Chip’s humming sounded distinctively smug. “Not so much. Actually the more humans lean on technology, the easier it is to create a history complete with full records of one’s existence. All I have to do is insert the data in the correct places.”
“That doesn’t make up for human memory,” Mary Jane said. “All this attention could be a slippery slope. More than a few people would recall a young lady this brilliant, no matter how reclusive she was.”
“And some people do. Or at least they believe so. I purposely created some high school and university photographs which resemble several other shy and introverted girls. Several people from those schools have already given interviews ‘recalling’ you as withdrawn, a loner, enigmatic, etc. I’m constantly amazed how easy it is for the human mind to fool itself.”
“The wonder of memory deception,” Mary Jane said. She flicked across the various screens. “My face seems to be everywhere in the media.”
“All the more to make you enticing,” Chip said. “Your beauty has Cover Girl desperate for an endorsement deal, and your research has attracted invitations from the most powerful organizations wanting to conference, share resources, or offer employment deals starting in the seven figures.”
Mary Jane enlarged the screen displaying a myriad of emails from various companies offering employment. One of the organizations was Chimera Global. She clicked on it.
“Excellent work, Chip. Keep at it. The more we cement my identity, the harder it will be to cross-examine it.”
“Considering a bit of espionage, are we? How exciting.” Lights danced around Chip’s surface.
Mary Jane sat down on her leather sofa and gazed at the lights that winked from beyond her floor-to-ceiling windows. The Manhattan skyline glimmered, its nighttime display a lightshow that created dancing shadows in her penthouse apartment. Her mental circuits analyzed the flood of probabilities. Her entire life had altered in a ninety-day period, changing every variable established while living as Dylan Plumm. Yet something more difficult lay before her as well. An unavoidable choice awaited her decision, one unlike any she faced before.
A buzzing sound interrupted her introspection. The phone on the nearby table vibrated softly. She looked at the ID displayed. The profile’s face was obscured.
Mary Jane picked up the phone.
“Hello again,” the Blurred Man said.
About The Prometheus Saga
The Prometheus Saga is the premier project of the Alvarium Experiment, a consortium of accomplished and award-winning authors.
The Saga spans the range of the existence of Homo sapiens. The stories do not need to be read in any particular order; each story is an entry point into the overall story.
The Prometheus Saga stories & authors are:
“The Pisces Affair” by Daco Auffenorde. CIA operative Jordan Jakes meets Prometheus when the Secretary of State becomes the target of a terrorist attack at a head-of-state dinner in Dubai. Visit Daco at www.authordaco.com.
“On Both Sides” by Bria Burton. When a mysterious woman vanishes during the American Revolution, young Robby Freeman searches for answers from a cryptic sharpshooter who deserted Washington’s Continental Army. Visit Bria at www.briaburton.com.
“Ever After” by M.J. Carlson. Two mysterious women convey the same Cinderella story to Giambattista Basile in 1594 and Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1811. How different cultures retell this story reveals humanity’s soul to those who listen. Visit M.J. at www.mjcarlson.com.
“The Blurred Man” by Bard Constantine. FBI agent Dylan Plumm’s investigation of a mill explosion puts her on the trail of the Blurred Man, a mysterious individual who may have been on Earth for centuries. The case turns deadlier at every turn, placing Dylan in the crosshairs of shadowy antagonists even as she unravels a centuries-old mystery. Visit Bard at www.bardwritesbooks.com
“Crystal Night” by Charles A. Cornell. Berlin, 1938. On the eve of one of history’s darkest moments, a Swedish bartender working in Nazi Germany accidentally uncovers a woman’s hidden past. Can he avoid becoming an accomplice as the Holocaust accelerates? Visit Charles at www.charlesacornell.com.
“Marathon” by Doug Dandridge. Prometheus, posing as a citizen of Athens, participates in the battle of Marathon alongside the playwright Aeschylus. Visit Doug at www.dougdandridge.net.
“The Strange Case of Lord Byron’s Lover” by Parker Francis. Writing in her journal, Mary Shelley recounts a series of perplexing events during her visit with Lord Byron — a visit that resulted in the creation of her famous Frankenstein novel, but also uncovered a remarkable mystery. Visit Parker at www.parkerfrancis.com.
“Strangers on a Plane” by Kay Kendall. In 1969 during a flight across North America, a young mother traveling with her infant meets an elderly woman who displays unusual powers. But when a catastrophe threatens, are those powers strong enough to avert disaster? This short story folds into Kay’s mystery series featuring the young woman, amateur sleuth Austin Starr. Visit Kay at www.kaykendallauthor.com.
“East of the Sun” by Jade Kerrion. Through a mysterious map depicting far-flung lands, a Chinese sailor in 1424 and a Portuguese cartographer in 1519 share a vision of an Earth far greater than the reality they know. Visit Jade at www.jadekerrion.com.
“Manteo” by Elle Andrews Patt. In 1587, Croatan native Manteo returns from London to Roanoke Island, Virginia. Can he reconcile his strong loyalty to the untamed land and people of his home with his desire for the benefits the colonizing English bring with them before one of them destroys the other? Visit Elle at www.elleandrewspatt.com.
“First World War” by Ken Pelham. 40,000 BC: As the last remaining species of hominid, Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis, fight a desperate battle for ownership of the future, the outcasts of both sides find themselves caught in middle. Visit Ken at www.kenpelham.com.
“Lilith” by Antonio Simon, Jr. In this retelling of the Adam & Eve story, a hermit’s life is turned upside-down by the arrival of a mysterious woman in his camp. As the story of their portentous meeting carries forward through the millennia, only time will tell if Lilith is a heroine, a victim, or a monster. Visit Antonio at www.DarkwaterSyndicate.com.
“Fifteen Dollars’ Guilt” by Antonio Simon, Jr. 1881: After a close brush with death in a steamship disaster, Prometheus encounters another survivor who gripes about how aimless his life has become. Prometheus helps him find his calling, inadvertently setting in motion the assassination of President Garfield. Visit Antonio at www.DarkwaterSyndicate.com.
About the Author
Bard Constantine writes gritty futures and far-flung fantasy. His love of those genres catapulted his writing career, which includes the Troubleshooter novels, featuring the private eye of the future. Other novels include the horror/sci-fi novel The Aberration, and Shadow Battles, a recently released epic fantasy series. A huge fan of edgy, fast-paced television shows, Bard paces his stories in a similar fashion, keeping his readers hanging on from chapter to chapter. Bard lives in Birmingham, Al with his wife and unbridled imagination. Keep up with his work at http://barwritesbooks.com and at Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bardwritesbooks