I, Cassandra | Chapter 8 | What's Left Of Me

She is a prisoner who can alter reality. He is a dead soldier brought back to life as a sentient machine.2086. In a dying world divided into a luxurious enclave for the super-rich in the far north of Canada and Greenland, and the billions left to survive outside its impenetrable walls, Cassandra’s ability to alter reality marks her as a valuable asset to Global Command.Lost in a terrorist attack to the United Freedom Fighters, she is discovered in the seedy underworld of London by an elite soldier who does not learn who she is until far too late, and he too becomes an asset owned by faceless powers.Resurrected as a near-immortal machine, his first mission is to extract her from London and return her to the ones intent to use her gift to give the rich a second chance at life in a new world.As the world collapses into its death throes, he fights to protect the one he loves, to save her from what is to come, and to give her a second chance . . . no matter the cost or how long he has to wait.A forbidden love affair that transcends time, the end of the world, and what it means to be human.Honorable Mention - Writer’s Digest 9th Annual Self-Published e-Book Awards 2021Genre: Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Cyber-Punk, Dark RomanceKeywords: chosen one, collapse of society, greenland and nunavut, billionaire bunker, forbidden love, cryogenicsComps: Elysium meets Altered Carbon“A stunningly innovative sci-fi novel.” — The BookLife Prize Critic’s Review“Surprising and unexpected.” — Writer’s Digest“The scale of I, Cassandra is truly awesome.” — C.N. Vair, Author“Stunning SF on a mythic scale.” — Kirkus Reviews“A believable extrapolation of our current situation.” — Judge, 9th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-Book AwardsContent warnings: violence, human trafficking, rape, suicide, drug use, languageSpice Level: 3/5 At least one intimate scene with the reader present, euphemistic language for act and body parts. Non-pornographic descriptions. No smutty language.© E A Carter 2021 All Rights Reserved © Michal Karcz Cover ArtExcerpt from Chapter 8:I lift my fist to knock on Blue’s door, hesitating, holding back, despite knowing de Pommier’s avatar is waiting in the dining room, a cup of coffee in front of her. Blue has only had one day to recover. It’s not enough. Exhaustion seeps from her, even when she’s sleeping. She needs rest, not this. Not whatever de Pommier has planned, which I sense from the general’s tense demeanour isn’t going to be nice. But what can I do to stop the wheels of Global Command? I’m vitally aware of my vulnerability, of what can be done to me. Akron was clear enough how easy it would be to remove my free will, and de Pommier made sure I understood she can shut me down with a single command.I let out a heavy breath, and rap the door.“Come in,” Blue answers, her voice muffled through the thick wood of the door.I find her sitting on the bed, staring at a dark wall screen, no longer offering a vista from another world. She’s still dressed in Henrik’s old pyjamas, her thin frame lost in its billows of excess cotton. I endure a primal urge to gather her in my arms, to shelter her from herself.She tilts her head at the screen. “So it wasn’t real, after all.”“It was, once. A long time ago. Before us.”She presses down the folds of material bunched over her legs. “I knew it was too good to be true.”I take a step back and glance at the open door. “I need you to come with me,” I say, worrying I’m leading her out of the frying pan into the fire. “There is someone here to see you.”Blue quirks an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Let me guess. My new jailor?”“You aren’t a prisoner. You are being protected,” I say, thinking of the half-dozen Elites added to the floor’s security since her arrival.Blue looks up at me, dubious.“She’s the one who sent me to get you,” I say, pushing aside the memory of the berating I received for disobeying the general’s orders: Do that again and I’ll wipe your memory.“Your rescue cost over a million dollars,” I offer when Blue remains silent.“Hmmm.” Blue gets to her feet, slow, swaying a little. “I would be flattered if it were me you went to all this effort for, but you didn’t, did you?” She points to her head. “You want what’s in here, I just happen to be stuck with it.”“Not me,” I say, as she slips past, careful not to touch me even though I am taking up most of the space.“Maybe,” she says, her back to me, “but what can you do? What can any of us do? They have all the power. We are things to them, tools. Nothing more.”I smother a curse and catch up to her as she approaches the dining table, her eyes on de Pommier’s avatar—ignoring the spectacular view of a Nordic coastline, overshadowed by storm clouds hulking over a roiling, black sea.“Cassandra Vallis,” the general’s avatar says, gesturing for Blue to take a seat. She glances up at me, and tilts her head for me to fall back to the kitchen’s island. In front of it, I stand at ease, and feign disinterest—but I’m listening, using every aural enhancement they have granted me.de Pommier’s avatar takes a sip of coffee. She sets it down with a quiet thump. “I owe you an apology. Long overdue.”Buy the bookI’ve been using ElevenLabs for my audiobook and I love it. If you use my link to sign up, I get a commission which helps support my work. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eacarter.substack.com/subscribe