Hyperspeed

Hyperspeed offers a glimpse into the world as it might exist in the year 2076. It is futuristic, but not science fiction. The scenarios are plausible based on a logical extension of modern technological developments, where intercontinental travel is carried out in evacuated tunnels, called portals, that permit supersonic global travel, such as Paris to Shanghai in just three and a half hours. The story is about a recently retired corporate executive, named Christophe Connally, who oversaw the production of a submarine portal connecting the east coast of Canada to the west coast of Ireland for a company called, Ashliegh Industries. Christop inadvertently stumbles into a conspiracy to counterfeit and smuggle gold bullion by a sinister group called the Syndicate, intent on commandeering the global economy and seeking to fill the power vacuum left behind when central governments became irrelevant in the post-modern age. The story describes extremely complex construction projects; physicists, scientists, and engineers; farmers and vintners; diabolical international agents; pets and other friendly creatures. Both highly personal, with Christophe's longing for closure to painful chapters of his life, and his engagement with a pair of turtledoves and a few domesticated animals, interspersed with impersonal multinational corporations constructing nearly unimaginable public transport systems spanning the globe that double as gold smuggling vessels. This story is engaging on many levels.