Reader's Guide to Future Chron - Part 1

Image: Bruce Rolff

I recently totaled up the number of books I've published, and the number is 21 short stories (less than 7,500 words), 26 novelettes (over 7,500 but less than 17,500 words), 3 novellas (over 17,500 but less than 40,000), and 15 novels (greater than 40,000 words). In addition, I've collected these 65 stories into another 18 books. Then there are 6 more “special” novels which are actually older editions of novels I have republished. A total of 89 books.

So, here is a reader's introduction to my books which will hopefully help you find one you would like to read. I'll start with my oldest stories in what I call the Future Chron Universe. A universe in this case is a way to organize a series of books that share the same science and technology, same societal background, and sometimes the same characters.

First, a quick overview. I consider Future Chron to be a highly-extrapolated universe. That is the science, besides the obvious robots, AI, and self-driving cars, includes more speculative theories such as wormhole drives, deadly wormhole weapons, time-manipulation (slow down or speed up), baby universes and other sciences and technologies that have their origins in scientific papers but certainly no possibility of being engineered in the near future. More understanding is needed for the science behind these stories; it is far from proven or certain.

Of course, story, adventure, and characterization are present in all these stories. My stories tend to adventure and chronicle the development of a technology and its consequences, good and bad, for mankind.

The first series in this universe, called From The Earth, begins in the very near future and covers the next three hundred years. It follows mankind's journey (an extended family, the Jackson's) from the Earth to the nearest star system Alpha Centauri. The following titles are grouped according to the above word counts, with the reading order indicated by (xx).

Novelettes:

Whatsoever You Do (1) – I wrote this in 2016 about a worldwide pandemic in 2032 and I did get some things right but also things wrong compared to the actual COVID outbreak of 2020.

War Through The Pines (2) – A story about a war in orbit in the 2040s written in 2016. The story depended strongly on satellite internet before I was aware of Starlink, though it might have already been founded. Also, there was a military space service before Space Force was founded. I wonder if the Battle Stars are up there already?

Vigilance (3) – This story about the first settlements on Mars (2071) was written at the end of 2016. I placed some of the settlements underground in the sides of cliffs where the opening could be sealed with a radiation absorbing clear plastic material but still provide natural light. A long distance underground transportation system was also being built, probably with machines like the Boring Company (founded in 2017) uses. The first tentative skirmishes began between those that would control and those that sought freedom.

To Tend And Watch Over (4) – A story written in 2017 about the Earth in 2081. This is an early favorite of mine about a mild young man who gets manipulated by politics but eventually finds his way and passion in life. Huge, tightly packed cities with towering buildings have become normal. World population is actually shrinking and with most people living in these tower complexes, the countryside is returning to nature. One of my favorite characters, who reappears in other stories, is a sarcastic robot named Sigmund.

Union (5) – A story about the Asteroid Belt in 2090 written in early 2017. It's really a political power struggle for the asteroids between the Solar Federation (Mars-based) and the Terran Federation (Earth-based). A young graduate from the Mars Space Academy is caught up in the intrigue and makes his stand with the independent miners of the belt. An Amor asteroid, which cycles between Earth orbit and Mars orbit, provides transportation. Interestingly, a room carved out at the center of the oblong, rotating asteroid, provides the opportunity for some interesting physics of rotation. Fusion ships appear for the first time in the universe.

All these stories are available in the collection, From The Earth: Volume 1 or the collection From The Earth: Complete for a significant savings.

In the next part of this series, we continue moving out into the Solar System and eventually, to the stars.