Alternative Beginning

By Peter J Shave

The Planet Deorl had exploded; although the event was both predicted and expected, the timing was not.

The final actions of politicians dictated that a fortunate few escaped.

A small craft which survived the Planets destruction is limping through space; instruments severely damaged and fuel almost expended. The optimism and faith of its captain are also practically exhausted; the appearance of two planets presents an unexpected choice.

A decision is made and they crash land on the first planet which initially appears to offer salvation and the opportunity to establish a colony.

An introduction to the group of survivors and a number of highly personal situations, although outside of contemporary experience, contains sufficient familiarity to place the reader in situ and to perhaps question their own faith and morality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Dec 7, 2005
• ISBN: 9781456798062

Peter J Shave

Alternative Beginning is Peters first novel. Although commenced in 1979, a successful career in investment banking left little time or energy for writing. Fresh creative inspiration was provided by his daughter Lara, who during her time as an English and Creative Studies student at Portsmouth University, was successful in having two original plays produced. Peter acknowledges that certain aspects of the subject matter may be regarded as offensive to some; his use and questioning of the bible may be regarded as anti-religion, the opposite is true. He recognises the design and creation of our world as something deliberate and beautiful but despairs at the divisions and tensions that devalue modern existence and lower the potential quality of life that was bequeathed to us all. Peter was born in Essex and continues to live on the Essex / Suffolk border. He was educated at Lambourne County Primary School in Abridge and Ongar Secondary Modern School, both in Essex. He continues to study at the University of Life.

Book preview

Alternative Beginning

by

Peter J Shave

missing image file

© 2005 Peter J Shave. All Rights Reserved.

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.

First published by AuthorHouse 11/28/05

ISBN: 1-4208-6983-3 (sc)

ISBN: 9781456798062 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

CONTENTS

Chapter One –

Adrift

Chapter Two –

The New Dawn

Chapter Three –

The False Dawn

Chapter Four –

The Flood

Chapter Five –

The Goodbye

Chapter Six –

The Exploration

Chapter Seven –

The River

Chapter Eight –

The New Beginning

Chapter Nine –

The Research

Chapter Ten –

Procreation

Chapter Eleven –

The Visitor

Chapter Twelve –

Nais ?

Chapter Thirteen –

The Accident ?

Chapter Fourteen –

New Technology

Chapter Fifteen –

The Pregnancy

Chapter Sixteen –

Success ?

Chapter Seventeen –

The Hunt

Chapter Eighteen –

The New Arrivals

Chapter Nineteen –

Not Acceptable ?

Chapter Twenty –

The Earth Moves

Chapter Twenty One –

The Flight

Chapter Twenty Two –

The Crossing

Chapter Twenty Three –

Starting Again

Chapter Twenty Four –

Building a Home

Chapter Twenty Five –

New Life New Death

Chapter Twenty Six –

Families

Chapter Twenty Seven –

Another Flood

Chapter Twenty Eight –

The Challenge of the Creatures

Chapter Twenty Nine –

Unexpected Quarry

Chapter Thirty –

Othe and Dahl

Chapter Thirty One –

The Voice

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Image of Planet Earth: ‘The Blue Marble’

Credit NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Image by Reto Stöckli (land surface, shallow water, clouds). Enhancements by Robert Simmon (ocean color, compositing, 3D globes, animation). Data and technical support: MODIS Land Group; MODIS Science Data Support Team; MODIS Atmosphere Group; MODIS Ocean Group Additional data: USGS EROS Data Center (topography); USGS Terrestrial Remote Sensing Flagstaff Field Center (Antarctica); Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (city lights).

Image of Adam and Eve:

Detail from an English Delft Dish

The Bible:

King James Edition Anno Dom. 1611

Photograph of the Author:

Tony Eaton

Alternative Beginning

Peter J Shave

© Peter James Shave

September 2004

This work has been registered with the Writers Copyright Association (www.wcauk.com). Registration # C100722

To my father

Stanley

Lyn for her assistance in the early days,

Lara for her inspiration,

Karen for her motivation and

Sheila for ‘pushing me over the line’

F O R E W O R D

The Bible

King James Version

Anno Dom. 1611

Genesis 2:7 – 2:25

2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

2:11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

2:12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

2:13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

2:14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

____________________________

Or was there an alternative ……..

Chapter One –

Adrift

There are times in the lottery of life when a man must play his last card and leave his destiny in the hands of his God.

Zanor had played his, or to be accurate he had played it some two months previously. With no compass system to guide the small scout class ship he had decided to shut off the main drive unit and preserve his meagre fuel supply for the ship’s small course correction and landing jets. Course corrections….Zanor thought, and his expression set into an unnatural smile, if you don’t know where you are and have no idea in which direction you are travelling, how could you possibly correct your course? His strategy had been to simply ride the momentum of his ship and to position it at the optimum angle to maximise the force bequeathed to it by their planet’s destruction.

How long had it been? Five, no six months; six months since he had heard the order, Depart orbit – repeat depart orbit - this order will not be countermanded. And he relived the frozen moments of reality as each grim fact burned his brain and penetrated his heavy heart. The scientists had got it wrong, everyone on Deorl knew that the planet was dying, but not yet, not now; even the earliest estimate was five years. That was why the large exploration ships had been built, ships which had been scouring the universe seeking a planet suitable for colonisation. It was why mass evacuation plans had been prepared; everyone on Deorl knew where to go and what to do when they were called. But the call would not come. Nature had decided when Deorl would die with not even scant respect for the complex calculations of its scientists. Zanor’s eyes became moist as again he thought of his wife, she did not escape. She was at home as Deorl exploded and became a cloud of burning gas. In an instant his home, his planet, his previous existence, had ceased to be.

If a man has nothing, not even a planet on which to place his feet, marooned in a metallic sphere at the mercy of all and any of the universe’s whims, he takes stock, nothing to live for, nothing to go back to, no point in continuing. Zanor had gone through this situation in his mind many times, but now with no fuel to give him even the slightest hope he was totally despondent. Again his thoughts turned to his wife. So young, so beautiful, she was his support. If ever a man needed his woman it was now, but she was gone, a living memory only in the mind of the man who loved her….Zanor.

His fist smashed into the control panel of his lifeless craft and blood oozed gently between his torn knuckles. Daddy, you’ve hurt your hand, a young voice instantly brought Zanor back to the here and now …..the reality…. and to the challenges of today. The young voice belonged to Dahl, Zanor’s only son. In the same lottery of life Dahl had a winning ticket, or at least he had not drawn a loser. After months of Dahl’s pestering, his father had requested and finally obtained formal permission to take him on this tour of duty. Coinciding with school holidays as it did and by pulling a few strings with Central Command his son’s life had been saved.

Dahl was alive and they were together, Zanor knew at that moment that he must continue to live, he must continue to command. He put his bleeding knuckles to his mouth and as he looked up Zanor observed the entire duty crew looking at him with countless questions in their eyes. I know you are frightened, I know you are waiting for orders, at this moment we are a world of twenty one people. Our fuel supply is all but exhausted but we have enough oxygen and food concentrate to last a further two months.

When the planet Deorl exploded all twenty four scout ships in orbit had been flung into space, the force of the explosion so great that all the communication and direction equipment on Zanor’s ship had been damaged beyond repair. Zanor had no reason to believe that any of the other ships had fared better. These facts were known to the crew but the hope of finding a planet capable of supporting life….their lives….provided an energy of its own, driving their bodies, their ship, their very existence. Zanor once again fired by renewed hope continued, It is my belief that given our current speed which I acknowledge is decreasing, our supplies of oxygen and food which are limited, the chances of us finding a planet, any planet are less than remote, but for as long as I am breathing and in command a crew member will be watching our sensors for any possible sign of a suitable planet. In addition our limited fuel dictates that we must land on the first planet we encounter. As we cannot rely on any of our instruments a crew member will need to test the atmosphere by stepping onto the surface and breathing. I will be that crew member, any questions?

A brief question and answer session followed but each crew member appreciated the logic and sound judgement of their captain and what was also a highly disturbing lack of alternatives.

There were usually ten crew members on a scout ship but a recent directive from Central Command doubled this to twenty only two weeks previously. Zanor sat in his cabin and examined the crew list carefully. His reading of the list was interrupted by an uninvited thought hitting him hard between the eyes. Why were the crews doubled? Central Command did know! or at least they had a pretty shrewd idea that the planet was doomed and without a suitable planet for colonisation being identified, had decided to give a few more people the chance of survival. Surprise quickly turned to anger, anger because his wife had been left behind, she could have been saved she could have been with him. Under severe pressure a man’s mood and in particular his reaction to situations can change rapidly, in a matter of moments Zanor’s surprise had turned to anger and just as instantly to guilt. He was not the only crew member to lose a loved one. All the crew nursed their own private individual grief and at least his son had been saved, his son was alive and with him.

Zanor’s eyes returned to the crew list, he felt stronger somehow; Central Command had given to him the responsibility of these nineteen crew members plus his son. He was not just their captain on a vessel reaching the end of its practical use, he was their leader and the group would continue to look to him for direction and decisions for their future. A few salient facts registered as he continued to study the crew list, no male was over thirty years of age, no female over twenty five. Three married couples were in the crew, all of whom had lost children on Deorl. Individual grief seemed selfish and almost insignificant compared to the millions of lives lost in an instant at the time of their planet’s destruction but personal grief is deep-rooted and will last a lifetime. Zanor pondered for a moment, realising that the scout ship was a vessel carrying the seed of their civilisation, they had to start again.

After their unorthodox departure from orbit and the subsequent explosion of their planet Zanor had some decisions to make, his first being to treat day to day life on the ship as if Central Command still existed. There was no relaxing of regulations, rank was still respected and this would continue to be the case until a new planet was found. Discipline was not a problem as everyone on board respected and relied on each other, they were a team. Zanor checked the daily reports, all of which told a similarly depressing story, less food, less water, and precious little fuel. He straightened the papers and put them in a drawer. He felt tired and wondered how it would end, he eased himself onto his bed, sleep overtook him and he dreamed.

Take a look at this Arden, what do you make of it? Loden was posing the question; he was sitting at the master control panel staring intently at one of the luminous digital readouts. Arden joined him, What is it? One of the sensors was flickering. Loden pointed, there was no doubt the sensors were picking up something. The two men grabbed each other……a planet, could it be after all these months. I can’t leave my post, please inform the Captain. Arden ran to the Captain’s cabin and knocked. What is it? asked Zanor reluctantly as he slowly sat up. Arden requests your presence at the control panel sir. Tell him I’m on my way.

By the time Zanor joined Arden and Loden at the control panel Loden was obviously highly excited but continued to act and communicate as the consummate professional.

Initially I was picking up the signature of one planet but there are definitely two out there sir. Zanor was expecting, no… hoping, that they would find a planet, the prospect of two and a choice to be made totally threw him for a moment. Both planets are in stable orbit around a single sun, both have an atmosphere, the larger one appears to have significant water supplies. Loden continued to provide details on the relative merits of the planets. How long before we could enter the gravitational pull of either planet? asked Zanor, One day for the larger planet three days for the smaller, replied Loden. Water, thought Zanor and we will have more fuel today than we will in three. Change course and begin landing preparations for the larger planet, good luck everyone we will only have one chance at this.

Zanor decided not to wake the off–duty crew members but called a meeting at the time of the next shift change. The previous shift know the reason for this meeting but I felt that rather than disturb your sleep I would share the news with you now as you will need to be more alert than ever today and tomorrow; God willing, we will soon be spending our first night on our new home planet. Excitement mixed with fear longing and regret percolated throughout the crew and their questions reflected this heady mix. They had been waiting so long for this day but there were no guarantees, no detail and emphatically no turning back.

Landing the scout ship was an automatic affair on Deorl and its surrounding moons but a manual override was available. Zanor decided that this last descent would be a manual approach and landing all the way. Functioning systems were checked and rechecked, the sensor responsible for locating life-forms was working only intermittently but both Loden and Zanor were convinced some form of life was present on their chosen, soon to be adopted, planet. Whether it was intelligent, microscopic, organised, friendly or hostile they would discover in another twelve hours. They had made their decision.

As they entered the planet’s atmosphere the crew knew the temperature was rising inside the ship, this happened on Deorl but it did feel several degrees higher than that which they and the ship were used to. Outside the ship was beginning to glow but none of their instruments reflected any increase in temperature either inside or outside the craft, not that the crew could do anything if a problem was identified. All the crew including Dahl were wearing full space suits and were strapped in expecting a less than perfect landing. Loden was the best pilot of his year in the academy and Zanor had absolute confidence in him, but this was a first for Loden, strange planet, unknown atmosphere and gravity. Zanor was studying the landmasses on the planet. Try to land somewhere in the middle, there appears to be ice on both poles. Just like on Deorl, thought Loden, as he realised he should be thinking in the past tense.

One land mass appears to be pretty central, try to land towards the west of it. Loden acknowledged the order just before verbal communication became impossible. The ship was well built, but never had it experienced the combination of stresses and heat this current landing was subjecting it to, the noise and vibration was unlike anything any of them had experienced previously. Green, masses of green were below them as they ripped through the cloud cover; from space the planet appeared blue but now green was the dominant colour. Loden wrestled with the controls and managed to fly horizontally. Where to sir? asked Loden in the style of a hometown taxi driver. Cool, thought Zanor but he detected the thin, conflicting veins of fear and relief in Loden’s voice. Try to find a clearing near a river or lake. Arden interjected Zanor’s order, Fuel tanks at zero sir! The craft shuddered and with the nose dropping, headed towards the lush green vegetation only five thousand feet below them. Loden commenced round two of his wrestling match with the craft, desperately trying to avoid an uncontrolled crash landing. The land, deep forests interspersed with small clearings appeared and shot past at alarming speed. Loden continued to focus ahead, desperately searching for a clearing long enough to avoid a disaster, a disaster which he felt they did not deserve having got this far.

He identified one and steered as best he could towards it. No one spoke. The twenty silent prayers would have deafened Loden if he could have heard them all. But he could not. He did not pray but used every ounce of strength and experience within his being to land the dying craft. The first tree top to caress the bottom of the craft sent an almost sensual sensation through the crew members. That feeling would prove to be a fleeting memory as the scrapings and dull thuds became louder and incessant through the whole craft. Hold tight - we are going down, shouted Loden. No sooner had the rest of the crew spotted the clearing, than the craft was down, crashing, destroying everything in its path slewing this way and that, almost 180 degrees at one stage catching trees on the edge of the clearing and bringing them down on and around the craft. Still it continued its onward rush; Loden, the pilot, had seen his role reduced to that of fellow passenger now and his prayers commenced, several minutes after the others but no less intense for the delay.

Zanor looked across at Loden, the veins of fear and relief he had heard in Loden’s voice earlier, he now could see in his face, plus a new vein which Zanor took to be hope. Hope that he had done enough. Zanor knew that no man could have done more and if it were not for the distance between them and the straps holding them in place he would have put his arm around Loden and told him so. Zanor sensed the craft was slowing but the noise continued as before with perhaps just a slight change in key. The sound changed, they were no longer on vegetation they were on mud, the nose sank and the craft came to a sudden and forceful stop.

Was it a minute, was it an hour, did it matter? Loden opened his eyes; the craft was full of a thin mixture of smoke, dust and that peculiar smell of arcing electricity. They were down. Loden unbuckled his safety belt and moved towards Zanor who was himself unbuckling his. That was the worst landing I have ever experienced Loden. Thank you sir, replied Loden. It does count as a landing then? Zanor stepped forward and hugged the pilot. Well done, but I feel it may be a long time before you get the opportunity to land another craft. Apart from bumps and bruises all the crew were in good shape, even the craft did not seem too worse for wear. It’s getting dark outside, I suggest we all try to get some sleep and be prepared for what is going to be either a very interesting or a very short day tomorrow. After the elation of landing successfully Loden went to sleep with the captain’s words reverberating round his head. The atmosphere - surely after all their tribulations they would be able to breathe the air on this unknown planet. A planet which had promised both salvation and devastation in equal measure.

Chapter Two –

The New Dawn

No one could eat. The excitement and trepidation that engulfed them all even seemed to make breathing a superhuman effort. Zanor stood up and moved towards the exit hatch.

He was wearing a space suit with a helmet adorned with his name and rank in gold and blue. Normal practise was to utilise two oxygen tanks on initial exploration of an unknown planet but Zanor thought, I am not going far and if this primary mission fails then at least the survivors would have more oxygen in the craft to give someone a little more time and the opportunity to think of a plan B, a plan he had acknowledged to himself was beyond him in space and was even more so now.

If I don’t make it, Loden you are in charge. Zanor thought that a major speech was called for but words like his breath were coming to him only in short sharp bursts. Son…I love you and I pray we walk together on this planet and build a new home. He hugged his son once and then walked to the inner hatch and opened it. As he closed the door behind him he imagined that this was how a condemned man must feel. He turned a small lever to drain the chamber of oxygen, he felt his face drain of blood at the same time. The ‘ready’ sign illuminated and his hand slowly turned a second lever to open the outer hatch. His heart was beating in his ears, he was only aware of the mud and water outside and the internal drumming in his head. Are you OK sir? It was Loden So far so good, he replied and he stepped onto the surface of this unknown planet which had opened its door to them but had not yet indicated if they were welcome to stay. Zanor had started to sink, his space boots were heavy and the cloying effects of the mud demanded that he moved to the higher, drier ground some twenty yards away. He reached a grassy bank and sat down looking through the 180 degrees in front of him which included a huge lake and one scorched and dented scout ship. He turned around and observed the remaining 180 degrees which appeared to be made up of a dense and slightly forbidding forest.

He realised that he was not visible to the crew from his current position and that whatever was there meant nothing unless he tested the atmosphere. He removed his helmet and breathed deeply…….he was not prepared for the Pandora’s Box of tastes and aromas that assailed his senses like a steam hammer, so much potency and effect in less than one second. But even before the original assault on his senses had receded, a second assault began, the sounds, screeching, calling almost laughing as the unseen, unknown residents of the forest welcomed his arrival. Zanor felt light-headed, not in a fainting sense but in more of an ecstatic state which consumed his entire body and being. He did not collapse and die. He left his helmet where it lay and removed his boots, he imagined the expressions on the faces of his crew, beyond his vision at present but as he imagined them looking up though the observation screen for the results of his ‘atmosphere test’ he thought about playing a few pranks but decided against it. Instead he walked back to the hatch and opened the doors which separated the remaining twenty souls from the new home they had found or was it the new home that had found them.

Spontaneous applause greeted Zanor as the second hatch door swung open……….

Come on, the mud is a bit of a problem but the planet has not decided to pull away the welcome mat just yet. Some of the crew had put on their helmets in anticipation but seeing Zanor enter the ship without one they had rather sheepishly taken them off and put them down. Everyone out and relax for a few minutes. They did not need to be asked twice. Within minutes they were on the grass all smiling, all well, the mud seemed a small price to pay for their salvation yesterday and their liberation today.

Is anyone feeling unwell? Zanor asked as their first meeting on the new planet commenced. Zanor was sitting on the grass facing the rest of the crew who had formed into a crescent shape looking and listening intently to their captain, their leader.

All replied they were OK, one or two cuts and bruises appeared to be the sum total of the physical damage. Filtma, would you please give each and everyone of us as thorough a medical examination as you can given the circumstances; Cendud. Cendud was the science officer a serious twenty five year old who was married to Tion a fellow member of the crew who shared her husband’s scientific duties. Cendud, would you please analyse all the vegetation around this clearing and identify anything you could describe as edible. Tion, would you please analyse the water in the lake to check if it’s OK to drink? Cendud and Tion walked back to the ship to collect their equipment. Loden would you and Mond please patrol the edge of the clearing and report back on anything that may help or harm us. The rest of the crew were requested to rest and make themselves available for Filtma’s medical examination. Oh! One other thing, until we understand our surroundings a bit better we will return to the ship at night.

Tion was the first to report back to the