EBOOK
About
A brilliant and chilling dystopia for a new generation in the tradition of Brave New World.
"'Explain to us why you wish to enter The Academy.'"
Anaximander, a young Academy candidate, is put through a gruelling exam. Her special subject: the life of Adam Forde, her long-dead hero.
It's late in the 21st century and the island Republic has emerged from a ruined, plague-ridden world, its citizens safe, but not free, and living in complete isolation from outside contact. Approaching planes are gunned down, refugees shot on sight.
Until a man named Adam Forde rescued a girl from the sea.
"Anaximander, we have asked you to consider why it is you would like to join the Academy. Is your answer ready?"
To answer that question, Anaximander must struggle with everything she has ever known about herself and her beloved Republic's history, the nature of being human, of being conscious, and even what it means to have a soul.
And when everything has been laid bare, she must confront the Republic's last great secret, her own surprising link to Adam Forde, and the horrifying truth about her world.
Anax reached the end of the corridor and turned left. She checked the time. They would be watching her approach, or so it was rumoured. The door slid open, quiet and smooth, like everything in The Academy zone.
'Anaximander?'
Anax nodded.
The panel was made up of three Examiners, just as the regulations had promised. It was a great relief. Details of the examination were kept secret, and among the candidates rumours swirled. 'Imagination is the bastard child of time and ignorance,' her tutor Pericles liked to say, always adding 'not that I have anything against bastards.'
Anax loved her tutor. She would not let him down. The door closed behind her.
The Examiners sat behind a high desk, the top a dark slab of polished timber.
'Make yourself comfortable.' The Examiner in the middle spoke. He was the largest of the three, as tall and broad as any Anax had ever seen. By comparison the other two looked old and weak, but she felt their eyes upon her, keen and sharp. Today she would assume nothing. The space before them was clear. Anax knew the interview was being recorded.
EXAMINER: Four hours have been allotted for your examination. You may seek clarification, should you have trouble understanding any of our questions, but the need to do this will be taken into consideration when the final judgment is made. Do you understand this?
ANAXIMANDER: Yes.
EXAMINER: Is there anything you would like to ask, before we begin?
ANAXIMANDER: I would like to ask you what the answers are.
"'Explain to us why you wish to enter The Academy.'"
Anaximander, a young Academy candidate, is put through a gruelling exam. Her special subject: the life of Adam Forde, her long-dead hero.
It's late in the 21st century and the island Republic has emerged from a ruined, plague-ridden world, its citizens safe, but not free, and living in complete isolation from outside contact. Approaching planes are gunned down, refugees shot on sight.
Until a man named Adam Forde rescued a girl from the sea.
"Anaximander, we have asked you to consider why it is you would like to join the Academy. Is your answer ready?"
To answer that question, Anaximander must struggle with everything she has ever known about herself and her beloved Republic's history, the nature of being human, of being conscious, and even what it means to have a soul.
And when everything has been laid bare, she must confront the Republic's last great secret, her own surprising link to Adam Forde, and the horrifying truth about her world.
Anax reached the end of the corridor and turned left. She checked the time. They would be watching her approach, or so it was rumoured. The door slid open, quiet and smooth, like everything in The Academy zone.
'Anaximander?'
Anax nodded.
The panel was made up of three Examiners, just as the regulations had promised. It was a great relief. Details of the examination were kept secret, and among the candidates rumours swirled. 'Imagination is the bastard child of time and ignorance,' her tutor Pericles liked to say, always adding 'not that I have anything against bastards.'
Anax loved her tutor. She would not let him down. The door closed behind her.
The Examiners sat behind a high desk, the top a dark slab of polished timber.
'Make yourself comfortable.' The Examiner in the middle spoke. He was the largest of the three, as tall and broad as any Anax had ever seen. By comparison the other two looked old and weak, but she felt their eyes upon her, keen and sharp. Today she would assume nothing. The space before them was clear. Anax knew the interview was being recorded.
EXAMINER: Four hours have been allotted for your examination. You may seek clarification, should you have trouble understanding any of our questions, but the need to do this will be taken into consideration when the final judgment is made. Do you understand this?
ANAXIMANDER: Yes.
EXAMINER: Is there anything you would like to ask, before we begin?
ANAXIMANDER: I would like to ask you what the answers are.