A star-faring religious cult has created an army of robotic zealots designed to follow holy scripture. As the robotic menace spreads across the galaxy, it takes prisoners to be 'excommunicated': hooked into a neural simulation of eternal torment. Captain Rolland Barron leads the Sol Federation Starship Excalibur on a diplomatic mission. Cassia LaCroix is a wormhole hunter, earning a living scouring the galaxy for valuable tunnels through space-time. Prince Zoojin, a psychic alien from a distant galaxy, must prove himself worthy of the throne of Paxis Prime. The paths of these characters converge as they pursue their own motives, leading them towards the mechanical legion that is sweeping across the galaxy. COVER BY: rentachi AUTHOR'S NOTE: this is an early draft of the novel. I am very grateful for your readership and your feedback, which I have taken into consideration for a major rewrite. The new novel is completely different. If you liked the book, then please look forward to the release of the finished novel.

A possible future in less than 500 words, if plastic wins. This was my entry for the WattPad/National Geographic #PlanetOrPlastic competition back in late 2018. It reached their Top 10 Submissions which, given that there appeared to be well over 5000 entries, was a very pleasant surprise! The competition itself had a limit of 500 words so, for those who keep asking if I intend continuing the story, the answer (for now!) is no - unless I can find a very good reason for adding any more. Many thanks to everyone reading and voting on this story and getting it to number 1 in the #sciencefiction category in May/June 2020! I did try to thank the voters individually on their pages but Wattpad have a daily limit on the number of times I'm allowed to do that and there are now too many of you (not that I'm complaining)! Here's the top 10 submissions page: https://www.wattpad.com/list/738243473-planetorplastic-top-10-submissions If you want to read the story in Polish please head over to https://www.wattpad.com/story/236405960-m%C4%85dro%C5%9B%C4%87-staro%C5%BCytnych-t%C5%82umaczenie-pl where @juliatlumaczy has done a fine job - thank you, Julia! @juliatlumaczy has now sent me a version of the cover she used for her Polish translation - thanks again, Julia! @alex_sokolova has also translated the story into Russian as well. You can read that here: https://www.wattpad.com/976002417-мудрость-древних - many thanks, Alex! We now have a third translation! @AlfonsoLucassen has kindly translated it into Spanish and you can find it here: https://www.wattpad.com/1063634347-la-sabidur%C3%ADa-de-los-antiguos

*HIGHEST RANKINGS: #1 ACTION, THRILLER; #2 FANTASY; #4 MYSTERY; #5 ADVENTURE; #6 SCIENCEFICTION/SCIFI* Something sinister is brewing on planet Karomoz - the central hub and heart of a galaxy with numerous hospitable planets. Rumors abound of experiments for creating the perfect soldiers, excavations for ancient relics, and the hoarding of fuel and supplies - deadly weapons included. Twenty strangers - the Elemorts to-be - from twenty different home planets visit Karomoz, each with their own reasons and motivations, and each armed with a unique elemental power. Once on Karomoz, their fates get intertwined in unlikely ways, and two factions are formed, locked in an ongoing battle for what each side believes in - a battle not of good versus evil but one of gray versus gray. *FEATURED ON WATTPAD SCIENCEFICTION'S "HIDDEN GEMS FROM WATTPAD OUTREACH" READING LIST* *FEATURED ON WATTPAD BEYONDSOL'S "SUNFLOWER SPACE OPERAS" READING LIST* *FIRST PLACE IN SCIENCE FICTION IN THE 2018 TALENT AWARDS* *COVER BY @shelbychdance* If you are reading this story on any platform other than Wattpad, you are very likely to be at risk for a malware attack. If you wish to read this story in its original, safe form, please go to: https://www.wattpad.com/story/111292481-elemorts. Thank you.