Nearfuture Stories

FIRST CAME THE DRAGONS When scientists brought everyone's favorite fairytale creature to life, people flocked to see them, including 17-year-old Zelda Rissland. THEN CAME THE PARASITE But scientists created more than just dragons-they created a deadly parasite. Wyrmrot, they later called it. First, it ate your brain, and then it made you eat other people's brains. NOW ZELDA MUST SURVIVE THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE Separated from her family, the only person Zelda has left from her former life is her childhood friend turned boyfriend, Cooper Marotta. Together they've carved out a safe place for themselves in a world turned upside down, but when a zombie horde decimates their survivor group, they face a choice: attempt to rebuild or follow the mysterious coordinates that appeared on a construction sign. Zelda still hopes her family is out there somewhere and believes the coordinates might lead her to them. Cooper, however, thinks the coordinates will only bring trouble. When the remaining survivors vote to undertake the perilous cross-country journey, he attempts to deter them every step of the way. What Zelda discovers at their destination will test her loyalties and change everything she thought she knew about the apocalypse. Wyrmrot is a heart-stopping Young Adult Apocalyptic novel told in dual timelines. "Jurassic Park meets Resident Evil." This fast-paced tale of survival, secrets, and betrayal features dragons, zombies, and a touch of romance. Perfect for fans of Erin Bowman's Contagion or Emily Suvada's This Mortal Coil. Cover design and illustration by Jeff Brown (www.jeffbrowngraphics.com) Available on Amazon in paperback, eBook, and Kindle Unlimited.

In the Concord, love is a program, not a feeling. At twenty-two, Liova gets a chance to find a partner before the system quietly decides she's better off alone. At a government-run "coupling party," recycled decorations, endless tests, and a scripted speech are the only things standing between her, failure... and the handsome stranger who might be worth it all. The Concord is never as it seems. I hope you all find the hints along the way as to what is to come. What appears to be a love story might be far more sinister under the surface. Remember, there's always calm before the storm ⛈️ I'm updating this part regularly until it's complete, so come join the journey. 💕

What if an algorithm controls your life? In the near future, California is plagued by civil riots. Exploding rent, high crime, and political corruption threaten the lives of ordinary people. Enter Crowd, an advanced social network that ranks each citizen by their contribution to society, ensuring justice for all. Want affordable healthcare or better employment? If you rank high enough, you can get it. Rayn Cruzada is an ambitious graduate who joins Crowd as a field agent. Her high score allows her to investigate citizens with problematic low ones. Conflict arises as no one understands the algorithms, and losing your ranking means losing your apartment and access to transport. Or worse... With California on the brink of civil war, Rain has to discover whether Crowd is the solution or a problem. Inspired by Black Mirror, The Circle, and The Social Network, Crowd is a pre-dystopian thriller.

Juno Reeves is something else. The Representative Candidate of Canada, and one of the only two males in the entire world with the power to operate an Infinite Stratos, an IS, a war machine built for vast aerial combat. Forced to enroll in the most prestigious academy specially built to train pilots of these war machines, the stereotypically polite Canadian teenager knows little of what he will face, who he will meet, or who he will have to fight. One thing is certain, peace is fragile. Juno isn't perfect, a problem he is oblivious to. His own personality. Especially, in this new cold war. (Disclaimer: Infinite Stratos doesn't belong to me, and neither does any of the images and art used in this fic.)

In a world where data drives every decision, Max Carter, a 22-year-old computer science student at Eastbrook University, stumbles upon a pair of sleek, high-tech glasses that appear ordinary but hide a powerful secret. These glasses, developed by a secretive group known as The Vanguard, grant Max a Heads-Up Display (HUD) that reveals the "stats" of everyone around him-an intricate fusion of their digital footprints, habits, and choices. Unbeknownst to Max, he's been drafted into an experiment, a test to see how an ordinary person would use this game-changing technology.

"What was it like to witness the creation of the universe?" "Terrifying." When Atara, Merc, Cal and Lilith wake to darkness, they're each more than a little afraid. With no memory of who they were before, and with the universe bursting violently to life around them, they must work together to survive and to get home - wherever that may be. Because the longer they stay in this dark new world, the harder it is to do so. © 2015 by shayebay This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All Rights Reserved Highest Rankings: #8 in Poetry; #20 in Science Fiction

When astrophysicist Elizabeth Ross discovers HBK-1- a vast region at the edge of the universe where cosmic expansion is mysteriously slowing- the data makes no sense. Something out there is taming entropy, holding shut invisible holes chewed in reality itself. As humanity builds a "Jacob's Ladder" to probe the anomaly, their first contact nearly tears the cosmic dam apart... until HBK-1 reacts to save them. Now the world must decide: exploit the greatest power source in history, or stand beside an unseen cosmic guardian and help hold back the end of everything. Elizabeth finds herself at the centre of a fight not for territory, but for restraint, responsibility, and what it really means to be worthy of survival.

When Anna, a Hunter with a hurtful past, gets beat up, unveils a secret, and Camp gets attacked, her world flips around. Then, an uprising begins, by a group called "The Resistants", led by the Guardians, by which Anna and the Hunters have no other choice but to join them. And what comes afterward, is worse. In this thrilling dystopian novel, love, betrayal, and friendships will be tested, where lovers will be reunited, or worse, detached. Betrayal will spite it's way within the characters, and friendships will be lost and found. But along the way, as new friends join Anna, the odds of betrayal grow long by the minute, and the chance of being deceived, is high. But always remember, trust no one.

One little thing that has been tiptoeing on the minds of scientists, philosophers and regular people as well is the concept of alternate universes. The world we live in, somewhere out there, being exactly the same except for a few slight changes. Your nails are painted black instead of red. The town of Arcata, California doesn't exist because the settlers that founded it simply went somewhere else and now there's a town that doesn't appear in the universe we live in. The WWII is considered just a small German rebellion because Stalin signed a deal with the UK and France instead of Germany. What if there were infinite possibilities for each of our lives? What if we were given the opportunity to open the cage that our universe embodies and get to a new universe full of new discoveries? And what if I told you we were closer to it being true than ever before? 🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬 Technology and science are advancing at a rapid speed when a University research project brings Zayn and Harry together. Their discoveries will have an enourmous impact on society but what if they reveal something about the two of them as well?

I was transformed by experimental nanotechnology. Now I have to testify to prove I'm human, not the property of the corporation that engineered me, even if telling the truth means condemning myself for my past crimes.

Dekker Johnson thought it would help heal the world of 2050 from The Breaking when he sold his algorithm that cracks any code or firewall on the planet. And his wife was murdered for it. Now an armed security detail protects him as he moves from one resort destination to another. But when a new member of the security detail is replaced, Dekker is forced to deal with something he's not comfortable with--and AI unit. He quickly find that things are not always what they seem in the new world if AI and quantum computing. The One Within is a near-future, science fiction, urban fantasy short story based in my Soul Jumpers series--a series I have yet to write. It explores the consequences of AI in the new world. BONUS DISCUSSION Also, periodically, I'll be posting chapters after the story's ending which will discuss the dangers of AI. Everyone's encouraged to join in on the discussion if you care to weigh in on the topic. AI is a dangerous venture, which is exactly why we see people like Elon Musk very uneasy about its development.

[Editors' Choice 2020] In a near-future, post-apocalyptic world, a lone girl must choose between becoming the next-in-line to head a corrupt government or siding with those who wish to see the world burn. Order, suppression and lies, or chaos, truth and freedom? Whatever is chosen, one thing is clear: both sides bleed. ***** Every year, the Federated United Americas tasks its elite soldiers to participate in a nation-wide Cull. Hundreds of children are taken from homes and put into one of three Facilities. While most of them will be offered comfortable lives in the forms of low-ranking government jobs and militia commandos, a few will be groomed to be the successors for the highest office the FUA has to offer: The Council. Beckett Blake is known in the Facility as Ten, and she alongside six others branded 'Liars', have spent years enduring confinement and rigorous testing in order to secure a future as head of the FUA. When a terrorist group breaks into the Facility and kidnaps Ten and the others, she's forced to re-examine her future plans. Required to become a drug runner in the mega-city known as Neon Brights, Ten must decide if the future she'd been promised since childhood is worth the lies it's built upon. Will Ten choose the future that's been decided for her, or will she carve out one all her own, even if that path leads to her destruction? Cover by @eosophobias

What would you do if everyone on Earth disappeared... except you? How many hours are in a day when there's no one to spend them with? No TV. No cell phones. How far would you go to keep yourself sane? Twelve years after the disappearance of every human being on Earth except herself, Helen has been living without purpose. Still mourning the loss of her son and living day-to-day, a series of events pushes Helen into a journey across the American East Coast to bring humanity, and her son, back to life.

As Decades passed, soon it was the beggining of 2027, as the world was entering a constant state of conflict. Major powers rose from the ashes of others, and with the rise of a struggled Republic in the West, the East was being led to slowly destroy itself in the process. Due to better Industrial Technology, armies were being produced regularly. As the world population hit 23 Billion, many people were worried about what came next. This was the time for large scale change.

In the year 2082, humanity stares into the dark edge of the solar system and finds something staring back. Farfarout was believed to be a rogue planet, captured by the Sun's gravity and drifting too far out to matter. Cold, massive, gas shrouded another dead boring gas giant. But when a last ditch research mission is sent to prove otherwise, what they uncover may challenge everything they thought possible about space.

After a grueling solo operation just North of the Arctic Circle, Lieutenant Arithia Artyom Schekovich has made it out alive along with the rogue element and thorn in her side, Lyudmilla Poroshenko. A blizzard has forced them into an emergency cabin in the wilderness. What will come of this isolation? Part of the Quantum Wolf universe. Suggested Listening: Snowblind Legacy album by Au5 & Tasha Baxter

Grace, an unknown gamer applies for one of the biggest gaming competitions out there thinking she wouldn't get accepted. But she did, and now she has to go compete with the best gamers in the country using the newest virtual reality advancements while being watched nationwide. But the problem is that her success in the competition isn't only based on her. She has to learn to coexist and strive with her new, somewhat difficult, teammates. (Old ranking system) Highest rank 363 science fiction

They didn't plan to meet. They didn't plan to play. But when four broken lives collide on stage, they find something worth holding onto. In a city that chews up dreams, can A.C.O.B.I fight to keep theirs alive?

In a rotting 2023 America-where profit poisons and trust bleeds dry-Soren Kade, a neurodivergent loner, plants a seed. Fed up with the empire's grind, they spark the Covenant: a scrap of Oregon woods, a cabin, a hunch. Three families join, chasing a life beyond rent traps and corporate lies. They grow spinach, brew chicory, and ditch the empire's coffee and booze. Battling landlord's greed, publics trolling-"Cult or commune?"-as county clerks and developers circle. Small, raw, real-as the Covenant struggles to hold ground, those still bought into the empire are watching. Book 1 of a trilogy-Game B grit meets near-future rebellion.

When the singing and dancing robot Dessie bought online turns out to be sentient, Dessie and the robot Naya must work through their different tastes in music, the company that made Naya trying to get her back, and their developing feelings for each other to achieve their dreams of stardom. A vocal synthesizer-inspired sci-fi romance! Updates Fridays. Also posting on RoyalRoad and Tapas. Playlist here: https://tinyurl.com/c1rcu1ts