This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.
It's 2054, 17 years after the Great Debacle that killed billions. Long-time high school wrestling buddies Sam and Ross sit in their favorite bar, embroiled in a pointless discussion about the new anti-aging / longevity treatments that are being offered to extend life for hundreds of years.
Sam argues that it's foolish to even consider these therapies given the abysmal state of their post-Debacle world and the chaos they endured in the last few decades. Ross, however, is intrigued by the idea and longs for the chance to experience a longer life span.
Suddenly, a stranger joins them, and they can’t help but suspect that he may be an undercover thug sent to hunt down radical types who speak against the budding oligarch-controlled state. The trio continues the conversation with derision and cussing, debating both sides of longevity technology and its impacts on human society.
Will Sam and Ross get red-flagged for their aberrant opinions, and can anything useful arise from their squabbling? Probably not – but you never know.
This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.
A narcissistic, unhinged oligarch reigns over a destitute, post-apocalyptic domain in the western part of what once was America.
Sara, his communications minister, stands behind him despite his megalomania. She tells her team: 'Work is work, and you should take pride in it, even when your job is to deny, divert, distract, detract, and deceive, no matter how despicable the outcome.'
Yet this day is not going so well. Ron, her maniacal and likely AI-controlled boss, is berating his ministers, raging about a highly visible, embarrassing incident that puts his leadership in doubt. He orders Sara to develop the response - gloss over it, blame the locals, or accuse their many regional enemies of stirring up historical animosities.
But such accusations might elicit a cascade of destructive reactions from their belligerent, tech-rich adversaries. Will her efforts unwittingly set the world ablaze?
This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.
Daisy the Dumpster Dog - a Sordid Tale of Dystopian Hubris and Convenient Canine Rationalizations (But Not a Supreme Court Satire or Parody) by Blade Cort; Book 7 of 7 in the Predictable Paths series.
Daisy is enjoying a great day, eagerly awaiting the arrival of dumpster Delights. But before she can set her paws on any goodies, Rat Dog gimps-in from nowhere and mocks her oversized ears and stubby tail, then treats her friends with equal impertinence.
The sniveling, half-breed chihuahua also has the audacity to demand his fair share of dumpster Delights, angering the high-born purebreds who claim first dibs over lowly mongrels like himself.
Daisy and friends tentatively take the Rat into their lair but are soon sorry they did so. Seeking justice, he picks fights with the snootiest snouts in the land, from the lowliest pack bosses to the Fidoish Club, GogMadDog, and Swatter Bowl Mangi.
Who dares bark against the most-high Mangi when they regularly commune with the pretty dead demidog founders and purveyors of the Canistution? Who dares to mock their pedigreed interpretations that are divined after wriggling and wraggling on their backs in prescient visions of the founders' musty and most holy intentions?
Rat Dog does, in his own words (sic): 'Will you ever speak on your own behalf, or will you always follow the stinky scent to a predictable and dreary bowl of chow that someone else put out for you? If so, then roll over and be a good boy while your trainers pull at your leash and chain and bark commands at you from behind the dark doggie door.'
Given his limited peanut brain, the Rat fears nothing. Can he bring about equity in dogdom and obtain his fair share of dumpster Delights, or will he get ingloriously popped like the troublesome tick that he is?
This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.
Four billionaires conspire to control the availability of a remarkable new longevity drug, hoping to expand their obscene wealth and power through eternity while selectively choosing those deemed ‘most worthy’ of living immortal lives.
Mia Seis, a scientist responsible for the breakthrough drug, uncovers their sinister plot. She also learns that her billionaire boss just placed a death mark on a co-worker who demanded that the monumental discovery must benefit all humanity, not just the chosen few. Meanwhile, he abusively commands her to finish formulating an easily injectable solution.
Enraged and desperately seeking refuge from his outrageous ultimatums, a new friend suggests she should just do her job and forget the politics. Another new contact offers protection from her colleague’s fate. She trembles with rage towards her boss yet can't pull away from the attachment she has to her work. Will she get out safely before the axe falls?
This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.
Rick's mission is clear: to broadcast a last-ditch signal, a brilliant laser warning to alert alien civilizations about humanity's innermost secrets and anticipated downfall. But it’s 2075, and the post-apocalyptic nation-state in which he lives is ruled by oligarchs who use ironclad surveillance tech to prevent a second cataclysm. Any minor embarrassment could result in death to the perpetrator.
Despite the risk, Rick is infuriated with oppressive autocratic control and the lazy grift of humanity, and he wants to do one last meaningful thing, even if unseen aliens are the sole beneficiaries. He and Sofia execute a master plan to construct a powerful petawatt laser, then use it to bluster forth his volatile rant on the dismal state of the world.
But the long arms of the tech-rich oligarchy are quickly sniffing out his activities. Suspicion is growing fast, and he's running out of time.
This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.
Sord is a typical teenager who attends high school in Prosperity, the domed nation-state arising from the ashes of a second Great Debacle that left the species clinging to a tenuous edge. Prosperity is humanity's last gasp at establishing a long-lasting society based on key principles of compassion and kindness.
Although he is sheltered from the harsh conditions and violent encampments beyond the safety of the dome, Sord yearns for something more. He wants to experience the world as previous generations did before the Debacles destroyed everything they knew.
To help him learn about those times, his mother gives him a diary written by one of their ancestors. At first, Sord finds it tedious and boring, but he soon recognizes key parallels and senses there is more to this diary than meets the eye.
Trouble seems to trail the poor boy, however, just like it did his ancestor. After a near-death accident, he finds an ebullient new girlfriend, and together they embark on an edgy adventure to uncover the truth behind his father's mysterious disappearance. Will their quest lead them into even greater danger?
