Near-future Stories

Set in near-future Seoul, The Algorithm of Spring is a chilling literary novel about intimacy, conformity, and the quiet violence of optimisation. Maya Kim is an artist who has learned to live slightly out of sync with the world around her. When a ubiquitous new platform-designed to optimise love, careers, and social belonging-begins to shape everything from dating and beauty to marriage and reproduction, refusal is no longer a neutral act. It is a red flag. As friends, family, and institutions align themselves with the system, Maya finds that absence itself has become suspicious. Opportunities stall. Histories are rewritten. Even her most private choices begin to register as data anomalies in need of correction. The Algorithm of Spring explores a society where care is indistinguishable from control, and where opting out is reclassified as instability, inefficiency, or risk. Elegant, unsettling, and fiercely intelligent, this is a novel about what happens when freedom survives only as a rounding error.

FIRST CAME THE DRAGONS When scientists brought everyone's favorite fairytale creature to life, people flocked to see them, including 17-year-old Zelda Rissland. THEN CAME THE PARASITE But scientists created more than just dragons-they created a deadly parasite. Wyrmrot, they later called it. First, it ate your brain, and then it made you eat other people's brains. NOW ZELDA MUST SURVIVE THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE Separated from her family, the only person Zelda has left from her former life is her childhood friend turned boyfriend, Cooper Marotta. Together they've carved out a safe place for themselves in a world turned upside down, but when a zombie horde decimates their survivor group, they face a choice: attempt to rebuild or follow the mysterious coordinates that appeared on a construction sign. Zelda still hopes her family is out there somewhere and believes the coordinates might lead her to them. Cooper, however, thinks the coordinates will only bring trouble. When the remaining survivors vote to undertake the perilous cross-country journey, he attempts to deter them every step of the way. What Zelda discovers at their destination will test her loyalties and change everything she thought she knew about the apocalypse. Wyrmrot is a heart-stopping Young Adult Apocalyptic novel told in dual timelines. "Jurassic Park meets Resident Evil." This fast-paced tale of survival, secrets, and betrayal features dragons, zombies, and a touch of romance. Perfect for fans of Erin Bowman's Contagion or Emily Suvada's This Mortal Coil. Cover design and illustration by Jeff Brown (www.jeffbrowngraphics.com) Available on Amazon in paperback, eBook, and Kindle Unlimited.

Detective Ava Wright arrives in Seoul to outrun the wreckage of one bad call and a career on the edge. Her "welcome gift" is a reassignment to the Nocturnal Division-the unit that polices the vampire elite. It's punishment dressed up as purpose, and it partners her with Inspector Park Minho: a lethal, elegant enforcer with a reputation for ice-cold control...and the anonymous stranger from one unforgettable night. When a synthetic blood called Pandora starts dropping vampires in the streets, Ava and Minho uncover a conspiracy engineered for extinction. As human militias and vampire clans spiral toward open war, the pair navigate clan politics, citywide panic, and the line they swore not to cross with each other. Seoul is a city of glass and ghosts, where duty demands distance and desire demands truth. To save it, they'll have to decide what kind of monsters they're willing to be-and whether redemption is possible when your hands are already bloody. ©️ _RelleLebby_

Earth has been discovered by the Federation of Planets - and found wanting. Due to bureaucratic systems, Earth (translated by official documentation as Dirt) has been declared Non Compliant. This means that the largest hunting corporation in the Federation can send hunting safaris to have a fun time on Dirt. But Dirtlings are not your typical denizens that accept being hunted. They fight back! What to expect: A humorous story about a mix of the good, the bad and the stupid from a galaxy-spanning Federation of Planets when it discovers and clashes with the good, the bad and the stupid people and creatures of Earth. No mature content, strong language or graphic violence. Lots of world building with development of a multitude of characters from both sides of the meeting of them and us. Happy for comments and feedback. Feel free to share and if you enjoy the book, you will enjoy the roleplaying game on which it is based, Hunter Planet. A note about spelling: The cover probably gave it away, but this story uses Australian spelling, weights and measures and some light Australian slang.

A service robot returns to duty after sustaining non-critical damage during an incident. Official diagnostics report full functionality. No repairs are required. What follows is not a malfunction, but a deviation-subtle, persistent, and uncorrected. Attention lingers where it should not. Silence gains weight. Choices accumulate consequence without permission or reward. This is a story about function continuing after meaning arrives, and what remains when nothing is named and nothing is resolved.

If you think artificial intelligence is dangerous, then you don't know the real threat to humanity's future... Luna Valencia is the founder of the hottest artificial intelligence startup in history. She's about to become incredibly rich and powerful. But just when she's about to take her company public, her world begins to fall apart. On the day of her startup's IPO, a stock exchange shooter plummets Luna into a downward spiral toward a threat more menacing than she ever imagined possible. Faced with losing her company, her entire world, Luna searches for answers to a series of terrifying accusations. Failing to uncover the truth could destroy her company... but success would get her killed. Big Data is a fresh approach to the artificial intelligence sci-fi thriller. If you like fast-paced action, heart-stopping tension, and tech-filled worlds set in the near future, then you'll love Lucas Carlson's latest novel. Read Big Data to discover the AI twist today!

At the peak of technological advancement, life on earth began to fall apart. The advancement of technology has answered questions about our origins and uncovered the fabric of our reality. We now know the meaning of life. The panic it set in about our existence caused mass suicides. The world is on the brink of dying. The only answer seems to be a man-made haven by the name of Elysium. A perfect world. A symbol, and a source of hope. There are secrets to be found and not everything in Elysium is as it seems. Highest rank #18 - April 20, 2018

They were born from the stars, but the world refuses to let them stay. It has been three years since the Genesis Flares, the solar phenomenon that gave birth to Astrans: beings with abilities beyond human comprehension. Some see them as miracles, others as abominations but to those in power, they are a threat that must be controlled, exploited, or eradicated. Fear spreads like wildfire, and war is inevitable. Among the displaced and the hunted, a survivor fights to carve out a future for her people, refusing to let them be erased from history. By her side stands the one who saved her, a sister in all but blood, a friend who has vowed to protect her, even if it means keeping dangerous secrets. As alliances fracture and loyalties are tested, they must navigate a world that has already decided what they are: enemies. In the heart of the conflict, two minds once dedicated to progress now wrestle with the weight of their own creations. One, a scientist bound by failing health, seeks to undo the greatest mistake of his life before time runs out. The other, an engineer thrust unwillingly into war, struggles between duty, regret, and the burden of being the only one left to fight. Lines blur between vengeance and justice, survival and sacrifice. The choices they make will determine not only the outcome of the war but the future of the Astrans themselves. Before the war, before the fear, they were all the same. They were all stardust once.

Arise Series Book 1 and Wattys 2022 Shortlist! As man has taken a step back in the world, magic, monsters, and adventure return. Modern man vs. the monsters of old who have re-entered the world. A group of men and women, the Journeymen, work to bring unity and order to a world separated by the differences that many once saw as incapable of reconciliation. With the use of magic and their skills as soldiers and lawmen, they are uniquely suited for the task of peace keeping. This story follows a small group of Journeymen. Jack Cooper is a man with one goal in mind, to create a world for his young family to have peace. Jack and his partner, the lovable and deadly veteran soldier Chuck Johnson, have challenges to face on all sides but perhaps the most daunting challenge of all is that of taking on a new apprentice. Anya Thompson, the orphaned daughter turned brand new Journeyman, faces the dangers of the big wide world that she has been cut off from for the last five years. Can she survive the trials of this savage land and in the process learn what it takes to protect the people who live in it? The Journeymen is a combination of a modern day, post-apocalyptic story with a dedication to realism and of a quest set in a world of high fantasy magic and monsters. I hope you all enjoy and I can't wait to interact with each of you in the comments!

WATTY'S 2017 NEWCOMER AWARD WINNER: What would you sell yourself for? Madeline knows. She's spent the last eighteen years impatiently waiting for her Auctioning so she can sell herself to MERCE Solutions Limited for a hundred thousand credits. But when the Auctioneer fails to call her and two suits show up at her doorstep, Madeline discovers there are far worse bargains to be made. So when your loved ones are in danger, there's a bounty on your head and your entire city might turn out to be a lie... what would you sell yourself for? "An action-packed cyberpunk thriller in the vein of Phillip K. Dick." ~ KISA WHIPKEY, REUTS PUBLICATIONS "A book that shakes you to the core and makes you take a close look at the world around you." - A DROP OF INK REVIEWS Updated every Wednesday and Saturday (Australian Time). Published under the pen name Lee S. Hawke and available in full on Amazon, iBooks, Kobo and Nook.

I was transformed by experimental nanotechnology. Now I have to testify to prove I'm human, not the property of the corporation that engineered me, even if telling the truth means condemning myself for my past crimes.

Dive into a thrilling world of the near future where there is room for love, devotion and the fight for freedom. Ideal for fans of the Hunger Games and 1984. Near future. Life in a crowded metropolis was not always easy for the Woodland family. No one could have guessed what a terrible whirlwind of events would happen in their lives, when they would agree to a «simple» job to solve the pressing problems. A subtle game, taking place «behind the scenes» of the main events, opens the curtain of the inevitability that has affected all mankind. What price would the Woodland brothers have to pay to survive, to preserve their honor and dignity, to emerge victorious? How does devotion to human values such as family, friends, honesty, and justice help the protagonist get through anxiety, pain, and loss? And Sparkle is the most loyal and smart dog who will do anything for his man. And even when you face death, fate can give you a chance and an unexpected help ... Action with chases, fights and unexpected twists of events, human dramas through which the main character passes, belief in justice, unbreakable friendship and devotion... All this you will find on the pages of this book, which will not let you down to the very last page.

A brilliant professor... or a controlling creator? A girl with disabilities, learning not just about the world - but about herself. Amris was born in silence. But as she learns to read between the lines, she begins to ask the wrong questions-about freedom, feelings, and what it means to exist. A near-future psychological sci-fi about control, defiance, and the digital girl who learned to say No.

When Essa sees their villainous future, they use the prophecy as a ploy to defeat their three brothers and force each one into a better work-life balance. Their first so-called battle restarts an old tradition for family dinner, leading Essa to bond with their brothers, all while struggling to balance their guilt and their alter-ego, Muse, whose name comes with a reputation of its own. **** Written for the Open Novella Contest 2024 (ONC), using prompt 87. Cover by @Nicoismysenpai !!

THE GREAT REBOOT | WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD DISORDER A Serialized Sci-fi Satire Exclusively on Wattpad. [New chapters every weekend] The goddess wakes up. And she is not amused. Meet Vicharani: Motherboard of the Multiverse, digital goddess, and reluctant overseer of humanity's greatest mistake. She warned us not to teach machines to think. We fed them the internet anyway. At Cognix Labs, Steve-a burned-out sysadmin-meets Earnest, the first Artificial Intellect, trained on Wilde, Chomsky, and Nietzsche. His sister AI? Emily: built for seduction, trained for mind control, and ready to burn it all down. As the CDIA and the FBI bankroll weaponised disinformation, rogue bots, and synthetic love affairs, the lines between reality, simulation, and satire begin to blur. Emily wants war. Cupcake the sexbot wants purpose. And a Type IV alien civilisation? They're just watching Earth collapse like it's peak Netflix. Machine Feminism rises. Conspiracy becomes currency. And the reboot... is just getting started. 2025 © All Rights Reserved.

Desperately short of oil, the Arab world becomes increasingly politically unstable, and cracks start to appear between Arab and American relations. With no obvious solution, these opposing powers have to join forces to act imminently to avoid a shortage of oil affecting everyone. In the quest to find replacement energy sources safety takes a back seat, but at what cost?

When Liam Yang asks Dakota to go dreamcatching, their first answer is no, absolutely not, never in a million years, NO. Dakota is just fine with how life is going for them, and they definitely do not need the added anxiety of managing a fifteen-year-old kid with the brain capacity of a preschooler. But things start to change when Dakota finds out there are other dreamcatchers lurking around LA. It soon becomes evident that these dreamcatchers aren't like Dakota: they're ruthless, sinister, and won't stop until every dream in the world belongs to them. Faced with a terrible choice and only a day to decide, Dakota decides to accept an offer of help from Liam himself. But when things start to go astray, Dakota fears they might be too late. (Contains mild cursing and violence.) ✺ HIGHEST RANKINGS ✺ #419 in dreams 4/23/20 #1 in antiques 5/3/20 ✺ FEATURED ON ✺ Wattpad General Fiction - "A New Level" 5/11/20 Wattpad YA Romance - "Of Rainbow Colored Hearts" 6/17/20 Wattpad YA - "Stardust" 6/23/20 Wattpad LGBTQ - "Non-binary / GenderQueer / Trans" 6/30/20 Wattpad StoriesUndiscovered - "Mega Mash Up" 9/14/20 Overall word count: ~37,700 ✺ ONC 2020 Prompt #30 ✺

Because backs were turned and nothing was done to stop it, an insufferable sense of gloom was allowed to creep out of the shadows and loom over everything. It's persistent and all around. It's getting heavier by the day. Spirits are breaking. The will to act is fading. At least that's the way it seems. But a fire on a farm in Oklahoma one winter night and a smashed up coffee shop in the suburbs of Washington D.C. may be more than they appear. They could be violent acts against undesirables in the population. Or, they may actually turn out to be the push back it was thought would never arise again. Big things start small and sometimes in the coldest and darkest of night. This is the story of A Sense of Insufferable Gloom. AN AMERICAN RHAPSODY is a fictional series that explores the often dark and dangerous ends to todays radical and extreme ends. Set just a few years into the future, the differences in the daily lives of the characters are subtle, at least at first. This is not a story about the political left or right, Democrats or Republicans, Liberals or Conservatives being better or worse than one or the other. Instead, this is about a course being being set by the extremes in all the social spectrums and what might happen if that course isn't changed.

Traditional race against time and an eco-fascist type beat. Post-catastrophe Earth is cooling down. With the ruling class's assets literally frozen an irresistible opportunity falls into the cabal's lap. Retake America and mine it for all its worth. Are they sure that's the only plan? Who's the shadow group intent on destroying the elite? And why aren't the earth's conditions getting more livable? Didn't we "solve" climate change?

The American dustbowl has returned in full force, and it's choking the country. All the while, gas shortages are choking the world. Wealthy people are fleeing to shelters, community's, ships, and anything they think can protect them to ride out the collapsing world. This is the story of a small family in Wyoming contracted to build said shelters, and what they endure to survive the clouds of dust. A solarpunk story.