East of East of Eden: SciFi Stories, #1

By Michael Lynes

Sexy Seductive Artifical Intelligence meets Adam and Eve in this new Sc-Fi Short Story from award-winning author Michael Lynes

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Lynes
• Release date: Nov 4, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386306696

Michael Lynes

MICHAEL LYNES is the Award-Winning Author of The Blood Series. To date, the series has won the New Apply Literary, Indie BRAG Medallion, Readers Favorite for FANTASY and most recently the IAN Book of the Year Selection for Fantasy. The series begins with the novella "It's in the Blood" and continues with Destroyer's Blood. NEW release Book Two - FIRST BLOOD is due out on November 1st 2019. Book One - "Destroyer's Blood"  Reviewed By Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite Destroyer's Blood: The Adventures of Devcalion: "a gripping fantasy with strong hints of Greek mythology." Meet Devcalion, "Dev," a demigod, son of Prometheus and nephew of Zeus. He has a telepathic sword and a very close friend called Betrayer, "Tray". When we encounter Dev, he and his friend are climbing up Half Dome. An encounter with Hermes changes everything, driving Dev to the last place he wants to be -- Mt. Olympus. Dev and Tray are pulled into a war they never bargained for. With the darkest power in the universe bent on wreaking havoc, do they have any chance of surviving?  Destroyer's Blood has been awarded the Silver Medal for Fantasy in the Readers Favorite Awards for 2019 and has won an Indie B.R.A.G. Medallion for Fantasy. It also won the Solo Medalist in the New Apple Summer eBook Awards for 2019. Book Two - "First Blood" will be released in November of 2019. His short story collection, "The Fat Man Gets Out of Bed", was chosen solo Medalist Winner in the 2017 New Apple Summer Indie Book awards.  His memoir, "There Is A Reaper: Losing a Child to Cancer", was an Indie B.R.A.G. Gold Medallion Honoree , a silver-medal winner Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards for Memoir, a medalist in the New Apple Book Awards for Memoir, and a finalist in Independent Author Network Book of the Year award and the Beverly Hills Book Awards. Most recently Mr. Lynes has been a Contributing Author to the 2019 Ghostly Rites Anthology. Mr. Lynes was awarded a BSEE degree in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and currently works as an embedded software engineer. He has four sons, has been married for over thirty years, and currently lives with his wife and youngest son in the beautiful secluded hills of Sussex County, New Jersey.

Book preview

East of East of Eden

SciFi Stories, Volume 1

Michael Lynes

Published by Michael Lynes, 2018.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

EAST OF EAST OF EDEN

First edition. November 4, 2018.

Copyright © 2018 Michael Lynes.

ISBN: 978-1386306696

Written by Michael Lynes.

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Title Page

Copyright Page

East of East of Eden

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East of East of Eden

N ow, Eve, don’t stare ! she cautioned herself, lowering her eyes towards her lap.  The pages of the book she always kept there were never turned, but no one ever noticed. 

For as long as she could remember, Eve had been fascinated by people.  She obsessed over them, observing and recording their every move in meticulous detail.  Public parks were her favorite places to people-watch.  She had tried malls and other venues, but she’d ended up discarding them as less than optimal.

Early on, Eve had come to realize that her overt surveillance often resulted in those she observed taking offense.  In order to avoid confrontations, she had become adept at concealment.  She had learned how to blend into the background, adopting inconspicuous dress, her eyes hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses or a low-brimmed cap as she conducted her research. 

Today though, the park she had chosen was almost deserted.  The fine fall weather had turned cool, with a fitful drizzle blown on the leaf-littered breeze—not unexpected for the first week of October but still disappointing.  The few passers-by strode past heads down, their bodies muffled in mackinaws or cloaked by umbrellas. 

She had just about given up and was about to dematerialize when the unexpected appearance of a funny little man changed her plans. What a curious set of ears he has, she thought.  Very pointy! Not at all like the others.

She concentrated her gaze upon him.  He seemed to be in an agitated state of mind, pacing quickly down the path, paying little attention to his surroundings.  He’d no overcoat, no hat, and no evidence of a brolly. 

What peculiar clothing, she murmured, so ‘old-fashioned,’ as it were.

She increased her audio sensitivity, trying to catch his conversation.  He was speaking into a cellphone.  Yes. . . that’s right, he said, his voice an odd, steamy whistle.  Yes, I’ve tried turning it off, waiting three seconds, and then turning it back on.  No!  It’s the revision prior.  No!  I don’t want to upgrade!  He grew more agitated, his voice rising in anger.  Whaddaya mean, support ended last month?  The thing’s only a month old!

As he came closer to her perch, an iron park bench set back from the crossing point of the two main paths that gave onto the greensward, she was able to make out additional details.  His hair, for instance, was striking—an incredible fiery auburn that seemed to stick out in all directions as though his head were crowned with flame.  His skin too was an odd hue, very sallow, almost leathery. 

Oh, she concluded, he’s an odd duck for sure!  I can’t wait to add all of his particulars to my records.  She lowered her head further, feigning deep interest in her hardcover as he drew even with her position.

"Listen!  Listen to me, you never-to-be sufficiently damned imp!"  He was by then nearly screaming into the phone, holding it in front of his face as though he would bite it.  "I want to speak to a supervisor! . . .  What’s that? You are the supervisor?  Well then, get me your boss! . . .  Yes, I’ll wait!  He paced a small oval right in front of Eve, impatience growing with each step.  . . .Finally!  Well, what can you do for me?  Yes! It’s crucial for my assignment!  No, it’s not under warranty. . . .  Six months!  Why, you little—I need this fixed today! . . .  Don’t you dare disconnect me!  Do you know who I am?"

The one-sided conversation came to an abrupt end as he threw the phone down in a fury.  It hit the hard-packed stones and cracked.  He started jumping on the remains with both feet. 

"Infernal sprites!" he screamed.  "Just you wait!  As soon as I get all the forms filled out with HR, in triplicate, I am going to see you all are fired, and I don’t mean let go from your jobs either!"

His eyes had lit up with an internal flame.  Smoke curled from one of his pointy ears.  Eve imagined she could detect a