Excerpt & Giveaway: INFINITY'S GATEWAY

Excerpt from INFINITY’S GATEWAY

by James S. Parker 

“For the Eclipse to have just vanished from our screens like it did, we were expecting the worst. There could be no other explanation. But instead of finding evidence of the Eclipse’s destruction, there’s nothing there. There’s no oil slick, no debris, nothing that would point to something catastrophic having happened. The search is just getting started, but all things considered, we thought this was a rather significant development.”

“Thank you, Miller,” said Captain Ramirez. “Return to your post and keep us informed as soon as you get any other updates.”

Fairfax stayed where he was, staring at Ramirez. “I guess I’m being a little slow on the uptake, but is Miller suggesting that the Eclipse and her crew are okay? I pray to God that’s true. I want it more than anything, but ships that size do not just vanish.”

Ramirez had walked over and picked up the phone on the conference table. “Miller, forward the infrared feeds from the satellites into the conference room.” Ramirez waited for a moment and then said, “Yes, from both satellites. Thank you.”

“What are you looking to find?”

“For the moment, I want to see what Miller and the team saw. For all my years in the navy, I’ve never watched a ship simply vanish.”

Ramirez worked at a rapid pace with the keyboard in front of him. The large monitor in the room lit up. The feed was dated, time stamped, and gave the exact coordinates. The screen was dark except for a cylindrical form that had variations in color ranging from dark orange, to red, to a deep, purplish red. “That would be the Eclipse,” said Ramirez.

“What’s causing the bright red coloration midship?” asked Fairfax.

“The Eclipse is nuclear powered. That would be the reactor you’re seeing.”

The screen suddenly began to brighten, giving the appearance that the waters directly under and around the perimeter of the Eclipse were on fire, glowing with a bright, orange-yellow tone.

“It was an explosion,” muttered Fairfax. “Look at that.”

As the two men watched, captivated by what they were seeing, the light began to expand outward from the Eclipse, growing in brightness and morphing into a tight ring around the ship of nearly pure, white light, speckled with faint traces of pale yellow. The ring of light continued to brighten, growing in strength. The monitor then appeared to blink. The brightness of the ring diminished significantly but held the same white-hot color as it had before.

“What just happened?” asked Fairfax.

“All of our satellites have the capability to take pictures of anything out there, including the sun. To protect the cameras from being damaged, they have filters especially designed to kick in and filter out light if it becomes too strong. One of those lenses just activated.”

“And Argos was measuring all of this?”

“Yes sir. As we discussed, Argos immediately sent the new readings to us and they were impossibly high.”

“How could that be?” While the question may have been somewhat rhetorical, Fairfax would have given anything for an answer.

The light continued to grow, spreading out within the circle, closing in on the Eclipse. Soon the Eclipse was totally enveloped by the light. The infrared signature of the Eclipse could still be seen but was beginning to grow fainter. For a few more seconds everything remained the same. Then it happened. Ramirez and Fairfax watched as the Eclipse slowly faded from view.

Once the ship had completely disappeared, the light that had engulfed it retreated back to the ring that had surrounded the Eclipse. Then it too began to fade and was soon gone. All that was left now was a black screen.

Fairfax dropped down into a chair, continuing to stare at the monitor. “What just happened?” his voice barely above a whisper.

“I don’t know, sir. At this point I can only speculate,” said Ramirez. He, too, was as shocked and numbed as the admiral by what he’d just witnessed.

“Speculate.”

Ramirez cleared his throat. He needed water badly. “My guess, and that’s all this is, is that one of two things happened to the Eclipse. Either that ship, and all aboard, were disintegrated by a powerful explosion, or . . . .” Ramirez stopped; it was too fantastic even for him. To talk about it and theorize was one thing. To actually see it happen brought a chilling reality to him that he wasn’t ready to accept.

“Or what, Captain?”

“Or we just watched one of the finest ships in this man’s navy pass through a portal into another dimension,” answered Ramirez. “May God be with them.”