Fires of Hina (eBook)

Brian N. Tissot (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
460 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3178-1340-6 (ISBN)

Infos

'Fires of Hina' is a powerful eco-spiritual science fiction novel that follows Lani, a passionate young marine ecologist haunted by the extinction of whales and the mysterious death of her cousin, Sage. Set in a future ravaged by climate collapse and corporate greed, Lani is driven by a sacred vow to protect the last great ocean creatures and uncover the truth behind their haunting songs. When Earth's most sacred alien world-Thalassa-is reopened to exploitation, she must confront her deepest fears, grief, and rage to become the planet's unlikely protector. Guided by indigenous wisdom, ancestral spirits, and the echoes of lost songs, Lani embarks on an interstellar journey to defend the Nesoi-sentient beings tied to the fate of both Earth and the stars. 'Fires of Hina' is a soul-stirring call to honor the living Earth, listen to the quiet voices of the universe, and awaken the warrior within.

Dr. Tissot is a marine ecologist and professor living in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. As a scientist and surfer, he has explored the world's waves and oceans and led research on coral reefs, kelp forests, and the deep sea. 'Fires of Hina' is his second book in the 'Songs of the Universe' trilogy.

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"e;Fires of Hina"e; is a luminous and haunting eco-spiritual novel that explores the fractured relationship between humanity, nature, and the cosmos through the lens of loss, longing, and resistance. At its heart lies a grieving ocean-and Lani, a young marine ecologist caught in its tide, searching not only for endangered whales and alien songs but also for a sense of wholeness in a rapidly unraveling world. Lani is not so much a hero as a vessel-fueled by grief, fury, and ancestral promise. Her journey isn't linear, but instead it's a tide oscillating between despair and defiance, spiritual numbness and awakening. She is driven by a promise that she doesn't fully understand-a vow made in blood and saltwater, rooted in familial love and cultural duty. The ocean has taken everything from her, yet it is also the only place that knows how to hold her sorrow-it's both her wound and balm. Lani's reality is marked by planetary collapse and corporate exploitation, and when an oceanic exoplanet called Thalassa is reopened for exploitation, Lani must confront her deepest fears, grief, and rage to become the planet's unlikely protector. Being guided by indigenous wisdom, ancestral spirits, and the echoes of lost songs, Lani embarks on an interstellar journey to defend the Nesoi indigenous to Thalassa and sentient beings whose fate is tied to both Earth and the stars.

Textauszug

Chapter 1.
Lani

2097, Arctic Ocean

All was silent, except for the gentle lapping of water against the hull of her small boat. The sea was too quiet now. Not lifeless but hollow—like a song missing its voice, a body missing its soul. She had heard them once—long, mournful notes threading through water and bone, their songs older than language, older than time. She had watched them die one by one, their enchanting music silenced by metal and fire. With each whale lost, she etched their memory into her skin, a living elegy—until her body, like the sea, could hold no more grief. For years she’d carried their silence like a wound, searching for one last thread of song, one sacred note than might lead her to her soul sister’s spirit.

Floating on a calm cerulean sea, she watched the mists rise off glistening waters in the morning sun. Lani’s salt-dried hands squeezed her headphones as she strained to hear, her sun-bleached black hair spilling across her pitched face and down her shoulders. I’m still listening, sister. I haven’t forgotten. After years of searching the ends of the Earth for whale songs, all she heard was the dissonant chatter of a disturbed ocean. Her heart ached; she dropped her head in despair. The whales are gone. The songs have stopped. I have failed to keep my vow.

Searching for Earth’s last whales made her despondent, frustrated, angry. The sacred animals disappearing before her eyes created waves of grief and guilt that swept through her like an ocean of tragic pictures. Sage. Her scarlet blood seeping into white sands, her life draining away. But instead of pain or anger, her cousin’s last words were spoken with a peaceful voice and a radiant smile. “Can you hear their song? They’re calling me home.” But nobody heard a sound. Only Sage. Then she died—and Lani’s heart died with her.

Then her life’s mission began. What did she hear? Where did she go? I must find her. For Sage had enchanted the world with Thalassa’s singing Nesoi and rediscovered ancient spiritual paths between her Hawaiian ancestors, Earth’s cetaceans, and this newly discovered species. After her death, after the Nesoi’s songs had captivated billions, the UN closed Thalassa to protect the Nesoi. So Lani guarded the whales while studying their songs, hoping for insights into the songs of the Nesoi on Thalassa. But whales were nearly extinct, driven from their tropical breeding grounds, now too warm, to the last productive habitats on the planet. Crowded in a polar madness, the last whales were pushed into a lawless scramble to squeeze the last drop of carbon out of the planet. Clinging to the last resources, the ships of the multinats fought to keep the engines of industry churning while oil—the black blood of the old world—was nearly gone, drained from the bones of the Earth.

Whaaoaoooaoooo!

Her heart skipped a beat. A faint note rang through the clear Arctic waters, a forlorn call. Her hands trembled at the rare and precious sound of a humpback. A koholā! Carefully rising to her feet, she raised her hand to silence those on the research vessel behind her. Her gaggle of dedicated volunteers grew quiet, grasping the rarity of the moment.

More notes. Thop! Thop! A thin smile crossed her face, one born of hope but steeled in tragedy. Sitting motionless in the small dinghy, hydrophone in the water, her headphones pressed tightly to her ears, her heart thumped as the whale’s cry grew louder. Thop! Thop! Thop!

It’s coming toward me!

As she scanned for whale signs, her heart sank upon seeing ships on the horizon.

Grrraawhaa— The whale’s high squeal cut off mid-stream. Then nothing but lifeless silence.

She stopped breathing. A dissonant rumble thundered through the water, blasting her ears. Boom! Boom! BOOM!

“No!” Her hopeful smile vanished. “Not again!” A large red ship headed toward her as her bitter words spewed out over the tranquil waters. “Cutten! It’s a seismic ship.” Her team’s collective gasp reminded her to pick up the radio. “Can you believe it?” Moans of shock and disappointment emanated from her assistants. Straining to hear the whale, Lani shook so hard the boat nearly overturned.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The whale was likely gone, evading geoseismic blasts so loud it scrambled their brains. After years of searching, she’d finally found a lone humpback, maybe the last one on the planet. And it was a koholā, an animal sacred to her, to her family, and to all Polynesians. The gentle leviathans were revered in their spiritual traditions both as their guardians and messengers from the ancients in the stars. Her body tensed reaffirming her responsibility: she was their avowed protector, blood sworn to defend them and learn their language. But despite trying to guard whales, she’d watched in horror as they died, killed by the same ethos destroying the planet: commercial greed.

The whale surfaced near her as another explosion ripped through the water. BOOM! It disappeared with a shudder. As the ship closed in on the whale, rage gripped her body. Ripping off her headphones, she smashed them on the deck as deafening seismic booms blasted out of their speakers. Tears fell, her frustrations spilling over. She flailed at the water with her fists. “No. No. No!” Jaw clenched, she started the engine and headed toward the approaching ship. “You’re not going to kill this one!” As she bounced across the water toward the Cutten ship, her long hair trailing in the wind, the radio chatter was drowned out by splashing waves. “What? Come back?”

“Lani!” It was the captain of her ship, the Hōkūlani. “There’s a Cetacean Research vessel heading this way.” He gulped. “It’s…it’s the Livyatan.”

Her heart fluttered wildly. She had encountered them before. “Whale killers!” Approaching the seismic ship, she turned to see the whaler blasting toward her. She barked at her skipper, “They’re after my whale. Stop them!”

A pause. “We can’t Their moving too fast. We’re in quiet shutdown, on your orders. We need a few minutes to get underway, and there isn’t time.”

“Shit!” She flew alongside the hull of the Cutten ship and threw the first thing she could grab, a digital recorder, and watched it bounce off a crew member with a dull thud and a howl. “Leave my whale alone!” she shouted, then headed toward the greater threat. She shook her head at the instant chaos. Months of nothing, then wham!

Beelining toward the incoming whaler, she scoffed at the word Research written across its sides in large letters. They did research alright—on dead bodies, after which they were hacked into hundreds of pieces and sold at premiums prices. More simply, they were whale hunters, cloaking their true intentions within quasi-legal international consortia to harvest dwindling whales for staggering profits. The last whale would be worth a fortune.

The humpback surfaced between her and the ship. The Livyatan crew scrambled. A huge man in green fatigues turned a sonic harpoon toward the spout in the water.

“No!” With a death grip on the accelerator she willed her boat forward. “Go! Go! Go!” Another surface blow, closer this time, and a sharp squeal echoed across the water. He’s coming to me. I can save him.

The Livyatan bore down. She shuddered seeing Enzo Clark, their notorious captain, pacing the bow like Captain Ahab. His trademark smirk piqued her temper and she let out a guttural growl.

“I hate that guy!” She pounded on the hull as they converged on a collision course, the whale between them. “Come on!”

Another blow, the whale behind her now. Relieved, she slowed and stood with her arms out, protected the humpback while yelling at the ship, “Stop! This is a sacred animal.”

Enzo and his crew laughed.

She shook her fist. “You’ll have to kill me first!”

The harpoon turned toward her. Enzo shouted, “You leave me no choice.”

Bang! Whoosh! A deafening jet like sound pierced the air. The harpoon zinged past her head in a blast of hot gas, impaling the whale. Loud shrieks echoed across the sea.

“No! No! No!” She collapsed in the boat in shock while the whale thrashed around, blood and flesh flying, coating her in red mist.

Moaning in disbelief, she slipped into the frigid water to comfort the struggling giant, the harpoon extruding from a large hole in its side. The high-tech explosive tip, designed to kill quickly and minimize suffering, was a dud. Listening to the whale moan in agony, she fought the urge to throw up.

Lani spoke softly as she caressed the leviathan’s side. “I’m so sorry, I…I…”

The struggling whale grew calm and moved toward her, their breaths mingling in great...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 4.9.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Science Fiction
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3178-1340-6 / 9798317813406