The Seas of Time
Copyright © 2015
All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to a real person, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
The Seas of Time /a novel by Christine Castle & Jayne Faith
Ebook Edition ISBN: 978-0-9905639-6-9
Published in the United States of America
eBook formatting by E.M. Tippetts Book Designs
(can be read in any order)
The Seas of Time
The Laws of Attraction
The Hunter in the Stars
May 2565
Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States of America
TWO DECADES after the achievement of light speed travel, unmanned exploratory missions located a planet in a neighboring solar system that had the potential to support human life. More unmanned probes were sent to explore, take samples, and gather data. And later, larger unmanned carriers hauled supplies and machinery to begin the task of readying a new home. The New Horizon was built. A crew was selected.
The launch of the New Horizon, the second of several scheduled long-range manned space flights, went smoothly. The gigantic carrier—the largest vehicle ever built—contained 100 people and life support to last at least 150 years. It was designed to be not only transportation for the long voyage to a new planet, but also a temporary home and advanced science and research center during the first phase of colonization.
After launch, the New Horizon reached its proper orbit and gathered speed as it rounded Earth. As planned, the sub-light speed system began to power up. The light speed system was not supposed to switch on yet.
But it did.
In a blinding flash that engulfed Earth for a brief moment, the New Horizon disappeared. It was never heard from again.
May 1725
Marianas Trench, Pacific
IMMEDIATELY AFTER the malfunction, the crew of the New Horizon knew only that the carrier was submerged in water. They ran calculations over and over again, sure that they must be wrong. But every time, they got the same answer: the New Horizon now sat deep in the ocean. They’d never left Earth.
Every available piece of data told them the carrier was now resting in the Marianas Trench, at a point far deeper than had ever been measured. But the New Horizon was built to withstand a variety of extreme conditions, and the life support systems continued to function exactly as designed.
The New Horizon crew sent a small probe out to explore the carrier’s surroundings. The probe found that approximately eighty percent of the length of the carrier was wedged into a cave under a ledge made of an unknown but extremely dense rock-and-ore substance. The ledge appeared to be blocking the SOS messages that the crew had been sending on a continuous loop to Kennedy Space Center.
Next, they sent a probe up through the depths of the ocean with the intent of carrying their message to the surface where it would surely be received by Kennedy. But when the probe finally broke the surface, there was still no response. Even when it rose to low orbit and passed directly over the United States, its message continued to be met with silence. The probe did, however, capture some measurements and images.
When the probe’s data reached the New Horizon, the crew discovered something even more unfathomable than being zapped into a cave deep in the Marianas Trench: they appeared to have traveled back in time.
Instead of getting flung far into space, they’d been deposited at the bottom of the ocean over 800 years in the past.
When the initial disbelief began to wear off, the crew realized two things. One, when the carrier had departed from Florida in 2565, they’d all been prepared to leave behind the people and homes they knew, to venture to a new place and make a new home where humans had never lived; by their current position, which was deeper in the ocean than any manned or unmanned craft had ever traveled, they’d already achieved part of that goal. And the second thing they realized was that they could not interfere with any of the people living on land above, for fear of altering the future in unknown ways.
And so, after many discussions and long debates, they decided there was really only one thing to do: stay and carry out their mission in a new way, colonizing the deep ocean instead of a distant planet. Making use of their on-board science facilities, they modified themselves—and even more dramatically modified their offspring—to be suited to this new environment. Using their manufacturing capabilities, they created vessels to carry them near the ocean’s surface so they could hunt for fish and gather sea vegetables, always taking extreme care to elude the detection of the people living above.
They lived, survived, and even thrived.
April 2025
The Gulf Coast, United States of America
TALIA LIFTED her wrist to look at her watch, a large-faced timepiece that could withstand the pressure of underwater dives, and sighed. It had only been eleven minutes since she’d last checked the time, but it felt like so much longer. The high-pitched voices of bikini-clad college girls and the lower guffaws and exclamations from college boys grated on her eardrums.
Sipping the last watery remnants of her rum and Coke, she looked out at the dark ocean. Or tried to, anyway. The party lights from the tiki bar made it nearly impossible to make out the water line, but as she watched, there was a faint greenish arc of light, briefly illuminating the distant horizon. The color of the lightning was a bit unnatural, but maybe it meant a storm was heading their way. She hoped so—with a storm coming, she might be able to persuade Janelle to go back to their hotel, change, and find a restaurant where they could stuff themselves with fried seafood. She watched the dark ocean, hoping to see more stormy signals. There was another flash, fainter than the first.
Talia glanced at Janelle, who stood a few feet away holding a large plastic cup and talking animatedly to three guys who looked nearly identical in their baseball caps, board shorts, flip flops, and dark tans. The lights show out at sea seemed to have ended, so Talia dumped her drink cup in a trash can and pushed away from the safety of the thick wooden post that anchored one corner of the bar.
She waited until there was a pause in the conversation, during which Janelle gave a deep-throated laugh and all three boys ogled her surgically enhanced cleavage, and then Talia threw an arm around her friend’s neck. Talia tilted her head so her mouth was close to Janelle’s ear. “Can we get out of here? I’m not sure how many more rounds of undergrad grab-ass I can watch.”
Janelle turned to her, and the boys drifted away, already back on the hunt.
“Aw, come on, Tal, live a little!” Janelle reached down with her free hand and tugged Talia’s short sarong lower on her hips. “And show off those abs, girl. If I had a stomach like yours, I’d walk around in a bikini every day of the year, rain or shine.”
Talia gave her an affectionate smile. “You’re way too smart to be out here with these guys. You can do so much better, you know.”
Not to mention that at twenty-six they were both way too old—in Talia’s opinion, at least—to be mingling at one of the most infamous spring break spots in the United States. And although Janelle had a body a Hooter’s waitress would envy and loved to flirt, there was a lot more to her th
an that. She’d graduated at the top of her class with a degree in computer security and had been offered a six-figure job with a fat signing bonus right out of college. One of her first purchases, after paying off a large chunk of her student loans, was her more-than-ample chest.
“It’s not like I’m looking for a husband, I just want to have some fun.” Janelle took a sip from her plastic cup, which contained some sort of awful-looking bright blue concoction. “I never got to do this when we were undergrads. I was too busy working my butt off.”
“Yeah, I know.” Talia relented a little.
She’d been right there with Janelle, head in the books, for the four years they were undergrads. Janelle’s thing was computers, but Talia didn’t have much interest in coding or machines. She’d always wanted to save the world. As a teenager, she’d decided the best way to do it was to study and cure deadly diseases. Four years double-majoring in biochemistry and mathematical modeling, and then she was on to an MD-Ph.D. dual degree. She understood what Janelle was saying—she’d been working her ass off for years, too—but partying with a bunch of drunk undergrads? She could think of better ways to spend their rare week of vacation.
Janelle cocked her head and grinned. “Hey, maybe I’ll meet some rich foreign prince who’s here in disguise, slumming it with American college kids.”
Talia grinned back. Even at twenty-six, Janelle was still a believer in fairy tales, sure that some handsome stranger would sweep in and whisk her away to some romantic life in an exotic land. Talia was way too focused on work to share her friend’s fanciful imagination.
“Can we at least get away from this awful bar? Maybe go down there a while?” Talia used her arm around Janelle’s shoulders to start steering her toward the dark beach.
A knowing smile spread across Janelle’s face. “You’re such a water baby.”
Talia slid her arm away and gave her friend a sheepish grin. It was true. She’d chosen an MD-Ph.D. program in a Gulf Coast state so she’d be near the ocean, and she knew she was lucky that one of the top virology programs in the world happened to be located near some fantastic beaches.
Her father had wanted her to become a doctor like him and couldn’t believe she wouldn’t be using her MD to go into practice, but she wasn’t interested in working with people. She preferred to work with viruses, which made her again question how she’d ever let Janelle talk her into coming here. Just about anywhere else would have been less crowded and obnoxious.
As she and Janelle left the blaring music and flashing party lights behind for the relative peace and darkness near the water, the tension in Talia’s shoulders started to ease. The tang of salt in the air and the soothing swish of gentle waves over sand was a welcome relief from the rowdy noise and mass of bodies.
She glanced over at Janelle, dressed in a string bikini with a top that revealed a generous amount of side boob, a flowy scarf tied in a headband to hold back her dark waves of hair, and an anklet with tiny charms and bells that tinkled when she walked. On the dark beach everything was cast in shades of gray, but she knew Janelle was already golden brown from a couple of days in the sun. Her Mexican heritage on her mother’s side gave her an ability to tan without burning that Talia had envied since they first met during freshman year. Her own Irish and Russian background was no help at all when it came to developing a sun-kissed glow.
Janelle had convinced Talia to put on the only two-piece swimsuit she owned—a sporty surfing bikini—but Talia had insisted on the sarong. And her diving watch, of course. She never left home without the thick timepiece strapped around her slender wrist. In a waterproof zippered pouch, Talia carried her own I.D., Janelle’s I.D., both their phones, some cash, and Janelle’s credit card. Talia wore the pouch on her wrist by the strap, like a clutch. Janelle had given it a doubtful look—it certainly wasn’t fashionable by her standards—but relented when she realized that she could put her own things in it and go to the beachside bars without a purse or bag.
Talia bumped Janelle’s arm with her elbow. “Thanks, I really needed a breather.” Talia jumped sideways as a group of stumbling, giggling girls nearly plowed into them.
“Hey, whatever keeps you out here among the people,” Janelle teased.
“I’m not that bad! I went to that party with you.”
“You mean the Christmas party when you came to visit me? That was three months ago!” Janelle’s throaty laugh drowned out the spring break revelers for a moment. “You need a man in your life. Then he and I can team up and drag you away from your microscopes.”
“Pshh, I don’t have time for a man.”
“You just think you don’t.”
Talia started to form another retort, but paused. She hadn’t been on a date in months. Maybe Janelle had a point. It wasn’t really about having enough time, though. When something was truly important, she would find the time for it. But Talia wasn’t interested in finding a man, settling down, and having a family. Her ambition was singular: she wanted to eradicate at least one infectious disease. Maybe three or four of them as a stretch goal. Hey, no one had ever accused her of aiming too low. A relationship would just distract her and pull her off track.
She’d been asked out plenty of times through college and grad school and dated a little. But her goals were so much more important . . . and if she were really being deep-down honest, she’d just never met a guy who interested her enough to continue beyond a month or two of dating. When she did sleep with one of them, it was often more out of convention or expectation than any wild desire. And frankly, all of that was just fine with her.
Talia slowed and angled toward the small waves, partly to avoid another drunken group of undergrads heading straight for them, and partly out of eagerness to feel the water on her skin. After the college kids passed, Janelle joined her. They stood looking out at the ocean, letting the water lap around their ankles.
“Mm, this was a good idea,” Janelle said. She flicked her foot across the water, sending up a little spray.
There was a guttural grunt behind them, and Talia twisted around. “Something’s back there. Did that sound like an animal to you?”
“Um, no.” Janelle snorted a laugh. “I don’t think it was an animal.”
The sound came again, this time accompanied by a higher pitched voice emitting a series of Yeahs and Ohs that were growing louder and more urgent.
Talia squinted into the darkness just long enough to make out the forms of a couple of bodies on the sand about ten yards away—a girl straddling a guy and bouncing up and down with great enthusiasm—then turned back to the ocean with a groan. “At least they’re having a good time.”
“When was the last time you had that kind of fun?” Janelle asked. Talia couldn’t make out her friend’s expression but could imagine her appraising, arched-brow look.
“A lady never tells,” Talia shot back with a laugh.
Actually, now that she thought about it, it had been nearly six months. A bit long even for her. She frowned out at the ocean, watching the moonlight play in changing shapes on the surface of the water. But she clearly didn’t miss it much, if she hadn’t even realized it had been that long.
Thoughts of men and sex faded from her mind as something out in the dark ocean caught her eye. She cocked her head. A group of boats? No . . . the mysterious objects were rounded, and moving fast. Clouds? She stepped forward and then looked down with the sudden awareness that water was no longer lapping around her ankles. The water was as still as a lake.
Something felt off. The ocean was always in motion, but right now there was an unnatural quiet. Something was definitely wrong. There was an odd, low sound in the air—more a vibratory sensation than a sound—that she couldn’t place.
“Janelle, I think we’d better get away from—” A shriek cut her off, and Talia whipped around, her heart in her throat. But then the shriek dissolved into drunken giggling.
“What’s wrong?” Janelle asked, a nervous edge in her voice.
“I’m not sure, but . . .” Talia looked back out at the ocean, and she could swear there was a dark shape where there’d been nothing just a moment ago. She shook her head. “The water. It shouldn’t be so still. It’s supposed to be almost high tide right now. And there’s . . . something out there.” She pointed at the horizon.
There was a soft boom, like a distant clap of thunder. Talia probably wouldn’t have even heard it if they’d been back at the bar.
“What the hell was that?” Janelle was twisting around now, too.
Talia hesitated only a second before grabbing her friend’s wrist. “Let’s get out of here.”
But just as they turned to head back toward the bar, there was a violently bright flash of green light behind them. By sheer luck, Talia was facing away from it. Janelle wasn’t so fortunate; she screamed and pulled her wrist away from Talia’s grasp to slap her fingers over her eyes. Her plastic cup dropped to the sand and rolled away.
Drunk college kids were starting to move toward the water, apparently drawn by the light. Blinking spots from her eyes, trying to see around the afterimage left by the flash, Talia grabbed for Janelle’s elbow just before they were engulfed by a mass of pitching, hollering people. Talia tried to fight against the flow, but there were too many moving bodies and they were too inebriated to get out of her way.
She changed tacks and tried to move laterally along the beach and away from the thickest part of the throng. But she forgot about the rocky, jagged outcropping at this end of the beach that blocked the way to the next beach over. She whipped her gaze back and forth just as there was another flare of green light, this one a normal flash like sheet lightning. The crowd let out drunken cheers and hoots in response to the light.
In the brief moment of illumination, Talia saw an escape—even though it should be high tide, the water had receded enough that they could make it around the rocky point.
The Seas of Time (A Love Across Stars Series Novel) Page 1