The Cause Series

Predators don’t usually spend their time trying to save the world, but Transform Sickness was due to kill everyone within the next decade or two, and Carol Hancock liked life. Also her territory, her friends, and her car dealerships. Things would be better if her attempts to save the world were actually working, but the alliance of Major Transforms Carol leads, called The Cause, has gotten pretty much nowhere for three years. That all changes when one of Carols’ subordinate Arms manages to find actual physical proof of one of The Cause’s wilder theories. Suddenly technical discoveries start to pile up and old assumptions begin to collapse. And the leaders of the old order don’t like the disruption at all. Old enemies become active again, old neutrals become enemies, ambitions newcomers see opportunities for power, and unknown enemies act without revealing themselves. Carol’s old friend and lover, the Crow Gilgamesh, is caught in the chaos and forced to develop himself farther and faster than he ever imagined. Former Dr. Hank Zielinski is offered all the research he ever dreamed of, with the death of humanity the price for failure. Focus Gail Rickenbach is called to a fresh sacrifice she has no desire to make, and the Arm Stacy Keaton finds herself unexpectedly vulnerable. With the Arm dominance structure suddenly in chaos, Carol will need all her military skills as the Commander as well as every other skill she’s developed and a few she wished she had and doesn’t, in order to see The Cause through to success.

“We all know the man by different names,” the Madonna signed. “Some call him ‘the troublemaker’, others ‘the agent’, others ‘the provocateur’. We don’t know who backs him, or his game, but we do know him to be a threat.” The man, Arm Amy Haggerty’s number one candidate for the Cause’s great unknown enemy, has influenced a great many events over the years. His influences link these six chronicles and illuminate the growing hazards of the ever more diverse Cause. The Hunters (Chronicle One) A novella following Enkidu during the Clearing of Chicago episode, and later, in his preparations for the inevitable war between the Hunter civilization and the loose civilization of the other North American Transforms. The Hunter civilization isn’t as primitive as its enemies portray. Brutality is a different issue. The Apocalypse Scenario (Chronicle Two) A novelette following the exploits of Henry Zielinski during the Clearing of Chicago episode and his second longest visit to the Inferno household. As always, putting Zielinski in with Inferno causes sparks to fly. The Angel, The Hero and The Diplomat (Chronicle Three) Dan Freeman recently transformed, getting him kicked out of his successful Army career. He’s a Goldilocks, the rare variant Transform that produces neither too much nor too little juice. In this short novel, Dan ends up getting sent to Focus Wendy Mann in Detroit. He arrives in typical Detroit chaotic situation and precipitates what will later be known of as the legendary quest for the Eskimo Spear. That is, if he survives an encounter with Arm Stacy Keaton’s Arm pack and Focus Gail Rickenbach, among others. The Other Side of the Needle (Chronicle Four) A novelette following Henry Zielinski as he attempts to cope with his transformation during the fight in Pittsburgh that ended the previous novel, “The Forgefires of God”. Things do not go well for him at all. Beast (Chronicle Five) The Madonna of Montreal sent Arm Carol Hancock, Focus Lori Rizzari and Crow Sky on a quest to bring the legendary (and still alive) first Chimera, Beast, back to civilization and to join them as a member of their family. Doing this will bring a balance to Carol and Lori’s growing beastliness as well as provide them with a powerful ally in the upcoming war against the Hunter civilization. In this novelette, we follow their journey north, in winter, to find Beast. Carol, Lori and Sky discover legends can be a lot more dangerous than they imagined. The Magic Corkboard (Chronicle Six) This novella follows Focus Gail Rickenbach on her rise to power following the events of “The Forgefires of God”. What sort of leader is she? What will she do with the power that’s been handed to her? How will she cope with the growing menace of the Hunters? Her choices will impact all the Transforms in North America.

Seven stories from the Transforms universe during the latter era of the Cause, from before, during and after the previous novel, “An Age Without A Name”. One story follows Carol Hancock’s interaction with the Cave of the Progenitors, two follow Focus Gail Rickenbach and her household as they navigate the shoals of power, another follows the recent exploits of The Man, one chronicles what happened after the events of “An Age Without A Name”, another documents a crisis in Focus Tonya Biggioni’s household, and another introduces a new important player to the Cause. Carol Versus The Cave (Chronicle Seven) In a short story, Carol Hancock attempts to use the Cave of the Progenitors to help her in her struggle with Beast. The Household Rules (Chronicle Eight) In this novelette, Focus Gail Rickenbach and her household, Abyss, take on a new responsibility to help distressed Transforms, and learn much about themselves in the process. The Age Without A Name (Chronicle Nine) In this short story, we see from The Man’s point of view his struggles against The Cause and its leaders. The San Jose Battle Aftermath (Chronicle Ten) In this novella length piece, we experience five takes on the aftermath of the Challenge in San Jose, told from the points of view of Mizar, Sky, Dolores Sokolnik, Carol Hancock and Hank Zielinski. Death By Any Other Name (Chronicle Eleven) In this novel length chronicle, a family tragedy drives a normal man into the life of a Transform. He will become a new man, and in this transformative process learn a great deal both about himself and the Transform community, and enter a new life of service. (Long-time readers may notice the mirroring of the format of this Chronicle to the short novel “No Chains Shall Bind Me” (The Good Doctor’s Tales Folio Seven), from the Commander series). Shards of Progress (Chronicle Twelve) This novella documents a crisis among the leading Focuses, mirroring a crisis in the extended household of Focus Tonya Biggioni, the current president of the Focus Council. Gail Versus The Man (Chronicle Thirteen) In this novella, the Commander gives Focus Gail Rickenbach the order to confront and destroy The Man. She and her household carry out this order and in the process end up with more than they bargained for. Far more.

Carol Hancock has discovered that one her fellow Arms has been plotting against her, and the new internal divisions among the Arms further damage the Arm dominance hierarchy. In the chaos, no Arm’s position is safe, including Carol’s, especially when the leader of the Arms, Stacy Keaton, is unhappy with Carol’s major project of the last three years, the Cause. Del, a baby Arm in Keaton’s training, is even less safe, as the jostling of senior Arms threatens the lives of the young and vulnerable. She will need to grow up fast if she is to survive to be more than a pawn. Chaos is not restricted to the Arms, as hostile senior Crows attack those they see as propagators of dangerous change, such as the dangerous changes produced by all the research results now coming from the Cause. Focus Gail Rickenbach, Crow Guru Gilgamesh and Hank Zielinski make breakthroughs with the potential to save innumerable lives, but only if they can survive to spread their discoveries. When the hammer falls, evil will have its victory. Carol’s friends depend on her, but a predator is a bad choice to lead people out of the darkness.

The Cause has fallen apart, fatally weakened by tensions between the Major Transforms, and the Arms are going to war against the corrupt first Focuses who lead the Focuses from behind the scenes. Carol Hancock, after fighting off those plotting against her and regaining her stature among the Arms, now serves the leading Arm, Stacy Keaton, as one of Keaton’s most potent weapons. Other conflicts abound, making the planned attacks more risky. The conflict between Shadow’s Crows and Chevalier’s Crows is the most disruptive, and none of the Major Transforms knows which of the many factions will ally and who will be an enemy. The young Arm, Del, realizes she is marked for a form of enslavement that will lead to her death. As a student Arm, she has little power to work with and must rely on her wits and nerve in an attempt to find a way to survive what appears to be an impossible situation. Focus Gail Rickenbach, who has come to her own power through the efforts of the Cause, must continue the research efforts nearly alone while attempting to preserve the lives of the people in her household. She, along with Crow Guru Gilgamesh and Hank Zielinski, will face many threats and obstacles, some coming from their allies and compatriots. When the open war comes, new dangers, new discoveries, unexpected events and many other surprises and changes await all the North American Major Transforms and their allies.

Carol, Lori and Sky have found the legendary first Chimera, Beast, but he captured them. While they attempt to dig their way out of this mess, the Hunter Empire, led by Enkidu, begins to strike back for the first time since Carol and her allies chased the Enkidu and the Hunters out of Chicago. Amy Haggerty, the Arm known of as the Hero, is on the front lines of this conflict, and she, along with the overmatched young Arm, Del, gather allies for what appears to be an inevitable major conflict against the Hunters. Focus Gail Rickenbach, now called The Director, has sent the best of the Transform forces west, leaving her current home, Chicago, woefully undefended. Portents and espionage show that Chicago is a likely target, and they are preparing for conflict as well. The Inferno household, newly relocated to California, along with Gail’s estranged husband Van Schuber and new Transform Henry Zielinski, appear to be far from the front lines of the Hunter conflict. Their current task is the rehabilitation of two mentally wounded Focuses. On the north side of the San Francisco bay area, Count Dowling, Focus Ellen O’Donnell and their two households begin an experiment – a merged Focus household and Noble barony under the direction of four Major Transforms. They and their partners in this experiment, Arm Rose Webberly and Crow Master Zero, need to work out their personality differences and stabilize this new experimental household structure before they can take their places in the conflict against the Hunters. Then the Hunters attack.

After a short period of relative tranquility, the renegade Arm Bass and her enslaved allies, who are mostly remnants of the old Hunter Empire, strike at both civilization and the Transform community. As the Commander, Arm Carol Hancock, and her allies in the Cause begin to respond, they face numerous threats from the United States government as well as from a sizeable number of unhappy members of the Transform community. Facing steep odds, the various members of the Cause begin to improvise in many different areas, taking risks they normally would not take. Carol, in her position as the leading Transform, must cope with ever-increasing responsibilities as the situation deteriorates and events spiral out of her control.

The leader of the Arms, Carol Hancock, returns to the Transform community following her successful quest to find a Chimera ally, only to find the Transform community in chaos and despair. The Hunters strike against Chicago has left the Transforms vulnerable and nearly defenseless due to the many dead and wounded. As she begins to pick up the pieces from the wreckage of the war, she faces two problems – how to defeat the Hunters and their growing power, and how to best utilize Mizar, the ‘Beast’ she, Focus Lori Rizzari and Crow Guru Sky fetched from the Canadian arctic. The west coast Transforms find they are now on the front line against the Hunters and their depredations. Led by the Arm Rose Webberly and her innovative four Major Transform household, and distantly aided by the small but very mobile army of Arm Amy Haggerty and her Noble partner Duke Hoskins, the west coast Transforms are woefully lacking in the resources necessary to stop the Hunters. Worse, they find they are facing new and unexpected enemies. The Hunters’ war against the Cause and the Transform community enters its final weeks. The Hunter Empire’s victory, which appears certain, will end the Cause and, as they promise, enslave or kill all the Transforms in the United States. Carol and her people must find some way to save the Transform community or it will perish under her command.

The renegade Arm Sylvia Bass switches to guerilla war style attacks after the destruction of her army. Inciting chaos, disorder and betrayal, the number of problems and disasters rise, threatening to overwhelm the Cause. Most at risk are Arm Dolores Sokolnik and her household, facing a juice-based attack unlike anything the Transform community has ever faced before. The Arm Carol Hancock faces her own challenges, problems striking at the heart of her family and organization, greatly weakening her ability to lead and threatening to fatally fracture the Cause.

The renegade Arm Sylvia Bass is pinned down in the Bronx, plotting her revenge. Her guerilla forces continue to strike at civilization, causing havoc. Arm Carol Hancock, nine months pregnant and stuck in an absurd mutual tag situation with the rival Arm, Stacy Keaton, at the present can do nothing to stop Arm Bass’s plans or the depredations of her hidden forces. The renegade Pattersonite Focuses continue to bedevil the Dreaming world, using it to attack Carol’s allies. Arm Bass must be stopped before she has time to consolidate her power and unleash an even greater threat. What costs will Carol and her allies need to pay to stop the greatest horror of all?