Ali Baba in Space
A tale of outer space and ancient magic
by
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Kadar and his band of outlaws thundered into the marketplace and came to a halt standing arrogantly in the stirrups before Saman’s shop. “Saman!” “What do you want, Kadar” Saman responded as he emerged from his shop. “You took everything we had the last time you were here.” “I take what I need,” bellowed Kadar. “We need more grain for our mounts” Joe tried to remain quietly in the background. It was probably this very furtiveness that attracted Kadar’s attention. “Who is that?” he barked. “He is not one of your villagers” Saman Spoke up. “He is just passing through. He is a teacher, a wise man. “You, there. Bring me your purse. You must pay to pass through this village.” “I have no purse, no gold. I am just a poor teacher” “We’ll see about that” replied Kadar as he wheeled his steed and charged through the scurrying crowd towards Joe. Almost reflexively, Joe drew the ancient Colt 45 from beneath his jumper. “Stop!” he commanded. Having no idea what it was that Joe was pointing at him, Kadar just laughed. “What is that, a magic wand?” he laughed derisively. ‘My friend, best you don’t force me to show you what it can do” Kadar drew his sword and once again charged angrily towards Joe. Joe aimed slightly over Kadar’s head and squeezed the trigger. There was a thunderous roar and by a fortunate twist of fate the slug caught the sword broadside and knocked it out of Kadar’s hand as the terrified animal reared dumping Kadar to the ground. Taking advantage of the shock and surprise of the astonished crowd, Joe roared in his best military instructor command voice “ I am , uh, Wajih the Wizard, ” Joe was thinking fast on his feet. “Wajih the wizard? C’mon Joe, you can do better than that.” Aloud – “You must leave immediately and never return or I will turn you all into worms!” he barked fiercely. The bandits quickly mounted and in less than a minute had fled the village.
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About the Book
Joe Dolan, raised on a farm in the back woods of Pennsylvania, wearies of the farm life and sets out to find his place in the world. While working at the Space Fleet Logistics Center at Hanford Washington, The Mars Colony declares it independence and our space fleet, desperate for pilots accepts Joe as a trainee. Several years later the rebellion has been crushed and Joe has risen to Commander of the intergalactic Space Patrol. While on a routine mission he is ambushed by an unknown adversary, shot down and crashes on a planet with an ancient culture. The people of a small village near his crash site accept him as a “wizard” after he drives of a band of outlaws with his “Magic wand”, an antique long barreled Colt 45, left to him by his grandfather which he has carried with him for years for sentimental reasons. Joe befriends young Ali, a mischievous street urchin and, using their wits and Joe’s long barreled Colt, they manage to keep the bandits at bay. Joe’s unknown adversary turns out to be an alien race determined to establish a colony on the ancient planet and Joe and Ali have to devise ways to battle the alien’s superior technology with cunning and ancient weapons.
About the Author
Sheldon Shore is a retired engineering professional. He has a degree in engineering from The Johns Hopkins University and a business degree from the University of Redlands in Redlands California. Originally from the small brickyard town of Mt Union, Pennsylvania he is currently a resident of Washington state where he specializes in real estate acquisitions and development.