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GenericSciFiAuthor R.L. Dean |
Preliminary draft for the Orwellian political carton in the prologue for Harmony Book 3: A Country Among Countries, by the fabulous artist Wesley Prince … shooting for publication mid-late 2020.
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Year of the Child MISAKI— Two months have passed since the destruction of Harmony dome, and Misaki, guilt ridden over her desperate act of sabotage, returns to the place of healing that she knows best … the Sadie. Mat accepts a contract on the far flung moon of Ganymede, hoping that time and distance will heal him of the nightmares from his own wrong doing. TETSUYA— Disreputable, former detective Tetsuya Takahashi is reassigned as the Lead Investigator for out-system piracy. Despite his reputation, his work is part of who he is. He knows all mysteries start with a lie, and his investigation begins to lead him closer to finding Misaki Iriyama … who reminds him of his lost daughter. His answers lie at Ganymede. ALEXANDRIA— Her plan has succeeded. The destruction of Apex’s plant has caused a loop-hole in the restrictive UN law that once prohibited the selling of raw ore to the Martians. Then suddenly, word comes from the new mining base on Ganymede- something has been found in the ice, something puzzling and unnatural that has been buried since the time of David. More surprising is the fact that Alexandria seems to already know of its existence. SHULTZ— With the construction of the new Apex plant on Deimos, and the end of the ore embargo, Mars is entering a ‘bubble economy’. Governor Shultz and Lt. Governor Jung finally feel like they are doing their jobs for the Martian people. But, using the Free Mars Now movement like a tool for their own agenda has made them powerful enemies. Even as Shultz and Jung ride the heady days of making Mars free of UN greed they know those days are numbered. Colonel Compton is slowly putting together the pieces of the puzzle that will link them to the terrorist attacks. They must plan for a future Mars knowing that their own demise is soon to come. COMPTON— The failed attempt to ambush FMN terrorists at Cydonia Depot cost seven of his people their lives, and Compton is facing a possible court-martial. The families and friends of those that died alongside his soldiers do not believe their loved-ones were terrorists, and the news media has ahold of the story. But, the embattled Lieutenant Colonel knows his duty. With no leads in one hand, and a hanging mob in the other, he must somehow find the head of the Free Mars terrorists and cut it off. * * * |
See the author’s interview for The Rhine: https://literarytitan.com/2019/05/26/what-is-their-endgame/
See the interview for ‘Greater Things than Thou …’ https://literarytitan.com/2019/05/25/the-reflection-backward/
‘Old Man’ Patrin, the Scribe …
Patrin’s story is told in retrospect. Before Serin passed he suggested Patrin chronicle all that he’s done for the Kingdom of Denion, and now as an old man who is very much aware of his own mortality, he begins his story. It’s important for the reader to understand that Patrin is writing from memory of things decades in the past. While we are privy to his feelings and impressions and thoughts of his youth, his journal entries are subject to the passage of time. He doesn’t always recall the details of a particular matter, some events are related in broad strokes.
One of the obvious traits of his writing is his tendency to recall pain and grief. It’s evident that he hasn’t progressed emotionally from the trauma he experienced in Baler’s camp and later from Galin’s use (betrayal of friendship) of him as an assassin.
But, the story is more than a painful memoir, for even as he writes he is fulfilling one last mission— destroy the remaining otherworldly tech. The opening dialogue of each chapter tells us of his progress; now the old man, lamenting a task that he should have completed as a younger man, follows his own footprints from the past across the continent and far south into foreign lands, seeking a place known only as ‘The Falls’. Once there he will take the last of the tech and rid the world of it.
Author’s Note: I think the greatest lesson that Patrin’s story can offer us is about ‘moving on’. Patrin never progressed beyond the scars of his youth. His earliest memories have marred him, and, for me, the saddest part of the story is that thus far it appears he will die still stuck there, in the past.
Whitefield, Northern Denion |
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| The white marble-walled city is the home of the Courts of Denion, and seat of royal authority for the kingdom. Central to Patrin’s story it is the place he first met his future shieldman, Xadik, and his first love, the Lady Lena of Brenit.
Sometime after his merging with otherworldly tech, Patrin was sent across the kingdom carrying correspondences for Galin. This served a two-fold purpose: It established Patrin as Galin’s contact among his supporters, and gave Patrin a bird’s-eye-view of the kingdom. Galin was also waiting for plans to come to fruition in Whitefield before sending Patrin to Lady Elsina, his cousin and a expert in the art of poisons. In order to gain entry into the Palace, Patrin and Xadik were enrolled in Serin’s academy. In his role as Royal Scribe, Serin used his access to the king to facilitate Patrin’s introduction. In the process, Serin learns that Patrin is a ready learner and has a natural gift as a scribe. And years later, a despondent and depressed Patrin receives a summons from Serin to return to Whitefield and complete his education, with the intent being to replace him as Royal Scribe. |
Hefft, the Keeper …
Hefft is the grandson of Garret. Some time after Garret passed, his son, Tellen, drowned. Tellen’s now widowed wife, finding that she no longer had the means to take care of a young son, delivered him to Patrin. We don’t know his precise age, but he appears to be in his late twenties or early thirties. If we consider ‘ten’ to be the age at which he came into Patrin’s care, then it is likely that Patrin was still active in Whitefield, where we know that at Serin’s request he returned to complete his journeyman training as a scribe, and later replaced Serin as Royal Scribe. Meaning, that Hefft would have spent a good portion of his formative years in the Palace, among the Courts of Denion.
When Patrin retired as Royal Scribe, he returned to the place that gave him the most peace, Galin’s old cabin tucked away in the Grandwood. Hefft, a grown man by that time, followed the aging Patrin and continued to serve him in the very same place that his grandfather once lived and served Galin.
With the exception of the occasional visit to Woodpoint for supplies, Hefft appears to have secluded himself at the cabin, caring for ‘old man’ Patrin. At one point he brings home a young boy, that Patrin believes looks too much like him to be anything other than his son.
When Patrin decided to undertake his final mission, Hefft and the boy follow. Patrin then abandons them at Portis Doha, for fear that the next stage of the journey will prove too much for the ‘weaklings’.
Author’s note: The presence of Hefft’s young son creates an interesting contrast of ‘worlds’ or ideology. Patrin grew up in ‘violent’ times, but the boy clearly grew up in a more gentle world and is easily frightened by the ‘old man’.