Spanner

By Gary Alan Ruse

It's the year 2150 and private detective Nick Spanner and Tianna, his beautiful android partner from the planet Zeptadrina, have gathered enough evidence against dangerous crime lord Mathias Brayderman to not only please their client, one of Brayderman's victims, but also to put Brayderman in jail permanently. But before they can turn over the evidence to Police Inspector Mayhew they are ambushed by Brayderman and his assistants using an experimental energy weapon that hurls them into the past—our present—and causes them to inadvertently interfere with police pursuing a murder suspect. They get arrested. Can they clear themselves and survive in a world that seems primitive to them?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gary Alan Ruse
• Release date: Apr 5, 2025
• ISBN: 9798230472117

Gary Alan Ruse

Have been a professional writer of science fiction, mysteries and "techno-thrillers" since the 70's, and served as an Army reporter in Vietnam. I have five previous novels published, "Houndstooth" and "A Game of Titans" in hardcovers by Prentice-Hall with foreign editions in Great Britain and Japan, and "The Gods of Cerus Major" in hardcover by Doubleday, and original paperbacks "Morlac: The Quest of the Green Magician" and "Death Hunt on a Dying Planet" by Signet/New American Library. Also a number of stories published in magazines and anthologies, and more than 1200 newspaper articles in Community Newspapers.

Book preview

​S P A N N E R

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A science fiction novel

by Gary Alan Ruse

Copyright 2024 Gary Alan Ruse

Based on his 1977 teleplay.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Chapter 1 – Return to danger

Chapter 2 – The awakening

Chapter 3 – The escape

Chapter 4 – The mystery deepens

Chapter 5 – The Hall of Records

Chapter 6 – The dangerous encounter

Chapter 7 – Penthouse peril

Chapter 8 – The forces gather

Epilog

About the author

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DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my sweet wife Helen, a fellow writer, who encouraged me to convert the two-hour teleplay that I had written back in 1977, and that a local television interview show producer had sent that year to a friend of his in Hollywood to show around, into an eBook novella and trade paperback.

Chapter 1

Return to danger

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The year: 2150

The Los Angeles Spaceport was named for the old city but was miles outside the urban area with its glistening skyscrapers and suburban clusters, located for safety in a broad desert expanse of sand, cacti, tumbleweeds and not much else. It stood out in the nighttime landscape with its building lights and illuminated runways. It was connected by roads and high-speed transit to the city proper and served as the West Coast gateway for commercial space flights to Earth’s orbiting space station and beyond.

Inside the multi-level flight Control Center which was abuzz with activity, men and women were seated at consoles, bathed in blue-green instrument light. Their silvery jumpsuits were not only fashionable but also flame retardant just in case of a fire caused by a crashing ship. Fortunately, that had never yet happened.

Each traffic control operator sat at a console with an array of push buttons and slides and a large holographic display depicting their area of concern and approaching flights. One operator in particular was focused on an incoming shuttle flight with glowing symbols and numerals. The computer-generated display image also showed the curve of the earth and the location of the orbiting space station. Activating his communications link, he spoke in a clear, calm, routine voice.

Flight Fourteen, we have you on our sensors now, said the controller. Any problems we should know about?

He heard the pilot’s reply through an auditory chip in his ear that was directly attuned to the frequency of his communications equipment.

Negative, L.A. I’ve made this run so often I think I could fly this bus in blindfolded. We left hyper-space sixteen minutes ago. Our anti-heat reentry fields are on. We’re now sub-orbital and heading your way.

The technician nodded. Roger, Fourteen.

The technician’s hand punched a control button. On the holographic display the words APPROACH COMMITTED flashed on and continued to pulse.

Your approach path is clear. Bring it home.

In the wide plaza outside the shuttle terminal not much could be seen of the building in the night-time darkness, but a few pole-mounted lights illuminated the center of the plaza. A guard rail ran the length of the plaza’s far end, and a young woman stood near it. It was quieter here, with only the sound of the wind and the occasional electric whine of unseen vehicles. A small robot cart with luggage passed in front of the young woman, heading in the direction of the terminal gate, followed immediately by several travelers who were clearly occupied only with thoughts of their flight.

The young woman was Tianna, tall and statuesque, a stunning beauty with exotic features. Like the others, she was garbed in futuristic clothes, but her garments were stylishly different. She was standing ramrod straight and motionless, head tilted back slightly as she watched the sky.

Her expression was alert and intense, but seemingly emotionless. She was not merely exotic, but in fact looked other-worldly. She was wearing a kind of metal half-mask which covered her forehead, temples and the bridge of her nose, and upon which artful eyebrows were engraved. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but loose strands of it lay along her cheeks in a feminine way. To all outward appearances she was human, but beneath the surface her skeleton was composed of titanium alloy instead of bone. and in place of organs her interior was filled with circuitry and equipment of advanced design developed on the planet Zeptadrina, for that was her home world, one of many now visited by the people of Earth since the development of hyperdrive.

Beyond her in the inky blackness of a sky dotted with faint stars, one of the points of light was growing brighter and moving perceptively. It was the shuttle, growing larger as the craft drew near, swinging wide for its approach.

Also beyond her, but at ground level, a man lurked at the corner of a building, furtively watching Tianna. Something about his clothing, personal appearance and secretive stance suggested that he might be part of the criminal underworld that existed in the dark underbelly of Los Angeles. He was staring intently at Tianna in a purposeful way.

In another moment the soft sound of the desert wind was augmented by another sound, a deep thrumming roar not quite like a jet or rocket engine. Faint at first, it steadily grew in volume as the shuttle approached. The runway lights now illuminated the craft, even briefly glistening on the heatproof force fields before they were switched off prior to touchdown.

The landing gear swiftly folded down into place as the ship’s repellers softened its landing and slowed its forward progress down the runway. The Terran Spaceways logo on its tail came into view as the ship turned and taxied toward the terminal building. Over the public address system, clearly audible in the area outside the terminal and parking areas, a voice made an announcement.

Flight Fourteen is now arriving on schedule. Passengers will be transferring to Gate Five for final processing.

Tianna immediately reacted to the announcement, turning toward the loudspeakers, then walking briskly toward the terminal and the building’s entrance. The doors dematerialized to admit her, then became solid again to keep out the desert air and insects.

Still lurking in the shadows at the building’s corner, the man who had watching her pulled out a small radio transmitter, quickly brought it to his lips, and spoke into it cautiously in the tone of an underling addressing his boss.

Your information was right, Mister Brayderman, he said. Spanner’s just arrived.

Over the radio the other man's voice replied, Excellent news, Hatch! And I trust I was also correct in assuming he’ll be taking his Levicar home instead of using the tramway?

Yeah. His partner’s already here and waiting for him. Hatch flashed a disturbed frown. She’s sure a strange one.

His boss’s voice replied soberly, She calls herself Tianna, and take care that you don’t underestimate her abilities. She’s one of the finest creations of her world’s science. I almost regret that we must dispose of her as well.

A few miles out from the spaceport, on the desert road that had no real lighting other than the stars and moon, the crime lord Mathias Brayderman stood, enjoying his anticipated success. His physique was burly, but his posture was proud and erect and both the style of his clothing and the way he held himself and spoke was polished... and dangerous. Everything about him suggested that he was cold, impressive, literate, and ruthless. A few of his other henchmen were busy setting up a piece of equipment which was partially hidden from the road by a rocky outcropping.

From the small transceiver he held in his hand, Hatch’s voice asked, Are you ready for them?

We will be, said Brayderman. Keep an eye on them and let me know the moment they’re on their way.

Yes sir.

Brayderman put his radio away and moved from where he stood to where his men were setting up a device. The machine that sat