CommWealth

The CommWealth system, introduced just six months previously, has created a society in which there is no legal claim to any kind of private property. Any object from your house to the clothes you're wearing can be demanded by anyone, to be enjoyed for thirty days before anyone else can request it. As actors in the Forensic Squad theatrical troupe struggle to adapt to the resulting chaos, CommWealth probes their breaking of the Four Rules sustaining the system, and several members navigate a twist of betrayals, double agents, and murder to find themselves leading a suicidal revolution. Michael D. Smith was raised in the Northeast and the Chicago area, then moved to Texas to attend Rice University, where he began developing as a writer and visual artist. His Jack Commer, Supreme Commander and Supreme Commander Laurie science fiction series are published by Sortmind Press. In addition, Sortmind Press has published Smith's literary novels Sortmind, The Soul Institute, CommWealth, Akard Drearstone, Jump Grenade, Asylum and Mirage, The University of Mars, and Zarreich. Smith's web site, sortmind.com, contains further examples of his novels and visual art, and he muses about writing and art processes at blog.sortmind.com.