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Author’s name:
Matthew Kadish
Title of book and/or
series:
The Series is called The Earthman Jack Space Saga. The first book is called “Earthman Jack vs.
The Ghost Planet,” and the second book is called “Earthman Jack vs. The Secret
Army.”
Brief summary of the
story:
The story centers around a young boy from Earth named Jack. He’s kind-of a slacker, isn’t all that
bright, and is also a bit of a troublemaker.
But he’s got a good heart and maybe possesses more courage than smarts. The Earthman Jack Space Saga is the tale of
how this kid became the greatest hero the universe has ever known, and we get
to see him grow and mature from that unassuming underachiever he was at the
beginning of the tale to a kick-butt superhero who is the universe’s only hope
for survival at the end of it. It’s an
epic story filled with massive battles, deceit, treachery, magic, spaceships,
aliens, robots, mind-boggling technology, friendship, coming of age, life
lessons, tragedy, humor, adventure, mystery, and pretty much every other
adjective known to exist.
Brief description of
the world or location you created for this story:
Since this is a massive, sprawling space opera, there are
multiple locations that make up this universe. Even though it’s set in our
“Milky Way” galaxy, there are a number of planets, moons, asteroids, space
stations, and other habitable bodies that exist within it. The basic background of the universe is that
long ago, there was an Ancient race of advanced beings who helped to populate galaxies
and then suddenly (and mysteriously) disappeared. There is now a galactic Empire based on the
technology these Ancients left behind, and this Empire is being attacked by
mysterious aliens who may or may not have had something to do with the
disappearance of The Ancients. This
Empire consists of 100 planets, and a number of colonies, outposts, and space
stations encompassing roughly 30,000 lightyears of space.
I don’t really have an official name for the universe I’m
creating, so I just lazily refer to it as “the Jackverse,” named after my main
character, Earthman Jack.
If we were to visit the
Jackverse as tourists, what would you recommend that we see or do there?
Oh, there are many great vacation destinations in the
Jackverse, depending on what it is you enjoy.
For those looking for culture, they can tour the Hive Mind of Valghanna
VII which houses the largest repository of art and literature in the known
universe, including the complete collected works of the famed poet Vonnugat Van
Habledorff (known more commonly as ‘Lil VonVan), encompassing approximately
7,000 volumes written in iambic pentameter, each of them containing sonnets
where he rhymes the word “shoeboxes” with itself in every line – a feat
previously believed impossible even by the most hardened of literary snobs.
For those interested in history, one can visit the capitol
planet of the Empire, Omnicron Prime.
Though Omnicron has a long and colorful history, like being the capitol
of the infamous “Twilight Empire” – a rival Empire manned by autonomous,
sentient robots a thousand years previously – it was chosen as the new capitol
for the Empire after the original homeworld – Regalus Prime – was destroyed by
the Deathlords. Capitol City, the seat
of Imperial Government on Omnicron Prime, contains massive supertowers which
are tens of thousands of feet tall, each one catering to specific worlds of
Imperial members and housing millions of life forms. Capitol City also consists of up to 200
levels, called “stratums,” with each stratum housing various commercial and
residential districts. The stratums and
supertowers make Capitol City one of the largest and most densely populated
cities in the universe, and also makes it a “melting pot” for every culture and
race represented within the Empire.
If one is interested in more entertainment-based venues,
they can travel to the pleasure planet of Vas Lagas, 98% of which is covered in
ocean, which makes it easy to house numerous man-made islands for beach living
and tropical nightlife. Vas Lagas is
also surrounded closely by an unregulated asteroid belt where numerous casinos
operate. “Resortroids,” as they’re
called, run the gamut from “cheap & seedy” to “luxurious and
family-friendly” and cater to any and all types of tourists and vacationers. In fact, it’s just been announced that the
Convention for Leisure & Anti-Social Male Escapism (also known as LAME
Con), the largest pop-culture convention in the universe, will be re-locating
there after outgrowing its old venue.
There are literally millions more destinations to recommend
to tourists travelling through the Jackverse.
For a complete list of getaways, please see The Intergalactic Wayfarer’s Guide to Tourist Traps for more ideas
and great offers on lodging. (Be sure to
use promo code “Earthman”)
What dangers should
we avoid in the Jackverse?
As with anything in life, the Jackverse is not without its
fair share of hazards. Anything that
shoots at you should probably be avoided, if you’re not into that type of thing. There’s also your run-of-the-mill space
piracy, malfunctioning robots, and the rare swarm of space insects which will
consume any and all matter they come into contact with. Mysterious viruses which cause intense
illness followed by turning one into a violent, rampaging zombie have been known
to break out on occasion. Oh, and an evil,
malevolent race of aliens called Deathlords which like to kill anything they
meet and blow up entire planets. It’s
recommended you avoid them at all costs.
They’re kinda jerks. And, of
course, don’t drink the water on the third moon of Davlos Penumbra. It’s been known to cause explosive diarrhea,
followed by explosive vomiting, followed by an even more explosive build-up of
ear wax.
Is there a distinct
or unusual type of food or meal that we might be served in the Jackverse?
The Jackverse has a wide palate of intergalactic delicacies
to be enjoyed, depending upon your species.
Food runs the gamut from spicy fried larvaworms (a bar-food favorite) to
slow-cooked spiced Gourvine belly in a sweet-and-sour mustard glaze
(particularly favored among Gourvines, who are well-known cannibals). Though most food is of the replicated
variety, since it takes large agricultural resources to cater to such a huge
Empire, occasionally you can enjoy a genuine Demonsaur steak, which is heralded
to be one of the most tender, succulent, and flavorful pieces of meat in all of
existence. As long as you’re okay with
dozens of Ramballah hunters dying to provide your meal, since Demonsaurs are
also one of the deadliest animals in all of existence. But boy, do they sure pair well with a nice
glass of nectarplum wine!
What types of
weaponry or fighting styles are common in the Jackverse?
Though some cultures still use melee weapons and projectile
weapons, the primary weapon used in the Jackverse is some form of “plasma gun.” Essentially, these guns fire superheated
bolts of gas, and can appear to look as though they are “laser bolts” as they
light up from the chemical reaction of the plasma being heated. The plasma bolts tend to melt whatever they
come into contact with, and the heat of the gas can be adjusted depending on
the goal of its use. For instance, when
engaging on a firefight in a spaceship, the heat level would be toned down so
as not to pierce a ship’s hull. Plasma
weapons also use gas canister magazines, which make the weapons lighter weight
and allow them to hold greater ammunition since gas is far more compressed than
projectile weapons such as bullets.
While a typical handgun may hold just 12 rounds before needing to
reload, a plasma gun can hold hundreds of rounds in its compressed canister
magazine.
Fighting styles vary from culture to culture and species to
species. For instance, a species with
six hands will have a different fighting style than a species with only two
hands. Most fighting styles are catered
to a species’ specific anatomic strengths and weaknesses. A truly skilled fighter must know the
vulnerabilities of the race he’s facing to best defeat them. This can make close-quarter combat and
hand-to-hand combat complicated.
The best fighters in the Jackverse are usually “Warrior
Paragons,” who are trained in the way of the Free Mind. Paragons tend to favor melee weapons since
it’s easier for them to control and exert their unique brand of “magic” through
them. Because of their “free minds,”
they often have knowledge of how best to defeat whatever opponent they may be
facing, and they can quickly learn new styles of fighting by simply opening
their mind and discovering the knowledge of how to fight the way they need to
in order to win. This makes Paragons
extremely formidable opponents in any combat situation.
What types of
vehicles, animals, technology, etc. are used to travel in or to the Jackverse?
Travel methods vary depending upon which planet one is on and
that culture’s preferred modes of transportation. But the most common ones on a planetary level
involve teleportation, which facilitates matter transference locally, allowing
fast travel across great distances on the surface of planets (but at great energy
expenditure).
Between planets, one can travel through the Portgate
network, which is a network of stable wormholes which allow instantaneous
travel across thousands of lightyears of space.
Portgates are extremely safe and reliable, however, they were built by
the Ancients long ago, so the network is limited to a certain number of
planets, and no new Portgates are able to be made, thus limiting the number of destinations
one can travel to using this method of transportation.
If the destination is outside of this network, one must rely
on hyperspace travel to go somewhere.
Though hyperspace allows for faster than light travel, it still takes
much longer than a Portgate. Depending
upon the destination, a hyperspace trip can take days, weeks, or even months –
and that’s on pre-scouted hyperspace lanes.
Deviation from these routes could lead to fatal collision with
gravitational bodies. However, sticking
to these routes can also leave one vulnerable to piracy.
What types of plants,
animals, or sentient races might we encounter in the Jackverse that we don’t see
on Earth?
There are actually far too many to list here, but I can give
some examples of each. For instance,
there is a plant named Solanacus, which is more commonly known as “dreamleaf.” The
Solanacus plant is mainly used as a recreational or medicinal drug. It is a purple, cabbage-like plant which only
grows on the dark-side of the Barbitol Moons.
Its leaves are often harvested, dried, and consumed for its
psychological and physiological effects.
Chemical compounds in the plant shift brainwaves from Alpha state to
Theta state, mimicking the effects of REM and NREM sleep cycles while the
consumer remains conscious and aware.
This allows those who consume dreamleaf to stay awake for long periods
of time with no adverse side-effects from sleep deprivation. It is a popular recreational drug for those
who work long hours, students cramming for exams, and partiers who wish to
avoid feeling tired. While under effects
of dreamleaf, users can experience “waking dreams” that bleed into their
conscious reality. While not harmful in
low to moderate use, continued heavy use of dreamleaf has been known to cause
permanent dream states.
As far as animals go, there is a wide and varied bestiary
across the galaxy, ranging from domesticated pets to wild beasts. One of the most peculiar is the Lucheep, a
small animal with fur that reflects light around it, causing it to be
practically invisible to the naked eye.
Though harmless and docile, large packs of these animals can cause all
types of problems, particularly if they wander into busy roads. Though their fur is highly sought after to
create “stealth suits” for military purposes, it takes a great deal of patience
and skill to raise these animals, since it is easy for them to wander off and
never be found again. Also, because
their fur is practically invisible, even when shaved off them, it makes
building such suits a difficult and trying endeavor, making Lucheep shepherding
a risky and potentially unprofitable endeavor.
When it comes to sentient races, there are over 50 sentient
races within the Empire alone, and that doesn’t count those that exist outside
the Empire. The Jackverse has an
extremely diverse and eclectic collection of sentient life, ranging from
slug-like Scollums to sentient colors such as #00B2EEn (who is able
to communicate with all shades of the color blue). There are the monstrous, hulking Rognoks, the
rock-like Recklek, the boisterous Stonehooligans, the dragon-like Izards, and
the multi-colored Visini. And that’s
just scratching the surface!
However, Regals are the dominant race within the galaxy,
mostly due to their colonization efforts of other inhabitable planets. They are descended from a race known as The
Ancients. Those with stronger genetic
links to the Ancients tend to be tall and beautiful, fair in complexion and
with great skill of body and mind.
Regals tend to be slender, graceful, and strong, with slightly pointed
ears that have a subtle leaf-shape to them.
Regals are very similar to humans, and though those with strong genetic
links to the Ancients may look close to perfect, not all Regals have such
strong ties. Those with weaker links to
the Ancient gene can have various differing appearances. But even though hair color, eye color,
height, and weight may differ, Regals tend to be very homogenous, and are
by-and-large Caucasian in appearance.
What role, if any,
does magic or the supernatural play in the lives of people in the Jackverse? If there is magic, please give some examples
of what it involves or how it’s used.
In the Jackverse, the “magic” that exists is basically
science we have yet to fully understand.
The magic is based on a holistic synergy of the body, mind, and soul
which is referred to as a “Free Mind.”
Essentially, the magic system is based on two things – quantum physics
and the biocentric theory of reality.
In quantum physics, existence essentially comes down to the
consciousness of the person observing their reality. In essence, quantum physics says that our
brains “make things real.” And until we
make an observation, an infinite amount of possibilities exist in our reality.
The biocentric theory of reality is a theory that says
consciousness creates life, not the other way around. This theory essentially states that sentient
consciousness uses quantum physics to form the reality we find ourselves in, as
opposed to our environment forming the life that exists within it.
By meshing these two concepts together, those who wield “magic”
in the Jackverse essentially use quantum physics to change the reality around
them. They can manifest into reality
weapons, vehicles, armor, and pretty much anything else their brain can come up
with. Since quantum physics states that
everything already exists – including knowledge – someone with a “Free Mind”
can conceivably know everything there is to know in the entire universe.
By aligning one’s body, mind, and soul, and achieving a
“Free Mind” capable of manifesting anything, it would appear as though one is
able to perform supernatural feats. The
Ancients are a race that created astounding wonders that break the very laws of
physics using this method. In the
Jackverse, there is a group called “Paragons” who study the teachings of the
Ancients and strive to achieve a Free Mind.
These are the primary “magic users” of this universe. However, it is hard to free one’s mind from
all its limitations, so most Paragons are only able to achieve small amounts of
quantum physics-based magic, depending on their skill level.
Because this is so difficult, Paragons are relatively
rare. However, the Emperor of the Empire
usually has a strong connection to the technology of the Ancients, which is
based on this “magic,” and the Emperor and his offspring are usually the ones
who are naturally gifted when it comes to achieving “Free Minds.”
Is there any advanced
or unusual technology in the Jackverse?
If you haven’t described it already, please give some examples.
There is a multitude of advanced and unusual technology at
play in the Jackverse, mostly from the creations of The Ancients. Some of the Ancient’s greatest technological
advancements have been studied and secularized so that their use becomes
common, while other advances are so complicated and hard to understand, that
they have yet to be replicated.
In terms of advanced technology, one example is hyperspace
travel. In the Jackverse, this is how
spacecraft traverse large distances between planets at faster than light
speeds. Essentially, an engine called a
Brane Accelerator creates a field that excites the particles that form
membranes between dimensions (known as “branes”), allowing windows into other
dimensions which can be crossed.
Hyperspace is a mirror dimension to our reality, but whereas our universe
is constantly expanding and growing, Hyperspace is constantly contracting and
shrinking, making distances far shorter than they are in regular space and
time. By entering the hyperspace
dimension and engaging lightspeed engines which accelerate ships to 99% the
speed of light, starships are essentially travelling “faster” than lightspeed
in our reality, without actually breaking the laws of physics. And since the hyperspace dimension is linked
to our own, when a ship reaches a certain destination in hyperspace and exits
back into normal space, they come out at basically the same location, even
though it took far less time to get there.
Probably the most unusual technology known to exist takes
the form of “Great Seals.” Great Seals
are remnants of the civilization of The Ancients and are responsible for
creating mind-boggling feats of scientific engineering that bend (and sometimes
even break) all known laws of science.
Though no one fully understands how Great Seals operate, it is theorized
that a collective form of corporeal knowledge is housed in a chamber behind a
Great Seal, which the Seal then manifests into reality. In this respect, the Seal acts like a
sentient consciousness, one powerful enough to alter reality based on the
corporeal knowledge it houses. This
allows for the creation of wondrous things, such as habitable planets with a
breathable atmosphere but no plant life or nearby star. The entire Portgate network is powered by one
such Great Seal as well. Though
powerful, only a few Great Seals have been discovered to date, and their study
is ongoing.
Tell us about any
sports, games, or activities that are available for entertainment in the
Jackverse.
For those looking for recreational activities in the
Jackverse, there is a multitude to choose from.
Popular activities include going to the holocinema, nightclubs, and
robot wrestling matches. One of the more
popular games in the Jackverse is a card game known as Loquir, which is a game
similar to poker, but with multiple elements of strategy to it. Loquir can be played for fun or for money,
and is a large part of any gambling establishment in the galaxy.
For those looking for more of a mental challenge, one can
partake in the game of Optiass, a chess-like strategy game played on a 12x12
board using holographic figures as board pieces. Each figure has its own Artificial
Intelligence, and can only be moved on the board by having the player convince
it to perform the desired action.
Players communicate with the pieces by holding a “thought stone” which
allows them to have mental conversations with the pieces. The goal of the game is to get one’s pieces
to move so that the Emperor piece of the opponent is captured. Because of each piece’s unique personality,
this can be quite challenging. Some
pieces will not act as the player wants them to, particularly if the piece realizes
it is about to be sacrificed, in which case it may choose to act in its own
best interest. Both sides play in turns,
and games have been known to last anywhere from a few hours to months or even
years, depending on the difficulty setting of the A.I. being used.
Each culture in the Jackverse has its own type of sports
that it enjoys watching or participating in.
For instance, the Egoi like to partake in a sport called Mentat, which
consists of two Egoi entering a circular ring and trying to use psychic
abilities to push the other player out of this ring. Though exciting to other Egois, most races
find the sport to be rather boring since it mostly consists of two beings
staring at each other for long periods of time.
Another example is the popularity of the Orean dance competitions, where
the most powerful politicians in the Orean race show-off their sweetest
moves. Though popular among other races,
Oreans communicate through body language, and find these dance-offs rather
stale, since to them, they are the equivalent of watching political
debates. And then there’s the Stonehooligan
sport of ROCKBALL, which is essentially an excuse for Stonehooligans to
headbutt each other.
However, probably the most popular sport among the Empire is
the sport of Gravityball. Gravityball
combines elements of football, basketball, roller-derby, and rugby in various
degrees of gravity. A typical
Gravityball court is divided into five vertical arenas, each with its own
anti-gravity generator. The goal of the
game is to get the gravityball from the bottom arena to the top in order to
score. The weight of the ball decreases
the higher up it gets, whereas the weight of the players are inversely
proportional, with the first arena being nearly zero gravity for the players
and the top arena being normal gravity.
Players use magnetic grind boots to skate along rails within the
Gravityball court, and use a grappling hook to pull them to other levels, as
well as trip up other players and steal the ball. A typical Gravityball match is two hours
long, and is normally comprised of two teams consisting of 8 players each. Because of its fast-paced and chaotic nature,
it has transcended cultures to become an almost universally loved sport.
Are the days of the
week and months of the year the same in the Jackverse as on Earth? What
holidays or special events are celebrated regularly there?
All calendar measurements vary depending on the planet one
is on, but there is a “Universal Timedate” which is based on the revolution and
rotation of the Empire’s original homeworld, Regalus Prime. Though not all planets in the Empire adhere
to the Universal Timedate standard, it is used throughout the universe for the
purpose of commerce, shipping, and communication. A typical day on Regalus Prime was very close
to that of Earth’s, so its minute/hour/day/week/month schedule is very similar.
Every culture within the Empire celebrates their own
holidays and special events, such as the Stonehooligan culture on the planet
Brittlecore. Known to be some of the
hardest laborers in the universe, the Stonehooligans are also the hardest
partiers in the universe and will declare holidays for the smallest of things
as an excuse to cut loose. Their latest
holiday, “My friend Remar found a penny on the ground” day, was said to have
lasted several weeks and created a shortage of good beer on the planet.
Outside of these “local” holidays, there are universal
holidays set out by the Imperial Government and the dominant religion of the
Empire, The Church Of The Great Observer.
For instance, “Foundation Day” is a universal holiday celebrating the
founding of the Empire by its first Emperor, Arcturus I, who was the first man
to discover and utilize technology from The Ancients and unite his planet under
one government.
Then, there is Chrimeria, which is the big religious holiday
of the Church of the Great Observer.
Chrimeria is a month-long time of reflection where those who follow the
religion are meant to examine their lives of the past year and try to right
their wrongs using the teachings of the church.
However, the holiday has become quite commercialized, since most people
choose to right their wrongs by sending gifts to others as a form of atonement,
thus creating an intense retail season for the month of Chrimeria.
Is there a particular
religion practiced in the Jackverse? Please
describe what it involves.
The Jackverse has numerous religions which are practiced
within it, since each culture tends to support multiple different religions
based on its species’ history. However,
there are some religions which are extremely popular and attract followers
across planetary and cultural boundaries.
For instance, The Church of RNGsus of Pre-Determined Destiny (the RNG
Church or, informally, RNG) is a popular galactic religion dedicated to the God
of Random Number Generation. Followers
believe in pre-determined destinies and that through random numbers they can be
guided toward doing what they need to do to in order to follow the path fate
has laid out for them. The church is
most widely recognized for its RNGsus booths, which can be found throughout the
galaxy. They are a great source of
income for the church and give followers guidance on what to do by printing
tickets with random numbers that correspond to advice on how to live one’s
life. Members of the church can also
roll church-sanctioned dice to assist them when making decisions. There are a number of actual church buildings
where the congregation of RNGsus gather to worship. Their services are often described as being
very similar to games of Bingo.
However, the official religion of the Empire is that of the
Church of the Great Observer. It was
started by Emperor Arcturus I and the first Order of Peers, based off the
teachings of the Ancients. The doctrine
of the church preaches the existence of a “Great Observer” who watches over the
universe, and is responsible for manifesting everything within it. The Great Observer is the embodiment of a
true Free Mind, and possesses knowledge of all things, thus being “all seeing
and all knowing.” Followers of the
church believe that all life is connected to this Great Observer, and that all
living beings are part of him. It is
said that should the Great Observer ever blink, even for one second, all of
existence would cease. It was Arcturus’s
belief in this Great Observer that led him to adopt the symbol of an all-seeing
eye to be the official crest of his family, and thus the symbol for the Empire
at large. The religion is said to foster
“free minds” in its followers, creating a culture of learning, freedom, and
acceptance among its congregation.
What is the political
or government structure in the Jackverse?
Who is in charge there at the moment, and what kind of leader is he/she?
The central government of the Jackverse is known as “The
Galactic Regalus Empire.” Though imperialism
is typically frowned upon as a system of government, it has been found to be
the most effective way to govern lightyears-worth of territory. Democratic or republic-based governments,
though good on a planetary level, are far too inefficient on the galactic
level.
The Regalus Empire is essentially a constitutional monarchy,
with an Emperor at its head. Though the
Emperor has certain reserve powers, his job is primarily as a figurehead, and
his primary responsibility is the use and discovery of Ancient technology for
the benefit of the Empire.
There are two major governing bodies within the government,
known as the Council of Juniors and the Council of Elders. These are the government bodies which make
the laws, with the Council of Juniors representing member planets of the Empire
based on population and the Council of Elders representing all the member
planets equally.
There is a judicial branch called the Royal Judiciary which
consists of a “Council of Seven” and acts as a watchdog group to not only
enforce the laws, but keep the Emperor in check as a way to prevent tyranny
from taking hold. The executive body is
known as the Directory, and consists of five Directors who oversee their own
little slice of the Empire. Since the
Empire is so massive, it is impossible for one being to oversee all of it,
thus, the Directors have a great deal of flexibility in how they run their own
sections of the Empire, but they must also reach majority agreement in order to
govern the Empire as a whole.
The governing of individual planetary systems falls to
regional governors known as “Legacies.”
A Legacy is a title that is usually passed down from generation to
generation, ensuring consistency in the governing of a planetary system. The Empire allows all planets to govern
themselves on a local level, but Legacies oversee entire planets and ensure
that Imperial law is enforced.
Essentially, a Legacy is the ruler of their own “mini-empire,” with
every planet, outpost, settlement, and space station in their system under
their control. Legacy titles can only be
granted or revoked by the Emperor.
At the time of Earthman Jack’s adventure, the only member of
Legacy Prime still alive is Princess Glorianna, who is next in line to become
Emperor on her 18th birthday.
She is a young girl who is overwhelmed by her position, and it is
unclear what type of ruler she will one day become. However, with Jack’s support, she may just
grow to be one of the greatest Emperors the universe has ever seen. Only time will tell.
Are there any other
unique cultural practices that we should be aware of if we visit the Jackverse?
Indeed, and it is entirely dependent upon which culture or
race one is interacting with. An example
of this is the Tygarian race, which appends silent letters to their names as a
way to dignify certain achievements. To
possess a silent “K” in one’s name is the mark of a great warrior. However, pronouncing the “K” is considered to
be an insult and a direct challenge to the Tygarian who possesses it. Thus, mispronouncing a Tygarian name with a
silent “K” in it, even by accident, could in fact lead to a deadly encounter.
Because it is so easy for a “faux pas” to occur between
cultures, it is highly recommended that one always travel with a certified
attaché android that is fluent in the various cultures of the universe to best
advise one on how to deal with all the different species one will encounter on
their travels.
Has anything in your actual life inspired the locations, cultures, etc. in your book?
Pretty much everything in my life inspires the different
aspects of the world I’m creating in my books.
I love taking normal, mundane things I see around me and giving them a
unique, sci-fi twist and coming up with something fun and different. A lot of what I create comes from pop-culture
influences from the 80’s and early 90’s.
In lots of ways, this story is a love-letter to the sci-fi I grew up
enjoying, and I find it a lot of fun to build this world out and make it feel
real (even if most of what I come up with is a bit goofy).
What, if any, “hot-button”
or controversial topics do you touch on in your book?
Pretty much everything you can think of, but not blatantly. For instance, in the Jackverse, there is an
alien race that bases its class system on the color of one’s skin. In their culture, most beings have yellow
skin, but the upper class have blue skin and the elite have purple skin. Criminals and undesirables have red
skin. A white-skinned being is said to
be the pinnacle of existence, while a black-skinned being is said to be
inherently evil. They think the skin is
a reflection of the soul, so what a person is on the inside is reflected on the
outside. Of course, this brings into
play issues of race and what one’s skin color really means. It’s not an overt way of analyzing the role
skin color plays in society, but it does allow me to underhandedly convey the
message “racism is bad, m’kayyy?”
The story I’m writing has lots of themes, ranging from
personal responsibility, to religion and spirituality, gender issues, political
beliefs, and a host of other hot-button topics.
But they’re never the focus and it’s not preachy. The great thing about sci-fi is that as an
author, I can mask different messages in the cloak of fiction and explore them
in a non-threating way for the reader.
This way, if the reader doesn’t agree with my viewpoint, they won’t get
turned off by the story, and if they do agree with my viewpoint, they’ll enjoy
the story even more.
Author Autobiography:
Matthew Kadish is an independent author and world-recognized
evil genius. When he isn't writing or being evil, he enjoys relaxing at the
beach and videos of puppies. Much like Scottish cuisine, most of his literary
works have been based on dares. He currently lives in Las Vegas and always bets
on black, because Westley Snipes has yet to steer him wrong in life. He is the
most talented author ever. His mother tells him so every day.
Where, and in what
formats, can we purchase your books?
You can purchase my books in the usual places – Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc. If you’d
like to check out the Jackverse yourself, try reading the first book in the
series “Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet.”
I actually give a special edition of the book away at my website, which
contains special features like full page illustrations, interviews, and
appendixes that you can’t get in the retail version.
If you want to check out the first book, just head over to www.EarthmanJack.com to download it for
free.
Where can readers
connect with you online?
I am all over the interwebz!
If you’re interested in checking out my inane ramblings and getting
glimpses into my rather boring and nerdy life, feel free to cyberstalk me. I make it SUPER easy!
And of course, my official website www.MatthewKadish.com!
I’m pretty active, so if you have any questions about the
series of the universe I’m creating, feel free to contact me. I love hearing from readers!
I hope you all enjoyed the trip to the Jackverse. Questions about the world or the book? Ask them in the comments and the author will get back to you!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to the fantasy world of Cupola, in Realm Explorers Part LXXXI!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to the fantasy world of Cupola, in Realm Explorers Part LXXXI!
-Annie Douglass Lima
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