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The Grid 

 

The concept of this science fiction series of books has not been used before in sci fi literature. The Grid is a physical force based on the connectivity of distant matter recognised as a feature of quantum physics. 

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Take one camera obscura, an apparatus popularised as a form of entertainment during Victorian Times. One of these devices could sometimes be found high above a street, maybe in an attic room. From this hidden place, by the use of mirrors or lenses, people would pay to view the scenes of life passing by outside. 

 

Substitute the mirrors and lenses with equipment from a distant galaxy that can not only peer into the outside world but can see into its past. Hide this in a forest that is called 'Leofwin's Hundred'.

 

Add to this scenario, the capability of the equipment, by the warping of space-time, to shift the operators through the temporal dimension to any desired period of time, or to any place in the universe, along lines of force that hold the cosmos in equilibrium.

 

Call the lines of force 'The Grid,' and have the aliens still present in the area of forest called Leofwin's Hundred.

 

Introduce a team of men and women dedicated to the pursuit of justice, and others could be alien, could be human, who are evil and would stop at nothing to achieve their own ends.

 

Into this mix, inject uncertainty, mystery, timeless love and loyalty. 

 

 

 

 

Leofwin's Hundred

 

A 'Hundred' was a small part of a county in medieval England. Leofwin's Hundred was a part of the great Forest of Arden. Leofwin's Hundred lies near the village of Hampton in Arden, known in Anglo-Saxon times as Heanton in the Arden. Leofwin was an Anglo-Saxon earl in the novels of The Grid Saga. He lived at the time of Harold Godwinson, who was the king who died in the Battle of Hastings. Leofwin gave his name to the hundred that belonged to him.

 

 

 

 

SHaFT

 

Just what is SHaFT in The Grid Saga? Why does an internet search about the word Shaft only reveal a 1971 film or books to do with engineering or woodwork? 

 

There is a dictionary definition;

(shăft) n.

1. A long thin object or part, as:

a. The long narrow stem or body of a spear or arrow.

b. A spear or arrow.

c. The handle of any of various tools or implements.

d. One of two parallel poles between which an animal is harnessed to a vehicle.

e. A long, generally cylindrical bar that rotates and transmits power, as the drive shaft of an engine.

2. Zoology The main axis of a feather, especially its distal portion.

 

And there is a mention of a shaft of lightning.

But of SHaFT, written in a mix of caps and lower case there is no mention in the dictionary at all because this SHaFT exists on the outside edge of society. It is the SHock and Force Team for justice. It was formed by Sir Willoughby Pierpoint and Arthur Doughty his military colleague. It was their answer to the need for a clandestine force that would pursue justice in an unjust world.

 

SHaFT will go anywhere, at any time, to help the oppressed and those beaten into the ground. A phone call to Dump 4, at Kineton Base, near Edge Hill, in Warwickshire, UK is all it takes.

 

SHaFT's motto is Nos Successio Procul Totus Sumptus... 'We Succeed At All Costs'

J. J. Overton's science fiction series, The Grid Saga; SHaFT's coat of arms: motto, 'Nos Successio Procul Totus Sumptus'. 'We Succeed At All Costs'.

The House of the West Wind

 

The House of the West Wind was the name the Anglo-Saxons gave to the alien structure in the section of the Forest of Arden having the name Leofwin's Hundred. Due to the unique structure of the land around Hampton in Arden, the prevailing breeze always seems to have as its source the House of the West Wind. In later times the structure is called The Hub.

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