Cover art for the anthology Relics, volume one.
RELICS, Volume 1, a fourteen-story anthology of independent science fiction and fantasy, is available in paperback now. The collection was curated by Heidi A. Hill, L. Jagi Lamplighter, and Michael Finney in coordination with Based Book Sale.
The fourteen stories are organized into three sections — The Ruins, The Remnants, and The Restored — around the idea of the relic as an object that endures for a reason. Settings range from a mythic West and 1929 Chicago to a war-torn Italian town, the Sinai, the North Sea, a glacier at the end of the world, a rogue planet, and a relic found on Mars. The contributors move freely between science fiction and fantasy rather than staying inside a single genre. The anthology grew out of the Based Book Sale community and carries its name with the blessing of the sale’s creator, Hans G. Schantz.
Features my science fiction short story, “Legacy of the High Sojourner.” Here’s an excerpt:
“Excuse me, this is Johnann,” came the voice over the communicator. He was the tallest of the engineers, not much older than Samett and just as enthusiastic.
“Yes, what is it?” said Fall.
“I’m down in main engineering, and the output from the primary reactors just jumped by seventy-three percent. I think something Mr. Bridger is doing in the nav system is affecting the primary drive.”
“The faster-than-light drive?” This was the first time Cheswick had ever sounded surprised.
“That’s how I’m reading it,” replied Johnann. “Now, at eighty percent and climbing. Could I get some confirmation here?”
“Atticus, just to be safe, stop whatever you’re doing,” said Cheswick.
“I did, but the display keeps changing anyway.” Atticus sat away from the console and pressed his palms on the tops of his thighs as if he were a child caught misbehaving.
“It’s definite,” said Mar. “I’m reading a massive power surge channeling into the vane system. I can’t be sure, but I think the ship is getting ready to depart.”
“We’ve got to get off the ship.” Atticus was on his feet. “Cheswick?”
“This is Atali on the shuttle,” he said. “The alien airlock just closed, and the vessel’s starting to resonate. The sleeve’s seal is no longer secure.”
“There’s no way off, Atticus,” said Cheswick. “Captain, separate from the sleeve and put as much distance between you and the alien as possible.”
“Blowing the sleeve from the hull,” said Atali.
The alien ship was vibrating and then jerked for a few seconds.
“This is Fall to all engineering personnel. Looks like we might be taking a trip. Find the nearest seat and secure yourselves. That includes you, Bridger,” she ordered.
Atticus sat back down, and his hands fumbled with the seat restraints.
“Separating from the alien now,” said Atali. “Setting course back to the support craft.” There was a pause and then, “Distance from alien one hundred twelve meters and increasing. The vanes seem to be arcing with some form of plasma.”
“The heliopause boundary is fluctuating,” said Cheswick. “High energy cosmic ray intensity is spiking.”
“Three-quarters of a kilometer from the alien and accelerating,” said Atali.
“This is Zann. The engineering team reports they are secure.”
“Bridger,” Fall said. “Are you secure?”
“Me? Yeah. I mean yes, I’m secure. The damn display is practically filling the room. I don’t know what I’m looking at.”
“Vanes are charged to one hundred percent by my readings,” said Johnann. “Whatever’s going to happen, it should be soon.”
Atticus heard a loud bang like a lightning strike, and he saw and then felt himself falling into the holo-display in front of him. At first, it was the opening into a series of tunnels, a flat gray background that looked as static as a painting, but then it changed.
There was a second bang, a flash, and then blackness. Whatever made the ship’s gravity had turned off. Atticus was in a high-speed express elevator falling, no, rocketing downward. He could see outside the ship, but it wasn’t space or not the kind of space he understood.
He realized he was screaming, but his voice was drowned out by what sounded like the rush of water, a vast current sweeping him and the ship into somewhere. He blinked and then saw he wasn’t looking at a hologram anymore, and although he could feel the seat restraints, it was as if he was sitting in the middle of nothing.
And then there was something.
Discover the mystery of the “high sojourner” and the secret of the starship at the edge of the solar system in Relics, volume 1.
