The Coming - Return of the Yahweh

By Richard Vadim

Imagine being confronted by an extraterrestrial: "You are soon to be engulfed in an impenetrable shroud which will stifle your seed and petrify your being. To perpetuate your kind, you must venture into the unknown." What would you do? What could you do?

An immense spacecraft enters Earth orbit and gobbles up a Space Shuttle and nuclear missiles sent to destroy it. A humanoid alien, Theo, meets with world leaders and offers to assist in designing a spaceship-building program and in preparing young earthlings to become nomads of the universe.

When Theo terminates his purification program, undertaken to eliminate from the exiting specimens the destructive forces cemented in the native species, he is persuaded to allow tens of thousands of young couples to remain on his craft, to increase the chances of survival of the human species. Only after the alien ship reaches deep space will these volunteers discover Theo's sinister reason for his visitation.

Meshed within the drama is the budding relationship between Professor David Gannett, who was aboard the captured Shuttle, and Cora Martin, a virtuous young woman who resists temptation, succumbs to her baser instincts, and is finally sanctified within the alien vessel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Vadim
• Release date: Dec 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798223975724

Book preview

The Coming

Return of the Yahweh

Richard Vadim

Copyright © 2009 Richard Vadim

All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

For Lorrie, my soul mate and best friend; Carol, for her always available encyclopedic mind; Brian, for his constant encouragement, without which this book would not have been published; Elizabeth, my second daughter, whose writing talent I covet; and John, my second son, for his daily example of discipline.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 1

(17,333,000,000 miles; 134,306,000 miles per hour)

D

avid Gannet tapped his half-empty Virgin Mary while his intense green eyes remained fixed on the front entrance. One did not have to be an expert in kinesics to sense that the slight neck stretch, raised eyebrow, or even the occasional interruption in breathing rhythm revealed a heightened anticipation, followed by a crashing disappointment upon the appearance of an unfamiliar face.

​David, a senior professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago, reminisced about the past fifteen years and wondered how Cora Martin could have lived in neighboring Lake Geneva, so close to Williams Bay, had even attended the University during his tenure, and yet their paths had never crossed. Not until that social dedicating the new research wing did he happen upon this fair damsel.

He fingered his collar and stiffened when he saw flowing dark hair through the entry door, then breathed deeply as another erroneous diner entered.

David himself could not believe his giddiness. He had met Cora only a few times, the last being over two months ago at a convention in Washington. While they dined afterward, their encounter did not lead to any spoken commitments. Yet, David could not get Cora out of his mind.

Even this past month, during the intense preparation for the Space Shuttle launch and ultimate rendezvous with the Hubble Telescope, David’s quiet time became filled with this boyhood infatuation.

He had thought when his wife died tragically almost two decades earlier that he would never again foster a meaningful relationship. But those few hours with Cora had welled up feelings he had thought were lost.

When the Project Coordinator asked the team if they would like to have any family or friends to the Cape for a day or two before launch, Cora was the only person in David’s thoughts.

He somehow had suppressed the madness of the idea and called her. Cora’s initial, crushing silence was followed by, what David interpreted later as, a firm, anticipatory acceptance.

​Finally! David breathed deeply as he bolted to his feet and focused on a dark-haired, porcelain-skinned young woman who had entered the restaurant and was slowly scanning the interior. As he made his way through the dining room, a slight limp in David’s gait was perceptible to any who observed him. His heightened emotional state had caused him to lapse into his natural stride, unlike his typical bearing where he consciously stretched his shorter right leg and raised his right heel slightly, thereby displaying a symmetrical walk characteristic of the un-deformed.

Cora was wearing a light blue, silk dress with a clinging bodice and wide, low neckline. As their eyes met a radiant smile reassured David, whose whole being was pulsating.

Cora! I can’t believe you’re here. How was your flight?

Well, my flight was fine, and I also can’t believe I’m here.

They both laughed nervously as David escorted Cora to their table. For endless moments they conversed and joked, but neither knew what they or their partner was saying. Finally, their poorly veiled passions subsided and they drifted into a quiet aura, removed from the physical world, where their eyes alone perpetuated their communication.

David leaned forward and gently engulfed Cora’s trembling hands, Cora, thank you for being here.

*

In a relative instant, dinner was ended and the couple slowly and silently made their way to the hotel.

I booked you through the weekend in the Cocoa Beach Hilton, Cora, if that’s alright. I hope you can stay that long and soak up some rays.

Are you staying there too?

Yes, they have a number of us booked there.

Will I see you for breakfast, then?

I’m afraid not. They expect us at a pre-flight breakfast at the Cape. Sorry.

That’s okay; I just … please assure me you will be alright. How long will you be gone?

"Well, we are scheduled to rendezvous with the Hubble telescope within the first day. If everything goes well, we will be able to make all the repairs and upgrades in a day or two.

"Following some testing to make sure everything is working, we’ll boast the ‘scope into a higher orbit and then make our way to the ISS to drop off some supplies and pick up a passenger. One of the men has been up there for three months and is looking for a breather back home.

"All in all, we could be back within a week or two. And don’t worry, this may be my first time into space, but the Shuttle program has become almost routine."

*

Before they realized it, they were standing outside Cora’s room. She opened the door and turned to face David. No word broke the quiet; they stood hypnotized by one another.

David reached up a hand to cup Cora’s chin. He slowly guided her to his lowering face. Her moist, violet eyes and lack of resistance told him to continue. Their gaze transferred to each other’s lips as the faces neared. The kiss was gentle and prolonged. Their rising passion quickened their hearts and stimulated their breathing.

Then Cora’s arms rested ever so lightly on David’s chest and their lips somehow parted. In a breathless voice, she whimpered, You better go, David.

He moved back slightly, engulfing her hands with his. Their eyes renewed their earlier contact. David guided Cora’s hands upward and brought each palm in turn to his lips and then returned them to their resting place on his chest. Again the stillness was unmarred by voice or movement.

David finally released his grasp. Yes, I suppose I had better, he said, breathing deeply.

Cora desperately grasped at his lapels. David, you will come back to me, won’t you? Promise me.

​David gently placed a finger over her lips. I promise I will return … to you.

​Cora stepped back and rested her arms on the door. Good night, David.

Good night.

Keeping their eye contact as long as possible, Cora slowly closed the door. For half a minute they stood on either side of this mock barrier as if they could maintain their communications through the thick oak.

David reached up to knock but stopped short of fulfillment. He lowered his hand, turned, and walked down the hallway toward his room.

Cora, still breathing deeply, reached forward and grasped the doorknob. But she too aborted an attempt to culture their glimpse at passion.

While they lay in their beds later, each could not dispel from their mind the possibility that David’s trip into space would be anything but routine and that their self-imposed chastity had robbed them of treasured moments which were now lost forever.

They could not know that their lives were to be defined, both individually and as a couple, by a force deep in space, a force which at this very moment was rushing toward their destiny.

Chapter 2

(16,791,000,000 miles; 133,205,000 miles per hour)

T

he scars that marked the long driveway to Yerkes Observatory were beginning to fade as the northwest wind therapeutically transplanted healing white powder from the blanketed lawns.

A pair of probing beams scanned the stone walls of the magnificent structure as a small car struggled through the drifts and slid to a stop in the visitor’s parking area at the main entrance.

A young man stepped into the night air, clenching at his open sweater as the cold knifed through him. Face and hands numbing, Allen Becard shivered and cursed the sparkling firmament, Wh … where were you last night?

Lowering his gaze, Allen pushed through the sterilizing crystals to and up the stairs and muscled his way into the rotunda.

His trembling body welcomed the rush of warmth which engulfed it. The building was not comfortably warm, but it provided the necessary protection for this fragile species.

Echoing down the hallway and up the marble stairs to the great dome, the young graduate student began dragging open its heavy steel door when a force from within tore it from his clutch and slammed it against the wall.

Allen’s curly hair quivered as a thunderous shock reverberated through the observatory, animating a bundle of fur crouched over the control panel of the great refractor.

Allen, you scared the hell out of me, the fur ball roared.

Sorry, Ed, Allen grumbled to himself for again forgetting about the powerful downdraft which frequently poured through the viewing slot in the spherical roof.

Opening the two gates to the movable floor, Allen stomped over to the console and perched himself atop a disordered over-layer of papers. His shaken colleague breathed deeply and welcomed him.

I didn’t know you were scheduled for tonight.

I am, unfortunately.

Unfortunately? What’s the problem? Have other plans?

That’s putting it mildly, Allen barked. Listen, are you almost through? I’d like to get an exposure started so I can get out of here as early as possible.

I’m just finishing up. What’s the hurry? Ed snapped back.

I’ll tell you my problems after I get underway, okay?

"Sure, whenever. I’m not