Altair 4

By Michael J Foy

The idea of an Id as a part of our psyche that houses dark thoughts has been discredited. But dark thoughts are a reality no matter where they come from. And it's never a good idea to give them form with the help of an alien device … especially if you don't know you're doing it. 1956's Forbidden Planet documented this in magnificent Technicolor. Altair 4, its 2021 prequel, hints at the dangerous dilemma in glorious black and white print but also some beautifully illustrative color images.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael J. Foy
• Release date: Sep 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215050422

Michael J Foy

Michael J. Foy was born to Irish immigrants in upstate New York and lived in London for a year on two different occasions as a child. He graduated Northeastern University in 1979 with an engineering degree. In 1993 he changed careers and became a recruiter servicing the publishing industry and founded Publishing Search Solutions in 1997. In essence his literary career has spanned two other careers but has always been his first love.In 1991 he sold an option for his first science fiction novel, False Gods, as a screenplay to Timothy Bogart the nephew of Peter Guber, Producer of Batman. Michael has since published Future Perfect, The Kennedy Effect and Ghosts of Forgotten Empires, Volume 1.He was also an early pioneer in publishing short stories over the internet including the Solar Winds of Change, The Adventure of the Moonstone and A Land to Call Our Own. He lives in Massachusetts where he enjoys kayaking, bicycling and exploring a wide array of literary subjects.

Book preview

Altair 4

Michael J. Foy

Published by Michael J. Foy, 2022.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

ALTAIR 4

First edition. September 29, 2022.

Copyright © 2022 Michael J. Foy.

ISBN: 979-8215050422

Written by Michael J. Foy.

Also by Michael J. Foy

The Kennedy Effect

Altair 4

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Also By Michael J. Foy

Altair 4 | A Prequel to Forbidden Planet

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Also By Michael J. Foy

Altair 4

A Prequel to Forbidden Planet

A Short Story by Michael J. Foy

Author of Ghosts of Forgotten Empires: A Cord Devlin Adventure

Published by Alternate Reality Press

A subsidiary of Publishing Search Solutions

Altair 4

Copyright © 2021 Michael J. Foy

www.michaeljfoy.com

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Jerod remembered walking, then crawling, then walking again before collapsing. He and the small crew of five managed to crash-land their ship within what they hoped was a 22-mile radius of the missing Bellerophon settlement. Long-range scans had detected some telltale electromagnetic signatures before they ditched. The rough landing injured all – seriously, in most cases—but they were thankful to have survived.

As the least-injured of the crew, or the one who said he was least injured, Captain Jerod Fleming volunteered to go for help. That was four hours ago, and Jerod doubted he’d gotten ten miles from the ship. He knew that a sparsely-treed forest of sorts lay beyond the arid landscape he traversed now. He still couldn’t see it on the horizon.

After his third involuntary catnap since he started, Jerod wondered if he’d sustained a concussion. At first, he thought there may have been internal bleeding, but he rejected that notion because he had none of the symptoms he had trained to look for. He took a long draught from his canteen and poured some water over his head; that helped a little.

With his men in need of aid, he forced himself to his feet and started to plod ahead. Yet again, he collapsed. In his delirium, he replayed the circumstances that had led to the crew’s current predicament:

His engineer had reported a malfunction in the ship’s engines.