Tales of the Vuduri_Year Five

by Michael Brachman

  Whether you write a single book or a whole series, to make it realistic, you need a backstory for each of the main characters. When the time came to write Rome’s Evolution, I finally had an opportunity to blend together all the little tidbits I had sprinkled throughout my novels regarding Rei Bierak's past into a single, self-contained intermezzo. It's a seven part series and here is Part 5:

  Rei’s eyes opened wide. “Ice wine?” he asked incredulously. “How did you…”

  Raul smiled and leaned forward. “I may not have learned all the ways of your country yet but I am very familiar with how the black market works.”

  Ruth set the tray down and picked up the beautiful cobalt blue bottle. “It’s from a winery on Lake Keuka in New York State,” she said. “With all the global warming, Raul tells me they only had three bottles left in the whole world.”

  “Raul!” Rei said disapprovingly. “You shouldn’t have.”

  “Well, I did,” he said. “It is my pleasure. It is one of the perks of being a doctor. You may as well enjoy it.”

  Ruth made great ceremony out of pouring the slightly thickened pale yellow liquid from the sapphire bottle. Sally had contributed by putting the flutes in the freezer earlier to chill. Despite his protests, Rei had to admit the smuggled ice wine was exquisite. They took turns toasting each other and carrying on about a variety of topics until the bottle was long gone.

  A little while later, Sally stood up and motioned to Rei to follow her out onto the deck. She walked to the railing and rested her elbows on the composite material crafted to look like weather-beaten wood. Rei came out and stood next to her, leaning up against the side, facing her. Tall bushes, co-mingled with gnarled trees formed a buffer between Sally’s house and the neighbors on the far side of the woods. Fireflies flickered in the trees in an asynchronous pattern. Global warming had messed up their mating cycle so thoroughly, they came out year round trying to find a partner. It was an odd but beautiful sight.

  “It’s so weird,” Sally said glancing up to look at the three-quarter Moon. “I don’t even know how to feel. After today, none of us will ever see you again.”

  “It is weird,” Rei said. “For me, it’s kind of bittersweet. I mean, I have an adventure ahead of me but everyone I know, my parents, my friends, you…” Sally turned to look at Rei. He stooped down slightly and stared into her dark brown eyes intently. “I know you’re married to Raul now,” he said, “and I wish you two nothing but happiness but still…”

  Sally snapped her fingers up to her lips. That stopped Rei from continuing. “There’s no sense in rehashing the past,” she said. “You wanted to go. I didn’t. It’s that simple. My father was thrilled to get you into the program after I told him about you. He said they would always have room for someone as brilliant as you.”

  One of my favorite wineries is Hunt Country Vineyards on Lake Keuka in the Finger Lakes region of New York. So I gave them a shout-out. Also, one of my most favorite memories was standing on my deck at my house in Glen Mills with some friends and watching the lightning bugs light up a whole forest in waves of light. It was spectacular so it made into Rome’s Evolution. I also wanted to explain why Rei was no longer with Sally, since he loved her so.

  Don't you think it would be weird to spend an evening with a person who you knew you would literally never see them again? It seemed weird to me so I made the characters acknowledge that. Tomorrow, Part 6.

  Entry 5-177: June 26, 2017

  Rei’s last day on Earth - 6

  Whether you write a single book or a whole series, to make it realistic, you need a backstory for each of the main characters. When the time came to write Rome’s Evolution, I finally had an opportunity to blend together all the little tidbits I had sprinkled throughout my novels regarding Rei Bierak's past into a single, self-contained intermezzo. It's a seven part series and here is Part 6:

  “Aw, gee, Sally,” Rei said. “You’re going to make me blush.”

  “It’s the truth, though. Getting the right mix of volunteers was important to them. You deserved it.”

  “Thanks,” Rei said. He held his hands out, palms up. “In fact, I keep wanting to say I can never thank you enough but of course, when you think about it, it’s literally the truth. It’s almost like I’m not even here anymore.” Rei sighed a long sigh. “Getting back to what I was saying earlier, I still remember there was a time when I thought you and I would spend the rest of our lives together.”

  “Come on, Rei,” Sally chided. “Don’t go all gloomy on me. You know what happened in Brazil. It changed me. It would change anyone. It gives you a different perspective. I almost died. After that, I decided I wanted to live my life in the here and now. Not betting it on some uncertain future. ”

  Rei turned and looked up at the sky. “I know. And I know we both agreed this was the best way. It’s just that I’ll never love anyone again the way I loved you. That part of my heart is kind of broken permanently.”

  “No it isn’t,” Sally said. “You’re too good of a person to go through life without somebody to love.” She pointed up in the general direction of the Moon. “Maybe the woman of your dreams is up there, waiting for you. Waiting to love you.”

  Rei focused on where Sally was pointing. On this night, the constellation Orion the Hunter was just to the southwest of the Moon. Light pollution from the city drowned out many of the stars that would have been seen in an earlier age. But Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, the three stars in a row marking Orion’s belt, were still very recognizable.

  “The star you’re pointing to is the grip on Orion’s shield,” Rei said, trying to be analytical. “I don’t remember its name… Tabit maybe? But we’re not going anywhere near there.” He turned his head, scanning the horizon. “There,” he said, pointing to the southwest. “That constellation down there, just over the trees, it’s called Cetus the Whale. The bright star right in the middle is Tau Ceti. That’s where we’re headed. Ain’t nobody there. And if they are, they’re little and they’re green.”

  Sally shrugged. “Says you.” She paused for a moment as if she were listening to an inner voice then she took in a deep breath. “I know you didn’t believe me when I told you this before. But almost dying made me a little bit psychic somehow. I’m telling you, I think your dream girl is waiting for you up there, somewhere. You just have to go and find her.” Sally smiled warmly. “Or maybe she’ll find you!” she added.

  How much more obvious could I be? Rei's statement and Sally's retort were just my way of winking at you because that is what the entire Rome’s Revolution series is all about. What if we went to the stars and when we got there, there were already people? I also poked my wife Denise because she always claims I found her but I always claim she found me.

  I know I've mentioned this before, but I used a program called Voyager by Carina Software to figure out the position of the Moon and the stars on January 24, 2067 so the scene was (future) historically accurate. Please note that the star that Sally was pointing to was, indeed, Tabit. Tomorrow, the final part.

  Entry 5-178: June 27, 2017

  Rei’s last day on Earth - 7

  Whether you write a single book or a whole series, to make it realistic, you need a backstory for each of the main characters. When the time came to write Rome’s Evolution, I finally had an opportunity to blend together all the little tidbits I had sprinkled throughout my novels regarding Rei Bierak's past into a single, self-contained intermezzo. It's a seven part series and here is the final part:

  Rei laughed. “Wouldn’t that be a hoot? We go to the stars and when we get there, there are already people? Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m just hoping for some grass and trees to start a colony. At this point, I think we’d settle for air.”

  “They wouldn’t be sending you if they didn’t think you had the odds stacked in your favor,” Sally said. “You and the Arks are mankind’s best chance just in case something really bad happens down here.”

  “And you’re mank
ind’s best hope as a cure-all for all the new diseases popping up,” Rei said. He put his hand on her shoulder, stroking it gently. “You and your incredible immune system.”

  Sally face reddened. Rei wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or something else. “I know,” she said. “Sometimes I can’t figure out if Raul is my husband or my doctor or my epidemiologist. They take blood samples, like, every week.” She held out her forearm and showed Rei the bandage across the crook of her arm.

  “So we’re both trying to save mankind,” Rei said. “Each in our own way.”

  “Maybe we are,” Sally nodded but she did not appear to be completely convinced.

  Rei held out his arms and Sally came forward. They hugged each other tightly for a long time as only former lovers could. Rei could feel every inch of her body against his frame. Out of sheer habit, he ran his hand down her back but had to stop himself before he went too far. The body pressing against him was once his but it would never be again. She belonged to someone else now and that was that.

  As much as he did not want to, he forced them apart. As they let go, Sally put her palm up to his cheek and said, “I will always love you, Rei Bierak. I wish for nothing but good things for you, now and forever. No matter where you end up.”

  Rei reached his hand behind her head and tilted it forward so he could kiss her on the forehead. In every real way, Sally was his past. He let go and took one last look up at the stars. They were his future. That was where his destiny lie.

  “Thanks, babe,” he said, “same for you. But dead man walking here. I gotta get up early tomorrow. Let’s go in so I can spend some time with everyone. For the last time. And thanks for having us over.”

  Sally nodded gamely. “It was the least we could do.” She took Rei’s hand and led him back into the house. For Rei, tomorrow was bearing down fast and while he did not realize it, everything he thought he knew about the universe was about to change forever.

  Do you have any idea how much fun it was for me to write this scene? It completely wrote itself. I had already laid all the groundwork during the previous eight years so all I had to do is dictate to myself. It will go down as one of my all-time favorite scenes. I hope you enjoyed it too.

  Entry 5-179: June 28, 2017

  Shredded

  I like writing. I especially like writing well. I had given up on acquiring an agent and have been self-publishing over the last 10 years. But recently, it has occurred to me that there is a whole new set of marketplaces for creative material. I'm talking about Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, Hulu, CBS All Access and more.

  As people spend more and more time pulling their entertainment from places other than traditional broadcast media, the need for new, original works is going to explode. So I decided it was time to look for an agent again, one that could introduce my novels to the burgeoning streaming markets.

  I know you will find this shocking but my writing has actually improved over the last 10 years. I'm on my 10th book and everyone that has read my books tells me that technically my writing has vastly improved. I can even tell myself. I go back and read portions of my first scifi novel entitled Rome’s Revolution and whole sections make me cringe. If this origin story is the book that is going to snag me an agent, it has to be my best work, not my worst. Therefore I have no choice but to rewrite it using my "modern" techniques.

  When I first wrote Rome’s Revolution, it took eight to ten chapters before the reader even knew what was going on. That would be great if I was an established author and my audience trusted me to bring them an exciting story. However, I was brand new and nobody had ever heard of me. This approach would never work if transferred to the screen so I decided to take the time-honored technique of dropping you into the climax, namely Rei Bierak getting ready to destroy Dara while Rome flies away and then stopping, leaving you desperately wanting more. The rest of the book is your discovery of how Rei got into that predicament.

  So that's what I did. I wrote a two-page opening scene designed to grab you and make you want to read more. So far, so good. But then the little criticisms started coming in. My general rule is if one person says it is too long and another says it is too short, you ignore them. But if everybody says "lose the phrase (pronounced ray)", then I do it. What do I care?

  I finally gave what I thought was my final version of the opening to two more accomplished writers. Again, both said my opening grabbed them and made them want to know more but there was this wrong with it and that.

  I gave it to my friend Helen and she absolutely shredded my two pages, in a good and loving way. But it kind of set me back emotionally. I thought I had done a good job, and Helen said the writing was vastly improved, but now I had to take on a higher calling and write a gripping scene which is completely different from writing well.

  My heart has healed enough that I will go back to this next weekend. As a writer, you have to be thick-skinned. You cannot take criticism as a personal attack. After all, you want your work to be the best possible. But after the mauling I took, I needed a few weeks to recover.

  So it's back to Dara and me making poor old Rei suffer some more. Next week. I have a 10th wedding anniversary to celebrate this weekend.

  Entry 5-180: June 29, 2017

  Where is Sol’s twin?

  A recent article in the Berkeley News cited evidence that most, if not all, stars are formed in pairs. A theoretical physicist from Berkeley and his buddy, a radio-astronomer from Harvard, have studied the formation of many, many stars and have come to the conclusion that pairs are normal, if not the rule.

  So if this is true, where is the twin for our Sun whose formal name is Sol? Understand the twins need not be identical twins. Look at Alpha Centauri A and B. One is very Sol-like and the other is a smaller, cooler, red star. So maybe Sol's twin was a smaller, red star as well. Assuming that is true, where is it?

  Our solar system was formed over 4.5 billion years ago. If Sol had a twin back then, it is possible that the twin wandered off and is out there somewhere. It is also possible that the two stars collided and Sol ate his brother. In a human baby, when the dead fetus is crushed up against the uterine wall, it is called a "fetus papyraceus." If the dead fetus is actually absorbed by the living fetus, the result can be a dermoid cyst. My brother Bruce had one of these which manifested itself as a cyst in his eyebrow. When it was finally removed, they decided it was a twin that became absorbed into Bruce's body.

  Scientists even have a name for Sol's twin - Nemesis. Some people think this star kicked an asteroid into the Earth and it killed off the dinosaurs. But if this were true, then Nemesis would be close enough that we should still be able to spot it. The fact that we can't means it was probably long gone before the Earth had cooled enough for life to start.

  Nonetheless, it is an interesting idea to think that somewhere out there is a star that is a fraternal or even identical twin of our Sun. Maybe there is a twin of Earth out there too!

  Entry 5-181: June 30, 2017

  What have you got?

  Finally, Rome and Rei and Bonnie are on their way back to Earth armed with the identity of their would-be assassins. The first thing they have to do is track down Paul Chung who, according to Nick Greer, was their best shot at finding Troutman and Steele's whereabouts. However, while they were gone, the Library OMCOM was busy doing his work and stumbled across a shocking and critical discovery. He grabbed the very first opportunity to tell Rome and Rei, or at least he tried:

  Upon arriving in the general vicinity of Deucado, MINIMCOM dropped out of null-fold space and it wasn’t long before he used a single, normal PPT tunnel to close the remaining distance to the planet. They entered into an east-to-west orbit and MINIMCOM instructed everyone to buckle in for re-entry. He was about to use his direct entry method of jumping to the surface when his preparations were interrupted by OMCOM.

  “Rome. Rei,” OMCOM’s voice came from the grille. “Welcome back. While you were gone, I was able to utilize my workstations to piece togethe
r most of the details concerning the raid on Rome’s library.”

  “Thanks but we don’t need it anymore,” Rome said. “Our mission was successful. We were able to get the names of the people involved.” She turned and looked back at Bonnie who was strapped into the new chair that MINIMCOM had built for her. MINIMCOM had called it the ‘navigator’s chair’ although Rei was fairly certain it was their computer friend’s attempt at humor. Rome continued, “And Bonnie Mullen has returned with us. She even knows what they look like.”

  “We’re headed to someone’s house right now who might know where to find them,” Rei added. “So we’re good.”

  “Still, the information that I have acquired could be crucial to your investigation,” OMCOM insisted.

  “Thank you, OMCOM,” Rome said, trying to put the computer at ease. “We will come see it right after we stop at Paul Chung’s abode. Our sources tell us this is our best lead in tracking them down.”

  “But you really should look at what I have synthesized first,” OMCOM said, uncharacteristically insistent. “It may have a bearing on what you do next.”