John T. Cullen has authored over 20 books, including The Generals of October (Simon & Schuster, 2004)—pulse-pounding political-military suspense fiction set in a near-future U.S. Constitutional crisis.
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John T. Cullen also writes screenplays, including one for Nebula Express (adapted from his SF novel) and the violent, darkly glistening, utterly strange tale of a serial killer in Scorpion.
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Mars the Divine
a novel
by John T. Cullen
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8: Pardon
My life was spared only because the newly designated Popess, who would take the name Gina-Paulina Benedictina XXIV, took over the ecclesiastical court instead of the Temple. The new Popess wanted to show mercifulness, particularly in light of the fact that nobody could really pin anything on me, except I was there, and Her Late Holiness had remarked to the two priestesses that I had written a warning in the sand, but again none of his was provable in a court of law. The civil judge, hearing a condemnation of me by my old protector the Abbot, wanted to have me thrown from the highest tower to land in a heap of death two miles below as had the unfortunate Timony. Her Holiness, however, explained to these medieval plowhorses that the mere desire to hate someone or wreak revenge did not translate into clear legal procedure. I thanked her on my hands and knees, however undignified that may have looked. I was given twelve hours to leave the city with a fresh oxygen pack, dust filter, a plain silver storm suit, and a rucksack full of keepsakes. Of my awful adventures coming down from the highlands, nothing need presently be said, and I hope to forget that bleak episode of my life.
While I was awaiting my sentence, and fearing the worst, I sat in a small cell and watched through the bars as a holo display flicked through its moving images on a wall near the guard desk. I could barely hear the sound, but I didn't need to. One by one, the world's politicians, celebrities, business leaders, and religious figures took their turn at various ceremonies to eulogize the late Popess. I heard my name mentioned as a suspect, and there were calls for my execution. One of those making the most pious of speeches was Duke Balesso. As he spoke, I noticed that he had a green bar tattooed on his wrist, and I wondered if he were the mysterious emasked witness to my earlier Temple trial. If so, that would mean considerable interest at high levels in Timony's visit to me on the turret stairs.
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If you like what you're reading, please send at least two other avid readers to this website.
—Thank you! …Your grateful author, John T. Cullen.
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Other gripping books by the author:
Copyright © 2005 by John T. Cullen. All Rights Reserved.
John T. Cullen has been a pioneer in digital publishing since 1996. He is listed by digital publishing historian Karen Wiesner as the sixth digital publisher in history, and the second person to publish serialized chapters on line (starting 1996). His web magazine Deep Outside SFFH was the first to be listed along with the professional pulps in Writer's Market (1999) and was at one time the oldest professional SFFH magazine in the world. John T. Cullen continues to explore new ways to adapt the primordial power of storytelling to emerging new digital opportunities as the Third Millennium springs to light.
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A Walk in Ancient Rome John T. Cullen (Simon&Schuster May 2005) innovative, acclaimed walking & teaching tour—explore every corner of the Imperial capital at its zenith almost 2000 years ago; learn its history—smell and taste the very air of Classical Rome.
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= Summer 2008 =
A Walk in Ancient Rome, Second Edition John T. Cullen (Clocktower Books 2008)—New! Many new maps; images from the unique scale model of AndréCaron of Quebec. Read this innovative book, with its acclaimed walking & teaching tour. Explore every corner of the Imperial capital at its zenith almost 2000 years ago; learn its history. Smell and taste the very air of Classical Rome. The new edition is bigger, like an atlas. Some people have carried the 1st edition with them to Rome, and found it greatly enhanced their experience.
Dead Move: Kate Morgan and the Haunting Mystery of Coronado, 2nd Ed. John T. Cullen (Clocktower Books, San Diego, Summer 2008). John T. Cullen has tackled the mystery of the ghost at the Hotel del Coronado. He has assembled a dramatic new theory about how and why she violently died on the back steps of the hotel in 1892. A first-class ghost story and whodunit wrapped in one.
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