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Volume 2 Episode 24
Episode 24 moves the plot forward and develops the relationships between characters. The action starts in Hostel 39. Here is a photo of one of the hostel rooms (with apologies for the mess):
The shower and toilet is in the little room behind the wardrobe.
The major change is the position of Alex. From being an isolated rebel, imprisoned and powerless, he moves into the centre of the action, his views accepted, and close to the woman he loves.
Here is one of the fire engines, similar to that which Ludovico drove to ATLAS. Notice the CD (Corps Diplomatique) plates. CERN is an international organisation so it is made immune to local laws.
Perhaps the most interesting events from a psychological point of view deal with Marianne. She finds herself hunting for the baby she lost, unable emotionally to accept that it has gone although logically she knows it. And her body reveals her inner feelings for Alex when she begins to lactate when his hands are near her breasts.
A mother might do this when she hears her baby crying for food, or feels its mouth suckling. For Marianne to do it for Alex shows that despite everything she says and thinks about him, she is still in love with him.
Useful Links
Podcast: http://media.podiobooks.com/timecrystal2/PB-TimeCrystal2-24.mp3
eBooks in 4 formats:
Volume One
Volume Two
Current Writing
At the moment I am working on Episode 4 of Volume 3. When I started work on it I already had the broad outline of what the Episode would contain, but it has still taken me seven days to finish the first draft. When I finish writing this newsletter one of my tasks will be to listen to the TextAloud speech synthesised version of the Episode in begin the editing process and check the features which are very hard to judge while writing, especially the pace.
Since this is the first episode in this volume which deals with Sam’s situation, I feel I need to explain some of the backstory, and this slows the story somewhat.
Feedback
This week I met two people who had read Volume One and both said extremely kind things about it. One was a man who reads a lot of science fiction and he said he especially liked the bubble, thinking through what it would be like to live in a universe where your heart stops if it is outside a bubble. At first he thought it was a book intended for children, but once he had passed the first two Episodes and reached Geneva he felt much happier with it.
The other was a woman who never read science fiction but she liked it. She thought it might be suitable for her twelve-year-old niece, and she has promised to let me know what the girl thinks about it.
This kind of feedback not only encourages me to keep going, but also helps me to know what my targets should be when trying to market the story. It’s not a typical science fiction story. It combines science fiction with romance, and so hopefully appeals to a wider audience.
If you like Time Crystal (and I assume you do since you are reading this newsletter) then you might want to tell other people about it. One great way to do this is to visit Podiobooks where Time Crystal is podcast free and make your own comments
http://www.podiobooks.com/blog/2009/09/18/time-crystal/ for Volume 1 and
http://www.podiobooks.com/blog/2010/02/10/now-releasing-time-crystal-2-by-wyken-seagrave/ for Volume 2.
Strappado
The strappado was the form of torture of witches used in Geneva in 1536. It consisted of hoisting the victim by a rope fixed to both wrists which were tied behind the back. The pain might have been increased by attaching weights to the legs. Dislocation of the shoulders was not uncommon. The victim was then dropped to the floor, and the punishment was known as the ‘drop of the rope’ or ‘pulling’.
In fact Genevan magistrates were relatively mild compared to those elsewhere, and many witches were merely questioned and exiled instead of being tortured and burned. However in the case of the Prince-Bishop of Geneva, who is tortured in Episode 23 of Volume 2, his punishment is described in detail for two reasons.
One is to show how far our legislative systems have progressed in five hundred years. Today this kind of torture is still performed by a few governments, but most torture is of a far milder form and also is done in secret, usually in a different country, instead of being part of the normal judicial process.
Secondly the Prince-Bishop deserves punishment, from the point of view of the reader, since he betrayed Catriona. The reader can get her revenge upon him.
The maleficia on the cow which is mentioned in the story is a standard term used in those days. It means any form of illness or damage to animals or crops. Clearly the cow being frozen by the pink crystal would be seen as a maleficia.
The Big Bang
Time Crystal is probably the first work of fiction ever to take the whole history of the Universe as its backdrop. The idea is that we watch people (and other living creatures) taking part in historical events, interacting with objects in ways which we cannot normally do. Thus In Episode 23 we see Sam and Trissitia flying though the particles of the Big Bang.
We already mentioned the names of some of these particles in Episode 21: WIMPs, quarks, X bosons, gluons, photons etc. I don’t think the reader needs to know a lot more about them than this, although I could have developed any or all of them in much more detail.
I look upon Time Crystal as a framework which future writers can use to explore various parts of science in whatever way they want. It’s a way of putting living characters into impossible situations and having them survive. For example in this case, although it is not expressly discussed, Sam and the others have shrunk down to the size of particles, and this allows them to survive. In effect as far as the Universe is concerned they are particles. This shrinking, which will be explored in later episodes, is the key to allowing characters both to survive and to interact with science in a natural but revealing way.
Useful Links
Podcast: http://media.podiobooks.com/timecrystal2/PB-TimeCrystal2-00.mp3
eBooks in 4 formats:
Volume One
Volume Two
Hurray, the first complete French translation of Volume 1 Episode 1 was put live today!
I owe a huge debt to Soesic for all her work. Now I have the challenge of trying to record it.
You can read it here.
This Week’s News
This week I finally finished writing Episode 3 of Volume 3, after two weeks work, and found a whole new way to communicate the science underlying the story. Details will follow in a newsletter around 30 August when I will discuss the benefits of this approach.
I also started recording Time Crystal in French. The first few minutes are available at
http://timecrystal.co.uk/audio/Cristaldestemps1-01.mp3
I’m currently trying to find out whether the quality is good enough to continue, or do I need to find a native French-speaker to record it. Please send your thoughts to me at
wyken@timecrystal.co.uk
Episode 22
In this newsletter I discuss in detail Volume 2 Episode 22. This continues the meeting started in Episode 20, and Brigit puts Alex firmly in his place, explaining her philosophy:
We have entered a new age now, young man, an age in which the very foundations of civilization and everything which humanity has achieved are now in grave danger. I believe we must put the United Nations at the centre of everything we do. It is the only institution on Earth which can give power where it belongs, to the people of the Earth. Because I believe that something good can actually come out of this disaster. Now, at last, the world has a chance to unite under a rational form of governance, and I will fight until my dying breath to ensure that it works.
It is a remarkable co-incidence that the world’s most important physics laboratory, CERN, happens to lie just a few kilometres away from the world’s largest United Nations offices. One of the major themes of Time Crystal will be how the people of the world will govern themselves following a catastrophe of unprecedented and almost unthinkable proportions. What would normally happen in the face of disaster is that the strongest nations would take control, merely continuing the old political regime. But that cannot happen here. The diplomats who are stationed in Geneva have no way to communicate with their political masters, and instead they will have to work out new political regimes.
This has clear resonances with the world’s current situation. We are facing global problems, especially global warming, which can only be solved by global political action and yet the world has no mechanism for taking effective action at this level. There is no global governance. The ability to explore this set of questions is one of the reasons I am so enthusiastic in writing this story. I hope it will be able to cast a little fresh light on a range of global issues.
It is also a striking co-incidence that the state in which these events happen, Switzerland, happens to have one of the most participative democratic systems in the world. The Internet is now opening up the potential for all states to enable their citizens with more power, transforming the meaning of democracy. The political reaction of the citizens of Geneva will also play a part in exploring these themes.
But all that lies in the future. Once Brigit has expressed her political view she takes George Gabor away to explore more personal but no less passionate issues. It is my belief, although hard to prove, that her sexual response to conditions of stress is not unusual. Birth rates generally tend to decline during wars and rise afterwards, but that is probably largely explained by the absence of men as they go away to fight and then their return and marriage when the war ends. But I can find no figures on sexual appetite in response to disaster, so sadly I cannot make any scientific claim that her feeling is general.
In any case her response allows me to move the plot forward, which is the main thing as far as the reader is concerned. Several years ago an early reviewer of the story, Flo Swann, objected that Brigit would never go for George and that she would instead be chasing Alex. The reasons why she has chosen George will be revealed later in the story.
Useful Links
Podcast: http://media.podiobooks.com/timecrystal2/PB-TimeCrystal2-22.mp3
eBooks in 4 formats:
Volume One
Volume Two
Working on Vol 3 Episode 3 for second week, and with 2000 words written, I realise that the event I had sketched out to be revealed in the final third of the chapter cannot be written as I had assumed because it hasn’t happened yet! This episode picks up the action from where it was last seen in Vol 1 Episode 24. But I had stupidly assumed I could also bring in the action from Vol 3 Episode 3, which in fact occurs many hours later. Now this can be done, of course, just by adding a break into the action, but I should have known that from the beginning.
So I decided that what I needed was to bring the spreadsheet up to date, so I could see all the threads of the story at a glance and not make this sort of false assumption again. I have now added columns which tell me which Volume and Episode each plotpoint happens for each thread. So, for example, I have columns called Vol.Ep, Earth1, Vol.Ep, Earth2, Vol.Ep, Ent, Vol.Ep, Time Tunnel. I don’t know if this will work, but it’s one possible way to do it.
Part of the problem is that the whole spreadsheet is out of date. It has not been brought into line with the new versions of Vol 1 and 2. That is one of the jobs which I’d like to find a volunteer to help with.
Exhibition opens in Globe of Innovation
The large wooden structure which CERN calls the Globe of Innovation was opened to the public on 1 July housing a brand new exhibition. Details at
http://public.web.cern.ch/public/
One of the earlier editions of Time Crystal actually featured Catriona, Sam and Marianne walking around this exhibition. Written several years ago it was rejected because I wanted to speed up the pace of the earlier sections of the story.
Here is an image I created while writing those early versions.
It is what I imagined the Globe would look like. You can see Catriona (in green), Marianne (holding the mobile phone), Francesco and Brigit.
The image was created because, at the time, I was planning to produce an illustrated (or even animated) version of the story.
I will be visiting Geneva in late August and will finally get to see how close my idea was to reality. Not very close, I think, judging by the images on the CERN website, for example:
Volume 2 Episode 21
This week’s featured Episode is number 21 from Volume 2. In this Episode Sam and Trissitia witness the…
Creation of the Universe
In reality nobody is sure what happened before the Big Bang, but there are many theories. In this story I adopt one version of them called the “inflation theory”. According to this idea the Universe before the Big Bang was filled with a field of something called “inflaton particles” (given that name because they were invented to drive the inflation event which followed). Like other virtual particles, (which I explained in the Art & Science of Time Crystal which accompanied Volume One) they are created in pairs, exist for a short time and then annihilate each other because of the laws of that weird branch of physics called quantum mechanics.
In Episode 21 I need to explain this theory, so this raises directly the issue of how to explain science within a work of fiction. This was first raised in the newsletter of 24 May. Two readers, Sarah and Soesic, had suggested various possible solutions: adding a glossary (like a mini-dictionary at the back of the book); adding footnotes or explaining it all in a separate volume, a bit like a printed version of this newsletter.
But I did not like any of these solutions. I want the science to be integral with the story, so that the reader learns something without even realising that they are learning. It was during the writing of this Episode that I discovered the solution to my problem. I do a flashback showing what Michael Zhang thought when he saw this part of the Cosmic Egg. By this time he had burrowed his way down to the center of the Egg and had swallowed so much of history that he was an omniscient, god-like figure. Hence he would understand everything. To me this is the perfect solution, and one which I hope I can re-use as the story progresses. Whenever I want the reader to understand something scientific I can say what Michael Zhang would think if he could see it.
Writing this week
In marked contrast with the week of 24 May, when I completed writing and recording THREE whole episodes, this week I have written only 1000 out of the 3000 words I need for a single Episode. Part of the problem is that the Episode I am working on (Volume 3 Episode 3) is completely new, whereas for Volume 2 I was mostly revising existing work. Part of the problem is that real life, especially working with the charity LeicestHERday, has taken a lot of time.
But at least I don’t have to get the recording finished. I am planning to write and record all 26 Episodes of Volume 3 and upload them all at the same time. The deadline is Crystal Day 2011 (5 April). You might think that’s another reason I haven’t made so much progress this week as in May but I honestly don’t think so. Devising an Episode’s plot from scratch is SO MUCH more work than just editing and recording an existing piece of text. I had spent years writing the first two volumes. Now I’ve got to do all that hard spadework creating stories out of thin air.
Useful Links
Podcast: http://media.podiobooks.com/timecrystal2/PB-TimeCrystal2-21.mp3
Wyken Seagrave requires volunteer Research Assistant to help with research on current and future projects. Approximately one day per week. Based in or near Coventry, UK.
Qualifications: Graduate or PhD. Subject not important but interest in some or all the following would be a benefit: science, history, literature and science-fiction. French speaker preferred but not essential. Skills in email, Microsoft Word, Excel and internet-based research. Good interpersonal and communication skills. Diligence and determination to find answers to difficult questions will be required.
Conditions: Mostly working from home but with regular visits to author’s office in Coventry. Ideally already have PC/laptop with Microsoft Office and broadband internet connection.
Occasional travel will be required including Switzerland. No payment currently available but all necessary expenses will be fully reimbursed. Possible future payment when sales allow.
 Quand j’ai mange mon diner indien et regarde l’émission Genève à Chaud sur Léman Bleu TV (via l’internet) j’ai écouté Pascal Décaillet annonce que Pascal Sciarini passera bientôt. C’est un homme qui m’intéresse par ce que j’espère qu’il me aidera avec des questions de la réponse de les conseils cantonal, municipal et fédéral réagirait si le scenario dan Cristal de Temps se passa. Ces détails sont pour moi très important et pas facile a résoudre, surtout quand la système de gouvernement va changer, le sujet de cette émission la !
J’ai ecrit a Professeur Sciarini il y a quelques moins mais il n’a pas répondu, donc j’ai révolu de lui visiter quand je suis en Suisse. J’espère seulement qu’il ne lisera pas cette blog et décider de prendre un vacance!
This Week’s News
I have now booked a visit to France and Switzerland in August and September, and would love to meet any of my readers who live in either of these countries. Please let me know if you will be available and which town you live in.
The Meeting
This week’s featured Episode is Volume 2 Episode 20.
George Lucas once said that there is always a meeting about 20 minutes into any movie in which key decisions are made which steer the rest of the movie. JRR Tolkein also had a major meeting in Lord of the Rings. The Council of Elrond begins on page 256, almost exactly ¼ of the way through the book.
This episode is also key to the story, although there will be other meetings later and this one is probably only 10% of the way through Time Crystal. It describes the second half of Francesco Romani’s meeting in the CERN Cafeteria.
Here is a photo of roughly where the meeting takes place, although because of their bubbles the characters can only see a tiny part of this space. Also this photo was taken in December. In April there are no Christmas trees!
During the first half of the meeting begun in Episode 18 in which Francesco had drawn the crystal map showing how crystals are linked to each other. In Episode 20 Alex tries to talk to Sam and prove he is still alive.
Crystal Communication
How can people see and hear each other through their crystals, and why is it in the story? The underlying concept (which is pure fiction) is that crystals are linked together in pairs by invisible “negative energy strings” which transmit sounds and images via vibrations and internal reflections. In addition crystals are linked to the “event network” on Ent, the world outside the Universe, and hence Alex saw him when Sam was trapped there. Now that Sam has been taken out of the event network, Alex’s efforts to find him are futile.
The reason this feature was added was to allow people in different threads of the story to communicate. If you compare Time Crystal with Star Trek, for example, the characters on Starship USS Enterprise were completely isolated from the Earth because of their vast distance, unable to communicate because radio signals can only travel at the speed of light. Hence the events on Earth did not affect the story at all.
I wanted a different scenario for Time Crystal. Political and social events on both the Earth and on Ent need to have a direct effect upon the events within the tunnel which links them, the tunnel which Catriona has started to descend. By inventing this communication system I am able to allow this interaction, so adding extra dimensions to the storyline.
Fusion Controversy
The main issue with is raised in Episode 20 is Francesco’s plan to fuse more crystal to create a bigger bubble, and the opposition of Brigit O’Brien to this plan. This question, of whether or not to fuse more crystal, will be a major theme throughout much of the rest of this story. You might like to decide, therefore, whether you would vote to fuse crystal or to keep them separate.
This is also the point where Brigit says she wants to get the United Nations involved. She is the Irish Ambassador to the United Nations and so will naturally think this is the right place to discuss what should happen next. This also will become a major thread in the story.
Useful Links
Podcast: http://media.podiobooks.com/timecrystal2/PB-TimeCrystal2-20.mp3
eBooks in 4 formats:
Volume One
Volume Two
This Week’s News
This week I’ve finished uploading all podcast episodes of Volume 2 to Podiobooks and hence to iTunes.
I’ve also created ebooks for Volumes 1 and 2 as pdf, prc (format for Kindle), epub (format for iPad) and pdb format for lots of other platforms.
I have put all four forms of ebooks onto the time crystal website for both volumes one and two.
Please note that from now on free pdf will not be available. I hope that readers will want to support me by purchasing an ebook for less than $2.
Episode 19
Summary: The Chatelain gives Catriona both crystals, hoping she will use the pink one to freeze the cannon, but when he sees her trying to escape he shoots her down. The Prince-Bishop tries to get the blue crystal but is caught by the Genevan soliders who take him and the Chatelain back to Geneva where they meet John Calvin.
John Calvin
John Calvin, who led the Reformation in Geneva, makes a guest appearance. Actually I have taken some artistic licence here, since although Calvin was present in the city for a short while during 1536 I have no evidence he was actually present on the night when the citizens of Geneva burned down the Chateau de Peney. And even if he was he would certainly not yet have attained the dominant position within the city which he would take five years later. I have taken a little artistic licence by having him give an acerbic speech to the Prince-Bishop of Geneva.
I based much of this speech on Calvin’s own words (including all the stuff about the Antichrist) but I must admit while expanding parts of it I had in mind the current scandal of sexual abuse of children by priests which is rocking the Roman Catholic Church. One can only hope that the Church will now come out of the sixteenth century as a result of this horrific series of revelations.
The Chapel de Notre Dame la Neuve which is referred to in the text is now called the Calvin Auditorium
Jeanette Clerc
The story of poor Jeanette Clerc told by the Chatelain is based on a real account given on page 56 of “Witchcraft in France and Switzerland: the Borderlands during the Reformation” by E. William Monter published by Cornell University 1976. Jeanette was tortured, confessed more or less as quoted in this Epiosde and was executed in Geneva in 1539.
Peney Castle
Peney Castle was indeed destroyed by the Genevans in 1536 soon after the declaration of the Reform, because of it’s support for Catholics. Later a house, now a hotel and restaurant called Châteauvieux (“Old Chateau”) was built out of the ruins of the former Château de Peney. Outside the Châteauvieux’s chapel stands a sign which says (loosely translated from French):
“After the expulsion of the Bishop from Geneva in 1533, the city was threatened with excommunication, was harassed by the troops of the Duke of Savoy, which joined those who, by conviction, left the city. Gathered at the Castle of Peney, former stronghold of Philibert Berthelier, the Peneysans will threaten Geneva, actively pursuing the destruction of its suburbs could facilitate and strengthen its defenses. The Castle of Peney will be burned in 1536.”
Glossary
Here are some historical terms used in this Episode which readers might not recognise.
Battlement – also called a crenellation – is a low wall (parapet) on top of a castle or other building with a series of rectangular openings cut in to allow archers to shoot arrows from.
Crenel – the openings in a battlement.
Harquebus – or arquebus – was an early muzzle-loaded rifle.
Harquebusiers – old name for rife men.
Maleficia – evil acts such as making a cow die by witchcraft.
Matchcord – the smouldering cord used by harquebusiers to ignite the powder in their harquebuses before the invention of mechanisms such as the wheellock in around 1550.
Merlon – the small solid rectangular bits of wall sticking up between the crenels.
Parapet – the whole wall which sticks up above the roof or top of the wall.
Sabbat – a meeting of witches
Strigae – plural of striga, a vampire. In Roman times vampires and witches (who could cause harm by magic herbs and spells) were considered different but during the medieval period these concepts merged so some witches were believed to fly.
Useful Links
Podcast: http://media.podiobooks.com/timecrystal2/PB-TimeCrystal2-19.mp3
eBooks in 4 formats:
Volume One
Volume Two
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