Perception - Softcover

Albertsson, Alaric

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1782792619 ISBN 13: 9781782792611

Verlag: John Hunt Publishing, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

For years Dena Anderson had all but ignored her twin brother Dalton, but that was before the aliens arrived. The extra-terrestrial spacecraft neutralized satellite communications, power plants and even the military throughout the United States within hours, leaving Dena and the other residents of Hugo Drive helpless. Now, with her husband at her side, Dena Anderson must struggle to exist in a world without order while contending with local racism, hostile survivalists and the prejudice that has estranged her from her twin. Surrounded by danger, what Dena fears most is her next-door neighbor, a mysterious, surly man known only as Beaker.
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Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Alaric Albertsson lives in western Pennsylvania where he writes speculative fiction as well as non-fiction books on Paganism and magic.
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Alaric Albertsson lives in western Pennsylvania where he writes speculative fiction as well as non-fiction books on Paganism and magic.
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Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Perception

By Alaric Albertsson

John Hunt Publishing Ltd.

Copyright © 2013 Alaric Albertsson
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-78279-261-1

CHAPTER 1

It was an afternoon like any other on Hugo Drive, and that wasas it should be. After all, nobody was expecting humankind totopple from the apex of creation later that evening.

Dena Anderson set out two plates and two sets of silverwareon the dining room table. She knew Michael would want to eat inthe family room where he could watch television, but that wasnot going to happen. It had been a point of contention throughouttheir six years of marriage, leading to nightly arguments that hadbecome an almost comfortable ritual. Dena would usually get herway, Michael would pout and all would be forgiven by the timethey finished their salads. On rare occasions, when Dena wasfeeling magnanimous, she would let Michael win the argumentand they would have their dinner on folding trays in front of theirlarge, flat screen television. However, this evening was not goingto be one of those occasions.

As she arranged Michael's silverware, Dena could hear himturn the television on – it sounded like a newscast. Michael likedto catch the news when he first came home from work.

The newscast was drowned out for a moment by the soundsof aircraft overhead. Dena glanced out the dining room window,but did not see any planes on that side of the house. Hugo Driveended in a cul de sac and connected at the opposite end to anundeveloped stretch of Route 228 that ran east of Caldonia,Pennsylvania. Twenty years earlier a contractor by the name ofBenjamin Hugo had built thirteen homes on a tract of land thathe hoped would grow more valuable as Caldonia expandedeastward. But the town had not expanded eastward; all of itssubsequent growth had been to the north and west. Other thanthe commuters on Route 228, there was very little traffic nearHugo Drive. The neighborhood was a combination of suburbanambience and rural quietude. Dena and Michael had moved intotheir home three years earlier, and Dena was sure she had neverheard any planes or jets in all that time.

She went to the kitchen and took a head of lettuce from therefrigerator. Then Michael called out from the family room,"Have you seen this?"

"Seen what?"

"Come in here, Dena."

The ivory landline phone on the kitchen wall began to ring. Ithad to be either Dena's mother or Izzy Franklin from across thestreet. Dena started to reach for the receiver, but thought better ofit. If Izzy was calling, it was undoubtedly about the new familythat had just moved into the house between the Bouchards andthe Inghams. Izzy Franklin was the president of the Hugo DriveNeighborhood Association. She was devoted to preserving theirsmall enclave's heritage, which, to Izzy, meant keeping the neighborhoodwhite and Protestant. When the Lewinbergs moved intoNumber Two Hugo Drive, not long after Dena and Michael hadbought their own house on the cul de sac, Izzy Franklin hadwanted to start a petition and was genuinely surprised to learnthat the Hugo Drive Neighborhood Association had no authorityto expel a Jewish family, no matter how many signatures shecould muster.

The newest family on Hugo Drive was Indian. The movingvan arrived yesterday, so Dena knew the Naras were still livingout of boxes. She had met the husband, Rajinder Nara, earlierthat day and he seemed very nice; but he was also very dark. Heand his wife had a little boy. Other than that, she did not knowmuch about them.

Dena decided that she did not want to risk the chance of beingsubjected to one of Izzy's racist rants. She really did not like IzzyFranklin very much, although Izzy's husband Jerry was all right.Ignoring the phone, Dena put the head of lettuce down on thegranite kitchen counter and went to the family room.

She immediately took in the image on the television, but whatshe did not understand was why Michael was watching sciencefiction. Michael Anderson had very little imagination, and speculativefiction usually was not his cup of tea.

Dena asked, "What are you watching?" Whatever the plot, thesetting was supposed to be St. Louis, Missouri. The widetelevision screen displayed the St. Louis Arch with an expanse ofthe Mississippi River behind it.

"It's a live broadcast, Dena."

She looked to her husband to see if he was joking, but fromthe expression on his face it was clear that he was not. "This hasto be a hoax," she said.

Michael shook his head. "I don't think so."

Just behind the Arch and above the river was an enormoustear-shaped object. The tapered end pointed towards the Arch.Dena could not tell how large it was, but she thought it must belonger than a football field. The thing hung motionless in the air,or at least that is how it looked on the television screen.

Dena asked, "That's a UFO?"

"They don't know," said Michael. He ran his fingers throughhis thinning, blond hair. "I mean, of course it's unidentified, andit's obviously a flying object of some kind, but they don't seem toknow what it is."

The phone in the kitchen stopped ringing. For a momentDena wondered with a touch of guilt if the caller had been hermother. Or maybe her brother Dalton, although she had nottalked to him in months. No, Dalton would have called her cellphone.

An announcer's voice came on, but there was no real informationin his patter. The White House had not yet responded topress inquiries. The announcer speculated that the vessel – for itwas surely a vessel of some kind – might belong to the military.Most of the announcer's talk was nothing more than an ongoingdescription of what Dena and Michael could see on their screen:the hovering UFO, the Arch, the river and an ever-growingcrowd of onlookers. If the vessel belonged to the military, theyobviously did not want anybody near the thing. A long line ofsoldiers in camouflage fatigues kept the crowd back from theArch and its underground visitors' center. In addition to this, aunit of the Coast Guard was turning back all of the people whotried to approach the UFO by boat. Most of these were sightseerscoming upriver in private speedboats and pontoons; from whatDena could see, none put up any argument or resistance.

Dena sat next to Michael on the striped loveseat. She saw howhis hair was disappearing at the crown of his head, and thoughtto herself how odd it was to notice something like that just then.Michael had very light hair, with the reddish tinge that peopleoften described as strawberry blond. His eyes did not leave thetelevision screen as Dena sat down, but he reached out and tookher hand in his.

Dena said, "It can't be anything really dangerous or thosesoldiers would have more than rifles, don't you think?" WhenMichael glanced at her, she added, "You know, like tanks orbazookas."

As if in response to her question, the announcer took a breakfrom describing the riverside crowd to say that the Pentagon hadissued a brief announcement. The Army and Air Force were bothmobilized and standing ready, but keeping a distance to avoidcreating a hostile situation. Dena thought this new developmenteffectively obliterated the theory that the hovering vesselbelonged to any branch of the United States military. The ideathat a foreign power could penetrate the heartland of the nationwas unsettling.

The announcer resumed giving another verbal sketch of thevessel and the crowd staring at it. Other than the vessel itself, themost amazing thing was the casual atmosphere that had comeover the people gathered near the Arch. The initial surprise hadworn off, and a festive ambience had settled through the crowd.Parents held their children on...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: John Hunt Publishing
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1782792619
• ISBN 13: 9781782792611
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 232
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar