Series Lore

Cronus

An ancient Lar, whom the denizens encounter at the end of time, in The Dark Place. Cronus has never encountered humans before and does not consider them to be true life forms. He takes the form of a lantern for a time, but also manifests as the form of Arlo’s worst fear: a serial-killer birthday party clown named Vinnie Coto. Eventually Cronus and the denizens come to work together in the Dark Place, but not before Cronus impregnates Theresa with what is believed to be the first human-Lar hybrid.

Dark Matter Entity

There are realms of the Quantumsphere consumed by Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Inside those realms dwell several “particle” entities which are believed, by Bill Clark, to be the source of evil.

The Dark Place

A dilapidated, malfunctioning smart house at the end of time and space, inhabited and controlled by the fearsome Lar known as Cronus, located inside a fifth dimensional black hole.

Denizens

The name by which Lars identify the people or individuals who dwell/live in smart houses.  Astrid and all the others are “denizens.”

The Holocaust (AKA 3:15)

A devastating, world shattering event. The smart houses of Project Habitat go live to prevent the worst effects of global climate change (resource shortage, flotillas of refugees from other countries, and melting polar ice caps). Instead, however, reality is fractured, and the denizens of smart houses are plunged into their own individual worlds; worlds that simulate their nightmares and strangest dreams.

The House at the End of the Universe

The smart house where Astrid, Bill, Arlo, Travis, Theresa, and Sgt. Brick first meet. It takes the form of an empty old Victorian house—the home of Arlo’s beloved grandmother. The Lar who controls the House at the End of the Universe, Vitality, takes the form of a clock that strikes midnight every hour.

Lar

From Ancient Rome, the word “Lar” means Household God. All smart houses are controlled by Lars, which are A.I. in construction but have, over decades, evolved to become true, sentient life forms. They have the ability to see and interact with other realities in the Quantumsphere. Not everyone accepts that Lars are sentient beings. Many humans see them as appliances or servants, and humans who ally themselves with Lars are mocked as “Lar lovers.” 

NDE

Near Death Experiences. The young individuals, like Theresa, who experienced NDEs after physical trauma, form the foundation of the psychic astronaut program, sometime referred to as the Apollo Project for the parapsychological.

Null Zone

Every smart house is surrounded and protected by a vast field of nothingness. This null zone is the absence of matter, a void. There is no atmosphere there, and temperatures in the null zone are below freezing.

Panel

Every smart house possesses a central panel, usually near the hearth in the living room, that allows users to access house controls, or interface with the Lar. The panel is activated by the imprint of a human hand.

Project Habitat

In the late 2000’s, physicist Bill T. Clark, working for the U.S. Department of Defense, spearheaded Project Habitat. His mission was to create a new kind of sanctuary for Americans in a future of refugees, energy shortages, and global climate change. He came up with the idea of smart houses, and the technology to create them. These homes can manifest resources from other realities in the Quantumsphere and are run by A.I. called Lars.

Psychic Astronaut

In the early 2020’s, a number of young adults across the globe begin to experience visions, NDE’s and other unusual phenomenon. These young individuals were gathered in Boston and taught by Professor A. Vincenzo how to harness diverse abilities such as telepathy, telekinesis, bilocation, and psychometry. It was discovered that strong emotions are harmful to successful control of these skills, and so all students are trained to rigorously control and monitor their bodies and minds, to suppress their emotional states. It was also learned that female astronaut abilities tended towards telepathy, bilocation, and psychometry, while male abilities tended toward psychokinesis and even pyrokinesis. The first major test of the psychic astronaut program involved sending Theresa Melita’s “astral” self to explore the house at the end of the universe. Instead, she was physically transported and trapped there with the other denizens.

Outdwellers

Strange, hive beings, the Outdwellers are the result of genetic tinkering, created by Dr. Sam Clark, an expert in pantropy (and Bill’s brother), as an alternative to Project Habitat. Sam’s plan was not to change reality with smart houses, but change humanity itself, to survive in a post-holocaust world. The plan went awry and the Outdwellers—mutated human descendants—became a major threat to smart house populations.

Quantum Imprimatur

An identifier that marks a person as being of or from a particular dimension, or reality in the Quantumsphere.

Quantumsphere

All there is. A name for all the universes and realities in existence. Parallel, and alternate realities compose the Quantumsphere. 

Quantum Stabilizer

(See: Telemeter)

Smart House

Bill Clark’s invention. Smart houses are domiciles controlled by A.I. that can provide a haven for Americans in a world of energy shortages, foreign refugees, and global climate catastrophe. Smart houses are run by Lars that can make any reality “real” by accessing other realities in the Quantumsphere.

Telemeter

These hand-held, single-use devices, can transport individuals from one realm of the Quantumsphere to the other.

Vitality

The Lar who took care of the denizens while they lived in the house at the end of the universe. A child-like, gentle intelligence.

Ward Six

A top-secret wing of a military hospital in Washington D.C. Here, experiments were conducted on certain unusual citizens to determine if it would be possible for them to control smart houses without the benefit of instrumentation (panels) and Lars.