Ghost in the Machine

By Bruce Lockhart 2nd

In the wake of Dr. Moorland Ohm's wife's death, he begins developing a revolutionary tech in order to reveal the mysteries behind how the brain stores both memory and trauma. The "Dive" is born from his efforts...and with it the artificial intelligence that is a shadow of his wife.

When the supernatural begins to blur the lines between what should be possible and what actually exists, Moorland is confronted with an impossible decision. Does he lose the love of his life all over again? Can he make that kind of sacrifice for the safety of the people he still has, and the world?

"Ghost in the Machine" is a rerelease, with updated content and a new take on the previous publication. Dive into an intricate plot and a fountain of rich characters, that will leave you questioning the nature of reality and the permanence of death.

*Trigger Warning: Mentions of rape, self-harm, death, and violence. Reader Discretion advised.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bruce Lockhart 2nd
• Release date: Sep 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201137915

Bruce Lockhart 2nd

Bruce Lockhart 2nd having been born on Halloween feels very fortunate to have found his calling so early in life. Together he and his business partner/mentor, Suzie Lockhart have roughly over 40 short story publications themselves and have been editors to several others. Most notably for Bruce he was appointed acquisition’s editor for the anthology ‘Memento Mori’ in 2019. Bruce is intending to keep branching out in order to perfect the fine art of storytelling! A little bit about Bruce; he is going to be 30 this year and is excited to be branching into the romance genre with his significant other, as this is their first creative exploit together. Bruce has a total of three siblings two of which are autistic and are reliant upon him, so when he gets the chance to write he takes it. Which is good advice for any aspiring authors out there, you can’t wait for the perfect time or place, you have to recognize it won’t ever be perfect, but that shouldn’t stop you from chasing your dreams or telling you story. Creating something that’s solely from your unique perspective, know that there’s perfection in that.

Book preview

Ghost in the Machine

GHOST IN THE MACHINE

BRUCE LOCKHART 2ND

Copyright © 2022 Bruce Lockhart 2nd

All rights reserved.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and articles.

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Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental.

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Cover Design by Lily Bear Design Co. (lilybeardesignco.com).

Editing by Suzie Wargo Lockhart.

Proofreading by Vanessa Taylor.

Formatted by Shannon O’Connor

Vellum flower icon Created with Vellum

Contents

Ghost in the Machine by Bruce Lockhart 2nd

Ghost in the Machine

About the Author

Ghost in the machine

Ghost in the Machine

BRUCE LOCKHART 2ND

The snap of sneakers slapping the pavement rang through the air as Dr. Moorland Ohms pushed his body to the limit, desperate to escape the self-serving pain he continually brought on himself. His lungs burned, muscular legs cramped, heart pounded like a caged animal in his chest and for a moment the pain was replaced, so he pushed further.

He ran as though a pack of hellhounds were nipping at his heels ready to drag him to the depths of Dante’s Inferno.

For wasn’t that the fate of all who extinguished such pure and perfect light from the world?

Part of him felt it would be just, because Macy was no longer here, and it was partly his fault. Beautiful, sweet and innocent Macy, his little light in the ocean of darkness that was the world, and she was gone.

He appreciated the simplified mechanics that came with physical exertion, his work was not always so responsive, there were some things he simply could not bend to his will, but his body was in his realm of control. Even in Highschool he’d become addicted to chasing that plateau of adrenaline that came with peaking, now it was something he continually sought.

Numbing these mental afflictions for even a moment was a foreign grace to him at this point in his life, it was always just out of reach, the elation of thoughtlessness. In comparison Macy was always there too, swimming at the fringes of his mind, along with all the others he’d never be able to save.

Forgetting Macy was not an option, in truth he wouldn’t even if he could and so running from her only led him down a falsified path. He’d ran so far from his condo that he ended up on the outskirts of his old neighborhood, familiar buildings loomed over him as if mourning his presence.

He hadn’t come around in quite some time, once he’d made it out and paved his own way coming back to the city was a sinister sort of pain because hadn’t, he failed this place too?

When he did socialize it would often be at parties, with other intellectuals or even regular people from all walks of life. Their stories were important to him at one time, but that care had faded along with most things, now he spent most of his time in his lab, even now still trying to find the answer that could have saved her.

It’s not as if he thought he was better than anyone else, he felt simply that a place shouldn’t define a person, even though there was a lot of history here that had shaped the course of his life. Moorland wanted out as soon as he was old enough to understand what out meant.

Growing up in what many considered the ghetto left him few options, he saw clearly the way things were designed to subjugate people like him and for a time all that he could feel was the burning coals of injustice. It fueled his need to become something more than just a statistic and only after meeting Macy did that resentful seed bloom into something far more useful.

There was an innate sense of guilt that came with his success, but he’d poured serious amounts of time and money into rebuilding his community and slowly yet surely progress came.

Flourishing gardens occupied previously abandoned lots, renovated buildings transformed into things like bakeries, daycares, and small businesses. His own coffee shop named the ‘Freedom Fix’ gave people access to internet and offered virtual learning tools paired with his own technology that gave people in that area much needed assistance, which included a gifting day to residents once every month where they responded to submitted requests.

There was pride here, in how far it had come, an emotion he had not felt in quite some time and even though there was still a long way to go, they’d done good work here.

It was a lengthy process and Moorland hated having to go through political red tape, but his old community was indeed blossoming. Escaping the dark grip of poverty was like recovering from a wound, it took time to recapture everything that had been stolen... some wounds however he knew were far too deep to heal.

Perhaps his conscious mind believed he came here to try and regain a sense of self, but his subconscious felt it, some inexplicable pull had brought him back here he just didn’t know why.

He slowed to a trot finding himself in front of the eatery he’d definitely sank the most money into—Tito’s Hawaiian Pies. It had been his favorite pizza joint since he’d been a teenager, and he’d even worked there during a couple summers. People came from all over to try Tito’s unusual toppings and specialty pineapple infused crust.

Tito’s was just far enough away from