Key to Survival

Reference Appendix

"The Colors of ChroMagic"

What follows are the writer's notes that Piers Anthony used for reference for the ChroMagic series while writing the novels. This information is presented as is from his notes file.

COLORS OF THE VOLCANOES:

(these are apparent specialties; actually all Chroma can do all types of magic.)

White = science Green = plants Yellow = fire Invisible = air, illusion

Brown = earth, conjuring, golems

Translucent = water, mind reading; The sieges of emotion: Disgust Fear Rage Love Agape

Black = void, death

Red = blood, demonic, healing, ectoplasm

Silver = electrical

Blue = animals

Gray = immunity to magic, or nullifying it—anywhere, not limited to Gray zone

Purple = between Red and Blue Chroma as colors merge—demonic animals

Orange = conjuration: jumping from one spot to another, to any Orange zone

nonChroma = all area between Chroma zones

TYPES OF VOLCANOES:

Earth = Lava/rocks/dust, cools hardens, settles; ash

Fire = ignites surroundings, but ashes imbued with magic.

Water = steam/snow/water, carries colors via rivers to lakes

Air = explosive outdraft with color

Void = huge crater, bottomless hole. When active, sucks surroundings in, like a tornado. That's Black Chroma, really, but could be that it's not fixed and there can be otherChroma voids. All can be hot or cold, all deadly at close range, all magical

PREDATORS:

Fire = project microwave heat to cook from inside

Water = project liquefaction to dissolve innards

Earth = solidify innards so they can't function

Air = vaporize tissues without heat so body is inflated with gas

Void = innards disappear from center, feeding into maw

DEFENSES:

Fire = becomes too hot to handle or eat

Water = becomes liquid and flows out of clutches

Earth = becomes too heavy to carry or hold

Air = becomes diffuse and drifts away like mist

Void = conjures self away Dragon Seeds: buzz in ear when there is danger, or something amiss, or a lie being told

SEASONS:

Basically two, as planet circles star or black hole: warm, cold. But complications:

Fire = burning hot, from Hole flares, but generally brief, sporadic; changeable super Summer

Water = heavy rains, flooding, from atmospheric disturbances Spring

Earth = quakes Summer

Air = wind, sand, thunder, snow storms, depending on conditions Fall

Void = barren, killingly cold when there are no flares Winter

SOCIAL CONVENTIONS:

Young folk can marry at ages 15-16, must marry by 18, unless receiving a waver, such as a king's mistress.

Each woman must bear at least 4 children, one, the "fourth," by a man not her husband. Fourths can come in any order, however. With mer folk, they are "seconds" for faster connections to the rest of the species. Adoption counts, or bearing a changeling by Temple implantation. Men are not so obliged, except that they can not reasonably refuse a woman who asks for a fourth. They are never responsible for its care, except the ones their own wives get.

"How were you named?"

"Say my name."

OATHS;

Of friendship

Of secrecy

Of brotherhood

GAMES/REFERENCES:

Tickle & Peek, Touch & Touch, Ask & Show, and variants; Guess & Penalty, Poke & Tell (actual sex) No Fault-social and sexual interaction while traveling, for duration of the travel only.

A person's Vivid and Void: complete love. Also Between Vivid and Void-awful alternatives.

Truth: each person must answer the questions of the other with complete candor.

Question & Strip—the game Symbol first plays with Havoc, like strip poker. Statue game

SINGLE-WORD STATEMENTS OF FEELING OR INTENT, SAMPLES:

"Greeting" "Acknowledged" "Parting" "Admiration" "Envy" "Anger" "Joy" "Desire" "Aversion" "Apology"

"Love" "Wonder" "Contrition" "Pain" "Satiation" "Secret" "Belief" "Adoration" "Appreciation" "Expletive!" "Insult"

"Compliment" "Empathy" "Obscenity" "Confusion" "Grief" "Respect" "Contempt" "Awe" "Comprehension"

"Obliteration" "Longing" "Attraction" "Relief" "Embarrassment" "Amazement" "Gratitude" "Request" "Considered"

"Question" "Observation" "Affirmation" "Sympathy" "Frustration" "Agreement" "Satisfaction." "Acquiescence"

"Threat" "Capitulation" "Pleasure" "Confession" "Favor" "Permission" "Negation" "Complication" "Shock"

"Outrage" "Enthusiasm" "Similarity" "Endorsement" "Preference" "Denial" "Comparison" "Desperation" "Deal"

"Practicality" "Objection" "Suspicion" "Warning" "Understanding" "Mischief" "Resignation" "Argument" "Delight"

"Explanation" "Interest" "Sincere" "Joke" "Oddity" "Realization" "Mutual" "Incredulity" "Ditto" "Ignorance"

"Exchange" "Excitement" "Regret" "Dismay" "Exaggeration" "Recommendation" "Echo" "Ire" "Devotion"

"Mortification" "Doubt" "Gone" "Conjecture" "Confirmation" "Wrath" "Needless" (in response to Apology)

"Horror"

GEOGRAPHY:

Charm-planet of volcano magic, orbiting a pair of stars

Mystery or Counter-Charm-twin planet, seeming similar, but unknown. About 6 times apparent diameter of our moon, highly colorful. The setting for fanciful stories. The face of Mystery is generally dark during Charm's day, and light during Charm's night, because of the way they orbit each other, nearer or farther from Vivid. Faces locked together, so their far sides can't see each other.

Vivid-the bright sun

Void-the dark sun, companion body, a black hole

Triumph-large hollow pyramid, tetrahedron, floating anchored on a lake. Capital city of Charm. Description: a tetrahedron (four sided triangular pyramid) floating on a lake, metal outside. 2,000 feet on a side, accommodating 100,000 people with 100 square feet per person. (20002 = 4,000,000 square feet times half for triangle =2,000,000 divided by 100' per person = 20,000 people per floor, maybe 10 floors diminishing = 100' off bottom, of a total height of about 1,500 feet, accommodate 100,000 with room to spare)

Trifle-Havoc and Gale's home village, bordered by green, red and yellow Chroma

ANIMALS:

spider—7 legs

bear—6 legs

millipedes—100 or more legs

dog—6 legs (same category as the bear: pseudo-mammalian)

sphinx—9 legs, huge size, much memory

goat—6 legs (equivalent to mammals)

buffalo—6 legs

dragon—1 leg, slides—category of worms

bird—3 legs, 3 toes. Flies with one wing providing propulsion, second wing acts as rudder, thing zips forward for next stroke. Stands on one wing with three toes projecting to grip the ground. Three eyes. Telepathic.

plants—8 legs, because of roots

insects, wasp—5 legs

fish—2 legs

human—4 legs

trees—8 roots

mollusks, squid —10 legs

mosses—1,000 legs

saprophytes, fungi—10,000 legs

reptiles—6 legs

amphibians—6 legs

CHANGELING POTENTIALS:

seeing through illusion

healing

thought control (that is, concealing own thoughts from mind readers)

stunning or death dealing

invulnerability

conjuration

absorbing identities eidetic memory

THE NOVEL TITLES:

Key to Havoc—Quest for Leadership

Key to Chroma—Search for the Changelings

Key to Destiny—Drive for Integration

Key to Liberty—Earth seeks to recover colony

Key to Survival—Machines Invasion

THE GLAMORS:

(First 7 are human, next 5 animal, Havoc, Gale, their four children, the Ifrit, and the machines)

Black—Jamais Vu—saprophytes, 10,000 legs (he seems Invisible) ikon: mobius strip #3

Red—Stevia—human, 4 legs (she seems Gray) ikon: nude woman #14

Invisible—Dour—millipedes, 100 legs (he seems nonChroma) ikon: millipede #6

Blue—Lucent—insects, 5 legs (she seems Translucent) ikon: insect #7

Green—Thumb—mollusks, 10 legs (male) ikon: squid #9

Yellow—Deva—demons, 0 legs (female) ikon: star #1

Translucent—Pisca—Fish, 2 legs (male) ikon: fish #10

White—Billy—Goat, 6 legs #12 ikon: goat

Brown—(Mentor)—Dragon, category of Worms, 1 leg #5 ikon: dragon

Silver—Silver—Spider, 7 legs #8 ikon: spider

Gray—Avian, 3 legs #11 ikon: bird

Orange—Orange—Sphinx, 9 legs #13 ikon: sphinx

nonChroma—Havoc—trees/plants, 8 legs (roots) #4 ikon: tree w/8 roots

nonChroma—Gale—mosses/lichens, 1,000 legs #2 ikon: mossball

nonChroma—Warp—Fungus/yeast 1,000,000 legs #15 ikon: toadstool/mushroom

nonChroma—Weft—Bacteria 10,000,000 legs #16 ikon: spiral

nonChroma—Flame—viruses 100,000,000 legs #17 ikon: slime

nonChroma—Voila—Amoeba, 100,000 legs #18 ikon: blob

Countercharm Glamor—Idyll Ifrit no legs (demon variant) ikon: other ifrits

nonChroma—Shee—Robot, matter, wheels (not seen) ikon: gear

EARTH GLAMORS:

The Female Spirit—investing the Mistress of Mistresses and 1,000 lesser Mistresses. Governs by the power of sex and persuasion, patronizes the arts. Healing, empathy, sharing, health, kindness, cooperation, agape, love.

The Male Spirit—invests available men. Seeks power, sex, and destruction of the arts. Governs by brute force, vengeance, fear, selfish interest, illness, competition, cruelty, hate. Destroys feelings of self worth or accomplishment so the Spirit is the only focus.

ORDER BY LEGS:

0=demons—Yellow

1=worms, dragons—Brown

2=fish—Translucent

3=birds—Gray

4=human—Red

5=insects—Blue

6=mammals, reptiles—White

7=spiders—Silver

8=trees, plants—nonChroma

9=sphinx—Orange

10=mollusks—Green

100=millipedes—Invisible

1000=mosses—nonChroma

10,000=sapropyhtes—Black

100,000=amoeba—nonChroma

1,000,000=yeast, fungi—nonChroma

10,000,000=bacteria—nonChroma

100,000,000=viruses—nonChroma

continuous (wheel)=machines—nonChroma

ORDER BY ARRIVAL: WAVES OF COLONIZATION

1. Viruses

2. Bacteria

3. Amoeba

4. Demons—catalysts, translating raw magic to organic magic—Yellow

5. Mosses, algae, lichen—primitive plants—nonChroma

6. Fungi, saprophytes—breaking down organic substances—Black, nonChroma 7. Trees—advanced plants—nonChroma

8. Worms—intermediate catalysts, up to advanced dragons—Brown

9. Millipedes—Invisible

10. Insects—Blue

11. Spiders—Silver

12. Mollusks, squid—Green

13 Fish—Translucent

14 Birds—Gray

15 Mammals—White

16 Sphinx—Orange

17 Humans—Red

18 Robots—self-willed machines, conscious computers—18th wave—nonChroma

COUNTER CHARM/MYSTERY:

plants similar to those of Charm, with variations.

Six-legged insects

one-winged birds

five-legged animal with wheels

big moving sponge

six-legged bear-dog

ifrits—cloud entities

EARTH:

6 CONTINENTS: governed by women Mistresses who both rule and sexually oblige men, controlling them sexually

America (North and South)

Atlantis (all the islands)

Africa

Asia (Europe, Asia)

Australia

Antarctica

LEVELS OF TECHNOLOGY:

Type 0 = use of a portion of the energy of a planet.

Type 1 = utilizing all the energy of the planet

Type 2 = utilizing all the energy of a star

Type 3 = utilizing all the energy of a galaxy

FUTURE PATHS:

(prior novels never define the durations)

Near = 1 second to 1 hour = Glamors 1 second to 5 minutes, Voila 1 second to one hour

Intermediate = 1 hour to 1 month = Idyll Ifrit

Far = 1 month through eternity = machines

First Crisis—Dealing with Mino

Second Crisis—Earths effort to reclaim the colony

Third Crisis—The machines culture

SEX WITH GLAMORS:

Glamors were unable to have sex with mortals, if the mortals knew; they were magically repelled, even floating above the Glamors. Then scientist Ini figured it out: it was physical on the part of the mortals, but psychological on the part of the Glamors. Their belief made it magically literal. When Glamors believed they could have sex with mortals, the problem dissipated.

LIVING CULTURES COALITION:

The name for the organization fighting the machines.

SUMMARY OF VIEWPOINTS, NOVEL #5:

1.Opaline

2.Gale

3.Fifth

4.Opaline

5.Havoc

6.Fifth

7.Shee

8.Flame

9.Opaline

10.Shee

11.Havoc

12.Fifth

13.Gale

14.Shee

15.Opaline

16.Weft

17.Warp

18.Gale

19.Opaline

20.Havoc

21.Warp

22.Shee

23.Fifth

24.Havoc

25.Opaline

26.Gale

27.Shee

28.Fifth

29.Opaline

30.Havoc

Copyright © 2008 by Piers Anthony Jacob ISBN: 978-1-59426-250-0