Ronald C. Tobin's Blog

Ronald C. Tobin's Blog

Ronald C. Tobin's Blog for 2/21/2013

Ronald C. Tobin's Blog

Ronald C. Tobin's Blog

Ronald C. Tobin's Blog

Plaz Seschni Profile

PROFILE: PLAZ SESCHNI

OFFICIAL NAME: Plaz Seschni

LITERAL TRANSLATION: Order of the Red Suns

COMMON NAME: Order Ruby

FOUNDER: Dr. Nestri Vas Juliuan

RESEARCH FUNDING BY: Vas Tiniklin Consortium, Naza Ewalina PPA

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW: Upon our arrival on Terra, third planet in the Sol system and Mars, fourth planet in this system, we discovered remains of settlements and defenses that had been left behind by another space faring race. Our research teams proved via DNA samples that this race was not indigenous to Terra. From what we have surmised, their bases and settlements on Terra were overwhelmed by a suicide attack staged by a ‘defeated’ foe. The assault was so devastating that they abandoned this system within twenty standard years of its occurrence.

In a testament to how well their facilities were constructed, five largely intact research stations were found, by our exploratory teams. This was roughly five thousand Terran years after this race abandoned the system. One was found near Olympus Mons on Mars, two were found on the landmass now commonly referred to as Asia, one in what is now North America and one on the landmass we settled, Khaznotornii, now commonly referred to as Atlantis. [Archival Note: It is still a mystery as to the why of that. It’s certainly not terribly imaginative to name a sunken landmass after an ocean.] The one on Khaznotornii was so intact, when the teams were able to get through the seals the interior was still pristine. This was the facility where we found the ancient revenants that led to the research that brought Plaz Seschni into being.

The discovery of the two revenants was made in rather dramatic fashion. According to Squad Leader Tessina Na Plitkna: “We had been having a rather uneventful walk down a corridor. Doors slid open showing offices and research labs. Air inside was stale but breathable. We reached a door that had a keypad and words that looked like a warning. [Archival Note: It was a warning. After we translated the Muavian script, we learned what it said. Basically, ‘keep out – active revenants inside.’] Point took out the hand held and it figured out the entry code in a couple minutes. Once the door slid open, we heard a sudden moan and a long hiss. Point stepped into the room and then, seconds later, came flying out in pieces. Suddenly these two vaguely humanoid creatures appeared at the door. We opened fire and destroyed them both, determined to not lose additional personnel. We did not know at the time that we had slain the two remaining living Muavian revenants. We didn’t much care either, as it was either us or them.”

Fortunately the facility contained several well preserved deceased revenants. When we deciphered the Muavian language (not difficult as they used an archaic version of what is generally called Galactic Standard) we discovered that their research consisted entirely of trying to find a way to reverse the change. That is, make revenants normal again. In about five standard years, our research teams concluded that the change was irreversible.

Our research scientists sifted through other projects, setting up our own stations and leaving only caretaker crews in the Muavian facilities. This state of affairs continued for seventy standard years until two of the PPA consortiums (the military arm of Fleet) took a renewed interest into the case of the revenants. What they saw was the potential for a very powerful weapon. The records showed that the revenants possessed incredible strength and, in spite of the mindless rage, exhibited interesting psychic potential. Also of note was that they could regenerate limbs and, save for direct sunlight, were very difficult to kill.

Thus our research began. The initial goal was to stop the mindless rage upon transformation. If this could not be done, the revenants would not have practical use. We did not need terror weapons, which is all they would have been. As expected, the first experiments were disastrous. Sadly, to determine the correct chemical matrix, live subjects had to be used. For this, computer simulations were completely worthless. That was because it was not possible to simulate the effects of the chemicals on a human body in a meaningful fashion. The cost of success was a staggering body count, one that made all but two partners pull out. As such, they are the only two that share the credit.

After nearly twenty five standard years of research there was a breakthrough, the one that led to the establishment of Plaz Seschni. Dr. Nestri Vas Juliuan developed what had been called Serum XVF-1065-VB-9099. After a series of near successful experiments, Dr. Vas Juliuan was certain he had the right combination. So certain, in fact, that he made himself the subject for that critical experiment. Suffice it to say it worked, and Order Ruby came into being at that moment.

After becoming a vampire, Dr. Vas Juliuan continued his research for another 1125 Terran years, hoping to perfect the serum and overcome what he regarded as shortcomings of the transformation. Ultimately he despaired of the effort. Never liking the notion of having to drink blood and not being able to walk unprotected in the daylight, he ended his days by walking out of a spaceship airlock without a suit.

So, what was accomplished by this research? A Plaz Seschni vampire has these characteristics:

1)      Approximate strength of ten to fifteen strong men within a week of transformation. This slowly increases over time.

2)      Enhanced psychic abilities. This is not limited to telepathy and telekinesis. Over time, these grow far more powerful. These are considered by many to be the most valuable assets to a vampire. Strength can be negated, but not the mind.

3)      Immunity to disease. This appears universal, on Terra and on other known planets. There has been speculation about a disease vector that could harm a vampire, but if it does exist we have yet to run across it.

4)      End of bodily aging. This has led to speculation that vampires are immortal. It is clear that the span of existence is increased indefinitely by the transformation; however it is clear that vampires are very much living creatures and thus cannot be truly immortal. However, there has not been a recorded case of one dying from natural causes…

5)      Blood thirst. This factor bothered Dr. Vas Juliuan the most. He noted how it lessened over time, but he regarded the matter as somehow ‘shameful.’ For the first few years it is known to take a liter of blood (roughly a bit over two pints) per day to slake the thirst. This swiftly drops off to a half liter a day and slowly continues to decline. It is never necessary to kill to feed. The young are taught to hit two or more marks a night.

6)      Sensitivity to direct sunlight. This, too, gradually tapers off over time, something that Dr. Vas Juliuan did notice but he thought it was too slow. A mere twenty Terran years after his demise, an ointment was developed that gave protection to those wishing to go outside in daylight in an atmosphere. It has to be direct sunlight to be harmful. A few people found that out the hard way when they bounced sunlight off of a mirror.

Thus was the first Plaz of vampires created. Had egos and governments not interfered, Ruby would be the only Order. The military did get their weapon, although many vampires choose scholarly pursuits and find fulfillment in other fields of endeavor. Music appeals to some, as does archaeology, space exploration, even bookkeeping for some unknown reason…

PROFILE COMPLETE – ARCHIVE

[Material Copyright 2012 by Ronald C. Tobin. All Rights Reserved]

Brief History of the Origins of the Plaz Vampires

What follows is an excerpt from the 2nd book in the Plaz  series, tentatively titled DEBTS OF BLOOD.
This is the first installment of background material I was speaking of.

“You, I believe, would find an outline of our history useful. This all started roughly 100,000 Terran years ago. That was when our predecessors came into the Sol System and settled on Terra and Mars. Our best guess is that they came out of a globular cluster about 10,000 light years from the galactic center. Now those who believe they existed tend to call them Mu. I’m quite certain that isn’t what they called themselves. They looked very much like us, doubtless our species would have been genetically compatible. They dwelled here in relative peace for about 10,000 years, at which time they were attacked by a rival species. It appears from the evidence that they technically ‘won’ the war, but a stealth fleet hit Terra and decimated their settlements here. A few apparently stayed behind and eventually interbred with the native Terran population. They shut down their operations on Mars and withdrew from the Sol System.

“What makes them pertinent to the history of the Plaz is because, as a result of that attack by the stealth fleet, some people grew very ill and then began to ravenously attack other people, draining them of their blood. These beings could not stand sunlight and, being essentially mindless, they basically took care of themselves by blowing up. A few were kept in research facilities and studied. This research survived until our race arrived on Terra about 65,000 years ago. Their research was rather brief. They were looking for a way to reverse the process, instead of a way to avoid the onset of mindlessness in the first place. They did not see the potential value in creating such a creature. You see, these revenants also had preternatural strength and, in spite of their general mindless rage, had some noted psychic abilities.

“Once our people arrived in the Sol System, they started looking at what the others had left behind. We essentially revamped their spaceports and mining outposts on Mars. We thickened the atmosphere there and brought back some shallow seas and grasslands. On Terra, we settled in the land mass commonly now referred to as Atlantis, as for some reason none of the natives lived there. We did have research stations in Europe, Asia, North America and Africa, especially where we found the facilities left behind by Mu. As luck would have it, one such station was so intact that they found a couple of those revenants still inside. Those ravenous creatures immediately tried to attack and were summarily destroyed.

“Over the space of about fifty years, our researchers reviewed the experiments and the documentation left behind. Then they duplicated some of it, at first, rather predictably with disastrous results. Then, they finally managed to refine the chemicals to stop the mindless rage. This made a transformation useful on several levels. No longer were we dealing with revenants. The Ruby Order vampire thus came into being.

Kristano pauses, collecting his thoughts. “How do I best put this? The Fleet was a consortium of private protection and shipping companies. They invested the most into the research because they saw a military potential in vampires that could retain their wit and personality. The revenant would not be useful even as a shock weapon because they cannot control themselves. So, Reggie, to put it bluntly we were initially conceived of as being a weapon. It does make sense, after a fashion. As it turned out, relatively few of the military types made the grade in those days. Most of them ended up in space exploration and research.”

Reggie nods. “So what became of the founder of Order Ruby? I’ve read the histories online but they don’t say much about him.”

Kristano chuckles. “It’s really somewhat ironic. Dr. Vas Juliuan was only a vampire for about 1200 years. He didn’t really enjoy being one. The blood drinking really bothered him, so he never learned how much the need for that lessens over time. He was upset that he could not get the blood drinking to cease to be and he wanted to be able to day walk without protection. That does occur obviously. It really bothered him that one has to be brought to the brink of death by severe blood loss for a transformation to work. He was gone long before I was born. The few vampires around that did know him never said much about him.”

“What about the other Orders? How and why did they come into being?”

Kristano sighs. “It had to do with people and their agendas. As our settlements on Terra and Luna and Mars became more established, our decentralized, informal governments gave way, in some areas, to very familiar forms. About 45,000 years ago there was a small kingdom in the north, close to what is now Iceland. The King at that time invested a huge sum of money to create, as he put it, a more ‘regal,’ ‘durable’ vampire. They did manage to create the Order of the Emerald, but the King was not to have his desire. The sole advantage that an Emerald vampire has over a Ruby vampire is their keener infrared eyesight. They can see in near absolute darkness. Our orders are closely aligned, as you well know.

“As for Order Sapphire, they came into being just over 21,000 years ago. That was a turbulent time in our history. We were battling a couple other spacefaring races at that time, plus there were rather severe tectonic shifts going on here. Khaznatornii was no longer a continent by then; rather it was six large islands and numerous smaller ones, a few of which still exist today. At any rate, another King funded research by one Dr. Sanctitina Olos Parana. Well, the good doctor, who is still with us, believed in her formula so much that she was the first to use it. In the end she created a vampire that was in all ways inferior to Emerald and Ruby. They have a higher transformation failure rate, tend to be more violent and have a higher tendency to turn psychopathic. This is likely why they are the smallest Order with only ten percent of vampires. Ruby has fifty percent and Emerald has forty percent.

“There actually was a fourth Order for a time, called Order Amethyst. It was founded in Egypt about 7000 years ago after the complete collapse of Khaznatornii and the de facto withdrawal of Fleet from the planet. The vampires of this Order tended to be so violent that they were hard to distinguish from revenants. It was thought that the Order had been exterminated in 1294 CE by a rare combined effort by the three present Orders. However, it turned out that the Sapphire Society of Redemption had kept about ten of them alive intending to use them as focal point assassins. They were only eliminated a few years ago when that Society was eliminated. They tried to assassinate Sancia herself and she was not amused.”

[An excerpt from DEBTS OF BLOOD, Copyright 2011 by Ronald C. Tobin. All Rights Reserved.]

Backstory Material

Over the next few weeks I will be compiling and writing back story material for the novel. I intend to put up the first installments this weekend. This will be a two part process: 1) Information about the three Plaz (Orders) and the differences between them, their histories and how they came to be and 2) Brief biographies of the major characters, setting the stage to where they are at just when the novel opens. This will make the novel an even more interesting read because the reader will be better informed. This is essential moving forward in the series. The world of the Plaz Seschni is very complex, full of tangled webs of intrigue. Further, it isn't just a series of novels about vampires and their 'mortal' cohorts. There is a strong element of science fiction that I will assure you becomes more pronounced as the series goes on. More than that I will not volunteer here, just read the novels and you will see, dear reader, what I am talking about.

In other news, I have noticed that Google Books now has a link to my book My publisher, Tate Publishing, has made glimpses of several pages available as a teaser. I think that is a marvelous marketing tool. Google Books also allows for reviews, so those of you who have already read the novel, please go there and write a review. That will be deeply appreciated by yours truly.

Northern Arizona Book Festival is shaping up well. It is on May 19th in Flagstaff Arizona. Should be a very pleasant day. It will get me still more exposure which will be most helpful.

Going Live on Amazon

So another milestone for the novel. It is, as of today, listed for pre-order on Amazon. This is a big step. A great point about Amazon is that they let you set up author's pages and I have done precisely that. The book has been available for pre-order on Barnes & Noble for a couple weeks now.

I am looking forward to attending the Northern Arizona Book Festival on May 19th. That will be my first foray into dealing with the public directly. It should be a good experience. I have no idea how many books I will sell there but the exposure makes it all worthwhile.

I have decided to set up an LLC. I will use it for my books and for my hypnotherapy practice once it gets rolling. I just finished my first 100 hours in courses and, with any luck at all, I will get my certificate at the end of the week. Life is good.