In the Image of God

By David Lyons

This is a book about people learning there are three sides to the truth; What you say; What they say; The facts of what happened.

Alan Da'vide is the hero. He is just a guy out to make his corner of the Universe a little better. He is helped by his best friend Mia, who happens to be an AI (Artificial Intelligence). They have shared many adventures in the past. This story is the most recent. In this adventure they discover Earth- full of Humans and Dolphins not at war with each other. How this is possible? Everybody knows Dolphins hate Humans! Alan and Mia also locate an ancient moon base, vacant of inhabitants. Here they meet an ancient AI who shares the history the race of Humans that originally built the moon base. They uncover the real history of the Universe, and discover how the Dolphins have twisted the truth, while trying to kill or enslave all the Humans in the Universe.

The book is woven together with New Age thinking good old common sense,-a road map on how to interact and respect people when living your life everyday. The story also show you a way to love yourself, and change the way you look at the bigger picture of life (In any century).

With the majestic Universe as our background for this adventure Alan and Mia spin you along with them as they travel through time and space-meeting new friends as they uncover the truth of the Universe and the untold truth of the beginnings of the Human civilization on Earth. It's a fun story for all teens and adults. A small book with a big message.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Feb 13, 2007
• ISBN: 9781425196233

David Lyons

David Lyons was born in England, but he was raised and educated in the U.S. and abroad. After obtaining his license to practice law, David pursued advanced studies in international law and worked in Paris, France. He is currently at work on his next novel.

Book preview

Copyright 2006 David Lyons.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

Note for Librarians: A cataloguing record for this book is available from Library and Archives Canada at www.collectionscanada.ca/amicus/index-e.html

ISBN 1-4120-9050-4

ISBN 978-1-4251-9623-3 (ebook)

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Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Epilogue

About the Author

Acknowledgements

And Thanks

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK Marlene Iak for her hard work in editing this story and the helpful suggestions in the development of the story line. I want to thank my graphic artist Sue Tartaglia for her hard work in bringing my story to life with pictures. I would like to thank Sarah Britton for all her help to bring my book to print. I am most thankful to my parents for their love and support of all my brothers and sisters while growing up, a hard thing to do with eight kids. They always said you could become anything you want to be with hard work.

*Chapter 7 has a strange title Hide the Chicken-We Have Company. It was a phrase my Father used when we had unexpected dinner guests on Sundays afternoons. It just made sense to me to use that title for that chapter. Special thanks to my Mother and Father for their encouragement to finish this book. My father died before the last chapter was written. This one is for you, Dad.

Of course, I would like to thank all of my friends and family for their ideas and encouragement on the days I didn’t want to finish the book.

I would like to mention to the reader-if you seehints of other authors in my story, it is intentional-to pay homage to them for the wonderful hours of pleasure they gave me while growing up in Liverpool during the 70’s.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my Mom and Dad.

IN THE IMAGE

OF

GOD

By

David A Lyons

Prologue

ON A PLANET AQUILA in the Altair system, hundreds of millions of Humans are enslaved by the tyrannical robotic army controlled by the even crueler and sadistic Dolphins.

The Humans are being forced to mine the ore, Cobalt. Cobalt ore is the vital raw material to insure the Dolphins’ control over their expansive, sadistic empire of torture. Humans are used in place of a robot when there is the need for dexterity, or in this case, just for the pleasure of cruelty.

The planet of Aquila was a Human-run planet not too long ago. It was a peaceful world with great oceans and a thriving economy: a jewel in a hostile part of the Galaxy. The Dolphins asked to trade with the citizens of that world. They claimed they wanted the krill (a type of shellfish) of their oceans to feed their population. In exchange, they wouldn’t invade that world, but would help protect them from the raiders and nomads that plagued this system. The foolish people said yes,hoping the rumors about the Dolphins were false.

The Dolphins landed and sent their robotic armies out to round up the population. The citizens that protested were killed on the spot. The Dolphins did want the krill, but really wanted the Cobalt mines. The ore was the real wealth of the planet. The Dolphins needed the ore for the production of their headbands. The headbands controlled the armies and ran everything: their space ships, machines, transports, dwellings and computers. The Humans that weren’t sent to the mines were sent out to sea to catch the krill. Giant platforms were erected on land by the Humans then floated out to sea. They had to fish no matter what the weather, on hot sunny days with no shade to protect them from the hot Aquila sun, or during violent rainstorms when 700-foot waves washed over the platform which washed many Humans overboard, killing them by the hundreds. The real killer was the lack of food, mistreatment or suicide. The men, women, and children of Aquila looked forward to death to free them from the tyranny of living under their taskmasters’ rule. This was true throughout the Galaxy. Humans would rather die, or fight to the death, to rid themselves of the Dolphins.

Actually, the Dolphins could catch the krill easier and faster than Humans, but they enjoyed the torment of Humans-and if they got killed along the way … oh well. Dolphins hated Humans with a passion and enjoyed torturing them, making them do impossible tasks until they died. It was rumored the Dolphins were shipping a select few to their science labs to be used in genetic experiments-to remove parts of their DNA to see what happened to the Humans. Most ended up mutilated or dead. It was also rumored the Dolphins were seeking the gene that turned the Humans against them.

What was happening in Aquila was happening all around the Universe. Humans feared the Dolphins, fighting to the death to keep them from over-taking their planets. Some succeeded and lived happy lives. Like most bullies, the Dolphins would leave you alone if you stood up to them. This truth was lost because of the fear created by the Dolphins. What all Humans didn’t understand was the hate the Dolphins had for them. Nor did they understand how a beautiful creature, such as the Dolphins, could be so sadistically cruel to them when they claimed to be the Humans’ ancestors and the seed of all the Human life in the Galaxy. What did Humans do to them to deserve such hate? There are myths and fables that try to explain it, but none of them explain it all in a way that makes any sense.

There are factions out there combating the Dolphins’ threats. There are Smugglers that have dedicated their lives to freeing slaves from Dolphin-controlled systems, including making food drops with hidden guns and other weapons smuggled within, hoping to help any underground movement. Some would raid the different systems under Dolphins’ control, just to be a pain in the flipper. Then you have some that just watched and did nothing because it wasn’t their problem.

Not the entire Universe has Dolphin problems. Some sections are peaceful. On the Planet of Cummins, (Koo’-ma-ins) The Grand Obis (O-biss’) and his brother are still sleeping out the last few days of their hibernation that lasts for three years. The Citizens of Cummins are returning from their long vacations abroad. They wait patiently for the brothers to awaken in five days to start the festivities and the new work cycle for the next fifty years. Preparations are being made for the celebrations. The Cummins love to work. Being productive is their way of life. The whole planet is devoted to creative endeavors. If you have an idea, they will bring it to life, manufacture it and distribute it.

The planet of Cummins is an enticing planet for the criminal elements of the Galaxy. To thwart them, the citizens of Cummins came up with a set of Rules to govern the planet and the electing of leaders. The book is called ‘The Rules of Cummins’. You must follow these Rules or you can’t lead the citizens of Cummins. They won’t let you! For those who don’t follow the Rules … well, let’s just say strange things happen to them and some are never seen again. The Grand Obis and his brother are the longest ruling monarchs of the planet and the Cummins like them.

In another part of the Universe, a lone spaceship is battling for its life during a warp-space jump. Not a good thing to be doing in warp-space if your ship loses power and you drop out of warp-space too soon, causing you to be lost forever. A fact not lost on the Raiders. The Captain and the crew of this lone spaceship are putting up a good fight. The raiders have been chasing them across the entire Universe for weeks, giving them no time to resupply the ship’s stores. Food was running low. The Captain hasn’t figure out how they were finding him when he thought he had given them the slip. With great effort, they already destroyed six of the Raiders’ ships by targeting their engines. They tried to surround the ship in order to board them, redirect its cargo, then enslave or kill the crew.

The lone ship is out-numbered 100 to 1. The ship has taken little damage in the battle, thanks to the brilliant maneuvering of the ship’s AI, and the fast thinking of the Captain. In a bold move, the Captain dropped out of warp-space in the middle of a jump on purpose! He hopes to lose his pursuers, take a quick star sighting, and then jump back into warp-space for a few minutes. To make sure he has lost them, he drops out of warp-space again and finds himself and his crew has entered a strange star system that is not listed on any of the known star charts.

He heads for a shining blue planet that shows signs of Human life. The scans show it is a pre-warp civilization. Maybe he can find a star chart on the planet and use it to match it to his chart. The Captain decides to land some place with little, or no, population and take his chances with the locals. The time would be well spent with the needed ship repairs, and some rest for the crew. His plan is to use the last star sighting and match