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Yeah, liquid fire. We've all seen it, flames that flow with viscous intent, coming our way to burn us to the center of our being. 

Liquid fire doesn't have to be actual fire. Our spouse, one more betrayal, and then it's slapped in our face. Yeah, liquid fire. Or one more slight by our boss, bypassing us for promotion once again. How can this be happening? It's our career we're talking about, not some fly-by-night moment that no one cares about. Sheesh!

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It's Purgatoria, the hellish world where humanity can only exist in specialized suits made of iron.

Ironmen, after a fashion. Yet not, either. The Marvel hero is almost super human, his suit, anyway. Not Lima Niner. He's just a guy out to earn a buck, and wearing a massive metal suit is the way to do it. Showing up for work, taking a shower afterwards, hanging out with the guys and the gals afterwards.

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Find a mirror and step through. Find a second and the steps become two.

Catchy phrase. I find myself returning to the mirrors in The Wheel over and over, fascinated. I wake at night, and in my dreams, I've been there, just on the other side, the darkness my mirror, and my dreams the world just beyond the glass.

Does the mirror of our dreams require darkness? Or do our dreams bring on the darkness?

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In a movie (based on a book) several years back starring Shia LeBeouf, the main character had to escape a horrific detention camp in Texas. Ironically, the camp was at Green Lake, which was really a desert. His destination for eventual escape? A mountain called God's Thumb.

God's Thumb. What a name. Yet, in The Wheel, someone somewhere is rewriting the future of the Universe with the touch of a finger.

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Hey, there! I've been away for a few months, since August of last year, actually. Lots of projects, and trips to New England and Texas. I've been thinking about The Wheel, and I opened the book to Chapter 24, only to find myself reading about The Dreamers. Wow! If you haven't read the book, the chapter starts like this:

A dozen dreamers stood over a vast glowing table, from time to time leaning in, pointing at one location and then another. To say dreamers, though, was like calling Michalangelo a water colorist, Houdini a quick-change artist, or Vanzetti a dime store merchant...

The table was a map, a map of time and space. A map of stardust and possibilities. The story of what had been, and what was to come.

Dreams. Maybe what was to come. Perhaps, if they were lucky...

This passage sent chills up my spine. In our modern world of Internet, mobile phones, and 24-hour movie channels, we are overloaded with information. Most of what's out there we have to tune out just to be able to focus on what's important to us. 

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So, just what are Nationoids? I use a capital letter on the word, because a Nationoid is something exceptional among politically affiliated bodies.

The United States is a nation made of individual states, each one of which has its own identity. We think of Maine in one way, Florida differently, and New Mexico? Well, they are a people unto themselves, and often we try not to think of them at all. Yet, we are one people, one culture, and we include everyone in our national plans for success and prosperity.

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One of the things I enjoy most about science fiction is that there are no limits on how things work. Authors can play with ideas without being restricted by the reality of our current level of scientific advancement. We can go there, wherever we want, and create the magic of extreme technology.

Then, coolest of all cool things, science gets inspired, and those very things come into being, a reality inspired by the brilliant and edgy minds of the forward-thinking sci-fi writer.

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I mentioned in The Metal Hand that Beener is the geek of the 32nd century. 

32nd century. 1,100 years from now.

Let's get some perspective on that date. Think about our current history. It's 2015. Deduct 1,100 years to come up with 915. That's the comparison we have to use to see just how advanced the real world in The Wheel is. 

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NorAm is obvious.

It's a crunched up North America. Take Canada, shove it hard towards the equator, then push Central America into Mexico, and eventually you get Squash Pie. NorAm. The North American Federation of Integrated Peoples.

We already have a trade agreement that allows a free flow of goods from Northern Canada to the bottom reaches of much of the continent. What makes a difference in The Wheel? Climate change.

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Floating. 

Unsupported.

I've blogged on the concept of being able to fly without wings. Pump a creature full of iron, add enough gravity and a strong enough magnetic field, and you might get that puppy into the air with ease. (Not a real puppy, of course, for those of you who are animal lovers.)

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