Okal Rel Universe

The Okal Rel Universe (also referred to as the ORU) is the setting for a 10-novel series written by Lynda Williams.

Description

The universe is a future where the cultural and biological evolution of the human race has divided it into two societies: Gelacks [2] and Reetions [3]. Gelacks are dominated by the neo-feudal descendants of a long-ago bioengineering project that modified humans to tolerate reality skimming,^[1] a physically and mentally strenuous method of faster than light space travel. The Reetions are the descendants of unmodified humans whose social system depends upon transparency moderated by a form of artificial intelligence known as arbiters. Each race has advantages and handicaps, physical or cultural.

One of the dominant themes of the ORU is an exploration of how those two societies settle conflicts. In the first novel in the series The Courtesan Prince, Gelacks and Reetions are obliged to take official notice of each other for the first time in 200 years.

Okal Rel [4] is the belief system of the bio-engineered sub-species of humans called Sevolites, comes in a variety of sects, and is based on the sacredness of habitat as the stage on which souls are reborn. Most varieties link the prospects of re-birth to honorable behavior in life, as judged by other souls awaiting rebirth, and the availability of descendants.

Published works

The Saga

• The Courtesan Prince (2005) ISBN 1-894063-28-7
• Righteous Anger (2006) ISBN 978-1-894063-38-8
• Pretenders (2006) ISBN 978-1-894063-13-5
• Throne Price (2003) ISBN 1-894063-06-6
• Far Arena (2009) ISBN 978-1-894063-45-6

Okal Rel Legacy Series

• Encyclopedic Guide to the ORU (2009) ISBN 978-1894817431
• Horth in Killing Reach (2008) ISBN 978-1-894063-37-1
• Kath: An Okal Rel Universe Legacy Novella (2009) ISBN 978-1894817417
• Lorel Experiment, The: The story of Sevolite Origins (2009) ISBN 978-1-894817-39-4
• Mekan'stan: An Okal Rel Universe Legacy Novella (2009) ISBN 978-1894817370
• Opus 1: An Okal Rel Universe Legacy Anthology (2009) ISBN 978-1894817318
• Opus 2: An Okal Rel Universe Legacy Anthology (2009) ISBN 978-1894817332
• Opus 3: An Okal Rel Universe Legacy Anthology (2009) ISBN 978-1894817356

References

1. ^ Reality skimming (also known as rel-skimming) is the faster-than-light solution for space travel which underpins the economy and culture of the Okal Rel Universe. The mechanics and hazards are explained at a page on description of faster than light travel in the Okal Rel Universe over at The Okal Rel Universe website [1].

External links

• Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
• Okal Rel website