“A Peek Ahead at The Farpool: Exodus”

In this post, I’d like to give you a sneak peak at where I’m going in the Farpool series.  The original title The Farpool is already available at Smashwords.com and fine ebook retailers everywhere.  The sequel The Farpool: Marauders of Seome is in progress now and I expect to make this available for the holidays in late 2017.  The next story in this sequence is entitled The Farpool: Exodus.

To summarize, the home planet of my marine beings is doomed to destruction because their sun has been poisoned with starball impacts from an enemy known as the Coethi.  The star-sun Sigma Albeth B will soon supernova and we learn this toward the end of Farpool:Marauders.  But the Farpool itself is a wormhole in space and time, and a bridge between Seome and Earth. Learning how to manipulate and transit this wormhole, some factions on Seome realize that the Farpool is an escape path from their doomed world.  The problem is that they will be escaping, in large numbers, to the oceans of Earth.  And some Seomish realize that the current residents of Earth might not take too kindly to the appearance of another intelligent species on their world, even if they are basically talking fish and live in the oceans.

That’s the underlying conflict of Exodus. 

Below, I’ve provided a synopsis of the Prologue and Chapter 1 of The Farpool: Exodus…

Prologue

Seome

Six Thousand Light Years from Earth

Time: 785.2, Epoch of Tekpotu

Story opens with the cataclysmic explosion of a supernova in space, a star called Sigma Albeth B, detonating and spewing its contents through space for light years in every direction.  Beyond the confines of the Sigma Albeth B system, a small fleet of Coethi jumpships quietly withdraws, having just let loose a final volley of starballs, which impacted the sun and initiated the deadly sequence of events.

We follow the sequence of events as the star’s core suddenly collapses, followed by the rebound explosion as the collapsing envelope collides with the outward shock wave.  Two hours later, the gas envelope of Sigma Albeth B is explosively ejected away.  Every moon and planet in the Sigma Albeth B system (there are 12 in all) is incinerated.  One of the planets was a world called Seome, a world of vast oceans, a world home to twenty million intelligent inhabitants.

Several hundred thousand of these inhabitants were able to escape the death throes of their sun, through a wormhole they called the Farpool.  The wormhole linked the fates of two worlds, Seome and a world called Terra…Earth. 

These two hundred thousand inhabitants rode the wormhole of the Farpool in a fleet of sleds, lifeships, and other assorted craft, anything that would hold people, cobbled together in the frantic last days of their world and flung into the Farpool in desperation.  Some ships didn’t survive the trip.  Those that did landed in a bewildering array of times…some landed in mid-20 century Earth, some in the 16^th century, among Spanish galleons and English men-of-war, some in the 28^th century, when the seas had swallowed almost every continent and there were two moons in the sky.  One group of emigrants landed in the Cretaceous epoch of ancient Earth history, with the skies darkening as a giant asteroid called Chicxulub approached. 

And some landed in the early 22^nd century, in a bevy of waterspouts centered on a range of underwater hills north of Bermuda, a place the oceanographers called the Muir seamounts.

This is the story of the Kelvishtu, the great exodus of the lost and the desperate from the doomed ocean world of Seome.  Millions perished in the supernova of their sun Sigma Albeth B.  Two hundred thousand survived in a harrowing series of trips through the Farpool.

They were not alone.

 

Chapter 1

Earth

The Atlantic Ocean, near Bermuda

May 1, 2115

Several hundred thousand Seomish, from all kels, have managed to emigrate through the Farpool to Earth.  Twenty million others died in the End Times…the great ak’loosh. The Farpool has been destroyed…for now.  The Time Twister created the Farpool.  To re-create the Farpool, another Time Twister (wavemaker) would have to be built.

The emigrants (known among themselves as tu’kelke) have mostly traveled in lifeships and modified kip’ts to 22^nd century Earth.  However, some of the emigrants did not have proper control of their lifeships and wound up on Earth in different time periods…mid-20th century Earth, 16-century Earth, 28^th century Earth and one small group in the Cretaceous period of Earth, just before the big asteroid Chicxulub struck, dooming the dinosaurs.  None of these tu’kelke have any way of communicating with each other, or traveling, since the Farpool is gone.

In a small cave near the growing encampment of the tu’kelke at the Muir seamounts, Chase (still em’took-modified) finds a familiar face in the form of Tulcheah li, half-Omtorish, half-Ponkti, working with other members of her em’kel to unpack pods and cases and make some kind of home in the dim warren of caves.  They are glad to see each other and embrace.  Chase invites Tulcheah out for a roam about the settlement.

For the time being, the settlement is to be known as Kee’nomsh’pont (Little Omsh’pont), a way of remembering the great capital city of the Omt’or, back on Seome.  Tulcheah describes the frightening trip through the Farpool…some of her em’kel in other ships didn’t make it.  In fact, she’s lost several close friends and, although glad to be alive, is somewhat despondent.  Chase knows what to do about that.

The two of them roam about the scattering of settlements, encountering first Eep’kostic, then Sk’ortish emigrants, who are already gathering themselves into kel-related camps.  They then encounter a school of Ponkti midlings, engaged in learning tuk moves from none other than Loptoheen himself.   They stop to watch, but it’s clear that the Ponkti want to isolate themselves from the others and after some harsh words with Loptoheen, Chase and Tulcheah leave.  They discuss how even in this difficult setting and their new home, the kels are already organizing themselves into water clans once again. 

As they roam about the camps, they learn of a great roam being organized by the Metahs of the kels: Mokleeoh, Lektereenah, Okeemah and Kolandra…a roam for the purpose of settling disputes and setting conditions for how the settlement will operate.  Already, great crowds are gathering near the edge of Keenomsh’pont.  It will also be a chance to study and learn about their new surroundings.

Tulcheah and Chase find an isolated niche on the other side of the great seamount and couple vigorously, all the while keeping an eye on the strange and nosy sea life flitting by.  After lovemaking is over, they are startled to first hear, then see an odd submersible vehicle nosing about nearby, seeming to observe them (it is the unmanned autonomous submarine Beagle from Woods Hole, investigating acoustic and seismic anomalies around the Muir seamounts.  In the multiple landings of the Farpool, seismic tremors and strange waterspout activity have been set off and marine scientists want to know why).

Startled and somewhat frightened, Chase and Tulcheah make their way back to the settlement and join the gathering roam crowd.  The submersible Beagle discreetly follows.

The roam gets underway and each Metah has her say.  First, a compressed history of all the kels is recited and sung by all, then the Metahs sing their wishes for what is to come and how the kels are to be organized.  For now, Keenomsh’pont will be home, but the kels will move to their own territories and waters within the seamount complex, while exploratory expeditions are organized.  Once the Separation is accomplished, all kels will contribute to these expeditions.  The overall effort is to be led by Likteek of Omt’or, with assistance from every kel.  Five teams will assemble into a sort of Corps of Discovery, and each team will be responsible for navigating to the farthest corners of this marine world that the Tailless call Urth, reconnoitering and surveying and collecting specimens from what they find.  After one mah, the exploratory teams will re-convene at Keeomsh’pont and report their findings. 

The Metahs sing out their choices for who is assigned to each team.  Chase finds that he will be part of the Omtorish team, which it to be commanded by veteran kip’t pilot Manklu tel himself.   Their route will take them west in this great ocean.  Once he fully understands where they are now, Chase is excited by this news.  West means toward the Gulf Stream and North America…seas and lands he’s familiar with. 

The great roam returns to their makeshift settlement of Keenomsh’pont, only to find the strange submersible Beagle nosing about their encampment.  Startled and incensed at the intrusion, Ponkti Metah Lektereenah orders a squad of her prodsmen and suppressors to attack and drive the craft off.  They do so and the Beagle is soon lying on the seafloor in a shallow ravine, shattered and still. 

But at the surface, scientists aboard Beagle’s mother ship Darwin are fully aware of what has happened.  Beagle no longer responds to their commands to return to Darwin, but the scientists aren’t concerned about that….for what they have seen through Beagle is so startling and unexpected, they can scarcely believe it.  The news flashes around the world from Darwin in minutes: some kind of lost civilization has just been discovered near Bermuda. 

Some are already calling it Atlantis. 

***

This little pre-excerpt will give you a flavor of what’s coming in The Farpool: Exodus.  Look for it next year, probably late spring of 2018.

In my next post, July 3, I’ll provide a sort of basic outline of where I want to go with The Farpool Stories from here.  Check in on July 3 for another sneak peek.

See you then.

Phil B.