Michael Brachman's Blog: Tales of the Vuduri

Yesterday, I described the Kyocera floating sun farm in Japan which will be able to produce a little over 13MW of energy, at least while the Sun is out. Seems like a lot of free energy, right?

Well, Brazil has announced that they will build a floating solar farm on a reservoir which will produce 360MW of power. That's 30 times larger than the one in Japan which is the current world's record holder. Here is an artist's rendering of what that farm will look like:



This is a brilliant idea for a variety of reasons. Obviously the main objective is to capture the free energy put out by the Sun without the emission of greenhouse gasses. But there is a secondary reason, equally as brilliant. Brazil in in the midst of a historic drought and their water reserves are going down continuously. Building a solar panel farm on top of the reservoir plunges the water into continual shade and thus significantly reduces evaporation thus conserving water.

For obvious reasons, you cannot build floating solar farms on ponds or lakes or bodies of water that people use for recreation. But, historically, reservoirs are fenced off and not used for recreation. Therefore their large surface area is perfect holding a floating farm. No one's peace or enjoyment of life is hindered, only enhanced.

It is forward thinking like this that will lead us into the new age of nearly free energy generation. Our goal should be nothing less than 100% renewable energy generation by the end of the century. We can eliminate human production of greenhouse gases and leave that to cow flatulence.

Maybe there is still time, yet, to save the Earth. Once you achieve free energy generation, wealth becomes available to all and leads to an egalitarian way of life, just I have depicted in Rome's Revolution.

Yesterday, I described Morocco's Noor solar generation plant which harnesses the power of the Sun to heat a synthetic oil which, in turn, generates power using super-heated steam. They elected to use a translation of solar power instead of photovoltaic cells. They could have done so but this is direction they elected to follow. Good for them.

But what if you really did want to build a solar farm using solar cells but didn't have the land area? Like Japan, for example. Well, they may not have land but they have plenty of water so they are now building "floating" solar farms on lakes and reservoirs. Here is an artist's concept courtesy of Kyocera Corp.:



Ultimately, this plant will generate 13.7MW of energy. Not a huge amount but, in a sense, free after the plant is built. Once Japan has completed all their floating plants on their inland waters, while it is not advisable to build such a plant in the middle of the ocean, they do have the relatively calm Sea of Japan. There may be no upper limit to how much power they can generate once they perfect these methods:


Remember, the Sun radiates enough energy to power the entire Earth for a whole year EVERY HOUR! The floating sun farm may be the ultimate answer to eliminating fossil fuels altogether.

A while back, I wrote a series of articles about renewable sources of energy. One article focused on direct harnessing of the Sun. I showed images of a solar furnace, a solar heating system and finally photo-voltaic cells.

The solar furnace at Ivanpah in the Mojave Desert in California is the world's largest solar thermal power plant. It uses a bunch of mirrors, all pointing at a central tower, to create super-heated steam which is then used to run a generator. However, when the Sun goes does, the plant shuts down. It sure seems like they could use an auxiliary block of Tesla's Powerwall to store energy during the day for distribution at night. A little known fact is that the Ivanpah plant burns a lot of natural gas to get started in the morning. So it does emit greenhouse gasses and so far has underperformed. It has also cooked something like 28,000 birds who have inadvertently flown into the path of the mirrors. It sounds like it is a technology that needs a bit more fine-tuning.

Well, the next generation is here, in Morocco of all places. The Noor series of plants use huge, rotating mirrors to aim the Moroccan sun at a tube containing a synthetic oil, hot enough to melt sand before superheating steam to run a turbine. The molten sand is used after the Sun goes down to produce energy for an additional three hours now but might reach as much as eight hours upon completion when the plant is at full strength.



When the entire plant is completed, the Moroccan government expects to produce 42% of the country's energy need along with wind and hydroelectric power. They plan on bumping that number to 52% by the year 2030. If all goes well, eventually, Morocco will become an energy exporter and completely self-sufficient without using a drop of fossil fuels.

Kudos to them!

Since 1973, I have been trying to bring to you the story of Rome and Rei, two lovers who were always destined to be together. At least in my head they were. After they were banished to Hawaii, before they embarked on their mission to take on the Onsiras, they decided take a moment to savor the beauty and tranquility of the islands. It was during this tiny interval, when the stresses of ordinary life (and saving the world) were stripped away, that they got a chance to express feelings that normally don't fit in a hero's life. Even though the luau scene was excised from the final version of Rome's Revolution, I thought I'd share with you that one tiny, pure moment when Rome and Rei pretended the burden of genocide was not hanging over their heads:

     “Thank you for an extraordinary meal, Onclare Tenoal,” Rome said.
     “Yes, thank you,” Rei echoed.
     “It was nothing, my niece. It was wonderful to see you and meet your new husband. We will do this again very soon,” he said.
     Rome looked at Rei but said nothing. He took Rome’s hand and they took turns saying goodbye to the gathering. After they were done, they headed across the small stretch of sand, down the stone path towards the palm tree grove. They made their way through and emerged from the stand of trees at the north end of their beach. They could see the double set of footprints leading toward the hut but Rei pulled Rome down to the edge of the water. They looked over the ocean where the sun had set so many hours earlier. Rei turned back and saw the moon was just beginning to creep over the opposite horizon with a bright star to its right. He put his arms around his wife and kissed her long and hard.
     When the kiss was complete, Rome pulled back a bit and said, “What was that for?”
     “It was because I love you, Rome. I am the luckiest man alive in your time, in my time, in any time. Here and to the stars.”
     He lifted her up by the waist with ease and twirled in the sand with her.
     “And I love you,” Rome said, grasping his cheeks and kissing him again. She draped her arms around his neck and hugged him again, holding on to her man as if for dear life. She closed her eyes and just reveled in the feeling of now, of the peaceful world they had entered and how things would only get better. She slid her hands down, along Rei’s leg and came to the bulge in his pocket.
     “What is this?” she asked slyly.
     “Oh, that,” Rei said. “I was meaning to tell you about that. MINIMCOM said…”
     Rei stopped talking as he noticed Rome was not paying attention to him. She was staring back across the island to the eastern horizon. The moon was exactly where it had been but the bright star to its side had moved and was, in fact, getting brighter.
     “Rei,” she said with a hint of worry in her voice. “Look at that.”

I know what Rome was staring at. It isn't good. Their one tiny romantic moment was already over. It was time to whip into action again.

Yesterday and the day before, I explained that when Denise and I were in Hawaii for our honeymoon, we saw a lot of amazing and beautifully presented desserts. We enjoyed them so much that I had to slip them into the now-lost luau scene from Rome's Revolution. Here is the final dessert we encountered:



Here is that dessert in the context of the story:

     Rav pulled out a plate of strawberries and poured a small canister of amber-colored liquid over them. He went over to one of the torches and pulled off a small burning leaf. He touched it to the liquid which caught on fire instantly and glowed with a warm blue blaze.
     “This is wonderful,” Rome said, clapping her hands together.
     “Wait until you taste it,” Tenoal said. Rav spooned some of the flaming strawberries on each of their plates.
     Rome lifted a biskar and skewered one of the strawberries and coated it with the brown sugar, whipped cream and chocolate. She blew out the flame and put it in her mouth.
     “Oh my,” she said, closing her eyes. “If I understand the concept as Rei describes it, this is heaven!”
     Rei tried it and said, “Mmmmm.” Then, in English, he said, “Oh wow!” Then, switching back to Vuduri, he said, “Tenoal, thank you. I cannot tell you how much I have missed fresh fruit. And this! This show. This is too much.”
     Tenoal put his arms across his chest proudly. “It is the least we could do for family who have come so far.”

I hope you enjoyed seeing these desserts as much as we enjoyed eating them!

Yesterday, I revealed that when Denise and I were in Hawaii for our honeymoon, we saw a lot of beautifully presented desserts. They impressed me so much that I had to slip them into the now-lost luau scene from Rome's Revolution. Here is the second dessert we encountered:



And here is that dessert in the context of the story:

     “He is not done yet,” Tenoal said.
     Rav came around to Rei’s right and placed a scoop of brown sugar on the plate. He placed dollops of whipped cream in a splaying pattern then outlined them in chocolate.
     “What is this? Rei asked.
     “It is a pineapple blossom,” Rav said proudly.
     “Oh yes,” Rei said, delighted. “I see it.”
     “And now the finishing part,” Rav said. He pulled out a plate of strawberries and poured a small canister of amber-colored liquid over them.

What do you think Rav is going to do? I'll show you the final dessert tomorrow.

When Denise and I were in Hawaii for our honeymoon, we went to a lot of neat restaurants. Every place we went served Mai Tais and there was a pineapple garnish on everything. The food was fantastic and so were the desserts but some places seemed to put a premium on presentation. Some were so neat that I had to slip them into the now-lost luau scene from Rome's Revolution. Over the next few days I'll show you some pictures and how I integrated them into the story. Here is the first picture:



Here is that dessert in the context of the story:

     “If I may have your attention, please,” Tenoal said to them.
     “Yes?” Rome asked.
     “Rav has a treat for you,” Tenoal replied. “Rav!” he said, waving at the teenage boy who had first greeted them.
     Rav came over carrying a tray with several plates on it. He took one and placed it in front of Rome and another in front of Rei. On Rome’s plate, he spread a brown, granular substance along the lower half. He took a small pitcher filled with a foamy white liquid and spread the foam part over the upper part of the plate then ladled brown syrup over it. When he was done, a perfectly rendered picture of a palm tree swaying over the sand was created.
     “This is wonderful,” Rome exclaimed. “What is it?”
     “It is a palm tree,” Rav replied.
     “No,” Rome said, laughing. “The food itself. What is this made of?”
     “The sand is brown sugar,” Rav explained. “The white is whipped cream and the brown is chocolate syrup.”
     “Mmm, chocolate,” Rome said, dipping her little finger in then placing it on her lips. She had grown quite addicted to it over their year-long trip from Tabit to Deucado.
     “He is not done yet,” Tenoal said.

Tomorrow, I'll show you the second dessert which was also just as scrumptious.

When Rome and Rei and Binoda (and Fridone) were exiled to Hawaii, they only saw it as a staging point for their plan to alert the remaining good Vuduri as to the Onsira's insidious plan to eradicate the mandasurte, the mind-deaf during the latter portion of Rome's Revolution. This was back when the novel was in its original long form called VIRUS 5. However, Fridone's brother, Rome's Uncle Tenoal, thought their presence was more symbolic:

     After the meal, Tenoal leaned forward and moved his arm in a broad sweeping gesture.
     “It is more than coincidence that you came here, you know,” he said.
     “Of course,” replied Binoda. “I picked this place because of you and your family.”
     “No,” said Tenoal. “It is more than that. What you are doing, preserving the mandasurte culture, this is the very essence of Havei.”
     “You do not need to tell me, brother,” Fridone said.
     “Yes, I do,” said Tenoal. “You were always a scientist first. Even though you grew up here, you were not satisfied to just live off the land and sea. You had to explore.”
     “Is there anything wrong with that?” Fridone asked, somewhat defensively.
     “Oh no, that is not what I mean,” said Tenoal. “You and I, science and nature, we are just a microcosm of life here. What I meant was that these islands, our people, we have been here for over 3000 years. These islands have been under attack by invaders, whether it was a new species of plant or animal or people of ill will, it has been this way for much of our history. And what you have told me today is just another such attack.”
     “How did Havei survive the Great Dying?” Rei asked. “You are so isolated here. Did it set you back?”
     “Completely,” said Tenoal, sadly. “The disease which ravaged the world nearly wiped us out as well. During your day, there was so much trafficking with the outside world, it was only a matter of days before the infection had spread to all the islands. Our people were nearly exterminated.”
     “How did you recover?” Rei asked.
     Tenoal replied, “The same as the rest of the world. Very slowly.”

So my characters felt their actions had meaning even when I, the author, had no knowledge of this. Good for them. And the Onsiras will get theirs in the end.

As I have mentioned several times, when I collapsed the original three-book set called VIRUS 5 down to the modern novel called Rome's Revolution, a lot of extraneous material had to be excised to get it down to a reasonable length. One of the major scenes that got cut out was the luau scene after Rome and Rei had been transported into exile on O'ahu.

After the kefir and the disagreement about money, Rome and Rei had settled back to enjoy the rest of the festive meal. Her mother and her father, forcibly separated for 10 years, had remained behind. I wonder what they were doing? Well, whatever it was, enough time had passed and they decided to make a guest appearance at the luau. Here is a little "taste" of that scene:

     Rei tapped Rome on her shoulder and pointed down the beach. Rome turned to look and saw Binoda walking toward them, speaking to what looked like thin air. She came up to them and patted Rei on the shoulder, bending down to give Rome a kiss. She cocked an eyebrow and Rome pointed to baby Aason who was under the table. Binoda nodded and proceeded past them to the other side of the table.
     “Tenoal,” Binoda said to the leader.
     “Ah, Binoda,” the older gentleman replied, getting up to give her a hug. “It is good to see you. It has been a long time.”
     “Yes, it has,” replied Binoda. “Not since Fridone disappeared.”
     “Yes, my brother,” answered Tenoal sadly. “I miss him.”
     “I have a surprise for you,” Binoda said. “But first I need to ask you something.
     “Of course,” Tenoal replied. “What is it?”
     Binoda looked around at the tables and the people sitting there. “Do you know every person here?” she asked.
     Tenoal looked around. “Yes, Binoda, of course,” he said. “I can vouch for every person here.”
     “Are there any here who might be connected to the Overmind?” she asked.
     Tenoal seemed surprised at the question. “No,” he said. “Those that had that ability have long since left. We are all mandasurte here. Of that, I am quite certain.”
     “Excellent,” Binoda said.
     The air next to her shimmered and suddenly, Fridone was standing there.
     “Fridone!” Tenoal said, throwing his arms in the air. “My little ormei.” He came around and hugged Fridone, his brother and Rome’s father. “What is this magic?” he asked.
     “No magic,” replied Fridone. “Just a precaution. I am not supposed to be here.”
     “It is getting to be quite a crowd,” said Tenoal jovially, pointing to the table.
     “Join us,” he said and he waved at Rav who brought over two more logs. Fridone and Binoda sat down at the table to partake in the feast set before them.
     Binoda enjoyed her food but Fridone absolutely devoured it. His zeal was not simply that he missed the food of his ancestors and family. The fact was that he really hadn’t had a decent meal since he was kidnapped and taken to Deucado, almost ten years earlier. The people on Deucado were well-meaning but they had not had enough time on that strange new world to master the bounty provided by their new home. The meats had no taste, they were derived from the falling blankets. The fruits and vegetables had not real substance to him. Yes, Fridone enjoyed this meal both for its flavor and the company it provided.

Again, while this sequence was fun, it didn't really advanced the plot at all so it had to go. But I did enjoy writing it and you get to revisit it for this short while. Sadly, it is time to say aloha to peace and tranquility. More on that tomorrow.

As my immensely talented brother Bruce observed during the development of the covers for my recently published Tales of the Vuduri: Year Three, he said, "Do you ever look at this and say to yourself 'Damn, that is a lot of writing I've done'?"

To tell you the truth, I hadn't really thought about so I decided to tally up how many words I have actually produced to date. Here is the word count:

Non-science Fiction:
Future Past = 107,000 words
The FoxPro 2.5 API = 35,000 words

Science Fiction
VIRUS 5 - Part 1 - Tabit = 98,000 words
VIRUS 5 - Part 2 - Tau Ceti = 98,000 words
VIRUS 5 - Part 3 - Earth = 91,000 words

(These books were eventually compiled down to the current Rome's Revolution which sits at 167,000 words but we won't count that since it an abridged version of VIRUS 5)

The Ark Lords = 79,000 words
Rome's Evolution = 84,000 words
The Milk Run = 89,000 words

Tales of the Vuduri: Year One = 123,000 words
Tales of the Vuduri: Year Two = 140,000 words
Tales of the Vuduri: Year Three = 151,000 words

If you tally all these up, you get an astounding 1,095,000 words. You read that right: OVER A MILLION WORDS!!!

If you want to get technical and throw away the VIRUS 5 novels since I didn't actually ever put them into publication, you would swap in Rome's Revolution which I did publish. That would bring the tally down to a paltry 975,000 words on Amazon alone.

Boy, am I blabby!

And there is more coming. The Vuduri Companion is up next followed by MASAL - The Robot War. Then another Tales of the Vuduri compilation and finally The Vuduri Knight.

Who knows, maybe I'll hit 2 million by the time it is all done. Yikes!