Is your work with hypnosis one of the things that drew you to this book? 

That's definitely part of the reason. It's one of those things you have to have the knack for. You may have heard that not everyone is susceptible to hypnosis. And the same thing holds true for being the hypnotist. Like Edward I struggled with it in the beginning, but without it I wouldn't be able to access the other realms that our consciousness occupies. Not in such great detail anyway. Additionally, the whole inter-phase concept is closely related to the time travel theory this book illustrates. 

How so?

Um, have you ever seen a flat map of the Earth? 

I have. Not many, but yes.

Well, in this book the main character is a close friend of Alexander Gleason, the man who popularized the flat Earth model over a hundred years ago. The two of them bond over this theory, and their lack of acceptance in society only fuels that connection. There is a point in the story in which Alexander is explaining his concept, and he uses a coin as a metaphor. He spins it on a table, thus causing the illusion of a globe to be formed. When the main character sees this, he has a thought of his own. What if time, like the coin, is a flat plane that moves itself around to create the illusion of three dimensional reality? He takes this thought, and elaborates upon it throughout the story. It serves as a backdrop for the arch of the characters, but it's in there. Basically it considers any present moment in time to be like a photograph; unique in and of itself. This is called an Energetic Frame of Reference. So, if one could stack these frames on top of one another, and flip through them, it would look like life in motion. Think of stop motion animation, or the way a film is made up of thousands of frames. It's exactly the same. The reason why I find it interesting is that the inter-phase concept is very similar in that it proposes alternate realities are existing in tandem with us, but they are always one frame to the left or right. Or up and down. 

Okay, I'm trying to wrap my head around this. Would these frames be physical? How does it all fit in space?

That's a bit more complicated. You have to accept a few underlying theories first. Such as the solid world around you not being genuinely solid, but an illusion created by electronic and magnetic polarization. Everything is a wave, and some of those waves repel each other, which is why you can't walk through walls without proper vibration. Subsequently, if you accept this theory, then it is absolutely possible for many physical worlds to exist in the same space. They would simply be resonating at different wavelengths, or emanating from different points in the phase of the same wavelength. The frequency you are resonating at will determine the reality into which you are proverbially latched.

Sheesh. I think I'll just have to take your word for it. Too much for me. 

It's very complex, but if you let your mind work on it you'll get there. The bottom line is that the book caught my attention because of this similar mode of thinking. 

Do you think its applicable? The theory of time travel that is?

*laughs* Oh, it could be. I'm not sure. There are people working on it. The Reil Island folks have been trying things out. We'll see if they ever get any positive results, but for now it's confined to the book.

Does Romsfeld portray it as a reality?

He does yes. In the end the two characters travel into the future. 2025 to be exact. I don't want to say too much because it's a touchy subject, but one of the main focus points throughout the novel is that these two characters were living in the 1890’s, which is sometimes colloquially referred to as “The Gay Ninties.” Romsfeld interpreted this to mean they were living in a society where heterosexuality was more than just frowned upon, it was illegal. And being that they perceived themselves to be outcasts, they did everything in their power to get to somewhere where they would be accepted for who they are regardless of their attraction to women. It's difficult to talk about without stirring up controversy, but that's also what made the book such a failure. No one would read it for fear of being judged.

It is odd that Romsfeld could be so naive on the subject. He lives in the 21st century doesn't he? *laughs* Or maybe he's the real time traveler.

Could be. You never know. *laughs* But I'm pretty sure he was just ill informed. Despite the mainstream success of the LGBT movement, there were still a lot of people who grew up in old fashioned cultural areas that simply didn't pay attention to what was going on around them. Which, is their own fault, but the fact remains that they exist. And, as we know from the events that happened around the globe a few years back, regardless of how obvious something seems, some people won't notice it.

Interesting that you should bring that up. If time travel is ever shown to work, in a public setting that is, do you think people would buy it?

Oh I don't know. Unfortunately I would say the same thing. Some people would, some wouldn't. You'd think that people would believe their own eyes, but that's never enough. Their acceptance has very little to do with the presentation of facts, and mostly to do with the cognitive predisposition of the individual. We deal with it enough in the digital travel that we do at The Red Rainbow.

Sounds like you're coming awful close to saying that some people are born without the ability to understand certain things.

Yikes, don't put that on me. I'm not saying they are incapable, I'm saying they are unwilling. True faith in something is unshakable. If you've been one hundred percent certain of something your whole life, and then somehow that thing is proven to be false, you'd still want to believe it. It's perfectly exemplified in the Flat vs. Globe Earth argument. I'm sure that there were thousands of people in Aristotle's day that couldn't deal with the shift to a Globe model, and they probably lived their whole life in rejection of it. 

Sort of makes you wonder about yourself doesn't it?

Totally. I for one felt exactly like that when one of my friends told me Santa wasn't real. 

*laughs* You too?! Boy that sure ruined kindergarten for me. 

I was talking about last week.

Oh.

Yea, it was a major bummer. 

Well, with that awkward moment filling up the room, it's time for our interview to come to an end. Thank you for spending some time with us Silverton, I hope we get a chance to do it again.

As do I. 

I'm Shelly Stone, and that concludes today's program. I'll see you the next time there's a program.

*mic static*