More, And Yet Still Even More Things I Could Get Out of My Mind

By William Mangieri

Another collection of six short speculative fictions by William Mangieri, in which we learn some life lessons:
Alien is a relative term
Perception may be all there is
It all depends on how you put it
Sometimes all you have is a leap of faith
Freedom isn’t just another word
No matter how hard you try, a dog’s life – is still a dog’s life

Includes the short stories:

Finding Sanctuary
After generations searching for a home, the colonists of The Promise think they've found a it. But is this seemingly perfect world where they'll find Sanctuary?
(A bit of sci-fi, a pinch of fantasy, a slice of horror; a good mix of what makes up speculative fiction. Add in alien spiders - how can you go wrong?)

#InWhoseReality?
Perception is reality. The all-conquering Veratis arrive on Earth, where they meet some unreal resistance. As in all wars, choosing the field of battle can determine the victor, and on this one appearances may be everything.

Truth in Advertising
A paranoid marketer finds himself down a dark alley, just as he expected. But is it always a bad thing when they're after you?

Behind the 8-Ball
The clock is running down as humanity struggles to find a new home; they've opened a gate into the unknown, but need evidence that their new world is on the other side before they go through. Moses can provide that proof, but how could anyone besides his wife believe him? Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith.

Gladius
What security is there in the loyalty of slaves? Gladius has served his Betelgeusean owners faithfully since he was first abducted from Taurus, but he's about to find out that loyalty isn't always a two way street, and not all slaves are willing to settle for their lot. Maybe he’s not as bull-headed as he appears.

Saturday He Fed the Cat
It’s a dog’s life. What can a 9-pound westie do when faced with the injustices of a newly colonized world? Katy tries her darnedest, but learns that sometimes a dog’s life just isn't fair, no matter what planet you're on.

(stories also available individually)

• Language: English
• Publisher: William Mangieri
• Release date: Jun 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311794826

William Mangieri

William Mangieri is a karaoke junkie, former theater student, and recovered wargamer who spends as much time wondering "what if?" as "why not?". He writes from Texas, where he and his family live at the mercy of the ghost of a nine-pound westie.William writes mostly speculative fiction (that’s science fiction, fantasy and horror), although he also has a detective series with a soft sci-fi element (Detective Jimmy Delaney.) He completed writing his first novel (Swordsmaster) in 2019; prior to this, he has honed his skills on short fiction. He has been published in Daily Science Fiction and The Anarchist, and six of his stories have earned Honorable Mentions in the Writers of the Future contest.

Book preview

More,

And Yet Still

Even More

Things I Could Get

Out of My Mind

A collection of short speculative fictions

by William Mangieri

Copyright 2016 by William Mangieri

Smashwords Edition

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Stories contained in this collection are copyrighted by the author:

Saturday He Fed the Cat,

Gladius, Finding Sanctuary, #InWhoseReality?:

Copyright 2014

Behind the 8-Ball: Copyright 2015

Truth in Advertising: Copyright 2017

Table of Contents

Finding Sanctuary

#InWhoseReality?

Truth in Advertising

Behind the 8-Ball

Gladius

Saturday He Fed the Cat

Origins

About the Author

Bibliography

Connect With the Author

Finding Sanctuary

... breaking, … Lieutenant, ... repeat, Captain Lawrence's voice crackled through the radio.

Sorry, Captain, there's a significant amount of interference in the system, Jim said as he altered his position for a cleaner signal. I had to return to the edge of the nebula to be able to report in.

That’s better – continue your report.

I’m naming the third planet Sanctuary. The readings I'm getting are in the range we've been looking for, a near ideal mix of Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon, but the atmosphere is too dense with water vapor to see anything from orbit (as though massive amounts of H2O would be a problem.) Streaming you what I have so far.

Eighty seven years of searching - all his lifetime and then some - finally over. Lieutenant Jim Masterson visualized the blue and white world he’d found as he thought-linked his scout’s flight plan and waited for a response..

This data is impressive, Captain Lawrence said. We will change course. Estimate arrival your position in twelve days.

Sanctuary is three days into the nebula. I’m going in to go for a closer look. I won't be able to send you another report until I've come back out. Jim turned the scout back toward Sanctuary.

Make sure you come back, Lieutenant, a familiar female voice said before the static resumed, with something…

Jim's heart skipped a beat; that last had been from Susan, their lead xenobiologist. Susan, who he'd grown up with on The Promise, the colony ship that had birthed them both. Susan, who had been his tether to the colony these seven years that he'd been flying patrol. Susan, who would be by his side as they settled their new world.

For you, always, Jim said. She knew, even if she didn't hear him.

Jim deposited backtrack markers along his path during the three day trip back. Once he had penetrated Sanctuary’s cloud cover, he was pleased with how much the planet resembled the Earth he had only seen in his school lessons. A serpentine branching of mountain ranges formed a half-dozen discernible land masses, surrounded and separated by one huge, planet-wide ocean of water. Plant-life was abundant - he'd seen pictures of rain forests, but those had never given him the impression of scale and density that the real thing conveyed.

Jim couldn't truly explore from the air; the Sanctuary called out to him, and he wanted to experience it. He directed his scout to land on the jungle-side edge of a plateau at the foot of a mountain.

He stepped out onto grass - actual grass - that became taller as he walked away from the jungle. The ground felt springy under his boots, almost like the workout mats they used on The Promise’s training deck. He looked up at the trees on the edge of the plateau - sixty or so feet at the edge of the plateau, climbing to close to two-hundred feet further in. Their broad bases were more rapidly tapered than Earth trees. No sample would do them justice, but Susan would see these for herself soon enough.

There wasn't just plant life. Jim took a couple of steps back when a blue, multi-legged, armor-plated creature as long as his arm startled him as it wove its way around the tufts of grass. Alien life. Jim tried to reach its mind through his implant, but there was only low-level animal intelligence - nothing the experimental translator Susan had built was able to communicate with.

Still, there might be sentient life here. He looked back at his scout ship - its sleek white metal so obviously alien against the jungle backdrop. He had gone beyond his transmitter's range, so he walked back toward the scout until he was only thirty feet away and LINK ESTABLISHED floated into his vison.

The canopy closed none too soon, as three furry, ten-legged shapes the separated from the shadows of the trees. Their bodies were slightly larger than Jim, but the legs made them seem three times his size.

Why did