Blog Posts
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits and rebels….The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently….And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do, is ignore them because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. Because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do it.” Jack Kerouac
WHAT ARE THE BLOG POSTS ABOUT? THE FASCINATING PEOPLE, WORLD EVENTS AND FACTS in the PHANTOM FUTURE series
“The Phantom of the Opera existed.”
Those words begin Gaston Leroux’s tale of Erik. A skeleton had been uncovered in the basement of the Garnier Opera Theater in 1907 when a time capsule containing early phonograph records of famous opera stars was being buried there. And yes, that event really happened and that time capsule was dug up in 2007. In fact, they are featured in a National Geographic article which will be the subject of a blog article here!
In 1907 when that skeleton was unearthed, the newspapers said they belonged to a victim of the Communards who took over the Garnier during the Commune Rebellion in spring 1871. In Leroux’s book, he wrote that the skeleton was Erik’s because on one hand was a golden ring, supposedly placed there by Christine when she buried him. But Leroux also wrote that the newspapers said the skeleton was the victim of the Communards. So why can’t both be true?
Who was the real Phantom of the Opera?
According to the Phantom Future Series, the truth surrounding Erik’s life and death would lie shrouded in mystery and buried in time until the year 2040 when a diary written by Madame Giry finds its way into the hands of the billionaire who has developed quantum computers. He also controls time travel.
And the billionaire has an agenda. One trip to the future has revealed mankind’s fate after a Carrington Event. Now Wheaton’s clandestine plan to avoid worldwide disaster hinges on pivotal 1871 Paris and gambles on the help of the legendary Phantom. That is the subject of the PHANTOM FUTURE series! The worlds of the past and future intersect in that series and this blog will examine the many fascinating facts at the heart of the books!
CHECK OUT THE BLOG POSTS ABOUT OUR PAST AND FUTURE WORLDS!
Blog posts will explore a facet of the world, of the facts, that the Phantom Future series is based on! Please join us in examining our world as it is mirrored in the books! Subjects such as:
Who is Gaston Leroux?
When did he live? How did his unique life as one of France’s leading journalists mold the story he graphically told in his classic novel, Phantom of the Opera? How did the culture in Paris color the often dark, subterranean quality of his writing? Did a new morgue, built in the heart of the city behind Notre Dame Cathedral, affect the world he portrayed?
During the Second Empire a second Napoleon reigned from 1852 to 1871, and the medieval Paris of dirty winding streets and decaying buildings was torn down. New boulevards with gas lights were built, creating the City of Light we know today. That was a glorious era and revival which ended in a disastrous year with a siege by Prussia, Commune uprising and a final revolution of the people that installed the French Republic. What does it inform us about our current world? That will be discussed!
What is a Carrington Event?
Learn about the catastrophic coronal (solar) mass ejection whose waves struck the earth in September 1859, frying the telegraph lines, delivering electrical shocks to the operators and causing fires in some telegraph offices. Such an event can and will happen again, but now our world depends on electricity delivered through massive electrical grids. What happens if that event occurs now, to our world so dependent on electrical grids? Let’s examine that issue!
What about the world of the future?
What is the trajectory of our current world? What does the future hold? More concentration of wealth and power and information in the hands of the few—like the Powers, T’ang and Bianchetti megacorporation holds? What does that mean for the people of the world? Will those with money hold all power? Will politics and modern tools like drones be used to maintain power for the few? Do we want the future world of Phantom Future to happen?
Do we want to preserve our world?
Clearly with all the wild fluctuations in weather over the past few years, it is clear that Mother Earth is in flux. How much do we affect it? How can we act to make those changes less devastating? What beauty and life-sustaining nature will we lose if we don’t?
And what about Erik?
Yes, we also want to delve into Erik’s life and his world. What about his youth in London during the cholera epidemics? What about San Sulpice, the beautiful cathedral in Paris which contains the world famous organ? What about the Garnier Opera House? All fascinating stories that are part of Erik’s life and the Phantom Future series! Join us for all our blog discussions!
