Perion Synthetics (60 page)

The Perion story would make VFeed number one
overnight.

He pointed a trembling finger to the
vidscreen.

“I want your whole goddamn feed.”

It was a bomb threat at the Vinestead West building in
Sacramento that got senior programmer Rick Diaz the day off from work, but it was
a woman he met on the train who made it the ultimate skip day.

Five years after the fall of the free Net,
Vinestead International is on the verge of pushing through its controversial GA
Bill, which will require all newborn and naturalized Americans to be implanted
with the Guardian Angel biochip. With no X or Anela Zabora to carry the banner
of freedom, who now will step up to challenge corporate tyranny?

In the 22nd century, augmented reality is no longer a
novelty, but rather a way of life for citizens of Easton. Children are taught
at a young age to control the ubiquitous layer of reality known as veneer
through a process called reconciliation. Those who learn to reconcile live in a
constant state of redefinition, of the world and of themselves. Those who
struggle are forced to stand by and watch the world change without them. For
this skill, there are no shortcuts, no special glasses or handheld devices. The
power to change comes from within.

Deron Bishop wants to live in the augmented
world, to perform the magic of reconciliation like his peers, but controlling
the veneer has always been a problem for him. Already resentful of the one
thing he could never master, Deron doesn't realize how much he needs the veneer
until a violent run-in with a childhood rival puts him in the hospital and robs
him of his virtual sight.

Now able to see the world as it truly
exists, Deron must choose to abandon Easton or fight his way back to the
veneered fantasy of his previous life—a fight not everyone wants him to win.

When X discovers that his long distance relationship with C
is about to end, he copies her mind and loads her into a virtual avatar in the
Net. But in his haste to preserve his high school sweetheart, X forgets to
program the one feature he ends up needing most: how to turn her off.

Now it is up to Natalie and G to rescue
their friend from the farthest reaches of the Net. Along the way, they must
battle a cipher who cannot be killed, a virus that cannot be stopped, and a global
conglomerate that will do anything to seize control of the precious Net.

danielverastiqui.com