Chapter One The Moon - 3749 C.E. "So, remind me," requested the Interplanetary Union's Minister for External Affairs. "How have we managed to commit ourselves to the horrendous expense of this mission?" "Do you mean the Alpha Project, sir?" asked Permanent Secretary Alfredo Miskiewicz from his office at Mare Cognitum on the Moon. "Whatever it's called n...
Chapter Twelve Earth - 3752 C.E. Whatever else Earth might be—and it was a candidate for many honours—in the thirty-eighth century what it principally happened to be was mostly just a tourist resort. It was the same wherever Paul and Beatrice travelled on the planet: everything they saw was labelled and displayed for the benefit of tourists. The visitors to...
Chapter Two Godwin - 3749 C.E. "Frankly," said the consultant as he hovered cross-legged in the air beside Paul, "you're not doing especially well for a man of your age." "What do you mean?" Paul asked nervously. The doctor consulted the holo-manual at eye level by his side. "You're nearly eighty years old, aren't you? That's an age that might once have...
Godwin - 3750 C.E. "How many incidents have there been now?" Paul was asked. "A few," he answered. "Six, in fact," said the dark hued security officer who'd flown in from the Interplanetary Union's administrative offices near Pluto. "Three reported at the university. Two between here and your home. And one that destroyed your home; or at least most of i...
He heard noises he couldn't recognize. This was troubling to him because he didn't know where he was. His eyes were closed but the light was intense and he was afraid to open his eyes. "Brad, are you awake?" A voice he recognized said. Brad opened his eyes and then slammed them shut again because of the intense light. "What's going on, "Brad said. "You'...
Chapter Twenty OneIntrepid - 3754 C.E. There is almost no incident more serious than when the space ship of which you are captain has been attacked and boarded. And as captain of the Space Ship Intrepid, Nadezhda Kerensky knew that what was required was an emergency meeting for everyone aboard. It wouldn't be enough to simply broadcast a statement. There h...
Tom and Suzanne, an attractive professional couple in their late forties, had been married for nearly twenty two years, living most of that time in the same neighborhood. Their only child, a daughter named Amy, was in her junior year at Yale on her path to becoming an attorney. After Amy left for school, Tom and Suzanne quickly discovered that "empty nest sy...
Once upon a time, there was a special school. Let's call it Sheetwood High. It was special because, for a lack of explanation, the town of Sheetwood and even it's surrounding county was a queer place. Many said Sheetwood girls were just different than other girls, and they were right. Because Sheetwood high schools and colleges, should the statistics have be...
Chapter Fifteen Intrepid - 3755 C.E. Paul had never shown much interest in the other passengers and crew of the Intrepid in all the months since he first boarded the space ship. He didn't feel comfortable in the company of soldiers, he didn't need to see the crew very often, and there were no other computer archaeologists amongst the scientists. He was more...
Chapter Fourteen Intrepid - 3754 C.E. Ever since he'd got married to Beatrice, Paul had tried to resist the temptation to visit Nudeworld. It no longer had quite the same attraction as before. It wasn't that Paul didn't visit cyberspace any more. He still enjoyed going to places and meeting people that could only ever be encountered in virtual reality, but...