The Paradigm Shift

When considering many different things in the Kylis Fers world, it is important to understand the paradigm shift. Explained in some detail in the Introduction I wrote for the series and elaborated on in a more personal way (personal for the characters explaining it) in various books in the series (such as Hawk-Eye, The Tome of Kaerez Zur, and Jurad Origins), the paradigm shift marked a pivotal turning point in the world of Kylis Fers.

Before the paradigm shift, their world was the exact same as ours was a few thousand years ago. Due to a cataclysmic accident that takes place in our future, a massive amount of energy burns through the fabric of the universe (due to a time-space distortion) and blasts into a universe that is our past (a few thousand years before the present day). Here the energy reshapes and totally alters our world. Much of the life on earth dies, only to be reborn in different forms all over the planet. Many humans were killed, but quite a fair number survived, many of which gained amazing powers. Many of the human beings who were killed or disintegrated by the energy cataclysm came back to life or rematerialized due to the energy of the wave (though virtually none of them had any clear memories of what happened before the paradigm shift). Most of the life that survived or formed during the Juyrte event (the word used by the people of the Kylis Fers world to reference the paradigm shift) was completely new, and the life that endured the Juyrte were reborn organisms (more or less the same body, but altered mind states). Basically, very few things that survived had a fully intact consciousness from before the Juyrte event (people like Ririke, Keris, Nyker, Saralos, Bareos and Darisus are some of the only ones who fit this category).

The paradigm shift affected the earth as well. The entire geography of the earth was changed and rearranged, with little to nothing remaining of the old continents and landscape. It left energy nexuses that would continue to play a dynamic role in the surrounding areas, and created things around the world that would not have come into existence normally. The Ilare were also formed, and whole regions of the world have been developed or created using the Ilare crystals. Life forms were also altered by the Juryte energy event, leaving radically different organisms in its wake. The Juyrte event was a paradigm shift in virtually every sense of the word because almost everything on earth was drastically or completely changed by the event.

The paradigm shift would come to have profound implications for humanity in their world. First of all, their conceptions of the divine would be quite different. While many humans in our world associate the divine as something that supercedes our existence, people in their reality have no concept of the divine because they have experienced, manipulated, and survived the forces that give rise to their world. Though they perceive the paradigm shift to be of special significance, they don't have specific gods or deities that they worship. Because they perceive and some even manipulate the energies that permeate reality, they understand all of reality to be of equal status. Basically, they do not revere people or things to be superior to other people or things.

Other implications abound. There are too many to go into here, and I also have not specifically determined some of them. Most of the changes are implicit in the ideas that I have for the stories, and really would not be interesting or useful to explain. I have written pages about the culture of the Kylis Fers world, most of which I actually have in writing (meaning the majority of it is not typed). The important thing to understand is that the Juyrte event is the pivotal event for the Kylis Fers world. They understand it as the cause of their world, and everything in their world is understood as flowing forth from it. They know the world existed before it (there are a small number of creatures and people that remember the world as it was before), but most of what they remember is largely inconsequential. Basically, understand that they know their world as being the result of a major change at most levels of reality, and thus have radically different concepts of reality.

The Zwix: Children of the Stars, Parents to the Universe

The Zwix are something of a fascination of mine, representing my desire to turn part of my series into a sci-fi epic about sentience meeting with the boundless dimensions of space. I originally conceived of the Zwix as a more minor detail in the greater plot of the Lo'itian Conflict. Basically, they were the first of two planets that the Kylis Fers team was to visit during their voyage to the Lo'itian homeworld. The Zwix were supposed to supply the team with a better and faster ship that would get them to planet Nyleri more quickly.

There were not many details originally contrived for the Zwix. The only important details were that the Zwix had the best transportation technology known to most societies and that they were pacifists when they had the choice. These served merely as filler and as random points of interest in the book, allowing for possible future details to be created.

Luckily, more fully fleshed out ideas for the Zwix eventually came, and today my ideas concerning the Zwix are quite well developed. They went from having just great transportation technology to being one of the most advanced races in the universe. They came from a planet whose location is unknown, being born in a turbulent ocean. The Zwix are actually amphibious, though most of them no longer live near bodies of water. For various complex reasons, the Zwix were motivated to become spacebound, despite the fact that they spent almost their entire lives prior to that jump underwater.

Once the Zwix discovered outer space, their technology exploded. They developed methods for surviving in space, for generating artificial gravity, for manipulating the theories of space and time all so that they could travel vast distances. Eventually, the Zwix developed space stations that could travel at great speeds when compacted and then expand to fully functioning space stations. The Zwix began to send space station after space station out into the universe, eventually developing a presence among many cultures and societies across the universe.

The Zwix have some problems though. First of all, they spontaneously developed immortality at the genetic level. As newborn Zwix began to live indefinitely, they began to put off having children. Eventually, most of them became infertile from living too long, and as such their population growth declined, eventually reaching zero. The end of the reproductive cycle was a turning point in the Zwix culture. This was when they really decided to shoot off into the stars, because without children of their own their societies were stagnating. They became parents to new races in the universe, watching over them from their cities in the stars.

Because the Zwix can't reproduce though, they can't take risks with things like war. Though they have extremely developed technologies, they rarely make destructive technologies. Most of their inventions revolve around transportation and general functioning. When it comes to outer space, their technological skills are nonpareil. Though the Zwix can occasionally culture children through complicated processes, they generally opt not to because they don't want to create their own people. Their only descendants become those who work with them and benefit from them.

The Zwix are ancient though, and before most races were alive they were already swimming around the tumultuous oceans of Zwix. Though they eventually lost contact with their homeworld and mounted an expedition to go find it, the fact remained that they eventually forgot where their home was. The Zwix are more or less a planetless people now, living among the stars, watching over other planets, setting up trade routes and exchanges between planets across the universe. Though it's taking some time, the Zwix are becoming adept with their work, excelling in unpredictable ways with their slow dispersion through the universe.

The important thing to understand about the Zwix is that they are immortal, brilliant, peaceful, and lacking a central home. They have made their homes throughout the universe, becoming a staple of any planet with a great population. With their space stations scattered throughout the universe and their great presence, the Zwix have proven to be one of the most influential races in the universe. They manage to exist all over up until the universe's end. Their wisdom and intelligence prove important in many of the different stories of the Kylis fers universe.

Recent Ideas (03/15/2006)

Random and recent ideas will constitute this entry. (Already bored? Good for you.)

One of the things holding me back from truly working on my novels is my desire to mature as a writer and to mature my writings and ideas before I actually begin to try to write anything definitive. For instance: the love relationships between my characters has been largely undeveloped. Examples: Juris (the main character) loved Alysa at first sight, with her loved returned; Sirice falls in love with Seryn quickly, and Seryn somehow ends up returning that love by the end of the first book; Lije and Tirya immediately hit it off. There is no distinct complexity or depth to any of this. Lately though my ideas have been developing a bit more. For instance, Tirya's interest in Lije is initiated by his fierce devotion, loyalty, bravery, and sacrifice for her during the battle with Dionis, and greatly enhanced by Lije's similarities in appearance and personality with her first love, Darios.

Sirice and Seryn have been getting this treatment too. Sirice is attracted to Seryn due to the instant attraction people often develop for each other. Seryn has an interest in Sirice, though initially most of her attention is given to Juris, the primary reason for this being that Juris and Seryn had been communicating telepathically for at least 2 or 3 years prior to all of them meeting in person. Juris and Seryn already have a deep bond (one that last millions of years until Sirice and Alysa are both dead and Juris and Seryn become lovers again), but Juris, due to personal reasons (which will be explained shortly) tries to not love in that way and tries to make her think of him as a brother. With her primary interest put on hold, Seryn does actually develop a love for Sirice, a love that blossoms as she more greatly understands Sirice's commitment to and love of her (evidenced in more clear form when he's willing to die rather than defend himself from her when she's being mind-controlled to attack him).

Juris and Alysa have also grown. By the time of the third book, Juris is firmly held by the belief that the people that he loves all too often die. He does not wish to commit himself to anyone because he fears that he will suffer the pain of watching another loved one. Alysa has an initial attraction to Juris, and though he has an interest in her, he acts put-offish because he does not want to fall in love nor does he want her to love him (because he believes that if she fell in love with Juris, it would put her in danger). It is Alysa's radiant joy however, that gets Juris to eventually open up his heart. Though he fears the possibilities in the corner of his battered mind, Alysa manages to get Juris to love her. When she is later thought to be murdered but "returns" from the dead, Juris feels as if he can't live without her. She becomes a symbol of earthly peace and love for him, fulfilling Juris' needs as a mortal.

Eventually in the story (we're talking a few million years, because Juris and the others are by and large immortal), Juris and Seryn do hook up at Sirice and Alysa's request. Though Sirice and Alysa are dead when they actually become true lovers, it was more or less known that the two of them had loved each other since they met. Juris and Seryn are a completion of each other at the most mature and deep levels of their souls. Seryn represents Juris need for an eternal companion who will help him find and understand the whole spectrum of human existence (more than just joy, like Alysa was for him, but all emotions). The two of them bring some amount of peace to each other in a dieing universe, though Juris' aspirations do prevent him from being fully happy.

Basically, the romantic relations in my books are maturing, and though they still have a ways to go, the foundation has been laid, even if only in my mind. I'm trying to make my characters as human as possible, even if not in obvious ways. A truly great narrative makes characters who are so extraordinary that they seize our attention and imaginations while simultaneously being just as human as we are. It is in this way that the reader becomes closer and more in tune with his/her own humanity, understanding more and more of the bigger picture that all writers unconsciously (and maybe consciously) aspire to collectively paint. Anyways, good night.

I'm Back

After a year long hiatus, I'm back on this blog. I had issues posting stuff on this particular blog in the past, partially due to my fear of people copying my material. Eventually I realized this to be arrogant, because it assumed my ideas were worth stealing. With that fear aside, and my need to flesh out my thoughts in a free manner, I've decided to try and post on here again. There's really no reason for me to post this entry (since nobody reads this blog anyways), but I still felt the need to explain myself (because I'm weird). Anyways, new entry to follow this one shortly.