In the Shadow of the City

By Norman Ahmad and Hassan Ahmad

Shadows that live above the law, confronts the Ghost that exist below in the human subconscious. The visible world is diluted with distractions; because sometimes its what you cant see that gives you the greatest insights.

Seasoned ESD detective Neil Noble has incidentally acquired the gift to see aberrations in things ordinary people find innocuous, shadows. Upon returning from his last away mission to Earths sister planet, he assumes he is just having occupational related visual side effects. It soon becomes clear that a rouge group of social agitators with advanced technology are causing disorder in the smilingly peaceful city. Noble is in total disarray until an extreme religious figure known only as 2AD, gives him knowledge that completely changes his perception of the once calm world that he thought he knew.

Prepare to leave the visual world behind and journey into the cosmic space of shadows.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 14, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456795535

Norman Ahmad

Hassan and Norman Ahmad are a father son duo respectively. Wielding degrees in physics and engineering have allowed them to push the science fiction envelope bringing hard to grasp concepts into lucid clarity. Their background in metaphysics has fostered in them a penchant for the unknown realm of shadows. In the Shadow of the City is Norman's second novel. His work as an engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab has enabled him to infuse this story with the passion of a scientist.

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© 2011 Hassan Ahmad and Norman Ahmad

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/7/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4567-9553-5 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4567-9554-2 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011916097

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Glossary

About the Authors

Dedication

To those of us who are spiritually brave and who are ready to wake up into a reality that only a conscious heart can make.

Acknowledgements

First of all, my big thanks to my father Hassan, whose original framework for this story allowed me to evolve the manuscript into an awesome sci-fi mystery thriller. His strong determination to bring this story to fruition fueled my late night writing splurges and gave me an excuse to stay home on weekends.

My next thanks go out to my expert team of artists. Marrion Eisenmen always managed to turn my not so well thought out ideas into visual masterpieces, and remained patient with my ever changing mind about the chapter art. The cover art was executed by Edwin Morrow, his skills with a mouse and a pencil was arcane. He managed to take my unclear visions and create what I can only describe as a graphic phenomenon.

Finally I would like to thank my Literary Coach Kelly Thacher who was a key center piece to this project. She went above and beyond the call of duty, becoming more than just an editor. Her insights and suggestions lead to many concept breakthroughs and kept me from going over the edge during all the revisions and rewrites.

The visible world is created and sustained by an invisible world; therefore it is the invisible world that creates the world that we see before us:

Joseph Campbell

ENTER INTO THE COSMIC SPACE OF SHADOWS…

I am fatigued and tired of observing these simple minded human beings. They allow the material world to forever control them, never realizing the unlimited potential they actually have over it. I wonder, what will happen once the Gods they have created, start to grow tired of them…who will they turn to then?

Humnio Cozmo

Prologue

Shadow Play

The year is 2203. The borders of the continental United States are closed to all immigrants due to war, internal discord, over population, political corruption, economic collapse, and disease. Americans have lost their trust and confidence in the government, necessitating a total reconstruction of the standard political system. With the development of NASA generation 10 propulsion systems, the US government has had the advantage of exploring Earth’s sister planet, Mars. The terraformation of the planet is stifled due to lack of resources and disruptive social behavior from anarchist dissidents. In preparation for eventual colonization, the Education through Social Development department (ESD) has been assigned to study and ascertain the potential of the planet. In the midst of determining the ecology of Mars, anarchist factions back on Earth begin to undermine the ESD’s plans.

My name is Neil Noble, and I see shadows. Don’t get me wrong, given the right condition any one can see a shadow. Most people consider shadows to be just a benign phenomenon that happens when light shines on an object. But sometimes, the shadow can be more ethereal than the object casting it, causing the shadow to take on a life all of its own. A wise individual once told me: To completely understand an object, you must thoroughly study its shadow.

I live in a very large city, and on a sunny day I can see shadows everywhere. In my city it’s not the shadows that concern me; it’s the objects casting them.

Ponder with me if you will the equation for a shadow: a visible object and a light source mingle, thus a shadow is created. Now ask yourself what happens when part of that equation is missing. Does a shadow still exist? Logic dictates that it does not. It would be impossible for a shadow to be formed without a visible source… right?

Chapter I

Sublime Actuality

7:15 AM, Nov 23 2203

Noble’s Estate

Blood ran from the open wound on his left arm. He reached down quickly to stop the flow with his right hand, only to find that it too had been reduced to a mangled bloody mess leaving only a weakened thumb. He screamed as his assailant continued to fire at him. Pivoting his head like a startled owl he looked in all directions, but couldn’t see who was shooting at him.

The pain quickly dissipated and Noble found himself staring up at the familiar ceiling. He stretched as he pulled the covers back from his chest. Another Nightmare, he thought. This was the third one in many weeks. He looked over to the Temporal Event Counter (TEC) and read the time: 7:15 AM. He had slept through the initial wake up alarm which was not typical of him. For years he had gotten up before the alarm could sound, cutting it off before it rang. This meant that his wife Amani relied on him to wake her up.

Neil, you’re going to be late for work this morning, said Amani as she reached to adjust the clock so he could see it clearly. Being with Neil for so many years meant that she’d never had to turn off the alarm herself, because he woke himself up every morning with unerring consistency. Even when Neil was on away missions he still managed to call her before the alarm could sound. She had become dependent on his morning punctuality.

Sorry honey, I must have overslept. That was hardly the case; Neil hadn’t slept much at all. Throughout the night he tossed and turned, plagued by nightmares of the Calipha mission that he had recently been assigned to. The one aspect about the mission that perplexed him was the mystery of the Origins of Spiritual Guidelines (OSG) manuscript. This book literally seemed to have come out of nowhere, yet it was being covertly accepted by the religious underground as the divine code of conduct governing human behavior. All other religious books simply could not stand up to the teachings in the OSG, which seemed to be the reason why the other texts were ignored for the most part. It must have contained the type of knowledge to perpetuate and extend the spirit of a man. But during his initial investigations it appeared that someone went to a lot of trouble to get other religious texts taken out of print and even destroyed. The larger question was who would have the resources and the authority to make the common worldly accepted books obsolete and discounted, ultimately making the OSG widely accepted. The evidence just didn’t add up. Noble knew that it was highly unlikely that one individual could be solely responsible; this massive undertaking had to be the work of a larger organization. The little intelligence he had seemed to lead to dead ends. No matter how he approached the case, the outcome was always the same—disappointing obscurity.

This mission is just turning into a wild goose chase, said Noble as he entered the sonic shower. Normally his mind became excited when getting a new case, but in this instance he felt he was merely going through the motions this time.

The only real info of substance he had was from an individual who called himself 2 AD; he had contacted him claiming to have info on the OSG. Noble wondered how anyone could possess any knowledge that the ESD wasn’t privy to, especially on a case involving such massive societal reorganization.

As Noble got out of the shower he saw Amani heading downstairs to start a late breakfast. Amani always assumed that it was just a matter of time before her husband’s job drove a wedge between them. In her mind, him waking up late was just the start of a trend that would deteriorate their relationship. Noble was aware of his wife’s discontent and made sure to set his work aside as often as he could to focus on family matters. This was an endearing quality that Amani adored about her husband; however, his ability to balance work and family still wasn’t enough to minimize marital stress. Most professionals avoided government work because of the high divorce rate associated with it. That, and the fifty-hour work week was sure to make the sanest individuals choose a different occupation.

As she walked to the kitchen, Amani wondered what other ESD family members had to endure. As far as she knew, Neil was the only ESD employed individual in the neighborhood. But then again, the ESD wasn’t very forthcoming when it came to disclosing the identities of officers. Her next door neighbor could be the ESD chief of command and she would never know it. Neil often talked about his colleagues but never shared information on their personal life. She understood the value of anonymity when it came to government organizations; she just wished that she had someone to talk to who could understand her position, a friend or maybe even another ESD spouse.

Thana walked into the kitchen, yawning loudly.

Is Breakfast ready? she asked in a bored tone.

Good morning to you too honey, remarked Amani.

That is yet to be seen, retorted Thana, peering into the refrigerator.

Thana’s attitude often served to remind Amani why she didn’t want to have any more children. Her rudeness was unbridled and seemed to intensify when she was around Amani and Noble. Little did she know, she would soon be joined by another sibling. Amani was three months pregnant.

Judging by the sound of that yawn, you must have had a good night’s sleep at least, said Noble as he walked over to give his daughter an unwanted hug.

Daddy…you’re squishing my new shirt, complained Thana as she squirms to get out