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    From the Dreams of Morpheus: Five Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction
    From the Dreams of Morpheus: Five Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction
    From the Dreams of Morpheus: Five Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction
    Ebook83 pages1 hour

    From the Dreams of Morpheus: Five Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction

    By Steven Ford

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    About this ebook

    A collection of five short storys of science fiction and the supernatural. You'll journey from the tormented dreams of a prisoner on a distant planet, to a graveyard encounter unlike any other, to the mysterious suicide of an entire alien civilization, to a radio that receives whispers from the universe, to the most frightening airplane ride of your life. This is a collection best read at night!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSteven Ford
    Release dateOct 3, 2009
    ISBN9781452397726
    From the Dreams of Morpheus: Five Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction
    Author

    Steven Ford

    Steve Ford began writing short stories in middle school. By the time he reached high school, his stories were earning awards. For example, one of his works was the first place winner of the Sinclair College Writer’s Workshop in 1973. Steve went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in English from Wright State University in 1978 and he continued to sell both short fiction and non-fiction as a freelance author.Post college life found him in advertising, starting as a creative copywriter and eventually rising to be position of Director of Advertising for the Bilco Corporation. In 1990 Steve saw an opportunity to enter the publishing world professionally with the ARRL—The National Association for Amateur Radio. Within a few short years Steve became Publications Manager for the ARRL, as well as the Editor in Chief of QST magazine, their monthly flagship publication with a circulation of 153,000.Steve has written more than a dozen non-fiction books for the ARRL and hundreds of articles for QST. He continues his occasional work in freelance fiction.

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      Book preview

      From the Dreams of Morpheus - Steven Ford

      From the Dreams of Morpheus: Five Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction

      Steven Ford

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2009 Steven Ford

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      A Special Hell

      I decree that the fifty-eighth year of my life begins today. The golden rays of Tau Ceti once again have found their way to the line I etched in the sandstone so long ago. Warmer days have come and Ceti Prime has completed another circuit of its star. A Ceti year is shorter than an Earth year by 36 days, but I have compensated accordingly. What year it is on Earth is beyond my reckoning…or my interest. Happy birthday to me.

      As soon as I drive the cold stiffness from my bones, I will work my way down to the grotto where the Blessed Mother promised that I would find sustenance every morning. She has never failed me in all these years. And after consuming what She has provided, I will pray my ragged Rosary and mediate on the mysteries. The Rosary always brings me comfort.

      For now, I drink in the peace of the brilliant dawn. As Ceti rises, the sand crabs—at least creatures that approximate sand crabs--will begin their chorus. Their staccato clicks will fill the canyon and provoke the dust stingers to take flight. Once the crabs creep from their burrows, they will visit me, as they always do. The crabs are curious and intelligent. In my first year of exile, we reached an understanding. They will not rob from my food supply and I will not roll boulders into their hive. The crabs have respected our treaty ever since.

      There is so little I can recall these days. My past is irrevocably fading. When Mary first appeared to me in my twentieth year, She announced that I was condemned to this place for the murder of a family. I buried my face in the pink sand and wept in shame at Her feet. Thank God I had been spared the hideous memory of what I had done. I am eternally grateful to the Blessed Mother for wiping that nightmare from my mind.

      Thankfully, I can still remember the moment when She placed her radiant hand on my shoulder. The pain of being connected to such sinless purity nearly shattered my soul. I shrank away with a scream. Do not be afraid, She said. There is hope yet. You are abandoned by humanity, but not by me.

      She fulfills her promise to feed and nourish me, but it has been at least 10 Ceti years since I have looked upon Her Blessed Face or heard Her soothing voice. I have gone gray in Her service and the relentless wind has scoured my features. It would be wonderful to glimpse Her beauty again, unfaded by time. The visage I see in my grotto pool is that of an aging man, well beyond the summer of his life and slouching into autumn.

      After my Rosary I believe I will climb to the top of the mesa. As I was falling asleep last night I heard the rumble of the triadons. They are migrating north and it is always a treat to see them. Their long necks wave like a field of impossibly tall grass and their scales flash in myriad colors. I can see their wide mouths inhaling clouds of dust stingers, continuously feeding from air. It will be a week before the last stragglers of the herd pass the mesa and vanish over the horizon.

      God is wonderful in His works.

      Kathy gazed at the dusty teradisc and tried to read its label in the gathering darkness. A simple voice command would have brought up the office lights, but she didn’t want to break the mood. Sleet pecked incessantly at the window while a Bach concerto floated overhead.

      The door annunciator chimed. Come, she called out.

      Rafe shook the water and ice from his beige longcoat as he swept into the room. It is your partner bearing good news and an invitation to dinner! Rafe fell into his favorite chair and allowed his coat to spill over the arms.

      I’ll take the news first.

      Judge Hammond has excused himself from the Burnback case. Lunacon will definitely settle. They won’t want to pursue another trial.

      Kathy shrugged as she continued to stare at the disc. That’s just as well. I don’t think I could have spent another day in that courtroom. Just working through the pretrial motions was agonizing in itself. Have you told the Burnbacks?

      No, Rafe replied with a yawn. I’ll ring them up this evening. They’ll be happy to know that they’ve just become billionaires.

      Hmm . . . at the cost of their daughter’s life. What else were you going to tell me?

      Dinner, Rafe said, leaning forward. Dinner at the Iron Chef.

      I don’t have a craving for Japanese today.

      Would you prefer a diet of teradiscs?

      What?

      You’ve hardly looked at me since I came in. What is so fascinating about that disc?

      Oh! Kathy managed a slight smile. This is from my mother’s collection. I found it this afternoon while I was cleaning out some old files. Kathy held the disc closer and squinted. Case number 6354—People vs. Jon Alter. November 23, 2081.

      Rafe stood and leaned over her desk for a closer look. That’s the case that put your mother in the spotlight—the first Exile sentencing.

      Kathy sighed. She should never have agreed to defend him. The prosecution had a mountain of DNA evidence. This was just six months after the 8th Amendment was rescinded and Justice had kicked off their Exile program. They were looking to make an example and Jon Alter handed it to them on a platter.

      Exile beats capital punishment, Rafe offered.

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