Showing results by author "Craig A. Falconer" in All Categories

With huge funding behind them, ChronoTonic claims to have achieved the impossible. The corporation is pushing its new machine — a time machine — as the solution to Earth's problems. I'm just not buying it. They want to buzz forward in time, pick up a few technological advancements, and buzz back to apply them in the here and now. They say we can save lives and reduce suffering by learning the lessons of the future — today.

When a group of prize-winning high school graduates blasted off on a mission to space, their parents beamed with pride. When news of the disaster came in, a nation mourned. But nothing is truly as it seems.

When Kurt Jacobs imagines the ultimate gadget—one capable of replacing phones, credit cards, keys, and TVs—the idea consumes his every waking moment. When the Sycamore corporation buys into Kurt's creation and The Seed becomes a reality, his every dream comes true. Power like this has never existed. But amid all of the awe and optimism, there is far more going on behind the curtain than Kurt or anyone else could ever have predicted.

After discovering the truth behind Sycamore, tech pioneer Kurt Jacobs rejects the corporation’s offer of a new identity and chooses to fight to expose the truth. But with an overt threat against his family hanging over him, Kurt must act without being seen.

In 10 original stories, Sycamore X explores Sycamore's augmented reality dystopia through the eyes of parents, teachers, job-hunters, Sycamore employees, unwilling celebrities, and more.

In 12 original stories, this super-sized collection picks up right where Sycamore X left off by exploring the mega corporation’s augmented reality dystopia through the eyes of a varied cast of characters, some new and some familiar.

Chad Mitchell is an outsider. Born on an alien-controlled colony and with human servants for parents, a good life was never in his future. But as he develops into a remarkably fast learner and unrivaled pilot, Chad finds himself valued more and more by his autocratic alien overlords. From the edge of the colony's inner circle, the true extent of the aliens' wickedness becomes apparent. Chad's human friends watch him mingle with the leadership and think he has changed - that he has sold out to the oppressors - but Chad Mitchell knows better.

As the well-tipped tour guide at a model town within a nuclear test site in 1950s Nevada, Darren Murphy has a job to die for. His work is easy and relaxed, much like himself, drawing envy from his wide circle of friends. But one fateful day, after one particularly late night in the burgeoning city of Las Vegas, Darren makes a huge mistake. "I'll try my best to get us all out of here before the next bomb goes off..." Murphy often jokes to his rapt tour groups. Only this time, due to a slip-up no one could have foreseen, his best might not be enough.

There's no time like the present, but there's no place like Yester Year... When Paula Frederick gets a weekend job on Dream Rock, a former prison island that now serves as the world's largest leisure destination, she can hardly believe her luck. Dream Rock's outlandish surroundings are a welcome break from her studies. Paula's fully costumed role within the island's smallest zone, a medieval-themed amusement park called Yester Year, seems set to allow for even more immersive fun than she imagined.

All throughout Moonshine Mall, shelves are empty of the year's most sought-after toy — the Sheepy McFinnigan action figure. Santa's elves are run off their feet trying to meet demand. Jolly old Saint Nick himself is even busier...so busy that a Robot Santa has to stand in at Moonshine Mall's famous grotto. Even worse, the mall's new manager, Nancy Collins, is sucking the fun out of everything. Robot Santa is the only thing keeping the kids smiling amid the Sheepy McFinnigan stock shortage, but Nancy has her own selfish reason for putting him in place.

Dylan Kline, salesman extraordinaire, eyes Saturn's moons as his ultimate cosmic jackpot. As global attention turns towards the first launch of the billionaire's ambitious project, the stakes could hardly be higher. Kline's advanced rocketry has finally enabled heavy long-distance transit, opening up a new frontier of unimaginable revenue opportunities.