In this thrilling follow-up to THE JOURNEYMAN, Kyla Hunter tries living a normal life with her new daughter, but the ghosts of her past have a way of resurfacing. Dean Beckett and his hacker friend Hiroshi start to drift apart as their friendship gets tested by the evil Wizard and a strange old Japanese man, who regards Hiroshi as some sort of messianic warrior. Rumors and conspiracies abound on Mars, and an important man pays with his life. And the final voyage of the pirate ship MERCURIAL withholds the greatest discovery in mankind - and perhaps the greatest danger.
Excerpt
His boardroom was wallpapered with giant flat-panel screens. It was always cold in the building. The absence of the human element was a constant theme in his main offices. The receptionist was an AI Persona that controlled a wall of flatscreen monitors, and server robots were everywhere. The late Hiroko Tanabe did not like adornments, however, his displays showed tranquil forest and meadow scenes. An android shoved a lanky young man toward a stumpy podium of charcoal gray. “I have brought Tomi, sir.” The robot droned.
A hologram swirled over the podium, an old Japanese man in a black suit. The man bowed low to the older man, who stared at the man with disdain. “I knew a young upstart like you could not be trusted!”
The young man trembled. “Sir—”
The old man jabbed a finger at Tomi. “Don’t speak! You listen! That’s always been the problem with your entire family. You can’t shut up for a second and listen to the world around you. What have you to say for yourself?”
He could not bring himself to look at the old man. “Uh...uh...”
Tanabe's voice rumbled like thunder. “You have brought great shame to my house and my reputation! And to think there used to be such promise I saw in you, what a terrible waste. You've been a disappointment ever since you were conceived! Are you aware of this?”
Tomi's eyes widened. “I had no idea sir, but please let me explain—”
“I have no patience with thieves!”
Tomi dropped to his knees. “Forgive me, Mr. Tanabe. I couldn’t help myself, all that confidential data at my fingertips. The demon of greed has seduced me terribly. My family name is dishonored. I ask for your forgiveness for what I've done.”
“What you did was forward a copy of my personnel records to those vile Syndicate terrorists. Now they have vital data on me and my company. That wasn't too bright, Tomi. I just hope the money was worth it, pity you lost your way in the process. You have become too much the Westerner, so you are to be banished there.”
Surprise grew on the young man's face. “I’m banished? You won’t liquidate me?”
“Your father has pleaded your case to me online. I told him I’ll grant you absolution only if you’ll do me a favor.”
“He gave Tanabe a short bow. Sir, what am I to do?”
“I need you to deliver a package to one of my Sleepers. It’s time to activate this one, in fact, I should've done this way sooner.”
Tomi wrinkled his face. “But it's a Sleeper. Can't they be activated by remote terminal?”
Hiroko shook his head gently. “Not this particular one, he's...wired a different way.”
“Oh...a million blessings for your leniency, Mr. Tanabe. You don't know what this means to me. I won’t let you down in this endeavor.”
“That has yet to be proven...kosai. As a precaution, you'll be taken to Dr. Kuroda so she can place a locater beacon rigged with a chemical bomb in your brain. Disobey me, and it’ll go off.”
He gulped. “Yes, sir. Who is the subject?”
Tanabe snapped his fingers, vanishing. “His name is Hiroshi Kobayashi. He uses the hacker alias GURU. He lives in Meridian City, I will provide you with a tracker. So have a safe journey, and don’t screw up, or it's off with your head.”
Supreme Mandate, Vol 1 of the Tarizon Saga. After a hundred years of war Tarizon is on the brink of becoming uninhabitable. Then, a boy named Sandee Brahn comes out of the wilderness with a wild beast at his side, claiming that the God Pelgrem has co
The entire BetterWorld cyberpunk trilogy plus added material is now available in one ebook! In the trilogy, an unemployed bipolar journalist, her VR-addicted younger sister, and a teenage hacker try to stop a giant corporation from controlling the wo
