I Figured Out Time Travel, Now Perhaps I'll Drop Dead (But I Mostly Doubt It)

Well, I've been working my butt off, in spite of weird ailments that are persisting even now.

I'm still working on The Annals of Nod, for my eyes only. I was unable to sleep last night, in fact, because my mind was determined to work out the physics of the universe of Nod; specifically how time travel works and doesn't work and why, which will be important as the series moves forward. The first time travel adventure in the series will be the aptly titled Book V: A Hero Before His Time. Believe it or not, I actually did a lot of solid research on various time travel theories to see if the plot could actually work out to my satisfaction. Reading that is, not ... traveling. There were a few really good theories that I had to mentally plug scenarios into to see if they worked. Hence the no sleeping. But I am satisfied this morning with the results. And yes, I know how time travel works in Nod, and, as a prerequisite, I also know how time itself works in Nod. Which, incidentally, is also how time works in the Nightfire universe, which will also have at least one time travel story at some point. Not nearly as much as Nod though. Nod will use time travel fairly extensively.

I've also made tremendous headway on the second edition of my 2007 novel Metrognomes: The Shaman's Apprentice. I've been trying to get this book re-issued for bout five years now, and it remains the only one of my works not available in a modern e-book format, and the only one of my novels never released in hardback. This shall be remedied when the new edition hits the virtual shelves on March 1. I'm still doing some touch-ups, but it is basically ready to go. Hopefully today or tomorrow I'll be ready to let it go. This new edition is really beautiful! Molly's brilliant illustrations have never looked better.

Writing-wise, I haven't done much else. I did do a little bit of work on an outline for a short story that's been on again/off again for years. I think I may have worked out the problems this time, but it's not a major focus just yet. The story is called "A Life of Its Own." It's a zombie story set in the Nightfire universe in the 1920s.

As for my strange ailments, I am hesitant to say anything, for fear of alarming anyone, especially since I feel better this morning, for the most part. But I hate it when people hint at a story and then refuse to tell it. So, I've been having some sort of heart arrhythmia, which in itself isn't a new thing. I've had episodes before, but this time it just hasn't let up for a week or so, and it's getting worse, even painful, and it really drains my energy when it gets going. Usually starts when I sit down at the computer to work, but today it hasn't yet.

In addition to that, I've had a couple of days when my legs just randomly stopped working properly. They felt as though I'd been doing an intense leg workout for hours, which I hadn't been, and I couldn't stand up just with my legs. I had to use my arms, and then my legs were so stiff I had a hard time walking. When the first leg incident hit, I self-medicated, and the pain abated so that I could walk and stand up normally again. The second day of leg trouble, which was several days later, I just worked through it and tried not to panic or self-medicate. No idea what's causing these things or if the two symptoms are related. I'm the sort who tends to wait things out, like an idiot, but I'm planning to go to the doctor on Monday if I don't drop dead before then.

Of course, being me, I think I'll be fine, but there is a fairly wise reason to be concerned. While my father is in his sixties, and my paternal grandfather lived into his seventies, Clark men tend not to live past their forties. My great-grandfather, Orie Clark Sr., had a fatal heart-attack at forty-two, his father, Emmet Clark, had a fatal heart-attack at forty-six, his father, William Clark, died at forty-two (I don't know the cause), and his father, Benjamin Clark, Jr., died at forty-eight (of course, he died in the American Civil War from either being stabbed or shot, so it's not like he just dropped dead like the rest of them.) And if one looks past Benjamin Jr's father, whose name should be obvious (and who himself lived to be eighty), there is a string of ancestors who died in their twenties, thirties, and forties (forty-two being all-too common in this particular genealogical narrative), with a few dying in their early to mid fifties. Of course, we're talking about centuries past, when dying in your fifties was considered a fair lifetime, so maybe some of the data from so far back is irrelevant. But just from 1885 to 1950, the average Clark man lived forty-three years and dropped dead, just like that. So, while I'm pretty sure this will pass, and I will be fine, I really probably should be thinking about this genetic heart defect that may have been bred out, or, for all I know, may have simply skipped a couple of generations. Of course, my dad's brothers are still alive and well (aside from the one who dropped dead at fifty-one), and I have two cousins my age who have yet to drop dead, but we aren't forty-two yet, though we are closing in on it, so it might be time to get a thorough examination. Just to be sure. It's the 21st century after all. If I did inherit a genetic heart defect, what killed my forebears in centuries past might well be preventable if I get to a doctor before my biological battery gives out.

Meanwhile, I need to get back to polishing up the new edition of Metrognomes: The Shaman's Apprentice. You know, before I drop dead.

And just so we're clear, I plan to live well past 140 ... probably as some sort of awesome cyborg.

Life goals.