Smoking pieces of charred meat, legs, and bone fragments flew in all directions. I heard a humming sound, followed by a hiss, and the second creature burst into flames, its burning pieces steaming and disintegrating as they fell. The third predator turned and ran. A bright blue plasma bolt speared it, and it disappeared in a thunderous explosion. This time there were no charred pieces but steam and a cloud of swirling ashes.

I blinked and stared at what remained of the creatures. My ship was not equipped with particle-beam weapons. Was I just saved by a Good Samaritan? But who saved me?

Puzzled, I looked around but there was no one. What the hell?

"Up here," spoke a female voice into my helmet earphones.

I looked up and blinked again.

There, hanging just twenty feet above the ground, was a young woman. Her features were distinctly Oriental, and her black hair was tied into a bun at the top of her head. Her clothes were black and complemented her trim, lithe figure nicely. She carried no visible weapons, and she was hanging in the air like a fairy.

Impossible, I thought, looking for any sign of a portable antigravity suspension device. She couldn't be possibly wearing any, because they hadn't been invented yet. Antigravity generators could lift ships and heavy loads, but they were big and generated an inverse magnetic field. But this young woman managed to levitate on her own.

How?

more excerpts

3,500 A.D.—LET THE GAME BEGIN . . .

Professor Peter Blackwood, a former Space Marine turned scientist, looks forward to retirement on a paradise resort planet.

A powerful alien intelligence in the form of a vast red energy cloud cuts Blackwood's plans short, snatching him from the hyperspace highway, and catapulting him light years away to a remote planet in an unexplored region of space.

With his ship damaged and unable to escape, Blackwood encounters a distant human colony on planet Enigma, a world controlled by the red cloud and populated by mortals and powerful overlords—immortal human beings with godlike powers.

When Blackwood's desire to escape is replaced by his intense scientific curiosity, he becomes a player in a dangerous socio-political game designed by the red cloud. It's a game Blackwood cannot afford to lose—for on his shoulders rests the destiny of millions of people.

I always loved reading stories and watching movies about an ordinary person ending up in extraordinary circumstances. Deep inside, we all want to be different from what we are in our ordinary lives. In our imagination we escape from reality.

Many great stories and movies influenced this book, and you may find curious parallels once you join my protagonist on his extraordinary journey. And I will be honored if you take this journey with me.

To all who love adventure, welcome aboard!

David Crane