NOVEL
Blurb
In just two years, a mysterious, deadly gas found in the Earth’s atmosphere wiped out all humanity, except for a couple of million people who took refuge on the orbital station called Siclen Valley, the HQ of the once biggest IT corporation of the Old World.
Amid the lifeless void of space, a handful of survivors are trying to build a new world. Everyone grieves the vanished world as best they can. There are also those who do not wish to accept the new reality. Seto Vayne, for instance. He used to be a Sacker, flying to Earth and back to deliver scrap he found on the desolated planet and be paid large amounts of SiDo. Now, everything he lives for is the hope to meet his son again one day.
Siclen Valley is a science fiction saga set in a complex, multi-layered world full of intrigue, adventure, drama, and humor.
Amid the lifeless void of space, a handful of survivors are trying to build a new world. Everyone grieves the vanished world as best they can. There are also those who do not wish to accept the new reality. Seto Vayne, for instance. He used to be a Sacker, flying to Earth and back to deliver scrap he found on the desolated planet and be paid large amounts of SiDo. Now, everything he lives for is the hope to meet his son again one day.
Siclen Valley is a science fiction saga set in a complex, multi-layered world full of intrigue, adventure, drama, and humor.
PROLOGUE
-------Three bodies. Three skulls crushed by a steel rod, with blood oozing onto the ribbed metal floor. The secretary, the first deputy, and the head of the Disinformation Department. Or rather, now former secretary, first deputy, and department head.
-------Three dead bodies. Almost like massive asteroids closing in inevitably on the station trapped above the clouds. Three fatal blows to the negotiation process between Corps and Techs, which had been going on for several rough months.
-------Eyl Mard wasn't at the crime scene, but his imagination painted the whole picture down to the smallest detail. He was very familiar with this signature style.
-------"The boys went a bit overboard," said the person on the other end of the line, without a hint of remorse in his voice. "You know Issa's goons."
-------"Issa's goons?" asked Eyl, sounding distant, still trying to digest what he had just heard.
The owner of the voice coming from the communicator on Eyl's ear chuckled. It wasn't a secret that the caller and Issa couldn't stand each other.
-------"No need for drama, alright? Obviously, the negotiations were highly essential, but you should understand that we cannot rely on them alone. In the end, the data ended up in our hands this way or the other."
-------Eyl stared bluntly at the floor covered, to his surprise, with an utterly tasteless carpet runner—red, with a black-and-yellow pattern. Black predictably dominated yellow, coiling around it and spilling over the carpet's surface in stretched-out blots. The pattern looked like it belonged to some alien race, naïve enough in its artistic expression.
-------"Rahfri, I'm sorry, let me change the subject for a second." The words slipped out of Eyl's mouth before he could stop them. "Have we ever ordered these carpet runners?"
-------The other side was silent for a brief moment.
-------"What runners?"
-------"These carpet runners. You know, the ones you usually see in the hallways of government facilities," explained Eyl, and he instantly corrected himself. "I mean, saw. I don't remember approving these designs. Do you?"
-------Rahfri clicked his tongue.
-------"Listen, Eyl!" His voice became harsher. "What's done is done. I warned you soft power wouldn’t get the job done. It was already taking longer than we had agreed. Something could go wrong."
-------"But murder?" Eyl tried to intervene.
-------"Don't interrupt me!" Rahfri's voice turned sharp and piercing. If it took the shape of a sound wave, it would be sharp enough to dice a salad. "Things aren't looking good for you, Eyl. Honestly, everyone is a little tired of your tiptoeing around Techs. It's time to make a decision. I need all my data."
-------Three dead bodies. Almost like massive asteroids closing in inevitably on the station trapped above the clouds. Three fatal blows to the negotiation process between Corps and Techs, which had been going on for several rough months.
-------Eyl Mard wasn't at the crime scene, but his imagination painted the whole picture down to the smallest detail. He was very familiar with this signature style.
-------"The boys went a bit overboard," said the person on the other end of the line, without a hint of remorse in his voice. "You know Issa's goons."
-------"Issa's goons?" asked Eyl, sounding distant, still trying to digest what he had just heard.
The owner of the voice coming from the communicator on Eyl's ear chuckled. It wasn't a secret that the caller and Issa couldn't stand each other.
-------"No need for drama, alright? Obviously, the negotiations were highly essential, but you should understand that we cannot rely on them alone. In the end, the data ended up in our hands this way or the other."
-------Eyl stared bluntly at the floor covered, to his surprise, with an utterly tasteless carpet runner—red, with a black-and-yellow pattern. Black predictably dominated yellow, coiling around it and spilling over the carpet's surface in stretched-out blots. The pattern looked like it belonged to some alien race, naïve enough in its artistic expression.
-------"Rahfri, I'm sorry, let me change the subject for a second." The words slipped out of Eyl's mouth before he could stop them. "Have we ever ordered these carpet runners?"
-------The other side was silent for a brief moment.
-------"What runners?"
-------"These carpet runners. You know, the ones you usually see in the hallways of government facilities," explained Eyl, and he instantly corrected himself. "I mean, saw. I don't remember approving these designs. Do you?"
-------Rahfri clicked his tongue.
-------"Listen, Eyl!" His voice became harsher. "What's done is done. I warned you soft power wouldn’t get the job done. It was already taking longer than we had agreed. Something could go wrong."
-------"But murder?" Eyl tried to intervene.
-------"Don't interrupt me!" Rahfri's voice turned sharp and piercing. If it took the shape of a sound wave, it would be sharp enough to dice a salad. "Things aren't looking good for you, Eyl. Honestly, everyone is a little tired of your tiptoeing around Techs. It's time to make a decision. I need all my data."
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