
In SerialThe Electric Archipelago (WIP) Sci-fi Adventure Virtual Reality
This is the first draft of my new cyberpunk novel, The Electric Archipelago. In the future humanity is imprisoned by massive corporations. Computers are directly connected to their brains, creating a nightmarish state of absolute control, every action is monitored and harshly judged. Perhaps worst of all, the victim's perception of reality itself is controlled.
A system of social credit hangs over everyone's heads. If you want to survive you will need to pick a company and stay loyal to that brand. But it goes beyond that, because each corporation has been infiltrated and taken over by forces that are interested in more than just profit.
John is a Skinwalker, a free man, a man who is immune to these restrictions. He goes where he wants and does what he wants, moving from one augmented reality to the next, always looking for the next score.
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Chapter Selections
1. Chapter 1: Canal Street is a Hotbed of Madness and Depravity
2. Chapter 2: The Fantasy Room
3. Chapter 3: Layers of Reality
4. Chapter 4: Sunshine and Tanned Bodies
5. Chapter 5: Escape
6. Chapter 6: A Friend in Need
7. Chapter 7: Section 4143 is a Complete Shithole
8. Chapter 8: Legion
9. Chapter 9: The Thing
10. Chapter 10: Adorable
11. Chapter 11: Cheap
12. Chapter 12: Demonic Delights
13. Chapter 13: Escape from Hell
14. Chapter 14: Gorman's Place
15. Chapter 15: Portrait of a Young Man
16. Chapter 16: Firefight
17. Chapter 17: Hunted
18. Chapter 18: Pretending to Watch Robots Work
19. Chapter 19: HIdeout
20. Chapter 20: Wargames
21. Chapter 21: Rude Awakening
22. Chapter 22: Assault on Detainment Center A13-9E
23. Chapter 23: Fallen Angels
24. Chapter 24: The Truth
25. Chapter 25: The End
26. Appendix A: Organizations and Subcultures
27. Appendix B: The Megacorporations
28. Author’s Thoughts on this Draft
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Nero Zero
Monsters plagued the lands for too long. No matter if one had fangs, beak, teeth, skin, fur, or feather, or was tall, stout, or diminutive, the people suffered. Until the Gadgeteers came with a device that could allow people to fight back. Powered by one's own magical power, feeding off of monster Essence, the Arbitrium bracer turned the tables. It also changed society. Strength of one's level cap was all that mattered. The strongest were Kings and Emperors. The weak or those too poor to afford the marvelous device, destitute. And so it has been for millennia. All that mattered was one's level cap. High, low, a fate decided the moment the strange contraption came alive. Too high and you were a threat to those interested in keeping the status quo, a weed to be nipped before it could grow and take root. Too low and you were nobody, fated to be a bit more than a simple farmer. What if someone, somewhere, came up with a zero for their level cap? Unable to use Essence, unable to level up. On all of recorded history, it never happened. Until it did. In a small village of fur-less and tail-less ape-beastkin, a boy found out he was uniquely handicapped. Nero's level cap was Zero. But he'd never let that stop him from reaching his goals. ------------------------------------------------ All stories have already been told. We merely reuse elements from them. From Joseph Campbell's Monomith to Stephen King's advice, and that encyclopedia of tropes you've visited, fiction has been dissected and reassembled countless times. One will surely find elements inspired on other works here. Just like cooking from basic ingredients, the recipe and presentation is what really matter. This is a fantasy adventure, of someone that goes from a zero to a slightly bigger zero. It will have romance but no harem. Cruelty but with hope dimly shining ahead. Lightweight where it can be, heavy where it must. Thanks for reading. Cover Credits (The cover is CC-BY-NC-SA): Steampunk Spider Bracer, by Daniel Proulx. CC-BY-NC-SA Picture Frame, @anaterate, Pixabay license. Some odds and bits from here and there.
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Where is the last place you want to be when the zombie apocalypse begins?In a cemetary, digging a grave, of course - which is exactly where Gary finds himself when his world is abruptly initiated into the multiverse. And that's just the start of his problems. Due to a technical error, Gary doesn't get the same character sheet and upgrades as everyone else. Nope. Instead, Gary gets classified as one of the undead. He's a zombie now - except, Gary didn't die. And he doesn't want to, either!A LitRPG/Gamelit story of what happens when one man armed with a shovel takes on the undead hordes threatening to overrun his reality. Combines zombie apocalypse horror with pen and paper style RPG game mechanics. Updates are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at just after 6PM UK time / 11AM PT / 1PM EST . I've set up a Patreon account here: https://www.patreon.com/gravediggergary if you'd like to support the story and read up to 15 chapters ahead. All support is very much appreciated! The underlying system on which the story runs is a work in progress (like the story itself!) so there may be adjustments to character sheets etc as the novel rolls out. Spelling and grammar are British English unless I mess up in which case it's just gobbledygook (please feel free to point out any typographical mistakes or obvious errors, I appreciate it!)Finally, this story is cross-posted on Scribblehub. And I think that's everything! Thanks for reading!All content copyright Robert Thorne 2021
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14 year old Tory Ciarelli did not want to get stuck on the planet Mars, but here she is, dragged 50 million miles from her home Earth, by her parents to the new frontier. She has a plan to escape Mars, but might not be able to accomplish her goal on her own. 21 year old Gurminder Kalsi is a third generation bornehere Martian, a rig driver working for the planetary clans who were abandoned by Earth but managed to survive and prosper but are now at the mercy of the massive new colonization effort. He too is trapped on the red plane, but not by circumstance, but by biology. Born on Mars he can not leave to go to the world his grandparents came from. But together Tory and Gurminder might be able to find a way out of their traps. If they can work together. If they don't manage to make things worse...
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Mark Fanjo’s first webnovel of Jiro Nakojima, an average teenager who has reincarnated into a world of swords and magic. His ambition to become someone vanishes as he soons discovers he has no magic, and is left as a completely vulnerable child. After losing everything and experiencing near-death, he inherits the powers of the world’s ancient nightmare. As his journey continues, he slowly unveils the truth of his powers and his new world.
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Sala Malik and Avo Cado are earthlings. When the humans were killed and the earth destroyed, Avo was one of the few to survive. Seeing his best friend die in front of his eyes, the feeling of powerlessness was unbearable and soon, as he watched the universe undo what had been done, he made his resolve to become a powerful magician and a defender of his home ! With the resurrected Sala, Avo left the comfort and familiarity of his planet on a long journey through space... All in order to learn the secrets of the Arcane. ARC 1 - First encounter with the Namekian people. Chapter 1-7
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Chloé x Jean-Jacques
What's up, dudes? Me writing more vnc ship fics? It's more likely than you think. I probably won't update this as often as my vanoé one but please understand I love these 2 dearly.
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