Tales of the Vuduri: Year Three

by Michael Brachman

  Sadly, Rei had a long way to go and MINIMCOM's whoosh/pop transport tunnels were not ready yet and Rei had only gone 25 kilometers on a 40 kilometer trip. I guess he'd better keep going.

  Entry 3-006: January 1, 2015

 

  Happy New Year, Vuduri-style

  In the world of Rome's Revolution, we never really discuss the new year. We know that the Vuduri keep track of years, however, their calendar begins the day after The Great Dying in which 9 billion people died due to the Darwin Virus Strain 4.

  The Great Dying took place in our year 2081 AD so the Vuduri Year 1 PR (where PR stands roughly for Post-Resurrection) would be our 2082 AD. But does the first day of the Vuduri calendar, which consists of 10 months, start on the equivalent of our January 1st?

  Answer: no. Their year starts much closer to late September right around the autumnal equinox. More like the start of the school year or the Jewish New Year.

  Regardless, the Vuduri don't party much so other than flipping a digit on their calendar, there isn't much todo about New Year's Day. They are more into celebrating the end of the old year during Poor Tamas which is a combination of Yom Kippur and New Year. When Rei and the Essessoni arrived, while they were forced to follow the Vuduri calendar, they did try and raise the excitement level a little bit.

  So from all of our friends in the 35th century, I wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year.

  Entry 3-007: January 2, 2015

 

  First person, third person

  Whenever you decide to write a novel like Rome's Revolution, the first thing you have to decide is if you are going to write it in the first person or the third person. I've tried both. I wrote my first novel in first person. The book is entitled Future Past and it is a romantic novel (shocker) about a guy who goes on a reality show to reacquaint himself with all the girls he ever dated or loved from kindergarten on.

  This book was easy to write in first person because I just used my imagination to put myself in the situation and describe what I saw. Nothing happened outside of the protagonist's field of view. I cranked out 325 pages so this story lent itself to that style.

  I tried writing a science fiction novel entitled The Last Cavalier in the first person and got so bogged down, I actually gave up. There were simply too many things, future history, degraded technology, etc. that had to be introduced that the main character could not know. I had no way to deliver this information to you, the reader.

  For the Rome's Revolution series, I used a variant of third person called third person omniscient. This is just an admission that you, the author, know everything about the story. I needed to do this because there is so much science and action happening outside of the protagonist's view that it would be impossible to do in the first person. I tried to introduce a you are there (aka third person limited) kind of feel but, of course, that got ditched when I had to ratchet up the action, action, action.

  In Rome's Revolution, Part 2, I introduced a split narrative which could only be done third person omniscient. In The Ark Lords, I embedded an entire historical mini-novel in flashback style. How could you do that in first person? In Rome's Evolution, I had two flashbacks. Finally, in the upcoming novel The Milk Run, I have my first flash sideways which could only be done with third person omniscient.

  The bottom line is, for science fiction at least, I prefer third person omniscient because it allows me to tell you the story in the best way possible. Maybe some day I'll take a crack at first person again but for now it works so why mess with it?

  Entry 3-008: January 3, 2015

 

  Rome loves her coffee

  In the middle of Part 2 of Rome's Revolution, Rome has finally contacted Aason and gotten him to agree to stop pushing. This simple act would prevent her polyhydramnios from getting worse and allow Aason to have a normal birth.

  She finally had her affairs in order. She had gotten Rei out of the Vuduri palace safely, she had put the Overmind in its place, settled Aason and it was time to attend to her own body. She needed some food and some rest. What I found interesting was she was also craving coffee. Here is that little scene:

  Rome cut the connection to Aason and reconnected to the Overmind.

  “You have settled things with the child?” the Overmind asked without waiting.

  “For the time being,” Rome thought. “We are connected now and he will stop hurting me. It was just his fear that was causing the reaction.”

  “So are you ready to talk to me?” it asked.

  “No,” Rome said. “Before we start, I must rest some more. And right now, I need sustenance. After that, we will talk, I promise.”

  “Very well,” said the Overmind a bit petulantly.

  With that, Rome opened her eyes and looked around her. Two of the medics saw her awaken and came over to her. She nodded and they helped her stand. In slow and careful steps, they walked her out of the examination room and took her to a more traditional room. Rome allowed the Overmind to probe her mind and determine her preferences in food. They brought her a tray of broth and a cup of coffee, blessed coffee! Rome knew she was not supposed to drink it but she figured one cup could not hurt. Diving into her food, Rome ate and drank and then she slept.

  Rei did a good job in teaching her the wonders of a good cup of coffee. Don't ask me how the Vuduri figured out how to brew it. Maybe they took it from the food synthesizers aboard The Flying House. After all, there were no Starbucks 11.9 light years from Earth just yet.

  Entry 3-009: January 4, 2015

 

  Rei was a good swimmer

  Early on in the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution, I had established that Rei was a good swimmer. In fact, sometimes I describe him as having broad swimmer's shoulders.

  Well, little did I realize at the time that I was going to go on and create what was then Book 2 and is now Part 2 of Rome's Revolution. Rei had escaped from the Nayer's house and headed north. However, to get to the secret Vuduri enclave to the north, at some point, he would have to cross the River Karole. This is how he described it (remember, Rei is from Pennsylvania):

  At last, Rei came to the river. On the ground, it seemed even wider than it had when Rei had flown over it.

  “That’s way wider than the Delaware,” Rei thought to himself. “Like half a kilometer?”

  “From my orbital readings, just before we crashed, I can derive an estimate of a little over 400 meters so I believe you are correct,” MINIMCOM replied.

  “How am I going to get across?” Rei asked in his mind. “Am I supposed to swim?”

  “I would not advise that," MINIMCOM said. “The current is very strong. You might get swept downstream and lose all your progress.”

  “So what am I supposed to do?”

  “You will have to find a narrow place or a shallow place,” replied MINIMCOM. “I cannot help you in this regard. I do not have sufficient data.”

  Rei came to clearing along the bank. The river was only slightly narrower here but moving very rapidly. He was really tired from his jogging. MINIMCOM was right. He did not think he had the ability to swim across it. He decided to take a short break. He sank down to his knees and it was only then that he realized how thirsty he was. He bent over the edge and stuck his lips right into the water and drank long and hard. The water had a bit of a mineral bite to it but it was wet and that was what he needed. He rocked back on his heels and shut his eyes, using his new-found sonar vision to examine the landscape. The river’s ceaseless rushing sound was like a searchlight to him, illuminating the woods on his side of the river and across. He pulled his legs around so that he was sitting on his butt and took a deep breath.

  I think this sonar vision is going to make it hard to get any rest,” Rei said out loud.

  “Why do you say that?” asked MINIMCOM inside his head.

  “Because I’ve never been good at sleeping with the lights on and now when I close my eyes, I see almost as clearly as with them open,” Rei t
hought back.

  “That is a dilemma,” MINIMCOM observed.

  Luckily, OMCOM had thought the whole thing through and attached a neural on/off switch to Rei's vestibular system. Whenever Rei's head tilted back more than 45 degrees, the sonar-vision cut out so really, to get a good night's sleep, all he had to do was lay down which is what we all do at night.

  Entry 3-010: January 5, 2015

 

  A Deucadon

  In the middle of Part 2 of Rome's Revolution, Rei is stymied by his inability to get across the River Karole. Yesterday, I showed you a little scene where he decided to take a break right on the bank of the river. The sound of the water rushing by was like a searchlight for his sonar-vision.

  The Deucadons were masters of conduit technology and had created invisibility cloaks where light passed from back to front and side to side so you could not see them during the day or during the night. However, it would never occur to them that they would come across someone with sonar-vision. So day/night/whatever, they would be visible because their physical form would bend or block sound. Here is the first time Rei became aware that there were other inhabitants on Deucado besides the Vuduri and the Ibbrassati:

  Rei rocked back up to sit on his knees. He closed his eyes so that he could survey the far bank and figure out the best place to cross. Suddenly, off to his right, Rei heard crack and turned his attention to that direction. He was shocked to “see” a figure moving rapidly among the trees. He stood up and opened his eyes but all he could see was blackness. He closed his eyes again and the quietly moving figure was easily evident to him.

  The figure started moving off to the east just as a gentle wind started to blow. Rei decided to follow him. As the wind picked up, the cane trees began to sway back and forth and made a clacking noise as their thin trunks bumped against each other. The sound was utterly ethereal. It was like a thousand bamboo wind chimes and it illuminated the landscape more brightly than daylight. The sound was so striking that it even gave a false color to the sound-mapped vision of the woods.

  Rei had no trouble following the mysterious figure. The stranger’s own footfalls betrayed him as they provided a tracking signal better than anything MINIMCOM could have rigged up. Rei kept his distance. He did not feel it was necessary to get too close. On and on they went, deeper into the woods until they came to an outcropping of granite or basalt. The man slipped in-between some rocks and then was gone. With his eyes closed, Rei was easily able to follow him within the cracks until he emerged into a glade, a grassy clearing that was perhaps 25 meters across, surrounded by 20 meter walls of stone.

  This scene was inspired by the time Denise and I went to Hawaii and stood in the bamboo forest on Maui when the wind started picking up. The click-clack sounds the trees made was very cool.

  Don't worry about Rei, we know that he eventually makes friends with the Deucadons and eventually facilitates their return to the surface after living under ground for several centuries.

  Entry 3-011: January 6, 2015

 

  Black

  I love it when a scene or chapter ends with everything going black. I love it so much that I try and put it in every book I write.

  The climax of Part 2 of the original long-form version of Rome's Revolution ended with the entire sky going black. In the very beginning of Rome's Evolution, Rei is hit in the head with a piece of debris from an explosion and everything went black. In the upcoming novel The Milk Run, there are at least three scenes where Aason is subjected to an experience where everything goes black.

  But it all started with my first "black" scene. This takes place right after Rei tracked his first Deucadon to his hideout that was hidden behind some rocks:

  With his eyes closed, Rei was easily able to follow him within the cracks until he emerged into a glade, a grassy clearing that was perhaps 25 meters across, surrounded by 20 meter walls of stone.

  There, under an indentation carved into the rock were three men, standing around a glowing box. Rei stepped through the opening, moving toward them, raising his hand in the universal greeting.

  “Halli,” Rei said. “Quam sei fica?”

  When they did not answer, Rei said, “Au siu Rei Bierak. Au siu Essessoni. Au asdiu dandenti cimacer ei anclefa ei nirda. Sei fica Ibbrassati?"

  One man took two steps toward Rei. He lifted his hand and then there was a crackling noise and everything went black.

  To set your mind at ease, know that this was just the Deucadon version of a taser. A bigger mystery was why did Rei feel the need to speak to them in Vuduri?

  Well, as mentioned yesterday, this was the very first time he encountered a human being on the planet of Deucado who was not a Vuduri. And in a previous post, he had been warned that nobody would take the time to learn English so it was only natural. However he could have saved himself a lot of pain if he had just spoken in English in the first place.

  Entry 3-012: January 7, 2015

 

  The Glade

  Sometimes while writing Rome's Revolution I had a very clear picture of a vista or environment but I struggled to describe it because it wasn't any place where I had ever been. I mean I've never been to the Tau Ceti system so how could I really, truly tell you what places look like?

  Well, a funny thing happened which I'll explain shortly. In yesterday's post, I described a scene for you wherein Rei comes across a group of Deucadons for the first time who were camped out in a glade. I described it as:

  With his eyes closed, Rei was easily able to follow him within the cracks until he emerged into a glade, a grassy clearing that was perhaps 25 meters across, surrounded by 20 meter walls of stone.

  Not much to go on, huh? Well, here's the funny thing. Just the other day, I was watching a movie called The Maze Runner which is a story about a boy named Thomas who woke up in the middle of glade. He didn't know why he was there or what to do at first but eventually he figured it out. Here is a picture of it:

  While this is not exactly what I was trying to describe and it is tremendously bigger than what I had thought of, I found it interesting that the director (Wes Ball) had the same vision as me. But, hey, I thought of it first!

  The Deucadons camped out there because they needed to hide from the prying eyes of the Vuduri. The glade provided them with protection from all four corners. There was no entry other than the one crack (similar to the portal in the movie seen on the right) and they hid their heater which looked like a glowing box.

  Entry 3-013: January 8, 2015

 

  Days and nights confused

  In Part 2 of Rome's Revolution, I had to create a split narrative to show Rome and Rei's spiritual and physical journeys as separate threads. Each chapter was divided into a Rome section and a Rei section. The process of keeping track who was where and when was so complex, I had to create a spreadsheet. Here is a synopsis of it:

  But as confused as I was or tried not to be, my characters were even more confused. The days on Deucado are shorter than Earth and who knows what time their biological clock said it was when they first arrived on the planet.

  While the chart only says AM or PM, it doesn't really tell you whether it was at dusk, dawn or midnight. So I had to do something in Part 2 that I never did before or since, I told you what time of the day it was so you could envision the surroundings. Rome was so messed up, circadian rhythm-wise, that she finally woke up to have her first confrontation with The Overmind of Deucado at midnight. Here is the introduction to that chapter:

  Even though it was midnight, Rome awakened refreshed. She patted her stomach and was thrilled to see there was no pain. While it was still extended, her abdomen was no longer the gross exaggeration of pregnancy that she had displayed earlier that day. She probed with her mind and contacted Aason who was being quite active. He was moving around, involved in his own little game of discovery. Rome could not make out exactly what he was doing but he assured her that he was fine and required no contact just then.

/>   Despite the fact that it was pitch black outside, there was plenty of latent heat in her room. Rome sat up in bed and stretched. She swiveled her legs around and stood up, taking care to hold on to the edge of the bed with her hand. Her infrared vision was sufficient to guide her to the small couch that had been placed in the middle of the room. She walked over to it, sat down and swung her legs around so that she was fully reclining on the couch. She reconnected to the Overmind and let it into her mind, offering no resistance.

  I don't know, maybe it's just me but I'm ready to go to bed at midnight, not start my day. Oh well, it's just a story!

  Entry 3-014: January 9, 2015

 

  The seeds of destruction

  In Part 2 of Rome's Revolution, before Rome had collapsed due to exhaustion and the strain of reconnection, she had told The Overmind of Deucado the following:

  “It is your choice. You have the reports from Skyler Base to corroborate them. You can choose to know this is true. You ask me why the distinction between what and who I am? You only know one way to approach things. The time has come to start asking new questions. You need new answers. Within what you are now lies the seeds of your destruction.”