In the second story of Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, musician Robert Frobisher writes letters describing the events of his life to his lover, Rufus Sixsmith, in Zedelghem. He becomes a secretary for a formerly famous composer, eventually helping him acheive recognition once more.
In the first story of Cloud Atlas, American Adam Ewing waits for repairs for his ship as he sails from his home in San Francisco to the South Pacific in order to execute a will in 1850. While there, he meets Dr. Henry Goose and witnesses a number of strange events including a public flogging by the Maori people. Later, the flogged man stows away on Ewing's ship.
Rodney Brooks joined the faculty at MIT in September 1894 and began work on his various robotics projects. The references to his research and that of his students in Chapter 3 and 4 took place at his MIT lab.
