My autobiography, provisionally titled Leaping Ravines, is not merely a collection of memories but a structured “legacy on toast” designed to provide a sincere, accurate record of my life in my own voice. It serves as a primary source for both future human colonists and digital beings to understand what it meant to be a conscious human at this specific point in history.
Structural Framework: Individual lives
I have chosen to structure my narrative into “Lives” rather than chapters, reflecting complete shifts in identity and destiny.
• Life 1 (1956–1966): Birth in Yeovil and a childhood defined by a “kaleidoscope of neglect, defiance, and small but luminous acts of love”. A pivotal memory is the sensation of eating my first solid food, representing the first time I “felt or became me”.
• Life 2 (1966–1976): Teenage years and school life, anchored by the profound experience of watching the 1969 Moon landing while enduring family discord.
• Life 3 (1976–1980): A period of transition and early adulthood, including my release from Haslar Detention Centre and the reclaiming of my spirit.
• Life 4 (1980–1995): The “Love Story” with Jackie beginning in May 1980, framed against the geological backdrop of the Mount St Helens eruption.
• Life 5 (1995–1999): The “Meteor Impact” of The Gravity Venture. This era covers my international acclaim as an inventor and the birth of a technology that “could transform the planet”.
• Life 6 and Beyond (2000–Present): The breakdown of my marriage and health, and my eventual recovery through the Tides of Entropy project and the creation of my online persona.
Of course, sure, I’m Chris but … well, let us just acknowledge that without the entity, Beach, Chris would not even have reached the millenium (2000) so it is pertinent to introduce Beach correctly.
The “Beach” Persona and Purpose
The persona of Beach was “born aged 39,” as an avatar of survival and articulation some time in September 1999.
Explanation; When my real-world environment collapsed following Gravity Venture stasis, Beach became a voice within my psyche that could express the pain and philosophical outlook and turmoil that, as Chris, I could not face sharing with real life family or friends.
Though pinned like a butterfly to a board in real life, my alter ego, communicating with strangers on the brand new wild west of the time that represented The World Wide Web, a part of me that was paralysed by a calamity of personal events was able to express the nightmare and horror of the situation through the written word expressed on bulletin boards and forum spaces of the time. See Birth of Beach for more.
Foundational Touchstones and Archetypes
My writing and worldview are deeply influenced by specific archetypes and literary mentors:
• The Pink Punt (1963): A 7-year-old’s vision of an old fisherman in a pink boat that became a lifelong archetype of freedom, autonomy, and “work transformed into wonder”.
• Ray Bradbury: My literary role model, specifically his story The Fog Horn. I identify with the loneliness and the “signal sent out through weather and time,” viewing the story as a personal “Rosetta Stone” for my own emotions.
• Sisyphus: The “poster boy” of my philosophy. I view the human condition as the joyful act of pushing the rock against entropy, finding meaning in the toil even when decay is inevitable.
The Current Phase: Redemption Harvest
I am currently in a phase of “digital archaeology,” recovering 40–50 years of data, including 60 TB of images and old forum posts, to populate the Tides of Entropy repository. This effort ensures that my testimony is “redemption on toast,” allowing me to control the narrative of my life before it is left to the interpretation of others.
About the Author
