Thoughts on Milieu in Science Fiction (Or, creating a pocket universe in just a few short days) By Lawrence “Ace” Parlier

A friend and I were recently discussing our latest works. He was preparing for the release of his brilliant new graphic novel while I was still wading through edits for the release of my latest novel, Voided.

He regaled me with tales of heroes taking place millennia before the events of the story he was publishing but bore direct impact. I was jealously impressed with the depth and scope of detail he imbued in his world.

I had spent a great deal of time building my own milieu for Voided. The bulk of it, by necessity, was in creating the Union as it was at its apex and how the war with the Aratani was dragging it to ruin. I had written a history of the Union as a guideline and profiles for a few
ancient races that may or may not be pulling strings behind the scenes.

But, unlike my learned friend, I didn’t have an entire pantheon of heroes, races, and Gods with exploits still echoing through time.

It made me feel dreadfully lazy.

World-building can be a daunting task. For me it’s not so much the creation of worlds and species but in contemplating the effects of their actions or how a species’ evolution figures into its societal makeup and its relationship with its citizens and neighbors.

It is entirely possible to cause permanent brain damage trying to contain the events of an entire galaxy in one’s devolving mortal brain. But it can be fun to try.

My friend seems to be handling it extremely well.
It taught me a valuable lesson, though. I can do better.

As I ponder the follow-up to Voided, I am preparing to do a deep dive into Nena’s galaxy and fathom how we arrived at the foundering mess at the end of the book.

The fate of the galaxy is at stake.

Written by Lawrence “Ace” Parlier