The Lawyer and the Astronaut

Jerry Lucas

Josh is a highly intelligent young man, but also quite independent and rebellious. He lives in the year 2446, and finds it hard to keep a job. Josh is laid off from his job, and can’t find another one. Laura, a friend of his, is laid off a few days later. They meet for lunch, share their experiences, and soon fall in love. Complications arise when Josh finds a job that sends him off to space to explore an unknown world. The other world is similar to Earth but much younger than Earth. In effect, Josh will be visiting Earth as it existed millions of years ago.

Josh is cryogenically frozen, and travels to the other planet. He conducts his scientific studies, and has to fight for his life against savage alien life forms.

Laura is cryogenically frozen while Josh is gone. But Josh is late returning to Earth. In fact, when he is late by 100 years, he is given up for dead. Laura is woken up, and becomes aware of the grim possibility that Josh is dead. It is now 3796. After getting over a serious culture shock, Laura tries to find a job in her new time period. She interviews with a virtual reality company, a robotics company, a water desalinating company, and a few others. In the end, she accepts a job with a firm specializing in environmental law. She endures a few years of rigorous law school, and finally becomes a lawyer. Her time as a lawyer leads her on some adventures, including trips to Sub-Saharan Africa and Tokyo. Meanwhile there is no news about Josh and his whereabouts remain a complete mystery.