"All Lies": New Europa, #1.5

By N Joseph Glass

Colony's Dawn opens the New Europa Series with a colony plagued by conspiracy theories and social unrest. These escalated to sabotage, placing the lives of fifty thousand residents in jeopardy.

 

"All Lies" is the side-story of the group of truth seekers trying to end the lies and move their colony forward toward presumably withheld freedoms. Not all in this misfit-membered group have the same goals, however.

 

In this novella we learn how 'Boss' assembled this team and started them on their course while stifling their progression toward becoming more than an annoyance as he tried to uncover their true scope and aims to protect his colony.

• Language: English
• Publisher: N Joseph Glass
• Release date: Sep 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223241782

N Joseph Glass

An Italian American born in New York and living in Milan, Italy. As a sci-fi fan I enjoy interesting stories that fire the imagination. I love the genres of science-fiction, action/adventure, and thrillers. I lose myself reading compelling novels and have taken inspiration to create characters and expound my own stories from being captivated by reading series such as Foundation, Dune, and The Expanse.  My journey to creative writing just happened. As ideas found their way into my mind, I began visualizing scenes and the people in them. As my imagination added detail and depth, I put my fingers to my keyboard and started writing. Creativity became a cherished hobby at first.  Optimistic views of the future through art always interest me as I believe ours will be a bright one.

Book preview

Introduction

At the foundation of the conspiracies that wrought sabotage and destruction through the colony of New Europa we found a small band of disgruntled residents trying to make a difference. They wanted to expose the lies, stop colonial administration from dictating the lives of every citizen.

Raffaella discovered this group, accepted their invitation to join as an observer to their musings, nothing more, until she learned their true intentions. Only when Gift infiltrated their number did she and Raff discover the heart of this band of misfits made up of disillusioned loyalists hoping to better the lives of themselves and their neighbors.

This is the story of how those people came together, the challenges they faced, and how their initial role as conspiracy theorists and activists, along with Gift’s tenacity for the ‘good of the colony’ mantra, prepared them to help save their beloved colony.

One: Heller

Margaret Heller had a busy day running the colony. Recent days took her away more hours than her flimsy excuses to her coworkers justified. Back at her desk in Resident Services Oversight her one-time best friend Gloria—good friend now, at best—shot her a playful wink. While the woman had kept her mouth shut all these years, Margaret never relinquished that twinge of doubt Gloria would have a slip of tongue, revealing her role on the Board of Directors.

Not even an hour of work had passed at her job, her full-time position working for the good of the colony, when her handheld summoned her back to the Boardroom. She knew the tone all too well and didn’t have to look at the device’s screen. Before she had been promoted to Department Head, breaking away from work for Board business had been more difficult. Of course, she hadn’t been called away quite as frequently as in these last few weeks.

Two floors up from her office, the lift ride took little more than seconds before the ding announced her arrival and the doors split apart. The large open space with trees and a host of inviting sofa chairs filled her view as her pupils adjusted to the increase of light. Rarely did she find the room so empty, with but one fellow Board member awaiting her arrival. Frank Bauer. Margaret found him a bit on the grumpy side for her liking, but she didn’t need to be his friend and he showed no signs of wanting such a relationship either.

She sighed on approach. Hello Frank. What is it now?

Margaret, sit. They each took a comfy sofa chair. Remember those stirrings we talked about?

You mean when we met about an hour and a half ago? Yes, I remember. She crossed her legs and brushed a lock of silver hair behind her ear. You have something new already?

Yes. We were right to be concerned. I’ve pored over some camera footage and seen some covert meetings and even heard some audio records that are most troubling. Frank pulled the flesh of his cheek with a thumb, widening one eye.

More conspiracy theories?

Yes. These are getting more serious, people talking about taking action. I think we’re seeing the seeds of social unrest here. Margaret, this can only get bad.

There have been people talking like this since before you and I were born, likely since we entered the colony. Most of the people discard the few conspiracy theorists as crackpots. I don’t thin—

"No. This is different. Frank stood and paced around his chair. They’re calling for action, talking of sabotage. And, while a small group, they seem to be gaining support."

What kind of support are we talking?

I’ve got no idea. But I think it may be substantial.

"You mean a lot of people are falling for this mal’d nonsense?"

We need to stop this, fast. If it keeps going it’ll get out of hand. We’re not equipped to handle anything like what may be coming from this.

"We’re not supposed to. We meet... I chair meetings every few months at most, at least,