The Softwire - Background

Background

The Softwire details the fictional account of human orphans condemned to slavery in an alien world. Although completely comprehensible as a functioning civilization, this alien world has no similarity to anything on Earth.

The Softwire exists on two planes: simple, adventurous tales of a young boy discovering his purpose in life; and complex, compelling renditions of corruption and oppression, and their effect upon the human spirit. The overriding premise behind the series is the maturation of Johnny T as he struggles to overcome an abusive domination which pushes him to fulfill his destiny as a leader, and as a guardian. Positive themes which are explored include: compassion, perseverance, fear, family, kindness, cruelty, self-reliance and the power of positivism. A constant question posed is whether a person can retain his sense of ethics when consistently exposed to situations of desperate adversity.

Each book takes place on one of four, alien-constructed rings, which surround the XYZ wormhole. Each ring has a specific purpose toward the maintenance of Orbisian society: Orbis 1 is the seat of government; Orbis 2 is the industrial center which houses crystal refineries; Orbis 3 is the center of commerce for Citizens who control the rings; and Orbis 4 is the location of the service industries for the system. The XYZ wormhole is used by various creatures for commercial purposes: the selling of precious crystals mined from two nearby moons to civilizations throughout the galaxy.

The Citizens are individuals from varied alien races; they maintain control of Orbisian wealth through the Trading Council. Most are lazy and most have lost all compassion for lower classes on a societal scale. Newcomers flock to Orbis in search of a better life, agreeing to become indentured servants for the privilege. These newcomers are called Knudniks, and are treated as nothing more than property. Knudniks agree to serve one rotation of strictly enforced labor on each ring (roughly the equivalent of one Earth year), naively believing that they will automatically escape their inferior status and thus become wealthy and powerful in an Orbisian, "enlightened" world. However, they soon discover that greed and corruption govern their society.

Orbis is governed by highly respected Keepers, two-headed aliens of great wisdom and power. They are considerably kinder than the Citizens and do not abuse their power. The Keepers affirm the agreements formed after the War of Ten Thousand Rotations, and they patiently await a return of the Ancients. The Keepers revere the Ancients, and hope for their reappearance to restore the Rings to a former state of enlightenment, despite a fact that the Ancients have not been seen for sixty thousand rotations. Also highly respected are Nagools, bizarre, spiritual beings who protect the teachings of the Ancients.

Banished from Orbis are the Space Jumpers, the protectors of the Keepers and the Rings. These mysterious beings have been absent from Orbis for so long that they are almost legendary among the Orbisians. Space Jumpers are greatly feared by Citizens, for Space Jumpers have an ability to "jump" through Space and Time. It is this combination of mystique and close affiliation with the Keepers that has brought about their exile.

It is also into this alien world of tenuous governmental rule, upper class greed, lower class oppression, and hope for the return of enlightenment that an unassuming, thirteen-year-old, human boy suddenly enters and sets into motion a change. Johnny T is the fulcrum for the future of an entire civilization.