Shadow Planet
by
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The area around this valley, as does most of the surface of the planet, resembles the semi-arid deserts of the state of New Mexico. Here in the valley there seems to be no vegetation, but the area is mostly dry and seeming to lack much rainfall. Huge boulders and rock formations abound. The explorers maintain constant verbal contact with the single crew member remaining on board, and for the most part, they all are within visual view as well from the high vantage point of the upper viewing windows of the shuttle. For two hours, routine procedures are followed, and as the sun begins setting, it dawns on the team’s leader that, except for certain flying critters, they have not noticed any other life within their area of investigation. The five explorers make plans to return to the ship. Suddenly, in an already darkened arroyo, an earsplitting crash occurs killing the person investigating within. It happened instantly, and the poor chap had no chance to even see it coming. The others are startled by the quickness of the terrible event, and before they can react, another crew member, in another darkened gully, is killed by something crashing down upon her. The remaining three hastily try to return to the ship, but by now the entire area is in darkness. From the observation window of the shuttle craft the pilot, and sixth member of the crew, watches as her remaining three crew members are smashed by what appears to be massive falling pieces of black glass. As night falls, and the shadows wreak their devastation, at the last moment before the entire shuttle craft is destroyed, Flight Lieutenant Mavis Jackson, the last living crew member, gets off a message of warning. It is this message that will be relayed all the way to Earth. With a mind-numbing realization of what has happened, she rapidly sends her observations back to the base site . . . Danger . . . shadows are alive and killing us . . . beware . . .
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About the Book
It’s 2159, and mankind has only recently developed a space drive system that allows for traveling light year distances within the galaxy. In fact, that’s the maximum single trip distance that they can travel: Humans must hop and skip, in and around near-space, by a series of single light year jumps. At this time in mankind’s history, two distinct classes of humans are emerging: the class who lives in space aboard spacecraft, on asteroids, low-g habitats, or Pony Station satellites, and resemble hairless orangutans. The other class being those who live on planetary surfaces, and who still retain the familiar shape of surface-dwelling humans. Both classes have enjoyed a genetic modification that grants a longer life span. Humans live for more than 250 years. Exploration beyond the limits of the solar system has recently begun. At a distance of six light years from Earth, a planet had been discovered, sixty-seven degrees from the plane of the ecliptic, in the system the space explorers have named Brandio. They’ve named the planet Chon, because of the availability and correct percentages of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen suitable for supporting human life and development. humans have been living on its surface for five years. Mankind hopes this effort is the first of many far-flung colonies that will eventually follow more discoveries of habitable planets. A very dangerous and lethal form of circumscribed intelligence has recently been discovered in a large valley on the other side of the planet from the first human colony. The intelligence exists in the form of alien shadows who, for some reason, collapse, explode, and die at the end of each day when the sun disappears. Possessing considerable weight, the crashing shadows have killed six humans from the colony, who were exploring the valley, and completely destroyed all other forms of life within their area. The area of destruction is increasing in size on a daily basis, and if not stopped, will eventually inundate the entire planet. The mysteries of how this particular nemesis, the shadows, came to be and why they live such short and devastating lives, must be solved. They must stop the encroachment of the shadows over the surface of the planet if the human population on the planet is to survive. The crew of the spacecraft The Eighteenth of Darkness II has been called to help solve the mystery behind the deadly shadows. Five generations of space humans are on board and include three siblings who, with the help of a 250-year-old great-great-great-grandfather, and a ten-thousand-year-old friendly snail-like alien, travel to the planet and assist in solving the problem. What they find is an interesting and perplexing situation: an alien experiment gone awry. The adventure includes a disclosure of the past history of Earth’s space travel discoveries and breakthroughs. The team manages to solve the shadow problem, but only after receiving some much-needed assistance from a highly unlikely source: thirteen great-great-great-grandchildren, who possess a single-minded mentality, and powers that are going to lead mankind into a new realm for its future.
About the Author
Bill Schlondrop grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He loved swimming, set some records in high school, and swam for a time with the University of Wisconsin. In 1951, he joined the Marines and went off to fight in Korea. He fell in love with the Marine Corps, staying for twenty-four years. A mustang, he held all the enlisted rates but one, and was selected for the Marine’s first Warrant Officer Candidate program in 1960. During the saber-rattling episode between Russia and President John F. Kennedy in 1962, Bill went as the Maintenance Officer to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with the Hawk missiles deployed there. While in Vietnam, again with the Hawk Missile System, he received his promotion to captain. He retired from the Marines in 1974. He has traveled to twenty-seven countries and thirty-three states, while in the Marines, and during his second career as a Training Manager, teaching Hawk system maintenance to other users. In 1994, he received his degree in Professional Communications. During 1998, he had a part time byline in the El Paso Times Living Section, where he addressed the spiritual aspects of recovering alcoholics. He is a past president of the El Paso Writers’ League. He taught Creative Writing to senior citizens for the El Paso Community College’s Senior Adult Program. Bill and his students were the sole contributors to the 1999 publication Memories Etc released by the school in the spring of 1999. Numerous short stories and poems of his have been published in Leatherneck, a Marine Corps publication; Barbaric Yawp, Bone World Publishing, New York, NY, The Story Shop VI, Rio Grande Press, Las Vegas, Nevada; Science News, Marion Ohio; Grit, American Life & Traditions, Ogden Publications, Topeka, Kansas; and The Midwest Poetry Review, Atlanta, Georgia. He has his science fiction screenplay, Mr. Muffet Strikes Back, in Hollywood at the moment looking for a producer. While his writing of science fiction began only recently, he had been an avid fan and voracious reader of the genre for sixty years. The author of four other books, three of them in the speculative fiction genre, his fourth is an autobiographical study dispelling certain myths about the recovery from the disease of alcoholism. He writes because he must, and because he has something to say. He wants his writing to make a difference. Bill and his wife live in California.