Cosmos Quest Paperback for sale Click Here

 

Paperback book $US10.38
Printed: 219 pages,15cm x 22,5cm, perfect binding, cream interior paper (60# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color exterior ink

 

Our latest science fiction novel Cosmos Quest has just been published by our own imprint Purrbooks and the ebook will be published soon.. Meanwhile, have a look at our selection of completed novels to your right. Those not already online should be on sale at Fictionwise within a few weeks.

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Cosmos Quest Synopsis

Starship Human Dawn is only the second deep space starship to evacuate the last residents from a dying Earth in search of a new world in which to live. The first, Human Sunset, went missing generations earlier. 5000 humans are in suspended animation while the vessel travels through post-light speed infinity drive under control of computers. Commander Sophie Copland wakes up in deep space because of an emergency drop to sub-light speed.

A human woman, Kyla Adair has caused this. She is escaping from an alien world of human type beings called benefactors who, it is later found out, cloned her from a long dead member of a Human Sunset. After no senior officers are found to be alive, two other junior crewmembers, Penny who has the ability to 'feel' the truth, and Jack, an electronics expert are awoken. The three find the starship is occupied by of human terrorists who have killed the senior officers and are torturing two benefactors, Daz and Foxin. They rescue the pair and attempt to gain control of the vessel. They are only partially successful but manage to blast the three self-life-supporting drones containing the suspended animation humans away from the Human Dawn before it is destroyed. They also escape in the Dawn Rescue 'lifeboat' and Kyla's damaged Zarel 29 benefactor spaceship.

Daz and Foxin prove loyal but will other benefactors help the humans, which they regard as inferior to themselves?

Sophie finds the computers have the ability to mutate into advanced forms! Are they really the new life species that supersede the 'inferior' humans and benefactors?

Are any planets that support intelligent life safe?

Only Sophie and her four friends can keep humans and benefactors from becoming extinct in a hostile cosmos.

Excerpt

Before Sophie had a chance to do a thing an announcement from Posc seemed to come from everywhere in the observation deck.

"There is incoming communication. To you wish to receive and translate it?"

Sophie frowned and thoughts filled her mind. Security was paramount in a situation such as this. The chances were that a message would not harm them but she had no idea whether advanced technology could do something unexpected.

"What security do we have, Posc?"

"The incoming signal is on a limited radius sealed beam."

"Meaning?"

"Nothing beyond the beam can pick up the signal. The human that is visible in the extraterrestrial starship flying parallel to us is transmitting it. May I give an opinion?"

"You do that?" Sophie gasped.

"The term is inexact but by diagnosing the incoming data I can draw a probable scenario. This ability was incorporated in my systems as it would have been required if humans under my care were unconscious or otherwise incapacitated."

Let Posc do it," Penny whispered.

 Sophie nodded and the computer began.

"The human is frightened and scared of your response."

"Why?" Sophie asked.

"She caused the malfunction that almost caused Penny's death. She used an electronic particle beam to operate the cocoon but had not anticipated how it worked. On her second attempt she was successful."

"By awaking me?"

"Yes."

"So she has compassion?"

"Her actions and present emotions would suggest that."

"Let us hear what she has to say."

Sophie literally jumped in fright when a life-sized human female appeared in front of her. Like with all meetings with strangers, she instantly evaluated the woman before her, She was quite young, of average size and build with short brown hair, tanned skin and a thin face. The eyes that looked directly at her appeared apprehensive and her lips were out of synchronization with the words she spoke, showing that she was speaking a different language.

"I do not know if you can understand me but assume a basic translation of my words has been made. If you understand me please raise three fingers when you reply..." The woman waited.

Sophie held up three fingers. "I am Commander Sophie Capland, senior officer on duty of the United Nations Starship Human Dawn from the planet Earth. I can see and hear you. Please identify yourself."

Unexpectedly the woman's chin quivered and her eyes became awash with tears. "Do you bleed?"

Sophie frowned at the strange question. "If I cut or hurt myself of course I bleed."

"And you operate at a temperature of 37° Celsius?"

"Yes."

"The male and female with you also do?"

"Yes, we're all humans."

"And you will submit to a small test?"

"It will be okay, Sophie," Penny whispered. "I sense nothing sinister in her request."

"Be careful," Jack warned.

Sophie nodded.

"If you submit to the same one," she replied and immediately thought that her request was like asking a criminal to promise to tell the truth. There was no way of proving if any self-test was the same as the one they'd be subjected to. She gulped and in a rush of words to cover her uncertainty asked the woman again to identify herself.

I'm sorry. My name is Kyra Adair and yes, I shall take the same test as yourselves."
It was a common sounding name but of course this could have been changed in the translation. Sophie glanced at the other two.

"Shall we proceed with it?"

Penny nodded but Jack hesitated before also he also gave a cautious nod.

"Very well, Kyra. What do we do?"

"Just stand still for a moment. I guess you don't realize it but I am also looking at yourselves in front of me. What you will see is exactly what is happening before me."

Sophie nodded. Four circular beams dropped appeared above each of their heads and moved over them towards their feet. Apart from a slight buzz in the ears,she heard or felt nothing.

"The source of the voice is a Caucasian female human in the first quarter of her life span. She is one meter seventy-eight centimeters tall, weighs fifty-eight kilograms and has no known diseases. Adrenalin count and blood pressure are higher than normal due to possible stress," Posc announced. "More detailed information is available upon request."

"File it." Sophie ordered. It appeared that the girl had done what she had asked for.

 Kyra stared beyond Sophie as if she listening to data about themselves. She frowned, her lips moved as if she had spoken and she made an audible gasp.

"Well?" Sophie asked.

"You are all human and not only that but taking into account generational deviations are biologically the same as me. I never though this could be possible." The woman flushed white and her hands shook from probable excitement.

"Why?"

Kyra gulped. "I was cloned from the DNA of a species that has been extinct in known worlds. Until I escaped I was restrained within an electronic force field, cared for but imprisoned like an animal."

"In a zoo?" Jack asked.

"That would be the word," Kyra replied.""Please, can I come physically across to you without your computer operating any equipment?"

Sophie glanced at Jack.

"We have already bypassed our master computer and are operating an isolated one used in emergencies. If you think it is necessary, though, I am sure we can work something with a bubblecraft. They are the life rescue containers you can see around the equator of this ship." he said and continued with a description of how one would operate by itself after a Catastrophe Five situation, this being one where the mother ship had been destroyed and all electronics rendered inoperable by the resulting explosion.

"It sounds perfect," Kyla replied."Be extremely careful."

"We will," Sophie replied grimly.