End of Innocence
by Romana Drew
Genre: SciFi
Lenea's brother spends every clear night pointing a telescope at the same stars. When she confronts him, he lets her look through the telescope. A small sliver speck changes course, slows, and merges with a larger silvery spot.
In that brief moment, her life changes. Her brother spies on space aliens! Soon she learns the aliens have a settlement in the Kenned Valley, and that her boyfriend monitors their communications.
Then he disappears.
What do they want, and can her world survive?
Just before he has to give up and go home broke, Captain Seddry finds the perfect world. It is rich in ore, has a breathable atmosphere, and it even has a reasonable climate — an ideal place for a new Langon colony. The fuzzy natives won't be a problem. They don't have any large weapons or even airplanes, making them too primitive to ever find the mining colony hidden away in an isolated valley. Or so he thinks.
Inside a room as large as the Festival theater, thick, black cables extended from the back of three green, metal structures, each twice as tall as Kefan. The cable went through the wall, up the side of the building, and across to the power distribution center. These machines needed a lot of power even though they didn't have any apparent purpose.
A control panel stood at one end of each machine. A square, green button filled the upper right corner, a round, black button the upper left. Below the buttons, there was a row of four black rectangles with a knob under each. They might display something when working.
Kefan twisted each knob both directions, leaving it in its original position. He pushed the black button. So far, this machine remained as inert as every other machine in the place. He pushed the green button.
A high whine, several ear-splitting thumps, and a sudden gust of wind ripped through the room. By the time the machine settled into a steady rhythmic roar, everyone inside had run outside toward the hills.
A thin plume of bluish smoke rose from the roof of the building, and a hum settled over the valley.
The lights came on.
After a rush of excited conversation, everyone tiptoed back into the factory. They crept up to the machine and walked around it. It made a frightening amount of noise, a slight breeze, and vibrated. Kefan reached out and pushed the black button. The machine sputtered to a stop. The lights went out.
I live in California with my husband, and raise baby squirrels for a wildlife care center. I could go into detail about my background and education, but that is rather boring. Let me say that I am quiet, love the outdoors, and never have enough time to do all the things I want to do.
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