Ages in Oblivion Thrown: Book One of the Sleep Trilogy by Kate Gray Read Free Book Online Page A

of experiment funded by their defense department, to be
beginning test subjects for long-term space flight. Maeve remained
unconvinced. It was tidy enough, to be sure, but it didn’t sit
right with her. The untouchable place in her memories sat back and
smiled. It watched, waited, and knew. Maeve could only make
conjectures, still looking through their files, thinking her
thoughts in silence.
     
    ۞
     
    Back on Earth during the storms, vacationers
swarmed through plentiful biological preserves, beaches, and
resorts. It was a comfortable and pleasant illusion. Holidaying
military personnel could be expected to spend a great deal of
money.
    Families entertaining their bored children
were similarly counted on to mindlessly part with cash. Society’s
ills were carefully hidden and scrupulously forgotten. The poor and
homeless were pushed into tent camps, always just out of sight.
Filth and decay, closeted and painted over. It was a world that
Maeve and her friends would still recognize whenever the chance to
reacquaint themselves came.
    In fact, the only people on the planet who
didn’t really enjoy the lengthy holiday were high-level
politicians, their aides, and that unpleasantly sizeable number of
impoverished persons. Somewhere in the bowels of a four-star hotel,
a certain group of individuals met. These were concerned with the
former group. It was a small though powerful gathering of men and
women.
    Commander Hawke had sent her message to
them, and they were not well-pleased. At that moment, they weren’t
even lamenting their lack of holidaying, much less quality family
time. An air of grimness permeated the room, and no measure of
gourmet food and drink plied on them would appease them. A terrible
clamor had erupted within moments of their gathering.
    “ I thought we had been assured that
this problem was long ago
resolved.” One woman spoke around an uncommon cigarette; she was
supported by more shouting from the other thirty-odd gathered
there.
    “ You said it had been destroyed.
You showed us
evidence.”
    “ What about your other promises,
Robert? Are they all worthless as well?”
    “ We’re at considerable risk here. We
need assurances!”
    “ Who did we send to take care of it?”
A voice broke into the chaos.
    “ This is what I had always been told
about the vessel: that it had been destroyed, nearly after its
inception. Of course, there had been rumors, but nothing
substantiative.” The person speaking at that moment managed to
silence everyone with a wave of his hand, and spoke on, “However,
as we all know now, this situation that our forbears worked to
suppress, simply has…arisen.”
    Robert Warden held off a new surge of
voices, and looked around him carefully, and with a deadly calm in
his voice, finished, “It, of course, means that we will have to eliminate the situation, with
minimal risk to ourselves. I have taken the initial action of
meting punishment to Commander Hawke. I think you’ll all agree that
the doctor’s usefulness has long since passed. Boko?” Silent accord
washed over the tense environment, as the person who had been
called upon stood and began to speak. He read from a communiqué
before proceeding.
    “ Well, sir, apparently your request
regarding the commander was approved by the uh, JCS, and they have
forwarded it through the chain of command. It should reach Colonel
Tarkington’s desk in a few days.”
    “ That’s what I hate about bureaucracy.
It lacks decisiveness, and the ability to destroy your enemies
quickly when you really need to.” Knowing smiles were exchanged,
and Boko spoke up again.
    “ Is it really true that these people
were programmed with the expectation that they could destroy us? I
find that a bit hard to swallow.” Robert looked at the younger man,
with only a hint of fear clouding his eyes.
    “Trust me Boko, that’s a myth. However, they
were chosen to participate in an experiment because of
certain strengths they each possess.” Not to