Science Fiction
illconsidered | April 17, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 35
Table of Contents
Chapter 37
Chapter 36
Neurolin, March 17, 2056
Edie was changing. I didn't know how, but she was no longer the shy retiring mouse of a woman she had been. A week later I happened across a clue.
As a matter of course, we segregate our garbage into compostable, recyclable, paper and junk. I was throwing some paper away, when I noticed a flattened medication box. I picked it up. It was labelled Neurolin. "Clarify, deepen and solidify your thoughts," it said. I knew there were cognitive enhancers on the market, but I had…
illconsidered | April 10, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 34
Table of Contents
Chapter 36
Chapter 35
Prometheus, March 8, 2056
To be honest, the Group 2 debacle was more of a public relations disaster than an ecological one. The damage was dramatic, but relatively restricted. Within 48 hours someone leaked the hazmat team video on the internet and all hell broke loose. The media were all over us.
Rhamaposa survived only with the intervention of the Secretary General and several heads of state, including the Asian Union and the USSA. I have no proof, but I'm sure they knew of the pressure exerted by…
illconsidered | April 4, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 33
Table of Contents
Chapter 35
Chapter 34
Group 2 Disaster, February 17, 2056
At the next UNGETF conference, we were given an interim report on Corella Corporation activities on behalf of Group 2. They were using balloons to hoist tons of sulphur pellets for release in the stratosphere. It was fully automated. No people went aloft. The cargo was dispersed from a series of vents along the bottom of a V-shaped gondola. When the drop was complete, the balloon turned on a transponder and vented hydrogen to drop lower in the atmosphere.
The…
illconsidered | March 28, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 32
Table of Contents
Chapter 34
Chapter 33
Jon Visits, January 27, 2056
On Sunday Jon called to say he would be dropping around to visit next week. The Senator was scheduled to hold a series of meetings with Provincial and First Nation leaders. He didn't know when he would be free, but he would make a point of seeing us.
I felt a little odd being just another scheduling point in my brother's busy life, but I resolved not to let it put me off. Anna was running a fever and Edie was tired, so I didn't have time to dwell on it.
On Tuesday, when I…
illconsidered | March 20, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 31
Table of Contents
Chapter 33
Chapter 32
One Thing After Another, December 14, 2055
The next few days were just one damned thing after another. On Monday, when I walked into Ecology 550, a spontaneous wave of applause broke out.
I held up my hands. "Okay. Okay, listen I'll make you a deal. Hold the applause until after we fix this problem and then we'll all celebrate. We still have a lot of work to do." My statement had just the sobering effect I wanted.
As I looked around the room, I noticed a few faces that didn't belong. Officially the…
illconsidered | March 14, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 30
Table of Contents
Chapter 32
Chapter 31
A Convention of Idiots, December 12, 2055
Reality landed right on my shoulders with a thump that evening. I was at home in the library categorizing and prioritizing the Ecology 550 students' geoengineering ideas, when the phone rang. It was from Sri Lanka.
"I'll get it!" I called out.
"Luc."
"Yes. Hello Peter. What's up?" I turned the lights down and sat back in the half light of the video to talk.
"I'm just trying to get a handle on the big picture. I don't know what to think anymore."
He slurred…
illconsidered | March 6, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 29
Table of Contents
Chapter 31
Chapter 30
Platonic Lust, December 12, 2055
Some women engineer their faces. They have studied celebrity, looked at the beautiful and followed the dictates of fashion. Their faces are uniformly flawless. Eyebrows are perfectly plucked to the prescribed trace. Their eyes are highlighted to take advantage of their natural colouration. Their skin is so smooth it could be plastic. In fact, they have turned themselves into living dolls.
The point of the exercise is to raise their market value in the ceaseless and…
illconsidered | February 27, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 28
Table of Contents
Chapter 30
Chapter 29
On the Home Front, December 8, 2055
When I got home that afternoon, Edie was in a bit of a state.
"Luc, what is going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"There was a phonecall for you a while ago...from the United Nations!"
I had told her nothing of what I was doing. "Oh. It was probably something to do with the Task Force."
No sooner had I said that than the house phone rang again. I checked the caller ID and it was from the UN.
"Mr. Fontaine? Luc Fontaine?" said a female voice. It was audio only.
"Yes."
"…
illconsidered | February 20, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 27
Table of Contents
Chapter 29
Chapter 28
UNGETF, December 8, 2055
I looked forward to the first meeting of Group 7 with some trepidation. According to my email update it was on the seventh floor of the MacDonald building which housed the municipal offices downtown. I had been there to pay taxes and once to attend a city council meeting, but I had never been above the second floor.
I was required to submit to retinal and DNA scans, on top of which my padd told me the elevator had a built in terahertz scanner. I restrained myself from waving…
illconsidered | February 13, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 26
Table of Contents
Chapter 28
Chapter 27
Eco 550 -- Geoengineering, November 29, 2055
When I was a student, it was not unusual to hear that virtual glasses were going to revolutionize education. Veegees, as they came to be called, were internet connected computers that used the spectacle lens to project information directly into the user-wearer's eyes. The 'virtual' came from the fact the glasses allowed the wearer to manipulate objects only they could see.
What do you tell someone who has the internet group mind mediated by supercomputer…
illconsidered | February 7, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 25
Table of Contents
Chapter 27
Chapter 26
A Quiet Sunday, November 28, 2055
Sunday is a day of rest --- theoretically. I had intended to have a quiet day, do some yard work and maybe touch up my Amazon report for Doc Y. I was awakened early by a crying baby. I didn't want to get up, but I was not going to fall asleep again, so I washed up and dragged ass upstairs to the kitchen.
Edie was heating milk in a saucepan and Anna was crying her lungs out. Edie looked like she had not slept all night. She gave me a strained look as I entered the…
illconsidered | January 31, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 24
Table of Contents
Chapter 26
Chapter 25
Rhamaposa, November 21, 2055
Due to the tyranny of digital time, I know it was 3:17 in the morning when the house system woke me to answer an urgent call. Voice only. My first thought was, 'Oh lord, now who has died?' Then I saw it was an overseas number. I sat up on the side of the bed to talk without turning on the lights.
"Yes?"
"Hello Luc. Luc Fontaine?"
"Yes."
"This is Peter Ramaphosa." He spoke quickly with a strong British accent.
"What can I do for you?" I was confused. Why was this UN…
illconsidered | January 23, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 23
Table of Contents
Chapter 25
Chapter 24
The Anvil Breaks, November 20, 2055
As the train approached Centre City, I called Olivia on her personal number. A computerized voice told me the number was discontinued and dumped me into voicemail hell. I hung up and called the house. Edie answered.
"Hi, Edie. Can I talk to Olivia?"
"She's not here."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know." She paused. "She didn't tell me where she was going."
A rising panic momentarily engulfed me. "Ww...What do you mean?"
"I mean, she took all her stuff and left."
"I'll…
illconsidered | January 9, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 21
Table of Contents
Chapter 23
Chapter 22
Vancouver, November 20, 2055
Apparently being in ConSec means never having to wait for a plane. Carman walked me through a gate and out onto the tarmac. No body scanners, no sniffer bots, no security check of any sort as far as I could see. There were all of five people on the plane. Nobody spoke until we were in the air and then sparingly.
I really did not know what to expect. Why would Carman drag me all the way to Vancouver? What was going through his mind? What did he mean by "a body that shouldn…
illconsidered | January 4, 2013The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 20
Table of Contents
Chapter 22
Chapter 21
At a sidewalk cafe, November 19, 2055
In North America, privacy is a thing of the past. How often we hear that! Wherever you go, newseyes operated by various government agencies or private corporations flit about recording every sight and sound to be analyzed by computer. Electronic communication is routinely monitored. Stationary cameras are everywhere. Microbugs make the detection of surveillance almost impossible. Newseyes put it in your face.
When someone is watching over your shoulder, you feel…
illconsidered | December 28, 2012The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 19
Table of Contents
Chapter 21
Chapter 20
An Awkward Homecoming, November 17, 2055
Adelle was right. I did have difficulty getting back through Customs. The time stretched on. After five hours, an iris scan and multiple DNA tests, not to mention extensive questioning by airport security, Border Control and ConSec, I was released.
Olivia was waiting for me. She was sitting in the lounge reading the news on a padd facing away from me. I walked up beside and behind her and nuzzled her neck.
She spun around and gave me a big kiss. "I thought…
jdupuis | December 26, 2012(Yeah, yeah, I know. This list isn't strictly part of my regular list of science books lists, but hey, it's Boxing Day and we should all be a little extra self-indulgent and buy ourselves something nice. Being a fan of the full range of science fiction, fantasy and horror genres, I have been paying attention to those "best of 2012" lists as I see them online -- as well as crime fiction and cookbooks, natch -- so I thought I'd share one of the nicest ones I've seen with all my readers. Enjoy!)
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure.
Every year for the…
illconsidered | December 20, 2012The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 18
Table of Contents
Chapter 20
Chapter 19
Rio Triste, October 22, 2055
Fifteen scientists formed the Mandate group and one staff person, a terrifyingly severe Dutch woman who managed schedules and bills. She never said more than two words to me the whole time I was there. The locals were a mixture of Spanish descendants, blacks and natives in various proportions. Most of them seemed to think we were a bunch of arrogant, ignorant bastards useful only as victims. They paid attention to us only because we had money.
The ecologist literally…
illconsidered | December 13, 2012The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 17
Table of Contents
Chapter 19
Chapter 18
Amazon, Sept. 29, 2055
Have you ever wondered what is the logic of your life? Sometimes I feel like a piece of flotsam bouncing on the waves of a river whose depth and currents I cannot fathom, whose path I do not know, whose destination, short of the ocean, is a mystery.
This feeling caught me as I contemplated Olivia. It was equally true of the happy accident that I just happened to notice the odd red-green plant years before when Doc Y and I were on a sampling tour in the B.C. interior. I got my…
illconsidered | December 5, 2012The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 16
Table of Contents
Chapter 18
Chapter 17
Microbugs, Sept. 25, 2055
A couple of ConSec guys appeared and we climbed back into the paddywagon for the ride home. We didn't talk.
As I entered the kitchen, I was enveloped in a wave of unreality. It all seemed so fantastic. How are you supposed to feel when you are plucked out of your daily life, threatened, spun in the air, examined and then plunked back down to carry on? Olivia and I sat at the kitchen table sipping coffee.
"Can I see it?" She held her hand out. When I gave her Carman's…