"Truth is stranger than fiction" is my mantra, and this week I'm giving you another example of how it informed the creative process behind my book.  The first major turning point is the decision by senior officers on the Dauntless to mutiny, and seize the colony ship by force mid-voyage.  Historically, mutinies were very rare in sailing vessels because of the major deterrents, mainly capital punishment if you got caught.  It was a major risk, not worth it to most, even in the face of the appalling shipboard conditions that were widespread in the Age of Sail.  When transferring this plot development to a sci-fi setting, I wanted the character motivations to be believable.  

So I carefully examined the historical record of the Batavia mutiny that is the "source material" for my book.  I wanted to know:  what compelled these real-world men to risk their own lives?  As I discovered there was no one single reason, but a combination of factors:  their backgrounds and experience, the presence of a large treasure in the Batavia's hold, and the belief that they would never be caught.  In the 17th century, much of the world was still unmapped, and a rogue sailing vessel could hide almost anywhere.  But all this was not enough; the record revealed more personal tipping points as well.  The mutineers loathed Commodore Pelsaert, and Cornelis was charismatic, and highly skilled at manipulating his fellow mutineers in furtherance of his own evil, and ambitious, goals.

I then transferred this dynamic into a sci-fi setting.  On board the Dauntless, the characters learn of a valuable treasure hidden in the ship's hold; the vastness of space offers an endless list of places to hide; the mutineers despise Captain Pelzard; and Cornelis manipulates Jacobs' insecurities, subtly but skillfully.  I also included an element of class warfare:  the characters despise their corporate overlords and the rigid hierarchy that controls them.  That was true of the Dutch East India Company in 1629, and it's true all over the world today, so why would it be any different six centuries from now?   If I sat down and tried to dream up purely fictional character motivations, I could never think of anything more compelling than something that actually happened, however long ago in the past.