Last of the Human Race: THE TORUN CHRONICLES

By Jak Kavan

Arriving at their destination system, Doctor Karen Goddard is violently awoken from stasis. With the aid of the ships AI she must select seven key members of the crew to evaluate their situation. In the ensuing chaos one of the crew dies horribly in their stasis chamber prompting an investigation into her death. But its not the only mystery they face. Mission control has stopped communicating with them decades earlier. The ship appears to have suffered damage and the AI is behaving strangely.

More mysteries surface about their destination planet but before they can face their future, they must solve the riddles of their past.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jak Kavan
• Release date: Jul 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386902461

Book preview

A novella

by

Jak Kavan

First published in 2018 by QBS Media

Copyright © 2018 by Jak Kavan

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the publisher

except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2018

Chapter 1 - Awakening

The clear Plexiglas lid slid up the casket chamber exposing the woman to re-circulated air for the first time in nearly eighty years. The resuscitation unit expanded all of its mechanical arms almost menacingly. It immediately started to take readings from her body. A face mask extended latching itself onto her face menacingly, pushing open the eyelids for retinal scanners and inserting an oxygen tube into the mouth. Dozens of stethoscope like arms extended over her body latching onto her torso with tiny suckers. Two defibrillation pads extended to her bare chest. The first electrical pulse jolted her body, arcing her back upwards before slumping back into the casket. The heart monitor at the base of the casket jumped once but each spike bounced down with ever decreasing height like a ball on a concrete yard. A second electrical pulse sent the heart monitor bouncing again, this time maintaining the regularity of the spike for three beats before decreasing. A third electrical pulse seemed to bring the body back to life. Her heartbeat finding regularity at a steady sixty two beats per minute. The defibrillation pads retracted. The stethoscopic tentacles moved over the body checking for vital life signs. Moving over the shaved head of the woman they latched on sucking tightly to her scalp. Micro fine needles inserted into her skull, activating tiny pulses of electrical activity into every region of her brain, slowly electro-pulsing it back to life.

She drew a breath. The breathing apparatus retracted allowing her to breathe voluntarily. Coughing a mouthful of rejected cryo fluid she tried to sit up and vomit but the most her body would allow is for her to tilt her head to one side and cough up. Tubes from the resuscitation unit sucked up the unwanted fluids. The mask re-attached to her face.

Please wait for retinal scan to complete. An electronic female voice instructed.

A rubber bladder inflated in the palm of her right hand.

Please squeeze the ball. Said the voice.

Her fingers feebly squeezed the bladder.

A thin tube entered her mouth injecting a small quantity of glucose tonic onto her tongue. She swallowed the bitter sweet liquid. It reacted quickly stimulating her every senses. I’m cold she said.

Warm air rose up around her from her chamber.

Are you ready to take initial cognitive test? asked the mechanical voice.

Yes! I think so. the woman answered feebly.

What is your name?

Doctor Karen Goddard.

Correct

What is your rank?

Lieutenant. Medical. Grade four.

Do you know where you are?

Interplanetary ARK number twelve.

What is your exact location on board the ship?

Cryogenic module one.

What is your ships mission?.

To seek out a suitable planet for colonisation.

"Do you know why you have been re-animated Doctor Karen Goddard?

Have we reached our destination system?

Invalid rhetorical answer. Please try again.

We have reached our destination!

"Correct Doctor Goddard. As soon as you feel strong enough you will find your jump suit in a compartment at the foot of your chamber.

Welcome back Doctor Goddard."

The side of the chamber lowered allowing her to carefully lower her legs to the steel deck below. She stood up slowly and carefully aware that she was in a low gravity environment. In the locker she found her few personal belongings in vacuum packed bags. Tearing the seal on one she found her agency issue uniform. Climbing into her jump suit and deck boots she walked toward the end of the corridor collecting her thoughts. She stopped at the hatch looking back down the two hundred meter long chamber. Banks of cryogenically frozen people lined the octagonal sides of the chamber. She was the only one awake. She hoped there had not been a malfunction, waking her too early. Numerous other fears and questions crossed her mind but the time for answers would come soon enough.

Making her way through the passageways of the ship she found the bridge empty of life as if it had been abandoned in mid flight. Some printed sheets of paper lay strewn about the console and deck of the bridge. On entering, the lights increased by ninety nine percent to optimal level. Air scrubbers kicked in, raising the room temperature while purifying and freshening the air.

I recommend some light refreshment to stimulate your senses. the computerised voice suggested.

That would be fine. Karen said, sitting at the horizontal octagonal viewing table.

A panel in the wall lit up, coming to life, making whirring and buzzing sounds. Karen cast it a glance. It used not to make those noises. It sounded laboured. The panel raised, a tray extended. A zero gravity drinks container smelled of hot coffee. Rehydrated fruit and energy biscuits neatly decorated the tray in a fan pattern. Nibbling on a biscuit she tasted it carefully. Eighty years later, it still tasted quite edible if not quite good. Sitting at the viewing table she studied the information