As many
of you can tell, I have stopped giving background stories in these blog posts. The
only comments that I received indicated that the person hadn’t read them yet.
Without any positive or negative feedback, I don’t see the point in continuing
with them. I do, however, want to go into a little bit of some of the histories
missed in Synesthesia.
Those of
you who have read the book know all the events that Eli was witness to or had a
hand in. But there is a lot of time that isn’t covered in the novel. Wanderings
through Asia, Europe, and the Americas had to expose our hero to many of the
most exciting events of the day.
For
instance, were you aware that North America has pyramids? The largest of these,
Monks Mound is the largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in the Americas. It is also
the largest pyramid north of Mesoamerica. The building of it began around 900
AD. Why was it built? Who built it? Would Eli have seen it, had a hand in it or
inspired it in some way?
History
is filled with, what we consider, mysteries. The ‘lost’ cultures or kingdoms of
Pyu, Funan, Zhenla, Champa, Dvāravatī, Kedah, and Śrīvijaya which existed from
the 5th century to the 8th century AD are another good
example. These were early Hindu and Buddhist civilizations that had yet to be
brought the Word (the non-Christians out there cringed just now.)
How about
the city and temple of Angkor Wat? It was built in the 12th century
AD and then lost to the jungle in the 15th century when it was abandoned.
It was not rediscovered until 1860 by missionaries. This is a place so
important that today it is on the Cambodian national flag. It was such a large
and important place in Asia; it is doubtful that Eli wouldn’t have known
about it.
There is
so much that has been lost or purposely distorted (history is written by the
winners), we may never know the truth and depth of it. While Synesthesia may
seem to be overfilled with historical events, it barely scratches the surface.
I pray
you are having a great week!
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