Alchemy. Consciousness. The cyclical fate of civilizations across fifty million years.
Enter the cycle
The World
A Universe Forged in Steam and Starlight
In 1917, a spiritual prophet named Maitreya sparked global disarmament after the Great War. In his shadow, a man named Walter Domini built an empire — Commercial Aviation Alternatives — connecting the world through zeppelins and steam-jet propulsion.
But Domini's thirst could not be quenched. He weaponized faith, merged religion with commerce, and forged the World United Buddhism Corporation into a machine of absolute control. By the time humanity reached the stars, Domini's Corporation had become something far worse than a government.
It had become a religion.
Across moons and planets — from the methane seas of Titan to the dryad caves of Ganymede, from the pirate strongholds of Rhea to the orbital stations above Mars — humanity struggles under the Corporation's shadow. Alchemists wield philosopher stones forged through dimensional folding. Policlones patrol corporate cities. And somewhere in the deep black, a young man named Davrick carries a secret in his blood that could unravel everything.
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From the Manuscript
Prologue
The roots of the Corporation dated back to 1917. After the Great War, there had been global disarmament among the nation states, sparked by the spiritual prophet Maitreya. Maitreya was globally regarded as the legitimate reincarnation of the Buddha.
His arrival had coordinated with an age of man that would see the birth of Commercial Aviation Alternatives. And they would come to develop a variety of transportation solutions that brought the people of the world closer together.
Zeppelins, air-ships, and eventual steam-jet propulsion paved the way for a globalization of society. Commercial Aviation Alternatives had brought people closer together, enabling the Maitreya to become an international icon.
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The Series
Eleven Novels. Fifteen Short Stories.
The Shades of Samsara cycle traces the fate of alchemy, consciousness, and power across a millennium of human expansion into the solar system.
PREQUEL
The Rings of Rhea
The pirate families of Saturn's moon. How the rebellion began — and what they stole.
NaNoWriMo Draft
BOOK ONE
Titan 3030
Davrick. The Charon. A tetrachimeric boy with alchemist blood and a dead father's secrets. 38 chapters. 77,669 words.
Complete Draft
BOOK TWO
Sundogs and Foxfire
The aftermath. Davrick, Keith, and Doyle face the Corporation's retaliation. New alliances. Old betrayals.
In Progress
BOOK THREE
Cats of Callisto
Jupiter's frozen moon holds secrets older than humanity. The Dryad caves whisper.
Outlined
BOOK FOUR
Philosophorum Magnus
Davrick forges his philosopher stone. The ultimate alchemical weapon: a singularity. The Jehovah awaits.
Outlined
BOOK FIVE
The Krill
In the methane seas, tholins feed ancient life. Something stirs beneath the ice of Titan.
Notes
BOOK SIX
The Tear of Teron
The weapon of the Old Life. Mitan'Tec's weakness. The filament that binds daemon to husk.
Outlined
BOOK SEVEN
Ouroboros
The cycle completes. Domini's endgame. Davrick's sacrifice. In the darkness, only heat remained.
Outlined
Plus a trilogy bridging the prequel and main series, and fifteen short stories expanding the universe — from pirate heists to shaman vigils to the abduction that set everything in motion.
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The Lore
Elements of the Universe
Alchemy
Transmutation circles. Philosopher stones forged in the palm. Dimensional folding through quark manipulation. The Magnum Opus.
Tetrachimera
Four genetic lineages in one body. Davrick's impossible biology — the key to a power no one understands.
PINCH
Faster-than-light transit technology. Gates between worlds. Stolen by pirates. Coveted by the Corporation.
Pirate Families
The Montgomerys. The Sevonis. Defectors from Relay who seized a PINCH device and scattered across the stars.
Dryads
Living spirits bound to ancient trees. The dryad caves of Ganymede. The dryad of Earth — humanity's second chance.
The Corporation
WUB Corp. Built on faith and aviation. Evolved into theocratic tyranny. Walter Domini's immortal machine.
The Alchemical Order
TAO. Shamans, druids, marshals. Apprentice to Singularity. Operating in the shadows of the Corporation.
The Galenites
Immortal creatures of spite from Alpha Centauri. They came bearing gifts. The gifts had teeth.
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The Author
Scott M. Folsom
The Shades of Samsara universe has been in development since 2012. What began as handwritten notebooks became a decade-long labor of love — spanning four revisions, a NaNoWriMo prequel, fifteen planned short stories, and a worldbuilding bible that traces fifty million years of history.
Titan 3030 is a complete novel at 77,669 words. The universe continues to expand.
"Progress is the means of our destruction. To progress is to move further away from the point. Cyclicality is sustainability."