Story cover for The Machine Zone - Digital Gothic by AKA_CK
The Machine Zone - Digital Gothic
AKA_CK
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AKA_CK
Complete, First published Jan 07
artcriticismcontemporaryartcontemporarygothiccreativeinsightcreativemindscreativenonfictiondigitalcreatorsdigitalculturedigitalgothicexperimentalwritingmodernhorrorpsychologicalinsightsocialcommentarysocialcritiquetechreflectionwattpadnonfiction
The Machine Zone explores Mat Collishaw's haunting art installation through a contemporary gothic lens, weaving together psychological insight, digital culture, and artistic commentary. Written for an engaged audience of 18-25+ year olds who are curious.

Through the metaphor of mechanical birds and historical psychological experiments, it invites you to explore your own relationship with digital technology. Rather than simplifying complex ideas, it challenges you to engage with them, offering insights that deepen with each reading.
All Rights Reserved
artcriticismcontemporaryartcontemporarygothiccreativeinsightcreativemindscreativenonfictiondigitalcreatorsdigitalculturedigitalgothicexperimentalwritingmodernhorrorpsychologicalinsightsocialcommentarysocialcritiquetechreflectionwattpadnonfiction
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Slide 1 of 10
SynTracker | ONC 2021 | MM Romance | Sci-Fi | Complete cover
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A Timely Knight cover
Behind the Code cover
THE ZONE cover
His Addiction {COMPLETED} cover
Against the Tide - A New Elysium Story [Complete] cover
Free Minds cover
Gathered on This Beach: Poems & Perspectives for a Converging World cover
Sanders Sides Onshots Book 2 {COMPLETED} cover

SynTracker | ONC 2021 | MM Romance | Sci-Fi | Complete

20 parts Complete Mature

[ONC ROUND ONE WINNER: 4th place] When he discovers his husband has been replaced, an android hunter must find the impostor in time to rescue the man he loves. SynTracker is one half of a duology of novellas. Both follow the same sequence of events from different PoVs. SynTracker is Ian's tale; BioSynth is Quentin's. Collectively, they're known as Syn. ≡≡≡ Ian Morgan is a man who does the wrong job for the right reasons. Honour-bound to keep the streets safe, Ian is a SynTracker: someone whose job is to hunt down BioSynths - obsolete yet incredibly dangerous synthetic self-aware weapons - and return them to the government, to be reprogrammed and repurposed. It'd be an easier task if they hadn't been programmed to mimic reactions that allow them to pass as humans, complete with tears. Deeply in love with Quentin, his husband of eight years, Ian's home life more than makes up for the work that wears him down. But a car crash that could have killed Quentin reveals a shocking truth: his husband has been replaced by a BioSynth. With the impostor on the loose, Ian must now Track it, knowing he needs to comb its memories for any clue regarding Quentin's whereabouts - if he's even alive. ≡≡≡ SynTracker was written for the Open Novella Contest 2021 and is based on prompt #4: You're a weapon, and weapons don't weep. It features a romance between two men. ≡≡≡ ONC Round One Winner: 4th Place Speculative Fiction Awards, Utopia/Distopia: Runner-Up R4R Awards, Sci-Fi: 2nd Place

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