Creative Works

Explore updates on stories, serialized fiction, and projects here.

The World of the Deepline

Welcome to the Universe of the Deepline – a world that mirrors our own yet operates with strong alternate history elements, diverging significantly due to the pervasive influence of magic and power throughout its ages. Here, beneath the surface of familiar-seeming events, lies a reality shaped by Auracium, the Blessed, Adepts, and the enduring echoes of magically-fueled empires. This setting takes cues from the real world but is deliberately unrestricted by its specific historical path, allowing for the exploration of diverse ideas and themes with creative freedom.

Since the dawn of civilization, magic has been an intrinsic part of this world, its energy flowing from a unique, potent ore known as Auracium. This substance fueled the rise and fall of great empires throughout millennia.

In those ancient times, empires were often intrinsically linked to unique individuals known as the Blessed. Fated to live as long as the empire they embodied endured, the Blessed were living keystones of their civilization. From their potent bloodlines emerged the Adepts – formidable superhumans who formed the core of armies, drove expansion, and helped their empires flourish and conquer, shaping unique geopolitical landscapes. A key example of this divergence is the establishment of a formidable Viking Empire across parts of North America, bolstered by Adepts and Auracium craft, long before other European powers crossed the Atlantic. This fundamentally altered the continent's subsequent history.

Today, the great empires of antiquity and even such later powers are relics of the past, yet the presence of superhuman abilities is more widespread than ever before. The lineage of the Blessed and their Adepts has faded into legend, replaced by a different phenomenon. Over the last 250 years, increasing numbers of people have undergone a process of adaptation, spontaneously developing extraordinary powers. However, this transformation is rarely benign and often exacts a terrible personal cost.

The modern Deepline is a world fraught with moral complexity. Its societies are shaped not only by alternate political and technological paths but also by different spiritual landscapes. While some religions closely resemble those familiar from our world, entirely different faiths have risen in place of others we might recognize, adding unique dimensions to cultural identities, societal norms, and global conflicts. The potent forces of civilization, burgeoning capital, lingering imperial ambitions, and simple human greed frequently clash with – and often overwhelm – the intentions of well-meaning individuals who seek to use their newfound abilities for the betterment of the world. Power derived from Auracium or adaptation shapes society, but the pressures of society, in turn, shape how that power is used and perceived.

This rich setting provides a canvas for stories across the vast sweep of its unique history – from the Auracium-fueled legions of an alternate Ancient Rome and the political intrigue of Renaissance Europe, through different empires formed during the Age of Exploration, to the complex challenges of a superhuman-filled far future. The Deepline is fertile ground for exploring diverse themes and confronting the intricate relationship between power, progress, morality, and the enduring weight of its divergent history.

The Multiverse of Endless Runtime

Ever wondered "what if?" What if you'd made a different choice? What if history had zigged instead of zagged? In the universe of Endless Runtime, these aren't just idle questions – they are tangible realities, stacked side-by-side in a vast cosmic structure. Welcome to the conceptual heart of my stories. Endless Runtime isn't just one world; it's an infinite collection of timelines, each representing a different possibility, a different outcome of history, big or small.

Imagine these timelines aren't just branching wildly, but organized, almost like files in a massive, multi-dimensional cabinet, arranged in columns and rows. Think of moving down a column, or Downstream. Each timeline you encounter further down is slightly behind the one above it in terms of calendar time. It might be a few weeks, months, or even years in the past relative to the world directly "Upstream." History might be subtly different, but the further down you go, the more you're stepping back chronologically along a similar developmental path. Now, imagine moving across rows, to the left or right – moving Sideways. This takes you to timelines that are increasingly different from the one you started in, even if they exist at roughly the same point chronologically. These differences can be profound. History might have taken radically different turns. On one timeline, you might be reading this post exactly as you are now. A few columns over, a different version of you might exist – perhaps with a different background, gender, career, or even species, reflecting vastly different societal and historical developments. An Asian man in one stack could easily be an African American woman several columns away, each representing a valid outcome within the multiverse's possibilities.

How does anyone navigate this staggering reality? Enter Chronic, the mega-corporation that cracked the code of timeline travel. Chronic hasn't just discovered the existence of these parallel worlds; they've built the infrastructure to connect them. They are the architects and operators of a vast inter-timeline network facilitating trade, communication, and travel.

Thanks to Chronic, the borders between these realities are permeable. People can take vacations in worlds subtly different from their own, perhaps experiencing a slightly earlier era "Downstream." They can pursue job opportunities in timelines where their skills are needed, or different industries dominate. They import and export goods across realities, creating unique economic ecosystems. And sometimes, they encounter... themselves. Or versions of themselves, living entirely different lives.

The core idea behind Endless Runtime isn't just the technological marvel of timeline hopping. It's about using this extraordinary backdrop to explore something deeply human. By placing different cultures, histories, and versions of individuals side-by-side, we can throw their similarities and differences into sharp relief. What remains constant across timelines? What changes drastically? What does it mean to meet another version of yourself? How do these encounters force characters (and hopefully readers) to reflect on their own life choices, their paths taken and not taken? Seeing what could have been is a powerful mirror. How do societies interact when they know countless variations of themselves exist? Does it foster understanding, conflict, or something else entirely?

Endless Runtime is a playground for exploring identity, culture, history, and the countless threads of possibility that make up existence. It's a universe where the grand scale of the multiverse meets the intimate scale of personal reflection. I hope this gives you a clearer picture of the world(s) I'm building. I invite you to dive into the stories set within Endless Runtime and explore its infinite possibilities alongside the characters navigating its complexities.

Current Projects