Substitute Gods

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SubstituteGods is a science fiction farce about creation. A team of time traveling scientist from the future accidentally mess up the Big Bang. They need the expertise of a biologist form the 21st century to get it all working correctly again. Thus Alan Godfrey becomes our fish out of water hero, a 21st century average guy consorting and time travelling with new and diverse forms of humanity from the distant future.

In the process of rebooting the big bang and the advent of life, legends of gods are formed. These new creators, the Substitute Gods, bring everything into existence. They trigger the Big Bang from a dense Primordium. They create life, and humanity. A rift develops between leadership, causing factions to grow apart, some towards evil and some towards good.

There are new forms of humanity from the future; human androids, psychically connected clones and other sentient beings. The characters are quirky and sometimes contentious. The plot is suspenseful and the tone is humorous. And yet, there is a subtle undercurrent of thoughtfulness and insight.

Lief Erickson is the Captain of a time ship named the Continuum. He is from the year 6708. He has gathered a crew of scientists from various points in time, based on the expertise needed.

In their studies, they accidentally caused a stall in the Big Bang, and need Godfrey's help to get it restarted. He is the only character from the era we live in now. Everyone else is from the post-petroleum era and knows the history of how human kind nearly made the earth unlivable, and our slow recovery since that time.

The struggle to re-create creation is fraught with constant challenges. Some problems arise because the nature of the problem, and some are from inside saboteurs who vie for power. Various creation myths are explained by the actions of these Substitute Gods. The tasks required to fix the universe creates a constant tension, and the pace of the book is one of continuous pressure.