David Knight has been plagued by dreams his entire life, only to have all memory of them vanish when he awakens. Now the dreams are coming with more frequency, and they seem to be drawing him to the Amazon. A scientist with a PhD in ichthyology and a dedication to learning all he can about lungfish, whose existence dates back to the Devonian era, David is determined to see what the Amazon holds. His hopes seem about to be answered when Dr. Carlos Avila contacts him. It seems the Brazilian archeologist discovered the remains of a previously undiscovered species on a tributary of the Amazon, and he’d like nothing better than for David to join the expedition to see if more of the creature can be found. Of course David leaps at the opportunity and flies to Pesadelo Bay to join the mismatched team. Once there, he discovers not only does Dr. Avila have his own agenda, but a former conquest as well as a friend who’d saved his life years before are part of the team and are engaged to be married. Meanwhile, the need to sail up the Amazon to find what ... or who ... is calling him there has become more and more pressing, and David must decide which is the most important -- learning what Dr. Avila really is searching for, or finding the answer to his dreams?

Lagoon of Dreams

I cleared my throat and sent a prim smile his way. “In conclusion, let me say this: given the precarious nature of our relationship with the USSR, and considering man now has the ability to detonate the hydrogen bomb…” The first bomb had been in 1952, just two years before. “We’re in grave danger of poisoning the soil as well as the atmosphere. If this persists, one day, in the not too distant future, mankind will need to look to the stars for our very survival. Many of the planets will not be hospitable.” I thought of worlds that were hostile in the extreme but somehow seemed familiar—which, of course, they couldn’t be. I’d simply been watching too many science fiction movies. I realized I’d been off in Neverland, and I cleared my throat again. “What we learn from the creatures of the deep who have survived through the millennia here on Terra can well insure our survival as a species, both here and in the cold reaches of space. Thank you.”


Chapter 20