Sequestered

Publishers Description Across the incomprehensible vastness of space, members of a mature, star-faring civilization explore the edges of the galaxy. Theirs is an old society that has overcome hate, greed, war, inequality, disease, and now, the stars. Sequestered is the story of their brief, in cosmic time, encounter with another, emerging civilization, still torn by the struggles of collective evolution. Sequestered is the first novel written by Rick Johnson. Published in 2023, his book uses the science fiction genre as a device to trace and critically appraise human civilization from Neolithic times to Apollo 8’s moon orbits. Extraterrestrial beings, who have followed radio transmissions across the galaxy to Earth’s solar system, tell the story. Humans seek to answer the riveting question, “What do they think of us?” On their home planet, the extraterrestrials intercept radio transmissions they believe emanate from a technologically advanced life form. They design and build a massive starship to carry them across the galaxy in search of the source. The light years long voyage ends with their orbit around Earth. Once in orbit, the extraterrestrials observe and analyze human behavior. Told through a series of chronological vignettes, they become convinced that humans are a belligerent species — proven by continual wars, multiple genocides, individual acts of cruelty, and finally, the atomic bomb. Ultimately, they come to believe that humans are too dangerous to be allowed to travel to the stars. They begin to consider confining — sequestering — humans to Earth. A moral debate — pro and con — ensues among them. Humans react, predictably, to learning that they are not alone in the galaxy. A global controversy, with both passive and aggressive proponents, takes place in a fictional nuclear command center, in a coffee shop in Houston, and ultimately in the contentious halls of Congress. The characters, their opinions, actions, and responses to the extraterrestrial presence will be quite familiar to the 2023 mindset.