Story Behind The Book
Part One: The Shepherd Eetoo, a primitive shepherd boy living on the planet Klodi-Famta, realises his mission in life: to search for the golden tablets of Sim Thep that will complete his tribe's knowledge of the truth. They are located on the forgotten Planet of Red Earth, the birthplace of humanity. Heptosh, travelling from the planet Tok, is on a reconnaissance mission to find out what happened to the Klodi civilisation which had become silent twelve years earlier. His ship breaks down. Heptosh and Eetoo meet. Adventure ensues. Their chief danger: the bionics. They were once human, but on transformation they lost their souls, and they seek to seduce other humans into becoming bionic. Part Two: The Pupil Eetoo goes to live on the planet Tok with Heptosh as his guardian. Eetoo, a primitive, has a lot to learn about cosmopolitan interstellar life before he can go on his search of the golden tablets. Part of Eetoo's education includes travelling to corners of the universe where no one knew humans existed -- let alone intelligent life. Eetoo makes new friends. There are non-humans, as well as fellow humans. He meets Tsaphar, a beautiful girl about his age. They fall in love, but there are obstacles. Of the non-humans, Neuryzh the Utz is a lover of life in all forms, and has profound wisdom in how to enhance it. He becomes a mentor to Eetoo. Blazz the Groki would rather see humanity exterminated. His kind have experienced the dark side of human nature in the days of the ancient Nephteshi Interstellar Empire. Sparked by pointed comments by Blazz, Eetoo begins to ponder the dilemma of humanity. All the while, Heptosh, with Eetoo and others, must fight the bionic menace, as well as the various other manifestations of human greed and ambition. No one can remember the location of the planet Nephtesh, the first planet to be colonised by humans when they left the planet of Red Earth. However, the only way Eetoo can reach Red Earth is from Nephtesh. Part Three: The Adventurer Eetoo and Tsaphar arrive at the planet of Red Earth and find a land of paradox. It's the age of the Roman Empire, and the Holy Temple still stands in the city of Jerusalem, where the adventurers must go to search for the Golden Tablets. Their experience vividly illustrates the dilemma of humanity as they encounter stark contrasts in living conditions, observe the various and exotic sects, experience the heroism of saints and sages, and the treachery of villains. They also meet the one whom many hope in as the Messiah of Israel. Evil is black indeed, but the good shine as lights. Author ramble's on... I'm sure some might be wondering how a theme from ancient history could possibly fit into a framework of a science fiction space opera. Wouldn't that be like Captain Kirk and Spok showing up in the distant past and messing things up? Is it an alternative history? Because Eetoo, the main character, is a primitive, and his companion, Tsaphar is also from a simple background, I believe it fits quite well. If anything, the Graeco-Roman world would still be culturally superior to the likes of Eetoo, although we don't highlite that angle so much. The parts of the narrative set on the Planet of Red Earth (our earth, actually), are influenced by recent studies of first century history in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Pseudopigrapha, Rabbinical sources, as well as readings of Shalom Asch's The Nazarene. I began doing that sort of research with my first (unpublished) novel back about 1991. It was a Biblical fiction novel about one of St. Paul's journeys. My title for it was The Emissary. As I began to check out references about the actual world St. Paul lived in, I discovered a new world of information, known to scholars as "Jesus Studies" and "New Perspective on Paul". I even began to attend the local synagogue occasionally at one stage. Even though I don't have high hopes of The Emissary ever being published, it has deepened my understanding of God and the Bible. Anyway, it was just right for creating the world into which Eetoo emerged on his discovery of the "Planet of Red Earth". Some of my later reading of Quantum Mechanics also geve me ideas for some of the technologies referred to throughout the narrative. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it...