Swallowed by Time

Darrell G. Coley

Description

This science fiction novel follows four men who form a mind trust that becomes known as MOAB Technologies, and two years later they gain the ability to travel through time.
What if humans could find a way to travel through time? And if so, might these interactions in past events be the catalysts that prompted some of those unexplained historical events? Using accepted historical facts, Swallowed by Time weaves the lives of its characters like living threads into the tapestry of the past to provide possible answers to these questions.
Author Darrell G. Coley details an engineering team’s quest to develop a stealth technology that results in an unintended voyage through time. It introduces alternate events into history without changing its outcome. Swallowed by Time also addresses many real personal and spiritual fears, doubts, and struggles that people of faith encounter daily.
In this novel, the team’s leader, Lee Michaels, struggles to overcome his feelings of inadequacy that cause him to ask, “Who am I that God would choose me for such a task?” Additionally, Lee finds himself in a budding romantic relationship and faces the struggles of how to stay faithful to his Christian values. Swallowed by Time details how he and the other team members overcome each challenge that presents itself and become able to fulfill the calling God has placed on their lives.

Sujets

• Science Fiction
• Historical
• Time travel
• Christian
• Fiction
• Science

Informations

• Publié par: LifeRich Publishing
• Date de parution: 23 février 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781489746085
• Langue: English

Extrait

SWALLOWED BY TIME
 
THE JOURNEY BEGINS: BOOK ONE
 
 
 
 
DARRELL G. COLEY
 
 
 

 
 
Copyright © 2023 Darrell G. Coley.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
LifeRich Publishing is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.
 
 
LifeRich Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.liferichpublishing.com
844-686-9607
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
 
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4606-1 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4607-8 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4608-5 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023900202
 
 
 
LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 02/22/2023
CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Appendix A
Appendix B
About the Author
I dedicate this book to Pamela, my wife of fifty-two years, whose love, patience, and encouragement enabled me to imagine and write this story.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Don’t boast about tomorrow, for you don’t know what a day might bring.”
A quote from King Solomon’s book of wisdom,
Proverbs 27:1
FOREWORD
Rare is it when an accomplished artist, skilled in the use of paints and oils, turns his talents of pictures to the written word. History itself records how rare the feat is but how refreshing it is when it occurs.
Such is the case with Darrell Coley with SWALLOWED BY TIME as precise words are used to paint the images before us. It is as if we were there listening to the conversations and seeing the events transpire right before our eyes.
This adventure allows us to witness the exciting adventures of a diverse set of characters as they work together as a team to respond to the challenges before them. The fast-paced action lends itself to a fun read while also respecting the science written for such an adventure – one written by an aeronautical engineer – using a language anyone can follow.
I highly recommend this book and the adventure it provides as we benefit from the rare and unique perspective of an artist skilled both in oils and words.
Jay Ratliff
President, Day Trade Fun
Stock/Aviation Analyst
INTRODUCTION
It has been said that mankind is only a sojourner on a vast temporal landscape. A sojourner in a landscape as vast as space and as unbounded as our imagination. So infinite is this temporal landscape, that it has eluded our understanding since creation. But as vast as it may be, what if this temporal landscape, which we call time, is only just that? A landscape over which we’re gliding across. And suppose time as we experience it and know it, was a flowing plane upon which we are fixed while it is unyieldingly counting itself off (second by second) in direct relation as we hurl through the immense reaches of space (inch by inch). If this was true, it would mean that time does not exist within, or depend on the actions and events of our lives. On the contrary, it stands alone, and we exist within it. We experience each inch of its landscape with each moment of our lives. And we are involuntarily committed to moving forward with time, just as we experience involuntary reactions within our bodies (breathing, heartbeat, etc.). We look backward in our memory at the landscape already covered, and forward as through a dark veil. Our reality is the moment, the immediate landscape that we can see, and changes only as we move forward to occupy a different point of observation. Our yesterdays are space-time which we have traveled over and left behind. Our tomorrows are the space-time before us which is yet to be experienced.
If this can be accepted as true, then it would stand to reason that if we could find a way in which we could break free of the unseen forces that propel us forward, it would then be possible to change our course and move freely through this temporal landscape. We could move forward, backward, or even laterally, thus changing the time of our points of observation and even the circumstances by which we observe. In essence, we could travel through time.
In this tale, four men come together to form a mind truss that would later become known as MOAB Technologies. Two years later they may very well have achieved the greatest accomplishment ever undertaken in the history of mankind:
THEY TRAVEL THROUGH TIME!
1

“The Lord said, ‘If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible...’”
Genesis 11:6
THE TIME WAS 7:30 P.M. AND OUTSIDE IT WAS A COLD, DARK, overcast November night. There was no doubt that it was going to rain. The mist was already falling heavily, as if to warn of the large storm front which was headed their way. Lee Michaels had just finished his dinner as he looked out the windows in the living room. This was the time of year it got dark so early, he could see that the streets were already wet, reflecting the lights from the other houses and the streetlights above. The weatherman had forecasted that the temperature would drop to below freezing before midnight. All of southwestern Ohio was officially under a snowstorm warning. Projections were that between six to eight inches of snow could fall by midnight. It was definitely one of those days when you find yourself trying to find an excuse to stay inside. He had to remind himself that he had moved back to the Midwest for the change of seasons and that he used to say he liked the snow. Opening the door to the garage he stepped out of the warmth of his house into the garage where his car was. It was a four-wheel drive four door Jeep. He started the vehicle, turned on the radio to his favorite Christian station, and hit the garage door opener.
The wind was blowing, and rain was falling as he pulled onto the empty street. Driving across town, he took Osborne Road, and he headed south toward Cowan Lake. The weather made it seem darker than usual and Lee almost missed his turn. Lee turned left and pulled up to the gate of a field located halfway between Cowan Lake and OH 730, and about four miles southwest of Wilmington, Ohio. Their workshop was right in the middle of a pasture where a local farmer grazed his cattle. In its past life it was a Nike missile magazine. Now empty, it had been converted to suit the needs of Lee and his partners. Harold Wadley, the old man that had bought the land years before from the government, back when the site was closed in the 70’s, had given them full run of the buildings and missile site. He only asked that they not disturb the cows and stay out of where he stored his tractor and hay. And of course, they had to stay clear of his prize bull Clarence. The price was right, so they eagerly agreed, and nicknamed the missile silo “The Bunker,” alluding to a small blast proof chamber inside.
The outside of the buildings looked like a wreck. The cement block structures were weather worn, paint peeling and mostly bare, and they were covered with vines. The metal roof was rusted and looked as though it would leak like a sieve. The windows were all intact, but the frames were rusted shut. The grounds were covered in tall weeds and low scrub type bushes. The road was still there that lead to the missile magazines, but it was rough and pitted. All this was enclosed by an eight-foot chain-link fence with three rows of rusted barbed wire on top, which was left there by the military. In its past life, it had been a Nike Missile Defense base full of military personnel and kept in pristine conditions, but now it was more a nuisance to Harold.
That is until three lunatics talked him into renting it to them. Lee got out of the Jeep, opened the gate, and looked to make sure Harold’s cows weren’t too close. Driving through he could see the light shining from the entrance that went down into the missile magazine. He closed the gate behind him and pulled up to the entrance. It was cold outside, below freezing, and he hoped there would be some hot coffee waiting for him inside.
Once inside he found Chris Osborne and James Adaire arguing about something as they worked. Their two favorite subjects were religion and politics. This time it was religion and Chris was attempting to talk over James’ interruptions. His exaggerated hand gestures clearly expressed his frustration. “I’m just