What came before…
In Surviving Higgins World: Change is the Only Option, you met three groups of Terran citizens living on Higgins World. The NeoUtopian Society paid to settle the planet. The NeoEspania Mining Corporation planned on mining the asteroid belt around Higgins’ star from a space station. The final group was the crew of the Galactic Consortium transport. The destruction of the GC transport grounded the last two groups. The first centuries were not only battles to survive but resulted in each group living on different parts of the planet. Utopia was the name used for the owners; Port as in port-in-a-storm for the crew, and Refugio or refuge for the NEMC. Each group has conflicting ideas about how society should be organized and the last two were certain GC would rescue them. As the years passed, it became a myth or bedtime story. GC would not be coming. To complicate matters, children born on the planet developed psychic powers as they physically matured. Customs were established as to how these powers would be valued and used. Each group had different practices and considered the others as just plain wrong. There was contact, but begrudgingly. Here are some of the people you encountered in book one, which you will see again.
Sean Johnson was his family’s representative to the Utopian Assembly and one of the ring leaders of the revolt against the elected prince. He was elected the next prince mainly because no one else was willing to have the job. The problems left unrecognized by his predecessor frequently make him wish he had not volunteered.
Simon Kearney is the stepfather of Sarita Kearney. He is head of his family and prefers to be a teacher and scholar. He is drawn into the politics of Utopia by his translation of Thomas More’s book Utopia. The NeoUtopians based their Charter and plan for the colony on an excerpt from that book. His translation shows how badly the founders of the Utopia Colony misunderstood More’s intent.
Antonio “Tony” Pesch, assistant trade representative to Utopia from Refugio, had become friends with Sarita’s stepfather and befriends Sarita. He recognizes Sarita’s biological mother as his older half-sister and together they present Sarita as prospective wife for the First Successor, heir to the leader of Refugio. His attempt to get them to Refugio ends with them in Port, the third settlement, and Sarita’s rape. In spite of her loss of virginity, he presents her as a candidate for the first wife of the heir. Tony recognizes the need for more trade among the communities and works to make it happen.
Sarita Kearney was a young woman of Utopia yearning for an anamcara or soul mate so she can get on with her life. To be considered adult, the planet born must manifest their psy power. This means marriage or joining as the Utopians term it. No young man has won her heart or been a psy match. Faced with a forced joining with the son of the prince, she flees Utopia with her biological mother only to be kidnapped and raped. She is offered as a possible wife to the son of the leader of Refugio. She meets him and after considerable discussion, agrees.
Megal Morales, third son of Francos, is a reluctant candidate for Overlord. He had a traumatic manifestation of his psy powers and grew up with his maternal grandparents. He has a rocky start with Sarita, the woman who his father has found that meets Megal’s requirements for a strong wife. Once they meet, the similarity in their pasts draws them together. Their wedding is a disaster resulting in many deaths and injuries. Sent by his father to represent Refugio in Utopian trade negotiations, Megal’s ideas show his leadership potential. Despite his reluctance to become the leader of his country, he is showing his ability.
Mosi “Blackie” Okapie and Juliette “Julie” Hornby are a married couple who are also ship captains in Port. Each has a designated vessel. Blackie mainly fishes and carries goods for the other settlements. Julie was fishing when she was blown off course by a storm and ended up sailing around the planet. They know the planet has more undeveloped land and their community needs to move there. Port is growing and there is not enough land to feed their population. Because Utopia officially owns the planet, they must ask permission to settle on the third large land mass Julie saw when she circled the planet.
Spacer Wrightson, is the Exec of Port in a Storm, the settlement of the surviving crew from the transport. His great-grandfather had served as executive officer on the spaceship and the family had kept the position down through the years. As planet born with psy powers, he never learned to build a shield in his mind against psychic emanations. As a result, he must drug and rape a virgin woman to use her psy manifestation as his mental shield. When he rapes Sarita, she builds a wall and teaches him how to maintain it. He appreciates this, apologizes, and becomes her friend. He coordinates the life of the settlement, but must make decisions about dealing with emergencies, such as land shakes and strong storms.
Francos Morales, the Overlord and leader of Refugio settlement, must have both a son and a grandson to ensure the Morales family keeps the Trono Dotado. His temper and authoritarian dictates caused the succession to be in question. With his two oldest sons out of the picture, he must count on his youngest son, but not until he is married and has a child. He has learned to control his temper but is slowly learning more about his society. He is nearly killed by an attack at Sarita and Megal’s wedding. As his recovery is not going well, he begins planning for them to take over direction of the Refugio settlement.
Rita Pesch Kearney, mother of Sarita, was ordered by her husband Alam Nanna Pesch to give her fifth newborn female child to the House of the Blood to be smothered. Her husband was the son of a minor wife of her father by a guard as a reward, not a blood relative. Refugio believed a woman could reduce the psy power of a male during sex. Alam was a broadcasting psychic and Rita was forced to marry him to reduce his psy power, thus the same family name. Instead, he insisted she have all her daughters destroyed. The Utopians were willing to take such children. Since he was the trade representative in Utopia, she abandoned him and took refuge with the family Kearney. She has been recognized as a strong healer but is tired of the conformity and rules of Utopia. Taking Sarita to Refugio allows her to re-enter the society of her home. However, she helps upend that society.
Many of the other characters from book one will contribute to the story. Marta helps Francos heal from his injuries at the wedding. Serept teaches Megal and Sarita how the Overlord oversees Refugio. Utopia has to deal with the failure of its punishment practice. Port scrambles to find a safe place as the islands where they live begin to shake and the water becomes poisonous. And men of Refugio learn how to live with the women they never really knew.
Should you want to read the whole story…
Book One
Book Two
Amazon.com: Surviving Higgins World: Change or Chaos? eBook : Gibson, Patricia : Kindle Store