The Spaceman

By David Browning-Paine

Older than all the known stars, June watched the universe turn. He watched too as the old gods failed. Now he is tired and beset with doubt, his effort wasted, his strength to hold back the tide of indifference diminished. But with allies and enemies gathering and those with loyalties beyond his understanding he commits to change.

Against the old order change will be hard. There will be pain before the fruit of his sacrifice is known. But into the ash and darkness and into fear he places hope. It is a hope that will, given its time, bring enlightenment, a hope that will bring relief and a hope that will bring an enduring, steadfast kindness.

Maybe in time then, the curtain will fall.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Feb 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9781398450905

David Browning-Paine

David grew up creative, however as a young father he found himself buried in work, and only started writing in his mid-thirties. Now he writes when he can, hoping to fit his love for a rich narrative around a busy home and demanding professional life. Currently working in construction, David hopes this, his first published work, will enable him to focus more time on his greatest passion.

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About the Author

David grew up creative, however as a young father he found himself buried in work, and only started writing in his mid-thirties. Now he writes when he can, hoping to fit his love for a rich narrative around a busy home and demanding professional life. Currently working in construction, David hopes this, his first published work, will enable him to focus more time on his greatest passion.

Dedication

For my children: Samuel, Rebekah, Finley and Casey and my beautiful, kind and patient wife, Leah.

Copyright Information ©

David Browning-Paine 2023

The right of David Browning-Paine to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398450882 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398450905 (ePub e-book)

ISBN 9781398450899 (Audiobook)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

Thanks to Chris de Burgh for the inspiration his 1975 song, ‘A Spaceman Came Travelling’ was for this story.

1. Surety

Four hundred and fourteen years and four earth days was the period it took for the timepiece to make one rotation. One rotation equalled one day, a long day perhaps, but really, in itself only a brief fluttering. Nothing more than the lightest movement of the wing of the sylinger that buzzed and phased in and out of the light that hung by the post. And as the timepiece moved, and as the light swung gently in the breeze so the Overseers, the Makers, waited for the man to choose.

June, the Sune Glandour watched the Tarian move. Holding it in his hand, he watched it tick, its workings moving delicately and deliberately. The springs winding down, the weights rotating gently, just as the light swung next to the post. The intricate workings were harmonising, living together, switching, clicking and fizzing with potential. He wondered briefly how many times the Tarian had turned and then almost immediately, abstractly, how many times the weights within had swung and the ticking, clicking wheels had locked and moved together.

Holding the Tarian in his palm was still a thrill. Just. The first time, a seventh of an age ago, well before iron was still made with stone and magic, was a memory seared into his mind. A child then of only six deon, he had barely understood the significance of the moment. Then he had been the youngest to take the Steep, the mantle of Sune Glandour. His father had wanted it for him, his mother