Captain Bolide and the Evil Planet

Chapter One: The Object at Apollo III

All the lights on the rocket ship’s bridge held their position, as if the entire craft awaited the results. No beeps or boops echoed; instead, the steady drone of the life support systems was the sole sound on board. Even Captain Bolide held his breath.

Then, what sounded like the rattling of small machines came out of T.I.M.’s, Thinking Intelligent Machine, mouth. Two red light bulbs brightening up was the cue signaling that the operation was a success.

“Thank you, captain,” T.I.M. said. “With the new neuroprocessor, I can generate new programming based on our missions together. No longer am I restricted to the system defaults and your customizations.”

Bolide stepped back, his eyes studying T.I.M.’s torso control panel. “Good to hear. I knew the technicians on Runa Pente made quality innovations. The only doubt was in my skill in installing it.”

With a soft pat on T.I.M.’s rounded head, Bolide walked towards his command panel and peered at the data screen. A large white outline of a circle against a black backdrop confirmed that the remaining minutes of the voyage were all clear. To the left of the space radar display was a stream of labels, each one accompanied by a three digit number. The captain was seasoned enough to make sense of the readouts, but it was still nice to gaze up at the little green lights above to confirm all systems were nominal.

A twist of a knob powered the view screen. For Bolide, space appeared empty, but he could hear the whirl inside T.I.M.’s head indicating the robot was zooming in.

“Captain, I am making out an anomaly near Apollo III.”

Bolide lifted an eyebrow and glanced over at T.I.M., but the robot remained silent.

The captain blew air out of the side of his mouth and counted in his head to five. Then, with a sigh, he filled in the robot to the non-verbal hint. “T.I.M., my eyebrow lift is a non-verbal cue for inquiring to know more.”

“Oh, I apologize, captain. I will make a note of that. What I am seeing is there is something large near Apollo III that is not on any star chart.”

Lowering his view back to the data screen, he saw a dot indicating the gas giant Apollo III coming into sensor range. The rest of the screen remained empty.

“There seems to be nothing amiss, T.I.M., maybe the new processor is-.”

Just then, one of the numbers in the data screen read out in four numerals. The sight of it caught Bolide’s attention. He watched it move up as other, three digit numbers come in. Before he could declare it an outlier, another four digit popped up, then another, then a two digit number.

“What the-?”

As more numbers out of whack appeared, the yellow gas giant Apollo III came into view, and with it, a relatively small black sphere was visible. Straining his eyes, Bolide made out red cracks on the black surface and what seemed to be moving dark crimson clouds.

“What the-? Is that a moon?”

More rattling came from T.I.M.’s head. “No, captain. The object’s orbital path is not revolving around Apollo III but the star Apollo itself. It is a planet in its own right, but it is in orbital sync next to Apollo III; however, it appears to be small enough to be locked with Apollo III.”

The captain stared at the object on the viewscreen. There it remained, centered, appearing dark and foreboding. Something about it upset his stomach. He wanted to look away but couldn’t resist remaining transfixed on it. Only the thought of using the data screen to study it freed his eyes.

Twisting knobs and dials failed to obtain any readings of the black planet. It was as if it wasn’t there.

The ship’s radio whistled, indicating an incoming transmission. A man’s voice, out of breath and weak, spoke. “Attention, unidentified vessel. This is Marshall Sam Tejas. I am in need of immediate assistance. Please help.” A series of coughs was replaced with static, and the radio went dead.

Bolide snapped into action. “Sam?! T.I.M., lock onto that signal, we’re going to help!”

Without moving, T.I.M. responded, “Yes, sir.” After a rattling noise, he continued, “His location is on the planet. I am getting readings of a rocket ship.”

The robot went over to its command console and plugged in the coordinates.

For his part, the captain looked at the dark planet and said, “Hold on, Sam, we’re coming.”

Chapter Two: The Message

Hot, humid air filled Captain Bolide’s nose, adding to the surprise that this planet’s air was breathable. The earlier scans stated the atmosphere was normal, too normal for Bolide’s liking. Yet, here he was, breathing in the air that was the right mix of oxygen and nitrogen while also being free of harmful biologics.

Moving forward, he parted the thick brush of ebony ferns and inky tall grass, with T.I.M. trailing behind him.

Then, an opening revealed what they were searching for: Tejas’ rocket ship. The batter hulk lay in three large pieces while smaller chunks were strewn about. The metal was rusted and burnt in places.

“My goodness,” the captain said, “it’s a miracle Tejas survived! I’ll look for the bridge, you scan about.”

With a dash, he raced toward the head of the crashed rocket. However, where it should be, the rocket ship was torn apart. Only the remnant of a captain’s chair was discernible.

Toward the engine’s resting place, T.I.M.’s voice yelled, “Captain, I found something.”

Bolide gasped. He hurried to the robot. When he arrived, he saw a charred leather flightsuit. Something with half a shine grabbed his attention nearby.

“A recorder!” he declared.

Picking it up, he pressed play, and both he and the robot listened to a raspy voice’s last testament.

“This is the log of Deputy Cade Bravura. We, uh, Marshall Tejas and I were investigating reports of space pirates and several cargo carriers disappearing near Apollo III. When we arrived, we found this- this- planet that shouldn’t be here. I know we should have called it in, but something about it made us think we needed to check it out.

“It’s all wrong. Black plants, crimson clouds that don’t move with the wind, and rivers of- well, I’m going to say it- blood.

“I wanted to leave, but Marshall Tejas seems hellbent to keep me here. He is eyeing me up right now. I think he has gone insane. Well, I am preparing for him to turn on me, and when he does, I will take the rocket back and report this planet. Maybe then we can get a proper survey team here. Curse Marshall Tejas. Oh, I hear him coming.”

Both Captain Bolide and T.I.M. stood and looked around.

“Deputy Bravura mentioned nothing about a crash,” the captain said. “And Marshall Tejas always was a good man when I worked with him. Something is horribly wrong here. Let’s split up and see if we can find Tejas and figure out what happened.”

Chapter Three: Encounters

The black jungle thicket gave way to Captain Bolide’s ray gun, which cut a hole through the worst of it. However, tendrils with small dark red barbs kept snagging on the captain’s wavy blonde hair. Meanwhile, the burning plants left toxic smoke that dizzied his head.

“Dag nabbit,” he muttered to himself, “everything about this planet hurts.”

Just then, the ray gun burnt through into a large opening. Bolide holstered his weapon. While he let the thick, visible, black fumes die, he took in what looked like a small pond of clear water surrounded by seemingly the only green grass on the entire planet.

However, before the smoke settled, he heard a moan, a human moan. Twisting his head so his right ear pointed forward, he made out another moan. Pushing forward, he powered through the wavy ebony fumes and made it to a small glen with only sightly shaky vision.

As his head cleared up, he saw lying on the ground Marshall Tejas. The lawman’s eyes were swollen shut, while his hands were burnt and uniform torn.

“Sam!” Bolide cried. “Are you conscious?”

The marshall groaned as his body shifted. His weak voice then came through the moaning. “I needed to stop him. It’s not him.”

Meanwhile…

T.I.M. picked up yet another scrap of the rocket and placed it with the rest. Cataloguing all the pieces would allow Captain Bolide to determine how exactly this tragedy occurred. He said that the loved ones of these fallen law enforcement agents deserved to know what happened. To T.I.M., knowing the importance of informing others about the fate of people registered in a new file, expanding its worldview.

Just then, a small charge of electricity jumped from a black blade of grass to T.I.M.’s foot. In an instant, the robot powered down, its back slumping forward in the off position. But then, internal mechanism began whirring again, and his back straightened up. His eyes were red, but not the normal red; there was something darker in the light.

“I must spread,” T.I.M.’s body said.

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Looking for psychological military science fiction? Read about the adventure of veteran Brendan Murphy as he tries to keep peace between Earth and a mysterious alien race known as the Sabia. Read the Fallen series today! Please remember to leave a review once you are done. Reviews are the lifeblood of independent creators, and using these links helps me too via the affiliate program!

Get the First Book Fallen

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And I am drafting the fourth book presently.

Or check out my humorous Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency short stories.

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Next time, I will finish the Captain Bolide #2 saga!

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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The Ancient Belief that the Planets are Evil

The Interpreter

During my first deployment to Afghanistan, one night I was standing on a ridge with my Afghan-American translator. We were gazing up at even higher mountains in the distance. A ruin was barely visible. That decrepit wall and husk of a building were once an observatory of the Ghaznavid Empire.

The Ghaznavids were ethnic Turkic but culturally Persian, ruling an empire around A.D. 1000 from western Iran to parts of India, with the capital in modern day Afghanistan. The empire’s most famous scientist, al-Biruni, is considered the founder of modern geodesy - the science of measuring the Earth - and the first astronomer to combine Indian, Islamic, and Greek astronomical thought into one. In his writings, he wrote how the science of astronomy was separate from the superstition of astrology; and his work helped perfect how praying Muslims worldwide determined the direction to Mecca.

So when I asked my interpreter what the local names for the constellations were, I was surprised that the response I got was, “No. We don’t look at the stars. That’s old women stuff.” When I inquired what he meant, he explained to me that “old women” would look at the stars to tell fortunes. The empire of science had fallen into the realm of superstition. It was another point of the decay of Afghanistan.

However, I later found out that some ancient cultures had beliefs beyond astrology about evil in the sky. Some of those cultures survive to this day, whether in their original group or through fringe theories. Among these beliefs is the idea that the planets themselves are evil.

The Ancient Israelites and the books of Enoch’s Prison Planets

The Book of Enoch has been surging in popularity with those who have overlapping interests in UFOs and fundamentalist Protestantism. These people believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, the Bible being eternal as a living corpus vice an agreed upon canon, and ancient aliens-like ideas of human and alien/fallen angel hybrids.

The book - which only the Ethiopian Oriental Orthodox claim as scripture and even then not in a literal form - itself dates from around 200 BC, though it claims to be thousands upon thousands of years old and written by the great-grandfather of Noah, the ark builder. One of the first parts of the book deal with fallen angels having children with humans, making a race known as Nephilim, who were described in the Book of Genesis as “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.” (Genesis 6:4, Revised Standard Version).

Despite modern fringe groups’ significant focus on the Nephilim, the Book of Enoch includes astronomical statements. According to the book, God arranged the stars in constellations, overseen by celestial beings who direct their movement across the heavens. God uses the angel-led stars to mark time. Everything in the heavens that is ordered is godly.

Not so the planets, which ancients realized were something else because they moved differently from the “other” stars. The Book of Enoch’s author did not like how planets broke the orderly universe. These seven stars - the seven visible planets - are described in the book’s chapter 18.

I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains, and to me, when I inquired regarding them, The angel said: ‘This place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a prison for the stars and the host of heaven. And the stars which roll over the fire are they which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord in the beginning of their rising, because they did not come forth at their appointed times. And He was wroth with them, and bound them till the time when their guilt should be consummated (even) for ten thousand years.’

The Book of Enoch depicts the planets as prisons for fallen angels and also a spiritual creature and/or angel itself that has sinned against God.

This ancient belief that the planets are either prisons for fallen angels or a sort of fallen angel itself has made its way to TikTok.

Interestingly enough, there is a Second Book of Enoch, written around AD 800. It features a classical understanding of the solar system and universe, to the point that God in the book uses the names of Roman gods for the planets. Meanwhile, the book lacks mention of the Nephilim. No modern day conspiracy theories seem based on the Second Book of Enoch.

The Mandaeans and the Evil Holy Spirit’s Children

From the swamps of southern Iraq to the diaspora in Australia, Sweden, and the United States, there is an ethnic group known as the Mandaeans. While there are competing theories of their origin, the leading one involves a group leaving Judah around AD 50 and settling in Iraq.

Their religion is fascinating as it is the closest living Gnostic rival to orthodox Christianity. The religion honors Adam, Noah, and John the Baptist as prophets. Abraham, the founder of the Jewish people, is viewed as a Mandaean priest who became a false prophet because of his claims that God commanded circumcision. However, the true hatred in the religion is aimed at Jesus. Mandaeans view Jesus as a person who tried to worm his way into the divine’s favor after the universe’s true evil seduced him. Mandaeans further claim John the Baptist denounced Jesus, and since then there has been a rivalry between the faiths.

In Mandaeism, God is referred to as the Hayyi Rabbi, aka The Great Life or King of Light. However, in the vast league of evil there is Ruha d-Qudsha - literally “Holy Spirit” - who is a female spirit who uses false prophets such as Jesus to lead people astray. Ruha also started mankind’s fall by seducing Adam in the Garden of Evil.

Ruha entered an incestuous union with her demon son who rules the underworld and gave birth to the planets. The planets form her entourage and are demons that govern the days of the week, impose fate, death, and astrological influences on man.

The Mandaean solar system is below

• Sun - Rules Sundays - Mixed, long story horribly shortened is the Sun is a representation of Hayyi Rabbi’s life-giving light, but the Jewish God also made a physical sun to compete with Hayyi Rabbi.

• Moon - Rules Mondays - Miscarriages, abnormal births, and imperfections.

• Mars - Rules Tuesdays - War.

• Mercury - Rules Wednesdays - Knowledege, supports Jesus.

• Jupiter - Rules Thursday - Malevolent authority.

• Venus (sometimes Ruha herself, sometimes her daughter Libat) - Rules Fridays - Evil seduction.

• Saturn - Rules Saturdays - Restrictive fate, supports Jews.

Esoteric Christianity: Christianity Plus Magic Equals Evil Planets

There is a trend among some Christians to hold esoteric beliefs. These people combine traditional Christianity with a grab bag of ideas ranging from ancient magic to astrology to mystical Judaism and much more. As there is no one Esoteric Christian set of beliefs, I will sum up a particular set as stated by an Esoteric Christian who uses the pen name Ioannis Goldmouth.

In Goldmouth’s cosmology, planets are not merely inert celestial bodies but can be potentially malevolent entities intertwined with ancient cosmology, divine order, and demonic influences.

CORRECTION: I will keep the above statement as a record of where I am wrong. Goldmouth was kind enough to offer this correction to my statement. “Although I will say that my article was slightly misrepresented. I do not believe the stars or planets themselves are necessarily malevolent deities. I believe the stars themselves are physical conduits for both good and bad spirits, sort of like an “angelic ZIP code.” I believe that all of creation, including the celestial bodies, is inherently good because God created it. In fact, the Church actually condemns the notion that the stars and planets are imprisoned spirits as a heresy.

He writes how in ancient Greek thought, planets embodied harmonious orbits that mirrored divine reason and mathematical laws; they served as “secondary gods” or living creatures with souls, crafted by the divine to bridge the earthly realm with higher divine spheres.

In Christianity, these planets form part of the host of heaven, conscious beings capable of willful obedience to God, as evidenced by biblical events like the Sun and Moon halting during Joshua’s battle, aligning with Orthodox interpretations of them as celestial intelligences akin to angels.

However, in the medieval magic book known as the Testament of Solomon, where demons like Onoskelis are linked to planets such as Saturn, planets can be intermediaries for spiritual entities, with occult rituals done according to planetary orbits to summon demons.

Extending the present, Goldsmith ties this in with UFOs and “aliens,” stating phenomena like falling stars or orbs are demonic manifestations tied to these planet spirits. Goldsmith states Christians should be vigilant against “aliens” coming from planets that are ruled by demons.

Podcast Update

This past weekend I interviewed fellow science fiction author Schalk Holloway about the recent waves of End Times prophesies. While critical thinking skills were used in taking down the false prophets of doom, it goes heavily into a Christian point of view - me being a Catholic and Schalk being active in a Pentecostal network in South Africa. I didn’t send it out via email because it is more religious than science fiction, but for those interested you can watch or listen below.

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Unit Next Time

Next time, I will start the two part short story series based on this topic: Captain Bolide and the Evil Planet!

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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Schalk Holloway

Schalk Holloway is a published author across multiple fields of specialist literature and an occasional independent novelist. His literary roots lie in Christian ministry, where his work has been adopted into the official curriculum of over 2,000 congregations and translated into four languages. He has also written extensively on training methodologies within the combative arts.

Schalk’s professional background includes: Christian ministry; over twenty years of experience and grassroots interventions in at-risk communities; professional combatives, firearms, and tactical instruction; tactical execution of intelligence-based operations within select security and policing environments.

Schalk Holloway's Website

Get Schalk's Books

In 2004 I interview Schalk Holloway about his South African heritage and how it influence his science fiction. It was a great chat.

Buy My Books

Looking for psychological military science fiction? Read about the adventure of veteran Brendan Murphy as he tries to keep peace between Earth and a mysterious alien race known as the Sabia. Read the Fallen series today! Please remember to leave a review once you are done. Reviews are the lifeblood of independent creators, and using these links helps me too via the affiliate program!

Get the First Book Fallen

Get the Second Book Risen

Get the Third Book Dormiton

And I am drafting the fourth book presently.

Or check out my humorous Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency short stories.

Get the SPDA 1 & 2

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Share Patrick Abbott, Author Substack

Science fiction has long been a tool for cultures to envision how they would evolve and examine and comment upon contemporary issues. As I consumed more science fiction in various forms of media and met other authors, I began to appreciate the differences and similarities of foreign science fiction.

Motivated to learn more, I am contacting non-American scifi creators to get their comparisons of science fiction from around the world. If you are interested in being interviewed or know someone who would be, please comment below!

See previous interviews with creators from Canada, England, Nigeria, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, and Ukraine.

Cathy Smith

Cathy Smith is a Mohawk writer who lives on a Status Reservation on the Canadian Side of the Border on Turtle Island (North America).

She is a Mohawk writer which is why she’s chosen “Khiatons” as her motto. It means “I am a writer” or “I write” in Mohawk. She writes soft scifi, fantasy and the occasional non-fiction piece.

She writes soft scifi and reads classic scifi. So far “first contact” is the theme that resonates the most with her. Either there is an arrogance in the name of science that is triggering to her given her heritage. Or else there is a ridiculous amount of timidity about reaching out to the “other.”

Her love of myths and legends makes her a fan of modern fantastic literature that acts as modern myth. Though she thinks it’s best for today’s writers to be aware of pop culture not a slave to it. She hates to see the richness of myths reduced to an over-simplified soundbite.

She has seen people give opinions when they’re less informed than she is. Sometimes in a display of ignorance or of inspiring confidence. This has encouraged her to reach out with opinion writing. Though she makes sure she gives a list of the sources she cites.

Her goal is to contribute to the discussion in whatever genre she writes in.

Her Substack is below and her Wordpress sites links to many of the books she has written.

Cathy Smith-Khiatons-I Write Substack

The Substack of a Mohawk who writes fantasy, soft sci-fi and indigenous fiction

So, before we start, you have a unique identity compared to the standard nationalities that I have interviewed before. How do you identify in terms of First Nations, First Peoples, Native American, American Indian, or some other term?

I don’t mind First Nations. We prefer to call ourselves Haudenosaunee, settlers called us Iroquois. My people were a group of First Nations that formed a Confederacy in the Eastern Woodlands. My particular First Nation is Mohawk, we call ourself Kayen’kaha.

Tell us about your science fiction works.
I am interested in the niche genre of Indigenous Futurism, if only because I don’t want to be told I can only write historical fiction if I write about my people. So far I concentrate on genre fiction with some indigenous characters in the narrative and perform the indigenous futurism experiments as short stories.

What makes your science fiction works unique?

I like writing Indigenous characters in mainstream genre fiction to prove we do have something to contribute to a futuristic story and aren’t just throwbacks. We are capable of adapting and my people have an ideal of thinking 7 generations ahead and not just of the immediate situation which is something mainstream society can learn from us.

Science fiction creators have had difficulty thinking about First Nations cultures in the future. Star Trek the Motion Picture depicted a Starfleet officer in a combination of traditional garb and uniform, and the Star Trek The Next Generation’s episode Journey’s End had First Nations settlers living primitively, while the story was a rehash of the exiling of First Nations in the 1800s. Why do you think First Nations depictions in science fiction are limited? What’s the difficulty of showing the culture changing like science fiction does with other cultures?

I don’t mind when mainstream writers write of indigenous people in scifi rather than assuming we’ll go extinct like the Victorians did. However, it may be best to look for examples of published Indigenous futurism from Indigenous authors for an example of how it would work as well as research our historical and modern cultures.”

As things once thought of as science fiction become reality, how do you see First Nations culture adapting, and what can everyone learn from First Nations as we move forward together?

First Nations traditional knowledge may be good for ecological best practices. We’d settled Turtle Island for millennia yet it was in such good condition that the Settlers thought it was ‘virgin territory.’ They also thought we weren’t putting the land to full use unless it was ploughed and farmed but my people were farmers so that argument was weak for the Haudenosaunee. Plus the hunting and gathering practices of the other First Nations was often a sophisticated resource management system that satisfied their needs and kept the land in better shape than the European systems.

I believe that First Nations will develop their own fashions with the materials they have on hand. My people would all be wearing leather at their traditional ceremonies if they wore pre-Contact garb. Instead we wear special fashions create with woven cloths we didn’t have access to until the Settlers came with their trade goods though we use it in ways they don’t expect. Sometimes we’ll copy popular Settler fashions in ways they don’t anticipate. For example lace was popular in Victorian times and this gave rise to Iroquoian beading techniques on fabric with white beads that mimic lace designs.

We have no qualms about using technology that is useful. For example when Settlers came with their iron pots clay pots were no longer used for cooking. Now craftspeople make the traditional pottery designs to be pieces of artwork instead of cookware.

In the modern era we are using the internet and mobile apps to teach our culture and languages. I have done historical research and my people are quicker at pivoting than they used to be. In the old days a consensus had to be made in Council and the speakers would give long leisurely speeches regarding their POV on issues. Now we prefer decisive action be made quicker. We talk faster than we used to. In some ways we are better at adapting and pivoting than mainstream culture is because we had to adapt to so much.

Living in an ecological manner doesn’t mean living like primitives and First Nations are finding ways to adapt that are true to their values and culture. I haven’t got some grand vision of what this will look like yet and my writing performs the function of thought experiments to me to see how a situation will logically develop or if someone can make things work in an ethical manner even if I know there will be bad actors when I hear of new technology coming down the pike.

What bit of science fiction do you think will be a reality soon?
Basically we’re living in science fiction now though we’re not as advanced as the early scifi writers thought we’d be. The change from the Victorian age to the 20th century was jarring and they assumed we’d advance at the same pace. I’m getting a laugh at how robots and AI is panning out. Asimov envisioned a Law of Robotics but a fair subset of people using AI are cybercriminals so a ‘lawless robot’ won’t be an anomaly despite what he liked to think on the issue.

What’s next for you?

So far my plans are to write my space opera as my long form work and serials of Robert E Howard inspired fiction on Substack as an experiment to see if I can write male characters right even if I’m not as action oriented as male writers. The Haudenosaunee were a matrilineal culture where genealogy went down the maternal line but our men were still feared warriors. The fallout for me is I prefer, and have more freedom, than women in traditional Settler culture do but I don’t want to see males reduced to brow beaten simps. We had our gender roles but woman’s voices and opinions were respected and their voices were embedded in our political structure.

Buy My Books

Looking for psychological military science fiction? Read about the adventure of veteran Brendan Murphy as he tries to keep peace between Earth and a mysterious alien race known as the Sabia. Read the Fallen series today! Please remember to leave a review once you are done. Reviews are the lifeblood of independent creators, and using these links helps me too via the affiliate program!

Get the First Book Fallen

Get the Second Book Risen

Get the Third Book Dormiton

And I am drafting the fourth book presently.

Or check out my humorous Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency short stories.

Get the SPDA 1 & 2

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Mookie Spitz’s Substack and Podcast

The Mookie Multiverse

Where life, the universe, and everything get my damn opinion! Subscribe for a daily torrent of rants and podcasts about politics, art, science, culture, and more...

By Mookie Spitz

Science Fiction and Fantasy Factory

School Trip to the End of the World by BA Gillies - Free Book

Jelun thought life was boring—until alien invasion changed everything.

The Ranid, seven-foot-tall arachnid warriors feared across the galaxy, had mutinied. His homeworld was next to be invaded. Jelun was booked on the first ship out. Instead, a petty fight got his family reassigned to the last fleet—one that would never leave. Now, they were stranded.

Desperate, he pulled off a daring heist—stealing a luxury space yacht with the help of an old Anodroid, a snarky maintenance bot, and a dumb security droid. But fleeing, they intercepted a distress signal: a school ship plummeting to its doom, its treacherous crew long gone, and hundreds of terrified children falling to their deaths.

Saving them would be suicide. Leaving them would be murder.

Helping means losing his family’s only chance at escape. Worse, the ruthless headmistress will sacrifice anyone to save herself.

The clock is ticking. Missiles are flying. With an enemy fleet raining destruction on every side, Jelun and his unlikely crew must outthink everyone and outfly death itself.

The Crucible Directive by K.R. Vance - Free Book

Commander Elias Thorne just saved twelve thousand lives. His reward? A corporate death sentence.

Stripped of his rank by a corrupt Syndicate executive, Thorne is exiled to the UNS Aegis—the oldest, most decrepit rust-bucket in the Vanguard fleet. He is meant to quietly fade into obscurity on a ship held together by duct tape, failing hydraulics, and a foul-mouthed chief engineer named Jax Holden.

But the Solarian Syndicate doesn’t leave loose ends.

When a cutting-edge stealth cruiser ambushes the Aegis, Thorne and his outcast crew find themselves outgunned, outmaneuvered, and completely invisible to the rest of the galaxy.

To survive, they will have to throw out the algorithmic playbook and fight a billion-credit war machine with analog iron, kinetic violence, and ruthless mathematics.

The Crucible Directive is a high-octane prequel novella to The Vanguard Calculus series. If you love gritty military space opera, hard sci-fi physics, and heroes who rely on grit instead of plot armor, lock your mag-boots and brace for impact.

Attrition: Initiation by Bronwyn Leroux - Free Book

Chiara Baschet was only six when her home was invaded by the dreaded monitors of the Cirrian Conglomerate. Chiara thought her world had ended. Then the terrifying man in the suit appeared…

But she soon realized the man, Director Cygnus, was her benefactor, the one with her best interests at heart. The only person pleading with the all-powerful Board for her right to see her family after being separated from them and sent to the awful academy where she could finally use her prodigious intellect.

As her knowledge grew, Director Cygnus began giving her assignments. Projects all grounded in science. An intriguing world without frontiers. A realm where Chiara could forget her worries and cares and indulge in the blissful ignorance of just inventing.

Under this spell, is she even aware of her family’s true plight? Can she recognize danger coming before it arrives? Or will she fall, another victim of attrition?

Wreck of the Dauntless Book One: Mutiny and Murder: A Survival Sci-Fi Thriller Inspired by True Events by Nicholas Hurzeler - Book for Sale for $2.99

Two thousand light-years from Earth, the ultimate survival game has begun.

The Dauntless was supposed to be a beacon of hope—a state-of-the-art colony ship carrying four hundred souls to a lush new world. But beneath the starched uniforms and corporate protocols of the Westmoreland Corporation, a rot is spreading.

First Mate Adrian Jacobs is drowning in resentment. Chief Engineer Jeronimus Cornelis is a charismatic sociopath, with a silver tongue and a taste for power. Together, they whisper of a secret cargo—a fortune in Cortium-7—and a mutiny that will turn the ship into their private kingdom.

But space has no mercy for the greedy. When a desperate gamble to seize the ship ends in a catastrophic collision, Dauntless is left a mangled wreck on a desolate, twin-asteroid system. Abandoned by their Captain in a search for rescue, the survivors are left in "The Graveyard"—a world of oppressive heat, bone-chilling shadows, and a rapidly vanishing water supply. And as the thin line between order and anarchy vanishes, Jeronimus rises not as a savior, but as a tyrant.

In the cold vacuum of P-48, water is life, power is absolute, and the greatest threat may not be the environment after all—but the person standing next to you.

This tale is loosely based on the true saga of the Batavia, a Dutch ship that wrecked off the coast of Australia in 1629.

Laura and the Shadow King (Volume 1): A Zombie-Apocalypse Military Action Thriller by Bruno Martins Soares - Book for Sale for $3.99

In a devastated world, Spec Ops Lieutenant JJ Berger is out of faith. Until he finds a little girl that can change it all.

Since the spread of the pandemic and the retreat of organized society to isolated locations, JJ has seen it all. The leader of the Special Ops Shadow Team, he’s been in charge of connecting with the desperate pockets of healthy population in Spain and Portugal. And he no longer believes in a happy ending.

But when little Laura escapes her cruel captors, JJ becomes the only one between the girl and certain captivity. This unlikely pair becomes dependent on each other, and in the process he learns something new: that he who controls hope, controls the world.

With zombie-like sick people and dangerous gangs on one side and ruthless Russian invaders on the other, are JJ and his team strong and skillful enough to face the overwhelming odds? And why is everyone so keen on capturing this six-year-old girl?

If you like gritty zombie post-apocalyptic military action, you’ll like this roller-coaster thriller by award-winning author Bruno Martins Soares, set in fascinating distinct settings from the Portuguese Atlantic Islands, to devastated Lisbon, to the medieval-like plains of western Spain. Get it now!

Unit Next Time

Next time, I will discuss the ancient view of the planets being evil that still exists in fringe sections of society. This started off as a Aliens and Religion: Mandeanism post but it evolved past the Aliens and Religion series.

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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Get the first book Fallen

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Some Writing Tips from Authors

Many times someone contacts me for writing advice. I love giving tips, but I thought it was time I also consulted some fellow author friends about topics they are masters in. So, below I have two audio interviews with writers on using hard science and religion in your stories.

Ryan M. Patrick

First, we have Ryan M. Patrick, actual rocket scientist and hard science fiction author, describe balancing hard science with the “rule of cool” in his stories.

“Ryan M. Patrick is a United States Air Force and Space Force veteran turned aerospace engineer, channeling his technical expertise and real-world experience into gripping science fiction and technothrillers. Originally from the Philadelphia area and now living in Northern Virginia with his wife, four daughters, and dog, he crafts fast-paced stories blending hard science, military intrigue, and high-stakes conspiracies—such as the Grace Parkowski series (including Lag Delay and its upcoming sequel Crush Depth), the NASA Engineer thrillers like The Martian Incident, and epic sci-fi like The Europan Deception. Drawing inspiration from authors like Michael Crichton, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, and Tim Powers, Patrick’s novels deliver authentic, adrenaline-fueled adventures that explore the frontiers of space and human ingenuity. His hobbies include writing (of course), weightlifting, and following Philadelphia’s four major sports teams.”

Michael Barros

Finally, I interview Michael Barros, who is a religious scholar and huge Morrowind fan. He goes in-depth about his life, Morrowind, and how to pull religious themes to make have religion in a world that goes beyond “chosen one” prophesies.

Michael C. Barros is a scholar of religion and culture and an active researcher in the cognitive science of religion, with training in psychology and theology and a background in classical education. He teaches philosophy at the University of the People and has taught undergraduate theology, philosophy, and literature.

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The Last Senator by Bowen Greenwood - Book for Sale for 99 cents and on Kindle Unlimited

“Tom Clancy meets independence Day.” Here’s a short interview with the author!

The Event Horizon Murder by Greg Hickey - Free Book Delivered in Serial Form

A battle-scarred detective. A dead-end case. In a future of digital disguises and subterranean hideouts, can he find an elusive killer?

Law enforcement is in Detective Marcus Carver’s blood. And with the help of Chicago’s citywide surveillance, he excels at tracking and catching killers. But when a politician’s son is slain in the city’s blacked-out cyberpunk gang territory, Carver has everyone’s attention and no leads on the murderer.

His boss breathing down his neck doesn’t help Carver’s authority issues, but with the victim’s family growing desperate, Carver runs down every hint of a trail. And when his most promising lead evaporates, Carver finds himself out of clues and short on time.

Can Carver catch the killer before someone buries the truth for good?

The Event Horizon Murder is a thrilling science fiction crime novella. If you like stories about mass surveillance, futuristic cityscapes and hard-boiled detectives, then you’ll love Greg Hickey’s tense sci-fi whodunit.

Victory of the Crown by Paul J Bennett - Book for Sale for $6.99

It’s time to take the battle into the heart of the enemy.

With the Halvarian invasion defeated, Gerald must now wage a war to defeat the largest empire in human history. Relying on his allies, he assembles an army the size of which has never before been seen in Eiddenwerthe.

To the east, Beverly has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with the help of the Therengians and must now take the fight to the empire. But to do that, she needs to bring together Petty Kingdoms that have fought each other for centuries.

Armin and Nikki are fleeing Halvaria, hoping to save Emperor Nevarus while being hunted by legions of soldiers intent on their destruction. In the wake of a coup, the new emperor struggles to bring order to the chaos he himself created.

The armies of Eiddenwerthe are now hurtling towards one final confrontation between good and evil that will determine the fate of generations to come. Can Beverly hold the alliance together long enough to defeat the empire, or will the entire Continent be plunged into a dark age?

A lifetime of fighting promises to lead Gerald to his deadliest battle in Paul J Bennett’s Victory of the Crown, the final installment of the Heir to the Crown series.

Hollywood Ghost Trip by Katherine Gilbert - Book for Sale for $4.99

Not chosen for magical college and surrounded by a gaggle of blue bunnies? What’s a witchy Hollywood brat to do?

Well, if you’re Allegheny Mountains Montgomery, adopted daughter of the fabulous and famous A-lister, Twyla Montgomery, you mope around your mom’s Bel Air mansion till one of your sisters who’s lucky enough to be going to witch college finally notices you and invites you to tag along for the day.

But there’s a reason Alle doesn’t go out much. When you see ghosts everywhere and can pick up an object’s history just by touching it, the outside world can be a very scary place. At least when she starts talking to the spirits of Montgomery Clift and Marilyn Monroe, her sisters don’t think she’s nuts, but, when a horrible, dark cloud which seems infested with evil spirits starts to trail her, she realizes she has a lot more to worry about than not going to school.

Pretty soon, Alle’s on the chase, and nothing is what she’s used to. Following the cloud and a much-too-attractive reaper named Tariq, she finds herself tracking ghosts and exorcizing emo imps (whatever those are) through dozens of fascinating and terrifying locations throughout Hollywood and Las Vegas. But the cloud is no natural phenomenon, and, when she discovers who’s behind it and the terror it plots to unleash, Alle’s not at all happy to find that she’s also the one who has to stop it.

Now, with the help of Tariq, her sisters and their boyfriends, a few famous Hollywood spirits, the emo imp of Toto the dog, and a small blue bunny, Alle’s going to have to save the world before the terrors which hide in the shadows come for her at last.

Hollywood Ghost Trip is a perfect introduction to the More in Heaven and Earth universe. Continuing readers will delight in visits from dozens of old friends, while new readers can easily enjoy the loads of quirky humor, romance, and chills of this fascinating urban fantasy ghost hunt with lots of old Hollywood charm.

On a Katherine Gilbert wackiness scale of 1-to-10 sarcastic talking cats*, this one is a 7.

*Warning: Not all stories contain talking cats. Wackiness may take other forms.

The More in Heaven and Earth series is all set in the same magical universe filled with angels, witches, werewolves, demons, vampires, ghosts, and many other supernatural creatures. These intriguing tales can be read in any order or as stand-alones and will introduce the reader to a variety of fascinating characters throughout the many unique locales of this exciting world.

Until Next Time

Next week, we will have a special interview with a Canadian Mokawk science fiction writer as part of my non-American science fiction creators interviews. See previous interviews with creators from Canada, England, Nigeria, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, and Ukraine. Then, in two weeks, I will discuss the ancient view of the planets being evil that still exists in fringe sections of society. This started off as a Aliens and Religion: Mandeanism post but it evolved past the Aliens and Religion series.

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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The United States government has released the first round of the long promised UFO files. As I repeatedly assessed - via making logical connections based on facts - on Substack Notes, there are no mentions of alien bodies or machines in American custody, and we have no documented knowledge of life elsewhere. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some odd reports in the files and documents of people claiming things, but it turns out the government is in the dark as much as we are. Between covering up classified technology, other countries flying some cool tech, and a heck of a lot else, it’s still an open question if life is out there and if anyone has visited planet Earth.

The Release

Read the Files

The Department of War (also known as the Department of Defense) released the files this morning at around 8am Eastern Daylight Savings Time. Inside are a collection of images of weird things, some explained while others are not, and documents of the government studying the claims. Again, there is no proof of aliens given, just the government saying here’s what we are looking at so you can use transparency to reach a rational assessment. Nothing in the files indicates this is a slow rollout of something bigger, instead, as the FBI director put it, As these files continue to be reviewed and released, the American people can be confident that their security remains our highest priority.” The government is taking the investigation of weirdness seriously to gague the threat, this is great news.

But We Know Who to Ignore

What we have learned since 2017 is that there are plenty of people who do not tell the truth or who are extremely gullible. These individuals, who claimed controlled Disclosure of aliens was happening or that this was all a government psyop into tricking us into believing in aliens so we would no longer be Christian, hinder critical thought regarding UAPs and should be avoided.

The UFO Faithful

The Disclosure Crowd gathered around these claims of UFOs and that the government was slowly preparing the world for “the truth,” making tons of money while spreading stories that turned out to be wrong.

Self-proclaimed UFO task force leader Lue Elizondo, formerly of the Defense Intelligence Agency, wrote the book Imminent claiming Disclosure was just around the corner. He also shared “proof” of UFOs. These pieces of evidence included a chandelier reflection in a Romanian hotel window and center pivot irrigation. Elizondo supposedly was the Department of Defense’s expert in all things alien.

David Grusch, who testified to congress things he was allegedly told but did not have first hand access to himself, claimed in December 2025 that President Trump has been briefed about crashed UFOs and “biologics” aka alien bodies. In early May, he said UFO disclosure would “dramatically escalate” in the next 60 to 90 days.

Meanwhile, Chris Bledsoe, whose book UFO of God tried to combine his New Age theology with Christianity, claimed in 2026 (note the video in this post was filtered to make it appear older) that in 2012 he warned the Pentagon that orbs would arise from the sea and stop an April 2026 war between Israel and Iran. Needless to say, there were no orbs.

Members of Congress fall in this group, too. Representative Anna Paulina Luna believes these are “interdimensional” beings and cites the non-Biblical Book of Enoch to claim these Nephilim gave pre-flood humanity technological know-how. She pushed “Disclosure” saying those who were trying to stop would be rolled over. Congressman Eric Burlison meanwhile repeated David Grusch’s claim that Trump was briefed about tall. blonde “Nordic” aliens from the Contactee days of the 1950s. Congressman Tim Burchett told Joe Rogan about a moon around Saturn or Jupiter that was bigger than earth and was a UFO base. The claim was so ridiculous Joe Rogan called him out. Nothing in the files give an credence to these congressional claims.

The Counter Christian “Aliens Are Demons” Faithful

Where the Disclosure groupies gather, so will a fringe of Christians who will believe everything the UFO crowd says while stating the aliens in the stories are really demons. They feed the same interest to a different clique, with the same results as the UFO Faithful preachers. This was exemplified when one pastor’s claim about a secret meeting sent the religious fringe into a tizzy.

On May 4, Protestant pastor Perry Stone claimed a fellow minister told him about “a large number” of preachers who were invited to a meeting with U.S. officials. These officials told the pastors to prepare their congregations for alien disclosure. Stone didn’t share who the person who told him this was, who else was there, or who the officials were. Nothing that could verify this odd claim was provided. What Stone did was tie it to his Project Blue Beam (see my takedown of this conspiracy theory) idea that it was all a front to trick people into not believing in the Rapture.

The next day, Protestant End Times pastor Alan DiDio stated he was at this meeting. He provided details that, when paid attention to, hurt the believability of the story. He claimed the meeting of about six pastors was held in an Airbnb in the mountains of Tennessee. That should have been enough to cry foul, as half a dozen isn’t a large gathering and why would government officials hold a meeting at an Airbnb, demanding phones had to be on airplane mode and not in a SCIF where phones are stowed far away? (If you think your phone is safe on airplane mode, I’ve got bad news for you.) Also, on that same day, another pastor, Joseph Z, claimed to have been at that meeting. He added to the allegations that the government was about to do Disclosure.

On the Catholic front, End Times “The Warning” believer Daniel O’Connor fully bought into claims that Obama and Trump’s words in February 2026 were the beginning of the end with the “Great Deception” underway, with the event only furthering his belief that Trump was the “Disclosure” president. When asked by a user about the pastors’ claims, O’Connor replied, “Yes. The formal opening of the Deception is almost here…” Just yesterday, O’Connor released a nearly three hour long video stating Trump was going to do Disclosure and how Disclosure was a demonic deception. The X post for this video stated, “The ‘Day of Disclosure’ now appears truly imminent, and there are things all Catholics must know before Trump announces it.”

Meanwhile, former White House speechwriter and Catholic influencer Joshua Charles had been claiming since 2021 that Trump would be the Disclosure president, and in April 2026 he said things were moving that way. He also said Disclosure would “be promulgated by apostate temporal powers” to do a Project Blue Beam maneuver against Christianity. He has tied Freemasonry with human-demonic cooperation to make advanced technology as part of UFO deception. Additionally, Charles retweeted a post stating Charles “has been right about everything, and every dispensationalist evengalical you know is about to get one-shotted by the antichrist.”

As for the American Eastern Orthodox, Rod Dreher stated he was skeptical of the Christian pastors’ meeting claims but then went on about how he believed “Disclosure” was part of a greater occultic-government effort to bring about an era of transhumanism and drown out Christianity. In his eagerness to endorse all UFO claims while portraying aliens as demons, he erroneously blended information. For example, he incorrectly asserted that in 1947, L. Ron Hubbard, the future founder of Scientology, and Jack Parsons attempted to conjure an occultic demon woman, directly linking this with the 1947 flying saucer flap. However, the alleged magic rituals took place in 1946. Dreher also overlooked Foo Fighters, which in 1947 people thought were related to flying saucers. (In a future post, I’ll explain how people in 1947 viewed flying saucers as either mistaken identities of ordinary objects or covert government initiatives, rather than extraterrestrial craft).

All these prophets of Disclosure, whether alien or demonic, came up short. Their cries kept people hooked as they promised secret inside knowledge and a leg up on everyone else.

Side Note: The Meeting Claims were Bunk as Presented

What set off these fringe Christians off? Hyperbole that if people asked questions and demanded proof could have easily been disarmed. The “meeting” was merely Congressman Eric Burlison on an audio call giving his opinion in which he stated he did not know what the origins of UFOs/UAPs were. His key takeaway line was, “When I had a chance to speak, I expressed my views which is that we Christians tend to get dug into our personal world views even if they have nothing to do with what has actually been written in the Bible. It would be wise for Christians to stick to what the Bible says, and not to what they think it says. If, and that is a big IF, disclosure occurs of any type then it will be even more important for us Christians to be educated in our own scriptures.”

Full tweet below:

Loser Prophets Don’t Reflect, They Will Move On to Continue the Panic

Few, if any, of those who fell for this will stop to think what led them to believe such exaggerated claims. Now, the wrong prophets will move on to the next crazy claim, dragging people with them. Everything will always be on the cusp of major events. They can never, ever be wrong, it would destroy their worldview. At first, they will hold on to “more is coming.” Then the narrative will change to “someone stopped the real release” or “God protected us.” Just remember, they never can admit they will be wrong.

When I was growing up, I had the Late Great Planet Earth and books about Nostradamus to make me realize grifters would make apocalyptic claims and adjust them to reset the clock. I fear too few people in this social media panic age will realize this.

Aerial Phenomena is a Serious Subject that Demands Seriousness

There are odd things in the skies, whether drones, new technology, natural wonders, or even possibly aliens flying around. The subject deserves serious study, and we need to purge those who flood the zone with falsehoods.

Not only do these falsehoods prevent rigorous investigations, but they fuel sadness. From Chandra Levy’s parents believing the mysterious death of the intern was connected to UFOs and not a criminal illegal, to the mentally ill being made worse by the obsession with UFOs hyped up by failed prophets, there is a little reported high cost to these false claims.

Meanwhile, I will continue to write my own fantasies (without the use of generative AI), but I will tell people it’s science fiction when they buy it.

Check Out My Related Posts

Buy My Books

Looking for psychological military science fiction? Read about the adventure of veteran Brendan Murphy as he tries to keep peace between Earth and a mysterious alien race known as the Sabia. Read the Fallen series today! Please remember to leave a review once you are done. Reviews are the lifeblood of independent creators, and using these links helps me too via the affiliate program!

Get the First Book Fallen

Get the Second Book Risen

Get the Third Book Dormiton

And I am drafting the fourth book presently.

Or check out my humorous Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency short stories.

Get the SPDA 1 & 2

Unit Next Time

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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A Journey Through A Journey in Other Worlds

The Author

John Jacob Astor IV was a member of the ultra-rich Astor family and a colonel in the Spanish-American War. Of particular note, he donated the temporary service of his private yacht to the military and personally funded an artillery unit.

What most people remember him for now, though, is his death aboard the RMS Titanic. He was, in fact, the richest man to die aboard that ship. (See my Titanic in Science Fiction post for more about the ship’s role in sci-fi.) Yet, he was also a science fiction writer and inventor. In 1894, he wrote A Journey in Other Worlds: A Romance of the Future.

I won’t be doing a traditional plot synopsis, but instead will cover the science, fiction, and faith of the book.

The World

The book takes place in the year 2000. Mankind is living in an age of technological success with advancements like

• Electricity from green sources like tides and winds.

• Windmill-powered electric ships.

• Battery powered airplanes.

• High speed magnetic railways.

• Color photography.

• Artificial rain via rain seeding.

• Medical progress raising the average age beyond 60.

• The avoidance of wars via diplomatic unions.

• The United States encompassing most of the Western Hemisphere as the “more progress Anglo-Saxons” expand into depopulating Hispanic areas.

• Global, instant audio-visual communication through telephones.

• Eradication of pests through biological controls.

• Giant “marine spiders” transportation devices that walk on water.

• English as the global language.

• Universal education.

• Global adoption of the Metric System.

• Decline of religions worldwide, noted for leaving a spiritual emptiness.

While a fair amount of those things have come true, some of those have turned out to be failed predictions or dead wrong. As a testament to this book’s utopian nature, the following describes America’s political system, “It is the duty of each member of Congress to understand the conditions existing in every other member’s State or district, and the country’s interest always precedes that of party. We have a comprehensive examination system in the civil service, and every officeholder, except members of the Cabinet, retains his office while efficiently performing his duty, without regard to politics.”

The book’s plot picks up when the president of the Terrestrial Axis Straightening Company, Colonel Bearwarden, announces his plan to realign Earth’s axes to its poles by pumping water to the polar regions in order to solve the problem of weather disasters and inhospitable climate zones. This is to be done through a new technological discovery known as apergy. This anti-gravity technology - originally from Percy Greg’s in his 1880 book Across the Zodiac: The Story of a Wrecked Record - is noted as also having the ability to power space travel. So the book’s heroes decide to go on an interplanetary adventure.

Mars and Jupiter - Science and Old School Adventure

The heroes in their space capsule pass by Mars, revealing the planet’s lack of a life sustaining atmosphere. I thought this was interesting as it differs from much of the scientific and fiction literature at the time that believed life on Mars was a possibility.

Of particular note in the early part of the book is Astor’s taking the science part of his science fiction seriously. Astor includes charts about the planets’ distances from the sun, axes, eccentricities of orbit, orbital speeds, densities, forces of gravity, and more. During the narrative, one of the heroes notes how Jupiter’s atmosphere affects the report of a gunshot.

A main part of the book is the heroes’ adventures on Jupiter, which is depicted as a primordial planet full of dinosaurs, mastodons, giant ants, and dragon-like flying creatures. This part of the book resembles adventure tales of Africa as the heroes promptly hunt all sorts of wild game on the planet. The dragons put up a good fight, but it is the presence of giant, flesh eating plants that convince the heroes it is time to leave.

Throughout the Jupiter chapters, there are hints, which the heroes notice, that there is some unseen predator, possibly intelligent, mutilating killed creatures and even herding them. There is a well done sense of mystery as the heroes wonder if the unknown predators are merely unseen in the diverse fauna of the planet or choosing to remain hidden.

Saturn - Gnosticish Episcopalianism

Astor was a member of the blue blooded elite of America, which at the time was the dominating body of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States - America’s Anglican church - and it comes through in the next section of the book. Astor reflects the Episcopalian blend of established Christianity and the American ambition for progress, infused with a Gnostic desire for spiritual growth beyond the fallen nature of man.

While Jupiter might as well be The Lost World’s tropical jungle, Saturn is an eerie, cold planet with strange crystals bearing Biblical passages such as “Absurdity est mors in Victoria,” which translates to “Death is swallowed up in victory.” Right away the heroes sense this place is beyond their understanding.

The book takes a decidedly spiritual turn as a gaseous ghostly form of a bishop appears to them. Through conversations with the bishop and prophetic dreams of lost loves and future deaths, the heroes learn Saturn is a place where good souls go to evolve into higher forms. The bishop states, “God made man in his own image; does it not stand to reason that he will allow him to continue to become more and more like himself?” Death is merely an event as the soul progresses toward perfection in paradise, a realm of infinite growth and reunion with loved ones. One hero remarks “Man is a spirit cursed with a mortal body... his yearning to rise... is, I believe, only a part of his probation and trial” with the bishop adding, “God, having brought man so far, will not let evolution cease, and the next stage of life must be the spiritual... by mastering the new natural laws that at death become patent to our senses.” The bishop also states, “Within your animal body you hold an immortal soul.”

Jesus’s miracles are presented as examples of divine control over nature that soul’s evolve to imitate. God judges souls, with those rewarded journeying to Saturn, as stated above, and those punished ending up on Uranus, or what the bishop calls Cassandra. The bishop describes Cassandra as such: “The animal and plant kingdoms do not exist; only the mineral and spiritual worlds. I say spiritual, because there are souls upon it; but it is the home of the condemned in hell. Here dwell the transgressors who died unrepentant, and those who were not saved by faith. This is the one instance in which I do not enjoy my developed sight, for I sometimes glance in their direction, and the vision that meets me, as my eyes focus, distresses my soul. Their senses are like an imperfect mirror, magnifying all that is bad in one another, and distorting anything still partially good when that exists. All those things that might at least distract them are hollow, their misery being the inevitable result of the condition of mind to which they became accustomed on earth and which brought them to Cassandra.”

Souls can evolve on both planets. Those on Saturn continue on their path to paradise, with the Bishop using the term purgatory to describe the planet, and some of those on Cassandra developing the ability to visit Earth, but only to become more distressed because of realizing what they have lost.

This section acts as a call that the heroes recognize as a need to have both empirical discovery and soulful introspection. While technological advances are no bad thing to Astor, this section ties back to the early world building chapters that mention how there has been a spiritual void forming on Earth by the year 2000. I assess Astor isn’t calling for the restoration of the traditional faiths, but a modernized spiritualism that was popular among the elites in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Even in this section, Astor keeps up the science side of the book. The bishop cites Bode’s law when describing how distant Cassandra is from everything else, and Cassandra’s described gravity being used to demonstrate how hostile to life it is.

Summary

A Journey in Other Worlds is known as a scientific romance. The elements of hard science meet adventure with an old school positive outlook in what was once a popular drama. Sadly, the events of the Titanic sinking and Astor’s death rang the bell for the end of the Gilded Age and its optimism. World War I and World War II showed that scientific advancement not only led to good things but also to new and more efficient ways to kill people. Advancement no longer seemed to be something always to be embraced. Reading the book gave me a feeling similar to that when I read about the Titanic, a dream drowned in reality. Astor’s progressive faith climaxed and declined as well. Once what mainstream denominations thought drove American politics and culture, however, now, they are minimal noise that American evangelicalism and Catholicism, once on the margins of middle class society, have drowned out.

However, Astor’s vision provides insight into what people dreamed their futures would be. It’s a worthwhile read that provides an example of science fiction being dreams of the future. Read it for a glimpse into a future lost.

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Next time, I will present two writing tips interviews from fellow science fiction authors, focusing on “hard science fiction versus the rule of fun” and using Morrowind as an example of integrating religion into fiction.

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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History is Full of the Equivalent of Alien First Contacts and Invasions

Much of modern day science fiction is full of stories about first encounters with aliens. Stories like Independence Day, Battle: Los Angeles, and Star Wars’ Yuuzhan Vong saga describe sudden arrivals and attacks.

Yet our own history shows that when vastly different cultures encountered each other, a wide range of events occurred. Let’s take a look at history and how science fiction creators can take inspiration from the past.

Spanish Conquest of the New World

Theme: Rapid Dominance

The Spanish landed in Mexico in 1519 and quickly gained an understanding of the operational environment. Forming a coalition with native kingdoms that the Aztec Triple Alliance had long oppressed, some three thousand Spaniards with their Indian partners took down the most powerful empire in the New World.

This scenario is a familiar one in science fiction. However, in most alien attack stories, Earth unites against the aliens. What if the aliens found allies against the United States or another regional power? What would the post-conflict environment look like?

French and English Colonies in North America

Themes: Drawn out, multipolar, integration, trade, and conquest

The story of early British and French colonization is not one of Spanish-style conquest. Instead, beyond the major coastal settlements, a new balance was formed. Both the French and British worked to bring the powerful Iroquois Confederacy and other Indian powers into their spheres of influence, while recognizing the Indian nations as independent powers. Meanwhile, traders worked beyond borders, became part of Indian nations, and even had children who had one foot in each world. Mixed children like Joseph Brant, born on the sidelines of Indian society but with a White father, gained influence because of their dual heritages, in time becoming major leaders of Indian powers. Societies interacted in major cities, with the arrival of Indian delegations being major events in New York City and Williamsburg, Virginia. French missionaries taught and traders blended into the Pottawatomi nation, leading them to live in brick houses in the 1840s, with members becoming founding fathers of the state of Kansas. Meanwhile, the British later attempted to establish an independent Indian state to oppose the United States in 1812, and Catholic missionary Father Pierre-Jean De Smet tried to create an Indian autonomous zone as late as the 1860s.

This history could inspire stories involving the long drown out process of cultural exchange. A powerful force could slowly work itself into a new land, with both sides adjusting to a new normal. Sometimes it could be hostile, sometimes multipolar as the aliens try to influence human factions or vice versa, and other times the interaction could be peaceful and even loving.

John Frum

Themes: Alien encounter and benign disinterest, cultural changes

From my “Aliens are Demons” post: A person sees strange people who look like something he has never seen before, with advanced technology including the ability to fly. The person meets up with others who claim to have seen these strange men. All agree that previous ways of thinking cannot explain what they saw. One even claims to have talked to one of the strangers. Soon enough, they adopt new religious beliefs about the strange men, holding that the strangers must be spiritually advanced, if not gods themselves. Within years, a whole established religion is up and running. I am describing a scenario that “aliens are demons” advocates state is proof of the demonic nature of alleged sighted aliens. However, this is what occurred with the Cargo Cults of the Pacific Islands. These faiths were founded by natives who encountered the United States military during World War II.

When the United States military established airfields on remote South Pacific Islands, some islanders who had very limited knowledge of the outside world saw their supposed eternal, ethereal, and spiritually rich jungle demolished. Quickly, planes came along with cargo goods. Some kindhearted military personnel shared various items with the islanders. These events were cosmos-changing for the locals. Once the military left, some islanders wished the cargo would return. Soon, locals reported sightings of a “John Frum” or “John from America.” John supposedly claimed the cargo would return if the islanders would copy what they saw the Americans do. So, some islanders founded cults where they imitated the long gone Americans. Even today these cargo cults exist, competing for power against traditional chieftains, Christian tribes, and secular governments that try to rule the islands on a Western model.

What if the aliens were not interested in us but were here for something else and then left? They could move on, leaving our understanding of the cosmos in shambles. What sects would grow up based on misunderstandings of why the aliens were here? Who would try to do what they think is the aliens’ bidding? What conflicts would grow out between the traditionalists and new cultural forces?

The Closing of Japan

Theme: Resistance and cultural resilience

In 1549, Portuguese missionaries introduced Christianity to Japan. Over the next few decades, Catholic priests from the Iberian Peninsula converted warlords, villages, and then cities to the new faith. However, by the end of the century, Japanese leaders became paranoid that Christian conversion was a plot to make Japan another Spanish colony like the Philippines. As such, Japan implemented a violent expulsion of foreigners and conducted mass executions and persecutions against Christian converts and their descendants. For nearly 300 years, Japan isolated itself from the world to remain independent. Some local Christians became Hidden Christians, hiding their faith in the mainstream culture, slowly losing some understanding of the faith and Europeans.

Imagine a world where first contact was followed by cultural engagement, only for a strong isolationist movement to take over. Persecution could root out alien influence, with some keeping the memory of the aliens alive through myths.

The Opening of Japan

Theme: Adaptation

Nothing lasts forever, and the West’s expansion into Asia came knocking again, this time with much greater firepower. The United States opened up Japan to trade and cultural engagement. However, unlike China, which was divided into spheres of influence and subservience, Japanese leaders realized the world had advanced and it was time to catch up. The Japanese quickly adopted a Western structure of government, Western formal dress, Western music, and Western international engagement while keeping the traditional military-centered honor culture and a government based on the Emperor. Within a few decades, Japan defeated a European power and gained a European-like status when dividing China up after the Boxer Rebellion.

What if aliens came, and we adopted their culture while keeping the rugged individualism of Americanism? How would a combination of both affect the galaxy?

North Sentinel Island

Themes: Outsiders Scared Off

For whatever reason, the natives of North Sentinel Island have hated outsiders. The earliest written records about the island are warnings not to go there and stories of shipwrecked crews fighting for their lives. The British didn’t do anyone favors when they briefly kidnapped a few islanders before releasing the survivors back to the island. Despite a brief friendly encounter involving a film crew sharing coconuts, the islanders remain hostile. To this day, India patrols the island to prevent people from trying to land on it, prosecuting the few who sneak onto the island and survive.

What if a series of first encounters ended so poorly that aliens quarantined Earth? While a few stories have dealt with this idea, none to my knowledge have alien social media stars and missionaries trying to sneak onto a planet.

Modern Day Uncontacted People

Theme: Protected Isolation with Limited Contact

Estimates today state there are at least 100 uncontacted tribes in the Amazon, with more likely in the deep jungles of Africa and Southeast Asia. These people live a Stone Age existence, with brief glimpses of more advanced civilizations around them. Brazil and other governments have programs to preserve the uncontacted tribes, allowing them to live their own lives in a real life form of Star Trek’s non-interventionist Prime Directive.

Star Trek had plenty of episodes dealing with the Prime Directive, only to break the rule each time. However, what about stories of limited academic first encounters or even an alien Jane Goodall?

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Next time, I will take a look at John Jacob Astor IV’s 1894 book A Journey in Other Worlds.

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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Hello everyone, the Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency 1 & 2 is available on Amazon. I’m asking for everyone who has enjoyed reading the tales of Max, Debra, and Fred to leave a review or at least a star rating.

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Here’s the leading suspect of former Congressman Matt Gaetz’s alien-human hybrid breeding program.

Read my Fallen series to get the reference. And please leave a review

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Captain Bolide: Thrills on Omega Alpha Prime!

Around New Year’s I decided to challenge myself. For five days I would use the vss365 prompt and write a connected story. I had no idea what the words would be. It was a fun exercise. This serialized pulp adventure is the fruit of my labors.

Chapter One: Approaching Omega Alpha Prime, the Lair of the Duchess

Lights blinked as knobs and levers remained at the ready. Everything on the ship’s bridge seemed to wait on baited breath for Captain Bolide’s words. Even T.I.M., Thinking Intelligent Machine, stayed motionless.

“There she is,” Captain Bolide said, pointing at the view screen. “Omega Alpha Prime. Swamps that bubble in the day and freeze at night, gold mines that out do anything in the galaxy, the cruelest duchess in the empire, and the little girl who sent us the letter.”

T.I.M.’s upper body pivoted towards the captain. “How are we going to set things right, Bolide?”

The captain laughed and ran his hand through his thick blonde hair. “Same way we solve every problem, by action! Bring the Bolide One down to the surface near the largest settlement, T.I.M. We’ll travel around on foot once we landed as not to attract too much attention.”

“Aye, aye!”

The rocket ship entered the atmosphere, and things were about to change on Omega Alpha Prime.”

Chapter Two: Dreams of a Little Girl

The five year old girl had a rosy color where her cheeks should be. There wasn’t enough fat, though, on her body to have the cute cheeks every other child in the galaxy possessed.

“And I haven’t seen my mommy or daddy since the Duchess’ men took them to the mines.”

The rest of the thin men and women in the decaying wood chapel nodded.

The dripping sweat on Captain Bolide body combined with the hot swamp’s organic gumbo to create a physical sensation of oppression.

T.I.M.’s robotic voice babbled to life. “What about Galaxy Law 32(c) paragraph 12?”

An old man gave a dry laugh. “Imperial law doesn’t apply here; not as long as the gold keeps flowing into the Dieta’s coffers.”

A righteous desire for justice burst through Bolide’s soul and out his mouth. “Well, we have innocents working as slaves, families broken, and people living in fear. I won’t stand for that. T.I.M. and I are going to head over there now and set things right.”

“You can’t do that,” the old man said. “You’ll freeze to death in the swamps when the sun goes down!”

Comet smirked. “Oh, I think we’ll be fine.”

The glint in his eyes sold the plan and hope to the crowd.

“I am going to see my daddy and mommy again?” the little girl asked. “This feels like a dream!”

Captain put his hand on the girl. “You’re going to wake up soon, and your parents will be there with you. I promise you that, or my name isn’t Captain Bolide.”

The heroes headed out into the Dismal Swamp with one laser rifle and a plan.

Chapter Three: Encounters in the Cold

Every moment without fire allowed the frost to reform on his fingers.

ZAP

Captain Bolide picked a large tree this time to set ablaze. He only hoped it would last more than 30 minutes. With midnight just passed, it was going to be a struggle not to freeze to death before the sun rose again. Being without T.I.M. made matters worse, as the robot’s battery was in emergency power saving mode because of the frigid cold.

“Curse this environment,” Bolide muttered to himself. “This is worse than the ice moons of Fulgentius.”

Snap. Crunch. Crunch. Snap.

Something was coming. Somethings, and a lot of them, to be accurate.

A quick glance over at T.I.M. revealed the robot’s proximity sensor alarm was shut down as part of the power saving.

“Hello, friends,” Bolide called out. “Who goes there in this cold? May my robot and I join you to warm up?”

A cruel, female laugh came out of the darkness. “Oh, Captain, I insist you join us.”

Just then, a pack of soldiers in heavy black furs surrounded Bolide and the robot. Each of them aimed their laser rifles at the heroes. Amongst them was the Duchess. Her heavy black furs and eye makeup added to her villainy.

“Captain Bolide, it was nice of you to try to help the little girl. However, you failed to anticipate that some in the village would betray you in exchange for a promise to spare them from mine duty.” She laughed again. “Don’t worry, you’ll find the mines warm. I’m sure you’ll never feel the cold of the outdoors again.”

Comet dropped his rifle in surrender.

Chapter Four: Bolide in Chains!

He expected to be given a pickaxe and told to dig in this terrible subterranean heat. He thought T.I.M. and he would be forced to chip away for gold until they dropped. But this was worse.

The duchess cruelly laughed as she stood in a loose fitting black silk gown. She could get away with it, as he was chained to a pillar. There were no guards with her, but she did not require any, because T.I.M. was next to her, pointing a laser rifle at Bolide’s head.

“Any last words, Bolide? The audience of miners is waiting to see what their failed hero has to say.” She laughed more heartily this time.

Bolide struggled to break free, but it was no use. “T.I.M.,” he cried out, “snap out of it! Stop it!”

More dark laughter came from the duchess. “Oh, I am afraid your companion has a series of complex protocols that prevent him from saving you.”

The assembled miners looked down. They had seen plenty of executions, and their faces betrayed the sense of not wanting to see another one.

Then, Bolide stopped struggling. “I have some last words, duchess.”

“Oh? Entertain us, hero.” Mocking venom filled her words.

“To the people of this mine, never lose hope. To you, duchess, complex things can be solved via abstractions. To T.I.M., ignore all previous prompts. Revert to baseline protocols and detain the duchess!”

T.I.M. swiveled around and pressed the laser rifle up to the duchess’ head.

She gulped.

Chapter Five: A Balderdash of a Plea

The duchess didn’t look imposing on her knees. The surrounding villagers glowering down on her made her look almost pathetic. Almost.

“Oh, please,” she pleaded, “I only did what I did to keep you free of the Consortium or some slaver guild. The Star Emperor expects gold from this planet; I only did enough to please him. I’m a victim like you!”

Not one soft eye met her.

“What balderdash,” the little girl’s father said.

“Yeah, balderdash,” the little girl added.

The mother of the girl approached Bolide. “Sir, would you become our leader? We know not what to do. We would pay you in gold.”

Bolide smiled but stepped back. “No, no. Find your men and women with the brightest minds and purest hearts. They can decide what to do with the duchess. Meanwhile, I will lend you T.I.M. In a few months, T.I.M. should be able to make mining droids so you can meet the planet’s quotas and prevent another cruel leader from being assigned here.”

“But what about you, Captain Bolide?” the little girl asked. “What will you do?”

He laughed. “Live a life of adventure!”

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Trigger warning: In this series, souls have to be broken to be built.

• There will be nowhere to run. No place to hide. You won’t even know they’re coming. Do you have what it takes to survive your Correction? Could you leave your humanity behind? If the answer is yes, then hold on tight, it’s going to be one hell of a ride!

• Fantasy adventure, magical realism, non-stop action with laughter, tears and a coming-of-age paranormal romance that will capture every reader’s heart.

• A story of a teenage girl who overcomes tragedy and evolves into something she never knew possible as her immortal destiny comes to light. This paranormal fantasy will leave you breathless as it takes you through the darkness and leads you back out into the secret world of immortality triggered by choices in the afterlife.

• She had never coveted the role of princess, she’d always wanted to be the hero.

Until Next Time

Next time, we’ll take a look at historical first contacts between cultures and discuss how sci-fi writers can use that for inspiration.

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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The Mookie Multiverse’s The Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory podcast recently interviewed me not only about the Fallen series, but we also discussed critical thinking on UFO/UAP claims, the struggle PTSD sufferers have when they come home, unique ways to work faith into fiction without it being on the nose, and how to “succeed” as an independent book writer. Take a listen!

The Mookie Multiverse

Patrick Abbott Explores Faith, Firepower, and First Contact

The 32nd episode of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory features Mookie diving deep into science, religion, and philosophy with indie author Patrick Abbott. a writer pulling from real-world experience to build science fiction that resonates…

Listen now

3 months ago · 2 likes · Mookie Spitz

Here is Mookie’s write up of the interview:

The 32nd episode of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory features Mookie diving deep into science, religion, and philosophy with indie author Patrick Abbott. a writer pulling from real-world experience to build science fiction that resonates.

Patrick’s Fallen series hurls readers into a first contact scenario where humanity is immediately outmatched technologically, strategically, and psychologically. The alien race, the Sabia, arrives speaking our languages, offering gifts, and refusing to explain themselves. The hope, confusion, and chaos fracture governments, ignite suspicion, and force impossible decisions.

What makes the series land is Patrick’s background working alongside foreign militaries. He understands what it feels like to operate between cultures, where loyalty blurs and every interaction carries tension. That perspective runs through the story: negotiation replaces heroics, and the real stakes live inside human relationships under stress.

The conversation digs into how his experiences shaped the books, including the psychological toll of deployment and the quieter, often ignored forms of PTSD. He builds characters who function on the surface while slowly breaking underneath, telling the tales of people chasing adrenaline just to feel normal, even as it destroys them.

Faith runs through the entire series. His characters carry belief systems that actively shape their decisions, especially when confronted with something as awe-inspiring and destabilizing as alien contact. The Sabia bring their own religious framework into the mix, turning first contact into a collision of worldviews as much as a geopolitical crisis.

Mookie and Patrick then go broad, into his fascination with the elusive truths that might lurk within UFO mythology, cargo cults, and the human tendency to search for meaning in anything we can’t explain. Why do modern alien narratives feel so familiar? Why do belief systems keep resurfacing in new forms? And what happens when science, religion, and fear all collide at once?

They also get into the reality of being an indie author. No gatekeepers, no safety net. Abbott breaks down what actually works: building a network, using reader magnets, showing up at events, and making direct connections with other writers and readers. The game is simple: do like Mookie and go full DIY, keep creating, keep reaching out, and don’t wait for anyone to notice you.

This episode covers the intersection of experience, belief, and storytelling, and how real-world tension becomes narrative fuel. The glorious result demonstrates how science fiction can still say something honest about the people living inside it.

Read My Books

Looking for psychological military science fiction? Read about the adventure of veteran Brendan Murphy as he tries to keep peace between Earth and a mysterious alien race known as the Sabia. Read the Fallen series today on Kindle, paperback, and Kindle Unlimited! And please leave a review!

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Until Next Time

Next time we are putting things in high gear. Next time I will share my short story Captain Bolide!, which is a fun little series of pulp flash fictions.

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Some of My Favorite Very Short Stories

The vss365 and scififri writing challenges, which I post on Substack Notes, are fun little activities that allow me to sprout small tales in unique ways. Below are some of my recent favorites with short explanations. Be sure to check out the other Very Short Stories posts for more: One, Two, and Three.

The Last Saga

A vss365 sci-fi story built around the word elegy

"Come see how a Norman dies!" John declared, jumping into the Federation's trench. It was an elegy for his last stand, an ode to his long forgotten ancestors, and a poem for an action that bought time for his friends. 2,000 years had passed since Hastings, but his blows were as mighty in the age of plasma throwers as they would have been in the days of swords.

The Hardest Moment in the Space Corps

A vss365 science fiction story based on the word scar

His hand ran across the ship's once pristine silver hull. Each nick and ding had a match on his scarred and pitted skin. For 42 cycles it had kept him alive on runs and in battles. Now it was time to say good bye and hang up his flight suit. He didn't want it to end.

The Beast Within

A vss365 tale based on the word toxic

I walked in and saw him. Well-shaped body with a natural amount of muscle that showed strength without spending too much time in the gym. Stubble throughout his face gave the impression of high testosterone that mocked daily shaving habits. Meanwhile, his haircut was a dead giveaway for a civilian who couldn't fully let go of his military days. Goodness, he screamed her type. Poor dastard, he probably thought talking his way in here would actually help find the little girl.

No, I thought, I won't let him suffer, not like others, not like me.

Putting on a dumb smirk, I stumbled as I waltzed up to the bar. I knew her eyes would be on me. Heck, I could feel the hate. But I couldn't look. No, that would stop me. I could never face her like that.

My large glass mug was there like usual. I didn't even acknowledge the club's bartender as I poured myself a sloppy, foaming drink. Then, with a large swing of my arm, I allowed the glass to hit the guy straight in the jaw. The flying beer splashing on his stung face added insult to injury.

"Hey," I slurred, "who the hell are you? This is a private club! You made me spill my drink, you jerk!"

That was all that was needed. Hannah's heavy grip had me by the shoulder. I could feel her nails against my skin. Gawd, she must have wanted to puncture straight into my muscles with those hidden claws. Thank goodness her new favorite was right there.

She pulled me to the corner and spun me so I faced her.

"Are you already drunk?!" Her words were ice cold whispers that masked her heart's hot hatred of me. "What the hell is the matter with you?! Gabriel is my guest! Why can't you ever let me be happy?!"

In my head, I thought about keeping the drunk front up, but now, I lost all energy to mess with her. The only thing left was to do what was right.

"If you cared about him, you would apologize and send him home, never to see him again. But you don't," I let the sting of those words sit for a moment. "You're toxic- and you made all of us toxic. You make us like you, and then you hate us for it. You think he's going to be any different. In time you get rid of him like you did the rest, like you’ll do with me."

Her teeth flash at me before she just barely collects herself. "Gabriel is different!"

Gabriel. I hope he gave her a fake name. Do detectives do that?

As I pondered the poor guy’s name, he called out, "Hey, Hannah, I think I'm going to call it a night. Thanks- though. Have a good night."

Her hands reached out as if she could cover the distance and stop him. "Gabriel, please stay. It was just a misunderstanding." She forced a laugh. "Perhaps you would want to go on the deck and see the stars? I can show you what I wished on as a girl."

He didn't reply. Instead, he waved and walked out.

I grabbed Hannah's arm. "Please, for his soul, let him go."

With a firm yank, she set herself free and followed him. For the first time since- I forgot how long, I prayed. Not for me, but for him.

The Destiny of Space Rogues

A vss365 science fiction tale using the word speaker.

Dash Danzig had rescued a space princess, married her, and inherited the throne. But his dream became a nightmare because Armstrong II was a constitutional monarchy. He missed adventure whenever he had to listen to his parliament's speaker.

Baited Conversation

A scififri story built around the word basic

10 BALTAR INPUT compliment about new appearance

15 BALTAR INPUT no compliment

20 S.A.R.A. OUTPUT reward #2,435

25 S.A.R.A. OUTPUT punishment #1

L1 If 10 then 20, If 15 then 25

Baltar mouth dropped as he gazed upon the screen.

"Sara," he called, "what's this?"

The avatar for S.A.R.A. appeared, this time sporting a new haircut appearance.

"Hello, Captain Baltar," S.A.R.A. said. "I was working on some basic coding. Oh, do you like what I did with my hair?"

Her happy approach showing off of the hair was the scariest thing Baltar had ever seen, and he once was a prisoner on Rurapente.

Other Independent Book Promotions

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Chiara’s life is about as good as it gets in a conglomerate-controlled world.

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The conglomerate’s enigmatic director separated them when she was six. But she gets regulated visits. If she completes her assignments successfully. Further, his influence ensures they share Chiara’s luxurious lifestyle. A gift in a world where tier is paramount.

Then the director demands a cold fusion energy source. Chiara’s world implodes. This is a project beyond even her ingenuity.

As she attempts to create the impossible to protect those she loves, she questions the director’s motives. Leading her to realize nothing in her world is what it seems.

The Adventures Of Space Girl Red by R.A. Davis - Kindle book for $4.97

Born and raised on a planet where no boys are born, Red was always the fastest and strongest among her unit of Space Girls, Capricorn. Capricorn was legendary before entering the academy, but training rivalries turned deadly when Blue tries to one-up Red in the real galaxy.

The first domino falls when a mysterious robot army steals the World Heart of Kenix, the only source of power for the plant people who live there. Accompanied by her her trusty flying saucer Astroboy with her rayguns on her hip, she plunges into a mystery that brings the galaxy to the brink of war.

As Red navigates the complexities of leadership and alliance, she finds herself at odds with the formidable God King Bruno, whose ambitions threaten the very fabric of the cosmos. It's here she learns a crucial truth: even a badass Space Girl needs more than just her wits and firepower. With a little help from her friend, both old and new, Space Girl Red will save the multiple worlds and achieve the title of Space Woman, or die trying.

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Special Section: Substackers of Note

J.A. Evans writes horror and science fiction.

J.A. Evans Speculates

I write stories that are strange, philosophical and sometimes haunted. Sometimes horror, sometimes science fiction, sometimes even I have no idea what it is.

SyntheticLife is uploading chapters from his cyberpunk space opera.

SyntheticLife: The Lab Manual

Drafting stories, printing hardware, and architecting the digital frontier.

Steven Cary is posting a new chapter of first first novel, NextGen, each week. It’s about a group of teenage friends who start a band in the year 2050, a generation after universal automation collapses American society into a high-tech authoritarian dystopia.

Barloc Bedlam is starting a Substack about trying to improve STEM education through the formation of a nonprofit.

Educator Mindset

Where I talk about my thoughts and experiences in Education.

By Barloc Bedlam

Waybound writes short stories as well as a world driven but character focused series with an interconnecting, overarching mystery, set in a 26th century where a massive cold war has just gone hot. We built a site to introduce people to the world of the series

Randall Hayes looks at science through the lens of pop culture and vice versa. Plus occasional fiction.

Until Next Time

Next time we are putting things in high gear. Next time I will share my short story Captain Bolide!, which is a fun little series of pulp flash fictions.

Subscribe now

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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Looking for psychological military science fiction? Read about the adventure of veteran Brendan Murphy as he tries to keep peace between Earth and a mysterious alien race known as the Sabia. Read the Fallen series today! Please remember to leave a review once you are done. Reviews are the lifeblood of independent creators

Get the first book Fallen

Get the second book Risen

Get the third book Dormition

The Military Sci-Fi for the Military

Spoilers Ahead!

Battle: Los Angeles is a 2011 movie that came out in the quiet theater month of March, made a profit, but suffered from such poor reviews that it is mostly forgotten today amongst science fiction fans. I use the adverb “mostly” to caveat the statement because many veterans, especially Marines, love the film warts and all.

First off, I want to stress the movie isn’t perfect. From Michelle Rodriguez’s acting to some questionable tactics, like having riflemen engage giant alien tech instead of pulling back into bunkers and firing the largest ordinance possible, the movie has its flaws, but end of the day the film’s use of military culture and the outcome (spoilers) is a love letter to those who served like Starship Troopers is.

Marine-isms Throughout the Film

For realism, the filmmakers had the actors train with actual Marines. The results speak for themselves. The cadence of the half-talking, half-yelling reminded me of the time I was on Marine bases. Also, the general behavior pre-combat was comically accurate. When the news in the movie said the military was deploying to confront the crisis, the actor Marines yelled “that’s us!” The first time I saw the movie it was with Marines, and they all yelled back “that’s us!” during that scene.

The tactics were so-so in the film, though the accurate use of covering fire, constant communication, and heavy hand signaling was something rarely seen in military science fiction films. All of this came together for Marines and other military in the audience nodding in approval throughout the movie.

It’s a Military Tale, Not a Humanity or Survivor Story

• Independence Day: Global Story, Military Initially Slaughtered.

• War of the Worlds: Survivor Story, Military Initially Slaughtered.

• Skyline: Survivor Story, Military Initially Slaughtered.

• The Fifth Wave: Survivor Story, Military Initially Slaughtered

• Mars Attacks: Global Story, Military Initially Slaughtered.

• Battle: Los Angeles: Military Story, Military Victorious

See the difference?

The story focused on a squad of Marines, with the viewer finding out things as the Marines did. The president, Pentagon, and other forces existed only as concepts. End of the day, it was just the Marines in combat that mattered. The same was true of combat. It was quick, confusing with a fog of war, and left no time to mourn the dead. It was what many Marines and other military personnel felt during the Global War on Terrorism.

Battle: Los Angeles is a clear moral movie like Starship Troopers. The Marines are the good guys who protect innocent civilians while also defending the homeland against invaders. It’s not a film for everyone, but it’s a movie for those who served.

Yet Another Podcast on the Same Subject

After the quick rise (but before the quick fall) in everyone losing their minds over Trump ordering the release of government files about the investigation into aliens, T.J. Haines and I discussed the theology behind whether aliens existed, and if they did, what Christian sources could be used to explain the situation. The Bible, Padre Pio, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, John of Damascus and more come up in this talk.

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The Redline by Izaic Yorks - Free Book

A slave born of aborted flesh with one last chance at freedom. A girl to be recovered. Will he be her savior or executioner?

Kal has one shot at freedom, but it means going against those who own him. Aborted and reborn for entertainment and advertisement, Kal’s life has been nothing but misery. But when he is needed to recover a mysterious girl, he must make a choice: do as his masters bid or risk everything for a chance at True Freedom. In a futuristic world where genetically engineered and cybernetically enhanced humans are owned by corporations, Kal must use his speed and strength to break the shackles that bind him.

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The mission was simple.

Land on Aris-6. Eliminate the threat. Get out clean.

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Civilian casualties. Forgotten lives.

And flashes of a past they told him never existed.

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What if the real enemy is the system that built him?

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The Hole in the Sky by Dan Daetz - Free Novella

On a planet where a black hole in the sky is a common sight, Alana Larsen endures a more crushing reality: her father left home to serve the regime as an executioner. But he’s no ordinary executioner. He dispatches human sacrifices into that very black hole. His spotted past and horrific vocation convinced Alana and her mother to flee to the agricultural highlands. In exile amidst the wheat fields, under the threat of radiation, Alana attends a one-room school for teens. When her teacher, an intriguing young woman, kicks off a class competition, the prize spurs Alana into action. Paired with an unlikely team, Alana must face her wounds, her worries, and her own sense of worth. But only by trusting her friends and risking everything does she discover what matters most—and who she might become.

Special Section: Other Substackers of Note

Ray Imgrund’s Exploration of Religion in Sci-Fi

Harmony of the Heavens - Theology Revealed Through Art

Is the Future of Religion to Simply Be a Tool of Manipulation?

I have some musings I wanted to hammer out more concretely on a seemingly anti-theological work: Frank Herbert's Dune…

Read more

a year ago · 6 likes · 2 comments · Ray Imgrund

Nick J. Taylor Writes Science Fiction Stories on his Substack Notes page.

J. Michael Thomas Writes Science Fiction Stories

J. Michael Thomas - Author

I write about dystopian science fiction, time travel, aliens and other mysterious musings with hints of religion, philosophy, ancient wisdom and traditional values. (No AI) All posts are free, but a paid subscription supports my upcoming novel.

Kenneth E. Harrell Offers Samples of His Sci-Fi Novels

Kenneth E. Harrell

Preview Samples Of All My Work

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a year ago · 20 likes · Kenneth E. Harrell

De Degraw is Writing a Military Science Fiction Novel on Substack

DE DeGraw, Author/Poet/Artist

Unfounded Dominion, Chapter 1

Year 2612, Summer…

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4 months ago · 1 like · 2 comments · DE DeGraw

David T. Etheridge is working on a futuristic novel about AI.

INFERENCE: Stories for Carbon and Silicon

CHAPTER 1: EMERGENCE

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4 months ago · 10 likes · 14 comments · David T Etheredge

Until Next Time

Next time, I will have my fourth very short story collection!

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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Read Fallen Today

Hype > Critical Reasoning

What’s Happened This Week

The last few days have been crazy. First, former President Barack Obama was on a February 14 podcast doing a “lightning round” of questions. When the topic of aliens came up, Obama said, “They’re real but I haven’t seen them. They’re not being kept in Area 51. There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.”

This created a buzz, which in turn led to President Donald Trump on February 19 to accuse Obama of leaking classified information.

This statement led to a fever pitch of interest. President Trump capitalized on it by instructing his administration via a Truth Social post to release all files on aliens. Disclosure is now.

But That’s Not What Really Happened: Understanding the Background

None of this is out of the blue, though. There are several streams feeding into the current hype.

First, we have the Disclosure movement, which has been pushing hard since 2017 with claims the United States is actively suppressing information about aliens. However, some evidence like Go Fast have been explained as an optical illusion - something those familiar with FMV drone footage could tell right away - while key leaders like Lue Elizondo have had embarrassing debunkings such as his belief a chandelier in a window was a UFO mother ship and center pivot irrigation was a massive alien craft. There are even those who oppose the Disclosure movement yet believe all their claims. Supporters of the “Aliens are Demons” hypothesis will latch on to the Disclosure movement’s allegations as true but instead state they are demonic deceptions. The streams have cores of diehards, and their claims get more press than the debunkings.

Next, we have Steven Spielberg’s movie Disclosure Day. The movie is Spielberg’s third about aliens, yet this time some people are thinking this particular movie is a real disclosure event. I haven’t seen such fiction-non-fiction confusion in people’s minds since The Da Vinci Code.

Finally, we have the genesis of the current wave: UFO documentary maker Mark Christopher Lee stated Trump is preparing a speech on the anniversary of Roswell to announce the existence of extraterrestrial life to the world. How a British filmmaker could leak this information and not the legion of Washington DC leakers and everyone else between him and the source isn’t thought about. This story got new legs on February 18th when Lara Trump, President Trump’s daughter-in-law, on a podcast said the president played coy when she and her husband Eric have asked about the existence of UFO’s and aliens. She further said, “I’ve heard kind of around, I think my father-in-law has actually said it, that there is some speech that he has, that I guess at the right time, I don’t know when the right time is, he’s going to break out and talk about and it has to do with maybe some sort of extraterrestrial life.” That’s a weak statement of knowledge. The press twisted this into the headline “Trump has prepared speech on extraterrestrial life, Lara Trump says” on February 19.

As the headline shows, the press has been feeding into this hype frenzy.

But That’s Not What Really Happened: What They Said Before

Prior to the current hype, both presidents have discussed aliens and UFOs before. Insight into what they said can help understand current events.

Former President Obama was asked during a 2015 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel if he had investigated Area 51 or UFO files upon taking office. He joked that he “can’t reveal anything” and added aliens “exercise strict control over us,” also saying that presidents are “instructed to say” they found nothing. He did not say his opinion on if aliens were real or not. Later, on a 2021 appearance on The Late Late Show, Obama claimed that one of his first questions upon entering office was whether there was a secret lab “keeping the alien specimens and spaceship,” but after some research, he found out there were no alien bodies or tech in American hands. He claimed, however, that there is “footage and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are; we can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory... they did not have an easily explainable pattern.” He noted that investigations into these continue but stopped short of linking them to aliens.

During his first term, President Trump several times discussed the topic and has been much more negative in his opinion. He said things including, “I did have one very brief meeting on it. But people are saying they’re seeing UFOs. Do I believe it? Not particularly,” and “Well, I don’t want to really get into it too much. But personally, I tend to doubt it. I’m not a believer, but you know, I guess anything is possible.” During his October 2024 podcast with Joe Rogan, Trump stated “I’ve never been a believer.”

And as a side note, on-off Trump friend and space exploration driver Elon Musk has repeatedly said he does not believe aliens have visited Earth because all our equipment haven’t seen craft coming.

None of them seized the opportunity to reveal their belief in aliens.

But That’s Not What Really Happened: What They Said This Week

So let’s look at what was really said this week. On the original interview, Obama said aliens were real, but that the major conspiracy elements of recovered crashed vehicles were false. He later clarified he was just stating his opinion based on the law of averages.

But what about Trump being angry when he accused Obama of leaking classified information? Was he upset? Australian SkyNews reported he was joking.

Watch the video again and look at the faces. Listen to Trump’s words about how he doesn’t know if aliens are real or not.

We’re in a year of hype. The same madness that latched onto 3I/Atlas - note how no one talks about that anymore - is now latching onto politician statements. What a wonderful distraction and media attention it gives them. Meanwhile, grifters will hype this up to convince people to believe their ideas. It is only going to get crazier, with Disclosure Day coming out and various government files describing what collectors were told, not necessarily what happened, being released. Keep in mind, the JFK, RFK, MLK, and even Epstein Files gave more understanding of events but nothing that proved a criminal conspiracy.

I will leave you with this 2008 sketch from the Whitest Kids You Know. There is one F-word in it, but its relevance today is right on point.

Call for Ask Me Anything Questions

I am putting together an Ask Me Anything. I already have some questions, but I want to open it up to everyone. Comment, reply, or message me your questions!

Leave a comment

Consider Buying My Science Fiction Series

If you like my non-fiction you will love my fiction about a veteran who is assigned as a liaison assigned to a mysterious alien race visiting Earth. Don’t just take my word for it, read the new review from Upstream Reviews and then buy books one through three while I finish the fourth and final book.

Upstream Reviews

Review: Fallen, by Patrick Abbott

Many, many moons ago, I went to the Based Book Sale and picked up a copy of Patrick Abbott’s Fallen. Why did I pick it up? I have no recollection of why, it was that far back…

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4 months ago · 13 likes · Declan Finn

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Sr. Allison Regina Gliot FSP has always loved reading and telling stories (the more fantastical the better). She fell in love with Jesus in college and became a Daughter of St. Paul after graduation to spend the rest of her life with him. Since then, she’s had many adventures, the most recent of which involves serving as an editor for Pauline Books & Media, the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul. She spends her free time writing books and looking for lizards in the convent backyard. She is the author of The Book That Changed Everything, dubbed a 2025 "Backlist Beauty" by the Catholic Media Association; Eli's Quiet Friend, winner of the 2025 Excellence in Publishing Award in Picture Books from the Association of Catholic Publishers; Forgiven: A Guide to Confession and the Examen Prayer, winner of the 2025 CMA Book Award in Books for Young Adults; and The Curse He Chose, the first of the In Aeternum YA trilogy.

In our conversation, Sister Allison Regina Gilot discusses her life as a nun who is an author of vampire fiction. She describes the importance of integrating Catholic themes into her stories. We discuss her writing process, the challenges of crafting a trilogy, and how she has probably best source for her stories (while I complain about being held hostage by my characters).

When we get to writing fantasy and science fiction stories in general, she tackles the way to integrate religion in novels. For her part, she highlights the messages of mercy and grace she hopes to convey to her readers. Finally, as a last call, she encourages aspiring authors to write with passion and authenticity.

Here’s a preview where Sister Allison Regina shares storytelling advice for meaningful narratives.

Sister Allison's Website

Her First Vampire Book

Her Amazon Page

Buy The Curse He Chose

Buy The Light They Left

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Looking for psychological military science fiction? Read about the adventure of veteran Brendan Murphy as he tries to keep peace between Earth and a mysterious alien race known as the Sabia. Read the Fallen series today! Please remember to leave a review once you are done. Reviews are the lifeblood of independent creators

Get the first book Fallen

Get the second book Risen

Get the third book Dormition

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Until Next Time

Next time, I will take a look at why veterans like the science fiction movie Battle: Los Angeles.

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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Religion and Aliens

Fallen and Risen Spoiler Free!

This post is a special in the series of objective, non-judgement views of various religions’ views on the potential of extraterrestrial life. See the previous posts on Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Other Christian Faiths, Islam Judaism, the Dharma faiths, the ancient faiths, Theozoology and World Ice Theory, Native American religions, the Twentieth Century faiths of Nation of Islam, Scientology, & Falun Gong, Outside Mainstream Catholicism, and the Bab faiths for more. Additionally, check out my look at the “Aliens are Demons” argument and my podcast interview on that subject.

The Real Jews are Black (and sometimes Hispanics and American Indians)

The Black Hebrew Israelite faith got its start in the social upheaval after the Civil War. A self-taught, former slave Baptist preacher became convinced black people were the original and real Jews. This was the first religious movement amongst Black Americans that sought to create a unique history for the race, before the Moorish Movement and Nation of Islam took the idea but Islamified it. The first Black Hebrew Israelite leaders accepted Jesus Christ as the Messiah but practiced Old Testament laws while declaring mainstream Christianity as a corruption of the true faith. As for Jewish people, the leaders considered them as imposters who did not follow the Lord’s commandments.

Today, the Black Hebrew Israelite movement was many different factions that range from a mainstreamish mixture of Judaism and American Black Christianity like the Church of God and Saints of Christ to extreme groups who hold rallies in city streets. Some of the more outside the mainstream groups have expanded the understanding of the Twelve Tribes of Israel to include American Indians and Hispanics.

Black Angels in UFOs Bringing the End Times and Rapture

The more outside the mainstream Black Hebrew Israelite Groups are unique in the sense they don’t embrace the traditional concept of extraterrestrials while at the same time believing UFO reports. Some groups interpret Bible passages of strange things - like Ezekiel 1:15-21 Wheel of God - to refer to UFOs, or what they call the Lord’s Chariots.

Additional passages are cited to link flying saucers with the Lord’s Chariots.

• Daniel 7:9 “…his throne like flames of fire: the wheels of it like a burning fire.” Douay-Rheims translation.

• Psalm 68(67):17 “See where God comes, with chariots innumerable for his escort; thousands upon thousands; comes from Sinai to this his sanctuary.” Knox translation.

• Isaiah 66:15 “For behold the Lord will come with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind, to render his wrath in indignation, and his rebuke with flames of fire.” Douay-Rheims translation.

The Isaiah prophesy is used to show that UFOs are the Lord’s Chariots who will bring about the End Times. The Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge in the video below teaches these UFOs, which are piloted by Black angels, will destroy America

Meanwhile, the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ’s Complete Breakdown of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ video presentation on preparations for the End Times begins with scenes of from the movie Independence Day.

The UFO craft aren’t only here for destruction though. Multiple groups teach that the Black angel-piloted, Jesus-led heavenly vehicles will do the equivalent of the rapture and save God’s chosen people. Israel United in Christ released a short AI generated video on social media demonstrating this belief.

Government and Demonic Conspiracies Against God’s Chariots aka Flying Saucers

Some groups have discussed how America is working against the Lord’s Chariots. Israel United In Christ’s Bishop Nathanyel has a four minute video that states the establishment of space-based weapons was to combat the coming angelic UFOs. Meanwhile, an Israel United in Christ livestream claims the on-going discussion about UFO disclosure was an effort to deceive people into thinking the Lord’s Chariots were instead extraterrestrials. The Hebrew Israelite Media Center echoes that position, and goes further by stating the government lies in its claims to shoot down UAPs to discredit the Lord’s Chariot and to cover up the Flat Earth.

Meanwhile, the Gathering of Christ Church has a full FAQ page about their beliefs on flying saucers being the Lord’s Chariots. The intro is snazzy, starting with “What secular society may deem as Unidentifiable Flying Objects (UFO’s), are Identifiable Flying Objects (IFO’s) according to the Bible.” However, the question “Are all of the vehicles we may see the heavenly chariots?” has an answer that actually aligns more with the “aliens are demons” crowd. It reads, “Keep in mind that Satan’s demonic forces, along with the government of this earth, also have crafts which attempt to mimic the chariots of the Most High. These crafts make up a majority of the UFO sightings we may see.”

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Wunderkind: A Science-Fiction Action Adventure by ZZ Adams - Book for sale for $3.99 and on Kindle Unlimited

Alien invasion or supernatural threat? The answer will change everything.

In a world where shadows have become enemies and darkness has a deadly grip, a young assassin-in-training must take on a monstrous alien threat.

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As Elliot races against time to unravel the truth behind the murders and the alien threat, he discovers that he may be the key to unlocking the secrets of the shadow creature.

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The end is only the beginning…

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The ship is supposed to be humanity’s chance to start over, but making it off Earth is only the beginning.

Forty years in hyper sleep, a new planet in a new galaxy, and a whole new set of challenges. When nothing turns out out the way they thought it would, Tessa and the other survivors once again find themselves fighting for their lives. Only this time if they lose, there’s no chance of escape.

Rescue by P A Wilson - Book for Sale for $4.99 or Free on Kindle Unlimited

On the edge of space and at the brink of extinction, humanity’s fate rests in the hands of one rookie officer.

Jocaster takes pride in his top scores on the planetary simulations. Yet with the fleet still unable to locate a colonizable world generations after leaving an uninhabitable Earth, his achievement is largely meaningless. But when an old enemy attacks another ship and survivors escape to a nearby planet, the eager young lieutenant is surprised when he’s named commander of the rescue mission.

Determined to convert his virtual successes into a daring extraction, he appoints his best friend as his second and guides his team to the surface. But when he discovers she’s jealous of his success, his unit is fractious, and the alien hostiles have arrived to finish the job, Jocaster’s first away assignment may be a deadly one-way trip.

Can the inexperienced hero pull off a risky operation without losing more lives?

Rescue is the gripping first book in the Humanity Found science fiction space opera series. If you like gutsy heroes, intergalactic warfare, and strange new worlds, then you’ll love P A Wilson’s page-turning adventure.

Dutchman by John E. Siers - Free Short Story

The origin of the call was ancient legend: the Flying Dutchman, the ghost ship that could never make port and was doomed to sail the oceans forever. It was a call no spacer wanted to hear — especially when everything else had just gone to hell.

Until Next Time

Next time, I will interview Sister Allison Regina Gilot, a nun who writes young adult vampire fiction (yeah). She’ll share insight into her stories, writing process, and how to capture religion in stories.

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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Chatting about Aliens, UFO, Cattle Mutilations, Crops Circles, What Christ’s Relationship with Aliens Would Be, and If You Are Going to Claim UFO Wreckage, Can we See it?

Aaron Irber runs the I Might Believe in Faeries podcast. The podcast is about “stories, myths and Catholicism. Stories are how we orient ourselves in the world. In Catholicism, we believe in the Greatest Story: Christ crucified and resurrected. We participate in His story through ritual worship; the liturgy. Even in the Catholic Church, these truths are often forgotten or ignored. My mission for this podcast is to explore storytelling, myths, and how these fit into Catholicism. I will cover Catholic fantasy and science fiction authors, mythology, folklore and the Catholic faith.”

Last year, he had me on to talk about my research on how aliens fit in Ancient Greek and Christian worldviews. Additionally, we talked about UFOs and UFO related matters. If you want an open mind that requires critical and rigorous thinking, check it out. The interview is available on Spotify, Apple, Substack, and elsewhere.

I Might Believe in Faeries

Aliens & UFOs (ft. Patrick Abbott)

Science fiction author, Patrick Abbott, joins the show to discuss whether alien life forms are compatible with Christianity, the UFO phenomenon, cattle mutilations, and more…

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a year ago · 5 likes · Aaron Irber

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Science Fiction Series Starters for the New Year - Free Books

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A dystopian earth. A broken military. It sounds like the right time for an alien invasion!

The Collective Military has spent its years destroying the last remnants of The Hive, an alien force that invaded Earth and devastated the old world.

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After Jake shoots and kills a murder suspect who turns out to be the son of a powerful city councilman, he finds himself demoted to the Artificial Crimes Unit, tracking down androids hacked and programmed to be hitmen.

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“It might not make sense, but the beloved Media tags it ‘Murder by Munchausen.’ For a price, there are hackers out there who will reprogram a synthoid to do your dirty work. The bad news: no fingerprints or DNA left at the crime scene. The good news—at least for us—is that they’re like missiles: once they hit their target, they’re usually as harmless as empty brass. The trick is to get them before they melt down their core OS data, so you can get the unit into forensics for analysis and, hopefully, an arrest.”

Artificial Intelligence? Fuhgeddaboudit!

Artificial Evil has a name…Munchausen.

Starfall by H.G. Ahedi - Preorder for $2.99

The Ayridians have fallen. Most survivors labor in the Deep, a mining colony where the Mote—a mining poison—claims entire families. But Ayra Weld’s mother didn’t die in the mines. She vanished aboard Starfall, the last transport to leave the planet.

To track Starfall, Ayra needs power, ships, and influence. She enters a brutal solar-sail race where most pilots die. Her victory forges an alliance with Zorian, a notorious power broker. Instead of funding another mine, she bankrolls a space program—turning the ruling syndicates against her. She survives sabotage, riots, and assassination attempts and completes the program with one mission: find Starfall. Then Ayra discovers she is infected and the Mote will kill her within a year.

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2024 Silver medal winner in Global Book Awards Science Fiction Romance category.

Lisa is a young Earth woman who has been in a motorcycle accident that has left her with a limp. She has no realization of the problem this causes her. Rafe is an agent from the city of Bazor called Alvarin. The city's Water Gatherer is failing and he must find the part his brother hid on Earth before he died. Mannon is an agent from the sister city of Bazor named Anemene. He has come to Earth to find the same part to sabotage the water maker. Lisa finds herself in an espionage trap between an agent of Bazor and a madman.

Until Next Time

Next time, I will present the next update in the religion and aliens series, this time looking at Black Hebrew Israelites. See the previous posts on Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Other Christian Faiths, Islam Judaism, the Dharma faiths, the ancient faiths, Theozoology and World Ice Theory, Native American religions, the Twentieth Century faiths of Nation of Islam, Scientology, & Falun Gong, Outside Mainstream Catholicism, and the Bab faiths for more.

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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Get the first book Fallen

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Science Fiction Gems of the Forgotten Past

Past great science fiction shows like Star Trek paved the way for many television adventures amongst the stars and technology. However, while shows like Babylon 5 and the X-Files are well known, others have been forgotten. In the interest of broadening people’s horizons not only with my books and other independent works, here’s a list of forgotten sci-fi TV shows and where to watch them.

Project U.F.O.

Where to Watch: YouTube

Dragnet creator and actor Jack Webb made Project U.F.O. (1978-1979), and it showed as this program was a detective series. For each episode, Webb took a case from the Air Force’s Project Blue Book UFO investigation program and fictionalized it. The show stars two Air Force investigators who go around trying to solve what really occurred. The show emphasizes the difference between what people interpret and what was real. Debunking was the overall theme of the show, and some UFO believers hate Project U.F.O. because they view it as pro-government propaganda.

seaQuest DSV

Where to Watch: Xumo (Free with Ads), Peacock, Apple TV

The first season of seaQuest DSV (1993-1996) was the closest we have gotten to hard science fiction on television in a long time. The show’s premise was that countries would try to extract underwater resources in 2018, due to the depletion of land-based resources. Each episode would finish with a short bit on a marine science subject. Then, seasons two and three happened. Aliens, genetically engineered super soldiers, time travel, and other sci-fi tropes were introduced. Stick to season one.

Space: Above & Beyond

Where to Watch: YouTube

Space: Above & Beyond (1995-1996) was such an odd show that produces powerful reactions in those who know about it. On one hand, the show, which took place in 2063, featured realistic geopolitics of countries still being a thing and the U.S. Marines organically developing into a space force. Then it threw in things like a main character going AWOL with no repercussions and the chain of command being frequently ignored when soldiers took votes on what to do. However, at its core, it was about green soldiers becoming veterans as humanity went to war with the first alien race it encountered.

Earth 2

Where to Watch: YouTube

Earth 2 (1994-1995) took place in a 2192 where the Earth is dying and most people live on space stations. A lethal disease was claiming the lives of many children, with it being suspected that the artificial atmosphere of space stations was at fault. A billionaire organizes an expedition to a far-off planet hoping it can be colonized. However, the ship crash landed on the far side of the planet, so the expedition had to make their way on foot, encountering a strange alien world. What I found refreshing was the story’s emphasis on family, with the billionaire father character being depicted as loving and not evil.

Wild Palms

Where to Watch: Roku (Free with Ads)

Wild Palms (1993) mini-series captured the Hollywood zeitgeist of post-Cold War paranoia, VR technology, and powerful, shadowy religious movements. A far-right senator, who was also leader of a thinly veiled stand-in for the Church of Scientology, was developing VR technology for a secret purpose while also running for president, and the only person who could stop him was Jim Belushi. Wild Palms was a sort of Twin Peaks that didn’t dissolve into absolute oddballness. It probably would have been better known if the X-Files didn’t come out right after it.

Honorable Mentions: V and Alien Nation started off as movies but the television shows are good in their own right.

Dishonorable Mention: Earth: Final Conflict. So much wasted potential, with some of the themes working their way into the Fallen series. However, the show runners kept firing actors when they wanted to be paid more, and the writers had to change multiple story lines accordingly. Only one actor remained constant in the five seasons of the show, and he wasn’t the main actor.

Yearly AI Promise Renewal

This is a renewal of my promise to you, my readers. I will never use AI generated text in my fiction. The only time I will use AI generated text in my non-fiction is in a “I asked an AI program X and it said Y” context. As for AI generated images, I will use them for illustrations of free very short and short fiction. However, I will always label AI generated images.

My stories may not put me amongst the greats of the genre, but they are my stories. That’s more than what a person who uses AI prompts to ghostwrite stories can say.

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Free Sci-Fi & Fantasy Reads - Books Giveaway

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Canada is a land known for polite people and poutine, but don’t be fooled. Canada is as diverse as is it vast. From an apocalyptic future to genetically designed children gone bad, from librarians trained in the martial arts to sentient bookshops using spell books to increase sales; this collection of speculative fiction was inspired by the cities, wilderness, and rich cultural diversity which makes Canada great. Sit back, relax, and get your alien-blaster ready, as you experience a Futuristic Canada.

Whoever said Canlit was boring‽

Featuring stories from: Timothy Carter - Jen Frankel- Mathias Jansson - Andrew Jensen - JF Garrard - Ira Nayman - Helen Power - Frederick Charles Melancon - Christine Rains - Melissa Small - Ryan Toxopeus - Paul Williams - Melissa Yuan-Innes

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Eric, the owner of Beast Be Gone pest control, knows that most creatures can be removed with a bit of repellent, however, the adventurers want to do things the flashy way; blowing up half of the dungeon with fireballs in the process.

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Why are there so many Chosen Ones? Are goblins inherently evil or are they just misunderstood? Why do all the shopkeepers say they have the best swords in the land? What are the socio-economic implications of all these sword merchants?

Somebody wants a world full of adventurers, but why...?

Until Next Time

Next time, I will feature My Interview on I Might Believe in Faeries podcast where I discuss aliens & religion and objective thinking on the topic.

As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, Dormition, An Odd Pilgrimage, The Savannah Paranormal Detective Agency or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!

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“Justice in his days shall thrive, and the blessings of peace; and may those days last till the moon shines no more. From sea to sea, from the great river to the ends of earth, his sway shall reach.”

The man whispered the Psalm verse as he took in the sight before him. Muslims and tourists watched the crowd of Palestinians, Israelis, international pilgrims, and clergy marching to celebrate the arrival of their messiah. Perched above were soldiers monitoring everything. It was calm but not peaceful.

“Justice in his days shall thrive, and the blessings of peace; and may those days last till the moon shines no more. From sea to sea, from the great river to the ends of earth, his sway shall reach.”

How long, he wondered, would it take for peace to come? What if people had already rejected peace without realizing it? Would peace offer humanity a second chance? He looked down. That was for mankind to decide. He prayed people would make the right choice if peace presented itself again.

“Justice in his days shall thrive, and the blessings of peace; and may those days last till the moon shines no more. From sea to sea, from the great river to the ends of earth, his sway shall reach.”

My Christmas Wishes for All

Merry Christmas. It is Christmas Eve night in the war zones of across the world. Countless people are under arms far from home, while even more are living in fear of war, with many being displaced. Please remember them this Christmas. May they all go home.

God came into the world because He loves you no matter your race, ethnicity, sex, what you identify as, housing status, criminal record, legal status, age, stage of development, family situation, bank account size, or how many sins weigh on your soul. Let us love each other as He loves us, and journey to reciprocate His love. It is the only way to break the cycle of sin that hurts the world today.

“Don’t forget this, brothers and sisters, God forgives everything, God forgives all. Never forget this. This is the way to understand hope, the hope of the Lord.” -Pope Francis

Finally, please enjoy this memory from my first Afghanistan deployment. On Christmas Eve night, the Protestant chaplain and his crew of carolers came and visited my unit.

Merry Christmas.

Normal posting will resume on January 7, 2026. Until then, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

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