So, you've made it this far, have you? It takes dedication to find this page hidden deep within the Tagonist Knights Website.
Congratulations!
As a reward, I present to you five new ways to immerse yourself within this novel. Some of it is insightful, other aspects of it is meant to make you laugh and smile. Hopefully, by the time you're done, you'll be eager to explore the book if you haven't already, or take a moment to read through it once again knowing what you do now.
“Humanity should be inspired by past accomplishments, learn from the mistakes others made that came before us, and treasure the rich tapestry of events that led up to this moment.” - Liam
Say Hello - The Cast of Rua'So'Nid's Return
“Can I just have one situation in my lifetime that doesn’t feel like me and everyone else crazy enough to go along with me is going to get killed?”
Lexia
Human Captain
“Set your sights on a goal and don’t allow anything to stop you from accomplishing what you set out to do.”
Liam
Human Traveler
“Prove my faith in your wisdom or I will personally end you.”
Rua'So'Nid
Lizard Warrior
“Ah’ na’iv ta’na ba’in ta’ll ah’ov.”
Tedorn
Gerbil Engineer
“If you don’t try to live, you’ll die. If you keep going acting like you’re okay with dying, something or someone will finish the job.”
Ter
Cat Theif
“I have learned through experience it is not the location in which one calls home that matters. It is those who are a part of our lives that is the truest meaning of the word.”
Brent
Android Zenobiologist
“It takes courage to ask for help. It takes strength to realize that by yourself, you can’t accomplish your goals alone.” - Lexia
Relevant Memes/Artwork
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“Just because someone is hurt in the past, it doesn’t give them a free pass to hurt others. Being a victim does not allow you to become the monster that hurt you.” - Lexia
Origin Story:
One into two...
After the ending of the previous book, I had a lot to deal with. The book went through two versions. The first was that I expected to resolve everything in a single book. This was meant to be the end of the story arc involving the Oria. However, it felt like I was rushing through a lot of things and so, I moved a lot of what occurred in this first version into the next novel. Did I plan for a two-part set of stories? No. The one great aspect of it was being able to pay homage to the "To be continued..." cliff hanger from Star Trek: The Next Generation's Best of Both Worlds.
With so much removed from this book and moved into a sequel, I was able to slow things down near the end. Although, most of the book remained the same in the first draft up until the last hundred pages or so. The crew being re-united being the main purpose of this book.
I wrote this book and Liam's Legend at the same time once I decided to expand into two books. Mostly it was to make certain that if something happened in the first book, that I would know how it fits into the next. Alternatively, I was writing Liam's Legend before having finished this one, leaving me to wonder, what happened to Parallax's crew. It was a first-time experience where I was writing a sequel before I had even finished the one to come before it. This was mostly due to taking portion from one novel and moving into the next one. Having to decide what I wanted in each novel and what scenes fit better in each one so that it flowed naturally. Was it easy? No. It was a bit of a headache/nightmare scenario for me but in the end, I made the right decision to expand it into two books.
“I have traveled between the stars, explored so many galaxies and worlds filled with beautiful wonders. All that I have experienced in my lifetime, and nothing compares to his beautiful soul.” - Dryad
Easter Eggs and Inspiration
Inspired Opening
Trudging through the snow was inspired by the opening of he game, Asssassin's Creed Revelations.
I Shot First
Lexia killing the bounty hunter is a homage to the "Han Shot First" scene from Star Wars.
Serious Threat
Odeerg is Greedo spelled backwards, the bounty hunter that Han Solo killed in Star Wars.
Lexia's Father
Liam is named after Liam Neeson who played Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode 1.
Male Gorgon?
In Greek mythology, it is rumored that a gorgon, like Medusa, was a male version known as Nanas.
Origins in a Car
The Starship Sunfire is named after my second car, a Pontiac Sunfire.
Snake Creature
The species that Nanas belongs to was first introduced in the novel, Tinker's Treasure, with Apophis.
Etiquette Droid
Anthony is named after Anthony Daniels who played C3PO in Star Wars.
Protocol Droid
Anthony's appearance is a homage to C3PO as well as his cobbled together origins.
Ideal Society
The Cosmic Union is inspired by the Federation from Star Trek.
What is in a Name?
Glen is named after the creator of Battlestar Galactica, Glen Larson.
Special Date
On page 22, the Log date: 52517.5 refers to 5/25/17, the release date of Lexia's Legacy. ".5" refers to this being the 5th book in the series.
Yes, Captain!
Captain Stewart is named after Patrick Stewart who played Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek: TNG.
Russian Ship
The Vostok is named after the first manned space vessel.
Android Community
The race of androids that Brent belongs to is called the Erocatad. It is the words Data Core spelled backwards.
Favorite Android
Brent is named after Brent Spiner who played Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Ship's Engineer
Burton is named after LeVar Burton who played Geordie La Forge on Star Trek: TNG.
Friends and Allies
Stewart knows Burton for 12 years because TNG lasted for 7 years on air and it has been 5 years since the previous book.
Voyager Captain
Captain Mulgrew refers to Kate Mulgrew who played Captain Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager.
What area?
The Delta Quadrant is where Star Trek: Voyager took place.
Data's Daughter
Hallie is named after Hallie Todd who played Lal, an android created by Data on TNG.
Important Date
On page 27, the code 851993 refers to 8-5-1993.
Ideal Home
Ter's constructed home is essentially a cat stand, just on a larger scale.
Mysterious Object
The cube that Ter stole from Brent was given to him by Paradox at the end of Parallax's Paradox.
Mars Attacks
Ramtian is derived form the word: Martian, their physical description matching that type.
First of Its Kind
Zodiac is named after the story, Across the Zodiac by Percy Greg, the first scifi set primarily on Mars.
Powers Activate!
Vera and Nizo were inspired by the Wonder Twins, one changing into an animal, another a form of water.
Voice Actors
In the Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, the Wonder Twins were voiced by Nizo Neto and Vera Miranda, inspiring the two character names.
Mythical Rabbit
A wolpertinger is from German folklore, a mythical rabbit.
Former Ally
Rua'So'Nid originally left the series at the end of the second novel: Tinker's Treasure.
Security Chief
Dorn is named after Michael Dorn who played Lieutenant Worf on Star Trek: TNG
2nd In Command
First Officer Frakes is named after Johnathan Frakes who played Commander Riker on TNG.
Nervous Lieutenant
Lieutenant Schultz is named after Dwight Schultz who played Lieutenant Barclay on TNG.
Scifi Code #1
One page 50, a code is given: 2001-1138-42. The first refers to the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey 2001.
Scifi Code #2
The second code on page 50, 2001-1138-42, refers to George Lucas (Star Wars) movie: THX 1138.
Scifi Code #3
In the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the answer to life the universe and everything.
Empathic Guide
Councilor Sirtis is named after Marina Sirtis who played Councilor Troi on TNG.
Aquatic Councilor
In an episode of TNG, Troi "de-evolved" into a fish person. So, I made Sirtis that type of being.
Intelligent Gerbil
Tedorn is the letters in "rodent" rearranged and his species, the Nimrev is "vermin" spelled backwards.
Stewart Code #1
On page 59, the code 11211988 refers to 11-21-1988, the first appearance of Guinan on TNG.
Stewart Code #2
On page 59, 9211992 refers to 9-21-1992, an episode of TNG where Picard first meets Guinan.
Stewart Code #3
On page 59, the code 591993 refers to 5-9-1993, which is the last episode in which Guinan appeared in Star Trek: TNG.
Space Elf
Tedorn mentions a "space elf" which refers to a Vulcan from Star Trek.
What Armada?
Page 76, a quark is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter.
X Gender
Xi/xis is a gender-neutral pronoun replacing he/his or her/hers.
Planetary Discovery
Why Sector 1610? The first telescopic observation of Mars was by Galileo Galilei in 1610.
Planetary City
The concept of an ecumenopolis was first introduced to me by Magic: The Gatherin: Ravnica.
Computer Clue
Central Processing Union refers to the Central Processing Unit that is the "brain" of a computer.
Three Laws
On page 83, the three rules that Hallie refer to are the three laws of robotics from Isaac Asimov's literature.
Tagonist Knight
Dryad serving a sovereign or lord as a mounted soldier in armor refers to her having taken on the role of being a knight.
New Responsibilities
The universe seen as a well-ordered whole refers to the Cosmos, a position formally held by Paradox, Knight of the Cosmos.
Hecklers
On page 100, Jamahe and Gold are speaking through a pair modeled after Standon and Waldorf from the Muppet Show.
Galactica
On page 112, Sector 9-17-1978 refers to the first air date of the original Battlestar Galactica series.
Next Generation
01000101 01101110 01110100 01100101 01010010 01010000 01010010 01101001 01110011 01100101 01000100 is binary code for Enterprise-D.
Roman and Greek
Vulcan is a Roman god. Hephaestus is his Greek equivalent. So, a Hephaestian is my version of Star Trek's Vulcan "space elf" species.
Star Trek Captain
Admiral Rentash is Shatner spelled backwards, inspired by William Shatner who played Captain Kirk on Star Trek.
I'm a doctor, not...
Doctor Kelley is named after DeForest Kelley who played Leonard McCoy on Star Trek.
Hephaestian
Yomin is Nimoy spelled backwards, referring to Leonard Nimoy who played Spock on Star Trek.
Intro Song
On page 137, the song refers to the opening theme of Star Trek: Enterprise television series.
Foretold Event
Lexia encounters a human that speaks fluent Tedorn in the Temporal Nexus in Tinker's Treasure. How that came to be is now explained.
Human Home
Earth is called Sol Gamma in that it is in the Solar System and Gamma is the third in the Greek alphabet.
Grumpy Cat
Tardar Sauce is the name of the famous Grumpy Cat which hints that Liam has visited Earth in our time period.
Famous Line
On page 164, Ter shouting, "It's a trap!" refers to General Ackbar in Star Wars making the same statement.
Warriors/Soldiers
85,000 Narktar Warriors is the same number of Union soldiers who fought at Gettysburg during the Civil War.
Greetings
Page 186 is a homage to when C3PO was captured by Jabba the Hutt and he introduced him to visitors.
Author's Name
On page 217, sectors Mu, Alpha, Tau, Eta, Epsilon, and Psi spells out what looks like Mathew. Close Enough.
Jamahe Code #1
On page 221, 9241936 refers to the birth date of James Maury Henson on 9-14-1936
Jamahe Code #2
On page 221, 951976 refers to the air date of the first Muppet Show episode on 9-5-1976
Jamahe Code #3
On page 221, 772003 refers to the date that NASA launched its second Mars exploration Rover, Opportunity on 7-7-2003
Big Family
Jamahe has over 3,000 "children" referring to the number of Muppets that have been created.
Memories
On page 222, the memory Lexia is experiencing is from the end of the novel: Lexia's Legacy.
Glass of Wine
On page 228, Gold mentions Stewart's family's vineyard. Picard's family owned one.
Helpful Assistant
The character on page 230 is modeled after Scooter from the Muppet Show.
Former Visitor
On pages 230-231, it is a homage to the opening theme of the Muppet Show.
Big Bird
The last paragraph on page 231 refers to Big Bird and the theme song to Sesame Street.
Blonde Swog
Swogs are race of pig creatures, the blonde is a homage to Miss Piggy from the Muppet Show.
Famous Rabbit
Margery, the Wolpertinger, is named after Margery Bianco, author of the Velveteen Rabbit.
Kitty Life
Ter referring to being killed 8 times and her on her last life, refers to the myth of cats having nine lives.
Space Monk
The monk on page 263 refers to Luke Skywalker, his sister Leia, and his mentor Yoda.
Suzy's Creation
Frank and the Wolpertingers were prominently featured in the previous novel: Dryad's Dream.
Grumpy Robot
On page 264, the depressed robot and its companions refer to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Earthworm
Slim appeared in the first two novels of the series. Essentially a large worm in a suit.
Cry For Help
"Only hope..." refers to Princess Liea sending a distress call to Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars.
In the Beginning...
Page 270-273 makes references to the back of book text of Lexia's Legacy, the first book in the series.
Original Character
Revorg is named after Grover, from Sesame Street, inspired by his original green design.
Opening Song
"Can you tell me how to get..." on page 281 refers to the theme song of Sesame Street.
Famous Phrase
“Never lose hope. Never concede defeat.” on page 286, refers to "Never give up. Never surrender." from the movie: Galaxy Quest.
And now... My Favorite.
When I realized that what was meant to be a single book conclusion to the "Oria" story arc needed to be two novels, my greatest joy in doing so was to pay homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation's episodes: Best of Both Worlds cliff hanger with the words "To be continued..." was I wanted to do that for the ending, to show that there is an immediate connection to this storyline and the next book. I was actually working on both novels at the same time. I saw it as an ideal opportunity to pay homage to that incredible moment in Sci-fi history.
No, Dave...
“Daisy… Daisy… All for… The love… Of you…” is the final words of Hal from the movie: 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Tri-Horn
Vera's final form is that of a Triceratops, one of my favorite dinosaurs.
Unknown Threat
The other presence in Parallax's mind trying to take over isn't her... It's an unrevealed life form.
“There is nothing you can do to stop me. My prey was far superior to anything you could dare threaten me with and they have paid for their crimes with their lives. What chance to do you have against stopping a vengeful god?” - Parallax
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