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Cormorant Wood Unsung |
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A Sci-Fi Novel by Jack
Powers |
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It is the
mid-twenty-first century. It is a
time of change. The United States
of Europe have succeeded the
European Union, balancing,
complementing and rivalling the
power of the USA. Space travel has
increased greatly. Small colonies
exist on the Moon and Mars. Mining
is conducted on asteroids such as
Europa, Jupiter's moon. Scientific
teams are beginning to reach
further than Man has ever ventured
and private ventures are not being
left behind.
It is the end of a 'hitch' on
Europa, working in teams to
excavate the riches of that
enigmatic planetoid. The small
Scots team of four young men is
readying itself to return home to
Earth. It will be a long journey;
anything up to three months. In
order to reacclimatize themselves
to Earth gravity, they will enjoy
and benefit from the 'G Room', an
area which creates 1g gravity on
the space freighter which will be
their home on the return journey.
Wearing VR suits, they will be
able to enjoy the sights and
sounds of Earth, as if they were
there in person. Skilfully blended
film taken at locations throughout
certain cities on earth literally
just before their ship, the 'That
Will Do Nicely' left Earth's
vicinity is mixed with
computer-generated characters with
whom the VR 'visitor' can
interact, enhancing the
verisimilitude of the scene within
which they are participating. The
exercise that the participant
gains while enjoying himself,
gradually acclimatizes him to
normal, Earth gravity.
Mitchell Strang is the son of a
wealthy, successful New Town
lawyer. However, all is not as
settled as he would wish. There
are tensions between his parents.
Is there a dark secret about his
mother's past? As the story
unfolds, we discover how Scotland,
now a separate nation from
England, with its own Government
and institutions looks. Elections
are the 'Votefest' and the
political situation is in flux.
South of the border, England is
free of Europe. The same forces
that drove Scotland to separate
from her sister, also drove
England to seek independence
herself; independence from the EU
before it became the USE.
Mitch and his companions, now
comparatively comfortably-off,
enjoy their first chance of
relaxing for many months. They
enjoy the VR facilities and get to
know some of the other
nationalities on board. Mitch opts
to visit Paris, 'City of Light', a
city he knows in reality. However,
he is troubled by something he
sees when he takes a VR trip
there. For some time, though, he
cannot think what it is. Suddenly,
he remembers. It may have been
innocent enough. An apparent
argument between two burly men and
a beautiful, blonde woman. It is
only in retrospect that he
realizes that this was no small
altercation. It was an abduction!
His worst fears are realized the
next day when he discovers that
the girl he saw abducted has been
found dead; murdered!
The implications of this woman's
death are far, far wider than
might have seemed likely at first.
It is the implication of the
involvement of DXT, a massive
French off-world company that
starts to concern the French
Government. Soon, Mitch and his
friends' interest in this incident
come to the attention of someone
aboard their ship. Someone with
murder in mind too. Who is it?
In an action-filled novel, follow
the fortunes of Mitch Strang and
his friends, Bradley, Jess and
Mickey as they deal with an attack
on their ship. Murder and mayhem,
the planting of bombs aboard the
ship, fire-fights and sheer
brutality demonstrate clearly that
Man is still a violent, savage
creature, however advanced his
science may be. |
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