Out of Due Season: The First Transit by Benjamin X. Wretlind

A cult leader. A government tightening its grip. Competing global interests. A mysterious power source. What could possibly go wrong? On a June afternoon, a body is discovered floating in a remote lake in northwestern Washington. When a recovery team attempts to retrieve it, they make a shocking discovery: 311 other bodies lie under the water, all members of a previously unknown religious cult. However, what appears to be a tragedy of immense proportions is only the beginning. Soon, a few relatives and friends of the victims discover inconsistencies in the stories, and a small group bands together to learn the truth. As government agencies apply pressure for reasons unknown and civil unrest in the country makes communication and movement difficult, this tiny yet determined team unravels what may be the greatest event in recent—if not all—human history. Something epic is about to happen in that remote lake, and as Father Elijah Jonas tries to convince his followers to abandon the purgatory that is Earth and travel on faith to a new world, competing sides with divergent interests inch ever closer to the truth. What if humanity had a second chance? Would we make the same mistakes? For one cult, the only way to find out is to try.

Adult • Science Fiction • Science Fiction/Colonization • Science Fiction/Dystopian