“What?” Rome said. “What do you have?” She craned her neck to peer around him with her body.
“Just this.” Rei sank down one knee. “Rome,” he said, holding his free hand out to her. Rome placed her hand in his without knowing why.
“Will you marry me?” Rei asked. As he was saying it, he brought his other hand out to the front and showed her a deep burgundy velvet box. He popped it open and there was a ring, a platinum body complete with a large diamond on the top and two smaller trapezoidal diamonds along the side.
“I do not understand,” Rome said, smiling, shaking her head. “We are already married. What is this?”
“This, my love, is an engagement ring. It is what a man of my generation would give to the woman who captured his heart. MINIMCOM has been working our synthesizers for two days making it for you.”
Rome could not wipe the smile from her face. She lifted the ring out of the box and hefted it in her hand. She looked up at her husband and deadpanned, “What happens if I say no?”
Hmmm. Rei didn't actually think that far ahead. You can guess what Rome says but I'll save that until tomorrow.
Entry 3-268: September 20, 2015
Rei proposes, pt. 2
Yesterday, I presented to you a short scene where Rei got down on one knee and proposed to Rome, during the early portion of Part 3 of Rome's Revolution. Rome threw him for a loop by contemplating rejecting his offer, even though they had been together for over a year and even formally married (called Cesa in Vuduri) for several days.
Here is the rest of that conversation:
She looked up at her husband and deadpanned, “What happens if I say no?”
“Oh,” Rei said, crestfallen. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Well, the answer is yes, anyway,” Rome said, her face beaming. “The same as the last time you asked me. But why?”
Rei laughed. “Why?” He showed her how to slide the ring over her finger. Rome held it up to the light and was fascinated by the way the ring sparkled. “The why is because I did not do it right last time.”
“We had extenuating circumstances,” Rome said.”
“Yes, this is true. But there is one other thing,” Rei said.
“What?” Rome replied. “What more could there be?”
“I didn’t pick today at random. Today is our one year anniversary, too,” Rei said. “It was one year ago today that they thawed me out and we met. So this is an anniversary present, too.”
“Oh Rei,” Rome said, leaning forward, hugging Rei around the neck. “You are too much for me. I did not make anything for you.”
“Oh yes you did,” Rei said. He jammed his finger over his shoulder in the general direction of Aason’s nursery.
“That does not count. Aason is for both of us.”
“Rome,” Rei said, turning serious, “you have given me everything a man could ever want. It is enough.”
“Not enough,” said Rome. “I want to do something else. Name it.”
Rei paused for a second. “Nothing comes to mind but I’ll let you know when I think of it, OK?”
“Of course,” Rome said.
Rei eventually "cashed in" on that promise deep beneath Kilauea but that's a story for another day.
Entry 3-269: September 21, 2015
ONE THOUSAND!
Today is post #1000 regarding the fascinating world of Rome's Revolution. Can you believe it?
That's a lot of posts! Where does the material come from? Answer: the 35th century. Everything that happens there that gets fed back to me ended up in the books and now I finally have a forum where I can show you the origin of all the source material.
For those of you who are worried that the well will run dry some day, never fear. The messages and story ideas are still coming. I was driving to work on Thursday and boom, I realized that OMCOM miscalculated on the mechanism from his magic yellow pill with regard to Rome and Rei's genetic structure. He did not take into account MASAL's prosthetic 24th chromosome. The engine that restored Rome and Rei to their youthful selves, once started, can never be turned off making them virtually immortal! Sounds like another short story coming. And another trilogy. And so on.
I love spending time in the 35th century. There is so much to see and do. And I get to relate it all to you. So thanks, as always, for your support.
Entry 3-270: September 22, 2015
All the power
In The Milk Run, I speculated on the powers above, the role of Heaven and so on. What if they are real? Say that somebody came down from above and gave you all the power in the world. What would you do? In my case, I would have the ability to make Rome's Revolution a super Amazon success story (like The Martian) and suddenly a killer three-movie series. Would that make it any good? It would be great for my ego but it wouldn't change the fact that I made people like my novels as opposed to them actually liking it.
If you can influence other people's opinions then they aren't really their opinions. It is just your ego personified. So I have stopped wishing for my books to suddenly become a success and started getting more realistic about the whole thing.
Sure, self-publishing makes you a published author but is your book any good? I have had 4 and 5 star reviews from people that know me and from people that don't know me. One guy gave me three stars on Amazon and wrote:
The story has a distinctly episodic feel (duh, it is three separate novels), as the protagonists confront and deal with a progression of challenges. It was habit forming.
I am not kidding. Here is a screen shot of his review:
I'm not quite sure why I only earned three stars but that's neither here nor there. The fact is, he (at least I'm pretty sure it is a he) liked it and said it was habit-forming. But I had no influence over his opinion. I put the story out there. He read it and I think he liked it.
Let's be frank. I am a beginning writer. Sure I've written and published a few novels but I am still learning the craft. Whether I have talent or not is another issue.
But I came to the conclusion, firmly and squarely, that even if I had all the power, even if I could make people buy my books and go to the movies, that has no meaning. To have any value, critical praise and enjoyment has to be earned. I will continue to try and improve until told otherwise.
Entry 3-271: September 23, 2015
Vuduri noise 1
The people of the 35th century, known as the Vuduri, are a very colorless and mild part of the social sphere. This is recounted time and time again in the novel Rome's Revolution and its successors, The Ark Lords and Rome's Evolution. The Vuduri eschew fun, games, socialization, fashion, pretty much everything that makes life worth living. They do it in the name of purity of thought and serving the Overmind.
A few days ago, I described to you Rome's initial take on why Vuduri even bothered with doors. However, her explanation was not adequate for Rei and he pressed her to explain further. Here is Rome's thoughtful reply:
Rome nodded. “We finished construction and moving and went to our assigned compartments to arrange things before beginning our work. When I first saw the door, I did test it but saw no value in closing it. It was not until our first night there, during my assigned rest period, that I noticed I was not able to fully release my consciousness into the Overmind. I think you would call it meditation.”
“What was the problem?” Rei asked.
“It was noise. Even though the Vuduri are normally very quiet as they go about their business, in such a closed environment, the opening of the hangar doors, people walking in the hallway, the sounds of the food synthesizers, I heard everything. While the central hall was pyramidal, the overall shape of the base was spherical. Within a structure of such shape, there is a tendency to concentrate and reflect all sound. The Overmind instructed me to close my door which I did. Immediately, I was able to relax and fully immerse myself into the flow. I was able to get the restorative re
st I required. In fact, after that first night, all the Vuduri at the station closed their doors almost all the time. The Overmind must have experienced this before with smaller samandas. Ours was made up of only 80 Vuduri. That was why the Overmind designed doors into the station in the first place.”
“Huh,” Rei said. “Imagine that. Letting the worker bees spend time apart. I wouldn’t have thought the Overmind was capable of such sophistication. Pretty sleek.”
Tomorrow, I will give you part 2 of this conversation and you can see that the Overmind forming there was drifting toward a more humanistic and caring type. It was the forerunner of how the other Overminds evolved. And, of course, Rome was there to show them the way.
Entry 3-272: September 24, 2015
Vuduri noise 2
Yesterday, I showed you that the samanada making up the Overmind on Dara, constructed using only 80 Vuduri, was evolving at a rapid pace to become something more than the imperious, iron-fisted ruler we had come to expect. This is part 2 of a conversation that Rome and Rei had about this very subject during the very early part of the final section of the novel Rome's Revolution. Rome could not help but notice:
“It is even odder than that,” Rome said. “Even though you never experienced this, given their revulsion at you as a member of Gracei Ti Essessoni, meals were the opposite. On Earth, food is just sustenance. Vuduri make no effort to eat together. This was something that my father always insisted on so I got used to it but I did not need it. On Tabit, instead of taking their nourishment at random times, always eating alone, the crew members came to vary their time of entry and wait for others to enter. They sat together without speaking of course but almost always in twos and threes. It was almost as if they had some primitive need to congregate during their break time but get their isolation during the mediation time at night. Now that I think about it, the Overmind at Tabit was evolving without it really knowing it. Since the changes were consensual, the samanda immediately accepted it as a given. Taking you on board and allowing you access to the station was the culmination of that evolution. We knew your Ark was of the Erklirte. I think at another time, they would have simply destroyed your Ark without ever seeing what was inside, like they tried to do at Deucado.”
“So the Tabit Overmind had some scientific curiosity,” Rei said. “That was the whole reason for establishing the base at Tabit in the first place.”
“That is what I am trying to say,” Rome replied. “I think the origin of Skyler Base, the justification for the mission itself, all caused a change in the Overmind to the point where it was willing to thaw one of you out, just to see.”
“I’m glad it was me, honey,” Rei said.
Rome came over and sat down on his lap. “I am glad it was you as well,” she said. She leaned forward and kissed him, gently at first then increasingly more passionate. Rei’s hands slid upward and caressed her in places that had been ignored for quite some time.
If you ask me, in the absence of other stimuli, the Overmind that formed on Dara was drifting toward a more humanistic and caring type. It was the forerunner of how the other Overminds evolved. And Rome was there to show them the way!
Entry 3-273: September 25, 2015
The Vuduri and The Martian
Andy Weir's book The Martian is a wildly successful book about a man stranded by himself on Mars and what he has to do to survive. It is so successful that it is being made into a movie starring Matt Damon scheduled for release in October of 2015.
What has this got to do with Rome's Revolution? Andy's success comes from him putting his mind to what it would really take to survive on another planet. Part 1 of Rome's Revolution takes place on the airless moon of Dara in orbit around the gas giant called Skyler's Word in the Tabit star system.
The problems are very similar. Humans need air, food, shelter from a hostile environment and so on. The big difference is the Vuduri have access to an endless supply of free energy. With that, they can actually create matter. Their molecular sequencers are the ultimate 3D printer in that they can create any substance or object. So they had a little bit less of a challenge than Mark Watney, the hero of The Martian.
Regardless, this is my source of fascination with hard science fiction. What would happen if... and then you have to think it through realistically, even though it is a fantastic situation.
If The Martian interests you, by all means click on the image to get to the buy links. After you read Rome's Revolution, of course!
Entry 3-274: September 26, 2015
So many holes
I was very busy with the final edit of the audiobook version of The Milk Run when I came across a plot hole so big, you could drive an X-drive equipped starship through it. The flaw appears when Aason and Molokai, a being who claimed he was a god, are returning to Junior to begin their next leg of the journey. Molokai is a huge ball of swirling lights and colors. Aason wants to bring him aboard along with Sh'ev, his new-found plant friend:
“I’ll explain aboard ship,” Aason interrupted. The boy whispered something to Molokai who drifted easily across the trench in the air and hovered on the far side. Aason touched his temple and with a whoosh and a pop, both Aason and Sh’ev found themselves at the base of Junior’s cargo ramp which was already lowering.
“Come on,” Aason said, waving and he mounted the ramp.
“Aason!” Aroline shouted, running toward him. She grabbed him and if it was possible, she kissed even more passionately that when he left. Aason felt so right holding this girl, he didn’t resist in the slightest.
After they were done, Donald patted him on the back. OMCOM and Junior’s livetars were there as well. Sh’ev joined them and Aason herded them toward the front to make room for Molokai. The glowing creature squeezed his bulk into the cargo compartment and Junior closed up the hatch.
“Everybody, this is Molokai,” Aason said, pointing to the ball of lights.
The humans mumbled hellos.
“Hello,” Molokai replied. The humans and the K’val could hear him however neither Junior nor OMCOM could see anything or hear anything. Both elected to accept the humans’ reaction as their guide.
The flaw? If Junior and MINIMCOM can't see or hear Molokai, how would Junior know what was happening, let alone when Molokai was fully aboard. How would the starship know it was time to close the cargo hatch? Uh, I don't know. Let's pretend that Aason instructed him to do so via the EM "cell-phone" in the head and Junior would just follow orders.
Sound reasonable? I try.
Entry 3-275: September 27, 2015
MINIMCOM lives. For real!
One of the most popular characters to emerge from Rome's Revolution is the auto-pilot computer which evolved into a starship named MINIMCOM. When MINIMCOM needs to interact with his environment, he instantiates a shell made up of VIRUS-based constructors. This ambulatory shell is called a livetar. The word livetar is actually an amalgam of live avatar. In the original version of Rome's Revolution, in fact, they were called avatars but then James Cameron came out with the movie Avatar so I had to invent a different word.
Anyway, my incomprehensibly talented brother Bruce who is responsible for all the incredible artwork and covers for all the novels in the Rome's Revolution series bought himself a 3D printer. The printer itself is a Lulzbot Mini by Aleph Objects. Bruce worked for three months until he produced this model of MINIMCOM, cape and all (the cape is fabric and hand-sewn, not 3D printed):
Unfortunately, the figurine is all black (as is MINIMCOM's preference) so it is hard to do it justice in a photograph. But, boy, to see one of your characters come to life in such exquisite detail is quite amazing!
Thank you, Bruce.
Entry 3-276: September 28, 2015
A Saberoo tooth. For real!
Yesterday I showed you the incredibly detailed model of MINIMCOM that my immensely talented brother Bruce made with his 3D printer. Toda
y I wanted to show you a picture of an actual Ice-Saberoo tooth, compliments of my wife Denise.
This tooth is a bit over 9" long and is a resin cast of a sabertoothed tiger canine found in the La Brea Tar Pits.
My stepson Perry keeps kosher so when we have leftovers, Denise has to store his food in milk or meat bags. She thought it was funny because that is exactly what the K'val call us, meatbags, in the novel The Milk Run.
So now my souvenir shelf from that book is getting full. I cannot wait to add the CD version of the audio book! Soon, soon, I promise.
Entry 3-277: September 29, 2015
Who picked who?
I met my wife, Denise, on Jdate. Jdate is like eHarmony or Match.com but for Jewish people. You enter your data and their intelligence engines try to find you a match. Every day they send you an email with possible matches. One day they sent me a picture of Denise. I looked at her and thought she was out of my league so I moved on.
Imagine my surprise when I got an email from her several days later. We started writing back and forth and then started dating and now, ten years later, we've been together ever since.
However, my claim is now and has always been that she contacted me first. She says I peeked at her and that constitutes first contact. I could not help it. That is what Jdate does. It sends you pictures of people to look at. We never really fight about it but neither of us will ever yield. I decided to put this little disagreement into Rome's Revolution ever so slightly disguised:
Tales of the Vuduri: Year Three Page 36