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Time Quake


Zach Caldwell

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[Special Note: The new website is now live. As a result the links throughout this thread are invalid except for the latest posting to the thread. All of Wolfwalker stories can now be found at Wolfwalker]

An accident or divine intervention? When Nate Stranton falls into an experiment as it is activated, he is sent into another dimension and into the past. Finding himself lost and alone, far from everything he knows was bad enough. But, finding himself behind enemy lines, at the start of the war against his people was the stuff nightmares are built on.

 

Chapters 1 - 8 are posted find them at http://www.castleroland.net/library/author/wolfwalker

Edited by Zach Caldwell
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  • 9 months later...
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After reading several Revolutions Universe (RU) stories with no science fiction elements, it was fun to be back to reading what has been my lifelong favorite genre.  (Don't get me wrong; I like the non-fantastical stories as well.)  Wolfwalker is a good writer and kept things interesting through chapter 9 (all that is available right now).  I liked Nate and was expecting him to eventually mellow down his dislike for humans.  Maybe this can still happen, indirectly via Alterans in general, as he has allowed the Winds to blow in the timeline he was now part of.  I'm not quite sure what all that means, but I'm hoping Wolfwalker tells us soon.

Richard and his grandmother, at the end of chapter 9 -- had we met them earlier?  It seems that Richard has suddenly become very significant, perhaps as a self-realized Altaran (prime?), without any of their hatred.

It  is that hatred toward humanity, toward themselves (even if they won't admit it) that is both fascinating and hard to read.  I accept that the Altarens are no longer human, but to deny humanity is to deny their history and foundation. It is hard to accept protagonists as heroes when you know they would hate/despise you on sight.  In terms from the Clan Short Universe (CSU), the Altarans are almost exactly the opposite of the Mikyvis.  The Mikyvis still love humanity and strive to be part of it -- the first high race not to leave their originating species.  The Altarans on the other hand, returned the hatred some humans had on other groups of humans -- returned it as hatred upon all humans.  (Sure, genocide against you might do that... :angry: ) But it has gotten to the point where they hate humans who they should recognize as natural friends and allies.

So I'm looking forward to finding out whether the Altarans become heroes, remain xenophobic neutrals, or turn to the "dark side" as villains.  With the rising Winds and Richard, Wolfwalker has perhaps given his protagonists the means to change their hearts.

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I decided to explicitly address the "Omega Protocols".  It is a technique by the Alterans to forcibly indoctrinate people into Alteran viewpoints, to the point they lose all memory of their family and who they were.  Originally intended as some sort of emergency measure, Theo decided to use it as a matter of expediency.  Lives were indeed saved, and the folks will become like gods, at the cost of their souls.  A snake once had a similar sales pitch.

So philosophically, it is not only the Alterans hatred of humans which makes them hard to root for, it is also their disregard of human dignity itself.  The Omega Protocols can be thought of as a science fiction implementation of BF Skinner's premise in his pseudo-scientific book, Beyond Freedom and Dignity.  The concept rubbed me the wrong way when I read Skinner's book decades ago, and the same hackles rose as I read Time Quake.  Whether Wolfwalker knows of the earlier book, I don't know.

Somehow, though, he manages to keep my interest even though his protagonists tend to make my skin crawl.  My hope is that the story arc leads at least some of the Alterans past their hatred and arrogance.  If not, as the most powerful group I know about in the RU, they pose a greater thread to humanity than the Army of God.  "We had to destroy the village in order to save it." ...

 

Edited by Wyatt
changed convenience to expediency
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