(K)night of Babel
()
About this ebook
A lone man asleep in a high-tech pod is awakened by a bad dream. His mind begins to analyze the dream soon realizing something sinister is going on. Technology in this not-too-distant future society has developed surgically implanted communications devices so he is constantly online. He logically follows the clues to uncover the threat and reach a thrilling conclusion.
All action takes place in our hero's mind as he lies in total darkness. It is a story with one character devoid of scenery, costumes, dialog or any of those other extraneous things usually thought to be part of a story. He lays still in total darkness throughout the story.using his implanted device and his intellect to analyze the situation. Important philosophical issues must be confronted in addition to solving the mystery. How much power can be entrusted to a central authority? is it better to rely on your own internal memory or stash it in the "cloud?" Imagine having your cell phone, calculator and GPS coupled with gigabytes of memory all tucked away safely within your own body, always online, never lost, never forgetful, never out-of-touch.
It may sound like far out science fiction but I'm old enough to have grown up in a world where phones were attached to walls by coiled wires, phone calls cost money, calculations were done on slide rules, no satellites orbited the planet to support GPS and the first high speed digital computers occupied several rooms. We've come a long way in less than one lifetime.
Robert Padgug
Bob Padgug is an Electrical Engineer residing with his wife Judy in Buffalo, NY. He is the father of two boys, Josh and Bram, and now has two wonderful grandsons, Micah and Isaac. His career encompassed several decades designing advanced radar systems and signal processing techniques. Bob also taught college engineering courses at the University of Buffalo contributing to several ideas included in his book Continuum.
Related to (K)night of Babel
Related ebooks
Metaworld Chronicles Volume 1: Metaworld Chronicles, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAida Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Magic King (The Jade Lee Romantic Fantasies, Book 3) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Clatter of Her Heels Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHard to Believe: Death and Resurrection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMind at Large: Deivid's spiritual trips Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMind at Large Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPassengers to Sentience Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tomorrow and Tomorrow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Debt Collector Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIxora Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hive Revealed Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCyber - Part 3: Cyber, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLacuna: Catalyst: The Symbiot-Series, #17 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHarvest the Fire Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bedtime Stories for Grown-ups Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Way Ahead: A LitRPG Adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sagittarius Mysteries: Part 2 Revolver Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMech: An Archangel Project Short Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMech: An Archangel Project Short Story: Archangel Project Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen Mother Comes Home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIdentity Changes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSleepwalker Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEclectic Sheep That Androids Never Dreamed Of Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPermutation City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dawn of a To-morrow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlien Offensive: Book 3 - Humankind Strikes Back Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Flip Side Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSleep Tight: A DC Rose Gifford Thriller Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Science Fiction For You
This Is How You Lose the Time War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers for Algernon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wool: Book One of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Am Legend Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cryptonomicon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Annihilation: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Camp Zero: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silo Series Collection: Wool, Shift, Dust, and Silo Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Her Body and Other Parties: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shift: Book Two of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Troop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Who Have Never Known Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frankenstein: Original 1818 Uncensored Version Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England: Secret Projects, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Psalm for the Wild-Built Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sarah J. Maas: Series Reading Order - with Summaries & Checklist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rendezvous with Rama Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How High We Go in the Dark: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dust: Book Three of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unsheltered: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Deep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower: And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for (K)night of Babel
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
(K)night of Babel - Robert Padgug
(K)night of Babel
Robert Padgug
Copyright 2015 Robert Padgug
All rights reserved.
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
(K)night of Babel
Den woke with a start; something was strange. Waking had ripped him from the talons of a horrific dream leaving him safely free of its menacing grasp. But all memory of the nightmare had slipped away, slinking over the brink into some deep abyss of his subconscious mind. Recollection now eluded his semi-awareness as he searched in vain to recover its malevolent theme. This was foolish. Why was he torturing himself struggling to resurrect a nightmare? Forget it! Let it go! He breathed in one extended breath to still his convulsive gasps. A dream was a dream; now it was gone. Good riddance. Still something was strange.
He had not yet opened his eyes but lay silently imagining what he would see if he opened his eyes. The heavy gel mattress had leisurely molded to every contour of his body, distributing his weight to float feather-like on its surface. It must be pitch black. After all, he was still in his sleep pod, his brand-new Morpheus II. No light could seep in. If it were up-count then his alarm would have initiated the usual waking process, soft melodic tones would be building steadily in volume as warm lavender light bathed his body. He heard no music therefore no light, ergo it must be pitch black.
Slowly cracking open his left eye, Den confirmed this logically sound thesis; it was pitch black. His right eye followed. Two deep breaths punctuated the thought, further smoothing his erratic panting. He was awake, lying comfortably, enveloped in velvet black. What count could it be? It would be easy to find out but he opted instead to lie quietly, convinced his alarm was poised, ready to strike. But why did he feel so strange?
Suddenly it hit him…cold…he was cold. At least he was pretty sure the sensation surrounding his body was the sensation of cold. It had been so long since he had felt it. That was it! That was his dream. Now he remembered. He had been plummeting uncontrollably down, accelerating along a slippery sinuous path, grasping for the slightest handhold to stay his fall. Icy wind whipped his hair, stinging his cheeks, helpless, unable to find the slightest anchor to slow his downward rush, faster and faster, until… splash…he slammed headlong into a frigid pool. His momentum drove him down deep below the foreboding surface, clawing to get back up, suffocating as glacial cold ripped his flesh. Above him, the faint glow of the surface beckoned mercilessly but struggling to the brink of exhaustion brought it no closer. His lungs exploded a last gasp as…he woke. Now he was fully conscious, panting irregularly, free from the frigid illusion but still cold. Impossible. The temperature in his sleep pod was carefully controlled for his comfort, as were all living spaces. Cold was not acceptable. Damn. He didn’t need a control problem in his brand-new top-of-the-line sleep