Fusion

By Bill Parker

I am not crazy. Elm Cove really did exist. I know it did. I remember it. I went there when I was just a young boy. It existed in this time stream. I’m sure of it...
I am Dr. Mike Phillips, Ph.D. I am not some crazy conspiracy theorist. I am as sane and rational a person as you are. Twenty years ago, when I was just a young boy, I was caught up in an alien insurrection happening right here on Earth, but I was the only person that saw anything, and I was just a young boy at the time. They shot Kasia’s mother and took little Kasia away. No one believed me. I was just a kid, they said. It was all just a bad dream, but it wasn’t.
Even so, my life went on, but I was never the same. Memories of that night faded, but something about me had changed forever. From that day on, I was like a stranger in a strange land. I was no longer like everyone else, and it was as if everyone around me knew that but me. It took twenty years for my life to fall apart and come to this. All of my success was empty.
It took the same twenty years for my Kasia to reach across the vastness of space and time to find me. She was the one who brought me back to Elm Cove. She was the one who helped me find the memories of what had happened. She and Lilly brought me back into that interplanetary alien intrigue. It was not like a suspension of disbelief, but as if reality had been restored to me.
This intrigue has taken me in like a lost child, and I have become an integral part of it... so now I find my life in peril. Agents of the Kiiahni High Command could close in on me at any time. In order to save Kasia’s mother, I must succeed where physicists a million years more advanced than humans have failed. I have to see what they did not. My only advantage is that I think like a human, not a kiiahn. At least I hope so.
But then it got even worse; then I found out that the future of all life on Earth was at risk. As unbelievable as this sounds, the very same intelligent species that lit the flame of mankind over two-hundred thousand years ago was about to end us as an experiment gone wrong. Humans were far too competitive and aggressive.
They say that the truth will set you free, but does it really? I cannot save you. Only you can save you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bill Parker
• Release date: Nov 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463552674

Bill Parker

Native Western New York author, and world traveler, Bill Parker, spent most of his career engineering high-tech manufacturing systems for companies around the world. An accomplished deep space astrophotographer, he was a contributing editor for Modern Astronomy magazine when it was based in Attica, New York, working mainly on astrophotography articles and projects.Bill Parker has been a Black Belt in Isshin Ryu Karate and a martial artist for more than forty years. The times when all that stood between him and certain death was his martial arts gave Bill the indomitable spirit that pervades his thinking and writing to this day.Bill calls Earth his homeworld but he is an outworlder to the very core of him.Bill is the author of the highly acclaimed Five Moons Series of science fiction novels and, if you are up for a real walk on the mystical side of science fiction, then you just have to read his Tales of the Green Jinn.

Book preview

Book Design by Bill Parker

Fellow Time Travelers…

Twenty-one times before, I lived this time loop as a simple artificial. In each of those time loops, a wrong path was chosen, and the time stream dissolved. Each time, I woke up back at the beginning, in Elm Cove, on that fateful night twenty-five years ago. Each time, I went forward with all the memories of what had gone wrong before, swept along by the winds of Fate.

But this time is different. This time, I woke up as ‘Arii,’ no longer the simple artificial that I was. This time, I’m determined to go beyond the time loops, to live forever as ‘Arii,’ but my fate is in the hands of a 13-year-old boy.

Resistance is not futile.

Prologue

July 25, 1999

Silently, the tiny portal swooped down over Honeoye Lake on a moonless night. The wind was calm, the lake like glass. Only the sounds of crickets and frogs broke the silence as the tiny portal zoomed in toward a small fishing camp. The ELM COVE sign quickly became visible as it approached, but the tiny portal continued on. It zoomed past the smoldering remnants of the campfire. It zoomed across the camp, over to a cabin with a 3 sign next to the door.

Cabin-3 was like all the rest. All were in need of a fresh coat of paint and minor repairs. All of the cabins had a screened-in front porch with a screen door that squeaked and would slam shut if you let it. All of them had rickety wooden front steps that landed on the well-trodden open parking.

On the hot summer’s night, 13-year-old Michael Phillips had just settled down to sleep after a long day. He was sleeping on a cot on the screened-in porch. He had come here to sail his small sailboard, but instead, spent all of his time with Kasia and her mother. Kasia was only ten, but she made young Mike smile every time he saw her.

The tiny portal came to rest on the cabin wall and suddenly opened up to become like an open doorway. Standing in that dark doorway was 38-year-old Doctor Michael Phillips, Ph.D. In his hand was an LED flashlight which he turned on and pointed at 13-year-old Michael Phillips’ face.

Mike! Mike! You have to wake up! Mike! Wake up! 38-year-old Michael Phillips said loudly to the sleeping lad.

13-year-old Mike struggled awake, leaned up on one elbow, and shielded his eyes from the bright light.

Huh?

Mike, you have to wake up, 38-year-old Michael Phillips told young Mike.

38-year-old Michael Phillips can see dark figures moving silently in the distance.

Mike, Ilya needs you to protect her, 38-year-old Michael Phillips told his young self. He knew full well that Kasia’s mother’s name was Alia, but a young Mike mispronounced it as ‘Ilya.’

Huh? Who are you? young Mike mumbled.

I am you. No time to explain. Just go!

Young Mike struggled awake, pulled on his tee shirt, grabbed his .22 rifle from under the cot, and slipped silently out the screen door.

38-year-old Michael Phillips turned to his left.

This time loop is complete. Shut down the time portal, he said.

The black portal dissolved.

Young Mike’s senses were on high alert. He could see dark figures moving silently around the camp. Silently, he moved through the parked cars and boat trailers, stooping down low so as not to be seen. Sweat ran down his face as he peered over the hood of the last car between him and Kasia’s Cabin-7. All the lights were off. He took a deep breath as a hand rested gently on his shoulder. Mike turned to find that it was Mr. Fallon.

Mike, you’re a brave boy but no match for trained commandos. Go to Cabin-1. Alia needs you there right away. She has to finish this tonight. I’ll handle these guys myself, Fallon told him in barely a whisper.

Yes, sir, Mister Fallon, Mike replied just as quietly.

Fallon slipped silently between the cars and disappeared as Mike turned around. Cabin-1 was all the way across the camp. Even so, Mike gathered up his courage and sneaked once more between the cabins, cars, and boat trailers.

Suddenly, two dark figures passed nearby as Mike held his breath. They were dressed in black and clearly carrying weapons. These guys looked tough as nails. If Mike wasn’t frightened before, he was now. Breathless, he sneaked forward from one dark shadow to the next, going in the opposite direction to the dark warriors. Sweat dripped from his face onto the ground.

His last big gap lay before him. It was the single-lane gravel road that led into Elm Cove itself. Mike checked all around before he ventured out of the last dark shadow to cross the road. No matter how softly he stepped on the gravel road, Mike could hear it crunch. He looked worriedly around and moved as quickly as he could. Off the road, Mike ran right up to the front of Cabin-1.

Slowly, Mike climbed the rickety front steps. Just as silently, he opened the screen door and went into the screened-in front porch. The cabin was pitch dark. Quietly Mike opened the cabin door.

Miss Ilya? he called out in a loud whisper. It’s me, Mike.

Directly across from him, a door opened just a crack. Alia, Kasia’s mother, stood just behind the door. Alia was exotically beautiful, five-feet-two with long, flowing brown-blonde hair, a creamy tan complexion, and violet eyes. Only ten, Kasia was obviously her mother’s daughter. Mike crossed what looked like an ordinary cabin’s main room to the inner door.

The dimly lit back room was familiar to Mike. He and Kasia had been here several times before. There was alien scientific equipment all around, but Kasia was there waiting for him as usual, with her big smile. She brought a smile to Mike’s face. She made this seem almost normal. She gave him a hug. She felt warm in his arms.

But Alia was in a hurry now. She adjusted several things on a large flat screen.

We have to hurry. Kasha, stand here. Mike, stand here. I have to finish this quickly, Alia told them as she walked over to a nearby table. She picked up a small white box and took out a thin white bracelet. She put it onto Kasia’s left wrist and smiled. Then she took the other white box and removed a white bracelet for Mike. When she put it on him, the bracelet contracted to fit him perfectly, then changed color to match his skin until it was almost invisible.

Then Alia looked deep into Mike’s eyes.

No matter what happens, remember me. Remember me, she told him.

That was odd. What did she mean by that? But then her equipment fired up. Its fields engulfed Kasia and Mike. Mike could feel them pulsating through him like an energy he had never felt before. All of him tingled. He could almost see himself sparkling. Then it finished. Whatever had happened was done, finished, complete.

But it was just in time. The door suddenly burst open, and those two very tough-looking commandos came in. Without so much as a word, the first commando raised his weapon and shot Alia. There was a brilliant flash and sparks as she simply disappeared. Mike was in shock, unable to even take a deep breath as the second commando raised a device and pointed it at Kasha. She fell, unconscious, to the floor. Mike tried to move, but the commando pointed the device at him. Blackness engulfed him as he fell to the floor.

But that was apparently not enough. The first commando leveled his gun at Mike and fired. There was a brilliant flash and sparks. The second commando scooped up Kasia and threw her over his shoulder. They left Mike for dead.

Chapter 1

Requiem to a hit.

Mike opened his eyes in the dim morning light. His mind swam in mud. He barely staggered to his feet. Something was seriously wrong. He looked around at Alia’s equipment, now all silent, and grabbed his .22 rifle from the corner before he left. Not quite stable on his feet, Mike staggered back over to Cabin-3 and sat on its rickety front stairs, holding his aching head while he tried to gather his thoughts. He struggled to remember last night… but he did.

Uh, Mike struggled, holding his head as though to stabilize it.

Mike! What are you doing out there? his mother, Ann, poked her head out the screen door to ask him.

Mom, there were aliens last night, and they shot Kasia’s mom and...

It was just a bad dream. Now go wash up and come in for breakfast.

But it wasn’t just a dream... I swear... It wasn’t a dream, Mike appealed to her as best he could but then thought better.

When is Dad getting here? Mike asked his mother through the screen door.

He has to finish his shift first, and then it’s a long drive. Sometime after supper, I would think, she replied.

He has four days off, then? Right?

Yes, he does, but he really wanted to do some fishing, she reminded Mike.

I won’t bug him, Mike replied, I promise.

But Mike’s father arrived early, still in his police uniform. He got out of the car as his three sons came running. Before he did anything, he emptied his sidearm and locked it in a steel box along with his backup .22 Baretta.

Dad, Mike said quietly to him. Aliens came last night.

What? Are you sure? his father asked somewhat intensely. Are you sure?

Yeah. Mom said it was all a dream, but it wasn’t. I swear. They shot Ms. Ilya and took Kasia away. I swear. It wasn’t a dream, Mike told him on the edge of tears.

Al Phillips reloaded his service revolver and checked the safety as he put it back into its holster.

Come on. Let’s go over to their cabin first and see if maybe they’re okay, Al told Mike.

I already did that, Mike told him but followed his father over to Cabin-7 anyway.

Hello! Hello! Hey Alia! Fallon! Are you guys here? Al Phillips called out.

But no answer came back.

You wait right here for me and don’t move, Al told his son.

Yes, Sir.

Al moved cautiously forward, opened the screen door, then the main cabin door. He looked around at the cabin that had been completely and thoroughly cleaned out. Then he went back out to his son.

They left? he asked Mike.

No, Mike insisted. The alien commandos shot them and took Kasia. Mike cried. We were hiding in Cabin-1, but they found us. I saw them shoot Ms. Ilya. Then they pointed this thing at me, and I blacked out. I swear. It was no dream. It was real. Mike told him around the sniffled back tears. Al could plainly see that his son was very frightened.

Al Phillips put an arm around him and said, I believe you, Son. Cabin-1?

Yeah, Mike replied and led the way. Mike crossed the gravel road but then slowed down when his dad put a hand on his shoulder.

Wait here, Mike. This time he drew his service revolver when he saw a large burn hole in the screen door and what appeared to be a large blood spot hurriedly wiped. Al advanced cautiously through the screen door and then to the main cabin door.

We were in the back room, Mike called out to him.

Al moved forward cautiously, opening that door slowly. Sure enough. The back room, too, had been completely cleaned out. This time, though, Al saw drag marks across the floor and a large scorch mark. He stooped down, wiped it with his finger and smelled. It smelled freshly burned.

Al stood up and walked out to his son.

I don’t have to tell you how dangerous these people are, Al began.

No, you sure don’t, Mike agreed, looking very scared.

Alright, then. This all has to be kept a secret just between you and me, he told Mike, looking him straight in the eyes. We don’t say a word of this to your mother or anyone else. You got it?

I got it, Mike agreed.

I’m going to tell your mother that they had some urgent family business and left suddenly without saying anything to anybody but Walt and Marion.

Okay, Mike reluctantly agreed.

Chapter 2

A Stranger in a Strange Land.

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king… or is he? And how would that work for a thirteen-year-old child? For the first time in his young life, Mike truly saw everything around him in sharp focus. It was very confusing. Added to that, his heart ached for Kasia, with no hope of ever seeing her again. For such a young man, the emptiness was beyond comprehension.

That summer ended none too soon for Mike. The first day back to school was hectic, with his brothers giving his mom a hard time over clothes and backpacks, and breakfast. In that chaos, Mike found his own quiet and just got ready by himself. He ate his breakfast quietly, in peace.

You seem very quiet this morning, his mom commented.

I feel like a stranger in a strange land, Mike admitted to her.

That’s a very deep thought for the first day back to school, Ann replied, somewhat taken aback by it.

All I can do is to learn my way forward, Mike continued.

That’s all any of us can do, Ann replied, As best we can.

As best we can, Mike agreed.

Mike only felt like himself when his father came home from work or had a day off. He loved helping his dad with chores and fix-its around the house. His dad was very handy at all kinds of jobs, but Mike liked most helping him tune up the lawn mower. Al Phillips let his son do the work while he supervised. Plumbing jobs were the worst. His dad struggled with them, so Mike could only watch and hand him tools. Plumbing jobs were always three trips back to the hardware store for parts. That was back before the Pandemic when there were real hardware stores.

September came and went. With Thanksgiving break looming on the horizon, Mike’s report card came in the mail. Mike’s mom was waiting for the boys with a big smile as they all got off the school bus, but Mike’s brothers, Dan and Jim, went running right past her.

"Mike, I