That brought us to the unavoidable question. What the hell were we going to do? We could fool the clan a while, but would eventually have to finalize matters with them. There was the issue of the handful of humans possibly still alive, in the past, on Mars. But, if they did survive, our going there would betray their presence to the vengeful clan. That was not a viable option.
But, in the days that followed the no-timing of Earth, I came to know not only what we needed to do, but to know it was worth dying for, in the attempt. There was no alternative. We needed to literally do the impossible. We needed to save Earth, to resurrect that which had never lived.
That should be a breeze, right? No biggie.
To be continued …
Glossary:
First a word about time, as used in this series. The clan uses several foreign, non-intuitive terms to describe time. Here are the concepts.
Anti-no-time: Such a big word! It was the side effect of the negative time generated by wormholes, that were used against the clan. Since clan ships were structured with time energy, negative time deleted what it touched, like matter-antimatter interactions.
No-time: A verb. It means to take the time from a unit of space/time, leaving only space. The object has no time, it had been no-timed.
No-timers: The clan term for all non clan members.
Non-time: A noun. A sloppy word the clan uses. It can mean one of two things. First, that basically, something's dead, without time, random. It can also mean that time has stopped, for the object under discussion.
Non-time ship: Any space craft that is a non-clan ship.
Un-timed: To stop time for an object or region. Basically the same as the second meaning of non-time.
Other glossary entries:
Als (1): The original ship's AI on Jon's first flight long ago was Alvin. Jon shortened that to Al. When Al was joined to Jon's vortex in the Galaxy On Fire Series, Al and Blessing fell in love and got “married.” Since then Jon refers to them combined as the Als.
Ark 1(1): Jon's ship on his very first mission, when he traveled to find humankind a new home.
Azsuram (2): Original human name for the planet GB 3. It was the planet Jon and Sapale settled on after they left the human fleet fleeing doomed Earth. They established an idyllic society of Kaljaxians there, before humans join them.
Blessing (1): See Stingray.
Cleinoid gods (1): Ancient and malevolent mix of gods. They have destroyed many universes before and are eyeing ours now. The five ranks or groupings for their invasion were to be Rage, Torment, Wrath, Fury, and Horror.
Command Prerogatives (1): The thin fibers Jon extends from his left four fingers. They are probes that also control a vortex.
Cragforel (1): Friendly Deavoriath Jon met after he first escaped the Adamant in the far future.
Cube (1): Jon's alternate name for the vortex he captains.
Daleria (2): Demigod and innkeeper whom Jon and Sapale befriended. She worked with them against the ancient gods as she'd grown to hate them.
Davdiad (1): Kaljaxian divine spirit.
Deavoriath (1): Three arms and legs, the most advanced tech in the galaxy, and helpful to Jon.
Dr. Sadozi (1): Sapale's assumed name when visiting the White House, long before aliens were known to exist.
Form One/Form Two (1): A Form is the title of a vortex pilot. If more than one is aboard they get numerical designations based on seniority.
Kaljax (1): The home planet of Sapale. Jon went there on his original voyages.
Membrane (1): See space-time congruity manipulator.
Probe Fibers (1): Aka command prerogatives, they allow piloting of the Vortex spaceship and can analyze whatever they touch.
Sapale (1): Jon’s Kaljaxian wife from his original flight to find humankind a new home. At first just her brain was copied, then, eventually, she was downloaded to an android host. Travelled with the corrupted Jon Ryan from an alternate time line.
Space-time congruity manipulator (1): Hugely helpful force field. Aka a membrane.
Stingray (1): Jon's Deavoriath spaceship. Her name in the Deavoriath language is pronounced “crash.” Hence, silly Jon renamed her after one of his favorite cars. It makes Jon-sense.
Time (1): See discussion above.
Toño DeJesus (1 of TFL): The scientist creator of the android Jon. Became his lifelong friend.
Vortex (1): Super-advanced Deavoriath sentient spaceship. Moves by folding space. If you get a chance to own one, do it.
Quantum Decoupler (1): A most excellent weapon that pulls the quarks apart in a proton. The energy released as they rejoin is amazing.
And Now A Word from Your Author
Who Doesn’t Love Blatant
Self-Promotion?
Thank you for starting the next saga in the Ryanverse! It all began, for the record, back with The Forever Life, Book 1. I will always consider that book my baby. This new series has been said to be, by those whose opinions count, the best so far (and no, I''m not referring to my own opinion. I think it is, too, but I'm too shy to write those words down).
All told, there are three prior series of six books, each. The Forever Series, Galaxy on Fire, and Rise of the Ancient Gods. As of this printing, The Forever and Galaxy on Fire are also available on Audible, thanks to the outstanding Podium Publishing peeps. The Forever Part 1 can be found here. All of the Ryanverse will eventually be available on Audible, as will the wacky, unrelated series Road Trips In Space.
Since you're family, now, hop aboard the bandwagon. There’s plenty of room. Follow me at Craig Robertson’s Author’s Page on Facebook. Partake of the conversation and fun. Finally, I love emails. No, I'm not that needy, I just love hearing from y'all. [email protected].
A final favor. Please post a review for this book, especially on Amazon. They are more precious to us authors than gold.
So, keep thinking only the good thoughts … craig
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