New York Times and USA Today best selling author and Russell Robinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of North Carolina A.J. Hartley has been at the forefront of the To The Stars fictional series co-authoring “Sekret Machines,” “Trinity,” and now “Time Rider” with Tom DeLonge ,as well as his own novels /hit young adult fictional series. In the latest TTS thriller “Time Rider” (out Oct. 7), the book mixes time travel and a dystopian science fiction future with Peter Levenda’s JFK assassination connections and coincidences ( not conspiracy theories) previously touched upon in the non-fiction “Sekret Machines: War.”
“I touched base with Peter many times early in the conceptualizing stage of ‘Time Rider,’” Hartley said. “Tom hooked the two of us something like a decade ago and we’ve been in touch ever since. I read the ‘Sinister Forces’ books in preparation for this project, consulted with Tom on his priorities, and selected the portions of the books that I thought I could tie together in a coherent way which would serve our story. I touched base with Peter a few times as I was drafting to make sure I was getting things right and getting extra detail. I showed him the book when the first draft was done so that he could point me toward stuff I might have missed or got wrong. As I said on the recent podcast, the great thing about Peter is that he makes connections without insisting on causality, so I have some freedom as a novelist to draw my own sense of what things mean/add up to.”
This isn’t the first time Hartley would have to take inspiration from real-life work as the “Sekret Machines” fictional stories were craft out of insider information from some high-ranking officials in the know of the UAP topic. In “Sekret Machines: Book 2 – A Fire Within,” the novel even had references of the fae, which is eye-opening considering some of the content had to be pre-cleared.
“Well, like a lot of stuff in those books, the apparent appearance isn’t supposed to be definitive,” Hartley said. “ It’s one of the possible paranormal elements which overlaps with the phenomenon, and helps us think about how other worldly strangeness has been explained/rationalized in the past. Elves/Fae have been central to older European cultures for centuries and were often assigned responsibility for anything out of the ordinary. I grew up with stories of them and related creatures like boggarts. I liked the idea of drawing on my own background, bringing them to the forefront of more modern considerations of the paranormal without definitively assigning them responsibility or their own separate reality. Also, they gave me some great visuals to work with. That scene with the cows is one of my favorites.”
In “Time Rider,” the story takes place in a very dystopian setting, which is reflective of the chaotic state of the world in 2025. The book imagines a version of the future which Hartley said he could see growing out of our present day. “Time Rider” features references to an event in the story that details society splitting with his tech obsession, which is an interesting commentary on the fears associated with the rise of artificial intelligence.
“Yes, though we backed off some of that in the later drafts so that the book wouldn’t be seen as retreading concerns which were familiar from movies like ‘The Terminator’,” Hartley said.” I think those ideas are still present in the concern for what happens when humans separate themselves from each other, the loss of empathy and the hierarchical diagramming of society in ways that creates ruling elites and slave orders. The indiscriminate use of AI to generate profit—particularly at the expense of artists/creators—in ways we simply don’t need or want, and regardless of its massive energy consumption, seems to me one of many serious problems we are ignoring right now, the consequences of which will be hard to fix. Anything that insulates us from human interaction, that takes people out of the process of making civilization seems to me mostly bad.”
By MIKE DAMANTE
BONUS questions:
Q:’”Sekret Machines” screen adaptation- any insight on how true to the book series it will be ?
HARTLEY: I believe the direction on that has changed several times and is currently being rethought. I spoke to Tom about in in passing a few weeks ago but I expect we’ll talk further about future directions when he’s done touring.
Q:Working with DeLonge, it- seems like it begins with his imagination and you start to flesh it out and fill in the gaps like a band would like a song. Would you say your style is like two musicians working on a song ?
HARTLEY:”Tom is a great collaborator in that he always allows the people he works with to shape the finished product as they see fit. He doesn’t hand out a template and say “fill this in.” He will always have notes and requests or suggestions throughout the process, but he recognizes that for the thing to work, the trick is to hire the right people and let them do their thing. I have no doubt that that ability comes from working with bands. For me, because I’ve spent a lot of time in theatre, it’s like the old adage that 80% of directing is casting. Put the right people in the play and let them bring their instincts and strengths to the performance. Forcing actors to work contrary to their instincts means you messed up the casting and are going to wind up with a strained working relationship and a finished product that doesn’t quite please any of the people involved in making it. Music is the same. Bands work because they are able to synthesize the different ideas/skills/temperaments of the band members in generating something they couldn’t do alone. Good collaborative writing on books works in a similar way.”
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If you are a fan of To The Stars books, Mike Damante’s book “Punk rock and UFOs: Stranger Than Fiction” features exclusive interviews with Tom DeLonge, Peter Levenda, Kevin Day, Sean Cahill, Diana Pasulka, Jeffrey Kripal,Brandon Fugal, Travis Taylor, Leslie Kean, and the producers of “Unidentified.” Order now.