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    The Colonists
    The Colonists
    The Colonists
    Ebook53 pages50 minutes

    The Colonists

    By Yuri Vinokurov

    ()

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    About this ebook

    In the not-so-distant future, when the world economy is crippled and the Earth seems damaged beyond repair, a group of friends dream of escaping the unemployment and despair to the mysterious world of Mars-17, the first Earth-like exoplanet in the binary star system of Alpha Centauri... (The Colonists, a novella)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherYuri Vinokurov
    Release dateDec 8, 2012
    ISBN9781301757329
    The Colonists
    Author

    Yuri Vinokurov

    I was born in the Soviet Union and had spent most of my life in Russia before relocating to Vancouver, British Columbia. I have been writing - and discarding - little bits for almost as long as I can remember myself. "Firebird" (2013) is just out. It's an attempt in the retro spy-action genre, set in the 1980s Hong Kong. There's a bunch of bad guys, a slightly less bad guy, a muted love interest, - and a black box that everyone thinks is so important. I started drafting it as a low-budget film script back in 2007-2008 and then abandoned it until late last year. "Fifty Below" (2012) is a short novel, a winter action thriller in Siberia, and an obvious attempt in the Die Hard I, II tradition. "The Colonists" (2012) is the first novella I have completed to a somewhat publishable state. I was vaguely planning to get back to and fix the bugs. "Barbershop Otto and Other Mysteries" - in progress, sort of. The first story is already available to download as a free sample. A few more stories are coming soon, and the collection will be uploaded when I have about 10-12 short stories. They're going to be mostly dark, Twilight Zone kind of stories. At the rate I am writing it could take a couple of years. A few more ideas are in the pipeline. I like hiking, drawing sketches, exercising, punching the bag, eating well (but not a foodie). I don't really enjoy running long distances but that's another thing that I do.

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      Book preview

      The Colonists - Yuri Vinokurov

      The Colonists

      By Yuri Vinokurov

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright © 2012 Yuri Vinokurov

      All Rights Reserved

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      1. Coffee Meetings

      Cockroaches leave chemical trails in their feces, as well as emitting airborne pheromones for swarming and mating. These chemical trails transmit bacteria onto surfaces. Other cockroaches will follow these trails to discover sources of food and water, and also discover where other cockroaches are hiding. Thus, cockroaches can exhibit emergent behavior, in which group or swarm behavior emerges from a simple set of individual interactions.

      From Wikipedia

      It was almost noon, well past eleven in the late summer morning. Nick woke up but could not make himself get out of the bed for another good half an hour. He had to get up soon; at quarter to noon the next door neighbour would wake up and start talking on the phone. Nick had very little interest in that conversation and hated to use earplugs at home. At home, he corrected himself, in parentheses. He had long accustomed to use mental parentheses when thinking about things that were not exactly what they meant.

      The room was a six square meter single-occupancy unit in an ageing affordable housing project, but the location was good. Nick liked to hang around close to the central business district, most buddies lived - or lived - in the nearby area.

      He used the combined toilet-shower facility which was a glass booth right in the corner of the room, fixed himself a quick brunch in another corner that served as a kitchen equipped with a sink and a microwave. He got out of the crumbling old building just as the neighbour got up and started the same routine. Ten thousand years of the human civilization, thought Nick, we’ve invented all kinds of machines that have eliminated all the jobs, killed all the fish in the ocean, discovered interstellar travel to screw even more worlds, and yet we couldn’t conquer simple soundproof walls for all.

      He walked fast. He liked to walk fast even if there was nowhere to hurry. Walking was one of the few things he could do rather well and there was a reassuring feeling to it. He could also get out of the area sooner that way. Mixed housing was no longer mixed in the original meaning, it was starting to look more like messed up, he thought. But the business district was still rather okay.

      What’s up, runner? Got a coin? It was the usual greeting of the same beggar Nick was seeing at the same corner for the last couple of years. The government got rid of most junkies about fifteen years ago, but some new types kept appearing. Not today, replied Nick and walked into the crowd heading towards CBD.

      The Galleria was an old coffeehouse, one of the few that Nick preferred; you could not tell if it was a chain or an independent store. There were large communal wooden tables, vintage movie posters on the walls, and overall you could imagine or pretend for a moment things were just fine. Waitresses were not too ugly either. That helped some.

      The regular bunch was already here, except Jay. Is it Jay or just J? - Nick wondered once again. They always used only J in writing.

      Morning gentlemen, afternoon that is, Nick greeted the regulars. Afternoon, Sir, replied Sanjuro, the oldest guy in the gang, - what’s going on?"

      Life, Sir, life’s going on. Other than that, not much. Yourselves? About the same, replied Sanjuro. Jay’s not here, must be working, said Kenny

      Hm, working? Nick was mildly intrigued. That’s what he says, a little gig, under the table. I see, Nick

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