Given near immortality by advanced technology, what does it mean to be human? As we invent technology that can repair our bodies, simulate our brains, and allow us to plug ourselves into our computers at an ever-increasing degree, where is the line between artificial and human intelligence? Dare we cross it? Who-or what-will we be, if we do? Do we have a choice, or is it inevitable? These are some of the big questions faced by the narrator of this well-written tale. Dive in, and explore a possible future in this retrospective story of our collective destiny, as told by an immortal human living in a utopian society.

*Featured on Wattpad Explorer's Near Future Visions reading list!* A century ago, our AI benefactor, Moses, disappeared, taking mankind's future with him. The dream of the stars is dead. Earth is silent and the colonies of the solar system slowly dwindle. Everyday life depends on technology that we no longer understand. The future is grim. Freelancer for hire Matthew Cole struggles to pay the bills and keep his ship in the air. He's always been a loner, but as the years go on and the solar system grows ever more dangerous, the time has come that he'll have to either find a crew or perish. When the specter of Matthew's past comes back to haunt him, his new crew will have to come together around their captain. They'll find that he is a rare kind of man, a man with principles. And that might be just what humanity needs.

If you think artificial intelligence is dangerous, then you don't know the real threat to humanity's future... Luna Valencia is the founder of the hottest artificial intelligence startup in history. She's about to become incredibly rich and powerful. But just when she's about to take her company public, her world begins to fall apart. On the day of her startup's IPO, a stock exchange shooter plummets Luna into a downward spiral toward a threat more menacing than she ever imagined possible. Faced with losing her company, her entire world, Luna searches for answers to a series of terrifying accusations. Failing to uncover the truth could destroy her company... but success would get her killed. Big Data is a fresh approach to the artificial intelligence sci-fi thriller. If you like fast-paced action, heart-stopping tension, and tech-filled worlds set in the near future, then you'll love Lucas Carlson's latest novel. Read Big Data to discover the AI twist today!

Ellie is a soldier in a world without governments. A generation ago, a series of financial crises caused most of the world’s governments to collapse, and left many of the people in those countries in terrible personal debt. Since then, the worst debtor nations have been under military occupation by the troops of the debt recovery corporations, and the worst debtor of all is Měi-guó, the old United States. Ellie is serving in the Afghan Police Action when she receives bad news from home. She is told the daughter she hasn’t seen in years is dead. She flies home from war, upset, to do what needs to be done, but once there she finds out all is not as it seems. Ellie’s daughter is alive and unhurt. She is being held by of one of the many debt-recovery corporations. Held, for leverage, to make Ellie do the corporation a favour. Ellie’s daughter will be returned unharmed if Ellie does as they wish. The son of a company director is lost somewhere in the wilderness of post-debt-restructuring America, and hasn't been seen for three days. The company wants Ellie to go and find the kid, and Ellie doesn't know if she can. The one rule she's stuck to all her working life is to never to go to America, but now she might have to. She will have to, if she wants to save the daughter she hasn't seen in years. This is fairly dark and gritty near-future dystopian SF. ----- Debt Collectors War is now on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QZG1RHI/ Also on iTunes and B&N and other places. Just if that's easier to read that way! But please don't feel obliged or anything, and thank you for looking -----

Transcending the boundaries of the past, present and future. Maturing from a credulous scholar to a proficient professor. Evolving from a mere human to a benevolent deity. Behold the story of the young Moor who was immaculately conceived to be the ambassador of the Gods, the diplomat of the Divine Council, and the restorer of the balance. The year is 2050. Due to the devastating effects of the Great Global Cataclysm and the airborne plague pandemic. The entire world has descended into a post-apocalyptic state of desolate underdeveloped wastelands, unable to preserve human, plant or animal life. What is left of the human population is coerced into a highly advanced dome-shaped society to "ensure a more suitable living condition and the safety of all humankind". Unfortunately, the remaining members of humanity would soon realize that they had been lured into an autocratic totalitarian hellscape in which they cannot easily escape.

Gracie is a teenage girl living in the UK in the near future where two rival corporations grapple for control of the economy. Acheron, a giant American shipping company, has established its European headquarters in her town and employs both her parents. But nearby, in London, Mir-Tek overshadows its presence. This Russian company is still struggling after the sudden death of its CEO in Strasbourg, France, years earlier and London is one of the last places where it has a foothold. When her best friend's family business becomes threatened by Acheron, Gracie's trust for the company starts to wane. While trying to learn more about the corporate rivalry consuming her country she stumbles on an online report detailing a cold case that might not be so cold after all. One that shows both people, and entire corporations, in a light she never could have imagined. Will Gracie be able to get to the bottom of Acheron's past and her own future, before what happened in Strasbourg is hidden forever?