http://www.secondclassmatter.com/atom.xml 2011-03-09T00:00:00Z Second Class Matter http://www.secondclassmatter.com scum@secondclassmatter.com http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/Grow_Therefore_Your_Beard_of_Polemics/index.htm 2011-03-09T00:00:00Z 2011-03-09T00:00:00Z In Grow Therefore Your Beard of Polemics, Heolis travels inland to the mountain town of Tender to feed a bitter, old oracle and former friend of the family. She finds no adventure, just new questions and salt-cured advice. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/Endowed_by_Their_Creator/index.htm 2010-07-31T00:00:00Z 2010-07-31T00:00:00Z "Where are you, Kim?" we call in the cool of the day. "In my garden," she answers from her hiding place. Endowed by Their Creator, beings from two planes struggle for dominance in a world of ill-defined principalities. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/Food_of_the_Bread-eater/index.htm 2010-03-06T00:00:00Z 2010-03-06T00:00:00Z In Food of the Bread-eater, Sven takes a mid-morning stroll down to Colonization Square in order to buy Heolis a birthday present. An innocent-sounding quest. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/Eight_Scavenge_Park/index.htm 2009-12-10T00:00:00Z 2009-12-10T00:00:00Z The new moon signals Kim Khaldun to the Sunken Quarter. She comes without expectations, merely the obedient servant of an address written on sandwich paper. She records her thoughts as she searches for Eight Scavenge Park. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/Hair_Washes_Feet/index.htm 2009-10-06T00:00:00Z 2009-10-06T00:00:00Z Kasper Skelterborne and Andrw Pipp spend the day befriending strays in the stilt city of Shoalsom. Skelterborne seeks out an old friend trapped behind battle lines while Andrw explores the wooden river city on his own. In the process, the Void begins to expand with little regard for those who it displaces or steps over. Hair Washes Feet drags two Void leaders down into the slums that they be offered the chance to use their demiurge-given powers to cleanse someone else's life. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/Of_False_Bedchambers/index.htm 2009-07-08T00:00:00Z 2009-07-08T00:00:00Z Of False Bedchambers peeks in on Heolis and Sven as they struggle to translate their relationship into the other reality. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/Guardian_Thrice_Denied/index.htm 2009-05-01T00:00:00Z 2009-05-01T00:00:00Z The Temple chooses another, but this one is unwilling. Erich, the Master of Guardians, is Thrice Denied in his attempts to proselytize. Before the end he will find himself alone and ready to leap into the pit of the Taktmedian Underworld if it wins an affirmation. It's probably a righteous quest. Unless, as Sven suspects, the Temple of Doors has an exit. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/One_Under_Nerds_Law/index.htm 2009-04-01T00:00:00Z 2009-04-01T00:00:00Z In ONE UNDER NERD'S LAW, Yana and Erich meet for a cordial lunch in the Taktmedii where it becomes obvious that mother and son, incapable of polite small talk, have little in common but acerbic nostalgia. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/The_Mog_to_Ephesus/index.htm 2009-02-23T00:00:00Z 2009-02-23T00:00:00Z Erich and Kim reluctantly escort Fiona through THE MOG TO EPHESUS where she hopes to weed secrets from a crippled gardener. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/In_the_Houses_of_Others/index.htm 2008-11-23T00:00:00Z 2008-11-23T00:00:00Z "They are calling it the Sophie Street Massacre." They spend the day after reading minds IN THE HOUSES OF OTHERS. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/Above_The_Source_Tank/index.htm 2008-09-20T00:00:00Z 2008-09-20T00:00:00Z In search of timely questions, Fiona Wildiron pays a visit to an old friend living ABOVE THE SOURCE TANK. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/Bring_Hell_She_Said/index.htm 2008-07-26T00:00:00Z 2008-07-26T00:00:00Z

Bring Hell She Said

In BRING HELL SHE SAID, the apostate stars return to the skies in order to damn the lovers, Heolis and Sven. Hidden for all those centuries, how could they know the rules have changed. Who heeds stellar warnings able to fly beyond them? http://www.secondclassmatter.com/Before_the_Door/The_Chthonic_Gate/index.htm 2008-05-17T00:00:00Z 2008-05-17T00:00:00Z

The Chthonic Gate

Some distrust open doors; some fear them closed. But those who stand BEFORE THE DOOR prefer neither. Before long, what they won't give for a wide field of real green. The web expands with the addition of THE CHTHONIC GATE. Kim digs against entombing obscurity while Erich and Sven, without the scarred refinement of life's finishing school, wed a destiny far beyond them. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/ddw/index.htm 2008-04-05T00:00:00Z 2008-04-05T00:00:00Z

Drinking Ducal Whiskey

In DRINKING DUCAL WHISKEY, a short addition to the collection, BEFORE THE DOOR, Sven returns home only to find his father waiting for him. Neither Sven's absence nor his acquaintances have gone unnoticed. http://www.secondclassmatter.com/coaos/index.htm 2008-03-08T00:00:00Z 2008-03-08T00:00:00Z

Children of an Old System

Three affluent teenagers, Erich Diamant, Sven Saturnus and Kim Khaldun, coming-of-age during the decline of the Tyre Confederation, stumble upon a secret temple inside the Taktmedii--a legally real planetary simulacrum. A mysterious figure named Wildiron, claiming to have been an initiate of the Abiding Door and able to unlock its power, suddenly appears within the temple and makes a plea for rescue. Assured only by the peculiar fact that the temple itself seems to have chosen them, the three friends decide to help. Although they inherit power and bequeath bodies. Fall in love, spill blood, and rescue those damned to the void. Lost in the dark cracks of civilization, they wonder whether anyone can actually help. Erich Diamant believes we are thrust into a dark room, shown a mystery and pushed back out into the light without explanation.