The god machine, p.2
The God Machine, page 2
These worlds were far more vivid than the dimly lit room, the ancient desk. The characters he described were his family and friends now. Yes, the umbilical tethered him to the machine, but it was also the vital link that held him fast in those far off lands. With only his quill, he could walk in sunlit forests in the distant past, or watch a star burn out in the far future. To write, was to be alive.
Now, as Reva filled in the details of his latest tale, he gave the young squire an incredible childhood, filled with magic and inspirational adventures. For a moment, he recalled a fragment of his own childhood: he’d woken up afraid, his dreams haunted by enormous winged lizards that tore through the air, spewing fire from their gaping maws. “He has the gift,” his father had said. But Reva could not pause to savor the memory. He must add it to his story quickly, otherwise the Machine would steal it away and give it to another Scribe.
He doubled to his task and lost himself in the story.
NEURAL LINK FAILING
Reva shook his head. When he wrote, interruptions were not permitted. He had so much work to do, so many new chapters to write. And then, there would be more stories, more characters to bring alive, new worlds to build.
Something pushed against his neck. What now? His umbilical had already been serviced, hadn’t it? He worked on, his hand gliding over the parchment, breathing life into yet another soul. He sent his story soaring through time and space. It was immortal. He was immortal.
NEURAL LINK FAILING
Inexcusable! Reva looked up, scowling. Two people stood beside him: a young woman, with fear in her eyes, and a Slag. The Slag held up a hypodermic syringe. The syringe was already filled with purple fluid.
Reva looked back to his parchment. But the story…it isn’t finished. He’d planned a wonderful finale - the hero would return from the dead to fight another day. No time. The quill slipped slowly from his quivering fingers. The ending would have to wait.
THANK YOU FOR READING THE GOD MACHINE
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MEET THE AUTHORS
The authors of this book are listed below. Hop on over to their websites and you’ll discover some free books and stories:
Mikey Campling: mikeycampling.com
Drew Avera: drewavera.com
Jamie Dodge: jamiedodge.wordpress.com
Chris Godsoe: christophergodsoe.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks go to Pavarti K. Tyler for editorial input.
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Copyright © 2015 The SciFi Collective
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Mikey Campling, The God Machine
