Oncewhere Walked the Whale: Synopsis

In the Description section on Amazon, regarding my first self-published science fiction novel, Oncewhere Walked the Whale (and presumably on the back cover once I get it published in paperback form):

Thousands of years in the future, a far-away branch of the galaxy toils under the iron-fist rule of a cabal of beings known as the Fivelike. The Telekthiesis consists of ninety billion inhabitants scattered over a dozen planets. A woman named JiSard, part of an outlaw band of revolutionaries, is on the run after successfully crippling Fivelike’s computerized nerve system fortified upon an artificial asteroid.

Will, a mechanically enhanced enforcer for the Fivelike, is tasked with bringing JiSard and her group to justice. Exercising his trademark single-mindedness, he tracks down fugitive after fugitive. Only one target, a “sorcerer,” has ever eluded Will, opening up a hole in spacetime and simply vanishing. 

On Cortary, the grain world that feeds the Telekthiesis, a malformed creature spoken in whispers as the “Whale” is born to human parents. Cortary groans beneath the unyielding yoke of the Fivelike to maintain harvest quotas, and as Whale grows, hunted because his apparent deformities are of no utilitarian use, he discovers healing powers and a new teaching to free the Cortarians from their unending burden.

As these threads unfold, a mysterious alien force possessing the ability to materialize anywhere at any time and the power to cause entire planets and armadas to disappear threatens the Telekthiesis. Are these beings the “Iath,” legendary fables of omnipotent evil creatures from long ago, now come to existence?

JiSard, relentlessly pursued by Will, encounters an inexplicable force that leaves her the overwhelming desire to amend her life. Will and his team soon captures her, though not before she causes Will to doubt his very purpose. And before Will can fulfill the termination orders, a desperate new command is given by the Fivelike: stop the advancing Iath at any cost. 

To do so, Will and JiSard, in uneasy alliance, race to track down a mad monk named Pfenner who may have the key to overcoming this invincible threat. However, while confronting this insane man, their world collapses into nothingness as the Iath make their move. Will, JiSard, and a new companion, the Whale, find themselves face-to-face with these beings, helpless and powerless before them, struggling to save themselves and the galaxy.