by T. R. Harris
A soft bleeping sounded in the laboratory; Lila slid to a computer terminal with Panur a step behind.
“What is it?” Adam asked. “What’s going on?”
“There has been an attempt to penetrate the Lerpiniere field surrounding the Formation.”
“What kind of attempt?”
“Teleportation, accompanied by a Q-field.”
Adam looked at Riyad.
“It has to be the third freighter,” said Riyad. “But why would the Gracilians be interested in the Formation? How would they even know about it?”
“I might have an idea,” Mike Hannon offered. “The new Gracilian crew members we brought on were part of a group who worked with Vodenik and Kovach. I heard them talking about building something they called the Formation. I remembered because Adam talked about something called a Formation disk when we were in Stimmel’s office on Woken.”
“But why would they want to steal it?” Adam asked.
Mike shook his head. “Besides that, Vodenik said they couldn’t use the teleportation equipment because he didn’t tell them about how anchor points are needed to focus the beams.”
“These beings are highly focused and accurate,” Lila stated. “And I can guarantee there are no anchor points in the Formation chamber.”
“Then how?” Mike asked.
“Such pin-point targeting of the beams without anchors is beyond the capabilities of the Gracilians,” Panur stated. “Tell me, were there any issues with the last transfers, with either the T- or Q-beams?”
“Vodenik did mention an anomaly,” Mike said.
“What kind of anomaly?”
“With the quantum beam. It didn’t retract completely. He said there was some kind of particle bleed-over to the other beams.”
Panur looked at Lila. “Three beams, in parallel, and with interaction.”
“That could do it.”
“Do what?” Adam asked.
“Open a portal in the quantum field.”
“But it would be highly unlikely,” Lila said. “And even so, the chance of them being part of this particular beam field would be astronomical.”
“The Quantum universe works differently from ours,” Panur said. “All locations are everywhere and all possibilities possible. It may not be as unlikely as you suspect.”
“What are you talking about?” Adam asked.
Lila looked at her father on the monitor. “The Luz.”
“You mean that other extinct race, the bastard children of the Aris?”
“Yes.”
“Why would they want the Formation?”
“Because they found it originally and used it to modify their species. Now they are free, with the rest of their species extinct. Perhaps they wish to reconstitute the Luz, the entire race.”
“Could they—”
None of the people aboard the Juirean Class-3 battleship had ever witnessed a teleportation event in real-time. No cameras recorded the thefts at the banks or the Depository. But now they saw the event live, as it unfolded in the laboratory on Navarus.
It only took a second, a brief shimmering before a spherical section of the laboratory vanished. This was different from when Stimmel was consumed by a blackhole. There was no sudden collapse of matter to a single bright point … and then nothing. This was an all-consuming event that left the familiar concave cavities in both the ceiling and the floor.
And the event took place where the mutants had been seated only seconds before.
Summer flew across the room, sucked by the sudden loss of air pressure toward the shallow depression cut in the floor. The pressure stabilized, and she tried climbed to her feet before sliding on the smooth cutout surface, falling again to her hands and knees. Giving up, she sat down and looked at the monitor.
“They’re gone!” she cried out. “They’re gone.”
Fifteen light-years away aboard the Juirean Class-3, Adam’s team sat in stunned disbelief. Adam could hardly breathe; his senses numb. Lila—his daughter—was gone, as was Panur, the greatest mind in the galaxy, teleported away to who knew where?
Then he firmed his jaw. He knew where: The third freighter. He even believed he knew who did it—the mysterious super-race called the Luz having somehow been resurrected from the dead after three billion years in a quantum prison.
But there was more.
“Summer!” he called out. She was still sitting in the center of the bowl left in the floor, whimpering softly, in shock over what just took place only feet away from where she was standing. “I need to speak with J’nae. Can you let her come to the surface?”
Summer looked up at the screen. Her face was blank, uncomprehending. But suddenly the expression changed. Her eyes grew fierce and focused her jaw set.
“We’re going to need your help to find them,” Adam said. “Will you do it?”
“Of course,” J’nae answered. “Panur is my Creator, and only through him will Summer and I be free.”
“There’s not much time.”
“This I know. He is declining rapidly—exponentially—and if he does not get his cells back in time, Panur will die. The galaxy cannot afford to lose the intellectual resource of Panur and Lila. I will do what I can, although at the moment, I know not what that can be. I have heard the discussion of the Luz since I have been here. Some—the leaders—were superior to the Aris. They are the ones who were locked away using quantum field technology and who are now free. To defeat them, we will need not only my intellect but also that of Lila and a fully-functioning Panur. I am at your disposal, Adam Cain. Let us join together to find Panur and Lila Bol.”
Adam stared at the screen. The mutants—including his beloved daughter—were gone, taken by superbeings he didn’t even know existed until only a few short weeks ago. Finding the mutants would be hard, getting them safely away from their captors, next to impossible.
Adam pursed his lips in anger. The galaxy had done it to him again, given him an impossible task against an unbeatable enemy.
But this time, the bastards had Lila.
This time, it was personal.
The End
Children of the Aris
Don’t miss the next exciting novel
in the Adam Cain Saga
CHILDREN
of the
ARIS
Fall of 2020
After Lila and Panur are kidnapped by the mysterious and ancient Luz, Adam and his team are now in a desperate race against time to rescue the pair. At stake, the death of the once-immortal genius Panur. With only days before his conditions worsens beyond repair, the galaxy can’t afford to lose his genius.
But there more is at stake than simply the welfare of the mutants.
The Luz are holding the mutants hostage until they get possession of the Formation. The powerful God-Machine from the First Epoch is the key to the Luz reconstituting their extinct race. And if they can, the aliens will unleash unspeakable death and destruction on the galaxy as they seek delayed revenge against their ancient tormentors, the Aris.
Yet with the Aris gone, the Luz have no one to exact their revenge against.
Only us …
Children of the Aris
Author Notes
It’s been a wild time bringing the Adam Cain Saga to life. Although a continuation of The Human Chronicles, the new series is designed as smaller, bite-size chunks of Space Opera adventure, easily consumable and with hardly an aftertaste. I hope you’ve enjoyed them, and will continue into the future.
The next book in the series—Children of the Aris—will be out in the Fall of 2020. Between now and then, I will be returning to the REV universe for a couple of books to introduce the new REV Warriors Series: Part 2.
Here’s a brief synopsis of what’s to come.
The first book in Part 2 picks up ten years after the events of REV: Retribution, book 5 in Part 1. (Soon, the complete Part 1 will be available as a box set. Be looking for it.)
Zac Murphy and his natural REVs are still around, but now th
eir universe has expanded. After the defeat of the Antaere, the Humans control the Grid with no internal enemies to speak off—only ourselves. However, Humanity has expanded beyond the Grid and discovered a vast—and dangerous—galaxy full of ambitious species, each with their own agenda.
And who better to lead this foray into the unknown than the REVs? The Humans of Earth have a basic philosophy: Let the REVs lead the way. The logic is simple. The REVs are superhuman fighters … so let them fight. It keeps the REVs and the general population apart, reducing the friction and resentment between the two species of Man. But maintaining this separation is not always possible, and conflicts arise. The REVs are discontent that it’s their blood being spilled on a dozen savage worlds, while the Humans of Earth fear the REVs because of their superior abilities. Something is bound to give.
In the meantime, Dr. David Cross is making progress toward his ultimate goal, that of producing a single Super-Human species, one to replace all the varieties that are around thanks to his prior experiments.
REV: Part 2 continues the Saga, covering the struggles taking place within a splintered Human race, both physical and political, and all set against the backdrop of constant conflicts with an assortment of alien species.
Needless to say, Humanity will never be the same after REV.
So, there’s my pitch for the next chapter in the REV Saga. Book 1 of Part 2 will be out in early October 2020. Be watching your email for announcements of all my upcoming books. And if you’re not a member of my email list, you should sign-up. There are some exciting—even revolutionary—things in the works. Be the first to know when they hit.
Now, I’m looking at the clock and see it’s time to get back to work. There are so many books to write … and it’s always the right time to write. (You were expecting something different?) Thanks for indulging my fantasies all these years. Your continued support is appreciated more than you can imagine.
With Warmest Regards to All,
T.R. (Tom) Harris
August 2020
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Novels by T.R. Harris
The Adam Cain Saga
The Dead Worlds
Empires
Battle Plan
Galactic Vortex
Dark Energy
Universal Law
The Formation Code
The Quantum Enigma
Children of the Aris
The Human Chronicles
The Fringe Worlds
Alien Assassin
The War of Pawns
The Tactics of Revenge
The Legend of Earth
Cain’s Crusaders
The Apex Predator
A Galaxy to Conquer
The Masters of War
Prelude to War
The Unreachable Stars
When Earth Reigned Supreme
A Clash of Aliens
Battlelines
The Copernicus Deception
Scorched Earth
Alien Games
The Cain Legacy
The Andromeda Mission
Last Species Standing
Invasion Force
Force of Gravity
Mission Critical
The Lost Universe
The Immortal War
Destroyer of Worlds
Phantoms
Terminus Rising
The Last Aris
The Human Chronicles Box Set Series
Box Set #1 – Books 1-5 in the series
Box Set #2 – Books 6-10 in the series
Box Set #3 – Books 11-15 in the series
Box Set #4 – Books 16-20 in the series
Box Set #5—Books 21-25 in the series
REV Warriors Series
Rev
REV: Renegades
REV: Rebirth
REV: Revolution
REV: Retribution
REV: Revelations (coming soon)
REV Warriors Box Set #1 – Books 1-3 in the series
Jason King – Agent to the Stars Series
The Enclaves of Sylox
Treasure of the Galactic Lights
The Drone Wars Series
Day of the Drone
In collaboration with Co-Author George Wier…
The Liberation Series
Captains Malicious
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