Birth of a Series Part 2 - "What Is a Para-Earth?"

In my last entry I explained how I had settled on the idea of Parallel Realities for the premise of my series. But what could I do with it that was new and different? Well as Doctor Who would say, "This is where things get a bit tricky."

We all know that a lot of choices are man-made, but events are also a major player in our world and our lives. What if not just choice could lead to a parallel reality? What if events that didn’t happen in our reality, did happen in another reality? And what might be the consequences and effects of that event?

Current theory says that that moon we all know and love was made as a result of an event that took place in Earth’s very early childhood, long before the first dinosaurs or any life-forms evolved. At the time our planet was much bigger than we know it to be now and it was hot and molten. Then another planet crashed into our world and literally knocked the stuffing out of us. Debris was scattered into space and floated there for centuries while the two worlds slowly fused into the size and shape we know now. As for the debris, caught in the new Earth’s gravity it circled around our world and slowly coalesced and formed the moon we all know and love. This also explains why moon rocks brought back by our visits showed the same compositions as are found here on Earth.

With this thought in mind, suddenly all the beings and entities I had been thinking about writing suddenly became more real to me. They weren’t aliens from other worlds, or magical demons from other dimensions, they were Earth beings. Just not from this reality. They came from alternate Earths where either the creation of the moon or some other kind of cosmic event (an asteroid that missed us in this reality, actually struck and brought some microbes, or some other kind of calamity) changed Earth’s development which in turn altered what kind of life might or might not evolve. I quickly realized that the possibilities were endless and that I wouldn’t have to limit myself to just one alternate version of Earth. I’d have dozens or hundreds available for storylines… In that moment I came up with the phrase Para-Earths.

Of course this led to new questions I needed to answer such as how do these beings slip out of their versions of Earth and into ours? Do people from our Earth wind up slipping into those places? Are the beings malevolent, friendly, or simply following basic instinct like herbivores and carnivores, etc.

As for the how they manage to intrude into our reality I propose thinking of reality as a tree with loads of branches. If you actually look closely you will find that branches of course give birth to new branches and in turn to the same, and so on. Yet a number of these branches will rub up against each other at one time or another.

Now if you picture Earth as we know it to be one branch, and one of those Para-Earths as another branch, they too can brush up against each other and a doorway opens between the two. In my writings, this is a naturally occurring phenomenon that occurs every so often. The reason no one notices is that it doesn’t always happen when someone’s around to see it, from either this Earth or the Para-Earth that is brushing up against us. Sort of like the old “If a tree falls down in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a noise?” concept. Even though no one witnessed it, the event happens. But occasionally someone is there and they see something strange in the woods or out of the corner of their eye. However, the timing of the opening can be short or long so by the time that person who saw something out of the corner of their eye can turn to focus the event is already over. Other times, they stare and stare, or maybe they walk towards it and suddenly the doorway closes and they’re left wondering if they need glasses or to stop drinking.

My first two stories (“The Bridge” and “The Ship”) focused on two occasions when many years ago two openings lasted long enough for strange beings from two different Para-Earths entered our world and got stuck here.

In the third installment “The Vampyre Blogs – Coming Home”, two new dimensions were added to the mix. First I invited my wife Helen, who knows much more about actual science and science-fiction than me, to join me in the writing of the story. The second dimension that was added to the endeavor was to focus on a man from our Earth being the one who intruded into a Para-Earth and the consequences of his being there for that world as well as his own.

Of course there are many more stories to come. Even now Helen and I are currently working on at least 4-5 full-length novels, as well as numerous short stories (some of which will be released in anthology form later this year). And we have countless ideas for many more. In time, depending on how popular the series becomes, we may invite other authors to join in and help expand the series, just as HP Lovecraft gave permission to fellow authors like August Derleth, Robert Bloch and others to expand and build upon his Cthulhu Mythos. (Note: to this day, his Cthulhu mythos is still being expanded by modern writers long after his passing back in 1937).

So do not ask how many of these Para-Earths exist alongside our own, for we don't know. Nor do we know all the different life-forms that may be encountered in the stories down the road, for not all of them have presented themselves to us, much less shared their secrets. What we do know is that some can exist in this reality, or try to, but don’t always succeed. Keep in mind those articles about the remains of ‘monsters’ being found, that appear in newspapers. All of a sudden those stories take on entirely new implications, don't they?

In the meantime, Helen and I hope you enjoy the stories we’ve already put before you. Let each tale open your imagination and fill it with wonder. There are rules and science behind a lot of the lifeforms you will encounter in these books, and we will do our best to explain them.

Also, keep in mind that not all the beings we introduce to your and our characters will be hostile. Some are simply strangers in a strange world, and just because their appearance may be monstrous, does not mean they are. In some cases, you may find yourselves being introduced to lifeforms that have become the stuff of legends in our reality. So strap in and join the adventure, you never know who or what you might meet along the way.

Until next time, happy reading everyone.