AA Institute of Space Science & Technology

			The True Price of Immortality [Book 2 in the best-selling sci-fi series First Ark to Alpha Centauri by A. Ahad] Copyright © 2005-2006 A. Ahad. All rights reserved. Article posted: 29 December 2005 Synopsis It's been two years since the Centauri Princess was plagued by a series of terror attacks from mysterious winged, wolf-like creatures arriving in from the interstellar night. Having eliminated their threat, the lonely ark was once again cruising on her silent voyage towards a near-infinitely far destination, still tens of thousands of years in the future. In midst of this sereneness, what could possibly go wrong? In the immense ocean of darkness beyond our solar system, a mining expedition is despatched onto the surface of an ice world found drifting in the Oort cloud to replenish the ark ship's uranium reserves. There, it encounters mysterious revelations inside a 'city of lights'. The discovery is of something seductively beautiful, yet viciously deadly. At the same time, it offers a solution that proves priceless to a multi-generational colony crew eager to reach its unreachable destination in one single generation. In the end, a deadly struggle ensues amongst the ark's own crew in the quest for immortality... Above: Scene from Chapter 1 - 'The Planet of a Million Suns', depicted on the book's front cover [Image courtesy: A. Ahad / www.headstartproject.org] CHARACTER BIOGRAPHIES Nikolaus Zakarov - Main lead Russian origins, 42, commander in charge of ice world expedition, smokes Cuban cigars, handsome, single, has strength of character, not selfish (he's the good guy!). Caroline Fiorello Zakarov's niece. Polish origins, 26, wavy hair, topaz-blue eyes, slender figure, good looking, has genetically inherited ESP capabilities including precognitive dreams. Senior nurse from the Ark's Medical Dept by career background. Joey 27, thick styled-dark hair and bluish eyes, astronomer and field geologist by career background, married to Alcyone. A mild and responsible character, mirroring a younger Zakarov in personality profile. Shirin Choudhury Bangladesh origins, 27, chef with Asian cooking experience, emotionally sensitive, grey-green eyes, aspiring astronautical engineer, married, good looking. Dr. Frederick Chang Origins link back to China, short and stocky, wide face, narrow eyes, speaks bad English. Single, 35, nuclear fuels expert on the expedition. Haroon Fiorello Uncertain Asian origins, 30, propulsion engineer, tall, dark, handsome, thick black hair, brown eyes. Often short-tempered, quite aggressive. Married to Caroline Fiorello. Koolio Central African origins, 25, funny personality, split with his ex so looking for new love, Extraterrestrials expert. Enjoys listening to hymns, has charming humour and into women and trendy fashionable clothes. Zed Lincoln, Jr. ("Junior") US origins, blonde hair, blue eyes, 25, starship President Zed Lincoln's son, Oort cloud mining specialist by career background. Mild character, but firm. Knows what he wants. Random Excerpts - Chapter 2 : Premonitions That particular year, Autumn had arrived in even more spectacular fashion than before across the miniature world's curving interior. By the third week of October, the avenue of silver birches that ran along the entire length of Inertia Drive had turned an intense shade of yellow. The trees dazzled in the crisp, conical rays of sunshine that poured down from miniature suns suspended high above. Their small leaves fluttered in the fresh autumn breeze that blew in off the marsh-like banks of Eridanus, which flowed at the other end of the street. A soft and soothing rustle whispered through the trees that punctuated the late afternoon stillness which had settled over the quiet suburban retreat. Haroon Fiorello drove up the road in his metallic-purple sports rover and pulled into the drive way of number seventy five. He parked underneath the Douglas fir that towered up majestically from the home's front yard. It was the end of another week of grinding problem-solving at work, and he had a refreshingly 'Friday feeling' about him. This Friday was something even more special, and to spice up the occasion he'd spent the whole afternoon trawling the various malls of central Utopia looking for a couple of items of extravagance that would give a sparkle of surprise to his sweetheart. He yanked open the rover's trunk door, grabbed his bulky shopping bag and walked towards the house. Once inside he called out, "Hi honey, I'm home," angling his voice up towards the first floor bedroom. In a more normal voice he said, "We're gonna be late for Aunty Colaco's at this rate." He set the bag down onto a small tea table in one end of the living room. Rush rush rush, that's all we ever seem to do these days, Caroline thought as she slowly made her way down the flight of stairs. She'd almost finished getting ready, both her hands still trying to fit an earring onto the left lobe of her ear. "We won't be late. The A3's usually clear, seeing as we're heading for the farmlands," she said, entering the living room. "Could you help me with this?" He stared at her in sheer admiration for a second, and couldn't recall the last time she'd looked half as breathtaking. She was simply dressed in a flowery summer dress and a blue ribbon that loosely tied her blonde hair back. At twenty six, to Haroon, she appeared a true 'Centauri Princess'... no... the Centauri Princess, as in his eyes few other women out there even came close to filling that prestigious title. He helped her with her earring, standing closely behind. The scent of her hair drove his mind to somewhere between fantasy and ecstasy... maybe closer towards ecstasy, he decided. She turned around and probed wonderingly into his clear brown eyes. He took her in his arms, paused and then they kissed. Neither of them had intended it to be anything more than a light, husband and wife first anniversary kiss, although it seemed to be gradually taking them towards something more... She finally broke free. "Haroon, darling, we're going to be late!" He looked into her topaz-blue eyes. "You said the roads would be clear, remember?" he said softly. She didn't reply to that, and went over to the black shopping bag that had caught her attention. "Goodies for me? What have we got in here then." She pulled out a six-pack of champagne of a brand similar to Moet et Chandon, and a boxed-up jewellery gift. She held up the small blue box and looked at him, biting one side of her lower lip with a smile. "Oh, you are such a darling." "Open it then," Haroon said. She did. And discovered it was an expensive diamond necklace, studded with an abundance of rubies and emeralds. Caroline's face brightened even more than the sparkle thrown out by the gems in the necklace. She looked at him, standing handsome and tall. His black hair and tanned face made him look too irresistible. She called to him with her forefinger. He wandered over, and they resumed where they'd left off. An Artist's Impression of the Interior Above: The dream view never seen before in any sci-fi motion picture! A picturesque scene similar to this will be in view when looking along the length of the Centauri Princess starship interior (this impression is not to scale; in actual reality the roof would be six miles above the floor.) [Original picture credit for an O'Neil habitat: Don Davis; Graphical compositing to create cylindrical view of this *original* starship concept: Abdul Ahad] Random Excerpts - City of Eternal Lights As the rover convoy drew into the outskirts [of the city], the objects were now seen to be merely giant slabs of solid rock that had been sculptured into house-shaped blocks. Each one of which measured some seventy five feet in length by fifty feet in width, and towered thirty-odd feet up from the ground. A thin layer of ice coated each of the outer walls. They were marked by depressions and grooves where windows and doors ought to have been. But there were no windows or doors. The depressions were as featureless and glowed as white in the surrounding lighting, as the walls that contained them. Random Excerpts - Caves of Darkness As they reached the exit of the cave that looked out onto the sea of greenish methane-ice beyond, Caroline and Joey were greeted by a view of our distant Sun, shortly after it had risen above the eastern horizons. From the cave's plexiglazed opening where they stood, it appeared suspended like a glittering lantern above the frozen landscape. [Above image courtesy: David Hardy - visit www.hardyart.demon.co.uk] "That bright star's supposed to be the Solar System from which we originate?" Caroline asked quizzically. Joey heard the awe in her voice and replied, "Yep, so I've been told. Don't look that impressive from here, but I can imagine the planet Earth that my parents speak of so fondly." "Your folks really are heavily into this 'Earth' stuff, aren't they? I once saw your dad spend hours and hours looking through CPC's video library of historical Earth records." Joey smiled, "He's always been clued-up on that stuff. Can't say I never tried my hardest to steer him away from it." The Sun was shining like a bright diamond, backdropped against the stars of the constellation of Auriga - the celestial Charioteer. There it was, the giver of all light and heat and the sustainer of all life on that far away home cradle from whence the Centauri Princess was assembled and launched in a long forgotten era. * * * "I can give you a thousand of my men and women! They're all big, healthy and full of life. If you let her go." Martika hissed again, her eyes reddening with blood lust. Just then, Zakarov heard footsteps behind him. Having picked up Lincoln, the others had returned in the nick of time. Martika sensed their presence, too, and tightened her grip on Roopban, making her cry out in pain. "Let me go-" she squealed. Those evil red eyes unnerved Zakarov and put him into a momentary trance. He shook that off and thought how best to deliver his first shot once the girl was freed. Go for a soft and vulnerable spot on her body. At first he thought the heart but then decided the stomach, below the rib cage, would be best. A flicker of unwanted sympathy also flashed through his mind. Should he be killing the last of them, as they never asked to be awakened in the first place? He forcibly skipped over the thought before it could gain any weight. Haroon appeared on the scene, beside a conical pile of mining rubble behind Martika. "Yo! Over here, witch!" he shouted, levelling a hand gun. For an instant the creature was startled, losing its grip on Roopban, and the girl made a run for it. List of Abbreviations in the Book MMC = Mission Management Committee; a hierarchical organisation of officers. People who hold key positions power inside the Centauri Princess ark that oversee its day to day management in areas like the Environment, Forestry, Engineering, Navigation, Education, Information Technology, etc. The functional heads of each of these areas report to Zed Lincoln (the ark ship's President). PGM = Platinum Group Metals. You can look these up on Google. They are essentially a group of precious metals that have crtitical applications in science and engineering. For example, they are used in computer hardware and manufacture of intelligent robots ('repairbots' as they are known inside the ark, from a background that I had explained in my first book). CPC = Short for 'Centauri Princess Central Intelligence', the central computer brain that controls a lot of the ark's autonomous functions. For example, CPC adjusts the lighting and heating levels inside the ark, to mimic a 24-hour day/night control, and also mimic seasons across 365 days for managing the flowering and fruiting cycle of plants and trees, the growth and harvesting of crops inside the Farming Complex. It also has control of security and surveillance systems via things similar to CCTVs here on earth, so that crime levels are kept minimal inside the ark. MRF = Manufacturing and Robotics Facilities. A set of vast engineering plants where all the robots and hardware are built. For example, if the ark were to be struck by a meteorite (space rock), the repair of its metallic outer hull would be done by designing suitable hardware at the MRF. CST = Carbon Steel Titanium. A very robust metallic alloy, from which the ark's outer body was constructed. It has the tensile strength to withstand micro-meteoritic impacts on a voyage duration of 50,000 years. OBE = Out of Body Experience. The paranormal experiences that Caroline Fiorello had in Chapter 2 - "Premonitions". For further unanswered questions, you are advised to read the first book in the series or refer to the FAQ page for an overview. * * * The True Price of Immortality is due out August 7th 2006! * * * Amazon.com (US & Worldwide) Amazon.co.uk (UK only) Amazon.de (European orders) Barnes & Noble First Ark to Alpha Centauri - A Novel by A. Ahad "An epic fantasy voyage carrying the hopes and dreams of everyone who ever was, everyone who ever is and everyone who ever will be... on a journey spanning 2,000 generations and lasting for no less than 50,000 years into the future!" Click on the book's cover image for a fuller, more condensed version of the synopsis for this first novel in the series. You will also find information there on how to order your own copy! About the author Copyright Notice: Copyright © 2005-2006 by A. Ahad. All intellectual property and literary rights on this extract are fully reserved by the author. Any duplication is strictly forbidden. Visitor Count: