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Michael Bjork

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Final Frontier

- A 24,000 word novella (twelve chapters, plus epilogue)

Hal Garland is the ace pilot of the illustrious Space Academy. Topping class rankings, breaking academy records, and earning the love of a woman whose ambitions match his own, his future is secure. Then one day in his senior year, an accident leaves him crippled, and Hal's days of space exploration are prematurely ended.

Months after the accident, Hal spends his days locked away in his apartment, living off reparation money and drowning himself in alcohol. He's given up hope. But when a strange smell drives him to search his neighbor's apartment, he discovers something extraordinary: a hidden computer, in which lies an entire planet unknown to mankind. And Hal is the only one capable of exploring it.

Final Frontier - Chapter 1            Hal rolled his wheelchair onto the apartment balcony with a cold six-pack of Star Draught on his lap. He tore a can from the plastic webbing, cracked it open, and took a swig. His eyes turned to the sky.
            The sun was set, but it glowed orange across the western horizon. From there, the sky drifted to purple, then black, with the occasional twinkle of distant stars and worlds left unseen: a dome of astronomical mystery, he’d always considered it, a realm of infinite discovery.
            A grimace quirked Hal’s mouth, and he drained the rest of his beer. Grabbed another. It’ll start soon, he thought. The departure ceremony for Academy graduates.
            He wasn’t the only one out on his balcony that night. It was an annFinal Frontier - Chapter 1

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Final Frontier - Chapter 2            Lucky for Hal, Jackson’s kind were few. A week went by and not a single visitor showed up trying to tell him what was wrong with his life. It was just Hal, his wheelchair, and the bottle.
            Thank God.
            He supposed there were others who wanted to come and say something. His parents, probably, but they were on the other side of the country, too far away to attempt a visit at their leisure; the same for his friends now orbiting earth. There may be a professor or two at the Academy worried about him, but then again, Hal had a feeling they were only his mentors as long as he had potential, something he was currently lacking. Jackson, on the other hand, had an excess. Hal had few doubts his brother was already filling the empty niche of Academy ace.
      Final Frontier - Chapter 2

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Final Frontier - Chapter 3 The only time Hal had ever seen Morris was when the guy moved in. It was a few months before the Academy balcony accident, and Hal had been in a good mood, so he’d helped Morris carry a few things up. A swivel chair, a desk, a couch, and towards the end, they brought up a series of weighty boxes. As Hal set the last one down, he asked what they were. Morris had looked up from cleaning his glasses; his face was plain, unremarkable, but he'd shaven his head clean to the scalp. He’d said, simply, “Computer stuff.” When they finished, Hal was given a light beer and a curt, “Thanks.”
After that, Morris holed himself up in the apartment, and if he ever left, Hal never saw. He rarely had visitors, and those that came were either businessman-types or delivery boys with groceries. No other traffic passed through MorrisFinal Frontier - Chapter 3

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