Mindset by Pat Whitaker

Description

Cast out into the nothingness of space and abandoned to their fate, simply surviving would take everything they had, and make them all more than they had ever been.

Only in the fullness of time did they understand that forgiveness would be their only means of revenge, and a terrible revenge it turns out to be.

“The reality was very different. The whole project had from the beginning been under-resourced and the numbers just too small to be viable in the long term. As these resources became ever scarcer, co-operation between the two colonies was replaced by competition. This soon escalated to skirmishes, raids on supplies, and finally out and out civil war.

For the victors, there was a brief period of calm, but all the factors that had triggered this situation were now multiplied tenfold. The bulk of colonists’ resources had been used or destroyed in the fighting—attrition, particularly of supplies, had been the dominant tactic—and the population had been halved. In almost no time, factionalism began to appear amongst the survivors and this inevitably led to total social collapse.

Gary and the others on the station had monitored events with growing despair, by listening to the radio traffic from the surface. The last transmission they had heard was over two years ago, and it was clear by then that there were probably less than a dozen people left alive. There had also been some indications that the inhabitants had only survived so long by resorting to cannibalism.

The shuttles, the only possible way for them to return to the surface had long since been scavenged for anything they could provide. There was no way to go to the surface, and nothing to go for. Where they were was where they would all die.”

Reviews:

“… from the practical workings of outer space to the total turmoil of the inner mind … A damn good read.”

“Mindset is enthralling and believable science fiction that deals with the psychological interplay between differing factions in a highly stressed environment … all leading to a dramatic and unexpected ending.

“An intelligent work for those who like their sci-fi well thought out.”

“Pat Whitaker reveals his passion for sci-fi as he takes you on a futuristic journey into space. Unexpected plot twists keep the reader in suspense right to the end.”