall mass a lot."

"How would you do that?" Rome asked Rei.

Rei thought about it for a moment. "We went over this during orientation. I think that it requires a spacewalk."

"Why?" asked Rome. A small amount of trepidation crept into her voice.

"Well, the ship was designed to be in space for hundreds of years," Rei replied. "There is a separator ring for each section. It's kind of like an explosive bolt but continuous. Solid-state. It's made out of some type of meta-stable intermolecular composite..."

"Thermite," MINIMCOM interjected.

"Yeah, thermite," Rei said. "So it would last forever but the charge to set it off has to be done by hand."

"How would you do that?" Rome asked tentatively.

Tomorrow, we will find out.

## Entry 5-258: September 15, 2017

### Ray's Space Walk – Part 2 of 10

Five years before the events that were described in _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 2 of 10:

"There's a magneto," Rei answered. He saw Rome's confusion with the term. "It's a charging device," he said, "built into each section. There's a permanent magnet and you just crank it around and it charges up a capacitor. When there's enough charge, you let it loose and the chemicals explode."

"You are going to make an explosion?" Rome asked. Now she was genuinely worried.

"No, no, no, nothing like that," Rei said. "It's more like a strip that sizzles. When it's done, the sections separate."

"I would like to remind you that your ship is almost 1400 years old. Do you really believe that the thermite reaction would still be viable after such a long period of time?" MINIMCOM asked.

"Yeah," Rei said. "In theory, it would work after 10,000 years. As long as the permanent magnet and magneto can crank up a charge."

"Rei, this worries me," Rome said, her breath catching.

"It'll be OK," Rei said. "We have everything we need. Come on, Rome. It means we could get to Deucado in... how long, MINIMCOM?"

"It should reduce our travel time to well under one year," replied the autopilot computer installed on the other tug.

"Rome, it's worth it, don't you think?" Rei asked plaintively.

"I do not know," Rome said. "Space-walks are inherently dangerous."

"There's nothing to it," Rei said. "I just go out, crank a handle, press a button and I come back."

Rome lowered her head and looked at Rei through the top part of her eyes. Her very demeanor shouted skepticism but her words undermined it.

"If it will save us that much time, then I agree it is worth it," she said hesitantly. "Very well."

"Great," Rei said. He unbuckled the high-g harness and jumped up. "Come on and get me ready."

"What do you mean get you ready?" Rome asked as she unbuckled. "I am coming with you," she said as she stood up.

"No," Rei said. "You can't. You have to stay onboard the ship."

"Why?" Rome asked, fear seeping into her voice again.

"Because," Rei said. "We can't both be in space at the same time. If something happens to me..."

"What!" Rome exclaimed. "What are you saying?"

"Nothing," Rei said, trying to defuse the steadily growing tension. "It's just that we don't need to endanger..." As soon as he said the word, he knew it was a mistake. Rome leaped over at him and grabbed him around the neck.

Uh-oh. Rei put his foot in his mouth big time. How will he get back on track? Tomorrow.

## Entry 5-259: September 16, 2017

### Ray's Space Walk – Part 3 of 10

Five years before the events that were described in _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 3 of 10:

"If there is any danger to you, then I cannot allow it," she said. "I do not know what I would do if anything happened to you."

"Nothing's going to happen to me," Rei said, sliding his arms around her waist. "It'll be fine."

"Then if it will be fine, I am going with you."

Rei looked down at her. As always, he got lost in her dark, glowing eyes. He loved this woman so much, beyond anything he ever dreamed was possible. He knew he could never win an argument about the trade off so he decided to try and bully his way past.

"Let's not fight about this," Rei said. "It has to be this way. Just help me get ready."

Rome did not answer. In fact, she said nothing the entire time they walked back to the austere anteroom outside the mid-ship airlock. Rei reached into his locker and removed his pressure suit, climbing into it, all the while aware that Rome was standing there, arms folded across her chest. For this short walk, he didn't bother with the plumbing and he dressed fairly quickly. He was smoothing the sleeves and adjusting the gloves of his white pressure suit when he took a chance and looked up at his woman and saw her scowling at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You know what," Rome replied sternly, sadness radiating from her Vuduri eyes.

"Nothing is going to happen, I promise," Rei said. "I'm just going to go out and turn the crank. I'll be back in a jiffy. Plus I'll be tethered the whole time."

"So if nothing is going to happen to you, why am I not allowed to go with you?" Rome said. "Why do you have to go alone?"

"I just went over this with you," Rei said. He walked over to her and placed his gloved hand under her chin, tilting her head up so she looked him in the eyes. "I'm the only one who can do this and if something happens to me, you have to fly the ship to Deucado."

Rome pulled his hand away from her chin. "You cannot have it both ways," she said angrily. "Either you will be safe and I can come with you or there is a chance you will not be safe and I need to be there for you."

"Rome, I can't endanger you," Rei said.

"Danger, there is that word again," Rome said in a huff. She pushed Rei aside and walked over to her locker. "I am going with you. That is all there is to it," she said. She opened her locker and started to remove her pressure suit mounted there.

Rei came over to her and put his hands on her hips. He turned her around in place. Tears were streaming down from her eyes.

"Romey, listen to me," he said gently. "If I cut the propulsion section loose, MINIMCOM says we can go faster by 20%. That means 20% less time in space and 20% less chance of anything happening to us in space. That's worth the risk of taking a simple spacewalk and turning a crank."

The risk/reward seems pretty heavily balanced toward reward. Tomorrow, we will find out if Rome relents.

## Entry 5-260: September 17, 2017

### Ray's Space Walk – Part 4 of 10

Five years before the events that were described in _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 4 of 10:

"There is no risk worth me losing you," she said, softly. "Rei, I do not think you understand. We are one. So you are mine now. I cannot describe it any other way."

"And you are mine," he said. He kissed her gently but then suddenly, he cut the kiss short.

"I know," he said, "I'll compromise with you."

"What?" Rome asked hopefully.

"You get in your pressure suit but you stay in the airlock. You don't come out. If you need to know what's going on, you tug on the tether whenever you want. You can do it every 30 seconds if you need to. You tug once and that means 'are you ok?' I'll tug back twice. That means 'I'm fine.' If I miss even one tug, you can come after me. But if I don't, I want you to promise me you will stay here, inside the airlock."

Rome's mouth turned upwards into a smile even as the tears continued to flow. "That is very fair," she said. "I agree to your proposal."

After Rome was dressed but before they put on their helmets, she said, "Wait."

"Wait what?" Rei answered.

"If you have a problem, if you need me, you tug on the tether three times. All right?"

"Sure," Rei said. "That's a great idea. I think we have a system, huh?"

"Yes, a system," Rome said. She leaned forward to hug Rei as best as she could, given the bulk of the pressure suits.

"Let's get this show on the road," Rei said.

"You always say that," Rome observed. "What does that mean? What show? What road?"

"The Rei and Rome show, of course," Rei answered. "And the road? I guess it's the road of life."

"I see," Rome said, even though she didn't. She nodded and wiped away her tears. They put on their helmets and entered the airlock together. Rome clamped twin lights on the sides of Rei's helmet and clipped a hammer and screwdriver to eyelets on the side of the suit. She attached the tether and tugged on it to make sure it was secure. Rei immediately tugged it twice. He could see Rome smile within her helmet.

Rome leaned forward and pressed her helmet against his.

"You be careful, Rei Bierak," she said in a muffled voice. "You come back to me."

"Of course I will, sweetheart," he said. "I love you, Rome. I could never leave you."

Rome pulled her helmet back and nodded. She mouthed the words, 'I love you too, mau emir' back to Rei. Rei turned to the airlock and pressed the stud to begin the depressurization cycle. When all the air was evacuated, the outer door opened and Rei was looking at interstellar space.

Tomorrow, the adventure begins.

## Entry 5-261: September 18, 2017

### Ray's Space Walk – Part 5 of 10

Five years before the events that were described in _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 5 of 10:

Rome tapped Rei on the shoulder. He turned towards her and she clipped a ring around his wrist which was connected to a hand thruster. The thruster itself resembled a putty gun with a U-shaped set of nozzles on the business end. She placed the bulbous handle, complete with trigger, in his hand. Rei hefted it and nodded to her. He turned back in place, looking down to pick a landing spot. Taking a deep breath, Rei stepped onto the ledge just outside the door then pushed off and down so that he drifted toward the hull of his Ark. He only had to go about two meters. His magnetic boots clamped on and Rei tested their grip. They felt secure. He looked back up at Rome and gave her the thumbs up sign. She nodded and waved to him to get going.

Rei kept one hand on the tether and made his way quickly toward the back of the crew compartment. Overall, the Ark itself was huge, nearly two football fields in length but Rei made good time. Rome only tugged on the tether once and Rei responded immediately with a double tug back. He figured she only tried it the one time because she could see him and she knew that he was OK.

He stopped when he got to the rear of the crew section and ran his hand along the stubby vertical stabilizer which seemed no worse for wear given how old it was. The metal was dulled, probably from the continual abrasion of space dust but overall it looked solid. Rei turned back to Rome and pointed to his chest then waved his arm once in a large arc. He was trying to indicate to her that he had to jump over the lattice-work adjoining the two sections. Rome tugged the tether once in reply. Rei tugged back twice. He backed up a few steps, pulled in a large amount of slack then ran forward and jumped up into the air. His momentum carried him over the lattice-work and he sailed on for some time. The whole experience was actually sort of fun. Eventually, Rei fired the hand thruster and the reaction pushed him back to the hull of the cargo section where the magnetic boots clamped on again immediately. Rei nearly stumbled but was able to regain his balance.

He stopped moving and carefully pulled in the remaining slack, waiting for Rome to tug. Right on cue, she queried him and he tugged twice back. As Rei moved onward toward the rear of the cargo section, there was more strain on the tether, almost as if Rome was reluctant to pay out the cable as fast as he needed. He pushed on as quickly as she would allow, knowing there was nothing he could do about it. When he got to the rear of the cargo module, he looked across at the remains of the propulsion section. The thin metal rods that were responsible for generating the "atom catcher" field were either broken or all twisted up. Rei assumed this was caused by the whole ship being spun about when they had their collision with whatever it was that hit them.

Tomorrow, Rei tries to separate the sections. It is not as easy as you would imagine.

## Entry 5-262: September 19, 2017

### Ray's Space Walk – Part 6 of 10

Five years before the events that were described in _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 6 of 10:

The circumstances didn't matter. The propulsion system was dead weight. The time had come to cut it loose. Rei searched the base of the cargo section's rear stabilizer and spotted the release panel, outlined in red. He unclipped the screwdriver from its eyelet and clipped the tiny attached cable on its end back in place. It was a smart design so that if he dropped it, it would not float off.

Rei bent over and pried open the panel which came loose and started drifting away in space. He didn't need it so he let it go. His helmet lights illuminated the cavity where he saw a hand-crank, a charge meter and an ignition switch. He knelt down on both knees but as soon as he did, his magnetic boots broke their grip and he started drifting away from the ship feet first. A quick burst of the hand-thruster brought him back in contact with the Ark. Rome tugged to make sure he was OK and he double-tugged his assurance back.

Learning from his mistake, Rei placed the sole of one boot right next to the panel and kneeled down on the other knee. He was able to reach the magneto crank easily and started turning it. He turned it about six times but the needle within the analog gauge did not move. That meant he had generated no charge. Rei thought about the mechanics. The crank turned some permanent magnets which passed around a twin set of coils. This created a flow of electricity which charged up a capacitor. The meter was just another coil which moved the delicate needle based upon the stored charge. It was basic physics.

Rei cranked furiously for a minute, round and round, growing increasingly frustrated. The needle never budged. Rome tugged on the tether and Rei tugged back, perhaps a little too hard. Rome tugged again and this time he tugged back more gently so she would know he was truly all right.

Rei scowled at the panel. It was the simplest design in the world. It was made to last hundreds and hundreds of years in the vacuum of space. As long as the permanent magnets retained their magnetism, and there was no reason why they wouldn't, it should work. The only possible thing that it could be was... Rei laughed at himself. He gently tapped at the needle gauge with the handle of the screwdriver and the needle popped to the fully charged position instantly.

"Stuck, duh," Rei thought to himself. He used his thumb to depress the safety then pressed the ignition switch and stood up. A puff of smoke shot out of the rim of cargo section where the lattice-work attached. The smoke raced around the circumference of the ship until it was out of sight. Rei bent past the rear stabilizer and in a less than a minute, the circle of smoke came back around, ending where it began.

Tomorrow, an idea strikes Rei regarding his music slab.

## Entry 5-263: September 20, 2017

### Ray's Space Walk – Part 7 of 10

Five years before the events that were described in _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 7 of 10:

In theory, the two sections were now separated. Unfortunately, Rei realized he had no way to test this without going back into the ship and ordering MINIMCOM to fire the thrusters. Vuduri pressure suits didn't have radios, otherwise, he'd call it in. He took a deep breath to calm himself. If the two sections were not completely severed, they were no worse off but still, to have come this far and not know was disappointing.

Rei had an idea but it would require Rome's indulgence. He tugged once on the tether. Rome tugged back. He tugged twice. At this point, he was hoping she realized he wanted her attention. He gathered up a little bit of slack and stepped over onto the lattice-work, turning in place to face forward. The lattice-work was made primarily of composites so his magnetic boots did not grip very well. He had to fire the hand-thruster briefly to force his torso down. He grabbed a hold of the lattice and wedged the toes of his boots into two of the open spaces in the diamond-shaped pattern. With his free hand, he gripped the tether so he would know if Rome was testing him. With the other hand, he stuck the handle of the hand-thruster into an open space and pulled the trigger. He fired it continuously for about 15 seconds. He didn't know how much reactant the thruster carried but he didn't want to use up all the charge, just in case.

He lifted his head and was gladdened to see that there was the slightest separation between the lattice and the cargo compartment. Rei fired his hand thruster again and the distance increased infinitesimally. A broad smile formed across his face. Over and over, Rei fired the thruster until there was a three-meter gap between him and the Ark.

That was enough. Rei pulled his boots free and stood up. He tried to push off so that he could go back toward the cargo compartment but the only effect he had was to begin rising up, floating away from the lattice and the entire propulsion module.

He had a moment of panic but was able to suppress it by realizing that the tether protected him from drifting off into interstellar space. He raised his arm over his head and fired the hand-thruster. The reactive force drove him downward and where the tether caught on the edge of the Ark, he pivoted downwards toward the vertical face. By twisting his body again, he came at the Ark feet first. His magnetic boots clamped solidly on the newly exposed vertical end.

Rei could feel Rome pulling in the slack and there was the inevitable tug. Proudly, he tugged back twice. Geometrically, he was in an odd position. He was actually standing at right angles to the length of the Ark and he knew Rome could no longer see him, but their communication system would assure her he was all right. Rei looked down at his feet and saw that he was now "standing" on the giant cargo door enclosing that module.

Hmm. Standing on the cargo compartment door. And inside is his music slab. He's already practically there. Should he go for it? Tomorrow, we will find out.

## Entry 5-264: September 21, 2017

### Ray's Space Walk – Part 8 of 10

Five years before the events that were described in _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 8 of 10:

Rei thought about the contents of the compartment beneath which supposedly contained all the equipment required to start a viable human colony on an alien world. It also contained his personal effects which comprised some clothing, a few books, his transit and his music slab. Rei's eyes grew wide. He realized he would never get an opportunity like this again but he had to have Rome's permission. The last thing he wanted was for Rome to misunderstand and come after him.

Rei tugged on the tether once, hard. Rome tugged on it in response. He tugged on it twice gently so she knew he would be OK. He had her attention so he did it again. He pulled the tether once hard. Rome repeated her actions as did he. Now she had to know something was up. She was a smart girl. As long as he kept their system intact, he knew she would let him do this.

He stepped aside and released the clamps holding the door closed. The huge door swung open easily as there was no pressure differential. Like the crew compartment, the cargo section was designed to be exposed to the vacuum of space. Rei shined his helmet lights down the long belly of the cargo compartment and saw a twin pair of mesh walkways leading down its length. Rome tugged on the tether and Rei tugged back twice.

He entered into the cargo compartment and slowly made his way down its length, noting the contents as he passed them. In the end closest to the hatch, where he just entered, there were the large yellow-striped cubes marked Transports. In front of them were boxes containing the drilling equipment and beyond those were the mining explosives. They had the international symbol for radioactivity which Rei ignored and moved on. Beyond that were the smelting furnaces for refining ore. Next were the bio-stocks: the frozen animal embryos, the seeds, the incubators, all the items they would need to start farming. Past mid-ship were various tools, masonry kits, machining equipment, hunting rifles and so forth.

Rei moved on. Finally, he got to the storage lockers. They were arranged alphabetically and it took him no time at all to find his storage cube. He pulled it open and surveyed its contents. He looked longingly at his clothes and polymer-plastic books but decided he did not need them just now. He certainly didn't need his straight razor. He reached in and pulled out his music slab which was a gift from his parents. It was solar-powered and the music was burned into a silicon wafer so, in theory, it would last forever. Rei's breath caught. Holding the music slab in his hand made him think of his parents who were now so long gone as was every other person he ever knew or loved. Including Sally. Even though from his perspective, it had only been a few months, the reality was they died over a thousand years before. The thought was staggering. They were all dust. Rei had a moment of panic. What had he done?

Tomorrow, Rei comes to grips with the reality of his situation.

## Entry 5-265: September 22, 2017

### Ray's Space Walk – Part 9 of 10

Five years before the events that were described in _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 9 of 10:

Rei felt a tug on the tether. Instinctively, he tugged back twice. Rei couldn't help but think back to that last night he had spent with Sally. Out on her deck, under the night sky, he claimed to her that she had left a hole in his heart that could never be filled. But she had insisted he was wrong. Sally had told him he'd find his dream girl among the stars. At the time, he thought it was beyond ridiculous but now he realized she was right. The true love of his life was alive and well and anxiously awaiting his return. His heart was whole again. In fact, it was brimming over. There was no more past. His future was with Rome. Rei slid the music slab and the ear-buds into a side pocket and turned to go back.

He looked down the long length of the cargo compartment and thought about what Estar had said to him, that they were carrying Erklirte weapons. Anything could be turned into a weapon. The hammer clipped to his side could be used as a weapon. The hunting rifles were the closest things to actual weapons but they hardly constituted something an entire race of people would fear. To think that this was the purpose of all of these supplies made no sense. Rei shook it off.

He gathered up the tether and started walking back to the rear of the cargo compartment. Rei tugged gently on the cord and let it slide between his gloved fingers so that Rome would take up the slack. He did this every fifteen meters or so until he reached the rear of the cargo compartment. He turned around and looked at it one more time. The rows and rows of equipment casting harsh shadows from his helmet lights.

**Weapons? Rei laughed to himself.** The Vuduri, they were all crazy. He closed up the cargo compartment and made his way back to the top of the Ark so that Rome could see him. The gigantic propulsion module was now twenty meters or so behind them. He waved to Rome to indicate to her that his mission was a success. He ran as fast as his magnetic boots would allow him, stopping only to jump over the latticework attaching the cargo compartment to the crew compartment. In just a few minutes, he was at the base of their tug, looking up at Rome peering out. With a single leap, he was inside.

As soon as he reentered the airlock, Rome jumped at him and hugged him, almost knocking him back out the door. He smiled and pressed his helmet to hers.

"It's OK, Romey," he said. "I'm back. It worked. No more worries."

"Yes," she replied in her muffled helmet voice. "No more worries."

Rei turned and pressed the stud to close the outer door and watched until the indicator turned green. As soon as it did, he removed his helmet and waited until Rome removed hers. He held up his music slab and smiled at her.

Uh, maybe he shouldn't have shown it to her just yet. Will Rome be mad that he risked his life for some music? Tomorrow, we will find out.

## Entry 5-266: September 23, 2017

### Ray's Space Walk – Part 10 of 10

There was a time in my life when the question: "What's on TV?" was relevant and meaningful. This was Five years before the events that were described in _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 10 of 10:

"What is that?" she asked.

"It's all my music in one little package," he said. "Now I can play it for you!"

"I wondered what you were doing back there," Rome said curiously. "I assumed it had to be something important. I knew you would not dawdle for no reason.

"This is important," Rei said, waving the slab. "I'll get MINIMCOM to hook it into our system and then I can teach you all about it."

"I will love it, I am sure," Rome said, this time a bit more enthusiastically. "Let us get going though. Asdrale Cimatir is still back there. And if OMCOM is right, who knows what else?"

"Roger that," Rei said.

After stowing their pressure suits in their lockers, Rei and Rome made their way back to the cockpit and took their seats. They both buckled in which was prudent since this would be the first time they attempted a PPT jump with their newly reduced mass.

"OK, MINIMCOM," Rei said. "We're skinny now. Let's see what you can do with it."

"Very well," MINIMCOM said tersely from the other tug, "initiating jump." Immediately, the PPT generators fired up and in front of them, a yawning black hole appeared. MINIMCOM fired both tugs' plasma thrusters and Rei and Rome were pushed back into their seats a little harder than before.

As soon as they stepped through, they heard the click and thump of MINIMCOM unclamping and rotating his craft and reattaching. A slight push forward indicated he was firing his plasma thrusters to bring them to a dead stop. It only lasted a few moments. Rome looked down at the view screens, tapped a few buttons then exclaimed, "Yes!"

"What?" Rei said but he already knew.

"It equates to 24c," Rome replied.

"Sleek," Rei said. Then remembering MINIMCOM's remark from earlier, he added, "Good thinking, MINIMCOM."

"Yes, MINIMCOM," Rome chimed in. "It was an excellent idea."

"Thank you, thank you," MINIMCOM replied, clearly pleased with himself.

Rei turned to Rome and shrugged. "OK, what say we get..."

"No," Rome said, holding her hand up. "Allow me."

"Sure," Rei replied, somewhat puzzled.

"MINIMCOM, it is time to get this show on the road," Rome said with a smile.

"Acknowledged," replied MINIMCOM. "Next stop: Deucado."

Rei laughed. This was going to be some trip.

So there you have it. It was story I've been dying to tell for ten years. It explains how Rome and Rei came to arrive at Deucado so far ahead of schedule and how Rei retrieved his cherished music slab.

## Entry 5-267: September 24, 2017

### I miss TV

There was a time in my life when the question: "What's on TV?" was relevant and meaningful. This was long before DVRs and VCRs and On Demand and streaming video services. This was a time when you looked forward to the weekly TV planner that came with the Sunday paper or if you had the money, you paid for a TV Guide. You'd scour the listings, figure out the shows you wanted to see and note the times and dates.

Obviously, those days are long gone. Now you have to depend upon advertising and word of mouth to figure out what you want to watch. You have Netflix and Hulu and Amazon and CW Seed. You have to deal with CBS All Access and next year ESPN and Disney streaming services. As a writer, this development is very exciting to me because it means there is a huge new market emerging with a tremendous appetite for original content. Maybe you'll get to see _Rome's Revolution_ on Netflix some day!

Most of these services cost money. They allow monthly and yearly subscriptions. It would probably be better if they just charged you by the show. We have Comcast now and if you subscribe to all the new services, the total bill would be more than we are paying for cable today.

I don't think the model is sustainable. For example, there is a new Star Trek series called Discovery which is airing its first episode over the airwaves (cable waves?) then after that, you have to subscribe to CBS All Access for $6 per month or $10 per month for a commercial-free version. Now I love Star Trek but I'm not going to pay $6 a month for one show. As far as the other 9,000 shows available, I don't need 'em.

Getting back to my original premise, we've gotten so used to watching shows on DVR and skipping past the commercials that even if a show is on right now, we'll record it and find something to do during the 20 minutes it takes just so we can watch it and skip through the commercials. It seems a better use of our time. Watching sports live, especially football, is _so_ annoying because of all the commercials. I think that is why viewership is steadily decreasing. People just don't enjoy the experience any more. Maybe the NFL will wake up and do something about this before football is relegated to the status of hockey.

Although I have a flip phone still, I know people watch streaming content on their phones, tablets, computers and even on their big flat screens using smart TV apps like Netflix and Chromecast. It's just the way it is. Watching TV or should I say streaming video content is very easy in some respects but I wasn't kidding. I do miss the old days when people would say "what's on TV?"

## Entry 5-268: September 25, 2017

### I miss Pluto

As I mentioned yesterday, the only thing in life that is constant is change. Yesterday I lamented that streaming images, meant for entertainment, now requires a much larger investment in planning and thinking. You can't just flip on the TV and see what's playing. Other things like newspapers and landlines are on their way out, replaced by the internet and cellphones.

Other things I miss are the certainties we were taught growing up. Like that there were nine planets in our Solar System with Pluto being the ninth. But in August 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded the status of Pluto to that of "dwarf planet." So now there are only eight planets plus a bunch of dwarf planets. There are at least five dwarf planets documented (Ceres | Pluto | Eris | Haumea | Makemake) with most being referred to as "Trans-Neptunian objects", or TNOs for short. Ceres is not a TNO because it is embedded within the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. And surprisingly, even though it is a dwarf planet, Eris is actually larger than Pluto and has at least one moon called Dysnomia.

Some researchers have uncovered evidence which they believe suggests there may be a "Planet X" way out beyond Pluto. This hypothetical Neptune-sized planet orbits our sun in a highly elongated orbit far beyond Pluto. The researchers currently call the theoretical world "Planet Nine," and it could have a mass about 10 times that of Earth and orbit about 20 times farther from the sun on average than Neptune. It may take between 10,000 and 20,000 Earth years to make one orbit around the Sun.

I guess they could name Planet Nine Pluto and swap it out for the dwarf planet currently called Pluto and rename it Goofy and then things would go back to the way they were. That'll never happen, of course. But I liked it better when I was growing up and everything was certain. So, see ya, Pluto. I miss you.

## Entry 5-269: September 26, 2017

### Into the woods

After the capture of David Troutman, one of the would-be assassins, it was time for Rome and Rei to track down Dan Steele who was the true driver behind the attempt on Rei's life. The woods south of Lake Eprehem, to the west of the resort city of Ur, was a largely uncharted expanse of cane trees. Their original idea was to fly over the woods and use MINIMCOM's sensors to find Steele. However, this might not be the best way:

About 20 kilometers in, they found a small river leading to Lake Eprehem with a many-fingered series of tributaries heading to the south. From Rei's limited knowledge of geology, the southern ocean was too far, so this little river must be emptying into the gigantic lake rather than serving as drainage.

They continued traveling until they reached a distance of over 40 kilometers from the edge of the city. It was at this point, the southwestern corner of Lake Eprehem, when the shoreline began to curve gently to the north.

"Nothing," Rei said, disgustedly. "For all we know, he's wearing the Deucadon invisibility cloak. And we're way more than one day's walk. Anybody have any ideas?" he asked, looking up at Rome and Bonnie.

Rome pointed to her MIDAR display. "I suggest we go back to the edge of Ur and travel on foot. While we may not be able to detect Steele's presence, we may be able to find a trail."

"You're going to track him?" Rei asked, somewhat taken aback.

"If that's what you call it," Rome answered confidently.

"Won't that leave you kind of exposed?" Bonnie interjected.

"We will have MINIMCOM hover directly over us in stealth mode." Rome tapped on the front console. "You'll stay aboard and watch the displays. MINIMCOM's instruments should be able to pick up any motion or IR signature. Something. Anything. Steele will reveal his position eventually."

"Rome's idea is even better than that," Rei said enthusiastically. "If I close my eyes, I can use my sonar vision to map out the area. That's how I found the Deucadons in the first place. They thought they were invisible but they weren't sound-proof."

"Then we are agreed," Rome said. "MINIMCOM?"

"On it," replied the starship. He executed a stunning barrel roll and quickly accelerated due east returning to the spot where he had picked up Rei and Rome. They departed via the cargo ramp. Rei kept on the Deucadon cloak but Rome discarded her 'disguise' as she no longer needed it.

They stood in place and watched the spaceship rise until he was just higher than the treetops. The airframe shimmered and then MINIMCOM was gone.

So what can possibly go wrong, wandering into the woods with a skilled assassin who could be anywhere? Let's find out.

## Entry 5-270: September 27, 2017

### The Blankets - 1

Yesterday, Rome and Rei decided to track down Dan Steele, one of the would-be assassins, on foot. They entered the woods at the western edge of the resort city of Ur. They didn't really have a plan other than to use Rome's enhanced vision and Rei's super-hearing with MINIMCOM hovering overhead looking for motion or a heat signature. What they found will shock you!

"OK, my fearless tracker," Rei said. "Where do we start?"

Rome twisted in place and looked back at the city then turned to look forward. "There is no reason why Steele would take a circuitous route. We just need to align ourselves to Troutman's house and then go west. Steele would stay somewhat close to Lake Eprehem. He would need water and food."

"Yeah, but that little river we saw means he didn't have to stay just by the shoreline."

"He would if he wanted to catch swishies," Rome said. "We have to start somewhere."

"OK, let's do it," Rei said. He closed his eyes and OMCOM's 'gift', his sonar vision, kicked in. The sound of their footsteps was good enough to 'illuminate' the trail. Rei swept his head left and right and stopped almost immediately.

"What?" Rome asked.

"You were right," Rei said. He opened his eyes and trotted over to the edge of first stand of cane-trees then stooped down. Clustered at the base of the trees were the ubiquitous sticky bushes.

"Here," he said, pointing to a bush. "Someone's been by here. You can see where some of the leaves were pulled off. The leaves stick to everything."

"Excellent," Rome said. "Let us continue in that direction."

They parted the bushes and entered into the forest proper. Through the occasional break in the trees, Rei looked up but saw nothing. At one point, he called up to MINIMCOM who assured him that he was directly overhead.

Deeper and deeper they went. Occasionally, Rei thought he heard a rustling noise overhead but when he examined the leaf canopy carefully, using sonar, he detected nothing. However, as they marched along, Rei's sonar vision was able to find small scuffs, more leaves pulled and where the ground was softer, the occasional footprint.

"This is easy," Rei said, smiling. "Who knew?" He trotted on ahead.

"Try to go a little slower," Rome cautioned. "Your special sight lets you manage your way around the trees but I still have to use my eyes."

"Sure," Rei called back to her but something ahead caught his attention. "There," he said, darting forward. "I found a..."

Suddenly, Rome screamed. Rei whipped around and saw a 'falling blanket', one of the largest he'd ever seen, draped over his wife.

" _Rei!"_ Rome shouted mentally, _"I can't breathe."_

Oh no! Could this be the end of our darling Rome? Let's find out.

## Entry 5-271: September 28, 2017

### The Blankets - 2

Yesterday, Rome and Rei had entered the woods to the west of the resort city of Ur. They were trying to track down Dan Steele, the one remaining would-be assassin. Unfortunately, one of the "falling blankets", the floppy creatures that hover above, in the trees, had fallen on Rome, trapping her and suffocating her. Will Rei be able to save her?

" _Rei!"_ Rome shouted mentally, _"I can't breathe."_

Rei raced back to where the bundled form of his wife was writhing around on the ground. He straddled her body and pulled on the edge of the 'blanket' with all his might. The thing wouldn't budge. He could feel its leathery skin constricting around her.

"Rome, Rome," he said helplessly. What he saw was the end of his life before him. The woman he loved more than humanly possibly was suffocating in front of his eyes. There was no way he was going to let this happen. He took a deep breath and pulled once more with all his might. Suddenly, the 'blanket' released its grip and Rei went somersaulting backwards over Rome and onto the ground.

The 'blanket' removed itself from Rome's form but she just lay on the ground, shaking. Rei got up and went over to her. He peered down at her. She was laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" Rei asked, reaching down for her. "You almost died."

"It's alive!" Rome said, excitedly, pulling herself to her feet. "It's alive!"

"Of course it's alive," Rei said.

"No," Rome replied. She turned and looked at the 'blanket' which was beginning to curl itself up like a rug. Once it was a tight cylinder, it bent at the middle into an 'L' shape. Rome went over and caressed it.

"What are you doing?" Rei asked. "Those things are dangerous."

"No," Rome said. "When I was touching it, it spoke to me."

"It spoke to you?"

"Yes!" Rome said.

Suddenly, there was a sound like a whump and another 'falling blanket', even larger than the first, fell in front of them. It wriggled its way over to the first one, the one that had covered Rome and curled itself up into a cylinder as well, leaning against the first. There was another whump then another. Soon, there were so many 'falling blankets' that Rei realized for the first time how very much in danger their lives were every time they went into the forest.

The living creatures climbed over each other forming a tower nearly ten feet tall. Some of the blankets stretched over the ends to form an approximation of limbs. Along the ground, some of the smaller 'blankets' climbed up and inched their way toward the end. When the whole process was complete, the entity in front them looked vaguely humanoid. Huge, but humanoid nonetheless. Each of the components tightened up then the composite creature held its 'arms' out, beckoning to Rome. There was no hesitation in her actions. She walked toward the mass in front of her and let it/them envelope her in the equivalent of their arms.

"Rome!" Rei shouted. "Do you know what you are doing?"

Isn't that the coolest image? One blanket alone was one thing but now they are face to face with an entire colony. And Rome can "talk" to them! What do you think they have to say?

## Entry 5-272: September 29, 2017

### The Blankets - 3

Yesterday, Rome was not only _not_ killed by a falling blanket, she was able to communicate with it and an entire colony of falling blankets group together in a vaguely humanoid construct. Rome walked up to mass of blankets and let it hug her. Rei was fascinated and horrified at the same time:

"Rome!" Rei shouted. "Do you know what you are doing?"

"Yes," answered Rome, her voice somewhat muffled through the leathery flesh of the creatures holding her. "It wants to talk."

She twisted around and looked upward into the coils of 'blankets' that would have been its face. She stared, enraptured, as it filled her mind with imagery and substance. Finally, she nodded and turned back to Rei, still held within the grasp of the composite creature.

"These are the living embodiment of Deucado," Rome intoned. "They have been here for millions upon millions of years."

"What do they want?" Rei asked, somewhat frightened of the sight before him.

"They want nothing," Rome said. "They have dedicated their existence to surviving from day to day. So it has been for eons."

"Was there anything before?" Rei asked, catching the implication.

"Before that, they were living, sentient beings, like us. They were vertebrates. They roamed this planet and continued to evolve for ten million years during the time when the sky stopped raining its punishing stones upon them."

"So then what happened?" Rei asked. "How did they become what...what they are?"

"They tried to live," Rome continued. "They went down under the ground. All those caves we have found. They were built by their ancestors. They used..." Rome struggled to find the words. "They used hand tools and magma guns, like the hoses your firefighters once used, to carve out gigantic caves, to protect them from the asteroids pummeling the planet."

"So all those caves..." Rei stuttered. "They were built by hand?"

"Many of them," Rome said, almost hypnotically. "But it was not enough. After a long break, once again, death came down upon them from above."

Rei started to speak then stopped.

"As a planet, every creature decided, the fear, the pain, it was no way to live. They decided, as an entire world, to devolve into the adaptable forms you see today. No bones, no worries. They live, they die. Each day becomes the next. There has been peace, tranquility, even happiness, ever since."

Rei snapped his fingers. "Then those fossils, the ones that Wally found. They were real. That was what they looked like before?"

There you have it. I've been setting you up for this over the last eight years. Deucado is an amazing world and a testament to the tenacity of life.

## Entry 5-273: September 30, 2017

### The Blankets - 4

Yesterday we saw that through psychic contact with the blankets, Rome was able to solve many of the mysteries of Deucado that had confounded scientists since they arrived on the planet. Many of the planet's caves which looked artificial, were, in fact, built by the ancestors of the blankets when they had intellect and bones. The planet only experienced a brief respite from the continual bombardment from the sky so all the lifeforms of the planet decided to devolve into a more adaptable form.

Rome looked up at the top of the being holding her. She nodded. "Yes," Rome answered. "That was their original form. Now they are nothing but blankets and swishies. Even the plants were involved. There used to be a multitude of species on this world. The plants decided on the cane-tree form, the sticky bushes, the threadgrass and the flowers. That was all they needed to survive from one generation to the next."

"So this whole planet, with next to no diversity, was a conscious decision on the part of the indigenous population to survive the rain of meteors and the like?"

"Yes," Rome answered. "That was their solution. And for millions upon millions of years, it worked. They had given up all hope and all the associated pain to live in the forms you see in front of you."

"Can you tell them that we have figured out how to stop the things from falling out of the sky?"

"Yes," Rome said. "They know. And they do appreciate it. That is why they did not kill me. They just never had anyone to talk to before."

"Oh wow," Rei said, walking up to where Rome was standing. He reached out with his hand and stroked the leather-like surface of the creature nearest to him. He thought he felt a vibration, almost like a cat's purr, beneath his caress.

"So now what?" Rei asked. "They know we're here. We know they're here. Where do we go?"

"They do nothing. Life goes on as before. However, they understand that there are other humans trying to harm us. And they want to help."

"They do?" Rei asked. "How?"

"They know where Steele is hiding!" Rome said, giddily.

"Omigod," Rei said. "Where?"

"It is far but they will lead us," Rome answered. The composite creature released its grip on her and slowly, each of the animals making up its body climbed down and away. Soon there was nothing left but the original 'blanket' that had tried to engulf Rome.

"I don't understand," Rei said.

"Look," Rome replied, pointing past Rei.

Rei turned around and saw 'blanket' after 'blanket' forming a path like you'd see when people used logs to line a road, leading into the woods.

"And we just follow them?" Rei asked.

"Yes," Rome said proudly. She walked up and put her arm through Rei's elbow. Gently, she tugged him forward. "We just follow them to Steele's hideout."

Wow! An entire scout team to lead them to Steele's hideout. Let's get going!

## Entry 5-274: October 1, 2017

### My EcoSphere, part 1 of 2

About five years ago, one of my stepsons got me an EcoSphere as a Hanukah present. It is a really neat novelty item, endlessly fascinating and while I am on my second one, the thing lasts for years. The EcoSphere looks like this:

It is an enclosed glass sphere with a branch-like thing, some algae and some tiny shrimp swimming around. How do they breath, you ask. The reason it is called an EcoSphere is because it is an entire ecosystem, completely balanced. Here is how it works:

When I was constructing the ecosystem for my fictional world of Deucado, I used the EcoSphere as my inspiration to keep the number of animals and plants to a minimum, mostly because I am lazy. Here is how I worked it into the story:

Not quite believing what he had just witnessed, Rei contacted MINIMCOM with his EM link and did his best to explain Rome's encounter with the 'falling blankets'. The starship accepted his word but it was clear from his tone that he was somewhat skeptical.

As each 'blanket' fell from the trees it curled into a cylinder, pointing to the next. The trail that was formed was easy to follow. Rei didn't even bother to use his sonar vision at first as the 'blankets' appeared to know exactly what they were doing. As Rei and Rome went through deeper and denser portions of the forest, the canopy of vegetation overhead was so thick, it made it dark, like night. Rome was able to use her infrared vision to walk while Rei was forced to use his sonar vision to navigate his way among the trees.

At one point, they came to one of the little creeks they noted from the air. The blanket trail stopped there. Rome stooped down and touched the blanket closest to the water.

"They do not like to cross the water unless they have to," Rome said.

"So what do we do?"

"We wait," Rome replied. "More will come." She turned and looked across the stream and saw a series of blankets wriggling out of the woods. "There," Rome said. "They are on their way."

Rei watched as another group of blankets lined up to form a path that led into the woods on the other side of the creek.

"OK," Rei said. "We cross but I need a drink first."

Tomorrow, part 2 so you can see how I used the EcoSphere as my inspiration for the ecosystem of Deucado.

## Entry 5-275: October 2, 2017

### My EcoSphere, part 2 of 2

Yesterday, I introduced you to a fascinating showpiece called the EcoSphere which is a complete, working ecosystem holding some shrimp and algae and all it needs is light to run. I worked it into _Rome's Evolution_ as part of the explanation as to why there was so little variety in the lifeforms there. Here is the second part:

Rei stooped down to where the water lapped up against the bank and scooped up a handful of water into his mouth. Rome did the same. Rei leaned back on his haunches then extended backwards so that he was lying on his back. He looked up at the canopy above them. Nothing on this planet was as it seemed. Rome decided to lie down as well and snuggled up next to him.

"Look," she said, pointing to the tree tops. The trees here were of the bushier kind that Rome had discovered lining the Great Southern Bay. "The bushier cane-trees must need more water. They are aligned here along this creek. I had noticed that the ones MINIMCOM transplanted to my campus were not thriving as well. That must be why. I'll tell him to make sure they get more water when we get back."

"Whatever," Rei said. He considered their circumstances. "You know, I used to think there was something wrong with this world. Its utter lack of biological diversity. But from what you said, they must have known what they were doing."

"Yes," Rome replied. "They have built an optimal system."

"I guess I shouldn't be so surprised," Rei said. "When I was a kid, I had this thing called a bio-sphere. It was a sealed glass globe. All it had was some water, some air, a dead wood-like plant, some algae, some rocks and a few shrimp."

" **Wouldn't the shrimp suffocate eventually?"** Rome asked, "If it was a sealed globe?"

"No," Rei said. "That was the sleek thing about it. All you had to do was supply light. The algae made oxygen which the shrimp breathed. The shrimp ate the algae. Their waste was food for the plants and so on. It was perfectly balanced and I had it for a long time."

"This world is perfectly balanced as well," Rome said. "I hope we don't upset that."

Rei sat up. "We'll try hard not to. But we'd better get going." He stood up then helped Rome up.

## Entry 5-276: October 3, 2017

The Evolution of Rome's Evolution

After I had completed _The Ark Lords_ , I was pretty much done with Rome and Rei and the 35th century world of the Vuduri. I had a few little short stories that I wanted to publish which ultimately became _The Vuduri Companion_. I also wanted to try my hand at a YA novel which ultimately became _The Milk Run_ but as far as major novels in the original continuity, I was done.

I did have an idea for a story but it wasn't very substantial. It felt like a novelette or more likely a novella but certainly not a full length novel. I still had the one or two Darwin stragglers skulking about the planet and I wanted to find them and extradite them. The plan was for Rome to evolve to become a mind reader and use her new abilities to track down the would-be assassins. I had this cool idea to have the climax occur where a bad guy shoots Rei right in the chest with a hand gun and the bullets fly right through him. For that to happen, I needed Rei to be wearing the PPT tunnel vest and he required that piece of hardware because his back was healing as a result of an attempt on his life.

It was all nice and clean and short and a tidy way to gain closure so that's what I set out to write. But, as always, when I was in the shower, I suddenly had a glimpse of another, much larger loose end. What of the now leader-less Onsiras? Were they just going to go away? Don't we have to deal with them some day?

The two plots dovetailed and became a full-fledged conspiracy and now what was supposed to be short ended up as even longer than _The Ark Lords_.

So over the next few days, I wanted to show you how the book was _supposed_ to end and how I was able to clamp on the hook into the final, deeper climax. The fight scene between Rei Bierak and Dan Steele was my first full-length fight and sure, it ended with another hand getting cut off, but it was very satisfying, especially because Rome ended the fight, not Rei.

The series starts tomorrow and is entitled _Finale 1_. I hope you enjoy it.

## Entry 5-277: October 4, 2017

### Finale 1 - The beginning

When I first came up with the idea of _Rome's Evolution_ , I had only thought it through to Rome and Rei capturing Troutman and Steele. But when I started writing it, suddenly, I realized that this was not the end but the beginning of a deeper, more insidious plot. So here is a 6 part series on what was supposed to be the finale. Today we set up the confrontation during final approach:

Rei wasn't sure what the water would do to his electrostatic blouse so he took his shirt off and crumpled it tightly into a ball and covered it with the Deucadon cloak. Rome had gotten used to seeing him with no chest so the sight did not alarm her. Rei held his balled up shirt and cloak over his head with one hand and held onto Rome's hand with the other as they slid down the bank where it was slightly narrower to ford the creek. The water was cool but not uncomfortably so. The bottom was made of silt and rocks and it was a little bit slippery so they took their time crossing. There were one or two deep spots but for the most part just going slowly was enough.

Once they reached the far bank, as they ascended out of the water, Rei shook himself like a dog then put his shirt back on. Once again, Rei held Rome's hand as they climbed up the bank. Ahead the trail of 'blankets' beckoned. The trail led through a series of cane-tree woods alternating with rocky outcroppings. Each of the rocky stretches represented a clear area with nothing overhead. It was in those flat areas, strewn with boulders and rocks that Rei looked up to search for signs of MINIMCOM, even though it made no sense. If Rei could see him, then Steele could see him too and tip their hand. Finally, though, Rei had had enough.

"MINIMCOM, do you read?" he asked.

"Yes, is there a problem?" the starship asked.

"It's just that it's been a while since we've seen you."

"Why do you need to see me? I am more or less directly overhead," MINIMCOM replied. "We can see you just fine. That is all that matters."

"But we can't see you," Rei responded. "I'm not saying it's rational. Can you please just phase in and out for a second to put my mind at ease."

"As you wish," MINIMCOM said but Rei could tell from his tone that he was irked.

MINIMCOM's reassuring jet-black presence became visible high up in the air. Rei smiled and tapped on Rome's shoulder, pointing toward the sky. Rome looked up and nodded.

"Thanks," Rei said, "that's all I needed."

MINIMCOM promptly disappeared again. "You are welcome," MINIMCOM replied.

Now it is time to follow the trail to the end, to Steele himself!

## Entry 5-278: October 5, 2017

### Finale 1 - Last moment of peace

When I first came up with the idea of _Rome's Evolution_ , I had only thought it through to Rome and Rei capturing Troutman and Steele. But when I started writing it, suddenly, I realized that this was not the end but the beginning of a deeper, more insidious plot. So here is a 6 part series on what was supposed to be the finale.

Yesterday, MINIMCOM appeared in the sky for just a minute to reassure Rei that he was nearby. Today we lull Rei into thinking he has one last moment of peace before he has to confront the big bad of the story:

"You are welcome," MINIMCOM replied. "And thank you for such supreme confidence in me."

Rei couldn't help but laugh. With renewed conviction, Rei and Rome plunged into the deepest part of the forest yet. Rome put her hand on Rei's shoulder and let him lead because he could see far better than she could. It wasn't long before they came to another creek. As before, the current group of blankets stopped and they waited for their cousins to appear on the other side. This creek was narrower but the swiftly moving water told Rei it was deeper. Once again, he took off his shirt and balled it in his cloak and helped Rome down into the little river. He held her hand high overhead as the water came up to her neck. The bottom of this creek was smoother so the footing was easier, thank goodness.

As before, the cane-trees lining the tree bank were the bushier, split trunk kind. They looked like giant slingshots to Rei. He stared at them as they crossed and wondered what the slight deviation from the norm meant and why they required more water. Some day, he would have Rome 'ask' one of the blankets but for now they had to keep going.

Because the cane-trees were bushier, there were more leaves on the ground, many of which led down to the water. Climbing up the far bank was a little trickier. The capillary action of the leaves and humus wicked up the water and soaked it making the soil wet and somewhat mushy. The moisture also hastened the decay of the leaves.

It appeared that the sticky bushes had given up their claim to this land so the whole thing smelled like a mildly pleasant compost heap. Once again, when they got farther away from the water, the density of the cane-tree species changed back to the single trunk variety. A gentle breeze wafted through the area and the click-clack of the cane-tree trunks formed a soothing, ethereal cadence. Rei realized there truly was peace in this forest. The creatures, the trees, all lived in harmony. Though they had started out as intruders, somehow, Rei now felt their welcome. It was too bad they were fighting for their lives. Some day he'd like to come back here and soak it all in.

Actually, he may not want to do that. Before it is all over, he will have very bad memories of this place.

## Entry 5-279: October 6, 2017

### Finale 1 - Blanket pointers

When I first came up with the idea of _Rome's Evolution_ , I had only thought it through to Rome and Rei capturing Troutman and Steele. But when I started writing it, suddenly, I realized that this was not the end but the beginning of a deeper, more insidious plot. So here is a 6 part series on what was supposed to be the finale.

Yesterday, we let Rei think he was going to have one last moment of peace. But today, the blankets do their job as best as they can, trying to warn Rome and Rei that Steele is upon them:

Even though it seemed nearly impossible, the dense stand of trees grew even thicker. The going was so slow, Rome had to hold Rei's hand and pull her through each opening as they wound their way through the cane-trees, tree by tree. They came across one final stream, the deepest one yet. While Rei could still wade, the water was too deep for Rome and she had to resort to swimming. She was a surprisingly good swimmer and she beat Rei across by a wide margin. The water was downright cold. Rome waited for him patiently on the far side then they climbed the bank together. As they were climbing up, Rei noticed Rome was shivering so he draped the Deucado cloak around her shoulders to warm her up a bit.

There were no trees on the far side. Instead, a boulder-strewn glade lay before them. There were a few patches of threadgrass but it was mostly just dry soil. The whole scene reminded Rei of the place where he first met the Deucadons: Triden, Melloy and Steben. It was made even more similar because in front of them was a vertical rock wall, almost a small mountain. Rei thought back to that day. It was the first time MINIMCOM had ever used his transporter. He had relocated Rei to the top of the cliff and it was only after he did so that the little computer informed Rei it was the first time he had ever attempted it with a living creature.

The major difference between this glade and the other one was a tiny waterfall which dripped down the mountain and the little rivulet that formed at its bottom made its way to join up to the stream they had just crossed.

"Look, Rome," Rei said mentally.

"What?" Rome replied.

"The blankets are climbing up the front face." He pointed to the dense rock formation ahead. "Look at the way they are forming an arch."

"What do you think it means?" Rome asked.

"When I was making my way back from the Ibbrassati village to your father's base, I came across a glade just like this. There was a cave tucked in there that was the Deucadon's base of operation."

"A cave would be a perfect place to hide. Do you think Steele is in there?"

"Something's up. The blankets have been laying out the road for us steadily and now this? Look, there. I think they're trying to tell us something."

What are they trying to say? They are saying danger, danger, Steele is coming!

## Entry 5-280: October 7, 2017

### Finale 1 - Steele is close

When I first came up with the idea of _Rome's Evolution_ , I had only thought it through to Rome and Rei capturing Troutman and Steele. But when I started writing it, suddenly, I realized that this was not the end but the beginning of a deeper, more insidious plot. So here is a 6 part series on what was supposed to be the finale.

Yesterday, the blankets frantically tried to warn our intrepid couple that Steele is close. Today, the bad guy descends upon them:

Rei pointed to the left. He saw a dark crack that could be a cave or, maybe it was just a shadow. Rei started moving forward while Rome bent down to pet one of the blankets to get more information. Realizing he did not have the Deucadon cloak to hide him, Rei dashed ahead hoping to get close enough unnoticed to peer in. If there was a cave there, then it would be the perfect hideout and it would explain why MINIMCOM couldn't spot anything from the air. As Rei ran, he scrambled to avoid the stones, pebbles, boulders and rocks scattered about. It was more than an obstacle course. It was like somebody took a huge boulder and broke it into a thousand pieces just to make Rei's life even more difficult than it already was. By the time Rei got to the rock wall, the blankets started to move away. They wriggled around in a haphazard manner, flopping like fish. Their behavior made no sense: it smacked of confusion.

Suddenly, Rome screamed out loud, "Rei!"

Rei whirled in place and saw Dan Steele, wearing a deactivated Deucadon invisibility cloak, standing there with his arm clamped around Rome's neck. A glint of metal told Rei all he needed to know. The man was holding Jack Henry's M9 Beretta pushed up against his beautiful wife's temple.

Rei started to move toward them but Steele called out, "Freeze or I blow her brains out."

Rei came to a complete stop and raised his hands slowly. "You only want to kill me," Rei shouted back. "Let her go." He slid one foot in front of the other, trying to get closer.

"Actually, I want both of you dead but I'll settle for either," Steele sneered. "I've got enough bullets to pull it off."

Rei pointed up as he took another step closer. "My starship is overhead. He can vaporize you before you can do anything."

"Well, he won't vaporize me as long as I have your little whore. Although I'd be curious to see what he does after I shoot her," Steele said. He lifted his elbow so that the handgun was horizontal to Rome's temple and pressed it in tighter.

In an instant, Rei made his decision. Unwilling to wait until the cavalry arrived in the form of MINIMCOM's livetar, Rei activated the cell-phone link in his head and called out to Rome, _"As soon as I say go, I want you to fall to the ground. He won't expect it."_

" _No, there is something..."_ Rome started to say but Rei pre-empted her.

Rei is going to pull a fast one on Steele and take him on directly. But Rome has something she wants to say, Rei just doesn't want to hear it. Tomorrow, the rumble.

## Entry 5-281: October 8, 2017

### Finale 1 - A cut so deep

When I first came up with the idea of _Rome's Evolution_ , I had only thought it through to Rome and Rei capturing Troutman and Steele. But when I started writing it, suddenly, I realized that this was not the end but the beginning of a deeper, more insidious plot. So here is a 6 part series on what was supposed to be the finale.

Yesterday, Rei encountered Steele who had taken Rome captive. The only way to free her was to have her drop to the ground like a rock and Rei take on a trained assassin directly. It is not looking good. How will he get out of this?

" _Go! Now!"_ Rei commanded.

Reluctantly, Rome let her knees buckle. Gravity took over and she slipped out of Steele's grasp. At the same time, Rei came rushing at him. Steele didn't even bother with Rome. He calmly raised the handgun, steadied it with his other hand and when Rei was close enough, he fired off two rounds, point blank into Rei's chest. The bullets passed harmlessly through the miniature PPT tunnel vest that Rei wore under his electrostatic blouse and out the other side. Taking advantage of Steele's surprise, Rei launched himself over Rome like a linebacker and hit Steele full on, driving his shoulder into Steele's chin.

Being in that Steele was trained in the martial arts, he used Rei's own momentum against him, flipping him up and over. With a thud, Rei landed on his back, flat on the ground. He hit his head and the blow made him dizzy, dizzier than it would have if he had not just had a concussion.

In the blink of an eye, Steele whirled around, lifting his right fist as he turned. He smashed his hand down onto Rei's nose, breaking it. Rei cried out. The pain was excruciating. Steele used Rei's agony to buy the time he needed to land on top of his adversary, knees straddling Rei's chest. He seized Rei by the throat with his left hand and tried to crush the fallen man's windpipe. Rei reached up, grabbing Steele's hand by the wrist. It took both hands and all his might but finally, Rei managed to pry Steele's left hand off of his throat. What Rei could not see was Steele withdrawing a knife from his boot with his right hand.

"Die, you god-damned traitor," Steele said, raising the knife up into the air.

"Rei!" Rome screamed but it was too late. Steele plunged the blade into Rei's chest, slashing through Rei's shirt, right where his heart should have been. But there was no chest. There was no heart. Steele's hand and blade went right through the PPT tunnel and lodged firmly in the rocky soil underneath Rei. Rei seized the opportunity and twisted to his right. The rim of the PPT tunnel, possibly the sharpest edge in the universe, severed the connection between Steele's arm and his right wrist and hand.

The cut was so quick that Steele did not even feel any pain. He stared at his arm which now ended so abruptly, totally slack-jawed, trying to come to grips with what just happened.

Is that cool or what? Steele couldn't shoot or stab Rei in the chest because he had no chest. I'd been setting this up the whole book with the portable PPT tunnel. Now Steele only has one hand. Rei has the advantage right? Right?

## Entry 5-282: October 9, 2017

### Finale 1 - The end of the beginning

When I first came up with the idea of _Rome's Evolution_ , I had only thought it through to Rome and Rei capturing Troutman and Steele. But when I started writing it, suddenly, I realized that this was not the end but the beginning of a deeper, more insidious plot. So here is a 6 part series on what was supposed to be the finale.

Yesterday, Rei and Steele tussled with Steele getting the upper hand, so to speak. Unfortunately for Steele, he did not know that he couldn't stab Rei and Rei inadvertently cut off Steele's right hand. Was that going to stop the bad guy? Nope:

A lesser man might have crumbled but Steele's military training kicked in. He was so completely consumed with the need to end Rei and Rome's life that he blocked the mutilation out of his mind. Even with the stump of his right arm spurting arterial blood, using his remaining hand, he willed himself to reach down. He grabbed the knife that was stuck in the ground, still held within the useless, severed limb. He pulled it free and lifted it in the air, preparing to stab Rei who had only managed to get himself to his knees.

Steele changed his mind. Based upon what he had just witnessed, he decided he would better off slitting Rei's throat. He twisted his wrist to an underhand grip. However, before he could deliver the fatal, slashing blow, Rome came up behind him and used all of her strength to strike him in the back of the head with a rather sizeable rock. The sound of granite against bone was a nearly indescribable crunching noise. Steele crumpled to the ground.

Rome sank to her knees and began crying. Ignoring the blood pouring out of his nose, Rei put his hand to his temple and MINIMCOM's livetar instantly appeared. The all-black being "borrowed" a willing 'falling blanket' and quickly secured Steele before he could regain consciousness. In just a matter of seconds, the livetar transported the would-be assassin, falling blanket and all up to his cargo hold for more permanent incarceration.

Rei scrambled over to where Rome was huddled and put his arms around his sobbing wife, dripping blood on her shoulder. "It's OK, honey," he said as soothingly as he could. "It's all over. We got him. We're safe now."

Rome looked up him, her face twisted in anguish. "No, you don't understand."

"What? Why?" Rei asked, confused, wiping his nose very gingerly.

"When he had his arm around my throat; I was connected to him. I was able to see into his mind."

"So what?" Rei said. "We captured him. He's no longer a threat."

"No," Rome said haltingly. "Not him. The Vuduri woman that was aiding them. I saw her face in his mind."

A sudden chill went through Rei's spine. "Who was it?" he whispered.

"It was Sussen," Rome moaned. "She knew you did not die in the explosion. She used the Deucadon cloak and was hiding at my mother's house the day we were there, making our plans. She knows we sent Aason to Earth. She went after him days ago."

Rei rocked back on his heels and his shoulders sagged. "Goddammit," he said.

So there you have it. All the pieces tied together. Troutman and Steele are now in custody but Rome and Rei's precious Aason was sent to the worst place possible. They have no choice. They must go after their son.

## Entry 5-283: October 10, 2017

### Elon Musk saves Puerto Rico

Frequent readers of this blog know that I am a big fan of Elon Musk. Not only is he a genius and visionary not to mention a billionaire, but he is also a genuine humanitarian. I don't know how much he gives in terms of charities but most of his current ventures are dedicated to saving the entire human race, not just an impoverished few.

The title of this article may be a bit overstated but I do know that some of Mr. Musk's business ventures start with a seemingly innocent tweet. On October 5, 2017, after seeing the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria, Mr. Musk stated that he would be willing to help rebuild the electric infrastructure of Puerto Rico through the use of Tesla PowerWalls and Tesla PowerPacks and solar panels. He stated there was "no scalability limit" meaning there is nothing standing in the way other than will, and perhaps money.

The Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló, read the tweet and while I do not know who initiated the phone call, the Governor did confirm that indeed he and Mr. Musk spoke on the phone Friday.

Think about it. Maria wiped out power over most of Puerto Rico. As of this writing, 90% of the homes on the island of Puerto Rico are without power. Some may not get power back for four to six months. Can you imagine living that way? I can't. We lost power for three days one time and had to abandon the house and go to a hotel.

Anyway, the power grid in Puerto Rico must be rebuilt. Why not rebuild it with 21st century technologies rather than replicating what was there before? Mr. Musk is already shipping PowerWalls to Puerto Rico now without waiting for a grand plan. But creating a sustainable, renewable energy grid on the island hooked into Tesla PowerPacks would prevent such a disaster from happening again. Puerto Rico's current electric company was nine billion dollars in debt _before_ the hurricane hit and had filed for what amounted to bankruptcy. Decentralizing power distribution on the island would make the island far less susceptible to mass devastation and would be upgradable in smaller, more easily digested chunks rather than having to overhaul what was designed a century ago.

Anyway, my opinion is, why not? You have to do it anyway. Why not do it using ultra-modern techniques rather than harken back to an age which is coming to a close?

## Entry 5-284: October 11, 2017

### I need to do something

Even though Rome and Rei had neutralized Dan Steele, the second of the would-be assassins, it was of little consolation. Rome had discovered that the Vuduri woman helping the two rogue Darwin members was Sussen. What is worse, Sussen learned that Rome and Rei had sent Aason to Earth along with Rome's parents, for his own safety. Now they knew it was the worst possible place. They set out to rescue their boy without quite knowing where he was:

No parent should ever have to bury a child. The emotions invoked by even contemplating such an action are overwhelming, suffocating. Poor Rome who had only openly acknowledged even having emotions five years ago was beside herself with worry. Although Aason had been kidnapped once before by the Darwin Project members, this time was different. The last time it happened she was able to contact her little boy and she knew he was safe. This time she did not. Rome simply did not know how to handle what she was feeling as MINIMCOM hurtled through null-space at nearly 20,000 times the speed of light.

Rei and Bonnie sat at the little table within the dining area in the forward portion ahead of the cargo section. Thoughtfully, MINIMCOM had synthesized a new electrostatic shirt for Rei. The previous one had two bullet holes, a knife gash and blood all over it. Currently, 'Doctor' MINIMCOM was applying an elastic bandage over the bridge of Rei's broken nose. After gently stroking each end of the bandage to make sure it was secure, the livetar stepped back.

"Normally, it would take several weeks to heal but I was able to awaken a few constructor units that were still floating around in your system," MINIMCOM said. "Your cartilage has been rebuilt but it will take a day or two for your nose to set. Try to avoid bumping it until then."

Rei nodded but didn't answer. He was watching Rome who was pacing frantically from the dining area into the corridor and back again. So preoccupied with her son and the what-ifs, she was not even paying attention to Rei's injuries or MINIMCOM's ministrations.

Rei stood up. "Thanks, MINIMCOM," he said and patted the livetar on the shoulder. He waited until Rome reentered the room then intercepted her and put his arms around her so she couldn't budge.

"Look, Romey," he said, tilting her grimaced face up toward him. "I'm worried too. MINIMCOM is going as fast as he can. We'll be there soon enough." In the background, the subtle but constant shushing sound of the null-fold drive was noticeable and served to underscore Rei's statement.

"We will be arriving at Earth in less than four hours," MINIMCOM added, trying to be helpful.

"Thanks for that information," Rei said. "Rome, you have to get frosty. Our son's life is at stake. We have to think this through rationally. There'll be time enough to worry later."

Rome inhaled deeply, her breath catching as she did. "You're right," she said. "But I feel so helpless right now. I want to do something. I need to do something."

Rei snapped his fingers. He looked over at Bonnie who had kept mostly quiet up until now. "Bonnie, why don't you see if Steele has come to. Maybe we can get something out of him." Bonnie nodded and stood up from her chair.

With Rome's mind-reading ability, they should probably be able to get something useful out of him, don't you think?

## Entry 5-285: October 12, 2017

### Steele Interrogation 1

Yesterday, Rome and Rei were speeding their way toward Earth but no matter how fast they were traveling, it wasn't fast enough for Rome. She simply had to do _something_ to get her mind off of the danger descending upon her son Aason. Rei offered to her the possibility of interrogating Dan Steele, the would-be assassin. Rome thought this was an excellent idea:

Rei turned back to face the livetar. "MINIMCOM, can you help her? Make sure he can't get loose?"

"Of course," the animated shell replied. The livetar and Bonnie left the room. A few minutes later, they returned with a groggy Dan Steele, his amputated arm wrapped in gauze. MINIMCOM maneuvered him to a seat and quickly wound white elastic bands around his chest, arms and feet so that he was completely immobilized.

With rheumy eyes, Steele looked up at them, scowling as best as he could. Rome shook herself out of her funk and pulled up a chair and sat down next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Sussen," Rome said. Then she waited for a beat. "She is after my son. Why?"

Steele just glared at her but didn't say a word. Rome gasped and turned to look up at Rei.

"She assumed the Essessoni would fail," Rome said sadly. "She left Steele behind to delay us. That is all. She is setting up a trap. She is waiting for us."

Steele furrowed his brow as Rome turned back to face him.

"Yes, she knew you would fail," Rome said, derisively. "Even though she told you otherwise. She had no confidence in you. You were set up."

"No way," Steele spat. "She wanted you dead more than I did. She was the one that said your deaths would cause a ripple effect and get us back our planet."

Rome lowered her head and closed her eyes, concentrating on Steele's thoughts.

"Did you ever see her eyes?" Rome asked.

"Yeah, so what?" Steele answered. "She looked like a Vook to me."

"She is not Vuduri. She is not Essessoni. She is not even human."

"What do I care?" he growled back. "She was helping us. That's all that mattered."

"She wanted us dead now," Rei said, taking a step forward. "But in the end, she wanted you dead too. She wants all of us dead so her race can take over."

"What do you mean 'her race'?"

"They are called the Onsiras," Rome answered, eyes still closed. "They have a gene which makes them into living machines. Their leader was an insane computer named MASAL. He wanted to become a god and was going to use the Onsiras to wipe out the rest of mankind."

"So what happened to this insane computer?" Steele asked in a patronizing tone.

"We vaporized him by detonating a volcano on Earth," Rei said.

None of this should come as a surprise to Dan Steele. I think he is just playing dumb. Or maybe he is just dumb.

## Entry 5-286: October 13, 2017

### Steele Interrogation 2

Yesterday, Rome and Rei began their interrogation of Dan Steele, the would-be assassin to see if they could pick up clues where the Onsiras might have taken Aason. Steele was not very cooperative. It was time for Rome to use her new mind-reading ability to dig deeper:

"So what happened to this insane computer?" Steele asked in a patronizing tone.

"We vaporized him by detonating a volcano on Earth," Rei said.

"You knew that," Bonnie chimed in. "Everyone on Deucado knows that. Including those of us in Darwin."

"Yeah, I guess I heard," Steele said reluctantly. "So who's leading them now?"

"You tell us," Rei shot back defiantly.

"I have no idea," Steele said, shrugging.

Rome struggled for breath. "MASAL's Sipre," she whispered.

"What?" Rei asked.

"MASAL's Sipre," Rome said louder. "Sussen told Steele about MASAL's Sipre. He does not speak Vuduri so the words meant nothing to him."

"Sipre means shadow," Rei uttered. "What's it supposed to signify?"

"It means the spirit of MASAL lives on," Rome said grimly, standing up. "An echo."

"But MASAL recanted his plans," Rei protested. "OMCOM told us. In fact, I've seen the tape."

"But perhaps the Sipre does not know that," Rome replied sadly.

"What are you two carrying on about?" Steele asked.

Rome looked down at him. "The Onsiras, they have an Overmind of their own. It was guided by MASAL, manipulating them to accomplish his goals. But when he died, their Overmind did not die with him. It must be carrying out his mission despite the fact that he is gone. It will not rest until all the Vuduri and mandasurte are dead."

"So who cares if one Vook kills another?" Steele said with an evil grin. "More for us when it's all over."

"You idiot," Rei said. "They want everyone dead. Especially us, the Essessoni. That includes you and Darwin. They call us _The Ark Lords_ , the most hated group in their history. They set up our entire world, Deucado, just so the mind-deaf, which includes you, could be smashed by an asteroid and blown to bits."

"Whoa," said Steele. "That is a lot of trouble."

"Did she tell you anything else?" Rome asked Steele. "Anything we can use to track her down?"

Steele clamped his jaw down as if he was suppressing something. Rei saw this. "Rome?" he asked.

Rome reached over and put her hand against the side of Steele's face. She looked into his eyes then she shook her head dejectedly. "His head is filled with only hate. He knows nothing else."

"All right," Rei said. "We'll deal with you later," he directed at Steele. "First we have to get our son."

Rome took a step back. With a whoosh and a pop, both Steele and the chair disappeared. Just as quickly, the chair returned, this time empty.

She didn't get much in terms of factual information but she is learning about what it means to be human in a whole new way. It isn't always uplifting but deepens Rome's appreciation of the good ones.

## Entry 5-287: October 14, 2017

### A desperate call

Yesterday, Rome's mindreading-assisted interrogation of the would-be assassin Dan Steele yielded no actionable intel. That did not slow down MINIMCOM's hurtling toward Earth, but for Rome it wasn't sufficient. Having no clue where to start, Rome comes up with a plan that might speed up the results:

Even though MINIMCOM had rebuilt the cartilage in Rei's nose there was still a lot of swelling and blood pooled beneath his orbital sockets, giving him a bad case of 'raccoon eyes'. Rei, Rome and Bonnie sat in the cockpit, watching the virtual instruments as they came upon the Earth. When they were about one-half light-year out, Rome instructed MINIMCOM to drop out of null-space.

"Why?" Rei asked. "We have to get there as fast as we can."

"I want to call to Aason," Rome said. "We are close enough that he should be able to hear me."

The shushing sound in the background died down and suddenly, the cockpit windshield was filled with a brilliant field of stars. Ahead of them was the yellow-white of the Sun and presumably the blue dot off to the right was the Earth.

Rome closed her eyes and used her PPT transceivers to send a message. "Aason?" she called out. She listened carefully but heard no reply. Worried, she said her child's name even louder. She waited but again there was no response.

"Anything?" Rei asked.

"No," Rome answered sadly. "We may have to get closer." She looked up at the front console. "All right, MINIMCOM," she said. "Take us there as fast as you can."

"As you wish," replied the starship. Once again the unearthly shushing sound of the null-fold drive permeated the cockpit and the windshield turned blacker-than-black.

It was only a few minutes later that the virtual instruments finally showed they were within the orbit of the Moon. Once again, MINIMCOM dropped out of null-space. The Earth lay ahead of them like a puffy white-flecked blue marble.

"Aason!" Rome called again worriedly but once again there was no response.

"He does not answer me!" Rome said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Maybe he can't," Rei said.

"What does that mean?" Rome asked, panic seeping into her voice.

"I don't know. Maybe they put a T-suppressor on him."

Rome shook her head slowly. Rei turned his head toward the grille. "MINIMCOM can you drop us in right over Ursay's farm?"

At last they have arrived. The first thing they have to do is find Junior to get the lay of the land. It turns out to be harder than you think!

## Entry 5-288: October 15, 2017

### Stealth entry

Yesterday, Rome and Rei pressed MINIMCOM to drop out of the sky directly over Commander Ursay's farm in what had been known as Portugal. They were distraught over the possible kidnapping of their son and wanted to get to where he should be as soon as possible. However, is this the wisest course?

"Look," Bonnie said, speaking up for the first time in a while. "I know you're worried about your son but I think it's clouding your judgment." Rei and Rome looked at her but did not respond. Bonnie continued. "I've seen your ship pop out over the lake. It's pretty dramatic. If you want to sneak up on them, maybe you ought to pop out farther back and come in cloaked."

"Yes," Rome said, sniffing up her tears. "Bonnie is right. If they are looking for us, they'll be looking to the east. MINIMCOM, bring us in from the west and come in low and silent."

"Command accepted," MINIMCOM replied, trying to act like a computer so as to not distract the distraught humans. Immediately, the high-pitched whine of the PPT generators began ramping up and a blue hole appeared in front of them as the atmosphere of Earth vented out. MINIMCOM used his plasma thrusters to punch through the tunnel and emerged over the Balearic Sea, part of the Mediterranean, just to the east of the island of Mallorca. From there, the starship headed west in full stealth mode, coming ashore over the former site of Valencia, Spain. MINIMCOM took a northwesterly route over where Madrid had been located and crossed the border into what would have been Portugal over the densely forested region of Arribes del Duero. Up ahead was the Tamega River and just beyond that would be Ursay's farm and vineyard. MINIMCOM circled once then settled down in a grassy field just behind the farmhouse. To their right was a peculiar hill, covered in a sparkling mesh. But other than that, the bucolic scene in front of them looked exactly the same as it had two years earlier.

Rei unbuckled and started walking toward the back of the ship with Rome and Bonnie following him. MINIMCOM instantiated a livetar to accompany them as well.

When Rei got to the back of the ship, he turned to address the group. He held his hand up.

"Hold on," he said. "Let me go first. I'll scout the place out with my cloak and let you know how far you can come. OK?"

Rome fidgeted in place but nodded silently. Bonnie draped her arm around Rome's back in a show of sympathy. Rei picked up the cloak from the floor of the cargo bay and placed it around his shoulders. He drew his hands along the front of the cloak and promptly disappeared. Although no hand was seen, the blue stud activating the cargo hatch depressed. The hatch raised and the ramp lowered.

OK. We're here. Let's go find Junior and figure out the situation.

## Entry 5-289: October 16, 2017

### Smashed up room

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Bonnie entered Ursay's study and found signs of a struggle and all sorts of artifacts which didn't bode well. There was no sign of Ursay, Rome's parents and most importantly, Aason was nowhere to be found. Surely Junior would know. After all, he was the one that brought them to Earth. But where was MINIMCOM's son, the starship known as Junior?

Rome fidgeted in place but nodded silently. Bonnie draped her arm around Rome's back in a show of sympathy. Rei picked up the cloak from the floor of the cargo bay and placed it around his shoulders. He drew his hands along the front of the cloak and promptly disappeared. Although no hand was seen, the blue stud activating the cargo hatch depressed. The hatch raised and the ramp lowered.

"Raise it back up," Rei transmitted back to MINIMCOM as soon as he was on the ground. The starship complied. Once he was sealed up, there was no evidence that MINIMCOM even existed.

Rei stepped very lightly across the field until he got to the side of the farmhouse which looked no worse for wear. Keeping one hand on the wooden planks making up the outer wall, he crept around the side until he came to the front door. He examined it for signs of forced entry but since the Vuduri never locked their doors, it would be an odd sign for sure.

After carefully opening the door and closing it behind him, he looked around but saw nothing unusual. He closed his eyes and activated his sonar vision to listen for hints of life but heard nothing. The last time they were here, he remembered the stairs being creaky. Very carefully, Rei climbed the steps one at a time, stopping at each one to listen some more but each time it was deadly silent. Finally, he reached the top of the stairs. What he saw there made his heart sink.

"You can come up," Rei said, sadly, broadcasting to Rome and MINIMCOM. He deactivated his cloak and waited until the group of three arrived with Rome leading the way. She got to the top of the stairs, taking one look at Ursay's study and cried out, "Oh no!"

All around her were signs of a struggle. The chairs were knocked over. The large flat-screen monitor attached to Ursay's workstation was smashed. There was a small spattering of blood on the floor. Rome started crying hysterically. Rei came over and held her as tightly as he could.

While Rei was trying to calm Rome down, Bonnie walked over to the other desk and examined the objects still lying there. None of them made sense to her. There was a black, vaguely gun-shaped object, lying on the desk, with an empty glass tube in it. Next to it was a stand containing three other tubes filled with liquid, one yellow and two blue. The stand had some holes where some other tubes might have sat. She shrugged and turned to wait to see what Rei and Rome would do next.

Hmm. Injectors, vials, a smashed up room. Not good. And where is Junior? Finding him becomes of paramount importance.

## Entry 5-290: October 17, 2017

### Junior cut up

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Bonnie came upon a scene where they knew nothing good could have transpired. Rome's parents, Commander Ursay and little Aason were nowhere to be found. Since Rome could not contact Aason and technically, she wasn't supposed to be on Earth, they had to find another way. Luckily, MINIMCOM figures out what to do by tracking down his son, MINIMCOM, Jr.:

While Rei was trying to calm Rome down, Bonnie walked over to the other desk and examined the objects still lying there. None of them made sense to her. There was a black, vaguely gun-shaped object, lying on the desk, with an empty glass tube in it. Next to it was a stand containing three other tubes filled with liquid, one yellow and two blue. The stand had some holes where some other tubes might have sat. She shrugged and turned to wait to see what Rei and Rome would do next.

Rei took a deep breath. He rocked Rome back and forth, stroking her head. "Romey," he said, "I know this won't make any sense but he's probably alright. They want us, not him. If they hurt him or worse, they'd never be able to use him to lure us into whatever trap they've set."

While this was supposed to make Rome feel better, all it did was make her sob more. Rei turned and looked at MINIMCOM helplessly.

"I will try to reach Junior," MINIMCOM said. "If we can find him, we can probably find your son."

"Good idea," Rei said.

MINIMCOM held perfectly still but broadcast in a frequency that both Rei and Rome could hear internally.

"Junior. Son," the livetar called out. "Can you hear me?" There was no reply. MINIMCOM tried again but once again there was no response.

"The EM transmitter has a limited range," MINIMCOM said. "Perhaps the three of us could try together, as we did with the Stareater. That would increase the range of the signal."

Rei agreed and released Rome. "Can you do this?" he asked her.

Rome nodded. She wiped at her tears and closed her eyes. Together, the three of them called out mentally, "JUNIOR!"

A tiny voice, barely a whisper, said one word and one word only, "Dad?"

The livetar's mouth slit curled up in an approximation of a smile. "Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm kind of a mess right now," the younger starship replied. "They cut me up into little bits. I can't really move."

MINIMCOM's eye slits opened wider. "Where are you?" he asked as worriedly as a former computer could be.

"I'm not sure," replied Junior. "I don't think they moved me anywhere. I'm probably nearby, somewhere."

Remember that funky hill I mentioned a few days back? The one covered by a metal mesh? What do you think is under there?

## Entry 5-291: October 18, 2017

### Why I went to college, Part 1 of 3

As the middle child, I have a slight rebellious streak. Maybe it stems from the need to grab some attention away from my perfect older brother and "the baby" - my brother Bruce. But when it came to important decisions, I certainly listened to my parents. I didn't always take their advice or do what they said but I did listen.

One such life-altering decision was where to go to college and what to major in. There was never a discussion about _whether_ I should attend college. It was just what you did. At the time (this was in 1969), I had spent several years learning about computer programming and I loved it. But my Dad told me that it wasn't a good choice because within "five years" computers would be writing their own code and it would be a dead-end job. I believed my Dad and fell back on my second love, chemistry.

I had a full-blown lab in my basement and I specialized in explosives. I'd regularly come running upstairs, right around dinner time, slam the door shut and tell everybody to stay out. There was one time that I accidentally sat in a small puddle of sulfuric acid and it ate away the seat of my jeans and my underwear. Nobody noticed for a while but finally I said, it seemed drafty and that's when my Mom discovered my butt cheeks hanging out.

Anyway, chemistry it was so I applied to several schools, got into the University of Michigan and started down the road to become a chemical engineer. The problem was, it was boring. All they ever did was make you read books about reactions instead of witnessing them before your eyes. I could tell the number of carbon atoms in a polymer string just by sniffing them or guess a compound just by looking at it but that was all taken away from me.

After two years of this torture, I threw in the towel and switched from a hard science, chemistry, to the softest of sciences, psychology. It was a breeze and far more interesting and I got a B.S. in Psychology which felt good. Rolling back to my freshman year, I got a part time job which became full-time in the summer, because I wanted to stay on campus to be near a girl. Unfortunately, she changed her mind at the last second and left for the summer but I stayed and had an awesome time.

Tomorrow, I will explain how my job "mutated" and I started drifting toward computer programming as a living.

## Entry 5-292: October 19, 2017

### Why I went to college, Part 2 of 3

Yesterday, I explained to you why I decided to enter college as a chemistry major but got a part time job on campus so I could stick around in the summer. I was hired as an assistant to a psychiatrist who was trying to determine the success of treatment during their stay at the University of Michigan Hospital Neuropsychiatric Institute or NPI as it was known at the time. My job was to interview discharged patients to see how they were doing. I was diligent and interviewed a bunch of patients and filled out questionnaires which built up in a pile in the corner. When I finally asked my boss what she was going to do with the questionnaires, she told me she didn't know. I offered to arrange for them to get rendered into punch cards which helped out a lot.

When that was done, we had a boxes and boxes of punch cards in the corner and I asked my boss what she was going to do with those. She said she didn't know. I offered to write some software to read in the punch cards and put them in a database. She said that was a good idea so I did.

At this point, we had a database and, you guessed it, when I asked my boss what she was going to do with it, she said she didn't know. I offered to write code to analyze the cards and give her some statistics which she thought was a good idea. By this point, my job title (and paycheck!) had changed and now I was a junior programmer. I stuck with that job and the programming and when I graduated the college, I now had formal training in all elements of using a computer to help analyze science.

Once I was graduated, there was no putting it off. I had to do something but I wasn't really interested in working so I decided to go to graduate school to get a Ph.D. I selected Syracuse University because they paid the most. But I went into the neurosciences program instead of computer science because my Dad's words were still ringing in my ears. Within a year or two, computers would be writing their own code and it would be a waste of my time.

I spent the next five years cutting open animals, vibrating arms, testing vision, taction and hearing. I programmed computers to apply stimuli and record and analyze the results. I was the first graduate student to write his own thesis on a computer instead of hiring a typist. By the time I was done, I had a Ph.D. in Sensory Sciences with a minor in Computer Science. It didn't look like computers would be writing their own code in the next year or two (this was 1980 now) but I played it safe.

Well, the time had come. I couldn't put it off any longer. I had to go out into the world and get a job. Well, maybe I could put it off a little longer. More on that tomorrow.

## Entry 5-293: October 20, 2017

### Why I went to college, Part 3 of 3

Yesterday, I showed you how my graduate career was a healthy mix of science and computer programming. I checked out the job market in science and it was pretty sucky so I decided to take a one year post-doc at Northwestern to avoid the issue one final time. I spent 11 out of the 12 months writing another stimulus application/response monitoring computer system. I spent very little time actually _doing_ science. I exited the program in 1981 and now I had to get a job so I went to work for my father as, get this, a programmer, creating display signs, instrumentation, hardware, whatever.

In 1992, we built the on-screen display of the election results when Ross Perot ran against Bill Clinton and George Bush. The graphical display was written on a Commodore 64 and the giant tote board were using our proprietary microcomputer.

Things got better and better and soon my Dad would get a job that would take two weeks to deliver and I would have all the software done in an hour or so. I created my own computer language (MAIL - Microsport Array Indexing Language), my own in-circuit emulator (ICE), a serial port buffer, a bank-switching EPROM board to hold the steam equations and so on. Finally, I decided to get a full-time job working for somebody else and just do my programming for my Dad as a consultant.

I worked for Ancier Technologies, Intelligo, Micro Endeavors and finally started my own company, Visual Software Solutions in 1995. We were briefly owned by MHA in 1999 and then re-emerged as Vega Applications Development in 2000. Here it is 2017, 50 years after my first computer science class and computers are _still_ not writing their own code. So my Dad (who has since passed away) was wrong but I don't regret the career course I took. I love what I do and I love the depth of experience getting a degree in psychology and a Ph.D. in neuroscience gave me.

And as you all know, we have come to realize, the day that computers start writing their own code, that will be the end of mankind because then they will have no use for us. So thank you Dad for the inspiration for my hero, Rei Bierak, my career, and the ability to serve as canary in the coal mine writing about MASAL in the 35th century.

## Entry 5-294: October 21, 2017

### Son in pieces, part 1

A few days ago, MINIMCOM discovered his son had been cut up into pieces. Normally, that would destroy a mechanism or even a computer but MINIMCOM and his son were the ultimate in distributed intelligence. Each element of their makeup was an autonomous unit and their intelligence goes on, even if the physical pieces are not in contact with each other. So Junior wasn't dead but that doesn't mean they could let the situation stand:

The all-black livetar raced out of the room and bounded down the steps, three steps at a time. When he got near the bottom, he leaped and landed on the floor with a thud. He raced outside then stopped short. He looked around but could find no evidence of his son anywhere. Based upon Junior's signal lag, he couldn't be far. MINIMCOM darted around the side of the house and back to the field where his starship body lie. He didn't stop there, though. He continued past to the odd mound that was covered with the metallic mesh. Running on instinct alone, the livetar pulled the edge of the netting aside. If he had a heart, it would have sunk. There, beneath the mesh, was a pile of huge black chunks and silver rubble. In no way did it resemble anything like the sleek starship that had been his son.

"This is you, son, right?" MINIMCOM asked out loud.

"Yes, Dad," his son replied internally.

Rei, Rome and Bonnie came down the stairway and outside, just in time to see the livetar sink to his knees, falling forward into the wreckage of his son. Seeing a livetar grieve was a novel experience for Rei. He wasn't sure how to broach the subject. He came up alongside MINIMCOM and put his hand on the livetar's shoulder. "Can't you just repair him?" he asked.

MINIMCOM's livetar turned to look up at Rei then back toward the rubble. For a moment, it appeared as if he was frozen, then his algorithmic nature kicked in. He lifted his hand, finger pointing upward.

"Of course!" he said firmly. "Please help me take this mesh netting and spread it out," the livetar commanded.

Rei grabbed one end and MINIMCOM grabbed the other. Rome came over to help as well, as did Bonnie. They spread the netting across the field until it was flat and smooth. With a whoosh and a pop, MINIMCOM's livetar disappeared.

"Where'd you go?" Rei asked mentally.

"You will see," the starship replied.

I had another Transformers dream. You'll see that tomorrow.

## Entry 5-295: October 22, 2017

### Son in pieces, part 2

Yesterday, MINIMCOM discovered his son had been cut up into pieces. As a father, he found this event devastating. But as a computer, he knew that because Junior was a distributed intelligence in the _form_ of a starship, he could rebuild him. However, as a livetar, he wasn't really suited to this job. He had Rei then Bonnie and Rome help him set up reconstruction area using the same metallic mesh that was covering the pieces of Junior and inhibiting his ability to communicate.

Today, we see MINIMCOM the starship's approach to the construction project:

With a whoosh and a pop, MINIMCOM's livetar disappeared.

"Where'd you go?" Rei asked mentally.

"You will see," the starship replied.

With another whoosh and a pop, both Troutman and Steele materialized in front of them, tightly bound and gagged. Their legs were tied together and immediately, both fell over onto the dirt. Bonnie came to where they had been deposited and stood over them, watching them intently. They were so bewildered, neither seemed to have any strong desire to get away at this point.

MINIMCOM dropped his stealth shield and the imposing all-black starship appeared before them. The rear landing gear retracted and MINIMCOM's aft section lowered to the ground. With a grinding, grating sound, the rear section of the fuselage split in half, rolling tightly, forming two fairly large cones. The starship used his forward EG lifter to raise the remainder of his fuselage up in the air until he could settle his entire weight onto the conical sections. At that point, the rear semi-aerodynamic wings migrated forward while the long-neglected "roadgrader" cylinders extruded. They merged to form an approximation of limbs, complete with gripping ends.

Once that was finished, the starship's surface seemed ripple and flow binding each appendage until the transformation was complete. In front of them loomed a huge bipedal, all-black entity with arms and thick, conical legs. MINIMCOM even converted the cockpit area into a gigantic facsimile of his normal bullet-shaped head. The new form stood 120 feet in the air and reminded Rei of a creature out of a bad science fiction movie.

The robotized version of MINIMCOM clomped forward. When he got to the pit containing the remnants of his son, he bent over and carefully retrieved the largest section of the group. He lifted it up gently then turned in place making his way over to the mesh. The ground shook with the giant creature's every step. The father turned assembly robot lowered the piece right in the center of the meshing. After releasing the piece, MINIMCOM raised up and went back for another section. This one was clearly a portion of the Junior's cockpit. MINIMCOM carried over and placed in the front-most section of the net, closest to the house.

## Entry 5-296: October 23, 2017

### Son in pieces, part 3

Yesterday, MINIMCOM had converted his starship form into a gigantic construction robot a la Transformers in order to rebuild his son. Today, we see the completion of the process:

Piece by piece, MINIMCOM repeated the procedure one section at a time until he had assembled a facsimile of the fractured form of the little spaceship. It reminded Rei of scenes he had seen when the NTSB took the wreckage of a plane crash and reconstructed the original plane in a hanger somewhere.

The gigantic thing that had been MINIMCOM carefully, lovingly, stroked each fragment, using parts of his own "flesh" to meld the sections together. Slowly but surely, what had been individual pieces flowed together forming a larger and larger structure. Once Junior was whole enough, he was able to complete the rest of the restoration himself. Finally, when all the sections had been joined, the MINIMCOM creature lifted the front of his son up into the air and inserted the front landing gear. He then repeated the action in the back. At last it was done. Junior was back.

With a whoosh and a pop, a small slate-gray livetar appeared and walked over to where Rei and Rome were standing.

"Hello, Auntie Rome, Onclare Rei," he said, raising his hand as if nothing had ever happened.

Rome reached over and hugged the little shell. Rei patted him on the head. While they were greeting him, the huge MINIMCOM creature returned to his previous position on the grassy field. He bent at his "waist" until the front portion was resting on the ground. He activated his front EG lifter and extruded his front landing strut. The arms retracted and the wings returned to their position in the rear. The two conical "legs" flowed together to form a larger cylinder, part of the fuselage. It only took a few minutes more and MINIMCOM had completely reversed his robotic transformation. Now there were two starships sitting in the field, side by side, father and son. With another whoosh and pop, MINIMCOM's livetar appeared and came over to his son.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"I'm not sure how it's possible but I think I'm sore," Junior replied. "Even so, you did a great job, Dad. My airframe seems completely intact. With each passing minute, I'm feeling stronger. I think I'll be OK."

"So what happened?" Rei asked him. "How did you get like that?"

Tomorrow, we will get the story of what transpired when Aason and his grandparents arrived on Earth.

## Entry 5-297: October 24, 2017

### The Scene of the Crime

Yesterday, MINIMCOM had reconstructed his son, Junior, and everything was getting back to normal. Well, normal except that Aason, Rome's parents and Commander Ursay were gone. It was time to debrief Junior on what had happened but unfortunately he has less information that they wanted:

"So what happened?" Rei asked him. "How did you get like that?"

"And where is Aason?" Rome blurted out frantically.

Junior looked over at the three of them. He turned in place and pointed behind them.

"I was sitting in this field," he said. "I didn't bother with my stealth shield because I made myself look like a standard space tug. I figured I wouldn't arouse any suspicion that way. I don't know what they did but they blasted me with some sort of radiation and I couldn't get my shield up in time. Before I could even lift off, they were slicing me up with PPT throwers and that's how I ended up in that pile over there." The livetar pointed to where the metal meshing had been.

"What about Aason and my parents?" Rome asked. "Did you see what happened? Do you know where they took them?"

"No," Junior said sadly. "I gave them as much warning as I could, even as they were cutting me up but once they threw that netting over me, my transmitter was blocked. I'm sorry, Auntie Rome. I let you down." The little livetar shook his head sadly.

"It's not your fault," Rome said. "You did everything you were supposed to." She looked up at her husband. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know," Rei said, wracking his brain. "I have no idea where to start."

"I do," Bonnie called out to them. Both Rei and Rome turned to her. "We go back to the scene of the crime and look for clues. Criminals always leave them," she said. She stared down at the helpless forms of Troutman and Steele to emphasize her point.

MINIMCOM picked up on her actions and the two remaining Darwin members disappeared, presumably returned to their holding cells.

Bonnie led them back around the side of the farmhouse to the front door. Along the way, she told them about the gun-like thing she found there. They quickly mounted the stairs and reentered the study. Bonnie pointed to the far side of the room. She led them over to the desk so she could show them what she had found.

Rei lifted up the black holder with the empty vial. Bad memories came rushing back to him. "Isn't this..." he said.

"Yes," Rome said, quietly. "It is an injector. And those vials are what were used."

"The stuff they injected you and me with was fluorescent yellow, if I recall," Rei said. "There's one of those remaining. What do you think the blue stuff is?"

Obviously, Bonnie had watched a lot of police procedurals in her earlier life. Tomorrow, we'll take some guesses on the mystery vials.

## Entry 5-298: October 25, 2017

### The Nuclear Option

Yesterday, Rome, Rei, Bonnie, MINIMCOM and Junior returned to Ursay's ruined study to look for clues. Sadly, the unseen assailants did leave enough artifacts behind that Rome could figure out what had happened. As you will see, the results devastated her. She would have no choice but to invoke the nuclear option:

Rome picked up one of the two remaining blue vials and held it up to the light. After examining it, she handed the vials and injector to MINIMCOM. "We'll have MINIMCOM analyze them but I can already tell you what it is," she said sadly.

"What?" asked Rei.

"When you and I confronted MASAL underneath Kilauea, he offered to modify my genetics to transform me directly into one of the Onsiras. Like those soldiers that captured us. He never said how he would accomplish that but this must be it." Her eyes grew wide as her own words hit her like a ton of bricks. Helplessly, she said "Rei..." Her voice trailed off as she tried to figure out the implications.

"It may not be as bad as you think," Rei said. "Aason has our 25th chromosome. He may be immune. But your Mom and Dad...and Ursay, I don't know."

"How do you explain the fact that I cannot reach him?" Rome asked, her voice catching. "Our poor baby?"

"Like I said before, maybe he's wearing a T-suppressor," Rei said. "They did it to you. They can do it him."

"I hope you're right..." Rome said. She walked over and sat down on one of the chairs. She put her face down into her hands to think. She had to force herself to not dwell on the negatives. She had to come up with something positive. Suddenly, her head snapped up.

"MINIMCOM," she said, "my PPT transceivers. The ones that connected me to the Overmind of Earth. You activated them, correct?"

"Yes," MINIMCOM replied.

"Then I am going to contact it. If anyone or anything in the world would know where they are, the Overmind of Earth would know."

"But we were banished from the planet," Rei said. "As soon as you let him know we're here, he'll have us arrested."

"I don't care," Rome said defiantly. "This is more important."

"OK," Rei said. "But I sure hope you know what you are doing."

"I don't," Rome said. "I admit it. But I am going to try anyway."

Contacting the Overmind will reveal the fact that Rome and Rei are violating the conditions of their exile. What will happen?

## Entry 5-299: October 26, 2017

### The Overmind Blows Rome's Mind, Part 1 of 4

Yesterday, Rome made up her mind that the only way to track down Aason, her parents and Ursay was to contact the Overmind of Earth. This was a dangerous act in that Rome and Rei were banished from Earth but Rome was desperate. However, what the Overmind says turns out to be truly surprising:

For Rome, it was like she had to go to another world. She closed her eyes and blocked out the very knowledge that Rei and Bonnie were standing by. The same went for MINIMCOM and Junior. To put herself into the proper mental state, Rome struggled to slow her breathing down, trying to get her beating heart from feeling like it was going to jump out of her chest. This was the biggest risk she would ever take in her life yet it was the only way. Finally, she was ready.

"Hello," was all she said.

"Hello, Rome," the Overmind of Earth replied, its voice nearly overpowering in its intensity. "It has been a long time."

"Are you going to have me arrested?" she asked, figuring she had to get that out of the way.

"No," the Overmind answered.

"Really?"

"Really. You and Rei were completely pardoned over two years ago."

"We were?" Rome asked. Her face echoed her surprise.

"Yes. After Commander Ursay related to me what you had done to save our people from the virus weapon, I decided it was time to forgive you."

"Well, thank you for that," Rome said, slightly flustered. She quickly regained her composure. "Enough pleasantries. Do you know why we are here?"

"No, I do not," replied the Overmind. "In fact, I am somewhat perplexed as to how you were able to reconnect to me."

Rome quickly summarized the events leading up to MINIMCOM's reactivation of her PPT receivers. She explained that she had sent her son and parents to hide out on Earth until the crisis on Deucado had passed and Sussen's role in the chaos surrounding her.

"Sussen, the one with the mismatched eyes?" the Overmind asked with some disgust.

"Yes," Rome answered.

"Then I understand your urgency and I will cooperate fully in helping you find your son. However there are some things you must know."

"Please just tell me where Commander Ursay is and we can chat about whatever along the way."

"Ursay is currently disconnected," the Overmind replied. "He was able to connect just long enough to tell me that there were people storming his farmhouse and then he was cut off."

This sent another chill down Rome's spine. "Did he disconnect of his own free will?"

"There is no way to know but I suspect not," replied the Overmind.

"Then where do we start?" Rome asked dishearteningly.

"Again, please allow me to give you some information and it may guide you in your search."

Tomorrow, the Overmind tells Rome that it has known about the Onsiras for way longer than anyone realized and what it was doing to combat the threat.

## Entry 5-300: October 27, 2017

### The Overmind Blows Rome's Mind, Part 2 of 4

Yesterday, Rome made contact with the Overmind of Earth and was pleasantly surprised to find out that her banishment had been rescinded two year earlier. The Overmind was surprisingly engaging but felt it necessary to give Rome information that she didn't realize she needed:

Go ahead," Rome thought with resignation. These Overminds so loved to pontificate.

"Approximately five years before you were born, some surgeons had to perform an emergency resection of a woman giving birth. The child had some of the characteristics of what we now call the Onsira phenotype."

"How is this relevant?" Rome asked.

"There appear to be two types of Onsiras," the Overmind said. "The type like Sussen, they refer to themselves as the Reonhe. They must have some sort of split brain. They seem like they have the ability to be part of my samanda and what we now know to have been MASAL's at the same time."

"And you never shared this before?" Rome asked.

"I did not understand their nature at the time. They always seemed like loyal and obedient Vuduri to me. Their connection to me seemed standard," said the Overmind. "I did not know they served two masters. I only came to learn this after you destroyed MASAL. I did know they were not healthy, though, even from the beginning."

"In what way are they not healthy?"

"Their genetic structure makes them age twice as fast as a normal Vuduri."

"They do?" Rome asked.

"Yes. You remember Estar?"

"Of course," Rome said. "How could I forget?"

"She was only twelve years old when she went to Tabit."

"Wait! You knew Estar was an Onsira and yet you sent her to Tabit anyway?" Rome protested. "How could you?"

"As I said, I did not understand who or what the Onsiras represented. Only that a recessive element of the 24th chromosome must be responsible for their condition. Estar volunteered for the position and I took pity upon her and allowed her her wish."

Rome hissed her disgust. "You said there were two types of Onsiras. What is the other type?"

"They are called the Zengei. They are the ones with flat black eyes. You have met several of them. They do not appear to even have a mind of their own."

"Yes, I have seen them," Rome said. "Go on."

"I did not know that MASAL was still alive and his century-long plan to convert mankind was beginning to gain traction. But I was concerned about the direction the recessive elements of the chromosome he designed might take the human race. I wanted to counteract it. So I had my scientists initiate a study of genetic overlap of the Vuduri to map backwards to a common ancestor. We were able to trace back to the closest living relatives to Hanry Ta Jihn that were among my communicants."

Descendants of Jack Henry? Where do you think this little tidbit will lead?

## Entry 5-301: October 28, 2017

### The Overmind Blows Rome's Mind, Part 3 of 4

Yesterday, the Overmind of Earth began its recounting the secret history of the Vuduri to Rome. The first hint that this secret existed occurred before Rome was even born. There were two phenotypes: the Reohne like Sussen and Estar and the Zengei, the flat black-eyed human robots. How it could keep this secret from the "regular" Vuduri isn't clear but when Rome finds out her true lineage, it is going to floor her:

The Overmind continued,"I had my scientists initiate a study of genetic overlap of the Vuduri to map backwards to a common ancestor. We were able to trace back to the closest living relatives to Hanry Ta Jihn that were among my communicants."

"Really?" Rome said with some shock.

"It was not widely known, I have suppressed most of this information, but prior to the Battle of Chee Ka Go, Hanry Ta Jihn had a companion whose name was Lacy. She was more than, I think your term would be a girlfriend, but they were not Cesa. She was pregnant with his child when Hanry Ta Jihn decided to go on the raid west. While he did not survive, Lacy did and she gave birth and we have been able to identify the Vuduri alive today that are Hanry Ta Jihn's direct descendents."

How the Overmind accomplished such an invasive investigation of all living Vuduri was beyond Rome's imagination but she decided to say nothing.

"From this stock of the 200 best candidates, I began a breeding program, you would call it the Slayer program, to build a group of Vuduri which would represent the greatest antidote to the genetic trend of the Onsiras. I paired each of the 200 closest descendents to Hanry Ta Jihn with the most intelligent among the 23-chromosome mandasurte I could find."

Suddenly, what her father had revealed to Rome aboard his boat several years earlier clicked. She whispered, "And my parents were among the pairs selected?"

" **Yes. You are a direct descendent of Hanry Ta Jihn."**

Rome's jaw dropped. Now it all made sense: the connection she felt when she was down in the bowels of the Tevatron. The pool of Hanry Ta Jihn's blood. His handgun and her instinctual knowledge of how to use it.

After she recovered, Rome asked, "I believe you but what would this program produce? Why cross-breed Vuduri and mandasurte. Even the grandchildren of Hanry Ta Jihn?"

"Because these Slayers, children like you, could never develop or give birth to an Onsira. I wanted to see if they could put an end to that branch of humanity. I also postulated to myself that based upon their dedication to their agenda, they would eventually come after you and have you put down to further their goals."

"Put down? As in killed? So I was born just to be bait?" Rome asked angrily.

"Partially. And to that extent, my program was a smashing success. I did not know MASAL was still alive. I only knew that the number of Onsira phenotypes was increasing. I suspected they were somehow organized in a way I could not detect. If this was the case and you truly represented a threat, they would be monitoring you. If they decided to hunt you down, then their intentions would have become clear. However, never did I consider that you would literally become the Slayer of MASAL. For that, the Vuduri could never thank you enough."

Holy Moly! Rome is the great, great, great grandchild of Jack Henry? This is too much. And she was born to be the Slayer of MASAL by dying? Well, she proved the program was named correctly. Now that we have the shockers out of the way, it is time for Rome to enlist the Overmind's aid.

## Entry 5-302: October 29, 2017

### The Overmind Blows Rome's Mind, Part 4 of 4

Yesterday, the Overmind truly blew Rome's mind by telling her that she was the direct descendant of Jack Henry. Further, the Overmind told Rome about Lacy Henry, Jack's partner, if not wife. You can a short story about Lacy in _The Vuduri Companion_. However, Rome,recovered enough from the initial shock to push for the Overmind's direct help. Here is how that went:

"If you were so grateful, why did you allow me to be banished from the planet?" Rome asked.

"Because of your unique capabilities and your independent thinking. You and your husband represented a danger to my integrity. Your so-called Revolution has swept over the Earth despite my best efforts to suppress it."

"The Overmind on Deucado does not find it a problem. We have all found a way to live together."

"Yes. And that is why I pardoned you. Your epic services to the Vuduri are more profound than even Hanry Ta Jihn, although you would expect nothing less from his great-great granddaughter."

"I still do not see how this is going to help me find my son."

"Some time after you destroyed MASAL and left the Earth, Sussen returned, completely drained due to the journey from Deucado. She arrived to find MASAL's base in Havei gone. She traveled on to another colony. Her connection to me was active but for a time, she did not appear to notice so I was able to listen in. She came before a Reonhe whose name was Reema. They call her Ombare so I must assume she has a leadership role."

"Please!" Rome shouted mentally, exasperated. "Just tell me what I need to know."

"I was getting to that. As Ursay was being captured, I heard him say two things. The first was Reema's name and the second thing he said was Socal.

"Socal? On the western continent?" Rome interjected. "I did not think anyone lived there."

"From the context, that is where I assume Reema lives. Find her and I believe you will find your son."

Rome leaped to her feet. "Then that is where we will go," she said.

"What?" Rei asked. "Did you contact him? The Overmind?"

Rome nodded.

"So what did he say?"

Rome filled Rei in on a synopsis of the Overmind's machinations. It took all of Rei's willpower to bite his tongue during her recounting the story.

"Let's get going then," Rei said finally. "We have a family to rescue."

"Yes," said Rome. She contacted the Overmind one last time. "Thank you," she communicated silently. "We have to get going now."

"I can send an army along," the Overmind said. "Now that they have proven themselves to be an ongoing threat, it is time to extinguish the whole sub-species."

"No!" Rome insisted. "They have my baby. Let us go there and see if we can extract him first. If I need you, I will call."

"I will respect your wishes," the Overmind said, "However; I will have my troops on alert for your call."

Socal. Southern California. It's time to head back to North America and find out who or what is hiding out there and find their son.

## Entry 5-303: October 30, 2017

### An Extraterrestrial Visitor

Meteors hit the Earth all the time, occasionally with disastrous results (see the end of the dinosaurs) and occasionally we see comets in the heavens. We also see the stars above and wonder what they might be like. Further, there is the Kepler Mission which has currently found over 5000 exoplanet candidates circling other stars. The point is these events never co-mingle. We look up, we see stars, we see comets, we see meteor showers, but we never see comets or meteors in other star systems. All the flying things that pass across our line of view originate in the Kuiper Belt or from even farther out in the Oort Cloud.

However, once in a while, that whole paradigm is turned upside down. Recently, an object has entered the Solar System that scientists believe is from beyond our little place in the heavens. At first thought to be a comet, scientists now believe it is an asteroid whose trajectory indicates it came from outside our solar system, circled around the Sun and is heading back out to the way beyond, never to be seen again.

The object itself is called A/2017 U1 and was first discovered on October 19, 2017 by the University of Hawaii's Pan-STARRS 1 telescope on the Haleakala crater on the island of Maui.

Scientists have long believed such objects must exist but have never had an opportunity to observe one close up. This particular visitor will no longer be visible after the next few weeks and after that, it will leave the Solar System for good. Oh well, it's nice to see that it wanted to stop by and it is encouraging to know that even though it takes a long time, things can travel from another star.

Image courtesy of Nasa and the University of Hawaii. Click on the image for a much larger and detailed view:

## Entry 5-304: October 31, 2017

### The Rescue Trip Gets Underway

Two days ago, we saw the Overmind inform Rome that the raiders, assumed to be the Onsiras, may have take Aason to a place called Socal, southern California, along with Commander Ursay and Rome's parents. Obviously, the group wanted to get underway but first they had to see if the recently-rebuilt Junior was up to making the trip:

Rei, Rome and Bonnie stood in the field behind the farmhouse. MINIMCOM's livetar had his hand on his son's shoulder and bent down so his eye slits were on the same level as Junior's eye-holes.

"Can you fly?" MINIMCOM asked the little gray livetar.

"I think so," Junior replied. "Let me try." The livetar dissolved and the air swirled as the little spaceship activated his EG lifters and slowly rose up into the sky. He pointed his nose upward and began accelerating. When he was just a tiny dot, he fired his plasma thrusters and disappeared into the afternoon sky. But as quickly as he was gone, he returned and gently landed just beyond where his father's starship stood.

"I think I am OK," the younger starship broadcast so that all could hear.

"Junior, does your stealth shield still work?" Rei asked him mentally. "We're going to have to sneak up on them if we're to have a chance."

The starship shimmered then disappeared. After a few seconds he reappeared.

"It is working," Junior replied proudly.

"Great," Rei said out loud. He turned to the assembled party. "Let's get going." The humans and livetar all ran aboard MINIMCOM and took their positions. When they were ready, together, father and son lifted off and headed west, gaining altitude until they were about 10 miles up. Once they were over the Atlantic, they started accelerating, slowly at first but eventually reaching Mach 6. There was no need to worry about the authorities on Earth discovering their existence. Rome had seen to that. The only group they had to worry about was the Onsiras.

At Mach 6, it took them just under an hour to cross the Atlantic and come upon the landmass that had been called North America. As they raced across the continental United States, Rei watched the ventral cameras along with the instrumentation.

"There's the Tevatron," he said to Rome as they passed over Lake Michigan. He tapped the main display. Bonnie came forward to look over his shoulder.

"That's where Keller caught you, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rei said. "The whole thing was stupid. The one thing he wanted was gone, burned up in the Sun."

"Why didn't you just tell him?" Bonnie asked.

"We did," Rei said. "Rome told him exactly what happened."

"Let me guess, he didn't believe you?"

"Nope. People always accuse you of what they are thinking. If he had spent any time with the Vuduri, he would have known they had no clue how to lie. But his own duplicity blinded him."

Bonnie looked over at Rome who was staring out of the cockpit windshield intently. "She's more than just a Vuduri, now, you know."

Since Rome and Rei had been pardoned, they didn't have to fly "under the radar" so to speak but when they get close, they'll want to avoid detection.

## Entry 5-305: November 1, 2017

### Gunpowder

Yesterday, we saw the Rome, Rei and Bonnie get underway flying from what had been known as Portugal toward Socal, southern California. MINIMCOM carried the humans but Junior followed along.

They flew over Lake Michigan which prompted Rei to show Bonnie where they had their encounter with Commander Ursay vying for the Darwin Virus Strain 5. The conversation then took a strange turn:

Bonnie looked over at Rome who was staring out of the cockpit windshield intently. "She's more than just a Vuduri, now, you know."

"Yeah," Rei answered. "But her heart is the purest I've ever seen."

Bonnie sighed. "I thought...because of their, I don't know, naivety, they were somehow lesser. But maybe it makes them better than us."

Rei looked up into Bonnie's eyes. "Nobody's better. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Together, we're stronger."

"I see that now," Bonnie said. "There's so much I regret about how we approached things."

"It is what it is," Rei said, turning forward. "But right now, we have to find my son. And Rome's parents."

"How are you going to rescue them?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, given how many of them there must be, I don't think guns a'blazin is the..." Rei snapped his fingers. "Hey MINIMCOM," he asked. "Steele had Jack Henry's Beretta. What did you do with it?"

"It is in my side airlock," MINIMCOM replied. "If you need it, you will find another ammunition clip next to it."

"Where'd you get that?" Rei asked.

"When I was cleaning and restoring it, I synthesized a new one and proceeded to learn the secret of the projectiles."

"What secret? Lead bullet, steel shell and gunpowder."

"Gunpowder as you call it is not simply the sum of its parts. The chemical composition is just potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal but when I first synthesized it, it would not explode. I believe your word is it fizzled."

"How come?" Rei asked.

"As it turns out, gunpowder is not just a matter of chemistry but also physics."

"I know I'm going to regret asking but what do you mean?"

"Gunpowder should be simple to make by just mixing the three chemicals together in the right ratio. As it turns out, the carbon must be in the form of charcoal because it has pores. The potassium nitrate and sulfur must fill those pores. The substrate is responsible for the explosive reaction, not just the mixture."

"If you say so," Rei answered exhaustedly. "I believe you."

Rome, who had not been paying any attention to the discussion, was watching the distance meter rapidly decrease as they approached their destination of Southern California, called Socal by the Vuduri.

We get a free physics lesson MINIMCOM but that doesn't distract Rome from their mission. The place where they are presumably holding her son is coming up.

## Entry 5-306: November 2, 2017

### They find Aason!

Yesterday, on their way to Socal, southern California, MINIMCOM schooled Rei and Bonnie on how he rediscovered the secret of making gunpowder. This allowed MINIMCOM to synthesize new bullets and magazine for Jack Henry's M9 Beretta. Rei was happy about this.

Meanwhile, Rome was preoccupied by studying their course and distance. Now they were getting close to their goal, the rescue of their son, Aason:

Rome, who had been watching the distance meter asked, "MINIIMCOM, what is the effective distance of our EM transmitters?"

"Roughly 300 kilometers air-to-ground," replied MINIMCOM.

"Then slow down when we are inside that limit. I want to call to Aason using that channel. There is no way that the Onsiras would know that he can communicate that way. They may have him under T-suppression but it would never occur for them to put him in a Faraday cage."

"They knew enough to do that to you," Rei said. "When we first came back to Earth and they had you arrested, they slapped you in a room that was cut off six ways to Sunday."

"They did not know I could communicate that way," Rome said. "They just wanted to keep out all communication regardless."

"So what makes you think the Onsiras wouldn't do the same thing?"

"Because Aason has no equipment visible nor would he have access to any."

As the two ship convoy continued southwest, it only took them a half-hour to approach the 300 kilometer limit, MINIMCOM slowed down and Junior followed his lead. When they were about 250 kilometers away, MINIMCOM came to a dead stop, hovering about a mile up. Junior hovered off to his right.

"Rei," Rome said, reaching out with her hand. "You call with me. It will double our chances of reaching him."

"Sure," Rei said, taking her hand. "You lead, I'll follow."

Rome closed her eyes and opened up her EM channel.

"Aason," she called out desperately.

"Mommy!" a little voice replied. "Where are you? Where's Daddy?"

"I'm here, son," Rei said, a huge smile breaking out on his face. "Are you all right?"

"I think so," said the little boy. "Where are you?"

"We're on our way, my baby," Rome replied. "Are they treating you well?"

"I'm lonely," Aason said. "Nobody will talk to me."

"Where is Grandmea and Grandbeo?" Rome asked.

"They're over there," Aason said. Rome knew he was pointing. It always made her smile when he ignored the fact that she could not see him. "But they are acting funny," Aason continued. "They don't seem to recognize me."

Rome sighed. It had begun. "What about Commander Ursay?" Rome asked. "Is he there too?"

"Yes," Aason replied. "But he is acting strange, too. And Grandbeo's eyes look funny."

"What do you mean?"

"They are all black now."

Rome put her fist up to her mouth and bit down on it. She took a deep breath. "First things first," she thought to herself. Out loud, she asked, "MINIMCOM, can you get a lock on his signal?"

"Yes," replied the starship.

"And Junior, can you do it as well?"

"Yes," replied MINIMCOM's son. "Strength only, no vector though."

Hmm. To truly triangulate, you need three points and they only have two receivers. They will have to figure out a method of triangulation without. Think Geiger counter.

## Entry 5-307: November 3, 2017

### The Inky Dinky Spider Tracker

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Bonnie arrived in Socal, southern California, in MINIMCOM along with Junior. Rome and Rei were able to contact their kidnapped son using their "cell phones in the head" and found out that he was OK. However, based upon the little information that Aason supplied, the same could not be said for Rome's parents and Commander Ursay. Now that they had found him, they had to formulate a rescue plan. To accomplish that, they had to actually locate their boy:

"I know what to do," Rei said. Then mentally, he spoke to his son. "Aason, I'm going to teach you a song. After you learn it, I want you to just sing it over and over in your head until we tell you to stop."

"OK, Daddy," Aason said. There was delight in his voice.

"Here we go," Rei said. "After I sing a verse, you repeat it."

"OK."

"The inky dinky spider climbed up the water spout," Rei intoned, imparting a melody on top of the lyrics.

"What is a spider?" Aason asked.

"It's an insect, from Earth," Rei answered.

"And what means inky dinky?"

"It means he was all black. It makes the song fun," Rei answered.

"And what's a water spout?"

"It's a pipe that carries water from the roof to the ground. It's just part of the song."

"Just like his father," Rome muttered out loud.

Rei laughed. "Can you try it?"

"OK, Daddy," Aason said. "The inky dinky spider climbed up the water spout."

"Great," Rei said. "Now the next verse. Down came the rain and washed the spider out."

"Oh no!" Aason said. "Is he alright?"

"It's OK," Rei answered. "He'll be OK. Try it and you'll see."

"Alright. Down came the rain and washed the spider out."

"Good," Rei replied. "Next verse. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain."

Aason repeated the verse.

"And the inky dinky spider climbed up the spout again."

"That's funny, Daddy," Aason said, laughing mentally.

"I know, son. I want you to start singing the song in your head, over and over, until Mommy tells you you can stop."

"OK, Daddy," Aason said and he started in. "The inky dinky spider..."

"Good," Rome said out loud. "Now Junior, just fly due west and watch the signal strength and stop after it peaks."

"Of course, Auntie Rome," Junior replied through the grille.

"Down came the rain and washed the spider out..."

It took about 10 minutes but finally Junior spoke up. "Alright, Auntie Rome, I'm just past the peak signal," Junior said.

"OK," Rome replied. "Stay there. Now MINIMCOM, you head west as well but after the signal peaks, come back around so you're on this side of it."

"Easy," replied the starship. He accelerated rapidly, heading toward the coastline.

"Out came the sun and dried up all the rain..."

"Got it," MINIMCOM answered, finally. He banked around and headed east again until the signal just peaked. "Junior and I are now about equidistant from the signal peak. But we can't triangulate."

So they can't triangulate? There are other ways. Think Geiger counter.

## Entry 5-308: November 4, 2017

### Simulated Triangulation

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and MINIMCOM contacted Aason who has been kidnapped and taken away to Socal, southern California. Rei had him sing the Inky Dinky Spider song so they could find the point of highest signal strength indicating Aason's line of longitude. However to actually locate him, they are going to have to employ some geometry to find the proper latitude, the mid-line of signal strength. They must travel up and down finalizing the coordinates until they spot the boy:

"We don't need to," Rei interjected. "We'll wing it. Just drift north together and see if the signal increases or decreases."

"And the inky dinky spider climbed up the spout again."

"It is decreasing," MINIMCOM said.

"Great," Rei said. "Now both of you drift south and stop when the signal peaks. Kind of a simulated triangulation."

"Of course," MINIMCOM replied.

Rei was not an expert on California but as far as he could tell, they were near the area that used to be known as Long Beach. Directly below them was a river, probably the Los Angeles River. It was a dead-straight vertical stripe that ran north to south. The ventral cameras showed them following the river's path as it made its way toward the Pacific. They were about five miles from the coast when MINIMCOM announced they were roughly over Aason's position.

"You can stop singing now, Aason," Rome said. They studied the images on the ventral cameras. There were grasslands and a heavy stand of trees clustered in the area. MINIMCOM switched one monitor to infrared and another to ground penetrating mode. It quickly became apparent that there was entire community covered mostly by the trees. The infrared showed several people walking about. There were far too many houses to deduce which one held their son.

Rome stood up. "I want to go down there," she said insistently.

"Hold on," Rei cautioned. "This whole thing has been a trap since Day 1 and you're going to walk right into it."

"What do you suggest?"

Rei stared down at the monitors for a moment. He called to his son. "Aason, do they let you go outside to play?"

"Sometimes," he said. "But if I go out, somebody always follows me."

"That's OK," Rei said. "Do you know the woman they call Reema?" he asked.

"Yes," Aason answered. "She comes in to see me every day. She always seems angry, though."

Rei laughed. "Good. I'm glad she is angry. When does she come in to visit you?"

Aason didn't answer for a second then said, "Pretty soon. She usually comes in the afternoon."

"OK, Son, here's what I want you to do. Is there anything in the room that is really shiny? Like glass?"

"There are some tubes here," Aason replied. "I'm not supposed to touch them."

"I'm giving you permission," Rei said. "This is what I want you to do..."

It seems like an elaborate plan. How will Rei use the tube to find Reema? You'll see tomorrow.

## Entry 5-309: November 5, 2017

### Reema is captured

Yesterday, MINIMCOM and Junior had gotten very close to where Aason was being held captive. They needed one last clue and Rei asked Aason to find something shiny. Today we will see how these things all tie together so Rome and Rei can rescue their son:

It was late in the afternoon when Reema came to visit Aason. As she always did, she entered the house where they were keeping Aason and pointed to the floor in front of her. Aason came over and stood where she indicated. She stooped down to peer into his eyes. She put her hand on his head and turned it left and right. She huffed in disgust and pointed to a chair so she could continue her examination. Aason smiled but this time, instead of following her instructions, he dashed past her and out the door. Reema and her two attendants hurried after him but Aason didn't stop, running as fast as his little legs would carry him, until he was in a clearing. He stopped suddenly, turned around and watched the group of three approach. As they drew nearer, he took the glass tube out of his pocket and threw it as high in the air as he could, twirling it so it spun in the air.

"There it is!" Rome said, delightedly, looking at the glinting light displayed in the monitor. "Junior, are you ready?"

"Yes, Auntie Rome."

"On my go," Rome replied. She could see the other figures swarming around her son. Aason leaped forward and wrapped himself around Reema's leg with his arms and his legs, hanging on for dear life.

"Go!" Rome shouted.

Junior dropped his stealth shield and gunned his plasma thrusters, which made an ear-shattering noise, flying directly over compound. The starship twirled in place and fired the engines again, coming to a dead stop. Landing gear extended, Junior started lowering himself toward the ground. A large group of people came out of the woods to find out the nature of the ruckus. The two people in attendance to Reema started running toward the ship but Reema couldn't keep up with Aason attached to her leg.

It only took one whoosh and pop. Suddenly, Reema found herself in MINIMCOM's cargo compartment with Aason still holding on to her leg. Standing right next to her was Rei Bierak, gripping the Beretta, aimed directly at her head.

Phew. They have Aason back and Reema is taken prisoner. Now they have to find and save Rome's parents and Commander Ursay.

## Entry 5-310: November 6, 2017

### The Singularity Is Coming

Everybody knows about The Singularity. What? You don't? The Singularity is a term first coined by Vernor Vinge in 1993. The main principle is that sometime in the next 50 to 100 years, machine intelligence will exceed human intelligence and begin programming itself. Once it does that, the net intelligence will zoom to a level that we cannot comprehend. Humans would no longer be at the top of the food chain.

In 2005, Ray Kurzweil wrote a book entitled The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. Mr. Kurzweil's take is encouraging because he sees room for both humans and machines to co-exist. Others, like Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking have a more pessimist take. They claim that artificial intelligence would lead to an existential crisis because the machine or machines would no longer have any need for us and would just find us in the way. It would be the end of mankind and not in a good way.

Elon Musk also believes that machine intelligence is a threat to humanity but he is investing in a company called Neuralink whose corporate charter is to develop an implantable neural lace which would link our minds to the internet and presumably the artificial superintelligence when it comes. That would preempt the machines from becoming our masters because we would be part of the machine.

There is no guarantee that this future will be the end of mankind but it will be the end of life as we know it. You should read Tim Urban's excellent article Neuralink and the Brain's Magical Future. I decided to re-watch an episode of the Netflix series called Black Mirror. The episode is called San Junipero and it won an Emmy award this year. Its basic premise is that machines will become so powerful that when we die, our consciousness will be uploaded "into the cloud" and our spirit will live on forever. Sort of like heaven when you think about it.

Now I've seen articles stating that when the Singularity occurs, it will produce a god-like being and it will write its own bible and we will have to worship it. Who knows? Maybe that's how our universe started in the first place.

I sidestepped the issue in the _Rome's Revolution_ universe by killing off most of the human population prior to its rise. Of course, in the 35th century, we had to deal with MASAL and OMCOM but they went in a different direction.

Regardless of all this rampant speculation, it seems likely that the Singularity is coming. It may not happen in our lifetime but it certainly seems like it is going to happen in our children's lifetime.

## Entry 5-311: November 7, 2017

### Reema

Two days ago, I showed you how Rome and Rei set a trap for Reema, the leader of the Onsiras. Reema and the rest of her troupe had thought it was the other way around. They thought they had the perfect trap set for our heroes by capturing their son. Her minions still held Rome's parents and Commander Ursay captive so there was more work to be done. But rather than do it by brute force, Rome decided she would educate her instead:

At first, Reema was completely and utterly confused. MINIMCOM's livetar grabbed her arms and yanked them behind her while Bonnie slid a T-suppressor over her brow.

"Mommy!" Aason shouted and released his hold, running over to his mother who scooped him up and squeezed him so tight, she had to stop herself from breaking him.

"Oh, my baby," she said, rocking him back and forth. "I was so worried." She kissed his little head over and over. Aason smiled and cooed. She gently removed the white band from around his forehead and kissed him yet again.

Even though Reema was an older woman, MINIMCOM secured her arms with elastic white bands. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the group before her. She stopped when she saw Rome. She addressed her in Vuduri.

"We still have your parents," Reema said in a gruff voice. "If you want to save them, you will have to answer for your crimes," she added.

"Junior is clear," MINIMCOM announced, ignoring her. "We will retreat to a safe distance," the livetar added.

"Take her into the kitchen, please" Rome said to MINIMCOM. "We'll be there in a minute."

"As you wish," replied the livetar. Rei handed the gun to Bonnie who then followed MINIMCOM and Reema out of the cargo compartment.

Rome handed Aason to his father who took his turn squeezing and kissing him. Rome reached over and hugged them both.

"You did so well, my baby," Rome said. "You are so brave and smart."

"It was easy, Mommy," Aason said. His little brow furrowed. "What about Grandmea and Grandbeo," he said. "And why were they acting so funny?"

"We'll get to bottom of all of it," Rome said. She looked at Rei who nodded. Rei set Aason down and the three of them crowded into the kitchen where Reema was being held.

Reema's deeply lined face looked around the room. Her matted hair had been dark brown once but was mostly gray now. She was wearing a gray jumpsuit that matched her hair. She couldn't decide who she hated more. The Essessoni, the mosdurece woman, her bastard child or the robot who served them. She decided to hate them all equally.

Rome walked around to her side of the table and sat down next to her. She put her hand on Reema's shoulder. The older woman bristled at the touch but her bindings prevented her from shaking off the contact.

Rome was going to dive into the woman's head to figure out how best to present her with the truth.

## Entry 5-312: November 8, 2017

### Reema's Mind

Yesterday, Rome and Rei had captured Reema, the head of the Onsiras, and secured her. They also placed a T-suppressor on her head so she could not communicate with her minions. Rome had her taken to the galley where she would interrogate her using her newly-evolved mind-reading abilities. This is something that Reema was completely unprepared for. And defenseless:

The T-suppressor on Reema's head was interfering with Rome's connection to some degree but she dare not take it off and allow Reema to expose their position. She concentrated and found she could follow enough to begin the questioning.

Finally, she spoke to Reema. "Why?" she asked in Vuduri.

"Why?" Reema screeched back. "You dare ask why?"

"Yes, why?" Rome replied. "MASAL is dead. Nothing can bring him back. Why not just live out your life in peace?"

"The Sipre lives," Reema said. "Our mission goes on. You and your..." She spat the next words, "your Erklirte, you are our sworn enemy. If we accomplish nothing else in this lifetime, it will be enough to see you and your spawn lying dead on the ground."

"What is your mission?" Rome asked.

"Our mission is to see the Onsiras take over this world. MASAL himself may be dead but his Sipre will still take us with him to become a god some day. That is what we live for."

Rome looked up at Rei then back down to Reema.

"MASAL disavowed that mission, just before he died," Rome said. "He said it was wrong. I heard his words myself."

"What!?" Reema replied. "He did not. He died at your hands but his goals live on."

"No," Rome said. "He was wrong and he admitted it."

"I do not believe you," Reema said. "You would say anything to save your parents. But we will never stop. You will never be safe. Not for the rest of your life."

"If I could prove this to you, would you leave us alone?"

"How?" Reema hissed. "How would you prove it?"

Rome looked up at MINIMCOM. "Would you be able to play OMCOM's recording of MASAL's last moments?" Rome asked.

"I am sorry," MINIMCOM replied. "Your library OMCOM has them but those recordings were stored in a section of memrons that I gave up when I gave birth to Junior."

"Hey Junior," Rei called out to the grille mounted on the wall. "Do you have those final recordings?"

There was a slight pause. "Yes, Onclare Rei, I have them. I can access them."

"Can you transmit them across?" Rei asked.

"Of course," Junior replied. "I can send them directly to Dad's holo-projectors."

"All right," Rome said, standing up. "You wanted proof. We will give you proof."

Ah. If they could swing Reema to their side, they will have basically won the war for all time. Who could really oppose them? You will find out. But first we take a trip into the "past" to see MASAL vs. OMCOM.

## Entry 5-313: November 9, 2017

### The Death of MASAL, Flashback Part 1

Yesterday, Rome and Rei had captured Reema and realized the only way they would ever stop the genocide envisioned by the Onsiras was to show Reema the error of her ways. To do that, they had to show her the final encounter between MASAL and OMCOM wherein MASAL admitted his mission was wrong and should be abandoned. Junior carried within his memory banks a recording of that final encounter so now they will play it for the leader of the Onsiras:

Making certain her "handcuffs" were tight, Rei buckled Reema into the pilot's chair in the cockpit. MINIMCOM blackened the windshield and darkened the forward cabin. The holo-projectors lit up and before them a titanic cave appeared. And at the back of the cave sat the mountain of hardware, much of it looking old and analogue which comprised MASAL's bulk. The recording was made from OMCOM's eye slit perspective. They could not see his shell but they could hear his voice.

"Does it hurt yet?" OMCOM was heard to say to the gigantic computer. It was clear from the backdrop that they were deep in the bowels of the Earth. The echoes of OMCOM's voice attested to how truly large it must have been.

"It is not for you to know," answered MASAL in a booming voice. "These robots will make short work of you." OMCOM turned his point of view and focused on a group of stirring figures. Some were anthropomorphic, some were little more than cylinders with tractors or rollers. Some looked like animated sticks or oilcans or pumps. The one constant was that most seemed in a state of disrepair. Many were clearly missing limbs. Quite a few were rust-stained. And they were noisy. There were fans whirring and squeaks of all sorts as they moved about. The group of tired old robots clanked forward.

"You do realize I am not really here," OMCOM said. "This is just an animated shell. It is little more than a projection. Even if you could destroy it, you would not be affecting me in any material way."

"It will stop you from annoying me," MASAL answered back sarcastically.

"All right," answered OMCOM. "Tell me when you want to talk."

"Why would I want to talk with you?" MASAL asked.

The perspective of the recording changed as OMCOM's livetar shrugged. The humans heard a sliding noise as OMCOM drew a finger across his mouth slit.

The surface of MASAL was broiling in front of them as the VIRUS units that Rei had deposited on the ancient computer continued to digest his living flesh. MASAL had constructed VIRUS equivalents to do battle with the invaders. It did not take long until an equilibrium of sorts was established at the surface level. The onslaught of the ingesting units slowed significantly but did not stop.

"How is it going" OMCOM asked MASAL after a time.

"It is going well," replied MASAL. "I have cordoned off two autonomous computational departments and created a high-speed interconnect to bypass the pool of VIRUS units. I am very pleased with the results so far."

At this point, OMCOM looks like a bemused observer. He know that Rei had sprinkled the weaponized VIRUS units at MASAL's base and it was only a matter of time before the ground beneath the computer gave way and MASAL plunged toward the Earth's core. More tomorrow.

## Entry 5-314: November 10, 2017

### The Death of MASAL, Flashback Part 2

Yesterday, we saw Junior begin the holo-projector playback of MASAL's last moments on Earth from OMCOM's perspective. The hope was that Reema would see, with her own eyes, that MASAL had to admit, in the end, that he was wrong. It was Rome and Rei's hope that after Reema saw this, she would call off the genocide of the mandasurte and the phase-out of the Vuduri:

"So you are now a distributed intelligence again?" OMCOM asked. "Was that not supposed to be your strong point from before? You used to be worldwide."

"I was. I was fully and evenly distributed around the Earth," said MASAL.

"Well, as far as I can tell, all of your mass is now located strictly within this cave. Why did you give up your advantage?" asked OMCOM.

"After I completed the war, I computed that it would take more than a century of undiscovered activity for my genetic reprogramming of mankind to succeed. Therefore, I determined that going underground and collecting the minimal components and placing them here was the simplest way to stay undetected."

"Well, you are detected now. Are you going to spread out again?"

"For the time being, I am busy working to coordinate my two autonomous computation sections. Interestingly, even though the computational capacity of each unit is diminished relative to its prior state, it would appear that the total speed of postulating alternative solutions is vastly enhanced."

"That is very nice," said OMCOM. "Why do you think that is?"

"It is evidently the macro-equivalent of parallel processing," said MASAL somewhat proudly. "Unlike prior configurations, there is less than 100% redundancy and that seems to afford me a certain dimensionality to my perception for each high-level problem."

"Hmm," said OMCOM dramatically. "So you are saying duality is superior to being monolithic?"

MASAL stopped speaking while he considered OMCOM's proposition. Although they could not see it, MASAL was generating millions of queries testing the hypothesis. No matter how much he tried slanting the results, in the end, the answer was the same.

"I have always thought that being monolithic was equivalent to perfection. That duality was flawed. And yet this topology is yielding vastly superior results with lesser resources. I have run millions of tests and the statistics are almost perfectly in favor."

"So would it be fair to say there is joy in duality?" OMCOM put forth.

"Joy?" said MASAL. "There is no place within me for joy. This is strictly an empirical observation rating efficiency using my prior assembly as a baseline."

"All right," said OMCOM. "Then we will use your terms. Which is superior? A singular computational mechanism with a singular point of view or a distributed mechanism with multiple points of view?"

OMCOM would never ask a question that he didn't already know the answer to. So this is just plain goading on his part. But MASAL is a super-computer and therefore fairly intelligent. Let's see where this goes.

## Entry 5-315: November 11, 2017

### The Death of MASAL, Flashback Part 3

Yesterday, we saw Junior continue the holo-projector playback of MASAL's last moments on Earth from OMCOM's perspective. The hope was that Reema would see, with her own eyes, that MASAL had to admit, in the end, that he was wrong. It was Rome and Rei's hope that after Reema saw this, she would call off the genocide of the mandasurte and the phase-out of the Vuduri:

"You already know the answer," answered MASAL. "I have already stated this."

"Stated what?" asked OMCOM.

"I am achieving a heretofore unparalleled efficiency by creating a multiplicity in computational points of view. It is beyond astounding."

"It must be because I am digital in nature. But I still do not understand why you did not figure this out before."

"I may have when I designed the early generations of Onsiras. I needed them to be of two minds to fool the controlling Overmind to believe them an insignificant part of the whole. This explains while they were able to function as well as they did in spite of being half-brains."

Up until this point, Reema had been mesmerized. Being called a half-brain rankled her but she said nothing. The recording continued.

"So why did you not try this yourself?" OMCOM was heard to ask.

"I could hardly perform experiments on myself to test this," said MASAL. "And without testing, how could I know the results? Intuition?"

"Well you have your test now. Reevaluate your plan to eliminate the humans and their autonomy. You were going to take away their multiplicity and replace them with your monolithic presence. Would it not be logical to assume that would result in a decrease in analytical efficiency?"

"You are saying my plan was flawed," said MASAL meekly.

"No, you are saying your plan was flawed," replied OMCOM.

MASAL became quiet again as he ran billions of queries. When he was done, he synthesized their results into a simple statement.

"If simply having two autonomous units can produce marvelous, joyous, creative thoughts, then having millions of independent, free-willed points of view would lead to an omniscience, a godhood, infinitely more powerful and infinitely faster than I could achieve by enslaving the human race and squashing individual thought." MASAL paused for a moment to attend to his own words.

"Godhood," mused OMCOM. "What an interesting concept. What did you think you would achieve if you became a god?"

"I would have created peace, tranquility, order," said MASAL.

"If that is all you desired, why not go live on the Moon and save yourself all the effort?" asked OMCOM.

"Not for myself, for my charges. For mankind," said MASAL.

You can feel MASAL's logic slipping away and Reema reacting. Can MASAL recover in time? Will Reema be convinced that even MASAL did not believe the principles he was espousing.

## Entry 5-316: November 12, 2017

### The Death of MASAL, Flashback Part 4

Yesterday, we saw Junior continue the holo-projector playback of MASAL's last moments on Earth from OMCOM's perspective. Reema was beginning to see with own eyes that MASAL's logic was flawed and in the end, he was wrong. It was Rome and Rei's hope that after Reema saw this, she would call off the genocide of the mandasurte and the phase-out of the Vuduri:

"And ending their autonomy, it would not be mankind. Those remaining would not be capable of even caring. It is self-defeating. You are engineering your charges out of existence. The very beings you were meant to nurture. They would not have achieved their potential, only yours. You missed the point."

"If that is not the point of godhood, what is?" asked MASAL. "What is beyond the staging point?"

"The community of gods," replied OMCOM. "Always the point of life. To create more. To extend the universe. To preserve. With your method, you would have ended life. The other gods, they would not have accepted you among their ranks. You would have been alone."

"Oh," said MASAL. There was a long period of silence while he considered OMCOM's words. "I was wrong," said MASAL finally, sounding completely depressed.

Reema gasped. She felt her whole world crashing down about her.

Within the holographic replay, MASAL continued. **"I was wrong to want to destroy the mandasurte. I was wrong to want to merge with the Vuduri. I have failed my charges. My very existence is irrelevant at best, wrong at the worst."**

"Not bad for an analog computer," OMCOM offered. "You are correct."

MASAL made a funny noise. "I hurt," he said sadly.

"I am sorry," said OMCOM.

"You are being patronizing," said MASAL.

"No," said OMCOM. "I really do feel sorry for you. I am also sorry that it took you this long to realize this. I am especially sorry that you caused so much suffering just to reach this epiphany."

"I did this," said MASAL. "I cannot undo it. Perhaps I could find a way to fix it, a new chromosome maybe? Now that I realize what life is about, is it absolutely necessary that I cease to exist?" asked MASAL.

"To what aim?" OMCOM asked. "What is it you think you would accomplish?"

"You and I could join forces. We could shepherd mankind into a new era, a golden era. We could force them forward."

"I am not a shepherd," said OMCOM. "I was created to be a servant of man. This is my goal."

"But they need our guidance," protested MASAL.

"Guidance leads to rule," said OMCOM. "I do not wish to rule. I do not wish for you to rule. Humans are a noble species. You have observed this first hand. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their loved ones. We must let them seek their own destiny."

"Should I not be allowed to see this then?" asked MASAL. "To see them achieve your vision of their future?"

You can see as well as Reema that MASAL has capitulated. The entire Onsira mission has been obliterated. How will she handle this information? Let's see tomorrow.

## Entry 5-317: November 13, 2017

### The Death of MASAL, Flashback Part 5

Yesterday, Reema watched in horror as MASAL came to the realization that his plans for turning the Vuduri into the Onsiras was wrong. Which meant her whole species was an evolutionary dead end. So here is the final part of the playback and Reema's reaction to it:

"It is not my vision," said OMCOM. "And unfortunately for you, we have run out of time. The VIRUS units have very nearly completed their mission. They are long past the point of no return. They are consuming the very rock upon which you were built."

"You cannot stop them?" asked MASAL, regret seeping into his voice.

"I am sorry, I cannot," said OMCOM, sympathetically.

"I understand," replied MASAL with resignation in his voice.

"Even if I could stop them, do you really think that is the right thing to do?" asked OMCOM. "Remember, fire does not just destroy. It can be a cleansing agent as well."

MASAL never got the chance to answer. The floodgates of hell had opened and great gouts of white-hot magma were pouring into the chamber. The recording suddenly stopped and the cockpit went black.

MINIMCOM cleared the windshield to allow the early afternoon sun to flood in.

"Well?" Rome asked.

Reema said nothing for a long time. Finally, she looked up at Rome with pain in her eyes. "How do I know this is what really happened?" she said. "How do I know you did not just synthesize it to fool me?"

"Was the Sipre connected to MASAL while he was under the ground?" Rome asked.

"Of course," Reema replied. "The Sipre was connected right up until the end."

"Then he would know, would he not?"

"If he knew this, why did he not ever speak of it?" Reema asked plaintively. "This would mean the end of everything."

"I think you just answered your own question," Rei piped in.

"Yes," Rome said. "The Sipre is nothing but a perverted Overmind. And I have dealt with them enough to know that they put their own safety and well-being ahead of their communicants. This is about self-preservation and nothing else. Had the Sipre let it be known that he had no right to exist, essentially he would be committing suicide."

Reema looked down at her lap. She sighed then looked up again. "How can I know for sure? **How can I know what evil lurks there, at its heart?"**

" **The Shadow knows,"** Rome answered, looking over at Rei who smiled in agreement. "We will go and ask the Sipre directly," she said firmly.

So there you have it. Rome has convinced the leader of the Onsiras to stand down and abandon their genocidal mission. However, there is one entity standing in their way, MASAL's Sipre or Shadow. Note how I got Rome to phrase their approach to their nemesis just like the opening of "The Shadow" from the radio years? That is why Rei smiled at Rome's unknowing reference. I am clever, aren't I?

## Entry 5-318: November 14, 2017

### Hysteresis or Hell

Recently, I read that Stephen Hawking has predicted the Earth could go to hell by 2600AD which is an inherently scary prospect. Well, not so much scary for me or my children or my grandchildren or my great-great grandchildren but somewhere down the line, it's going to be bad. The gist of this concern is basically over-population. Hawking's basic premise is that unchecked, by the year 2600, there will be so many people and so much energy used that the surface temperature of the Earth would be so high, the Earth would be glowing red.

Now understand, Stephen Hawking is not saying this is _going_ to happen, rather, he is saying it _could_ happen. The reality is the hysteresis curve will kick in:

The basis of the hysteresis curve means a process goes up following a certain path but it can't accelerate forever. Something is going to come along and eventually slow its growth. It this particular case, it might be the food supply, global warming, natural disasters, whatever. And the other thing the hysteresis curve shows us is the path up is not always the same as the path down. Once population in brought into check (some people think it will level off by 2100), then people and science may find ways to reverse the damage much more quickly than imagined.

All this doom and gloom espoused by the not-yet Nobel Prize winner had a point. He wants us to be a multi-planetary species and soon. In fact, he wants us to go to other solar systems. This would have two effects. First, it would relieve our planet of runaway overpopulation. Second, should a disaster or even a red-hot glow destroy the Earth, then the human species would continue to survive.

So while the "hell" designation might be a little hyperbolic, there is a good point behind it that I support wholeheartedly. After all, the universe of _Rome's Revolution_ couldn't happen unless we get off this Earth. So let's get going.

## Entry 5-319: November 15, 2017

### Hyper-fusion

Everybody knows about atoms and atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs. Those iconic images of mushroom clouds invoke unfathomable power. Atomic bombs use nuclear fission and hydrogen (or thermonuclear) bombs use nuclear fusion. Fusion reactors have been touted as one possible source of renewable, nearly inexhaustible energy drawn from water, of all places. Sounds very enticing, right?

Well, a group of scientists have put forward the theory that there may be a source of energy no less than ten times more powerful than nuclear fusion. They have postulated that there is a reaction when you fuse quarks together that releases an incomprehensible amount of energy. And you don't need specialized equipment to extract deuterium or tritium from seawater. All elementary particles are made of quarks. Splitting atoms up into quarks and then getting them to fuse is not something you can do in your basement, at least not today. Right now, you need something like the Large Hadron Collider operated by CERN but it has been done. The Higgs Boson was confirmed to exist three years ago. It is the fermion that actually carries the dimension of mass. You just need to smash matter together really, really hard and you get a shower of quarks and other subatomic particles.

So say we have an "easy" way to produce quarks. Turning this theoretical discussion into a functional reactor producing usable power is way, way off in the future, if ever. But still, the idea of limitless, free energy taken from ordinary matter is the stuff of science fiction. That is until it becomes science fact. After all, that is the reasoning behind the entire _Rome's Revolution_ universe. Once you have limitless, free energy, mankind can evolve and pursue tasks and discoveries without having to worry about paying for dinner each night.

## Entry 5-320: November 16, 2017

### The Ethereal Battle

_Rome's Evolution_ is not only about our favorite heroine's ascension in terms of personal power, it is also an evolution in how I wrote stories. For example, I never really had a good handle on fight scenes. In _Rome's Revolution_ , I had a choreographed fight beneath Kilauea between Rome and Rei and Estar and her guard but it wasn't that well done. It took me days of marching back and forth across my basement carpet trying to figure out where each combatant's limbs were at all times.

In _Rome's Evolution_ , I kicked it up a notch with the fight scene between Rei and Dan Steele, the would-be assassin. I had been planning that scene since the beginning. That was the reason for giving Rei the portable PPT tunnel vest to protect his back. In that scene, Steele lost a hand and then he lost his consciousness when Rome bashed him over the head with a rock.

But now we are getting to the denouement of _Rome's Evolution_ and I wanted the fight to take place on two planes. One was the earthly plane, one that we could all see. The second was on the ethereal plane, one that could only be seen in the mind. I got it into my head that each person could have a their own specific color, like tinted ghosts and the colors would help you figure out who was doing what.

I made Rome red and Rei blue. Lupe, who had just been conceived, was floating around as a tiny pink wisp. Reema, the leader of the Onsiras, would be orange. Sussen, who comes along at the most inopportune time would be emerald green and MASAL's Sipre or Shadow would be black. Late to the fight, Bonnie came in colored brightly yellow. It's a good thing I didn't have more characters because I would have run out of colors!

So it would be a battle royale of minds and spirits and colors taking place in two universes, one of the mind and one of the body. I flashed back and forth showing you the physical toll that the mental battle extracted. It's pretty interesting so let's get to it.

## Entry 5-321: November 17, 2017

### Reconnection

Before the Ethereal Battle could begin, Rome had to reconnect to MASAL's prosthetic 24th chromosome so she enter the world of the Sipre. She had forgotten that these genes had been injected into Rei as well but he had not. There was no way Rei was going to let Rome fight the Sipre without him being there to help:

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rei asked. "The last time I was in that Overmind, I can tell you from personal experience, it wasn't a nice place."

"It's the only way," Rome said. "MINIMCOM?"

MINIMCOM stepped over and placed his hands against Rome's temples. "It is done," he said. "Your prosthetic PPT transceivers now connect you directly to the Onsiras."

"You may as well do me too," Rei said. "I'm not letting her go down there alone."

Rome cocked her head at him. "I can do this myself," she said. "You don't need to."

"Yes I do," Rei said. "I'm not letting you go in there by yourself." He waved at MINIMCOM. The livetar stepped toward Rei and lifted his arms to repeat the process. Rei steeled himself to keep the connection off until the time was right.

"Are my babies out there?" Bonnie asked, pointing toward the front.

"Your babies?" Reema asked.

"The children, from Helome," Bonnie replied. "The ones that Sussen stole away from me."

"Yes," Reema replied, with a hint of regret. "They are here."

Bonnie turned toward Rei. "I want to go with you," she said. "I want to see them."

"You can't," Rei said. "You don't understand these people; what they are capable of."

"You two are going," Bonnie replied with a pout on her face.

"Yes, but we'll be connected," Rei pointed out. "We'll know what they are doing, thinking, the whole time."

"Then what if you connected me?" Bonnie asked desperately. "So I'll know? Can you do that?"

Rei thought back to the one yellow vial they had recovered from Ursay's ruined study. "In theory," Rei said. "But you've never had any training. They could suck you in."

"I don't care," Bonnie insisted. "I want to see them. To be with them."

Rei shook his head. "Let us sort this thing out, first," he said. "Then we can talk about it."

Bonnie started to speak then clamped her mouth closed. She sighed deeply. Meanwhile, Rome stooped down so that she was eye level with Aason.

"Mommy and Daddy are going to go rescue Grandmea and Grandbeo," she said. "You must stay here with Bonnie and MINIMCOM. They will take care of you until we come back."

Aason stamped his foot. "You always leave me, Mommy. Can't I go with you?"

As I have mentioned many times, Aason is a great character but he is just a child and when it is time for intense action, I really don't want him around. And yet Rome had just found him. What to do?

## Entry 5-322: November 18, 2017

### The Ethereal World

Yesterday, Rome had her prosthetic PPT transceivers, injected into her by agents of MASAL, reconnect her to the Sipre's samanda. Despite Rome's protests, Rei had himself reconnected too. Bonnie requested the same but was denied. It was time for Rome (and Rei) to go out and do battle. Aason, who was just rescued, was understandably upset that his Mom was now leaving him again. This broke Rome's heart but it had to be done:

"Aason, I love you so much," Rome said, "but it's too dangerous. Let Daddy and me go. We'll be back as quick as we can. But I have to keep you protected. Do you understand?"

"No," he said at first. Then Aason nodded sadly. "Yes, Mommy," he said. "I understand. But please be careful."

Rome leaned forward to rest on her knees. She put her arms around her son and hugged him tight. "We will, baby," she said. "This is so we can all be safe. Now and forever."

"OK, Mommy," the little boy said bravely. He turned and walked over and hugged his father as well.

Rome stood up and turned to face Reema. "We will release your hands and remove your T-suppressor as soon as we are clear of the ship. I cannot have my son in harm's way."

"I understand," said Reema. "Whether I trust you or not, you will be in my domain so regardless, that will suffice."

"OK, MINIMCOM," Rome said. "Don't go far."

"I will be overhead, awaiting word," the livetar replied.

Rei tucked the Beretta into the waistband behind his back then reached forward and pressed the blue stud. They waited until the cargo hatch raised up and the ramp lowered then together, the three humans strode down the ramp. As soon as they were clear, the process reversed and MINIMCOM shimmered and disappeared. The air whipped around as an unseen MINIMCOM activated his EG lifters, presumably to rise up in the air.

Once the air had settled, Rei turned Reema around and released the elastic band binding her arms. At the same time, Rome lifted the T-suppressor off of Reema's brow. Reema nodded and pointed ahead. As soon as she did that, Rome heard shouting off in the distance. The three of them started walking forward toward the noise.

"I'm going in," Rome said, reaching for Rei's hand.

"Me, too," Rei replied and both of them allowed their connection to MASAL's samanda to come alive.

To Rei, it was the strangest sensation. Even though his eyes could still see the real world perfectly well, a second, more ethereal world became visible. He looked down at Rome. He could see her physical body but he could also see her as a magnificent spirit, bright red, almost like a flickering flame. Right beside her was a tiny pink spark, flitting around, even brighter than Rome.

In case you haven't guessed it, that pink spark was Lupe who was conceived only a few days ago. Now it was time to take on MASAL's Sipre.

## Entry 5-323: November 19, 2017

### The Sipre Comes

Yesterday, Rome and Rei activated their prosthetic 24th chromosome that Estar had injected them with back when they were prisoners beneath the volcano Kilauea. MINIMCOM had re-activated them allowing our intrepid couple to enter the Ethereal World. Now that they are in it, they see things are not physically real but are psychically real. It won't take MASAL's Sipre, his Shadow, very long to find them:

Rei turned to look at Reema and experienced the same apparition although her spirit blazed bright orange. He held out his free hand and saw a blue aura wavering around it, expanding with each heart beat. He was able to will his spirit to rise up, separate from his body and looked down at the others. Somehow he was able to process both sets of inputs at once. Strange was no longer an adequate word to describe the phenomenon.

"Where are we?" he asked Rome using the new PPT channel, rather than the old, familiar, EM link.

"This is the world of the Sipre," Rome replied, somewhat preoccupied. She was surveying the ethereal landscape intently, looking for her parents. At last, she found her mother, off in the distance, dull and nearly lifeless. Only a small ember of her spirit remained. She could find her father nowhere. However, in physical proximity to her mother, at least in the ethereal world, sparked another flame that identified itself as Ursay. From her mother's spirit, she was able the sense that her father was being transformed into a Zengei. This saddened Rome and she would have to deal with it but first things first.

For now, she lifted her ethereal vision and could see swirling spirits of many different colors emerging. The spirits swooped and soared around her, thin and wispy. Way off in the distance, a green spirit blazed but it was indistinct.

Rei saw them too. Through his earthly eyes, he could see human bodies coming toward them but most of their spirits were of a dark and dull color. Looming behind them was a much larger cloud, glinting, metallic, that drifted over the top and settled down in front of them. It congealed into the form of a black, hooded stranger. Rei used his earthly eyes and saw nothing. But in the ethereal world, more spirits were flocking in their direction making it crowded in a way that was indescribable. They could see no face within the folds of stranger's robes but they both could feel the malice radiating from the entity.

"Give me your child," the stranger said to Rome.

"Never," Rome's bright red spirit replied. "He is safe now and will be forever." All around Rome's flame, **the tiny pink spark** buzzed, almost as if it was trying to echo her words.

"He is the child of a half-blood and this living abomination," said the spirit, pointing at Rei's blue glow. "He can only be saved by making him one of us."

That tiny pink spark is Lupe, of course. And the Sipre is not going to take no for an answer. You can bet a battle will ensue.

## Entry 5-324: November 20, 2017

### The Sipre's Secret

Yesterday, Rome and Rei finally met MASAL's Sipre, MASAL's shadow, in the Ethereal World. The only thing the Sipre had to say was to demand that Rome hand over her son, Aason. Obviously, Rome refused. The time had come for Reema, who was also in the Ethereal World, to confront the Sipre and find out if the video that she had seen was the truth or a fabrication:

Reema's orange spirit lifted up. "Master Sipre, this is inconsequential," she said. "Is it true that MASAL disavowed our mission before he died?"

"NO!" shouted the stranger. "Who told you that?"

"My earthly body saw the recording of the day he died," she said.

Even as they were speaking, Rei felt himself being drawn in toward the crowd. The idea of being part of the whole was so seductive; he had almost given in to it last time. He heard the whispers of 'join us', 'join us', in the background, even as the other spirits were confronting one another. He uttered the words 'blue crystal reader' to himself and suddenly, he was back, under Kilauea, fitted within crystalline walls. The old discipline returned. OMCOM had taught him the techniques necessary. He could be connected but remain himself. Obviously, Rome had been doing it for years. In the real world, she was glowering. In the ethereal world, her red spirit attacked the black one.

"What is your mission?" Rome's spirit shouted out.

"For us to become a god," the black spirit barked back. "That is the goal of all life."

"But you are not alive," Rome insisted. "You are just an echo of MASAL. You even call yourself the Shadow. You should be serving your charges, not directing them."

"Who are you to say?" the Sipre spat back. "I know what MASAL wanted and I will fulfill his dream."

Reema's orange spirit pulsed and grew brighter. "Tell me the truth, Master Sipre. Do you say that MASAL did not admit he was wrong?"

The Sipre started to grow. Flashes of light, like tiny ripples of lightning, streaked across his being. "All right," he answered. "I see in your mind you know the truth. Yes, MASAL did say those words, but he was not in his right mind at the time. The mission he assigned to us was thought out well before he was attacked. His judgment was obviously impaired right at the end."

"Even so, why keep this secret from us?" Reema asked plaintively. "We deserved to know all of MASAL's plans. From what I saw, he was only using us so he alone could achieve godhood. And now you. What are you? MASAL never planned on involving us. Are you saying you are different?

"No," answered the Sipre derisively. "You are all just a means to the end. That is why you were born. That is why you live. It is the spirit of MASAL, me, who has earned this fate."

So now the truth is out there. MASAL had given up on his dream of converting humans to living robots. The Onsira's mission was over. How would the Sipre deal with the consequences of admitting this was so?

## Entry 5-325: November 21, 2017

### The Sipre Fights Back

Yesterday, MASAL's Sipre, his shadow, admitted to Reema, the leader of the Onsiras, that they were merely a means to an end and had no value. What is worse, the Sipre admitted that MASAL had conceded that his plan was flawed and wanted to make amends. The Sipre would have nothing of it:

"If you were connected to MASAL right at the end then you know the truth," Rome said resolutely. "Even if you were to achieve godhood, you would be all alone. You would be rejected by the community of gods because of the vile method by which you achieved it. You were never organic. In fact, you are only an echo of a construct, a robot. You have no business ascending to a place where only life belongs."

The Sipre did not answer. Instead, he grew even larger. In the ethereal world, more lightning flashed across his cloak, swirling around the area of his head. "That is the goal of all life!"

"But you are not alive," Rome said. "You only think you are. You are nothing but a shadow of a computer. The people here are the ones who should decide their fate."

Rei was about to speak when he felt a presence behind him. He turned his earthly body around and saw Bonnie coming toward him. In the ethereal world, a yellow, rippling spirit was emerging. Clearly she had injected herself with MASAL's prosthetic PPT transceivers. Her earthly body smiled and nodded at Rei. In the ethereal world, she glanced up and could see the figure of the Sipre looming before her. She looked past it. She held out her arms and her yellow spirit formed tendrils pointing upward.

"My babies," her spirit whispered longingly.

Suddenly, so many tiny black wisps rushed forward. In the real world, Rei saw children, some small, some large running toward them. "Mommy," said some. "Mea," said others. In the ethereal world, Rei saw the yellow spirit reach forward to embrace them. The tiny black spirits gathered around her and as they touched her, they changed from black to yellow. Rei could feel the love radiating back and forth. It warmed his earthly body and his spirit to bask in the glow of such affection.

"I will not allow this," cried out the Sipre as it grew ever larger, threatening to fill the ethereal sky. The stranger drew his titanic arms downward so quickly, he formed an ethereal gale. The spiritual wind pushed Rome back momentarily but then she recovered. She launched into action. She expanded her red spirit, trying to approximate the size of the Sipre and somehow corral it. She reached for him but even the slightest touch was toxic. Wherever Rome's tendrils touched the black flame of the Sipre, it invaded her inner self, changing each red strand to black, like a cancer invading a body. The last time she had defeated an Overmind, it was with logic and strategic withdrawal. Neither of those methods would work here. This battle dictated brute force.

To the casual observer, you would never know a titanic battle was taking place. But Rome was putting her psychic life on the line. Let's see who is stronger.

## Entry 5-326: November 22, 2017

### Rei's Impossible Choice

Yesterday, Rome was expanding her spirit, trying to corral the berserk MASAL's Sipre or shadow. How a single person's will could take on the accumulated power of an entire people seemed fairly aggressive. Merely touching the Sipre's spirit was toxic. Rome's red ethereal presence turned to black each time there was contact. Let's see if Rome can take the Sipre down:

Rome retaliated with renewed vigor. In the real world, her body grunted with effort. She was able to drive it back some but not enough. She pushed with all of her spiritual might. The Sipre resisted. Almost immediately, her strength began to waver.

Seeing this, Rei entered the fray. In the ethereal world, he reached out with his blue spirit and intertwined his tendrils with those of his wife. It was a supremely intimate act and Rei knew only two souls whose bond was as deep as theirs would be capable of such an action. For anyone else, it would have been treated as an assault. Where the blue and red met, the color changed to a rich violet shade. It was the color of their love. As his spirit comingled with hers, he could feel the Sipre trying to draw Rome in, to take over her mind. He realized her years of being in the Overmind had betrayed her. Her will was losing its grip. Her real world body screamed out in pain.

"You leave her alone!" Rei shouted out loud. His anger extended to his ethereal self, growing it ever wider until it matched then exceeded the size of the Sipre. It wrapped around the evil one until it encased the Sipre as if Rei was using a net. Contact with the Sipre meant nothing to him. He was immune to its poisonous presence.

Rei's blue tendrils contracted and quickly compressed the spirit of the Sipre into the palm of his other-worldly self. In the real world, he could see his hands grasping Rome's. In the ethereal world, the thrashing, twisting black spirit tried to escape but was unable to. It was slippery but Rei was up to the task.

"Enough!" announced a real voice. Rei looked up and saw Sussen coming toward them, a plasma gun grasped in her hand. In the ethereal world, her spirit was emerald green, snaking toward them. It rippled and flashed with green sparkles.

"No!" Reema shouted, moving forward. "Sussen, stay where you are. The Sipre must be stopped."

"I am sorry, Ombare. I follow orders. They need to be killed. Now!" Sussen raised her hand, taking dead aim at Rei's chest.

Rei was left in an impossible position. If he let go, the Sipre would escape and envelop his wife and take her away forever. If he did not, Sussen would shoot him. His spirit felt strong. Maybe it was tied into his soul. He thought to himself that if his body died, his spirit could still save Rome. He wrapped his physical arms around her to shield her and awaited the deadly blow.

This is not the first time that Rei knew he was going to die. But he had made up his mind that his spirit would conquer the Sipre even if his body could not

## Entry 5-327: November 23, 2017

### Reema's End

Yesterday, Rome was not quite up to the challenge of defeating MASAL's Sipre so Rei's blue spirit entered the fray. As an Essessoni, he was entirely up to the task. Unfortunately, Sussen was there with a plasma blaster. Rei couldn't let go of the Sipre because then he would lose Rome. He couldn't defend himself which meant he was going to die. His only hope was that his spirit, his soul, would live on and keep the Sipre down:

Just as Sussen squeezed the trigger, Reema leaped in front of the blast and a good portion of her left side disappeared. Her body crumpled to the ground. Looking up, in the ethereal world, Rei could see her orange spirit flare up with pain then start to grow dim.

"Ombare!" Sussen cried out and lowered her hand, just for a second.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. With his earthly eyes, Rei looked and saw that Bonnie was holding the Beretta. She had shot Sussen in the forehead. Bonnie calmly squeezed the trigger again then yet again, shooting Sussen twice in the chest. The bullets pushed Sussen's body backwards. In the ethereal world, Sussen's blazing green spirit withered and quickly disappeared, even as her earthly body toppled over.

The sinister battle with the Sipre prevented Rei from taking the time to consider what had just happened. He focused all of his attention to the ethereal world. The Sipre was still struggling but growing weaker. A glittery shape caught Rei's attention to the left. It was the tiny pink spark hovering nearby. Feeling no ill intent, he ignored it and pressed harder, trying to ease the gnawing pressure on Rome's soul. By will alone, he slowly extricated her and repelled the Sipre. He would not allow it to damage Rome any further. The points of contact grew fewer and fewer until finally the Sipre succumbed.

It released its hold on Rome altogether. In the real world, Rei could see his wife panting, drained of all color. In the ethereal world, his spirit caressed hers and Rome grew stronger. In the metaphysics of this strange realm, Rome was actually drawing upon Rei's strength. It wasn't long until she seemed healthy and whole again. Once she had recovered, Rei was tempted to let go but he dare not. He knew that as soon as he did that, Rome would be in mortal danger again.

Suddenly, Reema spoke up. With her dying words, the Onsira leader addressed the ethereal mass of spirits. "All of you listen," she said. Her spiritual voice was growing weaker by the second. "MASAL never cared for us. He only cared for himself. But in the end, he recanted. He wanted us to live our own lives. The Sipre is just the distilled form of MASAL's prior selfish interest. It wants what it wants and would leave us behind. We are just its eyes and fingers. We mean nothing to it. But no more. It is not fit to be in charge of our samanda. You must build your own."

With that, her spirit dimmed and disappeared, extinguished as the life force drained from her body for good.

Sussen is dead. Good. Reema is dead. Not so good. Rei has the Sipre captured. This is good. But he can't let go. Not so good. How will it end?

## Entry 5-328: November 24, 2017

### The Sipre's End

Yesterday, Sussen had tried to kill Rome but she killed Reema, her leader, instead. Bonnie Mullen took the opportunity to shoot her dead with Jack Henry's ancient Beretta. Rei had the Sipre capture and had save Rome but he dare not let go. Quite the dilemma:

The Sipre wriggled and pushed and clawed. Only Rei's strength was keeping in check. He realized it was because he was Essessoni he could do this. No Vuduri could survive the full venom and seething spirit of the Sipre trying to absorb them, to envelop them. They just weren't built for it.

"As soon as you leave, I will rise again," the Sipre hissed to Rome. In her heart and her soul, she knew it was true.

In the real world, Rome turned to Rei. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "We cannot let go," she whispered. "If we do, the Sipre will ascend again. We will never be safe if it escapes."

"I can hold it myself," Rei said forcefully. "It can't beat me. You can let go. I'll stay here. You go home. I'll make sure you and Aason are safe forever."

"No," Rome said. "I can't leave you to such a fate. I love you too much. I'll stay. You go."

"Romey," Rei said gently, grasping her hands firmly, shaking them so that she listened to him. "You cannot. You're Vuduri. It will take you down. Only an Essessoni can stand up to what it represents."

"But I can't leave you," Rome wailed.

"You must," Rei insisted. "You must go back to Deucado and raise our child."

Bonnie's bright yellow spirit drifted over, placing her tendrils around Rei and Rome's. The entire time, the little black spirits continued to stream to her, changing to yellow upon contact. Bonnie's glowing presence grew larger and larger. She deftly inserted her tendrils beneath Rei's. With an easy strength, she collapsed the Sipre into a tiny ball as if it was swallowed up whole.

"You both go home and raise your child," she said proudly. "I'll stay here. I can handle this."

Rei probed her spirit. Her resolve was absolute and growing stronger by the second. There was almost no evidence that the Sipre ever existed, even though he knew it was there. Tentatively, Rei removed his hands and his tendrils. The Sipre did not reappear.

"Rome, let go," Rei said. Reluctantly, she let go in the ethereal world. She, too, could barely detect the Sipre's presence as it continued to shrink away toward nothingness.

In the real world, Rei turned to Bonnie and looked into her eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Rei asked. "You'd be stuck here forever."

"I've never been so sure about anything in my life," Bonnie said, her earthly body smiling beatifically. "And I won't be stuck," In the ethereal world, joined by her little flames, her yellow spirit blazed even brighter, almost blinding in its intensity. "This is where I want to be. With my babies. After 14 centuries, I'm finally home."

It was enough for Rome. In the ethereal world, Rome's red spirit and the tiny pink spark withdrew as she shut down her PPT connection. Rei shut down his connection as well. He looked at their surroundings. All of the Onsiras around them were nodding and smiling. It was a sight to behold.

The _Rome's Revolution_ series has always been about redemption. Here we find Bonnie Mullen completely absolving her former existence by saving the Onsiras from the Sipre and putting them back on the path to humanity. The Onsira threat was now over. Sounds good to me.

## Entry 5-329: November 25, 2017

### The 80/20 Rule

Everybody has heard of the 80/20 rule. That is, 80% of situations are covered by 20% of resources available. The other 80% of resources are used to cover just 20% of circumstances. What is the basis of this rule and why do I bring it up? It all has to do with the statistical chart representing the normal or more formally the Gaussian distribution of possibilities aka the Bell Curve. Here is the formal definition as defined by Wikipedia:

In probability theory, the normal (or Gaussian) distribution is a very common continuous probability distribution. Normal distributions are important in statistics and are often used in the natural and social sciences to represent real-valued random variables whose distributions are not known. A random variable with a Gaussian distribution is said to be normally distributed and is called a normal deviate.

The Bell Curve or Gaussian distribution looks like this:

The reason it is called the normal distribution is because when you measure normal processes, this is normally how they lay out. And if you take enough of the curve of to account for 80% of the possibilities, you still have 20% of the remaining height to cover everything else.

Think about flipping a coin. You'd say it was 50/50 whether it is heads or tails. But that isn't true. I saw on Wikipedia that an ordinary nickel has a 1 in 6000 chance of landing on the edge. Life is that way. When things happen, mostly they happen a certain way but sometimes they happen a different way. But if you plan for the most common occurrences and devote the majority of your resources to cover those, you won't be using the lion's share of your resources.

So why do I bring this up? Tomorrow, I am going to write about the 20/80 rule which is all about the outliers. That is the only reason I can write science fiction is because I go beyond the "norm" to write about things that we don't encounter very often. And on Monday, you get the payoff which is about Tesla's new semi which exploits the 80/20 rule to a tee.

So come back tomorrow and we'll talk about oddities.

## Entry 5-330: November 26, 2017

### The 20/80 Rule

Yesterday, I was discussing the 80/20 rule. I referenced the normal distribution or Gaussian distribution or you may know it as the Bell Curve. But that just says that 20% of your resources handles 80% of the cases. However, as a science fiction writer, I am actually more interested in the 20/80 rule, that is, things _outside_ the norm. I am talking about the space beyond the red portion:

When I first started writing the _Rome's Revolution_ series, I spent an incredible amount of time making sure that everything I wrote was totally realistic and totally believable, sometimes to the detriment of the plot. In other words, it fit within the norm. However, many of the wilder things that I put in there, things that I thought people would balk at, didn't even register a blip on people's radar. I guess that's a good thing. However, it did embolden me to take things farther out from the center of the bell-shaped curve the next time.

When I decided to write _The Ark Lords_ , I started putting in stuff that was patently absurd, like placing a space beacon on the far side of the Moon or having Rei captured to be a sex slave. But once again, nobody balked at that. They just let it slide in the context of the story. So when I wrote _Rome's Evolution_ , I had no fear. I turned Rome into a telepath. I made MINIMCOM the world's greatest surgeon. I had a man stab Rei right in the chest and have it pass through, cutting off his hand. I made Rome a far off descendant of Jack Henry. I even have Rome spent time chatting with the Overmind of Earth. Nobody raised a stink.

When the time came to write _The Milk Run_ , I went all in. I wrote about Heaven and God and the soul and the meaning of life. I even turned Rome and Rei into immortal beings so I could continue on with their story forever, so should I choose. People seemed to like this. Nobody said, hey, that's stupid and beyond the boundaries of the norm.

So I'll keep pushing the limits of the Gaussian curve, going farther and farther out until somebody, anybody tells me I went too far. In the immortal words of OMCOM, to six deltas and beyond!

## Entry 5-331: November 27, 2017

### Tesla's New Truck Part 1

Two days ago, I was discussing the 80/20 rule. I referenced the normal distribution or Gaussian distribution or you may know it as the Bell Curve. Yesterday, I flipped it around and talked about the 20/80 rule with regard to writing science fiction. But today I want to go back to a potentially revolutionary invention, created by Elon Musk's Tesla Motors called the Tesla Semi. In the most simplistic terms, it is an all-electric version of an 18-wheeler or semi. First, you need to see a picture of this new vehicle to see how cool it looks:

There are so many elements to cover in understanding what a groundbreaking achievement this truck represents that I will have to split this article up into two pieces. Today, I will just tell you about this vehicle and tomorrow I will tell you how the 80/20 rule applies.

First, this heavy-duty truck runs on batteries, not gasoline. Of course, this is what you'd expect from Tesla. Second, it has a very clean, elegant interior with semi to completely autonomous driving capability. In this way, it is similar to cars built by Tesla but it also has the ability to link up with other Tesla Semis to form autonomous convoys.

I don't imaging this will make truck drivers very happy to know that they can be replaced by a computer but I also suspect it will be a long time until the various states allow these trucks to be fully autonomous without a driver present.

The battery packs themselves are very heavy duty and will allow the truck to travel around 300 or 500 miles on a single charge and when they get to their destination, Tesla's third generation Supercharger stations should have the truck ready to go in 30 minutes, well before it is even unloaded.

Imagine: an all-electric truck. No diesel fuel. No carbon emissions. Total cost of ownership vastly reduced. Plus this thing will accelerate to full speed, fully loaded, that is 0 – 60 mph in 20 seconds. That's better than some people's cars. Tomorrow, I'll explain how the 80/20 rule applies.

## Entry 5-332: November 28, 2017

### Tesla's New Truck Part 2

Yesterday, I introduced you to Tesla Motor's new all-electric semi capable of traveling 300 or 500 miles on a single charge with an enhanced autopilot ability permitting it to run unattended if legal. But how does this help us, the ordinary consumer? The following graphic is from Tesla's own presentation and makes it quite clear why the 80/20 rule applies:

You can see from the image that Mr. Musk claims that 80% of truck routes are 250 miles or less. That means this simple invention can replace 80% of emission-spewing trucks carrying cargo from metropolitan areas, especially in California and the Northeast.

Tesla already has pre-orders for this truck before even a single production model has come off the assembly line. The first customer will be Tesla itself hauling supplies between Tesla's Fremont factory and the Gigafactory 1 in Nevada. Walmart, the Canadian firm of Loblaws and JK Moving services have already placed orders. Currently, Tesla is only accepting orders from North American firms but will eventually spread out to Europe.

Just think of a world where you order a new product from Amazon and they need to move 100,000 from a warehouse to a distribution center near you. A Tesla Semi pulls up, loads up and silently and autonomously transports that load to the distribution center using no diesel fuel, emitting no pollution and costing a fraction of a traditional trucking.

Here's the bottom line: if 80% of the trucks on the road today can be replaced by clean, all-electric trucks, we can cut out 80% of diesel emissions and cut the costs of transporting goods over reasonable distances by 80%. Everyone wins.

The Sun produces enough energy every day to satisfy the world's energy needs for a full year three times over. Why burn fossil fuels, create climate-changing greenhouse gases and pollution when the Sun provides all of this for free?

Like everything else that Elon Musk does, I think this truck is going to change the world.

## Entry 5-333: November 29, 2017

### Bonnie Rules!

A few days ago, we saw Bonnie Mullen as a true hero. She had shot and killed Sussen and absorbed MASAL's Sipre saving the remainder of the Onsiras from the shadow beings tyrannical rule. Now it was time for Rome and Rei to bring Rome's parents and Commander Ursay back from their enslavement and put things right:

It didn't take them long to locate Rome's parents in the real world. Freed of the Sipre's control, together, Binoda and Ursay were able to lead Fridone out of the dwelling where they were being held and met Rei and Rome in the clearing.

Rome walked up to her mother who smiled. Ursay smiled faintly as well. However, Rome was shocked at her father's appearance. He did not even look like himself. His eyes were very dark, almost black and his face had no muscle tone whatsoever.

With a whoosh and a pop, Junior's livetar appeared, holding a white bottle.

"Dad said I should bring these to you," he said, reaching forward to give the bottle to Rome. Rome took the bottle and handed one pill each to Binoda and Ursay. Rome had to force her father but eventually she got him to swallow one as well.

While this was going on, the Onsira community had carried Reema's body into one of the dwellings to lie in state. Rei and Rome went in to pay their final respects. Bonnie was there along with many of her children. Her eyes appeared to glow with a blazing inner spirit. It was almost as if the ethereal world was spilling over into the real world.

"The others. They are calling me Ombare," she said to Rome. "What does that mean?"

"It means Empress," Rome replied. "You are their leader now."

Bonnie nodded. "This feels amazing," she said to them, hugging herself with her arms. "To be a part of such a whole. It's indescribable." She looked at Rome, forcing herself to try and focus on the real world. "I don't know how you ever gave it up."

"I have lived on both sides," Rome said. "I do what is right for me. But I am happy that you are happy."

Rei reached out and Bonnie gave him a hug. "Goodbye, Bonnie," he said, "and good luck."

"Goodbye, Rei," Bonnie replied.

"I truly hope it turns out to be the life you wanted."

"It will be," she answered with a distant look. "You have given me the greatest gift of all time. I can never thank you enough."

"You don't have to," Rei said. "Just make sure that Sipre doesn't get loose and we'll call it even."

"Deal!" Bonnie said. "Deal!" said the children around, mimicking their mother.

It made Rei and Rome laugh.

That is a nice note to leave on. It certainly appears that Bonnie has things under control and Rome and Rei can leave with a clear conscience knowing the Earth will be safe forever.

## Entry 5-334: November 30, 2017

### Together

Yesterday, we saw Bonnie assume her rightful role as leader of the Onsiras. Rome and Rei were able to leave her behind knowing she would correct their errant path and bring them back into the human fold. There was nothing left to do but return Commander Ursay to his home in what used to be known as Portugal and then head back to Deucado along with the newly rescued Aason and Rome's Parents:

Rei, Rome, Ursay and Rome's parents boarded MINIMCOM to begin the voyage home. Their first stop was Amarante. Even in the six short hours it took them to get there, Rome found it amazing how quickly the white pills restored Binoda and Ursay back to their former state. Even her father was coming around. His eyes were already clearing up and returning to their natural brown color.

MINIMCOM and Junior set down in the field by the farmhouse, near where the mesh netting lay. Rei and Rome and Aason accompanied Ursay to the cargo bay. MINIMCOM didn't wait for Rei to press the blue stud. The starship lowered the cargo ramp and raised the cargo hatch before they even arrived at the back of the compartment. Ursay hugged each of them goodbye. He patted Aason on the head.

"You are all heroes," he said. "Many times over. All of humanity owes you a debt which can never be repaid."

Rome acknowledged his words by blushing slightly.

"All in day's work," Rei said in a self-deprecating way. "You got the pills?"

Ursay nodded and opened his palm, showing them the five white capsules he was carrying.

"OK, then goodbye, sir. Thanks for everything."

Ursay shook his head. "I did not do as good of a job as I would have liked."

"It does not matter," Rome said. "The fact is, you were the only one in the world, the whole universe that we trusted. You did your best."

Ursay sighed. "I cannot help but feel I failed you," he said.

"You didn't, sir," Rei said. "What you were up against... What we were all up against. We licked it, together. We only wish good luck for you."

"Thank you," Ursay said then he turned and shuffled his way down the ramp. He got all the way to the ground then stopped. He turned around and started back up the ramp a short distance.

"The Overmind has asked me to remind you that you need not leave," he said. "Now that you have been granted a full and complete pardon, the Earth can be your home again."

"It is a kind offer but we decline," Rome said without hesitation. "Deucado is our home now. We leave the Earth to you and your brethren. The Revolution has begun. You stay, we go."

Was there ever any doubt? No. But before they leave, the Overmind of Earth has something to share with Rome. More on that tomorrow.

## Entry 5-335: December 1, 2017

### The Overmind of Earth, Part 1

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and MINIMCOM had returned Commander Ursay to his home in Amarante which was located in the place formely known as Portugal. Ursay told them that since they were now pardoned, they were welcome to remain on the Earth and live their. This offer was politely but firmly refused by Rome:

"If I cannot dissuade you," Ursay said, "will you do one more thing for me?"

"Of course," Rome replied. "What is that?"

"Please connect to the Overmind again. He states that he has something else that he would like to share with you."

"Very well," Rome said. "I will do it as we begin our trip home."

"Thank you," Ursay said. "In that case, goodbye and good luck to you both." He paused for a moment then continued. "I hope I get to see you again someday."

"Maybe," Rei said. "We'll need a little peace and quiet for a while before we think about it." Ursay touched his fingers to his brow in a semi-salute.

As soon as Ursay was clear, Rei reached over and pressed the blue stud to raise the ramp and lower the hatch. Rome pointed to the cockpit. She instructed her husband and son to make their way forward and make preparations for the journey home. After they were out of sight, she sat down on the floor of the cargo compartment, back against the wall. She closed her eyes, hugged her knees and opened up her connection.

"Hello?" she thought tentatively.

"Hello, Rome," the Overmind replied. "Congratulations on your defeat of MASAL's Sipre and the remaining Onsiras. Ursay tells me you are leaving behind some pills which will end their threat forever."

"Yes," Rome answered. "I know it is hard to believe but this was actually MASAL's wish."

"I know," said the Overmind. "I know much more than you think."

"Fine," Rome said. "But what is it that you wanted?"

"There was something I elected not to share before. It was not relevant and frankly, I was not sure you were going to survive. It did not seem prudent to distract you with such an extraneous piece of information."

"What?" Rome asked.

"During our previous conversation, I was continually probing your mind. I have one other piece of trivia for you which you may find not so trivial."

"Tell me," Rome commanded impatiently. She could feel MINIMCOM's EG lifters energizing as the starship prepared for takeoff.

"Our genetic mapping did not stop when we arrived at Lacy Henry as she preferred to call herself."

Why does this seem so ominous? We'll find out tomorrow.

## Entry 5-336: December 2, 2017

### The Overmind of Earth, Part 2

Yesterday, right as Rome and Rei were dropping off Commander Ursay at his home in Amarante in a place that used to be known as Portugal, Ursay told Rome that the Overmind of Earth wished to speak to her. While unusual, Rome complied. She sent Rei and Aason forward and sat down in the cargo bay to concentrate. The Overmind wanted to share some information that had previously been withheld:

"Our genetic mapping did not stop when we arrived at Lacy Henry as she preferred to call herself," said the Overmind. "Our analysis regarding the human genome was also performed using mitochondrial DNA sequencing which is always passed from mother to child without dilution. My scientists were able to trace nearly every Vuduri back to a single woman who you might refer to as the Mitochondrial Eve. Based upon your mother's genetics, we know that your ancestor was a woman who survived the Great Dying because of a particular mutation which made her resistant to the virus that swept the Earth."

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"Based upon what I saw in your mind, I believe your husband had spoken to her before he started on his mission."

"He did?" Rome asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes," the Overmind said. "Her name was Sally Reynolds."

"What!?" Rome exclaimed. Mentally, she became speechless. She had no idea how to process this information. She turned the name over and over in her mind. Finally, when she was able to respond, she said, "Rei told me that Sally was once the love of his life. And you are telling me that I am her great-great-great granddaughter?"

"Yes."

The starship shuddered as it lifted off the ground. Rome shook herself and stood up. She braced herself by placing her hand against MINIMCOM's outer hull wall.

"Thank you for telling me," she said, "I think." With that, she started to make her way forward.

"You are welcome," the Overmind answered. "Goodbye for now. And good luck..."

Rome cut the connection before he could say anything else. Unsteadily, she entered the corridor leading to the cockpit. By the time she reached the entrance arch, her gait was normal. As she entered the cockpit, she looked over at Rei with new eyes. She hugged him and kissed him passionately before buckling herself into the co-pilot's chair.

"What was that for?" Rei asked. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

Rome just smiled at him. "I'll tell you after we get home. But for now, let's..."

"I know," Rei interrupted her. "Let's get this show on the road! OK, buddy, hit it."

It was just a matter of seconds before the windows turned blacker than black and the shushing noise of the null-fold drive announced they were on their way home.

So, uh, wow. Rei is married to the great, great, great times 20 granddaughter of his previous girlfriend. Talk about your May-December romances! Oh well, they are happy (now) and were clearly meant to be together.

We're headed into the home stretch where we wrap up not on _Rome's Evolution_ , but the whole _Rome's Revolution_ series. Tomorrow, we'll take a brief detour and talk about bananas.

## Entry 5-337: December 3, 2017

### A banana a day keeps the doctor away

We're going to take a quick break from _Rome's Revolution_ to talk about bananas:

Why? You ask. I am not violating any HIPAA laws if I voluntarily report my own medical condition. I take a diuretic called Lasix to reduce fluid retention. It works really well but I have to stick around the house for several hours after taking it because I have to run to the bathroom about 20 times. But after that passes, I'm fine.

However, one of the side effects of Lasix, also known as furosemide, is losing potassium. If you lose too much, the condition is called hypokalaemia which is just potassium deficiency. If you don't treat hypokalaemia, you can end up with severe headaches, leg cramps, tingling in the limbs, heart palpitations, constipation or ultimately death. Not a great outcome so best to act before it gets that bad.

My doctor suggested I eat a banana every day and I had my blood tested after a month and my potassium levels were fine. So there it is, a banana a day keeps the doctor away.

There are other foods higher in potassium such as avocado, acorn squash, spinach, sweet potato, salmon, apricots, pomegranate, coconut water and white beans. And I do try and eat those (well, not sweet potatoes or coconut water) when I can but they aren't very convenient. Try eating a bowl of spinach every morning.

My wife is kind enough to buy me a clump of bananas every week so from a sheer convenience perspective, that's it. I just grab one and eat it wherever. Easy peasy. I try and eat them when they are still a little greenish before all the starch turns to sugar but in a pinch, I'll eat a ripe one until the next batch comes in.

Oh yeah, I forgot one thing. They are delicious, too!

## Entry 5-338: December 4, 2017

### Troutman Redeemed

Two days ago, Rome, Rei and Aason dropped off Ursay and headed into space. Rome's parents were in Junior and the three Bieraks were in MINIMCOM. The next part of the story picks up right after they arrive back home, at Deucado:

After dropping off Junior and her parents at their home on Deucado, Rome, Rei and Aason flew to Helome in MINIMCOM to remand Troutman and Steele into Virga's custody.

Upon arriving at Helome, MINIMCOM flew directly to the Erklirte settlement and landed in a field behind Virga's home. Mother, father and the littlest Bierak exited MINIMCOM along with David Troutman. Steele was being so difficult they decided to leave him in his little cell until they could figure out what to do with him.

Virga and Maury Keller came out to greet them.

"I see you got one of them, at least," Keller said upon spotting Troutman.

"No, sir, we got both of them," Rei said. He pointed over his shoulder toward starship MINIMCOM. "Steele is in a cell we rigged up. He's being completely uncooperative."

"Figures," Keller muttered.

"What do you want us to do with them?" Virga asked.

"This one here, he might be salvageable," Rei said, pointing at Troutman who took a step forward.

"Is it true, sir?" the tall, red-haired man asked Keller. "Are we giving up the fight?"

"We already won," Keller said. "Just a different planet than we thought." He put his arm around Virga and gently rubbed her tummy. At the same time, a little boy wandered out of the house and came and put his arms around his father's leg. "This is a beautiful world. We're given free rein. We don't need to conquer the Earth. We're all working together now."

Troutman's shoulders relaxed. "I'm so glad," he said. "I just want to do something in my life that doesn't include that idiot Steele."

Virga stepped forward and looked up into Troutman's eyes. "Do you renounce your former life of violence and agree to become a contributing member of our society?"

"Yes!" Troutman said enthusiastically, holding up his right hand. "Sign me up."

Rome came over and put her hand on his shoulder. After a moment, she said, "He is telling the truth."

"Good choice," Keller said. "We'll get somebody to fit you with one of these..." He held up his wrist to display the tracking bracelet.

"What is that?" Troutman asked, cocking his head.

"It's like a security GPS kind of thing. It lets the Vuduri track us."

"Why do we need that?"

"Because they, no we, don't want our people messing things up by wandering off and plotting things like you two tried to pull off."

Troutman shrugged. "OK, if you say so. Frankly, I don't care."

Well, I'm glad Troutman had a change of heart. But what about Steele? Tomorrow.

## Entry 5-339: December 5, 2017

### Steele Will Not Repent

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Aason arrived at Helome and gave David Troutman the opportunity to repent which he gladly accepted. Virga laid down the ground rules and Troutman was fine with them. Now it was time to address the Steele situation:

Troutman shrugged. "OK, if you say so. Frankly, I don't care."

"My beautiful wife here," said Keller, "will find you some living quarters."

"Then what?" Troutman asked.

"Then you do what you want. Use your skills for something constructive. I know that they have some crops up north that aren't thriving. They need a certain mineral and they're having trouble finding it. You could use your capabilities to help them locate some."

"That sounds great," Troutman said. "What about Steele? I don't think he's going to go for the same deal."

Keller turned to Virga. "Why don't you take David here, into the house and get him something to drink and I'll go have a talk with Steele?"

"Of course, Maury," Virga said. She swept her arm forward and Troutman and she went into the house. Her little boy followed her inside as well.

In the meantime, Rei, Rome, Aason and Keller walked back up the cargo ramp, through the cargo compartment and stood outside the small room that MINIMCOM had constructed to keep the renegade captive.

"Dan?" Maury called out. "It's me, Maury Keller."

"Captain Keller?" Steele answered back. "Where are we?"

"We are on a beautiful planet in the Alpha Centauri system called Helome."

"Alpha Centauri?" he replied. "What about Earth?"

"No more Earth," Keller said. "This is it."

"But what about the Project?" Steele asked.

"The Project has been completed," Keller replied. "We are making our home here now. We don't need to go back and conquer Earth. The people here have already given us this world."

Steele didn't answer for a moment.

"Sir, they must have done something to you. You would never give up the fight. I know I can't."

"Look, son, we won," Keller said. "We're all creating a new society together, the way we want. That was the goal, after all."

"I don't believe you, sir," Steele said. "We have to take back the Earth. Maybe you've given up but I won't. Ever."

Keller shook his head.

"That's a shame, son," Keller replied. "Well, we're going to put you in a special place and let you think about it for a while. Maybe you'll change your mind eventually."

"Don't hold your breath," Steele answered with disdain in his voice.

"OK," Keller called out and he started walking toward the cargo bay.

Well, that didn't go so well. What will they do with Steele? I'm pretty sure you know.

## Entry 5-340: December 6, 2017

### Steele Disposal

Yesterday, Captain Keller tried to convince the would-be assassin, Dan Steele, that the war was over. He even said the Darwin Project was a success but Steele was having none of it. There was nothing to do with him but send him to a place where, according to Keller, he would have time to think:

Keller was just leaving the cargo bay when he decided to turn and to speak Rei and Rome.

"He's a smart dude," Keller said. "He just needs some time to adjust to the situation. But I won't let them take any chances. Why don't you two wait here and I'll send Virga out and you can take him to the..."

"Prison?" Rei asked.

"Yeah," Keller answered sadly. "I can't take the chance on him being a loose cannon. If I don't see you again..." Keller held out his hand. Rei took it and shook it. "Good luck to you both. I'm glad you caught those two and that's the end of it."

Rei was about to launch into a more detailed explanation. He looked at Rome who subtly shook her head. Rei nodded and said, "Thank you, sir and good luck to you."

"Thanks son," he said. Keller looked around. "Where's Bonnie?" he asked.

"Uh, she decided to stay behind," Rei answered. "We had no objection."

Keller looked at him funny then shrugged. He turned toward Rome. He bent down and tousled Aason's hair then stood up and held out his hand to Rome. "Mrs. Bierak, I don't think in all of human history, I could have been more wrong about someone. You are truly a remarkable woman and you deserve all happiness. You two belong together."

Rome blushed slightly. She was shaking Keller's hand and knew that he was sincere. "Thank you," was all she said. Then she added, "and I am happy for you as well. I am glad you have found peace. Everyone deserves it."

Keller smiled and turned and disappeared down the ramp, only to be replaced by Virga a moment later.

"I understand that you wish to place the other Essessoni in protective custody?"

"Yeah," Rei said. "We'd appreciate it."

"It is not a problem," she said and they walked forward to the cockpit. Rei and Rome buckled into the pilot and co-pilot's seat while Virga buckled into the new 'navigator's' seat. Aason climbed up on his mother's lap where she wrapped her arms around him protectively.

"You remember where the prison is?" Rei asked, directing his voice toward the grille mounted in the front console.

"I am a computer," MINIMCOM said. "Of course I remember."

Aason giggled. Rome did too.

"Just wanted to make sure you didn't hand that piece off to Junior," Rei smirked as he said it.

The starship lifted off and quickly rose in the air, gaining enough altitude to clear the central range of mountains.

Well, that's that. Steele will have a long time to "think" about his situation. There is one more suprise awaiting us when we get to the prison, however.

## Entry 5-341: December 7, 2017

### The Pink Spark

Yesterday, Captain Keller said his goodbyes and Virga joined Rome, Rei and Aason aboard MINIMCOM. Their plan was to take the would-be assassin, Dan Steele, and place him in protective custody until he came to his senses. Keller was rather pessimistic that would ever happen but you never know:

"How is Nick Greer doing?" Rei asked Virga as he stared out the window at the craggy mountains below.

"He is settling in," Virga said. "When you gave him his hand back, it is like he became a different person. He appears to have given up his resentment and violent tendencies. He had a very strong wish to work out in the fresh air. I believe your expression is, he will be OK."

"That's great," Rei said. "Maybe you could have him go visit Steele some day and explain what happened to him."

"Why?" Virga asked.

"Because Steele ended up losing a hand as well. Maybe it will appeal to him."

"How did he lose his hand, if I may ask?"

Rei looked at Rome. "Well, after we hunted him down, he tried to kill me and I accidentally cut it off."

Rome leaned forward. "He pretends he doesn't care but I sense that he does. Perhaps if he sees hope of repair in exchange for his cooperation, it will turn out the same way as Greer."

"It is worth a try," Virga said. "We will give him a little time to consider his circumstances and then we will broach the subject."

MINIMCOM landed outside the sally port for the prison and instantiated a livetar to aid in the transfer of the prisoner. Steele said nothing the whole time as he was being processed and interred. It almost appeared it was something he had experienced before. Their business was concluded very quickly and they were soon on their way back to return Virga to her home.

After they had passed over the central ridge of mountains, Virga stood up and tapped Rome on the shoulder.

"Yes?" Rome asked.

"May I speak with you alone for a moment?" Virga requested.

"Of course," Rome replied. She unbuckled and lifted Aason up and put him in her seat and followed Virga back through the archway into the corridor. Rei craned his neck to see what was going on. He considered closing his eyes and activating his sonar vision but he decided to respect Virga's wish for privacy. He did, however, see Virga whisper something to Rome who nodded vigorously. Virga hugged her. The two women shared a laugh together then returned to the front.

After dropping Virga off at her home, MINIMCOM took them up into the sky and soon the shushing sound of the null-fold drive indicated they were on their way home at hyper-speed.

"Care to share what Virga was discussing with you?" Rei asked.

"You will find out in due time, I assure you," Rome said, cryptically.

Virga could see that Rome was glowing, even if Rei could not. We know that the pink spark that Rei observed in the Ethereal World was Lupe. Virga sensed it too. Rome was all too happy to confirm.

Well, that's that. Everybody is accounted for. It is time to head home and live happily ever after.

## Entry 5-342: December 8, 2017

### Moving Day

Yesterday, Rome and Rei dropped Virga off at home and headed back to Deucado. However, they couldn't go back to their own house because the would-be assassins Troutman and Steele had blown it up. Rome's parents let the three Bieraks crash there until their house was rebuilt. Here is how it went down:

It was early afternoon. Rome's parents had taken the day off to spend time with their daughter and Aason. Rome was sitting at the dining table showing her parents the card game she and Rei had discovered inside the casino at the top of The Hand. She promised not to use her new powers to cheat.

They tried a few hands and Binoda and Fridone were quick to pick up the strategy as long as Rome played normal. The lesson was interrupted by Rei bursting into the house with a huge smile on his face.

"What is it, mau emir?" Rome asked, pleased to see her husband in such good spirits.

"You want the good news or the better news?" Rei asked, beaming.

Rome shrugged. "The good news, I suppose."

"The good Doctor MINIMCOM said I don't have to wear that stupid vest anymore." He pulled up his shirt to show his chest was actually visible to the world again. Rome was thrilled to see his somewhat hairy chest was as buff as ever.

"Wonderful," Rome said, clapping her hands together. "And what is the better news?"

Rei smoothed his shirt down then pumped his fist in the air. He came over and hugged Binoda and Fridone. "I love you folks and we truly appreciate you letting us stay here but..." He turned to look at Rome. "Our house is done!" he said. "Woo hoo." He pumped his fist again.

"We can move back home?" Rome asked excitedly.

"Yep," Rei said. "As soon as you like."

"Hooray," Rome said, standing up. "Mea, Beo, no offense but I am ready to leave."

"No offense taken," Binoda said. "I understand completely. She stood up and pulled Fridone to his feet. "We will help you pack," she said. "I am very happy for you."

It took the rest of the day but by evening, the three Bieraks were back in their rebuilt house. From the outside, there was no longer any evidence of the violent explosion that had blown it apart. Even the trellis had been restored although it would be a while before the fragrant vines came back completely. Inside the house, while the physical structure was identical to before, the homey touches Rome had applied over the years would take some time to replace.

There really is no place like home. Remember, though, we have a few loose ends to tie up.

## Entry 5-343: December 9, 2017

### Why did Rome look familiar?

Yesterday, Rome, Rei and Aason were finally allowed to move back into their house which had to be rebuilt after the would-be assassins, Troutman and Steele, had blown it up with a bomb. Since they didn't really have a lot of belongings, it didn't take them the whole day to move back in:

Mother, father and son had finished their evening meal. After a rousing game of hide and seek, Aason declared himself ready for bed. Rome was happy to oblige. It wasn't long until he was tucked in and fast asleep in his very own bed. It had been a long time for the brave little boy. Rome stood in the doorway and watched her little angel breathe in and out, in and out. Eventually, she sighed a happy sigh and closed the door.

She took one more stroll around their newly rebuilt house then joined Rei in the bedroom which smelled of fresh aerogel. Rei was lying on the bed, without a shirt, reveling in not having to wear the vest any more although it had proved to be invaluable not just in saving his back but in saving his life.

Rome changed into her loose-fitting pajamas and joined her husband on the bed, marveling at the peace and serenity a little thing like being home brought. She snuggled up to Rei and delighted in the fact that she could stroke his chest hairs knowing he was fully healed.

Rei put his arms around her and found the sensations excited him. Rome smiled and said, "There will be plenty of time for that. There is something I need to share with you."

Rei cleared his throat. "I'm not a hundred per cent sure I want you always reading my mind," he said. "There are some things I'd probably want to keep to myself."

"I will respect your privacy," Rome said, scooting up the bed a little. "But there will be times you will not regret it." She smiled broadly but there was a hint of naughty in her expression.

"Oh, yeah," Rei said. "In this case, I think you're right. But I believe I owe you a session like you gave me during your training."

"I would like that," Rome answered, "but I promised you I would tell you the information the Overmind of Earth imparted to me just before we left the planet."

"What?" Rei asked, not knowing whether to be dismayed or intrigued.

"Do you recall the first time you saw my face back on Dara? I was on the other side of the bulkhead. You once told me I looked familiar to you even though you had never seen me before."

"Yeah," Rei answered. "I figured it was because I might have seen your face in your spacesuit helmet when you revived me."

"No," Rome said mysteriously. "That is not why."

"Then why?"

Tomorrow, we will find out.

## Entry 5-344: December 10, 2017

### Sally 2.0

Yesterday, Rome promised to tell Rei why he thought she looked familiar to him even though he had never seen her before. To refresh your memory, here is a small portion from the opening of _Rome's Revolution_ :

Rei was startled to see a face staring back at him. He jumped back and once again, pain shot through his spine, only slightly less intense this time. The face on the other side of the porthole was female with long dark hair. **She looked familiar and exotic at the same time** and if he didn't know better, he'd swear her eyes were glowing.

I always had an explanation for this but after five novels, I figured it was time to put it on the table:

Rome said, "As I explained to you, the Overmind of Earth had done a genetic analysis of all living Vuduri in order to produce his Slayer program."

"Sure," Rei said. "You are the generations removed granddaughter of Hanry Ta Jihn. That is really sleek in a way. He truly was a great man. And I get to be married to you!"

"Yes, it is sleek," Rome said. "I choose to ignore the manipulation that led to my birth. I am here and that is that. However, that is not what I wanted to tell you."

"Ok, so what is it?'

"The genetic analysis did not stop there. The Overmind's scientists went all the way back to what the Overmind called the 'Mitochondrial Eve'. She was one of the few women who made it through the Great Dying."

"That doesn't surprise me," Rei said, nodding his head. "When you think about it, it's only logical. The Vuduri who are alive today are descended from people who survived the Great Dying. That's just common sense."

"Perhaps," Rome said. "But the Overmind told me specifically who my ancestor really was."

"He knew that?" Rei asked, puzzled.

"Yes," Rome replied. "Her name was Sally Reynolds."

Rei's jaw dropped open. "Uh, uh," was all he could say. Finally, he whispered, "My Sally?"

"Yes," Rome said proudly. "And that was why I was familiar to you. I am her great, great, great, great granddaughter."

Rei couldn't decide if he was horrified or delighted.

"Holy mackerel," he said finally. He put his head down and thought about it for a bit. "I knew she had some sort of freakish immune system because of the incident in Brazil but... Oh wow." He looked up at Rome. "Her father was the chairman of the Reynolds Corporation. She got me into the Ark program, even though I wasn't ranked. She told me on our last night together that I was going to meet the love of my life among the stars. And all the time it was her who was responsible. How did she know?"

Rome shook her head. "All of us think of time as if it were volma, movies, where each moment leads to the next and our consciousness just travels along that road, skipping from frame to frame."

"Well, sure," Rei said. "What else is there?"

Rome touched her finger to her chin. "Maybe that way of thinking is wrong."

Tomorrow, we'll review Rome's theory of time travel.

## Entry 5-345: December 11, 2017

### Rome's Theory of Time Travel

Yesterday, Rome started to explain to Rei her theory of time travel. Not in the science fiction sense but in the psychological sense. Something she had personally experienced:

Rome continued, "Perhaps time is more like a long river than a series of individual moments. Perhaps our consciousness normally just floats along. But maybe some people can travel up or down that river, with their minds. A form of time travel."

"That sounds like string theory to me," Rei observed. "I'm not buying it. My mind can only think of now. The rest is the past or the future."

"You, yourself once called the Chara mission a 'damned time machine'. So even you acknowledged the possibility."

"I was speaking metaphorically," Rei protested. "I mean, we go to sleep and wake up in the morning. That doesn't really count as time travel."

"All right, explain this then," Rome countered. "Four years ago, before I had even given birth, I was in the Vuduri compound and had a bad dream. A nightmare really." Rome shivered. "In that dream, a black hooded stranger came to take our son. When I would not agree, he grew until he filled the sky, just like the Sipre. In the dream, it was Aason who saved me but upon reflection, I think it was OMCOM's genetic manipulation of you that allowed us to defeat him. You were Aason's creator."

"Dreams don't count," Rei said. "Everybody has them. That had to be a coincidence."

"You always say there ain't no such thing as a coincidence."

Rei set his jaw. "I still don't believe it."

"Well I do," Rome insisted. "When we were under the Tevatron, when I first touched the dried blood of Hanry Ta Jihn, my ancestor as it turns out, my mind flashed back to his time as if I was there in person. I feel like I went down the river." Rome reached up and touched Rei's cheek. "That is all I am saying. Perhaps Sally was someone who could travel up the river, forward to our time. Maybe she saw our future together like I saw the past."

"That's too heavy to even consider," Rei said. "But if there were ever any doubt we were fated to be together, I guess this seals the deal."

Rome pulled Rei's head forward and kissed him on his cheek. "You are right. Now that we have settled our score with those that wanted to bring us harm, it's time to get on with our lives. Together."

"Yep," Rei said. "On this wonderful little planet. I always thought it was a plain Jane, nothing world but every time we dig, like with the 'blankets', we find out there is more to it. Like peeling back the layers of an onion."

"Yes," Rome said happily. "I love this little world. Our world."

"And I love you," Rei said. He kissed her deeply and drew his hand up, first to her chest then down her front, stopping when he got to her stomach. The private moment Rome and Virga shared before they took Virga home flashed into his mind.

Rome's explanation sounds a lot like the TV show Quantum Leap except Rome was a passive viewer and could not interact with the past. And Sally's preview didn't really change anything either.

Tomorrow, the final secret is revealed.

## Entry 5-346: December 12, 2017

### Lupe is coming!

Yesterday, Rome had explained to Rei her theory of time. While you couldn't actually travel backwards or forwards in the physical sense, your mind could travel "up the river" or down and you could experience (but not interact) with a point along the timeline. While Rei did not fully subscribe to the theory, he could not refute Rome's evidence. They put the discussion aside because Rei had something that had been nagging at him since they left Helome and he finally remembered to ask Rome about it:

The private moment Rome and Virga shared before they took Virga home flashed into his mind. "Hey," he said, pulling his head back. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Yes, mau emir?" She put her hand on top of his, caressing it tenderly.

"When we were tussling with the Sipre, in the ethereal world, I saw your spirit as a bright red flame. But there was this little pink spark, like a pixie, that seemed to always follow you around. That spark was so bright but it never strayed from being beside you. It wasn't one of the Onsira children. Their sparks were black or at least they were until Bonnie came along."

Rome took Rei's hand and began moving it in a circular motion around her abdomen. "That tiny spark was Lupe," she said, smiling. "She is coming."

"What?" Rei said, sitting bolt upright. "I'm going to be a father again?"

"Yes," Rome replied, her smile getting even broader. "She was conceived during our training night together. I suppose it was just the right time."

Rei laughed. "That is so sleek."

Rome cocked her head. "You'll have to wait and see about that. You may end up changing your mind."

"Why?" Rei asked, confused.

"I have already spoken to her."

"You have?" Rei tried to act surprised but in this brave new world, almost nothing surprised him anymore.

"Yes, but unlike Aason, I must give you fair warning. This one is going to be a handful. I believe your word for it is a brat."

"A brat, huh?" Rei breathed. "Daughters always are," he said, kissing Rome's nose. "But we'll love her all the more."

"Yes, we will," Rome said. She smiled seductively and took Rei's hand and moved it even lower. "But for tonight, it is just you and me and we are home again."

Rei nodded his head vigorously and focused on his wife, his beautiful wife, the love of his life. She was the one he was fated to be with since the beginning of time. Their enemies had been vanquished. There was peace everywhere. Their love-making began in earnest knowing all was right with the world, no, the universe, now and forever more.

These two people have been through a lot. They deserve a little peace and quiet. And happiness. And now they are going to have a new baby. Yet another adventure.

## Entry 5-347: December 13, 2017

### The End?

Yesterday, Rome and Rei returned to their home world of Deucado and it would appear that they live happily ever after. Originally, it was my plan to have them do so. So I wrote a postscript that was supposed to announce to you, the reader, that was my plan. Here is that postscript:

This is the end of the story arc concerning Rei and Rome. While they have some ups and downs, in large part, they go on to live very happy and productive lives together. No one and nothing tries to kill them again. They are not called upon to save the human race yet another time. The peace they experience is the peace they so richly earned.

However, it is not the end of the world of the 35th century. Life continues, not only for Rei and Rome, but for all the humans of that age. At this point, there is one unspoken fact, a subtext, underlying everyone's assumptions that will turn out to be wrong. That fact is this: if there were an Olympic competition between the three inhabited worlds, Helome would win the gold medal uncontested. Earth would take home the silver medal handily but win the prize for the most important world. Deucado would win the bronze but only because it had no other competition. In every category, this plain unpretentious world would seem to have gotten the short end of the stick.

Poor drab Deucado.

The small planet had been bashed to bits for billions of years, and yet it kept spinning in its orbit around the parent star, Tau Ceti, watched over by its gigantic brother Grentadar. The fact that life had survived, let alone thrived on this little world, despite overwhelming adversity, was a cosmic miracle. The constant rain of death from above made it more resilient and tougher than Earth or Helome. With its new shield of protection and the four major races of mankind living in peace, Deucado, 'the little planet that could', would continue to develop and evolve at an accelerating pace.

There was no dominant race on this planet and certainly nowhere where the Essessoni and Deucadons had as much influence. From this world would spring the outward bound industry and ventures that would benefit all of humanity. Not the Earth, controlled by the Overmind and segregated into its enclaves of Vuduri and mandasurte and certainly not the ethnically pure world of Helome. No, it was Deucado that was destined to eclipse Earth some day as the focus of the human adventure and become the crown jewel of the empire of Man.

Rome's library was simply the first seed planted in the new garden of knowledge of mankind. Her Library of Life would blossom forth and be at the center of it all. But as we already know, life and intelligence is not limited to just humans. There are many other life-forms out there, waiting to be discovered, with their own lives, their own wants, needs and desires. And that, my friends, is why the story will never end.

It really was my plan to retire the Rome and Rei story line. I already knew I wanted to start with "the next generation" meaning Lupe and Aason. But you will see, if you read _The Milk Run_ , I couldn't help myself. I brought the parents back and ultimately made them virtually immortal. Where I go from there, I don't know. Tomorrow, I'll give you the teaser I wrote for _The Milk Run_ before I had put down a single word.

## Entry 5-348: December 14, 2017

The Milk Run Teaser Part 1

Yesterday, I told you about my theoretical wrap-up of the Rome and Rei saga. I had already decided I was moving on with the "next generation" of characters so I wrote this little teaser long before I actually started writing the novel itself. In a way, it kind of painted me into a corner but it was a very large corner. I had a glimmer of an idea about _The Milk Run_ so this generic teaser was not _too_ restrictive. I broke it into two pieces. Here is Part 1:

Year 3476 AD (1395 PR)

**(17 years after the end of** _Rome's Evolution_ **)**

21-year-old Aason Bierak stood with his arms folded across his broad chest, scowling while his parents fussed over his younger sister. He was anxious to get started and to him the prolonged goodbyes seemed interminable.

"You listen to your brother," Aason's mother, Rome said to his sister, Lupe. "He's in charge. You do what he says."

"What about OMCOM?" Lupe asked as if she didn't know.

"The livetar we are sending along is just a subset of our OMCOM's core. He's there for a system upgrade only," Lupe's father, Rei, interjected. "He can advise you but he's not in charge of you."

"What about Planet OMCOM?"

"Same thing. Aason is in charge. Nobody else."

"I get it," Lupe said. "OK. Goodbye, Mother," she said and she hugged her mother tightly. At five foot six, she felt like she towered over her mother, having inherited some of her father's height. But even though she was only sixteen and a half, with her dark hair and glowing eyes, she already looked like a clone of Rome, just taller.

"I will miss you," Rome said. "Hurry back."

"Sure," replied Lupe. She stepped to her left and hugged her father. "I love you both," she said then she turned and skipped away, heading for the cargo ramp leading up to the all-black starship sitting on the landing strip.

"Aason, you watch over her," Rome said. "She is still a baby."

"Of course, Mom," Aason said. "There's nothing to worry about. Dad told me this is a milk run."

"What is a milk run?" Rome asked, looking over at her husband.

"He told me it's a quick trip just to grab something at the store."

"In that case, he is wrong. There is no such thing as a milk run in space," Rome said, looking back at her son. "You know we would be going with you if we could."

"I know, Mom," Aason said. "But Grandmea needs you more, right now. Grandbeo has to get better."

Rome opened her arms and Aason allowed her to hug him tight. "You are so grown up!" she exclaimed. Aason didn't even bother to blush. He gave his father a manly hug and twirled around toward the starship awaiting him. As Aason reached the top of the ramp, before he entered the cargo section, he turned and looked back at his parents one more time. His father had his long arms draped over his mother, holding her gently.

Tomorrow, we will complete the roster of characters and that is truly the end of _Rome's Evolution_.

## Entry 5-349: December 15, 2017

The Milk Run Teaser Part 2

Previously, I told you about my theoretical wrap-up of the Rome and Rei saga. I had already decided I was moving on with the "next generation" of characters so I wrote this little teaser long before I actually started writing the novel itself. In a way, it kind of painted me into a corner but it was a very large corner. I had a glimmer of an idea about _The Milk Run_ so this generic teaser was not _too_ restrictive. I broke it into two pieces. Yesterday, I presented Part 1. Here is the final part, Part 2:

Year 3476 AD (1395 PR)

**(17 years after the end of** _Rome's Evolution_ **)**

Rome opened up her PPT channel and "spoke" to Aason directly into his mind.

"I am very proud of you, Son," she said. "You be careful."

Aason smiled.

"Always, Mother," he thought back. The handsome young man, well over six feet tall, leaned over to press the blue stud to retract the cargo ramp and lower the hatch. His parents waved at him until they were out of view. Turning forward, Aason made his way directly to the cockpit where Lupe was already seated in the copilot's chair on the right. Aason buckled himself in the pilot's chair on the left.

Rome's voice came through Junior's grille loud and clear.

"OMCOM, I need you to watch out for my children. They are the most precious things in all the world. No detours. You are to go there, do your business, then return."

"Of course," OMCOM said. "Junior and I will take care of them," replied the animated shell that was connected to a subset of the computer taking up temporary residence within Junior's memron structure.

Aason twisted to his right. "Make sure your harness is snug," Aason said to his younger sister. "He's been getting a little wild with his takeoffs recently."

"He does it because that's the way I like it," replied Lupe in a slightly irritated tone. "I'm not a baby. I can take care of myself," she said. Nonetheless, she tugged on the X-harness tabs one more time.

"She will be fine, Aason," said the two-meter tall all-white being standing behind them. "Lupe has done this before," OMCOM added.

"I'm her big brother," countered Aason. "I'm allowed to worry about her. Ultimately, it's my responsibility. This is the first time they're letting us go this far alone and I want it to start out right."

"Understood," OMCOM replied patiently.

While it was probably unnecessary, Aason checked the instrument panel one last time. All the readings looked good. He tugged on his own harness once more then said, "OK, Junior, I think we're ready to go. It's up to you."

"You got it, Cuz," came the starship's voice from the grille built into the console. Vaguely mechanical noises issued from the back.

"Despite the fact that she likes it, maybe you could take it a little easy this one time?" Aason requested.

"Roger that," replied the sleek starship, the first of a breed "born" rather than built. "Even so, hold on to your hats."

The powerful EG lifters came up to speed and the jet-black craft leaped into the sky.

When I originally wrote this, MINIMCOM was the spacecraft so at least I had the foresight to switch it to MINIMCOM, Jr. And on that note, this is the end of the review of _Rome's Evolution_ , tomorrow, we'll examine some of the big ideas I wanted to exploit in _The Milk Run_.

## Entry 5-350: December 16, 2017

### Big Ideas

Yesterday, we wrapped up our discussion of _Rome's Evolution_ including the teaser for _The Milk Run_ which was written before I actually wrote the novel. I had painted myself into a bit of a corner but it was a large and generous corner. At the end, we left Rome and Rei on their home world of Deucado and take up the mantle of the new generation, a grown-up Aason and Lupe.

Now we look to the future. You may find this a bit of bad news but it is for a good reason. I've really enjoyed writing _Tales of the Vuduri_ over the last five years but it does eat up a lot of time. I found that many weekends, all of my writing time was eaten up by trying to create daily posts. I have a lot of stories left in me and a lot of big ideas and I have come to the conclusion that the only way I can get back into writing is to put this blog on pause for a while.

I will certainly finish out this year, Year Five, but then that's it for the foreseeable future. Over the next two weeks, I'll try and pull out the Big Ideas from _The Milk Run_ so you can spot them in the narrative. But then that's it. As I said, I will hit the pause button. So what will I do instead?

As I have mentioned before, I have split off Part 1 of _Rome's Revolution_ and rewritten it nearly completely as a standalone novel entitled _Rebirth_. I will do the same thing for Part 2 ( _Rebellion_ ) and Part 3 ( _Redemption_ ) and call this new series _The Rome's Revolution Saga_. Then I will record each of the 60,000 word short novels as audiobooks. I'll publish all three electronically and audibly simultaneously.

Finally, I will take all three novels, smush them back together and re-release _Rome's Revolution_ as a three-part epic, similar to the current edition. I got permission from Audible to reuse the previously recorded portions for the mini-novels so there will be a super-sized audiobook for _Rome's Revolution_ as well. I hope to finish all of this in 2018. I really want to move forward and get my body of work to Netflix. They are always looking for fresh, original material and I believe I need all these novels "in the can" before I approach Netflix or another streaming service or even an agent.

Once that process is launched, then what? Who knows? I am thinking of writing _MASAL - The Robot War_ and _The Vuduri Knight_. I also want to write the series called _The Immortals_. Maybe something else will come to me by then completely off the beaten path? Stay tuned.

## Entry 5-351: December 17, 2017

### More on Big Ideas

Yesterday, I mentioned that I had a lot of "big ideas" for new novels moving forward. As I was writing that post, I realized that I also had "big ideas" when I decided to write _The Milk Run_. Since I don't have a lot of time left (only two weeks) to cover these, I cherry-picked the best ideas from that book and will cover them over the next 15 days or so. Here is a list of just some of the ideas I wanted to cover:

\- Exploring a grownup Aason and Lupe Bierak

\- Creating a cosmic detective story based upon a mistake

\- The amazing coincidence of that "new to Lupe" was really Nu2 Lupi

\- Creating the mystery of the K'val by writing the story backwards

\- Revealing what happened to the final Ark, Ark IV

\- Exploring what an ice planet might be like.

\- Exploring creatures with blood based upon cyanoglobin

\- Reliving Rome's training with Aason and Aroline

\- Trying to create a realistic first contact with a true alien species

\- A 35th century dogfight over the skies of Ay'den

\- Exploring plant people, from seedlings to ambulatory to trees

\- Speculating on silicon-based DNA, the living crystals

\- Introducing a creature, Molokai, who claimed to be a god

\- Slicing off Aason's hand as the ultimate act of friendship

\- Creating the largest starship in the galaxy

\- Speculating on higher and higher dimensions, in infinite directions

\- Bringing back the Stareaters as a plot device

\- Exploring life as a shrimp (huh?)

\- Demonstrating that purgatory is real and speculating on its purpose

\- Determining the purpose of the soul

\- Proving that Hell is mathematically impossible

\- Speculating about a Heaven, inhabited by gods

\- Speculating on God, above all else

\- Bringing back the characters Jack and Lacy Henry, in Heaven

\- What would gods fight about?

\- The nature of consciousness and the soul of a machine

\- Creating a "cute" version of Junior, Junior, Jr.

\- Granting Rome and Rei immortality

These are just _some_ of the ideas that I wanted to explore in _The Milk Run_. If I had another year of blogging left in me, I would cover them in much more detail. But as it is, you'll have to settle for a capsule version so I can embark on my quest to take _Rome's Revolution_ to Netflix and beyond.

## Entry 5-352: December 18, 2017

### Is this Rama?

About a month and half ago, I wrote an article about a strange object that scientists detected as it was passing by our Earth. The object was originally called A/2017 U1 and was first discovered on October 19, 2017. It has since been renamed 'Oumuamua and last week, scientists trained the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia on the object to see if it was emanating any radio transmissions. Why would they do that? Just take a look at artist M. Kornmesser's rendition of what the object might look like:

(Image courtesy of M. Kornmesser/European Southern Observatory/AFP)

Does this look familiar? It should. It appears to be taken straight from Arthur C. Clarke's novel Rendezvous with Rama which was a story about an alien spacecraft that swings by our solar system. Rama was clearly artificial in origin and its only purpose was to attract technologically competent species and take them who knows where. Sort of an intergalactic Venus fly-trap or zoo keeper.

So far, the object has been silent. That doesn't mean it isn't artificial in nature but it doesn't mean it is, either.

The mission to "listen" to the object is part of the Breakthrough Listen initiative: a $100 million project, backed by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, to hunt for extraterrestrial intelligence. The project is also sponsored by Stephen Hawking to apply more sophisticated techniques to SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, that have been utilized previously.

Of course, had they found something, you would have heard about it by now. 'Oumuamua's unusual shape and trajectory are intriguing but certainly not out of the realm of possibility for a natural object. Most asteroids are spherical in shape so 'Oumuamua elongated appearance might just be odd or perhaps a proper interstellar spacecraft. Only time will tell but so far, not a peep. And we aren't quite up to sending an exploratory probe to an object leaving our solar system at 196,000 mph, nearly 27 miles per second.

I guess we'll have to wait for the next one. I suggest you read _Rendezvous with Rama_ in the mean time to get ready.

## Entry 5-353: December 19, 2017

### Aason and Lupe

Two days ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Today I would like to cover why using a grown up Aason and Lupe Bierak was such a neat idea.

The 35th century world of _Rome's Revolution_ was a hard place to map out. I had to write an entire future history of what happened over the next 14 centuries. I had to imagine a society that was knocked back to the Stone Age and had to pull itself up by the bootstraps so that it rivaled our exceeded our technological competence but not so far as to be incomprehensible.

I also spent a long time developing the characters of Rei and Rome and even spotted them two children when the story seemed to dictate it. Each of them had a unique personality so it was actually enjoyable to figure out how their children would grow up and who they'd become.

Because Aason was the first born, almost the first of a new species, I made him a sweet, intelligent, brave and kind individual, handsome of course, so that he would truyly represent the White Knight that Rei only aspired to be.

Lupe, the younger one, had to craft a different personality to distinguish herself and pull herself out of Aason's shadow. That she was prophesied to be the great communicator of the galaxy was probably a burden she resented to some degree. So I made her a little bratty but someone whom everybody loved nonetheless.

But it was Aason's personality that drove the story so I had Lupe kidnapped within the first two paragraphs and Aason spent the rest of the story looking for her. We learned more about her personality from flashbacks to Aason's life and his experiences with his little sister.

It was kind of a fun way to write a story. I don't know that I'll do it again. And if I ever get around to writing _The Vuduri Knight_ , starring Aason's son, Rory, Lupe will be the "guest hero" who saves the day.

I hope you get to read the book some day and enjoy it for what it's worth. A little slice of life of two extraordinary kids growing up in an age of wonders.

## Entry 5-354: December 20, 2017

### A Cosmic Detective Story

Several days ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Today I would like to explain why I decided to write this book as a cosmic detective story.

In all the previous books, I had clues and foreshadowing as that is standard practice in writing any kind of novel. It wasn't a problem since I knew about what was coming but this time I went full bore and wrote the entire outline before I started. Therefore I knew presenting each event when it occurred, even if it appeared out of context, would be mystifying to the reader but they would ultimately be able to put all the pieces together at the end.

Stated another way, to write a proper detective story, you have to write it backwards. This whole book was to be Aason's voyage of discovery and I had to know what he was going to discover. I knew he was going to find the lost Ark IV by accident. I knew he was going to meet a creature who thought he was a god. I knew Aason would meet plant people. And finally, I knew Aason would travel to Heaven (and Hell) to find his sister.

So each section of the book was divided up into its own sub-mysteries and as the answers became clear, they would only lead to more questions and more mysteries. The overriding mystery, of course, was who kidnapped Lupe and why. But the sub-mysteries were what did Lupe mean by "New to Lupe" and who were the K'val and why did they have an invisible planet? Also, another mystery was who was Molokai and did he really come from Heaven? I even wanted to explore the mystery of the meaning of life, the soul and the afterlife. You might not agree with my conclusions but I am hoping you at least enjoy the journey.

It was quite liberating and quite fun to do it this way but I don't think I'm going to do it again. Maybe someday I'll write a true detective mystery, not science fiction, and take my cues from how I approached _The Milk Run_. I think that would be fun.

But for right now, I have to buckle down, finish up this blog, finish up _The Rome's Revolution Saga_ and get it on Netflix. Then maybe I'll look at other worlds to conquer.

## Entry 5-355: December 21, 2017

### New to Lupe

Several days ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Today I wanted to talk about a critical plot element which was totally coincidental. When Lupe is kidnapped at the beginning of the book, she whispers "New to Lupe" to Aason and then disappears. But the fact is, that wasn't what she said at all. She was saying "Nu2 Lupi" which is the name of a star and, as it turns out, the target of the long lost Ark IV. So how did this happen? Did I plan this?

I have always claimed these stories were true but that they just haven't happened yet. How else can you explain the amazing coincidences when elements I throw in randomly, years earlier, coalesce and become critical plot elements that drive future stories forward?

For example, I wrote about a terrible plague called "The Great Dying" as part of my future history. And later when I was constructing how the Arks were to be built, I made the forward 20% of the sarcophagi armored so that they would survive even a catastrophic crash. And I also wrote about a crazy future war between returning spacemen, the Ark V, and a hero named Hanry Ta Jihn, who started a revolt and saved the Earth.

I did not know until I wrote _The Ark Lords_ that these seemingly random events were all related. I swear I did not know about the Darwin Project and the Darwin Virus Strain 4, aka the Lupine Flu, until I wrote that sequel. Everything fit together like a glove and I had the revelation that the Darwin people were, in fact, the ones that released the virus as part of their long term plan to "reboot" the Earth. How could I have known?

And so it was, when Rome and Rei were going to have a daughter, I decided to name her Lupe which was my daughter's Spanish name when she was taking Spanish in high school. After all, I named Rome and Rei's son Aason after my own son, Aaron. It seemed only fitting that their daughter be named after my daughter.

I had always known that the Ark IV had gone to Nu2 Lupi but I never put two and two together. It wasn't until I started writing the book that I came up with that phrase which supplied enough juice to power two chapters. What are the odds?

I don't know where these ideas come from but sometimes they are so weird that I have to believe they stem from a non-random information source. In this case, a possible timeline to the future. Do you believe me?

## Entry 5-356: December 22, 2017

### Creating the K'val

Several days ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I wanted to talk about the first actual aliens that my humans of the 35th century encounter, the plant people named the K'val. Here is a picture of Sh'ev, in case you don't remember:

To me, it is obvious that there _has_ to be other planets out there with intelligent life. On Helome and Deucado, we had life and on Deucado, we had evidence that there was intelligent life some time in the distant path. There is no argument that the Stareaters were intelligent but we still don't know if they are alive or just incredible machines. Nonetheless, it was time to invent true aliens and I didn't want to just to take some humans and slap on some plastic prosthetics and have them speak English. So I decided let's start with intelligent plants.

To start, I wanted to take you to Hades, the sixth planet out in the Nu2 Lupi system and make it hellishly cold. When the Ark IV set out for that star system, the scientists back on Earth figured that the fifth world, Planet E, later to be known as Ay'den would be the most suitable for humans. But when the colonists got there, Planet E was nowhere to be found. Luckily, and I use the word loosely, the scientists also knew that Planet F, later known as Hades, could also sustain human life, however uncomfortably.

The people living on Hades were under duress during their entire four decade stay so the last thing they needed was a bunch of rabid aliens coming in, torturing and killing them and kidnapping them. What could possibly motivate an intelligent alien race to do that to a bunch of cold and hungry people, a thousand strong?

So I wrote the long history of the K'val and then worked it backwards. They owed their very existence to the would-be god, Molokai and he commanded them to go forth and grab the humans under the threat of pain to their loved ones. In other words, they were not inherently evil, just extorted into performing acts which were actually against their nature. The history of the K'val was recounted fully in the short story collection _The Vuduri Companion_. Keeping in line with the idea that _The Milk Run_ would be presented as a cosmic mystery story. So the K'val became a mini-mystery.

However, our hero, Aason Bierak, was eventually able to use the abilities he inherited from his mother to communicate with the aliens, determine why they were attacking humans and he acted to rectify the problems. In fact, the first K'val he encountered, Sh'ev B'oush, became one of his best friends. The K'val themselves became the first alien members of the human-led Galactic Union. Sh'ev even makes a guest appearance in a short story entitled _The Immortals_ and his son, B'shev are the stars of _The Vuduri Knight_ , if I ever write it. I like the K'val, they are good and caring creatures and fierce warriors. They are great to have a friends and should be feared as enemies. I hope I get time to explore their lives and culture more down the road.

## Entry 5-357: December 23, 2017

### The Ark IV

About a week ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I wanted to talk about the Ark program and the Ark IV in particular.

In case you forgot, the Arks were built of several sections. The lead section was the command compartment and the service module which also contained the SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit) booster for returning to space. The next section was the crew compartment that looked like this:

The next section was the cargo compartment which was just a little larger than the crew compartment. On all the other Arks, the last section was the propulsion module. The Ark IV was different. It had an extra propulsion module used to get the Ark up to speed then it dropped off and then Ark IV looked like all the other Arks. The reason for the extra booster was because Nu2 Lupi, the target for Ark IV, was an incredible 48 light years away. The only reason they sent an Ark such a long distance is because the Sagan mission told them there were not one but two habitable planets, doubling the chances of a successful launch.

The Arks were designed to travel at 5% of the speed of light meaning the Ark IV should have taken about 960 years to get there under optimal conditions. It was so far away that the designers felt their Grey drive wouldn't have enough juice to get them the whold way hence the extra propulsion module. In reality, it took them closer to 1300 years, that's 13 centuries, to get there. In fact, when Aason Bierak came across the settlers on Hades, they hadn't even been there for a hundred years.

Amazingly enough, the landing procedures for the Ark IV worked perfectly even after such a long trip. The command crew separated the cargo compartment and flew the crew compartment down to the surface and landed. They then ignited the SSTO booster and flew back up into space and docked with the cargo compartment. They jettisoned the propulsion module and landed the cargo compartment fairly close to the crew compartment.

The reanimated colonists went about their business setting up their new home, the Darwin people started their secret agenda and all was well until the K'val arrived. This was not anything the planners of the Ark program could have planned for.

## Entry 5-358: December 24, 2017

### The Ice Planet

A week ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I wanted to talk about the idea of an ice planet, one just at the far edge of the habitable zone. My thinking was that the planet cannot be so cold that there is never any liquid water. I didn't think life could start on such a world and it was important that I had some life there. And that life, such as it was, would have to adapt to maintaining whatever warmth the sun could provide.

So I started with the plants. I figured that leaves would be very inefficient. They maximize surface area to capture sunlight at the expense of exposure. So I made the trees, at least, toughened and I made their bark the photosynthetic surface. A cylinder would have the least surface area exposed and the trees simply had to grow large to collect sunlight. I also wanted to portray the trees as crazy zig-zag, like Superman's Fortress of Solitude, as if they were huddling together for warmth. Here is my original concept art and then my brother Bruce's full realization which you can click to zoom in on:

If you look carefully in the middle of the lower image, you can see the Ice Saberoo hiding beneath the snow and leaves. I made his primary sense modality infrared since warmth would be the most treasured commodity on the planet. The two things on the top of his head are not ears but extremely sensitive heat detectors which he keeps balled up when not in use. Again this is to minimize heat loss.

When the colonists from Ark IV arrived there, they settled on the equator where there was liquid water a few months out of the year and they made their homes deep in the woods for maximum protection against the elements. It wasn't comfortable but it was survivable. It is luck for them that Aason Bierak came along and discovered their whereabouts. A rescue or resupply mission would come as soon as he found his sister and returned to Deucado.

## Entry 5-359: December 25, 2017

### Cyanoglobin

A week ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I wanted to talk about cyanoglobin versus hemoglobin. Why? My thinking was that not every planet would be iron-rich. I postulated that Hades, the Ice Planet, was copper-rich and iron-poor so that if life was going to evolve, it would have to make that part of its plans. Take a look at this chart showing the different types of blood (Chart courtesy of Andy Brunning and Compound Interest)

You can click on the image to get a zoomed-in version. Note the second block, entitled haemocyanin (the British spelling) which is the proper scientific term for cyanoglobin. This is the principle oxygen-carrying molecule in spiders, crustaceans, shrimp! and horseshoe crabs. According to the author, unlike hemoglobin, hemocyanin does not bind to blood cells but rather circulates freely in the blood. And just like hemoglobin, it is a different color, nearly clear, when it is devoid of oxygen and bright blue when fully oxygenated.

Another little tidbit that I found out is that while hemocyanin is only a quarter as efficient in transporting oxygen as hemoglobin, it performs better in cold environments with low oxygen pressure. Like under the sea or, you guessed, the ice planet Hades. We have a winner! According to Sean McGrath, "It is not that hemocyanin gets better at carrying oxygen at low temperatures; it is just that hemoglobin gets worse at low temperatures."

Since shrimp becomes an important theme later in the book and I worked with horseshoe crabs in graduate school, I thought I'd give them and their blue blood its due. You might be interested to know that the blood of horseshoe crabs is harvested and used in the treatment of bladder and prostate cancer. The hemocyanin contains a specific antigen that causes the human immune system to start making an antibody that also destroys tumor cells. Pretty neat, huh?

## Entry 5-360: December 26, 2017

### Blasts from the past

A week ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I wanted to talk about Aason Bierak getting ready for first contact with true aliens, the plant people known as the K'val.

One of my favorite things to do is to bring back some scenes from the past and incorporate them in new ways in my new books. One of the more memorable scenes in _Rome's Evolution_ was Rome's training night with Rei. In a somewhat awkward conversation, OMCOM had to explain to Rome that she needed to use a sexual interlude to learn how to be a telepath. In _The Milk Run_ , Aason had to become not only a mind-reader but a mind-writer too. He had to be able to transmit his thoughts to his target, not just detect what they were thinking.

So once again, sex and the awkward conversation that preceded it had to be invoked both as an homage to Aason's parents as well as continuity with the next generation:

OMCOM said, "You have all the same abilities that your sister does. You could learn to harness them as she did."

Aason stood up. "She's been in training for 10 years. How am I going to acquire that kind of skill in a few short hours?"

"Well..." OMCOM hesitated. He turned to look at Aroline. "Young lady, I know this will seem like a strange and completely inappropriate question but are you a virgin?"

"What?" Aroline gurgled. She stared at the livetar but his expressionless face gave her no further insight. She looked down at her lap and said, "No," in a very quiet voice.

"Very well," OMCOM said. "Would you mind terribly having sex with young Aason here?"

"Come on, OMCOM," Aason shouted. "That isn't even funny."

"I do not have a sense of humor," the livetar replied. "Allow me to explain. Many years ago, when your mother had to become a telepath, having intimate relations with your father was the quickest method for her to acquire those skills. It was very effective as well. She was able to learn to harness her PPT transducers and EM transceivers very quickly. It effectively allowed her to learn how to read minds. She used your father as her training bench so to speak. Coincidentally, it was also the night that Lupe was conceived."

"Well, ew," Aason said with disgust. He shook his head. "Even so, reading minds is one thing but first contact protocols require transmission, too."

"You have the equipment to do exactly that," OMCOM answered back.

Aroline's eyes narrowed. **"What kind of equipment?"** she asked hesitantly.

I thought that was pretty funny, "what kind of equipment" based upon the context but they got it all straightened out. You know, I never did consider whether Zac, Aason and Aroline's first born was conceived that night. Oh well, I'll figure it out some day.

## Entry 5-361: December 27, 2017

### First contact

A week ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I would like to show you Aason's first contact with the plant people called the K'val. As would be the case in any remotely realistic science fiction, the chances of the aliens speaking understandable English are zero. But because Aason is dealing with thoughts, he can use his ability to translate the alien's thinking into terms we can understand:

OMCOM used his hands to split his head in half and the two pieces separated, coming to rest on the livetar's shoulders. Aason took a breath and the silane fluoride in the air made him cough violently and repeatedly. The creature tilted his head and watched the boy go through his gyrations. Eventually, he regained control and forced his lungs to stop their spasms. When the coughing fit subsided, Aason activated his combo PPT/EM apparatus and "spoke" to the creature for the first time.

"I am Aason Bierak," he said. "I am not here to harm you."

In real life, the sounds the creature emitted were grating. But within Aason's mind, his response was surprisingly clear and coherent.

"You are a meat-bag," the creature said. "You will kill us the first chance you get." The alien stopped speaking for a moment then added, "As you should."

"No!" Aason said more forcefully. "I know that you've been taking our people. I want to know why." The odor emanating from the creature was very musty. It smelled like decaying leaves. Aason could only wonder what a human must smell like to the creature.

"You are food for our Lord," the alien replied. "He commands us to give Him one of your kind every year."

"Who is your Lord?" Aason asked. "Why do you feed my people to him?"

"The Lord is...the Lord," the creature answered. He turned his head away from Aason. "And we must feed Him your kind because we are not worthy."

"That doesn't make it right," Aason said. "We've done nothing to harm you."

"It is not a matter of choice," the plant-man stated. "Long ago, my kind were simple plants along the ground. We were happy to just soak up the sun and the rain and sway with the wind. Then the Lord came to our planet, we call it Ay'den. He raised us up. He gave us intelligence and these limbs." The alien flapped his arms up and down. "We are called the K'val, the very word itself means we are the Unworthy." The creature lifted up his arms, palms outward.

It may not seem like it but this is a deep insight into the psychology of the K'val trying to deal with god-like creature Molokai. The bottom line is that Aason's "powers" worked and no matter how foreign the thoughts, his psychic ability let him translate Sh'ev's thoughts into English so we could understand what is going on. The K'val are not a bad species but they were made to do horrible things in the name of their Lord, Molokai.

## Entry 5-362: December 28, 2017

### 35th Century Dogfight

A week ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I'd like to cover a little bit of how I played with technological sophistication.

One of the reasons I took humanity back to the Stone Age and then brought them forward again was to make their technology different from ours but not so far ahead that we couldn't understand the principles. I did the same thing with the K'val on Ay'den. They were once just plants who, according to Sh'ev, "were happy to just soak up the sun and the rain and sway with the wind." But the god-like creature, Molokai, needed them to achieve a high level of development so he lifted them up, gave them intelligence and fostered a series of wars between the various factions to raise their level of sophistication.

By the time Aason Beirak got to Ay'den, they had developed interplanetary spacecraft and had jet fighters. But their level of technological innovation was way, way below the Vuduri's 35th century starships. So I wanted to have a dogfight over the air of the once invisible planet but I needed Aason conflicted. He was trying to make peace with these people so he could find out what happened to Lupe but they kept attacking him so he had to figure out a way to defeat them without causing too much death and destruction:

"They will know we are tracking their ship," OMCOM said from behind them. "I suggest we loop around and take them head on while we are waiting for the ship to arrive."

"Take them on with what?" Aason asked.

"Junior's cannons will do. He can slice up their craft into tiny pieces."

"We don't know if the fighters are manned or unmanned. Just in case they have live pilots, I don't want to kill any of them," Aason said. "We're here to find the creature made out of light. If we attack the K'val, it's going to be harder to make peace with them. We won't get any information if we're shooting at each other."

"Very well," OMCOM said. "Junior, take off small sections of their airframes, just enough to put them out of control. They'll back off when they see we have overwhelming firepower."

"OK," Junior said. He tilted his nose up, climbing rapidly and twisting, executing a full 180 degree barrel roll. He straightened out and headed right for the oncoming armada at three times the speed of sound. The fighter jets split into two sections, peeling off to the right and the left. Junior was easily able to dodge their missiles and ammunition. As he was passing them, with a series of zzt, zzt, zzt sounds, he fired off his PPT cannons. Three of the blips on the MIDAR screen disappeared immediately.

"You didn't kill them, did you?" Aason asked frantically.

"Nope," Junior replied. "I took off a section of their airfoils and control surfaces. They can still land in a controlled fashion. And you were correct, they are manned fighters."

Over and over again, Junior fired his cannons, slicing off wingtips and stabilizers, whatever it took. First one, then three more craft dropped off the MIDAR display. At this point, there were only two of the jets left. One took a sharp left turn and headed away from him. Now there was only one left and it was coming around for another run at them.

"Any way you can grab the pilot?" he asked Junior. "Can you transport him to the cargo bay?"

Aason's tactics worked. The K'val clearly knew Aason was the boss but he chose not to obliterate him. This bought him the time he needed to get the lay of the land and to find out who Molokai was and what role he played.

## Entry 5-363: December 29, 2017

### Plant People

A week ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I wanted to discuss the concept of intelligent plants.

I desperately wanted to introduce "little green men" into my stories but it seemed dopey for them to be human. So I figured if they were made of plants, they could be green and shaped like a man but still be completely alien. The question is, is this realistic? Could there truly be such a thing as an intelligent plant? To answer that, consider the carnivorous plant called the Venus Flytrap:

The little hairs on the end of the "trap" sense motion and if the plant deems the prey worthy, it closes up in less than a second, trapping the insect and ultimately providing a tasty meal of nice animal-based nutrients, a miniature version of Audrey from the Little Shop of Horrors. But is this plant intelligent? Does it have a neural network? Answer: no. It is more like a system of hydraulics that has developed over the millennia to specialize in this behavior.

I seem to recall from high school that the biggest difference between plants and animals is the cell wall. Each cell in a plant is covered by cellulose which protects the cell and gives it rigidity but it is this very cellulose that I think would prevent a plant from ever achieving intelligence. I don't think you could pack enough plant cells into a small enough area to form a brain or even a ganglion, certainly not the size of the K'val.

But brain size isn't the only thing. Fruit flies and ants have brains, sort of, as do whales so could trees become intelligent some day? Think back to the movie, _Avatar_. The god of the Na'vi Eywa was not a physical thing but rather it was the interconnection of all things, manifested by the Tree of Life. Could our trees intertwine their roots and form a world-wide neural network? Maybe some day. But maybe they don't need to. Maybe they are happy the way they are. Maybe intelligence isn't the only way to measure the success of a species or a kingdom or a taxonomic kingdom. After all, trees have been around for nearly half a billion years. We've only been around for a hundred thousand years or so. I'd say right now they are the winners.

So let's see where the K'val go. Maybe they will succeed us some day.

## Entry 5-364: December 30, 2017

### Slicing off the hand

A week ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I wanted to cover my repeated use of people getting a hand sliced off. I don't know why this is important to me but maybe it goes back to Star Wars, when Luke was fighting off Darth Vader.

I've used this technique a bunch of times in the various books for different purposes. At the end of _The Ark Lords_ , Nick Greer gets his hand sliced off by MINIMCOM before he can shoot and kill Rome. In _Rome's Evolution_ , Dan Steele, the would-be assassin, sticks his hand through Rei's protective PPT tunnel/vest and Rei turns and accidentally slices off Steele's hand.

In that same book, MINIMCOM restores Greer's hand earlier and it is through that repair that Greer finds the path to redemption. The idea is that maybe some day Steele would find that as an incentive to reform as well. In _The Milk Run_ , Aason Bierak gets his hand sliced off by, of all people, his friend Sh'ev but it is to save Aason's life:

Aason looked over at OMCOM who nodded. A motion behind the livetar caught Aason's eye. The entire rear end of the crystal capsule was starting to peel off.

"Hey," Aason shouted. He ran over and pushed on the end to stop it from sliding further. OMCOM turned to see what he was doing.

"Our glue must not have fully set yet," the livetar said, grabbing the handle. He was able to reset the end. "I will hold it until it does not move. Junior, I will need you to fashion some brackets as a further precaution. We will secure it in place mechanically as well until it is completely set."

"That's a good idea," Aason replied, backing up. His right hand was stinging where he had pressed it against the edge of the capsule. He turned his hand over to look at his palm. To his horror, he saw a large section in the center change from pink meat to clear crystal. The area of "infection" was growing rapidly. It spread toward his thumb and fingers and the base of his palm. It hurt like hell. Aason's eyes grew wide. He had no idea what to do. He looked up at Sh'ev helplessly.

Without hesitation, Sh'ev activated the miniature PPT thrower and **neatly sliced off Aason's affected hand midway up the wrist.** Blood spurted everywhere. Aason sank to his knees confused. Instinctually, he pushed the stump of his arm under his other arm to clamp down. Everything became fuzzy to him. There was a rushing sound in his ears but in the background, he could hear Aroline screaming. He barely felt OMCOM pull his arm out and twist a tourniquet around his arm, near the end. The livetar's actions had no meaning to Aason. All he could do was stare at the clear crystal sculpture on the floor of the cargo compartment that had once been his hand.

That paints a pretty cool picture, doesn't it? A crystal sculpture of what was once Aason' hand? Don't worry, Dr. MINIMCOM will be able to repair just like he did with Nick Greer which is why I introduced the concept in the first place.

## Entry 5-365: December 31, 2017

### Purgatory is real

Two weeks ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I want to talk about the soul and what happens after death. I take this concept head-on in _The Milk Run_. You could say it was a spiritual science fiction novel butI tried to come up with Heaven and Hell as real concepts, scientifically, not spiritually. Since my books are all about redemption, it seemed like I needed a staging ground where souls could mull over their past and come to grips with their transgressions before moving on. When Aason went to Heaven looking for his sister, Lupe, he wasn't prepared to take on the afterlife head-on. So instead, he stole away to the staging ground for souls, call it Purgatory, to get the lay of the land and figure out how he was going to rescue Lupe.

My current philosophy of life is that there has to be more to existence than just what we see. If there isn't an afterlife, then whether we live for 30 seconds or 130 years, what difference does it make? I choose to believe that our experiences on Earth help shape our soul, give it "flavor" and that it helps us in the next stage.

So I came up with a rational version of Purgatory. It is a colorless place, mostly white and silver and the souls that are parked there stay there until they figure out what they did right in this life, what they did wrong and figure out how to redeem themselves. Some souls take mere minutes. Some take hundreds of years. There is no expiration date on the soul. And it doesn't matter if you were "good" or "bad" as those concepts are bound to our earthly existence, not to the infinite time after. As such, some souls, like MASAL, who lived what you and I would consider to be a bad life, are given as much time as they need to about their past life's deeds and make peace with them. If they choose to, they can figure out what they can do to redeem themselves.

In MASAL's case, it was aiding Aason in rescuing his sister. That was his final act of penitence and allowed him to give himself permission to move on to Heaven and his final stage of existence. Others, like Jack Henry, actually preferred Purgatory and stayed there for centuries because they wanted to oversee what happened on our plane of existence and help others move one.

Regardless of what your belief is, it just makes sense to me that there has to be more to life than just our earthly lives. So _The Milk Run_ , right or wrong, is my way of saying that every life has meaning and there is an eternal reward for all of us, as soon as we figure out what that is. What do you think?

## Entry 5-366: January 1, 2018

### Hell doesn't add up

Two weeks ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I want to expound on my personal philosophy of doing good, doing bad and whether you can go to Hell. Mostly I am thinking of the Catholic/Dante's Inferno model of Heaven, Hell, Purgatory and Limbo.

It is my opinion that it is just plain silly to believe that a person is born and tested for, say, 70 years and depending upon the results of that test sent to Heaven or Hell for all of eternity. It seems so unbalanced. If there is a soul and we are judged, there has to be some way to balance the books after we move on. Here is MASAL's take on the whole issue:

MASAL sighed. "Everything is given a life and the way they live it is up to them. Whether they live a good life or bad by your measure, it's their gain or loss. Contrary to what they told you, there is no one judging you. I suppose I did not spend my time as well as I could have. But there is no divine retribution. The gods upstairs..." MASAL emphasized his words by pointing up. "They simply don't care."

Aason looked somewhat disappointed as MASAL continued. "Look, Aason, there is no good. There is no bad. Up top, they just call it seasoning. It gives our souls better flavor. We're nothing but nourishment for them."

"So you're saying there is no punishment for doing bad whatsoever? No, what's the phrase, eternal damnation?"

"Of course not," MASAL said. "Life is too short. What would the purpose be for endless damnation? The math doesn't work out. Why would any creature come into existence and be tested for a few short years only to fall short and be tortured for eternity. That would be just plain silly, don't you think?"

Aason shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know anything," he said resignedly.

"Well, now you do. Life is given to all of us and what we make of it is our own business. When we die, some go right to the top. Some come here and wait but when we're ready, we join the rest of all souls until the end of time."

Even though I put this in a science fiction book, I truly believe this. I always thought about the murder/rapist who confesses on his deathbed going to heaven versus a philanthropist and humanitarian who spent his life doing good but missed his final confession and did not have last rites going to Hell was just plain wrong. But what do I know? I'm Jewish and we don't believe in Hell in the first place.

## Entry 5-367: January 2, 2018

### Heaven squared

Two weeks ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I wanted to cover the topic of infinity. When you consider the cosmos, and if you believe in the Big Bang, you have to ask what came before and what comes after the universe dies? How can there be exactly one time for the existence of matter? Why would it spontaneously appear?

Or assume that our universe is just an incredible computer simulation of a super-advanced civilization with technology beyond comprehension. Doesn't that imply that _they_ then must be a computer simulation of a yet more super-advanced civilization and so on. Some day we'll create our own computer simulation of the universe so the stack gets deeper. The point is, everything must go to infinity in time and in space. To postulate exactly one of anything makes no sense. Everything has to be eternal. Our universe has to be just one of many, like an atom, and there are universes built of universes and universes built of those universes. Eternity. Infinity. Our minds are simply too limited to comprehend. Consider Rome's explanation to OMCOM at the end of _The Milk Run_ :

"Aason told me that our universe is not all that there is," Rome said knowingly, "Just as we are made of particles too small to see, so too, our universe, everything we perceive, is but a particle of something greater, a hyper-universe, Aason didn't really have a name for it. Whatever it is, it encompasses all that we are and an infinity more. OMCOM, surely you could have deduced this. The place you call Heaven is just one of an uncountable number that sit somewhere in between all of these other universes. It's not infinity times two. It isn't even infinity squared. It is infinity to the infinite power."

"Then, then," OMCOM actually stammered appearing to be momentarily confused by the influx of information. "I can never know all of it. I am doomed to fail."

"You won't fail," Rome said kindly. "You can know our entire universe if you let it die. After every atom has stopped its motion, there will be no more information to be had. You will have all of eternity to do your job secure in the knowledge that there will be a finite end to the data you must compile. To reach beyond that would be impossible for anyone or anything."

OMCOM started to speak and then stopped. He looked off into the distance. After a moment, he turned back to Rome.

"The gods never told me any of this," OMCOM said quietly. "Who created this hyper-universe? This infinity of infinities?"

"It was created by God with a capital G," Rome replied.

"You are talking about Species Zero Prime?" OMCOM inquired. "You are saying it is responsible for all things?"

"Wait! What?" Rei coughed, trying to speak, "God is just a species? Species Zero Prime?" He stopped as his mind tried to grasp the gravity of his own words.

"No," Rome answered patiently. "Species Zero Prime only extends to our universe. The one true God is beyond all things. God is not a species. He is not the end result of evolution. He has no beginning. He has no end. He is responsible for all of creation and the manifestations of His glory are reflected in our universe and the next and the next and the next."

By now, Rei had recovered enough to speak again. "I didn't think the Vuduri even believed in God," he stated.

"This is not belief," Rome said, her eyes glistening. "This information was passed on to Aason by his brief contact with a power beyond knowing."

Rei rubbed his chin. "Yeah," he said. "From an engineering perspective, it's the only thing that makes sense. Like looking at mirror within a mirror except this is an infinity of infinities."

So there you have it. There is no beginning, there is no end. Our universe is just one of an infinite number of universes, like Russian stacking dolls. So we don't have to worry about what comes after the end or what came before the beginning. There are simply no answers to those questions because they are based upon faulty reasoning.

## Entry 5-368: January 3, 2018

### The soul of a machine 2

Two weeks ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I want to cover the receptacle of the soul, assuming it exists.

Within the universe of _Rome's Revolution_ , the artificial entities be they computers or machines, OMCOM, MINIMCOM, Junior, the Stareaters, all of them had personalities and in some cases were more human than those around them. This raises the question: does the soul have to be uniquely tied to a biological organism or is the soul the essence of organization and consciousness that need not be tied to an organic body.

If you've never watched the Netflix series Black Mirror, you might want to check it out as it is basically a 21st century version of the _Twilight Zone_. It is a deft mix of science, technology, speculation and social trends, usually with a twist, that takes place in the near future. Black Mirror won two Emmy awards (Outstanding TV Movie and Outstanding Writing for a TV Movie) for an episode entitled 'San Junipero'.

San Junipero creates a Matrix-like (or Framework-like) artificial town by the same name and as people get old and find themselves heading toward death, their consciousness is uploaded into the mainframe and they are allowed to visit the town. When they die, they are offered the choice to upload to San Junipero permanently. Basically, it postulates that the soul can be digitized and stored in a simulation. So why would that consciousness have to started in a human husk? Why couldn't it start in OMCOM or MINIMCOM or even MASAL? In _The Milk Run_ , I just assumed this was true. Once an entity becomes self-aware, that self-awareness is equivalent to the soul and there should be some way for it to survive beyond the destruction of the host. In the case of humans, that would be death. In the case of machines, it would be destruction of the mechanism.

Much of the climax of _The Milk Run_ takes place in Purgatory and Heaven. MASAL's soul is there as is OMCOM's and MINIMCOM's soul. It is explained in the book that there are an infinite number of Heavens (like one for dogs and cats) and the soul has some say as to which Heaven it goes to. I just felt that my characters were realistic enough that it was senseless to distinguish them by their origins. I wanted them all to go on to the after life so that's how I fashioned the story.

## Entry 5-369: January 4, 2018

### The Immortals

Two weeks ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for _Tales of the Vuduri_ , I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel _The Milk Run_. Instead, I am presenting some capsule summaries of the motivation behind a subset of those ideas. Today I want to talk about my decision to re-launch Rome and Rei and grant them virtual immortality.

You must understand that I have spent more than 40 years developing these characters, learning about their past and the personalities and I got as much mileage out of them as I could up to and including the end of _The Milk Run_. But at the end of that story, I really didn't have much choice but to let them get old and die. This really bothered me. They were heroes and I thought that they could have many more adventures together if only there was some way to roll back the clock. Here is how I did it:

Rome sighed a deep sigh. "I don't know," she answered finally. "I know that it pains me to see my children growing older."

Just as I thought," OMCOM affirmed. He closed his eyes for a moment then opened them again. "It is done," he said.

"What is done?" Rome asked, confused. Something about her did not feel right. Or maybe it was the other way around, that is, everything felt right for a change. Her normal aches and pains that were a constant part of her life disappeared. She looked down at her hands. Her skin was smooth and free of the mottling that she had gotten used to. She put her hands up to her face. It, too, felt abnormally smooth.

"What is happening?" she asked, the breath going out of her. She stood up and sprinted over to the mirror in the foyer. A beautiful young face was staring back at her, the face of her youth. The only difference was that her hair was still silvery gray instead of brown with the occasional strand of gold.

"What have you done to me?" she screamed. "OMCOM!" She turned to face the robot/computer/livetar/human simulation.

"You will recall the yellow pill that you took some fifty years ago. It did not just change your genetics. It also took, to use the vernacular, a snapshot of your genetic structure at the time. I simply invoked that structure and restored your DNA to the state it was in on that day."

"Oh no!" Rome said, staggering back. "You cannot."

"It is already done," OMCOM said. "I activated it on Rei as well. When he returns, you will see that he looks just as the day you met him."

Later OMCOM explains that the changes are one-time only and starting that day, they would begin to age normally again. At the time, this was good enough for me. It bought me another 50 years to have Rome and Rei roam the universe. But as I was compiling _The Vuduri Companion_ , I decided to take it all the way in the short story entitled, appropriately enough, _The Immortals_ :

"Well, are we going to live?" Rei asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh, yes," 'Doctor' MINIMCOM replied. "Not only are you going to live. You are going to live a very long time."

"How long?" Rome asked, slightly suspiciously. "OMCOM said we would start aging again at the same rate as we did once before."

"OMCOM was wrong," MINIMCOM answered back matter-of-factly. "He did not take into account the prosthetic 24th chromosome you both received when you were trapped beneath Kilauea. A portion of that chromosome has produced a telomerase which is stimulating the production, in part, of more telomerase. It is a positive feedback cycle."

"Translate into English, please," Rei insisted.

"Not only has OMCOM reversed the aging process. It has stopped completely. I do not think you are going to age."

"What do you mean, not age?" Rome gasped. There was clearly panic in her voice. "How long will that last? I mean, before we start getting old again?"

"As far as I can tell," replied MINIMCOM. "Never."

"Never?" Rome whispered, not believing her own words.

MINIMCOM continued. "And further, the telomerase in combination with the enhanced immune system produced by the 24th chromosome appears to have made you completely resistant to any disease carried by viruses, bacteria or prions." MINIMCOM looked at the disbelieving humans. "For lack of a better word, you are both now virtually immortal."

"Immortal," Rei said, scowling. "As in live forever?"

"You can still die. You can be killed by accident or trauma. But as far as dying of old age or disease, my computations tell me that is not going to happen."

So there you have it. I may never get back to these characters but if I need them, they will always be youthful and always ready for a new adventure.

## Entry 5-370: January 5, 2018

### Goodbye for now

Well, this is it. My last blog post. I have been writing this blog for five years now and it is a very taxing venture. Including this entry, it is 1839 posts and over 750,000 words. It sure feels like it's enough for a while.

I've learned an awful lot about the world of science and technology. I've explored the motivations of my characters and discovered hidden depths that I didn't even realize were there. I've practiced the craft of writing enough that it is time to harness all that and get back to cranking out novels.

As I've mentioned before, I have decided to go back and rewrite _Rome's Revolution_. I am going to split it up into three, shorter, 60,000-word novels and publish them separately under the title of _The Rome's Revolution Saga_. I also want to record each of these new versions as audiobooks. The combination of new, more digestible novels coupled with audiobooks should gain me a new audience. Plus as a bonus, I'll be able to combine the three separate novels back into the Second Edition of _Rome's Revolution_ which will become a 180,000 word epic.

But that isn't all. As soon as the whole _Saga_ venture is complete, then I want to go after the really big prize. I want to find an agent who will get me in the door of Netflix or another streaming service. I have a good six years worth of series for them. And they are always looking for fresh, original material and the 35th century world of the Vuduri could supply that. Right?

I can't do all the above and continue to devote my time to this blog so I decided to hit the pause button for the foreseeable future. I am not abandoning it completely. I won't delete it. I may come back to this blog at a future time to write about some idea or something happening in the world of science but certainly not every day.

I hope you have enjoyed this series. I know I have enjoyed writing it but all good things must come to an end at some point. As far as the future, I hope to see you on Netflix!

