A man predicts an assassination.

A stock trader is murdered.

The story is about people just trying to get along and make the best of what happening most of which they cannot control. It is not in a galaxy for far away or long long ago, it is in the next bit of our galaxy about five strings of stars to the left. Here life spins out all be it on a larger playing field. Here too people want a quiet life and a good job but sometime fate has other plans. Thus it for a data manager called John Harris....

Chapter 5 - - THE JUMP Harris stood waiting in the small switch room, waiting for what he did not know. Raftos was standing next to Harris, Mick was sitting on the floor in the corner watching the large panel on the main part of the wall. A small tinny sounding intercom speaker suddenly came to life and a voice came over cool and quite calm. " Command base control to Light Star, all personnel clear of the ground hanger, you may proceed to launch at your own time." Raftos leaned forward and pushed a switch near the intercom. " Light Star to base control." said Raftos. " All systems are steady, we are ready to make jump." Raftos let go of the switch. The speaker sounded for one last time. " Base control, good luck."...

In an apocalyptic Nebraska, where it hasn't rained in years, water has become a valuable commodity. At a time when no one can be trusted, 16-year-old Rabbit, is about to find out, just how far the government will go, to reserve resources for those they deem worthy- and for those they do not. Its up to Rabbit, and her father, to find a way to survive, in a chaotic world filled with thirst....

It’s been four years since the last rainfall graced mother earth with its presence. Crops have withered away, wildlife has diminished, and the world has gone crazy with thirst. I have been scavenging for water wherever I could find it- abandoned homes, and from the rubble of burned out buildings mostly, but it’s never enough. My lips are constantly chapped, and my skin is as dry as a lizard. I try to drink just enough to survive, because I never know when my next score on a case of water is going to be. At a time when I should be celebrating my sweet sixteen, and dating boys- I am instead, dealing with the aftermath of a world without water. Dad had been talking to a few of the other survivors in our project, and they overheard a conversation with some military professionals, and the outlook looks bleak for those of us who have nothing to offer society. We are what the government refers to as “the filth of the human race.” With no degrees to our names, and no skills to offer- other than cleaning up after the rich- we were spared only for their pleasure, and then tossed out like an old toy when something better came along. ...

CHPATER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE

The story is about people just trying to get along and make the best of what happening most of which they cannot control. It is not in a galaxy for far away or long long ago, it is in the next bit of our galaxy about five strings of stars to the left. Here life spins out all be it on a larger playing field. Here too people want a quiet life and a good job but sometime fate has other plans. Thus it for a data manager called John Harris....

Chapter 4 - - LIGHT STAR The shuttle circled the first moon of Morstan and headed toward Petra the furthest and smallest of the Morstan moons. As the dark side crescent of the third moon looped beneath the nose of the shuttle, the small barren moon of Petra appeared in view. It was a dark and uninviting place with no life except the very secret base where the Light Star project laboratories and assembly hangers were. The shuttle lurched as it gave a short burn to reach the high outer orbit of the moon. The planet below shrank rapidly smaller as the darkness of space enveloped the shuttle....

The story is about people just trying to get along and make the best of what happening most of which they cannot control. It is not in a galaxy for far away or long long ago, it is in the next bit of our galaxy about five strings of stars to the left. Here life spins out all be it on a larger playing field. Here too people want a quiet life and a good job but sometime fate has other plans. Thus it for a data manager called John Harris....

Harris had been with the Admiral for over five hours and was starving. He was half way through a double helping of treacle pudding when he saw Peters coming across the canteen towards him. Was it a habit of Peters to spoil peoples meals. Peters sat down at the table and ask how it went with the Admiral. Harris did not want to spoil his meal by talking but saw this as an opportunity to get some answers from Peters, who was effectively captive until Harris had finished his pudding, coffee and two cheese biscuits. Harris told Peters the meeting had gone well and he knew what was going on but still did not know why he had been selected. Harris looked at Peters directly. " Why me." he said....

The story is about people just trying to get along and make the best of what happening most of which they cannot control. It is not in a galaxy for far away or long long ago, it is in the next bit of our galaxy about five strings of stars to the left. Here life spins out all be it on a larger playing field. Here too people want a quiet life and a good job but sometime fate has other plans. Thus it for a data manager called John Harris....

"I hope you slept well." Harris looked up, it was Peters who was just putting a cup of coffee down in the table. Peters pulled out a chair and sat down. "I suppose you want some serious explanations today." said Peters. Harris deliberately took this time spreading the marmalade on his Mallory bread, he cut a small piece off and slowly eat it. Peters was patent and sipped his coffee. What Harris wanted, he complained to Peters, was a quiet life, he did not want to know what was going on, as he had the feeling it was going to get very complicated, very political and possibly dangerous....

The story is about people just trying to get along and make the best of what happening most of which the cannot control. It is not in a galaxy for far away or long long ago, it is in the next bit of our galaxy about five strings of stars to the left. Here life spins out all be it on a larger playing field. Here too people want a quiet life and a good job but sometime fate has other plans. Thus it was that the fortunes of fate settled its hand down on the head of a data manager called John Harris....

With that nauseous feeling you get on re-entry the decent shuttle landed at the main space port on Morstan. Harris looked out the side window as the shuttle was gently towed from the runway across to the parking apron by a large support tractor. A waiting passenger tunnel reached out from the terminal building to automatically connect with the shuttle. The terminal building was simple and plain with none of the flashing lights or gaudy colours of some space ports. This building stated quality and status, befitting the political centre of the Eastern Empire. The few passengers that were on the shuttle made there way into the waiting lounge for final security and paperwork checks. Before Harris had chance to sit down however a large gentleman in a dark blue uniform made his way across the lounge towards him. Although his uniform had no insignia of any kind on it everything about this man said security guard big time....

In 2055 humanity is confronting countless hardships inflicted on them by the powerful evil in control of the world. The Great Catastrophe had unfolded in waves that affected the environment, economy and society, and now enslaved the few hundred million survivors. As readers would expect from today’s trends, food was in short supply from runaway climate change, life support systems were overloaded with toxins, and ecosystems and the energy supply had collapsed. The story of three people living in one of a few remaining pockets of human reality is interwoven with chapters reaching back 33,000 years, when Earth was inhabited by two distinctly different hominids. The Neanderthal were nearly extinct. Homo sapiens, modern humans with advanced brains, were newcomers in Neanderthal territory. It soon became apparent that the species could interbreed. This short book aligns research showing that Neanderthal DNA is found in the human genome with findings from studies of the central nervous system. Approximately one to five percent of the population is born with brain anomalies correlated with psychopathy, a personality disorder marked b...

“Wow!” said Edde. “What we learned about the bastards casually through our talks over the years makes more sense to me now. They acquired power stealthily and misused it to control humanity in accordance with how they saw the world, which was and still is connected to their brain structures. The world they see, the reality they act within, is reckless, selfish, cold and destructive, in contrast to our normal more cautious, altruistic, warm and creative reality.” “Yeah,” said Ave. “What we just learned about Neanderthal anatomy gives a special significance to what you’ve told us, Pops, about history and the lead-up to the Great Catastrophe. Now we know that the abnormalities of the bastards’ brains transform them into sub-human beings whose reality and behaviour drastically contrast with our humanness. No wonder their behaviour seems insane to us. Until now, I couldn’t understand why anyone in their right mind would pollute and despoil the environment they depend on for their life, continue to wipe out species as if they themselves were exempt from extinction, extract resources at any cost to the point of depletion, and burn fossi...

PART ONE: Convergence and Consequence Where We Were – 2053: Refuge from the Ruins What Went Wrong – 31,000 BCE: Dawn of Disaster Where We Were – 2053: Climate Chaos What Went Wrong – 31,000 BCE: Dreams of Doom Where We Were – 2053: Earnest Elder What Went Wrong – 31,000 BCE: Ruthless Reprisal Where We Were – 2053: Survival and Support PART TWO: Edde and Ave Where We Were 2035: Rescue and Readjustment 2041: Cooperation and Co-creation 2043: Sacred Sanctuary 2048: Awakened Awareness PART THREE – The Conversations Where We Were: 2048 The First Conversation: Hidden History The Second Conversation: Insanities Intersect The Third Conversation: Seeking Solutions PART FOUR – Change and Challenge Where We Were: 2055 Paradise in Peril Demons and Decisions AFTERWORD: What we can do ADDITIONAL READING...

NumbaCruncha begins with a chilling peek into the near future, when Sebastian and Jarek, now in their eighties, confront a particularly vile religious autocrat, whose reign of terror has led to the destruction of their laboratories, but not their secret weapon. We then take a thousand year leap to a future city state in which the human aptitude for duplicitous and unjust social schemes has reached its logical culmination in Oasis, a flesh-crawlingly evil dystopia ruled by the most unpleasant gang of conmen and women you're ever likely to encounter. A couple of young scientists who have recently invented a new means of transport, begin to question the morality of the Oasis social order, and decide to do something about it. Meanwhile, back in the forest, Sebastian and Jarek’s secret weapon is waiting. NumbaCruncha is a thoughtful, perhaps shocking, certainly controversial, at times amusing, and always cheeky assessment of the apparently intractable problems facing humanity. Although the future for life on planet Earth seems hopelessly bleak to people who care about the destruction of the natural world in which Homo sapiens ...

1: Somewhere in Far North Queensland Towards the End of the Twenty-first Century. ‘Make sure there’s nothing left to salvage, or tomorrow there’ll be nothing left of you.’ The priest’s twisted smile, more venomous than his customary frown, underlined the threat. Ignoring the nervous nods of his sweating acolytes, he turned, raised an imperial finger in warning and waddled back to his limousine, slashing the air with his stick to ward off mute offers of assistance from heavily armed bodyguards. After passing silently through the gates the black car stopped to allow the priest to gaze back through tinted windows. Impassive, he watched as the splendid old buildings exploded in a gigantic fireball that briefly rivalled the sun. This wasn’t the first such establishment he’d had the pleasure of demolishing, and wouldn’t be the last. Releasing a wheezy sigh of satisfaction he nodded slightly and chewed thoughtfully on his bottom lip. There were few pleasures to match erasing the stench of Roman Catholic blasphemy, nonconformist freethinking tolerance, and secretive research by ungodly intellectuals bent on disrupting God’s plans. He t...

Table of Contents 1: Somewhere in Far North Queensland Towards the End of the Twenty-First Century 2: About a Thousand Years Later 3: A Demonstration 4: Peteru & Uretep Show How It’s Done 5: The Mages Do It 6: Breakfast with the Mages 7: Peteru and Uretep Learn About Oasis 8: Problems 9: Production Gets Underway 10: How the Other Half Live 11: Plans Progress Apace 12: New Oasis 13: The Forest 14: Where the Men Live 15: The Mages Remain True to Type 16: The Royal Couple 17: The Men Tell All 18: More Information 19: NumbaCruncha is Unveiled 20: The Trap is Set 21: Dinner with the Mages 22: The Best Laid Plans ...

Join the adventures of Mark Prior, a twenty two year old Brit, in an incredible journey across Europe as he uncovers, alongside his friends, a hidden and primeval power. Follow the story of the four friends as they release the blue lightning, trapped inside a forgotten relic from a time long lost, and witness their change from young university graduates to beings of extraordinary power....

Chapters 1-15

Arthur Mcnair climbed to the top of society with his world changing invention: The Memory Chip. This device, implanted above the user's right ear, can erase any memory or group of memories. The chip gave the world a chance to forget their problems and pain, and the world bought it. After many years of successfully leading the company as CEO, Arthur found himself faced with divorce papers from his wife and a lawsuit from his partner. On the eve of the court trial that would decide the fate of his company, Arthur was mugged, his memory chip hacked and the last twenty years of his memory erased. Risking his life and sanity, he undergoes an experimental treatment to retrieve the precious memories. Looking for clues about his enemies, his wife’s dealings and his company’s past, Arthur might not like what he finds....

The rain covered the sound of footsteps behind him. He did not shout for help as a strong arm grabbed him from behind and another blow hit him square between the shoulders throwing him to the ground. He made no struggle as his arms were pinned behind his back. A car pulled up and he was thrown headfirst into the backseat. A female voice commanded his attacker, “Quick give me his head.” His head was lifted from the floor of the car and twisted to give unobstructed access to his memory chip. “How far are you going to go back?” Someone asked from the front seat. “Twenty years.” Arthur felt a code being punched into the memory chip on the side of his head, an instant later his vision was clouded by darkness and he sunk into unconsciousness. Time to start over again. ...

A radio signal is traced from outer space by SETI. The story now heads in an unexpected direction. This narrative is serious, not heavy and has a novel mix of technology, philosophy and ideology to suit readers of all ages. The singular feature of the book unravels as the soft and gentle mannerisms underlying the basic nature of the aliens come to light in the later chapters...

It was 7th August 2011, and 10.55 pm. Greg, one of Seth’s staff members who was about to pour a cup of coffee for him, heard an unusual beep coming from his monitor. It was pulsating on the monitor repeatedly at regular intervals. He went back to his seat immediately; diverted his concentration fully on it and realized that may be the sign of SETI’s dream coming through. .... He said “As human beings, we should respect each other more than anything. Now I could visualize the damage we were doing to the moon people’s society with more and more of our influence and interference. Dooda’s speech was an eye opener to me in the matter of respecting each other’s belief system on which human societies are built. Everybody should realize the amount of influence that a belief system can have on the structure of a human society. Belief systems influence the architecture of our buildings, the food we eat, legal systems we follow, our customs, rituals we observe and how we behave”. ...

The Brane Skip device may provide a way for humanity to overcome the light-speed barrier and finally head for the stars. It seems like magic to Lisa Chang, the young engineer in command of the first crewed test flight, and Lisa doesn't believe in magic. But she does believe in the mission. Humanity must explore space in order to survive and prosper, and she feels honored to be among the first to go where no one has gone before. She does not know what will happen when the Brane Skip engages. She thinks it will do nothing. She fears it will explode. She does not expect it will cast them adrift in space and on a collision course with a fantasy version of Earth, complete with dragons, orcs, and wizards. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens. ...

The antagonistic magician stepped back and drew another item from a belt pouch. This one looked like either a small cocoon or a large wad of pocket fluff. He gestured more theatrically this time. "Swirling mist on quiet bog "Patient sits a bump on log "Craving flies within the sog "Now thou art a croaking frog!" She could not restrain herself this time and laughed in his dumbfounded face. Rennart backed away, still watching her, his eyes narrowed in a cold, calculating squint. Ferman ran up to her. "How are you feeling?" he asked anxiously. "To be honest, a bit confused," she said, wiping her eye and trying to compose herself. "Oh? Like maybe wondering why you have a sudden urge to wallow in the mud or eat a fat, juicy fly?" "What? Don't be ridiculous. I'm confused about what all this is about. It's a joke, right? Is this some kind of movie set or something?" In her world, the real world, movies hadn’t been made with live actors and sets in over fifty years because it was so slow and expensive. Better results could be obtained from computer graphics, but this being a movie set was a more plausible explanation than anythin...

And now for something completely different—a humorous science fiction parody of epic fantasy adventure stories—an anti-fantasy book that pokes some good-natured fun at the serious tone and dependence on magic common to many epic fantasy adventure genre novels. There are no dragons here, but there are some androids. This is the story of Prince Donald of Westgrove. He is the idealistic third son of the king, and he comes to believe that he may be the only one able to protect his country from an invasion spearheaded by an ancient and massive magical stone warrior known as the Warden of Mystic Defiance. Donald, unfortunately, is woefully unprepared. His only real understanding of such things comes from his reading of adventure stories. When he finds an ancient scroll he believes may allow him to take control of the mysterious Warden, he eagerly takes on the task. He dreams of saving the kingdom and becoming a hero like those in his books. To his dismay, his quest turns out to be nothing like he imagined. He finds the stories in his library seriously understate the complexities and hardships involved. He also soon realizes that ...

Donald held his breath. The great black monolith stood its ground refusing to so much as acknowledge his presence, much less answer his summons. “Maybe you have to do it naked,” Muce whispered, breaking the silence. “What?” The young notso held the prince’s translation of the patched vellum scroll in his hand. “It says here, Naked to the Warden’s love. Maybe that means you have to do it without any clothes on.” “Let me see that!” The prince snatched the paper from his companion’s hand. “No. That’s just a poetic way to say you have to be sincere. It can’t literally mean without any clothes because it also says you have to have this silly hat and glove, for the gods’ sake. How can you be naked wearing a hat and a glove?” “I don’t know, but that’s what it says, and what you did before didn’t work. You sounded real good, though, Your Highness. It was really impressive.” “Uh, thanks. What do you think, Kwestor?” asked Donald. “You still don’t want to know. But if you’re going to try anything else, you’ll need to do it soon. Dawn doesn’t last that long.” The prince turned his eyes to the horizon and the creeping light of dawn. “B...

The only future that can be predicted with 100 percent certainty is one that can be calculated mathematically--for example, the orbit of a comet. Adam is unknowingly selected on a short list for relocation by aliens, as part of a grand plan to save the Earth's species from certain extinction in the coming global catastrophe....

A short story.

She showed Amber her penis. Amber was shocked. Cindy leaped at her and started kissing her. Amber thought for a minute then reciprocated. They necked.

A poetic look at life and death.

John was still nude. George was wearing a gown. John inserted the syringe between his toes and shot up. He loved it. It was perfect. He felt very tired. He just ignored George and laid down on the blackness....

A science fiction adventure in Antarctica.

He would lose Karen forever. And his research. But who cared about that. Would anyone ever find him? Would they find him alive? Only God knew. He wondered why he had gone to this hellhole. He felt lost. Completely lost. By the time he was found he would be dead. When he didn't return to his quarters tonight they would send out a search party. But not until morning. By then he would be dead....

What happens if the capacities of four scientists get downloaded into one computer? The joined brain will be able to solve the most complicated tasks at a high rate. And what if add the creative potential of a few hundred people more? The artificial intellect will not just memorize it all, but produce any kind of solution, putting it together like a jigsaw puzzle. The creator of the “Einsteiner” a bio-generated hardware, working on human creative energy, has disappeared, while the creativity has become the most valuable resource on earth. People willingly sell their potential for good money. As for a young talented engineer, Isaac Leroy, this by all means is the only way to get the sum needed for his sister’s surgery. However, incidentally, not only that he loses this chance, but also becomes a reckless criminal, whose goal is to stop the process of turning people into ruck....