Eta Carinae~a novella
Eta Carinae is a tale of dreaming, myth, and star studded night skies, deeper realities which manage to intrude upon the more mundane existence of every day work, interpersonal relations and politics.
Click below to hear an introduction to the audio version. The evocative music is composed and sequenced by Jonathan Deon. The full audio version of the novella is free to anyone who buys the e-book. Send me an email request at author@briandeon.com and enjoy 'heaps' of good karma!
Click below to hear an introduction to the audio version. The evocative music is composed and sequenced by Jonathan Deon. The full audio version of the novella is free to anyone who buys the e-book. Send me an email request at author@briandeon.com and enjoy 'heaps' of good karma!
Eta Carinae is now available from Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble and Vagabondage Press. Take your pick!
The story starts in the middle of the Australian outback. There Billy, an aboriginal elder, has been waiting for an event of great cultural and astronomical importance. Somehow, he has been given the foreknowledge that the star, Eta Carinae, is about to brighten dramatically.
James Cook—not the famous mariner, but a lower-rung Australian bureaucrat—has been sent to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) to sort things out. Only he knows nothing about the star. He thinks he’s there to mediate in a labour dispute, to convince the local aboriginals to re-open the airport and the park. James himself is aboriginal, but, to a large extent has lost touch with his roots, and dreads the task he been sent to perform.
Fortunately, once he arrives in Uluru, James immediately meets up with Pam, an anthropologist. She introduces him to Billy who, oddly, seems to have been expecting both of them. The three of them head off on a walkabout, the purpose of which only gradually becomes clear to James.
Meanwhile, a great throng of astronomers has gathered at the Mt. Stromlo observatory to devour the delicious data coming from what they believe is the supernova of the century. Astronomers Felix and Frank feel superfluous among the crowd. On a whim, they decide to charter a small plane and fly to Uluru. In search of this “Billy person” who, rumour has it, seems to have had some foreknowledge of the event. They will become “astro-historians”, Felix asserts. “You can be Inspector Poirot and I'll be Miss Marple!"
Finally, the screws have been put to James’s boss, the Minister for Parks and Aboriginal Affairs, Patrick Mahoney. He is forced to interrupt his holiday and make a hasty trip to Uluru himself. Why the delay in labour negotiations, he asks himself? And what, in God’s name, is James Cook up to?
Before long, James, Pam, Patrick, Felix, Billy, and a host of aboriginals, make one final trek to the foot of Uluru to learn the true significance of Eta Carinae.
James Cook—not the famous mariner, but a lower-rung Australian bureaucrat—has been sent to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) to sort things out. Only he knows nothing about the star. He thinks he’s there to mediate in a labour dispute, to convince the local aboriginals to re-open the airport and the park. James himself is aboriginal, but, to a large extent has lost touch with his roots, and dreads the task he been sent to perform.
Fortunately, once he arrives in Uluru, James immediately meets up with Pam, an anthropologist. She introduces him to Billy who, oddly, seems to have been expecting both of them. The three of them head off on a walkabout, the purpose of which only gradually becomes clear to James.
Meanwhile, a great throng of astronomers has gathered at the Mt. Stromlo observatory to devour the delicious data coming from what they believe is the supernova of the century. Astronomers Felix and Frank feel superfluous among the crowd. On a whim, they decide to charter a small plane and fly to Uluru. In search of this “Billy person” who, rumour has it, seems to have had some foreknowledge of the event. They will become “astro-historians”, Felix asserts. “You can be Inspector Poirot and I'll be Miss Marple!"
Finally, the screws have been put to James’s boss, the Minister for Parks and Aboriginal Affairs, Patrick Mahoney. He is forced to interrupt his holiday and make a hasty trip to Uluru himself. Why the delay in labour negotiations, he asks himself? And what, in God’s name, is James Cook up to?
Before long, James, Pam, Patrick, Felix, Billy, and a host of aboriginals, make one final trek to the foot of Uluru to learn the true significance of Eta Carinae.
And below is the leading character in the story, the Eta Carinae Nebula:
