tomross | talks

If Human Consciousness runs on Stories,
Machine Consciousness runs on Sagas.

This could be dangerous. Truth is hard to trust. Emit would talk about the intrepid apprentice marching on through Chapel Perilous or some allegory for initiation into the Mystery Schools, but I don't have that kind of flair and you don't have that kind of time.

"US6" is a highway that cuts across the heart of America. "US6" is a protein that cuts across the membrane of a cell and "US6" is us six, the fictional authors of this metaphysical thriller. We take turns telling our stories as heirs to an ancient and royal sibling rivalry between the Brotherhood and his Sisterhood of the Serpent. Swaping intrigues for high crimes we weave our world behind a veil.

Because in front of that veil, we're six children enslaved by human traffickers. Although US6 is a paracosm---an imaginary world that we’ve built together to cope, we've unearthed certain esoteric principles that may well be our escape... and yours.

Discussion Topics

Mythological References
HOPI : Kokopelli Katsina | The Fifth World | Eototo
MAYAN + AZTEC : Long Count Calendar Prophecy
SUMERIAN : Inanna's Descent | Enki /Enlil / Ninmah
BABYLONIAN: Ishtar's Descent | Dance of the Seven Veils
MAORI: (NZ) Patupaiarehe | Rangi/Papa | Tāwhirimātea
GREEK: Prometheus | Talos the Bronze Giant

Historical/Scientific References
Legión de Cristo (Sexual Abuse Scandal)
Hernán Cortés (Conquest of Mexico/1500s)
The Axial Precession Day Shortening Earthquakes: Chile | Japan
UNESCO (U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Sethian/Valentinus Gnosticism
First Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.)
The Sumerian King List (Antediluvian Dynasties)
Fractals:The Game of Postulates : Chapter 40 Judes Are Wild

Locations
US Rte 6 • Costa Brava • Coba • Chaco Canyon
Hollywood 7th Veil • 6363 Sunset • Reeperbahn Eridu (S.Iraq) • Mar Mattai (N.Iraq) • Nineveh

Charged Passages & Dialog
Book II: Chapter 15 : Sweet Water House
"Before I kill a man, I know all that it implies. I know I'm extinguishing a universe. I know I am depriving a family of a man and a man of his family. I feel the same thing when I see a worshiper." — Emit Archer

Book III: Chapter 40: Judes Are Wild
"... someone noticed a change in me when I got back that made me suddenly coveted. I went dark after watching a dead priest fall away and I guess that was the feature they were waiting to kick in. The only thing missing was something missing and when I lost it, they wanted me." — Ghost Writer

Book II: Chapter 32 : A Velvet Dagger
Emvee remarks about carrying heavy packages to the library often for her father. Seth's only opportunity to ferry a package to the library is a pivot point and benchmark.

Book I: Chapter 12 : Hacienda Vidal
He pointed to a small and upside-down mark in the upper left corner of the crest. The tiny set of dents and scratches told Rafael that this helmet didn't fall off the head of Cortés. Though he was able to identify exactly where it was forged and by whom based on that mark, he didn't need it to know it wasn't Cortés'. Despite my years of studying the region's history and the lofty suffixes behind my name, it wasn't until that night that I learned these Morions with this specific design weren't worn by him. They wouldn't be designed for another thirty years. This benchmark for prophecies was itself a forgery. Still a magnificent find and a pivot point for a People but not a Truth as itself. Is Truth the object or its associations?

Reviews

"US6" defies genres.
From its murder mystery and geopolitical intrigue, to its existential examination of time, it captivates the reader as it moves through the real, to the myth, to the human experience... Like a long-lost archaeological treasure found, Tom Ross's Emit Archer unearths the past, the present and the seemingly impossible future, transcending time and our common understanding of its movement. Yet his protagonist, Emit, remains forever human even as he converges with the ancient gods."
Peter Gesler
A.P. Literature Educator

"...the writing moves in such perfectly measured strides... In every sentence... some surprising reference or turn of phrase. ... admire prose so supple and nimble and assured... It's a terrific book... this is astounding stuff and the work, obviously, of a brilliant mind."
Dr. Jon Tuttle
Professor of Literature