Parallel Universe Saga Blends Corporate Espionage With Science Fiction
In Book 1, Retrieving the Future, Declan befriends an amazing humanoid robot, Lyle, on one of his parallel Earth trips and brings him home to create his idea of an ultimate AI. That’s when everything unravels!
Suddenly Declan’s coworkers and company leaders want him dead, his girlfriend Rose is in danger, and the only way to survive is to discover what his missions were really about—a secret conspiracy linking corporate greed to some of Scripture’s endtime prophecies. To discover that connection, the AI he created sends him and Rose on a parallel Earth mission together, a mission unsanctioned by the company’s Board.
╰┈➤ Book Details:
Genre: Christian Science Fiction
Sub-genre: Biblical Fiction
Language:English
Pages: 304
Paperback ISBN: 978-1734085068
PREFACE
The theory of parallel earths, or parallel universes, is a science fiction topic that has been around for several years. Some scientists believe such a thing may be truer and more possible than once believed. Each person faces many choices throughout their lives, and decisions made sets one down a course of experiences and events that could be very different from what would have occurred if a different decision had been made. Parallel earths would have each of those choices occurring simultaneously—just never experienced simultaneously. Unless . . . unless one could somehow travel from their earth to this other earth.
Now consider this for everyone and every decision. This would create an infinite number of earths in an infinite number of universes with an infinite number of you—each having unique and very different possible outcomes from decisions made, decisions that can then impact other decisions and other encounters. So, on and on it goes.
Sound confusing? Yes. Sound intriguing? Yes. Sound like a good environment for plots for science fiction novelists? Yes!
First of all, what is a dimension? It is simply a stage of reality where one higher dimension includes all the reality of the previous dimension but adds another. According to string theory, a scientific framework to try and unify the fundamental forces of nature in our universe, there are 10 dimensions. But then there are five versions of string theory. A version that tries to unite them all, called M-theory, requires 11 dimensions to do that. So, that would be ten, or eleven, stages of reality. What would those be? Well, here they are in their simplest form and description. Again, some may describe them slightly differently. The list below indicates what additional reality is added to the previous dimension:
1st dimension: length.
2nd dimension: width.
3rd dimension: height.
4th dimension: time: this would be our current reality. We live in a 3-D world, but experience linear time (i.e., we age).
5th dimension: time becomes fluid in which one can travel (some call this time travel).
6th dimension: parallel earths exist – the differences between them are the outcomes of the different choices individuals make; one can travel from one to the other at the same time stamp.
7th dimension: parallel earths with different conditions exist (i.e., different laws of nature and different physics) – perhaps silicone life forms instead of carbon life forms, for instance. Or, in this novel, a case where a time dilation field exists.
8th dimension: not only can one travel between parallel worlds with the same conditions, but travel between worlds with different conditions (some call this the multiverse).
9th dimension: not only can one travel the multiverse, but at any time within the multiverse (some call this the super multiverse).
10th dimension: not only can one travel between any and all worlds, but at any time between any world thereby understanding the past, present, and future of all worlds simultaneously.
11th dimension: what could possibly be beyond the 10th dimension since it is so encompassing? Well, it seems that the 10 dimensions originated here.
This could also explain how one could not go back in time and change things but can go forward in time to multivariate experiences because the past is composed of decisions already made and the future is a possibility of various events based upon decisions made. The present is the fulcrum between the two.
As you can see, this gives an author many backdrops for almost anything to happen within their novel. In this book, we stop at the 9th dimension and limit the travel to only what would be considered a matching reality in our world. In the text, I try to simplify these concepts even further.
So, now the question of how does this lead to anything biblical? Well, first we need to understand that science points to truth but is not truth itself. After all, science can change as we test new theories and have better and more specialized equipment to measure and view things not previously possible. So, science keeps evolving and giving us new information which helps to refine what truth looks like but never defines truth itself. It supports truth. Truth has no bias. We can’t say the same thing about science. Also, any technology can be used for good or for bad. You’ll see this is also true utilizing the technology developed in this novel to travel to other parallel earths. I won’t give that away here. But to the question of whether this concept is biblical, perhaps it is. If we look at how one dimension builds upon another, when we get to the 7th dimension, perhaps this is where the spiritual world begins and starts to overlap into ours. If we look at the other natural laws and physics being different from our own to encompass the spiritual realm, it can lead to understanding how things like Sheol, Eden, and angels fit into this paradigm. The 10th dimension then helps us to understand how this can relate to God, as he can see past, present, and future simultaneously. What about those who consider 11 dimensions? Well, it could be that God’s council would represent the tenth and God himself the eleventh. Higher dimensions can enter lower dimensions, but not vice versa. To keep this preface from going too long and belaboring the point, allow me to stop here with how all of this would work. But as you can see, one can make a case for this from a biblical perspective—just not in the same way most scientists without the concept of God view these dimensions. This also lends to helping us see how scientific phenomena and spiritual phenomena don’t have to be considered separately but one helps to explain the other.
So, happy reading! You’ll discover how the complex can lead to action-packed adventures that expand one’s mind but not break it. Also, unfortunately, you’ll find that greed and rebellion can expand even beyond our universe. But . . . on the flip side, so can love.
– Excerpted from Retrieving the Future by Randy C. Dockens, Quill & Quotation Press, 2025. Reprinted with permission.
In Book 2, Resolving the Future, Declan discovers the secret to his parallel Earth visits …. and it’s not good.
This other parallel Earth lies within a time dilation field which severs his and Rose’s connection to their world. Another way to get back must be found. He discovers why his company’s Board sanctions his trips to parallel Earths and this discovery not only puts his life and that of Rose in danger, but basically everyone he has worked with at his company.
Once he and Rose return to their Earth, all has changed. Only his robot friend, Lyle, has remained unchanged. The AI he created and who sent him on his off-world mission is now in control of the company, has his boss and the Board under its sway, has no knowledge of his unsanctioned mission, and now considers Declan enemy number one. Declan now has to convince a company blinded by greed that they’ve created humanity’s executioner— and do that before there’s no future left to fight for.
╰┈➤ Book Details:
Genre: Christian Science Fiction
Sub-genre: Biblical Fiction
Language:English
Pages: 304
Paperback ISBN: 979-8992197150
The Parallel Universe Saga (including Retrieving the Future Book 1 & Resolving the Future Book 2) is available at Amazon and the author’s website.
Excerpt:
Preface
Parallel Earths, or other dimensions, is a topic that has interested scientists and science fiction enthusiasts for years. Its main intrigue is likely that what isn’t occurring on our Earth could be happening on a different Earth and can vary in many ways. This gives writers an opportunity to create a narrative that would normally sound quite wild but with this idea of parallel Earths, or other dimensions, the same narrative can now be made and become believable because it is not on our Earth but on some other Earth where typically unbelievable events occur. It can vary from a character doing, or being, someone different than they currently are, or even an environment in which a character lives that would not occur or even be possible on our Earth. For example, in this current novel, there is a time dilation field that affects the time difference between worlds. While, currently, such scenarios are not possible in our reality, it in no way limits the imagination of writers who desire to use this interesting segment of science to their full advantage to create unrealistic worlds, characters, and environments, but just as equally believable and acceptable to readers.
For an understanding of parallel Earths, or different dimensions, see the Preface of my first book of this series, Retrieving the Future, or some blog posts about dimensions on my website, www.randydockens.com.
Another area of science that has been around for quite some time, and especially now, is artificial intelligence (AI). The idea of its utilization piques intrigue is some and horror in others. However, as with any technology, it can be used for benefit or for ruin. It plays a key role in this present novel. The other argument around this topic is how much knowledge should be made available to such an instrument. Does one limit available knowledge to guide AI and its findings in a way one can control, or does one give unlimited knowledge to AI to allow it to come up with conclusions that may take all information into account and thereby be, supposedly, less biased than what humans can derive? Some say yes, others say no. Why? It seems human bias may not only lead to biased AI conclusions but biased AI analyses as well. Perhaps the real question is not whether AI will be our savior or our demise, but will human bias lead to our salvation or our destruction? Perhaps that is the better question with which to wrestle. Read away to discover how and where this novel takes this very question.
– Excerpted from Resolving the Future by Randy C. Dockens, Quill & Quotation Press, 2026. Reprinted with permission.
Dr. Randy C. Dockens has a fascination with science and with the Bible, holds Ph.D. degrees in both areas, and is a man not only of faith and science, but also of creativity. He believes that faith and science go hand in hand without being enemies of each other.
After completing his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Auburn University he went on to graduate school at Auburn and completed his first doctorate degree in Pharmaceutics. He began his scientific career as a pharmacokinetic reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration and later joined a leading pharmaceutical company as a pharmacokineticist, which is a scientist who analyzes how the human body affects drugs after they have been administered (i.e, absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted).
Through the years, he has worked on potential medicines within several disease areas, including cardiovascular, fibrosis, and immunoscience to seek and develop new and novel medicines in these therapy areas.
He has also had his attention on the academic study of the Bible. He earned a second doctorate in Biblical Prophecy from Louisiana Baptist University after receiving a master’s degree in Jewish Studies from the Internet Bible Institute under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Congdon.
Randy has recently retired from his pharmaceutical career and is spending even more time on his writing efforts. He has written several books that span dystopian (The Coded Message Trilogy), end-time prophecy (Stele Prophecy Pentalogy), science fiction (Erabon Prophecy Trilogy), uniquely told Bible stories (The Adversary Chronicles), speculative fiction (Cities of Light Series), and a combination of science fiction / speculative fiction (Parallel Universe Saga). All his books, while fun to read, are futuristic, filled with science to give them an authentic feel, have a science fiction feel to them, and allows one to learn some aspect of Biblical truth one may not have thought about before. This is all done in a fast-paced action format that is both entertaining and provides a fun read for his readers.
He has also written some nonfiction books as well. One is to show how all humans are connected from God’s viewpoint by looking at biblical prophecy (Why is a Gentile World Tied to a Jewish Timeline?: The Question Everyone Should Ask). This book shows how all scripture is connected and inclusive of everyone. In addition, he and his editor have written two books about writing. The first is on writing techniques themselves and is entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Writing: Creating Vivid and Colorful Stories that Readers Want to Read. This book not only addresses the techniques of writing, but what makes writing unique to each author. It conveys not only how to better hone one’s craft of writing but also the brand an author wants to portray. This helps an author make their writing unique as well as captivating for his/her audience. The second is a companion book to this one entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Self-Editing: Framing Your Colorful Masterpiece to Keep Readers Engaged in Your Story. This is best used in conjunction with the first one. Yet, self-editing, though intricately connected to writing, is a distinct event. The better the quality of a writer’s draft manuscript when it is delivered to one’s editor, the higher the final quality of the manuscript will be for readers, and that is extremely important.
Dr. Dockens still has creative ideas to share so stay tuned!
Dr. Dockens’ latest books are Retrieving the Future & Resolving the Future (Books 1 & 2 in the Parallel Universe Saga Series)
Visit his website at https://www.randydockens.com.
Connect with him on social media at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Randy.C.Dockens
Instagram: Randy C Dockens (@randydockens) | Instagram
Goodreads: Randy C. Dockens (Author of T-H-B) | Goodreads
