Jamo is best known for his work combining media properties with sophisticated emerging technologies.
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First Dan
Chased by a bounty hunter and seduced by an enemy, a young man who makes machines for a living looks in the mirror and sees a living machine.
Share Post on X Threads LinkedIn Embed| Science Fiction & Fantasy Synthetic Biology, Biopunk | |
| 81,000 words | |
| 100% complete | |
| 24 publishers interested |
Dan1 breeds machines for the Biota labs. Starting as a lowly technician on the manufacturing floor, he is thrust into the highest echelons of the world’s most popular blood sport. A strange mixture of sport, politics and personalities leads him straight into the teeth of a hostile work environment.
His new job gets trickier when he starts dating El9, whose life goal is to ban the blood sport. She will use any means to persuade him to join her protest movement. But El9’s unswerving belief in the cause is about to be tested by her father’s extreme plans.
And a decades old murder case is reopened when Dex, the city’s most experienced bounty hunter, is approached by the enigmatic Professor Wilson. Wilson and Dex attempt to set things right, in a world where right and wrong are not particularly well defined.
The First Dan is the opening novel The Biohacker's Almanac series, set at a time when humans have acquired a God-like control over DNA and are able to manufacture any machine organically. When technology has made animals and machines indistinguishable we face the question, what makes us human?
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Jamo Kane's aim is to take the raw fundamentals of science and press them into the service of imagined technologies so wild and so extraordinary they appear magic. That's the thrill of great sci-fi: real magic.
Today in 2016, humans have reached a point where we can program the DNA of an organism in the same way we write code for computers. That is not science fiction - that is the current state of our technical art. That is astounding.
Strangely, this incredible innovation has not yet inspired us in the same way that space travel did in the mid-20th Century or cyberspace in the 80s and 90s. The emerging science of synthetic biology is an opportunity to project ourselves forward again. To tell a big story in the tradition of Asimov or Gibson.
Today we raise cows and turn their meat into food and their hide into leather shoes. Scientists are working on streamlining that process to grow meat in a lab. Now let's reach beyond that and imagine programming an organism that grows into a shoe. Extrapolate from there: imagine if everything around us - our clothes, tools, transport, habitation and even our cities - were all living organisms, designed by us and for us from encoded DNA.
That's Jamo's big idea. And he has built a story world to house it.
It's easy to imagine how conflict will arise. If PETA opposes industrial farming, how will those same people feel about engineered organisms pressed into service? Is it moral to design a life purely to serve human interests? What's the difference between an organic computer and a thinking brain? It's a story world full of conflict - between innovators and moralists, between doers and idealists.
These larger questions form the background to The Biohacker's Almanac: a fast-paced race through our future.
Part 1
Professor Wilson discovers a young boy among the grisly remains of a murdered mother in the hills behind Melbourne. The city is slowly recovering from the devastating effects of Leviathan, a brutal organism designed by the previous government to maintain law and order. The city’s renaissance has been largely dominated by a benevolent corporate patron, Biota. Two orphans, Locky and Dan1, are taken in by the matriarch of Mother Umami’s Magic Show and Lucky Protein Carvery du Jour. They forge an unconventional family, Mother Umami and Locky playing parents to the lost and insecure Dan1. Now in their late teens and early twenties the boys have rebuilt their lives, working as corporate drones for the Biota behemoth.
Dan1 is at the arena watching the gladiorgs, a local bloodsport fought between two giant genetically modified contestants. He finds himself trapped in a raucous and violent crowd. Meanwhile Dex, a local private detective who has been hired to track down Dan1, is closing on his target. Tensions in the crowd explode when two members from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Sentient Organisms (PETSO) stage a protest in the arena. Dan1, suddenly threatened by the violent crowd and the menacing detective, flees with the protesters and escapes the arena. Although pressed together for only a short time, Dan1 gets to know one of the protesters, El9, and is intrigued by her politics and lifestyle.
Dan1 arrives home to discover that the overbearing Locky has entered them into a local gladiorg competition. Locky has little skill at engineering organisms so Dan1 is suddenly thrust into the cutthroat world of gladiorg breeding. From his menial position at Biota he manages to get access to some of the most sophisticated genomic engineering equipment available. Applying his untapped skills he breeds a formidable beast for competition.
Dex is summoned to the university where Professor Wilson hires him to obtain a DNA sample from El9. Dex has a hard time breaking into the PETSO compound and is nearly killed several times on the way there and back. He finally completes the job for Professor Wilson only to be offered more work. Professor Wilson wants Dex to investigate the unsolved case of a mother murdered in the hills behind Melbourne. In what Dex suspects is not a coincidence, the case was the last Dex investigated before a nervous breakdown forced him from his job as a cop. Dex refuses the job and returns to hunting Dan1’s DNA for another client, the world’s foremost gladiorg designer, Theodor Slit.
Both Dan1 and Dex find themselves at the local gladiorg competition. During the competition Dex surreptitiously takes a DNA sample from Dan1, who is distracted by the surprisingly brutal performance of his gladiorg. After several rounds of competition Dan1 is stunned to win the grand final. Theodor Slit emerges from the crowd to personally congratulate him, offering him a promotion into Biota gladiorg design team.
Returning home Dan1 discovers an old photo of his mother standing next to Theodor Slit, his new boss. Back at his office, Dex plugs Dan1’s sample into his system only to discover that Dan1’s mother was the victim of the unsolved murder from the hills.
Part 2
Dan1 is assigned to the key task of lab technician in charge of the gladiorgs’ brains. He is almost instantly promoted and quickly finds himself working directly under Theodor Slit. The pressure of his new job is compounded as he slowly collects evidence that his intimidating boss is also his father.
There is a brutal murder in the city with the same characteristics as the case of the murdered mother in the hills. Dex is drafted by the police to work with them as a special consultant. A hefty paycheck convinces him to join the effort.
Dan1 is drawn deeper into Slit’s world and is embraced by the gladiorg design team at Biota. He has been put on a special project with Slit, designing an extremely sophisticated brain that mimics human consciousness. The team take him to an illegal gladiorg match where he is horrified by the violence. He is even more shocked when he discovers El9 there, recording footage. After El9 is spotted by security, Dan1 helps her escape.
There are more murders and Dex is slowly drawn back into the unsolved case. The DNA at the scene is very unusual, most likely from a highly sophisticated transgenic human. It constantly shifts and changes, mutating as soon as it comes into contact with other DNA. The mystery of the curious DNA reminds Dex of the stress that drove him to his first breakdown.
Professor Wilson begins his own subtle surveillance of Dan1, intrigued by his relationship with El9.
The authorities start to investigate Slit’s lab for possible ethical breaches relating to his work with conscious brains. The team suspects that Dan1 may have tipped them off. For the first time in his life Dan1 finds a spark of independence - both from the overbearing Locky and from the corporation that sustains the city. He satisfies his rebellion towards both by pursuing a relationship with El9. He is drawn into her world. He learns about how the Circle of Seven were formed to ensure corporations like Biota followed ethical and moral principles. He begins to see things from PETSO’s point of view, questioning not only the power of Biota in the city but the morality of society itself.
Locky, of course, is implacably opposed to Dan1’s relationship with El9. In the middle of this tension, Dan1 visits Mother Umami and learns about his past. He discovers that his mother was the victim of a murder in the hills behind Melbourne. According to Mother Umami, Theodor Slit is unrelated to Dan1 and his father, Peta Singer, disappeared at the time of the murder.
Dan1 and El9 hit the town for a night out. The two of them appear to be falling into a serious relationship. El9’s intentions are muddied when her father, the leader of PETSO, calls to confirm that everything is going well with her mission. The two lovers stay out late and Dan1 wakes with only scant memories of the end of the night.
That morning Dex is summoned to the scene of another brutal murder. After exhaustively collecting the DNA from the scene he discovers traces of Theodor Slit’s presence. Almost as soon as he makes this discovery two of Slit’s goons break into his shack and chase Dex across this city. He arrives completely disheveled at the police station ranting about Slit and the murders. Thinking he has had another breakdown the Captain removes him from the case.
Professor Wilson goes to visit the Circle of Seven, who are still actively monitoring the city. They are concerned about Dan1’s activities.
Dan1 and Locky have a confrontation about El9. Regardless of Locky’s protestations, Dan1 continues to see El9 and their relationship deepens. Meanwhile, Locky is working for Slit as a mole, funneling funds to his secret projects. In return, Locky has been moving swiftly through the Biota ranks for years, despite his clear incompetence.
Dan1 is introduced to Slit’s new project. Their attempt to mimic the human brain was thwarted by the authorities, so Slit has begun work on Project Menos, a system to remotely control a gladiorg’s brain. Dan1 begins to suspect that Theodor Slit is carrying out clandestine experiments in a hidden laboratory under the city. El9 reveals to Dan1 that she is working on a mission from PETSO to expose Slit’s illegal experiments. The two of them hatch a plan to break into a secret lab at the base of the city.
Dan1 tries to enlist Locky to assist in his plans with El9. Locky is torn between his allegiance to his adopted brother and maintaining the conspiracy with Slit that has served him well.
Dex has a breakthrough theory on the unsolved murders. He is increasingly convinced that the boy found next to the murdered mother at the original crime scene wasn’t a victim, he was the perpetrator. He believes Dan1 is somehow manipulated by Slit, explaining why the murders resumed when Slit and Dan1 were reunited. Dex sets off to track down Dan1 at Biota.
Dan1 and El9 break into Slit’s laboratory. Their suspicions are proven correct when they discover the result of Slit’s illegal experiments, including a transgenic human. Dan1 and El9 release the transgenic organisms from the lab, creating chaos as the animals rampage into the Biota labs. During their escape, Dan1 discovers that he too has transgenic abilities.
Dex is confronted by a transgenic human who he thinks is a transformed Dan1. He comes off second best in the confrontation. Meanwhile, Locky’s choice of allegiance becomes tragically clear when Slit returns to the lab carrying Locky’s decapitated head. Slit hands the head to the transgenic human released by Dan1 and El9, who turns out to be Slit’s lab partner, Thomas Wotan.
When El9 and Dan1 arrive at the PETSO compound they are met by its leader, Peta Singer, a man Dan1 suspects is his biological father. Dan1 is suddenly confronted by his brother’s death and the horrible realization that he may have been sleeping with his sister.
Part 3
Dex survives his injuries and goes back to the police captain’s house to recuperate. After his encounter with the transgenic human he begins to look at the case afresh.
Dan1 flees from the PETSO compound after Peta Singer tries to poison him. He arrives at Mother Umami’s house and together they go to visit the man who initially brought them together, Professor Wilson. The professor explains that Thomas Wotan is a sophisticated transgenomic organism, able to adopt the abilities of any organism he comes into contact with. Unfortunately he has little control over his mutations and is dangerously unstable. Dan1 is a superior genetic clone of Thomas Wotan - created by Wotan and Slit. Dan1 has all the same abilities, if he chooses to develop them, but they are more stable.
El9 and her father are kidnapped by Slit’s henchmen and taken to the arena, where the final battle of the gladiorg season is about to begin. Meanwhile, Dex and the police captain realise that the murders were committed by Wotan and Slit. Dex arranges to meet Slit at the arena to confront him.
Dan1 hears the story of his mother’s murder in the hills, told by Professor Wilson who was eyewitness. He learns that the murder was a fierce battle between himself, only just a baby, and Wotan. He forced Wotan to flee but wasn’t able to protect his mother.
Scared of his power, the Circle of Seven pressure Wilson to kill Dan1. The professor refuses, instead showing Dan1 how to access his abilities and how to get beyond the reach of the Circle of Seven.
Dan1 returns to the PETSO compound, employing his newfound abilities along the way. When he arrives he finds a scene of devastation, learning that El9 and Singer have been taken to the arena by Slit’s henchman. He races back to the arena to confront Slit and Wotan and rescue El9 and her father.
Dan1 bursts into the arena and sees thatEl9 and Singer are trapped helplessly by a gladiorg under Slit’s control. Dan1 faces down the gladiorg, employing his new found abilities in front of the grand final crowd. Midway through the battle it becomes apparent that the brain Slit and Wotan used in the gladiorg is Locky’s brain. Dan1 withdraws from the fight and helps El9 and Singer escape.
Dex arrives at the arena and arrests Theodor Slit for the murder in the Melbourne hills. Dan1 watches as Wotan defeats the gladiorg on the battlefield, killing Locky in the process.
While Wotan is escaping, El9 kills Slit, completing her father’s mission. Singer and El9 escape from the arena.
Dan1 is left with the unsettling feeling that although he stood up to his creator, he has betrayed his brother and been betrayed by his lover. Dex, Professor Wilson and Dan1 form a pact to defeat Wotan.
The Biohacker’s Almanac: First Dan is intended for readers from mid-teens onwards. Its strong female protagonist broadens the appeal beyond a traditional male sci-fi audience. At a high level, science fiction has experienced strong growth as a category for some years, growing 44% from 2014 to 2015.
The central subject matter, synthetic biology, is appealing to a passionate and growing community of practitioners, futurists and enthusiasts. A well framed marketing plan will leverage this small but passionate community to build awareness both of synthetic biology as a topic and the novel as an easy onramp to understanding the social, technological and ethical implications of this emerging field.
First Dan is a reading experienced defined by short, fast-paced chapters that combine to weave a larger, epic narrative. This format of brief bursts of easily digestible narrative has been designed for commuters and eBook readers, those who enjoy novels but don’t have hours to curl up with a book.
I have spent the better part of the last decade selling in emerging technologies such as AR, VR and AI to media companies around the world. I have a personal social media following of 1000+ and have built a social media following under @the_biohacker of around 1000 followers. There are several active communities, both online and offline, around synthetic biology, genetic engineering and biohacking.
The issue these scientific communities are facing is contextualising their discoveries for non-scientific communities. CRISPR gene editing technology is an extraordinary breakthrough, but how to explain it to laypeople? For this reason, I have found these communities to be extremely receptive to activities adjacent to their scientific work, such as art projects, ethical enquiries and other related activities. The media is also hungry for stories around this ‘brave new world’ and looking for a spokesperson who can speak clearly and effectively to non-scientists on this topic.
The marketing plan for The Biohacker’s Almanac will position the author as a knowledgeable spokesperson on synthetic biology and position the novel as an enjoyable read that can reveal the potential of this technology in an easily digestible format. This begins with a medium/twitter account that publishes regularly updates on synthetic biology news and events, attending key events, such as iGem, and looking for speaking opportunities within the community. Most importantly, actively reaching out to media looking for opportunities to promote the ideas contained in the book, using interest in biological engineering to drive sales.
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Genetic Engineering is a subgenre of sci-fi that has become popular enough to have its own category on Amazon. In the same way that space adventures dominated mid-20th Century sci-fi and biopunk emerged in the latter part of that Century, interest in speculative fiction centred on biology has been steadily increasing.
The Biohacker’s Almanac is unique in that it does not approach genetic engineering through the lens of human engineering or novel viruses, rather it posits a world where everything can be engineered through organic processes. Marketing this novel presents both a challenge and an opportunity because it explores a new field of science from a novel perspective. The narrative has been structured to appeal to traditional consumers of the genre and those drawn to its innovative ideas.
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Dragon Moon Press
500 copies • Completed manuscript • Looking for novel-length genre fiction: fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, science fiction, adult, and YA. Traditional publisher Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction Worldwide |
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Line By Lion Publications
Line By Lion Publications is an independent publisher using a traditional platform. At LBL, you get the best of both worlds: the hands -on attention and personal control of a small press, with the national attention of a large publisher. Line By Lion focuses on unique voices. Though our line is primarily speculative fiction, we are actively seeking children's books, historical fiction, romance, and mysteries. Traditional publisher Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, History, Politics & Social Sciences, Travel Kentucky |
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Odyssey Books
500 copies • Partial manuscript • Looking for fiction, memoir, and narrative non-fiction, as well as novelty and picture books from Aus/NZ authors only. Traditional publisher Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, History, Journalism, Society & Culture, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide |
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The Story Plant
500 copies • Completed manuscript • Looking for fiction. Traditional publisher Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense Worldwide |
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Agora Publishing
Agora Publishing is a Canada-based not-for-profit organization, founded in 1997 with the aim of making book publishing accessible to all writers across Canada and internationally. Hybrid publisher All categories Worldwide |
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Anaphora Literary Press
250 copies • Partial manuscript. Hybrid publisher Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide |
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Austin Brothers Publishing
100 copies • Partial manuscript. Hybrid publisher Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Travel United States |
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Cyberwit.net
250 copies • Completed manuscript • Looking for poetry and anthologies. Hybrid publisher Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Travel India |
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Koehler Books
250 copies • Completed manuscript. Hybrid publisher Commercial Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBT Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Mind & Body, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Women's Fiction, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Communication Skills, Corporate Culture, Management & Leadership, Marketing & Sales, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Sex & Relationships, Sports & Outdoors, Science Fiction & Humour Worldwide |
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Lifestyle Entrepreneurs Press
500 copies • Partial manuscript • Looking for business and entrepreneurship, personal development, and success psychology books. Hybrid publisher Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Communication Skills, Corporate Culture, Crafts & Hobbies, Creativity, Current Affairs, Economics, Education, Entrepreneurship & Small Business, Health, Fitness & Dieting, Journalism, Management & Leadership, Marketing & Sales, Mindfulness & Happiness, Money & Investment, Motivation & Inspiration, Nature & Environment, Parenting, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Philosophy, Popular Science, Productivity & Time Management, Psychology, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Sex & Relationships, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide |
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Lulu Press, Inc.
Since 2002, Lulu has enabled more than 1 million authors in more than 225 countries and territories to self-publish nearly 2 million publications. Our industry-leading tools, worldwide print network and global community help authors hone their craft and publish printed books and eBooks for FREE. Offering the largest Indie bookstore at Lulu.com and distribution services, you can sell in online bookstores around the world. With Lulu, authors are in control, forever owning the rights to their works, setting their own price and keeping 80 percent of their book profits and 90 percent of eBook profits. Hybrid publisher All categories United States |
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Mascot Books
Mascot Books is a full-service hybrid publisher dedicated to helping authors at all stages of their publishing journey create a high-quality printed or digital book that matches their vision. With comprehensive editorial, design, marketing, production, and distribution services, our authors have the support of an experienced publishing team while still retaining one of the highest royalty percentages in the business. Hybrid publisher All categories
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Publishing Push LTD
We have taken new authors and helped them sell thousands of copies all over the world. We have worked with best selling authors and helped them increase sales by over 500%. We obsess over book marketing. We even wrote a book on it. We are now seeking excellent novels we can publish. Hybrid publisher Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future United Kingdom |
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ScienceThrillers Media
STM is a boutique hybrid publisher specializing in fiction and popular nonfiction with scientific or medical themes, within any genre. This overlaps with, but is not the same as, SciFi/speculative fiction. Hybrid publisher Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Health, Fitness & Dieting, Science Worldwide |
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Seven Hearts Publishing, LLC
We Are The Hottest Start-Up In The Book Publishing Business. We'll Get You Published! Hybrid publisher Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture Worldwide |
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WiDo Publishing / E.L. Marker
250 copies • Completed manuscript. Hybrid publisher Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, History, Journalism, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Travel Worldwide |
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Authors Unite
250 copies • Partial manuscript. Service publisher Children Fiction, Christian Fiction, Comics & Graphic Novels, Commercial Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBT Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Mind & Body, Mythology & Folk Tales, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Women's Fiction, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Children Non-Fiction, Christian Non-Fiction, Communication Skills, Corporate Culture, Crafts & Hobbies, Creativity, Current Affairs, Economics, Education, Entrepreneurship & Small Business, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Humor & Entertainment, Journalism, LGBT Non-Fiction, Management & Leadership, Marketing & Sales, Mindfulness & Happiness, Money & Investment, Motivation & Inspiration, Nature & Environment, Parenting, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Philosophy, Politics & Social Sciences, Popular Science, Productivity & Time Management, Psychology, Reference, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Sex & Relationships, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel, YA Non-Fiction, Science Fiction & Humour Worldwide |
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BookFuel
From Manuscript to Market. Service publisher Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide |
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Dog Ear Publishing
A publishing services company dedicated to delivering amazing results to our authors. From manuscript development and editing to book design to effective marketing tools, Dog Ear delivers. Our dedicated team of publishing professionals have spent years in both the 'traditional' and self publishing worlds. Service publisher Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide |
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Happy Self Publishing
100 copies • Completed manuscript. Service publisher Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide |
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JETLAUNCH
100 copies • Completed manuscript. Service publisher
Worldwide |
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Publish Monster
Get your ebooks into the biggest stores and keep the 100% of your royalties. Amazon, Apple iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, Nook by Barnes & Noble and more. Service publisher Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide |
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ShieldCrest Publishing
ShieldCrest are book publishers based in the UK who fill that vital gap for talented authors where mainstream publishers are unwilling to give them that chance. We strive for excellence and invest in our authors and are listed in FreeIndex as the number one independent publisher in the UK for price quality and service rated author satisfaction. We publish books of all genres including; fiction, historical, biographies and children's books. Service publisher Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide |
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Virtualbookworm Publishing
Virtualbookworm (VBW) Publishing was founded by a writer frustrated by the long wait time and occasional heartbreak often associated with the publishing industry. After researching the various "alternatives," he discovered a number of subsidy publishers that would publish any author ... for a price. Unfortunately, many reviewers (and readers) thumb their noses at books from such houses, since all it takes is cash to get published by them. Service publisher Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide |
Dex was stuck in traffic on 2nd Arterial. A truck accident had blocked the exit duct and bored-looking transit cops were standing around chatting while the driver of the Golgi Prime-Mover squatted ashamedly in front of his wrecked vehicle. Lines of cars stretched for miles up the arterial, their skins glistening in the waning sun. Occasionally the forlorn honk of a frustrated driver reverberated through the afternoon heat.
Dex was a hunter and a collector, wearing a patchy calfskin coat, fresh off the bone, stolen from the flock of an inattentive drover a manger on his way back into town. He had recently returned to the city carrying the head of a mutant caught terrorizing a small camp of prospectors in the proteome pits over at Bacchus Marsh. This had earned him enough credit to pass the season, but he kept working, chasing a collection job for a private client who was after a teen’s DNA, probably to check the little deuce wasn’t his son.
Dex knew the boy would be at the arena watching the opening battle of the season, barracking on the blows with every other bloodthirsty couch potato. It was a guess from the gut, the kind Dex relied on – the exact thing he was paid for. It was going to be difficult finding his target in a crowd of thousands; tracking was always hard, but sampling was easy – snatch anything bio-vital: hair, nails, skin, body fluid.
He held himself above the restrained haunches of his panther-cycle – the latest in synthetic biology, a sophisticated hybrid of animal and machine – and shifted his thumbs along the motor-cortex to relax the tense sinews in her hind limbs. She eased down onto the road and Dex walked to the edge of the elevated arterial, gazing over the cityscape, squinting into the sun, his eyes the color of nicotine stains.
A few miles away the arena rose from the suburbs like an enormous upturned clam. In front of the arching shell was a valet and train station, both connected to the main entrance via elevated walkways that snaked circuitously towards the building with fallopian symmetry. These vast conduits surged with spectators, streaming towards the arena like blood through veins. Somewhere in that relentless flow was his target.
Dex had hunted more elusive prey than teenagers. He had chased serpentine mutants through silted riverbeds, crashed through dense forest following lithe primates swinging high in the trees, tracked stealthy felines through endless marshes. He had never lost a target and despite the hopeless odds of finding one boy in a crowd of thousands, he felt confident.
He kicked his panther-cycle and the cat purred to life. He turned her round and headed the wrong way up the arterial, cars moaning loudly as he slipped over bonnets and dodged through the narrow gaps. He leaned into the soft curve of the panther’s back while his hands delicately manipulated the controls: a tether to the left, a nudge to the right.
At a section where the road dipped lower, he shifted into the outside lane and leaped a motionless car. The driver hammered his horn, but Dex was already away, flying from the edge of the arterial and onto the roofs below, landing with a crash on a quiet suburban bungalow.
He padded through the backyard and leaped the fence into a narrow laneway, swinging hard right into a wider street lined with the low bungalows typical of outer suburbia – an endless collocation of bondi blue, lemon yellow and coral pink. Every house was an incidental variation on the next, as if the same design had been passed from architect to architect, with each accidentally embellishing it, like a game of Chinese whispers.
Dex expanded the sat-map in his peripheral vision. The back blocks of Melbourne were a complex network of narrow lanes, one-way streets and cul-de-sacs. The map arranged itself, zooming and adjusting, controlled by imperceptible movements of his pupil. He selected the arena and requested annotated directions.
Easing back on his cat he padded quietly through the calm Sunday afternoon, passing a group of children playing in a narrow lane. They were surprised to see such an exotic creature in their neighborhood. Dex’s coat was made from shreds of black and tan snapped together with studs – his face, roughly speaking, fitted the same description. Down the middle of his bald head was a mohawk of tendrils that writhed and wriggled like a conga line of worms. He had a row of sharp spines across his forehead and a delicate spider web grafted to his neck. The neighborhood kids watched in reverent silence as he disappeared.
Half an hour later, after negotiating the tangle of throughways, he arrived at a flat expanse surrounding the arena and galloped for the valet, dropping off his bike and following the elevated walkways.
Inside the arena there were security guards everywhere, busy directing people, answering questions and subduing over-stimulated spectators. Dex grinned as he approached a guard standing alone outside an unmarked door. The man grinned back.
‘Excuse me…’ began Dex, but the guard was unconscious before the sentence finished. He caught the slumping body in his arms and opened the door, shuffling them both into the supply closet with a skillful waltzing movement.
‘I’m sorry,’ Dex breathed, ‘but I’m sure your medical plan will cover this.’
With a curt movement Dex popped the guard’s eyeball into his cupped palm, snipped the ocular nerve and deftly re-attached it to his own system. He sprayed a dark substance into the vacant eye-socket to staunch the bleeding, then left quickly.
Five steps into the crowd and the arena’s surveillance system had organized itself in Dex’s peripheral vision – access to the security network, hundreds of eyes, every security guard optically linked.
As he passed a guard he nodded at the man and smiled, watching himself smiling and nodding in his own peripheral vision.
A Wrigglers Pie sat way out at the end of the tray – enough clearance for Dan1 to snatch and gobble before the vend could object. He was three steps away with the pie already wriggling its way through his alimentary canal before the vend found him and threw a tentacle around his ankle, complaining loudly, ‘Sir, you’ll have to pay for that pie.’
Dan1 stamped on the slim pseudopod until it squished and broke. The vend boomed in a deeper voice, ‘Dan1 Kallikak, you have been identified. Your account will be...’ But he was away before the vend could finish, the slim fingers of the pie kneading the lining of his stomach.
He raced across the crowded walkway towards the arena, his light-brown hair wiry and chaotic, like shaky lines on an etcha-sketch, his face creased with the dirt and worry usually reserved for the long term homeless. Even wearing baggy pants and a hoody he looked older than fifteen; his hurried stride lacked confidence, more like a quick shuffle, hunched over and hooded down, moving through the crowd like a mouse in the undergrowth – hidden, silent, unnoticed.
A crush of people carried him into the arena through a long colonnade of arches that looked like ribs attached to an elaborately decorated sternum. He stopped just inside and found a quiet corner to wait for his foster brother. Ten minutes passed before a creeping awareness distracted him, an ESP coming through the hydra, the slow dawn of an idea:
Sorry bro – a kitty cat wanted ur pass + i can’t refuse a cut woman – Locky
Dan1 was disappointed, but not surprised. It was not the first time he had been ditched by his foster brother at the last minute.
He reached out to his network in the hydra, a few low rent ‘friends’, mostly members of a DIYbio-clutch that troubleshoot sequencing and incubation solutions – a pathetically small collection compared to Locky’s hordes. A few of them were at the arena but their feeds were blocked, backs turned, so he figured he could watch the battle from the pit, a public viewing area in the bowel of the arena, exclusively reserved for Melbourne’s most unwanted outcasts – not a place to be alone, filled with scum revved up on endo and looking for someone to pick on.
The aggressive crowd threw him around as he headed down the narrow passageway. He emerged into the bright roar of the arena, twelve enormous balconies teetering above him, stacked like an elliptical wedding cake, packed with more than a million fired-up fans.
He shifted along the crowded strip through a loud and agitated mob, the battlefield’s sandy surface turned warm gold under the houselights, stained with patches of blood – maroon, deep blue, and dark viridian – the cracked bones of past competitors pressed up against a high mesh fence at the edge of the field. He made his way towards the fence to find a good place to watch.
The crowd was a throbbing tumult of biopunk splitters – he passed a group of Modified Angels, their bodies bristling with spines, adventitious appendages and writhing tattoos. The splitters had marked their territory; the reek of piss stung his eyes, a blurred gang sign flickered in his peripheral vision. He grimaced and clutched his temples to massage the hack from his perineurals.
Among the splitters were tiny dryads – diminutive young girls sifting through the crowd at about hip-height, clear white skin shining beneath darkened hoods. Splitters and dryads always appeared together, like groupies and rockstars, or plaque and tooth decay.
He reached the Slayers of Leviathan, a particularly nasty mob, and pushed on, attempting to go unnoticed, his head down. He was exceptionally talented at going unnoticed – not blending into the background, but actually being background, like human MUZAK.
He gripped his hood and pulled it forward, accidentally stumbling onto one of the dryads. The fine-boned whiteness of her cheeks accentuated her shocked face. She cowered beneath him and bowed her head, her dark hood hiding peppered pixie eyes. Dan1 went to apologize but was seized by the shoulder and violently spun around.
‘What are you doing to my little friend?’ The growl came from an enormous cracked leather coat. Across the pitted skin on the splitter’s neck was a rose-colored scar, surrounded by uneven patches of coarse hair. A raw red hand emerged from the coat and lifted Dan1 by the throat. ‘Did you touch my girl?’
‘Mgnng,’ was all Dan1 could reply before a wasp-waisted woman whirled from the crowd, swore violently and spat, reaching forward to push something hard into the splitter’s neck. Dan1 gagged at the heavy smell of smoldering rubber. The coat crumpled to the ground, taking Dan1 with it.
‘That’s for cheating.’ The tall woman kicked the fallen splitter hard in the stomach with a pointed leather shoe. Dan1 tried to scramble away but a fence of legs kept him trapped inside the circle. The bitch kicked out again, this time catching Dan1 across the chest. ‘And that’s for doing it with a dryad freak.’
‘Don’t call me a freak,’ shrieked the offended dryad. The bitch laughed and flicked her pointed shoe at the small robed figure.
Almost immediately a wave of dryads swarmed the bitch, their piping voices raising a rallying cry. Dan1 jumped to his feet and scrammed, pushing against a tide of tiny people.
He finally reached the fence and clung on, jostling for space against an enormous organik. He wasn’t in the mood to take shit, and even though the organik was wearing a preposterous orange cardigan, orange stovepipe pants and had a ragged sprout of green hair that made him look like a giant carrot, Dan1 clung on and shoved against him. Under normal circumstances a giant carrot wouldn’t be much of a neighbor, but in the pit it was his best option.
He threaded a hand through the mesh and threw his hood over to block the organik’s smell. He’d found a good place to watch the opening battle of the gladiorg season, which was just moments away.
Dear All Who Supported the Biohacker's Almanac,
We have a publisher!
It has taken a while because I was in discussion with a larger group that published …
Dear All Who Supported the Biohacker's Almanac,
Firstly, apologies that this is the first time you've heard from me. There was a small technical error …
Looking forward to seeing this crush it :) super excited to read The Biohacker's Almanac!
better spell my name right
Done -
I got two - but I want first right of refusal on the film option!! ;)
Looks spot on!
Well done James.
I look forward to reading soon.
Drops us a message next time you're in Melbourne,
Rob
Well done, James! I'm excited to read it. Poppy x
Exciting work Jamo!
Good Luck James! Looking forward to checking it out!
A background in Intellectual Property law? I'm IN!
Excited to read this!!! Yay!
Smashing it!
on Oct. 4, 2016, 9:25 p.m.
Thanks, good luck!