The Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (mini ebook reader .txt) 📕

four-year-old demographic liked peanut butter Aeterna-style, it was a surefire hit.

He ate the sandwich with gusto, separating it into small bites and making a mess, but after he washed it down with fresh mango juice, he asked for seconds.

“You like that, buddy?” Michael asked.

“It’s gooey. I like it, Daddy.”

It happened without warning.

Suddenly, Michael was home again.

Albion, Alabama. The Alamander River. Eight years old.

Sitting on the rocks eating PB&Js with Jamie.

Michael ate his sandwich while the boy he just met showed off drawings in a sketchpad.

“Cool, huh?” Jamie said. “Still trying to get my characters right. I just need to keep practicing. They gotta be different from everybody else. I’m Jamie Sheridan. Come down to the river much? I like it down here. Gotta name?”

“Michael Cooper.”

“Good to meet you, Coop.”

Jamie flipped the pages until he came to the first empty grids.

“You wanna try, Coop? It’s fun once you get the hang of it.”

Michael closed his eyes and prayed the moment away.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?”

Sam reached over and wiped away a tear as Michael opened his eyes to the present.

“Nothing,” he said. “Nothing wrong. It’s just … time. It messes with my head. Like I’m unstuck.”

“It’s OK. When you have all the time in the world, I suppose that’s bound to happen once in a while.”

Michael dried his tears and shook off the past. He grabbed Daniel around the belly and tickled him.

“Hey, buddy, you wanna play periscope?”

Daniel screamed, a shrill monstrosity he had yet to grow out of.

“Per-i-scope! Per-i-scope! Let’s go, Daddy.”

Michael lifted Daniel and settled the boy on massive shoulders.

“OK, Danny. We’re going out to sea. What do you say to Mom?”

“Bon voyage!”

Sam cracked up. “Honey, that’s my line.”

“Oh, yeah. I remember. I’ll see you soon!”

“Close enough. Bon voyage, honey.”

Michael carried him into the lake walking backward.

“This might be a long trip,” Michael said. “Take a nap, babe. Tomorrow’s gonna be here before you know. Lots of meetings.”

“Danny, your father is a meanie.”

“Hey, Maya’s due back. Bringing fourteen ambassadors. You’re going to have so much fun, Lady Samantha!”

“It’s always work with you, Michael. You two have fun.”

“Per-i-scope! Per-i-scope!”

Michael walked out until the water reached his shoulders.

“You ready, Captain Daniel?”

“I’m ready. Down periscope!”

He descended slowly, allowing Daniel the maximum suspense. The boy knew what to do before the water consumed him.

Michael sat upon his knees on the sandy bottom. The water was pure and clear. He saw fifty yards in any direction. Schools of fish. Submerged plants swaying in a gentle current. Sunbeams like spotlights on a stage.

His son on his shoulders.

It was impossible. It was perfect.

He never wanted it to end.

From Frank Kennedy to my readers:

I can’t express how grateful I am you read The Impossible Future saga. I hope you enjoyed the journey and were satisfied by the resolution. Now, before you go, I have two questions for you.

No. 1: Would you please take a moment to tell others what you thought of this series? You’re a valued reader, and I appreciate your comments. Here’s your path to writing a review or leaving a rating.

No. 2: Do you want to know how it all started? Long before the Chancellors met their match and the Collectorate collapsed? The Father Unbound is a prequel that tells the story of Trayem Hadeed, who learns the truth about the Chancellors as a child and leads a seemingly hopeless revolution against the 3000-year-old empire. This sweeping story – an epic thriller of father and sons, their ambition, obsessions, and frailties – is told in The Father Unbound, which relates a generational saga spanning half a century, long before Hiebimini became Aeterna.

Finally: There’s a path forward in this universe. It’s a new series called Beyond the Impossible. If you purchased this box set during the pre-order phase, I have included a special bonus: In the Shadow of the Rings, which is a prelude to the next series. It introduces you to the series protagonists and also includes great artwork along with a timeline of events in the Collectorate. Enjoy!

-          Frank Kennedy

     March 1, 2021

     frankkennedy.org

In the Shadow of the Rings

By Frank Kennedy

c. 2021 by Frank Kennedy

All rights reserved

  THOSE LEFT BEHIND

The Chancellors ruled humanity for 3000 years. They dominated Earth long before space travel. In time, they led exploration across the solar system and beyond. They discovered thirty-nine habitable worlds that would eventually become colonies of their empire, the Collectorate. The Chancellor caste, supported by its invincible army, the Unification Guard, claimed Earth for itself. They cleansed Earth of all races and ethnicities but their own, migrating them to the colonies.

They granted these colony worlds sovereignty with conditions. The Chancellors received a percentage of revenue from each world’s most valuable natural resources. In exchange, the Chancellory stationed Ark Carriers – massive city-ships – in orbit. The Carriers housed battalions of Guard soldiers, who were charged with silencing all violence conflict on the colonies.

Stability was maintained. Alliances were forged. Interstellar commerce flourished. But the Collectorate, which was carefully constructed over centuries, fell in a matter of months.

In Standard Year 5358, the colonies became sovereign in every way. For many, this was long overdue liberation. For others, shock and dismay. They looked inward, stunned at the notion of charting their own destiny. Economies destabilized. Some races sought new alliances to fill the vacuum of power and restore interplanetary trade.

On the ringed planet Hokkaido, population 2.1 billion, a tenuous peace is threatened by new ideologies, food shortages, clashes between the rich and poor, and a threat potentially deadlier than any Unification Guard battalion.

The map to a new and dangerous future is about to be drawn.