Parallax: The Science

Discussing scientific principles can be a dry and dull affair. However, as a follow-on to my article about Parallax’s World, it becomes a necessary element to understanding how things work in that particular story world. Between you and me, this article took almost the entire day to write and wasn’t the easiest to do so now that it’s finished, I’m happy to share it with you.

Like it or not, Science rules every aspect of our physical lives from the gravity that keeps us on the ground to the accumulation of mass in our bodies that aim us at the nearest treadmill. While I am not adverse to reinventing the wheel, I also believe that if I can use our living breathing reality as a story template then you can be sure that I’m hopping all over that.

The Science that went into Parallax is identical to what we know today, only extrapolated and advanced through the use of Macguffins to account for the gap between 2015 and 2223. Here are a few examples:

1. Technology: By the Year 2223, Space Travel is a normal fact of life and human beings have spread out from Earth to live on space stations and planetary colony settlements. We also terraform planets to suit our needs, establish trade routes and have an interstellar economy for goods and services. Hyperspace Travel is a reality though not without its own share of hazards and limitations. Weapons of War still exist though human ingenuity has advanced them as well from basic projectile weapons to directed energy and even plasma-based weapons that shoot balls of ionized gas. That’s right, in Parallax, there are weapons that shoot fireballs. Cool, huh?

2. Physics: Sorry but ships that bank in Space do not exist in Parallax. All spacecraft, military and otherwise, use directional thrusters to make turns which make for some interesting maneuvering exposition in certain scenes. Also, inertia often comes into play when stopping. I love Star Trek, but in my writing I tend to lean more toward Babylon 5. Explosions in Space? That one I got around by having explosive missiles penetrate the target before exploding, using the target’s own atmosphere to provide the oomph needed to make a nice bang. Otherwise, it’s just punching holes with a laser, mass driver, or particle beam.

3. Psychology: Each of the featured races in Parallax have their own psychology and philosophies. I found this necessary to create and illustrate the similarities and differences between the Humans, Locknar, and Parans in the story. Doing this also opens up an endless potential for character interactions both in Parallax and in the upcoming sequels. Everyone in the story has an agenda of some kind.

I’ve only scratched the surface of Parallax’s Science, but I believe that I’ve given enough information to show a story world based on sound and realistic science. Thanks for your time. 🙂

I May Not Be Doing this Right

You’re probably reading the title of this article and thinking “What does he mean by ‘Doing this Right’?”

I follow a large number of blogs and I love the many ways people have taken the Blogging Concept and made it their own. However, one thing makes me stop and wonder:

Are we writing Articles or merely Posts as with Social Media like Facebook?

Speaking for myself, I treat each installment as if I were back writing articles for my college newspaper, only opinion-based as if I were writing a column. That’s part of my writing background and though I specialize in writing Fiction, I enjoy putting together articles for entertainment and information. I suppose that’s the Ole Aspiring Journalist making itself known.

Is there a right way or wrong way to do this? I pose this question not to drastically alter how I write these things, but to understand how things work according to those who have done this a lot longer than I. I really want your input and offer profuse thank yous in advance. 🙂

Parallax: The World

Every story conveys a sense of place and time. Some stories may take place in a single room or place while others may involve an entire town, continent, planet, or star system. The extent of the story world depends on the needs of the story and to a lesser degree, the ambition of the writer.

Today’s discussion involves Parallax’s Story World, which comprises a 100 Light-Year diameter sphere with Earth at its center. It doesn’t take an astronomer to realize that 100 LY is a pretty large area to have characters and actions going on in. I can’t guarantee that there won’t be spoilers here so the warning is implied though I would hope that many of you have availed yourselves of the opportunity to read the book. Now, without further ado, let’s talk about some of the scenic locations featured in Parallax. Note, for obvious reasons, these are not in corresponding order to how and when they appear in the book:

1. The M42 (Orion Nebula): The opening scene takes place in the Gorashto System near the edge of Union/Stellar Alliance Space. Gorashto (codenamed Watershed by the Alliance) consists of a twin binary stars and a small collection of 4-5 terrestrial planets. Gorashto is known by another name among the Locknar Hegemony and is unique because it is the place where the war first started due to unintentional colonization and terraforming by Terrans. At the time of Parallax, three years have passed since the initial confrontation and the story begins on New Year’s Day 2223.

2. Mixton: A border system approximately 7 LY from the current battle lines, Mixton is a contradiction of strategic importance and functional neglect. Rich in mineral resources but low on defensibility, the Mixton System relies on a small detachment of Militia and volunteer support to defend it from Locknar raiders and the occasional pirate that may wander through.

3. Planet Chaos: A volcanic world located at the extreme southern end of the Locknar Hegemony, the planet is covered by moving lava seas and extreme temperatures that make it unsuitable for colonization efforts. The Locknar use it as one of their primary sources for metal ores and have maintained a floating mining station on the surface and an orbital Import/Export Control Station. Harvesting is done though the use of large mining drone robots that resemble very large arachnids with the capability to leap over obstacles using jump jets to mine minerals.

4. Mitalum: The Capital World of the Locknar Hegemony and where a major percentage of the Locknar reside. It is a beautiful planet with a constant light show in the skies due to an atmospheric interaction with the nebula. It is roughly similar to Earth in terms of gravity and living conditions and boasts an extensive variety of flora and fauna. The Locknar have lived on this planet for at least 65 million years after being forced from their original homeworld by ancient alien invaders.

As you can see, I put a lot of time into developing the story world and more areas will be revealed when I write Books 2 and 3. It is a trilogy after all because I couldn’t contain so much in one installment without turning it into War and Peace and I wasn’t having that…hehe. Anyway, thanks for your time. 🙂