Lieutenant Henry
Gallant
Author: H. Peter Alesso
Publisher: Video Software Publishing
Pages: 320
Genre: Science fiction space opera
Format: Paperback/Kindle
Book Summary:
In
an era of genetic engineering, Lieutenant Henry Gallant is the only Natural
(non-genetically enhanced) officer left in the fleet. Many of his superiors,
including rival Anton Neumann, have expressed concern he is not up to the
challenge. However, his unique mental abilities have proven essential to the
defense of the United Planets in its fight against the Titan invaders.
Serving
on the first FTL prototype, the Intrepid,
on its maiden voyage to Tau Ceti, Gallant finds a lost colony on the planet
Elysium. Cyrus Wolfe and his son, manipulate planet politics against the
democratic opposition led by James Hepburn and his granddaughter Alaina. Wolfe
has allied himself with an ancient Artificial Intelligence which had lain
dormant on the planet for millennia, but is now willing to protect the
colonists against the Titans.
With
Alaina’s help, Gallant discovers the ancient AI has a sinister ulterior motive
and he matches his unique and exceptional mind against the complexity of
machine intelligence to escape the ultimate trap and prevent the extermination
of humanity.
In
Lieutenant Henry
Gallant, one man pits the naked human mind against the perspicacity
of machine intelligence.
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Excerpt from Lieutenant Henry Gallant
Gallant
ran—gasping for breath, heart pounding; the echo of his footsteps reverberated
behind him.
He
hoped to reach the bridge, but hope is a fragile thing.
Peering
over his shoulder into the dark, he tripped on a protruding jagged beam, one of
the ship’s many battle scars. As he crashed to the deck, the final glow of
emergency lights sputtered out leaving only the pitch black of power
failure—his failure.
He
lay still and listened to the ship’s cries of pain; the incessant wheezing of
atmosphere bleeding from the many tiny hull fissures, the repetitious groaning
of metal from straining structures, and the crackling of electrical wires
sparking against panels.
Thoughts
flashed past him.
How
long will the oxygen last?
He
was reluctant to guess.
Where
are they?
He
heard the clamor of dogged footsteps drawing closer even as he rasped for
another breath.
Trembling
from exhaustion, he clawed at the bulkhead to pull himself up. His hemorrhaging
leg made even standing brutally painful.
Nevertheless;
he ran.
He
heard the clamor of dogged footsteps drawing closer even as he rasped for
another breath.
Trembling
from exhaustion, he clawed at the bulkhead to pull himself up. His hemorrhaging
leg made even standing brutally painful.
Nevertheless;
he ran.
The
bulkhead panels and compartment hatches were indistinguishable in the dimness.
Vague phantoms seemed to lurk nearby even while his eyes adjusted to whatever
glowing plasma blast embers flickered from the hull.
As
he twisted around a corner, he crashed his shoulder into a bulkhead. The impact
knocked him back and spun him around. Reaching out with a bloody hand, he
grasped the hatch handle leading into the Operation’s compartment. Going
through the hatch, he pulled it shut behind him.
He
started to run, then awkwardly fought his own momentum and stopped.
Stupid!
Stupid!
Going
back to the hatch, he hit the security locking mechanism.
It
wouldn’t stop a plasma blast, but it might slow them down, he thought. At least this compartment is
airtight.
Finally
able to take a deep breath, he tried to clear his head of bombarding
sensations. He should’ve been in battle armor, but he’d stayed too long in
engineering trying to maintain power while the hull had been breached and the
ship boarded.
Now
his uniform was scorched, revealing the plasma burns of seared flesh from his
left shoulder down across his back to his right thigh. He had no idea where the
rest of the crew was; many were probably dead. His comm pin was mute and the
ship’s AI wasn’t responding. He had only a handgun, but, so far, he didn’t
think they were tracking him specifically, merely penetrating into the ship to
gain control.
Gallant
tried to run once more, but his legs were unwilling. Leaning against the
bulkhead, like a dead weight, he slid slowly down to the deck.
Unable
to go farther, he sat dripping blood and trembling as the potent grip of shock
grabbed hold. The harrowing pain of his burnt flesh, swept over him.
About the Author
As
a scientist and author specializing in technology innovation, H. Peter Alesso
has over twenty years research experience at Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory (LLNL). As Engineering Group Leader at LLNL he led a team of
computer scientists and engineers in innovative applications across a wide
range of supercomputers, workstations and networks. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy
His
latest book is the science fiction space opera, Lieutenant
Henry Gallant.
For More Information
Contact Peter.
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