A piper. A plague. A payment. A dark fairy-tale of obsession, injustice, and shattered dreams, some of which may seem familiar and some less so.
Bernard is a simple man, content to go about his business as long as can regularly play his beloved pipe organ. All seems well until the town of Hamlin suffers a calamity that prevents him from doing so.
Chapter nineteen--Dave returns from his trip and hires Rachel to accompany him to the museum, unleashing a series of events both wonderful and terrible.
The Whore of Her-Babylon---In the world of the distant future, after clawing itself back from the brink of oblivion due to a now mostly forgotten calamity, humanity has coalesced to live almost entirely within the bounds of a single mega-city. Although technology allows almost unlimited production of food and energy, at least on a basic level, artificial scarcity ensures material possessions remain important status symbols, highlighting the massive gap between the haves and the have nots. There is an extreme nostalgia for the past, an obsession with creating a facsimile of many of the aspects of life from before the collapse but this only enhances the social stratification because of commodities like plants being incredibly rare, affordable by only the most wealthy. Woman all live in and work out of brothels and both they and their male counterparts are expected to make work and productivity their highest goal while emotions are considered dangerously deviant, to be suppressed with powerful pills. In this controlling and cut-throat environment, one woman dares to defy the system.
Chapter Eighteen--Despite their differences Rachel allows Alice to persuade her to open Dave's present, the contents of which have a profound effect on her in multiple ways.
The Whore of Her-Babylon---In the world of the distant future, after clawing itself back from the brink of oblivion due to a now mostly forgotten calamity, humanity has coalesced to live almost entirely within the bounds of a single mega-city. Although technology allows almost unlimited production of food and energy, at least on a basic level, artificial scarcity ensures material possessions remain important status symbols, highlighting the massive gap between the haves and the have nots. There is an extreme nostalgia for the past, an obsession with creating a facsimile of many of the aspects of life from before the collapse but this only enhances the social stratification because of commodities like plants being incredibly rare, affordable by only the most wealthy. Woman all live in and work out of brothels and both they and their male counterparts are expected to make work and productivity their highest goal while emotions are considered dangerously deviant, to be suppressed with powerful pills. In this controlling and cut-throat environment, one woman dares to defy the system.
A middle aged woman grieves when the wedding she has spent her whole life dreaming of is prevented from happening by plague.
This is a Story Sample
Chapter Seventeen--Rachel executes a daring plan to secretly take Alice shopping for her Sacrifice dress. The exasperating battles with "experts" regarding her unconventional and, therefore, socially unacceptable requests she was prepared for but not for what happens after.
The Whore of Her-Babylon---In the world of the distant future, after clawing itself back from the brink of oblivion due to a now mostly forgotten calamity, humanity has coalesced to live almost entirely within the bounds of a single mega-city. Although technology allows almost unlimited production of food and energy, at least on a basic level, artificial scarcity ensures material possessions remain important status symbols, highlighting the massive gap between the haves and the have nots. There is an extreme nostalgia for the past, an obsession with creating a facsimile of many of the aspects of life from before the collapse but this only enhances the social stratification because of commodities like plants being incredibly rare, affordable by only the most wealthy. Woman all live in and work out of brothels and both they and their male counterparts are expected to make work and productivity their highest goal while emotions are considered dangerously deviant, to be suppressed with powerful pills. In this controlling and cut-throat environment, one woman dares to defy the system.
Oshana is a young mermaid who lives in a community sheltered by a living coral reef and spends her time hunting, scavenging ruins for valuables, and dreaming of bonding with her beloved Wendaro. Unfortunately, his parents, put off by her family's relative lack of wealth, feel she needs to do something exceptional to prove herself first but Oshana is at loss regarding how to do this in this undersea coming of age tale.
Chapter Eight--In an effort to distract herself from the looming crisis with Alice, Rachel attempts to grapple with the difficulty of reading the book Dave gave to her and suddenly has an epiphany.
The Whore of Her-Babylon---In the world of the distant future, after clawing itself back from the brink of oblivion due to a now mostly forgotten calamity, humanity has coalesced to live almost entirely within the bounds of a single mega-city. Although technology allows almost unlimited production of food and energy, at least on a basic level, artificial scarcity ensures material possessions remain important status symbols, highlighting the massive gap between the haves and the have nots. There is an extreme nostalgia for the past, an obsession with creating a facsimile of many of the aspects of life from before the collapse but this only enhances the social stratification because of commodities like plants being incredibly rare, affordable by only the most wealthy. Woman all live in and work out of brothels and both they and their male counterparts are expected to make work and productivity their highest goal while emotions are considered dangerously deviant, to be suppressed with powerful pills. In this controlling and cut-throat environment, one woman dares to defy the system.