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STORIES
Kibi and the Search for Happiness
This book includes the short stories Buna's New World by Karen Buchanan, and First Taste of Freedom by Katelynn Persons, winners of the Early 2011 NEBADOR Writing Contest.
A long line of mysterious planets, all stranger than any story, lie between the birthplace of the young crew and their destination among the stars.
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Each planet, and the vast stretches of space between, hold frightening dangers and wonderful opportunities. Events from twenty thousand years in the past have much to teach the new crew, but they fall into a deadly trap from which even the captain cannot find an escape.
"The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead."
-- Albert Einstein
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from Chapter 19: The Sonmatia Four Puzzle
"I've tried everything!" Sata nearly screamed, red-faced. "It's not sine or cosine, tangent doesn't work, and forget the reciprocal functions!"
"Secant or cosecant?" Mati asked in a timid voice.
"No! Nothing!"
"You're worried about Boro, aren't you?"
Sata burst into tears again. "He's down to . . . about a quarter hour of air . . . and I wanted to have some beautiful crystals to show him. And I wanted to show him . . . that I could be in command and not mess up!"
Mati wrapped her arms around her friend as best she could. Eventually, Sata relaxed and started wiping her tears on her sleeve.
Mati sat down at her own station. "Why don't you ask Manessa for help?"
Sata sniffled and pursed her lips in thought for a long moment. "I wanted to do it myself . . . but I guess I should. Manessa, please analyze the problem on my screen and tell me which trigonometry function to use."
"Ilika asked me not to tell you."
Sata didn't start crying again. Instead, she became beet-red and looked ready to explode. "Manessa! Who is in command of this ship?"
"You are, Sata. Rini transferred command to you before leaving the ship."
"Am I in complete command of this ship?"
"Yes, Sata."
"Then why won't you answer my question!"
"I will answer your question, if you wish. All you have to do is override Ilika's request."
Sata's mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Mati was trying very hard to hold in a snicker, but a little bit escaped.
"What?" Sata snapped.
"Manessa never said she wouldn't answer your question. It's happened to Kibi too. Manessa just said, 'Ilika asked,' not 'I can't' or 'I won't.' No one's ever tried overriding Ilika's request."
Sata was silent for a long moment, dumbfounded but thoughtful. Finally she took a deep breath. "Manessa, override any requests Ilika made about not helping with this problem."
"No trigonometry function works in this situation because it is not a trigonometry problem. The triangle on your screen is not a right triangle, nor are you attempting to find an unknown angle or length. ..."
Previews
Book One:
The Test
Spring 2010
Book Two:
Journey
Summer 2010
Book Three:
Selection
Fall 2010
Book Four:
Flight Training
Spring 2011
Book Five:
Back to the Stars
Fall 2011
Book Six:
Star Station
Summer 2012
Book Seven:
The Local Universe
2013
Book Eight:
Witness
2014
Copyright © 2009-2012
by J. Z. Colby
unless otherwise attributed