Putting "Day Of The Mule" on the Web

So I'm putting one of the stories from Hydra, "The Day Of The Mule," on the web for all to see.

You can see it here:  "The Day Of The Mule"

And, if you like it, you see the whole collection here: http://www.amazon.com/Hydra-ebook/dp/B0060MB2G8

Alas, the futurists.

Poor futurists. So few ways to be right. So many ways to be dead wrong.

I don't envy them.

from Jellies

from Jellies...

A thousand years ago, humanity had split between the humans and the Others, the transhumans ...

The transhumans changed very, very quickly, the Ranger explained…. adding to themselves, expanding their intelligence, gaining additional abilities. In a single lifetime, they evolved more rapidly, and more completely, than humanity had done in the last million years. "In time, we might not even see them anymore."

"Why not?"

"Consider the insect." How does a bug see us? Probably, as a big rumbling something or other. Something warm and fleshy. No different from any other large mammal in its environment. A mosquito or a tick might recognize us as a potential source of blood. But would they recognize us as an entity? A being like themselves? Surely not.

And, so, if there were creatures as far beyond us as we are beyond ticks and mosquitoes…

"We might not realize they were here," Valter said.

And, the older man continued, "Think about the things we build or grow. How does a fly or an ant perceive our houses and buildings? Probably just as big hard objects, no different from mountains and cliff walls. Or how does a locust see a cornfield? Just as a source of plant matter. Something to be eaten like any tree or leaf."

"The idea that someone, somewhere, might object…"

"Would never occur to it,"

"Right. And what do we do when we find locusts in our fields?"

Valter felt terror clawing at his soul. "We poison them."

from the inside flap of Tower

From the inside flap of  Tower

There are wonders beyond the Singularity...

      "These nanotechnical devices... the nanotechnical devices... will enter your body and brain. It will link you to us. To the network. To artificial and natural intelligences. You will have powers beyond anything you can imagine."
     "Powers?" Now she was interested.
     "Unbelievable things. Super intelligence, and everything that comes with it. You'll be able to reshape yourself. Have multiple bodies. Be in many places at once. Travel to the stars and stay home at the same time. It's unimaginable."
                    Deal Breaker


But there are also terrors...

     Odd. There was a faint sound coming from the monitor of her computer. It was almost like a scratching. As if a cat or something were inside and wanted to be let out.
     She bent down to examine it more closely. She had shut down the computer and the screen was black. Yet, as she watched, it grew white...a pearly, confused white, like the static of a TV between channels. What?
     Then ...there was something taking shape in the static! She leaned closer and closer, until her nose was almost pressed to the glass. What could it be?
     Tentacles. Fangs. Claws...
                     The Hate Buyer

Once more, Victor Storiguard gives us a glance at the Transhuman future...in both its promise, and its perils.

and yet another addition to my amazon.com page...Tower

Just put another work on my Amazon page—Tower.

I'm playing around with some horror elements in these tales.

and from A Singular Encounter

And this is from "A Singular Encounter"

She saw it all. It unfolded before her like a vision. Machines would become smaller, and smaller, and yet ever more powerful. They'd link together. Communicate. Become one intelligence.

And humans would be part of that intelligence! Organic brains would link to artificial ones. The distinction between one and the other vanishing. She saw humans becoming more than human.

"My… my God," she said.

And, of course, it explained the Catastrophe, too. When the day came when such technology was available, people would face a choice. Did they wish to become superhuman or didn't they?

And, strangely, many would choose not to. Why? A hundred reasons. Religion, philosophy, ideology.

As a result, the world would divide between those who changed and those who didn't. And while that division was underway…

"Chaos…" she said, at last. Society would dissolve.

"The Catastrophe," he agreed, softly. "Or what came to be called such."

from Jellies

This is from "Jellies." I don't suppose I'm posting any spoilers ;-)
 Full book is here: Jellies


 Just then, the phone rang. For a moment, he hesitated. Did he really want to talk to anyone? No. But, he supposed he should. He wished someone would invent some sort of machine that would answer phones for you and take a message so that you didn't have to speak to people you didn't like.

He sighed and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Valter,"

He recognized her voice with a start. "Judice Hargon?"

"Yes,"

"Uh, what can I do for you?"

"I'd like to talk to you again."

"Ah, sure." He fumbled for his calendar. "Someday this week?"

"No. Not like that. Now."

"Now?"

He heard her laugh. "Yes. This very evening. Can you come?"

"I…I guess so. Where should I come? At the Palace of Justice again?"

"No," …another soft chuckle…"I'll send a car." And then the line went dead.

What in the world? He thought. But a few minutes later, he heard a landcar come to a stop outside his apartment building. He glanced out a window. It was the same limo. And the same driver was standing at the door.

He went outside. This time the driver didn't speak but only held the door open for him. Valter sat in the back and they headed off into the evening. The driver weaved in and out of traffic. Soon, a mammoth building appeared before them…one of the exclusive flat complexes down near the financial district…and the car stopped. Once again, the silent driver opened his door, and Valter stumbled out onto the sidewalk.

He turned to the driver. "But where…?"

"Penthouse," the man said, simply.

Mystified, Valter entered the building's lobby. The doorman inside glanced at him, then looked away again, carefully avoiding his eyes.

He crossed the tile floor to the elevator. The door swung open and the operator, a woman in a gray "house" uniform, smiled at him. He entered it uneasily. Before he could say what floor he wanted, she had pulled a handle on a wheel and they were upward bound. When the little arrow over the door came to "P," they halted and she silently opened the cage for him.

He stepped out and found himself in a kind of little entryway, almost a small room in itself.  There was a mirror on the wall and a place to hang his coat. Beyond it was an ornate door. Before he could knock, it swung open silently and he found himself confronting a maid. "She's expecting you," the woman said.

She held the door for him and, once he was past, stepped outside and closed it behind her. He heard her footsteps as she walked toward the elevator. She said something he couldn't quite make out to the elevator operator, there was a burst of disconcerting giggles, and the lift descended again.

He edged into the room behind the door. It was luxuriously furnished, even crowded. There were paintings on all the walls, fresh flowers on tables, chairs, a massive glass hookah, a chaise lounge…

And then he saw her. Or, rather, he realized what he was seeing. She was in the lounge. Reclining and watching him with a slight smile on her face.

She was nude.

He gasped.

She laughed at him now. "I thought this would be the easiest way," she explained. "Eliminate all uncertainty, as it were."

and yet another addition to my amazon.com page

I've just posted another piece to my Amazon page -- Tower, and other transhuman tales. 

It's not up and running, yet, but I'll post a notice when it is.