I started the story (-ies) I post here in 1983, when I was but seventeen years old. I had (what now seems) an ostentatious plan: craft tales that began by chronicling the adventures of four (4) high school juniors (I was one at the time). I would use quasi-autobiographical material as a starting point but thoroughly construct a whole fictional universe around them. In other words, live out a fantasy on paper, start a task with no real end in sight that would take forever.
Within two (2) years, my universe began drawing from fictional universes I enjoyed; it came to have no limits. Like the ancient Mediterranean Mythographers, I found I had brought an entire cosmos into being, similar to our own. I continually shaped it, nurtured it, and expanded it as needed. I call it “The Planeaux Paniverse.”
My initial inspiration sprang from Murray Leinster’s “Sidewise in Time.” Soon after I had read this gem, however, DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths as well as Alan Moore’s Watchmen and his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen exploded onto the scene. My Muses began to sing in chorus.
My tale focuses on teenage melodrama, is primarily character driven, but the plots reach far outside the realm of their high school. Their actions have consequences on what most adults would consider the real world. In short, it offers a realized importance to youths, who in our world mistakenly believe their lives, their drama are for more consequential to the larger world.
I continued to work, build upon, and re-write these tales as I grew older. My characters would grow older with me. At some point in the mid 80’s, I believe, I then decided to craft their end stories. Consequently, I paused and wrote the final tale (at least outlined it).
Thus, from that point forward, I could add to this universe as my own world progressed knowing I had an endgame. I could then, if I desired, start over at some future date and re-tell the story from different points-of-view. For example, I might write a new tale that left the teenage world I created behind and chronicle again the now established historical events in my fictional universe from the “adult” side.
These stories would not only offer a series of tales I crafted over twenty or so years but also become an insight into the author by revealing my shifting views, reflecting my changing life, proffering my altering values as well as demonstrate the growth I experienced. I would do this while illustrating the growth of my characters from their experiences.
For the most part, I continued this labor until I got married and had kids. It all then stayed buried until I unearthed the box recently in my attic, having sold the house to my Ex. I have, unfortunately, lost half of the material – most of it ancillary: individual character biographies & my sketches of them; oodles of labor – very sad –but most of the actual writings I have retained. Yay me.
Who knows, maybe someone somewhere found my sketches and may stumble across this blog and return them to me (and maybe monkeys will fly out of my arse humming Hail to the Chief too). I do know, however, exactly when and where I lost them: 1990 or 1991 in the Nora area of Indianapolis, Indiana.
Back to the point, the core premise of this tale is my own, but I do not claim that all of the individual story ideas stem entirely from my own imagination.
My creation has become a very complex multifaceted crystal. I started with the experiences in my own life, added the history of this world, altering various details, and then I added the history and events of fictional worlds from all mediums in existence. Then, like Greek and Roman Tragedians, I also liberally borrowed plot ideas, character personalities, situations, and even chunks of dialogue from a plethora of sources, re-crafting their essence into my fictional universe.
In sum, I took historical events and biographies; I incorporated them into my Paniverse. I then took movies, TV shows, novels, comic books, et al and incorporated them into my Paniverse. I might also see something I particularly liked from any of the above and incorporate specific aspects (like a scene or a bit of dialogue, a plot point). Like a good term paper, however, I diligently cite my sources and give credit where credit is due.
My justification is simple: plagiarism is the HIGHEST form of flattery. Everyone today has at one point or another imagined themselves being a superhero (e.g. what I would do if I were Superman) or placed themselves inside a movie (sort of like Last Action Hero or to a lesser degree Pleasantville) or wished they were present at some historical event (like throughout Forest Gump). Well, I do it all here.
Therefore, I must proffer the legal mumbo-jumbo first, since I do not want sued six ways to Sunday (is that phrase copyrighted as well?): my stories reference two main genres: history and fiction. I refer to historical personalities and others’ fictional characters as well as actual historical events and others’ works of fiction. I treat them all as “real.” In addition, I make changes to all of them. I am, I think, writing an overly nuanced (and new?) form: fan fiction from a parallel universe.
My Paniverse co-exists with a myriad of the real and well-established fictional universes. I do not, however, use anyone’s personality as if it were my own. For example, while I may refer to Carl Sagan, and he is (essentially) the Carl Sagan you know, his life story unfolded quite differently in my Paniverse. In addition, I might also call attention to James Bond as if he was a real person, and you can assume the essentials of the stories you read (or saw on screen) actually took place in my universe. You will not, however, see me use James Bond in my stories.
That said, the art of incorporating these universes into my Paniverse is in fact my own creation. Therefore, any references should not be considered the ideas of the originators or an endorsement of me or my work by them. I have simply created a universe that treats what they created as real and having actually taken place side-by-side with each other -- like the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – as well as the “real” world you know, but where events have not quite unfolded as our history dictates. My behemoth has become substantially more complex.
Lastly, with respect to my own fictional characters, any resemblance to otherwise known or unknown real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Well, okay, I tried to write that last part with a straight face.
As I have repeatedly said, I use my own life as a starting point, so of course my friends and acquaintances make appearances. Whole characters are modeled from them. I hope simply they find it all flattering.
I therefore expressly disclaim any liability for any consequences arising out of a mistaken belief that any of my stories are in fact real, that any living or dead actual person or fictional character depicted in the world I have created actually did anything like that in their worlds. No one should conclude anything I mention from a work of fiction becomes established canon in their worlds.
So, without further ado, I have decided to keep a promise I made to myself thirty years ago and publish these damn things.
While I have proof read and made minor corrections before posting, please remember, that these started with the imagination and from the hand of a seventeen year old boy long on ambition but short on experience (I mean, seriously, could I have constructed an accurate conversation of teenage girls?).
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