The Theme

The Trilogy

Cyberwizard Productions

1. A New Birth of Freedom: The Visitor [Line editing in progress - due out soon! ]

2. A New Birth of Freedom: The Translator [Being written as we speak]

3. A New Birth of Freedom: The Reconstructor [Being thought out]

All three are in the mixed genre of "speculative fiction." My particular concoction is comprised of alternate history, science fiction, time travel and first contact. [There's no name for this beast!]

COMING SOON TO A BOOKSTORE IN A GALAXY (not too) FAR FAR AWAY [the first in the series]

The cover suggests something about the story. It's adapted from an Alexander Gardner photo taken after the Battle of Antietam.

Click on this somewhat odd picture below -- to see where a lot of the action takes place.

It has taken centuries to recognize that all humans possess certain unalienable rights. There will come a time when we have to consider whether others deserve those rights as well.

That time will come on July 3rd, 1863.

The Four Opening Paragraphs

SECTION ONE

The Visitations

(March 20, 1849)

The passengers boarding the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad coach that morning struggled to drag their various articles of luggage through the narrow passageways into the coaches, puffing clouds of white breath in the chilly air. Some gave up and engaged the services of the few railroad company porters who were available to make their task easier. Most of the passengers this morning were families, all trying to manage both their possessions and children with varying degrees of success. Screams of excitement came from seven or eight children chasing each other around the piles of luggage, making their numbers seem much larger.

The chill in Washington City was unexpected, since it was, in fact, the exact day of the vernal equinox. Winter was supposed to be finished, yet it lingered. Edwin Blair, however, anticipated the chill. Having done the research, he gave it little notice.

Aside from surveying the antics of the overly rambunctious children, Blair carefully observed a tall, gangly man with unruly black hair, looking to be in his late thirties, as he wordlessly signaled for help from two of the many non-company, “colored” men sitting about. Blair felt strange engaging this atavistic term in his thoughts, but he was trying to reorient his thinking so he could more easily adjust his speech patterns to the time. Freedmen for the most part, these “coloreds,” were eager to assist the passengers in the hopes of earning a gratuity. No sooner had the tall passenger arched his brow questioningly, accompanied by a sweeping gesture toward his several well-worn bags, than the two men leapt into action. He was returning to his adopted home after a two-year stint in the capital, and despite his obvious strength and being over six feet in stature to boot, he still needed assistance. For him, it would be a journey of twelve days on three railroads, a stagecoach, two carriages, a river steamer through the city of St. Louis, and then finally, to Springfield, Illinois.

Walking several paces behind the tall man and about the same age, Edwin Blair sported a newly grown blonde, well-trimmed beard and carried no heavy baggage. He boarded several discreet moments afterwards, and on his way caught the eye of virtually everyone he passed. He required no porter to carry the shiny metallic valise he held guardedly by his right side. Its surface was so perfectly polished that it seemed to be more mirrored glass than metal, a quality that escaped no one’s attention. In his left hand, he held nothing, yet he clenched it so tightly that his nails dug painfully into his flesh. His black leather jacket flapped opened in the cool breeze to reveal a black cable-knit pullover sweater as he quickened his pace. This, together with his dark blue denim trousers, his shoes made of indeterminate material and his gleaming valise, were the source of near universal curiosity. Overtly gawking, several of the young children skipping along beside him pointed to Blair and laughed at the sight. Their parents offered barely hushed admonitions, “Behave yourselves! You know you mustn’t stare at strangers. It simply is not polite.” Yet they, to a person, failed to follow their own advice.