Date of Defense

5-18-2015

Date of Graduation

5-2015

Department

Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (to 2011)

First Advisor

Jonathan Bush

Second Advisor

Jane Baas

Abstract

The Decamillennia Series is a planned series of eight novels whose plots span across ten thousand years. Within the novels there is an over-arching theme on how individual lives have a far-reaching effect on the eternal, divine struggle of good versus evil. When entities labeled as “gods” let their war play out amongst mortals, what effect could that have on the outcome? Are there such things as “good” and “evil”? In the series, though the primordial forces of the universe— “good” (the Radiance) and “evil” (the Shade)—control the larger events and actions of the protagonists and literally fight for the fate of the galaxy, there is still freedom for the individuals caught up in the struggle to make their own choices in their every-day lives. These smaller actions seem inconsequential in comparison to the exploits of the omnipresent forces, yet in the end it is those small acts that change the course of the future.

To further explore the variability of “good” and “evil”, I created various alien races to showcase the diverse possibilities that can abound within alien politics, social structure, and physiology. While writing this series, I have had to examine and theorize what not only human society would look like but what alien species that evolved separately and, in some cases, opposite humanity would look like as well. This brought into question all theories of gender, sexuality, religion, language, and morality. This thesis explains in greater detail the Milky Way galaxy found ten thousand years in the future, long after humanity has been shown the truth about the existence of alien life and has taken its place amongst the stars. A map of the galaxy is provided to orient the reader to the home planets of the major alien races, along with a brief timeline of the major events that take place in the novels. The planets visited in the first novel, Teslanova (though the third novel chronologically) are listed and given descriptions about who they were populated or colonized by, and any distinctive characteristics the planet might have, such as specific exports or function within the galaxy.

To showcase the evolution and differences between 21st century English, human languages in 12,100 ACE, and alien languages in 12,100 ACE, comparisons between a selection of 21st century English words and the future human and alien languages are shown. Next, the major alien races seen in the novels are described, descriptions including appearance, reproduction methods, and any other physiology. Alien races with ties to major protagonists are given greater focus, descriptions including societal structure, armed forces, and religion. Schematics for the spaceship Zenyatta—a reoccurring vessel through out the novels—are included, detailing the outer views and interior levels while also providing a transverse cut of the spaceship. The crewmembers of Zenyatta are also described, due to the fact that the crew contains the major protagonists of all eight novels. Synopses of Teslanova and the other seven novels conclude the appendices.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Restricted

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