An Interview with THE WROUSSARA TRILOGY Author

Wroussara (pronounced: roo-saw-rah) - We Who Are One

Introduction:

The Owner of the Crystal Cauldron Web site is an ardent fan of the Wroussara Trilogy science fiction novel in three volumes, by Timothy M. Thompson. She was fascinated by Volume One and interviewed the author to delve into the background and some of the meaning in this new novel about life among space aliens. The following interview was conducted by e-mails. It is presented here in its entirely, by permission.

Crystal Cauldron:

I was extremely impressed with the Wroussara Trilogy, Volume One. It was a real "page turner" and I felt like I was "there" with the characters because your descriptions are so imaginative and clear. It is very engaging, interesting, and brilliant! What was your purpose in writing this wonderful story?

Author:

I have always enjoyed scifi and have been curious to explore what an encounter with space aliens might be like if it was more realistic, more like the way we encounter other creatures in our natural world.

How is it possible for humans and animals to "communicate" when they have no linguistic abilities and we have limited understanding of how they communicate with each other? It is as if there is an undiscovered level of understanding at work. I extended this curiosity to aliens from outer space and avoided the usual scifi cliches. I considered:

• How would the two species communicate if there was no "mechanism" to facilitate it (i.e. the aliens have been monitoring TV broadcasts, or they have a "universal translator")

• What if these alien beings know nothing of human culture and social norms? What would they think of us?

• Does having a higher intelligence or an advanced technology result in being kindly and benevolent? Are these characteristics even a function of intelligence?

• How would an average human explain human social norms and culture to the aliens?

• How would an average human respond to alien cultural norms that are entirely different from anything experienced or expected?

• Why do we assume that an intelligent species from another planet would make use of radio, or mechanical technology? If their life evolved very differently from our own, wouldn't their methods and developments be equally different?

I use this different approach in the novel, more like what we experience in real life among natural creatures here on Earth, when encountering an extraterrestrial alien species that has no concept of who or what we really are.

In dramatic writing, one popular style is to place the protagonist in an unknown environment and explore how he/she adapts to it. I used this in the Wroussara Trilogy. I place the "hero", Paul, in an alien environment with all these considerations and then follow his adaptation to it.

Crystal Cauldron:

The main character, Paul, is wonderful. I really liked him and felt tremendous empathy for him. He's an excellent character! Tell me more about him .

Author:

Paul, as the central character of the book, is designed to provide the reader with a number of "hooks", things they can identify with so they can have empathy for him and his situation.

Dramatically, he is a reluctant "hero" on the "hero's quest". He has "greatness thrust upon him" by accident. He has to deal with it, and therein lies the tale.

We learn in the Volume One that he was abused as a child, so severely that as an adult he sufferers from PTSD -- post traumatic stress disorder. As a result, he is almost a "mechanical man"; he goes through the motions of life without being emotionally engaged in his life. He lives alone and has only a few close friends. Even when early on in the book, he receives counseling; it is a tough road for him to follow to find relief.

He feels alienated in his own world. It allows for an ironic twist that when he meets the Wroussara, space aliens, and travels with them to their planet where HE is the alien, he finds the sense of acceptance and companionship that eluded him among his own kind. But, he is not used to such treatment, and has to learn to adapt. How he does it is cause for curiosity, wonder, and some amusement.

Crystal Cauldron:

Although many of the characters in your book are space aliens, there is a human villain, Rev. Ebediah Dickensen. He really got under my skin and stirred my emotions. He is so wicked! How did you come up with such a strong character?

Author:

The Rev. Ebediah Dickensen is a fictional conglomeration of all that I believe is wrong with religious abuse and fanaticism, regardless of faith. I deliberately spell his name incorrectly so people have a better understanding that this character IS fictional, and not a thinly veiled image of a real person.

This man, like Paul's father, is a real bully; he has a charismatic preaching style that lures people in and grabs their loyalty to the point that members of his congregation do not use common sense and even lose sight of their own humanity and compassion. His abuses cause great harm to many in the small town where Paul lives as a child. This comes to a climax when Rev. Dickensen leads a rabid mob of parishioners to attack young Paul for a misconstrued offense, and then so manipulates the legal process that he makes Paul into the criminal, when the reverend himself is the actual criminal of a dangerous act of arson.

We learn about this at the end of Volume One. It certainly helps explain Paul's feelings of alienation in his own world!

Crystal Cauldron:

Why didn't you have the kindly Wroussara space aliens come to Paul's rescue?

Author:

That would be too convenient… too much of a "Deus Ex Machina".

(Interviewer's note: "Deus Ex Machina" is a literary device from the ancient Greek plays, where something unexpected, implausible, and fantastic is used to resolve a complex plot issue.)

We learn about Paul's horrendous childhood experiences through flashback and revelation AFTER he has met the Wroussara. His psychic wounds have not healed yet, but thanks to the Wroussara, he now has a chance to heal and become whole. How and why they manage to help him is naturally integral to the plot and Paul's journey of self discovery.

Crystal Cauldron:

I love the Wroussara space aliens and felt empathy for them. They are a fascinating species, being tall, bipedal, and insectoid, yet are remarkably kindly and compassionate. This is such a refreshing change from the usual scifi space alien approach. Why did you make them this way?

Author:

Some people have a revulsion of insects, which is called "Entomophobia" in Psychology. "Space bugs" have been around in scifi for years, almost always in destructive roles because to many, they are terrifying. It makes for thrills and horror, but by now is very cliche.

I wanted to try out the "flip side" of that approach.

I chose the Wroussaran's shape and species so I could use them as unexpectedly interesting characters. I did soften them a bit to make them more approachable. They are frightening in some ways to look at, yet compelling and attractive in others.

I was also interested in exploring the insect mentality, especially the hive mentality and how that relates to human society and culture. The Wroussara are a gestalt society, like the hive, and they have shared thought and interest. They have no concept of difference. Since they do not know difference, they do not know prejudice, which gives them the distinct advantage of an open mind.

But, what is the cost of a gestalt mind set? What happens when everyone is exactly the same and thinks the same? What happens to their culture and development? In the case of the Wroussara, it means a quality of life that is so bland it is almost mind numbingly dull. Paul brings them the gift of difference, hence their interest and attraction to him, and they give him an unexpected sense of acceptance and belonging in return.

Crystal Cauldron:

Would you please tell my readers what makes Paul feel so alienated on Earth?

Author:

Late in Volume One, after much angst about the situation, Paul reveals himself to be a homosexual -- one of the main reasons he is so alienated on Earth.

Unfortunately some human societies condemn homosexuality for a variety of reasons, many of which are completely irrational and harmful. This alienates people, diminishes them, and is a source of terrible prejudice and human suffering. The problem on Earth for Paul is that even though there are many LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual) support groups available, they don't "work" for him very well, no matter how hard they try.

The LGBT groups that Paul meets in his college years are definitely a social step forward. They strive to achieve the very important aspect of equality under the law, and they try to help him come to an acceptance of himself. However, he does not fit in well with the LGBT groups he meets in his college years because his childhood traumas are so great that he remains a "loner". He is able to find love in these years, but his relationships all fail.

His solution to his trauma and relationship failures is to withdraw from life emotionally while trying to be the best person he can be, keeping his sexual orientation a secret, to do what is expected of him, and hope he can find some measure of happiness and satisfaction from life in the process. He lives a life of "quiet desperation". He becomes emotionally numb. Until he meets the Wroussara.

Paul assumes that the Wroussara are just like many humans; that they would be revolted if they knew he was homosexual, a "gay", and he spends much of his time among them "in the closet", trying desperately to keep his secret from them, compelled by his human experience and fears. What he discovers when he finally does "come out" to them is completely unexpected and has amazing results for all concerned.

Crystal Cauldron:

I loved the character of Diane, who we meet in Volume One of the Wroussara Trilogy. She is a great friend. But there are other fascinating women in the Trilogy. Tell me more about them.

Author:

Although Paul is gay, he likes and enjoys women as friends and confidants. In Volume One, we meet some wonderful female friends who are noble, compassionate, caring and intelligent, with whom he has a strong relationship of mutual respect and admiration. The relationships are, of course, platonic, but also very rewarding. These women are a source of much needed compassion and understanding in his life.

A powerful new female character appears in Volume Two and more appear in Volume Three. This adds new perspective and interest.

Crystal Cauldron:

A lot of science fiction is about advanced technology. But you present a fascinating twist with the science that is used in the Wroussara Trilogy. Tell me more about that.

Author:

In the Wroussara Trilogy the science I focus on is Psychology, not Technology. So we explore emotions, the role of the unconscious, the importance of dreams, the power of imagination, intuition, and even psychic ability.

We also go to a where mechanical technology is absent and bio-technology is the norm. The Wroussara do not build space ships, they grow them! They have a wonder substance, Tarran, which can cure any disease. They can easily map and understand any DNA matrix. They have the ability to alter themselves and other life forms genetically if necessary. They have a bio-neural Internet instead of computers. They have a telekinetic ability that allows their Star Hoppers -- living space ships -- to travel at many times the speed of light. The book discusses these in detail.

Crystal Cauldron :

I found the Wroussara Trilogy very refreshing because it avoids some of the traditional scifi "props" and introduces some new science principles. Please tell me more about that.

Author:

There are no "ray guns", lasers, "phasers" or any of that stuff. In fact, weapons are almost non-existent. There are no "transporters" or computers as we understand and imagine them, and there are no prolonged epic battles of space ships and space alien armies locked in a struggle of "good versus evil". In the Wroussara Trilogy, the lines of good and evil are rather blurred, as they are in the natural world.

Even though the Wroussara are bio-technology based, they aren't the slobbering, sloppy, "goop" dripping creatures we often see in science fiction where aliens use a bio-technology. Many insects are very clean, curious and precise creatures. So it is with the Wroussara. They are as "neat and clean" as machines. Their organization of natural materials is as remarkably geometric and precise as the nests of the paper wasp and the honeycomb of the bee.

There are space ships; of course, we have to have space ships! And one of the Wroussaran Star Hoppers, living spaceships that look like gigantic viruses, pulls a remarkable surprise on everyone.

Crystal Cauldron:

You said that the lines of good and evil are blurred. But aren't the Scaradin, the arch enemies of the Wroussara, evil villains?

Author:

The Scaradin are a competing species. This does not make them necessarily evil. They are indifferent, arrogant, and cruel by nature. Their cruelty towards Paul, their torture of him has, for them, a very specific reason and goal. This doesn't make it right, but then, the Scaradin torture each other and live by an insane moral code. Paul's initial interaction with these aliens is through a Scaradin High Priest named Bash-Tu. He's a very intelligent alien, has psychic ability, and is just about as nasty as they come. He is clever, but not a fanatic. He has a goal and mission that he must achieve, and this is what motivates him.

There is reason why the Scaradin are as twisted as they are, much of which is revealed in Volume One, and elaborated in Volumes Two and Three. Theirs is actually a very tragic history.

They are also a dramatic foil for the Wroussara. They seem to lack all the qualities that the Wroussara possess, while having some inherent qualities that the Wroussara lack. This makes for interesting juxtapositions, and it is a puzzle that Paul, as part of his journey of discovery, must solve.

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