Seedling: Sci-Fi Sizzlers, #16

By Craig A. Falconer

A truly unique tale of first contact from the author of Not Alone and Last Man Standing.


Trillions of miles from home, the first human Seedling is about to be hatched...

Fifty years ago, humanity launched a probe to a distant alien world.

Thirty years ago, it arrived.

And today... contact will be made.


When alien scientists studying a mysterious object detect unfamiliar DNA, they set to work on cloning the being responsible for the incredible technology.

Now, all alone and trillions of miles from home, their fully grown human Seedling is about to be hatched...

__________

Seedling is the latest in a popular series of Sci-Fi Sizzlers: standalone short stories from international bestselling author Craig A. Falconer. These stories can be read in any order — dive in today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Craig A. Falconer
• Release date: Nov 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223722458

Craig A. Falconer

Craig A. Falconer is a sci-fi author from Edinburgh, Scotland.

Book preview

Seedling

SEEDLING

CRAIG A. FALCONER

Seedling

© 2023 Craig A. Falconer

This edition published November 2023.

The characters and events herein are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Contents

Books by Craig A. Falconer

Get a free story and more!

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Author’s Notes

Books by Craig A. Falconer

THE EARTHBURST SAGA

Last Man Standing

Into The Fire

Operation Starshot

The Anomaly

Reason To Fear

The Last Horizon

Echoes Of Destiny

The Reckoning

All Or Nothing

NOT ALONE SERIES

Not Alone: First Encounter (Prequel)

Not Alone

Not Alone: Second Contact

Not Alone: The Final Call

~ Contact Trilogy box set ~

Not Alone: Fractured Union

Not Alone: Leap of Destiny

Not Alone: Revelations

~ Discovery Trilogy box set ~

Not Alone: The Awakening

Not Alone: Hidden Wonder

Not Alone: Endgame

~ Evolution Trilogy box set ~

Not Alone: Origins

TERRADOX SERIES

Terradox Zero: Before The Crash (Prequel)

Terradox

The Fall of Terradox

Terradox Reborn

Terradox Beyond

~ Worlds Away collection ~

~ Terradox Quadrilogy box set ~

CYBER SEED SERIES

Sycamore

Sycamore 2

Sycamore X

Sycamore XL

~ Cyber Seed Compendium Box Set ~

SCI-FI SIZZLERS

Wanderlust

Bound For Glory

Sunset Stays

Arise With Us

Whence They Came

Replica

Megaton Murphy

A Scent Of Man

Yester Year

Too Good To Be True

Happy, Inc.

Pamela 2.0

Funscreen

Pumpkin Splice

When Santa Slays

~ Chasing Tomorrows 15-Book Box Set ~

Seedling

Empty Nesters

A Savage In The Future

Get a free story and more!

Sign up to my author newsletter today, where you’ll receive important news about future releases as well as great deals and information on how you can read my books before their public release dates.

You’ll also receive a link to download your FREE copy of the prequel to the Not Alone series, Not Alone: First Encounter.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

1

THIRTY YEARS AGO

Shortly after sunrise on a planet known to its natives as Belantis, an annual solstice ritual was underway.

Thousands of Belantins — bipedal and highly intelligent beings of no more than three feet in height — stood around a large statue of their autocratic ruler. The light of their sun would very soon line up perfectly with the statue, as it did every year, and Laveq himself was sure to make an appearance before his subjects.

Although Laveq’s insular whims ensured that Belantin society had no space program to speak of, worship of the planet’s sun remained a cornerstone of everyday life. These traditions were many thousands of years old and long predated Laveq’s birth.

When that birth fortuitously occurred on a solstice like this one, however, the ruling house wasted no time in using the timing to their advantage. Successive poor harvests and technological stagnation had been threatening to erode the previously unquestioned power of the monarchy, with murmurs of dissent rumbling among the general population.

Laveq’s birth provided an opportunity for a reset which his father, the previous king, seized with both hands. For the first time in Belantin history, succession came via abdication rather than death. Laveq was presented as a gift from above, and as a smiling child king he united Belantin society like no ruler had for many generations.

The child grew into an unusually large adolescent, soon dwarfing his subjects at well over four feet tall. The citizenry considered this a natural result of Laveq’s apparent divinity. It further added to his mystique, while his well-honed skills of oration made him able to connect with the masses more deeply than any of his predecessors.

The honeymoon period never ended for the new