Max: Public Enemy Number One of the Fourth Dimension: Puki Horpocket Presents, #5

By Zachry Wheeler

A boy with a gift. A force with a mission. An epic pursuit through the multiverse.

 

Max is an ordinary teen with an extraordinary affliction. His mind shifts between parallel universes whenever he falls asleep. This creates untold chaos in the fourth dimension, which mobilizes an equally extraordinary force to hunt him down. The resulting chase pits an unshakable sleuth against an uncatchable target.

 

* Note: this title also serves as the fourth and final book of Max and the Multiverse.

 

 

Praise for Puki Horpocket Presents:

 

"A work of sheer genius." —Ben Ragunton, TG Geeks

 

"Out of this world!" —Justine Reyes, Readers' Favorite

 

"You will surely be entertained." —Eric Michael Craig, Rivenstone Press

 

"Laden with sarcastic humor and wit." —Pikasho Deka, Readers' Favorite

 

"A ripping yarn." —Geoff Habiger, Artemesia Publishing

 

 

Puki Horpocket is a literary titan with a loyal fandom that stretches across the universe. His merits are unchallenged, unsurpassed, and unquantifiable.

 

Zachry Wheeler is a human author and terrestrial translator for Puki Horpocket Presents, a collection of legendary tales from beyond the black.

 

 

*** FROM THE AUTHOR ***

 

Puki Horpocket Presents is a spin-off series from Max and the Multiverse, in that it takes place on the massive Durangoni Space Station. The stories are intertwined, share many characters and settings, and can be read in any order you please.

 

Roy: The Most Chaotic Midlife Crisis in Cosmic History (novel)
The story of an epic crisis that paralyzes the largest space station in the universe.

 

Nimi: When First Contact Becomes Last Call (short story)
A jaw-dropping insight into a civilization that completely botches first contact.

 

Phil: A Maddening Chat with the Smartest Being in the Universe (short story)
A brief exchange that reveals how intelligence rarely begets wisdom.

 

Boo: The Greatest Bounty Hunter Ever to Sail the Black (novella)
In the wild world of elite bounty hunting, one name towers above the rest.

 

Max: Public Enemy Number One of the Fourth Dimension (novella)
The mind-bending tale of an unshakable sleuth chasing an uncatchable target.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mayhematic Press
• Release date: May 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9781954153196

Zachry Wheeler

Zachry Wheeler is an award-winning science fiction novelist, screenwriter, and shutterbug. He enjoys casual gardening, serious gaming, and wandering the wilds of New Mexico. Learn more at ZachryWheeler.com, where you can join his email list and receive a FREE limited edition eBook.

Book preview

COPYRIGHT

© 2023 by Zachry Wheeler

All rights reserved.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

ISBN: 978-1-954153-19-6

Edited by Jennifer Amon

Published by Mayhematic Press

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PARENT SERIES

Puki Horpocket Presents is a spin-off series from Max and the Multiverse, in that it takes place on the massive Durangoni Space Station. The stories are intertwined, share many characters and settings, and can be read in any order you please.

Have yet to meet Max?

Download Book One for FREE

EARTH EDITION

Greetings, Earthling!

My name is Zachry Wheeler and I’m a science fiction novelist based on Earth. I was chosen to serve as translator for all terrestrial editions of Puki Horpocket Presents, a literary series beloved throughout the universe.

It’s been a great honor.

It’s also been super stressful.

Decoding an alien tongue is daunting at a baseline, let alone through the prestigious lens of Puki Horpocket. He is renowned for his unique blend of commentary, interviews, and dramatic depictions. My job is to stick the landing for human readers. I sincerely hope that I do his words justice, but admittedly, I sometimes feel like a toddler translating Orwell.

The Durangoni Space Station is home to countless species and cultures, and thus, countless lexicons. Some things are universal, like beer. Other things are regional, like atmo barriers on artificial oceans. Some things are truly horrifying and do not warrant translation, regardless of their pop culture equivalents.

I did my best, but aliens be weird, y’all.

Puki Horpocket tales are chock-full of excitement, debauchery, and blatant disregard for delicate sensibilities. Fair warning: the language is lewd and the characters are crude, so keep your wits inside the vehicle and enjoy the ride.

CHAPTER 1

To understand the breadth and power of the Fourth Dimensional Police Department, one must first appreciate the mind-blowing fact that it actually exists. A police department, baked into the fourth dimension of spacetime, tasked with governing an infinite mesh of parallel universes, including the one you’re chilling in right now. And to appreciate the scope of this task, one must fully digest the world-breaking chaos of a nerdy teen shifting between parallel universes whenever he falls asleep.

Meet Max.

Max is an Earthling with a spectacular affliction. He also travels with a house cat who embodies the fifth force of nature, a thing that also exists. Needless to say, this story is going to be somewhat of a mind-fuck to unpack.

But before we do, allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Puki Horpocket, esteemed editor for the Definitive Directory of Durangoni. This massive mega-wiki is the beating heart inside the largest space station in the universe. A trillion residents call the station home, and they all access the directory for their daily needs. It’s my job to keep the directory current, and it’s your job to fathom what a colossal undertaking my job is. Gasps are welcome, as are slack-jawed headshakes of disbelief.

Durangoni is a triumph of engineering. It orbits an orange dwarf star as an artificial planet, complete with its own gravity and atmosphere. The sheer amount of brain power needed to keep it afloat is enough to solve the meaning of life. As an amusing side note, there was an advanced civilization that tried to do just that by building an enormous supercomputer. After millions of years of contemplation, it returned a simple numerical value. It went down in cosmic history as the single biggest waste of time ever perpetuated.

But anyhow, back to Max.

This simple human, this hairless primate, this pink squishy flesh-golem from a mundane arm of the Milky Way, somehow managed to elevate his status to the most interesting being in the known universe. His story is one of consummate intrigue, an exceptional rarity inside the grand scheme of all things.

Max of Earth enchanted me like no other.

But alas, I have yet to meet him.

His presence inside Durangoni is more rumor than reality. And if said rumors have any merit, he continues to explore the dark depths of the station as a random lurker. His aura is