Book 2 of the Ark Ship Trilogy is to be released in June! Be sure to catch up on the story and get a copy of Ark Ship: Found! https://linktr.ee/jshallett
Ark Ship: Colony Coming soon!
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Now Available on Audible!
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Now on Audible!
Who’s That Indie Author? Joseph Hallett
Name: Joseph Hallett Book Title: Emergence Ascended Genre: Science Fiction/Magical Realism Tell us about yourself: I am 51 years old living in the Pacific Northwest. I enjoy the outdoors, camping hiking. I enjoy most music (closet Swifty) but I tend toward rock and metal. Tell us about your writing career. When did you first start […]
Who’s That Indie Author? Joseph Hallett
Ontological shock and the evolution of consensus reality.
As the covid pandemic started to chill out and the world was beginning to get back to normal, I wrote a post about a weird “feeling,” for lack of a better word. The feeling I had, began before the pandemic. I felt a strange sense of foreboding or unexplained anxiety. And I could sense it in other people and the world a global precognition. There was a stress that I think everyone had but could not pinpoint exactly what was bothering them. (I believe it has contributed much to why society is so on edge today.) Now I am not suggesting that I am a psychic or a prophet or whatever; I just noticed the feeling before the pandemic, and when the pandemic hit, I felt that it was the reason for the subconscious anxiety. I wrote a blog post (or Twitter now X, or Instagram? I forget where I will look harder for it.) about the same, but a different sensation of anxiety I am feeling now. It is not as intense and not quite the feeling of dread; there is something.
IT IS NOT A PSYCHIC PREDICTION. Maybe. I’m on the fence about all that woo. But I feel that there is now, at this moment, a shift in the consensus reality of humanity. Specifically, the topic of UFOs (now UAP, I’m old school, so UFOs to me.) The congressional hearing on UAP recently released the Genie from the bottle to the general public. The admittance of the government that they are acknowledging their awareness of the phenomenon is pretty groundbreaking. Whether you believe it or not, it really doesn’t matter; now, people are experiencing a collective awareness of the subject in a different way than they had ever in the past. The topic is now given a legitimacy that it had never had before, Blowing people’s minds and making them question their beliefs about what was previously thought to be ‘known.’. That is an ontological shock.
I explored and played with the idea of the flexibility of consensus reality and how it can change in my book “Emergence Collective”. One example is the notion of ‘the Mandela effect.
The term “Mandela Effect” was first coined in 2009 by Fiona Broome when she created a website to detail her observance of the phenomenon. Broome was at a conference talking with other people about how she remembered the tragedy of former South African president Nelson Mandela’s death in a South African prison in the 1980s. However, Nelson Mandela did not die in the 1980s in a prison—he passed away in 2013. As Broome began to talk to other people about her memories, she learned that she was not alone. Others remembered seeing news coverage of his death as well as a speech by his widow.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-mandela-effect-4589394
OK moving on… In Emergence collective, I described a situation that had literal world-changing events, as the characters dabbled with abilities that allowed them to change the physical reality around them. In the Sequel (spoiler alert for those who plan on reading it) that is nearing completion, I continued the concept that things like urban legends like say, “A satanic cult summons a demon that lays waste to a community, then gets defeated, and all trace evidence of the battle and destruction was removed.” A generation later, humanity has all but forgotten that the event had occurred because consensus reality healed the scar from the people’s consciousnesses. So I have been exploring these ideas of what the nature of reality is. More to the point that WE, humans, our consciousness is the reality, and the world is a reaction to us, not the other way around. We are creating our universe as we explore it.
Where am I going with all this? I do have a point. With the evolution of our worldview, I believe the consensus reality is changing. I have noticed that recently (in the last few months.) There has started to be a literal clarity in photographs and video evidence of UFOs. In the past, every picture was fuzzy, but now, more and more photos are increasingly clear and more credible. After the Hearing on UAP there is a surge of high-quality images. I think that there is a link to the paradigm shift. As we all start to explore and contemplate the reality of UAP’s existence, we can see more evidence. We are changing reality.
Now back to my “feeling” I have. I believe our world will be changed in ways that we can barely comprehend now in the near future. All our wildest science fiction fever dreams are going to come true, from Alien visitation to teleportation and star wars like technology.
Some side notes, Yes, camera technology has improved, so there is that. But the awareness is increasing, and people are less afraid of the stigma the topic has had in the past. Bigfoot photos are also less fuzzy. (just saying) But I think it is less and effect of our current optic tech that is improving but the willingness to believe. So you know, I do not ‘believe’ in the UAP phenomenon as I am a witness on two different occasions. I know what I saw, it was nuts and bolts craft. Now the rest of the world is catching up.
Itch
Had to get this out, even though its not my WIP. But after a nice camping trip, this story came to mind.
CAUTION Graphic content ahead, you have been warned
Itch Part 1.
Bruno drove down the unpaved road probably faster than he should have been. The tires splashed water from deep potholes far off the road into the swamp of the Florida Everglades. The service truck wobbled dangerously close to toppling over after he avoided a particularly treacherous-looking puddle as he careened onto the home’s driveway that was last on his list for the day.
He skidded to an abrupt stop and shut off the engine. He put on the tattered ball cap with the logo of “Billy Bobs Air conditioning and plumbing” and picked up a clipboard with the same logo, then climbed out of the truck. A blast of hot sticky, humid air washed over him as he stepped out and walked the twenty or so feet to the front door.
The door opened before he could reach the entrance to knock, and an even warmer blast of air hit him from inside the house. Yup, definitely the right place, He thought. The door opened wider, and a tall thin woman with long dark hair stepped into view. “Miss, Bradly?” he asked as he looked down at the clipboard to verify her name and address. He could see her bare feet as he looked at the board, and his eyes followed them up her toned legs until his view was cut off by a thin bathrobe.
“Oh, thank god! I thought you would never get here.” She exclaimed in a way of answering him. “It’s right out back.” She said, pointing to the house.
She led the way around the side of her house to the broken air conditioner he was there to repair. Her bathrobe clung to her body, accentuating the curve of her hips. Damn, sometimes I really love my job, Bruno thought as he watched her hips sway as she walked.
“Well, here it is, piece of shit that it is.” She said, motioning to the silent air conditioner.
“Uh huh, yup, these models are finicky; probably why they discontinued them about 5 years ago,” He said knowingly. “she’s not in bad condition overall, just needs a boost of coolant, more than likely.” He went on as he unscrewed a panel from the side.
I’ll be inside, sweating my balls off; just holler if ya need anything,” she said as she turned back to go inside. Bruno glanced again at her shapely hips as she walked away. Shook his head from side to side as if he couldn’t; believe his luck with such an attractive client.
Bruno was feeling pretty good about himself. He managed to keep his eyes off her, for the most part, only a quick glance. He could indulge just a little and still not break his promise to himself.
He had been doing great. He hadn’t missed a single session with his therapist and has kept up on his journal. You know, really putting in the work, and he felt that he was passing this test. He voluntarily started going to a therapist; he knew that his sexual addiction was getting worse and he thought that he would be proactive. Don’t want to be one of those guys that eventually do something stupid and get thrown in prison, was his thought.
A slight stinging sensation snapped him out of his thoughts as he saw a massive mosquito still swelling with blood as it sucked at his hand. He slapped hard, spurting blood from the engorged bug. God damn, that has to be the biggest damn skeeter I’ve ever seen. He thought, wiping blood onto his coveralls.
He returned to his truck and brought back a coolant tank to refill the air conditioner and finish off the day. He wrapped up the last of the repairs, thankful it was an easy fix, and went to the front door. It was too hot, too sticky, and a cold beer was calling his name. His last call for the day, She is a beauty almost done; he could just about taste the beer. The door was ajar and he could only see a sliver of light coming from the window as he knocked with the corner of his clipboard. “All finished up,” he shouted through the crack as the sound of the air conditioner hummed to life in the distance.
“Come on in.”She shouted back from what he assumed was her kitchen. He absentmindedly scratched at the swelling mosquito bite on his hand as he pushed through the door and stepped in. Miss Bradly walked from the kitchen holding 2 glasses of ice cold water, the condensation dripping from the glass in the heat. “You should start to feel it anytime now.” He said, motioning his head toward the air vent in the ceiling. She handed him the glass of water and noticed the mosquito bite on his hand. “Oh, looks like they got ya.” She said as he took a sip.
“Uh yeah, biggest bugger I’ve ever seen.”
“Let me get you some hydrocortisone for that. It’s gonna itch like crazy in a few minutes if you don’t get it on quick.” She said helpfully.
“Oh, why, thank you.” He replied, genuinely grateful, and took another sip of water as she walked down the hallway to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. The bathroom light showed through her thin bathrobe, silhouetting her naked body underneath. He gave in and indulged another avarice look at her body as she walked, feeling himself stiffen and his heart quicken at the sight. He quickly looked away as she turned around and came back with a tube of medication. She handed it to him with a smile and said, “I go through a lot of this stuff around here, but it’s been pretty bad this year with all the heat; I swear, they just keep getting bigger and bigger.”
He squeezed a dollop of the white paste and rubbed it on the increasingly itchy bite, feeling it quell it almost immediately. “Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.” He said in relief.
“You wouldn’t mind, would you?” She said, motioning to her back; I got a bit right in the middle of my shoulder blades; I swear they know exactly where I can’t reach, don’t ya know?” She turned away from him and let the robe slide off her shoulder to reveal her back. A nasty mosquito bite the size of a silver dollar was dead center of her shoulder blades.
Bruno was stunned for a moment, not sure what he should do. His first thought was that this was wildly inappropriate, and if HR caught wind of it, he would possibly get fired for the liability alone. His second thought was, almost jokingly as inappropriate, Dear penthouse forum… I can’t believe it happened to me… He smiled at himself for that.He squeezed a large glob on his hand and gently put it on the bite. She inhaled sharply, and he felt her skin turn gooseflesh for a second.
“Oh, that’s cold..” she exclaimed through gritted teeth as he rubbed the cream. Bruno reached up with the full intention of grabbing her shoulder to use as leverage to help him rub the cream. As he awkwardly reached, his hand brushed the side of her breast. His heart beat in his chest so hard it almost hurt as his vision blurred and his penis stiffened immediately. Bruno lost himself. All of a sudden, he felt as if in a dream, a haze or fog he could barely see past. As he watched, seemingly from out of body, a fat sweaty man in blue coveralls and a blue ball cap tore away her bathrobe and shoved her to the ground.
He wasn’t sure how long it had been. He found himself lying on the ground. The room was dark but cool as the air conditioner hummed along. His hands were sticky, and his head hurt from a gash above his thick brow. He put his hands on the ground to heave himself off the ground. A sharp pain shot up through his hand as a shard of something sliced into it as he pushed himself up. “Ahh!” he screamed and sucked air between his teeth as more fresh blood dripped from his palm. Standing now, he looked around see broken ceramic pieced from a destroyed lamp Must be why my head hurts.
As he scanned around, he noticed a dark shape in front of the sofa. His heart lurched in his chest as he recognized her body. He felt the thrill, tantalizing and electric as the memory of his fingers brushing her breast, then the urgency. It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me! I did the work, everything, I worked so hard, so this wouldn’t happen. He looked back at her crumpled body by the sofa. He could see better now; his eyes adjusted to the dark. There was so much blood everywhere. He could see smears of it all over the wood floor, handprints, and footprints. He could almost make out the scene in his mind just by looking at it. The end table by the sofa and its missing lamp, but why was there so much blood? He gingerly touched the gash above his eye; it hurt but was no longer bleeding. He looked closer at her and saw an enormous amount of blood on her back, her buttocks, and legs. He noticed bits and pieces of the ceramic peppered all over her in red splotches. The scene didn’t make sense to him until he saw a heavy glass ashtray cracked in half lying next to her hand.
Bruno scratched the mosquito bite on his hand, which strangely brought him back to his senses. His eyes darted around the room as panic overtook him. They’re gonna know! Oh god, it’s so obvious! He frantically patted his pockets, searching for his keys; finding them in his front pocket, he bolted for the door and burst out into the night. He ran for his truck and jumped in, starting it before he had even pulled the door closed. He floored the pedal down, sending gravel to shower the house, and drove off in a manic daze.
Greetings from the wilds of the pacific northwest
Happy Monday
Back at it for us working-class people, the weekend is done now back to the grind. I hope Everyone enjoyed the story “Alone.” Let me know what you thought in the comments section!
Here is an idea I am workshopping. Its quick one, sort of flash fiction.. Have fun!
Phantom Black
The beam of light pierced the veil. Like an ugly knife wound tearing a rough, misshapen hole in the darkness. The light touched a tentacle of the creature, a warm tingle drawing its attention. Confused and curious, it extended its tentacles, reaching, feeling the jagged edges of the opening. It wrapped its tentacles around it with more confusion about the nature of this new thing in its world, then examined the edges, feeling its solidity. Reaching in and gaining purchase on the inside surface, it began to pull itself through, marveling at the warm tingly, yet slight stinging sensation on its skin.
The scientists fiddled with the device with excited banter, enthusiastic about their apparent success. The device looked like an over-engineered paint spray gun. One of the scientists adjusted a setting on the machine, causing a pleasant harmonic tone to emanate from it. The other scientist poured a black viscous liquid into a small vat attached to the instrument with tubes, hoses, and electrical connections. The first scientist starts speaking into a recorder, taking verbal notes with a shaky, excited voice. “four-thirty two hertz to four forty hertz seems to be the correct resonant frequencies to properly align the filaments. We have achieved approximately….” He looks up at the other scientist and nods his head slightly, prompting the missing information.
“Ninety-nine point nine, nine percent.” The other scientist reads off of a computer monitor in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Yes, right. Ninety-nine point nine, nine percent of photon absorption.” He continued, “We have found with the increased amplitude and voltage, the harmonic frequencies will correctly align the carbon nanotubes vertically; gave us an additional twenty percent efficiency.” He said, his voice still quivering with obvious exhilaration.
Tentacles wavered through the opening, touching the air feeling the strange tingle of the light. As it pushed deeper into the new expanse, it could feel a vibration of sound emanating from inside this new space. It waved a tentacle sniffing the air, searching for the source of the vibrations. With so many new sensations, the creature grew eager and more curious. It pulled itself through the hole, sniffing and feeling.
With their backs turned away from the black painted surface, the scientists quickly prepared their device for the new round of testing; the creature probed a tentacle towards them. The probing tentacle extended toward the sound vibrations and detected a unique sensation that triggered a biological response; Hunger.
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
Its been a few days since I posted. Im currently doing training for work out of state and I thought I would have time to write some of the sequel, post in the blog daily and basically not miss a beat. Pro tip, Aerospace is complicated and training is intensive. Its literally rocket science, so you can get what Im saying. Lots of “homework ” and not much sleep, so everything I planned is out the door. I should be back to my regular routine Monday (but im not planning on it) lol
Hand-prints of Darkness 