From The Earth

Space was not only the final frontier, it was also the final abode of freedom. It meant freedom to act and to think, and the Jackson family pursued it, even if it meant leaving home behind, even if it meant death. In these eleven stories the Jackson family will begin a journey to live as free men and women among the stars. A future timeline introduces each story and provides context within the larger Future Chron Universe.

Whatsoever You Do - A pandemic was happening and a former graduate student may have the key to its containment, synthetic biology. But because in the court of opinion synthetic biology is feared, it has been forbidden in the money conscious halls of medical research. How many will die before things change?

War Through The Pines - What starts in space may not stay in space. Many governments today are preparing for war in space. Donner Jackson had already discovered a signal coming from the secret 'Battle Stars" in orbit. Destruction of the Battle Stars starts a war which spreads to all the Earth's surface.

Vigilance - The history of freedom repeats and the cost is always the same. The cost is life, property, and security for the settlers of the Republic of Mars. But the true cost was vigilance, eternal.

To Tend And Watch Over - Sometimes you don't know you aren't free until the state's coercive force is used against you. And then you find you are only free to do what big brother wants. Davide Jackson was not as daring as others in his clan. But that doesn't mean he longs any less to be free.

Union - How far into the Solar System would you have to run from authoritarian powers to be free? The answer is that there is no place safe from the powers that would try to control you. But in numbers, cooperation, and a pledge of mutual support and fidelity, freedom might be had.

Circle Of Retribution - Gardener Jackson was the best to come out of Mars Space Academy. He was a natural to fly the missions that would mine Saturn's atmosphere for the Helium 3 the Solar System needed. But there was a problem, a foe he didn't even suspect would stop at nothing to prevent him from succeeding.

Freedom From Want - Our expectations of AI are high. But what about AI's expectations? Will they be different? Will AI come to believe the best way to fulfill our expectations is to manage our expectations? If so, what of freedom?

Break Up

The future is predictable if not knowable and the past will repeat itself, if not exactly. We know that countries have crumbled and it is certain to happen again. We may think this time will be different, no doubt people in the past thought the same until their world fell apart.

Kuiper Station - What appeared to be a simple but ambitious goal of founding a colony in the Kuiper Belt was more than it seemed. One side, the Solar Federation and the Jackson family, was determined to pull humanity out a century of stagnation. The other side, led by the Terran Federation, was determined to block it and maintain its power. It would be close, but the stars were calling.

The Cloud - It was the most audacious undertaking ever conceived by man. The building of a systems-spanning Starway where giant light-sail powered starships would journey on beams of laser-light to distant stars. But there was misunderstanding along the Starway. And misunderstanding always leads to disaster.

First Interstellar - It was a mission that no one, but a Jackson would attempt. But Ajax was reluctant, he had never led such a mission, taking a light-sail starship from Earth to Centauri using the incomplete Starway. Sabotage and the crew's dereliction of duty were in the future, and Ajax would need to grow as a leader if the Starway Centauri mission was to succeed.

See the author's website: www.dwpatterson.com for more information.

Hard Science Fiction – Old School.