BUGGED POST - TO BE REPOSTED - ALSO WILL BE REWRITING ENTIRE INTRO CHAPTER AS PER FEEDBACK... Red Eden: Sons of Mars | Episode 1: Perseus's Revenge
If you're reading this, then you must have clicked on it while it's in the boostfeed. My apologies. This post is bugged. The banner image won't show up, but I already boosted. I'll be reposting this. Also, I'll be re-writing the entire intro chapter as per the feedback I've received from a fellow author. Here's the link to the new chapter:
You can still read this chapter if you want just to compare and contrast. What you're seeing is the process of novel-writing in action!
Thanks @Butonfly for the valuable feedback.
-Michael E Vigil
Synopsis:
An android assassin awakens after enduring a hundred years of torment inside a virtual hell created by the very tyrant he must kill. His name is Perseus. He seeks vengeance and the chance to fulfill his life's purpose. He is joined by allies from another world and another time, the descendants of those who fled to Mars during the tyrannical reign of Gabriella Romero, self-styled Mother of All Creation. Will Perseus and the Sons of Mars be able to stop her before she becomes too powerful to oppose?
Episode List can be found at this link:
https://www.minds.com/ME2007Vigil/blog/red-eden-sons-of-mars-episode-list-a-minds-exclusive-preview-893255741940830208
Episode 1: Perseus's Revenge
A woman and two heavily armed men entered a bedroom-sized chamber. The woman wore a white, body-fitting spacesuit that had golden stripes running down her shoulders and flank. Her helmet had a bioluminescent teal stripe running down the back, the bright glow indicating that the cyanobacteria inside her helmet were actively recycling her CO2 into oxygen. One of the men wore a blood-red suit fitted with carbon-fibre plates. His fearsome helmet was shaped like a dragon’s head. The other man wore a grey spacesuit with a black camo-pattern that highlighted his powerful muscles.
The trio approached a man who was strapped to a table in the middle of the chamber. The man had a shaved head. He wore a simple white t-shirt and a grey pair of boxers. A blue ring pulsed underneath him. He seemed to be in a coma.
“Looks like one of Gabriella’s clone soldiers,” the man in the blood-red suit remarked.
“She’s got him strapped down like he’s dangerous,” the man in the grey muscle suit said.
The man in the blood-red suit patted his rifle. “All the more reason to kill him.”
“On the other hand, the enemy of my enemy...”
The woman approached the computer console next to the table and tapped the screen. She gasped. “He’s been trapped inside a simulation for over a hundred years.”
“If he’s been lying here for a hundred years, I’d expect to see a corpse,” said the man in the grey muscle suit.
“According to the file, he’s an android,” the woman said.
The man in the blood-red suit snorted. “Another one? Great. So what’s he been dreaming about for the last century?”
“Let’s find out.” The woman tapped a button on the console.
The man on the table opened his eyes with a gasp. He started convulsing.
The trio stood by and merely watched. The man in the blood-red suit yawned.
The android became still. Panting, he turned his gaze towards the trio. “Who are you?”
The woman stepped forward. “My name is Ellen Truss. These are my colleagues, Jack Hanlon,” she indicated at the man in the grey muscle suit, “and Erwin Yu,” she indicated at the man in the blood-red suit. “We’re from Mars. Our people have returned to Earth to build a new home amidst the ruins of Eden.”
The android closed his eyes. “How long have I been here?”
“Over a hundred years,” Ellen replied.
“Gabriella…”
“That ancient tyrant woke from cryogenic stasis not too long ago. We fought her clone army. We took this underground facility from her. We drove her off this island.”
“Much has changed since last I was awake.”
“Tell us who you are.”
“My name is Perseus.”
Jack tilted his head. “You actually have a name?”
Perseus opened his eyes. “The clones you speak of do not have names. But I was named by my creator.”
“Who made you?” Ellen asked.
“The Firstborn, Anton.”
“That supposed to mean something to us?” Erwin asked.
Perseus narrowed his eyes at Erwin. “He was Gabriella’s firstborn. Her most trusted general.” He pulled at the straps tying him down.
“Who put you here?” Ellen asked.
“She did,” Perseus answered.
“Why?”
“She discovered that I was not one of her children. So she imprisoned me within my own mind. For the last one hundred years, I’ve been trapped in hell, tormented by demons.”
Ellen shuddered. “Why did Anton create you?”
Perseus glowered. “To kill Gabriella.”
“I knew you’d be a friend,” Jack said with a smile.
Perseus looked to Jack. “You are her enemies. I can help you hunt her.”
“I don’t think so,” Erwin said.
Ellen explained, “We’ve encountered other androids like you throughout this island. One of them explained to us that you are susceptible to being mind-controlled by Gabriella should you come near her or one of her transmission towers. That makes you and all your kind a dangerous liability to our young colony.”
“Not I,” Perseus said. “Anton made me immune to her powers of mind control.”
“So you say,” Erwin muttered.
“Besides,” Ellen said, “we’re not sure you’re actually sapient. We Martians have never dabbled with synthetic consciousness. We are very curious about how that brain of yours works.”
Perseus grimaced. “Want to dissect me and prod my insides?”
Ellen stepped forward and leaned over the android. “That depends. Should you and your kind be considered as moral agents? We are conducting tests on them as we speak.”
“I really don’t think that’s necessary,” Jack muttered.
Erwin grimaced with a shake of his head.
Perseus glared at Ellen. “What tests? What does it take to be considered a moral agent?”
Ellen slowly circled around the table. “A moral agent is defined as an entity capable of moral reasoning or an entity capable of harbouring consciousness that has the potential for moral reasoning.”
“And what do you mean by moral reasoning?” Perseus asked.
“Can you follow a logical moral argument?” Ellen stopped pacing and glared at Perseus. “Are there rules that we should all live by, we being moral agents?”
Perseus held her gaze for several seconds. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to live like an animal.”
Ellen gave a subtle nod. “If these rules are universal, then any rule that applies to you must also apply to me. True or false?”
“True.”
“It follows that universal rules must be reciprocal. If you permit yourself to do ‘X’ unto others, then you must permit others to do ‘X’ unto you. True or false?”
“True.”
“If I hit you, may you hit me?”
“Yes.”
“If I imprison you and force you to live through one hundred years of hell, may you do the same to me?”
Perseus smirked. “Yes.”
“You are a moral agent.” Ellen tapped a button on the console.
The straps around Perseus’s body retreated into the table. He sat up and flexed his limbs. “Thank you. About my offer?”
“You may be a moral agent,” Ellen said, “but you’re still a liability. We have no reason to trust you.”
Perseus rolled his neck and shoulders. “How can I prove myself to you?”
“Why are you so eager to hunt down Gabriella?”
“It’s what I was created for. It is what drives me. She is a tyrant, and I despise tyrants.”
“Interesting. I’m very curious about the psychology of your kind. I wonder if it’s anything like ours.”
“I’ve been told we’re not so different. The only difference is that we know what we’re here for.” Perseus poked Ellen in the chest. “You humans have to figure it out on your own.”
She smirked. “I envy that.”
Perseus hopped off the table and stood tall on his bare feet. “I know things about Gabriella that will help you track and kill her.”
“Such as?” Ellen asked.
“The location of the nearest Creation Vault. She’s probably heading there now. If you don’t stop her, she will have the resources she’ll need to rebuild Eden and eliminate her foes.”
“Tell us where it is,” Erwin said.
“Not until you agree to let me help you hunt her down.”
Erwin walked up to Perseus and growled in the android’s face. “You’re a persistent bastard, aren’t you? No deal.”
“Hold on,” Ellen said. “If we can get to this creation vault before she does, we’d have a massive advantage over her.”
“Precisely,” Perseus said.
Ellen offered him her hand. “Welcome to the team. The Sons of Mars Mercenary Company.”
“You gotta be kiddng,” Erwin said. “He’s not Martian. He’s not even human. He looks exactly like one of them!”
“Which will make it easier for me to infiltrate their ranks, no?” Perseus asked.
“Jack, Erwin,” Ellen said, “When you’re ready, take the VTOL to the British Isles. Bring Perseus with you. Give him the chance to prove himself.”
Perseus arched his left eyebrow. “Ah, so you’ve narrowed it down to the right island.”
“We have eyes and ears everywhere,” Ellen said. “We’ve tracked her to the British Isles. You can tell us exactly where on the archipelago she is going.”
Perseus dipped his head. “As soon as we get there.”
Ellen looked to Jack then Erwin. “If Perseus betrays us, kill him.”
Red Eden: Sons of Mars is a sequal to my first book, Red Eden: Homeworld Bound. Red Eden: Sons of Mars is a standalone novella, so you DO NOT need to read my first book.
My first book, Red Eden: Homeworld Bound, can be downloaded for free at this link:
https://www.books2read.com/u/31xl7W
Red Eden: Homeworld Bound, both hard copy and e-book, can be purchased on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D56YKNV
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Thank you so much for reading. Cheers!
Michael E. Vigil