Dylan West

List of Easter Eggs in Scribes’ Descent –Chrono Trigger: in Chapter 21 (The Voice), Boxer scratches his back against a rock wall and says, “Ah, this is the stuff! Secret scratching spot revealed.” I got this idea from my favorite video game of all time: Chrono Trigger  By scratching a Nu in one city in the… Continue reading Easter Eggs Hidden in Scribes’ Descent, Part 1

In the last of three articles on Radianism, I now go over its point system, funeral rites, and sayings, all of which tie together in unexpected ways. How Radians earn merit points: -1 point for every $1000 you give toward an authorized research project that leads to a verified discovery. 1 point for every $10,000… Continue reading Radian Point System, Funeral Rites, and Sayings

Last month, I listed popular Radian scripture passages. Now I’ll go into their unusual customs, which are captured by Radianism’s three pillars: 1. Read Reality Two every day. Families are to exhort each other by quoting passages that relate to the day’s activities. See the previous newsletter for more details on this one. 2. Make Scientific Advancements and measure them with a merit sum.… Continue reading 3 Pillars of Radianism

Let’s take a break from science to talk about culture. But don’t worry–science photobombs even this picture 🙂 On the back cover of Scribes’ Descent, you’ll find the line “People worship technology on Planet Daishon.” And the opening chapters are bulging with references to Radianism and its fanatical devotion to science. If you’ve ever wondered what that’s about,… Continue reading Why do people worship technology on Daishon?

Most of us learned about photosynthesis back in elementary school: plants take in sunlight and carbon dioxide, then make sugar and release oxygen. And if you were anything like me at that age, you promptly went outside and chewed on grass to see whether it really had sugar.  Actually, I already knew that from all my outdoor… Continue reading How Do Plants Grow Without Sunlight?

In chapter one of Scribes’ Descent, you’ll find this line: “The hum of vent fans and the whir of stepper motors blended into a sound she’d come to think of as her personal theme song.” The term stepper motor might seem like a term I made up for the Scribeverse, but it’s a common device in our world. Especially in… Continue reading What are Stepper Motors?

In Scribes’ Descent, after a quake hits Feldencourt, the ground splits open to expose a vast cave system 100 meters below the city.  Infrastructure damage from a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Anchorage, Alaska in 2018. Image credit: USGS. How did it go unnoticed for centuries prior when they had ground penetrating radar (GPR)? Klein explained it this way: “Nobody knew… Continue reading How the Cave System Below Feldencourt went Undiscovered

In Scribes’ Descent, most Imnans who refuse the neural implant opt for the holovisor instead. Think of a hologram projector glued to the forehead. That sounds futuristic, but you can buy hologram projectors today. I mean, we are in the year 2023, after all. Anyhow, holovisors do much more, boasting some pretty wild features. Saps, this is starting to sound like a commercial.… Continue reading Holovisor Features

Merry Christmas everyone! Let’s talk about nuclear fusion (tis’ the season to fuse atoms) About two weeks ago, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory confirmed it had finally achieved fusion ignition. Scientists hailed it as a major breakthrough. One we’d spent sixty years and billions of dollars to reach. But what is ignition, and what does this have to do with… Continue reading Nuclear fusion in the Scribeverse and in Ours

In Scribes’ Descent, Mallory descends a deep mine called the Bioprison. It’s encased in an indestructible black barrier stone that’s segmented by horizontal slabs into chambers. Doors in the slabs allow only a few to pass. Mallory is one of those privileged people. Well, privileged might be a stretch. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know why 🙂 And you may have wondered… Continue reading Why Mallory’s ears popped in the Bioprison