Monday, October 14, 2013

Powers of the Mind and Post-Apocalyptic Worlds: Welcome to Interchron

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As most of you know, I'm writing a dystopian saga called Interchron. I'm sure you can see the purchase links in the sidebars.

 For those who haven't read them, I thought I'd go over the back story of the world they're set in. The world of Interchron is a futuristic, post-apocalyptic one, where society has devoured itself alive with wide-open eyes. Some years in our future, a scientist known only as Smith succeeds in mapping the human brain in it's entirety. What he discovers is that every decision we make as humans, every attribute we take on, everything we observe in any way that influences us, that changes us or otherwise defines us, shows up in our brain chemistry. 
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Smith believes this to be a miraculous discovery. Diseases of the brain and mind--everything from phobias to mental illness to personality disorders--can be rooted out and treated. Because the brain is linked to the body, physical maladies show up there too, and can be similarly treated at the root cause rather than just the symptom. 

 As people begin to explore and manipulate their brains using these new discoveries, they find ways to develop super-brain powers. Most are mental powers that manipulate neurochemical energy and boost the quality of life. They include things like Healing, Protection through mental shields, and in some rare cases, Time Travel...


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Other people in society, however, draw different conclusions than Smith does. They believe that, because something shows up in brain chemistry, it means that it's inborn and the individual cannot be held accountable for it. Because all choices--including bad ones like immorality and criminal behavior--shows up there, psychiatrists claim that such things are not the perpetrator's fault. Criminals cease to be punished for their crimes. Psychiatrists become the most powerful people in society.

 Over years, society dissolves into bands of roving gangs, trying to control one another. Scared people use their super-brain powers to link their minds on a mental level, becoming collective entities. As the years go by, more and more people join collectives, and humans living as individuals become a rarity.

 By the time Interchron comes into existence, the collectives are actively trying to take over the world and the few remaining individuals are hunted. Interchron is a community hidden in the shelter of a mountain, that fosters individuality and fights against collectives for individual freedom. 

 Enter our team of heroes, up against the powerful collectives to save the world...

 What do you think of my dystopian back story? What does it make you think of? Any suggestions?

 If you're interested, check out the book descriptions below. If you click on the cover images, it will take you to the Goodreads pages. Happy Monday!
Persistence of Vision (Book 1 of Interchron)

 After experiencing a traumatic time loss, Maggie is plagued by a barrage of images she can't explain. When she's attacked by a creep with a spider's web tattoo, she is saved by Marcus, a man she's never met, but somehow remembers. He tells her that both he and her creepy attacker are from a future in which individuals are being murdered by collectives, and Marcus is part of the rebellion. The collectives have acquired time travel and they plan to enslave the human race throughout all of history. The flashes Maggie has been seeing are echoes of lost memories, and the information buried deep within them is instrumental in defeating the collective hives. 
To preserve the individuality of mankind, Maggie must try to re-discover stolen memories, re-kindle friendships she has no recollection of, and wade through her feelings for the mysterious Marcus, all while dodging the tattooed assassins the collectives keep sending her way. If she can't fill the holes in her memory and find the answers to stop the collectives, the world both in her time and in all ages past and future will be doomed to enslavement in the grey, mediocre collectives. As the danger swirls around her and the collectives close in, Maggie realizes she must make a choice: stand out or fade away...

And don't miss book 2:

Quantum Entanglement (Book 2 of Interchron)

 Five months after traveling to a post-apocalyptic future where collectives reign supreme and individuals have been hunted to the verge of extinction, Maggie Harper was returned to her own time until the threat to her life could be neutralized. She thought Marcus and the others would return for her within a few weeks, and now she’s beginning to worry.  
When travelers from the future finally show up to collect her, it’s not who she expected. With the return of her memories, she wants more than ever to see Marcus again, but a snake-like woman whose abilities are a perfect match for Maggie’s, an injured Traveler, and decades of civil unrest to wade through all stand in the way of their reunion. 
Meanwhile, Marcus and Karl traipse through the countryside, trying to neutralize Colin, who’s promised to brutalize and murder Maggie if he can get his hands on her. When a collective woman is left for dead, Marcus heals her, hoping she’ll be the key to killing Colin and bringing Maggie back. But she may prove as much a hindrance as a help. 
The team struggles to get their bearings, but things happen faster than they know. The collectives are coalescing, power is shifting, and the one called B is putting sinister plans into action. If the team can’t reunite and get a handle on the situation, their freedom and individuality—perhaps their very identity—will be ripped away before they can catch their breath. 
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2 comments :

  1. Alex J. CavanaughOctober 14, 2013 at 9:08 AM

    Fascinating! While I don't buy that all things are inborn and the person isn't accountable, I can see removing things deemed unacceptable might cause problems as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownOctober 14, 2013 at 9:19 AM

    Great images! Both convey the heart chilling hopelessness of a true distopian world.

    ReplyDelete

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