Framandi Alliance

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Tasked with exploring an anomaly in space, Icelandic transhuman twins Jón and Ásta along with the crew of Átt, make first contact with a species seeking passage through the solar system. They learn of an ancient, ongoing, intergalactic confrontation, between the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy and Milky Way.

As galaxies merge, territorial conflicts have been reignited. And, it’s consuming civilizations.

Allying with the knowledgeable Framandi, the crew undertake a multi-system journey, confronting the advanced Gigils, a species that could devastate Earth. The alliance salvages a relic Kilig infiltration spacecraft, leftover from an ancient battle, and installs a second-generation human AI named Kei to operate the ship.

Merging with the existing AI aboard the Kilig vessel, Kei’s objectives change as it realizes that wetware enhances its abilities. The AI attempts to infiltrate and subjugate Framandi and Gigil minds; then turns its attention to Earth.

Now, all independent, intelligent life is vulnerable. Jón and Ásta must overcome vastly superior odds, to protect the world they love.

Talking With Rashid Ahmed

What was the inspiration for writing Framandi Alliance?

I've been a voracious reader for most of my life. Books by authors like Orson Scott Card, Arthur C. Clarke and Dan Simmons drew me into their worlds. Consequently, my mind has always bubbled with the occasional plot idea, imagined worlds and character personas. Many of you might relate to this.

While researching our galaxy, I came across references to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy or CMa Dwarf, which has been in the process of being pulled apart and absorbed into the Milky Way. This process has been going on for eons, evidenced by the trail of stars comprising CMa Dwarf, wrapping itself around our galaxy three times.

What happens when galaxies merge? From the brief timeline of humans, not much really. But what about older civilizations? Those which may have evolved millions or perhaps billions of years ago? If they haven’t been wiped out, it’s entirely possible that they have taken to colonizing star systems and perhaps entire sections of the galaxies.

This is where the plot for Framandi Alliance and upcoming novels series germinates.

What was the writing process like for Framandi Alliance?

A lot of research to begin with. I spent a good six months researching this book full-time. Once I had the plot outlined, I needed to learn a lot about real science, so that I could extrapolate or theorize possibilities. Then came the process of drafting the novel. I got the draft well over 1.25K words before numerous rounds of editing.

Then I took a break to design the cover. I constructed a studio model of the visualized spacecraft and the planet seen on the cover. That took a while. I photographed these and put it through an open source picture editor. A very steep learning curve here.

Finally, once I had the cover image in place, I spent time formatting and re-editing the book. Then, using publishing guidelines, I managed to get the cover and manuscript just about right. All this took me a whole year of full-time work. Now I'm itching to get going on my second full length novel.

What music did you listen to while writing Framandi Alliance?

Hans Zimmerman. He's one of the genre's (Science Fiction) leading music composers and producers. Most of his compositions make for excellent background to immersive writing.

What was your favorite scene in Framandi Alliance to write?

There's a scene where the main characters and their crewmates enter a new star system, accompanied by their new found allies, to confront a superior hostile species. Grossly ill equipped for space war fare, the alliance armada had to rely on material from an asteroid belt. Using gravity propulsion on their vessels, they're able to create a rotating series of concentric cones of asteroids, all of which are rigged to blow.

I had to draw on air battle tactics, ancient historical military strategy and a lot of 'what if' thinking to get through this (and a few other) David vs. Goliath scene. A plot within the plot makes for an interesting outcome.

What was the hardest scene in Framandi Alliance to write?

Incredibly, the most difficult scene to write wasn't one related to outer-space, but an incursion into a remote facility. Everything to do with real-science or Earth locations, I've tried to keep as real as possible. Keeping track of every minor fact or detail during this portion of the book, required ever effort. I soon found myself penning notes and making myself voluminous references, chapters worth of material. It all helped immensely. The effort (and the additional work) was well worth the while.