The Legacy of Balthazar
Inheritance
by
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Tyler, grimacing from the pain of his shattered wrist, was still trying to pull the giant’s arm away from his father with his good hand when he heard Ashley speaking. It took a moment for her words to sink in, but when he finally realized what she was saying, he looked at her and demanded, “Why? We don’t know what it’s doing to Dad! It could be killing him, for all we know!” Amanda, her hands throbbing from the vibration of the hammer strike, kneeled down beside her mother and said, “Mom, are you sure?” Ashley spoke without breaking eye contact with the giant, saying, “Yes, dear, I’m sure. I think he’s trying to help your father, not hurt him.” Tyler cradled his broken arm and said, “But what about that hammer looking thing on his belt he’s grabbing?” Amanda looked at the object her brother was describing and said, “He’s not taking it out, Bro. He’s just touching it for some reason. And see how it’s glowing? I know it wasn’t doing that before, or we’d have noticed it when we came in.” As Tyler started to speak, Gordon opened his eyes, which then widened with surprise to see the giant from the altar kneeling over him. He glanced up at Ashley and asked, “What did I miss, dear?” Ashley bent down, kissed her husband’s forehead and said, “Just you having a heart attack, you old fool.” ““Strange,” Gordon said wonderingly. “I feel fine. No pain at all. Can I get up now?” As Gordon finished speaking, the giant removed his hand from his chest, and stood up to his full height. As he rose, he took his hand away from the strange hammer on his belt, which immediately lost it’s unusual glow. The giant then reached one immense hand back down, as if offering to help Gordon up off of the floor. Gordon hesitated for a moment, then reached up and took the proffered hand with both of his, allowing the giant to easily lift him back to a vertical position. As soon as Gordon was back on his feet, the giant turned to Tyler, gesturing for him to hold out his broken arm. Tyler, unsure, looked to his parents for guidance. Ashley said, “Go ahead son. I think he wants to help you too.” Tyler looked back at the enormous figure, then hesitantly extended his shattered arm, holding it up with his good hand to prevent the bones from grinding together. Although Tyler knew his arm would heal in a matter of hours, he decided to see if this stranger could actually speed up the process. It wouldn’t hurt to have two good hands, just in case he needed to go another round with the giant, for all the good he did the first time out. Not to mention the fact that right now it was hurting like hell. The stranger slowly reached out the same hand he had placed on Gordon’s chest, gently taking a hold of Tyler’s arm just above the break. Even in his pain, Tyler couldn’t help but notice that the rock hard material that had shattered his wrist only moments before now once again felt as soft as silk. Just as before, he placed his other hand on top of the strange looking crystalline hammer at his side, which again started to glow. As soon as the strange weapon began glowing, Tyler felt relief in his wrist; the pain fading rapidly away in just a matter of seconds. After only a few moments, the stranger released his grip on Tyler’s arm, at the same time releasing his hold on his weapon. Just as before, as soon as he took his hand off of the hammer, it stopped glowing. Then, still facing Tyler, the stranger slowly began to extend both hands out in the direction of Tyler’s head, one to either side. Tyler, unsure what was happening, took a step back, but his mother said, “I don’t think he wants to hurt you, dear. See how slowly he’s moving? I think he’’s allowing you to decide whether or not you permit him to touch you.” Tyler glanced at his mother, saw her nod, and stepped back toward the giant. He watched nervously as the strange being’s giant hands slowly closed in on either side of his head. At the moment of contact, Tyler felt a sudden pressure inside his head, much stronger than the sensation that had led he and his sister to the entryway. Then Tyler’s head suddenly filled with images from his life, his whole life, moving through his mind’s eye at lightning speed. It was as if the stranger was downloading Tyler’s entire existence in just a few seconds. As the images blurred by inside Tyler’s head, the pressure he was feeling inside his skull became stronger and stronger. It was rapidly becoming unbearable. Just at the moment when he was sure his head would explode, the stranger released his grip, and the pain instantly vanished. As the giant’s arms returned to his sides, Tyler shook his head to clear it, then said, “What the hell was that?” ““What happened, Bro?” Amanda asked. Tyler thought about how best to describe what he had just experienced to his sister, then said, “I’m not sure, Sis, but if I were Majel right now, I’d say I’ve just been hacked. It was like he was copying every bit of information in my head, all at once.” “Telepathy?” “Nonsense,” Gordon said dismissively. “Nobody can read minds. That’s all just mumbo jumbo.” Stepping up to the masked being, he demanded, “Who are you? What do you want? Why did you lead my children here?” “Dad,” Amanda said, “He’s not gonna answer you. There’s no telling how long he’s been in here. He probably doesn’’t understand a thing you’re saying to him.” Before Gordon could reply, a rich, baritone voice, emanating from the awakened giant, answered, in perfect English, “Over one thousand of your years, child.”
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About the Book
An ancient and powerful alien civilization, all but destroyed by a celestial impact millennia ago. Now, after thousands of years, their plan to rebuild their race is nearing fruition, and it’s happening here, on Earth. In the near future, the world is running out of known deposits of fossil fuels. Dr. Amanda Johnson, a brilliant, beautiful, and extremely tall computer designer and programmer, has been recruited by DARPA to design a satellite based scanning system to locate any hidden carbon reserves on the planet. This system, based in Phoenix, Arizona and called AUGER, will also be re-tasked to continuously track all nuclear materials once the carbon scans are completed. Amanda’’s fraternal twin brother, Tyler Johnson, also brilliant and extremely tall, is a world traveling archaeologist, working with their adoptive parents Gordon and Ashley Jameson. Tyler is aware of Amanda’s carbon based scanner system, and asks her to use it to search for small carbon deposits that may lead to previously undiscovered archaeological sites for him to excavate. Amanda agrees, and, using Majel, a computer A.I. that she has developed, and that Tyler has, unknown to her at the time, modified, she finds several thousand potential sites, one of which is most unusual. A large cube shaped object buried in North Carolina. After informing her brother, he and their parents go to investigate. What they find will change their lives, and the world, forever. Amanda and Tyler embark on an incredible journey that will take them as far away as the surface of Mars, and even to other dimensions. Along the way they will encounter aliens, suicidal terrorists, nuclear weapons, and even rogue elements of their own military. Difficulties which pale in comparison when they discover that they, Amanda and Tyler Johnson, are themselves another world’s Legacy.
About the Author
Barrett James, Jr. is a 42 year old construction worker now living in North Carolina with his 14 year old son, for whom this book was written. An avid reader just like his dad, Treybear, (as in third Barrett), knew that his father had written several articles for his company’s web site, and during a discussion of the types of novels they liked, he dared Mr. James to write a book with all the various elements they both enjoyed. Having never written anything longer than a few pages, Mr. James nevertheless accepted the challenge, and presented his son with a finished manuscript for Christmas of 2009. After reading it, and loving it, Treybear recommended to his father that he get it published. Not wanting to base his decision solely on the advice of a 14 year old, Mr. James allowed several other people to read it, even going so far as to post sections of the novel on the web to allow strangers to give their opinions. After receiving nothing but positive feedback, he decided to go ahead with the publishing process, and “The Legacy of Balthazar: Inheritance” was born. Mr. James enjoyed creating and developing the characters so much, that he’s already begun work on a second novel as a companion to the first one. When not at work or helping his elderly father on his 10 acre horse farm, Mr. James can usually be found in his favorite recliner, laptop and cold beer in hand, busily working on his next novel.