Copyright © 2019 by David Marusek
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017909151
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
The Holy Bible
King James Version, 1611, Public Domain
NASB: “Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org”
Cover Design © 2019 by David Marusek
Cover image is from NASA’s Earth Observatory, courtesy of Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. The original image has been heavily shooped.
Published by A Stack of Firewood Press
An imprint of General Genius LLC
Fairbanks, Alaska
ISBN 978-0-9988633-3-7 (epub)
ISBN 978-0-9988633-4-4 (mobi)
ISBN 978-0-9988633-5-1 (softcover)
Version 1.0.0
Character List and Glossary
— Families —
Bunyan
Dell — mid-50s. Evangelical pastor of the Blood of Victory Church, which he keeps in his home. Preaches the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Lives on Stubborn Mountain Trail midway between the town of McHardy and the Prophecy household.
Chas — eldest of four sons. 25 years old. Navy SEAL and veteran of Iraq/Afghanistan Wars.
Scarlett — only daughter. 13 years old. Energetic and outgoing. Sharp tongue.
Prophecy
Poppy — 79 years old. Real name Marvin Johnson. Believes in pre-millennial post-Tribulation Rapture. Desires a family of 21 children. Brings family to Alaska to sit out the Apocalypse.
Mama P — 41 years old. Real name Crystal Johnson. Mother of 17 children. Currently on vacation in Heaven.
Adam — eldest born. 25 years old. A calm, capable, dependable, slightly reserved young man. Fiancé to Sue Krae.
Hosea — 2nd born. 23 years old. A warm-hearted, genuine, spiritual, not too bright man.
Proverbs — 3rd born. 21 years old. A fiery, impulsive, attractive, energetic young man. Holds the record for number of whippings received as disciplinary punishment. Victim of grievous childhood accident, he sometimes wears a leather patch on his right eye. Together with Adam and Hosea referred to as “the boys.”
Sarai — 4th born. 19 years old. Eldest girl (by five minutes). A fraternal (heterozygotic) twin of Deuteronomy. Sometimes bossy. The unfortunate “twice-blessed twin of a twin.”
Deuteronomy (“Deut”) — 5th born. 19 years old. Sarai’s twin. Very sweet, dutiful, devout, and perhaps a little naive. Beloved by all the younger siblings. Together with Sarai and II Corinthians known as “the girls.”
I Corinthians (“Corny”) — 6th born. 17 years old. Male. Eldest of the “middle kids.” A bit of a bully.
II Corinthians (“Cora”) — 7th born. 15 years old. Female. Very reliable and helpful. Dreams of an independent life.
Solomon (“Solly”) — 8th born. 13 years old. Male.
Frankincense (“Frankie”) — 9th born. 12 years old. Female. Identical (monozygotic) twin to Myrrh.
Myrrh — 10th born. 12 years old. Female. Twin to Frankincense.
Ithamar (“Ithy”) — 11th born. 10 years old. Male. Average kid, constant companion to Uzziel.
Incense — 12th child (stillborn). Female. Considered a member of the family who resides in Heaven. A place is set for her at the table.
Uzziel (“Uzzie”) — 13th born. 8 years old. Male. Eldest of the “little kids.” Beloved by all. Possibly the smartest kid in the bunch.
Revelation (“Revie”) — 14th born. 6 years old. Female.
Pharisees (“See Saw”) — 15th born. 5 years old. Female.
Numbers (“Nummy”) — 16th born. 3 years old. Male. Extremely jealous of his little brother.
Elzaphan (“Elzie”) — 17th born. 18 months old. Male. The spoiled baby of the family. A little tyrant to all his siblings.
Crystal Louise Puddingpot (“Crissy Lou”) — family dog. Female German Shepherd mix. Considers herself Uzziel’s dog.
Calgary — female tabby cat.
Lawther
Rex — mid-50s. Middle-class, Republican, small business owner of Greatland Action Sports in Wallis, Alaska. Pentecostal church elder and deacon. Honest to a fault. Good father. Pillar of community. Candidate for state office.
Cindy — 48 years old. Helpmeet to husband Rex. Homeschools kids. Volunteers in community projects.
Ginger — 19 years old. Homeschooled. Bright, fearless. Devout Christian young woman. High achiever.
Rory — 18 years old. Average student. Quit homeschooling in junior high. On high school wrestling team. Student pilot. Mechanic. Falls desperately in love with Deuteronomy.
Keagan — family dog. Male whippet.
Sulzer
Ed — 82 years old. Lives at McHardy airstrip. Paints Alaska kitsch landscapes on goldpans.
Virginia (“Ginny”) — 72 years old. Also a goldpan painter. Acts as unofficial postmaster of McHardy.
Tetlin
Vera — early 40s. Beloved governor of Alaska. Losing 2008 vice-presidential candidate.
Bradd — early 40s. Snowmachine racing champion. Oil pipeline worker. “First Dude” of the state of Alaska.
Taiga (“Tye”) — 20-year-old daughter.
— Others —
Orion Beehymer — mid-80s. Long-time McHardy area land baron. Sold house to Jace and Stubborn Mountain Mine to the Prophecy family.
Beezus — a high-ranking devil who torments Poppy Prophecy.
Agent Bertolli — special agent of the FBI.
Jeff Bridges (“Not Jeff Bridges,” “NJB”) — full name: Jefferson Beaumont Bridges. Poppy Prophecy’s friend and business mentor. Shady background.
Kelly Cobweal — year-round resident of McHardy and owner of McHardy Hotel and Saloon.
Gabriel — archangel and messenger of God.
Tim Hash — 26 years old. A placer miner and opponent of modern machinery who lives and moils for gold on April Creek.
Sue Krae — 22 years old. From Soldotna, Alaska. Fiancée of Adam Prophecy.
Jace Kuliak — late 20s. National Park Service Backcountry Ranger who lives year-round in McHardy. His sister Kate Kapoor, her husband Darshan, and their son Luke live in Littleton, Colorado.
Machine — the current GOM.
Judge Jeb C. Milliner — United States District Court Judge for the Alaska District.
Ethan Parkhurst Masterson — mid-40s. National Park Service Law Enforcement Ranger. Jace’s colleague and supervisor. Extreme advocate of public wilderness.
Charlie Moses — mid-40s. Easy-going resident of McHardy. He traps, hunts, and engages in the subsistence fishery.
Agent Nabor — federal special agent of the FIAS.
Ned Nellis — longtime bush pilot and owner of Nellis Air Service in Gulkana, Alaska. Runs the McHardy mail route.
Evelyn Rodgers — National Park Service superintendent stationed in Copper Center, Alaska.
Yurek Rutz — just because.
Barbara Jean de Saul — seeker of enlightenment who lives in McHardy.
D. “Beaver” Swayne — early 30s. Colonel, commander of the Alaska Liberty Force.
Scrappy — Jace’s smart personal assistant that appears to be a scrap of paper.
The Visitor — an emissary from the Organization of Federated Worlds who was sent to Earth to help prevent its collision with Pipnonia.
Dr. George Yankovich — a geophysicist who supervises science operations at the HAARP.
— Glossary —
ALF — Alaska Liberty Force. An Alaska-based citizens’ militia under the command of Colonel D. Beaver Swayne.
Arctic Entry — a small room adjoining the exterior door of a house, usually unheated. A place to don and store outdoor boots and garments. Also known as mudroom or wannigan.
; GOM — Grand Old Machine. An AI that has reached the pinnacle of knowledge and power in a universe without becoming the universe itself.
HAARP — the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, located in Gakona, Alaska. The world’s premier program for studying the upper atmosphere using active experiments.
HIS CREATIONS LLC — the Prophecy handcrafts business.
Lower 48 — the contiguous states of the United States of America. That is, the fifty states minus Alaska and Hawaii.
Orgachine — a so-called reverse cyborg. A super-intelligent machine that has augmented itself with an organic body.
Outside — anywhere not in Alaska.
Pipnonia — a planet torn from its place of origin and transported to Earth’s solar system and placed on a collision course with Earth. Also known as Planet X.
RAC program — the Regional Action Center program of the state of Alaska for pre-positioning emergency supplies in population centers around the state.
Reverse Cyborg — see Orgachine.
Shadow — the “buddy system” imposed on the Prophecy children so that no one is ever alone. Its purpose is to deny Satan opportunity for leading them astray.
Si-Si — a self-intentional, super-intelligent machine.
The Slide — the steep hillside made of mine tailings beneath the adit to Stubborn Mountain Mine. A footpath zig-zags up it.
Sno-go, Snowmachine, Snowmobile — all terms for a motorized sled for traveling on snowy terrain.
Tired Iron — an antique snowmachine.
— Up/Down Conventions Used in This Work —
River, stream — Every river or stream begins at a source or sources (headwaters, glacier, lake, drainage basin) and ends at a mouth or mouths, where its water flows into another body of water. Going upstream or upriver means moving toward the source, while going downstream or downriver means moving toward the mouth.
Tunnel — An adit or mine entrance can be considered the mouth of a mine tunnel. Going up tunnel is moving away from the entrance further into the mine. Going down tunnel means moving toward the entrance from inside the mine.
Roads, trails — Traveling toward the origin of a road (or trail) is considered going up the road. Moving away from the origin is going down it. However, designating a place as an origin point is a subjective matter that can change according to each traveler’s point of view.
Acknowledgments
Beta Readers
Much thanks to Sandra Boatwright, Terry Boren, Kay Kenyon, KJ Kirby, and Deb Vanasse for reading and commenting on the various drafts of this book. Their feedback and continued interest in my work have greatly improved both its quality and my mental health.
Much thanks, too, to Eva Zamzow for copyediting the manuscript and to Greg Bole for his insights into evolutionary biology. Naturally, I am solely responsible for the typos and errors in this book. And a big hug to Frances T for the loan of her spirit guide.
Patron of the Arts
No public tax dollars or foundation money has gone into the creation of this work. However, individual contributors have helped keep me in the writer’s seat through the lean times, and I would like to thank Kimberly Sherrill, M.D. especially for her patronage.
Errors and Whatnot
Writing, even writing fiction, requires a great deal of knowledge about the world. There’s a near certainty that one or more errors of fact are lurking somewhere in this book, despite the author’s Herculean effort to root them out. If you, the reader, come across a genuine error and are the first person to alert the author at
For purposes of easy reference, each scene sequence in the text is labeled along the right margin. Please use these labels when reporting errors or whatnot.
Errata
Much honor and recognition goes to two readers who have contacted me with typos that they found in the first edition of Book 1: Mike Drake and Eva Zamzow. Thank you.
Book 3
You can receive occasional email updates on the progress and release of the next volume in this series, Upon This Rock: Book 3 — Consider Pipnonia, by asking to join the “Novel Update” list at [email protected].
Glassing the Orgachine Page 42