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    Future Tense
    Future Tense
    Future Tense
    Ebook29 pages22 minutes

    Future Tense

    By Mark Thielman

    ()

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    About this ebook

    How far would you go to get ahead? In the not-too-distant future, Terran Korb struggles to provide for his family in a world watched by the Panopticon, the all-seeing eye.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWildside Press
    Release dateOct 1, 2022
    ISBN9781479466665
    Future Tense

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      Book preview

      Future Tense - Mark Thielman

      Table of Contents

      COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

      FUTURE TENSE, by Mark Thielman

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

      Copyright © 2022 by Mark Thielman.

      Original publication by Wildside Press, LLC.

      wildsidepress.com | bcmystery.com

      FUTURE TENSE,

      by Mark Thielman

      I almost had it, Terran Korb told his wife. He pounded his fist against the kitchen table.

      Flora quickly slid a potholder beneath his hand to muffle the sound. Excessive domestic noise could easily result in the loss of Citizenship Points.

      Terran appeared not to notice. I was strolling in the park on my lunch hour. The French hydrangeas were in full bloom. I wish you both could see them. The blue would be the perfect color for your room.

      As Terran spoke to Flora’s belly, her eyes roamed the one-bedroom apartment.

      I looked up, picturing the walls, and I saw it. Clinging to a trellis in the rose garden, trash. Wastepaper, just sitting there, waiting to be plucked like a ripe apple in an orchard. I started walking, moving quickly but nonchalantly, not wanting to alert anyone’s attention. Then, I spied a teenager. He’d seen the trash as well. I walked faster. He started running. I sped up. Maybe if I hadn’t been in a suit.

      But inappropriate attire would cost you Citz Points.

      Terran again hit the potholder in frustration. I had to keep to the path. The hydrangeas prevented me from a shortcut. The kid, he just ran across the lawn. I cut the corner on the last path and sprinted. I thought my lungs would burst. And just when I could see the paper in my hands, the little bastard snatched it off the trellis.

      Flora patted his arm. She

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