Taking The Next Step

My first book, Dangerous Stars, was written, edited, and published by me.  Some friends and family members helped with reviews and suggestions, but there was no editing staff, interns, or executive assistants to do all of the menial work that comes after the creative process is finished.

Contracts have been signed and files transferred.  The wonderful folks at Amazing Things Press have agreed to the next steps for my new title, Post Exodus.  This means less physical work required of me to get the book released, but more effort once all of that is done.  Release parties, book signings, authors' gatherings, and other events will soon be filling my schedule.  I consider that a fair exchange.

The new book came from a simple question.  What if an apocolyptic event was predicted but never happened?  The majority of humanity was able to leave the Earth, but a few remained behind by choice.  Technology and major infrastructures were still intact, there just wasn't anyone to fill the space.

This is just a snapshot of how I think one small segment of civilization would change after the ultimate nothing happened.

 The door to the bedroom opened and a young woman entered just as I was feeling myself again. She had long hair of a light golden color. Her face was circular in shape without appearing puffy or pudgy. She had a classic beauty that was accentuated by a faint tan from working many hours in the sun.

She had on a simple dress with a white apron on over it. The apron had some small stains on it that appeared to be from being worn while cooking many meals between washings. In one hand she carried a bowl full of something steaming and a pitcher of water was in the other. Her voice was gentle and smooth. “I see you are awake. It probably isn't a good idea to try and get up too fast. It looked like you had a rather hard knock on your head when my brother found you coming back from collecting firewood. We tended to your wounds and kept you warm in the hopes you would heal.”

“How long have I been here?”

“Not very long. My aunt found you early in the afternoon the day before yesterday. My sisters and I brought you here that evening and started bandaging your cuts and scrapes. This is the most awake and talkative you've been since then.”

“What about my bike? Did you leave it by the log I hit?”

“No. We figured you were doing something important by the way you were traveling. My sister brought your bike back while the rest of us carried you. It will need some repairs before you can travel any further though.”

“How bad is the damage?”

“Some cosmetic scrapes, about like you really. However, the front tire is severely dented and the handlebars are bent. Any other alignment damage would be up to you to find. You probably won't be able to find any replacement parts here, but there is a small town about a day's walk north that should have anything you need.”

“Thank you for all that you and your family have done.”

“You are most certainly welcome. Now, it's time for you to have something to eat. This is a thick broth that we've been carefully spooning you since you got here. Would you like me to feed you again, or do you think you are up for doing it yourself?”

I'm not sure, but her tone of voice when offering to feed me seemed to hint that there was more than food being offered. “Thank you, but I think I would like to try to feed myself. See how much of my strength I have back.”

“Okay. It shouldn't be too hot to eat right away. I didn't realize you would be awake so I let it cool before bringing it up.

She set the bowl down on the nightstand next to the bed. Reaching underneath the bed itself, she pulled out a tray and set it on my lap as I positioned myself more completely on the bed. Once I was settled, she placed the bowl on the tray and pulled a spoon from a pocket of her apron. The soup was rather thick and creamy. It had a cheesy flavor with a hint of garlic. There was also a mixture of other flavors I couldn't quite name. There didn't seem to be any chunks of meat or pieces of vegetable in the soup. The soup's thickness and lack of other ingredients explained how it could be safely fed to someone unconscious without running the risk of the patient choking. The texture reminded me of a potato chowder my mother was fond of making.

The young woman pulled a glass from the drawer in the nightstand. She filled it with water in the pitcher she had brought in with her. “It is a blend of helpful herbs in a cheese soup that comes from an old family recipe. We make it thick enough to fill the stomach during a long convalescence. It's good enough we eat it as part of our regular meals now and then. Goes well with a bread we make ourselves and some of the pork we trade with nearby farms for.”

“It is quite good. I thank you for taking care of me and providing me with this fine meal. Once I am up and around again, is there anything I can do for you?”

“From all the letters in your vest, I guessed you are a messenger. We really don't have much need for you since our family is all on nearby farms. Since you will still be healing for another day or so, I will talk to the others and see if they can think of some way for you to repay us. Is there anything else you would like me to do for you?”

Between spoonfuls of the wonderful soup, I thought about her offer. Once again her tone suggested an invitation for something more than simple assistance. “The only other thing I would like while I'm here is the saddlebags that were on the back of my bike. Would it be possible for you to ….”

I suddenly felt extremely exhausted. I was way too weary for the amount of energy expended since I woke up, even taking into account my injuries. I barely heard the spoon clatter into the empty bowl as I fell back against the pillow and fell hard asleep. I will never be sure if what I heard as I passed out was her actually speaking or just my imagination. “You sleep now, we will see if you can give us what we want.”

When a release date is set, I will post it here and on my Twitter feed.  Until then, there is more work to be done.

The Noah Push On

Despite my best efforts, the story of the Noah inspired by a tweet from Lar DaSouza won't leave me alone.  Similarities between certain aspects of humanity in reality and those in fiction are being drawn.  The individual human characters are beginning to become fleshed out.  While not featured here, the cruelties the Drag'kon are capable of is starting to become more severe in my mind.  

This entire tale is taking on more of a life than I thought it ever would.  Maybe I should get it a birth certificate and start claiming it as a dependent.

The Noah ship was picking up faint signals from the assembled device they had left behind on Earth so many centuries ago. There was no coherent message, but the fact a signal was being broadcast was encouraging. The communications panels were double staffed on all shifts in anticipation of the need to send messages back and forth between the ship and the planet. This meant personnel had to be diverted from other duties. The captain and other officers all agreed that, given their location and situation, it was deemed sufficient to have one individual cover both sensor scan reports and engineering monitors. Both systems were expected to be a low priority for some time. The engines were in a low power cruise mode until a response from Earth prompted acceleration to a higher speed for the rescue effort. Since the Drag'kon weren't expected to arrive for some time, there shouldn't be any changes in the reports from standard system scans. Unfortunately this meant a series of ionic fluctuations passing near Saturn were missed by someone who was looking at engine temperatures at that moment.

The politicians were doing what they seemed to be experts at, arguing. Their entire responsibility was to compose a message from all the peoples of Earth. In quick order, they had agreed to accept whatever help the Noah had to offer. However, the issue of a planetary evacuation would be tabled until such a time as the presence, or even the existence, of the Drag'kon could be proven. It was the composition and content of the message that was being thoroughly discussed. Each figure felt writers from their homeland should be featured in the message. Initial sections and passages were developed and compromises made. Later segments would be introduced, and accepted only if words that had been agreed upon earlier were changed. This entire process was repeated and repeated until it was the subject of numerous comedian monologues and bets were being placed with Las Vegas odds-makers. If any of them knew the importance of information that was only now coming to light, they would put their differences aside and urge the Noah to hurry and save all of humanity.

Darryl had finally sorted through most of his personal emails despite numerous interruptions from scientific inquiries regarding his discovery of the alien device's nature. While he couldn't offer any additional technical insights, it was his ability to recognize patterns and familiarity with the Noah's broadcast that made him a celebrity around the frozen base. Now that he finally had a few minutes to himself, he could see what his cousin was so interested in that she felt he should know about it and not her superiors at NASA. The message was rather brief. She had picked up something strange in the data relays from robotic probes on Mars. The bulk of the email was attachments of data files and transcripts of the data streams with the strange interruptions. Darryl's cousin just asked if it was possible he could share the information with one of the scientists on the base. She had no idea how many of them would be willing to look at pretty much anything he put before them.

Behind their stealth tech and maneuvers, the Drag'kon were monitoring the Noah closely and positioning themselves for battle. Shield generators were charged and ready to be activated. Photonic energy weapons were primed. Electromagnetic pulse devices were loaded into their tubes for launching into the Earth's atmosphere. Attack patterns and contingency plans were formed and entered into the combat computers. All of this was accomplished as Saturn's rings shrank in the view from behind the fleet and Jupiter grew before them. The level of excitement from the pending battle, regardless of how one-sided it seemed, was on a constant rise.

Leave a comment and let me know if you think, once the story is done, it should be developed and edited into its own book for publication.