Hello again, Happy Readers!
I didn’t get this in yesterday (and almost not today), but I wanted to let you know that the Re-Release of the Planetary: Earth anthology is now live! Links are below.
I have a short story (almost a novelette) in it called “Xolotl Resurrected.” It is the ORIGIN STORY for Horizons Unlimited. It takes place in the near future (alternate at this point? *shrug*) Nicaragua where the corporation has established itself as a benefactor to the people of the La Chureca (the gigantic dumping ground outside Managua) by using it’s proprietary matter conversion technology (think Star Trek replicators) to create a booming energy ‘gold rush’ for the entrepreneurial minded denizens. In exchange for unfettered control of the dumping ground, Horizons Unlimited has constructed a new canal connecting Lake Managua to the Pacific. Of course, any time you have success, others want to be part of it (or take it for themselves) as is the case with the world powers who see danger in the ‘uncontrolled’ (by them at least) new technology.
If you wonder where the title comes from, well, that’s both simple and complex. Since the other Planetary Anthologies centered around Greek or Roman mythos, I thought that I would go a different route in my Earth story. I needed a huge garbage dump to clean up (La Chureca) and the lake named for Xolotl was right there… so that’s the way it went. Lake Managua is also known as Lake Xolotlan, named for the Aztec god Xolotl, dog faced twin of Quetzalcoatl, who shepherded the sun on its nightly journey through the underworld. It’s interesting mythology, and was part of my research ‘rabbit hole’ when I wrote the story. Since, in the mythology, Xolotl was sacrificed along with the other Aztec gods in order to restore the motion of the sun so the world could work again (apparently this happened 4 times before too) I thought it would be fitting to ‘resurrect’ him (aka the lake).
Read the story and you should see the connections. There’s more to that myth too, so go look it up if you like that kind of thing. Oh, and here’s an axolotl (they are named for Xolotl too)… just because they are cool!
Now, let’s get back down to Earth!
Tuscany Bay’s Planetary Anthology Series has re-Released Planetary Earth. New cover shown here! Follow the links to Amazon and get a copy.
Welcome to Earth. We know so much about our home planet, yet so very little. From the ancient astronomers who sought to figure out our place among the stars to the modern day scientists studying the deepest oceans to those who looking for life on other planets.
In this anthology resides 18 stories of discovery and daring that exhibit the spirit of adventure that has led explorers to risk their lives trying to discover the mysteries and secrets of Earth.
Stories included are:
- Silesian Treasure by WJ Hayes – RAF Group Captain Enoch P. Simmons is tasked as liaison to a business convention. He meets Buchanan Polk and the pair suddenly find themselves in the midst of a robbery.
- This Planet is a Hole by Lou Antonelli – An alien teen is forced to move with her family to the worst planet in all of space and she’s not happy about it.
- Extinction Point by Richard Paolinelli – Every civilized planet reaches a point when its technological advances lead to its ultimate demise. Major Adam Armstrong has just discovered that Earth has reached its extinction point and he is racing back to warn his homeworld before it is too late.
- I Hate Mars! By Arlan Andrews – An exile from Earth is sent to Mars in a robotic body. He hates the Red Planet, but makes an unexpected life for himself there.
- The Mantle of Gaia by Jody Lynn Nye – When Earth is under attack from an enemy force, her defender might be the one with the most unlikely of talents. College student Winston Chun is the last survivor of the programmers who can operate the planetary repulsor web against the incursion of bloodthirsty aliens, but can he reach the control center in time?
- Reality Run by Alfred Genneson – A post-human discovers the world outside of the computer.
- The Lamp By Which My Feet Are Guided by R. W. Ware – What’s left after a religious apocalypse? The brave men and women of the Mavericks.
- Escape From The Lost Land by Nathan Dabney – Explorers Virgil Shephard and Ross Kent have discovered a tropical paradise deep in the snows of Antarctica, but there lurks a mysterious evil from which they must escape.
- Unacceptable Losses by John M. Olson – Caroline Storm is stranded in a combat zone, her team missing or dead, communications on blackout. Can she complete her mission and survive?
- Climate of Change by Marie Genneson – A marital spat between Pluto and Persephone sends the world into chaos. Can Athena mend the split before the drastic temperature changes destroy the humans and kill them all?
- Welcome to Mars! by A. M. Freeman – Some rivalries span decades, but how far is too far when doing what it takes to win?
- The Dawn of Reason by Dan Gallagher – At the dawn of humanity there was a choice to walk in trusting humility, or else covet equality with God as a thing to be grasped. How’d that work out?
- Under A Wayward Sun by Josh Griffing – Terran Fleet Ensign Jack Williams is about to make history on Topeka-2 as the youngest officer ever to lead a survey team to a planet’s surface.
- The Hidden Conquest by Hans Schantz – Faster-than-light travel is a myth, yet an invasion crosses light years of space and eons of time, employing a small but devastating secret weapon to conquer another world. Can he can stop the Civic Circle’s “Hidden Conquest,” before it’s too late?
- Complicit in Their Bondage by J. Manfred Weichsel – A US Soldier discovers an ancient secret in the mountains of Afghanistan.
- Ringrun by Ben Wheeler – A robotic scientist is on the run from a nanotech swarm desperate to rip out the information he holds in his mind.
- Xolotl Resurrected by J. D. Beckwith – A convergence of breakthroughs in quantum intelligence and materials technology has led to the birth of matter conversion. Can the idealistic inventors prove its viability to the world?
- We’ll Always Have Earth by Bokerah Brumley – Ilsa Land works as an AA, Aware Android. When a ship-wide malfunction sends Ilsa’s plans awry, she must choose between saving her future or an innocent life.
More exciting anthologies in this series are coming soon.
You can find out more about the Planetary Anthology Series here:
Happy Reading!
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If you like intrigue, humor and a bit of speculative technological supposition, you should pick up a copy of my technothriller-comedy eConscience Beta from Amazon today!
Peacekeeper Incorporated’s breakthrough nanotechnology could bring repeat offense crime to an end, freeing society from the need for criminal incarcerations. But first, they have to finish testing it. With funding on the line, and time to prove out the project getting short, the lead scientist must find a way speed things up. That’s unfortunate for his guinea pig, and anyone who would stand in his way.
Can the goal of ending most crime justify committing one… even a few?
And what happens when you conflate altruism with egotism?
Find out in eConscience Beta, where two lab techs and an uncouth petty criminal must outwit a brilliant but sociopathic scientist who’ll stop at nothing to establish his legacy as the man who ended crime.
If Science Fiction Space Adventure is more your speed, then you should check out my anthology, Horizons Unlimited: Volume 1.
HORIZONS UNLIMITED
Matter conversion technology—Matt-Con—has broadened the scope of mankind’s existence. It has opened up the real possibility of viable colonies on other planets in our solar system, and even space itself. Anywhere matter can be captured or energy from the sun can be felt, the possibility of expanding human habitation exists.
In this volume:
Quicksilver (short story)
The space station Chariot of Helios—on its way to Mercury to become a power collection station for Earth’s growing need for energy to power matt-con tech—encounters a strange anomaly that threatens ship and crew.
Null Gravitas (short story)
New crew and new relationships form above the skies of Venus. A post-prequel to Escaping Aurora.
Escaping Aurora (novella)
The sudden destruction of mankind’s first atmospheric terraforming platform leaves three unlucky exonauts struggling to survive in the skies of Venus aboard a cobbled-together airship. Meanwhile, the commander of the space station above battles obstacles that might keep her from rescuing her stranded husband and crew in time.
Words from the Wampuscat 