Lincoln Cole's Blog, page 20
January 27, 2017
Book Review: Granny's Stories
Today, I will be reviewing Granny's Stories by Margaret Henderson. It was an OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day.
About the Book
Granny's Stories
By Margaret Henderson
Here is a life story to be gleaned from tales of adventure, remarkable journeys, and interesting people. The author’s intention is to inform and inspire her granddaughters, and to leave them with an image of her as something more than the old woman they knew and loved.
Some internet research into the lists at the end of some of the sections will provide an historical and geographical backdrop to many of the lively anecdotes.
This book is full of some of the most interesting stories I've ever seen about someone's life in a long time. She organizes everything by date and time to explain events that transpired and that she lived through. It all flows easily and felt very personable because the story was directed toward the granddaughter of the author and this in turn makes it feel like she is talking directly to us, the readers.
The focus of the book is on characters, and the people she's met in her life and how they influenced her. I liked that as a focus, because often it is by examing the people that influenced us that we can learn about ourselves and each other much more clearly.
I will rate this book 5 out of 5 because of how well put together all of the stories are. The author didn't give a lot of historical backdrop, and for readers who don't know a lot about the events this can be rather confusing at times, but in general it isn't necessary to tell the story.
View it at OBC:
January 26, 2017
Fragment 4 - Recruited
“You aren’t going to do anything?” Corinne asked.
“What did you expect?”
“These people need help. They can’t fight what’s happening to them, but they would if they could. And you can do something, but you won’t.”
“We don’t know the full situation,” Jayson replied.
“Yes we do. He’s controlling these people by rationing water.”
“You can’t prove that,” Jayson asserted.
“Look around you. People are dying."
"He recognized my armor. He thinks I'm here to check in on him for someone. I can use that to my advantage if he's willing to get me off planet without question."
"Are you such a coward that you would rather accept an olive branch from an abuser than stand up for the weak? He thinks you serve Darius Gray and that you are a part of the plan to hurt these people. Who knows? Maybe you are. You seem more than willing to let them suffer.”
Jayson felt his neck prickle. “That’s enough.”
Corinne fell silent for a few minutes, but he could hear the telltale whir of computer processors loading information. She was searching for something.
“Turn left here,” Corinne said suddenly. Jayson hesitated, and then obeyed. Her words were clipped in anger. “Now make a right, and enter the bar at the end of the road.”
“Where are you taking me?” Jayson asked, but he followed her directions.
“That man in the booth at the back. He was mayor of this city years ago; before Warren violently murdered his family to take control. Now he leads an underground resistance group trying to fight back.” Images flashed across Jayson’s screen, verifying everything Corinne said, including pictures of a dead family. “His name is Quinton. Go ask him about his daughter and what they did to her before they killed her.”
Jayson winced as the last images were displayed. A little girl sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood. She couldn’t have been over five…who could do that to a child…
“Do you even have a plan? You're playing with fire,” Jayson said.
“I’m asking you to help. You can’t just sit back and let this continue.”
“I arrived yesterday, and before that this planet didn’t even exist to me. It’s not my fight.”
“Then make it your fight. At least hear the man out.”
There was no reply, and after debating with himself Jayson walked to the booth. The man didn’t move as he sat down.
“I’m not looking for company,” Quinton muttered gruffly. He was drinking a whisky sour, light on the sour.
“I don’t care. Tell me what’s happening here. On this world,” Jayson said, taking his helmet off and setting it on the table. The man looked up this time. He was old, especially around the eyes. His skin resembled shoe leather. Had to be late fifties, and he carried the signs of declining health.
“Direct. I appreciate that. You’re an outsider, so I’ll tell you one time. Leave it alone.”
“Why aren’t the water purifiers being used?”
“If you don’t already know, then it’s not worth saying.”
“I want to hear you say it.”
The man stared at him. “Why?”
“Humor me.”
“Why do you need to hear anything, if you already know how bad things are?”
Jayson didn’t reply. There was a long pause, then the man sighed: “You’ve made a mistake coming here. Warren will know we spoke, so no matter what happens next you need protection.” He hesitated. “Warren Smith uses the water generators to force everyone under his control. Twelve thousand died in the last four months, so everyone is scared.”
Quinton leaned in, conspiratorial. “I have a plan, though. You look competent. If you help us in capturing and defending a warehouse, I can sneak the equipment out and back into the city. We’ll weaken Warren’s regime and show his lies. In a few years, the resistance will be strong enough to force Smith out of power.”
“Twelve thousand dead in four months?” Jayson echoed softly. “How many men are in Warren’s regime?”
Quinton misunderstood. “That’s the best part. Not many are still loyal to him. He uses brutality and a heavy fist to keep them in line.”
“So if he dies the people will get water.”
“Yes. But we can’t touch him. He has over thirty guards with him at all times…”
Jayson sighed and rubbed his temples.
“…if we can get at least some of the equipment on the street for people—”
“And he kills children?”
Quinton hesitated at the reference. “What happened to Aliza is my burden to bear. I messed up. Trusted the wrong people. That is not why I formed the resistance. We need to stand up to him. With you, we might stand a chance of taking a warehouse. Will you help us?”
Jayson shook his head. “No.”
The man’s countenance fell, and he seemed to age thirty years in those few seconds. “You won’t help us.”
“Oh, I’ll help,” Jayson corrected. “I just can’t afford months.” He stood from the table. “Which men in Smith’s regime are completely loyal?”
The man’s face shifted from confusion to fear. “You aren’t serious…?”
“Which men?”
“The ones with blue arm bands. They are also the only ones in powered armor, to keep others in check. The rest are in it to feed their families.”
Jayson nodded and patted the man on the shoulder as he passed. “I’m coming with you. This is my fight,” Quinton said.
Jayson stopped in the doorway and put his helmet back on. He turned to face the old man.
“If you try to follow me, you will be the first person I shoot,” he said, then disappeared into the street.
***
He started down the road, backtracking to the administrative building.
A frail woman sang softly as she hung her clothes in an alley.
A mangy cat hissed at him from a window.
“You don’t have a gun. How were you going to shoot Quinton exactly?”
“He isn’t following, is he?”
“Nope…so…uh…what are we doing?” Corrine asked, her tone mildly accusatory.
“What do you think?”
“I was just hoping you’d join the resistance…maybe write a petition. Start a committee. This seems kind of reckless.”
“You pushed me to this.”
“But I didn’t think you’d actually do it! Shouldn’t you take a little time and think this through?”
Jayson fell silent as he walked. He thought over the details of the building. Ralph led him inside, but left Jayson’s rifle in the Jeep parked out front. The six guards in armor would pose a threat, but he doubted they had real combat training. They were thugs hired to seem intimidating, not real soldiers. None of them understood how dangerous their jobs really were.
Jayson knew surprise would be on his side. Warren wasn’t used to anyone challenging his authority. He maintained control through fear and intimidation: he would never see this coming.
Jayson didn’t slow as he neared the front door. One of the guards moved to intercept, but Jayson ignored him and continued to the Jeep.
“Stop…wait…hey, wait!” the man said, holding a hand out. Jayson waited in front of him, holding his hands up calmly. His voice came out of the speakers on the side of the helmet, modulated and baritone:
“In the next few minutes, people will die. How many depends on how willing they are to die for their jobs. I’m a trained killer capable of mass murder, and you’re a glorified doorman with a pistol. I’ll kill whoever stands in my way. So ask yourself what is more important: putting your life on the line for a minimum wage job or going home to see your wife and kids.”
The guard hesitated, and Jayson calmly reached into the backseat of the Jeep and removed his rifle. The guard made no move to stop him. The bullet counter on the side showed a full clip.
He looked back at the guard. The man’s hand was shaking on the gun holstered at his hip. “Made up your mind?”
The guard stepped out of Jayson’s way. Jayson nodded at the man and walked past. “Don’t let anyone else come inside.”
Jayson took a steadying breath and went into the building.
The training for Warren’s guards was even less than Jayson expected. There were at least thirty people in the lobby, and all eyes popped up as he entered. He still got six shots off before anyone reacted. Four power armored guards fell to the floor and the other two stumbled against the walls, clipped.
Someone clicked the alarm and he heard bleating from the ceiling. The other eleven guards without armbands scrambled for cover or weapons. The civilians hit the ground screaming. Jayson sprinted across the room, waiting until the last second before activating his cloak.
The armor shimmered and disappeared. Jayson dove to the ground in a roll, coming to his feet several meters ahead and to the left. He stayed crouched and rushed for the stairs as the guards opened fire. Confused, they shot randomly, nowhere close to hitting their target.
Jayson reached the stairs and bounded up the first five steps before his cloak wore off. The shooting redirected to chase him up to the second level, and he felt his armor nicked in the left leg, but nothing passed through. He rounded the corner to the next stairway and rushed up, snapping open a compartment by his waist and grabbing out two flash bang grenades.
They wouldn’t affect armored guards. The dampening systems were too good on even entry level armor. But they would wreak havoc on unarmored soldiers and civilians.
Still in stride up the second set of stairs he activated the grenades and flung them behind him. They bounced off the wall and down to the ground level. He heard shouts and screams, followed by the concussion of grenades, and then nothing except for the bleating alarms.
This was turning out to be easier than expected. He rushed down the twenty meter hallway to Warren’s office. The door was closed, but he’d have no trouble barreling his way through:
“Watch out!” Corinne screamed in his helmet at the last second, only steps away.
The door flung open in front of him and he heard the whirring sound of a mini-gun cranking. Ralph stood there in the opening with Jayson in his sights, lips cocked in a half smile.
Damn it.
Jayson was less than three meters from the barrel of the gun, still in mid-stride. As his foot landed he threw himself forward and left. He was aiming for the wall beside Ralph to get out of line of sight.
But it wouldn’t be enough. The gun was prepped to fire, and he’d have at least half a second exposed to its point-blank brutality.
He cursed his carelessness and closed his eyes, certain he would be hit by at least a few rounds.
The hydraulic powered leg pushed off the ground with more force than it should have. Jayson realized Corinne was assisting his jump. He hit the wall by the office door—hard—just before the mini-gun went off. He collapsed to his side on the floor. The high caliber bullets ripped the flimsy wall above him to shreds and he rolled away from Warren's office.
Flimsy pieces of wall showered down on him as he crawled. The staccato concussion of shots became his reality. He couldn’t use his cloak again yet. He needed to get out of sight before Warren stepped into the hallway.
He rolled to his feet and ducked into another office two doors farther down.
Jayson stepped inside the room just as Ralph rounded the corner. No target in sight, the heavy gun ceased firing. Jayson put his back against the wall beside the door and held perfectly still, panting lightly into his helmet. His heart was racing and the world was spinning.
He needed perfect silence. If he couldn’t hear Ralph’s footsteps he would die. He refused to breath, listening to the amplified sounds passing through his helmet speakers.
There was nothing at first, then the slightest creak as a board bent under his pursuer’s footstep from just outside.
Jayson timed his movement until Ralph was stepping into the office. He exploded into motion, catching a barrel of the heavy gun with his left hand and pushing it away from his body. With his right hand he raised his own rifle and twisted his body, aiming directly into Ralph’s face.
They faced off for several seconds, Ralph a look of shock and terror on his face and Jayson hesitating to take the shot. “What the…?” Ralph muttered.
Jayson waited a second longer, then pulled the trigger. Ralph’s body collapsed to the ground, and the heavy gun fell next to him.
“That would have been the perfect time to say something cool,” Corinne whispered.
“I couldn’t think of anything,” he replied.
“Don’t worry, I’ll think of something clever to edit in before I post this to the intranet.”
“Before what?”
“Nothing. We’ll talk about it later,” Corinne replied.
Jayson shook his head and walked back to Warren’s office. The door was demolished, along with half the wall. Warren stood by the back of the room, staring out the bay window at the city below. “What do you want? I have money. I can get anything. Do anything. Just name it.”
“Anything?”
Warren turned to face him, the slightest hint of relief evident. “Anything.”
Jayson took his helmet off, walking alongside Warren and staring out the window. “How good are you at flying?”
January 24, 2017
Book Review: The Compulsive Move by Phillip Cornell
Today I will be reviewing The Compulsive Move by Phillip Cornell
About the Book
The Compulsive Move
By Phillip Cornell
The inner struggle of a teen doing his own thing, as opposed to doing what is right. He hides his true intentions, from his friends and family, to uproot his entire life and move from St. Louis to Chicago. This novel undergoes a profile of his personal and work life, along with a step by step analysis of how he executed such a difficult task. Emotionally speaking, he thoroughly under thinks a lot of situations that leads to a series of bad decisions.
ReviewThis was a short read, but not at all what I expected. It is a story about Kevin, who is a youth struggling to get by and make his dreams come true. I liked that aspect of the story, because I think it is important for people to follow their dreams and make them a reality.
However, I felt like the story was too short and left too many holes to really be a complete work. The family hostility is never really explained, and it felt like a lot of the story was being withheld so that the author can release another work later with more of the background, and I think certain elements should have been included directly in this instead of being held apart.
That being said, the story was entertaining to read, despite never really having anything major happen. It was just the story of a young man trying to achieve his dreams, and for that I can appreciate it. If it had given us more background, I might have rated it higher, but it still earns 4 out of 5 stars and is worth looking into considering how short it is.
View it at OBC:January 23, 2017
Book Review: Puzzle of Fate
Today I will be reviewing Puzzle of Fate by A. Reza Kamarei, Ph.D.
About the BookIs your fate predetermined, or can you change it?
Puzzle of Fate: Is Your Fate Predetermined or Can You Change It?
By A. Reza Kamarei Ph.D.
Written by a scientist and inventor with a PhD from MIT, Puzzle of Fate systematically fits together the myriad factors that build and shape the fate of any given person and provides a method for mapping the way to the best possible future—the Unique Summit.
Drawing on a wide range of disciplines to present a pioneering approach to self-discovery and self-improvement, Puzzle of Fate introduces the concept of the “House of Fate,” a configuration of six interconnected groups of factors that, taken together, encompass the whole of human experience. The unique, science-based conclusion of the book is that fate is the logical outcome of interactions between these six groups of factors.
Grouped into the factors that individuals have no control over, those that allow limited control, and the one with reasonable control, these aspects of life are explored in great detail. Readers are then invited to make the most challenging and potentially valuable examination of their lives.
Through awareness of the six groups of factors as well as the concepts of Happiness and Quality of Life, readers are ultimately encouraged to manage their fates and reach their Unique Summit.
ReviewThe author of this work does a very good job of making the topics that are being presented simple and easy to understand, and that is something I appreciate from a work like this. It is something that can be complex and convoluted, and usually that keeps it from being understandable by mainstream readers, but this work spent a lot of time defining topics and ideas.
One thing I found particularly interesting was in the second chapter when the discussion turned toward ideas about the factors that go into fate, and all of it wrapped up very well by the end of the book with some concrete action steps readers could take based on information in the work.
I will rate this book 4 out of 5 stars because even though it does a good job of presenting the information in an easy to understand fashion, it does get bogged down occasionally with too much explanation and unnecessary information. The information can be extremely valuable, and the writing style is clean and consistent, but it did have a few flaws throughout in regards to being concise.
About the AuthorDr. A. Reza Kamarei earned a BS from the College of Nutrition and Food Chemistry in Tehran, an MS in food technology from Tehran University, and an MS and PhD in food science and technology from the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at MIT.
He has contributed to a NASA-sponsored project at MIT for producing foods in space and held positions including vice president of bioprocessing operations at Angio Medical Corporation; leader of R&D department at Clintec Nutrition (Nestle-Baxter JV); and vice president of science & technology at Sabinsa Corporation.
Dr. Kamarei provides scientific consultation to food, nutraceutical, and dietary supplement corporations. He is an inventor and coinventor of numerous issued and pending US and international patents and the author of many papers.
Dr. Kamarei is the developer and founder of Dr. Reza GPS for Weight Loss, providing practical knowledge and tools to overweight individuals to personally manage their weight loss.
View it at OBC:January 19, 2017
Fragment 3 - Recruited
Jayson awoke groggy.
A breeze rolled over his face.
Did I leave the window open?
His second thought was: did I leave the light on?
And then: Is that sand…?
He was disoriented, and it took him a few seconds to realize this wasn’t the same place he went to sleep. The sun blasted down above him, near the middle of the sky. It was hot, hotter than Eldun's sun at this time of year, and he doubted he was even on the same planet.
But then where am I? And how did I get here?
He sat up to rub his eyes. Unaware, he hit himself hard in the face with a bulky glove. He was in his armor with the helmet and rifle by his side, but no other supplies. A headache throbbed behind his eyes, but it wasn’t from alcohol. Too concentrated of a migraine, probably the aftereffect of a sedative and anesthetic to knock him out and keep him out.
He’d experienced similar effects before, during training at the academy, so he knew how to deal with the disorientation. But that brought a new concern. Was it only one day later? If he was drugged, it could have been any amount of time since he’d first gone to sleep. The range of where he could be in the galaxy opened up dramatically.
Jayson stood and scanned the environment. His mind was starting to organize itself, and the theory gaining credibility was that he’d been marooned here. But why, and by whom? Was this punishment? He picked up his helmet, wiped the dust off the bottom, and latched it on. It was the same helmet, but felt different against his skin.
He realized the difference: someone had put a lot of work into repairing and cleaning it. That gave him hope. If someone left him here to die, they wouldn’t clean his gear, would they?
He heard the interface of his helmet spark to life. The default nasally voice spoke up, naming a planet he’d never heard of, Mali, and the date. Four days had passed since he’d arrived at New Delphi with Dirk.
The software unit continued to rattle off details, querying an orbital satellite for information about his immediate locale. None of it was useful.
“Who put me here?” he asked, interrupting the AI. The voice shut off, he heard a click, and a rapid female voice began speaking.
“Oh thank heaven it’s you. I’ve been hiding for days and I didn’t know if you would ever return—”
“Corrine, calm down,” Jayson said, not sure if he was relieved. There was a pause, then:
“Aw, you remembered my name. That’s so sweet. Please never leave me like that again.”
“Do you know who dropped me off?”
“No clue.”
Jayson stared into the desert. “So I get dropped in the middle of the desert on a planet without any information.” He thought for a moment. “Which way to the nearest city?”
“South. The only city. The rest are ruins.”
“Then south it is,” Jayson said. “And no talking unless I say so.”
The armor was insulated with its own temperature control, but even it was struggling under this heat. After walking an hour he went through his storage hatches and found a liter of water and a day’s worth of rations. He was relieved to have some supplies, but he didn’t know how long he would have to make them last. A day? Week? He would have to drink sparingly.
He swallowed a mouthful, put the canteen away, and started his trek again.
A mirage oasis grew from the sand in front of him and then disappeared into the haze.
The heat made the walk difficult, but he was more worried about how open the landscape was. The land was flat and empty, with only the occasional plant sprouting through the sand. Dust swirled in the air. Climes like this were notorious for oppressively hot days as well as freezing nights. He would need to find shelter before the sun disappeared behind the horizon.
“Why do you think they left me here Corinne?” he asked after another two hours passed. She hadn’t spoken the entire time, apparently willing to obey. “Speculate a bit.”
“You’re an assassin, right? Your computer database has some stored information.”
“Operative. I only kill people when the job offers no alternative. And technically no, I’m not. I never finished training.”
“But you were close. And you were good at what you did.”
“I was impulsive. ‘Driven by ambition’ was how one teacher described me. He must have been right. I never even told anyone I was leaving the Academy.”
“Maybe this has to do with that.”
“You think they are punishing me for leaving?” Jayson asked.
“Maybe forgiving.”
Jayson grimaced. “Forgiving? Then why leave me stranded with limited supplies? But this is too elaborate for punishment. It seems more likely they would put a bullet in me. I don’t think it was the Silvent Academy.”
“Maybe this is an initiation?”
Jayson mulled over the idea. “Not likely. If it was an initiation for something, wouldn’t they tell me what I was expected to do?”
“So what do we do now?”
“We get off this rock. I don’t know the planet and I don’t want to play games. I just want to go home.”
This time Corinne didn’t reply. The day dragged on with no shelter in sight. Jayson looked up at the sky and guessed it was an hour before nightfall, then remembered he hadn’t experienced this sun yet. “How much light do we have left?” he asked
“Forty Seven minutes,” Corinne replied. “And there is estimated fifty-two mile an hour winds tonight.”
“Wonderful. Search nearby landscape for low spots to camp. If I can find something to burn we should be alright. At least I have food. If I eat sparingly, I can make it last two days easy—”
“Oh that was my mistake. Fifty-two mile an hour winds are the forecast inside city limits. In the desert winds are expected around ninety-four.”
Jayson stopped walking. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
“I guess I’m staying in the suit tonight.”
“You might want to bury it too. A little bit. So we don’t blow away.”
Jayson blew out a breath of air. “Just find a low spot.”
He walked another fifteen minutes before Corinne found a suitable location. He set to work digging a hole to cover the lower half of his armor. The environment was mostly sand, so it wasn’t hard to manipulate. He insulated himself against the wind, then sat back and tried to relax. He ate part of his rations and powered down his suit to only minimal heat and processing. He couldn’t afford to be wasteful, so he would suffer through a low tech night. He wouldn’t get much sleep.
“You can talk about the planet now, Corinne,” Jayson said.
“Really? It’s called Mali. Ok, so I was searching information about this world a while ago, and it looks like its short on clean water. Most of the surface is a sandy clay mixture and it almost never rains. When it does the surface turns into a muddy mess that lasts for months. Even then the water is difficult to use.
“Relief equipment was delivered by other planets through a trading company called Infinity Logistics belonging to a man named Oliver Atchison. It is to cleanse the water supply and purify the underground reservoirs, but they still never have enough, so it’s rationed. The citizens fight over it a lot.”
“So I should protect my water,” Jayson replied.
“What you have is considered a decent amount, I guess.”
“What else did you find? Is this a human world?”
“Uh huh. Just under a million inhabitants centered inside one city. Garran’s Ridge. It's a mining planet with a large labor force and very few educated people. Mali is part of the Indeil Kingdom and are sanctioned to receive tradesman from Terminus at a spaceport outside the city. The rest of the world is uninhabitable.”
“Who’s the leader?”
“None currently listed. But there is a name that pops up a lot. Warren Smith.”
“Warren Smith,” Jayson mumbled. He didn’t recognize the name. “Anything else?”
“Nothing yet, but I’ve only searched public forums. Do you want me to dig around in secure locations?”
“Nothing dangerous. Don’t do anything that could get us into trouble.”
“Yes sir,” Corinne said, and then fell silent. The helmet powered down and Jayson tried to sleep.
Wolves howled, somewhere in the distance, and then fell silent.
A silver moon crept over the horizon like a shy maiden.
He slept for an hour the entire night. At one point the wind picked up to such vicious levels he was afraid the suit would be ripped out of the ground. Ninety- four kilometers per hour seemed a modest estimate.
He couldn't think of another time he'd ever been this exhausted as the wind buffeted him.
Jayson watched the sun come up the next morning physically and mentally drained. He knew he couldn’t wait around. He dug himself out of the hole and removed his helmet, breathing the fresh air. His suit felt sluggish from the sand and he knew it would be weeks before he managed to clean it all out. So much for his mystery cleaner. He hoped that would be the last night he would ever spend here in the desert.
He trekked south again. Corinne loaded a map of this region, but Garran’s Ridge wasn’t clearly denoted. The only maps she could find were outdated and the surveillance equipment on the satellite failed years ago. The best guess was that the city lay between twenty and six hundred kilometers south.
Not encouraging, but there was nothing Jayson could do about it. The fear that he was left here to die, however, started to gain credibility as his water supply diminished.
Around midday Corinne spoke up: “Vehicles approaching. Quarter of a kilometer away and moving quickly. Hover cars, maybe.”
Jayson readied his rifle and peered down the scope. To the south he saw ten approaching vehicles. “Jeeps. A lot of them.”
“Are you going to shoot them?”
Jayson lowered the rifle. “Not the best way to make friends.”
“Then what do we do?”
“Nothing,” Jayson said. He held the rifle unthreateningly and waited for the ground cars to arrive. They encircled him, keeping their engines running and guns trained on him. One of the vehicles powered down. A short man with a cropped brown beard climbed out.
“Who are you?” the man asked.
“Jayson Coley. You?”
“Ralph Patel. We received a distress call two nights ago and came to investigate.”
Jayson didn’t reply. The call came before he woke up, so it must have been sent by whoever dropped him off. The man eyed him steadily. “Hand over your weapon.”
Jayson felt his hands subconsciously tighten around the rifle. “I’d rather not.”
The man narrowed his eyes. “It wasn’t a request.”
He weighed his options.
It didn’t take long.
Reluctantly, Jayson stuck the butt end of his rifle out. The man took it roughly from him, checked the clip to see if it was loaded, and tossed it in his hover car. “Now your water.”
“You’re robbing me?” Jayson asked, a hint of resignation creeping into his voice.
“You can keep your equipment and food, but the water belongs to us. We have orders to regulate any that comes from the outside. It’s for your own safety,” the man said, then repeated: “your water.”
With a sigh, Jayson unhitched the compartment in his suit and pulled his canteen out. The man grabbed it and put it in his vehicle. “We’ll take you to Warren and he can decide what to do with you. Climb in back.”
Jayson clambered onto the back of the Jeep and they headed south. The ground was rough and they bounced over the sand dunes.
A man sat opposite him, scruffy and wearing little more than rags with dirt smudges covering his face. He used the tip of a dagger to clean grime from under his fingernails. Seeing Jayson watching him, he grinned. He only had five teeth that Jayson could see.
It was a twenty minute trip, so he’d only been less than thirty kilometers out. A little more than a day on foot.
The city was large, cramped, and poor. Beggars littered the roads and dust clung to the air. He’d thought New Delphi was a ravaged city, but the more he saw of Garran’s Ridge, the more he came to realize his home planet would be their vacation spot. Not just the beggars but even some laborers were emaciated, showing signs of lacking nutrition and hygiene.
A boy no older than four with dark skin and hair tried to climb onto the Jeep. The nail-picker shoved him off with a boot.
No one smiled. There was suffering in abundance.
They passed an alleyway. At its mouth a crying mother held a sleeping child. No, not sleeping. Dead.
“Jayson,” he heard in his helmet. Corinne was whispering. He hadn’t known an AI program could whisper. “I found something.”
“Did you send the distress call?”
“No, but listen. I decided to hack a few computer networks, and I got curious when I noticed two unlisted warehouses. Each has a contingent of guards, but the manifests say they are both empty. So I dug deeper, and both belong to Warren Smith.”
“What happened to doing nothing conspicuous?”
“I piggybacked the network onto a computer inside the warehouse and found this:” Corinne continued, ignoring him. The view of the city dimmed as Corinne brought up a series of images and files on Jayson’s viewfinder. He saw the inside of a dark warehouse. It was enormous and packed with bulky equipment. The place looked abandoned, and nothing was in use.
“What am I looking at?” he asked.
“That’s the water purifying equipment delivered over the last twelve years. Half of it, anyway You can guess where the other half is.”
“They aren’t using it?”
“Smith has it on lockdown. The purifiers were never used at all. Yet there are constant broadcasts about a water shortage. Warren releases regular statements claiming that the Indeil Kingdom turned its back on them. That they were left here to die. He’s using the water shortage to dominate the planet.”
"Why? What possible reason could he have to make people suffer like this?"
"He...um..."
"Corinne..."
"He has Union ties. He's planning on getting the population to rebel against the Royal Family so he can turn the planet over to Darius Gray."
Jayson felt his breathing quicken and closed his eyes. “Okay,” he conceded.
“Jayson, he’s letting children die so he can trick people and—”
“Corinne,” Jayson added sharply. “Shut up.”
To her credit, she did. Jayson’s mind was racing, but he didn’t want to let emotion take control. Got to stay calm. Not my planet, not my problem. The last time I tried to help people in need, I got hijacked and dropped here.
The Jeep stopped outside a four-story building surrounded by dozens of guards milling about.
“Come on,” Ralph said, parking and climbing out. He grabbed the water but left Jayson’s rifle in the vehicle. He gestured for Jayson to walk ahead.
The building was old and musty, but bustling with activity. There were another fifteen guards inside the lobby, as well as dozens of civilian personnel working at computer terminals. Of the fifteen armed men, five were in powered Union armor, though lacking any distinguishing marks. They eyed him as he walked inside.
He was led across the lobby, up two flights of stairs to the third floor, and down a twenty meter hallway to a set of offices. They paused outside the largest set of doors, which directly faced the staircase. The hallway split to the right and left, leading to more offices that appeared unoccupied.
A receptionist nodded to Ralph, opened the office door, and stuck her head in. After a moment, she looked back at them and opened the door all the way. “Mr. Smith will see you.”
“Thanks baby doll,” Ralph said, roughly pushing Jayson forward. It was large with a bay window. A gaunt man with deep set eyes and pale skin sat at the desk scribbling on a piece of paper as they entered.
He made them wait ten minutes before finally glancing up.
“Helmet off son,” Warren said, scribbling again. Jayson unsnapped the helmet and held it at his side. Another few minutes passed. “A soldier. We don't see many like you this far out. Are you going to cause problems?” Warren asked. Jayson didn’t reply, and Warren looked up again. “I asked you a question.”
“No sir,” Jayson replied.
“Good. That’s better. I don’t know anything about you, but you seem a good sort. If you understand one simple thing, you’ll get along fine: this is a peaceful town.”
Jayson didn’t reply. None was needed.
“I heard your distress signal and guessed you’d be looking to get off world. That right, soldier?”
Jayson nodded.
“That’s good. Real good. Keep your nose clean and stay out of trouble, and I’ll see what I can do.”
Jayson nodded, but Warren had already returned to his scribbling. Jayson was quickly led back downstairs and outside. “We’ll be keeping an eye on you,” Ralph said, walking back toward the administrative building. “We don’t tolerate outsiders poking their nose where it doesn’t belong.”
"I understand."
"Come back tomorrow and we might have good news," he said, then hesitated. "We’ll hang on to your gun for you."
Jayson nodded. He’d been expecting as much.
Ralph glanced around and then leaned close to Jayson. “As you can see, things are going smoothly. Let your boss know that we only need a few more weeks before the planet will be in full revolt.”
Jayson blinked. "What?" What boss?
But Ralph was already gone, disappearing back into the building. Jayson waited for a minute and then turned and headed down the road. With luck he could find an inn to spend the night. Preferably some place without cockroaches.
January 17, 2017
Book Review: The Grand by Dennis D. Wilson
Today I will be reviewing The Grand by Dennis D. Wilson.
About the book
The Grand
By Dennis D. Wilson
Chicago cop Dean Wister takes a forced vacation when he is on the brink of a breakdown after the death of his wife. During his summer solstice in Jackson Hole, where he met her years before, he is called in by local police to consult when a notorious Chicago mobster is found dead in the Snake River. What has drawn the hit man west to murder a popular local citizen and pollute the pristine mountain enclave of the rich and famous—is it love, sex, money, or power? Or is it somehow related to the Presidential campaign of Wyoming's favourite son? Dean's investigation threatens to uncover the secrets of a group of memorable suspects, ranging from rich tycoons to modern day cowboys, with political consequences reaching far beyond the small resort town. As Dean follows the leads in the case from Jackson Hole to Chicago to Washington D.C., he also struggles to cope with the personal loss that threatens his mental stability, as the nocturnal visits from his deceased wife suppress his will to let her go and make him question his purpose in life. The climactic scenes contain reveals the reader will never see coming. A funny, romantic, sexy, roller coaster thriller!
ReviewThe story starts with an interesting situation, but one that is wholly believable: a Senator with his mistress, and the Senator has grand ambitions that cannot afford to have a tarnished reputation because of dalliance with his hidden lover.
When the property manager accidentally stumbles onto the premises and figures out that it is a very important man with his red-headed companion, he unfortunately makes his presence known and sets off a series of events that drive the action of this story.
And, there is quite a bit of action. The story is fast-paced and has a lot of clever and interesting characters. I liked Dean Wister quite a bit, and I would see the parallels between many of the characters (particularly the politicians) and real world events that are happening and have happened on a regular basis.
Dean is dealing with stress of his own, but he is asked to help look into some unexplained deaths and help find out what is going on. My only real complaint with the story was that there was a lot of backstory developed that didn't feel wholly necessary, and a few of the side characters weren't necessary. That being said, the writing was good and the characters were multi-dimensional, so I did enjoy it.
I will rate this 4-stars because there were a few slow spots, but it was still a wholly enjoyable novel. I haven't read anything about Dean Wister before, but this makes me want to check out the rest of the series and follow-up with the character.
About the Author
DENNIS D. WILSON After a career working in an international consulting firm and as a financial executive with two public companies, Dennis D. Wilson returns to the roots he established as a high school literature and writing teacher. For his debut novel, he draws upon his experiences from his hometown of Chicago, his years of living, working, hiking, and climbing in Jackson Hole, and secrets gleaned from time spent in corporate boardrooms, to craft a political crime thriller straight from today’s headlines. Dennis lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and Black Lab enny, but spends as much time as he can looking for adventure in the mountains and on his motorcycle. Keep up with him at dennisdwilson.com.
View it at OBC:January 14, 2017
Book Review: Gamers and Gods: The Complete Trilogy
Today, I will be reviewing: Gamers and Gods: The Complete Trilogy by Matthew Kennedy.
About the Book
Gamers and Gods: The Complete Trilogy
By Matthew Kennedy
A hero from ancient Greece finds himself in a battle between pantheons for the future of Earth. Follow three generations of virtual demigods as they fight for our freedom. This series has it all: nobility, sacrifice, love, honor, courage, and hope. Incarnated as living software, heroes will strive in a virtual arena where love may be the most powerful weapon of all -- and the one that could give us our chance as a species to fulfill our destiny.
ReviewThis book caught me completely by surprise because it mixed together a lot of different concepts and some really interesting ideas. Many of the descriptions, especially the fight scenes, felt like they could have been pulled straight out of a video game and made for really interesting passages in the book, but at the same time there was a lot of cool information dealing with Gods like Zeus, Hera, and many others.
Blending these together didn't really seem like a normal fit, but it didn't take me long to get into the book and realize I was definitely enjoying it. I finished in two sittings (the first book, at least) and was caught up in the clever dialogue and fun descriptions. The avatars, for example, became an interesting way of handling all of the interactions while simultaneously making tongue in cheek jokes about various video games and the stylistic design process of putting it all together.
The battle with Am-heh was a lot of fun near the end of the book, because it felt a like a mix between a huge battle taking place in a video game and also something like dungeons and dragons (Darla calls out for a perception buff, and then Aes casts Clearsight so that they can see the blob that is their enemy).
I'll give this book 4-Stars because it was wholly unique and quite interesting, but there were some parts the didn't quite live up as well and were lacking. It was a fun book to read, and I look forward to finishing the trilogy, but if you don't fall into the right audience this could be an awkward and confusing book.
About the Author
Matthew R. Kennedy (1956 - ) was born in West Point, NY -- which was odd, because his father was a Navy pilot. He received his BS in Physics from the University of Central Florida ... after co-inventing the Hypercube Loudspeaker (US Patent 4,231,446 "Resonating Chamber) while still an undergraduate.
After physics graduate school at FSU, he pursued a career in software. His work in Web Development and Active Server Pages has played a role at Sylvan (educate.com), where he developed Web pages for their international testing and certification scheduling, and at Walter Reed Army Medical Center where he worked with disease population statistics and medical scorecard pages to assist doctors in following clinical practice guidelines.
January 13, 2017
Print on Demand: Createspace, KDP Print, IngramSpark, and More!
You put in the months of hard work and wrote something great. Well done and congratulations, and now you want to show it off to the world.
But the world can be a scary place for new authors looking to make a name for themselves. There are hundreds of companies out there looking to charge you money for various services, many of which you can perform on your own.
For example, you can post your book on KDP and sell it on Amazon for free. It will only take you a short amount of time to make an account and do this, and when you're done you'll be able to say you are a published author. But, from personal experience and talking to a lot of people over my career, I can say that there is nothing quite like holding a paperback copy in your hands.
Sure, people are reading your words in eBook, but what you really want is that dead tree to hold onto and admire. Printing a paperback can be one of the most rewarding parts of the entire writing process.
I, personally, release all of my books in eBook, Paperback, Hardcopy, and audio formats.
What options are there?When it comes to finding the right system for printing your books, you have some tough decisions to make: should you go with a vanity press and print out a bunch of copies, or a print on demand company that will only create copies as books are ordered? There are advantages and disadvantages to either approach.
If you plan to sell and give away a lot of copies, then you're going to want to get those copies as cheaply as possible. You can save pennies on each copy by printing a run of books at all once, but then you run into the downside of having to store those copies and how to ship them when people order them.
Print on demand, on the other hand, has a very low cost of entry. In fact, it is possible to publish your book in paperback and have it up for sale on hundreds of websites entirely without spending a dime. The downside here is that, since the books aren't already created, when people order a copy it might take them a couple of days to actually make the copy before they ship it.
On top of these differences, each different company that offers a service like this has minor differences and variations to their process that impact their overall value.
CreateSpaceThis is an Amazon company. It falls under the umbrella of services they offer, and as such many people will recognize it for what it is if your book says it is distributed by Createspace.
This is a good thing because it has powerful branding, but it can be seen as a negative as well: many booksellers don't like Amazon on principle (they think it is destroying the industry) so there can be some negative reactions to using it. The other downside is that it is a staple process for self-published authors, so not only will you be flagged as an Amazon author, you'll be flagged as self-published.
Will this lose you sales? It depends. Many authors never really sell a lot of paperback copies, and even when they do they often sell them through Amazon. However, if you are more established and really want to move the needle in the paperback market, then this option has some severe limitations.
Some of its benefits are that you can order author copies cheap, offer discounts (though only through the CreateSpace store, which kind of sucks), and set up and distribution are incredibly simple.
IngramSparkIngram is huge in the publishing world, a major global distributor. ImgramSpark is a branch of their LightningSource distribution platform and is keyed toward Indie Authors and Print on Demand services.
Authors used to be able to sign up for LightningSource instead if they really wanted, which was basically an identical service with some technical difference, but now everyone is funneled here.
Which isn't to say this lacks anything LightningSource has: Spark is a great platform and has evolved and grown throughout the years. It's fairly easy to set up a new book (though not as easy as CreateSpace). It's biggest advantage, however, is that when you sell books internationally and outside Amazon you still make the full value of your sale in royalties, which can be a huge difference if you sell a lot of copies.
KDP PrintThis is a new program offered by Amazon where you can sell your books directly on the Amazon platform alongside and linked to the Kindle version. You can even import from CreateSpace onto this system.
It is pretty much identical to CreateSpace except it is somewhat limited in features. It is new, still in Beta, so they are working on the kinks and bugs.
For the most part it is interchangeable with CreateSpace and will eventually have some new perks and benefits.
LuluThis is a more full service platform, and will serve as a stand-in for a lot of different companies. Lulu is easy to use and works fairly well, and its better for authors who want to work with a company the entire way and centralize a lot of their process.
Other OptionsThere are tons of ways to get books published, including a lot of companies similar to Lulu, and many of them offer some little perks or benefits. However, keep in mind that any of them that ask for a lot of money upfront usually aren't worth it, because with a little bit of extra work you can do almost anything for free, or at least a lot cheaper than they want.
Remember: these companies are there to make money off of YOU, not your readers.
Item 1: Setup/Adjust PricingWith all of these platforms, you need to have your own well-formatted cover and interior file, though if you make the same book in both places the files can be nearly identical. Createspace is free to setup a new title, as well as modify the interior and cover files when you want to make changes. IngramSpark has a $49 fee to create a new title, as well as a $25 fee to update the files individually if you ever want to make changes (for formatting, edits, etc.).
There are discounts and coupons you can get (IngramSpark often offers between 10%-100% discounts for initial setup to bring new people in) but they aren't always available. And, even then, if you make eventual changes you will still need to pay for them.
KDP is probably the easiest platform to set-up, because since you probably already have your ebook on the platform, you can import most of the information over to use as a paperback. They also have a clever cover builder to generate a cover, though you'll probably want to build your own down the line.
Item 2: QualityAll companies print books on demand, which means they will source books when necessary and then ship them directly to customers. Ingram has suppliers all over the world, and CreateSpace has suppliers in the US and UK. You can't control the supplier in either case, which means they will choose who prints/ships based on proximity and cost.
However, anecdotally (and consistently) it seems that there is a much greater variance between CreateSpace distributors than IngramSpark. Many people have reported bad prints, missed pages, entirely wrong interior files, and other problems from CreateSpace. Some of their suppliers are worse than other, and some are downright terrible, which means there is a randomness to it that can be detrimental.
Side by side comparison of them at their best, Ingram takes this category with a slight edge, but they win hands down when you factor in that it could take several tries for CreateSpace to get you a good copy.
KDP uses the same service as CreateSpace, which isn't too bad, and they do seem to be doing a better job now of making the books better. I used Lulu once to print a batch of books since they were cheaper than Ingram, and I found out they were just that: cheaper. They looked and felt crummy, and you could see right through the pages if you held them up to light. I'll never use them again.
Item 3 - Distribution and PricingBoth companies let you set your own price, and you can charge hundreds of dollars per book if you want. You shouldn't, but you can. With Ingram, you can even set regional pricing on your own, as well as percentage discounts for buyers, which gives you even more control.
CreateSpace has an option called expanded distribution which enables your book for distribution beyond their initial three platforms. What they don't tell you is that they use LightningSource as their distributor, so if you use that option, you'll be using Ingram anyway.
The other thing they don't tell you is that they use Ingram, but poorly and everyone loses out. To explain what I mean, let me give you a rundown of how bookstores purchase books:
Let's say your book costs 10 dollars. When a bookstore buys it, there are two major features they look at: their discount, and whether or not it is returnable. With Ingram, you set your discount between 30% and 55%, and it is completely up to you. With CreateSpace, you have no control over it.
Bookstore owners usually like books to be in the 45%-55% range discount (i.e. they pay $4.50 for your book and make $5.50 in revenue which could be good profit). They also want it to be returnable (for 90 days they can send it back if they feel like it won't sell).
Ingram gives you three options for returns: none, mail, destroy. With both options for actual returns, you will have to cover the cost of printing the book and returning the book, but if you choose destroy they will simply throw your book away and you won't have to pay shipping to get it back. If a book isn't returnable, bookstores are less likely to take a chance on it.
CreateSpace sets these options as non-returnable and 35% discount for stores (so they pay $6.50 per copy and make less profit). These aren't great terms, so bookstores are less likely to want to carry your book if you use Expanded Distribution.
They also take their cut directly out of this. If you set those terms on IngramSpark, you would get around $3.00 royalty per copy sold, but with CreateSpace you get about $0.95 cents.
At this point Ingram clearly seems like the winner in this category, but there are a few nuances to keep in mind: first off, having control over your global pricing sounds cool, but in practice you need to sell a LOT of books for it to pay off. If you're only selling a few here and there then it isn't nearly as valuable. Second, CreateSpace is definitely Amazon's Preferred Vendor, which means Amazon will always source from CreateSpace. What's more, they will stock your CreateSpace book in warehouses so that when people order they can get it quicker and see the 'In Stock' tag on your product page.
However, I've had luck using Ingram setting higher discounts and getting Amazon to discount further. If you sell your book for $10 and set a 50% discount, Amazon might actually sell it for $8 giving readers the impression that it is marked down in price, which can help with sales. Since you make more money through Ingram anyway, this can be a viable strategy to modifying your product page to be more enticing.
Item 4: ISBN DistributionAll companies offer the ability to buy an ISBN directly on the website during product creation, and their pricing is fairly comparable. CreateSpace and KDP will allow you to use a free ISBN if you want and they will be your 'publishing company.' Many authors don't like this because it screams 'self-published book' but it is a completely viable way of publishing a book without spending any money at all. They used to have another option buy a cheap non-transferable ISBN as well, but they dropped it.
Either way, CreateSpace and KDP still have more options and is the winner of this category. Though, if you are actually planning to publish more than one book, I would highly recommend buying directly from Bowker and owning your ISBN rather than using either company. You can get ten ISBNs for the price of two there, and you can buy larger packages to save a lot of money down the line.
Note, this only applies to US users, because in Canada and elsewhere there are free or cheaper options for getting ISBNs.
Item 5: Options and Ease of UseMost of these companies are easy to use, though the CreateSpace UI is more intuitive and KDP is easier still, so they have the upper hand here. However, Ingram has more overall options, including the ability to make hard copies. This is a huge plus in their favor, because even though paperbacks legitimize a book, there is nothing like holding a hard copy of your work in hand with a dust jacket you can take off and admire. Lulu is also easy to use, but again I cannot recommend them because of their downsides.
What should you do?All of these companies are great for publishing a paperback copy of your book. CreateSpace wins out as being easier to setup and get started and the preferred Amazon vendor, as well as having better options for ISBN, and Ingram wins out as the better distributor and giving you more control over pricing.
There is, however, an alternative to picking either of these individually, and that is to use two as distributors. If you buy your own ISBN through Bowker, you can load the exact same book onto multiple platforms. Make sure not to turn on the expanded distribution option in CreateSpace (since they use Ingram anyway).
With this method, Ingram will distribute your book globally, and Amazon will source from CreateSpace or KDp. You'll no longer get the huge cut out of your profits when selling books outside of Amazon, but you will also get the benefits of having an Amazon preferred setup where Amazon will always keep your book in stock, even if they've never printed a single copy.
I do this with paperbacks of my fiction novels, and I wait until a 'free' promotion before loading onto Ingram to keep costs down.
My recommendation?If you only plan to sell on Amazon, just use the KDP print option or CreateSpace. If you want to sell globally and use a few platforms, then use IngramSpark. If you are a power user and you want to really sell your book, then use KDP Print to source for Amazon and IngramSpark for global distribution, and simply use your own ISBN so that wherever people buy it they get the same book.
There are a lot of different options out there for printing your books on demand, and not all of them are equal. Hopefully, the information I've given you here will help you make an informed decision.
If you have something to add or think I'm wrong about my analysis somewhere, then sound off in the comments below! Let us know what you do to print!
January 12, 2017
Fragment 2 - Recruited
They were relieved to see New Delphi still standing, but it was different than what they left a year earlier. Blocks were demolished and fewer people traversed the streets. Some parts remained untouched, havens in the war-scape. The entire planet experienced this devastation, Jayson realized. It will never be the same. But maybe, with our clean and decisive victory, it will get better. The war had torn the city apart, but already the resilient citizens were putting it back together.
The two veterans maneuvered through the city, passing pedestrians with weary looks on their faces and recently returned soldiers. A man wheeled past them in a charge missing both of his legs.
They walked through a rundown district that had been bombed my mortars. No one was untouched by the war, it seemed. The destruction was complete.
Subconsciously Jayson maneuvered down a back alley and across a thoroughfare to West Market. His family lived on Forty-Third Street. Or at least they used to. He didn’t realize that was where his feet were taking him until he reached the junction.
Jayson hesitated. His family might still be there—some of them, at least—and if they were alive they deserved to hear from him. Hear that he was okay. But he didn’t know if he should go on; if he could go on.
They stood in silence. Dirk tried to be patient, but finally spoke up: “What are we waiting for?”
Jayson wasn’t sure, but he couldn’t force his legs to move any further in that direction. “Just waiting.” He turned to Dirk. “Want a drink?”
“Hell yeah,” Dirk replied, perking up. “I was planning to check on my dad, but that can wait.”
They walked the other direction until they came across a pub. The DDHW, though no signage explained the acronym. It was dark and busy inside, but the patrons all ceased talking as they came in. Dozens of eyes faced their way.
Not surprising, since they were still wearing battle armor and carrying rifles. Only in a war torn city can carrying a rifle into a bar during the middle of the day be construed as acceptable behavior, Jayson knew.
They waited in the doorway, accepting the stares and letting the patrons make the first move. “Heroes of war,” the bartender said finally. The tense atmosphere vanished. “Drinks are on the house.”
Dirk blushed as they sat down and ordered. They were patted on the back dozens of times before the room returned to normal. They sat in silence, watching the room and enjoying the ambience. Everyone fell back into their quiet conversations, the soldiers forgotten about.
The journey to New Delphi had taken the pair four lonely weeks. The rest of the army broke camp weeks earlier, but Jayson was an advance scout deep in Irdesh territory. Dirk was a prisoner of war. A kid near starvation. When Jayson broke into an Irdesh base and found him locked in a cage he had decided Dirk was worth saving.
Now everyone back home was in the process of trying to pick up the pieces. Find their loved ones and their homes and move on. But not everyone had somewhere to go back to...
“Want to talk about it?” Dirk asked.
“What?” Jayson asked, distracted.
“Something is bothering you. If you get it off your chest, you’ll feel better.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m willing to listen,” Dirk offered.
“Drop it,” Jayson replied, harsher than intended. Dirk was hurt. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Dirk said, looking at his watch. “I have to go. I need to see my parents. They probably think I’m dead.”
“That’s fine. Go see them.”
Dirk started walking for the door. “Thanks. For everything. If you need anything don’t hesitate to ask. Ever.”
Jayson nodded and Dirk left. Jayson was torn. He wanted to visit his own family, but he knew he couldn’t. Not yet at least. He had returned to Eldun eight months earlier when they needed him for protection. That was the end of it. He couldn't face them again.
Not after he'd abandoned them.
The bartender slid another drink in front of him.
A group whispered in the corner, occasionally pointing at him.
A woman sat two tables away, her face hidden by cloth and shadows. She swirled a glass of blood red wine, watching the crowd. A single strand of red hair hung in view.
Jayson sipped his beer. Smooth and hoppy.
He'd felt trapped as a kid growing up on Eldun. The planet was a cage he needed to escape. He'd fled and signed on with a mercenary band on Terminus doing protection jobs and petty theft. He’d lied and made up his history, claiming he grew up in Sector Two. The truth was, he’d done everything he could to forget his past. To wipe his own slate clean.
He’d never even told his family he was leaving.
Then the Union began recruiting, amassing soldiers for war. Jayson signed on and was selected for the Silvent Academy. He’d never looked back.
It was seven years since he’d joined the Union. He’d cut all family ties. Or so he’d tought. At that time the war on Eldun was in its seventeenth year with no end in sight.
Then his father died. Jayson found out they needed his protection and came for them out of a misguided sense of duty. He’d given it up, his promising career working for the Union. His one chance to make something better for himself. He’d thrown it away, and for what? There was nothing left for him there at the Academy. They would never forgive him. Never take him back. And if he went home to them he would be opening doors he’d closed and locked years ago. Picking at scabs that had already healed.
It would be better that he not return; better that he remain a ghost.
Plus he had free drinks on the house.
And people to pat him on the back. Congratulations. Welcome home.
It meant nothing.
Is this my home? No, he realized. Not anymore.
He finished drinking several hours later and rented a motel room, pleasantly inhibited. He kept his helmet powered down as he stripped, having no desire to argue with the new AI program. The room had a shower. A real shower, not bucket baths with reservoirs of water. And it was hot.
The first hot water in weeks. He washed the grime away, locating the tattoo under his left armpit and studying it. Three black triangles linked at their tips to create a larger triangle. The inverted triangle in the center was colored red.
It had been a source of pride when they gave it to him at the Academy. Brotherhood was what it symbolized. They were in it together. Now it was disgrace, a reminder of his failure to finish the Academy. Had he finished his training the pigment would have been removed and he would have been put into active duty. The tattoo made me one of them. Now what does it make me?
He would remove it, he decided. In a few days he would find a parlor to laser off the ink. They had lower tech here on Eldun than at the academy, so it would leave a scar. He would always have marks on his skin, but at least he wouldn’t have to keep looking at it.
Cleaned up and with alcohol flowing through his system, the world made more sense. He decided that it wasn’t fair to avoid his family. Since he wasn’t staying, he should at least see them before he left again. They loved him, and he owed them that much. He wouldn’t stay long, but he should explain to them why he had to go in the first.
First thing in the morning.
Damn those drinks were good.
Pleased with his resolve, Jayson climbed into the plush motel bed, at peace for the first time in years.
January 7, 2017
Sarah Carleton Shares Her Experiences Narrating Second Chances
Sarah Carleton is the narrator for Second Chances in audio format, and she shares her experiences of reading the book in this video!
