Fusion Fire
Encyclopedia
Fusion Fire is a science fiction
novel
by Kathy Tyers
originally published in 1987, and later rewritten and republished in 2000.
The protagonist is Lady Firebird Angelo
, once a wastling of a Netaian royal family and now a Federate citizen.
powers, thus of Ehret
an heritage. As Sentinels (telepaths aligned with the Federacy) follow a strict moral and ethical code regarding their powers, it is assumed that the Shuhr are behind it. This assumption is strengthened when Caldwell's brother's family is found murdered in their beds—the Shuhr are attempting again, for the third time in three generations, to wipe out the bloodline associated with the old religious prophecy
. The aftermath of the attack reveals Firebird's pregnancy, which they had kept secret for months. The Shuhr assassins are keenly interested, and the Netaian nobility is largely shocked by the thought of a wastling producing offspring, though the news is received warmly by Queen Carradee.
Firebird continues her study of Netaian political simulations, hoping to stave off societal collapse of her dysfunctional homeworld. She also studies her new religion and telepathy, having accidentally discovered that the Angelo bloodline carried Ehretan genes (and hence Ehretan powers). Attempting the turn, the most basic mental gesture, repeatedly ends in frustration and failure. Using a suicide attack on a city to distract Caldwell, another attack on her life, by a minor Sentinel officer coopted by the Shuhr, prompts her to success for the first time—but the experience is unlike any telepath has experienced before, killing the assassin who was in contact with her mind at the time and leaving her in deep shock. A second successful turn, during labor, nearly kills her as well. As this uncontrolled ability threatens any telepath that might be near her, she is quarantined—even from her newborn sons.
Meanwhile, Phoena Angelo continues to chafe while Netaia is under Federate occupation, and her latest scheme involves asking the Shuhr for assistance. However, they mentally dominate her and reduce her to an unwitting pawn, using her as a source for exploring the lost Ehretan gene sequences, as well as pillaging the material wealth of Netaia.
Phoena's foppish husband, Tel Tellai, humbles himself by asking Caldwell's assistance in rescuing her, despite the impossible odds. Ongoing diplomatic and military developments force the issue of Phoena's rescue, but Caldwell finally accepts the mission only after a divine vision. Using new technology to amplify his mental abilities, he sets out to infiltrate the Shuhr homeworld of Three Zed in a rescue attempt. He finds Phoena, but is captured. She is tortured to death while the Shuhr enjoyed her psychic screams of pain, at last realizing she'd been played for the fool, and only Brennen is there to mourn her passing. The Shuhr leaders extract DNA samples from him for their cloning efforts, and try to force secrets from him. To thwart them, Caldwell gives himself amnesia blocks.
Tel, exposed to non-Netaian ideas for the first time, begins to doubt Phoena's character and motives, though he remains fiercely devoted to her. He also comes to a healthy respect for Caldwell, and the Sentinels and Federacy in general. When Ellet Kinsman, a Sentinel officer and Firebird's romantic rival for Caldwell's affections, shows her how she can pursue and rescue Brennen, Firebird (also after divine guidance) seizes the chance, and takes the matured Tel was her copilot.
On Netaia, Queen Carradee's rule and reforms are seen as ineffectual and even harmful to the ruling class, who force her to abdicate after her chambers are bombed, almost resulting in the death of Prince Consort Daithi Drake-Angelo. Carradee and Daithi are welcomed to Hesed House, the Sentinel retreat, and Daithi is given better medical care than is available on Netaia. As he begins to recover, the two of them also begin to see the Federacy, especially the gentle faith of the Sentinels, in a new light.
Upon arrival at Three Zed, Firebird and Tel are discovered, but she is allowed to free Caldwell before they are both captured again. Tel remains in the shuttle, and is mentally incapacitated by the monitoring Shuhr. Caldwell is a wreck, having faced physical and psychic torture for days, and his self-imposed amnesia has progressed to the point where he cannot even remember who Firebird is. Moreover, his mental powers are chemically blocked. Confronting the most powerful Shuhr telepaths together, Firebird manages her painful turn, and Caldwell latches on to it to jumpstart his own powers temporarily. The fusion of their two epsilon carriers together is more powerful than anyone has experienced before, and they triumph before Firebird faints. Through amnesia and phobia, Caldwell hauls Firebird to the spacecraft, where Tel's mostly untested piloting abilities get them away safely.
Upon their return and Caldwell's psi-healing, the Federacy discovers the Shuhr were developing their own psi-amplification and fusion technologies, which would have allowed them to dominate every world in that arm of the galaxy.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Kathy Tyers
Kathy Tyers
Kathy Tyers is an American author and musician currently living in Bozeman, Montana.-Biography:Kathy Tyers was born and raised in Long Beach, California. She obtained a degree in microbiology from Montana State University, where she met her future husband Mark Tyers...
originally published in 1987, and later rewritten and republished in 2000.
The protagonist is Lady Firebird Angelo
Firebird Angelo
Firebird Angelo is the protagonist of the Firebird series of books by Kathy Tyers.-Personality:Firebird Angelo is described in the series as impatient, prideful, and desperate for attention. These attributes were formed in response to her wastling upbringing.-Netaian nobility:Firebird is the...
, once a wastling of a Netaian royal family and now a Federate citizen.
Plot summary
The story opens about a year after the events of Firebird with Firebird and new husband Brennen Caldwell being attacked in the middle of the night by someone with telepathicTelepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
powers, thus of Ehret
Ehret
Ehret is the surname of* Arno Ehret, a German handball player* Arnold Ehret, a German health educator* Charles Frederick Ehret a WWII veteran* Christopher Ehret, professor of African History...
an heritage. As Sentinels (telepaths aligned with the Federacy) follow a strict moral and ethical code regarding their powers, it is assumed that the Shuhr are behind it. This assumption is strengthened when Caldwell's brother's family is found murdered in their beds—the Shuhr are attempting again, for the third time in three generations, to wipe out the bloodline associated with the old religious prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
. The aftermath of the attack reveals Firebird's pregnancy, which they had kept secret for months. The Shuhr assassins are keenly interested, and the Netaian nobility is largely shocked by the thought of a wastling producing offspring, though the news is received warmly by Queen Carradee.
Firebird continues her study of Netaian political simulations, hoping to stave off societal collapse of her dysfunctional homeworld. She also studies her new religion and telepathy, having accidentally discovered that the Angelo bloodline carried Ehretan genes (and hence Ehretan powers). Attempting the turn, the most basic mental gesture, repeatedly ends in frustration and failure. Using a suicide attack on a city to distract Caldwell, another attack on her life, by a minor Sentinel officer coopted by the Shuhr, prompts her to success for the first time—but the experience is unlike any telepath has experienced before, killing the assassin who was in contact with her mind at the time and leaving her in deep shock. A second successful turn, during labor, nearly kills her as well. As this uncontrolled ability threatens any telepath that might be near her, she is quarantined—even from her newborn sons.
Meanwhile, Phoena Angelo continues to chafe while Netaia is under Federate occupation, and her latest scheme involves asking the Shuhr for assistance. However, they mentally dominate her and reduce her to an unwitting pawn, using her as a source for exploring the lost Ehretan gene sequences, as well as pillaging the material wealth of Netaia.
Phoena's foppish husband, Tel Tellai, humbles himself by asking Caldwell's assistance in rescuing her, despite the impossible odds. Ongoing diplomatic and military developments force the issue of Phoena's rescue, but Caldwell finally accepts the mission only after a divine vision. Using new technology to amplify his mental abilities, he sets out to infiltrate the Shuhr homeworld of Three Zed in a rescue attempt. He finds Phoena, but is captured. She is tortured to death while the Shuhr enjoyed her psychic screams of pain, at last realizing she'd been played for the fool, and only Brennen is there to mourn her passing. The Shuhr leaders extract DNA samples from him for their cloning efforts, and try to force secrets from him. To thwart them, Caldwell gives himself amnesia blocks.
Tel, exposed to non-Netaian ideas for the first time, begins to doubt Phoena's character and motives, though he remains fiercely devoted to her. He also comes to a healthy respect for Caldwell, and the Sentinels and Federacy in general. When Ellet Kinsman, a Sentinel officer and Firebird's romantic rival for Caldwell's affections, shows her how she can pursue and rescue Brennen, Firebird (also after divine guidance) seizes the chance, and takes the matured Tel was her copilot.
On Netaia, Queen Carradee's rule and reforms are seen as ineffectual and even harmful to the ruling class, who force her to abdicate after her chambers are bombed, almost resulting in the death of Prince Consort Daithi Drake-Angelo. Carradee and Daithi are welcomed to Hesed House, the Sentinel retreat, and Daithi is given better medical care than is available on Netaia. As he begins to recover, the two of them also begin to see the Federacy, especially the gentle faith of the Sentinels, in a new light.
Upon arrival at Three Zed, Firebird and Tel are discovered, but she is allowed to free Caldwell before they are both captured again. Tel remains in the shuttle, and is mentally incapacitated by the monitoring Shuhr. Caldwell is a wreck, having faced physical and psychic torture for days, and his self-imposed amnesia has progressed to the point where he cannot even remember who Firebird is. Moreover, his mental powers are chemically blocked. Confronting the most powerful Shuhr telepaths together, Firebird manages her painful turn, and Caldwell latches on to it to jumpstart his own powers temporarily. The fusion of their two epsilon carriers together is more powerful than anyone has experienced before, and they triumph before Firebird faints. Through amnesia and phobia, Caldwell hauls Firebird to the spacecraft, where Tel's mostly untested piloting abilities get them away safely.
Upon their return and Caldwell's psi-healing, the Federacy discovers the Shuhr were developing their own psi-amplification and fusion technologies, which would have allowed them to dominate every world in that arm of the galaxy.