Chapter I

Many years before Jonathan Cook became Futureman, he was a just a normal everyday working class, family man. He had a difficult job and clocked in long hours. Jonathan mortgaged a large home in the country side. He had a wife and two twin girls who he loved dearly.

One evening Jonathan was working late as usual, as he was putting the finishing touches on a proposal and drinking a cup of coffee at his desk. His eyes blurred as he was quite tired. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He was one of the last ones in the office; a cleaning lady emptied the waste paper bins somewhere on the other side of the floor. The telephone on Jonathan’s desk rang. It was his direct line and his wife is the only one who calls at this hour, usually to find out what time he will be home. Thinking it was his wife he picked up and said, “Hi Honey, I’m leaving now” Silence.

A dry nonhuman monotone voice that definitely was not his wife said “Jonathan Cook?”

“Who is this?” Jonathan demanded.

No response, (click) the line disconnected. Jonathan took one last sip of his coffee which was now cold and then threw the cup in the garbage. He turned off his desk lamp and left the office, taking the elevator down to the sub level garage. It was night, the building was now completely empty. He got into his automobile and headed home.

Living in the countryside had certain advantages and provided a better life for his family, however the long commute was tiresome. After he got out of the city, the roads became quite and lonely. At one point during the night drive Jonathan’s eyelids became heavy and he began taking longer and longer blinks, and then during a slight curve in the road, Jonathan drove the car off the pavement, his tires hitting the uneven dirt, sending up stones, and the tree branches slapped the windshield. Jonathan quickly became alert and safely steered the car back onto the road. His heart pounded in his chest and he began to sweat. He rolled down the window, decreased his speed, turned on the radio and continued on his way home.

Further up the road Jonathan saw strange lights flashing in the sky and the radio lost reception. The lights became increasingly bright to the point Jonathan had to squint his eyes and he took one hand off the wheel to shield his face. . The entire road was completely illuminated, it was as bright as day. Jonathan then saw an amazing sight, a large flying saucer hovered and rotated just above the tree line of the sky. The spacecraft was constructed of a silver metal, and just waited there. Jonathan stopped the car and got out, his eyes fixated, like a moth to the porch lamp. He refused to take his eyes away, not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t. The Unidentified Flying Object or UFO seemed to get closer and closer, until it was just over Jonathan, when suddenly it emitted a strong pulse of light that sent Jonathan back a step. His brain began to hurt a bit, a similar sensation to when he would eat ice cream too quickly. Again the UFO emitted another strong burst of light this time knocking Jonathan to the ground. One more rapid burst of light and Jonathan was laid out flat on the ground, knocked unconscious. His automobile was still running with the door open.

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