Countdown to Armageddon
Page 18
“The agent said the experimenter’s name was Abdul Faisel. Whatever he was working on blew up.” Julia patted Harry’s hand sympathetically, keeping to herself Inspector Ambling’s graphic description of the carnage. “He never knew what hit him.”
NEAR REIMS, 738
Whack, whack, thud.
The flaxen-haired little boy, scarcely more than a toddler, fenced with great enthusiasm against a much taller opponent. Periodically, the stick in his hand would break. The tree trunk against which he fought with such bravery always waited patiently while he sought another fallen branch.
Whack, crack.
The woman watched from the doorway of her hut, the smile of a proud mother lighting her face. She had dark blond hair, blue eyes, and a strong jaw. Every day she wondered: Where does so much energy come from?
In answer to her unspoken question, strong arms enfolded her from behind. A muscular hand stroked her swelling belly. “Will this one be as much the warrior as our son?”
She leaned contentedly against her husband’s broad chest. “The way that he kicks, I think so,” said Bertha.
THE VOSGES MOUNTAINS, 1988
The glow of the lantern revealed only a modest grotto and a sadly disappointed Julia. She stood, shoulders slumped, in the center of the small subterranean space. “Nothing.”
“You’ve got to think positively. Isn’t there something we can salvage from this experience?”
“Right.” She turned to leave. “Like what?”
“Well I, for one, have never done it underground.”
He took her raised eyebrow as a yes.
“Ouch, dammit!” Harry moved cautiously from Julia’s side. Their jackets did not cover the ledge, and his bare buttock brushed bare stone. It was cold.
“Harry?” She sat up in alarm.
“Oh, nothing. My foot slipped off the end of this ledge into an open space. I banged my ankle.”
“Are you still functional?”
He wiggled his foot gingerly. “More or less.”
“Then keep your mind on your work, big boy.”
It was a suggestion he was happy to accept.
About the Author
EDWARD M. LERNER worked in high tech for thirty years, as everything from engineer to senior vice president. His most recent technothrillers are Fools’ Experiments and Small Miracles. He writes traditional SF, too, including the InterstellarNet series and, with Larry Niven, the Fleet of Worlds series of Ringworld prequels.
His short fiction appears regularly in the usual SF magazines and websites. It has been featured in anthologies and an earlier collection, Creative Destruction. He also writes the occasional nonfiction technology article.
Lerner lives in Virginia with his wife, Ruth. His website is:
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Copyright © 2010 by Edward M. Lerner.
This novel is a work of fiction. All the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in it are likewise fictional, and any resemblance to real people, organizations, or events is purely coincidental.
A slightly different version of this novel was first serialized in Jim Baen’s Universe (October 2007 through October 2008 issues).
Published in 2010 by Wildside Press, LLC
www.wildsidebooks.com.