In the future, those who score high in polls, the High-Opps, live in plush apartments, with comfortable jobs, every possible convenience. But those who are low-opped, find themselves crowded in Warrens, with harsh lives and brutal conditions. When a former High-Opp finds himself fighting for survival in the city’s underworld, it is time for a revolution. And every revolution needs a leader.

Five inter-connected stories set in a mythical past focus on the experiences of the slave Gorgik and deal with aspects of the beginning of civilization. Contents: "The Tale of Gorgik" "The Tale of Old Venn" "The Tale of Small Sarg" "The Tale of Potters and Dragons" "The Tale of Dragons and Dreamers."

Quasar was created by a Robotic intelligence to kill their enemies, he was their latest secret weapon against an organic race that they were at war with, an empire went to the winner, unfortunately for his creators, Quasar decided to win it for himself. However he did not get it all his own way for he knew nothing about subterfuge, but he did know how to be evil.Many brave men had died fighting against Quasar, Admiral Amundsen, Captain Olsen led the list, but many others aided them, but only at the very end did they come to realise just what kind of enemy they were up against.Even his creators had not envisaged the mental power that their creation would attain, and use, when it began to draw upon the technology of the advanced organic civilization, it was awesome to the extreme. Unfortunately, for the Mechanoids and the rest of the universe, Quasar soon developed a personality and outgrew his limited programming, so he reprogrammed himself, and then he began on his relentless quest to rule over an empire. Unfortunately for him something kept on getting in his way, finally it was four people from the planet of Earth who were drawn into one man’s desperate battle to rid the universe of Quasar for ever, but how could they succeed when three empires had tried and failed.

An off-world trader and a green civil rights activist walk into a trendy restaurant on a desert planet...This unusual and provocative short story by Sara Zaske was shortlisted for The Reader's 2012 Short Story competition.After a war that nearly wipes everyone out, famine becomes the biggest problem as the toxic aftermath won't allow any growth. All of the plants and animals are nearly gone and people are dwindling. Then scientist come through by setting up farms in the vacant skyscrapers, using artificial sunlight and a sophisticated watering system. This story focuses on the regular schlubs that guard the farm. The only reason that the people that remained survived the famine was because they had slow metabolisms. The remaining society consists of former fatties. Not survival of the fittest, the narrator points out, but survival of the fattest. The two friends get themselves into a bind when one of them is challenged to an honor duel by a mutant.

When a perfect couple commits double suicide, alarms go off in the offices of the high-tech matchmaking company. Investigation into a second couple's double suicide reveals a stunning labyrinth of artificial intelligence, creative genius, and a melding of technology that does indeed deliver on the company's guarantee of a perfect, lifelong mate.

Jadde – The Fragile Sanctuary is a smash through post-apocalyptic Sci-fi. Read this book to see how a genetic mutation goes horribly wrong.Millennia have passed since the twenty-first century demon wars when mankind so nearly succumbed to the Quarter-men. Now only isolated pockets of humanity survive. One insular tribe The Seconchane, are developing psychic powers but sometimes the gift fails...Jadde – The Fragile Sanctuary is a full on smash and crash through post-apocalyptic Sci-fi. If you want to see how a genetic mutation can go horribly wrong then read this book. Millennia have passed since the twenty-first century demon wars when mankind so nearly succumbed to genetically altered mutants - The Quarter-men. Now only isolated pockets of struggling humanity survive. One insular tribe The Seconchane, are developing psychic powers. Sometimes the gift fails and the unfortunates are banished from the Seconchane’s mountain valleys. Into this harsh reality comes Malkrin Owlear one of the Seconchane’s most gifted. But his incredible talent falters once too often . . .He discovers the deadlands are not as barren as the priesthood say. The quarter-men, from mans technological past have returned, intent on completing their destruction of mankind. Malkrin and his paranormally talented friends must rediscover from a time forgotten how the ancients led by the goddess Jadde prevailed over the quarter-men swarms.It was mans last chance – and Malkrin cannot fail.

Internal Security wanted a secret weapon. They didn't want witnesses. They abducted the student they thought had made a discovery and bombed the university physics lab. That didn't work well, either. The student they'd abducted was convicted of attempting to murder the others. It was standard procedure.No one got out of Horgen Field prison alive, but if Bard was right, there was a way.Science FictionContains both Pyramid Knights novels:Consensus RebellionUnder the Pall305,000 wordsParanormal elementContains relationships which may offend some readersIn Animal Farm, Orwell iterated the predictability of an elitist oligarchy in an isolated society, if all external communication and asset trade is controlled by a comparatively small group, with a perceived social difference. And that control is one.Gradeload:Internal Security wanted a secret weapon. They didn't want any witnesses. They abducted the student they thought had made a discovery and bombed the university physics lab. That didn't work well, either. IS was very displeased. The student they'd abducted was convicted of attempting to murder the others. It was standard procedure.No one got out of Horgen Field prison alive, but if Bard was right, there was a way. The six, who IS had intended to kill, began to search for what he was sure existed. The assassin could teach him to stay alive.Read as fast as you can to get the story. Read it again to see and hear them speak.

Me? A leader? Okay, I did prove that there's more to Inside than we knew. That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion—between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we're free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again—while still touching base with Riley, of course. He's the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there's outside and then there is Outside. And something from Outside wants In.

Zombies. Mutant animals. Bioengineered weapons and surgically enhanced monsters. Secret labs and widespread conspiracies. It seemed impossible, but Kill Valentine and her teammates among the S. T. A. R. S. had seen it all firsthand when the Umbrella Corporation turned Raccoon City into a staging ground for the most insidious genetic experiments ever conceived. After all she's been through, Valentine is ready to leave that remote mountain community forever. But Umbrella isn't finished with Raccoon City. Too much evidence of their unethical and immoral research still exists. It must be recovered or destroyed -- and quickly -- before it can be traced back to Umbrella. And with William Birkin's mutagenic virus already spreading through the city like wildfire, drastic measures are needed. Under cover of night, mercenary teams have entered the city, along with something else -- Umbrella's failsafe: an evolved version of its Tyrant-class killing machines, a lethal creature code-named Nemesis. Now Nemesis is on the hunt. And Jill Valentine is about to become prey

Dead Giveaway By Randall Garrett

With the Worlds trilogy, Haldeman has created one of the most vivid and commanding speculations in the arena of hard science-fiction. The trilogy is nothing less than a parable of Earth's destruction and humanity's subsequent doomed flight from it, as revealed by the journey of an intrepid band of colonists. 3 maps.

Une troupe d'acteurs est réunie par un metteur en scène dans une étrange demeure, sous prétexte de monter une pièce de théâtre. Mais chacun d'eux est amené à incarner son propre rôle dans la vie : alcoolique, dépressif, homosexuel... Devant quels spectateurs pervers venus du futur exposent-ils ainsi l'image de leurs faiblesses ?

When AI specialist Charlie Parish lands a dream job getting paid to develop a computer program capable of learning from mistakes, there’s just one problem. The program goes rogue, and everything starts to go right.Charlie Parish is a damned clever scientist with a promising career in Artificial Intelligence ahead of her. She lands a dream job getting paid to develop a computer program capable of gathering knowledge, reasoning solutions, and learning from mistakes. There’s just one problem. When Charlie lets her creation loose on the world, it does exactly what it is designed to do ...... and that’s when everything starts to go right.This is the latest stand-alone short story from the pen of J-L Heylen. It was first published on J-L's blog as a 9 part serialised story, but has now been integrated and edited into novella form. There is a bonus, previously unpublished, epilogue.Like most of J-L's work, there is some strong language and adult themes. There is no sex in this one though.

Braving the lethal elements and buzzkills, four crawl out from the shelter of their hovel to push an invention towards the legendary tower the fatcats built before the world fell into ruin. They hope their machine will discover where the fatcats sleep, so that, finally, those who were left behind to languish in the wastes can take revenge by filling the fatcats' dreams with nightmares.Old man Sparker has built a powerful drill in the hovel, driven by a hissing engine of steam. Hoping the drill will help those who must call the wastes home find where the fatcats have retreated, Sparker’s daughter Sweet Tea leads a group that pushes her father's machine towards the tall tower rumored to be the fatcats’ home. There’s the giant Crotch, whose legs give the group so much strength. There’s Shiv, whose skills with the wicked razor may prove useful upon encountering any enemy. And there is Bug, the most resilient man to call the hovel home, a man who refuses to be squashed beneath any adversary’s heel. Together, they grunt and push Sparker’s contraption through the wastes, motivated by the desire to wrench the hated fatcats out from their pleasant dreams.

Winner of the Nebula Award Traveling back in time, from Oxford circa 2060 into the thick of World War II, was a routine excursion for three British historians eager to study firsthand the heroism and horrors of the Dunkirk evacuation and the London Blitz. But getting marooned in war-torn 1940 England has turned Michael Davies, Merope Ward, and Polly Churchill from temporal tourists into besieged citizens struggling to survive Hitler’s devastating onslaught. And now there’s more to worry about than just getting back home: The impossibility of altering past events has always been a core belief of time-travel theory—but it may be tragically wrong. When discrepancies in the historical record begin cropping up, it suggests that one or all of the future visitors have somehow changed the past—and, ultimately, the outcome of the war. Meanwhile, in 2060 Oxford, the stranded historians’ supervisor, Mr. Dunworthy, frantically confronts the seemingly impossible task of rescuing his students—three missing needles in the haystack of history. The thrilling time-tripping adventure that began with Blackout now hurtles to its stunning resolution in All Clear.