There are two prequels and two short stories written in the universe of Earthrise: 2176. 

They are as follows:

1. The short story Earthrise: 2115 - Classified Top Secret

https://www.wattpad.com/111554871-earthrise-2115-classified-top-secret

2.  The short story Message from the Future

https://www.wattpad.com/202048287-message-from-the-future

3.  The novel Lost Somewhere in Time

https://www.wattpad.com/story/47146298-lost-somewhere-in-time 

4.  The novella Earthrise: 2115 - First Contact

https://www.wattpad.com/story/182055603-earthrise-2115-first-contact

Lost: Somewhere in Time

James Robert Scott is the great-grandfather of Doctor Robert Scott. The story takes place in the Earthrise universe shortly after the founding of the North American Alliance and begins in the year 2045. 

Spoiler Alert: Somewhere in the galaxy, the Observers have detected the use of the prohibited tachyon technology but cannot yet locate the source...they continue to search. If you liked Earthrise: 2176, I think that you will enjoy Lost: Somewhere in Time. Here is a sneak peek of the prologue and the first part of chapter 1.

**

Lost: Somewhere in Time

Copyright © 2015 J.C. Gunn

PROLOGUE

TIME-COORD: 12/21/2039/1030hrs. GEO-COORD: Cleveland, North American Alliance. Vector: Null.

They came to James' classroom on Tuesday morning. His eighth-grade history class was learning about the War of 1812. James had always enjoyed studying history. The headmaster of the University School interrupted the lecture, stepped over to James' desk and gestured for him to get up and follow the gray-bearded academic into the hall. James noticed that the school nurse and chaplain were both waiting in the empty corridor. Between them was a man in a dark suit. James did not recognize him, but he knew something was wrong, terribly wrong.

**

Five years later, James had turned 19 and was of legal age. He quietly finished the last exam of his final year at the prestigious boarding school he had attended for the last eight years and was checking his essay on the padd one last time before turning it in. He and his three best friends had all stayed an extra year to complete all of their General Education requirements before starting a three-year University program. He was sad to be leaving the old boarding school which he had called home since his parents had died in a horrible aircar crash on that icy December night. 

Just as had happened five years earlier, the old headmaster opened the door and this time he just nodded for James to follow. The school's rules for visitors were slightly less restrictive for graduating seniors especially those with a full ride scholarship to Harvard. James' teacher gestured to the classroom door. "Please Mister Scott. You are excused; it seems that this must be important."

"Thank you, ma'am, my exam is complete. I'll just be a moment."

James handed the padd to his teacher. The young woman smiled. "Another perfect score I'm sure. Take your time Mister Scott."

James left the classroom, quietly closed the door behind him and followed the headmaster. They walked silently through the empty hallway and to the inner sanctum of Dr. W.K. Gunn's office. Waiting in the comfortable old leather chair was the same attorney who brought the news of James' parent's death five years earlier. He seemed to be wearing exactly the same suit. The well-dressed man had a formal look on his face and a briefcase cabled to his wrist. "Mister James Scott II?"

"Yes, sir."

"Please state your full legal name for the AI."

"James Robert Scott the Second."

The man keyed in a code on the side of the stainless steel case and tapped the print reader with his index finger. The man checked a series of photos on his tablet and then flashed James in the eye with a scanner. An AI comm link sounded from inside the case. "Retina Stan scan confirmed voiceprint analysis checks out. Identity confirmed."

"Mr. Scott, I have a letter for you. Please sign here."

The man handed James a sealed envelope. James signed the forms and the man gave him a strange salute as he departed the room. The kindly headmaster stood up and said. "I'll leave the room to you Mr. Scott. I'll be in the outer office if you need anything."

"Thank you, sir, I'll just be a minute." The door closed and James opened the triple-sealed package. Inside of the inner Mylar wrap was a faded old envelope. It was addressed to him at his address at school. He recognized his missing grandfather's handwriting. The postmark was March 3rd, 1888, Cleveland Ohio. The room was empty and quiet. Only the sound of the cranky old fluorescent lights buzzing in the background interrupted the grave-like silence. James opened the envelope. It practically disintegrated in his fingers. He carefully unfolded the thin yellowed parchment paper. He read the letter. James, if you are reading this letter things have gone badly. Please follow the attached instructions without deviation. My life depends on it. It was signed: Dr. James R. Scott, Senior. March 1st, 1888/November 27th, 2369, and points unknown. 

**

Chapter 1 - Time Travelers Know that Most People in the Past are Already Dead                

TIME-COORD: 6/11/2045/1530hrs. GEO-COORD: Cleveland, North American Alliance. Vector: Null.

Three days after graduation, James invited his three best friends over to his house. The house he had inherited when his missing grandfather had been declared legally dead several years ago. His steady girlfriend of just over two years arrived first. Hiroko McAdams was not tall but was quite muscular; she was in fantastic physical condition and when she was 14, she had almost made the NAA Olympic team as a gymnast. She was somewhere between cute and beautiful or was just both. Her straight black hair was from her mother and made quite a contrast to the gray eyes she got from her father. Her perfectly straight teeth were courtesy of several years of orthodonture. She smiled as James opened the door, stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him playfully on the lips. She handed him her overstuffed bag and said. "I told my mom that I was staying here all summer!"

James nodded. "And..."

Hiroko laughed. "She balked and started to argue, but then I pointed to the calendar on the fridge and said, I'm nineteen now mom...anyway, it's okay she likes you, in her own crazy way!"

Hiroko noticed that her tall and sexy boyfriend was even more serious than usual. She thought to herself: I guess I'd be serious too. She then said aloud. "What's with all the mystery?"

Finally, James smiled. "Ko, before Mike and Gina get here, I want to show you something. Hiroko playfully unbuttoned the top two buttons of her stylish red blouse. "Me too...do we have time to..."

James returned the playful smile and clumsily re-buttoned the blouse for her. "Not right now, but I promise Ms. McAdams, that I will devote my undivided attention to you as soon as possible."

Hiroko pouted a second, kissed her friend on the cheek and whispered into his ear. "I love you."

James smiled and said softly. "I love you too, Ko."

The two had been friends for a long time and had over the last two years explored saying the L word to each other. They both found great pleasure in it.

"Okay Alice, please follow me into the Looking Glass."

Hiroko gave her friend a questioning look but smiled as she took his hand. He led her down the back hallway, past the Butler's pantry and to the room everyone called the sunroom for its warm winter morning light. As they entered the room, James said. "House, please say hello to Ms. Hiroko. Cancel all previous security protocols with regards to her."

From overhead, the confident voice of an AI responded. "Cataloged and filed sir. Good afternoon Ms. Hiroko, it's finally good to speak with you in my own voice after all of these years."

Hiroko looked up with wide eyes and whispered. "He sounds different, not like a regular home auto system."

The voice answered. "That is correct Ms. Hiroko; I am a fully functioning Fleet Level Artificial Intelligence System. I was installed here to help Dr. Scott with his work."

"James, we promised to share everything. When did you...know about this?"

James put his arm around his friend. Her response was stiff. "Ko, I didn't know, that is really know until the day of my 19th birthday. It was a few days after that crazy letter from the past was delivered at school. I was here, rattling around the place and I was sad. You know all I had were memories of my folks... and they are fading now...here; let me give you a sneak preview before the others get here. House, please demonstrate the small elevator for Ms. Hiroko. We won't be using it; I just want her to see where it is."

House responded with a confident, firm and authoritative voice. "Of course sir."

The fine oak wainscoting silently and seamlessly retracted into itself revealing a boring looking rather generic elevator door. James held his friend tight. He whispered in her ear. "One time, maybe about nine or ten years ago, my grandfather showed this to me. We went inside and he took me to his office on level two. I guess I was barely ten years old. He showed me wonders; at least it seemed like that to the imaginative mind of a boy. But he didn't show me anything of what was or is below that."

Hiroko made an incredulous look. "So...not until?"

James leaned down to his lover. "Hiroko McAdams, I love you and would not and will not keep anything from you. I'm sorry that it took this long but other than my ten-year-old boy's fantasy memories of his grandfather, I knew nothing of this until some number of hours after I turned nineteen last week!"

Hiroko reached up and brought her friend's face to hers and kissed him passionately. "I love you now more than ever. How have you managed to live with...everything" She choked up and wiped a tear from her face. "First your parents died and then we pretended that things were okay; so we just moved on, went to school and played boyfriend and girlfriend."

James smiled. "I never played, at least as far as you are concerned."

Hiroko stopped being even a little mad as she teared up and hugged her friend. James continued with the story. "So that first morning back here, House woke me up as usual. I fixed breakfast, cleaned up and as I was wondering what to do next, he, and he prefers that we refer to him that way, used that other voice, the one that you heard today. He asked me if I had any instructions. I was puzzled at first and then I remembered the cryptic line from the Declaration in the letter. I went to the library and said the words and, well you'll see. We're going below when the others get here. We'll use the main lift in the Library.

Hiroko laughed for the first time in a while. "The whole house is a library J!"

James stepped back and admired his lover and said. "Yes, it is... and apparently a bit more."

The beautiful Asian-North American girl shrugged. "Yeah, I'm starting to believe that."

"House, please secure the small elevator." Hiroko shook her head as the wall morphed back into an ordinary bookcase. James took Hiroko's hand and led her out of the sunroom.

"Ko, this is my only other memory of, um, the magic below. I was only ten so it was like the Witch and the Wardrobe or whatever that story was."

The pretty girl with a nearly perfect GPA quipped. "You mean the Chronicles of Narnia?"

"Yeah, but just like for those kids it was real...

**

To read the rest of Chapter 1, go to Lost: Somewhere in Time.

**

Earthrise: First Contact

Copyright J.C. Gunn 2018

Prologue

December 31st, 2099, Seattle-Vancouver, Capitol of the NAA. During the raucous outdoor celebrations in the cool winters night, a 17-year-old girl is killed by debris from a derelict Soviet-era space station. She becomes the first person in history killed in this way. The public is outraged and demands action. There are tens of thousands of cataloged pieces of space junk in orbit and many which are not even tracked. The remnants of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China are unable to assist in this monumental task. It is up to the newly formed North American Alliance Fleet to solve the problem. Project CORDS is born.

*****

The orbital debris salvage ship THX-1138 and its young Commander Lieutenant Joachim Lee and his crew are tasked to de-orbit an abandoned space station from the mid 21st century. They find the station has had a visitor from somewhere in the Deep Dark.

This novella is a prequel to Earthrise: 2176 and takes place in the Universe of that novel. It tells the tale of an event which took place approximately 50 years before the adventures of the crew of the starship Richard P. Feynman. During the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (CORDS), the North American Alliance orbital debris salvage ship THX-1138 and its crew found something unusual was going on with The Station Long March of the People #7. Was this event the real First Contact?

Chapter 1 - Cadet Lee

The cold mechanical voice of the small scout ship's AI announced WARNING, fuel six percent, altitude 2746 meters, Delta V -123 meters per second. A cold sweat ran down Joachim's forehead and into his left eye. He blinked to clear his vision but could do little else as he was in a full pressure suit. He looked out through the thick plaz window into the murky orange haze of Titan's atmosphere. He thought that he could make out the far shore of the Kraken Mare which was the largest of the north polar seas. It started at 68 degrees north latitude and was almost 1,200 kilometers across at its widest point. The inland sea had a surface temperature of -179C, which was a cool 94 degrees above absolute zero! He was desperate to find a safe landing place before his fuel was exhausted. Amongst other things he'd been dealing with was a failed yaw thruster, malfunctioning autopilot and a low-pressure leak atmosphere somewhere in the small ship. He thought to himself it could be worse. The AI then announced WARNING fuel level critical.

Joachim cursed under his breath; he had to find a place to land. Ditching the ship in an ocean-sized lake of liquid ethane was not his idea of a good time. Far in the distance, he saw a small water – ice island. Maybe he could make it! Just then, another red indicator bar flashed on one of his flatscreen monitors joining the dozen or so other red and amber cautions. WARNING, main gyro fail. WARNING main engine over temp. WARNING...

Joachim pressed a key to silence the AI and cursed under his breath again as the scout ship pitched over and crashed into the sea of liquid hydrocarbons. Cadet First Class Joaquim Lee died. It was the third time that week! The lights of the simulator came up and the voice of his instructor came over the comm system. "Nice job Cadet, you almost made it, but you are dead nonetheless. I'll see you in debrief."

To read the rest of Chapter 1, go to Earthrise: 2115 - First Contact