The next book series is plotted out and chapters are flowing. This book takes place in the Eupocalypse Universe, but hundreds of years later. It’s a space exploration/first contact story with a twist: the unknown planet the characters are going to is Earth!
Want a sneak preview? Here’s an excerpt from the book:
The woman walking towards them was tall, with vivid blue eyes and white hair that hung to her waist. She wore a flowing muumuu that had streaks of vivid pattern and design in it, enhanced with electronic random switching which made it impossible to avert one’s eyes.
“Privell!” the two men rose instantly to their feet.
The word Privell did not have an exact corresponding meaning in the cultures of centuries earlier, back on Earth, but a Privell, having been conceived using full-sequence shaping of DNA and epigenetic data, was one of the few people who outranked a poet in Presidium society.
“Oh, you don’t need to stand on ceremony here.” Privell Donna put one of her elegant hands on Stephron’s forearm and Stephron sparkled at her. Lao loved Stephron’s easy charm, which reflected back on him, and made everyone envy him for having such a delightful spouse.
“Donna.”
“Hello Lao, long time no see. Have you been bolted in your chambers composing the next great codex?”
“Maybe working a little too hard, I admit it. I am long overdue for a break.”
“Well, if Amun and I join you, perhaps we can all enjoy a little break together. I’m a little exhausted myself.”
Her husband, Amun Cawnotee, came up behind them. An earnest but kind, virile man, dark of hair and olive of skin, dressed all in white, his grace matched his wife’s elegance. Amun was a Privell as well, one of the few who merited the title from the Soul on postnatal testing, rather than being genetically engineered to it. He and Donna were an illustrious, influential duo.
The drone arrived and took their order and the four friends settled in to enjoy the last smears of radiant color settling on the horizon. A cool breeze arose from the river at the bottom of the canyon, bringing a piney scent to their nostrils. The many-times-great-grandsons of Earth crickets began to chirp as the stars flashed into being in the golden sky, and the sky gradually faded from shimmering beige to café au lait to a deep chocolate brown.
A few drinks further into the evening, Privell Donna leaned forward and whispered to Lao, “so I assume that you’ve been noticing some new edits in your work?”
Lao looked right and left. He knew, but Donna as an icon of the virtue and representative of the will of the Soul was not supposed to let any of her confidential knowledge slip. Of course, Privells were known to bend those rules, especially when they were with higher-status people such as himself.
“Why yes! May I speculate that you perhaps know something about that?”
“You may speculate all you like.” Donna leveled her gaze at him over her spectacles.
“Oh, don’t look over your glasses at me!” said Lao.
No one actually needed glasses on Presidium. Yet somehow having something that framed your eyes gave the impression of increased intelligence.
“It is atavistic, don’t you think? Yet, amazingly effective.”
“Until you remember that no one has needed glasses since the first settlers fled Earth’s destruction.”
Donna shrugged, not the slightest bit embarrassed by her pretension.
“As for what I may or may not know,” she said, “I can’t confirm or deny, however, I would allow a little bit more time for anything new that you put into the system over the next few months. It’s always exciting when big changes are afoot, don’t you agree?” Amun snorted, but Donna ignored him.
Compel me to speak and I’ll speak compliant lies.
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