Richard: 2392 books

There is a little town, on the eastern slope of a mountain range. The town is called Desert Edge. As you might imagine, the town Desert Edge is on the edge of a rugged desert landscape. The town of Desert Edge exists because of a tourmaline mine, that was active some years back. The tourmaline ran...

I try to appear casual and I ask, “Okay, what am I?” Chudu looks at me for a bit and says, “I don’t know. You’re different. I can read most people when I first meet them. I can’t read you.” I reply, as calmly as I can, “I’m from off planet. I worked my way here as a freighter deck...

I then did a pre-test of the good customer acceptance test program, for my upper management, and they were pleased with the apparently error free test. I told them, “What you see is the efforts of five hard working programmers. None of us could have done it alone, each and every one of us contributed....

I have my first job. I’m also engaged to be married. I dig into my first work assignment. My first work assignment is something of a strange one. There are computers in San Diego that perform vital services. Unfortunately, the computers are obsolete units and will soon be replaced with a new generation...

Not just one, but several terrorist organizations, around the world have a problem. Large amounts of money are disappearing when bank transfers are attempted. The people who run the organizations are unable to find out where the money goes, even when they try to torture the information out of the...

Ciara says, “My, aren’t we cheerful this shift!”Danar doesn't answer. He doesn't need to answer. His face shows that he has gone into his pre-board mind state. Danar is a true warrior.Ciara starts to say something and then thinks better of it. She's both a pilot and a language...

I get frog marched into a room. There are several police there, waiting for me. There is also a woman. One of the police says, “Jack Houlihan you killed a man, with a knife.” I tell the police man, “I was attacked, by a large, drunken man, armed with a knife. I defended myself, nothing more.” The...

Tom Schmidt was a bad-ass son of a bitch, who mainly dealt with the world with his fists. As a result, Tom, landed in juvenile prison. Tom sort of flourished in juvie, catching up on the schooling that he had missed, earlier in life. In fact, Tom did so well that, probably with the aid of his mother's...

I enter the chamber, fully alert. The chamber is pretty much empty except for the cubical rock and some trash over against the wall opposite the altar. The trash proves to be bones, human bones at a brief glance.Suddenly I'm joined in the chamber by something. The something has the rough shape...

Kev thinks for a moment. He's the new guy. He has a rather vague background. Only his obvious skill and a desperate need on the part of the oil service company has given him a job in the first place. If he can make the flight, he'll be in for as long as he can stay in one place. Kev says,...

I have developed a concept that might be a more cost effective way to move from Earth to our moon or to another planet. I decided to try to first develop a mathematical concept that I have discovered. It appears that it might be possible to use other than the standard three dimensions plus time to...

Halloran says, “There's the matter of evidence. The guy bringing the stuff into the area sells what he brings in right away and we can’t catch him with the stuff.”The solution is pellucidly simple, however, Halloran is not the brightest bulb in the display. It's difficult to deal with...

I get my cart and start out for the farmer’s market. It’s a little bit of a pain, but only for a few more weeks. I walk down the road and then turn off, for the farmer’s market. I get to the farmer’s market and then begin my usual buying path. The usual vendor still has the good Idaho potatoes....

Abby asks, “You were making enough money at age 16-years-old, that you could afford to buy or rent this house?” I laugh, “No. My old man told me about something called adverse possession. If I moved into an abandoned house, established, in my name, water and sewer service, electric service,...