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Gabriel Timar
Author-novelist-engineer |
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HADES CONNECTION George Pike, a lawyer dies. His soul delivered to the Third Dimension decides to work for Hades Inc. Getting a new body, he is given an assignment to come back to the First Dimension and promote the interests of Hades by preventing Armageddon. ISBN 0-87714-321-8 Out of print, purchases may be available at Amazon.ca This novel has been revised, altered, and published as LUCIFER’S PROJECT
The novel is now being translated into Russian and will be published there. Its sequel is the Novgorod diary. |
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EXCERPT I concluded that I had no other alternative than to contact the greatest power on earth: the press. During my terrestrial life, I had acquired powerful media connections and thought I would use one of them. I picked up the phone book, checked the number of the Toronto Herald, and dialed it. “Good morning, Toronto Herald,” came a bored, angelic, feminine voice. I knew her from the good old days; the lady weighed no less than 350 pounds, was a bitch, and resembled an overweight Wicked Witch of the West, but her voice was impeccable. “I’d like to speak with Mister Michael Horn, if you please,” I replied. “Just a minute,” the bored angel said at the other side of the line. There was some clicking and static, but finally a familiar throaty voice came through the ether: ‘Mike Horn speaking.” He was a good friend; we had first met in the early days of my legal career. Mike interviewed me while I was suing the Canadian Government on behalf of a small Newfoundland fishing company. I reached a sizeable out of court settlement, which was news in those days, since the government did not settle with anybody. Actually, I had managed bluffing another bluffer with a mediocre hand. The government lawyer believed we had a very strong case. We did not, although I was sure percentages slightly favored my client at a trial. After the interview, Mike and I got roaring drunk and I allegedly challenged a bronze statue for a wrestling bout. It was such an enjoyable time that we kept in touch and had quite a few similar adventures, each involving different combinations of wine, women and songs all taken to excess. Mike was born to become a newspaperman as I was born to be a lawyer. Nobody in the media business operated quite like him. He was a perfectionist, scrupulously honest, intelligent with great sense of humor in addition to being the most capable writer I have ever read. He did not write a single word on the greatest sensation until he could substantiate all of his claims. His writing style was easy to read and most entertaining; I wish I were half as good as he was. With such qualifications, Mike was a prime candidate for the unemployment line, but he disappointed everybody becoming a syndicated columnist and political commentator. His column was widely read and often debated by large segments of the population. Many young journalists tried to emulate him. Mike’s secret was that he recognized the basic qualities of the politicians early in his career and figured out what made them tick. Having an analytical mind, he could predict most major political events with uncanny accuracy. I decided to contact him, come clean, ask for his advice, and then work out what to do. I swallowed hard: “Hi, this is George Pike speaking. How are you, Mike?” There was a momentary silence. “You must be mad; George is dead,” he said. “In fact, I wrote his obit and attended his funeral. Now, you claim that you are he. Do you think I am some kind of a fool?” ...
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