Boundless

By Philip John Walibba

Seventeen year old Daniel Snow a Chef from San Fransisco receives an email from someone claiming to be his Granddad. Apparently, He has some startling truths about humanity's plans for the future. The sender is on Earth one hundred years into the future trapped in another galaxy. Daniel's Uncle and Guardian Henry Bradford a Professor of Physics too has just been summoned to Washington in a haste to decipher a voice recording which scientists from the SETI research Institute in Mountain View think might be First Contact from an alien race. Daniel must make an unlikely and uneasy alliance with his Uncle, his colleague doctor Lynn and Eel, the sender of the email if they are to survive people determined to keep this a secret. Boundless is a sci-fi novelette that questions our place in this universe, our very beliefs, our knowledge of the origins of the universe, and our attempts at redefining what we think is impossible. It will also take you on vicarious Journey through time, with mind bending twists and turns until the most amazing climax.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Philip John Walibba
• Release date: Feb 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311529596

Philip John Walibba

Thanks for checking me out!Thanks so much for the many downloads already for my books.Kindly, Kindly remember to leave a review, good or bad. It means a lot and allows me to figure out where I stand with you my dearest reader. I am currently working on Equilibrium, the third installment of the Recluse franchise Recluse: the Retribution and Elizabeth Lake.Do swing by my world and lets check it out together!Cheers,Philip John Walibba

Book preview

Boundless

Published by Walibba .J. Philip

Copyright 2015 Walibba .J. Philip

Smashwords Edition

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Prologue

The message on my computer screen was not quite clear.

You must be wondering why I'm contacting you, but I had to reach you before it’s too late.

If you are reading this message, please get in touch urgently.

The future of humanity is under threat. We need you DS and we are running out of time.

I have to go

Be brave.

Your grand father

Eel

Chapter One

'Silly scam.' I muttered to myself shutting my laptop and placing it gently back inside my back pack. I couldn’t believe how people in this day and age abused the net. This email was sent apparently from my granddad. I sent to my junk mail folder. I had to renew my antivirus subscription as a matter of priority thought. It was two months overdue.

Strange choice of name too, Eel, I mused pulling up my blue faded denims. Dad once told me when I inquired about grandpa,

'Danny,' he said,’ lucky for you but I never got to see my own dad. He passed away long before I was even born.'

Fifteen minutes later, even as I exited my flat which overlooked the San Francisco Bay and the South Beach Harbor marina, I still felt angry at that strange email. I decided to switch my thoughts to more refreshing news.

Uncle Henry Bradford, professor of Physics at the University of Washington D.C had just been awarded the Nobel peace prize in Physics. Lucky chap, I thought grinning. His name would forever be remembered unlike mine, his Nephew. I hadn’t made it past high school and was now a small time chef in one of those low down restaurants in down town San Francisco.

‘You are late, again.’ my hairy angry looking supervisor snarled as soon as I barged in,

‘Sorry Cliff, it won’t happen again.’ whizzing past him into the kitchen, and grabbing at a damp white apron which hang by the wall.

‘That’s what you always say.’

‘I promise, last time.’ trying my best to sound remorseful.

Barely ten minutes into my shift,

‘Ds, you have a phone call.’ It was Tracy at the front counter.

‘Hello,’ I said as soon as I lifted the black cold plastic to my ear.

‘Danny my boy,' Uncle Henry's loud voice sounded into my ear. 'I have been trying to reach you on your cell phone with little success, so I thought, why not call your work place instead. Are you okay?’

'Uncle Henry!' I exclaimed ignoring his question, 'Am so thrilled, saw you on CNN, FOX, you were all over the news! And,' I continued still excited, 'I was just thinking about you, and was going to call you. Sorry for having you worried but, it's my phone you know, it's been having some issues lately. Anyway, how is down south?’

'Danny,' he cut in, 'and the reason I called is, someone from the US government is here to take me back to Washington. He says it’s something important, something to do with possible extraterrestrial contact and I must admit you've always been interested in such unproven hypothesizes, although I’m the scientist in the family. Here he comes, I got to go.’

‘Uncle Henry?’

The line only beeped. He'd hang up just like that.

Uncle Henry always mistook my love for computer games as interest in extraterrestrials. He had taken me under his wing when mom and dad died in a plane crash. At the time, he had been an astronomy trainee with NASA before later moving to the international astronomy observation facility in Atacama Desert, Chile. Uncle Henry had no family of his own, just me.

A possible extraterrestrial contact? This is crazy, I thought. I had to get to him one way or the other. Then a thought occurred to me. Washington D.C.

‘I'm terribly sorry Cliff, family emergency.' I said rushing to undo my apron. 'I have to go and please, don’t pay me for today.’

‘But you’ve only just gotten here and besides, I thought you said you had no family.’

‘I have one now.’

On the DC flight, I reopened my laptop and typed,

Who is this?

I clicked the send button and waited.

I am from your past but put correctly, am your future.

This guy is strange I thought. I typed again.

What future?

I clicked the send button again.

2112, and we need your help.

What kind of help? I asked.

Some people in your life time are planning to alter the course of history and the future of mankind as you know it.

So?

They intend to turn our species into a super hybrid, able to move through time and space, but they will fail and as a consequence, our solar system will be invaded by species from another galaxy and mankind will be exiled. In other words, we will become the very aliens we seekto contact.

How plausible is all this? I typed feeling excited and yet a bit frightened.

Because, I’m that consequence.

What planet are you from then?

Earth.

Here?

Yes but not the earth you now know or see, but earth exiled in an intergalactic space trapped between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies.

How can I trust that you are not a hacker or scammer?

You are currently on a DC flight trying to reach your Uncle who also happens to be aboard a military aircraft flying from Chile to the Pentagon as we speak, and Ds,

Yes?

Fasten your seatbelt.

Why?

Your plane is 3 seconds away from a missile strike.

A sudden loud explosion followed, gas masks dropped in front of me and my face got covered in sot. Loud screams and shrieks ensured followed by deafening siren sounds, flickering lights and rapid spins in all directions. Our plane was on fire and on a rapid nose dive.

Chapter Two

I regained consciousness lying in bed inside a crisp white room. The room had no windows and no mirrors. The only light coming from a florescent tube stuck on the ceiling above. Everything inside this room was sparkling clean and the entire room smelt of disinfectant. A buzz went off and a door opened letting in a tall man who wore black rimmed spectacles and a white medical overcoat. His mud-brown eyes flickered as a flash of excitement overcame his initial complacency when he saw me staring directly at him.

‘Ah, Mister Daniel Snow, finally, you are awake!’ He seemed overly relieved.

‘Where am I?’

‘Someone is here to see you.’ Said the man dressed like a doctor but looked and acted more like a corporate executive. He then spoke into his bright orange wrist band and the white door hissed open again, this time letting in a recognizable face.

‘Danny my boy!’ Uncle Henry exclaimed before rushing to me, grabbing and kissing my forehead repeatedly. His jet black curly hair I noticed had a few grays. Underneath the layers of hair in the front, I could see his big blue eyes peek through.

‘When I heard you were in a plane crash,' he said, ‘I couldn’t believe this was happening all over again.’

We both knew what he meant.

'I’m sorry Uncle,' I said, 'but when I received your call, I was concerned something bad might happen. I had to come.’

‘No my boy, am perfectly alright.’ He said in reply.

‘Uncle, where am I?’

‘You are in good hands Danny, at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Maryland, Washington DC.’

‘And am happy to say your scan results revealed no injuries what so ever sustained during the crash, which begs the question.’ Interjected the strange looking doctor, ‘For a Boeing 747 plane with four hundred thirty two passengers on board, you sir, were the only survivor. How was that possible?’

‘I don’t know what you are talking about doc.’ I replied staring at him. I felt confused and bitter all at one go. My heart sunk as I recalled those horrified screaming faces.

‘My laptop,' I suddenly recalled. 'Where is my laptop?’

‘Am afraid everyone and everything else got fried.’ The man replied. He seemed rather bemused by his own reply.

‘Uncle it was so horrible.’ I found myself saying. ‘I thought I was going to die.’

‘It’s okay my boy, come here.’ bringing my head to rest against his chest.

‘It wasn’t a crash Uncle,’ I whispered to him, still pressed against him. The strange looking doctor I observed had turned his back preparing some kind of medication in a syringe.

‘It was a missile that struck us.’

I could feel Uncle Henry’s chest tighten, so did his grip.

‘Can you still use those?’ He asked pointing at my covered feet.

‘I guess so.’