Beyond the Benign

By J. T. Ryan

Science fiction is all around us; But, which part is science and which is fiction? Have you ever seen a quark, a worm hole, or a neutrino? Heres a few more: UFOs, extra-terrestrials, Big Foot, parallel universes, and black holes. The big questions of life reveal our basic uncertainty: who are we and what are we doing here? How did the universe come into being and where is it headed? These stories are intended to entertain, with a touch of science, history, and humor. My hope is that you enjoy reading these as much as I did their writing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524687571

J. T. Ryan

Author, J. T. Ryan now lives in Hawaii, previously in San Diego. A graduate from UCLA and San Diego State, Mr. Ryan served in the U. S. Air Force and later worked for the Navy, and at Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. This edition is a trilogy from three previous publications, focused on science or speculative fiction. Mr. Ryan’s academic work and background are represented to some degree by the various stories. The tales are intended to be entertaining samples from topics of current scientific interest. The reader will also notice references to history, humor, and music favorites.

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© 2017 J.T. Ryan. 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.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/17/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-8758-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-8757-1 (e)

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Contents

Preface …

Beyond The Benign"

Proxima Centauri

Pancho & Lefty

Dollars & Pesos

Mystery Island Pier

Wild Blue Yonder

Greyhound Bus Station

Geysers And Geezers

Time To Travel

Bombs Are Us

Clones, Gnomes & Genomes

Invincible Indian

Then And Now

PREFACE …

These are relatively short stories, since many short stories are, I think, a bit long.

Some of the stories are more sci-fi, others, not so much.

What is science fiction, one might ask. Does it refer to things that don’t exist in the real world or, to stories that go beyond what we think of as real?

We could also ask: how much of science itself may be a type of fiction?

Have you ever seen a quark, a worm hole, dark matter, or a neutrino?

Neither have I but, scientists talk in such terms all the time. A scientist might say, Just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

There are many things that fall into this large gray category: things that may or may not actually exist. Here are a few more: UFOs, extra-terrestrials, Big Foot, parallel universes, black holes, etc.

Science fiction is all around us. What part is science though, and what part is fiction?

It would seem redundant to invent preposterous monsters when we already have many real ones.

Have you ever seen a close-up view of predatory insects, reptiles, or certain undersea creatures? It’s hard to imagine anything more bizarre.

Also, by the way, how do like spinning around the sun at a ridiculously high speed, while being attached to this blue planet by a mysterious force called gravity, that also stretches our understanding? One doesn’t need to travel far to experience things of reality that could easily pass for science fiction.

The big questions of life reveal our basic ignorance and uncertainty. Who actually are we and what are we doing here? How did the universe come into being in the first place, and what does the future hold?

Many of our beliefs may be merely self-sustaining superstitions. Fill in the blanks with your favorite theories: the Big Bang, the Great Spirit, evolution, special creation, random serendipitous chemical interactions, etc.

Are any of these theories complete or even understandable in a real sense?

It might all sound a bit unsettling. I don’t like the feeling either so, I’ve adopted a set of beliefs to deal with the universe. Perhaps you have too.

The writings herein are aimed to be a mild stretching of the envelope, as it were, to go a little beyond normal, although normal can be hard to define.

One might even say they go, beyond the benign.

The stories are intended to entertain, with a touch of science, history and humor. Much of the content is based on experience, but not all.

The names of persons in the stories are mostly fictitious, but not all.

I grew up with science fiction stories by authors such as Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein. Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone was a favorite TV series of mine, with tales that often ended in a curious twist. I’ve probably been influenced by these fiction models that I enjoyed and admired.

My hope if for you to enjoy reading these, as I did in their writing.

JTR

BEYOND THE BENIGN"

12 short stories – sci-fi, history, & humor.

by J. T. Ryan

1. Proxima Centauri - J. Richard Dudley, biologist, shares research on nutrition with planetary beings from a neighboring galaxy.

2. Pancho & Lefty - Francisco & Arturo, long-time friends in New Mexico, revisit their distant connection.

3. Dollars & Pesos - Ricardo Martinez, American ex-pat in Mexico, taps into a source of windfall wealth.

4. Mystery Island Pier - Marty & Josh, employees at a California beach amusement park, connect with spirit wisdom through the oceanic fog.

5. Wild Blue Yonder - Lt Luke Turner, junior Air Force officer, has a short- term experience with a long-range missile.

6. Greyhound Bus Terminal - Tim Murphy, college student, encounters cosmic consciousness en route to a summer job in Yellowstone Park.

7. Geysers and Geezers - Bill Hopkins, curious college student, looks into geological anomalies at a National Park.

8. Time to Travel - Tom Traverse, retired Space Force officer, travels worm holes through time, and gets entangled in history.

9. Bombs are Us - Phil Thompson, newly employed at Los Alamos Lab, discovers an explosive artifact in the mountain woodlands.

10. Clones, Gnomes & Genomes - J. Robert Smedley, researcher in medical stem cell therapies, produces unusual results.

11. Invincible Indian - Lt. Col. Custer, nineteenth century Indian fighter, ponders why Crazy Horse is bullet-proof.

12. Then and Now - Martin Dunham King, unexpected visitor to the White House, provides advice to the Executive Office.

PROXIMA CENTAURI

J. Richard Dudley leaned forward from his desk at the California campus and observed a small gecko slowly making its way up the window screen. The green-shaded reptile angled its head in jerky motions, testing the environment before each short, quick spate of steps up the screen. Dudley had taught biology for several years and often pointed out to his students how certain reptilian characteristics carried forward to their evolutionary successors, the birds. The pensive professor gazed trance-like at the slight lizard as it performed its archetypal dance up the window.

Just then, a predatory bird came swooping down toward the window, but as fortune favored the smooth-skinned gecko, the hapless hawk soon discovered that the lizard was out of reach. This diminutive cousin of the dinosaurs once again avoided becoming an hors d’oeuvre to the flying carnivore.

Suzy Chan, a research associate of Dudley’s, stopped by as he was observing the primordial conflict. So, J. R., she said to the senior biologist, what sort of drama do we have going on today?

It’s the classic standoff, Suzy, between those with feathers and those without. Ironically, the hawk is a predator after its own ancestor! But of course, he quickly added, "that isn’t always the case. That is, reptiles don’t necessarily eat amphibians, and amphibians fish. But wait a minute−all too often they do."

See, J. R., this is not such a friendly planet after all, quipped his charismatic Chinese American cohort. She sighed knowingly and continued on her way.

Consider us elite primates, thought the graying professor. We’ve wreaked havoc on most of the animal kingdom—hunting other species, often just for sport, devastating the territory of subordinate animals, and pursuing, in whatever manner we will, all species of lower rank. There does seem to be a disquieting pattern here: bigger, quicker, and smarter going after smaller, slower, and dumber. Disturbing as it may be to us nature lovers, this sort of imperative would draw no more than a half-hearted grimace from old Charlie Darwin.

Such harsh realities seldom received elaboration in Dudley’s classes. Quite aloof from the dog-eat-dog jungle lore, Dudley always maintained a proper appreciation for the intrinsic value and survival of all species—whether they wriggled under moldy leaves or launched themselves into outer space.

Dudley accessed a copy of Earth Today to read about the recent expedition to orbit a manned satellite around a planet in Proxima Centauri, the nearest neighbor star in the Milky Way galaxy. A commendable accomplishment, he thought, in this year 2060, only about a hundred years after the first moon landing. The development of antimatter rockets had in fact enabled a new era for space travel.

The news headline declared a successful orbiting around the life-supporting planet and the potential for a soft landing by its exploratory module. American astronauts would soon be able to explore the mysterious, multi-celled chambers on the surface, observed from an unmanned satellite some time earlier.

Over the next several days, Dudley followed intently as additional reports were sent back by the Centauri planet crew, while he continued his own teaching and research.

One article reported how earlier observations were indeed confirmed that life-forms existed and thrived on the planet among the strange, cell-like structures. People on earth were universally fascinated by these findings, and Dudley could barely contain his excitement.

Astronauts described extensive networks—similar in appearance to large beehives—covering much of the landscape on this