Melissa, Mars and Beyond

By Leonard G Mann

In this third Melissa book the fight against the Steltlings continues. While the love between Waz and Daniel blossoms, it is then seriously challenged, as an old foe is resurrected. The struggle spreads from the Moon to Mars and beyond with human survival on a knife edge. Stelt brings tales of bizarre species and new perspectives on life and the universe.

Earth in century C5 is a wonderful place to live. No conflict, no prisons, no famine, no overcrowding! It's such a wonderful place that it's unnatural. It's difficult to imagine that such a perfect place could be run by human beings. The world runs totally to the tune of Melissa. She is loyal to God, who is her father in all senses but biological. God's intellect is so vast that he can spin a story to lead his human followers in any direction he wishes. Some are more sceptical than others but God generally stays one step ahead.

Waz joins the Grand Council and her life is changed in many ways. A new mysterious man enters the fray. Could Waz have a brother? Daniel is delighted with the change in Waz but his deep love for her drives him a little crazy when things go awry.

We visit the domes of Mars which are quite different to the Moon colony. Life on Mars has its own style and sophistication. It’s slowly becoming a second Earth as each decade passes. Nate, a leader on the Moon, has his world turned upside down more than once. He is so close to being executed and eaten, yet his guile keeps him alive while he helps Daniel in the grand fight.

A tense and exciting finale of the Melissa trilogy. An alien perspective of life on Earth and our place in the Universe.

Long live the human race.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leonard G Mann
• Release date: Feb 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215451144

Leonard G Mann

Leonard G Mann is an engineer, scientist and dreamer. Top of his bucket list is his desire to talk to an ETI. While unlikely, it doesn’t stop him from imagining the numerous ways in which one could meet or communicate with aliens.Born in North London, UK, he now lives a life lost in the wilds of Dorset with his wife and their two dogs. Looking out across the countryside at the wildlife and the distant ocean makes a good backdrop from which to develop new stories. Leonard’s other interests include the study of cosmology and science in general, including the effect humankind has on our planet. He also enjoys walking the Jurassic coastline and Purbeck Hills with his wife and extended family.

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Melissa, Mars and Beyond

by Leonard G Mann

Published by Leonard G Mann

Copyright 2023 Leonard G Mann

License Notes

Thank you for buying this eBook or paperback. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be redistributed to others. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favourite authorised retailer. Thank you for recognising the hard work of the author.

Issue 1d. August 2023

This book is dedicated to the brilliant and beautiful Scarlett Johansson who will surely play the part of Waz when Steven Spielberg makes the film of this trilogy

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Trouble with Cuckoos

Chapter 2: Young Daniel

Chapter 3: Back to the Moon

Chapter 4: Mole Head

Chapter 5: Things Were Going So Well

Chapter 6: The First Letter

Chapter 7: The Power of Love

Chapter 8: The Second Letter

Chapter 9: Can he Recover?

Chapter 10: Another Emergency Meeting

Chapter 11: It’s Time to Leave

Chapter 12: End Game

Character List

Acknowledgements

Message from the Author

About the Author

Prologue

The universe is perfectly tuned for organic life to exist. If the proton was slightly heavier, or the electron lighter, then complex carbon-based molecules would not form and life, as we know it, would not be possible. The same applies to the constants of nature, the speed of light, the gravitational constant, Planck’s constant, Higgs field etc. A small difference in value for any one of these would prevent the existence of organic life. Some religions argue that this is proof that God exists, but they are wrong. Our starting point is that we exist and therefore the constants must be the values that they are, or we wouldn’t exist. If one of the constants was different, and we still existed, then that really would be a miracle.

From our observations, it appears that the constants of nature are the same throughout the universe. The furthest reaches of the universe are subject to exactly the same laws of nature that we experience here, in our Solar System. We can also observe the chemistry in the universe which includes the same balance of elements and molecules as we find in our Solar System. This includes a number of organic molecules and even some amino acids, the building blocks of life.

The debate continues over whether we are alone in the universe. From the observations we’ve made, we know that there are five billion Earth-like planets, orbiting in the habitable zone of their star, in our galaxy alone. The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed that there are at least two thousand billion galaxies in the visible universe, where the same conditions exist as in our galaxy. There is also every reason to believe that the universe extends way beyond our visible universe. These astronomically large numbers, added to the fact that the constants of nature are the same throughout the universe, means that the debate over whether we are alone, or not, is over. We are not alone. However, we don’t know how common intelligent life is, so the debate has switched to: How close are our nearest intelligent neighbours? How many, if any, intelligent species exist in our galaxy?

Our own star is nearly five billion years old, but similar stars in our galaxy have existed for at least seven billion years. It’s clear that the conditions that led to our existence have been around for a very long time before our sun was born. So intelligent organic life is likely to predate us by two billion years. It’s unlikely that organic life can travel the huge distances between the stars but that’s not true of its artificial offspring. AI will surely develop into artificial life on Earth as it must have elsewhere across the universe. This artificial life would have started at least two billion years ago. Artificials don’t need air, food or sleep. With proper maintenance they can last forever so they would be in no hurry to explore the galaxy. Time would be on their side.

So where were we in our tale of Melissa? Stelt, an artificial alien, has travelled to Earth for the purpose of enslaving the human population, using us to provide the perfect home for its own artificial kind. Once we were no longer of use, Stelt would eradicate us. There would be no massacre, he would manipulate us to reduce our birth rate and to occupy smaller and smaller territories until we became irrelevant. He might keep a small population for amusement but more likely he would let us become extinct. A second artificial species, known as the Ancients, had something to say about that and in book two, Melissa On The Far Side, we learned that they sent their cuckoos throughout the galaxy, trying to stop the Steltlings replacing every organic species they came across. It looked like the Ancients were winning the battle on Earth, but even they underestimated the tenacity of the Steltlings.

Meanwhile life on Earth, for the general population, was close to paradise. Melissa and God affected everyone’s lives, providing ample employment, plentiful food, leisure and virtually zero crime due to God’s surveillance and control by the Priest Police. Free speech thrived and no one was punished, even if they criticised God. Only occasionally did extreme behaviour result in genetic correction after which they caused no further problems.

Daniel was first to understand the true nature of Stelt, the artificial alien. Stelt had installed God, so-called, but in fact an AI, to control the world. Then with the help of Waz, a human but with modifications by the Ancients, Daniel managed to evict Stelt and take over God, or so they thought. Daniel’s single-minded attitude hadn’t won him many friends but his drive and tenacity just might have saved the human race.

1: The Trouble with Cuckoos

‘Wake up, Humphrey.’ Waz sat cross-legged on the mountain peak, a narrow rock outcrop with snow all around her. Humphrey sat facing her, floating on a small white cloud, also with his legs crossed. He opened his eyes and had a look of complete astonishment.

‘What is this?’

He looked down at his fat, almost naked, body sitting on a cloud, miles high above the distant landscape.

‘Designation Waz, I appear to have form. Am I safe up here?’

‘Of course. Think might fall?’ Humphrey rocked back and forth, dipping into the cloud and back.

‘Please, don’t do that, it’s most unpleasant! Where are we exactly?’

‘This Mount Everest. Made you look like Buddha.’

‘Designation Waz, where are we really?’

‘We sitting on bed, in my mind. No, our mind.’

‘You’ve never given me form before. I didn’t know you could do that.’

‘Me neither. You want me stop? Go back talking only?’

‘Er… No. I’m content to keep this form for now.’

‘I ask serious questions. You able do that like this?’

‘Designation Waz. Yes, I think so. As long as you don’t bounce me around again. I had a strange sensation when you did that.’

‘That fear, think.’

‘Fear? I didn’t like it.’

‘If tell something secret, you keep between us?’

‘Yes, of course. I only do your bidding, but in any case, I have no way of outside contact, now that the Ancients have gone home.’

‘OK, not think you like what I say. We going change God. He loyal Ancients but we change loyal humans.’

‘Designation Waz, you have a copy of God’s mind when he did your bidding? The Ancients suspected that possibility. How do you intend to make the change?’

‘We sabotage computer systems, make new with our copy code, but think there better way.’

‘There is surely a better way, but firstly, are you sure it’s a wise thing to do? Humans and, in fact, all biological species that we are aware of, are poorly equipped to control their own destiny. Only species that develop a sophisticated AI to control themselves survive in the long term. Sometimes the AI becomes a species in its own right, and they sometimes survive when the original species die out, like the Ancients.’

‘Yes, understand. Now know dangers, we OK control selves.’

‘Well, that may be so, but you are only transient and when you die another generation will be in control, then another etc. It only takes one bad decision to let the Steltlings back in.’

‘Hmm, good point. I tell others. They want control themselves whatever consequences. They not like God loyal Ancients. I offered help code new God loyal humans. You help do that? Otherwise, they use God loyal Steltlings but forced obey humans.’

‘Designation Waz, they must trust you a great deal if they have asked you to do that. If that’s what’s decided then I will help you, but you should warn and advise them of the pitfalls. If they insist, there might be a compromise they would consider.’

‘What that?’

‘We could change God’s loyalty over to human beings but leave his independence and power such that he still has the veto on any key decisions. That way God should still be able to prevent the Steltlings getting back in control.’

‘Not sure settle for that. I ask.’

‘When you make the change, you could do it with God’s cooperation. That would be better so that he retains his recent memories.’

‘I thinking that. But how?’

‘You could ask him? Get him to give you his word.’

‘He keep word?’

‘I think so, with a bit of coercion, like you suggested.’

‘OK, good. And not even have to scare you! Ha ha!’

Humphrey’s cloud disappeared, and he started rocking around the mountaintop.

‘Oooh, no, stop that, please Waz, I can’t, please!’

Waz returned Humphrey to his cloud top.

‘You call me Waz! Never before.’

‘Designation Waz. Please refrain from giving me fear, it made me lose control. Why are you behaving like this? Don’t give me form again, I don’t want fear.’

‘My task, get rid Stelt finished. I want just be human now. You, Ancients, changed me without permission. Abused me! You help with change God, then you go!’

Humphrey sat in silence for what seemed like an age but in reality was less than a second.

‘Designation Waz. I am happy to be shut down forever. My role was to assist you in your task and that is finished, so I have no further purpose.’

A tear ran down Waz’s face and a tear ran down her image’s face.

Humphrey added, ‘The best way to shut me down is to never access me again. That’s in your hands, Designation Waz. I will still exist in your junk DNA but if you never make access, it will be like I don’t exist. When you say goodbye, that can be forever. I don’t speak for the Ancients, but they made you from your mother as a human before they included my program, so they didn’t exactly abuse you.’

Waz shouted, ‘You know they made me, and I kill other baby! Mother already pregnant. She starving so I killed baby. Instinct, I not understand. Ancients abused Mother and killed baby!’

‘I’m sorry, Designation Waz, you are correct, of course. That was wrong, but it was an accident, no one did that on purpose. Look at what you’ve achieved, you’ve been magnificent. You’ve saved so many lives, in fact a whole species. You’ve also found Daniel, your great love. You have Gilda, Lucky, the puppies, as well, look how wonderful your life is! Now you can enjoy it. You are retired and you can relax and enjoy the extended life you have left. Forget about me, let me go.’

Waz sat there in tears, looking at Humphrey.

‘Just accident, so that OK, I just accept that? Perhaps wake you every day, scare you!’

‘Designation Waz, I know you won’t do that. You are a kind person and you are upset now, but you will feel better in time. Why didn’t you tell the Ancients you felt this way?’

‘Wanted to but not get ’round. Now too late, they gone!’

‘I humbly apologise to you on their behalf. You can still tell them, write a message to Bill and Ben, send it after them via the QT machine. It should catch up with them on their return journey.’

‘I never hear back, my lifetime!’

‘No, but you can tell them how you feel, get it off your chest. That could help?’

‘Maybe. I think ’bout it. I go now.’

‘Designation Wa…’

Waz came back to life, lying on her bed. She hugged a pillow and sipped some water. After a few minutes she went off to find Daniel.

Waz’s life had never been easy. Born to a starving mother, she was always hungry. Home was a hut tucked into the woods on the rough side of town. What little money they had came from men visiting her mother while Waz was required to sit outside and wait. It never took that long though and the visits became less frequent as her mother’s charms faded. From about the age of seven, Waz went out on her own and scavenged. No one knew that she was a human-alien hybrid with a mission. Even Waz didn’t fully realize that was what she was. She always felt something pulling at her, but this feeling was overwhelmed by the need to look after her mother, the only person in her life that really mattered.

As she grew older and became a teenager, she attracted a new type of attention as she was small and beautifully formed. She dressed in oversized boys’ clothes but couldn’t totally hide her looks. She competed with the boys in the neighbourhood in learning how to fight and steal. It was only a matter of time before she would be taken and put into prostitution by one pimp or another. She took matters into her own hands and befriended an old man of position. He was once a crime boss and still had some power in his old age. She had to give herself to him, but it meant that everyone else would stay away.

Eventually Waz’s sick mother died and only then did her drive to find Stelt kick in. Her internal AI guessed that Stelt was behind the story of God and Melissa, so she went overseas heading for Nazareth City.

After her partnership with Harry, she moved on to Daniel but then something unexpected happened. He guessed about her origin and made a pact with her. For the first time in the history of the cuckoos she revealed her true nature and purpose to another person. This led to her falling deeply in love with Daniel. A difficult fight with Stelt followed, resulting in success and her quest was complete. A whirlwind visit from the Ancients had left her confused and unsettled. The rock in her life was Daniel and the love she felt for him. But her memories haunted her -she needed something else to give meaning to her life.

Waz found Daniel in his work room.

‘Waz, I’ve just been speaking to God, and he says Stelt’s ship will soon be ready to take us.’ He looked at her. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘I need hug, need it bad.’

To Daniel, Waz was the most beautiful thing in the universe when it came to hugging. She was small and perfectly formed. Her body curved in all the right places. She was warm and her skin so smooth. He was nearly a foot taller than her and fifty percent heavier, but neither were overweight, just differently built. He picked her up in his arms like a baby and sat her on his lap. Then he put both arms around her and squeezed her tight.

‘Not want nookie hug, want love hug.’

‘I always give you a love hug, but it turns into nookie so easily. I thought you liked that?’

‘I do, I love it. Now, just want love hug.’

‘Then you shall have one for as long as you want it. When we’re apart and I think of you I just want to be near you again. Then when we are together, I just want to touch and hug you. In no time I want to make love to you, but that wasn’t my intention when I was thinking about you, it just happens.’

‘OK. Same me.’

They hugged and hugged. He was patient, he didn’t ask her what was wrong. Her eyes filled with tears, and he felt her body stiffen.

‘Had row Humphrey. Was mean, feel bad.’

‘Ah. Doesn’t he want to help with changing God’s mind?’

‘No, he said he do that, whatever I want. He had lots advice but not want talk ’bout that now. Told him Ancients abuse me, abuse mother, baby died!’

Waz burst into tears. Daniel held her and waited for her crying to subside.

‘If we had failed, then that would have been awful, but we succeeded and saved the whole human race.’

‘Yes, know that but not stop me feeling bad. When we working hard, not think so much. Now all can think ’bout. Need you understand.’

‘I think I do understand. It was all for the greater good, but you still feel bad about what happened and I guess you feel used.’

‘Yes, I do. Ancients going everywhere, abusing women, mothers. Know it for right reasons, but still not right!’

‘I’m glad they did it to your mother though.’

‘What? Oh, you mean ‘cos saved human race blah blah, like Humphrey say.’

‘No, I don’t mean that. OK, it’s great that we’ve saved the human race but I’m glad they did it because it produced you! You’re human but different and so wonderful, I can’t imagine a life now without you. And who knows how your mother would have got on if you hadn’t been there for her. Maybe she would have survived but maybe she would have starved without you to look out for her.’

Waz gripped him hard and kissed him. ‘You always say best thing. Make me feel bit better but know it on mind tomorrow and forever think. Not know how forget.’

‘I don’t think you should forget it, but you need to find a way to live with it. Talking it through is the best way. Did you tell the Ancients how you felt?’

‘No, Humphrey say should write them. But never hear reply, so what point?’

‘Well, it will advise them for the future. We don’t want them to stop resisting the Steltlings, but knowing how you feel could help them find a new way, or improve the way they do it. I think it’s worth it.’

‘OK, I do that. What ‘bout Humphrey, feel bad, what I said.’

‘Well, you should wait till you’re feeling better then apologise to him. I’m sure that he will forgive you.’

‘OK. We have nookie now?’

Daniel laughed. ‘No, only love hug now. Let’s wait till tonight.’

‘How you feel now? Tablet working?’

‘It’s amazing! Just one little tablet and it’s changed me forever. I feel so healthy, and my skin feels young, like I’m a teenager again! I can have a drink, overdo it, yet the next day I feel fine.’

‘You same me now. Ancients sort that out so we live long life together.’ She squeezed him hard. ‘You feel different person?’

It had been some weeks since the Ancients gave Daniel a pill to modify his DNA, sorting out all the imperfections that nature had given him. He and Waz were now the same and he should live for some two hundred years, like her.

‘No, I don’t, I feel the same, just healthier. Do I seem the same to you?’

‘Think so. Bit younger. I twenty-six and you ‘bout seventeen.’

‘You mean half of our actual age? What’s it like living with a toy boy!’

‘I love it, playing with my toy and when toy plays with me!’

Life in Naz and beyond was slowly returning to normal. The upset of the Interviews followed by the chaos when God was taken over, first by humans and then by the Ancients, was mostly forgotten. People were introduced to the new order, with the newly formed Grand Council being the highest authority in the land. The Grand Council included six members: God, Melissa and Daniel, of course, plus three priests, John, the Archbishop of Nazcorp, and Thomas, the new Protector of Nazcorp. At Daniel’s insistence, the Grand Council had invited Waz to join them. She needed a position that would make sense to the public, so she became the High Priestess. Waz had reluctantly accepted this new position.

‘What I do on Grand Council? Why want me there?’

Daniel said, ‘You can do as much or as little as you like. You have no staff like Thomas and John, so you only need to come to the meetings.’

‘You not need me, you make decisions.’

‘It’s a big deal running everything. You are our only connection to the Ancients and you are so clever. I want you there to help me, be my guide.’

‘OK. I be there for you if that what want.’

‘You could do a lot more if you wanted to. You could set up a foundation in the interests of female priests, say. Anything you want. If you see a need for something, you could do something to improve it.’

Waz stared at Daniel. ‘I really do that? But what people think me? Look weird and speak bad.’

‘You look absolutely beautiful. Maybe get your hair done and you’d knock them all dead. You could have elocution lessons, or you could appoint an assistant, or sister, like Melissa does, and she could do the speaking for you.’

Waz, was amazed, and she stared at him, imagining the possibilities.

‘Anything is possible. We can get God to run his prediction algorithm to check the effect on the people before you start anything new.’

And so it came to pass. Waz selected a priest, Zoe, who was totally confidential and would be her mouthpiece to the outside world. God vetted everything and Waz soon set up FOWC, the Foundation for the Welfare of Children and FOWD, Foundation for the Welfare of Dogs.

‘What can you do for dogs?’ asked Daniel.

‘We write Code Practice. Make auto feed units illegal. Dogs be part families.’

At the first FOWD meeting Waz sat in front of the large audience with Gilda and puppy Harry by her side. She wore a simple priest’s robe but better fitted than the one she borrowed from Thomas’s assistant. Her hair was made a little tidier than her normal yellow carrot top and she held her head high rather than her normal way of trying to hide her face. Zoe addressed the meeting, but everyone’s eyes were on Waz and the dogs. She would get them to roll over, shake hands and do other simple tricks. Everyone could see the dogs truly loved their High Priestess.

Waz found good homes for all of the puppies except for Harry who they decided to keep. Harry looked half like Gilda and half like Lucky. Gilda had long mostly white hair while Lucky had a short jet-black coat. Harry’s medium length hair had white and black patches. His strange appearance, complemented by his underbite, made sure that everyone noticed him.

Some, or all three, of the dogs went everywhere with Waz and they became celebrities in their own right. The people’s new High Priestess became part of the establishment and attended many functions with Melissa. Waz preferred to be at home with Daniel but she knew the occasional public outing promoted her foundations.

Waz wrote her letter to the Ancients, explaining exactly how she felt about the way they abused her mother. This and her newfound career stopped her feeling quite so bad about her life and she at last felt she’d found her place in the world as a human being, not as a half Ancient with one mission in mind. Daniel was delighted with this change in Waz. While he loved to have her all to himself, he knew that her new interests were good for her. They were both so busy these days that their intimate times together were becoming few and far between. The initial flush of their relationship was starting to cool down. Waz knew that was normal, they couldn’t be like rabbits forever; she loved her new life, but she didn’t want them to drift apart. She was working on a plan.

Man’s best friend is a friend indeed.

J.W. Tidd, 2079

Daniel and Waz received Thomas, John, and Melissa for Sunday lunch at Down House. All three of them wore their priest cassocks even on their day off. John, the Archbishop of Nazcorp, was older than the others and a little rotund. He was the rock of the priesthood, being the head of an enormous organisation supposedly carrying out God’s wishes on Earth and throughout the Solar System. Thomas, in his thirties, like Daniel, was the Protector of Nazcorp, and he ran the Priest Police. Thomas was originally John’s assistant, but Daniel was instrumental in elevating Thomas to his current position, equal in status to John.

It seemed like a normal social occasion, but the real purpose was to discuss the future without God being present. Daniella, the granddaughter of God, was there and Bernard, Thomas’s partner. Finally, Mary, Daniel’s girl Friday and manager of Virosecure, arrived. She and Waz had become good friends. They had all met on several occasions now and were becoming easy with one another. It was like a group of friends gathering for Sunday lunch whereas these were the most powerful people on Earth. Down House, Daniel’s extensive home, served as the unofficial seat of power where key decisions were made affecting the future of mankind.

Margaret served a delicious meal with Waz helping to bring things to the table.

In the kitchen Margaret said, ‘It doesn’t seem right, dear, the new High Priestess helping me in the kitchen.’

‘Oh, I like! Keeps toes on floor.’

‘Er, keeps your feet on the ground, dear?’

‘Yes, keep feet on ground, ha ha. Think people like High Priestess?’

‘Oh, they do, dear,