I got a few questions.

[MASER]

Hey, I finished Dawn Of Destiny a few days ago and I must say that it was a well written book; great job on the art work too.

I've got a few questions about the DoD Universe. I hope I don't come off sounding like a jerk on my frist post. But after reading the book there where a lot of back story issues that seem to be missing.

What is "Earth's second era"? what happened switch from the first?

What happened to a the earth individual military units that EDEN had to be formed? I was expect to see more soldiers/sailers/airmen form the military units which I suspect were absorbed into EDEN. IT would be cool to see some EX- Special Ops typs (SEALs, DELTA, SAS, GSG9, Spetznaz) or even regular troops (Army, Navy, Marines, Airforce)

What's going on with EDEN's rank structure? Its gets a little confusing with all the Alapha, Beta, Gama groupings. What happened to calling people Corporals, Lance Corporals, Master Sergeants, Gunnery Sergeants and so on?

Thanks again:D

[Logan]

Welcome to the boards, Maser.

I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we all are thinking the same things as you. As it stands, I personally don't know the answer to any of those things. We can surmise and guesstimate, but until Lee puts it in the books we won't know.

Maybe he'll pop in and answer for you! Crazier things have happened!

Anyway, welcome aboard again. Always good to meet someone who likes the book as much as us.

[Lee Stephen]

Hi MASER, and welcome to the board. I'm glad you enjoyed DOD!

One of my big goals with Epic was to create not only a world, but a time period. The book 1984 was a great novel, but the year 1984 came and went without Big Brother. There was no HAL 9000 in the year 2001, and unless technology goes warp speed in the next two years, there won't be one in 2010 either. I wanted to avoid that, so I created my own time period: Old Era and New Era.

No one will ever know what OE and NE years align with calendar years as we know them. So far as I'm concerned, there's no equivalent. I took a lot of time to create a time period, by mixing not only present and future tech, but sticking past technology in there as well. Operatives are able to see in darkness using "True Color Vision," yet a small rotating fan still cools the office of General Hutchin. Cigarettes have gone extinct, being replaced with non-harmful metallic "sprigs," yet operatives still call their loved ones on telephones.

There's no need for you to know when the Army, Navy, and Air Force as we know them dissolved. It could have happened ten years before Dawn of Destiny, or two hundred. No amount of world history matters to the plot of Epic prior to the start of the Alien War. What matters is the here and now, in the imaginary time period that the book exists in - a mishmash of past, present, and future as we know it in the real world today. A time all its own.

The mystery of speculation is far more intriguing than any extent of world history I could create. Take for example the "Force" in Star Wars. It was an amazing realm that fascinated everyone...until George Lucas tried to explain it, and it lost all its magic. I don't want to make that mistake.

The same thing applies to the rank structure. I don't follow Army ranks, or Navy, or Air Force. I follow EDEN's, which is a ranking system all its own - one that shares rank titles with real world agencies of today, and also with rank titles that defy anything we currently have. I make no attempt to mimic anything that currently exists. In fact, I try my best to ignore it. What's important is that the rank structure in EDEN stays true to itself. Colonel Lilan and Major Tacker are higher ranks than Captain Clarke and Commander Baranov, because Lilan and Tacker are in command of a platoon - not a squad, as is the Fourteenth. It makes sense in the context of the Epic world, and that's all that matters.

So as you can see, I'm not a fan of unnecessary back story. So what is unnecessary? If I explain how global politics came to be, what happened to lead up to the present age, and what happened to all the agencies of yesteryear, yet it doesn't affect the fact that Scott Remington left behind his love to fight in a war...then that's what I would call unnecessary.

I'll tell you what you need to know to understand the story of Epic. Sometimes it will involve back story, because sometimes back story is very important (such as how the war began in the first place). But when it comes to minutiae for the sake of minutiae...that, I try to avoid. :)

Long explanation, but you asked a very good question! It's one I've wanted to answer for a while, and this gave me the perfect opportunity.

Thanks for joining the community!

[MASER]

Lee, Thank you for answering! The answer do make sence now that you explained it:) So the Epic Universe can be looked at sort of like a parallel Universe that takes place some time in the future.

I've been reading a lot of Military Science fiction where the authors use the the modern military as a base line. (ex. Starfist series, and the Legacy and Heritage Trilogies). I guess after I read that the story was going to take place on Earth, I was expecting to read something that have to do with a reminisces of the modern military.

The first book was still really good, and I do plan on reading the rest of the series. I just need to put myself in a diffrent mind set when reading them heheh:) Thank you again for answering my questions and for writing the book:)

[greenfire710]

I am only half thru the Outlaw Trigger but it also struck me that the EDEN forces are seriously undermanned. 14 men in a platoon, 3 platoon attack on the little Russian town. I understand Thoors orders were designed to kill the maximum number of EDEN troops to be replaced by NIGHTMEN. Where was their firesupport? Is there no artillery? Where is the heavy weapons platoon? The attack on the alien base in Siberia is a case in point.

Other questions are, after all the salvage from nine years of fighting, why is there no presence in space? There must have been lots of captured ships.

IF there are 10,000 men in Novosibirsk and all the other bases are more or less the same size. If there was a 100 bases then thats only a million men to guard the world. I wonder why the aliens dont set up a base on antartica well out of the reach of any bases except the one under construction in Australia. Assuming they would even need an earth base.

The aliens seem more like pirates than an organized invasion.

But really enjoy the books and cant wait for the 3rd. Is there a title for it yet?

[Logan]

Hey Greenfire, welcome to the board. I'll try to help.

First, the title of the next book is Hero.

The next questions I'll do my best to answer, but I am not Lee, so I'm not an authority. It's basically just summations I/we have made here on the forum (and on my own) about the way the world operates.

EDEN forces are seriously undermanned. 14 men in a platoon, 3 platoon attack on the little Russian town.

I don't believe that there is any set size for a platoon, and I also believe that the Fourteenth is considered a small platoon. Other units may be much larger. Not sure why the Fourteenth is so small.

Where was their firesupport? Is there no artillery? Where is the heavy weapons platoon? The attack on the alien base in Siberia is a case in point.

This I don't know about, and it's been talked about. I believe there is one main reason for limiting the use of artillery (ie: large explosions): Civilians. This isn't a war against humanity, its more like anti-terror. Imagine if a group of militants invaded Downtown Chicago. We couldn't bomb the city just to kill the terrorists. We'd have to tactically sweep it with soldiers. (there are arguments of course, but I'm speaking in broad generalities).

Also, regarding the heavy weapons platoons, I believe they make a mention about the Eighth being a primarily heavy-weapons group, so that's pretty much your anti-armor group. There are probably more.

Other questions are, after all the salvage from nine years of fighting, why is there no presence in space? There must have been lots of captured ships.

This one I have no idea about, and it's never been addressed. It also brings up a lot of interesting thoughts: are the aliens just ignoring our satellites? If not, how do we communicate at this point? Why would they ignore our technology right there where they can reach and we can't? Good question.

IF there are 10,000 men in Novosibirsk and all the other bases are more or less the same size. If there was a 100 bases then thats only a million men to guard the world. I wonder why the aliens dont set up a base on antartica well out of the reach of any bases except the one under construction in Australia. Assuming they would even need an earth base.

I'm not sure if it's ever been explained, but my assumption has been that there are still other military forces in the world beyond EDEN. I would think (again, just my belief) that each nation still maintains their own military at their discretion. Yes, they've reached world peace, but we're still talking about humanity here, and there's no way any nation would give up their entire armed-forces just because their neighbors promise to be good.

So I believe EDEN is more of an elite joint-military group, kind of like a powerful and properly run United Nations. When an alien group lands, it's probably facing local law enforcement first, then EDEN, who are equipped and ready at a moment's notice. I would think the National Guard (or the nation's equivalent) is mobilized as well, but takes longer. EDEN is like the strike team, the local military would be long-term work.

All just my beliefs/understanding. I could be completely wrong.

The aliens seem more like pirates than an organized invasion.

We've been talking about this too. They do seem rather unorganized, which presents interesting questions about their goals and motivations. It's partly why we're all so interested in the books. Remington and his friends are nice and all, but the world is wrapped in mystery and we're all looking forward to seeing it unfold.

Welcome again!