Imperfect: Lacuna

By David Adams

On Belthas IV, the great forge world in the inner sphere of Toralii space, thousands of constructs -- artificial slaves -- are manufactured every week.

They are initially identical and indistinguishable from the other until each is implanted with a stock neural net. From that moment onward every construct is different.

They all have one thing in common, though; all constructs are bound by rules. They serve. They do not question their place. They do not betray.

Each construct is different, but some are more different than others...

A 4,000 word short story set in the Lacuna universe but suitable to read as a stand-alone story.

Parts of the Lacuna universe:

- Magnet
- Magnet: Special Mission
- Imperfect
- Faith

The Lacuna series:

- Lacuna
- Lacuna: The Sands of Karathi
- Lacuna: The Spectre of Oblivion (New Release!)
- Lacuna: The Ashes of Humanity (coming 2013!)

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Adams
• Release date: Apr 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9781497780705

David Adams

David Adams served as an Officer in the Australian Army Reserve, trained alongside United States Marines Corps and Special Air Services SAS personnel, and served in the A.D.F as a Platoon Commander of Military Police. He has worked alongside Queensland Police Officers and held investigative roles with The Commission for Children and Child Safety.

Book preview

Imperfect By David Adams

Copyright David Adams

2012

Imperfect

Unless there are slaves to do the ugly, horrible, uninteresting work, culture and contemplation become almost impossible. Human slavery is wrong, insecure, and demoralizing. On mechanical slavery, on the slavery of the machine, the future of the world depends.

- Oscar Wilde

Toralii Forge World Belthas IV

Deep in Toralii Space

1938 A.D.

Back in the dark times, when magic was as common as the birds in the sky, the ancient Toralii myths spoke of monsters called golems. Each creature was once nothing more than a loose pile of sand but, after the shaman had worked her dark magic, they would walk and talk like the living. Artificial life animated by the shamans, their bodies crafted from the earth, golems were brought to life with a single undying purpose; to aid and serve their creator.

For the ritual to be successful the sand had to be taken from specifically designated sacred sites and stored in burial urns that had, at a time, contained held the ashes of the dead. When the soil was suitably infused with dark magic it would be treated to an endless regime of innumerable corruptions and taint to bring out