THE FAIRIES ARE PROUD TO PRESENT A BOOK AS UNIQUE AS THIS.
EVERYONE, WE GIVE YOU...
Synthetica (Synthetica #1)
Release Date: 04/01/15
SYNOPSIS
This city is falling.
Seventeen-year-old Anais Finch lives in a world where everyone is born
beautiful, where every dream is a possibility - and where their every move and
every piece of personal information is recorded by an ID picochip inserted
behind their right ear. When technology giant, Civitas, finally announces the
launch of their highly anticipated Scholarly Learning Programs, which allow
people to download and learn any subject instantly, Anais can hardly wait.
But not everyone is pleased with society's progress, and not everyone
wants to fit in. When Anais witnesses a brutal murder on an innocent citizen
and is implicated in the crime, she becomes determined to uncover the truth,
especially when others like it begin to occur all over the city. But it may
already be too late for Anais to stop the man who calls himself 'the Hacker'
before he commits his most appalling crime yet...
EXCERPT
She turned to the body of the attacker, who was
still staring up at the sky. He, too, looked beyond help. Blood dribbled from
his mouth, staining his clothes. But there was something else, something dark
on the side of his neck. It didn't look like blood, but before Anais could move
to get a closer look, a scream ripped through the cool night air. She jumped
and looked up to see a woman with white hair tied back in a severe ponytail and
holding several glossy carrier bags, looking at her in horror. Anais glanced
down and saw that the man's blood was now splattered on her shirt – her jeans
were rapidly becoming wet from where the dark puddle was spreading out from the
man's body. She jerked her head back up to look at the woman, who's eyes were
popping. The woman dropped her bags on the floor, and began backing down the
walkway, her wide eyes still fixed on the bloody scene in front of her.
“W-wait,” Anais tried to call out, but her throat
was suddenly dry, her heart beating far too fast. She could barely get the word
out; but even as she spoke, the woman turned and fled back the way she had
come.
“Wait,” Anais cried, her voice stronger. “Come back!
I need your help!”
But
it was too late. The woman had already gone. Anais looked round, panic rising
in her gut, and for a brief, crazy moment she wondered if she should simply
just run for it. The man in front of her gave a faint groan. She jumped, not
expecting him to make a noise, and stared down at him, a fog descending over
her brain as she panicked over what to do. It was a few seconds before she
realised the man was still making a noise – he was trying to speak. She leant
in closer, trying to catch his words, but his voice was now too faint, and he
gave a nasty, gargling cough.
“What?” Anais said, her heart pounding as she leant
in even closer, her ear almost brushing his dry lips. But he fell silent again,
and Anais sat back up, trying to breathe evenly. If she stayed, she'd be
implicated in the crime. If she left, the man would surely die – but she
couldn't call for the medics without it being traced back to her RetCom ID. She
stared wildly round, praying for someone, anyone, to come and help her.
Luckily,
at that moment, any decision-making was taken right out of her hands. Sirens
wailed, cutting through the night air; and within seconds a small white
medi-cab hummed round the corner towards her. There was a blinding flash, and
Anais shielded her eyes with her hand, looking up at the source of the
brilliant white light. There a low noise – a sound almost less than sound
itself - a deep vibration that made
Anais cringe to hear it. A police hovercraft descended from the sky above.
“Suspect,” boomed a loud automated voice, making the
air shiver around her. “You are required to stand with your hands in the air.
Drop your weapons. If you do not run, you will not be harmed. Suspect – you are
required to stand -”
Anais
stood up shakily, feeling her jeans sticking uncomfortably to her. She was
encased in the blindingly white searchlight, unable to see the scene unfolding
around her as she slowly raised her hands into the air.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
So what
qualifies me to be a writer? Well, ever since an early age I've been more
interested in the worlds in my head, than the real one - so I thought it was
finally time to do something about it. I went to uni, got a degree in
publishing, worked in an office for a while, decided I hated it, went to China,
came back...and now I'm a teaching assistant by day and a YA writer by night.
Phew! It's been quite a journey, but I wouldn't change it for the world.
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