Echo: A Dystopian Science Fiction Novel

My graphene-woven trench coat flutters behind me as I sprint across a steel beam, hundreds of feet above the streets of Neo Tokyo.  Sleek clusters of Cynosure drones swoop in behind me, peppering the air with a barrage of ordnance.  Sparks plink and snap beside my heels as I reach the end of the beam and—

—HUP!—

—push off with a strong kick, bicycling my limbs to balance my fall.  I plunge thirty feet down in the space of a heartbeat, then point my grapnel-gun at the shadowed side of an imposing high-rise.  I pull the trigger, shooting a decelerant cable out from the muzzle in a puff of mist.  A second later, I”m slicing in a long, parabolic arc across the moonless night, several dozen drones hot on my tail.

(Good thing my grapnel-gun is the latest model; two years back—in 2138—Novelty Instruments made a bunch of defective ones)

But that’s cold comfort—I’ve still got a bunch of air-bots hot on my tail.  The whir of their chain-fire cannons sounds in my ear as I complete the arc of my swing and press the cable-release on the side of my gun.  It breaks off the muzzle with a loud SNICK, and I collapse into a roll after falling ten feet down.  Surge to my feet, and—

Shit.  Alleyway.  Dead end.

I turn around, ready to run into the streets, but the drones swoop low and ring me in.  Their gyro-stabilized turbines emit a soft, menacing buzz.

“KENT WAYNE.  YOUR DESTINY IS NOT TO BE A FREEWHEELING, WELL-ENDOWED WRITER, BUT A MEEK, FINGER-TWIDDLING ACCOUNTANT.  SURRENDER YOURSELF TO THE CORPERATI.”

I bare my teeth in a rakish grin.  “Not a chance, smeg-snorters.”  Then I open my eReader to Echo, activating its reality distortion powers.  Magic flash.

A colored circle begins spinning on my forehead, projecting out from the skin and forming a three-dimensional, iridescent wheel of fractalized mandalas.  The drones begin firing on it but to no avail; their rounds ricochet off its surface in bright, stuttering streams.  A second later the contents of my imagination begin pouring from its center:  mechanized Batmans, giant-wienered dragons, a half-ape version of Chuck Norris…

They mow through my enemies with savage aplomb, tearing apart transistors and flight circuitry between talons, batarangs, and roundhouse kicks.  In the midst of the chaos, I run out from the alleyway and into the night.

Ha HA!  The adventures of Kent Wayne—sci-fi author, professional Man Whore, and master imagineer—continue!  😀

Have the soulless forces of the Corperati cornered you in a dystopian future alleyway?  Never fear!  Get Echo Vol. 1 on Kindle here:  Vol. 1 on Kindle.  Vol. 2 on Kindle here:  Vol.2 on Kindle  Vol. 3 on Kindle here:  Vol. 3 on Kindle  Vol.4 on Kindle here:  Vol. 4 on Kindle  Echo Vol. 1 & 2 Combined Edition here:  Combined Edition  If you wanna hear me babble on about anything and everything, and strain my FREAKIN’ BRAIN, then here’s a link to my podcast:  Strained Brains!  It is on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Play!  Please give it a listen and a five-star review!  Here’s the miscellaneous gear that I use to try and become an uber-human:  Optimization, and last but not least, my buddy Jumar Balacy has made a supercool microsite at kentwaynebrain.com!  Go check out his computer-based wizardry  🙂 🙂 😀

Hold on!  I just got approved to be an Amazon affiliate!  If you’re going to buy ANY product from Amazon, and you’d like to support my efforts for absolutely free, then simply click on one of the Echo links I’ve provided—they’ll send you to Echo’s Amazon page—and THEN buy whatever product you wish.  Amazon gives me a small referral fee each time this happens!  In this manner you can support my books, musings, podcast, zany ads, or my adventures along the noble path known as The Way of The Man Child WITHOUT spending any more money than you were already going to!  Should you do this, I vow to send you a silent blessing, causing your genitals to adopt the optimum size, shape, smell, and death-ray attachment of choice that paralyzes your enemies with fear and envy!  Entire worlds will bow before your nether parts!  😲💪 😜