Читать книгу The SkyReach Prophecies: BOOK 1 - JEFFREY GREY - Страница 1

It is a strange story that is contained in this book. But the story itself is no stranger than the way in which I came to possess it.

My name is Jefferson Grey. I did not write this book, even though the title page bears my name. Other than adding a few footnotes to clarify some of the scientific wonders described herein, I have left the text of this story exactly as I found it.

The story itself came into my possession in the most peculiar way - it simply appeared on my desk, in the form of an USB hard drive. Of course, I did not know what a hard drive was at that time.

I stumbled across this book on the morning of October 17th, 2003. I was completing a year of lecturing on Microbiology at the State University at Albany, New York. Microbiology, which is the study of microscopic life, was one of my two passions in life. My other passion was my wife, Melissa. She and I were expecting our first child any day now, so my mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the future of our family.

I had spent that morning in my home office, working on some scientific papers that were to be presented that afternoon to members of the Academy of Science, at the University of Albany. I am considered to be an authority on all things small, so the University faculty had asked me to present my most recent work in a new science closely related to my work: Nanotechnology.

I had been consulting with some of the leading scientists in this field, which involved the designing and building of micro-machines no larger than the average water molecule. It was fascinating stuff, really, for an old micro-bug hunter like me. Imagine creating micro-machines that could hunt down and destroy the bacteria that cause diseases. Nanotechnology could help us wipe out everything from the common cold to Cancer! Nanites, as the little machines were called, could heal a broken bone in seconds, help the crippled walk again, and eliminate all human disease. The possible uses of Nanotechnology in medical science alone were endless.

After an early lunch with Melissa, I left at noon for the lecture. Afterwards, I went to dinner with a few colleagues. When I returned that evening, I entered the hallway to my office. Just as I reached to turn the ornate brass door handle, I heard a soft pop on the other side of the door. A flash of electric blue light appeared at my feet, coming from the crack under the door. With a quick twist I flung the door open. I entered the room, which looked the same as it had when I last been here. Whatever had caused the flash of light had gone. It disappeared as quickly as it had come. Yet there was a faint scent of ozone in the air, as if a lightning storm were approaching.

Looking around in confusion, I suddenly noticed a small box on my desk. It was a strange plastic box, sky-blue in color and about six inches square on each side. There were no stamps or postage at all. Just my name, the date, and my address. It must have been hand delivered sometime that afternoon. How someone got into the house while we were away was disturbing – why didn’t they just leave the package at the front door?

I brought the box into the kitchen as I opened it, to ask Melissa if she had signed for the package. Inside were only two items: one sheet of paper with very small handwriting on it, and a small black rectangle, two inches long and a half-inch wide, made of black plastic and metal. I threw out the box in the kitchen garbage and turned to talk to Melissa about the strange object. But when I saw Melissa’s pale, drawn face, I stopped dead in my tracks. “It’s time, Jeff,” Melissa said. “The baby’s coming!”

I quickly went to her side and comforted her, telling her everything would be all right. When she had calmed herself a bit, I hastily put the strange object and note in my coat pocket, grabbed Melissa’s suitcase, and drove us both to Albany Medical Center.

Our baby daughter was born late that evening, at 11:50 P.M. She was beautiful and healthy, just like her mother, who held her close all that night. We had talked about naming her Jennifer, but like many parents, we changed our minds at the last minute. “How about Amanda, after my grandmother?” Melissa asked. I nodded. It was a good name. My little Amanda. I went home at about 3 A.M. that morning, exhausted yet happy that all had gone well.

I went back to the hospital the next day. My wife was sleeping when I arrived, so I sat next to her bedside and slipped my keys into my coat pocket. I rediscovered the note I had put there the night before. With nothing else to do at that moment, I read the note. When I finished, I was so surprised that I had to read it again. I still couldn’t believe what was written on that single sheet of paper.

Here is the full text of that note:

Dear Jefferson:

Congratulations on the birth of your daughter, Amanda, who was born this evening on October 17, 2003 at 11:50 P.M. I can assure you Amanda is in quite good health, and lives to a ripe old age, thanks to some nanotech breakthroughs in medical science that you had a part in developing.

I know all this because, you see, Amanda is my mother. Amanda raised me in the former state of Texas, which is now called the Safe Zone. This place was the only habitable area during the Dark Times, after my father went missing in the Great Collision of 2034. You see, I am your grandson, Gregory Grey.

I am telling you this information to convince you that this letter, and the information on the enclosed computer hard drive, is authentic. The hard drive was delivered to you for safekeeping, and as a warning.

The story is a family history of sorts – a prophecy of things to come for your descendants. It is about the future of your family, and also the future of mankind. It is not a future that you can change, so don’t even consider doing so. No one will believe the story is future history, not even you, until certain upcoming events unfold. When you read the story, you will understand what I mean.

I delivered this prophecy to you on this particular day, your only daughter’s birthday, because it is the only date that Amanda can remember exactly where you lived before you moved to the Safe Zone. Records became confused after the Great Collision, so it was impossible to contact you sooner.

I know that you must have many questions, but there isn’t enough room here for me to address them all. Suffice it to say that everything is explained by the text files on the hard drive.

In order to convince you that this material is genuine, I have given you a list of 100 events that occur over the next ten years, from U.S. Presidential election results in 2004 to the announcement of the Mars rover named Curiosity, which lands on the surface of Mars on August 5th, 2012. Incidentally, the Curiousity Rover was retrieved a few years ago, and is now in the Mining & Space Museum on the Mars colony. My children have quite an adventure in that museum, but you’ll read about that shortly.

There is also a description of Project SkyReach, the nanotech research that is based on your upcoming nanotech research. With any luck, the SkyReach project may yet save planet Earth from total depopulation.

There is one thing you must do immediately, to ensure the safety of your family from Apophis, the meteor that strikes Earth on February 8th, 2036. It is imperative that you take the new job offer that you will receive in the next few days. Your family must be moved to safety, away from the east coast of the former United States.

You see, Apophis lands in the Atlantic Ocean, creating a giant tidal wave that destroys all the major cities from Maine to Florida. It also, unfortunately, pushes the Earth into a New Ice Age. As I write this note, the top half of North America is covered with a sheet of ice.

But if you accept the job offer, your family will be safely living in the Safe Zone when the Dark Time comes.

Again, I urge you to read the SkyReach prophecy on the hard drive, to convince you that all I say is true. You should have a computer advanced enough to use it at your new job. Until then, trust in your judgment, which Amanda always said was excellent.

Best Wishes,

Gregory Grey, Ph. D.,

First Astro-Geologist of the HUB space station, July 15th, 2065

I was flabbergasted, to say the least. Portable hard drives had not yet been invented at that time, back in 2003. So I had no idea what to make of the rectangular object that supposedly contained a prophecy of the future. Of my family’s future.

I pulled the hard drive from my pocket and examined it again. On one side there were markings. Eight letters etched in gold, spelling a single word: SKYREACH. Of course, I came to understand the significance of SKYREACH once I read the manuscript several months later, when I started a new nanotech project in a research facility in Dallas, Texas. The facility actually did have a computer with a USB port for the hard drive. I have provided the first part of the text in the rest of this book.

The story was amazing, to say the least, which is one reason I decided to publish it. However, there is another reason. At the very beginning of the text, there was the list of one hundred events that Gregory Grey said would come true by 2012. As of today, December 1^st, 2012, I can now verify that every one of those events has happened, exactly as Gregory predicted.

I did much research into the scientific aspects mentioned in the text. I have made footnotes to explain the state of current technology for the more interesting uses of nanotech. I also researched the meteor Apophis. According to many astronomers today, Apophis will pass close enough to our planet in the year 2034 that it has a 1 in 37 chance of striking the Earth.

And that is the reason I published this book. I wish to let you know of the impending danger, however remote that danger seems today. Perhaps this book will convince you that there is a real possibility of a meteor strike in our near future. And perhaps you will try to influence our government to watch the skies more diligently for such threats from outer space. Do what you will with the information, with the prophecy. Good luck.