Owariverse Encyclopedia: Introduction

Approximately six months ago, I unleashed Captain Satellite: Number Zero on the world. One of my stated goals in creating this book was to have a "series bible" for what folks dubbed the Owariverse. Well, no matter how successful Captain Satellite: Number Zero was in accomplishing its other goals, I've decided in the intervening time that it is lacking in terms of being a guidebook.

Chalk part of the weakness up to the format. I was making it up on the fly, and regrettably didn't take the time to experiment with alternate formats for the character profiles. Perhaps I would have gone in a different direction if I had; perhaps not. As it stands, the character profiles work alright if read as I continuous narrative, but are more difficult to navigate as a reference.

There's also the little matter of the fluid nature of establishing a set continuity for something that has seen many diverse approaches in its existence. I didn't really take the time I should have with some of my characters prior to putting together Captain Satellite: Number Zero, owing to the fact that it was something of a rush job. As a result, I found certain aspects of the story at cross-purposes, and a few characters in particular to be ill-defined. How could I ask my readers to care about them when I hadn't found a reason?

I have been reconsidering my approach to an Owariverse series bible (and the profiles it would contain) over the last couple of months. The final result is what I am terming the "Owariverse Encyclopedia." The Owariverse Encyclopedia will organize profiles in what should be a more user-friendly manner on this blog. I've gone back and reviewed each and every profile, making any adjustments I deemed necessary. For the most part, these are minor tweaks that don't affect the story continuity as previously established.

The exception to the above is the "Ultimate American Chronology" which was published last year and included in Captain Satellite: Number Zero. Though many elements from this piece have been incorporated into the current profiles, there was no way to fully reconcile it with my goals for this shared universe. It has been declared apocryphal. My intention is to do this in an actual story, but such a tale has not been written as of yet. I regret any confusion this causes, but in the long run, it's for the best.

The Encyclopedia will be divided into sections in addition to being arranged in alphabetical order. Section I is for our main characters, Section II will be for "Heroes & Villains", and Section III will be devoted to "Civilians." I'd also like to include an Appendix at some point, but there are no concrete plans at the moment. However, this format will more easily accommodate updates and additions. I'm sure there will be some as it progresses.

The Owariverse Encyclopedia will be updating for a few weeks on a semi-regular schedule as I work my way through all the current material. Meanwhile, if you would like to keep track of it separately from the rest of the Captain Satellite material, I have given it its own label for future reference. If you are curious about the background of any of my characters, this will be the place to go. It takes precedence even over the book, and is as close to "definitive" as we're likely to get.