Prelude to a Star

Dew was beginning to settle out of the evening air, making the sparse grass moist all around. Lola stood quietly by while her father rolled out the mats with his usual ritual on these special moonless occasions. Then they both sat and gazed upward into the fresh night sky at their star--Oranos εpsilon.

Stargazing had to be done in the early evenings now, before the stars would succumb to the strange, undulating lights of Aurora Helius, a reminder of the disaster enshrouding the Earth and the changes to the world of their memories. Like Aurora Borealis, Heliuss lights would hue the evening sky from the delicate dance of the solar winds making passage high in the Earths magnetosphere. Those winds were very full these days, and so Heliuss lights arose from all directions of the horizon instead of just the Northern. Whereas Aurora Borealis had been held captive to Borealis, Greek god of the North Wind, Aurora Helius would be held captive by no one...

...oOo...

Beset with an unexpected and growing catastrophe, humanity has limited time and makes a plan to ensure its survival. A science fiction novella set in the near future-- a space, math, archeology, and genetics thriller told through the experiences of a female protagonist. Author tries to be true and accurate to the science, while still keeping it readable and enjoyable, not distracting to the story. Most character surnames derived from known stars and star systems.