“Senator Banesfield is here to argue for more wheat subsidies, and then there’s lunch with the Syrian delegation.”
“Ah,” said Arthur Evans, “that will certainly bring me back to Earth in a hurry.”
“You’re glowing again,” said Eric, and ran a fingertip over her lips. They had just made love, and lay on their sides, facing each other.
“So are you,” said Nataly. She gestured above his head. “There are some nice gold streamers here, and some red, but I still see a little patch of blue. We have to fix that.”
“As long as it takes. We have the rest of our lives.”
Nataly smiled. “We never talked about age. I’m not so young as you think. I’m actually a year older than you.”
Eric pulled her to him again, and kissed her softly. “Ohh, a mature, knowledgeable woman. Teach me what I need to know.”
Nataly giggled, but then there was a sound, a distant, high-pitched whine they heard together. “Oooo, I’ve got to see this,” said Nataly. She struggled out of Eric’s embrace, threw back the covers and ran naked towards the front room of the house. Eric was right behind her when she reached the balcony doors and opened them. They stepped out onto the balcony and Eric enveloped her in his arms as they looked towards the high buttes to the west.
A star colored red and orange was rising slowly above a butte, then stopped and floated slowly north before rising again. Colors brightened as it accelerated its vertical climb.
“Someone going home. Maybe it’s Vasyl,” said Eric.
“No, he’ll use the portal to the presidential building, and so will the rest of the council.”
“I’ll be going in on Sparrow. Vasyl wants to make a show of it.”
“He would.”
The star flared, and then rose faster and faster, dimming with altitude. There was a bright flash, the star winked out and was gone.
“Someone is sure to see it and call the police,” said Eric.
“And the report will be ignored as usual,” said Nataly, and leaned back against him.
“Maybe someday both of us can go to Ariel. In a way, it’s like going home.”
“Home is right here—with you,” said Nataly, and she looked up at him.
Eric growled, and Nataly squealed as he swept her up in his arms and carried her back to their bedroom, and they made love again in a cloud of swirling colors.
AFTERWORD
Sedona Conspiracy is a work of fiction. I made it all up. A couple of restaurant names are real, or close to real, and the food is good. Area descriptions are accurate. I own two timeshares in Sedona, Arizona. I paint, drum and play didj there with friends. It’s one of my favorite places on this planet. It’s also considered by many to be the New-Age capital of the country.
New age culture, including UFOs, angels and aliens, is rich in Sedona. The literature is huge, and ranges from quackery to serious reporting. A lot of levelheaded, no-nonsense people have seen strange things in the Sedona area, and will tell you about it. They’ll tell you how the Sedona Fire Department once went into the backcountry to fight a raging fire and was turned back by armed soldiers in black Humvees. And in my own experience, hiking near the end of Long Canyon one day, I heard what sounded like a 747 taking off nearby. Okay, I’m a professional skeptic, a trained physicist who spent thirty years teaching and doing research in physics, but I’m the first to admit that theories are never proven, only disproved. And the mind must always be kept open to new possibilities.
Sedona Conspiracy started out with a ‘What If’. What if all of it is true? What if there really is a secret military base in the Sedona backcountry, and aliens really are living among us?
The rest was pure fun. Hope you enjoyed it.
SOME FURTHER READING
1. Dongo, Tom, The Mysteries of Sedona. The New Age Frontier. Tom Dongo, Sedona, AZ. 1988
2. Dongo, Tom, The Mysteries of Sedona. The Alien Tide, Hummingbird Pub. Co., 1990
3. Nichols, Preston B. and Moon, Peter, Encounters in the Pleides: An Inside Look at UFOs, Sky Books, 1996
4. Andrews, George C., Extraterrestrials Among Us, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, Mn. 1986
5. Chatelain, Maurice, Our Cosmic Ancestors, Golden Temple Productions, Sedona, Az. 1988
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James C. Glass is a retired physics and astronomy professor and dean who now spends his time writing, painting, and traveling. He made his first story sale in 1988 and was the Grand Prize Winner of Writers of the Future in 1990. Since then he has sold six novels and a short story collection, and over forty short stories to magazines such as Aboriginal S.F., Analog, and Talebones. Jim writes science fiction, fantasy, and dark fantasy. He now divides his time between Spokane, Washington and Desert Hot Springs, California with wife Gail, who is a costumer and healing dancer. There are five grown children and eleven grandchildren scattered around the country. Jim also paints mountain, desert, and red rock scenics in oils and pastels, and is often heard playing didgeridoo and Native American flute. For more details, please see his web site at:
BORGO PRESS BOOKS BY JAMES C. GLASS
Imaginings of a Dark Mind: Science Fiction Stories
Sedona Conspiracy: A Science Fiction Novel
Toth: A Science Fiction Novel
Touches of Wonder and Terror: Tales of Dark Fantasy and Science Fiction
Visions: A Science Fiction Western
Voyages in Mind and Space: Stories of Mystery and Fantasy
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Copyright © 2012 by James C. Glass
Published by Wildside Press LLC