Redshift Blueshift
The Pendulum of Time
by
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From early in the book:
[Laura Shane was thinking] . . . "I need to change. How many times have I thought that, I wonder?"
On and on she thought and thought. As a genius, thinking was, after all, her job.
Laura's best friend, Judy Olafson . . . appreciated her trusting nature, her scientific brilliance, and her (more often than not) eager, naïve optimism. She was kind and caring to people and tolerant, even admiring, of the alien Dorts—awkward, hulking and amoebalike as they were.
But Laura was less than attentive to matters important to many others: the momentous social issues of the time; opportunism and incompetence in government; and careless, even aggressive, environmental degradation (no small amount of it caused by the very Cones of Transformation that her work made possible).
Instead, Laura occupied herself with things she considered important—time with friends, her fascination with the aliens, the beauties and mysteries of science, sex, and other universals. As a scientist, her grasp of visual and mathematical abstractions was without equal; but the realities that emerged from those were often beyond her emotional grasp—arousing a struggle between her exceptional mind and her ordinary feelings. This was one of those times.
Mostly, however, her intellect was busy with the great and all-embracing concepts—the infinitely large and the incredibly small—and, of course, she also had to consider her nails.
Later in the book:
Ned wanted to be the first human being to see and greet the alien, or robot, or whatever it was. It occurred to him to mount the platform, speech in hand, and walk to the other side of the Orb before its hatch opened, but he knew Clint [Head of Security] would eventually kill him, sort of, if he attempted anything so risky. [The Orb that just arrived from the planet below them had its opening hatch away form the stand where Ned was waiting.]
Welcoming speech! he thought in horror. He wasn’t positive he was ready. He glanced at the speech to make sure he wouldn’t start on the wrong note. It began, “Welcome stranger! Please accept our presence near your planet and your home. We come in peace.” Then he looked at the Dort. “Ready Doyan?” Doyan replied in the affirmative.
A brilliant display of light suddenly radiated from the opposite side of the Orb where the hatch just opened to its bright interior. There were gasps and groans of shock and awe from that side of the platform. Clearly, whatever was in the Orb had emerged full-blown. The amazed crowd noise spread clockwise toward Ned’s right. Whatever it was, it moved cautiously on its circumnavigation of the platform. Even the band was silenced and agape.
Ned wondered, "What are these gasps and groans about? Surprise, fear, what?" He waited with rising anxiety and anticipation. The thing had almost reached a location on the platform where Ned could glimpse it for the first time, but was startled by the cocking of guns and the rattle of other military contraptions. It was about to appear! One quick look at the speech! “. . . We come in peace. . . . Welcome. . . .”
Then, but indistinctly due to bright spotlights, it came into view. In another moment it had positioned itself directly in front of Ned! The surrounding ordnance made more clattering noises, but Clint’s men had not yet fired—which could have happened already, Ned believed, if Clint had been in attendance. Ned stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the creature before him, and then . . . !
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About the Book
The first aliens to arrive on planet Earth were the Dorts. They were amoebalike and frighteningly large, but they did favor us with the Theory of Transformation—a brilliant advance over prior attempts by theoretical and particle physicists to create the ultimate, Unified Theory of Everything; but like all great theories, even theirs had limitations.
Centuries after the first Dorts arrived, Laura Shane was born. She reinterpreted the Dort Theory by giving it the “finishing touch” of her genius. It led to the faster than light removal of miles-deep, cone-shaped plugs from planet Earth. The latest and largest such Cone carried a crew of thousands. It was named the Great Cone of Transformation.
Through his 3T Corporation, Ned Keller directed the creation of Cones. Despite Laura’s unease about her first voyage into space, she and Ned went together on the Great Cone’s maiden mission.
Two weeks later they were light years from home when Ned’s “boss,” Jack Lewis, arrived to inform them of an event on Earth with implications for their mission. Unfortunately his concern did not include awareness of what those implications might be; but they were already in peril. It was sabotage—the first in a series of calamities.
Before the final calamity began to close in on them (the “Big Rip,” set to destroy the entire local multiverse) and before Jack’s recent arrival, it was still teatime on the Great Cone. Laura and Ned were having a pleasant morning beside her pool. The story begins there, with our attractive young genius sipping tea and deep in thought about her bewildering circumstances and the unchanged perception of all the things around her. Ned was reading comfortably in a nearby lounge chair.
Now and then he’d look up to speak of love, while shamelessly admiring her long and lovely legs.
About the Author
Leslie Peterson (AKA C. Leslie Peterson or "Les") lives in Bloomington Minnesota. He may be reached at 1leslie@comcast.net (or leslie@impella.net) where you may comment, ask questions about the book, or request a signed copy. The author received his undergraduate degree from the U of Minnesota and his master’s (MSW) from the U of Utah. There were many and varied professional activities during his years in the social work field. He enjoys reading popular works on particle physics and cosmology, and most forms of adventure and science fiction. He likes to travel, and delights in visits with his daughters and grandchildren. "REDSHIFT BLUESHIFT: The Pendulum of Time" is a science fiction novel.