Noumenon. Marina Lostetter J.

      

      

       Copyright

      HarperVoyager an imprint of

      HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2017

      Copyright © Little Lost Stories 2017

      Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017

      Little Lost Stories asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

      A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

      Source ISBN: 9780008223359

      Ebook Edition © July 2017 ISBN: 9780008223373

      Version: 2018-05-09

       Dedication

      For everyone working toward a better tomorrow and a more hopeful today. Thank you.

      And for Alex: my love, my laughter,

       my light in all dark places.

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Part 1: Resistance

1. Reggie: A King of Infinite Space

2. Margarita: Inside Taro’s Box

3. Jamal: Balance

       4. I.C.C.: Look Now How the Mortals Blame

       Part 2: Resilience

       5. Reginald: A Tell-Tale Pulse

       6. I.C.C.: Because it is Breaking

       7. I.C.C.: Miscloned

       8. Nika: Behind the Curtain

       9. Esper: Return Through the Wardrobe

       Epilogue: I.C.C.: Old Salts and New Songs

       Acknowledgments

       About the Author

       About the Publisher

Resistance

       CHAPTER ONE

       REGGIE: A KING OF INFINITE SPACE

      APRIL 14, T MINUS 37 YEARS TO LAUNCH DAY (LD)

      2088 COMMON ERA (CE)

      The Planet United Consortium was formed in order to pursue Earth-wide interests in deep space. Each Planet United Mission is designed to further humanity’s joint scientific understanding, its reach beyond the home planet, and to ensure the longevity of planet-wide cooperation …

      The hot stage lights made Reggie’s forehead break out in beads of sweat. He could barely hear the professor from Berkeley even though she was only three seats away. She sounded like she was broadcasting from the surface of Mars.

      Mars—wouldn’t that be a nice alternative to where he was now? It was quiet on Mars. Deserted. No cameras and no horde of scientists, reporters, and politicians ready to hang on his every word.

      “It’s your discovery, you give the presentation,” Professor McCloud had said back in his study. From behind his mahogany desk he’d stared at Reggie like a mad dog, ready to bite if he didn’t get his way.

      Of all the professors in the world, Reggie had to get the only one who wasn’t eager to slap his name all over a graduate student’s research. “Sir, defending my thesis is one thing, but this … I don’t know if I can.”

      “Of course you can.” McCloud coughed heavily into his handkerchief, his thick white sideburns jumping with his jawline. “They’re just people, for cripes sake. If you can stand a bunch of crusty old intellectuals judging you on every eh, but, and I think that comes out of your mouth you can stand a few colleagues and digital recorders.”

      “But—”

      “See! Besides, the discovery has been validated. So they’re not going to make fun of