Welcome to Realm Explorers! In this weekly series, we visit a variety of unique worlds created by talented science fiction and fantasy authors. Enjoy your travels! And don't forget to read to the bottom of the post to find out more about each author and see how to purchase the featured book.
Author’s name:
John Thornton
Title of book and/or
series:
The Colony Ship Eschaton (Completed ten book series,
beginning with Recovery of a Colony Ship)
The Colony Ship Vanguard (Completed eight book series
beginning with Finding the Vanguard)
The Colony Ship Conestoga (in progress series with three
books, beginning with Quest for the
Conestoga)
Brief summary of the
story:
Set about 170 years in the future, the Earth is a
radioactive wasteland. The last remnant
of humanity lives in Dome 17, but the dome is failing. Scientists have developed two new and
unproven technologies: faster-than-light travel, and teleportation. Both have significant limitations, but offer
hope.
Roughly one hundred years before, the people of Earth
launched seven enormous generational colony ships each having immense
biological habitats containing flora, fauna, and people. These seven ships (Vanguard, Marathon,
Warren, Conestoga, Eschaton, Trailblazer, and Zubalamo) were sent on separate
journeys to distant solar systems with the hopes that in several generations,
the colony ships would find a new home for humanity. However, all seven ships were considered
lost.
The desperate people in Dome 17 seek to locate one of those
lost colony ships by sending two person adventurer teams in faster-than-light
scout ships. The FTL technology can only
carry so much mass, so the scout ship and two pilots are the maximum amount that
can be sent. The mission is to find one
of those colony ships and if it is still functional build a teleportation
receiving pad on that ship. Then the
people of Dome 17 will use a sending pad to connect to the newly built
receiving pad and teleport the survivors onto the colony ship thus escaping the
dying Earth and failing dome. It is a
race against time, technological problems, and the unknown in an attempt to
save humanity.
Each series follows the team of adventurers to a separate
colony ship. Therefore the three
different series all start in the same place, Dome 17, but then each series
tells what happens with the missions to those ships.
Brief description of
the world or location you created for this story:
There are three basic ‘worlds’ in my novels; Dome 17, the
mechanical aspects of the colony ships, and the biomes on the colony
ships.
The first ‘world’ is the sterile and dry life of humans in
Dome 17. There are no animals, flowers,
or any type of biology except for the food rations that are grown in rigidly
controlled ways. Water is precious. Every part of life is tightly controlled and
regulated, as the fifteen hundred people wrestle to keep the dome functional,
and understand what is happening. They
are desperate to survive, and plan to use their new and unproven technology in
the attempts to reach a colony ship.
The colony ships are gigantic and comprise the other two
‘worlds’ if I can use that term.
Basically they consist of a core needle ship which houses the propulsion
systems, navigation, and mechanical aspects of the spacecraft. So there are lots of technology places and
engineering as you would expect in a huge spaceship. The needle ship carries eight separate
biological habitats. The other part of
the colony ship, the third ‘world’.
These enormous cylinders are placed in piggyback fashion on the needle
ship and have different ecological climates inside, from tropical to savannah
to coastal plains, to aquatic zones, ect…
The biological habitats were designed to mimic the natural environments
of Earth. These biomes also serve as the
homes for the generations of humans who will live there until the colony ship
reaches its destination world.
However, all seven of the colony ships have suffered some
kind of failures. The novels describe
how the ships have failed, and what the adventurers discover as they explore
those derelict ships.
If we were to visit
the colony ships as tourists, what would you recommend that we see or do there?
Each colony ship is in a different condition. Some of the habitats look very beautiful,
while other may not be functional at all.
To the people from Dome 17, who have never seen animals, or plants, or
any natural setting, the biology is amazing.
So watch for the reactions of the adventurers to things they have only
read or studied in history books. Also
observe for the interacts between the hundred-year old colony ship technology
and the new and advanced technology the adventurers bring with them from Dome
17.
What dangers should
we avoid in the colony ships?
Be very careful.
Nature and technology may have changed drastically in the hundred years
the colony ships have been in flight.
Watch out for the animals that are still roaming the habitats, but also
be aware that some humans may still be living some kind of life on those
ships. How has their technology
worked? How has it failed? And will the adventurers from Dome 17 find a
safe place to go?
Is there a distinct
or unusual type of food or meal that we might be served in the colony ships?
The Dome 17 people are used to processed food ration bars
and strict controls on water. The people
who live in the biological habitats have a totally different idea of food.
What types of
weaponry or fighting styles are common in colony ships?
As part of the limited equipment the Dome 17 people are able
to bring in the FTL scout ship, they each have a high tech pistol which is
fusion powered. However, Dome 17 was a
stable and internally safe place, so they are not used to fighting or combat at
all. The wild animals of the biological
habitats, and colony ship humans may be very different.
What types of
vehicles, animals, technology, etc. are used to travel in or to the colony
ships?
The faster-than-light scout ship is very limited in cargo
space. So the two adventurers have only
the basic gear needed to build the teleportation receiving pad. Fusion packs, molecular torches, pistols,
medical kits, and a set of data sticks and data stick readers. Additionally, they do have an artificial
intelligence system (an AI) built into the scout ship. The AI has its own personality and the goal
of assisting in making the mission a success.
Each AI is self-aware, sentient, and able to verbally interact with the
adventurers via a personal com-link. It
is unknown to the adventurers what the affects of faster-than-light travel will
have upon them and their equipment.
What types of plants,
animals, or sentient races might we encounter in the colony ships that we don’t
see on Earth?
All the life in the colony ships originated on Earth, but
has been in the colony ship’s biological habitats for one hundred years. So there may be variations on different
predators, prey, and plants. Also, as
isolated biomes, each colony ship might have had mutations, or new strains of
disease. The adventurers hope to find
stable, safe, biological wildernesses on the colony ships. The plot involves what they do find.
Since the colony ships have been in space on their journeys
for one-hundred years, there is the possibility that alien lifeforms may have
discovered them.
What role, if any,
does magic or the supernatural play in the lives of people in colony ships? If there is magic, please give some examples
of what it involves or how it’s used.
One of the colony ships, the Eschaton, was built for a
religious group. They saw it as a form
of Noah’s Ark to save them.
Spirituality, dreams, and visions still play a significant role in some
of those people’s lives.
Is there any advanced
or unusual technology in the colony ships?
If you haven’t described it already, please give some examples.
Permalloy is a new type of super-hard metal which was used
to construct the colony ships. It is
spun as a liquid and then hardened into whatever shape is needed. There are also technological methods of
altering gravity to provide for Earth normal gravity in the biological
habitats. The colony ships have built in
artificial intelligence systems, but they are one-hundred years inferior to the
ones the adventurers have.
Additionally, there are automacubes, robotic maintenance
drones, which tend to the engineering needs of the colony ships. None of the adventurers know the
functionality of any of the systems on the colony ships.
Tell us about any
sports, games, or activities that are available for entertainment in your books.
In Dome 17 the people play a game called ricochet ball. This helps them to keep fit and provides an
entertainment outlet.
Are the days of the
week and months of the year the same in the colony ships as on Earth? What
holidays or special events are celebrated regularly there?
The biological habitats were designed to mimic Earth, so
there is a solar cycle. This gives the
biomes day and night rhythms.
Is there a particular
religion practiced in the colony ships?
Please describe what it involves.
Religious practices vary depending on which colony ship is
investigated, and what its specific background was. Also, the intervening years have allowed any
humans to survive to adopt new and unique religious practices.
What is the political
or government structure in the colony ships?
Who is in charge there at the moment, and what kind of leader is he/she?
These are great questions, and the plot involves the
adventurers trying to uncover just who or what is in control of the colony
ships. Originally each ship had a flight
crew that oversaw the operations of the colony ship, as well as a separate
government looking out for the people living in the biological habitats. What remains of those original designs is
revealed throughout the stories and varies from colony ship to colony ship, and
even from biological habitat to habitat.
For example, the people in the tropical habitat may have a whole
different way of operation from those in the coastal plains habitat.
Are there any other
unique cultural practices that we should be aware of if we visit the colony
ships?
There is a huge clash of cultures between the humans from
Dome 17, and those humans who have survived on the colony ships. Levels of technology, societal expectations,
and the difference between living in Dome 17 and living in a biological habitat
play a big part in the stories.
Has anything in your actual
life inspired the locations, cultures, etc. in your book?
Oh dear, well, yes.
Everything in my life has shaped and influenced my writing.
What, if any, “hot-button”
or controversial topics do you touch on in your book?
I strive to write realistic characters. So the people in my books deal with all kinds
of emotions. From elation over the first
sight of an animal, to fear of the unknown, to deep depression, to
post-traumatic stress, I write about people who are not superheroes, but
individuals caught up in circumstances greater than they have ever encountered
before. How will they relate to each
other? How will they deal with
loss? How will they cope with the deaths
of friends?
Author Autobiography:
I have a widely diverse background. I worked as an ICU RN
for 10 years in various, cardiac, surgical, and medical units. I was at the
bedside when a myriad of people died. I
also saw some wonderful stories of triumph over adversity.
I also have an advanced case of arthritis which has resulted
in my having seven total joint replacements, and stopped me from continuing to
work as a nurse. I have worked part time
visiting the elderly, shut-ins, and others for the last 18 years.
I am married, have four grown and married daughters, and
three pets. Two silly dogs and an
ancient cat (18 1/2 years old) share our home with us.
Where, and in what
formats, can we purchase your books?
My books are available on Kindle for only $.99 each, and in
paperback. The easiest place to get them
is on Amazon.
Where can readers
connect with you online?
I hope you all enjoyed the trip to the colony ships. 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 Star Realm, in Realm Explorers Part LXXXIV!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to the Star Realm, in Realm Explorers Part LXXXIV!
-Annie Douglass Lima
2 comments:
Hi, this sounds like a fascinating ya series. Thanks for sharing on Literacy Musing Mondays. :)
My middle child would enjoy these books!
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