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eBook Category: Science Fiction
eBook Description: In the year 2239, colonists from Earth discover the remains of ancient technology buried under the sands of a distant planet. The aliens who created it abandoned everything without a trace of who they were or why they left. The technology can advance human knowledge by thousands of years, promising the creation of a true utopia. However, somewhere in its secrets is a lethal mouse-trap that has already sprung on the human race.

eBook Publisher: The Fiction Works, Published: http://www.fictionworks.com, 2004
Fictionwise Release Date: March 2004

17 Reader Ratings:

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Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: eReader (PDB) [191 KB] , ePub (EPUB) [163 KB] , Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [158 KB] , Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [567 KB] , Palm Doc (PDB) [177 KB] , Microsoft Reader (LIT) [162 KB] , Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [202 KB] , hiebook (KML) [429 KB] , Sony Reader (LRF) [265 KB] , iSilo (PDB) [145 KB] , Mobipocket (PRC) [184 KB] , Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [226 KB] , OEBFF Format (IMP) [245 KB]
Words: 55062
Reading time: 157-220 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

PART I

An Accidental Stumble (2239 A.D.)

It was not inevitable.

It is the opinion of many historians that the chain of events detailed in this book and the catastrophe that followed were all rooted in the flawed decisions of individuals. This book, however, does not contain critiques or opinions, popular as they may be.

This book contains facts.

It is a fact that in the year 2219 Earth founded 'Hope for Utopia', the first human colony in a different solar system. It is a fact that twenty years later a woman named Susan Dawkins was running for her life in the desert outside Hope for Utopia. It is a fact that she fell into a pit. It is a fact that this last event, this accidental stumble, changed Earth's history.

Only one witness saw Susan Dawkins run through the desert. The witness' name was Norman Lorre. He, too, would come to change history. But that would be decades later. At that time he was seven years old. He had run away from home, left the city's borders, and suddenly saw, three hundred meters away, a woman chased by two men.

He saw Susan Dawkins stumble and fall, completely disappearing from sight. He saw the two men reach the pit a minute later, stand over it, and look down. He saw one of them about to step in when a woman's hand reached out from inside. He saw one of the men violently grab the arm, and pull the woman out of the pit. He saw them kill her. He saw them burn her body.

Little Norman decided that it was too dangerous in the desert. Suddenly, the colony had a definite appeal. He waited until the two men vanished from sight, then turned the way he had come and walked back home.

"Mr. Dawkins," the Minister of Science said, his voice grave and solemn. "It is my sad, sad duty to inform you that your wife has met with...." his hand reached forward hesitantly, then for a moment hung frozen in the air. He drew it back, and with a heavy heart completed his thought, "an accident."

Lewis Dawkins straightened in his chair. Like the majority of the colony's inhabitants, he was in his mid-forties. His body was thin, wiry, and boasted a unique lack of muscles. Lewis stared at the Minister of Science through the thick rims of his glasses, fear in his eyes. "Susan? An accident?"

"Two witnesses saw her walk by the waste disintegrator. She leaned on the railing.

It ... broke." The words came only through effort. He felt deeply for the widowed scientist. "She fell in."

"My God."

"The machine tore her to pieces. Nothing could be salvaged. Well, nothing that could be...." he trailed off.

"Then maybe it wasn't Susan. Maybe it was someone else--"

"The witness recognized her. There is no doubt as to her identity."

Lewis covered his face with his hands. "Dead? What, what was she doing there?"

"I wouldn't know. Your lab is nearby, isn't it?"

"It's on the other side of the building."

"Then she was looking for you and wandered a bit."

"My God."

"I know this is an immense blow."

"She's only forty-two..." he looked at the minister again, unable to comprehend. "She's dead?"

"Look. As of now, you're on leave. Take a couple of weeks off. We'll manage. Take time to heal. There's the service. The family has to be informed. Do you have any children?"

Lewis shook his head.

"You need to rest, Mr. Dawkins. Go home."