New American Color Photographs 141 SPIRIT OF AMERICA 142 New American Color Photographs Opposite top: Lilacs and tulips, May 1999. (By Anna Muktepavels- Motivans). Opposite bottom: “Dragon-bridge,”circa 2000. New Hampshire (Courtesy of Monica Chiu-Locke). Left:Morning fog in blufflands, 1999. Southeastern Minnesota (By Robert J. Hurt). 143 SPIRIT OF AMERICA Funnel cloud seen through wide-angle lens. September 1991. Burnsville, MN (By Gerald A. Bonsack). 144 New American Color Photographs Comet Hale-Bopp over Jason Bonsack’s house, March 1996. Onalaska,WI (By Gerald A. Bonsack, Jason’s dad). 145 SPIRIT OF AMERICA 146 New American Color Photographs Opposite top: Autumn in northern Vermont, 1995. (By Robert J. Hurt). Opposite bottom: God the Creator mural, Easter Saturday, 2000. National Basilica, Washington, D.C. (By Matthew A. Marcou). Top left:Vermont church in late September, 1995 (By Robert J. Hurt). Top right: Aerial view of hay bales and fall colors on a northern Iowa farm, 1990s (By D.Tony Kiedrowski). Right: Autumn lane in southwestern Wisconsin, 1985 (By Robert J. Hurt). 147 SPIRIT OF AMERICA Windmill at sunset, September 2000. Central Nebraska (By Gerald A. Bonsack). 148 SECTION 12 New American Book Excerpts Saturn V rocket engine, March 2000. Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, FL (By David Larsen). Novel Excerpt from Heirs to the Guardians Dale Barclay Editor’s Note: Heirs to the Guardians is about two ared went to the starship’s bridge and gave the first human beings who retrieve a starship of immense power Jcommand to begin the journey home: “Move us out and then begin to proceed to the planet Tarter, named in of Shaltar’s gravity well. Set course for Tarter, bring us a treaty. They rescue some Tarterian survivors from an to light speed, and don’t spare the horses. We want to attack by enemy aliens along the way, but are soon be there in less than seven days.” recalled home to their planet to assist in a war effort. It Kira replied, “About time we burned the carbon out is a war they can no longer win, but the home star of these engines.” system of the survivors is the one the crew of the lost The two fusion reactors powered them through the starship terraformed two hundred years ago for their own light-speed barrier, and shortly afterward, the meson people, and it can still be saved. drive kicked in. They were awed by the massive energy 149 SPIRIT OF AMERICA provided by the drive as it propelled them well past both real and imagined. Some groups became very warp factor twenty. They were traveling at over extreme in their opinions and made sure their ideas 160,000 times the speed of light. The vast distances in reached the masses. The public’s confidence in the space were a minor annoyance when traveling this government began to drop. Stories of corruption and fast, but if something broke, they could be stranded in misdeeds by public officials were common in the the middle of nowhere. news, and many of them were true. They advocated Ariel and Jared had a short talk that night in her quar- overthrowing the system, but they didn’t have ters. Jared said, “We need to find out from them what anything better to replace it with, so the government their leaders are like and the history of their people.” used the same tactics to discredit its enemies. Then “Should we tell them about the copies of the treaty one day, a minor official decided to do something we found in the captain’s safe?” asked Ariel. about a small but very dissident group: the “We will tell them the full story before we go down American Patriots. He had them arrested on some to the planet for their return,” replied Jared. trivial matter, hoping to catch a larger fish during “Kira, access the history of the Dahomey star the follow-up investigation. The case went to trial system, and try to find the history of the people who quickly and failed to prove anything beyond the settled here two hundred years ago,” ordered Ariel original charge. When the prosecution rested, the through voice activation. federal judge granted a defense motion to dismiss “I will let you know the results of my search the case, stating that the government had not proved tomorrow sometime. Shall we keep this between one point of its case. ourselves?” inquired Kira. “The American Patriots changed their name to the Jared replied, “That’s affirmative.” Freedom Movement in order to attract more members The first night of the trip home was relaxed. No one and sound less militant. Many of our ancestors joined had duties requiring much time, so everyone was it. They were mostly from the middle class, especially taking it easy. Jared and Ariel enjoyed a long swim and the upper-middle class, and many were highly soak in the whirlpool, their thoughts still on the educated. Their goals were modest at first: less federal survivors they had rescued. rule, more states’ rights, and a reaffirmation of the They stopped by the rec room later and joined in a right to keep and bear arms. The association helped game of poker. Colonel Xanadu Fallon asked, “How settle differences between states and worked for a are you all going to spend your time off?” kinder and gentler America. Ten years passed and “Well,” said Diana, “a lot of us will be with our fam- their candidate won the right to sit in the Oval Office. ilies, catching up with what has happened to them.” President Abraham Roosevelt took direct action to Captain Janeen Mallory replied, “I am going to do achieve his goals. A series of executive orders restored some of the things I have wanted to do for a long the balance between the public and the government. time, like hang-gliding.” The large multinational corporations that had paid Jared spoke up, “Ariel and I would like to meet your for influence were now worthless. They secretly met families.” with the two largest opposing political parties. They “How long will you two stay there?” asked hatched a plan to remove President Roosevelt from Lieutenant Natalie Sladen. office and regain their status quo. However, someone “We will be there for at least two months, unless we in the opposition, who had come to see that are desperately needed somewhere else,” commented Roosevelt was heading in the right direction, the Jared. direction our Founding Fathers intended, leaked the “Well I hope they receive you with the reverence details to him. He was known, and only to the and respect you both deserve” said Cathy. president, as Deep Throat Jr. They had been sending messages back and forth, “The depth and treachery of this plan led him to when permitted, but they all wanted to see their loved believe he could trust only those in the Freedom ones in person. Jared decided to raise the concerns he Movement. He asked a close personal friend to put an and Ariel had discussed earlier that evening: “How will end to it. John Marcinko recruited volunteers from your people react to unexpected events or changes that within the organization, who murdered the essential could affect them forever?” leaders and no one else. The harsh public outcry was “Our people are descended from tough, pioneer muted when the full details of the plan were made stock. They have gone through a lot and achieved public, but still someone had to pay the piper. considerably more,” said Xanadu. President Roosevelt conferred with his advisors and “Tell us about your people and how they came to resigned. be on your home world,” suggested Jared. “The vice president acted swiftly to put an end to Karen Chadwick, the ship’s doctor and a history this messy affair, announcing publicly: ‘My fellow buff, spoke up: “Near the end of the twentieth Americans: Tonight I stand before you with the century, some people were becoming obsessed with unenviable task of punishing people who stepped up tales of government spying and disinformation, to protect the presidency. Some of you want them black helicopters, the rise of the United Nations as a locked up or executed; others hold them up as world ruler, and the loss of individual freedoms, patriots. I have decided on their fate, after much soul- 150 New American Book Excerpts searching and prayer. These people will be given the ships built inside the system are allowed among the option of exile or prison. As you are all aware, we will worlds of Dahomey. It has to do with when our fore- soon be selecting volunteers for a settlement on fathers were rescued two hundred years ago. Some of Callisto, one of Jupiter’s moons. The people chosen the alien races we trade with don’t like it, but will be starting a mining setup, to be followed by a individuals are free to travel among our three planets,” farming operation once the mining operation moves replied Lieutenant Tahnee Fleming. It was getting late underground. They can take their families with them if and the poker game ended. they wish. Members of the Freedom Movement are The survivors from Tarter were curious about the welcome until all the slots are filled.’” questions asked by Jared and Ariel. They had never Karen continued: “Three months later, the colony really asked about anything relating to their world. transport lifted off for Callisto. One of the senior The Kodiak could destroy their homes without any computer guidance programmers back at NASA was trouble.