2163 AD ૨૧૨૫ MA “Did you ever think we’d be here this soon, Admiral?” “Not a chance,” Xú Mùlán said, looking at the vessel wistfully. “Not after just eleven years. You know, it was designed for sixty. Could have made 100 with refit.” “Counter-Admiral Chandrasekhar’s fault,” Ted said, following his former Commanding Officer’s gaze. “No …
Tag: Xú Mùlán
Epilogue: 14 July 2156 Titan: Contact by D.X. Machina
“The future depends on what you do today.” –Mahatma Gandhi “Titan Station, this is Avalon shuttlecraft Zeno’s Paradox, on final approach.” “Roger that, Captain Carey, this is Titan Control, we have you set for dock Gama-12, please follow the beacon in.” “Wilco, Titan Control. We’ll be wheels down in five.” It was a busy day …
Chapter Thirty-Eight: And I’ve Seen the Promised Land Titan: Contact by D.X. Machina
“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or …
Chapter Thirty-Five: The Considerate Judgment of Mankind Titan: Contact by D.X. Machina
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” –Dr. Marie Skłodowska-Curie As the mutters in the crowd turned to shouts, Xú Mùlán looked back toward her friend. She could feel the crowd turning on Eyrn, or at …
Chapter Thirty-Four: Like Going Home Titan: Contact by D.X. Machina
“We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.” –T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding” “Eight meters…six…four…mooring. Repeat, we have mooring.” “Asimov Station, this is Stanisław Lem actual. We show mooring, please confirm.” “Confirmed, Lem. We have mooring …
Chapter Thirty-Three: What’s Up There Beyond the Sky Titan: Contact by D.X. Machina
“All journeys eventually end in the same place – home.” –Chris Geiger “Okay, I think that’s the last of the big stuff,” Naskia said, looking over the suite that had briefly served as their headquarters at Titan Station. “Just personal effects, some small gear, and so forth. Pryvani, anything that shouldn’t be loaded on the …
Chapter Thirty-Two: Take My Hand, Come Along Titan: Contact by D.X. Machina
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” –Mark Twain Depending on where you’d grown up and how you marked your calendar, either a week or eighteen days had passed since the Gyfjon had captured the Stanisław Lem. The Minatar had departed the station three Earth days before, the same day they’d moved the Lem …
Chapter Thirty-One: And the Time’s Comin’ Near Titan: Contact by D.X. Machina
“If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I?” –Hillel the Elder It took a good five minutes before any of the people on Titan Station could find their voice. Xú, alone among her crew, was not crying. Not because she did …
Chapter Thirty: By the Dim and Flaring Lamps Titan: Contact by D.X. Machina
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who …
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Hand in Hand Titan: Contact by D.X. Machina
“Let us all meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” –Blessed Teresa of Calcutta “Got’dang council. I was savin’ Atlantis back when half of ‘em were in diapers, and this is the thanks I get,” Darren muttered, sipping an Avalonian whiskey at a table in the restaurant, waiting …