BEYOND THE PALE: ( The Outlander )
Read BEYOND THE PALE: ( The Outlander ) Online
Authors: Senan Gil Senan
The
characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to
real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Text
copyright ©2014 by Senan Gilsenan. All rights reserved.
No
part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission of the
publisher.
Published
by Senan Gilsenan ([email protected])
This book
is dedicated to my sister Helen McNerney who was a contributing editor and
helped shape this story into a better book. It is also dedicated to my wife
Suzanne who gave me her full support, and my good friend Mik Hartshawn for his help
with the cover art.
Preface
The Pale
(
An Pháil Sasanach
), was the part of
Ireland
that was directly under
the control of the English government in the late middle ages. By the 15
th
century it had been reduced to an area about twenty miles radius of the
garrisoned city of Dublin.
Beyond the pale
suggested that anything
outside the authority's jurisdiction was uncivilized.
In truth, it was a
matter of perception, the area beyond the pale was the rest of Ireland which
had a well developed culture that predated the civilization of England. The
problem lay in the fact that it remained outside of the control of England.
The pale in this
scenario is the walled citadel of New Denver, but in a broader sense it refers
to the control and transhumanist influences of the post apocalyptic society
that numbers less than 500 million who are now confined to live within the
bounds of the 250 metropolis worldwide. The areas outside are purposely
depopulated and left to nature. However many residual outlanders refuse to live
in the new citadels.
Society is at the
dawn of a transhumanist transformation which is using technology to master
nature. However some outlanders that remain beyond the pale feel that they are
at the dawn of a transformation through transcendence. There is a dichotomy in
their conflicting beliefs.
At
senangilsenan.wordpress.com
,
you’ll find extras that might be helpful or interesting to have when reading
Beyond
the Pale.
Photos of places featured in the novel, explanations of concepts
and ideas referred to in the storyline, and other background information.
“Only
those who return to the values of the old ways will be able to find peace of
mind. For in the Earth we shall find relief from the madness that will be all
around us. It will be a very hard time for women with children for they will be
shunned, and many of the children in these times will be unnatural. Some being
from the Stars, some from past worlds, some will even be created by man in an
unnatural manner and will be soulless. Many of people in this time will be
empty in Spirit they will have Sampacu. No life force in their eyes.”
The Book of the Hopi by Frank Waters 1963
“The technetronic era involves the gradual
appearance of a more controlled society.
Such a society would be
dominated by an elite, unrestrained by traditional values. Soon it will be
possible to assert almost continuous surveillance over every citizen and
maintain up-to-date complete files containing even the most personal
information about the citizen.
These files will be subject to
instantaneous retrieval by the authorities.”
Zbigniew Brzezinski (1970) [former U.S. national security advisor]
One
Today was a sports
activity day for Major Nathan Carlson. That was what he liked to call it. He
was in a recreational period which had another 36 hours to run before he began
a new duty shift. His preference on such days was to take a Rough Rider utility
vehicle out to a region about 85 miles from the citadel's perimeter. His
destination was substantially off road but the Rough Rider’s batteries were
good for distance and as backup he had a hydrogen power cell to rely upon.
He liked to adjust the
magnetic repel to a setting which would keep the vehicle high enough off the
ground to prevent damage to it, but close enough to feel every contour of the
rough terrain. He pulled the restraint down to anchor himself to his seat. The
vehicle could easily roll if it bounced off a boulder or something else in its
path. Some said that you weren’t really riding a Rough Rider unless you rolled
it a few times.
He eased back the
throttle and the magnetic catalyst drive fired a single pulse into the ground.
This in turn, focussed a magnetic pulse from the earth which released an equal
and opposite charge to initiate motion. The Rough Rider lurched forward in
accelerated bursts. The top speed was not great but the acceleration was
awesome.
Carlson felt a familiar
thrill as he raced across the plain heading for a distant rocky outcrop that he
knew well. Despite his harness restraint, he was still being thrown all over
the place. As he weaved along dodging obstacles in his path his attention was
divided equally between what he saw through the windscreen, and the translucent
3D graphics that overlaid it.
The display was showing
a predictive contour map of the surrounding area. The data came from satellite
scans of the region which were continuously updated by radar and sonar readings
from the vehicles sensors. A woman's voice spoke quietly providing warnings of
approaching obstacles and often urging caution. These were backed up by
flashing graphics in the 3D overlay indicating the nature of the obstacle in
his path. Though the voice could be turned off, Major Carlson did not feel
distracted by it or by any of his interactive technology. He was used to
holding face to face conversations in the field whilst colleagues also spoke to
him through a transmitter in his ear. He had long since trained his mind to
handle more than one conversation at once as well as to be able to process
multi sensory inputs simultaneously. The contact lenses he wore gave similar
information overlays. They could be activated by means of rapid upward eye
movements. He didn’t have them enabled today as the vehicles own 3D overlay
would create interference with the overlay in his lenses.
About a mile from the rocky ridge, he slowed the Rough Rider
to a halt. He wanted to run this last distance in order to ground himself, so
that he would be physically and mentally in balance and ready for the next
challenge.
Stepping out of the vehicle, Carlson stretched his
limbs whilst taking in the view. The area in front of him was in striking
contrast to the mountains in the west and the sweeping plains to the east. The
backdrop being a gentle downhill gradient of pine and pasture interrupted by
intermittent stretches of red soil and boulder clay. Massive ancient
sedimentary beds of deep red, pink, and white limestone had been pushed up
vertically, toppled, overturned and slanted. There were rocks of every
conceivable shape and size, all bright red, with a strange look of having been
frozen in time amidst some ongoing geological catastrophe. Carlson eyed up the
long line of the rocky ridges. In particular he examined the longest and
largest one which had a crest suitable for his purposes. He had seen it before
but not climbed it. It was called the North Gateway Rock, and this row of
hogback ridges was known as the Garden of the Gods.
Checking the vehicle
one last time to make sure that the batteries were set to recharge in the
bright mid day Sun, he set off at a steady running pace rolling his eyes to
activate his visual interface. The output from each lens was slightly offset
and produced an almost holographic effect when overlapped one with the other.
The feed came from a processor and microcomputer that was embedded into the
prosthetic in his leg. More usually it would be inserted inside an item of
clothing transmitting wirelessly to the visual readout on the lenses.
Carlson had three
prosthetic limbs; in his legs and left arm. These he acquired in the line of
duty as the result of an IED explosion. His left arm and lower part of his left
leg were artificially fabricated limbs. The right leg had implants augmenting
or replacing bone and muscle tissue. Far from being a disability, these
prosthetic limbs were an asset and enhancement to physical performance. Whilst
running they had the effect of hydraulically magnifying the spring in his step
and the power in his stride.
Reaching the foot of
the cliff he scanned the area to assess his best route. As he had not brought
specialist climbing or safety gear, he looked for and identified the easiest
path up and began his ascent. His artificial left arm had bionic implants which
boosted his strength when supporting his weight. The grip however was not
reliable so he used his right hand primarily to maintain a firm grasp. Carlson
was an experienced climber and free runner. Once he had found his stride, he
moved with confidence and poise swinging from ledge to ledge, one hand grip to
the next. In this continuous motion he felt truly alive and present in the moment.
The incline of the rock which had been steadily increasing, now eased off
giving way to a narrow gully. He took it to be the hollow of a mountain spring
that was currently dry and decided to follow it all the way to the summit.
The views from the top
were stunning. Feeling exhilarated he squatted for a moment to consider his
route along the crest of this ridge. He had barely broken a sweat so far and
was eager to pick up the pace. His vision enhanced overlay identified feasible
jumps and graded them in difficulty from one to five; wind speed and predicted
momentum at take off were factored into the equation. The art of free running
was the ability to harmonise motion through momentum, grip, balance and
strength. The speed applied at takeoff had a bearing on the breadth of the jump
possible. Targeting surfaces to bounce off was another way to extend its scope.
Carlson powered forward
driving one leap into the next. His momentum held him airborne for much of the
time allowing him to span crevasses in the ridge of up to 10 feet. Landing
briefly on narrow ledges he pulled himself up with practised speed and
strength. Using the upward momentum to grind his feet into the rock he launched
himself on to the next slim foothold. Balance was crucial of course but speed
and momentum compensated.
His next jump spanned a
large divide between two peaks. Fixing his gaze on the far one he launched
himself into the air. Just for a second something below seemed to catch his
eye. He couldn’t say what exactly; it was more a sense of something moving at
the base of the cliff. Maintaining his continuous motion was paramount however
and he quickly refocused on the route ahead. He was approaching the end of the
North Gateway rock but he could see the next peak on a completely separate
outcrop which was about 40 foot away. This was too far to jump, but using his
visionary interface he considered possible alternative routes.
If he dropped down by
about 30 feet, there was a lower ledge which extended much closer to the rock
face on the other side. From here he calculated, he could make the next jump in
three sections with some initial takeoff speed. Making two jumps, he dropped to
the lower ledge. Here he paused briefly to meditate on what he was about to do.
The first contact point was a 45 degree angled rock face. He would have to use
motion to defy gravity. It could be done however if he ran in a diagonal path
towards a thin ledge. From there he would make the second leap across for a
grip contact on a fault line in the cliff face. Pulling himself up to a
foothold position would be relatively easy from there and would allow him to
launch his final leap across the divide.
It would be a test for
his skills he knew, but he felt confident and ready for the challenge. He
powered forward like a sprinter out of the blocks. His footwork was near
perfect as he launched himself into the air towards the angled rock on which he
would land. The buzz he was feeling was only heightened by the 120 feet drop
below. He looked down briefly for a second as he flew across the void. This
time there was no mistaking what he saw; two figures were clearly visible
below. This was not good. One of his duties as a police officer was to detain
Outlanders, and to call the citadel’s rangers to collect and process them.
Carlson hit the rock
face running, but his footing was heavy and awkward. He had been distracted by
his thoughts of duty, and had made poor contact with his artificial foot first.
His pace carried him forward in a free running style but he had lost his
momentum, and was now lurching sideways more than running. He tried to correct,
but each mistake seemed to compound the next. He knew he was not going to reach
the ledge at all now as he was sliding down the slope at the wrong angle.
Bouncing on his back he thrust his arms wide to grab hold of anything that
might break his fall. Smooth rock face was all that was offered up to him.
Cresting cleanly over the edge of the narrow ledge, he was now in free fall.
He braced himself for
impact as he glimpsed the start of the talus fifty feet below near the point
where the cliff face became a sloping mass of rocky fragments which had built
up over time at the base of the cliff. He felt his leg break first and then his
shoulder dislocate as he bounced off the rock and was propelled forward. Dazed
by the impact he continued to slide and tumble down the incline out of control.
Beneath him at ground level the craggy terrain waited expectantly. He was
heading towards an expanse of boulder clay. He felt multiple impacts and the
last thing he could see was a shower of large stones tumbling with him in
synchronised momentum. Major Nathan Carlson slipped into unconsciousness.