M. W. Huffman
Close Proximity
OTHER BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MW HUFFMAN
THE END — BOOK I of The Event Series
THE BEGINNING — BOOK II of The Event Series
THE REVELATION — BOOK III of The Event Series
The Second Civil War — BOOK I-A Nation Divided
The Second Civil War — Book II-A Nation at War
The Second Civil War — Book III — A Nation Healing
Project BlueBolt — BOOK I — American Gulags
Project BlueBolt — BOOK II — The Gulag Journal
Project BlueBolt — BOOK III — American Uprising
REVOLUTION
THE BRINK
CLOSE PROXIMITY
BLACKSTAR
CHIMERA
WORLDS END
SUN BURST
Sins of the Fathers
The Unfinished
Angie Bartoni Case File # 1 — The Alphabet Murders
Angie Bartoni Case File # 2 — Frost Bite
Angie Bartoni Case File # 3 — Dead Aim
Angie Bartoni Case File # 4 — What Goes Around
Angie Bartoni Case File # 5 — Nothing to Lose
Angie Bartoni Case File # 6 — Shadow Man
Angie Bartoni Case File # 7 — The Club
Angie Bartoni Case File # 8 — Shakespeare Murders
Angie Bartoni Case File # 9 — One Too Many
Angie Bartoni Case File #10 — Weak Link
Angie Bartoni Case File #11 — Vanishing Act
Angie Bartoni Case File #12 — Victim’s Advocate
Angie Bartoni Case File #13 — Payback
Angie Bartoni Case File #14 — Dead on Arrival
The Logan Files — Blond Deception
The Logan Files — Innocence and Avarice
The Logan Files — The Deal Breaker
The Logan Files — Pain Center
Norris Files — Silver2
Norris Files — Insurrection
FOREWORD
For thousands of years man believed that the Earth was the center of the universe. Everything revolved around man’s existence on this small planet. To think otherwise was not only foolish, but dangerous. You could be branded a heretic and that often ended in a death sentence.
And then a strange thing started to happen in Europe. Several mathematicians began to question this very concept.
Contrary to popular belief, Galileo Galilei, did not invent the telescope. The first known telescope was invented by Hans Lippershey in 1608. Galileo was the one to take the telescope to the next level by using mirrors to collect light and thus was born the beginning of modern astronomy. Galileo was more than just a star gazer; he was a brilliant mathematician, scientist and observer. His contributions to science were earthshaking at the time. He discovered the four largest moons orbiting around Jupiter, aptly named the Galileo Moons.
Where Galileo started to go wrong with the church’s philosophy at the time was when he wrote a paper explaining how he could determine the distance of a star from the earth. This implied that the Earth was not the center of the universe. His published works about Stellar Parallax made him an enemy of Pope Urban VIII. Galileo was brought before the inquisition. The deck was stacked against him and he was found ‘Vehemently suspect of heresy’ and was placed under house arrest. He was also forced to recant his theory that the earth moved around the sun rather than the earth being the center of the universe.
Fortunately the scientific revolution was beginning to take place. Far too many things could no longer be shoved under the table. Galileo had opened the scientific Pandora’s Box. Many other brilliant and curious minds challenged the official policy of the church. While the inquisition deterred some, others refused to be subject to the whims of the church.
Even after Galileo died, Pope Urban VIII refused to let him be buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce, next to the tombs of his father and other ancestors. The Grand Duke of Tuscany tried to petition the church to erect a marble mausoleum in his honor but Pope Urban VIII refused the request. He still viewed Galileo as a suspect of heresy even though his calculations and theories had been proven correct.
Since that time, man has been constantly looking deeper into our universe and trying to discover its origin. New theories are developed but no one can say with absolute certainty who or what created the heavens and earth. Biblical references point directly to God, others scoff at that and look for other explanations.
Knowledge is a worthy goal but in the end, does it really matter how the universe was created? How does that help us in our everyday lives? Knowing for an absolute fact will do little to change how we live on this planet.
Even now, astronomers sit in front of huge telescopes and listening arrays to discover the secrets of the universe. Day after day, night after night, thousands work on solving the mystery of the stars.
It is estimated that our galaxy, the Milky Way, is roughly 100,000 light years across and contains over 400 billion stars. We are but one of hundreds of millions of galaxies. The total number of stars and planets is incalculable.
Our sun and our solar system rotate around the center core of a black hole in the middle of the Milky Way Galaxy. We are on the outer edge of one of the spiral offshoots of the galaxy about two-thirds of the way out from the center of the galaxy.
There is nothing easy about grasping the enormity of the universe. The only time we seem concerned is when something has an impact on our daily lives. For man to become interested in space it takes something grabbing our attention and putting it into terms we can understand.
That is exactly what was about to happen in only a few short months during the year, 2016.
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
CHAPTER ONE
James Erwin had been a renegade most of his life. He was in constant trouble as a kid and continued on during high school. All of that changed one night when he was caught in the back seat of his father’s car with the Mayor’s youngest daughter.
“Out of the car,” the cop said, shinning the light through the side window.
The officer could see two people mostly naked in the back seat.
“Come on. Get out of the car,” the policeman said, tapping on the window.
“Give us a minute,” James yelled back, trying to help Becky get her blouse buttoned.
James finally opened the door and the two got out. Becky was shivering from both the cold and fear.
“Holy smokes,” his partner said, shinning his flashlight on the girl, “Do you know who that is?”
“Some girl this scumbag picked up?”
“It’s Becky Brown, Mayor Brown’s daughter.”
“Oh heavens. Oh damn,” he said and involuntarily took a step back.
“Yeah. What now?”
“Let us go. No one has to know,” James suggested.
“Little late for that. We called in the plate.”
“Look, I don’t mind getting in trouble but I don’t want Becky implicated. Can’t you just make up a name? If her father finds out he will kill her.”