Raised in the rural town of Orange Cove, Rob Lopez was influenced most by the Star Wars films, Spider-Man and X-Men comics, and authors H.G. Wells and Isaac Asimov. While in high school he created the comic strip "Nucleon" for the Reedley Exponent, Foreign Affairs, an original play performed by his peers, and his short story "Magdalaine" was published in Symmetry, the Reedley College literary magazine. In his twenties Rob designed his own adventure games, performed community theater and worked as an office clerk at Pine Flat Ranger station. During his years as a computer and GED instructor he