Too Close to the Sun (The Sun 1)
Too Close to the Sun
By Robin T. Popp
Copyright 2013 Robin T. Popp
Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. The only exception is short excerpts or the cover image in reviews.
Please be a leading force in respecting the right of authors and artists to protect their work. This is a work of fiction. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Chapter 1
West Coast Beach
Las Vegas, Nevada
Earth, 2503 AD
“You’re not afraid.”
Nicoli Alexandres Romanof did not bother to respond. Though he could sense his friend’s unease, there was nothing he could do to lessen it.
There were others on the beach, enjoying the night-fishing, the stars, the moonlight, each other. A couple sat watching as the incoming surf chased their children up the shore. Their peals of laughter floated to Nicoli on a salty breeze and mingled with the soft crash of waves. For a moment he paused to watch them, envying their happiness. His own childhood left him with bitter memories.
The thought that he was about to leave these children the same legacy caused guilt to shoot through him. He wished he could warn them - warn everyone on the beach - to leave, find safety; but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. If the beach were empty, then
they
wouldn’t come, and it was imperative that
they
show up. Even knowing that others on the beach would die horribly tonight did not alter his resolve. What he was doing was more important than the loss of these innocent lives. As a soldier, he knew the good of many often comes at the sacrifice of a few. There was no solace to be found in those thoughts tonight and so he forced his attention back to his task.
“This will do,” he said softly, selecting a more remote stretch of beach.
The older man merely nodded before reaching into his inner jacket pocket to remove a slim silver disc, no larger than the palm of his hand. Next he took off the chain he wore around his neck, at the end of which hung a clear crystal tube, about four fingers width in length. He stared at them, doubt clearly etched in the lines of his frown and the worry in his eyes.
“It’ll work,” Nicoli reassured him, nodding to the disc.
“This is not your best idea, Alex.”
Nicoli smiled at the use of his middle name. Only Yanur Snellen persisted in calling him Alex because, in Yanur’s words, “Colonel Romanof was too military and Nicoli sounded too formal.” Nicoli tolerated it, not because Yanur was the most brilliant scientist he’d ever met, but because Yanur was his friend. In a universe full of people, he only had one of those.
“If the Harvesters show up tonight,” Yanur continued, “and this plan of yours works, it could be days, even weeks, before your life essence is returned to your body.” He paused before quietly adding, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to put it back.”
“I’m doing this.”
“This whole plan is crazy. What if I run into problems tracking your body? What if I never find it?”
“Let Richardson worry about tracking my body. That’s why I hired him.”
“Okay, let’s say we find your body, but can’t put
you
back? Are you prepared to live the rest of your life in this?” He held up the tube.
Nicoli sighed. “If you can’t put me back, then purchase my body, have it programmed for sex and give it to your Aunt Myrice as a present. Don’t think I haven’t seen the way she looks at me when we visit. Just don't tell me what she does because I don't think I could live with that image floating around in my brain."
"You won't have a brain," Yanur pointed out dryly.
Seeing the concern in his old friend's eyes, Nicoli grew serious. “You are the most brilliant man I know. I have complete faith that if you find my body, you'll be able to restore me to it.”
“What if I'm not as good as you think? You might actually succeed in killing yourself this time.”
“I’m not afraid to die,” Nicoli assured him.
“Yes, that’s what worries me.”
Nicoli looked out across the horizon, his patience wearing thin. He was much more realistic about this mission than he'd let on to Yanur and wasn't without his own reservations about its success. But, there was a time for talking and a time for action - and the time for talking was over.
“Yanur, the Harvesters must be stopped. Their systematic annihilation of our people cannot be allowed to continue.”
“I agree. But who made it your responsibility to save the universe?”
“I did.”
“Why? Why you in particular?”
“Because I have the military experience. Because I have no family to leave behind.” He turned to face Yanur and his tone left no room for further argument. “Because I figured out how to stop them. Now let’s get on with this. The night is getting old.”
Nicoli lay down on the beach, raising his arms to place his hands, fingers interlocked, beneath his head. He crossed his legs at the ankles and for all appearances seemed to be resting peacefully. Further down the beach, other “moon-sleepers” lay in similar poses, ignorant of their imminent danger.
Resignedly, Yanur knelt beside him and placed the silver disc on Nicoli’s forehead. He stood the tube on the disc, then ran his finger along the side to activate a hidden switch, but hesitated at the last moment.
“Are you sure there is no other way?” he asked, voice gruff with emotion.
The answer was in Nicoli’s grim expression. “Remember, once the transfer is complete, leave. It won’t be safe. Come back at the first light of dawn. If my body's been taken, go to the ship. Richardson will be waiting for you. If my body is still here, we’ll try again tomorrow.”
“But--”
“Don’t argue with me. Just do as I say.” Nicoli suffered a moment’s hesitation as children’s laughter floated to him once more. He cursed himself mentally for being weak, knowing that despite a lifetime of practice, he had failed to rid himself of all emotion. How many great plans failed because emotions got in the way? At thirty-eight, he was getting soft. “One more thing,” he said softly. “When you leave, take that family with you.”
Yanur nodded and then, with their gazes locked, he pressed the switch.
Nicoli’s eyes went blank
Yanur watched as a wispy, amber light seeped out of the body of his closest friend. It grew brighter as it cocooned Alex’s prone body. Then the top of the tube opened with a quiet hiss and the light was swiftly sucked into the tube.
When all the light was contained inside, the lid lowered, making a slight clicking noise when the tube was properly sealed. He placed two fingers against Alex’s neck and only removed them when he felt the strong, steady beating of a pulse.
The process had worked! Alex was still alive, or at least his body was. Even the worry of what lay before them was not enough to squelch a moment’s elation for an experiment gone right.
He picked up the brightly glowing tube and secured it to the chain before hanging it around his neck. He returned the silver disc to his pocket and lifted his gaze to the night sky for a quick check. All was quiet – for now.
He had half a mind to drag Alex’s body to safety and restore it tomorrow morning, telling the younger man that the Harvesters had failed to show up. Knowing Alex, though, he’d insist they try again tomorrow night, and each night thereafter until the Harvesters took his body. Eventually he’d realize Yanur was sabotaging his plans and decide to exclude Yanur from his future efforts. Yanur couldn’t afford to let that happen.
They were operating on a premise, with no contingency planning. The opportunities for failure were more than an average man could contemplate. Yanur knew this because, possessing a greater intellect than most, he’d pondered them all with the inevitable conclusion being – they were going to die.
He sighed and after struggling to his feet, crossed the beach to the young family.
“I will give you a thousand credits to leave the beach this instant with your children,” he told the parents. It was a hefty bribe and Alex would feel the pinch in his budget, if he survived the mission. If not, then what did it matter?
With the father watching him warily, Yanur pulled his communicator and a credit chip from his pocket. He tapped the necessary commands on the screen then swiped the credit, effectively transferring the money. Then he held the chip out to the man.
“Leave now. No questions asked.”
The young man nodded.
