Regression (45 page)

“
These staggering
blows to Three Eleven, suffering such losses, serve to strengthen
our belief in our purpose. Agencies such as Anvolussion will find
we will recover to build a stronger and better organization.
Abraham was the founder of this company and in his memory we will
continue.” She paused to turn to the second page of her
statement.

“
My name is Dawn
Ingram. I will be succeeding Abraham Fairfield in the role of Chief
Executive Officer at Three Eleven effective immediately. I would
like to usher in a new era for not only Three Eleven but also for
those businesses, institutions and governments with whom we have
worked hand in hand for more than two decades. A new threat looms
upon our horizon.” The crowd had begun murmuring amongst themselves
as soon as Adya announced her new role in the organization but
silenced at her tone.

“
We recently launched
the world’s first space telescope–congratulations to Kian Morgan’s
ingenious team,” she nodded her head toward him, “which began a
survey of near Earth objects. One of those objects offers a clear
and present danger to our way of life. There is an eighty-five
percent chance asteroid 1985-0045 will strike the Earth in 2011 and
this strike will be similar in magnitude to the collision
experienced in the time of the dinosaurs. At this very moment
government leaders around the world are being debriefed by their
Three Eleven liaison. An information package containing all
relevant information about the impact danger will be received
within the hour by every educational institute, research based
industry and newspaper we have on file. This event−this
risk−requires the entire planet to work together, united in the
face of danger, in order to mitigate the consequences.” With a
fluid motion of her hand, she signalled the men on either side of
her to unroll banners emblazoned with the Three Eleven logo and
motto.

“
The future is our
present concern. That is the motto of Three Eleven but now we
should consider it our human motto. Homo sapiens is the only
organism on this Earth with the ability to create a plan to protect
our planet and all of its inhabitants. This is the first time in
human history technology is available not only to overcome this
threat to our existence, but to actually flourish. The future
starts now. We will prevail.” She smiled.

=============================================================

The Clarion – Global
Journal

Issue 519, Volume 11

WHERE DO WE GO FROM
HERE, DAWN INGRAM?

Stew Singleton
reporting for Global Press

Those who were present
described it as a ripple of warmth which undulated out from the
podium, encompassing all present with an incredible, indescribable
sense of hope and of optimism. This reporter was present and found
himself brought to tears by the sensation. I have been reporting
for fifteen years and never in my life have I felt such emotion
when listening to a speech. So, who is this woman?

Dawn Ingram has
launched herself into the spotlight by ascending onto Abraham
Fairfield’s hard-to-fill dais. She claims to have been personally
groomed for this position by Fairfield expressly in the event of a
calamitous disaster. The unanimous support of the Three Eleven
Executive makes it virtually impossible to gainsay this claim. But
where did she come from? What credentials does she have? Why we
have never seen nor heard of her before?

I will admit, she
gives good face. The speech delivered November 11, 1985 was not
only moving, it was motivating. Planned with the hands of a master,
the touch of distributing news of the imminent disaster
simultaneously to everyone who matters everywhere in the world is
something only Three Eleven could accomplish. A nice chaser, the
ripple effect. I am still not sure how that one was accomplished
but it was unquestionably dramatic. Who will possibly examine the
post assignment when an almost magical aura surrounds the woman.
And she’s easy on the eyes, too.

Abraham Fairfield ran
Three Eleven quietly. He rarely caught the public eye. Dawn Ingram
comes on the scene with a wrecking ball, wreaking havoc with her
announcement of impending doom. But she has also offered us an
unprecedented glimpse into the corporation.

She says much of Three
Eleven will be open for viewing to promote this new era. I plan to
be one of the first in line for a tour of the mysterious Island,
the awe-inspiring space centre. There are whispers of a third, top
secret facility but no offer has been made to open that door.
Perhaps they aren’t quite ready to trust us yet?

That brings us to
Anvolussion, a group they certainly don’t trust. Responsible for
the deaths of six Three Eleven employees, Anvolussion does have a
lot to answer for. Will they reply?

You know what they
say, absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is Stew Singleton
saying we want to believe, we want to believe, we want to
believe…

=============================================================

To my husband – most of the ideas in here were discussed long
before this book was written, thank you for the inspiration
and your never-ending patience.

To my family – Destiny, Savannah,
Hunter and Trinity. Thank you for sharing your mother with this
book for a year.

To Mom – you were the first
reader!

I thank everyone who took a look
at the manuscript for me, but must make special mention of three
people who really helped me with the process and were not obliged
to by blood.

John Benton – my first reviewer,
your enthusiasm gave me the impetus to continue.

Frank Courtois – my second
reviewer, giving me insight into the SF reader’s mind.

Gerry L. Daily – my third
reviewer, the kind person who meets a stranger on the internet and
takes her under her wing.

Regression was conceived at 2 am, one hand typing while the
other cradled a fussy baby. A lengthy labour over the course of
twelve months finally delivered a completed manuscript in time for
a summer 2009 release.

The concepts in the novel are the
cumulative observations and imaginings of myself and my husband, I
am fully aware that not everyone will agree with some of the ideas
espoused in the story but it is my prerogative to put them
there!

I hope you have enjoyed the novel,
and no doubt you have guessed there is more to come. Evolussion
will answer many of your questions. Why does Nick not seem to know
about the rest of the scientists? What is going on with Adya/Dawn’s
children? How is the world going to prepare for November 11? Where
did the plasmid come from and what else can it do? These questions
are answered – but more are posed – in the second instalment of the
trilogy.

You can also drop me a line
through the publisher’s website to let me know what you thought of
the novel - northernsanctum.com.

Born in a small Ontario town on the shore of Lake
Huron, growing up on a farm, Kathy Bell never lost her love of
rural life. She married her high school sweetheart, and together
they have four children, a bunch of dogs, a herd of horses, and
their dream home. Writing first happened in her teen years, but
fell to the wayside as life demanded all of her energies. The birth
of their youngest child, Trinity, provided not only the opportunity
for writing, but the inspiration as this fascinating little girl
grew and developed.

For Kathy, writing pulls upon a
widely varied background of business experience, jobs, and lifetime
roles, all of which she feels culminate in the new role of
writer.

PROLOGUE

To perform the regression requires
almost 70 exajoules. The amount of power consumed by humans during
one year when we were at the peak of our civilization. Such
incredible

CHAPTER
ONE

“
No, Daddy. Want
Mommy.”

Daniel Davies shook his head,
grimacing at his wife as she reached for the struggling
toddler.

CHAPTER
TWO

“
Okay, enough tests
already.” Adya could not prevent a muttered oath as she returned
from another barrage of tests. Six days in the ward had dampened
her spirits even with her

CHAPTER
THREE

My father’s journals keyed me into
the nature of Time. He and my mother died when I was fourteen –I
never realized I was responsible for their deaths until later, but
that is a story for

CHAPTER
FOUR

The Summer Carnival and Fair was
an annual tradition. It marked the closing weeks of the summer,
held on the second weekend of August. Mid-way rides, buskers,
games, and of

CHAPTER
FIVE

Adya let herself move with music,
unaware of anyone else, even her friend. With the passion of a
flamenco dancer she whirled and spun across the dance floor.
Jessica stopped

CHAPTER
SIX

There were once those who
described time as an eternal tapestry stretching into infinity.
Woven from the lives of each individual on our planet, the tapestry
of their imaginings grew

CHAPTER
SEVEN

Standing outside the doors of her
alma mater, Adya embraced the nostalgia which threatened to bring
her to tears. Echoes of laughter shared with friends long unseen
became

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Early the following afternoon Adya
waited in the school foyer, eying the approaching limousine with
trepidation. Abraham Fairfield was not as expected. Handsome, about
forty,

CHAPTER
NINE

There are three points of
importance in the timeline. Conception, puberty, and death.
Conception and puberty are points of entry; death is the point of
exit. I can best describe the

CHAPTER
TEN

The plane landed at a tropical
airport where an entire fleet of identical carriers lined up
outside a metal compound. Abraham, Jennifer and Adya entered
directly from the plane, no

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

A cluster of employees entered the
Three Eleven tower ahead of them, Adya watching each person swipe
their identification card and enter a code at the terminal
monitored by two

CHAPTER
TWELVE

The plasmid is the key. Somehow,
it negates the effect of the virus and bestows fertility upon the
carrier whether male or female. I cannot study it because no
carrier exists into my

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

As each man entered the conference
room Abraham introduced them to Adya. She felt at a disadvantage
since aside from Jennifer, acting as the stenographer, there was
not another

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Jennifer stopped in with a
computer to use in the cottage as well as files and clippings she
maintained in a scrapbook. Adya welcomed her gratefully, flipping
through the brightly

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

I never calculated the possibility
of Adya not being born, but in one timeline, the ninth effort, it
happened. Hope once said to me in passing “I was almost never born
because my

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

“
Good morning, Miss
Jordan.”

“
Don’t worry about the
title, Terrell, Adya is fine. Miss Jordan sounds like some
stuffy

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

The second day of non-essential
orientation was spent with nutrition services. Jennifer escorted
her through the security gate on the main floor and straight down
the corridor to the

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

The answer to the puzzle of Adya
continues to elude me. No matter how many lifetimes, we have yet to
repeat the recipe which worked the first time around. In part, that
is why this is

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

Adya joined Abraham in his office
on the thirtieth floor, the skies slightly overcast but still
beautiful from his window.

CHAPTER
TWENTY

Bidding goodbye to the programmers
once her week was up, Adya enjoyed many compliments and comments.
Abraham took note. “You demonstrated proficiency with
the

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE

It is so incredibly frustrating to
know I was born just a little too late. Ten years earlier, even
five years sooner, and I could have turned the tide or made someone
listen. Because of

CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO

Santino Flores expressed surprise
and pleasure to find Adya fluent in his native tongue and greeted
her with warmth when she reintroduced herself in Spanish her first
day on the sixth

CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE

Babak Tehrani was polite,
courteous and diligent in his role during her orientation to his
program but he never looked her in the face the first day together.
His department worked