The Blood Solution (Approaching Infinity Book 3) (47 page)

Icsain does not undergo a physical change when he goes Dark. While not technically a psychic himself, his intellect and ability to simultaneously calculate multiple probabilities give him an exceptional defense against psychic assault. They also enable him to exploit the Relic Cords in a way that Karlan Farsal never could. With the Cords, Icsain can control up to 140,000 individuals and need not focus on any single one or group after a set of instructions has been given. With instructions, any being under the control of the Cords will complete assigned tasks, using limited critical thinking skills to accomplish the required goal or die in the attempt. Once the goal has been accomplished, the being under control will wait idle for further instructions.

Among Shades, Gilf Scanlan is perhaps unique. Though he is possessed of a vast and creative intellect, he has the RPP and PPP of a normal. Because of his inherent human weakness, the Creation Cogs have permanently altered Scanlan so that he is Dark at all times and cannot revert to his human form. He sees no downside to this and has already taken steps to further augment his physical form to further close the gap that remains between himself and other Shades.

From the monocle covering his right eye, Scanlan can direct a beam of sorts, which gives rise to intricate clockwork machinery which adheres to any design principle he can imagine. He can create incredible volumes of this machinery, spraying it into place with the application of the beam. Even after the immediate influence of the beam has passed, the machinery continues to exhibit startling organic properties,
growing
to completion.

I’ve talked before about the many influences that have shaped the Approaching Infinity universe, and really anything and everything that I write, but one thing I haven’t mentioned before, and which really deserves mention, is Japanese animation, or anime. Like most or all of the people of my generation, I grew up with Saturday morning cartoons:
Scooby Doo
,
Super Friends
, and superior fair like
Thundarr, the Barbarian
. Those were great, but they usually fit into neat, tidy little categories, where no one got hurt and no matter what happened during the course of an episode, things always worked out in the end and were exactly like they were when the episode started—every single week.

My earliest exposure to anime was in English in the 70s and early 80s with
Speed Racer
,
Gatchaman
(
Battle of the Planets
), and
Space Cruiser Yamato
(
Star Blazers
). The latter was amazing. There was a clear beginning, middle, and end, and not everyone survived the journey to Iscandar and back. Unfortunately, American editing robbed most of these and other offerings of any real life. But just as Robotech was coming out in 1985, when I was in junior high, someone introduced me to the original Japanese version of the first
Robotech
series,
Super Dimension Fortress Macross
. Luckily, the Birdcage Walk Comics & Comix in Citrus Heights had a very good selection of Japanese toys, models, and art books which helped fuel my growing interest. In addition, the Cartoon Fantasy Organization had a Sacramento chapter that wasn’t too far away. I remember the first meeting I went to, in 1985 or ’86, where I saw
Fist of the North Star
and
Saint Seiya
. As with everything, both these series had their detractors, but the imagery of Dragon Shiryu kicking the waterfall and reversing its course, of Shu from Nanto Hakurou Ken cutting perfect parallel lines through thugs with his fingers blew me away. I like to think that the kinds of martial arts portrayed in those two shows continue on in spirit in my stories. There are countless other examples of very good anime—
Locke, the Superman
,
Ai City
, and
Ninja Scroll
to name just a few—that have left lasting impressions on me, if not for their engaging stories, then for their visual style. I feel fairly strongly that much of the visual style that I try to accomplish in my writing stems from dynamism found in anime, particularly that of the 80s and 90s. Hopefully, this doesn’t make every word I write derivative.

Thanks again for reading. We are now half way through the
Approaching Infinity
series. There’s still quite a lot for Jav to do, but we will reach
The Place with Many Doors
, I promise, so stick around and keep reading!

Chris Eisenlauer
December, 2012

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