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.
“What if I told you I stumbled upon something that will not only destroy the Universe in the here and now but rip the space-time continuum to shreds. Past, present, all of it will be eradicated. Existence itself is in danger.” - Tinker
Say Hello - The Cast of Tinker's Treasure
“I’m getting tired of being manipulated by immortals. I might be this short little blip on the timeline that you and those like you see stretching out endlessly before you, but there is a lot I’ve learned in that time.”
Captain Lexia
Starship Captain
“How dare you imply that I have anything in common with a human. You take that back.”
Parallax
A.I. and Pilot
“Does this count as the Sunfire being haunted by a ghost?”
Glen
Swordsman
“The machines will be destroyed. The plant will live, for she is a child of Niv, goddess of the natural order. I will allow the male of your kind to live, for he is your mate. As for the mouse, I will eat him.”
Rua'So'Nid
Lizard Warrior
“Ya’iv me’ka hu’an. Ah’ix ya’. Ya’ na’eep.”
Tedorn
Large Talking Gerbil
“Friends do not keep secrets from one another.”
Dryad
Humanoid Plant
“I’ve seen just about every insane thing to pop into someone’s imagination and then some. So, the computerized ghost of a man who is no longer a part of my crew doesn’t even reach the top ten of my bizarre experiences list.” – Lexia
Relevant Memes/Artwork
“When the Sunfire is about to be obliterated, and all the life forms on board will perish, remind me to tell the captain of this particular phrase. I told you so.” - Parallax
Origin Story:
A sequel?
When I wrote Lexia's Legacy, I had no intention of a series of books. However, after finishing the first novel, I had the remaining cybernetic parts of Tinker left behind. That's when this idea struck me, what if there is a message left behind that is a warning of something. Maybe even a treasure hunt that he sends them on to discover something he left behind. Thus, the idea for the novel.
This is the first sequel to any book I've written that I completed. I attempted to write a direct sequel to Mystical Alliance, but I never developed it beyond a few chapters. There was the original Human Born series back before they got a major re-write and a formal series title. However, I thought of them as stand-alone novels at the time, nothing connecting them beyond being set in the same world. This was a direct sequel with the same cast of individuals involved. A first for me.
The original title was "Treasure Hunt" or "Treasure of Tinker". However, I liked the idea of connecting the series together with similar titles, something I didn't do again until the Primordial Quaternity series. I wanted a person's name with something owned by them. That's how I came up with the titles for each book in the series.
I had no clue what the treasure was going to be at the end. Each time, I thought, "This is it!" Like the large stone block. Nope. I was just as surprised by the series of events as much as the audience would be. This is why I like my writing style. I can enjoy the unexpected too.
Origin Story:
Treasure Hunt
I had a collection of scenes in mind that had nothing to do with one another, so I ended up creating a patchwork of concepts that was one clue leading to the next, allowing me to run wild with ideas. The idea that what Lexia was doing during the events of the holographic town was the "B" story or background story during an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation was fun for me. The main crew was fixing the problem, Lexia was doing something else in the background with her own storyline.
The creation of Edward as a collection of micro-organisms, was brought about because I wanted to push the limits of life forms beyond just a human type being. Too often in sci-fi, that's all we get, humanoid this or that. The holographic town was inspired by an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine where there is a community of all but one holographic individuals.
The scene of the giants was inspired by a piece of artwork of a human seeing a massive skeleton with a sword in its chest. The prison break was inspired by a song, one that led to this whole concept playing out in my mind.
I knew I wanted Gold to come back to the series and join the crew, so that was on my to do list when I began writing the book what with the exit of so many other individauls at the end of the previous novel.
Origin Story:
Epic Finale
I had several ideas for what Lexia would encounter in the temporal nexus at the end of the book. I made a list of concepts and was struggling as to which one to include. Originally it was going to be only one thing. However, I realized, I wanted all of them! So, I did just that. I had no clue at the time just how much those scenes would influence the rest of the series. It was also the first time that a Tagonist Knight appeared in any of my books.
I would later explain how a human learned Tedorn's language in the fifth book of the series. The woman named "Gaia" would become a massively huge tie in with the Human Born series in the fourth novel of that collection. Dryad meeting a woman named Gaia, being inspired by that name... So, no, two different people, but one being named after the other. Last revelation that isn't shown to the audience until the end of Dryad's Dream, the fourth book in this series, began here. I had the idea that struck me, and I was happy to finally reveal it later.
The final ending of the story was tied in with my hope to include real world space exploration events. In the first novel, I had the moon landing. In the second, I wanted to include the idea that much of human history concerning space travel still exists in this reality. I still cry when I read the ending because its such a momentous moment for me to experience that as I hope it is for the audience.
“I am certain that the perfect combination of naivety and curiosity between the three of them won’t doom us all.” – Parallax
Easter Eggs and Inspiration
Favorite Android
Brent is named after Brent Spiner, who played Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation
Use the Force...
Lexia's father, Liam, is named after Liam Neeson, who played a role in Star Wars: Episode 1.
Origins in a Car
The Starship Sunfire is named after my second car, a Pontiac Sunfire.
Lizard Warrior
Rua'So'Nid is the word Dinosaur spelled backwards and broken up into syllables to look more alien.
Stay On Target
Lexia going down a trench with her jetpack is a reference to the final battle of Star Wars.
Repeating History
On page twelve, Lexia refers to a "timing issue". A timer on a bomb nearly got her killed in the first book.
A Good Day to Die
The Narktar, warrior race of lizards, is greatly inspired by Star Trek's Klingons.
Did you catch this?
Tedorn gets his name from rearranging the letters in the word "Rodent".
How about this?
Tedorn's species, the Nimrev, is the word "Vermin" spelled backwards.
Do you remember?
End of chapter one, Brent says, "...definition of fun terrifies me.” Parallax makes a similar comment in Lexia's Legacy.
Age of Captain
Based off mentions of certain events in her life, you can calculate that Lexia is twenty-six of age during this book.
Android Community
The race of androids that Brent belongs to is called the Erocatad. It is the words Data Core spelled backwards.
Wait, how many?
On page 43, the Vostok has 1,701 people on board. In Star Trek, the Enterprise is designated: NCC-1701.
Famous Ladies
Lexia's fake name, Marilyn Hepburn, is a combination of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.
Unique Number
Parallax refers to the "42nd" encounter in the holographic world. A reference to "42" from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
What is in a Name?
Glen is named after the creator of Battlestar Galactica, Glen Larson, since he was once Nolyc.
Aye, aye, Captain!
Captain Stewart is named after Patrick Stewart who played Captain Jean Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Hologram Town
The idea of a town of holograms came from an episode of Sar Trek: Deep Space Nine: Shadowplay.
Golden Idea
Gold is inspired by Guinan from Star Trek: Next Generation who was played by Whoopie Goldberg, thus the name "Gold".
Roswell Aliens
Gold refers to visiting Earth after crash landing during the 1950s. A hint at the Roswell, New Mexico crash landing of "aliens".
Not in Kansas, Toto.
"And you were there..." Lexia's reaction to her crew after waking up on page 66 refers to the Wizard of Oz.
Twilight Zone
Edward Rodman is named after Rodman Edward Serling, the host of the 1950s Twilight Zone.
Home Sweet Home
On page 79, Parallax refers to file: 53164. That is the zip code of my hometown where I grew up in reverse order which is 46135.
World of Giants
Cormoran is the name of the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk in some versions of the story. Ideal choice for a race of giants.
Aliens Exist!
One page 121, Tinker says, "The truth is out there..." It is a reference to the television series: The X-Files.
Slithering Threat
Apophis is named after an Egyptian snake god.
No Body Knows
Brent detached from his body is inspired by an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation episode: Disaster.
Not a Monster
Frank is named after Frankenstein's monster, who was also a combination of various body parts.
A Classic Movie
The stone object that Suzie possessed is a homage to the obelisk from: Space Odyssey 2001.
Nightmare Planet
Gramorah is a reference to two “cursed” cities in the Bible that was destroyed during a series of events in the Old Testament.
Big Bad... Snake?
Glen refers to the story of the Three Little Pigs when he says, "…not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!”
Baked Goods
On page 203, Gold mentions a woman named "Betty" associated with baked goods, a reference to Betty Croker.
First Life
Valkkai is a word in the language called Tamil in India. It means life. Ideal reference for the first form of life to ever exist.
Western Movies
Tinker assuming the role of a cowboy on page 227 is a homage to my father, who loved cowboy movies.
The voyages of...
Lexia's monologue at the beginning of page 232 is a reference to the opening quote of Star Trek. “To boldly go..."
Giant Sphere
I was inspired to have a Dyson Sphere in the story due to an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation: Relics.
Plant and Machine
Lexia meets a woman named Gaia, who is the daughter of Brent and Dryad from the future.
Two Become One
The androgenous figure that Lexia meets is the merging of Frea and Ferno seen at the end of Lexia's Legacy.
Speaking Tedorn
The woman who speaks Tedorn is later explained in the novel: Rua'So'Nid's Return. She is the ancestor of a group of colonists.
Cyclops Captain
The woman speaking who has one eye, is a reference to Captain Leela from Futurama.
What a Wookie
The hairy figure speaking after the cyclops is a reference to Chewbacca from Star Wars.
Change of Heart
The hairy figure's captain changing his mind refers to Han Solo returning to help at the end of the original Star Wars movie.
What Began It All
The probe that crash landed on another planet refers to the Voyager 1 probe that was first launched September 9, 1977.
All Good Things...
The poker game refers to the final scene from Star Trek: The Next Generation and the cast from that series.
Home Town Hero
Edward refers to having memories of a small town in Indiana, a reference to the town I grew up in.
And now... My Favorite.
Each novel I try to make real world connections to this series. The moon landing occurring in the first novel. For this book, I was excited to incorporate the Voyager 1 probe and more importantly, the golden disk filled with information for life on other planets that may one day discover it. Which, in this series, they did.
“I got me myself one last moment to shine like the stars in the sky before I ride off into the sunset once and for all.” - Tinker
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