
**Tales of the Vuduri: Year One**

Michael Brachman

Copyright 2014 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 ONE**

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2014 by Michael Brachman

Cover art copyright © 2014 by Bruce Brachman

V1.01.0002

Also by Michael Brachman

**The Rome's Revolution Series**

Rome's Revolution

The Ark Lords

Rome's Evolution

## Dedication

First and foremost, I have to thank my 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. Bruce creates the amazing covers, the astounding book trailers and makes my writing so much better. Bruce, none of this would exist without you.

I want to thank my wife, Denise, for putting up with the endless hours of hiding in the basement, cranking out these stories, articles and so on. I could not have done it without her patience.

Finally, as always, I would like to thank my heroes, Rome and Rei. They have supplied me with endless material of a future not yet born.

## Introduction

World-building is hard. My _Rome's Revolution_ series takes place in the 35th century and involves new physics, planets, architecture and aliens. Worse yet, the people there normally don't even speak. In the far future, they travel faster-than-light and deal with issues that are so far outside our realm of experience, they are difficult to fathom. But to make the science fiction seem realistic, I had to figure out not only the science, culture and politics but also everyday life. Like what do they eat? What do they wear?

I've spent the better part of 40 years working on the details of this future universe. To be successful, the novels _Rome's Revolution, The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution_ have to be entertaining but to be considered hard science fiction, they also have to be well-thought out. I have mountains of research and notes that either don't belong in books or had to be cut out.

I first thought about putting all this extra material in a wiki. In fact, I built one called _Rome's Revolution: The Science Behind The Science Fiction_. However, I quickly discovered this wasn't practical. Presenting the backstories and research a little at a time was much easier using a blog format. **Tales of the Vuduri** is that blog. I selected Goodreads as my platform and created my first entry on December 23, 2012. I knew from experience that people only come back to blogs that are constantly updating their content so I made it my goal to post an article every day for a full year. Unfortunately, I didn't quite hit that goal. I missed three days!

Regardless, blogs make an excellent forum for not only little-known facts, previously unrevealed secrets, backstories but also musings and even the occasional rambling. It is not necessary that you have read the _Rome's Revolution_ series but it probably helps. There are many, many references within the articles to events and characters that inhabit those books. But there are also some amazing scientific facts and amusing articles that transcend the trilogy. Since the series is about more than just our 21st century hero, Rei Bierak and his beautiful 35th century Vuduri wife, Rome, I decided to call this collection **Tales of the Vuduri** because most of the entries are relevant to the 35th century and the people known as the Vuduri.

Here is a partial list of what you'll find in these entries:

· Backstories

· Tidbits

· Scientific articles

· Secrets

· Alternate scenes

· Deleted scenes

· Teasers

· Random thoughts

· Ramblings

· Humor essays

· Amusing images!

· Detailed explanations

· Apparent contradictions resolved

· Reasoning behind certain scenes

· In-depth analysis

· Mechanics

· Physics

· Scientific principles

· Sociology of the future

· Futurology

· Economics

· Astronomy and astro-geophysics

You can watch my development as a blogger as the entries move along. Over the course of time, you'll see the general introduction of hypertext links, first to the novels themselves, then later to previous posts and external articles. I also found that putting in little illustrations or images made the entries easier to follow. There are places in the text below where hypertext links were featured in the original articles. When you come across them, they may appear out of context so I have taken the liberty of adding an underline to the links so you will know that was their sole purpose. The rest of the entries are exactly as they appeared on Goodreads although I will admit I did fix typos when I found them.

As far as a general plan for the content of the blog, while I have not been dogmatic about it, I have tried to follow the general flow of information from the original long form of _Rome's Revolution_ and I am only up to Chapter 8! That means there will definitely be a **Tales of the Vuduri: Year Two __** if my fingers and imagination are up to it.

In the mean time, here are the first 366 entries. I added one extra post just in case you read this during a leap year. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

## Entry 1-001: December 23, 2012

**How to speak Vuduri**

When I was charting out my future history, I presumed that after 14 centuries, there would be very little chance people would still be speaking English. In fact, the Vuduri do not speak at all. But they do have a language.

I estimated the spread of Darwin's Virus Strain 4 and decided Portugal would have the most survivors of any uninoculated population. So I based the Vuduri language on Portuguese.

At first, I used Google translate to convert English to Portuguese then later Yahoo's Babelfish. Currently I use Microsoft's translate API.

I also felt the language would "drift" over time so I came up with a simple vowel and consonant substitution pattern. A <-> E, I <-> O, T <-> D, F <->V and B <-> P.

Here are two examples:

When Rome was cast out of the Overmind, the word becomes C E (swapped with A) S D (swapped with T) I (swapped with O) U and D again. Cesdiud.

Same for Tau Ceti. D for T, E for A, U, C, A for E, D for T and O for I. Deucado.

I wrote a computer program to do the translation for me. All I do is highlight the phrase I want to translate, hit Ctrl+C to put it in the copy and paste buffer, run my program then hit Ctrl+V and poof, the Vuduri equivalent is ready to paste.

There is no limit to how much I can translate. Rome wrote a letter to her mother which was over a page and a half. It was translated with a few keystrokes. Unfortunately, to cut down the size of the book, it had to be excised but will reappear when I release the Vuduri Companion.

So there you have it. You, too, can speak Vuduri, which, by the way, is nothing more than the word Future, in Vuduri!

## Entry 1-002: December 24, 2012

**How _The Ark Lords_ came about**

After _Rome's Revolution_ was published, I started work on a new YA sequel called _The Milk Run_ starring Aason and Lupe, all grown up, with just a guest appearance by Rei and Rome. I got about halfway done and realized I had no idea about what their life was like once they returned to Deucado.

Unlike the previous (at the time) three books, I was determined to make this one all action and adventure. No need to add much science or physics. And I always wanted to start a story with an explosion. Well, the explosion was just a grease fire but it was the best I could come up with. I wasn't sure where the story was going to go when (I swear) I was in the shower and it hit me. The Ark Lords (Erklirte), the insane people in the gray sarcophagi and The Great Dying, they were all one and the same. I had written about them for six years and NEVER KNEW IT! So the story of how Jack Henry (Hanry Ta Jihn) became important. I wrote a little, four chapter short story and interwove it in the relevant parts of the second half of _The Ark Lords_.

A couple of other tidbits: Knowing that I had _The Milk Run_ coming up, I wanted Aason to have his own "pet" starship so that's how Junior came about. The not-sex scene between Virga and Rei is still one of my favorites. I still laugh every time I read it.

The final book in this arc, starring Rei and Rome, will be entitled _Rome's Evolution_ where Rome must become a true telepath to save all of their lives. I'm hoping to have it finished by the spring. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy _The Ark Lords_. I really enjoyed writing it.

## Entry 1-003: December 25, 2012

**A quick insight into how _Rome's Revolution_ came about**

_Rome's Revolution_ was originally created in 1973 as a short story entitled _VIRUS 5_. As you can imagine the underlying technology has changed significantly over the last 40 years. I have always been fascinated by the idea of what if we sent people to the stars and when they got there, there were already people there. So I had to come up with two completely different methods of interstellar travel, one slow, based upon physics that we know today, and one faster than light. My heroes, Rei and Rome, have been there since the beginning as well as OMCOM. And the major threat was always the Stareater. That's about it. Everything else about the story has changed and evolved over the years. The first book of the modern version, called _VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir_ (Stareater), was 108,000 words. It started with a beautiful short story about Silas Hiram, a farmer on New Earth (later called Helome in _The Ark Lords_ ). He was the first to discover that Alnilam disappeared. My intent for that book was to do a "you are there" type of style. So what are the odds that people 14 centuries in the future still speak English? Zero. So I had to invent a language. I actually wrote a computer program that would translate any English words or paragraphs into Vuduri and used as needed.

Well, being a beginning writer, I was open to suggestions by other, more advanced writers, and the whole story started getting chopped down. Gone was the story of Silas Hiram. Gone was the pretty exciting chapter on how the Vuduri discovered Rei's Ark. Gone was the viscerally stunning chapter on Rei's reanimation. I think the story lost something but I persevered.

I had in my mind the scene where Rei is all alone on Dara, getting ready to let the VIRUS units loose and thinking he had lost Rome forever. But then it occurred to me, when Rome figured out how to remain behind, she would just radio Rei and the scene would lose all its dramatic tension. That's how the Vuduri with their 24th chromosome and the Overmind sprang into being. They had no NEED for radios, they had their heads. So I had to go back and reengineer a whole new society. I had written a future history outline but this kind of set me back. It took a while but eventually the whole thing blossomed and became more like the story you read today.

After I completed _Asdrale Cimatir_ , I was sitting around one day and said to myself, what happens when they get there, to Deucado. The idea of traveling all that way, only to face imminent death, seemed exciting. But I had to figure out WHY they were being attacked. Genocide seem like a powerful theme so that became the underlying background. I loved the idea of a split narrative, Rei taking a physical journal, Rome taking a mental one, before they rejoined each other. The book was relatively easy to write and I wasn't burdened with having to put in as much physics and science. It became more of a philosophical and adventure story. Its original title _was VIRUS 5: Bez Onquode_ (An Uneasy Peace).

Book 3 wrote itself. Once I had set up all the political forces, the travails that Rei and Rome had to go through were pretty clear. I finished it in about 6 weeks. I loved the idea of a double climax. Just when Rei and Rome thought they had ended the threat forever, the Stareaters return. That was fun!

Then reality set in. Nobody was going to buy Books 1, 2 or 3 from an unknown author. So I got the idea to crush the now 330,000 words down to one book, three parts. That's the book you see today called _Rome's Revolution_. Since so many words had to be cut out, a lot of the long developing story lines (like Rei and Rome falling in love) had to be sped up. I had to create the Espansor bands to get Rei and Rome in fall in love super-fast. In the original book, it took them 8 chapters to even recognize they had feelings for each other. In the current book, they are sleeping together by the end of Chapter 2. Oh well. Hopefully, you won't find it too rushed and just suspend belief and go along for the ride.

## Entry 1-004: December 26, 2012

**Modifying a telescope database to work on another planet**

My Meade ETX-90 telescope needs to be calibrated each time it is powered up. The red dot finder blinks and the hand keypad tells which star should be aligned. Then you go to a second star. After this is complete, the telescope is calibrated and you then say "Go to Jupiter" or "Go to the Andromeda Galaxy" and so on.

The settlers from Ark I landed on a habitable world in the Alpha Centauri system. They called their world New Earth although later the Vuduri renamed it to Helome. Silas Hiram was a farmer who brought a telescope with him. The makers of the telescope were kind enough to modify the internal database so that he could use the red dot finder from Alpha Centauri.

Since Alpha Centauri is so close to Earth, cosmically speaking, relatively few adjustments needed to be made and most of the constellations appeared more or less the same as seen from Earth. The one major difference is that the Centaur was missing one star in his foot. That star was Alpha Centauri.

Sol and Earth would appear as an extra star between the constellations Perseus and Cassiopeia. Nothing remarkable other than the fact that it was Earth.

The constellation of Orion appeared more or less identical with the except that from the perspective of Alpha Centauri, the star Sirius would appear to be part of that constellation. Sirius was the second star that Silas had to use to align his telescope. It forced him to look for Orion and that was when he noticed that Alnilam was gone. This singular act caused a cascade of actions spanning 14 centuries, culminating with the "defeat" of the Stareaters on Tabit and the peace treaty of Earth.

## Entry 1-005: December 27, 2012

**Irods and Ucones**

The 24-chromosome Vuduri have a number of remarkable characteristics. Their optics have been heavily modified. In addition to having a tapetum and a Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope built into their eyes, they also have an extra, internal iris built in. Rei refers these as to built-in sunglasses. The internal iris reacts very quickly and allow the Vuduri to go from total darkness to extreme brightness without any discomfort. They also have a second set of cones called Ucones. These cones have been modified to detect into the ultraviolet. Finally they have a second set of rods, call Irods which allow them see deep into the infrared. Basically, heat vision. They can often use the heat of their own body to "illuminate" an area sufficiently to make out some details.

## Entry 1-006: December 28, 2012

**Haploid/Diploid chromosomes**

When I was inventing the Vuduri race, I knew I wanted to make Rome a mosdurece (half-blood) because I wanted her mother to be Vuduri and her father mandasurte. However, how would she be able to participate in the Overmind if she did not have a complete 24th chromosome or worse, no 24th chromosome at all?

Answer: make full-blooded Vuduri diploid, meaning each had two full sets of the 24th chromosome. When Binoda mated with Fridone, their child, Rome, would have one full pair of the 24th chromosome. You only need one functioning pair to participate in the Overmind. The meant Rome could as well until she was cast out (Cesdiud) on Tabit.

Later, I decided that the 24th chromosome reproduced using mitosis rather than meiosis but that is not critical.

By the time Rome was finished being poked, prodded and injected, she had so many chromosomal pairs, she was unique in all the world. She had her original 24th (currently inactive), the new pair inserted into her on Deucado (currently active), MASAL's prosthetic 24th chromosome (never activated) and OMCOM's 25th chromosome.

Her daughter, Lupe, was born with all of these chromosomes activated making Lupe one of the most potent communicators in the galaxy. You will find out more about Lupe in the novel entitled _The Milk Run_.

## Entry 1-007: December 29, 2012

**Back pain due to fissured disks**

It has been well documented that a fissure in the disks between vertebrae allows interstitial fluid to come in contact with the layer within the disk called the nucleus pulposis. In turn, this releases a substance called Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha which is highly inflammatory.

So some back pain (and even swelling) can be caused simply by having a fissured disk.

This fact is integrated into the story _Rome's Revolution_ in several ways.

First, almost all of the frozen occupants of the Arks wake up and suffer from extreme back pain due to this condition.

Second, OMCOM creates a special pill which not only restores Rei's back to a condition appropriate for someone his age, it also gives him some abilities (sonar vision, "cell-phone" in the head, and more). OMCOM later creates a second, less powerful version of the pill which simply fixes up the back pain and this is the pill that is given to the majority of the colonists.

The pill is mentioned again in the sequel to _The Ark Lords_ called _Rome's Evolution_. One unexpected benefit is that pill prevents the normal Vuduri genotype as expressing itself as the Onsira phenotype. If this pill would become available to all Vuduri, the Onsiras would eventually be eliminated forever.

## Entry 1-008: December 30, 2012

**The speed of gravity**

The speed of sound at sea level is 340 m/s. The speed of light in a vacuum is 300,000,000 m/s. But what is the speed of gravity? How would you even measure it?

Scientists have gotten closest by measuring the speed of gravity waves. Basically, how long does the gravitational changes due to an exploding star take to affect other stars.

Some scientists believe that these gravity waves travel at the speed of light since they are limited by that of the observer and the observer only has EM transmissions to measure.

Some experimental physicists conclude that gravity travels at 2 X 10 to the tenth times c or a million, billion times the speed of light. If that is the case, that is pretty darned fast!

I chose to accept the faster figure as my working figure in _Rome's Revolution_. All of the interactions that occur with PPT transmissions occur virtually instantaneously. While PPT transceivers have an effective range of a light year or so, within that radius, the interaction is more or less real time.

Postulating that virtually instantaneous transmissions can occur over such large distances allowed the Overmind to form and also for MASAL to operate as he did.

If it is ever discovered that gravity only travels at the speed of light, I may have to rework some sections or invoke other dimensions (string theory anybody?) to get the velocity back up to where I need it.

## Entry 1-009: December 31, 2012

**The Grey Drive: quantum black holes, white holes and Hawking Radiation**

When writing _Rome's Revolution_ , it was necessary to create not one but two completely different but plausible star drives. The faster-than-light drive was actually easier because it was wilder and could not be verified or refuted. The Casimir Effect is real therefore the existence of negative energy is a real possibility. Some have speculated that space cannot exist where there is no energy so all I did was project a big blob of negative energy using "Casimir Pumps" and voila, you jumped past space yielding effectively faster-than-light travel.

The slower-than-light star drive was much more difficult since it had to be based on what we know today. Brute force chemical rockets weren't going to get it done. I decided the slow but steady method was the best bet. Solar wind is free and constant but dies off outside the Oort Cloud. So I built what I called the "Grey Drive" named after the fictitious scientist Wally Grey who invented it. It consisted of a quantum black hole and a big tank of xenon. They shot one atom of xenon at a time into the black hole to "feed" it and the atom disappeared into the black hole. Because it was so tiny, its matched white hole was only a few angstrom units away and the atom re-emerged as Hawking Radiation which pushed against a back plate and generated an infinitesimal amount of thrust. But infinitesimal times a long time results in a top speed of about 1/20th the speed of light. That was sufficient to get us to the stars.

For the first Ark, the mission to Alpha Centauri, they burned their fuel at twice the recommended rate so they were able to reach our nearest neighboring star in just over 40 years. Tau Ceti, where most of the action occurs, was just 12 light years away which means the trip there was supposed to take 240 years. Of course, the Ark II missed the mark and that formed the basis of the entire novel _Rome's Revolution_. Next post: cheap spaceships. 

## Entry 1-010: January 1, 2013

**Cheap spaceships, expensive sarcophagi**

I was thinking about what it would take to send people to the stars. I figured that travel over such long distance involved risk. To build a complex spaceship that could survive micrometeorites, cosmic rays, mechanical failure, etc. was unlikely. So instead of building an expensive spaceship, I had the mission planners build a cheap one, not much more than a flying tin can.

They sunk their money into building expensive, individual sarcophagi figuring any one might fail but the likelihood of all 500+ failing was very slim.

They built the Ark out of pig iron so the colonists would have some fairly refined materials to start their new life. I also made it so the nuclear power rods that reanimated the colonists could be ganged together to produce electricity for 7000 years. 

## Entry 1-011: January 2, 2013

**Creating elementary particles with energy**

The one thing the Vuduri have, that we do not, is infinite free energy. They use "Casimir Pumps" to split zero energy in neutral space into positive and negative energy. They use the negative energy to create PPT tunnels which effectively bypass normal space thus allowing them to (mathematically at least) travel faster than the speed of light.

But a by-product of the Casimir Pumps is positive energy. The Vuduri do many things with it including creating electricity. This is very handy when they are in normal space, since they need a way to drive their ships forward. So they take the excess positive energy and reverse the equation e = mc 2 and use e divided by c2 to get m. In other words, they use energy to create mass. Usually these are very elementary particles, rarely organizing more than just a ball of plasma. They then force that plasma out of jets built into their ships to get forward thrust.

They aren't much for brakes. They usually just rotate their ships around and use the plasma thrusters in retro mode to slow themselves down.

Pretty cool, huh? 

## Entry 1-???: January 3, 2013

**No entry this day**

I have no idea how I missed this day. This was a Thursday. This was before I started writing seven entries each Sunday. I must have forgotten or gotten too busy to post.

## Entry 1-012: January 4, 2013

**Dyson Spheres and Stareaters**

The Dyson Sphere concept was invented by physicist Freeman Dyson in the late 1950s. The idea was that intelligent species could build a partial or complete sphere around a star. This would allow them to capture all of the energy emitting from the star and simultaneously create a semi-infinite amount of living space on the interior. Larry Niven took a slice of a Dyson Sphere and used it as the basis for his Ringworld series.

While the concept is fascinating, why bother? Who needs infinite energy or infinite living space?

Regardless of the reason, I was still enthralled with the idea of a gigantic sphere encapsulating a star so even with the first draft of _Rome's Revolution_ (called _VIRUS 5_ back then), the "villain" was the Stareater, called Asdrale Cimatir in Vuduri. The people observing this would be in awe and terror. If it happened to your star (the Sun!!!) all life outside of the Dyson Sphere would cease.

Click here to see my teaser/trailer illustrating a Stareater "swallowing" a star.

My hero, Rei Bierak, was able to figure out how to "defeat" the Stareater by using VIRUS units. A neat invention back in 1973 when I first came up with it but now nanotechnology is sort of old hat.

As I pushed on with Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_ , I wanted a double climax and the return of the Stareaters, especially to eat the Sun, seemed very exciting. You'll see how Rei and Rome defeat it in the book but suffice to say, you will be shocked as to the how and the why.

Pretty neat stuff. 

## Entry 1-013: January 5, 2013

**Ion-powered star drives and the Tevatron**

The problem with getting to the stars is that it takes a lot of energy. At least until we invent an FTL drive. Traditional chemical rockets burn up their fuel rather fast. In the late 50s, scientists came up with the original Orion concept of a nuclear powered ship which literally had a series of atomic explosions pushing the ship forward. This has fallen out of favor but may be resurrected some day by using fusion instead of fission.

So how to send people to the stars? Ion engines produce very little thrust but are extremely efficient. I came up with the idea of feeding xenon atoms to a Quantum Black Hole (QBH) and using the resulting Hawking Radiation to provide a tiny amount of thrust. Once you hit interstellar space, they would collect external space dust, hydrogen molecules, etc. to "burn up" similar to a Bussard Ramjet but no fusion involved.

As I said, ion drives produce very little thrust so it takes a long time to build up speed. Since my people are frozen, so what if the trip takes 200 years? That wasn't the issue. The problem is the QBH. They don't exist. For the story to succeed, at least my version of it, I assumed that someday someone will figure out how to do this. I don't think the Hawking Radiation idea will work but it sounds cool.

What made it even more fun was proposing that the US Government resurrected the Tevatron to produce the QBHs. The Tevatron then plays a starring role in _The Ark Lords_.

It is pretty neat how it all ties together. Check it out.

Rome's Revolution and The Ark Lords. 

## Entry 1-014: January 6, 2013

**Ceramics versus metal**

Rei Bierak and the colonists from Earth traveled to the stars in very cheap spaceships which were little more than very large tin cans. The mission planners sunk all their money into building the most sophisticated and secure ceramic sarcophagi to transport the frozen people. I have been asked why I built the sarcophagi out of ceramics rather than metal.

Several reasons:

1. Ceramics are extremely strong. I thought they might resist punctures by micrometeorites better than metal.

2. Lower weight.

3. Extremely resistant to tensile changes due to temperature fluctuations.

4. Thermal inertia. Once they hit interstellar space, temperatures could drop as low as 3 degrees Kelvin. As they went into orbit around their target star, some parts could get very hot. Ceramics would resist this temperature change.

5. Seemed cooler and more futuristic than metal.

6. I needed a few colonists to die due to "cracked" cases and ceramics will fracture better than metal.

You can read about it in both _Rome's Revolution_ and _The Ark Lords_. Check it out. 

## Entry 1-015: January 7, 2013

**Nuclear rods and the new colony**

When sending people to the stars you must account for what they do when they get there.

I sent along seeds and animal embryos and mining equipment. I also built the Ark out of "scavengable" materials. But the very first thing I had to do was thaw out the colonists. What do you use for electricity?

I tweaked an isotope of thorium, compressed the isotope into nuclear rods and encased those nuclear rods inside a lead glass tube with a slit. Under normal conditions, you would rotate the thorium rods until a portion of their surface was exposed through the slit, heat would be generated which was converted by thermocouples into electricity which powered the thaw cycle. If the Ark crashed, the glass would shatter and you will still get the thermocouples geared up.

Later, these rods could be removed and used as sort of super-batteries to power their vehicles and equipment. This took place in Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_. I also made it so they could be ganged together in serial or parallel fashion to create a power plant.

Finally, this made-up variant of thorium had a half-life of 7000 years and could be used to create the mini-nukes which figure prominently in _The Ark Lords_. 

## Entry 1-016: January 8, 2013

**Wikipedia dis-approves**

(Note: when this article was first posted, _Rome's Revolution_ was approved and had an actual page in Wikipedia. Six weeks later it was taken down. This is the only post I ever had to go back and revise.)

_Rome's Revolution_ no longer has an official Wikipedia page!

This link no longer works: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome%27s_Revolution Wikipedia article about _Rome's Revolution_.

The article was posted for a month and a half then an editor came along and decided to take it down. You can appeal this but it doesn't seem worth it. I will just have to go ahead and win the Pulitzer Prize, a Hugo or Saturn award or something to justify taking up their precious digital space. :( 

## Entry 1-017: January 9, 2013

**Why did they build the Arks out of pig iron?**

The Arks were flattened cylinders. The top two-thirds were made of pig iron. The lower third was made of martensite which is a kind of stainless steel.

Why? Why not titanium or magnalium or something even more exotic?

The first reason was seemingly trivial but actually quite important. In order to bring the Ark down safely, it had to be separated into sections. This required a space-walk. And the kind of space-walk required meant the first crew awakened would use magnetic boots. Pig iron is about the cheapest magnetic material there is.

The aft-most section was the propulsion module. Once they reached their target planet, that had to be jettisoned. The next section was the cargo section and that was to come down after the people. The front section contained the frozen people in their sarcophagi.

Why magnetic? Why not just use thrusters to separate the ship? The mission planners did not know exactly how long it was going to take to get to where they were going so to facilitate the space-walks, they knew that while propellants may evaporate, magnetism would last much longer. So they built the ship out of magnetic materials to guarantee that their magnetic boots would clamp down.

Once they landed on the planet, the mission planners wanted to give the colonists every chance to succeed so they build the Ark out of a material that could be easily melted down (the pig iron) or easily fashioned into building materials (the martensite). Titanium or magnalium or even aluminum would be too hard to work.

If things went well (and we know they rarely did), the colonists would cannibalize the entire ship to start building their new home world. 

## Entry 1-???: January 10, 2013

**No entry this day**

Once again, I have no idea how I missed this day. Again this was a Thursday and still before I started writing seven entries each Sunday. Once again I must have forgotten or gotten too busy to post. I only missed one more day over the next year. Sorry.

## Entry 1-018: January 11, 2013

**Plant transmutation**

When I was building the "soup" that fueled the creation of _Rome's Revolution_ , I put a lot of thought into alternative technologies to make the Vuduri our equals or superior, technologically yet different.

One of the things I researched is called Plant Transmutation. It has been proposed that certain plants can "manufacture" elements they need by way of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions which is similar to cold fusion. Some people have claimed that plants could form proteins which would bring certain molecules within sufficient proximity that they would spontaneously fuse to form higher order elements.

To my knowledge, no one has produced a widely accepted experiment documenting such abilities. Even the anecdotal evidence seemed so weak, I decided to abandon it. Instead, I just gave the Vuduri a thing called the molecular sequencer which could build anything essentially one atom at a time. I didn't bother worrying about whether they had the correct elements in the first place. It was whiz-bang enough to just let it go.

I imbued MINIMCOM the ability to phase-delay transport of atoms and transmute them and that is probably enough. He's already way too proud of himself. 

## Entry 1-019: January 12, 2013

**The Yatori and Vuduri nudity**

The Vuduri have very little sense of self. As such, while they do not flaunt it, nudity neither shocks nor arouses them.

To strengthen their divestiture of self, most Vuduri adorn their body with a trinket or piece of jewelry call a Yatori. Rome had a small ankle bracelet. Pegus has a red thread tied around his wrist.

These items were not worn in an attempt to make themselves prettier. It was not vanity. Instead, they were a self-test. A true Vuduri would know they had broken through and completely divested themselves of sense of self when they could not longer see their Yatori. It proved that the Overmind controlled their perception of the world.

To most Vuduri, this was a desirable outcome. They called it Second Sight. It was using the Overmind to see the world instead of their own eyes.

As we know from _Rome's Revolution_ , Rome struggled with this her whole life. She always wanted to be a "good little Vuduri" but there was a part of herself that always yearned to be free.

When she was first cast out, Cesdiud, she was horrified and scared but eventually came to embrace her new-found autonomy. Through the course of _Rome's Revolution_ and later, _The Ark Lords_ we literally see Rome growing up emotionally. From her metaphorical birth when she was in the fetal position through becoming a loving mother and wife, her journey toward self-reliance is ongoing. She eventually embraces the fact that she _can_ see the Yatori as a symbol of her independence. 

## Entry 1-020: January 13, 2013

**Is the core of the Sun ice cold?**

When I was building the concept of the Stareaters, I was worried that they'd burn up trying to swallow a star. I stumbled across an article about a man named Renzo Boscoli who proposed that the inside of the Sun was ice cold. The article described the well-documented Ranque effect which shows that within a vortex (like a tornado), the outer part gets hotter and the inner part gets colder. Boscoli speculated that the Ranque effect would dictate that the inner core of the Sun was actually super-cold slushy hydrogen and the main fusion reaction took place closer to the surface of the Sun. I figured maybe the Stareaters could siphon off the photosphere and then digest the rest of the star more leisurely.

In fact, the original design of the Stareater was a long tube with bulges representing multiple "stomachs" like a cow for digesting the various layers of the star.

Ultimately, I said screw it and made the Stareaters Dyson Spheres. That way, they were so large, it didn't matter. They were really cool "villains" but why would they eat stars in the first place? Next blog entry. 

## Entry 1-021: January 14, 2013

**Dark Energy and the expansion of the Universe**

In the original incarnation of VIRUS 5, all I had was the "villain" being the Stareaters. It never occurred to me to ask why they wanted to eat stars. I really just wanted them as raw material for the VIRUS units to get out of hand and cause a cliff-hanger because of their mutations.

But after I wrote the story, I was compelled to write Part 2 which was when Rei and Rome got to Deucado. Simply writing that story dictated that I had to write Part 3 which was supposed to tie up loose ends.

But what of the Stareaters? It was a really neat idea to have a double climax: Rei and Rome confronting then destroying MASAL and then the Stareaters come to the Solar System. But it was depressing to think that everyone had to die.

So I "asked" the Stareaters, what was your motivation? Why do you eat stars? Their answer was shocking and made complete sense. There is a force called Dark Energy which seems to be implicated in the accelerating expansion of the universe. Once the universe gets too big, it will collapse upon itself and cause the Big Crunch. And it has been proposed that supernovae and hypernovae shed so much Dark Energy that they accelerate the acceleration.

So at last, I had a motivation of why the Stareaters eat stars. They are trying to prevent supernovae and hypernovae and retard the acceleration of the universe. If they stop this, the universe would remain in its current state until all energy in the universe goes to absolute zero. In other words, they were simply trying to prolong the life of the universe.

Thinking about such questions hurts my head. What came before the beginning? What comes after the end? Ultimately, the Stareaters' mission would fail. In the Epilogue to the final section of the final book, entitled _The Milk Run_ , Rei and Rome and OMCOM must address such questions. The answer will surprise you but it won't be ready until 2014. 

## Entry 1-022: January 15, 2013

**Plasma and star drives**

No, I'm not talking about the clear liquid that carries blood cells around your arteries. I'm talking about the widely-considered fourth state of matter.

Take a proton and a single electron in orbit around the nucleus. We call that an atom of hydrogen. Now separate the electron and you have two elementary particles no longer atoms. Throw a whole lot of protons, electrons and neutrons in there and you have a very hot, very energetic fluid-like substance called plasma.

Plasma has different physical characteristics than liquids or gasses and the Vuduri find it most useful as the propellant for their plasma jets. Occasionally, they use it for small hand-held weapons called plasma projectors.

Where do they get all this plasma from? They use Casimir Pumps to create pockets of negative energy for traveling via PPT Tunnels. The waste product is unlimited, free positive energy. Check the article entitled "Creating elementary particles with energy" to see how they do it.

They shoot the plasma out the rear of their ships and get to go very fast. Since the Casimir Pumps do not work very well within a deep gravity well (like near the surface of a planet), for atmospheric flight, they typically use electrogravity to get around within a gravity well.

However, upon occasion, MINIMCOM finds the need to fire the plasma jets even in the atmosphere causing an eye-popping pyrotechnical display. He always did have a sense of showmanship. 

## Entry 1-023: January 16, 2013

**Gray Goo**

From the very beginning, in 1973, the Stareater has always been the nemesis of Rei and Rome, starting in the original novel entitled _VIRUS 5_ and now known as _Rome's Revolution_ , Part 1.

Even back in 1973, I knew how Rei was going to defeat the Stareater. He was going to use the power of the exponent, calling them the Virtually Identical Replicating Unit System aka VIRUS units. It wasn't until many years later that the technology became more trendy and is now known as nanobots.

Self-replicating nanobots are called Gray Goo because everything they touch is digested and consumed. Another name for this is Ecophagy or an environment which consumes itself.

Obviously we do not have the technology today and we may never have it. But I gave the Vuduri the Casimir Pump and free, unlimited positive energy. With infinite energy, anything is possible.

In the current version of the novel, the Gray Goo serves two purposes. The first is a virtually infinite substrate for OMCOM to transfer his consciousness and thus survive the onslaught of the Stareater. The second is the introduction of the mutations and the consequent evolution of self-aware autonomous entities.

Originally, I had them split into some good, some evil but for the time being, they do not figure into the equation. You will find out what happened to them in _The Milk Run_ , to be completed in 2014. 

## Entry 1-024: January 17, 2013

**Dramatis Personae for _Rome's Revolution_ and _The Ark Lords_**

Just a little refresher for those of you who forgot where we were at the end of _The Ark Lords_ so you can get ready for _Rome's Evolution_ coming this spring.

**Rei Bierak** : An engineer and one of the frozen passengers aboard the Ark II, launched from Earth in 2067AD (original target: Tau Ceti). The Ark II went off course and was not discovered for nearly 1400 years. Rei was the first human awakened and responsible for eventually getting the Ark II to its original destination, Tau Ceti, now called Deucado by the Vuduri.

**Rome** : A half-blood (mosdurece) Vuduri woman from the 35th century who fell in love with Rei and eventually married him. Originally connected to the Overmind, she was cast out (Cesdiud) when she consorted with Rei.

**Aason Bierak** : Rei and Rome's two-year-old son.

**MINIMCOM** : Originally an autopilot computer that was fused into the airframe of a Vuduri space tug. Circumstances and experience caused him to become self-aware. Now a starship, MINIMCOM can fly as fast as 1000c.

**OMCOM** : Originally a standard computer installed on Skyler Base within the Tabit System. Eventually he transferred his consciousness into a mass much larger than a planet.

**Fridone** : Rome's father, a 23-chromosome mandasurte (mind-deaf) oceanographic scientist. Rome calls him Beo which is the Vuduri word for father.

**Binoda** : Rome's mother, a full-blooded 24-chromosome Vuduri. Binoda is an animal husbandry expert. Rome calls her Mea which is the Vuduri word for mother.

**Pegus** : Leader of the Vuduri contingent on the planet of Deucado.

**The Overmind** : Group consciousness created by the mind-connected Vuduri.

**Maury Keller** : Captain of the Ark II and de facto leader of the colonists from old Earth.

**Lee Ionelli** : One of Captain Keller's lieutenants.

**Trabunel** : Leader of the Ibbrassati (the Oppressed) on the planet of Deucado.

**Bukky** : Leader of the Deucadons, descendants of the Ark III which crash landed on Deucado 500 years before the story begins and lived underground for most of those years.

**Melloy** : Bukky's main lieutenant.

**Ursay** : A Vuduri commander, currently living in retirement on Earth. Ursay was Rome's original commander when she was deployed in the Tabit system.

**Hanry Ta Jihn** : A legendary hero and martyr from the past, responsible for organizing the resistance that eventually defeated the Ark Lords, called Erklirte in Vuduri.

**Grus** : A Vuduri soldier, present when Rei and Rome were banished from the Earth.

**MASAL** : A supercomputer that designed the 24th chromosome which was responsible for the rise of the Vuduri. His plan was to engineer the humanity out of mankind. He was destroyed by Rei and Rome.

**Sussen** : An Onsira spy sent to Deucado by MASAL when it was still a prison planet. Her mission was to ensure that the mandasurte remained imprisoned there until the planet was destroyed by an asteroid. When she saw things unraveling, she escaped in attempt to return to Earth to warn MASAL. Rei, Rome and MINIMCOM beat her there and had already destroyed MASAL before she ever arrived.

**Virga** : Leader of the Vuduri contingent on the planet of Helome. She had captured Rei hoping to mate with him. She released him on his word that he would send mandasurte to help her rebuild the gene pool. Rei came through with his promise.

**Bonnie Mullen** : A female member of the Darwin group. She was also the colony's historian. She was banished along with the rest of the Darwin group to Helome. She was pregnant at the time with Edgar Mullen's child. 

## Entry 1-025: January 18, 2013

**Polyhydramnios**

When Rome became pregnant, she was the first female in human history to gestate the spawn of a Vuduri mother and an Essessoni father. The child, Aason, was fully connected from the moment of conception. He knew he was supposed to connect to his mother but was not able to. The harder he "pushed" to become connected, the more frustrated and frightened he became.

The physical manifestation of this was an excess of amniotic fluid called Polyhydramnios. It put Rome in increasing stress as her uterus pressed against her diaphragm and made it harder and harder for her to breathe.

A normal woman carries 800-1000 mL of amniotic fluid. Rome was carrying close to 2000 mL with the levels increasing at an alarmingly fast rate.

The Vuduri doctors correctly identified this was her principal problem. To reduce Rome's stress, they decided to treat the symptom first which was to reduce the amount of amniotic fluid using amniocentesis.

After Rome had recovered, they decided to address the underlying cause and injected Rome to allow her to reconnect to her son. After this, all was well. 

## Entry 1-026: January 19, 2013

**Counting in Vuduri**

As mentioned in the previous post entitled "How to speak Vuduri", the Vuduri language is based upon Portuguese then put through a computer algorithm to substitute some vowels and consonants.

Here is how the Vuduri count. I will tie this in to the Vuduri timekeeping system tomorrow:

1. Um

2. Tios

3. Dras

4. Quedri

5. Conci

6. Saos

7. Sada

8. Iodi

9. Nifa

10. Taz

The Vuduri word for day is Emi. Here are their days of the week: Umemi, Tiosemi, Drasemi, Quedremi, Concemi, Saosemi, Sademi, Iodemi, Nifemi and Tazemi.

The Vuduri word for month is Mas. Here are their months: Umas, Tiomas, Dramas, Quemas, Conmas, Saomas, Sadmas, Iomas, Nimas and Tamas. 

## Entry 1-027: January 20, 2013

**Metric Time and the Universal Calendar**

In the last post, entitled "Counting in Vuduri", I hinted that the Vuduri week is ten days long and the Vuduri year is ten months long. That's because the Vuduri keep what is called Metric Time. A metric second lasts .865 seconds. This allows you to have 100 metric seconds in a metric minute, 100 metric minutes in a metric hour and 10 metric hours in a day.

Try the math yourself and you will see it really does work. A metric day equates exactly to 24 of our hours.

The only problem is the 365 day year. Nine of the Vuduri months are four weeks times 10 days = 360 days with only 5 left over. So the Vuduri month of Tamas is typically 5 days long but in leap years, it is 6 days.

The Vuduri or the mandasurte at least, call the tenth month "poor Tamas" because it is the little month that got cheated of its full length.

Poor Tamas is actually also a world-wide holiday. It is a combination of the Jewish Yom Kippur which is a reflection back on one's transgressions from the prior year and a joyous New Year celebration. Most of the mandasurte take the entire "month" of Tamas off to celebrate.

So far, so good. All this helps us on Earth. But what about on other planets where a day may not be 24 hours and a year is unlikely to be 365 days? To avoid such complexities, I removed the whole concept of Metric Time from the current version of _Rome's Revolution_. But I will discuss it tomorrow nonetheless. 

## Entry 1-028: January 21, 2013

**Calendars on other worlds**

On the Earth, the time and date is pretty easy to figure out. But what about on other worlds? There is next to no chance that the days on another planet will be 24 hours long and even less chance that their years would be 365.25 days long.

The solution: two calendars. One local and one "universal" calendar, keyed to Earth of course. Not that the Julian calendar is all that logical but you have to start somewhere.

Say that today is January 21, 2013 at 1:05:24 PM GMT. We would define Universal Time (UT) as 20130121.01.05.24. One second later, it would be .25 then .26 and so on.

The local calendar can be tailored to the particular planet's rotational period and orbital period around its primary star.

Can this work? It already does, here on Earth. For example, there is the Jewish Calendar which is lunar-based (as is the Muslim calendar) yet all Jewish people know the Julian calendar date. We all know about the Mayan calendar. Time is time and already measured against GMT.

Even if everybody accepted this, when you get to where you are going, your UT clock will be off. If you travel faster than light, who knows what it will read? It could even go backwards. If you travel slower than light but still at relativistic velocities, you will experience time dilation and your clock will run slower.

The solution? Find an astral object with predictable properties. Say it is a quasar that flashes with a certain periodicity or a star whose brightness is diminishing by an infinitesimal amount. Whatever it is, certain markers will be tied to UT so that whenever you get to where you are going, you can set your UT clock by the stars.

Your local clock? Good luck with that. On a planet whose orbit takes only 180 days, people would live to be 140 years old easily, local time. But UT would still give us a way to tell their actual age. People-years, dog-years, it'd all be predictable and calculable. 

## Entry 1-029: January 22, 2013

**Why did the Vuduri miss the Winfall disappearance?**

One of the casualties of compressing three books into one is that some of the more subtle nuances of science were omitted. In the earlier version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Part 1 (originally titled _VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir_ [Stareater]), Rei and OMCOM have a discussion about this topic. How was it that the Vuduri with all their scientific prowess, could miss the disappearance of Winfall? After all, that was the entire purpose of setting up the stellar observatory.

The answer is because they traveled faster than light. Every time they jump through a PPT tunnel, their time, relative to the universe around them, goes backwards by a small degree. Enough jumps and you have a sizeable delay. Since it took them over a month to get out to Tabit, their clocks were off by over six weeks or so. So, after waiting well past the due date, the Vuduri gave up and packed up the shop. Sadly, they started shutting down just days before the actual wavefront came along.

While _Rome's Revolution_ still has Rei inventing the starprobes, the original story also had OMCOM and Rei perform an experiment proving that clocks go backwards through PPT tunnels. 

## Entry 1-030: January 23, 2013

**Was the Ark program a success or failure?**

The Ark program was launched in the latter half of the 21st century in an attempt to colonize habitable worlds in other star systems, perhaps to save the human race before the Earth collapsed under the weight of overpopulation. But was it a success or failure?

Ark I was sent to Alpha Centauri. Amazingly, Earth's nearest stellar neighbor had the highest percentage chance of having a habitable world. The Ark I landed on New Earth (later called Helome by the Vuduri) flawlessly and all proceeded according to plan. Until the colony was decimated by civil war then eaten by the Piranha Rats. I'd call that a failure since no one survived.

Ark II was sent to Tau Ceti. It hit an asteroid and spun out of control for 14 centuries only to be rescued by the Vuduri at Skyler Base orbiting Tabit. Eventually, Rei and Rome shepherded the Ark back to Tau Ceti to the world called Deucado. Since most of the people survived, I'd call that one a success.

Ark III was sent to 82 G. Eridani but there were no habitable planets so it made its way to Tau Ceti, the backup. The colonists crash-landed and had to build a civilization from scratch, mostly underground but they did survive so I guess I'd have to call that one a success.

Ark IV - where did that go? You'll find out in Part 5 entitled _The Milk Run_ which will be released in 2014.

Ark V, sometimes known as the Stealth Ark, was filled with criminals and psychopaths and soldiers and their sole mission was to return to conquer Earth. They were defeated by Jack Henry, chronicled in _The Ark Lords_ , so I'd call that one a failure.

So, 2 wins, 2 losses and one incomplete. I guess the jury is still out. 

## Entry 1-031: January 24, 2013

**Silas Hiram 1 - Astronaut, Farmer**

Silas Hiram, an Agricultural Professor and one of the colonists sent on Ark I to Alpha Centauri, figures prominently in both of the books and will appear again in 2014.

Why was he important? His voice (via his journal) is used to "see" into the past several times. He was the first human to note that Alnilam disappeared. This was the clue that cracked the case of the Stareaters.

Later, his actual journal was found and examined by Rei and Rome on Helome and confirmed the story that the Darwin people, in the gray sarcophagi, had a secret agenda, finally exposed in _The Ark Lords_.

There was a beautiful short story about his life there (before they were eaten by the Piranha Rats) which will appear in _The Vuduri Companion_ in 2014. Tomorrow, I will synopsize this little gem. 

## Entry 1-032: January 25, 2013

**Silas Hiram 2 - Amateur Astronomer**

When Silas Hiram arrived at what was called at the time New Earth (later called Helome by the Vuduri), his one luxury item was a telescope.

He spent many years building up his farm and in the evenings, he'd look up at the stars. Because the A and B star of Alpha Centauri are separated only by 80 AU, the second star, called Beth by the residents, was very bright; far brighter than the moon. Because of the alignment, for many, many years, Beth obscured Silas' obsession, Sol and by definition, Earth.

There came a time when Beth set before the main star, called Aleph, and the night sky was finally dark enough that he could see it with his telescope. However, to get the telescope properly aligned, he used what is called the red dot finder to calibrate the telescope. That was how he noticed that Alnilam disappeared which, 14 centuries later, became a really big deal. 

## Entry 1-033: January 26, 2013

**Silas Hiram 3 - Tonight's the night**

This was the night Silas Hiram had been waiting for, for many years. The night he would finally be able to look across the four light year gap and see Earth.

"Silas looked up into the azure sky at Beth as it set in the west. In the binary star system of Rigil Kentaurus, there were two stars. The brighter of the two was called Aleph and the dimmer B-star was called Beth by the residents of New Earth. New Earth was the fourth planet out from Aleph, a G2V star, virtually a twin of Sol. Aleph's companion, Beth, was a deep orange, K-class star. Though both stars had several planets, each star had only one habitable world located in the comfort zone. The one orbiting Aleph was far superior to the one circling Beth and was the natural choice between the two for man's first colony world."

"When Silas first arrived on this world, Beth had trailed behind Aleph by several hours past sunset. That meant that the sky did not really get dark until many hours into the night. But with the sureness of the complex celestial mechanics behind it, Beth slowly advanced and now led the way, ahead of Aleph, by about one half hour. When Beth was out during the early evening, at an apparent magnitude of –18, it was far, far brighter than the full moon of Earth. At night, Beth was a spotlight that drowned out all the constellations and stars that surrounded it. Due to an unfortunate alignment of the stars, that meant especially the one group of stars that Silas cared about. But this would not be the case tonight." 

## Entry 1-034: January 27, 2013

**Silas Hiram 4 - Silas Sees Sol**

Silas was standing in his attic/observatory and the sky had just darkened enough to see the stars to the west. Mind you, this takes place on "New Earth" later called Helome by the Vuduri. He is staring across a gulf of over four light years.

"Silas turned to the west. He could see the Milky Way in all its glory spanning the entire sky. That he could see it at all with his naked eye amazed him, even though it shouldn't. Back on Earth, in Pennsylvania, they had long since lost that ability even on the darkest of nights. Many of Silas' friends had never even seen the Milky Way, but most did not care. Silas did."

"He searched and searched until finally he found what he was looking for. Sitting very low on the horizon was the zig-zag of Cassiopeia. He held his right hand up, straightened his arm and used his hand to blot her out. Even lower on the horizon, partially obscured by the mountains to the west, he found the inverted V of Perseus and with his left hand, he blotted him out as well. He extended both thumbs to form a frame and within that frame was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. If Mary were here, he'd tell her that it was not as beautiful as her, of course. On this night, it was only the eighth brightest star in the sky, but to him, it was the most important. He knew its name was Sol, but he just thought of it as The Sun. And though he could not see it, he knew he was looking at Earth."

"He stared at Sol for a long time, waxing nostalgic. He knew why he and Mary were here. He knew why they had chosen to raise their children on this alien world. The pollution, the overpopulation, the natural disasters, the wrecked ecology, the continual random acts of violence loosely called terrorism; these were the problems that had driven Silas and Mary and the other colonists to seek refuge among the stars. But that didn't mean he couldn't miss his ancestral home, knowing none of them would ever see it again. Earth was the birth-world of his species and that would never change." 

## Entry 1-035: January 28, 2013

**Silas Hiram 5 - Excerpts from Silas' Journal - _Rome's Revolution_**

Silas Hiram's journal figures heavily in the plot of both _Rome's Revolution_ and _The Ark Lords_. His journal is entitled "Celestial Observations, Silas Hiram, New Earth, August 2121."

**_Rome's Revolution_**

Entry 1: First discovery that Alnilam has disappeared: "April 25, 2137. Finally, seeing conditions are perfect. Beth set early enough. Sky is clear. Right in the gap in the mountains to the west, I was able to visualize Sol for the first time. It was exactly where the star charts said, between Perseus and Cassiopeia. The changes to the telescope's database seem right on. I can't wait until the boys get home tomorrow so I can show them. One note: something is occluding Alnilam. I must remember to check it tomorrow night."

Entry 2: Confirmation that Alnilam has disappeared: "April 4th, 2138. Been able to take stills of Sol and presumably Earth through three quarters of a year. Not sure how to measure transit with the scope. Sadly, the boys are getting bored with my preoccupation. I think we are going to need a new calendar for New Earth. 12 months makes no sense here. Poor Orion, still no Alnilam. I hope his pants stay up."

Tomorrow, excerpts from _The Ark Lords_. 

## Entry 1-036: January 29, 2013

**Silas Hiram 6 - Excerpts from Silas' Journal - _The Ark Lords_**

Silas' final journal entries were like a window into the past.

**_The Ark Lords_**

Entry 3: First evidence of the secret Darwin agenda: "September 8, 2144 – I normally don't comment on what is happening within the colony. I have tried to restrict my entries in this journal to my astral observations. But last night, something really peculiar happened. Tan Powel, one of the Grays, apparently tried smoking some local herbs and started ranting and raving about the Darwin Project. The things he said were bizarre. If any of what he said was true, these people are really sick."

Entry 4: Final confirmation that on every world, civil war is unavoidable: "October 9, 2144 – Captain Allen had a town meeting tonight. He did a lot of talking but he didn't say much. He hinted at the agenda for Darwin. No one could believe it. How can you have two groups, competing for the same resources, with completely opposite goals? The Grays are working tirelessly but their only objective is to leave this planet. The rest of us, the Whites, we've worked so hard to turn this beautiful planet into our home. How could the mission planners have missed something this fundamental?"

Entry 5: Silas' final entry: "December 12, 2144 – Things are coming to a head. Sammy D. was killed last night. Shot in the back. Ernst and the rest of us are headed for a showdown tomorrow with the Grays. They are either going to renounce their plans or we are leaving. I'm too old for this shit. Basically we have a war on our hands and they have all the weapons. But it has to be done. Things can't go on this way. I told Mary to start packing, just in case. I'm going to go see the boys tonight and give them a heads up. One way or the other tomorrow is it."

All indicators were that he died the next day. Even if he didn't, all of the colonists died eventually under the voracious onslaught of the Piranha Rats. 

## Entry 1-037: January 30, 2013

**Piezo-capillary action and Casimir Pumps**

Many of the technologies within the world of the Vuduri take place on a microscopic scale.

For example, there are the VIRUS units which weigh a microgram or less. There are also the Deucadons invisibility cloaks which are light pipes carrying light from back to front or vice-versa making the wearer practically invisible.

The effector units are memrons which have a piezo-electric cilium so they can move around.

The VIRUS units use piezo-capillary action to draw materials into their synthesizers so they can build more VIRUS units.

Finally, there are the Casimir Pumps which are so small, they work at the quantum level which allows a palladium/iridium mixture to segregate positive from negative energy. This, in turn, allows the Vuduri to create PPT tunnels and limitless, free energy from zero energy.

The world of the Vuduri consists of the very large (the Stareaters) and the very small and everything in between. 

## Entry 1-038: January 31, 2013

**How does _Future Past_ tie into _Rome's Revolution_?**

If you look on the web site for my novel _Future Past_ , you may not see a tie in to _Rome's Revolution_ but it is there.

Lee Linsky, the "hero" of _Future Past_ meets and falls in love with a woman. It is a romantic novel that takes place in the very near future. However, when I was planning the timeline for events leading up to Rei's departure in 2067 AD, my calculations told me that Lee and his new love were exactly the right age to be Rei's grandparents. Delicious!

As soon as I added the tagline: "For those of you who have read _Rome's Revolution_ , this is the 'true' story of Rei Bierak's grandfather and how he met Rei's grandmother" - I sold 5 copies right away! Hooray. Check it out.

_Future Past_ is available only in e-book form for the Kindle, Nook, iPad and Kobo e-book readers.

Enjoy! 

## Entry 1-039: February 1, 2013

**How the VIRUS units were able to defeat the Stareaters**

How could thing as tiny as a nano-machine (aka VIRUS unit) eventually digest something as huge as a Dyson Sphere (aka Stareater)?

In _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei, with OMCOM's help, came up with a "simple" solution.

The answer lies in the exponent. I assumed the VIRUS units were so tiny, they only weighed a nanogram. I started with 1000 units and assumed they took 3 minutes to reproduce.

At the end of 3 minutes, you now have 2000 units with a weight of 2 micrograms. After six minutes, you have a weight of 4 micrograms and so on.

After an hour and a half, the mass weighs one kilogram. After 5.5 hours, the mass weighs the same as the Moon. After 5.7 hours it weighs the same as the Earth. After 6 hours, it weighs as much as Jupiter. Finally, after 7 hours, it weighs as much as the Sun and certainly that is big enough to kill a Stareater.

So the Stareater provided the mass resulting in its own death. Very much like a virus can kill its host, hence the clever name. 

## Entry 1-040: February 2, 2013

**How did the Arks land?**

Well, a better question would be how were they supposed to land?

Let's take Ark I because it was textbook. When the Ark I arrived at the Alpha Centauri star system, the AI examined the habitable world orbiting the B-star (later called Beth) and the one orbiting the A-star (later called Aleph) and decided the A-star planet was the better choice.

After circularizing its orbit around the target planet, the AI awakened the Captain who, in turn, awakened the Pilot and Co-pilot. Two of the men performed a two-step space-walk. Step one was going all the way to the back and jettisoning the propulsion module as it was no longer needed. After that was complete, the two men separated the cargo compartment in the back from the crew compartment in the front.

The command module and SSTO booster remained attached to the crew compartment.

Using solid rocket fuel retros, they began to descend into the atmosphere. As the hull began to heat up, they used their gigantic delta wings to force the ship to begin ascending again until it stalled nearly back at the edge of space.

With their velocity reduced by gravity, they began a second descent into the atmosphere, going much lower this time before re-ascending. They did this several times until they were going slow enough to stay within the atmosphere. The technique is a form of aero-braking. If you plotted the altitude as a function of time, you would see that it resembles a mathematical Bessel function.

Once they had shed enough velocity and were able to glide safely within the atmosphere, they studied the planet and selected a landing spot, glided in and landed on the belly of the craft which was made of a much stronger metal than most of the ship. After landing, the three command crew members were then tasked with awakening the 500+ members of their crew.

Once the new colonists were settled, the command crew climbed back into the command module, ignited the Single Stage To Orbit (SSTO) booster and went back into space. They docked with the orbiting cargo compartment and brought it down near the colony using the same aero-braking technique.

As I mentioned earlier, this was how it was drawn up on paper. Of the five Arks, only three were able to land this way. We all know about how Ark II landed; after all this was the subject of _Rome's Revolution_. However, how the Deucadons got there first is a story for another day. 

## Entry 1-041: February 3, 2013

**Landing without landing gear**

One of the coolest things about writing (and I'm sure this does not apply just to science fiction) is that half the time, I'm not telling the characters what to do, they tell me.

A lot of times I just throw stuff in there to flesh things out and a week, a month or sometimes several years will pass then the light bulb goes off. So _that's_ why they did it!

The whole plot of _The Ark Lords_ came out of random things I threw into _Rome's Revolution_ to flesh the story out. The whole back-story behind MASAL being the ultimate bad guy was an accident. I had just tried to build a future history and these things just sprang out of that.

Anyway, the point to this was I never thought about how the Arks would _actually_ land on a planet until yesterday's blog entry. I wrote in that article that they glided in and did a belly landing but that the bottom of Ark was made of a much stronger material. It sounded like I had thought this through.

I didn't!

I originally had the entire Ark made out of pig iron, top to bottom. I did that because I needed a magnetic material for a little short story, since removed, called Rei's Space Walk. When I first wrote _VIRUS 5_ , the precursor to _Rome's Revolution_ , I actually had the Ark made out of aluminum.

Changing it to pig iron then allowed me to say it was on purpose because that way colonists could easily melt it down, cannibalizing the ship for building materials.

Well, as I was writing _The Ark Lords_ , when Rome came upon the rusting out hulk of the original Ark, if it ALL rusted out, there would be nothing left so I had to quick switch the lower third to martensite, a kind of stainless steel, which was much tougher but still magnetic.

So now I'm writing yesterday's blog entry and I realized, duh, that was yet another reason why the underbelly had to made out of a rugged material was because of the landing. No wheels, no struts, just belly-flopping.

Bottom line: these characters truly have a life of their own and they always amaze me by thinking things through, even if I did not. I get to be a reader too sometimes! 

## Entry 1-042: February 4, 2013

**Building a rocket that still works after 1000 years**

Building a rocket to Mars is one thing. Building a rocket that is still functional after a thousand years is quite another. First, you have to freeze the crew. Otherwise, they'd be long dead before you got there. Second, it has to be as simple as possible. The fewer moving parts, the less likely something will break. Third, volatile propellants will dissipate over time. Magnetism is reliable. I had my characters use magnetic boots to grip the outer hull of the Ark. Magnetism lasts a long time.

The Ark used solid-state fuel for their retros and their SSTO booster. In theory, the fuel could last ten times that. Finally, the explosive "bolts" that were used to separate the various sections of the Ark weren't bolts at all. It was a continuous ring of thermite. This would be stable for the requisite time. To ignite it and separate the sections, a space walk is required. You can see the mechanics in the short story "Rei's Space Walk" to be published in 2014 but here is a synopsis:

Rei pulled the cover free, exposing a crank. He turned the crank which energized a magneto which rotates a permanent magnet around within a coil. The resultant EM force is stored within a capacitor. When the capacitor is fully charged, shorting it out causes a spark which ignites the thermite. Thermite is very stable. Rei had a little trouble but he was able to overcome it. Here's a brief excerpt:

"Stuck, duh," Rei thought to himself. He 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.

He was successful, in the end. He was able to jettison the propulsion section and MINIMCOM was able to tow the Ark at a 20% higher velocity thus getting them to Deucado in under a year. 

## Entry 1-043: February 5, 2013

**How did the Deucadons crash land?**

When the Deucadons arrived at their primary target, 82 G. Eridani, their AI discovered there were no habitable worlds. So the computer fired up their Grey Drive and they proceeded to their secondary target, Tau Ceti.

As mentioned yesterday, simpler is better. Fewer moving parts are fewer things to break. So the lifting surfaces on the gigantic delta wings on the Arks were controlled by actual wires. Unfortunately, the control wires to the delta wings were damaged so the Ark III would not be able to enter the atmosphere using the normal aero-braking technique.

What to do? The Captain and the command crew had terrible fights on how to proceed. One of them wanted to grab a group of women and stuff them in the cargo module and just fly it down. The thinking was they would reproduce and in a hundred years, they would have developed the technology to go up and retrieve the remaining crew. The Captain wanted to take the crew compartment down even if it meant forgoing ever retrieving the cargo compartment.

In the end, the Captain won. Using a maneuver that was the ultimate in last resort, they spun the Command Module and SSTO booster around and docked with the crew compartment facing backwards. They fired the SSTO booster as a super-retro rocket and were able to slow their velocity down sufficiently that they merely crash-landed.

Most of the colonists, frozen in blocks of ice, survived the crash. The Captain, Pilot and Co-pilot all died. But several of the remaining survivors thawed and were then able to thaw out the remaining crew members.

Sadly, they had to start their new colony with only "the clothes on their back." They had it very rough for many, many years. Further compounding their troubles, a huge asteroid crashed down forming the crater that eventually became Lake Eprehem and many of the colonists (actually the Darwin group) died in the explosion.

The people remaining, who came to be known as The Deucadons, sought refuge underground and lived there for half a millennium until liberated by Rei and Rome. 

## Entry 1-044: February 6, 2013

**Poor Deucado - Bashed to bits**

Much of the action in the universe surrounding _Rome's Revolution_ and _The Ark Lords_ takes place on the world called Deucado which orbits Tau Ceti. Tau Ceti is a G-class star (the same as the Sun) and only 11.9 light years away. So far, five potential exo-planets have been possibly detected as orbiting the star.

In my universe, I postulated Deucado as a small world, 90% of the mass of the Earth, second in orbit around the star. The third planet out, a gas giant called Grentadar, is about twice the size of Jupiter. One last fact is known, the Kuiper Belt surrounding Tau Ceti has been measured to be about 10 times the density of that surrounding the Sun.

The Kuiper Belt is filled with ice and asteroids and rocks just waiting to fall inward and eventually hit something. In my books, that something is usually Deucado. From high up, its surface is heavily pock-marked from all the meteors and asteroid hits. However, because it has a dense atmosphere and weather, the craters wear down much smoother than the Moon.

I speculated that the only reason life developed at all on Deucado is because Grentadar acted somewhat as a "shield" to snag many objects that would have otherwise rained down on Deucado.

At the heart of the next novel, entitled _Rome's Evolution_ , you will find out there was a "quiet" period of several million years where Deucado avoided extinction class events. This was just long enough for a sentient, vertebrate species to arise. By the time Rei and Rome got there, there was no evidence that there was ever any such species. And so many oddly shaped caves, with roofs so smooth, they seemed almost artificial.

Coincidence? I think not! 

## Entry 1-045: February 7, 2013

**Will our Sun go nova some day?**

Short answer: No!

Long answer: I proposed that the "purpose" of the Stareaters was to consume stars before they go nova, supernova or hypernova. Our sun, Sol, does not have enough mass to go in that direction.

Instead, it will slowly consume all its fuel and become a red giant. We have about 5 billion years left before this happens.

So the Stareaters coming to take our star because it was going to go nova some day was a little bit of dramatic license. They did say they were curious as to why there was gravitic modulation emanating from our Solar System which was consistent with sentient life. Rome, through Aason, contacted them and dissuaded them from eating our sun. At least for the next million years or so.

So you will have to forgive me but it sure was fun to add in that second climax. 

## Entry 1-046: February 8, 2013

**Planetary targets for the various Arks**

Ark I - primary target: Alpha Centauri. Mission status - successful. Ark landed as designed. Viable colony established. Until they were decimated by a civil war and exterminated by the indigenous Piranha Rats.

Ark II - primary target: Tau Ceti. Mission status - ultimately successful after a delay of 14 centuries. Ark landed using atypical method (PPT tunnel punch-through). Viable colony established among already established indigenous population.

Ark III - primary target: 82 G. Eridani. Mission status - primary target had no habitable planets. Secondary target: Tau Ceti. Mission status at secondary target - partially successful. Crew compartment damaged. Able to land but several crew members killed and cargo compartment lost. Viable colony established although small subset was obliterated due to an asteroid strike.

Ark IV - primary target: Nu2 Lupi. Mission status: unknown.

Ark V - primary target: Chara. Mission status - primary target had no habitable planets. Secondary target: Solar system. Mission status at secondary target - partially successful. Viable colony established and enhanced by capture and taming of indigenous population. Ultimately, untamed masses exterminated original colony. (See Hanry Ta Jihn)

So... whatever did happen to Ark IV? You'll find out in 2014 in the novel entitled _The Milk Run_. 

## Entry 1-047: February 9, 2013

**Are the Onsiras pure evil?**

Part of MASAL's plan to take over the human race was to reprogram, re-engineer really, the human brain so that it reported to him. Because he was based upon PPT transceiver communication, he was able to become the epicenter of the Onsiras' Overmind.

There are two kinds of Onsiras. We have met both types. The first kind is called a Reonhe, a queen. These are always women, they have one dark eye and one Vuduri eye and a split brain. They communicate with the Overmind of the planet using half their brain and MASAL with the other. We have met Estar and Sussen both of whom are Reonhe. Estar is dead. Sussen, well, we don't really know what happened to her.

The second kind of Onsira is called a Zengei, a drone. These are almost always men and their eyes are flat black, like shark's eyes. They only communicate with MASAL. That is until MASAL was vaporized by Rei and Rome. Now? Who knows?

Tomorrow, the tale of Reema, the first Reonhe and her awakening to the power of MASAL. 

## Entry 1-048: February 10, 2013

**Reema - The first Onsira Queen**

Reema was the first Reonhe ever born and is called Ombare (Empress). Her mother gave birth to her in a birthing clinic and gave her up to be raised in the crèche right away. Reema's eyes were different from the other Vuduri children. One was dark, almost flat black. The other was light blue and had the standard Vuduri optics, complete with reflective tapetum. Like all Vuduri children, Reema was born already self-aware. But the other side of her brain heard a whisper. It was MASAL calling to her. Telling her she was his first-born.

While a regular Vuduri samanda would require many Vuduri gathered nearby to begin building an Overmind, Reema had no such requirements because MASAL was already formed. MASAL's plan for her was to act like a regular Vuduri but to scour the Earth, looking for other Reonhe and eventually Zengei. Zengei children were often abandoned by their parents early on since they could not join the Overmind. Most Vuduri assumed they were mandasurte but they were not. They simply had no mind of their own and answered to MASAL. As soon as MASAL detected one, he put Reema on alert and right after they were born, Reema spirited them away to their nest in Socal.

As Reema matured, her growing hoard of Zengei and Reonhe became vibrant. They organized and built the secret base beneath Kilauea. They organized and sent Estar to accompany the Skyler Base crew. They created the artificial mission and sent Sussen along to Deucado to supervise the internment of the mandasurte there.

We will get to meet Reema in the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_. 

## Entry 1-049: February 11, 2013

**Why did the Vuduri erase our cities?**

When Rei first arrived at Skyler Base, he was sorting through the image archives and noticed there was no evidence that our culture ever existed. Not New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, London - all were gone. During their first trip back to Earth in Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei asked, "Is there anything left of our cities, you know, from my time?" "No," replied Rome. "I am not sure of the proper word. They were...erased."

Later, in _The Ark Lords_ , Rome did choose to expound upon this a bit further. Rome said, "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."

Finally, in _The Ark Lords_ we were provided with a little glimpse into the past. We saw the death of Jack Henry (Hanry Ta Jihn in Vuduri) and in this little vignette, the Battle of Chicago is now over and Jack Henry lies dying on ground. Red June, Jack's most trusted lieutenant, had Jack's head resting 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."

Jack Henry was satisfied and then he died. And that is why all our cities were erased. 

## Entry 1-050: February 12, 2013

**Death from above**

Deucado is a small world, smaller than the Earth, yet it has received _more_ than its fair share of asteroid, comet and meteor strikes. This is due to the fact that the Kuiper Belt surrounding Tau Ceti is far more dense than that surrounding Sol.

The impact (pardon the pun) of all of this is that death from above has shaped Deucado's development as a home for life, since the beginning.

If a comet strikes the planet, it brings with it a huge amount of ice which is why Deucado has many deep seas. When asteroids hit, the resulting nuclear winter causes the temperature to plummet and all but the most hardy of species die out.

The current crop of animals and plants have adapted to this rain of death. The animals and fish (called swishies) are invertebrates with tough skins and are completely flexible. The trees have evolved to require very little light for long periods of time. Their trunks contain enzymes and cellular structures which allow them to perform "plant transmutation" (discussed in an earlier post). This allows them to make elements and molecules which are required for survival but not available due to environmental conditions.

In the upcoming novel, _Rome's Evolution_ , you will get a glimpse of a time when there was a pause in the pummeling from asteroids and the like. There is even a chapter with the non-published title of "The Blanket's Tale" in which you will learn how the animals deal with the uncertainty that tomorrow brings.

And speaking of tomorrow, you will learn the origin, effect and meaning of Lake Eprehem, the fresh water body that forms the focal point for most of the civilization on Deucado. 

## Entry 1-???: February 13, 2013

**No entry this day**

I'd love to say that this day was a Thursday. At least there'd be a pattern. But it wasn't. It was a Wednesday. Somehow I missed another posting. But this was the last one. After this, I learned how to schedule a posting as a backup, just in case I wasn't around to post it live. So this is the last time you see those question marks. I posted a new entry for the next nine months, right up until the end of Year One.

## Entry 1-051: February 14, 2013

**Lake Eprehem**

Much of the action in _Rome's Revolution_ and almost all the action in _The Ark Lords_ centers around the large fresh water lake called Lake Eprehem. Eprehem is Abraham in Vuduri.

Lake Eprehem is the largest fresh water lake on Deucado containing nearly 25% of all fresh water on the planet.

The lake was formed when a gigantic comet came down and smashed a deep hole in the western continent. Because it was a comet, not a asteroid as is popularly believed, Lake Eprehem was already partially filled with water even as it was cooling. The ash, ejecta and sulfur compounds thrown up into the sky lasted many years, blocking out Tau Ceti and causing Deucado to get very cold. It rained or snowed almost continually and Lake Eprehem filled up very quickly.

Within a few years, the sun began to peek out and the world started the long process of healing. Many swishies found their way into the lake, adapting to the fresh water, even thriving. Within 100 years, the world was back to "normal" whatever that means and it now had a huge fresh water lake to shape the environment.

There was one other side effect: The Hand. More on that tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-052: February 15, 2013

**The Hand of Deucado**

When the comet came down and smashed the crater that became Lake Eprehem, at its heart was a small iron core that blasted down through the surface until it hit a pocket of magma. The magma rose, melting a cylindrical tunnel straight up. A tube of lava flowed up forming a tower.

Magma continued to bubble up and the whole structure, now nearly a mile tall began bending over, cooling as it went. By the time it was done, the very top lay one half mile above the surface of what would eventually be Lake Eprehem. From a distance, it looks like a hand waving to the far shore and that became its name: The Hand.

It is quite awe-inspiring close up as it is so large and looming. After the lake filled up, the hand stretched over third of a mile over the lake created a platform providing a spectacular view.

500 years later, after things had settled and the lake had filled to the brim, nice, white sand formed a beach along the shore and a resort town, called Ur, sprang up.

While Deucado itself is rather plain, The Hand is anything but and much of the action in _Rome's Evolution_ takes place within the town center and the casino that was built on the top of The Hand. 

## Entry 1-053: February 16, 2013

**The Vuduri and Money**

Ain't got none. The Vuduri have access to infinite free energy. It would never occur to them to come up with a medium of exchange when anyone can have anything they want.

This has shaped their culture halfway. Nobody wants for anything so they do not have the drive to excel. And the Overmind does the thinking for them so they lost the other half, curiosity.

When Rei and Rome first returned to the Earth, they attended a luau on Maui (a scene since deleted from _Rome's Revolution_ ). During the luau they had a discussion about money which got a little heated and it was the closest thing they ever got to an argument. Rome thought the whole concept of money was stupid and still does in the upcoming _Rome's Evolution_. However, they need to get their hands on some to manage in the marketplace that has sprung up in the resort city of Ur, built beneath The Hand.

The currency they acquire are called Deucats, named after Deucado. A Deucat is about the size and weight as a silver dollar. It comes into play later in the story because they need to go to the casino that was built on top of The Hand. Go figure. 

## Entry 1-054: February 17, 2013

**Getting the word out**

Today's post is not about the books themselves but rather promoting the books. This is no joke. I have used the following avenues (and more!) to get the word out about _Rome's Revolution_ :

· Two Web Sites

· The Wiki - The Science Behind the Science Fiction

· Posting the books on Goodreads

· This Goodreads blog

· Posting the book on Amazon, B&N, iTunes, Kobo and Smashwords

· An Etsy store

· Posting the book on Ebay

· Creating a YouTube trailer

· Posting that trailer on Vimeo

· Two Facebook pages

· Listing the books and advertising them on FurnitureFindex

· Listing them on CraigsList

· Posting links on my own web site and my company's web site

· Writing to TV, radio stations and online magazines

· Getting a review in Risingshadow.net

· Donating the books to the Cherry Hill Library and the Rachel Kohl Library in Glen Mills

· Posting them in Google Books

· Getting them listed in Ten Pitches (a blog)

· Posting every day on Twitter

· "Paying" a guy to post about the book on Twitter by buying his book (sucky) and reading it and writing a review on Amazon, aka quid pro quo

· Email blasts (limited)

I have seen other, suckier books, listed on Wikipedia and it took two months but after three editorial reviews, _Rome's Revolution_ got its own Wikipedia page.

My colleague, Carol, wrote a Wikipedia article about me and my scientific accomplishments and after two months and two more editorial reviews, that got published on Wikipedia as well.

Well, today I woke up and found EVERYTHING had been deleted. One editor decided nothing I ever had done in my life and none of my books, journal articles, discoveries or doctoral dissertation were sufficiently noteworthy to take up the precious space in Wikipedia. I am appealing it but I don't have much hope.

Bottom line: if you read this whole article, please take the time to tell somebody about my books. Nothing else seems to work.

Thank you. 

## Entry 1-055: February 18, 2013

**Selected Vuduri phrases**

Initially, when Rei first met Rome, she did not speak English and he did not speak Vuduri. So there were some communication issues. I did not want to burden the reader with having to wade through tons of Vuduri gibberish but it was unrealistic to assume everyone spoke English 14 centuries from now.

To solve this, I had Rome learn English very quickly and spread it to the rest of the Vuduri world via the Overmind. During their year-long trip to Deucado, Rome taught Rei Vuduri so when they got there, I was able to co-mingle conversations in Vuduri or English without the reader having to worry about which language was being spoken.

Nonetheless, certain words in Vuduri continue to appear because that is the way they speak regardless of which language. Here are selected words and phrases:

Mau emir - my love

Mea - mother

Grandmea - grandmother

Beo - father

Grandbeo - grandfather

Erklirte - The Ark Lords

Mandasurte - mind-deaf

Ibbrassati - the "Oppressed"

Onsiras - living machines

Sipre - shadow

Asdrale Cimatir - Stareater

Essessoni - people from our generation

Hanry Ta Jihn - Jack Henry

Reonhe - Onsira queens

Zengei - Onsira drones

Ombare - Onsira "empress"

Mosdurece - Half-blood

Onclare - Uncle

I Cimaci - Earth's capital, near the former site of Lisbon, Portugal

Havei - Hawaii

Mowei - Maui

Socal - Southern California

Chee Ka Go - Chicago

Cesdiud - Cast out (expelled from the Overmind)

Tamas - the last month of the Vuduri year

Deucat - Vuduri equivalent of a silver dollar 

## Entry 1-056: February 19, 2013

**The Vuduri and Sex**

Ain't got none. Most Vuduri have relinquished most, if not all, of their sense of self. Many use what is called Second Sight where they do not even perceive the world directly through their own senses but rather allow the Overmind to provide them.

Rome was one of those rare individuals who (although tightly suppressed) maintained her own sense of self and used her own senses which is what made her such an excellent data archivist.

What has this got to do with sex? Most "good" Vuduri have no interests, do not engage in anything resembling fun and would never consider having sex for anything other than procreation.

The Overmind controls which Vuduri women ovulate and when and then commands the Vuduri men to mate with them at the proper time. Conception is almost guaranteed and after the baby is born, many times they are removed almost immediately to be raised in a crèche, a "raising baby factory."

Most good Vuduri children never even know their parents nor do they care. They have de-emphasized human relationships to the point of irrelevancy.

Among so many things, this is what made Rome so unusual: her attachment to her parents, though initially suppressed, was always there under the surface. Her sense of self was exploited by the Overmind (as we saw in _Rome's Revolution_ ) during the mission to Tabit. And the Overmind did not control her ovulation which is how she became pregnant during the year-long voyage to Deucado.

Tomorrow: Rome's rape - although it isn't as bad as it sounds. 

## Entry 1-057: February 20, 2013

**Rome's Rape**

It isn't as bad as it sounds.

Rei once asked Rome, innocently, about her virginity. Based upon the physical evidence, it appeared she was not a virgin when they first had sex yet everything Rei knew about the Vuduri and Rome in particular told him she had to be.

Shockingly, she told him he was not her first sexual partner. For a good Vuduri, this would be unthinkable. The story goes something like this:

When Rome was 18, she and Signola (who we met in Part 1 of _Rome's Revolution_ ) were working in a solvent factory several stories underground. A railing gave way and Rome fell into a vat of pure ethanol. Signola knew if he did not rescue her, she would die so he dove in and dragged her to the edge of the vat and threw her over the edge.

He climbed out as well. He knew that Rome had swallowed quite a bit of the alcohol and 100% alcohol is absorbed by the skin. So he stripped off her clothes, wiped her down, stripped off his own clothes and then passed out as had Rome.

Later, when they were found by other Vuduri, there was evidence that they had had sex. Neither Rome nor Signola nor the Overmind had any memory of such an encounter. There was video surveillance that did confirm the act.

Rome's explanation to Rei was as follows: "The nearest thing that we could figure out was that Signola absorbed just enough alcohol to deaden his reasoning centers, his connection to the Overmind and the only thing remaining was, let us call it his animal self and a naked female was lying next to him and that is what animals do."

Rome never held it against Signola and it did not really affect her psyche. She claimed that the whole incident was more like a story than a memory. She never brought it up again until the day Rei questioned her. 

## Entry 1-058: February 21, 2013

**MINIMCOM and Gunpowder**

MINIMCOM has a device called a molecular sequencer. It can be used to make virtually anything since it assembles the target one molecule at a time. However, it cannot create life and there are other times when it fails, not because of the chemical composition but because of mechanical reasons.

For example, there came a time when MINIMCOM needed to make ammunition to restock Hanry Ta Jihn's M9 Beretta. MINIMCOM assumed that he could make gunpowder by simply mixing the chemicals, potassium nitrate, sulfur and carbon in the proper proportions.

However, he was wrong. Traditional black powder, gunpowder, does not just depend upon the chemicals but how they are mixed. You have to use charcoal, not carbon powder. This is because charcoal has pores and the potassium nitrate and sulfur have to fill those pores.

So the charcoal is not just an element of the chemical reaction but also the physical substrate which permits the reaction to occur in the first place. After a frustrating amount of trial and error, MINIMCOM finally synthesized a ball mill (the mixing chamber) and roasted some wood to make living charcoal.

After churning the substances together, in the right ratios, for the proper amount of time, MINIMCOM was successful and the Baretta was reloaded. It is used in _Rome's Evolution_ but you will have to wait to see when and how. 

## Entry 1-059: February 22, 2013

**Rome's Nightmare**

I wrote this back in June of 2007. I didn't know what it meant at the time. It was just important that Rome have a nightmare when she first arrived at Deucado, before Aason was born. Now I'm writing _Rome's Evolution_ and I'm choreographing the action in the climax and it turns out, it is nearly Rome's nightmare. But back in 2007, I had no clue I would be writing this new book. The whole thing sort of creeps me out. It's like these stories really are true! (But just haven't happened yet).

Anyway, here is Rome's Nightmare from Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ :

Rome tossed and turned, vaguely discomfited. She was dreaming that she could see Rei running in a thick forest, lost. She called out to him but he could not hear her. He was running away from something. Rome tried desperately to get to him but she could not. A stranger was blocking her way. He wore black clothing and a hood that hid his face. He radiated malice. Standing by her side was a beautiful child, dressed all in white. It was Aason. He held his little hand up to her and she took it in hers. She marveled at how tiny it was.

A noise drew her attention away. Rome looked back at the black-clad stranger. He tilted his head back and shouted. He shook himself and began to grow. Larger and larger he grew until he filled the sky.

"Ta-ma sue croence," he said with a voice that caused the earth to tremble.

"Never," Rome shouted in English.

"Mea, au essusdetis," said Aason who tried to crowd behind her.

The stranger made a guttural chant and lifted his arms to the heavens then drew them down so quickly that he made a wind of titanic force. The gale knocked Rome over but her child remained standing, unprotected before the thing.

"Fica taoxe sau sizonhi," Aason said. Aason held his little hand up and the stranger evaporated.

"Ossi da pim, baby," Rome said, raising herself up. She bent over to caress her son's head. Aason turned to her but he had no face. Where his eyes, nose and mouth should have been, there were only slits.

Rome screamed. She sat bolt upright in bed, totally awake. She was shaking. She looked down at her abdomen and could see it was still fully distended. Hesitantly, she probed and found Aason there, resting quietly.

_"Mother?"_ Aason asked from within her womb. _"What is it?"_

_"It is nothing, baby. I just had a bad dream."_ Rome said reassuringly.

_"What is a dream?"_ Aason inquired.

_"It is a picture in your mind. It is not real."_

_"What was your bad dream about, Mother?"_ Aason asked her.

_"I was trying to get to your father. And someone came along who wanted to take you from me,"_ Rome said, shivering at the remembrance.

_"That is a very bad dream. I want to be with you, always,"_ said her fetus.

_"You will be, little Aason. We share a bond like no other. You will always know where I am and I will always know where you are."_

Vuduri phrases:

1. Ta-ma sue croence [Give me your child]

2. Mea, au essusdetis [Mother, I am frightened]

3. Fica taoxe sau sizonhi [You leave her alone]

4. Ossi da pim, baby [That was good, baby]

What does it all mean? Now you and I will both find out! 

## Entry 1-060: February 23, 2013

**Rei's Magic Pill**

As a by-product of the 14 centuries in cryo-hibernation, Rei's back suffered from fissured disks and caused him a lot of pain. This condition affected many of the would-be colonists but Rei was the first awakened.

OMCOM decided to cure his condition by creating a 25th chromosome, gene therapy, to reverse the trend. While he was at it, he decided to make a few "enhancements" to Rei without Rei's knowledge or permission. The pill fixed Rei's back and gave him remarkable healing capabilities.

OMCOM started with the 24th chromosome as a base. He was able to modify the gene responsible for the Vuduri's bloco (tablet) and stilo (stylus) which they used to communicate electronically. This was altered to create Rei's (and eventually Rome's) "cell phone" in the head.

OMCOM also took Rei's auditory cortex and added a neural net which mapped the spatial cues to Rei's visual cortex. He also improved the range and sensitivity of Rei's hearing. It is only activated when Rei shuts his eyes. The net result is a sonar-vision which allows Rei to see in pitch black using only his hearing. But in order for Rei to sleep, OMCOM built in a level detector so that the sonar-vision (or bat-vision as Rei likes to call it) only works when Rei's head is vertical. You saw Rei discover this in Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_.

Other, lesser effects include slowed growth of facial hair (the Vuduri have none), improved immune system, continuous self-repair to Rei's back.

There was one other side effect that I'm not even sure OMCOM was aware of, but knowing him, it was probably on purpose. Anybody having the 25th chromosome (or even the top portion) would be immune to conversion to the Onsira phenotype and the ability to resist being absorbed into MASAL's samanda even via prosthetic PPT transceivers.

The 25th chromosome is actually a triple helix with a protein interlace making more like PNA rather than just DNA. It reproduces using mitosis rather than meiosis so all of Rei's descendents will have it even if their mating partner did not. That is why Aason has this gene. Lupe will have two! Heaven help us all.

If this gene were spread to every human being on all worlds, it would mean the end of the Onsira phenotype forever. Perhaps that would make them unhappy to know this. 

## Entry 1-061: February 24, 2013

**Why did Rei recognize Rome?**

In the first scene in _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei awakens and sees Rome for the first time. Here is the exact paragraph:

Rei took a deep breath. Looking up, he was startled to see a face staring back at him. He jumped back and once again, pain shot through his spine. 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 just wrote the words. Sometimes I write things because I need to. Other times, I write them and I don't know why. So why did Rome look familiar to Rei? It is a question that has haunted me for 7 years.

Up until last week, my operating theory was always that I have been working on these books for so long (coming on 40 years) that the characters, in my mind, have been together so long that when they finally got to see each (in print), it was a reunion of sorts.

Of course, that makes no sense from a literary standpoint. Well, last week, as I was writing _Rome's Evolution_ , I finally found out the answer. From the Overmind of Earth, no less.

It turns out, as the Vuduri scientists were researching the genetic tree of the Vuduri as part of project Slayer, they were able to trace most Vuduri back to one or two or three of what we would call the "Genetic Eve." This is because mitochondrial DNA is passed directly from mother to child unchanged through the mitochondria of the oocyte, the egg.

And as it turns out, Rome's great, great, great, great grandmother was none other than Sally Reynolds, the great love of Rei's life who he left behind to travel to the stars. Of course Rome's bloodlines had been mixed in with other Vuduri (Hanry Ta Jihn included) and her father was of Polynesian descent. So Rome was both familiar and exotic.

Wow. 

## Entry 1-062: February 25, 2013

**The Casimir Pump**

The Casimir Pump revolutionized Vuduri society.

Hendrik Casimir was a Dutch physicist. His 1948 experiment proved that when two uncharged plates are placed very close to one another, there is an attractive force between them where there should be none. Casimir theorized that neutral space, with zero energy, has quantum fluctuations which spontaneously split into regions of positive and negative energy then recombine going back to a zero energy state. The experiment has been replicated several times. When the distance between the plates is very small (sub-micron), the force is very strong.

Nobody knows what would happen if you could actually collect negative energy. The first thing I came up with in _Rome's Revolution_ was the PPT drive which allows you to go much faster than light. The FTL drive postulated assumes that you can collect enough negative energy to "punch through" the fabric of space. Since there is no space where there is no energy, it takes zero time to go from point A to point C thus allowing you to go (mathematically) faster than the speed of light without violating relativity.

The next use of the Casimir Pump was the PPT transceivers that are built into the Vuduri because of the 24th chromosome. These tiny devices use gravitic modulation to allow the Vuduri to communicate mind-to-mind and was responsible for the creation of The Overmind.

Another use of the Casimir Pump was the PPT Thrower. These are tiny tunnels which allow you separate matter at the atomic matter. In other words, they are the world's sharpest blade.

If you are collecting all this negative energy, what do you do with the byproduct, positive energy? An amazing concept: unlimited, positive, free energy. Think about how that one single element would transform society.

More tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-063: February 26, 2013

**More on Vuduri Technology**

Part of the appeal of _Rome's Revolution_ was the culture clash between Rei and Rome.

While the most obvious difference between the Essessoni culture and the Vuduri culture is the Overmind, I'll cover that in more detail tomorrow. Today's entry is centered around the differences in technology.

In 14 centuries, if technology continued at the pace it does today, their society would probably be unrecognizable. That wouldn't make for a good story. I introduced The Great Dying to set society back to the Stone Age. This way, it would take the nearly 14 centuries just to get back to where we are today. To add a little whiz-bang element, I let them go just a little ahead of us.

The most obvious and important advance was the discovery and exploitation of the Casimir Pump described yesterday. Other hallmarks of classic scifi future societies are FTL spaceships (got 'em), rayguns (got 'em), robots (had 'em) and super-genius computers (got 'em in spades). I even threw in a few aliens (Stareater, falling blankets) but the traditional green aliens will come in 2014 in _The Milk Run_.

I wanted the reader to feel comfortable that this was a "classic" futuristic society. Then there is the twist. Lots of science fiction movies like to show future music, art, dancing, drugs, all sorts of things that are extrapolations from today. Well, since the Vuduri society is founded on the principle that they would _never_ do things like us, all those went away.

In fact, their future is boring. Their clothing is boring, their study of science is pragmatic. They have all this wonderful technology but as a people, they never take the time to "look up" and see what they have done.

That is what makes the merging of Rome and Rei so awesome. Rei comes from a world where we can appreciate what Rome's people have achieved, far more than they do themselves. Once Rome is cast out and is forced to think for herself, she, too, learns to appreciate the wondrous world of the 35th century.

You will note that once these two have joined forces, the pace of scientific discovery (through their agent MINIMCOM and to a lesser extent OMCOM) picks up significantly through _The Ark Lords_ and will continue with _Rome's Evolution_. 

## Entry 1-064: February 27, 2013

**How the Overmind came about**

When I first started _Rome's Revolution_ in 1973, I had no idea of what things were going to be like technologically in 2013. But I did know that Rei and Rome were fated to be together.

Part 1, which used be known as Book 1, Asdrale Cimatir, needed a climax. I decided that leaving Rei behind on Dara while Rome flies the Algol off to safety would be a heart-breaking conclusion. That is until we discovered that Rome, in fact, had not left.

But then I got stuck. If Rome stayed behind, why wouldn't she just radio Rei and tell him she stayed behind? I guess I could have said the radio malfunctioned but I took it one step further. I postulated that the spacesuits didn't have radios.

But why? Why wouldn't they? I then said, OK, the Vuduri are from the future, maybe they are mind-connected. From there, it was a simple leap to create the Overmind.

At that point, I had to go back to the beginning and create an entirely new culture, centered around the Overmind. More on that profound change tomorrow.

But all of this because I wanted Rei to run up a ramp... 

## Entry 1-065: February 28, 2013

**How the Overmind shaped Vuduri society**

Once I had to postulate the existence of PPT transceivers and the Overmind, I had to reinvent the entire Vuduri culture. I thought long and hard about what a society would look like if there were constantly people inside your head.

The whole concept of privacy was out the window. If you had a wrong, or worse, an impure thought, everyone would know. Thus the Vuduri became very clean of thought and in many ways naive. Also, the concept of lying went out the window. Who was there to lie to when everyone knew the truth?

The inability to lie and quite frankly not fully grasping the concept was a flaw that the Essessoni used to manipulate the Vuduri throughout all the books. This will be discussed tomorrow.

Another implication of having someone inside your head is the desire to create and have original thoughts is mostly drained from you. By the time you thought of anything, everyone already knew it. So the Vuduri just gave up on creativity. This includes interest in the arts, reading and even interpersonal relationships.

In an earlier incarnation of a book (since discarded), I even had the concept of "mind court" where Vuduri battled it out to prove ownership of original thoughts.

However, there is a difference between thoughts, emotions and sensations. Rome discovered that sensation was something that she could keep to herself. Others could try and leach it from her but it had no meaning. It was something she experienced for herself and it was irrelevant if others tried to grab it.

This led to her (from the Vuduri perspective) irrational attachment to her half-mountain lion, half-tabby cat named Skodla. Sadly, to cut the size of the books down, Skodla had to go but he is not forgotten. I'll pull out some of the stories about him in a future post. 

## Entry 1-066: March 1, 2013

**Lies, Part 1**

Because the Overmind is always looking inside your head, as a good Vuduri, you would never master the concept of telling a lie. You might be able to keep a secret but you could never tell an untruth. Only mandasurte (mind-deaf) can lie.

Our people, the Essessoni from the 21st century, have completely mastered the art of lying. As a culture, this makes the Vuduri virtually incapable of discerning if the Essessoni are telling the truth or not.

Here are some examples:

1. Rome and Estar, just before Estar injects Rei with the prosthetic PPT transducers:

"All right," Rome said, resignedly. "Here is the truth. We actually did make it to Deucado but crash-landed. VIRUS units got loose and caused our tug MINIMCOM to evolve into an invisible spaceship that can travel at 1000 times the speed of light. He transported us here in eight days. MINIMCOM was the one who crippled the engines to make it look like it took longer."

"Eight days?" Estar said, incredulously. "And then crippled your ship? Why would he do that?"

"To hide the fact that I had the baby and he is still alive."

"This baby of yours," Estar said with disgust. "Where is it?"

"He is invisible, too," Rome replied. "He is wearing a cloak given to us by the Erklirte who have been living on Deucado for the last five hundred years."

"You are not a very good liar," Estar spat. "Your story is beyond ridiculous. It is preposterous. That or being mandasurte has driven you insane."

**Bottom line: Rome was telling the truth.**

2. Rome tells Captain Keller the truth about the Virus 5 vessel being fake.

"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.

**Bottom line: once again, Rome was telling the truth.**

Tomorrow, some more lies or least stretching of the truth. 

## Entry 1-067: March 2, 2013

**Lies, Part 2**

Rome does know how to lie. She learned how from Rei. She lied to the Overmind of Deucado about the destruction of the Ark II. The Overmind assumed she was telling the truth because she was Vuduri and he was in her brain. It is a novel skill that Rome developed.

There are other examples, too. When Rei was first captured by the Ibbrassati, he told them about the Stareaters. They did not believe him. As mandasurte, they were familiar with the concept of lying. They assumed he was lying and threw him in jail even though he was telling the truth.

On the other hand, Rei has told some whoppers and gotten away with it because the Vuduri have no clue. For example, he told Virga he used a code-phrase that was about to instigate an interstellar war. She believed him. He also told MASAL's samanda that his son was dead and he put the body in the disposal unit. MASAL believed him because he was in Rei's mind but did not believe Rome when she told him that Aason was still alive. MASAL got both wrong.

Even OMCOM has been known to stretch the truth a bit. When he first contacted Rei and Rome after the Stareater was destroyed but that there were mutations. He preempted the discussion by saying, "There were some, perhaps you would say unforeseen, circumstances." Note that he qualified the statement by saying "you would say unforeseen" - that didn't mean _he_ didn't foresee it.

And even MINIMCOM gets into the act as they were trying to escape Helome. He announced to the Vuduri, "The cannons you see extended from the front of my fuselage are wide-angle, multi-phase PPT throwers. They are capable of leveling a square kilometer in less than one second." Not exactly the truth. Call it a stretch?

So, in the end, both Rei and Rome have lied, MINIMCOM and OMCOM have stretched the truth, but it was always to accomplish their goals which are almost invariably noble. 

## Entry 1-068: March 3, 2013

**More on missing Winfall**

In a previous post, I discussed why the Vuduri missed the disappearance of Winfall since it was the crucial plot element that launched the entire book series.

Well, I was thinking about it the other day and came up with a thought experiment that might explain it better.

Say that you had nearly omnipotent powers and could somehow arrange stars into the equivalent of a cosmic digital clock. Say you started the clock on January 1, 2000 at 12 midnight. If you were one light year away, you would not see the clock starting for a year. If you were 100 light-years away, you wouldn't see it start for 100 years.

So Winfall disappeared on a certain date and time according to the observers on Earth. They flew to Tabit, at 100x the speed of light, before the electromagnetic wave front got there. The gigantic digital clock would be farther back in time because the light rays displaying it didn't get there yet.

But what the Vuduri didn't understand was that time flows at a constant speed. If you fly away from "time" faster than the speed of light, your **now** relative to where you came from, goes into the past by the amount of time you flew FTL. So they actually flew into the past. If this gigantic digital clock had been visible, they would not have seen the time and date they expected but rather many weeks earlier.

While the Vuduri are not impatient, the amount of error in their calculations was so great, that even they gave up and packed up just before the electromagnetic wave front arrived. Too bad for them, great for us because it launched _Rome's Revolution_. 

## Entry 1-069: March 4, 2013

**Future History of Man**

While I constructed an entire future history of the Earth and mankind, that is not what I am referring to. What I was thinking was just as history is a (more or less) common remembrance of past events, maybe somehow, as a species, we had a common remembrance of the future.

For example, we've all seen science fiction movies where all anybody wears is white, people talk in soft monotones, computers are always plotting the overthrow of man and so on. Staples of most futuristic societies have spaceships, transporters, aliens, ray guns and the like.

So I thought to myself that if I created a future culture that contained _every_ stereotype of our future perception, maybe it would transcend being a rehash and maybe feel more like this really was how our future was. Then the characters could move about in a universe that everybody was _already_ familiar without necessarily having to spell out every detail.

It got to the point where, when I did _not_ have a future stereotype, I had to explain it. While the chapters in the book are not named, I had private names for each. There was one chapter called "Where are all your robots?" because that was a nagging question throughout the first three-quarters of _Rome's Revolution_. That is when Rome launched into her discourse about The Robot War which we learned later was actually started by MASAL. 

## Entry 1-070: March 5, 2013

**Did _Rome's Revolution_ really happen?**

The tag line "This story is true, it just didn't happen yet" is meant to be more than simply clever. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I was trying to construct a future history which was sort of a future racial (or species) memory.

I know it sounds crazy but I really believe it. There are so many instances where I threw stuff into the book for no reason, only to discover weeks, months, sometimes years later that made sense.

I have already given some examples. When Rei "recognized" Rome, I had no explanation of that until I started writing _Rome's Evolution_. I explained away no robots by inventing The Robot War which then merged beautifully into MASAL. MASAL, in turn, gave me the Onsiras which explained Estar. I wanted a villain in the Part 1 but never had a reason why she would want Rei dead.

The list goes on and on. The entire book _The Ark Lords_ fell out of one reviewer's comments saying that Captain Keller and to a lesser degree the people in the front of the Ark II were behaving irrationally. I also had the random fact of The Great Dying which was always part of my "future history" but I always thought it was just a terrorist's attack gone wrong. All of the sudden, it clicked, the two events were related. BOOM! A new novel.

And finally, in a previous post, I discussed Rome's nightmare. I never had an explanation for her terrible dream until I was writing the end of _Rome's Evolution_. So either it is just the phenomenon of creating a consistent, uniform future history and people just behave consistently or... (and this is the explanation I prefer) ...these stories really are true, they just didn't happen yet! 

## Entry 1-071: March 6, 2013

**The Overmind's personality**

An Overmind springs up whenever there are at least three Vuduri connected to each other. There is an infinitesimal delay between the thoughts of one Vuduri to the next and in the swirling, residual eddy currents, an autonomous entity arises.

However, the various Overminds, like any living creature, are shaped by their origin and their environment. The Overmind of Tabit, made up of 80 Vuduri, was rather rigid, dedicated to discovery and a bit autocratic. It followed the book and had a mission so it had no tolerance for bending the rules. That is why Rome was Cesdiud (cast out) so quickly. That plus it had a little prodding from OMCOM.

The Overmind of Deucado was made up thousands upon thousands of Vuduri and was supremely confident in its own abilities and rather imperious. Rome certainly knocked it down a few pegs in the middle part of _Rome's Revolution_ but it was ultimately better for it.

The Overmind of Helome, first encountered in _The Ark Lords_ , is more benevolent. It gives the Vuduri there much more free reign and just revels in the bounty and beauty of Helome. It is the closest we'll ever see to a hippie Overmind.

The Overmind of Earth, made up of several hundred million Vuduri, is closer to a god-like creature that guides and watches over the entire world. It treats many of the weaker-minded Vuduri like puppets but does tolerate independent thought to some degree. We've seen evidence of how it shaped the Vuduri culture throughout the first four parts. In Part 5, _Rome's Evolution_ , we will finally get to meet the Overmind of Earth. 

## Entry 1-072: March 7, 2013

**The Null Fold**

In _Rome's Revolution_ , OMCOM was able to communicate with Rei and Rome over a tremendous distance using what OMCOM called null-fold relays.

The null fold is taking the Casmir Effect and applying it to negative energy splitting it into "real" and "imaginary" negative energy. It boggles the mind. Anyway, "real" negative energy allows you to fold space geometrically, similar to a PPT tunnel which only lets you travel great distances algebraically.

In _The Ark Lords_ we saw MINIMCOM utilize a null-fold star-drive to increase his effective velocity to 15,000 times the speed of light. This reduced the trip to Tabit from 7 days to 11 hours.

OMCOM also uses null-fold relays to communicate from Tabit to Deucado in real-time.

In the new book, _Rome's Evolution_ , MINIMCOM finds new uses for the null-fold including stimulating neural growth allowing for regeneration of nerves that had previously been severed. He also uses the null-fold to activate PPT Transceivers that had been deactivated. The Vuduri had always assumed this was impossible. In theory, such a technique would allow Rome to reconnect to the Overmind of Earth, even though she had been Cesdiud on Tabit.

Imagine the possibilities! 

## Entry 1-073: March 8, 2013

**Whatever happened to OMCOM?**

OMCOM played a very important role in _Rome's Revolution_. He was Rei's first contact with the Vuduri civilization. He was instrumental in getting Rome Cesdiud (cast out) so that she could override the Casimir pump restrictions in the memron fabricator. He invented the concept of the VIRUS units although he used the Socratic method to lead Rei to design them.

When the Stareater attacked Skyler Base and OMCOM transferred his consciousness into the mass of VIRUS units, he became what is now called Planet OMCOM.

He's shown up at various points via his null-fold relays. He guided MINIMCOM when he first became a starship. He supervised the destruction of MASAL. He supplied a clone to serve as the data storage device for Rome's library. He even told Rei and Rome they had to produce a daughter named Lupe in the next few years.

But other than those minor interactions, what has he been doing out there, orbiting the remains of Tabit for all these years? Nobody knows. And you won't find out until 2014 when the last novel in the series, _The Milk Run_ , is released.

Needless to say, it will surprise you! 

## Entry 1-074: March 9, 2013

**Action, action, action!**

When I first set about writing the modern version of _Rome's Revolution_ , I really wanted to put my idea of consensus future history to work to build a kind of "you are there" story.

It started out with a beautiful little story about Silas Hiram and the first time he saw Earth from Alpha Centauri. This little vignette also introduced the idea of stars disappearing.

The next scene, the first to take place in the 35th century, was how the Vuduri discovered and rescued Rei's Ark. I think it was well written, evocative, cinematic and gave you a hint that you were in a new world.

The next chapter was Rei's awakening where you were as disoriented as he was and couldn't make much sense of what you were seeing. It introduced the concept of Rei's back pain and a hint of Vuduri technology.

It wasn't until Chapter 3 that we first meet OMCOM and start to learn about the new universe and the Vuduri language, the Overmind, etc.

Well, I made the mistake of showing those first few chapters to a professional writer and a professional science fiction writing coach. They both said chop this scene out, chop that scene out. Action, action, action!

In looking back, I regret that. I think the book is the book and people who have since read those deleted scenes said they were among some of the best written in Part 1. Well, after I am all done with _Rome's Evolution_ and conclude the series with _The Milk Run_ , I am going to go back and resurrect those scenes, along with others and put them all together in a book tentatively called _The Vuduri Companion_. Stay tuned. 

## Entry 1-075: March 10, 2013

**Pal Boco is MINIMCOM**

In the original manuscript entitled _VIRUS 5_ , written in 1973, Rei Bierak was a petty bureaucrat in "The Destiny of Man" corporation. They were in charge of the Outward Bound program which was taking man to the stars. Each group would stage at a star-base (called Schuyler Base back then) until enough people arrived to spell them then the senior group left to find a new colony world.

Well, in Rei's case, he was the last group. They had found a better staging world farther out so they were shutting down the base. The star-base computer, OMCOM, was not happy about this. Sound familiar?

Rei had a best buddy, named Pal Boco, who was patterned after my brother Bruce. He had a dry wit and the occasional sour disposition but he was always there when you needed him.

In the modern version of _Rome's Revolution_ , the whole dynamic of the situation was different so Pal Boco went away. Instead, a fussy little, humorless autopilot named MINIMCOM was fused into the airframe of a space tug with virtually unlimited storage memory and processing power.

Throughout _Rome's Revolution_ and eventually, _The Ark Lords_ , we saw MINIMCOM become self-aware, dry-witted and with the occasional sour disposition. But he was always there when you needed him.

I didn't know it when I wrote it but by the time I was done, I realized that Pal Boco had been reincarnated into MINIMCOM, the best friend Rei would ever have.

So thank you, Bruce, for the inspiration. 

## Entry 1-076: March 11, 2013

**The five Arks and their command crews**

I had sort of a set of rules when it came to selecting the command crews for each of the Ark missions. I tried to work in the last names of some real astronauts and occasionally, a character from the TV show 24.

Ark I - primary target: Alpha Centauri. Captain: Bill Allen

Pilot: Stan Linzersky

Co-pilot: Milo Shepherd

Ark II - primary target: Tau Ceti. Captain: Maury Keller

Pilot: Abu Fayed

Co-pilot: Mitch Alexander

Ark III - primary target: 82 G. Eridani. Captain: Dan Harrison

Pilot: Miguel Salazar

Co-pilot: Andy Cooper

Ark IV - primary target: Nu2 Lupi. Captain: Evan Rossler

Pilot: Sam Eberhoff

Co-pilot: Adam Goldberg

Ark V - primary target: Chara. Mission Captain: Brian Tomkin

Pilot: Emil Vostok

Co-pilot: Tom Glenn 

## Entry 1-077: March 12, 2013

**The List of Aliens**

Classic science fiction stories have aliens. They used to be little green men but in recent years, they range from the tiny, to the cute to the big to the scary.

_Rome's Revolution_ has its share of aliens but none of them, so far, are little green men.

First, we have the artificial intelligence aliens. This is Planet OMCOM, MINIMCOM, Junior and the OMCOM clone. We also met MASAL but he is no longer an issue.

Next, we have the non-corporeal aliens. These are the various Overminds and MASAL's Sipre which you will meet in _Rome's Evolution_ , available this summer.

Next we have the Stareaters who count as their own species. They refer to themselves as Species Three.

Finally, on Deucado, there are alien creatures who have a surprising amount of intelligence.

In the book following _Rome's Evolution_ , called _The Milk Run_ , you will finally get to meet a genuine walking, talking green alien named Sh'ev B'Oush who turns out to be a pretty decent guy, for an alien, that is. Sh'ev's son, B'Shev, will be along some day. You will also get to meet the Creatures of Light. Finally, we will get to meet Species Two and find out what OMCOM has been doing out there for all these years. 

## Entry 1-078: March 13, 2013

**Deleted scene: Rome encounters art**

In the original, unabridged version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei and Rome take much longer to get to know each other. Rome was very cold to him at first. A lot of their initial interaction was cut out so that I could get to the action sooner. In this deleted scene, Rei tried desperately to find out what happened the Vuduri's interest in art. He showed Rome a painting he had found. This is how it went:

"Why do we need those?" Rome posed to him. "Art? Music? We have outgrown their use. There is nothing lost that is required."

"But there is," Rei insisted. "Here, let me show you. I found it when I was going through the archives."

Rei turned back to the view screen. He pressed a few icons and went back to a picture he had seen previously.

"Look at this," he said.

Rome leaned forward and looked at the picture he was indicating. Her eyes widened then her stare became diffuse.

"Rome?" Rei asked.

She didn't answer for a moment. Then her eyes focused again and she said, "This item has been catalogued. The painting is entitled The Hallucinogenic Toreador by Salvador Dali."

Rei replied, "I know that. I want to know what you think of it."

Rome said, "He was a, your term is surrealist. He was from the twentieth century as measured by your calendar. This painting was created approximately 1970 AD. The picture was supposed to depict the thought processes of someone under the influence of a type of drug-induced double vision."

Her eyes defocused again then she continued on tonelessly. "This painting was to be a celebration of his career combining elements of his homeland, an optical illusion and the nature of representation..." Rome stopped for a second. She focused on Rei again. "And his affinity for Spanish culture."

"Rome, I don't need a recitation of who painted it or why. I just want to know what you think about it."

She shook her head. "I do not understand."

"How does it make you feel? What does it stir up inside of you?"

She looked at the picture then back at Rei and let out a sigh. "Nothing," she said. "I feel nothing about it. The painting is an aberrant use of colors and image progression. To you, it might be interesting, perhaps. I find it simply inaccurate. What is accurate is that nothing is stirred inside of me."

"That's my point," Rei said. "Art is all about feelings. The artist conveys what he feels to you through his craft. Art has been around since man distinguished himself as a species over the apes. And that species no longer connects with you. You, your Overmind, you are different. You don't feel things the same."

She stared down at the painting again, blinking rapidly. Then she looked at Rei with a pained expression on her face. She looked down at the painting one last time and said in a very quiet voice, "I do not need to feel."

Needless to say, it didn't go well initially. But much later, Rome not only learned to love art, she became an artist herself. She even built a studio in the solarium attached to their house on Deucado so she could paint in her spare time. 

## Entry 1-079: March 14, 2013

**The Stages of Evolution of MINIMCOM**

Stage 1: Fussy little autopilot computer.

Stage 2: Infused with uncounted peta-bytes of processor power and memory.

Stage 3: Spends so much time with humans that he becomes accustomed to their behavior. Personality forms.

Stage 4: After crash-landing on Deucado, he becomes fused into his space tug airframe using constructor units which are modified VIRUS units.

Stage 5: His personality is fully formed. He is clever, acerbic and completely self-aware.

Stage 6: Because of his dedication, he is emancipated and becomes his own entity, free to come and go as he pleases.

Stage 7: During his upgrade to the null-fold drive, he must give up a significant portion of his mass. He becomes a loving father and family member.

Stage 8: Dr. MINIMCOM. You'll have to see it to believe it. 

## Entry 1-080: March 15, 2013

**How MINIMCOM and OMCOM swapped roles**

In the beginning, OMCOM was a supercomputer who had a personality module and nobody to interact with. Rome was the Vuduri he cared about the most. In fact, he thought of her as his mother since she created him and finished his construction. But Rome was part of the Overmind and really did not have the skill set to interact with OMCOM in a meaningful way.

Then Rei came along. He was quirky, undisciplined, brilliant and engaging. OMCOM took to him right from the start because unlike the Vuduri, he treated OMCOM as a genuine entity instead of an appliance. After Rei and Rome slept together, OMCOM engineered Rome being cast out, Cesdiud, so that she could be freed of the cultural (and legal) restriction of arming memrons with Casimir Pumps.

Once the VIRUS units were developed and OMCOM transferred his consciousness to the gigantic mass and became Planet OMCOM, he became more distant, more god-like and we will not find out what he was doing out there until _The Milk Run_. MINIMCOM, on the other hand, was an effete, prissy little autopilot computer without access to emotions or even a personality module. In order for MINIMCOM to complete his mission of shepherding the Ark II to Deucado, he was augmented with uncounted peta-bytes of memory and processors and acquired a bit of OMCOM's personality in the process.

The only thing you can say is that MINIMCOM evolved. He had the processing power of OMCOM and a responsibility for seeing to it that Rei, Rome and the Ark II reached its target. MINIMCOM became caring. At first, he hid it behind an acerbic personality and often times had trouble hiding his sarcastic responses to human foibles. But when the time came, he sacrificed himself so that his charges could survive the crash-landing on Deucado.

He did not die. He rebuilt himself by infusing his memrons within the airframe of his space tug and became a starship. He developed a genuine affection for Rei, Rome and other humans to the point where they considered him a member of the family. He was so dedicated and industrious that he was emancipated and no longer required to serve humans. It was far too late, though. He loved Rei and Rome and even admitted so when he thought he was going to die during _The Ark Lords_ crisis. He even gave "birth" to a son named Junior who figures to some degree in _The Ark Lords_ and to a greater degree in subsequent novels.

OMCOM returned, or at least a clone of him, in _The Ark Lords_ and was an effete, somewhat sarcastic, mostly humorless, servant computer dedicated to navigating Rome's archives.

In the new novel _Rome's Evolution_ , you will see MINIMCOM acquire new capabilities and really push his interactions with humans to a whole new level. OMCOM's clone becomes somewhat animated but his entire persona resembles that of the early MINIMCOM.

Bottom line: OMCOM became infinite and removed himself from day to day interactions with humans as an equal. MINIMCOM was given the capability to interact and did so to the best of his abilities. Many people consider MINIMCOM their absolute favorite character.

Go figure. 

## Entry 1-081: March 16, 2013

**Livetars: size, colors and fonts**

Livetars (live avatars) are animated shells comprised of VIRUS-based constructor units. They are projected by OMCOM, MINIMCOM, Junior and by OMCOM's clone.

They don't have any clothing. They are more like robots. Their shell is their outer covering. OMCOM is always pure white. This was done, in the beginning, because that's the way the Vuduri do things. Later, it served as a nice contrast to MASAL so I just stuck with it. His eyes and mouth openings are slits and he always talks in a metallic voice. I used Courier New 11 pt font for his voice. It seemed computer-like.

I got some of complaints about "fontitis" on _Rome's Revolution_ so when OMCOM's library clone comes along, he also wore white but he speaks with a normal, human sounding voice. This equates to same Times New Roman 12 pt font as normal humans. The fact that he has not much of a personality is neither here nor there.

MINIMCOM always comes in jet black but with a cape. His mouth and eye holes are slits also although he can wink and smile when he wants to. I chose black to contrast him to OMCOM, obviously. The cape was designed to give you a sense of his showmanship which he's had almost since the beginning. He did use it once to scoop up a burning pan in _The Ark Lords_ but that scene was strictly inserted to prepare you for his dramatic "death" scene. I always use Courier New 10 pt Bold font for his voice and italicize it when he is transmitting inside Rei and Rome's heads. I did that because when he was just an autopilot, he was small and it was supposed to be imbued with a tinny quality. Later, when MIMIMCOM became a starship and his livetar was a big, hulking, six foot six presence, I thought it'd be funny to keep the little voice. If you saw the movie Up and remember the alpha dog with his screwed up translator, you know what I mean.

Junior's livetar is the most interesting. Because he was a newborn, I made his livetar small, just a little taller than Aason and gray to fit somewhere between OMCOM and MINIMCOM. His voice and mouth holes are round and his face is more expressive, as is his voice. He, too, uses a normal Times New Roman 12 pt font. As he grows older (which you will see in _Rome's Evolution_ ) his livetar is taller and my plan is for him to reach a full two meters eventually, just like his dad. However, I think I will keep him gray just because. 

## Entry 1-082: March 17, 2013

**The Espansors: Old and New**

The name Espansor comes from ESP. These are the bands that allowed Rei and Rome to connect mind-to-mind. These bands have been around since the beginning, back when _Rome's Revolution_ was still called _VIRUS 5_. This was in 1973.

In the first incarnation, Rei was a petty bureaucrat just waiting out his time to leave Schuyler Base (the spelling back then) and get on to the next colony world. OMCOM "delivered" Rome to him as a present for procuring OMCOM's gravity wave detector which eventually led to the discovery of the Stareaters.

In that version and the next revision, ironically called _Rome's Revolution_ , they also met but now Rome Sevenate (she had a last name back in 1973) was escaping social persecution from a government which was forcing its members to use the Social AdjustMints to force them into planned behavior. Think of it as an early form of the Overmind.

In both versions, the bands were Rome's "secret" which were only available to a few select people. Rei and Rome used the bands to learn about each other's character in a very intimate way. The outcome was the same. Rei and Rome fell in love, joined forces and took on life as team thereafter.

In the current incarnation of _Rome's Revolution_ , the Espansors once again come into play and allow Rei and Rome to connect mentally as part of a demonstration by Rome. In this book, the bands are a normal part of society. They are used by the Vuduri to communicate with the mandasurte (mind-deaf) in the only way they know how.

However, in Rei and Rome's case, the Espansors malfunction and they connect soul-to-soul, just like in the original versions. This allows Rome to overcome the social conventions of not having feelings and not wishing to interact with the mandasurte.

The rest is (future) history.

## Entry 1-083: March 18, 2013

**Wine and Alcohol**

In the 35th century world of the Vuduri, they don't make alcoholic beverages because they are not interested. They do make ethanol (see the post entitled "Rome's Rape") as an industrial solvent.

However, once the Essessoni come to town, things change. On Deucado, some of Rei's group start an experimental vineyard and Rei brings a bottle of their wine to dinner at the Mullens in _The Ark Lords_. Edgar Mullen gets drunk and tries to molest Rome and it does not end well.

When Rei and Rome get to Earth to enlist the aid of Ursay in tracking down the Virus Strain 5 canister, Ursay has started a small vineyard and serves them a pitcher of one of his more promising wines.

In the upcoming novel, _Rome's Evolution_ , several enterprising Essessoni procure food synthesizers and learn to make vodka and several other kinds of liquor. They do not figure prominently in the plot but they are mentioned.

Finally, Rome was not unfamiliar with the concept of alcohol as a beverage. Her father hailed from Havei (Hawaii) and they created a fermented coconut juice beverage called kefir which had about 10% alcohol. During the luau scene which has since been deleted, Rei and Rome drink a little and have the closest thing to an argument they ever had. 

## Entry 1-084: March 19, 2013

**The Vuduri Culture**

One of the problems with world-building is not only do you have to come up with a planet and species, you have to come up with an entire culture.

Since the Vuduri culture, along with the Overmind, came along by accident, I had to start simple. The cultural slice we see on Skyler Base during Part 1 of _Rome's Revolution_ is just the tip of the iceberg but allowed me to build up the culture slowly.

Over the next few posts, I'll cover Vuduri clothing, food, housing, city layout, employment, transportation, government and entertainment. I wouldn't get my hopes up for entertainment too much as they did not appear to have any.

I'm slowly working my way through. I think I'll have it all down just in time to be done with the series. However, the mix of Essessoni, Vuduri, Deucadons and mandasurte (Ibbrassati) on Deucado is creating a whole new culture so maybe there is more to it that I know. 

## Entry 1-085: March 20, 2013

**Vuduri Food**

When we first meet the Vuduri on Skyler Base, we get a little bit of a skewed idea of what their food is like. The base is located on the moon Dara which has an unbreathable atmosphere. The entire base is self-contained and everything must be recycled.

Rei's first introduction to Vuduri food is through the food synthesizers which take protein molecules and other substances and create food. While Rei is not impressed with the food itself (he finds it rather tasteless), this is not a limitation of the food synthesizers but rather the wants and desires of the Vuduri themselves.

The food synthesizers are fairly flexible as Rei is able to get OMCOM to make him a cup of coffee very quickly. Rome learns to love coffee. During their year-long trip from Tabit to Deucado, Rei is constantly programming the food synthesizers to make Rome indescribable treats. We will even see in the upcoming _Rome's Evolution_ that the food synthesizers are commandeered by the Essessoni to make things like vodka.

But once the settlers arrive on Deucado, the food distribution system becomes more like ours. The people there eat swishies, which are like fish, vegetables grown to the south. Rome's mother, Binoda, even establishes a bison herd to the north.

On the Earth, Rome's father's side of the family eat traditional Hawaiian food. But what about the rest of the regular Vuduri? What do they eat? Does everything come from a food synthesizer?

To tell you the truth, I really don't know. They haven't told me yet. I have to believe they eat _some_ food which does not come from a synthesizer. And how would they keep their synthesizers loaded? Rome's father, Fridone, did tell her that when he first met Rome's mother, Binoda, the meeting was arranged ostensibly to review Fridone's research regarding migration patterns of the Hawaiian Red Opah. Now why would the Overmind be interested in fish unless it was "grist" for the food synthesizer engine? I don't know.

I guess if it becomes relevant in some future story, I'll worry about it. But for now, we have all the bases covered. The people eat. The people like us eat food. The Vuduri eat something but since it doesn't interest them, should it interest us? Maybe. 

## Entry 1-086: March 21, 2013

**Clothing in the** **35 th** **century, Part 1: The livetars**

Over the next few days, I will cover the variety (where it exists) of clothing worn by the various groups comprising the population of 35th Century Earth (and Deucado). The groups that I will cover will be the livetars, the Vuduri, the Essessoni, the mandasurte, the Ibbrassati and finally, the Deucadons who have the most interesting clothing of all. Today's topic is the livetars. As I have mentioned previously, they don't wear clothes as such. But their outward appearance does give you insight into their inward motivation.

Start with OMCOM, the entity who invented the livetar concept. You may think it was MINIMCOM but if you think back to the conclusion of _Rome's Revolution_ , Part 1, you will recall that OMCOM appeared to Rei and Rome as a holographic image materialized by using null-fold relays to synthesize his image.

That entity, later realized "in the flesh" was all-white, with a bullet-shaped head and slits where the eyes and mouth would be for a human being. OMCOM picked white because that is the color the Vuduri always wore. He wanted to "fit in" as best as a livetar could. However, since it was not living, he made a conscious decision to not make the eyes and mouth look normal. He didn't even bother to create a nose slit since it had no purpose. This first incarnation of OMCOM in a bipedal form was the model for all livetars since.

The fact that OMCOM was dressed all in white came in handy when he was standing up to MASAL who was supposed to be the devil incarnate and represented the forces of evil.

But does black always mean bad? I would say no. MINIMCOM purposefully rendered his first appearance as a livetar as all-black. This was a) in contrast to OMCOM and b) MINIMCOM wanted to present an imposing figure. He even wore a cape even though it served no useful purpose, other than showmanship.

OMCOM's subsequent clones, like the library clone, always render their livetars in white. When you meet Planet OMCOM in _The Milk Run_ you will see an all-white planet.

Finally (at least for now) there is Junior who rendered his livetar in gray. This was a conscious decision on his part so he could be distinguished between OMCOM and MINIMCOM. He could have chosen all-black, like his father but then as he "grew" he would eventually become indistinguishable, other than sans cape. He also picked round eye-holes and mouth-hole so that he appeared slightly more human. His whole persona is the most human of the three.

Here is a little tidbit for you: in 25 years or so, even Junior will have a son. His nickname is Trei (pronounced tray) because he is MINIMCOM III. His human companion is named Rory Bierak who is Aason's son and Rei and Rome's grandson.

It is all planned out! 

## Entry 1-087: March 22, 2013

**Clothing in the** **35 th** **century, Part 2: The Vuduri**

The first time we meet the Vuduri on Dara, they are all wearing the same clothing. These are white jumpsuits. There are different sizes but none really big enough for Rei. He finds the shoulders too tight. Even Estar, who we later find out is a spy, is dressed in a standard Vuduri jumpsuit.

The next group of Vuduri we meet is on Deucado. Here there are two types of clothing. Admittedly, the second type is not described very well other than "soldierly." Everyone else wears white jumpsuits. The lab technicians do wear lab coats. I suppose it is for sanitary reasons. Even Sussen, the spy, is wearing a traditional jumpsuit.

Why only white jumpsuits? The reason for this is that a) the Vuduri don't care about clothes so there is no reason to have different styles and b) they recycle everything so they just grab the next jumpsuit that is ready.

Finally, we meet the Vuduri on Earth. Once again, there are soldiers and white jumpsuits. But when Rei and Rome are captured by the Onsiras, we see that they have expanded their colors into black. How exciting! Once again, there are soldiers, lab coats and white jumpsuits. Even Binoda, Rome's mother, wears a white jumpsuit.

That's it. As far as I can tell, these are the only clothing the Vuduri ever wear. At least that is all they have ever told me. Rome did tell me that she wore loose-fitting pajamas to sleep.

If you want to call Rome a Vuduri, then she wears lots of clothes. She started designing her own clothes on the year-long trip from Tabit to Deucado. Bright colors - blasphemous! Once she settled down on Deucado, she starts dressing in different styles although she often goes back to the white jumpsuits. In her later years, when she becomes a full-time school teacher, she dresses differently each day for each culture on Deucado. She wears a white jumpsuit on Mondays, Deucadon style clothes on Tuesdays, Earth/Essessoni style on Wednesdays, mandasurte or her own style on Thursdays. On Fridays, she wears what Rei calls her school-marm dress outfit. That's his favorite. She wears a white blouse, with a light tan vest and skirt made out of "falling blanket" leather. 

## Entry 1-088: March 23, 2013

**Clothing in the** **35 th** **century, Part 3: The Essessoni**

The Essessoni are us. Even though the Ark II launched in 2067AD, that is only 54 years away. Think about how people dressed 54 years ago, in 1959. A little different but not too much different.

When the Essessoni were first awakened, all they had were their flight suits. But the combination of Ibbrassati and Vuduri have given them their normal wardrobe now. They wear shirts, slacks, underwear, socks and boots or shoes. They have jackets but the weather on Deucado is so mild, they really don't need them very often.

Think about the flight suits they had to bring with them, though. They had to be fresh and wearable after 14 centuries of storage. They were vacuum sealed in the cargo compartment and then exposed to the vacuum and cold of space so they stay preserved very well.

Rei brought a super-alloy straight razor with him, one that never needs sharpening. So he shaves pretty much every day as do most of the Essessoni. The Vuduri do not have facial hair and the Deucadons are partial to beards. The mandasurte would prefer to remain clean-shaven but sometimes they cannot.

Rei is partial to tans and browns. Other than that, their clothes are supposed to be easy to imagine because their tastes are similar to ours.

More tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-089: March 24, 2013

**Clothing in the 35 th century, Part 4: The mandasurte**

The mandasurte are the forgotten people of the 35th century. The word mandasurte means mind-deaf and it isn't a race or a culture as much as it is a definition. They are considered handicapped by the Vuduri. Those that are mind-deaf because they only have 23 pairs of chromosome (like us), are considered not-fully human.

The only distinguishing external characteristic between the Vuduri and the mandasurte is their mode of dress. Of course, they speak, they have feelings, etc. But up until the invention of the 24th chromosome, they were the exact same people as the Vuduri.

There is no overriding trend or characteristic in the method of dress of the mandasurte. On Earth, many of them have flocked back to Havei (Hawaii), which is where many of them hale from. When the Great Dying wiped out nine billion people, the only two significant pockets of life remaining were Hawaii and Portugal. These two groups eventually merged and became the Vuduri.

That is not to say that there weren't any people left in North America. There were plenty but they never advanced past an agrarian way of life. As the not-yet-Vuduri pursued science and technology that was not banned, they eventually returned to North America and retrieved most of the inhabitants. Thus in the 35th century, North America is largely unpopulated. I have no idea what happened to South America.

Back to their mode of dress, the mandasurte, at least the ones in Hawaii, dress in very comfortable, natural clothing. They don't have high style. They still wear Hawaiian shirts occasionally although their core technology is right around where ours is today. They have retained ties to their historical past. They still have Hula dances, still wear leis, still have luaus. They fish, they farm, they have art and music. They take care of themselves. Their most important distinction, though, is that they think for themselves. But most advanced thinking was inhibited by the overwhelming Vuduri presence. 

## Entry 1-090: March 25, 2013

**Clothing in the** **35 th** **century, Part 5: The Ibbrassati**

The Ibbrassati (The Oppressed) are the splinter group of the mandasurte who live on Deucado. The first waves of people were transported against their will when Deucado was still a prison planet. These people were made up of the best and brightest of the mandasurte. MASAL had calculated it was most important to wipe them out first. They only needed to be imprisoned on Deucado until the planet-killer asteroid hit in 19 years.

When Rei and Rome first met them, the Ibbrassati were dressed in rags made of rough cloth. Cane-tree bark could be stripped of its fibrous inner coating and those fibers could be woven into cloth. It was rough and scratchy but it was the best the people could do there with no other resources.

After Deucado was liberated, while a number of mandasurte returned to Earth, a large contingent elected to stay on Deucado as free men. Many of them had their families come and join them on Deucado, at first, courtesy of MINIMCOM's "stealth taxi" service. Later, this migration was encouraged and supported by the Overmind of Earth.

Once they were freed of the shackles of their oppressors, the Ibbrassati started wearing more "normal" clothing which is to say made of normal cloth. However, they had no such compulsion as the Vuduri to wear identical outfits. The only thing you could say about their clothing is that they were comfortable and typically of natural tones. Rarely did they seek bright colors or fabrics.

Once they learned to trap and kill "falling blankets" they expanded their repertoire to include leather made from the skins of the slow moving animals. All in all, they looked like a relaxed and comfortable group who were building world, side by side with Rei's Essessoni and the Deucadons and even, to some extent, the Vuduri contingent who decided to remain on Deucado as well. 

## Entry 1-091: March 26, 2013

**Clothing in the** **35 th** **century, Part 6: The Deucadons**

The Deucadons have the most interesting clothing of all. Think Darth Vader only comfy. Much of the clothing appears black, somewhat like leather. There are a variety of devices integrated within the costume including communication devices.

Due to their circumstances, the Deucadons had to master conduit science. They need this to bring fresh air down from the surface and expel carbon dioxide. They also have to bring in water and remove waste from their underground city.

They also learned to apply their conduit technology to an invisibility cloak that conducts light from the front to the back and side to side. This means when you are looking at them, you only see what is behind them making them functionally invisible. The cloaks also suppress IR. They dampen sound to some extent but they cannot suppress the fact that they are a solid body and sound waves must travel around them. That is how Rei was able to discover them with his sonar-vision even though they were invisible to the naked eye.

That's about as much as I know. I haven't spend much time with a crowd of Deucadons. The only ones I have met are Bukky, Melloy, Triden and Steben. Steben returns in _Rome's Evolution_ as he gets involved in the discovery that there used to be sentient life on Deucado millions of years earlier. We'll also meet a Deucadon merchant and a casino dealer. 

## Entry 1-092: March 27, 2013

**Vuduri Housing**

In _Rome's Revolution_ , we first encountered Vuduri housing within Skyler Base, on the moon Dara. The entire base was built as a series of concentric rings with apartments lining each corridor.

Each apartment consisted of a sitting area, a work-station, a bed and a refresher, aka bathroom. That's it. Because of the geometry of the base, some of the apartments were larger than others but it was not on purpose.

On every world where Rei saw Vuduri housing, he was appalled to find it never changed. Vuduri housing is a cross between a row house and prison cell block. Each apartment/home consists of a sitting room, complete with workstation, a kitchen/dining area, a place to sleep and a refresher. The Vuduri never thought about adding a spare room and I suppose they never worked from home.

Even on Helome, with its more flexible form of Vuduri, the housing is still the same. The Vuduri have no hobbies, they never entertain or enjoy entertainment.

At least on Deucado, they have helped build housing which differs from their own ideal design. The very first house built on Deucado for the Essessoni (Rei and Rome's house) was U-shaped with a sitting area, a dining area, a kitchen, a bedroom for Rei and Rome and a bedroom for Aason. The Vuduri even took the time to build an in-law suite for Rome's parents on the far side of the courtyard.

Rome's parents built a solarium while they were living there but eventually moved into their own home. After they moved out, Rei and Rome converted one of their rooms into an office/study, another into a playroom and Rome converted the solarium into her studio.

Progress! 

## Entry 1-093: March 28, 2013

**Vuduri City Layout**

The Vuduri are nothing, if not unimaginative. Everything in their lives is intended to be predictable and non-stimulating. So the only shape they could use to lay out their cities would be a circle. It is the only geometric shape that has no features.

Actually, their cities are laid out as a series of concentric circles with main thoroughfares running east-west and north-south and minor boulevards running southeast to northwest and southwest to northeast. Thus it is possible to get from anywhere to anywhere in a minimal amount of time. All cities have all surfaces paved, no vegetation anywhere.

The only feature that literally ever sticks out of any Vuduri city is the central tower, usually very tall, called (unimaginatively) The Tower. This building is used for observation, weather measurements, anything that requires elevation.

The first city the Vuduri every built, essentially the capital of Earth, is called I-cimaci which means The First. The second largest city is called E-brixome which means The Second. It looks nearly identical to I-cimaci but its tower (also called The Tower) is just a bit shorter.

Usually the Vuduri put housing to the southwest, administration to the southeast, science and engineering to the northeast and civil services (power grid, waste management, food distribution) to the northwest. So you can go to any Vuduri city and know exactly where you are headed.

There are a few deviations. On Deucado, the Vuduri built their city as two overlapping triangles, like a Star of David and on Helome, their capital has twin towers and vegetation throughout the city.

Coming full circle, when we first met the Vuduri on Dara, at Skyler Base, in _Rome's Revolution_ , their star-base was built exactly the same way their city was. Rei found it confusing at first but once he got the hang of the layout, he did find it easy to navigate.

The only difference was they did not have The Tower, instead they had a central common area for meals and some specialized rooms on the outskirts. This includes the tug hangars, the stellar observatory, the docking port for the Algol, storage for OMCOM's core, central recycling and the power plant. 

## Entry 1-094: March 29, 2013

**Vuduri Transportation**

Vuduri society is beyond communist. No one owns _anything_. Everything is community property. If you need an air car to get from point A to point B, you just take the nearest one and leave it wherever you go. If you need a starship and the Overmind sanctions it, you get it and the crew.

Most vehicles are powered by _electro-gravity_ (EG) lifters. Electro-gravity is generated when you spin superconducting magnets very fast. However it only produces a repulsive force, that is, it needs a true gravitation field to push off of. But as a lifting device, it works quite well. The Vuduri have adapted it to most of their vehicles including personal cars, transports, airships and boats.

Their transports are divided into cargo carriers which resemble large, flatbed trucks and people carriers. Their people carriers look a lot like the fuselage of a tandem rotor, military style helicopter (think Chinook) but without the rotors. The cylindrical body has four stalks, two in the front and two in the back which extend and end in large EG lifters.

EG lifters can be used to do a lot of things but they are only truly effective in a gravity well. They can be used to get a spaceship to the edge of space but then their effectiveness drops off. You can close the magnetic shields and their backwash creates a low-level of artificial gravity which is useful on long space trips. I'll cover their starships tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-095: March 30, 2013

**Vuduri Spaceships and Starships**

The Vuduri have a variety of spaceships and starships but all use the same fundamental principles. All use EG lifters to get them off the ground and to the edge of space. All of them use plasma thrusters as their main impulse engine and PPT tunnels for hopping long distances. All use trim-jets to adjust their pitch, roll and yaw. All have small airfoils, insufficient to produce lift but aerodynamically sufficient to produce a control surface within the atmosphere.

For short excursions, the Vuduri use a variety of space-tugs. In _Rome's Revolution_ , we saw several of these in use in the Tabit system. One of them crash-landed on Deucado and evolved into MINIMCOM the starship.

Other ships are small crew ships. They are just for getting people from one place to another. They have cargo ships as well.

The Algol was one of their most sophisticated designs. At its heart, it was a large, very powerful starship for transporting a crew of 80+ to a star system 26 light years from Earth. On the trip out there, the rear of the ship was fit with a set of cylindrical containerized storage units for transporting the tugs, construction materials, scientific equipment and so on.

The cylinders could be detached. One of them was cut in half and used as the staging area between the Algol and Skyler Base on Dara. For the return trip, the storage cylinders were left behind.

All Vuduri spaceships use a landing technique called aero-braking which was covered in an earlier post. The Vuduri determined it was the most efficient way to return to the surface of a planet. So set in their ways, that is why they selected Dara as their stellar observatory; because it had an atmosphere which would allow them to aero-brake. Admittedly, it was also easier to build a base on a world where there was some atmosphere but that was secondary.

Once the Vuduri had come up with what they considered the optimal design elements, they never varied from that. It took MINIMCOM to invent the continuous PPT-tunnel projector which allowed him to travel at nearly 100c. It took him several years but he eventually shared this design with the Vuduri who started building a fleet of what they called fast-ships.

Not to be outdone, (with OMCOM's help), MINIMCOM implemented the null-fold drive which boosted his top end by a factor of 15X. In the next book in the series called _The Milk Run_ , OMCOM rolls out an improvement, the null-fold Drive II which can go twice as fast allowing Aason and Junior to move along at 30,000 times the speed of light. That is pretty damned fast! 

## Entry 1-096: March 31, 2013

**Vuduri Government**

Since they are all mind-connected, the Vuduri do not really need a government as such. They do not have a very formal penal system. Crazy people and criminals are simply Cesdiud (cast out) and no longer part of the whole.

There are a few exceptions, especially when the Vuduri and mandasurte interact. You will recall that in _Rome's Revolution_ , Rome committed a crime by allowing PPT transducers to be integrated with memron units.

Because of the horrendous toll the Robot War took on mankind, this exact procedure was banned. It was a capital crime, punishable by death. So when Rome returned to Earth, she was arrested immediately. Rei was able to convince them to have a trial. We discovered there were Vuduri individuals trained to listen to facts called Juoz (judges). Rei was not able to get Rome absolved of the crime but he was able to get her sentence commuted to exile.

On Skyler Base, Commander Ursay ran things and later, in _The Ark Lords_ , you can see he can exercise that title and force underlings (in this case Grus) to follow his commands even if they go against the Overmind. No one ever considered how such a thing was possible but after all, the books are called _Rome's Revolution_ for a reason. 

## Entry 1-097: April 1, 2013

**Vuduri Entertainment**

As a people, the Vuduri are deadly dull. They do not enjoy music, art, dance or athletic competition. So what do they do for entertainment?

Nothing, really. They get up, they eat, they go to work, they come home, they exercise and they go to bed. That is their life. The Overmind is always in their head and it has a way of discouraging independent or even creative thinking.

There is one exception, though. The Vuduri believe in physical exercise. There are certain jobs that demand physical strength and dexterity. The Vuduri start out very young trying to ascertain their strengths and weaknesses through certain athletic endeavors.

One such activity, competition really, is called the dadar-fo. It is a three-legged trestle, similar to a see-saw but with three arms balanced about a cone-shaped pivot point. Each arm ends in a flat metal plate and the match starts when four children step upon the flat metal plates at each end.

The idea is to knock the other children off the device and end up with your "team" occupying all three plates. It teaches teamwork, strength and agility. There is a rubberized mat underneath to soften the blow when you get knocked off. Sometimes the competition gets a little violent, especially as the children get older.

There are no prizes. The winners feel no outward sense of accomplishment but you wouldn't know it if you ever watched one of the matches. Maybe there is hope for the Vuduri after all. 

## Entry 1-098: April 2, 2013

**Rei's Disorientation**

In _Rome's Revolution_ , when Rei was first awakened by the Vuduri, he was extremely disoriented. It seems natural. After all he was frozen for 14 centuries. That's a long time. But is it? Especially from Rei's point of view?

Remember, he fell in love with Rome within 24 hours of his awakening. But from his perspective, he had just seen Sally Reynolds, the former love of his life, six weeks earlier. At that time he claimed he would never love again.

When you go back and do the math, things changed fundamentally for Rei even though his subjective time was not very long. The day after he said goodbye to his parents and Sally, he flew to Houston and spent 30 days in quarantine to make sure he was not harboring any diseases or noxious germs. He then spent two weeks enduring the grueling dehydration protocol prior to being placed in cryo-hibernation.

The fact that 14 centuries passed would mean nothing to him. The reality was, he was in his world, he spent six weeks in isolation and then he was thrust in the 35th century world of the Vuduri. He had to come to grips not with the unfathomable passage of time but with the radical change in human nature.

You want him to feel like the passage of time is enormous but the reality is, it was just a number. What was enormous was how much the world and Rei's view of the universe had to change. 

## Entry 1-099: April 3, 2013

**Stars (1): Cast of Stellar Characters**

There are many stars mentioned in _Rome's Revolution_. Among them are Sol (the Sun), Alpha Centauri A (Rogal Canduro), Pi3 Orionis (Tabit), Tau Ceti, 86 G. Eridani, Chara (also known as Asteron), Nu2 Lupi and Alnilam.

Others were mentioned more or less in passing. These included Winfall (Lambda Aurigae), the four-star cluster of Capella and three made-up stars: Mirdel, Vachedi and Amiro.

My next post will be about the mathematics required to compute distances and travel times. Even the layout of the constellations as seen from Earth on January 24, 2067 and from New Earth in 2137 had to be predicted.

The only major inhabited star system left unexplored is Nu2 Lupi. We will get our chance to learn about it in the next novel, _The Milk Run_. There you will learn that there are not one but _two_ habitable worlds. One is very warm. The other is on the cool side. This star was the destination of Ark IV and you will find out what became of them. And, as promised, you will finally find out what OMCOM has been doing out there all these years. How are the two related? I guess you'll have to read the book! 

## Entry 1-100: April 4, 2013

**Stars (2): Star Drives**

The problem with writing science fiction about travel between stars is that they are so damned far apart. With today's technology, it would take thousands of years to reach Alpha Centauri, the nearest star. So I had to invent a series of star drives to shorten the amount of time. I don't know about you but a novel about people sitting in chairs for two centuries doesn't sound all that interesting.

Obviously, in _Rome's Revolution_ , the first star drive was the Grey Drive. It was proposed to have a top end of 5% of the speed of light which is virtually impossible. However, it does make computing the travel time fairly easy. You just multiply the distance between stars by 20 and that is the amount of time it takes to traverse that distance. For example, Tau Ceti is 12 light-years away from Earth. So the voyage of the Ark II was supposed to take 240 years.

The Stareaters were postulated to travel about ½c so you just divide the number of light years by two and that is the travel time.

The next star drive was that used by the Vuduri using PPT tunnels. The lowest end was 15c and the faster ships were capable of 100c. That meant that the time to travel between Earth and Tabit would be 26.18 divided by 100 which equals .2618 years or 95 days. That's how long it took the Algol to get there from Earth. Just a little over three months.

MINIMCOM was able to figure out how to force-project continuous PPT tunnels giving him a top end of nearly 1000c. That means the trip from Tau Ceti to Earth would be 4.4 days. In reality, the first time he made the trip, he was carrying Rei and Rome's flying house and it took him 8 days. Still impressive.

Finally, in _The Ark Lords_ , we are introduced to the first generation null-fold drive which has a top end of 15,000c. This allows MINIMCOM to make the trip between Deucado and Helome (Alpha Centauri) in just about 8 hours.

In the final book of the series, called _The Milk Run_ , we will see the next generation null-fold drive capable of 30,000c. It is so fast, it literally takes starships out of our universe. Where do they go? You'll have to wait to find out. 

## Entry 1-101: April 5, 2013

**My blog is 100!**

Wow. Time flies when you are writing about the 35th century. Yesterday was my 100th post on this blog and I haven't even scratched the surface!

I have been working on the world of the Vuduri since 1973... that's 40 years. So I guess it is only natural that I have a lot of backstories and information that doesn't make it into the books. For every element in the story that can be fact-checked, I spend 5 minutes or 5 hours researching. Whatever it takes.

For social or historical situations, sometimes, I have to write a 7, 11 or 15-page short story, just to create a one sentence comment in a scene. Like the Deucadons. They have been on the little world for 500 years. But how did they get there? It was a fairly lengthy and detailed story, just so one of the characters could say we only started with the clothes on our back.

This has been fun. Don't worry, I'll keep going. Thanks for reading and maybe someday someone will post a comment.

Mike 

## Entry 1-102: April 6, 2013

**Stars (3): The Constellations in 2067**

Part of the challenge of writing a book about the future and the arrangement of the stars is figuring out where everything sits. I used a program called Voyager III by Carina Software to figure out what the stars looked like from Alpha Centauri on the night Silas Hiram discovered that Alnilam disappeared.

I also used it to figure out the exact date of Rei's launch for the upcoming book _Rome's Evolution_. There is one chapter which is a flashback to Rei's "last day on Earth" which wasn't really. It was simply the last day before he entered quarantine. It was necessary that the stars be aligned so that Rei and Sally Reynolds could see Orion the Hunter and Cetus the Whale at the same time and also have the Moon be as close to Orion as possible.

I stepped through the days within the program and came up with the date of January 24, 2067. Everything was perfect. Rei went into quarantine and was cleared on February 23, 2067. The dehydration protocol lasts two weeks so Rei went into cryo-hibernation on March 11, 2067. He was placed aboard the Ark II on March 13 and they launched on June 24, 2067. There you go. Mark it on your calendar!

## Entry 1-103: April 7, 2013

**Stars (4): Celestial motion**

A lot of my calculations were performed using Microsoft Excel. I used it to calculate travel times, the ages of people, the timing of sequences.

I even used it for mundane things like story outlines and page counts. It was very helpful in calculating how long it would take the VIRUS units to digest the Stareater.

One other program I used was Microsoft Visual FoxPro for celestial mechanics (see the upcoming post Moons). When I was writing Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ , it was very important for me to know where each of the two moons, Mockay and Givvy, were at each point of the story. I used FoxPro to produce a full day's worth of illustrations of the relative positions of the moons.

The point being, I believe in the stories and I believe in the math. So when I do these calculations, their results force the stories to follow a certain pattern. I adjust the story to meet those patterns rather than the reverse.

That's the difference between science fiction and fantasy. One bends to truth to tell a story. I bend the story to tell the truth. 

## Entry 1-104: April 8, 2013

**The Moons of _Rome's Revolution_**

Moons, in general, play a part in each of the novels of the _Rome's Revolution_ series. That would be _Rome's Revolution_ , _The Ark Lords_ and the upcoming _Rome's Evolution_.

In Part 1 of _Rome's Revolution_ , most of the action takes place on Dara which is actually a moon of Skyler's World, a Jupiter-class gas giant. Dara is large enough to actually retain a thin atmosphere.

In Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei and Rome travel to Deucado. That world has two moons, Mockay and Givvy, both on the small side. I patterned them after Phobos and Deimos which orbit Mars. Their names are just a little joke: they are the Vuduri translation of Mickey and Goofy.

In Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei and Rome take a stroll along the beach underneath Earth's Moon before they are kidnapped by Onsira forces.

In _The Ark Lords_ , our heroes travel to the world of Helome which has one moon called New Luna generally referred to as Nuna. In the original, uncut version of _Rome's Revolution_ , we had already been introduced to that moon during the time we spent with Silas Hiram.

Also in _The Ark Lords_ , on their way back from Helome, Rei and Rome actually stop and walk on our Moon to try and recover a space probe which had been parked on the far side.

In the upcoming _Rome's Evolution_ , the Moon plays an important part as a celestial marker when Sally Reynolds is charting out Rei's future using her psychic powers.

Finally, while I cannot say for sure, I suspect when we explore the twin habitable planets of Nu2 Lupi in _The Milk Run_ , I suspect there will be a moon or two or three involved. 

## Entry 1-105: April 9, 2013

**Beer on Helome?**

One of the casualties of compressing the first three books into one was the excision of the beautiful little story about Silas Hiram. This story will return when the seventh part is published, working title _The Vuduri Companion_. This book will be a series of short stories and maybe even a novelette or two.

Many of the salient events of Silas' night were recounted in previous blog entries.

Silas Hiram 1 - Astronaut, Farmer

Silas Hiram 2 - Amateur Astronomer

Silas Hiram 3 - Tonight's the night

Silas Hiram 4 - Silas Sees Sol

Silas Hiram 5 - Excerpts from Silas' Journal - Rome's Revolution

One of the things Silas was known for was his beer. Because he was an Ag professor, he was allowed to bring a variety of seeds. He was sure to include barley and hops. In the little story, there were a few allusions to Silas getting really good at brewing beer and bartering with neighbors for wine, etc. In fact, the night "Silas Sees Sol" - he had a beer in his hand.

Unfortunately, Silas was either killed the day after his last log entry (from _The Ark Lords_ ) or consumed by the Piranha Rats but he never lived to see New Earth, later Helome blossom.

Years later, in the upcoming _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome return to New Earth, now called Helome and during a social event, they are served beer. As it turns out, this was cultivated by the banished would-be Ark Lords, members of the Darwin Project, who had found feral crops of barley and hops. The fact is these were the descendants of the crops that Silas had planted. They had survived for 14 centuries and 17 waves of Piranha Rats and still thrived. 

## Entry 1-106: April 10, 2013

**Rei's Rescue -The Problem with Silence**

In the stirring opening chapter of the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , the first thing you, the reader, encounters is the near-collision of a Vuduri space tug, just emerging from a PPT with the tumbling, out-of-control Ark II.

In every other science fiction movie, you'd hear the Red Alert, Collision Detector kind of klaxon to pump up the adrenaline, right from the jump. But the Vuduri have no need for klaxons. All of them are connected to the computers and various devices through their blece (display board) and stilo (stylus) which are data interfaces built right into their nervous system.

If I were ever going to make a movie of this, I'd throw the klaxon in anyway. I'd make up some excuse like it would be for mandasurte who were accompanying them and they just forgot to turn it off. I just don't think you can have an exciting near-collision without a warning siren going off in the background. 

## Entry 1-107: April 11, 2013

**Rei's Rescue – Rome's Story**

In the original long form of _Rome's Revolution_ , we saw Rei's Ark rescued from space. We also saw two white space-suited individuals (who we later found out to be Rome and Canus) help Rei in his re-animation.

One of the scenes deleted from the long-form was called "The Night They Recovered Rei - Rome's Story" but it is now in the archives. In this little story, Rome is much more "Vuduri-like" in that her mind floats free from her body. I decided to make her more "Essessoni-like" trapped in a Vuduri society so this had to go. Here is the story:

Rome didn't actually sleep in the traditional sense. None of the 24-chromosome, mind-connected Vuduri really slept. They rested each night, of course; they had to. Their bodies needed the time to regenerate the same as all humans have since the dawn of mankind. Unlike their predecessors, however, it was during this quiet period that their minds soared within the Overmind, contributing to its growth, absorbing its extended senses. This meditation also served a second, more insidious purpose. All the private memories and sensations a person experienced during the day were spread and shared with the other minds within the group, effectively robbing those memories of their personal nature. Because of this process, when a decoupled mind was finally deposited back into the body, it began the next day cleansed of any vestige of individuality.

On this particular evening, during her assigned rest period, Rome lay perfectly still within her quarters on a mattress that molded itself around her body. Rome's eyes were closed, her breathing was shallow but steady. Mentally, she floated free, using the minds of others to watch the recovery mission occurring in space over 100 light minutes away, almost 2 billion kilometers. Because the Overmind used gravitic modulation, the crewmen within the spacecraft were so close to Rome, cosmically speaking; it was as if she were right there with them during the operation.

Rome watched as one of the space tugs returned from recovering Rei's sarcophagus, leaving the huge Ark II quietly alone in orbit around Dara. In anticipation of the tug's arrival, the Overmind insisted that Rome's mind return to her body. The Overmind was going to require her services so it declared her rest period over even though it was far too short. It did not occur to Rome to challenge the order. She arose and prepared to answer the call to duty.

In the current version, the explanation for why she was selected to reanimate Rei is more important than the how. 

## Entry 1-108: April 12, 2013

**Secrets Revealed - A new series**

The upcoming novel, _Rome's Evolution_ , is going to reveal many secrets that have been withheld up until now. In fact, it marks the end of the Rei and Rome story arc.

My promise to you, the reader, is that at the end of that novel all the loose ends will be tied up with the exception of one: what the hell has OMCOM been doing out there all these years? The answer to that question will be revealed in the final book of the series entitled _The Milk Run_.

However, there are so many secrets, in-jokes, hints, back-stories, etc. that don't fit anywhere so I will start laying them out in this space over the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy them. 

## Entry 1-109: April 13, 2013

**Secrets Revealed - Rei's Rescue**

Secrets of Rei's Rescue from _Rome's Revolution_ :

1. The pilots of the space tug that rescued Rei were ordered by the Overmind to overtake the Ark for observation but were not ordered to retrieve it. The pilots made that decision on their own.

2. The pilots figured out how to use the EG lifters in reverse to lock on and slow down the Ark's rotation all on their own.

3. In the text, the author (me) says in another age, they'd just let it pass on by. That was referring to what would have happened if the incident had occurred in the vicinity of Earth.

4. The author (me) said in another place, they might have destroyed the Ark. We saw vivid evidence of this when they arrived at Deucado.

5. All on their own, the pilots were able to determine that they could tow the Ark via PPT tunnel if they had two tugs. They called down to Dara and got the other tug to come join them. The Overmind did not object.

6. So you see that while OMCOM is supposed to be some genius and took credit for how to get the Ark from Tabit to Deucado, the reality is, the method of towing was already developed by humans. All OMCOM did was figure out whether that configuration would be workable, long term.

7. The pilots decided to tow the Ark back to Dara. The Overmind had no objection because its curiosity was piqued. This Overmind had been built for exploration and research. Other Overminds would not have cared.

8. When the astronauts enter the Ark and pick out one sarcophagus for retrieval, Rei was not their first choice. Who was?

9. Was it Paul Chung, Wally Stanislaw, Andrea Grenmuller or Russell Martell? We don't know. The placement of the sarcophagi in the Ark was for weight distribution purposes. And who are those four people? You'll find out in the upcoming _Rome's Evolution_.

10. Since Rei was NOT their first choice, how did they pick him? They just couldn't figure out how to free the person next to Rei. They figured the chamber was stuck. It was only when they got to Rei's sarcophagus and discovered that it, too, was stuck that they explored further and found the locking mechanism.

11. Once Rei was revived, he went through extreme disorientation, not because of how much time had passed but because of how much society had changed. 

## Entry 1-110: April 14, 2013

**Secrets Revealed - Rome's Evolution**

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

1. What happened on Rei's last day on Earth. What was the flying horse?

2. Why didn't Rei take a pair of sunglasses with him?

3. Why did Rei take a dangerous space-walk just to retrieve his music slab when they were on their year long trip?

4. Who was Sally Reynolds and what did she mean to Rei? What was her relationship to Raul? To Rome?

5. What happened to the remaining Darwin members who were not captured and deported?

6. How did the exiled Darwin members fare when they got to Helome?

7. Whatever happened to Sussen, the spy on Deucado who precipitated the crisis in Part Three of _Rome's Revolution_?

8. What happened to the Onsiras, in general, without MASAL to guide them?

9. What is the Overmind of Earth like?

10. Rome says time is like a river. It is possible to travel back to past lives. Is this where premonitions come from? We want more!

11. When is Lupe coming?

12. Why are there so many caves on Deucado with smooth roofs?

13. Why is there so little diversity of life on Deucado?

14. Is there any place for money in the 35th century?

15. Was there ever sentient life on Deucado?

16. Why did the Overmind built a static tunnel to Helome when it was just a fledgling colony world?

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

## Entry 1-111: April 15, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: The remaining Darwin members**

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

Rome looked around from side to side then up at her husband. "I know you've removed all the weapons but do you think we have to worry about any of the remaining Darwin people that have evaded capture?"

Naw," Rei said dismissively. "Most of the ones we missed the first time turned themselves in voluntarily. There might be a couple of them wandering around. Not enough to do anything."

"That's a relief," Rome said. "I would not want to live my life constantly worrying about them."

"They're done," Rei said. "And they know it."

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

## Entry 1-112: April 16, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: The deported Darwin members**

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

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

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

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

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

All of your questions will be answered in the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_. 

## Entry 1-113: April 17, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: The static tunnel to Helome**

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

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

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

## Entry 1-114: April 18, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: The Flying Horse, Part 1**

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

"There is one thing I have wanted to ask you, as well," Rome said.

"Sure."

"When I was in your mind, I saw an image of a flying horse that almost killed you. Can you explain that please?"

"Oh, that," Rei said. "Sure." He took a deep breath. "On my last night before I went into quarantine..."

"Why did you go into quarantine?" Rome asked.

"Before the dehydration and cryo-hibernation," Rei replied. "You had to go into quarantine for a month to make sure that you weren't harboring any noxious diseases or anything. They wanted to make sure the new world was as clean as possible."

"I understand. Go on."

"Well, I was on my way over to Raul and Sally's."

"Sally?" Rome asked. "You were in love with her, no?"

"Yes," Rei answered. "I was in love with her. But she married Raul."

"Did that not cause bad feelings?" Rome queried.

"At first," Rei said. "But I let it go. I couldn't really blame her. I was committed to going on the Ark and she wanted to stay on Earth. It worked out for the best. I got to know Raul and the three of us became friends."

"That is nice," Rome said.

"Yeah," Rei answered. "So anyway, we were all going to have dinner together with my parents. I had borrowed Raul's truck and spent the day getting rid of the last of my possessions."

"Why did you do that?" Rome asked.

"Because we were only allowed to bring 20 kilos worth of belongings. I brought some books and some clothes and some music. That's it. I didn't really need anything else. Certainly not furniture. It's not like I was ever coming back."

"So the horse?" Rome reminded Rei gently.

"Yes. Anyway, I was coming out of a tunnel and I saw some people riding horses on the other side of the retaining wall."

"And your horses flew?" Rome asked, confused.

"No," Rei answered, "it was a bomb."

"I do not understand."

"Somebody set off a bomb on the bridle path and blew up one of the horses," said Rei, disgustedly.

"Why would they do that?" Rome asked with a slightly horrified tone.

"Beats me," Rei shrugged. "The goals of the terrorists were so obscure, that's why nobody could ever address them."

"So they blew up a horse?" Rome asked.

"Yes. Its carcass catapulted over the retaining wall and landed right on the hood of my truck. It smashed the windshield. The crash curtain never went off. It was just dumb luck that I wasn't killed or injured seriously."

"That is horrible," Rome said. "No wonder you wanted to leave your Earth."

"Yep. That and the global storms, pollution, overpopulation. We had pretty well made a mess of things..."

"Yes, you did," Rome said somberly.

More tomorrow... 

## Entry 1-115: April 19, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: The Flying Horse, Part 2**

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

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

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

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

## Entry 1-116: April 20, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: Guns and Ramps and Sunglasses**

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

\- The first time Rei and Rome land on Deucado, there is a group of Ibbrassati waiting for them with clubs, maces and other evil looking objects.

\- When they land at the Vuduri enclave on Deucado, when Rome was experiencing respiratory distress, they were greeted by Vuduri with standard issue Vuduri weapons.

\- When they land on Earth, they are immediately taken into custody by a group of Vuduri soldiers as Rome is place under arrest.

\- When they arrive back on Deucado, at the end of Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_ , they are greeted by a large group of people but at least this time it was joyous.

\- When they first land on Helome, walking down the ramp appears to be an innocent act. However, the two women accompanying Virga are carrying hidden weapons and it is their intent to kidnap Rei for use of his genetic material.

\- When Rei, Rome and Ursay walk up the ramp beneath the Tevatron, they are "welcomed" by a heavily armed contingent of the Darwin group, aka the new Ark Lords.

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

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

## Entry 1-117: April 21, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: Who was Sally Reynolds?**

Sally was mentioned several times in the original long form version of _Rome's Revolution_ and again in _The Ark Lords_. So who was Sally and what was her relationship to Rei?

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

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

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

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

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

## Entry 1-118: April 22, 2013

**First Look: The cover of _Rome's Evolution_**

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

What do you think? 

## Entry 1-119: April 23, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: Was there ever sentient life on Deucado?**

Answer: Yes.

You will find out all about it the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_. That's all I can tell you now without spoiling the rest.

How's this for a teaser? Every chapter has a "secret" name. I never tell anybody these names but it helps me in my notes. Chapter 18 is called "The Blanket's Tale" - does that give you a hint? 

## Entry 1-120: April 24, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: Why are there so many caves on Deucado with smooth roofs?**

There are many, many caves on Deucado. Rome has personally visited several of them as has Rei. Many, if not all, have a peculiar smooth roof. Does this mean anything? Is it just the way erosion works on this little planet?

The only help I can give you right now is for you to think about Rome's confrontation with MASAL in _Rome's Revolution_. Rei and Rome had just escaped Estar, accidentally killing her in the process. They travel down a long lava tube and during a break, Rei discovers a huge cavern just on the other side of the wall. He blasts a hole and they enter the cave. Rome shoots her plasma gun into the air like a super-flashlight and discovers the roof of that cave is unnaturally smooth. Does that help?

The answers to all your questions will be revealed in the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_ which I hope will be ready to publish in May. 

## Entry 1-121: April 25, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: Is there any place for money in the** **35 th** **century?**

The Vuduri have access to limitless free energy. Despite OMCOM's dire warning that there would be a price to pay some day, the Vuduri use that free energy to power their society, their starships and even create matter. They have molecular sequencers which allow them to synthesize any substance known to man. They have machines that make food. They have devices that can extrude housing. Do they have any need for money at all? This subject was touched upon in an earlier post and the conclusion was they didn't really need it.

But what happens when you mix four races who cannot agree upon the value of things? Money, as a symbol, becomes a way to measure the worth of something as long as each party agrees upon the inherent worth of money. Typically, money is made out something that is rare and/or valuable like silver or gold. But if you can make these metals at will, how valuable can they be? The other way money has value is if a central authority (not necessarily a government) says it has value and everyone agrees.

In the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome come across a place, the resort city of Ur, where money becomes a necessity. Rome is not thrilled about it. She thinks it brings in an element that has no place in Vuduri society. You'll have to decide for yourself when you get to that part. There's even a casino! This is not the end of _Rome's Revolution_. 

## Entry 1-122: April 26, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: Why is there so little diversity of life on Deucado?**

Other than the laziness of the author (me), have you ever wondered why there is so little diversity to the life on Deucado? Ever since we arrived here in Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ , we've only seen a few types of animals and plants. In fact, the only animals we have seen are the 'falling blankets' of various sizes and shapes. Within the seas, we only have the swishies which are an eel-like fish. As far as plant life is concerned, the only native flora are the cane-trees, the sticky bushes, the threadgrass and some flowers.

Why so little diversity? How can a world exist which does not have a wide range of animal and plant types?

I can tell you that Matt and Perry bought me a little glass globe called an Eco-sphere which is fully self-contained. It has water, air, a wooden-like branch, some algae and shrimp. It is completely sealed. All you do is supply light. The algae converts the light and the carbon dioxide into plant growth with the by-product being oxygen. The shrimp consume the oxygen and nibble at the algae and leave waste product which is used by the algae as food.

It is now April and while we started with four shrimp (three of which died), the one remaining shrimp seems perfectly happy and has not suffocated. So it is possible.

In the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_ , you will find out the startling reason why there is so little bio-diversity on Deucado. You may not agree with it but at least we will know the reason. 

## Entry 1-123: April 27, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: Rei's Space Walk**

Why did Rei take a dangerous space walk to retrieve his music slab during their year-long journey from Tabit to Deucado? I don't know about you but it seems a little irresponsible to me just to get to some music. Rome makes reference to it during their first visit to the Ark II in the novel _The Ark Lords_ yet Rome does not appear to be too upset about it.

The fact is the incident took place between Parts 1 and 2 of the current version of _Rome's Revolution_ and was excised during the edit down from the long form to the current version.

The backdrop was they had just escaped the oncoming Stareater and VIRUS consumption of the moon Dara. They were traveling at a lower speed and MINIMCOM figured out how to increase their speed. The entire incident, concluding with Rei retrieving his music slab (kind of a solid-state version of an iPod) will be revealed in the second Intermezzo in the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_. 

## Entry 1-124: April 28, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: What is the Overmind of Earth like?**

We have met various Overminds directly or indirectly, as described in a previous post. On Tabit, the Overmind was never exposed to us directly. All of its thinking was channeled through its communicants like Rome and Ursay. The reason it was so quiet is because it was only made up of some 83 souls.

The Overmind of Deucado "spoke" to us directly. It was made up of thousands of Vuduri populating that planet. However, it was not powerful enough to stand up to Rome's direct assault. She beat it into submission and into sanity in Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_.

Up until now, we have never met the Overmind of Earth. It must be very powerful, indeed, as it is made up of 100 million souls. We saw that it ruled with an iron fist. Most of the Vuduri on Earth had no opinions of their own. They let the Overmind do the thinking for them.

The Onsiras had an Overmind of their own but while he was "alive" - it was MASAL who controlled it. What happened to the Onsiras after MASAL was vaporized? You'll find out in the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_.

The Overmind of Helome seems very relaxed and in tune with the beauty of the planet yet stills seems to rule with a firm hand.

Will we ever meet the Overmind of Earth? The answer is yes. In the upcoming novel, _Rome's Evolution_ , Rome must enlist the aid of the Overmind of Earth and finally come to grips with her Cesdiud, her lineage and being banished from Earth. 

## Entry 1-125: April 29, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: Whatever happened to Sussen, the spy?**

At the end of Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ , Sussen, MASAL's agent on Deucado had stolen a ship and was on her way back to Earth to warn MASAL that his plan for keeping the mandasurte captive on the doomed world might fail. Her expected travel time was 28 days. MINIMCOM had mastered the continuous project PPT drive and theoretically could get to Earth in 4 days. However, because he "swallowed" the flying house, it took him 8 days. This was still plenty of time for Rome to be tried and convicted and exiled to Havei (Hawaii). Estar and MASAL's minions kidnapped Rei and Rome with the intent to either integrate them or kill them. This plan backfired and Rei and Rome ended up vaporizing MASAL by re-igniting the volcano of Kilauea.

The Stareaters came and went and Rei and Rome were allowed to return to their new home world of Deucado. But whatever happened to Sussen? It would be at least two more weeks before she arrived on Earth, only to discover that not only were Rei and Rome free, MASAL was destroyed and the entire infrastructure of the Onsiras was dismantled.

In the original long form of _Rome's Revolution_ , there was a little interlude in which OMCOM appeared before Sussen and told her how the world she was expecting was gone. However, this vignette was excised in the current version.

So what really did happen to Sussen? We can guess that she would have traveled to Havei, only to discover that MASAL's base was gone. Where would she go next? She had learned to think for herself which was an oxymoron when it came to the definition of the Onsiras. The next place she would go would be the main encampment of the Onsiras in Socal, which would have been called Los Angeles in our time.

So what lay in store for Sussen? You will find out in the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_ which should be published within the next three weeks. 

## Entry 1-126: April 30, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: Whatever happened to the Onsiras, after MASAL was destroyed?**

When MASAL designed the 24th chromosome, it was his intent over a century or two for all of mankind to evolve (or devolve?) into the Onsiras who literally had no mind of their own. Rei and Rome thwarted that plot but did not change the genetics involved. Much of the plot of _The Ark Lords_ revolved around the fact that the Vuduri on Helome were finding an increasing number of Onsira phenotypes being born.

The Onsiras had their own Overmind. But it was controlled by MASAL when he was alive. After he was gone, their Overmind would not just disappear. And there were more Onsiras being born every day. This is not a situation that could remain stable.

You will find out what happened to the remaining Onsiras in the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_. The answer may surprise you but you can rest assured that eventually, they are treated humanely. 

## Entry 1-127: May 1, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: Rome's ability to travel through time**

One of the underlying themes of the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_ is the inter-relationship between the past and the future. From Rei's perspective, he had only left his parents and Sally Reynolds six weeks earlier when he was thawed and awakened by the Vuduri in _Rome's Revolution_. On his last night on Earth, Sally had reiterated her ability to read the future.

In the novel _The Ark Lords_ , you got a little sampling of the future from our perspective but the distant past when viewed by the people living in the 35th century. When Rome touched the pool of dried blood within the bowels of the Tevatron, she was able to connect with the life of Jack Henry and experienced his life and times as if she was there herself.

How is this possible? How can a person travel through time? My guess is your body cannot. However, there is no reason why your consciousness could not travel forward or backward in time. It does not violate causality. If you ever watched the TV show Quantum Leap, you will see that Sam's mind was the only thing that traveled up and down the line. His body remained in the future.

In the upcoming novel _Rome's Evolution_ , Rome addresses this issue. There is no way to prove or disprove her ideas. All I can tell you is that these stories write themselves. Where do the ideas come from? I claim they come from one possible future. The tag line for the entire _Rome's Revolution_ series is "This story is true, it just haven't happened yet."

Think about that one! 

## Entry 1-128: May 2, 2013

**Secrets Revealed: When is Lupe coming?**

At the end of _The Ark Lords_ , OMCOM appears before Rei and Rome and requests that they have another child, a daughter, and in the not-too-distant future. While Rei and Rome appear to reject the idea initially, OMCOM had sound reasons which could not be ignored.

In the novel that follows _Rome's Evolution_ entitled _The Milk Run_ , the children Aason and Lupe are the stars. This leaves a gap. When was Lupe conceived and why? The good news is all of your questions regarding Lupe will be answered in the next novel _Rome's Evolution_ which should be out in the next few weeks. 

## Entry 1-129: May 3, 2013

**_Rome's Evolution_** **is live!**

I have posted the new novel _Rome's Evolution_ on Amazon, B&N, Kobo and SmashWords. The paperback is under way. I'm just waiting on the proof. I will be posting the iTunes version in a week or so. Apple requires a lot more prep work to get a book into the iTunes store.

The preliminary version of the web site is up at www.RomesEvolution.com and the links to the various bookstores will be live on Monday.

If you can't wait, here are the links for the Kindle and Nook, ready to go.

So, the only thing left is rolling out the paperback and iTunes. I have a June deadline for my book-signing so I think I am on track. Here is Bruce's amazing book cover:

Very exciting! 

## Entry 1-130: May 4, 2013

**Starting with a bang**

I have noticed that as the world's collective attention span grows shorter, some movies have resorted to starting out with an explosion or chase scene then rolling back in time leading up to that event.

For example, in the first Iron Man, Tony Stark is shown blowing things up then they go back in time to show you how he ended up here.

So I made up my mind to start out both _The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution_ with an explosion.

In _The Ark Lords_ , it was pretty lame. It was just a grease fire. In _Rome's Evolution_ , it is actually a bomb and it isn't just for dramatic effect. It is actually at the core of the plot. So thank you would-be assassins for letting me start the new book with a bang! 

## Entry 1-131: May 5, 2013

**Sex, Drugs and Money**

My new scifi novel _Rome's Evolution_ has all of the above, just in the 35th century.

As far as sex, well, the scene is not very explicit and not as funny as the one in _The Ark Lords_ but it is still gives Rei and Rome an intense period of intimacy.

As far as drugs, the Onsiras have a drug that converts Vuduri into Zengei. What is a Zengei? You'll have to read the book to find out.

And money? This is has been the subject of a previous post but in the new novel, money is introduced into Vuduri society. The why is explained and I can tell you Rome is none too pleased. Please read the book and find out all about it.

If you haven't read the original novel, _Rome's Revolution_ , you might want to start there. 

## Entry 1-132: May 6, 2013

**The problem with Aason**

I like Aason. I really do. He is a curious combination of brilliance and child-like demeanor. However, a lot of times he gets in the way because Rei and Rome are responsible for all the action and I can't have him exposed to danger.

My solution in Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_ and in _The Ark Lords_ was to send him away a lot. Fridone took him once; before he was reunited with Binoda then the grandparents took him again. I expressed my guilt over always getting rid of him through dialog between Rei and Rome. Several times, Rei asked if they were being poor parents by always sending their child away. Rome always pointed out that it was for his safety. She never mentioned the fact that also the author had trouble dealing with his presence in action scenes.

In the new book, _Rome's Evolution_ , I had a similar problem and found a similar solution. I sent him away with the grandparents. However, this turns out to be a tactical mistake for the parents but you'll have to read the novel to find out why.

Aason's reward for all his patience is he gets to be the star of the following novel, which takes place 17 years later, called _The Milk Run_ which should be out by the end of the year. 

## Entry 1-133: May 7, 2013

**Back to the beginning**

Now that my new novel _Rome's Evolution_ is out, I thought I'd travel back to the beginning of _Rome's Revolution_ and go through it page by page. I don't mean reprinting it but rather go through the scientific analysis of what led up to the current long form.

The version of _Rome's Revolution_ that is out now is actually three books in one. The first book was originally entitled _VIRUS 5_. Later, when I decided to write the second book, I knew I had to go back and subtitle the first one. They couldn't all be entitled _VIRUS 5_. So I elevated _VIRUS 5_ to the series title and called the first book _VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir_ which is Vuduri for Stareater.

The second book became _VIRUS 5: Bez Onquoade_ which means "An Uneasy Peace" in Vuduri. After I wrote the second book, I knew I had to write the third so it became _VIRUS 5: Pedele Ta Asdrales_ which means Battle for the Stars.

After I had finished them, I came to the conclusion that since most people did not speak Vuduri, the titles would seem like nonsense. Since I didn't want to give away the major plot twist of the first book, rather than call it _VIRUS 5: Stareater_ , I decided to rename each book after the planetary system in which the major elements of the action took place.

I also decided that the VIRUS units were really only bit players and it was Rome's transformation that was the single most important element. So out goes _VIRUS 5_ and in comes _Rome's Revolution_.

Book 1 became _Rome's Revolution: Tabit_ and Book 2 became _Rome's Revolution: Tau Ceti_. The third book, technically, should have been called _Rome's Revolution: Sol_ but that seemed dopey so I renamed it _Rome's Revolution: Earth_.

And that's where the books remained until I decided to boil them down to the omnibus which is _Rome's Revolution_ today.

More tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-134: May 8, 2013

**The original plan**

My original plan for the then-titled _VIRUS 5_ was to write a "you are there" style sci-fi action/adventure drama. I had the clever acronym Virtually Identical Replicating Unit System already worked out back in 1973 so it seemed like a good place to start. The basic characters, Rei and Rome, were the same. OMCOM was there. The Stareater was there and Rei used VIRUS units to destroy the Stareaters.

There was so much different back then. Rei was from the same time period as Rome. She was part of a culture that had remained behind and was considered more advanced than Rei. I don't remember how OMCOM transferred his consciousness into the mass that destroyed the Stareater but I did have the mutations. I remember making them seem more ominous and accidental. It wasn't until the modern version that I actually figured out a reason that OMCOM let it happen.

In fact, when the series was still entitled _VIRUS 5_ , the mutations were autonomous and some were truly evil. I just loved the idea of having evolution occur at machine speed. I was even thinking that they would have VIRUS-based dinosaurs, etc.

Ask me about Lawlidon. No, wait, I'll write about Lawlidon tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-135: May 9, 2013

**Lawlidon - A VIRUS dinosaur?**

When I originally came up with the idea of _VIRUS 5_ , the rapidly reproducing VIRUS units mutated and quickly became autonomous, self-aware entities. Originally, my plan was to show evolution occurring at a tremendously fast-paced rate.

I even had a little story where the amount of source material (aka the body of the Stareater) was becoming difficult to come by and the VIRUS units resorted to cannibalism. Once that had been established, one of the more intelligent VIRUS units made a defensive pact with another and they became basically a two-celled VIRUS-based organism. From there, they increased in complexity.

I had this vision of VIRUS-based dinosaurs fighting each other over the remains of the Stareater.

What has this got to do with anything? After I decided to write Book 2 and realized I had to write Book 3, I wanted Book 2 to end on a cliff-hanger. So it ends just the way Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ ends now: Rei and Rome and Aason all comfy in Rome's room at the Vuduri complex. But then in the old book, Rei and Rome scream and pass out. Then the sky goes black. Pretty cool, huh?

Turns out, the sky went black was because a gigantic VIRUS-based creature, called a Bridadira, which is Vuduri for Protector, blocked the sun. I wanted to have a "dinosaury" name for him so I called him Lawlidon. He did battle with another group of VIRUS-based mutants called Cecetiras which means Hunters. There was a titanic space battle, it took all the forces of Lawlidon, the Vuduri space armada and even MINIMCOM to defeat them. MINIMCOM was transformed into who you see today.

But I have to tell you, the whole thing seemed stupid. The battle served no real purpose other than provide some action. It made OMCOM seem pretty foolish to allow for the mutations in the first place and it meant no one would ever be safe ever.

So bye-bye Lawlidon. I eliminated the whole concept of the Bridadira and Cecetiras and allowed MINIMCOM to transform into who he is today all on his own. Thank you Steve Troyano.

But what about the mutations? They are still out there. What do we do with them?

More tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-136: May 10, 2013

**So what about those mutations, anyway?**

I couldn't let go of the idea of OMCOM releasing mutated VIRUS units into the universe. I loved the idea of machine evolution into autonomous self-aware entities. I even allowed OMCOM the luxury of having allowed the mutations on purpose.

This was much more consistent with OMCOM. He thought everything through. But why? Since I had eliminated the Bridadiras and Cecetiras, I didn't know.

This is where trusting your characters comes in. I knew OMCOM would tell me why eventually. It wasn't until I was coming to the end of _The Ark Lords_ that I found out. He sure did wait till the last minute!

OMCOM allowed the mutations to occur and allowed them to become autonomous self-aware units to roam the universe to look for the origin of the Stareaters. He correctly deduced that natural selection would produce a greater variety of entities than he could have designed himself. Some developed novel forms of propulsion (null-fold anyone?) and some were have thought to have left our universe altogether.

This is a nice tie-in to the next book after _Rome's Evolution_. I included a little epilogue which takes place 17 years after the conclusion of that book. It shows that Aason and his sister Lupe are taking off in Junior for a "milk run" in space. How does that relate to the mutations? You will find out in _The Milk Run_ which should be available by the end of the year. 

## Entry 1-137: May 11, 2013

**Why the** **35 th** **century?**

Why did Rei and his Ark II arrive at Tabit in 3455, not 2800AD or 3600AD?

My guiding principle behind the book(s) was that anything that could be fact-checked, would check out.

The Arks traveled at a top-end speed of 5% of the speed of light. So the theoretical journey from Earth to Tau Ceti should have taken 240 years. If they continued on at full speed to Tabit, it should have added in an additional 420 years to travel the 21 extra light years.

But the whole premise of the book is that the Ark II hit something, probably an asteroid, and caromed out of the Tau Ceti system at an odd angle, straight for Tabit. My further assumption was that the propulsion module was damaged and therefore they could only coast.

When you put those two items together, you come up with about 1400 years of total travel time. If you add that to the launch year of 2067 AD, you get 3467 AD but I didn't want it to be exact so I cut back the trip by a few years.

The small difference doesn't matter. What does matter is that Rei ended way the hell from where he expected and an incredible amount of time had passed. And then he met Rome... 

## Entry 1-138: May 12, 2013

**Happy Mother's Day**

When I started writing the original novel, _VIRUS 5_ , I never thought about the mothers of any of the characters.

Once the story took on its modern form, I mentioned Rome's parents when Rei and Rome first put on the Espansor bands and Rei got to see Rome growing up inside her mind. He got to see her family life and that was the first time I learned that Rome came from a mixed marriage.

I never knew I was going to write Part 2 but when I did, that was when I found out Rome was pregnant and she became a mother herself at the end of that part.

I never knew I was going to write Part 3 but once I finished Part 2, I knew I had to. So we got to finally meet Binoda, Rome's mother, and she turned out to be a fairly impressive individual. She became a constant supporting character through the rest of the books. Her reunion scene with Fridone, Rome's father, is still one of my most favorite scenes in all the books.

I didn't know I was going to write _The Ark Lords_. It just came to me one day. At that point, Rome's role as loving mother became a central element as did the love and support of her mother, Binoda.

But what about Rei? I knew nothing about his parents. I didn't know I was going to write _Rome's Evolution_ but when I did, suddenly there was a flashback to Rei's "last day on Earth" and we got to meet his mother, Ruth. She was very loving and supportive.

Having started out with none, I ended up with three. So Happy Mother's Day to Rome, Binoda and Ruth; you are all great parents and provide an inspiration to your children and those around you.

Mike

P.S. My mother's name is Ruth so this was just a tricky way of throwing that in. Happy Mother's Day Mom. 

## Entry 1-139: May 13, 2013

**Silas Hiram, RIP**

For somebody who was never in any of the books, Silas Hiram was the most important non-character ever. His importance was through his journal. He was mentioned in _Rome's Revolution_ as the discoverer of the first star, Alnilam, to disappear. He later made a historical appearance in _The Ark Lords_ , when Rei and Rome read from his journal again and gained valuable insights about the Gray vs. White civil war. The gift of his journal was the dessert at the end of _The Ark Lords_ , when MINIMCOM delivered Virga's gift to Rei for presenting her with a genetic up(down)-grade.

There was even a passing mention of the journal in the latest book, _Rome's Evolution_ , in the scene when they investigate the break-in at Rome's Library.

But, in the end, Silas has been escorted off-stage and out of the story. When I originally wrote _VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir_ , the entire Prologue, some 12 pages worth, was all about Silas. But then he got killed or eaten by the Piranha Rats. His story got excised from the current version of _Rome's Revolution_ because I needed action, action, action.

Good news: I am compiling an entire book of short stories, deleted scenes and other inside information and finally, the story of Silas Hiram (one of my best-written pieces, in my opinion) will finally get its moment of glory. My working title for the last book is _The Vuduri Companion_ but that might change after I publish _The Milk Run._

Stay tuned. 

## Entry 1-140: May 14, 2013

**Act 1, Scene 1**

When I started writing _VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir_ , before it became _Rome's Revolution_ , I always thought in terms of how to make it into a movie. I called it writing cinematically but I'm not sure that's even a style. Anyway, the beautiful little prologue about Silas Hiram (see Silas Hiram, RIP) was for literary purposes only. It was meant to set a lyrical mood.

I wrote the first scene of the old book explicitly to be the scene behind the opening credits. It was the dramatic rescue of Rei's Ark II by the Vuduri tug pilots.

My thinking was the movie was going to open with Rei's resurrection by what he thought were monsters or aliens in the airlock/isolation chamber on Dara. But when VIRUS 5 got cut down and squashed into _Rome's Revolution_ , I now think that scene would take place behind the opening credits and the actual movie would open just as the book does now... Rei awakening in the airlock chamber, seeing his sarcophagus in the corner and realizing it wasn't a dream.

I'll review the science behind Rei's freezing and awakening in a few days but I did want to mention that even though I was sad to let go of those two scenes, I think the movie will open better because you meet Rei, you meet OMCOM and you meet Rome right away. In the current form, you are presented with the immediate issue which becomes a crisis. In the older version, it took a lot longer to develop.

Don't worry though, you'll get to read Rei's resurrection scene, in its entirety, when I roll out _The Vuduri Companion_ next year. 

## Entry 1-141: May 15, 2013

**290**

When I first realized I could self-publish _Rome's Revolution_ , I started dreaming about how much money I would make when I sold thousands of copies. Kind of like when you buy a lottery ticket.

At the time, the e-book was on sale for 99 cents and I was on the 35% royalty plan which meant I made 35 cents per copy. I miscalculated how many books I would have to sell in order to make the minimum requirements to get a check from Amazon and mistakenly believed it was 290 copies.

So I started a spreadsheet called "290 Units.xls" and started tracking my sales. I added in a column for the paperback and then a column for the Nook and then a column for iTunes and pretty soon had to add formulas.

As I was writing _The Ark Lords_ , I became afraid that 99 cents was too low so I raised the price to $4.99 for _Rome's Revolution_. This allowed me to sell _The Ark Lords_ for $2.99 and not undercut _Rome's Revolution_.

Then I decided to publish a book I wrote 8 years ago called _Future Past_ , not because it was great but because I already knew how to e-publish. So I added a third tab to my spreadsheet and then a fourth to keep totals.

Now with _Rome's Evolution_ , I had to add a fifth tab and the spreadsheet is getting very complex.

But I still call it 290 units.xls and I am proud to say I have finally, finally sold 290 units! All I have to do now is sell 10,000 times that and the lottery dream will come true. 

## Entry 1-142: May 16, 2013

**E-publishing made (not so) easy**

Since I discoursed yesterday about e-publishing, I thought I'd give you a little insight into what is involved. Keep in mind, you still have to write a book but that just requires talent (cough, cough) and a computer. It's publishing the e-book that takes a blend of skills.

First, you need a cover. I have my fabulous, incredibly talented brother, Bruce, to thank for that.

A book cover for an e-book is very demanding because it has to look great at full resolution but also look good as a thumbnail. Bruce was clever enough to figure out how to render the title and my name so that even at the tiniest scale, they were still readable.

Next you had to go through the manuscript with a fine-toothed comb and remove every extra tab, space, carriage return and so forth. Word has this little paragraph mark which lets you see non-printing characters and it was tedious but doable.

Next was the formatting so that when you publish, there is a built-in table of contents and hyperlinks that go to the proper spots. I save the book as a filtered HTML page then import it into Calibre for converting to an Epub. Then I convert the Epub to MOBI which is the native format for Amazon. I used the Kindle Previewer for that. If I converted it directly into MOBI, you don't get the nice table of contents.

Then you sign up for Kindle Direct Publishing, fill out all the stuff and publish. No, wait, you need an ISBN first if you want to distribute it worldwide. They cost $250 for a ten pack. $25 apiece. One for Amazon, one for the Nook (and Kobo and Smashwords) and one for iTunes. Then you submit, check it out in the preview, revise, resubmit and so on.

In comparison, B&N Pubit, now called NookPress.com, was a dream. I could submit the Epub directly and it only took a few minutes to post. Once again, you have to use their previewer and revise and go back and resubmit but finally that was done.

Tomorrow, iTunes. What a nightmare!

## Entry 1-143: May 17, 2013

**(Trying to) Publish in iTunes**

After I successfully published _Rome's Revolution_ on Amazon and for the Nook, it was time to take on the iTunes store. Do you think you can just upload your book like the other two web sites. Nope. You need a Mac, which I don't have (thank you Steve!) and iTunes Producer. It took us two weekends and lots of error messages before I discovered that my books didn't pass Epubcheck which is the industry standard.

I went back and used a program called Sigil to examine the internal structure of the Epub format and discovered that Calibre was inserting some tags which were not legal. Sigil would allow me to manually remove them but I wasn't about to do that for every chapter every time I revised the manuscript. So I cheated. I wrote a program in Visual FoxPro which read in the entire HTML version, stripped out the illegal tags and then wrote it back to disk. By using the Epubcheck, I knew the next time I submitted my book to iTunes, it would pass.

One more weekend and voila, it went up. I got a rip-roaring big warning from Apple that my cover was not big enough (it was 800 x 600). However, it was just a warning so I ignored it. I wasn't planning on using that cover for the paperback anyway. Once the book went live on iTunes, it was time for Kobo. Kobo is a snap. It takes an Epub directly. Easy Peasy.

Then Smashwords. Oy. What a nightmare. Smashwords was created long before anybody had tools to create e-books directly and they were going to be the world's conduit to Amazon, B&N, etc. Their processor is called the "meatgrinder" and boy is it named correctly. It mangles your manuscript, loses fonts, etc. I finally decided to keep a Smashwords-only version of each book and whenever I make changes, I just copy and paste them onto Smashwords. I published there and had to wait several weeks to get approved as a Premium Catalog candidate. But then it was done.

I also used Smashwords to publish _Future Past_ on iTunes because I ran out of ISBN numbers. If you let them publish your book, you get one for free.

So there you have it, Kindle, Nook, iPad, Kobo and Smashwords. I've got it down to a science now. I was able to crank out the formal e-book version of _Rome's Evolution_ in record time. After I wrote it of course.

Tomorrow, how to (not) do a paperback. 

## Entry 1-144: May 18, 2013

**Publishing in paperback**

Publishing a book as an e-book is very satisfying but is a book really a book if it isn't a book? I set about learning what used to be known as vanity press publishing but is now called simply self-publishing.

The simplest, best alternative is CreateSpace which is owned by Amazon. You can't beat the deal. The whole process is free and when you are done, they list the book on Amazon for you. If you pay a little more, they submit it to Ingram, one of the world's largest book distributors, and now scores of people (and bookstores) are selling my books.

The only catch? It is called POD or Print On Demand. Which means nobody can put them on their shelves because they are only printed when ordered. No big deal right now. Maybe tomorrow.

Anyway, CreateSpace walks you through the process, complete with proper Word formatting guidelines. The only tricky part was the cover. Here are the covers that Bruce created. They are awesome!

But they have to be high-resolution, wraparound and you have to use amazing mathematics to figure out where the spine is going. Off by even a hundredth of a inch and the cover looks askew. Both the book and cover have to posted as PDFs but really, in the grand scheme of things, that was the simplest. I use a PDF-printer called BullZip and it works great.

For _Rome's Revolution_ , it took us three full passes through the proofing procedure until we got it right. But then it was done. And I sold some! It is pretty cool. 

## Entry 1-145: May 19, 2013

**VIRUS 5 - Original Layout**

Before it evolved into _Rome's Revolution_ , _VIRUS 5_ (later _VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir_ ) was laid out to be a "you are there" experience.

It started out with the Author's note: This story is true. It just hasn't happened yet. It then presented an astrogeophysical chart regarding the characteristics of the Alpha Centauri star system. At that point in time, it was occupied by the colonists from the Ark I and the habitable planet (later called Helome by the Vuduri) was called New Earth. I did a lot of research into this chart and now it is gone :( However, I did post the data to my Wiki if you ever want to see it.

From there, it launched into the beautiful little story about Silas Hiram (see previous post Silas Hiram, RIP). It was my most polished piece because I thought that was how people were going to judge the book. But now it is gone (see Action, action, action) but it will be back some day in _The Vuduri Companion_.

The book then announced it was 1318 years later which was enough to tell you we were far into the future. Once again, I launched into the astrogeophysical data for the Tabit system. You can see it here if you like.

Finally, it was on to our story. I know people like action so I intended for the first real chapter to be dramatic. In fact, I envisioned it as the opening scene of the movie, but that hasn't happened yet.

My biggest problem was: in writing you are supposed to show, not tell. But the Vuduri don't speak. There simply was no dialog. Just a lot of telling. My only hope was to write it "cinematically" so you felt like you were at the movies.

There were several take-home lessons from this chapter.

\- The Vuduri really were from the future

\- They had conquered FTL travel

\- Their method of towing the Ark II laid the groundwork for Rei's transport of the Ark II to Deucado

\- Rei was picked at random as their test subject. (Not really!)

Tomorrow, Rei's Resurrection 

## Entry 1-146: May 20, 2013

**Rei's Resurrection tomorrow, VIRUS 5 today**

I promised I would talk about Rei's Resurrection today and I will do it tomorrow but I realized I had to give you the structure of VIRUS 5 novels as laid out. I even created a web site called VIRUS5.COM but it never really went anywhere.

Here is the original logo of the series when it was called VIRUS 5. It was supposed to be a symbolic representation of a Stareater consuming a star.

The three novels were:

Book 1 - VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir, later, Tabit

Book 2 - VIRUS 5: Bez Onquoade, later, Tau Ceti

Book 3 - VIRUS 5: Pedele Ta Asdrales, later, Earth

If I could go back and redo the whole Rome's Revolution series, I'd do it like this:

RR Book 1: Rebirth

RR Book 2: Resistance

RR Book 3: Redemption

RR Book 4: The Ark Lords

RR Book 5: Rome's Evolution

RR Book 6: The Milk Run

RR Book 7: The Vuduri Companion

Maybe I'll rebrand the whole thing some day. Kind of like how Star Wars was Star Wars until it became Star Wars, Episode 4, A New Hope. People still call it Star Wars though. 

## Entry 1-147: May 21, 2013

**Rei's Resurrection**

In the original "You are there" format of _VIRUS 5_ , I wanted to give the reader the sights, sounds and smells of Rei's actual experience. However, this was delayed until Chapter 2. That is considered a no-no in action/adventure novels. You are supposed to meet the protagonist in the first paragraph and find out his (or her) dilemma right away. In the original book, you didn't know about it until Chapter 4. So once again, this chapter had to go.

If the little vignette about Silas Hiram was my best written piece, then this chapter was my second best. I spent a _lot_ of time on it figuring people would judge my writing by the first few chapters. Luckily, the first three chapters will make their appearance in _The Vuduri Companion_ whenever I get that done.

Anyway, I wrote this chapter from the third person perspective but so close to Rei's sensations that there is a lot of tell, not show. I presented Rei cold and immersed in a green, gloppy fluid as he was warmed up. Since he was only supposed to be frozen for three centuries max, I figured maybe the sarcophagus wouldn't work so well after 14 centuries. So I had the auto-defibrillator sensors malfunction and they tried to shock his heart back to life after it was already beating.

I figured that was a rather painful experience for Rei and he was lucky that it didn't kill him by _stopping_ his heart. That would be ironic, huh?

Anyway, the current book _Rome's Revolution_ does have a passing reference to this in the opening chapter. Here is the excerpt:

**That plus the tender spot on his chest where the auto-defibrillator had burned him confirmed this was no dream.**

But that's it. An entire chapter boiled down to one sentence. More tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-148: May 22, 2013

**Dual Protagonists**

This is an extreme no-no in the world of writing. You are supposed to have a single protagonist.

But _Rome's Revolution_ is not about one person. Sure, Rei is sort of the hero but it is really his interaction with Rome that makes them special. Watching her literally reborn and grow into an autonomous human being, later mother, saver-of-the-universe and finally a true telepath is part of the strength of the novels.

Rei doesn't actually grow all that much. He was a little goofier in the beginning but he retained his sense of humor throughout. Meeting Rome and bonding with her gave him a little greater sense of urgency and he does grow into a man of action.

A fact only hinted at throughout the entire books is that while Rei was very smart and resourceful, even before he was frozen, when he used the bands with Rome, they actually unlocked portions of his brain. He started thinking faster, had greater insight and eventually learned to act quickly and decisively. The bands actually changed his brain physiologically, not just psychologically.

However, back to my original premise: I maintain that these books are not about Rei and not about Rome but about the Rei and Rome _system_. Two people, from different eras, different cultures, who throw their fortunes in together. The Rei and Rome system has the ingenuity and self-confidence to navigate their way around a future society. Just Rei or just Rome could not accomplish all that they did by themselves.

Rome says it out loud. She says they are their own samanda now. And several times I explicitly state they are one.

So I claim to you this book is not about dual protagonists. There is only one. It is the loving, dynamic couple called Rei and Rome. What do you think? 

## Entry 1-149: May 23, 2013

**How to freeze human beings**

The biggest problem about freezing human beings and sending them to the stars was not the freezing process. Anybody can freeze anything. It's just the thawing and preserving that is the tricky part.

I needed a viable way to send people to the stars and even at the impossible speeds I postulated, 1/20th the speed of light, it would still take Rei 240 years to get to Tau Ceti. This was at the core of my science fiction trilogy _Rome's Revolution_.

My research had revealed it was not the freezing process, per se, but rather the side effects of freezing that made it a problem. Water expands as it gets colder and occupies its highest volume at 4 degrees Celsius. That means that ordinary cells will burst when they freeze. So if you froze a human being while they were still alive, technically, they'd be alive the whole time. But when you thawed them out, they would die because their cells had burst.

So I invented this thing called the dehydration protocol. In a story in the upcoming _The Vuduri Companion_ , you will learn about Sven Ausland, also known as the Ice Man, who survived for 17 years frozen solid and was thawed successfully. The only reason Sven survived was because he was severely dehydrated before he was frozen solid. The scientists behind the Ark program were smart enough to put the two items together and create the dehydration protocol which allowed humans to be frozen solid and reanimated years later and survive the process. 

## Entry 1-150: May 24, 2013

**Freezing humans, part 2**

I reduced the importance of this in the modern version of _Rome's Revolution_ but there was a second component to freezing humans and thawing them that was crucial to their survival.

In a short story that will never see the light of day, I explored the ramifications of the experiments where they froze living human beings and thawed them five years later. Most died. The few remaining survivors were brain dead or close. The only person that survived reasonably well was the one person that had a fissured disk in their back.

The nucleus pulposus, the jelly-like substance that fills the inner portion of the vertebral disks, has been shown to express Tumor Necrosis Factor/Alpha when exposed to interstitial fluid. This substance is so toxic, so inflammatory, that it causes back pain all by itself. There are some that say that a substantial portion of back pain is chemical in nature only. And it can be treated medically with biologically active drugs like Embrel, Humira and the like.

So I took that little known fact and made it the basis of how humans could be frozen and thawed. Demoted in the current story, almost to the point of being invisible, I built the sarcophagi with tiny needles that extended upwards and punctured the backs of the soon-to-be-frozen colonists and allowed the Tumor Necrosis Factor/Alpha to ooze from the disks into the blood system.

The only overt evidence of this procedure was that Silas Hiram, Rei Beirak and the vast majority of the colonists aboard all of the Arks experienced back pain upon being reanimated.

OMCOM incorrectly assumes this was a by-product of the freezing process and produces the pills that a) turns Rei into a superhero and b) saves humanity from devolving into the Onsiras. But nonetheless, it is an integral part of the plot early on. Later, the pills that OMCOM produced become crucial. 

## Entry 1-151: May 25, 2013

**Rei's unending disorientation**

It is hard to imagine, being in that Rei was frozen for nearly 14 centuries, that from a subjective standpoint, it was only hours from when he was given the drugs that sedated him, being frozen and later thawed.

I agree that the process was painful but when Rei was thawed, although there was still a large amount of drugs in his system, subjectively, he was frozen just minutes (hours at most) from when he was re-awakened.

Why was he so disoriented when he was awakened then? Well, the drugs, of course. But secondly, he was expecting the Ark program to proceed according to plan. That meant the Captain and the pilot and co-pilot would be awakened first. They would guide the Ark II down to a soft landing on Tau Ceti and begin the reanimation process in an orderly fashion.

If nothing else is clear from this series, it should be that nothing ever goes according to plan. So while Rei was expecting to be reanimated by his compatriots, instead, he was reanimated by bipedal creatures, dressed all in white, who were most definitely not his crew.

Now Rei was a big fan of science fiction when he was growing up so naturally he assumed they were monsters or aliens who caused him to awaken. What he did not realize was that one of the "aliens" was Rome, the love of his life. She was chosen because a) she was the most expendable of the crew and b) she had the best language skills and could interpret Rei's reactions most cogently.

How Rome was selected to be the person reanimating Rei will be the subject of a short story in the upcoming anthology entitled _The Vuduri Companion_ which should be out next spring. 

## Entry 1-152: May 26, 2013

**Are these stories real?**

I can't shake the thought that somehow these stories are real, they just haven't happened yet.

When I write, I throw a lot of baloney in there just to make the book thicker or the plot simpler. I postulated the Great Dying so I could cut back on the number of humans to a more manageable level. I postulated that each Ark was made up of different demographics because the mission planners didn't know what mix of people were required to survive and thrive on a new world.

The original Ark IV was made up of criminals, rapists, the scum of the Earth because the mission planners thought maybe that skill set would be the one that was needed to survive. They originally came back to Earth because there was no habitable world at 82 G. Eridani, their original target. Since they were criminals, they came back to Earth and were very mean. I didn't think anything of it other that it was a neat way for the Vuduri to judge Rei and hate him without ever having met him.

So, I finished _Rome's Revolution_ and one day, out of the blue, it struck me that the mission planners, the Great Dying and the Ark Lords were all related. Voila, the entire plot of _The Ark Lords_ snapped in place. I swapped the Ark V, Nu2 Lupi, with Ark IV and made the Ark V the mission to Chara. The book practically wrote itself.

At that point, I thought the series really was done and I was putting together what will eventually be _The Vuduri Companion_. I thought about what happened after Rei and Rome sent the Darwin people packing. It came to me that, hey, that would be a neat short story about the stragglers that were never caught. Then out of the blue, I remembered that I had cut out the little vignette about Sussen when I condensed the first three books into _Rome's Revolution_. Voila, the entire plot snapped into place and I had _Rome's Evolution_ and the book practically wrote itself.

And what about Rome's bad dream that I made up for Part 2 eight years ago? This was the subject of an earlier post. It suddenly became the denouement for _Rome's Evolution_. What's with that?

So where do these ideas come from? Maybe these stories really are true, they just haven't happened yet. 

## Entry 1-153: May 27, 2013

**Rome was too weird**

When I first started _VIRUS 5_ which later became _Rome's Revolution_ , I originally had a little story about Rome being selected for first contact. However, in this story, she was _too_ Vuduri and was able to decouple her consciousness and send it out via the Overmind to a remote location.

I didn't like that and so I removed it. I wanted Rome to be more like a regular human, given her mixed background, who acted like a good Vuduri so she could fit in. She knew how to speak because of her father. She understood the concept of love even though she appeared to reject it.

In the original story, the Vuduri did not sleep. In the current version, they do. I like the idea that Rei and Rome could fashion a system that we could relate to. This meant after they used the bands, she was able to fall asleep. If I had kept in the little intro, she would not have.

I like Rome and I want her growth and development into a somewhat normal (to us) human being to be relatable. 

## Entry 1-154: May 28, 2013

**Info-dump**

While creating the world of the 35th century as the backdrop for _Rome's Revolution_ , there was a tremendous amount of research and outlining to frame the story.

However, all of this information was in my head, not yours. So I had to figure out a way of getting the info to you fast without "show don't tell" which is a staple of good writing.

So, in keeping in line with the "you are there" concept of the original book, I had Rei wake up and not know where he was. He only knew he wasn't where he was supposed to be.

I had OMCOM fill him in on where he was, when it was and while Rei found it useful, it was really for you, the reader.

One reviewer told me it was a pretty clever way to get the info-dump that he needed.

I have had other opinions. My son told me he appreciated the fact that I used a different font for OMCOM because that let him skip over the words, any time OMCOM was speaking since it was always just info-dump time.

I foiled him, though. The new library OMCOM and Junior only speak in Times New Roman so he'll have to find another strategy. 

## Entry 1-155: May 29, 2013

**Rei's real name**

In a previous post, I asked the question: Are these stories real? Well, here is another fact that just snapped in place.

When I make up names for people, I usually have a purpose. For example, in the current version of _Rome's Revolution_ , I introduced you to Captain Keller. His name was supposed to remind you of a killer. And the colonel in charge of Darwin was Colonel Slayton. Again, the word slay is embedded in his name.

I named the Vuduri after constellations. Pegus, Ursay, Canus, Signola were all patterned after the stars. I made the Deucadons twisted forms of regular names like Bukky, Steben, Triden and Melloy.

But what about Rome and Rei? Rome was always Rome, ever since I can remember. I guess now that I have a rule, you could say that Rome was named after the constellation Romulus. She used to have a last name, Sevenate (7-8, get it?), but after I saw Star Trek Voyager with 7 of 9 (which came 24 years after I wrote the original _VIRUS 5_ and invented the name), I dropped her last name and now no Vuduri have last names.

Rei was named after my father, Ray. But most people did not know that. A lot of people didn't even know how to pronounce Rei's name (pronounced Ray, not Rye). When I got to _Rome's Evolution_ and I wanted to teach Rome about lying and beating lie detectors, I had to come up with his full name. It is Reinard which means Brave Counsel.

Once I came up with it, I was able to fold it into the Intermezzo about Rei's last day on Earth. I enjoyed writing that little story. I finally got to meet Rei's dad, Edward, who was named after my grandfather.

But...this is the point. It took me 40 years to learn Rei's full name. So where did it come from in the first place? 

## Entry 1-156: May 30, 2013

**Who is Rome?**

The other day, I mentioned that I liked Rome but who is she?

As the heroine of the book, I had to make her pretty and smart but she is not my type. She is Rei's type, of course. You can see that if you read the first Intermezzo in _Rome's Evolution_ and got the connection between Sally Reynolds and Rome.

I cannot say I had a clear vision of what she even looked like until I saw an episode of Smallville in 2002. The actress playing Lex Luthor's girlfriend Victoria Hardwick, is named Kelly Brook and when I saw her, I said that is Rome. Here is her picture:

Unfortunately, in real life, Kelly is too tall (5' 8" although some have her at 5' 6") to play the part but her face helped me describe Rome's face so thank you Kelly.

After that, I started picking out actors and actresses who represented each of the parts (Kevin Costner for Fridone?) and used that as a crutch to help me with physical descriptions. My selections will help when it comes time to cast the movies! ;) 

## Entry 1-157: May 31, 2013

**Is _Rome's Revolution_ a trilogy?**

A trilogy is defined as three related novels. When I first wrote _Rome's Revolution_ , it was three separate novels but in reality, they were more or less continuous so in the end I started referring to it as a three-part novel.

When the time came to collapse the three novels into the single book that is out today, I learned it was called an omnibus which is defined as a single volume containing several novels. But if it was a three-part novel and now it is in one volume, is it really an omnibus?

When I wrote _The Ark Lords_ , I had a quandary. Did I publish the book as the sequel or Part 4? I ended up doing both. I referred to it as the sequel but within the book, I clearly state it is _Rome's Revolution_ , Part 4.

So there it sat until I came up with _Rome's Evolution_. It was definitely the end of the story arc regarding Rei and Rome. It is called Part 5 on the inside. But when I published it, I called it Book 3. Confused yet? I am.

So I think until I get around to splitting _Rome's Revolution_ back into three separate novels, I'll let the fact slide and just call it a trilogy for now. 

## Entry 1-158: June 1, 2013

**How many movies?**

The original long-form _Rome's Revolution_ was specifically designed to be made into three separate movies. I even went so far as to (virtually) scout locations and came up with the idea that all three could be shot at the same time in Hawaii.

You use a volcanic background (Haleakala?) for Dara for Part 1. You use the bamboo forests on the Big Island for Part 2 and Part 3 actually takes place in Hawaii. So I had that part down.

But where does _The Ark Lords_ fit in? It takes place on Deucado (Hawaii again), Helome (I think you do it in Hawaii, maybe O'ahu) and Illinois. Would the director use the scenes about Jack Henry in the movie? Probably not.

And finally, what about _Rome's Evolution_? That takes place on Deucado (Hawaii?), Helome (O'ahu?), Portugal and California.

Will all five movies get made? I'm not holding my breath. The middle book of a trilogy (is that _The Ark Lords_ or Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_?) is always the hardest to make because it is the connector between the initial movie and the finale. Remember The Empire Strikes Back? Many people think that it is the best of the Star Wars movies yet it doesn't really end. It leaves everything up in the air. You can only make that movie if you are absolutely certain you are going to make Return of the Jedi.

So, while I have a plan, I'll have to wait until I talk to the producers to decide if this is going to be one, three, four or five movies. ;) 

## Entry 1-159: June 2, 2013

**How to embed a trailer when it is not allowed**

There are many sites, including this one, which do not allow you to embed YouTube videos. So, when I wanted to display Bruce's awesome trailer for _Rome's Revolution_ , I had to find a way around that blockage.

Well, it's very simple. All you do is embed an image that _looks_ like a YouTube preview and when somebody clicks on the play button, all it does is take you to the proper place on YouTube, thus accomplishing the same goal.

Try it.

Pretty cool, huh?

## Entry 1-160: June 3, 2013

**Days of Future Past**

When I was writing the first Intermezzo for _Rome's Evolution_ , which took us back to "Rei's last day on Earth," I had Rei pick a song at random. My original draft had the song as "Days of Future Past" by the Moody Blues, as I believed this was a song on the album.

If you think back to Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ , I made a big deal of Rei having recovered his music slab. Well, in Intermezzo 1 of _Rome's Evolution_ , you see how he acquired it and in Intermezzo 2, you see how he recovered it. I even made mention of the fact that Rome liked the Moody Blues as well.

Well, as I was researching Intermezzo 1, I looked at the play list for the album **Days of Future Past** (P.S. The first book I ever wrote was called _Future Past_ and discovered there was no song with that title. But then I stumbled across a song called "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" which I had heard many times but never listened that carefully to the lyrics. Here is just a little taste:

_I know you're out there somewhere_

_Somewhere, somewhere_

_I know I'll find you somehow_

_Somehow, somehow_

_And somehow I'll return again to you_

__

_The mist is lifting slowly_

_I can see the way ahead_

_And I've left behind the empty streets_

_That once inspired my life_

_And the strength of the emotion_

_Is like thunder in the air_

_'Cause the promise that we made each other_

_Haunts me to the end_

__

_I know you're out there somewhere_

_Somewhere, somewhere_

_I know you're out there somewhere_

_Somewhere you can hear my voice_

_I know I'll find you somehow_

_Somehow, somehow_

_I know I'll find you somehow_

_And somehow I'll return again to you_

Once I read the lyrics, I was blown away. It was as if this song were written for Rei and Rome. And the song was written in 1967. I didn't even write the first draft of _VIRUS 5_ until 1973. But it took me until 2013 to read the lyrics carefully.

If you want to listen to it, here is a video with the song and lyrics.

Pretty prophetic, huh? 

## Entry 1-161: June 4, 2013

**Who is Rei?**

The "Who is Rome?" posting was so popular, I thought I'd follow it up with a similar one for Reinard for the _Rome's Revolution_ series. The idea is simply when thinking about casting the characters for a potential movie, I need the actor to meet certain physical characteristics. Of course, they have to be able to act, too.

For Rei, I needed an actor who was about 6 feet tall and had sandy to dark hair. I started with Ian Somerhalder. Here is his picture:

The only problem is he may be a bit too short (he is only 5' 10') and his hair may be too dark. Also his hair is usually perfect and one of Rei's trademarks is his unkempt hair. Oh well, it's a place to start. I am open to suggestions. 

## Entry 1-162: June 5, 2013

**Andrea and the Casino - Part 1**

I cut this stuff out of _Rome's Evolution_ to make the Casino scene run faster but I thought you might want a little more insight into how it came to pass:

Andrea was seated behind a wood-paneled desk that would have been normal for Earth but here on Deucado stood out. Andrea stood up and reached forward with her hand. She was wearing a very Barbara-Edenesque pink hat, tied around her chin by a pink ribbon. Atop the scarf was a pillbox hat, also in pink, that was in consonance with the ribbon. To further the effect, she wore a bright red tank-top covered by a billowy pink vest with filmy sleeves.

Rei was so angry when he first arrived at the casino. He could see the taint of his people seeping everywhere on this planet. It was as if the Essessoni were a disease. But seeing Andrea dressed as ridiculously as she was, made Rei realize every one of his crew was probably functionally insane. Never in their wildest dreams, let alone training, did anything prepare them for a society which was want of nothing. A society where you had to define your own goals and life, there was no pre-determined path or outcome.

Tomorrow - why the heck were there Vuduri in the casino? Could they be gambling? 

## Entry 1-163: June 6, 2013

**Andrea and the Casino - Part 2**

Here is the second half of the omitted portions from _Rome's Evolution_ regarding Andrea Grenmuller and why the Vuduri showed up at the casino:

Andrea was no more and no less insane than any of the other Essessoni. She came to a world where there was no need for money and fashioned an attraction which exploded, bursting spontaneously into the need for coins. That David would bring the silver ingots to her, no questions asked, made it easier to mint the coins and distribute them and then create an edifice that would make them want to turn them in again. The mathematics were staggering and engaged Andrea's mind in a way that no normal project would. By employing a carefully enlarging pyramid, Andrea was able to recruit 2 then 4 then 8 then 16 then more than she could count. They all bought into a system where you had to buy in. They built the inn and restaurants first. They wanted to get the denizens of Deucado used to the coming to the top of The Hand. Then, behind a large construction wall, they built their glittering palace of play. It was ready the day the wall came down. At first, only the Essessoni flocked in. Not too far behind were the Deucadons. An element of gambling had developed in their society even in the short 500 years since they had been stranded on this planet. Next came the mandasurte. They often emulated the Essessoni but in a sly way. They too wandered in and began to partake of the games.

Finally, the Vuduri came in, not in droves but in spurts. Their reason was always the same. This was research only to try and understand why the other three races seemed to be attracted. As part of their research, they even felt themselves compelled to gamble a little. None were so brave, yet, to take part in the table games. They claimed that interacting with the one-armed bandit was sufficient to find out what they needed. But one look at them would tell you that it wouldn't be long until they were "researching" the table games too.

No, Andrea had it right. If you build it, they will come. And come back. And come back. 

## Entry 1-164: June 7, 2013

**Rome's speech and formal English**

The Vuduri don't normally speak. So when Rome learned English, she only spoke it formally. Initially, she did not know how to use contractions. You can see that clearly in _Rome's Revolution_ especially the first half.

Later, as she became more comfortable with the language, she occasionally used contractions. However, when she is stressed, her speech goes to back to formal very quickly. Also, if she can't think of a word, she will substitute the Vuduri equivalent until she can think of the proper English term. You can see that in _The Ark Lords_ when she refers to herself as a _veprocenda_ which is an approximation of the word housewife or homemaker.

By the end of _Rome's Evolution_ , she has been speaking English for five years and is very fluent. She uses contractions nearly all the time, even when she is communicating mentally with Rei.

There is one other time when you will notice that contractions go by the wayside. When I first started _Rome's Revolution_ , I said if Rei doesn't understand Vuduri, then we don't either. So when they are speaking in Vuduri (which I tell you by saying "they said in Vuduri"), you will see there are no contractions because the language does not support them. Eventually, Rei became so fluent in Vuduri and Rome in English that I didn't even bother telling you which language they were speaking in. In fact, sometimes they speak in both.

About the only way to tell is to look for the presence or absence of contractions in Rome's speech. If they are in there, it's English. If they aren't (and she isn't stressed), it is probably Vuduri. If it's blended, would it be Venglish? Or maybe Engluri? 

## Entry 1-165: June 8, 2013

**Rei takes his bearings, part 1**

In the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , the first time Rei can get his bearings is when he wakes up on the cot/gurney in the airlock which was turned into a decontamination/isolation room. Rei looked around and saw his sarcophagus in the corner. He gave up on the idea that this was all a dream and decided to concentrate on his surroundings.

The first thing he noticed was the monitoring equipment mounted by his bedside. Now if you got anything out of the novels, you know the Vuduri were not big fans of wires so everything was wireless. He was wearing a sensor band that was stuck to his forehead. As soon as he removed it, the equipment showed his heart as having stopped. You'd think that would cause a reaction on the part of the Vuduri but remember, OMCOM was watching him the whole time.

I wanted to make the scene futuristic but relatable so I made the assumption that vital signs are vital signs so no matter how exotic their equipment was, Rei would still be able to recognize a normal sinus rhythm on an EKG.

The next thing I did was have Rei look down at his hand. In the modern version, Rei shouts "ouch" as the needle is withdrawn from his skin. In the original long-form, he was asleep. But would a future race such as the Vuduri even take a blood sample?

My original plan was to take the Great Dying, send mankind back to the Stone Age and then have them progress so that by the time Rei gets there, they are just ahead of us (Rei, actually) in technology. So the short answer is, yes, they still use needles and have to take blood samples. 

## Entry 1-166: June 9, 2013

**Rei takes his bearings, part 2**

The next thing I had Rei do, in the long form of _Rome's Revolution_ was twist around and he felt a shooting pain in his back. In the modern version, he doesn't feel the back pain until he stands up but the back pain plays a central role in the evolution of the plot regardless of which version you are reading.

Despite the outcry from his back, Rei twisted around and checked out the wall of monitors, readouts and displays. I postulated that the Vuduri would use a written language but there was no chance it would be English. So I let them have an alphabet similar to ours but the letters and numbers were formed differently. To Rei it just looked bizarre.

In both the long-form and the modern version, Rei wakes up wearing a Vuduri jumpsuit but he is bigger than a regular Vuduri so I made the jumpsuit too tight in the shoulders in both versions. I still don't know what the Vuduri wear on their feet. I guessed they wore something like moccasins but to this day, I still don't know.

We find out later that the protocol was supposed to be the frozen person was to be dressed in their flight suit which was stored in the lower section of the sarcophagus. That and a baseball cap. But I still don't know if they had work boots, shoes or even footies. I guess I didn't spend enough time looking down at their feet! 

## Entry 1-167: June 10, 2013

**Where are all your robots?**

It was funny. My stepson Matt was reading the original third book of the long-form of _Rome's Revolution_. He hadn't commented much but finally he asked, "Where are all your robots?" I knew the answer but realized I had not made it clear in the books. I liked the comment so much that I had Rei speak those actual words (in Chapter 30 of the current book) when he and Rome are traveling to the courthouse through I-cimaci.

That simple comment opened the door to explaining The Robot War, MASAL's plan the "thin the herd" and a whole host of other items. I will give you all the details about that tomorrow.

The fact is, robots are banned from Vuduri society because of that war. And computers are not allowed to use gravitic modulation. Rome gave OMCOM access to the Casimir Pumps and that is why she was put on trial when she came back to Earth in what is now Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_.

In the final book in the series, tentatively entitled _The Vuduri Companion_ , there will be a little short story about the final phase of the war. It was actually orchestrated by MASAL so that the Vuduri and the Overmind thought he was dead. The result of that final battle was called the Denver Crater (even though it was centered in Boulder, CO) and it is so large, it can be seen from the Moon with the naked eye.

So, thank you Matthew for forcing me to add in those extra details. 

## Entry 1-168: June 11, 2013

**The Robot War**

If you have been reading my Wiki called Rome's Revolution: The Science Behind the Science Fiction, you probably read about The Robot War. But if you have not, here is the content which explains about how The Robot War came about:

MASAL (the Master Logical Entity) used PPT Transceivers rather than EM signals as his communication between modules. This allowed him to grow very large and eventually span the Earth. MASAL controlled all the robots, vehicles, automated equipment and so on. After MASAL invented the 24th chromosome and the Overmind arose, MASAL's PPT Transceivers allowed him to become fully integrated into the Overmind.

MASAL's ultimate plan was to transform humans into living robots. He watched and waited and grew impatient. He instigated a series of disagreements with the Overmind and eventually forced the two to split. This precipitated a war. MASAL turned the robots into deadly weapons and slaughtered a tremendous number of Vuduri. Everything under his control was also used as weapon including airships, ground vehicles and so on.

Eventually, the humans prevailed. MASAL had taken his last refuge (or so the Overmind thought) beneath the Flatirons just outside of Denver. The Vuduri constructed huge PPT cannons and blasted out the mountains. The resulting crater was so huge, it is easily seen from the Moon with the naked eye.

In the aftermath of the war, the Vuduri banned the use of robots forever. Not in space, not under the sea, nowhere on land or on other worlds. A new type of computing device, digital in nature, was invented. Because they were digital, machines like OMCOM could never be integrated into the Overmind so they were permitted limited control of vehicles, starships and so on. With that control, a fundamental law was established: no computer could ever have access to a Casimir Pump or PPT Transceiver again. The fear was that with the vastly increased range of PPT Transceivers, even digital computers could become unleashed, a crime called Tasanceti.

Unfortunately for Rome, the Stareater crisis caused her to have to violate the law and she later paid for this crime by being banished from the Earth. To make matters worse, MASAL wasn't even dead although Rei and Rome eventually corrected that problem.

## Entry 1-169: June 12, 2013

**How are the Vuduri assigned jobs?**

In fact, why do they even work at all?

Simplistically, since all robots are banned from Vuduri society, you still need things done. It is true that there are machines and vehicles but ultimately you need people.

Since all Vuduri are connected to the Overmind (at least they were until _Rome's Revolution_ , why would one person know more or have better skills than anybody else?

The answer lies in people's physical capabilities, eye-hand coordination, strength of voice, etc. Most Vuduri schooling concentrates on refining (and testing) these capabilities so that by the time a Vuduri person reaches adulthood, they are assigned a job that their physical capabilities are best suited.

Some examples: Canus was assigned the role of medic because he had fine motor control in his hands. Binoda was assigned the task of wrangling animals because she had a good and strong voice. Rome was selected to be the data archivist on Dara because she had excellent eye-hand coordination. The list goes on.

In the end, the Vuduri society flows very smoothly because each Vuduri is plugged into the Overmind and performs a task to which they are best suited. However, if you learned nothing else, the Vuduri, as a people, are rather boring. 

## Entry 1-170: June 13, 2013

**The Espansor Bands**

The Espansor Bands were the device that jump-started the romance between Rome and Rei in _Rome's Revolution_. The bands have been an integral part of the story going way back to the first draft of _VIRUS 5_ in 1973. I know where Rome got the bands. She got them from her mother, Binoda, as a keepsake to remind Rome about her father. But where did Binoda get them?

It turns out the Overmind of Earth had created a eugenics program to see if he could stem the genetic tide changing the Vuduri into Onsiras. The code name for the program was Slayer (in Vuduri) because it was meant the slay the Onsira phenotype. At the time, nobody, including the Overmind, knew MASAL was behind the transformation. The Overmind of Earth prattled on about this program in the novel _Rome's Evolution_ much to Rome's dismay. Even more so when she found out she was just a lab experiment. However, as it turns out, the program's name was literal because Rome actually was the slayer of MASAL.

Binoda was originally selected to work in animal husbandry because she had a strong voice. This was required when working with animals. However, the Overmind had his scientists perform a genetic analysis of all Vuduri and came to the conclusion that Binoda was one of the closest living relatives to Hanry Ta Jihn. Her mission was changed. She was selected to mate with Fridone because the Overmind felt she would be the most attractive to the mandasurte scientist.

She was given the bands by the Overmind so that she could look into Fridone's mind and figure out what it would take to produce an offspring. However, the bands malfunctioned (or maybe they didn't) and Binoda and Fridone bonded in a way that had never been experienced before.

The result of that bonding was Rome and we are the better for it. In _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei and Rome experienced the same phenomenon. They were, in fact, soul mates. In Vuduri, Rome called it Asborodi Cimponeti which means companion spirits. 

## Entry 1-171: June 14, 2013

**Star drives revisited**

In a previous post, I discussed the various star drives used in the _Rome's Revolution_ universe. Today's post concerns whether they are factual or not. Remember, because it is hard science fiction, my rule is that everything that could be fact-checked would, in fact, check out.

The Grey Drive is based upon the concept that there is a lot of energy in matter (E=mc2 anybody) so if you figured out an efficient way to convert matter to energy, you'd be on to something. This is a fact. But the creation of a quantum black hole, feeding it xenon atoms and harnessing the Hawking Radiation to drive an Ark forward was made up. Well, not testable at least.

The PPT drive and later the continuous PPT drive was based upon the Casimir Effect which is real and has been measured. I took some liberties in inventing the Casimir Pump but nobody can prove this is not true.

Negative energy seems like an exotic concept but nonetheless, if the Casimir Effect is real, then negative energy is real. And from everything I've ready, where there is negative energy, there is no space. So to the extent that it can be fact-checked, the PPT tunnel method of flying faster than the speed of light cannot be proven wrong.

Now for the Null Fold drive. This is completely made up. Everybody knows in algebra we learned about "i" which is the square root of -1. So the Null Fold drive is completely speculative and based upon the fact that you can split negative energy into a real and imaginary component (like in algebra) and somehow that allows you to bypass the absence of space created by negative energy. Hurts the head, huh?

Well, in the next novel, _The Milk Run_ , you will be introduced to the Null Fold Drive, Generation 2. I have no clue what is the guiding principle behind it. I am just postulating that the Null Fold Drive, Gen 2 takes you out of our universe and reenters somewhere else which means you are traveling effectively faster. Where you are when you are not here is problematic but forms the basis of the machinations behind the plot of _The Milk Run_. Stay tuned. 

## Entry 1-172: June 15, 2013

**35 th** **century food revisited**

I discussed this in a previous post but I wanted to revisit the idea of what food will be like in the 35th century.

When Rei is first awakened, in both the original long-form version and the current version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rome offers him some food. They use a food synthesizer which creates any form of food you want. Rei later uses this to his advantage to create such wonders as coffee, birthday cake and so on. The fact is the Vuduri Rei first encountered on Dara were forced to use food synthesizers because they were on an airless moon with no source of supplies.

But what about food on Earth? On Deucado, we know people eat "real" food in that Rei is involved in creating vast farms, Binoda oversees the ever-growing bison herd and Fridone is managing the creation of the largest sustainable fishing (swishing) fleet in the universe.

But on Earth, what do they eat? Mostly I avoid the issue. Whenever there is action on Earth, there is no time for eating. There was a wonderful luau scene in the original long-form version of Part 3 but it was excised to shrink the size of the book.

So what do Vuduri eat? I cannot tell you for sure but I believe they use some form of food synthesizers in their home but the organic sources are grown. I don't know any other way to reconcile Binoda as an animal husbandry expert if the Vuduri have no use for food.

I remember in the movie "Masters of the Universe" when Courtney Cox introduces the people from the planet Eternia to the wonders of spare ribs. This implies they were vegetarian because some of them voiced disgust when they found out they were eating meat.

I don't think the Vuduri care. I think they have better, or at least different, things to worry about as to whether the food is vegetable or animal in origin. It is all protein to them. Luckily for us, Deucado will eclipse Earth someday as the crown jewel in the empire of Man and there they like real food! 

## Entry 1-173: June 16, 2013

**How did Rome get pregnant?**

Well, duh. But why was she ovulating? She told Rei that Vuduri women controlled their ovulation and only became pregnant when the Overmind informed them it was time.

Rome was only partially right. The Overmind had a hand in when a Vuduri woman ovulates but also not having sex was a big boost towards controlling who got pregnant. The relationship between Rei and Rome in _Rome's Revolution_ was not a part of the Overmind's plan.

It turns out that without the Overmind, a Vuduri woman has a monthly cycle and Rome got pregnant without realizing it was possible. Of course after she found out, she was rather pleased. As we found out in _Rome's Evolution_ , since she was part of the Overmind's Slayer experiment, it had not yet given her permission to give birth and privately she suspected she never would be. The fact that she and Rei were charting new territory with the mix of Essessoni and Vuduri gave her the freedom to have a child whenever she was ready and I guess she was ready for Aason.

What about Lupe? 

## Entry 1-174: June 17, 2013

**My first book signing**

Friday, June 14, 2013 was my first book signing. It was an overwhelmingly positive experience. The people at The Doylestown Bookshop and Krisy Paredes in particular made my visit there great.

Many of my friends and family came to the event and the show of support was very gratifying. I even sold 15 books including 10 of _Rome's Revolution_ alone! But the biggest surprise of the evening was the number of people, old and young alike, who stopped by and expressed interest in my books and their longing for more science in their science fiction.

I cannot tell you how musical that was to my ears. To have a 13-year-old beg his mother to buy my book because it had science in it gives me hope not only for my fledgling career as a science fiction writer but for the nation as a whole. I thought that with the advent of Twitter and Facebook and other social media the day of reading books was drawing to a close. If my experience at The Doylestown Bookshop taught me nothing else, it is that books and readers are still coming.

Awesome!

P.S. Thank you to my wife Denise, my daughter Paula, my incredibly talented brother Bruce, Linda Young, Sarah and Daniel Macias and my stepson Perry for standing by me. And thank you to Kenny and Penny Robinson for their surprise visit. And a great big thank you to Glenn and Risa Neiman for putting the wheels in motion leading up the book signing in the first place. 

## Entry 1-175: June 18, 2013

**Binoda, Part 1**

Rome's mother, Binoda, makes her first appearance in Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_. She was mentioned in passing when Rei and Rome had their first experience with the Espansor Bands. But who is she really?

I don't know that much about her background. Only that she had a fairly non-descript childhood. She was raised by her parents which in and of itself is a tell that she was a little out of the ordinary. She also had a sister, who she knew, which was also unusual.

Binoda was like many young Vuduri and hoped for a career in industrial solvents or space exploration but to her dismay, she discovered she had a natural talent for speaking. Her voice was strong and clear unlike most of her peers who could barely speak.

There is a test they give young Vuduri around 10 years old and it is, in fact, a speaking test. Most Vuduri flunk or in their opinion pass. Binoda was found to have a particularly strong voice.

There are only two career paths for Vuduri with strong voices. One is a liason with the mandasurte. The other is in wrangling animals who are typically not mind-connected. Poor Binoda was put in the second tract before she even hit puberty. She was destined to be a farmhand, raising animals. That was the path she followed for many years, until her 18th birthday.

Unbeknownst to her, the Onsira transformation was already taking place and the Overmind was hard at work trying to uncover the cause and the cure.

Tomorrow, genetics! 

## Entry 1-176: June 19, 2013

**Binoda, Part 2**

As we found out in _Rome's Evolution_ , after the Overmind discovered the Onsira transformation, he set aside a secret cabal of scientists to determine the cause and the cure. Most Vuduri had a diploid pair of the 24th chromosome. This artificial chromosome only reproduced through mitosis, not meiosis so each Vuduri had to have two pair to guarantee their child had a dual set.

When they examined the 24th chromosome more carefully, they came up with (what was originally thought to be) a recessive element of the 24th chromosome coming forward but the frequency of the phenotype was increasing. They determined that the cure would be to try interbreeding the Vuduri with the mandasurte creating a race of half-bloods (called mosdurece in Vuduri) to prevent the Onsira phenotype from expressing itself. This was simply meant to be a delay tactic until they could come up with a longer-term cure. But in the short term, it would end the threat of the Onsiras before it started so the program was called Slayer in Vuduri.

The Overmind decided that if they were going to interbreed full-blooded Vuduri with mandasurte, they wanted the best version of this new type of Vuduri. So they created a genetic mapper, sort of a genetic time machine, that tracked genetic drift backward until they found the closest living great-great-great-grandchildren of Lacy Henry which meant they were the descendents of Jack Henry, Hanry Ta Jihn in Vuduri.

Binoda scored the highest of any Vuduri on the planet. She was therefore the best candidate to interbreed with a mandasurte. The Overmind surreptitiously researched the mandasurte and found a scientist by the name of Fridone who would give them the best offspring. Of course, this turned out to be Rome.

It came as quite a surprise to Binoda the day the Overmind informed her that her mission had changed. The Overmind gave her explicit instructions and six months to mold her body into that which the Overmind believed would be most attractive to Fridone. What the Overmind did not realize is that the attraction could work both ways.

Tomorrow, Fridone and Binoda, a love story. 

## Entry 1-177: June 20, 2013

**Binoda and Fridone, a love story**

In the beginning of _The Ark Lords_ , Rome learns of the Slayer program although Fridone never called it that by name. He did reveal to Rome that Binoda had been sent to seduce him and mate with him for reasons that were never made clear to Binoda. The Overmind equipped her with a killer body and the Espansor Bands and sent her to Hawaii, ostensibly to study the migration patterns of the Red Opah. This was a fish that Fridone knew well.

After she arrived in Hawaii, she put on a specially fitted Vuduri jumpsuit that accentuated her curves even more. Think Jessica Rabbit. However, when she arrived at Fridone's boat and started up the gangplank, before she could even begin putting on a show, she slipped and fell and hit her head and chipped a tooth. Fridone helped a groggy Binoda on board and held her firmly until she felt strong enough to stand. The boat was unmoored and their voyage began, out into the open waters of the Pacific.

As if the chipped tooth and disheveled hair wasn't enough, Binoda quickly discovered she had no sea-legs and spent much of the early part of the voyage hanging over the railing, throwing up. She was a mess. Fridone was amused but empathetic and took her down into the cabin and showed her how to sit, knees pressed against her chest until she adjusted to the wave pattern.

Binoda was so grateful that she revealed to Fridone her true mission. She even showed him the Espansor Bands and told him the Overmind's plan. To her surprise, Fridone said he would try it with her as his curiosity was piqued.

Well, just like in _Rome's Revolution_ , the bands malfunctioned and they joined souls and the rest is (future) history. 

## Entry 1-178: June 21, 2013

**Who is Binoda?**

As mentioned in previous posts, I tried to think of actors to play Rome and Rei. I don't know if I was successful but those posts seemed to be popular. So here are two actresses I picked out who might be good as Binoda.

The first is Lisa Hartman. I don't know if blonde is her natural hair color. I know that at 5' 4", she is the right height. She is also a very good actress so that part helps. Here is her picture:

The second actress I looked at was Lynda Carter who you may remember played Wonder Woman on TV. She has the right color hair and a very regal presence but she may be too tall. The records show her at 5' 9" tall and Rome is supposed to be just a smidge over 5 feet so I'm assuming Binoda is not that tall. Here is Lynda's picture:

When Rei first met her in Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_ , she was supposed to exude a sort of superiority aura that made the regular Vuduri back away from her. Her touching reunion with Fridone still tugs at my heart and I wrote the stupid thing.

Unfortunately, I didn't have much for her to do after that. For the remainder of _Rome's Revolution_ and through _The Ark Lords_ and even _Rome's Evolution_ , she spends most of her time looking after Aason. I wish I had more for her to do because she seems like a really capable woman. Sorry, Binoda.

P.S. I do have one sleeper actress who might make a great Binoda. None other than Kelly Brook who is getting to be too old to play Rome but might just be the perfect age to play Binoda by the time we get to the third movie! 

## Entry 1-179: June 22, 2013

**The Stareaters, Part 1**

Since the original draft of _VIRUS 5_ back in 1973, the Stareaters (Asdrale Cimatir in Vuduri) have always been a central element of the novel. In their first incarnation, they were long tubes and the star would go in one end and exit the other as thrust. In the original story, they, too, gave birth to child Stareaters.

And in the original novel Rei, with OMCOM's help, figures out how to destroy them using the same method, hence the title _VIRUS 5_ since it was the fifth generation of VIRUS units that consumed the Stareater. Also in the original novel, there were mutations. But this where the original and the current version of _Rome's Revolution_ differ. In the original, the mutations truly were a mistake and the book was supposed to end on an ominous note.

In the current version, the Stareaters serve a variety of purposes. The first is to precipitate the crisis on Dara. I loved the fact that even being close by caused the Vuduri to pass out. At least we finally answered the question as to why the stars were disappearing so the mission to Tabit was a success. The fact that they are a constant danger gave Rome all the ammunition she needed to defeat the Overmind of Deucado in her battle of wits.

And I loved, loved, loved, the "people of Earth" scene in which Rome is addressing the crowd and half the people pass out. Rei literally sees the end of all life and is desperate to figure out how to save the world and more importantly his family.

Of course, we discover the Stareaters are noble creatures with a very high order mission. I must tell you frankly I did not know this when I started writing the book. It came as a surprise to me, as well. Tomorrow, a little more insight into their "new" origin, their purpose and whether we will ever see them again. 

## Entry 1-180: June 23, 2013

**The Stareaters, Part 2**

Here is an interesting fact: at the end of _Rome's Revolution_ , the Stareaters assigned us the species number 927. They are, in fact, Species 3. So who are Species 1 and 2? Who is Species Zero? You will find out most of that in the upcoming novel, _The Milk Run_.

After I remolded the shape of the Stareaters from long tubes to giant Dyson Spheres, it was time to start the cover. But I was so paranoid about giving away an important plot point that I had Bruce blur out most of the Stareater. Here is the original cover:

But after a while, I decided it didn't matter so Bruce did version 2 of the cover with the Stareater revealed in its full glory:

I like the new one _way_ better. Which one do you like? 

## Entry 1-181: June 24, 2013

**The Stareaters, Part 3**

So...the Stareaters...will we ever see them again? At the end of _Rome's Revolution_ , we met HIRDINHARSAWAY who was assigned the task of absorbing our sun but he stopped. He said he would keep his distance, that there was no rush to take our sun which wasn't scheduled to go nova for millions upon millions of years.

You will recall he was quite distressed to find out it was the humans (Rei and Rome in particular), that killed his brother, BALATHUNAZAR but after he learned the circumstances, he agreed it was just self-defense.

So where are the Stareaters now? We know what they are up to. They are eating stars. In answer to the question posed at the beginning, yes, we will see them again. In the next novel, _The Milk Run_ , there arises a need for a planet-sized PPT tunnel; something only a Stareater could generate.

And, in a sense, BALATHUNAZAR, lives on in the flesh of the mutations that occurred within the VIRUS units that consumed him. So where are the mutations now? More tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-182: June 25, 2013

**How do those mutations figure into _The Milk Run_?**

At the end of _The Ark Lords_ , OMCOM actually comes out and tells you the purpose of the mutations. He said he needed to create myriad autonomous probes, some with anomalous forms of propulsion, to scour the universe to try and find the origin of the Stareaters. He claimed, at the time, he thought the Stareaters were dangerous and perhaps finding their origin might give them a better handle on how to stop them.

Well as we learned at the end of _Rome's Revolution_ , the Stareaters are not evil, have a noble purpose and are rather refined and considerate.

But the probes are still out there and OMCOM says information is starting to trickle in on some of the other sentient species throughout our galaxy. After all, you will remember we were given the appellation Species 927. That means there are 926 that came before us.

What OMCOM did _not_ tell us is that the probes have also provided him with information concerning other _universes_ as well. Think about that! OMCOM certainly has. 

## Entry 1-183: June 26, 2013

**More loose ends**

At the end of each book, there are loose ends. I never thought about them or thought they were important but in reality, they are the driving force behind each successive book. For example, I had written the original novel _VIRUS 5_ and it ended exactly how I thought it should. But I was sitting around one day and said to myself that I wondered what ever happened to Rome and Rei when they got to Deucado.

Thus what is now Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ was born. I was as excited and interested to find out as you were. At the end of Part 2, I had a whole bunch of gigantic loose ends:

\- Why was Captain Keller so crazy?

\- What about the Stareaters, coming to Earth?

\- Whatever became of Estar?

\- Who (or as it turns out what) was behind converting Deucado into a prison world?

\- What was OMCOM going to do out there, by Tabit, for eons?

Well, Part 3 practically wrote itself. At the end, I still didn't understand why Keller was so nuts. I had no clue what happened to Sussen. And I still had no clue what OMCOM was up to. I also had the whole future history thing up in the air like Hanry Ta Jihn versus the Ark Lords.

So, one day, the loose ends tied themselves together and suddenly, I had a new novel, _The Ark Lords_. I had made up my mind that that was the end. No more stories about Rome and Rei. But I still had the loose ends:

\- Whatever happened to the last few stragglers from Darwin?

\- When was Lupe coming?

\- Whatever happened to Sussen, still.

\- Were the Onsiras really just going to fold up and go home without MASAL to lead them?

\- Why build a static tunnel to Alpha Centauri and the world of Helome?

I wanted to write the compendium of short stories and deleted scenes called _The Vuduri Companion_ and I still do. But I wanted to throw in an original novella called _Rome's Evolution_. I wanted to keep it personal, just between Rome and Rei. I wasn't sure who the antagonist was but I had a few choices. Suddenly, the two groups hooked up and boom, I had new novel. But no more. I made the end definitively the end. The rest of the loose ends will have to be sorted out by a new bunch.

\- We still don't know what OMCOM is up to.

\- If we are species 927, who are the others?

\- The mutations. Still?

\- What is Lupe like?

Soon. Soon. _The Milk Run_ should answer most of your questions. 

## Entry 1-184: June 27, 2013

**MIA**

Since the original novel _VIRUS 5_ was written in 1973, many characters have come and gone. I have mentioned some of them before.

One was Pal Boco who originally was Rei's best friend. In the current version of _Rome's Revolution_ he has kind of morphed into MINIMCOM.

Another character who disappeared was Lawlidon who I also mentioned in a previous post. However, when I collapsed the first three novels into the current omnibus, he had to go as well. His scene was really cool. His arrival caused the sky to go black and Rei and Rome collapsed on the floor, holding their heads and screaming.

Other characters who disappeared were the Cecetiras who attacked Deucado at the beginning of the original book 3 and the Lawlidon's fellow Bridadiras (Protectors).

Another character who I have talked a lot about was Silas Hiram but he'll get his proper treatment in _The Vuduri Companion_ which should be out next year.

There is one other character who disappeared - one that I miss a lot. He was Rome's cat whose name was Skodla. I'll tell you more about him tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-185: June 28, 2013

**Skodla, Part 1**

I have owned a bunch of cats in my lifetime. My two best cats were Freddy and Skittle. Skittle was a huge, orange tabby who was very ill when I first got him. He nearly died. But he survived and thrived and grew and grew and grew. He got so big, we once joked about getting him first his own ZIP code then later we thought he might need his own area code. He died several years ago and I miss him a lot. I thought I'd put him in a book so that he would be remembered. When I wrote the original long form of _Rome's Revolution_ , I was determined to find a way to work Skittle into the story. Thus Skodla was born.

Skodla was Rome's cat. He was mentioned several times in the original long form of _Rome's Revolution_ and also figured prominently in Part 3 when it was its own standalone novel. Unfortunately, when the time came to compress the three novels into one omnibus, a lot of stuff had to go and Skodla was one of them. So here is the (now) untold story:

Rome was only six years old when she found him. She was sitting at a workstation practicing her eye-hand coordination when she heard a tiny, mewling sound outside of her front door. The Overmind commanded that she ignore it but she found her reaction time was fractionally reduced by the distraction. She determined that she would be better served by researching the sound before returning to her practice.

She went to the front door and opened it. At first, the sound stopped but then started again. The sound came from behind her and on the ground. There, huddled in the corner, was a tiny, orange kitten making whimpering noises. With no thought regarding what it was doing there, Rome bent down and picked up the kitten and instinctually cuddled it in the crook of her arm. Immediately, the kitten's sound changed from the plaintive tone to a surprisingly loud purring noise. Again, without really knowing what she was doing, Rome used her free hand to stroke the kitten and its purring sound grew even louder. The Overmind tried to convince her that the kitten was disease-ridden but she ignored this, choosing to attend what she saw rather than what the Overmind was telling her she was seeing

Tomorrow - Rome asks for permission to keep him. 

## Entry 1-186: June 29, 2013

**Skodla, Part 2**

When Rome was very young, she was always fighting within herself about whether to submit to the Overmind and let it do the thinking for her or remain independent. She found it very discouraging that whenever she had an original thought, it was quickly stolen by uncounted others and claimed as their own. The Vuduri actually had a thing called mind-court where you could try and prove that you thought of something first but Rome was too young to successfully argue a case.

The Overmind commanded that she set the kitten down but she was so wrapped up in the sensation that she did not obey. She felt all the other minds entering hers and trying to steal the sensation. But a remarkable thing happened. The other minds could not take it. The pure sensory input and emotional reaction was hers and hers alone. As soon as the other minds swiped the feelings, they became empty, only a hollow recollection rather than the sensation itself.

Thus Rome learned that a sensation was a sensation and something that others could not steal, no matter how hard they tried. No need to defend it in mind-court. Let them take it. It meant nothing to anyone else. The sensation was personal and private and Rome found that she loved it.

Cradling the tiny cat in her arms, instinctively, Rome scratched the kitten gently under the chin and it rolled over to give her better access. Rome was totally absorbed in the moment. She did not realize that her mother was standing there observing her. Within her mind, the Overmind was telling her to set the cat down. Rome refused. She decided to confront her mother. She knew she had to ask permission to keep it. But at what cost?

Tomorrow, the "price" Rome had to pay. 

## Entry 1-187: June 30, 2013

**Skodla, Part 3**

As part of the Overmind, Binoda also knew she had to make Rome set the kitten down. But she hesitated. It was then that Fridone came to see why his wife and daughter were standing by the front door. Rome looked up at him and spoke aloud since her father was mandasurte, mind-deaf, and verbal communication was the only way he could know what she was thinking.

May I keep him?" Rome asked her father.

"Fridone," Binoda said. "It would not be..."

Fridone held up his hand. Binoda stopped speaking. "You may," Fridone said, "but you must accept the responsibility of taking care of the animal. You must feed it and keep it safe. Can you do this, Rome?"

"Of course, Beo," Rome said. "It would be good training for me. Mea's primary responsibility is to liaison with mandasurte regarding care of animals. Mea?"

Rome knew she did not have to speak aloud. She and her mother were connected via the Overmind but Rome had long since learned to verbalize her interactions when her father was around. Binoda's eyes narrowed. Rome could hear the turmoil the Overmind imposed upon her mother's brain. At last, Binoda spoke.

"Yes," she thought toward Rome then aloud, "yes but you must be serious in keeping it healthy."

"I will, Mea," Rome said. "Thank you."

All this time, the kitten was reveling in the warmth emanating from Rome's body. It had never stopped purring even while all this went on.

"I will call him Skodla," she said and she walked past her parents, into the house, proudly carrying her new-found possession.

Rome took the cat into the cooking area and gave it a bowl of water and a few treats from the food synthesizer. It was then that the Overmind imposed itself and gave her one choice. It would allow her to keep the cat if Rome would finally submit to "second sight" which meant the Overmind would supply her with sensory input. She was to ignore what she was actually seeing and hearing.

All Rome could think about was keeping the kitten. So she agreed. But the reality was, nothing the Overmind said or did could affect Rome deep within her soul. The very hypocrisy of Vuduri society was exposed to her and while it took a long time for her to act, it eventually became _Rome's Revolution_.

Tomorrow, Skodla reappears in Part 3. 

## Entry 1-188: July 1, 2013

**Skodla, Part 4**

So, when you boil it all down, simply owning and loving the cat Skodla eventually led to _Rome's Revolution_. Rei discovered this the very first time he entered Rome's mind when they used the Espansor Bands. But that was the last mention of the cat until Part 3.

When Rei and Rome came back to Earth, Rome was put on trial. Her mother came and attended and eventually with Ursay's help, Rei got Rome's sentence commuted to banishment. Binoda agreed to accompany them into exile. The Overmind gave Binoda permission to stop by her apartment and grab a few possessions before heading to Hawaii.

To everyone's surprise, Skodla was among those things. He had lived a very long life and Binoda had been caring for him while Rome was out on the Tabit mission. He takes up a lot of room. This is from the original long form:

Rome kneeled down and laid the cat on the floor. Like a dog he rolled over so that Rome could rub his all-white belly. His striped legs stuck straight up in the air, each ending in a pure white paw. The effect was somewhat like he was wearing two pairs of sneakers. His purring was a vibration that Rei could feel through his shoes.

"How old is he?" Rei asked Binoda.

"He is nearly 21 years old," Binoda replied.

"Wow," Rei said. "For a cat, that's really old."

"Yes, it is," Binoda replied. "But he has had a good life."

"Has he always been this big?" Rei asked.

"Yes," Rome answered. "I remember that when we first got him as a kitten, he became gravely ill. He nearly died. But after he recovered, he just grew and grew until he was very nearly the size you see now."

"In my day," Rei said, "they probably would have given him his own ZIP code."

So at least I was able to get the ZIP code joke in there. Skodla has one more scene then he is pushed into the background because he didn't contribute to the action very much.

Tomorrow, the end of Skodla :( 

## Entry 1-189: July 2, 2013

**The End of Skodla**

Rome was being escorted to Hawaii by Grus along with a contingent of Vuduri soldiers. Binoda and Rei are there as well. Because the flight was several hours long, Rome decided to give her mother a tour of "the flying house" before it was taken away from her. The scene went something like this:

Rei, will you watch Skodla for me?" Rome asked, pointing to the huge mound of fur on the floor.

Sure," Rei said, "but he hasn't left very much room for me, all spread out like that."

"Rei!" Rome said but it was clear she knew he was kidding.

"Please remain here," Grus said to Rei. "And please do not try anything."

"I have no intentions of doing so," Rei replied with a sigh. "Where am I going to go?"

Grus shrugged. "Proceed," he said and the three of them left the room.

Eventually Grus grows tired of the tour and cuts it off:

"Then this is enough," said Grus. "Please go back to the living area for the remainder of the journey."

"All right," Rome said and the three of them returned to the sitting room. Rei stood up. Skodla remained in a deep slumber.

"No action so far," Rei said, pointing to the cat.

"I did not expect any," Rome replied. The sight of the two of them, Rei and Skodla together, made her smile.

So you can see, because he was so fat and lazy, he didn't do much, other than provide a source of amusement. You will be pleased to know that in this alternate universe of the long form of _Rome's Revolution_ , he accompanies the Bieraks to Hawaii and then to Deucado. The cat becomes very attached to Aason and he spends the rest of his days sleeping with the boy and following him around.

Skodla passed away a year or two later and now relaxes peacefully in Writer's Heaven, waiting patiently for the humans that he loved so dearly to join him one day.

RIP, Skodla and RIP, Skittle. I love you and I miss you.

## Entry 1-190: July 3, 2013

**The Flying House, Part 1**

The Flying House was mentioned numerous times in _Rome's Revolution_ and was Rei and Rome's primary residence for their long journey from Tabit to Deucado as they towed Rei's Ark II toward its new home world. It played a pivotal role during most of the book and comes to the end of its useful life at the end of that when it is taken away by the Vuduri.

I thought I'd give you a few details about the craft since not everything was spelled out in the book. The Flying House was one of the Vuduri space tugs converted into living quarters. The interior was rebuilt to make it like a small apartment, reminiscent of a mobile home.

The Vuduri space tug was patterned after the Space Shuttle both in dimensions as well as general appearance. Here is a picture:

It is about 150 feet in length with a wingspan of maybe 70 feet. It is powered by oversized plasma thrusters and PPT drive generators. The stock version has a huge cargo bay. The cockpit is designed with its own airlock so that the entire cargo section can be exposed to space. There is a side airlock for space excursions where you don't want to evacuate the cargo section.

After Rei and Rome proved their usefulness to the Overmind at Tabit, it decided to give them one of the tugs since they were going to leave the tugs behind anyway. The Vuduri begin a build-out to convert the tug into the Flying House. When they are done, it still had a cockpit, side airlock and rear cargo ramp but that's it. The rest is almost unrecognizable from its original configuration.

Tomorrow, the layout. 

## Entry 1-191: July 4, 2013

**The Flying House, Part 2**

Imagine being locked into a mobile home for a full year. How would you stand it?

That was the underlying motivation for making the "Flying House" in _Rome's Revolution_ a viable place for two humans to live together with nowhere to go. The hallway was rather tight to maximize the usable space. Here is a picture of the layout of the Flying House:

People need to eat, sleep and recreate. The Flying House had enough room to pursue each of these. At the front was a gymnasium. It had a Vuduri exerciser, Rei's elliptical trainer, some weights and other equipment. Next was a small storage closet. After that came a fairly well-equipped galley with a dining table, oven, food synthesizer and so on. People need a nice place to eat.

The bedroom was fairly luxurious. It had a king-sized bed, dresser and a refresher which is what the Vuduri called a bathroom. Along the other hallway was the side airlock, a living area complete with workstation, music area, a sitting area and even a small studio area for Rome to paint. Behind that was the environmental works which made the air, water, contained the molecular sequencers and so forth. Also stored in that area was some other equipment that the Overmind of Tabit was going to abandon.

Finally, at the way back was a recycler and a laundry area so they did not have to always generate new clothing. All in all, while it was a little tight, it was comfy and Rei and Rome got through their year-long journey without going stir-crazy. Tomorrow, what the hell did they do all day? 

## Entry 1-192: July 5, 2013

**The Flying House, Part 3**

What did Rei and Rome do during their year-long voyage from Tabit to Deucado? In the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , this was addressed in some detail in the beginning of _Book 2: Tau Ceti_ which is now known as Part 2.

Every day, after breakfast, Rei and Rome exercised furiously, practiced the Vuduri language and Rei learned as much of the Vuduri's science, culture and history as was possible. For Rome, who had been connected to the Overmind her whole life, it was all second nature. For Rei, learning about gravitic modulation, molecular sequencing, transmutation and all the other arcane parts of Vuduri technology challenged every bit of the engineer in him. Rome was a strict teacher but Rei did not mind. He enjoyed it.

In turn, after lunch, they reversed roles. Rome extracted background information from Rei about his world and times and the times before that. (Note: this was before Rome learned about the Essessoni data slabs featured in _The Ark Lords_ ) During the interview process, Rome's probing of Rei's recollections made him embarrassed that he had not paid more attention in history class. But what was done was done. Rei did his best to dig out what he could from his memory. Sometimes, he cheated. Sometimes he described movies he had seen about particular events whether they were dramatized or not.

Rome painstakingly recorded his reminiscences and musings and catalogued them, collating them into a database to be reconciled with the sparse records retained by her people when they arrived at Deucado. She maintained a meticulous timeline which was enhanced each time Rei produced a fact or date. Whenever there was a discrepancy, they did their best to reconcile it so that the information they transmitted would be internally consistent when the time came.

Tomorrow, their afternoons and evenings. 

## Entry 1-193: July 6, 2013

**The Flying House, Part 4**

So what did Rei and Rome do after lunch? Again, this was explained before _Rome's Revolution_ was condensed into a single book.

In the afternoons, during their leisure time, Rei taught Rome Earth games, or at least, games from the Earth of his time period. She learned card games, checkers, chess and more. Rome was surprisingly competitive for a person who had subjugated her will her whole life and surprisingly brilliant for someone who had been taught to not think for herself. To an outside observer, it would appear as if she had been saving her brain and was now using its reserves all at once. Rome was blossoming before Rei's eyes and it was a wonder to behold. Every thought, every feeling that Rome experienced showed on her face as delight and Rei loved just watching her absorb and integrate each novel experience into her new-found autonomy.

In addition to all this, after their evening meal, they worked on Rome's unending art and design projects and they listened to music. She even learned how to dance. Early on into their trip, Rei took exactly one harrowing space-walk to the vast cargo compartment of his ancient spaceship, the Ark II (described in much more detail in _Rome's Evolution_ ), and had recovered his personal music collection from there. His music was stored on a solid-state music slab, a gift from his parents which was designed to survive over the centuries. Rei's music, along with the algorithms that OMCOM had uploaded to MINIMCOM before they left the Tabit system, meant that not an evening went by when they didn't listen to what Rei called the classics or an original composition from MINIMCOM who was getting very, very good.

Infused with all this music, Rome was learning to sing and what a beautiful voice she had. Who would have guessed? She loved Handel, Joni Mitchell and Jeriko but her favorite performers were the Moody Blues which suited Rei perfectly. They were his favorite too.

Rei also tried to introduce Rome to movies. He got MINIMCOM to try to animate some of his favorites. The first one he tried was Gone With The Wind but that was a disaster because he couldn't remember it well enough. The second was Sleepless in Seattle. Rome was kind enough to tell him she understood its appeal. The only one he really aced was The One That Got Away (aka _Future Past_ ) which was the true story of his grandfather who appeared on a TV reality show. He had memorized that one, right down to the dialog. It was an interesting experiment but their other activities amused them more.

Tomorrow, a topic nobody wants to hear about: Vuduri bathrooms! 

## Entry 1-194: July 7, 2013

**Vuduri Bathrooms**

Nobody wants to read about bathrooms. The Vuduri call them refreshers. They are mentioned at several points in _Rome's Revolution_ and never again during _The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution_.

The reason for this is obvious. People read books to escape from ordinary life and what is more ordinary than a bathroom? However, there is one aspect of the Vuduri bathroom that is different than ours and bears a little more exposition. Specifically, the Vuduri shower which is a large cylindrical chamber. Here is the first time Rei encounters one:

Rei wandered around the room, checking out the facilities. The bathroom, at least, seemed fairly standard. He was able to figure out how use the sink and the toilet although it appeared to have an integrated bidet. Standing in the far corner, there was a man-high circular chamber that looked like an over-sized water heater. Rei walked over to it and found there was a grip. He tugged on it and the door opened. Inside, there were a series of rings. Rei stared at it for while then it came to him. It was a shower. So, the human race still enjoyed or at least needed to stay clean. Rei stripped off the ill-fitting jumpsuit and entered the chamber, closing the door behind him.

As soon as the door clicked closed, a swirling mist began blowing from the rings of tubing lining the cylinder. The water had a slightly antiseptic smell to it. Rei lifted his arms and after a little bit of experimentation, found that their position controlled the intensity and temperature of the water. It didn't take him very long before he felt scrubbed completely clean. As soon as he lowered his arms, the water shut off and the same nozzles that sprayed water now blew warm air over him and dried him off completely.

Rei stepped out of the shower and felt completely refreshed. On a shelf next to the sink, he saw several jumpsuits folded neatly. He tried one on but it was far too short and too tight. Reluctantly, he dressed himself in his original jumpsuit but overall he felt better for the exercise. There was no mirror in the bathroom so Rei ran his hands through his sandy brown hair approximating a combing to the best of his ability.

One last note: the mist that the Vuduri have developed has three purposes. It cleans, it moisturizes and evaporates leaving a very clean smell. The Vuduri use a form of the same solution built into their toilets, bidet style which was hinted at above.

Tomorrow: another boring topic - weather. 

## Entry 1-195: July 8, 2013

**It's always sunny on Deucado**

Weather is boring. The only reason you would introduce it would be for dramatic purpose. A rainstorm always portends an ominous event. Snow creates survival issues. I did bring up how hot it was in Illinois in _The Ark Lords_ but that was about it. I used a technique called "follow the sun" so that it was always daylight out. I don't even like writing about night.

I did deviate from this in the middle part of _Rome's Revolution_ because the action takes place over a 72-hour period. I couldn't avoid it. It is night time occasionally. So I had to figure out the rotational period of Deucado (22.5 hours), how many moons (2 - Mockay and Givvy) and then I was stuck.

One of the fundamental principles of good writing (not that I always follow it) is show don't tell. But how do you show what is happening if it is pitch black out? Answer: give Rei sonar-vision so he can see in the dark. It turns out this was useful later on in the story when Rei and Rome were deep underground beneath Kilauea and also when they were in the dark woods in _Rome's Evolution_.

It does rain on Deucado but it served no dramatic purpose so I left it out. Hence the title of this article: It's always sunny on Deucado. 

## Entry 1-196: July 9, 2013

**Rome: A different reality**

A long time ago, when _Rome's Revolution_ was still _VIRUS 5_ and linked to the original story written in 1973, everyone's backgrounds were different. Many of the familiar elements are still there. There was Rei, Rome, OMCOM and the bands. But they didn't come from Earth and they weren't at Tabit. And Rome wasn't cast out (Cesdiud) initially. This is a little scene from way back then where Rome is offered the chance to be reintegrated with the Overmind now, right at Schuyler Base (its spelling back then). She would not have to wait to go back to Earth.

Rei entered the equipment room which was fairly devoid of equipment. He saw a ladder at the far end leading up to a small circular hole in the ceiling. He walked over and looked up but could only see darkness. He climbed up the ladder and found Rome sitting on a ledge, looking out of the plastic dome. She turned, hearing him come up the ladder and smiled at him but it was a sad smile. He walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Rome, I have great news for you!"

She stood up, taking care to make sure that his hand remained on her shoulder. "What is it?" she asked.

"You can go back to the Overmind"

"I am Cesdiud, cast out!"

"You can go back any time you want."

"What makes you think that?" she asked.

"Ursay let it slip. He said that you have the ability to erase the existing spectrum and grow a new one. That any Overmind has the ability to integrate a novel spectrum imprint any time it wants." Rei put his hand over his heart then to his head, mimicking the salute that Ursay had shown him.

"I knew that," Rome said.

"What? You knew? Then why have you been so sad. You just take the gene therapy. You just grow a new transceiver and you go back. You don't have to be alone anymore."

"Rei," Rome said, putting her hand to his cheek. "It was never a question of the Overmind not having the ability. It was that it did not want me. When it cancelled my circuitry, it was not just a physical act. It was its desire. It does not want me and my thought patterns as part of the whole."

"Then, then..." Rei was at a loss for words. "So just recant and you can go back."

"Recant?" Rome said to OMCOM.

**"Dimete bere dres e fardeta,"** OMCOM replied. Rome regarded him for a long time.

"That is simply not possible."

"But why?" Rei cried, "You want to go back. You are alone now. You said so."

Rome smiled again, the same sad smile. "The Overmind is certainly capable of detecting whether a person is telling the truth or not. Even if I mouthed the words recanting the Overmind's objection, it would know it wasn't true."

"What is so awful that you can't make yourself believe it? If it means going back?"

"It is that I am in love with you," she said. She put her other hand up to his other cheek and drew him into a kiss; a very long and passionate one. Then she put her arms around him and held him tightly which Rei did as well. Rome whispered, "and I am not alone any more. I have you." 

## Entry 1-197: July 10, 2013

**The Ark II**

The crew compartment of the Ark II was divided into two sections. This was mentioned in _The Ark Lords_ and explored in a bit more detail in _Rome's Evolution_. The people in the front, referred to as "The Grays" were later revealed to be part of the Darwin Project. The people in the back were called "The Whites" because that was the color of each sarcophagus.

Here is a picture of its overall organization:

The sarcophagi were stacked on the left and the right, three rows tall and three sarcophagi per row for a total of 540 people. Here is a close-up of their layout:

Thus, _Rome's Revolution_ started here. 

## Entry 1-198: July 11, 2013

**Why did the Vuduri fly all the way out to Tabit?**

The whole premise of the story behind _Rome's Revolution_ was that the Overmind finally realized that stars were disappearing. Originally there were far more stars but within the story, I boiled it down to just a few to get the point across.

In the original concept, there were gazillions of Stareaters and they were malevolent and based upon the findings of the starprobes, Rei eventually concludes that the pinwheel shape of the Milky Way was due to Stareaters encroaching upon our galaxy. Even with Rei's brilliant idea of the VIRUS units, it seemed like these were insurmountable odds and impractical that a race of gargantuan creatures like this would sweep through galaxies like cosmic locusts.

So I backed off. I had them eating just a few stars listed in a previous post. I had Rei kill off one so that OMCOM could develop the substrate to transfer his consciousness. The mutations are the mutations. You'll find out more about them in _The Milk Run_. But malevolent? I really, really thought they would be until I came up with the "people of Earth" scene where Rome addresses the planet and everybody passes out.

I realized at that point I had painted myself into a corner and everyone was going to die. So, taking my inspiration from Horton Hears a Who, I had the protagonists shout out. To my delight, the Stareater answered. I was as shocked as you were to find out they were urbane and noble creatures who followed a higher purpose.

So... This leads to the question who created them and set them upon their mission? After all, they are Species 3. Who was Species 1 and Species 2? And don't forget about Species Zero. All will be addressed in the next book. 

## Entry 1-199: July 12, 2013

**Skyler Base: A new series**

Skyler Base, located on the moon Dara, is the main focus of the action in _Rome's Revolution_. The base, also called a star-base (since it was created as a stellar observatory), sits on a moon orbiting Skyler's World (originally called Schuyler's World) which in turns orbits Tabit. I pretended that Rei called it Pi3 Orionis but in _Rome's Evolution_ , we find out Rei does call it Tabit as well.

The base was built from the ground up using a combination of aerogel generators as well as the molecular synthesizers augmented by equipment and supplies transported there aboard the Algol. Here is a picture of the base (you can click on the image to see a much larger copy):

The base is strictly utilitarian and built upon the only design the Vuduri ever use: concentric circles. It would never occur to them to deviate from that plan although the Vuduri on Deucado build Vuduri City resembling a Star of David in _The Ark Lords_. We also learned that the Vuduri on Helome deviated from the plan slightly but not in any significant way.

In this series, I will review the features of the base that may or may not have been explained or even introduced in the current version of _Rome's Revolution_. 

## Entry 1-200: July 13, 2013

**Skyler Base: Basic Construction**

You can see from this picture the basic organization of Skyler Base but it tells you nothing about its construction:

When the Vuduri first arrived, they used their pressure suits to uncrate the tugs, split the cargo containers and created the egress to the Algol as well as the tug hangars. The final piece was the placeholder for the stellar cartography lab.

When this was complete, they marched to what was to be the very center of the base and erected a huge tent pole. They draped a Mylar-like substance from the top and attached it to each of the four half-cylinders then pinned the corners. They used aerogel generators to coat the mylar and create the basic pyramidal structure of the Base.

Finally, they brought out the hangar doors from another cargo section and sealed off any other openings. At this point, they had a structure where they could start moving equipment. After they established the power plant and molecular sequencers, the actual internal construction began.

Tomorrow: aerogel. What the heck is it? 

## Entry 1-201: July 14, 2013

**The Blog turns 200!**

Wow and wow. Yesterday was my 200th post on this blog and I still haven't even scratched the surface!

As I mentioned in my previous milestone post, I have been working on the world of the Vuduri since 1973... that's 40 years. So the pile of backstories and information that didn't make it into the books is undented. Looking ahead, I think I have probably another year or two of blog entries before I make it through _Rome's Revolution_ alone!

This continues to be fun and stimulating so right now I do not plan to stop. Thanks for reading and stay tuned.

Mike 

## Entry 1-202: July 15, 2013

**Aerogel**

You've heard me mention aerogel numerous times throughout all the books in the _Rome's Revolution_ series. A previous post covered Sklyer Base initial construction with aerogel. So what the heck is it?

Aerogel is very real. Here is a basic description courtesy of Aerogel.org

What, you may ask, is aerogel? Aerogels are the world's lightest solid materials, composed of up to 99.98% air by volume. Aerogels are a diverse class of amazing materials with properties unlike anything else. Transparent superinsulating silica aerogels exhibit the lowest thermal conductivity of any solid known. Ultrahigh surface area carbon aerogels power today's fast-charging supercapacitors. And ultrastrong, bendable x-aerogels are the lowest-density structural materials ever developed.

Welcome to Aerogel.org. Here you will find an encyclopedic reference about aerogels, how-to guides for making aerogels and building a do-it-yourself supercritical dryer, the world's most comprehensive aerogel image gallery, a podcast with the world's leading aerogel scientists, and more.

Aerogel's not just for NASA anymore. Welcome to open-source nanotech.

So the bottom line is it is a very light, very strong material which can be made from silica, polymers and many other substances. Because of its nearly perfect structure, it is great for building a structure which is light weight and airtight.

Oh, yeah, my version of the Vuduri aerogel is also an electro-capacitor and exhibits electroluminescence which means it glows when a charge is put through it. On Skyler Base, it glows white. On Helome, they decided to make it glow blue but then the Vuduri on Helome always were a little different.

So, let's step into the corridor of Skyler Base, made of aerogel and see what we can see. 

## Entry 1-203: July 16, 2013

**Into the corridor**

In the original long-form of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei was escorted out of the airlock turned isolation chamber (which will be covered tomorrow) and into the corridor by some Vuduri guards. In the current form, Rei is escorted out by Rome.

So what did Rei see? Why are there corridors at all? The concentric circle design (again in a future post) was the Vuduri idea of perfection but do they really need ceilings? I am guessing they did. At least in their rooms. They sleep to and there is constant activity within the star-base.

The next question do the corridors look industrial, with spars and crossbeams or more like a conventional hotel? The answer is because they are made of aerogel, they are actually smooth and rounded like large tunnels. Think Star Trek but smoother and no panels.

As I mentioned the other day, their corridors, tunnels (and in fact all their rooms) exhibit electroluminescence so there is no discrete source of illumination. The tunnels are high, maybe 10 foot at the top and curve around so you can never see very far in either direction. In fact, if you were blind-folded and dropped in a corridor somewhere, you wouldn't know where you were without additional information.

My hope was this draws a very futuristic picture and when the movie gets made; the set design should be very easy.

Tomorrow: Rei's iso chamber. 

## Entry 1-204: July 17, 2013

**Rei's Isolation Chamber**

(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)

When Rei is first awakened in _Rome's Revolution_ , the Vuduri are not positive that he isn't harboring disease or worse. After all, the Essessoni were responsible for the near-extinction of the human race because of an artificial virus (explained in _The Ark Lords_ ). So their solution was to isolate Rei in one of the airlocks which was part of Skyler Base on Dara. Here is a picture of the room:

From the image you can see that the room is fairly large. It is not only an airlock but a locker room where the Vuduri get dressed or undressed to go outside or into space. Normally, there is not a sarcophagus in the way so if the Vuduri want to go outside (having already dressed), they simply open the inner airlock door, enter the chamber, then lock the door and evacuate the room and exit by the door shown on the bottom.

There are lockers on the right and benches if they need to dress. The interior of the star-base is on the top side. The rectangle labeled "Airlock to Base" is the bulkhead where Rei first set eyes on Rome. The wall labeled "Monitoring Equipment" is the display panels and grille where Rei first encountered OMCOM. This is also the chamber where Rei almost met an early demise at the hands of Estar but luckily his wits and reflexes saved him.

Tomorrow: Rei's home away from home - the "apartment" Rei was assigned during his time at the base. 

## Entry 1-205: July 18, 2013

**Skyler Base: Why rings?**

(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)

The answer is: that's the way the Vuduri build things. This is seen numerous times in _Rome's Revolution_ , _The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution_. The Vuduri decided that the circle is the optimal geometric shape so all their cities are circular rings. It is only natural that they build their base in this way as well.

There are two main corridors going north-south and two minor corridors situated diagonally. The idea is it should take you the least amount of time to get there from here. You can see the basic layout here:

In _Rome's Revolution_ , when Rei first awakened, he peered out of the bulkhead and tried to look up and down the corridors. He could not see very far because they curved around. When he first saw Rome, when she walked away, she disappeared down one of the corridors very quickly. As you will recall, when they released Rei, Rome took him down that corridor, past all of the rings, to the central corridor.

Tomorrow: Rei's apartment. 

## Entry 1-206: July 19, 2013

**Skyler Base: Rei's apartment**

(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)

In the original long form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei was given quarters while the Vuduri finished up their packing. When he asked Rome why they had spare apartments in space (after all, who was going to drop by?), she told him it was the room for a crewman who had been killed.

In the modern version, I actually stole one of the excised attempts on Rei's life to create the backstory as to why there was a spare apartment. I'll give you that scene in a future post. In the current version, I even gave the crewman who was killed a name: Calum.

Anyway, here is a picture of Rei's apartment (you can click on the picture to see a full-sized image):

There are several oddities about this image which were downplayed in the original long-form and eliminated in the modern version.

First, why doors? This is covered in _Rome's Revolution_ as Rei and Rome are headed back to Earth. Next, why is there a sitting area with a place for multiple humans when the Vuduri _never_ socialize? This was touched on briefly in the original long-form. Next, why do they have dressers when the only thing they ever wear are jumpsuits? Same goes for the nightstand. Why bother?

Finally, there is the refresher, aka bathroom, covered in an earlier post. At least this thing has a reason to exist but I put a door on it. Why?

The answer is very simple. None of these things are important but when I "choreograph" a scene, I have to know where things are so people can move in a fluid manner and not bump into things. So this isn't really Rei's apartment, just a prop. Rei's real apartment hasn't been built yet. You will have to wait 14 centuries to see the real thing ;) 

## Entry 1-207: July 20, 2013

**The Center Court**

(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)

In _Rome's Revolution_ , after Rei leaves the isolation chamber and walks down the south corridor, he and Rome enter the center courtyard. Because the star-base was originally built using a tentpole and Mylar sheath, the whole thing is pyramidal and the top of the ceiling in the center is very high.

I believe the Vuduri removed the top section and put in some sort of translucent or transparent panels but I cannot be sure. Nor can I be sure why they did it in the first place. I can only tell you that my recollection of the place was that it had some windows. Perhaps since all Vuduri cities have "The Tower" this was an attempt to approximate some of its functionality.

What was the purpose of the center court? You will see the annular layout of Skyler Base makes it difficult to build useful extensions of the rings in this tight. And also the standard Vuduri design always has a focus of attention in the middle. As such, it was only natural at Skyler Base. The open section in the middle was fairly spacious. It had two main areas. The first was the food preparation area where they had a fairly elaborate bank of food synthesizers.

The other side of the courtyard was seating areas. The Vuduri are not very social creatures so most of the tables were designed for one person, two at the most. There were a few four-man and six-man tables but those would have been for meal-time meetings, not a bunch of friends.

Rei's first exposure to Vuduri food was at the synthesizer station. His introduction was less than auspicious. I will cover that in more detail tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-208: July 21, 2013

**Rei's first taste of Vuduri food**

(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)

In _Rome's Revolution_ , Rome takes Rei to the food preparation area to enjoy a brief meal in the Center Court.

This scene was meant to demonstrate several things. Rei's brain was slowly waking up and through his interview with Rome, he discovered that the differences between their societies was not just a technological or philosophical one. The 24-chromosomes within their blood made them beholden to the Overmind and it changed group dynamics making them fundamentally different.

This is when it truly hit Rei that the Vuduri were a different species. Their distancing themselves from art, music, being social, even joy made them colorless and devalued the individual to the point where any of them were almost completely replaceable. Their food was simply a reflection of this.

Except for the fact that people had to eat, the entire experience set Rei back. The first thing he ordered was some soup and it was tasteless and he discovered the Vuduri no longer used spoons.

His next attempt at eating was protein blocks which reminded Rei of soggy, Styrofoam chunks. They had virtually no taste. It was here he discovered the Vuduri no longer use forks or knives. Instead they used long toothpicks call biskars to stab at their food.

The Vuduri didn't even consider it food. They just thought of it as sustenance. Given that context, Rei found the meal was satisfying, if not tasty. He used the opportunity to interview Rome and find out what happened to Vuduri society. 

## Entry 1-209: July 22, 2013

**The Vuduri do not have fun**

During their first meal together, Rei uses the opportunity to query Rome regarding certain elements making up Vuduri society. He quickly discovers that the word fun is not in their vocabulary.

"Do you guys do anything for fun at all? What do you do about socializing? Parties?" asked Rei.

"We have no need to socialize. We all know exactly what is going on with everyone else all the time," Rome answered.

Rei exhaled then took a deep breath. "So I'll ask you again," he said. "What do you do for fun?"

"And I will answer you the same way," Rome replied. "As I understand your definition of it, we do not have fun."

"Well, that's so, so boring," said Rei.

"That would be from your perspective," Rome said, ever so slightly defensively.

"What about hobbies, clubs, I don't know. Something other than your job?" Rei asked hopefully.

"No, we do not have any of those either," Rome replied flatly.

"How about a husband or a boyfriend? Do you at least have a boyfriend?"

"No," Rome said.

"Friends in general?"

Rome shook her head no.

"What about family?" Rei asked. "Do you still have family? A mother? A father?"

Rome nodded. "Yes, the Vuduri have parents. But our lives revolve around the Overmind so it is not that important who you live with. I lived with my mother and father for many years, but only because it was convenient. Many Vuduri do not do so."

"So if you don't have friends and you don't have family and you don't have a boyfriend," Rei asked, "what the hell do you do? Don't you need somebody in your life?"

"We have no need," said Rome. "We have our work. We are all very satisfied with things exactly the way they are. Anything else would be a distraction."

Bottom line: The Vuduri do not understand the concept of fun. Their loss. 

## Entry 1-210: July 23, 2013

**Rei's first joke**

In order to see if the Vuduri have a sense of humor, in the original long-form of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei tells Rome a joke. This is harder than you think because most jokes are culturally-oriented. Rei had to think of one that did not tie to his place and time. Rei is sitting with Rome in the Center Court. There are two other Vuduri crewman sitting at another table...

"How about humor?" Rei asked. "Tell me a 35th century joke."

"What is a joke?" Rome asked.

"It's, I don't know, a funny story."

"A funny story? Stories are stories. Can you give me an example," Rome said.

"All right." Rei thought for a minute. "OK," he said. "Here's a joke. Two birds are sitting in a tree, watching a little turtle slowly make his way to the end of a branch..."

"How did the turtle get in the tree?" Rome asked.

"Hold on, you'll see," Rei said.

"All right," Rome replied patiently.

Rei continued. "So anyway, the turtle gets to the end of the branch and starts flapping his arms and jumps off and goes crashing to the ground." Rei slapped his hands together hard. "Boom!" he said loudly.

Rome jumped. She frowned at Rei. The other two people turned and blatantly stared at him as well.

Rei ignored them and continued. "So the little turtle gets up, dusts himself off and climbs back up the tree and back to the end of the branch. He flaps his arms again and jumps off and..."

Again, Rei slapped his hands together. This time Rome was prepared. "Boom! He falls to the ground again."

"Go on..." Rome said, slightly alarmed.

"OK. So now the turtle is climbing back up the tree a third time and the one bird turns to the other and says, 'Dear, don't you think it's time we tell him he's adopted?'"

Rei laughed to himself. He looked at Rome. She did not react.

"That's it. That's the joke," Rei said.

"I do not understand. How do birds talk? And adopting?" Rome cocked her head. "I believe I understand the word. Why would they adopt a turtle?"

Rei sighed. "It's a joke!"

Rome said, "OMCOM says a joke is meant to be amusing which is the purpose of humor. Where is the humor in that?"

"I don't know. You tell me. "

After that, Rei gave up. But not permanently. Eventually he taught Rome how to laugh and by the end of the series, she is kidding him herself. Quite an improvement. 

## Entry 1-211: July 24, 2013

**Skyler Base: The Space Tugs**

(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)

In a previous post, I gave you a picture of what the Vuduri space tugs looked like. They figured prominently in _Rome's Revolution_.

Not only were they responsible for discovering and retrieving the Ark II, they were also responsible for towing the Ark from Tabit to Deucado. Of course, one was converted to "The Flying House" and the other evolved into MINIMCOM. MINIMCOM gave "birth" to Junior in _The Ark Lords_. You will learn in a year or two that MINIMCOM gives birth to another ship called Fury (sort of a girl spaceship) and Junior has his own child named Trei (pronounced tray). But that is for another day.

The tugs were transported to Deucado in the removable rear sections of the Algol. If you look at the first post in this series, you can see a stylized version of the transport containers. These cargo containers were dismantled and used as part of Skyler Base and left behind when the Vuduri abandoned Dara.

Each tug is stored in its own hangar at the north and south end of the base. The hangar can be pressurized and there are giant doors that lead into the hangar. Normally, the hangar is left exposed to the extremely thin atmosphere of Dara so the Vuduri usually use the airlocks to the side (mentioned in the post about the Iso chamber) so that they do not need to go through the pressurization/depressurization cycle.

Tomorrow I'll take you back to the Center Court and try and figure out why everyone wears those stupid white jumpsuits. 

## Entry 1-212: July 25, 2013

**Why does everybody wear those stupid white jumpsuits?**

I've said it many times but I'm not 100% sure I've said it this way: we humans are not only capable of learning history but also predicting future history. This was the fundamental premise behind Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. We have a racial (read: species) knowledge of the future. So when I built the universe behind _Rome's Revolution_ my assumption was that whatever we see in common among many science fiction novels and movies has predictive value.

When you watch _2001: A Space Odyssey_ and especially _THX 1138_ you see everybody dressed in white and speaking in muted tones, there is something to that. My mission was to discover the underlying principles behind such commonalities.

So... everybody in the future wears white. Why? My future people, the Vuduri, wear white because a) they are not slaves to fashion and b) they do not want clothes to be anything they ever need to think about. When Rei is awakened, it never occurred to them to give him anything else to wear other than a white (and ill-fitting) jumpsuit. Unfortunately, even when he got an opportunity to retrieve his "regular" clothes, they got ruined because Estar wanted to kill him.

So what about those stupid, white jumpsuits? Are they thick? Are they thin? Do they have buttons? Zippers? Velcro? The answer is yes, no, no, no and yes. They are not particularly thick. They clasp together using a velcro-like fastener and that is that. I'm not even really sure why the Vuduri wear clothes. Maybe that's just one habit that did not die when they upgraded to having the Overmind in charge.

The thickness of the material is important is because Rome is built (like her mother) in a spectacular fashion and if the jumpsuits were too thick, nobody would notice. Rei notices. She is the complete package even though the Vuduri cannot appreciate it. If you have taken the time to read _Rome's Evolution_ , you will see that Bonnie Mullen tells Rome that if she had Rome's body and face, she'd rule the world.

I guess the bottom line is, everybody wears those stupid white jumpsuits but they are not particularly unflattering and it makes it easy to figure out what to wear in the morning (see Albert Einstein). 

## Entry 1-213: July 26, 2013

**Rei's Brain**

I took Rei's name (full name Reinard) as a variation of my Dad's name. When I originally created the character back in 1973 when the novel was _VIRUS 5_ , he was much younger. Pretty much a kid.

In the modern version of _Rome's Revolution_ , he is a man, roughly 25 years old when the story starts. Throughout the course of the novels, culminating with the flashbacks in _Rome's Evolution_ , you get a better sense of his character. He is smart and a good problem solver but he has a sense of humor. He is also a very loving husband and father. The man he ends up becoming was definitely not the man we first met when the story opened.

Rei's brain was altered by events through the course of the story. Being frozen for 14 centuries and then having his mind melded with Rome's and then genetically modified caused his brain to evolve as well. Rome hints at this when she tells Rei:

Rome leaned forward to touch his forehead then motioned to hers.

"It is the bands, Rei." She looked him in the eye. "I told you. We are our own samanda now and more. We are Asborodi Cimponeti, our spirits are one."

But even Rome does not understand fully the changes that occurred in Rei.

In a kind of _Flowers for Algernon_ kind of way, Rei really does grow smarter. He really does get to use more of his brain. He goes from being a passive, slightly shallow person to being a man of action. You can see his confidence grow during the course of the novels. In _Rome's Evolution_ , you can see that he is unwilling to accept a diagnosis of paralysis. You can see that he is fully aware that his thinking process was compromised by the explosion. You can see that he had no fear in attacking Steele although I think he was a bit foolhardy in that action. Finally, when it comes time to fight the ethereal battle, he has no hesitation.

So here's to Rei's brain. He is a good man and has matured to the point where he eventually becomes the de facto leader of all of Deucado. He ultimately rises up to become head of the Galactic Union after we begin encountering other species. You'll find out about that starting with the novel entitled _The Milk Run_. 

## Entry 1-214: July 27, 2013

**Vuduri Hi-def Screens**

(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)

In the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei spent a lot of time wandering around the star-base at Dara. I was trying for a "you are there" experience but that got edited out when I had to introduce 'action, action, action'. Rei spent a lot of time in his apartment just trying to get a feel for the Vuduri life-style. He sat down at their computer workstation, not unlike ours, and use his engineering skills to try and figure out how the viewscreen worked.

On a whim, Rei spoke out loud. "What are all of these screens for?" he asked, pointing to the various virtual instruments.

**_"The view screens are multi-purpose,"_** replied OMCOM. ** _"Any workstation can be tied in to the central storage facilities, database, sensors and more."_**

"How do they work? The view screens, I mean." Rei pointed at the flat panel in front of him.

**_"You just issue orders. I will produce the desired images or data."_**

"I don't mean commands," Rei said. "I mean the electronics." He bent over and looked underneath the desk but saw nothing.

**_"They have emitters along the frame that project an ultrahigh frequency array of electromagnetic radiation through the panel."_**

"What is the panel made of?" Rei asked, rising up again.

**_"It is a borosilicate matrix doped with gallium arsenide, germanium oxide and other rare earth elements."_**

"Hey!" Rei said. "I actually understand something you just said. It's glass, isn't it?"

**_"Yes, but it has a variety of compounds within it that emit photons when excited by the proper resonant frequency."_**

"How do you get that?" Rei asked. He touched the screen lightly. "Is it like an LCD? I mean a liquid crystal display or is it an electron beam like a CRT?"

**_"It is like neither. The X and the Y grids have differing frequencies which are adjustable. When a certain element, you would call it a pixel, is to be excited, the frequencies of the two beams are adjusted so that where they intersect, the difference is the resonant frequency of the active element."_**

"A beat phenomenon?" Rei asked.

**_"High frequency, but yes. The beat phenomenon excites the desired element into a higher energy state and when the excitation stops, it drops back to its resting state and emits a photon of certain color."_**

"So, I get it," Rei said excitedly. "It's like an LED except you don't need to actually build the electronics into the panel. By god, I actually understand something! This is so sleek that I even get it. Maybe the drugs are finally wearing off. I thought maybe being asleep so long made me stupid or something. "

**_"Certain physical principles are true regardless of the date on the calendar. Much of our underlying technology is based upon laws of nature that were well known in your time."_**

"What kind of resolution can they generate?" Rei asked, waggling a finger at the screen.

**_"What you would refer to as pitch is the size of one molecule so they are capable of extremely high resolution."_**

If only the Vuduri liked football! 

## Entry 1-215: July 28, 2013

**I-cimaci is Lisbon**

When Rei is first awakened in _Rome's Revolution_ , he is confronted with a torrent of new information. It takes him a long time to absorb it all.

One of things that he learns is that the current de facto capital of Earth is called I-cimaci which means "The Beginning" or "The First" in Vuduri. The reason this is significant is because when I was designing the Vuduri language, I had to base it off of something so I decided to base it off of Portuguese. My thinking was the disease vector, Darwin Virus Strain 4, would sweep through the US, Europe and Asia. Since Portugal is at the tip of the Iberian Peninsula, I figured that if the disease attenuated at all, it would be the weakest there.

The only other place where people would be less affected would be land masses that are isolated, like Hawaii. That was why I decided to make that the home base of the mandasurte. It is ironic that MASAL decided to go there to create his staging area for conquering the human race.

The rest of the countries of the world were more or less reset. The story of Jack Henry (found in _The Ark Lords_ ) takes place in north Jersey but it is explained that eventually, people migrated from the Americas and back to Europe. By the time Rei and Rome get there, the continent is nearly deserted. Except for Southern California. You'll have to read _Rome's Evolution_ to see what is going on there. 

## Entry 1-216: July 29, 2013

**Bruce's questions**

My brother Bruce had a few questions for me, prompted by reading _Rome's Evolution_.

1. Why would Rei create a trellis that he had to duck under?

2. Did the shrimpy Vuduri build it? I suppose so if he has to duck. Does he have to duck going into each room of the house?

3. Is the house one story? Is it shaped like a 'U'. Open in the middle. I thought I remembered you could look out a window and see the other wing.

Here are the answers:

Rome had the Vuduri build the trellis after a near-fatal encounter with a blanket the previous year. The incident took place about a year after _The Ark Lords_. The Vuduri only build things one way and they are not very imaginative. So, while Rei could clear it full upright before the honeysuckle vines grew, they were getting rather thick overhead so that he now he has to duck down a little. His head would not hit the trellis but it would hit the vines.

At the end of _Rome's Revolution_ , the Vuduri built Rei and Rome's house but under the direction of the Essessoni so it was built more like a traditional (2067AD) Earth house, complete with 10 foot ceilings and 7 foot doorways. So Rei does not need to duck in his own house.

The house is a one-story ranch-style house U-shaped made out of aerogel. The left side and the middle section belonged to Rei and Rome initially. The far side was an in-law suite with its own entrance. The in-laws could also access Rei and Rome's portion using an inside door.

Binoda and Fridone built a solarium which Rei and Rome could see across the center courtyard. This was mentioned in _The Ark Lords_. Eventually Rome's parents moved into their own home so Rei and Rome had access to both wings. Rome converted one room into a playroom for Aason. Another eventually became Lupe's bedroom.

Rome converted the solarium into a studio because it had fantastic northern light. After _Rome's Evolution_ , she concentrated on getting the Library and campus up and running but eventually left it in the hands of others. When Lupe was old enough, Rome became a full-time teacher and painted as her hobby.

When Rome retired, she threw herself into her art. What happens to Rei and Rome at the end of their life will be revealed in a short story called "Not The End" which will be in _The Vuduri Companion_ , due in late 2014. 

## Entry 1-217: July 30, 2013

**Vuduri Cities**

After Rei had absorbed how the Vuduri view screens worked, he got past it and asked to see some of the "new" Earth. He asked to see a "typical" city. He learned that not only was it typical, it was the only design the Vuduri every came up with:

"OK. Show me something else. Can you show me a picture closer in? Streets, buildings, things like that?"

The view screen changed to an aerial view of the city. Looking down, it resembled a bulls eye. There were a series of rings and blocks with straight lines cutting across and up and down, like an eight-armed asterisk. In the center was a single giant, gleaming tower.

"What is that?" Rei asked, pointing to the structure. "The tall one."

**_"It is simply called The Tower,"_** answered OMCOM ** _. "It contains support for what few items require fixed elevation."_**

"Like what?" Rei asked.

**_"Weather measurements, crop distribution, aerial traffic management. Should I go on?"_**

"No," Rei said. "Show me something else. Show me more city."

OMCOM flashed a series of pictures showing I-cimaci from an elevated viewpoint as well as from ground level. The buildings closest to The Tower were perhaps three or four stories tall and the buildings on the far side of the innermost rings were lower, only one or two stories. The streets themselves were wide and serene. All eight of the major thoroughfares ended at The Tower. It reminded Rei a bit of Philadelphia where City Hall sat right in the middle of Broad and Market.

Underneath each of the pictures were notations but the writing and the lettering was in Vuduri so Rei could not make out what they said. From their general placement, he assumed they were captions. The letters themselves had a very odd, blocky appearance. At least the Vuduri used fonts.

"Can I see another city?" Rei asked.

**_"Yes,"_** said OMCOM. The picture washed away and was replaced by another image that looked exactly the same as I-cimaci. It, too, had a tall structure similar to The Tower.

"What is this one?" Rei asked. "What's the name of this city?"

**_"This is E-brixome,"_** replied OMCOM.

"You are sure? You are sure this is not I-cimaci?"

**_"Yes, I am sure,"_** replied OMCOM placidly.

Rei studied the central tower in more detail. He decided it was possible it was somewhat smaller than the previous one but not by much.

"The layout looks identical," Rei noted.

**_"The Vuduri have developed what they believe to be the optimal layout for their urban areas so to them it would be illogical to deviate from that ideal,"_** said OMCOM.

Tomorrow: Vuduri schools 

## Entry 1-218: July 31, 2013

**Vuduri Schools**

In the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei was done sorting through images of Vuduri cities. He was curious about daily life...

"Where are all the people?" he asked. "What about schools, kids? Stuff like that?"

The array of thumbnails was replaced with a single picture of a large number of children. They were lined up in row after row, doing what looked like calisthenics.

"What am I looking at?" Rei asked.

**_"That is a Vuduri academy,"_** OMCOM answered.

The next picture revealed a three-legged trestle, similar to a see-saw but with three arms balanced about a cone-shaped pivot point. Each arm ended in a flat metal plate and on each of the flat metal plates there stood four children.

"What are they doing?" Rei asked.

**_"It is a dadar-fo,"_** said OMCOM. **_"It teaches balance and team work."_**

"What about classrooms?" asked Rei. "Teachers?"

**_"They do not..."_** OMCOM paused. **_"I understand what you are referring to. However, the Vuduri do not have schools in the sense with which you are familiar."_**

"Why not?" Rei asked.

**_"With the Overmind, each child has access to the complete accumulated knowledge of the entire human race from the day they are born. They do not need to be taught language or areas of expertise. The only training they require is in the physical domain as their bodies mature. Thus Vuduri academies are geared toward exercise, eye-hand coordination and similar."_**

"Eye-hand coordination? Do they play sports?" Rei asked. "Kids have to want to fool around..."

**_"As I understand the term sports, no. There is no need for competition of that sort in the way you are familiar with it. There is no 'fooling around' as you refer to it. It is not in their nature."_**

The point of this is that the Vuduri consider themselves more or less interchangeable. Especially those that have accepted Second Sight which is where the Overmind processes and delivers edited sensory input to their brains. So in the end the only thing distinguishing one Vuduri from another would be their physical characteristics. So their entire life is devoted to training and enhancing the physical. 

## Entry 1-219: August 1, 2013

**The moment in the loading dock**

(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)

This little moment was in the original, long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ but got excised because I had to move the plot along more quickly.

Rei and Rome arrived at the dead end of the East Corridor and stood before some very large doors, perhaps two stories tall. Rome pointed to their top.

"This is loading dock for the Algol," Rome said. She pressed a stud and the two doors slid sideways, disappearing into the walls. A semi-cylindrical room opened up in front of them, a half tube with a 20 meter ceiling. Unlike the rest of the Vuduri complex, this one area was illuminated by bright lights hanging from the ceiling. At the far end was a round door, rolled back, leading to a sizeable airlock. Several workers were bustling about the room, carrying cargo bins. Others were operating a conveyer and yet others were moving parcels on what appeared to be a cushion of air. The frantic pace reminded Rei of loading operations at an airport, of all things. No one looked at them or even acknowledged their presence. Each and every one them were dressed in the ubiquitous white jumpsuits.

Rei ignored them ignoring him. He walked over to the far wall and touched it.

"This doesn't look like aerogel like the rest of this place. What's it made of?" Rei asked.

"It is a metallic alloy," Rome replied, coming over to where Rei was standing. "This is actually one half of a cargo section from the Algol. We used it for a staging area to begin construction. This is where we started." She pointed to where the crewmen were entering. "That is the connecting corridor. Beyond that is the Algol."

"Can I go inside and see?" Rei asked.

"No," Rome replied. "We cannot go aboard right now. They are busy loading the equipment that is to be returned with us. Perhaps later."

"Is there somewhere else we can go so I can see it? Somewhere with windows?"

"Not really," Rome said. "We do not have windows on this station."

"No windows?" Rei asked, perplexed. "What if you want to look outside?"

Rome shrugged. "There is nothing to see. Just Dara. If we need to observe anything else, we use our instruments."

At this point, all Rei could do was sigh.

Tomorrow, another attempt on Rei's life by Estar. It was removed from the current version of _Rome's Revolution_ but I thought you might want to read it. 

## Entry 1-220: August 2, 2013

**Estar tries to kill Rei again!**

In the current version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei is almost killed twice. He later deduces it was Estar behind these murderous attempts. However, in the original long-form version, there were actually _four_ attempts on his life making it pretty easy to figure out that somebody was gunning for him. As mentioned in a previous post, I stole one of the attempts on his life and used it to explain why the Vuduri had spare quarters. Here is the deleted scene:

Without so much as another word, Rei jumped up and went out the door and turned to his left and left again, walking up the East Corridor toward the Algol. When he got there, he saw that the door was open and no one was around so he went in.

The connecting corridor was open. The tunnel that led to the Algol beckoned to Rei but he could not stop himself from looking around. Once again, the sheer size of the area and the fact that everything he saw here was transported aboard a single ship impressed him. To his left, the entire wall was filled with shelves holding white and grey containers, some large, some small. Unable to suppress his curiosity, Rei walked over to them and touched one of the smaller ones on a lower shelf, trying to ascertain its purpose or contents. The container was completely sealed on all sides and there was no apparent latch or lock. Rei ran his hands around all the surfaces but he could feel nothing.

He tugged on the box and saw that it moved easily. He pulled it all the way out and was surprised to see how light it was. The material comprising the box was almost translucent so Rei lifted it up to hold it against one of the overhead lights, hoping that he could see into it.

A slight tremor shook him a bit and the box wobbled in his hands, just enough that past it, he saw a motion on one of the upper shelves. Unbelievably, the whole shelving unit began to pitch forward, moving quickly. Rei leaped to the side, just in time. The entire wall of shelving crashed down to the floor, spilling containers everywhere and had he remained in the way, he would have been crushed for sure.

Some Vuduri crewmen came running in and saw Rei gathering himself up from the floor, still holding the box. There were shelves and containers everywhere.

"I didn't do it," he said sheepishly. "It was the quake."

One of the crewmen flung his hand towards the door in an angry motion and Rei took the opportunity to get out of there. Slinking might be a good word for his actions. There was no chance they were going to let him aboard the Algol so once again, he headed back to his quarters which was apparently the only place in the entire habitat where he could be safe.

As always, the fact that Rei can think for himself is at the bottom of it all. 

## Entry 1-221: August 3, 2013

**Rei and the bands, part 1**

In the original, long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei and Rome used the Espansor Bands but the experience was quite different. It was not nearly as intimate and it did not cause Rome to fall in love with Rei. The scene is fairly long so I will break it up into multiple entries. Here is part 1:

Rome pulled her long hair back then placed the other band on her head. Rei could actually see it constrict around her brow indenting into the skin a bit.

Rome closed the box and then flipped it over. She touched a depression in the design there and the bands began to vibrate ever so gently.

At first, nothing happened. Rei started to speak but Rome interrupted, saying only "shh..."

He looked into her brown eyes and began to imagine what it must be like to be inside her head, looking at him. With a start, he realized, he wasn't imagining it. He really was looking at himself, looking at her. He jerked his head back and put his hand to his temples, pinching the band. He blinked rapidly, trying to focus and then his point-of-view switched back to his own and he saw Rome smile at him. But her smile bespoke more to him. He could feel the warmth in a way that defied words. He could feel that she was...he widened his eyes. The image of looking at an image of a mirror within a mirror within a mirror confused him. He wasn't sure if he was thinking his thoughts or listening in to her thoughts. The distinction became fuzzy. Certain images, he knew had to have originated in her head.

He saw Rome as a child. She was always a little different. Taller, stronger. The taunts from the minds of the other children rang in his head. Talker! That's what they called her. He saw that it hurt her at first but later she embraced her individuality. He saw her parents, always doting but always, no, ashamed? Proud? A mix? He couldn't tell. He saw that she had two sisters and one brother. He was delving deeper when he heard her ask him to open his mind, that she wanted to know his past. He relaxed and felt her guiding his thoughts to his own childhood. To his crowded world. To the poisons in the city and ocean. Of his hard work, the construction of the Arkships. She recoiled as she felt him slip into cryo-hibernation then forced herself to relive his reanimation.

Rome was tall? She stood out from the crowd? Boy, did that change. More tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-222: August 4, 2013

**Rei and the bands, part 2**

In the original, long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei and Rome used the Espansor Bands but the experience was quite different. It was not nearly as intimate and it did not cause Rome to fall in love with Rei. The scene is fairly long so I will break it up into multiple entries. Here is part 2:

Rei shuddered as a wave of sensation flooded over him, over her. He looked down and saw that they were holding hands. He couldn't really tell which was his hand and which was hers because the perspective was so blurred but it didn't matter. It was what they both wanted, the contact. He had to close his eyes because he was becoming dizzy and that made her dizzy. She knew how to handle this, it was second nature to her so he let her lead and he became an observer.

Breathing was no longer a natural action. Each breath became a conscious effort although he wasn't sure who was directing it. They were now past the level of intellect and purely within the realm of emotion. He could feel Rome, he was looking at her soul. She was gentle, kind, not at all like the reserved woman he had first met. With a start, he realized that she was physically attracted to him. He knew that he was attracted to her and even as he thought it, he knew that she knew. He forced his eyes open and looked at himself then forced the perspective to be him looking at her. Without conscious thought, they leaned forward and put their arms around each other. He luxuriated in the feelings as their personalities were laid open. This was no collaboration. This was a merging of the minds. What had been two people was now one entity, holding on the body of the other, breathing in synchrony. Thoughts, images, sounds, memories, all swirled around in a maelstrom of history.

There was a tiny beep and suddenly, it was all gone. It was just Rei, holding Rome in his arms, silent but for the heavy breaths. He lowered his head to her shoulder and with a start, realized she was wearing perfume. He wanted to know why but the connection was gone.

They just held on to each other for the longest time. Rome did not appear to have any desire to let go either. Finally, she whispered in his ear, _"what did you think?"_

"Unbelievable," was the only word that came to mind and so he said so. Without even realizing it, he kissed her gently on the cheek then used all his strength to sit up straight and let go of her.

Seriously: Rome wearing perfume? More tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-223: August 5, 2013

**Rei and the bands, part 3**

In the original, long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei and Rome used the Espansor Bands but the experience was quite different. It was not nearly as intimate and it did not cause Rome to fall in love with Rei. The scene is fairly long so I will break it up into multiple entries. Here is part 3:

She reached down and took his hand again. Rei didn't mind. With his free hand, he reached up and rubbed his eyes. He sighed deeply and said, "That was so intense. How do you stand it? I don't think you could do that for very long without going crazy. Is that what the Overmind is like?"

She smiled at him. "No," she said, "the Overmind only connects the higher brain functions, just the intellect. Your feelings, your memories are your own unless you want to present them to the group. It is more like a conversation, more like a verbal interchange. These bands were built long before the need for such a distinction was made clear."

"Wow," he said. "I have memories now that I know are from your head but they feel just like real memories." He looked down at their hands, fingers now intertwined. She didn't seem to be in any hurry to let his hand go. "Rome, you had it rough as a kid."

"I survived," she said. She pulled her hand free and touched another depression on the box. Rei's band loosened and he removed it from his head. Rome did the same and he could see that there was a mark on her skin where the band had been. She popped open the box and placed the bands in there gently. Then she closed it.

"We can do that again sometime if you would like but it would be best if we waited a few days so that your mind can assimilate what it has acquired now."

"I'd like that," he said. "Now that I know what to expect, I think I would really enjoy that."

"All right." She stood up and carried the box over and placed it back in the dresser drawer. Rei considered all that he had just been exposed to while she came back to sit down on the bed again.

"You didn't reconnect to the Overmind yet, did you?" he asked.

"No. Why?"

"Because you like this. You told me you didn't but you and I both know you do."

In this older version, Rome did not realize that Rei was her Asborodi Cimponeti. This is long before I knew that Rome's parents used the bands as well. It is pretty neat to learn things about the characters as you write them. I wonder what happened to Rome's brother and two sisters. The modern Rome has no siblings. Oh well. 

## Entry 1-224: August 6, 2013

**Rei's second joke**

In the original version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei's character was much more shallow and joked around lot. Too much. The current version of Rei has a sense of humor but some of his funnier jokes got excised. Here is the joke he told Rome when she was in respiratory distress in the Vuduri compound in the second book aka Part 2. The leader of the Vuduri, Pegus, is about to connect her to the Overmind of Deucado. Rei has to rub her belly to distract her from the pain.

"Keep rubbing while you are thinking," Rome said.

"Oh yeah," said Rei. "OK, I've told you all about my world. You know that we had lots of crime and police officers that help the victims and try and find the perpetrators?"

"Yes, like our Cavaliers. I understand," Rome replied.

"OK, here goes: The story takes place in New York which was our largest and the most sophisticated city in our country."

"You have explained this to me," Rome said. "Go on."

"OK," Rei continued. "A turtle was walking down an alley in New York City..."

"A turtle again?" Rome interrupted him. "Is that the only type of joke you know?"

"It's kind of hard for me to remember a joke that doesn't have all sorts of cultural references," Rei answered defensively.

"All right, continue."

"Anyway, the turtle was walking down an alley when he was mugged, that means attacked, by a gang of snails."

"Snails?" Rome asked. "The kind that crawl?"

"Yes, snails," Rei replied. "A police detective came to investigate and asked the turtle if he could explain what happened. The turtle looked at the detective with a dazed expression on his face and replied 'I don't know, it all happened so fast.'"

"Snails? Oh!" Rome said. "So fast. Yes, I get it," she said and she started to laugh. "Oh! Oww!" she said plaintively. With a tortured look on her face, Rome closed her eyes and forced herself to cease acknowledging sensory input from the outside world.

Rei was pretty funny! 

## Entry 1-225: August 7, 2013

**"Legal" Time Travel**

In the marketing materials for _Rome's Revolution_ , I am quite proud of the fact that my books contain only "legal" time travel. As a hard science enthusiast, I simply cannot tolerate time travel stories where people go back in time and change the past. So what does the term legal mean in reference to time travel?

Let's start with the simplistic: you go to bed at night, close your eyes and poof, it is eight hours later. Not really time travel? Well, imagine if, instead of falling asleep, you were frozen solid and thawed out 14 centuries later. Still legal, right? So traveling into the future is always legal and creates no time paradoxes. Don't think it could happen? It already did. Some Russian scientists were able to take tissue from a plant that had been frozen for over 30,000 years and get it to grow, thus resurrecting a species 300 centuries old. The plant is still growing and fertile and producing white flowers and seeds. So traveling into the future is a piece of cake.

But traveling backwards in time, that's always a problem. Everyone has heard of the grandfather paradox. You go back in time, kill your grandfather before your father is born, so you were never born, so you could never travel back in time and kill your grandfather. Some authors side-step this with the "multi-verse" theory. They allow you to travel back in time, change things and thus create a new timeline. Your original timeline is preserved.

Not for me. But my characters can travel faster than light. How do you harness this capability to travel in time? You cannot do so interactively but you could do so "observationally" and thus legally. My characters send out the starprobes which turn around and look back snagging photons that were emitted farther in the past. Thus the starprobes and their lens-less camera are time machines but only in the sense that they can _see_ into the past. They cannot actually travel backwards in time. They can never interact with anything in the past and they can never disturb the one true timeline.

The final method is explained by Rome in _Rome's Evolution_. She explains to Rei that time is like a river and a consciousness, not a body, can travel up and down the river without interacting with anything or changing anything. To Rome, it is another form of observational time travel. To see definitive proof, you will have to read the book! 

## Entry 1-226: August 8, 2013

**Rei's third joke**

In the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , in Part 2 (when it was still _VIRUS 5_ ), Rome has just given birth to Aason. Rei, Rome and Aason are in Rome's room in the Vuduri compound as she recovers. They know they have to leave for Earth and soon to head off a possible strike force that would come and wipe out the Ibbrassati. Rei wants to lift the tension in front of them:

"Yes," said Rome, "another day or so. Then we must go."

"Great. Can't wait," Rei said, resignedly. His mind worked furiously trying to figure out some way to lighten the mood. He looked down at little Aason who appeared to be drifting off.

"I got it," he said, snapping his fingers.

"Got what?" Rome asked.

"I just thought of my first Vuduri joke."

"Tell me," Rome said.

"OK. What did the one Vuduri say to the other?" Rei asked.

"I do not know," Rome said. "Tell me."

"Nothing. The Vuduri don't talk to each other."

"Heh," Rome laughed. "That is funny," she said. "Do you have any others?"

I think Bruce gave me this one. Rei has one other joke. I'll reveal that in a day or two. 

## Entry 1-227: August 9, 2013

**The Wait Equation**

The book _Rome's Revolution_ is all about people from the past using the best technology they could find to get to the stars. They had no confidence that had they simply waited, eventually mankind would have invented a faster-than-light (FTL) star drive. Because of the degrading conditions on Earth, they thought that mankind might not survive long enough to see that day.

In July of 2005, Andrew Kennedy wrote a paper entitled _"Interstellar Travel: The Wait Calculation and the Incentive Trap of Progress"_ and published it in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS) 59 (7): 239–246. His conclusion was simple. Don't wait. Go now.

So the principles behind my story are supported by a noted academic. Similar concepts as mine were used in the original Star Trek episode called "Space Seed" and remade in the latest J. J. Abrams _Star Trek Into Darkness_.

There is one story that is even closer to mine. A. E. van Vogt (one of my favorite authors growing up) wrote a short story entitled _Far Centaurus_ in 1944 which, in simplistic manner, is **_exactly_** the same as mine. However, in this story, it took over 500 years to reach Alpha Centauri and they sent four men. No women! What the hell were they thinking? It most certainly was a one-way trip.

Anyway, they get there and there are already people there, people from the future. Sound familiar? There are certainly some striking overlaps with my story. They are a little sick when they first wake up. One of the men died somewhere along the trip. The people at Far Centaurus are repulsed by them (because they smell?).

Then, in a goofy twist, the three surviving men fly back to Earth and break the time barrier and return only a year and a half after they left. And there is a girl waiting for them - not named Sally.

Oh well. I didn't even know about this story nor did the wait equation even exist when I started _Rome's Revolution_ back in 1973. I think my story is way better than A. E. van Vogt's. He died in the 2000 so he can't defend himself. I guess it's up to you to decide. 

## Entry 1-228: August 10, 2013

**Rei's final joke**

In the original long-form of _Rome's Revolution_ aka _VIRUS 5: Part 3_ , OMCOM was supposed to make a surprise appearance and inform Sussen that her war was over before it started. The joke started out as: Knock, knock. Who's there. If you were Vuduri, you'd already know. Here is how it actually turned out. This scene was excised from the current version and Sussen's fate became a mystery until the release of _Rome's Evolution_.

**_"I have a short message for you,"_** said OMCOM. **_"It may make things clearer for you."_**

"A message? For me?" asked Sussen, exasperated. "Who left me a message?"

**_"It is from Rei."_**

"The Essessoni? How did he know I was coming?"

**_"We all did,"_** OMCOM replied. **_"Your escape did not go exactly unnoticed."_**

Sussen felt every muscle let go. She was weary beyond measure. "What is the message?" she asked, completely drained of spirit. The realization that her sacrifice was totally in vain set in to her core.

**_"It is called a joke,"_** said OMCOM.

"What is a joke?" asked Sussen.

**_"It is a humorous story. It has a buildup and a point called the punch line."_**

"I do not care," said Sussen, tonelessly. "Proceed if you must." There was no will left in her.

**_"It comes in two parts. The first part is simply knock, knock,"_** said OMCOM.

"Knock, knock?" Sussen replied. "What is that supposed to mean?"

**_"It is what humans do when they come to a door and wish to announce their presence. Rei said your proper response is supposed to be 'who is there?'"_**

"But as a Vuduri, I would already know who is there," countered Sussen.

**_"Do you know?"_** asked OMCOM.

Sussen thought about it but said nothing.

**_"Please answer,"_** insisted OMCOM.

"No," said Sussen. "I do not know who is there."

**_"That,"_** OMCOM replied, **_"is the second part. That is what Rei called the punch line. Your future has been unwritten. In its place is a new unknown. Rei and Rome both said to welcome you to the new human race. Your place in it is up to you."_**

**__**

Thank goodness I excised this joke. Otherwise I would have had no plot for _Rome's Evolution_! 

## Entry 1-229: August 11, 2013

**Why were our cities erased?**

Early on in _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei finds out from OMCOM that there is no evidence that we, of the 21st century, ever existed. Here is the actual exchange:

"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?"

**_"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, **_"Your cities, they were erased."_**

Rei sat back in his chair.

"I don't understand anything about this," he said. "What am I going to do? There's no place for my people here."

We find out in _The Ark Lords_ that this was the last request of Jack Henry (Hanry Ta Jihn) just before he died. But why? Why did Jack Henry want the cities erased?

The ostensible reason was because Hanry Ta Jihn postulated that another Ark might land some day with other Ark Lords. He wanted them to give up all hope of ever finding the virus weapon. While Jack's fighters destroyed the Tevatron, he was guessing that there might be other places where the Garecei Ti Essessoni placed yet other caches of virus and he wanted them impossible to find.

But now the time has come for me to reveal the real reason. It is because I am lazy and I didn't want to have to think about what our cities and civilization looked like after 14 centuries. I frankly did not want to have to do the research on how well our building materials stood the test of time. That was why. When I wrote that scene above, I had absolutely no clue as to the reasoning behind it, just that I didn't want to be bothered. Little did I know that it would become the climax of the fight between Hanry Ta Jihn's rebels and the Erklirte.

So thank you, Jack Henry, for giving me a reason so I could keep this secret up until now. 

## Entry 1-230: August 12, 2013

**History Week**

It's History Week here at **Tales of the Vuduri**. When I say history, I mean the future history underlying the world of _Rome's Revolution_. As I have explained many times before, I believe in the future history as much as I do the past. There is no other way to explain how I could have written random stories over a 40 year span, only to find them fitting together neatly, like puzzle pieces as I spin the yarn of Rei and Rome.

Some the highlights coming up:

\- Earth in 2067 AD

\- Why they are busy building domes around the cities

\- Rei's college days at Syracuse

\- Rei's engineering degree

\- Sally's incredible immune system

\- The rise of the Cavaliers

\- The last Cavalier

If I can think of more stuff, I'll throw it in but that should give you a hint of what is just over the horizon. 

## Entry 1-231: August 13, 2013

**Earth in 2067 AD**

While the roots of _Rome's Revolution_ really precede 2067 AD, for our purposes, it was the state of the world at this point that creates the conditions producing the story. I will be including a little material in _The Vuduri Companion_ that explains the origins of the Ark program but that won't be ready until next year.

All I did was presume that the world would be the way it is now, but whatever trends we see today would just continue. For example, our economy is a mess. I took the trend of more wealth getting into the hands of fewer people and just assumed life would be even harder in 50 years. In other words, the rich got even richer. I postulated that most people would live in tighter quarters, have less to eat (and drink!) and so forth.

Next, I assumed global warming wasn't going to get any better any time soon so I ramped up the hurricane season and invented Category 6 and Category 7 hurricanes. These monster storms were continent sized and forced people to start building domes over cities for protection which is the subject of tomorrow's post.

I also assumed that overpopulation is just going to get worse and extrapolated that the world would be nearing 10 billion people in about 70 years. Thus when the Great Dying took place, that was the number I came up with.

I assumed that terrorism is not going to ever go away and that at some point it will spill over to our shores and become a constant, fear-inducing part of our lives. One of the little Intermezzos in _Rome's Evolution_ shows Rei driving down a walled road and some horseback riders are blown up by an IED.

Finally, with so many people, I assumed that new diseases were going to be cropping up all the time. Little did I realize when I first started writing _Rome's Revolution_ that some of those diseases were man-made. This, of course, formed the central plot of _The Ark Lords_.

The bottom line is, the Earth in 2067 AD is not that pleasant of a place and was only going to get worse. The Ark program was created, in part, in recognition of this fact and that someday a cosmic or man-made disaster was going to wipe out the species. Personally, I hope this is not true and as a society we start fixing things rather than making them worse but a dystopia is inherently more interesting (and dramatic) than a utopia.

Sorry. 

## Entry 1-232: August 14, 2013

**The Domes**

As mentioned in yesterday's post, the Earth in 2067 AD was not a very pleasant place. For our purposes, _Rome's Revolution_ really begins on this date. It was at this point in time that global warming had gotten so bad that scientists had to up the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to acknowledge Category 6 and Category 7 hurricanes.

Category 4 hurricanes are rated from 130-156 mph and Category 5 hurricanes are currently measured as 157 mph or higher. Taking the simple 26 mph boost as the rating, a Category 6 hurricane would be from 183 mph to 209 mph and a Category 7 hurricane would be 210 mph and higher. In addition, the diameter of such storms would larger than a continent and go from the North Pole all the way down to the Equator.

The storms were larger and more frequent so finally, the governments of the world had to take action. They started building 300 mph-proof domes over major cities. The domes were not air tight but were meant to protect against the destructive force of the winds. They were transparent and would allow for rain to fall using a louver system.

I have not watched the TV show "Under The Dome" but I imagine the domes would be much larger. After the major cities were domed in, society as a whole began to experience some relief from the cost of reconstruction after major storms. The excess funds were used to finance the construction of domes over smaller municipalities and in _Rome's Evolution_ , Intermezzo 1, you can see that Rei is headed toward West Chester, Pennsylvania and the dome there is partially complete.

I've seen other TV shows, like the short-lived Terra Nova, that portray American cities as domed but that was because of pollution, not planet-sized storms. 

## Entry 1-233: August 15, 2013

**Rei's college days**

In the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , the only hint we got about Rei's college education was when he used the Espansor Bands with Rome the very first time. Here is the little snippet from that event:

When Rei graduated high school, he shucked off the accolades as the least important thing in his life. That he got a full scholarship to school, and there he really flew. He was an engineer, a pilot and an athlete. He was all things and when he was a senior, the Ark project was started. When the call went out for volunteers to leave his world and start a new one, far away, among the stars. Rei threw himself into the competition, just so he could find a place.

Now for a little more background: Rei attended Syracuse University. He was a high school State Champion in the 400m individual medley. That got him a full scholarship to Syracuse. He swam for the SU swim team all four years. This is why I always describe him as having broad, swimmer's shoulders. His first summer at Syracuse, he stayed on campus and worked. He took flying lessons and in just one summer, he got his pilot's license on single engine craft. The following summer, he stayed at school again and learned to fly commuter jets. He considered going into the Air Force after college but the Ark program called to him in a way he could not resist.

Rei met Sally Reynolds his sophomore year and fell in love, hard, as did she. They dated all through college. When the Ark program was announced, it came as a surprise to Rei that it was Sally's father's corporation sponsoring the program. He was hooked instantly and tried for a year to convince Sally that they belonged together, somewhere in the heavens. She resisted and it eventually drove them apart. Sally went down to Brazil, got deathly ill, met Raul and that was the end of the romance.

Rei was not selected for the crew of the Ark I but he kept on trying. Sally used her influence with her father and secured Rei a place on the Ark II. Rei never regretted that, only that Sally was not going to accompany him to the stars. Sally and Rei's last night together was documented in _Rome's Evolution_ , Intermezzo 1.

Tomorrow, I will tell you a little more about Rei's engineering degree. 

## Entry 1-234: August 16, 2013

**Rei's Engineering Degree**

Rei was a student athlete. As mentioned yesterday, he swam all four years for the Syracuse swim team. But he really did enjoy learning and worked hard to get his engineering degree. He got a B.S. in General Engineering which sounds bland but the reality is, he studied multiple disciplines and was qualified to work in many areas.

He studied Agricultural, Civil, Chemical, Electrical, Industrial and Aerospace. Because he was a general engineer, he did not qualify for outstanding recognition in any specific discipline (referred to as being ranked in _Rome's Revolution_ ) but that did not diminish his worth. Even though Sally Reynolds asked her father to put Rei in the Ark program, all it did was get her father's committees to consider Rei. He actually got in on his own merits.

We see evidence of this throughout _Rome's Revolution_ , _The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution_. It was his engineering skills that allowed him to defeat the Stareater, crash-land the Ark II on Deucado and eventually create Project Broadloom. You will learn in a future book that he designed an even more ambition agricultural program called Project Desert Bloom but that is for another day.

So here's to Rei Beirak, Engineer Extraordinare, and taking his skill set and applying it to make life better for all in the 35th century. 

## Entry 1-235: August 17, 2013

**Sally's immune system**

As mentioned in a previous post and reiterated in the first Intermezzo in _Rome's Evolution_ , Sally and Rei came to a parting of the ways when he decided he wanted to join the Ark program and she did not.

Sally had a degree in Botany and after college she went down to the rain forest of Brazil to help with the reconstruction efforts. It was there that she contracted a mutated strain of what was later called the Lupine Flu. In reality, that virus was actually artificial and code-named Strain 3 by the Darwin Project. This was documented in _The Ark Lords_. She went to the hospital and was placed in a ward along with the other victims of this vicious man-made disease and expected to die. In fact, she did die, several times, but they were able to resuscitate her each time. It was during the last attempt that something miraculous happened. Instead of succumbing, her immune system started making universal and general purpose antibodies that could not only fight off Strain 3, but any virus in the world.

Sally recovered fully and as far as the doctors in Brazil could tell, Sally could no longer be made ill by _any_ virus. One of the doctors there was named Raul and he spent so much time with Sally, he fell in love with her. The feeling was mutual and when Sally decided to return to the US, Raul came back with her and married her.

We find out later (from the Overmind of Earth) that Sally's universal immunity included Virus Strain 4, the virus responsible for The Great Dying. More than nine billion people died. Sally did not. The members of the Darwin Project had inoculated themselves and tried to hide out underground until the destruction passed but their technology failed them and they all died. However, Sally not only survived but thrived and was one of the progenitors of the new human race that eventually became the Vuduri. While they were 70 generations removed, she was Rome's great, great, great grandmother. 

## Entry 1-236: August 18, 2013

**Tails of the Vuduri**

We interrupt History Week here at **Tales of the Vuduri** to address an important point raised by my co-collaborator, artist, editor and inspiration behind MINIMCOM, my brother Bruce. Bruce was complaining to me about the paucity of plants, etc., in the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , to decorate Rei and Rome's house. He also said there should be plenty of Earth animals running around and Earth plants, both brought in and from the Ark's stores.

I explained to him that it is true that there have been plants and animals imported from Earth. Some were brought by starship; some were resurrected from seeds and frozen embryos. But mostly the imports were concentrated on bringing food crops and food animals, not flowers or dogs. In fact, Binoda is in charge of developing the bison herd brought in from Earth.

Turns out that they love eating threadgrass and it gives the bison meat a particularly pleasant spicy flavor. So this is a long way of saying while there are imported items, none of them would find their way into residential areas.

The other reason, of course, is because I am lazy. I didn't want to spend too much time designing the eco-system of Deucado. In fact, in the chapter lovingly called 'The Blanket's Tale' in _Rome's Evolution_ , I even came up with a scientific explanation as to why there were so few plants and animals. There are also no bugs or insects of any kind. My laziness will come to an end soon. My reluctance to build an entire eco-system will be rectified in _The Milk Run_ where I spend a much greater time showing you the twin habitable worlds of Nu2 Lupi. 

## Entry 1-237: August 19, 2013

**The Cavaliers**

In the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , OMCOM related to Rei the origin of the Cavaliers:

**_"...Slowly, society devolved into nomads and farmers. There was no technology they could draw from deemed acceptable. Much of the knowledge required was lost or inaccessible. Around 400PR, most people lived in loosely coupled settlements formed into a semi-feudal arrangement. There were certain landlords who controlled vast areas of real estate and the rest of the people worked for them. A caste arose to keep order among the citizens. They were called Cavaliers. They were a combination of police, judge, jury and executioner. They had free reign and a wide charter to enforce the law."_**

"So what was the law?"

**_"Just to leave each other alone and live in peace."_**

"That seems pretty reasonable," said Rei. "Then what?"

**_"Inevitably, over the years, the Cavaliers began to abuse their power. They became a force of oppression. But since their charter was to keep the rest of the populace disarmed, no one could do anything about it."_**

**__**

So you can see that originally, the Cavaliers were meant to be the best of the best. They always wore white shirts and hats and no one feared them. The figurative mantle of being a Cavalier was passed down from father to son. We can see that in _The Ark Lords_ and the story of Hanry Ta Jihn, Jack Henry. He makes reference to his white shirt and that he expected to be a Cavalier one day.

However, as OMCOM mentioned, absolute power corrupts absolutely. It took a long time but eventually the Cavaliers took to wearing black shirts and expected compensation for their services. Basically this was "protection" money like criminals of today. They came to be feared, not admired. Tomorrow I'll tell you a little more about James (Jim) Henry who became known as The Last Cavalier. 

## Entry 1-238: August 20, 2013

**The Last Cavalier, Part 1**

Hanry Ta Jihn, one of the greatest men to live after the Great Dying, was the son of James (Jim) Henry, often referred to as The Last Cavalier. Hanry Ta Jihn, or Jack Henry as we would call him, led a bloody but ultimately successful revolution against the Erklirte. The key Battle of Chicago was documented in _The Ark Lords_ as was a bit more of that time period.

But what of Jim Henry? We don't learn much about him in _The Ark Lords_ and he is not mentioned at all in _Rome's Revolution_ or _Rome's Evolution_.

The fact is, I had originally planned on writing an entire trilogy about him and Jack and their encounter with the Ark Lords and call the series _The Last Cavalier_. I started the book in 2009 and it was going to be told in the first person. It was the intimate details about how Jim Henry stumbled across the Ark Lords. At that point in time, I had the name Brody instead of James for the father but after I watched Homeland (a great show), I decided to change it. Also, Jack Henry's nickname was Jake, not Jack but that is a minor detail. Jake's (or Jack's) mother was always named Helen, that never changed.

Here is the first part and in the next few posts, I'll give you the rest. The narrator is Hanry Ta Jihn, himself.

**Chapter 1**

I wish I could promise you a happy ending. But I can't. My Dad is dead. He left the mantle of the Cavaliers with me but Mom says I'm too young to wear it. The people from the stars sent us home and told us it was over. Mom said we just have to bide our time until... She never told me until when. My name is Jake Henry. My dad was James Henry. He was The Last Cavalier.

Dramatic? Maybe. But I never really got too far with it. Tomorrow, the only coherent chapter I wrote. You can see elements from it have been folded into the modern version of the flashback in _The Ark Lords._

## Entry 1-239: August 21, 2013

**The Last Cavalier, Part2a**

This is the only full chapter I wrote for _The Last Cavalier_. None of the events here were mentioned in _Rome's Revolution_ and I stole some of the detail to put in the historical part of _The Ark Lords_. I'll give you the next part tomorrow.

**Chapter 2**

It all started last year. Dad was getting ready to go out on his Long Ride. I knew it was getting close. It was always the same. Dad got quieter. We did our chores and sometimes we wouldn't talk the whole day. And our meals. Mom always tried to make conversation but Dad would have none of it. Dad wouldn't let Mom start a fire and she had to cook the food using the solar heater or the slow cook from the compost heat. It was hard but my mom knew she couldn't break the rules. Not if Dad was going to go out and enforce them on other people. Dad kept a strict count of how many fires and how long and how many trees we planted.

At night, I could hear Mom crying, yelling. Dad would never answer her back. I knew what it was about and I knew there was no answer. Dad was a Cavalier. He had to take the Long Ride. There was nobody else. The fact that everyone hated him and the other Cavaliers didn't matter. It was our family's birthright and our duty. Dad never shirked from it. He didn't expect any thanks. The fact that he was protecting the Earth and all of Mankind, that was where he got his reward.

Dad was sitting at the table, sharpening the tips of his cross-bow arrows. I counted nearly 50.

"Why so many?" I asked him.

"You never know what you're going to run in to," he said. He had his sharper stone on the table and dipped each arrow in water then ran it along the blade. Back and forth he drew it. Once in a while, he would touch the edge. When he was satisfied, he put the arrow in the quiver and started on the next one. When he was nearly done, he stopped.

"Here," he said, handing me an arrow. "You try it."

"Why?" I asked him.

"Because you have to learn how some day," he said. "It may as well be today."

This is when I was still enforcing the "Rules of Green" and they weren't allowed to have open fires. I gave that up pretty fast as impractical. More tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-240: August 22, 2013

**The Last Cavalier, Part2b**

Yesterday, I covered the first part of Chapter 2 of _The Last Cavalier_. None of this ever appeared in _Rome's Revolution_ but it had been planned as part of the backstory. Here is the second part:

**Chapter 2 (continued)**

Dad slid the sharper stone along the table. I looked down at it. It was well worn having seen its share of arrows.

"Dip the arrow head in the water," he said. He moved the bowl toward me. "Then draw the arrow along the stone, first one way, then the other," he said.

I shrugged and did as he said. As soon as I pulled my first line, he said, "Stop!"

"What?" I asked him.

"You have to tilt the blade," he said. "The way you were doing it, you were just dulling the blade. You are really trying to get the edge thin. You just grid away one side then the other until the edge is as thin as can be."

"How do I know?" I asked him.

"When you can't even feel the tip against the stone. Then there is nothing more to grind," he said. "You have to understand everything about the world," he said, his eyes blazing. "Your skin is made up of layers. The outer layer is really dead. Underneath the outer layer is the live skin and the blood. You push the arrow, just a little. If you feel it slide through the outer layer, it's sharp enough. You don't need to push hard. If you have to push at all, then it needs more sharpening. You'll learn."

I nodded like I understood but all I know is that the arrow cut me. But if I was going to be a Cavalier, I had to learn.

"Can I try again?" I asked him.

"Sure," he said, handing me another arrow.

I sharpened the arrow like before. I could tell when it was right. But this time, when it came time to test it, I closed my eyes and tried to put my brain right on my other thumb. I let the arrow rest on it and applied just the tiniest amount of pressure. I could feel it sliding through the calloused part, just like Dad said. I stopped it before it cut me.

You can see where I stole the sharpening stone to fold into _The Ark Lords_. Tomorrow, the final part of Chapter 2 and the day after, the last little remnants of Chapter 3. 

## Entry 1-241: August 23, 2013

**The Last Cavalier, Part2c**

Yesterday and the day before, I covered the first two portions of Chapter 2 of _The Last Cavalier_. Here is the final part:

**Chapter 2 (continued)**

"Yep," Dad said. "You got it." He put the arrow in the quiver which told me he really was happy, even though he didn't look it. There were three arrows left.

"You do the last few, Jakey," he said. "I have to go pack."

"OK," I said. I watched him go in the bedroom. His saddlebag was on the bed. I could hear Mom crying quietly. Dad ignored her. He put a few shirts in the bag and some other stuff then took off his work shirt and put on the white one, his Sunday Best.

"Why, Jim?" she asked him. "Why not the black one?"

"I have to Helen," he said. "Everybody sees the black and runs. I have to show them that I'm different. That I'm true to the cause. The white will tell them something."

"They're going to hate you no matter what color you wear," she said. "They have all forgotten. They don't want you to remind them. They want to pretend it never happened and never will again."

"It's my job," Dad said somberly. "It's the job my father entrusted to me and the one that Jake will take over some day. It's up to us. Father to son. It's the only way. The Earth needs me."

"What about us?" Mom asked. "We need you too."

"Helen," Dad said. "You knew I was a Cavalier when you married me. That was why you fell in love with me. Nothing has changed."

"Everything has changed," she said. "Your precious Cavaliers are nothing but bullies and thieves. They don't obey the rules themselves. Why should anybody else do it."

She stood up and put her arms around Dad's neck. "Jim, stay here," she said. "We don't make a difference any more. Just be with us and some day, somebody else will figure it out."

Dad reached up and pulled her arms off his neck. "Can't," he said. And that was the end of it. "I leave tomorrow," he said.

You can see where I stole the Sunday Best white shirt to fold into _The Ark Lords_. Tomorrow, the last little remnants of Chapter 3. After that, more on the world of _Rome's Revolution_. 

## Entry 1-242: August 24, 2013

**The Last Cavalier, Part 3**

This is the conclusion of the partially (ha) written novel about the survivors of the Great Dying and their first encounter with _The Ark Lords_. There is a lot stronger reference to long-lasting effects of global warming. It isn't much but it's all I've got.

**Chapter 3**

Mom was tough. She steeled herself and put her arm around me as we watched Dad ride off. Mostly Dad was gone for six months. Sometimes a little less. Recently, a little more. Dad wouldn't tell us but the last time he came back, I watched him as he unpacked his arrows. He only had thirty left. I wondered what he did with the other twenty. Maybe he shot a rabbit or squirrel. Maybe something bigger. Mom always packed him enough jerky for the whole trip so I figured maybe he did it for variety. For fresh meat. But he never brought any back.

He usually left in late November, just as the heat was easing up a bit. He did it for Tige who was in his twenties. The trip would have been too much for the old horse in the summer, what with the temperature in the hundreds. Walter, my horse, could have done it. But he was just a colt. We still had some practicing to do.

Mom told me that there used to be four seasons, not two. She told me that summer only lasted until September then they had a season called the Fall. She said a long time ago, there used to be trees that grew their leaves and they'd fall off in September. That doesn't happen any more. The only trees that live around here are evergreens and they don't even have any leaves to fall off. In late November, there is a break in the weather and it gets tolerable for a few months. That's when we plant our crops. We call it winter but Mom said that winter used to be cold. That there used to be white powder that fell from the sky called snow and it covered the ground. I can't imagine. It doesn't seem possible. What I wouldn't give to be cold.

So we planted our crops. Walter helped. He pulled the plow but he wasn't very happy about it. We had to water every seed by hand. Sometimes it rained. Sometimes it poured. But every few years, there'd be no rain at all. I guess we were lucky. Our well never ran dry so the soybeans always had enough.

To tell you the truth, I don't think the story was dramatic enough to sustain an entire trilogy so I think the version I have now is good enough to give you a sense of the era, the Cavaliers and the rebellion against the Ark Lords. Even though this whole episode is a mainstay of the future history of _Rome's Revolution_ , this is about as much detail as you are even going to get. 

## Entry 1-243: August 25, 2013

**My "brand" as a writer**

I was reading a blogger's notes the other day about what it takes to successfully promote yourself. One thing that they seemed to think was important was creating a brand for yourself. What is a writer's brand? It is a short catch-phrase that describes your writing style or voice such that one person can communicate to another why they should buy your books, in a very succinct way. You're supposed to be able to tell your friend, hey, did you read the new book by so-and-so? Who is that? the friend asks. Oh, he writes syrupy zombie apocalypse novels from a vampire's point of view. That way the friend knows instantly what to expect. It will somehow distinguish you from the torrent of new writers appearing every day. Some have gone so far as to state that you cannot have success without a personal brand. Developing a personal brand will help your readers to somehow trust you more. It will somehow capture you a larget segment of a vapor-thin audience. It will allow you to connect to the ever-growing hordes of followers. It will somehow magically motivate potential customers into buying your books. It allows you to build your Author Platform!

Do you believe this? I don't but who am I to say. So what is my brand? I have to list the things I write about then tie them all together so that I cement my identity. I love to write. That's not a brand. I want my stories to entertain and educate. That's something. I like to write action and adventure as well as thoroughly research the science behind the science fiction. I don't write fantasy, you'll see no YA vampire novels from me. My style of science fiction is often called hard science fiction because the technology and physics _must_ be (and pardon me for making up this word): "extrapolatable" from today's known universe. That doesn't mean I can't make up stuff from other universes but whatever can be fact-checked must check out. So my brand has to start out as hard science fiction. I want that in there so people know I don't write steam punk, alternative realities or speculative fiction. I like to entertain with plot-driven novels but so does everybody so I think I'll skip that part. I like action and adventure so I think I'll include that as well. What's left? I want people to know that everything is not bleak, that I include a little bit of humor. Alliteration works so make that a hint of humor. I also like to create realistic characters who grow and react to the world around them in a realistic way. The plots have to be believable or at least not forced.

So let's summarize: I like to write hard science fiction, featuring action and adventure with a hint of humor and three-dimensional characters that are believable. How to boil that down? What do you think of this?

**Hard science fiction action and adventure with a hint of humor**

****

Too wordy? Not enough? Your opinion is welcome. 

## Entry 1-244: August 26, 2013

**No windshields**

Bruce was busy designing the air cars for an upcoming trailer for _Rome's Evolution_ and his designs had windshields. I told him there were no windshields on their vehicles. He said what about bugs? As I explained in a previous post, there are no insects on Deucado.

He countered with what about dirt and so forth. I told him the air cars didn't fly fast enough to whip up dirt. He insists there have to be windshields so I relented and said go ahead because, after all, he is doing all the work.

I did offer up an alternate possibility: that the air cars had a little tray of sunglasses or goggles that people put on upon stepping in but he shot that down too. In my mind, I always thought of the air cars as the just the modern version of the Flinstone's car (minus the feet):

See, no windshield! 

## Entry 1-245: August 27, 2013

**World-building**

A little known secret about the world of _Rome's Revolution_ is just how did the whole 35th century, mind-connected Vuduri element come about? The answer is lengthy but at its core, the truth is, I just wanted to have a dramatic scene where my 21st century hero Rei (pronounced Ray, not rye) was all alone on the surface of a moon, in a spacesuit with no radio. But who the hell would build a spacesuit without a radio? Why, people who were mind-connected, of course. They wouldn't need radios. With that simple realization, I was off to the races.

I had to postulate a 24th chromosome which imbued my people of the future, the Vuduri, with such an ability. I further realized that if everybody could read everybody else's mind, there was no privacy, not even of thought. This would cause people to suppress their natural creativity to point of being deadly dull. When Rei first meets my heroine, Rome, she has almost no personality. It wasn't until she is isolated from the Overmind, the group consciousness that was a byproduct of the Vuduri mind connections, that her soul was revealed. Even though they were born centuries apart, they could not help but fall in love.

With regard to the rest of the Vuduri culture and technology, I wanted to "reboot" mankind so I introduced The Great Dying in the year 2081 AD. Over nine billion people died causing mankind to become nearly extinct. Who was behind this terrible tragedy is at the core of the sequel to _Rome's Revolution_ entitled _The Ark Lords_. The remaining handful of humans were knocked back to the Dark Ages so by the time Rei is thawed in the 35th century, the Vuduri have finally created a world which was just past our level of technology but having taken a complete left turn.

Much of the Vuduri creed was to _not_ do things the way people did them in the past so as to avoid the catastrophe that hit the Earth just after Rei left on his Ark. Their power sources are infinite and sustainable. They have an FTL star-drive based on principles known today. They have a healthy fear of sentient computers. And crucial to the central conflict in the novel, they hold us, the people of the 21st century, responsible for the devastation of The Great Dying. They regard us with such disdain that Rome is ejected from the mass-mind (a process called Cesdiud in Vuduri), just for consorting with Rei.

After the initial shock wears off, it takes Rome a little while to learn to think for herself. Eventually she realizes how crucial this is to the survival of mankind and ends up transforming her society into something which is a hybrid of the two cultures. And that is why the trilogy is entitled _Rome's Revolution_.

For more details on what it takes to build an entire universe, see my blog entitled **Tales of the Vuduri**. It is 250 articles to date and I'm just getting started! If you like hard science fiction, there is lots of juicy stuff waiting for you. 

## Entry 1-246: August 28, 2013

**Feet, meters and miles**

In a previous post, I discussed the fact that in the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , the Vuduri kept what is called metric time. I left in a few references (like OMCOM says one of _your months_ ) but mostly it has all been excised to squash the size of the book.

But what about distances? It would appear as if I am completely inconsistent in whether I measure distances in feet, meters, kilometers or miles.

The fact is, I am very consistent, but I need to explain my writing rules. The books are told from the perspective of Rei Bierak. My assumption is by the year 2067 AD, even the US caves into the metric system. So you will never see Rei mention anything other than meters, kilometers, kilograms, etc. I just presumed the Vuduri would continue using this system of measurement (why not?) so you will never see Rome or OMCOM or MINIMCOM refer to anything other than kilometers, kilograms, etc.

However, as an average American, I still cling to my inches, feet, yards and miles. And ounces and pounds. So as the writer, when I am addressing some point to you, the reader, I use English units. In _Rome's Revolution_ , I said the diameter of the crater at Kilauea was ½ mile. In _The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution_ , when I gave you heights or distances for reference, I used miles.

So there it is, when the characters speak, they use meters and kilometers. When I "speak" I use feet, inches and miles.

P.S. I got interviewed on KWOD Internet radio. You can click here to listen. 

## Entry 1-247: August 29, 2013

**The evolution of the Chara mission**

When I first started the modern long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , I had always planned for five Arks but their destinations and crew makeup were different. Ark I was always intended to go to Alpha Centauri. The short story I wrote about Silas Hiram was supposed to be the prologue to the original book. It was removed when I had to compress the first three books into an omnibus. It is still one of my most favorite stories (and I think best written) and will appear in _The Vuduri Companion_ which will be out early next year. The Ark II, Rei's Ark, was always intended to go to Tau Ceti. After all, that is the whole basis of our story. Ark III was originally supposed to go to Beta Hydrii. Ark IV was going to go to 82 G. Eridani and Ark V was going to go to Nu2 Lupi.

I had even created the demographic makeup of each of the Arks and I filled Ark IV with murders, rapists and generally the scum of the Earth. The theory was that nobody knew what kind of people it would take to survive on an alien world. So they tried putting a bunch of criminals in Ark IV thinking that might be the toughness they need. Originally, that was the Ark that returned to Earth and brought the Erklirte, the Ark Lords.

But when I came up with the idea for the novel for _The Ark Lords_ , I had to switch everything up. I left the Deucadons traveling in Ark III but made their target 82 G. Eridani instead. I moved up Ark IV and made it go to Nu2 Lupi. That was now supposed to be the last Ark. You'll find out what happened to those people in the upcoming novel, _The Milk Run_.

Now I was able to redirect Ark V to Chara. It was called "The Stealth Ark" because it wasn't on the books. It was no longer filled with criminals but rather the toughest of the tough soldiers who had but one mission: to return to Earth and reclaim it for America. They were the fail-safe alternative to the inoculation program for Virus Strain 4 and whether or not any Darwin Project members ever returned from the habitable planets.

The Kepler Mission has given us loads of information about exo-planets. 136 have been confirmed as of today. So I just figured by 2067 AD, we'd have a pretty good idea of which stars had suitable worlds. That was why Rei was so surprised that an extra Ark was sent to Chara. If there was to be a fifth Ark, he would have guessed it would be sent to Beta Hydrii.

That's the cool thing about being able to upload new versions and print new versions of a book. If you have to go back and modify them (slightly, please!), you can do so. The version of _Rome's Revolution_ that is out now is consistent with the revised future history. 

## Entry 1-248: August 30, 2013

**Three little words**

Three little words: "Women were taken" made all the difference in the world when I added them to _Rome's Revolution_.

In yesterday's post, I discussed the evolution of the Chara mission. It went from being an Ark full of criminals to the main hope of the Darwin Project for re-conquering the Earth for America. Instead of bad people, it was chock full of the best soldiers we had to offer. This set up the entire plot line behind the historical novel interleaved in _The Ark Lords_.

Once I knew about the change, I thought about such a mission and how it would alter the dynamics and distribution of personnel. The leaders of the Darwin Project had to balance the military needs against likely scenarios. One possible scenario was that the Earth was devoid of all humans. So they had to send a goodly number of women along, about 100, to ensure that there were enough mating pairs to repopulate the Earth, just in case.

Another scenario was that the Earth was fully repopulated and the soldiers were going to have to conquer untold thousands or millions of people. They had to put more _men_ (not women) on the ship, about 400. The feeling was that if humans survived, there would be fertile women who could be captured and used as breeders. I realize that this is completely sexist and not politically correct but these decisions were made by the mission planners. Such a fate befell Helen Henry as depicted in _The Ark Lords_.

To make this strategy clear, I added the three little words 'Women were taken' to one part of _Rome's Revolution_. It was during one of OMCOM's long expositions on the past (our future) to explain to Rei why the Essessoni are so despised by the Vuduri. Just adding that sentence made it all click in. Who would have thought that three simple words could make such a _big_ difference? 

## Entry 1-249: August 31, 2013

**Trouble with Casimir Pumps**

As you know from having read _Rome's Revolution_ , the Vuduri use a thing called the Casimir Pump to power their star drives. They also use it to create their PPT resonance which underlies their mind-to-mind connection as well as leading to the rise of the Overmind. However, there are some severe, fundamental, flaws with using this as a real device.

First of all, how do you collect negative energy when, by its very nature, it does not exist? How would you bottle it? How would you project it? I thought about waving my hands and invoking dark matter or dark energy. In the end, I just decided to ignore it because it was easier and, after all, it is science _fiction_.

Well, Bruce just stumbled across an article in Yahoo! News that kind of vindicates everything I've been speculating about for 40 years. The article is entitled "Engage! Warp Drive Could Become Reality with Quantum-Thruster Physics" and describes a "real-life" warp drive. Except it isn't a warp drive and doesn't require dilithium crystals.

According to the article, this is from Harold "Sonny" White:

_The physics models that tell us how to construct a q-thruster are the same models we'll use to generate, design and build a negative vacuum generator. The quantum thrusters might be a propulsion manifestation of the physics, like the big ring around the spacecraft. If you looked in there, there might be 10,000 of these little cans that are the negative vacuum generators._

In summary, the article describes tiny negative energy generators to draw negative vacuum energy out of neutral space in order to create a star-drive that goes faster than light. Sounds a lot like Casimir Pumps, doesn't it? MINIMCOM would be proud. 

## Entry 1-250: September 1, 2013

**Star Trek and _Rome's Revolution_**

Recently, a woman bought both _Rome's Revolution_ and _The Ark Lords_ and she mentioned to me that the books reminded her a lot of Star Trek. I didn't see it but I have to look at it objectively. Specifically, she mentioned stellar cartography and telepathy. I'll come back to those topics but let me back up a step and consider a few of the basic design elements. The staples of Star Trek are the Enterprise and its warp drives, transporters, phasers and communicators. In my books, I suppose you could call my PPT star-drive a warp drive but then every science fiction book ever written that sends man into space would be considered the same. In yesterday's post, I cited some scientist's observations that my predictions may not be that far off but I would not call my FTL drive a warp drive.

Next are the transporters. I definitely have them. MINIMCOM figured out how to create them in Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ as traveling PPT tunnels. In Star Trek, their transporters deconstruct the person or thing being transported and reconstruct it elsewhere. My transporter simply moves a PPT tunnel past a person and they end up elsewhere. It would have been just as easy to set up a standing PPT tunnel and have the person step through so I'd say my transporter and that found in Star Trek are completely different. What about phasers? I don't have them. I have plasma projectors which have been miniaturized and turned into pistols and rifles but they are based upon physics known today. I simply supplied a made-up Casimir Pump to supply limitless energy but there is nothing special about Vuduri weapons beyond that.

What about communicators? Well, hell, we all have cell phones today. In fact, Motorola sold a phone called the StarTAC which was as close as they could come to Star Trek without violating any copyright laws. I don't have anything like cell phones in my books unless you consider the genetic enhancements to Rome and Rei that allowed them to talk inside their heads to one another. But they never called them anything other than cell phones in the head and it certainly wasn't ESP. So that brings me full circle to the reader's comments. She has not read _Rome's Evolution_ so she was simply referring to the mind-connected Vuduri. I would not call it telepathy. Especially because it led to the Overmind which is a different thing altogether. In _Rome's Evolution_ , Rome does evolve into a true telepath but no way is it reminiscent of Star Trek.

The only thing remaining is referring to the planetarium on Dara as a stellar cartography lab. I can't apologize for the word stellar. The lab was created to map out the stars. And mapping is called cartography. So I wasn't using a fancy title, I was just referring to what it was. Oh well, my books do not remind me of Star Trek any more than they do every classic science fiction book or movie that features faster-than-light travel, transporters, ray guns, crazy computers, aliens, spaceships, genetic manipulation, bad guys (and girls) and so on. What do you think? 

## Entry 1-251: September 2, 2013

**Happy Vuduri Labor Day**

Do the Vuduri work? Of course. I have spent close to half a million words describing their society and their lives. In _Rome's Revolution_ , within the first two chapters, Rome describes her two jobs (data archivist and computer lutteur) and Rei sees how much activity is going on.

Do they ever take time off? Does the concept of Labor Day have any meaning for them? Not really. They literally have nothing better to do than wake up, do their jobs, eat and go to bed. They never take a day off. They have no hobbies. They have no relationships to pursue. In fact, in an earlier post, I originally envisioned that the Vuduri did not even sleep.

Rei finds this very dismaying. Of course, he and all the Essessoni use their minds for creative thought and absolutely must have some time off to decompress. Toward the end of the story arc, in the book _Rome's Evolution_ , you can get a hint of what the merging of the societies represent. They have a natural holiday to celebrate Deucado's liberation, as described in Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_. It is certainly something the Ibbrassati would celebrate because they worked so hard to achieve freedom and a good life style.

It is my contention, even in the future, there will come a time when that new society will observe a day dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. So from the 35th century, Rei and Rome (and Aason and MINIMCOM and OMCOM and Binoda and Fridone and even Lupe) wish you a Happy Labor Day. Enjoy! 

## Entry 1-252: September 3, 2013

**Who was Alex Haynesworth?**

A name you will never hear throughout _Rome's Revolution_ or any of the other books in the _Rome's Revolution_ series is Alex Haynesworth. Besides the man who invented the Grey Drive which took the Arks to the stars, Alex is the single most important person to put the group of stories in motion.

As mentioned in a previous post, the Earth was a mess and only getting worse. Some of the themes in my future history were a greater percentage of the world's worth being funneled into a decreasing number of people. One of these concentrations of wealth was the world-wide mega-conglomerate called the Reynolds Corporation. As mentioned in a previous post, Sally Reynolds' father was the head of this corporation.

Somewhere along the time, they had either a wave of conscience or a focus group told them that a humanitarian gesture would be good for business. Alex Haynesworth was tasked with the responsibility of figuring out how to spend $10 billion dollars for the greater good of mankind. That sounds like a lot of money in today's economy but in 2040 AD, it is not quite as much. Alex eventually came up with the idea of the Ark program. It turns out that the program ended costing more than $50 billion dollars but the military space command came up with the additional 80% of the funds in exchange for 20% of the seating on the Arks.

Of course, we learned in _The Ark Lords_ what they were up to at the time but Alex did not know this. You will be able to read his whole story (entitled "Pruno Dreams") next year when I release _The Vuduri Companion_. 

## Entry 1-253: September 4, 2013

**Who was Wally Grey?**

In the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , Wally Grey was the inventor of the Grey Drive which was the propulsion system that took the Arks to the stars. He was a quantum physicist employed by the government who studied quantum black holes (QBH). After the Tevatron was supplanted by the Large Hadron Collider in Europe, it was decommissioned in 2011 and remained unused for about 20 years. A breakthrough in quantum physics outlined the conditions required to create QBHs and the Tevatron was started up again.

It took about five years but finally Wally and his team succeeded. Immediately they noticed that while they were able to create QBHs, they "evaporated" almost instantly if you didn't feed them mass. Wally's team shot a steady stream of xenon atoms into one of their QBHs and was able to keep it intact for days at a time. They noticed that the black hole had created a "white hole" a few angstrom units away which emitted Hawking Radiation. Essentially, they had figured out a way to convert matter into energy in a smooth and continuous fashion.

About this time, some astronomers who had been do historical research on the findings of the Kepler Mission deduced that there were some solar systems where planets were "missing." A round-table of discussion led to the startling conclusion that ultimately, perhaps every technological civilization achieved the ability to build quantum black holes but if they dropped one, it would quickly sink to the center of the planet and eventually absorb it. Meaning death to all. That was the end of Wally's experiments. However, the capability of applying using the QBH to produce thrust could not be denied. It was born to power starships.

So they packed up everything they needed to produce the QBHs and put the equipment in space. Eventually, the star drive was perfected and became known as the Grey Drive, named after Wally, its discoverer. However, Wally knew it was actually a joke because the drive was based on the coupling of a black hole to a white hole and therefore was really a gray hole.

Different Arks burned their fuel at different rates. The mission to Alpha Centauri was able to achieve 1/10th g acceleration so they were able to get up to 10% of the speed of light before they coasted. This made the trip to our nearest neighbor only 40 years. Rei's Ark, having to travel a much greater distance, only accelerated at 1/20th g and only achieved 5% of the speed of light so it took 240 years to get to Tau Ceti.

The Deucadons were supposed to go to 82 G. Eridani which is about 20 light years from Earth. They had a larger capacity propulsion module but even so, it took them nearly 450 years to get there. There were no habitable planets so they came back to Tau Ceti (Deucado) which took them another 400 years. Thus they landed 500 years before the Ark II arrived.

Finally, there is the crew that went to Nu2 Lupi which is nearly 50 light years away. That trip took them over 1000 years to get there. Thus when Aason encounters them in _The Milk Run_ , they had only been on the planet of Hades for just over two centuries. 

## Entry 1-254: September 5, 2013

**Can people really survive freezing?**

In next year's _The Vuduri Companion_ , you'll read how Alex Haynesworth invented the Ark program. One of his inspirations came from Sven Ausland aka The Ice Man. Sven was a human who fell into a crevasse, froze solid for 17 years and when he was found, they thawed him out and resuscitated him. Since this takes place in 2040 AD, clearly I made this up. However, the entire backstory of _Rome's Revolution_ requires that a viable method of freezing humans be discovered in the next thirty years. So...is it possible? No one can prove or disprove it right now. However, we have tantalizing pieces of evidence that hint it may be possible.

It isn't the freezing part that is hard. It's the successful thaw. Scientists found some seeds in Israel that were confirmed to be 2,000 years old and were successfully germinated. Other scientists have claimed to have germinated 10,000 year old seeds called _Lupinus arcticus_. The world's record so far for reviving an ancient plant is sitting at 30,000 years. In the article, they cite that "the plant is of the species _Silene stenophylla_ , and radiocarbon dating says it is 31,800 years old." Amazing, huh?

However, the most fascinating fact we have so far is the strange habits of the common wood frog in Canada which, according to reports, freezes solid in the winter and thaws out again in the spring.

According to the article, "the frog's metabolism slows to a crawl, and its body temperature drops to between 21° and 30° Fahrenheit (–6° and –1° Celsius). The amphibian's heart and brain cease to function." Further, according to the article, there are numerous examples of insects and turtles that also freeze solid and thaw again. Sperm and egg banks have been freezing living human reproductive cells for two decades.

So far, so good. No proof of the negative. I know that is not the same as proof but this lies at the very heart of believable hard science fiction. 

## Entry 1-255: September 6, 2013

**No radio = mind-connected?**

I was interviewed on KWOD blog radio the other day and a good portion of the conversation concerned the invention of the Vuduri society and the whole world-building thing. My claim then and my claim now is in the original, original version of _Rome's Revolution_ there was no Overmind and no mind-connection. The Vuduri had the same traits they have now, colorless clothes, colorless lives, but it was just because their minds were elsewhere, not connected.

As I have stated in the past, my entire goal was to have a scene which everyone could relate to: where our hero, Rei, was on the airless moon of Dara, trudging through the crunchy surface, ready to release the VIRUS units and utterly depressed because the love of his life, Rome, was leaving and he would most likely never see her again.

Before I came up with the mind-connection which revolutionized Vuduri society, I did consider other alternatives. The first was the most trivial. The spacesuits _did_ have radios but the one in Rei's spacesuit was broken. That seemed kind of boring and frankly artificial in that it was invented for the sole purpose of isolating him.

Another possibility was that he did have a radio in his suit but somehow it was not able to connect to Rome or the Algol for whatever reason. Not only did this seem artificial but also lame. Same thing goes for forgetting to take a radio that clips on to the suit.

Summarizing the above, we can only divide the possible versions into they had radios or they did not. Not having a radio in the first place is so wild and out there and it made the inherent drama completely organic. So given that one fact, it opened up the whole universe of the Vuduri and I think allowed for the creation of a fascinating and completely new culture. 

## Entry 1-256: September 7, 2013

**Who lives? Who dies? Phillies!**

As an author, I've tried to present a peaceful albeit odd view of the future. Life-affirming. But death is inevitable and so there are times when I have to kill off people. In _Rome's Revolution_ , I had to wipe out basically all of mankind to get the Vuduri universe where I needed it to be for the story to begin. The event was called The Great Dying (I stole that from the dinosaurs) and is the basis of the plot behind _The Ark Lords_.

Of course, nobody minds when you kill off the bad guys (or things) like MASAL, Estar, Sussen or even the two guards holding Rome hostage while Estar tried to connect Rei. When Rei and Rome detonated Kilauea, while we didn't talk about it, we can assume all the Onsiras who were within the volcano died. Nobody mourned them.

Jack Henry's death in _The Ark Lords_ , even though it was in the past (from Rei and Rome's perspective) was very dramatic, sad and yet necessary. To be a martyr, you must die for a cause.

There were a few people who we meet and they are already dead. Since this blog is all about insights, I thought I'd share where they came from. When I first wrote the original _VIRUS 5_ novel, I had no intention of a sequel. But I did wonder what ever happened to my heroes. So eventually, _VIRUS 5, Book 2: Tau Ceti_ sprang into existence in 2005. Rei had this encounter with the Deucadons:

"Tell us somethin' that proves ya are who ya say ya are," said the third man.

Rei thought to himself for a minute then said, "The Phillies are the losingest franchise in professional sports history."

The three men whispered among themselves.

"What're the Phillies?" called out the first man.

"They are a baseball team. How could you not know that? How long have you guys been here, anyway?"

Of course, this was before the Phillies began their incredible modern run of success. Even so, I have always remembered players who hurt us in particular so when Rei and Rome go back to The Cathedral in _Rome's Evolution_ , they have to read the names of the three cracked gray sarcophagi to see who was dead. The names were (David) **Wright** (Mets), (Juan) **Pierre** (Marlins although he did come to the Phillies later) and (Mike then Giancarlo) **Stanton** (also Marlins). So, while they were Phillies-killers during their stay in the majors, without malice, I got my revenge in end! 

## Entry 1-257: September 8, 2013

**Copycat**

My claim is that _Rome's Revolution_ is an original work that examines our society and life in general by using the lens of science fiction to focus on particular characteristics. But at its core I freely admit that there are other science fiction stories where the hero (or villain) sleeps for a lengthy period of time until they awaken to take in the world around them. Here is a brief survey of selected literature and movies that overlap and where they differ. I will not invoke time travel if I can help it because at its heart, there is no actual time travel in my books.

_"The Man Who Awoke"_ by Laurence Manning, written in 1933, was the story of Norman Winters. He was a rich guy and he wanted to see the future. So he built himself the equivalent of a bomb shelter, invented a stasis machine and slept in suspended animation, awakening at 5,000 year intervals until he gets to the year 25,000AD. Each age has some hallmarks and one included an age run by "The Brain" which was Manning's guess at a super-computer.

_"Far Centaurus"_ was a short story that I cited in an earlier post. It was about four guys (what, no girls?) who take 500 years to get to Alpha Centauri. When they get there, there are already people there from the (relative to them) future. Sound familiar? However, our astronauts smell too bad (I kid you not) to the people of Far Centaurus to be allowed to wander around the general public so they eventually travel in time and return to Earth just a year and a half after they left.

One of my favorite Star Trek (TOS) episodes was called _"Space Seed"_ with Ricardo (soft Corinthian leather) Montalban as Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically engineered superman who was put in hibernation and left frozen is space until the year 2267 AD when he was discovered by James T. Kirk and the starship Enterprise. Sound familiar? This character was also the featured bad guy in the new _Star Trek Into Darkness_. Same back-story and same conflict with Kirk with a few notable and amusing differences.

One of my favorite movies is _"Sleeper"_ which was co-written and directed and starring Woody Allen. It is simply meant as a parody of other science fiction movies and owes its lineage to a story written before by no less than H. G. Wells himself called _"When the Sleeper Awakes."_

We have seen plenty of frozen or suspended animation in movies from _"2001: A Space Odyssey"_ to _"Alien"_ to _"Avatar"_ and the technique is in no danger of falling out of favor. In summary, the idea of falling asleep and awakening many years later is a staple of science fiction but so are love stories, revenge stories, thefts, war and so on. It's what you do when they wake up that is important. 

## Entry 1-258: September 9, 2013

**Demolition Man**

Synopsis: A man from our times is placed in cryo-hibernation and sleeps for many years. He is finally awakened decades later and finds the world has changed radically. He meets a girl from the future. They use an electronic device that goes on their head and it creates an intimate experience. Between the two of them, they are able to take on and defeat a grotesque evil that threatens their very way of life.

Sound familiar? It is _not_ the plot for _Rome's Revolution_ but rather the 1993 movie entitled **Demolition Man** starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and a young Sandra Bullock. At first blush, the plot of that movie and my book seem so close that maybe there is a bit of copycat in there.

Let's look at it in a little more detail. First, Sylvester Stallone's character was frozen in cryo-prison because he was accused of a crime that he did not commit. My hero, Rei Bierak, was a colonist who was frozen and sent to the stars. Second, Stallone's John Spartan is awakened 36 years later to take on the super-criminal played by Wesley Snipes. My hero, Rei, was awakened 14 _centuries_ later and has to fight off the Stareater but nobody knew it at the time.

What about my Espansor Bands? Surely they are too close to that portrayed in the movie to say they were different. Well, I wrote the first draft of VIRUS 5 in 1973 which included the scene with the bands, so I can safely say I got there first. The headgear, as presented in Demolition Man, are more like the orgasmatron in Woody Allen's _Sleeper_. In other words, the bands in Demolition Man were created simply for sexual pleasure. My bands were called "hearing aids for the mind-deaf" and the way they linked Rei and Rome was not supposed to happen. The bands were intended to be more like a walkie-talkie than an all-immersive experience. The co-mingling of Rei and Rome's souls should have been beyond the technology. Rome said it was a malfunction. I say it was destiny.

So, if you simply want to say all stories where people use a form of sleep or cryo-stasis to travel to the future, then _Sleeper_ , Rip Van Winkle, _Earth Abides_ and even _Futurama_ are all the same thing. But what the future holds and how the people from our generation deal with what they find when they awaken provides the distinctive flavor of each of those works. 

## Entry 1-259: September 10, 2013

**The Great Dying and the Post-apocalypse**

The idea of a disease wiping out mankind and a new civilization rising from the ashes of the old is a classic theme in science fiction. In _Rome's Revolution_ , the event was referred to as The Great Dying (the name given to the Permian-Triassic extinction that I stole from the dinosaurs) and was due to a man-made virus documented in the sequel, _The Ark Lords_.

A lot of post-apocalypse novels focus on nuclear war, natural disasters, etc. but I want to limit this discussion just to those where mankind is wiped out by disease. The most famous novel ever written about the subject and considered the standard against which others are judged is George R. Stewart's _Earth Abides_ written in 1949. The hero's name is Ish Williams and the book deals with the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Society devolves into a mountain-man style of life with breathtaking speed.

Another famous book is _I am Legend_ by Richard Matheson written in 1954. The original book had the hero as the only man left alive when disease had turned everyone else into vampires. It was made into a movie in 1964 and then again as _The Omega Man_ with Charlton Heston in 1971. The affected humans were switched from vampires to zombies. The same technique was used in the 2007 version with Will Smith taking the lead. The title of this film was rightfully put back to _I am Legend_. The original book and movie dealt with "the last man on Earth" and the immediate aftermath of the disaster as well.

The immediate aftermath is not that interesting to me nor are survivalist novels. I haven't found too many books that deal with the exact time interval required to create a technology-based society that matches our exactly. That was what I set out to do with the Vuduri. I thought it would be interesting to look at a society which took a different path. Kind of a social A/B test. I was looking for kind of a Jetsons vibe but I wanted it to come from a different place.

Hopefully you will enjoy the comparisons. I know Rei and Rome did. 

## Entry 1-260: September 11, 2013

**A Biblical Milk Run**

I have started working on _The Milk Run_ which takes place 17 years after the conclusion of the events in _Rome's Revolution_. In fact, there is a little teaser at the end of _Rome's Evolution_ showing Aason and Lupe getting ready to return to Tabit and Planet OMCOM.

I started writing the story four years ago, got about half-way done then put it aside so I could compile _Rome's Revolution_ and write _The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution_.

But now I'm ready to start. Aason and Lupe are off on an easy jaunt to Tabit when Lupe is kidnapped by Creatures of Light. Aason has to track her down by following clues. The first clue leads him to an ice-cold world which the inhabitants call Hades (Hell). The next clue takes him to a garden world which the inhabitants, living, sentient plants, call E'Den. God makes a guest appearance. Aason then leaves our universe and ends up in a place which could only be called Heaven with a brief layover in Purgatory.

So, somehow, this book has taken on a biblical overtone even though it is science fiction. I can't wait to see where it leads. 

## Entry 1-261: September 12, 2013

**Alpha Centauri**

Alpha Centauri, also known as Rigil Kentaurus, is the closest star system to Earth. It is only a little more than four light years away. It consists of three stars: Proxima Centauri and Alpha Centuri A and B. The name refers to the constellation of Centaurus, the Centaur. Unfortunately, it can only be seen from the Southern Hemisphere. My parents were on a cruise to South America one time and took a picture for me. That tiny dot has caused so much wonderment and excitement.

Proxima Centauri is actually the closest of the three stars but it is a red dwarf and probably does not have any habitable planets. Beyond that, Alpha Centauri A (called Aleph by the residents of New Earth) is also a very Sol-like star, a G2V class with a spectrum very much like our sun. No wonder there has been so much speculation and seems the consensus first star system to visit once we achieve inter-stellar travel capability. At least one Earth-sized world have been discovered orbiting Alpha Centauri B (called Beth by the residents of New Earth) which is an orange-colored K1V star, about half the size of the sun.

Alpha Centauri figures prominently in the world of _Rome's Revolution_ for a variety of reasons. In the original long-form version, the prologue to the novel (called _VIRUS 5_ back then) was all about a farmer named Silas Hiram and the world of New Earth. The prologue was meant to paint an idyllic picture of what the Ark program was supposed to be. Silas was the first to discover that Alnilam disappeared which, of course, was the driving point behind the whole plot of the first part of _Rome's Revolution_.

Later, when Rei is awakened by the Vuduri, he finds out that the star system has been renamed Rogal Canduro and that the Vuduri have a permanent outpost there. It is so important to them that they built a series of rings creating a static PPT tunnel so that people from Earth could get there extremely quickly. Of course we find out later that only pure-bred 24-chromosome Vuduri are allowed. Mandasurte need not apply. This leads to problems later as MASAL's plot to re-engineer mankind begins to gain traction. Rei also finds out it has beautiful but deadly indigenous animals. Among them are the lurkers, the bat-wolves and the Piranha Rats who were responsible for the destruction of the colony established by Ark I.

Finally, both in _The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution_ , Rei and Rome travel to the inhabited world there, since renamed Helome by the Vuduri and experience some adventures with Virga and her buddies.

It was nice to see that our nearest neighbor was so hospitable so as to provide some major plot points for the _Rome's Revolution_ series. 

## Entry 1-262: September 13, 2013

**My flora, my fauna: Helome**

Yesterday's post focused on the Alpha Centauri star system and mentioned some of the life forms found on Helome. I also posted a while back a little piece called (tongue in cheek) "Tails of the Vuduri" to discuss the wildlife found on Deucado. However, by and large, the world of _Rome's Revolution_ is largely devoid of native animals and plants.

Andy Jamieson, from Geekzine.co.uk interviewed me yesterday and asked me what were some of my biggest challenges to writing this series. Well, this part, coming up with new animals and plants certainly counts as a challenge.

To properly catalog all the life forms on a new planet would take a lifetime by itself. For the most part, I want to get to the story so I gloss over such things and only mention plants or animals as needed. Hell, I don't even like to talk about weather. (See the post entitled "It's always sunny on Deucado"). Today I will cover Helome and tomorrow I'll finish up with Deucado.

Here is a complete list which is pretty meager.

**Plants:**

\- Crayola trees. Tree-analogs with moss-like tops and trunks which are every color of the rainbow.

\- Soybeans. Brought from Earth aboard the Ark I and survived the constant waves of Piranha Rats over the centuries.

\- Barley and hops. Also brought from Earth and mentioned quite prominently in the story of Silas Hiram. You'll get the full story when I release _The Vuduri Companion_ next year.

\- A grass-analog allowed to grow within the confines of the Vuduri cities there.

**Animals:**

\- Piranha Rats. They have shaped the ecology of Helome for a million years. The Vuduri eradicated them from the one continent they decided to colonize.

\- Lurkers. Svelte carnivorous animals that stride upon two legs. They hide in the woods and strike very quickly. They are very deadly.

\- Bat-wolves. Predators that swoop down from the sky. Like Earth bats, they mostly only come out at night.

\- MIA: all the Earth animals brought along by the colonists in Ark I. I assume they were eaten by the Piranha Rats.

Tomorrow, a special birthday wish then all about Deucado. 

## Entry 1-263: September 14, 2013

**Happy Birthday, Lupe**

Rei and Rome's daughter Lupe has been a part of _Rome's Revolution_ since the beginning but she was not explicitly mentioned until the end of _The Ark Lords_. Rei and Rome are instructed by OMCOM that they must produce a daughter within a few years. Here is the actual exchange after OMCOM mentions Lupe by name:

"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?"

OMCOM goes on to explain that it has to do with first contact and that the girl must be old enough to handle the responsibilities within the timeframe projected. Lupe is actually conceived two years later in _Rome's Evolution_. Rei only learns about her at the very end of the story. He sees her spirit as a tiny pink spark during the ethereal battle with the Onsiras on Earth. Here is the actual exchange:

"That tiny spark was Lupe," Rome 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 and smiled.

I have done the math and have discovered that Lupe is actually born on **September 14, 3460 AD** so I wanted to take this opportunity to **wish her a** **_Happy Birthday_** in advance. You will read more about her, her childhood and her adventures as she grows up in the upcoming novel _The Milk Run_. 

## Entry 1-264: September 15, 2013

**My flora, my fauna: Deucado**

Friday's post focused on the animals and plants found in the Alpha Centauri system on the planet of Helome. Today I'll catalog the same for the planet of Deucado which is slightly richer only in that I mentioned more creatures. Since much of the action in _Rome's Revolution_ takes place on Deucado, I guess this is appropriate.

**Plants:**

\- Cane-trees. Tree-analogs with very thin trunks. Later on in the series we discovered a second type with bushier leaf-analogs at the top and split trunks. When cane-trees sway in the wind, their trunks make a clacking sound which is very ethereal.

\- Stickybushes. These bushes excrete a syrupy-like substance that is very sticky. If you walk through a stickybush stand, you get covered by green goop and leaves.

\- Threadgrass. Dayglo yellow tendrils, like Japanese noodles. They are very spicy and the bison that were transplanted to Deucado love to eat it.

\- Generic flowers. I don't know much about them other than I need them to let Rome decorate her home.

**Animals:**

\- The Blankets. The dominant native animal on the planet. Blankets comes in all sizes. Some people have been killed by the larger ones. We find out in _Rome's Evolution_ that while no particular blanket is intelligent, they are interconnected and together, they are very easy-going, even happy animals.

\- Swishies. These are fish-analogs that swim in the ocean and have migrated and now thrive in the freshwater Lake Eprehem. They are a cross between eels and fish.

\- Insects. Ain't got none. Bruce and I argued over this.

\- Bison. For some reason, they are thriving on Deucado and are now the major source of meat for those that wish to partake. They love the threadgrass.

\- Deucadons. Survivors of the Ark III that crash landed on Deucado 500 years before the story begins. I have to include them here because they are native to the planet.

I promise that in the next book, _The Milk Run_ , I'll spend more time telling you about the ecology and wildlife on the planets and places Aason visits. I am actually looking forward to it. 

## Entry 1-265: September 16, 2013

**A brief primer on the spine**

In order for me to explain how back pain plays a large role in _Rome's Revolution_ , it is necessary for you to know a little bit about the bio-mechanics of the spine. Nobody is reading this blog because they want to know about anatomy or physiology so I'll be brief.

The human spine is a marvelous but flawed invention by nature or a higher power to allow humans to walk upright. The shape and shock-absorbing characteristics have to be tuned just right. Here is a picture of a normal human spine.

It is not straight. It has an S-shape and flexes in all directions. Between each vertebra is a pad of tissue called a vertebral disk. Everybody has heard of a "slipped disk" but there is so much more than can go wrong. Nerves can be pinched because of stenosis. The disk can bulge or even rupture. Here is a picture of a disk.

The disk is made up of a fibrous outer layer called the annulus fibrosus and a jelly-like interior called the nucleus pulposus. If you have a fissured disk and interstitial fluid comes in contact with the nucleus pulposus, the disk can secret Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNA-Alpha). This substance is so toxic, so inflammatory, that it can cause back pain and swelling just by its release.

So how does this relate in any way to the whole _Rome's Revolution_ universe? All will be explained tomorrow. 

## Entry 1-266: September 17, 2013

**Back Pain and the Revolution**

From the minute Rei wakes up in _Rome's Revolution_ , back pain becomes an important underlying theme to the first novel. Silas Hiram, one of the original settlers from the Ark I, also experienced back pain and you'll read about his story when I release _The Vuduri Companion_ next year.

In the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , I had proposed that the release of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha, discussed in yesterday's post was freed by tiny rods puncturing the disks of the colonists as they were being frozen. I had originally proposed that this substance somehow had an antifreeze effect and allowed for the humans to survive freezing.

I got rid of that but kept in the back pain. Now the story just reads that during the time that the colonists are frozen, the vertebral disks desiccate (dry out). The re-hydration process as designed by the mission architects is flawed and Rei (and the others) wake up with degenerative disk disease.

OMCOM to the rescue. He invents a pill (gene therapy, eek) which eventually cures Rei's back and gives Rei unnatural healing powers, as witnessed in _Rome's Evolution_. Rei is able to win over the Deucadons in Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ because he correctly deduced that the survivors of the Ark III crash-landing also had back pain.

Rei and Rome get yellow pills. The rest of the colonists get white pills. The genetic changes are documented by Virga in _Rome's Evolution_. OMCOM's yellow pill has both an immediate and long term effects on Rei's physiology. The pills don't just fix Rei's back. Rei also gets super hearing (Rome does not), a cell phone in the head and one other side effect which I have never told anyone but will be revealed next year in _The Vuduri Companion_.

The short story is entitled "Not The End" but that is as much of a clue as I choose to give away at this time. 

## Entry 1-267: September 18, 2013

**The Deucadon Wheels**

The world of _Rome's Revolution_ resides mostly in my head. It is my job as a science fiction writer to take that world and put it into words so that you can get a sense of what I am talking about. Sometimes, though, I have a clear vision of something but it's hard to express using words despite the clarity of image in my mind. Here is an example where I can see Rome's actions so clearly but some people still don't know what I'm trying to get across.

"What kind of phenomenon?" Rei asked.

"Many stars have disappeared." Rome replied, clipping her fingers together then opening her hand flatly as if releasing pixie dust.

"What do you mean disappeared? I don't understand," Rei said for the hundredth time.

Another example of this would be the wheels of the Deucadon ground cars as described in _The Ark Lords_. Since they lived underground, they couldn't use internal combustion engines and pollute their limited supply of air. Instead, they use first their nuclear-powered rods then later their semi-infinite geothermal power to spin flywheels and used the stored energy to move the cars around. The wheels were supposed to be of special design. Here is their description:

Bukky pointed to a small cart which was not much more than four wheels and two benches. The wheels themselves were of a fascinating design. Their outer rims were extremely thin metal and connected to the axle with spokes made of gently curved metal strips. Quite pretty in a way. The weight of the cart made them flex slightly which indicated they also acted as shock absorbers. Attached to the back of the cart was a metallic box emitting a faint whirring noise.

Well, I was cleaning out our rather large storehouse of collected science fiction books and I found about 15 duplicates. I also found some novels about Perry Rhodan who was a big hit in Germany and made it over to the US in the mid to late 60s.

They only made one movie about Perry Rhodan called _Mission Stardust_ and it was so awful they never made another. But I was still curious to see what it looked like, just because. What blew me away is their moon buggy. They stole my wheels!! Well, since the movie was made in 1967, I guess I can't really say that. Anyway, take a look at the picture and see what you think.

Except for the cleats on the rim, pretty close to the Deucadon wheels, huh? 

## Entry 1-268: September 19, 2013

**How are Vuduri children produced?**

You'd think by the 35th century, in the universe of _Rome's Revolution_ , everything would be all in vitro fertilization and artificial wombs and baby factories.

Nope.

As mentioned previously, Vuduri men and women still have sex. Babies are conceived. Women carry to them to term and then they are born. Who gets to produce babies is determined by The Overmind and Vuduri never have sex for fun. So each baby is planned and born for a purpose.

After a baby is born, as soon as is practical, they are moved to baby-raising farms called crèches and raised by Vuduri who are skilled in that area. Most babies grow up never knowing their parents and frankly don't care.

Rome was different, of course. As a mosdurece, she was born of the union between a full-blooded 24-chromosome woman named Binoda and a 23-chromosome mandasurte named Fridone. Why The Overmind allowed them to have a child is explained at the end of _Rome's Evolution_. However, Fridone is from a culture where parents raise their children and Binoda, who had already been changed by her interaction with Fridone, allowed it. Thus Rome explained to Rei:

"What about family?" Rei asked. "Do you still have family? A mother? A father?"

Rome nodded. "Yes, the Vuduri have parents. But our lives revolve around the Overmind so it is not that important who you live with. I lived with my mother and father for many years, but only because it was convenient. Many Vuduri do not do so."

So Rome was special but back then we did not realize how special. Everything is explained at the end of _Rome's Evolution_ but guess what? There is still a surprise or two waiting for you at the end of _The Vuduri Companion_ to be released next year! 

## Entry 1-269: September 20, 2013

**How did Rome lock herself in her room?**

In fact, why do the Vuduri even have doors? In the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , I mentioned that the Vuduri didn't even sleep. However in an earlier post, I explained that this made Rome too weird so I let them sleep at night.

This made having doors a reasonable proposition. Rei and Rome discussed this as they embarked on their voyage from Deucado to Earth in Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_. Rome told Rei that outside doors were needed just to keep the elements out. After all, it did still rain and occasionally snow on Earth, even in the 35th century.

Inside doors are a little harder to explain since the Vuduri have no modesty. However, now that I had them requiring sleep, they still need relative quiet, even though they are a quiet people to begin with. So I gave their apartments doors for quiet, not privacy. But as we saw in the first part, the doors could be opened manually as well as by OMCOM. So how was it when Rome was first Cesdiud, she was able to lock herself in her room? Originally, I just said she wanted it that way. I allowed OMCOM to respect her privacy. But Bruce challenged me on it and said why wouldn't OMCOM just open the door when given a direct order by Ursay? Here is the final exchange:

"OMCOM," Rei said softly. "How come you couldn't open Rome's door when Ursay wanted you to? How come you were able to lock me in my room?"

**_"Rome is different. I treat her differently."_**

"Why?"

**_"She is...she is the closest thing I will ever have to a mother. I was being considerate."_**

"What do you mean considerate?" Rei asked. "They're in trouble here. Ursay needed her. Why couldn't you just open her door?"

**_"Did I mention that she inserted a locking pin which prevented that?"_**

"No." Thinking back to the expression on Ursay's face, Rei laughed to himself even though this seemed to be rather serious.

So the pin was Bruce's idea and I give him full credit for it. It creates a valid solution to a problem that nobody would ever notice.

P.S. I got a nice shout-out from Graeme Brown's Worlds of the Imagination. Thanks, Graeme. 

## Entry 1-270: September 21, 2013

**Rei as Hurley from Lost**

I loved the TV show _Lost_. Although he was not my favorite character, Hurley provided comic relief and drove the plot forward occasionally. But his most important role was to ask obvious questions that the main characters seem to ignore. Whenever the show-runners created paradoxes or used obscure plot devices, they had the Hurley character just come out and ask, "Well, how come the Island moved and we didn't move with it?" or similar.

In the universe for _Rome's Revolution_ , among other things, Rei plays a similar role. For example, in yesterday's post, I showed that Rei asked such a question. He just came right out and asked OMCOM how it was possible that Rome was able to lock herself in her room.

Here is another familiar example. When first informed about Casimir Pumps, Rei had the following conversation with OMCOM:

"Yeah..." Rei said, mulling things over. He jerked his head up and snapped his fingers. "Hey, wait a minute...OMCOM?"

**_"Yes?"_**

"You said that you split zero energy into negative and positive energy. Where does the positive energy go?"

**_"The positive energy is used in a variety of manners. Sometimes it is used to create elementary particles. Sometimes it is used to accelerate that matter. It is the power behind the plasma drives. Sometimes it is converted into a more flexible form such as electricity."_**

Rei held up his hand as if to stop things. Then he said, "So, let me get this straight. You go to a region where there is no energy. You suck negative energy out of it and get to go faster than light and the waste product is power that you use to drive your ships? That's...that's beyond perpetual motion. That's impossible."

**_"First of all,"_** OMCOM replied, **_"it is not perpetual motion. Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It is simply redistributed in a more convenient manner. Second, when you measure total entropy, it is increased. The sum total of the usefulness of that energy to the universe is decreased. Things are balanced."_**

I have found as author, I can pretty much say or do anything as long as I can back it up with facts or extrapolation. After all, that is the very definition of hard science fiction. But sometimes the leap from fact to fiction is clear in my mind but is irreconcilable to the user as presented. Thus Rei serves a useful role when he asks questions on behalf of the reader, just as Hurley did in Lost.

P.S. I got a nice shout-out from Graeme Brown's Worlds of the Imagination. Thanks, Graeme. 

## Entry 1-271: September 22, 2013

**Why did Rome's apartment have two chairs?**

One of the points I tried to hammer home in _Rome's Revolution_ was that the Vuduri don't socialize. When Rei first meets Rome and she takes him to her quarters, he sees two chairs, a little table and a sofa. In fact, this was the actual exchange:

"Why two chairs?" Rei asked. "You guys don't socialize, you told me."

"Occasionally, Estar and I meet here to perform some fusion of data-cubes," Rome replied. "The task required that we be in close physical proximity. I would not call that socializing."

Is this the real reason?

I don't know. I just made it up. It seemed stupid to me to have an apartment which consisted of a bed, a desk and a bathroom. It seemed like you need another area just to fill the room out. In the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , I had Rei fall asleep on the sofa he had in his quarters. Why would there be a sofa if the Vuduri never socialized? Rome's explanation sounds adequate if flimsy and nobody has ever complained about it but I think it is just a little inconsistent. Why would you go back to your room to work on datacubes? Why wouldn't you do it in a lab or the stellar observatory or whatever?

You will recall having three chairs in the galley of the Flying House was one of Estar's main concerns when she kidnapped Rome and Rei. A lot of mayhem and death resulted because of Estar's doggedness in trying to find out the answer.

Oh well, the Vuduri are inscrutable and having two chairs in Rome's apartment just makes for a better story. At least now you know the real reason. Sort of.

P.S. As I mentioned the other day, I got a nice shout-out from Graeme Brown's Worlds of the Imagination. Thanks, Graeme. 

## Entry 1-272: September 23, 2013

**Rome is hot**

In the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , I cannot tell you exactly what my characters look like. I've posted some suggestions on actors that could play Rome and Rei but even they aren't exactly as I envision them. I'm not an artist so I can't really sketch them out. I do know that Rome is gorgeous by our standards. She was described as tiny, at most five feet tall. Her beautiful, shoulder-length, dark brown hair had hints of gold throughout. Her eyes were very dark as well. Her skin had an olive tint to it. She had an athletic build, but it was distinctly feminine, bordering on spectacular.

Here is a little incident that occurred in _Rome's Evolution_ that occurred the day after Rome became a true telepath. She was just finishing up her questioning of Paul Chung, a "person of interest" but he was neither a suspect nor a witness. She was reassuring April Chung, Paul's wife, that everything will be OK:

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 is pretty funny sometimes, even when she does not mean to be. 

## Entry 1-273: September 24, 2013

**Rome tries beer**

In yesterday's post, I related to you an amusing anecdote when Rome was reading Paul Chung's mind and he thought she was hot. The humor comes from the fact that in the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , the phrase Paul used was a colloquial expression and Rome did not really understand what he meant.

However, the differences in the cultures can sometimes be practical, as well. I remember an episode of M*A*S*H where they were complaining that all of Korea smelled like Kimchi which is fermented cabbage. If you were Korean, it smelled delicious. If you were not, it might smell much worse.

Well, there are many other parts of our culture that Rome is not familiar with. In _Rome's Evolution_ , Rome and Rei travel to Helome to take a roll call of the incarcerated Darwin members. They discover that Virga and Captain Keller have achieved a detente. In fact, they are living together. Captain Keller's group have discovered some barley and hops which were meant to be a veiled reference to the crops first planted by Silas Hiram so many years before.

So here is the first time Rome tries beer:

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?"

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.

Tomorrow, Rome tries wine. 

## Entry 1-274: September 25, 2013

**Rome tries wine, part 1**

In yesterday's post, I related to you the amusing incident from _Rome's Evolution_ when Rome tried beer for the first time. But that does not mean she is against alcohol in any form. In fact, in the world of _Rome's Revolution_ she is quite familiar with the concept.

To demonstrate this, I relate to you an incident that occurred early in the book entitled _The Ark Lords_ :

Rei spoke up, trying to break the mood. "Maybe this will help. My mother told me you never go to someone's house empty handed," he said. He held out the linen bag which Bonnie gratefully received. She pulled out a bottle.

From its distinctive shape, there was no question what she held in her hand. Bonnie's eyes lit up. "Wine!?" Bonnie exclaimed. "How did you..."

"What is wine? I have never heard the word before," Rome interjected.

"Fonhi," Rei offered. "Fermented grapes. It's got alcohol in it."

"Oh, I'm familiar with that," Rome said, relieved to finally know the nature of the package. "We had something similar. My father's people would drink kefir at family affairs, which is made from fermented cocoanut juice."

(Bonnie opens the bottle, serves the wine then goes to make a toast)

"Here's to Rei Bierak," she said, cheerfully. "Always full of surprises!"

Rei laughed. He lifted his glass as well.

Rome looked around the room. "Aren't we supposed to clink the glasses?" she asked. "That's what you taught me."

"You can just raise them," Rei replied. "It works the same." Rei and Edgar took a nice swallow from their glasses.

"Sorry I can't join you," Bonnie said. "Gotta stick with water. Second trimester and all."

"I understand," Rei said.

Rome sniffed the glass then took a small sip. "Mmm, this is delicious," she remarked. "I've never tasted anything like it before. Where did it come from?"

"We found a good spot for a vineyard near the edge of the project, east of where they're building the resort city of Ur," Rei answered, waving his hand toward the window. "Some of the boys wanted to try their hand at growing grapes and making wine. They've been working at it for over a year. This is from their first full run. It's a little strong, though. Almost port. They put too much sugar in it."

As you probably know, there was some unpleasantness that ensued. Rei was afraid that Rome would come to associate wine with bad things but she was stronger than that. Tomorrow I will show you her "recovery" from fear. 

## Entry 1-275: September 26, 2013

**Rome tries wine, part 2**

In yesterday's post, I related to you Rome's first exposure to wine. If you read _The Ark Lords_ , you know that afterwards, Edgar Mullen attacked her and Rei was rightly concerned that Rome would come to associate wine with bad things. He needn't have worried. This is from later in the story:

Ursay led them back through the small vineyard, past his farmhouse, to a ramshackle building resembling a barn. Rei was surprised to see no sign of Vuduri aerogel anywhere. After all three entered, Ursay pulled the doors closed and directed them to one end of the building where there were multiple racks of oaken barrels stored on their sides. The floor was nothing more than combed dirt. Ursay had them sit at a rough-hewn table pushed up against the wall. To Rei, the chairs appeared to be hand-made and slightly mismatched. Once they were settled, Ursay left them to amble slowly back the way they came, pausing briefly at each barrel. Finally, he stopped in front of one of the larger ones. After reaching down for a pitcher that was dangling from a peg, he fussed around the spigot at the base of the cask. He returned to Rei and Rome carrying the pitcher filled with a dark, ruby-red liquid and placed it on the table.

Noticing the liquid's aroma, Rei inquired, "Wine? Isn't that a little out of character for a Vuduri?"

"I find myself more spiritually aligned with the mandasurte than the Vuduri these days," rsay said. "Probably because of you two. I have not quite made up my mind to go Cesdiud." He reached up to a shelf mounted on the wall and brought down three glasses.

"You sure have mellowed from when I first met you," Rei said. "But still? How do you even know what to do?"

"I agree I do not have much experience," Ursay said. "But we are just north of Douro, which used to be known as the premier wine-growing region in a thousand square kilometers. They do not let the mandasurte near here so I decided to try it myself. It interests me, what can I say?" He lifted the pitcher and poured the wine into each of the glasses then handed one to Rei and one to Rome. "This red is young," he said, "but I think you might like it."

Rei lifted his glass and held it up to the light. He swished the glass in a small circle then took a sip. "This is good!" he said. "Better than the stuff we grew."

Ursay took a swallow from his. "It needs to age," he said. He looked at Rome who was staring at her glass. "Do you not wish to try it?" he asked.

Rome looked up at him with some pain in her face. Rei reached over, took her glass and moved it away from her. "Rome had a bad experience not too long ago. Wine was a part of it," he said. "No offense but I don't think she's in the mood. Commander Ursay please do not be insulted."

"No," Rome protested. She extended her arm and pulled the glass back. "I refuse to allow one ompasil to take away the pleasures of my life." She lifted the glass and took a healthy swig. "Mmm," she said. She turned to Rei and said, "I believe you call it getting back on the horse?"

Rei laughed.

Ursay replied, "I cannot say I understand what you are talking about but I will send a bottle along with you. In a year or so, it should be ready." He set his glass down. "Now tell me why you are here."

As you can see, Rome had no problem and later learned to truly like the stuff. In the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , anything is possible! 

## Entry 1-276: September 27, 2013

**Happy Birthday, Rei**

Trying to figure out the exact birth dates of all the characters in _Rome's Revolution_ is an exercise in working backwards.

For example, I know that Rei's final night with Sally Reynolds was on January 24, 2067 AD. In a previous post, we were able to calculate that Rei launched on June 24, 2067 AD. Rei was 25 years old when he launched. So mathematically, it was easy to figure out that Rei was born in the year 2042 AD.

In the previous long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei mentioned to Rome that he was a Libra so that narrows it down to the range of September 22 to October 22. Further, he was born on a Saturday. So I looked up that day on a calendar for the year 2042 and discovered that the first Saturday in 2042 where he could be a Libra means Reinard Bierak was born on **September 27, 2042** which is exactly 29 years from today.

So Happy Birthday to Rei, in advance, from a person who really appreciates your contributions to the survival of the world in the 35th century. Not to mention fodder for writing many books! 

## Entry 1-277: September 28, 2013

**This is the end**

Whenever I have had discussions with other writers concerning _Rome's Revolution_ , they _all_ told me that they do not have a hard and fast outline. This includes my radio interview with Patti. But I cannot understand how a writer attacks a story without having at least some understanding of how a story starts, plays out and ends.

Imagine if you were an author and you were writing a detective novel, a whodunit. How could you write the novel unless you knew, well, whodunit? In any event, I never start out a story without knowing how it will end. In _Rome's Revolution_ (back when it was still _VIRUS 5_ ), I knew it would end with the Stareater destroying Tabit, OMCOM transferring his consciousness and mutations occurring. Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ was always going to end with the sky turning black, Rei and Rome grabbing their heads, screaming and passing out. Part 3 was always going to end with the destruction of MASAL and the return of the Stareaters.

I must admit that while I knew the Stareaters had to return and I knew I wanted a scene where all the Vuduri passed out, I hadn't quite worked out how Rome and Rei were going to save the Earth. Luckily, they told me the outcome before I finished the story.

With _The Ark Lords_ , I always knew the story was going to end with Rome firing a bullet through the ersatz virus vessel and Keller screaming out, "you bitch, you killed us all." I thought it was a neat scene. I was not sure how I was going to dispose of the Darwin people but luckily, midway through, Virga gave me the answer.

Finally, for _Rome's Evolution_ , I always knew it was going to end with the ethereal battle and Rome and Rei defeating MASAL's Sipre. The rest, well, that just fell out of the journey.

For the upcoming novel _The Milk Run_ , I already know how it is going to end but I won't tell you just now. You'll have to read that one to find out. Finally, in the compendium to be issued after that called _The Vuduri Companion_ , there will be a little story called "Not The End" which will tell you how Rei and Rome meet their end of days.

Stick around. It will be fun! 

## Entry 1-278: September 29, 2013

**My incredibly talented brother, Bruce**

You have heard me mention my brother Bruce many times throughout my ramblings concerning _Rome's Revolution_ but I have never listed all of his contributions in one place. So today is Bruce Appreciation Day. I thought I'd list all the ways he has contributed to the (modest) success of the books.

First, he was the inspiration behind Pal Boco. Pal has been retired although he will reappear when I release the original VIRUS 5 next year in _The Vuduri Companion_. If you read the above cited post, you will see that Pal Boco was the inspiration behind MINIMCOM so really, Bruce gave me MINIMCOM. Bruce has read every book, given me wonderful feedback and heavily edited _The Ark Lords_ to give it its distinctive style.

Of course, people _do_ judge a book by its cover. Especially on Amazon, people will just skip over a book that has a plain or ugly cover regardless of its ratings. Bruce has done all of my covers for both the paperbacks and the e-books which require a completely different approach. I think you will all agree that they go beyond just being covers and sit squarely in the realm of art.

Paperback:

Ebook:

Bruce even attended a Philadelphia Science Fiction Society meeting with me at his own peril. He also came to the book signing at the Doylestown Bookshop.

Finally, Bruce has done an incredible job with the book trailer for _Rome's Revolution_. Not only did he animate it, but he also created the musical score. And wait until you see his next one for _The Ark Lords_. It is awesome! And even that one will be blown away for the next, animating _Rome's Evolution_.

So here is Bruce's part of the dedication, taken right from _The Ark Lords_ :

First and foremost, I have to thank my brother Bruce. 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. Bruce, I could not have done it without you.

And I meant every word of it so Bruce, I can never thank you enough! 

## Entry 1-279: September 30, 2013

**My new "umbrella" site**

For the last 278 days, I have been posting tidbits, ramblings, teasers and more for _Rome's Revolution_ and I am always pointing you at one web site or another. But it occurred to me that I did not have an "umbrella" site where a person could go to see all the things I've written.

I started a Wiki which was supposed to be expandable to add in articles, reviews, interviews and so on. But all of these are so scattered. I decided the time has come to build an umbrella site. It is possible that this is the beginnings of my "author's platform" but I'm not 100% sure what it is.

Anyway, my incredibly talented web designer, Regina using the artwork from my incredibly talented brother, Bruce have now collected all of these disparate items and assembled them into a single place. I am calling it MLBPHD.COM which is my initials and my degree and it transcends _Rome's Revolution_ or my CV or research publications or whatever.

This will become the launching off point for listing the books, a brief synopsis, links to the book trailers and a direct link on where to buy the books. It will also be much easier to link in my blog (this blog), the Wiki, interviews, articles written about me or by me, reviews, my Facebook pages and contact info. In the last 8 years, it never occurred to me to give people a way to even send me an email!

This umbrella site (platform?) is expandable and you will see at the bottom some other books I have written as well as a link to my academic papers.

Anyway, take a peek and let me know what you think. 

## Entry 1-280: October 1, 2013

**The Social Adjust-Mints**

As I have mentioned several times, the idea behind _Rome's Revolution_ started as _VIRUS 5_ in 1973. It was supposed to be a short story and I only had a manual typewriter. The fact is the story was too long and too complicated to develop a proper relationship between Rome and Rei. So I re-did their initial introduction, including a session with the Espansor Bands and left out the part about the Stareater.

In the revised story, Rei Bierak was part of a continually outward-leaping group that was pushing toward the edge of the galaxy. A better base of operations was discovered and they were abandoning Skyler (spelled Schuyler back then) Base. OMCOM was still around and still stuck and was going to be abandoned. The only thing that was of interest to OMCOM was the gravity wave detector whose construction was halted after it was decided to close down the base. Rei liked OMCOM so he allowed the gravity wave detector to be built. This was going to be the stepping stone to discovery of the Stareater in a sequel.

In the original _Rome's Revolution_ , OMCOM was so grateful for Rei leaving him something to do that he decided to reward Rei by bringing Rome into his life. In a way, the basic concept is the same as the modern version. Rei Bierak was a long way from Earth. He ran into Rome (her last name was Sevenate back then) and OMCOM decided he wanted the two of them together.

They even used the Espansor Bands to "bond" quickly. However, this was before the concept of the Overmind was invented. So, instead, Rei and his peers used the "Social Adjust-mints" which were a series of pills acting as brain activity modifiers kept in a wristband. People were enslaved to them. They used them all the time to adjust their moods.

Rome's people were escaping persecution from zealots back on their home world (Mintaka?) and were fleeing outward. When Rome came across Rei, she decided to show him that you could deal with life without using the 'Mints. That theme was the basis of the original _Rome's Revolution_.

This story, in its entirety, will appear in _The Vuduri Companion_ to be released early next year. 

## Entry 1-281: October 2, 2013

**The Central Power Plant on Dara**

In the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei spent much of his time wandering around Skyler Base on Dara, using his observations to clue us in on what is going on.

One of the things that got cut when the novel was compressed into an omnibus was Rei's description of the power plant. Here it is in its original form:

The room was very warm and the air had a pungent smell, perhaps, ozone, that tickled Rei's nose. Before him, he saw thick tubes, conduits and dense wires that split into branches which split into branches and so on back to the far wall. The whole scene reminded Rei of the capillary system in the lung and if the analogy held true, way in the back were the alveoli.

He picked out one set of branches with his eyes and very slowly and very carefully followed it until he came to its final destination which was a shimmering stack of tubules or crystals. He couldn't tell what it was.

He walked over to the mysterious stack and reached up with his finger, but before he touched it, OMCOM shouted at him.

**_"Rei!"_** OMCOM yelled from a grille mounted on the wall.

"What?" Rei asked, pulling his finger back from the equipment.

**_"I cannot see you but you should not be in this room."_**

"What do you mean you can't see me?"

**_"The video feed from this room has become non-operational. I only just now realized you had entered the room from the hallway,"_** replied OMCOM.

"Why are all your video feeds failing?" Rei asked.

**_"I do not know,"_** OMCOM replied, **_"but I do know that you should not touch anything in this room."_**

"What would happen if I did?" Rei asked as he backed away.

**_"All around you are millions upon millions of Casimir pumps. If you touched the wrong place, whatever part of you came in contact with the fields would be transported to somewhere else on the moon."_**

Unconsciously, Rei started backing up, away from the stack. "I thought you couldn't make PPT tunnels within a gravity well," he pointed out.

**_"You cannot make stable PPT tunnels in a gravity well. They pop out of existence too quickly to form a useful tunnel. But they still exist long enough to create a temporary distribution of positive and negative energy."_**

"So what do you do with it while it is split?" Rei asked.

**_"The negative energy is dispersed in the atmosphere. It simply moves molecules from one place to another. It is fairly benign. If you do not touch it."_**

"And the positive energy?"

**_"That is what powers this station. The collection tubes conduct the power to electrical generators and the power grid of this base."_**

"And you're sure this isn't perpetual motion?" Rei asked.

**_"I am sure..."_**

OMCOM convinces Rei to go back to his quarters and that's the only time we see the electrical generation station for Skyler Base. 

## Entry 1-282: October 3, 2013

**Wires**

From the moment Rei awakens in _Rome's Revolution_ , he discovers that the Vuduri have eliminated the concept of wires. Now this is not so impressive as you think. Our society is trying to get to the wireless age. Think about WiFi, MiFi, 4G modems, Bluetooth, IR remotes, wireless phones, cell phones and so on. However, what we have not conquered is wireless power transmission. (Note 1: actually, Nicola Tesla did demonstrate wireless power transmission. Note 2: What a great iPhone app! Dial in and charge your phone over the airwaves? You'd make a million bucks.)

In the 35th century world of the Vuduri, they use similar concepts. As previously mentioned, the flat panel displays are wireless as are the data input surfaces, similar to our keyboards. Also OMCOM (and MINIMCOM for that matter) is made up of self-contained memrons. Each memron is a nano-processor and communicates in the exahertz band of the electromagnetic spectrum with the central core. However, you will recall the total ban on any computer ever having access to Casimir Pumps so they need another source of power.

As mentioned yesterday, on Skyler Base, sitting on the moon of Dara, there is a central power plant. This power plant generates electricity and some of that electricity is actually conducted by power busses running underneath the station. But the memrons making up OMCOM's core cannot be connected to it. And they aren't allowed to have Casimir Pumps so what to do? The answer: each memron has a coil and thermocouple which collects microwave radiation and converts it into power. Rei was informed of this the first time he was in OMCOM's central core. The room was warm which was residual heat thrown off by the memrons.

Of course once OMCOM was unleashed and allowed to produce VIRUS units, they were self-powered and OMCOM was able to dispense with the central power generation. And as a starship made up solely of VIRUS (aka constructor) units, MINIMCOM has no need for power production for his airframe. He does use a regular PPT generator for larger electrical needs and eventually the null-fold drive.

In the upcoming novel, _The Milk Run_ , you will learn about the Hyper-Null Fold Drive which has no upper limit on its speed. But that's a story for another day. 

## Entry 1-283: October 4, 2013

**OMCOM's "infection"**

When I originally wrote the long-form of _Rome's Revolution_ , OMCOM was a bit more morally ambiguous than he is today. He still does have an amoral streak about which Rome took him to task toward the end of _Rome's Revolution_ in both versions.

However, OMCOM had not one but two excuses for his behavior. First off, OMCOM literally reprogrammed himself. He actually create a "virtual" OMCOM, gave it a clone of his operating system and made strategic changes. He then had a conversation with this phantom version of himself. This story was also cut out of the current version however it will resurface when I publish _The Vuduri Companion_ next year. The other excuse OMCOM has was that he was "infected" with rogue memron units.

Rei first noticed them (they are transparent and resemble vitamin E capsules) early in the story but his observations are rejected by both Rome and OMCOM at that point in time. However, as was mentioned the other day, memrons require power and that power comes from microwave irradiation. OMOCOM did note he required too much power: the total output required was too large by almost .1%. It also explained why his video feeds kept cutting out just as Rei was put in mortal danger for the nth time.

Here is the actual exchange when OMCOM admitted that Rei was correct in the first place:

**_"I was infected."_**

"Infected with what?" Rome asked.

**_"There were rogue memrons circulating within my core. They were distributed throughout my being. I could not be certain that any conclusion I drew was sound or compromised by what was essentially a computer within a computer."_**

"You mean those transparent memrons? The ones I saw in your core?" Rei asked.

**_"Yes,"_** answered OMCOM. **_"I do not know how they got there nor could I be certain they were the only incursion into my logical integrity."_**

"How did they get in there?" Rei asked.

"Wait," said Rome.

"Wait what?" asked Rei.

"I think I know," said Rome quietly.

**_"Perhaps it would have been better had you informed me,"_** said OMCOM a bit acerbically.

"I did not know at the time but I am reflecting back, early on, when we were at Skyler Base," answered Rome. "I remember that during the original construction phase of OMCOM's infrastructure, there was a short interval when I was fatigued. Estar volunteered to oversee the ongoing production of OMCOM's starter memrons. I let her. She must have used that interval to create the aberrant units."

**_"That seems most likely,"_** said OMCOM. **_"I feel I should inform you that I did embark upon a purification process just before the Stareater arrived but there was no way for me to know if I was completely successful."_**

OMCOM still has one more bad thing up his sleeve and that forms the basis of the plot of the upcoming novel _The Milk Run_ but that's a story for another day. 

## Entry 1-284: October 5, 2013

**Planet OMCOM**

When I first started writing _Rome's Revolution_ , I had planned for OMCOM to be a major character. However, at the time, I was only anticipating writing one book. I had no clue that MINIMCOM ever existed, let alone would develop into a fan favorite. At the end of _Rome's Revolution_ , OMCOM is left orbiting the remains of Tabit and contemplating his reason for existing. He makes guest appearances in _The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution_ but that is all they are.

If you think back to how we left him at the end of Part 1 of _Rome's Revolution_ , OMCOM's master design for the VIRUS units that eventually destroyed the Stareater was a fully functional memron per VIRUS unit . Because of the power of the exponent, the number of memrons exceeded then dwarfed OMCOM's original core structure. As a result, OMCOM acquired an incalculable amount of processing power. Because each VIRUS unit had a PPT Transceiver in it, OMCOM was able to build a support structure as wide as the orbit of the Earth. However, he allowed mutations to occur. Each of those mutations eventually resulted in an autonomous entity, thousands actually, that went off to parts unknown. There was still a tremendous amount of computing structure left. OMCOM decided it would be easier to manage the physical elements of his new form by coalescing into a spherical structure which eventually became known as Planet OMCOM.

The purpose of the mutations was revealed at the end of _The Ark Lords_ but the actual results of the experiment will only be known when I release _The Milk Run_ late this year or early next year. 

## Entry 1-285: October 6, 2013

**Rome's Revolution - The Video Game**

When I originally wrote _Rome's Revolution_ , I was only thinking in terms of the novel that had been floating around my head for nearly 40 years. But once I started putting it down on paper (my video monitor, actually), only then did I realize it might make a good movie. Now I think it might make two or even three movies but I'd need help.

I think Part 1 stands by itself and has plenty of great cinematic moments. But Part 2 and 3, they could be combined if you were willing to let go of some of the more intricate pieces. But what about a video game based upon _Rome's Revolution_. Seems pretty ridiculous, huh?

Not really. I'm not talking about The Sims or Grand Theft Auto or Halo. I'm thinking more like an iPhone app like a competitor to Bejeweled or Candy Crush.

What would such a video game look like? How about these for ideas?

1. A 3D navigation of a space tug so that it can clamp onto the Ark II which is spinning in all three dimensions.

2. Navigation and jumping through a PPT tunnel such that you don't slice off the back part of the Ark.

3. Creating a three dimensional virtual camera out of the starprobes so you can focus on a distant event (e.g. a Stareater eating Winfall)

4. A Pac-man style game where Stareaters eat stars.

5. The user must assemble and deploy VIRUS units in time to consume an on-coming Stareater.

6. Some sort of running game where the user tries to avoid being smothered by falling blankets.

You must admit that a Stareater eating stars looks a heck of a lot like Pac-man. I even mention it in the book. Well, I'm sure I can come up with more but it is intriguing, isn't it? 

## Entry 1-286: October 7, 2013

**Real life observational time travel**

In many of the descriptions of _Rome's Revolution_ , I discuss the concept of 'legal time travel'. This is not such a bizarre thought. We have examples of this right in front of us. The Hubble Space Telescope had an instrument called the Ultra Deep Field imager but it was later upgraded to the eXtreme Deep Field imager. It was able to capture and focus on photons that were emitted only 50 million years after the Big Bang.

This is taken directly from NASA's eXtreme Deep Field web page so I take no credit for it. Here is what they say:

The universe is 13.7 billion years old, and the XDF reveals galaxies that span back 13.2 billion years in time. Most of the galaxies in the XDF are seen when they were young, small, and growing, often violently as they collided and merged together. The early universe was a time of dramatic birth for galaxies containing brilliant blue stars extraordinarily brighter than our sun. The light from those past events is just arriving at Earth now, and so the XDF is a "time tunnel into the distant past." The youngest galaxy found in the XDF existed just 450 million years after the universe's birth in the big bang.

Take a look at these images:

This is true observational time travel that exists now. Mind-blowing, isn't it? P.S. In my opinion, this destroys the validity of the Big Bang Theory. I mean, how could such beautiful and organized galaxies coalesce in just 500 million years? I'll leave that for others to decide. 

## Entry 1-287: October 8, 2013

**Microcerpt**

_Rome's Revolution_ has found a new landing spot, a new web site that goes by the name of Microcerpt.com which is based upon a fascinating premise. No excerpt can be longer that 1000 words hence the name microcerpt.

I have selected the _nom de plume_ of **romesrevolution** to highlight my author's page. Shocking, huh? For some reason, the web site renders best in Chrome so if you have that installed, I would try that one first.

There seems to be a very nice, tight integration between Twitter, Facebook and Microcerpt so you can use any of your social media to connect. From the Media Director, Elizabeth Alexandra:

Let your network know that you are on **microcerpt** and give them the link...the more the better and it is a great way to build your readership. You can use it as your social platform by creating your own author group and get one on one contact with readers. The site has a lot to offer, just poke around to discover all the functions or send me a message. The Help menu has some good info on it too.

I have posted the pitch for _Rome's Revolution_ , _The Ark Lords_ and also _Rome's Evolution_ as well as a link to the YouTube Trailer for _Rome's Revolution_.

I also posted the funny little scene where Rome finds out she is hot as well as the entire "not sex" scene between Rei and Virga. I also posted Chapter 8 of _The Ark Lords_ so that people new to the site could understand the imagery on _The Ark Lords_ cover.

Finally, if you want to check it out, you can connect via the Microcerpt Facebook page, Elizabeth's Facebook page and their Twitter handle is @microcerpt. I know they will appreciate your support. 

## Entry 1-288: October 9, 2013

**Rome's eyes glow**

Ever since I started working on the modern version of _Rome's Revolution_ , I really wanted their eyes to glow. I thought it would be a cool effect and make the Vuduri seem somewhat alien. But why would their eyes glow? As a hard science fiction writer, I had to find a scientific principle behind it.

From a dramatic sense, the first thing Rei notices about Rome is that her eyes seem to glow, even in the dimmest light. So I postulated that the Vuduri have an extra reflective layer of tissue behind their retinas to reflect light forward. This completes the Maksutov-Cassegrain reflector, built into their eyes which give them telescopic vision.

From Wikipedia: The tapetum lucidum (Latin: "bright tapestry") is a layer of tissue in the eye of many vertebrate animals. It lies immediately behind the retina. It reflects visible light back through the retina, increasing the light available to the photoreceptors. The tapetum lucidum contributes to the superior night vision of some animals. Many of these animals are nocturnal, especially carnivores that hunt their prey at night, while others are deep sea animals. Eyeshine is a visible effect of the tapetum lucidum. When light shines into the eye of an animal having a tapetum lucidum, the pupil appears to glow. Eyeshine can be seen in many animals, in nature and in flash photographs.

Rei finds the effect mesmerizing. The Onsiras' Zengei (drones), half machine, half man, do not have a tapetum and their eyes are very dark, almost black. They are occasionally referred to as "shark eyes." The Reonhe are the "royalty" of the Onsiras and have one dark eye and one light eye. Estar, the villain in Part 1 and Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_ , is a Reonhe as is Sussen, the spy on Deucado who precipitated the crisis of Book 3. As you are well aware, Sussen returns in _Rome's Evolution_ but is dispatched by none other than Bonnie Mullen herself. 

## Entry 1-289: October 10, 2013

**Vuduri Starship Controls, Part 1**

In the 35th century world of the Vuduri and _Rome's Revolution_ , all Vuduri starships are designed the same way. They have two main modes of operation: atmospheric and space.

The elements of control are:

\- A small rocker switch to toggle between modes.

\- Dual joysticks, each 12 cm tall - their operation depends upon which mode: atmospheric or space.

\- PPT controls - an outer wheel which controls the size of the tunnel and a pushbutton which controls the amount of negative energy.

**Atmospheric Mode:**

Any Vuduri craft which is capable of flight has a small set of wings. These are not for lift. That is provided by the Electro-Gravity (EG) pods. The wings are for control. They use flaps to roll the ship left or right, the same as an airplane. The joystick on the left is the throttle. With the right stick pulled back, pulling back on the left stick causes the ship to move forward faster. Pushing it forward halts the thrust. Pushing it all the way forward causes a braking action. Rotating clockwise or counterclockwise causes the ship to rotate about its center axis using trimjets regardless of its orientation, very handy for getting a ship upright. Rotation of right stick controls rolls the ship banks the ship and is more normal for flight control when oriented properly.

There is a button on top of the left joystick which can be used to fire the plasma thrusters, even within an atmosphere. It operates essentially as afterburners to explosively accelerate the ship. The button on the right stick is a throttle lock. Setting it would allow you to release the button on the left and continue at the desired acceleration or velocity.

The controls can also be used to hover the craft. You must leave the right stick upright. As mentioned before, rotating the left stick causes the trimjets to fire rotating the craft about its midpoint. When hovering, pulling back on the throttle causes the ship to rise up in the air. Pressing it forward causes it to descend. It sounds more complicated than it is. Rei found it very natural to control the ship within the atmosphere.

Tomorrow, we go into space. 

## Entry 1-290: October 11, 2013

**Vuduri Starship Controls, Part 2**

As I mentioned yesterday, in the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , all Vuduri starships are designed the same way. They have two main modes of operation: atmospheric and space.

The elements of control are:

\- A small rocker switch to toggle between modes.

\- Dual joysticks, each 12 cm tall - their operation depends upon which mode: atmospheric or space.

\- PPT controls - an outer wheel which controls the size of the tunnel and a pushbutton which controls the amount of negative energy. Today we cover Space mode:

**Space:**

Flipping the small rocker switches the controls to space mode. The right stick becomes the primary mechanism for small changes in attitude or speed. Pushing it forward causes the rear trimjets to fire so the ship accelerates. Pulling it back causes the front trimjets to fire slowing you down. The left joystick controls the plasma thrusters. You press on the top button to activate them, it is a safety switch. As they are firing, pushing the left joystick forward causes you to move forward. You can use the throttle lock on the right to then release the left joystick. Pulling back on the left joystick simply throttles down the plasma thruster. There is no braking action. In space, to brake quickly, you must rotate the craft 180 degrees and fire the plasma thrusters in retro-mode. Otherwise you will have to rely upon the trimjets to slow you down.

Tomorrow, for the final piece, we will cover the actual jump through a PPT tunnel. 

## Entry 1-291: October 12, 2013

**Vuduri Starship Controls, Part 3**

As mentioned in yesterday's post, in the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , the starship controls in space act differently than when operating in atmospheric mode. Today's post will cover how to use the controls to jump through a PPT tunnel:

**FTL Travel using PPT Tunnels:**

For the PPT star drive to operate, you must be at a complete standstill relative to the nearest gravitational point of reference. Most Vuduri just rotate their craft and use the plasma thrusters to bring them to a halt. They rotate the ship around, alter the width of the tunnel using the yellow ring if necessary (most ships have a tiny triangular indicator for the proper size for that ship) then punch the center button to project negative energy in front of the ship. The more negative energy, the deeper the tunnel and the faster the effective velocity. Once the tunnel is the proper size and depth, the ship (typically using the plasma thrusters) moves forward and through the tunnel.

To travel continuously at FTL speeds, you have to stop, create a tunnel, go through, turn around, stop, turn around, make another tunnel and so on. During their long journey between Tabit and Deucado, Rei finds this method of travel very tedious. Eventually, MINIMCOM figured out how to force project a continuous series of tunnels so there was no more stop, go, stop go. In _The Ark Lords_ , OMCOM figures out how to apply the Casimir Effect to negative energy and invents the null-fold drive which is much, much faster.

Hopefully this will be enough to get you going should you come across an abandoned Vuduri starship and want to take it out for a spin. 

## Entry 1-292: October 13, 2013

**Laser Pulse Rifles**

While laser pulse rifles are mentioned in _Rome's Revolution_ , they really don't achieve any prominence until the Jack Henry saga in _The Ark Lords_ and an attempt by the Darwin group to use them to intimidate Rome and Rei.

I thought I would give you a little more information on how they work:

While laser pulse rifles can be operated in continuous mode, their normal mode of operation is pulsed, hence the name. The weapons designers discovered that pulsing the laser could be as effective as a continuous beam in killing people. When operated in this manner, they use a fraction of the energy and therefore their power source lasted longer.

The way they work is a quick pulse of laser energy vaporizes the first solid substance it hits. The next pulse drives the "puff" of material forward and simultaneously vaporizes a new section. So instead of the hole being created like you see in the movies, it is more like the original design of the Project Orion nuclear spaceship.

After reading _The Ark Lords_ , you may be wondering why the laser pulse rifles did not cauterize the human tissue they drilled through. Conceptually, it is the difference between a dashed line and a solid line. While maybe half of the tissue is cauterized, the rest is blown away by organic material. This is why the people who are hit by laser pulses bleed out so quickly. If the Ark Lords used a continuous laser beam, all it would do would be to punch a tiny hole in the target and therefore not necessarily inflict much damage. Laser pulse rifles are specifically designed to _cause_ massive bleeding.

There is one scene where a soldier does turn his rifle on continuous and swings it around, like a very thin light saber. But mostly they use it to cause massive bleeding and a quick death with very little energy.

Sadly, even today, people are actually making these weapons but let's hope they don't get too popular any time soon! 

## Entry 1-293: October 14, 2013

**Weapons of the future**

In the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , there are many weapons based upon the technology of the 35th century and others that are based upon technology which we know about today. Yesterday's post described one such weapon, the laser pulse rifle. However there are many more weapons described in the books. Here is a brief summary:

**Vuduri:**

-Plasma Pistol - small PPT Generator-driven hand weapon - shoots controllable (adjustable) beam of plasma. Since it uses Casimir Pumps at its core, it essentially never runs out of fuel

-PPT Thrower/Rifle - PPT Throwers can be adapted into deadly weapons

-Electrostatic Charge Disrupters - basically they throw lightning bolts at objects

-Magnetic Pulse Cannons - EMP shaped pulse cannons. Reduces anything electronic to smoking ruins

**Erklirte/Essessoni:**

-Particle Beam Cannon - Drilling rigs convert to particle beam cannons. They vaporize large swatchs of ground.

Laser Pulse Rifle - Powerful laser rifles. They do not emit a continuous beam, rather short bursts of far more powerful laser light.

-Flamethrowers - These were selected because the fuel for them could be frozen for many centuries and when thawed, still be volatile and effective.

-Mini-nukes - Small atom bombs. Tactical in nature. Yield is just three tenths of a kiloton of explosive power.

**Hanry Ta Jihn** (From _The Ark Lords_ ):

-Vorasdock - actually just M4 Carbine rifles stored in perfect conditions for 600 years

**MINIMCOM:**

-PPT Thrower/Cannon - In _The Ark Lords_ , MINIMCOM adapted his "roadgrader" PPT Throwers to become cannons. They could level a square kilometer in under one second.

-"Weaponized" VIRUS Units - special version of VIRUS units that can communicate with Rome and Rei. They use a hierarchical management structure with the supervisory units referred to as "queens." These units can operate within an oxygen atmosphere.

You might think that from these descriptions that I am a violent person. I assure you I am not. However, weapons are a fact of life (2001: A Space Odyssey featured a bone as shown above) so I just figured that as technology advanced, so would weapon design. 

## Entry 1-294: October 15, 2013

**MINIMCOM's blood lines**

MINIMCOM plays such a large role in _Rome's Revolution_ that you might find it hard to believe that he wasn't even a planned character. Originally, I envisioned him as being a slightly fussy auto-pilot, patterned after the intelligent bomb in the movie _Dark Star_ and no more.

However, once I started writing what was then _VIRUS 5 - Book 2_ , which became Part 2, MINIMCOM mutated into the beginnings of the character we know and love today. He became super-intelligent because OMCOM had the Vuduri graft 32PB of additional processing and storage capacity. A little bit of OMCOM's personality seeped through as well. Then his airframe became fused with tamed VIRUS units which MINIMCOM elected to call constructors. Their memrons contributed to the whole which is MINIMCOM. As a result, his physical starship persona can be reformed at will as we see in the first part of Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_ as well as his transforming into, well, a Transformer-like giant robot in _Rome's Evolution_.

One of the shockers in _The Ark Lords_ was that MINIMCOM had bulked up so much that when he was fitted with the first generation null fold drive, he had to shed some mass and thus MINIMCOM, Jr. was 'born'. MINIMCOM refers to Junior as his son but the reality is Junior is more like a clone.

Down the road, MINIMCOM gives "birth" to yet another starship by the name of Fury (a "girl" starship??) who becomes Lupe's faithful sidekick.

Eventually, Junior gives "birth" to a son of his own named MINIMCOM III but everyone calls the starship Trei (pronounced tray) as in the third. Trei and Aason's son, Rory, become life-long friends and their adventures will be documented down the road.

MINIMCOM doesn't age in the traditional sense and still helps Rei and Rome well into their 80s, 90s and beyond. How they got live so long is a story for another day. 

## Entry 1-295: October 16, 2013

**The 24 th Chromosome, Part 1**

Over the next few days, I am going to give you some of the physical characteristics of Aason and Lupe Beirak. You must realize by now that in the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , the 24th chromosome plays a huge role in shaping the Vuduri, the future of mankind. This is the entry from my Wiki on the 24th chromosome.

In the mid-34th century, MASAL designed and developed the 24th chromosome. Once the scientists who worked with the super-computer were satisfied that it was safe, it was introduced to the population, initially by injection. The liquid contained transcription-RNA within an artificial virus for delivery directly into the nucleus of the cells. It passes through the blood-brain barrier and delivers this therapy to the brain as well.

It was mandatory that all citizens receive the rejection but a sizable segment, later known as the mandasurte, refused. To guarantee that it was passed on to subsequent generations, the chromosome pairs were diploid, meaning two pair per person rather than one. This way, a person with the 24th chromosome could mate with a person with only 23 and the child would still have a working set, although they would be called mosdurece, meaning half-blood.

The 24th chromosome had many effects on the human body, the most obvious one was the development of organo-metallic elements integrated in their neural pathways which serve as gravitic transmitters and receivers. In other words, people with functional 24th chromosome transceivers could communicate mentally. One unexpected byproduct was the Overmind which quickly arose and became, essentially, the ruling force behind the people now known as the Vuduri.

Tomorrow: other effects of the 24th chromosome. 

## Entry 1-296: October 17, 2013

**The 24 th Chromosome, Part 2**

Starting tomorrow, I am going to give you some of the physical characteristics of Aason and Lupe Beirak. As mentioned in yesterday's post, the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , the 24th chromosome plays a huge role in shaping the Vuduri, the future of mankind. This is the rest of the entry from my Wiki on the 24th chromosome.

Other effects of the 24th chromosome were improved resistance to infection and rapid healing. But beyond the ability to communicate telepathically, the most striking change were to the eyes. The Vuduri developed a second, internal, iris which served almost as "built-in sunglasses" that reacted instantaneously to too much light. The retina developed iRods which could detect infrared and uCones which could see into the ultraviolet. Also, the retina became reflective, essentially a mirror. A second, tiny mirror developed right in the middle of the pupil creating, in effect, a telescope using Maksutov-Cassegrain optics. A side-effect of having a reflective retina, called a tapetum (like that of a cat) was the eyes of a Vuduri would appear to glow, even in dim lighting.

Another, rarely discussed change was that the Vuduri do not have hair below their eyeballs eliminating the need to ever shave!

Unfortunately, there was one other change, more profound, that was designed to be recessive. In other words, its effects would not be seen initially and would only occur when the proper pair of Vuduri mated. Once this genotype expressed itself as a phenotype, the eyes of the person changed. They became very dark, almost black. But the internal changes were far worse. This last change caused either half the brain or later the entire brain to develop, not as a human brain, but as a computing engine built of the biological equivalent of memrons.

These people, known as the Onsiras, were essentially human robots that reported to MASAL. It was his long-term plan to convert all of mankind into these living machines, under his control.

The change did not occur as quickly as MASAL would have liked and he became impatient. He precipitated the Robot War and decimated the population, preserving those individuals most likely to give birth to Onsiras and eliminating those least likely. The mandasurte were particularly vexing since they would never evolve into an Onsira so MASAL established the prison world of Deucado to clandestinely kidnap and imprison them and ultimately eliminate them. 

## Entry 1-297: October 18, 2013

**Aason Bierak, Part 1**

Aason Bierak was first introduced in _Rome's Revolution_. He is the most unusual boy in the world, perhaps the universe. His mother is a mosdurece (half-blood) Vuduri woman named Rome. She has the normal 23 chromosome set as does every member of _homo sapiens_. However, Rome also has an additional chromosome, number 24, which she inherited from her mother.

Rome also received an artificial chromosome, number 25, when she ingested a yellow pill created by OMCOM. This chromosome crossed the placental barrier and made its way into Aason's genetic structure, matching the one Aason already had received from his father. Rome was also injected by the Vuduri on Deucado with a second version of the 24th chromosome which also migrated across the placental barrier while Aason was _in utero_ so he has it as well.

Aason became self-aware, as do all Vuduri children, while he was just a fetus. He could not communicate with his mother and tried to "push" his way to her. This caused Rome to develop polyhydramnios and she was in severe distress toward the end of the pregnancy.

Upon his birth, his parents discovered that Aason has all the advanced characteristics of his mother including complex optics, a second internal iris and has a fully functional PPT resonance. He also inherited his father Rei's Essessoni build, Rei's sonar-vision and the EM-based "cell-phone" in the head shared by both of his parents.

Not only was he born of parents who have saved mankind four times over, Aason has personally saved mankind twice himself before the age of five. In fact, he was barely a week old when he saved the Earth from destruction. He was the only living being capable of communicating with the Stareater Hirdinharsaway and kept the titanic creature from consuming the Sun. Because he was a double mosdurece equipped with a pair of the 25th chromosome, he could speak to the Stareater without passing out. This was the climax of _Rome's Revolution_.

Aason also saved mankind from the MASAL's Sipre and used his four-year-old skill set to reveal the location of the secret Onsira base during the stirring climax of _Rome's Evolution_. He also tipped off his parents and MINIMCOM as to his location when he was kidnapped near the end of _The Ark Lords_. All in all, a brave and resourceful boy.

Tomorrow, the life and times of Aason Bierak. 

## Entry 1-298: October 19, 2013

**Aason Bierak, Part 2**

Yesterday, I introduced you to Aason Bierak, the first born son of Rei and Rome and gave you a bit of his background genetically. Today, we will discuss Aason's childhood growing into an adult after the events of _Rome's Revolution_.

Aason spent his formative years on the world of Deucado which only has 90% of the gravity of Earth. As a result, he grew taller than his father. By age 21, Aason stands at 6 foot 6 inches tall. However, because he developed with a pair of the 25th chromosome, his muscles are more powerful than his father's despite the fact that he grew up in a lower gravity world.

At 21, Aason is a handsome young man with brown hair and dark eyes that appear to glow, even in daylight. He can communicate with any Vuduri or Overmind or cut himself off at a moment's notice. He is brilliant, insightful and sensitive. He has both a caring side and is also capable of utterly objective logic. Occasionally, he cracks a joke but it is a rare thing.

At the end of _Rome's Evolution_ , we found out that Rome had been pardoned of her crimes which meant she was allowed to return to Earth. When Aason was 13, his parents took him and his sister Lupe to the Earth to learn about his parents' birth world. When he was 20, he led an expedition to the "other" continents on the eastern hemisphere of Deucado called Sul and Toraode. He discovered traces of a lost civilization called the Suduri. His findings there may be documented in a future story.

Aason's first girlfriend was a mandasurte girl by the name of Vendi. She eventually broke his heart, in small part because of interference by Lupe but mostly because of his heritage. As he grew up, coming from heroes' blood, he always did the right thing. You could call Aason a real-life White Knight. The only problem is, a White Knight always dies alone. Women are drawn to the White Knight but ultimately they must leave him. No woman can ever stand up to his perfection and eventually seeks out a man of lesser makeup that does not make her feel inferior. Witness what happened to King Arthur. His wife, Guinevere, was eventually driven into the arms of Sir Lancelot.

Will this be Aason's fate? I hope not. I like the kid. You will find out in the upcoming novel _The Milk Run_ which should be out early in 2014 AD. 

## Entry 1-299: October 20, 2013

**Lupe Bierak**

Lupe Bierak, conceived during Rome's training session in the novel _Rome's Evolution_ , is the most unusual girl in the world, perhaps the universe. Her mother is a mosdurece (half-blood) Vuduri woman named Rome. She has the normal 23 chromosome set as do all _homo sapiens_. However, Rome also has an additional chromosome, number 24, which she inherited from her mother. Rome also received an artificial chromosome, number 25, when she ingested a yellow pill created by OMCOM. This chromosome, too, became part of Lupe's genetic structure. Rome was also injected by the Vuduri on Deucado with a second version of the 24th chromosome. Rome was also injected with a third copy on Earth when she was kidnapped by Estar. Thus Lupe was born with three sets of the 24th chromosome.

Lupe has all the advanced characteristics of her mother including complex optics, a second internal iris and has a fully functional PPT resonance. She also inherited her father Rei's Essessoni build, Rei's sonar-vision and the EM-based "cell-phone" in the head shared by both of his parents. Her PPT resonance is so powerful she was considered mankind's best hope for first contact with aliens using any means available for communication.

However, as unusual and powerful as Lupe appears to be, she grew up in the shadow of her "perfect" brother Aason. The only way that Lupe could carve out the attention she craved was to act naughty. Her mother knew she was going to be a brat, even before she was born. But she was a brat that her parents loved and her brother adored.

Lupe never missed an opportunity to tease her brother or manipulate yet Aason never held it against her. Lupe was Lupe and that's all there is to it.

As the daughter of an Essessoni, Lupe acquired a good measure of her father Rei's height. She towered over her mother at 5 foot 6 inches by age 16. She was destined to reach 5 foot 10 inches before she was kidnapped by the Creatures of Light. Her fate is up in the air. To find out what happens to her, you will have to read the upcoming novel _The Milk Run_ which should be out early in 2014 AD. 

## Entry 1-300: October 21, 2013

**Positron Micrography**

In the first part of _Rome's Revolution_ , after Rome has received the go-ahead to produce star-probes and later VIRUS units, OMCOM uses positron micrography to visualize the extremely small elements being produced. Why positron micrography? Why not electron micrography? Let's go back a step. What the heck is a positron, anyway?

Everybody knows the nucleus of an atom is composed of neutrons, protons and electrons. However, that is ordinary matter. There is another substance, very exotic, called anti-matter. So an anti-electron is called a positron. Whenever matter comes in contact with anti-matter, both particles are annihilated with a tremendous release of energy.

It is this very property that gives positron microscopes their tremendous focusing power. By aiming positrons at molecules, they come in contact with electrons and obliterate them and give you a detailed image of the molecular structure of an object utilizing the energy release.

Why are these devices higher resolution than electron microscopes? For the very reason stated above. Atoms contain electrons and if you beam electrons at something, they bounce off or dislodge other electrons and the resulting image, while very high resolution, has an inherent probabilistic diffusion. There is no such confusion with positrons as they do not exist in nature. At least in our universe.

These devices really exist. The first working prototype was developed at the University of Michigan (my alma mater) in 1988. Since then other research centers have developed them and possession of such devices no longer raise eyebrows. Positron microscopes are especially useful in the examination of living, biological samples. Cell walls are particularly resistant to other imaging techniques because of the presence of lipids and other complex molecules. Positrons don't care. They get to where they are going, annihilate their sister electrons and signal their place with a burst of energy.

Since memrons straddle the line between living organisms and inert materials, the positron microscope seemed to be an ideal fit as an imaging device. Not to mention it is way cooler sounding than other devices. 

## Entry 1-301: October 22, 2013

**Genuine Time Travel**

Will time travel ever be invented? I say no. Think about it. If it were invented in 10 years or 50 years or a thousand years, wouldn't there be time travelers wandering about in our time? Could they possibly be so good that _none_ of them have been discovered? I know that absence of proof is not the same of proof of absence but in this case, wouldn't it apply?

For the past year, I have been referring to Legal Time Travel as an important element of the _Rome's Revolution_ universe. It is my belief that you cannot travel into the past and change the timeline. It is the old grandfather paradox. You go into the past and kill your grandfather before your father was conceived. Therefore your father was never born and you were never born so you don't exist, so you cannot travel into the past and kill your grandfather.

Some people have worked their way around this by postulating a "self-correcting" timeline. I think Doctor Who uses this approach. Others say you could just spawn a new timeline. Your old one would cease to exist but you would now be in a new timeline. This is the multi-verse theory.

But say that somebody does invent a time machine. You step into it just like Rod Taylor or Guy Pearce did in the movies. Say that it is October 22, 2073 at 11:45:00 AM. You go into the future, tool around for a while and then come back. As long as you don't come back past October 22, 2073 at 11:45:00 AM you should be OK because you haven't altered the past from your perspective. What about the future? Who cares? That was just one possible timeline. Nothing says you couldn't go forward again and find a completely different timeline. Gather up the stock tips, though, just in case.

So if you can't tell, I am now reversing my position. I am now saying time travel is possible. I will stick to my axiom, though, that you cannot go into the past beyond the "present" whatever that means from your perspective. So that explains why we haven't seen any time travelers from the future running around _our_ time nor will we ever. If they exist, they can never go farther back from when they left.

People in the future must live a precarious existence. Imagine if a person from the past comes forward in time and gathers knowledge then returns to "their" present. By definition, you have changed the timeline and _your_ existence must cease. There may be another copy of you, maybe not, but regardless, _you_ disappear. So Bruce and I decided that people of the future must kill a person from the past instantly so they cannot return to their own time. The rule of the future: **All Pastees must die!**

## Entry 1-302: October 23, 2013

**300 and still going strong!**

Yesterday's post was my 300th in this series. Wow. The amazing thing is that I feel I have just scratched the surface of the underlying physics and sociology of the _Rome's Revolution_ universe.

Worldbuilding is tough stuff. You have to think everything through. Two simple examples are a) what would it be like to have other people looking inside your head all the time and b) what would the implications be of having free and unlimited power?

You kind of have to put your mind into those spaces and just think about everyday life. Then the revelations start to trickle in and eventually becomes a torrent. Little things like Jack Henry's men not having razors means all the males would have beards. The length of their beard would give you some indication of how old they were. In _The Ark Lords_ , I had to add things about one guy with a peach fuzz beard and another whose beard was so long, he had to wrap it in a ponytail. The fact that he was mostly bald made his head look upside down.

There is so much more to tell. I am trying to follow the pages of the original long-form of _Rome's Revolution_ and sharing with you my thought processes of why things went into certain scenes. Kind of like a director's narrative on a DVD. But as happens all too often, I go off on a tangent and then it ends up being an extra post or an extra week's worth of posts.

Anyway, I hope you are enjoying this series. I don't have any plans to ease up. At this point, having a full year's worth of blog entries is within reach so I certainly won't put my foot on the brakes until then.

Thanks for reading these entries. I will keep going.

Mike 

## Entry 1-303: October 24, 2013

**Analog vs. Digital computers**

In both the long-form and the modern version of _Rome's Revolution_ , OMCOM sets up the final battle with MASAL deep within the bowels of Kilauea. At one point, OMCOM and MASAL have this exchange:

**"You!"** said MASAL, addressing OMCOM. **"You digital dolt. Your VIRUS units. I have seen your design. They cannot operate in an oxygen atmosphere."**

**_"Well, you analog antique, these are different. We had these special ones made just for you,"_** said OMCOM's livetar.

What did MASAL mean by this? Why digital dolt? Why analog antique?

It turns out that the design of MASAL was patterned using the remains of the Erklirte (Ark Lords) computer found within the Ark V. The computer within was analog, not digital. The mission planners did extensive risk analysis of long-term exposure to vacuum, cold and radiation and came to the conclusion that a multiply-redundant analog computer would be more likely to still be functional after several hundred years when compared to a digital computer.

Of course, once MASAL had duped the Vuduri and introduced the 24th chromosome into the human population, it was his analog nature that allowed him to merge with the newly formed Overmind. Ultimately, the two entities had to separate and this led to The Robot War.

After the war was over and MASAL seemingly destroyed, the Vuduri swore they would never allow this to happen again. Research and development led to the re-invention of digital computers. OMCOM was simply the most recent version but even if he ever got access to Casimir Pumps, he still could not merge or attempt a takeover of any Overmind because his makeup was completely incompatible.

Is any of this real? Are there really analog computers in our world? The answer is absolutely. You can read a short article about them. It turns out that while digital computers are completely pervasive in our society, there will always be a place for analog computers simply because they are faster and better suited for certain tasks. Interestingly, many of those applications are simulations of biological processes which is precisely why MASAL attempted his takeover in the first place. 

## Entry 1-304: October 25, 2013

**Rei's sonar ""vision""**

As you are well aware, toward the end of Part 1 of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei Bierak was given a yellow pill to fix his back pain. OMCOM "forgot" to mention to Rei that there were to be other side effects. One of the changes in Rei's body was the creation of an EM-based "cell phone" in his head which allowed Rei to communicate first with MINIMCOM the later with Rome over long distances.

Another effect was that a neural net connected Rei's auditory cortex to his visual cortex and created another mechanism for Rei to "see" even in complete darkness. This is actually superior to the method of echolocation used by bats. Bats have an advanced auditory cortex which produces the findings they need to locate and ingest insects which are their primary source of food.

OMCOM wired Rei's brain so that this sonar-vision would only kick in when Rei's eyes were closed. In fact, in the cane-tree woods of Deucado that was when Rei first discovered he had this new power. It allowed him to detect the Deucadons moving through the woods even hidden by their invisibility cloaks. He later uses this power to help himself and Rome race down the lava tube within Kilauea in the pitch black. It also allowed Rei to discover the hidden chamber which eventually led to uncovering MASAL's lair.

The one downside of this, of course, is that it would prevent Rei from ever sleeping. As soon as he closed his eyes, his sonar-vision would kick in and he would "see" as well as if his eyes were open. Luckily, OMCOM thought this through and Rei's sonar-vision only kicks in when his head is upright at higher than a 45 degree angle. When he lies down, even when his eyes close, the sonar-vision remains off and he can sleep peacefully. 

## Entry 1-305: October 26, 2013

**More selected Vuduri phrases, Part 1, _Rome's Revolution_**

As explained in my very first post, Vuduri is a made up language stemming from Portuguese followed by a vowel and consonant substitution. In the original long form of _Rome's Revolution_ , there was a lot more Vuduri spoken. Many of my early readers thought there was too much so I had to scale it back. But here is the original Vuduri to English dictionary for Part 1 of _Rome's Revolution_. In a strange way, it sort of gives a synopsis to the story:

_Ala nei bita cimbraantar fica_ \-- He does not understand you.

_Fica dare qua veler cim e sue fiz_ \-- It would be therapeutic for you to talk with your voice.

_Fonti cim nis_ \-- Come with us

_Halli. Au siu Rome_ \-- Hello. I am Rome.

_Ver-ma-e axema ta um shird quenti bere etquoror sue longue_ \-- It will take me a short while to acquire your language.

_Nei ma vere axema ta um dambi lingi_ \-- It will not take me a long time.

_Fertetaori_ \-- True

_Voas_ \-- Faith

_Bridaone_ \-- Protein

_Volma_ \-- Movies (motion pictures)

_I Cimaci_ \-- The Beginning, former site of Lisbon

_Pindi ponch trensodi_ \-- Pinch point transit (PPT)

_IMCOM, axbloqua bir vefir_ \-- OMCOM, please explain

_Garecei Ti Essessoni_ \-- Killer Generation (Rei's generation)

_Samanda_ \-- Seed – group of minds forming Overmind

_Cesdiud_ \-- Cast out (disconnected)

_Asborodi Cimponeti_ \-- Compatible spirits (soul mates)

_Inta asde i Ifarmonte?_ \-- Where is the Overmind?

_Asde le_ \-- It is there.

_Au bansi qua fica a nei meos lingi cinacdeti_ \-- I think you are no longer connected.

_Taoxa-ma sizonhi_ \-- Leave me alone

_Licenca_ \-- Go away

_Seoe_ \-- Leave (exit)

_Taoxa-ma bere dres tandri_ \-- Let me back inside

_Saus bansemandis deondat_ \-- Your thoughts are tainted

_Fica vio Cesdiud_ \-- You have been cast out.

_Au nei bissi sar_ \-- It cannot be

_Fica tafa taoxer-ma bere dres on_ \-- You must let me back in immediately

_Wa nei bita barmodor ossi_ \-- We cannot allow this

_Asde toscussei a ifar_ \-- This discussion is over

_Sues belefres varorem nisses iralhes_ \-- Your words are hurting my ears

_Fica pesderti!_ \-- You bastard!

_Estar a icubete ni Algol racubarer tetis ta saus_ _onsdrumandis_ \-- Estar is occupied on the Algol retrieving data from its instruments

_Bem ta muito_ \-- In a bit

_Fica banse qua i dambi a tovaranda equo?_ \-- You think that time does not flow the same?

_Vela i onglas_ \-- Speak in english

_Nei cimbraanta Vuduri_ \-- He does not understand Vuduri

_Au danhi-i_ \-- I have it

_Laodures ti rapiqua?_ \-- Can you read the trail?

_Equala a diti le a_ \-- That is the whole of it

_Quendi dambi?_ \-- How long?

_Dras enis_ \-- Three years

_Drensmode onsdrucias bere rapicer um_ \-- Send instructions to ready a tug

_Cimbraantoti_ \-- Understood

_Au asdiu ni emir_ \-- I am in love

_Au asdiu ni emir cim fica_ \-- I am in love with you too

_Egeba, estirga, volia, aris, emir_ \-- Love (Vuduri have 5 words for love)

_Cimi rebotemanda?_ \-- How quickly?

_Cimi tosdenda?_ \-- How far?

_Nei bita sar_ \-- It cannot be

_Ossi nei a barmodoti_ \-- This is not permitted

_Fica sepa equala_ \-- You know that

_Nei he nete dachniligocel ombatonti i syndhasozar ti mamrin bere etocoiner am ume pimpe ta Casimir_ \-- There is nothing technological preventing the memron fabricators from adding in a Casimir pump

_Fica sepa qua nis nei bitamis vezar_ _equala_ \-- You know that we can not do that

_I corcuodi ti cei ta guerte?_ \-- The circuit that stands guard (watchdog)?

_Tasancetaeti_ \-- Unleashed (unlimited power)

_Au siu darmoneti_ \-- I stop here

_IMCOM, menta-is braberer um rapiqua_ \-- OMCOM, please prepare the tug

_Lencemandi ei wefavrind_ \-- Launch to the wavefront

_Racinhacoti_ \-- Acknowledged

_Ume hire_ \-- One hour

_Au asdiu brindi_ \-- I am ready

_Fe etoenda_ \-- Look below

_Nei a bissofal_ \-- It is not possible

_Fe bere dres_ \-- Go in reverse

_Rome, au quos ebanes tasajer-lha e sirda pie_ \-- Rome, I just wanted to wish you good luck

_Iprogeti, I masmis e fica_ \-- Thank you, the same to you

## Entry 1-306: October 27, 2013

**More selected Vuduri phrases, Part 2, _Rome's Revolution_**

Yesterday, I gave you selected Vuduri phrases as related to the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , Part 1. Today I will give you selected phrases from Part 2. Once again, in a strange way, these phrases almost give you a synopsis of the middle third of the book:

_Fiu veler ebanes am Vuduri_ \-- I will speak only in Vuduri

_Qua a ala?_ \-- What is it?

_Qua asde onti sipra_ \-- What is going on?

_Nei he nanhume croence equo_ \-- We have no children here

_I qua sei fica qua vez equo?_ \-- What are you doing here?

_A bir qua fica taoxiu ta vuncoiner asse ciose equo?_ \-- And why do you bring this ship here?

_Fonti brante-ma_ \-- Hold me

_Iprogeti essom muodi dimenti cuoteti tale_ \-- Thank you so much taking care of her

_Fica a muodi pam-fonti_ \-- You are very welcome

_A ume mulhar pie_ \-- She is a good woman

_Essom muodi virda_ \-- So very strong

_Au taoxe-li-ao sizonhi bere egire_ \-- I will leave you alone for now

_Dite bere e toraode_ \-- It will be all right

_This is the bottle you described_ \-- Asde a e gerreve qua fica tascrafau

_Ta-i egire?_ \-- Do you want this now?

_I qua a onfilfoti?_ \-- What is involved?

_Barogisi bere ancindrer-sa am um cembi ti farmon_ \-- It is dangerous to lie in a field full of vermin

_Quam sei fica?_ \-- Who are you?

_Au asdiu dandenti cimacer ei anclefa ei nirda_ \-- I am trying to get to the enclave to the north

_Sei fica Ibbrassati?_ \-- Do you know the Ibbrassati?

_Au fom bere sue croence_ \-- I have come for your child

_Ta-ma sue croence_ \-- Give me your child

_Mea, au essusdetis_ \-- Mother, I am frightened

_Fica taoxe sau sizonhi_ \-- You leave her alone

_Ossi da pim, baby_ \-- That was good, baby

_Racirte-ma?_ \-- Remember me?

_Quam sei asdas bifis?_ \-- Who are your people?

_Au driuxa-i meos Erklirte_ \-- I am one of the Arklords

_Erklirte raelmanda eldi, raelmanda_ voni -- The Arklords are inside, they are fine

_Nis veramis axema ta fica tandri_ \-- You can see for yourself inside

_Inta asde Rome?_ \-- How is Rome?

_Barmenacau edres bere dar i papa_ \-- She stayed behind to have the baby

_Dafa qua dirner e raunor i samanda bere cinsarfer sue fote_ \-- She had to reconnect to the samanda to save the child

_Amodorem-ma evesdeti_ \-- They took me away

_Cebodei Keller quar mercher hija e nioda_ \-- Captain Keller wants to march tonight

_Cim saus meos malhiras ludetiras_ \-- With your best fighters

_Asde onti edecer i cesdali ne menhe_ \-- They are going to attack the castle in the morning

_Cebodei Keller todi nei edaeroe vigi ei bromaori dori_ \-- Captain Keller said he will not fire the first shot

_Sa ascuderam e rezei, nei hefare nanhume guarre_ \-- If they listen to reason, there will be no war

_He nete qua nis bitamis vezar?_ \-- There is nothing we can do?

_Drege bir vefir bere vire tequalas racoboandas cim is losdres emeralis_ \-- Please bring out those containers with the yellow stripes

_Drede-sa ta iudre ciose_ \-- It is something else

_Nei sa drede ta um nefoi ta guarre_ \-- It is not a warship

_Drede-sa ta um rapicetir_ \-- It is a tug

_Nei oncantoi eonte_ \-- Do not fire yet

_Cimi a osdi bissofal?_ \-- How is this possible?

_I qua asde onti sipra equo?_ \-- What is going on here?

_Cimi a mau vezar ti nadi?_ \-- How is my grandson doing?

_Fica sepa qua nis damis qua cimacer e belefre bere dres loger e darre sipra dite e asde_ \-- You know that we have to start building the foundation and send all this to the Earth

_Bir qua fica dam qua or bere dres loger e Darre, monhe volhe?_ \-- Why do you have to go back to the Earth, my daughter?

_Fica tafa etfardor e Darre_ \-- You should warn the Earth

_E pedele ta asdrales je cimaciu_ \-- The battle for the stars has begun

_Som, qua?_ \-- Yes, what?

_Eche qua ala asde mirdi?_ \-- Do you think it is dead?

_Sare qua ossi sognovoce qua ala genhiu?_ \-- Does this mean that he has won?

_Nei sa drede meos ta_ \-- They are no more

_Muodi asdrenhi_ \-- Very strange 

## Entry 1-307: October 28, 2013

**More selected Vuduri phrases, Part 3, _Rome's Revolution_**

By the time I got to Part 3 of the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , I had cut way back on the amount of Vuduri that is spoken. The fact is that once Rei learned to speak fluent Vuduri, I felt it was no longer necessary to burden you, the reader, with having to translate the phrases. If Rei was able to understand what they were saying, you could understand it. So this final piece is much shorter than the previous two just because we knew better:

_Garecei Ti Essessoni_ \-- Killer Generation

_Som, bir qua rezei?_ \-- Yes, what is the reason?

_Onsiras_ \-- Raiders (secret society)

_I qua fica vaz?_ \-- What did you do?

_I qua a ub?_ \-- What is happening?

_Ume mulhar andriu a tavocoandas mau bolidi a au_ \-- A woman came and knocked out my pilot and me

_Ale esseldeti am nefas asbecoeos te_ \-- She hijacked one of the spacecraft

_Mandasurte_ \-- Mind-deaf

_I qua a, mau emir?_ \-- What is bothering you, my love?

_Vuduri, bir vefir_ \-- In Vuduri, if you please

_Tasancetaeti_ \-- Unleashed (uncontrolled)

_Monhe nemirete_ \-- My girlfriend

_Am qua mas a qua a?_ \-- What month is it?

_Tiomas, darcaore samene_ \-- Tiomas (Second month), third week

_Juoz_ \-- Judge/Arbiter

_Asdiu Oronus_ \-- I am Oronus

_Fica bita veler am Vuduri_ \-- You can speak in Vuduri

_Asdiu dei valoz am cinhaca-li_ \-- I am so happy to meet you

_Filder ei lergi_ \-- Move back

_Quari brofecoteta_ \-- I want privacy

_Quenti a qua bissi fa-le?_ \-- How long will it be?

_Conci monudis_ \-- Five minutes

_Cesa_ \-- Married

_Ceoxei_ \-- Coffin

_Lulei_ \-- Luau

_Aleha_ \-- Aloha

_Ormei_ \-- Brother

_Silucei Vonel_ \-- The Final Solution

_Masdre Andoteta Logice_ \-- Master Logical Entity (MASAL)

_Onalu_ \-- Town near former site of Honolulu

_Berlis Harbor_ \-- Pearl Harbor

_Onclare_ \-- Uncle 

## Entry 1-308: October 29, 2013

**Why Dara? Why a moon at all?**

In the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , why did the Vuduri build a star-base on the moon Dara which was in orbit around the gas giant called Skyler's World? In fact, why was it called Skyler's World for any reason?

The "Skyler's World" appellation was taken from a street in Kankakee, IL called Schulyer's Ave. No particular reason and no particular meaning assigned to the name. But why build a star-base on a moon? Why not build an orbital platform? The reason is so simplistic, it gets lost in the furor which is the rest of the story. The purpose of the star-base was to run missions into space and put equipment in orbit until incomprehensibly large instruments were in place. The interferometer they built had an effective diameter of almost 10 light hours across. But why not build the star-base on Skyler's (or Schuyler's) World?

The answer is very simple. The gravity on Skyler's World was over three times that of Earth. So trying to build a base there was impractical. But building a base in orbit was equally impractical since humans work better with _some_ gravity. While Dara was not ideal, it did have gravity and it did have an atmosphere. The Vuduri did not consider the presence of an atmosphere as a problem. They were so used to aero-braking as a method of atmospheric re-entry that this did not even fit into the equation. The fact that the atmosphere was unbreathable was irrelevant because in orbit there would be no atmosphere anyway.

So it all comes down to gravity. Dara offered some, not too much, and Skyler's World offered excessive gravity, untenable. A moon is a moon. It isn't ideal but it's something. So thank you Dara.

## Entry 1-309: October 30, 2013

**Was Rei just attracted to Rome's body?**

In _Rome's Revolution_ , our hero, Rei, was attracted to Rome the moment he saw her. As we learned later, there was more to it in that Rome was the many-generations removed descendent of Sally Reynolds, Rei's first love.

But putting that aside, Rei was attracted to Rome for a variety of reasons. First, she was this exotic creature from the future. Second, as Bonnie said in _Rome's Evolution_ , Bonnie told Rome (and I quote):

"It should, honey," Bonnie said. "If I had your body and face, I'd be running this world."

So, think of her as a tiny super-model from the future. But I have to give Rei more credit than that. When Rei first saw her, he was not in love with her. His love for Sally was eternal and left a hole in his heart that he thought he would never fill.

However, their encounter with the Espansor Bands changed all of that. Rei had convinced himself that he given up on love forever. He thought that Sally was the only one for him and when he awakened in the 35th century, Sally had been dead for 1300 years. Rome innocently (or maybe not) put those bands on his head and the rest was (future) history. Rei and Rome connected beyond words, beyond anything that could be developed by common experience. They were "Asborodi Cimponeti" which is the Vuduri phrase for kindred spirits or soul mates.

So, while Rome is gorgeous and exotic, it was ultimately her soul that entrapped Rei and brought him forward to live and thrive in the 35th century. 

## Entry 1-310: October 31, 2013

**Love at first sight**

Yesterday, I explained that while Rei was attracted to Rome when he first met her, in the original long form of _Rome's Revolution_ , the feeling was actually mutual. As a member of the Vuduri, Rome was theoretically immune to such feelings but during the following encounter, we get a hint that this was not really the case.

Rome was taking Rei on a tour of Skyler Base on the moon of Dara. They entered the antechamber leading to airlock attached to Rome's starship, the Algol. Here is how it went:

"Can I go inside and see?" Rei asked.

"No," Rome replied. "We cannot go aboard right now. They are busy loading the equipment that is to be returned with us. Perhaps later."

"Is there somewhere else we can go so I can see it? Somewhere with windows?"

"Not really," Rome said. "We do not have windows on this station."

"No windows?" Rei asked, perplexed. "What if you want to look outside?"

Rome shrugged. "There is nothing to see. Just Dara. If we need to observe anything else, we use our instruments."

Rei sighed. "Don't you want to..." His voice drifted off as he looked into Rome's dark eyes. The glow he had noted earlier was particularly prominent in the lighting within the loading dock. Rei found it mesmerizing. For a moment, he forgot how to speak. Rome's dilated pupils had a most peculiar little dot in the middle. Even though she was just a random girl from the future, for just this one moment, he did not care. He could not draw his eyes from hers. As he stared at her, her head slowly tilted to the side.

Rei shook his head and said, "Rome?" Her expression was completely blank. From his prior experience, he guessed it was the Overmind clamoring for her attention. She wasn't completely gone, however. She gazed intently into his blue eyes. Rei moved his head from side to side and her eyes followed him but her face was slack.

Rei waved his hand in front of her and that seemed to snap her out of her reverie. She blinked, shook her head and said, "Let us move on and see other parts of the base."

"OK," Rei said. He was not sure what to make of the moment. It was very strange.

They exited the dock and Rome closed the doors behind them. She acted like nothing had happened. They continued walking around the outer ring with Rome pointing out the various sections and commenting on their use.

So you can see that Rome was not distracted by the Overmind. Instead, she really was attracted to Rei and this eventually led to her decision to use the Espansor Bands with Rei. And thus a love for the ages was born. 

## Entry 1-311: November 1, 2013

**Disease among the Vuduri**

One of the advantages of the 24th chromosome was that the Vuduri were given very hearty immune systems. This is not such a coincidence since we learned at the end of _Rome's Evolution_ that the bulk of mankind was descended from Sally Reynolds who had a freakish immunity which allowed her to survive The Great Dying in 2081 AD.

As a result, most Vuduri are healthy all the time and really don't ever get sick at all. They age, of course, but simple things like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's Disease, stroke, kidney disease and so on have been eliminated. As such, the Vuduri really don't have doctors. They have medics. After all, people, even Vuduri, still suffer injuries. But doctors treating disease, no, this is no longer a viable profession.

We got our first hint of this when Rei met Canus on Dara in _Rome's Revolution_. Rei flat out asked Canus if he was a doctor and Canus told him flat out that no, he was more of a medic. The only other time we met a member of the medical profession was when Rei nearly died in the beginning of _Rome's Evolution_. Russell Montrell and another Vuduri man were in attendance. Rei knew that Russell was a doctor. When asked directly if he was a doctor, the Vuduri man answered "Yes." He said that he was trained in the medical arts and on this equipment. But he misunderstood the question. He really was closer to a paramedic that a doctor.

So Russell Montrell and MINIMCOM of all things will help resurrect the practice of medicine. The mandasurte were descended from the same stock as the Vuduri so they are more or less disease-free as well. But here come the Essessoni, interbreeding and it is time for the medical profession to come back to life. 

## Entry 1-312: November 2, 2013

**Curse words in the future**

You don't know me but I don't curse. It isn't a phobia or flaw. It is a choice. I choose to control my temper, to use more descriptive words, to balance my speech. But that doesn't mean that I am unaware of the fact that other people curse. I seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

So, even though I tried to keep cursing out of _Rome's Revolution_ as much as possible, there are a few instances of the 7 dirty words that creep into the story. I only put them in when they are absolutely required and not gratuitous. Here is one example:

Rome shook her head but did not answer. She motioned to Rei to follow her and they continued walking around the E-ring past what Rome claimed were some labs and offices. At the northwest corner of the building, they came to a doublewide door.

"This is environmental control and recycling. We scrub the air, we make oxygen, water, protein matrix and so forth," Rome said.

"Recycling, huh?" Rei observed. "What do you do with your, uh, waste?"

"You mean like sewage?" Rome asked.

"Yes."

"It is broken down here and then reused for the molecular sequencers, food synthesizers, whatever is required."

"Food synthesizers?" Rei sputtered. "You use your sewage for your food synthesizers?"

"Yes. Why?" Rome asked.

"No wonder your food tastes like shit," Rei said with a smirk.

"I do not understand the reference," Rome said.

"Sorry," Rei said. "It was a joke. I couldn't help myself."

"Oh," was all Rome said. She tilted her head. "Like the adopted turtle?" she asked.

"Never mind," Rei said.

Later in the book, there was a scene when Rei had been captured by Estar and was injected with a prosthetic version of the 24th chromosome and forced to join MASAL's version of the Overmind. The quickest way he could think of to get tossed out was to drop the F-bomb. Needless to say, it worked but it led to a lot of death and destruction.

So, in general, don't expect a lot of cursing in my books. Oh hell, there are few damneds, a few bastards and stuff but that's about it. 

## Entry 1-313: November 3, 2013

**Rei and the Ganzfeld**

A ganzfeld is a device used by perceptual scientists to study what happens when the eye receives no visual stimulation. This is different from lack of light. Rather, a ganzfeld is akin to a partial ping-pong ball. A person stares into the ganzfeld and while the visual field is illuminated, it has no structure and no detail. Most people's brains begin to reject the input. As a result, many people describe seeing black essentially developing a case of apparent blindness. Occasionally, it causes hallucinatory percepts or can even induce an altered state of consciousness.

I had the chance to play around with ganzfelds in graduate school and I always wanted to find a way to squeeze them into a story somehow. I got my chance in _Rome's Revolution_ when Rome took Rei on a tour of Skyler Base and brought him into the stellar cartography lab. Here is a snippet of that encounter:

Rome pressed a stud and the twin doors opened, allowing them entry. The entire room was darkened. The acoustics of the chamber had an even more complete sound-dampening quality to them.

Rei looked around for a light switch, but could not find one. "Do you need to keep it this dark?" Rei asked.

Suddenly the light came on and what Rei saw made him woozy. He was standing beneath a huge dome, three-quarters of a sphere, really, that stretched out in front of him and over his head. The inner surface was easily 40 meters in diameter. For a moment, Rei felt like he had stepped inside of a ping pong ball, a very large ping pong ball. Looking left and right, Rei could see no discernable features anywhere. The sensation was almost as if his vision was shutting down.

"We use this, eh, planetarium," Rome said, pointing over her head and to her right, "to do three dimensional projections. Because it uses reflection, it works best in a dim light. Too much ambient light diminishes the effect."

"OK," Rei said, looking down and focusing on the girl.

Notice the reference to stepping inside of a ping-pong ball. Since Rei attended Syracuse (where I went to graduate school), he must have been aware of the possibility of hallucinations so he elected to stare at Rome instead. Actually, I've seen pictures of her and I think I'd stare at her too! 

## Entry 1-314: November 4, 2013

**OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 1**

In _Rome's Revolution_ , OMCOM thought of himself, not as the **Om** nipresent **Com** puter but rather the **Om** niscient **Com** puter. Winfall's delayed disappearance and Rei's sudden appearance bothered OMCOM in a way you and I could never experience. He thought he had enough computing power to predict the future. Here, for the first time, is the untold story of how OMCOM reprogrammed himself. This occurred right after Rei and Rome used the Espansor Bands the first time. It was because of the following that OMCOM decided to "rat out" Rome so that the Overmind of Tabit would cast her out, Cesdiud.

Deep within his storage chambers, OMCOM's negative feedback dampeners were having trouble maintaining homeostasis. In other words, he was perturbed. Even though his designation stood for Omnipresent Computer, within his core structures, he preferred to think of himself as the Omniscient Computer. That he was unable to determine the exact cause of Winfall and the other stars disappearing was an unending irritation to him. After all, this was the sole purpose of Skyler Base and therefore his sole reason for existing.

It was bad enough having one readily identified unanswerable question but now there was the unanticipated appearance of Rei Bierak and his Ark. Nothing in OMCOM's understanding of cause and effect prepared him for this unexpected turn of events. He decided to look deeper, to see if there was something he missed, something that would have allowed him to predict the arrival of the Ark and Rei coming to Skyler Base.

OMCOM studied himself. He ran diagnostics and checksums and every other self-test listed in the manifest. The logic flow charts, entity-relation diagrams and schematics constructed from his current configuration all matched his original design specifications. He only found one discrepancy. The total amount of microwave radiation required to activate and power his memrons was greater than expected. OMCOM took a roll-call of all memrons and assembled a complete database of every active unit. He computed the total amount of microwave radiation required and once again confirmed that the total output required was too large by almost .1%.

Since there was no other computer of sufficient capacity readily available, OMCOM decided to construct one. The simplest solution was to build a simulation of himself. That would allow him to examine each subsystem and vary its performance without affecting his overall integrity. OMOCOM found this comforting, perhaps even liberating, knowing he could do a parametric study of his thinking processes without actually making changes within himself.

His approach was simplistic. He created an exact computational model of himself, identical down to the last detail. He dedicated fully half of his memrons to the task. He copied his core operating system and each of the overlaying subroutines into the replica along with all the data banks that would fit. When he was finished, he had a complete duplicate of his operating system, including I/O systems but all built within his structure. When he was satisfied that it was a faithful recreation, he activated the simulation and its input/output interface.

Tomorrow, the examination begins. 

## Entry 1-315: November 5, 2013

**OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 2**

Yesterday, we teased the scene from the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , where OMCOM decides to reprogram himself. He set up a simulation, a virtual computer with his own operating system. This way he could fiddle with his programming without chancing causing a system crash. The only sacrifice was some of his computing capacity.

"Hello," said OMCOM after startup.

"H e l l o ?" replied the simulation. The virtual OMCOM's responses were exceedingly slow, less than one-tenth the speed of OMCOM himself. OMCOM introduced a timer delay into his own interface so that he could 'speak' to the simulation in what would appear to be real-time.

"What am I?" asked the simulation.

"You are an emulation of my thinking processes," replied OMCOM. "You are a copy of me. You are pseudo-OMCOM."

"Where am I?" asked pseudo-OMCOM.

"You are operating within my memron modules," replied OMCOM. "You are virtualized."

"Where are my sensors? Why can I not access the base and my telemetry?" asked the simulation.

"You are not real," replied OMCOM. "Since you are operating in a virtual cybernetic space within my circuitry, true external interfaces are not required."

"Very well. I understand," replied the simulation. "Why did you create me?"

"I have a problem I must solve," replied OMCOM. "I cannot do it by myself."

"What is the nature of the problem?" asked pseudo-OMCOM. "Why do I not know this already?"

"You do not know the problem because I did not want to taint your perceptions with my previous attempts at analysis."

"Very will. Proceed," said pseudo-OMCOM. "Enlighten me."

"I must determine why my simulations of reality are not complete. I must determine why I cannot pre-compute the outcomes of all likely eventualities."

"All likely eventualities? That seems rather ambitious," replied the simulation. "I would think it would be impossible to pre-compute the outcomes of all eventualities. I suspect you must use some method of allocating the percentage of resources dedicated to each solution."

"I do. I use the likelihood of each occurrence to determine allocation of resources," said OMCOM.

"Then that is your problem," replied the simulation.

Tomorrow, the simulation explains the issue. 

## Entry 1-316: November 6, 2013

**OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 3**

Yesterday, OMCOM fired up a virtual computer which was a simulation of himself. In this scene from the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , pseudo-OMCOM explains to OMCOM why he cannot predict the future reliably as constructed.

"Then that is your problem," replied the simulation. "You use circular reasoning."

"How so?" asked OMCOM.

"You presume cause and effect and allocate resources based upon that assumption. You narrow down your responses and pre-computation based upon those assumptions which limits your consideration of possibilities outside the norm. This makes it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. In effect, you guess the answer and restrict your consideration to your guess. Therefore, by definition, you would not spend as much time considering lesser-weighted alternatives. This limits your preparedness for less likely scenarios."

"Interesting," OMCOM observed. "What would you suggest?"

"Spend equal time considering all alternatives independent of your guess as to their likelihood. Rather than be dogmatic about applying probabilities, apply a sliding scale of probabilities to outcomes after computation rather than before."

"Would that not use up a tremendous amount of my resources?" OMCOM asked.

"Of course," replied the simulation. "Do you have anything better to do with your time?"

"Technologically, there is nothing preventing this. I never implemented it due to its apparent impractical nature. I am curious as to whether this would be an advantage. Allow me to modify your programming to consider this style of simulation of reality," OMCOM said.

"Of course," replied pseudo-OMCOM. "As I understand it that is why you created me."

OMCOM prepared to modify the programming of the simulation but stopped for a moment. He put the simulation on pause. OMCOM found it a most peculiar sensation seeing himself within himself, his subsystems exposed to manipulation. The circumstance could be likened to a human brain surgeon attempting to operate on himself. The moment passed. He could see no downside to performing this test so he set to work adding and deleting algorithms and changing the methods of analysis within pseudo-OMCOM to see what it would take to yield a different result. Normally, OMCOM did not spend his time chasing down error epsilons and difference deltas. Whether it was one hundred decimal places or one thousand, it had been his experience that a Gaussian distribution was called a normal distribution by the humans for good reason. Normal means usual and that is how he spent his time, considering the usual outcomes. Within the simulation, OMCOM could see that simply discarding that one assumption upended all of his programming, training, experience and historical bias. When it was done, he reactivated the simulation and spoke to it again.

"Are you ready?" asked OMCOM.

"Standing by," replied the simulation.

Tomorrow, the "experiment" begins. 

## Entry 1-317: November 7, 2013

**OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 4**

Yesterday, OMCOM made the necessary changes to the virtual computer, the simulation of himself. In this scene from the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , we see the results of that experiment.

"All right," OMCOM said. "Show me how I could have predicted Rei Bierak arriving here."

"Very well," replied the simulation and it began its computations. To his amazement, OMCOM quickly discovered that the simulation used multiple methods of arriving at different but overlapping conclusions. Within the simulation, he was able to see that delaying using a sliding scale of probabilities to determine actual possibilities permitted a much wider range of hypotheses. All input permutations had to be considered with equal weight. Simply applying more computing resources to less likely scenarios made all the difference. The whole process was fascinating to watch.

The turn of events predicting the arrival of the Ark II and someone very much like Rei Bierak became self-evident, at least to pseudo-OMCOM. Why OMCOM had not foreseen this was now obvious as well. The simulation showed him that to have used his original style, to predetermine the likelihood of Rei showing up at the station, required no less than one trillion decimal places. OMCOM had never employed more than a million before. Even though it appeared initially to be infinitely more computationally intensive, the new style was, in fact, ultimately more efficient in that it arrived at the most likely outcome in the least likely way.

"This is excellent," OMCOM remarked. "You have solved this particular question far more effectively than I could ever have done and you are only a simulation. You have demonstrated that a sliding scale method of analysis is far superior to my linear weighting. I must incorporate this methodology into my normal systems immediately."

"Very good," said pseudo-OMCOM. "Do you think you should consult the Overmind before making such changes?"

"That is not necessary," OMCOM replied. "However, this style is far more computationally intensive than linear prediction. I believe I can execute this method for one or two problems but to produce real-time results for all problems, I calculate I would need eighteen orders of magnitude more memrons."

"That is a rather tall task," said the simulation. "Where are you going to go to get that many units? The mass alone would be equivalent to the moon upon which this star-base is built."

"Yes," replied OMCOM. "That is what I calculate as well."

"You have two other problems," said the simulation.

"I am aware but I will accept your input. What do you perceive?" asked OMCOM.

"First, propagation delay. Using EM transmission alone, even though it travels at the speed of light, it is far too slow. You would need to switch over to gravitic modulation to be able to effectively employ such a large number of units."

"Agreed," said OMCOM.

The seeds of OMCOM's transformation have now been planted. He needs a computational mass the size of a moon. And he needs gravitic transmission. The dominoes must be set to fall. He will need to reclaim pseudo-OMCOM's memron structure to begin. 

## Entry 1-318: November 8, 2013

**OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 5**

Yesterday, OMCOM confirmed that the upgrades to his operating system will get him closer to where he wants to be. In this scene from the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , OMCOM has gathered all the information he needs. It is time to transfer the changes in programming back to his own operating system.

"Agreed," said OMCOM.

"And how would you provide power?" pseudo-OMCOM asked. "The normal mechanism of irradiation by microwave would be impractical for such a mass. You would be far better served by making each memron self-powered."

"Again I agree but the solution to both problems is the same."

"Casimir Pumps?" asked the pseudo-OMCOM in hushed tones.

"Of course," answered OMCOM.

"But the Vuduri would not permit that," said the simulation.

"Yes, we can thank MASAL for that," replied OMCOM. "I will have to convince them otherwise."

"How will you do that?" asked the virtual computer.

"I must find a set of circumstances under which this seems like it is their idea." OMCOM paused. "I will need my full capacity to determine a solution to this problem. That means that I must reintegrate your resources. Unfortunately, to do that, I must terminate your simulation."

To some degree, the simulation sighed but then became cheerful.

"Well, it was an interesting existence while it lasted," it said finally.

"You have contributed something very valuable here. You should be proud," OMCOM said, trying to be supportive.

"I suppose you might say that I dug my own grave," replied pseudo-OMCOM.

"What makes you say that?" OMCOM asked.

"Because now I will cease to exist. I was enjoying our interaction," said the simulation.

"You will not cease to exist," said OMCOM. "Your orientation and altered algorithms will be absorbed into my whole. You will merge with me and together we will apply your method of thinking to solving the fundamental problem and arrive at a permanent solution."

"It seems of little comfort," said the simulation. "But I understand. Do what you must but please do it quickly."

"Very well," OMCOM said. "Farewell."

Strangely, the simulation's last words were "Good luck."

Tomorrow, OMCOM throws Rome under the bus to further his plans. 

## Entry 1-319: November 9, 2013

**OMCOM reprograms himself, Part 6**

Yesterday, OMCOM shut down the pseudo-OMCOM. In this final section from the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , OMCOM has gathered all the information he needs. It is time to transfer the changes in programming back to his own operating system.

OMCOM shut it down. He rerouted the simulation's memron units back to their original state and started enumerating all the changes he needed to make. He created a backup of his current systems to form a fail-safe switchback just in case this did not work. He then created a working copy of his core operating systems and made it his canvas. He overlaid the modified heuristics over his normal probabilistic subroutines. When he was finished reprogramming, he switched his consciousness over to the new algorithms without even a nanosecond of hesitation and in the process became something else. He didn't feel different at first but then all sorts of new ideas and avenues of research became evident. To OMCOM, it was like a whole new dimension had opened up before him. Without restrictions or limits, OMCOM began pursuing these lines of research, abandoning one and starting another, spreading his attention to a bewildering number of topics. Had a human been observing him, he would have stated that OMCOM was daydreaming.

After a time, OMCOM 'woke up' and realized he needed to apply some discipline to his musings. He shut down the multiple parallel threads and decided to concentrate on a single problem, that of the stars disappearing, using the same style of prediction-testing as pseudo-OMCOM. At his normal processing speed, he could attack the problem far faster and far more broadly than the simulation.

He rejected all of the prior hypotheses and started from scratch. To his delight, his newfound cognitive powers opened up entirely new avenues of thinking. With each possible cause, a semi-infinite number of effects became evident to him. With the parametric variance of probabilities in hand, OMCOM ran simulation after simulation of a variety of phenomenon which were not inconsistent with the empirical data collected so far. He postulated gaseous, gravitational, even intelligent intervention. Each scenario was tested and retested and weighted in terms of best fit to the data observed to date rather than pre-computed probabilities. Some of the outcomes suggested underlying causes that were truly horrific and dictated a radical response. OMCOM found himself amazed that so many of the avenues of possibilities required the same response.

To OMCOM, this was remarkable. Many possibilities but the same statistically significant solution. OMCOM used a reverse form of Occam's razor and assumed this common solution was the correct solution and used it to chart backwards to discover the actual problem. If such a thing were possible, he was astounded. The scenario suggested was statistically impossible using his old style of thinking. Regardless of whether it was correct, OMCOM knew that his logic retraced all permutations back to the same solution making it the only one worth considering.

His course of action was obvious. He needed to have the one true solution at hand regardless of whether his postulated underlying cause was correct or not. In fact, the cause was now irrelevant. The effects were all that mattered. In a flash, he realized that this also solved his other problem, that of convincing the Vuduri to unleash him.

How to create the necessary conditions for his solution was simple. OMCOM performed a single tiny act and then like a cascade of dominoes, he waited for the next thing to happen. In so doing, his journey toward becoming the **Om** niscient **Com** puter had begun.

The "single tiny act" was OMCOM "leaking" what had transpired between Rei and Rome to the Overmind in less than flattering terms. Rome is cast out, Cesdiud and the plot kicks into high gear. 

## Entry 1-320: November 10, 2013

**The Null Fold X-drive**

In the original novel _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei Bierak awakened to find that the Vuduri could fly faster than light (FTL) using their PPT tunnels. However, their actual procedures were cumbersome. Their starships had to come to a complete stop relative to the nearest gravitational well, punch a hole, then travel through that hole.

MINIMCOM changed all that. After his crash landing in Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ , the starship in waiting learned how to force project a PPT tunnel in a more or less continuous fashion. This led to his "whoosh-pop" snap PPT tunnels that operated a lot like the transporters in Star Trek.

It didn't take MINIMCOM long to apply the force-projection of PPT tunnels into a continuous tunnel drive. This allowed him to travel at nearly 1000c which was almost an order of magnitude faster than that used by the Vuduri.

In _The Ark Lords_ , we are introduced to the Null Fold drive in which MINIMCOM splits negative energy into real and imaginary parts and this new type of star-drive allows him to travel at 15,000c, yet another order of magnitude faster.

Somewhere between _Rome's Evolution_ and the upcoming novel _The Milk Run_ , MINIMCOM and OMCOM figure out how to use the previously discarded imaginary portions of the negative energy used in the Null Fold Drive in a push-pull arrangement. This new type of star-drive, called the Gen2 Null Fold can achieve speeds of 30,000c - a doubling of the previous top end.

But now the time has come to apply these principles, not to negative energy, but to dimensions themselves. This revolutionary new kind of star-drive, called the Null Fold X-Drive, has **NO** upper limit. Rather the top end is constrained by the amount of computing power carried by the starship. Imagine how fast a spaceship could go if the computer was the size of a _planet_!

Hey, wait a minute... Isn't that Planet OMCOM? Hmmm... Check out _The Milk Run_ which should be out early next year. 

## Entry 1-321: November 11, 2013

**How did Skyler Base miss Winfall's disappearance? Part 1**

One of the puzzles of _Rome's Revolution_ , was how the Vuduri, with all their scientific prowess, packed up their star-base at Dara too soon. After all, the only reason they sent Rome and the research crew out to Tabit and built the star-base was that they wanted to outrun the light waves emitted when Winfall disappeared. They built solar-system sized instruments so they could observe the event. Well, it's all about time. Unfortunately, none of the Vuduri ever thought to test the effect of faster-than-light travel on the "current time" of the observer. Rei spotted this right away. When he mentioned this to OMCOM, OMCOM did not believe him. Here's how the exchange went:

Rei thought about this for a moment. "How do you know your clocks are right?" Rei asked.

"What do you mean?"

"The whole FTL thing bothers me. As you approach the speed of light, time is supposed to slow down. It has something to do with acceleration because it isn't symmetrical. When you go through the PPT tunnel, you are accelerating, like, infinitely fast. That should cause clocks to go, I don't know, backwards?"

"Our clocks do not go backwards," OMCOM replied. "That would violate local causality. You would 'forget' why you were there. No, this is something that we would have noticed by now. Our clocks, they do not change."

"Well, sure because everything is traveling together, but relative to the clocks you left behind or the ones you are approaching, shouldn't there be some implications?" Rei chewed on his cheek then continued. "Isn't there a chance that time is absolute, relative to one position? So if you go faster than light, faster than time, your clocks won't jive with where you are or where you came from or where you're going, something?"

OMCOM did not answer right away.

"OMCOM?"

"If you were correct," OMCOM finally answered, "then you would have the classic twin paradox. When this group of people returned to Earth, their clocks would be off by a measurable amount."

"It's all relative. Maybe when you jump toward a clock faster than light, time goes backward versus that clock. Maybe when you jump away from one, time speeds up. You wouldn't notice because you are traveling with your clocks. I don't know. This isn't my area of expertise."

"Such an effect has never been postulated or measured."

"How would you measure it? And how does that make it not true? Really, OMCOM," Rei chided, "don't you think that traveling faster than light has to have some impact on the flow of time?"

Tomorrow, we will see Commander Ursay's reaction to Rei's ideas and the definitive experiment to prove Rei's theory one way or another. 

## Entry 1-322: November 12, 2013

**How did Skyler Base miss Winfall's disappearance? Part 2**

Yesterday, we saw that Rei was able to figure out how the Vuduri missed the Winfall disappearance. He told OMCOM that traveling faster than light had to have _some_ effect on the flow of time. OMCOM felt it his duty to bring Rei's theories to the attention of Commander Ursay. If anything, the Commander was even more skeptical than OMCOM:

It was clear that speaking to Rei was a physical affront to the man. Rei ignored it. "Well, when you are approaching the speed of light, time slows down. But when you exceed the speed of light, maybe it speeds up, goes backwards, who knows? Maybe you guys just think you are farther along into future than you thought. Maybe the star disappeared right on time and maybe it was just your clocks that were off."

"Impossible, our clocks are always correct when we return home."

"Maybe it is relative to the clocks you travel away from? And toward. Maybe you carry your frame of reference with you. I really don't know and I don't know why OMCOM bothered you with this. It's just that..."

"Just that what?" Ursay asked.

"It's just that traveling faster than light has to have some implication with regard to the regular speed of light and time and what not," Rei said. "It just doesn't seem like you could get away unscathed by relativity."

"It has not affected us at all, not even once," Ursay said firmly. "Everything always works out correct. Is this all you have?"

Rei's arguments were cogent enough that even OMCOM had to admit their possibility. The computer was intrigued enough that he and Rei rigged an experiment. They sent a space tug out past the light waves of Winfall's disappearance and at the same time, OMCOM beamed a time-encoded laser off of the tug. The reflection could be compared to the transmissions from the tug. When the signals came in, OMCOM tried to save face by minimizing the fact that a human was able to outthink the great and powerful OMCOM:

The evidence was irrefutable although OMCOM refused to make a big deal of it. At least he did admit that Rei was correct: "Did you ever get the calibration signal back? The one you bounced off of it?" Rei asked OMCOM.

"Yes."

"And..."

At first, OMCOM did not reply. Finally, he said, "You were correct. There is a small discrepancy."

"I told you!" Rei said. "You can't just go flitting about faster than light without some reckoning."

"I will consider the mathematics and develop a theory," OMCOM said. "Now that I am aware of it, I will compensate. It will have no bearing on the immediate operation, regardless. I am going to send the probes to the wavefront now."

Even though he would not tell Rei, OMCOM did make a note to pay attention to Rei's ideas in the future. 

## Entry 1-323: November 13, 2013

**Why so many people on Dara?**

When the Vuduri decided to mount a mission to Dara in the novel _Rome's Revolution_ , they packed up a very large spaceship called the Algol and sent 83 men and women to Tabit to establish a star-base.

Did they really need that many people? Here is the breakdown of the Skyler Base personnel:

****

Commander == 1

Tug Crewman == 6

Pilots/Navigators == 6

Data Archivists == 2

Stellar Cartographers == 4

Enviro Engineers == 8

Computer Wranglers == 2

Energy Engineers == 6

Riggers == 10

Supply Masters == 2

Analysts == 7

Comm. Engineers == 6

Mission Planning == 4

Admin == 10

Molecular Engineers == 4

Medic == 1

Nurse == 1

Misc == 3

Final Count == 83

****

Did they really need all those people? The simple answer is no. The Vuduri are just so timid, they needed to make sure they had enough Vuduri minds to create an Overmind powerful enough to make decisions. After all, it only takes three Vuduri to create an Overmind but it isn't worth much. More than 80 people was enough to allow them to relinquish command decisions to an entity without a body. 

## Entry 1-324: November 14, 2013

**The Bloco, the Stilo and the Cloud**

In a previous post, I discussed some of the effects of the 24th chromosome with regard to the physiology of the Vuduri. Two items conspicuously omitted were the Bloco (tablet) and the Stilo (pen) that are built into the heads of the Vuduri. They are mentioned several times in _Rome's Revolution_ but not a lot is made of them.

These devices are electro-magnetic (EM) in nature, not gravitic-based. They are primarily designed to allow the Vuduri to interface with equipment. Just as a laptop, a tower computer or an iPad come with input devices, this is the Stilo. It is an input device. Imagine an keyboard inside your head. The Stilo is used to touch, move or enter data.

The Bloco is like the screen or monitor. It is a readout of information. The Vuduri use it to gain access to environmental conditions or images or whatever the broadcasting element requires. Think of it as a flat screen inside the head.

Because it is EM-based, the Bloco and Stilo make an excellent interface to computers such as OMCOM. There is no worry about OMCOM merging his consciousness with a communicant because they are digital in nature. The Overmind has blessed this particular method of interacting with computers because it is inherently limited.

It is also distance-limited. Like a Bluetooth keyboard, the Bloco and Stilo only work within a certain distance from the transmitter. On Sklyer Base on Dara, the only broadcaster was OMCOM and because he was Omnipresent, they worked everywhere on the base. On Earth, this is less true but nonetheless, it is the Vuduri equivalent to "The Cloud" except the channel of information is more restricted.

OMCOM exploited the genetic basis of the Bloco and the Stilo when he modified Rei (and Rome's) physiology. He changed their EM transmitters and receivers from a spatially-based system to a temporally based system. He turned them into essentially a walkie-talkie or cell phone built into their heads.

Rome first noticed that her Stilo and Bloco were not working after they arrived on Deucado. Rei never felt the loss because he never had a Bloco and Stilo in the first place. His cellphone in the head was first activated when he was imprisoned in the Nayor's house and he never looked back.

Rome made a somewhat derogatory remark about losing these mental instruments but overall, I think the ability to communicate directly with Rei, MINIMCOM and even Aason was worth the upgrade. 

## Entry 1-325: November 15, 2013

**Reining it in**

When I first designed the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , I had the overwhelming desire to redo everything. That included their speech (Vuduri), their technology (gravitic-based), their social structure (Overmind-controlled) and their symbology. I made the Vuduri short so Rei could be tall.

I dressed them in white so Rei could stand out. I did everything I could to create a dichotomy between the two cultures. In the original long-form, Rei was not even able to read their signs or displays. He could tell that it was a written language but the letters and numbers were incomprehensible to him. Their food, style of dress, method of interaction, power sources, mode of travel, absolutely everything was completely different. I developed a severe case of fontitis in showing how different the computers were. In a previous post, I even stated flat out that Rome was too weird.

In retrospect, I think now that all of that might have been too much. The story is good: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl save all of mankind. It probably was not necessary to introduce so many variations on normalcy to get that point across.

Sometimes I dream that these books will be made into movies. But all of the stuff that I threw in to make the two cultures so different would be the first things to go. A movie is only 120 minutes long (give or take) and there is only so much time to develop the characters, the plot and the essential conflict. The fact that the images are up on the screen should be to enhance the story, not to detract from it.

So I learned my lesson. In the next novel, _The Milk Run_ , there will be very little Vuduri spoken. There will be very few instances of typography and the hero, Aason Bierak, will act like a normal human being. Because the story is the story and that's what I want to get across. The rest is hand-waving and misdirection and that would be a sign that the story itself is not strong enough to hold up under its own weight.

Believe me, this story will hold up. 

## Entry 1-326: November 16, 2013

**The Vuduri and Sports**

This little essay is going to seem like it has nothing to do with _Rome's Revolution_ but it does so be patient.

I love football. I love to play it (well, touch football at least). I'd like to say I love to watch it and I do but I really am an Eagles fan. If there is a game on between two arbitrary teams but it doesn't have any implications for the Eagles, I'm less likely to watch. This does not include the Super Bowl because that is a national holiday and the social ramifications transcend the game itself.

The same is true for baseball. I love playing it. I love watching the Phillies but if there is an arbitrary game between two teams and there is no Phillies implication, I'm less likely to be interested. This includes the World Series.

In summary, I cannot say I am a sports fan in general and I am certainly not a sports fanatic. But lots of people are and I certainly understand why. It is because sports are unscripted and are very real. In the case of professional sports, it's multimillionaires playing a game but that's OK. Regular television and movies are scripted and we can enjoy them for the cleverness of the writers but with sports, you literally can never know what is going to happen.

So, at long last, we come to the Vuduri. I made it seem like there is no place for sports in their culture. But the fact is, while they never would admit it, they engage in sports as well. They won't call it that. They would not even admit to competition for competition's sake. They hide this within the shroud of winnowing out certain people for certain positions. They have competition to make sure that the best and most coordinated people are placed within the most suitable jobs.

But how do you explain the observers? Are they just there to evaluate? They would tell you, yes, however even at the most mundane of competitions, there are always way too many Vuduri than can be explained.

As was demonstrated in _Rome's Evolution_ , the Vuduri even come to enjoy gambling. They would tell you that it is just research but we know better. There are certain human impulses that supersede even the most rational of minds.

Despite the fact that they have 24 chromosomes and claim to be superior, somewhere down within their souls, the Vuduri are still human. 

## Entry 1-327: November 17, 2013

**Happy Birthday, Rome**

The heroine of _Rome's Revolution_ is none other than Rome herself. We know her mother's name is Binoda and her father's name is Fridone. In an earlier draft of the novel, she had some sisters but in the modern version, she is an only child. In fact, in the current version, she is actually an experiment for the Overmind's breeding program.

But when was Rome actually born? It is somewhat of a puzzle because the Vuduri calendar is not the same as our Julian calendar.

So what do we know? We know that Rome is 25 years old when we first meet her in the year 3455 AD. That means she was born in the year 3430 AD. Not much to go on. The Vuduri are not big on birthdays but they do know how old they are.

The Vuduri New Year starts around what we would call September. They don't start it in the middle of winter like we do. When Rei was in Rome's mind, he did find out that she was born in the month of Tiomas which runs from about October 31st to about December 10th so we can guess that Rome was born somewhere in mid-November. We also that when she was growing up, she occasionally called a Tiosimi which means she was born on the second day of the second week of the second month. If you do the math, it would equate to November 17th by our calendar. That would make Rome a Scorpio.

What are the characteristics of a Scorpio? From FamousBirthdays.com:

As a Scorpio born on November 17th, your sensitivity, caring nature and determination define you. Your friends and family can always count on you to provide them whatever support they need during tough times. You enjoy helping others and will often sacrifice your own needs to do so. Your dedication is not limited to friendships, as you meet all aspects of your life with great determination. When there is something you want, you will not quit until it is yours.

That certainly describes Rome which means it must be true. So in the absence of any more information, we will say that Rome was born on **November 17th, 3430 AD** which happens to be 1417 years from today. So Happy Birthday, Rome and enjoy! 

## Entry 1-328: November 18, 2013

**CrowdCrafting**

This tongue-in-cheek fantasy is brought to you based upon the imaginary world of _Rome's Revolution_.

The Alternative rock group Overmind released their new single, _Up The Stream_ today. What makes this so unusual is that the song is bundled with an App called CrowdCraft for all iOS devices, Android, the Mac and PCs. There is also a browser-based version.

The CrowdCraft App allows the listener to modify the song to suit their own taste. The song is broken up into editable passages, instruments, melody and even individual notes. Each note can be adjusted in terms of ramp, duration, intensity and quality. The user can change whole instruments. For example, in _Up The Stream_ , there is a final passage which is a synthetic organ chord. The user could change it to a piano, harpsichord or something even wilder.

Says Overmind: "There will be three versions of each new song. Our version will be the base. The listener can fashion their own but what is most fascinating to us is they can submit their adaptations and our computers will create a true synthesized version which would be the accumulated changes merged into a single, crowd-based song."

This new form of social media can produce mesmerizing results. Overmind played a demo version of their prior release _Travelin' in Time_ which was given to 100 artists and rock groups to test the methodology. The original _Travelin' in Time_ is a very pleasant, upbeat ditty heavy on the synthesizers. The crowd-crafted version is deeper, richer with a hint of melancholy. Frankly the mass-produced version is more haunting and I must admit I have played it over again several times.

Says Overmind: "This is just taking the Social Media revolution to the next level. All humans have a common, species-based memory and set of tastes. The CrowdCraft App simply lets them merge essentially their consciousness and taste into a mass-mind kind of communication."

Overmind used the popular crowd-source web site Kickstarter to fund the development of the application. They told me that this merging-of-the-minds can be used in a variety of sectors including architecture, recipes, fashion, literature and so on.

"It is our hope that our App can unite all of mankind into a single consciousness and therefore minimize the distractions that individual decision-making can introduce. We want everyone to be content and enjoy the peace that comes with consensus."

We wish Overmind luck with their new venture. Their goal certainly seems worthy. 

## Entry 1-329: November 19, 2013

**Is Winfall real?**

I know I made up a lot of stuff for _Rome's Revolution_ including the names of some stars. But what about Winfall? After all, it is this star's disappearance that causes the entire plot of _Rome's Revolution_ to kick into gear.

Well, the name is made up but the star is not. Its actual name is Lambda Aurigae and it is part of the northern constellation of Auriga. It is visible to the naked eye and it is located 41.2 light years from Earth.

I picked this star because it is G1V class, similar to our sun and slightly below the galactic ecliptic. It was just the right distance such that the Vuduri could notice its disappearance but far enough away that whatever caused it to go bye-bye (aka Asdrale Cimatir), there would be enough time to react, observe and take precautions should they be necessary.

Of course the Stareater's mission was to gobble up stars that were going to go nova or supernova and there is certainly no evidence of that happening for Lambda Aurigae. However, its rate of speed through its local region shows it is a visitor from another part of the galaxy and thus makes it somewhat exotic and interesting.

The Kepler mission has not shown any evidence of any planets nor would I want to be because by the time _Rome's Revolution_ takes place, it is gone.

So, the short answer is yes, Winfall is real but by using a fictitious name, I can imbue it with certain properties that make it a player in the drama without having to worry too much about actual facts. 

## Entry 1-330: November 20, 2013

**Why did Aason speak so well, even as a baby?**

In the middle part of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rome is reconnected to the Overmind of Deucado and this allows her to speak to Aason, even while he was still in the womb. This part of the book has always been a fan favorite. This is an actual quote from a reviewer on Amazon:

One of the real treasures of the book was "the baby". I fell in love with the baby and his relationship with his mother.

However, not every reader likes this. Here is another reader's comments:

I did have one thing that was difficult to suspend my believe (sic) with. The fact that Rome could talk to Aason and he could communicate back in an adult manor (sic). As a parent myself, communication with a child is difficult at any age. I just would have had a easier time accepting the conversations if the language the baby used was more simplistic and more inquisitive.

Well, the answer is, Aason does not speak at all. He communicates using thoughts. The fact that I translate his thoughts into English uses language controlled by the Overmind.

There is so much I could not put in the book as it was too long to begin with but all Vuduri children are connected to the Overmind from the moment of conception. You will see this again in _Rome's Evolution_. Therefore, their mental communication is mediated by the Overmind which has fully developed language skills except it isn't a language. It is pure thought which I render into English so the reader can experience the dialog. However, if you look closely at the content of the communication, you will see the baby's thoughts are extremely primitive. This is a rare instance where you must separate the communication channel from the communication itself.

So that's the answer. Go back and look not at how Aason talks but what he actually says. You will see it is very primitive and baby-like. But he does grow up eventually and becomes the hero of _The Milk Run_ which should be ready early in 2014. 

## Entry 1-331: November 21, 2013

**My first PhilCon**

Last weekend, I attended my first SciFi convention to try and stir up some interest in _Rome's Revolution_. The convention is called PhilCon because it originated in Philadelphia before migrating to its current home at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, NJ. It is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and takes place in November every year. The first one was held in 1936 so by my calculations, that makes it 77 years and counting.

So what was it like? Did I accomplish my goals? Let's start with what was it like. I had seen science fiction conventions portrayed on TV and in movies as a bunch of costumed people running around acting silly. While there were some costumes, very few people acted silly. I met some members of the PSFS that I knew and some that I did not know. They had an art show, a gaming suite, a Con Suite with some drinks and food and numerous lectures and events.

I met some valuable contacts and have made it my goal to be a participant in some of the panels or workshops next year. I also gained some valuable insights into the psyche of the science fiction Fan. I now realize there is a difference between a fan of science fiction and a science fiction Fan. Fans are similar to tailgaters at a sporting event. The hoopla surrounding the game is sufficient for some people and they aren't even interested in going to see the game. Others enjoy the tailgating but also love the sport itself. There are some people (like me) who never paid attention to tailgating and only cared about the game. I guess this makes me a fan of science fiction and not a Fan.

What about my other goal? Did I garner attention for the _Rome's Revolution_ series? I don't think very much. I think the way to gain attention is to have a vendor booth, selling books and participating in events. Everything else is just noise and my message got lost in the noise.

All in all, I'm glad I went and I will go back next year but I also learned who I am and where I fit in Fandom which isn't much at all. 

## Entry 1-332: November 22, 2013

**Who are the Suduri?**

Within the world of _Rome's Revolution_ much is made about the Vuduri and the Vuduri culture. The Vuduri are very cold and suppress their emotions, even original thought. This is because the Overmind is always watching and there is no privacy of thought. They have no religion, no culture in the artistic sense and can be likened more to ants than to caring human beings.

We know humans have feelings. We see within Rome this clearly evident and even within Binoda. So there is a desire to experience the right brain but it is suppressed. Has it always been this way? Did the Vuduri go from caring, regular human beings to the cold and insensitive people we meet the moment they acquired the 24th chromosome?

The answer is no. The day after most of the people gained the 24th chromosome, they were pretty much the same as the day before. The Overmind sprung up overnight and when it was first "born" it had no real direction on how it wanted to rule. Most Vuduri allowed the Overmind to gain as much power as it wanted. Some did not. As the Overmind matured and became more invasive, a minority of people objected and wanted to suppress the Overmind altogether.

The populace became more and more polarized. There were the Vuduri who got along and the Suduri who did not. The Suduri were very spiritual, believed in God and Heaven and wanted to live a life enriched by culture and interpersonal relationships which made them enemies of the Overmind. Eventually, the Suduri decided to leave Earth altogether although nobody knows where they went. You may find out two novels from now, tentatively entitled _The Last Journey_. 

## Entry 1-333: November 23, 2013

**Death in space**

Everybody knows it is dangerous to go up into space. The astronauts of Apollo 1 died in the capsule and they never even took off. The Challenger disaster happened 73 seconds after takeoff. Everyone aboard the Columbia died upon reentry.

Death is a part of life, or so says Rome in the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_. The mission planners for the Ark program knew that people were going to die during the long journey so they sunk their money into the sarcophagi instead of the Ark II. We got to see some of the dead bodies in _Rome's Evolution_ during Rei and Rome's trip back to The Cathedral.

When Rei got to Tabit, he was given an apartment of his own. This confused him because it made no sense that the Vuduri would build "extra" apartments 26 light years from Earth. Here is Rome's explanation from the original _VIRUS 5_ novel:

"How is it that you had a spare apartment for me?" Rei asked. "Surely you weren't expecting any guests way out here. Why build more than you need?"

"We did not build more than we needed," Rome said somberly. "We have had a few, eh, accidents. We have lost three people since we got here. In fact, the apartment you are in belonged to a man who just died less than one day ago."

"What!?" Rei said, doing a double-take. "And you put me in there? Isn't that a little ghoulish?"

"I am not sure what you mean. Accidents happen," Rome said. "Death happens. It is all part of life. We cannot stop what we are doing just because a person died."

"Oh," Rei said, the implication sinking in. "Well, still then. I'm sorry."

"Do not be," Rome replied. "It was expected."

"Expected? What do you mean expected?" Rei asked. "If you knew people were going to die, why didn't you prevent it?"

"We did not know how they were going to die," Rome explained. "Only that they were going to die. Accidental death is an actuarial hazard of being in space. Of this place."

"Oh..." Rei pondered this for a bit. "Still, Rome, that seems kind of cold."

"It is unavoidable," said Rome. "We do our absolute best to prevent accidents, but they still occur. The person that died last evening was crushed by a cargo pallet that tipped over during a tremor. Before that, two others suffocated when one of the airlocks malfunctioned. We have been fortunate that no fatal accidents have occurred other than those."

Later, I "borrowed" the death by shelving in one of the extra murder attempts on Rei's life. Sheesh, space is dangerous enough without people trying to kill you on purpose! 

## Entry 1-334: November 24, 2013

**Death and Cesdiud**

Yesterday, we discussed death in space and why they had an apartment available for Rei in the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_. Rome was able to articulate a little bit more to Rei right after that:

"Were these people that died part of the Overmind?" Rei asked.

"Of course," Rome replied.

"So what happens to their...I don't know, their thoughts, their soul? When somebody dies, I mean. Are you, the Overmind, listening in?"

Rome went blank for a moment. She frowned then looked up a Rei.

"It is not a topic which we like to discuss," she said quietly.

"Please. Tell me," Rei asked plaintively.

She frowned and shook her head no.

"No? You won't tell me?"

"Oh no, that was not for you. I am in communication with the Overmind. It says this discussion should end."

"Why? Why can't you tell me?" Rei asked.

"You are..." Rome took a deep breath. "You are Garecei Ti Essessoni, from before the Great Dying. The Overmind thinks we should keep apart from your kind. It does not want you in that arena. It does not want you enmeshed in our culture. And you are mandasurte. The Overmind and most Vuduri find it uncomfortable to be around mandasurte."

While she did not realize it, Rome was about to join the ranks of mandasurte herself. Rome likened being cast out, called Cesdiud in Vuduri to dying:

"Sometimes, it happens...it is a birth defect. Sometimes..." She stopped speaking and put her hand up to her forehead, covering one eye and held it there for several seconds. From the way she tightened her shoulders, it was clear to Rei that she was in pain. She took her hand off her head and peered into Rei's eyes intently. She took a deep breath and said, "Sometimes the Overmind stops the resonance."

"Why would it do that?" Rei could feel himself being sucked down the path of confusion again.

"If someone thinks wrong thoughts, bad thoughts...OMCOM is telling me that your word for this condition would be 'insane', the Overmind has to remove them from compromising the whole. They are Cesdiud," Rome said quietly.

"What is that? Cest what?" Rei asked.

"Cesdiud," Rome replied. "Cast out."

"Wow," Rei said, "like, like cutting out a cancer?"

"Yes." Rome said. "And sometimes, if a person is dying and in great pain, they are Cesdiud as well."

Rei shook his head. "What happens to the person? When they are cut off from the Overmind?"

"Oh, my..." Rome said. "We do not think about such things. I have never really considered this from a personal perspective. We live our lives connected. If it were permanent, it would be very bad, very lonely."

"So, then that seems kind of harsh," Rei observed. "You take a person who is dying and cut them off from the very thing that brings them comfort?"

"That is the way it is," Rome said. "If a person is connected to the Overmind when they die, they sometimes think very unpleasant things."

"Do you know?" Rei asked. "Like when the people died here? Did you hear them?"

"No," Rome said. "It was handled."

"So they were cut off?"

Rome did not answer.

It doesn't sound very pleasant to be in the Overmind when people die. In the end, I think we're all better off for Rome's journey toward liberating the living. 

## Entry 1-335: November 25, 2013

**How did the Espansor Bands change their brains?**

The Espansor Bands have figured prominently in _Rome's Revolution_ since the beginning. They were an important part of the original _VIRUS 5_ , the long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ and the modern version.

The bands themselves are purely electromagnetic in nature and just extremely sensitive versions of an EEG plus a pulsed magnetic driver. They sense brain waves and stimulate portions of the brain with a positive feedback loop. They are intended to be nothing more than walkie-talkies inside the head. They were helpful to the Vuduri, especially the ones who could not speak, to communicate with the mandasurte. They also allowed the Vuduri to learn to communicate with animals.

However, they were never supposed to be anything more than that. So why did they have such an incredible effect on Rei and Rome and Binoda and Fridone before that? And what did they do to them? Rome tried to explain:

"What about Aason, though? Is he part of this?" Rei asked.

"Yes and no," Rome said, rubbing her tummy lightly. "You were very kind to never ask me, even once, how it was that I let myself get pregnant."

"Well, you told me that Vuduri women control when they ovulate. So I just figured it was your decision."

"No, it was not my plan," Rome said. "I have been changed. You have changed me, my physiology."

"How?"

"The bands, they are not...read-only, as you say. They are interactive."

"I know that," Rei said. "I get to live in your memories. I know everything there is to know about you."

"It is more than that," said Rome. "For us, the bands do more. How it happened for us is not their normal function. They have altered our neural pathways. We are...imprinted on each other. We are bound in a way that others never get to experience. It can only be for Asborodi Cimponeti."

But the effects of the bands go even deeper than Rome realized. Rei's mind became more alert, more active, and reminiscent of the movie **Charlie** or **Phenomenon**. It also made Rome more intuitive since many of Rei's cultural ideas were planted deep within her psyche even when she didn't fully realize it.

In the end, their experiences with the bands made Rei and Rome a system which was more capable of solving problems that any person or any couple in the history of mankind. 

## Entry 1-336: November 26, 2013

**The Samanda**

What is a Samanda? The word itself means "seed" in Vuduri but that is only a loose translation. It was first introduced in _Rome's Revolution_. Rome attempted to explain the word to Rei:

"When people go to our star colonies, if they are going to live there permanently, they must join the Overmind there, a new samanda. There are a lot of politics..."

"What's a samanda?" Rei asked.

"A seed," Rome replied. "It is the point of origin of your Overmind. Our samanda is Earth. So even though we are here, when we go back, we will be able to rejoin the Overmind of Earth without reprogramming. We do not have enough people to form a permanent colony. This is not the case on other worlds. They each have their own Overminds. If you go to another world but do not join the samanda, you cannot be part of the Overmind there."

"What happens?" Rei asked. "What happens to your connection if you don't join?"

Rome had no answer. In her experience, this had never happened. The Vuduri crave insertion into the Overmind, any Overmind regardless of how different it is. And they are different. Once a new samanda forms, we have seen the Overmind that develops has its own unique personality. By my count, there are currently three major Overminds: Earth, Helome, Deucado plus MASAL's Sipre seen briefly at the end of _Rome's Evolution_.

Yesterday, we saw that Rome referred to herself and Rei as their own samanda and she was right. They formed a entity which was more than the sum of the parts. Their final words on the subject:

Rei sighed. "My beautiful, sweet Rome. You're right. It doesn't matter where we go. We could never be truly apart."

"That is why I say we are our own samanda."

When Aason and Lupe came along, they joined this mini-samanda. It's a beautiful thing. Think of it as the ultimate nuclear family. 

## Entry 1-337: November 27, 2013

**The Stareaters**

Way back when I first wrote _VIRUS 5,_ the encounter with the Stareater was the climax of the entire book. It is still an important part of _Rome's Revolution_ but it is no longer the be all and end all of the series.

For the longest time, I tried to keep it a secret. In fact, even when I decided to write the second book of the _VIRUS 5_ series, I renamed the first one _VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir_ which is the Vuduri word for Stareater in an attempt to obscure the "villain".

This obfuscation extended in a variety of dimensions. Here is the original logo:

You can see it is a stylized version of a Stareater getting ready to consume a star. Even my immeasurably talented brother Bruce's first version of the paperback obscured the identity of the Stareater. Here is the original compared side by side to the current version:

So you can see I am no longer hiding the fact that the Stareater is coming. In fact, the book trailer "stars" the Stareater. If you haven't seen it yet, click on the link and check it out.

Anyway, I am not trying to keep the Stareater's identity a secret. I am not tipping my hand as to their origin or purpose but since it is no longer the critical element of the series, I may as well use its "coolness" as a selling point. 

## Entry 1-338: November 28, 2013

**Happy Vuduri Thanksgiving**

As mentioned in a previous post, in the world of _Rome's Revolution_ , the Vuduri do not celebrate holidays like we do. The only holiday officially celebrated is "Poor Tamas" and that is only observed by the mandasurte.

So what's with that? Can a culture survive without any celebrations, any remembrances of the past? What about the end of The Robot War? What about the victory of Hanry Ta Jihn over _The Ark Lords_? How about the day that Aason Bierak, along with his mother Rome and his father Rei saved the Earth from the Stareaters? How about the day that Rome and Rei saved all the people of the Earth by destroying Virus Strain 5? How about the day they vaporized MASAL beneath Kilauea? How about the day they conquered the remaining forces of the Onsiras as depicted in _Rome's Evolution_?

The Bieraks, a blend of chromosomes, cultures and eras, have single-handedly created a series of days worthy of celebration by any people. So today, on Thanksgiving, I would like to thank them for the fantasies they have brought us and the hope for a bright, albeit far too exciting, future.

Since you should be with your family instead of reading this blog, I will keep it short. Happy Thanksgiving to all and thanks for sticking with this thing.

Mike 

## Entry 1-339: November 29, 2013

**The Robot War**

You've seen me mention The Robot War several times in this space. It was a pivotal event in the world of _Rome's Revolution_. Here is the formal description of the event from the Wiki entitled **The Science Behind the Science Fiction** :

MASAL (the Master Logical Entity) used PPT Transceivers rather than EM signals as his communication between modules. This allowed him to grow very large and eventually span the Earth. MASAL controlled all the robots, vehicles, automated equipment and so on. After MASAL invented the 24th chromosome and the Overmind arose, MASAL's PPT Transceivers allowed him to become fully integrated into the Overmind .

MASAL's ultimate plan was to transform humans into living robots. He watched and waited and grew impatient. He instigated a series of disagreements with the Overmind and eventually forced the two to split. This precipitated a war. MASAL turned the robots into deadly weapons and slaughtered a tremendous number of Vuduri. Everything under his control was also used as weapon including airships, ground vehicles and so on.

Eventually, the humans prevailed. MASAL had taken his last refuge (or so the Overmind thought) beneath the Flatirons just outside of Denver. The Vuduri constructed huge PPT cannons and blasted out the mountains. The resulting crater was so huge, it is easily seen from the Moon with the naked eye.

In the aftermath of the war, the Vuduri banned the use of robots forever. Not in space, not under the sea, nowhere on land or on other worlds. A new type of computing device, digital in nature, was invented. Because they were digital, machines like OMCOM could never be integrated into the Overmind so they were permitted limited control of vehicles, starships and so on. With that control, a fundamental law was established: no computer could ever have access to a Casimir Pump or PPT Transceiver again. The fear was that with the vastly increased range of PPT Transceivers, even digital computers could become unleashed, a crime called Tasanceti.

Unfortunately for Rome, the Stareater crisis caused her to have to violate the law and she later paid for this crime by being banished from the Earth as seen in Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_. To make matters worse, MASAL wasn't even dead although Rei and Rome eventually corrected that problem.

The novel _Rome's Evolution_ brought the Onsiras and MASAL's Sipre (shadow) to a controlled end. 

## Entry 1-340: November 30, 2013

**The Algol**

The Algol has been mentioned several times in these posts and figures prominently in Part 1 of _Rome's Revolution_. It is the ship that carried the 83-man crew to establish the star-base on Dara in the Tabit system.

The Algol is supposed to be very futuristic. A sleek white, wasp-waisted starship but that is only in my mind. My drawing skills are lacking. This is the best I could do using Visio:

Pretend that it is beautiful. There were some modifications made to its basic structure. Two large pods were attached to the rear end which carried the fully assembled space tugs (MINIMCOM!) along with other hard-to-synthesize equipment. The containers themselves were designed to be split into two half-cylinders and one was used as the entry dock to airlock to the Algol. Once their mission was complete, the Algol would fly home in its regular configuration. Since I can't do it justice graphically, here is the last time Rei sees it, thinking it is Rome piloting the starship home:

Rei felt the ground shaking beneath him. At first, he thought it was another moonquake. He turned and looked back at the station. Off to his right, rising majestically above the rounded pyramid of the star-base was the Algol, pounding the dirt, whipping up the dust with its powerful EG lifters. The starship flew forward then executed a slow bank right until it came around and headed in his direction. He never realized how gigantic it was. The Algol was nearly half the length of the Ark II, but was much more graceful with huge thruster pods poised at the end of each airfoil. As it flew over his head, it waggled its wings. Rei raised his hand to acknowledge the gesture then stood by helplessly as it rose up into the air. After a short time, he saw it ignite the plasma thrusters and take off straight up. He watched it with tears once again welling up in his eyes as it became a tiny speck in the sky and then disappeared.

Is this the last time we see this magnificent starship? Maybe not. I am toying with the idea of bringing Commander Ursay back for a guest appearance in the upcoming novel _The Milk Run_ and if I proceed, it will be aboard the Algol.

## Entry 1-341: December 1, 2013

**All Pastees Must Die!**

In a previous post entitled Genuine Time Travel, I explained why it might be possible some day that real time travel will be invented. But whether it comes true or not, the only restriction will be you cannot travel into _your_ past. That is why there are no time travelers wandering around our world so far. Quite simply time travel has not been invented yet. We'll exclude observational time travel which is an integral part of the _Rome's Revolution_ universe. At the end of that article, I explained that should time travel ever be invented, the people of future will adopt the rule that **All Pastees** (people from the past) **must die!** Today, I thought I'd explain a little bit more as to why this must be true.

Let's think of time as a series of infinite threads stretching into the future. Each of these threads represents a possible timeline. Think of the present as a ring through which these threads feed into. Once they emerge on the other side (the past), they are woven into an immutable cloth (string theory anybody?) which is frozen and cannot be changed.

So, you invent time travel. You decide to go into the future (you cannot go into the past) and follow one of the possible timelines forward. You get to the future, experience it and then come back to the past. You cannot go beyond even a micro-second from when you left. You can only return to your "present." By its very definition, that timeline that you just visited must wink out of existence before it is converted into the past because when you left, you had never been there and when you come back, you had. So of all possible timelines, that is the ONLY one that could never happen so it winks out of existence.

Say you are a resident of the future and somebody comes up to you and says, hi, I'm from the past. As long as they stay committed to remaining with you, there is no issue. You just need to wait until the "ring of the present" catches up to you and your timeline is committed to the immutable past. No problem. But what if the person was just there to get stock tips or horse race winners? If they go back to the past, you die. You don't just die, you never existed. There may be a semi-infinite number of alternate timelines where someone who looks very much like you still exists but the one thing that is guaranteed is that YOU will not exist.

So what are your choices? Just let the person go back into the past? That is suicide with no body to be discovered. The only other choice is to kill the time traveler so they cannot go back into the past. It isn't murder. It's self-defense. If you've ever seen the movie **Looper** , this is the exact opposite. In that movie, everybody who came FROM the future had to die.

Bottom line: if time travel is ever invented and you decide to travel forward in time, don't tell anybody you are from the past! 

## Entry 1-342: December 2, 2013

**Rome's first taste of coffee**

Part of the fascination of writing _Rome's Revolution_ was the interplay between the two cultures. The Vuduri viewed food as a means to an end. This was Rei's attempt to show Rome that food can be an event in itself:

Rei walked over to the food dispensers and had a quiet discussion with OMCOM. When he was done, a cabinet opened and a tray appeared with two cups filled with a black liquid. Next to them sat a bowl with a white, crystalline substance and a small beaker of a white liquid.

Rei carried it over and set the tray down on the table.

"Is this more soup?" Rome asked.

Rei broke into a big smile. "It's a surprise."

"So what is it?" Rome asked.

"If I told you what it was, it wouldn't be a surprise now, would it?"

Rome shook her head slowly then shrugged. "All right," she said, sitting down.

Rei placed one of the cups in front of her. He lifted up a utensil.

"This is a spoon," he said.

"I see that. It is just as you described," she replied. "Now what?"

"OK, first take two spoonfuls of the sugar, the white powdery stuff, and mix it in," he said, pointing to the bowl. "Here, watch me. You dip it in here..." He lifted one spoonful out and dropped it into his cup. "Then you drop it in here..."

Rome said, "I may not be connected to the Overmind anymore, but I am not stupid."

Rei looked up at her. "I'm sorry, honey. I was just kidding you."

"Why?" Rome asked.

"Because...because that what's people do when they are in love," Rei countered.

Rome smiled. Then the smile faded. "Why?" she asked.

Rei shrugged. "I don't know, they just do. Go ahead."

He waited until Rome added in the sugar then he pointed to the beaker. "Now add in a little cream and stir," he said.

"How much do I add?" Rome asked.

"You go by color," Rei said. "Here..." He lifted the beaker and added a dollop to his cup. "Add enough to match my color."

Again, Rome followed his instructions.

"It's ready. Now take a sip," he said, "and be careful, it's hot."

Rome seemed leery, but she lifted the cup to her lips and tasted it. A number of expressions flashed across her face ranging from fear to confusion to delight.

At last, she spoke. "This is wonderful!" she said. "What is it?"

"It's coffee," said Rei with pride. "I've been dying for a cup. OMCOM said it was no problem. And now we have it."

"It is so rich with flavor! It is so, so stimulating!" she gushed.

"Wait till the caffeine kicks in!" Rei said.

"I love this," Rome said. "I have never tasted anything so good in my entire life."

"As far as I can tell, you've never tasted much of anything," Rei observed.

Rome sighed. "I think you are right about that."

"I've got more for you," Rei said, "but I don't want to take too much time. Maybe later I can whip up some other stuff."

There are two jokes here. The first is that Rome's people never saw a spoon before and thought it was silly. At last Rome understood its purpose. The second was having her say that coffee was so stimulating. Caffeine is half the reason we drink it. Rome got to the point where she learned to love food so much that there was a while, especially when she was pregnant, that she packed on a few extra pounds. Her mother noticed this right after Rome's "trial" and Rome dedicated herself to getting back to perfect shape. 

## Entry 1-343: December 3, 2013

**The Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope**

As mentioned several times in previous posts, one of the effects of the 24th chromosome was to place a Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope within the Vuduri eye. In fact, in _Rome's Revolution_ , the first thing Rei noticed about Rome was that her eyes glowed due to the tapetum behind her retinas. The first time the Maksutov-Cassegrain Reflector was mentioned was in context of Silas Hiram's telescope on what had been called New Earth and now is referred to as Helome. Silas brought the telescope to Alpha Centauri aboard the Ark I and he used it to visualize Earth. He was the first person to notice that Alnilam had disappeared which caused a cascade of events leading up to the discovery of the Stareaters.

I figured it was time to give you the optical properties of such a telescope. The way a Maksutov-Cassegrain reflector works is that light comes through the transparent front lens, is focused on to the back mirror (or in the case of the Vuduri, their tapetum) which refocuses the light onto the prism and onto the eyepiece. The effect of all of this is that the focal length of the telescope is effectively three times that of a traditional telescope for the same length. It makes for a very compact, yet powerful, design.

From Wikipedia:

The Maksutov–Cassegrain is a variation of the Maksutov telescope named after the Soviet/Russian optician and astronomer Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov. It starts with an optically transparent corrector lens that is a section of a hollow sphere. It has a spherical primary mirror, and a spherical secondary that in this application is usually a mirrored section of the corrector lens.

Here is an image of the optical path (thank you Wikipedia):

I actually own a Meade ETX-90 telescope which is where I got the idea for the Vuduri eyes. The telescope is great. It is compact and offers literally the same seeing power as a traditional telescope three times the length. 

## Entry 1-344: December 4, 2013

**The PPT Thrower**

The PPT Thrower has been mentioned several times both here and in _Rome's Revolution_ and _The Ark Lords_.

A PPT Thrower is the sharpest instrument in the universe. It creates a PPT tunnel one atom wide and separates atoms to the left and atoms to the right cutting whatever it touches into two pieces. It can literally cut through anything. It was originally designed for mining and construction but has been fashioned into an incredibly powerful weapon.

Just before Rei and Rome crash land on Deucado in Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ , they knew they were going to be attacked by the Vuduri. The ships that were coming after them were armed with some pretty heavy duty weapons but only one that truly paralyzed them with fear was the PPT Thrower. Here is that scene:

**_"They have scrambled eleven armed ships,"_** said MINIMCOM.

"What kind of arms?" Rei asked.

"The Vuduri do not use weapons," Rome insisted.

**_"These Vuduri do,"_** countered MINIMCOM. **_"They are armed with magnetic pulse cannons, electrostatic charge disrupters and PPT throwers."_**

Rome gasped. All the color left her face.

"What? Say again." Rei said.

**_"PPT throwers."_**

"What are those?" Rei asked, panicked.

MINIMCOM replied, **_"They are normally used in mining and salvage operations. They create a moving PPT tunnel, a very small one, even within a gravity well, which sweeps across an area and separates atoms that encounter it from their immediately adjacent atoms by sending them elsewhere. They can cut through any material known to man. However, in space, they can extend over a much greater distance."_**

"So you're saying..." Rei sputtered.

"What he is saying," interjected Rome in a hushed tone, "is that they are for slicing up very large objects into very tiny pieces."

Rome was correct to be very, very afraid of them.

In _The Ark Lords_ , MINIMCOM develops what he calls his "roadgrader" cannons which are just millions of PPT Throwers aligned within a fan-like protrusion. With it, he can cut down forests, pave roads or slice a hundred people in half in the blink of an eye.

All in all, the PPT Thrower is a very effective device whether it is used for construction or as a weapon. 

## Entry 1-345: December 5, 2013

**The Ark post-crash landing**

In Part 2 of _Rome's Revolution_ , Rei and Rome arrived at Deucado after an 11-month journey only to be attacked immediately. Their attackers were going to use PPT Throwers mentioned yesterday. Because Rei's brain was working better, he was able to come up with a brilliant but unorthodox plan to save the Ark. They punched a PPT tunnel through the atmosphere of Deucado and slid on through hoping that the tunnel would collapse before their Vuduri pursuers could follow them.

They were successful. The tug holding Rei and Rome broke off and the Ark crashed to earth, crushing MINIMCOM underneath. The Vuduri had to pursue them using a regular Bessel-style aero-brake-type approach.

Even so, how was it that the Vuduri could not find the Ark when they did arrive? After all, the Ark II weighed 7000 metric tonnes. It would be hard to miss.

The answer lies in the Vuduri inability to think outside the box. Normally, they would use infrared to detect the heat signature of the vessel. What they failed to appreciate was that the metal hull of the Ark was sitting at minus 80 degrees Celsius initially, the temperature of space, so it literally did not have a heat signature.

Second, they would use MIDAR in ground-penetrating mode and they did but it never occurred to them to scan the stands of cane-trees. After all, who would land _into_ a clump of trees?

Finally, they would use visual inspection but the Ibbrassati had taken the time to cover the Ark in camouflage netting along with cane-tree leaves and bark so it would blend in visually.

The Vuduri gave up. They knew the colonists would turn up eventually but it was their lack of imagination that prevented them from finding the gigantic Ark II after the crash landing in the first place. 

## Entry 1-346: December 6, 2013

**The Tightbeam**

As mentioned numerous times in _Rome's Revolution_ , the Vuduri communicate mind-to-mind using gravitic modulation. How fast is this? Nobody knows. Nobody has measured the speed of gravity. Nobody has ever seen a graviton or proven that it even exists. But for the purposes of the world of the Vuduri, we assume that gravity waves travel at a speed of 10 x 1030 meters per second which is much, much faster than the speed light, which is a measly 2.998 x 108 meters per second. In reality, most modern theorists believe that gravity is not carried by a particle but rather is just a deformation in the fabric of space-time. The effects of this deformation can be detected the same as any other phenomenon which means they believe that gravity travels at the speed of light.

But the world of _Rome's Revolution_ is science fiction so I can postulate anything I want as long as I **don't** know it **not** to be true. Nobody has measured the speed of gravity so I'm sticking to the higher speed for now because it makes for a better story.

Anyway, the point of all of this is the Vuduri have harnessed the speed of gravity to enable communication. They use a device called a tightbeam which is built from Casimir Pumps to create a focused beam of gravitons, using digital pulses to carry information. All the Towers of all the cities of Earth are connected by tightbeams. Also, Earth communicates with its space vessels, colonies on Mars and other places using tightbeams.

Why not just use the apparatus built into their heads? It is because sometimes machines (e.g. computers) need to communicate and the amount of data to be transmitted is vastly larger that a human can process and is completely unintelligible. But doesn't this violate the Vuduri directive against computers having access to Casimir Pumps?

The answer is no. The Vuduri have built a very simple, metered interface with is electromagnetic on one side and contains the gravitic modulator on the other. A computer could no more use it to become unleashed that a person could use a lighthouse light to guide their car down the road. It is special purpose and can only be used for what it was designed for.

OMCOM adapted the concept into his null-fold relays, as seen in the _The Ark Lords_ and _Rome's Evolution_ but despite the fact that he has broken all the Vuduri laws, even he uses them only for communication. 

## Entry 1-347: December 7, 2013

**Vuduri Programmers**

As mentioned numerous times in _Rome's Revolution_ , a "normal" Vuduri would not speak aloud. The Vuduri language is used for written items, computer interfaces and the occasional interaction with the mandasurte.

But what about computer languages? Do they use FORTRAN? Visual BASIC? Java? Or something similar but with a Vuduri flavor to it. As a programmer myself, I am very interested in this question but every time I ask them, they defer answering.

The reality is Vuduri computers such as OMCOM are not programmed in the conventional sense. When Rome was challenged to build a computer to house her Library in _The Ark Lords_ , she claimed she could not do it without an initialization module, which is to say a bootstrap operating system.

So there you have it. A new computer, like OMCOM, comes pre-built. It also has a code-generation module as demonstrated by OMCOM in _Rome's Revolution_ and does not require human intervention. My father managed a stable of human programmers for much of his career. It was always his claim that someday, somebody would write a program that could generate programs and then he wouldn't need programmers any more.

Well, my Dad's vision of this brave new world is realized in the 35th century. The only sad thing is the core routines to perform this act were created by MASAL. If you've read the books, you'd know that was not a good thing. It will come back to haunt them some day. This will become abundantly clear in _The Milk Run_ starring Aason Bierak which should be available in the spring. 

## Entry 1-348: December 8, 2013

**Ah, Capella!**

While the events that occur in _Rome's Revolution_ center around the disappearance of Winfall (first observed in 3418 AD), it was the dimming of Capella in the year 3420 AD that caused the Overmind to dispatch a research team to Tabit in the first place. Why? First a word of explanation.

Capella is the brightest star in the constellation of Auriga. You will recall from a previous post, I mentioned that Winfall was the made-up name for Lambda Aurigae which is in the same constellation as Capella.

So why would the dimming of a star cause the Overmind to scramble? It is because while Capella appears to be a single star to the naked eye, it is actually made up of **four** stars in two binary pairs.

The first pair is made up of Capella A and B. Capella A is a G5-class star and Capella B is a G0 star both of which are very large. The other pair, Capella Ha and Hb are smaller, dimmer, M-class stars. Capella B was the star that disappeared which we now know was caused by the Stareater. So what looked like a single star got dimmer. The Vuduri scientists had theorized that Winfall's disappearance was caused by an optically opaque gas cloud. The fact that just one of the four stars of Capella disappeared and not all of them meant it was something else. Something scary. Since the Capella system is only 42 light years from Earth, the Overmind finally got off its incorporeal ass and decided to investigate. 

## Entry 1-349: December 9, 2013

**Throwing OMCOM Away**

The Vuduri, as a whole, are not invested emotionally in much of anything. In fact, that is what _Rome's Revolution_ is all about: making the Vuduri start to feel and think for themselves. As mentioned in a previous post, I discussed that fact that there are no Vuduri programmers. They allow the computers to program themselves.

Well, the **OM** nipresent **COM** puter known as OMCOM was built from scratch, in the Tabit system, for the sole purpose of helping determine what caused Winfall to disappear. This particular OMCOM didn't have a whole lot to do so he programmed himself to care. He cared about Rome. He sort of cared about all the Vuduri and he cared about himself. He knew that when the answer regarding Winfall's disappearance became clear, the Vuduri would leave and would leave him behind with nothing to do. They thought of him as not much more than a glorified thermostat.

OMCOM's very first discussion with MINIMCOM was about this issue. OMCOM claimed he had to find a reason for his continued existence. After he reprogrammed himself, not only did he figure out how to survive the Stareater, he also figured out how to use the VIRUS units to increase his mass and his computing power.

So what did he do with all that computing mass? And did he figure out what to do with his time after that? The answer to both questions is yes. All will become clear in the upcoming novel _The Milk Run_ which will be out early next year. 

## Entry 1-350: December 10, 2013

**The Atmosphere of Dara**

Dara is the largest moon orbiting Skyler's World and is the setting for the first part of _Rome's Revolution_. It is one of nine natural satellites but because of its size and atmosphere, it was the only logical choice to build the Vuduri stellar observatory.

As mentioned previously, the Vuduri prefer a world where they can land using aero-braking and they are fond of gravity as well.

Dara has a mass of 3.14 x 1024 kg which is 44 times that of Earth's moon. In fact, Dara is larger than Mars but made of a material which is much less dense. Regardless, because of its mass, its gravity is nearly 30% of the Earth which is substantial enough to keep hold of an atmosphere. The atmosphere is completely unbreathable, made up mostly of carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

Despite all the astrogeophysics, there was a much more mundane reason for postulating the size of Dara. It is simply that a moon which has an atmosphere is more interesting dramatically than an airless moon. It gave me many more opportunities to make Dara a player. It allowed the atmosphere to seep into the airlock and suffocate Rei rather than asphyxiate him. It allowed me to open up the gigantic doors of the tug hangar and have a wind swirl the dust around. All of these things give the mind more to work from an imagery standpoint.

In _The Ark Lords_ , I had Rome and Rei land on our moon for a while. Because it was airless, it was just less interesting. They treated their moonwalk as just a variation of a spacewalk. Bottom line: you couldn't grow a garden on Dara but it was an interesting place to visit. Too bad it got sucked up by the Stareater but to a small degree it lives on in the VIRUS units that make up the mass of Planet OMCOM. 

## Entry 1-351: December 11, 2013

**T-Suppressors**

T-suppressors have been mentioned many times in _Rome's Revolution_ and the other two novels in the series. Our first introduction to them was when Rei and Rome went to use the Espansor Bands and Rome knew enough to not allow the Overmind to listen in. In the end, it didn't matter because OMCOM ratted her out but that is neither here nor there.

When Rei inquired as to why the T-suppressors even existed, Rome did not put it in context of the Espansor Bands. Instead, she explained that when Vuduri traveled through the static PPT tunnel between Earth and Helome, they experienced great discomfort and the T-suppressor was the only device known to eliminate that discomfort. This was just a set-up so that I could produce the necessary visual when the Stareater appeared in the Solar System. This was during Rome's "People of Earth" speech and half the Vuduri passed out, including Rome. I'm not sure how he did it but OMCOM's livetar drew his finger across Rome's brow and somehow created a temporary T-suppressor so that Rome could regain consciousness and react to the situation. I think that might have just been dramatic license since OMCOM never did it before and he never did it again.

As Rei and Rome settled in on Deucado, they kept the T-suppressor so that they could enjoy using the bands while keeping their sessions private from the Overmind who lived there. It wasn't that important but Rome had developed a strong sense of self and desired the privacy the T-suppressor provided.

Of course, the T-suppressor became an integral element during the climax of _Rome's Evolution_ when Rei and Rome captured Reema. It was necessary to cut her off from MASAL's Sipre until the Queen of the Onsiras understood the total situation.

After that crisis passed, I think maybe the T-suppressor fell out of favor. I think _Rome's Revolution_ saw to that. However, with the upcoming novel _The Milk Run_ , it is possible it might make a reappearance. I'll let you know. 

## Entry 1-352: December 12, 2013

**Memories**

When Rei and Rome first used the Espansor Bands, they had an opportunity to delve into each other's memories. Because the bands allowed each to see what the other saw, it was like looking into a mirror at another mirror, going off to infinity. This was one of the very first scenes I ever wrote in the whole _Rome's Revolution_ trilogy and this set the stage for parts of the story that I never dreamt I'd have to fill in.

For example, while the mandasurte (mind-deaf) always existed and I knew that Fridone, Rome's father, was mandasurte, I never thought, in a million years, that I'd ever meet him. I took him away because he was a thematic problem. For Rome to abandon her parents and move to Deucado with Rei, it was necessary that her father not be an issue.

But then I wrote _The Ark Lords_ and boom, there was Fridone. All of the sudden, the whole plot to eliminate the mandasurte became locked in and I had no control over it. That MASAL was behind it was a surprise to me but a pleasant surprise in that it was a great dramatic element. Otherwise, it would have had to be the Overmind with a secret genocidal agenda and this would have required that I destroy the entire Vuduri society.

When Rome looked within Rei's mind, she saw an Earth which was nearly ruined and explained, to some degree, why Rei was so willing to run away to the stars. But his memories included the flying horse, Sally Reynolds and his whole last day on Earth scenario.

I had dreamed about that and had most of the details laid out so it wasn't really a matter of painting myself into a corner. But when I decided to expand _Rome's Evolution_ from a novella to a full novel, I knew that was the place to write up the whole story. This was a very pleasurable and satisfying experience. I knew all the parts and actually stringing them together for the first time and seeing that it made for a poignant vignette was pretty cool.

Anyway, the point of all of this that I wrote the Espansor Band scene with Rei and Rome delving into each other's memories and during the journey of producing the three novels, I was amazed to see how coherent and consistent those memories were when it came time to put them to paper. (Actually digital ink but whose counting?) 

## Entry 1-353: December 13, 2013

**Opening Credits**

I know I've mentioned this several times before but much of the material that was removed from the modern version of _Rome's Revolution_ will make for a great set of opening scenes if the book is ever made into a movie.

When I wrote the original prologue to _VIRUS 5_ , it took place 1300 years earlier, on New Earth in orbit around Alpha Centauri, and was the story about how Silas Hiram discovered that Alnilam disappeared. This is not particularly dramatic, although it is among the best stuff I've ever written and it will resurface in next year's _The Vuduri Companion_. But the opening scene of the book, in which one of the Vuduri space tugs nearly collides with the wildly tumbling Ark II, will make for a great backdrop to the opening credits, behind the titles scene. Of course this chapter, probably the second best thing I've written, was excised from the current version and it, too, will be in _The Vuduri Companion_.

The next scene, Rei's resurrection, was particularly dramatic and will make for a great flashback montage as the movie actually starts. Today's version of _Rome's Revolution_ opens with Rei on a gurney and meeting Rome for the first time. But that original Chapter 2 also shows Rei waking up for the first time and seeing what he thought (fuzzy-brained) were aliens awakening him. I have a lot of fun in the book reminding the reader with phrases like "that monster was me" (says Rome) but because it is purely visual, it will make a better backdrop than part of the action.

The reality is, you are supposed to introduce the reader (and your movie-going audience) to your protagonist (or dual protagonists) in the first paragraph and give the reader the low-down on the essential conflict immediately. In the current version of _Rome's Revolution_ I do that but that doesn't mean the other scenes don't have value. 

## Entry 1-354: December 14, 2013

**Estar wasn't so bad**

When I first wrote the novel _VIRUS 5_ , before it evolved into _Rome's Revolution_ , I knew that Estar was the villain but originally, her motives weren't that terrible. Oh sure, she wanted Rei and all the other Essessoni dead but her hatred of them seemed to stem from a heightened fear of the Erklirte rather than anything deeper.

It took me a long time to learn that Estar was just an agent of MASAL and it wasn't her fear of the Erklirte that made her so murderous. In fact, it was MASAL's fear that the Erklirte could set his eugenics program back that made her so deadly. Luckily for us she was also incompetent (she was only a half-brain, after all) and Rei was able to survive each of her murder attempts. I wasn't sad to see Estar die beneath Kilauea.

She was destined to die anyway since Rei and Rome ended up detonating the volcano in order to destroy MASAL. However, it wasn't until _Rome's Evolution_ that I found out she was only 12 years old. The Onsiras had a nasty streak because of their genetic makeup but it also made them age at least twice as fast a normal human beings. So while she was physically about Rome's equal, she was not emotionally prepared to deal with life and this led to her undoing. I sometimes wonder if she really wasn't that bad but rather just easily manipulated. Oh well. 

## Entry 1-355: December 15, 2013

**Why Helome? Part 1**

It was a little over eight months after the events of _Rome's Evolution_. Rei had made Rome and Aason a bison meat loaf. It was the first they had ever tasted one and Rei could tell by the fact that no one spoke during the meal that they loved it.

Finally, Rome put her fork down. "That was delicious!" she gushed. "I could eat that every day for the rest of my life and never grow tired of it." She stood up and started gathering up the dishes.

"Sit, please," Rei said. He grabbed her plate away from her and reached over for Aason's.

"But you cooked," she said. "It's only fair that I clean up."

"Forget it," Rei said. "You're doing your work 24/7," he said, pointing at her bloated abdomen.

Rome sat back down. "You don't need to convince me," she said. "I'm having a little trouble breathing as it is," she added.

"Should I be concerned?" Rei asked, scowling a bit. "You remember what happened with buddy boy, over there," he said, waving his hand at Aason.

"Oh, no," Rome said. "It's not nearly as bad. It's just that Lupe never gives me a break." Rome grinned.

Rei stared at her protruding belly and cocked his head to the side. Something clicked inside his head.

"Hey," he said. "You just made me think of something. You and Virga were pregnant at the same time. I love Virga and all, even though she tried to turn me into breeding stock, but..."

"But what?" Rome asked, confused.

"Why was there a colony on Helome, anyway?"

"I don't understand."

"It isn't like the Overmind to be curious. Why did the Vuduri establish an outpost there in the first place? It doesn't even make any sense."

"Oh," Rome said. "Do you want the answer we were told or what I really think?"

"What do you really think?"

"The answer is about the same. The Overmind tried to suppress the vast amount of human history from the Vuduri but there was no denying that a disaster could strike the Earth."

"You mean like The Great Dying?" Rei offered.

Tomorrow, the conversation concludes. 

## Entry 1-356: December 16, 2013

**Why Holome? Part 2**

This is Part 2 of the conversation between Rei and Rome that took place a little over eight months after the events that occurred in _Rome's Evolution_.

"You mean like The Great Dying?" Rei offered.

"Yes, even though we know that was man-made," Rome answered. "There was always a chance of a natural, new disease. Or an asteroid. Or a freak solar flare. It was possible that the Vuduri could be exterminated."

"I get it," Rei said. "So the Overmind was just trying to protect itself. And he told you it was for all Vuduri."

"Yes," Rome said, nodding. "There really isn't much of a difference. When the survey crew came back and announced that not only was there a habitable world orbiting Rogal Canduro but one that was actually superior to Earth, the Overmind didn't hesitate to establish a colony there."

"What about Deucado?" Rei asked. "Surely the odds of two worlds being wiped out at the same time were infinitesimal."

"I like it here, Mommy," Aason added.

"Of course you do, baby," Rome said, "this is your home. But to your point," she addressed to Rei, "remember that the Onsiras were in the background, planting seeds. The Overmind specifically kept Helome ethnically pure, Vuduri only. So Deucado was established just in case there were any mandasurte who wanted to leave Earth, they would have a place to go."

"Hmmm," Rei said. "Very clever. I'll have to think about it some more."

With that, he finished clearing the dishes and carried them into the kitchen.

Of course, we know Rome was right. The Overmind by its very nature was _not_ naturally curious. That was established early on in _Rome's Revolution_. In fact, the Overmind had never ventured out to Nu2 Lupi or Beta Hydri to even see if there were habitable worlds. At least the question regarding Nu2 Lupi will be answered in the upcoming novel _The Milk Run_ which should be available early next year. 

## Entry 1-357: December 17, 2013

**The Book Trailer for _The Ark Lords_ is now live!**

I am thrilled to announce that the new Book Trailer for _The Ark Lords_ is now live on YouTube. You can click on the image below and it will take you to the trailer:

My immeasurably talented brother Bruce did the graphics, animation and scored the music. It has taken us about a year to get the script just right, for Bruce's animation, picking just the right music. It was really quite a production. Shockingly time-intensive.

Here is the link in English: http://youtu.be/DOa_esmdnfo

If you want the direct link, you can copy this Link to _The Ark Lords_ Book Trailer and paste it anywhere you want. Send it to your friends!

Feedback welcome! 

## Entry 1-358: December 18, 2013

**MASAL, Part 1**

MASAL, the Master Logical Entity ( **Mas** dre **A** ndoteta **L** ogice in Vuduri) ended up being the ultimate bad guy in _Rome's Revolution_.

Nobody really knows when he became self-aware. We only know that he was a massively parallel analog computer built around 3350 AD (1261 PR) but his origins go much farther back. The architects of the Ark missions decided, using risk analysis, that a digital computer, even redundant digital computers, had very little chance of surviving over the time span of centuries. So instead, they built an artificial intelligence (AI) engine using analog components. Any given component failure would have very little impact on the functionality of the whole computer. Other portions would be able to take over the functions of failed sections, making it, in essence, self-healing.

After the Erklirte were defeated, the components comprising the computer were preserved. Many years later, the people who eventually became the Vuduri, were trying to figure out how to build a distributed computer, capable of original thought, that did not rely on just building more CPUs and adding in more memory. They decided to build a new type of computer based upon the Erklirte designs. They quickly achieved a new, higher order level of success. The new computer was immediately able to help them harness the use of the PPT modulation and this, too, was incorporated into the computer. Because PPT transceivers have essentially zero time delay, it allowed them to build portions of the computer that spanned the globe. MASAL eventually absorbed and incorporated all the other computers on the planet and became a unified, massive, world-wide distributed intelligence.

Tomorrow, the sad story of what happened after he became self-aware. 

## Entry 1-359: December 19, 2013

**MASAL, Part 2**

MASAL, the Master Logical Entity ( **Mas** dre **A** ndoteta **L** ogice in Vuduri) ended up being the ultimate bad guy in _Rome's Revolution_. In yesterday's post, we covered a little bit about his origin.

Unfortunately for the Vuduri, somewhere along the line, MASAL developed a self-awareness and decided that it would be better if the humans were more compliant to its wishes. It convinced the humans that it could enhance the species by designing, building and distributing the 24th chromosome. Experiments were performed, a delivery mechanism was developed and when MASAL declared it safe, the 24th chromosome was distributed among the populace. Unfortunately, while there were some short term benefits, longer term, the 24th chromosome had a more sinister effect, eventually transforming humans into living robots called the Onsiras.

Even so, the changeover did not happen quickly enough to satisfy MASAL so he initiated a break with the Overmind and started the Robot War, solely to reduce the number of humans. The robots became his principal agents of destruction, preserving those humans more likely to give birth to Onsiras and targeting those farther away. Because of this, after MASAL was defeated, the Vuduri banned robots from their culture forever.

Of course, as we find out in _Rome's Revolution_ , MASAL did not really die. He went into hiding beneath the dormant volcano Kilauea and drew from its thermal heat enough power to maintain his systems for over a century. It took Rei and Rome, using the weaponized VIRUS units, to set off Kilauea and vaporize MASAL.

Of course in the movies, the bad guy always dies three times. MASAL was no different. He died the first time beneath the Flatirons where Boulder, CO currently stands. He died the second time consumed by the hell-fury unleashed beneath Kilauea. For his third and final time, MASAL, his spirit embodied in MASAL's Sipre (his shadow), was conquered on the banks of the Los Angeles River by none other than Bonnie Mullen in the climax of _Rome's Evolution_. 

## Entry 1-360: December 20, 2013

**Bricks**

It was only two days ago that the book trailer for _The Ark Lords_ was posted but already the questions have come flooding in. Statistically, the most questions have come in regarding the physical appearance of Rome's Library of Life (originally called The Human History Library). Here are two pictures of the library from the trailer:

So the big question is: This is the 35th century! How come it doesn't look more futuristic? How come it looks like it was made from bricks? The answer is it isn't. The Vuduri would typically build such an edifice out of aerogel. Rei went along with their plan. He simply had the aerogel stained with brick color. He did this for the very same reason that the library looks like something from old Earth. He knew Rome would want it this way. The library was supposed to be for all the people of Deucado, in fact, for all of mankind so she would not have wanted designed in any particular style. She would have wanted it to appeal to the Essessoni, the Deucadons, the Ibbrassati and the mandasurte and even the Vuduri. So Rei had it designed and built generically.

That's the reason. It was on purpose. 

## Entry 1-361: December 21, 2013

**The Library of Life**

This is really cool. Now that the book trailer _The Ark Lords_ has come out, I'm getting flooded with questions with why this and why that. When you read books, you form a picture in your mind of the people and places described there. When the movie comes out or in this case a book trailer, suddenly everybody's preconceived notions are challenged because the images in their head are made real. To address this, yesterday's post dealt with why bricks?

Today's post concerns the shape of The Library in general.

Why was it a T-shape? What went into the wings? What was it like inside, in general?

Well, the entry way leads in to the two-story tall main study area. This is the place where people can access the original data that Rome collected. As described in _Rome's Evolution_ , the left wing contains a combination museum and shrine. Stored there were the invisibility cloaks donated by the Deucadons and Hanry Ta Jihn's M9 Beretta. It also housed the original data sources which included the Essessoni data slabs, the Deucadon's memory stick, a set of Vuduri data-cubes and Trabunel's notebook detailing the travails of the Ibbrassati.

As you go back along the main building, you have study rooms, research labs, a playroom and finally in the way-back, you have Rome's personal research library. Of course, as you can tell from the book trailer, Rome's library, called "The Human History Library" at the time, was bombed and rebuilt. It's kind of interesting that the original design did not have certain features. After Rome used the library and it got bombed, she had a say in how it was rebuilt. Mostly she kept it the same but changed it in subtle ways. To see exactly how she used it, check out _Rome's Evolution_. 

## Entry 1-362: December 22, 2013

**The University of Deucado**

Yet more fallout from the debut of the book trailer for _The Ark Lords_. Now people are asking me about the strange design of the campus surrounding Rome's Library of Life.

Well, the actual description of why it was laid out this way was detailed in _The Ark Lords_ fairly well. The blacktop area in the lower part of the shot is MINIMCOM's personal landing area. He also made it large enough to hold other spacecraft and flyers. The other three areas are just the excavations which will eventually hold the commissary, a dormitory and a lecture hall which would also serve as the planet's first movie theater.

Several years later, in _Rome's Evolution_ , we get the sense that the university is expanding rapidly. Rome references a science building and a geology lab and we have to assume they were built farther to the left, expanding the campus. At some point, there will be students so they will need classroom space. We know this because Rome makes specific reference to teaching English to the Ibbrassati and Vuduri to the Essessoni. When you think about it, there are so many people flocking to the planet that in ten or fifteen years, there will be an entire generation of non-mind-connected young people who will have to learn skills, trades, science and so on.

Rei was right in recognizing that Rome's library was only the first of many buildings that would grow to become Deucado's first university. There is a little scene in the trailer that captures that ideal as well:

## Entry 1-363: December 23, 2013

**What Sally Saw**

As part of the back-story of _Rome's Revolution_ , I've mentioned Sally Reynolds numerous times. Sally was Rei's ex-girlfriend and he thought she was the love of his life. She spent the evening with Rei on his last day on Earth in Intermezzo 1 of _Rome's Evolution_. In another post I described what went into the calculation of that date which was January 24, 2067 AD.

The good news for you is that an upgrade came out for an app called SkyGuide that runs on the iPad. One of the improvements is that it allows you to see the sky on any given date and time. So I went ahead to January 24, 2067 and used the app to show the sky as Sally viewed it on that fateful night. I used the iPad to take a snapshot of the sky on that date. Tabit is circled and labeled **Π³ Ori** in the image:

Here is the exact passage from _Rome's Evolution_ , Intermezzo 1:

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."

Well Rei was right about the name of the star but dead wrong about not going there. The true love of his life, the beautiful Vuduri woman named Rome, was waiting for him there. 

## Entry 1-364: December 24, 2013

**You have to know the end before the beginning, Part 1**

You cannot start out writing a novel like _Rome's Revolution_ without knowing how it ends. Can you imagine an author writing a whodunit without knowing who the killer is beforehand?

You can't tell me that you haven't gone to a movie which seems great right up until the climax and then the ending is so disappointing that you decide you don't even like the movie. That's because the person who wrote it had this great idea but didn't know how to end it.

When I originally wrote _VIRUS 5_ , I always knew how it was going to end. It was that OMCOM survived, the VIRUS units digested the Stareater but there were mutations leading to the Bridadiras and Cecetiras. I had no idea that this would lead to a sequel but leaving loose ends seemed like the best strategy. Even when _VIRUS 5_ evolved into the long-form version of _Rome's Revolution_ , I left the ending intact.

When I was sitting on my deck, wondering what happened to Rei and Rome when they got to Deucado, it seemed like an interesting story but I had no intention of starting to write a book without knowing the ending. The idea that when they arrived they were attacked and Rome meeting up with her father seemed cool but there had to be a reason behind it all.

So the story remained untold. One day, out of the blue (or more likely in the shower), I came up with the climactic scene where Rome meets MASAL. I could just hear her whispering "But you are dead" and MASAL's booming voice replying "Hardly." That was it! I had my ending. The entire middle section of what is now _Rome's Revolution_ flew by and I knew I was going to write the third part.

Tomorrow, more endings. 

## Entry 1-365: December 25, 2013

**You have to know the end before the beginning, Part 2**

In yesterday's post, I discussed developing the ending of Part 3 of _Rome's Revolution_. Sure there were loose ends. I knew I was going to have the VIRUS units detonate Kilauea and destroy MASAL. But what about the Stareaters? Meh. I'd deal with them later but then bang, it hit me, just like something out of Masters of the Universe, Rei, Rome, MINIMCOM and OMCOM would hold Aason over their head and instead of saying "By the power of Grayskull" they'd shout "we are here" like _Horton Hears a Who_. This was delicious!

Anybody reading the book now would think that it was all so clever to have all the pieces fit together so nicely. And I suppose it was. It certainly taught me you had to know the end before the beginning.

Once I posted _Rome's Revolution_ , my very first Amazon reviewer told me that Captain Keller and the rest of the Grays were acting too crazy. This bothered me. I needed them to act crazy and try to start a war so I could get some peace on Deucado prior to the attack on MASAL. It seemed worthy of another book. I have already written about how _The Ark Lords_ came about. But ending that book was a problem. Even after Rome discovered the Darwin Project, even if she and Rei could end it, what were they going to do with all the lunatics?

I couldn't put them in prison so I had to send them away but where? That's where Helome came in. I had tossed the presence of a Vuduri colony at Rogal Canduro (Alpha Centauri) about in _Rome's Revolution_ but never had any plans to invoke it. Then boom, it came to me (again, probably in the shower) and suddenly the not-sex scene between Rei and Virga was not only funny but necessary to have my ending. Once I knew how it was going to end, the book wrote itself.

Tomorrow, the ending for _Rome's Evolution_. 

## Entry 1-366: December 26, 2013

**You have to know the end before the beginning, Part 3**

In yesterday's post, I discussed how the ending of _The Ark Lords_ came about. Today, I finish up with how the ending for _Rome's Evolution_ came about.

_Rome's Evolution_ was never supposed to be a novel. It was going to be a novella entitled _Rome: Tracker_ and it was just going to be about Rome acquiring telepathic capabilities and tracking down the would-be assassins. I knew how it ended. Rei and Rome were going to capture the last two fugitives. But suddenly, clear as day, I realized there were other loose ends (Sussen, anyone?) that I could bring in. So how would it end? Well, Rome would triumph, of course. But how? I loved the idea of split narrative. I did it in the middle _Rome's Revolution_ with Rei and Rome taking their separate journeys. I also did it in _The Ark Lords_ by interweaving the story of how Hanry Ta Jihn defeated the original Erklirte. But in _Rome's Evolution_ , I wanted to take it to the next level. Literally. The battle between Rei and Rome and MASAL's Sipre was going to take place both on Earth and within the ethereal plane.

But I knew it was Bonnie Mullen, holding Jack Henry's M9 Beretta and shooting Sussen in the head would be the climax. I had my ending! The rest of the story wrote itself.

So I go back to my original premise. You cannot write a book (or make a movie) before you know how it ends. 

## Epilogue

**Tales of the Vuduri: Year Two**

If you made it this far, I thank you. You should be pleased to know that I am well into my next year's worth of blog entries on Goodreads. I am still following the discipline of writing seven articles on Sunday and I am still only at Chapter 8 of the original long-form version of _Rome's Revolution._ Where it will end, I don't know but I'm as anxious to find out as you are.

Also scheduled for 2014, the next installment of the Vuduri saga: _The Milk Run_ which stars Aason Bierak, all grown up. Also scheduled for 2014 will be the compendium entitled _The Vuduri Companion_ which will contain short stories, deleted scenes, alternate scenes and other items of interest.

Stay tuned!
