“Human nature.”
I put my fork down. “Human nature?”
“That’s what they missed, the Titans. Nicholas said it to me a few times. It might have been the most honest thing he said to me. All the Titan Marvels, all their technology, they just sped up the world. But they didn’t solve our real problem: human nature. They didn’t make humanity kinder or more understanding. They didn’t make us more accepting. Didn’t inherently change what’s inside us. That’s the great challenge. That’s what they should have been working on. Not technology, or innovation, or construction projects. I think the great work left to do is about changing how we treat each other. That’s what’s been missing in my life, that kind of challenge. That’s why I was so unhappy.” He looks right in my eyes. “Well, half of it. That’s what I realized in 2147. Anyway, changing human nature—not building dams or new technology—that’s what I want to work on.”
“How?”
“I haven’t quite figured that out yet. Been thinking about it all day.”
My nerves have settled a bit, and I can’t resist having a bit of fun with him.
“I actually know of a technology that addresses human nature, nurtures understanding, enhances compassion—some of those very issues you cited, Mr. Stone.”
“Yeah?”
“It’s an ancient technology.”
“Ancient?”
“And incredibly powerful. It has the ability to instantly transport people—en masse, by the millions and billions at a time—to other worlds, where they learn from people strangely like them. They make revelations they carry back to their own lives. Learn skills. Gain inspiration to make change on a global scale.”
“Cost?” he asks, the start of a smile forming on his lips.
“Minimal. No infrastructure needed.”
“Sounds too good to be true.”
“Wrong. It’s already here.” I walk to my bookshelf, pull a paperback off. “Books.”
“Books?”
“That’s right.”
“I could get behind that,” he says, leaning back in the chair. “It’s an interesting idea: writing a book about what happened to us in 2147 and releasing it to give people something to think about. That’s a venture I wouldn’t mind investing in.”
“That . . . would be interesting.”
“And,” he says, “it could give you working capital—without selling or letting this cozy little flat.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Are you negotiating with me?”
He laughs out loud. “I am. This could be the best investment I’ve made in some time. But you know, we’d have to work closely on this. It would be half my story, half yours. You’d have to help me with my part.”
“I might be willing to do that.”
“Since we’d be working together so much, I would need to be close by. Say, next door.”
My jaw drops. “You didn’t.”
“‘Bloody foreign investors,’” he says, mimicking me.
I shake my head, embarrassed.
“I meant what I said this morning, Harper. I’m serious about seeing where things go with us. If you’re not ready, I’ll stay in San Francisco. But if you are, I’ll be next door. That wall doesn’t have to come down any time soon. Or ever, if you don’t want it to.”
I nod. I do want that wall to come down. At some point. I’m certain about that now. I know it came down in the other world, so it’s possible here.
I like possibilities. Used to hate them. Possibilities meant choices—decisions. But I’ve gotten a lot better at making decisions lately.
We talk about that, the book we’ll write together, and the future for a few hours, the fire crackling in the living room that’s littered with construction paper, drawings, and worn notebooks.
Through the tall windows, the first snow of winter is beginning to fall, and bundled-up people are hurrying home under the yellow glow of streetlamps.
When the dinner is half gone, we wrap up the leftovers, place them in the fridge for tomorrow, stoke the fire for the night, and head to the bedroom.
For the first time since I can remember, I’m not the least bit worried about the future.
The story continues!
Read the epilogue to Departure and browse extras at my web site:
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Author’s Note
Thank you for reading. I really hope you’ve enjoyed Departure.
This novel was challenging to write at times, perhaps because the story draws on some of my personal experiences (not the part in 2147, though). While The Atlantis Gene was about the origins of the human race, Departure is sort of about the origins of my writing career, or at least, why I chose to leave Internet start-ups and do something I felt passionate about.
It seems like the world around us gets faster every year. We’re knee-deep in new technologies, but I’m still scratching my head, wondering if we’re making the world better or just speeding it up. I guess time will tell. Maybe we’ll all be Titans someday. Or maybe we’re smart enough to avoid that fate altogether.
That’s what Departure is about to me: an exploration of where technology might take us, and the possible consequences. It’s the sort of cerebral, “what if?” story I enjoy reading and (most of the time) enjoy writing.
To me, the best stories are the ones that leave the reader better than they were. And the best of those nurture both our minds and our souls. I don’t know if my craft is quite there yet, but I’m working on it, and I truly appreciate you coming along for the journey.
Take care,
Gerry
Acknowledgments
I’m beginning to think it takes a village, not an author, to write a novel. This year, I’ve been very lucky to see my little village grow by leaps and bounds.
My wife, Anna, makes sure the trains run on time here at the Riddle household (and that we never miss our plane when we’re on the road). Without her, I would likely still be in a train station somewhere in Europe and you wouldn’t be reading this novel. And past that, my life wouldn’t be the same.
Professionally, I’m blessed to have some incredibly talented people working to get my books into readers’ hands. Gray Tan of Grayhawk Agency took a chance on me when I was a promising start-up author. A million copies later, he’s still selling my rights throughout Asia and doing an incredible job.
Danny Baror and Heather Baror-Shapiro represent me in Europe and the rest of the world with every bit as much passion and skill.
Between the two agencies, they’ve sold the Origin Mystery series in twenty territories and counting. I’ve been amazed, and I’m humbled to have Gray, Danny, and Heather representing me.
Departure’s journey into your hands is almost as incredible as Harper and Nick’s adventure, and in a way some time travel was involved. I originally self-published the novel in December of 2014. Miranda Ottewell was my outside editor and did a fantastic job (she’s edited novels by some of the world’s most beloved authors, including Mitch Albom, Elizabeth Gilbert, Daniel Silva, and Barbara Kingsolver; I was very happy she lowered her standards long enough to work with me). To my delight, Departure became a smash hit, selling over a quarter of a million copies in its first several months. 20th Century Fox secured the movie rights, and HarperVoyager, the science fiction imprint of HarperCollins, made a compelling offer to buy the publishing rights. It was a tough decision; I had never traditionally published and was very nervous—Departure was and is an incredibly personal and special novel to me. Giving up control of the things we love is hard. But I took the plunge, and the people at HarperVoyager have verified my decision at every turn. David Pomerico’s edits and suggestions helped take the story to the next level (which I didn’t think was possible). David’s work, together with Greg Villepique’s copy edits, made Departure my most polished novel to date and it’s the one I’m most proud of. I’m
incredibly grateful to Rebecca Lucash, Shawn Nicholls, and Pam Jaffee for their outstanding work making the Departure release happen in a major way—everything from PR, to advertising, to in-store placement. The entire HarperVoyager team is a well-oiled machine, and I was glad to be a small cog in that machine this year. Lastly, I need to say a special thanks to Liate Stehlik, the lady at the top of the Voyager food chain, for all her support and for making Departure’s re-release happen. Almost a year after I self-published the novel, it hit bookstores with new content, new edits, and better than ever. It was quite a journey.
And before I go, I need to thank some folks at the beginning of that journey: my alpha readers. In 2014, they once again saved the day with some invaluable catches and suggestions. I learn so much with every novel I write, and I truly appreciate all the time they put in. They are: Fran Mason, Carole Duebbert, Lisa Weinberg, and Michael Hattig.
My beta readers provided a source of encouragement and timely feedback right before the launch. They are: Lee Ames, Sue Arnett, Ivan Arrington, Laura Avramidis, Jeff Baker, Joshua Baker, Paula Barrett, Eris Barzman, Jen Bengtson, Tracy Big Pond, Ben Bird, Casey Boatman, Steve Boesen, Paul Bowen, Jacob Bulicek, Michael Camenisch, Stephanie Campbell, Emily Chin, Lianne Christian, Markel Coleman, Robin Collins, Heather Comerford, Jacky Cook, Frank Cowan, Ken Cuddeback, Terry Daigle, Sue Davis, Sylvie Delézay, Joe Devous, Kathy Dickinson, Adam Dorrell, Debbie Dowdy, Michelle Duff, Matt Egan, Christopher Eix, Maisha Elonai, Amanda Flies, Skip Folden, Kay Forbes, Ben Forrest, Holly Fournier, N. J. Fritz, Ben Fury, Matthew Fyfe, Brenda Gehrmann, Zachary Gershman, Kathy Gianneschi, Vicky Gibbins, Christine Girtain, Julie Godnik, Carl Gray, Julia Greenawalt, Mike Gullion, Chet Hale, Miora Hanson, Dustin Hermon, Aimee Hess, Matthias Hüls, Ted Hust, Mary Jakobowski, Paul Jamieson, Sam Jarvie, Christopher Kazu Williams, Shawn Kerker, Jeannine Klos, Linda Koch, Karin Kostyzak, Matt Lacey, Kendall Lane, Daniel Lewis, Cameron Lewis, Marina Lobato, Dee Lopez, Peter Lynch, Kelly Mahoney, Jane Marconi, Angela Marx, Virginia McClain, Leanne McGiveron, Steven McKenney, James McMullen, Jake Meals, Saquib Mian, Kristen Miller, Brian Miller, Thomas Mitchum, Tera Montgomery, Kim Myers, Steven Nease, Kevin Nguyen, Jordan Nguyen, Amber O’Connor, Anne Palmer, Sara Patterson, Mike Pease, Cindy Prendergast, Nikita Puhalsky, Brandon Pulliam, Brian Puzzo, Rachael Qualls, Deborah and Cary Radunz, Akash Rajpal, Katie Regan, Terri Reilly, Dave Renison, Teodora Retegan, Lionel Riem, Timothy Rogers, Andy Royl, Mike Russell, Dennis Sable, John Scafidi, Stefano Scaglione, Scott Scheffler, Andreas Schild, John Schmiedt, Chere Schoning, Cameron Schutza, Shane Schweitzer, Debbie Sembera, Anjulie Semenchuk, Keith Shurmer, Russell Simkins, Andrea Sinclair, Rhonda Sloan, Christine Smith, Duane Spellecacy, Linda Spotz, George Stalling, Elizabeth Steininger Wolf, Alex Stevens, Kady Stewart, Tiffany Tanner, Paula Thomas, Macy Tindel, Kevin Veneskey, Andrew Villamagna, Tom Vogel, Jimmy Von Riesen, Liz W., Lauren Wall, Louise Ward, Ron Watts, Chris Watts, Sylvia Webb, Scott Weiner, Dana Westphal, Charlie White, Linda Winton, Robert Wiseman, Samantha Woracek, John Woughter, Lew Wuest, Athena, and TeResa.
I also have to thank a group of people whose inquisitive minds encourage my playful side. They are: Jason Barroca, Bader Bouarki, Steve Brenckle, Lee Davis, Michael De Feo, Christopher Dunham, David Galli Carrera, eRin Hanson, Rob Hanus, Matt Isaacs, Josh Jacobs, Samuel Lynch, Kostas Mavraganis, Desiree Melkovitz, Jonathan Moore, Bryan Nelson, Jonathan Palmer, Sam Penry, Darin Powell, Zach Renshaw, and Evan Roy.
And finally, to you, wherever you are, whatever time it is: thanks for reading.
See you next time.
About the Author
A.G. RIDDLE spent ten years starting Internet companies before retiring to pursue his true passion: writing fiction.
His debut novel, The Atlantis Gene, is the first book in a trilogy (The Origin Mystery) that has sold a million copies in the United States, is being translated into eighteen languages, and is in development to be a major motion picture.
He grew up in a small town in North Carolina and currently lives in Lake Lure with his wife, who endures his various idiosyncrasies in return for being the first to read his new novels.
No matter where he is, or what’s going on, he tries his best to set aside time every day to answer e-mails and messages from readers.
You can find him at these fine Internet locations:
Web site: agriddle.com
E-mail:
[email protected] For a sneak peek of new novels, free stories, and more, join the e-mail list at agriddle.com/email.
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Also by A.G. Riddle
The Origin Mystery
The Atlantis Gene
The Atlantis Plague
The Atlantis World
Credits
Cover designed by Damonza and Richard L. Aquan
Cover illustration © by Damonza
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEPARTURE. Copyright © 2014 by A.G. Riddle. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
Harper Voyager and design is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C.
ISBN 978-0-06-243166-0
ISBN 978-0-06-244956-6 (Barnes & Noble signed edition)
EPub Edition OCTOBER 2015 ISBN 9780062431677
15 16 17 18 19 OV/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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A. G. Riddle, Departure
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