Legatus Legionis: Book Two in the Gaius Claudius Scaevola Trilogy (45 page)

This novel gives my answer to how a Roman could prove the heliocentric theory. Some may wonder why I did that, as it may seem a distraction. Part of the reason will become clear in the third book of the trilogy, but part of the reason for the trilogy as a whole is also to illustrate the scientific process. This is something that is not altogether understood by most, and I hope the reader finds it of interest. In particular, I wanted to give an impression of what happens when a really fundamental problem is solved in an unexpected way. The result is that in an instant that is quite overwhelming, a number of seemingly unrelated facts suddenly come together, like the picture of a jigsaw that self-assembles, and he or she who sees this suddenly sees a part of nature that was previously hidden. What is also unusual about this feeling is that it probably applies even if the discovery is wrong! The feeling comes from so many unrelated things suddenly becoming understandable, and is almost certainly restricted to science, and to only a few scientists.

I have written other novels. For more information, please visit my website
http://www.ianmiller.co.nz
. I also have a scientific blog at
http://my.rsc.org/blogs/84
and I have discussed and will continue to discuss some of the scientific issues raised in my novels. I also have a more general blog
http://ianmillerblog.wordpress.com
that discusses some of the other issues raised in these novels, such as governance, socioeconomics, etc, in a more general way, and also some of the current scientific issues in what I hope is a generally accessible way to anyone without detailed scientific knowledge but with an interest.

My previous novels form what I call a future history. Each are intended to stand alone, although books in the
First Contact
trilogy are probably better read in sequence. The other books are:

1. Puppeteer
   Set in 2030, it deals with a faltering government that arose through excess debt, terrorism and the energy crisis. The background is based on one interpretation of what will happen when oil becomes excessively expensive, and we have not become prepared.
   
2. Troubles
   Set in 2050, an anarchic society is coming out of the energy crisis, thanks to the invention of fusion power. At the same time, I try to show how one invention can lead to a whole lot of extra technologies.
   
3. Red Gold
   Set in 2070, it covers the colonization of Mars, fraud, and when a scientific discovery is made that makes Mars viable, I introduce one of my theories in what I hope is a reader-friendly way. It also shows the start of corporatization that will be a feature of following books.
   
4. A Face on Cydonia
   The first of the
   First Contact
   trilogy, it describes how evil has entered an entrenched corporate society, how some independent but poorer people try to oppose the corporate overlords and how a disparate party set out to prove this rock has nothing to do with aliens, but instead each discovers exactly what they do not want.
   
5. Dreams Defiled
   shows how all their ambitions come to nothing.
   
6. Jonathon Munros
   The conclusion of the trilogy, where Jonathon Munro achieves immortality.
   
7. Athene's Prophecy
   is the first book in the Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy. in which Scaevola is sent on a quest to save civilization far into the future.
   

I hope I have been entertaining, but I also hope that I have given readers something to think about.