Ex Machina

      J. Rock
     Ex Machina

A scifi short story.Something is seriously wrong with Parvati's baby.When she'd dreamt about the moment she'd meet her daughter, as she had so many times over the past nine months, the last thing she imagined was that it would be half machine...On her journey around the lost forest, Opa meets a stork with a clipboard, a lost explorer, a polar bear...oh and a sloth but we won’t mention the sloth...or what it says...Will Opa be the same without her spots? Why does Opa get mistaken for a bat? This is no ordinary tale of animals in a forest. This is a quite unusual tale from The Lost Forest!

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    The Adorned

      Elimelec Gonzalez-Roman
     The Adorned

It's Sam's thirteenth birthday and without any warning, his life,and what he believes life is, is going to change.It's a distant time in the future and life is being preserved in a Utopian-like environment designed to imitate what life was like.But through this Adorned reality, things are not what they seem.Sam upon reaching his thirteenth year, is released from his isolated chamber and granted access to this perfected reality.Embark with Sam and see how his life inside this Adorned reality is like, see through his eyes, see him grow, and throughout all these experiences, see his perspective mold itself to the man he will become.

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    The Old Rocker and the Healer

      Mike Ward
     The Old Rocker and the Healer

An old rocker lies in his bed. Tonight will probably be his last night on Earth but he's not ready to go. The old rocker thinks of his granddaughter of how much she needs him. If he stays she could be anything she wants, if he goes tonight he wonders will become of her. While the rocker lies there waiting for death a healer slips quietly into the room.An old rocker lies in his bed. Tonight will probably be his last night on Earth but he's not ready to go. His mind is clear and his memories are so strong. The old rocker thinks of his granddaughter of how much she needs him. Her parents don't understand her, but he does and he sees a bight future for her. If he stays she could be anything she wants, if he goes tonight he wonders will become of her. While the rocker lies there waiting for death a man slips quietly into the room. The man sits down by the old rocker, but this is no ordinary man. This man is a healer who has been sent as an answer to a prayer. Included with this story is information telling you how to awaken the power of healing inside yourself. This can be done in as little as one hour. It really is easier than you would think.

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    Touch

      Claire North
     Touch

Kepler had never meant to die this way — viciously beaten to death by a stinking vagrant in a dark back alley. But when reaching out to the murderer for salvation in those last dying moments, a sudden switch takes place. Now Kepler is looking out through the eyes of the killer himself, staring down at a broken and ruined body lying in the dirt of the alley. Instead of dying, Kepler has gained the ability to roam from one body to another, to jump into another person’s skin and see through their eyes, live their life — be it for a few minutes, a few months or a lifetime. Kepler means these host bodies no harm — and even comes to cherish them intimately like lovers. But when one host, Josephine Cebula, is brutally assassinated, Kepler embarks on a mission to seek the truth — and avenge Josephine’s death.

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    The Lord of the Plains

      Sarah Chapman
     The Lord of the Plains

The city of Astar shines as a lone beacon of peace, free from the constant warring of the inhuman, gemeng tribes of the Plains. Aerlid, a man neither human nor gemeng, tricks his way into Astar with his charge, a young gemeng named Riley. In the human city, she experiences a type of fear and oppression foreign to her, and longs for the freedom of the world beyond the city walls.In an empty and dangerous world, the human city of Astar shines as a lone beacon of peace, free from the constant warring of the inhuman, gemeng tribes of the Plains. Aerlid, a man neither human nor gemeng, tricks his way into Astar with his charge, a young gemeng named Riley. In the human city, she experiences a type of fear and oppression foreign to her, and longs for the freedom of the world beyond the city walls.Unbeknownst to her, the world is changing. To the north, another human city is discovered, where the people do not constantly fear invasion by the gemengs, while in the western city of Coastside, a young man begins speaking to the fishpeople, gemengs that dwell within the ocean.But something far worse is coming. The ancestors of the gemengs, creatures far more powerful than either gemeng or human have faced in centuries, are returning. Unaware of the danger, Riley abandons the safety of Astar, while the people of the city remain sure in the strength of their walls…

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    The Cave

      Tom Cormany
     The Cave

Gaius was a centurion in the Roman army--a professional soldier. His orders were to find a way behind the enemy stronghold in order to launch a surprise attack. Little did he realize that as he led his men on the mission, a surprise would be coming his way instead. He would find himself pitted against a foe unlike any he had ever faced.Gaius was a centurion in the Roman army--a professional soldier. His orders were to find a way behind the enemy stronghold in order to launch a surprise attack. Little did he realize that as he led his men on the mission, a surprise would be coming his way instead. He would find himself pitted against a foe unlike any he had ever faced.--"The Cave" with its unexpected twists is a lusciously told fable surely relatable to many men.A 4,321 word short story by Tom Cormany

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    Undead Genesis: Zombie

      Colten Steele
     Undead Genesis: Zombie

Deep in the rainforests of Brazil a young boy from a remote tribe watches as his father is murdered. His desire for vengeance causes him to make a decision that could eventually unleash an undead epidemic upon the civilized world. Undiscovered species and mystic powers merge to create a new threat mankind could never fully prepare for.Deep in the rainforests of Brazil a young boy from a remote tribe watches as his father is murdered. His desire for vengeance causes him to make a decision that could eventually unleash an undead epidemic upon the civilized world. Undiscovered species and mystic powers merge to create a new threat mankind could never fully prepare for.The boy's own survival depends on his ability to outrun the relentless pursuit of his own creation.Cover art for this story was created by Dale Neal and is his property. I am just borrowing it.

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    Whispered Prayers

      R.E. Rowe
     Whispered Prayers

Whispered prayers are the most dangerous ones.If only I'd kept my desires hidden because nothing could have ever prepared me for the darkness which filled my very soul. I expected to be charmed with the delights found in movies. Beauty and grace. History and elegance. I found out the hard way that the past is a very dark place. Darker than anything I could ever wish to know.Some things were not meant to be known. I didn't listen. I asked for visions into the past and got exactly what I wished for. If only I'd kept my desires hidden because nothing could have ever prepared me for the darkness which filled my very soul. I expected to be charmed with the delights found in movies. Beauty and grace. History and elegance. I found out the hard way that the past is a very dark place. Darker than anything I could ever wish to know.

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    The Compound

      Christina J Adams
     The Compound

Allia Washington watches as another Compound candidate is wheeled to the morgue. Now a new position is open and the first in line is Allia's young son. She knows the program will kill her son, but protecting him will take more than solving why all of the candidates die too soon. She may be forced to do anything to save her son, even if she has to defy the Compound itself. This is a short story.Allia Washington watches as another young Compound candidate is wheeled into the science lab for emergency care. The boy is only 12 years old and will not survive to see another sunrise. This means a new position will open in the candidate program and the Compound will be looking for new applicants, the first of which is Allia's four-year-old son. She knows the program will kill her son and she has to find a way to keep him out of it. But protecting her son will take more than solving the mystery that kills all of the candidates too soon. She may be forced to do something drastic, anything to save her son, even if it means she has to defy the Compound itself. This is a short story prequel to The White Lilac a YA dystopia sci-fi novel.

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    Americosis Vol. 1

      Haydn Wilks
     Americosis Vol. 1

A naked man in New Mexico claims to have traveled through time. He says that he's America's savior. A sexually-transmitted infection in New York takes control of people's bodies and burns them out in a drive to infect others. And a Presidential candidate is talking to angels. His aides think he's crazy. The electorate might disagree.It could all be madness. It might be the apocalypse.A naked man arrives in New Mexico claiming to have traveled through time. He says that he's America's savior. A bizarre sexually-transmitted infection in New York takes control of people's bodies and burns them out in an incessant drive to infect others. And a Presidential candidate is conversing with angels. His aides think he's crazy. The electorate might not agree with them. It could all be madness. It might be the apocalypse. Americosis. An epic genre-bending mash-up of sci-fi, horror, thriller & dark comedy. VOLUME 1 This short novella introduces the series. It'll leave you begging for more...

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    Jen Air: Out There

      John Coutelier
     Jen Air: Out There

Astronomy proves a dangerous hobby, as while out camping Jenny Airhart and her friends are drawn into an adventure by paranormal investigator Lionel Baker - Gentleman, adventurer and purveyor of mystery... and who is pursued by a very dangerous gang. And there are even dangers awaiting where they're going, to a vault buried beneath the earth where deadly secrets lie in wait...Stargazing and astronomy proves to be a dangerous hobby for Jenny Airhart and her friends, as while out camping they are stumbled upon by a paranormal investigator, Sir Lionel Baker - Gentleman, Adventurer, and purveyor of mystery! (The biggest mystery being why did Kaya's mom once give her a sweater with Donny Osmond's face on it?)But Lionel is not so harmless as he first appears, as soon the women are drawn into an adventure with a very dangerous gang. And even greater dangers await them where they're going, beneath the earth, where deadly secrets lie in wait...This novella takes place after the novel 'The Little Queen', and before the upcoming novel 'Asterion'.

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    The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

      Douglas Adams
     The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

When a passenger check-in desk at London's Heathrow Airport disappears in a ball of orange flame, the explosion is deemed an act of God. But which god, wonders holistic detective Dirk Gently? What god would be hanging around Heathrow trying to catch the 3:37 to Oslo? And what has this to do with Dirk's latest--and late--client, found only this morning with his head revolving atop the hit record "Hot Potato"? Amid the hostile attentions of a stray eagle and the trauma of a very dirty refrigerator, super-sleuth Gently will once again solve the mysteries of the universe.

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    Time's Last Gift

      Philip José Farmer
     Time's Last Gift

12,000 B.C. They were four trained scientists, each of them skilled in several disciplines - because this was an opportunity that would never occur again. There would never be another chance for men form the world of 2070 A.D. to examine in person the world of 12,000 B.C. What they learned and taped would be the only record ever made of this dim, enigmatic period of prehistory. But absolutely no one in the world of 2070 or in the borrowed time of 12,000 B.C. could have imagined what the tapes would reveal... A superb novel of adventure and intrigue in a vanished era Cover illustration: Geoff Cummings

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    The End of Infinity

      Matt Myklusch
     The End of Infinity

Jack Blank confronts his destiny in this action-packed conclusion to the trilogy Publishers Weekly calls a “no-holds-barred adventure.” Ever since Jack Blank learned that he came from the amazing country of the Imagine Nation, he’s known that his fate could go down two very different paths—he could either be the greatest hero the world has ever known, or its greatest villain. Now the final battle is here, and it’s time for Jack to discover the direction of his destiny. The action-packed trilogy concludes with more surprises, twists, and adventure than ever—along with the same humor and heart that has brought so many fans to Jack’s story.

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    Declare

      Tim Powers
     Declare

As a young double agent infiltrating the Soviet spy network in Nazi-occupied Paris, Andrew Hale finds himself caught up in a secret, even more ruthless war. Two decades later, in 1963, he will be forced to confront again the nightmare that has haunted his adult life: a lethal unfinished operation code-named Declare. From the corridors of Whitehall to the Arabian desert, from post-war Berlin to the streets of Cold War Moscow, Hale's desperate quest draws him into international politics and gritty espionage tradecraft -- and inexorably drives Hale, the fiery and beautiful Communist agent Elena Teresa Ceniza-Bendiga, and Kim Philby, mysterious traitor to the British cause, to a deadly confrontation on the high glaciers of Mount Ararat, in the very shadow of the fabulous and perilous Ark.

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