35 Prohibition

‘This is a prohibition notice served upon your world for the murder of a Federation diplomatic team,’ said the Ambassador.

Owing to the actions of a rebel group on Earth in the Orion spur, which caused the murder of an entire Federation diplomatic team plus several million human beings, the President of the Federation and Cabinet have decreed the following action:

The planet, known as Earth, has demonstrated its unsuitability to enter the community of worlds which live in peace in this part of the galaxy. Isolationism from space is the punishment.

1. All space exploration by Earth is prohibited.

2. All existing satellites and other space craft have been or will be destroyed by the Federation Enforcement Unit.

3. It is illegal for Federation citizens to land on Earth.

4. It is illegal for Federation citizens to contact Earth.

5. Any use of QE transmitters is prohibited, and such transmitters will be destroyed when detected.

There is one exception to item 5. A special QE transmitter is provided. It is set to a single frequency which can only contact Federation Members’ Administration on Arlucian.

‘There are, of course, many pages of small print, but to summarise – your space-faring days are over. When you are ready to apply for membership in the future, you can contact us on the QE transmitter. Do not contact us unless you intend to join, all nations have agreed, and you have a single leader.

‘Prime Minister, we’re sorry – there’s that word again – for all the human lives which will be shortened and less pleasant than they would have been if membership had been completed. Your initial suspicions about us, particularly by the late President Spence are, in part, a cause. We should have deployed spybots to ensure action by the likes of this Slimbridge could be detected and prevented, but Ambassador Moroforon decided that if you’d become aware of them, there could have been a paranoid adverse reaction. That was a regrettable and fatal mistake.’

‘Ambassador,’ said the Prime Minister, ‘is there no other way of dealing with this. The heads of state at the UN were about to vote hugely in favour of joining. For that to be stopped by these evil individuals seems to be an overreaction. The wrong people are being punished. In fact, you are rewarding them. They are getting what they wanted.’

‘I will pass that comment on, but the situation in the United States of America today has not changed,’ said the Ambassador. ‘Slimbridge is still in control and has crushed all opposition, even shutting down the media. Why have you not dealt with this? He and his ilk are those who are causing this prohibition, yet you allow them to continue to hold power, over a week after the event.’

‘We are unable to take action, Yol Trestogeen,’ said the Prime Minister. ‘America has cut itself off from the rest of the world. They have threatened massive nuclear retaliation if they are attacked. There are enough nuclear missiles on all sides for the world to be destroyed,’ said the Prime Minister.

‘There, in a nutshell, is Earth’s problem,’ said the Ambassador. ‘You must put your own house in order. Prove it by living peacefully, ridding your planet of weapons and using the funding saved to deal with famine and inequality. It should only take a decade and you can then reapply.’

‘I don’t know if we are capable of doing that without thermonuclear war overtaking us. Please don’t abandon us in this way,’ said the Prime Minister.

‘I am but the messenger. Put your house in order. It is in your hands. Please advise the famine areas of your planet that some robot freighters will be delivering Federation aid over the coming days. Goodbye,’ the Ambassador said. He turned and entered the ship followed by the FEU squad and the door closed.

A few seconds later, it lifted into the air, reached about one hundred metres and vanished.

The human party, with its puzzled astronauts and clucking hens, were, once again, standing in the rain. The Prime Minister and UN Envoy dismissed the guard, refused any further press interviews, and entered the rear door of Number Ten, wearing expressions of devastation.

In the Oval Office, the sound of jeers and chanting penetrated the usually adequate soundproofing. President John Slimbridge sat with General Braun, who had promised the protests would end.

Both men rose from their seats and opened the door to the rose garden causing the crowd noises to grow in volume. General Braun looked at his watch.

Suddenly, volleys of shots rang out over the White House and the chanting turned into screaming. Within minutes the sound from the crowd was fading into the distance. A few more shots and peace reigned again at the White House.

‘Thank you, general,’ said the President, and the two men returned to the chesterfield to continue their discussions.

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Thank you for reading FEDERATION. Reviews are very important for authors and I wonder if I could ask you to say a few words on review page where you purchased the book. Every review, even if it is only a few words with a star rating, helps the book move up the rankings.

Currently, I have written five science fiction stories. Federation is the first of a trilogy and Moonscape is the first in a series about astronaut Mark Noble.

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THE DOOR: Henry Mackay and his dog regularly walk alongside an ancient convent wall. Today, as he passes the door, he glances at its peeling paint. Moments later he stops dead in his tracks. He returns to the spot, and all he sees is an ivy-covered wall. The door has vanished!

He unwittingly embarks on an exciting trail of events with twists, turns, quantum entanglement and temporal anomalies. As well as exploring the waste of Earth's resources, the environment and our species' stupidity, there is an extraordinary adventure by an ordinary man, walking his dog, who discovers that the challenge to save the human race has fallen upon his shoulders.

The Door is an intriguing and unique science fiction mystery from the pen of Tony Harmsworth, the First Contact specialist who writes in the style of the old masters.

FEDERATION takes close encounters to a whole new level. A galactic empire of a quarter of a million worlds stumbles across the Earth. With elements of a political thriller, there is an intriguing storyline which addresses the environmental and social problems faced by the world today.

The aliens’ philosophy on life is totally unexpected. With the help of intelligent automatons, they've turned what many on Earth felt was a reviled political system into a utopia for the masses, but are they a force for good or evil, and will the wealthy make the compromises needed for a successful outcome?

A Daragnen university graduate, Yol Rummy Blin Breganin, discovers that Earth failed in its attempt to join the Federation, and, for some unknown reason, members are forever banned from visiting or contacting the planet. Rummy had never heard of a whole world being outlawed. Perhaps it would be sensible to leave well enough alone but no, he decides to investigate...

FEDERATION is the first in a trilogy of near-future, hard science-fiction novels by Tony Harmsworth, the First Contact specialist.

Submerge yourself in humankind’s cultural and economic dilemma. Buy FEDERATION today.

MINDSLIP: The radiation from a nearby supernova causes every creature on Earth to swap minds! Men to women, children to adults, animals to humans, old to young, and vice versa. How would you handle changing sex or species? Mindslip combines frightening science fiction with psychological horror.

The change in astrophysicist Geoff Arnold is challenging, and his wife and children have vanished. He joins the government’s catastrophe committee with the brief to find a solution to Mindslip before it completely destroys society and the economy.

Millions die! Billions survive danger, harassment and abuse, and manage to adapt to their change of species, race, sex, and age. Geoff discovers that the change his wife has experienced is life-threatening. Can he juggle his new life, help save the world and rescue his wife in time?

This stand-alone work is an excellent example of Tony Harmsworth’s imagination. Science fiction with elements of soft horror, all in the style of the old masters. A real page-turner.

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MOONSCAPE: We’ve known that the moon is dead since Apollo. But what if something lay dormant in the dust, waiting to be found?

In 2028, Mark Noble is conducting a survey of a moon crater. The entity secretly grabs a ride back to Moonbase on Mark’s buggy. Once in the habitat, it begins to infect the crew. They find themselves in a frightening, helter-skelter adventure with only two possible outcomes: losing or saving the Earth.

MOONSCAPE is the first in a series of hard science fiction stories featuring Mark Noble from the pen of Tony Harmsworth, a First Contact specialist who writes in the style of the old masters. If you like fast-paced adventure, fraught with the additional dangers found in space, then Tony’s latest tale has been written especially for you.

You can get MOONSCAPE FREE, by signing up to my Reader Club List. If you prefer, you can buy it from your usual supplier.

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THE VISITOR: Specialist astronaut Evelyn Slater encounters a small, badly damaged, ancient, alien artefact on the first ever space-junk elimination mission. Where was it from? Who sent it?

International governments impose a security clampdown. Evelyn leads a team of hand-picked scientists who make amazing discoveries within the alien device. Secrecy becomes impossible to maintain. When the news is finally released, she becomes embroiled in international politics, worldwide xenophobic hatred and violence.

This is book one of Tony Harmsworth’s First Contact series of novels. If you like realistic near-future stories which compel you to imagine yourself as the protagonist, The Visitor is the book for you.

THE VISITOR – hard science fiction with a wicked twist. Buy it now and be transported into orbit.

Loch Ness, Nessie & Me: Almost everyone, at some point in their lives, has wondered if there was any truth in the stories of monsters in Loch Ness? Loch Ness, Nessie & Me answers all the questions you have ever wanted to ask about the loch and its legendary beast.

In these 400 pages with more than 200 pictures and illustrations, you will find a geography of Loch Ness; a travel guide to the area; a biography of its mythical inhabitant; and an autobiography of the man who set up the Loch Ness Centre, worked with many of the research groups, and helped coordinate Operation Deepscan.

Explore the environmental and physical attributes of Loch Ness which make certain monster candidates impossible. Find detailed explanations of how pictures were faked and sonar charts, badly interpreted. Learn how Nessie has affected the people and businesses which exist in her wake, and suspend belief over the activities of the monstrous monks of Fort Augustus Abbey.

Tony Harmsworth’s involvement at the Loch has lasted over forty years, having created increasingly sceptical exhibitions, dioramas and multi-media shows. This is the first comprehensive book to be penned by someone who lives overlooking the loch. It is essential for anyone interested in Loch Ness and the process of analysing cryptozoological evidence.

Now’s the time to discover the truth about this mystery, once and for all. Get your copy today!

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Scotland’s Bloody History: Ever been confused about Scotland’s history – all the relationships between kings and queens, both Scottish and English? Why all the battles, massacres and disputes? Scotland’s Bloody History simplifies it all.

Discover the history of Scotland from prehistoric man to the current Scottish Nationalist government. Follow the time-line from the stone-age, through the bronze age and the iron age. Find out about the Picts, the Scots, the Vikings and the English. Learn about the election of Scotland’s early kings and how Shakespeare maligned one of its finest monarchs.

In simple, chronological order, this book will show you how the animosity between England and Scotland grew into outright warfare including tales of Braveheart and wars of independence.

Tony Harmsworth has taken the bloodiest events of the last three thousand years and used those to clarify the sequence of events. Don’t buy this book to learn the boring stuff, this book is packed with action from page one to the final three words which might haunt you over the next decade.

Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots, the Stewarts and Jacobites. It is all there. Explore Scotland’s Bloody History now!

Building a relationship with my readers is the very best thing about being a novelist. In these days of the internet and email, the opportunities to interact with you is unprecedented. I send occasional newsletters which include special offers and information on how the series are developing. You can keep in touch by signing up for my no-spam mailing list.

Sign up at my webpage: Harmsworth.net or on my Facebook page and I will send you a free copy of the first Mark Noble adventure – MOONSCAPE.

Wendy Harmsworth, Annika Lewinson-Morgan, Jorge Kusu Arocha Maruyama, SP Formula, Melanie Underwood, and Wattpad