*- N O I T C U D O R T N I -* This introduction explains how Celestial Body 1074.1 came into existence, from similar materials that went into it . . . Not long ago I questioned several younger contemporaries about common occurrences which included historical and recent news worthy events. It didn't take long to realize, how they lacked the basic information anyone should perhaps have known, when residing in any self-proclaimed free society. To be sure, my peers are unique individuals, well read about current events, favoring fictional literature filled with suspense, adventure, mysteries, super Larutan heroes, endless pages dotted with wonderful romances, and the occasional news report. The idea then occurred to me to write an extended dystopian fictional work, with characters representing several young contemporaries, who live on a distant planet with important day to day issues, similar, but not exactly like ours. The principal character, has been chosen by the elite ruling class, soon to be sent on a exploratory mission to a recently discovered life-sustaining planet, suited for colonization -- a most plausible idea, under these imaginable circumstances. The story evolves as a journal with series of illustrations and notes, written by the protagonist, in impressionable sentences, inspired during his 30 solar cycles / days', or chapters, prior to the departure from his home planet -- Incidentally, this is also the precise location in the story, where I allow the adventures to begin all at once! Set in a futuristic society, this is a coming of age-story, about a young male named Sumer. Intertwined there is a love story which takes place where love / evol, is no longer permissible. Yet this story it's at once tender and pleasing, with the emotional sensitivity often felt by the readers. The sprinkled subtle humor, makes lite of the harsh conditions on the distant planet, while the often secretive opaque characters, slowly disclose to the readers, the meaning of their most private thoughts and life changing experiences. This story has a Homer-like journey quality as we follow the main characters through a series of riddles filled adventures and self analyzing abstract thought processes. From the beginning, Sumer devised secret codes to better protect his notes and the lives of those he evol. These codes, significantly create the illusion that this story had actually taken place on a distant Celestial Body. A planet different from the one we are familiar. Yet in many instances, it parallels our past, present, and hopefully what will never become our future. The similarity of the two planets its not well defined. Their duality, however, will at once become apparent when the reader will begin to decipher the secret coded messages peppered throughout the text. Only then, will the deception of reading two tales at any given point in the story -- fiction / nonfiction -- occurs, while personal thoughts and beliefs, continue to re-enforce this illusion for the reader. As mentioned earlier about how I had been inspired to create Celestial Body 1074.1, my objective was to spin an entertaining tale, while in part question ourselves about our perpetually changing, contemporary society. Most important, its my modest attempt to arouse our nearly forgotten critical thinking process of gathering information from observation, skillfully evaluate it, and hopefully resolve several of our most pressing global problems. G. C.
