Our Books

Are we truly alone in the universe? This age-old question propels three brave astronauts on an ambitious mission deep into the cosmos. Their goal is simple yet vital: locate a planet that possesses water, the essential element needed to sustain human life. Fueled by hope, curiosity, and the instinct to ensure humanity’s future, they embark on a journey beyond the known boundaries of our solar system—into the uncharted darkness that lies beyond the Milky Way.

However, what begins as a scientific quest quickly transforms into something far more profound and perilous. Upon arrival at a distant world, the astronauts make an extraordinary discovery—something far beyond anything they had prepared for. This alien environment defies their understanding of physics, biology, and even reality itself. It is a place where the familiar rules no longer apply, and survival becomes a daily challenge.

Their exploration soon turns into a desperate struggle as they encounter phenomena that force them to question the very foundations of their knowledge. Deeply held beliefs—scientific theories, religious faiths, and political ideologies—are all thrown into doubt. As the crew grapples with the wonders and dangers of this strange new world, each of them undergoes a personal transformation, confronting fears and doubts they had long buried.

The mission’s original objective fades into the background as a new, more urgent goal takes shape: survival—and a desperate longing to return home. Despite the incredible sights and experiences, the astronauts realize that nothing compares to the simple, grounding presence of Earth. In a universe that seems infinitely vast and unpredictable, the idea of "home" becomes more powerful than ever before.

Beyond the Milky Way is more than just a thrilling science fiction adventure. In the first installment of The Galaxy Series, Aithal crafts a gripping, thought-provoking narrative that challenges readers to question their own assumptions about life, the universe, and everything in between. Through the lens of interstellar discovery, the novel delves into the human condition, exploring themes of survival, belief, and the eternal search for meaning.

After surviving a crash on an unknown planet—with the help of benevolent aliens—three astronauts finally return to Earth. But home is no longer what they remember.

They arrive in the future to a world defined by division, hatred, and fear. America is fractured. Values have eroded. Humanity itself feels lost. Though they’ve come home, nothing feels familiar.

As they journey across this broken land with an alien ally, the astronauts witness the devastating cost of intolerance—and the fragile dignity of a society that lost its way. Yet even in the ruins, they discover sparks of compassion, resilience, and hope.

Return to Earth, the second book in The Galaxy Series, is an emotional sci-fi thriller that confronts the consequences of division and asks a powerful question: If this is where we’re headed—can we still change the future?

What if your future was a nightmare you could still prevent? Can a nation on the brink be saved by going back in time?

What happens when division goes too far? Could your country collapse from within while you're not looking? And if given the chance, would we make better choices—or repeat our mistakes?

Author Aithal, known for The Galaxy Series, crafts powerful speculative fiction grounded in emotional truths and social insight. Now he brings us a gripping vision of tomorrow gone wrong—and a daring mission to rewrite the past before it’s too late.

Divided States of America is a thought-provoking sci-fi thriller that explores how division, fear, and intolerance can dismantle even the strongest societies.

Through the eyes of three astronauts and an alien ally, Aithal exposes the dangers of unchecked political and social strife, and the desperate hope found in second chances.

And by following their journey, readers are urged to reflect on their own choices and the future they help shape.

• A fractured 2032 America—what led to the collapse and what can be learned
• The psychological toll of returning home to a nation torn apart
• The power—and peril—of time travel as a tool for redemption
• An alien ally whose motives challenge human assumptions
• A mission that forces heroes to choose between the future and their moral compass

Divided States of America is your urgent playbook for recognizing the signs of social unraveling—and choosing unity over division before it’s too late.

America stands at a historic crossroads. In 2120, Aithal masterfully paints a bold, unsettling, and ultimately hopeful portrait of a future forged in the fires of today’s crises. Faced with a toxic blend of COVID-19, political polarization, racial upheaval, and climate-change-driven catastrophes, Americans are battered by forces that threaten not only their nation’s unity but the very essence of humanity's spirit. The dreams of exploration, innovation, and limitless potential—hallmarks of American history—have been stifled under the heavy weight of fear, division, and mistrust.

Yet, in the ashes of despair, 2120 imagines a different tomorrow.

Aithal’s vision of the future does not shy away from the hard truths. Instead, it confronts head-on the core issues: humanity's reckless abuse of the environment, the dangers of parochialism in politics, and the urgent need for empathy in a fractured world. Through intricately developed characters—some born of Earth, others of distant galaxies—the story transcends mere dystopian warnings, offering a vivid, believable journey into the next century.

The characters in 2120 are not distant, cold figures of speculative fiction. They are fully realized, vibrant, and deeply human, even when their origins are extraterrestrial. Their personal struggles, triumphs, and transformations allow readers to vicariously experience the future they inhabit—a future both alien and achingly familiar. They wrestle with new technologies, reimagined societal norms, and the haunting consequences of decisions made a hundred years earlier.

At the heart of the novel lies a crucial question: can humanity overcome the flaws that nearly destroyed it? Or will old habits—hubris, selfishness, short-sightedness—drag civilization into further decline?

In 2120, Aithal doesn’t just predict what could happen; he lays out a sweeping, cohesive vision of what must happen for humanity to survive and thrive. His depiction of a reformed Earth is filled with new challenges, of course, but also new hopes. Technological advances offer solutions to the environmental disasters of the past. Political systems evolve beyond petty partisanship, embracing broader, planetary interests. And perhaps most importantly, the human spirit—tested but unbroken—finds new ways to connect, build, and dream once again.

Terence Collins, a bold and ambitious U.S. Representative for California’s 45th Congressional District, has become a rising star among the political elite of Orange County. Known for his hawkish stance on foreign policy and aggressive rhetoric on national security, Collins is determined to climb the political ladder, no matter the cost. His supporters see him as a man of principle and conviction, while his detractors view him as dangerously power-hungry and unrelentingly hawkish. With his sights set on higher office, Collins is navigating a treacherous world of backroom deals, party politics, and deep-rooted rivalries. But in the cutthroat realm of Washington power plays, success comes with a price. Will he rise to the top, or will a shadow from the past stop him dead in his tracks?

Meanwhile, Talib—a quiet, thoughtful American citizen born and raised in Southern California—finds his life turned upside down in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. With a Muslim name and a Middle Eastern heritage, Talib suddenly becomes a target in the country he has always called home. Faced with mounting suspicion, government scrutiny, and societal prejudice, Talib is forced into hiding. But as the pressure intensifies, a tragic encounter pushes him past the breaking point. What begins as an effort to protect himself soon spirals into a desperate bid for justice—or perhaps revenge—against a system he believes has betrayed him.

Detective Anthony Ramirez, a seasoned investigator with the Newport Beach Police Department, is no stranger to complex cases. But when he’s called to the scene of a high-profile murder, he has no idea how deep the rabbit hole goes. The evidence leads him to uncover a tangled web of political intrigue, corruption, and international secrets. As the case evolves, Ramirez finds himself on a globe-trotting manhunt, chasing elusive clues from the pristine suburbs of Orange County to the volatile border of India and Pakistan.

Confessions of An Indian Immigrant: Dawn of IT Opportunities in the Land of Promise by Aithal is a compelling personal memoir that chronicles the journey of an ambitious young professional who leaves behind the bustling streets of Mumbai to pursue the American Dream. Set during a pivotal time in global history—before smartphones, social media, and the digitization of everyday life—the book offers a vivid recollection of life as an Indian immigrant during the early days of the information technology revolution.

The narrative begins with Aithal’s decision to move to New York, a transition that immediately throws him into the throes of culture shock. His honest, and often humorous, account of navigating life in a new land makes for an engaging read. From misunderstandings in social etiquette to grappling with an entirely different climate, food habits, and communication style, Aithal’s reflections are relatable to anyone who has left home in search of a better life. At the same time, his story offers insight to second-generation Indian-Americans and others who may not fully understand the sacrifices and adaptations made by the first wave of South Asian immigrants.

But this memoir is not just about the immigrant experience—it is also about the birth of a technological era. Aithal shares his front-row view of the emergence of the Indian IT industry and its symbiotic relationship with the United States. In a time when terms like “outsourcing” and “offshoring” had yet to become common parlance, Aithal was navigating his career through uncharted territory. His professional journey is closely intertwined with the global shift in technological capabilities and economic policies that would eventually lead India to become an IT powerhouse.

The Life-Altering Event

On October 23, 2000, at the age of thirty-six, Aithal experienced a massive stroke, which doctors attributed to an AVM (arteriovenous malformation) of the Pons area. He was given a fifty percent chance of survival. The stroke occurred at his Southern California home, and his wife quickly called 911, resulting in a timely emergency response that Aithal credits with saving his life. In the initial critical days, doctors focused on stabilizing him and managing a swollen brain with prednisone. The stroke left his right side frozen and caused him to lose his speech, making his wife his primary interpreter for communication and crucial medical decisions.

The Grueling Path to Recovery

Aithal's recovery was long and arduous, requiring diverse therapies: physical therapy to regain movement, occupational therapy to relearn daily tasks, and speech therapy to improve communication, as his brain had to "reprogram itself to issue new instructions." Early challenges included double vision, affected hearing, difficulty chewing, and an inability to regulate body temperature. He described his body as "rebooting" after the traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Key Milestones and Personal Growth

Throughout his journey, Aithal achieved significant milestones that boosted his morale: his first day pass home was a pivotal moment, reconnecting him with his family. Regaining his driving license was a major symbol of freedom, though it required extensive retraining and overcoming profound self-doubt. He also underwent Stereotactic Surgery, a non-invasive preventive procedure, to monitor newly formed aneurysms, which proved successful. Aithal consistently adopted a "never-give-up" attitude and a glass-half-full outlook.

The Power of Support and Mindset

Aithal credits his unwavering support system—especially his wife, his parents, and close friends—as instrumental in his healing. He also found immense benefit from support groups and the physical and mental discipline cultivated through past activities, such as karate. He stresses that mental recovery is as vital as physical recovery, highlighting that God helps those who help themselves. Now, 24 years post-stroke, Aithal reflects on his journey as challenging but profoundly gratifying. As he metaphorically states in cricketing terms, "I’m not out…just retired hurt."

We do not leave life unchanged when we cross borders.
We carry it with us—quietly, stubbornly, forever.

What We Carry Forward is a collection of four interconnected novellas that explore how belief, migration, family, and time shape the people we become—and the lives we pass on to others.

In The Face That Carries Forward, identity moves across generations like an unseen inheritance, asking whether we are defined more by memory or by choice.
Between Pews and the Truth follows a young man caught between faith and honesty, where silence offers safety but truth demands a cost.
In The Distance Between Two Futures, the promise of migration collides with uncertainty, revealing how ambition, belonging, and fear reshape the meaning of home.
And in Where the Road Finally Curves, the long arc of a life bends toward memory, return, and the quiet reckoning of what was never truly left behind.

Written with emotional restraint and clarity, these stories are not about choosing one country over another, or one belief over the next. Instead, they illuminate the fragile, deeply human space between leaving and staying, holding on and letting go, certainty and doubt.

For readers drawn to reflective literary fiction and intimate emotional journeys, What We Carry Forward is a meditation on inheritance beyond blood or borders—an exploration of love, loss, faith, and the quiet courage required to become who we are meant to be.

Because in the end, the most important journeys are not the ones that change where we live, but the ones that change what we carry forward.

What does it truly mean to leave one country behind and build a life in another?

In the mid-1980s, a young Indian student arrives in America carrying little more than two suitcases, a promise to return home, and the belief that hard work will lead to a better future. What follows is not simply an immigrant success story, but a deeply human journey through loneliness, friendship, love, grief, ambition, family, and the complicated question of where home really is.

As the years pass, America changes around him. Computers become personal, the Internet reshapes the world, new technologies transform the way people live and work, and generations grow up with identities that span cultures and continents. Yet beneath all that change remain the timeless struggles of the immigrant experience: missing parents from afar, adapting to unfamiliar customs, carrying the weight of expectations, making difficult choices, and discovering that belonging to two places can sometimes mean never belonging entirely to either.

Welcome to America is a sweeping, heartfelt novel about sacrifice, resilience, memory, and the price of opportunity. It looks beyond the visible rewards of immigration to the private heartaches that often remain unseen, while exploring how one family’s story becomes part of a much larger American story.

Spanning decades and generations, this is a story about leaving, becoming, remembering, and ultimately understanding that home is not always a place you return to.

Sometimes, it is the life you build along the way.

What happens when a monkey gets hold of a Sharpie—and an entire jungle becomes too frightened to take it away?

Don the Orangutan is back in power, armed with a permanent marker, a fragile ego, and an endless supply of executive orders. Surrounded by loyal sycophants who praise his every idea, he sets out to remake the jungle in his own magnificent image.

Truth is whatever Don writes down. Laws are obstacles to be crossed out. Failure is simply renamed “victory.” And anyone who disagrees is branded an enemy.

While Don builds monuments to himself, rewards unquestioning loyalty, and declares each new disaster a historic success, ordinary animals begin paying the price. Families are torn apart. Villages lose their homes and clean water. Fear spreads through the jungle as masked agents drag away animals who have lived there peacefully for years.

Then Harriet the Duck refuses to remain silent.

She is not a politician, a revolutionary, or anyone’s chosen hero. She is simply a mother who recognizes injustice—and decides to speak. Her quiet courage begins awakening a jungle that has forgotten its own power.

Don has survived scandals, incompetence, and even reality itself. But can he survive one ordinary duck telling the truth?

A Monkey with a Sharpie: An Era of Sycophants is a sharp, fearless, and darkly funny novella about authoritarian power, blind loyalty, manufactured truth, and the courage required to resist them. Beneath its outrageous executive orders, nervous advisers, absurd press conferences, and political chaos lies a deeply human story about compassion, conscience, and the danger of surrendering our voices.

The characters may be animals.

The jungle may be fictional.

But everything else might feel disturbingly familiar.

Enter the jungle—then decide for yourself who is truly behaving like an animal.