The Final Fall of Man Series by Andrew Hindle

Six untrained civilians.Two seasoned officers and two radically unspaceworthy scientists.One mad alien inventor.And six hundred and twenty-eight clone crewmen with severe intelligence-formatting errors.In the Thirty-Ninth Century, great men and women of the human race strode among the stars and trod the jewelled thrones of the universe under their sandal’d feet.Well, they weren’t wearing sandals, they were mostly wearing spacesuits because that was just plain common sense... moreSix untrained civilians.Two seasoned officers and two radically unspaceworthy scientists.One mad alien inventor.And six hundred and twenty-eight clone crewmen with severe intelligence-formatting errors.In the Thirty-Ninth Century, great men and women of the human race strode among the stars and trod the jewelled thrones of the universe under their sandal’d feet.Well, they weren’t wearing sandals, they were mostly wearing spacesuits because that was just plain common sense. And there weren’t really any jewelled thrones as such – not as far as anyone knew – so much as dusty ice-balls and emptiness and some algae in a couple of places. But human beings went out there and stepped in that algae, and then tracked it back into their starship airlocks and then looked around behind themselves as they walked on through into their recreation areas and said “oh damn, was that me?”Yes, human beings did that.And sometimes the algae turned out to be highly contagious or flesh-eating or toxic or fecund beyond terrestrial comprehension, and sometimes those human beings who had brought it on board their starships all died in graphic, horrible ways. And sometimes the emptiness turned out to be not quite so empty, and those human beings who had blundered into it had all their things taken away from them or were never heard from again.And sometimes the ice turned out to have terrifying alien monsters capable of perfectly impersonating their hapless prey frozen inside just waiting to be dug out and thawed for some reason, and those human beings seemed to be okay but you never could be quite sure about them again after that.But these incidents were rare, and there were always more human beings. Making more human beings was one of human beings’ all-time favourite things to do. It was basically the cornerstone of their entire civilisation.So they spread, and as a species – with a little help from their friends – they survived. And they prospered and flourished. And they were noble and poetic and fearless and, occasionally, they were colossal bastards. But, in those final years of the human race, they mostly got it right.The swan song of homo sapiens sapiens was sweet and sad and, if not harmonious, then at least glorious. If you’re going to go out on a song, as a rather famous entertainer once said, make it a beautiful, beautiful song. And if you can’t do that, well – make it deafening.Yes, in the Thirty-Ninth Century, great men and women of the human race strode among the stars.Also, these guys were there."Eejit" is the first tale of The Final Fall of Man, a science-fiction story about - among other things - the human race and how we either won or lost it, depending on your point of view. less

It began as a simple rescue operation. Then Thord, a seven-million-year-old immortal telepathic yeti, joined the crew. After that it was still a rescue operation, but it all started getting a bit weird. "Drednanth" is the story of the Astro Tramp 400 and her intrepid and slightly-battered crew, as they cross the galaxy in order to throw some of their passengers off the edge of it... moreIt began as a simple rescue operation. Then Thord, a seven-million-year-old immortal telepathic yeti, joined the crew. After that it was still a rescue operation, but it all started getting a bit weird. "Drednanth" is the story of the Astro Tramp 400 and her intrepid and slightly-battered crew, as they cross the galaxy in order to throw some of their passengers off the edge of it. In the process, they hope to discover more about the alien menace apparently bent on destroying their civilisation out from under them, survive the vengeful attentions of a school of highly-intelligent cybernetic sharks, and maybe even find out what the heck they're all doing in space in the first place. They have a lot to learn. But what else is new? less

Since it was closed to all but the highest government and military authorities six hundred and eighty-one years ago, Horatio Bunzo's Funtime Happy World has seen one hundred and seventy-six infiltration missions along a spectrum from observation to annihilation.Thirty-nine crews returned to tell the tale of their failures. Or, as it happened, to not tell them, under any circumstances. The rest were never seen again... moreSince it was closed to all but the highest government and military authorities six hundred and eighty-one years ago, Horatio Bunzo's Funtime Happy World has seen one hundred and seventy-six infiltration missions along a spectrum from observation to annihilation.Thirty-nine crews returned to tell the tale of their failures. Or, as it happened, to not tell them, under any circumstances. The rest were never seen again.Of the thirty-nine ships that failed but survived the Bunzolabe, only one ever went back in.This is their story. less