The Alternate Reality of The Family Of Man Series

The Family Of Man series is set in the Ectometaverse, which was needed to explain how a time traveler could meet himself. ... more

... The Fifth Prophet  

• Phillipsville, Earth - Headquarters of the Family Of Man, a typical Long Island town close to New York City.
• Uturuncu Llaqta - Angelo Uturuncu’s city, on the peaks of the Andes above Ollantaytambo, Peru.
• The Golden Jade - Oyunbileg Karabayeva’s hostel, east of the Yarungkash River, south of Hotan, Xinjiang, China.
• Shamba Kweli - Kweli’s plantation, outside Moshi, Tanzania on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
• Danh tu Yen - village or houses of Yen, outside Hue, Vietnam at the end of the Khe Phuong river
• Macau - Stephen’s Compound
• Bennington - Abu bin Bob’s farm and the FoM labs
• Rassudovo - Tanya’s home outside of Moscow

... Time Travelers Are Schizophrenic  

• Wissatassidine - a watery Bubloo planet on the fringe of a Galactic civilization.
• Bradbury Burrow, Mars - Dr. Sievaahdra Jesstar Aaouen’s office is on the 13^th level below the dome ... that encloses one of the best gardens on Mars.
• Cibola, Moon (Luna) - The seat of Lunar government, a domed city, extending far below the crust, and located in the northern Mare Serenitatis near Crater Very, on the Dorsa Smirnov.
• Colonization Fleet
• Phillipsville, Earth -August 2212 and 2011, FoM headquarters
• Bennington, VT - Summer/Fall 2212, FoM labs
• Ocean City,NJ - August 2212 and 1923, the boardwalk 
• Kensington/Fishtown, Philadelphia, PA - September 2212 and 1890, the shipyard
• Rancocas Creek, Burlington Co., NJ - September 2212 and 1776, the ferry
• Taunton, MA, September 2212 and 1676, the tree

... Weeds Of Eden  

• The Empire of the Foreverones
• Grrgadomtal
• Terra, Luna, Mars
• Lion's Fang
• The prison ship
• Al Theris - "All There Is". The Earth-like planet orbiting the binary stars Alpha-Janus and beta-Janus on which the Lion’s Fang crash lands.
• Aargh Gough - the moon of a gas giant in the Arghos system is a typical regional capital of the Empire.

... Singularities Of The Soul Of Stephen Xi  

• Cibolla, Luna you only get to see a few pipes inside a boiler room this time.
• James Irwin one of the ships in the FoM fleet escaping from the attack of the Fishmen.
• Chillip and its Blue Moon: an Airclimber planet with one hemisphere dominated by a single dry continent and the other by a vast ocean full of volcanic islands.
• Kakakafaloong and the city of Leap: Kakakafaloong is one of those volcanic islands and the city of Leap spills down the side of the volcano.
• Humantown: a bleak megablock of structures down on the dusty plains which has become home for the immigrant Humans.
• Empty lot: an empty patch of the city scheduled for future construction where day laborers gather looking for work.
• Prison Pools: the prison on Kakakafaloong that holds the Bubloo prisoners from the war between the Airclimbers and the Bubloo.
• Coliseum: the stadium in which prisoners of all kinds fight to the death for a chance at an Imperial pardon.
• Cathedral of Constant Truth: located on the south branch of the Faloongfuffaloff River, surrounded by the Emperor’s water maze and looking down on the city of Leap from the Upper Balcony, it is the center of the Emperor’s immortal presence in the city.
• Constancy Rralf’s office: inside a building next to the empty lot, protected by a strange Escher room of stairs.
• Water system: the system of aqueducts that distribute water from Lake Falalka down to the different levels of the city of Leap.
• Drinkinghalls: The Emperor’s Choice, The Eternal Crown, the Jumping Moon are the names of some of the working class saloons.
• Pinkskin sacred tree: a huge tree suspended in a stone “pot” so that its roots can dangle into the depths of a deep bowl carved into the surface of the volcano.
• Airclimber armory: Leap’s main official military structure, and the location of the jumppits where the Release of the Winds Ceremonies are performed to honor heroes.
• Bonedancer temple: one of the techno-temples of the Antientropian soulscientists.
• Librarium: sitting like a giant sandcastle alongside Wisdom Falls, the University’s library/museum is currently displaying an installation of “Creation Myths”.
• Police station: a common municipal police station where prisoners are kept and interrogated by Airclimber police.
• Chamber of the Pearl of Waters: buried within the volcano, Fuffaloff, the chamber contains an ancient artifact.
• The Ectometaverse: where the souls are.

... more details

... Schroedinger's Cheshire Cats   

• Thoughtland- inside the mind of the Summoner
• The hill - the entrance to Thoughtland, where the white moths flutter
• The forest - primal fears behind every tree
• The creek - could it be the river Styx?
• The City - civilization at last
• The Embassy - a place to rest until Earth can be contacted again
• The Language Center - where thoughts are examined and translated
• The Temple of a Thousand Gods - where beliefs are explored and turned to stone
• The Theater of Creation Myths - where myth becomes art
• The Casino - where the real game is being played
• The Plaza - where Mothmen watch
• The Battlefield - for the struggle of Human ideas
• The Dungeon - the depths of Thoughtland that imprison reality outside its walls

The Alternate Reality of The Cluster Series

The Cluster series has a "quantum-Platonic" topology that allows, among other things, faster-than-light travel. ... more

... Perturbations Of The Reality Field   

• The Cluster

... tens of thousands of stars, about 1/4 ly apart, radius of Cluster is 5 ly

... older civilizations/stars are closer to the center ... more time to adapt, they are already survivors, alliances, federations, greater knowledge of the Cluster ... they have more advanced sub-light ships ... they can plunder the new stars as if they were primitive islands ... but still no FTL.

... new stars are on the periphery ... on their own, easy prey, fear


• Heaven?

Once thoughts move away from the Borderland they can combine and merge and grow. They no longer belong to an individual.


• The Empire is an older civilization deep inside the Cluster. ... more
• The Ships
  • ... the Royal Galleon
  • ... the Hunter-Gatherer
  • ... Joe's Escape
• The Mansions
  • ... Yuri's mansion
  • ... Katie's house
  • ... Sen. Huang's house
• Joe's garage

... A Trojan Horse Inside A Paper Moon   

• The Farm ...
• The Governor’s Residence ... the penthouse of a New York skyscraper bordering Central Park ... moves upstate to Government House
• Pluto ... ceded to the Wanderers by Senator Huang ... tents
• The Mall ...
• The Noahs ...

The Alternate Reality of The Spirit Cloud Series

The Spirit Cloud series needs a place for the reincarnated souls to come from. ... more

... The Strange Reincarnation Of Lucinda Tarne   

• Lburg ... a small university town
• Gerry's loft ... above an old stable
• The dry cleaner's ... Gerry, his mother, and his aunt live upstairs
• Gerry's office at VIA Inc. ... in the subbasement
• Wayne's house ... outside Lburg ... farmhouse and barn

... Wonderball Apocalypse   

• VIA - Versatile Intelligent Assistants, Inc. Auditorium
• VIA - Versatile Intelligent Assistants, Inc. Wonderball factory near Mexico City
• Wayne's house ... outside Lburg ... farmhouse and barn
• Lueder's family apartment ... Frankfurt, Germany

"The city buildings were decorated for Christmas. The ding-ding-ding of the streetcars, the strassenbahns, reminded him of the trolleys passing his mother’s dry cleaners."

• Bang Shen factory ... China
• Bucharest, Romania ... Mother Iolanda's apartment
• Mosque and cafe
• Karakorum Highway

"While still daylight, Gerry watched the line of campers, busses, and Pakistani jingle trucks behind them. Every inch of the trucks was decorated in red, gold, blue, and green symbols amid lights, mirrors, balls, and bells. Even the hubs of their three axles were painted. They all snaked their way up and up and up, around the switchbacks, below the overhanging rocks, slowing whenever two larger vehicles needed to pass each other on the narrower parts of the roadway. The only level stretches were the Chinese-Pakistani friendship tunnels, the occasional bridges crossing the rocky river bed, and the main streets of the scattered villages."

• Jihadi's mountain training camp
• Buddhist monastery

"The family woke early and climbed up to a monastery carrying the Wonderball like a religious relic. Strings of prayer flags fluttered above their path along the way. The upper half of the trail was snow covered and it took all morning to reach the half dozen buildings clinging to the side of a cliff. The wood panels of the door were painted dark red and were trimmed with a golden pattern. Several scarves hung from the door handles, their colors matching the prayer flags: red, yellow, white, blue and green."

• Hotan farmer's market
• The Silkroad between Hotan and Golmud
• Apartment garage in Golmud ... where the Little Comrades are sold
• VIA factory in Hong Kong ... where Gerry controls the factory robot
• Gamers' lounge in Hong Kong
• Aboard the sloop Rescue ... across the South China sea
• Manilla ... where the Wonderballs are paraded to their deaths
• San Diego convention center ... where Diego Robitz sets up his display

They lifted out a small robot that looked like a Little Comrade with wheels instead of legs. “It has lots of uses, but if you are handicapped or bedridden, this little guy can bring you a bowl of soup or a beer. I call him Yori. The visitors can try it out either with the remote touch screen or the brainwave reader headset.

• The Sunset Raven ... Pacific Beach, San Diego
• The Farm ... cartel run Wonderball growfarm
• Denver suburbs ... where the cartel's Wonderballs are delivered
• Tonganoxie, Kansas ... its jail, and the twister wrecked town
• Truck stop ... where the hijacking takes place
• Memphis, Tennessee ... Granny Lebeuf's house
• The Cave
• Wayne's house ... outside Lburg ... farmhouse and barn