Leaving Earth Day...

Welcome to the PORTAL PAGE for “Moon Crater Adventures”, which has been a ‘novel’ idea, in development, for a little while now... With artist Rich Windass now on board for the ride, the dream is to write an interactive "game book" on the Internet using a blog engine... (if you want to read more of the origins of this sci-fi series, click here to go see some of my early thoughts over at my online journal.) - Chris G. Allan

NB All writing here is ©CGAllan 2007 to 2009
& all original artwork here
is ©Rich Windass 2008 to 2009

What is this place you awake into?

Click here to LAUNCH

ADVENTURE #1: "SIMULACRUM"

and begin YOUR story...

It was in the year 2288 that humankind first began to colonise its nearest neighbours. The exploration of the Earth's solar system was slow and had been intentionally delayed for over a century, but the depletion of vital fossil fuels and vital natural resources essential to the human way of life meant that it was suddenly necessary for humans to do something they had long forgotten,… to explore…

Leaving the comfort of their enforced isolation, the xenophobic human race limited themselves to the confines of their own solar system where they were confident that the nine indigenous planets were deserted. Fleets of mining colonists left Mother Earth and settled on each planet and many of their moons in a move to bring back the much-craved minerals.

It was not to be all "plain-sailing" in outer space, however. There are rogues and villains in this story too, and they are no less human either. Space renegades who did not agree with Earth’s policies, long banished from the planet’s surface and abandoned to the ravages of space, soon discovered a thirst for revenge and began to raid Earth's mining colonies throughout the solar system. The Ruling Caste of Earth could not allow such actions and so formed its own force to police the dark skies above the planet’s atmosphere. They were known as the Pioneer Patrol…

One hundred Pioneers set out from Earth and were stationed at strategic points throughout the system. After initial struggles, for a short blissful time, peace began to reign once more…

But then without warning the Total Eclipse occurred and everything turned to night. So you see, apart from all that I have recounted, I'm just as in the dark as YOU are out here…

(Information given to you by A.I.R. on Earth's recent history.)

©CGAllan, 2007 - Please note: The right of CGAllan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Forward to the Adventures!

"As means of an introduction to "Moon Crater Adventures" I'd like to say here that even though my chosen art form as a would-be author is the written word, one of my biggest influences is film. I work in a TV environment in my day job but have also grown up as a big fan of cinema. I think my writing very much reflects a “visual”/cinematic style, and certainly with these new Adventures, I intend to show space and the wonder of the unknown in colourful and amazing “visual” detail…

"But why sci-fi?" you may ask? Well, I personally think science fiction is a perfect genre to use for the visual style of writing I'm referring to. There’s so much scope for “strange new worlds” and the possibilities are endless (which is a neat'ish tie-in with the idea of these ongoing, 'branching' Adventures). I remember the only time I’ve ever gone to the “pictures” completely on my own, without any friends to share the experience with… A local arts cinema was running a short classic sci-fi season and a black and white film caught my eye in the listings – Things To Come (1936) from HGWells’s original novel. I wanted to see this landmark film so much (and most people I knew didn’t) that I took myself off to the cinema on my own and after the initial feeling of being conspicuous realised I wasn’t the only person by themselves. It was then that it dawned on me (not only was I a “sci-fi” geek but also…) that I had a passion for science fiction which I didn’t mind letting the world know about.

In fact, from an early addiction to films like Star Wars and TV shows like Star Trek, as well as countless cold nights out walking our family dogs as I grew up, I’ve been obsessed with watching the “stars” in the sky. On those walks, I’d often compete with my younger brother over who could spot the first ‘UFO’, and more often than not we’d soon spot a light as high as the stars themselves moving slowly and ominously from one side of the night sky to the other, fading and disappearing into the horizon. It was so disappointing when later, as an adult, I discovered they were most probably only a few of thousands of satellites orbiting the planet - but still the possibilities that they were alien craft from distant worlds coming to take a glance at Earth remained.

It’s this sense of youthful wonder and ignorant bliss at the vastness and possibilities of outer space which I’d like to inject into “Moon Crater Adventures”, while at the same time, trying to use believable science as a starting point (for me, learning something new while reading is always fun because it sends me off on a tangeant of research and discovery, reading wiki pages and looking up things in books I've never heard of before...) I’m not sure how long this series will take to write, indeed the first may last a long while in itself, but it has to be allowed to develop to its own end, to evolve and take on a life of its own as readers contribute along the way. But, above all considerations and plans for this series, I want readers, writers and everyone else involved to be able to have fun and enjoy the experience as the stories progress…



I mentioned at the outset of this ‘Forward’ that I’d like to adopt a “visual” style with my writing, but this will also be complemented (and most likely surpassed!) by illustrations of specific parts of the Adventures, and so I’m delighted to welcome on board for this project the gifted artist, Rich Windass. I thought going into this grand venture that I had all my ideas clear in my head but the process of collaborating with a fellow creative spirit is proving to be illuminating and Rich is bringing so much to the stories with his original sketches that the possibilities of where these Adventures could go are now endless…

They say teamwork makes the dream work and we’re co-piloting a set of stories, heading for the stars and won’t be looking back any time soon, so I hope you’ll be joining us from time to time to see where this creative journey leads us…”

Chris G. Allan

PS to create your own word collage like the one above follow this link & click"Create": http://wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/204822/MCAdvs

“My name is Richard Windass and I am currently employed as a Packaging Artworker at International Paint Ltd in Gateshead. I have known Chris for some years now and he’s often mentioned his passion for creative writing. When I heard he was writing "Moon Crater Adventures" I was intrigued, and wanted to know more. I jumped at the chance when Chris asked me to illustrate his work.

I have always had an interest in art and design and I’m thrilled at the prospect of bringing Chris’s thoughts and visions to life.

Science Fiction has always meant escapism to me. It’s a way to forget about the real world and indulge in fantastic adventures and dream of future possibilities and other worlds.

From an early age I have been a fan of all things Science Fiction. I remember being fascinated watching TV series such as Irwin Allen’s action packed Lost in Space and Land of the Giants and Gene Roddenberry’s classic Star Trek. My favourite authors are HGWells and Jules Verne. I admire them for being ahead of their time. Particularly memorable to me and novels I’ll always love are The Time Machine and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. My favourite films of this genre are the productions from the great directors George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg such as Star Wars, ET, Jurassic Park...

I look forward to working with Chris on this exciting venture and hope we boldly go where no story has gone before!”

Rich Windass

A flavour of the kind of action and themes to expect from "Moon Crater Adventures"...

"We choose to go to the Moon... and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win..." (recently released quote from Ruling Caste Sealed Archives of a bygone "World Leader" of Earth's splintered past)

NB This video has been shared with the public by NASA and remains their property. It is used here for non-profit purposes, to help recapture the imagination and spirit of lunar exploration for the next generation of space pioneers - CGAllan May '07.

We will soon have every technological tool at our disposal that we can imagine... and more... But what will we choose to do with them? Explore or stagnate? Expand or alienate? Excite or seal our own fate...?