Read an Excerpt

Geepeus

AuthorHouse LLC

Archaeologist Jacqueline Michaud was seated in the sand, looking at a piece of metal she had just discovered, wondering what the object was and what it was doing there. She had traveled to South America after an earthquake had torn down the side of a mountain, revealing pieces of pottery at the heart of it. The local Indians feared the mountain and spread the word: El Diablo was spitting pottery out of his house.

"Jim, over here!" she called out. "You must see what I have uncovered."

Jeremy McBean was the head of the expedition. She called him Jim for short, and it enraged him. Making a growling sound, he turned and looked at her. "What is it, Jak?" he responded, getting even.

"A piece of metal," she answered.

Jim ran over to her. "Let me see."

Jacky gave him the egg-shaped, well-polished piece. It was the size of a goose egg. "What is it?" she asked

Jim took the metal object and turned it in his hands, trying to identify it. Then he looked at her. "Are you sure this didn't come from our equipment?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Where did you find this?"

"There." Jacky pointed at a square of dirt marked off with little poles and ropes.

Jim looked at the metal object again. He seemed to be looking for marks or signs. Suddenly he pointed to a small hole the size of a pinpoint. "I am going down to the village to look at this under the microscope," said Jim. The two of them were working alone. The Indians were afraid to go near the mountain, insisting that El Diablo would eat them alive.

Going back to the grid of dirt squares, Jacky remembered the year she had decided to become an archaeologist. She had been ten years old, and her father, a teacher of ancient history, had always told her detailed stories about finding treasure. As she stood there reminiscing, a glitter of light caught her attention from higher up the slope. She tried climbing up to it, but the slope was too steep, and she slid back down every time.

Jacky returned to the village to find Jim. He was in their big tent with the microscope, looking at the metal object she had found. "Do you see something?" she asked.

"Yes," said Jim. "It's a very small hole. It looks like some kind of keyhole or something."

"Let me see." Jacky bent over the microscope and saw the tiny opening. Then she got up, went to her tent, and came back with an old packet of sewing needles. "These were my grandmother's," she said. "I think one of them will fit the hole." She picked up a needle and stuck the eye end into a pencil eraser. Looking through the microscope, she placed the tip of the needle into the hole on the metal object. It fit. She pushed harder—and the egg shape opened up like a flower with five petals. Surprised, she dropped it onto the table.

Jim bent over and picked it up. Apouch stuck out from the inside, and the five petals were covered with a dark-brown substance.

An eerie scream made them look toward the entrance of the tent. It was a girl from the village, carrying a basket of fruit and bread for their supper. The girl dropped the basket and turned to run screaming down the hill to the village.

Jacky and Jim ran outside to see what was going on. They looked around for something that might have frightened the girl but found nothing. The tribe members were coming up the path, with the chief and medicine man leading the way. Their arms were up, fists clenched around spears and knives, and they spoke in a language that neither Jacky nor Jim understood.

Jacky looked at Jim, not knowing what to think. Jim still held the metal ball. The medicine man approached and put both hands around Jim's hand. The petals closed. The medicine man put the ball in a pouch as he said some kind of prayer. Younger men pushed Jim and Jacky down the hill through bushes and across stones, until they reached a small clearing led to some old stone stairs. The men pushed them even harder going up the stairs.

"What is going on?" asked Jim, but the tribesmen only pushed harder. Jim fell on his hands and got up. They all moved on toward more stairs that went up yet another hill. At the top, two of the men grabbed Jim and bound him with ropes from his shoulders down to his hands. Then they did the same to Jacky. It seemed as if the Indians were afraid to go farther, as they used long poles to push their captives toward a big rock.

Suddenly, the earth opened, and both of them slid into a black hole. Jacky was on her back. Jim fell on his side and landed on his stomach, scraping the side of his face. Jacky was stunned. They seemed to be in a pitch-black cave. She instinctively tried to get up, but the rope made it difficult. She struggled to get free. Then she froze with fear, and a cold quiver in her body made her heart stop for a second. Two red eyes were looking at her.

Jacky tried to scream, but no sound came out. Her heart was going so fast that she had trouble breathing. Jim was trying to turn on his back. Angrily he said, "Geepeus! These ropes!"

"I am here!" shouted a loud, metallic voice. Jacky almost fainted, and Jim stopped moving instantly. The red eyes changed to white, a slight hum resonated through the cave, and light gradually flooded the area.

Jacky saw a wide panel in front of her. Shaking like a leaf, she looked at the creature to her left. On a small cube stood a humanoid—or robot; she wasn't sure. The light was brighter now, and the panel was lighting up with green and red dots on a yellow background with black lines that formed geometric designs.

"You are an experimental life form," said the creature.

Jim was still on his back, struggling against his ropes. "What is going on?" he asked. "Who are you?"

"I am Geepeus, the Keeper! I record the events happening in the time zone the Creator occupied."

Jacky was standing in front of Jim, so at first he couldn't see who was talking. Finally, he turned onto his back—just in time to see Geepeus walking toward Jacky.

The creature looked down at her and asked, "Why do you dress with immobiliter?"

Jacky yelled, "My ears hurt when you talk!"

"Geepeus will adjust the translator sound."

"The Indians tied us up and tossed us into this hole," Jacky told the creature.

"This hole is a ship that belongs to the Creators."

"And who are the Creators?" Jim impatiently ask still struggling to get free.

"A group of galaxy travelers who created you. You are a new species called humanoid."

"And what are you doing here?" asked Jacky. "We are in the twentieth century!"

"The ship was buried and trapped after an earthquake."

"Will you please untie us?" asked Jim, on the verge of a panic attack.

"Yes, please," said Jacky.

Geepeus look at them. "Do not understand."

"The ropes are restraining us," explained Jacky. "We can't move."

Geepeus a five-foot humanoid creature with a metal hat on his head. The fringes in the middle resembled a crazy teenager's hairdo, with spikes made of metal sticks. He had two eyes, a mouth, and no nose on a round face, and his light-beige skin looked like plastic. His body had two arms and two legs, and he was dressed in a gray garment and black boots black gloves on each arm going up from his five fingers to his elbows. There were three red markings and silver bars on the left hand, and five gold bars on the right hand. His garment was held close around his neck by six rings: two gold and one black, with three silver rings at the top. The color of his eyes regulated the light in the ship.

The creature's back to sit on his metal stool, pushed a small lever, and rose up as the stool elevated. The spikes on his copper hat went into the top of the console. The yellow light became brighter, and the green and red dots disappeared from the screen, leaving only the black lines visible. Geepeus pushed buttons in front of him, and the black lines formed circles. Jacky and Jim were surrounded by a bright, white circle. Their ropes loosen and fell on the floor.

"Thanks," Jacky said. She's glad to be free, the ropes had begun to hurt.

Jim seemed frightened but curious. He tried to walk through the bright circle but stopped by an invisible wall. "Now what?" he asked. "Are we being held prisoners?"

Geepeus said, "Have to update memory banks to the twentieth century." At the console, he moved his hands and fingers. The green and red dots were visible again, flashing at great speed, and his hat was still fixed to the top of the console.

Suddenly the screen lit up and images appeared. It seemed as if many centuries were passing at full speed before their eyes. Jacky put her hands in front of her eyes, which were burning from the speed and brilliance of all those flashing images. Jim have his arms up, trying to peek between his fingers to see as much as he could, but it was too much for him. He turned his head to the right, his eyes filled with tears.

Geepeus stop moving, and the pictures stopped. The lights went off, but the yellow screen and the black lines remained on, pulling back a lever, and the stool came down. His hat was still on his head, but the spikes had pale-blue marks on them, walking toward Jacky and looking her over from head to toe, moving toward Jim.

"You have a pouch at your side," Geepeus said. "It contains the DNA of a parrot, and the food is for survival. That is why the tribe made you walk alone to the entrance of the ship. They have been told not to touch the Creators' materials, the punishment for doing so is disintegration by a ray of fire. The ship's entrance did not lock after the earthquake, and animals or humanoids who stepped on the threshold are thrown inside to die by that same ray. You were protected by the DNA carrier when you slid past the ray."

"Why do you keep us prisoners?" asked Jim. "We are not dangerous. We want to go back home."

"I can't send you home," said Geepeus. "The multidimensional sequence is damaged."

Jacky lower her hands when she heard Jim's voice. She realized her body was not shaking anymore, and her fear was almost gone. What's a multidimensional sequence?

This ship could travel through multiple dimensions, Geepeus told her. It is made from the same material Geepeus is made from. The Creators and workers have come and gone from this ship. The protective shielding had not been in operation, and the rocks falling from the top of the mountain had damaged the "shielding setup." Now, the multidimensional sequence would not start. Only one individual Geepeus had been in the ship at the time of the earthquake, and he had gone into a dormant state.

"When did this happen?" Jacky ask.

"After the falling of the big asteroids," said Geepeus.

Jacky was getting tired. Her limbs were numb, and her head felt dizzy. She sat down. Jim seemed to be feeling the same, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Are you trying to kill us?" he asked.

"Geepeus cannot kill humanoids. You may sit down.

"Why do I feel this way?" Jim asked. "The back of my neck feels tight, and my legs are numb. It isn't normal to be so relaxed."

"I am feeling the same way," said Jacky, seated on the floor.

"The light rings have relaxing sounds," said Geepeus.

"In the rings, prisoners do not hurt themselves."

"What are you going to do with us?" Jacky asked. Her head was spinning. She did not like the relaxed feeling." Shut the sound off please? If I am any more relaxed, I will faint."

"What is faint?" Geepeus Ask.

"It means I'll be unconscious," said Jacky. She held her head in her hands, trying to lose the dazed feeling.

Geepeus walked to the console and made a move on top of a red light, and the rings immediately changed from bright-white to light-blue. He turned to face Jacky and Jim. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, this is better," Yes they both said at the same time.

Jacky, age twenty-eight, five feet six inches tall, long brown hair gathered at the back of her head with a large clip. She have an oval face with brown eyes, a small nose, and a medium-size mouth. She is proud of her well-proportioned body all one hundred and twenty pounds of it. She's wearing blue jeans, a dark-blue T-shirt, a brown belt, and brown climbing boots.

Jim, age thirty-five, an average man, five feet ten inches tall, weighing one hundred and ninety-four pounds. He have curly, auburn hair neither very short nor very long. He wore a brimmed hat when working in the sun because of his fair skin. He have a round face with dark-blue eyes an average nose and mouth, and he's wearing black jeans, blue denim shirt, and cowboy boots.

Jacky and Jim had met in Mexico on an archaeological site and had become friends. When Jim heard news of a new scientific site, he had called Jacky and asked her to be his partner.

Now, here they are together both prisoners!

Geepeus wasn't moving. He just stood there as if waiting for an order. Jacky sat motionless on the floor, still a little dazed. She watched Jim rub his arms as if they were numb. "Are you cold?" she asked him.

"No, my arms hurt," he said. "I guess I struggled too much with the ropes so tight on me." He looked at Geepeus. "What do you intend to do with us? "Yes, what are you going to do with us?" Jacky echoed. "I'm thirsty!"

"What is thirsty?" asked Geepeus.

"It means I need water. Do you have water?"

Without moving, Geepeus looking at Jim. "Are you thirsty too?"

Surprised, Jim said, "Yes, yes, I am thirsty."

Geepeus went to the right of the console, opened a small door, and pushed a button. A small pitcher appeared. He took it and went to Jacky. His arm go's through the ring of light surrounding her. "This is water."

Jacky looked at the pitcher, but she was afraid to touch it while Geepeus arm extended through the ring of light. "If I touch the pitcher, will I be hurt?"

"No," said Geepeus. "My glove prevents it."

Jacky took the pitcher and looked inside. It looked and smelled like water. Did it taste like water? Putting the pitcher to her mouth, she sipped a little and swallowed. "It's water," she said. She drank half and gave the pitcher back to Geepeus, whose hand was still in the ring.

Geepeus retrieved the pitcher, walked to Jim's ring, and repeated the gesture. Jim made a move to take the small pitcher, but instead he grabbed Geepeus' arm. A violent shock hit him, and he dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Jacky looked at Jim in horror. "What did you do to him?" she cried out. "He is dead?"

"Do not try to harm Geepeus," said the android, "or you will be tranquilized."

Jacky put her fingers to her forehead, hiding her eyes with the palms of her hands as she tried to think straight. "Now, you are going to tell me what you want from us!"

Jacky shouted angrily, she took a deep breath and tried to relax. She needed to stay calm. "We don't want to harm you," she said. "We need your help, but humans gets nervous when they're imprisoned."

She looked at Geepeus, trying to figure out a way of escape, at least from the rings of light. "You told us you are the keeper," she said. "What is your task exactly?"

"Geepeus assist the Creators store all events in my memory banks, makes repairs, and keep the inside of the ship from intruders. I am not to destroy life."

Jim was unconscious on the floor, and Jacky look at him, wondering how they were going to get out of there. She noticed the markings on the floor. They looked like a map of a galaxy. "Is the floor a map?" she asked.

"Yes, it is a map of Harius the Creators Koolliatch galaxy," said Geepeus. "It is a reminder of home."

A big screen lit up on her left, and images of the inside of a ship started to appear on it. Human-like beings dressed in light-gray, some with colored stripes on their arms, were going about their tasks. As Jacky watched, a larger being appeared through a sliding door. He is taller and somewhat larger than the others. He have a white beard and long, white, curly hair having a round face, and very pale skin. Dress in dark-gray and yellow-gold garment.

The gold tint started at the neck and go's down his chest and shoulders to is upper arms. In the middle of the gold area was a blue triangle. One point started at the neck, and the other two points ended where the gray color began. The lower part of the uniform is gray down to his feet and from his upper arms to his hands. His belt was fastened with a shiny sapphire buckle in the form of a triangle. He wore black shoes or boots no gloves.

---

Excerpted from Geepeus by Nasha Poulin. Copyright © 2014 Nasha Poulin. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---