Galactic Altruism

Raised on a 200-acre farm in Plainfield, Iowa, Randy became enthralled by the stars in the clear night skies. After his high school science teacher gave him an old Newtonian telescope on a Dobsonian mount, Randy decided he wanted to study the stars. When Randy discovers that what he believed was a blurry "star" is actually the Andromeda Galaxy, he becomes determined to study cosmology. Thalassa (Thal) grew up on Fox Island in Washington State's Puget Sound. She spent her youth in the cold saltwater off the island. After seeing her science teacher demonstrate a Morse Code translation project using Arduino hardware, Thal became determined to build her own small submarine. She planned to sink the submarine to the seabed, take pictures, and return safely to the surface. All she needed was a degree in oceanography. Current studies present many obstacles that prohibit interstellar travel and alien encounters. But an unlikely pair—Randy, a farm boy from Iowa, and Thal, an islander from Washington State—began to work together, despite their different scientific studies, to find a way around the obstacles to interstellar travel in the most unusual fashion. While working together, the unlikely duo began to form a deeper relationship, one that eventually blossomed into a romance. The latest in a collection of bedtime stories, "Galactic Altruism" aims to acquaint preteen and teenage readers with today's scientific terms and current level of knowledge. It is purposely written to avoid profane language, anything that demeans the human condition, and ignores an immortal spirit.