Saving the World with “Conscience”

Hello Bloglandia!

Recently, I had the exceptional honor of being asked by author, book blogger, and blogging buddy Jonny Pongratz to be one of the beta readers for his sci-fi short story, Conscience. Because I was hunting around for some way to procrastinate from my own wiring, I agreed.

And holy uploaded brainwaves, Batman! This story was amazing. It’s got an evil enterprise, it’s got people fighting against mind control, it’s got brain uploads into robots, it’s got action, and it’s even got a touch of romance.

It’s kind of a long short story, but it’s so perfectly paced that those pages just fly by. The action scenes truly make you feel like you’re there. The dialogue is engaging. And the whole concept of the story plays out perfectly.

And, check out the cover…Wow!!!!

As you can tell, I enjoyed Conscience. So much so, that I didn’t hesitate to share my enthusiasm and encourage you guys to go out and get the story for yourself. Well, not “go out” because of the whole virus thing and because Conscience is available on Amazon, but you know….

Anyway, I’ve got the official blurb and an excerpt below, but if you’re already itching to give Conscience a whirl, you can find it for only 0.99 (USD) on

Amazon (US)

Amazon (UK)

Amazon (CA)

Amazon (AU)

Or copy and paste B08FRK8DD2 into the search bar of your local Amazon store

Blurb:

Rory Bennels lives in a world ruled by a business entity known as the Corporation. For years he’s executed cerebral uploads for the recently deceased, but when the famed anarchist Epher Lore ends up in his lab, a series of events occur that shakes Rory’s world to the core.

Excerpt:

“We’re losing him,” the surgeon’s tense voice cut through the viewing room’s speaker.

Rory Bennels leaned against the glass to the operating room as the surgeon barked orders at the nurses and red plated medbots tending to the man splayed out on the surgery table. The patient’s body seized in violent tremors, blood oozing through wounds in his forehead, chest, and abdomen. Rory stared on in concern, his skin tingling as he recognized the man. 

Epher Lore, the last leader of the Free Thinkers movement.

From his digital news updates, Rory knew of the Corporation’s efforts to track down this anarchist. However, as he looked upon Epher’s broken body, curiosity sparked in his mind.

This man, dangerous? He couldn’t have been older than twenty-five. What was it about him that made the Corporation nervous?

A sharp zap at the base of his neck made Rory clench his teeth. Heart pounding, he looked to the watch on his wrist. It flashed red in quick bursts. Crap! That was the second time this week. If he kept upsetting his emotion-monitoring implant, they’d come to clean him. Like the Corporation said, ‘Emotions lead to questions. Questions lead to independent thought. Independent thought leads to anarchy.’

Rory straightened his back, reciting the Corporation’s Preamble to suppress his deviant thoughts. We, the subordinates of the Corporation, in order to form a more perfect human, establish authority, ensure uniformity … 

He glanced at his black-banded watch again and gave a sigh of relief. Blue skies. 

The harsh monotonous buzz of the heart monitor blared through the speakers, demanding Rory’s attention. The surgeon took off his gloves and told the one-eyed medbots to record the time of death. He exited the operating room, Rory mulling over the peculiar situation before the surgeon entered the viewing room moments later.

“I take it you’re Rory Bennels?” the surgeon asked in a cold, clinical tone.

“That’s right.”

He handed Rory a thin tablet that activated upon his touch. “Retrieve this man’s mind. Upload it to the Corporation mainframe.”

Rory scanned the digital dossier, then gazed upon Epher’s covered body on the gurney.

“Is something wrong?” 

“Epher Lore, isn’t he–“

“That information is not relevant,” the surgeon snapped. He grimaced at Rory with calculating gray eyes. “Are you sweating?”

Stay calm, stay calm. Rory maintained eye contact. “Minor synaptic misfire,” he explained, flashing his watch that glowed a healthy bright blue.

The surgeon nodded, ushering Rory to follow him to collect the body.