The Robot Lord Scenario (My Novel) - Chapter 1 (Ivan)

Ivan looked out at the downtown skyscrapers, a warmly glowing stream of data, orange on black, obscuring his view. The motion-activated streetlights were dark, as were most of the other office buildings, but a peppering of lighted windows in the building across the street illuminated the deep blackness of the night. A cleaning woman in a drab gray uniform emptied trash cans, while another one vacuumed. They were actual humans, which explained why they needed light. Continue reading

The Robot Lord Scenario - Chapter 2 (Mira)

Mira trudged past the boarded up storefronts, careful to stay in the thin sliver of shade provided by the sagging overhang. She pulled a mildewy t-shirt across her face to keep the swirling dust out of her nose and mouth. The California sun pounded down like a molten hammer on a filthy anvil, and she squinted across the broken pavement of the parking lot. This had been a shopping complex of some kind once. One of the storefronts read “Carvel” in thick red letters, while another one featured the words “Hens & Kelly” in big black cursive. She had seen places like this on shows, but she had no idea what these stores had sold. Continue reading

The Robot Lord Scenario - Chapter 3 (Evelyn)

Evelyn stepped out of her car with the aid of Matheson, her head of security. She frowned at the explosion of flashes that lit up the night and blinded her as she emerged. The paparazzi were drawn to her tall, thin form and regal demeanor, but she never allowed herself to be photographed. She touched the diamond brooch on her neck subconsciously. Its paparazzi countermeasures had always proven effective, disabling the cameras with infrared flashes, but she often found herself wishing that she could use a more visceral deterrent. It would have satisfied her to see lasers erupting from her throat and destroying the cameras hovering all around, but she tried to quell that emotion. Continue reading

The Robot Lord Scenario - Chapter 4 (Ivan)

Cyn lead the way as the trio left the Ithildin building, passing from the elevators through the soaring foyer. Bad corporate office art reared above them, aggressive primary colored mediocrity on a grand scale. Security systems scanned them as they departed into the cool night air. Continue reading

The Robot Lord Scenario - Chapter 5 (Mira)

Chapter 4 here. Mira was in her glory. It was a little weird how she couldn’t quite tell her friends the whole story, even when she swapped to a different visor. The hacker boy had somehow put a filter on … Continue reading

The Robot Lord Scenario - Chapter 6 (Evelyn)

Chapter 5 here. Matheson paced back and forth in the waiting room of the private clinic. He didn’t see the beige furniture and mildly narcotic e-ink art as it morphed on the walls. His vision was filled with streaming surveillance … Continue reading

The Robot Lord Scenario - Chapter 7 (Ivan)

Chapter 6 here. Cyn’s car pulled onto Ivan’s block as they prepared to drop him off at home, but the street was blocked with fire trucks and emergency vehicles. “Tell me that isn’t YOUR building on fire,” said Cyn. She … Continue reading

The Robot Lord Scenario - Chapter 8 (Mira)

Chapter 7 here. The tents and shanties of Mira’s camp were huddled together along the sidewalks of a dozen consecutive blocks under the 580 overpass in Oakland. Junk was strewn everywhere: blue plastic tarps, shopping carts, baby carriages, white five … Continue reading

The Robot Lord Scenario - Chapter 9 (Evelyn)

Chapter 8 here. Evelyn was still disembodied, but her ego was slowly recoalescing. She recalled experimenting with psychedelics when she was young, and this felt a lot like a bad trip. Perhaps she had been dosed by someone. Was there … Continue reading

The Robot Lord Scenario - Chapter 10 (Ivan)

Chapter 9 here. Sunlight warmed Ivan’s face and he smelled a diesel scented breeze. He cracked an eyelid open, trying to get his bearings. Oh god. He was on the floor of Cyn’s car in a painfully contorted position and his back was … Continue reading