Kirjahaku

Trey Managua's and Polly Anne Dodgem's dreams were not the same, but they were compatible. Trey was unemployed at the age of sixty, the victim of a factory closure; too young to retire, too old to attract an employer. His dream was to work until he was sixty-six and retire with a comfortable nest egg for his golden years. Polly Anne was an innovator and entrepreneur. After years of research, she had finally developed a process by which she could regenerate usable cotton fiber from textile scraps. By regenerating the fiber from scraps, her "black-box" process would easily reduce the use of landfill space used for untold tons of textile waste. More importantly, her use of regenerated fiber would reduce the number of acres of land required to grow cotton, which in turn reduced the volume of chemicals and amount of water used to make that cotton grow. Her dream was to make a difference in people's lives. She only needed a manufacturing facility and skilled workers to commercialize her process. Trey's recently shuttered nonwovens factory offered the opportunity for Polly Anne to engage in manufacturing products using her regenerated cotton fiber. It was a match made in Heaven. Praise the Lord

This is a story that is raw and real. Fiercely independent, in true Texas fashion, Stark Wiseman struggles to hold his family heritage together against forces that seem bent on destroying what his grandfather and father had created. The unexpected death of his daughter seems to be the final assault on his resolvethe proverbial straw that breaks the camels back. But Stark fights on against insurmountable odds, determined to preserve his family heritage. The only thing that sustains him is his East Texas pride.

Ephraim Calvert wanted one thing: freedom from his past. Without the constraints of his past looming over him like a dark cloud, he could enjoy the life he deserved. The Texas frontier offered the opportunity to start anew and to rid himself of his past. Ephraim learned that everyone has a past and everyone has secrets. Secrets define people. To guard their secrets, people build fences. Before his struggle to build a good future on the wreckage of the past could be successful, he had to understand the secrets and accept the fences. Texas was worth the fight, no matter the cost.

Humanity One was built for one reason, and maneuverability was not it. The vessel was a massive biosphere that plowed its way through space guided by values established by humans long dead. Captain Cesar's paradigms were rocked by the fact that the Innovators did not anticipate the possibility of an alien encounter. Added to the Captain's burden was the fact that fifteen-year-old Maddie and her Generation 4 Group engaged in heresy that could spell failure for future generations and Humanity One's Mission. Torn between the teachings of the Innovators and the radical behaviors of the Gen 4 teenagers, the aging Captain struggled to find solutions to the dual dangers to humankind. Either an attack by the aliens or the assault on tradition by the teens could lead to the extinction of humans, and the Innovators offered no guidance to successfully resolve either danger.

Space Train Engineers are a contrary lot. The most contrary of all is Adin Bartlett. Joint Commander Kevin Masters personally selects Adin and his Bountiful Express crew, Conductor Bella Bok and Space Miner Shendo "Spook" Khoper, for a historic assignment to mine microbes on a distant planet in Home's solar system. The microbes are needed to replenish surface life on Home, a planet whose loss of atmosphere has forced humans to burrow into tunnels for survival. The adventure is fitting of true Home Heroes. Only Spook, a Technologist with unnatural intuitive abilities, has reservations about the assignment. Adin's only complaint is that the desk Engineers thrive on theories that don't fit and ignore realities. Bella is the balance for the combination of the aggressive and tentative natures of her crewmates as the space train encounters the unknown with minimal information. The adventure opens the crew's minds to unbridled fears, fears that far exceed their experiences as asteroid miners, and exposes them to dangers outside of human understanding. The crew's complementary abilities are the only things that can bring their assignment to a safe conclusion - if their assignment can be completed at all.

Baker Standish would rather do anything than stand in front of a history classroom full of disinterested teenagers. He chose a career outside of academia. His mentor, Professor Bill Jamison, suggested Lineal Chronology as the ideal career choice for a US History major. Baker Standish was overwhelmed by his new responsibilities. A Timekeeper's duties were far reaching, farther than he could have ever imagined. One of the hazards of the job was something HR Manager Kara Leflar called Timekeeper confusion. Between the confusion and his persistent earworm, Baker wondered if his career choice was a good one. Against a backdrop of his own reality, Baker engages in mission after mission to set the links in the chain of events that create reality in the proper order. Someone is messing with the clock and it's a constant struggle to reset it.

Baker Standish knows his world-time, his reality, the culmination of his history is at a crossroads. He also knows he is destined to play a pivotal role in choosing the right road. His experience tells him that meddling with realities can do more harm than good, but from his vantage point, meddling is the only reasonable choice. Traitors within Lineal Chronology are hell-bent on controlling the quantum elevator and the secrets that surround it. Whoever controls the elevator controls reality. With no one to trust, Baker must discover the identities of the traitors. That single task proves daunting because the traitors are not inclined to be stopped. Professor Bill Jamison set Baker on his journey. From all indications, the journey cannot be denied. Once a path is chosen, small events compound to reshape the present and the future. Baker must move forward as rapidly as possible, even though time is seemingly on his side. The risks are real, and the stakes are high. Failure is not an option ... because a reshaped reality will eliminate those closest to him.

The city of Devaney is under assault. Police chief Keck asks Detective Sarah James to "quietly" investigate the circumstances surrounding an automobile accident that took the life of Mayor Clairmont. New mayor Kamen tries to force Chief Keck to change police practices to be more "citizen friendly." An unscrupulous new drug supplier is selling fentanyl- and carfentanil-laced drugs, which is causing the deaths of Devaney young people. A crazed bar assailant with a knife has the city on edge. Detective James's two-person department juggles the cases and tries to stay above the conflict between the chief and the mayor. Sarah's focus is to protect Devaney's citizens and the integrity of Devaney Police Department.