Yonder Beckons

In the fifty-first century, humanity exists in a world where peace has reigned for almost three and a half millennia, since the ‘Declaration of Amity, Multi-Nationalisms, and Understanding’ (DAMNU) that set the basis for inter-national cultural tolerance and political non-aggression; where solar energy is the dominant form of power generation; and where the grand tradition of natural philosophy, the scholarly practice that indivisibly deals with the spiritual, the material, and the psychical, has flourished uninterrupted since ancient times. Everything, in other words, is getting along just hunky-dory. Until it isn’t.

 For in the year 5074, mankind faces the threat of annihilation from a comet that seemingly appears from out of the blue. Or rather, out of the palish greyish disk of a pale white star, which had concealed it from the watchful gaze of Astronomical Philosophers until three months from a possible impact event.

With firepower practically non-existent under the GEneral non-Militarisation (GEM) agreement administered by the Conference of Nations (CoN), experts from the various fields of natural philosophy come up with a plan to utilise the global research stockpile of otherwise not particularly useful nuclear materials to create a nuclear device whose destructive power would be further enhanced by a coordinated telekinetic parabolic barrier, projected by a global team of Applied Natural Philosophy adepts, that will help shape the blast towards the comet, hopefully either deflecting or outright destroying the comet. 

Some would call that a plan. A reasonable plan given the circumstances. Certainly a workable plan. But that’s not good enough for One Student. He thinks the world deserves better. And he has a plan to bring that about too.

For That Student, self-proclaimed expert out-of-body traveller through space and time, self-styled lady-killer with a secret weapon up his sleeves (or is it down his socks), and post-graduate student at the Singhapur University National, believes in a world of the tried and tested, of coordinated focus, where people should move in lock-step toward greater natural philosophical heights for the good of all humanity. As long as they don’t expect too much concerted effort from him in particular, and as long as the coffee flows in abundance.

In a stroke of cunning to the nth degree (or so he thinks, although his buddy keeps reminding him of its illegality and dubious usefulness), That Student believes that the means to achieve such greater focus is to ‘invite’ the Maker of that Great Declaration Himself into the present era, to show him the dire danger that mankind faces, and to convince him of the need to make a little ‘course correction’ that could possibly change the way natural philosophy progresses and human society develops. All without, of course, putting in jeopardy the continued likelihood of three and a half millennia of peace. Just don’t anybody ask That Student about the finer details, like who’s going to be in charge.

From an ancient palace in a bygone era to his familiar stomping grounds on campus, That Student has to deal with a doubting buddy, handle the seriously violent yet ever resourceful ‘girlfriend’ of said buddy, cut deals with an icy maiden of dubious loyalties, and watch out for the ever present threat of ‘evil viziers’. There is also the minor detail of needing to convince the thoroughly incredulous Ancient One. All that while trying to keep out of the clutches of his buddies in the Security Centre, who are just a bunch of “decent guys, really” if only one would just “approach them nicely”.

Ultimately, he might have to settle for less than he had hoped for. Significantly less. Though the people around him might learn a bit more about That Student.

 by The Author

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The Wide Grey Yonder (Sci-fi Novel)
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