It seems to be peoples' belief that an Epic Story has to be thousands of pages long. I'm not so certain why that presumption even started. Yet, in my personal experience, Epic Stories tend to start small. They don't call me Mini Truth for nothing. :)
Small people call my books "quick reads" even the full length novels. It's probably because my stories get straight to the point. There is little to no Filler Material in my stories. Personally (and this is just a me thing, I'm sure), I can't stand Filler Material, and/or Techno-Babble.
What is Filler Material?
Filler Information is additives to a story that do nothing but elongate the story line unnecessarily, without moving it forward. This can be (but is not limited to), extra dialogue, irrelevant details, useless narrative.
ME?
I stay away from all of that mumbo-jumbo. The end result is that my stories are sometimes on the shorter side. Nevertheless, that doesn't take away from the delivery of the action.
Believe it or not, "Earth 8-8-2" started off as an idea for a short story. It was actually supposed to be my entry into Concordant Vibrancy, An All Authors Anthology. But for whatever reason, what started off as an idea for a tiny 3,000 word story, suddenly took on a life of its own.
So, why do I call it an Epic Sci-Fi? It's because it completely breaks the mold of modern day Sci-Fi. This isn't your average Star-Trek.. As the matter of fact, this is a hybrid story—what some call a Mash-up—because it transcends genres, uniting them into one coherent story line.
The Premise ...
As with any story, "Earth 8-8-2" started off with one simple question: WHAT IF?
I thought to myself, "What if there actually are alternate universes? And, how about, if in each of the planets there was a different type of living being? What if one of those planets was in turmoil and needs help from the others, the superior ones?" It was with that series of questions that the story was born.
Here is an excerpt:
Introduction
When life becomes unbearable, when evil begets evil, what is the best of evils to choose from?
For the longest of times Earth 8-8-2 knew nothing but hardship, pain and suffering. Their people were made to follow unethical demands, submit to a corrupt leadership, to give and not receive. Those in charge took from the people, even taking from those that had nothing; abused them, enslaved them, and killed them. The people lived in fear and anguish.
Among them arose a group—The Rebellion—a compilation of residents, military personnel, doctors, scientists and many others, all with the combined goal of ridding Earth 8-8-2 of the brutality.
Within that Rebellion was a man. A man that had high hopes, big dreams and even while living in such a repressed society, he knew that he had the capability of freeing them from their oppression, for his ability was in his mind.
Dr. Frederick Scott had an idea, one that he was certain would lead to the freedom of his people. All he needed was the opportunity to show them what he could do.
One day, that favorable moment came.
Chapter One
Earth 8-8-2
Alternate Parallel Universe
The Year 2014
Beep ... beep ... beep.
Dr. Scott twirled around his laboratory like a ballerina, having memorized every nook and cranny, every curve and corner. Beaker and dropper in his hand, expertly dripping a few tears of some mysterious chemical into the flask.
Mozart’s “Antique Heavy Metal Ballad” blared in the background, and his goggles suddenly became fogged with the puff of fumes that abruptly came spewing from the glass container. It caused his already naturally red skin to momentarily blush into a deep shade of burgundy. His lovely yellow eyes blinked behind the confinements of the plastic as if instinctively protecting themselves from the spatter that never came.
Dr. Scott's head pulled back in surprise, attempting to steer away from any substance that might fly out and splash on his face. Luckily none did.
Inhaling softly, he blew at the smoke, attempting to clear the air in front of him.
Thereafter, the authentic reddish hue of his skin paled the slightest as his stomach twisted into subtle knots. It was a mixture of excitement and worry.
This has to work!
The mahogany spirals of his shaggy hair were damp with sweat from a full night of laborious experimentation. Yellow eyes twinkled as he coaxed the liquefied substance audibly, “Come on baby, do your thing.” The molten element inside began to bubble and fizz. “Yeah baby,” he nodded absentmindedly, “You're doing it.”
With an additional single hard burst, a puff of smoke solidified what was once liquid, turning it into gelatinous matter. “Yes!” cried Dr. Scott, pleased at his achievement.
It was going to work. His experiment was finally going to become a reality—and those who had nay said against his logic would be proven wrong. He was not inept! He was not crazy, nor was he ridiculous. None of his colleagues had faith in his research, but now they'd see.
They would see and they would honor him. More so, when they saw what his success would do for their world.
****
Earth 8-8-2 was the 882nd earth discovered by the scientists that ascertained alternated universes. One thousand had been found to date.
The Multiverse Theory had been proven and finally accepted by most earths.
Whilst there were some earths that refused to accept the findings, nothing could be done about them. Those earths would stamp and seal their individual fates. Moreover, they would remain banal. Nothing is more upsetting than those who chose to remain ignorant. Yet, that was an entirely different matter than the problem at hand.
What scientists proved was the theory which implies our universe is not alone, that there are many universes existing parallel to each other, was correct. Each distinct universe within the Multiverse Theory were called parallel universes—this thesis was distantly derived from String Theory and The Theory of Everything, which were the fundamental beliefs that implied that all things are connected.
There had been a variety of different conjectures that lent themselves to a multiverse viewpoint, however, one remained solid; there were more earths, universes and living beings that spread out to an innumerable amount of macrocosms. More than could be counted.
Each group of people from their own respective earth was referred to as their earth's number and the term 'Earthling'. In Dr. Scott's case, he was an 8-8-2 Earthling.
Tyranny and malice swept through Earth 8-8-2 and people like Dr. Scott—or maybe not exactly like him—were looking for the means of freeing themselves from the brutality. Unbeknownst to their oppressors, several of The Rebellion had embarked on a mission to visit other earths in order to collect DNA. Many of the earths that had been visited had various types of living beings.
All with their weaknesses, but a vast amount with breathtaking strengths. Capabilities far beyond that which 8-8-2 Earthlings, and any like them, could ever imagine.
Earth 7-0-1 was the residential abyss of vampires. These beings lived on a dark earth, and fed on animals—beasts that were a hybrid of human and ape, although actual humans did not exist there. Dr. Scott surmised that if they had, they'd never survive. No blood on any earth was as good or as nutritious as human blood.
Earth 2-5-4 was the home to superhumans. Everyone was extraordinary, bestowed with supreme gifts. Therefore everyone was the same. It was an average day on Earth 2-5-4 when someone used their laser vision, or atomic breath.
Earth 9-9-1 was the dwelling of the Gods. It was Mount Olympus and Asgard all rolled up into one. Yet no one had an appreciation for one another's gifts, as they were all the same.
Earth 8-8-2's Rebellion shipped scientists specializing in intergalactic travels to as many alternate earths as they could. The mission was to obtain DNA from all of the earths that were inhabited by supreme beings. As such, DNA was eventually gathered from Earths 7-0-1, 2-5-4 and 9-9-1. Albeit an extremely difficult mission, it was in the end, successful.
Imagine if you will, that the only way to save your planet was to create a Supreme Being. This, could only be done by uniting the DNA of several different beings, and that would include traversing planetary lines and intergalactic travel. How far would go to make that happen?
Dr. Scott, went as far as he needed to go in order to save Earth 8-8-2. Genesis, his daughter and creation, was a divine intermingling of extravagant DNA—vampire, superhuman, god and human. She was made to be Earth 8-8-2's savior. Yet, could she be?
While this story when complete, has turned out to only be the size of a Novelette, standing at 10,000 words, it is jam packed with great action and a unique plot. Moreover, it's not the end. This is only the first part of an ongoing saga, the Earth 8-8-2 Saga.
Be on the lookout for it's upcoming release, and grab yourself a copy.
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