You have one option to survive.

Enter the pod.

If you survive, you will become part of

the System but will need to accept

the Imps and adapt.

The year is 2088.

What do you do when you know an anomaly
capable of destroying the planet will occur in ten years?
What do you do when you need to convince DAINN, the
Artificial Intelligence Neural Network, that you have
some insights that can impact the future?

Gen possesses the knowledge to help save millions. But how can she convey this information with credibility if the System does not accept her? Can she strike a deal with the A.I. if she reveals what she knows and not take the Imps?

Gen is talented and determined to convince the one person she knows, the one person who has never met her before today, but is instrumental in the outcome? In a fight for much more than her life, this time, she must face odds that make a win unlikely.

Who can she turn to for support because the outcome is about success or death?

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Text copyright © 2015 by Dominique Luchart,

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This book is a work of fiction.

Copyright © 2015 by Dominique Luchart,

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction

in whole or in part in any form.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

Luchart, Dominique.

NEWDAWN Diaries Series

SYSTEM - GEN /Dominique Luchart

Summary

The Center is a hidden facility that remains off the radar

from public scrutiny. Buried under red tape and undetectable,

its research is held under a mask of secrecy.

As one of the leading scientists in her field and

working on a highly confidential

protocol, Dr. Gen Aubrey,

joins the expedition sending people

into the future. She wakes up from her cryogenic module

in 2088, finding that all is not as it should be.

ISBN 978-1-941954-01-0

Adobe Garamond Pro Typeface used in NEWDAWN Saga – Diaries Series – SYSTEM – GEN

NEWDAWN

Saga

SYSTEM
GEN
DIARY

By
Dominique Luchart

Formerly known as the Center, located deep off the grid,

this abandoned underground bunker was converted and opened sometime in early 2018, to a high-security private research facility.

Institute - Ang City 2088

Darkness. I am floating in darkness. It takes a while before my memories return, and then remnants begin to filter into my mind.

I am Gen Aubrey. There was no easy way to begin sharing my part in this story. I faintly remembered that much as I slowly returned to my senses.

The floor shifted from under me.

I was moving.

I could only begin when the moment of my rebirth happened. The moment where this new world claimed me. The moment where the knowledge I carried rendered me valuable enough to be brought into the System.

The surrounding walls around me gripped me.

But before I could start recalling how I ended up here, first, I needed to settle myself.

Something moved me. 

The slow-motion unnerved me, although there was no jolt, no chaotic displacement, just a soft whoosh along the way. The experience, not unpleasant, provided a sense of being within my body, yet without weight. How long? How long is it?

I heard a humming, constant in its rhythm, only distant. Where am I now?

My head swam. My thoughts, unsettled, and unanchored in my brain, whirled around without a specific aim. Trying to gain consciousness, I felt a wisp of anxiety flicker inside me. It was a more instinctive reaction arising from my unknown situation.

I remembered entering cryo under extreme circumstances, unlike the others. It was a flee or die reaction. At the time, I either entered the pod or fell prey to the explosion. The decision seemed elementary.

The immediate noise did not come from inside the capsule. It belonged farther, coming from the environment beyond the walls of my pod. I felt all of it more than I understood it, for I was still very much under the influence of the cryosleep.

The soft rhythm changed abruptly.

The capsule that enfolded me suddenly stopped moving. The contraption remained in one place now, for they no longer transported me somewhere.

Ten years. I remained ten years under the influence of cryosleep. The time should be 2028.

The casing slowly changed orientation. My horizontal position shifted to a smooth vertical one. My sense of claustrophobia pervaded with every instant after that as I tried to breathe. 

My head pounded. My ears, echoing with blood swishing, disrupted my ability. The fact that I could not hear well ramped up my nervosity. My heart began to beat erratically.

Sounds came from a faraway place. The buzzing in my ears increased. As my body awoke, I felt powerless, frightened, and unable to move. Ensconced in this position without recourse, I attempted to clear my head. It soon became unbearable.

Let me out!

I wanted to scream these words. Only no voice rose from my aridly dried throat.  Not entirely conscious yet, I controlled only a few of my functions at the moment. They said the reanimation would go smoothly. Was this going smoothly? Was this the normal process?

The procedure that began just moments ago seemed so slow that it drove me mad. 

We talked about the scientific facts of cryonics at the Center, but the experience now proved altogether different. Perhaps this was not normal.

Still, in a fog, I fought against my impatience as things moved agonizingly slow for me. In a way, I should not be surprised.  Way to go, Gen. You brought this with you.

Recognizing my shortcomings even in this situation seemed appropriate. Patience had never been my best quality. I was not entirely here, but it was still me, for I showed this undesirable trait most of my life. It was instead the opposite. Looking back on my journey to this point, the realization of ownership of this one fact still eluded me. Both my parents were extremely patient individuals. Shaking off the feeling of inadequacy that threatened to swallow me was difficult, but I focused on the moment. Better do that than look back to what brought me here.

When I opened my eyes, I gazed only at the darkness, and I closed them in frustration.

Where am I? Way to go Gen, you have no idea. Good grief!

Something happened.

A sound drew my attention to what lay beyond my pod. Abruptly, the cover slowly lifted from the encasement that held the outside world at bay. 

Through my eyelids, I distinguished some light, even though I saw nothing on the outside yet. 

The darkness slowly faded to light. It began as a small glimmer at first, but it soon became quite bright. Once this process unfolded, the obscurity receded rapidly.

It’s all right, Gen. You will be all right.

The pod mechanism unlocked. The apparatus released its hold on me.

I now felt the surrounding air. I want out!

The soft contour-like membrane that protected me peeled away when the door of the small capsule noiselessly opened. 

“Vitals normal,” said one voice.

The atmosphere on the outside of the cryomodule jumped out at me at once. It was cold.

“She is coming around,” said another.

I sensed people watching, their attention directed towards me. Feeling their eyes on me, I refused to face them. Now that the world surrounded me again, outside of the safety of my cocoon, my sense of preservation surfaced.

“She should be awake by now,” said another voice.

They monitored, assessed, and studied. These people observed my biological responses. The shuffles of feet continued, moving from one side of the room to the other.

“Maybe she is,” said a mocking voice.

The murmurs of voices broke the otherwise silent process.

I made the call to do this. My decision to enter cryo resulted in my departure from my time and from everyone I knew. My desire to experience the future, coupled with the necessity to change the course of that same future, called me to do this. They desperately needed someone to do it. Only now, the experience was overwhelming.

My eyesight blurred. I visualized forms moving around.

“Hah, here you are,” said the same mocking voice.

What awaited me in this place?

The light hurt my eyes; it was too bright. I closed my lids and opened them several times, trying to see clearly. Attempting to refocus despite the tears clouding my vision, I saw shapes moving around. Vague forms were all I could distinguish at present. 

The same mocking voice to my right murmured, “Light at sixty percent.”

Immediately the brightness of the room dimmed.

I struggled to open my eyes again. Part of me wanted to see them.

What will my life be like now?

The unknown never scared me before. I should not let it now.

Streak would be here to meet me. He promised as much. I needed to trust that.

My friends, my co-workers, those who were part of the expedition, where were they now? I needed to know.

I blinked several times, still unable to focus. 

The male voice spoke again. “Relax, you are among friends.” 

Really?

It was the only word that came to mind. How did I know it was true? How would I find out where I landed if I did not face my new reality? I pondered that as a moment passed.

Who did the voice belong to in this place? I did not recognize it.

Thoughts rose in my head, swirling like a bird in a cage. They tried to prepare us. They told us about what we would face in this world of theirs. Still, armed with superficial knowledge, we knew adjustments would require time. Doubts arose, causing unease in the pit of my stomach. I guessed there was no way to postpone the moment any longer.

I opened my eyes again.

“Finally, here you are. Taking your sweet time, are not you?” repeated the mocking voice.

Easy for you to say, douche.

His chuckle surprised me. “The sooner you accept that you are here, the better.”

They could not know what I thought even as they continued their surveillance, or could they? I focused on my surroundings, looking for him as my ears registered the male pitch.

I began to feel cold. Quite cold. Goosebumps spread on my skin, making the hair on my arms rise.

A hand holding something approached my lips.

I pulled back, shifting my head as far back as I could against the encasement of the pod. My neck felt weak, supporting my throbbing head.

He insisted, lifting a small vial closer. “Here. Take this; it will make you feel better.” 

My teeth chattered. Clearly, I was freezing in the thin material that covered me.

The voice came again. “It’s a normal reaction. It will pass in a few minutes.”

He spoke with authority, knowing my experience of this awakening as if he owned it before I even had time to process what was happening to me.

“Drink it. It dissolves nicely.” 

Suddenly, I felt quite nauseous, and my stomach found its way into my throat. The surge came fast, and I struggled hard not to hurl whatever remained in my stomach onto my newfound friend. In my cryogenic state, I doubted that I could produce something at all. But one never knows. Really, Gen. You’re going to puke here and now?

I fought the urge.

“It helps with nausea,” said the guy in front of me.

My hand shook when I brought the small cubic flask from his hand to my mouth. The content showed a light green, almost transparent color, which did not amount to much in the container. I downed it and closed my lips tight to stop another burst of nausea. 

The liquid gel felt soft to my tongue and cool in my mouth. The gelatin substance melted on contact, so smooth.

I swallowed again. My parched throat welcomed the soothing relief. Yeah, for me!

It tasted of absolutely nothing. It was bland, without flavor or odor but cooled to the touch. Thank you, world.

“Wh… what is it?”

“Good. You have your voice back.” There was a pause before he continued, “We call it Spozor. It has settling qualities and nutrients. This way, barfing is not an option,” said his voice, coming out of a mildly larger size mouth. Having said that with irony, he laughed.

My eyes narrowed on his face, assessing him. Did he know? Had he heard my thoughts? Suddenly feeling better, I relaxed under his calm gaze. He was right; within minutes, I felt better. But it appeared as if my thoughts were trying to catch up to what was happening to my body.

“Her vitals are stronger. Her pulse is steady.”

I heard the voice to my left, but did not bother to look for the owner, still focused on my companion in front of me. The man standing near my pod, overseeing the entire operation, looked tall, muscular, and young. My first impression of him surprised me. He seemed much more youthful than anyone in his position should be. But then again, I reminded myself that I did not know what his position was.

He raised a perfectly smooth looking eyebrow, over eyes the color of steel.

They reminded me of Streak’s eyes. But nothing else in his face did. Thank goodness for that. Imagine if they were all clones?

His skin, stretched over high cheekbones, almost reminded me of cinnamon sticks, and his silky black strands of hair laid long at the top of his head with a short buzz cut on the sides.

A smile at the moment elongated his lips, and a knowing glint shone in his eyes.

What? Again, I questioned his ability to read my mind. Did he know what my thoughts were? I took a deep breath and turned away from his close inspection of me, willing to distance myself from him.

I focused on the room and looked in the direction I last heard the other voice, the one belonging to the person who had appraised my vitals. The other guy seemed early teens by the look of it. What role could a young kid play in this process? Yet, he acted as if his presence here in this room befitted the task assigned to him – one overseeing my awakening. It did not feel right. I glanced around the room. Other technicians surrounded him, and by the look of it, they too appeared to be around his age. They were dressed the same, all wearing a charcoal gray tunic, loosely fitted. 

I recognized none of these people. Where were my friends?

“Why don’t you try walking?”

I turned my attention back to the young man in front of me and noticed the fingers of his left hand, tapping impatiently on the edge of a symbol bearing an I. It was situated just above his left breast. In a firm voice, he suggested, “Here, give me your hand.”

Here it was again. That voice, coming from him, with that much assurance in its delivery and tonality that it grated on my nerves.

If I am ever to make a mark among them, I needed to know this new world. My sleep lasted long enough for technology to have by-passed me. According to the knowledge I possessed, this timeline required an adaptation. Maybe, even more, my assimilation into this new environment would require time. Lost in the moment, I recognized my complete lack of understanding about what I had awakened into in this time.

He watched me as I observed my surroundings. His face showed nothing about his state of mind, and he seemed quite comfortable with his responsibility to control the whole room.

It did not contribute to making me feel confident. Instead, it irritated me. It gave me a sense of slowness. As if I had turned dim-witted in my sleep. I suddenly experienced the sensation of being out of step with my life. In effect, though, I supposed that I had lost track of, well, everything.

He must have recognized the look I gave him and somehow realized that I was out of my depth because he chuckled. “Give me your hand. I think you need it to get out of there,” he said as he got closer to me.

I glared at him. I don’t know you.

“You need help. It’s normal. Go on…”

I did not want to move now that I could. In reality, I did not think that I could.  Afraid of trying, afraid that my legs would not support me and that I would fall face-first into the dirt, I glanced at the floor and noticed its soft surface. I guessed it would not be in the soil precisely – indeed, the ground, covered in a substance I never saw before, looked elastic. I looked at the hand, reaching for me without moving. My friends should be here.

“We can do this all day, and in the end, you still have to get out of the pod,” he said, now openly laughing at me.

Who do you think you are?

He must have reread my mind because he shrugged, giving me a look explaining. “This flooring absorbs shocks and noise. Walking on it is quite nice. You should try it.”

He belonged to a mind reader cult, or I was getting excessively simple to read. I released a small sigh. All right, Gen, you wanted the experiment. It’s time to face up, girl.

I remembered all of it. How it came about that, I would be here today. I made that choice among several others. Where were they now?  I glanced around to see if I would recognize the faces of my teammates. There was no one I knew in this room. Did they make it here today, to this moment? Perhaps in a little while, I would know. Here again, I found myself having to exercise restraint, a restraint molded over years of discipline, and instead of patience.  I never was exceptionally patient. Indeed, it was quite the opposite, right world?

I tentatively took his still extended hand.

His fingers closed on mine.

I gripped it, putting a fair amount of my weight on him with this gesture.  

He grimaced.

The slight frown, quickly gone, left a blank look on his face as if in that brief instant, he hid something from me.

My strength could not cause his reaction. My effort was puny at best. Is there something wrong with me? 

I wobbled out of the cryogenic pod. My lack of agility did not take long to surface. In my muddled mind, the small prowess amounted to a giant step for mankind. The fact that I could move exercising my own volition after the length and state of imposed immobility enthralled me. My misplaced euphoria did not last long. I stumbled and landed not on the ground but in his arms. Whoa me!

He caught me while recovering quickly and helped me back on my feet.

I took the next few steps tentatively. I took a look around the room, embarrassed by my clumsiness, avoiding the eyes of those around me. Quickly, I scanned my body, even taking a sniff at my skin, attempting to ascertain if I smelled. There was no odor on me that I could tell. But I was still in the small tunic that did not cover much.

I glanced down at my body. Yeah, world. It looks like me.

It was the same as it had been before cryo. It had not changed. I had not aged. Or had I?

Suddenly worried about this notion, I surveyed my feet and my hands. They showed me the same smooth skin as before I went to cryo sleep. Nothing was untoward as far as I knew. So, why did the guy flinch when he touched me?  I have to ask him when the time is right.

His voice resonated near my ear. “My name is Jay Jameson. My team and I are in charge of the cryo chamber.”

I nodded. I had guessed as much. Cryo… So I had made it.

My mind, accustomed to fast thinking remained, sluggish. Thoughts floated, not entirely clear, eliciting in me a need for clarity. I wanted answers. I assumed it was a normal reaction after being confined to the void for so long. How long had the cryo state lasted?

Get up to speed.

Many questions remained unanswered.

The youthful faces were impossible to read. While in their teens, they appeared knowledgeable in their tasks, in charge of their areas of expertise, comfortable in the atmosphere of this room with reanimation machines and complex medical apparatus that I did not yet understand. Their competence caused a sense of unease, and the feeling crept in waves from my gut. They were so damn young.

They prepared me for this since they told us the young run the infrastructure back in Ang. Only, it was much, much later. They are all so young.

“You remember who you are?”

Of course. I have slept awhile, but I’m not daft. I nodded, “My name is Gen Aubrey. Dr. Gen Aubrey.”

“Good. Dr. Gen Aubrey, welcome to 2088.”

The sense of foreboding I felt moments ago ascertained itself inside my chest. The sky fell on me in that one instant. But it could not be right. I held on to the idea that I misunderstood the guy. “What? What did you say?”

“It’s quite longer than you expected. I get that.”

“No. What date is it? Nope, not possible. They programmed the pod to wake me ten years later.”

“There were some complications.”

“Complications what?” The statement left me surprised and stunned. Hell, world, what did you cook up for me this time?

I had slept for seventy years. No, no, no!

They should have awoken me much, much sooner. That was the plan.

My voice shook. “What complications?”

“I know it’s not what you expected, but this time is exciting. It will be an adjustment, I am sure. Many changes took place since you’ve been asleep.”

“I’m obsolete.”

Jay looked around the room as if he wanted to say something more, give me a more meaningful comment somehow, but decided instead to cut short his thoughts on the matter and finished, “You are here now. So, we must make the best of it.” He grinned.

We? Who? Easy for you to say. 

This latest information altered quite a few things. I wanted to know where I could purchase a ticket to return. I gathered my wits about me and took two small steps. Yeah, me. Two small steps for mankind in 2088.

In that time frame, much would have happened that I would know nothing about, and in my field, it could just as well have been an absence of centuries instead of decades. I tried to reason through the advances made while I slept. It was mind-numbing.

A moment of silence passed.

“Where am I?”

“You’re in Angel City, commonly known as Ang. We are in one of our research facilities.  Come along now; we will start processing you. Get acclimated to your new environment. I believe you will like it.”

I involuntarily took a step back. “Processing me?” Shit, I want to go back.

“An administrative step, and a matter of speech. Here, wear this.” He handed me a uniform: Grey and red.

The material felt soft, pliable. It was a fabric I did not recognize. Whoa, this thing has a life of its own. Getting used to it is not going to be easy.

When I looked to put it on, it moved, responding to an unknown command. Swiftly, it settled comfortably around my forms, folding softly against my skin. It was supple no matter how I moved, adjusting itself to my shape effortlessly.

Well, Gen, it very much looks like you will not be the smartest girl in this group!

Jay nodded approvingly.

I gave Jay a stare, which caused his eyes to shift. Then, I asked what remained on my mind. “How do you know that I’ll like it?”

He hesitated, “Most of us enjoy our lifestyles here and the advantages of progress. You may as well do the same. It’s not like you have much choice. Besides, I read your file. Whatever we had on you, that is. You know, to help your re-entry into our society.”

I assimilated this additional information. I was supposed to awaken within ten years. “Where are my friends?”

“You will find everything in DAINN’s Network. I believe you will get the gist of what took place. At least enough of the details to understand…”

Who was this jerk? I fell short of understanding what he said; somehow, it came at me too fast. “Where are the others?” Some of us were to be pulled out of cryo later that same year. The same year they went to sleep. Others were to remain under for five years, and our last group for ten years. I headed the last expedition. But none of our plans worked out.

Eager to know more about the others, I asked again, “Where are they?  What has happened to my team? They should have awakened me within ten years! Not seventy years.”

“Don’t expect much in terms of information. It is quite sketchy, at least as far as the records go. The System, quite unsophisticated then, gave little on the events that took place back then. We are hoping you can fill in the blanks.”

All this time.

Who did he think he was, judging us, assessing my team? I cut him off, offended by that statement since the Center was one of the world’s top facilities then. I cut in, “Did they make it?”

“I’m afraid not… You alone survived this.”

I took some deep breaths to avoid the darkness that threatened to swallow me at the news. How was it that we had failed? Freakish world, what are you planning for me?

It was not possible. Don’t hold back, world!

We had been so careful.

We had tested every phase. “Tell me what you know.”

“The members of the experiment weren’t in our System when I took over. I don’t know much more than what they reported inside the System. Some members were awakened within the first few years but didn’t survive the process.”

“Who?”

“Sognier, Mandelson and Burke.”

“What went wrong?”

“We know very little. Maybe your team waited for the rest. Maybe something happened.”

“Don’t tell me it took seventy years to perfect cryo. I don’t believe it. We already had working models of the technology back then.” I halted. I could not talk about that part.

Jay looked at me, curiously. “Of course not. I’m not saying that. They kept you for last.”

“Why? What happened? What do you mean?”

 Jay shrugged. “You were important to Spalberg. He refused to risk you.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not for me to say. The head of your Center waited, and then, things changed.”

“There is a lot you have to catch up on, and our System will help you do that. I think it would be better if you saw all of that for yourself.”

“Where are the others? Sand, Sinclair, Scheller, O’Brian, Lacroix?

“The Network will provide all of the information we have.” Jay then led the way out of the reanimation room, and I followed him.

“What are you not telling me?”

His glance moved over my face. “I promise you will get answers.”

I wanted to know more, so much more. I could not help questioning the feeling that these people kept things from me. I also needed to make up for the time I had lost.

Things did not work out the way we planned. I remember the attack and the rush to the Chamber. Why? Did something else happen after I entered the pod?

Everything I expected to awaken to no longer existed anymore. I realized then that the people I knew no longer lived. Family, friends were most likely dead. No one remained, no one I had a history with... OMG, my father, my brothers… This realization washed over me and left me hollow. I staggered on my feet. Don’t panic, Gen. You just crashed my whole life, world!

“You’re all right?” Jay’s eyes washed over my face with a hint of impatience, but he suddenly stopped, aware that I had caught up with the knowledge that everyone I knew no longer existed.

Institute - Ang City 2088

Sorrow. I feel such a loss that sadness swallows me whole. But there is no time for this as I take my first steps in my new world. 

One had to get used to the idea, adjust to the loss. The thought of being the only one from the past rendered me ill-equipped to face the present. The sorrow I felt about my dad and brothers’ loss gripped me, and my heart ached. I clamped down on my teeth, refusing to acknowledge the pain in my heart. Later, don’t think about it now.

Jay walked along a wide corridor, his long legs effortlessly increasing the distance between us. I almost had to run to keep up. I pushed away my sadness. I tucked away my curiosity. Finding out the cause that took away my friends would have to wait. Learning the circumstances that lead me here, alone, would require time. My eyes darted around the labyrinth of walkways, taking in everything on our path. Following him silently, I refused to let the news affect the moment where each of my steps carried me to witness the future, excited despite my sorrow. There will be a time to grieve privately, Gen, but not now.

The white hallways represented the world we built since the Center. Soon, distracted by my environment, I examined the width and length, taking notice of the height and scale. Everything was huge.

Jay led me through another white passage, past multiple doorways, and down various tunnels. Everything was immensely pristine; everything was bright; everything was quiet and resembled a model version of order; untouchable, perfect, and untarnished by people. Nothing soiled the ground, no dirt spoiled the building, and no heels marked the floors, not even a speckle of dust on the shiny surfaces.

Little traffic crossed our paths. We encountered very few people, and those we passed remained silent. “What is this place?”

I presumed this building represented a medical research facility. The unusual peace tickled my nerves. My curiosity heightened, but so did my unease.  

All walked quietly and purposely wearing charcoal gray uniforms, shimmering in places under the light. No sound resonated in the corridors’ emptiness, even when we passed small robots diligently cleaning the floors. Their mechanisms ghostly quiet, haunting the space.

“We are in the Institute. The core of the DAINN program.”

My understanding was different. Tesh had told us that the core of the DAINN program belonged to the SRC. The Institute oversaw the rules and education, not the maintenance of the DAINN System.

Still, I said nothing of the sort. “This wing must be quite isolated... There is almost no one here.”

Jay did not answer. Instead, he preceded me to the end of a hall overlooking a giant atrium.

I insisted, “Is it always this quiet?”

“This way,” said Jay, impervious to my curiosity.

I wondered about the type of work performed in this place, so I reached out to Jay again. “Tell me what the Institute does?” 

Jay turned his glance briefly in my direction and continued on his way. “Dr. Aubrey, you’re at the Institute. DAINN will tell you everything you need to know.”

Once again, he forced me to follow him. “Where exactly are we?”

Impatiently, he said, “This wing is not exactly central to what we do here. We don’t have a lot of people waking up from cryo these days. Our technology is way more advanced than this. The process is archaic now. So, you won’t find many people in these parts.”

“What are the other parts of the Institute?”

“This is the equivalent of your Center. Only we are far more advanced. The Institute implements DAINN’s program. It is our learning and training center,” stated Jay. His tone held some impatience as he led me toward a ramp. 

“Follow me; I believe you will enjoy the view.”

I continued asking, being exceedingly curious, “But what work do you do in this place? Is this like a university?” Observing his face, I recognized signs of frustration. I supposed many people awakening in this place would ask the same questions. Only, I was the only one from my time and the only one lately. While I felt my right to some answers far outweighed his feeling in the matter, I refused to recognize his state of mind. If I was grating on him with another set of questions, well, so be it. “You know, you could be a bit more helpful,” I said impatiently. Yeah, right. Don’t dream now, Gen.

I wanted to know so much more than he shared with me. I couldn’t help the feeling that I needed to make up for the lost time.

“I believe you will find all your answers and more with DAINN.”

The inner workings of their society undoubtedly required information I didn’t possess. Everything I was used to, or expected to awaken to, no longer mattered, for it existed in this time and place, way differently than everything I knew. This obvious conclusion jumped at me as I walked behind Jay. Geez, any slow speed in your world? 

Jay stepped on a thin disk without a hint of hesitation. 

Unwilling to follow him blindly, I stopped and examined the contraption. “What is this?”

My reluctance, evident to him, caught him off guard. After a moment of silence and showing his distaste for my lack of compliance, he volunteered, “It is quite safe, I assure you.”

I glanced at him and back at the thin disk, doubtful that this could take on my weight. I suppose it’s too early to let me die. You just woke me. Okay, world. Your game.

He nodded encouragingly. “Come on, hop on.”

I tentatively mounted the small surface, separated by about one inch from the ground of the corridor. Immediately, I wished I hadn’t. I unabashedly squealed while I held on to Jay as the device launched upward silently. “What the hell is this?”

His hands reached for my arms, and he held me against him. “It’s quite safe, I assure you. No one died in many years using this.”

“That was consoling.” I didn’t let go of Jay, sending him, instead, a scathing look.

His face showed his arrogance as he slowly untangled my fingers, frozen on his sleeves. I clawed at him. I knew that much and did not care.

“This is an Elevat. You called it an elevator in your time.”

“It’s nothing like our elevators.” My voice sounded reproachful that they compared this contraption to our elevators. Oh, great. Don’t tell me we’re going up.

He laughed. The guy had a big, loud laugh.

Without the slightest safeguard, the disk more extensive at the base now that I stood on it, gained speed. There was still no walls, no barriers, no buttons, no noise, nothing to stop the darn thing that I could see.

I panicked. “Let me off.” World, don’t let me fall.

Jay felt my emotional state and laughed some more. “You’re quite safe. This device can go anywhere across the space of this atrium if needed.”

I swallowed my fear.

He smiled, appraising me. “Sorry, for a moment, I forgot you’re not used to this. I quite like the freedom it provides.”

Forgot?  Really? Pretty hard to believe, considering this is not the first time you have retrieved people from the slumber of cryo. No, you’re trying to show me who’s the boss— and it’s not you, jack ass.

Jay’s eyebrow rose again. Reluctantly, and talking to no one in particular, Jay continued, “Protective membrane.”

I barely started to warm up to him, although he wasn’t amicable to begin with, and now he pulled this. But this latest attitude made me dislike him even more than when I heard his all-knowing voice. When I first heard him, his authoritarian attitude did nothing to make me like him back in the lab. Now, he purposely tried to intimidate me. Pompous know it all!

Jay smirked. He looked at me from the corner of his eyes as if he knew something I didn’t. 

I stared back, challenging him silently, wondering if he knew something I did not. My brows creased. Of course, he knows something you don’t; it’s his time, not yours.

We were still climbing fast, and I soon became distracted by the Elevat.

A transparent barrier lifted from the black disk’s edges, and I saw a slight surface spring up, encasing the rounded platform in an invisible wall. The mechanism responded to Jay with a voice of its own, “Protective membrane erected.” 

“The disk is made of graphene and other alum. It’s sturdy. The walls are photovoltaic glass. They change colors at will.” As if on cue and to show the process, the barrier shifted hues with no further command.

Puzzled, I watched the glass reflection. Somehow, the alteration to the barrier with technology unknown to me calmed my nerves. Perhaps my state of unrest was because of my waking up seventy years later than planned. “How?”

Jay answered my question by pointing to a small light at the base of his skull. “Our Imps or implants… I believe you called it microchips.”

Here you go, Gen.  You wanted the future, well, here it is.

Jay grinned again. I could swear he laughed at me. “You’ll get acclimated. Give yourself a little time.”

“This may not be something to say to someone who has spent the better part of the last seventy years sleeping.”

He chuckled at that banter and gave me an appraising look.

“Where are you taking me?”

“To the spire.”

“The spire?” We continued climbing up, going higher.  

“You’ll see the view in a minute.”

“How much further?” I avoided looking at the ground.

Jay looked past me, his attention diverted as he focused on something behind me.

So far, the Elevat held my focus. But now, I turned, and my eyes followed his.

As we passed the floor, two technicians held one young man by his arms. He resisted their attempt, and they began dragging him towards a door. The scene, noiseless, reminded me of a silent film, and a chill came up my spine.

The detached manner of the attendants’ caused my distress, and the uneasy feeling I experienced waking up here returned. My stomach dropped, and the same sense of foreboding filled me.

Something awkward unfolded in front of me, something wrong, and something alien. 

The cold sensation went up to my spine and settled at the base of my neck. My right hand reached for it as strands of hair stood up. When I released my neck, my hand shook, and I clasped it quickly by crossing my arms over my chest.

I watched the young man fighting the two thugs as if I shouldn’t witness this moment. I turned to Jay. “What is happening?”

He looked uninterested and quite used to it.

The icy hand of fear grasped and squeezed my throat, taking my breath away. The feeling spread, and its tentacles held me rooted in one place as they reached my limbs. 

“It’s one of our recruits, nothing to worry about.” 

I looked back. “Recruit?”

As if to prove him right, a switch got turned on. The young man, who at one moment rebelled violently against the two technicians, suddenly stopped struggling and followed them without further resistance. 

The incident lasted a few seconds, but it left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. What is this place?

Jay, as if reading my mind, said casually, “He just underwent a procedure with Imps. You will come to understand the Institute and what we do here. But it is something you need to discover for yourself. The System will give you perspective. It usually does. We’re here. The world, your world has changed.”

The Elevat shot passed the confine of a roof without a sound.

We had reached quite a height.

My legs wobbled a little. I was never fond of high places. Nervously, I glanced around. My curiosity and awe soon got the better of me. My world, what else are you hiding from me?

We had passed the canopy of the building and left others surrounding us behind. The climb went on and on, and now we stood outdoors, past air passageways between the towers, past the Rail Tram several spaces away, past most of the preeminent points in the vast landscape. And still, we continued upward.

I lifted my hand to shade my eyes.

The luminosity blinded me as the surrounding glass reached above our waist. Now, it rose past my head and darkened immediately.

My eyes adjusted. I could now focus on the scenery spreading all around. Other tall structures rose, air bridges and giant stairways extended in all directions. Above it all, shadows of shuttles and FlyCars moved according to a predetermined flight pattern, in a sort of coordinated dance.   

When the Elevat finally stopped, we stood by an encased platform.

Jay crossed over to the large landing.

I followed, stepping beyond the small disk, and found myself on a circular pathway facing a rounded wall of dark glass in all directions. I looked on in puzzlement at the panorama unfolding in front of me as the glass faded away, replaced by a transparent force field. 

Jay smiled when I took a step closer to him. My reaction was instinctive as the walls receded on all sides. “The barrier is still there, just invisible.”

The transparent barrier seamless in its composition formed a safety zone around us. But my mind had difficulty grasping the concept, so I fought against panic. It left nothing to the imagination as I contemplated my surroundings. The landscape was gorgeous. But any time I looked closely at the platform, it felt as if we could step off the platform and fall straight into the city below. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I should have told him I was allergic to heights.

Jay laughed.

I glanced his way and frowned.

“You won’t fall. It’s quite safe, I assure you.”

The floor moved forward, extending beyond the structure of the landing. The roof of the Institute, way below us, had vanished.

So, this is the spire. 

We were outside, overlooking a bay with a setting sun.

This sight was something I could hold on to because it was familiar. This view, I recognized. The sun, the sky, the water, I was used to all that. It looked gorgeous, in a scary way. The ether was foreign, its texture darkened by ominous clouds. The tumultuous volatility of the weather no doubt showed its ugly head. They moved fast across the horizon, encircling the building’s silhouettes at the edge of the water. There were no words that came to my mind to describe the panorama. As the sky darkened, the edges began to shimmer, and soon, it pushed and cut through their surface. A slight disturbance in the atmosphere occurred, and a buzzing resonated over our heads.

“It’s the dome closing against the approaching storm.”

“You have a dome?”

Jay nodded and looked ahead. “It protects the city.”

I relaxed a little beside him. So many questions swirled in my head. Mesmerized by the sun setting on the ocean, I came to grasp my situation.

The unknown composition of this landscape at my feet possessed little similarity to the cityscape I remembered. Still, the sun’s reflection on the ocean and the sky mirrored in the sea as far as I could see captivated me. 

After the first moment of sheer pleasure washed over me, having witnessed a scene of raw beauty and timelessness from an unlikely vantage point, I took in the differences. The awareness of my position in this place and this time reverberated within me. Observing my immediate surroundings, I saw something I never experienced before.  

I stood way high above the ground, among many other towers of the same height. The terrain below had vanished beneath, as the immense height separated us from the ground. The city's primary levels, hidden by airways, passageways, buildings that appeared to be the size of small townships, with hundreds of FlyCars and shuttles permeating the sky with their silent presence, seemed to be unattainable.

Way down, I perceived the terrain on which the structures stood, and yet I could not be sure of that. It appeared, though, that other buildings forged in large concrete blocks and cast over the remnants of an old city competed for space.

“Welcome to Ang.”

Angel City. Ang. It sounded foreign to me. The pronunciation lingered against my tongue with the strangeness of an exotic mixture.

I just landed in a scene worth the best science fiction films of all time. I arrived in the massive Metropolis of Ang, possibly one of the largest megacities in 2088.

Is this what used to be Los Angeles? It is something that I could not have conceived and could not have dreamed of, and yet, here I was.

I left behind a time I understood. I entered a world too large for any human being. All I could think of was what now?  What is awaiting me in this alternative world? 

I once held a position of influence at the Research Center, where I was one of the brightest minds of my time. What would I be today? 

Jay’s hand made its way to my shoulder. “It will all work itself out. You will be fine.”

Jay was a peculiar taste that would take time to get used to for sure, if ever.

How could anyone function in this immensity? How would I take my bearing and a place in this society? Am I even capable of it?

I glanced his way, saying nothing, remaining silent, doubtful of my potentiality. What could I say to him?

They had implants. They had a Megapolis. They had things I didn’t even know existed yet. They also seem to control people, which I liked a lot less.

My thoughts swirled around helplessly in my mind as more erratic ideas and notions overwhelmed me. Oh, terra of my childhood, what have I got myself into this time?

I closed my eyes, feeling dizzy.

Jay remained silent beside me, giving me time to adjust.

Then, I remembered who I was. I was Dr. Gen Aubrey. Me, the fearless girl that wouldn’t let defeat define her. At that moment, I infused myself with the core knowledge of my being, confident that I belonged to this world or the next. It didn’t matter that they had more technology or science or experience than we ever possessed. We, as humans, were the fabric of our universe. No matter what this world had become, I could be a part of it. Okay, baby, I’m in. Let’s do this.

My dream to see our future came to pass. Through some twist of fate, I landed here. My next thought surged as soon as I reached that conclusion. I summarized it in four words:  Where do I begin?

I turned to Jay. “Tell me about everything. Tell me what I need to know. Tell me about these implants. Tell me about the System.”

“Well, that could take some time, but DAINN can do a much better job than I can on that note.” 

Jay hesitated a bit and then added something for my benefit. Something I would not have thought possible because I had expected to have reached my quota for surprises that day, but I was wrong. 

“One thing I think you need to know, though, if you are going to thrive in our environment. It would help if you controlled your thoughts a bit better than you do because you’re broadcasting quite loudly. Anyone can read you. You see, some of us, well, we can hear them.”

Oh, baby terra, what have I got myself into again? Whoops!

Institute - Ang City 2088

The quiet makes things worst. Now that I am alone, I have all the time in the world to feel, and it makes me hopeless.

Since Jay brought me to the quarters I was to inhabit while staying at the Institute; I remained motionless on a small, spongy sofa that spread in front of the panorama of a mountain on this sunny day.

I did not see the landscape, not really. It was just there, for anyone to look at, if others were in the room, only I remained the only person present. While it stood in front of my eyes, my focus was on something else.

I allowed myself to feel the loss of my family and co-workers. My dad was certainly no longer alive, but there was still the possibility that my brothers’ were. I just needed to find out what happened since I went into cryo. Only, I imagined the years I missed with my absence, and my sorrow only grew. What was I thinking?

Sure I never intended to be gone longer than ten years. I never anticipated that something catastrophic would happen to deliver me to a completely different time. It was stupid in retrospect to move one’s life beyond the known parameters I could control. But that was the decision I made. Not that one controlled anything anyway. It was more a mirage than anything else. One unproductive lie we liked to tell ourselves, so we felt secure.

My mind did not process the overload I felt. So, I sat there for whatever length of time, unwilling to move. I thought of everyone I lost in the years of the void, and I now understood what Tesh so often referred to when she spoke of cryo as the void. This unending framework of instants resembled a sort of coma of mind and body, where nothing touched me inside the frozen capsule and where there was no sense of time.

Then, there was this place. It appeared so totally foreign to me; it fried my brain. The connection to our world back in 2024 remained thus far absent. Nothing I had seen walking around with Jay in some of the Institute’s areas reminded me of the Center. Everything was white, quiet, and different. Everyone seemed detached, uninvolved, almost uncaring. As my guide in the first hour of my awakening, Jay did not show any outward concerns about my well-being, and perhaps it was his way or how things occurred here. I feared that this society had lost its connection to their humanity. Was I right? I hoped not.

Even the outdoors, while impressive to the eye of a neophyte, remained alien. Nothing in the architecture recalled for me images of our world. Even the landscape from the spire, towering over other buildings and depicting our planet, did not look like any scenery from Earth I knew.

Although not usually overly sensitive, I was still shocked at my survival when others did not make it. My inability to connect with anyone I knew shook me. How would I manage in this society? How would I claim a place and make a life for myself? The unknowns made me nervous. I still had so many questions that Jay refused to answer, and the wait rendered me queasy.

I still had to meet DAINN, the Planetary artificial intelligence who ran the entire infrastructure of this world. It was in itself enough to blow my mind. I was scheduled to talk with a machine whose powers among humans appeared unlimited. What if it thought I didn’t belong here? What if it decided to force implants on me that could destroy who I was? Thinking about it, I stood up to diffuse the anxiety, and I began to pace.

Tesh told me time and time again that DAINN was extraordinarily insightful. She laughed when I compared their A.I. to Skynet and when I asked about the robots that made up so much of the security forces in Ang. I had to remind myself what we talked about as I waited for the next step in my new life.

Waiting around did not suit me. I wished I could get on the Internet and work. Jay had not even bothered to show me my place and how things worked around here. As I observed my surroundings, I noticed for the first time my quarters.

They were small in size but rather nicely set-up. The living room provided a sofa, a coffee table, and one small chair overlooking the large wall with the landscape display. A small kitchen in a corner looked quite different than what I was used to from my time. The counter seemed so small; I questioned its effectiveness. Curious, I walked over to the cabinets and opened them. Plates and glasses were neatly stacked inside and looked ready to be used; only I could not find any pots and pans or stove. I sighed again and made my way to an open doorway. A small bedroom adorned with an ensuite bathroom completed the place. I opened the closet and found it empty. Another sigh escaped my lips when I heard the musical notes at the entrance just before the door slid open.

Who could have the security clearance to enter my apartment? Cautiously, I leaned past my bedroom doorway and looked.

A medium-size robot hovered into the place and looked around. It was about five feet in height and about three feet wide. Its body, made of metallic alloy, shone under the light in hues of deep blue and gray. Its head, slightly oblong, twisted around, looking for something or someone. Suddenly, its eyes narrowed down on me, leaning in the doorway. “Hello, Transcient Gen. I am your Domestic Bot. I am assigned to this unit.”

“Hey…” I said, relaxing. It did not seem harmful, so I stepped forward. His facial features were friendly designed in a similar way as what I had seen from our robots in my time.

“How can I help you settle in?” said the bot as it glided toward me.

I quickly moved into the living area, going around the sofa to put something between it and me. “Huh, what does a domestic bot do?”

“Pretty much anything you need that has to do with your well-being and this unit. Can I help you unpack since you just got here?”

“Well, I do not have anything to unpack.”

The bot’s eyes rounded in surprise as it processed the information. Its new pupils’ shape gave his face a somewhat lost look as I watched.

It almost made me giggle, but I quickly hid my reaction. I didn’t want to get on the wrong side of my new domestic bot. “What else can you do?”

“I clean, I cook, I run errands, I am also your personal assistant. If you need anything, all you have to do is ask.” The Domestic Bot, having expressed as much, moved around the sofa and the screen on the large wall changed. “You will need something else to wear besides what you have on, then. So, what would you like to buy?”

The screen moved to a huge store display, and my domestic bot waited on me. Its look said it all. Let’s get moving.

I edged toward the sofa and sat. “I don’t know…” Frustrated, I looked in its direction and said, “What is your name?”

“I am DB 24576823 Mz.”

“Whoah… I can’t call you that. Imagine me calling you that. I’ll never get to the gist of it. Why don’t you pick a name, a real name?”

“A name?”

“Yes, like me. I am Gen. What name do you like?”

“I don’t know.”

I thought for a moment, and as I looked at him, I tried to envision the right name for a Domestic Bot. One that would give it some personality and differentiate it from just being a machine.” You know, something that represents you?” Baby terra, I need this more than it does.

“Well, let’ see. It would be best if you had something short, personable, you know. I thought about its look; Blue came to mind. It moved quite silently, so Lynx came up next. Mix was easy; it did a combination of things as a DB. Finally, Scuba seemed appropriate because I thought about a vacuum cleaner swallowing everything. Well, don’t jinx it. I had a long day already. How about Blue, Lynx, Mix, or Scuba?”

“BlueLynx?”

“Oh, you like that? Okay, we can combine. BlueLynx it is.”

And it was so. My Domestic Bot got its new name, and I felt immediately better. It appeared that I could settle in my new life, after all. “There could be a problem with this. I do not have any money here, BlueLynx.”

“I am aware of your situation. DAINN has arranged for credit in your name until you enter the System.”

“Oh… All right then, show me what this does, BlueLynx.”

Within seconds, I found myself walking inside the most incredible display with an identical image avatar of me. My new Domestic Bot began a walkthrough of the 3D Shopping Center at my side and entirely blew my mind.

Institute - Ang City 2088

Tonight, I meet DAINN. Soon, someone will come to get me, and I will begin my Evaluation. I have no idea what to expect.

After BlueLynx brought me back into my quarters from my virtual shopping trip into the Company Shopping Center or ComShop as BlueLynx called it, all my packages surprisingly found their way into my closet from the hands of my Domestic Bot. It had recommenced much more than I would have bought for myself. My wardrobe was now more complete than ever, and I felt prepared for any of the encounters I would have in the next few days.

The virtual 3D reality experience by no means resembled anything we had in our time. The sensations seemed all real to my avatar, and the sights, smell, sounds, and touch felt as they truly belong to me. Even my communications with BlueLynx and other avatars servicing the environment-rich ComShop appeared so fluid that I forgot several times that my body was parked inside my quarters. My mind, separated from my physical form by a distance I did not quite understand during this experience, never felt at odds with my hosting avatar. Indeed, it was something I planned on investigating further. Leaps and bounds, Gen baby.

In the course of the purchases BlueLynx made on my behalf, it explained that the Company Conclave ran all commercial activities within the System. Responsible for any purchases of goods ordered by the consumers; they manufactured but also distributed the products. Within half an hour after our return, a drone delivered all my new items straight through a sliding panel in the living room.  

BlueLynx immediately ensured that the clothes, shoes, and other personal things we acquired were organized into my closet and bathroom. It was weird, even uncomfortable having a bot help me, but I convinced myself to let him do its thing since I needed to get acquainted with this new life. I might as well start now, right?

BlueLynx was an absolute wonder of engineering. The little robot was capable of answering many of my questions. Its guidance proved invaluable. Without it, my life’s practical aspects would have lacked since I arrived in this new place. I was getting more comfortable, and it had all to do with Blue.

When we returned from my first virtual shopping experience, I quickly selected some Uniwear, slacks, and a tunic and entered the en suite bathroom. It was more a small cubicle with apparatus I had to figure out, but eventually, I ended up in a warm gelatin soapy shower and under a blower throwing warm air. Dried in seconds, I got dressed and struggled to brush my teeth with a tiny device I had never seen before. But, I felt better after my first grooming. Small wonder! After years in the void.

Attempting to take everything in, for now, I observed Blue in the small kitchen area as it orchestrated a little snack for my benefit. I think I could get used to this. Check back in one hundred years!

We no longer needed a stove nor a microwave. These, now obsolete, were replaced by a small device providing ready-made meals based on a menu designed individually according to a person’s preferences within each unit. Not yet programmed, mine remained a general menu for now, but Blue assured me that once he learned what I liked, it would make sure to enter these choices into the NetMeal machine.

I just finished taking a bite of the small tasty treat provided with an orange beverage, one BlueLynx insisted would give me energy, when the musical notes at the door resonated once again. Man, I’m busy!

 My Domestic Bot moved to the doorway without hesitation, as it stated, “I believe your escort is here.”

“My what?”

What are they going to think of next? Babies, a trip to Uranus? What fun. 

“DAINN awaits your arrival for your first Evaluation. The Custodian will take you to the System.”

“Who?”

Patiently, BlueLynx explained, “One of our Custodians will take you to DAINN.”

“Oh, yes. I remember the Custodians. What do I need to expect from the Evaluation?”

“I wouldn’t know, Transcient Gen.”

The name took me by surprise, but I nodded and walked to the door, where my Custodian escort waited for me. The small metallic oblong shape hovered in the corridor and immediately glided ahead of me.

Keeping pace with it gave me little time to look around. We passed other hallways, where people talked in small groups, in low voices. They stood to the side as if conscious of keeping the walkways available for others. My passing behind the Custodians did not get noticed, as if I was not even a cog in this big machine called the System.

In a few minutes, I would meet DAINN, and while Tesh and Streak talked about the Network as a friend, I remained immensely doubtful. Truthfully, my ignorance of where I could fit in here only contributed to making me nervous.

After what seems like another series of pathways, the Custodian stopped in front of an Elevat and waited for me to step on it. It was one thing to get a ride with Jay. It was quite another to move on it on my own. I stopped, my feet unwilling to move ahead.

The automated red-eye of the Custodian fixated on me, waiting. Baby terra, how the HellNet do I get out of that one?

“Transcient Gen, DAINN awaits. Step on the platform, please.”

“I…” My reticence appeared to stump the Custodian.

“You’re holding off progress, Transcient Gen. Step on the Elevat.”

There was that name again. What does it mean anyway?

I turned, recognizing the voice that plagued me since I joined this place – Jay. “What are you doing here? It’s not like you helped much, making me feel confident about this contraption of yours.”

“Of course, I did, Transcient Gen. I took you to the spire to get you acclimated.”

“Disingenuous. Yeah, way to go, Jay. You’re a gem.”

Exasperated with my banter, Jay said, “Come on. Don’t be such a fossil. It’s not like you’re going to fall off the ledge.”

He looked so arrogant. He didn’t see me at all. This guy would never get me, and it drove me nuts. What if everyone in this place acted like him? My life turned hellish since I found out that I was old enough to be his grandmother, losing any advantage I possessed over coding in their world. Okay, Gen, get over it.

“Well?”

I bit my lower lip, trying to remain calm. “How the HellNet am I going to know that? I don’t have Imps to command anything around here, including this infernal machine.”

“That’s why you are meeting DAINN, isn’t it?” Jay looked around and smiled, his gaze settled on the Custodian.”

“Don’t be so smug.” I certainly didn’t need his superior attitude now, when I tried to adapt. “I’d like to see you do any better in my time.”

“It’s Phenom Jay to you; that is if we can get Transcient Gen on the Elevat in the near future.”

“Oh, that’s precious. A machine with a sense of humor.”

Jay’s left eyebrow rose as he observed me. His tone disagreeable and less than friendly, “Our Custodians are not a mere machine, Transcient Gen. I wouldn’t go around expressing an erroneous opinion if I were you.”

“Oh, brother… You are such a jerk.”

“I might as well give you a reason to call me a NetJerk…” With that said, Jay pushed me over the edge.

I lost my footing and fell back, landing on my butt hard right on top of the small disk.

In a smooth move, Jay stepped right after me. The Elevat moved downward at a rapid drop, the Custodian gliding beside it. My stupefaction at his aggressive action left me reeling. “Well… You jack ass…”

The Elevat was going so fast that I didn’t dare get up, even as I looked at a disadvantage looking up at Jay, my eyes narrowed on him, trying to find something witty to say the butt head. But, whether it was the speed of the contraption that drove my stomach up in my throat or the surprise at Jay’s rude and uncalled for action, I remained right where I was tightly holding on to the flooring. This guy is full stop crazy, no two ways about it. He ought to be in the nuthouse.   

 Jay chuckled. “At least, I stopped you from blabbing away. Unfortunately, you forgot I could read your thoughts. Still way too loud, fossil.”

The Elevat stopped abruptly, and my early meal lurched upward, so I clamped my mouth shut, unwilling to disgrace myself with throwing up in front of him. When my stomach settled down again, I got up on my wobbly feet and faced him. “What in the HellNet is wrong with you?”

I then hurl my lunch all over Jay. Boy, that feels better on two counts.

Jay turned red and exclaimed, “What the HellNet!”

“It’s on you! You made me sick.” Whoops. Am I in trouble now?

Jay stepped away from me. He surprisingly smirked and shrugged, “It’s time you get on with it, fossil. Nobody is going to do it for you.” He then turned away from me, leaving the platform without looking back.

I glanced around and saw a few people watching me. Great, they witnessed our altercation. Oh, great, way to go, Transcient Gen.

The Custodian hovered ahead of me and said, “This way, Transcient Gen.”

I clamped down on my anger and followed it, still feeling wheezy.

Another long corridor spread ahead. The Custodian maneuvered around a large plaza and took a restricted path, behind wide glass doors with a sign that said: “Evaluation area – Authorized Personnel Only.”

I took a deep breath and passed the threshold.

The Custodian stopped in front of a large door. “DAINN awaits you inside.” Without another word, it flew away from me, disappearing in another corridor, having completed its task.

I straightened my clothing and stepped closer to the door. Without a sound, it opened in front of me. A voice said, Welcome, Transcient Gen, please take a seat. We will begin instantly.”

The room was wide, empty of any furniture, except for a chair in the middle of it. The walls, all rounded, appeared to be reflective. A tall dome ceiling with the same reflective matter completed the environment. I looked around but did not see the A.I. Cautiously, I entered and walked toward the chair. It seemed DAINN had no intention of making a physical appearance. “Huh… What am I doing here?”

A chuckle sounded in the otherwise empty space. “There is no need to be nervous, Gen. You are here for the Evaluation. All our citizens go through it.”

“Well, I am not a citizen yet, am I?”

“In what way are you not?”

“I wasn’t born in your era. I don’t have Imps, like the others, I know nothing of your time, other than what Tesh and Streak told me. I am not even supposed to be here.”

“Ahh… Well, you have me at this. You are not like most people of our time, but you are here now. So we both have to make the best of it, now don’t we?”

 “I suppose. Although, I am not sure about some people around here.”

Another chuckle. “I see that one of our Phenoms hazed you coming here. It is a custom our new Transcients have to undergo, I am afraid. The price of entry into the System.”

“I guess it should have waited until I agreed to become a Transcient. Well, if you don’t mind me saying, it sucks big time, playing on people’s fear of heights.”

“Well, there is something I can do about that. But why don’t you tell me how it is that you got here?”

The whole story is more surprising than I could have imagined. I graduated from university in 2018, and now I have been transported into the future, talking to the preeminent A.I. of the last hundred years. You can’t write this.

Tesh, Streak, and I never discussed the eventuality that I would find myself in front of DAINN. We never expected me to reach DAINN in a time where the A.I. had developed thus far as a true Artificial Intelligence. But here I was, talking to it as if it were a normal human like me. Only, as extraordinary as it was, it was still a machine. What should I reveal? I was not sure. There were too many things I didn’t have a handle on. I couldn’t count on Streak for help unless I found him here in Ang. Perhaps I could tell him what would happen in 2098 in ten years from now and convinced him that I was not crazy.

DAINN’s voice resonated again, “Perhaps, explain what brought you here?”

I could not remain quiet without raising suspicion, so I said, “I was supposed to awake in 2034. I was never supposed to be here at this time.” Giving DAINN the truth without revealing too much seemed the right course of action for now. I needed a lot more information before confiding in a machine, even a super-duper A.I. Planetary one.

“There is little we know about your Center. Your archives are basic.”

“A lot of our records were destroyed from what I think was an explosion. I do not know what happened after I entered the pod.”

I pondered how far I should share my knowledge, however sketchy. Tesh and Streak came from 2098. The Origin program had not yet launched in 2088. DAINN was not yet aware that in ten years from now, an anomaly flying in deep space would present the greatest danger for humankind.

DAINN’s voice inquired, “What type of research were you doing?”

I shrugged. “The role of the Center was to advance science, technology; you name it. Surely, you must have some information?”

DAINN’s curiosity surprised me.

“Some, but not enough. I was hoping you could shed light on things. How did you come to volunteer for the expedition?”

I sat in the chair, suddenly tired. “We thought we had cracked cryo. We decided to test our findings.” My mind went back to the death toll of my team. Sadness engulfed me, and I had to make a conscious effort to turn my thoughts away.

“In your time, cryonic science was never perfected, and we know little about why. It is singular that you even survived. But, here you are now.”

“Nothing turned out the way it was supposed to…”

“Not much ever does in the human mind,” said DAINN. “Since you’re here, we need to integrate you into our society. The Evaluation gives us an appreciation of your innate abilities. This room is a Virtuality Chamber, where we can test you to select the role you will take in our society.”

“How does it work?”

“I evaluate your full potential, understand your patterns and behaviors. It allows me to know you and your reactions in different situations while assessing your thoughts. Shall we begin?”

The expedition plan was meant to integrate into the later timelines to affect the future, but I never dreamed of being here ten years before the anomaly occurred.

I nodded. The room went dark, and my Evaluation began.

Institute - Ang City 2088

Meeting DAINN is pretty impressive, although intimidating. This Evaluation can find me lacking, but hey, what am I to do? No stress, right?

The chair is soft, and it enfolds me completely. Soon, I found myself inside a transparent oblong object hovering above the ground. My thoughts drifted in the warm cocoon.

Later, I understood why it was so comfortable, as sensors registered my responses to everything that took place in this room from that moment forward. My Evaluation had begun.

The scan grasped information about my physical attributes, gathering as much of a full profile as DAINN was capable of without implants.

As DAINN explained later, the process was never meant to reduce one’s options but enhance them. It provided a range of possibilities one may not have even considered. The transport into the future made me tentative and rendered me less than confident in my abilities. For universe's sake, I had not envisioned my choices since I got here. HellNet, everything floated way above my head.

DAINN’s voice whispered in my ears, “These experiences you find yourself in during the Evaluation can mean your life or your death. Your future among us depends on the outcome. So, take it seriously, Transcient Gen.”

HellNet, no pressure here, just keep piling it on. What could I answer to that statement? Nothing came to mind that would help me here, so I remained silent.

The idea that this A.I. could read my reactions and establish the pattern of my mind was disturbing, but I could not help and listen to its voice, drifting in the softness of the cocoon.

DAINN continued, “Our implants function so that you can access our world to its fullest. You will find yourself cut off from our society without them, even apart from it, cutting you from gaining maximum opportunities. Just relax.”

I sighed and plunged into an experience so surreal that only the panorama in front of me now existed; I forgot about everything else. No part of me thought for an instant that this moment was not genuinely happening to me.

The temperature of the room changed, becoming hot. The walls shifted into a desert landscape, with giant cactus spread over the panorama, a mountain range looming in the distance, under a hot summer sky.

I walked the grounds and kept on walking. It felt as if I spent hours moving across the plateau with no signs of other life than the array offered by the Mohave desert ecosystem. I recognized the Joshua trees, breaking the monotony surrounded by desert bluebells, yellow cups, Bigelow monkeyflowers, Opuntia Engelmannii, with the not so occasional  Opuntia Clorotica and Cholla Spines. Yeah, me, I recognized these species—points for the bookworm.

I walked, my feet pounding the terrain, watching for the deadly rattlesnake, crossing paths with lizards and insects. This habitat where birds and mammals secured their survival in an ongoing dance against larger predators was familiar. It depicted a never-ending story of resilience. I can do this. Yep, one step followed by another. Don’t even think about it, Gen. Just do it! Nike owes me one on this!

The beauty of this place never ceased to amaze me as I looked closely. But actually, few of us ever did. We contemplated our assets more so than the incredible planet we lived in, establishing a radical statement that material things meant more than life itself. Knowing that this world’s fight against global warming kept going, even with all the ingenuity technology could do for the human race, only contributed to maintaining complete delusions. Growing up, my parents visited this place with my brothers and me on a few occasions. Although we lived in town, the outdoors were essential to my family and my brothers. So, dragged along despite my predisposition to prefer the city, my room, and my computer, I came to appreciate it. Yep, a girl can change her mind.

The sun rose and fell over the horizon. The light dimmed, transforming into the evening, and as the night advanced, the stars now sprinkled the ether above. I searched the canopy for Polaris, the North Star, or any other constellations I would recognize for some direction. I saw Cassiopeia, the Queen shaped like an M or W, with its five stars in the northern sky. Then, I located Ursa Major, the Big Dipper, on the opposite side of Polaris, always circling. The familiar pattern anchored me. Thank you, Dad, for your love of the stars.

The moonlight provided just enough for me to see the path ahead, but as the hours passed, my energy dwindled past exhaustion. The air grew colder, and I shivered after the warmth of the day.

I no longer thought about where I was, attempting to find an area to rest. My feet, sore and blistered, barely moved ahead on automatic pilot, knowing that if I stopped, it would be the end of me. My eyes closing from sheer fatigue, I swayed on my legs, my mouth so dry from the lack of water that my tongue felt like sandpaper.

Suddenly, I felt a shift transporting me elsewhere. My whole body moved across space. Baby terra, here we go again. Vertigo, here I come.

A breeze moved across my face, and when I opened my eyes, I stood on the top of a mountain, surrounded by snow. The white flakes covered the ground everywhere I looked, spiking my anxiety. I felt it in my bones as the frigid temperature settled on me. It was not a place I would ever prepare for, considering my fear of height. “Oh, HellNet, no!” I muttered, taking a deep breath to settle myself.

I heard a chuckle inside the room, but nothing changed in my whereabouts. My mind recorded it and forgot about it in the next breath.

Everywhere I turned, I saw a deep drop. DAINN had transported me on the top of a mountain, and not just, you know, a cool ski slope one could get down snowboarding. Nope. Not one of these.

I let my opposition to this location sound clearly across the wind, “I don’t even have the right shoes for this journey.”As I looked around, no easy path surfaced for me. So, I grumbled again, not attempting to hide my disapproval. “I could at least be wearing the proper outfit, you know, one of the latest fashion statement to make on the slopes, but no, Gen, you have to tough it out.”

Still, I couldn’t get myself to take a step, totally paralyzed by the height. If I stayed up here any longer, completely unprotected from the winds, I would freeze within minutes. Already, there was little chance that I would make it out alive anyway. World, I need a break here.

I shuddered, my teeth already chattering and my fingers now numbed. Gosh, I was on a summit, the narrow ledge falling off on both sides, like the back of a skeleton whose bones covered in part of snow and ice shone brightly under the open sky. Winter is not coming. It is already here!

I reminded myself that this was a test, and I was rated by it. How could I find a way to survive this? My mind, already giving up, felt ready to crawl into the recess of my brain and turn itself off. I could feel the cold spreading through my limbs, resulting in what would undoubtedly be a slow death. Was this what I wanted, to slowly turn blue and die of hypothermia? Nope. While this experience called for something else than what I had to offer, the dire circumstances left me little to work with since I didn’t have a coat, the proper boots, and not even a snowboard. Screw it. Hit the off button.

Confronted with a no-win scenario, I made a quick choice to extract myself from it as quickly as possible. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what I was about to do. The decision was not difficult once I reviewed my alternatives. Closing my eyes and steeling myself for the upcoming experience, I launched myself onto one of the edges. I tumbled down the mountainside, rolling in the deep snow for what appeared the longest time. I would end it my way.

Then, it was over.

When I opened my eyes, a different landscape greeted me. I was now on a beach, looking at a pristine ocean, the color of jade, emerald, and indigo the further it went. The weather was perfect, with a slight breeze moving my hair about my face. My feet, planted in the sand, I sought to be out of the confines of my shoes, and so I acted on the desire to get my toes in the water. I’m getting whiplash here. You might as well take advantage of the moment. Yeah, go, girl.

The water, just a bit cooler than the air, was refreshing on my feet as I splashed happily like a kid playing in the ocean for the first time. All right, I got carried away. But how is one to act in front of the most beautiful setting in the world? My appreciation of this moment knew no bounds. The sun setting on the horizon began its slow descent, turning the firmament in colors of burned orange, pale rose, and deep shades of lavender to purple. My awe at this sight took my breath away.

After the first instant of frolicking like a child, I sat on the sand and watched the fiery explosion in the firmament. A flock of birds flew by. The breeze gently danced around me, and I lost track of time, thinking about all of the years where my computer remained a constant companion. Perhaps if I had lived on the west coast, my temptation to spend so much time indoors would not have been so strong. Maybe I missed too much, and suddenly, I made a vow to take time in my life to be outside daily from now on.

I leaned back and continued to watch as the light declined around me when the same unstoppable shift took me away. My stomach once again heaved and settled.

This time, I landed in the middle of a street, in a city I did not recognize. Tall buildings surrounded me in an otherwise empty street. It was night time.

The silence broke as angry voices resonated to my left. They were coming toward me. I looked around, and unable to determine whether the crowd was friendly, I decided to walk away quickly. My steps took me in the opposite direction, but it soon became apparent that the same situation occurred ahead of me.

Shouting broke my hesitation. Once again, I rushed to avoid it and turned to the side, taking a smaller artery. A few steps in my new direction and the same sounds broke through, higher this time and closer. All right, Gen, my girl, it seems you have no choice.     

Resigned, I stood my ground although I edged toward a corner of the street, close to an intersection, so if I had to run, I could do it without being cornered.

The sight of a crowd marching in my direction appeared. The man and woman were unruly, obviously upset and angry, pushing and shoving one man ahead of them. Battered, bloodied, broken, the man whose disheveled appearance made me cringe kept falling to the ground to be quickly pulled up by careless hands. His face covered in crusted blood, one eye almost entirely closed off by swelling, his lower lip hanging loose, the shriveled skin holding it by a filament of ligament and muscles almost made me hurl.

The mob had not spotted me yet, and so I remained partially hidden, my back, close to the wall, wondering what caused this upheaval.

They loudly screamed, “Hanging is too good for you. Splitting you off in quarters is just right for you.”

I shuddered at the images coming to my mind.

When they reached the intersection, they entered a small plaza. Soon, another crowd joined the first, this time pushing a woman whose bruised face made me grimaced. Here you are, Gen dearest, the madness of crowds at its worst.            

A child cried, pulled by the crowd behind the woman. “Mommy…”

The sound broke through my stance, squashing my heart. What caused this? What was going on here? It looked like he tried to get a hold of the woman, gripping her flowing shirt, but others surrounding the child broke their connection. They would not let him get close.

When the second group met the first, both man and woman stood in front of each other, separated by a few feet.

Tears blurred my eyes.

The scene was so raw. Surreal in the context of an otherwise darkened city, and yet so profoundly shattering.

Seeing these three people, connected by a history I knew nothing about, in such a deadly situation broke my heart.

The horror of the scene remained indelibly imprinted in my mind. I witnessed these two people last moment. I knew it, and it profoundly changed me.

Laws existed for a reason.

They governed society for this same reason. Order. Justice. Empathy. No one, no matter their crime, should ever suffer something like this.

This moment felt like the culmination of a situation I didn’t even begin to comprehend.

I started shaking.

To the side of these two people, several men took hold of ropes.

My mind groped to keep up, but any rational thoughts vanished. The only experience I had with violence occurred on campus at MIT. A man working for the Center broke into my dorm and stole my codes. Upsetting as it was, this situation was so much worst, hopeless.

The crowd tied the rope around the man and woman's arms and feet.

Tears fell on my cheeks.

I struggled to take the next breath. My hand reached for support on the wall behind me as my chest froze. No, no, no… It was not happening.

The crowd took their time tying them up.

The child fought to get free but failed. “Momma… Daddy…”

The woman turned to her child, “I love you, I will always love you,” she said, tears wetting her cheeks.

The man stared at the boy, “I love you, son. Be strong. Don’t look; close your eyes.”

My heart went out to these people and the little boy, still behind his mom, witnessing the scene. Please, take the child away!

In their last moment, neither of them resisted or moved. The man and the woman kept looking at each other completely entranced, their eyes solely focused on the other, showing that they fiercely cared about one another.

Time stopped.

I sobbed openly now. Oh, world, don’t let this happen.

The ropes pulled…

The crowd yelled.

Cheers resonated from the crowd.

The ordeal was over, but I would never forget it. The unforgivable actions shook me to my core.

I leaned against the wall and threw up.

In the next moment, the ground shifted under my feet.

When I straightened and opened my eyes, I was in a spacesuit, floating above Earth in front of a space station, minutes before it exploded.

The silent site took over the entire screen of my helmet. Debris flew in all directions, darting in the emptiness of space.

My mind, already in turmoil, barely registered the meaning as I plunged further away from my planet and into space.

The recognition of what took place settled in the depth of my stomach.

Fear filled me. Then, an immense calm took over.

I looked toward Earth, our planet, so blue, so vivid, and I remembered its beauty, its species, its landscape, and the undeniable persistence of life in all its wonder.

I took a deep breath and made my peace with what awaited me.

Impermanence remained.

Soon, it would be over unless humanity fought to preserve it.

This battle was over for me. I closed my eyes.

DAINN’s voice whispered in my ears, “Well done, Gen. You have completed your Evaluation. Go and get some rest. We will talk tomorrow.”

“What? I don’t get the results?”

A chuckle resonated near me. “Anxious, are you? Don’t worry; the Imps installs will be scheduled and come soon enough.”

“What? No.” I got out of the chair and turned around the room, seeking its presence. “I don’t want any Imps.” Fearful that my reaction to this announcement may upset the A.I., I tried to explain… “I want to stay as I am. I do not seek to become more, no offense.”

 “Hum… None was taken. But this may be a problem. You see, without the Imps, you will be unable to become an asset to our society. I am quite certain that you will change your mind as you learn more.”

“I won’t.”

“There is no other path for you, my dear. Get some rest. We will talk again.”

The End of SYSTEM,

Gen Diary.

The story continues in…

NEWDAWN ROAMERS,

The Prequel To The

NEWDAWN Saga.

Available Now!

Discover Gen as she first gets

involved with The Center

in NEWDAWN ROAMERS.

The very first novel of the NEWDAWN Saga brings the Perfect Humans into our time. Gen gets involved with the Center and takes her role as part of the science team.

Tesh, a Perfect Human from 2098, escaped on Origin from the anomaly traveling from deep space at unprecedented speed and whose impact on our planet threatened her world. She awakens today in the past with her team so she can influence the future. For the first time, Tesh is free of the System, a Planetary Artificial Intelligence Neural Network that dictates her life and everything in the world in 2098. But to save her people and create a new future for the planet, she encounters tremendous challenges and must make tough choices that will affect her dying world. Fighting against the extinction of our species and defending our civilization, she must decide how far she will go to protect herself, her team, and the future of our planet.

Follow the adventure in

NEWDAWN CENTRAL.

The Center research continues. And everything is set to create and influence the science and technology that will shape a future in the off the grid facility until some of the leading scientists disappear. Indeed, the unexpected surfaces from the depth of the mountain. But so far, only Tesh and her team are aware of the threat that looms.

With a time table that narrows every hour, Tesh and the Institute Conclave fights to find the rest of their people buried underground. But other forces are at work.

Also Coming Soon:

NEWDAWN REBOOT

in 2021!

Step forward into the future… 2098. The safe world of Ang City, under the DAINN planetary network, is no longer predictable for the more robust human species, the Perfect Humans that now roam the planet.

Fighting on multiple fronts, the Perfect Humans begin to lose ground. The threat that global warning has unleashed on our world and the reapportionment of resources under Concordance strain the System. They are now facing civil unrest and a world unraveling. The unknown anomaly approaching the planet augments the Network's stress as it works to set in motion its four programs: Origin, Alpha, Provenance, and Aurora.

The technologically advanced society of genetically enhanced humans organized in Conclaves and living in 2098, is now run by the younger generation who trains to take over from their elder at eighteen years old. Although smarter, faster, and more robust, they are ill-prepared when their world suddenly falls prey to the unknown bio dust cloud.

Among them, the Elite of the five Conclaves, the Institute, the SRC or Science Research Center, the Faculty, the Company, and the EHAF lead the charge and fight to survive, finding allies in factions that would have customarily opposed them in the conflict. 

A way of life becomes extinct, and the few survivors scramble to reverse the effects on their fragile world.

This battle transcends time and space over many lifetimes, and is a beginning with no end in sight.

Thank you
for your support!

Other Books By

Dominique Luchart

A Word About The Chronology

Dominique Luchart is the forward-thinking author of the NEWDAWN Saga, a YA science fiction, fantasy, romance adventure series about the state of our world from 2018 to 2098 and beyond.

NEWDAWN ROAMERS is the first volume of the series, soon followed by NEWDAWN CENTRAL grounded in both our time and a glimpse of the future. In the third volume, NEWDAWN REBOOT, you will find yourself in 2098, with the novel propelling us into the future with incredible world-building. Then, next comes NEWDAWN RISING, which will make a jump back into our past with other glimpses of our future, quickly followed by NEWDAWN RETRIBUTION, taking you on a journey into the future in 2098 and beyond.

In between, the adventure continues in a suspenseful epic story spanning time and space.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Please visit the retailer’s product page and leave a review.
Reviews help me with sales, as you know,
and allow me to keep creating.
It also provides me knowledge about
what resonated with you in the novel,
the many plot lines, and what characters
you enjoyed best. It gives me insights to create
future environments that you will enjoy even better.

Also, see my Amazon Author Central page.

As my reader and the reason I write these stories,
I want to continue taking you on this journey.
I truly feel blessed that I can share with you what I love
and hopefully, take you with me on the adventure
you seek every time you open the NEWDAWN Saga and the NEWDAWN Diaries series!
Thank you for your support.
Please share this book with your best friends!

If you wish to learn more about the world of NEWDAWN,
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About The Author

Transmute the now and transcend tomorrow.

Dr. Dominique Luchart, the author of the NEWDAWN Saga series, is a multi-faceted creative. The NEWDAWN Saga series is a YA science-fiction, fantasy, romance adventure series about the state of our world from 2018 to 2098 and beyond.

When first conceiving of the Newdawn series, she was inspired by her desire to help people relate and envision our planet and our species in the challenges of the future. “Science fiction feeds our imagination, and science facts shape our lives tomorrow to the point where science fiction becomes science fact.” Understanding the role of science and technology in our modern world and how it will pave the way to future lifestyles and businesses in the years ahead is key to building a bridge between today and tomorrow. The Newdawn saga is more than a book; it is a whole new universe!

Her main goal is to catch what is on the horizon for all of us and build a socially conscious world where generations can thrive. “Knowing what is to come is the first step to manifesting awareness and maintaining our choices in a world where technology will eventually run our planet… Only we can decide if this is a world we want…”

When not wearing her author cap, Dominique is the founder of WindHorse Entertainment and Windom Media. As a Screenwriter, Director and Producer, she has been part of several independent films distributed worldwide. She is also a Futurist, Public Speaker, and universal storyteller, working in Hollywood after studying in France, Canada, and the United States. Dominique holds a Communication and a Juris Doctor degree and designs experiences for a new marketplace.

You can find out more about the series at https://windommedia.com/newdawn/, and also learn more about Dominique’s professional screen credits at IMDB.

System, Gen Diary begins the saga, giving you a glimpse of the world in 2088, and focuses on Gen’s journey into the technologically advanced society after joining the Center and meeting Tesh and her team as she jumped into the future to survive an attack.

Newdawn Roamers: Prequel to the Newdawn Saga follows Tesh, our heroine, a traveler from the future who returns to the past to impact a different future.

Fans of Divergent, Hunger Games, Qualify, and Red Queen will enjoy Luchart’s intricate world-building and sense of adventure from 2018 to 2098 and beyond. “[Amidst] twists and turns, great characters, time and space moving with speed and grace, wonderful internal, thoughtful dialogue, Dominique pens a fantastical world of too real today and a glimpse of a too real future,” commented one reader. The Newdawn series also explores evolving technologies like biotechnology and robotics, and science like genetic engineering continues to impact the human experience.

Luchart’s goal is to create an immersive community where readers can interact with one another and engage with the Newdawn world to participate in the path to our future. Aside from delivering a riveting story filled with twists and emotion, Newdawn Roamers: Prequel to the Newdawn Saga highlights essential questions about our responsibility to the planet, ethical, scientific exploration, and maintaining humanity in a world where technology reigns.

Dr. Dominique Luchart has a Juris Doctor degree, is an author, producer, and founder of Windom Media/WindHorse Entertainment. As a writer and futurist, she draws on her legal background to challenge barriers and conventions through science fiction. Luchart can be found online at https://windommedia.com/author/

The upcoming Newdawn Central will be released this month, with Newdawn Reboot coming to stores in the first quarter of 2021. The Newdawn Saga Guide: The Ultimate Compendium is also available for purchase on Amazon.com and major retailers and the https://newdawnshop. Other sequels are currently in development, and you will be able to join the Newdawn upcoming community for our VIP list at our official website: https://windommedia.com/newdawn/.

Join our NEWDAWN Fans group on Facebook, where announcements and discussions take place weekly:https://www.facebook.com/groups/865876813495501.

Follow our NEWDAWN Blog, where articles about the series and our real-life upcoming future are published: https:newdawnblog.com.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/15747823-dominique-luchart