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The Process of Forgetting
The Process of Forgetting takes place in 2135, and tells the story of Zach Broderick, a chemist marooned on the island of Tarawa in the south pacific, and his quest to discover if he is indeed the last man on Earth.
Early in the 22nd century, a new airborne strain of the Ebola virus merges with a deadly new form of the HIV virus, and virtually wipes humanity from the face of the Earth. Thrown into the chaos of the moment is chemist Zach Broderick, 35, a man questioning his existence in a world where existence and existential have become one. A man who has made what he surmises is his last trip to a remote pacific island to find what he thinks might be the last hope to save humanity from total destruction; The Beatta orchid, a strain so rare, there have only been 2 known to have existed.
As we meet Zach and he reveals his thoughts to us, we discover that the Earth in her infinite wisdom has allowed all the animals to live, and in fact thrive. There has also emerged a degree of sentience from the animal kingdom that had not existed before the end of man. Dolphins for example have learned how to communicate in a newly mined version of English with one another, and their human teachers. New species are emerging everyday.
To bring this global metamorphosis into the book, two animal characters have been included; a meerkat named Tybalt, who is Zach’s pet, and an eagle named Donath, who lives on the island. Each animal knows who and what it is, this newfound intelligence just another by-product of the shifting of the Earths priorities.
Events that years earlier would’ve been considered impossible have begun to take place. New mountains and volcanos are sprouting up everywhere. The Earth is rewriting herself at every sunrise, and all Zach can do is watch and wait for his opportunity to live or perish.
Throughout the book Zach is plagued by nightmares and waking visions. An old woman often comes to him, telling him of things to come, both horrible and wonderful. And there’s the girl, the beautiful girl who comes to him in waking visions beckoning him to come to Makin, the northernmost island, where she promises him he will find true happiness. Are these real? Are they delusions? Zach cannot always be sure. This fundamental premise of whether he is sane or mad forms a key friction point for Zach in his dealings with the situation he finds himself in.
As the narrative progresses, Zach decides that he must continue his search for the orchid, and ventures out from the confines of his beach house to explore the islands in search of the elusive orchid, and the girl he keeps seeing in dreams. On his journeys he discovers that he is indeed not alone on the island. There are other survivors, and one of them, a native islander named Tanentoa, has been waiting for Zach to be alone on Tarawa for months.
He has a plan for Zach. The action of the second part of the story takes place as Tanentoa and Zach play a deadly game of survival. What will happen to these last people on Earth. Who will emerge victorious? What fate lays ahead for Zach and Tanentoa on a new Earth, a changed Earth, a future Earth.
Early in the 22nd century, a new airborne strain of the Ebola virus merges with a deadly new form of the HIV virus, and virtually wipes humanity from the face of the Earth. Thrown into the chaos of the moment is chemist Zach Broderick, 35, a man questioning his existence in a world where existence and existential have become one. A man who has made what he surmises is his last trip to a remote pacific island to find what he thinks might be the last hope to save humanity from total destruction; The Beatta orchid, a strain so rare, there have only been 2 known to have existed.
As we meet Zach and he reveals his thoughts to us, we discover that the Earth in her infinite wisdom has allowed all the animals to live, and in fact thrive. There has also emerged a degree of sentience from the animal kingdom that had not existed before the end of man. Dolphins for example have learned how to communicate in a newly mined version of English with one another, and their human teachers. New species are emerging everyday.
To bring this global metamorphosis into the book, two animal characters have been included; a meerkat named Tybalt, who is Zach’s pet, and an eagle named Donath, who lives on the island. Each animal knows who and what it is, this newfound intelligence just another by-product of the shifting of the Earths priorities.
Events that years earlier would’ve been considered impossible have begun to take place. New mountains and volcanos are sprouting up everywhere. The Earth is rewriting herself at every sunrise, and all Zach can do is watch and wait for his opportunity to live or perish.
Throughout the book Zach is plagued by nightmares and waking visions. An old woman often comes to him, telling him of things to come, both horrible and wonderful. And there’s the girl, the beautiful girl who comes to him in waking visions beckoning him to come to Makin, the northernmost island, where she promises him he will find true happiness. Are these real? Are they delusions? Zach cannot always be sure. This fundamental premise of whether he is sane or mad forms a key friction point for Zach in his dealings with the situation he finds himself in.
As the narrative progresses, Zach decides that he must continue his search for the orchid, and ventures out from the confines of his beach house to explore the islands in search of the elusive orchid, and the girl he keeps seeing in dreams. On his journeys he discovers that he is indeed not alone on the island. There are other survivors, and one of them, a native islander named Tanentoa, has been waiting for Zach to be alone on Tarawa for months.
He has a plan for Zach. The action of the second part of the story takes place as Tanentoa and Zach play a deadly game of survival. What will happen to these last people on Earth. Who will emerge victorious? What fate lays ahead for Zach and Tanentoa on a new Earth, a changed Earth, a future Earth.
165 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 18, 2013
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