One of the things I learned a long time ago, when I was one of the first SEO people in Sydney in 2002, was that you need to get added absolutely everywhere if you want to succeed. For a writer, this means every relevant website, blog, bookshop, Facebook page, database, awards list, convention list and any other list you can think of.
With there being so much internet content now, and with so many apps out there replacing websites, this has changed, and we need to be listed on every relevant app.
However, as there are now so many places to be listed, you would never have time to write. And paying for someone to do that for you would cost more than any of the money you might get from your novels. So, listing yourself everywhere nowadays is just not viable anymore.
But listing your blog in a list of similar blogs on a site that ranks, is. Google algorithms favor not just being listed, but being listed in a targeted, controlled list that only focuses on the area you want to be part of. And so, recently I looked about for lists of feeds of science fiction news blogs, and found one suitable for my site.
This link, well where I am, comes up as number one in the organic results for a number of keyword phrases such as ‘science fiction news sites’ and ‘science fiction blogs’ Even if it was further down the page for you, that is a massive score on Google.
Some things about the list:
I love the fact I can click on each of the links and get the latest posts on that page. I can then decide if they’re relevant for me and, if they are, add them to my feed.
The list is regularly updated. I guess if they don’t receive that many posts from a site for awhile, it gets pulled down.
When you’re added you get a few friendly emails reminding you to make a blog post about your addition. As I’m very forgetful for something important like this, I am grateful for the emails.
You can also sign up and get updates of the feeds from the listed sites as part of an email.
And, of course, the list contains a lot of interesting sites that are worth checking out, unlike other sites that list places solely to get some kind of commission.
If you have a regular science fiction blog, and you talk about science fiction themes a lot (not just your own work) then you should submit your site for consideration.
And, if you just wish to promote your book, I recommend posting here:
In high school I did have a vague urge to go to university, but the idea of spending another few years relying on my parents for money wasn’t something I really wanted to do, so I got a job selling law texts at a nice little subsidiary bookshop called Legal Books. It was a great experience but after 6 years there I applied to do a psychology degree at the University of New South Wales.
I guess I didn’t fill the form in correctly (I’m not very good at forms) and I didn’t get in.
So, I left Legal Books, and did something else, and applied again the following year with Sydney University.
Failed again.
By this time my anxiety had started increasing, thanks to two very stressful jobs, and lack of holidays (I wasn’t one for lazing around) so I decided that I would go to the UK for a couple of years. Get some life experience, travel Britain and Europe, grow a little, and perhaps come back with enough nous to get that degree.
Arrived back just after 5 months terribly in debt and had to work long hours 7 days until I paid it off. No way I could go to uni, I thought. Also, I took the IT worker path, thinking this will set me up well. Nope. Gig economy. I never knew how much I would earn hour to hour. Did that for a bit to catch up on my debts, but it was a struggle. And then XP came out, and my service offering repairs to people’s computers in their homes collapsed within a month.
Moved on. With the help of some friends I learnt how to teach ESL privately, then created an ESL college. Initially things were going well. But the moment you set up business, you are constantly bombarded by offers to expand, make more money, go into partnerships etc. As this was my first real bricks and mortar business and I didn’t know all of that, I ended up getting into a few partnerships that cost me way too much.
Also, with private ESL, we don’t know day to day whether our private student is going to cancel at the last minute or not. The Gig economy structure means there is no way of knowing what you are going to earn week to week. Though, with the expensive rent and advertising in the city, I knew how much I had to pay each week to stay open. Everything for the rent. Nothing for me.
I applied for university again, and failed. This time I think I applied for a business degree. Can’t quite remember. I guess I stuffed up the forms again. It was probably during the time my business was collapsing due to local colleges copying my business plan and materials and doing it better. Also, my online advertising suddenly doubled, so I suspect my competitors were clicking on my ads. $1000 a month on advertising to $2000 a month on advertising. Not happy. Not sustainable. And I was back in debt.
No way was I going to be able to get into uni now.
But, I’d been doing the same thing over and over. Listening to people. Following people’s ideas. Being nice to people and agreeing with them. I’m not saying I’m not blaming myself. I do. I should have listened to myself. 2009 was when I should have listened to myself. Then everything would have been different. But I didn’t, and I ended up in a worse situation than in 2001. I was in debt again. Hundreds of thousands this time when the business finally closed in 2012.
But, I’m an entrepreneur. And entrepreneurs take some time out, gather themselves together, and try again. The only thing was, I didn’t know when that would be. I might need 5 years to recover. As it has turned out, I still haven’t. I’m hoping this will be the year.
I moved in 2016 with nothing. My partner helped but depression, anxiety, lack of funds, and lack of self esteem took their toll. 2016 and 2017 I really didn’t do much at all. In fact, I barely remember those years. I remember debts, and my mother dying. But most of it is a haze. I guess I spent much of it writing and drinking and lying in bed. Oh, and I launched Alien Dimensions. Perhaps that’s all I did.
I feel it wasn’t until 2018 that I began to start feeling that I was getting back on my feet again. My thoughts returned to university. I decided this time to really focus. I exercised, ate a lot of those green things, and got ready to do something that I had been dreading. Filling in an application form for RMIT.
I’ve mentioned before that I believe I have ADHD. One of the problems with this is that it can sometimes be physically impossible to do something you are anxious about. While others might say “I hate this, but I’m going to have a nip of scotch and get this done” people with ADHD can get themselves in a situation where they physically cannot lift their arms to do it. The brain just stops them from moving. Well, it stopped me from moving. If I hadn’t’ve spent weeks preparing myself for the expected application form, choosing the right diet, staying healthy etc, there’s no way I could have filled it out. Really! I guess, if you’ve had no experience with someone with ADHD, you’d be thinking – “What a loser! Just do it! You’re just being lazy!” Perhaps you might understand it better if you put us on the autism spectrum. Of course, getting an obviously autistic person to fill out a form is impossible. I’m a bit further down the scale, but still struggle with something most people wouldn’t even have to think about to do.
In any case, I digress. So, 2018 was the year. I was going to try again to get into uni. And I had my goal in mind. I’ve always had an interest in RMIT. I like the vision of the uni. I like their style. So, RMIT was my first choice after moving. But first I had to go to their Open Day. Was it going to be Marketing? Entrepreneurship? Business? I had no idea.
And then, when I got there, I discovered they had a Creative Writing degree.
I think the last time I walked on air was probably in 2008 when so many things were going well with my college. 2018 – I knew what I wanted.
And best of all, the forms were easy. The hard part was choosing the writing excerpts I was going to submit in the application.
So, I spent a weekend writing the application. Then another week to make sure it was right. Then another week to be sure this is what I wanted to do. Then I submitted it and waited.
I really didn’t expect to get in for the 2019 semester. I’d been rejected by universities 3 times before and I strongly believed I’d be rejected again.
And then, I was accepted.
OMG!
Finally!
As the confirmation email said “This is Big!”
I could go to university. For real! Not those short courses and certificates I had amassed over the years from TAFE and community colleges which got me from job to job, but a real university that I could earn a degree from. And I could get a government HECS loan to pay for uni while I dealt with my debts.
I cried. Yep. Age 47. Then again, I am an anxious, shy, emotional person, so it was to be expected.
Thank you RMIT.
And so, if you’ve been following this blog for awhile, you might be wondering why it has taken so long for me to post a basic missive. Well, I just enjoyed my first semester at RMIT doing their creative writing degree. It was fun, and I learned a lot. I’m about to start the second semester. I’m very excited by this opportunity, and am looking forward to gaining that degree. Oh, and I got a HD in my core elective, so I know that I’m on the right track.
Thank you for reading this far. Thank you for your interest in my blog. My plan is for random future posts to feature some excerpts from my university assignments.
Fantasy Short Stories Anthology Series Book Three Fantasy Short Stories Book Three is now available, featuring amazing stories from authors around the world.
New Fantasy Short Stories Video For the first time, I’ve created a simple video ad for the book. You can see it when you click through the links and scroll down. I hope to go back at some point and create video ads for the other editions of Fantasy Short Stories, as well as Alien Dimensions.
Alien Dimensions Fantasy Short Stories’ sister publication Alien Dimensions has another issue out. Issue #18 is available from Amazon in Digital and in Print formats: Alien Dimensions 18 Print Alien Dimensions 18 Digital
Fantasy Short Stories Book Four Submissions will open for Book Four at the end of this year, with a plan for the book to be out by February 2020. I’ll send out an email when submissions are open again, probably around December. This is also the same for Alien Dimensions #19.
Science Fiction and Fantasy News App If you’re looking for an app that updates you on science fiction and fantasy news, including book news, check out the new aggregate app I’ve created. It draws from several sources around the world. And best of all, it’s free. Check it out on Google Play. Available for Android. Science Fiction and Fantasy News
Alien Dimensions is a science fiction short stories anthology series featuring amazing authors from around the world.
Previous issues have featured stories about extraterrestrials, clones, robots and androids, invasion and colonization, cyberpunk and space opera, first contact, genetic manipulation, starship exploration and more.
From seriousness to humorous, high octane to slow burn, from back-story heavy to present tense dialogue-driven adventures, Alien Dimensions explores the far future.
Enjoy a much more alien experience with Alien Dimensions.
In Alien Dimensions #18:
Titan’s Spores by Olga Werby
The Pride of Tau Ceti by Gustavo Bondoni
An Option to Live by David Castlewitz
Tin Man by Paula Keane
Impact by Adam S. Furman
Making Room by Kenneth W. Grant
Woman in the Moon by David B. Anderson
Flash Fiction: Gene-Reality / Controller by Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Episode 1: The Hand Continued
Chapter 5
Heartness and the boff
appeared next to a large window looking out onto a wide starscape. Resignedly,
she stopped struggling and looked out. Her years in space meant she recognized
the view. The constellation of Cassiopeia. It was the same image that might
have been visible from her station at a point in the orbit around Saturn, but
with an additional star near the middle.
Sol.
She sniffed the air and
almost choked. Stale and recycled. Not a single whiff of perfume. Gravity felt
slightly lighter than Earth normal. Possibly Proxibee normal. Proxibee was
larger than Earth but its mass was made up with more low atomic weight elements,
so there wasn’t as much gravity. But the humming below her suggested that she
wasn’t on Proxibee. She was on a ship of some kind.
The boff released
Heartness and stepped back, allowing her a moment. Heartness rubbed her arm but
there wasn’t a mark. The robot had gripped her firmly, but gently.
Was it
possible to escape? She looked about. Far away, on the other side of the room,
was what looked to be the pilot’s area. A tiny flickering dot from where
Heartness was standing, but filled with a massive view screen. Any pilot
sitting there would think there wasn’t a ship, and that they were just in space.
Heartness decided the pilot section was probably for emergencies. Still, it was
an option.
While Earth council ships
were quite conservative with their space, with every centimeter used and
accounted for, corporations could be excessive. The room was at least a
kilometer wide. Even with her augmented eyesight, she could barely make out the
other side of ship in the distance. A prismatic point finished the ceiling far
above her. Was the outside of the ship like a pyramid? The floor seemed to
suggest it, stretching in an almost perfect square shape, apart from some exits
to corridors on her right.
The entire one
kilometer-edged triangular ship, the Stellar Flash, could fit inside with some
room to spare. Was this a mother ship of some kind? She accessed data through
her newly installed lobe system under her left ear, but expected it would be a
while before it retrieved the information she wanted.
And then she remembered
her date tonight, and sighed. Zhou would have simply told him she’d been called
away on urgent business. At least it was better than telling him she had
disappearing ring ice to watch.
“Alright, boff. You’ve brought me here. I’m
sure your corporation couldn’t care less about the potential fine and jail
time, if I was to complain, so now what? Champagne?”
The robot officer slowly
turned its retro cube-shaped head to Admiral Victoria Heartness, then lifted up
its plastic four-fingered hand. “What I’m about to show you is private and
confidential.” A bluish hologram began to form above it.
Heartness glared at the
image taking shape. “If you’re going to tell me I’m your only hope, I’m going
to have words.”
The boff remained silent
as the hologrammatic video became more defined, then began playing.
It was not what Heartness
was expecting at all.
A macabre image of an
indistinct human hand rotated in the air in front of her, tiny waves of
electricity sparking and cascading across its surface. The skin looked alive,
with faint veins swollen in mid throb near the wrist. The nails were chipped
and dirty, with shadows of dust in places. Dark oil marks on the finger tips,
and the general blurriness of the blue image disguised its owner.
“What is it?”
asked Heartness, fascinated, as the hand continued to turn. “A piece of
artwork?” For a moment, she had thought it had simply been cut off by the edge
of the visual reference. But then the wrist had faced her, showing a cross section
of the marrow in both the radius and ulna, surrounded by muscles, veins and
skin perfectly sliced through as though separated from the rest of the body at
the molecular level. There was also a flickering field right at the edge,
suggesting that whatever the hand was attached to, was accessing some other
dimension.
“A human hand,”
answered the boff, anticlimactically.
Heartness sighed, her
curiosity changing back to annoyance with the robot. “I can see that,” she
growled. “What happened to it? Who’s it from?”
The boff pointed at the
hand above his hand. “This was found at the Proxima Centauri B Frequency
Research Center, inside hexicle 18.” It turned the image off and the
bright light of the field faded away, revealing the expansive room once again.
“My leasor has not
informed the interstellar military yet,” the boff continued. “She
wants this to be discrete. She sent me as soon as she realized some delicacy
was required.”
“And so, you decided to
strongly encourage me to come.” While she hadn’t taken any private gigs for
some time, thanks to her work with Earth Council and the Interdimensional
Coalition, she knew from experience that initially, most private organizations
and government parties required some secrecy before announcing the solved
problem to the world.
“We have sealed
hexicle 18 until you are able to have a close look at it.”
Heartness had no idea how
getting closer to the floating hand would help her be any the wiser. “Any
other records? What about others on the base? Do you have any other evidence of
the missing 27?”
“Updates received.
The hand is the only living thing that has been found so far. Though, our
benefactor is not sure about something else nearby, which she plans to show
you. However, only 17 of the 54 hexicles have been explored. Investigation has
now been paused while we await your response.”
“The hand is
alive?”
“Still. It hangs
there, not dying. The hand could not be shown to you on your station. Now that
you have seen it, you are free to decide. You have your flash band and can
leave from this point in space at any time. Please let me repeat that 27
scientists have disappeared, and your presence is required.”
Heartness knew this was
her field. She was contacted when there was anything the bot officers, A.I.
detectives, or government organizations couldn’t solve. With her extensive
experience in multiple dimensions and realities, there weren’t that many in
humanity’s sectors that could do what she did. She smiled ruefully. She would
be happy to give them a hand. “You know my price.”
“Yes, Admiral
Heartness. Labor credits are ready to transfer to your charity the moment you
sign.”
Heartness moved some hair
out of the way, and touched her implant. It was still searching for information
on the ship, but the work contract had already been transmitted directly to
her. It displayed in front of her eyes. Her analysis software did not detect
anything unusual, so she sent a simple thought, and her brain wave vibration
signature was transmitted via flash communication to the authorization department
in the main brokerage on a satellite orbiting Proxima Centauri C. Within a
couple of seconds she received the confirmation back via flash satellite relay
that the first 100,000 credits had been transferred to her charity. “Boff. As
you can now independently confirm, the contract is signed, and I will help the
F.R.I find a solution. Please advise Space Station X-1a that I am fine and that
everything is under control.”
“I’m sorry, Admiral
Victoria Heartness,” said a voice in the air near her. “We must keep this a
secret for now.”
“Have you been standing
there invisible the whole time?” Heartness asked the air.
“The boff alerted me that
you have signed, so I drifted over.” Then there was a click, and a woman
phase-shifted into reality next to them, taking a couple of steps to reorient
herself with the floor. She looked at Heartness seriously. “The hand you saw
isn’t the only problem we have. We moved to an outer orbit to collect you more
safely. The moment you arrived, the ship began moving back to the closest point
we can get. We can’t flash jump closer due to the disturbances, but we’re only
a few million kilometers from Proxibee.”
Heartness was unfazed by
the woman’s phase-in, and briefly noted the boff had shut down as she appeared.
But she had to know more. “What sort of disturbances?”
“It’s better that I
show you,” replied the woman. She walked towards an exit in the distance, expecting
her to follow.
Heartness sighed to
herself. Well, if the woman wasn’t going to go through the introduction niceties,
or at the very least say her name, Heartness would look it up herself. These
outerworlders assumed everyone used facial recognition as a normal part of
socializing and business, but Heartness was still a bit old school.
Her lobe storage unit had
finished downloading anything related to Proxima Centauri, decades of data, and
had accessed the most relevant information, predicting Heartness’ needs. The
woman was Doctor Vilanna Szuki, born on one of the envirostations circling
Proxima Centauri D. 37 years old. Seven PhDs. Her father was from Japan and her
mother from Ghana, so her features were almost movie-star like. High cheek
bones, blue eyes, mocha skin, and a lithe movement that could probably break a
few hearts.
Heartness guessed her
model looks might be one of the reasons why the woman was hiding away on a
massive ship in another star system. Every media outlet from here to Sirius
would want a piece of her. Though, if she ever got her back to the space
station, that moodhair would have to go.
“I hope you don’t mind if
I ask a lot of questions,” said Heartness.
“Of course.” Szuki smiled
demurely as Heartness caught up to her. “But there are some things that can’t
be explained and will need to be shown.”
“But what about this
space? Why so large?”
Szuki laughed, her frizzy
hair flickering with gold highlights. “Oh, daddy had this built for me for my
16th. You know, on Earth, parents used to give their children houses or cars.
My daddy gave me this spaceship. Big enough to enjoy an almost infinite number
of worlds in. I call it the Traverse.”
“Isn’t that a verb?”
Szuki touched her
flashband, and the room was transformed into a mountainous terrain with a
corral of horses. One of them whinnied and came over to her. She stroked it
affectionately, though to Heartness it looked like she wasn’t quite touching
it. “Hello stony. See you again soon.”
Szuki clicked her band
again, and the entire paddock and animals disappeared, replaced by towering
fluid rocks, three suns, and a group of large spikey aliens gathered around an
upturned-mushroom-shaped table. “Hey, Sharpie, congratulations on your new
spores!”
A slapping sound came
from one of the spiny aliens, which was quickly translated to “Hello Vilanna.
Thank you. Good to see you again.”
“You too!” Szuki smiled
and clicked her band again, and the tableaux disappeared, revealing the empty
space once more.
“So, it’s a hologram
room. A gaming place,” said Heartness.
Szuki pursed her lips and
her hair changed to a light green. “Not exactly. Follow me. I’ll tell you on the
way.”
Heartness frowned. Getting information out of people here was going to be harder than she thought.
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
This is the last of the preview chapters. I hope you enjoyed them. Thank you very much for reading.
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Episode 1: The Hand Continued
Chapter 4
The triangular shape flickered green along one side, then settled into a new stable orbit around Saturn, just above the rings. The Stellar Flash was the flagship of the Earth Council fleet, and the best that human and alien engineering could provide. It was the ultimate in interfrequency and interdimensional travel, and also had the ability to travel in time, given the right coordinates.
The Stellar Flash had recently returned from 2.5 million years ago in the Andromeda Galaxy. Unfortunately, it had had to come back the long way around, and it was a bit worse for wear as a result.
The alien crew of 300, with a main Center crew of 8, were mostly on leave. Having taken a space-fold time jump back to the present, and found their cabins full of pieces of iridium, some had returned to their planets, some had decided to visit Space Station X-1a, and some, like Captain Jonathan Hogart, had decided to do what he could on the ship.
Hogart was a pinkish-white, muscular man in his early-to-mid 40s, with short, dark-brown hair, and a sparkle in his eyes that suggested he was always about to make a joke. A few days ago, he had moved to the Stellar Flash, intent on doing things that robots, other crew members, the A.I. and various software programs were capable of doing without him.
“Jonathan, just go to Earth,” Heartness had said. “Hug some trees. Smell some flowers. Take a break.”
“After my recent experience on the Floran homeworld, plants are the last things I want to see.”
His look had been enough, and Heartness hadn’t said another word. But now, after a day on the ship, he was beginning to think he had made a mistake.
“So, A.I., you’re sure this console needs my help?”
“Yes, Captain,” came the soft and feminine Japanese-accented tones of the A.I. “Analysis indicates that the bolts holding that screen to the floor are loose. In fact, all the bolts are loose on all the stands in the center. Please tighten them.”
Hogart held the wrench and stared at the consoles. “I don’t know, A.I. Surely there are other more important things that need to be done.”
“Other areas are about to be fixed by the repair system. Center bolts are at the bottom of the list, so they won’t be done for a couple of days. Your help will enable them to be done faster.”
Hogart smiled. “Well, if you’re sure. I’d be happy to help. This is a lot better than watching over Raj’s shoulder as he unlocks another door.”
The A.I. remained silent.
“Right, then.” He lay down next to the first panel and set to work.
Just then an alarm began blaring.
Hogart sat bolt upright and hit his head on the side of the panel. “Ow!” He yelled. “A.I. Did I activate something?”
“It is a false alarm from the space station a short time ago. Disabling now.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” He looked about the Center Control room, not quite wanting to lie down and tighten bolts.
Eight panels on stands were arranged facing outward to the wall and dome-ceiling screens. In the center was the flash drive – two columns like a stalactite and a stalagmite stretched downward and upward, not quite meeting. The space in the middle generated the flash drive field. Three exit doors were arranged equidistant around the circular area, and the surround screens were currently showing where they orbited above Saturn’s rings.
Hogart grinned at the sight of the colorful planet. It was hard to believe how huge Saturn really was. Even though Saturn’s day was a mere ten hours or so, it took them days to orbit it, and there was always something new to see.
Newslets and Mindshorts had indicated another of Saturn’s rings was about to disappear – the effect of their recent conflict with the Florans, or perhaps simply the aging of the rings. He supposed there would be an observation party at some point, but it meant Saturn continued to be interesting.
Just then, the door to corridor two dissolved, and a young-looking man with thick black hair and brown skin skipped into the Center. “We got door 347 open!” said Officer Raj Kumar, excitedly.
Hogart groaned. “Must you come running in here every time you get a door open? I mean, it takes at least seven minutes. Couldn’t your time be better spent? Besides, aren’t you supposed to be going back to Lahore for the reunification ceremony? It’s a Sunday in Punjab, as I recall.”
“Well, communications are still not that reliable. And, besides, why would I run? I just flash to the entrance and skip in! And in regard to Lahore, I sent a boff to rep me! I’ll watch it later.”
Hogart sighed. Sometimes it was fun hanging around people in their twenties, and sometimes it was just annoying. Raj was, what, 26? He shook himself and refocused. “What was the alarm about?”
“How should I know? I’m the door opener!”
Hogart put the tool he was holding in a box near him. If Kumar had not been assigned by Patel, Hogart might have had words about respect for rank. As it was, he just sighed again. “Just a moment.” He turned to the center of the Center. “A.I. Avatar please.”
An early thirties Japanese woman, in a T-shirt tied at her waist to reveal her midriff, and extremely tight blue pants with holes in them, appeared near the floor and ceiling columns. Hogart raised his eyebrows. “What happened to your kimono?”
The avatar grinned a big smile, her heavily coated eyelashes fluttering. “Costume program. I thought I’d try something from the 80s. Do you like it?”
“2080s?”
“1980s. I think it suits the shape you programmed. What do you think?”
Hogart looked at her clothes, quizzically. The blue pants looked difficult to wear, and made of some extremely thick material. Camping material? “Is that canvas? Like, for tents?”
The A.I. nodded.
“Well, it’s, um, nice, A.I.”
Why would she even think about changing? He had been reading some of the history that had gone on with a clone of himself in the Andromeda Galaxy, and the evolution of the ship’s avatar. While his clone had fallen in love with the previous incarnation of the Stellar Flash ship A.I., he wasn’t going to explore that option.
Perhaps the new A.I. had also read the reports, and was considering a future with him, or maybe he was just being narcissistic. He shuddered. He wasn’t ready for a digital relationship yet. “Back to my original topic. What was the ‘false alarm’?”
The avatar placed a finger on her cheek and closed her eyes. “Accessing,” she said, sweetly. “Official message from Admiral Wei Zhou. Nothing that should concern you. Continue with getting the Stellar Flash ship ready for her next mission.”
Hogart frowned. “Admiral Zhou is back on 1a already? It must be important. Tell me the details, unofficially.”
“You won’t like it.”
“A.I!”
“Confirmed.” The A.I. became unofficially official, staring directly ahead. “Admiral Victoria Heartness has been kidnapped by a robot officer owned by the Frequency Research Institute. She has been traced to a ship several million kilometers from Proxima B in the Proxima Centauri system. The corporation that has obtained her had previously offered several thousand…”
“Enough. I had heard about the bidder. I thought she’d turned it down. A.I. How quickly can we get the Stellar Flash to the system?”
“Flash drive inoperative,” the A.I. shrugged.
“Escape pods?”
“Storage centers still contain iridium stones. No escape pods have been maintained for over a million years. Hangar 27 will be the first, scheduled for tomorrow.”
Hogart stared at the almost empty Center, struggling to work out what to do next. A robot had taken Heartness. Was it a robot uprising, or was the F.R.I. seeing how far it could push its powers? Either way, tightening bolts wasn’t going to get him there faster.
“Ahem,” said Kumar.
“Are you still here?”
“Room 347?” Kumar stretched his arms out as though to say, ‘Are you coming or not’?
Hogart frowned. “I need to work out a way to save Victoria!”
“Admiral Zhou said not to worry. A robot officer took her to a corporation. Admiral Heartness is probably sipping champagne by now. Captain, the panels will fix themselves. Please, come with me.”
Hogart straightened his blue jumpsuit. “Why is 347 so important?”
Kumar danced back and forth on his feet. “Oh, come on Jonathan. Come and see. Live a little. You’ll love it.”
“I think I’m more likely to regret it,” muttered Hogart, but he followed after Kumar. As they exited into the corridor, Kumar clicked his flash band on Hogart’s, grinned winningly at him, and then they both disappeared.
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
I’ll return with Chapter 4 of Stellar Flash in a few days. Or, you can find the book on Amazon here: Temporal Incursion. It’ll be on Google Books and Apple iBooks in June.
In the meantime, here is a short story I wrote recently. I was challenged to write a 500 word story, and decided to make it about a character that fails at getting something. I’ll talk more about what led to that in a future post. In any case, here is the result:
The Controller by Neil A. Hogan
Juset Oliga sliced her tarsus and dripped green blood onto the rectangular
lock. Detecting her mitochondria, the temple forcefield dissipated, energy
sparks showering around her like cascading diamonds.
I’m in!
She scampered through the plasticrete entrance, her antennae flicking
about madly. With the field now off, she had to get to the Controller before
the star discharged another burst of plasma, or she would end up like the rest
of this lifeless planet.
She moved around the burns on the ground of those who had come before
her, her mandibles curling with distaste. She would be different. She would
find the weapon, then bring more planets into the empire.
A glint of light glittered to her right, and she turned and scuttled
along the dusty floor towards it.
The Controller! This must be it!
A glowing dodecahedron sat innocuously on a pedestal.
No buttons or swipe screens?
Her proboscis twisted back and forth in dismay.
This is not what I was advised.
She scrabbled two of her tarsi around the outside of it, feeling for a connection
or switch, but the facets were smooth. “How do I control you?” she asked it.
“How do I stop your plasma bursts?”
For all she knew, a new burst was already on its way. She probably had
just moments to live. She twisted her green compound eyes around, then came to
a decision. Reaching around it with four of her legs, she lifted the multifaceted
shape up.
Immediately, fear filled her thorax. Not
heavy? What is this? She turned it over to see if she could look inside, then
screeched and dropped it.
EMPTY?
A scratching laugh echoed through the room, and an old voice followed.
“I knew you would come, my child. They all come, in the end.” A hologram of a bipedal
being with chitinous wings lowered itself to the stones near the fallen shape.
“You were sent to get the Controller. But, it is a myth.” It waved a spiky leg,
and the dodecahedron rose in the air, then returned to its previous position.
“Let’s put everything back the way it was for the next one.”
“But,” implored Oliga. “We need the Controller. That kind of plasma power
would make us supreme rulers. We could control…everything!”
The hologram tilted its head. “There is no Controller. It is a natural
cycle of Proxima Centauri. What better way to bait and trap greedy alien beetles
than allow them to think there is a star-sized weapon hidden somewhere in the
galaxy?”
Oliga felt faint. How would her race
take over Trappist-1 now?
“Sadly,” continued the hologram. “Your time of worrying about your empire
is now over.”
Before Oliga could even send a message, a hot burst of plasma exploded
through the doorway of the fortress, vaporising her instantly. Her ashes joined
the other shadows on the floor.
The hologram looked down at her remains. “When will your race learn not
to make greed your controller?”
It reactivated the temple forcefield, then faded away.
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Episode 1: The Hand Continued
Chapter 3
“27 scientists have
disappeared, and Victoria has a date. Interesting.” Patel leant back in his
chair with a curious look on his face, and steepled his fingers. “Very
interesting.”
“Putting aside Victoria’s
personal life for a moment, John, Proxibee is your jurisdiction. It’s my
understanding that the Secret Services has a gravity and frequency research
base there in association with the F.R.I. I realize you can’t personally
monitor all S.S.’s 100 billion projects, but 27 scientists?” Zhou paused and
leaned forward, looking Patel in the eye and smiling slightly. “You must be at
least a little curious. With me now in charge of the station, perhaps you
should check it out? You’re probably the best person for the job.”
Patel frowned. “Young
lady, you might now be my superior on this base, but I’m over 150 years old. It
is not possible for you to use subtle persuasion targeting my curiosity to get
me off this space station quite so easily.”
Zhou grinned. “Only
looking out for your best interests, of course. Your I.Q. is off the charts.”
She leant back in her chair. “This station must be incredibly boring for you.
You know. Really, really boring. After all, you did originally hire me so that
you didn’t have any excuse to stay.” She tapped her chin. “I know, maybe you
could go spelunking on Enceladus again until we find out some more information.”
Patel blinked. “Wait. You
are doing it again!”
“Then, tell me why you’re
still here? You’re practically maintaining all of human occupied space. Why hang
around Space Station X-1a?”
Patel allowed a slight
smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He then turned to the center of
the room. “My turn to supply a recording, it seems. A.I. Display Saturn orbit
survey 15th February 2129 video stream. Reference: Temporal
Incursion. Slow the video to a speed we can comprehend. Authorization vibration
Doctor John Patel.”
“Confirmed,” said the
A.I. “Accessing. Displaying.”
An image materialized of
Saturn and its rings, blurred and seemingly frozen. A green, circular target
moved across the image then snapped at a tiny spot towards the center. It
zoomed to show a floating object shooting away from them, leaving a black line
through the rings in its wake.
The image shuddered as
the drone adjusted its position, flashing closer. What previously looked like a
glowing light now looked like it contained multiple stars flickering in and out
of it.
“Is it alien?’ asked
Zhou.
“One moment.”
The drone shot forward several
times as the light flashed further away from it, but it quickly lost it.
The recording turned off.
“So, maybe it was a drone
from another civilization,” offered Zhou. “You know, Earth has been visited by
billions of drones from other civilizations in just the past thousand years. As
UFO traffic officer monitoring Earth’s intersection, I should know.”
“Not exactly,” said
Patel. “It was a piece of time. In fact, a piece of reversed time. When we
retrieved the drone, we found it had become several minutes younger, just by
being near it.”
“But, time doesn’t usually
travel around in chunks. You can’t have time without space, or matter. They’re
inseparable. And it looked nothing like a rogue, hyperdense black hole.”
Patel leant back. “An
unsolved mystery. What concerns me is that, at that time, it wasn’t the only
one. There were several occurrences of these pieces of time in the Solar system
in 2129. Admittedly, most of them were on either side of the Oort cloud, apart
from one we suspect caused something similar to a Tunguska event in Bimini. But
one thing we know for sure is that they were all heading in one direction at
close to the speed of light.”
Zhou thought for a
second. “The date was just over four and a half years ago? And from the stars
in the background…”
“They should be arriving
at Proxima Centauri B any day now,” finished Patel. He got up off the chair.
“Which might even explain the missing scientists. So, I hope you don’t mind if
I hang about the station a bit longer?”
“But, what can we do
about Victoria?”
“Well,” Patel said as he
dissolved the door and exited. “I’m sure she can look after herself. And if she
runs into a micro time particle, I guess she’ll get a bit younger!” He nodded
goodbye to Zhou, and the door reformed behind him.
Zhou knew Patel was being
cryptic again. If the drone only had to be near the object for less than a
second to become a few minutes younger, she was sure Heartness wouldn’t just
gain a few years.
She could be quickly reduced to a fertilized egg.
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Episode 1: The Hand Continued
Chapter 2
Admiral Victoria Heartness got up from her desk at the darkening interior of her space station office and scratched at her newly extended long brown hair. Something was wrong, if the raised hair on the back of her neck was any indication. The shadows in the room were lengthening, and it had nothing to do with the reflected light from Saturn just beyond her window.
Unless it was more to do
with science, she thought. Static electricity? An increase in electrons causing
eyes to perceive a slight darkening of the environment?
She looked down at her
arms and could see the hair on the backs of them rising as well. What could
cause that? She walked around the room. Was it getting lighter in the center?
The only thing possible
was the controlled formation of an isolation field of a personal flash jump. And
the slow speed suggested a longer jump
Then everything became clear to her.
Someone was about to flash jump into her secure office, from outside the Solar System, illegally!
Florans coming back to
get revenge?
Higher frequency aliens
not realizing there are laws in Frequency Zero?
Doctor John Patel
forgetting to forewarn?
Who or what else could it
be?
Even her date had to meet
her at the bar, and no one else was scheduled.
She went back to her
monitor and quickly closed the file she had been working on, a secret services
logo appearing on it before it disappeared. She briefly imagined white noise
across her thoughts to erase anything related to the file, then she got up from
her desk and walked around the room.
“Alright. Where are you?
It doesn’t usually take this long to materialize. What are you waiting for?”
There was only one group
that might be able slow the manifestation this much. The Frequency Research
Institute. Those corporation types were highly likely to send a representative
to beg. Nice of them to ring a doorbell first, she thought. She wondered who
they would send. She hoped, if it was a he, then he’d be handsome.
She shielded her eyes as
a bright oval of white light wiped the color from the room for a moment, and a
chunky, one-meter-tall blue robot appeared.
To be more precise, a
corporation’s leased robot officer.
She looked at it with
dismay. Talk about a disappointment. “You sent a boff?” she said to whoever
might be listening. “I guess you need to learn a thing or two about impressing
someone.”
The robot swiveled its
round eyes and cube head towards her. “Admiral Victoria Heartness identified.
Your presence is required.”
“No. I already turned
your request down. I have much more important things to do right now. There are
plenty of other people in the System who can h…”
A piercing alarm began to
sound across Space Station X-1a, and probably soon on the nearby bases on some
of Saturn’s moons. Heartness swore as she remembered this kind of incursion
would immediately activate any number of potential anti-foothold strategies. She quickly ran back to
her desk and swiped her finger on the panel inset, canceling them. Then she
spoke to the ceiling. “A.I. Broadcast the false-alarm message.” As she stomped
angrily back over to the robot, she barely heard the placating message of the
A.I. echoing throughout the station.
“Why are you here?” She faced down the placid face of the boff with her hands on her hips. “What possible situation could have occurred just over four light years away that needs my personal attention right now? You’ve broken quite a number of laws coming here already.”
The boff stared
impassively forward. Like an ancient robot toy for children, its cube-shaped
head with round metal eyes, a wide mouth with painted teeth, and even white
marks on the side to indicate ears, suggested something that no one could take
too seriously.
A spring of antennae
stretched across the top of its head, and its head sat atop a rectangular body
with additional oversized buttons and dials. When everything the boff needed to
be able to function could fit into a few thin cylinders on stilts, this bulky
dysfunctional throwback was almost laughable. Despite herself, Heartness
marveled at the retro construction, and especially liked the large off-switch
on the back.
The boff’s simplistic
communications system began to explain in a tenor lilt, even echoing apologetically.
Heartness frowned at the program’s attempt to appeal to her emotional side.
“I apologize, Admiral
Victoria Heartness, ma’am. But my licensor says that it is urgent. 27
scientists have disappeared from our base on Proxima Centauri B. Your presence
is required.”
Heartness looked at it,
exasperatedly. She was tired of corporations leasing robot officers, then not
programming them correctly. “Find the answers. Fix the problem. That’s what
you’re programmed for. You don’t need me.”
The boff stood silent. It
had delivered its message and now it was waiting on a response to that message.
Nothing else.
A simple machine.
Heartness hmphed, then
walked around it, while she thought. What was she going to do with it? Would it
leave when she said no? Would it hang around until she said yes? Maybe she
could get Watanabe in to look at its programming. Was there anything special
about it? No weapons. That was a good sign. Soft plastic, though it looked
metal. She could see the slots where its arms and legs were connected, and
easily detachable.
Everything was easily
replaceable, and some of the parts could even operate by themselves in an
emergency. Heartness knew the boff also contained some organic components to
ensure that at some point it would have to break down. All robots had these
fail-safes to make sure there was no chance of a permanent robot takeover. Even
so, it was likely an army of these mechs might just temporarily win, as
everyone attempting to fight them would be doubled over with laughter.
There wasn’t enough
memory or software for the boff to become sentient, and it just did what it had
to do. She stared thoughtfully at the off-switch on the back. Should she…?
No.
“Go back to where you
came from, and tell the F.R.I that I’m responsible for over 1000 beings and
their families here. I can’t leave every time you can’t do your jobs.”
“This is your final
answer?” asked the boff.
“Yes. Tell your people…”
Like lightning, the
boff’s right hand snapped out and grabbed Heartness’ arm, then its left slapped
an override on Heartness’ flash band.
“What?” she yelled. “You
can’t do this.” She smashed her fist down on the arm, but it just bounced back.
She tried to pull the arm
off from its side, but the boff was already activating the return journey.
“No!” Heartness yelled,
as the flash field enveloped them, and they disappeared.
Temporal Incursion. Stellar Flash Book Three. By Neil A. Hogan
Available in Digital and in Print Formats from Amazon
Hi Everyone. I hope you all had a great Easter break. I’ve created a new app called the Science Fiction and Fantasy News Feeds App. Or SFFN for short. It pulls in SF&F news from various places around the web. So, if you’re interested in everything Science Fiction, from shows to books, there’ll be news on it for you. Most are short snippets so when you find the one you like, you can click on it to go to the original site to read more. It’s free on Google Play. Check it out here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.science.fiction.and.fantasy.news
Also, if you know of an RSS feed that should be part of the app, one where science fiction and fantasy news is posted several times a day, please leave a comment below and I’ll check it out.
Cheers!
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
By 
