Wormhole #9, Wormhole #9. . .
Twenty-four hours prior to departure time, I confirmed my seat for the NASA Wormhole #9, Flight 909. Loading location: WormStation Merritt Island, Florida, shown below. Arrival destination: The Edge of the Backworlds.
I'll be interviewing one of the Aviarmen, Talos. After reading a little of their story in MPax's earlier book, Backworlds, I asked her if there was any chance of a meeting on location, out there. The usual currency for transport is chocolate, in ingot size bars. (I paid with a case of Le Louis brand French chocolates in gold and blue foil, .)
Station WH-9-Direct to Backworld's Edge, the Terminus:
 |
| NASA, Florida - For space and beyond, by DG Hudson |
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Interview with Talos at Craze's Tavern
MPAX's novels take us to the Backworld's Edge, on the frontiers of unknown space. Now, Craze and Talos must go Beyond that Edge.
Only MPax has the Guild copy of the Backworlds Map, with the coordinates to get to Craze's Tavern and back. She won't reveal the location of the wormhole, not yet, so she offered to co-pilot the ship and get me back to the right time and place for my blog post.
At Craze's Tavern
Last stop before the frontier. . .
In the Backworlds series, Craze, comes to realize the people he shares his life with are what’s most important to him instead of the prosperity he covets. Sitting at the bar in Craze’s Tavern is one of his oldest and closest friends, Captain Talos.
Seven feet tall, with short blue hair, a
thin build, and tics, Talos sips a malt. On his long beige coat, he wears a
button. Orange letters on a blue background, it says, Carry On, the legacy left him by his mother. Here's a photo of someone a lot like Talos.
DG: Backworlders have been genetically
modified to survive on harsh worlds. What race of humans do you belong to and
what were you made for?
Captain Talos runs his thin hand through
his short hair: "The aviarmen is my
people. We was made to navigate the skies ‘n we have an excellent sense of
direction."
DG: How do the Backworlds differ from the
Foreworlds?
Talos glances around the room before
answering: "The Foreworlders made us.
They modified humans to live on less desirable worlds, The Backworlds, ‘n to
excel at certain tasks. We spread from there. Then the Fo’wo’s decided they had
made a mistake ‘n tried to exterminate us. That was the war. There’s a truce
now.
Talos laughs and sips at his malt: "Earth is
a myth. There’s no such thing."
Talos shrugs, fingering the pin on his
lapel, Carry On: "Most say it Foe
Woes. Some say it with a nastier twist to it. I’m sure you know how it goes."
DG: In this adventure, you go beyond the
Edge. Can you tell me why?
Talos: "Yes, it’s where the clues to my missing best friend lead. I’ve got to
find him. He’s been missing for more than two years." He turns away, just for a moment and pounds on the bar. The noise catches Craze's attention.
Craze comes over, a burly dude with long
hair and a wide face, and wipes off the smudges on the counter left by Talos’
tirade. He pours a couple more malts and set them down. “Everythin’ all right
over here, brother?” He looks at Talos and then glances sideways at the alien human, the one who paid in chocolate.
Craze: "Just call me Craze, at your service. If you want to know about our adventures, you're talking to the right guy. Captain Talos."
After a long nip from the tumbler, Talos
nods. “Yup. Just telling this tourist about our upcoming adventure, mate."
“I wish you’d leave me home," said Craze. "I hate space
travel.”
Talos rolls his eyes. “Once he settles,
he’s fair company.”
I took a few quick photos, thanked the guys, and left. Thanks, MPax. (I'm glad I took that gravity pill before I left.)
***
Beyond the Edge
Some truths are better left unfound.
Some truths are better left unfound.
For two years Craze’s dear
friend, Lepsi, has been missing. The murmurings of a haunted spaceship might be
a message and may mean his old pal isn’t dead. The possibility spurs Craze and
Captain Talos to travel to uncharted worlds, searching. Out there, in an
unfamiliar region of the galaxy beyond the Backworlds, they stumble upon a
terrible truth.
Meanwhile, Rainly remains on Pardeep Station as acting planetlord, dealing with the discovery of her lover’s dark and brutal past. Alone and questioning her judgment, her introspection unlocks more than heartache. Latent protocols in her cybernetics activate, forcing her to face a sinister secret of her own.
***
In the far future, humanity
settles the stars, bioengineering its descendents to survive in a harsh
universe. This is the fourth book in the science fiction series, The
Backworlds. A space opera adventure.
***
M. Pax
Inspiring the
words she writes, she spends her summers as a star guide at Pine Mountain
Observatory in stunning Central Oregon where she lives with the Husband Unit
and two demanding cats. She writes science fiction and fantasy mostly.
You can find
out more by visiting her at:
Where to find Beyond the Edge?
***
Do you know the Backworlds series by MPax? Do you know why Craze lives way out on the Backworld's Edge? Did you like meeting Talos in Craze's Tavern?
Please share in the comments, and thanks for dropping by.
Please share in the comments, and thanks for dropping by.
***
