Giddeon (Silver Strand Series) Read Online Free PDF

all over the house (not in our bedroom or bathroom, of course) to record her every move.   Like a reality show just for me.  
     
    I suppose the movie theatre of the future beat me to it.   I wondered if they were still using my eyes to take it all in… or Giddy’s eyes… or for that matter, the cats’?
     
    Melody looked up, almost as if she was reading my thoughts, and smiled.  
     
    I’m a lucky man.
     

     
    *****
     

Chapter 13
     

     
    Have you ever heard of the Butterfly Effect?
     
      It doesn’t just apply to the atmosphere, you know?   Little things can have big effects over time out in the deep of space, too.   Do you remember the anti-satellite tests they had a while back?   The U.S. and Russia and China ?   We took turns blowing targets out of orbit.   The rationale for all of that destruction was that in the event of war, one country would be able to disable another’s orbiting eyes. Some feared that such tactics could be used prior to a pre-emptive strike, which resulted in even more tests.   And, the tests we heard about weren’t the first… all three countries had all been at it in one form or another for quite some time… that’s one reason why there’s so much space junk in low earth orbit.
     
    But not all of the nuts and bolts and pieces and parts stayed in close orbit.   Some made their way out near the edge of our planet’s gravitational field.   You wouldn’t think that would be a problem in the vastness of space, but one of those little scraps of metal happened to ricochet off of a passing meteor years ago.   That meteor was in an elliptical orbit around our sun, and the tiny nudge was enough of an event so that the second object just happened to strike another small meteor a few years later.   That rock eventually impacted a large asteroid dead center in a game of cosmic billiards. The lump of nickel and minerals was travelling at such a high rate of speed that it buried itself deep into the cortex of the porous traveler.   A huge pocket of ice then had an opening to the surface, and when the gigantic, dark object turned in its natural rotation toward the sun, steam shot from the vent and changed its trajectory over a period of weeks until, finally, all of the ice was expended.
     
    The odds against that sequence of events was astronomical, but lotteries are won every day… it works both ways, you know?   Both positive and negative. The steam put the projected track of the large asteroid onto a collision course with our planet.
     
    Giddeon looked into the camera, using Greg’s eyes.   The therapist had seen this video five times, before, but for some reason felt compelled to watch it a sixth time.
     
    Some might call this an unintended consequence of those tests so many years ago, but I wonder about that.   I wonder if we brought this upon ourselves?   Maybe the Butterfly Effect just multiplies energy, and in this case, it was negative energy.   The amplified intent of our warlike nature might be coming back on us like malevolent ripples in a pond.
     
    Karma in the form of an asteroid.
     

     
    *****
     

Chapter 14
     

     
    Later that night, Melody stayed in the other bed until Giddy was fast asleep.   Then, she came over to our queen-sized bed for a visit.   She snuggled in close and I wrapped my arms around her; after that she kissed me on the neck.
     
    “Happy anniversary,” she whispered.
     
    “Happy anniversary to you, too.”   I kissed her lightly on the lips.   I’m sure I smelled of seafood… she still smelled like lemons and mango.
     
    Melody sighed as she settled in.   “Do you think Dr. Ho will find it?”
     
    “I’m sure he will.   Giddeon was pretty specific with his coordinates.”
     
    Silence took over for a few moments.   Then,
     
    “It’s just so scary… I hope we’re not too late...”
     
    That thought had been on my mind, too.   I had wasted nearly a month by not understanding Giddeon’s signals.   I should