Immortal Vagrant - Travis's Stories

General: Animus is Online

2007-06-09T09:50:00.000+10:00

www.myspace.com/animusoz

Apollo Point: The Three

2006-10-02T19:09:00.000+10:00

From Travis J. Annabel, author of Echoes of Absicon comes a trilogy of short stories from the universe of Apollo Point...

Exclusive to visitors of Immortal Vagrant: Travis' Stories comes the trilogy The Three: Enigma Grey, Anima Ku and Zen

Visit http://www.travisannabelsthethree.blogspot.com or click on the logo above.

General - Long overdue update...

2006-08-31T09:18:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

Firstly, my apologies for the lack of updates over the last few months. I've started a new job which involves all night shifts, so it has taken me a while to get into this new routine. Unfortunantly, my writing has suffered because of this. I'm beginning to get back into the swing of things however, so hopefully there will be some progress from now on. I've been slowly doing a bit of work on both the Apollo Point and Absiscon universes, and I'm happy with the direction in which they are headed.

In the Absicon Universe, I'm still plugging along with Echoes Of Absicon, although not as quickly as I'd like. I've also only done a bit more work on the short story, The War Of Babylon which I had hoped to have well and trully finished by now. Oh, well. The good news is, I've decided to establish Echoes Of Absicon as the first book of a trilogy. The following two books will be titled Shadows Of Basilia, and Demons Of Celestine and will focus on the continuing destiny of the Immortal Vagrant and it's crew. The two new names aren't final, but I'm happy with them at the moment. I've written out basic plot ideas for the following two books, and I'm quite excited with the direction this series is shaping up to take.

I've also done a bit of plot line work on the Apollo Point series, and am proud to announce that shortly, a trilogy of short stories will be appearing, exclusive to this blog. The trilogy is titled The Three, and the individual story titles are Enigma Grey, Anima Ku and Zen respectively. These are the names of three integral characters in the Apollo Point series.

Well, that's it for now. Keep an eye out for not-too-distant future updates!

Oh, and welcome home Chris! www.chrisinjapan.blogspot.com

See you all later.

General: The difference between art and reality...

2006-04-25T16:18:00.000+10:00

I keep reading in the news about people who are trying to sue author Dan Brown for his work "The Da Vinci Code", saying that they have already made the claims he makes in his best-selling novel. Thank god sanity has prevailed, and all the lawsuits have been thrown out. The fact of the matter is that "The Da Vinci Code" is a work of fiction.

These people (who may have legitimately published work about the claims made in the novel) have to realise one thing - their works are based on reality, and Browns work is fiction. There is a distinct difference.

I'm also sick of all these people who are willing to take everything that is said in "The Da Vinci Code" as reality (Yeah, you know who you are). Once again, people its FICTION. You may be suprised to learn this, but the book actually sits in the FICTION section of your local library or book store, not the section labeled Theology.

I'm also sick of the catholic church who have condemned this novel so fiercly. They claim its anti-christian... Well Dan Brown posted a message responding to this by saying "Its not anti-anything. Its fiction." See people, strait out of the horses mouth: FICTION.

I congratulate Dan Brown on his success on this novel (even If I think its slightly over-rated) and hope that If I ever write a successful novel I won't have to go through as much crap as he has had to. It seems that every leech in town wants to make a buck of this mans success.

There is a distinct line between art and reality - don't confuse them.

General: The Insanity Continues...

2006-01-31T19:44:00.000+11:00

Well, Mark and his mates have certainly caused a stir. The legitimate bids are up to 69,000 (I say legitimate because overnite a few nastys placed fake bids of up to 16,000,000). They are appearing in papers across the world, as well as making the TV news in Australia and various other countries. Tomorrow morning at 8am (AEST) Mark and co. will be appearing on the Today show on channel nine, and then A Current Affair on the same channel, same day at 6.30pm (AEST).

The follwing list is a list I've compiled of all the Newspapers, Websites, TV shows and radio stations they've been reported on (at least the ones I know about):

Newspapers
The Sydney morning Herald
The Daily Telegraph
The Age
The Sunday Times
The Australian
The Blue Mountains Gazette
Reuters
The Courier Mail (Brisbane)
The Advertiser (Adelaide)
Melbourne Herald Sun (Melbourne)
Independent Online (South Africa)
Irish Examiner (Ireland)
Evening Echo (Ireland)
Spiegel (Germany)
Reuters India (India)
Sify (India)
Brocktown News (USA)
Ely Times (USA)
Oberlin (Kansas, USA)
The Kindred Times (Utah, USA)
Jackson News-Tribune (Wyoming, USA)
Herald Daily News (North Dakota, USA)

Web News Services
Seven.com.au (Web)
Ninemsn.com.au (Web)
Breakingnews.ie (Web, Ireland)
Reuters.uk (Web, UK)
Leading the Charge (Web)
Ireland Online (Web, Ireland)
News.com.au (Web)
Google news (Web)

Radio Stations
Vega FM (Sydney) – Interview with Mark
Nova 96.9 (Sydney)
Triple M (Sydney)
2Day Fm (Sydney)

Television
Today Show (Ch9 Sydney)
A Current Affair (Ch9 Sydney)
Channel Nine News (Darwin)

Unconfirmed Reports
TV/Radio in Canada/USA
Radio in UK
Newspapers in UK

Yep, big list. Go blokies!! I heard Mark on his Vega FM interview as well. Very funny.

Coming Soon: Stuff that has anything to do with this blog!

General: A Weekend with 4 Blokes in Sydney...

2006-01-29T11:30:00.000+11:00

Alright, if you havent already heard, there is an auction on ebay for "A weekend with 4 Blokes in Sydney". Basically, they're auctioning themselves off as someone's best friend for a weekend. I know this, because one of the four blokes, Mark, is a close friend. (Second from the left, eyes shut)

Now it was all going well - they'd had bids up to A$195, but then ebay closed it down, because it was "out of the ordinary". That's when the Sydney Morning Herald got hold of the story. After numerous complaints, ebay restarted the auction.

Since then, news articles have appeared in papers across Australia, and even internationally. The list includes the news papers Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph, The Age, The Brisbane Courier Mail, The Sunday Times, The Blue Mountains Gazette and a german newspaper called Spiegel. Some radio stations have run the story as well, and these include sydney stations Nova 96.9 and Vega FM. The guys have also had calls from magazines and television stations wanting interviews.

Now here's the hilarious part: as a result of the media frenzy, the bids have now reached upwards of A$12,000!!!!, and the auction's not even halfway through yet. It's so out of control now, that it looks as though the guys may make as much as A$30,000 just for spending a weekend with some (many names come to mind) individual. It may reach higher if they manage to score TV interviews, which it looks as though they will. Early signs are even indicating that the whole weekend will be covered by a radio station, and perhaps even have corporate sponsorship.

A simple plan that has paid off for Mark and his room mates. Good on ya fellas. Milk it for all it's worth.

You can visit the ebay auction site here.

You can see a SMH article here.

Absicon Universe: QLS Second Draft

2006-01-23T17:04:00.000+11:00

Hello everyone,

I've just completed the second draft of Queen Lucrecia's Shadow. I won't post it on the blog, but If you want a copy just e-mail me at travisannabelauthor@hotmail.com.

See you round

Absicon Universe: Queen Lucrecia's Shadow Epi.

2006-01-03T22:53:00.000+11:00

Woohoo! Queen Lucrecia's Shadow (The first draft, anyway) is complete! Here is the epilogue. Hope you enjoy.

Dorian approached the bio-bed that Grey lay in. She was dying, he knew. The only thing that kept her alive was the residual electrical currents left over from Lucrecia's occupation of her body. She had asked specifically to see him.
"How are you feeling?" Dorian asked, after taking a seat. He knew the question was lame, but he didn't know what else he should say.
"Like I'm dying." Grey answered. She paused for a moment. "I was conscious the entire time that she possessed me. I heard the conversation you had with her. I heard her thoughts."
"Her thoughts?" Dorian asked.
"She's dangerous." Grey said. "She's afraid of us... of humanity."
"I gathered that." Dorian said. "What do you know about her? What do you know about her people?"
"I know that their natural form wasn't as an energy being." Grey answered. "They were humanoid. Right up until the Vendo'Rpah wiped them out, they were humanoid."
"What changed?"
"I don't know. I couldn't make sense of all of her thoughts." Grey explained. "What I did understand was that what she is now is like a shadow of what she once was." Grey leaned up towards him. "She died, captain. The Vendo'Rpah killed her – and look what she has become." She shook her head and rested it back on the bed. "She's afraid of us - afraid of our philosophies, our mindsets. She means to destroy us. All of us."
Dorian glanced at the array of monitors that were set up around Grey's bed. They had just begun to beep wildly, and Dorian realised that Grey had only minutes – maybe seconds – left.
"It's not your problem anymore." Dorian said. "You need to rest."
Grey grabbed his arm.
"I'm about to die, for god's sake." She snapped. "You need to promise me, captain, promise me that you'll stop her..." Her eyes grew wide. "Stop her before she kills us all..."
With that, she let out a gasp of air, and dropped back onto the bed, her eyes open wide. The monitors all began going haywire, and Dorian knew that she was dead. He stood up, and placed a sheet over her face.
Dorian left Klein to take care of Grey's body, and began the long walk up to the bridge. Upon reaching the bridge he sat in his command chair, and instructed the AI to alter the Amethystine's course. They were heading home.
As he stared out of the bridge's enormous windows he had only one thought – he had to make it home and stop Lucrecia. It seemed to Dorian that Humanity went from one crisis to another – humanity past was littered with conflict. From the crusades, to the world wars of the twentieth century to the Transnationals war of the twenty second century and finally the war with the Vendo'Rpah, Humanity had gone from conflict to conflict, and still they couldn't avoid it. Perhaps Lucrecia was right – perhaps war was what defined one. But even if she was right about that, she was still planning to destroy humanity, and she had to be stopped.
She would be stopped.

Well, that's it for Queen Lucrecia's Shadow. I hope you enjoyed the story. Let me know what you think (constructive criticism is always welcome) by leaving a comment on the blog, or sending me an e-mail at travisannabelauthor@hotmail.com. Next step is to have a few people read over it and do some editing, and then I'll be sending it off to Interzone magazine in the UK. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. My next short story will be titled The War of Babylon, and will be set in the Absicon Universe, although it will be set well before everything else.

Thank you, and good night.

Absicon Universe: Queen Lucrecia's Shadow Pt5

2006-01-03T22:50:00.000+11:00

Enjoy!

Dorian approached the Xenology labs armed with a hybrid rifle and a sidearm. He was alone this time – not that he considered it a good idea, but because he needed the rest of the crew elsewhere if his plan was to work. He hesitated at the doors to the lab, and then walked towards them. They opened automatically.
The inside of the lab was much as he had last seen it, although the lighting had become even more erratic, as if it would give out at any second. There were scorch marks all over the walls and ceilings now, although whether that was from Lucrecia or from he and Carmichael's weapons blasts, he didn't know.
Lucrecia was on the far wall, cocooned in a huge amount of cables and flexible conduits. Her face was pulsing blue, and the veins in her head seemed ready to burst. Her hair was a mass off electrified tangles, burnt here and there from the incredible amount of electricity that coursed through her body. Her eyes were closed.
"Lucrecia!" Dorian called, keeping the muzzle of his weapon pointed away from her, but ready all the same. Not that their weapons seemed to do much last time.
No answer was forthcoming from the possessed scientist. Dorian sighed and scowled.
"Your Majesty." He said tentatively.
Grey's eyes opened, and they shone a violently glowing blue. Dorian doubted whether there was anything of Grey left in the body.
"Captain Hanson." She replied in an electric voice that could have been that of a faulty computer. "I didn't expect you to be back."
"I need to ask you some questions." Dorian continued. "About the Hirokians, and how you came to be with them."
Lucrecia smiled a vile smile and stepped away from the wall. The cables and conduits that had encased her fell away, and the motion of departing her cocoon seemed effortless. She took a few steps toward Dorian and stopped.
"You've been studying."
Dorian nodded and lowered his weapon. He realised belatedly that if the gun was needed then he was as good as dead.
"You're not of their world." Dorian stated, pacing slightly. "You came to them after –I'm assuming – your people were destroyed. By the Vendo'Rpah."
"The beast from the stars, yes." Lucrecia answered. "We fought them, just as you did. But unlike you, we were not victorious. I was the sole survivor – so to speak. I fled, and came here."
"You ruled them." Dorian said. "You turned them against each other. Incited war. In the end, it was you who destroyed them."
Lucrecia gave Dorian a vicious smile.
"It is through war that one learns the most about themselves." She said, taking another step closer to Dorian. "They destroyed themselves; I simply... showed them conflict."
"Why?" Dorian asked. "Why destroy a peaceful pre-industrial culture? They couldn't have harmed you. They were no threat to you."
Lucrecia hissed in disgust.
"They were so peaceful and placid it was sickening. They deserved to learn of conflict – of war."
"Why?"
"Because one day, when the beast came for them, they could at least die fighting!"
"You consider yourself a warrior?" Dorian asked, after a moment's hesitation.
"I am a warrior. I fought the beast. I have fought countless wars, and only then did I suffer defeat." She glared at him. "You consider what I did to the Hirokians as horrendous? War is existence. Conflict is existence. They weren't alive!"
"If conflict is all you've lived for, then you're missing out. I pity you." Dorian said quietly.
"Insolence!" Lucrecia snapped. "You are a warrior! You and your people defeated the Beast!"
"We defeated them simply to bring ourselves peace, not for the sake of fighting." Dorian said. "Perhaps you're right – perhaps war is something that defines all of us in a way. But there are so many other things, so many better things!"
"You are weak." Lucrecia hissed, rage filling her eyes. "To think that the ones who defeated the beast exist with these beliefs. I dreamed of meeting the ones who would eventually defeat them. In my minds eye, they were glorious, gods of nothing but war." She took a threatening step towards Dorian. "You... are a bitter disappointment."
"So be it." Dorian said, turning his back on her.
"To think that such a race is now the ultimate force in the galaxy. It is not right." She spat on the ground. "You did not even kill those you defeated. The beast still exists!"
"The Vendo'Rpah will not bother anyone else. When we defeated them, we took away their means to make war." Dorian said. "We gave them a chance to redeem themselves and to see the universe in the same light as we see it."
Lucrecia looked at him in horror.
"Incomprehensible!" She said in horror. She turned away momentarily, and then spun back and glared at Dorian. "You consider me a monster?"
Dorian realised for the first time at that moment that whatever Lucrecia was, she was utterly alien - alien not only in physical existence, but in mentality perhaps even more so.
"You must be stopped!" Lucrecia cried. "To have such a philosophy spread throughout the universe! You will be stopped!"
"Not by you." Dorian said as she took a menacing step towards him.
As he said the words, figures burst into the lab from all directions. Lucrecia stopped in her tracks and shot the rest of the Amethystine's crew nasty glances.
"What is this?" She asked in disgust. "You're going to try and stop me?"
"We're going to do more than try." Dorian said. "Do it!"
The rest of the Amethystine's crew rushed Lucrecia, holding small box like items. They stuck the boxes up against Greys skin, and she gasped.
"What... is this?" She managed.
"They're called energy dissectors. They absorb energy from power conduits while their being repaired." Dorian said. "They're now absorbing you."
"No!" Lucrecia screamed. She began to struggle, and small electrical bolts shot out of her body, hitting the crew members, although they gave nothing more than a slight jolt. Lucrecia was screaming - a piercing scream that echoed throughout the lab as if it were running though a microphone. Light began seeping out of Grey's body through her eyes, ears and mouth. The energy streamed into the energy dissectors, and within seconds it was over. Grey's body fell to the floor limply. Carmichael looked up at Dorian.
"What the fuck do we do with these?" He said, holding up his energy dissector.
"The closest airlock." Dorian said, grabbing the dissectors that Klein and Preston had held. "You two check out Grey."
He led the rest of the crew out of the lab and down the corridor. It took only minutes to reach the airlock. Weir cycled open the inner door and they all threw their dissectors in. Dorian looked at Weir.
"Flush it."
Weir cycled the inner door closed, and then opened the outer one. The dissectors were sucked out, and through the small airlock windows they could see the small boxes tumble trough open space.
"Well that's that." Weir said.
"I can't say I'm sorry to see the bitch leave." Carmichael said.
"Oh my god, look!" Dorian cried.
The dissectors began to glow blue, and as they watched, bolts of blue energy shot out of them and joined up. The blue light twirled in space a few times, and then shot off at an incredible speed.
"Shit!" Carmichael exclaimed.
As he watched the light shoot off, Dorian could have sworn that he heard a laugh echo throughout the ship

Absicon Universe: Part 3 complete

2006-01-03T13:47:00.000+11:00

Hello all,

I've just completed part three of Echoes of Absicon, titled "The Two Thousand Years". This part is quite small compared to the other parts (only 31 A4 pages, about a quarter the size of the other parts) and is largely character oriented, although there is a chunk of action at the beginning. The next part (which I have already started on) is titled "The Fall Of Gilgamesh", and is mostly about a fifty year long war.

I have also just hit 250 A4 pages. (Yay Travis, yay!)

In other news, I have finally aquired myself a cop of Alastair Reynold's new novel "Pushing Ice". If you're interested, check out his website from the link bar on the right. On the site, he talks about a book he will be releasing that is basically a book filled with stories set in the "Revelation Space" universe, and will be titled "Galactic North". You may remember me talking about his short story with the same name. A fantastic author, one I highly recommend.

Anyway, that's all from me.

Oh, Happy New Years, by the way.

Absicon Universe: Queen Lucrecia's Shadow Pt4

2005-12-07T18:34:00.000+11:00

Good Afternoon!

Wow, another part! So quick! Its only short, but enjoy nonetheless.

Dorian awoke in the Amethystine's infirmary, a tiny area with only three bio-beds. For a moment he couldn't remember what had happened that had put him in there. He felt physically drained, and every so often he felt a muscle twitch. He held a hand up in front of his face, and noticed that the tips of his fingers were pink with newly grown skin caused by the bio-beds dermal regeneration function. He held his other hand up and noticed the same effect. He had begun to wonder how he had gained such injuries when it all came flooding back.
There was something seriously wrong with Dr. Jasmine Grey.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, captain." Doctor Klein, the Amethystine's medic said, leaning over Dorian's body. "How do you feel?"
"Like I've been electrocuted." Dorian said, struggling to sit. "How the hell did we get out? I thought I was going to die in there."
"Somehow Carmichael managed to drag you clear before he passed out from shock." Klein explained. "He didn't get zapped as good as you." His look became concerned. "Captain, what the hell's happening to Doctor Grey?"
Dorian took a few moments to give the question some thought, but he couldn't come up with an answer that satisfied himself.
"I don't know." He finally responded. "But something happened down on that planet – in the temple that she and Carmichael entered. Something happened, and we need to know what it was."
"We may have the beginning of an answer for that, captain." Commander Preston, Dorian's first officer said, striding into the infirmary with Jonas Weir in tow.
"What have you found out?" Dorian asked, impressed that his crew seemed like they were starting to function properly – a little late, maybe but better late than never. There was nothing like a good crisis to bring out the best in a group of people.
"We've managed to find out some of the details about what happened on that planet." Preston said. "It seems as though Dr. Grey used minicams any time she studied artefacts in their natural habitat. We also managed to download a copy of a report she made regarding the planets inhabitants. We couldn't get much more – she shut us out of the xenology data cache pretty quick, and I don't think anybody is going to go down there and ask her for more information."
Dorian followed them to the observation lounge. Weir explained some of the situation to him while they walked.
"The planet's inhabitants were pre-industrial, perhaps something closer to a medieval age." He explained.
"I remember that from Dr. Grey's preliminary report." Dorian said. "They didn't come anywhere near space flight."
"That's right." Weir said. "Part of the reason for that was because they were peaceful. Within our own history, it has always been in pre- and post-war periods when the greatest technological leaps have taken place. The Hirokians had no such incentive."
Dorian remembered Dr. Grey calling the long dead aliens 'Hirokians'.
"I remember that Dr. Grey's report stated that these 'Hirokians' killed themselves off in a war, that the Vendo'Rpah or anyone else didn't have anything to do with it." Dorian said, his confusion growing.
"Yeah, you're right." Weir answered, his excitement growing. "But before that war, there is no evidence that there had ever been one before hand."
"The beginning of the final war seemed to coincide with the arrival of a new leader." Preston said. "A leader that the records seem to indicate was nothing like the rest of the Hirokian people."
"She was called Queen Lucrecia." Weir said.
Dorian stopped in his tracks.
"What did you say?" He asked as if he hadn't heard right.
"Their leader," Weir said, unconcealed confusion growing on his face. "Her name was Queen Lucrecia."
"You've heard it before." Preston intuited.
"Yeah." Dorian said. "It seems as though that's what Doctor Grey is calling herself these days."
Preston shot a concerned glance at Weir.
"That makes sense." She said. She turned to Dorian. "You really need to see the minicam footage, sir."
They hurried to the observation lounge. Once they had arrived, Preston activated a two dimensional monitor and slid a data disc in.
"I think you'll find this... interesting, to say the least captain." She said as the playback began.
The recording began with a close-up of the opened sarcophagus within the temple. The ornamented body lay within, covered by a slightly transparent cloth of some kind. A hand reached in and lifted back the cloth, exposing a decayed body, although it had obviously been embalmed, considering it was thousands of years old. Grey obviously turned away for a moment, as the minicam floated back a bit, so that the doctor came into view as well. She was looking away from the sarcophagus, and as she turned back, the eye sockets of the body began to glow.
"What the..." Dorian began.
As Grey looked back at the body, the eyes began to glow brighter, and suddenly energy of some kind shot out of the sockets, and began streaming into Grey's eyes. Within seconds it was over, and the recording stopped.
"Oh my god." Dorian said, in a stunned tone. "She's been possessed!"
"By what?" Preston asked.
"Well I guess that's the question." Dorian said. "Did the Hirokians have any kind of belief in ghosts or spirits or anything?"
"Well, not that we know of." Weir said. "But our information is far from complete. You... think Dr. Grey's been possessed by... what, a demon or something?"
"I don't know about that." Dorian said. "But she's been possessed by something. Does Grey's report mention how this Queen Lucrecia arrived?"
"Not in detail." Weir said. "It mentioned something about 'ascending from the sky during a thunderstorm' or something."
"Ascending from the sky?" Dorian queried. He looked at Preston.
"An alien?" She asked.
"That's what I'm thinking." Dorian replied. "An alien who seems to be nothing but energy, but with the ability to possess a humanoid being... as though the humanoid were a superconductor."
He looked up at the other two.
"I think I have an idea on how we can free Grey."

The next part will be the climax, and that will be followed by the epilogue. Hopefully it will be done soon, and I'll have a manuscript ready to send to some mags.

See ya

Absicon Universe: Queen Lucrecia's Shadow Pt3

2005-12-02T23:56:00.000+11:00

Hello all!

Sorry for the lack of posts, been quite busy and still having some computer problems. A few friends and I went on a delightful wine tasting trip to the Hunter Valley last weekend, so I missed out on a bit of writing that weekend, but I'm not complaining.

Anyway, I finally finished part three of Queen Lucrecia's Shadow. Enjoy!

Dorian took Carmichael with him. He'd be damned if he'd be going into a potentially hostile situation without some backup. Carmichael had objected at first, but eventually capitulated – he was, after all the security expert.
Dorian had a sidearm attached to his belt – a multi-setting energy pistol. He wore it only as a show of force. He wasn't going to let the situation get to the point where he would have to kill one of his own crew members. He had, however instructed Carmichael to arm himself with a hybrid battle rifle just in case. The hybrid rifle was overkill, really – like killing an ant with a bazooka – but Dorian always entered a potentially hostile situation with overwhelming superiority. He'd had enough of being out-numbered and out-gunned during the war.
It was a short walk from the forward elevator to the Xenology labs. The Amethystine was relatively small, as far as FTL capable ships went, but it was still almost three hundred meters long, and with only two elevator shafts it could take some time to reach a destination. They'd reached the Xenology labs quickly, however, and now the two of them stood in front of the electric doors preparing themselves to enter.
"I've got a real bad feeling about this, Cap'n." Carmichael said his voice strong, although laced with nervousness. "This is a bad fuckin' idea."
"It's necessary." Dorian replied.
"Why?" Carmichael asked. "I say keep her locked in there. Let the solitude work whatever got into her on that planet out."
"If we lock her in there, then our mission is a failure." Dorian said. "She's the god-damn Xenologist, for Christ's sake. Without her we turn around now and head home as failures."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Carmichael said. "No-one's gonna give a shit about this mission back home anyway."
"We're not going back early." Dorian said, keeping his anger in check – not because he wanted to, but because Carmichael held the larger weapon, and wouldn't hesitate to use it if he were provoked. That was the reason Dorian had brought him along in the first place – he was ruthless.
"Whatever." Carmichael said. "Let's just get this over and done with."
He hefted the battle rifle up to his shoulder – not in a firing position, but in a position that if he needed to begin shooting, then he could do so quickly. Dorian nodded once at him, and hit the button to open the door.
The xenology lab was basically one big room with glass separating different annexes and the sterilized examination rooms. A passageway on one wall lead to the quarantine rooms.
The first thing Dorian noticed as he entered the labs was the lighting. They were very dim, although every so often they flickered, giving the labs a very foreboding atmosphere. It was as though something was draining the power that was entering the labs, although that was not possible, as it would have drawn the attention of Carmen, the Amethystine's AI and Fletcher, the engineer.
All of the computer monitors were scrambled, displaying nothing but static – at least that's what Dorian first thought. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the monitors were actually streaming tiny figures – figures that were not from a human language. He watched the blue and white figures streaming down the black screens and wondered what the hell they were. Some kind of computer language? Not likely, considering Dorian was more fluent in most computer languages than he was in anything but English...
He peered around the rest of the lab. At first he though violence had occurred within, as though someone had trashed the labs, but then he understood the mess for what it was – the mess left by a scientist who had done nothing but work for weeks strait. Papers, empty coffee cups and PDA's lay scattered on almost every surface. Here and there he noticed clumps of hair – human hair – sitting in the same place they had been left when they had been torn out of the scalp. He recognised the hair colour as Dr. Grey's.
"Come on out, bitch!" Carmichael called, making Dorian jump.
"Shhhh!" Dorian hissed. "Keep your fucking mouth shut, Carmichael!"
Carmichael gave Dorian a nasty look and then shrugged, waving Dorian on. Without even thinking about it, Dorian reached down and withdrew his sidearm, keeping it pointed at the ground, but ready to use. Something was very wrong.
"Doctor Grey?" He called. "Jasmine... we're here to help. Where are you?"
A slight breeze filled the normally still and sterile air. Dorian frowned and peered around. When the voice came, he almost jumped out of his skin.
"I am curious." The voice said. "Tell me: in what way are you able to 'help' me?"
The voice seemed to echo around the lab, and was not quite human – although it was almost certainly that of Jasmine Grey. It had an electrical tinge to it, as though she were speaking through a computer instead of a voice-box.
"Something is obviously wrong, doctor." Dorian said. "You need help. Where are you?"
Her voice let out a laugh that sent shivers down Dorian's spine.
"I am here, there and everywhere." She said in almost a sigh.
"Cap'n this is wrong." Carmichael said, lowering his rifle to his shoulder, and sweeping the room. "She gone fuckin' insane."
Dorian breathed deeply and ignored Carmichael. He felt another breeze and suddenly had the urge to look up. He tilted his head back, and gasped. Grey was 'lying' on the roof, her body in the shape of a crucifix, tangled in power conduits and wiring. Her eyes glowed blue, and her long hair was static, and standing on end. Every so often a bolt of blue electricity ran across her body, but if it hurt, then she showed no sign of it.
"What the fuck?" Carmichael gasped. He raised his rifle and pointed it at her, his finger on the trigger, but he did not fire. Dorian couldn't help but point his pistol up as well.
"Jasmine... what's going on?" He asked, even though he knew it was stupid. "Come down."
"As you wish." She answered.
The wires and conduits began to wriggle way from her body and within seconds her body was free. Dorian expected her to fall, then, but her body remained up against the ceiling, held there by electrical currents that coursed across her body. She slowly began to float down toward the floor. Dorian and Carmichael took a few steps back and followed her body with their guns. She touched down on the floor and the papers scattered on the floor began to swirl around.
"I ask you again," She asked, her voice still tinged with its electrical sound. "In what way are you able to help me?"
"I don't know." Dorian answered. "I don't know what's wrong with you."
"Why do you think something is wrong with me?" She asked. "I feel alive... more alive than ever. This body is intoxicating."
Dorian and Carmichael gave each other and uneasy glance with that last comment.
"Look, Jasmine. I don't know what's going on, but something is wrong." Dorian said. "This... this is not normal."
"You keep calling me that name." She answered. "Is that the name of the one who I inhabit?"
Dorian and Carmichael glanced nervously at each other again, and Dorian raised his eyebrows.
"If you ain't Jasmine Grey, then who the fuck are you?" Carmichael demanded.
"Carmichael!" Dorian snapped.
"Nah, fuck this, Cap'n." Carmichael answered. "You can play at diplomacy all you want, but this is all fucked up. You're gonna tell me who you think you are, bitch, or I'm going to blow a hole the size of a fist through that freakin' body!"
Grey, or whoever she thought she was smiled an amused smile, before raising her arms as if she were addressing a loyal following of some kind.
"You may address me as Queen Lucrecia." She said. "The regal leader of the Hirokian people."
"The Hirokian people?" Dorian asked, confused.
"This is wrong." Carmichael said. "I don't usually pick too much up on the planets, but one thing I remember is that the people of FT-301/4 called 'emselves that. I'm telling you something happened in that temple thing."
Grey raised an eyebrow.
"I am growing tired of this." She said. "Leave me now."
"We're not going anywhere." Dorian said. "I want to know exactly what you think is going on."
"I am busy." Grey responded with an icy glare. "I have discovered much of your people, but I have much more to learn. One thing intrigues me, however. Your race has encountered the Beast from the Stars, yet you still exist. It is curious. Perhaps there is more to your race than meets the eye."
Dorian didn't understand what she was talking about at first, but then he understood. 'Beast from the Stars' could have mean only one thing: the Vendo'Rpah. Comprehension must have flooded over Dorian's face, because Grey smiled.
"What the hell are you talking about, Lady?" Carmichael asked.
"Your captain understands."
"She means the Vendo'Rpah." Dorian said.
"Oh, those pricks. Kicked there asses, didn't we?"
"How?" Grey asked. "It intrigues me. You seem to have no records on how you defeated them. The data talks of a great war, but includes nothing on its conclusion."
"It's classified." Dorian said, firmly.
"Lies."
"He's telling you the truth, bitch. Even I don't know how the fuck we won that war." Carmichael said.
"What does it matter?" Dorian asked. "Your... Grey's reports mentioned that your people killed themselves off in a civil war. Nothing suggested that you had ever encountered the Vendo'Rpah. You never even developed space flight."
Grey smiled an evil smile.
"I said I led the Hirokians, I never said I was one of them." She waved a hand in the air. "I am becoming bored. You shall leave now."
"I don't think so." Dorian said, shaking his head slightly. "My ship, my rules."
"I will not tolerate this." She answered with a snarl.
The next thing Dorian knew, Grey held out an arm and a bolt of electricity shot out of her hand. It struck Dorian in the chest and he went flying up against a bulkhead. He moaned slightly, and Carmichael pointed his weapon at Grey. Dorian was clutching his chest when Carmichael looked at him.
"Cap'n?" He asked.
"Shoot her, for Christ's sake!" Dorian yelled.
It happened in slow motion. Carmichael's finger squeezed the trigger and three blue energy pulses shot out the barrel and struck Grey's torso. The energy seemed to be absorbed by her body, and she cackled an evil laugh.
"More please!" She cried in pleasure.
Dorian stood, and together he and Carmichael pumped pulse after pulse into Greys body. Not one single shot seemed to have the desired effect.
"This is not fuckin' good." Carmichael said.
"Switch your rifle to projectile mode." Dorian said while Grey seemed to be riding a high that the energy pulses seemed to have given her. Carmichael nodded, and spoke into his weapon.
"Projectile." He said simply, before spraying Grey with around thirty bullets. They carved holes through her body, and blood splattered on the bulkhead. Still she stood. And she looked pissed.
"That was not pleasant!" She screamed, dragging each word out as if they were each individual sentences. "I demand your obedience!"
She raised both of her hands, and the last thing Dorian remembered were blue bolts of energy striking him.

Hope you enjoyed part three. Hopefully there won't be as long of a wait for the next part.

In other news, I've done a fair bit more on EoA which I'm trying to fous on now. I have, however written down a few ideas for a sequal to EoA which I think will work well. More on these ideas later, perhaps!

Have a good night!

General: Problems

2005-11-05T10:47:00.000+11:00

Hey all.

Sorry for the lack of posts of recent times. My computer has been out of action for a while.

Haven't done any writing for the same reason. Hopefully have another part of Queen Lucrecia's Shadow up soon, although I keep saying that, don't I? Oh well.

Just a quick bit of information - Alastair Reynolds' new book, Pushing Ice, is out in the UK now. Visit his site: http://www.alastairreynolds.com. I'm yet to get my hands on a copy, but I can't wait.

See ya!

Absicon Universe: A few changes...

2005-10-24T21:44:00.000+10:00

I have recently just made a few major changes to Echoes of Absicon. The biggest one is perhaps a significant plot change, which I believe will make the story far more exciting and interesting (and will stretch the time frame of the story to over two thousand years, as opposed to the three or four years that the story originally spanned - mind boggling, I know). A Major change.

Due to this plot change, I have added a whole extra part to the novel, which means that in all there will be five parts and an epilogue. I am currently working on part three, and hopefully this one will not take too long, as it should be relatively short - at least compared to the other parts.

I have also changed the names of most of the parts. Part I is now titled "The Beast from the Stars" (as opposed to "Revelations"), Part II is now titled "The Gates of Hell" (as opposed to "To Hell and Back"), Part III is now titled "The Two Thousand Years" (as opposed to "The search for Absicon"), Part IV is the additional part and is titled "The Fall of Gilgamesh", Part V is titled "The Alpha and the Omega" and the epilogue is titled "The Writing of the Scroll". The last two have not changed.

I am quite excited about the plot change - I think it adds a cosmic span that the story would have lacked without it. And after all, it is science fiction.

Anyhow, that's all from me for the time being. Hope to have another part of Queen Lucrecia's Shadow up soon.

Later!

General: Miracle Twins...

2005-10-21T18:01:00.000+10:00

Welcome home to Amber and Tyler Watkins!!!

Visit their blog: www.amberandty.blogspot.com

Absicon Universe: Queen Lucrecia's Shadow Pt2

2005-10-04T20:28:00.000+10:00

Ok, here's what the people have been waiting for. Queen Lucrecia's Shadow, Pt2. This one's not as long as the other part. Enjoy.

Dorian Hanson had never wanted to become a captain of his own ship. He had been born aboard a starship, and knew that one day he would die aboard one, but it had never been his desire to command one. He had been an engineer, and a damned good one. It had been something he had enjoyed, and something he had been content with.
But that was before the war. It had changed everything. Some of the changes had been good, some had been bad. But everything had changed. He had most certainly changed. He’d accepted a commission as executive officer of the Trade militia cruiser the Immortal Vagrant, something he’d never have done before the war. Then after the war had ended, he had accepted a commission as captain of a long range deep space exploration vessel, the Amethystine. The very one he was on that moment.
It was not the smartest of career choices.
Commanding a vessel was difficult at the best of times, even when it was making regular calls at the planets and space cities that made up human occupied space. The Amethystine, however, was an exploration vessel, a deep space vessel on a fourteen month mission to explore the worlds of some of the alien cultures made extinct by the xenocidal Vendo’ Rpah. They had travelled almost three hundred light years, and were utterly alone in the dark void humanity called space.
Not the optimum conditions to build a functioning crew.
Slowly, as the months passed, the crew had become fragmented, able to work together (only just), but utterly incapable of personal interaction. There were many reasons; the seclusion, the small number of crew members, the distance between them and their families and friends… one could go on. He shook his head, wondering how he had managed to get himself into such a mess. He longed for the much simpler days of the Immortal Vagrant – the place he considered home. Well, maybe simple wasn’t the right term – considering who, or what his girlfriend was.
He shook his head, and continued walking down the dark, gloomy hallway that led to the crew lounge where he was meeting with the rest of the crew, with one exception. The exception was the individual they were meeting to discuss.
“Carmen, is everyone in the crew lounge?” He asked, addressing the semi-sentient ship-board AI.
“Yes, captain.” The AI’s feminine voice responded, via Dorian’s Cerebral Communications Implant.
“Where is Doctor Grey?”
“Doctor Grey is currently in the Xenology lab.”
Good. She was still there.
He reached the entrance to the crew lounge, and entered. The six individuals within were sitting silently, with not a hint of interaction.
“Good morning people.” Dorian said, taking a seat on one of the soft, maroon lounges. A response wasn’t forthcoming, nor was he expecting one. “I assume you know why we’re here?”
There were a few half hearted nods. Dorian sighed.
“Good.” He said. “Now, I’ve had a few… complaints from some of you regarding Doctor Grey’s attitude over the past few weeks, complaints I consider to be founded. But before I decide what to do, I want to hear each of your interpretations of her behaviour.”
There were some concerned and bemused glances between the eight crew members.
“Why do you want to hear what we think?” The crew’s geologist, Doctor Catherine Sloane asked, sulkily. She was the individual who worked closest with Grey. They were the vessels two scientists, responsible for cataloguing all they discovered on the alien worlds. The others nodded in confused agreement. “You’re the one who has to deal with her.”
In addition to Sloane, Grey and Hanson, five others (Not including Carmen, the vessels AI) completed the crew. Derek Carmichael was a rough individual with the attentiveness of a three year old, and the morals of a hardened criminal. He had been kicked out of Shadow Fleet, and had some how managed to secure a position aboard the Proteus Science Council Vessel Amethystine as the ships security expert. Commander Heather Preston was an Earth Fleet (former Shadow Fleet) officer who had been loaned to the Proteus Science Council as Dorian’s request – he had felt that the addition of a career spacey would add some structure of to his crew. He was wrong. The lack of discipline had changed Preston over the months, and now she gave off the impression that she didn’t care at all – she just wanted to get home. She also doubled as the vessels on-board operations officer. The vessels medic was Doctor Henry Klein, an older man with qualifications as both a medical doctor, and an astrophysicist – he also doubled as the Amethystine’s Science officer, and was perhaps the only person aboard the ship who seemed to actually get along with everyone. The vessels engineer was a rather shy individual called Daria Fletcher, a former space city technician who had moved between the Space Cities Babylon, Purgatory and Sun Tzu before applying for a position with the Proteus Science Council. This was the third deep space expedition she had been on, the previous two having been before the war. She was also the only one of the crew who didn’t seem to mind the mission’s sever isolation. Dorian had tried, to no avail, to come to know her, but he had only ever been able to scratch the surface before giving up. The final crew member was a young Proteus University student named Jonas Weir who was on a working sabbatical, acting as Grey and Sloane’s assistant. He had been friendly enough at the beginning (as most twenty something’s were), but the isolation and the crew’s hostility (especially Doctor Grey’s) had served to drive him away from any involvement with any of the other crew.
Quite a bunch, really.
“I haven’t seen what everyone else has seen.” Dorian answered Sloane. “I’d hate to think that I wasn’t addressing some of the issues we all individualy have with her.”
“You know, Captain,” Carmichael began in his most intimidating tone. “How about you deal with the problems you have with her, and we deal with our problems.” He smiled a nasty smile. Dorian didn’t allow himself to be fazed.
“No.” He responded. “We’re here now, and I want some answers. So tell me.”
There was a few moments silence as everyone reluctantly gave it some thought.
“She hasn’t been the same since Rapture.” Carmichael said, using the unofficial name for FT-301/4. “Something happened in that fuckin’ temple thing, I’m tellin’ you.”
“I think he’s right, sir.” Weir said, nervously. “Things began changing at that point. Not strait away, but slowly.”
It had been almost two weeks since they had left FT-301/4, and Dorian had to agree that it was about that time that Grey had begun to act differently. The Conclusion that both she and Sloane had come to was that the inhabitants of “Rapture”, had been a mostly artisan race - peaceful and harmless. Something had changed, though. An individual seemed to have come to power and had divided the world. After many decades of disruption, full on war had broken out – a war fought with swords and catapults as opposed to guns and lasers. It had been messy, and it seemed neither side had capitulated. The war had destroyed their civilisation, in stark contrast to their placid history.
“Let’s start with that.” Dorian said, nodding towards Weir. “How did she begin changing?”
“It… it was slight at first. It was as though she were in a bad mood. Slowly it changed. She began to isolate herself. When either I or Doctor Sloane approached her about it, she got extremely angry, sometimes violent.” Weir explained.
“Jonas is right.” Sloane said. “She seemed to grow paranoid, and any attempt at interacting with her seemed to make it worse.”
The others all agreed, and had had similar experiences with Doctor Grey. It didn’t really help, though. He still had to determine exactly what was wrong. All there was were suggestions that whatever had happened had occurred on Rapture, and that was pure speculation. And even if he managed to determine what was wrong, he still had to decide what to do about it. There weren’t too many options aboard an FTL ship hundreds of light years from civilisation. There was only one real thing he could do at this stage.
He had to bite the bullet and confront her.

Hope you enjoyed it. Another exciting part soon!

Also, a few slight changes were made to Part 1. Nothing Major, but see if you can spot it (if you can be bothered).

See ya!

Absicon Universe: Queen Lucrecia's Shadow Pt1

2005-09-16T20:54:00.000+10:00

Hi All,

The following is an exerpt of a short story I am writing called Queen Lucrecia's Shadow. It is set after the events of Echoes of Absicon, and features one of EoA's central characters, Dorian Hanson, who is only mentioned in this exerpt. Don't worry. It's not as long as it seems.

The wide open space one found on terrestrial planets was like a reprieve from the confinement. A reprieve from the solitude and darkness she had almost become accustomed to. In a sense, it was a kind of madness. But that was what happened when one had spent almost eight months confined to an FTL starship. The claustrophobia that came with lengthy space travel was in itself a kind of insanity, but an insanity one could learn to live with, but never get used to. Perhaps the truly insane were the ones who did get used to it. Thus, Dr. Jasmine Grey could not have been happier being on the surface of such a beautiful planet, even if she knew it would only be for a short while.
The planet was designated FT-301/4, and was located in a binary star system almost Three hundred light years from the central human hub of Tau Ceti, the largest human populated system. Since the reoccupation of the Sol system, Earth was quickly regaining its reputation of humanities ‘home’, but after a two and a half century absence, Earth still had a ways to go before it was as populous as Gilgamesh, Tau Ceti’s single terrestrial planet. Grey was the head Xenologist of a small team sent into deep space to explore extinct cultures.
She looked up at the great temple that stood before her. Thus far on her long journey from the Delta Eridani system, she had explored over fifteen worlds, of which only three showed any signs of having ever supported intelligent life. But nothing she had seen on any of those worlds could compare to what she had discovered on FT-301/4. Nothing she had seen anywhere could compare. The culture had been extinct for almost a millennia, really a short period of time in the galactic scheme of things. The culture had never gotten close to discovering space flight (which pretty much killed the theory that the culture had been destroyed by the Vendo’ Rpah, the same technologically advanced alien race that had attempted to wipe the human race off the face of the universe a few years ago) and had apparently killed themselves off in a great war.
Grey wondered how a race from a planet as beautiful as this one was could become embroiled in what looked as though had been a savage war. Grey had seen the most beautiful things that Gilgamesh and the other human planets had to offer, and they didn’t even come close to the beauty that this planet contained. She had even had an opportunity to visit the re-populated Earth before the Amethystine had left on its long voyage, and in her opinion even the birthplace of her own race could not compare.
The planet was small for a terrestrial, perhaps only a quarter the size of Earth, and as a result, the initial exploration had not taken long. Seventy percent of the planet was covered in water, and what land there was, was situated entirely on the northern hemisphere.
The structure she was standing in front of now (the only surviving structure on the entire planet, it seemed) was situated on the largest continent, halfway between the equator and the north pole. The region was a high table-land range, overlooking a vast badlands, almost a kilometre below. The Table-lands, as the Amethystine’s crew were calling the range now, were mostly vegetation free, with the exception of grass which covered everything except the rock cliffs and the ruins.
She turned to her companion, a former Shadow Fleet officer, who had served aboard the warship Jovian Rage during the war. She was aware of his reputation, and the rumours that circulated the Amethystine’s small crew. It was said that he was a savage soldier, one who had had no qualms with spilling a bit of Vendo’ Rpah blood. He looked as scary as his reputation implied. He was serving aboard the Amethystine as a security expert, recruited by the Proteus Science Council after he had been refused the opportunity to join the newly formed Earth Fleet, which had replaced Shadow Fleet after the war. She didn’t know why he’d been refused a commission, and she didn’t really want to know. The less she knew about him, the better.
“Are you ready to enter, Carmichael?” She asked.
Derek Carmichael scratched the five day stubble on his chin, and hefted the big, nasty looking hybrid rifle over his shoulder.
“Sure thing, doc.” He said in his Shivian accent. “Ladies first, huh?”
“Screw you, ass-hole.” She said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head in exasperation. Carmichael let out a laugh.
“Touchy, touchy.” He said, patronisingly. “Hang back a sec, will ya’?”
He charged the energy cells in the rifle and held it in both hands, as he walked towards the grand, ornamental double doors that were the main entrance to the enormous temple. He stopped in front of them, and activated the flashlight that was incorporated into the structure of the rifle. He took a deep breath, and then suddenly kicked hard at the doors. His foot rebounded off them and jarred his legs.
“God damn it!” He snapped.
Grey let out a small laugh, then suppressed it as Carmichael shot her a nasty glance. He then hefted his gun, and Greys eyes widened in anticipation of what he was about to do.
“No…” She began, but it was too late.
The energy pulse from his weapon streaked out and struck the doors, blowing a huge hole right in the middle of them. He then walked closer, and kicked at the m again. This time they burst open.
“Try and try again.” He said, with a shrug.
“Do you even conceive what you just did?” Grey asked, angrily. “That door was over a thousand god-damned years old.”
“Whatever.” He answered. “Follow me in.”
Grey shook her head in exasperation as Carmichael entered the structure, sweeping the area ahead of him with the weapon. Why the hell had Captain Hanson sent that lunatic down with her? She entered the structure behind him.
It was very dark inside, the only light that which was coming from the flashlight on Carmichael’s weapon. As is swept the room, the beam of light illuminated various ornaments and statues.
“Man, this place is fuckin’ huge!” Carmichael exclaimed. “I think the entire place is hollow!”
Grey found herself agreeing with him. The chamber was huge, and it was certainly not much smaller than the entire outside of the structure. There may have been a room or two towards the back of the structure, but certainly this chamber occupied the vast majority of it.
Grey kneeled and dropped her backpack to the floor. She withdrew a small lighting device, and sat it on the floor of the chamber, somewhere near the middle. She stood.
“Illuminate.” She said.
The small lighting device suddenly activated, and a bright blue-white light filled the chamber. Grey squinted, and slowly opened her eyes as they adjusted to the light.
The room was spectacular.
The room was circular, the walls decorated with ornamental carvings, pictures and hieroglyphs and spaced about five meters apart were large statues, depicting was grey identified as soldiers, hefting large swords and spears. The figures were that of humanoid aliens, similar to humans, but with subtle differences.
It was the lone item in the centre of the chamber which took her attention, however. It was a huge, wildly ornamented sarcophagus, sentried by two fiercely armoured statues, of the same physiology as the other statues. Grey approached the sarcophagus, withdrawing a small recording device that floated by her shoulder, recording everything that she looked at. There were images all over it, punctuated here and there with dialogue written in the alien script that the AI aboard the Amethystine had not been able to decipher yet. Grey made sure she had recorded every aspect of the artefact – with the information now contained in the device, she would be able to create a holographic replica in her lab on the ship.
The sarcophagus was constructed using a type of rock not too dissimilar to volcanic granite. As a result, the lid of the sarcophagus was too heavy for Grey to slide open herself. She called over Carmichael, and together they slid the granite aside.
As Carmichael walked away to explore other areas of the chamber, Grey stepped close to the open stone casket and, bristling with anticipation, peered into it.
Covering the occupant within was a sheet of white fabric, something similar to silk. The fabric had a translucent quality, and the body beneath it could just barely be glimpsed. Grey peeled the fabric back, exposing the horribly decomposed body. The body (or skeleton, perhaps more appropriately) was nothing special in its physiology. It maintained the same basic humanoid form that all the other they had found had. None she had found before, however, had been dressed as elaborately as this one. The clothing was still almost perfectly intact, and was made of a thick, elegant fabric unlike anything Grey had seen before.
It was clear that the individual within the sarcophagus was an important figure in the race’s social structure, maybe something resembling a queen, or maybe a princess. Or maybe even a goddess.
She began to record some vocal notes, using the same floating recording device as she had before. A slight breeze wafted through the chamber, sending a chill down Greys spine. Then she heard something. A noise that sounded like a faint voice, calling something, or someone. It got louder, and she realised what it was calling.
It was calling her name.
“Was that you?” She asked Carmichael, who was standing over near the main doors.
“What?”
“You didn’t hear that?”
“Lady, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
Grey shook her head, and turned back to the body. She stared down at it, and could have sworn that one of the arms had moved.
“Jasmine…” The ghostly voice called again, louder than ever.
“You can’t tell me you didn’t hear that!” She said, snapping around to Carmichael.
“I swear to god, Grey, you’re going insane.” Carmichael answered.
She turned back to the body, and gasped slightly. The empty eye sockets had begun to glow a sharp, radiant blue.
“What the…?” She began.
The blue light suddenly burst out of the scull, streaming from the eye-sockets, and hit Greys, eyes. Before she even had a chance to yelp, it had ended. She shook her head, and opened her eyes.
And everything was different.
She was different.
She collapsed down onto the floor, and Carmichael came running over. He helped her get up onto her feet, and looked her over.
“Shit! Are you alright?” He asked.
She smiled, and began to walk towards the temple’s doors.
“I’m fine.” She said, the smile growing larger, as she sensed the warmness of the sun.
“I feel like I’ve been reborn.”

Hope you enjoyed it. When completed, I will be attempting to get this story published in various science fiction magazines like Interzone and Asimov's Science fiction. Let me know what you think!

Also, with the upadated blog design it looks best if you have the true type fonts "Papyrus" and "Tall Paul" installed on your computer. Its not hard to do.

See ya

Absicon Universe: Timeline

2005-09-12T21:28:00.000+10:00

Good Evening.

Wow! You're saying. Another post! Yes, its been a week or two. Like the new page design? Anyhow, here is my latest post. It is a Key Events Timeline I created to aid in the continuity of my writing of Echoes Of Absicon. I have removed the section of it that takes place during and after the events of EoA due to likely spoilers. Here it is:

1,000,000 BC (approx) –Vendo’ Rpah discover techno-immortality
10,000 BC (Approx) – Xetacae wiped out by Vendo’ Rpah
1849 AD – Omega Device emerges from time flux on Absicon
2024 AD – First manned mission to Mars
2031AD- First colonists arrive on Mars
2054AD- First colonists arrive on Titan
2055AD- Martian Independence
2060AD-2120AD- Widespread colonisation within Sol system
2151AD- Alien technology cache discovered hidden in Comet near Pluto
2160AD- First FTL colony ships arrive in Tau Ceti
2169AD- Colonisation of Alpha Centauri and Beta Comae systems
2175AD- First contact with Betarians
2184AD- First genetic experiments performed on the Twenty Immortals
2186AD-2191AD- War in Sol system between Governments and Transnationals
2191AD (0AE)- Genocide in Sol System => Sol Directive
2191AD-2300AD (0AE-109AE)- Wide spread colonisation of the stars
2245AD (49AE)- Construction of first Space City
2290AD (99AE)- Construction of first Trade-Cruiser
2305AD (114AE)- Construction of Immortal Vagrant
2339AD (148AE)- Jason Marx born
2358AD (167AE)- Christopher Marx disappears from Gilgamesh
2360AD (169AE)- Dorian Hanson born
2361AD (169AE)- Disciples contact the Twenty Immortals
2362AD (170AE)- Charlise Hammardry born
2364AD (172AE)- Trevor Pearson born
2370AD (178AE)- Alonso Family war on Babylon City
- Tyler Alonso takes over Alonso Syndicate on Babylon
2397AD (206AE)- Belara exiled from Bet
2406AD (215AE)- Jason Marx become captain of the Trade-Cruiser White Destiny
2407AD (216AE)- Jason Marx and Charlise Hammardry Wed => Divorce 2408AD (217AE)- Belara Joins White Destiny crew
2409AD (218AE)- Construction begins on Shadow Fleet
2420AD (229AE)- White Destiny is hijacked by pirates of the Tau Ceti– Beta Canum corridor
- Dorian Hanson joins Immortal Vagrant crew
This probably won't make sense without reading the story, but enjoy anyway.

General: The best writing aid...

2005-08-25T22:14:00.000+10:00

Good Evening,

I have found that there is one thing that can direct my stories immesurably: music. I like a lot of different music, and I've only come to realise recently how much of an effect it has had on my writing.

Whist writing Echoes of Absicon, I have listened to a diverse range of music. From the light, chill sounds of Massive Attack and Portishead to the somewhat eccentric rock of Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead to the heavy sounds of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave and System of a Down, each has influenced my writing in some way.

Individual songs shape the writing as well. Specifically, Adore by the Smashing Pumpkins, Angel by Massive Attack and Forest by System of a Down have influenced very specific parts of EoA (In part II in fact, there is a whole section that is a personal tribute to the song Adore which will be quite blatant when the story is read, if one knows anything about the Smashing Pumpkins).
The heavy System of a Down song, Forest, made writing a fast paced action scene go far smoother than it otherwise would have.

While I write part three, I think I'll be listening to more esscentric stuff, like more Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead and maybe a bit of Mr. Bungle. Part four will probably be written with softer songs, like Portishead and Massive Attack, maybe a bit of Coldplay as well as interludes of heavier stuff like System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden etc.

So when you read parts of Echoes of Absicon and it seems incoherent and unusual, it means I was probably listening to Mr. Bungle or something!

Anyway, thats it for the pointless information.

Ja matta ne!
(How'd I do, Chris?)

Apollo Point Universe: Series Blurb

2005-08-24T20:57:00.000+10:00

Good evening,

Just finished writing a blurb for the Apollo Point series. This is a universe that I am in the advance stages of creating. I made a conscious effort of creating the universe in fine detail before I started writing it (Although I jumped the gun a bit and have written the prologue to the first story). I also want to have Echoes of Absicon finished before I avert my attention. Anyway, here is the blurb:

“Welcome to the Jericho system”, one of the most populous
systems in the Outer Rim – the edge of the galaxy, the region of space agreed on by the major galactic empires as a neutral zone, a free trade area governed by no singular body. The population is diverse – it is home to Humans, Cor’a, Virashii, KreaTara and even Izledow. It is a place where dreams can come true – or be shattered into a million pieces.

Mike ‘Zen’ Halcyon, a confederation exile, is part owner and operator of Apollo Point, a free-trade organization based off Andreas Orbital in the Jericho system. From their flagship, the Ascension of Stars, Zen and his crew take jobs as couriers, security experts, convoy escorts, explorers and even combatants. If the money is right (and the job relatively legal), then they’ll do it. The Galaxy is large, and behind every star-system lie enemies and shadowy organizations. On the edges of explored space, anything can happen and adventure and risk are one in the same.
The trick is knowing how to survive…

I'm actually really looking forward to getting started on this series. Style wise, I've taken a lot of inspiration from a series called "Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter" by an author called Laurel K. Hamilton for the Apollo Point series. The books in this series are written in a fun, easily understandable way, and you don't have to think too much about what you read. Simple, but effective.

Anyhow, Sayonara (I hear they say that in Japan)!

Absicon Universe: Echoes of Absicon

2005-08-23T23:20:00.000+10:00

The following is a short draft blurb that I have created for EoA. It's not great, but its the best I could come up with quickly. I realised that its actually harder to write a forty word blurb than it is to write a five hundred page novel. Crazy, I know.

Humanity has always been its own worst enemy. Earth and
Mars have been rendered uninhabitable by chemical weapons deployed during the first system wide war. Now, human kind are settled on a small number of worlds in the dozen or so star systems closest to Earth, separated by areas of lawless space. Criminals thrive, and corruption is rife… and humanity is about to face their darkest hour.

Captain Jason Marx is a man far from a hero. He has lost his ship, stranded himself and his crew on a dangerous space city and is broke. Yet his destiny is written. He may be the one thing standing between humanity and its total annihilation. And when an ancient alien race marks humanity for extinction, he must become someone he never thought he would be.
In a vast, endless universe, can one man and his crew make a difference?

Hope this sheds a little bit of light on Echoes of Absicon. Enjoy!

General: Nothing much happening

2005-08-17T17:52:00.000+10:00

Evening all,

Not much happening. I've spent the last few days doing nothing more than working on my car. (Stupid Hyundai!!!) Haven't had a chance to do any writing, unfortunantly.

A few authors people should check out if they like science fiction literature. Alastair Reynolds published his debut novel, Revelation Space, in 2000. He had been writing short stories and Novellas since the late eighties. He has released five novels, and his sixth is due out soon. The first four (Revelation Space, Chasm City, Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap) are all set in the same universe, a dark, gothic vision of humanities future. His fifth (Century Rain) and sixth (Pushing Ice) are both stand alone novels set in different universes. The Revelation Space universe is one of the most exciting and dramatic and well planned settings for any novel (sci-fi or otherwise) that I have ever read. My own stories take a lot of inspiration from AR's writing, although I think both of my universe's are very diffenerent. Many of his short stories take place in the same universe as Revelation Space, and I have just finished reading one called Galactic North, which in a way, explains humanities outcome after the events of the novels (event though it was written before the last two). The Story was set over almost 40,000 years, and in my opinion should have been written as a novel, as the storyline feels rushed over the thirty or so pages. Still fantastic, though. In my opinion, his first two novels (Revelation Space and Chasm city) were the best. All were great, though. Alastair Reynolds has won several presigious awards for his work. He has a website (Although he doesn't update it much) http://www.alastairreynolds.com

Another favorite series of mine is called the Mars Trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars) by author Kim Stanley Robinson. The trilogy (Red Mars was released in the early nineties) is considered one of the best science fiction series ever, and has won many praises. One reviewer called it "the future history of Mars", another "required reading for the colonists of the twenty-first century". The series is about the colonisation of Mars, and its gradual terraforming. The novels mostly follow the "first hundred", the first group of colonists.
The stories are fantastic, although there is a lot of detail in places, along with a lot of technical jargon. He has many other novels, although I haven't read them yet. One of his novels (Titled "The year of Rice and Salt") is an alternate history story, one that sounds very intreguing, and I hope I get around to reading it. Don't know any specific websites, but just type his name in at Google.

Other authors I have taken inspiration from include Dale Brown (His early work is his best), Dan Brown (Specifically The Davinci Code, Duh), Tom Clancy (Specifically Red Storm Rising), Laurel K. Hamilton (Specifically the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series) and Daniel Eastermann (Specifically The Seventh Sanctuary). There are many others, but these are my favorites. I am very picky with what I read, so there is a lot of stuff that I have read that are critically acclaimed, but I really don't like.

Anyway, on to other stuff. Yes, I DO check my comments, I just don't respond to mean comments, or comments where the spelling is AWFUL (Although I am now). Just kidding. You know who I'm talking about - the only person who has left any comment so far.

Anyhow, I'm currently working on a blurb for Echoes of Absicon and hopefully it will be up later tonight.

I'm going now. See ya.

Absicon Universe: Going well...

2005-08-12T23:45:00.000+10:00

Howdy,

Echoes of Absicon is coming along nicely. This week I have reached the two hundred A4 page mark (Thats approximately 400 novel sized pages according to my calculations) and have just completed Part Two of the book.

Halfway there, as it will have four parts, and a seperate epilogue (which I have already written).

Part One is titled "Revelations", part two is titled "To Hell and Back", part three is titled "The Search for Absicon", part four is titled "The Alpha and the Omega" and the epilogue is titled "The Writing of the Scroll". Yes, the biblical references in these titles are deliberate.

Hope you enjoyed the useless information!

Coming Soon: More pointless writing aids, and information.

See Ya.

Absicon Universe: Starmap

2005-08-12T23:32:00.000+10:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

This is a starmap I created to aid in my writing of Echoes Of Absicon. It is pretty self explanitory, athough it may not make too much sense without reading the story.

All of the Star systems are real. The names are those of the Stars themselves as they exist now, in real life. The map is not to scale, but I have done my best to position them in the general place they lay in comparison to Sol, Earth's system. To give you an idea of distances, the system of Tau Ceti is roughly ten light years away from Sol.

I created this map by studying a starmap created by an astronomer whose website I cannot remember.

The one exception to the attempt at realism it the most distant system. This is meant to be a hundred light years or so from Sol, and is not a real star.

Enjoy!

General: Understanding my blog

2005-08-12T19:47:00.000+10:00

Good Evening,

Just leaving a post so I can explain how to understand my posts.

Any posts titled with "General:" is just a general post not to do with any story specifically.
Posts titled with "Absicon:" are posts dealing specifically with a story or stories set in the Absicon Universe.
Posts titled with "Apollo Point:" are posts dealing specifically with a story or stories set in, yes, you guessed it, the Apollo Point Universe.

You've probably already picked up on the colour thing. Just in case: Yellow is something to do with Apollo Point, and Blue is something to do with Absicon.

In other news, I will be posting a Starmap of the Absicon Universe that I use as a writing aid shortly.

If anyone wants specific information on something, please leave a comment with your request, and I will answer any questions, etc, as best I can.

Later.

Welcome

2005-08-12T04:00:00.000+10:00

Hi,

I decided to create a blog of my own (seeing as everyone else is doing it) so I can keep track of my stories.

I write science fiction stories (I am NOT a geek ;)), and have aspirations to become a full time author one of these days. It'd be great to make enough money to live off by doing something that I love doing.

Anyhow, I guess this will be a homepage in a way for my works. I will not be posting anything except short exerpts. I plan to use this as an outlet for frustrations, and to document my progress.

I have created two seperate science fiction universes where all of my stories are set. One is what I call the "Absicon" universe. I have two works in progress set in this universe, one is a full length novel that when finished I will try to sell. It is entitled "Echoes of Absicon". Set in this universe is also a short story entitled "Queen Lucretia's Shadow", which is set after EoA, and "The Fall of Babylon", a novel length story set before the others which has only been vaguely set out at this point.
The Other Universe is what I call the "Apollo Point" universe. No stories are underway for this universe yet, but I am mapping it out far more thoroughly than the other one. I plan to write a series of novels based in this universe, perhaps three hundred pages or so each.

When I have time, I will be posting all kinds of pointless things, like the music that I listen to while I'm writing, my inspirations, my favorite authors etc. I will also post information on the stories, including a short discription of each story, along with the characters and the ships and technology.

Anyhoo, thats it for me now.

Be sure to follow the links to a couple of my friends blogs - Chris, who is spending some time in Japan, and Amber and Tyler newborn twins of my friends Colin and Narelle.

See ya