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The Exuviant and Other Tales
Paperback
Publisher Price: $23.95
Publisher: 3estrellasf
Published: May 1 2026
Pages: 590
Weight: 0.88
Height: 1.46 Width: 4.37 Depth: 7.00
Language: English
A collection of four novellas:
Modai's Journey: An alien race builds an AI of such unique design that it survives the end of their universe. After the Big Bang the AI becomes part of our universe and fourteen billion years later it discovers Earth and the people that could inherit the knowledge of a dead alien race - if they are worthy.
The Exuviant: Long before the dinosaurs, when Nature was still experimenting with the first complex multi-cellular life forms, there was a species of large white sea slugs that did not reproduce in any of the usual ways. As the environment changed they would alter their bodies through genetic manipulation to copy any other creature that could survive in the new environment. All they needed was a sample of that creature's blood. Over the eons these creatures slowly became extinct as their individual luck ran out. This is the story of the last one, the luckiest creature that ever lived, and how it won the genetic lottery.
SOVRAN: In Earth's far distant future the cream of humanity has left the planet seeking new worlds and a fresh start for Mankind. The people left behind turned control of the planet over to an AI system that would allow them to live in comfort for the rest of their lives and for generations to come. Androids controlled by the omnipotent AI did all the labor and helped the remaining humans relax themselves into a life of sloth and dissolution. Now, the oldest creature on the planet has finally decided to leave the only home it has known for millions of years. All it has to do is outsmart an all seeing and all knowing artificial intelligence!
Frog Town Chronicles: Some criminal enterprises are simply so successful that they are able to do their dirty work for years, even decades, causing incalculable harm. In many cases the only way to bring down an organization like that is to get someone on the inside. The problem with infiltrators and secret agents is that some can be corrupted or discovered. If they are found out and killed their friends and family can ask embarrassing questions. What is required is an agent with no family, no friends, no history except what is created for him. He needs to be absolutely average by every observable metric and absolutely incorruptible. And, he needs to be completely expendable. An android would meet the criteria but that's been tried and failed.
There is a new drug called noot that is starting to show up in the highest levels of society. Only the very rich can afford it. Using it can make you much smarter and it gives you a near perfect memory. The downside is that it is 100% addictive after a single dose. In time, it is also guaranteed to be fatal.
A clandestine extra-judicial government organization is tasked with finding the source of noot and destroying it completely. Their solution is called Protean Knight . . .
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