LLC
First Printing: March 2020
Printed in the United States of America
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental. The authors and publisher shall not be liable for any misuse of the material in this book. This book is strictly for informational, educational and entertainment purposes only. The author and/or publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to anyone with respect to any loss or damage howsoever caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book. Address all inquiries to: Twin Flame Productions LLC, 70 SW Century Drive Suite 100-162, Bend, OR 97702
In loving memory
To my parents and my husband
And for the love of nature they instilled.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to
Holly Lisle for a class on reviewing novels
Aingeal Rose & Ahonu for welcoming and publishing the Zerera novels
And Craig, Marge, Bill, Deb, and Roz for support
Thank you Spirit
Praise for The Record She Left Behind: I Dream Therefore I Am
“Skillful world building filled with fully developed, interesting characters you want to know such as Zerera and her friends and crewmates. You see and feel the wondrous petal dance and the possibility of an Earth filled with the healing, often challenging, Exotica trees. These trees make their thoughts known and share humor and adventure with Earthlings.”
—Rosalind Heck
“I found this a thought-provoking experience of what could be, should two advanced life forms meet for a common goal. Some of them being survivors of our own planet’s demise. The others from a different galaxy, here to help and learn from the recovery of Earth. I enjoyed what I read, can’t wait for the movie . . .”
—Lazy Ter
“I have read science fiction since I was a young boy. The Record She Left Behind satisfies my curiosity and imagination about aliens, science-wonders, and “what-ifs.” Telling the story from the aliens' perspective is another aspect that makes this a great read.”
—Francis Schmidt
“I read and find my mind going to this ship and seeing it in my mind and seeing the picture you are painting, the dancing, the trees moving ... it's beautifully written for the mind’s eye.”
—Barbara Ruggeri
“The story line was fun and interesting while moving at a nice pace.”
—Marge Anderson
Prelude ix
Visions—Earth Time January 1, 2033 1
Interludes With Zer & Leon 11
Breaking Taboo 29
A Couple Of Strange Encounters 45
Journals & Hate Storms 56
On The Isle With Ian 60
A Woman Who Knows Fogland 76
Daga & The Hoovers 83
Karen’s Interpretation 87
Tangled Meetings In The Superstitions 94
Baffling Hoovers 101
Karen’s Desert Dilemma 114
Rafting To Prescott 119
The Crux Of Siblings & The State of Prescott 133
The Scoop On Alien Concerns & Revelations 145
Karen’s Contract 152
The Splendor Of Juvenile Exotica—June 8 154
Flights Of Fancy & Swamp Thoughts 162
Tricky Word Problems 167
In The Manner Of Beasties 174
Faithful Bonds 180
About The Author 200
Darkness swallowed the starship on the far edge of Andromeda, leaving Zerera’s home far behind. There was no turning back.
* * *
When the starship reached low-Earth orbit, Zer headed for the biolab. The doors hissed open before she touched them. “Leon?” The retractable membrane slid over his golden eyes, rendering him impersonal. Warning her.
“What are these?” He stepped aside to expose a 15-centimeter high trio of Exotica seedlings.
She’d thought them well hidden. “Ambassadors of good will and rapport with Earthlings.”
“Ambassadors of hallucination. Taboo, Zerera.”
“What did you expect? We were bred for each other.” They’d raised her.
He walked away—and divided her loyalty.
Karen woke in the night in her cave in Mount Lemmon and saw a pearly white face with large whitish eyes and baby-sized nose floating above her. Another lousy, baldheaded alien. Female. A quirky smile exuded ineffable sweetness. “Liar.” Karen hurled a cup of water at the vision.
Backwash splattered her pile of sleeping bags and disturbed the tarantula, whispering across rocks in its corner under the fake palm leaf. Aliens upset everybody. Karen had been dreaming of ETs since the flash floods in the valley—since she’d returned to the cave.
The face mouthed a name, Zerera.
