The Travelling Detective: Boxed Set

by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

  Then my mind is exactly what you are wanting, Sally thought. There hadn’t been time in her busy schedule to look at much more than the map and the list of places to stay.

  Kat Mac looked around the room. "We will start this morning with introductions and then get right into the course. I want to cover as much as I can in the short time we have."

  Sally had thought two weeks was a long time, but then again, she didn’t know much about writing and even less about writing science fiction.

  Kat Mac eyes settled on Sally. "We’ll begin with the last row and work our way down to the front. Would you please stand, give us your name and a brief bio about yourself and why you are here?"

  Sally stood slowly. She hated that the instructor had called upon her first There were twelve other writers in the group and she didn’t know how brief was brief. Were these introductions supposed to take ten minutes, five minutes or just thirty seconds?

  "My name is Sally Matthews. I’m from Edmonton, Alberta. I love to read science fiction and some fantasy. I’m in the beginning stages of writing a novel and I’m here to learn as much as I can about the creative process for science fiction. Uh… this is my first retreat." Sally sat down her face reddening. She turned to the woman who sat beside her.

  The woman stood. "I’m Lisa Zhang. This is also my first retreat. I’ve almost finished a novel. I live in Chilliwack, B.C."

  The man at their table was Luke Johnson from Lillooet, B.C. and he had completed his novel. He was really here because he needed the time away from work and family to edit it.

  "My name is Bonnie Stone and I don’t know if any of you have noticed but there are thirteen of us and that is an unlucky number to have in a class."

  "I’m number fourteen," Kat Mac said.

  Bonnie shook her head. "The instructor doesn’t count. There are thirteen students. That’s a bad sign. I might not be able to stay." She sat down without saying anything about herself.

  So Bonnie was the woman she’d seen at breakfast, Sally thought. She waited to learn who the man from the bed and breakfast was.

  "This is my third retreat," Russ Peters from Vancouver said. "I didn’t learn much at the other two, so I’m still working on the same novel. I’m hoping this one will be the charm."

  And so it went around the room. Sally marked down names and the places they were from so she knew who they were. She didn’t trust her memory. Most were from the province but one man, Reggie Shaw, was from Hinton, Alberta. She put a tick beside Daryl Cannon from Victoria because he was the man she’d noticed at the bed and breakfast.

  For many this was their first retreat. Most had already started a novel, while a few were hoping to begin one during these two weeks. One man, Kirk West, had come because he had a story idea and thought it might fit into the science fiction genre. He was wanting to learn all that he could.

  "I am going to speak in my regular voice at my regular speed," Kat Mac said, at the end of the introductions. "If you want to record my lecture, you may do so but I will be moving around as I talk so my voice will be quieter or louder depending on where your recording device is. I do not allow them on my desk."

  Sally had checked the Internet to find out what there was in recording technology that would make it easier for her to take notes during the lecture. She had found microphones for investigators to wear on their body, which she’d laughingly shown that to Elizabeth and suggested she might need it for her amateur sleuthing. There was a bionic ear that would allow her to hear conversations up to thirty-five metres feet away. That would help her hear the lecture but not write it. Then she’d read about the super high sensitivity microphones that were good for anyone attending a large conference. They came with up to thirty-five metres of cable and attached to a recorder. One with an eight metre cable cost about one hundred dollars plus shipping and handling and relevant taxes. When she’d read that she’d opted for the old-fashioned art of writing it out by hand and then she’d use the new technology and read it back into her computer via the voice activated software.

  "With that out of the way I now have a surprise for you," Kat Mac continued. "On the last Friday there will be a publisher here to give a speech on what his publishing house is looked for in manuscript ideas."

  There was a gasp from some of the students. They began talking to her and to each other.

  Kat Mac held up her hand. When it was quiet, she continued. "After his speech each of you will have ten minutes with him in order to pitch an idea for a book, tell him about your book and ask if it would be a fit for his publishing house, or just ask him questions. The choice is yours."

  This set the room a buzz again. Everyone was talking excitedly. Sally didn’t take part in it. She wasn’t sure how she felt about this. She was working on a story and had written the first three Chapters but she didn’t know if she wanted to share it with anyone, especially a publisher. If he said he didn’t like it, what would she do, and if he did like it then the pressure would be on for her to finish it and she wasn’t even sure how the next Chapters would go or even how the story was going to play out. Maybe by the end of next week she would have a better idea.

  Kat Mac waited a few minutes then brought the room back to order. "Science fiction and fantasy are sometimes called speculative fiction because the writer allows their imagination to wander outside the realm of our reality," she said, getting right into her lecture. She paused and looked around the room. "I don’t know how familiar you are with science fiction or fantasy writing so this morning I will give you an overview. Later we’ll discuss them in length.

  “Over the years there have been many definitions given for science fiction and fantasy depending on who you ask. Rod Serling, host of the late 1960s, early 1970s television show, The Twilight Zone, is supposed to have said. ‘Fantasy is the impossible made probable and science fiction is the improbable made possible.’"

  She was pacing up and down the room as she talked, stopping occasionally to look at the students. It was easy to see that she was passionate about her subject.

  "Science fiction writing comes from each writer’s conjectures based on present events or on inventions in science or technology. They take that event or invention and project it into the future, modifying it to suit the circumstances of their story. But the story’s abstract components are possible within the laws of nature as seen by the scientific establishment.

  "Science fiction writers should have a basic knowledge of the world around them, some understanding of science, and a good imagination. In the case of fantasy writing, usually magic, the supernatural, or mythology is the basis for the themes, plots, or settings. It stays away from the scientific technology but follows the ‘Laws’ of whatever its theme is. If the theme is magic, then the story must be contained within the rules of magic. Myths, fairy tales, and legends are thought to be some of the first fantasy stories."

  Sally tried to write as fast as Kat Mac was talking but it was impossible to write what she had heard and listen to what was being said. She quickly looked around the room and saw the most of the students were like her, bent over their notebooks pens flying across their pages. Now would have been to good time to know shorthand, she lamented.

  "Science fiction writing dates back to the 2nd century with Lucian of Samosata’s True History," Kat Mac continued. "It is about space travel, aliens, and space wars. Some of the Arabian Nights stories are science fiction as are Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Voltaire’s Micromegas, and Kempler’s Somnium. Mary Shelley, Jules Verne, Edgar Allan Poe, and H.G. Wells were four of the most famous 19th century science fiction writers. And of course we have Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl, and Judith Merril in the 20th century."

  Doesn’t she ever pause for a breath, Sally wondered writing furiously.

  "Fantasy is believed to have begun with the poem from Ancient Irag called The Epic of Gilgamesh, versions of which date back to 2150 BCE. Over the centuries there have been The Odyssey, Beowulf, the Authurian tales, and
the Devine Comedy. Modern fantasy literature is said to have begun with George MacDonald, who wrote Phantastes in 1858. One of the most famous modern fantasy writers was J.R.R. Tolkien author of Lord Of the Rings. And who hasn’t heard of J.K Rowlings’ Harry Potter.”

  Finally, Kat Mac called for a break and everyone swarmed out of the room. Some headed to a small atrium with stuffed chairs, a coffee machine, and a vending machine while some went outside. A few gathered around the instructor as she walked away.

  Sally went to the atrium and poured herself a coffee. She stood listening to the others talk about the lecture so far.

  "I’m not sure if I should be in this class," Kendra Logan said, with a smile. "I got lost once she started mentioning the different writers and their works of science fiction." She appeared to be the outdoor type dressed in jeans, shirt, and hiking boots. Her blonde hair was cut short. "So far I haven’t understood much of what she has said."

  "Oh, I’m glad you said that," Lisa Zhang said. She was short and slender with dark hair pulled into a pony tail. "I’ve never heard of most of them and yet she made them seem as if they were very important to the genre."

  Sally nodded her agreement.

  "Obviously, you three are not true science fiction fans," Daryl Cannon said, a touch of arrogance in his voice. "So far she has given one of the best introductions to science fiction and fantasy that I have heard. If you don’t like it you shouldn’t be here." He walked away.

  Sally remembered that he was from Vancouver and this was his third retreat. He had on jeans and a blue t-shirt. His hair was dark and curly and his blue eyes had burned into hers. She didn’t like his attitude, mainly because as far as she could tell, Kat Mac had hardly said anything in depth about either genre. She’d just been touching on certain features of them and the people who wrote them explaining that she would go into them more extensively later.

  Kirk West, piped up. "I’m afraid I agree with Kendra. I hope Kat Mac starts talking about how to write soon."

  Sally noticed that one man, Reggie Shaw, just stood to one side with a coffee in his hand. He seemed to be listening but didn’t try to make a comment. She wished he would because she thought he was cute in a mature sort of way and, although she usually went for older men, it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him while here.

  Bonnie was the one who interested Sally the most. She was dressed in brown slacks and cream blouse and she wore large glasses that had gone out of style years ago. She also stood on the fringes, not taking part in the conversation. If they were staying in the same bed and breakfast together they might as well get to know each other.

  "Do you really think the class is unlucky?" Sally asked her.

  Bonnie looked at her and nodded. "Something bad is going to happen. I can feel it."

  "Bad in what way?" Kendra asked. She was twisting and turning her body and stretching her legs.

  Bonnie shrugged. "I don’t know, but thirteen always brings bad luck."

  "It probably means I’m going to fail the course," Lisa laughed.

  "It’s not funny," Bonnie said sombrely. "If my feeling doesn’t go away within the next few days, I’m dropping out." She walked away.

  "Wow, she takes her superstition seriously, doesn’t she?" Kendra said.

  Back in class after the break Kat Mac continued her outline of science fiction and fantasy for the rest of the morning, then just before noon she ended with. "There are many subgenres to science fiction such as military SF, which is based on interplanetary or interstellar wars. Another is time travel, which is used to correct some event in the past or to see into the future. The subgenre I want you to think about today is apocalyptic. This deals with the end of our civilization through some disaster or with our world after such as disaster."

  She looked around the room with a smile. "So your first assignment is to write, in one thousand words or less, a different ending to the movie, Armageddon, which starred Bruce Willis. You are to assume that the asteroid that was about to hit the earth was not averted and describe the aftermath of its slamming into our planet. I would like it by Thursday morning."

  Chapter 5

  Elizabeth pulled into one of the free parking lots and parked in the row that was sheltered by the trees. She rolled her windows partway down for Chevy, gathered her camera and recorder, and walked to where steps took her up to the street level. There were pedestrian crosswalks from each parking lot. She went to the closest one and pushed the button to turn the traffic light red. By the time that happened and the cars were stopped, there was a crowd of people to cross with her.

  She went down the steps, crossed a little bridge, and wandered through the village on the wide, brick Village Stroll. There were a number of cafés and restaurants and coffee shops with outdoor tables, a spa, a cinema, a pharmacy, a grocery store, bike shops, and many, many hotels. She walked into some of the stores, most of which handled clothing and souvenirs and looked for something to take back to Jared, her father, and her siblings. She saw a Cuban cigar store but no one she knew smoked cigars.

  Elizabeth took pictures of the shops, the hotels, and the stone flower beds, which held trees and bushes and an array of flowers. In one bed a dog lay in the shade of a tree waiting for his master.

  She noted that there was no parking in the village. There were even signs stating it was a pedestrian village and people were supposed to walk their bikes and skateboards. She tried to imagine the village in winter, with snow covered roofs, tiny lights in all the trees and on the buildings, crowds of people bundled in winter jackets, toques, and mitts, and carrying skis or snowboards.

  It would be so romantic to be here with a friend or family, walking these streets on a winter evening, discussing how you zipped down the slopes, and going into a café or a bar for a nightcap. Maybe she’d make it back sometime in the winter.

  She found the tourist information centre and got a map of the village. The person behind the counter showed her where the Peak 2 Peak Gondola was since that was definitely one adventure she wanted to try.

  "I’m working on an article about Whistler in the summer," Elizabeth said. "Is there anything about the village or the people here that is different or unusual, something that would make the readers go ‘Hey, I didn’t know that.’"

  The woman thought a while. "Well, we did have someone buy a winning lottery ticket from one of our stores a few years ago. The store that sold the ticket had a sign up for a year stating the fact that they had sold a winning ticket." The woman sniffed. "Like their store was lucky or something."

  "Do the winners still live here?" Maybe she could do an interview to find out what life after the lottery was like as a sidebar.

  "I don’t know that they even did. No one from here ever came forward and said they were the winners. But that’s not surprising. Hundreds of people come here every week. It could have been one of them buying a ticket before heading home. The winner could have been from Saskatchewan or Nova Scotia."

  Elizabeth thanked the woman and followed the map to the Whistler gondola. On one side of the square was a ski lift for mountain bikers. She watched as the bikers quickly put their bikes on a bike lift then ran ahead and got on the person lift, so that when they reached the top they would be able to grab their bikes. She looked up the hillside beneath the gondola wires and watched as bikers wound their way down the trails to the beginning of the lift again.

  On the other side of the square Elizabeth saw where the passenger gondolas were loaded. She watched as the gondolas left the end of the building on their way up the mountain. Her stomach felt queasy just at the thought of the movement of the gondola plus being so high off the ground. She knew she couldn’t do the ride today. She’d wait until Sally was able to join her. She told herself that it was because Sally could take her picture to use in the article or she could use a photograph of Sally. But, she knew deep down that it was her fear of heights combined with motion sickness that kept her from going up today.

  She went to Parking Lot #1 and
followed the sidewalk Beverly had talked about towards the Upper Village. On the way she reached a large map on a sign that showed her the area. She continued on the sidewalk until she came to a crossroads. To her left was a path for Lost Lake Trails. On her right was a covered bridge over Fitzsimmons Creek. Just before she crossed the creek to her right was a small area with three picnic tables and four chairs overlooking the creek. On her left she saw a sign for Rebagliati Park, which she knew was named after the Canadian snowboarder who won the first ever Olympic gold medal for that sport at the 1998 winter games in Negano, Japan. She crossed the creek, went under a traffic bridge, climbed some steps, and was in the Upper Village.

  She took a few pictures, noting that the Upper Village, with its climbing wall, trampoline, luge, a miniature golf for families, and horseback riding, was mainly for children.

  * * *

  I am so excited. Kat Mac asked me to stay after class. She told me that so far she likes my story and she asked if I have any more chapters for her to read. I told her I would e-mail them. I skip lunch and hurry to my room. I bring up the chapters on my laptop that I managed to edit before coming. I send them all to her.

  Then I go through my files. I already have the assignment done. The story is what happened to the planet of Terrene. It was dictated to me months ago. I just have to change the name of the planet to Earth. So far I haven’t included it in my manuscript because I wasn’t sure if it should be a Prologue or integrated throughout the story. I’m sure Kat Mac will be able to help me on that. I find it and read it over.

  * * *

  Two asteroids collided out in space. Both were bumped out of their orbits and one broke into pieces. Two of those pieces soared towards one side of the Earth. One hit land throwing a thick layer of dust into the air, and starting countless raging fires which consumed towns and cities. The other landed in an ocean creating massive tidal waves on most shores. The waves submerged islands and swamped half the land on the continents, drowning all people and animals in its path.