The Zyronian Book 2 - A Different World Part 1 excerpt

Prologue

 

Zaine woke up extremely disorientated after the ‘Latana’ had left Earth’s orbit. Glancing towards the master screens automatically out of habit, he comprehended that all was in order; the only exception being he. How he had torn himself away from Serena was having a dire effect on his senses. It had taken every inch of his willpower, and the pain was clawing at him, dull at first and becoming more intense, the ‘space vehicle’ searing into the macrocosm of space as he watched out of the wide clear glass panels of the craft glowing first from the reflections of the light from the stars in the universe, and then growing pitch dark just like the blackness that enclosed his heart. Nothing or no one could fix this, it was he who had known what the end result was going to be and yet he had been careless, if anybody was to be blamed it was him. He should have steered clear of Serena, but even when he had tried, he had not been able to stop himself. As the ‘Latana’ hurtled further and further into space, the reality bore into him that at this juncture he was definitely past the point of no return. The robots had been activated by default when he left Earth but then he had reprogrammed them to remain inactive, as he endured the journey mostly dreaming about Serena wanting her near him so much when he would fall asleep, and then wake up with an emptiness that filled every atom of his body. Though he had far more than enough supplies for sustenance, he consumed very little as he had no appetite whatsoever, the foods being prepared by him as he had gotten used to doing things as the Earthlings did, without the help of robots. There was no such thing as day or night in space, only a destination to be reached and blurry moments of whatever was in between. If ever there was a hell it was inside him, as great as the heavens outside the walls of the ‘Latana’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Zyronian Book 1 - Destination Africa excerpt

Prologue

Beyond the enormous sea of stars in our Solar System, about six hundred light years away and completely unknown to mankind in our world, there existed a planet known as Zyron, just a quarter of the size in comparison to Earth. Evolved in a universe that preceded ours by nearly fifty thousand Earth years, it took its form duly from tiny particles of dust, when a big blast of energy occurred abruptly in space at the time. Matter and energy came together, pulled inwards by surrounding gravity forces, the events consequently leading to the generating of the planet and the beginning of life on it. From the genesis of the first signs of its creation many life forms were engendered, one in particular was comparatively adjacent to the human race on Earth. Zyronians; a race, much older, by far older than when the first prehistoric humans wielded clubs and dwelled in caves on Earth. As the Zyronians advanced in knowledge and technology, and as more frequent climatic changes occurred on Zyron, it seemed eventually, only the north eastern areas of the planet had plentiful water due to the many lakes derived from the immense suspension of moisture in the changing atmospheres. This allowed lush vegetation to rise from the recesses of the soil now very fertile in that part of the hemisphere due to massive erosions throughout Zyron also having taken place at the same time. The other areas were barren and dry as a desert, completely unliveable to the future generations of Zyron, and so by the beginning of the twentieth century Earth time, the habitable areas of the planet Zyron emerged as one large sector, creating miles and miles of crystalline glass buildings and small citadels equivalent to roughly ten times the size of the state of New York.

Zyron rotated one hundred and five times on its slightly tilted axis around a yellow star, completing one year of their time. That star was truly their sun, consisting of hot plasma interwoven into magnetic fields, a necessary outcome to the creation of their universe for life to exist on Zyron. The revolving of Zyron perpetuated the setting of its sun indicating days or nights accordingly as it spun around, with the southern hemisphere facing more towards the massive star. Gradually, Zyron’s climate maintained only two seasons; cold and dry turning slowly to warm and humid, with temperatures rarely reaching below four degrees Celsius nor above twenty five degrees Celsius providing the planet with an almost perfect Mediterranean type of climate.  It was a world different and yet quite like ours yielding intelligent beings with physical appearances quite similar to those of our world as we know it.

Zyron had a moon too known as Byron, also formed when their universe was created, just as the moon in the skies of planet Earth. It revolved around Zyron taking roughly twenty turnings, showing crescents as it slowly aligned with Zyron and its sun, allowing a full moon when it did not, generating nights so beautiful at times, they were unforgettable.

Zaine, one of Zyron’s most accomplished and youthful of the geologists and scientists, looked out to the stars and the full incandescent golden moon above, on a chilly night a few days after Jon, his mentor had required him to have a meeting with their planet’s team of scientists. Zaine loved this recurring peaceful beauty of the Zyronian nights taking place in their skies which he felt held many secrets, always fascinating him endlessly. It was the middle of the cold spell and he was warmly clad in typical Zyronian attire as the stark night breeze cooled his face. Fashioned after the colours of the science center, Zaine was comfortably dressed in skin-tight black pants paired with a closely fitted dark purple and grey tunic, long enough to cover his sinewy thighs midway. Added on to complete his attire was a metallic silver belt fastened over it, feet protected by below the knee black boots, and a fleecy grey hooded cloak to shield him further from the low temperatures outside. Gripping the solid rail guards with his strong, tense, gloved hands, Zaine stood alone, a few feet away from his quarters, on a jutting circular balcony, a semi- enclosed structure of clear glass integrated with grey metallic rods on one of the highest buildings of the science center on the two hundred and eighty ninth floor, where he had been lately taking stock of the upcoming dilemma that Jon had sprung upon him. In the past few days, he had been put under a lot of pressure, consumed by this problem - in the very near future Zyron was in danger of losing all power and energy resources!

Zyron’s moon, for a very long time had been rich in the ‘rocks’ currently being used with the amalgamation of their sun’s rays synergised into them in the management and transformation of the powerful energy applications that were used progressively throughout the planet. Supplies of the ‘rock’ were now depleting and there was just not enough to last through to the next generation. At times, asteroids had been engulfed by Zyron’s space vehicles as they had provided some amounts of the ‘rock’ but these supplies proved to be minute. The ‘rocks’ disintegrated over time and new ‘rocks’ had to be periodically replaced in the planet’s ‘Zyronium’ energy storage application banks. With the advent of this powerful energy being used by their race at an alarming rate as their technology advanced rapidly, they had to discover another source soon!

Recipe's from The Zyronian Book 1 - Destination Africa

Pink pudding

1 liter of almond milk
3 table spoons of sugar( a little more if you want it really sweet)
a pinch of saffron
1/2 packet of agar agar powder(12.5 g)
a touch of red food color enough to turn mixture pink
some slivered almonds

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and boil on medium heat.
As soon as mixture bubbles, pour into a pyrex dish to cool and harden.
Sprinkle slivered almonds before mixture cools completely.
When mixture is cooled place in refrigerator overnight. Serve cold.

Recipe's from The Zyronian Book 1 - Destination Africa

Mildly spiced Lentil biriyani 

1 1/2 cups of basmati rice
1 cup of lentils, optional(red lentils or mung beans)
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
11/2  teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 cup plain yogurt
a pinch or two of saffron
ready fried onions 1 cup
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons of oil 
1/4 teaspoon yellow food color
2 table spoons chopped coriander

Boil 1 cup of lentils with 1/2 teaspoon of salt until tender.
Add 1 teaspoon of garam masala, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder, 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, a pinch of saffron, 1/2 cup ready fried onions, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1 table spoon of oil. Let this mixture simmer.
Wash the 1 1/2 cup of basmati rice and soak it for ten minutes.
Remove all water and add fresh water to just cover it about an inch.
Put rice on boil and add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 table spoon oil. When all the water is gone, let rice simmer and cook thoroughly. Add 1/ 2 cup onions, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala and a pinch of  saffron to it. Put the 1/4 teaspoon of yellow food color in a cup and add like a teaspoon of water to it. Pour it randomly on the rice to form a marble effect so rice will seem yellow in some places and white in others. Turn over the rice gently to mix in the onions, saffron and garam masala.
Place the now ready rice into a flat serving dish, pour the lentil mix gently on top of it and garnish with the coriander on top of the lentil mix.

Recipe's from The Zyronian Book 1 - Destination Africa

Lamb Kebabs 

1lb lamb cubes about 1 1/2 in size
1 tablespoon ginger /garlic paste mix
1 kiwi chopped and crushed

1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds powder
optional (tandoori powder 1 teaspoon)

marinade lamb cubes with the rest of the ingredients for two or three hours until lamb texture is soft enough to barbeque.
skewer lamb cubes onto bamboo shoot sticks and barbeque till cooked thoroughly
serve with tamarind chutney and salad

PS (Other meats too can be done in the same way)

Recipe's from The Zyronian Book 1 - Destination Africa

 Tandoori chicken

Mix 1and1/2 teaspoons of tandoori powder or paste with 1 cup of plain yogurt in a mixing bowl. Add 2 table spoons of crushed ginger and garlic mix and 2 tablespoon of tomato paste to it. Optional additions are a couple of tablespoons of chopped cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper to spice it up a little. Let the mixture stand. This mixture is enough for one whole medium chicken. Clean a whole chicken by removing the skin and any other fats attached to it. Either the whole chicken can be basted or it can be cut into eight pieces. If chicken is whole, it can be baked at 350 degrees for about an hour in a convection oven, which can be eaten with baked potato or a green salad. Chicken in pieces is best barbequed over a charcoal fire and can be eaten with salad and fried rice.Condiments on side - tamarind chutney - as in my previous blog. Another dip - unsweetened dessicated coconut blended with some cilantro and jalapenos and with lemon juice and salt to taste.

Recipe's from my book 'The Zyronian Book 1 - Destination Africa"

Vegetable Pakora's

Two cups of chick pea flour
2 teaspoons of crushed garlic
1 cup freshly chopped spinach
1 cup of freshly chopped onions
1/2 cup of freshly grated carrots
1/2 cup of tinned creamy corn or peas or both
1 level teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro


Mix all of the above ingredients in a mixing bowl with some water to form a thick paste.
Heat a liter of oil for frying in a deep saucepan at medium heat.
Add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder into the mixture and mix thoroughly
Spoon out mixture with a tablespoon into oil forming small balls. Fry until golden brown turning each fritter to cook all the way inside. Remove fried fritters and place on paper towels to drain excess oil.
Serve with tamarind chutney which you can buy ready or make.

Tamarind Chutney

Boil a  small block of tamarind with two tablespoons of sugar in some water for an hour or so until soft. (Add more water if necessary.) Strain the thickened paste into a bowl using a strainer and add salt and cayenne pepper to taste.Option - sprinkle a little chopped cilantro.

Will be posting more recipe's soon. I will be glad to answer any questions.