In This World: A Science Fiction Adventure

By Darren Clarke

A timeless species manipulates and controls the destiny of mankind.

Unknown to most and shown only to a few, The Book not only holds the answer to the question of creation, but to the mystery of life itself.
Beyond the previous three years of his troubled existence, James had only confusing memories and fragmented visions of a life unknown to him; will the activation of a technology older than time provide the answers that lie to the furthest borders of our solar system, or will those that watch from the darkness have other plans.....

• Language: English
• Publisher: Darren Clarke
• Release date: Nov 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301502028

Darren Clarke

I study creative writing at Kingston University, London and have a strong interest in science fiction and political novels and other literature. My main goal is to write successful, enjoyable, and inspiring novels. My first book, In This World took an arduous five years to complete. The relief of writing those simple two words: The End was immense and far greater than I expected. If you have read it, I hope you enjoyed it. If you haven't, then check it out and let me know what you think.

Book preview

IN THIS WORLD

Darren Clarke

Copyright 2012 by Darren Clarke

Published at Smashwords

To my brother Ryan

PRELUDE

The eyes of infinity watched from the darkness. Beyond all of the stars, and all of the galaxies. Beyond even the furthest reaches of time. Tweaking the strings of creation, to manipulate, control, and bind all Humans to their will.

Images of everything that ever was and ever will be, danced among the pages of the Book. Drip fed to the seven billion drones that meandered idly through existence. The limits of true freewill being shown as nothing more than an illusion.

CHAPTER ONE

James had a troubled early life. Fragmented memories filled his mind with unintelligible thoughts of distant events, desperate to manifest themselves to meaningful patterns within his consciousness.

His first memory is of this place, of the hills and the fields and the trees. But looking back he can't see beyond this point. A deep mist haunts the recesses of his mind, obscuring what otherwise should be clear thoughts and images.

James' pieced together memory is a culmination of disjointed events that have being stitched together at various stages of his young adult life. Thoughts of fields and trees, and sky.

It’s not very complete, but piecing together a broken memory can be tricky, and can take time. It will come to him in time though, everything takes time.

*

Birds sat in the tallest of trees, singing songs that spread a sense of summer through the air. The sound carried on the gentle breeze, sweeping along the cobbled streets and medieval buildings, to be dispersed as no more than faint whispers into the morning sky.

James awoke early, it was probably the heat, although a vivid dream that he couldn't quite remember woke him at 4:44, after which he spent much of the early hours drifting in and out of a memoryless sleep, until he fully awoke at 7:15.

The curtains were drawn, flooding the room with a mellow summer light that caused him to squint briefly before he sat back down on his bed. A little to early to go in the kitchen just yet, and never one for an early breakfast anyway, he glanced outside.

The sky had a thin vale of haze that stretched beyond the horizon, its uniform sheaf would remain unbroken for much of the day, giving teasing glimpses of the clear blue sky that lay beyond.

Flickers of subconscious thought seeped into his conscious mind, like bursts of light trying to break through a blanket of cloud. Often forming vague recollections of events, of people and places he recognised as nothing more than displaced thoughts.

He rested his back against the wall and pulled the duvet over his legs and began to think about his past, focusing on the time he came to be at this house.

His memory was hazy of the first few months. The doctor told him at the time that his mind was working in overdrive as it was trying to remember the past and take in the new memories of his surroundings, but he assured him it would ease off eventually, and as he was only seventeen, his mind was still growing.

In actual fact it had settled down after only a few months, allowing new thoughts and memories to be processed naturally. It was only the events prior to, and immediately up to his discovery that he struggled with, those memories were stubbornly elusive.

He remembered being officially adopted by his granddad and grandmother as they liked to be called, but felt he didn't really know them that well. When Marjory died in her sleep a month after his adoption, he realised how isolated this couple actually were. A few neighbours came around to offer their condolences, but no family members were ever seen. James felt awkward talking to his grand father, he believed he hadn't known either of them long enough to be able to talk and share their memories, so he sat in his room most of the time trying to piece together his own troubled past.

James spent a lot of time trying to piece together his memory, he was probably trying too hard. The harder he tried to remember, the harder it actually became, so he relaxed and fell back on his pillow. Although he thought he was wide awake, his mind began to drift. He sat back up and looked at his clock, 8:03.

'I must have fallen back to sleep', he thought as a vague recollection of a dream seeped into his mind, a man without a face. Then he lost it, a strange memory without any emotional attachment hung loosely in his head before disappearing altogether.

He glanced around his room, not looking at anything in particular. His blue ball caught his eye, the suns light made it appear to have a soft luminescent glow. Shadows of birds swept by the window as his mind gradually became more alert. Then it came to him, a new part of his missing memory. It was the same as before but this time it had changed, only slightly but it had changed. The angle was different, he could see a field and a hill but something had changed, something was new. This time it was from above.

The thoughts themselves carried with them a sense of falling, but there was no conveyance of danger, just a feeling that the world was below him.

Still not a great deal more and he was unsure of what he was looking at, but he knew whatever it was, it was now from above. James was now aware of himself looking down upon a cloud.

'Maybe I did fall from the sky' he thought.

*

An out of place cloud drifted idly above the hazy morning sky, coming to a gradual halt over the small medieval town of Ludlow. Its circular shadow broken and distorted as it periodically penetrated the thin layer of cloud that swept below it, occasionally reaching the surface two miles below.

Been a cloud people didn’t pay it too much attention. When it stopped and hung in the sky above the centre of town, people still paid it no attention. Even the keenest of eyes would have struggled to notice anything peculiar about the object.

So there it remained, hanging with unknown purpose as morning turned to noon, turned to early evening.

As the hours ticked away, the cloud-like exterior evaporated into the cooling evening air, disengaged by an artificial intelligence that lurked beyond its metallic surface.

The uncloaked device glimmered like a sparkling diamond as the suns rays reflected off the new object.

Several curios eyes glanced towards its direction with a feigning interest as they carried out the remainder of their shopping before the evening set in.

The new object appeared on military radar as no more than a stationary anomaly as it watched the town below with unemotional eyes.

*

The sun had climbed to its peak several hours before James reached the town, and was now beginning to set behind the distant hills that rolled across the Welsh valleys.

The bird song still carried in the air as James reached the town square, humming a new tune that had been in his mind since the early morning.

Although only three years had passed since his arrival to the town, James felt as though it was many more. Even though his adoptive grandmother had passed away over two years ago, there were a lot of things she taught him before she passed on. One was to stay in shape and to eat healthy. But the most important was to cease the moment and not waste time. Marion was likely wise beyond her years even at a young age, and it was with her advice that James built up the courage to ask Katie to be his girlfriend. Since that moment almost two years ago, James had rarely looked backed, not caring that he had few other friends.

Katie was standing outside a new clothing store that had recently opened as shoppers rushed by getting their last bits before the stores finally closed. A smile lit up across her face as she spotted James' reflection in the darkened glass. She turned to great him, arms outstretched.

They would often spend the late afternoons together during school time, but as it was the holidays, scheduling was pushed further back to make room for family time, at least from Katie's point of view.

Her brunette hair rested on her shoulders, clinging to a strapless black dress that hugged the contours of her body perfectly as they walked over to a bench in the main square. James often thought she was overdressed, especially as he more often than not opted for casual jeans and shirt.

The slow pace and diverse class of the town lent itself perfectly to diverse fashion and people watching, so they sat themselves down to watch the world go by.

The bench was dedicated to the memory of 'Marian, all the love in the world, George'. Neither of them knew who George or Marion were, but were pretty sure they wouldn't mind them sitting on their bench.

They sat on the bench not saying anything, just enjoying the silence and the sunshine. The suns light cast long shadows that reached the edges of the square, and skimmed along the side of the road leaving the bench itself bathed in the warm summer light. They watched a middle aged woman walk past, Katie commented on her choice of clothes. Another woman walked past wearing a short skirt, Katie made another comment but James wasn’t paying too much attention to what was said.

He lent forward slightly, resting his elbows on his legs and stared at the floor and at the tiny bugs that moved across it. They moved with the same purpose as the humans walking above and over them. Every now and then one would get stomped on by a pair of shoes, only to scurry away when the shoe was lifted away.

It's beautiful here in the summer isn't it? Said Katie.

James glanced at the castle in the distance, grimacing as his eyes tried to adapt to the glare of the sun.

We should look around the castle. He said.

The ancient walls were fading into a silhouette as the sun crept behind them.

Katie's face lit up.

It's a bit late now, we should go early and spend the day there. Take a picnic

James could see how happy she was at the offer. He loved taking her out, but often didn't have the money.

I'm going to see what time they open and how much it is. He said as he pulled himself out of the seat.

Do you want a drink while I'm gone? He asked.

I'll have a Coke if you're having one. She smiled as she watched him walk away.

James walked towards the castle and began humming the tune that had stubbornly remained in his head the entire day. He wasn't sure what it was, or where it had came from but he hummed it regardless. It carried a melody that was quiet calming as he made his way across the castle gardens.

It was a little after 4.44 in the evening, half the shops were closed, the other half were getting ready to close. Several shoppers were mingling in and out of the stores, rushing to get their last bits before they returned to their homes to relax.

The sun hung low in the clear blue sky, casting its warmth across entire counties and reflecting its brilliant light on any reflective surface.

A faint sparkle glistened many miles above the town as an unknown object hung in the evening sky. The light made it appear to be a star and to the untrained eye it could have possibly