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
Heaven?
The Empire is an older civilization deep inside the Cluster. ... more
The Ships
... the Royal Galleon
... the Hunter-Gatherer
... Joe's Escape
Yuri’s mansion is a large, luxurious house used for high-level meetings and extravagant gatherings. It has a library with Persian rugs, rare books, sliding bookshelves, and a fireplace, and it opens onto a pool and backyard. The mansion is big enough to host a massive costumed party with limos, sedans, and minibuses arriving, and it has well-muscled doormen, a grand entrance, and enough space for the “rich and powerful of Philadelphia society” to mingle with the “ultrarich of the world.”
- “Senator Huang sat in one of the armchairs in Yuri's library, his back to the fireplace and the pool…” - “Yuri paced the Persian rug. The center shelves of the short wall of his collection of rare books had slid aside…” - “Music spilled into the night every time the well-muscled doormen swung open the front doors of the house.” - “Yuri's invited friends were the rich and powerful of Philadelphia society. Senator Huang's guests were the ultrarich of the world.”Katie’s house is a large, wealthy suburban home, as big as Yuri’s mansion. It has a large entrance hall with marble floors, a staircase wrapping around two walls, and a vestibule where guests wait. Her mother watches from the second-floor banister, and the house has a back patio, a sloping lawn, and a white pine tree near the driveway gate. Katie’s basement contains her workshop, with a 3-D printer, Hololens, wooden chest, stuffed animals, and whiteboards.
- “House! It was as large as the Russian's mansion. His garage would fit inside their gardener's shed.” - “She led him… into the living room… then into a large entrance hall with marble floors and a staircase wrapping around the left and back walls.” - “A woman leaned over the second floor banister inspecting him.” - “She hovered over the back patio… the SUV turned and rolled down the driveway toward the gate.” - “Down in the basement… a wall of whiteboards had replaced the old one… the 3-D printer, the wooden chest, the Hololens, the stuffed animals…”Senator Huang’s Houseis not described in architectural detail, but the scenes show a comfortable, lived-in suburban house with a bedroom, hallway, and TV, where he and his wife watch news late at night. The emotional tone is domestic and intimate, with Katie entering their bedroom in a robe and slippers.
Joe’s Garage / Joe’s House Joe lives in a converted garage rented from Mrs. Dennehy. It’s a modest, practical space with a workbench, tools, and the Escape parked inside. The garage has two halves, one empty, one where he works on the cab. His room is upstairs, with bare wooden floors, a bed, a chair, and his clothes draped over furniture. The yard has a side lawn, maple and oak trees, and a driveway where he rakes leaves.
- “Joe raked leaves off the side lawn by the garage…” - “Cassidy had been no trouble so far… she disappeared around the corner of the garage…” - “Joe was removing pine needles from the wiper well of the cab when his cellphone rang.” - “He ran upstairs to his room… his jeans, his white shirt draped on the chair… he fell out of bed onto the bare wooden floor.” - “She (Mrs. D) rented Joe the entire garage at a price he could afford…”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 ...
... 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
Once thoughts move away from the Borderland they can combine and merge and grow. They no longer belong to an individual.
... A Trojan Horse Inside A Paper Moon
