She outlived everyone. Pilfered a pod and blasted out of the atmosphere. Destination: Anywhere But Here. She escaped. Almost.
Now in the grasp of a cruel tyrant named Thassos, stranded on a desolate icy planet, Phaedra still can't succumb to her fate. Even when the Soul Reapers have strapped her to the operating table, about to harvest her soul and transplant it into a Biomech to see if she retains her memories. If she does, Thassos will have succeeded in his task of attaining immortality by transplanting his soul indefinitely into Biomechs. After thousands of failed experiments, Phaedra is the last hope of helping a mad scientist become a rare Memory Retainer.
Will she lose her humanity during the transplant, or will she wake up a human, trapped in a synthetic body?
*This novelette first appeared in Mythic Winter: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Anthology, Mythic Tales Publishing, Dec 2022.
Join Phaedra and a ragtag crew of other scrappy survivors in this action-packed collection, which includes three bonus sci-fi stories, previously only available in literary magazines and anthologies:
"The Cybermancer's Potion" Genesis Peacekeeper Ryan has enough to deal with on the Genesis Space Station. But when a rogue cybermancer's potions begin causing chaos on her ship and amongst her fellow crew members, she sets out with her squad--and one of the potion's victims--to investigate. Previously published in The Kraken Lore.
"The Bright Rebellion" As leader of the Bright Rebellion, Ashr has the lives of many human survivors on his hands. Outnumbered against AI, and with few supplies, they are already stretched thin. But when the threat of a new BioMech surfaces, one that passes for human even in bioscans--will the Bright finally go dark? Previously published in The Kraken Lore.
"The Pygmalion Syndrome" Ghost, along with his partner Crash, have secretly created a perfect Synth. So human, they are undetectable. So good, he and his partner will never have to work again. But when his Synth goes missing, along with his partner, his obsession to find his creation--instead of his best friend and partner--may prove to be a fatal mistake. Previously published in Writerly Magazine.
