As some of you have heard about this from me, I thought I’d discuss briefly a book project I have only scratched the surface of but will eventually focus on as an epic adventure. The story itself will (probably) be called The Breaking of Worlds and will consist of several novels. At present, the idea spans six books in series. Unless something changes before I complete each of them, and certainly with deference to story arcs and developmental changes, I anticipate they will be entitled thus:
Book I — The Breaking of Worlds: Dreams, Prophecies, and Discoveries
Book II — The Breaking of Worlds: The Leviathan
Book III — The Breaking of Worlds: The Great Death
Book IV — The Breaking of Worlds: The Coming of the Gods
Book V — The Breaking of Worlds: History Revealed
Book VI — The Breaking of Worlds: Final Breath
Keep in mind these are preliminary titles meant to isolate each major section of the story. While they mean something to me and they help keep the idea logically organized, some could change—or all could change.
While I cannot tell you how or which one, I will tell you one of the books written by Dave Lloyd and mentioned in Dreamdarkers is an allegory for The Breaking of Worlds. That is intentional. It will be interesting to see—assuming any of these get published—how many people pick up on that implicit link. Also, since Dave has written eight books, all of which are mentioned to some degree, I leave it to you to guess which one highlights the series. Keep in mind I have intentionally clouded Dave’s writing on the subject so as not to give up too many secrets. Whether or not any direct link between the two stories will be made is unclear, although my first impression is to say none will exist. I prefer at this time to leave it as an interesting tidbit of trivia.
Unlike Dreamdarkers and End of the Warm Season, The Breaking of Worlds will not center around Kingswell, Texas. That does not mean it will not play some role in the tale. Perhaps one or more characters will originate from there, perhaps some portion of the narrative will take place in or pass through that hamlet, or perhaps some other link will be established in a way not yet clear to me; who knows. I won’t say Kingswell has no part in the series, but I will say it will not be the center of action.
I’d like to think The Breaking of Worlds could well be my magnum opus, although assuming such a thing is the height of hubris considering I’ve yet to have a single novel published. More importantly, although an idea older than any other I’ve had or am working on, the series exists mainly in my head. Sure, I have a document stretching more than twenty pages that represents its current digital life, and I tinker with that file as time permits and as ideas pop up, yet I would genuinely err in saying I felt it definitely would come to fruition. Ambition and reality are two very different realms. I’m not foolish enough to deny that truth.
What is the story about? Mostly it’s science fiction mixed with a great deal of philosophy and/or metaphysics and/or religion. It runs the gambit from cosmology to temporal mechanics to aliens to the nature of the universe and life itself. And it won’t have a pretty ending wrapped in a bow, at least not one where everyone lives happily ever after. I will probably let it conclude with the possibility of another book… maybe.
Now, a few snips from the tale. Keep in mind these precede preliminary since I’ve not delved into this story on a dedicated basis. What you see below literally represents morsels from a table of crumbs, excerpts from a document consisting only of ideas, notes, sections of possible narrative, and character descriptions. Do not read into this anything other than what it is: A quick glance inside my head at a yarn barely weaved into coherent thread, most of which makes sense only to me in light of the vast majority of the epic that exists solely in my brain.
From the first book:
Three omens shall portend the final breath of the versal milieu, each heralded by ethereal visions carried upon wings of demise. And lo, the prophecy declares the advent of the leviathan, of the great death, and of the coming of the gods.
[. . .]
No one may know the great mystery lest they break themselves against the rocks of the eternal shore.
From the second book:
“This spaceship, this creature—” He paused; halted seemed a more appropriate term.
It seemed for a moment he was at a loss for the words necessary to communicate what he felt in his heart. His head shook from side to side almost imperceptibly as he bowed it slightly, perhaps subconsciously acknowledging despair in his argument.
“Do we even fully comprehend what it means to say that the damned thing’s aware?” he muttered under his breath. His eyes circled the Oval Office while briefly meeting the gaze of what seemed like far too many bureaucrats. Their faces were worn, tired shadows of once great men now destined to beg and plead their cases in the hopes of garnering political favors despite America’s diminished strength.
“This spirit that swims naked through space…ancient and alone and aware…it’s the riposte to so many of our unanswered questions, so many of our historic pursuits for answers about who we are and why we’re here. It knows more about us than we do. Mr. President, not only has it been communicating with our species, but it also speaks to whales and dolphins, for God’s sake. Who knows what else it comprehends, whom else it communes with right here on our own planet, let alone out there in the vastness of the cosmos. Can you imagine what this means?”
He stared blankly at the crowd of officials now filling the Oval Office. Sweat ran down his forehead and spilled into his eyes.
[. . .]
“Once there were millions of them. It’s alone. It may be the last of its species.”
[. . .]
“It says our planet is doomed, that we’re to be destroyed in the coming fury. That’s why it’s here. It wants to die.”
[. . .]
“It hurts. We’ve not learned much from it, less than one percent of the total knowledge it contains, but what we have learned tells us a lot about it, about the creature itself. In turn, that tells us a great deal about us, about life, about the universe, and about how small and insignificant the cosmos is in the scheme of things.”
He stared at the audience. . .
“How often have we prayed for a sign from the heavens, for an answer we cannot dispute from the ether of the sky? Well, there it is, Mr. President. My God, dear sir, it couldn’t be more responsive to the questions we all ask. You want to know about God? Ask it. I’m sure it knows more on the subject than we could imagine.”
From the third or fourth book:
“Are you saying they exist outside of time?”
“Not at all. Emphatically no, in fact. They are a part of time. They’re a part of space. Mr. President, our universe is nothing more than a multidimensional bubble in their universe. . .”