Category: Contemporary Fiction

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Exploring Gliese 667Cc: A Perfect Destination for Humanity’s Future and the Setting of Sea of Lies

Nestled in the Scorpio constellation, approximately 23.6 light-years from Earth, Gliese 667Cc is an exoplanet that has captured the imagination of astronomers and science fiction enthusiasts alike. Discovered in 2011 by the European Southern Observatory, this super-Earth orbits within the habitable zone of its parent star, Gliese 667C, a red dwarf in a triple-star system. With its potential for liquid water, stable climate, and unique characteristics, Gliese 667Cc stands out as an ideal candidate for a generation ship’s destination and a prime subject for terraforming. Let’s dive into why this distant world could be humanity’s next home—and what its skies might look like for future residents.

By ESO/L. Calçada – ESO, CC BY 4.0

A Prime Destination for a Generation Ship

A generation ship, designed to carry humans across vast interstellar distances over centuries, requires a destination that offers the promise of habitability. Gliese 667Cc fits the bill perfectly. With a mass about 3.8 times that of Earth, it’s classified as a super-Earth, suggesting a solid surface capable of supporting human infrastructure. Its orbital period is a mere 28.1 Earth days, meaning it orbits close to its star—but Gliese 667C is a cool red dwarf, with a surface temperature of around 3,400 Kelvin, much lower than our Sun’s 5,500 Kelvin. This places Gliese 667Cc in the habitable zone, where temperatures could allow for liquid water—a key ingredient for life as we know it.

The planet’s proximity to its star also means it’s likely tidally locked, with one side perpetually facing the star and the other in eternal darkness. While this might sound challenging, the terminator zone—the region between day and night—could provide a stable, temperate environment for human settlement. For a generation ship, this offers a clear target: a planet where the “twilight zone” could be engineered for human survival. Moreover, the relatively short distance of 23.6 light-years makes Gliese 667Cc an achievable target for a multi-generational journey, especially with advancements in propulsion technology like nuclear fusion or solar sails. A generation ship arriving at Gliese 667Cc would find a world ripe for the next step: terraforming.

Terraforming Gliese 667Cc: Building a New Earth

Terraforming—the process of transforming a planet to make it Earth-like—would be a monumental but feasible task on Gliese 667Cc. The planet’s mass suggests it has a stronger gravitational pull than Earth’s, around 1.1 to 1.3g, which is manageable for humans with some adaptation. Its potential to retain a thick atmosphere is a significant advantage. If Gliese 667Cc currently has a thin or toxic atmosphere (common for exoplanets around red dwarfs), we could introduce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide or methane to trap heat and create a stable climate. Over time, photosynthetic organisms or bioengineered algae could convert these gases into oxygen, building a breathable atmosphere.

Water is another critical factor, and Gliese 667Cc’s position in the habitable zone makes liquid water a strong possibility. If the planet has frozen water reserves, melting them through orbital mirrors or nuclear heat could create oceans. The tidal locking presents an opportunity: the dayside could be used to evaporate water, while the nightside’s cold temperatures could facilitate precipitation, creating a water cycle. The terminator zone, with its moderate temperatures, would be the ideal place to establish human colonies, where crops could be grown under controlled conditions, leveraging the planet’s 28-day “year” to maximize agricultural output.

Gliese 667Cc’s parent star emits most of its light in the infrared spectrum, which could be harnessed for energy. Solar panels optimized for infrared light could power terraforming efforts, while the star’s low luminosity reduces the risk of harmful UV radiation. Additionally, the planet’s location in a triple-star system offers backup energy sources—Gliese 667A and B, the other two stars, could provide additional light and heat, especially during their closest approaches. Terraforming Gliese 667Cc would transform it into a new Earth, with sprawling oceans, breathable air, and a stable climate—ready for humanity to call home.

A Sky Like No Other

For residents of a terraformed Gliese 667Cc, the sky would be a breathtaking spectacle, unlike anything seen on Earth. The planet’s primary star, Gliese 667C, is a red dwarf, so its light would cast a deep crimson hue across the landscape. During the “day” in the terminator zone, the sky might appear a soft, rosy pink, with the red dwarf hanging low and large—about three times the apparent size of the Sun in Earth’s sky—due to the planet’s close orbit. This dim, reddish light would create an otherworldly ambiance, with long shadows and a perpetual twilight glow.

The presence of Gliese 667A and B, the other two stars in the system, would add to the spectacle. These stars, a pair of orange dwarfs, orbit each other and are more distant from Gliese 667Cc, but they would still be visible as bright points of light in the sky. At their closest approach, they might shine as brilliantly as Venus does from Earth, their orange light contrasting with the red glow of Gliese 667C. At night, in the darkside regions, the sky would be a deep black, punctuated by the faint glow of distant stars and the occasional shimmer of auroras if the planet develops a magnetic field during terraforming. The interplay of light from three stars would make every day and night a visual masterpiece, a constant reminder of the planet’s unique place in the cosmos.

The Setting of Sea of Lies: A World of Wonder and Intrigue

Gliese 667Cc isn’t just a scientific marvel—it’s the stunning backdrop for the upcoming science fiction novel Sea of Lies. Set on this terraformed exoplanet, renamed Gliese in the story, the book follows Bard Lao as he navigates a society descended from a generation ship, now controlled by the Soul AI. The crimson skies, the terminator zone’s twilight beauty, and the looming presence of three stars set the stage for a tale of love, betrayal, and machiavellian maneuvering. As Lao uncovers secrets about Presidium’s eugenic foundations and embarks on a perilous mission to Savage Earth, the hauntingly beautiful landscape of Gliese 667Cc mirrors the tension and wonder of his journey. Don’t miss Sea of Lies—pre-order your copy today and get ready to explore a world where the skies are as captivating as the story itself!

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Book 3: Catallaxis!

Today is the big day. The final installment of the Eupocalypse trilogy is available on Amazon (Kindle and paperback) as well as Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, and as a PDF.

For me as an author, this is a big milestone. This series of thriller/visionary novels has been in progress for three years. Its depiction of the transformation of the world has paralleled the destruction (due to disabling illnesses and adverse professional-practice conditions) and the rebuilding of my own life overseas during the same time period.

In that time, I’ve had a chance to re-sharpen my writing and editing skills and rediscover and reprioritize my life and values. I thank all the readers and authors who’ve helped me along the way and who’ve trusted their work to my editing skills.

Some of you have urged me to keep writing in the Eupocalypse world, but the ctenophores aren’t summoning me back just yet. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? Whatever it is, this trilogy has been a voyage of discovery for me. I humbly extend my hope that it may be the same for you as a reader.

–Peri

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Spotlight on AFRICOM Bases

The African bases featured in the latest book of the Eupocalypse series, Catallaxis, releasing January 31, are largely hidden from the public eye and the awareness of the US taxpayers who finance them.

A recent investigation by the Intercept, based on documents obtained from U.S. Africa Command via the Freedom of Information Act, revealed a network of 34 bases heavily clustered in the north and west of that continent as well as in the Horn of Africa. AFRICOM’s “strategic posture” consists of larger “enduring” outposts, including two forward operating sites (FOSes), 12 cooperative security locations (CSLs), and 20 more austere sites known as contingency locations (CLs).

For the full article quoted above, check: https://consortiumnews.com/2019/01/16/bases-bases-everywhere-except-in-pentagons-report/

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Catallaxis: Almost Ready!

I am so excited I can’t contain myself! I just finished the final readthrough of the final draft of the final book in the Eupocalypse trilogy! There’s cover set-up and all the housekeeping chores that have to be done to get the book into your hands…or onto your electronic device!

It’s a bittersweet moment for an author to let the story stand on its own and toddle off into the world. But how else can I share the excitement?

 

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SciFi Magpie’s Take on the Eupocalypse

The insightful and quirky blog of sci-fi writer/editor Michelle Brown, SciFi Magpie, made mention of the Eupocalypse series this week. It’s a rare honor for an editor to step out and highlight one of her clients’ work in her own valuable blog real estate, so on that count I am grateful. But on another level, her post is very insightful about the reasons we read (an write) post-apocalyptic fiction

SciFi Magpie Screen Shot 2018-11-27 at 15.12.37
Sci-Fi Magpie

and what gifts we take from it.

Give it a read:

https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/2018/11/bad-broken-and-seed-of-hope-how-dark.html

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Excerpt From: Peri Dwyer Worrell. “Watch It Burn” (Eupocalypse, #2), Chapter 36

Bad things happen

when you’re a brave adventurer looking for risk in a cruel world. Such things happen to wealthy girls in country-club neighborhoods and to poor girls who grow up in the slums. Sometimes you never see the guy again (other times he winds up nominated to the Supreme Court)…

“Once she was lying down in the dark, the ghosts of her past that Mother Laura had summoned came back to haunt her. She remembered her first love; she fifteen and eager to dispose of her virginity, Dennis a worldly-wise (or so it seemed) sixteen, and more than willing to help. They used to find little niches like this one in the unmowed corners of the parks, around the backs of alleys they’d slip their supple teenaged bodies through chain-link fence to get into, or (her favorite) on a blanket on the roof of his apartment building, the sun in its blazing heat bringing out the contrast of his brown skin with her pale whiteness.
One day, he lay on one elbow after they’d made love, stroking her sleek, firm adolescent body, and said, “One day, we’ll be married and have a daughter. She’ll have café-au-lait skin and eyes as green as yours.” D.D. smiled now, remembering.
Then she remembered Yvonne, Dennis’s mother, who had figured out their oh-so-transparent lies and gumshoed them up onto the roof. D.D. in her bra, picking up her shirt to pull it on, turning and coming face to face with Yvonne’s furious demand that they come downstairs right now!
Delaying it, dressing slowly and apprehensively, dragging their feet down twenty-four flights, to find Yvonne and D.D.’s parents embedded in the living room. Yvonne shrieking into her face words like whore and slut and aren’t you ashamed? D.D.’s mother and father silently taking in the cruelty, speechless and unsure how to react, Dennis posed rigidly, expressionless, a stone, not looking at her or taking her hand, underneath the Eldridge Cleaver poster on the wall.
No, I am not ashamed. I will never be ashamed. And I am never coming back.
Her parents still sitting, still impassive, on Yvonne’s sofa. The door slamming behind her so satisfyingly, the doorman downstairs backing up a step when he saw her furious tear-streaked face. She didn’t remember walking home, but she would have stopped the tears and put on a street face, because crying white girl’s tears in the street of that neighborhood was like slinging a bucket of chum to sharks.

Getting to her walk-up tenement building somehow. Unlocking the first door, to the street, and Calvin coming up, the boy who had been eyeing her when she walked by the crowd of Puerto Rican and black boys who hung out on the next street—eyeing her but not saying anything crude or making kissing noises or hissing sounds, like some of them did. She’d smiled at him a few times before she met Dennis, and even wrote in her diary that he was cute, making a little heart instead of the dot over the “i” in his name.

Calvin was suddenly behind her in the entryway as she fitted her key in the second door and turned it, and then he was pressing her against the wall at the foot of the stairs, bigger and more solid than she’d thought, his mouth bruising hers and his chest squeezing the air out of her lungs. Laughing when she struggled to push him off her, covering her mouth with his again when she finally got enough breath to try to scream, his hands, his cock, his rancid smell, the pain, and too late, the sound of a door opening upstairs and another tenant clattering down the stairwell, five floors up.

He’d ghosted. She’d pulled up her shorts and run inside her family’s empty apartment before anyone could see her like that. She had cried herself to sleep, as she was crying now.

…And waking at the first light of dawn, shivering and wet with dew, with hands and face bloated with bug bites.”

 

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Africa is Where It’s At

Lauren Razavi’s amazing story on Medium about Rwanda highlights the incredible potential of Africa in the 21st century. In the second half of the Eupocalypse, the Horn of Africa is the focus for the flourishing catallaxy which emerges when the prop of petroleum and plastic is yanked out of the existing world order. Rwanda has done it in the real world, by opening to intellectual and economic exchange with Asia, and more importantly, by removing barriers to innovation and entrepreneurship. The importance of this step cannot be over-emphasized. Once humans are freed from swimming with the cinderblock of command and control, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.

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The South

There’s a reason the first chapter of Machine Sickness starts in the South. There’s a reason Deirdre Davis is a southerner. That wasn’t by chance, and it wasn’t solely because I chose to follow the classic writer’s advice to “write what you know.” I have lived in the southern USA for more of my life than anywhere else, but I was born in the West, grew up in New York City,  went to undergrad school in Chicago, got my Doctor of Chiropractic degree in Atlanta, and now I live in Mexico.

The shame and rage that Americans feel about the hypocrisy of a nation supposedly based on freedom that compromised that principle for political unity, is othered and alienated and transferred to the South. To read mainstream media, you would think that slavery, legally-mandated segregation, racial massacres, and lynching were isolated only in the South and performed only by Southerners, whereas the truth is that these abhorrent practices were common in the North even after slave importation was banned and even after the passage of the 13th Amendment. Reading mainstream media, you’d imagine that the people whom it is still okay to refer to by ethnic pejoratives like “redneck” and “hillbilly” (usually preceded by the word “ignorant”), were the ones responsible for slavery, when the “poor white trash” of the South were overwhelmingly not slave owners and some suffered from a job market depressed by slave labor. While the elite generals of the Union were wined and dined by plantation owners, the 1-percenters of their day, these people were scorned. The plagues of domestic violence, alcoholism, and learned economic helplessness descended through generations.

The historical awareness among Scots-Irish descendants of being on the losing side of the Civil War is exacerbated by the tradition of military honor and clan loyalty passed down from their gaelic-language-speaking ancestors of the British Isles. The sense of unfair play of small holders, sharecroppers, and agricultural workers, whose red necks came from exposing white skin to the Southern sun while growing the raw materials for Northern factories, yielded a coarse and sometimes grim sense of humor, so that DD remembers her mother saying she was “always one to call a spade a goddam shovel.”

In DD, you have a character somewhat like Detective Clarice Starling in the Hannibal Lecter stories. In one prison interview scene, Hannibal gets under Clarice’s skin by pointing out that she is only a couple of generations removed “from poor white trash.” DD is a brilliant scientist, a highly educated woman, but she will never completely shake the hypervigilance and pragmatism of her background; her family relationships reflect a modern alienation as well as epigenetic dysfunction; she doesn’t design or engineer, she tinkers. She’s acutely aware of physical threats to her safety in ways that people who’ve always felt safe are not, but what goes unstated is that she’s also aware of those who are superlatively safe and don’t feel like it.

Yet, the Eupocalypse is an opportunity to start over in a world where notions of class and wealth, risk and safety, are recalibrated. It’s a world where the materials of modern life are lost, but the ideas are not.

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Hear Her Breathing

Arundhati Roy.jpg

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Djibouti Heats Up!

According to The Hill, The United States has issued a formal warning to China after personnel at the Chinese military base in Djibouti used lasers to interfere with U.S. military aircraft, giving two pilots minor injuries, according to the Pentagon.

Top Defense Department spokeswoman Dana White told reporters Thursday that the U.S. is confident the Chinese are behind the “very serious incidents,” which have increased in the past few weeks.

What exactly happened: White said there have been “more than two [and] less than 10” such instances where the Chinese used a high-power laser to disrupt pilots. The incidents have happened in the past but they have picked up in the past few weeks.

How the U.S. has responded: White said that the U.S. has “formally demarched the Chinese government,” meaning Washington has given Beijing a strong warning. The US has also “requested that the Chinese investigate these incidents.”

The U.S. government has also warned airmen to be cautious when flying in certain areas in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa.

The Pentagon has about 4,000 personnel based at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa.