Gillespie Photographing God

1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5439-0614-1
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 362 Seiten

Reihe: Photographing God

US astronomer Collette Bonnington is hired by the Pentagon to head investigations into a sudden increase in extraterrestrial activity on Earth. Her investigations lead her all over the globe to a rendezvous at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem where the aliens reveal their presence set against the backdrop of the eerie northern lights. When the visiting extraterrestrials reveal their presence what difference will it make? On the edge of extinction, the dying race of visitors face a dilemma.

Some of Stephen Gillespie's favourite first contact movies - 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' directed by Robert Wise, 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' directed by Steven Spielberg, 'Starman' directed by John Carpenter, '2010' directed by Peter Hyams and 'Contact' directed by Robert Zemeckis. A favourite science fiction novel - 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' by Douglas Adams for its Improbability Drive, Babel fish, SEP fields and Vogon poetry. The original radio series is a must listen. A prized graphic novel - 'JLA-Avengers' written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by the legendary George Perez for its compelling collision of DC-Marvel cosmologies. A favourite short story - 'A Small Kindness' by Ben Bova. Favourite musical artists - Kate Bush, David Bowie, Mike Oldfield and Toyah Wilcox. (All inspirational.) A favourite poem - 'Whale Nation' by Heathcote Williams. An important work of non-fiction on the bookshelf - 'Demon Haunted World' by Ann Druyan and Carl Sagan. A small claim to fame - having a letter, regarding a point of Whovian cosmology, published in the pages of the Doctor Who Magazine UK (issue 523). Stephen Gillespie grew up in Derry, Northern Ireland, where he spent his teenage years drawing Supurr mini-comics featuring such superhero creations as Doctor Optic and Anti-Atomic Man. He now lives in Scotland, where he lives with his wife Tracey and their cats Monty and Morfis. Prior to the novel Stephen Gillespie wrote community theatre in Ireland which included the rock musical 'Captured Shadows' which toured Ireland in 1985. In 1994 he was awarded his Batchelor of Arts Honours Degree in Theatre Studies from the University of Ulster in Coleraine and in 1996 he recieved his Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching from Northern College, Aberdeen. Since then he has been teaching Secondary and Primary level Drama in Dundee. His novel 'the Merlin Agenda' has been described as 'A spirited fantasy adventure that successfully blends elements of children's stories, folklore, high science and magic into an appealing whole. Very funny, too. A clever, freewheeling adventure.'

Autoren/Hrsg.

Gillespie, Stephen

Leseproben

CHAPTER 2 A FESTIVAL OF MASKS (Hawkhill, England, five months earlier) The creature sprang out of nowhere and made a cold wall-scraping scream as it sprawled across the bonnet of the car. Collette pushed down hard on the brake and almost stood up out of her seat. She unclipped her belt and flung open the door. Within moments she found herself encircled. Many of the surrounding beings were smaller than she. All were scarred, misshapen or mutated in some way or other. Collette could not see the demon with which she had collided. It must have landed feet flat on the ground and kept running. A tall Klingon warrior in full battle-dress pushed through the gathering of horned heads and whiter-than-white, partially-exposed skulls. The warrior was followed by the silver art-deco head of a Cyberman which rocked and swivelled on the shoulders of a maroon-coloured school uniform. ‘Are you okay, Missus?’ asked the humanoid with the ridged forehead and the long flowing mane. ‘That was Lewis. He was just having a laugh, Missus. Honest. I’ll report him to the Cotton Wool Teacher. Sorry, the Pastoral Care and Support Monitor.’ Collette’s heart was thumping from the aftershock of the initial fright, ‘I need to know if he is hurt! I got a hell of a fright, y’know!’ ‘He’s a free-runner in his spare time. A bit of a Spider-Man,’ the Klingon assured her. ‘Still,’ argued the shaking American, ‘I should make a report to the school myself just in case he has a fracture or something.’ The Cyberman buzzed something unintelligible through its electronic voice changer. The other grotesques seemed to be in agreement. ‘What was that?’ called Collette. The Klingon translated, ‘There’s no need to stop at the school. You’ll only make yourself late for work.’ Collette threw open her arms and shrugged her shoulders, ‘It’s no trouble. I’m working at the school this morning, anyway.’ Almost immediately the alien mob of monsters melted from the road and disappeared up the lanes branching off the side street leaving the driver standing on her own. Collette got back into her car and drove to the end of the street where she went straight ahead at the crossroad. Four hundred yards later she was manoeuvring into a space in the car park of Hawkhill High School. Frequent visits to the UK had led to her adoption of the local empirical measurement system which she interchanged with the metric as a personal habit. She switched off the engine and pulled out a compact to check her make-up. Collette Bonnington was forty-nine years old. She had soft skin which was made more attractive by its permanent Palo Alto tan. Her slim nose and graceful well-defined mouth often led to her being mistaken as Spanish. Her eyes were a bright, gem-like blue which blazed intelligence and a still-vibrant youth. After a quick touch-up of pale pink to the lips, the visitor climbed out of her car and walked across the park toward the school’s reception area. At six feet tall Collette was slightly wide at the shoulders and hips although she still possessed a very striking figure. The car park was busy with teachers parking and big yellow buses disgorging a flood of pupils. Many of the teenagers were in fancy dress. Ghouls, ghosts and vampires milled around looking for friends who had come on other buses. Collette noticed it was the sci-fi fans that had made the better effort with their costumes. She smiled with admiration, if not genuine awe, at the sight of two Vorlon, one purple and one green, trundling toward the main entrance. Some of the older girls had opted for the Rocky Horror dress code – much to the delight of the younger boys. Collette introduced herself at the reception office. A wrinkled grey-faced lady in over-sized spectacles smiled warmly. ‘You picked a busy day for a visit. “Hallowe’en Dress-As-You-Like”. Well, within reason…’ added the receptionist with a sarcastic nod at two of the older girls as they walked past. ‘I’m here to see a Miss Costigan, I think,’ Collette prompted with a smile. ‘Take a chair while I go and get her,’ the receptionist obliged. The visitor sat on one of four chairs beside the reception window and looked out into the main lobby. The area was a bustle of teachers arriving to check their pigeon-holes for today’s school bulletin. Although many looked hassled whilst carrying boxes of folders and marked jotters, the sight of the costumed pupils provided a passing distraction which brought a smile to most faces and the odd humorous comment. A small woman in her early thirties wearing a dark baggy blouse and a pantaloon-styled skirt turned a corner on the far side of the lobby and made her final approach toward the waiting area. Her right arm and hand reached out. Collette stood up and smiled. The woman welcomed her, ‘Mrs Bonnington, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m going to take you to the staff room where I’ll leave you with a coffee and a chocolate biscuit. When registration is finished, I’ll send one of the pupils, probably Holly Foster, to escort you to our room. Will that be okay?’ Collette politely indicated agreement as if she actually had a choice. A few minutes later she was sitting alone again. The staffroom was pleasant, benefiting from recent redecoration. The visitor had almost finished her coffee (she had denied herself the biscuit) when a quiet knock tapped gently on the door. It opened at a pace which was measured to be polite and a young head popped cautiously around the door’s edge. The girl’s face seemed wide from cheekbone-to-cheekbone yet the eyes sat in seductively arced lids like dazzling coins of silver-blue. However, a single, painted spider on the left cheek was her only obvious concession to the day’s Hallowe’en theme. The girl stepped into the staff room almost timidly. ‘Mrs Bonnington?’ Collette stood up, ‘Yes.’ ‘I’m Holly Foster. Miss Costigan sent me to get you,’ said the girl. Collette followed Holly out of the room, along a corridor, up a short flight of stairs and along another corridor to the Science teacher’s lab. The walkways were quieter now and the two spoke as they climbed the stairs. ‘Have you taken your mock finals yet?’ enquired Collette. ‘No,’ replied Holly who was tall enough to return the older woman’s gaze, ‘I’m only fifteen so I have a year yet. If I do well I hope to move on to A-level studies, but I haven’t decided what subjects to choose. I like the Sciences, but I’m not sure if my Maths is strong enough to take me through to university level. I’ve seen you on the telly.’ ‘Have you?’ smiled Collette. ‘Yes. I saw your documentary about the giant gas planets in other solar systems. There seems to be a lot of big planets, doesn’t there?’ asked the girl. Collette decided she liked Holly Foster and was going to ask her about the lone spider on her left cheek when they arrived at Miss Costigan’s classroom. The room was large and rectangular. It contained two long oblong platforms into which were set two deep sinks each. Both platforms were piped for gas and water. The walls were covered symmetrically with posters of the DNA double helix, a cut-away showing the internal layers of the sun and other wonders from the realms of the natural sciences. Holly took her place on one of the tall chairs which sat on either side of the work platforms. A slim, attractive Asian girl wearing a witch’s cloak and a striking Bride of Frankenstein wig smiled as the returning escort sat down beside her. Collette noted with approval that all twenty chairs were occupied. Those who brought face masks sat their disguises on the surface beside them. Miss Costigan introduced a third adult in the room. This was a slim, lank-haired woman in her twenties called Marta Bannacek who was employed as a classroom assistant. Mostly, so it seemed, Marta was there to translate for the five Polish newcomers who were still getting to grips with their second language. Then the Science teacher addressed the class, ‘As you know, this is Mrs Collette Bonnington the astronomer we have been chatting to in our emails. One of the topics we talked about was the SETI project – the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence – and we learned that thousands of amateur astronomers all around the world have helped to process the information gathered from radio telescopes on their own home computers. Collette has a new idea about how the search might make use of future computer technologies now being developed. Mrs Bonnington, over to you.’ Collette decided to stand rather than sit whilst giving her talk. She told the pupils how good it felt to finally meet with them and then she launched into her presentation. ‘The problem with listening for extraterrestrial radio signals is the distance these radio waves might have to travel before they reach us – as you already know. It is always assumed that any extraterrestrial neighbour we might hear from will be residents of our own galaxy. However, there is no guarantee that this will be the case. It is not impossible that our nearest correspondent might live in a different galaxy on the other...