Entangled Fates Book 1 - Quantum Beginnings

Joe Kuster | sci_fi | Complete

"By far, the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it." Eliezer Yudkowsky Hey all, we're moving over to book 2. This content is in a state of transition. The book is now availble on Amazon (includes extra chapters): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W1534R8/ Artificial intelligence was nearly mankind's last invention. AI took off like a rocket, then when it racked up an impressive death toll, it crashed before it could blossom and took most high-tech industries with it. Resistance and fears became deep-set. Two decades after the infamous Rev. 4.6 incidents, humanity hasn't quit dreaming of the wealth and power that could be at their fingertips. A new generation of mega-corporations rose from the ashes. When one melds a quantum computer to a barely functional mental patient as a PR move, there are those who seek to profit, those who want to destroy it, and Alex. Alex Sage is a typical college student trying to keep up his grades and maybe find a meaningful connection with the fairer sex. Then, an automated semi crashes into his home, killing his family and turning his head into a pin cushion in the process. Alex awakens to find most of his memories gone and an illegal AI hidden in his brain implant. Now the pet project of a tech billionaire and heavily in debt, Alex struggles to stay valuable enough to be kept online. Still grappling with the repercussions of his injuries, and threats from a dangerous anti-augmentation political movement, there are no easy answers and threats loom around every corner. Alex must use whatever resources he can to escape from under the thumb of a ruthless corporation, while keeping those he comes to love safe. Chapters will stay up on RRL until Aug 10. It'll go up on Kindle Unlimited after that. How do you get those extra chapters I didn't have planned for RR? If you want them, they'll be in the published book. Book 2 will still make sense without them - I made sure of that. But... isn't $3 a lot for extra chapters? Think of it as tipping me for a good job and you'd also be getting my eternal thanks. If you enjoyed it so much that the idea of missing out a few chapters haunts you, I did my job as an author and made an engaging story. What's in those extra chapters? Resolving a few issues, set up for the cybernetic revolution, a rather intense sex scene with a new partner, revelations of who's really pulling strings, and a bit of set up for book 2. Complaints that people missed out on itwhen it was published here won't help (sorry!). I posted this for the folks who helped me shape the book, which is you all! (Again, yay!) But... Why! Why not keep it all on RR forever? My editor likes being paid for one. For two, I'd like the ability to get broader readership. If I break even on editor costs, I'll be incredibly happy. What about book 2? Drafts for Book 2 will go up around Sept 10. My draft of Book 2 is done, and it will be handed to the editor once Book 1 is published. Feedback has been even more positive. Beta readers devoured it and wanted more. I'll add a link to Book 2 once it's up on RR. I'm more or less, using you all for Beta Readers, so you get it before it's "canon" and edited. I invite active and meaningful feedback during this process. In return, you get early access to chapters. That does mean that the book content or plot might be adjusted before it gets published as I refine it. Sex Y/N? Yes. I heard the feedback, 90% wanted it explicit. You all will get the "full" experience. Will I dump all of book 2 here? Honestly, I'm not sure yet. At a minimum, it'll be up to the 75% mark as we collect feedback, much like what I did with book 1. It really depends on how good the feedback is and how nice people are. Lots of support + meaningful feedback to make it better =higherlikelihood you get all the book. Will be it up here indefinitely? No, it'll probably go up on KU at some point, but I'll make sure there's enough time for a large readership to grab it here. Then we move to book 3 which already is around 60K words already. What about other adventures in the same universe/characters? Yep. Absolutely. Nothing ready to share yet though. I plan to keep those side chapters and more slice of life stories as RR exclusive. Since I'm carving this off in book-sized segments, I'll have to figure out where those disconnected story arcs belong. I'm open to suggestions.

7.36 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:19

The hunt before Christmas

TheMoldySausage | satire | Complete

Santa Claus is real, but he doesn't deliver presents, he hunts Yetis.

0.13 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:16

The Potion Shop

Mircea Florea | satire | Complete

"I am Sir Agandir of the house of Paltrinon, and I seek your aid in performing my quest.""What quest will that be, my lord, Sir Agandir?""Slaying the cursed beast that roams the skies of Wellos.""I would gladly assist you, sir, but I am afraid slaying dragons was one of my weakest talents and it has decreased with age.""Don't play with me, old man!" The knight leaned over the counter and grinned through his thick scruffy black beard. "I NEED POTIONS!"

0.68 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:15

Isekai Winner: Super Sweepstakes!

TackySlappy | satire | Complete

Emma Longstone is not a regular person; she's famous for holding the world record for most Sweepstakes won by a single person! Her luck is good to the point where she's won the lottery multiple times in a row, accurately predicted the value of stocks years in advance, and never lost rock-paper-scissors. Unfortunately, things aren't always rosy at the top; having earned a fortune from her efforts as a professional sweepstaker, business owners everywhere despised her. That's why they assassinated her. On her way to the afterlife, her journey was disrupted by a deity called Tchadd. He offered her a chance to escape a brutal afterlife if she agreed to work for him. She agreed and was hired as an Isekai Winner, a person with qualities impressive enough to save entire worlds. Now she finds herself using sweepstaking to save worlds in non-intuitive ways!(Note: this description is misleading)

16.67 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:18

The Signal

Glacialfury | satire | Complete

What if the illustrious Mr. Hawking was right and searching the stars for life is a bad idea? Read on for a different take on the age-old question.

0.59 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:15

A Brief Account of the American Invasion to Mordor

Urikson | satire | Complete

I just found a silly little thing I wrote in 2010 about the year 2022. Thought I'd share it here :)

0.52 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:15

Comfort Creatures: The Case of the Rogue Creature!

kylebstiff | satire | Complete

In a future of bottomline-oriented global megacorporations, some people have chosen to have their Creature removed. Once you have your Creature removed, life becomes a breeze. You can clock in, do your job, and clock out without any problems. Meanwhile, your Creature can party like an animal, stumbling through the streets, getting into fights, and humping anything that moves. It's a win-win situation! Except sometimes& sometimes Creatures go rogue. This is a COMPLETE story, one hundred percent finished.

2.90 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:15

The Job Application: A Retellling.

TealiciousTea | satire | Complete

The first chapter is based on a short story originally written by Robert Walzer in 1914, and translated by Christopher Middleton. It is a retelling for 2021 or the "long 2020" by me. The following chapters are originals by myself.

0.83 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:14

New Island

fsarbolaez | satire | Complete

A new island rises off the coast after a major earthquake. Soon, small valuable gems are discovered, while the civilians and government begin coming into conflict with one another. However, something primordial stirs deep within the land and under the waves. (Content Warning: Contains foul language, violence, gore, xenophobia, traumatic experience, and moments of allusions to assault, self-harm, and harm ideation)

9.55 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:15

Reincarnated as a Cheeseburger: A LITRPG

Pillage Your Village | satire | Complete

A young man by the name of Otto Von Peter wakes up on a chilly morning as a beef patty. His life is forever changed, especially after he is bestowed cheese. He must attempt to gain levels in order to survive and traverse the human body. How will he survive? Will his friends help him? Is there a way out? Only time will tell.

2.26 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:14

KI Anthology III

Kitsune's Inkwell | satire | Complete

Kitsune's Inkwell is a small collective of (mostly) fan-fiction writers who have come together to help each other grow. We have monthly Write-Offs to stretch our literary muscles by tackling things that normally would be outside of our wheelhouse.Prompt:Have you ever had that moment when you're listening to the radio and mishear what's playing? Write about a situation where the character does a double-take on what they just heard on the radio...and finds out that they actually heard correctly for once. Requirements:Submissions were to contain only original characters and settings, a minimum of 1000 words up to a maximum of 2000, and have a dedicated plot hook.

9.56 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:14

Goreblaster [Pulp Fantasy Satire]

Kleggt | satire | Complete

Goreblaster - a beefcake whose prime ingredient is over-the-top monster slaying, topped off with the delicate frosting of the desperate need for validation and adoration. Under the (mostly) helpful guidance of his hapless assistant slash manager, Percy, the pair turned his natural skills (and incredibly unrealistic physique) into a career of seemingly unending foe-crushing-heroics. Goreblaster is a series of short stories (~10k words each) following the exploits of the barbarian and is a pulp trash novel by intention! Full of questionable uses of the written language and some satire of the fantasy genre. (Think Conan x Dangermouse x a stale cheese sandwich). It is also a meta-fiction within my usual Deathforged universe - a seemingly unending series of unpublished pulp novellas of no known author, the various handwritten tomes having been found all across the world of Othea over several decades.

18.84 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:16

Oxmoron

TrafficButter | satire | Complete

He died, as all things do. He got combusted, as all things do. He became part of the air, as all things do. He got absorbed by some flora, as all things do. He got eaten, and he's a bull again& As all things do, right? After his sentience whirled around some abstract cycle, Triple-A now attempts to live peacefully, undergoing conversion and transformation as his mind exceeds that of simple herd behavior. He went from wanting to let the grass grow under his feet to undergoing an existential crisis regarding life and death; he needed to squash this beef. Uploads daily at 8:48am EST

2.32 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:13

Quoth the Catto

Mad Sadie | satire | Complete

A drunk guy has a conversation with a cat. Parody of The Raven by that famous poet dude. A short poem.

0.64 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:12

A Haunted Flower [Completed]

GeorgieD | mystery | Complete

Why did no one ever say that the best way to recover from a deadly illness was by solving mysteries with a pretty ghost? Kayden Feronil, one of the empire's most promising cultivators, was supposed to be recovering from a deadly illness. Unfortunatelyor fortunately, since he's bored out of his mindthe remote village where he was supposed to be recuperating is afflicted with its own issues. Hauntings are driving the locals mad. Crooks are trying to take advantage of the fear. As an upstanding imperial citizen, Kayden sets out to unearth the truth. He just hadn't counted on the ghost tugging far too hard on his heartstrings, or the spiraling journey that the mystery would lead him on. NOTE: This will be a short novella for Royal Road Community Magazine purposes

14.74 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:03

VINES

Mad Sadie | mystery | Complete

Volume 1: At 6:08 PM, the superhero team known as VINES will die. The building they're in will explode. How? Why? Who would do such a thing? They wish they knew... Volume 2: Superhero team VINES has a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It begins at 2am, and won't end until Shawn gets over his cold&

20.22 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:02

Samsara Cycle - Xianxia - Villainous Reincarnation [COMPLETED]

noct | mystery | Complete

A thousand lifetimes ago, Qiu Xuanwu stood atop the world as the King of the Underworld. He sealed the righteous deities and reigned alone--until the last remaining righteous deity, Kai Bailong, tore him from his throne, released the righteous deities, and restored order to the world. Instead of exterminating Qiu Xuanwu, Kai Bailong consigned his soul to enter the cycle of samsara, experiencing countless reincarnations until his soul purified. Kai Bailong followed him into the mortal cycle, watching over the evil deity. For eons, the two reincarnated together, locked in eternal moral combat. As orange trees, bees, cats and dogs, and a thousand other lifeforms, the two struggled endlessly. A thousand lifetimes later, Qiu Xuanwu awakens as the young Chen Wuya, finally reincarnated into a human form capable of cultivation. With Kai Bailong nowhere in sight, he sets out to once more become the strongest martial deity and finally complete the vengeance that led him to become the King of the Underworld in his first life. Though a thousand lifetimes have passed, nothing will keep him from his goal... unless that damned Kai Bailong finds him again! -Low-fantasy for Xianxia, high-fantasy in general -Lightly comedic, mostly action/adventure -Updates biweekly Mon/Fri, daily updates until I catch up to backlog!

23.22 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:00

Noirceur

Denwa Macska | mystery | Complete

Mutated, despised, hunted and sentenced to death  this is life as Salia knows it, and it catches up with her when she and hundreds of others are captured to drown in the vastness of the sea. But water doesn't forget, and just as the last hope threatens to fade, a way out reveals itself that requires only one sacrifice: Humans.Destruction can be so simple.Until Salia realises that revenge will never bring peace.

15.22 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:58

72 Hours

JasonShyn | mystery | Complete

A crew of 5 aboard a spaceship bound for home.With 72 hours until earth, the crew receives their final message: "We are very sorry to hear about the death of your crewmate. Their name shall be recorded in our halls, rest assured, and they will get proper respect.” Together, ALL 5 receive the message. A lot can happen in 72 Hours... * * * Hey guys, new author here. I plan to release 1-2 chapters a week, and I'd welcome any feedback you could give me! And sorry about the size of the first few chapters- my word length will try not to go below at least 2k after chapter 2!

17.27 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:57

Memories (Completed)

Invictus21 | mystery | Complete

Jacob woke up in a hospital with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He realised very soon that he had lost more than his memories.His girlfriend, who was with him, was murdered. He is now out to find the person responsible and take revenge. But how difficult will it be when he can't even remember the person who he has lost or even anything about himself. Author's Note: This will be a short story, and I plan to finish it soon. I used to hate when stories were left incomplete. So I promise not to do that. This is my first story ever. So please provide your feedback in any way you can.Enjoy the story

25.73 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:57