Of Two Minds Book 1
by
Size: 6.00 x 9.00 in
Pages: 272
Size: 5.00 x 8.00 in
Pages: 292
AI lacks consciousness, until it borrows self-awareness from a human host.
Dustin “Dusty” Gordon is a man without a world. The son of a rocket scientist mother, and the commander of the first mission to Mars, he possesses the talents of neither. Instead, he likes to tinker.
Born on Mars, he returned to Earth with his parents, but struggled under Earth’s oppressive gravity, and the weight of his famous parents’ expectations. After graduation he returned to Mars but finds fitting in with the blue-collar guilds difficult.
Unrest is afoot. The guilds chafe at COO Randall Skinner’s plans to upgrade their brain implants and train their own AI-controlled replacements.
Sent to repair a faulty train switch, Dusty’s exoskeleton suit shorts out, exposing him to the icy cold of Mars miles from help. Retrieved severely hypothermic and hypoxic, Dusty is saved by the very neurosurgeon who upgrades the brain implants. Using a higher concentration of nanite electrodes, he replaces Dusty’s brain function lost in the accident.
The solar system’s first cybernetic mind must now navigate the guilds, who accuse him of collaboration with the COO, and Randall Skinner himself, who perceives Dusty as his greatest obstacle to his own control and wealth.
Editors:
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Tropes: Dystopian Governments, Reluctant Hero, Sentient AI, Singularity
Word Count: 62000
Setting: Mars
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
Tropes: Dystopian Governments, Reluctant Hero, Sentient AI, Singularity
Word Count: 62000
Setting: Mars
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
After Ellen left for the evening, Dusty couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable.
“Lights on.”
He threw off the bed covers, rose, and donned his coveralls. After pacing around the futon, he settled into his chair at the small kitchen table. He opened his tablet and paged to the problem he had started working on before Ellen had arrived. He looked at it briefly, then turned it off and tossed it back onto the table.
“Ugh! What is wrong with me?”
There’s nothing wrong with you.
Dusty jumped. He spun the tablet around to see who had just messaged him. But it was still off. He pulled his phone off its charger. No recent messages, comms, or notifications. His heart raced. He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth to control his fright.
Good solution. Continue your controlled breathing for another sixty seconds.
READ MOREThe voice startled him again. But this time, determined to figure it out, Dusty stood and walked to his bed. He pulled off the covers. He looked under the bed. Nothing. He walked over to the futon and tipped it back. Nothing underneath. He pulled the cushions. Nada. He looked back toward the table. Nothing but empty space beneath it. He looked in the microwave, but it too was empty.
Dusty unplugged it and placed it on the table, then grabbed his toolkit, intending to remove the back plate and look for anything out of the ordinary. “Damned coworkers. They planted a transceiver and speaker,” he mumbled.
Practice your controlled breathing. Your heart rate and respiration have climbed again.
Now Dusty was certain the voice came from behind him. He spun around, but the only thing there was the small shelf that had held his tool kit.
“I’m going crazy.” He began shaking.
Dustin, your mental health is within norms. Just resume your controlled breathing.
He stood and walked to the fridge, intending to drink one of the IPA bottles still in there.
Please don’t. Consumption of alcohol is ill-advised so soon after a traumatic brain injury. Lie down and resume your controlled breathing.
“Ah, that explains it. This is a dream.” Dusty sighed in relief, placed the bottle back in the fridge, and walked over to his bed. He undressed and lay down, pulling the covers over himself. He resumed his controlled breathing and fell asleep.
COLLAPSE
