Matchmaker, Matchmaker Make Me A Match…
Anyone familiar with Fiddler on the Roof knows what I’m
talking about…couples being matched up. This is exactly what they do on the
colony ships in my New Dawn series, and for good reason. Generations must live
on the ship, and with such a closed environment and harsh deep space
conditions, the survival of humanity lies on producing the strongest, hardiest
future generation. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.
In Tundra 37, the main character, Gemme Reiner, is the
matchmaker. She loves her cushy job with a nice view of deep space and a comfy
chair to swivel around in. Yes, she has thousands of matches to supervise, but
the computer does most of the work, and all she has to do is hit the approve or disapprove buttons. It’s very simple up until the day her match
flashes on the screen. He’s the gorgeous lieutenant that everyone wants for
themselves. Not only will she look like she’d contrived the pairing, she just
might lose her job. And she can’t even think about his hands touching hers, or
how he’d make her feel. Out of the question.
After Gemme presses the delete button on her match, a comet
shower pummels the ship, destroying the pairing system forever. Her job as the
matchmaker is over, and she must join an exploratory team, led by the handsome
lieutenant, to find minerals able to power what’s left of the ship. Only, she
finds much more than minerals in the vast tundra. The truth to why the computer
has entwined their destinies unfolds in an ancient alien device buried deep in
the snow.
What would you do if you were matched to the hottest man on
the ship? Would it be a blessing or a curse? Would you press accept or delete?
