A Family of Time

book 1

A Family of Time

A Space Exploration Science Fiction Novel

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Synopsis

 

          With space exploration programs at a near standstill, the United States decides to reignite its program by sending an entire nuclear family into space under the guise that the family will spend months living on the International Space Station. In reality, the US plans to send the family to a secret facility on the moon where they will be placed into a state of hibernation for three months and have information and training fed directly to their brains. If successful, the family’s mission would pave the way for the future of space exploration, travel, and even habitation.

 

          The MacMurchaid family, which consists of father Robert, mother Denise, and children Tony, Troy, Kris, and Nicole, is suddenly thrust into the spotlight when they are chosen for the mission of being the first family sent into space. Their training and their trip into space—as detailed in this book and supplemented with real-life historical space program tidbits—go smoothly. But soon after the family members are placed into hibernation on the moon, war breaks out on Earth, and the family is abandoned and presumed dead. The MacMurchaids awake over 455 years later, facing a new world and new challenges. Will the knowledge and training they were fed during hibernation allow them to overcome these challenges? 

 

 

book 2

A Family of Time

A Space Field Trip Goes Awry

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Synopsis

          Since the MacMurchaids have accepted that this is their time and their future, they begin by helping others through what they have available within Valhalla and knowledge they have at their disposal of their former home planet, Mother Earth. They begin by using what they learned over the four hundred fifty-five years of hibernation and Odin's vast memory to aid the people of this time period to recover plants and animals which are going extinct or already have gone extinct.

          After doing this, they are taken to a trans-orbital observatory vessel known as the Trans Mars Observatory (TMO) for a tour which was promised by their recently met relative of this time period. Its trajectory keeps it in a continuous orbit around earth and Mars thanks to gravity assistance from each planet plus minor use of the onboard thrusters. Since many of the observatories on earth were destroyed, this vessel has supplied the people within in the solar system with the knowledge of the universe they have been able to acquire.

          Not long after arriving on the vessel, things begin to happen. Some of them seem to have explanation while others raise even more questions. The first of many is the surprise gravity assist from Lunar Sister by her increased gravity. Unfortunately, the vessel has limited fuel and for some reason a main drive thruster was tagged out but not repaired. Are all the incidents they and the vessel’s crew are experiencing on the observatory mere coincidences or is there more to these happenings than meets the eye?

          No matter what the reasons are, the MacMurchaids have a mystery to solve and hopefully before people are injured or die. Since they were all raised to help others and respect life, they are going to push themselves to do so and will discover surprises which will reveal new talents they didn’t know that they possessed.

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book 3

A Family of Time

Finding Answers and Looking to the Future

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Synopsis

            Though the MacMurchaids have returned to Valhalla, Robert has many things on his mind which keep him from fully enjoying being home. Amongst these things are the recent events and the changes which have shown themselves in his family and especially himself. These ‘gifts’ which they have begun to call them need to be tested and see if they are somehow related to their long stay within Loki’s Breath. Denise tries to help distract her husband and get him to think about other things for the time being. One item which arises is what to do with their belongings from their twentieth century home which were stored in the hidden vault at Cavanah Hill. They think that donating the items they no longer want to become an exhibit as a small example of twentieth century items. Denise contacts their relatives on Lunar Sister to see if they can arrange this idea. While talking with Frances, Denise also asks about arranging a way for the children to be able to talk with Josh Stoker and to check with Frances’ parent about finding a trusted doctor to do physicals in order to see if the family’s bodies had undergone changes.

            After those items are taken care of, anomalies happen all over Earth Mother. The family realizes that these anomalies have qualities which might be of extraterrestrial design. They also came to realize that one location where an anomaly happened was Cavanah Hill. Robert remembers a vision he had centuries ago concerning a village under the hill. They decide to investigate this which leads to meeting interstellar visitors. Apparently, this visit will only be the first of several.

            After their visits to Earth Mother and Brother Mars, the family returns home to find pleasant changes within Valhalla which leads to ideas on how to improve the looks inside their home. The ideas also lead to one idea which can help those in this time come to know the history of humans and Mother Earth which much such knowledge has been forgotten or lost. When members of both families go retrieve supplies from the Lunar Observatory, they find out that their enemies still have members amongst the population to continue with their dastardly plans. The way they found this out was through an explosive disaster at the observatory. Now they must plan on how to handle this event and any future confrontations.

 

book 4

A Family of Time

Confronting an Unseen Enemy

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Synopsis

          Since the hidden enemies destroyed the Lunar Observatory along with the Murchisons’ home, Robert not only hopes that while the investigation into the incident is on going but that those who caused the destruction will also think that the MacMurchaids were also killed with the Murchisons so both families and their ever group of friends can plan how to proceed in stopping these hidden enemies. Robert decides to turn the table on these people who have caused the deaths of people and attempted to remove the Murchisons and his family.

          Robert shares with his family and relatives presently living in Valhalla a plan to draw those who have been causing havoc in recent times out into the open. This plan is extremely risky with several steps. It is sort of a game of cat and mouse where he appears to be the mouse but is actually a cat seeking to draw the rats out. Those in Valhalla don’t like Robert’s plan, but they understand why it needs to be played out. It turns out that one step was so dangerous that interstellar beings had to step in to save not only Robert, but the entire solar system.

          After the very appreciated assistance, the group is made aware of certain knowledge from one of Robert’s visions of the past. His vision back in the past involves an interstellar craft buried deep in the Yellowstone caldera. This craft may provide them with a means to proceed with plans to make the solar system safer. After finding the craft, they return to Valhalla. Now they must proceed with the knowledge shared by the interstellar beings to prevent the end of all life within the solar system and maybe bring a part of the hidden group to justice.

 

book 5

A Family of Time

Gaining Knowledge and Saving Others

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Synopsis

 

            After nearly a year since the possible release of the life extinguishing plague and the despersement of its cure, the family and their extended family have been the relative peace of this time. They decide to work on the educational murals and ask their relatives if they can contact trusted friends to bring painting supplies to Lunar Sister. It turns out that some of those bringing supplies were descendants of those they had known through the Universal Space Agency and here in Valhalla. They give these friends a tour of Valhalla. Everyone notices vibrations which are unusual. The team decides to investigate. The Lunar Science Council is told that the areas where these events happened are unsafe. Unfortunately, later on a weak signal is received from one of the areas of the vibrations. The team and the new friends decide to take action in the form of a rescue mission. They rescue the individuals who were buried in the vessel under the debris of the out-gassing. After the individuals are rescued and have recovered, they finally share who they are and why they were at the site they were rescued from.

            The MacMurchaids are telepathically notified that interstellar guests were arriving soon and to meet the guests in the Valkyrie shuttle bay without the others in Valhalla knowing. It turns out to be their interstellar friends with a third interstellar guest who tells the family that the council has chosen the MacMurchaids to be ambassadors from this star system. She bestows them with emblems of their ambassadorship, but they are not to disclose this to anyone at this time. The interstellar guests leave, the family returns to the room they are supposed to be in.

            Before long the group must perform a search and possible rescue mission in the asteroid belt near Mars. Again, risks are taken, and two men are rescued. These two men are descendants of people Robert knew in the twentieth century. Now these men are safe are joined with their own families. Soon the family returns home for some needed rest.

 

book 6

A Family of Time

Finding the Truth to Protect the Solar System Part 1

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Synopsis

 

                Members of the MacMurchaid family are doing different things which can be relaxing. The youths keep displaying their ever-growing talents and knowledge which continually surprise those who show up at Valhalla. Everyone has been able to return to working on things which were constantly being put on hold because of having to deal with their hidden enemies. Thomas had brought a sample of small fragments of the asteroid which had clung to the vessel they had rescued Tom and John from. Later it was found out that the sample was an unknown species of living metallic beings which might be distantly related to the traits within the MacMurchaids. After this discovery the interstellar council is contacted, and arrangements are made for the species to be returned to their colony. The council has all asteroids and meteors having more of these colonies removed from this star system to an uninhabited system where those colonies could survive and flourish.

                A communication from the Mars council to the Murchisons is noticed by Odin. It is odd that the Murchisons haven’t answered so the MacMurchaids decide to investigate. They find faction members pretending to be Lunar police detaining everyone at the Lunar observatory. The family does what they have done in the past and rescues those detained and captures the faction members. After the faction members are taken to a detention site, both the MacMurchaids and the Murchisons head to the Mars council chambers with a plan for a possible confrontation with more faction members. They were right and they handled the situation safely and without loss of life.

                Later they hear of those faction members dying in communications which would have been quicker than any government agency had given. The family knows this is most likely a faction tactic and prepare for anything. When something does happen, the Valhalla team is prepared to counteract the faction’s tactics. After this problem is solved then they work on methods to identify faction members and alter all government agencies in such a way that no innocent people are accidentally involved. After this is done they work on projects to take the battle to this unseen faction.

 

 

book 7

A Family of Time

Finding the Truth to Protect the Solar System Part 2

 

Synopsis

 

          The MacMurchaids and their group work on searching for facilities which the trickster faction might control. They determine that at least one on Lunar Sister might be such a facility and there are many on Brother Mars. Before they investigate any of these sites they must prepare and gather everything they might need. Since a number of previous incidents happened mainly on or near Mars, then that is where they must head to first. The group has a meeting before everyone at Valhalla gets ready to leave. During this meeting Robert announces that he has come up with a name for this ever-growing group. It is Valhalla’s Vernean Lunatics or VVL to which he explains the reasoning behind the name.

          Robert has all the other shuttles left before his family’s shuttle departs from Valhalla. He and his family agree that knowing the faction’s history that they may have attack vessels waiting to either capture the MacMurchaids or kill them. As expected after the halfway point and before reaching Mars, faction vessels attempt their attacks, but between Robert’s piloting and Troy’s targeting those vessels’ thrusters the two of them make sure the family is safe and the faction vessels are disabled. Robert notifies the Mars council about the vessels before heading to meet the rest of the VVL at their gathering place.

          After several events on Mars, a number of facilities appear to be either destroyed or disabled. Unfortunately, one facility is home for a Mars colonist settlement. The members of the VVL go into rescue mode to save as many colonists as possible and call on all Mars agencies to assist. The team later found some of the events were ruses to convince the Mars council and everyone else to think that the trickster faction was finished. Fortunately for Robert decided it would be best for everyone including the colonists to make a request in front of the Mars council. Though Robert hoped he was wrong, the trickster faction’s leaders had actually over time became members of the council and now with firearms threaten council to get rid of the MacMurchaids. Robert and his family jump into action and capture the faction leadership thus saving the council.

 

 

 

book 8

A Family of Time

Another Threat Looms Over the Solar System

 

Synopsis

 

                After the capture of the leaders of the trickster faction and aiding the colonists who nearly lost their lives because of the faction, the MacMurchaids returned to Valhalla to arrange to follow a list of supplies to be sent to all of Mars’ colonies. They have found out that several people throughout the Terra-Sol system are stepping up to volunteer in one fashion or another. Though this is something the family hoped to se progress over time, this sudden surge of people wanting to help others surprises even them. Members of Valhalla’s Vernean Lunatics, their families and friends help with the processing of shipments.

                After things begin to settle down, the family was asked to share advice concerning the Trans-Mars Observatory and new extended future being the Trans-Mars-Jupiter Observatory by the councils of Earth, the moon, and Mars. This is something which could have been done over normal communication systems, but the councils wanted it done on the TMO as neared Earth Mother and Lunar Sister. This of course raises the usual suspicions within the MacMurchaids and the Murchisons. After the advice is given, the two families head back to the Lunar Observatory and remove the tracking devices from their shuttles. Using devices they had developed, the tracking devices are transported to other locations on Lunar Sister for the councils to find.

                Unfortunately, things begin happening at the edge of the Kuiper Belt which appear to be affecting the electronics within our solar system. An barely noticeable beam is sent toward Earth Mother before the anomaly at the Kuiper Belt is handled by the interstellar Peace Agreement’ security teams. This apparently sets into motion events which the MacMurchaid family must handle at temples for different Greek gods. Knowing earth history and a little of interstellar related history on earth, the family know that handling these situations will be no easy tasks. They definitely would rather handle planned tasks at home.

 

 

book 9

A Family of Time

An Intelligent Anomaly and a Wedding to Deal With

 

Synopsis

 

                After a year of peace, the remaining members of the MacMurchaid family in Valhalla are waiting for the planned first flight of the Trans-Mars-Jupiter Observatory form Mars to Jupiter and back. The first actual flight when the vessel was known as the Trans-Mars Observatory. As much as the family would like to communicate with Kris and Tony, they know they will be busy on the TMJO during this flight. The flight proceeds with only two incidents which happened. One would be definitely with the Mars agencies, but the other would first require the family at Valhalla to investigate. Fortunately, both the Interstellar Peace Agreement and Robert are in agreement that this flight should be monitored on the Jupiter side of the asteroid belt thus Valkyrie flew her vessel to monitor from a distance and in stealth mode.

                After the TMJO is back on the Mars side of the asteroid belt, Valkyrie takes her vessel near the coordinates where the TMJO commander, Kris, and Tony said an anomalous event took place. Robert has Odin keep in contact with Valkyrie so Robert can hear if she has anything to report. After not hearing from either of them, Robert goes to check with Odin to see if anything is wrong. He finds Odin as if he was in a trance and using telepathy Robert finds that both of his family members under a telepathic attack to control them. Robert quickly combines his spirit walking gift with his telepathy to go where Valkyrie is. Once he frees his family members, he confronts the being responsible for the attack. After a short confrontation, the being retreats into its vessel and Robert traps it there. Unfortunately, Robert must battle this being and the others it called until the interstellar team arrives to take these beings away from Terra-Sol.

                Unexplainable events begin to be noticed. One such event has left Josh all alone inside the Mars gathering place. After rescuing him and returning to Valhalla, Robert must deal with an energy which is behind these events. After he does this, things return to normal if there is as such thing as normal. Soon the family is planning for the wedding of Josh and Nicole, but Robert feels that he is not finished with what caused the events earlier. Turns out he is somewhat right, now he mustn’t only deal with a wedding but he must help release the conscious and spirit of a woman which the energy and her are one being. Even though the interstellar council doesn’t like it, they acknowledge that Robert only being they know who has any possibility of releasing this being from her present form and help her transfer to the spiritual realm of her ancestors.

 

 

 

book 10

A Family of Time

Terra-Sol: New Era and New Problems

 

Synopsis

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                The MacMurchaids and newly wed Stokers have returned to Valhalla and plan on picking up where they left off with projects they have being working. This also includes handling all the gifts coming from around Terra-Sol. Finally, the expected contact finally arrives from the interstellar council. They would like to receive from Robert more information concerning his interaction with the energy once known as being Malyde-di. The council informs the MacMurchaids the reasoning it has taken so long since their last communication. Apparently, regions where the energy beings used Maylyde-di’s energy as weapons and as a power source have been changing which have members of the peace agreement busy investigating. They also wanted to congratulate the newly weds on their union and give Josh his Native name. Once all this has been taken care of, the council ends their communication.

                Some time later the Atounics arrive at Valhalla even though there are individuals inside who have never heard of them. The members of the peace agreement have decided to release from his word and let the people of Terra-Sol know most everything including that the MacMurchaids and the newlywed Stokers are now considered ambassadors for Terra-Sol in the Milk Way Galaxy. After the announcement the Atounics depart from Valhalla. The extended family members are somewhat dumbfounded and reeling about this announcement. An explanation covering much of things related to the announcement and before. Robert even has to explain thing to the three planetary councils.

                Once things return to what was going on before the announcement, a report comes in about a major earthquake has happened on earth at New Tanis, Egypt. Robert knowing what needs to be done has everyone in Valhalla contact the VVL members and any friends to join those in Valhalla at New Tanis. The teams divide to find survivors and begin to provide medical assistance, while other teams do a search and rescue for survivors and recover those killed. Once the earth council team takes over with their teams, the VVL are told to leave. This gives Robert a chance to find the reason for the earthquake. What is found is upsetting, but Robert decides that even if they don’t have all the answers yet, he must organize a solar system wide team to help rebuild much of New Tanis especially the homes of the people who live there.

                After things settled down it is now time for Troy, Nicole, and Josh to join Kris and Tony as crew members on the TMJO and begin their next steps in their young adult lives. After the ceremony, the adult MacMurchaids and Stokers along with the Murchisons return to their home. They know their homes will seem quiet after everything the families have been through.