Vorion Rojas

This is an excerpt from the book I am writing. This conversation was planned 20 years ago when I started the book, but I only wrote it earlier this year, as the story was on the backburner from 2003 to 2023 and again from March 2024 until now. I truly am a futurist, but I finish my books far too late. :/

Evan was in his bed, looking out the window of his Montreal apartment at a tree that was in front of his window. It was bare and depressing, as trees look in winter. Outside it was a very cold day, and a layer of frost covered the glass.

“It’s 7:30 AM, Evan. The time you usually get up.”

“I know. December fifteen. It has been two months since I, or we rather, have been discharged from the hospital. We have a follow-up next week.”

“It’s great that you’ve been able to live off the Life Improvement Choice fund that I set up and Universal Basic Income, but don’t you think it’s time to get a job or do something productive? You’re old, Evan, but not that old. You’re still chronologically under sixty. Besides, don’t you find this apartment depressing?”

“Computer, make coffee, and turn on the news,” Evan said.

A female, synthesized voice replied, “Coffee with milk, three cups. Please state news channel or source and topic.”

“Yes, coffee with a little milk. Just a little. Reuters, international news,” Evan said.

“Acknowledged,” the voice replied. A holographic video of the news appeared in the living room in front of the couch. Evan could hear explosions in the background, talk of a ceasefire, and a report mentioning terrorism, and Gaza.

“War in the Middle East again? A hundred and fifty years after my death, and the Israelis and Palestinians are still at each other’s throats. Unbelievable,” Evan said.

“Oh yes. About two years after you were put into cryo, the Israeli government dropped a small nuke on Gaza.”

“What!?” Evan exclaimed loudly.

“Yes, about 21 Kilotons, and no need to shout. I’m in your head, remember?”

“Twenty-one? That’s the same as the Fat Man dropped on Nagasaki. They must have dialed it down quite a bit.”

“Yes, it was an atomic bomb, not a hydrogen bomb. They justified it to the United Nations as a ‘small’ tactical nuke. Even then, there was quite a bit of fallout. Thousands of Israelis died from radiation sickness. The loss of Palestinian lives was absolutely catastrophic, and the world teetered on the edge of nuclear war because of it. The only thing that prevented full retaliation from the Arab nations was that the UN, and even the US, condemned its use. There was a major intervention by world powers to prevent the war from spreading. The world took a stance for once, and they made it clear that Israel’s use of nuclear weapons was unacceptable. In their defense, there was a massive terrorist act which precipitated it.”

“Massive enough to merit dropping a nuke on one of the most densely populated areas on Earth?”

“If you look at the fallout, no, probably not, but how does a government react to a dirty bomb?”

“Dear God. A close second to a nuke.”

“That’s how they saw it.”

“Dropping 21 kilotons, however, sounds like an attempt at genocide that backfired.”

“Many called it that, yes.”

“Some things never change. Old animosities don't usually die, but people always do.”

There was a long pause after Evan spoke. It was as if those specific words had made an impression on Jeffrey, who went silent to ponder their meaning and depth.

Evan turned and put his feet on the floor to get out of bed. He felt that the tiles were much colder than the air in the room, and put his slippers on. He put on his house coat, smelled the fresh coffee in the air, and ran his fingers through his short hair. It was a little sticky and standing on end. He walked into the living room and took his coffee over to the couch to watch the news.

“Getting back to you, Jeffrey—oh, permissions to use my visual senses enabled—“

“—Enable smell, taste, and hearing as well, please, Evan.”

“Hearing for the news, I understand, but why the smell and taste?”

“You’ve been drinking coffee since the day we got re-acquainted at the hospital and it makes me envious. I’d love to smell some fresh brew and have a taste of yours.”

“Fine then, fair enough. Sight, hearing, taste, and smell enabled.”

Evan took a big gulp of his coffee, knowing Jeffrey might not like it.

“Oh God, that’s horrible! It smells great, but without sugar, it just tastes like sh*t.”

“Taste disabled. Problem solved! Fark off and have a nice day while I enjoy my coffee, Jeffrey.”

www.vorionrojas.com
www.linktr.ee/vorionrojas

Once again, I have made my first novel NAVAN-19: We are One, the Kindle version as a free download for 5 days. It's totally free and downloading it will help the algorithm. I have also lowered the paperback price. Sorry! Amazon does not allow me to lower the price further or make it free.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CK7BS9N7?tag=booklinkerdisabled-20&th=1&psc=1&geniuslink=true

This is my very first novel. It was a partial memoir, and a catharsis for a troubled period in my recent past, so please be kind and understand that this is only my first book; a trial run. It was practice and a learning process.

I am nearly finished with my second novel, Fourteen Light-Years to Paradise which is purely fictional, and no memoir aspects.

More info is available on my author website at www.vorionrojas.com, or at www.linktr.ee/vorionrojas

vorionrojas | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree View vorionrojas’s Linktree. Listen to their music on YouTube, Spotify here.

I have to say, this meme was absolutely NOT what I had in mind when I made the title for my first book, NAVAN-19 We are One.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CK7BS9N7?th=1&psc=1&geniuslink=true

My first novel, NAVAN-19: We Are One is available for free dowmload on Kindle until the end of today, May 18.

Downloading it will help my sales algorithm. It's totally free.

Navan-19 We are One: Fire, Obsession and Dislove Miguel is an ordinary man tormented by obsession over a mysterious woman; a lost love from another world. He must work through his obsession and make it end or go insane. His former lover has gone with few traces and left him scarred both emotionally and psychologically. Meanwhile, a deadly virus...

My previous novel, NAVAN-19: Fire, Obsession and Dislove (https://mybook.to/NAVAN-19) was 60% memoir, placed in a sci-fi setting. I wrote it because I had a personal story I needed to tell. Being my first novel, and rather unconventional for the reason I just mentioned, it was perhaps written more for the sake of art therapy than for popularity.

My current work is based on a few chapters I started more than twenty years ago. It too, is also based on real people but is in no way a memoir. The events are 99% fictional in a somewhat dystopian future. I've mentioned the general plot to a number of people who seem to find it a fascinating concept.

The title, Fourteen Light-Years to Paradise, remains tentative.

Here is a temporary first attempt at a book description for my current work:

In Fourteen Light-Years to Paradise, Evan's awakening after more than a century in cryogenic stasis unveils a future shaped by engrams and psionic powers. His estranged son, Jeffrey, now an engram within him, becomes a beacon in the storm of Generation Forward's (AKA The Crimson Reapers) fanatical agenda. The Divine Guide, a mysterious cloaked figure leading the cult, propels Evan and Jeffrey on a journey to the celestial haven of Planet Paradiso. As they navigate the dangers of telepathy, astral, and emotional projection, a personal vendetta propels them into a psionic showdown against a force determined to kill them both.

I want to thank those who supported me by purchasing my first book, NAVAN-19: We are One
http://mybook.to/NAVAN-19

For those who have read my first novel, here is a playlist that contains the songs both directly and indirectly mentioned in the book, as well as the movie theme songs and bits of the soundtracks, here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1fjY3H1GvQzw3go2ZQsVMG?si=6f7e82e1b2f04319

In addition, I have compiled a Youtube playlist for the trailers of all the movies referred to in the story, here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgrl7QeATi18x_cMz2Zy7e46V8xhx1UFY&si=8pHczpTu5eHo39QP

NAVAN-19: We are One Movie List Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

Here I am, writing in my favourite café.