EPOCH DAWNING SAMPLE CHAPTER: THE BROTHERS

Below is the free sample chapter from my novel, Epoch Dawning. Enjoy!

For a downloadable PDF please click: EPOCH DAWNING THE BROTHERS.

Epoch Dawning Campsite

 

THE BROTHERS

 

The room began to quiet as the speaker approached the podium and adjusted the wireless microphone projecting from his earpiece. Although he would rather be inconspicuous, all eyes were now on him. Asher Grant stood tall, exactly six feet and three inches with very striking features—muscular, large hands and long limbs with elongated, articulate fingers.

Generally, Asher had a very distinguished appearance and looked highly intelligent; he often bragged of his exceptional IQ of 141. His skin looked darker and olive-hued with a straight nose and a wide jaw with sharp edges. He had a large bald head with thick eyebrows, full cheeks and a beard that always remained full and well kept. His baby face was the only feature keeping him from looking truly intimidating. Incidentally, Asher was completely unaware that Travis, who sat in a dimly lit section of the auditorium, was in the audience.

Asher readied himself to speak, purging any anxiety or worry from his system. Without any prior public speaking experience, Asher had practiced his speech and his delivery several times over to ensure the audience would feel the passion and conviction of his words. Peculiarly, from the vantage point of the audience, Asher looked calm and not at all nervous, with an air of confidence bordering on arrogance. A gentle hush came over the audience. He cleared his throat and began to speak.

Asher said, “Good afternoon to everyone. Thank you all for coming. My name is Dr. Asher Grant, Professor of Theoretical Physics, and I am here to speak to you about The Collective. I can’t say I’m surprised at the remarkable turnout, but nevertheless I am pleased to know there are some people who have the same sense of worry and angst about the current state of affairs as I do. In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that I once contributed to this shameful project, and although I have severed my attachments, my hands are still dirty. This does not make me a hypocrite, but instead my firsthand exposure has allowed me to see the light, and I hope to bring the same clarity to all those listening. Clearly all this information was intended for a select few and not for the masses, but everything happens for a reason, and with our newly found knowledge, we must act responsibly and fight the tides of coercive change. I hope my words are not only informative, but permit everyone here and everyone watching to open their eyes and to see that we are standing on the shoulders of destiny at a critical juncture on the journey of mankind on Earth. We all—right here and right now—have the future in our hands and must act responsibly—for if we do not, the future will be a dark and egregious place. I will speak to you all as if I had seen the future, as if the world chose to warmly embrace the proposal of the powers that be and submit our minds, bodies and souls to The Collective.”

“Now let us dive in … in the future, the world has evolved into a very different place. The term evolve is most appropriate because in this distant time, the very fabric of existence has a striking contrast to reality now; the new futuristic world is one that is unrecognizable to the observer from present day. The defining characteristic of this future is the complete dissolution of the individual for the sake of the collective whole.

Accordingly, this final era of humankind involved the gradual appearance of a more controlled society highlighted in the end by an acute and abrupt transformation. This change was premeditated, scrutinized and implemented with stealth so that each change came about in an orderly, incremental process considered digestible by the masses. The planning first began within nations as a purely economic instrument to direct the utilization of resources, but this philosophy soon penetrated all other arenas of governance so that the State had its hand in every facet of each individual’s life.

Competition was sacrificed for collectivism and individual liberty began to dissolve. The philosophy of planning operated on the premise that the State, which held the power to coerce, was better suited to execute central direction of the economy to satisfy its own ends. This ran contrary to the notion of recognizing the autonomous spheres of each individual where their own interests reign supreme and they have the right to plan for themselves.”

“Starting shortly after the dawn of the 21st century, the Earth’s eminent countries ceased expanding their empires and entered into ages of strife characterized by severe struggles within their borders. These struggles were typified by growing class tensions and conflicts, violent imperial wars and an overall attitude of fallacy, absurdity and cynicism. These internal battles were subsequently defeated and resolved by an emergent, single entity within each nation that reigned victorious. After this process was carried out on the national level, it then spilled over into the global stage with the expected strife, war and tension now more violent and burdensome than before.

From the ashes of conflict emerged an all-inclusive dominant global political faction, the One World Party, whose intent was to subjugate all of mankind to the power of the State. This control was not democratically elected or subject to representative vote; instead, power was taken, assumed, executed and consolidated in the hands of a few technocrats. This privileged oligarchy was able to shape the world in their own image. Ironically, in the pursuit of ‘freedom’, ‘equality’, ‘social justice’, ‘security’ and ‘safety’ emerged a world where each individual had to sacrifice all of these ideals and was left with none of them. In this world, your reality was their reality and the truth was not truth but was nebulous and void.”

“Despite all this, the technocrats had reached a dilemma in planning. They were able to globally sway the masses by ‘dumbing them down’ with the usual tools including the media, bioengineered foods, aerosols in the air, medicated water and subliminal messaging, but all of these tools were indirect and suggestive. That is, the State was able to mobilize most of the herd, but societal influence was not coercive; results were expected but not guaranteed.

Consequently there was a persistent nagging remnant, most of whom I hope are represented by those before me here today, a devoted and vocal minority who called out for true and genuine individual freedom, liberty and the demand to shape their own destiny. This dedicated minority proved to be the most objectionable and burdensome in the eyes of the State. The one condition upon which the State ruled was with the consent of the governed, but this select minority withdrew their consent and demanded a return to the old ways when the individual’s own interest was paramount.

With time, the technocrats developed a solution to this problem—a crowning achievement in science and technology that would in fact allow an explosion in knowledge and the advancement of mankind by leaps and bounds never before seen in the history of the world. It would allow the development of new technologies and unify the world into a complete whole to foster peace, cooperation and the perpetual harmony of humankind. It would not only make each person more intelligent and accessible, but it would allow every citizen of the world to literally speak to one another as brothers without cultural, ethnic or religious barriers to separate them. The entire world would be unified under one collective consciousness and open the door to a new era of prosperity.

These were half-truths perpetuated through the global community as a facade to conceal the men behind all the smoke and mirrors. In the end, this new instrument would also to allow the State to implement direct and coercive control over each individual. Enter The Collective.”

“Imagine being somewhere and then think of being somewhere else at the same time. You are not physically in both places, but your mind is. You can visualize the world with your eyes and also look through someone else’s eyes at the same time. Think of a world where you exist not in isolation, but with everyone else simultaneously. Imagine the seed of thought originating from your mind and then immediately disseminating throughout a communal consciousness. You are separate, but are one. You think, and you are. Imagine that this idea is not a construct of your mind, but an intangible creature that permeates through a cooperative self-awareness that has no boundaries. This abstract method of thinking defies what we know of the universe and is actually contrary to current scientific thought. This is The Collective.”

“The Collective is the summation of all that is known and that exists in one harmonious and perpetual network, which binds the thoughts, perceptions, ideas and intentions of all human beings in real-time. The Collective is all-knowing and all-seeing; it is omnipresent. It combines the consciousness of all persons who are plugged into a global network that has the capability to harmonize each individual’s thoughts, intentions, and desires seamlessly. In essence, The Collective links the minds of every human being on Earth together. It gives ultimate power to the user as it provides an unlimited stockpile of knowledge and resources to novice and expert alike. The Collective is not exclusive but highly inclusive; it is without bias and lives without bounds. The Collective operates without the constraints of time, borders, race, color or creed. It is introduced and mandated to everyone upon coming into existence. What one person thinks, another can hear and what one person feels, another can respond to. What once began as the simple idea of everyone floating in a cloud subsequently developed into the most comprehensive and massive technological undertaking of all-time. Hence, it was with The Collective that mankind began to take his first steps toward the end. He was fully aware of what was happening in the present, but he was still unable to foretell the future. The Collective is ubiquitous, but it is not final; it is universal, but it was not predictive.

One may question the true universality of the system, cognizant of the difficulties in forcing every human being into The Collective. This is a valid objection, as it would be difficult to coerce everyone in a major urban center to submit, let alone the entire world. There were always those who objected for religious reasons, those geographically inaccessible, the mentally ill, or those who simply refused to be enslaved. The solution, quite horrifically, was called The Scourge—the perpetual, unceasing global assault instituted by the One World Party to seek out and find all those who are not a part of the system and offer two bleak choices—submit or be eliminated.”

“Alas, the technocrats were able to yield their wand of control over the masses by sending out a ‘whisper’—an undetectable subconscious subliminal mandate for human beings to follow. The beauty, or grotesqueness, of this mechanism allowed the State to disseminate a command while the individuals receiving the order believed their own will had persuaded them. Although the temptation to play God was very real, the oligarchy realized that they had to allow the masses a certain degree of individual decision and execution of choice, less the technocrats be discovered and the whole plan unravels.

After all, stealth and secrecy is the how the game is played. Although the operation of The Collective was presumed to be flawless, it did have its imperfections, as man was still unable to master and plan for the unpredictability of technology. System outages were not common, but present, giving pockets of citizens an unpredictable window of mental freedom. Participation in the network was voluntary to a degree, lest each person’s sanity succumb to the continual assault of information and stimuli. Although the system was able to link everyone’s mind, it was only able to share allowed, conscious thoughts into the mental cloud to an extent; that is, The Collective had an unpredictable defect—those with higher IQs were progressively more resistant to the influence of the system.

Had Einstein been alive, he would have lived a life free of influence from the network, although he would be able to engage voluntarily with the integrated mental communication; someone with an IQ of 80, however, would essentially be a robot programmed by the State. Consequently, the problem of the nagging minority was still present but not as powerful nor as vocal as before.”

Before he continued, Asher took a sip of water and cleared his throat.

“You are at the grocery store. The Collective is made aware of your intent to purchase goods. The awareness of your intent to pay for your goods is detected and immediately your credits are deducted from the solitary global bank account. There is no cashier, no security, and no wallet. There is only thought and the mind. But wait—there is a blond standing next to you who catches your eye.

Is she married? No.

Children? No.

Is she attached? No.

Is she available? Yes.

Is she open to a relationship? No.

She becomes aware of your thought exercise and responds: I am open to anything with no strings attached. The two leave together and nature runs its course.”

 “A mother watches over her 4-year-old son as he is about to take his first and last piano lesson.

I’m ready, the boy thinks.

Here you go, dear, the mother thinks back.

Instantly, the mother’s 20-year history of piano-playing experience is imprinted onto the mind of her son. He begins to play fluently and beautifully; he is only limited by the small size of his hands. The boy plays joyfully for three minutes and then becomes bored. He asks his mother for guitar lessons but she has never learned or received mental instruction. The boys says he wants to play “really great” but the mother only has access to mediocre mental skill sets that altruistic individuals have made available for global distribution. In order to obtain the mental imprint of a virtuoso, the mother will have to save over time, earn enough credits, and then buy it for her son as a gift. She tells him, ‘Maybe for you birthday, dear. Now play some more for mommy.’ ”

“A teenager sits on his bed on the second floor of his parent’s house. He lives in what formerly was Long Island, NY. He misses his girlfriend, who physically traveled to the Eastern Asian Territory. He still can’t understand why she bothered to take the flight, but his girlfriend has a thing for actually seeing things herself. As the wind and dust smack her in the face, the boyfriend shares the experience and turns his head to the side. He communicates with her through The Collective, in Mandarin, that the girlfriend picked up from a native speaker. She allows him to see the Great Wall through her eyes and then bids him farewell after a drawn-out conversation filled with teenage nonsense. After the mental conversation is over, he finishes his game of mental chess with his older cousin, who lives in the South American Sector.”

Asher took a brief pause to survey the audience; they appeared to be simultaneously aghast and in awe.

He continued, “Regrettably, this is the world that exists in the future. The events to come prove the fact that it is the inherent nature of mankind to assume the role of an innovator and inventor at the helm of his own destiny; with the knowledge and skill that he has obtained, it is only with vanity and egotism that he will be able to create a world in his own image, where he has essentially eliminated the roles of faith, hope, and trust and substituted them for secular humanism, the State, and rationality. This future is an abhorrent, perverse construction that not only elevates the importance of mankind but solidifies his sense of deity. In the future, there is only the all-knowing, all-seeing power of The Collective. In this epoch, a God was created in man’s image.”

“Friends, in summary, The Collective is not yet our reality, but if we stand back and do nothing, it will be. The Collective will elevate man’s command of science and certainly usher in a new era of discovery never before seen in the history of the universe. These are welcome and extraordinary changes, but not worth the risk of sacrificing ourselves. I beg you all to speak to a friend, a neighbor, a family member, and a loved one and disseminate the truth. We cannot afford to allow the Party to implement this system—it will not bode well for anyone. Thank You.”

Asher looked out into a sea of bright white eyes piercing straight through him. He felt unsure of himself as there was no reaction from the crowd: the room remained extraordinarily quiet. Little did he know that the initial silence was not a sign of disapproval, but rather the awesome power of his heartfelt words. Many in the crowd had been living in a world of lies, had been waiting for the truth, and they embraced Asher as their liberator. He watched as one audience member stood up, clapped and loudly cheered. This spread like contagion to all others and soon, the room erupted in praise and cheers as everyone rose from their seats to give Asher a standing ovation. Asher felt relieved that he accomplished his task and relished the response. The fervor in the room fueled his conviction and stirred his emotions.

As the lights in the auditorium were raised, Travis remained seated all the way in the back of the auditorium.

The man sitting next to Travis said, “Hey let’s go talk to this guy. That speech was killer. I want to sign on.”

Travis smirked and said, “Sign onto what, moron? He’s not drafting you for war, bro, he just made a simple speech. He’s just another academic with a head full of ideas, conspiracy theories and persuasive words, but no balls to follow through with any of it. Put this guy up against a gang of Party security members with a gun to his head and he’ll fold—real quick. People like him will fade out just like every other so-called revolutionary out there. Not a soul knows what’s coming, nor will they be able to stop it. It will take much more than a fired-up room of college idiots to change anything.”

“Who made you the expert on this guy?”

“I made myself the expert. He’s my brother.”

“Oh …”

© 2013 C.H.E. Sadaphal

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Posted in Epoch Dawning Samples
26 comments on “EPOCH DAWNING SAMPLE CHAPTER: THE BROTHERS
  1. Neil says:

    I’m not “attached” and open to many things haha. this all sounds awesome. give me some more!

  2. FreeEverything says:

    This collective sounds like a socialist’s wet dream. Thank goodness its a fiction novel you’re writing.

  3. AlexTheGreat says:

    An IQ of 141? This fine gentleman certainly belongs in the ranks of Mensa.

  4. Liza says:

    Asher’s speech is AMAZING. Can’t wait to see where this all goes.

  5. Matty says:

    Didn’t you know? There’s already a global network that controls the thoughts and minds of everyone one the planet-its called social media.

  6. stern says:

    there’s a show on syfy called continuum. this vaguely reminds me of it. revolutionaries meet the future meet sci-fi meet conspiracy theories.

  7. Guest says:

    All the smart people always seem to get ahead. Even when our minds are being controlled they manage to have a leg up…

  8. Tom says:

    Very well done. The premise is intriguing and very involved. The directions that this can be taken are numerous, and I would like to see what else Asher has to say …

  9. RadioTech says:

    This speech is hot! Know its fiction but at the same time feels like its also true.

  10. Guest2 says:

    People who use “…” when making comments are pretentious…

  11. TheGrouch says:

    I’M ACHING TO KNOW what happens next: “the complete dissolution of the individual for the sake of the collective whole” vs. freedom fighters, the Scourge, the Party, the global distribution of mental abilities vs. the free market’s determination of prices for valued brain skills, an elite class of super intelligent Collective evaders vs. dumbed down “robots” and to top it all off, a bald physicist who revolts against the whole thing, starting by firing up a bunch of young people. bring in some storm troopers, klingons, and add some deep space and explosions and we have ourselves a party.

  12. Marcus says:

    I appreciate the fact that many do-it-yourself writers have taken the reins on their projects and promote their own material.

    Using your own name for the site address always is a good idea for “branding” purposes.

    This premise at the very least raises a slight eyebrow but the end-of-the-world-asteroid-apocalypse-government-takeover-zombie genre has been beaten to death and resurrected, only to repeat the process. This speech reveals many paths and it would be interesting to read where the author chooses to lead us.

  13. Guest3 says:

    Liked the sample kept my interest.

  14. CHE Sadaphal says:

    ATTENTION ALL BLOG READERS: Keep up-to-date with the most recent posts on Twitter @CHESadaphal. Novel updates will be posted as they arise: #EpochDawning. Enjoy!

  15. NM says:

    I liked this read, and I wonder if the intelligentsia hatch a plot to breed with other geniuses (giving nerds and geeks everywhere free reign to sleep with as many women as possible) so they can spawn a Collective-resistant race to take down the system. After all, Asher has proven himself to be one of them and an adamant opponent of the network. Time will tell.

  16. GSL says:

    looking forward to the complete version

  17. Larry Garrett says:

    Love the story line and the omnipotent all knowing New World (Order) Power! We all need to prepare for this coming reality! Most people give very little credence to this phenomena, but the fact is this has been in the process for years. Please continue on with your story! I loved the way you are knitting this journey together, I want to go with you on this adventure!

  18. BCHC says:

    Asher sounds so familiar …

  19. Tully says:

    My mind has been blown. Is this sci-fi or a look into the future?

  20. hamid says:

    found your site after reading a kirkus review. if the rest of the book is like this, i’m already a fan.

  21. Nathan says:

    this is awesome. will buy the book, want to see how this plays out.

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