Commencing soon

Now that I've had a chance to let the aftereffects of the mental combustion settle down, my mind is working yet again and am able to focus on getting ideas put to paper and maybe get somewhere with beginning the writing. As stated in previous entries, my focus for the bad guys this time around will be organized religion and the main bad guy is about as radical as they come in any form. Most people usually associate radical with Islamic ties, but it comes in as many forms as there are religions in the world.

Cool moves, bro.

Christianity, the majority religion of the world with an estimated 2.2 billion followers is by far one of the ones that deserves more scrutiny than it is given. With 2.2 billion people following this religion, you can be assured that there are many radical elements within the ranks, ranging from mild ones such as Harold Camping who has predicted several "raptures", and nothing ever happened. Man has since passed, but his main followers did some questionable things during and after his passing.

This woman, as seen in the video, tried to avoid the rapture by attempting to kill herself and kids. When you have people like this in the world, you can assured other, more extreme versions of this belief exist. And that is why I chose it as the main subject for my book, because religion can be an evil and very devastating entity when left unchecked. As noted in the entry examining the problem of religion that began this entire thought, Ezekiel is being used a basis for the main bad guy, a protege of a very infamous historical figure in Jim Jones. Many within the Christian religion distance themselves from Jones, and with good reason: the man was a complete nutjob. But it's not a matter of distance themselves from him, or replying with the usual "He doesn't represent the entire faith" argument, it's the fact that people like him exist within the ranks of organized religion and that is my focus, not the religion as a whole. I've had people ask me why can't I use another religion for the bad guys, thinking that I am demonizing the Christian faith by doing this, but that would be playing into the hands of the world by viewing all other religions as the "fake" ones, or the "evil" ones, when Christianity itself is not devoid of these. Plus, it makes a much more interesting story when the enemy for a book, movie, or what have you, comes from within, instead of outside. Adding that layer of suspense and unknown to a piece of art makes it all the more enticing. 

With Jim Jones being a catalyst for setting the events of the book into motion, it only makes sense to indulge a bit into the other half of the equation: That of Travi Gladius's father, Nathan Gladius. Since part of the book will take place in the past, around the time of the infamous event in Jonestown, Guiyana. November 18th, 1979, presumably a couple hours after the event occurs. Using a historical figure or event and bending it somewhat to the story has been commonplace in some movies, books, and games especially (see Call of Duty: Black Ops II), this presents a perfect opportunity to use the same here and use the death of Jim Jones to catapult the main bad guy into his hatred for the unbelievers of the world, and none more than Nathan Gladius. Fast forward to the present, Ezekiel's hatred is for just about anyone who will not bow a knee, but none more than the Gladius family. This creates a new paradigm that can be an interesting plot point, making the struggle for the main character that much more intense. 

Indeed it is. 

As the story progresses, the fate of the world will hang in the balance and this will shift a lot of power around toward people looking for salvation from the very things being wrought on them by the ones who are supposed to shepherd them. In this, the role of the agency becomes critical as the main characters will literally be in a race against time before all life is extinguished by the "Breath of God". Placing this much emphasis on how destructive all of this can be, it shows that good souls can be found in all walks of life, not just inside the walls of a church, or within the confines of faith or religion. With the opening paragraphs, backgrounds will be established and it'll turn ugly in a hurry. With the first chapter, what history will call the "DC Panic" will occur, and it should set the tone for a very engrossing read. I hope that people will enjoy reading it as much as I will writing it. I haven't been this excited in a long while to begin a new project. 

YAY!

That's all for now, more later once I actually put some words to paper. Adieu for now.