The Arasmith Certainty Principle (Paperback or Softback)

A geology grad student with a spiritual bent and a mystic from the Pleistocene find a modern skeleton in ancient rock and must risk their friendship to save the world from an unexpected danger lurking within the laws of physics.

Jen Hewitt, a quiet geology graduate student, doesn't actually believe in time travel. Were it possible, rocks from the age of dinosaurs should already be cluttered with artifacts from future time-tourists. Nevertheless, she proves with fellow geologist Jonathan Renner that a human skeleton encased in Pleistocene rock came from their own time. Their work, coupled with fundamental research by physicist Susan Arasmith, reveals an unexpected character to the universe that carries them from the safe world of science into a struggle with powers and possibilities they hadn't imagined. The three friends, along with Kar-Tur, a frightening mystic from the ancient past, learn that discovery is sometimes as much about faith as knowledge, and that friendship and love are often found where least expected.
For ages 14 and up.

Russ Colson is a scientist, teacher, author, and gardener living in northwest Minnesota, far enough from city lights to see the Milky Way and the Aurora Borealis. He writes contemplative and optimistic science fiction with adventure, touches of romance, and a helping of real science. He is a professor emeritus at Minnesota State University Moorhead and a former national professor of the year. He previously worked at the Johnson Space Center in Texas and at Washington University in St. Louis where, among other things, he studied how a lunar colony might mine oxygen from the local rock. More about his writing can be found at russcolson.com.