genetically engineered subclass of animals biologically uplifted to emulate human form and sapience during a more forward-looking time, now pariahs broadly reduced to menial work. All of these have been pressed into massive cities walled against the barren exterior, with massive divisions between the opulent upper levels and the dirty, desperate bottom levels. Unlike some of my other sci-fi fiction, focused on space adventure or technological extrapolation, this setting is very much a laboratory for social speculation.
This specific story follows a private detective--appropriate for such a noir-ish setting--hired to investigate the disappearance of one of these genetic plutocrats' 'daughter'. His search will take him from down-level brothels in the hive-city of Recife, Brazil, to secretive, orgiastic cults deep in the mining warrens of Mercury. His journey will be dogged by the prospect of indoctrinated prejudices and brainwashing, forced to walk the narrow divide between freedom and bondage as boundaries break at very the limits of civilization, to either renew it or cast it deeper into degeneracy. Please note that this story is sexually explicit, although I'd hesitate to call it erotica per se. Caveat lector.
The ebook anthology is available for sale from SpecFicWorld here, four stories for only $3.99, or as one of SpecFicWorld's "Featured Fiction", you can read an excerpt from the novellette and buy it individually for only $0.99 here. |
