Elevator ride to the Moon and Mars. -- Go everywhere. See everything. -- But only if they let you. --- "If wishes grew to lightning strikes and if crying out was heard by gods, if shadow boxing pounded the enemy and if hope brought victory, then despair would have purpose and life be worth living. False promises steal away faith. Betrayal demands vengeance. Death ends love. Ridiculed and discarded, I'm a slave who has been dismissed. I've now retreated and am ignored. But while hidden in darkness my spirit has risen above their hurts, threats, and abuse and now I'm prepared to swing the final stroke. After smoke burns eyes of those horrible people who lived by fire, I'll watch them gasp their last while crying for mercy. And me, judge and executioner, will die, too, so that nothing remains. And all is ended." --- Defeated Americans suffer as slaves in a Chinese communist paradise. A glimmer of hope suddenly transforms into realized independence. But now, as a nation of engineers, they feel uncomfortable reverting to self-indulging freedom as depicted in historical movies. Instead, they analyze mistakes made by us today, in the 2020's of the First Age, to figure out what they need to do to not again become conquered, because it's fresh in their minds that every generation rightfully believes they live at a critical cultural decision point after which, if they fail, the world irreversibly degenerates into terror, pain, and genocide. ---- 300 years in the future, chief engineer Jeff helps ANSA spokesperson and track and field star Julia fend off unwanted advances from her superior Leonid. Julia is kidnapped and taken to Mars. In this futuristic world, Jeff and Julia are slaves because America had long-ago been conquered. Using technology, slaves are completely monitored. Worse, evolving technology threatens to completely control each person. Julia has experienced the rough evil of slavery but maintains a positive attitude that inspires people around her. ---- I wrote the story striving to make every page exciting with regard to emotions and action, and also with regard to visualizing technological advancements that researchers today are diligently trying to make real. Magic and physics-defying-impossibilities that many other sci-fi stories typically include were not permitted. And that meant the story could get serious about deep questions concerning humankind's role in the galaxy and what it will take to transition people beyond terrestrial limitations. I enjoy reading and re-reading this story, and I think most people will, too. And, no, there isn't any math in it even though my previous two books were full of equations. Paul C Daiber \\//,