Daniel Thompson's Blog

Here is a teaser for The Great Apocalypse that didn’t make it to the Amazon sales page:

The Great Apocalypse (Alternate Teaser)

He was supposed to be dead. 

The original story was clear. His rebellion ended in disgrace centuries ago. His faded memory survived as a warning to those who dare speak against man’s most cherished institutions.

Preachers frightened their congregations with this tale of fiery destruction. Parents retold the story to convince their children to be good little boys and girls.

He was one of history’s greatest bogeymen. His stories echoed in every world in new combinations of fact and fiction while artists tried to depict his special brand of evil in a variety of imaginative ways.

Finally, he is prompted to step out of the shadows by the latest retelling of this old story. An apocalyptic religion uses a cartoon parody of his life to convince young children to obey in exchange for a promised earthly paradise, while hinting that eternal destruction is the only alternative. 

The worlds of mankind shudder as the structure of their civilizations begins to collapse around them. They come face to face with the personification of their collective nightmares, unaware that he is the only one standing between them and something even more terrifying.

The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch is mentioned several times in the first book of the Sparlock Trilogy. This work of art is a triptych. It is painted on a set of connected panels that can be displayed either open or closed. The outer panels depict a somber greenish-gray scene. A flat earth, covered with vegetation, is enveloped by a transparent sphere. It appears to depict the third creative day from Genesis.

Exterior Panels of The Garden of Earthly Delights

The interior panels are very different. The left panel shows God presenting Eve to Adam in the Garden of Eden. The larger middle panel is filled with an abundance of nude figures, plants, and animals in a garden setting. The right panel depicts a hellscape, complete with a variety of torments associated with damnation.

Interior Panels of The Garden of Earthly Delights

Back in 2008, I was invited to compose a piece for a bassoon concert in Angoulême, France. Each piece would be based on a painting by Hieronymus Bosch. I chose the outer panels of The Garden of Earthly Delights and composed a short trio for bassoon, cello and piano. Here is a video with a computerized rendition of that piece.

Impressions on a Painting by Bosch

This painting made an impression on me during the years that followed. When I was doing research for my novel The Great Apocalypse, I noticed that the painting matched some of the themes I was trying to develop. It didn’t take long before I found a way to include it in the story.

This scene was partially inspired by a job I once had building barbed wire fences in South Dakota. It was a bit of an adventure. One time, a tractor pinned me against a fence. Fortunately, it was a bitterly cold day, and I was wearing so many layers that I didn’t get hurt. Another worker struggled to back the tractor up a slippery slope far enough to allow me to escape from between the tractor and the barbed wires.

This section originally appeared between chapters fifty-one and fifty-two of The Great Apocalypse:

Las Vegas Search Warrant

A group of four federal agents in an SUV drove down the gravel road leading to the site of Koen Ramsey’s bonfire. They came to a newly installed barbed wire fence with two armed guards. The federal government had decided to serve this search warrant in the normal manner, with a strict adherence to traditional protocol. What wasn’t traditional was the massive presence of armed personnel in the vicinity who were standing by to deal with any resistance or unexpected contingencies.

The presence of armed guards at the entrance was a concern, but they were smiling and appeared to be in a jovial mood. The driver opened his window while one of the guards approached. The driver said, “We’re here to serve a search warrant.”

The guard said, “We know. We’ve been expecting you. The lawyers inside told us to extend you every courtesy. Would you like us to call a van to transport you to the main building? It’ll save your nice shiny vehicle from getting dusty.”

“No. Thank you. We’ll drive ourselves.”

“Well, at least let us come with you. We’d be happy to keep you safe. There’s rattlers and cattle out there. And you might need someone to open and close the gates.”

“That won’t be necessary. We’ll be fine, but would you mind opening that gate for us?” The gate wasn’t solid. It was a simple modification of the barbed wire fence itself. The wires from one side of the fence continued across the gravel road. However, instead of being directly connected to the post that marked the next section of fence, the wires terminated at a freely moving post that was connected to the solid post by a set of wire loops.

“Sure thing, but you might want to watch how I open the gate because there’s a few more down the way. City folks sometimes have trouble with them. I don’t know why. They’re about as complicated as falling out of a tree.”

The guard sauntered slowly to the fence and demonstrated the process as though he were talking to a preschooler. “First, you grab hold of this post here and apply some pressure. Then you can pull off this loop of wire like this.” He performed the motions slowly in order to avoid confusion. “Don’t forget to pull the post out of the loop near the ground. Now that the end of the gate is free, carefully swing it in a wide arc away from your vehicle. You don’t want the wires to get tangled.”

The agents drove through the open gate. They didn’t stop to watch the guard repeat the demonstration in reverse.

After a few minutes, they came to another gate. The driver asked, “Who feels up to the challenge?” The agent behind him jumped out. It should be simple, he thought. Then he noticed two video cameras mounted on fence posts on both sides of the gate.

He grabbed the free post and applied some pressure, but the wire loop refused to loosen enough to allow him to pull it off. The wires seemed to be strung as tight as guitar strings. He pushed as hard as he could with one hand while he tried to remove the wire loop with the other. Eventually, it let loose. He was pleased with his accomplishment, even though the barbed wire snagged his pants. He swung the post in a wide arc, as suggested.

The SUV drove through. Another agent jumped out to help him put the gate back. There was too much riding on the operation to allow unnecessary delays. The two agents discovered that opening a gate of this design was easier than closing it in about the same way that letting a cat out of a bag was easier than putting it back in.

A few cattle were watching the spectacle with curiosity. It wouldn’t do to let the cattle out. For all they knew, those video cameras might be broadcasting their actions online. A third agent, growing impatient, came out to help them. They told him to go back and look for some rope. All he could find were some jumper cables. They used one to tie the gate shut and kept the other in reserve.

The next gate was even tighter. However, the strength of two agents plus a third using a wrench as a pry bar was enough to open it without delay. The remaining jumper cable was used to close it again.

Their system worked just as well on the final gate, with the exception that one of the agents had to use his tie in lieu of jumper cables.

Finally, they came to the parking lot that was used for Koen Ramsey’s party. They parked and walked down the crushed gravel path to the familiar white building. Four lawyers came outside. Three of them were holding video cameras. The lawyer with two free hands greeted the agents before they were able to say why they were there. “Welcome. May I see the search warrant? It’s just a formality. I’m sure everything is in order.”

One of the agents handed him the warrant.

“I’ll have to spend some time reviewing this. I’m a lawyer; that’s how I earn my keep. However, we won’t stand in your way if you want to get started.”

Here is another scene that was deleted from The Great Apocalypse. One of my editors suggested that it distracted from from the main plot and didn’t add any essential information that wasn’t mentioned elsewhere. I agreed, but it was still hard to get rid of it. This scene played out vividly in my imagination, but the needs of the story must come first. This originally appeared between chapters forty-nine and fifty.

The American Embassy in Cairo

A man in tattered clothes appeared in front of the gate at the American embassy in Cairo. Painful-looking burns covered his skin. “Let me in. I’m an American!”

He had no identification and refused to divulge his name. Instead, he recited a phone number and a codeword from memory. He confidently told the staff that they only had to make the phone call to receive official instructions about what to do with him.

The man requested a first aid kit and went into the restroom to tend to his wounds. One of the staff tried to assist, but he was curtly asked to leave.

The embassy made the call, provided the codeword, and answered questions about the man’s medical condition. Five minutes later, they received official instructions to transport the man to the airport without delay.

He was on a private jet within fifty minutes of first appearing at the embassy. There was a doctor on board to examine him. The doctor said, “This man is dehydrated and has serious burns. He should be taken to a hospital immediately.”

The agent in charge asked, “Is his life in immediate danger?”

“I don’t think so,” the doctor said.

“In that case, we’ll be taking off as soon as possible. You’ll just have to tend to him as well as you can.” The agent left abruptly to speak to the pilot.

The doctor was confused and upset. His patient said, “It’s okay, Doc. This will be nothing compared to what I’ve already been through. I just want to go home. I’d rather not spend another minute in this country.”

I decided to post some of the the scenes I cut from The Great Apocalypse. You might not want to read these until you have already read the novel.

I don’t know if these will be meaningful to anybody but me. I worked hard to remove unnecessary distractions in the story. That led to some painful decisions to cut scenes that I enjoyed, but didn’t really add any critical information that wasn’t already found elsewhere. The decision to cut these was made easier by the thought that I could still post them to the blog. This scene originally took place between chapters forty-four and forty-five.

Surveillance in Nevada

The sun had set on the Nevada desert. Two men armed with rifles and night vision goggles crept through a gully and then slithered on their bellies like serpents to the top of a small hill. Although dressed in desert camouflage, they took the added precaution of arranging piles of brush to help them blend into the landscape.

The hill overlooked a barbed wire fence and a small group of sleeping cows on the other side. In the distance sat a white concrete building. The lights were on, and an occasional shadowy figure walked past a window. Their mission was simply to observe, report, and be prepared for whatever orders might come their way.

The two men knew that something big was going on, but were unaware of the full scope of the massive operation evolving around them. Other two-man groups were being deployed at strategic locations. Unmanned drones were already in the air, and several teams trained to deal with chemical, biological, or radiological threats were put on alert.

The President himself was being briefed regularly on the progress of the operation.

Meanwhile, the cows continued to sleep, completely oblivious to the eyes in the sky and the men watching over them. The temperature had already dropped below freezing. The two men braced themselves for a long, cold night.

I plan on releasing the first book of the Sparlock of the Multiverse Trilogy in July. Feel free to subscribe to this blog to receive updates.

For many years, I have been fascinated by the Mysterium Cosmographicum. I mentioned it in the first Sparlock novel.

Johannes Kepler thought he discovered God’s plan for the cosmos. Kepler suggested that the distances between the six planets known at the time could be represented by arranging the five Platonic solids within six spheres.

He could never get his model to fully agree with observation. However he eventually discovered three laws of planetary motion that do accurately describe the motions of the planets.

See also this Wikipedia article about the Mysterium Cosmographicum.

A Jehovah’s Witness and an apostate grew tired of arguing and tried to resolve their disagreements over a game of chess.

The Jehovah’s Witness insisted on being white, the color of purity. He went first.

After a few moves, the Jehovah’s Witness said, “I object to you having rooks on your side. Those rooks are obviously Watchtowers. Watchtowers belong to Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

The apostate could only agree. He didn’t protest when the Jehovah’s Witness removed his rooks from the board.

The apostate thought for a moment and said, “It seems to me that you shouldn’t have bishops on your side. You claim not to have a clergy class. Besides, a good Jehovah’s Witness would want to remove such symbols of false religion immediately.”

The Jehovah’s Witness cheerfully agreed. He removed his bishops from the board.

As the game progressed, a few minor pieces on both sides were taken.

The Jehovah’s Witness had a thought. He asked, “Well, then, what do the bishops represent on your side?”

The apostate responded, “We apostates aren’t obsessed with symbolism and classes like you Jehovah’s Witnesses. We apostates celebrate our diversity, our different skills and approaches for getting the job done. Some of us are religious, and some of us aren’t. Yet, we try to respect our differences. My pieces simply represent apostates with a variety of viewpoints. Except for the Watchtowers, of course, which you have already pointed out don’t belong to us. Speaking of symbolism, I’m having trouble deciding what your knights represent.”

The Jehovah’s Witness was taken aback and stammered for a few moments. He finally said, “The knights represent the brothers who take menial jobs, like janitorial work. Many of them work at ‘night,’ so they have more time to advance Kingdom interests during the day.”

The apostate responded, “Your analogy is weak and poorly researched. Knight and night aren’t even the same word. However, I realize that weak analogies are a custom among Jehovah’s Witnesses, so I’ll allow it. Still, a minor point needs to be corrected. The men you mentioned aren’t gallant knights, but mere pawns of a publishing empire. Don’t worry, I’ll fix that for you.”

The apostate removed the two white knights and replaced them with two white pawns that he captured earlier.

“Oh no you don’t!” cried the Jehovah’s Witness while he restored his knights to the board. “Some of those knights are elders! They take the lead in the congregation. They aren’t mere pawns as you suggest.”

“You make an interesting point,” replied the apostate. “You have reminded me of the fact that only men are allowed positions of authority in your religion. It seems that something should be done about your Queen. She is currently the most powerful piece on the board. You know that would never be allowed in one of your Kingdom Halls. I suggest that she be demoted to a pawn. Do you agree?”

The Jehovah’s Witness nodded his head reluctantly and made the substitution. Then, his face lit up with a silly grin. “You apostates are a proud group. You don’t have the humility to let others tell you what to do. You insist on thinking independently. You refuse to act like pawns, so your pawns should be removed from the board.”

The Jehovah’s Witness violently swept all the black pawns from the board and shouted in triumph.

The apostate sounded tired and defeated. “You’re right. You caught me off guard. I feel like you have penetrated my defenses. I guess I will accept your Watchtowers.”

The apostate sadly removed the white rooks from the board.

“What now?” asked the Jehovah’s Witness.

The apostate tried to explain. “I have agreed to accept your Watchtowers. You do offer them for free to the public, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, but we don’t just give them out indiscriminately. You have to agree to look at them.”

“Sure, I’ll look at them, although I’m not sure how that will do any good.”

“I don’t know,” the Jehovah’s Witness said. “It doesn’t seem right somehow.”

The apostate replied, “I know you used to charge for your Watchtowers, but you switched to the voluntary donation arrangement to avoid paying sales taxes. You wouldn’t want the revenue of your publishing company to be taxed, would you?”

“No, of course not!”

“Okay, I’ll keep the Watchtowers then. It’s funny that, as an apostate, I probably spend more time reading your magazines than you do. I recall that a recent issue reinforced the belief that your King, Jesus Christ, arrived invisibly in 1914. It seems to me that you should remove your King from the board. The fact that I can see him contradicts one of your most important doctrines.”

The Jehovah’s Witness complied by hiding the king in the chess box. He shouted, “Ha! You have been caught in your own cunning! Now that my King is invisible, you will never be able to put him into checkmate. You have no hope of ever winning!”

“I think you misunderstood my intentions. I never expected you to admit defeat. I merely wanted to demonstrate that I have the stronger position. If you study the board honestly, you will eventually come to the same conclusion. If not, that’s not my concern. As long as you insist on having an invisible king, you may as well have an invisible opponent. I will take my leave.”

The Jehovah’s Witness was left with just a few pawns and two knights that traveled in crooked paths and jumped over obstacles rather than confront them directly.

Something was wrong, and he wasn’t quite sure what it was. Then he realized his mistake. He had allowed an apostate to confuse him with twisted reasonings. His queen didn’t represent a presumptuous sister who had to be put in her place. The queen was the organization. The queen was “Mother.”

He reached over and reverently restored his queen to her rightful place. He had been thinking too hard. Mother would tell him which moves he should make. In any case, victory was certain. The invisible king would come sometime soon to sweep all the enemies from the board. He only had to wait a little while longer.

A nice video about certain multiverse theories:

Here is the text, in case you would prefer to read it:

From the journal of Thomas Adams:

Of all the images, it’s the simplest one I find the most disturbing. I’m staring at a large garbage bin drawn on the wall of a patient’s room. The lid is slightly open, and two glowing eyes peer from within. Delicate shading produces the illusion that the bin has escaped the cold grasp of the plaster surface. I’m not sure how he accomplished that effect with just black and gray crayons.

I have been studying the drawings on the walls of the psychiatric hospital since yesterday. They are mostly apocalyptic in nature, carefully framed by blocks of coded text. Fantastic beasts from the book of Daniel are displayed prominently in a peculiar style. They resemble artwork from propaganda posters and literature of certain nineteenth-century end time sects, but the garbage bin is different. I can’t figure out how it relates to the other symbols.

I’ve made some progress interpreting the clues and the few lines of text that the government has been able to decrypt, but his motivation continues to mystify me.

Why would a billionaire ignore his vast empire of brick, mortar, and steel to make a final statement on the walls of a psychiatric hospital with colored markers, crayons, and finger paints?

I’ve recently become obsessed with the idea that the picture of the garbage bin isn’t a mysterious symbol or elaborate puzzle. It might be just a perverse joke, cruel in its simplicity. Earlier today, I saw a satellite image of a large metal bin in the middle of a scorched hole in the Nevada desert.

Could Lauren be in that bin? Were her eyes staring at me all this time, pleading for help? Was the former inhabitant of this room mocking me from beyond the grave?

I need to convince the Feds to search that bin.

It might not be easy, but I think I can persuade them if I build a solid case first.

It’s difficult to concentrate when I’m overwhelmed by thoughts of Lauren in peril, but I must try. I look around the room for other clues and focus on a picture of a bear, one of the beasts from the book of Daniel. The rest of the creatures were drawn elsewhere. This is the only one drawn in his room. It’s bigger than the others and appears above his dresser, where you would normally expect a mirror.

I’m beginning to suspect that the bear is a self-portrait painted in the language of symbols.

This new insight shatters my earlier misconceptions. I had tunnel vision. He left some of his clues in the open for the whole world to see. I literally walked right past one the size of a small mountain without noticing its meaning.

My head starts to spin as I finally begin to understand the writing on the wall.

His symbols point to a real empire that collapsed suddenly, while hinting that he was responsible. I wonder if he really believed that or was simply being metaphorical. He has already crippled the economy and triggered an international crisis. Was he also capable of toppling empires?

He might have been suffering from a mad delusion, but I need to take the threat seriously. The evidence suggests that he has set something in motion.

I can barely keep up with my thoughts as I make fresh connections and look at old information in a new light. I think I finally know who the second witness is. My mind contemplates a terrifying hypothesis while I reluctantly perform the simple arithmetic that confirms it.

I believe I now have a time and a place for an event that could shake the foundations of civilization.

At least the Feds and I can narrow our search for Lauren in the two days that remain before the world is scheduled to end.